[Asterisk-Users] Audio filters (was: feature - VM gain adjust?)

[John Todd]

At 11:08 AM -0500 7/12/04, Steven Critchfield wrote:
>[snip]
>
>Would it be something people would like to be able to add filters to a
>line? Consider normalization as a filter. Monitor could then be moved to
>a filter as well. Echo cancel could be a filter. Set it up so multiple
>filters could be added and chained together. This could help those with
>echo chain a couple of filters together and see if that helps.
>
>--
>Steven Critchfield  <critch at basesys.com>


This is an excellent idea, and is extendable outside of the narrow 
scope of audio quality improvement.  I was playing with this concept 
a while back, and trying to find programmers for a few ideas I have. 
I'll air them here, so I can take some credit for being the first 
clever monkey to publicly talk about integration into Asterisk (or 
any other VoIP system, as far as I know):

  - voice disguise/modulation.  Think about how many customers you'd 
get with a module that sounds like they're Mickey Mouse.  You think: 
'That's really stupid!' but then look at how many people pay for 
Usher ringtones.  Look at how many crazy truckers buy CB microphones 
with reverb.

  - voice stress analysis.  If you're dumping the audio through a 
filter, there's no reason you can't simply extract data from it 
instead of alter the audio path.  A one-way background audio carrier 
tone to the listener might change pitch during stress events.

  - customized background noise.  This is apparently already the rage 
in Asia somewhere with some cell phone carriers - insertion of 
background sounds customized to the user's tastes (forest, 
construction site, bar, office environment, airport, etc.) which can 
be used for either pleasant diversion or for disguise of location.

I have a few more, even, but as is typical, these will remain on the 
drawing board until someone coughs up some dough to make them happen. 
No time, no time, no time...

JT