Firewalls:

You may also run into software firewalls. Generally, these can be configured in similar to permit exceptions to the firewall policy, permitting specific ports or applications to be opened to the world. Information on exceptions in the Windows® Firewall can be found in its Help system.

FINDING YOUR EXTERNAL IP NUMBER

Again, the numbers assigned behind your router only work locally. In a Pull scenario, you need to supply the true external IP number (and port) for your TriCaster to viewers outside the LAN (Local Area Network.)

You can find this number in several ways. For example, your router will display it as its “IP Address” in its Status page. Or, you may want to use one of several handy websites that will quickly supply your current IP number (one such is http://www.whatismyip.com). Simply go to the website in your browser and read

the IP number from the screen. Append a colon and the port number you are using to this number and you’ve got everything you need for your viewers to connect.

SPEED TESTS

Are you sure your upload bandwidth is adequate to the bitrate you’ve set for your stream? Why not test and make sure. Again, a number of websites provide free speed testing. These will give you a basic idea of what your local bandwidth really is. One site which provides a list of online speed test resources is: http://www.dslreports.com/speedtest?more=1

18.8.2 IS IT REALLY A TRICASTER ISSUE?

With regard to streaming issues, don’t overlook the fact that TriCaster is just one of the pieces of the puzzle. There are many others that are just as important.

Here are some useful things to try:

 Check the file:

Archive the streaming output file locally, and then examine it to see if it has any problems. This file corresponds exactly to what TriCaster is sending the downstream server. In cases of sync problems, low frame-rate problems, audio popping problems, etc., if it's a TriCaster issue, the problem will be seen in this file. On the other hand (if the file looks good), then the issue has to be up-stream of the TriCaster.

 Dropped Frames

To really confirm that TriCaster is outputting the frame-rate you chose (i.e., not dropping frames) you can edit a profile inside Flash® to cause FMLE to write out frame-rate stats. These settings apply when using the TriCaster, which lets you verify that it is uploading the stream at the rate designated. (In FMLE, select the Encoding tab, and check mark "Log To File").

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