Common Technical Difficulties

1) I cannot see the video. What do I do?

If you cannot view the video, there are 4 possibilities:

  1. You don't have the proper windows media player software: In order to access the video, your computer must have the free Windows Media Player that is designed for your type of personal computer (PC). If you are using a PC, version nine or greater is required and if you are using a Macintosh (MAC), be sure that the Windows Media Player for your model is installed.

    You can download and install the appropriate windows media player from the Microsoft Web site:
    http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/download/AllDownloads.aspx

  2. Your Internet connection is too slow or is being used by other people: The live webinar is designed so it can be received at speeds between 28 kilobytes per second (KBPS) and 150 KBPS. This covers the vast majority of users on both dial-up modem and high speed. However, if your Internet speed is below 28 KBPS, or if you have a high speed connection that is part of a network and other people are using the network, you may experience buffering (stoppages). For example, if you are at work and someone else is using the same Internet connection to download large files, this may cut into your Internet capability.
  3. You are using a computer that is older than five years: Webinar technology is still fairly new and depends upon the strength of recently manufactured computers. If your computer is older than five years, it may not be able to receive all the functions of the webinars properly, for example, text chat and slides may not be displayed.
  4. There is a firewall on your network: Even if you have a new computer and a powerful Internet connection, accessing live webinars from your office may be blocked by a firewall. Some organizations use a firewall on their network for security reasons but, unfortunately, it can sometimes block live media streaming. If this is the case, you need to speak to your IT administrator to have the firewall adjusted so that live webinars can be viewed.

2) I cannot hear the audio.

Check to make sure you have speakers or headsets properly plugged in with the volume turned up. If you can hear audio from other Web sites or from a CD playing in your computer, then your audio is working properly. If you still cannot hear the webinar audio, your network firewall may be blocking the audio.

3) I cannot see all components of the webinar page.

Since there are a number of key components on the webinar page, such as the video, chat and slides, your web browser may not fit everything on your screen if the resolution is too low. The lower the resolution, the larger things become. But if they become too large, some text and functionality may not be visible.

To accommodate all of the functions and to minimize or eliminate the need for scrolling, the live webinar page has been optimized at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768. Here is how to proceed to optimize your view:

  1. Check your screen resolution

    Windows XP: Click your desktop with your right-mouse button and select "properties". Click the settings tab and move the screen resolution slider so that it says 1024 x 768 or greater.

    Vista: Click your desktop with your right-mouse button and select "personalize" "display settings" and move the resolution slider so that it says 1024 x 768 or greater.

  2. Make the text larger

    Your web browser will have a setting that allows you to increase the size of text if it becomes too small to read at the screen resolution of 1024 x 768. If you are using Internet Explorer, click the page button and choose "zoom" to increase the text size.

4) Tips for a good webinar experience

  1. Watch in a quiet area: Attending a webinar online, while convenient, requires you to be in a quiet area with no disruptions.
  2. Turn off other programs: Depending upon the power of your computer, running other programs such as email, during the live webinar, may slow down your computer. This can result in problems such as video buffering (stopping and then restarting) and the slides moving slowly. When viewing the webinar, be sure to close all other programs on your computer.
  3. Turn off your screen saver: If you don't do anything on your computer for a period of time, your screen saver may become activated and make the image disappear. You can easily return to the webinar just my moving your mouse which will disable the screen saver. You can also just turn your screen saver off.

    Windows XP: Click your desktop with your right-mouse button and select "properties". Click the screen saver tab and choose "none" from the drop-down list.

    Vista: Click your desktop with your right-mouse button and select "personalize" "screen saver" and choose "none" from the drop-down list.

  4. Printing slides: The PDF slides are available to you in advance of the webinar. You may be able to print out several slides on a single page. This is done through your printer settings. Click print and look for an option that says "Pages per sheet" or "page scaling / multiple pages per sheet". Your printer may or may not support this capability.

Still experiencing technical difficulties?

If you are still experiencing technical difficulties, please contact the webinar contractor, Galbraith Communications at 877-899-3427 or via email at: support@galbraithcommunications.com.

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