Getting Started

In order to speak with your friends or colleagues you need to connect to a server. There are three simple ways to do this:

Using the "Quick Connect" form:

1. Open the menu "Connection" and press "Quick Connect".
2. Fill out the required fields and press "Connect". Besides the "Server Address" field, where you should enter an IP address or a FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name), all other fields on this form are optional.
3. After that hit the "Connect" button at the bottom.

Using the client's addressbook:

1. Open the menu "Connection" and press "Connect".
2. Your local addressbook is still empty but we are going to add a server here. Press your right mouse button in the white left section and click on "Add server". You can name the server anything you like. After that, the "Label" shows your previous chosen name.
3. Now fill in the server address in the specified field, this may either be an IP address or a FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name). The port of the server usually doesn't need to be filled in. However if the server host is running multiple servers you can specify the port where it needs to connect to behind the server address (i.e. voice.teamspeak.org:8767).
4. After that you can choose a nick in "Nickname". You are obligated to fill one in unless you checked the "Allow server to assign nickname" box in which case you will get a name like "Guest1".
5. If the server is password protected you need to fill the appropriate one in at the "Password" field. If you are bugged by time-outs (unwanted disconnects from the server) check the "Auto-reconnect" box.
6. If you have registered with the server before you can optionally fill in your username and password. Do not fill in anything if you haven't registered with the server before! Remember to check "Registered" and fill in some nickname!
7. You may even fill in your favorite channel or sub-channel you wish to connect to.
8. After that hit the "Connect" button at the bottom. If all went well you are now connected to the server. You should see your name with a green light next to it.

Using the Web Server List:

1. Open the menu "Connection" and press "Connect".
2. The Connect to server has tab called "Web Server List". You should receive a list of servers from our master server by clicking this tab.
3. If you want to connect to one of those server just highlight the server of your choice by clicking on it and then press the "Connect" button below in the window.

You can easily add a server to your addressbook by highlighting the server and click on the "Copy to local Addressbook" button.

Windows Vista Audio Settings

In order to have Team Speak software running to its full potential you should complete the following steps.

Important! Please note that the following set of instructions may be different for some users due to their audio software/hardware manufacturer and their OS version.

How to Get to the Audio Settings

Click on the Start button and find to the Control Panel tab.

Control Panel Window will appear

In the Control Panel window find the Hardware and Sound section. Click on it.

And then click the Sound section.

Note: If your Control Panel is in Classic view, double click the Sound section directly:

How to Change Playback Options

Once you've found your audio settings, Sound window opens with Playback tab selected:

Click on the sound device Team Speak uses.

1. It should have a tick beside it. If it doesn't, set it as your default by clicking the Set Default button.

2. Click on the Properties button. This opens the Speaker properties window. Check the Device usage dropdown and select “Use this device (enable)”.

3. Now click the Levels tab on the Speaker properties window.

4. Check the Speakers volume is high enough and make sure it is not muted.

5. Make sure that Microphone volume is muted.

6. Click Apply and OK to close.

How to Change Recording Options

Choose the Recording tab on the Sound panel.

Click on the recording device that Team Speak uses.

7. It should have a tick beside it. If it doesn't, set it as your default by clicking the Set Default button.

8. Click on the Properties button. This opens the Mic properties window. Check the Device usage dropdown and select “Use this device (enable)”.

9. Now click the Custom tab on the Speaker properties window. Click on Microphone Boost to remove the tick beside it.

10. Now switch to the Levels tab in the Mic properties window.

11. Check Mic volume is set to maximum and mic boost is off.

12. Click Apply and OK to close.

Windows XP Audio Settings

FAQ

   How can I connect to a TeamSpeak server via a webbrowser?
Another way to connect to a server with the TeamSpeak Windows client is via a webbrowser. The way to do it is as follows:

teamspeak://{server_address}:{port}

The parameters in the link are "nickname", "loginname", "password", "channel", "subchannel", "channelpassword" and should be separated by "?". TeamSpeak will start up automatically and log you in according to the parameters given. Note that you do not have to enter all this information if you just want to connect to a server via your webbrowser. Just the IP address and port will do to log in to a server as a guest.

Example:

teamspeak://voice.teamspeak.org?nickname=WebGuest?channel=Talk Channels

Which ports does the client use?
The TeamSpeak 2 client uses RANDOM ports from the whole 1024-65535 range for source port and sends to port 8767 (UDP) unless indicated otherwise.

The client doesn't usually require any configuration of routers or firewalls. Do NOT setup your router to do port-forwarding or similar, as this is only needed when running the server.

How can I register with a server?
Sometimes it is possible to register yourself with a server. The advantages of registering are numerous, for example the different privileges you acquired will be remembered.

Depending on the servers configuration you are able to register yourself.

How to register yourself:

    * Open the "Self" menu and select "Register With Server". If this option is greyed out you need to contact the servers administrator.
    * Choose a username and password and press "Register".
    * You will be informed if the registration process was successfull. If not, have a look at the error message. If it says "Loginname already in use", you will have to choose another nickname.

Now you have registered yourself on the server. To take advantage of registering you will have to connect to the TeamSpeak server with your username and password.

How to log in with your account:

As you normally register on servers you are planning to use regulary, it's recommended to use the "Local Addressbook" for managing your server account.

    * Open the "Connection" menu and select "Connect".
    * Select the "Local Addressbook" tab unless it's already selected.
    * If you have not already done so, create a new server by rightclicking somewhere into the white field to the left and selecting "Add Server".
    * You can now choose a name to help you identify the server. You can also use the "Label" field for this.
    * Enter "Server Address" and "Nickname" just like you would do in "Quick Connect".
    * Now select "Registered" and enter "Login Name" and "User Password" exactly as you did when registering with the server.
    * The other fields are optional. Read the client manual if you wish to learn more about them. Click "Connect".

Alternatively, you can use the "Quick Connect" feature to login.

I have problems with a game and the Linux client when using ALSA. How to fix?
This is for those of you that are having problems running the game while TeamSpeak is running (like getting no sound in game or the game refuses to start).

Are you using ALSA (Advanced Linux Sound Architecture)?
First thing to do is check if you are running alsa at all. Try "lsmod | grep snd" in a terminal as root, if you get some lines of output, you are using ALSA, if you dont get anything, you are not.

Any sound daemons running?
Now we check if /dev/dsp is being used by any sound daemon. For this you need the program "lsof". If you dont have it installed you can get it from your distribution cd's. Now issue "lsof | grep dsp". This will list all aplications using the sound, idealy you shouldn't get any ouput, else we need to get rid of that daemon.

Getting rid of the sound daemon
If you got output in then you most probably have arts running. If something else is listed as programme name you have to get rid of that.

Disabling arts
Go to the KDE control center, hit search and type "artsd" this should find a hit "Sound System". In the dialogue you deselect start arts at KDE startup. Then you restart KDE and check if arts is still running. It should be gone.

Disabling other daemons
You can always resort to killing the processes "killall yxz", but the better way is to find where you can set it to not start it.

Finding the process name of your game
For the following steps we need to know what the process is called that runs the game. To find out, you can start your game and switch to a ttySx (press Ctrl+Alt+F2 for example), then type "top", and you should see the name somewhere high up (as your game should use lots of CPU).

Telling ALSA your game only needs playback
Now, to enable your game to play sound you have to tell ALSA that your game will not need to record sound or anything - else ALSA will refuse to give your game the capability to play sounds, since TeamSpeak already has the rights to record, and no two programs should be able to. Issue these commands as root:

echo 'quake3.x86 0 0 direct' > /proc/asound/card0/pcm0p/oss
echo 'quake3.x86 0 0 disable' > /proc/asound/card0/pcm0c/oss

Now you should be able to play your game with sounds while using TeamSpeak.

Since the /proc filesystem is not permanent you have to issue the commands in every time you rebooted and want to game with TeamSpeak. The sollution is to put those commands in a startup script, which will issue them automagicly at boot-up time. For SuSE its "/etc/init.d/boot.local", for Gentoo try "/etc/conf.d/local.start". Just add those commands somewhere at the bottom of those files.

When I try to update the Web Server List I keep getting the message "Error getting list". How to fix?
Please notice that this error is 99.99% a problem on the master server generating this list. In most cases this is not a client side problem so you can usually do nothing about it apart from waiting.

So please do not spam the forum with "I can't get the server list" questions! Have patience and wait a few hours, days, ... The people at TeamSpeak do their best to bring up the server list as soon as possible but be aware that this service can not be guaranteed!

You can copy servers from the weblist to your local adressbook by clicking the "Copy to local Adressbook" button located in the down right corner.

My mates tell me I produce echos. How to fix?
There basicly are two ways echos can occur:

    * Sound from your speakers/headphones being recorded by your microphone.
    * Your sound driver recording all sound that you hear for you.

Now, 'which one do I have' you might be asking yourself... You can find out quite easily: Just turn your speakers/headsets off (volume = 0%), and ask your mates if you are still echoing. If you are not, you got (a); if you are still echoing you have (b).

Fixing (a):

This type of echo is nearly impossible to fix completely, but you can minimize it greatly if you follow a few general points:

    * Switch your speakers off when TeamSpeak is on, use a headset to hear.
    * Use headphones that shield well, meaning they prevent as much sound as possible from being audible to the outside.
    * Try and keep your microphone as far away as possible from the headset (or more general, the sound-source).
    * Lower the volume of the sound-source.

Fixing (b):

These echos are produced by your sound-drivers, they should be configurable by your driver too (its not a bug, its a feature). From windows users we have often heard you can select from which devices to record in the mixer (a mixer is the place where you can slide all these volume controls). Make sure the microphone is the only entry that is being recorded from. How exactly this is called, and where exactly you can find it depends on your driver/OS combination, you just have to search around. Good luck.

How do I set the codec I want to use?
You can not set your own codec as user. Instead, the client automaticly conforms to the codec that is set for the channel you are in. So, if the channel is set to CELP 5.1, you will send and recieve CELP 5.1 encoded data.

So if you want a different codec, you need to edit the channel options.

When I try to connect to a TeamSpeak server I keep getting the message "Got a bad response from the server". What does this error mean?
This message indicates that you're trying to connect to a TeamSpeak 2 RC1 Server with a TeamSpeak 2 RC2 Client or vice versa.

As you can see from this errormessage, RC1 and RC2 are incompatible, so you should update both (server and client) to TeamSpeak 2 RC2.

How can I find the clients configuration file called 'TeamSpeak.Conf'?
Usually the configuration file of the TeamSpeak 2 client is located in a hidden directory.

    * For Windows the file is located in '%appdata%/teamspeak2'. The file is called 'TeamSpeak.Conf'.
    * For Linux the logfile is on your 'home' directory, in the .teamspeak2 folder, so it should be '~/.teamspeak2/TeamSpeak.Conf'.

When you remove this file, all settings you've made in your TeamSpeak 2 client are gone. A backup can save your day when fiddling with it.

When I try to connect to a TeamSpeak server I keep getting the message 'No reply from server'. What does this error mean?
The client could not make a connection to the destination server you're trying to connect to. Either something is blocking the connection request or there is no server at the end. Please check the client.log file in the TeamSpeak folder to get more information about the connection attempt.

Possible reasons:

    * You entered an IP or port which is not correct or where no server is running on.
      Check with the serveradmin if you have the correct IP and port and if the server is running. If the server doesn't run on the default port 8767, enter the destination address of the server like the following: IP:PORT or in numbers 192.168.1.1:8760 (this is just an example)
    * You have a firewall which is preventing a connection to the server.
      Check your firewall manual to see how to allow TS a connection to any TS server. The ports required by TS are mentioned in the FAQ. If this doesn't help you, check a firewall forum for specific help for your kind of firewall
    * You can connect to some servers but not to the one specific.
      Test several servers to make sure the problem lies not within your network configuration but on the server side.
      The server hoster may miss a port forwarding or has a bad firewall config (this is often the case when new / network unexperienced user setup servers). Advice the hoster to configure the port forwarding.
    * You get a timeout.
      A timeout issue can in certain cases be solved by switching the client into the debug mode. Some firewalls can cause timeout problems as well, so deactivate the firewall for testing. Wireless networks may as well be the cause of timeout problems. Try to connect without the WLAN and use an ethernet cable instead.
    * You get a socket error like 11004.
      Check the sticky threads in the forum. Socket errors are described in several forum sections.

Do NOT use the WAN IP or serverlist to connect to your own LAN server. Your router will most surely not allow this. Within your own network, ONLY use the LAN IP. There is no difference even if you setup a port forwarding in your router, use the LAN IP when ever you or someone else is within the same LAN as the server is.

When I'm using the Windows client my PC reboots randomly. How to fix?
Whenever Windows XP encounters a stop error (the kind that, in earlier editions of Windows, resulted in a bluescreen) the system automatically reboots. Windows XP generates an error message that reboots the system rather than continuing on and possibly corrupting data.

You can specify how the system handles these errors here:
Start -> Control Panel -> Settings -> System -> Advanced -> System And Recovery -> Settings

In the System Failure section, clear the "Automatically Restart" check box and click "OK".

Now the system will show an error message (instead of just rebooting), which you can use to diagnose your problem.

My in-game controls are messed up while I'm using the TeamSpeak client. How to fix?
Symptoms:
While beeing in a game, you cannot run, you are crouching permanently and/or your keybindings stop working as supposed to do.

Solutions:
This is caused by a weird bug in Microsoft's DirectX. In many cases, disabling the NUM-block by pressing the NUM-key will help. Another way is to disable DirectInput in your TeamSpeak client.

    * Open the "Settings" menu and select "Options".
    * Select the "Other" tab.
    * Check the "Disable DirectInput" checkbox.
    * Click "OK".

This prevents key interception in most games, but that's not a problem if you don't use keybindings while yor're in-game and don't use the "Push to Talk" setting.

When trying to enter a server or channel the client gives an error message 'Codec not supported'. What does this error mean?
Upgrade your TeamSpeak client. You are using an old version of it that doesn't have support for the variety of new codecs the modern ones have.

Where are my client's log files?
The client has a switch in Settings -> Options -> Other where you can specify how much detail to add into the logfile - while you are hunting a problem you may want to put this to 'Debug'.

    * For Windows the logfile is in the directory where you installed the client. The file is called '~/TSClient.log'.
    * For Linux the logfile is on your 'home' directory, in the .teamspeak2 folder, so it should be '~/.teamspeak2/TSClient.log'.

What do the letters behind the channels and nicknames mean?
These letters are called flags. The following flags are available:

User flags - Server based:

    * U = Unregistered user
      Unregistered users normally have less rights then registered users. Unregistered users CAN get AV, AO, CA or SA, but these rights will NOT be saved until the user has registered with the server.
    * R = Registered user
      Unregistered users usually have more rights than unregistered users and they can theoretically get all available flags including CA, SA, AV and AO.
    * St = Sticky
      Users that are sticky can't switch channels anymore. SAs can't be made sticky. This flag can only be given by SuperAdmins using the servers TCP query interface.
    * SA = ServerAdmin
      ServerAdmins have full access to the servers functions. Depending on the servers configuration they can also change the servers permission-settings.

User flags - Channel based:

    * V = Voiced user
      Users with voice rights can talk in moderated channels. This flag is only availabe in moderated channels.
    * AV = AutoVoice
      This is a permanent flag which automatically gives the user voice rights when he joins the channel he got this right in. This flag is only availabe in moderated channels.
    * O = Operator
      An operators main task is to give the voice flag to other users. Depending on the servers configuration they can also give AutoVoice rights. This flag is only availabe in moderated channels.
    * AO = AutoOperator
      This is a permanent right which automatically gives the user operator rights when he joins the channel he got this right in. This flag is only availabe in moderated channels.
    * CA = ChannelAdmin
      A ChannelAdmins main task is to manage a channel and it's users. Depending on the servers configuration they can give V, O, AV, AO and even CA.

Channel flags:

    * U = Unregistered channel
      Unregistered channels are temporary channels. They will be deleted when the last user leaves the channel.
    * R = Registered channel
      Registered channels are permanent channels. They will stay until someone deletes them manually.
    * M = Moderated channel
      Users need specific flags to be able to talk in moderated channels.
    * S = Sub-Channels allowed
      Channels with this flags can have sub-channels.
    * D = Default channel
      The default channel is the channel all users will join in unless they've specified another channel when connecting to the server. There is exactly one default channel per server.

I'm getting disconnected randomy with the message "Connection timed out". How to fix?
A timeout issue can in certain cases be solved by switching the client into the debug mode. Some firewalls can cause timeout problems as well, so deactivate the firewall for testing. Wireless networks may as well be the cause of timeout problems. Try to connect without the WLAN and use an ethernet cable instead.


 

Why we're using TeamSpeak

The reasons we're using TS:

1. The voice codec we're using is actually of higher quality than the codec used by most rented Vent servers. It's higher than what you get on most rented TS servers too, which leads me to point 2.*
2. We're able to run TS on our web server.  This means that we always have the latest version, can run the highest available voice codec, and have no limit on people (except how many people the server can handle).
3. It's free. A 25-slot Vent server will run around $75 a year. Considering points 1 and 2, it simply isn't worth it.
4. It's open source.  This means that when TS3 comes out I can write a script that auto-creates accounts based on the website info.  It also means that there are a bunch  of cool plugins available.
5. Cross-platform. There's TS clients for Windows, Linux, and Mac (Mac one is actually really nice).
6. TS3 is coming.  They posted more marketing info a couple months ago, and it's already used in a couple games (embedded).  Check out the site for the list of features.  TS3 will kick the pants off Vent when it's released, and we'll be able to upgrade (for free) as soon as it's out.

If you are having trouble with volume or quality, please read the TS handbook.  TS is very different that Vent, and features like voice normalization mean that you can turn down your mic boost.  We've had discussions like this many times (hence the handbook) and 99.99% of the time any issues with voice quality are caused by poorly configured mic settings or crappy headsets.

If you simply cannot get things working, it is probably due to your sound card or headset. If you're using a cheap $10 headset, don't expect amazing quality. The same holds true for sound cards. In the case of a low-quality sound card, consider upgrading or purchasing a USB headset (which bypasses your system's sound card).

Some sound card/headset combinations will work in Vent but not TS, and some will work in TS but not Vent. It happens. We cannot change voice servers simply because one member is having difficulty.

On a side note, it is general policy for us to not use other people's servers for anything. There are many examples of legions that have had their site/voice server down for a month because the legionnaire hosting it went AWOL.  I love you guys, but you never know what might happen.  Therefore, we prefer to ask for donations that can be used to pay for servers, etc.

*from (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_audio_codecs).

Our last Ventrilo server (with http://www.instantventrilo.com/)

• codec: GSM 6.1 (GSM-EFR)
• 8kHz sampling rate
• 12.2 kbit/s bit rate
• 20-30ms latency
  
• Complaints: none

Our current TS server

• codec: Speex 25.9
• 32kHz sampling rate
• 25.9 kbit/s bit rate
• 30ms latency
• Complaints: only from those who think there's a difference

Now, I am aware that Ventrilo offers higher quality codecs, but the truth is that most Ventrilo hosts do not offer these or at the very least default to those of lesser quality. The fact remains that, despite the lame GSM codec on the Ventrilo server we used to have, everyone was happy and we had no complaints. Any perceived "loss" in quality is in your head. There is a slightly higher latency, but that is the general cost of higher quality audio (hence why Skype uses so much bandwidth and is generally inappropriate for gaming).

Here's some other links for those interested:

http://wiki.audacityteam.org/index.php?title=Sample_Rates
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_rate