I went to the RealNetworks site to download the free RealPlayer and I can't find it!

Try this direct link to their Free Player. Note that "RealPlayer Plus" has some nice additional features, but it isn't necessary to receive our streams.

We've found that some older RealAudio players may not work - even though we are sending out "Compatible" streams. Since the newest version of Realplayer sounds much better, we suggest you download it from the RealNetworks Site above.

When I listen to your Webcast, I get audio dropouts every few minutes. Why?

This can happen at times because the audio quality you receive is only as good the weakest link between your PC and our RealMedia Server. The speed of your connection to the internet is often the limiting factor, but the amount of "traffic" on the internet, limitations in your Internet Service Provider's equipment, and the processor speed of your computer will all have an impact on the reliability and quality of webcast reception.

Remember also that editing large word-processing or graphics files, or surfing the web while listening also can create short-term dropouts if your PC has limited processing power or limited internet bandwidth.

Most dropouts will cause the Player to mute but then recover in a few seconds without loosing any of the programming. If the dropout lasts more than a few seconds however, your Player may simply shut down. To re-establish the connection, simply click on the Play (triangle) button to reconnect.

When I try to receive WPR using RealPlayer, it loads to 98% then stops. I never receive your programming. I have the latest player so what's going on?

We've found that the latest version of RealNetwork's Helix Server, while impressive (it can stream Realaudio, Windows Media, MP3 & Quicktime formats), seems to request several ports during handshaking that some firewalls don't have turned on by default.

Specifically, users of Symantec's Norton Internet Security sometimes have to shut down the "Internet Security" process in order to receive our webcasting. There doesn't appear to be a way to keep the firewall up but the proper ports open for RealPlayer to communicate with the server. Rather than use your computer without the firewall running, try using our Windows Media or MP3 live streams.

You can also check your RealPlayer using RealNetwork's test page located at: http://service.real.com/realplayer/test/.

Sometimes I receive the Ideas Network using RealPlayer at 16 kilobits per second (kbps) and sometimes it's at 32kbps. What's going on?

We encode each of our live Realaudio services at several "bitrates" at the same time. The Ideas Network webcasts are encoded at 8, 16 and 32kbps. If your internet connection to us is better than 32kbps, you'll usually receive us at the 32kbps rate. If you are on a very poor dial-up connection, you may receive the Ideas Network at only 8kbps. Generally, the better the connection, the better quality audio you'll hear and the more reliable the connection will be.

I'm a dial-up user and often cannot receive your "NPR News & Classical Service". Why?

We encode our Classical Service at 32, 44 and 66kbps. If your dial-up connection deteriorates below 32kbps for some reason, you will not be able to receive our classical webcasting. Classical music delivered at a rate below 32kbps is usually monaural and contains more background noise and digital "artifacts".

I've got an "Internet Radio" that needs a direct address to your RealAudio server rather than the ".ram" address you use for the RealPlayer. What can I use?.

There have been several Internet Radios manufactured in the past few years. They use WiFi or a direct ethernet cable connection to the internet and allow you to receive live streams from all over the world without a computer. Here are the direct addresses for all our live streams:

• RealMedia Player: Ideas Network (32, 16 & 8kbps)
  rtsp://broadcast.wpr.org/broadcast/wprideas.rm