Re: [Ekiga-list] Difficulties getting started with Ekiga

[Eugen Dedu <Eugen Dedu pu-pm univ-fcomte fr>]

On 18/01/12 19:58, Ken Resander wrote:
> I fetched Ekiga 3.2.6 from the Ubuntu Software Centre and downloaded
> the latest Windows Ekiga 3.2.7 from internet.
>
> I am considering Ekiga as an alternative to Skype, but I am having
> some initial difficulties. I have only just started using Ekiga.
>
> I am testing with a dual-boot desktop PC with Ubuntu 10.04 LTS and
> Windows XP and a netbook running Ubuntu 10.04.03 LTS.
>
> DESKTOP PC WITH UBUNTU 10.04 AND NETBOOK WITH UBUNTU 10.04.03
>
> Linux Skype 2.2 beta work with these computers and Cheese too, so
> sound and video are ok.
>
> 1. first created a handful of Ekiga SIP addresses from Ekiga.net. I
> then ran the config wizard for both computers using these addresses
> and received 'could not register' error messages for both and for all
> (I think) SIP addreses. Tried many times and then suddenly after
> having created a few more addresses Ekiga worked. I did not and still
> do not understand why. I have probably misunderstood how the config
> and the sip addresses should be used and the significance of these.
>
> Q1. what are the common explanations of the 'could not register'
> error message that might be applicable here?

Hi Ken,

The account window (from Edit menu) shows more information about the error.

The only reason I see that using the same configuration did not work 
several times and suddenly it worked is a problem with NAT, which is 
tricky sometimes.

In order to find the cause, we need the debug output when it worked and 
also when it did not work, to compare them, see 
http://wiki.ekiga.org/index.php/Debugging_Ekiga#How_to_get_a_debug_output.

If possible, please use 3.2.7 (or better later) for all that.

> On start of Ekiga both computers showed a caption 'Neighbours' in the
> Contacts list. When starting the second computer the user-friendly
> name of the first showed under its Neighbours caption and the
> Neighbours list of the first showed the user-friendly name of the
> second. Double clicking the user-friendly name started a call to the
> other party and sound and video worked fine.
>
> I then created sip addresses sip:donald duck ekiga com and
> sip:minnie mouse ekiga com from ekiga.net. I removed all addresses
> from the contacts list and assigned donald.duck to the desktop PC and
> minnie.mouse to the netbook using the config wizard. These showed as
> registered on each computer.
>
> 2.  I then connected by entering user name donald.duck into the
> sip-address field at the top of the Ekiga dialog for the netbook. It
> connected but each computer showed the local video, not the video
> coming from the remote party. I also tried entering minnie.mouse from
> the input field of Ekiga on the desktop PC with same result.
>
> After connecting by entering donald.duck into the sip field from the
> netbook the address field of the desktop PC showed
> sip:minnie mouse ekiga com and the netbook still showed
> sip:donald duck ekiga com.
>
> However, when connection was established with double-clicking
> user-friendly name donald.duck from netbook the netbook showed
> sip:neighbour@meijin-desktop.local:5060 in the sip-address field at
> the top and the desktop showed sip:homeaddress-of-netbook@ipaddress.
>
> Q2.  why is the local video shown instead of the remote-party video?

Did audio work?

If you are behind a NAT, you cannot contact a computer behind the same 
NAT (i.e. in the same network), see 
http://wiki.ekiga.org/index.php/Ekiga_behind_a_NAT_router#I_have_2_Ekiga_behind_a_NAT_using_STUN:_they_can.27t_communicate

This is because ekiga will make the two clients connect directly, while 
skype for ex. (however, I am not sure 100%) make them communicate 
through an intermediate machine, in another network.

Just try calling 500 ekiga net, and if it works, then it should work 
with other clients too (but, again, not in the same network).

> Q3.  quitting Ekiga from one computer causes quit from Ekiga on the
> other computer. Is this the intention?

No, this was a bug which got fixed several months ago and is available 
in ekiga >= 3.3.1 or >=3.3.2.

> DESKTOP PC WITH WINDOWS XP AND NETBOOK WITH UBUNTU 10.04.03
>
> There is no Neighbours caption in the Contacts list of donald.duck on
> the Windows XP desktop PC. The netbook has a Neighbours caption, but
> it does not show the Donald Duck friendly name. There is nothing to
> double click, so the only way to connect seems to be to manually
> enter the user name into the sip field, but then the problem
> described in 2 above occurs (local video instead of remote party
> video shows). When connecting from the netbook the netbook's video
> shows on the Windows PC, but the video from Windows does not show
> (the local netbook video is there instead). Additionally the (local)
> video stops almost immediately on the Windows PC.

Unfortunately, showing neighbours is not implemented in Windows, see 
http://wiki.ekiga.org/index.php/Windows_Users.

As for the other problem, you say that remote video is shown on linux, 
but not on Windows.  For that, we need again the debug output, see 
http://wiki.ekiga.org/index.php/Debugging_Ekiga#How_to_get_a_debug_output_2. 
 This could be https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=626515.

> I must get Ekiga to work on a Windows PC since a large majority of my
> friends would not want to and could not install Ubuntu. I think all
> would be willing to install Ekiga on their Windows PCs though. They
> are happy with Skype - from their perspective I am the odd one out
> insisting on Ubuntu.

Doesn't calling 500 ekiga net on Windows work?

--
Eugen