Ventrilo is one of the most popular pieces of Voice over IP (VoIP) software out there. Ventrilo allows you to talk through a microphone, hooked up to your computer, to anyone anywhere in the world.

And best of all, its completely free to use, but you do have to pay if you wish to own your own Ventrilo server. The sound quality when using Ventrilo is very good and you can be talking to more than one person at once, a sort of digital conference call. If its your first time using Ventrilo you will have a little bit of setup to do after installing before you can hop onto a Ventrilo server. Once you have Ventrilo open

it should look like the image on the left. The first thing you should do is click the small arrow to the right of where it says “User Name”.

A small box will appear and now you should hit “New”, this will allow you to type in a name that you would like to be identified as when you are in a Ventrilo server. Simply type in the name and then hit “Ok” to return back to the main Ventrilo program.

Next you will need to add a server to your server list. This can be your own server, a friends, something for work, any server that you know of and would like to join. First, hit the small arrow to the right of “Server” and then when the box pops up select “New”. This will allow you to type in a name for the Ventrilo server. After naming it you will need to put in the servers Hostname or IP and its Port Number. This is information that the owner of the server has and will have to give to you. Not all Ventrilo servers are password protected, but if one is you will have to type the password in on this screen. Once you have all that information inputted hit “Ok”, and now you are ready to go! Make sure your user name is selected, and then select the server you just added. Now all you have to do is hit “Connect” and you should join the server.
You will also want to check out the “Setup” menu to learn the various commands. One of the important things you will want to look at in the Setup menu and under the “Voice” tab is where it says “Use Push To Talk Hotkey (PTT Mode)”.

If you have this function de-selected people will be able to hear you whenever you speak into your microphone. “Sensitivity” refers to how faint of a sound it will pick up and “Silence Time” refers to how long you must be silent before your microphone stops transmitting. If you check the box your voice will only transmit when you push a hotkey, instead of whenever you make a noise. Check the box and then click on the text box to the right of where it says “Hotkey”, then push a button on your keyboard or mouse. That button is now your hotkey and whenever you hold it down your voice will transmit to the Ventrilo server.
Ventrilo can seem like a confusing bit of software at first, but hopefully now you arre well on your way to becoming an advanced user.

Tags: Ventrilo Client, Ventrilo Connectin Editor, Ventrilo Push to Talk, Ventrilo Server

How to make the most of your gaming sound experience

You have seen it before on the streets of the city where you live. Someone is driving a beat-up car, but they have low-profile tires and shiny chrome rims that are worth more than the car itself.

There are also the people who buy the best sporting equipment and the most expensive associated clothing, but when they shoot, swing or throw they look ridiculous. These two scenarios have one thing in common – no matter how much you dress something up, if the internal aspects are not sound, the results are going to be disappointing.

The same thing goes for online gaming. Whether you are using the latest Ventrilo or Teamspeak servers, if your computer’s sound capabilities are not up to date, you are going to get an inferior audio quality. Ventrilo and Teamspeak servers will help you maximize the sound for your online gaming, but you can also do some things to help.

Here is a look at ways to get the best sound quality from your computer for online gaming:

• Be careful when upgrading to newer audio/video players – We all want the latest tools and gadgets on our computer, but be careful before you immediately upgrade your Windows Media Player or QuickTime. Sometimes upgrading to the latest version of one of these programs can change the codecs on your computer. Audio codecs transfer the sound into a data packet as part of your VoIP application. Upgrading to a newer QuickTime or similar program can alter your computer’s codecs. If you have upgraded your QuickTime or other application, make sure your codecs are intact by clicking on the “Preferences” tab, then “Advanced.” If your codecs have been disabled, you can enable them this way so your Ventrilo or Teamspeak server will be able to deliver the best gaming experience possible.

• Look into a new sound card – Many people just accept the audio quality of their computer because “that’s the way it came and I have to live with it.” Without having to buy a new computer, you can improve the audio quality of your online gaming. Before upgrading your sound card, you need to know what kind of card your computer has, and whether it is a part of the motherboard or if it is inserted into an adapter slot. You can find out the sound card info on your computer by clicking on “Start,” “Control Panel,” “Sounds,” Speech,” and then “Audio Devices.” From there, you can click on “Hardware.” That will show you the type of sound card you have. A new sound card will have to be installed by removing the case, plugging in the card and then downloading the associated software. Although it may sound difficult, you will be amazed at the improved audio quality for your online gaming.

Tags: Improving Teamspeak Sound Quality, Improving Ventrilo Sound Quality

Ventrilo VoIP servers were the first on the scene in the gaming market when they came out in 2002. TeamSpeak servers arrived almost a year later, but have quickly gained prominence in the market. Ventrilo servers are much like TeamSpeak servers in that they provide users the ability to talk while they are playing online games.

Many users claim that there is virtually no difference between Ventrilo and TeamSpeak servers. Others, meanwhile, say the two do have their differences.

Here is a look at Ventrilo servers and what they have to offer online gamers:

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Ventrilo Server Hosting, Ventrilo Servers, Ventrilo Sound Quality, Ventrilo V Teamspeak, Ventrilo Versions

By default, users are configured so that only one person can logon from an individual IP address at a time. To remedy this issue, the server admin will want to perform the following steps:

1) Once logged in as Admin, right-click on a blank spot within Ventrilo, goto ‘Server Admin’, and select the ‘User Editor’.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: How to allow multiple connections in Ventrilo, Setup multiple connections in Ventrilo, Ventril Setup, Ventrilo support