Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What will be broadcasted via Webstream?

“Die Walküre” on August 21st, 2010, 4 p.m. CEST (GMT+2)

What is the time frame of the opera?

The opera lasts about 5 hours and 50 minutes, including intermissions.

1st Act: 4 p.m.
Intermission
2nd Act: 6.05
Intermission
3rd Act: 8.35 p.m. to approx. 9.50 p.m.

What happens during the intermissions?

During the two breaks, you are supplied with an exclusive programme. You can call up the intermission programme in German or English. In doing this, the offered languages are divided into streams with subtitles and streams without subtitles.

You can find an overview here:

German intermission programme:
HD-Stream 2.5 Mbit/s – without ST
Stream 1 Mbit/s – without ST
Stream 500 kbit/s – without ST

English intermission programme:
HD-Stream 2.5 Mbit/s – with ST
Stream 1 Mbit/s – with ST
Stream 500 kbit/s – with ST

Note: The live stream continues to run during the intermission programme. You do not need to stop your stream during the intermissions. Even during the intermissions, you can choose your favourite language in the player.

What is the opera “Die Walküre” about?

For details of the storyline read here. (in German only)

Which cast is in the production of “Die Walküre”?

The complete cast can be found here. (in German only)

How much does the Online Ticket cost?

The Online Ticket costs € 14,90. This includes an exclusive backstage tour and an additional chance of viewing the opera on-demand between August 21st and September 5th 2010.

Are subtitles available?

Yes, there are German subtitles available for all bandwidths:
You can decide whether you want to see the subtitles by selecting the stream. You can show and remove the subtitles during the transmission. However, the stream stops briefly and restarts it with the latest selection.

Where and how can I register?

Please click on “Buy Ticket” and you will reach a form into which you can enter your data and with which you can place the order.

Click here for further information.

How does the payment work?

You have the choice between payment by credit card, Paypal or ClickandBuy.

Please choose your method of payment and click the button "Pay Now”. After a successful payment you will receive a confirmation via email as well as your invoice as PDF file (in case you cannot open it, please download and install Acrobat Reader onto your computer).

Click here for further information.

Do I receive an invoice?

Yes, you will. After a successful payment you will receive a confirmation via email as well as your invoice as PDF file (in case you cannot open it, please download and install Acrobat Reader onto your computer).

Is it possible to purchase more than one ticket?

You can register more than once with the same e-mail address on the website. The system will automatically generate an additional user name and will send the access data via email to you. You can pass this data to any person of your choice.

What are the system requirements?

At least PC or laptop with Intel Pentium IV Processor, Apple Macintosh G5
Operating system: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Mac OS X 10.4,
at least 512 MB RAM, 64 MB graphics card, resolution 1024x768, Sound card with speakers
Flash Player: Version 9.0.115 or higher, test your installed version here, you can get an update here.
Web browser: Firefox 2.0 or higher, Internet Explorer 6 or higher (recommended), Safari 3 or higher
Bandwidth: 1000 Kbit/s (comparable to T-DSL 1000) for 500 Kbit/s stream and 2000 Kbit/s (comparable to T-DSL 2000) for 1000 Kbit/s stream.
At least one of the following RTMP ports on your firewall (1935, 443, 80) or RTMPT Port 80 must be open. You can run a port check here.

To playback a HD stream the following system parameters are required:
PC or laptop with Dual Core (2 Ghz+) Processor, Apple Macintosh Intel Core Duo 2.66 GHz or higher
Operating system: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.4,
2 GB RAM or higher, 128 MB graphics card or higher, resolution 1920x1080, Sound card with stereo speakers
Flash Player: Version 9.0.115 or higher, test your installed version here, you can get an update here.
Web browser:Firefox 2.0 or higher, Internet Explorer 6 or higher (recommended), Safari 3 or higher
Bandwidth: 6 Mbit or higher (comparable to T-DSL 6000)
At least one of the following RTMP ports on your firewall (1935, 443, 80) or the RTMPT Port 80 must be open. You can run a port check here.

What is offered on terms of bandwidths and resolutions?

We provide three different bandwidths:

1) 500 kbit/s in 380x212 pixels, audio 128 kbit/s, AAC stereo (available with and without subtitles)

2) 1 Mbit/s in 688x384 pixels, audio 192 kbit/s, AAC stereo (available with and without subtitles)

3) 2.5 Mbit/s HD in 1280x720 pixels, audio 192 kbit/s, AAC stereo (available with and without subtitles)

You have the option of changing bandwidth during the transmission. If you change bandwidth, the stream will stop briefly and then restart with the selected bandwidth.

Is the presentation available for me to view at a later point in time as well?

You can enjoy the complete representation “on demand” at a time of your choice once. The on demand version is available from August 22nd 2010 from 22:00 CEST until September 5th 2010. Single acts and the intermission programme are also freely selectable.

What software must be installed?

You will require an up-to-date web browser, e.g. Internet Explorer from Version 6.0 or higher, Mozilla Firefox from Version 2.0 or higher or Safari from Version 3.0. In addition, you will need the Adobe Flash Player from Version 9.0.115 or higher.
You can download a free update from the manufacturer’s site at:
http://get.adobe.com/de/Flash Player/

How do I connect an external monitor to my laptop?

Here we propose the following subitems:
Please choose your operating system:
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
Mac OS X Leopard/Snow Leopard


When clicking on Windows XP:
Please connect the TV-Out of your laptop to your monitor (TV or similar). By clicking right on your desktop a task bar will open. Please choose the field “Properties”.
The window for your desktop properties will open.
Please choose the tab “Settings” here.



Now activate your external monitor by clicking on Screen 2. Then activate the checkboxes:
„Expand Windows desktop on this monitor“ and
„Use this device as primary monitor“



Please adopt the settings.

Please ensure that the screen saver is deactivated and your laptop is permanently connected to the power supply.


When clicking on Windows Vista:
Please connect the TV-Out of your laptop to your monitor (TV or similar). By clicking right on your desktop a task bar will open. Here please choose the field “Customize”.
The window for your desktop properties will open.
Please choose the item “Display” here.



Now activate your external monitor by clicking on Screen 2. Then activate the checkboxes:

„Expand Windows desktop on this monitor“ and
„Use this device as primary monitor“



Please adopt the settings.

Please ensure that the screen saver is deactivated and your laptop is permanently connected to the power supply.



When clicking on Windows 7:
Please connect the TV-Out of your laptop to your monitor (TV or similar). By clicking right on your desktop a task bar will open. Here please choose the field “Screen Resolution”.

The Window “Screen Resolution” opens
Click on “Connect to a projector”



Please click on “Extend”



Please ensure that the screen saver is deactivated and your laptop is permanently connected to the power supply.



When clicking on Mac OS X Leopard/Snow Leopard:
Please connect the TV-Out of your laptop to your monitor (TV or similar). By clicking right on your desktop a task bar will open. Please choose the field “Customize” here.

Usually the monitor will be recognized by the Mac automatically. If you have problems please proceed as follows:

By clicking on the apple key the system task bar will open a menu. Please select the field “System Settings”.

A window for your system settings will open.
Please choose the item “Monitors”.



Now click on „Recognize monitors“.



Please ensure that the screen saver is deactivated and your laptop is permanently connected to the power supply.

How do I connect my stereo system to the computer?

Please connect the headphone outlet of your computer with your stereo system. In most cases, “Line Input” or “AUX” inlet also work.

Please make sure that the volume on your computer is set to maximum. You can check this by double clicking on the speaker symbol on the bottom right of your computer task bar.

How can I use Dolby Pro Logic II?

Dolby Pro Logic II is an analogue multi-channel audio technology developed by Dolby Laboratories used for home cinema setups.

Connecting your stereo to your computer.
The best audio quality can be achieved by a digital transmission of the audio signal from your computer to your stereo system or the amplifier, respectively. If your computer has a so called SPDIF-Out connection and the amplifier of your stereo a so called SPDIF-In connection, you should use these to connect both by using a digital cable. Sometimes the label “Coax-Out” is being used instead of SPDIF. In this case you need a special RCA cable like the one you use for instance to plug in video players. You may recognize them by the yellow marked jacks.
Pretty common is an optical connection by fibre glass cables. Those connections are frequently labelled with “Toslink”.
There are adapters available that convert optical connectors in coaxial connectors and vice versa.
In cases where no digital connectors are available, please use the audio-out of your computer (usually the jack where you plug in your headphones) and connect it with the line-in of your stereo system/amplifier by using the white and red marked RCA cable.

Replay of Dolby Pro Logic II
To enjoy surround sound you need a qualified amplifier that is equipped for using the Dolby Pro Logic II technology. You may recognise a qualified device by the following label:



Older devices may show the following label:



You may use other systems as well, for instance DTS Neo 6 or Logic 7 systems. Please choose “Dolby Pro Logic II Music” for replay. This enables a surround sound using 6 speakers (front left, centre, front right, rear left, rear right and a subwoofer).
If there is no qualified Dolby amplifier available, you may also use a common stereo HiFi system with speakers or headphones.

Tuning the volume
As classical music has a very broad range and dynamic, we recommend to take the following steps to tune the volume:
1.Turn down the volume of your amplifier
2.Set the volume of your computer to maximum. You may do this using audio settings or using the designated key on the keyboard of your notebook.
3.Now set the volume to your preferred level by using the volume control of your stereo system/amplifier

Can I use Dolby Digital 5.1?
Unfortunately Dolby Digital 5.1 is not suitable for using with live-streaming. There is no alternative technology available yet, that enables a reliable live transmission of video and audio signals with discrete audio channels.
The combination of using the flash format and Dolby Pro Logic II so long is the best way to provide the vast majority of opera connoisseurs with surround sound.

What do I have to bear in mind when using a notebook?

Please keep your notebook connected to power supply all the time. Check the energy settings to ensure that the systems power is set to maximum. If you are connected to the internet via wifi/W-LAN please make sure to have a very good signal strength.

You cannot see the video image at all?

Download the latest version of Flash Player here:
http://www.adobe.com/go/getFlashPlayer
Please make sure you fulfil our system requirements

You can see a video image, but this keeps freezing?

In this case, close all other programmes and change to a small bandwidth if you have not already done so. If you are using a laptop, connect it permanently to a power supply. If you have several tabs open in the browser, please close these.

You can see a video image but there is no sound?

Please make sure that the volume on your computer is set to maximum. You can check this by double clicking on the speaker symbol on the bottom right of your computer task bar. If you have connected speakers, check they are positioned correctly. To connect the computer to your speakers or stereo system, use the headphone outlet on your PC.

When you call up the HD stream, the entire computer freezes?

In this case, close all other programmes and change to a small bandwidth if you have not already done so. If you are using a laptop, connect it permanently to a power supply. If you have several pages or tabs open in your browser, please close these. Please make sure you fulfil our system requirements

When you call up the video stream, your browser displays an error message?

Download the latest version of Flash Player here:
http://www.adobe.com/go/getFlashPlayer
Please carry out our system check again.

You cannot see the video image but you can hear the sound?

Download the latest version of Flash Player here:
http://www.adobe.com/go/getFlashPlayer
Then start your browser up again. Please also make sure you fulfil our system requirements

Windows Vista Flash Installation Fails

In some cases, there are problems with the installation/update of Flash Player in connection with the windows users/access rights management in Vista.
Recommended action:
- Right click the file
C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\FlashUtil10a.exe
In some cases, you can vary the version number
- Select “Run as..” Administrator
- Follow the next steps and complete the installation
- Restart your computer.

What can I do if my image is jerky?

There are principally two things which cause the video stream to be jerky:

An undersized or instable internet connection.

You will recognise this because the picture will begin to jump or completely fails at irregular intervals and your web browser starts to reload the page. Switch to a smaller stream. If you have already selected the smallest stream, please close all other programmes connected to the internet. Ensure that no other computers in your network are connected to the internet.

If you are connected via WiFi, ensure that the signal strength is “very good”.

An overloaded computer can be recognised by the fact that the image becomes jerky briefly several times in a row. If you have other programmes open, the image completely freezes briefly. In this case, close all other programmes and change to a small bandwidth if you have not already done so. If you are using a laptop, connect this permanently to a power supply.

What does "stream" mean?

A stream is a digital signal provided via internet, that in our special case shows the performance of "Die Walküre" in a production by Tankred Dorst - recorded on August 21st at the Bayreuth Festival 2010. You can receive this signal if you purchased an Online Ticket. Additionally your computer has to fulfil the requested technical standards.