VOIP: pros and cons

After a week at Disneyworld, I am back to reality. As mentioned before I have been talking to a few friends who are curious about voip replacing your home phone. VOIP, voice over IP, or basically telephone service over the internet.

I personally have been using Sunrocket VOIP provider now for a good while. I have been very satisfied with it’s service and it makes perfect sense for my families use of the home telephone. Big driver on my decision was price. I pay about 100/yr for telephone serice. This saves me about $260/yr or more.

I’ll explain a few things to consider when thinking about this option as a something to replace your land line service.

The first piece of advice I give most is about the internet service providers when choosing to go with a voip provider. One main requirement is that you have a broadband internet service. From my experience cable and fiber internet service providers are the best option to get consistent quality service. DSL is not always a viable service to use voip. Not all DSL internet service providers are good, because they force you to maintain a landline service to get their DSL service. If your DSL internet provider allows for “naked” dsl service, then it makes sense to entertain the option of a VOIP provider.

Here are a few pros and cons to deciding to go with a VOIP service [consumer reports article]:

PROS:
It costs you less. Unlimited calling plans start at $25 a month–sometimes less as part of promotions–and plans with a limited number of minutes may be even cheaper. A plan with 500 minutes of talk time, for example, might cost $15 or $20.

While international calls are not covered by flat-rate plans, per-minute rates are often far lower than you’d otherwise pay. Verizon VoiceWing, for example, bills calls to Kingston, Jamaica, at 12 cents a minute; Verizon’s lowest rate for a traditional landline plan is 38 cents a minute. Some providers offer unlimited in-network calling among subscribers, even if they’re in different countries.

One reason VoIP costs so much less than standard phone service is that it’s not subject to all the taxes, surcharges, and other regulatory fees that jack up your landline and cell-phone bills. However, the Federal Communications Commission and Congress are examining various tax and regulatory issues, so that may change.

It can cost your out-of-town callers less. If you regularly receive calls from someone in another state, you may be able to set up a second number in their area code. They can then dial that local number, which is redirected to your VoIP number. You may have to pay $5 to $8 a month for each extra number.

You can use your home phone service from anywhere. Frequent travelers or users with more than one home can use any broadband Internet connection to place calls from their VoIP phone number, no matter where they are. About 30 percent of the users we surveyed have used this feature. To do so, you bring your VoIP adapter on your trip, connect it to a cable or DSL modem providing broadband access, and plug in a phone.

You’ll get services not found on landline. Because VoIP is an Internet-based service, it offers more capabilities than traditional phone lines. Depending on the provider, you may be able to have voice messages e-mailed to you as sound files, which you can click on to hear; view details of calls on an online log; forward calls to other numbers–say, your cell phone and office–if you expect an urgent call; and set up do-not-disturb times during which calls go directly into voice mail.

CONS:

It requires a broadband Internet connection. If you don’t have cable or DSL broadband and get it specifically or primarily for VoIP, the typical $30 to $45 monthly fee will cancel out the savings.

You need some computer savvy to get VoIP up and running. Two-thirds of the group we surveyed installed VoIP themselves, and about 40 percent of those do-it-yourselfers had problems. Things may not go smoothly even if a pro installs it. About 40 percent of that group said setup took more than two hours, or it required two visits or replacement hardware.

Your VoIP phone won’t work if you lose power or Internet access. Like a cordless phone, VoIP won’t work during power outages. For about $45, you can buy a battery that provides four to six hours of talk time. But there’s no way you can restore phone service if your cable or DSL broadband Internet access is disrupted.

There may be potentially serious limitations with emergency 911 service. VoIP isn’t yet a reliable replacement for landline emergency service for many consumers. Your location might not automatically be reported to the 911 operator, and your call might be routed differently, possibly causing delays. (See our January 2006 report, 911 when you need it.) As noted, you’ll have no VoIP service if you lose power or Internet access. You could also have problems with home-security and medical-alert systems.

There are possible security risks. Because VoIP is Internet-based, it’s potentially vulnerable to viruses, hackers, and denial of service. No incidents have been reported, but the risk is there. A term has even been coined for one threat–SPIT, for Spam over Internet Telephony.

Using the phone and Internet at the same time may affect service. In theory, you could run into problems using your broadband connection for both a phone and a computer. Internet access could slow or voice quality on calls could degrade if you’re on the phone while someone uses the computer for bandwidth-intensive applications such as gaming, uploading photos, or downloading video.

VoIP may not work well with phone-dependent services. TiVo and satellite-TV services using phone lines for program-guide updates and other functions may not work as easily with VoIP as they do with traditional phone service.

Final Thoughts:
I know friends and family that have moved to these options and have had very little problems. I think this is the future of phone service. There are many service providers that are dependable, and I will put together a comparison later.

If you are considering a VOIP provider, and I can answer your specific questions. – kevintadams@yahoo.com

A Comparison of Live Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo Mail

The three applications, along with AOL mail, make up the vast majority of the 500 million or so webmail users around the world (see chart included in this post). Most of these users are still using the old, tedious, Ajax-free Yahoo Mail and Hotmail user interfaces, requiring page refreshes for every click. The new applications, along with Gmail, offer a much richer experience, much like Outlook or Mac mail. When these webmail clients are performing well, their speed and ease of use is easily as good as a desktop client.

Overall we prefer Gmail over all other webmail applications because performance (speed) is consistently fast, and emails can be tagged making search much more effective. They also offer more storage and other features, and it’s free. However, Yahoo and Live Hotmail offer more mainstream Outlook-like user interfaces (although Live Hotmail does not allow you to access other email accounts from their application), whereas Gmail takes some time to get used to. If you are looking for speed and tagging is important, Gmail is for you. If you are looking for the closest thing to Outlook online, go with Yahoo Mail.

The following chart compares the services on a feature-by-feature basis. Note that the user numbers for Yahoo and Hotmail include legacy users still on the old platforms.

Gmail

Gmail groups emails in a thread into a single line in the inbox. Some users love this, others hate it. It’s not my favorite feature, but I’ve gotten used to it. The best Gmail feature in my opinion is the ability to tag emails for better organization and search. None of the other services offer this. Gmail also has integrated Gtalk into the GMail interface, and continues to add other functionality as well (such as integration with Docs & Spreadsheets). Gmail is consistently fast, offers the most storage and free POP-in and POP-out, meaning you can use Gmail to access your other email accounts, or access GMail from whatever email client you use. It’s a near-perfect piece of software, and has only occasional hiccups. The fact that Google is paired with Google Calendar, the best online Calendar application, doesn’t hurt, either.

Windows Live Hotmail

The new Windows Live Hotmail will be a welcome change to Microsoft’s 228 million webmail users, but it falls short of the Yahoo and Gmail offerings. They offer 2 GB of storage, better than Yahoo, but there are no POP-in or POP-out features at all. If you want to access your account outside of the web site, you have to do it via Outlook or Outlook Express. It remains the slowest among the three in our tests.

Yahoo Mail

Yahoo Mail is very good, allowing users to access other email accounts (POP-in), but only offering POP-out access for an additional fee. This is probably due to the legacy users who are already paying for this feature – Yahoo may not want to give up this revenue stream. Storage is on the low side – only 1 GB, which is less than half of what Gmail offers. Still, Yahoo Mail has recently been running very fast and offers an intuitive, Outlook-like interface. Instant Messaging and RSS integration is awesome.

HDTV References

The most ask topic this week has been about HDTVs. This is not surprising since the super bowl is coming up. The past couple of weeks is the time of the year most TVs are purchased. Next year I will plan to recycle and update my comments a few weeks before the super bowl instead of being reactive to questions.

Here are couple of sites that are good to reference when you are choosing a specific tv or determing the right provider for getting true HDTV:

AVS Forum HDTV:
AVS Forum HDTV Programming: information about Directv, Time Warner, Verizon Fios and other providers programming
AVS Forum HDTV Display Hardware: All about hdtv displays
Dallas Area HDTV : A local forum about HDTV in the DFW area

HDTV: Difference between 1080i and 1080p

This week i have been asked the question “is it worth paying extra to get 1080p instead of a 1080i capabale hdtv?

The bottom line Answer:
When making an investment like this, I always lean toward trying to getting the most capability available at the time. At this point 1080p sets have been out a while, but are still a premium vs. similar 1080i set. TVs could last you 10 years or more and with this timeframe you want to be prepared for future options. If you can afford it, I would recommend to go with 1080p. There are debates that there is not a big difference in pictures with most content. But it is a fact that 1080p will have the ability to adapt to today’s content and any foreseeable content.

Some of the definition information is a little technical, but does give the detail needed to fully understand the differences.

1. 1080p defined
1080p resolution–which equates to 1,920×1,080 pixels–is the latest HD Holy Grail. That’s because 1080p monitors are theoretically capable of displaying every pixel of the highest-resolution HD broadcasts. On paper, they should offer more than twice the resolution of today’s 1,280×720, or 720p.

2. Why 1080p is theoretically better than 1080i
1080i, the former king of the HDTV hill, actually boasts an identical 1,920×1,080 resolution but conveys the images in an interlaced format (the i in 1080i). In a tube-based television, otherwise known as a CRT, 1080i sources get “painted” on the screen sequentially: the odd-numbered lines of resolution appear on your screen first, followed by the even-numbered lines–all within 1/30 of a second. Progressive-scan formats such as 480p, 720p, and 1080p convey all of the lines of resolution sequentially in a single pass, which makes for a smoother, cleaner image, especially with sports and other motion-intensive content. As opposed to tubes, microdisplays (DLP, LCoS, and LCD rear-projection) and other fixed-pixel TVs, including plasma and LCD flat-panel, are inherently progressive in nature, so when the incoming source is interlaced, as 1080i is, they convert it to progressive scan for display.

3. What content is available in 1080p?
Really, nothing at this point. Today’s high-def broadcasts are done in either 1080i or 720p, and there’s little or no chance they’ll jump to 1080p any time soon. Studios in the last few years have geared up to support 1080i and 720p after decades. So it could be a while before they upgrade their equipment again. Blu-ray, HD-DVD, Computers and the Sony PlayStation 3 are the only devices that will output in 1080p today. Basically DVDs and Games have the ability in the near future to utilize the full capability of 1080p. A computer along with a new video card can be connected to a 1080p LCD panel, and will look very good.

HDTV Options: LCD/Plasma/Projection Displays

Here is an article from Yahoo answers that is good summary of hdtv tv options:

You may find that choosing the HDTV that best suits your needs isn’t the easiest feat to accomplish. When you’re trying to pick out the right HDTV, the available products break down into three major product groups, based on their display technology and cabinet type. By comparing display technology and cabinet type to your needs, you can easily rule out a whole bunch of different TVs and home in on the ones that are likely to be good matches for your preferences.

HDTVs come in all sorts of different sizes and shapes. Some are flat-panels that you can hang on the wall; others are projection systems like what you find in a movie theater. And, of course, you can find HDTVs based on tubes that look just the way TVs have for decades (only with a better picture).

Flat-panel HDTVs
Flat-panel TVs – the super-thin models that you can literally hang on the wall – are the sexiest HDTVs around. You can find two main display technologies for flat-panel HDTVs:

Plasma: These big flat-screens use a layer of gas trapped between two glass screens to create their images.
Here are some factors to consider when thinking about buying a plasma HDTV:

• Pros: Thin, sexy, good picture, good color
• Cons: Not all are HDTV, less-than-perfect black (how well the TV reproduces dark tones on-screen), screen burn-in (when an image on the screen for a long period of time remains visible, even after you should no longer see it), costly

LCD: These flat-panel TVs use liquid crystal displays, just like those used in laptop computers.
An LCD HDTV has its positives and negatives:

• Pros: Same as plasma, plus no burn-in
• Cons: Black is very poor, costly, restricted angle of view

Projection HDTVs
These TVs project their picture from a smaller image source (either three small picture tubes or a digital system known as a microprojector) onto a screen. The screen can be either part of the HDTV itself (rear projection) or a separate screen hung on your wall (front projection):

Front-projection HDTVs: These devices are the HDTV equivalents to movie theater projectors, with a big screen on the wall and a separate projector mounted somewhere across the room.
Here are some reasons for and against a front-projection HDTV:

• Pros: Biggest screen, potentially best picture
• Cons: Expensive, complicated, requires setup/focus/maintenance

Rear-projection HDTVs: The picture is projected on the back of a screen that’s built into the HDTV itself.
Weigh these pros and cons if you want to buy a rear-projection HDTV:

• Pros: Best bargain, no burn-in with microprojectors, near flat-panel thinness for microprojector
• Cons: Burn-in for CRT, expense for microprojector, size for CRT

CRT HDTVs
The final category of HDTVs is based on the good old-fashioned picture tube – also known as the CRT, or cathode-ray tube. Here’s the CRT HDTV’s good and bad:

Pros: Cheapest, great color, great blacks
Cons: Smallest screen, bulky, lower resolution than digital displays

HDTV: The biggest is not always best

Just because you find a good deal on a 65″ tv, it does not mean you should buy it. There are suggested distances to sit back from a tv in order to get the best quality viewing.

One factor in determining the size of TV to get is how much room you have in the spot where you’re going to put the TV. For example, if the TV is going to go in a family room, you will probably have enough room for a 27” – 36” TV. If the TV is going into a larger than normal family room, you probably have enough room for a big screen (46” or larger).

There are two measurements you need to take – one that you need to know exactly and one that you just need to have an estimate on. First, you need to know the dimensions of the free space where the TV will actually sit. To have a clear guideline of how big of a TV can fit in your free space, measure the width, height and depth of your room when you go shopping for your new HDTV.

Next, you need to measure the distance between where the TV will sit and the most commonly used viewing position. The most commonly used viewing position is almost always a couch – so take a ballpark measurement of the distance between your TV and your couch. This is important because you’ll want to get a TV that is large enough to immerse you in the movie or TV show you are watching, but not so large that you’re able to see the imperfections in the movie or TV show. A good guideline is the 1.5-to-2 times the size of the tv is the appropriate distance to sit back from the tv.

For example:
- When viewing non-HD movies or shows, the distance should be about 2x the size of the TV. So, for example, a 36” TV should be placed at least 72” (at least 6 feet) from the main viewing position when watching regular cable or broadcast channels.

- When viewing HD movies or shows, the distance should be about 1.5x the size of the TV. So, for example, a 36” TV should be placed at least 54” (at least 4 ½ feet) from the main viewing position when watching HDTV channels.