What is a “stream” and how does the billing system work?

“Streams” are the units we use to calculate our billing. By purchasing streams, you pay for the video hosting and encoding services that we provide as part of the service.

During the playback of your videos, there are set billing points. The first billing point is set at 10s and subsequent billing points are every 10m after that. For every billing point passed, a set amount of stream will be deducted depending on which service you are using.

First example:

Let’s say 10 viewers play one of your videos that is 8 minutes long – we will deduct 10 Streams from your account

Second example:

Let's say 5 viewers play 1 of your videos that is 28 minutes long, other 10 viewers play another video that is 9 minutes long and 5 viewers play 3rd video that is 60 minutes long – we will deduct 5 x 3 Streams + 10 x1 Stream + 5 x 6 Streams = 55 Streams.

What does “monthly streams” mean?

This is the total number of streams per month included in your service plan.

What if I use up all my monthly streams?

If you use up all your monthly streams before your payment cycle takes place, the system will try to deduct the streams from your “additional streams” account.

What are “additional streams”?

Additional streams are extra streams that you can use as backup in case all your monthly streams are used up due to unexpected high traffic. Additional streams are rolled over each month and do not have expiry date.

Where can I buy additional streams?

You can buy additional streams at the Add-on store, which is open 24/7/365.

What happens if all my monthly streams and additional streams are used up?

Your videos will become unavailable until you purchase some additional streams or your monthly streams account is topped up again with the next payment cycle. We recommend keeping a balance of additional streams at all times to avoid this happening.

How do I know if my streams are going to run out?

You can set up custom e-mail notifications to send yourself a reminder if you are running low on streams.

What is a “service plan”?

Service plans are monthly packages that enable you to use the SVP control panel and all the different features included as part of that service plan. Bigger packages have more features and are more cost effective on a ‘per-stream’ basis. You can modify your service plan 24/7/365 from your SVP control panel -> service plans . You can also choose to upgrade, downgrade or cancel your service plan. Remember, if you modify your service plan, the features available with the old plan will be replaced with those from the new plan. If you downgrade, some of the features from the old plan might not be included in the new one.

Hint: If you are about to modify your Service Plan, we recommend waiting until you get close to your monthly payment cycle before you actually perform the downgrade or upgrade procedure. 
Example: If you subscribed on 12th of July and we have deducted £9.95 from your account, the best time to modify your plan will be around 11th of August, since we are not rolling over any remaining features from the old package to the new one