FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

How long will it take to integrate PhotoShow into our site?

You can have basic PhotoShow integration up and running on your site in less than 30 minutes.

Can users access photos that they already have stored in our service?

Yes. Your users will be able to quickly and easily create a PhotoShow using the photos already stored with your service in their account or profile. If they have no photos stored with your service, they can select photos to upload from their computer.

Can users access photos from photo sharing sites like Flickr and PhotoBucket?

Import from Flickr, PhotoBucket, and possibly other photo sites is currently planned for early 2008.

Can users add video to their PhotoShows?

Users cannot include video clips in PhotoShows they create using the PhotoShow widget, but they can create PhotoShows that include video using PhotoShow 5 software.

How much space on the page is required for the PhotoShow authoring widget?

None. The PhotoShow authoring widget is housed in a new browser window which can be launched from any button or link on your site.

What are PhotoShow DVDs?

PhotoShow DVDs turn PhotoShows into beautiful keepsakes that will last a lifetime. PhotoShow DVDs are manufactured to meet the highest standards of DVD production, and each PhotoShow DVD includes personalized packaging with photos and titles selected and customized by the user. The PhotoShow viewer widget makes it easy for any PhotoShow viewer to order the show they are currently watching on PhotoShow DVD.

Where does the user store their photos? On our servers, or on Simple Star’s servers?

There are two possibilities:

1. If users have already uploaded photos to your servers, they can access those pictures to use in their PhotoShows. Photos a user adds to a PhotoShow will then be copied to our servers to ensure proper playback of that show.

2. If users want to upload new photos for inclusion in their show, the PhotoShow Authoring Widget provides the ability to upload pictures to the PhotoShow servers.

Users can select from either option, and can mix pictures from both servers in a single PhotoShow if they choose.

Will we need to host any code on our own servers?

No. The PhotoShow Viewing Widget is delivered into your site’s web pages through <embed> code. The PhotoShow Authoring Widget is also integrated into your site through <embed> code. With the widget architecture, your engineers will not need to host any Simple Star code on your servers.

When a user creates a new PhotoShow, where is the end result hosted?

The PhotoShow itself is stored on PhotoShow servers. It appears on your web pages via <embed> code.

What format is the finished PhotoShow?

The finished PhotoShow is a swf playing in a Flash player delivered into your pages via embedded HTML code. Here is an example:

<object width="350" height="284">
<param name="movie" value="http://widgets.qa.photoshow.com/publish/uJ5TV3dd.swf?w=350&#038;m=0&#038;htm=5&#038;autoPlayback=false" />
<embed src="http://widgets.qa.photoshow.com/publish/uJ5TV3dd.swf?w=350&#038;m=0&#038;htm=5&#038;autoPlayback=false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="350" height="284">
</embed>
</object>

When a user creates a new show, the specific embed code for that show is provided through a POST callback to your servers.

How is it technically possible to integrate our online media into the PhotoShow widget? What kind of interface is it?

There is a REST interface to provide lists of JPG pictures to PhotoShow. The PhotoShow Authoring Widget does not currently support video or audio media. We anticipate adding those capabilities sometime in 2008.

What happens if something isn’t working correctly with the PhotoShow widget. Who is responsible in such cases?

Simple Star is responsible for the PhotoShow servers, but not for your servers. Simple Star is implementing an on-demand scalable infrastructure to help ensure high performance as product usage grows. If a server is slow or unavailable, only the specific feature being provided by that server would be affected. With the widgets architecture, other uses of the site would continue normally.

For example:

• If the PhotoShow Authoring Widget service isn't working correctly, users wouldn't be able to create new PhotoShows. But PhotoShow viewing and the remainder of their use would be unaffected.

• If your online service that provides users with access to their photos isn't working correctly, users wouldn't be able to add online pictures to their PhotoShows. However, they would still be able to upload photos through the PhotoShow Authoring Widget.

What is if a bug appears? Who is responsible for fixing it?

Simple Star is responsible for fixing bugs in the PhotoShow widgets; you are responsible for fixing bugs in the integration of those widgets into your site.

Can I customize the appearance of the PhotoShow widgets on my site?

The widgets have a number of customization options which you can configure in the embed code, including playback size, auto playback, volume muting, etc.

How many accounts does a user need in order to create or view a PhotoShow?

Users creating a PhotoShow will need an account on your site to get to the page embedding the PhotoShow Authoring Widget. (We assume. This is actually up to you; you could conceivably make PhotoShow authoring available to all visitors to your site, registered or not.)

No accounts of any type are required to view a PhotoShow. (Again, though, this is up to you, as you control access to the pages where the viewing widget is embedded. You might, for example, let users place some PhotoShows in "private" areas of their profiles, where they are only accessible to friends.)

I have a suggestion for a new feature. Want to hear it?

Definitely! Simple Star is committed to rapidly evolving the capabilities and features of PhotoShow Widgets, based on feedback from end users and sites integrating the widgets. You can post your suggestions in the Developer Forum, or you can email us directly at widgets@simplestar.com.