Online Degree Programs - Washington State University

Tech Support Center

Multimedia Help

Many DDP courses utilize multimedia course materials (e.g. DVDs, CD-ROMS, and interactive activities) that allow you to experience a course lecture, watch video and animations explaining course concepts, or participate in activities that deepen your learning. In order to watch a video or other media content from a CD-ROM or in the course space, you will need a media player. Depending on the course, DDP Media may be viewed with RealPlayer (version 8 or higher), Windows Media Player (version 9 or higher), Winamp or Flash Player. MAC users are suggested to use OS X or higher. To download a free media player, go to Free Program Downloads.

Want to test whether your computer has a media player installed?

Media Player	Test	Download
Windows Media Player	Click Here	Download
RealPlayer	Click Here	Download
Adobe Reader	Click Here	Download

Common Issues

Connection Speed
Interrupted Streams
Linking Directly from Netscape
Firewall Issues
Password Protection
Media Player FAQs

Connection Speed

Make sure that your connection speed is set for the appropriate level. Streams may appear to have poor quality even over a LAN connection if your connection is set to a 56 Kbps modem. You can set the connection speed in Real Player by going to "View" and then "Preferences." Click on the Connection speed tab and select your connection speed from the "Bandwidth" drop down lists.

Interrupted Streams

A videostream might get interrupted for several reasons. There might be “net congestion” (too much traffic on the Internet) or problems with our equipment. If you lose the connection, try to reconnect. In most instances, just pressing the play button (green triangle rotated 90°) should automatically reconnect the stream.

Firewall Issues:

Some users may experience problems connecting to videostreams if their network is behind a firewall. If you are using Real Player and are experiencing difficulties connecting to the videostream, do the following:

Open Real Player. Under the "View" menu, select "Preferences."

Select the "Transport" tab and make sure "automatically select best transport" is selected.
Select the "Auto-Configure" button.
Select "OK."
Real Player will configure itself to work behind a firewall. When it's finished, click "OK."
Select "OK" to close the Preferences Window.

Password Protection

For copyright reasons, some course videostreams are often password protected. These passwords are typically found in the course space. If you have checked your course space and still cannot find the password, contact your professor.

Linking Directly from Netscape

If you know the direct address to a videostream and type it in directly to Netscape it may not work. Netscape does not support direct access to a videostreaming server, so typing the address of a videostream file directly into the Netscape browser will not work. Use Internet Explorer for this function. Netscape can still be used to access videostreams, but only through links to "ram" or "asx" extensions.

Media Player FAQs

Still Having Problems?

Additional tips can be found in Technology Troubleshooting. If you are still having problems, please contact the IT Help Desk at 800-608-3839.

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