Auto-recording all calls features - USB, PC, NAS

[cyberic68]

Would it be possible to add the very nice feature "auto-record" for all calls.

On the obi200, 302 or 302' calls could be recorded directly on the USB port, with a flash drive or a standard hard drive. And/or a NAS

For obi100 and 110 it could be recorded on pc and/or a NAS.

What do you think?

Is it doable?

Thanks

Eric

[Lavarock7]

A couple of thoughts from a user. It sounds useful but there are a few issues that make it a bit more complicated than it first appears.

1) Each state has notification requirements as to whether one or both parties have to agree to record a call. There is some talk about when there is a difference between an interstate call (between one party and a two party states) which state takes precedence. If this is a business with a "You call may be recorded for... yada yada) then that might suffice. How would you handle telling people their call IS being recorded to avoid lawsuits.

2) As for just dumping audio to an external USB device, while it may seem very easy, I have a bit of programming experience so...

a) What format should the audio be? Realizing that the audio on the Obi may be in various codec formats and would have to be converted to perhaps MP3. Them format determines size of the file and how/where it may be used.

b) Then the Obi might need to know how much of the external device it can use for audio. The USB device may also have other data or files on it.

c) Some method would need to be created to see what audio calls are there, allow you to perhaps dump them back to a connected phone or extract them.

c) Some method to delete messages.

d) Some method to notify the Obi owner that space is running out to save calls (there is nothing worse then thinking you are saving something only to find out that you are not).

e) A thought I had, then discounted was to just add an audio out jack and contacts to start a recorder, and let the customer handle the recording, but since the Obi can handle multiple calls at the same time, that option would not be useful.

Any, just one persons thoughts.

[mwhapples]

I had been thinking of this feature as well and was just about to post such a request.

Here are my responses to some of the questions raised about it.

The legality of recording calls: Well laws differ in different places, it is up to the user to ensure they comply. One could compare this to other topics like copying a CD, it is normally not legal to copy a music CD if you do not have the copyright, however this does not mean there is not legal technology which allows you to copy a CD (IE. there are legal cases of copying a CD), like wise in some cases it is legal to record a phone call. The OBi devices already have the capability of recording a call (it needs to be started manually while the call is in progress), so legal issues must have been considered. If calls were recorded automatically, the recording would start at the beginning of the call and would include any notice regarding call recording you give the other person, so that surely would help prove you complied in giving any necessary notices.

Regarding what format to use: As the OBI devices already allow recording, initially one could say just use the same format (currently .au). Admittedly another format might be more space efficient.

For a USB mass storage device on the OBi202 and OBi302 the OBi device could query the drive size and allow the user to specify a percentage. I have a TP-Link TD-VG3631 router which has voice facilities including voicemail and allows just this feature of specifying the space to be used by recordings on a USB mass storage device so it is technically possible and has been implemented by others.

For when storing to a network location it may not be possible to find out available storage. However may be the OBi device could still monitor the space used by files it places on the network drive and not go above a given size.

File management would be done from your computer, the OBi202/302 allow the USB device to be served to the network, and a network location is obviously network accessible by definition.

As for warning the user of reaching storage limit (either drive limit or OBi device configured limit for recordings): This may be is the hardest question to answer, but I am sure that a warning tone or such like could be given to the user when they start a call. Probably two warning tones, one to indicate reaching limit but allowing the user to make some space on the drive and another to indicate unable to record as limit reached.

May be a phone interface to listen to recordings could be done, but that is not a feature I would require. However, should a phone interface for recordings be desired, I am sure such an interface could be developed, after all devices like the TP-Link TD-VG3631 does allow listening to voicemail messages it stores on a USB mass storage device via a handset.

I strongly support this request for automatic recording to network and USB locations, and I do feel that it should all be technically possible. My only uncertainty is that I do not know how much processing and memory resources this would take and whether the OBi devices have sufficient (I suspect they might).

[giqcass]

It would be a nice option to have calls recorded to a local drive. I'm sure it is possible and but like lavarock says it might be difficult.

The OBi devices already have the capability of recording a call (it needs to be started manually while the call is in progress), so legal issues must have been considered.

The Obi does not have the ability to record calls.  Google Voice has the ability to record incoming calls.  The Obi can record local audio for a prompt.  From a programming aspect this can be very different.  Resource allocations have to be considered.  Not just the space on the usb drive but internal memory and CPU usage.  Obi might be able to set up incoming Google Voice calls to be recorded by automatically by sending the record key at the beginning of every incoming call.

Recording calls to a PC or NAS is another ballgame altogether.  That can get really complicated. 

[mwhapples]

The OBI devices are capable of recording a call on-demand. You access it from the local admin interface in status > Call Status. The option to record the call is only available when a call is in progress and involves a phone port.

Here is what the OBI manual says in the section on call status:
"The Call Status page shows a number of running call statistics and state parameters for each active call currently in progress. A sample call status page is shown below.
For each entry on the call status page, the following buttons may be available:
-          Remove: This button is available for all calls. Pressing this button will end that call.
-          Record: This button is available for calls involving the Phone port only. Pressing this button allows you to record the current conversation in an audio (.au) file"

I have tested this without using any service which provides call recording so I know that the recording must be coming from the OBI device.

It certainly should not be too much work to extend this current capability to work for USB storage, and should still be possible for network storage.

As the current recording facility is only available for calls involving the phone port, I do not know whether it would be possible for this to be extended also to include any bridged calls, I would be interested in that as well.