Setting Up Voice

What do I need to use Voice?

To use Voice you will need:

1. A computer that fulfills the System Requirements.
2. A broadband (i.e. DSL or cable) connection to the Internet.
3. A voice over IP (VoIP) headset for your computer (strongly recommended), or a microphone and speakers on your computer. A VoIP headset gives the best sound quality and avoids annoying echoes of your own voice on a call.

How do I plug in my headset?

Voice over IP (VoIP) headsets come in two flavors: They either have two plugs (one for the microphone and one for the earphones), or they have a single USB (Universal Serial Bus) type connector. The connectors on the two-plug variety are usually color coded:

• Green for the speaker connector
• Pink or orange for the microphone connector

If your headset connectors are color coded, match them to the like colors of the receiving sockets on your computer.

If your connectors aren't color coded, look for the microphone and speaker symbols on the connectors themselves and match them to the like symbols on your computer.

If your headset has a USB connector, simply connect it to any available USB socket. On some Windows systems, you'll need to have the USB headset plugged in when you start the operating system.

How do I plug in an external microphone and speakers?

Audio connectors are usually color coded:

• Green for the speaker connector
• Pink or orange for the microphone connector

If your connectors are color coded, match them to the like colors of the receiving sockets on your computer.

If your connectors aren't color coded, look for the microphone and speaker symbols on the connectors themselves and match them to the like symbols on your computer.

How do I select which microphone and speakers to use for voice?

If your volume works initially, but some residents complain they can't hear you, it may be that:

• You're too far from your microphone
• Your microphone isn't working properly
• Your microphone settings are incorrect or have changed for some reason

On a computer running Windows:

You can also tune your microphone and speaker settings using the Sounds and Audio Devices function within your Windows Control Panel on Windows:

1. Open the Windows Control Panel.
2. Open the Sounds and Audio Devices function.
3. Look in the Volume tab to make sure that the Mute checkbox is not selected and the device volume is set where you want it.
4. In the Audio tab, select the primary input and output audio devices from the dropdown list.

If you're using a USB audio device, make sure it's been recognized by Windows, and appears in the dropdown list.

On a Mac:

1. Go to System Preferences and select Sound.
2. For Output, select the desired device to hear the audio on and make any changes to volume.
3. For Input, select the desired device to speak into and adjust the volume.

You should see the speaking indicator and volume waves (white dot and green and red waves) move when you talk.

I Don't Have Voice

I don't have voice. What should I do?

There are a few key things you should check:

• Make sure you've downloaded and are using a Second Life Viewer that has voice. Many people have multiple viewers and not all of them include voice. Starting in early August of 2007, voice will be part of the standard Second Life Viewer.
• Make sure Skype is not running. Even if you are not engaged in a Skype call, Skype being open can affect your audio settings.
• If you're using Voice, make sure voice is actually enabled. Voice is not enabled by default; you need to explicitly choose whether or not to turn voice on. You can turn voice on by going to the Voice Chat tab of the Preferences window and ensuring that the Enable Voice checkbox is selected.
• If the Enable Voice checkbox is selected and voice is turned on, make sure the land you're standing on is also voice-enabled. The voice map and icons (in world) will tell you whether or not you're currently standing on voice-enabled land. Not all regions of the grid will have voice enabled right away; to see which ones do, please visit the voice map. This map is updated daily. We've also added an icon that appears when you're on voice-enabled land:
  
  
  
  It appears in the bar at the top of the Second Life window, and indicates that the parcel of land you're standing on is voice enabled. A similar icon with a red circle over it indicates that the parcel of land is not voice enabled.

If you've taken all of these steps and voice is still not enabled, make sure your headset and/or microphone are set up properly (see the first question, above).

I know voice is enabled (because I went through all of the steps above) and I still can't hear anything at all and/or no one can hear me. What should I do?

There are a few things you should check if you're sure voice is already enabled in your Viewer (in Edit > Preferences > Voice Chat):

• Ensure that you're holding the "Push To Talk" key if this mode is enabled. You can find out if Push to Talk is enabled in the Voice Chat tab of the Preferences window. Push to Talk is enabled by default, which means your mic is closed by default (to prevent others from hearing things you may not have intended).
• Verify that Second Life is using the correct microphone and speakers for voice.
• Under Windows use Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices > Voice.
• Under Mac use System Preferences and select Sound. 
• Check that your headset is properly plugged in. On most analog headsets the speaker connector is green and the microphone connector is orange or pink.
• Make sure that the external volume control on the headset is turned up and is not muted.
• Make sure Skype is not running, even if you're not currently engaged in a Skype call. Just having Skype open can "pull" your audio preferences/headset to that application.

If this doesn't fix the problem, check the audio controls on your computer.

• In Windows XP, go to the Start menu and select Control Panel > Sounds and Audio Devices to ensure that the audio is not muted and the audio level is turned up.
• On a Mac, go to Apple > System Preferences > Sound and check both Output and Input settings.

I've never been able to join in a conversation, what should I do?

If you have never been able to join a conversation, please check the following:

• Is Voice Chat enabled in the Preferences window?
• Are your microphone and speakers set up properly, and is everything plugged in?
• Is Push to Talk on (meaning your mic is closed by default)? You can check in the Voice Chat tab of the Preferences window. In addition, when the Talk button in the lower right corner of the Second Life window is orange, it means your mic is open. If the button looks "normal", your mic is closed.
• Make sure you're not using (logged into) Skype. Even if you're not currently in a Skype call, just being logged in can pull your settings to that application.

If you do not see any speaking indicators for yourself or anyone else that you know is speaking (for instance, you can see speaking gestures) then you aren't correctly connected.

I have voice and don't want it right now. What should I do?

You can turn voice off by going to the Voice Chat tab of the Preferences window and deselecting the Enable Voice checkbox. Voice should be turned off (disabled) immediately.

Voice and Land

I own land. When will my region/estate/parcel be voice enabled?

The entire grid will have voice available when voice is released as part of the standard Second Life viewer. All regions will be enabled, and region owners may disable voice if they choose.

Is voice available on the Teen Grid?

The entire Teen Grid is currently voice enabled. When voice becomes part of the standard Second Life viewer in early August, the entire Teen Grid will remain voice enabled.

I own land and it is voice enabled. How do I control the voice settings for my region/estate/parcel?

Parcel settings for voice are available in the Voice Settings section of the About Land window's Media tab.

An Estate-level setting is available as the Allow Voice Chat checkbox in the Region/Estate window's Estate tab.

Region-level settings will be available in the future.

Using Voice

Can all Second Life residents use voice?

Yes. Voice will be a standard part of the viewer for everyone in early August. Any Second Life resident who wants to use voice can use voice simply by enabling it in the Voice Chat tab of the Preferences window.

Can I use voice from behind a firewall?

Voice, like Second Life itself, is designed to work with "zero configuration" and should work with most firewalls. Your firewall sofware may request permission to let "SLVoice.exe" and "SLVoiceAgent.exe" access the internet on their first execution; you should allow this access.

• The following ports need to be reachable through any firewall infrastructure:
• Port 21002 - TCP - for voice control signals
• Ports 12000-13000 - UDP - for voice media
• Port 80/443 - TCP - for Web server
• Ports 5060 or 5062 - UDP - for voice control signals
• Second Life also has voice servers at the following IPs (this list will grow over time):
• 64.127.123.194 to 64.127.123.254
• 64.147.180.130 to 64.147.180.142
• 69.80.215.226
• 64.127.112.106
• 70.42.62.21-25

It's also true that if the SIP connection on port 5060 fails (as it might if the router is designed to provide VoIP services of its own) our software will automatically retry on port 5062. This means that port 5062 may need to be opened on some restrictive firewalls in rare instances.

You can verify if your firewall is configured for voice by visiting this website to identify common problems.

Does it cost anything to use voice?

Voice does not cost anything for individual Residents. It is included as an optional feature in the main viewer.

Private Region and Estate owners will have voice for their land at no cost until the end of the 2007 calendar year. After this, Private Region and Estate owners will be asked to pay a monthly fee for voice if they are not already at new pricing that includes voice.

Formal SL Groups will be asked to pay a L$10 annual group fee (non-refundable) for Groups. This L$10 fee will be waived for the first 60 days after the main voice launch, which will take place in the first week of August 2007.

Personal, one-to-one chat will always (or at least until the end of the century) be free between Residents when they're both inworld. This is also the case for inworld, ad hoc group chats between one or more Second Life friends.

We will also waive fees for non-profit and educational use of voice.

What exactly is that thing above everybody's heads?

It's the voice intensity indicator, and it'll let you know when someone is talking and how loud they are. When you're looking at a voice-enabled Resident, you'll see a white dot floating above their head. This white dot tells you that another avatar has voice enabled and that you can talk to them, and they can hear you.

You will also see green and red waves radiating out from the white dot. These indicate that someone is actively speaking. Green waves let you know the speaker is within normal volume range, and red waves indicate the person is speaking too loudly.

How do I start a group voice chat for a Second Life group I belong to?

Click on the Communicate button at the bottom of the Second Life window to open the Communicate window. In the Contacts tab, select the Groups tab, click on one of the groups in your list, and click the IM/Call button.

How do I start a conversation with a group of avatars near me?

If your avatar is standing on voice-enabled land (in world, voice-enabled land is identified in the tool bar by a blue icon with white headphones) and other avatars also have voice enabled in their viewers, you should be able to strike up conversation with them. Just walk up and start talking.

Other avatars must have voice enabled in their viewers in order to hear you. If they do have voice enabled, you should see white dots and, if they're speaking, volume waves (the speaking indicator) above their heads.

How do I start a group voice chat with a few friends (from my Second Life Friends list)?

To start a voice conversation with people on your Friends list:

1. Click the Communicate button at the bottom of the viewer window.
2. The Communicate window opens with the Friends tab open.
3. Multi-select the friends you'd like to call by holding Ctrl and clicking on each person's name.
4. When you've selected everyone you want to call, click the IM/Call button.
5. A new tab will open.
6. Click the Call button at the top of the window to begin the conference with your group of friends.

How do I start a direct call with just one other person?

To start a voice conversation with one other person:

1. Click the Communicate button at the bottom of the viewer window.
2. The Communicate window opens with the Friends tab open.
3. Click on the person's name in your Friends list and click the IM/Call button.
4. A new tab will open.
5. Click the Call button at the top of the window to begin the call with your friend.

When your conversation is finished, click End Call to... well, end the call.

Can other residents hear my one-to-one voice calls?

No. One-to-one voice calls are created via peer-to-peer channels and other residents cannot be party to them, and cannot hear your one-to-one voice calls.

How do I mute someone I don't want to hear?

There are a few different ways to mute someone you don't wish to hear.

• You can right-click on the avatar you want to mute and select Mute.
• You can also click on a speaker's name in the Participants list in the Near Me tab of the Communicate window or the Active Speakers window. Both display a list of the people talking, and enable you to mute them individually by offering checkboxes to mute their text and/or voice.
• Open the Communicate window by clicking the Communicate button at the bottom of the viewer.
• Open the Active Speakers window by clicking on the button with speech bubbles next to the Talk button in the little Voice tab, which lies in the bottom right corner of the viewer window).

How do I control the volume of another avatar?

There are volume sliders for each individual speaker available in the Participants list in the Near Me tab of the Communicate window or the Active Speakers window.

Open the Communicate window by clicking the Communicate button at the bottom of the viewer.

Open the Active Speakers window by clicking on the button with speech bubbles next to the Talk button in the little Voice tab, which lies in the bottom right corner of the viewer window).

There are a lot of people talking at the same time. How do I know who's talking?

When others speak, you'll see their speaking indicators and hear their voices as they hear yours. Walk around someone who's speaking to you to hear the voice move around in 3D based on where you are relative to their avatar. If you turn toward someone and move closer, for example, their voice will be louder. If you speak while walking around someone else, they'll hear your voice tracking your position.

The Active Speakers window shows you a list of the Residents around you with voice enabled who are speaking in a particular channel (the speakers near you is the default voice channel, or voice conversation). You can open the Active Speakers window it by clicking button with speech bubbles on it, immediately to the left of the Talk button in the bottom right corner of the Second Life window.

The Participants list in the Communicate window also functions in the same way (for your active voice conversation, in an active tab). A dot appears beside each speaker's name in the Participants list, indicating who's speaking. The dot mimics the speaker's voice intensity indicator: A green dot shows active speakers within normal volume range, while a red dot shows an active speaker who's spoken a little too loudly.

In addition, the name of the Resident who spoke most recently appears at the top of the Active Speakers and Participants lists. As the time since a speaker's last utterance increases, the speaker's name moves down the list and the dot next to the speaker's name fades to increasingly lighter shades of gray.

Resident names can also be sorted alphabetically in the Active Speakers and Participants lists.

To control the volume and mute settings for a particular speaker, just click on the speaker's name in the list and then use the volume control in the window to make adjustments.

Are there any gestures to use with voice, to make my speaking look more natural?

In real life, very few people stand still as statues while they talk. The Voice viewer gives you the ability to wear an initial set of "speech gestures".

These speech gestures are randomly selected from nine different animations based on the intensity of your voice. These gestures are located in your Library's Gesture folder (under Speech Gestures). There are three gesture sets containing three gestures each for low, medium, and high-intensity volumes.

• To enable speech gestures, simply drag the folder labeled Speech Gestures from your Library on to your avatar.
• To disable them, right-click the Speech Gestures folder and select Take Off Items.

I think I found a voice bug or problem. How can I get help and/or file a bug report?

We have created a Public JIRA task for the main viewer Voice release and ask all Residents to be sure to use the following issue type and field values when filing a voice-related bug:

• Project: Second Life Viewer - VWR
• Component/s: Voice
• Affects Version/s: 1.18.1.2