Shutterfly Video FAQ
Overview
- What is Shutterfly Video?
- Shutterfly Video powered by Motionbox allows you to upload and add videos to your Shutterfly Share sites, so that you can share them safely and privately with friends, family and groups—just like you share pictures.
- Is Shutterfly Video Free?
- Yes, we offer a basic version of Shutterfly Video as a free service to our users. For a low annual fee, you can upgrade to a Premium account featuring virtually unlimited video storage, support for larger files, High Definition (HD) playback and more.
- What is the file storage capacity for Shutterfly videos? Are there any limits?
- With a basic account, you can store a total of 10 videos, each of which can be up to 300MB (about 5 minutes long). However, with a Premium account you can store an virtually unlimited number of videos, each of which can be up to 1GB (about 15 minutes long). * To ensure a quality experience for all Shutterfly Video members, your video uploads are limited to 20GB total in any given month.
- What is Motionbox?
- Motionbox is a private, secure video hosting and sharing site that Shutterfly has chosen to power its video sharing service. When you upload a video to your Shutterfly Share site, it will also be stored in your Motionbox account. If you upload to Motionbox directly, your video will be available to post on your Shutterfly Share site automatically.
- How can I provide feedback about Shutterfly Video?
- If you have a suggestion for improving Shutterfly Video, please email us: video-feedback@shutterfly.com. Your email will go directly to the Shutterfly product team. Although we won’t be able to respond to most emails, we love hearing from our customers directly.
Please contact Customer Support if you need assistance with using Shutterfly Video.
Getting Started
- What are the requirements for Shutterfly Video?
- Shutterfly Video powered by Motionbox is entirely web-based. All you need to get started is a computer with a high-speed connection to the Internet (DSL and higher is recommended) and Adobe Flash Player. If you don’t have the latest version of Flash, you can download it for free here.
Shutterfly Video is compatible with the following browsers:
- Windows: Internet Explorer (versions 6.0 or 7.0), and Firefox (version 1.0 or higher.)
- Mac: Safari (version 1.2 or higher), and Firefox (version 1.0 or higher.)
- How do I create a Shutterfly Video account?
- You’ll need to create a Shutterfly Video account with Motionbox to post videos on your Share site. To create an account, go to any of your Share sites, select “Add Video” and from the dialog box click the “Create Video Account” button. Once your Shutterfly Video account has been created on Motionbox, you’ll be able to add videos to your Share Site without subsequent log-ins.
When your Shutterfly Video account is created, a Motionbox username and password are automatically generated for you. You should receive an email from Motionbox containing information about accessing your account directly on Motionbox.com. To retrieve your password, click here.
- What if I already have an existing Motionbox account?
- If you already have a Motionbox account, getting started is just as easy. When you click on “Add Video” from your Share site, you’ll see an option to sign in to an existing Motionbox account. Enter your Motionbox username and password when prompted.
- What do I get with a Shutterfly Video Basic Account?
- A Shutterfly Video basic account is a great way to get started with private video sharing. With a basic account, you can upload up to 10 videos. Each video can be up to 300MB in file size (or about 5 minutes long) and will play back in DVD-quality standard definition (SD). You can delete old videos to make room for new ones. All of your videos will be available to post on any of your Shutterfly Share sites.
- What do I get with a Shutterfly Video Premium Account?
- With a Shutterfly Video Premium account you can store a much larger amount of video. Each video can be up to 1GB in file size (or about 15 minutes long)*. Other Premium account privileges include:
- HD playback. Any HD-resolution (720p or greater) video posted to your Share site can be encoded and viewed in HD.
- Video downloads. You and anyone to whom you give permission can download a high-quality copy of your video back to a PC or Mac.
- Priority video optimization. Your videos will be available for playback more quickly.
- Ad-free Share sites. You and anyone who visits your Share Site will not see display ads.
* To ensure a quality experience for all Shutterfly Video members, we may limit your video uploads to 20GB total in any given month.
Shutterfly Video Premium Account
- How do I upgrade my Basic account to Shutterfly Video Premium?
- To upgrade your account, click the “Upgrade now” button on the right of the Add Video pop-up window or visit the Shutterfly Video Premium information page.
- Why will my Shutterfly Video Premium account automatically renew?
- Because your Shutterfly Video Premium account allows you to store and view treasured memories, we want to ensure uninterrupted service. Automatic renewal makes it easy for you to continue to enjoy your Premium benefits.
We’ll email you 30 days before your renewal date to remind you and give you an opportunity to cancel your account if you’re not satisfied. If you’re happy with the service, you don’t have to do anything. Your credit card will be charged and your Premium benefits will be extended for an additional year.
If for some reason you miss our email and your subscription is automatically renewed, you’ll have 14 days from your renewal to cancel your Premium account for a full refund.
- How do I cancel my Shutterfly Video Premium account? Will I get a refund if I do?
- If you are within your 14-day trial period and are not satisfied with your Premium account for any reason, contact Motionbox Customer Support or go to the Account Info section of your Motionbox Settings page to request cancellation for a full refund.
You may cancel your Premium account at any time, but refunds are only granted within 14 days of purchase or renewal.
Uploading/Adding Video to your Share Site
- What video file formats can I upload to my Share site?
- Currently, we support videos in the following most popular video formats:
.3GP, .3GPP, .3G2, .ASF, .AVI, .DIVX, .DV, .FLV, .M4V, .MOV, .MPEG, .MPG, .MP4, .MKV, .QT, .WMV, .mts, m2ts
For a complete list that includes all accepted upload formats please visit Motionbox Help.
Windows Movie Maker note:
By default, Windows Movie Maker saves projects as .MSWMM files. These are project files that do not contain the final video itself. Shutterfly Video does not accept .MSWMM files. To upload a video created in Windows Movie Maker, select “Publish Movie” and upload the resulting file.
- Can I upload HD video to my Share Site?
- Yes, you can upload HD video. However, you and your Share site visitors will only be able to view the video in HD if you have a Premium account.
- What can I do if I'm not able to upload a video successfully?
- Sometimes the best solution for uploading troubles is to try your upload again. If this doesn’t work, consider the following when troubleshooting:
- When using the video uploader, make sure your computer doesn’t enter “sleep” or “hibernate” mode during the upload process or your video won’t complete its upload.
- If you want to step away from your computer while uploading, go to your Control Panel on your PC. Under “Power Options,” set your computer to go to sleep “Never”. On a Mac, go to “System Preferences” and under “Energy Saver” options, choose “never” under sleep options. Once the upload has completed, return to your original settings.
- Confirm that your video file type is one that is supported by Motionbox.
- Confirm that your video is within the file size limit for your account type.
- Remember that upload times may vary depending on the size of your video, or speed of your Internet connection.
- Try uploading your file directly to your Motionbox account. For more details on uploading, click here.
- What does it mean when my video is “processing” or “optimizing”?
- Video optimization is the process of preparing your video for output or playback on the internet. Your video is encoded to meet proper formats and specifications for playback through the use of video encoder software. We often use the terms “processing” or “encoding” to mean the same thing. It’s a necessary step as part of your video upload.
- I received an error after my video uploaded "Sorry, we’re having problems processing the video!” – how can I resolve this?
- There may be a variety of reasons why your video may not process. Here are some ways to troubleshoot problems:
- Make sure your video is in a format that is compatible with Shutterfly Video powered by Motionbox.
- Only video formats are accepted. Make sure you’re not trying to upload music files such as .wmv, .mp3 or other files such as .doc or .xls.
- If you’ve tried and failed to upload a video from Windows Movie Maker, read Failed Windows Movie Maker Videos for help on how to make this work.
- If you’re having a problem with files that have been run through any video editing software, it’s recommended that you upload your source video directly instead. This will result in fewer failures and the best quality playback.
Due to Internet connection speeds or the amount of video upload traffic, it may look like your video processing has stalled. In fact, it’s just taking longer than anticipated. If you’ve given your video time to process and it does fail, please contact Shutterfly customer support.
Playback
- What do I need on my computer for successful video playback?
- Shutterfly Video powered by Motionbox is entirely Web-based. All you need to get started is a computer with a high-speed connection to the Internet (DSL or higher is recommended) and Adobe Flash Player. If you don’t have the latest version of Flash, you can download it for free.
Shutterfly Video is compatible with the following browsers:
Windows: Internet Explorer (version 6.0 or 7.0) and Firefox (version 1.0 or higher)
Mac: Safari (version 1.2 or higher) and Firefox (version 1.0 or higher)
Make sure you have the latest version of your browser to guarantee compatibility.
Keep in mind that high-quality playback, specifically HD, can be resource-intensive. For optimum viewing, you’ll need a computer with a fast system processor and an updated video card. If you have any issues with playback, switching to SD playback may help.
- There is a green spinner on my video as it loads, but the video never seems to start. Why?
- If you’re experiencing the green spinner that doesn’t ever stop, make sure you have the latest version of Flash. After installing Flash you’ll need to restart your computer.
For members using the AOL browser, you'll want to be sure to update Flash on your AOL browser too, even if your Flash has been updated already on a different browser. AOL browsers should also be up to date with the newest version 10 as Motionbox videos won't play back on older versions.
- What is HD and is HD on Shutterfly Video the same as HDTV?
- Simply put, HD means “high definition,” one of the highest-quality video playback and output options available. HD video displays more pixels than SD (standard definition) video. This means that HD videos have more detail, brighter colors, and sharper pictures—similar to a TV show broadcast in HD as opposed to regular definition.
Any Shutterfly Video user can upload HD-resolution videos. However, you must have a Shutterfly Video Premium account to view those videos in HD. If you’re a basic Shutterfly Video user, you can only play back HD-resolution videos in SD.
- Do I need to have a Shutterfly Video Premium account to view videos in HD?
- In order to view your video in HD, you’ll need a Shutterfly Video Premium account. Once you’ve upgraded your account, you’ll automatically be able to play back videos that were shot in HD. Click “View this video in HD” on the video details page to encode the video for High Definition playback.
You can upload an HD video to a Basic account, but you will be unable to view it in “true” HD.
Sharing videos
- Once I upload my videos to my Shutterfly Share site, how do I post them on social networking sites such as Facebook?
- You can post a thumbnail of your video to Facebook, MySpace and Blogger. You also can post a link to a video in a Twitter “tweet.” The thumbnails and links will take users back to the video on your Share site.
To post to social networking sites, go to the “Edit” pulldown menu next to the video and select “Post to Facebook, blogs…”
- Do family and friends need to be Shutterfly members to view my videos on my Share Site?
- No, they don’t need to be members. Remember, though, that if you set your Share site permissions to restrict access to members of your site, then your friends and family will have to sign in to view your videos.
Managing My Videos
- How can I organize videos on my Shutterfly Share site?
- You can drag and drop your videos to reorganize them on your Share site just like you do with pictures. Just click on the “Manage my videos” link at the bottom-left of the “Add videos” pop-up window.
- How do I edit the title or description of a video on my Shutterfly Share site?
- Once you’ve uploaded a video to your Share site, you’ll have an opportunity to add a title and description. On the Videos section of your Share site, select “Edit video info” from the “Edit” pulldown menu next to the video whose title or description you wish to change.
- How do I remove a video or video thumbnail from my Shutterfly Share site?
- In the Videos section of your Share site, find the “Edit” pulldown menu next to the title of the video you wish to remove and select “Remove video.”
If you’ve posted a video to more than one Share site, you’ll need to follow the instructions above on each site to remove it from all of them.
- Does removing a video from my Shutterfly Share site also delete it from my Shutterfly Video account?
- No, it does not. Videos removed from your Share site(s) will still be stored in your Shutterfly Video account on Motionbox.
- Is there a way to delete a video from all my Share sites and from my Shutterfly Video account?
- You’ll need to visit your Shutterfly Video account on Motionbox to delete videos from both your account and from all of your Share sites.
Either log into Motionbox directly or go to “Add Videos” in any of your Shutterfly Share sites and click on the “Manage videos” link. This will take you directly to your video folders on Motionbox, where you can delete, rename or reorganize all your videos.
If you delete a video from your Shutterfly Video account, it will be removed from all of your Shutterfly Share sites.
Downloading
- Can I download my videos from my Share site onto my computer?
- With a Shutterfly Video Premium account, downloading is easy. Just click on the video thumbnail from your Share site and select “Download this video” to the right of the video player. On Motionbox, you can find download options below the video player.
- In what format will my videos download?
- The downloaded video will be a high quality MP4 format, suitable for playback on your Mac or PC.
Your Account
- I lost my Motiobox password. How do I retrieve it?
- To retrieve a lost password, click here.
- How do I change my Motionbox password?
- To change your password, click the “Manage my videos” link from the “Add videos” pop-up window. On the Motionbox site, click “Account Settings” under the “My Motionbox” pulldown menu.
- How do I change my email preferences with Motionbox?
- To change your email preferences, click the “Manage my videos” link from the “Add videos” pop-up window. On the Motionbox site, click “Account Settings” under the “My Motionbox” pulldown menu.
- How do I check the status of my Premium account or request cancellation?
- To cancel your Premium account or check your Premium account status, go to the “Account Information” section of My Settings page on Motionbox.
