It’s been about a month now since we made the big switch from Ventrilo to Mumble and I wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts and help guide others in making the right choice for their VOIP needs. Firstly, know that I’ve been using Vent for about 6 years, so switching to Mumble wasn’t easy, but there were a few distinct elements about it that got me hooked.
It seems prudent to talk about audio quality first since that’s undoubtedly what most people are curious about. In comparison to Ventrilo, I would say Mumble’s clarity is better. Voices are crisp, clear and sound much more human than Vent’s ever did. It also doesn’t have that annoying sound effect every time you push-to-talk. I will admit however, that that was kind of hard to get used to. I was so accustomed to having an audio notification every time someone said something that when it wasn’t there I kept thinking I was disconnected from the server. It took about a week or so before I was really comfortable with it being gone, and in fact, I actually find it much better. In the past that sound effect could actually impede clarity if you pushed to talk while someone else was talking.
Mumble’s notification system is a game overlay. Now I actually have this disabled at the moment because I know everyone’s voice in our server, but I could see this being extremely useful for PUGs or ringing when you have no idea who’s who. Please note that with it enabled, it will come up in applications like Adobe Photoshop and anything else resource heavy.
Latency between what’s said and when it’s heard is extremely fast. I did some testing with my roommates and when he spoke in his room, it was almost instantly being said in mine. Very impressive and what’s even better is that this can be configured how you want it. If your network isn’t the best, you can make packet latency higher to return yourself to a more Vent-like approach.
Look and feel. I have to admit that Mumble doesn’t look very cool. I mean Vent wasn’t winning any awards either, but Mumble especially looks kind of…opensourcey. Now that I’ve been using it a month though, I’m growing to like it, but that was definitely something I kept noticing. Fortunately you can download or make your own skins for it! Which I thought was really bad ass because I totally want to make a sick Spawn Room one. In fact, if you have any suggestions for a good skin, post a comment and I’ll see what I can do.
Finally, I wanted to mention hosting. I purchased my Mumble server from the one and only Apoplexy Industries, for 15-20 bucks cheaper than Ventrilo (per year)! Awesome. But this is where it gets kind of sketchy because the configuration of Mumble isn’t exactly user friendly. I had to dig for a while to figure shit out and it required me to edit files, and make more users and blah blah blah. So if you’re not exactly tech savvy, you may want to find someone who is before purchasing your server. On a more positive note, getting everything set up with the default settings is a breeze.
Conclusion
Mumble is great. So far I really like it and I think it competes well with Ventrilo, even with its flaws. If I were to recommend them to a room full of potential VOIP buyers, I would recommend Mumble over Vent for almost all of them. Here’s how I’d break it up:
Ventrilo: For casual gamers looking for a popular VOIP platform, with a decent interface. These people are the ones that don’t care a whole lot about maximum performance and won’t need split second orders to be executed in a fast-paced environment.
Mumble: For hardcore gamers, raiders, scrimmers, and those in need of a performance VOIP service. I’d also recommend it to normal computer users that are more tech savvy and those looking for a cheaper VOIP option. You will get a better service, with better audio quality and quicker response times. It’s probably the best choice for FPS gamers, StarCraft 2 players, World of Warcraft raiders, and other fast paced games. If you’re looking to switch, seriously consider Mumble.
Update: Don’t forget, if you want to test out Mumble, hop on Spawn Room’s and give it a whirl. We don’t bite. :)
Other Tags: VOIP, Mumble, Ventrilo, hosting, AI
