Help Section
Welcome to the Help Section. Here, you will find assistance on topics relating to navigating the website to find the information you need to make your voice heard on Akaku: Maui Community Television.
Frequently Asked Questions
We also feature an extensive Frequently Asked Questions section that will answer any of the more general questions about Community Access Television.
Website Help
Website Map
I cannot view media anywhere on the site!
How do I contact Akaku?
What do I get for registering with Akaku.org?
A link on the site isn’t working!
About Akaku
What exactly is Public Access Television?
How much will this service cost me?
How long has Akaku been around?
What Classes does Akaku offer?
How can I pay for your classes?
How can I rent out a camera?
How do I program XTV?
I want a copy of a program! How do I get a copy?
About Submitting Programs
I want to submit a program. What do I do?
What type of formats do you accept?
How long does my program have to be?
I shot my program in widescreen/High Definition. Can you play it?
I don’t live in Maui County….can I submit my program?
I didn’t get any AirDates. Did they get my Program?
I can’t view media anywhere on the site!
We have lots of types of media on the website, and all those formats usually don’t play nice. To guarantee that you’re able to see and hear everything on the site, we recommend you download and install Adobe Flash Player and Apple’s Quicktime.
You can walk into our offices on Maui at 333 Dairy Rd in Kahului or the Molokai Media Center on Molokai.
A link on the site isn’t working!
Yeah, that might happen. Building a website is difficult, and making all those links jump around to the right places is hard. Email me if you know something’s not working and I can point you in the right direction.
What do I get for registering with Akaku.org?
Registering gives you access to upcoming events around the community and puts you on a mailing list for our E-Mail Newsletter.
What exactly is Public Access Television?
Public Access Telelvision is a user-powered public service geared towards the exercise of free speech on cable television. Anyone from the community is welcome to create media and display it on Cable Television. It might have a strong political message behind it, or be a small concern about traffic congestion on roadways. Either way, its YOUR message, and we want to hear it!
What is this service going to cost me?
Nothing! The use of Public Access Television is free to the public. Airtime costs you nothing and the rental of equipment costs you nothing. The only fees you will come across are the fees that are required to offset the costs of staffing classes and learning materials. You might choose to make a purchase of Shirts and other Akaku swag, or even purchasing media. But the bottom line is no one should be charging you any money for you to exercise your right to free speech.
How Long has Akaku been around?
Akaku has been around since 1992, and has served the county of Maui for over 15 years.
What classes does Akaku offer?
Visit our Education and Classes page for more information on the classes that are available. Remember, we can’t hold a seat in a class if you don’t pay for it.
How can I pay for your classes?
Currently, we accept Credit Cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover. We also accept personal checks and cash; and in the future we will be accepting payment through PayPal.
You can check out a camera after you have been Field Certified by taking an equivalency exam or after you have completed a Field course with our Educations Department. Read up on the class and equivalency exams for more information.
You can program XTV by clicking here or for a guided tour check out our tutorial at the Akaku Guides and Tutorials section.
I want a copy of a program! How do I get one?
You’ll need to call our Front Desk at 808-871-5554 on Maui. That is the quickest way to find out how to get a copy of the program you want. There are some times, though, when we’ll tell you to contact the original producer of the program to request a copy.
If the requested program is a production by Akaku, we’ll be able to make a copy for you right away. We charge a fee for the copies, depending on the type of medium you’re requesting. We charge $25 for each DVD and $20 for each VHS. We can only fit Two Hours on each DVD and Tape.
I want to submit a Program. What do I do?
Submitting a program for Cablecast is easy! Hop on over to our Submission page and read through the short list of requirements we request when submitting a program.
What type of formats do you accept?
We accept DVD, DVCam and MiniDV. We encourage our producers to step into the digital age and submit their programs in DVD format to preserve the program in its Highest quality. It also speeds up the process on our end so your program gets on the air quicker.
How long does my program have to be?
Your program can be any length it needs to be. But we do encourage shorter programs for several reasons. The shorter your program, the more frequently your program will play. Also, when submitting your program, we allow you to create short promotional pieces to promote your program.
I shot my program in Widescreen/High Definition. Can you play it?
The short answer is No, but the long answer is Yes. We do not broadcast in High Definition or widescreen and we do not foresee that becoming a possibility in the near future. But, due to the flexibility of editing programs these days, they can accommodate widescreen and High Definition footage and downsize the footage to fit in a 4:3 format. You will need to down-convert your footage from a wide format to a standard definition square format.
If all this sounds incredibly foreign and the above paragraph has left you with more questions than answers, visit our Guide on Widescreen to learn about what you can do to make your footage look awesome on our channels.
I don’t live in Maui County. Can I submit my program?
We require that you are a Maui County resident to submit a program. But in the case that you are from somewhere that is not Maui County, you can still submit a program through a Maui County Resident. All you have to do is contact a Maui County Resident and have them submit your program in your stead.
I didn’t get any Airdates! Did they get my program?
They did. We constantly have programs coming through the door and it takes time to process each one. When we come to your program, the speed at which it is processed is affected by several things which include proper formatting, correct audio levels, and the physical medium. Basically, if you follow all the guidelines on our Submissions Page, we won’t have any problems processing your order which will speed up processing time.
Akaku: Maui Community Television (Akaku) empowers the community's voice through access to media. Akaku is a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation that airs content created by the community for the community. Community members on Maui, Moloka'i, and Lana'i are encouraged to submit programming to the station, create their own television shows and have their voices heard by fellow community members.