Podcasting
Reference Guide
Frequently Asked
Questions About Online Video:
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What are the
minimum system requirements for watching the live and archived
video?
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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 9.0 (available free of charge at
Microsoft). 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
Windows Media Player Version
9.0
(Netscape users should download the plugin version found under
'Windows Media Tools and Services'). In most cases, if you do not
have the software already installed, you will be automatically
directed to the download page.
Browser Information: Please be sure that you are using
Internet Explorer 5.0 or
Netscape 4.7 (or later).
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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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 and try
again. |
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Q: |
I
have all the recommended software installed but I am still unable to view the
video, what can I do?
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First, double check
that you have version 9 of Windows Media Player. You can download the latest
version from
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmedia/download. Older versions of Windows Media Player do
not support the latest file formats and may not work properly. If you are using Netscape, you may need to
re-install Windows Media Player for it to function properly.
Second, check that your Media Player is configured to use the TCP,
UDP, and HTTP protocols. To check this
open Windows Media Player, then click on Tools, then Options. Go to the Network tab and make sure that all
of the protocols are allowed:
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How do I
"Fast-Forward" and "Rewind"?
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You can use the
"Jump To" links in the drop down window under the video to skip
from agenda item to agenda item. You can drag the tab on the
scrollbar, directly under the video to move backward or forward in
the video. It is tough to get to an exact time this way on
long videos. To get to a precise point you can use the
fast-forward or rewind buttons, the double arrow buttons on either
side of the timeline directly below the video. Simply click
once on the fast-forward or rewind button to begin, and click once
again on the same button to return to the "Play" mode. |
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Q: |
I
am trying to watch a stream, but I keep getting a message that the system
can’t find a server, and that it may be behind a firewall. What does this mean?
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The streaming network
keeps video files on a network of several servers. When a change is made to a video file then
the new copy of that video file must be copied to all of the servers in the
streaming network. Occasionally this
takes a few minutes, and during this time you may receive this message. Some files on the video network are only available from certain
locations, like your Public Library or City Hall. If you receive this message for more than a
few hours, please contact the webmaster and tell them about it. Be sure to write down which file you are
trying to view, and the exact wording of the error message. |
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Q: |
I can hear the
audio but I can't see anything. What's wrong?
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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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How can I
determine my connection speed?
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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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You can make the
video viewing area for live webstreaming 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. You cannot alter the size of the screen
while watching web archiving. |
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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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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. |
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The
web cast buffers a lot even though I have a high speed connection. Any
suggestions?
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The #1 cause of
buffering is poor network connectivity.
This may not be a problem with your network but may be caused by your
Internet Service Provider (ISP) getting overloaded. This is especially likely during peak usage
hour.
If you experience excessive buffering after 15 seconds to 1 minute,
no matter what you try, you may be experiencing a firewall problem. The problem has to do with the way some
firewalls handle streaming traffic. To
fix the problem, you must update your firewall’s firmware. For instructions on how to update your
firewall’s firmware, contact your firewall vendor. They will be able to provide you with
firmware updates and easy to follow instructions on how to install them. |
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My video player just says “Ready” and does not play any video or
audio, what should I do?
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The
video player will say “Ready” when you have reached the end of the
video clip, or when there has been a serious error with the video
file. First, check that you have version 9 of the Windows Media
Player installed. If you have installed Windows Media Player
version 9 and still get this message, please right-click on the
black area of the video player, and click on “Error Details” on
the pop-up menu. Write down the exact wording of the error
message, along with the name of the video that you were trying to
watch, and report the problem to the webmaster. |
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My video player just shows a blue screen, what is
going on?
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The
streaming system shows a blue screen when it is not receiving a
signal from the cable network or video feed. If you are watching
an on-demand clip, try selecting one of the Jump-To points from
the jump-to dropdown. If you are watching a live stream, please
make sure that there is a broadcast in progress. If a broadcast
is in progress and you are still getting a blue screen, we may be
having technical difficulties. Rest assured,
if that is the case, we are working as hard as we can to fix the
problem. Try again in a few minutes and it will probably work. |
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How do I jump ahead to a specific agenda item of the meeting that
I am watching?
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Once
you click on the "View Video" of the specific archived meeting
that would like to watch, a new window opens and the meeting
starts from the beginning. You can either click the pull
down menu under the screen and "Jump to.." any of the listed
items. Or, once the minutes of the meeting have been
published they will appear in the window on the right and you may
click on that item and the video will "jump to" that segment of
the video. |
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I am looking for a specific item discussed in a
Calabasas meeting, but I don't know which City Council or
Commission meeting to
look in, how can I search the entire meeting archives?
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You
may click on
All City Meetings
link and a "Search Archives" box is available. You may type in any specific "Keywords". Click the "Search"
button and a list of every Council or Commission meeting with your keyword in the agenda
will appear. Or if you only want the City Council meetings
with you key word, you may choose the
City Council Meeting
link and again use the "Search feature to only look for your
keyword in the City Council archives.
Note: The search only works for words that are
in the actual agenda title. |
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When I hit the "Previous"
and "Next" buttons, the screen turns black and freezes up.
What is wrong?
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The "Previous" and
"Next" buttons are part of the Windows Media Player and are not
meant to be used with our web archiving. We are working on
hiding these buttons on our player. If your system freezes
up, unfortunately you'll need to shut the player window and reopen
it. See the question below for tips on fast-forwarding and
rewinding. |
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