Jack Allison 1430215 Posted January 4, 2019 at 11:06 AM Posted January 4, 2019 at 11:06 AM Hi all, Ever since the trailer for the new codec came out in September, I have been excitedly waiting for it's arrival. But I haven't seen any possible release date eta's or updates at all. Do you guys have an ETA, or at least any updates as of now to share? Regards, Jack A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Board of Governors Simon Kelsey Posted January 4, 2019 at 11:50 AM Board of Governors Posted January 4, 2019 at 11:50 AM Hi Jack, Release dates/ETAs are always difficult because invariably when one is given people get upset if it gets missed, no matter how many disclaimers are put on it! Doubly so in a volunteer environment where development takes place around the developers' real world jobs and commitments which are not always consistent. However, work continues to progress - I know that there were many hours spent on coding over the Christmas period. Going from a small scale proof of concept to a full release that's bombproof in the face of hundreds or thousands of simultaneous worldwide connections 24/7 is hard and invariably with software development it is the last 5% of the work which takes 95% of the time! But the guys are getting there and I know they're as keen to get it out there as you and I are to have it in our hands (or should that be ears!). Vice President, Pilot Training Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Allison 1430215 Posted January 4, 2019 at 12:33 PM Author Posted January 4, 2019 at 12:33 PM Hi Simon, Thanks for the reply I'm always grateful for the work that developers put into improving the network. Let's hope it comes soon Regards, Jack A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Bartels Posted January 5, 2019 at 02:30 PM Posted January 5, 2019 at 02:30 PM Did you see this? https://blog.vatsim.net/index.php/posts/2018-board-of-governors-recap You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. Forever and always "Just the events guy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marton Sisak 1443891 Posted January 6, 2019 at 04:04 PM Posted January 6, 2019 at 04:04 PM I have heard about the new codec from lots of places, however I couldn't find any info about what codec is used right now, and which one is going to be the new one. Does anyone know anything about this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Gerrish Posted January 6, 2019 at 09:28 PM Posted January 6, 2019 at 09:28 PM The currently used CODEC is the same one that has been in use for the last 10 years or so. The new one is in development there are a couple of threads on its testing and progress etc in the forums. Both to the best of my knowledge are custom written for the network which is part of why its taking the amount of time to test before client developers can start implementing it. Richard Gerrish Developer, STM Applications Group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Morris 1132365 Posted January 7, 2019 at 03:22 AM Posted January 7, 2019 at 03:22 AM Voicing my support here (see what i did there? ) for the push on progress updates. Good to see the background tasks are being taken care of (such as unicom rules) , the foreground is also looking good as we can see from streaming and such. ./opinion: The tech is there, in use in testing, it doesn't need to be bomb proof because the current voice certainly is not. Please keep going, don't be afraid to release it into the wild just because it might not be perfect yet. Literally any improvement is better than none after a decade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marton Sisak 1443891 Posted January 7, 2019 at 06:49 PM Posted January 7, 2019 at 06:49 PM The currently used CODEC is the same one that has been in use for the last 10 years or so. The new one is in development there are a couple of threads on its testing and progress etc in the forums. Both to the best of my knowledge are custom written for the network which is part of why its taking the amount of time to test before client developers can start implementing it. But why bother writing your own codec, when there are great free codecs that work very well even at lower bitrates, like opus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Carlson Posted January 7, 2019 at 06:59 PM Posted January 7, 2019 at 06:59 PM I'm not one of the voice devs, so I could be wrong, but I believe the new codec is NOT custom. I'm certain that the current one is not. Developer: vPilot, VRC, vSTARS, vERAM, VAT-Spy Senior Controller, Boston Virtual ARTCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Board of Governors Simon Kelsey Posted January 7, 2019 at 08:50 PM Board of Governors Posted January 7, 2019 at 08:50 PM The actual codec (the bit that actually encodes/compresses/decodes the audio) is the easy bit (and the new voice system uses Opus). The difficult bit is the rest of the voice system -- integration with pilot and ATC clients, some of which are no longer supported by their original developers, VHF range effects (and making that work acceptably in a VATSIM environment where sectors are often larger and controllers are dealing with a much wider range of traffic on one frequency than would be the case in real life, whilst keeping to the principle of a VHF radio simulation and the benefits that brings over the current voice room system), authentication, load distribution and balancing, voice ATIS integration, supervisor functions, automatic gain control and signal processing (to fix some of the problems that exist with the current codec), ensuring that it works reliably and with a minimum of dropouts on a variety of internet connections across the globe, support for different sims and OS platforms, the list goes on... although the current system is far from perfect I'm sure that if on day one of the new codec it all blew up under the load and there was NO voice for a long period of time, let alone during an event (CTP for example?) people would not be happy! Small-scale tests of 20-30 users are very different to 800+ simultaneous connections... However, as I say, it's getting there. Rest [Mod - Happy Thoughts]ured that the guys behind this very much have a track record of delivery and are determined not to allow this to drop off the radar like so many other promised developments in the past. Vice President, Pilot Training Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnus Meese Posted January 8, 2019 at 12:14 AM Posted January 8, 2019 at 12:14 AM Thanks for the insight, Simon, I'm really looking forward to getting to trying the new stuff out! And on a more curious note, for those interested, here's the details on our current voice system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Wilco_(software) . Who says VATSIM isn't innovative, this stuff was one of the first and best VoIP systems in the world back in 1999 to 2003! Funnily enough, I was still able to monitor VATSIM voice on my old Roger Wilco client in late summer 2018 (trying to chase down a method for xSquawkbox shared cockpit, turned out VRC was a far better tool for the job). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norman Blackburn Posted January 8, 2019 at 12:41 AM Posted January 8, 2019 at 12:41 AM Whilst our current voice system is based on RW, the RW client isn't allowed to transmit. Norman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Nabieszko Posted January 19, 2019 at 05:32 PM Posted January 19, 2019 at 05:32 PM Also consider this: The current COC does not allow for voice transmissions on unicom. Since this support will be baked into our new voice system, COC amendments are being drafted to support this ability and others. This is definitely not holding up progress, but just another example of how revolutionary this new system will be, and how many different parts of the VATSIM organization are involved in these changes. This ain't your daddy's voice system. Rob Nabieszko | VATCAN3 Director of Training, VATCAN [email protected] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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