VOIP telephony: which codec (G711 vs G729)

There are 2 main standard codecs used within VOIP: G.711(u/a) and G.729

G.711:
- highest call quality
- doesn't require transcoding
- uses more bandwidth (~ 80-85 kbps up/down)

Note: G.711a and G.711u are comparable in quality. G711.u is mainly used in USA and a few other countries while G.711a is used in Europe and Australia.

G.729:
- Most hardware/service providers support it
- uses less bandwidth (~ 20 kbps up/down)


I'd been running into issues with voice cutting out on my VOIP line. I was using G.711a and I switched over to G.729a. Reading the stats, I would have thought it would have been terrible; but for the most part the sound quality is not noticeably bad, and I've had no issues.