This is a quick guide to get the best out of your viewing experience for our multi-channel community TV service on broadband Internet. You can now make your own films and watch them alongside all your award winning local ITV programmes.

How it works...
First off, pick which ITV region you want to watch from the list on the left. You’ll automatically see our latest local news running in a loop on the player. On the left of the screen is the list of channels you can choose to watch. All have a selection of our latest videos playing in a loop on the screen.

Player controls appear underneath the player. You can pause, rewind, fast forward a video: make the sound louder or softer by clicking and dragging on the volume control: mute or unmute the sound: and engage full screen mode.

For the best viewing experience on ITV Local you can watch your chosen film full screen – either double click on the video window or click the full screen icon just beneath your player. To return to the main page simply click your ‘esc’ key.

On the right hand side you can scroll down our video list to see what’s available as ‘video on demand’ on this channel – simply click Play (or the title of the video) and watch!

If there's a clip you like, you can also send it to a friend - simply click the Send icon next to the clip, and we'll send them the direct link. You can also use the link in this popup window to bookmark clips you like.

Of course, if you can't see what you're looking for, try searching for it. Click on the Search tab above the video list and see what we've got for you.

And if you want to get involved, click the orange Upload button to jump to one of our upload systems - and get
your videos onto our site!

Coming soon: we'll also be adding comments, blogs, groups and other features. We're evolving all the time - so if there's a new feature you'd like to see, why not mail us at webteam@itv.com?

Troubleshooting
We’ve tried to make using ITV Local trouble-free, but as with any new technology there may be problems which need simple adjustment. Here’s a handy list of fixes for some of the problems our viewers have experienced. If you can’t find a solution, please email us and we’ll have a member of our technical staff contact you personally.

Video doesn’t play or I get a black or grey screen with an error message.
Normally when ITV Local starts for the first time the system tests your connection speed to ensure we send our video stream at the right speed for your broadband connection. Sometimes these connection speeds can change and need to be reset manually.

Solution 1 – Click the “Settings” tab which is situated on the top of the right-hand video-items panel (It’s usually next to search). You’ll see a list of speeds ranging from 56kb to 1800kb with a radial button selected, which is your current connection speed. Just select a lower speed, click confirm, until the video starts to work. Please note that ITV Local works best with a broadband service, and only very limited functionality will be available at dialup speeds.

Solution 2 – The ITV Local video player needs Microsoft Windows Media Player version 10 to work correctly. If necessary, up-grade the version on your computer by opening Media Player from your start menu, right-clicking anywhere on the blue bar at the top of Media Player and selecting “Help” then “Check for player updates”.

Video doesn’t play, only a green screen (with/without audio).
This is a minor issue with some versions of Windows Media Player. To fix this fault, open Windows Media Player from your desktop or Start Menu (if you can't find it, use the Run... command to open wmplayer.) Find the Options section and open the Performance tab. Turn off Video Acceleration (slide the bar all the way to the left). Click OK and Save. Close Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer, then reload ITV Local. The problem should now be resolved.

I can’t seem to see the entire ITV Local player on my computer screen.
We have re-designed the ITV Local pages to work best with a computer screen set to an average display size (1024x768). If you’re not seeing all of the buttons on the page you may need to increase the size of your screen.

Solution – increase screen resolution. Go to your Windows desktop, right-click anywhere on the screen, and select the “Properties” tab. Select “Settings” and adjust the “Screen Resolution” slider-bar until it reads 1024 by 768 pixels or higher. Select OK, and you should see the entire ITV Local page.

I’m trying to watch ITV Local but there’s no video - or a message about a “Firewall” popped up on my computer.
Sometimes corporate and collegiate IT departments have a policy that restricts video streaming on computers at work to prevent too many viewers overloading the company internet connection.

Solution – speak to your IT department to check whether they would be prepared to lift the firewall restrictions. Please note - do not attempt to reconfigure firewalls unless you know what you're doing!

Video doesn't play and I get the message “this browser requires cookies”.
This is a system fault that we are currently investigating. Please clear your cookies (on Internet Explorer: go to the Tools Menu, select Internet Options, and Delete Cookies.) Please log the fault by emailing us (at webteam@itv.com) so we can track this fault to its source.

Get in touch with us!
We love to hear feedback from viewers - this helps us extend our coverage, fix bugs and pick up on features to include in the future. We can also help get your films online and may even be able to help you make more!

If you live in the Anglia ITV area, please email us at anglia@itvlocal.com
If you live in the Border ITV area, please email us at border@itvlocal.com
If you live in the Central ITV area, please email us at central@itvlocal.com.
If you live in the Granada ITV area,please email us at granada@itvlocal.com.
If you live in the London ITV area, please email us at london@itvlocal.com.
If you live in the Meridian and Thames Valley ITV areas, please email us at meridian@itvlocal.com.
If you live in the Tyne Tees ITV area, please email us at tynetees@itvlocal.com.
If you live in Wales, please email us at wales@itvlocal.com.
If you live in the West ITV area, please email us at west@itvlocal.com.
If you live in the Westcountry ITV area, please email us at westcountry@itvlocal.com.
If you live in the Yorkshire ITV area, please email us at yorkshire@itvlocal.com.

If you live outside of these areas, wish to enter a business partnership with us, or wish for detailed technical advice, please email us at webteam@itv.com.