General

Account

Video

General

What is SURFER.TV?

SURFER.TV is a web destination that streams current and historical videos from top Producers, Brands, and Pros. It also has a unique community feature in which anyone can upload personal videos with the opportunity to showcase their work on a higher level. SURFER.TV is for related videos only.

What is a Channel? What is a Show?

A Channel is a place on SURFER.TV where producers, pros, brands, and users can house their library of video clips. A channel can be customized with its own header and thumbnail image. A channel owner can also organize his video clips in playlists. A playlist is a grouping of videos with a common theme.

A Show is a place on SURFER.TV where producers, pros, brands, and users can create a series of video episodes typically between, but not limited to, 3-5 minutes. These videos should maintain a common theme or style similar to shows on television. Show episodes should be produced on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis in order to maintain and grow viewers and subscribers.

What is the Community?

The SURFER.TV community is the section of the site where users can create a profile, upload videos, create channels and/or shows. SURFER.TV's community is unique in that a user can be rewarded by getting upgraded to producer status.

What can be accomplished on SURFER.TV?

Anyone can log on to SURFER.TV and watch videos, shows, and view channels. The next level is to become a user(sign up)*see privacy policy for further information. A user has the ability to comment on and favorite videos, subscribe to channels and shows, and upload his/her own videos. Users' videos will appear in the community and might possibly be upgraded to the premium side of SURFER.TV. If a user's video gets upgraded or a user creates a channel or show with multiple videos, then the user is upgraded to an "Affiliate Producer." Affiliate Producer's can be upgraded to Associate Producer(see Terms) after their videos, channels, or shows reaching a high number of views. Associate Producer's have the ability to earn revenues.

Can I make money on SURFER.TV?

Yes you can earn money by gaining popularity on SURFER.TV and being promoted to an associate producer. More details coming soon. For more information, contact producers@SURFER.TV.

Is there a browser that SURFER.TV is more compatible with?

SURFER.TV is most compatible with Firefox 3.

Can I use SURFER.TV for commercial use or to promote my business?

Yes. SURFER.TV is unique in that it can be used in a variety of ways to help promote and advertise your related business.

You can create a channel or show in SURFER.TV Premium and for a small administrative fee, you can place your own ads and/or sponsor's ads around your channel/show (see Terms). These ads can link to any specified URL. For more information, contact producers@SURFER.TV.

Another way is to create a channel and/or show in the community section which is built around your brand. You can post your own videos encouraging users to engage in your brand. You do not get the advertising opportunities and links using this free method.

Account

How do I create a profile?

Click on the orange "Sign Up" button on the upper RH corner of the homepage. Fill out all required sections of the form and hit "REGISTER".

How do I change my personal info?

There are two ways you can edit your personal information: 1. Login to your account. Click on the "MY ACCOUNT" button to the right of your name in the upper right hand corner. Once you are taken to your personal page, click the "EDIT" button within the box on the upper left hand side. There you can access your personal preferences. 2. Login to your account. Click on the "MY ACCOUNT" button to the right of your name in the upper right hand corner. Once you are taken to your personal page, click the "MANAGE" button located in the upper right hand corner. It will take you to your personal page where you can hit the "EDIT PROFILE" button located at the top of the list on the left.

Is there a correct procedure to follow when creating videos, channels, and shows?

You may create a channel and/or show at any time, but in order to have content for your channel/show, you will need to have videos to choose from. We encourage users to create shows separate from channels. We have created a Show section in the community for users to step it up and get their shows upgraded to premium. You can also load a video directly into a channel once the channel has been created.

How do I create a playlist?

SURFER.TV offers a unique feature, which enables users/producers to organize their videos in Playlists within a channel and/or show. To create a playlist, you first need a channel. Once the channel is created, select "MANAGE CHANNEL." Then select which channel you will want to create a playlist in. Select the PLAYLISTS tab next to the VIDEOS tab. Select ADD a NEW PLAYLIST. Name your playlist and hit CREATE. Now you have a playlist in your selected channel. To add videos to playlist, select the VIDEO tab(next to the playlists tab), click the green ADD button next to the video you want to place in your playlist, use the dropdown menu to select the playlist, then click ADD. Your video should now show up in your desired playlist.

What happens when I subscribe to a Channel and/or show?

Users can subscribe to channels and shows throughout SURFER.TV. A subscription is used primarily to notify you via email of new content within the subscribed channel or show. The producer of the channel or show monitors the frequency of the notifications, so new content may be added even without a notification.

Can I remove a subscriber I do not want?

As of now, SURFER.TV does not offer this option, however we are looking to implement this option in the future.

What happens when I "Favorite" a video?

Right now, not too much. Videos you Favorite, show up in "My Library" under the favorites tab. As a user, you can select any one of the videos in your favorites to watch and/or to send to friends via an email link. Other users can see what videos you like by visiting your account. In the future, you will be allowed to add favorites to your personal playlist for easy viewing.

Video

What video formats are accepted?

SURFER.TV encodes all uploaded video to the H.264 codec. Therefore, we recommend using the H.264 codec in compressing your videos for optimal playback. Other acceptable video codecs are: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, VP6, VP5, H.263 WMV, MJPEG. The recommended audio codec is MP3(160 kbps). Other acceptable audio codecs are AAC(128kbps), WMA, MP2, WAV, ADPCM.

Can I upload more than one video at a time?

No, you may only upload one video at a time.

Are there limits on file sizes?

For community users, there is a 100MB file limit per upload. For associate producers, there is a 300 MB per file limit. Producers can upload via FTP by contacting SURFER.TV to make arrangements at producers@SURFER.TV.

What is compression? Should I compress my videos before uploading them?

Compressing a video reduces the file size. While it can take time to compress a video, it will be a faster upload, and also a faster download for anyone you choose to share the original file with. Please note: There are a million variables in video compression. Sometimes, even though the SURFER.TV uploader accepts a file type, the conversion will fail. Please note below on acceptable codecs for compression.

How can I optimize my video and audio uploads?

SURFER.TV encodes all uploaded video to the H.264 codec. Therefore, we recommend using the H.264 codec in compressing your videos for optimal playback. While we accept other codecs, the following is what we recommend.

File Size - The maximum supported media file size is 300 MB before uploading. In general, the smaller the file size the faster the processing.

Interlace - All media should be deinterlaced before uploading. Interlaced video is primarily used for television and does not display well on computer screens.

Frame Rate - Recommended frame rates are 24 (23.98), 25, or 30 (29.97) frames per second (fps). Settings that are larger than these recommendations are acceptable but may result in poor user viewing experiences due to high CPU usage.

Bitrate - A bitrate of at least 1500 kilobits per second (kbps) is recommended for HD quality.

Aspect Ratio - Virtually any aspect ratio (including 16:9 widescreen and 4:3 standard) is supported. However, SURFER.TV will maintain the aspect ratio of the original file and therefore recommends that the desired display ratio be used when preparing files for upload.

Frame Size - SURFER.TV recommends that the original file be encoded to a frame size that matches the desired aspect ratio (e.g. 1024 x 576 for 16:9 widescreen or 1024 x 768 for 4:3 standard) and the desired display size when the video is embedded. For videos that are intended to be displayed in fullscreen mode a minimum width of 1024 is recommended.

Keyframes - SURFER.TV recommends that keyframes be set at least every six seconds. More frequent keyframes optimize the use of the Search Inside technology.

Pixels - Original media files should be encoded using isomorphic (square) pixels. Media that is encoded using anamorphic (rectangular) pixels will display distorted.

How can I search for a video?

Videos can be searched either by directly entering a name and/or keyword into the search bar, or using the Category filters to the left of the playlists and sorting filters(above playlists) for most recent, most viewed, and our picks.

I want to use a video I saw on SURFER.TV. Do I need permission?

Yes, you need to contact SURFER.TV or the video maker directly if you want to use a video. Our Users retain copyright of their works, and it's up to them what type of use they choose to allow. SURFER.TV does have stock footage and/or licenses content for commercial use. Please contact us regarding licensing at license@SURFER.TV.

Someone is using a video I uploaded to SURFER.TV without my permission. What do I do?

Formal takedown requests should be sent to rights@SURFER.TV.

Why can't I play a video on SURFER.TV?

Make sure you have installed the newest version of Adobe Flash Player. You also need to have javascript enabled on your browser to load the player. Go here to see which version of Flash you're using and update if you need: http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

How do I delete a video?

Go to your Manage Video page. To the right of your video, click the orange "X" button to delete your video.

How do I change the description of my video?

Go into your personal "MANAGE VIDEOS" section and click the blue pencil icon to the right of the video. There you can change your description in the "DESCRIPTION" category.

How do I change the title of my video?

Go into your personal "MANAGE VIDEOS" section and click the blue pencil icon to the right of the video. There you can change your title in the "TITLE" category.

Can I change the preview image (thumbnail) on my video?

Not at this point, however, we are working toward adding this feature.

What are tags?

Tags are keywords or terms that describe your video. For example, if you tag your "competition pros" video with the words 'competition' and 'pros', you'll be able to easily find other related videos and it makes it easier for other SURFER.TV users to find your videos. Everybody wins!

Is there a limit on the number of tags I can add to a video?

You are limited to 10 tags on your videos. We encourage you to add only relevant tags as too many tags can make your video harder to find.

Why should I tag my videos?

Tagging your videos makes it easier for other SURFER.TV users to find them in searches and on tags pages. This way, folks can find your videos that interest them more easily.

I've tagged my videos, why aren't my they appearing in searches?

If you have just recently uploaded a new video, or just recently made it public, it may take a little while to show up in our search results. If your videos do not appear in search results after a day, try adding more relevant terms to the description or title of your video, and that will help.