G729 Codec about csipsimple HOT 80 CLOSED

[email protected]

+1, I would love to have G729 Codec support

+1, with low umts band G729 is essential.

I Agree, really need G729

really want g729. that would be awesome

g729, thank you so much!

Think someone mentioned it somewhere here before, but sipphon which is also 
based on pjsip has some G729 code which I assume could be ported. However the 
patent issue might be a cause for concern in this case.

The way around it is to either rely on a disclaimer telling the user its up to 
him or her and then hope no lawyer comes calling... the other way would be to 
have a market version with a pricetag covering the patent fee. This might not 
actually be such a bad idea but it would require a license deal from someplace 
other the sipro since they charge some ridiculous initial amount just to sign 
up. Maybe something like http://www.synapseglobal.com/g729_codec_license.html
But I guess that begs the question if anyone would actually pay 10-15 bucks to 
get a version containing G729...

please note, you should purchase license only if you transcode something with 
g729. nypassing g729 is absolutely free

Softphones require licenses at least according to sipro if I remember 
correctly. The bypassing case would apply if I had an asterisk server just 
passing the stream along but the softphone would still require a patent license.

For the technical part, I'm in contact with Samuel who write siphon and its 
g729 implementation for arm. 
He (and I) think that just including his code will be enough to support g729. 
I'll probably try it today :)

For the license part.... it's more complicated.  
I agree with micheal's comment and that's also what Samuel explained to me. 
Thanks a lot micheal for the SynapseGlobal link. I didn't know that there where 
retailers that allow a per license purchase. Really interesting !! It could be 
easier to manage than the sipro solution that afraid me a lot !!!

In the case I get a solution to manage the license, the best solution is to 
provide a plugin app on the market that provide an updated version of the 
dynamic library. Some changes has to be done in the update process but that was 
already planned.

This method will sip providers to provide their own application that relies on 
CSipSimple and include a g729 library if they already pay fees for their users.

Just out of curiosity did you try to get this working yet?

Yes, 

Thanks to the very great support from Samuel (author of Siphon), I get 
something that build.

There is one thing I miss to be able to test... Allow local accounts (because 
all my registrar rewrite invite offers and doesn't allow g729 :D ).
I'm pretty confident in the fact that it will work, but I don't know what will 
be the performances.
In fact, for the Iphone version, it was possible to use assembler code, but for 
android, since we commonly use a aebi assembler, instructions are not the same, 
so I fall back to generic code. Less efficient but that build within the NDK.

For now, my priority is to implement filters and rewriting rules for native 
dialer intergration. But I continue this task in background.

If you don't have a place to test g729, you can get in touch (egcrosser at 
gmail) and I'll set up an account for you on my system.

Performance might still be ok using the latest android devices which have 
pretty descent hardware. Will be interesting to see the results of the tests.

Well, thanks for your nice proposition egcrosser but I've just succeeded using 
one of my sip server without SBC.

So after many tests (there is still bugs with the codec priority management), 
my calls between a HTC Sapphire (Magic / G2) and Nexus One using G729. (Both 
handset use wifi)

Result is pretty good. Latency is really low. Sometimes (probably due to VAD) I 
get some choppy sound on the G2 but sound is clear on Nexus One.

So it's worth to be continued. For now what I did is just unreleasable : I made 
code to allow compilation at midnight... But I'll try to do something more 
clean, and contribute it back to Samuel's Siphon project once it will be enough 
clean. And of course it will be available on my repo.

Meanwhile, I'll get more information about how to solve this licensing issue. 
SynapseGlobal sounds a good solution, but give license for special 
implementation (such as Asterisk's one). And there is maybe a little trick with 
the fact that a exception to GPL has to be added in code license to allow the 
*distribution* with the G729 license.

I also agree that g729 would improve voice quality! What is the situation now 
with project?

[deleted comment]

[deleted comment]

Hi r3gis.3R , 

   When i build project (include g729 ) with ndk i recived "Error: selected processor does not support `smulbb" so i don't know how to Solved it  , so please send me your g729 source code project , my mail is [email protected] thanks in advance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi r3gis.3R ,

Would you please send me your g729 source code project too? My mail is 
[email protected]   

Thank you so much!!

Best Regards,
Arthur Chiang

I support work on adding g729 to CSIPSIMPLE.  This would put it far ahead of 
other open source SIP apps for Android.  My VOIP provider only seems to support 
the g729 codec, so it is somewhat of a key feature for me.

I don't know the first thing about compiling, but I can offer to test builds on 
my HTC Hero running VillainRom 10.3.2 (Android OS 2.1)

I think it's ok to include g729 codec without additional fee as all SIP 
providers already paid license fees. Mine (sipnet.ru) already gives windows 
softphone with g729 codec for free. 

G729 codec is essential in Voip. I propose to make it a paid add on like the 
bria softphone in the apple store.

IMHO you should include it disabled by default for those who already have a 
G729 license making this clear on the about menu, that is if they don't require 
any GPL exception.

> In the case I get a solution to manage the license, the best solution is to 
provide a plugin app on the market that provide an updated version of the 
dynamic library. Some changes has to be done in the update process but that was 
already planned.

I am willing to pay for the plugin in the future, if that works for the 
licensor(s).

+1 g729 codec support..wiiling to pay 

I too am willing to pay for g729

I'm also willing to pay. need this bad.

I am willing to pay also... PLEASE get this working.

At this stage, can we please be advised when we shall be getting the G729 codec 
on cSipSimple? I need to take some urgent decisions and need to know this 
urgently. Cheers Sunil ([email protected])

Again that's just a licensing issue for me. Code is functional.
However it will take me time to find the good and ethical way to release and 
distribute this code.

It's really hard to say when I'll be able to distribute something. So do not 
make plan that rely on csipsimple .... already I would say that choosing g729 
to make business that rely on opensource solutions is a bad idea.
And last point I'm not sure that you are absolutely aware about the fact 
CSipSimple is and will remain Gpl. Which mean the core app if modified should 
be fully redistributed.

Ilbc is a good alternative to g729...

Now I use another client app with my hero 2.1, the VoipSwitch (I do not say if 
assembly compiled, or java), that is on android market. 
I pay it, i think, for g729 licence.
Could I use csipsimple with that licence? 
I need csipsimple facility (multiple account registration etc).
Thanks

r3gis, you should pay for g729 ONLY if you recode something with it. g729 
pass-through is free.

Actually, the problem is that g729 "usage" is not free. 
So distributing it encouraging it's usage without paying the license could be 
attacked.
So usually what is done is :
 * Either your sip provider give you the app with G729 (they already pay for G729 channels usage)
 * Or if it's an app that is generic, it is distributed included the g729 licensing fee.

But well, I'm about to find a good way to distribute the plugin with g729. Just 
be patient... It took time to convince guys I'm talking to to distribute it...
Once there will be a way for users to get the app + the licensing fee, I'll be 
free to distribute my source code without any risk.
So just be patient guys ;)... You'll probably have to pay for the fee (maybe 
less than the g729 fee if I can convince guys I'm talking to), OR, get the 
plugin to the app distributed by another sip provider for free if they already 
pay for their users, OR, build the app by your own means and use it for tests 
(or for an usage in which you are sure somebody has pay the license usage for 
you). 

[deleted comment]

> Ilbc is a good alternative to g729...

I wish I could use it.

Not with phones that don't have FPU, as Ilbc doesn't have a fixed point 
implementation.

Maybe it will be a non-issue in just a matter of months... as we're getting 
more powerful phones.

Please, please distribute the g729 source code if it works, just like the 
author of siphon. Thank you very much.

Issue 385 has been merged into this issue.

Thanks!  I'll also pass this to the provider.  Why does SIP-SIP calls work 
then?  It's only SIP-landline and SIP-mobile (or vice versa) that doesn't.
And I agree that G729 is essential for VoIP.  If you require any 3rd party 
testing, I'll be happy to assist.

Sip to sip works cause codec negotiation is done between the two clients while 
landline calls use your restrictive sip provider gateway that only support g729.

Thanks!  That makes sense.  Understood.  Please keep us updated on your 
progress with implementing G729 on CSipSimple :-)

Is there any possibility to make more performant the ilbc codec on armv6 
processor with vfp? maybe some build option?
Armv6 seem to be the more widely diffused processors on commercial devices (not 
high end), and Ilbc has a GPL licence, and better quality expecially on 3g 
considering the low bitrate and the high robustness to packet loss. 

@Gianluca : the GPL version only support floating point implementation. There 
is an implementation from Nokia (not absolutely sure that's nokia, but a big 
device manufacturer), that support fixed point. But that's not opensource. If 
you can find an opensource and gpl compatible implementation of iLBC, I can try 
to port it. But for now AFAIK, the only one is floating point (and without any 
build option to support fix point).
However maybe something could be tried on some armv6 devices that actually 
support floating points. The tricky thing is that the android NDK disable 
floating point for armv6 but some devices actually support it. So maybe the 
floating point implementation could be built on armv6 but will not be portable.

Thanks for your reply.
My hope was that the NDK could build for armv6 with vfp (FPU) that seems the 
most popular processor.
But it seems not a good idea for portability, if you can not produce a 
'Universal' apk as RockPlayer (a video player on the market).
Looking at the link to the apk http://updates.anplayer.com/rockplayer/ they
seem to distribute in a single apk three .so build.
But maybe I do not know what I'm saying. I do not know the NDK and more

My distribution mode of apk are much more clever than universal package :

The apk doesn't contains the library it the library is retrieved by the device 
at first run. So it's really not a problem for me to distribute some custom lib 
optimized for some device. (Even better, I can produce a lib by device, at the 
first step of the project I did that cause I used private API).
So I can do almost everything I want with my modified version of the NDK and my 
distribution mode (I'm able to support armv4t with the same apk available on 
the android market... which is not the case of most of the android apps). The 
other good side of my method is that the distributed apk is not an heavy 
package with a lot of native lib versions.

The biggest deal is to detect if the CPU will support or not floating point. 
And that could be really tricky ! In the android API we have only the 
information about the thumb support version (which is not always relevant - for 
example armv4t devices). 
However I can divert the library downloaded at first run and update according 
to the device name for example or anything available on the android API.
That was the sens of my last remark. If I do a custom build for armv6 with vfp, 
it will not be portable to all devices as it. I'll add to populate my manifest 
with devices that actually support vfp.

Thanks for the clarification, I had not thought about this interesting aspect 
of the application.
It would be nice to use the application taking full advantage of the device 
hardware. Csipsimple is definitely the best SIP client on Android.
Thank you for your work.

G729 would be great to conect to sipura gateways with a low bandwidth codec.  I 
have a spa3102 and there are no low bandwidth codecs compatible with CSipSimple 
and spa3102, so I have to transcode with my pbx, which introduces some delay 
and potential problems like packets loss.  I would be willing to pay for the 
license.

@ r3gis.3R

Maybe you can create same thing as CounterPath with Bria Android edition? That 
G729 could be optional and user can buy it if want. 

http://www.counterpath.com/bria-android-edition.html?utm_source=xlite&utm_medium
=banner&utm_campaign=nov2010&utm_content=android_app

@jarsiv, indeed, that's what I'll do.
It will be included in next release on the android market.
0.00-16 will bring g729 as an optional codec with an big warning about the 
responsibility the user take by activating it and with a link to somewhere he 
can buy the license if his sip provider doesn't already pay it for him.

ok, that is great. My sip provider has already paid the license so it is good 
that we don't have to paid it twice.

Do you have any plans when 0.00-16 could be in market?

Sip provider must have pay *for you*. 
Cause they can have paid just for their channels in SIP trunks.

The best is to ask them directly if they monitor their number of users and 
reverse the little fee for each of their users (for a sip provider it cost 
really less than for users to buy the g729 codec cause they buy the entry cost 
which is expansive but once paid, each channel cost is ridiculous (less than 1$ 
I think) ).

so any ETA on the 0.00-16 version?= r3gis.3r?

Please try to get the g729 codec in!  Would be nice to see if it makes a 
difference, the GSM is breaking up on 3g

that's good news since bria for Android includes the G729 codec and if you 
don't move fast you will lose your startup advantage. Csipsimple is a great 
product and more mature than Bria (for now) but ultimately VoIP is about voice 
quality and if you don't match their codec you lose.

Can't wait for release with g 729!!!  :-) 

The more feedback I'll have on current builds (see download section) the more 
quickest will be the release of the next stable version on the market ;).
All the more so as it's good feedback (cause I'm not always sure that my 
improvements doesn't introduce regressions). If a majority say me : "ok latest 
build is enough stable for me", I'll release ;).


@dcitelecom : there is no war between sip softphone ;) . My goal is not to have 
a market lead or something like that. It's just an opensource app I develop for 
my pleasure ;). If some enterprise want to promote it and help the development 
by contributing source code it will be welcomed. 
I think that finally true Opensourceness of any software project will at the 
bottom line lead to a better user experience (cause GPL make users the center 
of the software - made by users for users).

ok latest build is enough stable for me

Hi there,
Just downloaded the latest version, 018 and I don't see g729 there.
Do I need to do something in addition to get that codec?
Nexus one with cm 6.1 rc 2

Thanks a lot for all the effort :-)

If you need someone somewhat technical to do additional testing or stuff like 
that, I will be glad to help.

Currently building the lib for releasing on the market 0.00-16 ...

Will you be able to wait for about 1 hour ? ;) ...

:)
My wife staring at me suspiciously,
as to why I look at bug tracking screen and smiling like a 10 year old that got 
free candy.

http://code.google.com/p/csipsimple/downloads/detail?name=CSipSimple_0.00-16-00.
apk 

Just did the update.
Working perfectly, so far.
Finally I can receive calls through my preferred sip provider.

Thanks.

How do I know if I am using the G729 codec?

I installed the website and market version of the "16 apk" program and don't 
see the G729 listed under the available codecs.

Mmmm, G729 should be listed in codec (makalsky could you confirm? - I've 
installed on an other phone and it work). 
Btw, you can force the installation of a bundled apk using 0.00-16-00 
(different from 0.00-16 and market version that get back the native part of the 
application on the web). 
g729 should appear in Settings > media > Codecs (it's the last entry). Long 
press on the codec, choose activate, read the disclamer, press OK.
You can drag and drop it on the top of the list to announce that's your 
preferred codec.

While on communication press the (i) button to see which codec is in use. 
(You'll see a lot of info and the codec on the second or third line).

Here G729 codec is in list. 

The codec is there, but you have to scroll down to see it on some screens.
And its greyed out of course, so not that visible.

The last codec I see on my phone is G.722. I can't scroll down anymore. 
Attached are a few screenshots. Let me know if you want me to capture some more 
screenshots which might prove useful.

Thanks for the support.
-Rodney

[deleted comment]

G729 is working without problems for BudgetPhone.nl, thanks!
I wanted to contribute something, so I did some Dutch translation.
To be continued ...

I resolved my issue. Looks like I had imported data from a previous version of 
csipsimple which caused the codec not to carry over to the new version. So now, 
I see the G729 8Khz. Great forum and program!

@rautialarodneyb : Ok, indeed make sense data imported from an older version 
contains the native library which is the core of the SIP stack and contains 
codecs. 
To workaround this kind of problem I have to fix issue 179 :) (allow save and 
restore settings)

@bokhorstm : thx for translations :).

I can also report that G729 with Poivy (a Betamax clone) works perfectly.

Can I use G729 with csipsimple if I bought it through Bria?

@fatrodmcdjs : ask that to Bria. It depends on the license they retails to you. 
If it's a g729 license directly yes you can (I mean if they retail to you the 
right to establish a g729 channel). 
If it's a license that allow you to use g729 *only* using their application, no 
you are not allowed.

Ask them :) - and if valid you can report it here, I think that it could be 
interesting for other users.

Thanks r3gis.3R!  All working perfectly now - HTC Desire, Android 2.1, South 
Africa

Hi,

I need some indications regarding the use of G729 codec on sipsimple.

I configured csipsimple to use my sipsorcery account and I would activate G729 
codec support but I don't know if all sip providers configured on my sipsorcery 
account already pay licenses fees for that codec.

If I want to buy one license to use it with csipsimple as stated above is the 
following link right to buy a proper type of license? (or is it only for 
Asterisk?)
http://store.digium.com/productview.php?product_code=G729CODEC

If it's right is required any further action to properly register the license 
bought with my csipsimple after the purchase or I'm just finished after 
activating it in the codec menu?

Thank you very much for your support

gabriele

[deleted comment]

lele... Man, what are you talking about!!! Digium Module are for Asterisk 
servers, not for Clients, you're mistaking, that module is for servers, not for 
client applications...

But the same which i said previously, in other thread. First it doesn't make 
sense to purchase, neither activate you codec if your service provider don't 
have that codec in service. So first contact your provider to verify if they 
have it, and if there license cover multichannel, if yes, it's enough that you 
just activate it in your client, the server license are available to cover your 
client.

Hi everybody,
I'd like to understand if using G.729 on CSIPSimple for private use I have to 
buy a license, and, second, if I configure the G.729 on CSIPSimple the calls 
work without the license?