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Technical Help: Troubleshooting Common RealPlayer Connection Problems

Problem: I'm receiving a "Cannot Connect" error when I try to play the video/audio."

Cannot connect" errors generally mean that RealOne Player did not connect to the computer that serves the media content (the server); they may also mean that the link you clicked is out-of-date. Common "cannot connect to server" errors include:

  • Cannot connect to server.
  • Unable to connect to server.
  • Unable to establish connection to server.
  • Check network transport settings (or run auto-configure.)
  • RealOne Player not able to successfully connect to a server for playback.
  • Cannot connect to server, the link you requested may be inaccurate or out of date.

Occasional errors are usually caused by high traffic on the Internet or the site hosting the files being down or the files having been moved. Connection errors that occur at all sites on a recurring basis may indicate a problem with RealOne Player or your Internet connection. You may need to reconfigure RealOne Player or your Internet Service Provider's (ISP) connection software to allow RealPlayer to connect.If you are behind a security firewall and the audio/video does not play, first try asking your network administrator to open Port 554 to play the streaming media.

Solution 1: Play clips from the RealNetworks Technical Support Samples Page.

You will receive "link out of date" errors if you play a file that has been moved. To verify the problem is caused by out of date links, play sample clips from the RealNetworks sample page:

  1. Open http://service.real.com/test/ in your Web browser.
  2. Click the links there that match the connection speed of your Internet connection (for example, 56K).

If the links from this site play correctly, RealOne Player is not the cause of the error you are receiving from the other site. The links at the other site are either written incorrectly or need to be updated.

Solution 2: Play files during "off-peak hours."

You may receive connection errors when playing files or downloading updates for RealOne Player if the Internet or your Internet Service Provider is experiencing high traffic. This problem typically occurs during "peak hours" when network traffic is highest. Playing files or updating at an alternate time during the day can usually correct connection problems caused by high traffic.

Solution 3: Update your Internet Service Provider's software.

If your Internet Service Provider (America Online, Earthlink, or others) uses custom software to connect to the Internet, updating that software may resolve these issues. Contact your Internet Service Provider to verify that you are using the latest version of their software available, and to verify that their software uses a 32-bit compatible Winsock driver.I'm receiving a "Connection to server has timed out" error.When you try to play clips from some Web sites with RealOne Player you may receive a "Connection to server has timed out, you might be experiencing network problems" error.

This error occurs when RealOne Player can not retrieve enough information from the Web site to play the clip because there is excessive activity on your Local Area Network (LAN) or the Internet in general. To try to solve this, increase your time-out settings inside RealOne Player and try playing the clip again or play the clip when the network or Internet isn't so busy.

To increase the time-out settings, do the following:

  1. Open/launch RealOne Player.
  2. Choose Tools > Preferences from the RealOne Player toolbar.
  3. Double-click Connection in the Category window.
  4. Click Playback Settings button.
  5. Increase the Network Time-Out Settings in ten second increments.
  6. Click OK to close the Preferences dialog box.
  7. Close your RealOne Player.

Try to access the clip again. If you still have problems, increase the time-out settings by ten seconds and try again. Keep trying until the clip plays or it becomes obvious that increasing the time-out settings will not resolve this problem.

If you are unable to play the clip after trying these suggestions, try connecting to the site at an alternate time of the day. (This information is adapted from RealNetworks' support site.)