Free Conference Call Services Can be Very Tempting

Our customers sometimes ask if we use one specific conference call service to get the best quality conference call recording.  The answer is both yes and no.

Clearly, the quality varies between conference call services.  PGi (Premiere Global Services) has the best audio quality we’ve heard, so we became an agent and have access to all their audio and web conferencing products.  However, we’ve also used several free conference call companies, because many times our customers already have accounts with a vendor—FreeConference.com and FreeConferenceCall.com seem to be the most popular.

There are several problems with free conference call services, and some can effect the quality of your recording.

What are the problems with free conference call services?

1. Many providers move the dial-in number from city to city—most likely because they are chasing the cheapest rates on their end.  I’ve also heard that they make money by routing callers to specific local exchange carriers.  This means that your “permanent” dial-in number is not so “permanent” after all.
2. Free conference call services use toll numbers, so you and your participants will pay long distance charges for the duration of the call.
3. Many times the call quality is poor.  Conference bridge quality can be good, or not-so-good.  Which do you think the free services are using?
4. Just about all of them charge excessively for anything other than a simple conference call.  That means they are expecting you to upgrade when you figure out that the service is not really free (see #2 above and consider how #3 can effect the definition of your brand).
5. A big limitation is the feature set.  Compare free conference call services to PGi’s GlobalMeet and you will see a huge difference.  For example, did you know that GlobalMeet has a web interface/control feature that gives you the ability to see a noisy phone line and mute it with a click of a button?  This feature alone can be a huge differentiator.

For those who must have the best quality—businesses that are going to re-purpose the call into a podcast, for example—we offer the complete line of PGi audio and web conferencing services, including GlobalMeet.  For those who would like to sample our recording quality, we offer a free conference call recording snippet, with no obligation.  That is, we will record your call and send you a sample of it so you can verify the quality before making a commitment.  Did I mention there is no obligation?

So there you have it, the 5 biggest problems with free conference call services.  Why did I not mention the advantages?  Well, because there is only one, and you already know what that is….  It’s free!

Have you had an experience with a free conference call company—good, bad or indifferent?  Tell us about it in the comments below.

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Abbey Road–One of the Best Recording Studios Ever

I’ve been asked by prospective customers, “What makes your conference call recording service better than the less expensive Brand X?”  After eight years in business, this question still bothers me; like someone is attacking my baby.  But it’s a legitimate question.  After all, none of us want to pay more for the same product or service.

So instead of taking it personally, I think of the types of products and services that I am willing to pay more for.

I have a Home Theater.  When I first built it, did I buy all the cheapest electronics: the smallest screen, the weakest amplifiers, the least expensive projector?  When I take my wife out to dinner, do I take her to McDonald’s every time?  Of course not.  In both cases, I usually look for a good value; good quality that doesn’t break the bank.  But I also consider what I’m hungry for that day—do I feel like steak, BBQ, or seafood.

I think this is how customers think about our services:

• Am I getting a good value?
• What do I need to accomplish my goals today?
• Will a free conference call recording from Brand X be sufficient, or will it make my brand suffer?

Why is Our Recording Service the Best?
If you are like me and want a good value, let me help.

When I started recording telephone calls digitally in 1996, there was absolutely no competition.  Conference call companies were still recording to cassette, but it was clear to me that MP3, RM and WMA were the future of conference recording.

But these audio file formats are delivery formats.  They are not meant to be recording formats or files you should use for editing.  They are formats you use when you deliver the final product to the customer.  They are what’s called a “compressed” file which will lose much of it’s quality if you don’t handle them properly.  This concept has been lost on some providers, or they never knew it to begin with.  In addition, these formats require great care when encoding.  Soft volume levels here, frequencies being over extended there—the result is a substandard file.

Here is where AudioFile Solutions is different.

1. We record the conference call manually, not using any automation.  We get perfect recording levels every time.
2. We record natively to uncompressed 16 bit wave files.  Conversion to a compressed format is done later in the process.
3. We trim any unwanted noise, on-hold music or blank space from the beginning and ending of the call.
4. We fade the beginning and ending to sound professional.
5. We optimize the audio for volume and frequency content.  This makes the file comparably loud to other audio files you may play on your computer.
6. We encode the final compressed audio file to our exact specifications, to any high quality format you might need.  Just try asking Brand X for an Ogg file and see what answer you get.

We strive to make our recording service flexible and able to meet your specific needs.  We truly believe this is a different model than what is practiced in the industry as a whole.  Give us a shot.  Ask us for something tough; something that no other company would ever give you.  We dare you…

photo by Hyougushi

The post 6 Reasons Our Conference Call Recording Service is the Best appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Jack Feels the Sting of 100 Angry Stares After Ruining the Most Important Conference Call of the Year

Most of our new conferencing customers come to us looking for an edge over their competition.  They’re looking to get their message out, but many have never had a conference call before.

Early on, we explain to them the features of our most popular audio conferencing product—PGi’s ReadyConference Plus—and go over the ins and outs of having a successful conference.  Invariably, we arrive at a very common customer question, “What about recording?  We want the best quality we can get.”  Well, that’s music to our ears since we were founded on providing the best quality conference call recordings possible over a standard telephone line.  “That’s the entire reason we exist,” we say.  “Would you like a high resolution MP3, Wave, WMA?”

That gets the discussion started, but none of the technical jargon matters if we don’t discuss the quality issues before the audio gets to our equipment.

There are five critical areas that must be addressed to get the best quality conference call recording.

1. All participants should be dialed-in on landline phones.
2. Non-speaking parties should be muted.
3. A handset or headset should be the tool of choice.
4. Call waiting should be disabled.
5. The on-hold button should be anathema!

All participants should use standard landline telephones.
It seems funny, but one of our oldest technologies is still one of our best.  However, don’t fall into the trap of pressing the speakerphone button—that is the quickest way to ruin your high-end recording.  Also, do not use a cell phone, a VOIP service, or even a wireless phone connected to a landline.  All of these technologies degrade the  conference call audio in some way and should be avoided.

The reality is, however, some of your participants will ignore the above “DO NOT USE” list.  ReadyConference to the rescue… see next step.

Non-speaking parties should be muted.
A great feature of ReadyConference Plus by PGi, is the *6 muting function.  Any participant who is not speaking should press *6—the system will mute that line individually.

As the Host/Moderator, you can also control a participant’s mute status from the online web interface.  That is, if an unusual amount of noise is coming from a specific line, you will see it and be able to mute that line with a click of a button.

Another method is to have all speakers dial-in with the Host/Moderator passcode, and all non-speakers use the participant code.  Before starting the formal part of the call, have a moderator press *96 to mute all participant lines.  This acts as a global mute and can come in very handy with a little bit of think-ahead planning.

A handset or headset should be the tool of choice.
A bit earlier, we talked about not using a speakerphone on a conference call.  Instead, use a headset.  Most headsets these days have very good audio quality and will allow you to talk with your hands free.  Once in awhile, even a good quality headset can “act up”.  At those times, pick up your old reliable handset; you’ll be amazed how good it sounds.

Disable the Call Waiting feature on your telephone.
Most telephone companies allow you to disable this feature temporarily.  Before dialing your conference, press your telephone company’s magic combination of buttons to disable this function—usually restored when you hang up.  *70 seems to be the ticket with Qwest, but be sure to check with your local telephone company.

Never…ever use your on-hold button during a conference call recording.
Many businesses have on-hold music for the enjoyment of the person waiting.  Imagine the surprise of all the conference call attendees when you put them on hold and they are treated to the Musak version of Beat It by Michael Jackson.  Ok, so maybe you like MJ, but the practical implication is that the conference call will come to a complete stop until you return—and then you will know what embarrassment truly is.  One hundred of your most important business contacts will be wondering why you just wasted their precious time, and they’ll be looking to “light you up”—maybe literally—like Jack in the picture above.

While these five steps won’t guarantee a perfect conference recording, they will catapult you above your competitors who are not following these steps.  Your company brand now has one more edge in the dog-eat-dog world of business.

photo by garybirnie

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