Msn/Windows Messenger Voice Conversations

[mfuller_uk]

Hi all!

I was wondering if anyone could help me out.

Me and my girlfirend live quite far apart, as I am at uni, and she isn't and we thought that a good way of being able to talk to eachother as often as possible without having to worry about huge mobile bills was to utilise the voice conversation in windows messenger.

What is the quality like, is it comparable to a mobile conversation. Is there anything i should know? I suppose that the quality will depend on the internet connections being used at both ends. We are both on high speed connections, mine through my uni (on which i normally clock downlaods at 1.0mbit per sec), and hers is a fast connection but unsure what speed as it is provided by her school in which she is a border!

Any help, advice would be much appreciated!

Michael Fuller
Air Transport Management Undergraduate
Lougborough Universtiy

[Squiddley]

I've been trying for ages to get this bl00dy feature working :( Every single initiation by either me or my contact fails to connect. We've tried all manner of settings, switched off/unloaded firewalls etc., but to no avail. Be interested to find out what, if anything, can be done to get it working.

2 Alternatives I've tried successfully are ICUII and CUSeeMe, both commercial applications but with trial periods. Though not free, they might be the best option if you know a) they work and b) you'll be talking/viewing frequently. (Both support webcams as well as voice.)

Good luck with Messenger!

[BRL]

I have done it on 56k connection loads of times and it was a bit laggy, i.e. you would hear what you just said about a second later. You can't really have a decent conversation though, you can't talk over your partner, its a bit like radio calls, you have to wait until the other person has finished the sentence they are saying, gets weird if you talk over each other, lots of hesitation and repeating. If you have a quick connection though your laughing, bobs your uncle. (I have broadband now but not tried it yet, if anyone wants to 'test' it, get in touch and let me know and we can have a test conversation thingy.)

Quality is excellent, clear, no hiss/background noise etc all you have to do is configure your mic and sound level and that is a piece of cake to do, its simple really. I would consider a better option though like connecting to a mobile network that gives you free calls, mine gives me free calls to a landline anytime off peak etc so maybe something like that would be worth considering, also would you be in a public place such as the school/uni library? Not very personal then is it if other people are sitting next to you, it would be easier to go into chat and type away. Go for it though, have fun :)

[ATCbabe]

mfuller_uk,

I have telephone conversations all the time through msn and it works no problem. Great with all over the world and no phone bill!!
It can be a bugga to set up as already stated and if the system is busy it can take a few attempts to connect, but failing that away you go.

As for the quality, not as good as a mobile phone but not bad for free!!;)

[BLUE SKY THINKER]

I experimented successfully with this recently, laptop to laptop, using a standard dial up connection at both ends.

Although I had no connection problems I can think of a myriad of potential reasons lurking in individual computers that would cause such. Additionally, I believe that some have encountered specific problems when operating in the wirefree enviroment. One bit of basic preventative troubleshooting - and the only one I took - is to ensue you go through the Messenger "Audio Tuning Wizard", to be found under the "Tools" tab. Certainly with a laptop (and probably relevant in all cases), although speakers and mic. are provided, seperate headphones and mic. are essential to avoid feedback.

I was quite surprised by the quality of the conversation. Difficult to describe; but as if the other person is in the same room with you, but completely different from the sensation you get from a standard land based telephone conversation. Likewise mobile, to answer your question.

Great potential long distance/overseas.

[expedite_climb]

I've done it - as said workable but not good over 56k, but should be fine if you are both high speed....