System Test Tool

You cannot see any video or hear any audio.

What is supported?
Windows Media Player 6.5 or above in conjunction with IE 6 or later.
Real Player 6 or later with any of the supported browsers.
Click here for problems with RealPlayer. Continue for help with Windows Media Player.
Let's check your version of Windows Media Player. If you see this:

then you need to either install a player or update your current player.
If you see a black rectangle, then place your mouse cursor over the rectangle and press the right mouse button. Scroll down to "About" and click on it. A window will pop up with your player's version information in it. Check that the player is compatible (Windows Media Player 6.5 or greater, Real Player 6 or better).
Typically, Windows Media Player automatically downloads any required codecs from the Internet and installs them.
However, this may not happen for the following reasons:
- The necessary codec (typically, a non-Microsoft codec) isn't available on the codec server.
- You have an older version of the Player and your automatic codec-download option isn't enabled.
- The Internet security settings for your browser are set too high.
If you have an older version of the Player (prior to Windows Media Player 9 Series), you can check your codec download setting by doing the following:
- In Windows Media Player, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Player tab.
- In the Auto upgrade area, make sure Enable automatic codec download is checked, and specify how often you want the Player to check for updates.
- Or you can reinstall the player. Be sure to leave all boxes checked during installation!Upgrade Player Plugin
You can change your Internet security settings (if you are logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group) by doing the following:
- In Control Panel, open Internet Options.
- Click the Security tab, and then click Internet.
- In the Security level for this zone area, click Default Level.
If you can�t play the file after completing this procedure, restart your computer, and then try to play the file again.
If you still can�t play the file, try to play another file with the same file name extension. If you can play this file, then there is a problem with the file that you want to play.
*Note: A user may have Windows Media Player 11 installed on his/her machine but the browser may be using an older plugin. This is not uncommon. There is a checkbox that allows automatic codec download. Sometimes this box is unchecked during installation. So reinstall the player and leave all boxes checked! Upgrade Player Plugin
RealPlayer 6 or later.
Please visit Real Player's Streaming Help page.

If you can see the video but cannot hear audio, then this section is for you.
If you cannot see the video and cannot hear the audio, then click here. This suggests there may be a problem with your PC and not with the streaming media.

First we check the simple things. Make sure all connections are proper and the speakers are pluged in, turned on, and turned up.
Next, make sure that the media player is not muting the sound. There is an icon in the image of a speaker. Clicking this icon will usually mute or unmute the player's sound. When the player is muting sound, the speaker icon should have a slash through the middle of it. If this is what you see, click the icon to make the slash go away and test again.
Still not working huh? Next we test that you can hear audio sounds that your operating system (windows only) makes.
- Click on start menu and go to control panel.
- Double click on the "Sounds and Audio Devices" icon. The "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties" window will open.
- With the volume tab selected, make sure the checkbox next to mute is unchecked. If it is checked, uncheck it and click apply and then click ok. Run test again to make sure changes took effect.
- Click on the "Audio" tab. Under "sound playback" in the top third of the tab, check that there is a default device selected in the drop down menu. If there is not a default device selected or you are unable to select one, then your PC does not have an audio card or the PC is unable to configure your audio device due to driver issues.
- With the "Sounds and Audio Devices Properties" window still open, click on the "Sounds" tab. In the middle of the tab you will see "Program events:". Under the program events there is a select area with a list of sounds. Each sound has a speaker icon on the left with the sound name on the right. Click on one of the sounds a click on the black arrow.
- If you are still having problems, please see Microsoft's WMP Knowledge Center and be sure to upgrade to the most recent version of Windows Media Player or Real Player.

Streaming Media Test Tool