Member Avatar for EddieC

I'm in hog heaven right now. I've got nothing to do today but munch on linzer tarts and watch the first day of 2008 Olympic games live from Bejing, China. And if the mood strikes me (as it obviously has), maybe even do a bit of blogging.

Unlike with previous Olympics, during which I was limited only to broadcast television coverage, this time I have 24/7 access to all events live, as they happen. And it's not because I've broken down and started paying for cable or satellite TV, but because of the technology in use at NBColympics.com.

Never mind the stuff you'd expect to see--event news and schedules, athlete pics, profiles and taped interviews, and video highlights and the like--on a Web site dedicated to the event; that's all there. Also standard is the medal count table, listing the top countries and their takes of gold, silver and bronze. Clicking on a country brings you details of who and what. A nifty and useful feature I don't recall seeing on prior Olympic Web sites is a time converter showing your local time and that of Beijing. There's mobile access to content and an alerts feature that will message your phone with breaking news and medal alerts, event reminders and even video and photos. And depending on your carrier and level of service, you can even watch events live on your phone.

All that's great, but the best part for me is this: Thanks to an enhanced video viewer a la Microsoft's Silverlight, you can watch not just one or two, but as many as four live events at any one time. At left is a vertical pane listing all the sports, with live ones emblazoned with a red "Live" icon. Clicking on one launches the Silverlight player (which worked flawlessly, I should add, and on a Mac, no less!). Surrounding the main video are thumbnails of others, an interface that should be familiar. To select an event to view, the Silverlight player presents thumbnails that when clicked become the main view.

An "On Now" box is visible on every page, showing the event currently airing on your local NBC affiliate, which it knows if you entered your zip code when prompted the first time you arrived at the site. Below that program note is a button taking you to , at which you would find me firmly parked.

And did I mention that it's all FREE???

  • 2 Contributors
  • 5 Replies
  • 258 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by peter_budo

Dani AI

Generated

A short, practical troubleshooting note for the setup being discussed by and . The focus is on getting the browser plugin detected and stable (Windows and Mac), avoiding common extension conflicts, handling bandwidth when running multiple simultaneous streams, and a brief word about region-restricted feeds.

On Windows/Firefox: close the browser, run the official Silverlight installer as an administrator, then restart the browser. If the player still asks to install, open Firefox Add-ons (Tools > Add-ons > Plugins) and enable Microsoft Silverlight or set it to "Always Activate". When Firefox fails to see a properly installed plugin, delete pluginreg.dat from the Firefox profile folder (%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\<profile>\pluginreg.dat) while the browser is closed; restart Firefox so it rebuilds the plugin list. Temporarily disable script-blocking extensions (NoScript, Flashblock) or any download-intercepting security software while installing.

On Mac: Silverlight installs as a browser plugin (check for /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/Microsoft Silverlight.plugin). Use the .dmg installer, authenticate with an administrator account, then restart browsers. If Firefox still does not show the plugin, try Safari — different browsers handle plugin registration differently. File-permission problems are commonly fixed by reinstalling as an admin user.

Performance and region notes: multiple live windows multiply bandwidth and CPU usage; prefer a wired connection, close other network-intensive apps, and reduce the number of simultaneous streams if stuttering occurs. Many live feeds are geographically restricted; using third-party proxies or VPNs can bypass that but may conflict with terms of service. Quick checklist: installer run as admin, browser restarted, plugin enabled in Add-ons, script-blockers disabled, and wired network in use.

Recommended Answers

All 5 Replies

Member Avatar for peter_budo

You forgot to mention one obvious thing accessible from USA only! I just tried the TV online and boom please provide post code...

Member Avatar for EddieC

What's "post code?" Will help any way I can. I am in U.S.

Member Avatar for peter_budo

The same thing what you call "zip code". (Zone Improvement Plan what a silly name)

Member Avatar for EddieC

use 11743, huntington, NY, verizon FiOS. (you can always tell when they picked the catchy acronym first, then shoe-horned the silly words to match :^)

Member Avatar for peter_budo

Got trough now, but give up as it asked me to install Silverlight on my lovely Firefox

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.