Ross
Well-known member
Wondering how many people are taking advantage of new technologies here.
Anyone use voIP or digital phone here?
- Thread starter Ross
- Start date
Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:
Now why would I want to trade in my perfectly crappy hard wired phone line that I pay an exorbitant price for?
Ross
Well-known member
Maybe to save money if it's available to you. I'm shocked at the quality of the line myself. Crystal clear, no noise no nonsense.
we bundled with Time Warner about a year ago...tv, internet and phone....it's great....good signal no outage so far and free long distance.
Bonzo Dog
Well-known member
Ross, are you asking about digital wireless handsets or is it Skype you are wondering about?
Same set up as Cooker here, we have domestic phone, TV and broadband from Virgin. Wireless digital phone handsets about the house.
Linda my partner uses Skype at work. I can pick her brains if that is your area of interest.
Same set up as Cooker here, we have domestic phone, TV and broadband from Virgin. Wireless digital phone handsets about the house.
Linda my partner uses Skype at work. I can pick her brains if that is your area of interest.
Ross
Well-known member
No I'm speaking of Voice over internet protocol (voIP) or digital phone offered through fiber optic cable. This is a dedicated line to the telephone itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VoIP I guess they can be wireless also. Heck, I'm still learning here.
http://www.timewarnercable.com/corporate/products/digitalphone/
Harrybaby666
Well-known member
I Had Vonage....I WILL NEVER EVER HAVE THEM AGAIN!!!
I Had Vonage....I WILL NEVER EVER HAVE THEM AGAIN!!!
I had a vonage phone for about a year that was required for my vocational rehabilitation program, and they took extra money out of my account and refused to return it....These people also threatened me with all kinds of fees if I ended the contract due to breech of contract on their part, and when my contract was up in January, I REALLLLLLLYYY had a hard time getting them to shut off the phone. They got so bad that I ended up calling the NJ Better Business Bureau and the NJ Attorney General's office TWICE on them and they finally relented and shut my VOIP phone off....I might try another company if I ever need a voip phone again, but IT WON'T BE VONAGE.....
If you are considering A VOIP Phone and are considering Vonage, PLEASE, PLEASE check the NJ Better Business Bureau first as there are some very unsatisfied people. They have numerous complaints against them. I will get off my soapbox now, but I just wanted to warn any potential Vonage customers of my hellacious experience
Harrybaby
I Had Vonage....I WILL NEVER EVER HAVE THEM AGAIN!!!
I had a vonage phone for about a year that was required for my vocational rehabilitation program, and they took extra money out of my account and refused to return it....These people also threatened me with all kinds of fees if I ended the contract due to breech of contract on their part, and when my contract was up in January, I REALLLLLLLYYY had a hard time getting them to shut off the phone. They got so bad that I ended up calling the NJ Better Business Bureau and the NJ Attorney General's office TWICE on them and they finally relented and shut my VOIP phone off....I might try another company if I ever need a voip phone again, but IT WON'T BE VONAGE.....
If you are considering A VOIP Phone and are considering Vonage, PLEASE, PLEASE check the NJ Better Business Bureau first as there are some very unsatisfied people. They have numerous complaints against them. I will get off my soapbox now, but I just wanted to warn any potential Vonage customers of my hellacious experience
Harrybaby
aussigal
Well-known member
I wanna know about this too...I know my cousin in England uses video-chat on the computer to talk with his parents in Australia...but thats different again....
R
ruth
We have both now. Verizon VOIP and a land line for our business phone. Sometimes our VOIP is crummy but it's OK overall. We're on Comcast Cable high speed internet.
We each have cell phones, me, hubby & 2 teen sons. So, why does the house need a phone? Who's the house gonna call?
2 things about VOIPS.
#1 - REGISTER FOR 911!!! It doesn't know where you live until you tell it!
#2 - It won't work when the power goes out. Have a cell phone for backup.
Peace,
Ruth
We each have cell phones, me, hubby & 2 teen sons. So, why does the house need a phone? Who's the house gonna call?
2 things about VOIPS.
#1 - REGISTER FOR 911!!! It doesn't know where you live until you tell it!
#2 - It won't work when the power goes out. Have a cell phone for backup.
Peace,
Ruth
I used skype for a few months, but it always had a delay that really messed with my head.
hensylee
Well-known member
heck.......... in my area, I am still on dial up. Dark ages. I sometimes get an email that has attachments and while it downloads, I can take a shower, cook supper, walk out to the mailbox and when I get back it MIGHT be ready to view - or not!
True Confession time:
I actually decided to try Magic Jack. I never, never, ever buy anything from TV, but I felt that, worst case, I wasn't risking very much. I have Optimum Online cable, so that is what it's going through, but it's entirely independent of the cable company.
The instructions are that you plug it into your USB socket and plug in a standard phone on the other end. You don't load any software or set anything up. I bought a $6.99 phone at Walmart to hook into the other end (just in case it might fry my electronics, which it turned out it didn't).
I plugged it in like any hard-nosed, experienced, IT-trained person, knowing it would be foolish and ridiculous. You have to figure that it has to be set up for morons, probably morons who wouldn't know any better if it had lousy sound or jammed up their PCs with ads or used up their internet bandwidth with tattletale cookies and other consumer monitoring programs.
Disconcertingly, it works great. You actually get a dial tone. It can be unplugged and replugged at any time and resets itself. You get your own phone number. It's very simple to put your address into the 911 service (and free). The sound is very good and crisp (and no interference), and after the initital purchase (which wasn't very much), you can get all the phone time you want in the US and Canada for $20/year. Period. And if you know someone overseas and they also have a Magic Jack, those calls are covered by that $20, too (if I understood the documentation). Otherwise, you can purchase a cheap international package.
You can use your PC for other things at the same time. And it hasn't eaten up my internet bandwidth or jammed up my PC with ads.
I'm sure there are others out there as well, probably as good or better and/or as cheap (I'm not trying to sell these, after all, this is just the one I have experience with).
Up until now, I had been using the cell phone for long distance, but there are often issues with volume, interference, batteries running out, or signal fading in and out, especially when talking to older people on the cell phone. For the quality of the signal, I don't at all mind being tethered to the PC. A wireless phone handset would work, too, but I haven't bothered to try one.
So, I have to vote favorably for VOIP. Can't use it when the power's out, but for quality sound transmission on long distance calls, it's as good as a hardwired phone line.
Best wishes,
I actually decided to try Magic Jack. I never, never, ever buy anything from TV, but I felt that, worst case, I wasn't risking very much. I have Optimum Online cable, so that is what it's going through, but it's entirely independent of the cable company.
The instructions are that you plug it into your USB socket and plug in a standard phone on the other end. You don't load any software or set anything up. I bought a $6.99 phone at Walmart to hook into the other end (just in case it might fry my electronics, which it turned out it didn't).
I plugged it in like any hard-nosed, experienced, IT-trained person, knowing it would be foolish and ridiculous. You have to figure that it has to be set up for morons, probably morons who wouldn't know any better if it had lousy sound or jammed up their PCs with ads or used up their internet bandwidth with tattletale cookies and other consumer monitoring programs.
Disconcertingly, it works great. You actually get a dial tone. It can be unplugged and replugged at any time and resets itself. You get your own phone number. It's very simple to put your address into the 911 service (and free). The sound is very good and crisp (and no interference), and after the initital purchase (which wasn't very much), you can get all the phone time you want in the US and Canada for $20/year. Period. And if you know someone overseas and they also have a Magic Jack, those calls are covered by that $20, too (if I understood the documentation). Otherwise, you can purchase a cheap international package.
You can use your PC for other things at the same time. And it hasn't eaten up my internet bandwidth or jammed up my PC with ads.
I'm sure there are others out there as well, probably as good or better and/or as cheap (I'm not trying to sell these, after all, this is just the one I have experience with).
Up until now, I had been using the cell phone for long distance, but there are often issues with volume, interference, batteries running out, or signal fading in and out, especially when talking to older people on the cell phone. For the quality of the signal, I don't at all mind being tethered to the PC. A wireless phone handset would work, too, but I haven't bothered to try one.
So, I have to vote favorably for VOIP. Can't use it when the power's out, but for quality sound transmission on long distance calls, it's as good as a hardwired phone line.
Best wishes,
Ross
Well-known member
This is great. I have a modem that takes care of Cable broadband and telephone without interupting one or the other. Just use my phones as I normally would.
Ross, I have Time Warner Digital Phone and I LOVE IT!!
