IT Self Help

• Accessibility
• Email for Students
• Email for Staff
• Freewire TV
• Home and Away
• Internet and World Wide Web
• Manage your IT Account
• Media
• Personal File Store
• Personal Networks
• Portables (Staff)
• Printing/MFDs
• Remote Assistance
• Saving your Files
• Security
• Teaching Technology (AV Equipment)
• Telephones
• Viruses
• Wireless & Wired Networks
• Wireless Network for Staff

This service provides a number of Freeview channels for students living in University accommodation via the University's JANET Internet connection.

The service works over a wired network connection, so is available in all accommodation.

The selection of channels available at Telford is smaller because of the network requirements, and does not include the pay channels.

The service is free, unless you subscribe to the pay channels (similar to those offered by NTL and Sky, though Sky's own channels are not included at present). However, you must have a TV license to use this service legally.

Client software is available for Windows (XP, Vista or 7) and for Macintoshes running OS X (10.4 and higher). On Windows the suppliers recommend at least a 2.4Ghz Pentium 4 processor with 1GB of memory. It may work on older PCs, but the picture quality may be reduced.

To get the software running on Windows this is what you have to do:

1. Get an account with INUK Networks, who operate the service.
2. Install the Freewire client software.
3. Configure your firewall to allow the content to reach your PC. Most firewalls will block it by default.

The rest of this page deals with each of these steps in turn.

1. Get an INUK account

First go to the Freewire TV site, (http://www.freewire.tv/). This is what you will see:

Under My Account, on the right of the window, select New User?. This will lead you through a dialogue to set up an account, which you will later use to log into the Freewire Client. Note - it's important that you do this from your room in your accommodation, because otherwise your account may be set up with the wrong set of channels. You won't get any extra ones if that happens, but you may not be shown some that you could receive.

2. Install the client

At the Freewire TV site (see above) click on Download under TotalTV (at the left of the window). This will take you to a page where you can select a Windows or Macintosh platform, then download and install the software.

3. Configure the firewall

The University requires every PC on the network to have a personal firewall installed. This restricts the data that is allowed to flow in and out of the PC, in order to protect it from malicious users or compromised systems on the network. However, this means that the Freewire TV application may not be able to receive content sent by the transmitting server, in which case you will be able to see the EPG (electronic programme guide), but whatever channel you select, you will get the message "This channel is not broadcasting".

If you are running Windows Firewall, the Freewire installer will offer to configure it for you during the installation. If you have F-Secure, it will not require configuration. For other firewalls, click the appropriate link from the list below:

• Norton Internet Security
  
• McAfee Security Center
  
• Kaspersky Internet Security

If your are using a firewall on a Macintosh, or your Windows product is not in this list, please consult the documentation that was supplied with it. Most packages allow you to permanently authorise a new application.

Troubleshooting

• First, have you logged into Clean Access? The Freewire TV client won't work unless you have.
• Next, make sure that you have carried out all the steps listed above.
• There are FAQs available on the INUK website that cover common problems, and if those don't help, there's a link to email them for further support. Please note that the IT Services Service Desk cannot help with Freewire TV problems, unless you also can't use the network at all.