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Install
RealPlayer Software By Gary Olsen, a Media Designer and Webmaster for the District
We want to make something absolutely clear: This technology is highly dependent on available bandwidth. If you are connected to the Web via a dial-up phone modem, and the best speeds you can obtain are less than 56 kbs (kilobits per second), you are not going to have the viewing experience we intended. The videos will play poorly, haltingly, or may not play at all. Of course if you are used to working with cutting edge technology, and can stand the delays (if it's a video featuring your child, it will no doubt be worth the wait), then thank you for the effort. But if you're a casual or curious viewer with a slow connection, the experience can border on frustrating if not annoying as the video sputters to a stop while more information downloads. We all long for the day when we have sufficient, low-cost bandwidth at our disposal where we can provide quality videos on demand. Meanwhile, we will just have to endure. However, we've attempted to provide you with some options.
We offer three sizes of video files, for example, and the smallest movie downloads in a non-streaming format since that seems to be the most productive way to transfer a movie over a phone line. Streaming media just doesn't work well over a phone modem. The middle sized and large format movies, however, do stream. This means they usually begin playing immediately upon clicking the button. So, if you're on a phone modem, and you click on the turtle, you will be asked where you want to save the movie on your hard drive or suitable storage medium. Even small movies can represent a large file size. And you also must have RealPlayer to play the movie. That software is available in the right hand column of this page. Follow the instructions, and you'll be good to go.
What do I need to view the videos on my computer? Your computer must be equipped to play multimedia files, and most computers purchased within the last five years are multimedia capable unless you are in an office where sound cards, for example, have been removed. And, if you are using a Windows NT operating system and network, chances are you may not have administrative privileges to install RealPlayer on your computer's hard drive. There may be other computers in your area, however, that are equipped to handle multimedia. It's worth the effort to find one. Ask your Systems Administrator or Help Desk for assistance and information before you embark on your quest. For you who are experienced with our Audio Essays and Sound Safaris on our Web site, you already have RealPlayer, which is a free (advertising supported) application downloadable from the RealMedia Web site. The same RealPlayer allows you to watch our videos! Our preferred method of delivering audio and video files to you via our Web site is RealPlayer, which uses a Web browser "plug-in" technology, the component of which you must download to automatically hear our Audio Essays or Video Adventures files every time you click on them. How this works is quite simple. When you are in the Dubuque Schools Web site, and click on a button to launch a Video Adventure, your browser software automatically launches RealPlayer from inside your browser window. A smaller player window pops up on your desktop with complete video controls just like a VCR (only better). The software you need to become video capable is available free from RealMedia's Web site. But read the instructions below carefully before your proceed. Performance Expectations
If you are on a network, such as the Dubuque School District Wide Area Network that provides Internet service to all of our school buildings and classrooms, playing videos on our Web site is almost instantaneous. However, not all computers in the district are equipped with sound cards and speakers, and some don't have the appropriate software onboard because they may be in a lab or classroom setting where adding software and utilities to the computer's C-drive cannot be done without technical assistance or administrative permission. See your building's Media Specialist for more information and help. What is Streaming Video?
Streaming technology allows a properly equipped browser to begin playing the video on the screen while it still downloads the rest of the video file in the background. Making use of your computer's memory and a temporary cache file it creates, the data appears to stream into your computer. In reality, the data is still in packets. When the video is finished playing, the data is flushed from your computer which relieves you of the burden of storing all of these data files which would rapidly take up valuable space.
One of the best examples of motion pictures as a learning tool can be found at Fulton Elementary under the direction of Jeff Dyer. Using green screen technology as sophisticated as that found in Hollywood, students are able to transport themselves to ancient Rome utilizing a scale miniature of the Roman Coliseum art students built with their own hands, or travel through the universe in a space ship visiting the planets, or running through a primordial jungle being pursued by a tyrannosaurus rex. So grab your mouse and click on some of the links in the archive at right, and enjoy the collective visual storytelling talents of an entire school district... Dubuque Community Schools in Dubuque, Iowa. |
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otion
pictures are among the most exciting and compelling ways to tell
a story. Our Web site is all about motion pictures. Welcome to Dubuque
Community Schools Television, DCSTV! Through the power and technology
of streaming media over the Internet, we offer you video content
on a wide variety of topics ranging from special events to learning
moments. The World Wide Web is a powerful communication tool, and
video is a compelling medium with which we can tell our stories.
But like any evolving technology, there are going to be a couple
of hoops you have to successfully jump through to participate. To
take advantage of this technology, you must have the appropriate
computer hardware and software. You obviously got this far in our
website, and, possibly you already have the necessary configuration
on your computer to view videos which include a sound card and speakers.
Videos
on demand on the Internet is, unfortunately a concept ahead of our
time for many of us who must suffer through slow download speeds
via phone modems. But there is a growing number among us who have
access to high speed networks such as cable modems (i.e. Mediacom
Cable that serves families in our school district) and DSL (Digital
Subscriber Lines offered by your phone company). All of our teachers
have access to a high speed network in their classrooms, of course.
Our buildings have been wired for some time. And many of our parents
report that they may not have high speed access at home, but they
do have it at their work. For more information on your high speed
options for Internet access, contact your local phone company or
cable company, or one of the new wireless Internet providers setting
up shop in our community. 
What
about Bandwidth?
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DCSTV is on Cable 19 |
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 We
have a complete archive of all videos we've produced since we started
our website. They will be stored here for as long as practical. Perhaps
you are looking for a video, however you are not sure of the title.
We recommend a Power Search. Let's say the video you are looking for
is about kids and their pets at Table Mound School. Click on Power
Search and type in just one word, "pets." We guarantee one
of the top 10 responses will be the pet video produced at Table Mound
Elementary. Or you are looking for Jefferson Junior's High's production
of "Guys & Dolls." Type in "Guys & Dolls,"
and you will retrieve all of the recent school productions of "Guys
& Dolls" including the one you are looking for. Give it a
try! |
Tune
in to DCSTV Channel 19, Dubuque Community Schools Television, to see the videos
we feature on this Web site. We are on Mediacom Channel 19. 
We are now providing a choice of RealPlayer applications for you to download
and install on your computer to enable you to view the video and audio
files. One is RealPlayer8 and the other is RealOne Player, which is an
excellent player with many new features. It's easy to install, so just
Of
the two types of free players available, RealPlayer 8 is the traditional
player that is free and will work beautifully to access Web based multimedia
files from our site. There is also a new player available, which is also
free, called RealONE. Either player will probably work for your operating
system. If your system is older (Windows 95, NT), however, you may want
to use the RealPlayer 8 software. If you are running a newer, faster system
like Windows 98, ME, XP, or 2000, go for the RealOne player.
I try to play the videos, and I get sound but no picture. What can I do to fix this?
Not knowing your particular equipment setup, I might make a suggestion. You may need some help from someone who knows a little bit more about computers and settings if you lack the confidence. But this isn't too difficult, and I would urge you to give it a try.
If you are in Windows 95, 98, NT or ME, make sure you have the RealPlayer 8 software available in the column at left. If you are on Windows 2000 or XP, you can install the RealOne player Beta that's on that page.
Assuming you have
the latest software installed, and you are operating Windows 98 or ME,
you may have a problem with your display settings which has been plaguing
many with those using 98 and ME. Sometimes the monitor's bit depth is
set greater than the computer's ability to process the visual information
from a video clip. The sound plays but not the picture. I had this problem
with an older laptop I had which was operating Windows ME. I've since
gotten rid of the ME operating system and
installed XP, and the problem went away. But you don't have to do something
this radical.
Go to your settings folder (accessable from your Start menu) and click on the Display icon. You will get a multi tab menu. Click on Settings tab, and you will reveal your display's settings. Check to see if your display is set at 24 bit, 32 bit, or whatever. Change the setting if it's on 32 to 24. If it's on 24, set it to 32, then click apply. I assume your monitor is set at 600 x 800 (as most are). If you have it set at a higher resolution (like 1280 or higher) you might not be able to set the display higher than 24 bit color. That's okay. Just changing the bit depth makes this problem of not seeing the videos play go away for this session. Hit Save. You don't have to reboot your computer. However, when you turn the computer off and on, the problem of not seeing the videos will likely return. You may have to go back into the Display Setting menu and change it again. The process wakes up the circuit family that somehow goes to sleep and doesn't wake up when a video plays. You have to physically go in and wake up the chip set. Wierd, but that's how I fixed it, and it works. Go figure.
Go back to the movie site, and try the movie again. If you are on high speed access, the movie should play immediately. If you are on 28.8, 33.6, or 56, there will be delays as the movie caches in memory. After it fully plays (haltingly on a phone modem) once, click the play button again, and the movie should play smoothly.
--Gary Olsen
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Download Wallpaper! How would you like official video adventures screen wallpaper? Of course you would. Download the appropriate file to your hard drive (it's in a Zip file), unpack it, (it's a Windows BMP image file), and then use your Display Settings menu to put the image on your computer's desktop. To check the best size graphic for your monitor, check your Settings menu under Display in your Control Panel window. You'll see quickly what your actual screen resolution is, and you can download the appropriate size from the three choices below.
Wallpaper 800 x 600 pixels (typical) Wallpaper 1024 x 768 pixels (high res) Wallpaper 1280 x 1024 pixels (very high res) Real Live Camcard! (jpg) |
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