About 1 minute to install

The Video Streamer currently uses Sun Microsystem's Java Media Framework (JMF) for working with video clips and sound. The version of JMF 2.1.1 tuned for Windows needs to be installed on your computer before the Streamer can play video clips. It takes about a minute to install. Once installed, you don't need to deal with it again.

Currently, there is not a performance pack version of JMF for Macintosh. The Video Streamer has only been tested with the Windows version of JMF.



Setup

1 - Download JMF  (~5.2 MB, about 2 minutes with cable/DSL)
Go to the JMF Download page and get the Windows Performance Pack version if you are using Windows.


2. Install it  (one minute)
Follow the JMF installation instructions for setting up and running JMF for Windows. The JMF installer takes about a minute.

When installation completes, verify that your autoexec.bat file now has a line something like the following:

    SET CLASSPATH=C:\PROGRA~1\JMF2.1.1\LIB\SOUND.JAR;C:\PROGRA~1\JMF2.1.1\LIB\JMF.JAR;%CLASSPATH%;

This assumes that the installation placed JMF in  C:\Program Files\JMF2.1.1.

Note: Sometimes the JMF installer does not copy all the necessary files to the appropriate directories for Netscape and you might need to copy some files by hand. See the section labeled Running JMF with Netscape Communicator on the JMF installation instructions page for more details.



JMF Requirements

Roughly speaking, JMF for Windows likes:

• Windows 95/98 or Windows NT 4.0
• Pentium 100MHz or better
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later, or Netscape Communicator 4.06 or later
• 250 MB free disk space for caching video clips

See below or the JMF site for more details about hardware and software requirements.

Unfortunately there ia currently no Macintosh solution for playing video clips with sound in the Streamer. Hopefully a version of the Streamer based on QuickTime for Java will be available here soon. If you have a Mac, please check back periodically.

Linux users, try this: JMF on Linux. The Streamer has not been tested on Linux, so please send comments on what you find to streamer@LightMoves.net. Thanks.

Troubleshooting

1. Verify that JMF is installed correctly.
   
   First, you might go to the JMF Diagnostics page to make sure JMF is set up correctly. If all goes well, you should see something like the following:
   

   JMF Diagnostics: Java 1.1 compliant browser.....Maybe JMF classes.....Found JMF Version... 2.1.1 Win32 Build Native Libraries Found

   Next, if you have Java development software (JDK) on your machine, at this point you can run JMStudio to make sure that JMF runs well locally on your machine.
   

   Once JMF is installed, return to the Streamer page and see if the clip list shows up in the Control Panel.
   

2. Double check that your autoexec.bat file sets CLASSPATH to include jmf.jar and sound.jar and that the paths specified there match the actual paths those files landed in.
   
   
3. Run JMF Registry
       Under the User Settings tab, make sure:
           Allow Caching is checked on
           the cache directory is valid
           there is a reasonable Max Cache Size (250 MB is the default)
   
   
4. Try rebooting
   
   
5. Make sure you have the latest VM.
   Go to http://www.microsoft.com/java/ for the current Internet Explorer Java Virtual Machine
   
   
6. Check the troubleshooting details at the JMF site
   

Hardware Requirements for JMF

• · 486 or Pentium based PC (Pentium 100MHz or better recommended)
• · Display card supporting 8, 16, 24 or 32 bit display mode. (16-bit display mode recommended for fastest video performance)
• · Optional: A SoundBlaster-compatible sound card for Windows machines without built-in audio support
  

Software Requirements for JMF with Streamer

•  Windows 95/98 or Windows NT 4.0
•  Optional: Microsoft DirectX 2.0 or greater
•  Optional: Netscape Communicator 4.06 or later
•  Optional: Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later

Check out Sun's JMF site for much more.