at&t Relay Services

What You Need To Make a VRS call

You need three things to make a VRS call: a Personal Computer (PC), a web-cam or videophone and a high-speed Internet connection. Will your specific model work? Let’s find out.

1. Personal Computer (PC)

If your PC has Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, and NetMeeting software, you’re in business. (AT&T Video Relay Service does not work on Apple/Macintosh computers, yet.)

To run smoothly, your PC should have, at minimum, a Pentium III – 500 MHz with a 16-MB video card (16K color) and 128 MB RAM (256 MB RAM recommended). Of course, your PC needs an open USB or other connection port for your webcam.

2. Webcam

To ensure a good picture, webcams must have a CCD sensor. How do you know if your webcam has one? The technical specifications listed on the box is usually a good place to look.

Not sure which CCD sensor camera to get? Here’s a few to consider:

(AT&T does not support or endorse these-they just happen to work well with AT&T’s Video Relay Service.)

3. High-Speed Internet Connection

As with any video over the web, the faster the better! For VRS, you’ll need a minimum upload and download speed of 128Kbps. Any of the following types of Internet connection will work well:

Cable
Fast, easy access. Works through the same cable line as your cable TV (don’t worry, it won’t affect your TV watching). Expect download speeds of 10 to 20 Mbps, and 300 Kbps upstream, depending on network traffic. You get it from your local cable company.

DSL
Stands for “Digital Subscriber Line.” Connects through your phone line instead of cable. You can talk on the phone and be online with just a single phone line. Delivers a minimum of 128 Kbps upload and download speed. To get DSL, call your phone company.

T1, T2, or T3 Lines
T is for Turbo! The higher the number after the “T,” the faster it screams. T1 lines deliver 1.5 Mbps. T2 lines bundle four T1 lines together for speeds of 6Mbps. T3 lines deliver-blink and you might miss it-45 Mbps. But the performance boost doesn’t come cheap. So you won’t see these hookups in many homes-they’re mostly at work.

Using VRS Behind Firewalls

Do you have a firewall? If you can see yourself in the self-view box, but can’t see the Video Interpreter, you are probably behind a firewall. And that will prevent you from receiving video images. Feel free to contact our Technical Support for help.

Configure the firewall so that several IP ports remain unblocked to establish an outbound connection. The firewall must be configured to pass through primary TCP connections on ports 389, 522, 1503, 1720, and 1731; and pass through secondary TCP and UDP connections on dynamically assigned ports (1024-65535).

Operating Software

To make your video relay calls, you can use either NetMeeting or VSoft. (See directions below.)

Microsoft NetMeeting is already installed on PCs running Windows 98 and later. So it should load automatically when you make a call. If it doesn’t load automatically, try launching it directly from your Windows applications. Can’t find it? No problem. Simply click here for a free download.

VSoft video relay software offers superior video quality, and lets you resize your video window up to full screen. If VSoft isn’t installed on your PC, you will be prompted to install it before you place your call. Installation is quite easy. Just a few clicks and you’re done.

Here’s how to call with Vsoft:

Note: If you know your connection speed, skip to Step 4.

All done. Go ahead and call away.

To use NetMeeting:

That’s all there is to it.