Troubleshooting WebVT issues
As WebVT® is powered by a station's PlayoutONE server, should an issue be caused by network issues, Aiir Support may not be able to login remotely to help.
This guide will walk you through the various troubleshooting steps needed to restore access to WebVT if it stops working, and get you back on air as soon as possible.
🎚️ For stations
When stations contact Aiir's support team for help accessing WebVT, our team will start by stepping through the process to identify where the connection issue lies.
This guide will walk you through those steps so you can try and quickly resolve any WebVT issues yourself.
In these examples, you may need to replace '1079' with the WebVT port number you have configured if it has been changed from the PlayoutONE default.
Is WebVT running on your server?
The first step is to make sure the WebVT service is running on your studio machine. This will usually be set up on your PlayoutONE server.
If WebVT is running, try connecting to:
https://localhost:1079/
If you can connect using the localhost address from the machine running WebVT, we know the service itself is working correctly.
If WebVT has crashed or is not running, restart the application.
Is your firewall/security software blocking traffic?
If you can connect from the WebVT machine itself, the next step is to try and connect from another device on your network.
Make a note of your WebVT host machine's PC name or internal IP address, and try connecting to that from another device.
For example, if the WebVT service is running on a server with the IP address 192.168.1.23, you should be able to connect to:
https://192.168.1.23:1079/
If you cannot connect via the internal IP address, you may need to check your firewall settings on the machine running WebVT.
Is your router/network properly configured?
If you can connect from within your network, the next step will be to try and access WebVT from outside your network to make sure your router isn't blocking your connection.
You will need to know your public IP address. There are tools online which can help with this.
You may require a static IP address or other means of connecting to your network remotely to be set up by your internet service provider.
Once you know the address you need to use to connect to your network - for example, 123.456.7.890 - you can try accessing WebVT that way:
https://123.456.7.890:1079/
If you cannot access WebVT using your public IP address, you need to configure Port Forwarding on your router to allow traffic from the internet onto your network.
Is there an issue with your domain?
If you can access WebVT by directly connecting to your network's IP address, but not using a domain pointing to it, you may need to check how it is configured as your network's IP address may have changed.
If you are using a WebVT.pro subdomain, contact Aiir Support. While we look into the issue with your domain, presenters can still access WebVT using your network's public IP address as outlined in the previous steps.
🎙️ For presenters
Sometimes, issues with WebVT are isolated to a remote voice tracker's device. Here are a few things to check:
Are you connected to the internet?
If you are reading this message from the device you're using to try and access WebVT, then yes - of course you are.
It might seem obvious, but local network issues are a common source of problems accessing WebVT - often down to wireless network strength or security policies on the network you are using to connect.
If you are trying to access WebVT via a hotel or other corporate Wi-Fi network, firewall rules may be blocking the required ports.
You can try tethering your device to your mobile phone or internet hotspot to see if the issue persists.
If you can connect but WebVT is unresponsive, you may be able to improve performance by moving closer to your nearest Wi-Fi access point or connecting to a wired network.
What else do you have running on your computer?
Personal computers are configured differently to dedicated workstations, often running extra applications in the background or with other tabs consuming resources in the background.
In most cases, you can run WebVT without any issues - but on older or underperforming PCs, closing tabs or applications you no longer need can free up memory to help WebVT work at its best.
If your browser has additional plugins installed which could affect performance, you can try downloading the dedicated WebVT Browser which you can use to connect without making any changes to your regular browser.
Do your security settings allow WebVT to use your microphone/audio devices?
When you first open WebVT in a browser, you will be asked to allow the site to use your microphone - or any sound device connected to your PC.
Without this permission, WebVT won't be able to record any voice tracks.
If you are having issues recording audio in WebVT, check your browser settings to make sure your WebVT domain has permission to use your microphone.
If your browser has the required permissions enabled, you may also need to check your device's sound settings to make sure there is nothing blocking access, such as allowing your microphone or audio device to run in 'exclusive mode' where only one application can use it.