PhoneStream FAQ
The PhoneStream™ is the unique analogue
phone interface with built in Computer Telephony
Integration (CTI) plus voice recording and accompanying
software for your PC.
CTI links the 2 most use tools in your
office, the PC and the Telephone. CTI allows you
to use the power of your PC to make phone calls
to, and recognise calls from your existing customers
or new contacts that are saved in a database on
your PCs.
The PhoneStream™ relies on “Caller Display”
also known as CLI/CLIP provided by the Telephone
Company to tell the PC what number is calling. The
CLI is transmitted down the phone line from the
exchange to the Phone. The PC receives the CLI from
the Phone, looks the number up in a database and
displays the caller’s record on your PC monitor
all in less than 1 second, i.e. before you answer
the call.
When a call comes into your office knowing
who is calling allows the user to greet the caller
in the most appropriate manner. The caller’s record
is displayed on the PC allowing the user to instantly
identify who the caller is and what previous business
has been done. There are times when it is useful
to be able to prepare for potential questions before
they are asked! PhoneStream™ allows the user to
be prepared.
Yes, you can pick up the handset in the
conventional way; OR you can answer the call with
a mouse click, but only when you have connected
a suitable a telephone headset to the PhoneStream®
unit.
To dial out from a contact in the database,
you locate & open the relevant contact name, click
on the Phone Icon next to the required number e.g.
home, work, mobile; the number will appear in the
small dial pad on the PC screen, then simply click
dial on the dial pad and the PhoneStream™ dials
the number for you. The dial pad tells you when
to pick up the handset, when the call is over simply
replace the handset, or when using a headset, click
on end call button on the dial pad to end the call.
Yes the PhoneStream™ allows you to record
and log every inbound & outbound call and save the
recorded calls to the PCs or Server hard-drive for
later playback when required.
Apart from a sound card on the PC, no
additional equipment is required, the call recording
feature is built into the PhoneStream™ unit.
In the UK you do not need permission
to record calls, however, under OFTEL rules you
have to “make every reasonable effort to inform
callers that phone calls may be recorded”. This
can be achieved by adding “Calls May be Recorded”
to your phone switchboard holding message, or by
a notice displayed in your office, by a note on
your website, stationary or business cards, if appropriate
for your business you could even state at the start
of every call that “Calls are be Recorded for training
or quality purposes”.
The recorded conversations are saved
as .wav files; they are uncompressed and take up
approximately ½ MB per minute of speaking. We recommend
that calls are routinely backed up to DVD (4.7 GB
~ 4700MB of space) or CD (700MB of space), or to
any other suitable removable media.
At the end of every call a window will
pop up to allow the user to type a short note to
identify the specific call. Adding notes at the
end of every call allows the user to subsequently
locate the required call for easy play back.
Calls are saved in the specific contact
record of the person that was called, allowing quick
& easy location & playback.
Yes, files can easily be archived to
CD or DVD and if required can be compressed to reduce
space, but would need to be uncompressed to allow
play back.
Yes, the database can easily be shared
across a network of PCs via a LAN or WAN, so that
multiple users can access information from the same
database.
The Phone is supplied with PhoneStream™
software, a PC or Server based Microsoft Access
contact database.
Yes, an upgrade will soon be available
that will allow the PhoneStream™ unit to be linked
to Outlook Contacts for dialing out and popping
up of records as well as saving the recorded calls
to the Outlook record.
Yes, PhoneStream™ is networkable when
installed on a Server, or master PC, ask you supplier
for details.
The PhoneStream™ is easy to install
as it plugs straight into your phone socket at the
wall in the same way as your existing phone. It
also connects to your PC via the PC’s Serial or
COM port (or USB port via an adapter) and also to
the PC’s sound card MIC input.
Any PC soundcard will work, however,
the better the quality of soundcard fitted to your
PC, the better the quality of recording will be.
We recommend “Soundblaster” soundcards for quality
and value. If your PC or Laptop does not have a
soundcard, you can purchase PCI cards or external
USB soundcards for instant plug and play operation.
PhoneStream™ software is supplied on
a CD with the Phone, or can be downloaded from our
website and is easily installed from a CD ROM drive
in a few minutes onto the PC.
No, the PC must be switched on and the
software running for the device to function.
Yes, the PhoneStream™ has a headset
socket allowing users to have handsfree dialing
from the PC & handsfree conversations when a headset
is connected.
PhoneStream™ is an analogue device and
can only work on analogue extensions or trunk lines.
PhoneStream™ will dial out from the
PC and record outbound calls. However, PhoneStream™
will not display caller’s details, record inbound
calls or Pop up the caller’s record on the PC where
CLI is not presented to the Phone.
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