Technical Troubleshooting

BROWSER

Chrome is the recommended viewing platform.

 

INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

  • Ethernet if possible, or Wi-Fi (Cable modem, DSL or better Internet connection (1 Mbps or faster)
  • Ask others in a shared space to avoid streaming or downloading during the times of the conference
  • Move yourself to be as close as possible to your internet router; even more ideal would be to plug in directly via ethernet cord to your router
  • Turn off other devices that are accessing the same wireless network, such as phones, tablets, TVs, game systems, etc
  • Close any VPN’s or other browsers or software programs to allow our livestreamed event as much bandwidth as possible

 

OPTIMAL DEVICE / SYSTEMS:

    • PC:
  • Google Chrome 39 (JavaScript enabled),  Microsoft Edge release 79.0+, Internet Explorer 11, Mozilla Firefox 34 or the latest version of each web browser
  • Windows XP, Windows Server 2008 or later
  • Dual-core 2.4GHz CPU or faster with 2GB or more of RAM
    • Mac:
  • Google Chrome 39 (JavaScript enabled), Safari 6, Firefox 34 or the latest version of each web browser
  • Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or newer
  • Intel processor (2GB of RAM or better)
    • iPad, iPhone, Android:
  • WiFi connection recommended

 

AUDIO

  • Check your speakers themselves - sometimes the connection to your computer can come loose - and make sure that they are on (try adjusting the volume as well).
  • Make sure that you have sound enabled on your computer - usually you will do this from your computer's Control Panel, but you may need to consult your computer's help file for more information.
  • Finally, play a video or audio file from another website to check your headphones or speakers. 

 

VIDEO

  • Log out and log back in. Exit from the browser, then log back in using the webinar link
  • Clear your browser history and cookies. For specific instructions, see this link
  • Open the webinar link using another browser. We recommend Google Chrome for the best experience, but you can use any other up-to-date browsers like Firefox and Safari 
  • Check your internet connection. Live video broadcasts use quite a bit of bandwidth. We recommend a wired connection, but Wi-Fi is good as long as your signal is at 100%. If you're in a shared network, make sure no one is downloading or streaming videos
  • Join the webinar using other devices. The problem can be an outdated operating system, especially on mobile devices. It's best to attend the webinar from a computer to optimize viewing, although webinar.net works natively on mobile phones.

 

BUFFERING

Are you experiencing regular dropouts in audio or video playback on your PC or mobile device when viewing live webinars? Is the webinar's video/audio "cutting in and out" while you are attempting to view a live webinar? Does the webinar playback feel "choppy"?

 

If the above is representative of your live webinar experience then you are highly likely to be experiencing a common media playback issue known as "Buffering".

 

Let's take a look at the common causes of buffering:

 1. Insufficient bandwidth available within your viewing (office/home) environment

Buffering issues are usually symptomatic of a lack of local bandwidth availability. Your office/home network environment may allow you to successfully view live webinars (without issue) for the majority of the working day but could be susceptible to peaks of heavy demand; such as during the lunch period when other users in your office could be consuming high-bandwidth content such as HD videos.

 You may discover that a single user viewing a live webinar results in a successful, buffering-free viewing experience. However, if you begin to factor in additional viewers within your location, then bandwidth requirements can quickly escalate beyond the capabilities of your network. Consumption of live webinars is ideally suited to a one-to-many distribution of users, who are viewing from diverse geographic locations i.e multiple viewers aren't occupying the same physical/network environment. Your live webinar viewing experience is dependent upon the availability of sufficient home/office bandwidth.

 2.  Poor quality connection to your wi-fi network

If you are not using a wired connection, and rely on wireless connectivity to access live webinars, then the cause of your buffering could be due to a weak wi-fi signal, or an indication of a problem with the wi-fi router to which your are connected.

 3.  Your office employs a proxy/application layer firewall which sits between your computer and the public internet

When your IT department utilizes a number of technology layers between yourself and the public internet, you could find that your viewing experience is affected/limited as part of an internal IT policy. Your IT department will be able to offer advice on whether this is something that you need to be aware of and may be able to offer a resolution.

 

An approach to alleviate buffering issues:

1. Try switching to a different internet connection/network

You can view webinars on your mobile device using a 3G/4G connection. Perhaps you can tether your computer to your mobile phone to avoid using your office network.

 

OTHER TECH ISSUES

Check out these FAQ resources for troubleshooting:

 

Once we are broadcasting, there will be a window titled “Presenter Questions / Tech Support”. Attendees may use this for additional support. Our Tech Support representative will host a private chat with you in the platform to help troubleshoot.

 

IN THE EVENT PLATFORM

Once you're in the platform, there are various controls and windows available to you. Feel free to adjust the sizes of the windows by grabbing the lower right corner and adjusting for optimal viewing and use. 

You will also see a menu bar with icons on the left side of the screen.  Here are samples and their functionality: