SermonAudio.com - Help With Audio/Video

TIPS, FAQS, AND RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS | TIPS & TRICKS

TAKE THE AUDIO/VIDEO TEST

Welcome to SermonAudio.com! Home of the largest library of FREE MP3 audio sermons from conservative Christian churches and ministries on the web!

This section is designed to help you take advantage of the 656,900+ audio sermons available on our site with some basic tests and answers to frequent questions and common problems. We make use of two different media technologies: MP3 (for archived audio sermons) and Windows Media (for live webcasts and archived videos).

Both the MP3 and Windows Media Video formats allow you to stream the sermon (for immediate playback) or download it to your PC for later enjoyment. And both formats are widely adopted on many popular portable media and MP3 players so you can listen to the sermons on-the-go!

Click on the buttons below to test if your computer is properly configured to enjoy the audio or video sermons (via MP3 and MP4) on our site.

If you were unable to hear and see the test, continue below...

VIDEO FORMATS

SermonAudio videos are available in .MP4 (H.264) format. This is compatible with both Mac and Windows, as well as many mobile devices such as iPhones, iPads and Androids.

If you are using an older version of Windows, you may need to download and install additional codecs in order to enable playback in certain applications such as Windows Media Player. Here you can find instructions for installing a h264 codec for Windows Media Player.

WINDOWS VISTA & WINDOWS 7: RECOMMENDED SETUP & QUICK SOLUTION

For Vista and Windows 7, we recommend using the built-in Windows Media Player as your default player to listen to the MP3 sermons and watch our videos and live webcasts. Make sure it is your default player for MP3 audio and videos. Use the Associations settings in the Control Panel to set the Default Program to Windows Media Player.
Enable cookies in your browser (it should be by default, for more detailed help see below).
Disable any "download accelerators" or "blocking" filters that may interefere with SermonAudio.
We recommend using Windows 7 with at least 1024x768 resolution on a broadband connection with Internet Explorer for the optimal experience.
We also recommend using Windows 7's built-in firewall and Windows' FREE anti-virus tool.
And remember to always apply the latest security patches to your computer.

WINDOWS XP: RECOMMENDED SETUP & QUICK SOLUTION

For XP, install the latest version of WinAmp as your default MP3 player to listen to the MP3 sermons. Make sure it is your default player for MP3 audio.
Install the latest version of Windows Media Player as your default "everything-else" player (for video and live webcasts). Make sure you go to Tools/Options/FileTypes and click on "Select All" then UN-check the MP3 Audio (MP3) file type if you are using WinAmp instead (shown below).
Enable cookies in your browser (for more detailed help see below).
Disable any "download accelerators" or "blocking" filters that may interefere with SermonAudio.
We recommend using Windows XP with at least 1024x768 resolution on a broadband connection (with Internet Explorer) for the optimal experience.
We also recommend using Window's built-in firewall, AVG's free anti-virus tool, and Microsoft's (Windows Defender) free anti-spyware tool.
And remember to always apply the latest security patches to your computer.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS & DETAILED HELP

How do I play or download sermons on SermonAudio?
SermonAudio requires that cookies be enabled on your browser!
Comment: To take full advantage of SermonAudio.com you need to have all cookies enabled. Cookies are tiny text files stored on your computer when you visit certain web pages. SermonAudio.com uses cookies to remember the fact that you've, for example, already entered your email or Member ID once and do not need to enter it again. Cookies cannot harm your computer and do not contain any personal or private information.
I repeatedly get the page that requires me to enter my email address!
Answer: There are a couple of reasons as to why this is happening. The most obvious one is that you do not have COOKIES enabled on your browser (please refer to the above question).

Answer: Another possibility is that you may have a firewall or other "blocking" filter program running that prevents cookies from getting to your computer. Please disable this temporarily and see if that helps.

Answer: You can actually skip this page by clicking on the "Later" button. If you do click on the "Later" button, you will temporarily be allowed to skip that page, but you will be prompted again (at a later time) to enter your email address.

Answer: Finally, the email address that you have provided may be invalid. We *require* that a valid email address is provided in exchange for the thousands of FREE MP3 sermons available on the site. If we are unable to send our automated "confirmation email" to the provided address, then you will be prompted to type in your address again.
If the system is rejecting your email address as an invalid address (incorrectly) and would like to have your email address removed from our 'bad addresses list', please click on this form...
Question: Still more cookies problems. I've set the Privacy settings to accept cookies properly, but it's still not accepting cookies!
Answer: Your timezone and date/time settings on your computer may be incorrectly set. For older PCs, believe it or not, this affects cookies! To read about more possible solutions to cookie-related problems, click here to read an article on Microsoft's site.
Question: My cookies are ON, but I still cannot download any MP3 sermons.
Answer: Please be sure you are not "right-clicking" on the initial Download Link. Simply "click" on the initial Download Link and that should work for you.
Question: The "Save Target As" menu option is disabled when I try to download an MP3 sermon.
Answer: Be sure that "Content Advisor" is disabled on your browser (for Internet Explorer 4.0 and above). The "Content Advisor" (in Tools/Options/Content) disables the "Save Target As" menu option. This is by design according to Microsoft. You can read about it by clicking here.
Question: I can download sermons, but I cannot stream!
Try clearing out your browser's cache (Temporary Files). In Internet Explorer, go to "Tools/Internet Options" then click on the "Delete Files" button. This or any of the solutions above may help solve this particular problem.
Question: How do I download multiple MP3 sermons consecutively?
For this, you must be either a "PLUS" or "FULL" Member of SermonAudio. Click here for more information about becoming a member. If you are already a member, you must use the Windows-based SermonAudio Transfer Agent to download multiple MP3 sermons.
Another option is to use your favorite podcasting client to download your "My Favorite Sermons" via a protected podcast feed. Learn more here!
Question: How do I create audio CDs (to listen in my car or stereo) from an MP3 file?
To do this, you need to first Download the MP3 of any sermon (use the "Download MP3" link on any sermon detail page to do this). Next, using the tool of your choice, you should be able to take that MP3 and burn an AUDIO CD with it (ie: Windows Media Player will do this for you).
Live Webcast Question: I cannot get the Live Webcast to work!
You need to make absolutely sure that you have the "latest and greatest" version of Windows Media Player installed on your computer. You can download the latest version for free. The best platform for Live Webcasts is going to be Windows as we use the Windows Media format for all webcasting.
Live Webcast Question: I have the latest version of WMP but it still doesn't work!
Here are some suggestions:
Answer: Make sure there are no "blocking" programs that may possibly be interfering with the Live Webcast stream. Try temporarily disabling them and see if it works.
Answer: Be sure that you have sufficient bandwidth and that your Internet connection speed is adequately fast without anything else tying up the connection.
Answer: Make sure that under "Tools/Options" (in WMP), in the "File Types" tab, the "Select All" button is pressed and give it another go.
Answer: Make sure that under "Tools/Options" (in Internet Explorer), you empty out the Temporary Files (cache). This may take some time. Your computer has not "hung." Please be patient. Sometimes this does the trick.
VIDEO Question: I can't *stream* the video.. It keeps wanting to download the entire video first!
Answer: Install the latest version of Windows Media Player as your default video player.
Answer: Make sure that under "Tools/Options" (in WMP), in the "File Types" tab, the "Select All" button is pressed and give it another go (you can UN-check the MP3 Audio (MP3) file type only if you are using an alternate player for MP3... like WinAmp).