Based on feedback from users we were able to address some issues and have released a new hotfix (4.6.0.56) for Pamela Basic, Standard, Professional and Business. Pamela Call Recorder is not effected although we do plan a hotfix sometime soon.
Changes:
Bugfix: Recording did not appear in recording list when connection to Skype was lost.
Bugfix: Recording did not appear in recording list when a new call was received during an active recording.
Bugfix: On Windows7 there was an error when recording Skype video when the Skype window was outside the desktop area.
Bugfix: Potential crash at the end of a call recording.
Change: Call recording warning disabled by default.
Change: Major improvements in audio engine of Pamela which improves the performance of Pamela.
To update just open Pamela and click on the Help menu and then “Check for update”. This will provide you with the correct update version. Download and run the setup which will update Pamela to the latest version. All your data and settings will remain untouched.
Note that upgrades are free for our free and license customers.
Today we released the first hotfix of Pamela 4.6. based on feedback after launch we have incorporated this and other feature requests in this release. In detail all the changes below:
Feature: Info when user clicks “play” button during a call
Feature: Added additional variables to format the call recording file name
Bugfix: Mood editor showed wrong # of remaining characters when copying text into editor
Bugfix: Language editor set to max # of characters to prevent crash when loading the LNG file
Bugfix: Mood editor tooltips are now translated
Bugfix: “Minimize Pamela at video recording start” option is not saved after exiting Pamela
Bugfix: Sometimes error message dialogs were not in focus and thus not visible for user
Bugfix: Custom record full desktop had disabled record button
Bugfix: Fixed crash in custom video recording on removing webcam
Bugfix: Fixed an issue where Pamela would stop video recording after about 4 minutes
Change: Start external application entry box expanded to 256 characters
Change: Options: all port setting maxed to 65535
Change: Removed the cut off “Not…” text from list view
Change: Considerable speed improvements and lower CPU usage when recording Skype video
In addition we were able to significantly decrease the CPU usage when recording Skype video.
If you want to update, open the main Pamela window and click on “Help” and “Check for new version”. Alternatively you can visit the website and download. Make sure you download the same version as you have.
Today we release a Release Candidate version of Pamela Professional 4.6. Release Candidate means that unless we find a serious bug, this version will go live in the next days, replacing Pamela 4.5.
So, what are the big changes? First of all we completely redid the Skype video recording module. This was used a lot in Pamela since introduction in 2006 but since then evolution of the software world has caused more and more issues with it. So we decided to completely re-write the recording part.
We have managed to create a very low resource recording, this is especially critical as any video application already uses considerable resources. We also wanted to make the settings very simple. In Pamela 4.6 you will see only three main settings regarding video. FPS, the captured Frames Per Second. This impacts file size and quality of the video. Then there is the size of the video file (320×200 up to 800×600 including a YouTube setting). This obviously impacts size of the recording too. And then there is the audio quality starting from “low” to “highest”.
The output file is default WMV format and with Pamela 4.6 we’re doing away with all the complex codec configuration.
In addition there is a video custom recording option which will just record anything from the webcam.
If you have Pamela Professional you can just download and install which will update your Pamela to 4.6. If you do not have Pamela Professional or another Pamela version you will have Pamela Professional in trial mode (full functionality for 30 days).
UPDATE: Pamela 4.6 is now released as final version. Download from www.pamela.biz
The team is currently working on revamping the video recording module in Pamela. It is a feature requested and used a lot and the 1.0 version we have currently has some limitatons. We have addressed some of them in Pamela 4.5 but are still not happy with the results.
So, we decided to re-write the entire module from ground up based on DirectX. This is a Windows subsystem which allows for easy access to audio and video components in Windows.
The engineers have created a first test application which works flawlessly already. The CPU usage is between 3-5% and thus really low. The output file is WMV format which is compressed and a lot smaller then the current AVI. There will also be no more requirement to select a codec or install one so the trouble with this will be gone too. We are testing this internally and plan to release this in Pamela 4.6.
The inital results are very promising. I will keep you updated as the development progresses.
Oh, you may ask yourself when we plan to release this module? With a bit of luck it should be out second week of July.
Since the initial release of Pamela in February 2005 and after the last main release in May 2008, we now released Pamela for Skype version 4.5.
4.5 has some new features and changes which I will describe in this post.
The new version has two new main functions: Call Scheduler and Auto Conference Call Manager
Call Scheduler: This function allows you to schedule Skype calls and Pamela will popup a reminder at the preset time before the call is supposed to happen. The call scheduler has several options like recurring calls (great for those weekly/monthly calls). When a call notification is shown you can easily click on an icon which initiates the call for you.
Conference Call Manager: With this tool you can remotely start conference calls, bookmark conference calls or join calls. The situation of use would be where you are to start a conference call but need to attend other business. In this case you can define that when a particular Skype user calls you that Pamela creates the conference call (and you can record it also). The same works for outbound calls, you call a collegue and Pamela will create the conference call for you. You can also click on a call button and Pamela will automatically create a conference call with all people you have defined in the group.
In addition we have done major redesign of the birthday section which now shows a list of all past, current and future birthdays of your contacts. Those that do not have a date set in the Skype profile do not show obviously. New is also the option to customize the standard birthday chat greeting message before sending it.
We’ve had requests from people who installed Pamela on another computer, to be able to import older recordings. This function has been added to 4.5 and you can now easily import recordings into Pamela.
The video recording component, although not yet there where we want it to be, has been improved. Many had issues with Pamela unable to locate the Skype video, this has been fixed. Stay tuned for more development here.
The sound options in Pamela have been simplified as the configuration in 4.0 was very technical and many could not figure out how that worked.
The audio engine in Pamela has been updated and performs better. We have also achieved considerable performance improvements when starting Pamela.
Furthermore icons have been updated for better clearity. Menus have been resorted so they are more logical. Some settings regarding default setting of various options changed based on user feedback.
If you are a current Pamela user (not Call Recorder!), you can upgrade for free by downloading the latest version. To do that open Pamela and click on the Help menu and then “Check for update”. Download the new 4.5 version and run the installer. There is no need to uninstall Pamela for the upgrade.
Be one of the first to test the new mcePhone for Skype Beta 1! This complete overhauled version 3 brings Skype chats and video calls to your TV using Microsoft Media Center (2005 or Vista). We have spent large efforts on improving the user interface and usability of mcePhone. Just download and try out the new version here:
Be aware that there are still edges and problems in this beta version. Just let us know what you think or if you experience any problem. Our contact form is the best way to submit any feedback about mcePhone.
Written by Christoph on 13. November 2008 in category PamConsult
We are proud to announce the new version of mcePhone for Skype, which brings Skype to your TV using Microsoft Media Center (2005 or Vista). This next version 2.2 will have integrated Skype Video calls and Skype chat support.
This is a screencam of the complete overhauled version with new UI:
Unfortunately, Skype was unable to add an API to Skype in the past 3 years to give us access to the video of Skype calls directly, although we have asked and pushed hard for so long. As Skype video calls on TV was the most requested feature of mcePhone, we have invested a vast amount of time to make this possible even without any change from Skype’s side. With this new version, you will get fullscreen Skype video of the person you are calling on your TV and even see your video in the lower left corner (see ~1:30 in the video above).
Another very nice new feature is Skype chat integration: While you can still see the current media playing in the lower left corner of your TV (i.e. while the commercials are playing), you can chat with your friends and family. You even get a notification overlayed over your current media (TV, DVD, …) if a chat message comes in. With one click, you are in the chat conversation to answer the incoming chat message (see ~3:30 in the video).
We plan to make a beta of this new version available very soon to you. Be prepared to get a totally new feeling of Skype in your living room
Let us know what you think.
Written by Christoph on 1. August 2008 in category PamConsult
Welcome to PamNews.com
Read about new stuff on Pamela for Skype, Pamela Call Recorder, PamFax, mcePhone, Jaast and our other media center solutions and digital home projects. But we will also share interesting things with you that we bump into. Profit from our more than 6 years of Skype and eBay experience. Enjoy!
