MLA Distance Education

Leveraging Mobile Technologies for Health Sciences Libraries
Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 1:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m., central time

Webcast Requirements

MLA's webcast is designed to be viewed on any modern office Microsoft Windows-based or Macintosh-based computer made after 2000 with a network Internet connection. Typically Windows-based computers are completely ready for webcast viewing. Most Macintosh users only need to download the proper version of Windows Media Player (free). Here is a quick overview of the requirements.

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or greater (downloads: Windows version/ Macintosh version)
Windows Media Player 9 or above (downloads: Windows version/ Macintosh version/ FAQ's)
300kps or higher speed Internet connection (The program will be streamed in 300, and 500kps speed, we recommend 300kps for desktop and 500kps for projection use. The 300kps speed should be used at sites that experience problems and where the network is unable to handle the higher speed.)
Sound card and speakers (make sure your sound is on!)
Screen resolution set to 800 x 600 or higher

Closed Captioning

Follow these steps to setup Windows Media Player to accept captioning, if needed. This is not required.

Open your Windows Media Player
Find the menu bar at the top of the player that reads [File View Play Tools Help]. If you do not see the menu bar at the top of the player, you need to hit Ctrl-M. This will bring up the menu bar.
Click on Play
Scroll down and select "Lyrics, Captions, and Subtitles" from the menu
Select "On if Available"

Now your player is ready to accept captioning.

Testing Your Computer

Registered sites will be allowed access to the webcast test slate on Wednesday, April 11 and again 24 hours prior to the actual broadcast. This allows sites to test their connection and computers before the event. Information will be sent to registered sites and individuals prior to the test. If there is a problem, stay calm and work with your IT person and IT help desk to try to fix it. Working with your IT help desk will be the best way to fix any problems because most Internet access problems are specific to each location. If it is not a local problem and you are not able to fix the problem, please contact the webcast help desk at 630-942-4251. If you do not speak with a staff member, just leave a message and someone will get back to you.

Most Frequent Connection Problems

Pop up blockers: Pop up blocking software should be disabled to view the webcast.
Buffering: Buffering is the term that describes when a webcast starts and stops midshow. Buffering is a necessary evil of streaming media technology. You can decrease the amount of buffering that occurs on your system by following the steps below.
1. Start Windows Media Player.
2. Pull down Tools and select Options.
3. Choose the Performance tab.
4. In Network Buffering section, set buffer to 30 seconds.
5. Click OK, exit, and restart the player.
Firewall and proxy server problems: If you are attempting to listen to or view the webcast from your office and are not able to receive the audio and/or video, your institution may have a security system in place that blocks such feed. Please talk to your network administrator about your company's firewall, proxy server, or other security systems before the webcast.
Freezing audio and video: We have experienced this issue in the past and whenever we investigate it, it is a problem with the receiving site. The 500K stream is a fair amount of data, some sites can handle it and others cannot. If more than one desktop on a network attempts to view the stream at the same time the load adds. Three 500k streams will completely overload a T1 data line. If the sites network is robust enough to handle the stream, 500k is a good balance of speed and resolution for use in a conference room or small amphitheatre. If the audio and video continue to freeze, we recommend switching to the 300K stream. We also recommend that subscribers watching on a desktop or bandwidth limited site to use the lower 300K speed.

For more information, contact Debra Cavanaugh, mlapd3@mlahq.org, 312.419.9094 x32.