TROUBLESHOOTING MEDIA FILES

Troubleshooting Guide for Media Files

The Basics

To watch and listen to content on the ACF Website you'll need an up-to-date media player such as Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, etc.

When clicking on a media link, such as audio, your media player should automatically launch in a separate window. This usually means that the media file will start playing momentarily, although how much time it will take for the file to start playing will depend on the speed of your connection.

Files on the ACF website are optimized for use with Windows Media Player. If you are using another program, such as Realplayer for example, the file should also play automatically. However, depending on the version that you are using and your settings, your computer may proceed to attempt to download the file before playing it.

The simplest, surest way to listen to audio on the ACF website without downloading the file is to make Windows Media Player your default player. 

1. Click on Start button (bottom left had corner of your computer screen)

2. Point to Programs

3. Click on Windows Media Player (if available, if not proceed to “Troubleshooting” below)

4. Maximize the Windows window (top right hand corner of the newly opened window, click on the square

between the X)

5. Click Tools (top left hand menu)

6. Click Options

7. Click on the File Types tab (top row of tabs)

8. Click Select All (bottom right hand button)

9. Click Apply and then OK

10. You’re all set!

If you are experiencing trouble with the file one option is to download a media player or upgrade to the latest version.

To download a free copy of Windows Media Player, visit Microsoft at

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/players.aspx.

To download a free RealPlayer, visit Real at www.real.com.

Or try the following steps...

First, determine which edition of RealPlayer you¹re using by opening the RealPlayer application and clicking on the “About RealPlayer” section of the Help menu.

RealPlayer 10

PC Users

1. Click on the Start button in the Windows' Taskbar.

2. In Programs, go to Real, then RealPlayer.

3. After the RealPlayer launches, click on Tools.

4. Select Preferences.

5. Select Content.

6. Under Media Types, click the Advanced button on the right.

7. Scroll down to Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).

8. Click on the box to the left to enable the RTSP media type for your video player.

Macintosh Users

1. Open Internet Explorer

2. In the browser window, go to the Properties menu.

3. Choose the Protocol Helper option.

4. Scroll down to Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).

5. Change the application type to RealOne Player or RealPlayer, depending on which application you¹ve

downloaded.

6. Close the browser window, then reopen another Explorer window and try a video link.

RealOne Player

PC Users

1. Click on the Start button in the Windows' Taskbar.

2. Go to Programs, then Real, followed by RealOne Player.

3. After the player launches, click on Tools.

4. Choose Preferences.

5. Choose the Hardware category.

6. Under Video Card Compatibility, move the tab on the slide bar to the middle.

Macintosh Users

1. Click on the Apple Menu button and select RealOne Player from the list of applications.

2. Follow steps 3 to 6 above.

RealPlayer 8 (or earlier)

PC Users

1. Click on the Start button in the Windows' Taskbar.

2. Go to Programs, choose Real, then RealPlayer.

3. After the player launches, click on View.

4. Choose Preferences.

5. Click on the Performance tab.

6. Uncheck the "Use optimized video display" box in the Video Card Compatibility section.

Macintosh Users

1. Choose the Apple Menu button and select RealPlayer.

2. Follow steps 3 to 6 above.

Microsoft has an extensive help page at

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=wmp

Windows 98 and Windows Me

1. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.

2. On the Device Manager tab, double-click the Sound, Video And Game Controllers branch to expand it.

3. Click the sound card or video adapter, and then click Properties.

4. On the Driver tab, click Update Driver, and then click Next.

5. Click Display a list of all the drivers..., and then click Next.

6. Click Show All Hardware, click the appropriate manufacturer and model in the Manufacturers and Models boxes, and then click Next. If the appropriate device is not listed, click Have Disk, and install the correct driver from the manufacturer's installation disk. If you receive a message stating that the current driver may be a closer match for your hardware than the driver that you have selected, click Yes.

7. Click Next, click Finish, and then click Yes to restart your computer.

Windows XP

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System.

2. On the Hardware tab, click Device Manager.

3. Expand the Sound, video and game controllers branch.

4. Double-click the sound card.

5. On the Driver tab, click Update Driver, and then click Next.

6. Follow the prompts to automatically install the driver. If you have recently downloaded an updated driver, click

Install from a list or specific location (Advanced) to install it.

Because Internet-based streaming media is subject to network connectivity troubleshooting, make sure that the Internet Wizard or Network Connection Wizard has been run on your system. If it has not been, run either wizard:

1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Communications.

2. Click New Connection Wizard.

3. Follow the instructions and complete the wizard.

Try connecting to the stream with Mplayer2:

1. Click Start, click Run, and then type mplayer2.

2. Click OK.

3. On the File menu, click Open, and then type the URL for the media.

When content plays, but there are a lot of pauses and the player says "buffering," the player is usually experiencing network congestion. In other words, there¹s not enough available bandwidth to stream the selected file. To address the problem, users can limit protocol options.

STILL HAVING TROUBLE?

Both Microsoft and Real have service and FAQ Web pages to address usage questions as well. When experiencing difficulty viewing any of the files we recommend that you visit http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=wmp for questions about Windows Media Player, and http://service.real.com/realplayer/index_music.html for questions about RealOne players.