[Asterisk-Users] Re: Can anyone explain reason for this echo

[Andrew Kohlsmith]

On Friday 18 November 2005 15:58, Eric Bishop wrote:
> Andrew, I really don't buy that. Everyone seems to blame everything else
> other Digium for faulty products. Would you be as soft on the vendor if it
> was Microsoft?

> The simple fact is they have made a fantastic PBX software product and
> along with some reasonably priced PC telephony hardware. However echo
> elimination is clearly lacking in all their products. If you simply take
> this fact into account when planning installations, you will save yourself
> a lot time and trouble.

It doesn't really matter whether you buy it (my explanation) or not -- if your 
specific echo is greater than what the software and/or hardware are designed 
to handle, it will work poorly.  It's called a misapplication of the 
technology.

Blaming the software or hardware for your misapplication is poor form.  Are 
the echo cancellers in Zaptel's drivers perfect?  Hell no.  But they work 
pretty damn well if they are applied as designed.  The same goes for their 
hardware echo cancellation module.

Asterisk is open source.  Several people have stepped in and done what they 
could to improve what was there, and their efforts have helped hundreds, if 
not thousands of people, myself among them.  

If someone misapplies a Microsoft product I don't bash Microsoft, I chide the 
person who either isn't able or isn't willing to read the directions on the 
box.  Now granted a great deal of the "instructions" for Asterisk are written 
in invisible ink which makes these two particular groups of people a LOT 
larger than they could be, but that's part of the price (at least at this 
point in time) with Asterisk.  If you want something that works right out of 
the box, buy ABE, buy g.168-compliant echo cancellers and save yourself the 
time/hassle/sanity.  Or pony up for a proprietary (and thus very limited) 
PBX.  Others choose a different route.  That doesn't make us astroturfers or 
fanboys.

-A.