The new Cisco SPA504G compared with the old Linksys SPA942
Roughly the same size - here is what is different
Handset is bigger and feels heavier on the SPA504G
Dial buttons are closer together on SPA504G
Nav button is smaller on SPA504G
Speaker holes are in a "round" pattern compared to a square pattern
Message Waiting Indicator is smaller on SPA504G
Showing posts with label spa504G. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spa504G. Show all posts
Friday, November 6, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Asterisk g722 with Cisco 504G
One of the new cool features of the Cisco 504G is support for wideband (hd) g722 codec. Note that g722 is only available with the 500 series spa phones. You spa 900 series owners are out of luck. Asterisk 1.4.x does not support g722 without patching, I've used the following patch and instructions with Asterisk 1.4.26.3 and it worked.
The one thing I noticed with the g722 Asterisk sound files is that the volume is much louder - I had to take down the volume half way on the spa504g. Everything sounded clearer but none of my gateways support g722. I know technically pots line would not provide hd quality audio but if the gateway supports g722 my Asterisk box would not need to transcode from 711 to g722. Everytime there is transcoding you lose quality, create latency, and slow down your system. These are all bad things and should be avoided.
Now I just need to configure another phone with g722 and do some test. Perhaps play some music and see if I can hear the entire range of sounds.
The one thing I noticed with the g722 Asterisk sound files is that the volume is much louder - I had to take down the volume half way on the spa504g. Everything sounded clearer but none of my gateways support g722. I know technically pots line would not provide hd quality audio but if the gateway supports g722 my Asterisk box would not need to transcode from 711 to g722. Everytime there is transcoding you lose quality, create latency, and slow down your system. These are all bad things and should be avoided.
Now I just need to configure another phone with g722 and do some test. Perhaps play some music and see if I can hear the entire range of sounds.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Cisco SPA504G Paging & Intercom
One of the reasons I wanted to get a Cisco 504G was to test the FreePBX/Asterisk Paging & Intercom module. With every new phone release its always important to test the feature set before deploying to clients.
The paging and intercom work the same way as the SPA942 models. Just need to enable "Auto Answer Page" and remove any vertical service codes that might conflict with FreePBX paging/intercom codes.
There is a new multicast feature that enables paging directly from the phone - need to look into this more.
The paging and intercom work the same way as the SPA942 models. Just need to enable "Auto Answer Page" and remove any vertical service codes that might conflict with FreePBX paging/intercom codes.
There is a new multicast feature that enables paging directly from the phone - need to look into this more.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Cisco SPA504G Review
Just got my hands on a Cisco SPA50G, this is the revised SPA942 (probably the most popular voip phone)
The SPA942 was a very nice voip phone - it offered extensive features at a very nice price. There were some things that needed improving. The SPA504 fixes most of the problems. The one problem I was hoping it would improve immensely was the speaker phone but I am out of luck here.
Although with recent firmware upgrades for the SPA942 the speaker phone became usable its still was not a "great" sounding speaker phone compared to Polycom phones. Seems that Cisco just can't figure out the speaker phone.
The SPA504G has the following improvements:
1) Support HD/g722 codec
2) Handset - heavier - more polished -sounds better - sounds deeper
3) Buttons - have more of tactile feel - don't feel cheap anymore
4) Speaker phone - louder (no improvement is sound quality)
5) Sidecar - all the SPA phones now support the new and old 32 button sidecar - you do not need a "receptionist" phone anymore - anyone of them can be turned into one - all have the AUX expansion
6) Configuration Interface is more polished - looks modern (same options though)
7) Line/nav buttons and MWI are smaller now
8) Unit is a little heavier - seems more solid
Overall a nice improvement - if you don't need g722 and louder speaker phone your better off getting an SPA942 while they are still available since there is such a huge price difference.
The SPA942 was a very nice voip phone - it offered extensive features at a very nice price. There were some things that needed improving. The SPA504 fixes most of the problems. The one problem I was hoping it would improve immensely was the speaker phone but I am out of luck here.
Although with recent firmware upgrades for the SPA942 the speaker phone became usable its still was not a "great" sounding speaker phone compared to Polycom phones. Seems that Cisco just can't figure out the speaker phone.
The SPA504G has the following improvements:
1) Support HD/g722 codec
2) Handset - heavier - more polished -sounds better - sounds deeper
3) Buttons - have more of tactile feel - don't feel cheap anymore
4) Speaker phone - louder (no improvement is sound quality)
5) Sidecar - all the SPA phones now support the new and old 32 button sidecar - you do not need a "receptionist" phone anymore - anyone of them can be turned into one - all have the AUX expansion
6) Configuration Interface is more polished - looks modern (same options though)
7) Line/nav buttons and MWI are smaller now
8) Unit is a little heavier - seems more solid
Overall a nice improvement - if you don't need g722 and louder speaker phone your better off getting an SPA942 while they are still available since there is such a huge price difference.
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