Broadcast System Requirements

But do I really have to read the instructions? YES!

In general, three things only are required to view our webcast:

1. You need an Internet connection capable of handling the stream. In general, people with dialup Internet access will experience trouble with the stream while people with fast Internet connections will see and hear as much as possible. If you do not know the speed of your Internet connection, you can use XMission's Network Speed Test. To see a picture and hear sound, you must have at least 256 Kbps of download bandwidth available. To experience the maximum quality of the stream, you will need at least 768 Kbps of download bandwidth.

Many different factors can slow your connection. To get the most out of our service, make sure your computer is in good health and not afflicted with spyware etc. If you share an Internet connection with many people, realize your whole organization shares the same bandwidth, and you may not have access to all of it. If you perform the Network Speed Test above and find it to be grossly incongruous with the specification of the Internet connection you bought, make sure everything is functioning well on your computer and on your network.

2. You need the latest version of Apple Computer's QuickTime, which you can download for free here. After installing, make sure QuickTime's connection speed is properly set, as you will be provided different versions of the same movie depending on your connection speed. Use the result from the Network Speed Test above and, if your bandwidth is above 256 Kbps, round down to choose your speed from the list in QuickTime's preferences.

Some users have reported problems connecting because they are behind restrictive firewalls. An easy and safe fix is to request QuickTime streams on TCP port 80, the same port through which web traffic is transmitted. (If you can see this page, then you can receive information on port 80). The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism has a useful help page dedicated to this issue.

3. You need a computer capable of playing the stream. We currently encode all our media in MPEG-4 and H.264, which provides very good compression though it requires a computer of at least a certain power to decode. If your computer was manufactured within the last four or five years you should be fine, though the only way to determine with certainty whether or not your computer can decode our streams is to ensure the first two requirements are met.