What is a portal?

A portal is another name for a Home Page. The Blue Ridge Home Page is available from www.mybrctv.com. We encourage you to make this your Home Page - which is ultimately the page your computer will automatically open to when you access your internet browser.

Why would I want to log in to the Blue Ridge portal?

The Blue Ridge portal or Home Page is a robust and dynamic source of information and services, including national and local news, sports, and entertainment. By logging in, you instantly access your Blue Ridge email, and you can also customize the content and location of information on the page, making it truly unique to your interests and desires. Additional features and benefits include:

• Google Search
• Streaming Video (News, Entertainment and Sports)
• Personalizing your Home Page with news and information that is essential to you!

How do I log in to the Blue Ridge Home Page?

Log in access is available in the upper right portion of the Blue Ridge Home Page by clicking on a “Log In” link or the green Email button. You can then log in using your Blue Ridge email user name and password.

How do I access my Blue Ridge email?

Email access is available in the upper right portion of the Blue Ridge Homepage by clicking on the Email button. You can then log in using your Blue Ridge email user name and password. After you have logged in, you will have a preview of your email inbox available directly from your Blue Ridge Homepage.

Once you have logged in to the Blue Ridge Homepage, you can also access your account for the following email providers.

• Yahoo!
• AOL
• Gmail

How do I make the portal my Home Page?

There are two ways to make the Blue Ridge portal your Home Page:
In Internet Explorer:

1. The first is on the Home Page itself. Go to http://www.mybrctv.com and click on "Make this your Home Page" at the very top of the page. You will be prompted to accept the URL as your Home Page.
2. In the Internet toolbar, click on "Tools." Click on "Internet options." On the "General" tab, type in http://www.mybrctv.com in the Home Page space, click on "use current pages," and then click on "Apply."

1. Click and drag the link that says: "To make this your Home Page, drag this link onto your Home Button."

How do I get back to the Blue Ridge Home Page (main page)?

The portal has a Homepage, plus many other pages that you typically access by clicking on components or channels. When you go to another page, simply click on your browser's "back" button or click the "Home" button at the left side of the page. If you have not set http://www.mybrctv.com as your Homepage, and you navigate to other URL addresses on the web, when you want to get back to the Blue Ridge Homepage, you will need to enter http://www.mybrctv.com in the browser address bar to return. This is another great reason to make the Blue Ridge portal your Homepage on the Internet by clicking the "Make this my Homepage" link at the top of the page.

What are the recommended system requirements to access content on the portal?

• Any Intel or AMD processor, 400mhz or faster
• Windows 98/ME/2000/XP
• Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (cookies enabled)
• Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher
• Real Player 6.0 or higher
• Macromedia Flash Plug-In
• Shockwave Plug-in
• Active X Plug-in (for streaming video over IE)
• 256 MB RAM
• 16-bit sound card and speakers
• 65,000-color video display card

How do I manage my Blue Ridge account on the portal?

Use the Mange Account link located at the bottom of the Blue Ridge Home Page to manage your Blue Ridge account.

Will accessing the portal and logging in put cookies on my PC?

Yes, in order to access the portal your browser must be set up to allow cookies.

What are cookies?

Cookies are simple pieces of text sent by a server to a web browser. Cookies not harmful to your computer; they are used for authenticating, tracking, and maintaining specific information about users, such as site preferences used in customizing the portal or the content on the portal.

What is a component/content?

A component is a section of the portal that is complete within itself. It can be moved or removed within the space of the portal when you are logged in. For instance: "3 Day Forecast" is the Weather component on the page.

How do I customize (add components to) my Home Page?

Click on 'Personalize' in the upper right corner of the Home Page above Email Log in, a dropdown display will appear on the Home Page. Here you can choose from several categories to choose content from (business, entertainment, etc). To add content to your Home Page, click on a category of interest in the left column of the content window, and choose a content component. To add the component to your Home Page, click Add. To select the column you wish to place it in select the arrow next to the 'Add' button. If you do not select a column, it will be placed in the column that best fits based on what is already present on your Home Page.

How can I add back a component that I have just removed from my Home Page?

If you remove a component and would like to add it back to your Home Page you will need to refresh your page and click 'Personalize' in the upper right corner of the Home Page above Email Log In. Locate the component and click 'Add' to add the component back to your Home Page.

How do I move components?

There are two ways to move components:

1. Right on the Blue Ridge Home Page when you are logged in: When you hover your mouse over a movable component, a four-way arrow will appear. When you see that arrow, you may do a right mouse click and drag and drop the component to any column on the Home Page.
2. To move a component that you have added to your Home Page into a different column - remove the component from its current column by clicking the 'X' in the upper right corner. Refresh your page. Click 'Personalize this page'. Select the arrow next to the 'Add' button on the component you're adding to the Home Page. Choose the new column location to place your component.

How do I customize the TV Listings component?

Several things can be customized within the TV Listings component. Click on the TV tab and then click on "Settings" in the upper right hand corner of the component. You can adjust the following:

• Local Stations: Change the zip code to change the available stations.
• Select your service: Use the drop-down menu to customize your station listing based on your provider.
• Favorite Channels: Select from the list of available channels to choose your favorites. These are the channels that will show on the portal Home Page.
• Default View: You may choose to have the component display shows that match either real time or prime time shows.
• Click "Submit" after making your changes. This will return you to the Home Page, where you can see your changes.
• Using "Advanced Search" from the TV Listings component, you may search for shows by name, date, channel or category. You can sort them by date or title. And you can select how you would like your results displayed.

How do I customize the Local channel?

The "Local Channel" can be found in the directory across the top of the Home Page. The Local Channel can be customized whether you are logged in or not—by clicking on the local channel and then entering your desired zip code and clicking "Go." If there is a local component on the Home Page, the content there will also change to reflect the zip code input on the Local channel.

How do I search and customize the "In Theaters" Component? Customize my local theatre?

The "In Theaters" component also allows you to search by Movie Title and date.

How do I update the Weather component?

Within the Weather component, there is a edit link where you can enter any zip code or city and state. Simply enter a zip code or city and state to see the weather conditions in the place you are interested in. You can also change whether the display is reported in Fahrenheit or Celsius by choosing the corresponding icon in the top right of the component.

How do I update the Market Watch component/Add new stock symbols?

The Market Watch component functions in two ways:

1. Stock Symbol Quickview of Price and Change: Right in the component, you can have up to seven of your favorite stocks show up (the default setting is for S&P 500 and NASDAQ). Simply click "Edit" and enter your stock symbols. (If you do not know your stock symbol, see that function.) Note: Editing your stock symbol will remove the S&P 500 and NASDAQ from the view.
2. Look up a symbol: Enter any stock symbol and click on enter or "go" to learn more about that stock. Entering a stock symbol will take you to another page for an in-depth view of the stock. You with see the following tabs: Market Summary, Market Movers, Sectors, A-Z listings, World Markets, Splits, CEO Wealthmeter, Currencies & Calculators.

How do I download Downloads and Plug-ins (i.e., plug-ins, Flash, etc)?

To download programs necessary to support premium content, such as Flash or plug-ins, click on Downloads & Plug-ins in the footer of the page. Click 'Download now!' next to the program you are interested in downloading. You will be prompted to download that program.

Why would I want to download the Blue Ridge Toolbar?

There are many helpful functions available through the toolbar. By adding the toolbar, you can have these functions available to you, no matter what Internet web page you are on. These functions include:

• Search: Looking for something? Type your phrase or word in the search box, and our Google-powered engine will find it for you.
• Highlight Search Term: Click on this button to automatically highlight the phrase or word you searched for throughout the page.
• News: Click on this tab and get the top ten most current news headlines. Click on a headline to view the full article on your Blue Ridge Home Page.
• Pop-up Blocker: The toolbar is equipped with a powerful no-nuisance feature that protects you from most pop-up ads.
• TV: Want to see what's on-now or later? Click to get right to the TV Listings channel.
• Movies: Check what's playing at your local theater. Click to get right to the Movies channel.
• Customizable: Opportunities to set up preferences with regard to content, position and features that users find most useful.

How do I download the Blue Ridge Toolbar?

To download the Blue Ridge toolbar, go to the very top of the Home Page and click on the Toolbar link. You will be taken to another page that highlights the features and benefits of having the toolbar as well as directions for downloading.

What are the system requirements for the Blue Ridge Toolbar?

• Microsoft Windows (2000, XP or Vista)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer version 6.0 or greater
• Mozilla Firefox version 3.0 or greater

Will downloading the Blue Ridge Toolbar put spyware on my PC?

The Blue Ridge Toolbar collects information, such as your IP address and zip code for the following purposes: to customize the content you see; to fulfill requests for products and services; to conduct research; to provide anonymous reporting; and to ensure that you always have the most up-to-date version of the Toolbar. This information is not sold, disclosed or reported on to any other companies or websites. Note: The Toolbar is set up to automatically update when a new version is available. When the toolbar checks for updates, it loads a version file from our server. For more information please review our privacy policy.