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General Information |
All clips are designed for use on Windows Media Player (or one that is configured to accept wmv media files), preferably with the latest version installed. In some cases, clips are formatted for playing only on DivX players, although there is usually a Windows Media (wmv) version provided as an alternative. These clips are fully tested before going live and any issues you have playing them are likely to be with your media player or the way your PC is configured. To ensure smooth downloading and playing of video clips we strongly urge you to ensure you have both an up-to-date browser and the latest Media Player software installed on your computer. These two items alone cause over 90% of video issues. |
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Videos won't play online |
Because the video files are extremely large and bit rates high it is recommended you download them rather than play them online. If you are using Internet Explorer right click on the video link and choose 'Save target as' to download the video. Other browsers have similar download functionality. |
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Videos Files won't fully download |
There are many reasons why a video file will not fully download or simply stall or hang part way through a download. Here are some of the most common reasons and how you can fix them: |
If you have your browser set to stream videos at the same time as downloading them this will often result in a download crash because your internet connection will struggle to keep up with doing both. The solution to this is to download only and then play the video back at your own leisure. |
Some computer security programs are known to give problems simply because of the draconian way they behave. The anti-virus program will be scanning the file as it downloads and so reduces the download to crawling speed to such an extent that your computer will simply give up and the download will hang. Free anti-virus software such as AVG is particularly notorious for this, but also applies to others such as AOL. |
Adware, spyware and other trojans account for the most problems and are commonly received through any connections you have had with Pier To Pier (P2P) networks which are rife with viruses and other nasties. Please check you computer for any such horrors before procedding any further. We highly recommend Windows defender which is available free from Microsoft and will keep your computer in tip-top condition. You can download a copy from HERE |
Some non-standard browsers (AOL especially) cache every page and link you go to. You may have even set your standard browser to do the same. If so, the memory resource usage is so high that downloading a large file will often hang/cease to download. Do not use a non-standard or proprietary browser. |
Have a monthly broadband user allowance or metered allowance? Downloads will stop if you get close to or exceed your usage allowance. Some ISP's will even limit metered access on a daily basis. |
The above also applies to users of mobile/cellphone broadband (3G or HSDPA). We have been reliably advised by large carriers that the usage counter you see can be as much as 40% lower than the actual level of downloaded use. Also, signals are notorious for going in and out of range or losing signal even though you appear to have full or good signal bars showing, which will cause any downloads to cease working or hang. |
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Firefox Users |
Occasionally, some Firefox users will experience difficulties downloading and saving files. There are known issues with file types in Firefox and an article from Mozilla is available to help you resolve file download issues. CLICK HERE for further details. |
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Mac Users |
If you haven't done so already Mac Users will need to download and install a plug-in for Quicktime to be able to play a Windows Media file. You can download it free from the official Microsoft website HERE |
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Windows Media Player tells me I have a missing Codec |
A codec is software that is used to compress or decompress a digital media file, such as a video. Content creators use codecs because a compressed file takes up less storage space on your computer and can be transferred across the Internet more quickly and smoothly. When you play a digital media file, Windows Media Player uses a codec to decompress the file. Codecs are used to create and play nearly all video files on your computer or on Web sites.
You may experience issues playing some (especially High Definition) clips where a message appears in Windows Media Player concerning a missing codec. If this happens, there are a couple of possible reasons for this. Please follow the steps below: |
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Check you have a recent version of Windows Media Player, ideally version 10 or later. You can do this by opening up your player, clicking Help on the menu (if you can’t see the menu, just right-click on the black bar where it says “Now Playing”, “Library” etc and choose View then Classic Menus from the drop down lists). On the Help menu select “About Windows Media Player” and you can see which version you have (check the first digit[s]). If you need to update your player, see the links below. |
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Assuming you have the latest media player installed and the video isn’t playing, then it could be that WM Player isn’t able to automatically download the required Windows Media codec. To make sure this happens, click on Tools on the menu bar and select Options. Select the Player tab and make sure the Download Codecs Automatically checkbox is ticked. Also, before playing a video make sure you are connected to the internet so that the Player can download the codec otherwise the automatic download feature won’t work. |
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Where can I get a media player; how can I upgrade my player |
You will need one of the following players to view video clips:
Windows Media Player for Windows and for Mac (available from Microsoft)
VLC Media Player for Windows (available from Videolan)
Flip4Mac - more up to date player for Apple Macintosh users (available from Microsoft or Flip4Mac)
DivX Player
(for DivX video only)
Here are links to each of the latest players for download: |
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Why are High Definition video files so big |
One of the main downsides to getting high quality clear video is that you need to be able to render video at the highest possible bit rate to get the level of quality to see the detail. A natural consequence of this is that there is a trade off between quality and file size. Even good high quality standard definition clips can be file size hungry.
We recognise that broadband speeds are constantly increasing and available to a constantly growing audience so it is a conscious decision to provide later clips in resolutions as high as 1280x 720 for HD video, making them some of the largest and highest resolution available anywhere on the net, even among purely video based sites. So, although they take much longer to download, we feel it is well worth the extra time to give you that higher level of quality.
However, we also recognise that not everyone has access to broadband facilities or are located in remote areas where broadband speeds are very low, so on some sites each clip comes with an alternative size at a lower resolution to satisfy that demand.
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Why not a wider variety of video formats |
Various formats have been tried including Xvid and Mpeg, all of which had their pros and cons. In the end Windows Media Video and DivX were chosen as the desired platforms because they provide the best balance between quality and file size and players are available for the Mac as well as for the PC. Since most web users have Windows Media Player already installed on their PC's, all clips have this option without the need for player downloads first. Naturally, we will keep on top of developments for players that become extremely popular and provide the same or even better file size/quality compromise and which also have wide availability. |
We are actively looking at adding the Flash video format. However, due to issues between Adobe and Apple (especially relating to the iPad and iPhone) we are refraining from this option until we are certain that these issues are no longer relevant. |