General Tips for streaming issues
While we can’t guarantee and may not be able to troubleshoot the performance of your specific hardware setup, we have a few recommendations that we hope will help:
- TVW does not start live legislative streaming events until the proceeding is officially begun by the chair or presiding individual. So if a video player does not change from a “Stand By” message at the designated time of an event, please be patient as it will begin to play live video when it officially starts.
- Pause the video to allow it to load more fully.
- Make sure you have the most updated version of the software you’re using.
- Refresh your browser page or try switching to a completely different browser.
- Make sure there are no other devices connected to your wi-fi that could be creating network traffic.
- Try connecting to your personal Hotspot on your phone.
- Restart your wi-fi router.
- Try switching to a different device.
Common Issues
Player won’t load or I got an error
If you are experiencing a white screen on a video page or if a video throws an error.
TVW components blocked by firewall
In some circumstances, your internet connection is behind a firewall or set of institutional business rules that are blocking TVW’s player components. This can lead to a failure to load the player and or the video stream itself. If you are on a corporate or government network (this includes being connected through a vpn), first contact your IT helpdesk to determine if TVW content on your device is being blocked. The help desk personnel can contact us if need be for assistance or general information at [email protected].
Update your browser or try a different one
A stream keeps buffering or won’t play
If you are experiencing buffering on a live stream, or if a video is not playing, follow the troubleshooting tips below.
Improve your Internet connection
We recommend an Internet speed of at least 2Mbps for an HD stream (you can perform a speed test here: https://projectstream.google.com/speedtest). If your connection is any less, try moving closer to your router, moving your router to a more central location, or connecting your computer directly to your modem.
Update your browser or try a different one
Clear your browser cache
If many items have been stored in your cache, you may experience some lag when trying to stream. You can find instructions on how to clear the cache for the browser you are using here.
Hard refresh the player page
Refreshing the player page (if on tvw.org or social sites) by using the Shift key and pressing the refresh button on the browser. This will remove any latent cached items and fully refresh the video player in order to get new video.
*This is particularly important if your device has gone to sleep, you may loose connectivity from our video streams and a refresh of the page may be necessary to continue a live or on-demand stream.
Restart your device
A restart of your device can fix a lot of problems you may be running into. Try turning your device completely off, then power back on and return to TVW.
If you believe that there may be a problem with the video itself, please report the issue to us.
The video quality is poor
There are two main reasons why a video may stream in poor quality:
Strength of Internet connection
The video quality is largely dependent on the strength of your Internet connection. As the strength of your Internet connection improves, so will the video quality, decreasing the amount of buffering you may experience.
Quality of video available
Some older videos are not available in HD and may not display as clearly when viewing on larger screens.
Video will play in HD when an HD feed is available and when your Internet connection will allow for it.
If you are viewing a more recent stream on a strong Internet connection and the quality is less than desired, please let us know at [email protected].
Common Questions
Video Streams auto start, but there’s no sound
TVW’s video streams will start playing as soon as video becomes available. This is a great feature if you are waiting for an event to begin. However, the online proliferation of advertising and autoplay videos have become a nuisance. Major browsers are now detecting autoplay videos and are forcing them muted or not allowing the autoplay feature unless they are muted. As a result TVW’s videos are set to be muted to allow for the autoplay feature to work. This avoids video being blocked completely by the browser. So check that the player is un-muted to hear the audio.
Live Streams are delayed a few seconds
If you happen to be an on-site observer to a live event and are watching the live stream from your phone, you will notice a delay (latency) between what’s happening on-site and what shows on your video screen. Don’t worry, this is completely normal! The delay can vary from 30 to 60 seconds depending on the network environment you are in and your specific Internet connection. Streaming video is for a mass audience, and in order to serve this audience and the wide array of devices and platforms to view the video, TVW uses the current standard video streaming protocol, HLS (http live streaming) to deliver its live video. HLS uses the similar technology web servers use to deliver webpage content. LIVE HLS streaming and even TV broadcasts will always have some element of latency. Live streaming is for a broad audience and is not the same as a video conference, where low latency is required for 2 way communication.
Network and browser requirements for viewing streams
The quality of your live playback experience is largely dependent on the download speed you have from ISP (Internet Service Provider) or mobile provider. Keep in mind that your overall internet speed can vary depending on many factors, including but not limited to: time of day, Wi-Fi performance, other devices/users utilizing your connection, and the strength of the signal provided by your ISP.
Download speeds
The following table shows the minimum speeds required for each playback quality:
Quality Required Minimum Bandwidth
160p / 128 kbps
240p / 500 kbps
360p / 850 kbps
720p / 1 Mbps
1080p / 2 Mbps
Desktop OS and Browser
TVW’s website was designed to support the latest browser technologies. It is compatible with all modern web browsers supporting HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. In addition, we recommend using the following browsers and versions on Windows 7 or later or macOS Sierra (10.12.6) or later:
- Chrome 30+ (has automatic updates)
- Firefox 27+ (has automatic updates)*
- Microsoft Edge**
- Safari 9+
**Internet explorer 11 is only partially supported and we do not guarantee video playback or stability.
*H.264 video (required for viewing TVW videos) is only supported in Firefox for Windows 7 and later. Firefox versions on Windows XP are no longer supported for playback.
Mobile devices
Mobile viewers can use Android (Lollipop) version 5.0+ or iOS version 12.4+.
⚠️ Blackberry and Windows phone users: You may still able to view TVW videos on devices that support HTML5; however, we do not test out our player in these environments and thus cannot guarantee support.
⚠️ Samsung users: The Samsung Internet browser (all versions) is not supported for TVW Live. We recommend installing Chrome instead.
Viewers should ensure the following ports are open on their network for playback:
TCP/UDP 80 (HTTP)
TCP/UDP 443 (HTTPS)
In addition, if your viewers are on a corporate network (office, university, hotel, etc.) that restricts access to certain websites or domains, they should have the following domains whitelisted:
*.invintus.com
*.invintusmedia.com
*.akamaihd.net
*.s73cloud.com
*.scaledrone.com
*.amazonaws.com
*.fastly.net
If you need more help…
We are here to help! E-mail us at [email protected]
For urgent issues or for IT professionals, you can contact us during business hours at 360.529.5303
TVW’s How to TVW Streaming Video FAQ page is sponsored with generous support from the Washington State Medical Association.