DVDs

Digiterp recently learned that some of the DVDs we have sent out have been on faulty disks. If you are having trouble with a DVD you received from Digiterp - or some type of disk failure - we'll be happy to replace it. So far, the only disk problems we have heard about were with a batch of "Shifting Gears" DVDs that were produced in the fall of 2006. Please contact Digiterp if you have any issues with the playback of your DVD, and we'll try to remedy the problem as quickly as possible.

CD-ROMs

Each CD-ROM has a page which explains how to effectively use it. However, as CDs have been developed, we have deepened our understanding of what problems might be encountered and how to most efficiently view movies and access the information on the CD-ROMs.

This is the most up-to-date information.

Installing the Programs

Software Alert: Problem with Adobe Reader 7 and QuickTime 7. For more....

Two free programs are required for accessing the information contained on CDs created by Digiterp. The recommended configuration of software is: Acrobat Reader 5.1 and QuickTime 6. Running the CDs with these two software programs can eliminate many of the difficulties which have been experienced by users.

Acrobat Reader
Acrobat Reader 5 by Adobe Systems, Inc is required. If you don't have Acrobat Reader 5.1 installed, the following link will take you to the Adobe website. Acrobat Reader 5.1 is available for free download from: www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html

Adobe Reader 6 is now available. It allows viewing of the interactive guide and playing of the video (if you have QuickTime 6 installed). For this reason, we recommend using Acrobat Reader 5.1.

QuickTIme
QuickTime by Apple Computer, Inc can be downloaded from www.apple.com/quicktime/download

QuickTime 5 or newer is required. QuickTime 6 is now available for free download and is recommended because it is more dependable in playing the video in a high quality fashion.

Troubleshooting

• When I click on the movies, they won’t work?
• When I play the movies in the small mode, it is fine; but in large modes, the movies are choppy and hard to read. Any possibilities?
• The movies are too light or too dark.
• The Large mode is no different than 2x.
• When I try to close movies using ESC button, it doesn't work?
• Captioned video comes up with box that says "Failed to Load."
• Short videos in consecutive format don’t play correctly.
• When I play the captioned version of the movie, it is not smooth.
• Video in consecutive format won’t close when I press ‘esc.’
• Video stutters or appears blurry.
• Slow Motion and Pause don’t work.

When I click on the movies, they won’t work?
There are several possibilities--depending on your computer operating system and what software you have installed.

1. Mac OS X: Be sure to check that you have Acrobat or Adobe Reader installed and that it is version 5.1 or later. Reader does not come installed now because the application Preview can read PDFs. It does not, however, allow you to play the movies or follow the links. Be sure to install at least the version of Acrobat Reader 5.1.
2. You may not have a recent enough version of QuickTime installed. (It does not come pre-installed on all Windows configurations and older Macintosh systems may have QuickTime 4 or earlier.) QuickTime 6 is the recommended version for playing the video most effectively.
3. Windows: The movie files may not be associated with QuickTime. When you install QuickTime, there is a dialogue box which asks you what files to associate with QuickTime. If you uncheck the box for QuickTime files, another media player--such as Windows Media Player--will "claim" those files and not let QuickTime open them. To re-associate the files:

• Open up your Quick Time player.
• Use File>Open to open up a QuickTime movie file. These are located in a Movies folder on the CD. (Depending on the production year, this folder is either in the first directory of the CD or located in the Resources folder.)
• In attempting to open the movie, a dialogue box will ask you if you would like to associate these files with QuickTime. You should do so.

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When I play the movies in the small mode, it is fine; but in large modes, the movies are choppy and hard to read. Any possibilities?
You may need to upgrade to QuickTime 6 or 7. If that doesn't work, the computer processor is not fast enough or your CD drive doesn’t deliver the information fast enough. Either try the CD on a faster computer, or play the smaller versions of the movies.

The movies are too light or too dark.
Unfortunately, the settings of Mac and PC monitors are different. Movies play lighter on Macs and darker on PCs. You can adjust your own monitor if necessary from your control panel, but the movies were produced to try to be a compromise and work on both.

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The Large mode is no different than 2x.
This means your monitor is set to a resolution of 800 x 600. In order to take advantage of playing full screen, go to your control panels and set your resolution to 1024 x 768 or greater.

When I try to close movies using ESC button, it doesn't work?
At least on Macintosh computers, the ESC button doesn't work for closing the pop-up movie window. Upgrade to the recommended version of Acrobat Reader 5.1.

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Captioned video comes up with box that says "Failed to Load."
You need to upgrade your version of QuickTime. In the installation process, you are given options of Minimum, Recommended, or Custom. Your computer has the Minimum installed. Choose instead the Recommended option. Go to www.apple.com/quicktime/download/ for the software.

Short videos in consecutive format don’t play correctly.
It sometimes takes a few seconds for the video to activate. If the clip is only a few seconds long, it may be over by the time the video starts showing. Simply press the play arrow on the control bar to play it again.

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When I play the captioned version of the movie, it is not smooth.
The captions add another track to the movie file, which may make the actual video less smooth in its delivery. You can print out a copy of the transcript to follow along and watch the video without captions.

Video in consecutive format won’t close when I press ‘esc.’
Make sure you have Acrobat Reader 5.1 installed. Version 4 will play the video, but won’t close with the ‘esc’ option.

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Video stutters or appears blurry.
QuickTime 5 may not play the video as clearly as QuickTime 6. If this doesn’t work, try playing the smaller versions of the video.

Slow Motion and Pause don’t work.
Adobe Reader 6 doesn’t support playing the video in slow motion by hitting the arrow key or pausing by the space bar. The best option is to install Acrobat Reader 5.1and use that for playing the files. Open Acrobat Reader 5.1 and then choose File>Open and choose the PDF file on the CD-ROM.