NEWS FLASH Obi5vs Released

rossiv

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I hadn't seen this before - stumbled across it in the Schmooze EPM documentation. Didn't see it here yet, so I figured I'd post it.
OBi500a_6.png


Hardware Feature Highlights:

  • 4 Port Ethernet Switch – 1 GigE + 3 Fast Ethernet
  • 3 USB2.0 Ports (2 front / 1 back) – For use with Obihai accessories / future applications.
  • 4 or 8 FXS Telephone Ports (model dependent) – For use with regular phones, fax machines and legacy systems.
  • 4 FXO Phone Line Ports (OBi544vs Only) – For connecting calls to / from telco services for local or bridged calls.
  • 1 FXO Phone Line Port with Relay – For use as a ‘PSTN’ back-up in the case of a loss of power.
  • 1 Line-In Audio Port (front) – For adding music-on-hold / messaging audio to calls in progress – SIP addressable.
  • 1 Line-Out Audio Port (front) – For use with paging / loud-speaker announcements – SIP addressable.
  • 12v External Power Adapter – with region-specific pig-tail electrical plug.
  • Desktop, Wall or 19’ Rack Mountable – OBi5vs Series rack mount kit sold separately.
  • Durable Metal Enclosure with Kensington Lock Port
Link to article - Obihai.com
 

Jay Deal

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You can tell that Obihai is a company run by engineers and not marketeers. The 508vs has been on sale for months now at Amazon yet you would never know unless you visited Obihai's forum site (adds for it are plastered at the top). In retrospect, I think the whole Google Voice debacle took a lot of the thunder out of the 5xxvs series' introduction, hence why it was quietly introduced and has not been actively marketed in as much as I can tell. Also, there was supposed to be three models introduced with different mixes of FXO, FXS and service provider slots but last time I checked only the 508 had been brought out to market. Gotta wonder about Obihai sometimes, the stuff they put out is really good and flexible but I sometimes wonder if they couldn't use a better marketing department at times.

Edit: I just checked Amazon to see if they had the other models, I didn't see the other two.

And what department is the 508vs listed in?
Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Audio & Video Accessories > Headphones !!
No wonder no one can find it for crying out loud!
 

wardmundy

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The Amazon reviews don't inspire a lot of confidence either. Too bad.
 

phoneguy

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Have had these in our EPM for 6 months now. They works well and had them change a few things back in Jan to make the paging port usefull
 

billsimon

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You can tell that Obihai is a company run by engineers and not marketeers. The 508vs has been on sale for months now at Amazon yet you would never know unless you visited Obihai's forum site (adds for it are plastered at the top). In retrospect, I think the whole Google Voice debacle took a lot of the thunder out of the 5xxvs series' introduction, hence why it was quietly introduced and has not been actively marketed in as much as I can tell. Also, there was supposed to be three models introduced with different mixes of FXO, FXS and service provider slots but last time I checked only the 508 had been brought out to market. Gotta wonder about Obihai sometimes, the stuff they put out is really good and flexible but I sometimes wonder if they couldn't use a better marketing department at times.


I think the whole Google Voice debacle simply highlighted their incompetence as a company overall.

I don't know what people like about Obihai. I have an Obi110 here. It's a mediocre ATA in really ugly packaging. Looks like an Apple ][ accessory. As far as functionality, yeah it works, but so does every other ATA out there. A budget-basement Grandstream works just as well and a Cisco has more fine-tuning settings.

That 508 gateway is ugly too (sort of looks like an old Hayes modem to me) and according to reviews is not very functional. More "meh."
 

rchalk

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I have a total of 8 of their ATA's, with 6 of them at remote locations, one more than 1000 miles away! The ability to monitor and configure them remotely has proven to be very useful, and makes them well worth the few extra dollars.
 

Mango

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As far as functionality, yeah it works, but so does every other ATA out there. A budget-basement Grandstream works just as well and a Cisco has more fine-tuning settings.

The primary difference between an OBi ATA and the competition is its call routing features. For example, you can configure the device to automatically route local calls via a POTS line (if you have an OBi110), Canada/US long distance via a VoIP service provider, and international calls via some other VoIP service provider - with failover in the event that something goes down. You can also register to multiple VoIP service providers, accept inbound calls from all of them, and route them to both or either one of the FXS ports. The device can even act as a basic PBX if used in conjunction with IP phones.

As far as I'm aware, there are no settings on the Cisco ATAs that do not exist on the OBi2/OBi3 series, though I would be interested to know if I'm wrong. (The OBi1 series does not allow you to configure its jitter buffer or echo cancellation.)

Since you're a member of this forum, you probably have a PIAF server. In that case, the OBis' PBX-like features are probably of less importance to you because you have an actual PBX. As an Asterisk user, the OBi110 is my favourite FXO interface.

Looks like an Apple ][ accessory.

Agreed - though I buy hardware for its performance and not for its looks.
 

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