Viking DVA-1002 Guide

Digital Voice

Digital Voice

Announcers

Announcers

Buyers’ Guide

Buyers’ Guide

The most comprehensive source

The most comprehensive source

for all of Vikings’ Announcement Systems

for all of Vikings’ Announcement Systems

Handle

more calls on

existing lines!

Model DVA-2W

Model DVA-3003

Model DVA-1003B

Model DVA-1002

Model DVA-500A

Model DVA-LP

Provided by

VIKING ELECTRONICS

Hudson,WI 54016 • [phone]

[e-mail]

Visit Our Web Site: http://www.VikingElectronics.com

Model K-2000-DVA

Telecom Solutions for the 21st Centur y

Digital V oice Announcers – That’ s right, they’ re
everywhere

You can hardly make a phone call these days without hearing a recording of
some kind.Voice Announcers give you show times at the movie theater and
school closing information. They tell your customers that they’ve called after
hours. They even play promotional messages or custom music while the caller
is on hold. The bottom line is that all types of organizations are making a
conscious change away from costly live answering,especially in applications
where the majority of callers are seeking routine information. During peak
business hours,live answering means extra staffing,extra cost and lost calls
from customers who don’t like to wait for more than 4 rings.Voice
announcers,digital voice announcers in particular,can answer more routine
calls per hour than most live company operators.

Digital announcers are no longer limited to large organizations.Today, digital
announcers have a place in every office , even small office/home office (SOHO).
For example,when used with a 2-line call sequencer (Viking TMS-2),2 line
music on hold adapter (Viking MOH-2L) or single line phone system (Viking
TS-1) a digital announcer can give the caller different messages at timed
intervals.That keeps them on line and assures them that they have not been
forgotten.Some companies introduce new products this way, while others offer
daily, even hourly specials to keep their customers up-to-the-minute. It’s a great
way to rack up additional sales.

Even music on hold,which usually consists of a radio hooked into the phone
system,has given way to custom recorded music combined with periodic voice
messages.

These are all good reasons to add a Digital Voice Announcer to your phone
system.But which one is right for you? What features should you look for? This
booklet will give you all the information you need to make an informed choice.

Obviously we would like you to purchase a VIKING brand Digital Voice
Announcer. However,the information contained in this booklet will help you
no matter whose product you buy.

Getting to Know the
Technology

We’re well into the digital age and that
means the end of tape and drum
recorders.Broken tapes,rewind cycles,
and periodic cleaning are headaches that,
thankfully, you don’t have to worry about
anymore.By storing your voice messages
and background music as digital data,you
eliminate all the problems associated with
mechanical systems.Today’s digital
announcers are also far more intelligent,
offer you more features, and are easier to
use and reprogram.Before you start shopping for a digital announcer, become
familiar with these features and terms.

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Memories are made of this

All digital voice announcers come equipped with a base amount of message
storage capacity. Manufacturers rate their equipment in terms of the length of
message it can store.Some manufacturers make memor y expansion kits
available to increase the storage capacity of their devices. For example, the
Viking DVA-500A comes from the factory with 16 seconds of message storage.
However,with the addition of a memor y module you can increase the message
length to a full minute. Memory expansion is an important feature to look for,
since many users find additional uses for their announcers once they are
installed.

Sixteen seconds is enough time to record basic information such as business
hours and phone system announcements such as “Thank you for calling.Your
call will be taken by the next available agent.” However,longer announcements,
such as weather conditions,school closings,bank and commodity rates,and
movie listings and times,usually require additional memory.

In addition to memory size, memory volatility is another consideration. Most
Viking Digital Announcers come equipped with non-volatile memory or
ERAM–memory that will not dissipate during power failures.Volatile memory
DRAM requires a backup battery to avoid re-recording the message after a
power interruption.While ERAM is the more preferred type,it is also more
expensive.

What’s the Protocol?

Protocol is an issue that sounds more intimidating than it really is. You know
that home answering machines activate when they detect an incoming ring.This
is known as “Ring Trip” activation.

However,if your organization has a phone system such as a PABX,ring trip
may not work well.That’s because many Key systems,Hybrid Key, and PABX
systems intercept the ringing voltage from the phone company and then
activate the voice announcer with a separate set of wires and a pattern of
commands. The wiring sequence and pattern of coded commands are known
as the Protocol and E & M Interface.Unfortunately, each phone system
manufacturer employs a different wiring and triggering pattern for their E & M
Interface.That means the voice announcer you select must be compatible with
your phone system.Many of Viking’s announcers include 16 Protocols – enough
to work with the majority of phone systems on the market today.

What’s the Hang-up?

A voice announcer that cannot detect caller hang-up is an announcer that is
wasting your telephone resources.Why keep playing the message and tying up
your phone line long after the hang-up? You want a voice announcer that is
equipped with disconnect sensing. This is known as Calling Party Control
(CPC). All Viking announcers except the DVA-1002 are equipped to detect the
CPC disconnect signal generated by the phone company. With CPC detection,
if a caller hangs up 8 seconds into your 1 minute message,the announcer will
stop,recycle,and be ready for the next call. Digital recycling is immediate – no
time-outs,no rewind.CPC detection helps you handle the highest number of
calls per hour.

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