Skype - Delays On Calls

[StickKettleOn]

Hi all

I have just been told I can no longer get away with pure email communications at work. I need a telecoms sollution dialing from LOS to UK. Skype is the obvious contender.

I download at around 850kbps and upload at around 400kbps - though it can be lower.

Would this be a decent enough speed to sustain a heathy conversation on skype? I am calling clients - delays are a no no.

Also I am told by my employer back in Blighty that i have to find a headset that works with X Lite. What is this? I believe it something to do with dialing into there server or something for testing?

Cheers

SKO

[cdnvic]

Connection speed doesn't necessarily cause or solve delays in VOIP. I've got a 10,000/1,000kbs link and even that gets delays sometimes.

Ensuring your DNS settings are correct and your modem is configured properly is the first thing to check. I've found a program called Tweakmaster to be really helpful, as modems aren't my strong point.

[Crossy]

Skype works well for me to the UK, occasional bad lines are a fact of life even with 'real' phone connections, all my customers understand this and are happy to accept a break and re-dial. Always wise to have a regular landline or mobile as backup though.

X Lite is a software based SIP phone, download it here http://www.xten.com/index.php?menu=Products&smenu=xlite any headset that works with Skype should be just fine.

[paveet]

Hi all

I have just been told I can no longer get away with pure email communications at work. I need a telecoms sollution dialing from LOS to UK. Skype is the obvious contender.

I download at around 850kbps and upload at around 400kbps - though it can be lower.

Would this be a decent enough speed to sustain a heathy conversation on skype? I am calling clients - delays are a no no.

Also I am told by my employer back in Blighty that i have to find a headset that works with X Lite. What is this? I believe it something to do with dialing into there server or something for testing?

Cheers

SKO

X-Lite is a softphone (a program) client for SIP. SIP is a protocal (standard) way of communication for VoIP. What happens when you make a call is.. X-Lite opens a SIP connection to the VoIP provider/server which then coordinates the calls (send/receive data about which number to dial etc). The voice data channel is opened after the call is established through RTP (real time protocal) just like when you're streaming audio off the net. In a nut shell, it is a VoIP standard (the most popular one). However, Skype does not use SIP, it uses it's own set of proprietary protocals.

Latency is an inevitable problem. There will always be a mininum amount of latency for VoIP as it is after all a long distance call. Skype is peer to peer which means your computer connects directly to the other party's computer. SIP is peer -- server -- peer which means there is a server in between the two users. To achieve the minimum possible latency for SIP... the server should be somewhere between you two... e.g. you're in Thailand.. the other party's in the UK but the server is in America wouldn't be a wise choice. A server in the Netherlands would be good.

I use SIP extensively to talk to parents at home (I spend half of the year in the UK studying) and to people in America. Trust me, even on the fastest UK networks (JANet .. the UK academic/research university network) I still get noticable latency calling people in America (and my speedtest to New York is 20mbps). The speeds that you mentioned of 850/400 kbps is plenty for VoIP (assuming that's the speed you get connecting to the SIP server). Depending on the codec (the way in which voice is encoded) you use, the maximum speed you will need is only 64kbps both ways (G.711 codec).

Pavee

[Rice_King]

I download at around 850kbps and upload at around 400kbps - though it can be lower.

Would this be a decent enough speed to sustain a heathy conversation on skype? I am calling clients - delays are a no no.

Check you VoIP quality at TestYourVoIP. The test results should give you a fair indication of what to expect quality-wise from your VoIP applications.