Wednesday Webinars Info

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Overview

A Webinar is a "Web Seminar" where the seminar is conducted over the internet and the physical location of the attendees is not important, as long as they have an internet connection. The presenters computer screen is shown on your screen, and you hear them, either over your computer speakers, or on a separate telephone conference call.

Joining a webinar

Register	Fill in your details on the webinars page to be sent the session number of the webinar you want to attend.
Get the Software	Download the Netviewer software here (EXE, 1MB) It doesn't need any installation - just download it and run it. Keep it handy for attending future webinars.
Join in	A few minutes before the webinar is due to start, run the software. In the login screen enter the session number from the email in step 1 along with your name, then dial in to the conference call. Click here for details.

Notes

• Webinars are recorded and may be made available for download from this web site.
• To ask a question, please use the "Chat" section in the Netviewer panel. See the FAQ below for more details.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General FAQs
?	What is a "webinar"?
	Answer: A webinar is a "Web Seminar" - a seminar conducted over the internet where the participants don't have to be physically present but can see and hear the seminar on their computer. Each webinar may be repeated more than once, in which case we refer to these as different "sessions" of a webinar.
?	What software do I need?
	Answer: Currently we are using "Netviewer" products (more information on the Netviewer web site) In order to view a session, you will need to download a free small executable from our web site, available from the downloads page. This is a single executable file that requires no installation, you just download it and run it. When you run it, it will ask you for a session number. This is a six digit number included in the email you receive when you register and is used to connect you to the right webinar. You will also need to enter your name - whatever you enter here will be what you show up as on the list of participants.
?	How much does it cost?
	Answer: The actual webinar costs nothing. The only costs you may incur are for you internet/phone connection.
?	Do I need to register?
	Answer: Yes. The webinar sessions each have a unique session ID and you will need to register in order for us to let you know the session ID by email. Usually this email will be sent immediately and you will have the session details within seconds. Please note that each webinar can have more than one "session" at different dates or times therefore you need to register for the session that you want to attend, not just the webinar.
?	Where do I get the session number?
	Answer: Every webinar session uses a unique session number which is specific to that webinar session. You get this by filling in the registration form for the session you want to attend - the session number will be emailed to you by return, usually within seconds. If you have registered but have lost the session number, please contact us or simply register again.
?	What are the phone details for the conference call service?
	Answer: Depending on the session, the main audio may be by a telephone conference, or, if using the Netviewer audio, there may also be a backup telephone connection which you can use which carries the same audio as the webinar. Depending on your location, this call is free. US 1 866 305 1460 (toll free inside US) UK 0800 917 5847 (free within the UK) For the above you will need the access code 6275181. When accessing the system, it will ask you to enter the access code and then press the "pound" key. By this it means "#" so you would enter 6275181#. If no session is currently running, you will hear hold music until the webinar moderator opens the conference call. Free phone numbers are available for a range of other countries. For details please see the the webinars conference phone information page. Further information is available on the onconference web site.
?	What are the internet bandwidth requirements?
	Answer: This is very hard to quantify as a high bandwidth connection with a lot of traffic will be worse than a low bandwidth connection with low traffic. You will need a "broadband" internet connection. A 1Mbit/s connection is unlikely to have sufficient bandwidth for the VoIP (audio), but may be sufficient for the video which typically doesn't need to run in real time (there may be some delay in updating the screen). Essentially, if the bandwidth is insufficient or the network is congested, you will see delays in the pictures updating and the audio may break up. If the picture is workable, you could try the parallel telephone conference for the audio which won't suffer these problems. Details are in a separate FAQ above.
?	The phone instructions refer to the "hash"/"pound" key. What's that?
	Answer: Depending on which system you log into for the telephone conferencing service, the instructions may ask you to press the "hash" key or the "pound" key. Both of these refer to the "#" button on your telephone keypad.
?	How do I ask a question?
	Answer: To ask a question, please use the "chat" option within Netviewer. To do this, within the panel on the right of Netviewer, click on the "chat" tab. This will open a panel with a small area where you can see what other people are sending to you, and below that, a small area to type your question. You can set who you send the question or comment to by using the drop list below the area where you type. By default this is set to "All" in which case everyone will see what you send. If you select "Moderator", only the person hosting the webinar will see your message. This may not be the presenter, but for preference, send questions to the moderator who will be chairing the session. When you join the conference call, your phone is initially set to allow you to hear, but not contribute. You will therefore not be able to make yourself heard on the phone conference. It is possible to un-mute the phones, but you will need to request this from the moderator using the Netviewer chat.
?	Are the webinars available for download afterwards?
	Answer: The intention is that they all will be available, but there is usually a bit of a delay between the webinar session and it being made available for download.
?	Will the webinar work through my firewall/proxy etc.?
	Answer: The only way to be sure is to try it, but seeing as you are reading this online, the most likely answer is "yes". This is because Netviewer uses very similar technology to web page access and tends to pass through firewalls and proxies without difficulty. More technical information about the process and http ports used is available on the Netviewer web site. There is also a system test feature in the support section that enables you to verify that your system can run the Netviewer system. The product in question is "Netviewer Meet".

Software FAQs
?	What are the computer requirements?
	Answer: The main Netviewer file used to view the webinar is a Windows executable. The requirements for this are: Supported operating systems: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Server 2000, 2003, 2008 (both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows are supported) CPU Operating system dependent, but as a guide, for XP: At least 1GHz, and if using VoIP at least 1.5GHz For Apple Mac and OS-X support, see the separate FAQ.
?	Can I view the webinars using a Mac?
	Answer: Sort of. At the moment support for Mac is a bit weak. You can download a disk image file (.dmg) for the Netviewer Participant software from our web site on the downloads page. The same page also has a PDF manual for using this. Note that the Mac version of the Netviewer software is heavily cut down and doesn't include the necessary features for contributing to the webinar such as chat. Audio is not available with the Mac version of Netviewer so you will need to use the telephone conference facilities. Flash based alternative An alternative is to use the Flash based web client from the Netviewer site. To do this: Go to the Netviewer Join Session page using your browser. Don't enter the session number yet, first, click the "Netviewer Meet Web Client" link below the login details. The login screen will change to say "Netviewer Meet Web Client" Enter your Session Number and Name and click "Join Session" Note that the web client requires Flash 9 or higher. It provides a single screen view and chat feature.
?	Can I view the webinar using a web browser / Mac / Linux?
	Answer: It may be possible to view the webinar using a Flash based web client in your browser. To do this: Go to the Netviewer Join Session page using your browser. Don't enter the session number yet, first, click the "Netviewer Meet Web Client" link below the login details. The login screen will change to say "Netviewer Meet Web Client" Enter your Session Number and Name and click "Join Session" Note that the web client requires Flash 9 or higher. It provides a single screen view and chat feature.
?	The Webinar downloads are a Windows format. How do I view them on a Mac or with Linux?
	Answer: The downloads for our Webinars are currently only available in Windows Media Video (WMV format), but this is supported on both Mac and Linux. Mac Users: There are several options: QuickTime can play WMV files with the addition of Windows Media Components for Quicktime available free from Microsoft. Windows Media Player For Mac is also available from Microsoft as part of its Office For Mac product. Flip4Mac: As an alternative to Windows Media Player for Mac, Microsoft has teamed up with Telestream to make its popular Flip4Mac program available for free to Macintosh users. Visit Microsoft's Mac site here: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/flip4mac.mspx for more info. VLC for Mac OS X is an open source media player/streamer which now supports WMV video. You can download VLC from the VLC media player for Mac OS X download page. Linux Users: Most Linux distros have at least one media player that can cope with WMV files, but you will most likely need to install the Win32 codecs to enable them to do so. Your best source for information on this is likely to be the help site or wiki for the distro you are using. For a powerful media player with support for many Linux distros, have a look at VLC. Web site: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Trouble Shooting FAQs
?	Why can't I hear any audio through my PC?
	Answer: There are several reasons why this could happen: The most likely is that the session is not using the Netviewer audio. If this is the case it will be using a telephone conference service. For details of this, please see the webinars conference phone information page. Your computer sound may not be configured properly. The audio should come through your computer sound card. Check that the sound card is set up correctly, and that the speaker/headphone volume is turned up. In the Netviewer application, there is a tab called "VoIP" where you can adjust the volume of the speakers. Within this tab is an additional small button with an arrow which brings up the "Multimedia" settings where you can set which audio devices Netviewer should use. Note: You do NOT need to click the VoIP on/off button unless you are intending to talk on the session. This is for enabling your microphone so you can contribute to the session and should usually be off. You will still be able to hear the presenter with this turned off. Even if you turn it on, the moderator may have to give you "speech rights" to allow you to contribute to the session. Another participant is speaking who you cannot hear, but who the moderator is listening to via a headset. This can happen if there are multiple audio systems in use. If the audio is dropping out periodically, it suggests the internet bandwidth is insufficient for the audio to get through un-interrupted, or possibly your computer specification is insufficient. The Mac version of the Netviewer client software doesn't support audio. If you continue to experience trouble with the Netviewer audio, you may be able to link in to a parallel telephone conference. For details of this, please see the webinars conference phone information page.
?	The Netviewer screen has black areas. Is this normal?
	Answer: Netviewer transmits the computer screen of the person selected by the moderator. In a webinar, this is usually the moderator's computer and he can select which applications can be seen on the webinar. Any applications that are blocked appear as black areas on the Netviewer session. A black area along the bottom of screen is usually the Windows Taskbar which is not usually transmitted. New windows that are opened on the moderators computer can appear black for a second or two while the network updates your display. If the presenter appears to be referring to something that is only a black blob on your screen, it may be that the application he is using is not enabled. The presenter may not be aware that you can't see it. If this happens, please use the Netviewer chat facility to let the moderator know that you can't see the screen, if this doesn't resolve it, please speak up and let him know.
?	The webinar video stops and starts or plays jerkily. What's wrong?
	Answer: When trying to view the recorded webinars from the web site, the video may stop and start or play erratically. The basic problem here is that the computer is unable to play the video back fast enough. If you are viewing the file directly from the internet, it may be that the internet connection is not fast enough to play back the video in real time: the computer is playing the data faster than it is receiving it and runs out of images to display. If this happens, you can just wait for the video to finish downloading and try again. Alternatively you can download the video to your computer and play it from there. On old computer hardware, if playing the video from your computer results in erratic playback (jerky images etc.) the computer simply may not be fast enough. You can try closing other applications and adding memory but if this doesn't resolve it you may need to try it on another computer.
?	The Netviewer screen doesn't tie up with the audio. What's wrong?
	Answer: There is quite often a couple of seconds of delay between the audio and the Netviewer screen. The audio is nearly instantaneous, but Netviewer session goes via the internet and a server in Germany. A couple of seconds delay, particularly with complex screen changes, is normal. If the presenter appears to be talking about something other than what is on the screen and the Netviewer screen doesn't appear to be updating, it may be that the Netviewer connection has been lost or the session has dropped. In the former case, you can try logging in again. In the latter, we will need to re-start the session.