frequently asked questions
NEED HELP? CHECK OUT OUR FAQS
GENERAL SITE QUESTIONS
VIDEO REVIEW BASICS
MAKING GREAT VIDEOS
UPLOAD AND SCREENING PROCESS
HOW YOU GET PAID
REFER-A-FRIEND PROGRAM
WATCHING EXPOTV ON CABLE
GENERAL SITE QUESTIONS
I'm running into technical issues on the site. Who do I contact about this?
If something's not working correctly, please fill out our contact form and let us know what problem you encountered so that we can look into it. Also, check out the ExpoTV Forums for information about known bugs and new features we plan to roll out.
I registered on the site but am having problems logging in.
If you have just joined ExpoTV, you need to confirm your registration by clicking on the link included in the welcome email you receive after signing up. If you don't receive the welcome email shortly after registering, check in your spam folder. If you still haven't received it after several hours, send an email directly from the email address used to register on ExpoTV to videopinions@expotv.com.
How do I change my password, email address, and account settings?
- Log in with your username and password.
- Click the "My Profile" tab.
- Click on the "Settings" tab.
- From here you may change your email address, add in your physical address, edit your email notification settings, and change your password.
Why do I need to log in again for the forums if I'm already logged in to ExpoTV.com?
The forums area is built on a different technology platform than the rest of our site. You can log in to the forums using the same username and password but there is currently a separate log in process. We are hoping to integrate the log in process soon and will post updates here on the FAQs and on the
ExpoTV Forums.
What are member badges and how do I earn them?
Badges are rewarded based on your activity on ExpoTV.com.
- Creator Badges - All members who have at least one videos published to ExpoTV will receive this badge, which is a blue camcorder.
- Camcorder Badges - Members will receive camcorder badges based on the number of product reviews published to ExpoTV.
- Silver Camcorder - Silver camcorders are awarded after a member has 100 product reviews published.
- Gold Camcorder - Gold camcorders are awarded after a member has 250 product reviews published.
- Platinum Camcorder - Platinum camcorders are awarded after a member has 500 product reviews published.
- Know-It-All Badge - These members have shown early signs of enthusiasm and quality product reviews within a particular category or categories.
- Guru Badge - These members have shown early signs of enthusiasm and quality product reviews within a particular category or categories.
- Team Expo Badge - ExpoTV staff members have a Team Expo badge.
- Super Recruiter Badge - Members who find friends to join ExpoTV and create product reviews will receive this badge.
- Headliner Badge - Members that have one of their product reviews featured on our cable television network will receive this badge.
How do I change my profile picture or avatar?
- Log in with your username and password.
- Click the "My Profile" tab.
- Click the "Edit Profile" button halfway down the page.
- From here you may upload and edit your profile picture, pick a new avatar, and fill out your profile.
How can I embed videos in my blog, social networking site or other web page?
Every product review on ExpoTV has its own unique code that you can copy and paste into a blog or any social networking site like MySpace. Look beneath the video player for the embed code field. The embed code allows you to place the video player anywhere that allows HTML code, including blogs, forums and other social networking sites. To use the embed code, simply copy the HTML code found in the field, and paste it onto another site such as MySpace.
How can I delete or remove my account?
Unfortunately, there is no way for members to delete their own account. Please fill out the Contact Us form if you have a question regarding this issue.
Can I have more than one account?
You may only have one username and account.
How do I sign up for your email newsletter?
If you are not receiving our email newsletter but would like to, please click here to sign up.
I have a suggestion for ExpoTV. Who can I contact about this?
We welcome suggestions, ideas, and comments from our community. Our forums are a great place to share your ideas with ExpoTV as well as discuss them with other members. Please visit the New Stuff You Want Us to Add section of our forums to throw your ideas out there.
How do I use my Wishlist?
You may create multiple lists of your favorite products, email them to your friends, and set them to public or private. Simply go to My Profile, click on Lists, and follow the instructions. When you find a product you wish to add to one of your lists, click on Add to my List.
What is that message from Facebook all about that appears in the bottom right corner of my browser window?
ExpoTV is partner in the Facebook Beacon program. This program allows you to let your friends know you've got a video uploaded to ExpoTV so that you can earn Pay-per-Play, helps you to refer friends to our site, and allows your friends to find out what you're wishing for. If you are a logged in Facebook user and are visiting ExpoTV.com, you can share information about your activity on ExpoTV with your friends on Facebook via the news feed. The 'actions' on ExpoTV that will show up in a Facebook news feed are 1) uploading videos, 2) adding something to a Wish List, or 3) registering to become a member. If you don't want to share your information, just click "No Thanks" on the prompt that appears or adjust your privacy controls in Facebook. For more information about Facebook Beacon, click here.>
What is 'Ask An Owner'?
Ask An Owner is an new platform that allows site visitors to ask other community members questions about products that they actually own to help with making purchase decisions. With Ask An Owner, you have advice from real product owners at your fingertips. You can find a link to ask questions below the video player on all product pages. You can also see the most recent answers to questions on category pages. For an example, click here.
What are the ads I am seeing on Expo videos?
When you watch Videopinions, you will see ad overlays that are relevant and targeted to the content of the video product review. You've probably already seen these ad overlays on YouTube, AOL and other major sites. Overlays are one of the ways we can generate money to pay our creators.
VIDEO REVIEW BASICS
Are there age requirements to submit videos?
You must be at least 18 years of age to submit videos. However, if you are the parent or legal guardian of someone 13 years of age or older, that person may appear in the videos you submit under your account.
What if I live outside the U.S.?
Unfortunately, due to legal reasons, we do not currently accept video submissions from non-U.S. residents.
Can I earn money from my videos?
Yes! Creators can earn cash for each product review that meets our video quality standards. Currently our standard upfront payment is $10.00 for each product review that meets our high quality standards. As part of our Pay-Per-Play program, you receive $0.01 each time any of your videos is played on ExpoTV.com. Check out our Make Videos page for details on our quality standards, Pay-Per-Play and ways to make money for product reviews.
What happens when I submit my video to ExpoTV?
Once you upload your product review, the video gets converted into Flash (FLV) format for review. Once converted, your product review is screened to make sure it meets our quality standards and Videopinions Terms & Conditions. All approved videos will be published to ExpoTV.com for public viewing and may also be posted on third party sites such as YouTube, Buy.com, Yahoo! Video, Smarter.com, etc. In addition, ExpoTV producers will review your videos and may select yours to air on ExpoTV on cable.
When will I be able to see my video on ExpoTV.com?
Within a few minutes of upload you should be able to see a preview of your product review on ExpoTV.com. You can check the status of your videos any time by going to your My Profile page and clicking on the Videos tab. We try to screen videos as soon as possible in the order they are submitted and the approval process can take a few days or more depending on the volume of uploads.
What does ExpoTV do with the personal information that I submit along with my videos?
We never sell your personally identifiable information to third parties. All information collected is in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Ready to give it a try? Visit our How To page for some advice on making a great video!
MAKING GREAT VIDEOS
Is there a maximum length that is acceptable?
No, but we generally find that the most helpful product reviews are between 1 and 5 minutes in length.
How long should my video be?
Helpful reviews are generally around a minute in length. Anything shorter than that typically doesn't qualify for payment.
Are there any tips on how to make videos?
You bet! Check out our How To where you can find video advice from some top producers at ExpoTV. You can learn the basics of what goes into making great product reviews, plus some pretty cool advanced techniques as well! For more in depth information, see our Tips & Tricks page. The #1 reason for rejecting videos is due to poor lighting or sound so make sure you speak loudly and film in a well-lit place! You can also ask questions and discuss better techniques in our What Makes Good Videopinions forum.
What types of products can I review?
If you can buy it you can review it! Electronics like digital cameras, camcorders and flat screen televisions are some of our most popular items. Other consumers make fitness equipment reviews, juicer reviews, GPS reviews, and even car seat and stroller reviews. However, we don't currently accept videos on prescription medicine, firearms, tobacco. See our Videopinions Terms and Conditions for more details about our video requirements.
Can I submit a video that's a negative review of a product?
Absolutely - sometimes those are even more helpful for consumers. We want honest, helpful opinions about products, positive or negative. We will never reject a submission because it is unfavorable.
Can I use any music in my video? Can I show footage from a TV show or movie?
ExpoTV will not reject product reviews containing copyrighted materials where the use of such materials constitutes fair use under the U.S. Copyright Laws, such as for commentary and criticism of that specific product. For more information about fair use, click here.
UPLOAD AND SCREENING PROCESS
What kinds of formats or files do you accept?
Please make sure the files are in one of these formats: WMV, MPG, MP4, MOV or AVI, and do not exceed 75MB in size. In addition, please use standard video codecs and encode the video to a 320x240 pixel window size.
How do I keep my videos under 75MB in size? What should I do if my file doesn't upload?
Check your file size to make sure it's not over 75MB. You may also need to try using software other than the software that came with your camera. We encourage you to edit and compress your videos with programs such as Windows Movie Maker (included with every Windows installation), or Apple iMovie, that allows you to compress your videos for web streaming. Also, by opening your video file with one of these programs and then saving it as a .avi, .mpg, .mp4, .wmv, or .mov file, you should be able to upload your video. For more tips on compressing files, click here.
I'm having problems uploading my video. Can I email or snail mail it to you?
Unfortunately, due to the volume of submissions, we cannot accept videos via email or regular postal mail.
How do I know if ExpoTV received and accepted my videos?
When you log onto ExpoTV.com, you can check on the status of your uploaded videos by going to "My Profile" and then clicking on the "Videos" link. This will bring up a list of videos that you have uploaded and will tell you the status of each video. The statuses change depending where the video is at in the process. You may see your video in one of the following statuses:
- Received - The video was successfully uploaded and is waiting to be converted to FLV (Flash) format.
- Pending - The video was successfully uploaded and converted to Flash and is waiting to be reviewed.
- Approved - The video was successfully uploaded and is ready for publishing
- Video Error - The video you uploaded did not process correctly. This usually happens because the video format or codec you used does not process correctly with our encoding system. For more information on codecs and formats that work please read this forum thread.
- Duplicate - This means your video is a duplicate of another one you uploaded.
- Rejected - This means your video was not accepted because it contained content that violated our Videopinions Terms and Conditions. If you have further questions on a video, please fill out the contact us form.
How long does it take for a video to be approved and published to the site?
Because we review all video submissions manually, it can take up to a couple of weeks during busy periods. It's best to send in your videos earlier in the month - the earlier you submit your videos, the faster we can publish them and pay you! Please also refer to our Videopinions Terms and Conditions, updated monthly, to ensure you are current with our guidelines and standards.
Why do some of the videos I submit later in the month get approved before videos I submit earlier in the month?
We give priority to videos in the "movies currently in theaters" category as these reviews are time sensitive. Some videos are held in pending status for longer periods of time as they usually require extra screening. Often times we even try to fix issues with your videos so that we can get them approved. We also run periodic tests, especially around promotion changes, which might mean your later reviews are approved faster. We do this to ensure that everything is running as smoothly as possible. We screen all pending videos including re-uploaded videos as quickly as possible to ensure that you receive your payment in a timely manner.
What if I can't find an exact match for the product in your system?
When you go to upload a new video, if the EXACT product you are reviewing does not come up in the list, you should click on the button at the bottom of the page that says "Still no matches? Click here" and it will allow you to type in the product information. If you cannot find a match for your product in our database, you must provide an Internet link that verifies the current national availability of your product. We are currently looking for ways to expand our database.
My video was declined because it won't convert to flash.
If the reason given says, "Video can't be converted to Flash. You may be using an old video format," this means that your video is in a format that our system doesn't accept. We accept most file formats, including .wmv, .mov, .mpg, .mp4 or .avi. If your video meets these minimum requirements and still was not accepted, it may be due to a codec or another issue. Please see this forum thread to learn more about codecs
How can I fix my videos that are out of sync?
Out-of-sync audio and video is usually the result of using a codec that our system doesn't support. We recommend saving your video file in Windows Movie Maker if you have a PC, or Apple iMovie if you have a Mac. If your product review's audio and video are still out of sync, you can try re-encoding it with a different codec. For more information, please visit this thread in our forums.
Now that you have all the answers, upload your video.
HOW YOU GET PAID
How will I know if my review qualified for upfront payment?
ExpoTV will email you to let you know whether your review qualified for payment. To ensure that you receive these notification emails, log in and then visit the Settings area of My Profile. You may also check the status of your videos any time by going to your My Profile page and clicking on the Videos tab.
If my review did not qualify for upfront payment, can I try again?
Yes! ExpoTV will email you to let you know if your review doesn't meet quality standards and will give you the option to re-upload a revised version of the review based on feedback provided by staff. You can also find this feedback displayed by going to the My Profile page and clicking on the Videos tab. Remember you will only have ONE opportunity to fix your product review for payment consideration.
What if I don't want to revise a review that didn't qualify for upfront payment?
We hope that you are willing to give it another shot, but if not, you also have the option to publish your review as is. This doesn't mean you can't earn any cash for your review--as soon as it's published, you can start earning Pay-Per-Play rewards. ExpoTV will automatically publish all videos to the site 7-14 days from the end of a month. These videos will then be eligible to begin earning Pay-Per-Play rewards.
How will I know how much money I am earning each month?
All monthly payments will be calculated by ExpoTV in the following month. Earnings will not be displayed mid-month.
When and how will I receive payment?
Payments will be sent via PayPal for all accepted videos. Please allow up to 4 weeks from the end of the month in which the submission occurred for your payment to be sent to your PayPal account. If you already have an account with PayPal, please use that email address for your ExpoTV membership. Go to the Settings area within your My Profile page to change the email address associated with your ExpoTV account. If you don't already have a PayPal account, sign up here. You can have up to 8 email addresses associated with your PayPal account.
What happens if I didn't give you the email address that's associated with my PayPal account?
You can go into your Profile settings in PayPal and add your other email address to that account. If you don't have a PayPal account or you don't give us the email address associated with your PayPal account, the payment email you receive from PayPal will include directions for how to sign up and claim your money. Don't forget that you can have up to 8 email addresses associated with your PayPal account.
What if I don't have a PayPal account?
Sign up for one here! PayPal is easy to use and there's no charge to receive money. You must have a valid PayPal account to receive payments.
Check out all the ways you can earn money from making videos!
Can I lose my money if I don't do this right?
Yes! You have only 30 days to create a PayPal account after PayPal notifies you that the email address you use for ExpoTV.com isn't linked to a PayPal account. After 30 days, you'll forfeit your money. To avoid this, make sure that the email address you use for ExpoTV.com is the same one you use for PayPal.
Is there a cost for receiving money via PayPal?
Nope. Using PayPal will not cost you anything!
Can I opt out of receiving Pay-per-Play earnings?
If you do not wish to receive money from Pay-per-Play or any other promotion, please click on "Return Payment" in your PayPal account.
Will I have to pay taxes on what I earn through ExpoTV? What is a 1099 form and what information does it include?
All businesses are required by law to send a 1099 to any individual who is paid $600 or more (in cash or goods) during a calendar year. A 1099 is an IRS form that businesses (like Expo) send to individuals (like our members) to indicate how much they've been paid by Expo during a calendar year. Expo also has to file a copy of the 1099s with the IRS.
The main pieces of information included on the 1099 are the amount of money paid, and recipient's name, address, and Social Security number. To gather this information, Expo sends W-9 forms to any member who has received $600 or more in a calendar year. We will notify you if we need this information from you and do not yet have it. As always, we will never use your personal information for anything other than Expo business with you.
Will I get Pay-Per-Play credit for videos I've embedded on sites outside of ExpoTV.com?
No, you only receive Pay-Per-Play earnings each time your video is played on ExpoTV. You're always welcome to provide a link back to your video on ExpoTV though. If someone clicks the link and watches the video on our site, you'll get credit for that video play.
Check out all the ways you can earn money from making videos!
REFER-A-FRIEND PROGRAM
How do I participate in the program?
To get paid for referring your friends, you need to have made at least one accepted video review. You'll get credit for the referral once your friend's video is published onto ExpoTV.com.
How do I refer my friends?
Within My Profile, go to the Friends area to see the Refer-A-Friend page. Enter in your friends' email addresses and we'll send an email inviting your friends to register on our site and upload videos. The email will contain a special registration link that will let us know you referred them! You can also copy and paste your personalized referral link into email messages and onto other blogs and websites.
Can I refer more than one friend?
Absolutely! Refer as many friends as you want! The more friends you get to start making videos the more money you earn.
Click here to start referring your friends!
How do I get credit for the friends who I referred?
You'll receive an email when your referring friend's first video review gets published to our site. Remember, your friend has to upload a video review that gets approved, so make sure that he or she follows the Videopinions Terms and Conditions. Also, check out the Earnings area within My Profile to see your Refer-A-Friend credits.
Can you change a Refer-A-Friend status if a friend forgets to click on the link?
Unfortunately, we cannot change a Refer-A-Friend status. If the specific link provided was not clicked, we are unable to credit your account. Make sure your friend knows that they should click the link provided!
When should I expect my Refer-A-Friend payment?
We process Refer-A-Friend payments via PayPal every month. You should expect your payment within 4 weeks from the end of the month in which your friend's first video is published.
How much do I get paid for referring a friend?
We will pay you $5.00 per friend who submits a qualifying video review.
Do I have to register an account on ExpoTV before my Refer-a-Friend does?
So that you receive a Refer-a-Friend credit, you must activate your own account and upload a video before your referral does.
What is the Refer-a-Friend Sweepstakes?
As soon as a friend of yours joins ExpoTV, you will be entered into a monthly drawing for a chance to win one of five $25.00 cash prizes. Even more reason to refer all your friends to ExpoTV!
Click here to start referring your friends!
WATCHING EXPOTV ON CABLE
Which cable operators carry ExpoTV?
ExpoTV's Video On Demand Network is available through Comcast Cable, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Charter Communications, Mediacom Communications, Insight Communications, Bright House Networks, VerizonFiOS, Bresnan Communications, Blue Ridge Communications, and PurDigital Media. We're rapidly expanding so be sure to keep checking this page for an updated list of our distribution partners. If you don't get us in your area, please contact your cable or satellite provider and request ExpoTV now!
Do I have to pay to watch ExpoTV?
No! ExpoTV is brought to you free of charge Video On Demand. Browse, watch, click around, and never worry about a charge from us. It's like window shopping on demand!
How do I buy a product I like?
Call the 800 number to purchase any product you see on our TV network.
Am I buying the product from ExpoTV?
No. ExpoTV is all about bringing you the best product demonstrations available on video. We don't sell anything directly.
How does ExpoTV pick products?
Our editorial team reviews and selects products that we think are some of the best of what's available on video. We set out to supplement these programs with additional consumer information, plus hosted segments and more - all in the interest of making you a smarter viewer and better consumer. We're also always searching for new products that our viewers tell us they want to see.
Can I buy through my TV?
Not right now, but we're always trying to make the consumer experience even better. We are working with our advertising partners and distribution partners to help enable some of these new services as soon as we can.
What if I have a product question or complaint?
You need to contact the manufacturer directly with any questions or issues concerning their product. However, we're very interested in hearing about your experience with our advertisers, so please contact us.
Check out all the cable operators that carry our channel!