Tag: Internet telephony service provider

Who’s missing out on the party and why? Viber, WhatsApp, OneDrive and Box.com

21/02/2014 Current and Future Trends, IP-based telecommunications No Comments
HP OfficeJet 6700 Premium business inkjet multifunction printer

We could see Box.com and OneDrive appear on these printers alongside Dropbox

Viber and WhatsApp are showing themselves as capable over-the-top communications systems while OneDrive and Box.com are coming up as valid cloud-hosted storage services. But there is something very common with most of these companies where they aren’t being as proactive as Skype or Dropbox.

This is more so in the concept of licensing the front-end software for their services to device manufacturers to integrate the functionality in to their devices’ software. Skype have made strong headway with integrating their software in to a large range of smart TVs and video peripherals so that people can purchase a camera kit for these devices to convert them in to group videophones. Similarly, they helped someone else pitch an IP videophone and integrated add-on universal video camera kit in order to extend this function to additional devices. Dropbox has gained extra foothold with recent Brother printers as a “print-from-Dropbox” function while allowing owners of certain WD NAS units to make these devices serve as an on-ramp to Dropbox and Olympus integrating Dropbox upload functionality in to their latest Wi-Fi-capable voice recorder.

DLNA media directory provided by server PC

A smart TV enabled for Skype could also be enabled for Viber or WhatsApp

Ways this could happen for Viber, Skype and WhatsApp could be in the form of IP phones that integrate functionality for these services or IP-based business phone systems that allow the creation of voice / video trunks, tie-lines or messaging trunks offered by these services. Here, Skype, Viber and WhatsApp could monetise their services better by offering business telephony services with high reliability at an appropriate premium.

OneDrive,  Dropbox, Box.com and other cloud-storage services could work with device manufacturers to provide network upload functionality or a NAS vendor could offer “on-ramp” functionality or “store-and-forward” synchronisation functionality for their devices to cater for multiple NAS devices installed at different locations.

What really has to happen is for Viber, OneDrive and co to work with device manufacturers to build up interest in integrating their functionality in to the devices rather than leaving it to Skype and Dropbox to dominate the scene.

A reasonably-priced add-on solution for integrating Skype with your TV

17/04/2013 Video-conferencing No Comments

You have that existing flatscreen TV that isn’t enabled for Skype but want to add this function to it. It may range from a cheap-brand 32”-37” flatscreen that you have bought just to get in to digital TV or have something that fits in easily with your lounge area. On the other hand, you may have bought that European-brand unit that excels in the video-quality stakes but isn’t part of the “smart-TV” bandwagon. In some cases, you may have one of those smaller “computer monitor size” LCD TVs that are typically pitched for use in a bedroom.

But how do you enable this set for Skype videocalls on the large screen without having to rope in a computer for this purpose. This is very important if you are setting up for an older relative who isn’t sure about how to operate technology. The prices quoted here are the manufacturer’s recommended retail prices but the street prices in your area or online may be significantly cheaper.

Add Skype using a video peripheral

Before you answer this question, you would need to make sure that the area where the TV is in has access to Internet service via a regular small network like what is used at home. Here, you must be able to gain access to the Internet service without having to complete a Web-based login sequence or satisfy “enterprise-grade” login requirements, a problem that may affect users who live in retirement villages, resorts or caravan parks that provide public Wi-Fi wireless Internet.

If you have a decent functioning Blu-Ray player or home-theatre system in place, I would suggest that you go for the Logitech TV Cam HD which runs for AUD$249. This unit works as a dedicated “universal” Skype video camera that functions with any TV that has an HDMI connection.

But you don’t have a decent functioning Blu-Ray player or the DVD player just packed it in and you want to integrate this functionality in to the next Blu-Ray player you purchase.

As far as brands are concerned, Panasonic seems to be the only one who can offer a reasonably-priced entry-level solution involving a Blu-Ray player. Here, the prices I am quoting include the cost of the player and the cost of Panasonic’s TY-CC20W Webcam which sells for $130 and works with most recent Skype-enabled Panasonic video equipment.

A basic Blu-Ray option that offers Skype enablement would be the Panasonic DMP-BDT220 used along with the TY-CC20W camera. It would be the way to go if you have an AV receiver or don’t necessarily care about surround sound. This player has integrated Wi-Fi wireless connectivity

For those of you who value a home-theatre solution, Panasonic do run a systen which would cost AUD$730 This would be made up with the SC-BTT480 which is a Wi-Fi-ready Blu-Ray home theatre along with the same Panasonic camera. This would have the full surround-sound package along with FM radio, Blu-Ray playback and Viera Connect Smart TV functionality.

These units support use the Viera Connect functionality which would facilitate IPTV and video on demand functionality that is offered through this platform.

As well, most of these units use an Ethernet connection which can yield a more reliable network video connection than Wi-Fi wireless when your place is wired for Ethernet or you are using a HomePlug AV powerline segment.

Once you know what is available for a reasonable price, you can think of enabling that regular flatscreen TV set with Skype in a universal manner for an easy-to-use videocall setup.

Making VoIP easier for the home, SOHO and small-business user

15/12/2008 Voice Over IP No Comments

A new networking trend that is approaching the small network user is VoIP (Voice Ovr IP). It will typically include IP-based videoconferencing and offer such benefits as free or very low-cost calls, “local number anywhere” and wideband (FM-grade) telephony. Businesses of all scales are moving away from the classic PABX or key system which has its own wiring infrastructure and moving towards an IP-based business telephony system which uses existing local-area-network infrastructure. For them it also reduces the need to rent extra telephone lines for such requirements as inter-location “tie lines”.

The main problem with current VoIP setups is that they are hard to configure. Typically, you have to determine the network configuration for your VoIP service provider and work out particular “dialling plans” such as whether to use VoIP or standard telephone to make a particular call. The other factor you have to work out is which number your VoIP handset rings to. Most of these setups involve awkward interfaces and terms, including remembering certain parameters to be set across multiple devices. In some situations, this kind of work still needs one who has technical knowledge of all things to do with business telephony.

A lot of VoIP service providers have responded to this issue by selling pre-configured VoIP hardware that is locked down to their services. This situation ends up with the hardware being useless if you decide to move to a better deal offered by a competing service provider or decide to expand and evolve the system.

One way of improving the setup is to provide service-plan data packages that can be uploaded to VoIP hardware. This can be useful when it comes to signing up to a new service provider or upscaling the existing VoIP service. Another improvement that can exist could be preset outbound dial plans such as “VoIP for calls other than local & emergency / service”, “VoIP for calls other than emergency / service” or pre-defined “VoIP tie-lines”. These can be selected through a wizard-style interface.

The inbound call plan would be set up through a service-extension map for “direct inward dial” or simple “one-click” options for basic “all-call” setups.

As far as the provisioning of new VoIP telephone extensions goes, VoIP systems should consider use of UPnP and similar IP-based technologies for this purpose. The other issue that also needs to be considered is a standard data package for supplying the extensions (VoIP handsets or analogue telephone adaptors) with the necessary data. This avoids the requiement to have a system that can only work with telephones from a few vendors and can allow innovation in this field. It is more of concern as far as WiFi-based VoIP handsets, including “fixed-mobile convergent” mobile phones, are concerned.

The data packages would be an XML-based configuration file that contains information about SIP / STUN provider details, handset identity details and outbound / inbound dial plans.

Once measures are taken to make VoIP telephony easier to deploy, this can lead to system owners being able to have home and business telephony their way.