Frequently Asked Questions

This section contains a list of questions which are common to new users of the TeamTalk Conferencing System.

1. Why is Windows beeping while I press my hotkey?
2. The others can't hear me but I can hear them.
3. Why is my recorder volume so low?
4. Why is my VU-meter constantly showing activity?
5. The others complain that my voice sounds distorted, why?
6. I can hear myself talking, why?
7. When I transmit audio others can hear sounds from my computer, why?
8. How do I make TeamTalk work with the WindowsXP Firewall (which comes with SP2)?
9. I don't have enough bandwidth to transmit to all users. What do I do?

1. Q: Why is Windows beeping while I press my hotkey?

   A: In Control Panel find "Sound and Audio devices" and double click it. Find the tab "Sounds" and disable the event "Default beep".

2. Q: The others can't hear me but I can hear them.

   A: Disconnect from the server and press Client-> Preferences -> Sound System. Here you can test the different sound devices available on your computer. If you're still not successful in being able to hear yourself make sure that your microphone is selected as the default input device (Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices -> Audio -> Sound Recording -> Volume...):
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

3. Q: Why is my recorder volume so low?
   A: First try to increase the microphone volume (question 2 guides you to the dialog that allows you to increase the volume). Also make sure that microphone boost is enabled and try to reenable it (Creative Labs sound card sometimes forget to boost although the Windows mixer shows that it's enabled). You'll need to enable Advanced Controls in the Windows mixer in order to enable microphone boost. The boost window should look like the one below:
   
   
   
   
4. Q: Why is my VU-meter constantly showing activity?
   This can be caused by interference from other devices such as speakers or a television. It may also be that you have a low quality sound card which often comes with bad microphone recording capability. Personally, I would recommed a Creative Labs sound card.
   
   
5. Q: The others complain that my voice sounds distorted, why?
   A: If you're downloading or uploading while you talking there might not be enough bandwidth for TeamTalk to deliver its sound packets. Another reason might be that you don't have enough processing power to encode audio in real time. TeamTalk relies heavily on floating point operations so if you have an AMD K6/K6-2 or an old Pentium processor you should consider choosing 8 KHz sound in File->Properties->Compression settings and a lower quality setting.
   Also make sure that your transfer rate required per user doesn't exceed your available bandwidth (check the status bar in TeamTalk).
   
   
6. Q: I can hear myself talking, why?
   A: Make sure your microphone input is set to "Mute" for playback in Windows' Mixer. (Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices -> Audio -> Sound Playback -> Volume...)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Q: When I transmit audio others can hear sounds from my computer, why?
   A: Check that only one input is selected for recording in Windows' mixer. Check the screen shots in question 2.
   
   
8. Q: How do I make TeamTalk work with the WindowsXP Firewall (which comes with SP2)?
   A: Goto the Control Panel (Start -> Settings -> Control Panel) and double-click "Windows Firewall". You should now see the following window:
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   Now click the "Exceptions"-tab and the button "Add program":
   
   
   Find TeamTalk in the list of program and press "OK":
   
   
   Your Windows Firewall now allows TeamTalk to connect to servers and receive audio packets from other users. Press "OK" to complete Windows Firewall setup.
   
9. Q: I don't have enough bandwidth to transmit to all users. What do I do?
   A: If you don't have enough bandwidth to broadcast data to all users you can put the load on to the server by forwarding through server. Press Users -> Forward through server or simply press Ctrl+F.