FAQs
Need help using Vokle? Read the questions, learn the facts.
Setup
How can I tell if my camera is set up?
There are two ways:
What do I do if my video looks choppy?
- While in an event click the gray "Setup" button you should see yourself in the window that comes up. If you don't click "Select another camera"
- You can also right-click (Windows) or Control-click (Mac) anywhere in the event or on the embedded player and select "Settings". This will bring up the Adobe Flash Settings Panel. From here you can change privacy and camera settings for Adobe Flash.
Check that your upload bandwidth is above 400KB and your download is above 1MB by using
SpeedTest.net.
If you are on a wireless connection sometimes plugging into your router may give you a better experience.
If you are on dial-up and you are looking for hot topics we suggest reading a newspaper instead.
Why is my video window black when I broadcast?
If you are on dial-up and you are looking for hot topics we suggest reading a newspaper instead.
There are a number of reasons you could not be seeing your video:
What version of Flash does Vokle require?
- Make sure you are not running any other software that uses your webcam (Skype, iChat, AIM, Webex, Photobooth, GTalk, etc).
- Also some cameras have an utilities/applicataions that will open when the camera is accessed. Flash cannot connect to your camera while those types of applications are open. So make sure they are closed, and refresh the browser.
Vokle requires Adobe Flash version 10.3 and higher. You can check your version of Flash and upgrade your Flash player
here.
How can I broadcast/share my desktop?
We are currently working on a desktop sharing functionality in the meantime there are a number of applications available that provide this functionality.
For Windows: For Mac: Disclaimer: Vokle is not affiliated with the developers of any of these Screen Sharing utilities. Install them at your own risk.
For Windows: For Mac: Disclaimer: Vokle is not affiliated with the developers of any of these Screen Sharing utilities. Install them at your own risk.
How stuff works
Why is the "Join Event" button missing from the event player!?
What is the difference between a 'series' and an 'event'?
That happens for one of two reasons:
What are the roles in a Vokle event?
- The event hasn't started yet. You cannot enter a Vokle event until 1 hour before the chat begins. If you see a countdown timer in the top right corner of the event player, once it drops below 1 hour you'll be able to join.
- The event is already over. You were late, try again.
- Host - Runs the show and may also own the event. They are the only one that can start and end a broadcast. A host can broadcast questions, but they CANNOT screen them. They are Ωmega.
- Producer - Runs the show and may also own the event. The producer is essentially a host that wants to stay 'behind the scenes' and run the show, but not be on camera. They are cool and everyone in LA wants to be one.
- Co-host - Just like a host, except they do not own the event. Co-hosts are permanent video conversationalists invited by the host.
- Editor - Handles cutting between video streams and text questions. The editor is the 'camera man'.
- Screener - Screens incoming live video calls and text questions.
- Attendee - Someone that has 'entered' the event. Attendees can place live video calls and send in text questions to participate live face-to-face with the hosts and cohosts.
- Spectator - Someone that is watching an event from the embedded player, but has not 'entered' the event.
A line up is a collection of events. You can think of the series as something like a TV Show. It has a schedule, and the events (which are like episodes of a TV show) play on that schedule.
How do you schedule events?
Events can be scheduled using the
Vokle Planner.
From the planner click "Create Event" give your event series a title and description. After saving your event series you will be presented with
the schedule creation form. Vokle allows you to set elaborate schedules for your events. You can have a one day event or you can have an event that occurs on any schedule you can imagine.
Lineups can have as many schedules as you want.
When are my schedules/events generated?
Schedules are generated for up to a 30 day span as soon as the schedule is added to the series. Schedules are also processed every 8 hours after that generating any series that are upcoming in the next 30 days.
How do I cancel a series or event?
Lineups and events can be cancelled from the
Vokle Planner.
Lineups, schedules and events can be cancelled.
How come when I add an ics file to my calendar it doesn't update? / How do I sign up to a series or event calendar?
- Canceling a series will cancel all events and stop schedule generation for that series.
- Canceling a schedule will only cancel the events that fall in that schedule. Events will not be generated for cancelled schedules.
- Canceling an event will cancel that event only. Very useful if you found something better to do than play around on the Internet one day.
By default most web browsers download the calendar (ics file) and add it to your calendar. When this happens its added "statically" and won't update. To get the calendars to update you have to "subscribe" to them from your calendaring application.
Subscribing to a calendar with iCal:
- On the event or series page click the clipboard to copy the "calendar url"
- Open iCal, click "Calendar" in the toolbar and select "Subscribe..."
- Paste the "calender url" into the text box and click "Subscribe"
- Another page should appear, set "Auto-refresh" to "Every hour" and click "OK"
- It will appear in the drawer on the left side of iCal
Subscribing to a calendar with Outlook:
- On the event or series page click the clipboard to copy the "calendar url"
- Open Outlook, select "File" from the toolbar then "Data File Management"
- Select the "Internet Calendars" tab. Click "New," and then paste the iCal URL into the field. Hit "Add."
- Configure the subscription then click "OK" when complete
- It will display under "Other Calendars"
Subscribing to a calendar with Google Calendar:
- On the event or series page click the clipboard to copy the "calendar url"
- Sign in to Google Calendar
- On the left side under "Other Calendars" click "Add" then select "Add by URL"
- Paste the URL into the "URL" field and click "Add Calendar"
Network / Bandwidth
How can I find out what my bandwidth is?
There is a really great site called
Speedtest.net
that provides free bandwidth testing. Check them out!
What are the bandwidth requirements for Vokle?
These values aren't hard set, but the higher they are, the cooler your experience will be.
What ports do I need to have open?
- Broadcasting: 400KB upload speed and higher
- Attending: 1MB download speed and higher
Vokle will 'fail over' to using port 80 on your computer, which is probably already open. To increase the performance of Vokle you can open port 1935. Here are some links on opening ports:
Hardware
How do I stop my audio from echoing?
What you need my friend, is to probably put on some headphones. If the audio is coming out regular speakers, it is probably going right back in your microphone. Wearing a simple pair of ear buds like you get with an iPod will work great. Or if you want you can wear some premium ear phones like
we do.
Yeah, we know we look like we are landing F-14s and we are OK with that.
Are there any known hardware issues?
Yes, in fact there is.
Does Vokle recommend any web cameras or headsets?
- Bluetooth headsets and headphones that are not connected can cause Adobe Flash to crash. We are waiting for Adobe to fix/address this issue.
- There is a bug in Adobe Flash implementation for Mac OSX that causes a high use of processing power. Due to this we lower the the quality of the video on Mac OSX. We are waiting for Adobe to fix address this issue.
- There is a bug in Adobe Flash that will crash the browser when trying to use Audio and Video from a Firewire camera. When using firewire cameras make sure to select a different audio source than the audio coming from the camera.
We are opinionated, so of course we do.
Headsets / Headphones
- Full blow headset: Creative Labs Fatal1ty (~$50)
- Stereo Earbuds: Sony MDREX90LP (~$60) or Sony MDREX38iP (~$30)
- iPod earbuds also work great if you have a set and don't want to spend money.
Webcams
- If you have a Mac, the built-in iSight is awesome.
- Philips SPC-1300NC (~$65) w/ Audio!
- Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 ($~53)
- Logitech QuickCam Deluxe ($~50) Compact!
- Logitech QuickCam Orbit (~$100) - Built in tracking! - Super cool
My Account
I forgot my password, where can I reset it?
You can't its lost forever, JUST KIDDING. You can reset it
here.
An email will be sent to you with a link that will allow you to log in and reset your password.
How do I change my password?
If you are logged in you can click the 'edit' link in the top right corner. Then just above the profile form there is a link that says 'Change Password'.
Or you can simply click here.
How do I deactivate my account?
Or you can simply click here.
Now why would you want to do that? If you REALLY want to deactivate your account:
What happens to my data after I deactivate my account?
- Log in
- Click 'edit' in the top right corner
- Click 'deactivate my account' at the bottom of the page and follow the directions.
- Your account page and RSS feeds are removed.
- All themes and file assets you uploaded will be removed.
- Your name is anonymized in our database.
- Your series and events remain on the site branded with the 'hosted by' name they had when you deactivated your account.
- Demographical data is retained so we can continue to improve the quality of the site and events on the site.
- Any Vokle credits you have will be forfeit.
- Outstanding earnings made from your event will be paid as normal.
Other
How can I get in touch with the Vokle team?
You can do that by going to our Contact Us page
How do I shot web?
¯\(°_o)/¯
Why are the times of events inaccurate on my computer?
Times may appear off or incorrect if the time on your computer is incorrect. Make sure you have your computer set to update its time automatically. See your operating systems Help Center for details on how to do this.