Introduction
WorldTV is a versatile online video platform that can do many things, but which has a legacy and emphasis on TV-style (i.e. linear) presentation of videos. In fact, you can create something very similar looking to a TV channel, presented on the web (and on TV via set top boxes) which comprises individual clips sourced from YouTube, Vimeo and other hosted video content.
Recent updates to WorldTV have introduced something we call Web Mode – which allows users to create a more web like, non-linear experience. This rounds out our product offering and is something akin to creating your own YouTube.
WorldTV has a very unique model where all of the features we offer (and there are many) are provided ‘a la carte’. You simply pick and choose exactly the features you want. This is something like customizing an application like Microsoft Word, so that you only see (and pay for) the features you actually use, and never see or pay for the ones you don’t. We also offer a great deal of functionality out of the box for free.
You can create and edit video playlists, centrally manage a library of videos wherever they’re hosted (YouTube, Vimeo, Amazon S3, etc) and create embeddable players for videos in your library, all wrapped up in an extremely friendly user interface. There’s many other things WorldTV can be used for (see next question) but this gives you a flavour. Our goal is simple… to offer the very best and well-thought-out tools for working with Internet-based video, and to stay up to date with the needs and requirements of our users.
WorldTV has existed in one form or another for 15 years – we plan to be around a lot longer.
WorldTV is extremely versatile and can be used in many ways. Here’s 12 things you can do…
- Create your own full screen, high-definition, web TV channel (and become your own media mogul). Soon you’ll be able to broadcast the same channel to TV’s as well. (Some users are already doing this)
- Watch over a quarter-of-a-million web TV channels created by our users from all over the World.
- Collect, archive and maintain an independent library of all your favourite web video clips, wherever they’re hosted.
- As a video discovery and social network sharing system – share your video finds on Twitter, Facebook and RSS with a single click, as you browse the web (using our very awesome browser bookmarklet add-on). Instantly share great video clips without ever leaving YouTube, Blip, Vimeo, and 25 other popular video websites. Store a reference copy in your library or collection at the same time – so you can always find it again.
- Take FLV, H.264, MP4 files on your own server or elsewhere (can be hi-definition), and employ WorldTV as a playlist builder, video content management system, embeddable player generator, RSS playlist generator, Twitter and Facebook video sharing tool
- Record video clips into your library from your own webcam via your browser (no software to install)
- Use our Universal Player to wrap a great looking embeddable player around YouTube clips, your own hosted clips, and clips from other video sites and sources. Switch seamlessly between videos from different websites; customize the look and feel of the player; insert video ads between clips (25 video ad networks are supported); switch in live streams from Ustream and Qik.
- Create and edit video playlists using our award winning, and we believe the friendliest GUI playlist editor on the planet (demo)
- Create an embeddable player that will broadcast live video from your mobile phone using Qik, to any number of viewers (and show playlists of videos when you’re not broadcasting live)
- Have multiple Editors access and edit the same video collection simultaneously (works similar to Google WAVE – remember that?)
- Monetize your video playlists or channel with TV-style advertising and Google Adsense. We can find the ads for you, or, you can plug in your own video ad network account from more than 25 supported video ad networks.
- And much more!
How much does it cost?
WorldTV offers its basic service for FREE – and does not require a credit card to sign up. Additional ‘PRO’ features are available on an ‘a la carte’ basis meaning you choose exactly the features you want, and pay for none of the ones you don’t. These range in price from 25 cents per month to $7.50 per month. Nearly all of our features are also available as one-time-fee purchases, meaning, you pay once and have access to the feature permanently. The WorldTV PRO Store (where you buy these features) is built into the application itself, so the best thing is to create a channel (it only takes 2 minutes) and browse the features available.
Why would I invest my time and energy into this site?
Choosing a site to invest your time or money into is a significant decision, particularly if you are entrusting that site with your content, effort, brand and creativity. It takes time to learn all the features of a new website and get involved in its community – you want to know that the site will be there in the future and continue to innovate ahead. We’ve been conceptualizing and planning WorldTV for 12 15 years and we plan to be around a lot longer. This is more than just a ‘business’ to us, it’s a passion and a journey. The tools we offer now are just the beginning of that journey. What we have in the pipeline will genuinely excite anyone who has a passion for video and technology. If you come along for the ride you won’t be disappointed.
How often do you update the site with new features?
We work on the site full time (we have a full time staff) with new feature development work taking place 9 months of each year. We take a one month development break every 3 months. This usually follows a major release, so we can see how the dust settles and incorporate user feedback and suggestions into our next development sprint. We aim to have two major feature releases each year (up to 30 improvements at a time), with incremental releases every 1-2 months. Customer service and any bug fixing runs year round, 365 days a year.
Common Problems
I’ve forgotten my login details
You will have received an e-mail with your access details when you first signed up, with the subject ‘Access Details for your WorldTV Channel’. Please search for this email in your email program as a first step.
WorldTV offers two methods to login…
1. A defined URL structure for logging into a channel which is worldtv.com/[yourchannelname]/editor. You can look for this URL in your browser history, or, if you know your channel name, simply visit this URL, substituting your channel name. If you can’t remember your channel name, you can email us and we will try to help you. If you’ve forgotten your password (we call it a ‘secret word’) you can visit your channel editor URL, and click the link to have it sent to you email automatically.
2. As of May 2011 and by popular request, we now offer a centralized login feature from the WorldTV home page. This uses your email address and the same password/secret word used to log in using method 1. If you can’t remember your channel name, but think you know the password, you can try logging in with your email address and password from the WorldTV home page.
TIP: You can now switch easily between different channels you own using a drop down menu in the top-right corner of the Editor. You must use the same email address for each channel for this to work, something we recommend anyway for centralized billing reasons. We also recommend using the same password for each channel as this will speed up switching between the channels each time.
Why is my channel not showing up on the World page?
You need to tick the box for ‘List Channel Publicly’ under Channel Settings->Channel within the Editor.
I bought a PRO feature – where is it?
All features are immediately activated on your channel at the time of purchase (or within 30 seconds or so). Most features immediately appear in your Editor as well. Some, for reasons that are quite technical to explain, require you to refresh your browser before they appear. To be sure, wait one minute, refresh your browser, and look around in the Editor for your new feature. You can check which features you have purchased in the PRO Store under ‘My Products’. We realize that some features can be a little tricky to find if you have not had them before. Rest assured they are there somewhere, you just have to dig around a little. If you are still having trouble, drop us a line to support and we will point you in the right direction.
I’m having a technical problem
WorldTV is generally very reliable. Weird things do happen occasionally but they can almost always be solved easily. Here’s our recommended procedure for dealing with technical issues…
1) A video has stopped working and is skipping to the next video during playback – This can happen when the original video file is no longer available on YouTube or other source website. Often, searching for the same video and re-adding it will solve the problem. Problem videos are highlighted in the Editor with an orange exclamation point which can be clicked on to get more details, and even search for the same video again. If you have a persistant problem with videos from a specific site, check our Twitter feed, Facebook page, and news page for any recent mentions of the problem. If there are no mentions, please tell us about the problem so we can look into it.
2) The editor is unresponsive or the clock icon won’t go away – This can happen occasionally. The simple solution is to ‘refresh’ the page in your browser. This will solve almost all problems. You won’t lose any work, everything is backed up automatically every few seconds.
3) I’m having a problem not solved by the above
- Check our News page, Facebook and Twitter for any known issues
- Do a search for relevant topics using the search box on this page
- Check our WorldTV manual
- Write to us for help (1-3 day response time for most enquiries)
Payment Questions
How do I purchase additional features? Where is the pricing info?
The WorldTV PRO Store is (now) fully integrated into the WorldTV Editor, which is the web application we provide for managing a channel you’ve created on WorldTV. When you are logged into your Editor you will see a tab called WorldTV PRO. On there you will see the 30+ additional features and their current prices. Most features are available in both one-time-fee and subscription (pay-monthly) options. You can choose which option is best for you. Features typically cost $5-15 range for outright purchase.
How does your billing system work for multiple channels?
Our billing system (and indeed our entire customer support system) is tied to your email address. Providing you use the same email address for managing different channels, you only need to enter your credit card details once (on any one of your channels), and you will be able to buy features with that card seamlessly on any of your other channels. Conversely, if you wish to use a different credit card for different channels, you should set each channels up with a different email address – one email address per card that you would like to use.
Please note that features which you buy on one channel are not applied to any other channel you own. You must buy them for each channel.
What payment methods do you offer? Can I use PayPal?
We currently offer Visa and Mastercard as payment options for our customers. We’re sorry but we no longer offer Paypal as a payment method. We recommend using a pre-paid credit card if you do not have a credit card.
I used the old WorldTV PRO Store and bought features using PayPal. What should I do?
Your subscription and products remain the same. We recommend transitioning to the new credit card based system at your leisure. We no longer offer Paypal as a payment method for new features.
Other Popular Questions
How can I embed my channel in a blog or webpage?
We offer two main methods of embedding a WorldTV channel.
We provide a tab in the Editor called ‘Embeddable Player’ under the Promote Tab, and on here you will find the code to create an embeddable player. The feature ‘Embeddable Player’ comes with 1 style of player – 3 more are available in the Pro Store. Each embeddable player is fully customizable.
A second approach is to use an iFrame technique and include a full ‘TV Mode’ WorldTV channel (with or without EPG navigation panels) on your site. This works best at a larger size – 800 pixels wide or larger. You can frame your channel in your own custom designed skin this way and examples can be seen here, here and here.
iFrame method (example code)
<iframe src=”http://worldtv.com/alxtv” width=”800px” height=”450px” frameborder=”0″>
* Note that you can adjust the width and height to whatever size you wish, bearing in mind the issue described above regarding minimum size.
What is the difference between the Statistics Tab feature and using Google Analytics?
The Statistics Tab is our in-house statistics system and provides simple, at-a-glance, useful statistics such as the number of viewers per day, the total viewers of all time, how many viewers this week, how many last week, how long they watch for and which country they come from. It also tells you the ratio of regular viewers to new viewers. This data is very accurate as we use our own specialized system for gathering the information which Google Analytics can’t do.
Google Analytics is less specialized (it cannot give you an accurate figure for the average viewing length per person for the reason indicated above), but it offers substantially greater depth, with features such as which browser people are using, which pages they are accessing the most (if you are using Web Mode) and Google Analytics now offers live statistics of how many people are watching right now.
In short, the two features work in different ways and are complimentary to each other. If you are just getting started, we recommend the Statistics Tab feature as it is easier to understand. As your needs expand, or if you are making heavy use of Web Mode, we recommend Google Analytics.
Please note as well that all paying customers of WorldTV receive a weekly, automated email each Friday which contains very basic statistics in addition to other useful information.
Yes. With our Live Tab feature you can publish live video to your WorldTV channel and even switch between different live feeds from different places. You will need to create a free account with Ustream to do this, which is a superb live streaming platform offering a range of great tools. We particularly recommend their Ustream Producer software which we use ourselves for WorldTV Live Events. We also offer compatibility with Qik if you want to do live video from a mobile phone. Ustream is more suited to ‘desktop’ video and professional broadcasts where Qik is great for going live from an iPhone for example.
What is the maximum number of items I can have in my playlist/library?
There is an initial limit of 100 videos in both the playlist and library (200 total). You can upgrade to a limit of 500 items or unlimited clips for a one-off fee. See our Pro Store in the Editor for more details.
WorldTV is independently owned, and privately backed by its managers. This means we care… a lot. Our team has a passion for doing innovative stuff and our programmers are based worldwide. Our graphic design is by FruitMachine – a Shoreditch, London based design agency.
Why do people always stand up in planes when there are at least 100 people who have to get off before them?
We don’t know, but it’s weird.
For suggestions and bug reports, please use our feedback system.
For all other enquiries, please send e-mail to reception@worldtv.com
You can also follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook
Last updated: May 15th 2012