Before we get into on-hold devices, let's talk about phone systems. There are basically two types of phone systems- commercial and residential. The commercial phone system has a central "brain", called a PBX or KSU, located somewhere on your premises. It is usually about the size of a small suitcase and it is mounted to a wall in a back closet, or in your warehouse somewhere. Depending upon its age, it may or may not have an on-hold "port". Most newer (post-1994) phone systems were offered with the on-hold port card as a standard option.
 The residential phone system, does not have a central "brain" and typically may have several phones- each may actually serve as a "mini-brain". For whatever reason, the residential "phone gods" didn't see fit to have an actual working on-hold port to input an audio signal to the caller's on-hold. So instead of just a plug in connection to the on-hold device, another "conversion" device is needed to make the audio actually work on the residential phone.
Now, Let's go back to the on-hold playback devices:
Typically the on-hold playback device interfaces with the KSU (the brain) of your telephone system. There are many types of playback devices, so we will discuss with you the choices you have.
Tape player with endless loop tape
Advantage- cheap ($20)
Disadvantage- the longer in duration the tape plays, the poorer the quality of the sound (due to dirty heads) and of course, if the tape breaks. This was the common playback device of choice when on-hold messaging was in its infancy. Now, there are just too many better options around to even consider this one....
Audio On-Hold does not recommend this option.
CD "boombox" player-
We don't recommend using a portable walkman for this, since we've found that they rarely have a big enough amplifier to actually make the playback audible on the phone's hold.
Advantage- cheap ($70), great sounding playback quality.
Disadvantage- two problems- unless the CD player is hooked up to a UPS (un-interruptable power supply), every time there is a utility power "spike", the CD player may turn off- necessitating someone to monitor the player to make sure it is playing on a daily basis. The other disadvantage is the typical life span of this device is about 12 months- so you will need to keep replacing the unit when it dies. Audio On-Hold recommends this device when cost is a major factor, and if your situation is such that the location of the CD player is in a place where it can be easily be monitored.
Let me throw in another disadvantage here also- We've had businesses who have the CD Boombox in a location which was easily accessible. Often times, the night time cleaning crew is looking for a little entertainment, and they see the boombox, disconnect it, turn it on to their favorite station (its anybody's guess here- maybe Howard Stern, Rap, Grunge or Classical) while they work. When they are done, they just hook it back up and walk away- so the next morning, your customer's are listening to Howard Stern comparing burping styles of his contestants. Its pretty obvious that there may be potential problems with this choice, depending upon who's working near the boombox.
Tape or CD Load Digital Playback Devices-
These playback machines are specifically designed for message on-hold service. They typically come with multiple-year warranties. You can think of this type of device as a micro-computer that takes a cassette tape with a program on it and automatically loads it onto a digitized memory. If there is ever any kind of power outage or "spike" and the program is erased - as soon as the power comes back on, the message is reloaded into the digitized memory.
Caveat-
As with everything in this world, not all devices are created equally and you typically get what you pay for. Some manufacturers diminish the tonal quality in order to achieve a desirable price point. Now, granted, the bandwidth of a phone line isn't exactly what you would call high fidelity, but it's amazing how poorly some digital on hold devices sound on a phone. So it would be prudent to suggest to your potential vendor to (again) ask for references, so you can actually compare tonal quality of the devices they sell.
Advantage- sounds great! Assurance that your message will always be playing.
Disadvantage- these will cost you a little more money. than your cheaper, less dependable playback devices.
Digital Remote Load Playback Devices-
This is the type of device I am suggesting some (qualified) customers use. If you have someone on-site who is somewhat computer literate, this may be the device you want to look into. Also, if you opt for frequent updates and your updates tend to be time sensitive, as soon as we produce the program, we will post the completed program to our ftp site, where you can then go via your internet based computer, to digitally download the message. Once the program is on your computer, you just connect this player to your computer via a usb cable (and the computer sees the device as another hard drive on your computer). Just delete the old program off the device and click and drag the new program to the device. That's it! It is very simple, yet you need to have someone who has a basic experience level on working with computers. This way there are no lost programs in the mail, and the update is literally instantaneous.
Advantage- Reasonably inexpensive digital device, Instantaneous updates
Disadvantage- Computer literate person needed to do update
Digital Devices for Non-Ksu Phone Systems
Non KSU phone systems (residential phone systems) do not have inputs for an audio signal. Yes, you have a hold button, but there is no way to input an on-hold message without having one of these types of devices.In order to integrate an on-hold message to a non-ksu phone system, you need to is you hook up one of your phones to the this device, and automatically all other phones using the same lines as the phone you just hooked up will have the on-hold message played on them.
Advantage- This is the only way to interface to a residential phone system
Disadvantage- if you use portable phones without using headsets, you will need to hit ** in order to put someone on hold.
On-Hold Message Segregators
Oftentimes several stores share the same building or perhaps a single company has different divisions which each want to have their own message on-hold specific to that division. Unfortunately, most phone systems (until just recently) don't allow for multiple on-hold messages on different lines within the same phone system. In order to overcome this problem, an aftermarket phone accessory company came up with a way to allow multiple messages on differing lines.
This device works on groups of six voice lines- if you have 6 lines which need any amount of differing messages, you buy one of these devices, if you have 7 voice lines, you need to buy 2 of these devices. All voice lines within your phone system need to be covered by a multiple number of this device. It works by queuing differing sets of lines with differing low tones, so each line can determine which on-hold message it is supposed to play. If you have 7 voice lines and you only buy one of these devices, the person who is on that 7th line will have an annoying tone in the background- so to iterate, you need to make sure all voice lines are covered by the multiples of this box.
Advantage- allows multiple on-hold messages off the same KSU
Disadvantage- even on the covered lines, there is a very quick beep which the caller hears it lasts less than 50 milliseconds, and it is very quiet- but it is still there. You need to have a telephone repairman install it for you, as it ties into your phone system in front of your KSU.
Audio On-Hold uses Premier Technologies, On-Hold Plus and Skutch devices. These machines have very high quality playback capabilities and are affordable.
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