Table Of Contents

Recording Greetings and Names

Recordings Overview

Using the Media Master to Record Greetings and Names

Determining Which Recording and Playback Device to Use

Selecting a Recording and Playback Device

Recording Greetings and Names

---

See the following sections in this chapter:

•Recordings Overview

•Using the Media Master to Record Greetings and Names

•Determining Which Recording and Playback Device to Use

•Selecting a Recording and Playback Device

Recordings Overview

You can record names for subscribers, public distribution lists, private lists, and call handlers (including interview handlers and directory handlers), and greetings for subscribers and call handlers, by using a Media Master control bar on the pages within the Cisco Unity Administrator. In addition, in circumstances when you cannot access the Cisco Unity Administrator, you can access the Cisco Unity Greetings Administrator from any phone to manage greetings for call handlers.

Before you begin recording subscriber and call handler names and greetings, consider the following:

•Who will record the greetings? For example, do you want to hire a professional to record the call handler greetings?

•What will the greetings say? Write detailed scripts for the greetings before beginning to record.

Note that subscribers can record their own names and personal greetings by accessing the Cisco Unity conversation by phone, or by using a Media Master on the pages within the Cisco Unity Assistant. For more information on setting up subscribers to record names and greetings, see the "Setting Up the Media Master" section on page 28-10.

For information about using the Cisco Unity Greetings Administrator, see the "Setting Up the Cisco Unity Greetings Administrator" chapter.

Using the Media Master to Record Greetings and Names

The Media Master control bar appears on each page of the Cisco Unity Administrator on which recordings can be made. See Figure 27-1. It allows you to make and play recordings, either with a phone or with your computer microphone and speakers, by clicking the Media Master controls.

The Media Master control bar relies on DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model), and does not work through a firewall that blocks DCOM communications. It also requires that your browser is able to download and run ActiveX controls.

Figure 27-1 Media Master Control Bar

See Table 27-1 for an overview of the Media Master Options menu.

Table 27-1 Media Master Control Bar Options Menu 

Option	Meaning
New	Use this option to start a new recording.
Paste	Paste a copied recording of a voice message, name, or greeting into this recording.
Paste from file	Paste a WAV file that you have stored on your computer into this recording. Note that when you do, the file is converted (if applicable) and saved on the Cisco Unity server in the G711 format—even when this is not the recording and storage codec specified for the Cisco Unity server. (For consistent sound quality, the codec format of all greetings and recorded names should match the message recording and storage codec being used by Cisco Unity. You can view the codec format of greetings and recorded names by using the Codec Checker utility. You change the codec format for greetings and recorded names by using the Set WAV Format utility. Both utilities are available in the Cisco Unity Tools Depot.)
Copy	Copy this recording so that you can paste it into another voice message, name, or greeting recording.
Copy to file	Save this recording as a WAV file to a location that you specify.
Playback devices	Select the phone or the multimedia speakers used with your computer. If you select the phone, you must click Options on the Media Master Control Bar Options menu and enter an extension and server name.
Recording devices	Select the phone or the multimedia microphone used with your computer. Note that if you select the phone, you must click Options on the Media Master Control Bar Options menu and enter an extension and server name.
Options	Enter an extension and the Cisco Unity server name here when you want to use the phone as the playback and recording device for the Media Master.

Determining Which Recording and Playback Device to Use

When determining the recording and playback device that you want to use with the Media Master in the Cisco Unity Administrator, consider the following points:

•The phone serves as the default recording and playback device for the Media Master.

•The phone offers the best sound quality for recordings.

In order to use the phone as a recording and playback device, Cisco Unity must have at least one port assigned for a TRAP Connection per session on the System > Ports page. (See the "Voice Messaging Port Settings" section on page 11-2 for more information.) Alternatively, when you make and play recordings by using a computer microphone and speakers, no ports are used, which decreases the load on the Cisco Unity server and leaves ports open for other functions.

For a "behind the scenes" summary of how the Media Master works with a given recording and playback device, see the "What Happens When Subscribers Use the Phone as Their Recording and Playback Device" section on page 28-12 and the "What Happens When Subscribers Use a Computer Microphone and Speakers as Their Recording and Playback Device" section on page 28-13.

•When you use the phone as a recording device, the recording and storage codec specified for the Cisco Unity server determines the format in which the recordings are saved and stored on the Cisco Unity server. However, when you use a computer microphone as the recording device, your recordings are saved and stored in the G711 format—even when this is not the recording and storage codec specified for the Cisco Unity server.

(For consistent sound quality, the codec format of all greetings and recorded names should match the message recording and storage codec being used by Cisco Unity. You can view the codec format of greetings and recorded names by using the Codec Checker utility. You change the codec format of greetings and recorded names by using the Set WAV Format utility. Both utilities are available in the Cisco Unity Tools Depot.)

Selecting a Recording and Playback Device

Use the following procedure to change the recording and playback device used by the Media Master. Updates to the Media Master are saved per user, per computer. If you plan to use another computer to access the Cisco Unity Administrator, the Media Master needs to be updated on the second computer as well.

To Select a Recording and Playback Device

---

Step 1 Go to any Media Master control bar in the Cisco Unity Administrator.

Step 2 From the Options menu, click Playback Devices. (The Options menu button is on the far left of the Media Master control bar. See Figure 27-1.)

Step 3 Select the device that you want to use from the list.

The <Use Preferred Device> option refers to the recording and playback devices that you have already selected for your computer (click Settings > Control Panel > Sounds and Multimedia on the Windows Start menu to set your preferred devices). See the Windows Help for more information on preferred recording and playback devices.

Step 4 From the Options menu, click Recording Devices, and repeat Step 3.

---