ION and iondb.com support
Having problems using ion or the iondb.com website? You've got a few options!- 1) View the FAQ below to see if it answers any of your questions
- 2) Watch the ion screenshot tour
- 3) Read or join our ion-users yahoo group for the latest discussion, bug reports, and more
How does ION play media files?
Why do files in my search results not work?
Why does my audio or video keep stopping and starting?
How can I get the best possible ion experience?
What happens when I share a playlist?
How does ion play
media files?
Your ion content can come from just about anywhere on the web. With content coming from so many places, there are lots of ways to play media files:
- Streaming playback: You can stream files over the Internet. This is great for Shockwave Flash content (like the stuff from YouTube) or when you, and the media server, have a super fast connection.
- Local playback: You can set channels to auto-download or you can download items ad hoc. When you play files locally, they don’t need to buffer so your playback will be more sweet in general.
- Browser playback: Blog posts, and some types of media content, are best viewed in their original web page location. These items will be marked with a little blue globe. When you click on them, you will be taken to your Mozilla (or other) browser.
Why do files in my
search results not work?
Ion media search gets its results from many different media search indexes, giving you the broadest range of rich media content. Sometimes, the media that these search engines locate are no longer available. Ion will try a few times to get the item and then will let you know that there is a problem accessing the content. People often post a clip and then move it or take it down before the search index knows that the media is gone. Ah, the ephemeral nature of web media content!
Why does my audio or
video keep stopping and starting?
Streaming files typically need to buffer content. For the best possible playback experience, right click on the file and download it, then watch it. You can set an entire channel or feed to automatically download content by right clicking on the channel name and selecting the auto-download option. You will know that you are watching files that are streaming over the Internet when the “file” column says “streaming”. Downloaded files will give a status of “local”.
How can I get the
best possible ion experience?
That depends on what you are doing. If you are just browsing through search results from places like YouTube, click on titles that look interesting and enjoy. If you are watching hi-res short films, you should download the file and watch it locally. Keep in mind that ion is not just about wacky YouTube videos. It is also a great way to keep up to date on news from places like the New York Times and Podcasts from places like NPR. When you are browsing the web and see the telltale RSS or XML tags, just drag and drop them into ion.
What happens when I
share a Playlist?
Once you create a playlist, you have the option to share it
with the world. To enable playlist sharing you will first need to create a
share account. Just go to Options/ Share Account, or right click on your
playlist to set up your account. Then enter a user name, password and email
address.
When you subscribe to a channel or feed you are automatically updated as new content from that publisher becomes available. You can subscribe to feeds by dragging RSS or XML icons into ion or by hitting the RSS button in the lower left hand corner of ion and entering the feed address.