Music On Hold ducking for messages/announcement

Asterisk Asterisk Support
1

I was wondering if there is a way to implement this.

I am streaming shoutcast using mpg123, but I’d also want to play some short messages and announcements (e.g. “thank you for holding, a rep will be with your shortly. please continue to hold”).

DJ mixers have this feature called “sound ducking”, which basically automatically lowers the volume or mutes the music when it senses mic input (dj speaking).

I was wondering if something like that is possible?

Just to start the brainstorm. I was thinking maybe hosting the shoutcast server and then somehow merging two sound sources and having Asterisk listening on the local shoutcast server, rather than remote.

2

If I were you I’d just create the MP3 files you want directly and play them from the server.

It’s not particulary hard with the right software.

Click the link below, and you’ll find some software that makes it a breeze. (Believe it or not, it’s even free.) Just pick your favorite mp3 file, record your own voice with a decent microphone, and it’ll create the files you’re asking about.

onholdplus.com/download/download.html

I certainly wouldn’t make is as complicated as a stream server.

3

If you are using queues, the announcements can already be enabled in queues.conf.

4

I am streaming the music from a shoutcast server. I don’t want to manage the uploaded music.

So in queues we can have background music with announcements playing on top of them?

5

The queues.conf file doesn’t work the way you want.

It interrupts the music on hold source, and plays periodic announcements with the following settings:

 periodic-announce = thank-you-message ; file to play 
 periodic-announce-frequency = 60 ; every 60 seconds

The fact that you’re using a shoutcast server is what complicates things. It’s really a shoutcast server question, not an Asterisk question.

If you used traditional music on hold mp3 files, it would be easier.

6

Does it interrupt and then resume from the space spot where it stopped? Or do the songs restart?

7

Test and let us know :wink: