Jayakrishnan K. ([info]jayakrishnan) wrote,
@ 2007-08-16 18:33:00
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Current mood:accomplished

Xtend IVR now supports Synway, Donjin and NMS

The latest release of Xtend IVR now supports the following voice cards and api.

New:

  • Dialogic HMP (SDK 6.0)
  • Synway (SynCTI 4.7)
  • Donjin (NADK 1.8)
  • NMS (Natural Access 2005-1)

Existing:
  • Dialogic (SDK 5.1.1)
  • Dialogic (SDK 6.0)
  • Diva Server (SDK 4.0)
  • Ai-Logix (SDK 3.8)
  • Telephony API 2.1 [Half-Duplex]
  • Telephony API 2.1
  • Multimedia Wave Driver
  • Xtend Service Driver

Beta:
  • Opal H323 Driver (BETA)
  • Opal SIP Driver (BETA)
  • Skype Phone (BETA)

You can download the Developer Edition which includes a single port runtime supporting all the voice cards mentioned above from http://www.xtendtech.com/ivr

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OK, you sold me
(Anonymous)
2007-08-27 09:11 am UTC (link)
I want to try the IVR developer edition but I'm not sure if my PC is properly setup. I don't have TAPI or SAPI or any other VR/TTS software on my system but would gladly install it if required. I not have any special boards or multimedia hardware. I do have Skype, speakers, and a microphone. I am a professional C# developer (and about 20 other languages) with skills related to databases, connectivity, web development and a decent amount of experience making Microsoft Agent the user interface to a demo application. I've also spent some time with the Skype API and plan to produce some products for that market.

So if I want to download your free developer environment and try to build something for commercial sale, what else do I need to write and test an IVR solution besides skype and my existing VS2005 developer tools? Thanks!

(Reply to this) (Thread)
Re: OK, you sold me
[info]jayakrishnan
2007-08-27 01:02 pm UTC (link)
A normal Windows PC 2000/xp/2003 with Multimedia should be more than sufficient. You need SAPI installed only if you are using TTS / Speech Recognition. TAPI is not required. Xtend IVR degrades gracefully in their absence.

The Developer Edition uses the Multimedia system to make the job of implementing / debugging / testing an IVR quite easy. Once you have the ivr completely developed, you can then use the runtime to test the IVR out on any of the supported voice cards including skype.

One thing to keep in mind when using the runtime with skype is that skype allows only one instance to run under a single user account in Windows. So once you configure the runtime to use the skype on your system, you would need to use a different computer or user account, run skype there and call into your skype account to hear the ivr.

Actually our Developer Edition is a fully functional development environment for implementing IVR solutions. You are free to download and use the development environment for building, testing and demoing your ivr solutions.

You only need to purchase the runtime specifying the required number of ports when you are performing the final commercial implementation.

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Re: OK, you sold me
(Anonymous)
2007-08-28 12:57 am UTC (link)
Thanks for the prompt response. Skype uses G729, which compresses inband DTMF into a stream which which is difficult to process. How are you handling this, or for all Skype operations would you recommend using TTS/VR?

For development and testing we plan to use SkypeIn/SkypeOut with PSTN, and Skype<>Skype if possible.

My immediate goal is to see if we can use Xtend IVR as a tool to quickly create and support affordable and customisable IVR solutions for small businesses. I believe we can sell IVR to a number of smaller companies (2-30 employees) and SOHO businesses who want IVR without the expense of a PBX, special hardware, and other burden associated with the technology. Development of such IVR solutions, or at least reasonable prototypes which can be presented as demos, should be possible similarly without additional hardware. For more sophisticated development we can take a look at whatever is required.

I've requested pricing information from the company website. Comments on our desired development/deployment environments is welcome.

Thanks again.

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Re: OK, you sold me
[info]jayakrishnan
2007-08-28 10:39 am UTC (link)
Skype also provides DTMF via "CALL DTMF " event. This is processed to obtain the relevant DTMF keystroke. TTS/VR can be used if required but DTMF works fine.

For development and testing, you can use our Developer Edition that provides a simulated on-screen phone using which you can completely develop and test the IVR. There is no need to use Skype for this.

The Developer Edition also includes an 1 port runtime which will work with all supported voice cards including skype.

Yes, Xtend IVR Developer Edition can be used to build fully functional IVR solutions that can be developed, tested and demoed without the need for additional hardware.

Desired development environment is Windows 2000/XP/2003 with Multimedia support (Speaker/Mic).

(Reply to this) (Parent)
Re: OK, you sold me
(Anonymous)
2007-08-28 04:36 am UTC (link)
Same person here: Another question regarding SAPI/TAPI. Though these are not required, does the free trial download make use of the libraries if they are installed? If so, is there any particular version that you recommend or require? Before I download the 289MB SAPI SDK v5.1 (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=5e86ec97-40a7-453f-b0ee-6583171b4530&DisplayLang=en) I'd like to know if you will make use of it. And the TAPI v3.0 API is still COM based. If this library will allow us to see more features in your software then please just let us know exactly which release you prefer. Thanks!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: OK, you sold me
[info]jayakrishnan
2007-08-28 10:53 am UTC (link)
The free trial does make use of SAPI if it is installed. However I recommend that you download the SDK only if you are using Windows 2000 or are planning to check out the speech recognition samples. All other samples including TTS will work fine since Windows XP/2003 normally includes SAPI and 1 - TTS voice in the default installation.

Also you need not download the entire 288.8 SAPI SDK. You can make do with the SpeechSDK51.exe (60 MB) and Sapi.chm file (2.3 MB). You need to scroll down further in the link you have provide to obtain the download path for these file.

I would suggest that you download our Developer Edition and start using it. You need to download the SAPI SDK only if the TTS / Speech Recognition samples including in our Developer Edition don't work :-).

You need not install TAPI separately. The TAPI drivers are installed when you install a voice card (Dialogic / Eicon etc..) that support TAPI.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: OK, you sold me
(Anonymous)
2007-08-29 11:14 am UTC (link)
OK, I've installed the software and had a quick look around. It's an unusual IDE and a different, but not radically different scripting language. The documentation is extensive - I'm very pleasantly surprised. It will take a while for me to start working with this, get familiar with the scripting, interface it to my other code and databases, etc. You should hear from me within the next week. Thanks again!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: OK, you sold me
(Anonymous)
2007-08-30 09:17 am UTC (link)
Haven't heard from anyone at the company about pricing, reseller discounts, etc. Please ask someone to check recent enquiries. Thanks.

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)
Re: OK, you sold me
[info]jayakrishnan
2007-08-30 09:59 am UTC (link)
Sales Dept. has just re-opened after one of our major festivals. Hence the delay. You should be getting a reply in the next hour or so.

(Reply to this) (Parent)

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