PopModal The Conservative Alternative to YouTube

If you need additional help or to access a stuck account please contact us.

— What is PopModal.com?
PopModal.com is an online video sharing community that allows members to view and share videos that have been uploaded by our members.

— My video looks squeezed or stretched. What can I do?
The PopModal Video Player is set to "Keep Aspect Ratio" as a default setting. It presents all videos in a 4:3 format. Wide videos can appear to be squished.

You may adjust a squished or stretched video to look normal again:

Click on the upward white triangle in the control bar under the video.

— Choose "Fit to window"

— Pull the lower right corner of the player out to the right or down. This will adjust the width and height and make any squished or stretched video look normal again.

You can also try viewing the video in it's original size. This might make video look correct if the original was correctly formatted.

To make a video play back in the right format on Popmodal without needing to adjust the player, you need to upload a video that looks correct in a 4:3 format. You can use a software editor such as Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premier, After Effects to add black bars top and bottom so the video format becomes a 4:3 ratio.

For example: a widescreen video may be 640 x 360. With an advanced video editor you can add a 60 pixel black bar on top and a 60 pixel black bar on the bottom you will now have a video that is 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels height, which is a 4:3 format. Upload this new video edit and Popmodal playback will be in correct format. Please be careful to keep the video size under 100 MB. That is the current maximum upload file size.

Original Widescreen Content - request for format correction:
If you have quality Original Content in a widescreen format and would like to have the proportions adjusted, so it looks correct in PopModal player without any adjustments, please contact us. We can manually adjust your video to playback in it's correct format. This usually means making the height less. Please include the exact ratio the original is in, so we don't have to guess. Typically, video cams shoot in HD 16:9 format. Movie trailers may be in 1.85 or 2.35 formats (width / height). At this time, we limit this custom adjustment to Original Content. You can always force the format to be correct by adding the top and bottom black bars to bring the format to 4:3.

— May I add autostart to Popmodal embed video code?
No, this option is currently turned off. Embedded videos start when you click in the video.

— How can I transfer my videos from YouTube to my account at PopModal?

Changes in Flash Videos at YouTube:

Currently the YouTube transfer page is not working. YouTube changed their site on July 22, 2010 and as a result, the PopModal script no longer works. All new flash videos from YouTube, made since July 22nd are encrypted and cannot be uploaded to PopModal even if you succeed in downloading a copy of the flash video to your computer and then try to upload it to PopModal. The file will appear to upload and then no thumbs will be created and no video will play.

Higher quality mp4 videos from YouTube can still be uploaded and converted at PopModal:

If you have found a copy of a newly created YouTube Video with the mp4 extension, this file can be uploaded and converted to PopModal. Please note that YouTube does not normally allow downloads. Getting a MP4 copy would need to be done with a 3rd party download plug-in to your browser.

Use YouTube embed code instead of uploading a video:

You can embed the video from YouTube into your PopModal video collection by choosing the Embed tab on page two of your Upload. Be sure to have the entire embed code from either YouTube or any alternate video social networking site saved in your computer memory with a copy command or written to a temporary file. You will need to paste the embed code into the PopModal Upload Embed area. YouTube and other sites approve of this method. The logo and player from the site will appear in your PopModal playback video page. If you use the embed method, your video is really owned by another party, so it may stop playing at any time. The ideal width for embedding in PopModal is 560 by any height.

Embed options:

In your Embed options you can add a thumbnail and it should be in 4:3 ratio. width x height: 120 x 90, 240 x 180, 400 x 300. If you use this format the thumbnail will look correct. Otherwise it will be stretched or squashed. Also be ready to add a duration of the video in minutes and seconds. Most video players will show this information when you play the original.

Download a video from a non YouTube site:

You may also choose to download from another site, if it allows, and upload to PopModal. When you upload a video, you are more in control of the video and it will not cease to play unless you delete it from your PopModal collection. You should try to always upload a larger high quality version, up to 100 MB size, if available. Your PopModal video will be higher quality if you start with a better original video.

— How private is a private video?
You may set any video to private when you upload it or by going to My Videos and choosing the Edit button for each video. Scroll down to the Broadcast option and choose Private

Private videos are currently only private between you and your friends. They are NOT private only to you, unless you have no friends on the site. PopModal system administrators can review private videos to confirm compliance with terms of use. Private videos do not show up in Video linked searches. The thumbnails for private videos will show up searches by keyword, they will be designated as private, the thumbnails and descriptions can be seen but the video will not be playable.

— Does PopModal.com offer phone support?
PopModal.com does not offer phone support at this time. However, you will be able to find all the answers to most of your questions here in our General Help Area.

— What should I know about using PopModal from a public computer?
PopModal uses persistent cookies, which means that depending on the security settings of your browser, you'll stay logged on even if you close your browser. If you're using a shared or public computer, remember to log off after you're done enjoying the site.

— How do I join PopModal.com?
To become a member of PopModal.com, go to the "Signup" page, choose a username and password, and enter your information. Then click the "Sign Up" button. Click the link sent to your email and you're done.

— How much does it cost to join PopModal.com?
Nothing! It's free! Just sign up, create an account, and you're ready to broadcast. However, you can help us defray our operating expenses by clicking on our advertiser links. This will help keep the doors open and the Conservative MSM in balance and it doesn't cost you a thing. If you want to contribute please contact us or go to the Donate page. We promise you your contribution will go towards our server and bandwidth costs. If you would like to pay for a month of service or just a part of the service you can click here to make a payment directly to the company that is hosting our site.

In the future there will be different levels of membership at PopModal.com. Just select your membership level, sign up, create an account, make your payment and you're ready to share your video and become eligible to win prizes.

— I'm having trouble signing in. What can I do?
If there are any problems with the information you've entered, an red error box will appear at the top of the page.

The following answers are some common problems. Please check here if you are experiencing a problem to authenticate your email address and join PopModal.

— I forgot my password. How do I log back into the site?
You can start the process to set a new password at the Set a New Password page. You will be sent an email with instructions.

Attention: Once you click the [Password -> email address] button on this page, your password will immediately change. Your old password will also immediately stop working. You should receive an email with login instructions within an 30 minutes. You must open the email and confirm your email address with a link in the email sent to you, in order to log back in to PopModal.

— I keep being asked to log in, even though I entered my username and password correctly. What should I do?
If you are unable to login with what you know to be your correct username and password, please ensure that you have cookies enabled. If your cookies are already enabled or enabling them doesn't resolve this issue, try clearing the browser's cache. If you had requested your password to be reset, then your old password will immediately stop working. You need to wait for the reset password email from PopModal to arrive and follow the instructions.

— How do I confirm my email address?
Confirming your email address is required to perform many actions on PopModal, like uploading videos and posting comments. New members can follow the steps below to confirm your email

a) Once you've created your username in our Sign Up page we'll send a confirmation email to the address you entered.
b) Click the "Confirm your email address" link within that email. You can also copy and paste the provided link into your browser if you prefer.
c) You're done! You'll be directed to a confirmation page, and you can immediately begin exploring the site. If you don't receive the confirmation email within a few minutes, be sure to check your spam folder to make sure it wasn't filtered out. Emails should go out quickly but during heavy Internet use hours and on weekends, there may be a delay of an hour or two, caused by the Internet traffic and your email host.

— I never received my confirmation email. What happened?
If you do not receive the welcome or confirmation email, please check your Spam folder or Bulk mail folder. You can also try confirming your email again.

— I've confirmed my email address and I'm still having trouble. What should I do?
If you've confirmed your email address by clicking the link in the email you received and you're still having trouble, try deleting your browser's cache and cookies, refreshing your browser, and logging back in to PopModal.com. You may try to reset your password again at the Set a New Password page, or contact us.

— Username, Avatar and Passwords tips:

— Username: You may only change your username when you first join PopModal. We recommend not using your full name for your username. You may also adding extra numbers or letters either to the end or the beginning of your desired username. You cannot use special characters or spaces in your username. Use only alpha-numeric characters (ABCabc123).

— Avatar: You can always change your avatar image. Uploading an image for your Avatar should be in a 4:3 ratio.
These are good sizes:

— 120 x 90

— 160 x 120

— 240 x 180

— 320 x 240

— 360 x 270

— 400 x 300

— 460 x 340

— 640 x 480

— Password Changing: If you are already logged in, you can change your password at your My Profile page. Choose a good password. Your password must be a minimum of 6 characters and is case sensitive. Avoid using special characters (such as * & @) to ensure that your password is accepted. Make sure that when prompted to retype your password you use exactly the same type and case used to create it.

— I've been told I'm ineligible to register. Why is that?
If you receive a message stating that you are ineligible to register for PopModal.com, please review our Terms of Use for information on account eligibility.

— I've signed up for an account. Why isn't my username appearing in search results?
New accounts can take an hour or more to show up in search results after they've been created. Please be patient, your username will appear in the search index shortly.

— What system requirements are needed to watch videos on PopModal.com?
In order to watch videos on our site, make sure you have access to the following system requirements:

— Windows 2000 or newer with latest updates installed

— Mac OS X 10.3 or newer

— Linux all versions

— Macromedia Flash Player 7.0+ plug-in Download

— Latest Java Update Download

— Suggested Broadband connection with 500+ Kbps

— Browsers

— Firefox Download

— Internet Explorer 6.0 or newer Download

— Safari Download

— Google Chrome Download

— Opera Download

— Where can I report a security issue?
Security issues or security vulnerabilities are things like hacks or exploits on PopModal. They are NOT things like user harassment or other violations of our Terms of Use. If you think you've found a security issue or vulnerability on the PopModal site, please tell us about it here. We need to know the exact URL of a sample page, if possible, and we'd appreciate it if you could include a detailed description of the issue. Please use an email address where we can reach you if we need more information.

Note: If you need to report a user harassment or other violation of our Terms of Use, please contact us.

— How do I change language choice on the site?
To see the different language options available on PopModal.com, please select your language choice from the drop down menu at the top right of any page.

— How do I get my videos featured?
Videos will be viewed and rated by members of PopModal.com, and we will review the most watched videos and recent videos for consideration in the Featured Videos section of the home page and the featured videos on the "Categories" page. In the near future we will have a poll for the members to vote on the favorite videos to win prizes.

— What video file formats can I upload?
PopModal.com accepts a wide range of video file formats such as avi, mov, mpg, flv, wmv, mpeg, mp4, xvid, divx, 3gp, mkv, 3gpp, asf, rmvb, rm, dat and ogg. For the best results we recommend converting your file to MPEG4 video with 192 Kbps or higher MP3 audio or .mov quicktime files with Sorenson 3 video codec, IMA4:1 or PCM linear 44KHz audio. Please keep your original video smaller than 100MB.

— Can I change the thumbnails?
This option is being considered for a future upgrade. Please contact us and tell us that you want this feature. For now, if you have blank thumbnails, send us a note and we will change them.

— Do I have to sign up to upload videos?
Yes. Since videos are attached to your profile, you must sign up as a member to upload videos. Becoming a member also allows you to save videos, create favorites, and leave comments, among many other features.

— How do I make a video?
You'll need to have a digital camera or video camera. If your camera is fairly new, it should be easy to copy the video to your computer. From Video tapes or other film formats, you may need a specialized computer card / device to allow you to stream the video into your computer.
Once the files are on your computer, you may either upload them as-is or edit the video files first with software such as Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple iMovie, Windows Movie Maker ArcSoft ShowBiz. These programs will edit, add titles, special effects, soundtracks, change the file type, compress the file size, etc.
It's recommended that you make a version in a 4:3 format to upload to PopModal. This format will always show correctly immediately. Visitors can always adjust video playback for widescreen videos but this is not automatic. See answer to My video looks squeezed question above. Remember, the maximum video file size is 100 MB.
Recommended video sizes:

— 720 x 540 (progressive preferred) (if interlaced see note #1)

— 640 x 480 (see note #2)

— 480 x 360

— 400 x 300

— 360 x 270

— 320 x 240

Video sizes that need editing before uploading:

— 1920 x 1080 (see note #3)

— 1440 x 810 (see note #3)

— 1280 x 720 (see note #3)

— 960 x 540 (see note #3)

— 720 x 480 (rectangular pixels) (see notes #1 and #4)

— 360 x 240 (rectangular pixels) (see note #4)

— 320 x 240 (see note #4)

Video Size Notes:

— 1. DV resolution - 720 x 540 is often interlaced from when it was shot at 720 x 480. It is an error to stretch 720 x 480 interlaced to 720 x 540. A user has to force an editor software to do this. It is suggested, if possible, that you go back to the original 720 x 480 interlaced and follow the instructions in note #4 below and discard any interlaced 720 x 540 video.

— 2. Video resolution 640 x 480 is always interlaced. You can upload this to PopModal, but you may get jagged edges along contrasty lines, edges of people's shirts, sideways motion, moving cars, etc. It is suggested you remove the interlace in the video, before uploading the video.

There are two ways to do this:

— 1. Interlace removal by video size reduction:

— Reduce the size 50% to 320 x 240. This will automatically remove any interlace lines. Save the new video in the highest resolution possible that does not exceed 100 MB in size.

— 2. Interlace removal by line doubling or slight blur:

— Keep the full 640 x 480 and pass the video through a de-interlacing function. This is availabel on higher end video editors, Adobe Premier, After Effects, Final Cut Pro.

— 3. Very larger HD videos - These videos can convert correctly on PopModal but will be reduced to PopModal's default size for the player. Usually 720 x 405 is large enough to use for a high quality PopModal conversion.
If your video is original and you wish to highlight it as an HD PopModal featured video, please contact us for consideration to have your video presented in HD. HD examples.
If after upload you wish to view your video in widescreen on PopModal, see My video looks squeezed question above.

— 4. Rectangular pixel size (squashed video). DV video cameras record video for TV playback. The camera makes the video squashed by exactly 10% to playback correctly on standard TV's. If you do not adjust your video's height before using the video online, people in the video will appear squashed. (HD video does not have this problem - it can look stretched for another reason.) To fix this correctly, your choices are:

If the original video is 720 x 480 interlaced, you have to first remove the interlacing before you do anything else. Again, there are two methods:

— 1. Interlace removal by video size reduction:

— Reduce the size 50% to 320 x 240. This will automatically remove any interlace lines. Save the new video to a temp copy with no compression and label it with "full res" in the name.

— Take the "full res" 320 x 240 size video and stretch it to 320 x 270 to bring the video to it's correct height (This is also called changing rectangular 0.9 pixels to square pixels.) Save this video with some compression so it's size is under 100MB. .avi or mov Sorenson 3 with PCM audio 44MHz stereo is recommended.

— Upload the new edited video to PopModal.

— 2. Interlace removal by line doubling or slight blur:

— Keep the full 640 x 480 and pass the video through a de-interlacing function. This is availabel on higher end video editors, Adobe Premier, After Effects, Final Cut Pro.

— Save this video with some compression so it's size is under 100MB. .avi or mov Sorenson 3 with PCM audio 44MHz stereo is recommended.

— Upload the new edited video to PopModal.

— How do I upload a video?
Please make sure your video does not exceed 100MB in size, and in an acceptable format, you're ready to upload it.

— After login, click the Upload button.

— Complete the Title, Description, Tags, and Category fields. The more information you include, the easier it is for users to find your video!

— Hit the Browse button. Browse your computer for your video file.

— Set your video to Public or Private.

— Hit the Upload button. Depending on the size of your file it should take a few minutes to upload and convert your video file.

— How long does it take to process a video after it's been uploaded?
The processing time of your video varies greatly depending on the format of your original video, file size, and upload traffic. This could take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. If your video meets the minimum requirements and still won't upload, there may be a problem with the video compression you're using. For the best results we recommend converting your file to MPEG4 video, AVI video, Mov Sorenson 3 video with MP3 or PCM stereo audio.

— Is there a limit to how many videos I can upload?
There is no limit to the number of videos a member can upload.

— How long are my videos availabel on PopModal.com?
Videos stay on PopModal.com as long as you remain a member or whenever you choose to take them down.

— How long/large can my video be?
At this time, we are limiting your video to up to 100MB in size and 10 minutes long. This may change at a later time. (The 10 minute limit is suggested by Adobe, the owner of the flash format. Videos beyond 10 minutes need to be encoded with special key frames to keep the audio in sync.)

— Where can I find out more about advertising opportunities with PopModal?
If your company deals in areas that are of interest to the PopModal community and you have a campaign budget of at least $250, you can inquire further about advertising opportunities with PopModal here.

— Where can I find out more information about PopModal as a company?
You can read more about the company's history and purpose on the Company Info page located here.

— Search options:
There is a search box at the top of every page. Accepts groups, video and audio titles, descriptions, tags. Sorting the video collections and alphabetical searches are available on the Videos, Channels and My Videos pages.

— What can I change to my video after it's been uploaded and approved?
You cannot change uploaded video to any other video, however you can disable it from showing on PopModal and edit or add more information about your video. Simply login into your account and click on "My videos" link below top menu buttons. Browse your videos and click on "Remove" button to disable video or click on "Edit video" link to edit it.

— How do I close my account?
We're sorry that you are not happy with PopModal.com. Please contact us to tell us why you'd like to close your account. Be sure to include your username and email and we will erase your profile promptly.

Please contact us. for any other problems, issues or concerns.

— Glossary

— Account:
You can create a free account at Login
— Community:
The PopModal Community is comprised of our members that are registered users who can edit their profiles, upload and share videos and communicate with other users.
— Channels:
A video can belong to one of several topic areas, called Channels.
— Group:
Groups allows users to share videos and have discussions on a common theme. They can be found under the Groups tab.
— Comment:
A text response to a video.
— Embedding:
You can have PopModal videos appear inside other webpages and blogs. The code for this is on each video page beside the video.
— Flag as Inappropriate:
If you believe a video violates Terms of Use, you may flag it from the video page. Our administrators review all flagged videos.
— Friends:
You can invite other users to be your friends. This allows you to share private videos with each other. You can send invitations to a friend after login.
— Private Video:
You can upload videos as private. These won't appear in search results, and can only be seen by your friends.
— Rate:
You can rate videos by clicking the stars. More red is better. You must be logged in to use this feature.

— Enabling cookies:

— Enable cookies for Internet Explorer 7 & 8

—Click "Start" and select "Control Panel". (Note: With Windows XP Classic View, click the Windows "Start" button, then select "Settings" and "Control Panel").

— Open the Internet Options icon.

— Choose the "Privacy" tab.

— Click the "Advanced" button.

— Check the box "Override automatic cookie handling" under the Cookies section in the Advanced Privacy Settings window.

— Under First-party Cookies, select the "Accept" or "Prompt" option.

— Under Third-party Cookies, select the "Accept" or "Prompt" option. ? (Note: If you select the "Prompt" option you will be prompted every time a Web site attempts to send you a cookie to click "OK".)

— In the Internet Options window, click "OK" to exit.

— If this doesn't solve the issue, try: Clear the cache for Internet Explorer

— Enable cookies for Internet Explorer 6

— Click "Start" and select "Control Panel" (Note: With Windows XP Classic View, click the Windows "Start" button and select "Settings" and "Control Panel")

— Select the "Privacy" tab.

— Click the "Advanced" button.

— Place a check in the "Override Automatic Cookie Handling" check box.

— Under First Party Cookies, select the "Accept" or "Prompt" option.

— Under Third Party Cookies, select the "Accept" or "Prompt" option.
(Note: If you select the "Prompt" option you will be prompted every time a Web site attempts to send you a cookie to click "OK".)
— In the Internet Options window, click "OK" to exit.

— If this doesn't solve the issue, try: Clear the cache for Internet Explorer 6.

— Enable cookies for Mozilla Firefox 2.x (PC)

— In Mozilla Firefox, select "Tools" from the file menu.

— Select "Options".

— Click on the "Privacy" icon in the top panel.

— Check the box corresponding to "Accept cookies from sites".

— Click "OK" to save and close.

— If this doesn't solve the issue, try: Clear the cache for Firefox 2.x (PC).

— Enable cookies for Mozilla Firefox 1.x (PC)

— In Mozilla Firefox, select "Tools" from the file menu.

— Select "Options".

— Click on the "Privacy" icon in the top panel.

— Click on the "Cookies" tab.

— Check the "Allow sites to set cookies" checkbox.

— Click "OK" to save and close.

— If this doesn't solve the issue, try: Clear the cache for Firefox 1.x (PC).

— Enable cookies for Mozilla Firefox (Mac)

— Go to the "Firefox" drop down menu.

— Select "Preferences".

— Select the "Privacy" icon.

— Under "Cookies", mark the checkbox for "Allow sites to set Cookies".

— If this doesn't solve the issue, try: Clear the cache for Firefox (Mac).

— Enable cookies for Safari

— Go to the "Safari" drop down menu.

— Select "Preferences".

— Select the "Security" icon at the top panel.

— Under "Accept Cookies" section select "Only from sites you navigate to".

— If this doesn't solve the issue, try: Clear the cache for Safari.

— Clearing the browser's cache
If your cookies were already enabled or enabling cookies doesn't resolve the problem, you may also want to clear the cookies that are stored on your computer (Please note that while clearing your cookies may resolve the problem, it will also remove your saved settings for sites you've previously visited.) To find out how to clear the cache, click your browser:

— Clear the cache for Internet Explorer 7 & 8

— Click "Start" and select "Control Panel"? (Note: With Windows XP Classic View click the Windows "Start" button and select "Settings" and "Control Panel").

— Open the "Internet Options" icon.

— Click on the "General" tab if it isn't selected already.

— Under the Browsing history section, click the "Delete" button.

— Click the "Delete cookies" button.

— Select "Yes" if a box appears to confirm.

— Click "OK" to close the window.

— Clear the cache for Internet Explorer 6

— Click "Start" and select "Control Panel"? (Note: Windows XP Classic View click the Windows "Start" button and select "Settings" and "Control Panel")

— Open the "Internet Options" icon.

— Click on the "General" tab if it isn't selected already.

— Under the heading "Temporary Internet files," click the "Delete Cookies..." button.

— Click "OK" for the "Delete all cookies in the Temporary Internet Files folder?" prompt.

— Click "OK" to exit.

— Clear the cache for Mozilla Firefox 2.x (PC)

— In Mozilla Firefox, select "Tools" from the file menu.

— Select "Options".

— Under the "Private Data" heading, click the "Clear Now" button.

— Click "OK" to exit.

— Clear the cache for Mozilla Firefox 1.x (PC)

— In Mozilla Firefox, select "Tools" from the file menu.

— Select "Options".

— Click on the "Privacy" icon in the top panel.

— Click on the "Cookies" tab.

— Check the "Clear Cookies Now" button.

— Click "OK" to save and close.

— Clear the cache for Mozilla Firefox (Mac)

— Go to the "Firefox" drop down menu.

— Select "Preferences."

— Select the "Privacy" icon.

— In version 1.5, click "Clear Cache Now." In 1.0, next to "Cache," click the "Clear" button, and then "OK." In 2.0, click on the "Clear Now" button under the "Private Data" heading.

— Clear the cache for Safari

— Go to the "Safari" drop down menu.

— Select "Preferences".

— Select the "Security" icon at the top panel.
04. From the Security dialog box, click "Bookmarks".
— Click "Show Cookies".
06. From the Cookie dialog box, click to choose cookies from youtube.com, and click "Remove". Alternatively, if you want to delete all cookies, click "Remove All".
— Click "Done".

If you need additional help or to access a stuck account please contact us.

Help & FAQ

Changes in Flash Videos at YouTube:

Higher quality mp4 videos from YouTube can still be uploaded and converted at PopModal:

Use YouTube embed code instead of uploading a video:

Embed options:

Download a video from a non YouTube site: