Listening Online FAQs

What hardware do I need to listen to KUOW online?

To listen to the KUOW stream, you need Internet access, a sound card and either speakers or headphones.

What are the recommended players to listen to KUOW's live stream?

Windows Media Player for PC, and for Mac
RealPlayer
iTunes

What are the recommended players to listen to KUOW's archives?

Any of the players listed above will play our archived programs, depending on the file type you are connecting to. You may notice that you connect to an M3U file when you click on the MP3 links. This will stream the MP3 to you rather than allow a download of the MP3.

How do I download audio from your archives?

Right-click on the download button, or control-click if you're a Mac user, and choose "save link as," or "save target as." Then save the MP3 to your desktop; you can transfer the file to a portable MP3 player if you prefer. If you click on the download button and QuickTime begins to play the file, your browser has been configured to handle MP3 files by opening QuickTime. You may change your browser settings, or you can go to the browser's File menu and choose "save page as" to save the file to your desktop. For an automated service, you are welcome to subscribe to KUOW-produced podcasts which offer the most recent programs delivered to your podcast aggregator on a regular basis.

What should I do if I get an error message when I try to listen?

Make sure you have the latest version of the audio player. Earlier versions often become incompatible as our server is upgraded. Please test other sites to verify that your player is working properly. If everything checks out on your end, the problem may be due to a server malfunction or a problem on our end. Please email Web Staff, and give as many details as possible including the error message or problem, your operating system and audio player version.

Why can I only hear the underwriting preroll when I connect to a stream?

A few listeners, particularly those using Windows Media Player (WMP), are only able to hear the preroll when they connect to a KUOW stream. Clearing the WMP cache should alleviate this problem, otherwise upgrade your player.

How do I listen to 'The Swing Years and Beyond' online?

The Swing Years streams live on any of our Listen Live formats, Saturdays, 7:00 p.m. to midnight. If you missed the show, you may listen to the stream on the program's Website for one week. After one week, the stream is replaced with the newest show. We cannot archive the audio for Swing Years, only the playlist. This online stream is not compatible with iTunes, Real or QuickTime. You can listen to it using Windows Media player by clicking on this link: http://kuow.org/stream/swingyears.asx

Why is the stream cutting out or buffering?

You will experience dropouts and buffering if your computer is not receiving data from the stream fast enough. Your computer will try to catch up with the missed data by halting operation and collecting it in a buffer. Internet congestion or insufficient bandwidth is often the cause of this issue. This can also happen if you connect to a stream that has a higher bit rate than your modem or connection speed can accommodate.

Solutions:

If you experience frequent buffering, make sure your Internet connection speed can handle the bit rate of the stream you are trying to listen to. Our MP3 Low stream (32kbps), Windows stream and RealAudio stream are all recommended for 56k dial-up modems or faster. Our MP3 High stream (128kbps), Windows stream and Real stream are recommended for use with DSL, ISDN, cable modems and T1 connections. If you believe the higher bandwidth streams should work for you, insufficient bandwidth or Internet congestion might be the problem instead of a problem with your system. Consider connecting to our MP3 Low stream. Links to our streams can be found on our Listen Live page.
You can also try closing other applications, deleting temporary files, clearing memory cache, increasing your media player's buffering settings and/or rebooting your computer.
Bandwidth on your computer or local network is shared between all open applications and media players that use the Internet. Buffering may be reduced by closing applications. If you use Microsoft Windows Media Player you can right-click on the Windows Media Player status bar and select "View" then click "Statistics" to see how much bandwidth a stream is using.
Internet congestion can slow down the delivery of the stream, make it difficult for you to connect or cause buffering. We suggest you try our MP3 streams using your favorite media player. If you repeatedly have difficulty connecting, please notify your ISP (Internet Service Provider) — there are often quick fixes they can make when they learn about your issue.