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What are media players? Do I have one? |
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A media player is a special type of software that recognizes the stream coming into your computer and plays it through your speakers or ear/headphones. The two formats of media players that we use are:
Windows Media Player™
Most computers that use the Windows operating system have Windows Media Player installed. If your version is getting old, you may need to download and install a more current one in order to use streaming. The Windows Media Player is also available for Apple computers and the Mac OS.
QuickTime™
Newer Apple computers and some PCs come with the QuickTime player installed. As with all players, if your version is too old, you may need a new one. QuickTime is also available for Windows.
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The sound is distorted or too loud. |
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Check that the volume controls on your software, your media player, or your external speakers is not turned up too high.
The sound quality may sound distorted because it is highly compressed to enable fast transfer in synchronisation with the video.
In this medium, it is difficult to enable HiFi quality sound and keep the file size to an easily downloadable size. |
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Why do you use .MPG/.MPEG files for your on-line videos? |
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Technically, we found that MPG files were the most compatible with our server, and are the most stable to download from our pages.
We also engaged in extensive market research and found that for a number of reasons MPG is the most acceptable format for our on-line videos.
Our research provided us with data that enabled us to determine other aspects of our videos.
The most used formats on the internet are Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, Quicktime and Shockwave. If our continuing research, or feedback from site visitors, suggests we should change formats for any reason then we will consider doing so. |
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If I need a player, how do I get one? |
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Just download one of the required players using either of the links below. Remember, you only need the basic, free version of the player to enjoy on-line video content.
Choose a media player:
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I can't hear the sound. |
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Is your volume turned on?
This happens more than you think.
Double-check to make sure that the volume on your external speakers is up loud enough and that they are turned on.
Also check on the media player to see if the tiny volume slider is turned up.
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The online video stopped downloading. |
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Occasionally enough 'packets' of data will get lost in cyberspace on the way to your computer to cause a noticeable interruption. In most cases the system will recover automatically and resume the download after a few seconds without any special action on your part. However, if you get no response after the first minute, refreshing the page is the best way to resume the download. |
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Why are the file sizes so big? |
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If the size of the video files was too small, then the videos would look like a blur. For example the size of the 30 second video master is 2GB. It has to be reduced dramatically to make it appealing for internet users to download it, however there is a compromise on image size and quality. Our extensive research has resulted in what we believe are optimum file sizes for our videos, that enable users of broadband and modem to download our videos in a reasonable time, without sacrificing any further quality. |
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Do I have to go on-line every time I want to see the video? |
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We encourage you to download the video to your local computer so you can watch it anytime, and show it to others without having to go on-line.
The video web-site address is shown clearly throughout the video so if you want to refer to anything that you have seen in the video, you will know the address to find it. |
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I have all the recommended software installed but I'm still not able to view the on-line video. |
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Double-check your connection speed.
To ensure maximum quality for a wide-range of connection speeds, you may need to reduce the speed of your modem connection slightly to esnure a more stable and reliable connection.
Are you firewalled?
Occasionally a firewall will reduce the speed with which you can receive our on-line videos on an otherwise high-speed connection. Our videos are as 'firewall friendly' as possible but bottlenecks can still occur, especially when connecting from a corporate LAN.
Is your plugin installed properly?
Sometimes Netscape browsers will not pick up the Windows Media Player plugin properly, to fix this problem re-install Microsoft Windows Media Player or the Quicktime Player and try again.
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The video stutters and keeps stopping during playback. |
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The video will normally start to play part-way through the download, but in some cases the two operations may not work well together. If the video stutters, stop it playing and wait for the download to finish, then start it again.
If you still have problems, you may have other tasks or applications running that are using too much processor power for the video to play smoothly.
Try quitting some other tasks and start the video from the beginning. |
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The video appears to have completely downloaded, but it cuts off before it finishes or won't play at all. |
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For some reason the download has been interrupted resulting in a corrupted file. Try refreshing the page and recommencing the download. If this doesn't work, try clearing the browser cache, or emptying the temporary items folder, and starting again. |
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