Hello Jim:
Oh boy!!! You got me started now and I can't help but type away. I have
deployed such solutions on multiple locations. Below is my feedback and
hopefully it will assist yourself and other folks.
> 1. What softphone client?
> -- simple to install
> -- easy to use
> -- easy to support
This really depends on the client (individual user). I personally prefer
x-Lite from x-ten communications. Has been good to me and the folks there are
easy to reach. I've also used IDEFIX from AsteriskGuru which is IAX based &
pretty damn impressive... though their GUI is not as cool as X-Lite.
> -- simple to install
X-Lite & IDE Fix are both simple to install (for us techies). Recently X-Lite
has made changes in the core of the software that appears to me automatically
detect the nature of your network... that is NATed, Firewalled etc.
Regardless of the router my clients, friends and specially those non-techie
relatives have... X-Lite performed almost flawlessly. I was more impressed
because X-Lite now has the Video Conferencing enabled in their freebie... and
in your Asterisk sip.conf file if you uncomment " videosupport=yes ", then you
are ready for video conferencing.
I've been quite impressed with the audio and video synchronization ... that is
lip/mouth movements ON THE DOT / IN SYNC -- with your verbal communication.
This I found to be quite impressive.
> -- easy to use
Easy to use I would say X-Lite. Reason for this is it looks almost like a
real phone. The interface is also little pleasant to see. IDE FIX is a 100%
functional product, but is IAX based... and not necessarily the best GUI...
but is pretty impressive for it's size, functionality, and multiple account
configuration. X-Lite does not have multiple account configurations. Most
people will not be using multiple accounts (I guess), most of the time.
Relatively speaking I would rank X-Lite. I'll not be surprised if they come up
with a dual IAX/SIP capability very soon.
> 1a. IAX or SIP?
> -- SIP seems to create all kinds of pain with NAT and firewalls
> -- IAX works well, but are there any good clents
Well... this is really a network related choice. Most folks who have High
Speed & a relatively ok router - can get away with SIP based
Softphones/Hardphones.
However I had the opportunity to install a phone system in Odessa Ukraine -
where the users did not have very high speed internet. Their upstream was
fluctuating between 56k to 64k. Grandstream & Sipura phones did not function
well, though you could see the registration was successful on the Asterisk
server. As a test we tried IDEFIX (IAX client). It worked flawlessly.
Later the office invested behind a true ISDN with about $250 US per month in
Ukraine... with dedicated connection & IP address. This resolved the issue
with the Grandstream & Sipura phone sets.
The above addresses your concern with SIP vs. IAX... and the IAX client.
CONCLUSION: People... or at least in my case the folks I have encountered...
all prefer a phone set that looks and feels like a real phone set. Regardless
of how easy a softphone may be, folks are used to and accustomed with their
hardphones. All the folks I've had the privilege to work with, chose
hardphones 100% over softphones.
> 2. QoS
> - How do you convince your laptop to prioritize VoIP over evertying
> - How do you handle the fact that the network you are on probably doesn't care
Ok... up until the latest version of X-Lite (and yes its free for those who are
still wondering)... I have not come across any soft phone that had QoS built
in. I was quite impressed & shocked (in a good way), that X-Ten communications
enabled QoS within their software. Being the cynical realist I had to give
this a shot.
Originally when I used softphones or webphones... any e-mail downloads or
surfing had obstructed direct & clear voice communications. So I decided to
surf like a nut & talk on the latest X-Lite QoS enabled. Try it out. You
will be impressed! I am convinced that it does prioritize Voice Packets over
anything else.
> 3. Sound quality
> - Most PC audio gear is not tuned for voice.
> - Good quality headsets are expensive.
> - Are any cheap ones good?
This is a tricky question to answer. I'm aware that you are looking for
solutions for remote workers on laptop, and if I were you... I'd get them one
of those $30-$40 USB phone that are voice & SIP enabled (built in sound chip
in the phone itself), that is, it does not take advantage of the laptops sound
card or pre-installed software like X-Lite or IDEFIX.
> - Most PC audio gear is not tuned for voice.
Yes, this is true... but the X-Lite software appears to take care of this
issue at the software level after an audio tune up. The disadvantage of this
is that clients will have to be trained to do an audio tune up from time to
time... specially if they connect different types of head sets occasionally.
> - Good quality headsets are expensive.
Normally this is true... we get what we pay for! My Andrea NC-50U, I
purchased 10 pieces bulk at about $9+tax each. Sent it out to all relatives
and close friends world wide to connect to my Asterisk. Personal experience
is that the quality has been above satisfactory, using X-Lite.
> - Are any cheap ones good?
What is your definition of cheap? My definition is less than $20 bux. I
believe my Andrea NC-50U is as cheap as it could get, for the quality I am
satisfied with.
If you wish, I can send you a list (off-list) of all the manufacturers I have
been in touch with in China, who will be more than happy to send you samples of
USB phones (size about the size of a regular cell phone) with the built in DSP
chips at reasonable sample rates.
Cheers!
Reza.
