HELP WITH VIDEO & AUDIO FILES

   
   

About Streaming Video / Audio

All video/audio content is made available as a "stream". Streaming video/audio lets you watch the file on your computer over the Internet. Unlike most Internet software, like your web browser, a streaming file doesn't have to complete downloading before you can view to it. This means that soon after you click a link to hear a piece of streaming video, it starts playing. How soon it starts playing, the quality of the sound, and whether or not it plays smoothly all depend on your computer and network connection.

Nearly any computer that has a graphical user interface and can connect to the Internet can play streaming video/audio files, but your streaming media experience will be greatly enhanced by:

A Reliable, Preferably Fast, Internet Connection

Video clips are optimally streamed using a broadband connection (128K or higher), though the minimum necessary to stream video is a 28k modem connection. Your best experience will be had with a broadband internet connection (cable or DSL). Please note, when you stream video at the minimum connection or if you stream it at a speed that your connection cannot sustain the stream is more likely to skip. Your choice of Internet Service Provider (ISP) also affects how well streaming media will play on your computer. If your player continually has to pause while playing streaming media, try a different ISP, if you can, and see if there is a noticeable difference in media performance.

A Fast Computer

No matter how fast your Internet connection, a fast computer will always improve the way streaming video looks. Streaming video is very compressed, and requires quite a bit of computing power to decompress. Slow computers will not be able to decompress the file fast enough, and will often drop parts of the sound/image or pause to compensate. If you are using a PC, you should have at least a Pentium Pro or Celeron processor. If you are using a Mac your computer should have at least a PowerPC 604 or G3 processor. No matter what type of computer you have, make sure you have enough memory for all the applications you are running. A minimum for most computers and media players is 64mb.

The Right Software

We try to post all files in two different streaming formats: RealVideo and Windows Media. We also provide MP3's as downloadable files. We hope that by providing this range of formats, you will already have a player for at least one of these formats intalled and working on your computer. If you have a recent version of Windows (Windows98, 2000, or XP), you probably already have Windows Media Player installed. We recommend that you upgrade the player on your computer to the most recent version (click here) for the best results. If you have a recent Macintosh computer, you probably already have iTunes (an MP3 player) installed.

The software used to compress and decompress streaming files (technically, the codec) is always being improved. If you are using Windows Media Player or RealPlayer, make sure you are using a fairly recent version. To install or upgrade your media player, see the links we have provided below.

A Little Patience

Configuring a computer to view streaming files can take a little time, and sometimes a little trial and error is necessary. Furthermore, software like RealPlayer can be a little invasive and pushy, and takes a few minutes to setup. If you set up your computer to play streaming media when you're not in a rush and have a little time to mess with it, your overall experience will be much better.
Download a Player


Download a free player RealOne player:

NOTE: if you are downloading the RealOne Player for Windows, it can a little difficult to find the FREE RealOne Player on the Real web page. It's there -- just keep looking for and clicking on the links for "Free RealOne Player".

Download a free Windows Media player:

Download an MP3 player:

Trouble with Video & Audio

» Help with Real Player: Click Here
» Help with Windows Media Player: Click Here

My streaming video is skipping, freezing, or pausing. What can I do?
First, check your Internet connection. Video clips are optimally streamed at a 56k modem connection or higher, though the minimum necessary to stream video is a 28k modem connection. Please note, that when you stream video at the minimum connection the stream is more likely to skip. If you have a limited connection speed when you are streaming media do not try to load webpages, download e-mail, or otherwise use your bandwidth. The stream will take all of your bandwidth and will skip or freeze if you try to use your bandwidth for other tasks.

If you find that you are having trouble with a particular stream format, please try one of the other formats.

I'm sure that I have my player software installed correctly and I still can't see/hear anything.

Streaming requires that the Internet connection between our computer and yours be free of "traffic jams." The Internet isn't a direct pipeline from our computer to yours. Our streamed content passes through many other computers along the way, and these computers are outside our (and your) control. If any of them is carrying too much other traffic, our streamed content may be slowed down. If you are viewing to our content, and it suddenly stops for a few seconds, then returns, this is probably why. If the problem is bad enough, you may even lose the signal completely, and get an error message. If that happens, go back to the web page you started from, and press the link again.

I've looked through all this material and I still can't figure out what is up!

If you are still having troubles with any video or audio files on www.susansquires.com, please let us know. Please include the web address of the page with the link, along with an exact description of the file (MP3, WindowsMedia, or Real; and what speed Internet connection). Sorry, we cannot reply to requests for help with audios or videos on other websites.