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CMBCRadio FAQ
(Frequently Asked Questions)
1. What is CMBCRadio?
2. How does it work?
3. What do I need in order to run CMBCRadio?
4. I cannot connect to the broadcast? What next?
5. I can connect to CMBCRadio,
but I only get a few seconds then it cuts off. How can I fix this?
6. When I connect, I can hear
it, but it constantly pauses or says rebuffering. What's wrong?
7. I can click on the link,
but the link doesn't play in my Windows Media Player. Can I still listen
to the broadcast?
8. What about my PDA? Can
I stream from my Pocket PC?
9.Can
I advertise my business or company on CMBCRadio? Can I have my church
services broadcast on your station? What about getting my music played
here?
1. What is CMBCRadio?
CMBCRadio is a 24-hour internet broadcast of
various Sunday services and Bible Studies of Christ Missionary Baptist
Church. It also provides various news and announcements that may be
of interest. If you would like to obtain anything you've heard on CMBCRadio
in its entirety, please visit http://shop.christmbc.org/
to place an order of a Cassette, CD, Video, or DVD.
2. How does CMBCRadio
work?
As a little background, let's next look at some
history. In order to send our audio feed to the Internet it is necessary
to convert the analog audio signal into a digital format. This is done
using Winamp software running on a PC that is equipped with a sound
card. The process is known as encoding.
We feed our audio signal into the encoder computer's
sound card. It gets converted to an MP3 format and then it gets sent
via the CMBC Network connection to a server computer that is running
a companion software product call Shoutcast. Shoutcast software is provided
by the same folks that distribute Winamp software that you need to listen
if running MS Windows. Check out www.nullsoft.com to learn more. It
is the Shoutcast software that multiplies the signal and sends it to
each listener's computer. We are running our own shoutcast server and
encoders and a very high speed T1 line.
We try to accomodate as many users are possible,
so we are streaming the signal at only 24k each second, which should
suffice for anyone using a 56k modem or better. Most often CMBCRadio
will broadcast recent and "classic" sermons, bible studies and annoucements.
During specific times you will hear will be live broadcasts of Sunday
Services and Life Application Bible Studies. When you click the "CMBCRadio"
link at the www.christmbc.org web site you are actually instructing
your computer to make contact with our Shoutcast Streaming Server. Then
the digital audio signal is sent to your computer as an MP3 Audio Stream
and viola, you are able to hear our radio station on the Internet!
3. What do I need to
run CMBCRadio?
- A PC or Mac
- At least 64MB RAM
- An internet connection (56K or better)
- Any music player software on your computer.
We prefer any of the following:
4. I cannot connect
to the broadcast? What next?
The easiest way, of course, you must have Winamp
installed and your computer must be configured to use Winamp to automatically
play files that end with the extension .m3u and .pls. If you do not
have Winamp already installed on your computer you can download a free
copy of the software at www.winamp.com.
Click on the free download link on the site. The installation is brief
and easy. If you are currently using a different type of media player
you will have to make certain that your computer is configured to use
Winamp for playing files that end with ".PLS".
This is easily accomplished by starting Winamp and then navigating to
the Options, Preferences menu. If Winamp is running you can use Control
+ P to quickly get to the Preferences Menu. Once in the Winamp Preferences
Dialog Window, choose "File types" and then associate file types m3u
and pls. You just click on the file type once to select and once again
to deselect. That's all there is to it. Close the Preferences Window
and now Winamp will automatically start when you click on the "CMBCRadio"
icon on the CMBC web page. You may need to reboot in order for this
to take effect. If you need more help with Winamp and/or streaming,
click here for instructions
on the Winamp website.
AOL Users
If you are an AOL subscriber, please do the
following:
AOL 6.0 and above uses their own streaming player.
We recommend you disable AOL's streaming player and install a preferred
music player.
Instructions:
- Find your Settings it should
be on your AOL toolbar,
- Look for Multimedia under
the By Category tab
- Click Multimedia again,
- Uncheck the box that says "Use AOL media player
for supported file types",
- Click Save
If you still have trouble, call AOL support so
they can make the necessary changes in their server
24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Phone support at 1-800-827-6364
5. I can connect to
CMBCRadio, but I only get a few seconds then it cuts off. How can I fix
this?
Update your player!!
You can update your players for FREE at:
This should take care of your problem.
6. When I connect, I
can hear it sometimes, but it constantly pauses or says rebuffering. What's
wrong?
Whenever you get rebuffering or pauses, chances
are that your internet connection is slow. You may be on a dial up connection
where your modem speed is at or below the 24k rate that the stream is
playing. One possible fix if you are using a slow connection is to make
sure you are only listening to the broadcast and not downloading or
browsing the web at the same time. Each time you use the internet simultaneously
with the broadcast, you may take away from the streaming rate on your
PC.
7. Trouble with
Windows Media Player?
Although we have not had much success testing CMBCRadio with Windows Media
Player, if this your the music player of choice, you may need to reset
Windows Media Player to play the audio file types.
Instructions:
- Open Windows Media Player, click the "Tools"
menu,
- Then select "Options".
- Choose the "File Types" tab and
- Click the "select all" button, then click "Apply".
- Now try your player.
You can also set your Windows Media Player to download
the codecs automatically by:
- Click Tools, Options,
- Choose the Player tab.
- Check the download codecs automatically box
and click apply.
Remaining Streaming
Issues:
- There may be a problem with your not having
the latest codec in your music player. Uou should be able to update
your players for free at:
- Also, if you are not AOL then let's look at
the most probable reason for failure to upload the player. If the player
won't launch, you may be utilizing pop up blocker software. In this
case you need to allow the pop up by (in most cases) holding the shift
key down while clicking on our "On Air" link. Please consult your Pop
up blocking software for specific instructions for allowing a pop up
window.
- If you have a recommended player installed,
you can save the link to CMBCRadio on your desktop. If you click on
the CMBCRadio desktop icon, your default music player will begin playing
the broadcast.
Firewalls and Other
Connectivity Solutions
- If you have Windows XP and
you just installed service pack 2 the new firewall might be blocking
the stream. To enable CMBCRadio using Windows XP Firewall please do
the following:
- Open Window Firewall in
your Control Panel
- Click Exceptions Tab
- Click the Add Port button
- In the Name Field Type:
Streaming
- In the Port field Type:
8000
- Click OK
Firewall Configurations
If you have a firewall or internet protection
software installed on your computer, please visit one of the links below
for your particular configuration.
8. What about my
PDA? Can I stream from my Pocket PC?
Yes! If you have an internet connection, you
can use PocketMusic
for your PDA. It's free and and easy to use!
9. Can I advertise
my business or company on CMBCRadio? Can I have my church broadcast on
your station? What about getting my music played here?
Of Course You Can! Please contact us at media@christmbc.org
for your specific needs.
Overall,
our recommendation is using Winamp which is a very powerful and
versatile media player. The Winamp web site has lots of information
and enhancements for Winamp and almost everything is free. We
like it a lot. If you need further help please email us at media@christmbc.org
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