Frequently Asked Technical Questions About the INTIME Website

• Systems requirements
• Video/audio playback
• RealPlayer 8.0 Basic
• Ask your question

Q.:  What do I need to view the INTIME videos?
A.:  Briefly, you need a Web browser version 4.0 or higher, RealPlayer 8 Basic, a sound card, and an Internet connection of 56K or better.  For more details, please see our INTIME Minimum systems requirements.

Q.: What can I do to improve the video image during playback?
A.: To receive the best possible video image in RealPlayer 8 Basic, follow these guidelines:

• Check the connection speed RealPlayer is configured for. Run RealPlayer, open Options->Preferences, and select the Connection tab. Make sure Normal Bandwidth is set to the speed you usually connect to the Internet and that Maximum Bandwidth is set to the maximum speed you can connect to the Internet.

• Check the buffer length in RealPlayer. Run RealPlayer, open Options->Preferences, and select the Connection tab.Choose the Buffer at least option and enter an appropriate number. We recommend 20 seconds.

• Check the color depth of your display. Open Start->Settings->Control Panel. Open Display. Choose the Settings tab. Make sure the Color palette setting is set as high as possible. High Color (16 bit) or True Color (24 bit) will provide  the best quality.

• Update the video drivers on your computer. Contact your computer or video card  manufacturer for driver updates.

• If you are running other programs while using RealPlayer 8, exit any programs that you are not using.

• Do not use the Zoom button on lower bandwidth clips.

• Try turning off optimized video in the Preferences dialog box.
  (Provided by RealNetworks Service and Support)

Q.:  When I'm watching the INTIME videos, my screen saver will start, but I'll still hear the audio.  Why?
A.:  Even when you're watching one of our videos, your screen saver will still activate according to the interval it is set to start.  We recommend setting your screen saver to an interval of at least 15 minutes when you are using our site.  For more tips on using the videos, please see our video tips here (We will have this page soon).

Q.: What can I do if the audio sounds like it is being played too fast or too slow?
A.: If audio sounds too fast, too slow, scratchy, or distorted, change the RealPlayer 8 performance settings:

1. Start RealPlayer 8.

2. Click the View menu and choose Preferences.

3. Click the Performance tab.

4. Click the Settings button in the Sound card compatibility section.

5. Select the Disable 16-bit sound or Disable custom sampling rates check box to modify the way that RealPlayer and the sound card interact. You may need to experiment to find a combination of settings that work best for your computer.

6. Click OK in the Sound Card Compatibility dialog box.

7. Click OK in the Preferences dialog box to save your changes.
   (Provided by RealNetworks Service and Support)

Q.:  Sometimes when I watch an INTIME video, the picture in the viewing area appears to flicker, but the sound is ok.  Why?
A.:  We're not quite sure.  We've experienced the same problem once or twice and solved it by shutting down all applications, the computer itself, and rebooting.  Then everything was fine.  If that doesn't solve your problem, please take a look into our Technical Problems section at Troubleshooting - Flickering Picture.  You'll find some uncommon problems explained and have the opportunity to submit your technical question.

Q.: I have RealPlayer 8.0 Basic on my computer; however, when I click on the video link, the playback doesn't start automatically.
A.: In most cases, the RealPlayer 8 Basic installer automatically configures your Web browser so that it starts RealPlayer 8 and begins playback when you click a RealMedia link. If RealPlayer 8 does not start when you click a RealMedia link, you must manually configure your Web browser. For instructions on how to manually configure your Web browser to start RealPlayer 8, click here.

Q.: I have RealPlayer 8.0 Basic on my MAC computer; however, when I click on the video link, the playback doesn't start or get "out of memory" errors.
A.: If you have trouble running INTIME videos on your Macintosh it may be helpful to increase the amount of virtual memory your Macintosh is using. This is especially true if your Macintosh runs well at other times but tends to "lock up" or stop responding when you try to play INTIME videos. Click here for instructions on finding out how much built-in memory your Macintosh has and how to increase it. Additionally, it might help to reboot the machine before you begin watching videos if you have problems with the system locking up (typically after viewing free-four videos) due to the way the operating system uses virtual memory.

Q.: Why do I have problems with video or system freezes when playing video content with RealPlayer Basic 8 for Windows? 
A.: With the video enhancements in RealPlayer Basic 8, there are a few requirements to ensure the best video experience. If video appears erratically or you experience system freezes while attempting to play video files, you may be able to solve it with the following suggestions. RealPlayer requires a minimum of 16-bit color in Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, and 2000. If  your computer is incapable of displaying at least 16-bit color, you may only get a black square in RealPlayer when you play video content. To check your color settings:

1. Click the Start menu, choose Settings, and then Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Display icon.

3. Click the Settings tab.

4. Make sure that High Color or True Color is selected in the colors list.

5. Click OK.

6. Restart your computer if prompted.

RealPlayer requires Microsoft DirectDraw (DirectX) certified drivers.
RealPlayer uses DirectDraw for the following Optimized Video features: Hardware Stretching, Blitting, and Overlay support. The video hardware must support these features in order to function correctly with the Optimized Video setting.
Many popular video cards use WinDraw drivers instead of DirectDraw drivers. The WinDraw driver incorrectly reports the capability of the video hardware to RealPlayer,  causing RealPlayer to think that the video hardware can do things that it cannot. When the video is optimized and the video hardware cannot support the optimization, problems will occur. Problems range from poor quality or garbled video to RealPlayer becoming unresponsive and system freezes. If you experience similar problems, try disabling the Optimized Video setting in RealPlayer. To disable Optimized Video in RealPlayer:

1. Start RealPlayer.

2. Click the View menu and choose Preferences.

3. Click the Performance tab.

4. Click to clear the Use optimized video display check box in the Video card compatibility section.

5. Click OK.

6. Restart your computer.

The following cards are known to have DirectDraw problems. Regardless of the setting in RealPlayer, optimized video is automatically disabled if any of the following card and driver combinations are detected:

• ATI Rage II+ PCI, ati_m64

• RAGE PRO TURBO AGP 2X (English)

• Matrox Millennium G200, AGPMGAXDD32.DLL Matrox

• Millennium G200 AGP, mga64.dll

• Matrox Millennium G200 AGP, tsirchnl.dll

• Matrox Millennium II PowerDesk, MGAXDD32.DLL

• Matrox Millennium II PCI, mgapdx64.drv

• Diamond Viper V33", vprddle.DLL

• NVIDIA GeForce 256 AGP Plus (Dell), NVDD32.DLL

• Diamond Viper V330, vprdrvle.drv

• Diamond Viper V550, NVDD32.DLL

• NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 Ultra, NVDD32.DLL

• Hercules Thriller 3D Series (v 0.81.3539), v200032.dll

• Diamond Multimedia Systems, Inc.

• Stealth II G460 Ver. 1.12\x0d\x0aV, stlthg46.dll

• STB Lightspeed 128, with STB Vision 95, stbvisn.drv

• Diamond SpeedStar A50 for Windows 98, DMSSA50x.dll

• ALL STB cards that use nVidia Riva 182zx:

• STB Velocity 128 3D, stbv128.drv

• STB Velocity 128 (TV Support), STBV128.DRV

• STB Lightspeed 128, without STB Vision 95, stbls128.drv

• S3 Inc. Trio64V+, s3_2.drv

• Chips And Technologies, Accelerator (new), chipsnd.drv

• Cirrus Logic 7548 PCI, cirrusmm.drv  

• NeoMagic controllers (widely used in Dell laptops):

• NeoMagic MagicGraph 128XD, NmgcDD.dll

• NeoMagic MagicGraph 128XD, Nmgc.drv

• NeoMagic MagicGraph 128 PCI, nmx.drv

• NeoMagic MagicMedia 256AV, NmgcDD5.dll

• Diamond Stealth II G460, s2g432le.dll

• Diamond Stealth II G460, s2g432le.dll  
  (Provided by RealNetworks Service and Support)

Q.: Why do I have problems with video or system freezes when playing video content with RealPlayer Basic 8 for MAC? 
A.: First of all, check the memory and virtual memory of your computer. If your Macintosh has only 32 MB of RAM, you must set Virtual Memory at 128 MB. You can also switch to Compact mode (accessible from the View menu) to reduce the amount of system resources required by RealPlayer 8 during playback. Installing more RAM in the Macintosh will also help. Also to avoid this problem, stop the video being played before choosing another video using the dropdown menu.

Q.: Audio and video playback are out of synch at the start of high bit rate content on Mac OS.
A.: When you play RealMedia with a bit rate of 150Kbps or higher, the audio and video may not be synchronized during the first 5 to 10 seconds. After approximately 5 to 10 seconds, this problem goes away for the duration of the clip.
(Provided by RealNetworks Service and Support)

Q.: The mouse pointer remains a "wrist watch" after I play content on Mac OS. 
A.: After you start a clip in RealPlayer 8, the mouse pointer changes to the Mac OS "wrist watch" but does not switch back to an arrow. The mouse pointer will revert to an arrow if you move it outside the RealPlayer 8 window or click on the Mac OS desktop.
(Provided by RealNetworks Service and Support)

Q.: Why do I get "out of memory" errors when I play clips that last an hour or more with RealPlayer 8 for Mac OS? 
A.: If you have only 32 MB of RAM installed on your Macintosh and you play a clip that lasts an hour or more, you may receive an "out of memory error." Many early iMac computers came with only 32 MB of RAM and will often experience this problem. If your Macintosh has only 32 MB of RAM you must set Virtual Memory at 128 MB. You can also switch to Compact mode (accessible from the View menu) to reduce the amount of system resources required by RealPlayer 8 during playback. Installing more RAM in the Macintosh will also help.
(Provided by RealNetworks Service and Support)

Q.: How do I manually resize the window on RealPlayer 8 for Mac OS?
A.: While there is no visible size box in the lower right corner of RealPlayer 8 for Mac OS, you can still resize the RealPlayer 8 window by clicking in the lower right corner and dragging. You may need to experiment to find the precise location of the resize area.
(Provided by RealNetworks Service and Support)

Q.: What is RealPlayer 8.0 Basic?
A.: This is a free video/audio stream software created by RealNetworks. Here you will find out how to download the free RealPlayer version.

Q.:  Which version of RealPlayer do I need and is it free?
A.:  You only need the RealPlayer Basic version 8, which is free.  To download RealPlayer, please click here.  To see our minimum requirements, click here.

Q.: How do I configure RealPlayer 8 Basic to work with a network firewall?
A.: RealPlayer 8 uses varying configurations depending upon the firewall setup. Here there are instructions on how to configure RealPlayer 8 to work with a firewall.

Q.: I received an error message about a firewall when I tried to play clips. What am I supposed to do?
A.: Your computer is behind a firewall. Here you will find information on how to configure your RealPlayer.

Q.: How do I prevent RealPlayer 8 Basic from loading when Windows starts?
A.: When you installed RealPlayer 8, the installer placed a shortcut in the Windows system tray to provide easy access to the RealPlayer and allow automatic updating of the Channel headlines. To disable StartCenter and remove it from the System Tray, do the following:

1. Click the View menu and choose Preferences.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Click the Settings button in the StartCenter section.
4. Click to clear the Enable StartCenter check box in the StartCenter Settings dialog box.
5. Click OK in the StartCenter Settings dialog box.
6. Click OK in the Preferences dialog box to save your changes.
   (Provided by RealNetworks Service and Support)

Q.: What do I do if I have "Low System Resources" error messages in RealPlayer 8 Basic for Windows?
A.: When you use RealPlayer, you may receive "low resources" errors or system freezes. These problems are typically caused by excessive memory usage on computers with low system resources. To decrease the amount of memory used by RealPlayer, you can disable some of the View features.

1. Start RealPlayer.
2. You will see the following options: Clip Info, Playlist, Content Panel, Search, and Status Bar. A check mark to the left of any of these options means that the feature is enabled. Click the View menu.
3. Click any option with a check mark next to it to disable it. 

If the above instructions do not resolve your problems, try the following general suggestions:

• Create more free space on your hard drive by deleting old files, emptying the Recycle Bin, or moving unneeded files to storage disks or tape backup.
  
• Check to see whether you, or Windows, is handling virtual memory in the Control Panel:
  1. Click the Start menu, choose Settings, and then Control Panel.
  2. Double-click the System icon.
  3. Click the Performance tab.
  4. Click the Virtual Memory button

  If Let me specify my own virtual memory settings is selected, try increasing the maximum value.
  

• Lower the RealPlayer CPU usage:
  1. Start RealPlayer.
  2. Click the View menu and choose Preferences.
  3. Click the Performance tab.
  4. Move the Playback performance slider to the left, toward Lowest CPU Usage.
  5. Click OK.
     
• Download and install the latest version of DirectX from Microsoft. DirectX is available from the Microsoft website.
  
• Run fewer programs and disable persistent "hidden" background programs such as screensavers or instant messenger (e.g., AOL Instant Messenger) utilities.

Q.: I have downloaded and installed RealPlayer 8.0 Basic, but when I go to the site, I have a blank page on the video side with a little icon that looks like a piece of paper with a jigsaw puzzle piece in the middle.
A.: There are several possibilities why you cannot see a video clip.

• Did you restart you computer? If you didn't, then you will not be able to see video until you restart your computer. 
• For some reason, the RealPlayer installation program may not have set up file types for RealPlayer or may have set them up incorrectly. To see if this is your problem, go to Real Player 8.0 Browser Configuration Guide for detailed instructions.

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