Aydia Tue Jul 24, 2012 7:04 pmAfter the client program has been installed you can use these quick step-by-step instructions for getting the program configured and connected to a server. Before you begin you need to know several things before you can connect to a server.
The server's hostname or IP address. The person running the server should have this information.
The server's port number. Ventrilo server's and client's default to port number 3784 but if the server admin has changed the port number then you will need to tell the Ventrilo client to use the same port number when connecting to the server.
The server's case sensitive password (if a password is required).
Once you have these three pieces of information you can begin setting up the Ventrilo client. If you need more detailed help regarding any portion of Ventrilo you should click on the "Help" buttons for details regarding the window you are currently looking at.
Now, lets do a quick setup.
You should also click on the Setup button and configure all of the different options that control Ventrilo. This is very important when it comes to controlling the microphone or input source. Once in the Setup dialog click on the "Help" button. Be sure to read what all of the options are and what they mean. This is very important for the Voice page.
NOTE: If you click the connect button and it just seems to sit there for 15 to 30 seconds then you either entered the wrong information when you defined the server or the server you are trying to connect to is currently offline. In either event you should contact the person who gave you the information for the server and request their assistance.
Chose transmit style.
That's all there is to getting the client up and running. However, you need to decide how you would like to transmit. Ventrilo supports two different transmission styles:
The first and default mode is called "Voice Activation". In this mode the program will monitor your sound cards selected input device and when the signal strength reaches a certain level the program will start transmitting.
The second mode is called "Push-to-Talk" or PTT for short. In this mode you must tell the program to transmit by holding down a specific key on your keyboard or button on your mouse. You can also define a button on a game controller if you like.
To change the transmit mode please follow these instructions.
Click Setup from main window.
The default is voice activation mode. If you would prefer PTT mode then check the option called "Use Push-To-Talk hotkey".
If you chose PTT mode then you must also tell the program what key / button to use in the "Hotkey" window.
The program has many options for controlling the hardware and it's functions. These are sometimes very important depending on your Operating System, hardware drivers and other applications installed. The following items are highly recommended for an optimal configuration.
In Setup-Voice select the following options.
If you would like to know more about all of the different options on the Setup window then please click the Help button. The documentation is very extensive and should answer all of your questions about what each of these items does and what to watch out for.
Pro tip:
If nobody can hear you when you try to speak within game, you may need to run ventrillo as an admin by closing the program and right clicking the program icon and selecting "run as administrator" to launch it.
The server's hostname or IP address. The person running the server should have this information.
The server's port number. Ventrilo server's and client's default to port number 3784 but if the server admin has changed the port number then you will need to tell the Ventrilo client to use the same port number when connecting to the server.
The server's case sensitive password (if a password is required).
Once you have these three pieces of information you can begin setting up the Ventrilo client. If you need more detailed help regarding any portion of Ventrilo you should click on the "Help" buttons for details regarding the window you are currently looking at.
Now, lets do a quick setup.
- Start the ventrilo program. Click on the Start button, click on Programs and then click on Ventrilo. This will display another menu option called Ventrilo that will start the actual program.
- Click on the "->" button that is next to the first pulldown window called "User Name". This will open a new window where you can create a logon name to be used when connecting to a server.
- Click the "New" button. This will open a small window where you can enter your logon name. The name you enter is entirely up to you. It can be your real name or a nick name.
- Click the "OK" button. You can come back to this window and click on the help button later on if you want more detailed information about what the other options mean and how to use them.
- Now that we are back to the main window click on the "->" button that is next to the pulldown window called "Server". This will open a new window where you can enter the details about the server you would like to connect to.
- Click the "New" button. This will open a small window where you can enter a name that will describe the new server definition. The name can be anything you want it to be like: "My server" or "Joe's server". When entering a server name you don't need the quotes around it. These server names will show up in the main Ventrilo window.
- Click "OK".
- Click on the "Hostname or IP" input box and enter the server hostname or IP address given to you by the person hosting the server.
- Click on the "Port number" input box and enter the servers port number. The program will automatically display the default port number of 3784 but you can change this to what ever the server needs it to be.
- Click on the "Password" input box and enter the servers password as defined by the server administrator.
- Click "OK" to return to the Ventrilo main window.
- Click "Connect" to establish a connection between you and the server you just defined.
You should also click on the Setup button and configure all of the different options that control Ventrilo. This is very important when it comes to controlling the microphone or input source. Once in the Setup dialog click on the "Help" button. Be sure to read what all of the options are and what they mean. This is very important for the Voice page.
NOTE: If you click the connect button and it just seems to sit there for 15 to 30 seconds then you either entered the wrong information when you defined the server or the server you are trying to connect to is currently offline. In either event you should contact the person who gave you the information for the server and request their assistance.
Chose transmit style.
That's all there is to getting the client up and running. However, you need to decide how you would like to transmit. Ventrilo supports two different transmission styles:
The first and default mode is called "Voice Activation". In this mode the program will monitor your sound cards selected input device and when the signal strength reaches a certain level the program will start transmitting.
The second mode is called "Push-to-Talk" or PTT for short. In this mode you must tell the program to transmit by holding down a specific key on your keyboard or button on your mouse. You can also define a button on a game controller if you like.
To change the transmit mode please follow these instructions.
Click Setup from main window.
The default is voice activation mode. If you would prefer PTT mode then check the option called "Use Push-To-Talk hotkey".
If you chose PTT mode then you must also tell the program what key / button to use in the "Hotkey" window.
The program has many options for controlling the hardware and it's functions. These are sometimes very important depending on your Operating System, hardware drivers and other applications installed. The following items are highly recommended for an optimal configuration.
In Setup-Voice select the following options.
- Enable the "Use DirectSound for Output device" option. This will make your Output Device the "Default DirectSound device". If you have more then one sound card you will need to select which device you want all voice communication to be sent to.
- Enable the "Use DirectSound for Input device" option. This will make your Input Device the "Default DirectSound device". If you have more then one sound card you will need to select which device to monitor when you are transmitting.
- Select a Mixer / Mux / Line. You should select the same device as your "Input Device" in the option above it. There should only be one Mux option. The Line option will allow you to select what portion of the sound cards hardware to monitor. Under normal conditions this should be called "Microphone" but you might need to manually select it.
- When you select a Mixer / Mux / Line the program will enable the Line Volume slider. You should slide this up about half way to start with. It is the primary control that tells your sound card how to control the signal strength coming from your Microphone or input device.
If you would like to know more about all of the different options on the Setup window then please click the Help button. The documentation is very extensive and should answer all of your questions about what each of these items does and what to watch out for.
Pro tip:
If nobody can hear you when you try to speak within game, you may need to run ventrillo as an admin by closing the program and right clicking the program icon and selecting "run as administrator" to launch it.
