Re: VOIP and Bluetooth Headset?!?!

["patrick_o_matic" <patrick@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

--- In ukha_d@xxxxxxx, "noel_pilot" <HA@a...> wrote:
>
> Hey all,
> Saw some discussion recently about trying to get a WIFI pda working
> for voip (might have been skype) with a bluetooth headset,
>
> seemed like the conclusion was you can't really do it cos of the
> conflict between wireless frequencies etc.

It is very device dependent - some work, some don't.

> Would love to get a bluetooth headset working with my ibook for xlite
> but it killing me trying to get it working, never seems stable at all
> and never opens up the link to the headset when i make a call! grr

I have a bluetooth headset (Sony Ericsson HBH-200) working
satisfactorily with an IBM thinkpad which is WiFi enabled. The
connection between the headset and the PC has to be initiated from the
headset end on my setup (by pressing the call hangup button!). Works
just fine. I have a mate who has an iBook (not sure which model, I can
find out), and he also uses a Jabra headset with his OK concurrently
with WiFi.

> Any advice or options out there? could be tempted to a proper IP
> phone/cordless phone if i could get a handsfree kit for it, or even a
> cordless phone and thena VOIP adapter if necessary?

This is an excellent way to go if you want to be able to make and
receive VOIP calls without being tethered to a PC / having a PC
switched on and logged in. Incidentally, the latest upgrade to the
Sipura SPA 3000 (a popular VOIP adapter) firmware now seems to fully
support BT caller id with the inclusion of payphone / international
and withheld indicators.

> Extra little question.....these VOIP QOS routers that netgear et al
> are selling, if you plug a POTS phone into them they regulate the
> internet traffic from the rest of the network so that voice calls get
> priority, thats great for the pots phones but what if you are using a
> proper IP phone?
>
> Are they clever enough to know that ip phones are making voice calls
> too or are we not there yet?!

It *should* be possible to configure any QoS router to give priority
to arbitrary traffic on a specific port. Unless your network is really
heavily loaded, I'd be surprised if you really needed one - VOIP uses
a relatively small amount of bandwidth. What really knackers VOIP
connections is dropped packets and jitter. In a domestic environment
you shouldn't be seeing dropped packets inside your network provided
the wiring is up to scratch, and the rest is outside of your control.

It's also worth mentioning that in my experience the latency of
wireless wifi connections is such that there is a noticeable
degradation in call quality - not to the point that it is unusable,
but you can definitely hear it.

Patrick