Marratech offers a wide variety of options, enabling users to tune their setup to their preference. These options are available from the Tools -> Options menu (Marratech - > Preferences on Mac OS X) and selecting the Audio tab.

OUTPUT VOLUME

The Output Volume section controls the volume that you hear from your speakers. The slider to the right has the same function as the one in the main interface; it controls the volume of what you hear.

Windows and Linux
Choose which Output Device (i.e. audio card) you want to hear the audio from. If you have many such devices, select the one to which your headset is connected.

You may then choose an Output Channel from this device. These devices may have more than one output channel that tend to use different names depending on the brand, but the most common Output Device is often called Wave or Speaker.

Avoid anything called Stereo Mix, as this will cause echo.

Mac OS X
Choose which Output Device (i.e. audio card) you want to hear the audio from. If you have many output devices, select the one to which your head set is connected.

If you are using a USB headset, be sure to connect it before starting the client software. Always connect your USB audio device to your computer. Avoid using powered or unpowered USB hubs.

INPUT VOLUME

The Input Volume section controls the volume that you hear. The Marratech client software has automatic volume control for the microphone. For information on how to turn this off, please read further in this section.

Windows and Linux
Choose which Input Device you which to use when sending audio. If you have many Input Devices, select the one to which your headset is connected.

You may then choose an Input Channel from this device. Input Devices may have more than one Input Channel and while they are named differently from one brand to another, the proper one is usually called "Microphone".

Avoid using your web camera's built in microphone. The quality of those microphones is usually poor and may make you hard to understand.

Mac OS X
Choose which Input Device (i.e. audio card) you want to hear the audio from. If you have many Input Devices, select the one to which your head set is connected.

When using the Mac's built-in microphone or the iSight's microphone, try to use normal headphones as well. This will avoid echo. iPod headphones work fine.

If you are using a USB headset, be sure to connect it before starting Marratech. Always connect your USB audio device directly to your computer. Avoid using an unpowered USB hubs.

Options

The Middle Mouse Button to Talk function will make your middle mouse button activate the microphone over any region belonging to Marratech. This is good for giving short, quick comments during a meeting. (On a Mac, do ALT-Click)

Walkie-Talkie Mode forces the user to keep the mouse button pressed down on the microphone to talk. This can be bypassed by CTRL clicking the microphone button to keep it pressed in, or by disabling it altogether by unchecking the Walkie Talkie Mode box. The benefits of using Walkie-Talkie Mode are two-fold, bandwidth savings are significant and the Video Follows Audio option will work better.

The Audio Loopback feature will playback (i.e. make you hear) all the audio you send from your microphone. This feature is useful when making a recording and wanting to be sure your audio levels are correct. This feature is disabled every time you restart the application.

Automatic Gain Control (AGC) let's Marratech adjust the volume to a level that is right for you. If you wish to disable this feature, un check the AGC box. When doing this, you may control the volume levels at an OS level without the influence of Marratech.

Advanced

Voice Activity Detection
This functionality attempts to detect what is voice and what is silence, in order to reduce the amount of data being sent on the network. If your usage scenario includes keeping the microphone button pressed in during long periods of time, this function should be active, at one of these levels:

• Moderate: To be used in low noise environment like in a private office.
• Balanced: More suitable for, say a shared office.
• Aggressive: And this might be used in an office landscape or other noisy environments.

Noise Reduction
This feature is designed to filter out unwanted noise like a projector fan in a conference room. Three levels are available but note that using a too high/aggressive setting might cause your microphone level to fluctuate slightly.

Echo Cancellation Mode
If you do not have a head-set or an echo-canceling microphone (both are recommended to use as a primary microphone) you can use the built-in software echo cancellation that the Marratech client has as of version 6.1 - note that this function can use quite a bit of CPU on older machines.

Having proper audio equipment is always recommended but use the echo cancellation if you lack that to ensure that the others in the meeting will not suffer from echo and/or audio feedback.

Echo Cancellation Type
If the built-in echo cancellation is used there are two different methods to choose from:

• Cancel: This filters out the actual echo and is the recommended method as it allows you to talk at the same time as others in the meeting.
• Suppress: This method blocks the incoming audio when you are speaking. Use this only if you have an older machine that needs that might be suffering from high CPU loads.

Testing your audio

The Audio Options panel offers the possibility to test your audio playback and recording. The test button, situated in the Options/Preferences, will bring up a window that lets you do the following:

Record button - The red circle button will let you speak a short sentence and record it

Play button - The green arrow button will let you hear what you have just recorded and repeat it until you press stop.

Stop button - The black square will stop the repeating playback.

Marratech button - The Marratech button will playback a test voice in a loop, enabling you to test your output volume without testing.

Output Volume slider will let you adjust the output volume accordingly during your tests.