What Does HD Audio Mean for IVR Prompts?

Dead-air, distortion, irregular volume, muffled audio. No doubt you’ve experienced at least one of these examples of sub-par telephony audio, perhaps you’ve even encountered them all. And when you did, it probably put a real dampener on the whole experience – impacting your impression of the organisation. Thankfully, in the face of a widespread roll-out of HD audio across telephony networks, such disruptions are a thing of the past… right?

Wrong. Unfortunately, while technology has evolved throughout the last decade to facilitate improved sound quality for conversations between individuals, its use within voice prompts hasn’t been nearly as progressive. And far too often, IVR prompts and on-hold music have been compressed to 8kHz sampling rates, serving only to widen the chasm and lessen the concordance between system prompt and a real person. Now, thankfully, there’s a way to bridge the gap and lessen the jarring transition: HD audio for IVR prompts.  

What is HD Audio?

As the name suggests, HD audio is voice transmitted over telephony in high-definition, and at a much higher sampling rate, up from 3.4kHz to 7kHz, and as high 32kHz for HD+, with the result being significantly improved voice quality. By extending the range of the call frequency and heightening the audio sampling rate, any recipient, anywhere – over mobile or digital networks – can hear far more detail in the transmitted audio.

Often referred to as wideband audio or HD voice, the technology isn’t particularly new. In fact, it was first used in a communicatory capacity by online platforms such as Skype more than a decade ago. But its effective use in voice prompts is far more recent – for good reason.

HD Audio for Voice Prompts

At this juncture, it’s worth clarifying that HD audio in voice prompts is no new phenomenon. For many years, the recording of voice prompts and on-hold messaging has been at the highest quality possible (44.1kHz). The issue has been that these recordings have then been compressed down to a sampling rate of 8Khz – typically using A-law or U-law compression. 

While far from being perfect, up until recently this was just how things were done. Telephony platforms did not accommodate HD audio because networks would compress the audio during transmission anyway, so it was a waste of bandwidth to transmit in this format if the networks would subsequently compress it.

However, the times they are a changin’ – and recent announcements from network providers confirm HD audio is now broadly supported on a global level. This ambition for quality has since been reflected by numerous platforms who have agreed to accept the files, the result of which is significantly improved audio for IVR prompts for telephone systems.

Benefits of HD Audio Voice Prompts

Imagine crystal clear telephony, on any device, anywhere in the world – that’s the promise of HD audio. A promise that has several benefits, including, but not limited to:

• Reducing caller fatigue – the brain doesn't have to work as hard to interpret clear sound
• Creating a better first impression for prospective customers
• Fostering improved communication and reduced misunderstanding
• Adding real depth and empathy into the caller experience
• Hearing music that sounds truer to life, less tinny, and much less distorted

What Impact Does HD Audio Have on Telephony?

While up until now, examples of poor audio have continued to plague the voice prompt industry long after other forms of telephony were well rid of such issues, that era of sub-par telephony is finally drawing to a close.

With the provision of HD audio now accepted by telephony platforms and network providers alike, your organisation can take advantage of the benefits that crystal clear audio can bring, and bridge the gap between voice prompt and conversation. To discover how, and take advantage of HD audio sound quality by professional voice actors who deliver to your exact specification – get started with PromptVoice today.