What's New About CallMe?

So what is new about CallMe? USB Audio, that’s what !!  So what’s the big deal?? Well it means that you can plug in a low-cost USB Mixer or Headset instead of just using line-level audio. How clever is that??

Our CallMe Click-and-Connect cloud-based codec was originally developed as a low-cost add-on for the industry-standard range of Comrex codecs of which many thousands are in daily use in the UK alone, as way to put guest contributors on-air without the need to send a Radio Car, ask them visit a studio or have them download special software. The Studio simply sends the Contributor a web link which links them via the CallMe Cloud-based Codec to the studio with high-quality, low-delay 2-way broadcast audio. Its use has spread as Stations soon realised that it was also a useful tool for reporters who by clicking on a web link using a browser on a smartphone, desktop, laptop or tablet, have live 2-way 15kHz audio back to the studio, each with their own Codec connection. Hundreds of hours are broadcast every week using CallMe.

It became clear however, that some Community and smaller stations simply cannot afford to have a full-featured hardware codec at their station and we therefore decided to develop CallMe-T (as in "ET Phone Home"). CallMe-TS (Studio Version) is a low-cost back-end for CallMe Click-and-Connect with no buttons but a simple web interface to set it all up. Four can be mounted side-by-side in 1-U and can be controlled using MCC Multi-Codec Control which lets users control and monitor multiple devices from a single screen.
The next step came after requests to use two hardware CallMe-Ts as an OB kit - in particular for using the huge installed base of Glensound ISDN mixers over IP.  Users needed some form of dialling rather than having to use the browser interface so CallMe-TR (Remote Version) was born with four buttons on the front panel for quick preset dialling (plus Drop) allowing up to 8x programmable destinations, each available from the front panel.

Just introduced at IBC – we have now included USB Audio capability to both versions, that allows direct connection to an external soundcard or mixer – or indeed just a USB Headset.  This opens up a large number of additional opportunities not only for Outside Broadcast but for Voice-Over Studios and Journalists working from home where, until now, ISDN has been the norm.  Now, all that a contributor needs is a cabled internet connection (which can be to a MiFi for mobile connectivity) and a USB Sound Card, Headset or Mixer – and a CallMe-T.

CallMe-T has balanced Stereo Audio In-and-Out and provides live two-way Broadcast Audio up to 20kHz using Opus, G.711, G.722 codecs plus PCM and with wide compatibility with the increasing installed base of full-featured IP Audio Codecs.  For more information - why not give us a call. . . .?

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