Help
Contact Us
If you are having trouble with something, send us an email describing your problem. We'll respond within 24 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Video on Demand
How it works
Pick - visit our storefront to search, browse, and choose videos
Pay - navigate to our checkout page to pay for your content
Download - transfer purchased content to your computer
Play - watch downloaded videos at your leisureEasy Setup
Though you may browse our video library without restriction, in order to purchase and view videos you must be a registered user.
Visit the "About this Service" page to access the Account Registration and Player Installation functions. A few simple fields need to be filled in, such as your email address, which becomes your user id. After the brief registration process you will be taken to the "Player Installation" page. Simply download our Player, double-click the installation file, and follow the simple on-screen instructions.
Your setup is now complete!
- Do I need to install and register the player on each machine using your service?
Yes. Registration is mandatory for using our service. It allows us to remember your purchase preferences as well as set the machine and location where you would like to download content.
- System Requirements
Hardware & software requirements
Downloading and playing video is a demanding task for any computer. As such, there is a minimum configuration that we suggest to our customers to ensure a smooth purchase and viewing experience.
Item Recommended Minimum Operating System Windows XP (mandatory - any version) CPU 1.5 Ghz or greater 600 Mhz Memory 512 MB or greater 256 MB Hard Disk 20 GB+ free space 10 GB free space Display Resolution 1024x768 800x600 Audio Built-in speakers or audio output to speakers Internet Access An active broadband (fast) connection Browser Internet Explorer 6+, Firefox v1.5+ Additional Software .NET Framework v1.1+ Also available on Windows MCE
The BoutiqueVideoBell Player also works seamlessly within Windows XP Media Centre Edition (MCE). Microsoft's MCE enables your PC as a multimedia hub which can control the entire television, music, photo, video, and gaming experience within your home.
If you have an MCE PC, once you install the BoutiqueVideoBell Player and register it with your account, you will also be set up to browse, purchase, and play BoutiqueVideoBell videos within the MCE environment. The BoutiqueVideoBell service will be presented as an option in the "Online Spotlight" section.
Why don't you support the Mac OS?
Our content playback and DRM technologies are currently built around the Windows platform. This makes them incompatible with non-Windows systems (such as Mac and Linux). That being said, however, if you own an Apple computer running an Intel Core Duo processor, you may set up Apple's "Boot Camp" software to install and run Windows XP on your machine along with Mac OS X. Please visit the following website for information and instructions on "Boot Camp":
Why can't I get this service outside of Canada?
Our service currently only has copyright permission to sell content inside of Canada.
- Your Account
Signing Up
Visit the "Registration" page and enter an email address (which becomes your user ID) and password to create your account. Once your account is created, you will be taken to the "Player Installation" page. Simply download and install our player by following the on-screen instructions.
Your setup is now complete!
Multiple PCs
Once you have created an initial account, you can download and install the player on as many PCs as you wish. Whenever you install the player on a new PC, you will be prompted to "register" the player to your account by entering the same email address and password used to create your account. From then on, when purchasing a video, you will be able to choose which PC to download content onto for viewing. The content will only be visible on the machine to which it has been downloaded.
Signing in
A "sign in" link is available at the top of any publicly accessible page or wherever authentication is required. Simply enter your registered email address and password to gain access to those pages.
Payment Information
Whenever you purchase videos, you will be asked to enter your credit card information along with the address information as seen on your credit card statement. This information assists us in securely processing your order.
If you wish, you can save your payment information to your account so you don't have to enter it every time.
- The Store
Searching
Most storefront pages have simple and advanced search capabilities.
With a simple search, choose whether you would like to search by Title, Actor, Director or Description, and enter the appropriate keywords. Searches use "AND" functionality, which means that searching for "Steven Spielberg" will not bring up "Steve Martin" but searching for "Steve" will bring up "Steven Spielberg", "Steve Martin", and "Steven Seagal", for example.
Clicking "More Options" in the search section displays additional search criteria which allow your search to be more specific.
Search Problems
If you don?t find the results you are looking for, try simplifying your search criteria (e.g. instead of "Steven Spielberg" just search for "Steve"). Secondly, if your video title contains numbers, such as "12 Monkeys", try spelling out the number and searching for "Twelve Monkeys". Lastly, don't forget to check your spelling.
Making Purchases
When you click on a movie to see its details, you will also see all available purchase and rental options. Choose the option you want, and click "Add to Cart" to include that product in your virtual shopping cart located at the right-hand side of each page.
Once you have added all desired products to your shopping cart, confirm that your choices are correct by examining the listing. If you have accidentally added a product to your cart, just click "Remove from Cart" to remove it.
Once you have finished filling your cart, click the "Check Out" link to navigate to a summary of your order. If you are not yet signed in, you will be required to do so now in order to purchase the video(s).
The "Order Summary" page lists all the products you have selected. Please check these to make sure they are correct. Next, if you have registered multiple PCs, you will have the option of selecting which PC to download your movies onto. If you haven't yet registered a PC, you must do this before checking out. This process will tell us where to download your videos. Lastly, there will be a section to enter credit card payment details. Afterwards, click "Place Order", and your order will be confirmed.
Can I play purchased videos on all of my PCs?
You can only play videos on the machine for which they were purchased.
Are purchases taxed?
Currently taxes are assessed based on the location from which you purchase your content. You will be charged all applicable provincial and federal sales taxes.
About Licenses
A license is a software key which grants permissions for content usage. Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology protects the business interests of those who make movies, TV shows, and music, etc while granting legitimate licenses to consumers for playing media which they have paid for. The process is simple, and will usually only require one or two mouse clicks to confirm the acceptance of a license. If you are asked about backing up or replacing a license, please always say "yes". This will keep your licenses up to date and should provide a hassle-free experience.
Can I copy or burn my downloaded content?
The permission to copy or burn downloaded content is set within the license terms. Currently the options to copy or burn downloaded content are disabled.
What are the license terms for the content which I have purchased?
Currently all licenses are for purchase-to-own downloads.
What happens if I accidentally delete a file or license?
If you accidentally delete a file you can re-download it at no additional cost. Licenses are stored in a secure area, cannot be reacquired, and are very difficult to accidentally delete. You may at any time repurchase a license and must do so after it has expired if you wish to continue viewing the content.
Security
In today's online world it is crucial to be committed to online safety. With that in mind, we have implemented secure online shopping. Our servers employ the latest encryption technologies to ensure the privacy and security of your online transaction. We suggest that you also install and use antivirus and anti-spyware software to guard against any malicious attacks on your computer by others. Click here for further information.
- The Player
Introduction
Once you register with our service, you must install our free software player in order to purchase and download content. The player uses the Windows Media Player application already installed on your PC and provides additional features that should make downloading and viewing content a pleasant experience.
- Library - shows all completed downloads and enables you to view video information as well as commence playback. You can also delete videos from the library.
- Download Queue - allows you to view and control the status of videos that are scheduled to download, are downloading, or have completed downloading. You may also view movie details from here.
- Settings - allows you to set your PC Name, video download location, and whether or not downloaded movies are also shown in the Windows Media Library in addition to the Player library.
- Player - allows playback of videos, both at a reduced size or full-screen.
Playing Videos
The Player tab is where you actually watch videos. You can watch videos at a reduced size within the player window itself, or choose "Full Screen" to make the video fill your entire screen. Available are the standard play/pause, reverse, fast forward, previous and next buttons. Audio features let you adjust volume and mute/un-mute the sound.
- A "show/hide" info button allows you to optionally view basic information about the current show. On the basic information screen, you may also press "details" to see further information about the actual media file, such as file size, encoding bit rate, and license details.
Installation
When you click on the "Install" button in the Player Installation screen, you will be prompted to "Save" or "Run" the VideoStoreInstaller.msi file. If you choose "Run", the installation process will begin as soon as the file is downloaded. If you choose to "Save" the file, remember where you saved it so that you can find it later on. The installation process itself is quite simple and includes the following steps:
- Terms and Conditions - please review the legal terms and conditions under which you can use this service. You must agree to these terms before continuing.
- Install Location - choose a location on your PC where you wish to install the application. This is also the location to which content will be downloaded. By default this is set to: c:\Program Files\Video Store Co\Video Store Service\Download\VideoCo, however you can choose any folder on your PC.
- Registration - once the player is installed you will be prompted to "register" it to your account by entering the current email address and password you use to access your account. At this point you can also give the PC a name (like "Living Room PC"). If you install the player on multiple PCs, these names will help you tell them apart.
Your Library
Clicking the "Library" link on your player takes you to a listing of all media downloaded from BoutiqueVideoBell. From this screen you can view the details and status of content, or select an item for playback or deletion. If, for any reason, one of the files is currently "unplayable", an "info" icon will allow you to see "why" as well as provide options for reacquiring the content or its license. Content may be unplayable if the file is corrupt or was moved from the standard download directory.
Windows Media Library
The BoutiqueVideoBell Player Library is separate from the standard Windows Media library, however, in the settings tab you can choose whether or not you want your content visible in both libraries. We recommend that you use our Player because of its built-in download management capabilities. Otherwise, playback features are virtually identical to that of the Windows Media Player.
Download Queue
The download queue lists all current, pending, and complete downloads.
For each current download, you will see a progress bar and have the ability to pause, resume, or cancel individual downloads. These downloads may be time consuming depending on the speed of your internet connection.
Content that is waiting to be downloaded in the queue is known as a pending download. These downloads will start automatically once their order has come. The number of simultaneous downloads may be limited for efficiency reasons so that you receive your content at the soonest possible time.
All completed downloads are automatically added to the library, but will remain in the queue until you "clear" them.
Player Settings
Within the Settings tab of the Player, you may rename your PC, set the download location for your media, and specify whether you want your downloads to appear in the Windows Media Player library.
- Troubleshooting
Download Errors
Should a problem arise with any download, the download may fail or the file may be corrupt and unwatchable. In those instances, an option to re-download the file will be provided.
What happens if I turn off my player or PC while downloading a video?
Videos will continue to download even if you close the BoutiqueVideoBell Player application. The download activity itself is independent of the Player's download user interface.
If you turn off your PC while downloading a video, the download should resume from where it left off when you restart the PC.
What if my video playback is jerky?
First, click here to see our system requirements. If your computer suits all of the criteria, then poor performance may be a side effect of spyware or viruses that are bogging down your system. Click here for information on possible solutions.
Player Errors or Technical Questions
Our Player software is built on the core of Windows Media Player 10. If you have any detailed technical or operational questions, we have provided an online website link for your convenience. Please keep in mind that the information provided in the following link may go above and beyond the functionality available in the BoutiqueVideoBell Player. However, it may address the specifics of any technical issue(s) you are experiencing:
Dial up Connections
Our service will not work with a dial up (modem) connection. Dial up modems do not have the necessary transfer speed to make our service feasible. Please contact your internet service provider to upgrade to a high speed connection if you would like to use our service.
Computer viruses and protected WMA or WMV files
When using illegitimate peer-to-peer file sharing programs to download certain protected audio or video files, a virus may be acquired under the guise of obtaining a license for content. This issue does not occur when you obtain protected files from legitimate online stores, such as BoutiqueVideoBell.
To guard against such malicious attacks, we suggest that you use Windows update to keep your computer current with security patches for Windows XP. In addition, you should install antivirus and anti-spyware programs. These form a barrier of protection for your computer and, when used properly, can greatly increase the integrity of your system.
Customer Support
Please check the topics in this online help section first to see if they answer your question. Otherwise, customer support is available via email. Click here to submit an online help request.