Questions were sorted into the following four categories. If your
question is not found in one, please look in the others.
General Frequently Asked Questions
Technical Questions on Virtual Personality and Virtual Personality+
Technical Questions specific to Virtual personality
Technical Questions specific to Virtual personality+
1. General Frequently Asked Questions
2. Technical Questions on Virtual personality and Virtual personality+
3. Technical Questions specific to Virtual personality
4. Technical
Questions specific to Virtual personality+
1. General
Frequently Asked Questions
- Who should use these
products?
a. Private investigators and professionals.
b. Businesses or individuals that wish to filter calls.
c. People suffering from annoying or frightening phone calls
(for example, women, elderly people).
d. Musicians.
e. Movie makers and translators. Subtitles to dubbing
automation.
Note: These products can be used in manners that are illegal,
intimidating, abusive, or unethical. We strongly recommend avoiding
doing so with our products.
- Which
should I download (and/or register), Virtual Personality or Virtual
Personality+?
Download Virtual Personality in the following cases:
a. You need to work locally with your speakers only.
b. You need telephony and you have a
voice
modem, speakerphone
modem or any internet connection.
c. You need internet support (for instance: yahoo chat room,
netmeeting, and internet games).
d. You need dubbing automation.
Download Virtual Personality+ in the following cases:
a. You need telephony and you don't have a modem at all.
b. You need telephony but your modem doesn't support voice or speakerphone.
c. You need telephony, you tried Virtual Personality, but you
couldn't setup the PC to work properly (no matter the reason).
d. You need now internet support and you may need also
telephony in the future but you don't have a voice modem (or can't
activate it).
Every product is followed by an online help. After installation in Windows, you can launch them by clicking
“Start” then “Virtual Personality/+” then “Virtual Personality Help”.
These applications are also available from within the products
under the “Help” menu.
- How do I get
a Key Code after I register?
We will email you the Key Code immediately after registration.
- How
do I get the Telephone Adapter after I register Virtual Personality+?
The Telephone Adapter package is delivered to every registered user (Virtual Personality+ only) in
USA and also everywhere around the globe. It is being shipped
within 24 hours after registration to the address indicated, and it
takes about a week until you receive it. No extra charge for the
adapter package or the delivery. You are granted one year warranty,
automatically.
2.
Technical Questions on Virtual Personality and Virtual Personality+
- What’s
the difference between the two products?
Both products support telephone internet and cellular directly. Virtual Personality uses your modem, to transmit your
changed voice to the other party on the phone line. Virtual Personality+
uses a special telephone
adapter ,which is a part of the product, for this purpose. All other
features are similar.
- How
does Virtual Personality series support multimedia communications -
telephone cellular and internet?
Virtual Personality (and Virtual Personality+) support multimedia communication
directly and indirectly. We recommend direct use if
possible but sometimes only indirect way is available (for instance,
you received a cellular incoming call and you need voice
changing). Virtual Personality supports dial and accepting calls
(both to a telephone or to a cellular, independently, like any other
telephone device) - and so does Virtual Personality+, by means of a
nearby telephone. Both products support direct internet
communication as well. Following is a short summery regarding the
support resources and their use under various media types:
Telephone - direct use
With the internal PC modem (Virtual Personality) or with a telephone
adapter (Virtual Personality+). Simply dial
or receive calls directly.
Telephone - Indirect through the Internet
With the internet and any telephone gateway provider using its
specific application (for instance net2phone). Register at some
gateway service provider and follow its orders.
Cellular - direct use
With the internal PC modem or with the a telephone adapter. Simply
dial or receive calls directly.
Note:
This kind of use eliminates all voice distortions that would
have been introduced at the receiver side, had you used a cellular phone
yourself.
Cellular to Cellular call
From your cellular telephone include Virtual Personality/+ to the
call, as you would include another person (refer to your specific
cellular service provider how to activate this feature with your
specific cellular phone). Then continue the conversation from the PC
with Virtual Personality/+.
Note:
This kind of use eliminates all voice distortions that would
have been introduced at the receiver side, had you used a cellular phone
yourself.
Internet - direct use
Through the internet communication and some other internet voice
application (like Netmeeting, Yahoo chat etc...). You must run the
other voice application concurrently with Virtual Personality/+.
- Product works
fine locally but doesn't modify voice in internet applications!
When modifying voice in internet application you must start Virtual
Personality (or Virtual Personality+) first, and only afterwards the
internet application. Many internet applications seems to be closed
but they are actually only iconize. Typically if they are still
opened, they represent some icon in the task bar right edge, like the
following MSN Messenger icon. To close the application usually right
mouse click this icon and left click one of the following revealed
options - quit, exit, shut-down or logout.
MSN Messenger icon
- How can I
combine recorded wav files or convert their format (to MP3 or to
another format)
We recommend on Windows Sound Recorder, which is installed in
any Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP operating system, and supports sound
file editing and conversions. Built in support is available
in both products. To activate from the main menu - click Actions ->
File Format Conversion. Please advise the Help menu of Sound Recorder
for details (the Help of Virtual Personality and Virtual Personality+
explain how to combine wav files). There are many commercial utilities that offer sound
editing and converting. You can find them easily in the internet by means of your
favorite search engine.
- Can
I use anonymous outgoing calls?
Yes. With Virtual Personality you embed to the dialed number the appropriate prefix as you would do with any standard
telephone (refer to your telephone service provider for this prefix).
With Virtual Personality+ you dial with a nearby telephone so it is
similar to any standard dial.
- Can
I install one of the products and then install the other and run it?
Yes. The products are 100% software compatible. You can safely
install any one of them first, and then install the other and
safely run it. Generally, you would do that to try Virtual Personality
and if you are not satisfied (for instance you need telephony
but the PC is too old or doesn't support an appropriate modem to run
Virtual Personality), you would resort to Virtual Personality+.
- The
installation procedure is terminated with an error before completion?
Problems during installations are very rare and if encountered
they are caused by the user's PC. Had it occurred - the following
utility remedies most of them. Run this utility from our site or after
download to a folder in your PC (no installation procedure is
required). After the run of Repair, reinstall Virtual Personality or
Virtual Personality+.
Download/Run Repair
- What
hardware do I need to work locally with my speakers?
a. A microphone connected to your audio card mic input.
b. Speakers connected to your speaker-output in your audio card.
- I
can’t use voice numbers 1 - 6 and 13 - 24 in the demo version.
Also with Virtual Personality, I can use telephony with voice 10 only!
These are the demo version limitations. The demo version demonstrates only 6 out of 24 different voices that you
can get, of course, all of them also across the telephone network and
internet. Besides, these demonstrated voices,
7 - 12, are close to your natural voice, which is represented by
voice number 10. As you get further away from voice 10, in both
directions - towards
1 or towards 24, your voice changes drastically.
- No
voice is heard in my sound card speakers and no error message is
displayed!
Try the following actions:
a. Make sure that your speakers work properly with other
applications (like the sound when Windows starts).
b. Try to raise the volume. Refer to the Help of the product
- it contains detailed explanations.
c.
Try to customize the setting of your mixer control utility (refer to the Help of the
product - it contains detailed explanations including
illustrations). Run the
"Volume Control" program: Double-click the loudspeaker icon located in
the right corner of the PC screen (or from the left corner: Click Start ->
Programs -> Accessories -> Entertainment -> Volume Control).
Playback Setting
From the
"Options" menu activate the "Advanced Options" to expose all
the possible controls (if not selected yet). Watch the "Volume
Control" "Volume" slider. Drag it to its maximum position. Verify
also that its "Mute" check box is not selected. Watch also the
"Wave" "Volume" slider. Drag it to its maximum
position. Verify also that its "Mute" check box is not selected. Watch
the " Microphone" control. Select its "Mute" check box. If
it has an "Advanced" button click it, and in the opened dialog box
select the "Boost" or "Gain" check box. If you see also an
"Alternate Microphone" check box verify that its not
selected. Close the dialog
box.
Recording setting
When still with the mixer utility click "Options", in
the opened dialog box select "Recording" and click OK. In the
"Recording Control" window check the microphone "Select",
drag the "Microphone" slider to its maximum position. If it has an
"Advanced" button click it, and in the opened dialog box select the
"Boost" or "Gain" check box. If you see also an
"Alternate Microphone" check box verify that its not selected. Close the dialog box.
You may need to boost your microphone input. Run your Volume Control
utility, in the mic control, activate "Boost" or
"Gain" select button. Refer to the section No
voice is heard in my sound card speakers and no error message is
displayed
- I
hear my natural voice along with my changed voice!
You should mute the microphone. Run your Volume Control utility and
in
the mic control, activate Mute. Refer to the section No
voice is heard in my sound card speakers and no error message is
displayed.
- No
output voice is heard and a dialog box indicating that other audio
application is using the audio card comes up!
This may happen if you don’t have a PCI sound card. Also, maybe
some other sound application is running concurrently. If so, shut down
the other application.
- I
here an echo in my speakers and/or the telephone!
The speakers may be too close to the microphone. Try to increase
this distance, change their orientation, or lower the volume.
- Voice
recording is too low!
When using voice recording it is recommended to adjust the volume
control of the product and of the PC, to their maximum values. You may
need to lower the speakers volume by means of their controls, in order
to
compensate.
3.
Technical Questions Specific to Virtual Personality
- What
hardware do I need to work in the telephone network?
a. A microphone connected to your audio card.
For direct support
b. A voice or speakerphone modem.
c. Earphones or speakers connected to your modem speaker output,
or a close telephone. Refer to the Virtual Personality Help for more details.
For indirect support - by means of the internet
b. Any internet connection.
c. Some software like net2phone that mediates between the internet and the telephone networks. Refer to Virtual Personality Help for
farther details.
- How do I
use the Key Code with the product?
When the program starts-up you are asked to enter a Key.
- Which
operating systems does Virtual Personality support?
Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP.
- What
is the difference between Voice recording and Telephone recording?
Voice recording refers to recording of the speaker alone ( 24
individual recording are supported ). Telephone recording refers
to bi-directional conversation over the telephone line.
- How
can I be sure that my voice is changed on the other side?
In output modes apart from Local, and
when its technically possible, your changed voice is
disabled from the PC speakers, in order to eliminate echo. Only
in SpeakerPhone mode it does introduce to the speakers.
That’s why your encouraged to close or
lower the speaker volume in this case.
In the other cases:
In telephone modes
You can listen to your own cellular or a second telephone and
verify that easily. Besides, you can always listen to the line by means of
a nearby telephone on the same line.
In internet modes
You can listen with a second PC at home that serves as a target for
the chat conversation, or ask a friend for a verification.
- How do I
know if I have a voice modem or a speakerphone modem?
If you run Virtual Personality and your modem does not support
voice, it usually introduces automatically upon startup, some message
regarding that. Besides, switching to one of the Telephone output
modes should cause telephony buttons like Dial..., Connect, Record and
Hangup to become disabled. If voice is supported, some of them will be
enabled.
Regarding speakerphone modem, look at the rear of your PC. You should find, on the
modem
panel, two audio jacks, for microphone and speakers (similar to sound card
jacks) in addition to the phone jacks.
- How
should I connect the sound card to the modem (needed only with
Speakerphone Mode)?
You should connect the speaker output of the sound card to the
microphone input of the modem with a 3.5 mm double mini jack stereo
cable. You may use an output splitter on the sound card, which enables
you to maintain the current speaker connection along with the new
connection. Refer to the Help for more details.
- How
should I listen to the phone conversation when using Virtual
Personality?
You may listen to the call using any of the following (please,
select only one):
a. A close telephone with MUTE activated.
b. A close telephone in which you cover the mouthpiece by the
palm of your hand.
c. Built-in speakers of your modem.
If you use Speakerphone Output Mode you may use also the following
means:
d. Earphones connected to the speaker-output of your modem (like
those of a walkman).
e. Speakers connected to the speaker-output of your modem.
The recommended choices are a, b and d. Note that with the other alternatives, you should work at low volume in order to
eliminate the output picked up by the microphone.
- Is
there a tuning stage before I use Virtual Personality in the telephone
network?
Yes. This stage is very important for proper operation with
telephone. With internet there is no such need. Please
refer to the Help for details.
- Which Output Mode should I use?
For internet use always internet mode. For direct telephony use the mode that best matches your
hardware, although on some PC's, you may interchange between modes and
still obtain good results. When using Voice Modem Mode you are
required to have a PC with a minimum 500 MHZ CPU and may also need to
close background applications (if you hear distortions like echoes on
the other end of the line) Refer to the procedure How
to Locate and Close Background Applications.
- Speakers
work fine but the telephone doesn’t!
Refer to
section Fin-Tuning Virtual Personality in the Help.
Run this procedure if you haven't yet done so.
If it doesn't help, try to customize the setting of your mixer control
utility.
Note:Virtual Personality was approved on all Windows operating
systems namely Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/Xp with most modems. However, some
modems (which we can't pinpointing specifically their names) support voice very
poorly. The end result regarding Virtual Personality is failure to support
telephony. In this case you may use Virtual Personality+ which works on any PC
even without a modem at all.
- Bad voice
quality with telephone calls!
This usually happens when the volume is either too high or too low
or if you speak too close to the microphone. Try to change the distance from
the microphone. To adjust the volume in a certain Output Mode you must
run Virtual Personality in that mode. Then, in the main menu, click
“Options” then “Voice Control” and then drag the
Volume Control slider to a proper position to the right.
This may also happen if you haven’t implemented "Fine-Tuning
Virtual Personality". Refer to the Help for details.
This may also happen if you work in Voice Modem Mode concurrently with
some background application. In this case you may need to close all unused applications. Refer to the procedure
How
to Locate and Close Background Applications.
4. Technical
Questions specific to Virtual personality+
- What
hardware do I need to work in the telephone network directly?
a. A microphone connected to your audio card.
b. A telephone
adapter.
c. A standard telephone.
- Why is the
Telephone Adapter connected to a telephone device and not to the wall telephone
jack?
The Telephone Adapter was designed with worldwide compatibility and
mobile needs in
mind. While the wall telephone jacks differ from one country to the other,
the telephone jacks are usually similar. Also the sound card
connection is standard 3.5"" among all the manufacturers (including laptops).
- How do
I use the Key Code with Virtual Personality+?
When the program starts-up you are asked to enter a Key.
- Which operating
systems does Virtual Personality+ support?
Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP.
- How should I
listen to the phone conversation when using Virtual Personality+?
You listen by a close telephone, connected
by the Telephone Adapter to your PC. The adapter disables the handset mouthpiece leaving only the earphone activated, which you use as your listening
tool (no matter if you have a MUTE button or not in your telephone).
- Is there a fine-tuning
stage before I use Virtual Personality+ across the telephone?
No. With Virtual Personality+ there is no need for any fine-tuning.
- After installing the
adapter, can I use the telephone as before (and also the PC)?
Absolutely. The Telephone Adapter contains a special
toggle switch, controlling its dual mode operation. In VP mode,
the PC controls the telephone input, disabling the handset mouthpiece.
In Normal mode the telephone works normally, no matter what's going on
with the PC (even if the PC is close. Registered users receive with
the Telephone Adapter a manual which explains its installation and use).
Regarding the PC operation, you receive with the adapter an audio
splitter that maintains the speaker
connection, concurrently with the new telephone connection. So every
audio application that needs the speakers should work normally.
- Can I buy the
Telephone Adapter from another source but Triplebit?
We have developed the Telephone Adapter especially for Virtual
Personality+. As far as we know nobody else offers a similar adapter.
- Bad voice
quality in telephone calls!
Note:Any of the
following problems should be experience also in Local Mode,
with your speakers. So, once you get good results in Local Mode, you
should never suffer from these problems.
This usually happens when the volume is too high or too low. To
adjust, in the main menu click “Action” then “Volume Control”
and then “20% lower” or "20% higher". Repeat this
operation as needed. Also try to change the distance from the PC microphone.
This can also happen if your PC lacks processing power or is
incorrectly configured. Your PC plays a major role in the voice
changing process. Shut down all other applications, avoid changing the
voice while being connected to the phone, and try to improve the
configuration of your PC
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