MULTIMEDIA INFORMATION AND TROUBLESHOOTING

To experience audio and video over the internet you NEED a fast connection! If you don't have AT LEAST a 56 kbps modem (often known as v.90, X2 or K56flex depending on who makes your modem) your internet multimedia experiences will be awful. If you're on AOL you'll often get pretty slow performance EVEN IF you have a fast modem. DSL or Cable connections are very fast, although they cost more per month.

You also need to have one or more media players installed on your computer. These are software programs - usually free - which allow you to view, hear, and sometimes even save multimedia content. Real Networks' RealPlayer, Apple's QuickTime and Microsoft Windows Media Player are among the most widely used. Most new computers come with at least one of these pre-installed. Or you can download the latest versions at no charge from the manufacturer's websites - however you may have to hunt around for the free versions!

Which one you use depends on your preference, as these days most of them can play just about any type of multimedia content, though there are some exceptions.

Generally there are three kinds of multimedia on the internet:

1. MP3 - these are audio files that are relatively compact, sound great, and can even be downloaded on to handheld devices like Palm Pilots and MP3 players. MP3 files can be found just about anywhere on the internet, and almost any media player application can play them. MP3 files have one downside however, in that you have to wait till the whole file has been sent to your computer before you can hear it, a process that can take several minutes per track. But once it's on your computer you can save it and play it back as often as you like.

2. Streaming media - these are audio or video files that play back while they are being sent to you, so you don't have to wait to hear or see them. Video clips are much larger than audio files so they take much longer to download, and often seem to freeze while they're streaming. QuickTime and RealVideo are the most common formats, though Microsoft Windows Media is bcoming increasingly popular. Depending on the format, you may or may not be able to save these files on your computer.

3. All others - you'll occasionally come across .WAV, MIDI, .AIFF and other types of files on the internet and these have to be downloaded before you can hear them. They are often very large in size, and though they work great when copied to your PC, they're not very practical for listening to on the internet owing to their size.

Media Player types: It's becoming increasingly irrelevant which media player you have, as they all claim to be able to play just about everything that's out there. But if you've got an older version you may not be able to play certain types of new media such as MP3.

RealPlayer and RealJukebox - these play streamed RealMedia audio and video files, but usually you can't save them on to your computer. They also play a wide variety of other media types. Both these products are free downloads, though if you visit Real's website the link for the free download is hard to find, as most of what you see is the stuff they want you to pay for.

Apple QuickTime - this plays streamed QuickTime media files, as well as a number of other media types. Available free from Apple's website.

Microsoft Windows Media Player - this plays streamed Windows Media audio and video files, as well as many other media types. Available free from Microsoft's website.

Various "Jukebox" or MP3 player programs - jukebox software allows you to organize and play back MP3 files that you've saved on your PC. There are dozens of popular makes - some are free, others not. Common brands include MusicMatch, WinAmp and RealJukebox. Generally these are audio-oriented and don't play video files.

Common Problems and Solutions:

Assuming you got the software installed correctly, here are the most common things that can go wrong - and what you can do about it.

1) Can't hear anything. You DO have the speaker volume turned up, don't you? On Windows computers, check to see there's a little speaker symbol next to the clock in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Double-click on it to make sure it's turned up, or adjusted correctly. If it's set low here, your speakers will sound quiet even if they're physically turned all the way up to 11. Or check the Windows Control Panel for the "Multimedia" icon and check all the settings there. If you can't get an audio CD to play, or if the computer won't even beep, take it up with whoever makes your computer.

2) Can't see anything. If you can hear a video clip but not see it, it's possible you don't have a fast enough connection. If the picture shows but is too big or too small, you can change the size of the playback area, but the bigger it gets the worse the picture looks, and the slower it plays. Sometimes a postage-stamp-sized picture is all you'll get!

3) If the software crashes or won't run, no matter how many times you try, consider "uninstalling" the media player software, and reinstalling it again. Also make sure you're downloading the right version for whatever version of Windows or the Mac OS you have. Be careful about how you uninstall software - simply deleting the files is often not enough. Use the program's own "uninstall" command on the menus, or using the Windows Control Panel's "Add/Remove Programs" icon.

4) Check to see if you're running any other programs at the same time which use audio. Games for example can "hog" your computer's audio and not let you hear anything else at the same time.

5) Did you press the PLAY button? Depending on how your software is configured, and what type of media you're trying to play, you may have to click the triangular PLAY button before you can see or hear anything.

6) Everything takes forever to work. If it's not your internet connection speed or your modem speed, your computer may not have enough memory to handle multimedia. You should have at least 128 megabytes of RAM and updated browser software (Internet Explorer 6, or Firefox). AOL users should be on version 7 or higher.

7) Your old media player doesn't work after you installed a different one. Many media players make themselves the "default" player after you install them, meaning that from now on, ANY media files will only play back in the newer program and not the older one. You can change this behavior in the software, though the location for this is different in each program. It's a matter of "associating" specific file types with specific media players.

8) Macintosh users - hopefully you're not having any problems since Macs are better at handling multimedia. The solutions above are mostly for Windows users, since they generally have more problems in this area!