Streaming Audio Instructions

Audio & Video from the Web and TeachersFirst

Many of our existing links offer audio and video clips. You may have listened to or viewed some of this content already. Many news organizations use these clips to accompany text to give life to a news story. Some broadcast news organizations even offer a live broadcast of their service over the Internet. For example, many radio stations offer broadcasts over the Internet. This is known as a "live-stream" or "streaming" audio or video. Other broadcasters offer an archive of the programs they broadcast from which you can select to listen/view. This is known as "audio/video-on-demand."

To use this content, you will need the RealPlayer G2 on your computer. If you do not have the player, you will need to install it. Follow these easy directions. It takes at the most ten minutes and you only need to do it once. To help you along, you may want to print out these directions.

1. First, your computer must meet these minimum requirements for RealPlayer G2:

Windows:

90MHz Intel® Pentium® processor or equivalent

16MB of RAM

14.4Kbps modem (audio only)

28.8Kpbs modem (video)

16-bit sound card and speakers

65,000-color video display card (video)

Windows 95 operating system

Internet connection and web browser

Macintosh:

Mac* OS 8.1 or later

32 MB RAM

65MB virtual memory

604 PowerPC* (200 MHz or better)

Internet connection

Browser support: Microsoft* Internet Explorer* 4.01 or later or Netscape* 4.05 or later *All other brands and names are property of their respective owners.

***If your computer does not meet these requirements (ie. older computer, not enough memory) you can still use an earlier RealPlayer version. See step 7 of the directions.***

2. Go to http://www.real.com/products/player/downloadrealplayer.html

3. Select (click on) the RealPlayer G2 free trial version for download. (This is the first choice on the download menu. DO NOT select RealPlayer G2 Plus; that costs money!)

4. On the next page, again select RealPlayer G2 free trial version for download (first choice and free)

5. The next screen is a form with several blanks which you will need to fill out.

5. Put your name, e-mail address, and country in the appropriate blanks

6. For the blank marked "1: select OS" select your operating system (Windows 95/98 or Mac, whichever your computer uses) from the pull down menu.

7. For the blank marked "2: select CPU" select which kind of processor your computer uses (Pentium class system or PowerMac)
***Even If your computer does not meet the system requirements for RealPlayer G2 (see above) you can still select your processor speed from this menu. You will receive an older version of the program (RealPlayer 5.0) but it will still play most types of audio offered.***

8. Select your language

9. Select your connection speed to the Internet (28.8 kbs, 56kbs modem or T1 network). If you do not know how your computer connects to the Internet, just select the "other/don't know" option from the menu.

10. If you want a junk e-mail, check the mailing list box. If you do not want junk e-mail, un-check it.

11. Next submit the form by clicking "download FREE RealPlayer G2"

12. The next page gives you three version options to download

13. We recommend the "standard" option if your computer uses a phone line to get on the net. (17 min at 56kbs)

14. If your computer uses a network connection (not a modem) we recommend the "complete" option because although the file is larger, you can download it much more quickly than a computer that uses a modem. (25 min at 56kbs)

15. Once you choose the version, click "download FREE RealPlayer G2"

16. Verify that you have selected the correct version of the product for the operating system you are using.

17. Click on a location near you to begin downloading (Size: 5.5 MB)

18. When prompted, choose Save to Disk and specify the directory where you want the RealPlayer G2 Standard Download installation program to be saved. (The location should be someplace you can find on your hard drive; like the desk top)

19. The program may take awhile to download; do not worry if it seems slow.

20. Once the file is completed downloading, close all programs (including your browser) on your computer before step 21.

21. Locate and launch the file you downloaded by exploring your hard drive or choosing the Run option in the Start menu. (The file is where your Web browser saved it in step 18.) This will begin the RealPlayer G2 Standard Download setup process.

22. Follow the setup directions from RealPlayer and try it out. Good luck. If you have any problems visit RealPlayer customer support.

That's it! In practice, it's a lot simpler than it sounds, and it will introduce you to a whole new world of web resources.

For more plug-ins like RealPlayer G2 check out the TeachersFirst toolbox.