Re: 3CXPhone video beta (ver 12857) comments
Some technical informations, in brief, about this new version of 3CXphone
requirements for video call
- remote partner should be able to handle H263/QCIF video signal
- extensions should not be bound to media server - ie PBX delivers audio unckecked, Support Re-invite and Support Replaces options cheked into the PBX management console.
- transport should not be Secure RTP.
- video partners should be either "on-office" (on intranet) or 3CXphone should use tunnel in case of "out-of-office". At this moment, STUN resolution for video ports is not implemented yet.
- be sure that other than 3CXphones has pressed "send video" button.
video recording
- 3CXphone allow video recording for both "local" webcam image, also, most important, for remote one. To do this, select desired video codec for recording on the Preferences dialog. Recorded .avi files will be placed in phone's local folder, Video subfolder. At this moment, there is not user-interface provided to access these files, so you will have to open that folder manually. Also, generated .avi file has no sound, basically has silence as sound. It is highly recommended to choose for recording that codec involving less CPU, thinking you may want to record three simultaneous calls plus the webcam one.
video snapshots
- 3CXPhone allow taking video snapshots. These are in .bmp format and placed in phone's local folder, Snapshots subfolder. At this moment, there is not user-interface provided to access these files, so you will have to open that folder manually. In the future version, these snapshots will be available as .jpg files to save disk space.
video privacy protection
- 3CXphone provides two settings to avoid it to act as an unwanted spycam. These two settings are available into the Preferences dialog:
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Start sending video when call is established - when checked, if remote side accepts video, 3CXPhone will start sending video automatically when call is established. It's privacy risky when phone is set to Auto-anser mode. However, if video window is closed or no webcam configured, there is not such a risk.
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Do not send video when phone is inactive or hidden - when checked, if remote side accepts video, 3CXPhone will stop sending video when is minimized in taskbar, minimized in tray or another widow is active. However, if video window is closed or no webcam configured, this setting doesn't matter.
dynamically changing of the video source (webcam)
- In case your computer has many video sources, you may switch them dynamically while in a video call. Without disconnecting the call, open the Preferences dialog and select desired Video Source - none including.
video offline image
- In case you don't have a webcam set, or video window is closed, or Sending button is not activated or "Do not send video when phone is inactive or hidden" option is set and phone is inactive, an "offline image" will be sent to the remote video partner. This doesn't apply to Hold/Held state, in which case sending is completely suppressed, mainly to save bandwith. The "offline image" is the file named "vidlogo.bmp" in 3CXPhone's install folder. You may replace it with your desired similar 176x144 bitmap, but do this before starting the phone. If this file is missing, a plain blue "image" will be sent.
video signal state
- 3CPhone tries to provide a visual feedback of the incoming video signal. There are three cases:
- no signal, its screen is off - remote party doesn't provide video (example a call to 999).
- video jitter - if there are jitters (or glitches or missed frames) longer than ~300 ms, 3CXphone will display video noise.
- signal lost - if there is no incoming video stream for at least ~1.5 sec, the video noise will be replaced in the known no-signal pattern. This can be easily observed when a video call is put on hold, because remote party cut the signal.
displaying position on the screen is preserved
- when 3CXPhone will be started, it will be displayed/restored at its last position on which has been closed.
- this affects only its normal, visible state, therefore minimized or hidden state are not saved.
- screen position is properly saved in both single and multi-display screen.
resizable configuration dialogs
- in case 3CXPhone is started on a standard VGA 640x480 resolution (Windows in Safe mode) configuration dialogs will provide vertical scrollbars to allow access to all controls.
3CXPhone can register and connect even on a machine with no audio devices
- to allow this feature, exit the 3CXphone and in its configuration file and, under [General] section, add following line:
IgnoreSndCheck=1
- save the file then start the phone.
ringing "PC Speaker"
- to allow this feature, exit the 3CXphone and in its configuration file and, under [General] section, find the line
RingPCSpeaker=0
- 0 means no ringing. 1, 2 or 3 will generate different ring patterns
- save the file then start the phone.
custom menu background
- 3CXphone allow custom menu background. To do this, in the Skins folder place an .bmp, .jpg or .gif file having the same name as the skin file, in our case 3CXPhone - i.e 3CXPhone.jpg. If this image exists, then 3CXphone will load it every time it loads the skin file. This image can have any size, 3CXphone will create in memory a resized copy of it, however, to avoid distortion is recommended that image be at the same aspect ratio as the menu window size, in our case 230x376 pixels.
phone provisioning
- 3CXphone can now be provisioned. On the Connection dialog, each account is provided with a Provisioning URL in the bottom side of the dialog. To be provisioned, its checkmark should be cheked and in the filed should be specified an URL. The URL should start with http://. Two provisioning will be done - account data and company phonebook. Provisioning will be attempted every time when 3CXphone tries to connect to that account. If, for various reasons, provisioning fails, the most recent saved data will be used. Therefore, in case of a new, fresh account, all registration data can be empty, but only the provisioning URL enabled. Phonebook provisioning is performed by a merging method, not by overwriting, therefore your "personal" contacts in 3CXPhone's phonebook will be preserved.
PBX port
The PBX port has been removed from Connection/Advanced settings. If a specific port will be required, it will be specified in the standard server
ort format in the PBX in/out-of office, such as 10.0.0.11:55060.
local interface
The local interface has been removed from Connection/Advanced settings. 3CXphone will automatically detect the best route to the specified PBX/proxy destination.