In order to use either software, you require a server to connect to. Ventrilo offers a limited 8 "slot" server that you can download and run, if you purchase a software license, you can fit more people onto your server. For now, let's focus on getting Ventrilo working before setting up our own server. Make sure you know someone with a Ventrilo server running, or have access to one before starting. Also, make sure you have a microphone or webcam to input your voice into that's connected and running to the computer, or else you won't be able to talk.

Download Ventrilo from the website according to your operating system. Be it Windows, or Mac OSX, (Linux support is coming soon). In my example, I'm using Windows.

Install Ventrilo: This can take anywhere between 2 to 10 minutes on average. Less if your computer is state-of-the-art, and more if it's older. You should have a screen looking like this after.

Depending on where you installed Ventrilo to on your hard disk, go to the folder and launch Ventrilo. The Windows default is C:Program FilesVentriloVentrilo.exe as shown in the picture. If you selected to have a Desktop shortcut, launch it from there. The same goes for start menu as well.

Now for the more technical stuff. This section is very important to connecting to a server, and making sure you have the correct settings to feel comfortable. Now that you have Ventrilo launched you can create your username under the Button tab “User Name”. This can be a Nickname, or your Player's name, or even your whole name. This is to differ yourself from others visually on the server.

Phonetics adds a bit of flair to your log on. Everyone hears the phonetic on the server. Sometimes it's useful to put your name in it so that others know you're on without looking. Please remember since everyone can hear the phonetic, don't make it really long or profane, because people also hear the phonetic when you change “channels” which I will discuss in a bit. Nothing is worse than hearing something really long when your talking to another person.

Sometime server owners ban people who rapidity log off and on to annoy others with the phonetic. This is not advisable. Pressing play will allow you to hear your Phonetic. Clone allows you to make a duplicate user with the same server information saved to your original. Delete will erase a user. Press OK when you've made your selected name and Phonetic.

Now click on the Server button tab. Click on New server, and use the selected information of the server you're connecting to. Add a name to keep track of your server. Now you must find out the server's IP. This can be found under your friend's internet information, because it's their server you're connecting to. If you're connecting to another server, make sure you know all the information beforehand, or else you're stuck at this stage until you learn more information. Enter the port. The Default port is 3784, and most servers use this. There may be the odd exception. Make sure you have the port forwarded on your router. For router forwarding information see portforward.com, they have an excellent guide for each router.

Enter the password. If there isn't a password for the server, leave it blank. All other settings are straight-forward, nothing to advanced. Feel free to continue on by clicking OK.

Bindings should be fine by themselves, because we can edit those settings through the Setup side tab, which is our next stop. Click it. Now we're going to select which device captures our voice. Go to the Input Device selection and select your microphone or webcam. This is extremely important that your choice is the correct device, because you won't be able to talk otherwise. In my example, I'm using an Eye-toy, which I installed using special drivers.

The next setting is personal preference. By the current settings when you talk, Ventrilo automatically detects the sound, and starts recording what you're saying. While this is convenient, it can be a nuisance for a loud and busy household, because it will capture all the background noise. The other option available is Push-to-talk. I use this setting so I can talk to others in my household without others on the server hearing, but this requires using a button on your keyboard or mouse or talking. I use the Insert key, because it's not used in many applications, and I find the pun “I'm Insert-ing my voice” somewhat funny.

To use Push to talk, select the box, and at the Hotkey tab, press the hotkey down for it to be selected. If you have a quiet Microphone or can't hear Ventrilo well, you can use the Output and Input Modifiers accordingly later on. Right now, we have all of the information filled out! And it's time to connect to the server! Yeah!

After hitting OK on the Setup, hit on Connect. One of 2 things happens most often. You either connect or you fail to do so. If you connect you'll see an image similar to this: This is one of my friend's servers.

The other thing you will see if you don't connect is an error message. This error will be because 1 of two things. Either the server isn't up at the moment, or you don't have the right IP address of the server, or the password or port. The information is easily fixed, but you might have to get into contact with the person who runs the server to get it up and running.

Now that you're connected (if not, repeat step 5), you can change “channels” which I was talking about earlier. This is so that others can talk about a certain topic without being interrupted with another conversation going on the lobby. The lobby is where you log into by default.

To change channels, double click on the name of the channel, it should take you less than a second to a second to change your channel depending on your Ping. Ping is the amount of Milliseconds it takes to communicate with the server. A High Ping indicates a bad connection, or too many guests connected to the server that it's running out of bandwidth.