What kind of hardware and software do I need to watch and listen online?

Hardware: You need a computer with a sound card and either speakers or headphones. Most computers sold within the last five years or advertised as "multimedia" have these.

Software: You'll need Flash, Real Player, Windows Media Player, QuickTime, WinAmp, iTunes or a variety of other players most of which are available for free and can be downloaded online.

Multimedia
To view video, you will need the Flash 8 Player or higher.
Download Flash (at macromedia.com).

To play downloaded video, use iTunes or Quicktime.
Download iTunes (at apple.com).
Download Quicktime (at apple.com).

To stream audio, you will need one of the following players.
Download Flash (at macromedia.com).
Download Real (at real.com).

What is podcasting?

Podcasting is a way of "subscribing" to an audio or video program online. You use podcasting software that goes and gets the latest episode of a show automatically and downloads it to your computer. If it is audio, you can put the files on an mp3 player such as the Apple iPod and take your favorite programs with you wherever you go. If it is video, you can watch it on the newer iPods, take it with you on your laptop, or use one of the other portable video players such as the Sony PSP.

There are many podcast applications and Web sites out there. Here are the two we recommend most:
iTunes (free software download required -- available for Windows and Mac)
Open Media Network (play audio and video podcasts within a browser or sync with portable devices)

How do I get a podcast feed?

You may find yourself on a Web site that you like and notice that they have a link to their podcast. Often it will be accompanied by an image that says "XML", "RSS" or "POD." These variations and acronyms can make the world of podcasting pretty confusing, but all that really matters is that you know this is a link to a "feed" of the program. A feed is a piece of code that is regularly updated by the creators of the program. Once this feed is in your podcasting software, the software will go and get the new episodes of the show automatically as they are made available.

Apple's iTunes has a very popular podcasting area and you can search it by program name or keywords. Also, if you have the latest version of iTunes already installed, you can subscribe to our video podcasts simply by clicking on the links on our program page. It will take you into the show's page on iTunes and then you just need to hit the "subscribe" button.

However, if a program you want is not in one of these services, you can always add it. To copy a feed from a Web site, right-click the link or RSS button (on the Mac: hold down the control button and click) and you will be given a set of options. Depending on your Web browser, one of these should read something like "Copy shortcut" or "Copy link location." Choose that.

Now, depending on the podcast software you are using, go to the program and manually add the feed. In iTunes, go up to the menu that reads "Advanced" and choose "Subscribe to podcast." On Odeo, once you are logged in, you will find a green box on the lower right of each page that says "Add a feed."

To paste the feed, again right-click (control-click on the Mac) and choose "paste."

What are video podcasts?

Audio isn't the only thing that can be distributed via podcast feeds. Many pioneering content producers such as PBS are creating video podcasts which you can watch on the program's Web site, or subscribe to and watch inside iTunes.

To find these podcasts in iTunes, make sure you have the latest version of the free iTunes software, available for both Mac and Windows. Open iTunes, go into the iTunes Music Store (on the left side of the main iTunes window) and click on the left-hand link that reads "Podcasts." You can search iTunes podcasts for the term "PBS" or find PBS listed as a "Featured Provider" on the iTunes Podcast Directory page. There you will find podcasts of signature PBS series such as NewsHour, American Experience, and NOVA as well as KQED original productions Gallery Crawl and QUEST. You will also discover online-original audio podcasts, such as The Writer's Block.

Be aware that these media files, especially the video, can be quite large. If you subscribe to a lot of podcasts in an application like iTunes, your hard drive can fill up very quickly. If you have a smaller hard drive on your computer (for instance, a machine that is over five years old) be sure that you go through your podcast subscriptions fairly regularly and delete shows you have already heard/seen.

What is peer-to-peer downloading?

Peer-to-peer technology allows people to download larger media files, such as video programs, onto their computers using a network of other individuals' computers. Basically, an initial computer has the full media file. If that computer is in San Francisco, and a computer that wants the file is in New York, the New York computer has to pull the file across the country over the Internet. However, once the New York computer has some of the file, another computer in New York can begin to get parts of it from that machine, and the parts that are still missing from the San Francisco source.

The more computers that have pieces of the file, the faster the distribution of it becomes, because the data has to travel less distance over the network that is the Internet. At the end of the process, once a computer has all the different chunks of the file that it is grabbing from multiple machines on the Internet, the peer-to-peer software puts it all together into a final, playable file.

The most valuable aspect of peer-to-peer technology is that its saves organizations the fees normally associated with the bandwidth it takes to serve up large media files. KQED and KTEH have partnered with a service called Open Media Network to begin distributing both its television and its radio programming online. We're also engaged in experimenting with online-only original media content. You can download OMN's simple client and search for our content in their guide. By subscribing to our programs through OMN, you are saving us bandwidth costs, and for that we thank you!

What does "live stream" mean?

The live stream is the online equivalent of the KQED Public Radio on-air broadcast. It is a live, continuous "stream" of digital audio that can be accessed online through the Internet. The live stream is simultaneous with the on-air broadcast and is mostly identical. (There are a few programs that we cannot stream online due to rights restrictions.)

I keep hearing all about the MP3 format. What do I need to listen to the MP3 stream?

MP3 is popular because it is a non-proprietary format that can be played with a whole host of different players. See above for the recommended list of players organized by platform.

What is the bit rate for your streams?

Bit rate is shorthand for "kilo bits per second" and it represents the amount of information, or detail, that is being streamed each second. The higher the bit rate, the more detail being provided, the higher the fidelity. Also, a higher bit rate requires a faster Internet connection in order to play them smoothly. As our radio programming is primarily talk (voices) we can squeak by with a lower fidelity (approximately 24-32kpbs) without compromising your listening experience (AM radio quality is 32kpbs). This also means the streams work on either dialup or broadband connections as well as wireless networks such as mobile phones and PDAs.

I can't hear anything -- what should I do?

1. Check to see if you have one of the required players (listed above) for listening to our stream.
2. If your media player opens when clicking on a live stream link but you still can't hear anything, confirm your speakers are on and the volume is turned up.
3. If clicking on the link doesn't automatically open a media player, then copy and paste the URL into the location bar of your player.
4. If you are listening at work, your company may have a "firewall" enabled to securely protect its internal data. Sometimes your company's proxy settings may be set in such a way that they prevent external streaming sources from occurring. If this is the case, please contact the IT department of your company.
5. It's possible your computer isn't set up properly to handle the file types used by our streams. This can be the case if you have recently installed or upgraded your media players. Seek professional advice before making any changes to your system. KQED is not responsible for any changes you may decide to make to your computer set-up. These tips are intended as a guide only to help you diagnose any problem you may be having.
6. If you are using a computer that is not connected to a firewall, read the help provided in your operating system concerning file type associations.
To do this in Windows, go to Start > Help; click on the Search tab and type in "file type associations," click 'List topics,' select the relevant topic and read the advice provided.
To do this in Mac OS, in the Finder, select the document and choose File > Get Info. In the Info window, click to show the "Open with" pane. Choose the application you want to use from the pop-up menu. If you want all documents that have the same file type as this one to open with the same application, click Change All.
7. If all else fails, try reinstalling the player plugin (Real, Windows Media, QuickTime, etc.).

I've changed my browser or have upgraded it, so why did the stream stop working?

Oftentimes when you change something major with your browser, you need to reconfigure it so it recognizes the plugins. Try reinstalling the media player software using your new browser so it may recognize the plugin.

Why does the stream sometimes stop for a while or stutter?

This may be due to Internet congestion, which can be more frequent at certain times of the day. Audio technology on the Internet is still relatively new. The amount of information that can travel along the average telephone line is limited. This can cause a queue in the audio signal. Current streaming technology makes best efforts not to lose this information and holds or 'buffers' it until the line is clear to receive further information. This is why there is sometimes a stuttering or delaying effect when receiving a stream.

Be sure to review our FAQs for answers to your questions. If you don't find an answer it could be that the problem lies with the plugin settings on your computer. Please visit these helpful resources for detailed installation instructions, set-up suggestions, upgrades and step-by-step guides for getting the best performance out of your media player:

Flash Player Support
http://www.adobe.com/support/flashplayer/

Real Media Customer Support
http://service.real.com/realplayer

Windows Media Customer Support
http://support.microsoft.com/ph/7021

WinAmp
http://forums.winamp.com

If you notice something awry with any of our web media and none of the troubleshooting tips have helped, please notify us and include the following information: time the problem occurred, what you were trying to access at the time, the plugin (Quicktime, Flash, Real Player, etc.), your computer OS (Windows XP, OSX, etc.), and a detailed description of the problem. Send the missive to: faq@kqed.org.

If you notice something awry with our TV signal please contact tv@kqed.org.

If you notice something awry with our Radio signal please contact tv@kqed.org.