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    Skype sound quality on Macbook

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by stylinexpat, Mar 8, 2008.

  1. stylinexpat

    stylinexpat Notebook Evangelist

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    Up until now everything has been ok for me with this new Macbook. I have Skype downloaded on my Macbook and the sound quality seems to be quite poor compared to my PC and Desktop. The call clairty just doesn't seem as good as it is with a PC using Windows XP or Vista. The call is also distracted and the other party says they can barely hear me and say that it keeps cutting of as well.

    I was thinking to buy a condenser microphone. Would this help or is this an OS problem? Are there other better ones to use online other then Skype for international calls and chatting??
     
    stylinexpat, Mar 8, 2008
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  2. r0k

    r0k Notebook Evangelist

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    Welcome to NBR, stylinexpat.

    I just played around with spoken commands and found I had my microphone cranked. I moved it to the middle and more commands were recognized. I have skype installed but haven't made any calls. When I have time, I'll give it a try and see if there are complaints from the other end. Another area of concern for skype performance is the network. My macbook uses 802.11n but my old Dell used gigabit ethernet. Both of these are more than fast enough for skype, but it's something to consider if you're troubleshooting.

    BTW, When you're testing your microphone, be sure to try the command tell me a joke... Tolkeins get you on the subway :D
     
    r0k, Mar 8, 2008
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  3. stylinexpat

    stylinexpat Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks for the kind reply.. I am using the new Belkin N1 Wireless Router which has N built in so I'm pretty sure the connection part isn't the problem and reception is full bars any where in my home. Here in Taiwan homes are quite small :( I also have great download speeds here at home. I have 8MB download and 2MB upload speeds because i have set IP addresses from my provider. Without the set IP addresses I would get 10 or 12MB download speeds :) :D

    How do I check those spoken commands. I'm new to this MACBOOK thing :confused:
     
    stylinexpat, Mar 9, 2008
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  4. r0k

    r0k Notebook Evangelist

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    Like most things on a Mac, it's never more than 3 clicks deep...
    To enable/disable speakable items...
    System Preferences->System/Speech->Speakable Items (on)
    To adjust input levels for your built-in microphone...
    System Preferences->Hardware/Sound->input

    I leave my speakable items turned off by default but it was fun to play with for a while.
     
    r0k, Mar 9, 2008
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  5. stylinexpat

    stylinexpat Notebook Evangelist

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    Thanks.. Will try and see what happens :)
     
    stylinexpat, Mar 9, 2008
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