Help



  General

Houghton Mifflin's Thinkwell® Multimedia Video Lessons present students and instructors with over forty hours of presentations, and they can be accessed either through Eduspace® or from your textbook's website! Led by professors Dean Harman, Gordon Yee, and Tarek Sammakia, each presentation is a dynamic mini-lecture that reviews difficult topics and provides different perspectives and explanations of key chemistry concepts.

  System Requirements

General
Requirements describe the things you need on your computer to make the video presentations play. If you are having difficulty viewing the lessons, use this section as a checklist to ensure your computer is properly configured.


General System Requirements:

  • Operating system: Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP*; Mac OS 10.3.9 or higher
  • Processor: PC: 350Mhz Pentium II (minimum); Mac: PowerPC G3 (or later) or Intel processor
  • RAM: 128MB (minimum)
  • Sound card and speakers

*Note: Windows Vista is not currently a supported operating system.

Internet Connection
You must have a 256Kbps or faster broadband connection to view the video lessons. Lower speed connections, including dial-up, will not have enough bandwidth and will result in choppy playback with frequent pauses.

Internet Browser
On a PC, Internet Explorer 6.x is the recommended browser for viewing the video lessons. On a Mac, Safari 1.x (or higher) is the recommended browser. Video lessons will also display in Internet Explorer 5, Firefox 1.x and higher, and Netscape 8.x and higher. At this time, Internet Explorer 7 is not a supported browser.

RealPlayer®
***IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT REALPLAYER 11 BETA RELEASE***
The latest RealPlayer, version 11, is a BETA release by RealNetworks, and is not currently supported. Until RealNetworks releases a new Gold version of the RealPlayer software, RealPlayer 10.5 (Gold) is required when viewing the videos. To download version 10.5 (Gold) of theRealPlayer for your system, visit Real.com. On the downloads page, be sure to choose a download option, based on your computer's operating system, from the "RealPlayer 10 Operating Systems" section and follow the instructions to install.

Additional technical information follows:

The video lessons are SMIL (Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language) presentations that use Real Networks' RealPlayer to display content in your browser. The video lessons' web pages use a javascript to detect the presence of the RealPlayer on your computer. If you do not have any version of the RealPlayer installed on your computer, your browser should be redirected to a web page that provides information on obtaining the free RealPlayer.

The video lessons will play in the RealOne Player (version 9), but to ensure best playback quality, we recommend that you make sure to have RealPlayer 10.5 installed on your computer. The latest Gold version is version 10.5 for Windows (build: 6.0.12.xxxx) and version 10.1 for Mac (build number 10.1.0.xxx).

Screen Settings
The minimum recommended screen dimensions for viewing the video lessons is 1024×768. While the video lessons will play in your browser regardless of your system's screen dimensions, at 1024×768 you will be able to see all of the presentation content in one screen without having to scroll.

If you see this pop-up window, you may want to adjust your screen settings:

Screen Dimension Check Javascript Message








Click "OK" to clear this message, and the video lesson will begin loading and playing.


To change your screen's dimensions setting on Windows:

  1. In an open space on your desktop (an area unoccupied by icons), right-click with your mouse.
  2. Click "Properties"
  3. Click the "Settings" Tab

    Windows Display Properties Dialog

  4. In the "Screen Area" portion of the dialog box, drag the slider to the right (towards "More") until you reach the screen area 1024×768.
  5. Click "Apply."
  6. Windows will inform you that the change is about to be made. Click "OK" to continue.

    Windows Confirm Apply New Settings Message

  7. The change is made, and Windows asks if you want to keep the new settings. Click "Yes."

    Windows Confirm Keep New Settings Message

  8. Click "OK" in the Display Properties dialog box to close it.

To change your screen's dimensions setting on Mac:

  1. From the Apple menu, select "System Preferences"
  2. In the "System Preferences" panel, select the "Displays" tab.

    Mac Displays Panel

  3. From "Resolutions," select 1024×768 resolution or higher.
  4. Once you've selected a new resolution, the display will automatically adjust.
  5. Close the "Displays" panel.

Common Errors
If your system does not meet the requirements as set out above, you may encounter the following:

  • Server connection problems
  • Server timeout responses
  • Dropped/lost connections
  • Long load times
  • Choppy playback
  • Frequent pauses
  • Low display quality and pixelation
  • Missing file errors

  Troubleshooting

With low to medium Internet traffic and providing your system meets the minimum requirements for quality playback, connection to HMCo servers, loading, and playback of the video lessons should occur shortly after you first access the video lesson web page. With heavy Internet traffic, as more users attempt to load and view the same presentations, loading times can increase significantly.

If you are experiencing problems when viewing the videos, please try the following:

  • Use your browser's Refresh button to reestablish the connection to HMCo's server and reload the content.

  • Try playing a different video presentation. If you are able to successfully play other presentations, the trouble you are experiencing is related to heavy Internet traffic, and you should try accessing the original intended video at a later time.

  • Increase your RealPlayer server time-out settings by following these instructions:
    1. Open RealPlayer.
    2. From the "Tools" menu, select "Preferences."
    3. In the Category pane of the Preferences panel, select "Connection."
    4. Under "Network Time-out" increase the values in the "Connection" and "Server" boxes by 20 seconds.
    5. Click "OK" to close the Preferences panel.
    6. Return to the video presentation and click "Play."
    7. If unsuccessful, continue increasing time-out settings in 20 second increments.

  • Use the RealPlayer to determine your appropriate bandwidth settings by following these instructions:
    1. Open RealPlayer.
    2. From the "Tools" menu, select "Preferences."
    3. In the Category pane of the Preferences panel, select "Connection."
    4. Under "Bandwidth," click the "Test Connection" button.
    5. A confirmation box will appear. Click "Perform Test," and the RealPlayer will begin the test.
    6. Your bandwidth test results will appear, click the "Update" button to update your bandwidth settings.
    7. Click "OK" to close the Preferences Panel.
    8. Return to the video presentation and click "Play."

  • Check RealPlayer's online status setting by following these instructions:
    1. Open RealPlayer.
    2. From the "Tools" menu, select "Preferences."
    3. In the Category pane of the Preferences panel, select "Connection."
    4. Under "Online Status," change the default to "Assume I am online."
    5. Click "OK" to close the Preferences panel
    6. Return to the video presentation and click "Play."

  • Configure your firewall to allow RealPlayer to access the Internet. Learn more from Real.com

If you receive specific error messages, please report the content of the message along with information about when the presentation was accessed and your system configuration to HMCo customer support.

  Contact

Please contact customer support with your queries about Houghton Mifflin's Thinkwell® Multimedia Video Lessons.

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company and Thinkwell, Inc.


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General

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General
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Screen Settings
Summary

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