Using the THAT-2 Device to Broadcast Phone Audio via VoIP

In this tutorial, you'll learn how you can broadcast telephone audio to meeting attendees using Connect Pro Voice-over-IP (VoIP). Enabling this gives participants the option of dialing into the teleconference directly or simply using their computer speakers to listen to the audio. This flexibility is great for meeting attendeesespecially for meetings that include a global audienceand it can provide tremendous cost savings to you by reducing the number of participants who attend over the phone, thereby helping you avoid the per-minute, per-user costs associated with traditional audio conferencing.

In order to successfully record non-integrated teleconferencing you need to use a device that takes the audio from your phone and inputs it into your computer. There are loads of audio tap machines on the market today, but the device we use here at Adobe is the THAT-2 Telephone Handset Audio Tap by JK Audio. Once you set this device up, you can quickly and easily broadcast audio using Connect Pro's VoIP capabilities, so users can listen in to telephone audio from their computer speakers. What's more is that the telephone audio is automatically recorded as a part of the meeting since you are taking the audio and broadcasting it through VoIP. You can simply record the meeting as you normally do and telephone audio is recorded right along with it.

Connecting the THAT-2 Device to Your Computer

Connecting the THAT-2 Device to your computer is a relatively straight forward process. Simply unplug the handset coily cord form the base of your telephone and plug it directly into the THAT-2. Then, using the supplied cable, connect the THAT-2 back to the telephone receiver.

Once you do this, your computer will treat your telephone as a microphone, the same as if you plugged in a standard USB or external microphone to your computer.

Broadcasting Telephone Audio in the Meeting

Now that you've set up your THAT-2 Device to capture telephone audio and input it into your computer, you are ready to enter your meeting room and begin broadcasting. Follow these easy steps to achieve this:

1. The first thing you'll want to do is to make sure that the meeting has selected the right microphone. To do this right click anywhere in the meeting window and select Settings... to bring up the Flash Player Settings dialog.
2. Make sure that you have selected Allow for the privacy setting otherwise you will not be able to broadcast using VoIP. Once you have verified this, click the Microphone tab.
3. In the Microphone settings, you will likely have to select the THAT-2 input so the meeting knows that this is the audio you wish to broadcast via VoIP. Open up the dropdown and select the appropriate option. Note: In the screenshot, the mic is named Bluetooth Hands-free Audio, but the name will differ from computer to computer.
4. To begin broadcasthing the audio, select the Hands-free option. Your telephone audio is now broadcasted via VoIP. Note: The person operating the THAT-2 device who initaties the VoIP brodcast must be either a Presenter or Host or have microphone rights granted to them.
5. You can tell that phone audio is being broadcasted if the green indicator below the Talk button is lit up or the speaker icon appears next to your name in the attendee list. If your telephone audio is not being broadcasted, try the following: Go back step 3 and verify that you have the correct microphone selected. Make sure that the phone is connected to the teleconference and that you can properly hear phone audio in the handset or headset. Increase the volume of the telephone audio on the telephone receiver. Increase the Line-In and Telephone volume on the THAT-2 device.

Best Practices When Using the THAT-2

There are a series of best practices that you can use when using the THAT-2 device to brodcast phone audio via VoIP. Following these recommendations will minimize the chance of issues arising when using the device.

• When streaming audio, the person operating the THAT-2 cannot be on speakerphone.
• The computer connected to the THAT-2 device is the same compter used to initiates the VoIP broadcast.
• The person operating the THAT-2 device must be either a Presenter or Host, or a participant who has microphone rights granted to them.
• The person operating the THAT-2 should have a second computer logged into the meeting as a participant with earphones plugged in to listen to and monitor what participants are hearing. You always need to make sure that audio is being transmitted to participants listening via their computers
• All attendees who are speaking in the meeting should turn off their computer speakers or you will hear a bad echo.
• All attendees who are speaking in the meeting should mute their phones when not speaking.
• When operating the THAT-2, you should mute your phone if you are not speaking.
• Be aware, that sometimes typing or moving the THAT-2 around on a desk can be heard by participants even though your phone is on mute. To be confident that you will not accidentally cause audio issues in this way, place the THAT-2 device and the phone receiver on a towel to reduce sounds. (We're not kidding!)

I hope that you have found this tutorial useful. If you have used the THAT-2 device let us know about your successes and the issues you've encountered by leaving a comment below.