RealPlayer Configuration Instructions

These instructions are a workaround for issues arising from local firewalls, RealPlayer, and Captus Press streaming media.  Simply put,  the issue is that local firewalls occasionally allow then disallow packets arriving via the UDP protocol, confusing the RealPlayer and disabling playback.  There are several error messages indicating this problem, the two most common being "Invalid Socket" and "Unable to connect to proxy"

These instructions were created on Windows XP using RealPlayer 10.5.  There may be minor variations between the images you see here and your actual screen display.

Configure RealPlayer to use HTTP only:

1. Locate and open the stand-alone RealPlayer application.  It is available from the Start menu, sometimes under "All  Programs"
   
2. Find the "Tools" menu on the stand alone RealPlayer.  Sometimes it is hidden under a >> symbol.  Select Preferences.
   
   
3. Once the preferences window is open, select "Network Transports" on the right hand side.
   Check the "Manually configure connections settings" checkbox
   Click the (now enabled) RTSP Settings..." button.
   
4. Uncheck the first three text boxes on the RTSP Transport Settings configuration screen.
   
5. Click "OK" to close the RTSP Transport Settings screen.
   Click "OK" to close the Preferences screen.
6. Close the stand alone RealPlayer application, and try to reload the course.

In most cases these steps will solve playback issues.  The consequence of this workaround may appear as longer buffering times and "sticky" fast forward/rewind operation, depending on your internet connection load.