First Look: Audiocodes 320HD IP Phone

The AudioCodes 320HD IP Phone is nearing release and enters a growing field of High Definition VoIP endpoints. The Audiocodes 320HD is a 4-line IP Phone with a large Monochrome LCD screen. Based on AudioCodes’ VoIPerfectHD software, the 320HD is designed to utilize the most popular wideband codecs such as G.722, G.722.2 (WB-AMR), G.729.1, EVRC-B and G.711-WBE.

The Audiocodes 320HD also features enhanced proprietary capabilities, such as packet loss concealment, high quality wideband acoustic echo canceller, and low-delay adaptive jitter buffers to enrich the HD VoIP experience.

The AudioCodes 320HD promises interoperability with a wide range of SIP IP-PBXs, Softswitches and IP Centrex solutions. I’m currently running the 320HD as my primary extension on Switchvox 4.0 and setup was painless.

The term “HD VoIP” refers to the use of wideband codec technology, a marked improvement in audio clarity versus traditional telephony. The traditional Public Switch Telephony Network (PSTN) limits bandwidth to 300-3400Hz and voice signals are sampled at a rate of 8 kHz, causing limitations in communication quality and comprehension.

With HD VoIP, wideband telephony refers to transmitting speech signals with bandwidths ranging between 50-7000Hz and a sampling rate of 16 kHz. HD VoIP effectively doubles the narrowband speech signal bandwidth and offers the caller “true voice” conversation.

Compared to narrowband telephony, wideband technology establishes a sense of presence, resulting in a natural and comfortable conversation.

Audiocodes has not provided an official release date or pricing information on their HD IP Phone lineup as of this writing. Visit the VoIP Insider in coming weeks for additional coverage on the Audiocodes 320HD IP Phone and other Audiocodes HD VoIP products.