Computer telephony audio configuration
Contents
1. that can be utilized to test audio configuration settings Although the flow charts have been described as different embodiments for ease of illustration embodiments of the invention can include the tests of one or more of the flow charts FIG 6 shows a block diagram of one embodiment of the invention A telephony client graphical user interface GUI 301 can be shown in screen 5 of computer system 1 shown in FIG 1 GUI 301 is shown to include a configuration validation button 303 When the user clicks on or otherwise activates button 303 software is executed to validate the audio configuration of the system and can include steps that are described herein In validating the audio configuration a local program database 305 can be accessed in order to determine stored optimal settings for the audio configuration Additionally a network such as web based database 307 can be accessed to identify other optimal settings For example web based database 307 can store optimal settings for specific hard ware Once stored optimal settings are retrieved from a remote network the optimal settings can be stored locally on the computer for subsequent use As shown FIG 6 illustrates that a series of audio con figuration validation checks can be performed with the output results being displayed on GUI 301 A first configu ration validation check 309 is performed and output results 311 of the first check are displayed to the user Although a sing2. B1 Validating Audio Configuration Examine the Computer to Determine Hardware of the 201 Computer Retrieve an Audio Configuration Setting of the 203 Computer 207 205 No Access Network to Retrieve the Stored Optimal Setting Yes 209 Compare the Audio Configuration Setting to a Stored Optimal Setting 213 Log Non optimal Audio Configuration Setting 211 Yes on 215 No Display a Report That Audio Configuration Setting s Is Not Optimal if Not Equal to Stored Optimal Setting s 217 FIG 4 U S Patent May 4 2004 Sheet 4 of 9 US 6 731 993 B1 Validating Audio Configuration Retrieve Multiple Audio Configuration Settings of 251 the Computer Analyze the Audio Configuration Settings 293 257 No Log Non Optimal Audio Configuration Setting Display a Report That Audio Configuration Setting s Is Not Optimal if Not Optimal in Relation to Other Setting s 261 FIG 5 U S Patent May 4 2004 Sheet 5 of 9 US 6 731 993 B1 307 305 Web based Local Database Program for Updates Database 319 317 End of Remote Installation Activation Activation Tech Support Config Validate Button 301 309 311 inm Y 313 Last Config Validation Check 315 Output Results of Last Check FIG 6 U S Patent May 4 2004 Sheet 6 of 9 US 6 731 993 B1 Validation Tests Check Microphone Record Control and Line Input 401 Record Control Selection Check for No Microp
3. driver combination Referring now to FIG 7B the Play Control Wave Mute setting is checked in test 431 If the Play Control Wave Mute setting is selected a message is displayed advising the user that this setting turns off the playing of computer telephony audio through his output device and is almost always an error in the audio configuration for this system At a test 433 the Play Control Advanced area for Micro phone Boost activation is checked on WINDOWS 95 only If the Microphone Boost activation is selected the user is advised that background noise and or echo are likely to be at unacceptably high levels Microphone Boost activation permits the use of microphones that are not well matched to the sound card being used However Microphone Boost activation accomplishes this result through excessive inher ently high noise amplification The user will be advised if this item is selected that it is much better to have a microphone that both matches the sound card being used and has this setting turned off Another possibility is that the microphone is matched correctly but this setting was selected by mistake and the microphone record volume was reduced to compensate In this case the user is advised to simply deselect the Microphone Boost activation setting and increase the Record Control microphone volume setting which will reduce background noise levels being transmit ted In summary selecting this setting is almost always an erro
4. message is generated because this is the correct audio configuration in only a small minority of US 6 731 993 B1 7 cases Additionally a message can be issued that tells the user to verify that if this is the correct configuration he should verify that the physical connection of the microphone is to the Line In port of the sound card Further a message can be displayed that indicates if the user s microphone is designed to be connected to the Microphone Input then the user needs to insure that the microphone is connected to the Microphone Input port on the sound card and to reconfigure the Microphone Record Control to be selected instead of the Line Input Record Control Acheck is made at a test 403 for no Microphone Record Control and Line Input Record Control selection If neither the Microphone Record Control nor the Line Input Record Control is selected a message can be displayed to the user that an error has been found with this part of the audio configuration Computer telephony microphones almost always connect to one of these inputs usually the Micro phone Input port If neither is selected there is likely an error and the user can be informed that one of these selections should be made At a test 405 a check is made for any other Record Control input selections If there are other Record Control inputs selected the user can be informed that these other inputs should be deselected to eliminate one potential source of n
5. person give instructions to a user over the telephone or by e mail utilize an application sharing session or the like The expert can be employed by the company be an independent contractor or be employed by a computer telephony vendor A major disadvantage of utilizing information technology experts for audio configuration is the high cost of employing the experts which will inevitably be passed on to the companies that are utilizing the computer telephony sys tems Additionally these companies will be further frus trated by the difficulty in getting computer telephony to work correctly as they are used to traditional telephones that were plugged in and simply worked Another solution to audio configuration complexities that does not have as high a cost is the use of documentation 10 15 20 25 30 35 45 50 55 60 65 2 Companies have attempted to document such as on a web page an application note or in a user manual the audio configuration issues for computer telephony clients and suggested solutions Unfortunately many if not most users do not have the initiative or the time to utilize such docu mentation Therefore this low cost solution has achieved results that are far from satisfactory It would be beneficial to have innovative techniques for validating an audio configuration of a computer Additionally it would be beneficial to have techniques that automatically checked the audio configur
6. the audio configu ration is one of a plurality of audio configurations that are validated 13 The method of claim 1 wherein the stored optimal setting is optimal for computer telephony applications 14 The method of claim 5 further comprising examining the computer to determine hardware of the computer and wherein said stored optimal setting is also based on the hardware of the computer and said hardware of the computer is stored in a configuration database 15 The method of claim 14 wherein the configuration database is a WINDOWS Registry 16 The method of claim 14 wherein the stored optimal setting is stored in a database that stores optimal settings for different hardware 17 The method of claim 16 further comprising accessing a network to retrieve the stored optimal setting for the hardware if the stored optimal setting is not in the database that stores optimal settings for different hardware 5 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 12 18 The method of claim 17 wherein the stored optimal setting is optimal for computer telephony applications 19 A computer program product that validates an audio configuration of a computer comprising computer code that retrieves an audio configuration set ting of the computer computer code that compares the audio configuration setting to a stored optimal setting computer code that displays a report to a user that the audio configuration setting of
7. the computer is not optimal if the audio configuration setting is not equal to the stored optimal setting and a computer readable medium that stores the computer codes 20 The computer program product of claim 19 wherein the computer readable medium is a CD ROM floppy disk tape flash memory system memory hard drive or a data signal embodied in a carrier wave 21 The computer program product of claim 19 further comprising computer code that examines the computer to determine hardware of the computer and wherein said stored optimal setting is further based on the hardware of the computer 22 A system comprising processor and a computer readable medium storing a computer program including computer code that retrieves an audio con figuration setting of the computer computer code that compares the audio configuration setting to a stored optimal setting and computer code that displays a report to a user that the audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal if the audio configuration setting is not equal to the stored optimal setting 23 The system of claim 22 wherein the computer read able medium is a CD ROM floppy disk tape flash memory system memory hard drive or a data signal embodied in a carrier wave 24 The system of claim 22 wherein said computer program also includes computer code that examines the computer to determine hardware of the computer and wherein said stored optimal se
8. 1 56 59 audio quality for such uses as computer telephony 101 103 96 345 727 728 379 90 01 Additionally the report can indicate a recommendation on changing the audio configuration to improve audio quality 56 References Cited and can assist the user in making the audio configuration change U S PATENT DOCUMENTS 5 797 028 A 8 1998 Gulick et al 33 Claims 9 Drawing Sheets Validating Audio Configuration Retrieve an Audio Configuration Setting of the 101 Computer Compare the Audio Configuration Setting to a 103 Stored Optimal Setting Log Non Optimal Audio Configuration Setting Display a Report That Audio Configuration Setting s is Not Optimal if Not Equal to Stored Optimal Setting s U S Patent May 4 2004 Sheet 1 of 9 US 6 731 993 B1 zn P 51 53 55 57 x pes 67 59 61 Display Sound Adapter Card 3 9 11 63 65 Network Display Keyboard Transducers Interface FIG 2 U S Patent May 4 2004 Validating Audio Configuration Retrieve an Audio Configuration Setting of the Computer Compare the Audio Configuration Setting to a Stored Optimal Setting 105 No y Yes 109 0 No Display a Report That Audio Configuration Setting s is Not Optimal if Not Equal to Stored Optimal Setting s Sheet 2 of 9 US 6 731 993 B1 101 103 107 Log Non Optimal Audio Configuration Setting 111 FIG 3 U S Patent May 4 2004 Sheet 3 of 9 US 6 731 993
9. US006731993B1 a2 United States Patent ao Patent No US 6 731 993 B1 Carter et al 45 Date of Patent May 4 2004 54 COMPUTER TELEPHONY AUDIO 5 870 465 A 2 1999 Hosbach et al CONFIGURATION 5 896 443 A 4 1999 Dichter 5 917 893 A 6 1999 Katz 75 Inventors George E Carter Santa Clara CA 5 983 068 A 11 1999 Tomich et al US Shmuel Shaffer Palo Alto CA 6 003 097 A 12 1999 Richman et al 710 8 US William J Beyda Cupertino CA 6 009 151 A 12 1999 Staples US 6 009 398 A 12 1999 Mueller et al 6 011 851 A 1 2000 Connor et al 73 Assignee Siemens Information amp 6 067 084 A 5 2000 Fado et al ss 345 708 6 492 999 B1 12 2002 Fado et al 345 727 Communication Networks Inc Boca Raton FL US cited by examiner Notice Subject to any disclaimer the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U S C 154 b by 0 days Primary Examiner Melur Ramakrishnaiah 21 Appl No 09 527 074 6p ABSTRACT 22 Filed Mar 16 2000 Techniques for validating an audio configuration of a com 7 puter are provided Validation tests are performed on the Ci Inte CE o o eed G06E 17 00 audio configuration and results from the tests are displayed 52 IUS C SR ee es 700 94 345 727 to a user as a report The report can include an indication of 58 Field of Search sss 700 94 710 8 the audio configuration settings that will adversely affect the 710 9 11 713 1 709 219 220 38
10. ange If the settings are determined to not be equal the non optimal audio configuration setting is logged at a step 107 Otherwise it is determined whether there are more audio configuration settings to test at a step 109 and the flow continues to step 101 if there are more audio configuration settings to be tested At a step 111 a report indicating that one or more audio configuration settings is not optimal if any were not equal to the stored optimal setting or settings is displayed to a user Generation of the report typically involves combining the non optimal audio configuration settings that were logged at step 107 The report can indicate to the user the particular audio configuration settings that are not optimal the reasons the audio configuration setting should be changed the value that the audio configuration settings should be changed to and additional instructions on how the user can implement the changes In cases where a configuration setting is wrong and there is only one correct reassignment this correction can be made automatically and the user is advised The report has been described as indicating the non optimal configuration settings however the report can also include the audio configuration settings that are equal to or within optimal settings The flow chart described in reference to FIG 3 can be utilized to validate an audio configuration of a computer and US 6 731 993 B1 5 more specifically to vali
11. at a step 207 For example hardware manufacturers can store optimal settings for their hardware on their web site It should be noted that not all of the configuration settings may be dependent upon the hardware of the computer and these configuration settings can be handled as described in reference to FIG 3 At a step 209 the audio configuration setting is compared to the stored optimal setting As described above the opti mal setting can be a specific value or a range of values If the audio configuration setting is determined at a step 211 not to be equal to the stored optimal setting then the non optimal audio configuration setting is logged at a step 213 If it is determined at a step 215 that there are more audio configu ration settings to test the system continues to step 203 to test the additional audio configuration settings If there are no more audio configuration settings to test then at a step 217 a report indicating that an audio configu ration setting or settings is not optimal if the audio con figuration setting is not equal to the stored optimal setting is displayed An example of a report that can be displayed is shown in FIG 8 and will be described later in more detail in reference to that figure FIG 5 shows a flowchart of a process of validating an audio configuration of a computer that analyzes multiple audio configuration settings in relation to one another At a step 251 multiple audio configuration settin
12. ation of a computer telephony system and indicated to the user the settings that should be changed to fix or improve audio quality SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides innovative techniques for validating an audio configuration of a computer In general one or a series of audio configuration settings of the com puter are retrieved and compared to a stored optimal setting or settings A report can then be generated to a user that indicates the audio configuration settings that should be changed which can be specifically optimized according to the specific hardware of the computer system In this manner users can quickly and efficiently verify the audio configuration of their computers Some embodiments of the invention are described below In one embodiment the invention provides a computer implemented method of validating an audio configuration of a computer An audio configuration setting of the computer is retrieved The retrieved audio configuration setting is compared to a stored optimal setting If the audio configu ration setting is not equal to the stored optimal setting a report indicating that the audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal is displayed to a user The stored optimal setting can be a specific value or a range of values that can be stored locally on the computer or remotely on a network In another embodiment the invention provides a com puter implemented method of validatin
13. ations in this area result in poor sound quality and many misconfigurations can prevent the audio from working at all Full duplex operation is checked at a test 467 Full duplex operation is checked by opening the sound card for both input and output If either the hardware or software driver do not permit this operation a message notes the lack of full duplex support and advises the user that the installation of either an appropriate full duplex driver or a full duplex card and driver combination is required The open connections to the sound card for both input and output should also be closed before the validation tests continue At a test 469 the software versions are checked for all installed software A message is displayed indicating any software that is older than the oldest supported release or any software that is known to be incompatible with any other installed software At a test 471 the percentage of lost RTP audio media data packets is checked The percentage of RTP data packets that were lost since the last of either system startup or the last audio configuration validation is determined This percent 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 10 age or value is read from the RTP software module and is not included in the WINDOWS Registry If this value is more than a specific amount e g 2 a message indicating the percentage of RTP data packets being lost is displayed along with a notat
14. awings the same or similar structures will be identified by the same reference numerals US 6 731 993 B1 3 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 illustrates an example of a computer system that can be utilized to execute the software of an embodiment of the invention and use hardware embodiments FIG 2 illustrates a system block diagram of the computer system of FIG 1 FIG 3 shows a flowchart of a process of validating an audio configuration of a computer FIG 4 shows a flowchart of a process of validating an audio configuration of a computer that takes into account the specific hardware of the computer FIG 5 shows a flowchart of a process of validating an audio configuration of a computer that analyzes multiple audio configuration settings in relation to one another FIG 6 shows a block diagram of an embodiment that allows users to have a series of validation checks performed on the audio configuration of a computer telephony system FIGS 7A 7C show a flowchart of a series of validation tests that can be performed to validate the audio configura tion of a computer telephony system FIG 8 shows a sample screen display of a report that indicates to a user audio configuration settings that are incorrect or not optimal for computer telephony applica tions DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In the description that follows the present invention will be described in reference to embodiments that validate an audio co
15. d of claim 1 wherein the stored optimal setting is a specific value or a range of values 3 The method of claim 1 wherein the stored optimal setting is stored locally on the computer 4 The method of claim 1 wherein the stored optimal setting is stored remotely on a network 5 The method of claim 1 wherein the audio configuration relates to hardware of the computer 6 The method of claim 5 further comprising retrieving the stored optimal setting for the hardware from a database that stores optimal settings for different hardware 7 The method of claim 1 further comprising retrieving a plurality of audio configuration settings of the computer analyzing the plurality of audio configuration settings and displaying in the report to the user that an audio configu ration setting of the computer is not optimal if the audio configuration setting is not optimal in relation to one or more of the other audio configuration settings 8 The method of claim 7 wherein analyzing further includes computing a Boolean or numerical calculation on the plurality of audio configuration settings 9 The method of claim 7 wherein the report also includes the one or more of the other audio configuration settings 10 The method of claim 1 wherein the report also includes the stored optimal setting 11 The method of claim 1 wherein the report also includes information on changing the audio configuration 12 The method of claim 1 wherein
16. date the configuration for computer telephony applications Another complication is that some hardware manufacturers e g video card manufacturers design their hardware so that it is better suited for some specific applications Therefore in some embodiments the optimal settings can be adjusted or set according to the specific hardware that is in the computer FIG 4 shows a flowchart of a process of validating an audio configuration of a computer that takes into account the hardware of the computer As seen in FIG 4 at a step 201 the computer is examined to determine hardware of the computer At a step 203 an audio configu ration setting of the computer is retrieved Typically the identification of hardware installed on the computer such as audio and video cards is specified in a configuration data base In the newest version of the WINDOWS operating systems the configuration database is the Registry Software can examine the contents of the configuration database to determine the hardware of the computer Other operating systems have similar mechanisms including configuration files that store this information It is then determined at a step 205 whether an optimal setting for the hardware of the computer is stored locally If so the system proceeds to step 209 However if the stored optimal setting is not found locally a network such as a local area network or the Internet is accessed to retrieve the stored optimal setting
17. e message reminding the user that audio quality and other problems may occur when running this computer telephony client on under powered systems At a test 445 the video driver is checked for overuse of the PCI bus Some video drivers are known for their overly aggressive use of the PCI bus A list of these video drivers US 6 731 993 B1 9 is consulted and if a match is obtained a message is displayed to advise that the use of the installed video driver can result in audio quality problems If a video driver known to be more compatible with high audio quality exists for the card and the operating system being used a message can be displayed specifying the exact name of that driver and where it can be obtained In some embodiments the better driver can be automatically located and downloaded e g from the Internet Ata test 461 in FIG 7C the sound card driver is checked to determine if it creates known audio quality problems or if it adversely impacts system reliability There are known sound card drivers that cause audio quality problems or adversely impact system reliability and the installed sound card driver is compared to a list of such drivers If the sound card driver is on the list a message is displayed informing the user that the current sound card driver may cause audio quality problems or adversely impact system reliability The sound card driver can be checked to determine whether it is equal to or newer than the recomm
18. e of a report that can be displayed to a user FIG 8 shows a screen display including a window 501 that includes a report of the result from the validation tests as described in reference to FIGS 7A 7C A window 501 indicates that after performing the automated audio configu ration validation some audio configuration settings were determined to be incorrect or not optimal A result 503 indicates that the Mute All Record Control is selected and that this will prevent sending audio Additionally result 503 includes a recommendation to the user to de select the Mute All Record Control setting In this embodiment if the user is unsure how to make the recommended change to the audio configuration a help button 505 can be activated and the user will be shown how to make the recommended audio configuration change Result 503 can be generated from validation test 407 in FIG 7A In FIG 8 a result 507 indicates that the Play Control setting is greater than 70 and that a setting above 70 clipping may be evident Additionally result 507 recom mends to the user to lower the Play Control to 70 As before a help button 509 may be activated by the user in order to receive more detained inspections on changing the audio configuration as recommended Result 507 may be generated from validation test 409 in FIG 7A In the report shown in FIG 8 only the validation tests that recommended an audio configuration change were shown In other embodiments
19. educed wiring costs Additionally in theory computer telephony can offer easier administration In the past the computer and network technologies had not advanced to the point where the quality of computer telephony approached the quality of conventional telephone systems Therefore the cost and convenience savings of computer telephony came at a price of lower quality However as computer and network technologies continue to improve the quality differential is diminishing or is non existent and so computer telephony is becoming more and more prevalent One of the major problems facing computer telephony clients is that they are executing on computers with general purpose operating systems These general purpose operating systems are designed to support a wide variety of applica tions so there are typically a very large number of audio configuration settings Although the numerous audio con figuration settings allow the computers to be very flexible and adaptable to a wide variety of applications there is a considerable increase in complexity in audio configuration Audio configuration errors and less than optimal configu rations are common which often results in a variety of audio quality problems that in turn impede the effectiveness of computer telephony systems The conventional solution to complex audio configuration of computer systems is to rely on information technology experts The expert can set the audio configuration in
20. ended earliest acceptable version If the sound card driver is older than recommended the user can be informed that sound quality can be increased or system reliability improved by installing a supported newer version The sound card driver can also be checked to determine if it uses lower fidelity analog to digital or digital to analog conversion for one of the two paths open for a full duplex connection at a test 463 There can be stored a list of sound card drivers that use lower fidelity conversion and the current sound card driver can be checked if it is on that list Some very popular sound cards support 16 bit A D conver sion for the first path opened but only 8 bit A D conversion for the other path of a full duplex link The user can be advised that if one direction of the communication from their computer telephony client is always low quality regard less of the end point the lower fidelity conversion can be the cause The user can be advised that the best solution is the replacement of the sound card with one that supports 16 bit or better A D in both directions At a test 465 the Registry can be checked to see if the current audio configuration settings of the sound card are causing any conflicts If the settings are causing a conflict a message can be displayed informing the user exactly what resource IRQ port address or DMA is conflicting and that the user should resolve his conflict in the Control Panel Some misconfigur
21. g an audio configu ration of a computer The computer is examined to deter mine hardware of the computer An audio configuration setting of the computer is retrieved The audio configuration setting is compared to a stored optimal setting based on the hardware of the computer If the audio configuration setting is not equal to the stored optimal setting a report indicating that the audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal is displayed to a user Typically the hardware of the computer is stored in a configuration database such as a WINDOWS Registry In preferred embodiments the stored optimal setting is one that is optimal for computer telephony applications In another embodiment the invention provides a com puter implemented method of validating an audio configu ration of a computer Multiple audio configuration settings of the computer are retrieved The audio configuration settings are analyzed If the audio configuration setting is not optimal in relation to one or more of the other audio configuration settings a report indicating that an audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal is displayed to a user The audio configuration settings can be analyzed by computing a Boolean calculation numerical calculation or the like Other features and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent upon the review of the following description in association with the accompanying drawings In the dr
22. g of the computer is not optimal if the audio configuration setting is not optimal in relation to one or more of the other audio configu ration settings and a computer readable medium that stores the computer codes 31 The computer program product of claim 30 wherein the computer readable medium is a CD ROM floppy disk tape flash memory system memory hard drive or a data signal embodied in a carrier wave 10 15 14 32 A system comprising a processor and a computer readable medium storing a computer program including computer code that retrieves a plurality of audio configuration settings of the computer computer code that analyzes the plurality of audio configuration settings and computer code that displays a report to a user that an audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal if the audio configuration setting is not optimal in relation to one or more of the other audio configuration settings 33 The system of claim 32 wherein the computer read able medium is a CD ROM floppy disk tape flash memory system memory hard drive or a data signal embodied in a carrier wave
23. gs of the com puter are retrieved The audio configuration settings then are analyzed at a step 253 The analysis can include Boolean numerical or other calculations in order to determine if an audio configuration setting or settings is optimal or appro priate in relation to the other audio configuration setting or settings If at a step 255 it is determined that an audio configu ration setting is not optimal in relation to the other audio configuration settings then the non optimal audio configu ration setting is logged at a step 257 Otherwise it is determined whether there are more audio configuration settings to test at a step 259 The system continues to step 251 if there are more audio configuration settings to be tested 10 15 20 25 30 45 50 55 60 65 6 If there are no more audio configuration settings to be tested then at a step 261 a report indicating that one or more audio configuration settings is not optimal if any were not optimal in relation to another audio configuration setting or settings is displayed to a user As before the report can indicate to the user the particular audio configuration set tings that are not optimal the reasons the audio configura tion setting should be changed the value that the audio configuration settings should be changed to and additional instructions on how the user can implement the changes FIGS 3 4 and 5 have described different types of analysis
24. hone Record Control and Line Input Record Control Selection Check for Any Other Record 405 Control Input Selections Check Mute All Record 407 Control Setting Check All Volume Control 403 Settings on the Play Control 403 Check All Volume Control Settings on the Selected 411 Record Controls Check Balance Controls for 413 Midpoint Settings Check Play Control 415 Microphone Mute Setting O FIG 7A U S Patent May 4 2004 Sheet 7 of 9 f Check Play Control Wave Mute Setting 431 Check the Play Control Advanced Area for Microphone Boost Activation for Windows 95 433 Check Play Control Advanced Area Bass Setting dun Check Play Control Advanced Area Treble Setting 437 Check Unused Inputs on Play Control 433 Check Processor Type and Speed Check Memory Size Check Video Driver for Overuse of PCI Bus FIG 7B 441 443 445 US 6 731 993 B1 U S Patent May 4 2004 Sheet 8 of 9 US 6 731 993 B1 Check Sound Card Driver 461 e Check Sound Card Driver for Lower Fidelity A D or D A 463 Conversion Check Registry for Conflicts 465 Check for Full Duplex peration 467 Check Software Versions 469 Check the Percentage of Lost RTP Audio Media 471 Data Packets Check the Variation in RTP Data Packet Inter arrival 473 Times or Jitter ER C2 US 6 731 993 B1 Sheet 9 of 9 May 4 2004 U S Pa
25. ion that this can impact audio quality Additionally the user can be informed that a network and or processor upgrade or configuration changes are likely needed to reduce this percentage In one embodiment the percentage is a variable that can be changed over time with an initial value of 2 The variation in RTP data packet inter arrival times also known as jitter is checked at a test 473 The variation in RTP data packet inter arrival times is determined since the last of either system startup or the last audio configuration validation The variation is read from the RTP software module and is not included in the WINDOWS Registry On a system without a jitter buffer if the variation exceeds a predetermined amount a message is output noting that jitter has reached the read variation and is impacting audio quality In one embodiment the predetermined value is a variable that can be changed over time with an initial value of 50 milliseconds On systems with a jitter buffer if the read variation exceeds a predetermined value a message notes that jitter has reached the read variation which is impacting audio quality because delays of this magnitude constitute a problem in itself apart from problems created by the varia tion In one embodiment the predetermined value is a variable set to initially 400 milliseconds Now that a series of validation tests in one embodiment have been described in detail it may be beneficial to show an exampl
26. le validation check can be performed typical embodi ments include a series of validation checks that end with a last configuration validation check 313 and output results 315 of the last check that are displayed in GUI 301 The output results can be combined into a single report for the user to view As further shown in FIG 6 remote activation 317 of audio validation checks can be initiated by technical support personnel and activation 319 of audio validation checks at the end of installation also can be initiated In order to show one embodiment of the invention the linear series of audio validation checks can be performed on a computer telephony system utilizing the WINDOWS 95 98 and NT operating system with a widely deployed sound card and driver installed the SoundBlaster 16 AWE line Analogous checks can be made on other computer telephony systems For example other less popular sound cards and drivers may require many of the same tests but there can be some variations based on the capability of the card the driver and the associated sound card software At a test 401 of FIG 7A the Microphone Record Control and Line Input Record Control selection is checked If the Microphone Record Control is not selected and the Line Input Record Control is selected a message sent to verify that a user s microphone is designed to be connected to the Line In port of the sound card as has been specified can be displayed to the user This
27. nfiguration of a computer system More specifically the embodiments will be described in reference to preferred embodiments that validate the audio configuration of the computer for telephony applications However the inven tion is not limited to the specific applications architectures or implementations described herein as the invention can be implemented in different ways Therefore the description of the embodiment that follows is for purposes of illustration and not limitation FIG 1 illustrates an example of a computer system that can be used to execute the software of an embodiment of the invention and use hardware embodiments FIG 1 shows a computer system 1 that includes a display 3 screen 5 cabinet 7 keyboard 9 and mouse 11 Mouse 11 can have one or more buttons for interacting with a graphical user inter face GUI Cabinet 7 houses a CD ROM drive 13 system memory and a hard drive see FIG 2 which can be utilized to store and retrieve software programs incorporating com puter code that implements aspects of the invention data for use with the invention and the like Although CD ROM 15 is shown as an exemplary computer readable storage medium other computer readable storage media including floppy disk tape flash memory system memory and hard drive can be utilized Additionally a data signal embodied in a carrier wave e g in a network including the Internet can be the computer readable storage medium FIG 2 show
28. oise unless for example the user wishes to play CD audio or a MIDI file as part of a computer telephony call The Mute All Record Control setting is checked at a test 407 If the Mute All Record Control is selected a message can be displayed to the user that this is an error that will prevent sending any audio from this computer telephony system to the network At a test 409 all the volume control settings on the Play Control are checked A message can be output for any volume control that is set above 70 of maximum advising the user that driving amplifiers in this top range can lead to clipping Also the user can be advised to reduce the volume control to 70 and then to increase the volume on the external speakers until the desired level is reached The user can also be informed that if the volume on the external speakers are set to over 70 of maximum a higher power amplifier may be needed so that a lower volume setting on the external speakers can be used in order to receive better audio quality All the volume control settings on the selected Record Controls are checked at a test 411 If any volume control setting is above 70 of maximum the user can be advised that driving such preamplifiers in this top range can lead to clipping If the user has to set the volume control setting to above 70 in order to get adequate volume at the far end the user can be advised to investigate whether the micro phone is plugged into the correct in
29. put port whether the microphone s output voltage is sufficient and whether the microphone s impedance is matched to the specifications of the sound card If not a message can be displayed advising the user that better sound quality can be obtained by either using a different microphone with specifications better matching the sound card or by inserting an intervening microphone amplifier At a test 413 the balance controls are checked for midpoint settings If non midpoint settings are found a message will advise the user that non midpoint settings of this control can cause one speaker to be driven at a higher volume than the other causing the audio to sound different than most people are expecting In one embodiment non midpoint settings are defined as being more than 5 from the nominal midpoint value Thus the midpoint range occupies the central 10 of the balance range 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 8 The Play Control Microphone Mute setting is checked at a test 415 If the Play Control Microphone Mute setting is not selected a message can be displayed advising the user that the output of the speakers will contain a mix of audio from the far end and his own amplified voice This sidetone signal is far too loud with the SoundBlaster driver and cannot be appropriately adjusted with this driver Thus this mute setting should be selected which turns off the sidetone on this sound card and
30. r if one wishes to have high sound quality and the user will be advised of the specifics of this setting The Play Control Advanced area Bass setting is checked at a test 435 If this setting is in the upper 3346 of the range a message is output that such a bass enhancement is asso ciated with lower levels of vocal clarity and that reducing this setting can increase vocal clarity Similarly the Play Control Advanced area Treble setting can be checked at a test 437 If this setting is in the lower 3346 of the range a message can be output that such treble minimization is associated with lower levels of vocal clarity and that increas ing this setting can increase vocal clarity The unused inputs on Play Control are checked at a test 439 A message can be displayed informing users that if they notice persistent background noise is being transmitted they should try to mute the unused input in this control For some sound cards this will reduce background noise levels Users that are not experiencing background noise problems can ignore this message At a test 441 the processor type and speed are checked If the processor type and speed are below a recommended minimum a message reminding the user that audio quality and other problems may occur when running this computer telephony client on under powered systems can be output In a similar manner the memory size is checked at a test 443 If the memory size is below a recommended minimum th
31. s a system block diagram of computer system 1 used to execute a software of an embodiment of the invention or use hardware embodiments As in FIG 1 computer system 1 includes monitor 3 and keyboard 9 and mouse 11 Computer system 1 further includes subsystems such as a central processor 51 system memory 53 fixed storage 55 e g hard drive removable storage 57 e g CD ROM drive display adapter 59 sound card 61 trans ducers 63 speakers microphones and the like and net work interface 65 The network interface may provide the communication to the computer telephony network Other 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 4 computer systems suitable for use with the invention can include additional or fewer subsystems For example another computer system could include more than one processor 51 i e a multi processor system or a cache memory The system bus architecture of computer system 1 is represented by arrows 67 However these arrows are illus trative of any interconnection scheme serving to link the subsystems For example a local bus could be utilized to connect the central processor to the system memory and or display adapter Computer system 1 shown in FIG 2 is but an example of a computer system suitable for use with the invention Other computer architectures having different configurations of subsystems can also be utilized Currently computer telephony applications are exec
32. tent 60S SOS 8 Old 060 01 BuJ3M0 puatuulo29y Buiddijo 01 pea ue 94047 eA oqy 02 UBY 19 834D si 041007 e g 206 9 es ap puauul029y olpne Buipuas 1u9A2Jd IM SIUL pe199J8s s 0J1u07 p1028H IV ANN Jewndo JOU 10 1994102UI 0S ase sDunjes uongin6iuoo opne Huimoyjo au uonepijeA uoneinDiuo opny US 6 731 993 B1 1 COMPUTER TELEPHONY AUDIO CONFIGURATION BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to audio configuration for computer systems More particularly the invention relates to validating an audio configuration of a computer for com puter telephony Conventional telephones operate using circuit switched technology The circuit switched telephone backbone is composed of dedicated copper wires or fiber optic cables that are typically owned by the telephone companies In general the telephone companies charge telephone call fees based on the duration of the call and the distance between the caller and receiver that are designed to cover the costs for installing expanding and maintaining the telephone backbone With packet switched telephone systems a speaker s voice or other data is broken down and sent over a computer network as multiple packets Computer telephony can offer significant cost savings because dedicated network connections are replaced by network connections shared among many users which results in much more efficient use of bandwidth and r
33. the report can include results from all the validation tests whether an audio configure change is recommended or not It should be evident that the informa tion and layout of the report can be varied greatly and the invention is not limited by the embodiment described herein While the above is complete description of an exemplary embodiment of the invention various alternatives modifi cations and equivalents can be used It should be evident that the invention is equally applicable by making appropriate modifications to the embodiments described above For US 6 731 993 B1 11 example the techniques described above were utilized to optimize an audio configuration for computer telephony but the invention can also be advantageously applied to opti mizing or validating audio configurations or other uses Therefore the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the invention that is defined by the metes and bounds of the following claims along with their full scope of equivalents What is claimed 1 A computer implemented method of validating an audio configuration of a computer comprising retrieving an audio configuration setting of the computer comparing the audio configuration setting to a stored optimal setting and displaying a report to a user that the audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal if the audio configuration setting is not equal to the stored optimal setting 2 The metho
34. tting is further based on the hardware of the computer 25 A computer implemented method of validating an audio configuration of a computer comprising retrieving a plurality of audio configuration settings of the computer analyzing the plurality of audio configuration settings and displaying a report to a user that an audio configuration setting of the computer is not optimal if the audio configuration setting is not optimal in relation to one or more of the other audio configuration settings 26 The method of claim 25 wherein analyzing further includes computing a Boolean or numerical calculation on the plurality of audio configuration settings 27 The method of claim 25 wherein the report also includes the one or more of the other audio configuration settings 28 The method of claim 25 wherein the report also includes information on changing the audio configuration 29 The method of claim 25 wherein the audio configu ration setting optimal in relation to the one or more of the other audio configuration settings for computer telephony applications US 6 731 993 B1 13 30 A computer program product that validates an audio configuration of a computer comprising computer code that retrieves a plurality of audio configu ration settings of the computer computer code that analyzes the plurality of audio con figuration settings computer code that displays a report to a user that an audio configuration settin
35. uted on general purpose computers that have operating systems that are designed to run a wide variety of applications Accordingly there are typically numerous audio configura tion settings that can be adjusted to accommodate specific applications which can make validating an audio configu ration difficult FIG 3 shows a flow chart of a process of validating an audio configuration of a computer according to a specific embodiment of the invention The process can be initiated any number of ways such as by a direct request of a user e g clicking on a window object upon start up of a computer telephony application upon completion of install ing a computer telephony application and by remote access by information technology support personnel At a step 101 an audio configuration setting of the computer is retrieved Audio configuration settings are typically stored in a con figuration database which is the Registry in WINDOWS operating systems Other operating systems have analogous mechanisms for storing configuration information The audio configuration setting is compared to a stored optimal setting at a step 103 The optimal setting can be a specific value or can specify a range of values At a step 105 it is determined if the audio configuration setting is equal to the stored optimal setting In the case where the optimal setting is a range of values it is determined if the audio configuration setting is within the specified r
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