FreeTube Help (FAQ)
The following is a list of answers and resolutions to questions that are commonly asked. If you can not find an answer to your problem within this FAQ, please contact us using our contact form and we will try to resolve any concerns or problems that you may be facing.
General
Technical
Using FreeTube
Content Producers and Broadcasters
General
| What is FreeTube? |
|
FreeTube is a demonstration of what is possible when
technology, social networking, and multimedia are combined. If a computer
can handle vast and complex calculations and can manage overseas financial
transfers, then surely there must be a way to let individuals watch
live television and shows on their computer. From this very
simple concept, FreeTube was born.
FreeTube attempts to provide a service that allows users to watch
live or real-time television on their computer. By using FreeTube you can
watch tv online for free - no fees, no downloads,
no time limits! With the advancements made in technology, we now have the ability to fully emulate cable or satellite television. FreeTube eliminates the necessity for any expensive hardware or monthly subscription costs and provides you with a free streaming television and video on demand service. Essentially, you are to use your computer as if it were a TV, without the hassle of installing any special software or purchasing expensive hardware or satellites. |
| Why is the site called FreeTube? |
| Tube is British euphemism for a television set. While Free ...well that's really quite self-explanatory. |
| What do I need in order to use FreeTube? |
To use FreeTube, you need to have:
A faster computer and connection to the Internet will result in greater performance of the site and content, but slower computers and connections are still capable of using FreeTube. |
| How does it work? |
FreeTube acts like a satellite or cable provider,
by connecting you with various broadcasters that publish their
channels. Much like regular satellite television or cable, you are given
an assortment of channels to select from that are available almost 24
hours a day. However, unlike cable companies - FreeTube is
completely FREE and you will never have to pay to use our service.
There are no limits to how long you can watch, and you can watch as
many or as little channel as you want - there's no charge or
subscription fees. FreeTube
basically works by providing you with an ever updated list of channels
that are available for viewing. You can simply select a genre, and
then pick a channel from the list that appears. Your channel will
load and you can then begin watching the desired channel within your
browser. Channels are actively regulated and maintained to ensure
performance and to ensure that streams are functional. By using the
Internet as a medium, similar to how satellite television uses air, we are
able to distribute and disseminate live television channels straight to
your computer. |
| How can this be FREE? |
|
FreeTube is a technological experiment, and we are
deeply interested in providing a free and useful service to the public. We
are able to run and keep the service working properly through
advertisements that are displayed on the site, and through the
co-operation of broadcasters. We have attempted to limit the amount of
advertising shown on the site, while maintaining a strict policy on
keeping the advertisements unobtrusive and always safe for users. Quality
is our first priority. |
| How can I contact you? |
| In the event that you need to get in touch with us, please use our contact or suggestion form. The suggestion form is to be used for feature requests, bug reports or user feedback on the site. All other inquiries and concerns should be addressed using the contact form. Please note that we receive large quantities of e-mails each day and we can not ensure an immediate reply to your message. Please have patience when awaiting a reply, as we strive to answer all e-mails in detail and quality. We also can not ensure that all contacts will be replied to due to the volume of e-mails received. Priority will be given to serious inquiries not already expressed within this FAQ. We appreciate all contact and feedback from our users and publishers. |
| How can I filter out inappropriate channels? |
|
FreeTube, much like any cable or satellite package, may contain channels that some users find inappropriate for themselves or for children who may be using the site.
For this reason, FreeTube has made it possible to remove adult channels and content temporarily and permanently depending on the case. When viewing FreeTube, you can dismiss the adult section by clicking on the red x icon, which will immediately remove the page for that viewing session. If you revisit FreeTube, the adult section will re-appear since this is only a temporary removal of the section. If you wish to remove this section permanently, you can visit the Family Friendly version. By visiting the family friendly version of FreeTube, you avoid having to repeat this step each time. Simply add ?f=1 (http://freetube.110mb.com/index.php?f=1) to access this mode.
|
| How can I Support FreeTube? |
If you'd like to support us, please consider linking to us and spreading the
word about FreeTube to your friends, family, peers and co-workers. We greatly
appreciate everyone who refers others to our free service, and you can use some of these user-submitted images to
link to us.Userbars   Text Links: |
| I paid for software or a service that linked or refered me to FreeTube. |
| FreeTube is a completely free service that is supported by advertisements and good will. Unfortunately their are individuals who are attempting to scam and defraud unsuspecting users into paying for services which we provide for free. We are not affiliated with any group, organization or site that is offering or selling you services linked to us. If you are a victim of any such scam or fraud, please contact us immediately with information on the site and details so that we continue to investigate such cases of fraud. |
Technical
| What plugins do I need and Where can I get them? |
|
FreeTube uses resources that are most likely already
installed on your computer, but all of these resources are also available
for free on the Internet should you be missing them. In order to use FreeTube, ensure that you have: You do not need to have all of these plugins
installed, but certain channels may require one or more of the these
plugins to work properly. The plugin needed to view each stream is briefly
mentioned in the description window (see below for more details). If you
are using a Mac, you can get
Flip4Mac which will help you view windows
media type streams. |
| Why don't you broadcast all your channels in a cross-compatiable format? |
| At the current time, the broadcast format has been left to the discretion of the broadcaster and as such, it is ultimately the broadcaster who chooses what format the broadcasts will be streamed as. |
| Why do I see an error message about not having JavaScript enabled? |
FreeTube uses AJAX, which is a combination of
several techniques that allow us to load the page quicker and make the
site more effective for our users. The error that is displayed is a
warning alerting you to the fact that the site needs JavaScript enabled in
order to function properly. If you receive this error, you most likely are
using a browser that does not support JavaScript or you currently have
JavaScript disabled. Although you may be able to use FreeTube without
JavaScript enabled, we strongly advise that you enable this feature
in your browser so that you can make use of all our features.
|
| I have the correct plugins installed, but why do I still receive an error message? |
You may want to try
re-installing the plugin as this can sometimes rectify problems with a
browser or application failing to recognize that the plugin is installed.
|
| I have Windows Media Player installed, but an older version of Windows Media Player being used to play streams? |
|
If an older version
of Windows Media Player is being used to play streams, you may not be able
to watch streams properly and in some cases, the streams may not work at
all. In order to fix this, you need to ensure that you have Windows
Media Player installed on your computer. If you've successfully
installed it on your computer, chances are good that you're most likely
using a browser such as Netscape, Firefox or Opera. These browsers
generally don't come bundled with the latest Media Player plugins, and
cause errors as a result. To fix this problem, simply download the
FreeTube
Hotfix for Windows Media Player. This Windows hotfix will patch your registry and allow you to use 
Opera and
Firefox with FreeTube. The hotfix will add 5 values to the registry
that force Opera, Firefox and Netscape browsers to use the latest Windows
Media Player when playing streams. This fix comes directly from
FreeTube, however you can also download this fix for
Firefox
here. This second fix will only work for
Mozilla Firefox, so it is advised that our hotfix be used. |
| I'm using Firefox or a Mozilla based browser, and have installed Windows Media Player but am still being told that I don't have Windows Media Player? |
| This is a problem with the browser not accepting that the plugin is installed, it can be solved by reading a very detailed manual from Mozilla, learn more here. |
| How do I resize or get streams into Full Screen Mode? |
|
If you wish to
resize the size of the stream screen, you can double click on the screen
and it will resize and go in to full screen mode. If this does not work
for you, you may not have the proper settings enabled within Windows Media
Player or the plugin being used. This occurs when hardware acceleration in Windows Media Player is disabled or set to the lowest setting. To enable Hardware Acceleration, open Windows Media Player and go to Tools> Options > Click on the Performance Tab. In the menu that appears, move the Video Acceleration slider to Full. Click Ok to save the settings, and try refreshing the FreeTube page and it should work.  If the first method did not work, you may want to try the tutorial available here, which provides another way of enabling full screen support. Another option is to use the fullscreen controls when viewing a stream. The fullscreen options appear in the play bar directly under the stream, by clicking the fullscreen button you will be taken directly in to the fullscreen mode. |
| How do I exit fullscreen mode? |
| As mentioned before, FreeTube streams can be made fullscreen by double clicking the view window. Once in this mode, FreeTube will expand and take up the entire screen and show your selected video stream. To exit out of this mode, simply hit the escape button and you will be return to the normal sized player. If you hit the space button or click on the mouse, you may end up pausing the stream - in which case you can simply hit the space button or click the mouse to resume the stream. However, in most cases you will not be able to pause the stream because it is live. |
| Why does the FreeTube site does not display properly? |
| FreeTube makes use of some modern technologies and if the site does not load up properly it could be that you are not using a modern browser that supports 1) CSS or 2) JavaScript. Additionally, FreeTube makes usage of screen resolution and requires that you have a minimum resolution of 800 x 600 to view the site properly. The higher your monitor resolution, the better your experience with Freetube will be (aesthetically). |
| I know that the plugins in my browser are working but none of the streams on FreeTube seem to play. |
| Not being able to view any streams could be one of many reasons, the first is that you may not be waiting long enough for the stream to load. Usually streams load within 30 to 40 seconds, but in rarer circumstances it could take as long as 1 to 2 minutes to properly buffer the streams. If problem still persist, you may also be facing a problem with a broken channel and you can thus report this channel as broken. However in other situations you may be experiencing difficulties as a result of blocking software, such as AdBlock or Norton Security panel. If all streams seem broken to you, it could be a result of a firewall or ad blocking script that is interfering with the stream. |
In Internet Explorer, go to Tools>Internet Options>Security Tab>click
the Custom Level button and scroll down to the Scripting
options section and enable each option (Active Scripting, Scripting
of Java Applets). Click OK to save these settings.Using FreeTube
| Channel X doesn't seem to load, or all I see is a black box? |
| Assuming that you have the correct plugins installed, you may need to wait a while for the TV channel to load. Depending on the speed of your internet connection and your geographic location, the load time can vary. A faster internet connection (ISDN/T1) will result in greater throughput allowing you to watch the streams without any lag or buffering delays. However, slower connections and those residing further away from the Broadcasting source will receive buffering delays (eg: lagging video, stuttering). On a broadband connection, the average wait time before the video starts is 20 to 30 seconds. If the video does not start after a full 2 minutes, it is likely that the channel may be temporarily offline or broken, in which case you will be able to report it as broken! |
| How do I report a TV Channel as Broken? |
|
FreeTube uses the
power of the community to moderate and manage the channels, and we allow
our users to contribute to keeping the site running smoothly. If you find
a stream that is broken or not working correctly, you can report the
channel stream so that we can fix it. In order to ensure the validity of
these reports, we've enabled a timer system that will help verify if the
stream is broken or just loading. When you view a stream, a timer will appear that counts down to zero. This timer will ensure that you have waited a bit of time for the stream to load, and once the counter is completed - the Report Channel as Broken link will appear and you can report the channel as broken if it does not work. After you have reported a stream, the channel will be flagged for inspection. As more users report the stream, it's priority in getting fixed and checked will increase and a FreeTube staff member will look into the channel to resolve the problem. We truly appreciate all users that help to keep FreeTube running and free of broken streams or errors. Additionally, the Broken Channel badge is a small alert message that will appear on channels that have been reported as broken by many users. This serves as a way of alerting you that the channel may possibly be broken, however it is not 100% credible and should only be used to identify whether a channel is loading slowly or is potentially broken. |
| Why are some of the channels slow to load or lagging at times? |
| This often occurs on slower connections, but can also come about if you reside far from the channel's broadcasting source, or if you are running network intensive applications, such as p2p and download managers. Some times the channel may be hit with a lot of traffic and this could cause a slow down in the loading and viewing of the channel. Also your internet connection may be slowed down by various network intensive programs, and quitting these programs could help resolve the problem. A great tip is to try viewing a channel at various points in the day, as internet traffic and speeds fluctuate throughout the day and you could get better performance from FreeTube and the Internet itself by accessing it at a later time in the day. |
| What do the menus on the right side of the site do? |
| The right side menu on FreeTube is used to show you useful and interesting information that would help you navigate and customize the site to your liking. The Top 5 Channels module displays the 5 most popular channels for the current week, and you can view any of these channels by clicking on the channel name. The New Channels module shows you the most recently added channels, allowing you to see new updates and revisions to channels available on FreeTube. Additionally, the new channels list has an RSS feed, which can be used to get instant updates or to be inserted in your blog/website/feed reader or email. Lastly, the My Channels module further allows you to customize the site to your personal preferences (see next FAQ item for more details). |
| What is My Channels? |
|
IMy Channels is a
feature on FreeTube that lets you customize the FreeTube site to you own
personal channel preferences. Basically My Channels is your very own
personal remote control to quickly access channels and to make it even
easier to navigate the site. My Channels is your own private bookmark or
collection of channels that you're interested in. There is no registration
to use this feature, and all channel preferences are saved locally on your
computer and can be deleted by clearing your cache and/or cookies. With My Channels, you can add, manage and delete the listing of channels that appear seamlessly. To use My Channels, simply visit a channel and in the navigation bar that appears - simply click the "Add Channel" 
button to add it to your My Channels listing. It will then appear in your
Channel listings.From the My Channels module, you can then delete and further add more channels. To delete a channel, simply click the "Delete Channel" button 
that appears to the right of the channel. The channel will be marked and
deleted. You can manage your channels by adding and deleting the channels. |
| What is RSS? |
|
RSS stands
for Really Simple Syndication and it basically is a
direct feed from a site that can contain various information or content of
interest to users. Simply put, RSS allows users to view and use live
content from a site externally (e.g. through blogs, email, cell phones,
etc). FreeTube uses RSS to let our users take control and provide
instant updates and access to our new content. By using one of our RSS
feeds, you can not only gain quick access to our latest updates and
channels - but also recieve updates by e-mail, cell phone or even on your
own blog. The uses for RSS feeds are endless, and by providing our users
with RSS feeds, we know that it will make their lives all the more
simpler. RSS feeds on FreeTube can be accessed whenever you see the RSS Icon (  ).
Simply click on the RSS feed and you will be taken to the direct feed -
which you can then use for various things. If you use our RSS feed or come
up with anything interesting, please contact us and we'll try to feature
you on our site. |
| How do I rate Channels? |
| You can rate channels according to their content, quality and overall entertainment value by hovering your mouse over the ratings bar that appears for each channel (under the stream), and then click on the desired rating for that channel. The greater the rating you provide, the more entertained you were by that channel. These ratings are used to tabulate popular channels along with other channel data (which are in turn shown to all users on the right side panel). |
| How can I share or bookmark channels? |
| At the bottom of each channel listing, is a small snippet of code that will allow you to link and bookmark that particular channel. Using that address or link, you can visit your favourite channels at any time. You can even provide the link to friends, family members or blog about something you saw or watched. |
| How do I record a stream or show? |
| FreeTube currently does not support the recording of streams or shows. |
| I have a suggestion.. |
| We'd love to heard it, please use our suggestion form to give us your ideas, interests and feedback on the site. We appreciate all feedback, but please maintain discretion on what you write and provide constructive criticism. |
Content Producers and Broadcasters
| I'm a Publisher and want my content added! |
| FreeTube is dedicated to providing users with content on demand, and promoting new and innovative forms of entertainment. If you run a TV stream, interesting video blog or just create cool and interesting videos, we would be happy to showcase your content on FreeTube! We can make your video blogs and/or videos into a channel and make it available for others to view completely free. This is a great way to increase the viewer base of your videos or channel for free. |
| I'm a Publisher/Copyright Holder, how do I get my content removed? |
| FreeTube respects publishers and broadcasters rights, and if you as a broadcaster, see anything that infringes on your Copyrights please contact us immediately via the contact form with proof of ownership or copyright and we will remove your content immediately. We take all reports seriously, and will do our best to remove your content. |
| Thank you for taking the time to read this, we will continue to update the FAQ as more pertinent questions arise. |