Call In Studio

15/12/2022

NEW FEATURE -- SORT GROUPS: You can manually sort calls in the console by adding '//' + some random text, which will sort the calls in your queue according to that text.

Now, when you sort calls, any calls sorted by the same sorting text will be grouped together and a header will show the sorting text and the number of calls in that specific sorting group (see attached photo).

This feature is most useful for customers hosting large agenda-driven public meetings, and when callers are calling in on a specific topic.

07/12/2022

UPDATE: When 'Banning' or 'Snoozing' a caller, this action is added to the call note when the call is terminated (e.g., '[SNOOZED CALLER]' or '[BANNED CALLER]'.

This makes it clear which action was taken on the call, which will display on the 'terminated calls' list on the console as well as in the billing and call logs.

07/12/2022

UPDATE: When you 'Snooze' a call, it now blocks the caller for the next 12 hours (previously it would block them until the end of the following day).

Also, the default 'Ban Caller' link is now set to 1 year (previously it was set to 'forever'). You can change your default ban length under 'My Shows' and the 'Call Block' tab. Option from 7 days to 2 years are available ('forever' is no longer an option).

04/11/2022

BUG FIX: In some circumstances, WebRTC calls would drop after once hour of connection (most likely to impact host/screener WebRTC calls). This has been fixed.

22/09/2022

UPDATE: When ending your show/meeting, the option to allow callers on hold to record a voicemail no longer prompts the caller to dial 1 to confirm. Instead, callers are prompted to record after the "beep" (or hangup) and recording happens without any dialing required.

This was necessary to facilitate callers dialing in via our WebRTC interface so that no further action is required, other than hanging up the call.

19/09/2022

NEW! Local and toll-free phone numbers are now available in Mexico. A local number requires providing an address within the country, and toll-free number may be purchased by providing an address anywhere in world.

19/08/2022

BUG FIX: When ending your show/meeting, any calls that were still connected to the system would fail to log the call note of that call in the call logs. This has been fixed. You can review all your calls logs by going to 'My Account' and clicking on the 'Call & Billing Log' tab.

19/07/2022

We uncovered a bug with the 'Snooze Call' button which was preventing it from working properly (the call would hang up but the caller could call the show back). We've fixed this issue.

'Snooze' snoozes a caller the rest of the day and the following day from being able to call into your show/meeting. The caller is permitted to connect to your show/meeting after that. You can review a list of blocked/snoozed calls in your show configuration page under the 'Call Block' tab of your show.

26/05/2022

UPDATE: In some rare circumstances, the Max Callers value for your show/meeting would allow one extra caller to "break through" into your queue.

Though very rare, this happened when Max Calls was reached (e.g., 5/5 callers), many additional callers were attempting to call in, and one of the current connected calls dropped (thus opening a call slot). Sometimes the system would accept two new callers instead of one.

This has been resolved and should no longer allow any "break through" calls to connect.

26/05/2022

UPDATE: If you use caller name or carrier name lookups and have a listen-only dial-in number, the lookups will now not be performed or billed until/unless the caller dials *1 to be put in the standard call-in queue.

11/05/2022

We've added phone number availability in some countries, including toll-free and mobile numbers in Australia and the U.K. -- for a complete list of available countries and prices, see our pricing page:

How Pricing Works Call In Studio operates on a pre-paid basis. You deposit money into your account and all phone calls are charged against your balance.

24/03/2022

UPDATE: Call Screening Console - New Caller Alerts

The ‘Enable New Caller Alerts’ feature has been updated. This feature is disabled by default for each screening session, and to turn it on the screener must click the ‘Enable New Caller Alerts’ button at the bottom of the calls list on the console.

When enabled, if a new call is received into an empty CALL-IN QUEUE, a brief audio alert will be played in the browser. This is to alert a call screener than a new call has arrived and is ready to be screened.

Please note that this alert will only play if the CALL-IN QUEUE was previously empty, so if you have multiple calls in the queue and another arrives, the alert will not be played. Only when it becomes empty again, and then a new call arrives, will it be played.

The alert will never be played in cases where a caller is in the screening room with the screener, as to not interrupt an active screening session.

The feature can be toggled on and off at-will during your screening session (previously, once enabled, it could not be disabled, and in some browsers it was automatically enabled).

27/01/2022

This morning outbound calls were failing, so customers connecting Zoom and making outbound calls to guests would not work. The issue has been resolved and we apologize for the inconvenience. Please contact support if you have any questions or concerns.

30/11/2021

NOTE: Screeners connecting by dialing in via "auth by caller ID" we unable to connect with the new connection process, and thus needed to dial into the screener line instead. This has been fixed.

21/11/2021

CALL SCREENER UPDATE: A new PIN code will be generated for each new screening session initiated by a screener and unique to each individual screener. This means that when you go to 'SCREEN SHOW' (or MEETING), the dial-in instructions will present you with your PIN code, and once you authenticate your call, the page will automatically refresh and bring you to the call console. You no longer have to select which call is yours.

This streamlines the connection process (fewer steps), and solved a problem where when multiple call screeners called from the same caller ID (or didn't have a caller ID), one could not identify which call belonged to which screener.

If you are connecting via the web browser using the WebRTC connection method, this process has not changed.

28/10/2021

Our How-it-Works section has been updated to reflect how manual call sorting works:

The main call console sorts calls into various 'rooms' and as callers dial into your show or meeting and hosts or screeners move calls around as desired (e.g., the CALL-IN QUEUE, HOST ROOM, etc.). For a full discussion of the call console, click here.

27/10/2021

NEW FEATURE: You can now have call screening sessions recorded and saved as an MP3 file. In show setup, there is a check box to the Show/Meeting recording options to also 'Record Screening Sessions.' Recordings are stored in in the 'RECs' tab of configuring a show or meeting.

Call in Studio is the cloud based call-in platform for podcasters, broadcasters, and public meeting facilitators. Since 2011, we've enabled call-in shows and meetings needing to facilitate public calls to eliminate the need for expensive equipment or complicated software by reducing overhead and pay...

19/10/2021

NEW FEATURE: You can now sort calls in a given room by any arbitrary text. In the Call Note, end it with '//' + the text sort by. For example, your call note might look something like: 'Diana from Santa Rosa //topic1'.

This can be useful for agenda-driven meetings with many callers on hold to discuss specific topics. You might enter, for example, the agenda number as the sort text ('//1a', '//2', '//3b', etc.).

Calls are always first sorted by calltype (guests, callers, screeners, then hosts), then by the arbitrary text (if any), then by call duration. Calls with no sort text are sorted last, though if you only enter '//' and no sorting text, it will be placed first.

12/10/2021

UPDATE: Offline Message/Voicemail Blocking.

When your show or meeting is not in session, you may select to Always be Busy, Play a Message, or take Voicemails. Go to the main settings and select your preferred option under 'Offline Action.'

You may select to limit how many calls you wish to receive while your show is offline, if playing a message or taking voicemails. In 'Show Settings' to go 'Call Block' and under OFFLINE MESSAGE/VOICEMAIL select your preferred option(s).

You may limit to: calls with caller ID only, all calls for a specified time period (e.g., 10 calls/hr), and/or not allowing the same caller per a specified time (e.g., once per hr).

Incoming calls that have reached the specified limits will hear a busy signal and will not be able to hear your message or leave a voicemail.

Call standard call-in rates apply (and busy signals are free), so this can be a helpful option for popular shows who wish to take voicemails, for example, but not be overwhelmed with them.

09/10/2021

NEW FEATURE: If you want to give another account permission to review/download your billing logs, you can now do so. This works similarly to giving other accounts permission to host/screen your show or meeting.

To access the permission page for call & billing logs, go to 'My Account' and click on 'CALL & BILLING LOG'. In the new 'View' dropdown, you can select to Edit Permissions and follow the instructions on the page.

If you have an account who has been given permission, within the CALL & BILLING LOG page, under 'View' you will see the other account(s) to you have permission to access, select one from the dropdown menu to view those logs.

11/08/2021

UPDATE: For customers using auto-screening, you can now specify which room you want successfully auto-screened calls to arrive in (Call-In Queue [default], or Host Queue). For more on screening and auto-screening, see:

Yes. Calls can be screened in the traditional way, by a human (you provide the human), who will talk with callers off-air, put in notes about the call into our Web interface, and those notes will appear on the host's screen who can then select which callers they wish to put on the air through our We...

03/08/2021

UPDATE: The maximum call length has been extended from 4-hours to 24-hours. If you have a show or meeting lasting longer than four hours, you no longer will need to reconnect the host line (unless you plan on it lasting longer than 24-hours, in which case you do).

28/07/2021

UPDATE: The Billing & Call Log now shows transaction type, we fixed an issue with downloading logs as CSV file, and a new Summary view is now available.

22/07/2021

Happy birthday to our founder, taking live calls with his father at a very young age.

08/07/2021

NEW FEATURE: For the call screening console (call screeners only), when a new call arrives in an empty Call-In Queue, a telephone ringing alert will play on the screener's browser.

Note: You can customize this prompt in Settings under 'Custom Prompts' (click on 'My Shows', click on your show/meeting name then click 'Custom Prompts), and click on 'screener_newcallinqueue' to edit. To disable this feature, click on 'Remove MP3 file' and click 'Save Custom Prompt'.

Note that this only plays when the call-in queue is EMPTY (i.e., there are no callers that have not been screened) and a new call arrives. This can be useful for call screeners who are browsing in other windows and wish to hear an audible alert when a new call comes in.

30/06/2021

MINOR UPDATE: If you auto-screen AND a have call screener, and that call screener selects to 'Screen' a call before it is auto-screened, the call note will remain blank and ready for input by the screener (previously the call note read 'SCREENING ABORTED'; it will still do this if 'Talk' is clicked by the Host).

26/06/2021

NEW FEATURE: All Custom Text-To-Speech Prompts now support multiple language voicings. Supported voices include: English (US, UK, Australia, and India), French, French Canadian, German, and Spanish (US, and Spain), with male and female voices for each.

To configure, go to 'My Shows' and click on your show/meeting, then click 'Custom Prompts' manage the new voicings.

23/06/2021

NEW FEATURE (beta): Call Host/Screener WebRTC connection now available. For hosts: scroll to bottom of host console after starting session and click on 'Host WebRTC (beta)'. For screeners: look for 'Screener WebRTC (beta)' on the start screening page.

15/06/2021

NEW FEATURE: Assign a call-in number to "listen only" mode. Go to 'My Phone Numbers' and add a new number or change your existing call-in number to 'Call-In (Listen Only)'. Calls at this number will be answered in listen only mode and will not appear on the call interface.

Callers in listen-only mode can dial '*1' to request to put in the call-in queue and will then appear on the call console. When you 'Drop' a call, that caller is place back into listen-only mode (you can also select to 'Hang Up' on the caller in the call drop menu).

Your show must a call-in number assigned to it to function, but it can be solely a listen-only number if you desire. You may also purchase an additional number for this purpose as well.

Listen-only callers count against your 'Max Calls' value set in in your show settings. The Max Calls you can assign to a show is 35, or you can request up to 225 lines by emailing support with your request.