BASIC SKYPE USER GUIDE

[Steve]

 

.:. BASIC SKYPE USER GUIDE .:.

 

 

Introduction:

 

OK, so you have downloaded and installed Skype, registered a user name and you're ready to use it. The first thing you need to do is change a few of the options. Most of them are fairly obvious and it's up to you what you do with them, but I recommend you definitely change the following settings.....

 

 

Disable Skype From Starting When You Boot Up:

 

Click on File then Options to bring up the main options window. The first thing you need to do is click on the General tab, then uncheck the boxes for "Start Skype when I start Windows" and "Check for updates automatically", as seen here: -

 

http://www.digitalvertigo.co.uk/dv/dvkb/skype1.jpg

 

 

Configure The Audio Settings:

 

Click on the Hand/Headsets tab. Make sure that your sound card is selected in the three boxes at the top of the window (Audio In, Audio Out & Ringing). If it says "Windows default device" in these boxes, that can cause your CPU to max out at 100% and your PC will slow to a crawl. The most important setting on this screen is the bottom option, "Enable automatic sound-device setting adjustment". Make sure this box is UNCHECKED otherwise every time you start Skype, it will switch your audio settings to use the mic instead of line in and you'll be left wondering why you have no sound: -

 

http://www.digitalvertigo.co.uk/dv/dvkb/skype2.jpg

 

 

Stop Users Not On Your List From Calling You:

 

Click on the Privacy tab and set the "Allow calls from" option to "only people from my Contacts can call": -

 

http://www.digitalvertigo.co.uk/dv/dvkb/skype3.jpg

 

Once you are done, click Save at the bottom of the window.

 

 

Adding A Contact:

 

To add a contact, click Tools then Add a Contact... You'll be presented with the following screen: -

 

http://www.digitalvertigo.co.uk/dv/dvkb/skype4.jpg

 

Simply enter the username of the person you want to add and click Next.

 

 

Calling/Messaging Users:

 

To call a user, click on the main Contacts tab so you can see the list of contacts. Left click once on the person you want to call, then hit the green phone icon at the bottom of the screen to make the call. Pressing the red phone icon ends the call. To send an instant message to a user, left click once on the person, then right click and choose Send an Instant Message... You can also send files and contact lists this way.

 

 

Starting A Conference Call:

 

To start a conference (multi-user call), click Tools then Create Conference... You'll be presented with this window: -

 

http://www.digitalvertigo.co.uk/dv/dvkb/skype5.jpg

 

Left click the person you want to invite to your conference and click Add >>. If you add the wrong person, just select them in the right hand pane and choose

 

 

Configuring the Windows Volume Control:

 

Double click the speaker icon in the system tray to bring up the controls. Make sure Line In is not muted and that the slider isn't all the way down. This control affects the sound YOU hear, not what other people hear. Now the important bit - On the same screen, click Options then Properties. A new window will open. In the section that says "Adjust volume for" select Recording and hit OK. This brings up the Capture window. You must make sure that Line In is selected here or nobody will hear you even if you can hear yourself. The volume slider here affects what other people hear but not what you hear so bear that in mind when adjusting your levels. Once all your settings are correct, click the X in the top right of the screen to exit.

 

 

That's it. You should now be able to use Skype without any sound problems. The program won't start when you boot your PC (to save on resources) so start it from a shortcut or from the start menu. While you're using Skype, it's best not to use your Internet connection for anything else (torrents etc.) because the amount of free bandwidth you have is automatically detected and the quality settings are chosen accordingly. More bandwidth = better quality!

 

 

A Short Word On Scratch Etiquette

 

Most people use Skype to Q&A with other DJs to practice. It's a good idea to get the sound levels sorted out before you start, then everyone's audio is at the same level. If you join a session that's already started, you should message one of the other users to ask what your levels are like when you join in. It can be extremely frustrating when someone's scratching is so much louder than other people's and bad sound levels is often the reason people quit a session.

 

Also, remember that when you're Q&Aing you should be able to count beats and cut for a set amount of time, say 4 bars. If you're constantly cutting over the top of the person you're sessioning with, they will soon get fed up with it!

 

This may seem obvious to most people, but sessions have been ruined by people not getting their levels right and not waiting their turn to cut.

 

 

http://www.ninjastyle.plus.com/dv2/skypevinyl.jpg

 

Click the deck for the Skype Username List!

 

[Guest Ryan]

Good post steve

[Monkey-Hands]

Cool, thanks!

 

So for both AUDIO IN & AUDIO OUT Line In has to be selected?

[Steve]

Cool, thanks!

 

So for both AUDIO IN & AUDIO OUT Line In has to be selected?

 

 

If you're referring to this picture: -

 

http://www.digitalvertigo.co.uk/dv/images/skype2.jpg

 

 

....then it's not line in that has to be selected, it's the name of your sound card.

 

If you're talking about the last section on configuring the volume control, in the first screen you don't actually select anything - you just choose what you want to mute, if anything. It's only on the capture screen that you select the source (i.e. line in).

[Monkey-Hands]

I mean this:

 

 

FIRST SCREEN

 

 

 

 

RECORDING

 

 

 

correct?

[Steve]

Yeah that's correct mate. Don't tick the box on the first screen though because that mutes it. You only tick it on the second screen. Looks like you've got it right from your images anyway. :49_49:

[Monkey-Hands]

Yeah that's correct mate. Don't tick the box on the first screen though because that mutes it. You only tick it on the second screen. Looks like you've got it right from your images anyway.  :49_49:

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Yeah! :red_smile:

 

Just wanted to be sure!

 

 

Whats with some Skype times? Like every 2nd day at 8 PM or something?

I really wanna try this out and see how it works with my fucking Dial-Up!

 

I hope this is for free.....

[Steve]

If you're up for a session and there are people around, just stick a post up in the Freestyle section. We can delete it later. Dee is always up for a cut, so are Tim and Ian.

 

The sound might be poor on dial up. It's worth a try though!

[Monkey-Hands]

Yeah for real! For now I´m still trying to send you that track!

[Guest Deeswift]

Yeah, dial up is horrible, I can confirm this, I jammed with someone using dial up and it was impossible. Sound was too broken! Get ready for mega-frustration if you try it.

[Monkey-Hands]

Get ready for mega-frustration if you try it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Haha! I´ll give it a try. Just to see how it works. (will just the sound I hear be bad, or yours too?)

I hope I get that fast connection soon... :'(

[Steve]

Any idea why some of the images aren't showing in the first post? The links are not broken.

[Steve]

Odd. I see them there, but in the main post I just see the links with the IMG tags.

[Guest Deeswift]

I erased my previous post because I thought they might disappear again, but now it works fine, and I deleted the temp files / cache.

 

Weird.

[Steve]

Works for me now too. You're a facking genius mate!

[Steve]

I added a short section on scratch etiquette at the bottom on Chee's advice.

[Guest Deeswift]

Good one, this needed to be said. BTW Steve have you got your decks setup again?

[Steve]

Hehe - no! It's weird mate. At the moment I'm going whole days without listening to music and my motivation to scratch is gone. I think I'm getting to be middle aged. I feel the urge to wear comfy slippers and zip up cardigans all of a sudden!

[Guest Deeswift]

Cool. Maybe you'll start listening to jazz like me, and grow a longer beard.

[Steve]

Connection Issues: -

 

I've had a couple of pms from people asking how to fix echo problems in Skype. As far as I'm concerned it's a setup issue. For example....

 

i started by plugging aux out of the rane into line in on my laptop, line out of the laptop into aux in, then taking everything out of the rane master out into the amp.

Now that will cause a loop that creates echo. Cuts go into the PC from the mixer, then get fed back out through the mixer again to the amp.

 

I have my equipment set up like this: -

 

Turntables plugged into mixer as usual.

Output of mixer connected to line in on PC's soundcard.

Line out on soundcard connected to amp.

 

Obviously if you listen through headphones connected to your mixer, you're only going to hear your own cuts as the audio from the PC is not going through it.

 

I'm not saying that the above is right or wrong, but it works for me and the only time I've had echo problems is when I'm sessioning with someone who always has echo problems, i.e. the problem is with them, not me.

[homecounties]

i appreciate what youve said sigma, but when ive done it the above way i havent been able to hear my cuts, and surely if im hearing it via whats being bounced back from the other persons computer i'm going to hear lag even if i can hear my cuts.

Edited March 5, 2005 by homecounties

[Steve]

Connecting it the way I said, you're not hearing it via the other person's computer. If they are playing the beat, then it's only the beat you're receiving via Skype. Your cuts should be going direct through your Mac and coming out of the speakers, not being broadcast to them and then back to you.

 

If you've got the mixer connected to the line in and the line out connected to an amp you should hear the record playing on the turntable. If you don't, then you have something incorrectly muted in the volume controls.

[DJHELLO]

I have the same issue as HOMECOUNTIES... as we found out the other night (haha it was echo-tastic)

 

Reading Sigmas suggestion it all makes perfect sense and if we both rewired the setup like this we'd be getting no echo effect but I also don't hear my decks/side on the conversation - on Mac there is no "mute my side of the conversation" option to uncheck or whatever I've checked all the prefs but still can't get it to work.

 

Is there any other macheads out there with a fully working skype laptop setup? If so any help would be greatly appreciated...

Edited March 7, 2005 by DJHELLO

[Steve]

This guide is a little out of date, but the main info still applies. Some of the menus in the newer versions of Skype are laid out differently.

 

I dunno about any of you guys, but when I cut one on one with someone it's fine, but as soon as I start a conference, my CPU usage goes to 100% and I get weird errors and have to exit.

[Mowgli]

i might need to take a look at this ish eh steve.