Audio Problem #1

"I have been given voice rights and clicked the Hands-Free button. The problem is people in the room say they hear background noise and feedback from my side even when I am not speaking. The LED's on the Talk and Hands-Free buttons remain in the (green) ON status even when I am not speaking."

The full-duplex voice feature utilizes audio gain technology. This means that as you speak, the LED lights are supposed to change from red to green. It is very important that when you are not speaking that these LED lights change back to red.

If the Hands-Free and Talk button LED lights remain in the (green) ON status, unnecessary background noises will be detected, this means the mic volume is too high and you should check the following:

2. Move your microphone away from your mouth and/or lower the background noise near your computer such as a fan or air conditioner.

If the Hands-Free and Talk button LED lights continue to remain in the (green) ON status, even when you are not speaking, follow the directions in the next step.

3. Click Start, select Control Panel, then double-click Sounds and Audio Devices. Click the AUDIO tab. In the "Sound Recording" section, click the VOLUME button. Adjust the vertical volume control to 25%.  Now click the ADVANCED button under the Microphone column. Make sure that the Mic Boost is NOT checked.

The microphone settings are correct if the LED lights change back to red approximately 2 to 3 seconds after you are finished speaking.

Audio Problem #2

"I have been given voice rights and clicked the Hands-Free button, but the LED's on the Talk and Hands-Free buttons remain in the (red) OFF status even when I am speaking. The problem is, no one can hear me."

While speaking into your microphone, if the Hands-Free and Talk button LED lights do not change from red to green, check the following:

1. The microphone volume is too low, simply increase the volume.

2. The microphone is not connected to the correct port on the soundcard, try one of the other available ports. The microphone port is usually indicated by the color red and a small image of a microphone next to it.

3. In Windows - The microphone has not been selected in the Windows Control Panel> Sounds & Audio Devices> Sound Recording section. Click here to view a screenshot for the location of the setting to check. (The microphone device shown in the screenshot is most likely going to be different from the one installed on your PC.)   

4. In Live Conference PRO™ - The microphone has not been selected in the Live Conference PRO> System Settings> Audio Settings section. Click here to view a screenshot for the location of the setting to check. (The microphone device shown in the screenshot is most likely going to be different from the one installed on your PC.)

5. There is a "mute" feature on the microphone wire or headset that has been activated. Try reversing that switch (if one exists). This switch may be located on the headset cable or possibly in the software for that device.

6. The soundcard you are using requires a "Silence Threshold" adjustment. First, turn OFF the Hands-Free button. From the Live Conference PRO™ program, go to the System Settings> Audio Settings section. Click here to view a screenshot for the location of the setting to check. Change the "Silence Threshold" from -25 to -30, close the System Settings window, click the Hands-Free button again and begin speaking. Continue incrementing the "Silence Threshold" until your microphone is detected (green LED's appear), while you are speaking.

Quick Tips to Improve Audio Quality

If you are hearing excessive "hissing" or "cracking" from the person speaking, it could be the microphone quality, volume settings, or background noise of the other person. It could also be a symptom of your soundcard settings.

Here are some things to check:

1. Make sure the "Sound Alert on Login/Logout" is NOT checked. Click "System Settings" button, and then click the "Audio Settings" tab, see the screenshot below.

The default setting is OFF (unchecked). Some soundcards have been found to create these sounds when multiple channels of audio are played at the same time.

2. Check your local equipment settings. Most speakers and soundcards have TREBLE and BASS controls that allow you to adjust the "pitch" and "quality" of the audio.

Set the TREBLE and BASS levels to the default setting of 50%. To access the TREBLE and BASS controls, go to Start> Control Panel> Sounds and Audio Devices. Click here for a screenshot showing how to navigate to these control settings.

If you are listening to the audio through external speakers, you may be able to adjust the TREBLE and BASS levels on the speaker itself.

4. If you hear background noise from others in the room when they are not speaking, this is a result of one of the following:

• They have their microphone turned up to high. Tell them to move the microphone slider bar to the left.

• They have their microphone to close to their mouth. Tell them to move the microphone 4 to 6 inches away from their mouth.

• They have a cell phone or cordless phone transmitting next to their computer or  headset/microphone.

• The two lines that connect the headset microphone and speakers are touching the  computer's power line or other power supply.

• The two headset wire connectors may be touching.

• If there are other programs running that rely on an Internet connection, such as an email program, an anti-virus or firewall software or Windows automatic updates, you may experience break-up in the audio you send and receive during your meetings.

A good rule of thumb is to leave your email and other web-based services turned off while using the meeting room. Important programs such as an anti-virus and firewall can be running, but you may want to temporarily turn off the automatic updates while using the web meeting room.

Preventing Audio Break-Up

If you hear audio break-up or others indicate they hear audio break-up from you, everyone should check these two things:

1. Make sure there are no programs or other Guests on a network that are using the same Internet connection.

2. Make sure the hard drive LED indicator light is not busy. If it is blinking continuously, this means other programs are taxing the computer CPU. Reboot, then launch only the meeting room.  You can also try closing other programs that are using resources.

Audio Delay - How to Reduce and Compensate

Other meeting room systems only allow one person to speak at a time. However, with Live Conference PRO™, your meeting is not handicapped with that limitation. This gives you a convenient way to meet and interact with Guests.

How to control the conversational flow between multiple people in the room.

The best example of how to do this is seen when watching a news broadcast on television such as CNN. As the news anchor speaks to a person located in another location, you will notice a short delay in what each person hears and sees. Everyone is aware that the news anchor controls the conversation. When the anchor asks a person to speak, they speak. When they are finished, everyone knows the news anchor, will make a comment and then ask another person to speak. The same rule must be applied during your web meetings in order to avoid talking "over the top of" another person.

When using web conferencing, and voice over the Internet, there is a short delay in the voice transmission. Two things factor the delay (latency).

First, the distance your voice must travel through the Internet to the centralized Live Conference PRO™ server, and then on to the other people in the room.

Second, the type of Internet connection being used.

The voice delay, is increased with a dial-up or wireless connection, and although broadband offers a faster connection speed, you'll also notice a short delay.

Giving Multiple People Voice Rights

Giving more than one-person voice rights requires that you learn and practice how to control the conversational flow.

In order to compensate for the voice delay, and avoid talking "over the top of" another person, make sure everyone knows who is in control of the conversation. This is usually the room Operator. When someone is speaking they should clearly indicate when they are finished, and then turn the conversation back to the room Operator.

As a room Operator, you could ask those with voice rights to click their "Hands-Free" button only when it's their turn to speak, and then click the "Hands-Free" button again to deactivate the voice feature when finished speaking. When finished speaking, they might say something such as: "Back to you John."

Sometimes a person will ask a question and then wait for the other person to respond. For example, John says, "Mary, are you available Friday to review the marketing campaign?" Then, Mary answers the question.

20. Voice broadcasting options

There are three options for broadcasting your voice.

Option 1
You are listening to the audio through speakers because you don't have a headset.

When it's your turn to speak, press and hold the CTRL key. (See image above.) The system is detecting your voice when the green light appears on the Talk button. Release the CTRL key when done speaking.

Option 2
You are listening to the audio through speakers because you don't have a headset.

When it's your turn to speak, press and hold the Talk button. (See image above.) Release the Talk button when done speaking.

Option 3
You have a headset with a microphone attached: (Recommended)

The Hands-Free is a professional full-duplex (open mic) feature with audio gain technology. This feature is best used when there are only two people in the room OR when everyone with voice rights understand that they only speak when it's their turn. Click the Hands-Free button and begin speaking when it's your turn. (See image above.)

If none of the above options allow others to hear you, or you don't see the green light appear when you are talking, it is most likely that the room Operator has not turned on your ability to talk. If the Operator has enabled your voice rights, you should check your local microphone settings.

21. How can multiple people participate in a voice conversation?

A common question from those who've used other conference systems...

"We are accustomed to a half-duplex voice feature in our previous meeting room where it allowed only one person at a time to speak. In Live Conference PRO™, how do you know when the other person wants to speak?"

Until now, most web conference systems forced meeting participants to press buttons in order to speak. This means that two-way conversations could only take place if both parties had the meeting room maximized and were watching for a visual indicator when it was their turn to speak. Live Conference PRO™ gives you a professional, convenient solution, and once you understand and use it, you'll never go back to "walkie-talkie" type conversations again.

Live Conference PRO™ is much like a telephone in that when the microphone is on, anyone can speak and be heard. This system was designed specifically for hands-free, two-way conversations.  It also allows those speaking to minimize the program to the taskbar and still carry on "telephone-like" conversations. Our research indicates that the average Live Conference PRO™ meeting scenario is where up to 100 people are "listening" and "watching" while one or two other's are "presenting".

The benefit of hands-free voice is that it allows you to interject your comments during a live discussion. For example, as I am talking, I hear that you are beginning to comment or interject.  I do not have to watch my screen to see a "bubble" or other indicator that you wish to speak.  I simply hear you and stop talking. 

Live Conference PRO™ is used by professional speakers and business people who use wireless headsets. Our hands-free full-duplex audio feature is an absolute requirement for those who walk around an office while presenting or when broadcasting a live video presentation.

Live Conference PRO™ gives you multiple voice options, for details click here.

22. How many webcams can be used at the same time?

A common misconception about video conferencing is that everyone in a meeting "should be" able to see all video streams sent to the room. Even though our system will allow up to 100 people to see each other at the same time, however, what determines the ability to achieve this is the connection speed of each person in the room.

A meeting participant connected using a dial-up connection will only be able to receive 1 video stream.

If everyone in the room was using broadband, their Internet connection could likely handle 8 to 10 video streams at the default quality setting of 1 frame per second. Placing a higher demand on your Internet connection will likely cause audio break-up and delay text messaging.

23. How does L.C.P. web meeting technology compare with Skype?

A. Skype™ employs a peer-to-peer system. This means that it is not a reliable tool for audio meetings with more than 2 or 3 people. Skype™ cannot support large numbers of people in a single conference because it does not have the stability and security of a "centralized" conference server.