One of the basic requirements for watching or listening to live or recorded presentations is a modern computer or mobile device. And of course a good, fast Internet connection is a necessity. While streaming or downloading audio is not nearly as demanding as video, a dial-up Internet connection may not be fast enough for a good audio experience. Watching videos that are large in size and require high bandwidth demands a high speed broadband Internet connection.

Podcasts are available for the Monthly Webcast and Shoud. This is a convenient way to have the latest teachings and Crimson Circle updates automatically downloaded to your computer or mobile device as soon as they become available. All that is required is free podcasting software like iTunes (http://www.apple.com/itunes), which is available for both Windows and Apple computers. Also, searching the Internet with keywords like "podcast receiver" or "podcast aggregator" will supply other podcast software programs. Many of these will transfer a podcast to an MP3 player. Then, with the podcast program, just subscribe to the podcast using the URL for the podcasts you want to receive. For iTunes, use the File menu and select "Subscribe to Podcast..." to enter a podcast URL. See our podcast URLs here.

The Listen and Watch links on the Crimson Circle Library pages can stream the audio or video over the Internet. Clicking a link allows you to play the media quickly, but you must remain connected to the Internet. There is the possibility that the Internet can become very busy and the playback will be interrupted for brief periods. In addition, clicking the link does not does not save the audio on your computer. You should be able to left-click the link and have your web browser play the media. If the File Download window pops up, select "Open this file from its current location" and click "OK." Some versions of Internet Explorer may require the use of the right mouse button to click the link. When the window pops up, select the "Open in New Window" option. Then, select the "Open this file from its current location" option when the File Download window is displayed. Click "OK" and the web browser should start to play the file as it streams over the Internet. Firefox users should be able to just click the link with the left mouse button and have the web browser play the audio.

The media links on the Crimson Circle Library web page allow you to download a media file and save it on your computer, which enables you to then play the file anytime without being connected to the Internet. Use the right mouse button to click a link. When the window pops up, select the "Save Target As..." option (Internet Explorer) or "Save Link As..." option (Firefox) to save the file. Audio file downloads can take about 20-25 minutes with a slow dial-up 28.8k modem and an Internet that is not too busy. Even with a fast, broadband Internet connection, large video files can take tens of minutes to download.

If you have problems playing a video file on an older computer, VLC Media Player is a player worth trying. Available from http://www.videolan.org, it is free and works on most computers and mobile devices. It can play many types of media files and works with subtitle files.

The live webcast is available in video for people who have a high speed broadband Internet connection. An audio-only webcast is also available for when the Internet connection is not fast enough to stream the video. The video is streamed at several bit rates or qualities to accommodate everything from cell phones to computers with high definition displays.

A video player may have several control buttons that affect the playback. To show them, move your mouse over the player (or tap a mobile device’s player) to display the player’s control bar. Typically, at the bottom right of the player, you will see the button icons.

The Quality button selects the available quality or bit rate of a video. It is best left in “Auto.” There may be times when selecting a lower video quality provides better playback for a given Internet connection speed or condition.

The Subtitle button may toggle on-off subtitles (closed captions) or allow the selection of subtitles from various languages.

The Audio button selects the audio or sound from the available languages.

The Volume button allows you to adjust the loudness or volume level of the sound.

The Fullscreen button allows you to play a video using all of your display screen. It will also return the player to it’s normal size or you may use the ‘ESC’ button on your keyboard.

All to none of these control buttons may be present for a video. A desktop or laptop computer will have all of them if the features are available. An Apple mobile device is the next best device at having the buttons and features available. An Android or Windows mobile device will only have a few of the buttons and features.

The Adobe Acrobat Reader program is used to view PDF type files like the meeting Bulletin and Slides used during the live webcast. To download a free version, go to http://www.adobe.com/ and look for the Acrobat Reader link. Click the link, select the free version of Acrobat Reader, and follow the instructions. Your computer or browser may already have Acrobat Reader installed. To test it, you can click the View links on the Crimson Circle Live Webcast page. If Acrobat Reader is installed and working, a window will open and display the contents of the PDF file.

Send an e-mail with technical questions and problems. Please provide as much information as possible when experiencing a problem. This information should include such things as computer type (PC, Mac, etc.), operating system (Windows 95, 98, 2000, Mac OS, UNIX, etc.), web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, etc.), and a detailed description of the problem. Also, indicate if the problem is with streaming the file or downloading the file and playing it on a computer.