symposium home >> technical specifications

The Cross-Cultural Rhetoric International Symposium will be held using Marratech technology. Marratech supports real-time video and audio when used in conjunction with a web camera and microphone.

We will be scheduling preliminary connection tests with participants to insure problem-free connections on the day of the symposium itself. Contact the CCR team to schedule a connection test on a day and time of mutual convenience before June 8.

SOFTWARE/HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS

Software: Marratech. Download it free for PCs or for Macs at http://www.marratech.com.

Peripherals: For the audio/visual interface, participants should use a web camera and an echo-cancelling microphone or headphones/microphone in conjunction with Marratech. Let the CCR Project team know by June 6 if you have difficulty procuring a webcam or microphone from your institution. Note: even without these peripherals, it is possible to participate in the symposium through Marratech.

CONNECTION INSTRUCTIONS

For general marratech set-up, watch Bob Smith's Marratech for Innocents. Note also that the printable version of the instructions below contains screenshots to be even more user-friendly.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Note: Please try to connect at least 10 minutes before the start of the Symposium so that our tech team can help you work through any problems that may arise.

• No one can hear you. Make sure your microphone icon in the lower right is lit up.
  • If the microphone icon is lit up but no one can hear you, go to the Tools menu (on a PC; Preferences on a Mac) and go to Audio. Make sure you have the right audio input (microphone) selected. If you're using a separate webcam, you probably should select the microphone embedded in your webcamera.
  • If the microphone button only lights up when you press on it, you're in walkie-talkie mode. To get rid of walkie-talkie mode, go to the Tools menu (on a PC; Preferences on a Mac) and go to Audio. Make sure that the walkie-talkie button is not checked.
  • Quick fix: Communicate via the chat room (lower right of the marratech window) to ask for help.
  • Can't fix it? Participate in the conversation using the chat room.
• You can't hear anyone else. Make sure that your speaker icon in the lower right is lit up; it should light up when you click on it. If this doesn't work, go to the Tools menu (on a PC; Preferences on a Mac) and go to Audio. Make sure you have the right speaker selected.
  • Quick fix: Communicate via the chat room (lower right of the marratech window) to ask for help.
• No one can see you. Make sure your webcamera is plugged in. Make sure that the camera icon in the lower right of the Marratech screen is lit up; it should light up when you press on it. If your camera still doesn't seem to be working:
  • Sometimes, if you've activated your webcamera software before you've entered Marratech, you'll cause a communication problem between Marratech and your camera. Close out of Marratech and come back in again and see if this resolves the problem.
  • Can't fix it? Participate in the conversation without your webcam.
• You see a red and yellow bar across your participants window. This means you are having bandwidth issues. Some options:
  • This often occurs when you're using a wireless network rather than connecting to the internet through a wired connection. Establish a wired connection by plugging your computer into an ethernet cable to see if this resolves the issue.
  • Another way to solve this problem is to to turn off your video. You can try turning it on again in a moment to see if the issue clears up.
• Can't fix it? Participate in the conversation without your webcam.
• You don't hear an echo, but people say that you're echoing. Often, the person causing an echo can't hear it. If you're told that you're echoing, the first step is to go into your Marratech options/preferences and make sure you have the right input/output selected for your audio (sometimes, for instance, even though you've plugged in a headset, Marratech will still take its audio from your computer, unless instructed to do otherwise). You should also go into your Computer's settings, look in the Sound settings, and make sure your audio input and output sources are correct. However, for the sake of community spirit and productive conversation, please be prepared to do one of the following if you're told that you're echoing:
  • Use Walkie-Talkie mode. To go into Walkie-Talkie mode, go to the Tools menu (on a PC; Preferences on a Mac) and go to Audio. Check the walkie-talkie button. To be heard, you simply need to hold down on the microphone button, and release it when you're listening.
  • Use headphones. Usually echo is caused by a conflict between your speakers and your microphone, so by using headphones, you prevent your microphone from "hearing" what's coming through your speakers, eliminating any echoes that might come from a slight time delay.
• You can see the PowerPoint, but it doesn't seem to advance. Usually when you watch slides on the whiteboard space of Marratech, the slides advance on your computer when the speaker advances them. However, occasionally, that doesn't work. In that case, you will need to manually advance the slides by using the pull-down menu that is directly under the menu bar at the top of the Marratech screen.
  • Still doesn't work? Then download the PowerPoint from the website to your computer and run through the slides yourself in another window rather than looking at them through Marratech.
• Marratech just doesn't seem to be working right for you. In case of weird quirks (delays, freezing, extreme out-of-sync video/audio), you may want to close out of Marratech and rejoin. Just let people know what you're doing through the chat room before disappearing!
• Have a question during a presentation or discussion? Type it into the chat room window and either one of the project leaders or one of our helpful Tech Ghosts who will be haunting our Marratech rooms will try to answer it promptly.