Comments on: Why Does VoIP Sound So Much Better Than POTS? http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/ Helping Normal People Get Their Geek On Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:43:08 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Cheap Voip Service http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/comment-page-1/#comment-28090 Cheap Voip Service Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:10:54 +0000 http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/#comment-28090 Great article. The husband and I dumped landlines for voip about 2 years ago and haven't looked back since. Our friends are cell phone only but we only have prepaid so this works out. Thanks! Great article. The husband and I dumped landlines for voip about 2 years ago and haven’t looked back since. Our friends are cell phone only but we only have prepaid so this works out. Thanks!

]]> By: Rich Menga http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/comment-page-1/#comment-23359 Rich Menga Wed, 15 Apr 2009 22:07:32 +0000 http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/#comment-23359 Your experience with VoIP has been subpar because you're still using the same crappy handsets and headsets, so OF COURSE it will sound bad. Read the article again and get a clue. Better yet, have a Skype-to-Skype audio conversation first using a quality headset. Then you'll hear the difference between the crappy 8000Hz of a POTS line compared to 22050Hz VoIP. Your experience with VoIP has been subpar because you’re still using the same crappy handsets and headsets, so OF COURSE it will sound bad. Read the article again and get a clue.

Better yet, have a Skype-to-Skype audio conversation first using a quality headset. Then you’ll hear the difference between the crappy 8000Hz of a POTS line compared to 22050Hz VoIP.

]]> By: Don Nordenholt http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/comment-page-1/#comment-23341 Don Nordenholt Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:04:13 +0000 http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/#comment-23341 Rich, Sorry but you do not know what you are talking about! Where are you getting your information? I've been in the telecom game for 25 years. The bandwidth/frequency response of POTS is less than 4KHz. I forget the precise upper and lower cutoffs and they're not always the same for all services and technical standards. 300-3400Hz sticks in my mind. 8KHz? You've got to be kidding! And FM sound quality for VoIP? Ha! My g/f experimented with several services and they all sucked. I could hardly understand her. She ended up with a pacemaker and has to have a box at home that will let her pacemaker communicate with the hospital and the manufacturer. Stuff like that doesn't work with VoIP, of course so she had to switch back to POTS. Thank goodness! I've used cheap international phone cards in this country and others before. Of course all or most are VoIP nowadays. They sound like s***! I work for a very high tech company. A few years ago they put our travel department on VoIP. I never heard anything so bad. I transact all of my business with them via e-mail. I am responsible for a large telecom network that uses a couple of hundred boxes made by a huge tech giant everybody has heard of. Sometimes their people in India participate in our periodic conference bridges. I can hardly understand them and their accent is not the problem. Honestly, it is painful. It's like the announcements in big old train and bus stations. You can tell somebody's speaking but you can't understand a word of it. I've never heard anybody say that VoIP was better than the PSTN. I went to many trade shows when I worked for an equipment manufacturer. I went to lots of lectures on VoIP. In every one somebody asked what about quality. Invariably the speaker would whip out his cell phone and say it would sound every bit as good as that and I would gag. Quality is not behind the rush to embrace VoIP. They're trying to save bandwidth. Why? Because they think internet bandwidth is unlimited and free. It's ironic. Everybody is now saying that 64KB/S is a scandalous amount of bandwidth to consume for one call. But bandwidth has never been cheaper! Check your facts man! Don Rich,

Sorry but you do not know what you are talking about! Where are you getting your information? I’ve been in the telecom game for 25 years. The bandwidth/frequency response of POTS is less than 4KHz. I forget the precise upper and lower cutoffs and they’re not always the same for all services and technical standards. 300-3400Hz sticks in my mind. 8KHz? You’ve got to be kidding!

And FM sound quality for VoIP? Ha! My g/f experimented with several services and they all sucked. I could hardly understand her. She ended up with a pacemaker and has to have a box at home that will let her pacemaker communicate with the hospital and the manufacturer. Stuff like that doesn’t work with VoIP, of course so she had to switch back to POTS. Thank goodness!

I’ve used cheap international phone cards in this country and others before. Of course all or most are VoIP nowadays. They sound like s***!

I work for a very high tech company. A few years ago they put our travel department on VoIP. I never heard anything so bad. I transact all of my business with them via e-mail.

I am responsible for a large telecom network that uses a couple of hundred boxes made by a huge tech giant everybody has heard of. Sometimes their people in India participate in our periodic conference bridges. I can hardly understand them and their accent is not the problem. Honestly, it is painful. It’s like the announcements in big old train and bus stations. You can tell somebody’s speaking but you can’t understand a word of it.

I’ve never heard anybody say that VoIP was better than the PSTN. I went to many trade shows when I worked for an equipment manufacturer. I went to lots of lectures on VoIP. In every one somebody asked what about quality. Invariably the speaker would whip out his cell phone and say it would sound every bit as good as that and I would gag.

Quality is not behind the rush to embrace VoIP. They’re trying to save bandwidth. Why? Because they think internet bandwidth is unlimited and free. It’s ironic. Everybody is now saying that 64KB/S is a scandalous amount of bandwidth to consume for one call. But bandwidth has never been cheaper!

Check your facts man!

Don

]]> By: Safia http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/comment-page-1/#comment-19397 Safia Thu, 15 Jan 2009 10:26:19 +0000 http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/#comment-19397 The calls from landlines are so expensive that customers like me cannot even think of making international/long distances calls.Thanx to this new VoIP technology which is making it possible to call so cheaper that now we can make long distance call with out thinking too much about its cost even from our mobiles. I have been using www.vopium.com from last one year and i am very satisfied with its service.Voice quality is very good and it has helped me reduce my phone bill costs a lot. The calls from landlines are so expensive that customers like me cannot even think of making international/long distances calls.Thanx to this new VoIP technology which is making it possible to call so cheaper that now we can make long distance call with out thinking too much about its cost even from our mobiles.

I have been using http://www.vopium.com from last one year and i am very satisfied with its service.Voice quality is very good and it has helped me reduce my phone bill costs a lot.

]]> By: David M http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/comment-page-1/#comment-19097 David M Thu, 08 Jan 2009 03:50:23 +0000 http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/#comment-19097 I have been using Vonage (VOIP) for almost two years. I have had absolutely no problems or service failures....honestly. It connects to a regular telephone therefore my computer does not need to be on to use it. In fact, in using my phone you would never know its VOIP and not the phone company. The sound quality is just as clear as the phone company and I am not experiencing any problem when two people accidentally talk at the same time. I think its superior to the phone company and its certainly a lot less expensive. I guess I am not experiencing all the same problems that others are saying they are having with VOIP. I have been using Vonage (VOIP) for almost two years. I have had absolutely no problems or service failures….honestly.

It connects to a regular telephone therefore my computer does not need to be on to use it. In fact, in using my phone you would never know its VOIP and not the phone company. The sound quality is just as clear as the phone company and I am not experiencing any problem when two people accidentally talk at the same time. I think its superior to the phone company and its certainly a lot less expensive.

I guess I am not experiencing all the same problems that others are saying they are having with VOIP.

]]> By: Rich Menga http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/comment-page-1/#comment-19073 Rich Menga Wed, 07 Jan 2009 18:33:01 +0000 http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/#comment-19073 Yes, those are all good valid points. POTS, while sonically crappy does in fact have better reliability overall. It's just a shame that the sound couldn't be better. Yes, those are all good valid points. POTS, while sonically crappy does in fact have better reliability overall. It’s just a shame that the sound couldn’t be better.

]]> By: Steve Stone http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/comment-page-1/#comment-19063 Steve Stone Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:53:19 +0000 http://www.pcmech.com/article/why-does-voip-sound-so-much-better-than-pots/#comment-19063 The company I work for has pushed most of their home office workers from POTS to VOIP with top tier providers. About 50 percent of the VOIP connections are good, the rest are crap. VOIP via FIOS is the best VOIP I've heard. Too many times VOIP is a simplex rather than duplex stream. Both sides can't talk and hear the other person on the opposite end at the same time, resulting in miscommunications. POTS is a duplex connection. Too many times, especially with LD and international calls, packets are dropped, and combined with English as a second language, the result is an unintelligible connection. POTS is more reliable during storms and power outages. In my state the PSC requires dial tone to be restored within 8 hours of an outage. With VOIP there is no such oversight by state or federal entities. Hands down VOIP is cheaper and provide acceptable service 50 percent of the time... but I would not bet my life on it. The company I work for has pushed most of their home office workers from POTS to VOIP with top tier providers.
About 50 percent of the VOIP connections are good, the rest are crap. VOIP via FIOS is the best VOIP I’ve heard. Too many times VOIP is a simplex rather than duplex stream. Both sides can’t talk and hear the other person on the opposite end at the same time, resulting in miscommunications. POTS is a duplex connection. Too many times, especially with LD and international calls, packets are dropped, and combined with English as a second language, the result is an unintelligible connection. POTS is more reliable during storms and power outages. In my state the PSC requires dial tone to be restored within 8 hours of an outage. With VOIP there is no such oversight by state or federal entities. Hands down VOIP is cheaper and provide acceptable service 50 percent of the time… but I would not bet my life on it.

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