We are in Beta Testing!
COMETNOW IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. WE’LL CONTINUE ADDING Q&A’S AS THEY COME TO US AND AS WE GET MORE FEEDBACK IN OUR BETA TESTS
Question not answered above? Please email your question to support@cometnow.com
What should my Server Adress be?
video.cometnow.com
I just launched CometNow, and I need a confirmation Code. Where do I find the Confirmation Code?
Your Confirmation Code was emailed to you when you registered on
www.cometnow.com, you can also find your confirmation on our website. Log into
www.cometnow.com and look at "My Profile." Your confirmation is the Key Code under My Profile.
What does CometNow do?
At CometNow, you have the unique opportunity to stream video live from your cell phone to yours or a friend’s or multiple friends’ home pages. CometNow web pages are like personal TV stations that play either live or recorded video. You’re the producer, director and writer and your friends and family get to share immediately in your video experiences. Recordings of your live video stream are automatically posted on your CometNow web site, you have the option of making the video private or public.
How do I know if my cell phone, or smart phone or PDA is supported by CometNow?
You must have a Windows Mobile phone and a Data Plan so you can transmit video. We are working on increasing our functionality with more mobile phones, if your phone is not supported or you have trouble installing our software, please contact us so we can help you. The Samsung BlackJack and Motorola Q are our current supported mobile phones.
I see the words “CometNow” in the bottom right hand side of my cell phone screen. What is this?
This shows that when you click on the soft key below the words, the CometNow application will launch and you will have the option to transmit live to the CometNow website or to another Mobile Phone. Upon selection you will automatically be streaming live video.
Which button do I push on my PDA to begin streaming using CometNow?
If you have assigned the CometNow application to the Soft Key on the right, simply click the Soft Key under the words Comet Now. If you have not assigned a Soft Key, then select the windows icon, scroll to the CometNow logo (Blue Ball), double click on the logo to start streaming video. You must highlight Start Streaming Video and click O.K.
Which button do I push on my Smart Phone to begin streaming using CometNow?
If you have assigned the CometNow application to the Soft Key on the right, simply click the Soft Key under the words Comet Now. If you have not assigned a Soft Key, then select the windows icon, scroll to the CometNow logo (Blue Ball), double click on the logo to start streaming video. You must highlight Start Streaming Video and click O.K.
How do I change or eliminate the use of my Smart Phone’s soft key or PDA’s Windows Logo key to automatically stream CometNow?
Click on your start menu, scroll to Settings, scroll to More, then to Key Settings, Click O.K on Key Settings, scroll to Home screen RSK and Click O.K, Scroll right to left in the Right Soft Key Program box until you can select CometNow, Click Done using the Left Soft Key to assign Comet Now to the right soft key. Otherwise go to your cell phone user manual. Under Settings, there is typically an option related to “Customizing Keys”. Use this feature to change the default settings for your keys.
On the Palm Treo, click on your Start menu, scroll to Settings, and click on Settings, In the Personal Tab, Select Buttons, we typically assign the Start Button with the windows insignia to CometNow. First select the Start Button then second assign CometNow to the Button, then click OK in the top right corner. You should now be able to launch CometNow by pushing the Start button (windows insignia) on your Palm Treo.
Can I transmit live video to a friend who does not have a CometNow page?
No, but send your friend an email to register for an account. As soon as they are registered they will be able to view any video you allow them to view via the CometNow web site. To view your video live on a phone, they must register for a CometNow account, have a Windows Mobile phone with a data plan and download our software to their phone.
Why can I only transmit a recorded version to my YouTube, MySpace, etc page?
These web sites do not have the capability to stream live video from Mobile phones like CometNow, so at those sites, you can only see recorded and archived video from mobile phones.
While logged into www.CometNow.com click on My Videos. When you see a Video you want to send to MySpace or You Tube, click Edit to the right of the video, then Click You Tube and My Space Status from the top menu. Here you can change the status from Do Not Upload to Upload.
What If I register a new account on Comet Now, How do I change the settings on my phone?
On Your Phone Start the CometNow Software ( Blue Ball Icon), after selecting Start Broadcast, Click on Menu (Right Soft Key), scroll down to settings and click O.K, Change name and password appropriately, Click O.K (Left Soft Key).
How can I improve the quality of the videos I make?
|
Shooting quality video is always a difficult at first. Doing so on a mobile device can be even more of a challenge. Here are a few tips for getting the great results you are after:
1) Consider using close-up shots. Wide shots lose focus, which makes it difficult for the viewer to see the people.
2) The fewer people in each shot the better. If a single character is in the shot, you do not have to frame the person in the center. The person can be set to the side, using the rest of the image to capture background or something else integral to the shot.
3) For a background, use the simplest background that makes sense. Complex backgrounds will not translate well to mobile, but go ahead and experiment!
4) Use the least amount of camera movement possible. The same is true for people moving. A lot of movement by a person or animal is hard to capture on a mobile device.
5) Fast cuts between scenes are difficult for the viewer to comprehend and should not be used.
Most important of all have Fun and Experiment. We are all awaiting your masterpiece! |
How do I increase the quality of transmission from my phone?
On a Blackjack, while recording video on your phone you can use the right arrow on the ring surrounding the center OK button to increase the transmission rate of your video. This will improve the quality of your video capture. In low bandwidth areas you may use the left arrow to manually reduce your transmission rate. Experiment to see what works best in each situation.
How do I delete videos stored locally on my Handset?
While Comet is running on your phone, click on the right soft key. Select View Local Recordings. Here you can either view recordings by selecting a video and clicking on the Left Soft Key View, delete a video by selecting it and clicking the Right Soft Key Menu and clicking on Delete, or delete all records by clicking on the Right Soft Key menu and selecting Delete All Records.
How do I embed videos on my website or blog?
To embed a video, click on a video and copy the code from the, "Object" box—you can find it to the right of the video when you are viewing a pre-recorded video on the site. Once you've copied the code, just paste it into your website or blog to embed it.
How do I permanently set the “Storage to place records” to my onboard storage card? I do not want the memory on the device used for this function.
Start CometNow on your phone and select View Live Streams, click OK. Cometnow will connect and offer to select streams if any streams are available. Select a stream to view and press the OK key. Click Menu (right softkey button) and select View recordings, click OK.
Now you can switch to Storage Card if you have one on your Mobile Phone. Please note, Cometnow defaults to save only the last 6 streams recorded on your Mobile Phone. The oldest stream will automatically be replaced first.
My screen just went black while I was recording, I can’t see what I’m shooting, Help?
You have 2 options here, the first is you can click the OK key, which should cause the backlight to turn back on allowing you to see what you are shooting. The 2nd option is to change your backlight to timeout after 1 minute or even more extreme to never timeout (please note that never timeout mode will shorten your phone’s battery life).
Click on your start menu, scroll to Settings, scroll to More, then to Power Management, Click O.K on Power Management, scroll right and left to select the length of time you want the backlight screen to stay on for, Click Done using the Left Soft Key.
On the Palm Treo, click on your Start menu, scroll to Settings, and click on Settings, In the System Tab, Select Backlight, you can now adjust the time the backlight will stay on and select a box allowing any button to turn the backlight back on. Click ok in the top right corner of the screen to save your settings.
I launched CometNow and can’t stream to the server, help?
First make sure you are not plugged into a USB port on your computer, being plugged in can cause your phone to be unable to stream video. Second check the strength of signal, we work best with a 3G signal, EDGE does not always connect. If that does not answer the problem try restarting Comet. Make sure you have at least minimal cellular signal showing on your phone. If you still can’t stream to the server, then wait a few minutes and try again, our server may be busy, or more likely, your cellular carrier's network is unable to support the data connection required. Last but not least restart your phone!
How do I disable Audio when I am recording?
On your phone start the CometNow software (Blue Ball Icon), after selecting Start Broadcast, Click on Menu (Right Soft Key), scroll down to Disable Audio and click OK.
What If I register a new account on Comet Now, How do I change the settings on my phone?
On Your Phone Start the CometNow Software ( Blue Ball Icon), after selecting Start Broadcast, Click on Menu (Right Soft Key), scroll down to settings and click O.K, Change name and password appropriately, Click O.K (Left Soft Key).
How do I allow a specific individual to view my Private Videos?
While logged into www.CometNow.com click on My Videos. When you see a Video you want to change the permission for access to, click Edit to the right of the video, then Click Permissions from the top menu. Here you can add an email for someone to have access to view your private videos (make sure you type in their name or email address, select the address and click update). You can also choose to email them from here, notifying them of their access to your video.
How do I change the permission setting of my Video from Private to Public?
While logged into www.CometNow.com click on My Videos. When you see a Video you want to change the permission for access to, click Edit to the right of the video, then Click Permissions from the top menu. Here you can change the access to your video from Private to Public or from Public to Private. Select Update to Save changes.
How do I Organize My Videos?
While logged into www.CometNow.com click on My Videos. When you see a Video you want to add a Title or Tag to, click Edit to the right of the video, Here you can change or add a Title and put in Tag words to help other viewers find your video. When you are done, click the Update button to save your information.
My recorded video is loading very slowly on CometNow. How do I fix this?
When the Video you have selected is loading, right click on the video window, use left click to select options, on the top Tabs of the window click on Network. Click in the Boxes labeled “RTSP/UDP” and “RTSP/TCP.” Deselect both boxes. The box labeled “HTTP” should still be selected. Click Apply and then OK at the bottom. Your video should now load within 2-3 seconds.
Why can I only transmit a recorded version to my YouTube, MySpace, etc page? How do I transfer My Videos there?
These web sites do not have the capability to stream live video from Mobile phones like CometNow, so at those sites, you can only see recorded and archived video from mobile phones.
While logged into www.CometNow.com click on My Videos. When you see a Video you want to send to MySpace or You Tube, click Edit to the right of the video, then Click You Tube and My Space Status from the top menu. Here you can change the status from Do Not Upload to Upload in Progress. Then Click Update. You must add your login and password for the site to your profile page.Can I transmit live video to a friend who does not have a CometNow account?
No, but send your friend an email requesting that he or she register for an account. As soon as they are registered they will be able to view all of the public videos and any private video you allow them to view via the CometNow web site. To view your video live on a phone, they must register for a CometNow account, have a Windows Mobile phone with a data plan and download and install our software onto their phone.
How do I change or eliminate the use of my Smart Phone’s soft key or PDA’s Windows Logo key to automatically stream CometNow?
Click on your start menu, scroll to Settings, scroll to More, then to Key Settings, Click O.K on Key Settings, scroll to Home screen RSK and Click O.K, Scroll right to left in the Right Soft Key Program box until you can select CometNow, Click Done using the Left Soft Key to assign Comet Now to the right soft key. Otherwise go to your cell phone user manual. Under Settings, there is typically an option related to “Customizing Keys”. Use this feature to change the default settings for your keys.
Which button do I push on my Smart Phone to begin streaming using CometNow?
If you have assigned the CometNow application to the Soft Key on the right, simply click the Soft Key under the words Comet Now. If you have not assigned a Soft Key, then select the windows icon, scroll to the CometNow logo (Blue Ball), double click on the logo to start streaming video. You must highlight Start Streaming Video and click O.K.
What is CometNow PcCapture and How do I download it?
CometNow PcCapture will enable you to stream video live from your PC to the internet and CometNow enabled mobile phones. PcCapture is available for free from our download page http://www.cometnow.com/download.aspx.
I started PcCapture and all I see is a black box, no image, help?
Your camera is not being recognized by PcCapture, please make sure the correct drivers or software for your computer and camera are installed properly. You can test this by opening the software that came with your camera and confirming your camera loads properly and is transmitting images to your computer. If your camera is recognized by your computer but you are still getting the black screen, please restart your computer and see if PcCapture recognizes your camera now. In some rare instances, even though your camera is recognized by the computer it is not able to stream video, please email us and we will help you troubleshoot the situation, sorry.
I recorded for 5 minutes pausing every minute so I could make adjustments, then I went to view my archived video and found out only the last minute was recorded, Did I lose 4 minutes of my recordings?
No, you probably did not lose your recordings. When streaming video is transmitted the video is both recorded and paused, our software creates a new video segment each time the recording is paused. While playing back the segments you can “jump” between the streams and view them in any order you wish.
How do I Stream a larger image?
After launching PcCapture, select Start Broadcast and decide whether you video will be public or private. Under Menu, select Video Size and choose between small, medium and large for the image size of the video you are broadcasting. Please remember that broadcasting a larger image will require greater bandwidth and may not be visible from a mobile phone.
How do I view Live Streams?
After launching PcCapture, select View Live Streams. In the pop-up window highlight the stream you would like to view and click Select. To view a different stream, select File and View Live Stream. By selecting New Stream you can open up multiple viewing windows and place them anywhere on your screen.
Can I view streams recorded just to my hard drive?
Yes, after opening PcCapture and selecting View Live Streams, you may select View Recordings. Now you have the option to view, upload and change your locally stored recordings.
I paused my video when transmitting and I noticed PcCapture was still recording locally, Can I upload that video to www.cometnow.com?
Yes, after opening PcCapture and selecting View Live Streams, you may select View Recordings. Now you have the option to view and identify the file created during that time people and upload that video by selecting Upload in the top right hand side of the screen.
I registered a new account, how do I get PcCapture to send using my new account instead of my old?
After launching PcCapture, select View Live Streams and pick a stream to view. Then select File from the top menu bar and select Connection Options. Here you can change your username and password.
If I view video in full screen mode, how do I get back to the software?
Click on the Escape key on the top left of your computer.
Wow, I just got a message on my screen from someone watching me shoot video from my computer, how do I clear the message?
Select the menu key on the bottom of the transmit button and decide whether you want to view the messages, hide the message pane or clear the messages.
Can I disable the Audio?
You have 2 easy solutions, first you can unselect the Enable Audio check the box in the top right of the transmitting video window. The second option is you can select the Menu key and disable audio.
My Audio is cracking or skipping what can I do?
The odds are there is not enough computing power or bandwidth to send the video you are trying to send. Try lowering the FPS (Frames Per Second) and/or KBPS (Kilobytes Per Second) sliders on the right hand side of your transmitting screen and incrementally lower the settings until the audio improves.