| Webcast Help |
Correcting Connection Problems
System Requirements for watching the Brownsville webcasts:
To check if you have Windows Media Player version 9 or later, just open Windows Media Player. At the top of the player, select "Help" in the menu. Then choose "About Windows Media Player". It will report the version number. If the number doesn't begin with the number 9, then you need to upgrade. We now are using Windows Media Player 9 on all of our live services. This will give a higher quality experience especially if you have a broadband Internet connection. At the present, you must have Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP or Mac OS X to be able to install Windows Media Player version 9. See below for details. Here are the latest versions for your operating system: Windows 95 and Windows NT: You are very limited in that you must use Windows Media Player version 6.4. This player as well as Windows 95 and Windows NT are very, very old when considering that at least five newer versions of Windows and almost ten years have passed since these operating systems and their related Windows Media Players were released. If at all possible an upgrade of the Windows operating system should be considered or you will definitely be limited on what you can experience through the Internet, especially as it relates to advanced services such as streaming media. Windows 98 First Edition and Mac OS 9: These operating systems must use Windows Media Player version 7.1. While a definite improvement over version 6.4, Windows Media Player version 7.1 does have limitations in that it will not play Windows Media 9 intelligent streams that will enhance your viewing and listening experience and offer higher quality, especially for those who have a broadband Internet connection. An upgrade to any higher Windows operating system will allow an upgrade to Windows media Player version 9 or later. Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Mac OS X can all take advantage of Windows Media Player version 9 or later. Of all of these operating systems, only the very latest Windows XP systems were shipped with Windows Media Player version 9. Most Windows XP operating systems were shipped with the interim Windows Media Player version 8. If you have any of these operating systems and are not running version 9 or later, we suggest an immediate free upgrade. Be sure your Windows Media Player has the latest codecs. Outdated codecs can cause either no video, no audio, or both. Your Windows media Player can automatically download and install the latest codecs. Here is how to be sure that can happen on Windows Media Player version 7.1 through version 9. Open your Windows Media Player. At the top of the player, select Tools and then Options. Under the Player tab, there is a section titled Automatic Updates. Check the Once a DayDownload Codecs Automatically (wording may vary slightly between versions). Click OK. Your player should now stay current. Personal Firewall ProgramsEarlier personal firewall programs in the past were by far our main connection problem especially for those who are broadband equipped. As Windows Media Player has become the post popular streaming player on the Internet, firewall software manufacturers have for the most part corrected this problem with later releases. First, if you cannot connect with our webcasts or live programs and you are broadband connected, it is likely that personal firewall software is to blame. You can test to see if it is the problem by temporarily disabling it. There is usually an icon near the lower-right corner of your screen that when you hold your cursor over will tell you its name. Norton Personal Firewall, Zone Alarm Firewall, McAfee Personal Firewall, and Sygate Personal Firewall are the most common. Usually you can right-click on the icon and disable the program and then test your connection again. If you find that disabling the software allows you to connect, check with the manufacturer for a later version or for the configuration to pass Windows Media streams. If you still cannot connect, you can change your Windows Media Player network settings to allow only HTTP and TCP streaming. Our primary streaming protocols are UDP and TCP. However, some firewalls such as those on corporate and home networks will only allow TCP and HTTP streams to pass. This will set your Windows Media Player to only allow HTTP and TCP streams. Open your Windows Media Player. At the top of the player select Tools and then Options, and the NetworkStreaming Protocols area you should change your settings to have a check mark beside HTTP as well as TCP. Multicast and UDP should not be checked. Click OK and close the player and test your connection again. Buffering, pauses and disconnects can be symptoms of a personal firewall program inhibiting your Windows Media connection. If you are sure that a personal firewall is not your problem, then it would be good to test the speed of your Internet connection to our servers. Before running the test, be sure to stop any programs that use bandwidth. These would include audio and video media players, downloads, email programs, etc. We suggest that you run the test a couple times and use the overall results as a general guide. box AND the tab. In the Availabe Broadband Test Sites
If you have low bandwidth, or your buffering problem continues, you can help or totally cure the problem by increasing your Windows Media Player's buffer. Here is how to accomplish that: Open your Windows Media Player. At the top of the player select Tools and then Options, and the Performance tab (Macs use Preferences and Network Settings). In the Network Buffer section, manually set the buffer to 30 seconds of content. This setting will cause a delay in the start of your program play, but once it begins to play should provide more stability. If you continue to have problems, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Used by kind permission of BVOV-TV |
