SIP Video Phones and DiaStar
From ProjectDiaStar
In order to use DiaStar's IVVR and video conferencing features, a SIP video phone is needed that supports, at a minimum, G711 ULaw audio and H.263 video. Better quality audio and video can be obtained if the phone supports H.264 or MPEG4 for video and G.722 for HD Audio.
There are a number "soft" phones available the run on a PC, using its sound card for audio and a PC webcam for video input.
Mobile phones also handle video. SIP video clients are now (Oct-2010) starting to appear in the Smartphone market, while mobile phones that support 3G-324M have been available for a number of years.
Standalone desktop SIP phones are also a good choice.
Contents |
Video Phone Matrix
The following matrix is a work in progress. Please inform us [diastarserver-users@lists.projectdiastar.org] of any additional phones you have gotten to work with DiaStar.
Each of the functional tests (Multimedia Play/Multimedia Record/Video Conference with) are run against the DiaStar server. The video phone to DiaStar connection is done over a Local Area Network.
An OpenSIPs registrar/proxy is used, as many phones are not able to dial directly by IP address. A Logitec Webcam Pro 9000 was used for video input for PC-based (soft) phones.
PCM U-law (G711) was used as the audio codec except for the HD audio tests. HD (High Definition) Audio = G.722 wideband audio codec
Key
Y - Available and works N - Available but does not work NA - Not available
Apple IPhone SIP Clients
| IPhone SIP Clients | Model/Version | Play H263 | Rec H263 | Conf H263 | Play MPEG4 | Rec MPEG4 | Conf MPEG4 | Play H264 | Rec H264 | Conf H264 | Play HD audio | Rec HD audio | Conf HD audio | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PocketBone | Version 4.1 for iOS 4.1 IPhone | Y | >Y | Y | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | Free app with limited duration H.263 codec available from IPhone App store |
Desktop Phones
| Desktop Phones | Model/Version | Play H263 | Rec H263 | Conf H263 | Play MPEG4 | Rec MPEG4 | Conf MPEG4 | Play H264 | Rec H264 | Conf H264 | Play HD audio | Rec HD audio | Conf HD audio | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yealink VP-2009 | Hardware Version VideoPhone-V8420 Software Version 22.21.0.32 | Y | >Y | Y | N | N | N | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | First clip in all calls not played. DTMF do not function using G722. |
| Grandstream GXV-3000 Video Phone | Hardware rev V0.4A Program version 1.0.3.24 | Y | >Y | Y | NA | NA | NA | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | None |
Soft (PC-based) Phones
All phones were run on a Dell Latitude D620 laptop, running Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Version 2002, Service Pack 3.
| Soft Phones | Model/Version | Play H263 | Rec H263 | Conf H263 | Play MPEG4 | Rec MPEG4 | Conf MPEG4 | Play H264 | Rec H264 | Conf H264 | Play HD audio | Rec HD audio | Conf HD audio | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kapanga | Version 1.00.2180b Desktop Windows | Y | >Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Free version (no MPEG4, H264, G722) available |
| Mirial | release 7.0.27 Build 32326 | Y | >Y | Y | NA | NA | NA | Y | Y | N | N | N | N | Does not support RFC2833 DTMF, but inband DTMF using PCMU works. G722.1 audio codec not compatible with DiaStar. Non-transcoded play of H.264 video does not work. But, if H.263 and MPEG-4 clips are played and these transcoded to H.264 for delivery to Mirial, H.264 will play |
| Linphone | 3.3.2 Windows | Y | >Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | Registration does not appear to work. Call by direct IP adrress OK. |
| CounterPath X-Lite | Version 3.0 build 56125 | Y | >Y | Y | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | When inbound media streaming stops, "No Video" message is displayed instead of last video frame |
| CounterPath Eyebeam | Version 1.5.20 build 56793 | Y | >Y | Y | NA | NA | NA | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | Y | When media streaming stops, "No Video" message is displayed instead of last video frame |
| Ekiga | Windows version 3.2.7 | N | >N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | N | Ekiga crashes immediately on connection with DiaStar. Windows version 3.2.7 is labeled as "beta". Will be retested when a released Windows executable is available |
Further Notes
Some additional comments on video phones that have been successfully used with DiaStar:
- PocketBone - Available free from the IPhone App store with a limited duration (3 minutes) H.263 video codec. Permanent codec as well as G.729A audio codec available through ITunes store. Dials by IP address or works with a SIP registrar. WiFi connection supports CIF format. 3G connection still to be tested with DiaStar. More Information
- Kapanga - Choose the default configuration that comes with it for G711 Mulaw audio and H.263 video. The basic phone is free; upgrades for other codecs and features are available. More Information
- LinPhone - open source versions for Windows and Linux. LinPhone is unique in that MPEG-4 is available with the free download. Quality of its H.263 video codec is not good, but this is not a drawback, since MPEG-4 is available. More Information
- X-Lite and Eyebeam - designed to be used with a registrar/proxy. But this can be circumvented by setting up a user profile that uses the IP address of the phone's host system for the domain and the IP address of the DiaStar server for the outbound proxy. Digits dialed will then arrive at the DiaStar system as the SIP user name - e.g. '1234567' -> 1234567@192.168.100.100. Video from DiaStar to X-Lite only appears to work when a PC cam is available on the system. The basic phone is free; upgrades for other codecs and features are available. More Information
- Mirial The phone may be downloaded with a 30-day free trial. More Information
