Additional Information

Viewing Our Video Streams

Clicking on a video link downloads a small QuickTime Link (.qtl) file (approx. 4K) to your computer to access the video. Internet Explorer usually downloads and runs the file, automatically playing the video. Firefox, and other browsers, may bring up a dialog box asking you what to do with the file. Some Safari users may have disabled the default preference "Open safe files after downloading" so that the file doesn't play automatically. Those users must find the downloaded " .qtl" file, usually located on the Desktop, and double-click on it to view the video. Accepting the default "Open with ... QuickTime.qtl (default)" will download the file and start playing the video. After viewing the video, you may delete the QuickTime Link file. Note: Since that file is a reference to the video, similar to a ".ram" file for RealPlayer, double-clicking on the link file will access the video without having to use a Web browser.

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About Data Rates

Data rate refers to the speed of the data stream between the server and your computer. It is expressed in bits per second or bps. Video streams are optimized for specific data rates to allow for various types of Internet connectivity.

Special software is used for encoding and compressing the video for streaming at a specified data rate. The data rate for broadband access is generally 256 Kbps and above. The data rate for dial-up modem is 42 Kbps.

DSL and cable modems usually have download data rates in excess of 300 Kbps, they can range as high as 768 Kbps to 1 Mbps, but that rate can drop to 300 Kbps due to various factors. For that reason, we provide a video stream for the 300-350 Kbps range.

Modem data rates are determined not only by the speed of the modem but also by the connection speed provided by the Internet Service Provider (ISP). A modem may be rated at 56 Kbps but the connection speed may only be 28.8 Kbps. The following URL is for a Web site that provides information that may help you to obtain the highest connection speed possible with your modem and ISP: http://www.56k.com/

Special Info About DSL Access and Network Firewalls

Some DSL configurations, some home network installations, or network firewalls may block the standard method used for accessing the video streams. If you have Quicktime version "6.3" or newer, you shouldn't have do anything for it will automatically configure the transport settings for the appropriate communications protocol for your situation. Older versions of QuickTime will require you to manually configure the transport settings. The following information will help you to determine if you need to change the transport settings and how to do so.

Go here to test your computer system's ability to access a video stream. That stream is optimized for low speed modem access but will serve as an access test for any connection speed.

If the video doesn't start playing after 8-10 seconds, you may have to configure QuickTime for HTTP access to the video stream. Please follow these instructions to enable HTTP access:

1. When the QT Player window comes up in the Web page, click on the animated "arrow chasing its tail" area next to the speaker icon. The Play button should then appear (the embedded player has stopped trying to access the data stream).
2. Click on the down arrowhead at the right end of the controller/playbar and select "QuickTime Settings".
3. In the "QuickTime Settings" window, click on the up/down arrowheads and select "Streaming Transport" from the pop-up menu.
4. Select "Use HTTP, Port ID:" and ensure that "80" is selected.
5. Close the "QuickTime Settings" window and reload the video test page.

For MacOS X computer, perform the following steps:

1. Select the "Connection" tab.
2. Click on "Transport Setup...".
3. If "Automatically determine the best protocol and port ID" (the default setting) is not selected, try enabling that option and access the video. If that was selected, change to "Use this protocol and port ID:", set "Transport Protocol" to "HTTP", and set the "Port ID" to "80".
4. Reload the test page and see if you can play the video.

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How to tell what version of QuickTime is installed on your system :

Macintosh Users -

1. MacOS 8/9 - Locate the QuickTime folder (QuickTime is installed by default on Macintosh computers). It will be in either the "Applications" folder or at the root level of your hard drive (the first list of files/folders that you see when you double-click on the hard drive icon).
2. Open the QuickTime folder and find QuickTime Player.
3. Click once on the QuickTime Player icon to highlight it.
4. Go to File on the Menu bar and select Get Info and General Information.
5. If it is not version 6.0 or higher, you need to update your QuickTime installation.

   Note : The QT version that started shipping with OS X was 5.0 or newer.
   
   For both OS 8/9 and OS X -
   You may check the exact version number by starting the player, going to the Apple Menu (MacOS 8/9) or QuickTime Player (MacOS X) on the menu bar and select About QuickTime Player ....

MS Windows Users -

1. Go to the Start menu and select Programs.
2. Find QuickTime. If QuickTime does not exist, you need to install it (please see the link above).
3. Start the QuickTime Player (If you have "MoviePlayer", you need to update your QuickTime installation.).
4. Go to the Help menu for QuickTime Player and select About QuickTime Player....
5. If it is not version 6.0 or higher, update your QuickTime installation.

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