Question
Teleconference app for Sonos
Is there a teleconference app for Sonos? There are microphones in some Play speakers but not in the Play:1 which instead could use the linked iPhone or Android device microphone, with all sound coming from the Sonos speaker. Could be a whole new business model for Sonos. Is this a good idea? Let me know if you want to use my idea (invention).
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+21While an interesting idea (especially as "HD Voice" codecs become more used in some VoIP circles, especially with cell phones starting to use them), unfortunately there's no way for the Sonos speakers to act as a speakerphone for teleconference purposes. Also, only the Play:5 speaker has a microphone built-in at this time. Whether future Sonos players will have microphones in them or not is only known to Sonos.
That said, given the Linux roots to the Sonos firmware, it probably wouldn't be too hard to bring in a SIP client, then build a custom controller for the purpose of setting up and placing the phone calls. Of course, then you need to get into echo cancellation, and the fact that the microphone and speaker are just unidirectional, which doesn't do too well if the speaker is in the middle of a conference room table (the Play:1 might do better as a speaker, but it doesn't have a microphone).
Certainly an interesting idea... though I think you're the first to mention something like it, so I don't expect it's a popular one.
That said, given the Linux roots to the Sonos firmware, it probably wouldn't be too hard to bring in a SIP client, then build a custom controller for the purpose of setting up and placing the phone calls. Of course, then you need to get into echo cancellation, and the fact that the microphone and speaker are just unidirectional, which doesn't do too well if the speaker is in the middle of a conference room table (the Play:1 might do better as a speaker, but it doesn't have a microphone).
Certainly an interesting idea... though I think you're the first to mention something like it, so I don't expect it's a popular one.
Couldn't the iPhone phone (and its microphone) be used to connect people instead of a SIP client? Use what already exists and find a way to integrate the systems.
+21There's no way to stream audio wirelessly from an iPhone app to Sonos. This is now possible with Spotify, but only because Sonos has done work on their servers to allow communication between Sonos and Spotify systems. The music isn't actually going from the app/phone to Sonos, but the app is telling Sonos to play music from Spotify servers.
I suppose you could hook up a Play:5 Line-In connection with the headphone jack on a phone... that sorta keeps the phone on a leash, but might allow the audio of the call to go through the Sonos speaker. But then you're hitting a delay in the audio from the Line In connection, which makes phone calls a bit more fun (think TV satellite links where there's a delay between when the person in the studio stops talking and the remote person starts because they are still hearing the studio person talking).
I suppose you could hook up a Play:5 Line-In connection with the headphone jack on a phone... that sorta keeps the phone on a leash, but might allow the audio of the call to go through the Sonos speaker. But then you're hitting a delay in the audio from the Line In connection, which makes phone calls a bit more fun (think TV satellite links where there's a delay between when the person in the studio stops talking and the remote person starts because they are still hearing the studio person talking).
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