Frequently Asked Questions

ACCOUNTING / BILLING

How do I cancel my account?

Login to your account and select the ACCOUNT to menu item. Click "MODIFY BILLING INFORMATION", and then "CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT". Your username, all uploaded media, and any photo or video albums you have created will be deleted only on your account expiration date. Until then, your account will remain accessible and viewable.

What is your refund policy?

We do not provide refunds. Our policy is explained in the Terms of Use agreement which must be agreed to before you purchase a Mediashare Pro membership. We encourage all users to read the Terms of Use carefully.

Mediashare provides a fully functional free account for users to test and preview the service. If you are not sure about Mediashare, we highly recommend you signup for the free account first, and if you like it, upgrade to Pro.

If you are having trouble with the site please realize that we cannot fix problems that reside on your PC. Sometimes Mediashare does not work as it should but most of the time troubles are caused by corrupt or misconfigured home PC systems, not the Mediashare web site. Errors can be caused by your ISP, operating system, browser configuration, firewall or VPN, as well as other applications such as media plug-ins that reside on your home system.

Our quality assurance team is continuously testing our site and if a problem is found with our site the problem is fixed as soon as possible.

Finally, if you think your credit card was stolen to purchase Mediashare, you must call your credit card company and cancel your card. We have no way of doing this for you.

Can I change my username and/or web address?

We do not currently support renaming an account. Please contact Mediashare support via the HELP/CONTACT menu item for options.

My free account account expired, can I get the photos and videos back that I uploaded to my site?

Unless upgraded to a Pro level account, all free account information, included any uploaded media, is deleted after six months of inactivity. You must login to your Mediashare account at least once every six months to retain active status.

My pro account expired, can I get the photos and videos back that I uploaded to my site?

Your Pro level account details and media are available up until 60 (sixty) days past your expiration date. After sixty days, all account details and media are deleted.

Will my credit card be charged for a second year of service automatically when my first year expires?

All new accounts are set up to auto-renew when they are created. You can turn this feature off in the ACCOUNT section of the site. Click "Modify Billing Information" and then you can either cancel your account or just turn off the automatic renewal option.

I did not receive any notification of a pending renewal, but my account was renewed anyway.

We provide notice of pending renewal to your email address on file, both thirty days and one day in advance of the renewal date. This is our only available method of contacting you. If your email address has changed since your initial signup with Mediashare, it is possible the email was not received.

Mediashare makes every effort to ensure our emails are not considered spam. Nonetheless, it may be possible that the email was received by you and marked as spam, and was either deleted or placed in your "Junk" email folder (the disposition of spam email is entirely dependent upon your receving email server and client configuration).

I can not remember my username or password.

Please enter your email address in the "FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD" area on the sign in screen.

My email account has changed since I last logged on, and I am unable to retrieve my username & password.

Please contact Mediashare support via the HELP / CONTACT menu items.

Can I use Paypal to signup for, or upgrade to, a Pro level account ?

Yes, you may use Paypal to upgrade a free account, or upgrade a pro level account to a higher level. For the moment, please contact Mediashare support for the procedure, via the HELP / CONTACT menu item. We will be releasing support for additional payment methods soon.

UPLOADING MEDIA

What video formats are supported?

We support the following video formats/extensions:

Windows Media : WMV, ASF
Quicktime : MOV, MP4, MPG, MPEG, 3GP
Flash Video : FLV

What photo formats are supported?

We support the following photo formats/extensions: JPEG/JPG, PNG, BMP

What audio formats are supported?

We support MP3 format audio files.

What upload methods do you support?

We provide both browser-based upload methods, with a Flash interface, and direct upload features from Microsoft Movie Maker 2, and Ulead Video Studio 11.

New with version 4.5 is video upload support for Windows Live Movie Maker.

Support for additional upload methods is underway.

Are any automatic video format conversion performed?

Mediashare performs no conversions of your uploaded media to other formats, as many sites do. The media is presented and displayed using the exact encoding and quality settings you chose when creating your video.

What is the maximum size of a file I can upload?

200MB is the maximum allowed individual file size. If you have a video larger than this, we highly recommend breaking it apart into smaller 'chapters'. Upload each chapter, and you can then use our multi-video album feature to present your entire video. Simply choose the 'CREATE' top menu item, and select each of the chapters in order that you wish to present.

Is there a time limit on video files?

There is no time limit on video files - the length of your video is limited only by the size of the file itself.

Do you support H.264 HD quality videos?

We will be providing full HD video support soon.

I uploaded files successfully, but my site says I have no albums created.

Your files are initially placed in your media library, when uploaded. You can find them under the ORGANIZE FILES top menu item.

You must then create a photo/video album to display your media. Use the CREATE top menu item, choose the file format (ie photo, windows media, quicktime), then select the media from your library that you wish to display in the album.

Can I upload a video with a .MVI extension?

You may upload MVI files by first renaming them to use the ASF file extension.

Please use the following page as a guide: http://www.mediacollege.com/microsoft/windows/extension-change.html

How do I upload to Mediashare using Windows Movie Maker in XP?

Simply use the "Publish to Web" option from within Movie Maker, and choose "Neptune Mediashare". You may login to your existing account, or create a new account, and upload a video directly from within Movie Maker.

Why can't I upload to Mediashare using Windows Movie Maker in Vista or Windows 7?

Microsoft removed the "publish to web" option in Movie Maker 6, beginning with the release of Windows Vista.

Using Windows Movie Maker in Vista, you can simply create your video as desired, save it on your local PC, login to Mediashare via your web browser, and choose the UPLOAD menu item to upload it via our standard browser based method.

Alternatively, you can use Windows Live Movie Maker, utilizing the Mediashare plug-in. Download Windows Live Movie Maker from : http://windowslive.com/Desktop/MovieMaker

The Mediashare Windows Live Movie Maker plug-in may be obtained here.

How do I upload to Mediashare using Ulead Video Studio 11 ?

Select the 'Share' menu item (top right), and then 'Share Video Online'. You may then sign up for a new Mediashare account, or login to your existing account, and post your video from directly within Video Studio.

How do I upload to Mediashare using Roxio or Pinnacle video editing products?

The latest versions of the Roxio and Pinnacle products no longer support direct upload to Mediashare. Please simply create your videos as desired and save them on your local PC, then use one of our standard upload methods.

MANAGING MEDIA

How do I delete a photo or video?

Access your media library via the ORGANIZE top menu item, choose the media format, then select the specific file you wish to rename. You will be presented with the option to RENAME or DELETE the file.

How do I delete all the media in my account?

Please use the ORGANIZE FILES area of the site to manage your media library. Select the type of files you wish to delete, then use the "Select All" button to select all media, followed by "Delete Selection". Repeat this process for each media type you wish to delete, ie photos, WMV videos, or Quicktime videos.

How can I delete a large number of pictures without doing one at a time?

Please use the ORGANIZE FILES area of the site to manage your media library. Select PHOTOS, then select each individual photo you wish to delete, followed by "Delete Selection".

How do I change the name of a video I have uploaded?

Access your media library via the ORGANIZE FILES top menu item, choose the media format, then select the specific file you wish to rename. You will be presented with the option to RENAME or DELETE the file.

How do I download a photo or video to my computer?

Access your media library via the ORGANIZE FILES top menu item, choose the media format (ie "Photos" or "Windows Media Player"), then select the specific file or files you wish to download. Click the "Download Mode" button, then "Download".

If you are downloading multiple files, the download process will pause after each file is downloaded.

Note that the filenames initially presented for the downloads are named using an internal format, do not correspond with the "name" of the files within your media libary. Rename the files as desired, when downloading. We will shortly be releasing an improved download interface.

Can I order a DVD of my videos and/or photos?

We are currently evaluating support for this feature.

How do I order prints of my photos?

Create a photo album, and you will find an "ORDER PRINTS" button that links to one of our online print provider partner sites.

The photo prints I ordered never arrived and/or were of poor quality.

Mediashare partners with only the best online prints providers such as Shutterfly (www.shutterfly.com). However we do realize that mistakes can happen. Mediashare does not handle any part of the print order transaction, so for any issues please contact the actual provider (ie, Shutterfly) to resolve your issues. Please go to their site to find either email or phone support.

VIEWING ALBUMS AND MEDIA

Is it possible to link directly to my photos or videos from another site?

Use the "embed info" code displayed when viewing a video album, or displayed within the ORGANIZE FILES area, for the particular photo or video.

Why does my site say I've exceeded my bandwidth limit?

Mediashare has both daily and monthly bandwidth limits for all customers.

If you continuously exceed your bandwidth limit, you should either upgrade your account higher storage/bandwidth level, or find ways to keep you bandwidth utilization down. Putting security passwords on your albums can be extremely effective in lowering your bandwidth consumption.

Current bandwidth limits are as follows:

Account Type	Storage Limit	Daily Limit	Monthly Limit
Free	1 gb	1 gb	30 gb
Pro	10gb	100 gb	300 gb
Pro	100gb	300 gb	1000 gb
Pro	Unlimited	1000 gb	3000 gb

Note that:

Uploading files to your account does not count against your bandwidth limit.
If you exceed your daily bandwidth limit, ability to view your media may be suspended until the next day.
If you exceed your monthly bandwidth limit, ability to view your media may be suspended until the next month.
If you exceed your free account bandwidth limit, you will have to upgrade your account to Mediashare Pro to continue using the service.

Why am I having trouble playing videos?

There are many reasons this might by happening. Read carefully the error message where the video should be. In some cases you may have to go download the latest Windows Media Player from www.microsoft.com. If you are trying to view a QuickTime album and it won't work, you can download that player from www.apple.com.

Dialup users will struggle to see large videos. If you are on a slow or dialup connection, and the video you wish to see is large and of high quality then you're going to have to be very patient.

Sometimes videos get corrupted by the editing software that was used to create the files. These files get corrupted before they make it to our site and so there is nothing we can do to help. The best advice is to try again by recreating the video in a format that you know Mediashare can handle, such as WMV.

Why do my videos or photos look terrible, fuzzy or small?

We play videos and photos at the quality level that you provide them to us. So in other words, if you upload a high quality WMV 9 video (768kbps bit rate) or a high-resolution photo (over 800 kilobytes in size) to your Mediashare site... those files will look great to you and your visitors.

In contrast, if you upload a tiny video (such as 56 kbps bit rate) then that video will look terrible and fuzzy no matter what. So please remember when using your video or photo software to export your media only at high quality standards. You'll be very happy that you did.

I've sent email invitations to friends from Mediashare and they didn't receive them.

This sometimes happens when people have extra sensitive SPAM blocking software, and their email program thinks the email invitation is Spam. Our best advice is to just try again. Make sure you have the correct email address, and ask your friend to check their SPAM filter box to see if the invitation was put there.

Do you support Microsoft Silverlight for display of WMV media?

Yes! All WMV media is now displayed by default using Silverlight. If you do not have Silverlight installed, the Microsoft Media Player plug-in will be used, instead.

If you do not have Silverlight, you may obtain it at : http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=124807

Can I restrict the viewing of different albums using different passwords?

Yes, please use the SECURITY menu item to limit access to individual video/photo albums.

I cannot view WMV format videos on Macintosh OS X, using Safari or Firefox.

We recommend installing Microsoft Silverlight, which should allow these browsers to display WMV media, from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=107365.

Otherwise, Windows Media Video (WMV) format video files require a special browser plug-in, in order to display videos on Macintosh OS X platforms. Please download the Windows Media Components for QuickTime.

How do I make my albums private, so that someone can only see the album I want them to see?

Please use the SECURITY menu item to limit access to individual video/photo albums.

Is there any way to share link to a new album without showing other albums in my account?

Use the SECURITY menu item to limit access to the individual video/photo album by setting a password for it. Your visitors entering your album index page as "guests" will then no longer see the protected album within your list of public albums. Use the "quick link" URL found on the album page itself in order to share the protected album with others.

How do I put a password on only one album?

Please use the SECURITY menu item to limit access to individual video/photo albums. You may configure up to three different passwords for a photo/video album.

I uploaded a video, but when I go to my album index, it is not there.

Uploading a photo or video simply places the file within your media library, which can be found via the ORGANIZE top menu item. In order to share the file with others, you must first create a photo or video album, via the CREATE menu item.

How do I get embed codes to post my video on a web site?

Use the "embed info" code displayed in your media library for a particular video (the ORGANIZE FILES top menu item), or use the embed info displayed on an individual album page.

CREATING / EDITING ALBUMS

How do I remove a photo/video album?

Login to your account, view your album, and use the "DELETE" option on the bottom menu.

Note that deleting a photo or video album does not remove the photo or video files displayed within that album, or reduce your disk space usage. To delete individual photo or video files, access your media library via the ORGANIZE FILES top menu item.

How do I delete video albums from my album index?

Is there any way to add more than one song to a photo slide show?

Not currently, although we are examining support for this feature in a future release.

How do I add music to my video?

This must be done before uploading the video to Mediashare, using the video editing program of your choice, such as Microsoft Movie Maker, or Ulead Video studio.

WINDOWS MOVIE MAKER

Mediashare now supports Windows Live Movie Maker! Download Windows Live Movie Maker from : http://windowslive.com/Desktop/MovieMaker

The Mediashare Windows Live Movie Maker plug-in may be obtained here.

For learning more about all versions of Windows Movie Maker, we highly recommend www.windowsmoviemakers.net and www.papajohn.org as the best sources of information regarding Windows Movie Maker.

WINDOWS PHOTO STORY

Did you know that you can create home videos of your photo collection, along with custom music and video transitions, using Windows Photo Story 3? You can then upload this video to Mediashare, and share online with your family and friends.

Take a look at PapaJohn's Photo Story 3 Tutorial, or Mark Coffman's Beginners Guide