Q&A: What to Look for When Buying a Web Camera

August 4, 2021 by Ying-Hui Chen

As video calling and video conferencing are replacing face-to-face meetings, having a reliable web camera is more than necessary. One question that comes up a lot is “What should I look for when buying a web camera?” So we put together a checklist here to get you started. Let’s check them out:

Web Camera Checklist

1. Video Resolution

Observiously, video quality is one of the top things you will want to look for. Resolution is the number of pixels captured in an image and the higher the resolution, the more detail is captured. A typical built-in web camera has a resolution of 640×480 pixels; a full HD 1080P web camera comes with 1920×1080 pixels.

2. Easy Setup

Ease of use is definitely one thing our customers consider when shopping for a web camera. There are multiple plug-and-play USB web cameras available on the market that will get you up and running in no time!

3. Compatibility

Make sure your web camera will work with the operating system you have. While most web cameras work with Windows-based PCs; some are designed for specific systems like Mac.

If you are using Teams or Zoom, you will want to check out these certified/compatible web cameras to optimize your video experience!

4. More Features

Check out additional features that matter to you! Popular features include: Auto focus, auto light correction, built-in sound-enhancing mics, face tracking, etc.

Check out these popular web cameras that are currently in stock at VoIP Supply!

Logitech C930e: The C930e is a professional webcam for the business user that features a wide field of view and HD digital zoom.
VS1080P Full HD 1080P: This full HD 1080P USB web camera comes with a sleek design and it is compatible with major web-based platforms.
JPL Vision Mini: The JPL Vision mini is our smallest 1080P USB web camera that has a full HD glass lens!

View All Web Cameras Here

SIP Chats with Patton

August 3, 2021 by Ying-Hui Chen

In this episode of SIP Chats, Brian Hyrek has an in-depth discussion with Buddy Oliver, Vice President of Product Management at Patton. Together, they walk us through what’s new with Patton, including their latest venture, AV over IP!

Grab a seat and get caught up on the latest and greatest from Patton and how they managed to be one of the first to bring AVoIP to market!

Be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube Channel for the latest VoIP News!

How To Keep Track of Multiple Calls on a Cisco 8841

July 30, 2021 by Mary Cheney

If your phone is ringing off the hook and you are trying to keep track of multiple calls at once it can get overwhelming pretty quickly.

Many VoIP phones on the market have lights that change different colors to help you stay organized and help you to direct calls to the right person. For this How-to blog, we are going to use the Cisco 8841 and go through the different indicators that they have and what each one means.

Ringing call – Flashing amber
Connected call – Solid green
Held call – Flashing green
Shared line in-use remotely – Solid red
Shared line on hold remotely – Flashing red

If you are not using the Cisco 8841 then there might be different colors or notifications, but as mentioned above most phones have this feature. You can typically find this information in the Phone’s Quick Start Guide or in the Manual.

If you have questions about how to optimize your experience with the phone you are using, leave a comment below or reach out to us at 800-398-8647.

More from: New Products Mary Cheney Cisco

Did You Know – The PanaCast 50 Offers 4 Vibration-Free Speakers for Crystal Clear High-Definition Audio?

July 27, 2021 by Mary Cheney

Jabra continues to add to their PanaCast line and if you haven’t checked out the PanaCast 50 yet, you are really missing out!

Did you know that the PanaCast 50 offers 4 vibration-free speakers for crystal clear high-definition audio!?

This new video conferencing solution from Jabra comes in two colors: a light grey or black. There are also multiple ways to mount this camera, it can be wall mounted, screen mounted or you can use a table with a stand.

Let’s go over a couple of the other really cool features of the PanaCast 50! This camera has four built-in speakers, two of them are 50mm woofers and the other two are 20 mm tweeters. This is what helps with that crystal clear audio. The PanaCast 50 has plug-and-play audio and video and also an optional remote control if you are in a Microsoft Teams environment.

If you have additional questions about the PanaCast 50, leave a comment below or reach out to us at 800-398-8647.

More from: VoIP Hardware Mary Cheney Jabra

July VoIP News Update

by Mary Cheney

July was a great month wasn’t it! We love updating you with the latest products and programs that are available from our partners. This month we take a look at some products from Grandstream, Snom’s new partner portal, and much more!
Be sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube Channel for the latest VoIP News!

How To Hide My Caller ID On a Snom D735

July 23, 2021 by Mary Cheney

There are times that you may not want people to know your phone number when dialing out. Most VoIP Phones give you the ability to hide your caller ID and phone number.

For this how to, we will walk you through how to do that on a Snom D735. You will want to keep in mind that when you do this your call might not be accepted if the other phone you are trying to call is set to reject anonymous calls.

Go to Settings on the Phone:

Press and select Call Features > Outgoing Calls > Hide own outgoing ID.
Press to change the setting from no to yes and vice versa.
Press briefly to return to the previous menu, press for two seconds to return to the idle screen.

There you have it, now when you make an outbound call on your Snom D735 your caller ID will be blocked. If you have additional questions about this feature or phone, leave us a comment below or reach out to us at 800-398-8647.

Our Top Like-New Poly Choices for the Month of July

July 22, 2021 by Youleidy Vega

This month for our Refresh (Like-New) Top Picks we are featuring Poly desk phones that are great for small to large businesses alike. We also want to show you a great conference option for meeting rooms of all sizes.

The VVX 501 Like-New IP Phone is a Gigabit device with a touchscreen display. It is ideal for the busy professional who needs the best features in a deskphone in order to be productive.

VVX 501 Features:

Gesture-based, multitouch-capable, capacitive touch-screen
3.5-in TFT LCD display at QVGA (320 x 240 pixel) resolution, 4:3 aspect ratio
Screensaver and digital picture frame mode
On-screen virtual keyboard
Voicemail and videomail support *
Dual USB ports (2.0 compliant) for media and storage applications
WebKit-based browser
Adjustable base height

Check out more features of the VVX 501 here!

The Like-New Poly VVX 401 can help to upgrade any office or front desk with its top performance and a great design. The VVX 401 has HD Voice and a 3.5 inch color LCD display.

VVX 401 Features:

Backlit 3.5 in color LCD (320 x 240) resolution
Voicemail support *
WebKit-based browser
Adjustable base height
Single USB port (2.0 compliant) for media and storage applications

To learn more about this Poly Like-New model check out our page for more details.

Refresh also has great conference phone options such as the Trio 8500.

The Trio 8500 allows you to collaborate with colleagues in any room you are in. It has been designed with great acoustics and an aesthetically pleasing design.

Trio 8500 Features:

Gesture-based, multitouch-capable capacitive touch screen
5-inch color LCD (720 x 1280 pixel), 9:16 aspect ratio
On-screen virtual keyboard
1x USB 2.0 Type A-compliant host port USB battery charging BC1.2 compliant (requires full Class 4 power input on LAN IN for operation)
1x USB 2.0 Micro-B device port
Integrated Bluetooth 4.0
3 illuminated mute buttons
Unicode UTF-8-character support

Refresh has so many options for users of all verticals. If you are looking for something specific, never assume we don’t carry it, and give us a call at 1-800-398-8647! We would be happy to discuss your specific needs with you.

Q&A: Loud Working Environments That Need Broadcast Messages to Employees

July 21, 2021 by Mary Cheney

With many businesses updating their infrastructure, they are looking not only to update phones but also their paging and security systems. One question that comes up a lot is, “we need to be able to notify our employees that work in a loud warehouse or call center type environments, do you have any products that will do that?” The simple answer is, yes!

If you work in a loud environment such as a manufacturing warehouse or a call center where people are constantly talking, then you are going to want to invest in an IP paging amplifier. What’s great about most of these products is that they will also allow you to link a new system to a legacy system!

Let’s take a look at a couple of products that can help you address this need.

CyberData SIP-enabled Paging Amplifier 011324

This amplifier is a Power over Ethernet (802.3at) loud paging device and will also amplify the sound of your ringer. This particular product is great to place in between a legacy and new VoIP system. You are able to autoprovision the CyberData SIP-enabled Paging Amplifier 011324 via HTTPS and you can configure it to give you real-time device health and status monitoring.

Below you can see a diagram of a typical installation for this device. Another great thing about working with CyberData devices is that they are TAA compliant!

Algo 8180 SIP Audio Alerter (G2)

Now let’s take a look at the Algo 8180 SIP Audio Alerter (G2). Again, this product is great for connecting an existing system to a new system and is ideal to be used in very loud environments such as warehouses, workshops, restaurants and machine shops to ensure your employees are hearing important notifications and information.

One really cool feature that this product has to offer is the SoundSure technology which automatically adjusts loud ring and paging volume to compensate for background ambient noise.

Take a look at the use case scenario below!

So we hope this helps you out when looking for devices that will help to amplify your notifications in those loud environments. VoIP Supply has great relationships with CyberData and Algo and we are happy to help with any additional questions that might come up when you are designing your new system. Be sure to ask a lot of questions when redoing or adding to your existing system so you don’t end up with the wrong devices.

Leave a comment below or reach out to us at 800-398-8647!

Yeastar P550 Unboxing Video

by Mary Cheney

We are very excited to release this unboxing video of the Yeastar P550! If you are looking for a user-friendly PBX that is packed with great features, then look no further and check out our unboxing video of the Yeastar P550.

The Yeastar P550 VoIP PBX Phone System is a sophisticated UC communications device that can handle up to 25 concurrent calls for a maximum of 50 users.

July VoIP Hardware Roundup: Snom, Sangoma and Cisco

July 20, 2021 by Mary Cheney

It has been a busy couple of weeks! We wanted to highlight some of the products we recently unboxed, so check out this month’s hardware roundup!

Is your conference room cluttered with wires? If the answer is yes, then look no further than the Snom C620 Wireless Conference Phone.

Check out our unboxing video and let us know what you think!

Have you checked out Sangoma’s newest addition, the P315? This gigabit phone is everything that you have wanted and so much more!

Check out the unboxing video to see all of the awesome features!

Lastly, we recently announced our new partnership with Cisco! We are excited to be adding their open SIP products to our portfolio!

Their products have some of the coolest features, including Text-to-Speech! So check out our did you know post to learn more about this feature that is available on the Cisco 8800 series of IP Phones.

If you have any questions about any of these products or anything related to VoIP, leave a comment here or reach out to us at 800-398-8647.