Taking callers on your Internet Broadcast

[JakeKettle]

Interesting walk through, I might have to check that out. Thanks! Callinstudio seems interesting to, but for both I don't really have the budget.

[andrewzarian]

Something that came to mind over the weekend.

We currently have 3 Skype phone numbers that we pay for. I wonder what would happen if we used google voice as a central number and had it forward to all those phone lines... Has anyone tried this ?

[MyTakeRadio]

That should work actually. I have a google voice number I use for listener voicemails since I can export them as MP3's . Forwarding a call shouldn't be an issue plus you can create a custom number. I have one like this XXX-XXX-XMTR.

[BradShoemaker]

Having used nothing but Google Voice for the past year and a half, you can do amazing things with it, including forwarding calls. The biggest issue might be whether it can push to all 3 numbers. It is set as "your" number. So the initial call will ring all 3 phones at the same time. When you pick one of them up, then the other two will stop.

Once you pick one up; however, then the next person calling will basically act like call waiting, not ring the next of the 3 lines.

[Donovan]

This should definitely work. Plus you can put all 3 Skype numbers in your call list for the GV number and select at different times of the day where the number actually forwards to if you don't need all of them ringing at once. This can be done with a schedule or, right before a show, you can log in and manually change where it forwards to.

Curiously, why do you have 3 different Skype numbers?

[mcphillips]

Back in the old days, before there were digital hybrids, we used to modify AT&T speakerphones. The speaker output went through a transformer into the balanced input of the broadcast console. If the only voice to be transmitted to the caller was the announcer, we let the speaker phone do its thing. It's possible to wire a mix-minus signal into the input circuit of a speakerphone, but it's very tricky. The level is very low (or it will distort), and the cable on the high impedance side of the audio feed needs to be very short to prevent noise from being picked up.

[Amnon]

Once you pick one up; however, then the next person calling will basically act like call waiting, not ring the next of the 3 lines.

We used it in the beginning but found out that the second person calling, drops the first one. Couldn't find a solution to that.

[ScottyBrown]

I've been using BTR's switchboard exclusively for call-ins for about two years now (I stream live Flash video) and haven't had much issue with it. For $39/mo having that capability is completely worth it for me. The bonus of having audio archives of my broadcasts and then the RSS feed of them is just an added bonus, IMO.

[Spencer Kobren]

I've been using BTR's switchboard exclusively for call-ins for about two years now (I stream live Flash video) and haven't had much issue with it. For $39/mo having that capability is completely worth it for me. The bonus of having audio archives of my broadcasts and then the RSS feed of them is just an added bonus, IMO.

Do you call into BTR or Skype in? How do you like BTR?

[ScottyBrown]

Do you call in to BTR or Skype in? How do you like BTR?

I Skype into BTR. I have a dedicated machine in my broadcast rig that records all of the audio from my soundboard and other machines that I use. This allows the other people on air with me who have Skyped into my rig to hear the callers and interact with them, as well as putting them into the stream to be broadcast.