The Sands Venue . Streaming Media Centre . New User . The UK's premier Jazz venue


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Below are a few FAQ's to help you successfully gain access to our catalogue . . . etc.

How do I view the Stream?

Simply register on the day of the chosen stream and pay £2 during the sign up process

then log back in as a SUBSCRIBER in order to view the stream

Once you have logged in you follow the link at the top of the page which says 'click here to view live stream'

This part of the website is currently undergoing some redevelopment so queries can be answered by phoning 01427 811118 ask for Ash, Dan or Luisa

Why does your webpage look odd or not work right with other web browsers like AOL, Firefox, Netscape, Opera, etc?

Each web browser handles web pages slightly differently and this makes it hard to give every user a great experience across all web browsers. Therefore, we decided to design our service specifically to work with the stand-alone version of Internet Explorer. Even AOL's integrated web browser is a non-standard version of Internet Explorer.

If you are having problems when using another web browser, please switch to the stand-alone version of Internet Explorer (located under the 'Start' button or on your desktop) for the best experience.

Please also run Windows Update to make sure you have the latest updates to your software.

Why am I being asked to login over and over again, or to buy the same package when I already bought it?

This is often caused by problems with your computer's cookie management.

We suggest you clear your cookies, temporary Internet files and lower your Internet Explorer privacy settings:

- In Internet Explorer: click on Tools > Internet Options
- In the General Tab's 'Temporary Internet Files' section, click on the 'Delete Cookies' and the 'Delete Files' buttons. Also, click on the 'Settings' button and set Internet Explorer to check for newer versions of stored pages with 'Every visit to the page', and then click 'Ok'.
- On the Privacy tab set the slider-bar to default 'Medium'. Then click the 'Advanced' button and verify that the "Override Automatic Cookie Handling" option is not checked. Then click 'Ok' to close the "Advanced Privacy Settings" pop-up.
- Finally, click 'Ok' to accept the changes and close the 'Internet Options' panel.
- Close all instances of the Internet Explorer browser and then launch a new Internet Explorer browser to access our content.

Why am I hearing some sound but my video is choppy, frozen or missing entirely?

If you have a broadband connection of at least 512kbps but still have poor video quality, excessive buffering, or a total lack of video, this can be due to a lack of computer processing power or general traffic congestion on the internet. Try not to run other applications while accessing streaming media.

Also, if you are accessing the video through a Local Area Network (LAN), you may experience excessive buffering or connectivity delays as a result of network congestion from the other users on your LAN.

Finally, if you continue to experience poor quality video (for example: pink or green lines, choppy or flickering video or garbled audio) we recommend you check the 'Video Acceleration' setting in your Windows Media Player:

- Launch Windows Media Player.
- Choose Tools > Options.
- Click on the "Performance" tab and adjust the scroll bar to raise or lower the video acceleration setting (you will have to experiment with different settings to see if one works better for your particular system) and then click 'OK'.
- Close Windows Media Player and all instances of Internet Explorer.
- Relaunch the site.

What if I can see the video, but I cannot hear audio?

Verify that your system volume and/or speakers are not muted or turned to a very low setting. Also, verify that there are no other streaming applications running on your computer. If you continue to have trouble, we recommend the following change in Windows Media Player:

- Launch Windows Media Player.
- Choose Tools > Options.
- In the "Player" tab, check the box next to "Download codecs automatically."
- Close Windows Media Player and all instances of Internet Explorer.
- Relaunch the site.

Why can I enter the site, but not get the videos to play?

If you see a 'loading' message, black screen, or can only view advertisements, we recommend the following steps:

(Note that some company firewalls prevent streaming content from displaying. If you are unable to view streaming content on any site from your computer, we recommend you contact your network administrator.)

A. Make the following change in Windows Media Player to permit the stream through a firewall:

- Launch Windows Media Player.
- Choose Tools > Options.
- Click on the 'Network' tab.
- Check the 'HTTP box' under 'Streaming Protocols'.
- Click on the 'Configure' button located in the 'Streaming Proxy Settings' box.
- Check the 'Use proxy settings of the web browser' box and click 'Ok', and the click 'Ok' again to close the 'Options' panel.
- Close Windows Media Player and all instances of Internet Explorer.
- Relaunch the site.

B. Check for updates to Windows Media Player:

- Launch Windows Media Player
- Choose Help > Check for Player Updates.

C. If you are still unable to view the video, we recommend you disable ad-blocking settings in your personal firewall, browser, or ad-blocking software to determine if this allows the video to play.

Why did I get a 'Maximum Licenses Reached' notification?

You are only allowed to view The Sands Live Video from a maximum of two cpmputers. Accessing a piece of content from more than the first two computers will lock out your access to that content. This is a fraud prevention feature. Do not share your account access with other people or jump around from computer to computer as this can lock you out of access to the content you purchased.

Why did I get an 'Error 500' / 'DRM License Acquisition' error?

Users can run into problems with license acquisition for several different reasons. We have outlined the most common problems below along with suggested steps for you to take:

A. Internet Congestion: Unavoidable variations in Internet traffic between your location and our servers, or unexpectedly heavy use of our servers, can cause your computer to give up trying to get a DRM license before our server is able to deliver one. This is often the case when you've recently been able to view our DRM-protected content on the same computer, but then it stops working later. The best solution in this case is to wait and try to access our content again later when Internet traffic has died down.

B. Slow Internet Connectivity: The minimum Internet connection speed to use our service reliably is TBD kbps. Slower connections can cause your computer to give up trying to get a DRM license before our server is able to deliver one to your computer. You can test the speed of your Internet connection using a free Java-based tool on the web at http://bandwidthplace.com/speedtest

C. AOL: In order to successfully view our content, AOL users should not use AOL's integrated web browser which is a non-standard version of Internet Explorer. Instead, please minimise the AOL program and launch the stand-alone version of Internet Explorer which is located on your desktop or under the 'Start' button.

D. Pop-Up Blockers: We highly recommend temporarily disabling or permanently allowing pop-ups from this site, as these pop-up blockers can interfere with the delivery of DRM licenses, playing content and the overall user experience.

E. Cookies, Temporary Internet Files and Privacy Settings: It's possible that the cookie management on your computer or some of the temporary files is causing a conflict with Windows Media Player and its DRM licenses. To clear your cookies and temporary files, please follow the steps given in the 'Why am I being asked to login over and over again or to buy the same package when I already bought it?' section above.

F. Firewalls and Proxy Servers: Firewalls and proxy servers have been known to impede the DRM license delivery process. If you have a firewall running (Zone Alarm, Black Ice, Windows XP firewall, etc.) we suggest that you completely disable it while accessing our content. If you are connecting from an office or other location with a system administrator, you should contact that person for information about disabling these security measures.

If you are running the Windows XP SP2 Firewall, you can disable it by:

- Clicking on Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Security Center br> - Select 'Off' to temporarily disable the firewall.

What do I do if I've tried everything you suggested but I still can't get it to work?

Please contact our support staff on 01427 811118 if you are still having problems in obtaining a DRM license after reviewing this FAQ and attempting its suggested fixes.