Military Idol - FAQ

1. What do I need to have to view and vote?

8. Can I watch the finals anytime I want?

9. Do I need anything special on my computer to view the finals? / How do I know if my computer is set-up so I can view the finals?

10. What if I have a problem accessing the web-cast the day of the finals?

11. I am with the Media and would like to cover the event?

12. Can Installations that hosted the local competitions send representatives to the finals?

13. Is the MI Finals or the Reveal open to the public?

14. I am coming to support my friend or family member who is a contestant. Am I allowed to watch them rehearse throughout the course of the week?

15. Technical FAQs

Why can't the QuickTime Player connect (display the video)?

16. All I have is a dial up modem, can I see the performance?

17. What ports need to be opened in my post/installation firewall in order to receive the video?

18. My firewall administrators refuse to open the streaming ports, what should I do?

1. What do I need to have to view and vote?

1. An Army Knowledge online (AKO) account OR an Army Knowledge online guest account. Review how to create a guest account.

IMPORTANT*** creating a guest account may take a couple of days.
DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE TO CREATE AN ACCOUNT.

2. Go to AKO (https://www.us.army.mil) to set up your account.
3. You will need QuickTime software to view performances. If you don't have QuickTime, download the latest player from www.quicktime.com.

2. What if I don’t have an AKO account?

If you are Active Army, Army Reserve, National Guard, DA Civilian, or Retired Army, you are
authorized an AKO account. If you don’t already have one, go to http://www.us.army.mil. Look for
“NEW USER” and select “Register for AKO” then select “Create a Full Account” - follow
the prompts.

If you are NOT an authorized AKO account holder, an authorized AKO account holder can sponsor
you and authorize a guest account for you. You must have your sponsor’s AKO user name to
complete the process. Go to http://www.us.army.mil and look for NEW USER. Select “Register for
AKO” and then select “Create a Guest Account.” Complete the form (you must know your
authorized AKO user’s name) and submit. Your sponsor will have to log on to AKO and click on
“My Account” in the upper right-hand of the screen; select “Sponsor Management” (upper right)
and then “Approve” (or Reject) next to the user name.

REMEMBER: Creating a guest account may take a couple of days as your sponsor must
approve your account before it’s established. DO NOT WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE
TO DO THIS!!! “Review how to create a guest account” “Create a guest account”

3. How can I watch the finals?

You can watch the finals on your computer by going to http://www.us.army.mil (AKO On-line).
Locate the military idol logo and select the link that reads “click here for the schedule of events”.
Once there, you will see a schedule of events. Select the Military Idol event you would like to
watch and click on it. Please check the date and time next to each item. Please note that events
such as the Finals and the Reveal will only be shown at the posted time.

4. How can I vote?

You will only be able to vote during the allotted time periods. After watching the competition, there
will be a VOTE button at the bottom of the screen that you must select. You will see a page that
has a picture of each contestant. Next to each picture, there will be a “VOTE FOR (NAME OF
CONTESTANT)” button. Select the button of the contestant you want. Once you have voted, you
will be sent back to the main AKO page. If you would like to vote again, you may go back to the
scheduling page and repeat the process above. You may or may not be prompted to log in again;
however, you may vote as many times as you would like during the two-hour timeframe.

5. Can I vote more than once?

Yes, you can vote as many times as you like during the scheduled time. Once you have voted, you
will be sent back to the main AKO page. If you would like to vote again, go back to the scheduling
page and repeat the process. You may or may not be prompted to log in again. You can vote as
many times as you would like during the two-hour timeframe.

6. What is “Play On-demand”?

Play on demand means you can view the show anytime you’d like (once it becomes available).

7. What is “Real Time”?

Real time means you must watch the show at the scheduled time. It is live and will not be available at any other time.

8. Can I watch the finals anytime I want?

No. The finals are only available for viewing during the times scheduled for your geographic
location. Please review the schedule by pressing the button for your geographic viewing location
to ensure you have the correct times. If you do not sign on during the time listed, you will
not be able to watch the finals.

9. Do I need anything special on my computer to view the finals? / How do I know if my computer is set-up so I can view the finals?

You will need QuickTime software to view performances. Here is a sample movie.

If you can see the animated Q, then you already have QuickTime installed on your computer. If it is not animated, you will have to install QuickTime. For instructions on how to install QuickTime, click here. You may download the latest QuickTime player from www.quicktime.com.

10. What if I have a problem accessing the web-cast the day of the finals?

AKO Help Desk is staffed 24x7 Contact: 1-877-AKO-USER (1-877-256-8737)

11. I am with the Media and would like to cover the event?

Yes, you can contact Tim Hipps as US Army Community & Family Support Center Tim.Hipps@cfsc.army.mil or by phone at (703) 681-7259 to coordinate.

12. Can Installations that hosted the local competitions send representatives to the finals?

Yes; however there are restrictions on the number of tickets available per installation. Please contact
Tim Higdon immediately at tim.higdon@cfsc.army.mil to verify availability of tickets.

13. Is the MI Finals or the Reveal open to the public?

No, you must have a ticket to attend. A limited number of tickets are available for contestants’
friends and family and host installation personnel.

14. I am coming to support my friend or family member who is a contestant. Am I allowed to watch them rehearse throughout the course of the week?

No, all rehearsals are closed except to the production and technical crew. The contestants’ free time
during the week will be limited so plan accordingly.

15. Why can't the QuickTime Player connect (display the video)?

In some cases you may be blocked from receiving streaming media of any kind on your post or installation.

QuickTime is unique in that it tries to find a way around such network blocks and you may have seen the player indicate "Switching Transports..." it is feedback area. When it does this, there is a good indication that your installation is blocking all streaming (Windows Media, Real and QuickTime). Please let us know via the Contact Us form and we will do our best to assist.

In some isolated circumstances, there have been networks which partially block streaming due to either poor configurations, partially implemented blocking or just very old routers. When the QuickTime player does not indicate "Switching Transports..." in its feedback area yet never connects, this may be the problem (RTP is blocked, see below). We have specifically setup the "Alternate" link for the videos for exactly this purpose. This is a workaround that was developed based upon feedback from users via the Contact Us form (thanks all!)

16. All I have is a dial up modem, can I see the performance?

A special version has been created for modem users. Because we use the standard MPEG-4 video format (in this case Advanced Video Compression or H.264) the modem experience is very reasonable considering it is only a dial up connection over a plain old telephone system (POTS).

Please be aware that it is important that QuickTime's setting for "streaming speed" detection be left on "Automatic" or specifically set to your known modem line speed. This will allow the QuickTime Player to coordinate with the QuickTime Streaming Server to select the proper stream for your modem connection.

17. What ports need to be opened in my post/installation firewall in order to receive the video?

The RealTime Streaming Protocol (RTSP) standard specifies that TCP & UDP port 554 and alternate TCP & UDP port 7070 are to be open outbound from your firewall to the streaming server.

The RealTime Transport Protocol (RTP) standard specifies that UDP port range 6970-6999 are to be open outbound from your firewall to the streaming server.

QuickTime and others conform to these two standards. For more information on the RTP and RTSP Internet standards:

RTSP: http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc2326.html
RTP: http://www.faqs.org/rfcs/rfc1889.html

For a quick class on RTSP, RTP and RTCP, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Computer Science Department has a good treatment entitled "Comp 249:Protocols RTPS/RTCP/RTP" using Real Networks as their example. QuickTime is similar.

18. My firewall administrators refuse to open the streaming ports, what should I do?

You may be able to set QuickTime Player to use "HTTP streaming" or TCP port 80 in its streaming transport preferences. We have developed a step by step instruction page to show how to manually make this change. In many circumstances, this will allow you to receive the streaming video. Although because it is "HTTP" it is sub-optimal and you may experience jitter (audio and video anolomlies) because of network induced propagation delays (speed bumps).

Alternatively, and perhaps preferably, view the performances from home! Any home broadband connection can easily receive the video streams provided. In fact, because your home connection is not being used by everyone at the office, your experience will likely be better.

For all other questions, please contact mwrpromotions@cfsc.army.mil

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(ud.cr 05Oct 25)