Before we upload a sound file, let’s talk about the sound file format. It does not really matter the format you use as VitalPBX will automatically convert the sound file to the appropriate format. But, it helps with volume levels and clarity if you upload a file that is already using the appropriate format. The format goes as follows.

• 8,000 Hz
• 16-bit PCM
• WAV file
• A-LAW algorithm

You can use any audio processing software to convert this sound file, Audacity is a free open-source software that we have used to create these sound files.

With your sound file created, we can now go back to the Recordings Management module. Here, we will enter a Name for our recording, select the Sound File we have created, and click on the green Upload Recording button in the lower right-hand corner. And Apply Changes.

Optionally, you can enter a Recording Code so you can re-record the sound file from any extension, and add an Authorization PIN, to protect the recording from being re-recorded by anyone.

You can now use the sound file in various modules as we saw in Queues, Queues Callbacks, Extensions, and in any other module that uses custom audio files.

In the bottom section, you can see your Recording List. This will display information about the different recordings and sound files you have, including their Name, Recording Sound File, Recording Code, and Duration.

Additionally, you have some actions you can take over these recordings. You can edit them to change their Name, Recording code, and Authorization PIN. You can play the recording back and download the file. With the yellow handset icon, you can prompt an extension to re-record the sound file. And with the red trash bin icon, you can delete the recording.

Additionally, you can record these files from any extension using the feature code *92. This feature code will allow you to record sound files directly so you can use them for the various prompts in VitalPBX. There’s also a blue Refresh button in the lower right-hand corner to refresh the list. This way you can see the latest recording you have done.

In this module, we create a Music on Hold Classes. A class is a playlist of sound files that will play when Music on Hold is used. Music on Hold is usually abbreviated as MOH.

First, you must enter a Name to identify this Music on Hold Class. Then, we select the Mode for this MOH, which can be either Files or Custom. Files will allow you to upload WAV files that can play based on the Sort option you select. You can sort in a Linear fashion, so the Sound Files play in the order they are uploaded, or in a Shuffle fashion and playback in a random order.

The first file is uploaded when you click on Save. To upload more files, you must go back to the MOH Class, select a new sound file, and click on Update. You will see the list of sound files at the bottom of your MOH class. You can playback the sound files or delete them if necessary.

Additionally, you can set the MOH class as the Default MOH class. When you enable this option, every module that uses a MOH class will use this MOH class instead of the default music on hold that comes with VitalPBX. If you set a new MOH class as default, this will disable the option for any other MOH class that had this enabled. You cannot have two default MOH classes at once.

Once you have all your sound files uploaded, you can then Apply Changes.

The other mode available is Custom. This is an extended feature for the MOH module, where you can use a streaming URL to playback instead of predetermined sound files.

To create a custom MOH class, you must enter a Name to identify it and select the Custom mode. Then, you have the Application field. Here, you can select the application to playback the streaming MOH. By default, we use the mpg123 application to playback the music, but you can use any other and enter the parameters here. You can leave this field blank to use the default values.

Next, we have the Streaming URL. This is the URL that has the music stream to playback. This can come from a streaming server or a streaming service that provides this URL.

Make sure that the streaming URL you use does not use HTTPS. This is due to Asterisk not
being able to process HTTPS URLs.

The Format field specifies the format option that the application will provide to Asterisk. The
options you can enter here are the formats that Asterisk can accept, like ulaw, alaw, wav, and
mp3. You can leave this field blank.

You can then Save and Apply Changes.

Note: With Debian 11, there is currently a bug (as of October 2023) with the
FFMPEG libraries that may playback static noise. This may be fixed in a future
version of Debian 11 or Debian 12.

When using a streaming service, make sure that you take into account Copyright based on your local copyright laws, as well as the quality, reliability, and content of the streaming music. Remember that any caller will be able to listen to this stream when reaching your VitalPBX.

The list of available voice prompt languages will appear blank in the beginning. To see the list of the latest languages, click on the green Check Online button. Next to the available language, you will find the Actions column. Here you can click the green Install button. This will install the voice prompts for that language. Once installed, you will see a blue Reinstall button, and a red Trash button to delete the voice prompt.

Once the language is installed, you can select more language options for voice prompts.

If you see that the voice prompts for a specific language are not available, we have created the following article so you can translate the prompts directly, https://vitalpbx.com/blog/how-to-translate-for-free-your-pbx-voice/.

In this article, we show you a small application we have created that uses Google© Translate
to translate the voice prompts. You can then verify the translation and record the prompts, or use the following article to use Microsoft© Azure’s Text-to-Speech to record these prompts,
https://vitalpbx.com/blog/free-voice-guide-with-azure-free/. In this other article, we use another small application we have created to connect with Microsoft© Azure’s TTS capabilities to record the prompts for us.

Afterward, you can send the translated recordings to us at sales@vitalpbx.com, and we will be able to add them to a future version of VitalPBX.