Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to host or attend a Persony meeting?As a meeting host or presenter, you will need to install and run Persony VShow on your desktop computer. Currently only Windows XP and 2000 are supported. You will also need to have publish permission (FTP account) on a Web site to host meetings. Persony is offering a free meeting hosting service to get you started. Your Web server needs to support PHP 4.0 or above and passive mode FTP. Click here for details about Web site requirements. You do NOT need to install Persony software on your Web server. Meeting attendees only need a Web browser and Macromedia Flash Player 7, which works on most major OS. Click here for details of the system requirements. Back to TopWhat type of Internet connections do I need?If you are only showing slides or drawing on a whiteboard, a dial-up modem connection may work. However, if you are sharing your desktop and/or webcasting audio, a broadband connection (DSL, Cabel or T-1) is required for good performance. Generally, you need to have at least 100 kbps of upload speed to share your desktop applications. Click here for information about testing your upload speeds. Back to TopHow many attendees can be in a meeting?Persony VShow and VShow LE currently have a limit of 10 attendees per meeting. VShow Professional currently is limited to 25 attendees per meeting. Persony will be coming out with a new version that will support 100 attendees. Please contact Persony if you need to support more attendees. Back to TopWhat languages do Persony products support?All Persony products are Unicode compatible and can support any language. You can add new languages by translating a single language file in VShow. Persony plans to make available more languages in the near future. If you want to help us add a language, please contact us. Back to TopAre Persony meetings firewall friendly?Persony meetings are firewall friendly and do not require any special configuration of your firewall. All versions of Persony VShow use standard HTTP/FTP protocols and ports. As long as you can access a Web server, you should be able to host or attend a Persony meeting. Back to TopHow secure are Persony meetings?Persony meetings have the same security level as your Web site contents. Persony meeting contents are uploaded on-the-fly during a meeting by the meeting host, who needs to have the publish permission. Meeting attendees need to have access to a meeting URL to attend a meeting. In addition, you can set a meeting password. The meeting contents are removed from the Web site once a meeting is finished, unless the meeting is recorded. A recorded meeting can be protected with a password, or exported to a local drive and then removed from a Web server for maximum security. For intranet or VPN applications, a Web server can be placed within a private network and allows only attendees within the network to access a meeting. Persony also support HTTPS to protect the transport of sensitive meeting data over the Internet. Back to TopCan I have multiple presenters in the same meeting?Persony VShow and VShow Professional allow multiple presenters sharing their desktops or contents in the same meeting. During a meeting, the meeting host can promote anyone to be a presenter. The presenter needs to download and install a free copy of VShow to share his desktop. Persony VShow LE does not support multiple presenters. Back to TopCan I transfer my VShow license to another PC?You can activate Persony VShow with a single license key on up to two PCs at the same time, provided that you are the primary user of both computers. You can also transfer the license from one PC to another. To transfer the license, select "Transfer License" in VShow's Help menu on the computer you are transferring the license from. This will deactivate the license and VShow on that PC. You can then use the license key to activate VShow on the PC you are transferring the license to. Uninstalling VShow does not deactivate a license. You must use Transfer License to move a license to another PC. Back to TopWhy is there a long delay when I share my screen?Screen sharing delay is generally between 1 to 5 seconds, depending on your network speeds and sharing size. If you are experiencing a long delay, you should run "Meeting Room Check" using VShow or VShow Professional to verify your network speeds are sufficient to handle screen sharing. You need to have at least 100 kbps of upload speed to share your screen. You can also reduce the sharing window size to 800 x 600 or less. The following is a typical result from running "Meeting Room Check" with a
broadband connection. If your "HTTP request latency" is longer than 300 ms, you
should try to connect to different Web servers to find out if the problem is
with the Web server or your PC. If the latency problem remains after trying
different Web servers (including Persony's Web server), you may want to check
with your network administrator to find out what's causing the delay. Your
network router may be adding additional delay because of firewall, proxy, or DNS
settings.
The following DOS commands can help you diagnose your network latency problems. In Windows XP, click "Start | All Programs | Accessories | Command Prompt." In the command window, type:
Replace the server address with your own to test your own server. The average response time should be <100ms for a typical broadband connection. To identify any bottlenecks in network connections, type the following command:
You will see the response times for each hop to the server. The first hop is
typically to your router or modem. If the response time is long or timed out, it
may indicate you have a problem within your own network. Spyware or anti-virus
software may also introduce delays. For an explanation of "tracert", see Back to TopDo you support animation effects in PowerPoint?VShow allows you to import Flash slides created with third-party applications, such as FlashSpring Pro, that includes animations. In addition, you can use screen sharing to show your desktop while running your PowerPoint presentation. Screen sharing will show any animation or transition effects you have in the presentation. Back to TopCan I give control of my desktop to another person?You can grant control of your desktop during a screen sharing session in VShow Pro and Pro-100 starting from version 2.0.24. Your firewall or network must allow VShow or a Web browser to make an outbound TCP connection at a port ranging between 5500 and 6000. Back to TopDoes Persony support video?Persony VShow doesn't have built-in support for video but you can use screen sharing to show any video on your desktop. The video can be live video from a camera, a streaming video from a Web site, or a desktop video file. You should use the smallest sharing window to have good performance. The video window should be no larger than 320 x 240 or the motion may become jerky. You need to have at least 200 kbps of upload speed to share desktop video. There may be a longer delay when sharing video. Some video players, such as Windows Media Player, play video in an overlay mode, which is not supported by Persony's screen sharing. You should disable overlay video display in the video player you use. Instructions for disabling overlays in Windows Media Player, QuickTime, RealPlayer and Winamp are here. You can also turn off the overlay mode globally through Windows as shown here. On Windows XP, go to Display Properties > Settings Tab > Advanced Button > Troubleshoot Tab. Set the Hardware Acceleration slider to one of the first three notches. For a more detailed explanation about disabling overlays, please see: Back to TopCan I record a meeting?Persony VShow Professional allows you to record a meeting, including all meeting events, desktop sharing, chat messages, whiteboard, presentation slides, polling questions, and audio as a synchronized Flash movie that can be be played using a standard Web browser. The meeting is recorded on the meeting Web site and is available for viewing online immediately after the meeting is ended. The meeting events are indexed and you can randomly jump to an event during a playback. You can record audio from a microphone as well as two-way conversations from an Internet phone, such as Skype. To record from a telephone or a teleconference, you can use a phone-to-pc adaptor, such as DynaMetric TMP-636S, which connects your phone to the PC's audio input. Back to TopCan I export a recording or do podcasting?VShow's meeting recordings can be exported to your local drive for off-line playback, CD-ROM, DVD distribution, or podcasting. You can export the complete recording in the HTML format, which includes the audio and all meeting events. With version 1.0.43 or above of VShow Professional, you can also export only the audio in the MP3 format, which can be played using any MP3 player, such as the iPod. Back to TopDoes Persony support audio conference calls?Persony VShow and VShow Professional has built-in support for audio conferencing. You can obtain a free personal audio conference number and access codes to be used in all your meetings. You can also use any other audio conference service with VShow. VShow Professional can record and webcast any conference call audio connected through a microphone input. You will need to have a telephone-to-pc connector to record or webcast your telephone calls. Click here for more details. Back to TopDoes Persony include voice over IP?Persony VShow Professional supports one-to-many live voice webcast, which allows you to host a large webinar without using conference calls. Both Persony VShow and VShow Professional support Skype, a popular Internet phone service. You can:
Persony VShow Professional adds the following support for Skype:
Click here for more details. Back to TopWhy do I get a "404 Not Found" error when I try "Verify Login"?When you try to set up your own Web site for hosting Persony meetings, you may get an error message that says "404 Not Found". Please check the following: 1. The FTP user or PHP scripts (which may run as 'guest' or 'nobody') are not allowed to create files in the FTP directory you choose for hosting meetings. Make sure the directory's permission is set to allow both the FTP user and the guest user to write files. You can verify the permission by using an FTP client to upload a file to the FTP directory. If you are using Windows Server, see instructions about how to configure the server. 2. The FTP directory you choose to host meetings is not accessible by the Web server. Please make sure the FTP directory is under the Web server's root directory. 3. The "URL of the FTP directory" filed doesn't link to the FTP directory. The URL should be an HTTP URL that begins with "http://". You can upload a file to the FTP directory and enter its URL to a browser to see if the URL is correct. Enter the correct URL, less the file name, to the "URL for the FTP directory" field in VShow. Back to TopWhy is my firewall or anti-virus software blocking Persony VShow?Personal firewall software, such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee, may block
any
unrecognized program trying to access a Web server from your PC. The firewall software typically will
prompt you to allow or reject Persony VShow's access to an outside Web server. You
should always allow it. If you are using Norton Internet Security, you can click on Personal
Firewall/Configure/Programs and see Internet access settings for a list of
programs. If you still have problems, please turn off the personal firewall and
try again. Back to TopWhy do I get a "Couldn't start screen sharing" error?If you cannot start a meeting or screen sharing, please make sure the following program's Internet access is not blocked by a firewall, such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee.- Persony VShow (vshow.exe) or Persony VShow LE (vshowle.exe) See Why is my firewall or anti-virus software blocking Persony VShow for more details Why does Internet Explorer block VShow's content access?This item only applies to versions prior to 1.0.58. Version 1.0.58 or later does not have this problem. When you share a whiteboard or a slide during a meeting, VShow launches IE to run a Flash script on your computer, Depending on your Internet Explorer's security settings, IE may block running the script on your computer. You will see a message on IE's Information Bar that says: "To help protect your security, Internet Explorer has restricted this file from showing active content that could access your computer. Click here for options..." When you see the message, you should click it and select "Allow Blocked Content..."
You can change your security settings in IE to always permit the script to run on your computer. Under IE's Tools menu, click "Internet Options" and select the "Advanced" tab. Find "Security" and check the box that says "Allow active content to run files on My Computer". |
