Abstract: A high-bandwidth direct communication path between two clients is used for voice or video calls over the Internet. An opening or a window in a firewall is made for the direct path by sending a null packet out from inside the firewall. The null packet can be a UDP packet directed to a UDP port of the other client. Initially, each client makes a TCP connection to port 80 of an external manager. Each client registers its UDP port number with the external manager. A call request from one client to the external manager results in a message from the external manager to the other client. The other client then creates the window in its firewall by transmitting the null UDP packet. Then the external manager is notified and tells the calling client to begin sending UDP packets directly to the other client through the firewall window.

Abstract: The invention includes a method and system for digitally and automatically adjusting the audio volume of digitized speech signals received over a network such as the internet. The method includes: estimating an average frame volume estimate (VE) for each frame of data; calculating from a plurality of successive frame volume estimates at least one moving average of the volume estimates; comparing at least one of the moving averages with a known desired level that is associated with a psychoacoustically desirable audio volume level; calculating, independently of any compression applied to the data frame during encoding, a digital gain factor based upon the results of the aforementioned comparison; and adjusting a volume level of the audio data based upon the digital gain factor. The system of the invention includes several modules, which could be executed by software run on a microprocessor, for carrying out the method of the invention.