Help / Player
The Player says 'Loading 0 sec' but the programme never plays - how can I fix this?
Below the control buttons in the "Now Playing" frame of the BBC Player, you will see an information bar which displays the current status of playback, and your progress through the programme in hours, minutes and seconds. Status messages displayed here include:
"Contacting…" – shown briefly whilst the BBC Player is finding the programme you selected.
"Loading…" – the BBC iPlayer has found the programme you selected and is now preparing to play it. The estimated time remaining before playback begins will also be stated (e.g. "Loading… 5 sec") .
"Playing" – playback is underway. The estimated audio streaming quality of playback in kilobits per second will also be stated (e.g. “Playing 44kbps). This will vary according to the speed of your internet connection and the bandwidth available.
"Paused" – playback has been paused. Click the play button again to resume.
"Stopped" – the end of the programme was reached, and playback has finished. This message may also appear occasionally if the BBC Player encountered a technical problem.
If the status message reads "Loading 0 sec" or "Contacting..." for extended periods, but playback of the programme never actually commences, you may need to adjust your firewall settings to allow RealPlayer to access the internet.
On some networks, you may need to configure RealPlayer to use the HTTP Only option to connect to the internet. This option allows a copy of RealPlayer operating behind a strict firewall to access our audio content. Intructions on how to do this are below.
To configure RealPlayer 10.5 for Windows to receive content via HTTP only:
1. In RealPlayer, click the Tools menu and choose Preferences. The Preferences box opens.
2. In the Category pane under Connection, click Network Transports.
3. Select the Manually configure connection settings check box.
4. Click the RTSP Settings button.
5. Clear the top three boxes, then make sure the Attempt to use HTTP for all content check box is selected.
6. Click OK.
7. Click the PNA Settings button.
8. Clear the top three boxes, then make sure the Attempt to use HTTP for all content check box is selected.
9. Click OK twice to save your changes, then try to play your chosen radio show again on the BBC iPlayer.
Additionally you could try setting both transports to use just TCP. This is not recommended for dial-up users but should be okay for ASDL users.
To configure RealPlayer 10.1 for Mac OS X to receive content via HTTP only:
1. On the RealPlayer menu, click Preferences.
2. Click the Transport icon.
3. Select the Use manually configured RTSP and PNA transport Settings check box.
4. Click the Configure button.
5. Under RTSP, clear all boxes except HTTP.
6. Under PNA, clear all boxes except HTTP, then close the Transport Preferences window.
If you are listening at a place of work or school, check with your firewall administrator or IT staff about the organisation's policies on using RealPlayer and internet access before changing any settings.
Related Links
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