In order to play custom hold music without service, a custom file needs to be uploaded to a cloud Shoutcast server, then configured in the system.
The Shoutcast Server
Shoutcast can be manually installed onto a web server (it is free), or can be hosted by a 3rd party.
Note: Sound files should be in the following format to ensure they work correctly with the phones: 16khz, 16bit, mono.
3rd Party Hosting
For customers that do not wish to host this themselves, you can purchase your own Shoutcast server online.
Once a file is uploaded, it has a public facing URL which accesses the stream, for example, http://cloud1.stream101.com:8053
Please note: Natterbox cannot provide support for implementation/investigations with 3rd party shoutcast solutions.
Applying Custom Hold Music
Once the source file has been created, it can be accessed through a browser and the system can be configured with the URL.
- With the file open in the browser, copy the URL from the browser address bar.
Adding Custom Hold Music to the Account Settings Tab
- Navigate to the the Account Settings tab.
- Click the Edit button to open the page for editing.
- From the Hold Music dropdown list, select Shoutcast.
- A secondary field opens, pre-populated with the text shout: in which the URL to the Shoutcast stream should be pasted. It must be in the format shout://yourbespokeurl (remove the http:// from the copied link).
- Click the Save button.
Adding a New Sound to be used in the Routing Policies
- Navigate to the Account Settings tab
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and find the Sounds section
- Click 'Add Sound'
- Add a name, description and select the file.
- You can upload .wav files to be used in the Speak App or anywhere you find a speaker icon (see below) in the routing policies or alternatively, it can be used in the announcements section of the call queue configuration app.
Note: Sound files should be in the following format to ensure they work correctly with the phone system: 16-bit, 16Khz, mono and must be in .wav format and cannot exceed 5MB. 8-bit can also be used if the 5MB file size limitation is an issue.
Adding Custom Hold Music to a Call Queue
- Navigate to the Routing Policies tab
- Find the call queue app you want to add custom hold music to
- Click on the Properties tab
- Select Hold Music = 'Custom', then a new field will appear called 'URL of the custom hold music'.
- It must be a Shoutcast link.
