Select one of the topics below that matches the assistance you need.

• Performing an Audio Test before a live event

• Performing a Video Test before a live event

• How to check if you have voice and other Guest Rights granted

• Quick Tips to Improve Audio Quality

• Preventing Audio Break-Up

• Audio Delay - How to Reduce and Compensate

How can Guests perform an Audio Test before a live event?

To access the audio test feature, launch Live Conference PRO™ by double-clicking the globe icon located on your desktop, or by clicking Start, All Programs, and then select Live Conference PRO™.

You do not have to login to perform an audio test.

In Live Conference PRO™, click the System Settings button.

From the Audio Settings panel, you can select the Microphone Device and Headphone/Speaker devices you want to use from the drop-down menus. Next, press and hold the button that allows you to test your audio and volume settings before logging in to attend a live web meeting.

During the test, it is important that you are hearing your voice through the Headphone speakers and not the desktop speakers.

If you can hear your voice played back through your Headphone speakers, you are ready to speak during the live meeting. You may now close the Live Conference PRO™ meeting room.

If you CANNOT HEAR your voice played through your Headphone speakers, check the following:

1. Is the microphone and headset speaker wires leading from your headset, plugged into the matching ports on the back of your computer? The microphone jack is usually marked with a small image representing a microphone and is colored red. The corresponding color/image is also shown on the back of your computer representing the microphone and speaker ports. If you have more than one soundcard installed, make sure the headset wires are connected to the correct soundcard ports.
   
   

2. When your computer has more than one soundcard installed, the audio controller will assign the microphone and audio rights to a specific soundcard. Make sure your headset is plugged into the right soundcard by clicking START, then CONTROL PANEL, and then open the SOUNDS and AUDIO DEVICES utility. Your headset wires need to be connected to the Default Device for the Sound Playback and Sound Recording.
   
   

3. Once you have verified that the correct soundcard (Default Device) is showing in both the AUDIO and VOICE tabs, you need to go one step further and check that there is a "microphone" selected under each setting.

How can Guests perform a Video Test before a live event?

To access the video set-up screen, launch Live Conference PRO™ by double-clicking the globe icon located on your desktop, or by clicking Start, All Programs, and then select Live Conference PRO™.

You do not have to login to perform a video test. There cannot be other programs using the webcam.

In Live Conference PRO™, click the System Settings button.

Click the Video Settings tab located along the top of the System Settings window.

From the Video Settings panel, you can select the Video Source you want to use from the drop-down menu. If your webcam has been detected by Windows and you have selected that device from the Video Source menu, you should see a local preview of yourself in the Webcam Preview window.

Make sure the Privacy Shield is not covering the front of the webcam.

If you see yourself in the Webcam Preview window, you are ready to broadcast video during the live meeting. You may now close the Live Conference PRO™ meeting room.

If you CANNOT SEE yourself in the Webcam Preview window, check the following:

1. Unplug the webcam USB cable from the computer.

2. Close the System Settings window.

3. Reconnect the USB cable to a different port on the computer.

4. Click the System Settings button, click the Video Settings tab located along the top of the System Settings window.

5. You should be able to see and select the webcam from the Video Source menu.

If the above steps do not allow you to see yourself in the Webcam Preview window, please follow this next troubleshooting step.

1. Unplug the webcam USB cable from the computer.

2. Close the System Settings window.

3. Reinstall the software from the CD that was included with the webcam.

4. After installation, you may connect the USB cable.

5. Now scroll up to the top of this video help section and perform the test again.

If the above steps do not allow you to see yourself in the Webcam Preview window, please contact the technical support for the webcam you are using.

When broadcasting video, other people only see a buffering screen.

This is a bug found in earlier versions of the DirectX utility. The recommended version of DirectX is 8.1 (or newer). You can check the current version of DirectX installed in Windows by clicking Start> Run> then type in that window: dxdiag  Now click OK.

To upgrade your machine with the latest version of the free DirectX utility, click here.

How to check if you have voice and other Guest Rights granted.

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.