FAQs

Q. Can I use REACT at my school?
A. REACT software will not be available to schools until September 2007. Schools will be able to install/upgrade their version of REACT once the software has been rolled out.

Over the holidays the REACT software was upgraded. Distance Education schools are piloting and testing the new version during August/September.

Click here for a list of schools and their Bandwidth.

Q. How do I log-on to IDL?
A. Check out the REACT Quick Start Guide

Q. If you have lost your IDL log-on or require a log-on?
A. Contact the IDL leader in your region.

Q. How do I know what sessions are on?
A. Check out the timetables for current sessions at the different studios.

Q. Who should I contact for help with IDL
A. Contact the appropriate IDL leader for your region.

Q. Who should I contact to present over IDL?
A. Contact the IDL Leader for your region.  There are studios at Alice Springs School of the Air (ASSOA), Katherine School of the Air (KSA) and Northern Territory Open Education College (NTOEC).  Contact the IDL leader in your region to book a session after school hours.

Q. Which Webcam for REACT/IDL ?
A. From our experiences to date we have found that the Logitech webcams work best with React. The following webcams allow you to adjust the light and contrast and have inbuilt echo canceling microphones.  When using a desktop and not moving the equipment around we recommend the Sphere MP, this also has a stick for positioning the camera at the correct height.  If you are using a laptop the Quick Cam for Notebooks Pro seem to work well. These webcams can be bought from most computer shops or from the IT Services Centre.  Should you need advice on what to purchase contact the IDL leader in your region.

WebCams
Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Pro - to use with laptops.
Logitech QuickCam Sphere MP - to use for desktops.

Q. Headsets/microphones for REACT/IDL?
A. The teacher laptops have a known issue with their sound cards, and it is recommended that USB headsets or microphones are used.  For the situation where you want to listen quietly without disturbing others the headset is recommended, specifically the Logitech 250 has proved effective.  For a situation where you may have a group of students listening and speaking the MVox maybe a better solution. There is also software that can be used to setup the echo canceling properties of the microphone.

Headsets / Microphones
Logitech USB250 Headset
Mvox MV100 USB Speakerphone (good for when there is more than one person)

Q. How do I adjust my audio and video settings for REACT
A. Check out the help notes – Audio Device Settings.

Q. IDL Machine?  Is there such as beast?
A. Under the new IDL design - any machine that has XP, SSP2, REACT installed and is connected to the schools network can received and deliver IDL. There is no longer a specific IDL machine.

Previously remote schools has a specific IDL machine, as the upgrade is/was completed these machines are re-imaged with XP and REACT is installed.  These computers can be used as any other computer in the school fleet. Maintenance of the old IDL machines have been absorbed into the existing IT Services Centre support contract - so if there are problems with the computers schools just ring the IT Services Centre and they will deal with it. 

Q. Where are the help files for REACT
A. Check out the manuals and other helpful notes on this website.

Q. What is the latest version of REACT?
A. The current version of REACT is v 4.0.15. This version was released in September 2007 and included new text and graphic collaborative tools. For a copy of this contact the IDL leader in your region.

Q. How do I connect to REACT from home?
A. If you have a good internet connection (Broadband/ADSL) and a computer with XP on it.  You should be able to install REACT and connect from home.  You will need to change your settings at the log-on screen to come in through the internet.  Please note that wireless connections are not recommended when using REACT.  Please contact the IDL leader in your region for more details.

Q. Using REACT between schools?
A. Schools that have a good terrestrial network connection, are able to use REACT. Check out the bandwidth connection for your school. Please contact the IDL leader in your region for more details.

Q. How do I Video conference with REACT?
A. You will need a webcam and microphone and 2 schools with good bandwidth. However, it is important that you are aware of what else is going on in your schools at the time and the impact that REACT will have on other activities such as email and web browsing.  

Contact the IDL leader in your region for more details.

Q. REACT hangs when connecting to a Venue?
A. Check your computers’ processor. The AMD, sempron processor is known to have an issue. Please do not try to use REACT if the computer you are using has this processor.

Q. After connecting to the Venue Server you do not see friendly names and pictures?
A. This indicates that there has been congestion at one time.  You will need to leave the venue and quit out of REACT until the congestion is no longer a problem.  This will not impact on what you are doing and so if you do not need this information you can continue as is.

Q. Video quality is poor or pixelated
A. This could be a number of problems and each needs to be eliminated:

Do you have an adequate graphics card? – M & S recommend a separate graphics card (using AGP).

 Is there network congestion?

Eg Can you see dropped packets? – try reducing video rate to 100KB.

Check the load on the CPU.

M & S recommend that the CPU is operating at less than 50% - M & S recommend you use a Pentium 4 or Centrino duo (a hyperthreading processor is a must).

Q. Audio is out of synch with the video?
A. Check the load on the CPU.  M & S recommend that the CPU is operating at less than 50% - Typically a Pentium 4 or Centrino duo (a hyperthreading processor is a must).

The audio to loose synch, if when you enter a venue the presenter has lots of processes running. Eg Desktop sharing and running a presentation, if you enter the venue late and it takes about 5-6 secs to load with CPU running at 100% you will need to reset the audio.

Hint : to re synch the audio with the video, toggle the mute icon in REACT.

Q. Experiencing Jitter eg Voice breakup and video pixelation?
A. Symptoms - packets are being dropped as there is not enough bandwidth, or there are bottleneck in networks, or there other activities at the school using the resources eg sending large email, downloading from internet.

Fix - Can you reduce the bandwidth usage at the school end eg reduce video quality.

Reduce the number of people who are contributing via the reflector (or get them to stop sending their video by clicking on video icon in REACT).

Q. Experiencing Feedback and no audio
A. Leave the venue and chose your audio settings. 

Q. Audio window appears muted?
A. Possibly this block is due to firewall rules on port 5004/5005.  Try sending our audio/chat (or any data) as this may trigger other person’s audio.  Otherwise the network could be congested (look for dropped packets) – reduce the video (or don’t use it).

Q. No one can hear you?
A. The volume of the microphone is set in Windows either through USB`connection or sound card.  When using the sound card – check on the computer that mic has been selected NOT line in or CD.

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