Billing Questions

• What is a "stream" and how does the billing system work?
  

  1 Stream = 10 minutes view (when using standard branded video players)

  6,000 Streams in the Business service plan = 6,000 x 10 minutes views or 60,000 viewer minutes/mo = 1,000 viewer hours/mo

  or

  1.5 Streams = 10 minutes view (when using white-label /unbranded video players)

  6,000 Streams in the Business service plan = 4,000 x 10 minutes views or 40,000 viewer minutes/mo = 666 viewer hours/mo

  How the billing system works?

  During the playback of your videos, there are set billing points per every 10 minutes. The first billing point is set at 10s and subsequent billing points are every 10m after that. For every billing point passed, 1 or 1.5 Streams will be deducted from your account.
  

  Use the Service Price Calculator to find out the best plan that suites your needs. The calc is located under Prices Page or Account > Service Plans

  
  

• What does "monthly streams" mean?
  

  This is the number of streams per month included in your service plan.

  Monthly streams are renewed once a month at the date of your billing cycle. Monthly streams that are remaining by that date from the previous month expire and do not carry over to the next month.

  Monthly streams are much cheaper than prepaid streams because they allow us to have better planning which lowers tha costs for us.

• What if I use up all my monthly streams?
  

  If you use up all your monthly streams before your payment cycle takes place, the system will try to deduct the streams from your “additional streams” account.

  If you expect your monthly streams to run out before the date of your next billing cycle you can buy an “additional streams” package from our Add-on Store.

  If your requirements are higher than your current plan we recommend that you upgrade your plan. Larger plan packages offer additional features too.
  

• What are "additional streams"?
  

  Additional streams are extra streams that you can use as backup in case all your monthly streams are used up due to unexpected high traffic. Additional streams are rolled over each month and do not have expiry date.

• Where can I buy additional streams?
  

  You can buy additional streams at the Add-on store, which is open 24/7/365.

• What happens if all my monthly streams and additional streams are used up?
  

  Your videos will become unavailable until you purchase some additional streams or your monthly streams account is topped up again with the next payment cycle. We recommend keeping a balance of additional streams at all times to avoid this happening.

• How do I know if my streams are going to run out?
  

  You can set up custom e-mail notifications to send yourself a reminder if you are running low on streams.

• What is a service plan?
  

  Service plans are monthly packages that enable you to use the SVP control panel and all the different features included as part of that service plan. Bigger packages have more features and are more cost effective on a ‘per-stream’ basis. You can modify your service plan 24/7/365 from your SVP control panel -> service plans . You can also choose to upgrade, downgrade or cancel your service plan.
  
  Remember, if you modify your service plan, the features available with the old plan will be replaced with those from the new plan. If you downgrade, some of the features from the old plan might not be included in the new one.
  
  Hint: If you are about to modify your Service Plan, we recommend waiting until you get close to your monthly payment cycle before you actually perform the downgrade or upgrade procedure.
  
  Example: If you subscribed on 12th of July and we have deducted £9.95 from your account, the best time to modify your plan will be around 11th of August, since we are not rolling over any remaining features from the old package to the new one

• Can I upgrade/downgrade or cancel at any time?
  

  When you purchase a service plan or addon feature a recurring payment is created based on the payment period (monthly or yearly ). Then the first payment isbe taken immediately that covers the period until the next billing cycle. 
  
  If you upgrade or downgrade your account during a monthly billing cycle, your account will be converted to your new plan immediately and the old plan's payment will be cancelled automatically.
  
  If you wish to cancel your service plan or Add-on feature simply go to Account -> My Subscriptions and cancel the specific active subscription(s). Any future payments will be suspended immediately once the subscription is cancelled.

• What are the payment methods?
  
  
  You can pay online by debit/credit card via PayPal or over the phone by calling on +44 (0) 845 867 4819 | +1-877-597-3836 (option 1)
  
  The following payment options are coming soon ( expected in March 2011 )

  • Embedded debit/credit card payment option
  • Payment via Bank Transfer
  • Payment via Cheque 
• My payment has been skipped or failed. What should I do?
  

  1. Make sure you have sufficient funds in your account.

  2. Login to your Paypal. Make sure there are no limitations applied by Paypal.

  3. Check your primary debit/credit card you have on file and make sure it's not expired.

   

   

   

  To edit the expiry date or billing address for your card:

   

  Go to Profile > Credit/Debit Cards under Financial Information > Edit the card you wish to update > Follow the onscreen instructions.

   

  
  If you need to update your debit card start date or issue number, you must remove the card and then add it again with the updated information.