On-Hold Music Stored In Solid-State Memory

By Greg Scoblete On Apr 16 2001 - 6:00am

SAN DIEGO — On-Hold Plus has developed a solid-state on-hold audio player/recorder for the SoHo market.

The OHP 5000, currently shipping for a suggested $399, records and plays back on-hold audio (music or a mixture of music and messages) on any phone that has music on-hold functionality. They include conventional single or multi-line telephones or more sophisticated business-phone systems. Audio from the OHP 5000 is played back continuously and is heard by a caller when their call is placed on hold.

The OHP 5000's flash-memory storage retains audio content in the event of power loss, and an integrated CD mechanism can be used to rip CDs. The system ships with eight minutes worth of memory. Additional eight-minute memory chips can be used to expand memory capacity up to 32 minutes.

Every OHP 5000 ships with a certificate for a free, studio-produced custom on-hold message read by professional voice talent and mixed with a choice of background music. The final production is put on a CD and sent to the customer, who can rip it onto the OHP 5000 to obtain a custom message.

In addition to CD ripping, the OHP 5000 also records from any Windows PC loaded with On-Hold Plus' MessageStudio software. MessageStudio software lets users create audio messages mixed with music from a desktop PC. The software lets users record unique messages and select background music from a variety of 20 royalty-free music tracks.

On-Hold Plus CEO Michael Sakakeeny said the company will ship an optional plug-in analog phone adapter module to let OHP 5000 users add audio-on-hold to conventional analog and KSU-less phones.

The adapter will be built into the new OHP 5500 (due in April for $499). It will let users plug in up to four phone lines. The OHP 5500 will be targeted more aggressively toward the SoHo and consumer markets (because of the widely installed base of analog phones without music on hold capability).