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What is Ruckus?

The Ruckus service provides Brown University students with unlimited access to over 1.5 million songs and hundreds of videos. With Ruckus, students can download and share music and movies with their friends and classmates in a fast and user-friendly download environment designed exclusively for college students. It's sort of a combination of music, Facebook© and an online video store.

WATCH major studio movies and TV shows with new titles rotated in regularly. Watch them anywhere and with anyone.

LISTEN to a growing list of over 1.5 million music tracks. Sample all the music you want, and make your own unique playlists.

SHARE all your music with friends. It's a great way to learn about new music and artists. Recommend your favorite tracks, and see everything in your friends' libraries.

CONNECT with friends and discover new ones. Browse Brown profiles and invite people to be your "friend" on Ruckus.

How much does Ruckus cost?

Music Subscription: FREE to all Brown University students year-round.

Summer Music Subscription: Any student who wants Ruckus during the summer months and is enrolled at Brown for the upcoming fall semester can continue to use the service at no charge on the computer he or she used during the school year or on one other computer at home.

Faculty and Staff Music Subscription: $5.99 per month for unlimited music downloads.

Movie Subscription: $15 per term. Movie subscriptions are only available to students downloading while directly connected to Brown network while on campus or while connected to Brown network via the University's VPN Service and a broadband connection (e.g., cable modem or DSL connection).

Ruckus-To-Go: $20 per term for the ability to download Ruckus music to portable player. Click here for more information about Ruckus-To-Go.

Do I own the music and movies I download?

No. Music files you download are protected by digital rights management, so they're licensed to you for 30 days. A "Renew By" date in your music and movie libraries indicates when the license for each downloaded title will expire. If you are logged into Ruckus and play an expired song, the license will renew automatically. You can also manually renew the license by right-clicking the title and selecting "renew license." You can renew a track as many times as you like as long as you are a Ruckus subscriber. If you cancel Ruckus, you will no longer be able to renew your licenses.

Students who opt for the Ruckus-To-Go plan ($20/semester) may copy downloaded music to a compatible portable player.

Movie files you download are also protected by digital rights management and can be played on your PC for 5 days, after which time they remove themselves.

Can I purchase music and movies through Ruckus?

Ruckus offers online music purchases through Buy.com. You can buy individual tracks or entire CDs. Movies are not available for purchase via Ruckus, but are available through Buy.com.

Whenever you are given the option to download a music track or album you are also given the option to buy through Buy.com. If the track or album is available for purchase, a Buy.com icon will appear. By selecting that icon you will be taken directly to that track or album's page at Buy.com. A track purchased and downloaded through Buy.com can be burned to CD.

What is Ruckus-To-Go?

For $20/semester Ruckus-To-Go lets you move downloaded Ruckus music from your PC to a portable player. Once moved to the portable player, music will play for 30 days before it needs to be re-synched with your PC in order to renew the license. Please note that in order to utilize Ruckus-To-Go, you need a compatible, subscription-enabled, portable player. Check here for a current listing of supported players.

Ruckus-To-Go is available to any Brown student, staff or faculty member for $20/semester.

Must I be connected to the campus network to play downloaded music and movies?

No. Downloaded music can be played on your PC for 30 days (movies can be played for 5 days), regardless of whether or not your PC is physically connected to the campus network.

What are the computer requirements?

Any computer with a browser can log into Ruckus. However, only PCs running Windows XP or 2000 can are able to play music and movies. The specific PC requirements are as follows:

How do I create my Ruckus account?

Just go to www.ruckus.com and follow the online steps. Please note that you'll need to enter your Brown username and Brown e-mail address (e.g., Josiah_Carberry@brown.edu). A Ruckus password and further instructions will be returned to your Brown e-mail address. Once you have logged in and verified your account, you can begin using the Ruckus service.

Note: Brown recommends that you select a new Ruckus password if you plan to purchase any music, movies, or additional services from Ruckus or Buy.Com (via Ruckus).

Can I download Ruckus movies from off-campus?

If you have you have subscribed to the Ruckus video and movie service ($15/term), have a high-speed connection from off-campus (e.g., via cable modem or DSL), and can connect to the Brown network using Brown's VPN service, you may download movies from the Ruckus service. However, the speed of the download will depend on the speed of your connection and the volume of traffic over BrownÕs VPN service and the Internet in general.

How do I purchase a Faculty and Staff Music subscription, Movie subscription or Ruckus-To-Go subscription?

Subscriptions are purchased directly from Ruckus (www.ruckus.com) via a secure, online credit card transaction.

Can I download Ruckus movies or music to my laptop in the Library (or another campus building)?

Yes. So long as your computer is directly connected to campus network and you are on campus, you may do so.

Can I pay for movies a la carte rather than through the $15/term subscription?

No. Movies are currently only available through subscription.

I'm a Mac (or Linux) user. Can I use Ruckus?

You are able to log into Ruckus, maintain your Ruckus profile and browse others' profiles and playlists. However, because the Ruckus music and movie files utilize Microsoft DRM (Digital Rights Management), you will not be able to play them.

Ruckus has partnered with eMusic.com and offers students a discounted membership ($10/term) to the eMusic.com service.

eMusic is a digital music service separate from Ruckus. eMusic offers mostly music from independent labels and has a limit of 15 downloads per month. However, the tracks are not subscription tracks like Ruckus. A track downloaded from eMusic is in MP3 format and can be burned an unlimited number of times, played on Mac, Linux or Windows computers, and can be transferred to any MP3 player (including the iPod).

NOTE: The eMusic downloader program is available for Mac and Windows. Once the songs are downloaded, they can be moved to the operating system of your choice for listening.

Will Ruckus-To-Go work with my iPod?

No. iPods utilize the Fairplay DRM (Digital Rights Management) which is not compatible with Ruckus music files nor with Microsoft's Digital Rights Management system.

What kinds of movies and TV shows does Ruckus offer? How current are the movies?

The movie and TV content offered by Ruckus can be characterized as "college favorites and cult classics". In terms of currency, the movie titles are similar to what you might find on a premium movie channel.

How many movies does Ruckus have available?

Over 200 hours of Hollywood video and TV content are available to Ruckus movie subscribers. Titles are cycled in and out every week; usually five come in and five go out. A list of outgoing titles will be posted in the "Charts" on the movie page. Popular titles may be available longer than others.

What's the file format of the media I download from Ruckus?

Windows Media Audio (WMA) and Windows Media Video (WMV).

How is Ruckus legal?

In an effort to prevent piracy of the copyrighted content distributed by its system, and in an effort to enforce subscription rules, Ruckus employs Microsoft's Digital Rights Management (DRM). Ruckus content is encrypted with DRM making it playable only when it has a valid license, and only Ruckus users can acquire a valid license to play the content by logging into the Ruckus service. Licensed content can be played using any media player that supports DRM (Ruckus, Windows Media Player, WinAmp, DRM supported portable players, etc.). Once a music license has been acquired it will last 30 days before expiring and you must then re-acquire the license. A movie license will last five days before it needs to be renewed. Renewing a license does not mean you have to re-download the content.

Is Ruckus just for colleges and universities?

Yes. Ruckus Network is dedicated to providing digital entertainment based on the interests, lifestyle and preferences of college students. Only colleges and universities can subscribe to Ruckus for their students - it is not available for purchase by the general public.

Where can I get help if I encounter any problems with the Ruckus service?

Ruckus has online support available to any Ruckus subscriber.

Disclaimer: This information reflects the Ruckus service deployed at Brown University as accurately and completely as possible. Future offerings will be updated on this page when available.

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