SOLVEDx2: PBXiaF Choppy Sound

andygee · #1 11-13-07, 10:56 AM

NOTE: Be sure to read to the end of this thread for two solutions that work. --wm

I'm running this new distro in a VM window. I have recorded several options and they are all very choppy. Any ideas on correcting this? On my previous old version of Trixbox this wasn't an issue but both on this version and the new beta of Trixbox they have the same results. I have hard set the CPU speed in the VM per some other suggestions I have found but this doesn't appear to affect it. I must say the quality got much better in the PBX-in-a-Flash version versus the Trixbox beta.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Andy

jroper · #2 11-13-07, 11:28 AM

Hi

I found this on a web site.

Close down VMware server
Edit pbxinaflash.vmx file with wordpad or similar
add this line to the bottom of the "Advanced Stuff" section near the bottom or the file: -

processor1.use = "FALSE"

Then save, fire up vmware, and see if the situation improves.

Can you report back either way.

Yours

Joe

andygee · #3 11-13-07, 02:08 PM

Originally Posted by jroper

Hi

I found this on a web site.

Close down VMware server
Edit pbxinaflash.vmx file with wordpad or similar
add this line to the bottom of the "Advanced Stuff" section near the bottom or the file: -

processor1.use = "FALSE"

Then save, fire up vmware, and see if the situation improves.

Can you report back either way.

Yours

Joe

This doesn't seem to make it any better. It's almost like I'm on a bad phone line yet I'm testing all on the same network. Maybe this is a hint though, the on-hold music sounds great but the audio/speaking part sounds terrible.

Andy

andygee · #4 11-13-07, 02:57 PM

Originally Posted by wardmundy

Hate to say it but CentOS 5 takes considerably more horsepower than CentOS 4 for some tasks. And you're exactly right, Music on Hold is crystal clear while voicemail recordings and text-to-speech apps sound terrible. I've tested the build on 2 year old $500 machines with VMware and it's pretty painful. On a new HP notebook, you don't notice the choppy sound at all but it has twice the horsepower. Download Sysinternal's Process Explorer and crank up the priorities for the VMware threads. Sometimes that helps, and sometimes you just need to buy a new $300 machine and dedicate it to this app... or buy a $1500 Windoze machine and it should run fine in a VMware window.

I agree, my HP laptop doesn't have this issue. It's just my VM servers that are a couple of years old that have the issue.

frontline · #5 11-13-07, 04:54 PM

Not sure if I am on to the specific problem . One option if decoding (decompressing) is the issue might be to use raw files. There is a rudimentary raw player and instructions for converting to raw sound files included in the asterisk distribution.

colman · #6 11-16-07, 07:59 AM

Andy,

I had the same problem some time ago, and I think Joe may be referring to the post I made about my experience, here. The point of the processor1.use statement is to try to ensure that Asterisk is only using one core of dual core machines.

However, this was the last of a number of tacks I tried to sort this problem, and I can't guarantee that this alone solved it. So you might want to try some of the other hacks I link to in the post to see if they help ?

Good luck,

Colman

andygee · #7 11-16-07, 10:19 AM

Originally Posted by colman

Andy,

I had the same problem some time ago, and I think Joe may be referring to the post I made about my experience, here. The point of the processor1.use statement is to try to ensure that Asterisk is only using one core of dual core machines.

However, this was the last of a number of tacks I tried to sort this problem, and I can't guarantee that this alone solved it. So you might want to try some of the other hacks I link to in the post to see if they help ?

Good luck,

Colman

Ok here is what I found works for me. I had put the processor statement in my vmx config file and it was not making a difference. I went into my other vm's and did the same but allowed them to use the processors that the pbx in a flash isn't using. I won't say it's 100% but is 99%.

gaijin · #8 11-19-07, 06:32 AM

I have the exact same problem and I have tried everything suggested here & have a brand new dual core server. I bought this because of the same problem with trix 2.2.X and I thought it would clear up.

One thing: When I built the images (both times) I did it on my notebook, a Centrino Duo then moved the VM over...

Could that have an impact?

rjm · #9 12-01-07, 12:19 PM

I tried both fixes. Even set the VMware stuff up to Real Time.

This is really an issue for me as I will have to start from scratch if there's not another way.

Has anyone had any success with vmware on a single processor machine? Is there a way to switch out of .wav files and into something less processor dependent?

BTW, I also noticed that the beep to signal start recording was also playing choppy. It stutters.

wardmundy · #10 12-08-07, 06:23 AM

If you're running PBX in a Flash under VMware, try adjusting the kernel settings as we did in the good old days.

Edit /boot/grub/grub.conf and change the kernel line to the following:

Code:

kernel /vmlinuz-2.6.18-8.1.15.el5 ro root=/dev/VolGroup00/LogVol00 acpi=off noapic nosmp nolapic clock=pit

If your existing kernel line looks different on the front end, just add the stuff starting at acpi. All of this goes on one line. This finally solved the choppy sound issues for us even on relatively old, clunker machines. Don't forget to reboot. After reboot, if the text-to-speech is too fast, then try deleting nosmp and reboot again.