What do I need to listen to WKRK Radio Online?

WKRK Radio uses streaming MP3s to broadcast. You will need an audio playing program to hear this. In most instances, simply click the "Listen Live" link anytime and you will be immediately connected without doing anything else.

If you have problems though, please use this guide to establish a connection.

If you click the link and a blank page appears or the "Listen Live" doesn't work at all, several things to consider:

1. Do you have an audio player installed? As dumb a question as that may sound, many computers at work do not any audio players installed. If you can play MP3s at work, then you have an audio player installed.

2. Are there speakers installed and the volume turned up? Another question that first appears dumb, but many times computer speakers are not connected, the volume isn't turned up, the power to them isn't on, etc. If you can hear any sounds at all such as event sounds or MP3 sounds, then that isn't the problem.

3. Consider downloading our WKRK Toolbar or WKRK Desktop Streaming Player as more convenient tools.

4. If you use Mozilla's Firefox, the blank page opening is a known issue. Still, your default audio player should start and you should hear the broadcast. Just close the blank page and keep updating Firefox. They will eventually fix it. If you are comfortable installing Extensions, there are plenty that are written that promise to put an end to this blank page issue. Unfortunately, we haven't found any that work all that well.

For Windows, Mac & Unix/Linux Users : If you do not have a default audio player, please select one of these and follow the instructions.

	WinAMP ( Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003 ) We recommend WinAMP - its free (download and install the FULL free version) www.winamp.com Download and install the latest version. Once it is installed, you are done! Just click the "Listen Live" link on the main page or click this link: http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls
	Windows Media Player (Windows Only) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads Windows Media Player (WMP) does not particularly like MP3s, but it will play them. However, you might experience minor buffer delays (moments of silence). That's why we do NOT recommend WMP as your default player. Download and install the latest version. Once it is installed, you are done! Just click the "Listen Live" link on the main page or click this link: http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls If you still have problems by clicking on the provided link ( http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls, then we suggest you open Windows Media Player, Press Ctrl and U key to bring up the Open menu and type in http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034 If that doesn't work, see the section below about Configuring Your Browser.
	RealPlayer (Windows, Mac, Unix/Linux) http://www.real.com/player RealPlayer isn't designed for MP3s and shouldn't be your 1st choice as a player. With that said, RealPlayer will still play. Download and install the latest version. Once it is installed, you are done! Just click the "Listen Live" link on the main page or click this link: http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls If you still have problems by clicking on the provided link (http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls), then we suggest you open Real Player, Press Ctrl and O key to bring up the Open menu and type in http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034 If that doesn't work, see the section below about Configuring Your Browser.
	iTunes (Windows XP or 2000, Mac) http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/ We recommend iTunes too- its free You will need to set iTunes as the default player for Internet music playback. Download and install the latest version. Mac OS X: In the iTunes preferences, under General Settings, click the Set button next to Use iTunes for Internet music playback. Windows: In the iTunes preferences, under the General tab, click the check box next to Use iTunes as the default player for audio files. Then just click the "Listen Live" link on the main page or click this link: http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls If you still have problems by clicking on the provided link (http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls), then we suggest you open iTunes and paste the following address in to the Play Location menu : http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls If that doesn't work, see the section below about Configuring Your Browser.
	QuickTime Player (Windows 98 and up & Mac) (typically a browser plugin and not recommended) http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/qt/ You can open the .pls file from QuickTime player using the Open menu command, the Open URL menu command, or by dragging and dropping. http://stream1.shoutatme.com:7034/listen.pls If that doesn't work, see the section below about Configuring Your Browser.

If you experience problems with the latest, supposedly greatest versions of your audio player, it might be best to uninstall this newest version and revert back to an older version. If you have your program on CD or the setup program is on your hard drive, please use that. If you don't have a copy of the older version, you should be able to find the version you want or need at www.oldversion.com.

Configuring Your Browser:
These steps are for Internet Explorer, but the settings are appropriate for virtually every Windows, Mac or Unix browser.

Once you've successfully downloaded and installed your audio player, you're ready to configure your browser. This will launch your player automatically every time you want to listen to the WKRK Radio stream. To do this follow these steps:

Click the "Listen Live" link on the WKRK Radio main page. You will then see File Download screen will appear (see below).

Select Open this file from its current location, and click the OK button.

Sometimes, the Open With window will pop up.
1. The .pls files means playlist files.
2. Look for the player you installed.
3. Select your player under Choose the program you want to use.
4. Check the box Always use this program to open this file.
5. Click OK
After this, your audio player will launch and begin to play the broadcast

>More Questions

If you find that this is the case, you are encourage to install Winamp (free). When setting WinAMP up, ensure that in the "File Types" option, you have set that application to play .pls files. You may need to restart your application and/or your computer before the change is applied.

Q: I've set up Winamp (or another media player) to play .pls files, but RealOne Player keeps starting when I try to listen to a live stream. Whats up with that?
A: Real, Inc., the corporation who markets RealOne, is aggressive in becoming the number one provider of streaming content. As a result, their software is customized to retain control of file formats, such as .pls. They accomplish this through the RealOne Smartcenter, a program that is set up to run every time you start your computer. Smartcenter will retain file formats for RealOne player on every startup. To eliminate this problem, simply disable Smartcenter from starting up during boot.

To do this, after your computer is started, you will see a small RealPlayer icon in the bottom right of your screen, also known as the system tray. Right click on the icon, and select to disable Smartcenter. Also, open RealOne Player options and edit the file extension associations to not include .pls files, then close RealOne. Once this is completed, open the media player you want to use (preferably Winamp) and edit the file extension associations to include .pls files. Once you restart Winamp, it should retain the settings you specified. Put simply, discourage people from ever installing Real products.

Q: How do I get rid of that "clicking" noise?
A: That clicking sound is the Windows default sound for Windows Explorer "start navigation". To disable this sound you will need to go to your "control panel" and double click "sounds". This will open the "sounds properties" window. Scroll down to "windows explorer" and highlight the "start navigation" text. Now go to the window below that is titled "name". Open the drop-down menu and choose "none" as your default. Hit "apply" at the bottom. This should fix your issue.

Q: Can I record the program or save it to my computer so I can listen to it later?
A: Due to legal reasons, you can not save the stream of the WKRK Radio broadcast to your hard drive and may only listen to live broadcasts with an audio player.

Q: Can a Firewall or Proxy affect my ability to listen?
A: If your company has a proxy server or firewall in place it may prevent a connection. Please contact your company's system administrator for assistance. Our broadcasts run on port 7034.  Blue Ridge Mountain EMC subscribers have reported that the firewall settings may need to be changed to allow for streaming audio from WKRK to pass to Blue Ridge Mountain EMC internet subscribers.  BRMEMC asks that their customers contact them with technical support on how to open up the firewall to allow for WKRK Streaming Audio. 

Q: The audio skips, pauses, or buffers while I listen to WKRK Online. What should I do?
A: Make sure your modem connection is at least 56K. (You cannot listen to our stream with a 28.8K modem.) Note: If you use Real Player or Windows Media Player, you may experience skipping or dropping. That is why we recommend Winamp or iTunes

Most MP3 players have audio-buffers that can be adjusted. For Winamp, Control-P will display Preferences. Select Plug-ins/Input, then select the Nullsoft MPEG audio decoder plug-in. Click on Configure. Select the Streaming tab of the window, and increase the Streaming Buffer sliders. Click OK, click Close. On occasion, some listeners may notice that the audio for the station they listen to skips, pauses or buffers. This is generally caused by bandwidth problems -- where somewhere along the way the audio can not be successfuly transmited through a connection. This is the nature of the internet, but it can sometimes by fixed by disconnecting from the internet and re-connecting. If it continues, sadly, there is not much you can do except try again a bit later. If it continues the next day, then you really need to contact your ISP.

Q: Is buffering supported? And what is buffering?
A: Yes, the stream is buffered. The buffer in a streaming audio player temporarily stores the last few seconds of your station’s playback. In the event that your network connection slows down or is momentarily disrupted, the station you’re listening to will play back from the buffer until the connection is restored. If the buffer runs out, the audio will begin to skip or possibly drop off completely. This is similar to a buffer on a portable CD player, which prevents your portable CD player from skipping as you jog.