Hate Adobe Flash? We've got options

Comrex products like ACCESS, BRIC-Link and STAC-VIP each serve a rich webpage that functions as their main user interface. For a variety of reasons (that were perfectly sound at the time) these pages were designed with the Adobe Flash tool.

But Flash has gotten a (not entirely undeserved) reputation in recent years. Its constant need for updating the client to patch security exploits makes IT people nervous, and the browsers that support it are in the process of trying to actively minimize its use by throwing up warnings, and requiring it be manually enabled.

Flash is so embedded in the web that it's not going anywhere soon, but it's time to consider alternatives for driving Comrex products. For ACCESS and BRIC-Link, we're providing a free Windows and Mac app called Codec Commander.

Codec Commander is based on the premium Fleet Commander app we introduced last year. It has all the same features, and is compatible with the new 4.0 firmware we've been shipping with our codec hardware for the past year. So it will provide all the same utility as the web interface, including the really useful Crosslock stats and delay setting bar.

Codec Commander is available in beta form by contacting our support team at techies@comrex.com, and should be available universally on our web site within weeks.

Update 12/7/16: CC and FC are now available on the Comrex Website!

Broken Wifi Adapters got you down?

With our ACCESS portable and LiveShot portable codecs, we ship a a high gain Wifi adapter, the Edimax EW7811-UAC. It has an in-built antenna, conforms to all the latest high throughput standards, and is dual band.  It also sticks up a bit, which can result in a broken USB port (as shown) if the adapter is whacked or if the codec is dropped.

If your Wifi application doesn't require a lot of range or all these fancy standards, (e.g. you're using a wireless Hotspot fairly close to your codec) you might consider changing to something that isn't "out there" asking to be broken.

We've tested the Edimax EW7811-Un (pictured) and it works well, but on a single band and with the lower range you'd expect given it's form factor. But if that's all you need, it's available from lots of online retailers.

OnSIP/Comrex WebRTC issues by Codec Answer Guy

Q: I use OnSIP to bridge web calls to my codecs via this technote. It doesn't work anymore! What happened?

A; OnSIP (our favorite VoIP company) made a change to the way they bridge WebRTC to SIP calls. They now offer a new app at app.onsip.com to allow for this function.

Q: So I can just use the new app?

A: Not yet.  The app functions fine, but it changes a technical detail of how the call gets treated on the VoIP end of things. ACCESS and BRIC-Link can not answer these calls. STAC-VIP can answer them, but only using the narrowband G.711 protocol, so it sounds like a phone call.

Q: Give me all the details, I can handle it.

A: The old GetOnsip app offered VoIP calls with an "early offer" SDP protocol, and our hardware liked that fine. app.onsip.com uses a "late offer" scheme that we don't support.

Q: What's the fix?

A: The answer can only come in a firmware upgrade from Comrex. We’re working on it and hope to have something by the end of 2016. Until then, you can use SIP softphone apps, or one of the premium Hosted WebRTC Gateway services like ipDTL and Callme.fm.

Look here for updates as they develop!
Update 10/26/16: That was fast! Test code available. Contact Comrex support at techies@comrex.com

Update 12/9/16 Firmware 4.0p11 released today has this fix.