SteepEdge

Computer

1.  Downloads

When the file has downloaded to your computer, it will typically be in your download file, desktop or a place your browser specified. It is best to move it to a folder where you can keep all your downloaded films. If you do not have one, you can create one.
The film will often open automatically in a player window for you to watch immediately. If you cannot find it, type the name of the film into the search function of the computer.

There are a number of ways that you can watch the film on your computer, though first check that you have the latest version of Quicktime Player and  iTunes installed on your computer. There are versions available for Macs and PCs

The simplest way to watch a film is to double click the file and it should open in the Quicktime Player on your screen. You can then adjust it to fill the screen by View > Fit to Screen. If it does not open, right click Open With and choose Quicktime Player.

 

iTunes

Perhaps the best and most flexible way to watch films is to drag the file into your library in iTunes Movies. You have the film stored in a convenient place and you can watch it through the iTunes player. Significantly this now enables you to watch the film on iPhones, iPads, Android devices and Apple TV by synching the device with your iTunes Movies library. You may have to reduce the size to allow them to play on these devices. To do this in iTunes, highlight the film and then go to the Advanced menu and choose either Create iPod or iPhone version or Create iPad or AppleTV version, then select these new versions when you sync your device.

 

2.  Stream Purchases Or Rentals

If your computer is connected to the Internet, you can use a standard browser such as Internet Explorer, Chrome, Safari or Firefox and open www.steepedge.com  Log into your membership and go to 'My Film Library' where you will find a list of films you have purchased to own or rent. Click 'Watch Now' on the film you wish to watch and it will open in a separate player window and be streamed to you via the browser. Adjust the size of the player screen as required.

Please note that we use adaptive streaming that alters the quality of the film as the Internet speed varies, enabling viewing even at 500 Kbps and over 3G networks. It will automatically play at the best quality possible. It also automatically alters the buffer, so with slow Internet connection the film will not play until it has buffered sufficiently to play without interruption.

However we must emphasise that good quality streaming requires Internet speeds of at least 2 Mbps and above 5 Mbps for HD quality. Measure your speed on http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/diagnostics or  http://reviews.cnet.com/internet-speed-test/

When you choose the full screen mode on the player, it has an effect on streaming. The film would typically change from 480 x 360 pixels at 512 Kbps to 1280 x 960 pixels at 1.8 Mbps. Crucially, to enable a successful stream at full screen resolution requires the film to be less than 70% of the detected bandwidth. In this example, a broadband speed of 731 Kbps is fine for the small screen player but when you go to full screen, you will require at least 2.58 Mbps or quality will be reduced and interruption or buffering could occur.