FERC Free Live Webcasts Technical Support

Webcast technical support provided by The Capitol Connection.  FERC webcasts are provided in Windows Media and RealPlayer formats.  If you are still encountering technical problems after testing your player, please contact the Capitol Connection at capcon@gmu.edu or 703-993-3100.

Technical Information:

• Test your webcast connection
• How to Download a Free Webcast Player
• Minimum System Requirements
• Troubleshooting - RealPlayer
• Troubleshooting - Windows Media Player
• Firewalls

Test Your Webcast Connection

If you have a multimedia computer, you can play the webcasts on your PC or Macintosh using Real or Windows Media Player.

It is important that you test the webcast player you will be using before a webcast begins.  One or both players probably already are on your PC or Macintosh– if not, either one can easily be downloaded at no charge.  Just follow the two steps below.

Step One: Click here to test if you have Windows Media Player and/or RealPlayer already installed on your computer.

Step Two:   If you do have a player already installed on your computer, then click a link below to test your webcast video/audio connection. If you do not have a player installed, please scroll down to the “How to Download a Webcast Player at No Charge.”  After you have successfully installed a webcast player, then return here to test your connection.

Please note: if your computer is behind a network 'firewall' you may be unable to receive streaming video/audio.  Please have your system administrator review the firewall section below.

Encountering technical problems?  Please contact the Capitol Connection at capcon@gmu.edu or (703) 993-3100.

How to Download a Free Webcast Player – PC Users

Windows Media Player:

If you do not already have Window Media Player installed on your computer, click on the "Windows Media" button below. Doing so will take you to the website of Microsoft.com.  Click the “Download Windows Media Player 10” link in the center of the page.  On the following page, click the 'download now' button appropriate to your Windows operating System Follow on screen installation instructions.   

To download the free Windows Media Player. Click on the following link and follow the download instructions.

RealPlayer:

If you have not already downloaded a RealPlayer in the past, click on the "RealPlayer Free" button below. Doing so will take you to the website of Real.com. Click the orange "Download RealPlayer" button.  On the next screen you will see two choices.  On the left hand side of the screen you will be offered the paid version of the RealPlayer.  Toward the bottom of the right-hand column   you will see a smaller "Download the Free RealPlayer" link. The choice is yours, but the webcast can be accessed with the free RealPlayer.

To download the free RealPlayer. Click on the following link and follow the download instructions:

 How to Download a Free Webcast Player – Macintosh Users

Click here to download and install the free Windows Media Player

• Follow the on-screen download instructions

Click here to download and install the free RealPlayer

• Once you click on the above link, to download the free version of the RealPlayer, locate the light grey “Free RealPlayer” link in the upper right-hand part of the page.  

• The download should start automatically. If not follow the instructions on the page.

• Click the box labeled "Download Free RealPlayer"

• Follow the Installation Instructions

The following are the minimum system requirements your computer will need to install either the RealPlayer or Windows Media Player:

Troubleshooting - RealPlayer

• If you player stops in the middle of the meeting, please either refresh the webpage or hit the start button on your player
• If you are unable to connect to a webcast program in RealPlayer, please try the following:
  • In your browser, Click on 'View' and then 'Preferences' and a new window will appear.
  • Click on the tab labeled "Connection".  Check to make sure that you have the correct connection speed.  If you are on a network that is normally the LAN/T1 setting, for a Modem it is normally the 56k Modem setting, etc. Click here to see a picture of the Connection Tab
  • Click on the tab labeled "Transport".  Choose the 'Automatically choose Best Transport" and then "Auto Configure" go through all the prompts accepting the default information.  Click here to see picture of Transport Tab
  • If this does not work and you are still getting errors, especially errors which make statements such as 'make sure you are connected to the Internet', 'timed out waiting for server', etc. There is a large probability you are on a system with a Firewall.  You will need to check with your Network Administrator to see if they have a firewall and if the administrator is willing to open the firewall for webcast video traffic. 
  • Systems with firewalls can still get some types of 'Archived' real video files. The files they are able to access are normally 'archived' using an HTTP protocol on a Web Server. Any live streaming files use RTSP or PNM (we use RTSP) and use only TCP or UDP connections and must be able to have certain ports on a firewall ‘opened’. 
• If you are experiencing difficulty viewing our LIVE streaming video or archived video content (pulsing, flickering or intermittent video or audio), we suggest you do the following:
  • RealPlayer 10
    • PC Users
      • Click on the Start menu button on the Windows' Taskbar.
      • Go to Programs, then Real, followed by RealPlayer.
      • Once the player launches, click on Tools.
      • Select Preferences.
      • Select the Content category.
      • Under Media Types, click the Advanced button on the right.
      • Scroll down on the list of media types, to the listing: Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).
      • Click on the check box to enable the RTSP media type for your video player.
    • MAC Users
      • Open Internet Explorer's web browser.
      • Go to the web browser's Properties menu.
      • Select the Protocol Helper option.
      • Scroll down the list until finding the Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP).
      • Change the application type to RealOne Player or RealPlayer, depending on which application you have downloaded.
      • Close and exit the browser and then reopen and try a video link.
• If your connection is poor or you are getting static and varying sound quality.
  • This is most likely a problem with your current RealOne preferences. To reconfigure your RealOne settings, launch your RealOne player from your desktop and:
    • Click Tools and select Preferences.
    • From the left-hand side of the next screen, click Connection
    • Ensure that your Maximum bandwidth is configured to match your minimum bandwidth connection
    • Set your player to buffer every 30 sec when needed.
    • From the left-hand side of the screen, Click Network Transport
    • Click "Manually configure connections settings"
    • From the left-hand side of the screen, Click General
    • Uncheck "Enable a history list in the File menu"
    • Click "Clear History", then Click OK.

Viewing video using Mozilla Firefox Browser: 

Real Player files play automatically on the Firefox browser.  Windows Media files may require changes to your system configuration, so we recommend your IT administrator assist in correcting the problem (the proper Windows Media and Active X plugins need to be installed).  Go to:  http://forums.mozillazine.org/viewtopic.php?t=206213  and follow all of the steps exactly.  After doing so, you should be able to view the Windows Media files via Firefox.