Troubleshooting Observer to Recorder Connection Issues

Morae Observer was designed to easily connect to and view participants on the recording machine. However, connections are dependent on the state and configuration of the network. So, if you are having issues connecting, this tutorial can help you to identify and, in many cases, fix the problem.

See the following topics for more information:

• Common Connection Issues
• I got disconnected during a session. What should I do?
• My video is lagging behind the "real-time" test. Can I fix this?
• We cannot use the default Main Communication Port. Can I change it?

Common Connection Issues

If you cannot establish a connection between Observer and Recorder, verify the following:

• Recorder is installed and open on the recording computer.
• The Recorder computer name (or IP address) entered in the Connect to Recorder dialog box is correct. If the computer name does not work, use the domain name or IP address.
  Observer users are not using the same user name.
• The Recorder and Observer computers are connected to the same LAN or WAN network. Contact your system administrator with network problems.
• The Observer and Recorder applications must be the same version.
• Windows XP Service Pack 2 includes its own firewall. The first time you run Recorder, you need to select Unblock in the dialog that appears.
• There is no firewall on the network. Ask your system administrator whether there is a firewall blocking the connection.
• Recorder and Observer are set up to use the same communication ports. The communication protocol used by Morae is TCP/IP with listening ports established on ports 5555 and 8080. The system administrator may have to intentionally allow traffic through these ports in order for Observer to connect to Recorder.

I got disconnected during a session. What should I do?

At anytime during the session, if you get disconnected, you can reconnect to the same session.

1. Open the connection dialog.
2. Update settings, if needed.
3. Click Connect. You reconnect to the same session.
   

My video is lagging behind the "real-time" test. Can I fix this?

Depending on the Observer options you choose, you may experience a video delay in Observer. The Connect to Recorder dialog (Connection > Connect) allows you to select Observer session options. The option you choose here will determine if you have a video delay.

The available options are:

• Mute Audio (Check Mute Audio box)
  • Observers see the screen and PIP video, but do not hear the audio.
  • Requires less bandwidth and compression.
  • Streams at virtually real-time speeds.
  • Use if your testing environment demands no delays.
• Include Audio (Uncheck Mute Audio box)
  • A delay is present in the Observer display.
  • Observers see the screen and/or camera video and hear the audio.
  • Video and audio streams are combined into a single Windows Media Stream and sent through the network. This process can take time and will always introduce some amount of delay.

Audio is always included in the WMV file saved by Observer, whether or not you can hear it while observing a session.

We cannot use the default Main Communication Port. Can I change it?

In some cases, Recorder and Observer cannot connect on the default communication port (5555). In this case, the study configuration in Recorder and the communication port in Observer must be set to an alternative port number.

If you change the post in Recorder, all observers must set the same port to connect. Make sure to give the port number to all potential observers.

To use an alternative main communication port:

1. Contact your system administrator to determine which port to use.
2. In Recorder, select Tools > Preferences.
3. When the Preferences dialog box opens, enter the port number in the Communication port field. 
    
   Observers do not need to enter the high quality streaming port. This is handled automatically by Recorder and Observer.
4. Open Observer. In the Connect to Recorder dialog box, click Change Port. Enter the new port number. Click Test Port to verify that you can connect to Recorder with this port.
   
5. Click OK to apply the selected port and return to the Connect to Recorder dialog box.

If you have any problems with connecting on an alternative port, please contact the person who set up the session and your system administrator.