Help / FAQ / Video
What is video on Flickr?
Video on Flickr is going to be defined by our incredible, diverse, far-flung and fabulously talented members. Some answers that we’ve come up with:
- A long photo
- Personal
- Simple – not overproduced or slick
- Possibly the best answer so far: The Great Unknown
Some ground rules to get started:
- Only “safe” and “moderate” video content is permitted. Your “beautiful wife” should not be moving. (Read more about content filters.)
- Only upload videos you have created yourself.
If you go against either of these rules, we’ll send you a warning and the content will be removed.
What have you done? I don’t want video on my Flickr!
We have tried to include video on Flickr gently. Videos will show up anywhere photos do (in search results, photostreams, Explore, RSS feeds, etc) but they won’t play automatically. On the page that displays a video, it’s set to play automatically by default, but there’s a setting available in Your Account if you’d rather start it playing yourself.
So, the only difference is that you will also be able to click play on some of the images you see.
As a result of community feedback, we've added an option to exclude videos from search results. Videos will still show when you browse photostreams and group pools. This will just make them not show in searches.
Why is there a time limit of 90 seconds?
Video on Flickr grew out of the idea of “long photos” and as such, we’ve implemented what might seem like an arbitrary limit of playing back the first 90 seconds of a video. 90 seconds?
We’re not trying to limit your artistic freedom, we’re trying something new. Everyone has endured that wedding video, where even the bride will fast-forward to the “good bit.”
Just try it! It’s fun once you get the hang of it.
Can I upload HD video to Flickr?
Yes you can! Anyone can upload HD (High-definition) video but the option to view in HD will only show on pro accounts. If you have a free account you can still upload in HD. We keep the original file so if you ever decide to upgrade the HD option will automagically appear.
What is HD?
HD refers to High-definition video which has more lines of resolution and generally looks more beauteous than standard video. HD video on Flickr is 720p (just like HDTV) which means that there are 720 pixels of vertical resolution in the video.
That's it! Nothing too fancy, it basically just means higher quality video.
A quick technical note: Because we show HD in 720p, if you are shooting video that is interlaced it is a good idea to de-interlace it first.
Why isn't this video in HD?
HD videos have to be recorded in HD so not every video will have the HD button. Not all cameras can shoot in HD. But if yours does, you can share it on Flickr in all its brilliance.
The other reason a video might not be in HD is that only pro accounts have HD playback. If you have some High-def videos that you would like to share on Flickr you might want to consider upgrading.
Can I put background music on my clips?
If you are interested in adding a soundtrack to your video, there’s lots of great music available through Creative Commons that won't get you in trouble for copyright infringement. If you do use background music, per CC licensing requirements available on Flickr, you'll need to attribute the music you use by mentioning and linking to the artist, or the CC page you found it on.
Here are some online resources you might like to try:
http://soundcloud.com/
http://ccmixter.org/
http://search.creativecommons.org/
http://www.jamendo.com/
http://www.musopen.com/
Is video available to everyone?
Yes! anyone can view the videos on Flickr and any member can upload, although free members are limited to 2 video uploads per month.
If you have a free account and tons of video to share, you might like to upgrade to pro.
Where do my videos show up?
Video will display alongside photos in search results, within new uploads from friends, in Explore, on the Map, in RSS feeds, and anywhere else that you are used to finding photos.
There will be some parts of Flickr where you can choose that you’d like to see either photos or video, or both, like Advanced Search. We’ve also improved group pool submission rules so group admins can specify whether they’d like their group pool to include photos, or video, or both.
Are there any upload limits on videos?
Free account holders can upload 2 videos a month. If you’re a pro member, your account has unlimited bandwidth and storage space which includes video content.
But! Individual video files must be smaller than 150MB in size for free members and 500MB for Pro members (more because Pro members can upload HD video).
Any member can upload HD video but it will only show as HD if your account is pro. We keep the original though, so if you upload an HD video to your free account it will be available in HD if you decide to upgrade later.
Can I upload my 3-hour-long wedding video?
No.
We’ve instituted what might seem like an arbitrary time limit for video playback on Flickr: 90 seconds.
You can still upload a video that’s longer than 90 seconds, but only the first 90 seconds will play.
How do I upload a video?
There’s no difference! You upload video the same way you upload photos, using the web uploadr.
Just like photos, you need to moderate your video. We’ve created 3 new content types specific to video: "normal" videos, screencasts, and animations/CGI. You can set a default for this in your preferences.
I’m having trouble uploading my videos? How can I troubleshoot?
If you’re having trouble with video upload, try to re-save your video as a different video format.
Here's a list of file formats we accept:
- AVI (Proprietary codecs may not work)
- WMV
- MOV (AVID or other proprietary codecs may not work)
- MPEG (1, 2, and 4)
- 3gp
- M2TS
- OGG
- OGV
What are the functions of the video player on Flickr?
The player controls and indicators are:
- Play
- Pause
- The progress bar shows the caching of the video stream. You can also click and drag to rewind or skip ahead
- Volume
- HD Video (when available)
- Expand to Full Size
- At Full Size, Collapse to previous size/context
I can’t get videos to play! Arghh?
First, you need to make sure you have Flash installed, because the video player is a Flash movie. Download the free Flash Player?
If you have Flash installed and videos still won’t play:
* Try reloading the page
You do this by holding down the shift button on your keyboard and hitting the reload button on your browser.
* You may need to reinstall Flash on your computer
Step 1 is to uninstall any previous version of Flash (uninstall directions). Then, you should download the most recent version of the Flash Player and install it (download).
If the problem still persists, try searching The Help Forum or Get Help.
How do I embed a video?
To get the code to embed a video just use the Share menu above the video, to the right of the Actions menu. You can choose a size and whether or not to include the owner’s name and the title of the video as an introduction to the video itself. Based on your choices, a little snippet of code will be generated for you that you can cut and paste, and insert into another web page, or blog post.
You should also know that all the same sharing permissions exist for video that exist for photos.
Can I edit my video on Flickr?
No, but there are a ton of other ways out there.
For Windows: More about Movie Maker (free with Windows Service Pack 2)
For Mac: iMovie
Can I search for just video?
Well, as a matter of fact, you can. When you head for Advanced Search you’ll see that you can constrain your searches to look for both photos and video, just photos, just video, or even just animations or illustrations.
I’d like to keep video out of my group pool. Can I do that?
Yes! We've added a few more tools for group administrators to filter their group pools, like the ability to say ‘I just want photos’, or ‘I just want safe content’ and the like. (More info about group moderation.)
Can I download a video?
If you own a Flickr Pro account, you can only download original versions of your videos. To download a video click "Actions" and then "Download original file". Other people can grab the code to embed your video in a web page, provided they have permission, but can’t “download” them.
Why won’t the video play smoothly?
We’ve seen that people on slower connections or a crusty old computer may experience difficulty playing video online. You might like to consider an upgrade!
Videos don’t need to download completely before they start playing, so if your video seems to be playing faster than it’s downloading, just hit pause to let it download fully.
Sometimes video playback can be a little glitchy anyway, so if it feels weird, you could also try reloading the page, or press “pause” then “play” again. (We’re working on this.)
Can I choose the thumbnail for my video?
Not yet. Right now, we choose the thumbnail from about the first 15% in.
Why do my video uploads keep timing out?
Video files are often much larger than image files, so are more likely to time out or not upload all the way. This is most often a problem if you have a slow internet connection or your connection is “flaky.”
If you are having trouble uploading large batches of videos you may have to try using smaller batches until you find what works with your connection. For more help with uploading please see the Photos FAQ.
How do I separate my videos from my photos?
Since video is ‘just another sort of upload’, there’s no separate view for them in your account. Your photostream is a blend of everything you upload, sorted by most recent.
If you’d like to group your videos together, you might like to make a set, or use a specific tag, like “video”.
Can I embed a video or photo in a comment?
Yes! To embed a video or photo in a comment or group discussion, all you have to do is put the URL to the video or photo page in [square brackets]. For example, to put this video in a comment, write this in the comment box:
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/quicksilver/2380204525/]
Voila!
(psst! want to see what other HTML you can use?)