Best way for hearing person to use PC webcam to call deaf/HoH VRS number?

Hi,
I started this thread more than two years ago and sorry if my original query was answered within this thread or elsewhere. I have seen other queries along the same lines but I believe from my searches that there is no clear answer to the question of:
how can a hearing/CODA use a pc webcam to call deaf/HoH VRS number?

To clarify for my situation I am trying to call my 89 year old mother who is barely able to use her Sorenson VP200 to answer/place calls; it is not possible for her to use a PC such that we can use Skype or some other solution that is often the answer for this question. It is wonderful that many deaf/HoH are able to use Skype and other non VRS based methods to contact hearing/CODE/deaf/HoH point to point but for me and my brother (CODAs) who want to talk with our mother using ASL rather than go thru a VRS relay operator this is not possible as I have stated; my mother just can not technically handle a PC to try the other solutions.

I understand that the VRS software is meant for deaf/HoH but I do not see why the companies can not provide an option for hearing/CODA to pay a monthly fee to be able to use the software. Sometimes the VRS relay operator is fine when I am away from a PC but other times I would like to see my mother and her me and my brother rather than go thru the operator.

I am pretty tech savvy but prefer a solution that uses current software capability and not having to go back to old netmeeting which has some video quality issues.
Also in my case an acceptable solution is that I can call my mom and not as important for her to call me, ie. she could call me using VRS relay and thus not a strong need to call my PC as when she calls I may not even be by the PC.

Any ideas a few years later?

Thanks,
Tom
 
tecgeek said:
Hi,
how can a hearing/CODA use a pc webcam to call deaf/HoH VRS number?

To clarify for my situation I am trying to call my 89 year old mother who is barely able to use her Sorenson VP200 to answer/place calls; it is not possible for her to use a PC such that we can use Skype or some other solution that is often the answer for this question. It is wonderful that many deaf/HoH are able to use Skype and other non VRS based methods to contact hearing/CODE/deaf/HoH point to point but for me and my brother (CODAs) who want to talk with our mother using ASL rather than go thru a VRS relay operator this is not possible as I have stated; my mother just can not technically handle a PC to try the other solutions.

I understand that the VRS software is meant for deaf/HoH but I do not see why the companies can not provide an option for hearing/CODA to pay a monthly fee to be able to use the software. Sometimes the VRS relay operator is fine when I am away from a PC but other times I would like to see my mother and her me and my brother rather than go thru the operator.

I am pretty tech savvy but prefer a solution that uses current software capability and not having to go back to old netmeeting which has some video quality issues.
Also in my case an acceptable solution is that I can call my mom and not as important for her to call me, ie. she could call me using VRS relay and thus not a strong need to call my PC as when she calls I may not even be by the PC.

Any ideas a few years later?
Click to expand...

Most of what has been said in this thread still stand.

ZVRS had a offering to allow "ZHearing" customers to pay a monthly fee so that hearing customers could dial deaf family members. This was for sale in the Z Store, which has been discontinued. ZHearing phones are not allowed to call VRS, are not put into iTRS, and can only be called by other ZVRS videophones. You should give ZVRS Customer Care a call and see if this offering is still available.

Your mother has a VP200. The VP200 is an H.323 phone, and should be callable directly by IP.

There are a number of different H.323 capable soft clients available out there:

- XMeeting on a Mac (http://xmeeting.sf.net)

This lets you have your Mac behind a NAT, but you have to configure it with your public IP so that it knows how to "lie" in the H.225 and H.245 signaling. Also, your router needs to _NOT_ have an H.323 Application Layer Gateway (ALG) that tries to "help" the H.323 call through the NAT. H.263 capable, can call a VP200.

- Mirial Softphone on a PC (Full-HD 1080p Video Softphone | Mac OSX and Windows Mirial Softphone | Mirial)

This client has absolutely no idea how to handle NAT, or how to lie with your public IP, so you would have to put your PC directly on a public internet IP to get it to work. Also, as with XMeeting above, your router needs to _NOT_ have an H.323 Application Layer Gateway (ALG) that tries to "help" the H.323 call through the NAT. H.263 capable, can call a VP200.

- Lifesize Clearsea on anything (LifeSize ClearSea)

The evaluation client actually SIP registers with Lifesize (previously Mirial) servers that they run for evaluation calls. With it, you can place H.323 calls as well. Unlike above, an H.323 ALG in your router doesn't break anything, but your router needs to _NOT_ have a SIP Application Layer Gateway that tries to "help" the SIP call through the NAT. H.263 capable, can call a VP200.

The downside to using the free Mirial/Lifesize evaluation clients is that they are time limited.

All of the above clients are capable of doing H.263 _and_ H.264.

VP200s do not negotiate H.264 using standard signaling (long story short, the calling phone needs to pretend it is a Sorenson phone and send some proprietary H.221 SInfo frames).

nTouch VPs _do_ negotiate H.264 (genericVideoCapability) in a standard way. If you can, get your mother to contact Sorenson and get the upgrade.

The following client is _only_ capable of doing H.264. So while you can use this cool client to establish a call, there will be no video if you call a VP200:

- Cisco Jabber Beta (https://www.ciscojabbervideo.com)

There are versions of this client for Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. You can create yourself a free Beta login above.

With it, you can call "{your mother's 10 digit number}@zvrs.com" and the call should go through the ZVRS dialplan and get routed to your mother's VP200. [Note: I've removed mention of the h323: prefix on the URL, as that actually causes the call not to get routed properly when using the Cisco Jabber Video client]


There are a few other H.323 clients out there as well (Ekiga which is problematic, and others), but the above clients are the ones I've had success with.

So, to recap:

- Give ZVRS Customer Care a call and see if you can still get in on the ZHearing offering.
- Deaf videophones _must_ be able to receive H.323 calls when dialed at an IPV4 address.
- If you know your Mother's VP200 IP address, you should be able to H.323 dial that directly.
- Deaf videophones _must_ implement H.263, or there will be interoperability problems.
- Deaf videophones _may_ implement H.264, but are not required to.
- Deaf videophones _must_ have a 10 digit phone number that is published in the Neustar iTRS database pointing at their H.323 IPV4 dialable address.
- Dialing any deaf 10 digit phone number @zvrs.com as an H.323 URI dial will route the call to the deaf videophone per the deaf dialplan. ZVRS eats the cost of processing your call.
- Dialing any hearing 10 digit phone number @zvrs.com as an H.323 URI dial will route the call to a ZVRS interpreter to be processed as a VRS "dial around" call.
- H.323 needs to have real public IPv4 addresses in H.225 and H.245 signaling.
- Your router's NAT may have an ALG that likes to try and "help" but does more to break it than it does to fix anything. This goes for both H.323 and SIP.
 
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Some hearing people with excellent sign skills pretend to acting like Deaf or HOH in order to get ZVRS service to avoid paying monthly expense of using ZVRS.
 
Oddball said:
Some hearing people with excellent sign skills pretend to acting like Deaf or HOH in order to get ZVRS service to avoid paying monthly expense of using ZVRS.
Click to expand...

Probably - but this too is being checked in ways you dont see.
 
VRSEngineer, Purple SmartVP under manufacturing TelyLab can be compatible with TelyHD in using Skype? SmartVP has Skype app under Android version?

TelyHD processing: On-chip H.264 encoder/decoder

SmartVP specs???
 
Chevy57 said:
VRSEngineer, Purple SmartVP under manufacturing TelyLab can be compatible with TelyHD in using Skype? SmartVP has Skype app under Android version?

TelyHD processing: On-chip H.264 encoder/decoder

SmartVP specs???
Click to expand...

Your guess is as good as mine. I've not seen a SmartVP in person yet, nor have I seen mention of the specs. It sure does look like an OEM'ed Tely now that you mention it though.
 
VRSEngineer said:
Most of what has been said in this thread still stand.

ZVRS had a offering to allow "ZHearing" customers to pay a monthly fee so that hearing customers could dial deaf family members. This was for sale in the Z Store, which has been discontinued. ZHearing phones are not allowed to call VRS, are not put into iTRS, and can only be called by other ZVRS videophones. You should give ZVRS Customer Care a call and see if this offering is still available.

Your mother has a VP200. The VP200 is an H.323 phone, and should be callable directly by IP.

There are a number of different H.323 capable soft clients available out there:

- XMeeting on a Mac (http://xmeeting.sf.net)

This lets you have your Mac behind a NAT, but you have to configure it with your public IP so that it knows how to "lie" in the H.225 and H.245 signaling. Also, your router needs to _NOT_ have an H.323 Application Layer Gateway (ALG) that tries to "help" the H.323 call through the NAT. H.263 capable, can call a VP200.

- Mirial Softphone on a PC (Full-HD 1080p Video Softphone | Mac OSX and Windows Mirial Softphone | Mirial)

This client has absolutely no idea how to handle NAT, or how to lie with your public IP, so you would have to put your PC directly on a public internet IP to get it to work. Also, as with XMeeting above, your router needs to _NOT_ have an H.323 Application Layer Gateway (ALG) that tries to "help" the H.323 call through the NAT. H.263 capable, can call a VP200.

- Lifesize Clearsea on anything (LifeSize ClearSea)

The evaluation client actually SIP registers with Lifesize (previously Mirial) servers that they run for evaluation calls. With it, you can place H.323 calls as well. Unlike above, an H.323 ALG in your router doesn't break anything, but your router needs to _NOT_ have a SIP Application Layer Gateway that tries to "help" the SIP call through the NAT. H.263 capable, can call a VP200.

The downside to using the free Mirial/Lifesize evaluation clients is that they are time limited.

All of the above clients are capable of doing H.263 _and_ H.264.

VP200s do not negotiate H.264 using standard signaling (long story short, the calling phone needs to pretend it is a Sorenson phone and send some proprietary H.221 SInfo frames).

nTouch VPs _do_ negotiate H.264 (genericVideoCapability) in a standard way. If you can, get your mother to contact Sorenson and get the upgrade.

The following client is _only_ capable of doing H.264. So while you can use this cool client to establish a call, there will be no video if you call a VP200:

- Cisco Jabber Beta (https://www.ciscojabbervideo.com)

There are versions of this client for Mac, PC, iOS, and Android. You can create yourself a free Beta login above.

With it, you can call "h323:{your mother's 10 digit number}@zvrs.com" and the call should go through the ZVRS dialplan and get routed to your mother's VP200.


There are a few other H.323 clients out there as well (Ekiga which is problematic, and others), but the above clients are the ones I've had success with.

So, to recap:

- Give ZVRS Customer Care a call and see if you can still get in on the ZHearing offering.
- Deaf videophones _must_ be able to receive H.323 calls when dialed at an IPV4 address.
- If you know your Mother's VP200 IP address, you should be able to H.323 dial that directly.
- Deaf videophones _must_ implement H.263, or there will be interoperability problems.
- Deaf videophones _may_ implement H.264, but are not required to.
- Deaf videophones _must_ have a 10 digit phone number that is published in the Neustar iTRS database pointing at their H.323 IPV4 dialable address.
- Dialing any deaf 10 digit phone number @zvrs.com as an H.323 URI dial will route the call to the deaf videophone per the deaf dialplan. ZVRS eats the cost of processing your call.
- Dialing any hearing 10 digit phone number @zvrs.com as an H.323 URI dial will route the call to a ZVRS interpreter to be processed as a VRS "dial around" call.
- H.323 needs to have real public IPv4 addresses in H.225 and H.245 signaling.
- Your router's NAT may have an ALG that likes to try and "help" but does more to break it than it does to fix anything. This goes for both H.323 and SIP.
Click to expand...

Hi VRSEngineer,

Thank you very much for the detailed answer. I can tell you know your stuff and only wish I was knowledgeable enough to understand all of the details even though I know you are doing your best to summarize everything for this audience.

After reading thru things I decide to give the Cisco Jabber a try. I downloaded the software and installed it on my Win XP machine which has a webcam, etc. Per your instructions I went ahead and tried this number:
h323:{your mother's 10 digit number}@zvrs.com
using the 10 digit number I would call to reach my mom thru the Sorenson relay operator and to my surprise I ended up reaching a relay operator from ZVRS. The video was pretty good and I went ahead and asked the operator if she could see me and she said yes and then I apologized and hung up since I really wanted to direct call my mom on her VP200 and not go thru the ZVRS operator but was/am hopeful there still may be a way with this.

I reread your recap instructions and noticed you distinguished between a deaf and hearing 10 digit number and h323 calling and I suppose the 10 digit number I used was the hearing 10 digit number so maybe makes sense that I got the ZVRS operator. Is there a deaf 10 digit number I should use to call my moms vp200 directly? I assume yes given your description but I don't know what it is, ie. I just know how to call her thru the Sorenson relay operator.

Any hints?

Fingers crossed,
Tom :)
 
tecgeek said:
Hi VRSEngineer,

Thank you very much for the detailed answer. I can tell you know your stuff and only wish I was knowledgeable enough to understand all of the details even though I know you are doing your best to summarize everything for this audience.

After reading thru things I decide to give the Cisco Jabber a try. I downloaded the software and installed it on my Win XP machine which has a webcam, etc. Per your instructions I went ahead and tried this number:
h323:{your mother's 10 digit number}@zvrs.com
using the 10 digit number I would call to reach my mom thru the Sorenson relay operator and to my surprise I ended up reaching a relay operator from ZVRS. The video was pretty good and I went ahead and asked the operator if she could see me and she said yes and then I apologized and hung up since I really wanted to direct call my mom on her VP200 and not go thru the ZVRS operator but was/am hopeful there still may be a way with this.
Click to expand...

I went ahead and reproduced the problem, and a solution: don't use the "h323:" prefix. Just dial "{10 digit number}@zvrs.com".

The reason is that H.323 is auto-identified by the presence of the _h323cs._tcp.zvrs.com DNS SRV record, and the h323: prefix actually causes the Cisco Jabber Video platform to not deliver the dialed digits at all to the ZVRS gateways.

tecgeek said:
I reread your recap instructions and noticed you distinguished between a deaf and hearing 10 digit number and h323 calling and I suppose the 10 digit number I used was the hearing 10 digit number so maybe makes sense that I got the ZVRS operator. Is there a deaf 10 digit number I should use to call my moms vp200 directly? I assume yes given your description but I don't know what it is, ie. I just know how to call her thru the Sorenson relay operator.
Click to expand...

The ZVRS dialplan has a feature called "smartdial". If you dial a 10 digit number that is in the iTRS database or is another ZVRS phone, the call will be routed directly to that videophone. If you dial a 10 digit number that is not a videophone, the dialplan assumes you are trying to make a VRS call and routes you to the VRS platform for an interpreter to help place your call.

That means you can use any 10 digit number, and if the 10 digit number is a videophone the call will go through directly when dialed as "{10 digit number}@zvrs.com"

Note that the Cisco Jabber Client will not negotiate H.264 with the VP200 directly, and it isn't capable of H.263. So, even after you remove the h323: from your dial string, you will get no video on your call once your mother answers. Thanks to the microphone in the VP200, you might not get audio either.

If you can get your mother to ask for the upgrade to the nTouch VP, or switch to another H.264 capable videophone from one of the other providers, this approach will work for you.
 
i had several people contact me want do bsl skyp then no come back to me very irritating.i wear splints on my hands bit limited but they can bsl me it not big problem aslong dont want some big ontological debate...oh well rock on
 
I wanted to report back on this thread. I apologize to not have done so earlier.

I was able to use the Cisco Jabber client to call a Sorenson ntouch VP; not my mother but of one of her friends that has one. I thought with this good news that maybe I had a chance to be able to call my mother if she could upgrade from the VP200 to ntouch VP but when she requested this from Sorenson she was basically told she would be put on a list but they did not sound very encouraging in terms of when she might be able to get one. My mother mentioned the reason for the upgrade request was specifically to be able to allow her hearing son to call her and that this was very important to her, that she had been a long time Sorenson user but they really were not very positive about how long it might be to get a ntouch VP. Sigh.

We could try to go with another VRS provider that would work with the Cisco Jabber but worry that she might not be able to adjust to new remote, etc.

I really appreciate the breakthru technology the VRS was in the deaf community (and for my parents) compared to the TTY but after all this time I am also so frustrated that the VRS industry almost seems to purposely make it difficult for hearing that knows sign language to make a video call to a deaf person. My mom is 89 1/2 years old and really hoping something works out soon.

Again I know there are many CODA's or hearing that can use webcam to call if the deaf is capable of using Skype or other techniques. In my case with my mothers age and some memory difficulty handling a computer is not an option.

Any other CODA's out there in a similar situation?

Tom
 
oh thats easy. have your mom port to another provider. When sorenson contacts them to come back, they can do the upgrade since that is the reason she ported out. she asked for ntouch but got a no. They will do it.
 
tecgeek said:
I was able to use the Cisco Jabber client to call a Sorenson ntouch VP;

Tom
Click to expand...

Tom, would you tell me how you got the Cisco Jabber client? Cisco has a download page, but it says you need to have a service contract. I'm curious as to how much it costs to have a service contract with them. And how much the download costs.

I started following links to see about how it's actually done, and it looks like I need to make a bit of a drive to find a partner/reseller in order to get the service contract (assuming I decide to do that). Didn't realize what I was getting into:0
 
amylynne said:
Tom, would you tell me how you got the Cisco Jabber client? Cisco has a download page, but it says you need to have a service contract. I'm curious as to how much it costs to have a service contract with them. And how much the download costs.

I started following links to see about how it's actually done, and it looks like I need to make a bit of a drive to find a partner/reseller in order to get the service contract (assuming I decide to do that). Didn't realize what I was getting into:0
Click to expand...

Hi AmyLynne,
I am so sorry for not replying back on this; I had seen it before buried in my email and just lost track of it.

A few updates on my situation. My mother just recently switched from Sorenson VP200 to NVP (Intouch VP). I am now able to contact her using the Cisco Jabber Video for Telepresence software which I had downloaded on my Windows XP computer by calling her phone number followed by @zvrs.com as mentioned earlier in this thread; it works calling my mom now. Again big thanks to VRSEngineer for the info/details on this as without his help would not have had any clue.

With regards to your question about getting the software I think there are a few ways. One is you can go to www.ciscojabbervideo.com. I also this morning noticed that they also have app for Apple IPad which I have downloaded but haven't been able to test completely; I will be at my moms later today and will test it there.

Finally when I installed the software both on my PC back in April and this morning on the Ipad I do not recall seeing disclaimers about having to pay for it, or have any service requirements, etc. With that said I just clicked on the web link above as if I was going to sign up again and there is a very long TOS (Terms of Service) like there is with most software; I tried to scan it again to see if it prohibits the use of it but all I can say right now is that it doesn't have anything clear such as if you try to install some of the deaf video software which we as hearing are not allowed to use.

I just did a quick search or two and even found a link on cisco forums
https://supportforums.cisco.com/message/4018724#4018724 and I see the phrase "Free" listed in the wording. If you find something definitive that we are not allowed to use this legally then please let me know as I am definitely trying to find a legal solution. Cisco does have lots of products and solutions they offer and hopefully what you were seeing was something different.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I apologize again for forgetting this thread but will do my best to monitor it (and the email notification).

Regards,
Tom
 
tecgeek said:
Hi AmyLynne,
I am so sorry for not replying back on this; I had seen it before buried in my email and just lost track of it.

A few updates on my situation. My mother just recently switched from Sorenson VP200 to NVP (Intouch VP). I am now able to contact her using the Cisco Jabber Video for Telepresence software which I had downloaded on my Windows XP computer by calling her phone number followed by @zvrs.com as mentioned earlier in this thread; it works calling my mom now. Again big thanks to VRSEngineer for the info/details on this as without his help would not have had any clue.

With regards to your question about getting the software I think there are a few ways. One is you can go to www.ciscojabbervideo.com. I also this morning noticed that they also have app for Apple IPad which I have downloaded but haven't been able to test completely; I will be at my moms later today and will test it there.

Finally when I installed the software both on my PC back in April and this morning on the Ipad I do not recall seeing disclaimers about having to pay for it, or have any service requirements, etc. With that said I just clicked on the web link above as if I was going to sign up again and there is a very long TOS (Terms of Service) like there is with most software; I tried to scan it again to see if it prohibits the use of it but all I can say right now is that it doesn't have anything clear such as if you try to install some of the deaf video software which we as hearing are not allowed to use.

I just did a quick search or two and even found a link on cisco forums
https://supportforums.cisco.com/message/4018724#4018724 and I see the phrase "Free" listed in the wording. If you find something definitive that we are not allowed to use this legally then please let me know as I am definitely trying to find a legal solution. Cisco does have lots of products and solutions they offer and hopefully what you were seeing was something different.

Please let me know if you have any other questions. I apologize again for forgetting this thread but will do my best to monitor it (and the email notification).

Regards,
Tom
Click to expand...

Hi Tom,

Thank you for the link - it worked (and read) as you said. I had been trying to start from Cisco Jabber for Windows - Cisco Systems - I probably got myself confused looking at a link that wasn't directly related to this product.

Anyway, I did the download and instal. I can't test it yet, but am looking forward to that.

No problem about not getting back to this thread earlier. I'm sorry if I created unnecessary concerns about legality. And I'm really happy to hear that you can have direct video calls with your mother now.

Thanks for all your help!
 
Cisco "Jabber"

amylynne said:
Hi Tom,

Thank you for the link - it worked (and read) as you said. I had been trying to start from Cisco Jabber for Windows - Cisco Systems - I probably got myself confused looking at a link that wasn't directly related to this product.

Anyway, I did the download and instal. I can't test it yet, but am looking forward to that.

No problem about not getting back to this thread earlier. I'm sorry if I created unnecessary concerns about legality. And I'm really happy to hear that you can have direct video calls with your mother now.

Thanks for all your help!
Click to expand...

Quick summary: You are using the "Free" Cisco Jabber "beta" downloaded from ciscojabbervideo.com. The account you're using on Cisco's jabber.com gateway, is allowing you to place H.323 URI calls to VRS phones through the @zvrs.com gateway.

"Jabber" was the original name of XMPP. XMPP is based on XML based messages, and is an application layer protocol used by many different platforms now.

There are parallels and overlaps between XMPP and SIP/H.323, each of them approaches the problem a different way.

Microsoft's Lync platform has an XMPP component (heavily embraced and extended by Microsoft of course), in addition to their heavily augmented SIP implementation.

The biggest adopter of the original "Jabber" was probably Google. Google's Talk was "Jingle" over XMPP (their own flavor) for the longest time, and still kinda is at the moment if you know how to set it up, but Google has recently migrated dramatically toward Google Hangouts which is entirely closed (like Skype, etc).

Cisco owns the trademark on "Jabber". This is where the confusion begins.

Cisco's branding of their new softphone offerings as "Jabber" is quite confusing and very misleading.

Cisco is a big company. They've been doing many stupid things lately. Among these things is apparently someone in marketing getting the brilliant idea to label everything as "Jabber".

For a while there Cisco had an HDMI video telepresence system called UMI that actually used Jingle over Jabber and could call people on Google Talk. That product died a horrible death when people realized they couldn't call SIP or H.323 videophones.

At some point Cisco fixed their interoperability issue there, but it was too late to save their UMI product.

Cisco's https://www.ciscojabbervideo.com website that you used to download the Free "beta" software is one "Jabber" branding. That website lets you sign up for a @jabber.com address which is indeed XMPP/Jingle enabled, but their gateway that you register to also lets you make Free internet SIP and H.323 calls to other telepresence platforms. I'm not sure Cisco really gets that they still offer this service. I'm also of the firm opinion that most Cisco customers do not know this service offering from Cisco even exists.

Cisco also has a "jabber client" that can be used to register to Cisco Unified Call Manager (CUCM), but that's a commercial offering that requires you to run a server. This is what most Cisco customers used to think of when you mention Jabber to them.

That being said, the "beta" jabber client may very well be this same jabber client. I've actively avoided CUCM and the pain it involves.

Cisco bought Tandberg, and when they did they acquired the Movi product line from them and re-branded it as Jabber as well. That's yet another software client. This is the latest push Cisco is making toward the Jabber branding: anyone who has listened to the Cisco pitch lately generally relates "Jabber" to the old Tandberg Movi product they've rebranded.

Simply put, Cisco's marketing wing really needs to grow a clue and learn to build a brand that makes it easier for consumers and businesses to understand what their product offerings really are. Calling everything "Jabber" or "Unified Messaging" confuses customers.

It's not you. It's Cisco. They really should know better. They're just too big to get it right anymore.
 
Wow, thanks VRSEngineer. Reading your post is like taking a little class. (One in which I would fail the final, btw, but I'm planning to take it a few more times.) Massively appreciate the information/explanations.
 
Thanks VRSEngineer for the detailed information and explanations. Very helpful!
 
A follow up on using the "Free/Beta" Cisco Jabber Video for Telepresence software. On Windows this works successfully to call VRS phones through the @zvrs.com gateway (ie, add @zvrs.com after the VRS phone number). I have been able to call my mother and a deaf friend of hers who both have a Sorenson NVP (Intouch).

I had mentioned the other day that I had also downloaded the IPad app for the same Cisco Jabber client and I got the chance to try it over the weekend but I was not able to complete a call. Actually I could use it to initiate a call but when it was answered there was no video on both the Ipad or the NVP. I had taken my IPad to my moms and used Wifi to test this. Tried it many times and same behavior. For now I can only attest to it working from my Windows desktop using webcam; no go for me with the IPad version.

Tom
 
Huge Thanks To All In this Thread

My father is a CODA and not technical at all. He has struggled with all this nonsense over being able to direct dial his mother from any kind of soft phone or equipment like the discontinued D-Link DVC1000. It all boils down to the inability to easily configure any equipment to 'point' to the proper IP at my Grandmother's house. I'm a software developer, but only know enough networking to be dangerous.

Over the years I've been able to configure desktop apps and the like to work, but it almost always required me to know my Grandmother's public IP, which is dynamic from her provider.

A HUGE THANKS TO EVERYONE ON THIS THREAD FOR THE GREAT TECHNICAL DISCUSSION! This is the first time I've stumbled on any real info and the reasons behind the way some things work. It really is a shame that when solutions like VRS come out, they always seem to segregate hearing and deaf/HoH worlds even more, by their implementation. In AZ, my father would have had to pay a huge amount of money to purchase an electric TTY, where as my grandparent's got it for free. Granted it was purchased by the state, which I understand, but there was never a program setup to allow CODA to rent the equipment for a low fee each month or something. Its no different now with VRS in that the hearing world is given little to no cost effective and easily used methods to contact those deaf and HoH.

Sorry for the lengthy post, that's a bit wandering. I'm suffering from insomnia and got very excited to see this thread!

So to sum up:

- Excellent thread!
- Using the CISCO client might be a solution for my father and family if my grandmother has a newer Sorenson unit.
- There is still no 'real' solution that's standardized across VRS providers or mandated by the FCC
 
I'm not having any luck with this. I did go to www.ciscojabbervideo.com and did the download and install. Twice, on 2 different computers, once at the time of my last post, and once in the last few days. Same problem both times. Download and install seem to go ok, the system runs through a little self test to check my resources and says my calls should be of good quality etc. Then I try to call my friend. He tells me that his VP rings, but when he picks up I'm not there. No picture at all. On my end, it looks like he's not picking up at all. I didn't post about it the first time on the outside chance that he was just yanking my chain and wasn't really picking up (I'd get 10 rings then a message that the person seemed to be unavailable.) Anyway, this time, he was in an urgent need for contact, so I believe his description. (I eventually just called his VP from a regular phone and used a terp.) I checked my webcam and it's working ok. I can skype etc. So seems like I should be able to do this. Not sure what's wrong.
 
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