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What
do I need to view streaming video? 
You need
a computer (at least a 486 with 32 megs of ram running Windows
95), an Internet connection (dial-up with modem, DSL, cable modem or LAN)
and a “player” application (Windows Media Player). |
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What
kind of computer works best?
All computers
running with a 486 or above processor running Windows 95 or above
have the capability of showing streaming video. The faster the
processor you have and the more memory you have will make your
system run faster - streaming media will work better on a faster
system. Macs can also run streaming video, but some of the earlier
operating systems have problems with different versions of the
media players. There is a new version (released in 2001 - Ver.
7.1) of the Windows Media Player that works very well on the
Mac with OS 8 and above. |
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Why
does a faster internet connection mean better video?
Video is compressed
data. In fact, it’s a LOT of compressed data. The
more data you can get faster, the better the video will perform. |
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All
Speed Stacks Video Clips run on Windows Media Player 9 exclusively
as this player is now the most popular and remains a free offering
from Microsoft.
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How
do I install the Windows Media Player?
You need
to use your computer, web browser and Internet connection to
download the latest version of Windows Media Player:
MICROSOFT
USERS:
Click
here to
download the Windows Media Player 9 from Microsoft.
MAC
USERS:
Click
here to download the free Windows Media Player
9 for Mac OS X from
Apple.
[If
you have another operating system of MAC you may need to visit
the Mac
web site.]
The
current player version is 9, though if you have an older version
of Windows Media Player installed on your computer it will “auto-update” itself
when it encounters a new type of content. |
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What
is “auto-update”?
This is a
process where the Windows Media Player encounters a newer video
format and usually displays the message “There is a newer version of the Windows
Media Player than the one you currently have installed. Would you like to upgrade
your player now?” - the correct response to this is to click the “Yes” button
provided. This will allow you to continue to enjoy streaming media presented
in the Windows Media Format. |
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How
long will the “auto-update” process take?
This depends upon your Internet connection. If you’re using a dial-up
connection and have a very old version of Windows Media Player, this process
could take an hour or more. For most users the process will take no more than
10 or 15 minutes. Users who have a high-speed Internet connection will have
to wait only seconds. Unless your version of Windows Media Player is very old,
you won’t have to re-start your system to enjoy the new version.
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I
click on a video link and nothing happens
First, make
sure that your Internet connection is working - go to a site
like http://www.yahoo.com/ or http://www.cnn.com/ , it’s very rare that these sites
are not working. Once you’ve established that your Internet connection
is working, make sure you have downloaded and installed the Windows Media Player.
You may need to re-install the Windows Media Player. |
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I
get an error message
Microsoft has provided an extensive list of error codes and what they mean.
You can read about them here.
The
Speed Stacks video clips use JavaScript. Check your browser settings
(usually in the security folder) to see if you have JavaScript
enabled.
There
may be some problems that you’re
not able to solve. If you’ve tried everything from your
side, you may wish to notify
the webmaster and describe the problem you are
encountering. |
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I
can hear something, but I’m not seeing video
This is
usually caused by your connection
to the Internet being too slow to view this particular video.
Windows Media includes a very low quality audio track as the “lowest
common denominator” in all its streaming video files. If your connection
to the Internet OR to a particular server is very slow, all you may be able
to do is hear audio.
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I
get video, but it looks choppy
This is most likely due to the speed at which data is reaching your computer
over the Internet. A faster connection will generally mean better video. |
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The
video keeps “buffering” -- what does that mean?
Windows Media
Player will attempt to “store up” frames of video to
insure a smooth playback / viewing experience. Lots of “buffering” coupled
with the video stopping and starting usually indicates that you have a slow connection
to the Internet. |
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The
media player will open up and immediately close.
The problem
could be a firewall. A firewall is used to prevent unauthorized access
to a network. A network can be made up of a company's local area
networks, wide area networks and the Internet, or it can be just
an Internet Service Provider preventing inappropriate access to the
files of its customers. Firewalls create barriers in order to prevent
unauthorized access to a network. Think of the Internet as a series
of hallways. Firewalls are the security doors through which some
people (i.e. data) may pass and others may not.
The firewall's role is to ensure that all communication between
an organization's network and the Internet, in both directions,
conforms to the organization's security policies.
In
general, firewalls permit one-way access to the Internet. Because
Windows Media needs to establish two-way communication to stream
and receive media content, firewalls may reject Windows Streaming
attempt to establish this connection, and the request for a clip
will "bounce" off the firewall.
Windows content usually passes through these barriers without
trouble, but sometimes it is necessary to change your configuration
settings. With the proper configuration settings, you can enjoy
Windows Media video.
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Why
do I see a big broken puzzle graphic?
This is usually
caused by a missing plug-in. This means your browser does not
know that it has the capability to play a certain type of video
or you haven’t installed the correct video player. Typical
causes of this behavior would be that you’ve been using
Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player video - then you click
on a page which is supposed to contain some video content - and
a big, broken puzzle picture appears. This would indicate that
the content you’ve chosen is either Real Video or QuickTime
Video and you don’t have the plug-in. |
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Can
I save a streaming video?
Because you’re only viewing a portion of the entire file at any given time,
you cannot save a streaming video. If you want to view it again, click the Play
button to start the “stream” again. |
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Can
I see video at work?
Many companies have computers that are hooked to a LAN (local Area
Network), which is then hooked to the Internet at a very high
rate of speed. This allows for optimal viewing of streaming
video -- however, many companies have policies or software
in place that restrict employees from viewing streaming media
from their workplace. Here are some of the ways that are used
to restrict employees from viewing video at the office:
- Proxy server
- If you are using a local or remote proxy server to cache
frequently viewed web pages, streaming media may not work.
- Overly sensitive
firewall - Some offices restrict the downloading of materials
from web.
- Port filtering
- Sometimes certain server ports will be shut off in your office
/ network environment. This can affect streaming media.
- IP Sharing
- Sometimes router settings, specifically where many people
are sharing the bandwidth through a single IP address, can
affect streaming.
- IT browser
configuration - In some companies, the IT department pre-configures
the web browser so it won't accept streaming files.
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