TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Frequently Asked Video/Audio Questions



How do I install the WindowsMedia player after downloading?

After you've downloaded the player, save the mpfull.exe file to a temporary local folder. Complete the installation by running mpfull.exe.

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Will clearing my computer's cache solve my audio/video problem?

Your computer stores temporary Internet files in it's cache, this speeds up your browser's performance. However, this can cause problems when viewing audio/video files that have recently been updated. Prior to each broadcast, please clear your computer's cache by following these steps:

Netscape Navigator 3.0:

  • Go to "Options" in the top menu bar of your browser
  • Select "Network Preferences"
  • Select the "Cache" tab
  • Click on the "Clear Memory Cache Now" button
  • Reload/refresh your browser
Netscape Navigator 4.0:
  • Go to "Edit" in the top menu bar of your browser
  • Select "Preferences"
  • Click "Advanced" in the left column
  • Select "Cache" under "Advanced"
  • Click Clear Memory Cache and Clear Disk Cache then select "OK"
  • Reload/refresh your browser
Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0:
  • Go to "View" in the top menu bar of your browser
  • Select "Internet Options"
  • Under the "Temporary Internet Files" box, click on "Delete Files" and click OK
  • Reload/refresh your browser
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0:
  • Go to "Tools" in the top menu bar of your browser
  • Select "Internet Options"
  • Click on "Delete Files" and click OK
  • Click on "Clear History" and click OK
  • Reload/refresh your browser

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How do I receive audio/video behind a firewall?

If you are behind a corporate firewall, you might have trouble viewing streaming media content. To overcome this problem, you will need to connect to the broadcast site from outside the firewall or ask your MIS department to open the port which supports audio and video streaming specific to the technology.

WindowsMedia Player Firewall Information
You will need to either connect to the broadcast site from outside of the firewall or ask your MIS department to open port 80 which supports audio & video streaming. If you continue to experience problems, follow these steps:

  • Start the WindowsMedia Player
  • Select File/Properties/Advanced
  • Verify that at the bottom of the page the HTTP option is checked
  • In the Server field enter the name of your proxy server
  • In the Port field enter 80
  • Select OK and close the WindowsMedia Player

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Why doesn't the audio/video content play?

The server may be down, the content may have been moved, or the URL to the content is wrong. In these situations you can do nothing. If the content is embedded in the HTML page, try clicking on the player's video screen. In some cases, network congestion could cause the player to time out; keep trying, or try again later when the network is less congested.

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I can play audio/video from some sites but not others.

Most likely you are behind a corporate firewall that has not had the appropriate ports opened. For best quality and consistent results, encourage your administrator to open the appropriate ports on the firewall to allow streaming for both the WindowsMedia Player and the RealPlayer.

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Audio/video plays, but there are a lot of pauses and the player says "buffering."

The player is most likely experiencing network congestion, meaning there is not enough available bandwidth to stream the selected file resulting in packet loss. When using a TCP connection, the data in the player's buffer will be used to supplement the stream until the buffer is depleted. Once the buffered data is gone, the player will pause, replenish the buffer and resume playing, using this new buffer to supplement the playback stream bandwidth. This cycle will continue until network conditions improve. Try again when the network is less congested, or select content that is authored for lower bandwidths.

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The quality of the video is poor.

This problem is usually associated with certain video card drivers that have difficulty with some features that the player utilizes. In many cases, simply updating the drivers for your video card will correct the problem. Following these additional steps may help to receive the best possible video image:

  • Set your monitor to millions of colors
  • Close all other applications on your computer
  • Do not resize the video window

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Video will play but I can't hear audio.

As a first step, make sure that your PC has a sound card to play the audio and the volume on your speakers is turned up. If you do have a sound card, the content being played probably uses a compression codec that isn't installed on your system, or the drivers might be bad or missing. To ensure that you have all codecs currently supported, re-install the WindowsMedia Player. page.

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I cannot hear the audio on some clips, but on other clips I can.

This could quite easily involve a number of issues, very few of which can be corrected on the player side. To be sure that the problem you are seeing is indeed not a player problem, verify that you have the correct and up-to-date drivers for your sound card. Using the incorrect drivers or out-of-date drivers can often result in unexpected behavior. Some cards are incapable of playing audio content created using an 8 KHz or 16 KHz sampling rate.

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I can hear audio, but it hisses, pops, sounds scratchy, or sometimes drops in and out.

Verify that you are using the proper and most up-to-date drivers for your sound card. Poorly implemented or incorrect sound card drivers may cause problems with compressed audio. Many users unknowingly live with bad drivers for a long time because all of the system sounds included with the operating system are uncompressed audio files which will often play correctly even with bad or mismatched drivers. Virtually any multimedia program that uses sound codecs and compressed audio files would exhibit similar behavior.

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In a slide show presentation, images seem to have been dropped or have blocks on them where the graphics appear smeared of fuzzy.

This is most likely due to network congestion. Illustrated audio presentations are created from still images. If too much of an image's data is lost because of a bad or congested network connection, the image will be skipped and it will appear to the user that the presentation is missing an image or images. Try again when the connection is better, or be sure to select content that's targeted for the bandwidth you have available.

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What does it mean when I receive an "error 11" message?

This error occurs when you attempt to play content with an older version of the player. If you do not have the most recent version of the the WindowsMedia Player, download it now for free.

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What does it mean when I receive an "error 19" message?

This error may occur for several reasons. The server may be down or you may be behind a corporate firewall.

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What if I am on a Mac?

Often a Macintosh user can not view a player that has been embedded into a page. To view the media, click on the "Launch External Player" link.

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