Providing Customer Support for VOD Rentals
As you host your VOD Rentals, you're responsible for being the first line of support for your customers. If you're unable to solve any particular issues, feel free to email us anytime at support@filmbot.com for help.
Basic Concepts
Here are some basic concepts that your customer support staff should be aware of when communicating with customers.
- The browser requirements are extremely important for VOD Rentals, due to DRM restrictions. If someone is receiving an error watching a video, ensuring that they are using a compatible browser should be your first step. You should make sure you have a How to Watch page that includes the browser requirements (available in the Google Doc linked from that article). Keep this page handy to use in customer support replies.
- Once the customer clicks play on their VOD Rental, they'll see a prompt that informs them their view will be locked to their browser and they'll have 24 hours to finish watching. Once they click Proceed, they will not be able to watch the same video in a different browser.
- If a customer has a multi-item Rental Pass, the browser locking is specific to each video. This means they can watch one video in one browser, and a different video in another browser.
General Support Steps
When a customer emails with trouble viewing a VOD rental, typically a good first reply would include the following:
- If they did not already provide it, ask them to let you know what browser and operating system they are using, including the versions. Either ask them to compare it to, or compare it yourself to the System Requirements on your "How to Watch" page, and ensure they are using a supported browser.
- Ensure the customer is on a reliable high speed internet connection. There can be problems when a video is repeatedly buffering.
- If a customer is having unresolvable issues with their browser and needs to change to a different one, you can reset their view.
- If the customer is using Chromecast, it can often resolve issues if they stop casting, refresh the browser page, and re-cast.
Responses to Common Issues
Q: I can't hear anything.
A: Make sure the volume is up on the video player, using the volume icon in the lower left corner. Make sure your computer speakers are also turned up.
Q: The video isn't playing for me.
A: Please make sure you are using a supported browser. If the browser is not supported, reset their view and ask them to try a different browser.
Q: The video is stuck on loading.
A: Please make sure you are using a high speed internet connection and try refreshing the page. Ensure they are using a supported browser. If the browser is not supported, reset their view and ask them to try a different browser.
Q: I can't cast to my Chromecast.
A: Make sure you're using the cast button in the bottom right corner of the player. If the button isn't there, make sure you're on the same WiFi network as your Chromecast and refresh the page. You may need to restart your browser or your Chromecast device. Unfortunately there's not much more that can be done to troubleshoot home networking issues remotely.
Q: "I can't use Airplay." or "I only see a black window where the player is, but I can hear the sound."
A: Please turn off Screen Mirroring if you are using an iOS device. You can only cast to Airplay using the cast button in the bottom right corner of the player.