Streaming Media

To play audio and video media files, you must have a computer with a sound board installed, speakers (and/or headphones), and an Internet connection. On this site, you may play audio Wave Files or Streaming Audio and Video. For information about specific live and pre-recorded Streaming Media FCC webcasts, See Audio/Video Events.

Captions

All media files on this site contain open captioning or closed captioning, synchronized text versions of the spoken words in the audio portion of the file. For media files with open captioning, the text appears permanently on the video picture or within the media file display. When a media clip is identified as "closed captioned" but no text appears, you must enable the caption option in your media player if the text is desired. This feature is typically accessed via an option from the player’s menu bar. See Displaying Closed Captioning with Real Player or Windows Media Player.

Wave Files

Wave files are audio file formats that store uncompressed raw audio data and other information about the audio file in stand-alone segments. Wave files have become a standard audio file format that is widely used on most platforms that process digital audio files and do not require plug-ins. A Wave file format is identified by a file extension of WAV (.wav). Wave files may be downloaded and played immediately with your chosen media player or saved on your computer and played at a later time.

Streaming Audio and Video

Streaming media is both audio and video transmitted across the Internet in a streaming or continuous mode. With streaming media, there is not a long wait for file download as the media being streamed will play as it arrives. Streaming media requires RealPlayer or Windows Media software installed on your computer and configured to work with your browser. If you do not have the software, you can download it:

 Download RealOne Player (Windows)
 Download RealOne Player (Macintosh OS X)

 Download Windows Media Player (Windows)
 Download Windows Media Player (Macintosh OS X)

Troubleshooting Streaming Media

If your software is working properly, but you are experiencing poor stream quality (for example, if a stream shows up but skips and freezes), first, check your Internet connection. Video is optimally streamed on a DSL connection (256K or higher). The minimum connection for a video stream is a 56k modem connection. Please note, that when you stream audio or video at the minimum connection speed, the stream is more likely to skip. If you have a limited connection speed when you are streaming media do not try to load web pages, download e-mail, or otherwise use your bandwidth at the same time. The stream will take all of your bandwidth and will skip or freeze if you try to use your bandwidth for other tasks.

For more information, see the help menu on your media player on consult Microsoft Windows Media Support or RealOne Customer Support.

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Last reviewed/updated on 7/19/2004.