Post by zer0 on Jun 6, 2009 6:40:22 GMT -5
I posted this in SPAM a while ago and I thought it may be of use to other people deciding on using Skype or Ventrilo. It may also give a nice outline about their capabilities and what to be aware of.
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Skype is not based on Push-to-talk or voice detection unlike teamspeak and Ventrilo
However it is a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) program.
I see Skype (pronounced like "type" with "sk-" instead of "t") as a internet-based computer phone. Compared to its likeness in Y!M and Windows Live, it boasts superior call quality in terms of both audio and video. Calling is free between Skype-to-Skype and Skype offers the ability to call actual phone numbers (for a charge) as well as SMS and being called by other phone numbers (at a charge).
It uses an interface of a contact list (similar to other IM clients) and you can send files, chat with IM and do all the calling!
It offers audio conference calls of up to... I forget... 8 people at least? (but video calling is disabled when there are more than 2 people in a conversation)
As Marianne said, useful for meetings.
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Ventrilo and Teamspeak are aimed at an audience of gamers. Games like Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, RTS games, and other games where one must co-ordinate with other player characters benefit greatly from programs and services such as Ventrilo and Teamspeak.
I don't know much about Teamspeak as I used it about once but I imagine its function to be similar to that of Ventrilo's (which by the way is derived from the word Ventriloquist... it makes sense)
Ventrilo is different from Skype in that it does not use a contact list but rather connects to a server. Anyone can host a server provided they set a little bit of networking up for free and I think the maximum of clients in a free room is... 8 I think (moneys can be paid to get more features and people)
The server is akin to a chatroom. There is a lobby and the server admin(s) have the discretion to create more rooms in a threaded fashion and even password lock certain rooms.
The server itself usually runs via IP but often there are ways to set up a DNS (not explaining because I don't get it). It can be password locked as well.
If Skype's a phone, Ventrilo is like a walkie-talkie (2-way radio). There are typically two ways to use its audio chat features. Push-to-talk being the most popular, and voice activated.
Push-to-talk involves binding a key and pressing it when you want to speak. It can be a mouse button or keyboard key.
Voice activated operates on a volume threshold which when you speak should activate recording and transmission of your speech.
Once your client is transmitting audio data to the server, ventrilo will record and send the data to the rest of the clients as soon as possible. Because it is recorded before being received, ventrilo typically does not suffer voice distortion (though if latency is high, the message may take a while to arrive).
The benefit of Ventrilo over Skype is that not everyone's mics are on at the same time and so you don't get a constant barrage of everyone else's sound while you're on it (so listening to your own music for example while gaming or talking is a lot easier than with Skype - if you like speakers).
The con of this feature is that if something incredibly funny happens while the person is not transmitting, you'll all miss it whereas on Skype, accidents are picked up as it is transmitting and receiving all the time.
Ventrilo also supports a chat which users can opt-in or out of... and one of the fun things to play around with is TTS (text-to-speech) where a default microsoft voice will speak the words you and other chatters type.
If there are any questions regarding the the VOIPs of Skype and Ventrilo you may direct questions to me.
The first question is entirely free of charge!
-------------------------------------------------------------
Skype is not based on Push-to-talk or voice detection unlike teamspeak and Ventrilo
However it is a VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) program.
I see Skype (pronounced like "type" with "sk-" instead of "t") as a internet-based computer phone. Compared to its likeness in Y!M and Windows Live, it boasts superior call quality in terms of both audio and video. Calling is free between Skype-to-Skype and Skype offers the ability to call actual phone numbers (for a charge) as well as SMS and being called by other phone numbers (at a charge).
It uses an interface of a contact list (similar to other IM clients) and you can send files, chat with IM and do all the calling!
It offers audio conference calls of up to... I forget... 8 people at least? (but video calling is disabled when there are more than 2 people in a conversation)
As Marianne said, useful for meetings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ventrilo and Teamspeak are aimed at an audience of gamers. Games like Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, RTS games, and other games where one must co-ordinate with other player characters benefit greatly from programs and services such as Ventrilo and Teamspeak.
I don't know much about Teamspeak as I used it about once but I imagine its function to be similar to that of Ventrilo's (which by the way is derived from the word Ventriloquist... it makes sense)
Ventrilo is different from Skype in that it does not use a contact list but rather connects to a server. Anyone can host a server provided they set a little bit of networking up for free and I think the maximum of clients in a free room is... 8 I think (moneys can be paid to get more features and people)
The server is akin to a chatroom. There is a lobby and the server admin(s) have the discretion to create more rooms in a threaded fashion and even password lock certain rooms.
The server itself usually runs via IP but often there are ways to set up a DNS (not explaining because I don't get it). It can be password locked as well.
If Skype's a phone, Ventrilo is like a walkie-talkie (2-way radio). There are typically two ways to use its audio chat features. Push-to-talk being the most popular, and voice activated.
Push-to-talk involves binding a key and pressing it when you want to speak. It can be a mouse button or keyboard key.
Voice activated operates on a volume threshold which when you speak should activate recording and transmission of your speech.
Once your client is transmitting audio data to the server, ventrilo will record and send the data to the rest of the clients as soon as possible. Because it is recorded before being received, ventrilo typically does not suffer voice distortion (though if latency is high, the message may take a while to arrive).
The benefit of Ventrilo over Skype is that not everyone's mics are on at the same time and so you don't get a constant barrage of everyone else's sound while you're on it (so listening to your own music for example while gaming or talking is a lot easier than with Skype - if you like speakers).
The con of this feature is that if something incredibly funny happens while the person is not transmitting, you'll all miss it whereas on Skype, accidents are picked up as it is transmitting and receiving all the time.
Ventrilo also supports a chat which users can opt-in or out of... and one of the fun things to play around with is TTS (text-to-speech) where a default microsoft voice will speak the words you and other chatters type.
If there are any questions regarding the the VOIPs of Skype and Ventrilo you may direct questions to me.
The first question is entirely free of charge!
