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It is not essential to get the sound clips working to get value from this site, but it's much better if you can hear before you buy.
The site has sound clips and free track downloads in MP3 format, the web standard for quality music. Real Audio, the other common format, just can't reproduce oboe sound accurately enough.
Although MP3 is widespread, getting it to work on any one system is not an exact science, and can take time. This page can't solve problems, but can offer a few suggestions based on my current experience. If you've got any thoughts to contribute do email me, Jeremy Polmear, at mail@oboeclassics.com.
The sound clips are recorded at 32Kbps, last about a minute, and are mostly about 200K in size. If you have a fast connection they will play almost immediately, but a dial-up 56K modem will make you wait about a minute unless you can 'stream' them (see later). The complete tracks are recorded at 64Kbps (Goossens in mono at 32Kbps), and the size of the file is stated on the relevant page.
PLAYING THE SOUND - WINDOWS
I recommend using the Windows Media Player supplied with Windows. If you click on the sound clip it should come up automatically, though if you have other players on your system they jostle to be the default. To specify the default yourself, click Settings, Control Panel, Folder Options, find the MP3 entry and specify the player you want.
This is particularly relevant if you have installed iPod software on your PC, because iPod tries to replace Windows Media Player with its iTunes program, which won't stream the clips (see the next paragraph for a definition of streaming). Unfortunately, on my XP system at least, the iPod software also interferes with Windows Media Player's own streaming facility. If you download a later version of Windows Media Player it will be restored - until the next time you use your iPod. I know of no fix for this; the battle between Apple and Microsoft is being played out on your computer. Let me know if you know of a solution, but otherwise you'll just have to wait until the clip has downloaded before it will play.
If you don't have an iPod installed, Windows Media Player will stream the clips, which means that after a few seconds it will start to play the music, hoping (usually correctly) that by the time it gets to the end it will have been downloaded. If it miscalculates, you will get a nasty gap in the music or interview while the modem catches up. You can play the clip again, but when you delete the player the clip will go too. To save the clip for future plays, click on it with the right mouse button, then click (left mouse button) on 'Save Target as', and it will suggest a folder to save it in. Choose a suitable one (e.g. 'My Music'), and you can play it at any time by double-clicking on it. This is also the method to download and save the complete tracks.
The latest version of Windows Media Player can be downloaded free. A click here will take you to the relevant page on Microsoft's web site. Beware, though, if you are still using Windows 95, not to download a version later than 6.4; it won't work.
By the way, Windows Media Player has a very nice visualisation (view, visualistions, ambience, windmill) that looks just like a vibrating oboe reed from inside. It looks nothing like a windmill.
PLAYING THE SOUND - MACINTOSH
Mackintosh mice have only one button, so ignore the instructions on the site to use the right mouse button - control-click is the way to store the music. iTunes looks good and works well, but it won't stream the files so you have to wait until they have downloaded completely. The files are then put in your library, and you can decide whether to keep them or not.
Another program that sometimes comes with Macs is Quicktime, and this does stream the sound. I have tried downloading the (free) Windows version, and it is small, unfussy, and gives good sound. It calls everything Movies, but converts and plays MP3 files well.
OTHER SYSTEMS AND PLAYERS
There are many other programs that play MP3 files, and come in Windows, Mac or Linux versions. A good one is MusicMatch Jukebox. It has a Library facility for cataloging sound clips and deleting them when you've finished with them. It can also create MP3 files (I originally used it for the sound clips, but have now changed to the Sound Forge program, which gives better results at low bit rates). MusicMatch can be downloaded free from www.musicmatch.com.
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