[WXC/VFX] VoIP Call Quality

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#79904 26-Jul-2007 21:51

adamj: We have 6 PC on the network (Not counting the server) and I had bad breakup on both G729a and Ulaw today with all the PC's off. ISP is Woosh so that could be the problem...

That pretty much explains your problem. VoIP over Woosh is terrible and QoS isn't going to help you when your ISP has their QoS set to prioritise their own VoIP service.

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#79905 26-Jul-2007 21:52

adamj: We need Email Address portability haha

Register your own domain and have your e-mail MX pointed to the free Google Mail hosting service. Or host your own mail server. Or use a hosted Exchange.

That's e-mail address portability. Relying on an ISP is not...

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#79909 26-Jul-2007 22:56

adamj: Thing is, even if we got a 'lifetime' mailbox from Orcon or something, still doesnt solve the problem she wont give up the address she has now...

No, you missed the point here...

I wasn't suggesting you get a mailbox at Orcon, I simply gave that as an example of what another ISP offers, because you will probably find that Slingshot offers something similar.

For example: Xtra let you keep your mailbox for $2.50 per month even if you no longer use them as an ISP.

Clear Net have something very similar.

These are EXAMPLES that I know from my own experience, and no doubt Slingshot will have a similar arrangement so your GF can keep her existing e-mail address.

Mauricio's suggestion above is by far the best idea;

Register your own domain name and point the e-mail to wherever. Gmail is an excellent choice which I also use. The key thing is to have your own domain name because as long as you keep it (for around US$10 - 15 per year), your e-mail address need NEVER change again!

Here is an example: I have registered a .NAME domain called after my surname i.e. my e-mail address is firstname@lastname.name

Then I also have a business e-mail address as well as a Gmail address. It's very cheap and easy to do this -- I can give further details if you are interested -- and then your e-mail address will always stay the same in future no matter what ISP you use. A smart young geek told me about this idea in early 1997 when the internet was in its infancy and I have had several domains registered ever since.

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#79929 27-Jul-2007 08:22

Grant17: For example: Xtra let you keep your mailbox for $2.50 per month even if you no longer use them as an ISP.

Clear Net have something very similar.

It is my understanding that you can get a mailbox for $2.50 per month, but have to pay another $2 or $3 per month to access it from outside the Xtra network. Can anyone please confirm?

Clear has a usage based plan which essentially gives you a free mailbox if you never dial-up on that login, and after 6 months of no dial-up they state that they might charge a small fee which is not specified on their site.

Sorry to (slightly) highjacking this thread, but I'm from South Africa where highjacking is common

You can never have enough Volvos!

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#79930 27-Jul-2007 08:24

That pretty much explains your problem. VoIP over Woosh is terrible and QoS isn't going to help you when your ISP has their QoS set to prioritise their own VoIP service.

Woosh has their own phone service, so I would expect them to give priority to that over any other traffic (and they do definately for wireless, stated somewhere on their web site).

You can never have enough Volvos!

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#79933 27-Jul-2007 08:51

Niel:
Grant17: For example: Xtra let you keep your mailbox for $2.50 per month even if you no longer use them as an ISP.

Clear Net have something very similar.

It is my understanding that you can get a mailbox for $2.50 per month, but have to pay another $2 or $3 per month to access it from outside the Xtra network. Can anyone please confirm?

A bit off topic but here goes:
Previously that was the case to be able to use the plaintext pop and smtp services, with secure remote email (previously the value specified) you could use POP3 and SMTP over SSL to retrieve your mail. Thats recently changed in price.

What does it cost?
The cost of subscribing to Secure Remote Email service is $2.50 (incl GST) per month. From 1st May 2007 customers who have Xtra Internet access plans can use Xtra's Secure Remote Email service at no additional charge.

I agree with the comments made about email portability - one should really just get a domain name and then you can take it to whatever provider you want, without fear of people having to update your email address.

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#79955 27-Jul-2007 10:44

freitasm:
adamj: We need Email Address portability haha

Register your own domain and have your e-mail MX pointed to the free Google Mail hosting service. Or host your own mail server. Or use a hosted Exchange.

That's e-mail address portability. Relying on an ISP is not...

I personally have a domain name already (Well I have more than a dozen actually) and a mail server. Its my partner that wants to keep her Woosh email address. She has used it for a couple of years and doesnt want to change because too many people know it.

Looking on the Orcon website I can see anyone can get an @orcon.net.nz email address for free, even if your not a paying customer, so I spoke to her last night and she has agreed to let me set her up with one, but give her a few months to make sure everyone knows the new address. I thinks thats a pretty fair compromise. That way too, if we are not togeather in the future she doenst have to worry about me cutting her email address off.

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#79958 27-Jul-2007 10:46

Niel:
That pretty much explains your problem. VoIP over Woosh is terrible and QoS isn't going to help you when your ISP has their QoS set to prioritise their own VoIP service.

Woosh has their own phone service, so I would expect them to give priority to that over any other traffic (and they do definately for wireless, stated somewhere on their web site).

I'm using Woosh DSL, not Woosh wireless. I have used their wireless in the past and it's rubbish (Well more rubbish than their DSL). The VoIP I am taking about is 2x iTalk (CallPlus) lines and 1x VFX line, coming into a Linksys SPA-942 IP Phone.

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#79961 27-Jul-2007 10:52

adamj: ..anyone can get an @orcon.net.nz email address for free, even if your not a paying customer, so I spoke to her last night and she has agreed to let me set her up with one, but give her a few months to make sure everyone knows the new address.

If your GF is willing to migrate her e-mail address over time, you might be better to set her up with a Gmail account:

1) It's free
2) The storage capacity is huge
3) You can access it via Web Mail (which is handy for travelling) or via a standard e-mail client
4) Google isn't likely to go broke any time soon whereas who knows how long Orcon will keep up this policy of providing free e-mail accounts especially now that they are owned by Kordia

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#79963 27-Jul-2007 11:07

Grant17:
adamj: ..anyone can get an @orcon.net.nz email address for free, even if your not a paying customer, so I spoke to her last night and she has agreed to let me set her up with one, but give her a few months to make sure everyone knows the new address.

If your GF is willing to migrate her e-mail address over time, you might be better to set her up with a Gmail account:

1) It's free
2) The storage capacity is huge
3) You can access it via Web Mail (which is handy for travelling) or via a standard e-mail client
4) Google isn't likely to go broke any time soon whereas who knows how long Orcon will keep up this policy of providing free e-mail accounts especially now that they are owned by Kordia

I know. I have suggested this to her many times but she doesnt like Gmail for some reason. She's a bit strange like that. Can you download gmail via a POP3 connection?

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grant_k

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#79964 27-Jul-2007 11:11

adamj: Can you download gmail via a POP3 connection?

YES! Certainly. That's why I mentioned "Access via a Standard e-mail client".

Gmail gives you the best of both worlds and so far as she is concerned, it won't be any different to use than her Slingshot account.

The easiest way to migrate her over (and I am speaking with years of Wife IT support experience behind me here...) is as follows:

1) Set up a Gmail account firstname.lastname@gmail.com if it's available (keeps it simple)
2) Set up a second account in her e-mail client pointed at the Gmail server
3) Set the Return Address for both accounts to her new Gmail address

Bit by bit, all e-mail will start arriving in her Gmail account without her having to do anything.

As a final step, she can send an e-mail to everybody (including those not heard from for a long time) advising of her new address.

Leave the old one running for a few months longer until messages stop arriving in it and then... //SNIP//...

P.S. Just realised we are getting WAY OT in this thread... Oops

ajobbins

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#79967 27-Jul-2007 11:33

Grant17:
adamj: Can you download gmail via a POP3 connection?

YES! Certainly. That's why I mentioned "Access via a Standard e-mail client".

Gmail gives you the best of both worlds and so far as she is concerned, it won't be any different to use than her Slingshot account.

The easiest way to migrate her over (and I am speaking with years of Wife IT support experience behind me here...) is as follows:

1) Set up a Gmail account firstname.lastname@gmail.com if it's available (keeps it simple)
2) Set up a second account in her e-mail client pointed at the Gmail server
3) Set the Return Address for both accounts to her new Gmail address

Bit by bit, all e-mail will start arriving in her Gmail account without her having to do anything.

As a final step, she can send an e-mail to everybody (including those not heard from for a long time) advising of her new address.

Leave the old one running for a few months longer until messages stop arriving in it and then... //SNIP//...

P.S. Just realised we are getting WAY OT in this thread... Oops

Of course these are all thinks I have thought of and tried to convince her to do for a while now with alot of resistance. I'll keep working on it. Need.......New.........I.S.P.................................Soon

Anyways, back on topic. Tried setting my router to 'Reserve bandwitdth for VoIP calls. Only tried my Napier iTalk line today (Which is G729a) and didnt have any dropouts. Will try the VFX line (Ulaw) when I get back from work.

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grant_k

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#79971 27-Jul-2007 11:53

adamj: ...Will try the VFX line (Ulaw) when I get back from work.

VFX should be using G729a as well (the preferred codec) unless you are doing something tricky.

Trying to use uLaw over an ADSL connection with only 128kbps upstream is asking for trouble in my opinion.

I'm sure that time-of-day will have a lot to do with it as well. After work on a Friday evening in winter has to be peak time in anybody's language. It will be interesting to hear what you find. I would definitely switch back to G729 if I were you.

ajobbins

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#79981 27-Jul-2007 13:26

Ive had issues with G729a in the past which is why I am on ulaw currently. The audio quality on G729a is terrible compared to ulaw and I have found G729a to be only marginally better in terms of drop/fadeouts. Neither codecs live up to the quality of our POTS line, or even my CDMA nokia.

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grant_k

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#79986 27-Jul-2007 13:55

It sounds like your choice of Woosh as ISP is causing you a lot of grief with call quality.

All of our 3 VFX lines are using G729 and the audio quality is as good as any landlines out there, and better than many. I did try G711u for a short time after joining VFX and noticed that the treble response with G711u was slightly better than G729 if I was using a good quality desk phone. However, when using a cordless, I was unable to tell the difference, and the much greater bandwidth requirements of G711u are just not worth that marginal increase in quality on my desk phone.

You need to change ISP and fast!

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