Freewire TV.
What do you want to know?
Here are the answers to some of the questions we hear most often.
- Q. What is Freewire TV and how does it work?
- Q. Do I need a TV Licence to watch Freewire TV on my PC?
- Q. Help! I'm not getting any channels displayed. What's going on?
- Q. All I get is a message saying: "There appears to be a technical problem with this channel". What's wrong?
- Q. I want to change my account details. What do I do?
- Q. Where is Freewire Extra! available?
- Q. I have purchased Freewire Extra! but I don’t see the new channels?
- Q. Is it true that if I use a router in my room the Freewire Extra! channels will not work?
- Q. Help! The new channels I purchased are still greyed out, how do I enable them?
- Q. I cannot watch TV. I get a message that 'the application could not launch full-screen mode'?
- Q. I'm watching Freewire TV and the picture is really bad, there is also an orange icon in the top right-hand corner with a 'signal strength' symbol in it, what's happening?
- Q. I'm watching Freewire TV and the picture is not the best, there is also an orange icon in the top right-hand corner with a 'computer' symbol in it, what's happening?
- Q. Freewire TV for Windows crashes when my graphics options use hardware acceleration, what do I do?
Q. What is Freewire Television and how does it work?
A. It's TV that comes through your University data network or or Freewire home broadband connection connection rather than a conventional aerial, satellite dish or cable. So rather than watching on a normal TV, you can take your pick from over 50 digital TV channels on your PC or laptop. Clever, eh?
Q. Do I need a TV licence to watch Freewire TV on my PC?
If you're watching any kind of broadcast TV - even if it's on a PC and it's not the BBC - it's your responsibility to stump up for your licence fee. It's all there at http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/students.jsp. To quote the TV Licensing folks: "Every student using a TV receiver at university to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV (including a PC or laptop) needs to be covered by a valid TV Licence. It's the law and there's no excuse for not being licensed.
Freewire does not share confidential user details with any third party organizations and your private data is protected under the Data Protection Act.
Students can apply for a refund for any full three-month period of TV Licence cover where you don't need a licence, so if you're going away or back to your parents' during the summer holidays you don't have to pay.
Q. Help! I'm not getting any channels displayed. What's going on?
A. If you can sign in and all other features work, but you can't see any channels it's possible that you're not on a network where the service is available right now. Freewire TV only works on multicast-enabled networks. Basically, that means your internet service provider has to jiggle around with their network so it can carry Freewire programming. If you've already checked you're in a Freewire enabled area, have a word with your internet service provider or network operator.
Q. All I get is a message saying: "There appears to be a technical problem with this channel". What's wrong?
A. It sounds like the firewall on your PC might be stopping Freewire getting through. Closing down Freewire TV and resetting your firewall to its default settings should solve the problem. Click below for some guidelines to help you:
Q. I want to change my account details. What do I do?
A. Simple. Just visit My Account and enter your Username and Password (or Freewire ID and PIN) to log in. You can view and edit your account details in the My Profile section.
Q. Where is Freewire Extra! available?
A. Currently Freewire Extra! is available in halls at the following universities:
- University of Abertay Dundee
- University of Bath
- University of Bristol
- Bournemouth University
- University of Central Lancashire
- Cranfield University
- Darwin College
- University of Dundee
- University of East Anglia
- University of Essex
- University of Exeter
- University of Greenwich
- Imperial College London
- Keele University
- University of Kent
- Loughborough University
- University of Manchester
- University of Nottingham
- University of Oxford
- Lady Margaret Hall
- University of Portsmouth
- Robert Gordon University
- Roehampton University
- St Edmunds College
- University of Sheffield
- University of Strathclyde
- University of Sunderland
- University of Wolverhampton - Wolverhampton Residences.
It is also available at Bournemouth University in:
- The Student Village
- Purbeck House
- Cranbourne House
- Hurn House
and at Leeds University in:
- Ellersile/Lyddon
- Charles Morris
- Henry Price
- James Baillie/North Hill Court
- Leodis Halls
- Devonshire Halls
- Montague Burton
- Clarence Dock Halls
Freewire Extra! will be growing over the next few months so watch this space for updates.
Q. I have purchased Freewire Extra! but I don’t see the new channels?
A. You need to restart Freewire Television to allow any new channels that you buy to become available.
Q. Is it true that if I use a router in my room the Freewire Extra! channels will not work?
A. Yes, if you’re in halls you must connect directly to your university's network. The use of wireless or wired routers in your room may interfere with your ability to receive Freewire Extra!
Q. Help! The new channels I purchased are still greyed out, how do I enable them?
A. If your Freewire Extra! channels are still listed grey don’t worry. First of all, restart Freewire Television and see if the channels are there. If not, visit My Account on the Freewire website. Have a look at your subscription details and ensure your purchase was completed successfully. If you have been viewing pay or premium channels for some time, make sure the subscription hasn't run out!
Q. I cannot watch TV. I get a message that 'the application could not launch full-screen mode'?
A. This is most likely due to your version of Microsoft Windows (or other OS) operating in a colour quality setting of 16-bit or less. To remedy this simply change to either 24-bit or 32-bit; this can be done through your display settings.
Q. I'm watching Freewire TV and the picture is really bad, there is also an orange icon in the top right-hand corner with a 'signal strength' symbol in it, what's happening?
A. The signal strength icon means you are not receiving 100% of the video stream (or signal). Try stopping any background downloads, ensure you are directly connected to the network with an Ethernet patch cable and restart Freewire TV. If all else fails contact the Helpdesk for advice.
Q. I'm watching Freewire TV and the picture is not the best, there is also an orange icon in the top right-hand corner with a 'computer' symbol in it, what's happening?
A. This orange indicator means that your computer's resources are being overloaded! As a result your picture quality is being affected. Please ensure your computer meets the minimum requirements and try closing any background programs. If this does not improve things, try enabling hardware acceleration. To do this go to the Freewire TV 'View' menu, click on 'Options...' and select 'hardware acceleration'.
If this does not work for you try 'Software' and depending on your preference select between Best Quality and Best Performance. Still no joy? Contact the Helpdesk.
Tip: Schedule your virus scanner and downloads to do their business while you snooze.
Q. Freewire TV for Windows crashes when my graphics options use hardware acceleration, what do I do?
A. Freewire TV for Windows uses a clever bit of Microsoft software called DirectX which enables the application to harness the power of your video card. If you have selected 'hardware acceleration' your operating system must have a minimum of DirectX version 7 installed.
If you find that hardware acceleration causes problems, please ensure you are using the latest version of DirectX, and your video card driver is up to date. To check which versions you are running you can use the 'DirectX Diagnostic Tool', click on the 'Start Menu', then 'Run...' type dxdiag and click OK. When the tool is displayed you will see two tabs that will show the version information; the 'system' tab and the 'display' tab. If necessary, the latest version of DirectX can be downloaded from the Microsoft® Website and for your video driver we recommend you consult your computer manufacturer.
Tip: If you're running Microsoft Windows XP you can test DirectX using the 'DirectX Diagnostic Tool'. Click on the 'Test Direct3D' button on the 'display' tab.