Table of Contents

1. What is video streaming and how is it different than any other video file on a computer ?
2. This is great, how do I request that my event be broadcast live or be available to be watched on demand?
3. The video is really jerky. the audio cuts in and out, and sometimes my machine freezes.  What is going on?
4. My video window is small, how can I make it bigger?
5. What happens to old video server content? 
6. How do I turn on closed captions?
7. My computer can't find an application to play the video or audio clip. Where can I download a player for it?

What is video streaming and how is it different than any other video file on a computer?

Video streaming is a technology which allows you to watch live video and pre-recorded video with minimal wait for download time.  Conventional video on PCs required downloading that the entire video file be downloaded to your computer before the video would start.  With any video lasting longer than 15 minutes, this could take hours due to the size of the video and the speed of your Internet connection.  Video streaming solves this problem by allowing you to watch the video as you receive it.  When you first open a streamed video you will notice it says "buffering".  The playback software is buffering the first 15-30 seconds before it starts playing so it can recover from 3-5 second losses of data on the busy internet without you noticing.  While you are watching the video, the buffer is constantly being filled with data for video which will be coming up in 15 to 60 seconds later.  If some data is lost, this gives the playback software enough time to re-transmit the data before the player has to show you the video.   

Because you don't have to download the entire video before you can watch it and because you are watching the data as it comes (with a slight 15-30 second delay), video streaming makes live video broadcasting over the Internet or Intranet possible.

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This is great, how do I request that my event be broadcast live or be available to be watched on demand?

In the last several years this service has grown from an experimental, as-needed service to a service that is being made available to and being utilized by the entire MCC community.  To discuss the possibility of offering your content via this service, please send an e-mail to Stephen Weider or Jeremy Case in Instructional Technologies.

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The video is really jerky, the audio cuts in and out, and sometimes my machine freezes,  What is going on?

Video streaming is very network and compute intensive.  Some of the higher quality videos (200K and higher) may require a higher end PC to view properly.  A Pentium II 300 MHz  or better is required to view some of the highest quality streams whereas a Pentium 200 MHz MMX can switch the lower quality streams (0 - 200K).   If you have a Pentium II 300 MHz or better and still experience this problem it could be due to network congestion or simply because your running on too slow of a link (e.g. from home through your ISP).  

Most, if not all, of the current Video Content is intended to be viewed over MCC's internal network.  Unless the value in the quality column is 22K the stream will not work over a conventional modem connection to the Internet.  However, if you are using a broadband ISP you may be able to enjoy streams with quality levels as high as 400K with few glitches.

If you believe your  problem is CPU related, please see the next question and reduce the size of your video window, this reduces the demand on the CPU.

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My video window is small, how can I make it bigger?

Windows Media Player allows you to watch the video at any size you would like.  You have a few options, you can pull down the View menu with the mouse and then select Zoom.  A sub-menu will pop-up witch will allow you to select video sizes of 50%, 100% and 200%.  You can also accomplish this by typing ALT+1 (50%), ALT+2 (100%), or ALT+3 (200%) while you are watching the video to quickly switch between each size.

You may also simply type ALT+ENTER to switch between Full Screen mode and Windowed Mode.  Finally, you can always use your mouse and drag the corners of the Windows Media Player windows to change the size of your video playback window.

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What happens to old video server content?

As older video server content becomes outdated, we will be removing it from the video server and archiving it on CD-R to make room for new content. If you want to see past video server content, contact Jeremy Case in Instructional Technologies.

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How do I turn on closed captions?

The process for turning on closed captions is slightly different depending on the version of Windows Media Player that you're using:

• Version 9 or 10: go to the "Play" menu, then "Captions and Subtitles", then either "On if available" or the name of the subtitle track. Note that with version 10, you'll find the "Play" menu by right-clicking on the title bar of the media player.
• Version 7: Go to the "View" menu, then "Now Playing Tools," then click "Captions". Now shut down the Windows Media Player, and restart it & load the video clip. (This is due to a bug in Media Player version 7 that prevents it from recognizing the accompanying .smi file unless it has the Captions option turned on when the program starts up.)
• Earlier versions: In the "View" menu on Windows Media Player, check the menu item entitled "Captions".

Please note that not all video clips have closed captions. To request closed captioning for MCC video clips, or if you have general questions about accessibility to these clips, contact Video Services in the MCC Instructional Technologies department at jcase@monroecc.edu or (585) 292-2588.

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My computer can't find an application to play the video or audio clip. Where can I download a player for it?

Our video and audio server uses Windows Media streaming formats. If you're using a PC, you'll probably have a version of Windows Media Player already installed. But if you don't or if you're using a Macintosh, you can download Windows Media Player (or, for Macintosh users, a plug-in that allows you to play Windows Media files through your QuickTime player) from the following address: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx

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