For the best listening and media player experience, please ensure that you have the latest Windows Media Player and the latest Internet Explorer loaded onto your computer. Please download it from the Microsoft download center

What is required to connect to a stream?

All you need is Microsoft Windows Media Player, which is currently available for a variety of computer platforms.If it's not yet installed on your computer, or you would like to download the latest version,click here.

Click on the OPTIONAL link (Media Player Link) to view the stream if you experience problems.

NETSCAPE :
Download Media Player Plugin

MAC (OS 9.1, OSX Jaguar and Panther) :
Please download and install both Windows Media plug-ins for your operating system (Windows Media and Quicktime / Flip4Mac), and use the default Windows Media controls to adjust volume.
If you are using Windows Media Player 9 for Mac, please remove it. Microsoft no longer supports this player. You will need QuickTime Media Player with the Flip4Mac plug-in: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/wmcomponents.mspx

LINUX :
Download and install both MPlayer (MPlayer-0.90) and the Mozilla MPlayer plugin (MPlayerplug-in-0.95).

Why are the videos choppy or freezing?

The quality of the video clip you are watching mainly depends on two factors:

  • the speed of your Internet connection and
  • the bit rate (speed) of the video clip.

The faster the bit rate of the video clip, the better the quality. However, the speed of your Internet connection will limit which video clip bit rate that you can watch. For example, if you only have a 56kbs dial up connection to the Internet, the highest video clip bit rate that you will be able to watch will be 56kbs or less (most likely less as the majority of dial-up connections only get speeds of 28kbs or less due to phone line issues). If you try to watch a video clip with a bit rate of 300kbs over a dial up connection, the video will not play. For the best viewing experience, we recommend a high speed Internet connection such as DSL/broadband.

It is important to note that even if you have a high-speed DSL connection, Internet traffic congestion affects your connection speed and/or video performance. You will get slower or faster speeds at different times depending on peak or off-peak use hours. Also, streaming quality decreases when multiple people share the same Internet connection.

The faster the internet connection, the better the stream. When your computer is not receiving data fast enough, the player tries to catch up. The result is interrupted audio or video.

Even though I have all the system requirements, why can't I see or hear any videos?

NOTE: If you access the Internet from your office, then it is most likely that your IT network administrator has blocked streams at the firewall to prevent abuse.

Please check with your system administrator about Streaming through Firewalls and Proxy Servers.

To stream through a proxy server you must perform the following manual configurations:

  • Open Windows Media Player
  • Under Tools, select Options
  • Select the 'Network' tab
  • On the tab are buttons for HTTP and MMS
  • Select HTTP protocol , select Configure
  • In 'use following proxy server' enter the appropriate proxy server address and port number (these can be obtained from your network administrator)
  • Repeat the process (steps 4-6) for the MMS protocol
Because Streaming Media is streamed directly to the Player and not downloaded onto your hard drive, there are neither any known viruses that are able to distribute nor can they activate themselves using Streaming Media content, servers or players.

Can I access streaming media from a dial-up connection?

Yes you can access audio only streams (radio stations) from a dial-up connection.

The Player status message goes from 'Opening' to 'Reconnecting' to ‘Ready’

UDP is checked under Network Settings in your media player. Try the following:

  • Open Windows Media Player and select "Tools", then "Options".
  • Select the "Network" tab.
  • Uncheck UDP under "Streaming protocols".
  • Click "Apply" and close the player.
  • Try listening to the station again

The codecs for your Windows Media Player may have expired.

Please go to the following site to download the latest codecs:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=06fcaab7-dcc9-466b-b0c4-04db144bb601&DisplayLang=en

I am using Mac OSX with Firefox web browser. The player loads, shows “Opening”, then immediately goes to “Stop”.

The preference files in Firefox may have become corrupted. Please try the following:

  • Try removing: /Users/your_acct/Library/Preferences/org.mozilla.firefox.plist while Firefox is not launched.
  • Save and relaunch Firefox and see what happens (the pref file should recreate itself).

I am using Windows XP and Firefox web browser. I keep getting the error “Plug-in could not be found.”

Firefox does not automatically recognize the Windows Media Player plug-in. If you are using Firefox 3, you may need to download the Firefox plug-in for Windows Media Player 11. You can do this from the following site:
http://port25.technet.com/pages/windows-media-player-firefox-plugin-download.aspx

Why can I not hear or see a stream even though the player indicates it is playing?

A user may not hear the audio or see the video component of a stream because the user's security level prevents the Windows Media Player from downloading the appropriate codecs. If the user's security level is set to High (the default for Windows 95), the user is unaware that Windows Media Player was unable to download a required codec. The security level is set using Internet Explorer's Internet Options even if another browser, such as Netscape Navigator, is being used. Reducing the Internet Explorer security level to Medium permits Windows Media Player to download the appropriate codecs.