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Welcome to the unofficial TeamTalk5 information page. From here, you can read about the TeamTalk 5 update and how it might affect you as a user or an administrator.
Please update to the latest version of TeamTalk (5.1.3 as of this writing) for a consistent experience. Several major changes have been made since the initial release of TeamTalk 5.0.
Two important changes between TeamTalk 5.0 and TeamTalk 5.1.3
TeamTalk 5.1.3 added support for channel and user text messages as spoken events. This means two things: First, people who have not yet installed scripts will find they really aren't required anymore. Second, people who have installed JAWS scripts will probably want to turn off automatic announcement of incoming messages, and NVDA users may wish to uninstall the addon for now.
TeamTalk 5 had a somewhat convoluted set of default values for the volume sliders. As of TeamTalk 5.1, all volume sliders have been changed for a better user experience. The default input, output, user gain, and media file volume is now 50% which means that there is no gain applied at this level. You should leave these defaults alone most of the time.
Background Information
On March 15th, 2015, TeamTalk 5 was released as a final product and is now considered ready for use by the general public. We can expect that many server admins will want to update their version 4 servers to version 5 to take advantage of the new features available. Since so much has changed in version 5, users wanting to connect to an updated server will need to update to this release. However, the TeamTalk 4 and TeamTalk 5 applications can quite happily exist on the same system and run side by side.
There's plenty more information below, but here is a link to the downloads section for TeamTalk 5. You'll find versions of TeamTalk 5 for all supported operating systems here.
Windows screen reader users will want to download the normal installer and, when asked which components to install, choose the classic client.
Doug Lee's JAWS scripts have been updated for TeamTalk 5 classic. You can also install this NVDA addon
What You Need to know as a User
If you were a user of TeamTalk 4, the first thing you need to know is that TeamTalk 4 and TeamTalk 5 are completely separate applications. TeamTalk 5 is stored in a different program folder than 4, and has a separate configuration file and server list. In short, you can install and run both versions at once without any problems.
TeamTalk 4 cannot connect to TeamTalk 5 servers, and TeamTalk 5 cannot connect to TeamTalk 4 servers. The latter is especially important. Do not uninstall TeamTalk 4 if you know you plan on continuing to use TeamTalk 4 servers.
If you are running the latest version of TeamTalk 4 (version 4.6.3), and you try to connect to a TeamTalk 5 server, you will get a message that says "incompatible protocols". This means you need to enter the server information into TeamTalk 5 instead. User accounts may not all have been recreated, so it might be necessary to contact a server administrator if you require one to connect.
Having said all this, the interface for TeamTalk 5 is almost identical. you still have a classic client, and it looks pretty similar to version 4.
Highlights of the TeamTalk 5 release
An important note about volume changes
The default volume levels have changed in TeamTalk 5.1. Please make sure you have installed this, or the information provided here will not work with your setup. More information can be found below.
Changes
Here are some noteworthy changes users might want to know about:
- The connect dialog and host manager have been merged into one connection manager, accessed by pressing f2. This eliminates a lot of confusion, and also allows you to save entries more easily. As of version 5.1 classic, pressing f2 will automatically focus the list of saved servers. If you're one of those people who enters servers without saving them, now may be the time to start. you can still tab a couple of times to enter a server address manually.
- The output and input volume sliders in the main window now have a default level of 50%. This means that at 50%, no gain will be applied at all. Unless there is a good reason to change these, you should leave them at defaults and adjust Windows microphone settings.
- User volume and user gain have been merged. Pressing control+u on a user allows you to adjust their single volume control to your liking. The default for a user's volume is 50%.
- Screen reader users on Windows will find that channel messages, user messages, and status bar messages, such as users entering or leaving a channel, are now automatically spoken through their screen reader instead of SAPI5.
- For the audiophiles among us, Opus has replaced Celt. This means lower latency and better quality, as well as 48000 hz support. This will also save lots of bandwidth for everyone if administrators are smart about their channels' audio quality.
- The client now has automatic gain control, on by default. I recommend testing this, as it can be problematic in the wrong environment. It can be controlled from the sound system tab of preferences.
- Speaking of testing, audio loopback channels have been eliminated. Instead, join any channel and press control+4 on your own name to subscribe to your audio.
- In the classic client, pressing control+g on a user will announce their online and talking state, and pressing this keystroke on a channel will announce whether it is password protected or classroom type. This is our equivalent to the icons next to channel and user names.
I have not had a chance to test out TeamTalk 5 on a modern mac yet, but I am told it is more accessible, though I do not believe VoiceOver users can read the channel tree, yet. Comments would be appreciated.
Notes for Server Administrators
- At present, there's no known way to import your channel tree and user account list from a TeamTalk 4 server in such a way that TeamTalk 5 can read it. The formats are different enough that a simple find and replace can not modify the xml file sufficiently.
- The Opus codec replaces Celt. This means lower audio latency and much lower bitrates.
- At long last, we can control permissions of individual users. There is an extensive list of checkboxes in the user accounts window, making it possible to restrict someone's access or make them something very close to a full administrator.
- Speaking of user accounts, there's no longer an option to let users log in without an account. If you want to make this possible, create an account with a blank username and set permissions as needed.
- There is no such thing as a server password now. instead, create an anonymous (blank) user with a password. This is basically the same functionality with fewer complications and confusion.
- We can now rename channels in the same window we'd use to modify them. The hotkey for this has changed to shift+f7.
- It is now possible to create a channel that disallows voice activation, forcing users to use push to talk. This may be useful in situations where a large number of users are joining a single channel.
- Windows XP can sometimes be incompatible with 24 khz channels, regardless of the audio system being used. Using 48 khz should solve the problem.