Requirements

The requirements for Adobe Connect at Penn State are:

Access Account or Friends of Penn State Account
Penn State faculty, staff, and students need an active Access account to be able to log in to Adobe Connect. Guests can quickly obtain a Friends of Penn State (FPS) Account. (View the tutorial..)

Internet Connection
Minimum bandwidth requirement is 56 kb/sec.

Test Your Computer
You can test your computer at https://breeze.psu.edu/common/help/en/support/meeting_test.htm to make sure that your computer is set up to run Adobe Connect. ( View the tutorial.) This test will also tell you your Internet connection speed.

Flash Player
You will need the most recent version of Flash Player. Adobe Flash Player is standard in most browsers. You can find out which version of Flash Player you have at the Adobe Flash website: http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/

Adobe Connect Add-In
The Adobe Connect Add-In allows you to share your screen and upload files to meetings. To install the add-in, follow the appropriate link (View the tutorial.):

Note: At this time, there is no add-in available for Linux.

A small number of Intel Mac users running OS X have reported problems with Adobe Connect installing the wrong version of the add-in. See http://aralbalkan.com/965 for a possible workaround.

Web Browser:

Please Note: As of June 30, 2006 Penn State will no longer support Windows 98se or Windows ME. Although Adobe Connect may work with these systems, Penn State Help Desk support staff will not be available for help with any problems you may encounter.

FlashPaper (optional)
FlashPaper allows you to share any document in meetings by converting it into Flash (SWF file) format.

Web Camera and Headset

If you will be broadcasting video and/or voice during an Adobe Connect meeting you will need a Web camera, microphone, and headset. A headset with a built-in microphone is recommended to reduce audio echo and feedback. Penn State ITS recommends a camera and headset with USB or Firewire connectors, rather than a headphone plug connector.

Note that proprietary cameras for videoconferencing systems (such as Polycom and Sony IPELA) will not work with Adobe Connect.

The following equipment has been tested successfully with Adobe Connect at Penn State and is available through the Penn State Computer Store:

Headset with Microphone
Windows and Mac: Logitech USB ClearChat Comfort USB Headset (HWACHA199), http://eshop.moc.psu.edu/pennstate/mysearchresult.cfm?CFID=498321&CFTOKE...

Web Camera

Camera and Headset Bundle

  • Windows: The Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 bundle includes a Logitech 250 USB headset and a Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000 camera, (SKU HWACHC115) http://eshop.moc.psu.edu/pennstate/mysearchresult.cfm?CFID=498321&CFTOKE...
  • Mac: Because many Macs have a built-in iSight camera, there is no Mac bundle available from the Penn State Computer Store. Items must be purchased separately.

Microphones for Live Groups
The microphones we have been using for classroom and office settings where a group of people have gathered to participate in an adobe connect meeting are from M Audio.

At the Penn State Computer Store:

Purchase Order Description
You may also be interested in this one-page description of Adobe Connect and Adobe Presenter to attach to your departmental purchase order as justification for your purchase: AdobeConnectDescriptionPro.pdf