Problems with your VideoStream?

Why isn't the picture very big?
Videostreams are different than television broadcasts. since they are transmitted via the internet, they have to follow different rules and restrictions. One of those restrictions is called bandwidth. Everyone that uses the internet is confined to bandwidth restrictions whether you realize it or not. Most people gain access to the internet by use of a cable modem. Cable modems will usually allow you about 400K of bandwidth. MPHC streams are designed to use about 193K of bandwidth. The streams are also designed to step down in size if the the network should slow down for any reason. Speeds can range anywhere from about 28K to the full 193K. The lower the connection speed, the poorer the videostream will be and the smaller it will be. The full 193K stream will produce a picture that is about 4 by 5 inches in size or 1/4 of the screen. You can adjust this to either full-screen or 200%. Clicking "view" on the menu bar of the media player and then "full-screen" will give you a full-screen picture (usually not very good) or clicking "view" then clicking "video-size" then "200%", will give you a picture twice the size of the original. This size isn't too bad but still won't be as good as the optimal which is 100%. Experimenting won't hurt anything though so go ahead and try it out.

Media Player 11 Tips
Media Player 11 has a few default settings which can be frustrating. It's not as user friendly as the older versions when it comes to changing the video size.  Change the video size as follows:
Right-click the upper left corner of the media player 11 window. Select "view" from the menu. Select the "video size" option then uncheck "fit to video player on resize". Select the desired size (100% is usually best).

Why doesn't my media player stream the full 193K?
Some networks do not provide a reliable bandwidth infrastructure. The media player samples the available bandwidth when first connecting and if it detects any instability at the higher speed, it will automatically step down to the most stable speed. Many times, these instabilities are of very short duration but the media player will adjust accordingly anyway. You can sometimes fool the player into operating at the higher speed under these circumstances by making the following settings: with the media player running, select "tools" on the media player menu bar then select "options" then select the "performance" tab. The performance tab window will have an option under connection speed - select the "choose a connection speed" option and then choose "DSL/Cable (256 kbps) under that. The performance tab will also have two options under network buffering. Select the "set network buffering" option and set the time to 30 seconds.  Note: This will cause the media player to take a much longer time buffering but it will also help stabilize your picture at the higher connection speed. The buffer is basically a pool that the player can draw from when the connection speed is too slow.

Why does an error window come up during the streaming session that indicates the player can no longer find the server?
    This window is actually telling the truth. The player can no longer find the server which can indicate an error on our end or it can be the result of an internet connection that has slowed down so much, that the media player thinks the server has disconnected. Close the error window and then restart the player by clicking on the play arrow toward the bottom of the player window. Usually, the player will start buffering at this point and play the stream again. Remember, you have to wait for the buffer to reach 100% before the player can start. If you have set your player to a larger buffer size as instructed in the previous paragraph, this will take as least as long as what you have set the time to.
    Should this not work, then close the player window (not the browser window) and click the start button located on the confirmation page that should still be showing once you close the player window. Again, the player will buffer and should start playing.
    Should the second step not work, then close the player and browser window and restart the browser, go to our home page (http://www.heds.org) and restart the broadcast session just like you did in the beginning and see if that works.
    The worst case scenario would require a reboot of the computer and selecting the broadcast stream as at the beginning.

Why does the audio and/or Video jerk around or disappear at times?
There is only one answer, and that is a slow internet connection. Make sure you have set the options as described above and that is about all you can do. Sometimes, you can stop and restart the player to clear things up.  Other than that, the stream is being archived during the broadcast and you can come back at a better time (better time for network congestion that is) and view it.

I am using a laptop with a projector connected to it. Why does the projector show such poor video?
    Unfortunately, this is a problem inherent with laptops. For lack of a better description, laptops use two different display drivers. One of the drivers runs the laptop display and the other runs the port you hook the projector to. Many laptops try to run both displays with the same driver even though it has two. When the laptop does this, it causes the videostream to show at the full screen setting which isn't very clear due to bandwidth issues. You can force the laptop to use the other driver which would make the projector display what you are seeing on your laptop and hence you can select the 100% size which would deliver the best picture. However, this procedure can be different depending on the make of the laptop. Here is the easiest and most common way:
    Every laptop has the capability of switching to just the laptop screen, both the laptop screen and the projector, or just the projector. This switch is accomplished from the keyboard by simultaneously pushing the "Fn" key (usually located in the lower left part of keyboard) and the "LCD/CRT" key (usually the F8 key). "Fn" and "LCD/CRT" are usually a different color on the key. Each time you make this selection make sure you wait for a few seconds for the laptop to stabilize to the new setting (20 seconds is a normal maximum). Force the laptop to use just the monitor port only by following the above step.
Note: when the laptop is using just the monitor port, you will not see anything on the laptop display and you will have to use the laptop by watching the projector display since that is the only thing you will see. However, this will allow you to select something other than "full screen" for viewing.

Internet Explorer 7 Tips
Internet Explorer usually works without any problems but I have come across some cases where it keeps asking for the username and password to access our videos and modules. Anything that involves access or security can be cleared up or at least improved by doing the following:
After the Internet Explorer 7 window comes up, go to the upper right hand corner of the window and select "tools" then "internet options" then "security". Select "internet" then "custom level". Try setting to "medium" or "medium-high". On this same window, under settings, and under "user authentication" (scroll all the way to the bottom), select "automatic logon with current username and password".
Another option to try is to add the www.heds.org website to your trusted sites. This is accomplished by:
After the Internet Explorer 7 window comes up, go to the upper right hand corner of the window and select "tools" then "internet options" then "security". Select "trusted sites". Select the "sites" button and add "http://www.heds.org" and "mms://mphcs2.heds.org" to the "websites" window. You usually have to deselect the option "Require a server verification (https:) for all sites in this zone". If for some reason, one of these changes causes another application to not work, just go back and reverse your steps till you find the problem. 

Windows VISTA Notes
I haven't loaded windows VISTA in anything yet. I usually like to wait about a year for everyone else to discover the glitches that new Microsoft software invariably has. I received a call from an individual that had purchased a new system with VISTA on it and everything worked with our site once we figured out how to load Adobe Reader on it. This all happened over the phone and she told me that someone else had tried to load Adobe for her and was not successful. I told her how to do it over the phone but I did notice that there were more warning boxes coming up asking if she wanted to load the application or not. However, it can be done and everything should work after that. I will probably have more comments once I have a chance to work with it myself.