Recording phone calls is essential for compliance, particularly in industries like brokerage, where proof of phone agreements is required. In the snom ONE PBX, recordings are categorized into automatic and manual types. While manual recordings are handled like voicemail messages, automatic recordings, often generated in bulk in busy call centers, present a challenge for archiving and access. The solution is organizing them in a file system by domain and date for easy retrieval and storage on remote services. The 5.1.3 release introduces HTML5 audio playback for seamless in-browser listening, allowing restricted access to specific recordings without altering file system permissions, though IE users face limitations due to unsupported WAV formats.
Recording phone calls is an important feature of any PBX. Phone calls sometime need to be recorded for legal purposes, for example for broker companies that need a proof when trading agreements are made over the phone.
On the snom ONE PBX, we differentiate between automatically made recordings and recordings that were started manually. The manual recordings are treated similar to voicemail messages and are shown in the voicemail section of the web interface. Because there are usually only a handful of such recordings, the manual recordings are no big problem.
The automatic recordings are generally generated in bulk. Especially in busy call centers with thousands of calls every day, it generates a difficult question on how to archive and access the recordings.
The first answer to this question is the file system. By putting the recordings into directories that are organized by the domain and the date, we make it easy to access files for those who have file system access. Also it is easy to permanently store those files on remote storage services. There are several synchronization services available today for this.
However there was always the demand to have the playback for the recordings right from the web interface. HTML5 has added the audio element, which makes it possible to stream the audio directly to the browser without the need to store it and then play it externally. In other words, it becomes possible to play a recording back with a simple click. Also it makes it possible to grant access only to certain recordings, for example only to those made by a certain agent group without having to tweak file system access. This is what we have added to the upcoming 5.1.3 release. For the various recording locations, we have put a little triangle next to the recording record. When the user clicks on it, it makes the audio player visible and starts the playback.
While we were on it, we also started to add the playback feature in other places like the auto attendant IVR control (see screenshot). This makes it easier, faster and more fun to set the attendant up.
Most desktop browsers support this method. Unfortunately, Internet Explorer is again an exception here because it is not able to play back simple WAV files. Encoding the recordings in MP3 or even AAC is not an option for the PBX, so that we are not able to offer this feature for IE users. However, in most installations users have also other browsers installed, so that it will be possible to use this new feature for practically all users. Also the feature availability for mobile users is limited. Here we expect that over time, more and more mobile devices support the HTML5 audio tag with the WAV format.
Join Vodia Networks on April 8 for a live, in-depth webinar on how real-time media streaming is powering the future of voice communication. Discover how Vodia PBX version 69.5.6 enables seamless AI integration, live call transcription using the Whisper API, and secure voice data handling. Hosted by Sales Engineer Eric Altman and VoIP Engineer Hamlet Collado, this session will walk you through real-world use cases, including OpenAI and Google Speech-to-Text integrations, MS Teams support, and new security features. You’ll also get a first look at Vodia’s AI roadmap and have the opportunity to ask your questions during a live Q&A.
Whisper, OpenAI’s Automatic Speech Recognition system, delivers multilingual, noise-tolerant, and technical-language-ready transcription through a streamlined encoder-decoder architecture. With Vodia PBX’s integration, organizations can choose between using OpenAI’s service or hosting Whisper AI locally for complete data sovereignty and control. This on-premise option ensures that sensitive call data stays within your infrastructure while still benefiting from powerful transcription capabilities. To explore deployment options, see our Whisper AI on-premise setup documentation, review a self-hosted integration example, or follow our cloud-based call transcription guide.
Vodia Sales Engineer Eric Altman attended Enterprise Connect 2025 on March 18 and 19, where he connected with partners and gained insight into the future of enterprise communications. AI was the clear focus of the event, with discussions centered on agentic systems, chatbots, and generative technologies. “It was certainly the main element in the atmosphere,” Eric noted. He also shared his excitement about Vodia PBX version 69.5.6, which includes real-time AI integration with OpenAI and call transcription using the Whisper API. The event confirmed that AI is rapidly becoming a core component of modern communication platforms—and Vodia is well-positioned to lead the way.
.svg)
