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MSRI currently streams video in two different formats. Most of our older videos are in Real format. Our newer videos are in QuickTime format.
 | QuickTime |
If you have a Windows PC or Apple computer, you will need Apple's Quicktime Player version 6.5 or higher to view the latest collection of VMath streaming videos. If you have a Linux computer, please visit http://www.msri.org/communications/vmath/VMathVideos/LinuxHelp for information on how to play our QuickTime videos on your computer.
The Quicktime videos range in size from 200MB to 500MB. There are two ways to view our QuickTime videos. You may either stream the video through the Internet, or if you have a slow Internet connection, you may download the video to your computer and watch it locally. To stream the video, go to the Video Streaming section of the page and click on the link that states --- Watch the Video Now Via Streaming Video ---. This will open a separate window and will spawn a QuickTime player where your video will begin to play after a short moment.
To download the QuickTime file, go to the section named Download QuickTime File. There you will see a link to the file. Right-click on the link and "Save as..." to save the file to your computer.
| Real Media |
In order to view Real media files, you will need RealPlayer which is available for free at this link: http://www.real.com/player/index.html?lang=en
Even on standard television screen, a video image of a page of mathematical notation is difficult to read. Here we are dealing not only with a much-reduced screen size, but also with a stream of images that is highly compressed. We have developed an easy-to-use interface for viewing scanned slides and notes as you watch the lecture.
Each talk is launched from a screen that has on its left-hand-side a column of thumbnail-sized images of the lecturer's slides. You simply click in the one you want to see as you follow the lecturer, or you can use the 'next' and 'previous' arrows. Before starting, it is a good idea to look at the first few slides. They will then be cached and will come up quickly while you are watching the lecture. In most cases the slides can be downloaded for local viewing and printing.
Near the top left-hand corner of the screen, there is graphic text that says 'start 56kps video' and/or 'start 28kps video.' Clicking here will launch the real player and begin the lecture at the indicated speed.
Over the stack of thumbnail sketches on the left of the screen, you will see the graphic text 'title page/hide banner.' Clicking on 'title page' takes you back to the title page (no surprise here). 'Hide banner' will increase the amount of usable space on your screen by hiding the top strip that contains the 'start video' button(s). Also your browser has options that enable you to hide the toolbar and menu strips, thereby increasing your real estate even more.
Clicking on a scanned page will change its size between big and small, allowing you to configure your viewing screen to your tastes and to the size of your monitor.
If you are on a Unix or Linux system and you are having problems with lost frames or audio stuttering, check to see if you have zombie processes hogging your CPU. Unix is a very stable operating system, and frequently systems are not rebooted for months or even years. However, this can sometimes result in this "zombie" process problem. |
