Change your password Dag-Nab it!

We're getting reports in the field of folks having their Comrex web-based products altered by unknown parties--in some cases making VoIP calls to "sketchy" locations.

It's a good time for a public service reminder. Comrex products ship with a default password.  It's a really bad idea to leave devices exposed to the Internet at default passwords. We've started implementing nag screens like that shown to encourage this, but lots of older products are out there and their addresses are associated with URLs. That means they can be found via search engines.  Even if no URL exists, there are hackers out there running search scripts for VoIP devices, which our products certainly are. Change those passwords today!

LiveShot 1.2 firmware arrives

When our LiveShot video codec shipped late last year, our entire focus was on video quality, and we'd managed to implement what we felt was a respectable first-go at a "network manager". That's the bit that makes the Internet work like it's "not the Internet". I.e. it handles the bad things about IP networks automatically and keeps things solid. With our extensive background in audio-over-Internet, we felt the stuff we'd learned over the years would be good enough for a first effort.


Well we learned quickly that moving a megabit or two over the Internet is a lot more challenging than moving a hundred kilobits.  We've been deeply sequestered most of this year hammering on that aspect of the product, and we're proud to say we're releasing new firmware that does, in our humble estimation, a fantastic job of dynamically adjusting all sorts of parameters to keep your video rock solid when your network isn't so much.

LiveShot 1.2 has a changelog that's about a mile long, but the heart of it involves a much smarter, more dynamic way of adapting the video to maintain stability. This involves better modem sharing (in applications that use a pair of modems) and dynamic adjustments to bitrate, resolution, and framerate when things go south on the network. We've spent the last couple of months taking it to a variety of ultra-congested locations and we're very happy with what we see. We think you will be too.

The question I get asked often is "When will these enhancements be coming to the audio hardware". The answer is: 2014. We're actively on that project and will have hard data around the time of the NAB show in April.

New updates coming soon!

We've been pretty quiet here this summer, and it's primarily because we're busy testing firmware for our products. Coming in September are new releases for ACCESS and BRIC-Link, STAC-VIP and LiveShot products.
ACCESS/BL- lots of bug fixes, new modem support and better compatibility with apps
STAC-VIP- Better support for PBX's, NTP locked clock, better audio processing
LiveShot- The long-awaited 1.2 release will dramatically improve performance over wireless networks, and provide the necessary hooks for some very enhanced functions coming later regarding the app control and LiveShot Central Server functions.

If you simply can't wait to try this stuff out, contact our crack support team for info on getting pre-release testing firmware.

New 4G modems on the engineering to-do list

It's always a challenge to keep our products that use third-party wireless USB modems (Like ACCESS and LiveShot) up to date with all the latest drivers. And the carriers certainly aren't making it easy--they seem to enjoy completely changing the driver structure for each new generation of USB modems they sell (and a generation lasts less than a year). Comrex codecs already support connecting to modems via ppp, DirectIP, Option protocol, custom drivers, and XML commands (not to mention a huge list of specialized drivers required for WiMAX compatibility).

Both AT&T and Sprint have changed up their USB offerings this summer. The new modems are shown below, and are currently the only 4G LTE modems offered by each carrier. AT&T calls their variant the "Beam"(340U)  and Sprint uses the model name of 341U.

And while they look the same (both are manufactured by Netgear, formerly Sierra Wireless), sure enough, each carrier has opted for a completely new, and completely different driver arrangement. And neither are simple upgrades (from a development perspective) to codec firmware.

We're on it. But it will take some time. We recommend not to upgrade to either of these modems for LiveShot or ACCESS until we can manage a firmware update for these. Keep an eye toward our website's update section for late details.

For now, we have a limited stock of previous generation LTE modems for use on the AT&T network for sale. And Mifi-style devices (compatible with the wi-fi modems that ship with our codecs) are still a good alternative for use on these networks.

Product Review: Tascam iXZ smartphone audio interface

Speaking of apps, here's a cheapo little device that will let you plug your pro dynamic mic into your smartphone. Accent on cheapo, it can be gotten for around 25 bucks online.

The device sure won't win any audio awards, but we are talking phone audio here and it does provide a basic battery powered adjustable preamp  for your mic. It seems to work fine with the iPhone and Androids I have around the lab.

The cable on the iXZ has a TRRS plug on the smartphone side for connection to the headset jack. The input is XLR/Phono jack and the headphone out is shunted to a 3.5mm TRS jack. Note the headphone pass-through is passive, so you'll still be driving them with your phone's headset amp.

Mind the app

No doubt about it, Comrex customers want smartphone apps. Our philosophy has remained constant: Wideband audio apps are cool and have their place, but are a poor substitute for hardware codecs. They don't work on Ethernet, they don't support stereo, and are constrained by the mobile phone audio section. To their credit, most customers I talk to see the sense in this and agree,

But we have put a lot of effort into support for apps.

A few years back, we even published our own Android app (ARC) and offered it for free. Unfortunately, we found our chosen platform extremely difficult to support as Android matured. The entry on the Android store became laden with angry commenters who reported various failures on ICS and Jelly Bean, so given the proliferation of good third-party stuff, we decided to pull it. Hopefully it proved useful in its time.

Because we get asked about apps so often now, we've posted an extensive primer on what's out there, and how well it works. In particular be sure to check out Luci Lite Live and CSipSimple options, both of which now have their own individual cheat sheet on our website.

Checking in with NYC

We try to visit the world's biggest media market regularly, and since it's a relatively short hop from our base in Massachusetts it's easy to do. So we made the trip last month, and it's always interesting to hear from Comrex users there. A couple of things we've learned, especially regarding wireless operation:
1) Many reporters have transitioned to Mi-fi style devices for using ACCESS codecs over 4G. It allows them to share bandwidth with their laptops and tablets easily without extra accounts, and the 4G performance of these devices is usually as good or better than USB modems
2) Verizon coverage is usually found to be adequate for audio on the upload path in Manhattan, but in several areas (at least on our mid-town tests) really doesn't cut the mustard for LiveShot video yet. In contrast, we find AT&T upload speeds to be remarkable given the market congestion and proliferation of iPhones.
3) Despite all the warnings, ISDN remains available. But it's not simple or cheap, so IP is the first choice most of the time.

Billboard on 6th Ave. I don't get it either.