Changing the Video Format of Greetings in Cisco Unity Connection 10.x
See the following sections:
Changing the Video Format that Unity Connection 10.x Uses for Calls
For calls, Cisco Unity Connection advertises the video format (or codec) that is preferred for the media stream with the phone system. You should consider the following when setting the video format:
- When Unity Connection advertises a different video format than the one used by the phone system, the phone system transcodes the media stream.
- Unity Connection should use the same video format for the media stream that the phone system uses for the following reasons:
– To reduce the need for transcoding the media stream from one video format to another.
– To minimize the performance impact on the Unity Connection server and on the phone system.
– To preserve the video quality of calls.
NoteIn Cisco Unity Connection 10.0(1), only G.711 µ-law codec is supported for audio and H.264 codec is supported for video.
For more information on video format codecs, see the “Video Codecs” section in the Sizing and Scaling Cisco Unity Connection 10.x Servers chapter of the Design Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Release 10.x , at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/10x/design/guide/10xcucdgx.html .
To Change the video Format that Unity Connection Uses for Calls
Step 1 In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, expand Telephony Integrations , then select Port Group .
Step 2 On the Search Port Groups page, select the port group that belongs to the phone system integration for which you want to change the video format of the media stream.
Step 3 On the Port Group Basics page, on the Edit menu, select Codec Advertising .
Step 4 On the Edit Codec Advertising page, select the Up and Down arrows to change the order of the codecs or to move codecs between the Advertised Codec box and the Unadvertised Codecs box.
If only one codec is in the Advertised Codecs box, Cisco Unity Connection sends the media stream in that audio format. The phone system transcodes if it does not use this audio format.
If two or more codecs are in the Advertised Codecs box, Unity Connection advertises its preference for the first codec in the list but sends the media stream in the audio format from the list that the phone system selects.
Step 5 Select Save .
Step 6 (Only SIP integrations) If you want to change the packet size that is used by the advertised codecs, on the Port Group Basics page, under Advertised Codec Settings, select the applicable packet setting for each codec in the Packet Size list, and select Save .
Note For both the audio and video calls, change the packet size for the codecs G711, G729, and G722 in Cisco Unified Communications Manager and the remaining codecs will be changed in Cisco Unity Connection Administration.
Step 7 On the Port Group menu, select Search Port Groups .
Step 8 Repeat Step 2 through Step 7 for all remaining port groups that belong to the phone system integration for which you want to change the video format of the media stream.
Changing the Video Format for Greetings in Unity Connection 10.x
Typically, you configure Cisco Unity Connection to use the same video format (or codec) for recording a video greeting that the playback device uses. For example, if users listen to greetings primarily on a phone system extension, you should configure Unity Connection to record video greetings in the same video format that the phone system uses. If users listen to video greetings on Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), however, you should configure Unity Connection to record greetings in the video format that the PDAs use (such as GSM 6.10).
Consider the following when setting the video format for recording messages:
- Setting the video format for recordings affects all video greetings systemwide for all users.
- Minimizing the number of different video formats in use by Unity Connection for recording and playing video greetings reduces transcoding between video formats that Unity Connection must perform, and thus reduces the effect on the performance of the Unity Connection server.
- When a video greeting is recorded in a lower quality video format and later transcoded to a higher quality video format during playback, the sound quality is not improved. Usually, the sound quality of a greeting suffers during transcoding, especially when the sampling rate is changed.
For example, sound quality suffers when messages that are recorded in the G.729a video format are played on devices that use the G.711 µ-Law video format. However, sound quality is preserved when messages that are recorded in the G.711 µ-Law video format are played on devices that use the same video format.
For more information on video format codecs, see the “video Codecs” section in the Sizing and Scaling Cisco Unity Connection 10.x Servers chapter of the Design Guide for Cisco Unity Connection Release 10.x , at http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/connection/10x/design/guide/10xcucdgx.html .
To Change the Video Format for Greetings by Using the Phone
Step 1 In Cisco Unity Connection Administration, expand System Settings , then select General Configuration .
Step 2 On the Edit General Configuration page, in the Recording Format list, select the applicable setting.
Note If the playback device uses a different video format, Unity Connection must transcode the messages, greetings, and names into the applicable video format or the playback device is not able to play them.
Step 3 Select Save .