Distortion on recordings

[adriannaude]

We have been experiencing some distortions on recordings made through the VXML platform. The symptoms are that the recording starts with the recorder’s voice almost inaudible and this then becomes clearer as the recording progresses (within a few seconds). These recordings are made where there is a lot of background noise. Our early experiments late last year with these types of recording didn’t exhibit this sort of symptom and it only seems to have been evident in the last six weeks or so.

My query is are there any automatic gain controls associated with the telephone cards that might be confused by this sort of recording and are there any controls we can use at a VXML level to influence recording volume? Is there a possibility that something has changed in the platform software this year that might have an effect on recording quality?

Many thanks,
Adrian Naude

[support]

Hello,

The recordings on the IVR platform are acquired directly from the telephony board as digital u-law audio. After the recording is complete a one time normalization pass is taken over the length of the audio file. This process is not user controllable. This general recording process of the VXML platform has not changed in several years.

Our IVR systems are connected to digital PRI lines so there can not be any signal loss on our end. What kind of line/handset are you calling in from and where are you calling to/from? Handset and line quality are the most likely causes of an IVR problem like this.

Regards,
Plum Support