The Debate

http://www.c-span.org/2004vote/debates.asp?Cat=Current_Event&Code=PresVP_04&ShowVidNum=10&Rot_Cat_CD=PresVP_04&Rot_HT=206&Rot_WD=&ShowVidDays=100&ShowVidDesc=&ArchiveDays=365

If you, like me, having trouble watching last night’s debate streaming, with constant break-ups, try downloading the open source Mplayer to dump the stream to your hard drive before watching. Just say -dumpstream under “Additional parameters” at the bottom of the preferences, and open the following URL: rtsp://cspanrm.fplive.net/cspan/project/c04/c04100804_debate3podium.rm?start=:04:41.0&mode=compact. It’ll save a file /stream.dump (yes, at the root), which you move and rename debate.rm. It’s 96 Mb. And it’s a much better experience than the streaming version.