Music On Hold

The UCX system provides a set of eight default Music On Hold (MOH) files. These files are installed in the default MOH category that is used by default for all extensions, incoming routes, outgoing routes, ring groups, queues, etc..

You can customize the MOH feature in the following ways:

  • Use custom music files and/or recorded announcements
  • Create different MOH categories that can be used for different purposes (e.g., inbound and/or outbound routes, ring groups, queues)
  • Enable/disable random selection of MOH files
  • Remove existing MOH files

The current release of UCX supports only MOH files in wave formats. If you upload an MP3 file, the system will automatically convert the file into wave format. 

The UCX system uses wave files that are PCM encoded (or equivalent CCITT u-law encoded), with 16 bit samples, 8 kHz sample rate and mono channel settings.  If you upload a wave file in a different format, the file is automatically converted to this format.

The maximum supported size of a file that can be uploaded is 1 GB.

Adding Music Category

To add a music category, perform the following steps:

  1. Open the UCX Web-based Configuration Utility
  2. From the PBX tab, select PBX Configuration
  3. From the left side column, select Music on Hold
  4. From the list of actions and categories on the right side, select Add Music Category
  5. In the Category Name field, enter the name for the new music category
  6. Press the Submit Changes button to create the new category

The new category will now appear in the drop-down list for Music on Hold when you configure your inbound routes, outbound routes, queues, ring groups and conferences. The example below shows the new MoH category on the Inbound Routes page.

To change the default Music on Hold category used for SIP extensions, perform the following steps:

  1. Navigate to SIP Settings page.
  2. Scroll down to Advanced General Settings section.
  3. In the field Other SIP Settings, add the parameter ' mohsuggest = mohcategory ' where mohcategory is the name of the desired Music on Hold category.

In the example below, there should be a MoH category named 'SIPextensions' created on the system before assigning it to the parameter mohsuggest.

See Adding LineIn Streaming Category for details on how to create a music category that uses the LineIn jack for audio input.

Adding Music File

To add custom music files or announcements that are to be used by the MOH feature of your UCX system, perform the following steps:

  1. Open the UCX Web-based Configuration Utility
  2. From the PBX tab, select PBX Configuration
  3. From the left side column, select Music on Hold
  4. From the list of MOH categories on the right side, select a MOH category (the default category if you didn't create additional MOH categories)
  5. Use the Browse button to select the file you want to upload
  6. Use the Volume Adjustment drop-down list box to select the volume level you want to use for the file
  7. Press the Upload button to upload the selected file to the UCX system

The UCX system uses internally the following WAV file parameters:

  • PCM
  • 8000 Hz
  • 16-bit
  • Mono

If you upload a WAV file with different parameters, the file will be automatically converted to the format specified above.

Note: The Volume Adjustment setting is applied during the upload of the file. It cannot be used to adjust the volume of any recording that is already uploaded and stored on the UCX. If you have a copy of the original recording, you can delete the file from the UCX and upload it again with a different Volume Adjustment setting.

Do not use spaces or the "&" (ampersand) symbol as part of the file name.

Removing Music File

You may want to remove existing music files used by the MOH feature (for example the default set of MOH files pre-installed on the UCX system).

To remove music files from your UCX system, perform the following steps:

  1. Open the UCX Web-based Configuration Utility
  2. From the PBX tab, select PBX Configuration
  3. From the left side column, select Music on Hold
  4. From the list of MOH categories on the right side, select the MOH category with the file you want to delete
  5. Press the red delete icon  beside the music file name to delete the file

When removing MOH files from the default music category, you must always keep at least one file that is used as the default Music On Hold.

Video Tutorial

Self Assessment Quiz

  1. What are the file formats supported by Music on Hold (MoH)?
  2. What is the maximum music file size that you can upload?
  3. Which UCx platforms support the LineIn audio input for MoH?