KPFK STREAMING AUDIO - Frequently Asked Questions

- I clicked on "Listen Live" like before and it doesn't start the stream, it opens up another window, what's going on?
In the past we streamed exclusively using Real Audio which could only play in one player. Now we have moved to a streaming mp3 solution, that plays on a number of different players. For the live stream, simply make your choice of player from the "LISTEN LIVE" page.

- OK, I clicked on one of the new links, why isn't the stream playing now?
Are you sure you have a media player that plays MP3's? There are many different players available online for download. We have selected 4 of the most common (Real Player, Winamp, iTunes and VLC), and here are links to download these players:
Download WinAmp
Download Itunes Player
Download Realmedia Player
Download VLC

- Which player works best?
Which player will work best may depend on your system and connection type. In most situations, we have found WinAmp and iTunes to work best with our stream.

- I have one (or more) of the players, but the stream still isn't playing. What's up?
If the player opens up but doesn't play, try pressing the play button. If a player does not open up, you may have not associated the file type with that player. In that case, open up your player, go into the "Options" or "Preferences" section. You want to find an option called "File Types" and you want to make sure that playlist file types (.pls and/or .m3u) are associated with the player. This usually means highlighting them. Then you click "Apply" or "OK" and the player should automatically play the file at that point. If all else fails try re-installing your player and let it associate itself with MP3 files and streams.

- I am using Winamp and when I click on the link, Winamp opens and says "listen[1]" and then nothing plays. What do I do?
You probably have some spyware on your system, that is making opening temporary files difficult. There is an easy fix to that. You can simply place your mouse over the original link, hold the mouse button down, and drag the link into the Winamp playlist. It will play just fine. As an additional tip, you can do this with Winamp and the link to any .mp3 file you find on the Web. It will let Winamp stream that file to you right away and you don't have to wait for it to download. Pretty neat huh?

- None of the links are working for me, I'm so frustrated, what do I do?
You may have some software conflicts in your system. But never fear. Go into your player (the actual software you are going to use to play the stream, not your web browser) and "Open a URL" and then just type in "http://www.kwire.org". That should take you directly to the stream.

You can also find our streams in iTunes in the Radio section under "Public"

Also, you can right click on the link in your web browser and "Save Target As." Save the file listen.xxx (where xxx is either .pls, .m3u, or .ram depending on which link you chose) to your hard drive. You can then simply open the file from your hard drive and your player will play.

- I'm running a software firewall, could that be causing problems?
If you are running a software firewall such as Zone Labs, Norton or another, you may need to specifically add (white list) www.kwire.org to your list of trusted sites.

- OK, now the stream is playing, but it keeps buffering or skipping every few minutes. What is that all about?
You are probably on a dial-up or slow speed connection. You need to change the buffer settings within your player to remedy this problem. Here is how...

-In Real One Player, go to the "Tools" menu, then go to "Preferences," under the "Content" menu there is "Playback Settings." You'll see where it says "Buffered Play". Mine was set on 30 seconds. If it is set at about 60 seconds you won't have that problem.

-In Winamp, click in the upper left hand corner to bring down the menu. Go to "Options", then "Preferences", under "Plugins" you select the "Input" plugin. Click on that and it brings up a list of encoders. Select the "Nullsoft MPEG Audio Decoder" and click "Configure". Then you go to the "Streaming" tab. Change "Streaming Data Buffer" to a higher number (128) should work great. And then click "OK" and you're done.

-In Windows Media Player, you go to the top bar and click "Tools", then "Options", then you go to the "Performance" tab. In that screen you select your modem speed, then buffer 30-60 seconds of content. Click "Apply" and then "OK" and you're done.

-In iTunes, you go to the "Edit" menu, then click on "Preferences", you select the "Advanced" tab and then just change the "Streaming Buffer Size" to "large". Click "OK" and you're done.

- I am behind a corporate firewall, will I be able to hear the stream?
Shhh, don't tell your company's IT guy, but yes, if you can view the web, you can listen to KPFK online. They'll never know...

- I tried all of those things and it still isn't working...
Make sure you are actually connected to the internet. Go visit google.com and search for something you never have to make sure you still have an internet connection. If you are still online, we may be having stream issues. In the meantime, you can click the following link: http://sc1.mainstreamnetwork.com:9042 That is our mirror server, that will probably be up. This server does not go through corporate firewalls, but for all other people it will work just fine. Note, the link for the mirror server works in Winamp, iTunes, and Real Player.

- OK, I still am not getting the stream, what's wrong??
Wow, we really aren't sure. We may have taken the server offline for maintenance, so it is possible that it will be back up in a few minutes. Or it could be something completely off the wall. If you have tried everything, please send us an e-mail detailing exactly what you are doing and exactly where you are having problems. Be sure to include your operating system (i.e. which version of the Windows, Linux, or Mac software you arte using) and what player you are using. We will try to get back to you as soon as possible. Send your e-mails to webmaster [@] kpfk.org

Public Radio Tuner™ — iPhone™ App

Listen to KPFK on your iPhone and iPod Touch with the Public Radio Tuner iPhone application. [Your station] and many other public radio stations are all available to stream on your iPhone or iPod Touch when you install the free Public Radio Tuner application from the iTunes App Store.

Where it works:

The Public Radio Tuner application works on all iPhones and iPod Touches. Our stream should play with a wifi, 3G, or EDGE network connection.

How to get it: