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For more questions and answers to Internet Streaming
Video, email
webmaster@ci.milpitas.ca.gov.
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Q: |
What are the minimum system requirements for
watching the live and on-demand video?
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A: |
System Information
To view and hear live webcasts or archived video, your
computer must have a sound card, a minimum 56 Kbs
Internet connection, and
Windows Media Player
version 7 or higher. If you have a Macintosh, be
sure that you are running Mac OS 8.1 or later, have a
PowerPC 603e 180MHz or better with 32MB RAM, virtual
memory turned on, and 10MB of free disk space. If you
have a Macintosh, be sure that you are running Mac OS
8.1 or later, have a PowerPC 603e 180MHz or better with
32MB RAM, virtual memory turned on, and 10MB of free
disk space. Player Information
In order to view the video streams you must have
a
Windows Media Player
version 7 or higher. In most cases, if
you do not have the software already installed,
you will be automatically directed to the
download page. For Netscape users, the plugin
version of the player can be found under
'Windows Media Player Plug-In for Netscape' on
the download page.
To check what version of Media Player is embedded
with your browser. On the Media window,
right click on the player, and then click on
"About". You must have a Windows Media Player
version 7 or higher. Please note that
the embedded version and the installed version
of Windows Media Player installed on your OS
(computer) might be different. If so,
click here and
install the latest version.
Browser Information
Please be sure that you are using
Internet Explorer 5.0
or
Netscape 4.7 or
better browser.
Connection Information
As with all Internet-based video, the more
bandwidth available to you the better. The video
on our site is configured to stream at various
speeds from 20kbps (audio-only) up to 350kbps.
Our servers will automatically detect your
connection speed and send the highest quality
stream possible. If you are trying to view the
webcast with a dial-up connection, you will find
the best performance is achieved by manually
selecting an audio-only version of the webcast.
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Q: |
I have all the recommended software installed but
I'm still not able to view the webcasts. Any
suggestions?
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A: |
What version of Media Player is embedded with your
browser?
On the Media window, right click on the player, and
then click on "About". You must have a Windows Media
Player version 7 or higher. Please note that
the embedded version and the installed version of
Windows Media Player installed on your OS (computer)
might be different. If so,
click here to install
the latest version.Double-check your connection
speed?
To ensure maximum quality for a wide-range of
connection speeds, we frequently include
separate audio-only versions of our webcast. If
you have a slow connection speed (less than
100kbps like a dial-up connection) you will
receive better quality if you select the
audio-only version.
Are you firewalled?
Occasionally a firewall will reduce the speed
with which you can receive webcast information
on an otherwise high-speed connection. We have
gone to great lengths to make our data as
'firewall friendly' as possible but bottlenecks
can still occur at a firewall (especially when
connecting from a corporate LAN). Most users
experiencing this problem can still enjoy the
audio-only version of the webcast.
Is your volume turned on?
This happens more than you think. Double-check
to make sure that the volume is turned on loud
enough and, if you have them, external speakers
are turned on. This is especially important when
using a low-speed connection where there might
not be enough bandwidth to display video.
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 7 or
higher and try again. |
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Q: |
I can hear the audio but I can't see anything.
What's wrong?
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A: |
The problem is one of three things: (1) You don't have
a fast enough connection to receive the video portion
of the webcast, (2) you have selected an audio-only
webcast, or (3) you do not have the proper codecs
installed. To insure that your Windows Media Player has
the proper codecs bring up the Player in it's own
window and click on Tools/Options on the menu at the
top of the window. Within the options window be sure
that "Enable automatic codec download" is checked, and
click on "OK". |
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Q: |
How can I determine my connection speed?
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A: |
The easiest way to check your effective connection
speed is to select a webcast (live or archived) and
place your mouse cursor over the small picture, usually
of a sun or storm cloud, on the bottom-left hand corner
of the viewing screen as the webcast buffers or plays.
A small pop-up window will appear displaying the speed
at which you are receiving the webcast. |
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Q: |
Is there any way I can make the viewing area larger?
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A: |
You can make the video viewing area bigger by
right-clicking on the video box and selecting the
full-screen option or type ‹alt›-‹enter›. To return to
the normal viewing size right-click and deselect
full-screen or simply hit the ‹esc› key. |
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Q: |
The webcast stopped while I was viewing it. Was it
something I did and how can I fix it?
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A: |
Occasionally enough packets 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 webcast 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
webcast. |
