If you are having problems viewing webcasts in either Real® Video or Windows Media® format, it could be the result of any number of problems. We would like to help facilitate your viewing of Oral Arguments and special events in any way we can, but excluding an internal error on our website, the problem likely exists on your computer. Please consult the following list of problems and ideas about maximizing your computer system for the viewing of this web site and Real® Video or Windows Media® (these tips are geared toward Windows users only). Please note that we cannot provide support over the phone or via email.

Before you begin reading through the guide below, please consider two things:

• If you have viewed webcasts from your computer before, but you are having trouble viewing them now, the problem is likely—though not definitely—on our server and not on your computer. Another indication of this is if you can view Real® Video or Windows Media® from other sources. If this is the case, please try again at a later time.
  
  
• If you are trying to access a LIVE webcast, please keep in mind that live links will only be operational beginning approximately 5 minutes prior to the start of the webcast event. Please check the date and time to be sure you are using the correct link; if you are trying to view a webcast after it has already taken place, then the live link will not work (we generally remove these links within a few hours of the end of a live webcast).

If neither of the above issues relates to your problem viewing webcasts, please read through the following guide for assistance. Please note, however, that while this guide had been developed for your convenience, the Indiana Judiciary takes no responsibility for damage caused to your computer or operating system as a result of following the instructions in this troubleshooting guide. For more information, please visit the About section.

Webcast Troubleshooting Q&A

Does the network you are connected to use a firewall for Internet security?
If your facility uses a firewall, then you are likely receiving an error from the RealOne® or Windows Media® player that it cannot connect or download. If you do not receive an error, you are likely not impeded by a firewall and should continue to the next step. If you are impeded by a firewall, that is a problem that you must take up with your local technical support representatives.

Are you giving your computer enough time to download the video?
If you are viewing an archived video (anything not live), depending on the length of the video, it can take up to 5 minutes to download using a 56k dial-up modem, and can take twice as long to download using a 28k modem. If you have a cable modem or DSL connection, the video should only take 15-30 seconds to download.

You can tell if the video is downloading by watching the toolbars of the RealOne® or Windows Media® player window. There will be a message that reads 'Connecting,' 'Loading' or 'Buffering' and a progress bar or dial that lets you know how much has loaded and how much is left to load. It's important that once you click the link to watch the webcast, that you not click anywhere on the RealOne® or Windows Media® player windows until the video has loaded; if you do, you can interrupt the file download. Please try watching the webcast again, this time following the suggestions above. If you are still having problems, continue on to the next step.

Do you have the most recent version of the Windows Media Player installed on your computer?
To check, open the Windows Media Player™ from your start menu or desktop, then click the 'Help' menu and scroll down to 'About Windows Media Player' or 'About Windows Media.' The About window will tell you what version of Windows Media Player™ you own; as of January 2008, Windows Media Player™ version 11 is the most recent version of the free player. If you have a previous version installed, please download the most recent version and try watching webcasts again. If you already have the most recent version, or installing the most recent version did not solve your problem, please continue on to the next step.

Do you have the most recent version of the Real Player installed on your computer?
To check, open the Windows Media Player from your start menu or desktop, then click the 'Help' menu and scroll down to 'About Real Player' or 'About RealOne Player.' The About window will tell you what version of Real® Player you own; as of January 2008, RealOne® Player version 11 is the most recent version of the free player. If you have a previous version installed, please download the most recent version and try watching webcasts again. If you already have the most recent version, or installing the most recent version did not solve your problem, please continue on to the next step.

Do you have the most recent version of your web browser installed on your computer?
The Indiana Judicial System website is best viewed using Microsoft Internet Explorer, though Firefox will usually get the job done. The most recent versions of both browsers are available online for download. To check which version you own, click the 'Help' menu and scroll down to 'About Internet Explorer' or 'About Mozilla Firefox.' The About window will tell you which version you own; as of January 2008, the most recent versions are MS Internet Explorer 7.0 and Mozilla Firefox 2.0.

• Download the most recent version of Microsoft Internet Explorer (BEST OPTION)
• Download the most recent version of Mozilla Firefox

If you already have the most recent version of your browser installed on your computer, or downloading the most recent version does not solve your problems, please move on to the next step.

Does your computer have a sufficient amount of hard drive space available?
If you have completed all of the items on the list so far to no avail, then the problem could possibly be the amount of space you have available on your hard drive. Each video must be temporarily downloaded to your hard drive before you can view it, so if there is insufficient hard drive space on your computer, the file download will not be able to complete. To check the amount of hard drive space available on your computer, open the Windows Explorer, right-click on the hard drive (usually the C:\ drive), scroll down and click on 'Properties.' This window should tell you how much free space is available. If the amount is less than 250 megabytes, this could be the problem.

To free up hard drive space, begin by looking through the "My Documents folder" (or whichever folder you keep your files in) and eliminating anything that is outdated or that you no longer need. Keep your eye out for excessively large files (anything over 5 megabytes is a large file, but some files such as Photoshop files, Pagemaker files, WAV files, TIF files, etc., are commonly larger than that).

Another way to free up hard drive space is to defragment your computer. This process cleans up and reorganizes the information stored on your hard drive (every keystroke on your computer can create a fragmented piece of information on your hard drive), but it will in no way damage your files. Defragmenting generally takes several hours, so you should do it at the end of the day when you don't need to use it. Following are instructions on how to defragment your Windows-based computer, however, if you have technical support available to you, you should consult them first if you have not performed this operation before:

• First, disable your screensaver (if the screensaver is not disabled, it will interrupt the process) by right-clicking on your desktop, selecting 'Active Desktop > Customize my Desktop,' and selecting the 'Screensaver' tab from the window. Scroll up the list of possible screensavers to '(none),' select it and click 'OK.'
  
  
• Next, open the Windows Explorer (this should be the only application you have running while you defragment, so please close all other windows before you begin) and right-click on the hard drive (usually the C:\ drive). Scroll down to 'Properties' and select the tab labeled 'Tools.' The first option should be labeled 'Scan Disk' or 'Error-Checking;' you should run this function first to be sure there are no errors on the disk (the disk defragmenter will not run unless you do this first). Once the scan disk operation is complete, you may click on the 'Disk Clean-up' or 'Defragmentation' function. Once it's running, you should turn off your monitor and give the computer 2-8 hours (depending on the size of your hard drive) to complete the process.

Once you have freed up space on your hard drive, please try viewing webcasts gain. If this does not solve the problem, you may wish to contact the support center for your computer manufacturer or the support staff at your office for further assistance.