Help & FAQ
Video Playback
How do I Watch a Video?
In order to watch videos at SPIKE, you need to have latest version of Adobe's FREE Flash player installed on your machine. If a recent version of the Flash player is not detected on your machine you should be prompted to download and install Adobe's most recent Flash player. If you are not prompted to download the player, you can manually access the download by visiting: href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" data-cke-saved-href="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" target="_self">Free Flash player. After installing the latest version of the Flash player make sure to perform the following actions with your browser: clear the cache, clear cookies, and restart.
Ad blocking software (eg. Norton Internet Security) can also interfere with playing videos. If you are running any type of ad blocking software you may need to disable ad blocking, clear your cache, and restart your browser to view videos.
If you're still unable to get video clips to play, please email us a complete description of the problem. For us to best assist you, you'll need to include your computer platform, operating system, browser type and number, and the name of the clip you're trying to watch. (For example: PC, Windows 2000, IE 6.0, Miller Lite: Catfight)
PLAYER FAQ
How do I Watch SPIKE?
Video doesn't Play in the SPIKE Player.
How do I delete my cookies?
What happened to SPIKE+?
Why are some videos Blurry?
Can I Download the films on SPIKE?
Why does my Computer Crash when I try to view films on
SPIKE?
What is Streaming?
What is Video Compression?
Can WebTV users watch videos?
What are the minimum system requirements for watching
videos for PC users?
What are the minimum system requirements for watching
videos for Macintosh users?
What are Plug-Ins?
What are Cookies?
What is Geoblocking?
How do I Watch videos?
A. To watch a video on SPIKE, you will need to download and install the
latest version of the Adobe Flash Player.
Video doesn't Play in the SPIKE Player. name="2" data-cke-saved-name="2">
Please be aware that selected full episodes and clips are only
available for viewing on our site by users located within the United
States and Canada.
If you are having trouble getting video to play, try deleting your
cookies.
How do I delete my cookies?
To delete cookies, go to your browser's preferences/options and go to
the cookies section.
a. In Internet Explorer, navigate to the "General" tab and click the "Delete Cookies" button.
b. In Firefox, navigate to the "Privacy" section. Next to the "Cookies" option click the "Clear" button.
For further information, try accessing your browser's help
content. This is generally located in the browser menu under
"Help". Go to the index and search for "cookies" or
"deleting cookies" or "manage cookies".
What happened to SPIKE+?
We are no longer offering SPIKE+ subscriptions. However, existing SPIKE+
subscribers can still watch their 500k streams with no ads. To do so,
select "Media Preferences" in the Player. When you reach the
media preferences screen, choose Real Player as your preferred media
player and choose 500k (subscription only option) as your preferred
bandwidth. You may also href="javascript:changePrefs('help','default','ifilm');" data-cke-saved-href="javascript:changePrefs('help','default','ifilm');">access the
media preferences screen here.
Why are some videos blurry?
The quality of videos is relative to the speed of your modem. If you are
using a 56k modem to access SPIKE, your connection speed may be too slow
to get a high-quality video stream; therefore the film may appear blurry
or be delivered like a filmstrip instead of a movie.
Can I download the films on SPIKE?
At the moment, we don't offer downloads of our video files.
Why does my Computer Crash when I try to view films on
SPIKE?
As with all programs and plug-ins, Flash Player and/or Web browsers can
freeze or crash your computer. This should not happen on a regular
basis. When using a demanding application like a streaming video player,
try not to have other programs running that might be using system
resources.
What is Streaming?
The term "streaming" refers to files that are designed to play
as they download without the need to complete the download before you
begin playing it. These streaming files are specially encoded and
delivered from high-performance streaming servers. The whole process is
designed to let you enjoy more great, high-quality content faster. There
are many streaming products on the Net: music, videos, animations and
more.
What is Video Compression?
In order to deliver quality video over the Internet, digitized video
clips are compressed using custom software. These video files start out
so big that downloading them would take many hours, even on a high-speed
connection. Compression decreases the file size, allowing for a
reasonable amount of download time or streaming capability.
Can WebTV users watch videos?
Currently, WebTv doesn't support streaming media that is encoded higher
than 24kbps. The slowest SPIKE streams are encoded at a minimum of
56kbps, thus SPIKE does not support WebTV.
TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEM HELP
What are the minimum system requirements for watching
videos for PC users?
Minimum System Requirements * 233MHz Intel Pentium II processor * 64MB
of RAM * 56Kpbs modem * 16-bit sound card and speakers * 65,000-color
video display card at 800x600 resolution * Windows 98, Windows 2000,
Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows NT 4.0 with Service Pack 4 or later *
DirectX version 3.0 or later * IE 5.0 or later * Netscape 4.7 or later
Recommended System * 300 MHz Intel Pentium III processor or greater *
128MB of RAM * DSL/ADSL/Cable Modem * Full Duplex sound card and
speakers * 65,000-color video display card at 800x600 resolution *
Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows NT 4.0 with
Service Pack 4 or later * DirectX version 8.0 or later * IE 5.0 or
later, OR * Netscape 4.7 or later Browsers: * IE 5.0 or later * Mozilla
1.1 and associated Gecko Engines (AOL 8.0 or later, Netscape 7.0 or
later) Media Players: Adobe Flash Player 8 or better
What are the minimum system requirements for watching
videos for Macintosh users? name="30" data-cke-saved-name="30">
* 266 MHz PowerPC/G3/G4 processor processor or greater * At least 64MB
of RAM with Virtual Memory turned on * Mac OS 8.5 or later * 56Kpbs
modem, or better Browsers: * Internet Explorer 5.0 or later * Netscape
Navigator 7.0 or later Media Players: Adobe Flash Player 8 or better.
What are Plug-Ins?
Plug-ins are small applications that give your browser extra
capabilities, such as playback of audio or video files, 2-D or 3-D
animation, and so on. When you try to view or hear a file that requires
a plug-in, like a movie or sound clip, the necessary plug-in launches
automatically if you already have it. Current browsers come prepackaged
with the most popular plug-ins (some are listed below), but if you don't
have the plug-in you need, you can download it from the developer's
site. Plug-ins are generally free, though some offer advanced features
for an extra fee. If you download and install a plug-in but find that
you still can't view the desired files, quit the browser and reopen it.
Some older browsers require you to quit the program in order to fully
install a plug-in.
What are Cookies?
A "cookie" is a small piece of data that a Website sends to
your computer to make your surfing easier. By doing the record-keeping
for you saving passwords, noting which plug-ins you have, and so on
cookies make surfing more efficient and more personal. We take the
security and privacy of our users very seriously, but cookies are
required to view films on SPIKE. For full details about our privacy
policy, please click here.
What is Geoblocking?
Geoblocking is a technology that is used to prevent access to web sites
from visitors in particular countries or regions. Geoblocked content on
SPIKE is normally available only to users located within the United
States and Canada.
Submitting Videos on SPIKE
Who can submit videos to SPIKE?
Will this submission cost me anything?
What else do I get with SPIKE exhibition?
How long does it take to get my video up once SPIKE
gets the tape?
Once my package expires, how can I renew it?
How does SPIKE make money?
What rights do I need to have cleared before I submit
my video to SPIKE?
Non-student films
Student films
Any advice on getting the music rights cleared? Do I
really need them?
In what formats/players will my video be available on
SPIKE?
How does SPIKE decide what to show?
How will my video look and sound on the Web?
How does SPIKE differ from other online movie sites?
Which formats does SPIKE accept?
How do I update information on my video's detail page
or on MySPIKE profile page?
What if I want to take my video off the site? What do
I have to do?
Can I send SPIKE a better quality tape to re-encode my
video at a later date?
If I submit more than one video, how do I get my
videos to link together?
How does my video move up and down the Top 100 lists?
Where will my video show up when it premieres?
How do the showcases work? How does my video get
selected for one?
Can someone, like a distributor or agent, contact me
directly from the site?
How can I get more people to watch my movie on SPIKE?
How can I find/search for my video on SPIKE?
Does SPIKE syndicate content?
Registration FAQ
How do I register for a SPIKE
account?
To register for an SPIKE account and gain
access to your personalized MySPIKE page, Clip of the Day, Newsletters,
and many other cool features, just follow the instructions on the SPIKE
registration
page.
During registration you'll be asked to provide a desired username, password and valid email address. A confirmation email will be sent to you that includes instructions on how to complete the registration process and gain access to your MySPIKE account. Once logged in you can edit your profile, upload videos, view your favorites and uploads, quickly share videos with friends and family, and explore the variety of other cool tools and features MySPIKE has to offer.
I did not receive an email to validate my account. What do I do?
Please send us an email to: target="_self" href="mailto:registration@spike.com" data-cke-saved-href="mailto:registration@spike.com">registration@spike.com
and tell us about your issue. Don't forget to include the username
and email address you used to set up your account.