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List:       inet-access
Subject:    Re: Slightly OT: headset for VoIP / Video Conf
From:       John Todd <jtodd () loligo ! com>
Date:       2006-06-18 5:40:04
Message-ID: p0623090bc0ba936348f6 () [204 ! 91 ! 156 ! 3]
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At 9:51 AM -0400 6/17/06, Patrick W.Gilmore wrote:
>
>Sorry for the off-topic post, but....
>
>Looking for recommendations on a headset to use for VoIP / Video 
>Conferencing.  Anyone use anything they like?
>
>I have a six hour video conference on Monday, so it's slightly 
>urgent, and I can't mail order.  I guess I could buy something and 
>return it if there is something too awesome to pass up through mail 
>order.
>
>Suggestions?
>
>--
>TTFN,
>patrick

"More information needed."  but I'll give a lunge at some guesses, anyway.

If you're asking about a USB or mini-plug microphone and earpiece, I 
don't have any suggestions.  They all pretty much have been miserable 
in my experience, so I avoid them.

However, if you're dialing in on a "telephone" type device, such as a 
Cisco 7960/7940/79xx, Sipura/Linksys, etc. or an analog phone, I'd 
suggest the Hello Direct Pro/EX headset.  Been using them for more 
than a decade, and the one I have now is about, oh, 6 years old now, 
since I managed to swap a "new" one to replace the "old" one as I 
departed a certain networking company in California.  They're 
expensive, but worth it.  I did read that you said "videoconference," 
but very often it is reasonable to have separate video and audio 
streams through different devices if you have members who are 
audio-only anyway.

If you don't necessarily need a headset, then I'd suggest the mVox 
MV100 as a USB-only speakerphone.  It has echo and noise cancellation 
that is great, has a wonderful microphone, the sound quality is 
great, it's tiny enough to carry in a laptop bag without bulk, and it 
has a cell-phone style micro headset jack on the side to adapt my 
existing headset systems in the event I need privacy.  I think Radio 
Shack carries them for about $40 (but maybe as low as $10?)   Their 
MV900 has all these features, plus bluetooth and a rechargeable 
battery, so it can be used without cords (the USB can be used to 
charge it, or an A/C adapter) but it's a LOT more expensive.

Back on topic, to some degree:  I've always been astonished with the 
poor sound quality that people put up with on their laptop speakers 
and microphones.  It would seem a natural to include an MV100 as a 
"freebie" for VoIP providers to entice customers into signing up for 
service, but so far I've only ever seen junk earbuds given away.  It 
would almost seem like another natural to get some nice audio 
input/output device and then "tie" it's high-end capabilities to some 
VoIP software that was then in turn locked to a particular VoIP 
service provider who has codecs or methods that support new features. 
Stereo is notably lacking in almost all SIP endpoints, and could be a 
notable differentiator for a clever company.

Lastly: if you're having a video conference, get a Tandberg, Polycom, 
or Marconi and do it the "right" way.  They have excellent microphone 
systems, and you just need to plug it into a decent high-end stereo 
to get good sound reproduction on the playback.  ;-)

JT

References:
http://www.hellodirect.com/catalog/Product.jhtml?CATID=15782&PRODID=11194
http://www.mvox.com/mv100.asp
http://www.mvox.com/mv900.asp
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2165389&cp
http://www.tandberg.net/products/video_systems/index.jsp
http://www.polycom.com/products_services/0,1443,pw-35,00.html
http://www.marconi.com/Home/customer_center/Products/Enterprise%20Networks/Video%20Conferencing

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