How to Listen
No, this is not a tutorial detailing the correct operation of your auditory nerves. If you need help listening to the BladeCast, though, you've come to the right page.
First, you'll need to ensure you have a media player that can handle MP3 streams.
Go get one!
Then, you'll need to click on the link on the Listen Now link on the right-hand menu, which should open up your media player. If it does not, you may need to reinstall your media player.
Choose the name of the player you wish to use, for specific instructions:
Windows Media Player
Troubleshooting
When trouble occurs, fill it with lead!
If you are unable to connect to the stream (but your player opens when you click to listen), there are several possible causes:
- If your computer is behind a firewall, make sure you can make outbound connections to port 2278 (in case you're wondering why this non-standard port was chosen, it is the numbers used to spell CAST on a telephone keypad.) This may be changed in future.
- There may be issues with your internet connection. Do you have any other problems that would indicate this? For example, instant messaging clients signing out, dropped connections in games, failed downloads.
- If the playback is stuttering or randomly stopping, this may be due to congestion / lack of available bandwidth. If possible, avoid downloading large files or using anything else that may hog bandwidth when you are listening. Again, check that your internet connection is stable. There is also the possibility of congestion occurring at your ISP, or even on the network that BladeCast is hosted on (though I hope not!)
- You may find that you get an error about the player being unable to play due to an unrecognized format, for example. You might need to download appropriate codecs, or upgrade your media playing software (the latter should fix the former.)
- If all else fails, you can either contact me directly (via the link at the top of the page), or post a message in the forum (also via a link at the top of the page.)