A few weeks ago I was very lucky to obtain a used Cantata Brooktrout TR1000-P4V-4L 4-port analog IVR board. Since Cantata's part number for the Speech Server 2004 compatable 4-port analog board is also TR1000-P4V-4L (or so I thought), I set about setting up an instance of Speech Server 2004. My intention was to make myself an answering machine.
Well, I got the board installed, and after a couple of false started got the driver software installed as well. I've installed Speech Server before, so started looking for TIM software. However, there was none to be found! Hmmm, I thought. Perhaps the CD with the TIM software has been misplaced or lost...
Off to www.cantata.com I went in search of software and lo-and-behold, search and ye shall find. I found a very nice packaged install for the TR1000 which included the TIM. I downloaded it and the install went smoothly until...
...I was prompted to enter a license code! In the past, this was one of the nice things about Cantata's hardware: No separate licensing fees, such as Dialogic required. However, much has transpired in the 12 months since I last worked with Cantata hardware.
First, Dialogic has separated from Intel and is now a stand-alone company. Second, the newly independent Dialogic has purchased Cantata. Finally, the TR1000 has been obsoleted, or at least the TR1000-P4V-4L has. Tech support will no longer be available after December. How things change!
With the old Dialogic speech server cards, one could purchase Call Manager licenses for a 4 port analog card for about $240. I thought perhaps that Dialogic had introduced similar pricing for the TR1000 TIM and driver, so I emailed Cantata tech support.
The email that I received in reply stated that Cantata would only support cards purchased from authorized resellers. This is a carry-over from Dialogic's Intel days. In the past, I had found Cantata's tech support to be 1) very helpful, and 2) very willing to help so I am a bit disappointed in this new tact. Oh well, I guess profits come first.
Since it was apparent that no help would be forthcoming via email, I decided to call tech support. Perhaps I could bluff or bully myself into the answers for questions about licensing for the TR1000 such as 1) where could licenses be purchased, and 2) how much they likely would cost.
After ten minutes on hold, a lady with a New England accent answered the phone and, in the way of the old Cantata, proceeded to be quite helpful. It turns out that there are at least two versions of the TR1000-P4V-4L. The one that I possessed was for distribution to software developers only and did not include extra firmware necessary for the proper operation of the Speech Server TIM. Moreover, the TR1000-P4V-4L has been discontinued and it is no longer possible to purchase the card.
When I asked what Cantata/Dialogic intended to replace the TR1000 with, the nice lady with the New England accent forwarded me to a sales rep, who also proved to be quite friendly and helpful. He said that there was still a lot of training going on, and that not everyone at Cantata was fully up to speed with the Dialogic product line yet but that a device called a "media gateway" might allow me to connect the new speech server 2007 to analog lines. He wasn't sure, but he thought the gateway might retail for around $1400 and he directed me to this web page on Dialogic's web site that has more information about Dialogic/Cantata support for Speech Server 2007.
I tried to call Dialogic directly for pricing info, but think I must have caught them at a long lunch as they didn't answer their sales line. I may try again, but more research led me to the probably much less expensive ($400?) AudioCodes MediaPack MP-114.
Well, I got the board installed, and after a couple of false started got the driver software installed as well. I've installed Speech Server before, so started looking for TIM software. However, there was none to be found! Hmmm, I thought. Perhaps the CD with the TIM software has been misplaced or lost...
Off to www.cantata.com I went in search of software and lo-and-behold, search and ye shall find. I found a very nice packaged install for the TR1000 which included the TIM. I downloaded it and the install went smoothly until...
...I was prompted to enter a license code! In the past, this was one of the nice things about Cantata's hardware: No separate licensing fees, such as Dialogic required. However, much has transpired in the 12 months since I last worked with Cantata hardware.
First, Dialogic has separated from Intel and is now a stand-alone company. Second, the newly independent Dialogic has purchased Cantata. Finally, the TR1000 has been obsoleted, or at least the TR1000-P4V-4L has. Tech support will no longer be available after December. How things change!
With the old Dialogic speech server cards, one could purchase Call Manager licenses for a 4 port analog card for about $240. I thought perhaps that Dialogic had introduced similar pricing for the TR1000 TIM and driver, so I emailed Cantata tech support.
The email that I received in reply stated that Cantata would only support cards purchased from authorized resellers. This is a carry-over from Dialogic's Intel days. In the past, I had found Cantata's tech support to be 1) very helpful, and 2) very willing to help so I am a bit disappointed in this new tact. Oh well, I guess profits come first.
Since it was apparent that no help would be forthcoming via email, I decided to call tech support. Perhaps I could bluff or bully myself into the answers for questions about licensing for the TR1000 such as 1) where could licenses be purchased, and 2) how much they likely would cost.
After ten minutes on hold, a lady with a New England accent answered the phone and, in the way of the old Cantata, proceeded to be quite helpful. It turns out that there are at least two versions of the TR1000-P4V-4L. The one that I possessed was for distribution to software developers only and did not include extra firmware necessary for the proper operation of the Speech Server TIM. Moreover, the TR1000-P4V-4L has been discontinued and it is no longer possible to purchase the card.
When I asked what Cantata/Dialogic intended to replace the TR1000 with, the nice lady with the New England accent forwarded me to a sales rep, who also proved to be quite friendly and helpful. He said that there was still a lot of training going on, and that not everyone at Cantata was fully up to speed with the Dialogic product line yet but that a device called a "media gateway" might allow me to connect the new speech server 2007 to analog lines. He wasn't sure, but he thought the gateway might retail for around $1400 and he directed me to this web page on Dialogic's web site that has more information about Dialogic/Cantata support for Speech Server 2007.
I tried to call Dialogic directly for pricing info, but think I must have caught them at a long lunch as they didn't answer their sales line. I may try again, but more research led me to the probably much less expensive ($400?) AudioCodes MediaPack MP-114.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home