Client Support Center FAQs
The following are questions frequently asked of our support departments.
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What is a merchant account?
Why do I have to have a CCBill account?
Can I re-bill?
How is the billing system installed on my server?
When will the service be fully functional?
Can you explain the security deposits to me?
How am I protected from fraudulent transactions?
My company is based outside of the United States, do I still need a US Tax ID number?
When will I receive a payment?
If a United States holiday falls on a Monday, will this effect my payment?
Can customers use an ATM card to sign up?
Can I enter the credit card information for my consumer?
Will I be billed if a refund is issued to a consumer?
What is a “Negative Database”?
Can you bill consumers who live outside of the United States?
Can I choose my own prices, or is everything pre-set?
Can I use the billing option if my site is physically located outside of the United States?
How can I see the sales generated from my site?
Can I sell tangible goods on my site?
Do you offer recurring billing?
Can I use the same User Name and Password for all of my consumers?
Am I restricted to just monthly subscriptions?
Do you offer an affiliate program?
What is considered high-risk content?
Can I use your billing service if I am selling high-risk content?
If I use CCBill, is all of the data stored on their servers?
I’m using CCBill for my billing, how can I develop my content if CCBill requires pre-approval of the content?
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Do I need to buy additional software to use the billing solution?
How do I re-direct new subscriptions to my members’ area?
Where should I point my “join” link?
What do I do if my CGI scripts are not working?
I would like to extend a consumer’s subscription. Where can I manually add this?
My sign up page does not reload after I make changes to it. What should I do?
How do I set prices?
How do I package my content?
What if I want to pay for the credits for my consumers?
What if I want to apply more than one DRM Rule to content?
What is an SKU?
Can I change DRM Rules without re-packaging the content?
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My password isn’t working, how can I re-set it?
How can I cancel my subscription?
I’d like to email my credit card number to EC Suite, who can I send it to?
What will appear on my credit card statement for this purchase?
How do I look up my account information?
My credit card is not working, why is this?
I clicked the submit button twice, will I be billed twice?
What is a Subscription ID number?
What is a CVV2 code and where can I find mine?
What types of payment are accepted?
The content I purchased will not play, what should I do?
What is the “CT Tool”?
If I use the CT Tool, are you collecting information about my computer?
Where can I download a current version of Windows Media Player?
My computer crashed and I don’t have a back-up of the content that I purchased. Is there any way for me to restore the data?
I’m using the CT Tool to verify my system compatibility with EC Suite encoded media and the CT Tool has become non-responsive. How do I resolve this?
General
Do I have to do anything to enable the new features on my account?
Many of the new features will be available to you the first time that you log in. The billing and hosting functions will need to be activated. Please contact your sales associate so that they may assist you with enabling these features.
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Do these features cost me more money?
There may be additional fees involved with some of the services. The billing option does not have any out-of-pocket fees to start up, but there is a transaction-based service fee.
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What is the difference between a client and a consumer?
Because EC Suite provides services to both web masters and end-users, we use different terms to differentiate between the two. The term “client” indicates the person or entity who owns the web site or the content. The term “consumer” refers to the end-user—the person who is purchasing the content that our clients provide. We strive to provide the highest quality service to clients and consumers alike. To us, both terms are synonymous with VIP—“Very Important Person”!
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How reliable is the EC Suite system?
EC Suite uses RAID 5 storage technology with redundancy servers. A system backup is performed every ten minutes and our servers are housed in a climate-controlled datacenter with a diesel generator power backup. We have multiple and redundant connectivity to the Internet at multiple access points and only use top-quality equipment and services for our transaction processing and site hosting. Our outstanding team of engineers monitors all of our equipment 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to ensure that your equipment meets your high standards.
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How can I change my account information?
Changes to account information need to be forwarded to EC Suite in a signed fax to 480.449.8807. For security reasons we cannot accept account change requests over the phone or via email. Any changes to names, addresses, or payment transfers will be reflected on the first check after we have entered the change in our records.
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How can EC Suite help my business?
EC Suite is a valuable partner that can secure and package your product, offer you billing and payment services to simplify and streamline your business transactions, and package all of it together with a highly reliable hosting package designed to meet virtually all of your electronic needs, leaving you free to focus on the more pressing aspects of your business. Time is money, and we take pride in playing our part in growing your business and giving you more time to do the things that you need to do to stay competitive in today’s digital world.
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What does EC Suite do?
EC Suite can do more than you think!
- Packaging: EC Suite will secure your media by adding encrypted codes to the content designed to allow you to control who can use it, when they can use it, how much it costs, and how long they can use it. Keys are then issued to consumers for that content based on the rules that you applied when you packaged the content.
- Billing: Your content is important to you. You want to share it with the world, but not for free. You need a solid billing option that takes every major credit card and pays you quickly for the transactions. That’s where our new billing feature comes in. We offer weekly payments to you and we accept AMEX, Visa, MasterCard, JCB, and bank debit cards embossed with a Visa or MasterCard logo. With multiple payment options you have access to a broader base of customers who have the ability to access—and pay for—your content.
- Hosting: Your content needs to be hosted on a server that is reliable and well cared for. Your content can’t make you money if your customers only get an error message trying to access the media. We can offer you a hosting package tailored to meet your needs with some of the fastest transfer rates in the business, all hosted in a climate-controlled building with highly skilled technicians on-call 24 hours a day.
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What can consumers do with my files after downloading them?
Only what you want them to do. With EC Suite you are in charge of your content and what your consumers can do with it once they’ve received a license. You can restrict how many times they can play the content, whether they can burn the files to a CD, the length of play, how many days they can access the content for, and even which IP addresses they can play it from! With EC Suite YOU are in control of everything.
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How do you protect my content?
When you use our service to package your content we are essentially locking your content. Your customers must then receive a key in order to be able to use the content. When a consumer tries to access a protected file they are shown a Splash Screen that allows them to purchase the content (or otherwise satisfy the licensing restrictions) based on the restrictions that you have set up using MediaManager3.
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What variables are used to issue a license?
There are an infinite number of variables that can be used to issue a license for encrypted content. You can use MediaManager3 to create SKU’s that require a consumer to provide payment, email information, view an advertisement, etc… Also, you can set up your own online database that MediaManager3 can use to verify information against. The combinations are endless!
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How are licenses issued?
When a consumer tries to access encrypted content that content calls to EC Suite for a license. The license server then checks the variables that you have previously set up and determines if those variables have been met. Once the server verifies that the license criteria have been met (based on the model that you set up as well as any database verification variables that you have applied), a license is then issued to the consumer according to the rules previously defined by you.
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Can you explain the Credit Wallet system to me?
A Credit Wallet works similarly to buying ride tickets at a carnival. A consumer purchases a “book” of credits (tickets) at a pre-determined price. You then set the prices for your content (rides) based on how many credits (tickets) it should cost to access the content. So, if credits are $2 each and you want to charge $6 to access the file you would charge 3 credits for media access.
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Do you handle hosting?
Yes. Our system is designed to fully integrate all of our services—packaging, licensing, billing, storage, and hosting. We will work with you to provide a package that meets all of your electronic business needs.
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Do you only host media files, or can I host my entire site with you?
We can handle any hosting needs that you may have from digital content to hundreds of web sites.
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Can I use third-party billers?
Currently all clients with general public content may use our billing service. At this time we are not able to integrate with any other third-party billers.
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What platforms do you support?
We support any platform that will work with both Windows Media Player and Windows Media Encoder. There is a version of Windows media Player available for all current Microsoft and Apple operating systems. You will also need to have the current Java Runtime Environment on a Windows platform to access the MediaManager3 Interface.
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Can I control the digital rights for live streams?
Additional technology is currently being developed in partnership with Microsoft that will allow the protection of live content in supported environments.
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What if I just want you to handle the Digital Rights?
You are welcome to use EC Suite just for packaging and licensing content. Typically this is done with free content or content that is secured within a membership area. For security reasons we are not able to offer this solution with the Pay-Per-View or Credit Wallet business models without processing payments for you as well.
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How do I control password theft?
There are several ways to manage password theft and therefore prevent unauthorized users from accessing your content. You can lock the ability to copy files to CD, restrict licenses to the same IP address the license was issued to, or choose a list of IP addresses that are authorized to access the content, among other measures.
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What restrictions can I set for my content?
Our system allows you to restrict access in two ways—who can receive content and what the user can do with the content.
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Billing
What is a merchant account?
A merchant account is established directly with a bank and requires credit approval and setup fees. A merchant account holder assumes all liability for transactions that it processes. By using our billing service (or that of CCBill for high-risk merchants) you can avoid the fees and hassle of setting up these accounts and paying setup and processing fees. We take care of all of that for you, and you can get right down to business.
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Why do I have to have a CCBill account?
If your content falls into a high-risk category, EC Suite is unable to process transactions due to the high risk of chargebacks associated with these types of transactions. DRM Networks has partnered with CCBill to address the billing needs of those clients who offer high-risk content.
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Can I re-bill?
Yes, you can re-bill for items that are on a Marketing or Membership model. The Pay-Per-View models and Token models do not allow re-billing; instead the consumer chooses when to re-purchase access to the media.
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How is the billing system installed on my server?
EC Suite will perform the installation of our system to your server, which is why we request FTP information when you sign up for the service. There is no additional cost to you for this service, and it allows you access our database containing your consumer information.
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I just signed up, when will the service be fully functional?
Your account should be completely set up within 48 business hours of registration, but VISA registration may take additional time to process. You will receive a welcome e-mail once we have completed the setup process that will include your Username, Password, and account number.
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Can you explain the security deposits to me?
EC Suite will retain 5% of your check each week as a “holdback”. This deposit acts as insurance against chargebacks or refunds that may occur on your account. Any amount not used for chargebacks or refunds will be paid out to you 26 weeks after the withholding in your weekly check.
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How am I protected from fraudulent transactions?
EC Suite uses a state-of-the-art fraud protections system—called “scrubbing”—to determine the likelihood that transactions will chargeback before the transaction occurs. This employs several methods, including a negative database, address verifications, CVV2 code request, and other methods.
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My company is based outside of the United States, do I still need a US Tax ID number?
No, this is only required for our clients with companies based inside of the United States. You will, however, be required to present articles of incorporation or other documentation that proves that you have registered with your government as a business and are licensed to conduct business in that country.
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When will I receive a payment?
EC Suite sends payments out the second Monday following the end of the billing cycle. Our billing cycle runs from 12:00 AM Sunday to 11:59 PM Saturday, Mountain Standard Time (Arizona).
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If a United States holiday falls on a Monday, will this effect my payment?
Yes. Because EC Suite relies on the United States Postal Service (USPS), United Parcel Service (UPS), Federal Express (FedEx), and financial processing companies, payments will be delayed when a holiday falls on a Monday. Checks will be sent the first business day after the holiday.
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Can customers use an ATM card to sign up?
Not unless the card has a Visa or MasterCard symbol displayed on the front of the card. At this time the system is not set up to allow consumers to enter a PIN to access their bank accounts.
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Can I enter the credit card information for my consumer?
No, it is against our policy to allow clients to enter consumer’s information. Our servers are set up to securely store credit card information in accordance with credit card company guidelines to protect both clients and consumers.
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Will I be billed if a refund is issued to a consumer?
No, we do not charge clients for refunds; however you will still be charged a transaction fee in accordance with our policies.
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What is a “Negative Database”?
We use a Negative Database to protect our clients against chargebacks. Any consumer who generates a chargeback and then tries to gain access to the site again will not be able to access your content.
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Can you bill consumers who live outside of the United States?
Yes, any consumer who holds a Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or JCB account anywhere in the world (excluding countries that may be blocked because of the high risk of chargebacks) can use our billing service to pay for access to your content.
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Can a partial refund be given for a credit card charge?
No, our billing service does not permit partial refunds.
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Can I choose my own prices, or is everything pre-set?
Our billing system allows you full control over all of your pricing options. You can change the dollar amounts at any time simply by making the change on the signup form. The dollar amount must be at least $2.95 and no more than $99.99 (unless prior approval has been given for you to charge more).
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Can I use the billing option if my site is physically located outside of the United States?
Yes! Sites anywhere in the world that need a digital rights and billing solution can use our services! However, EC Suite can only pay out in U. S. Dollars, and cannot be responsible for discrepancies in currency conversion rates.
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How can I see the sales generated from my site?
EC Suite offers un-equaled administrative utilities that allow you to track sales for your account and all sub-accounts through one easy-to-use interface. Just log into the EC Suite Admin Portal and choose the Billing option from the navigation menu.
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Can I sell tangible goods on my site?
EC Suite does not allow billing for tangible goods on your site at this time. Please refer to the Acceptable Use Policies and your Terms & Conditions for further information.
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Do you offer recurring billing?
Yes, we do. In a recurring billing situation your customer would be automatically re-billed each month. This billing setup is ideal for subscription-based content, allowing customers full access to your content for a monthly subscription fee. Please consult the Online Help or End-User Manual for further information about setting up recurring billing.
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Can I use the same User Name and Password for all of my consumers?
No, this would leave you open to fraud and password trading; therefore we require that each consumer have a unique Username and Password. Our automated Password Protection Software adds and removes Usernames and Passwords to and from the database to ensure uniqueness, prevent fraud, and allow access only to those consumers who have acquired the proper license and paid the fees for use.
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Am I restricted to just monthly subscriptions?
NO! With EC Suite's billing options, you can mix and match billing services that are tailored to meet your needs! Choose from single-view to weekly, monthly, or even yearly subscriptions with unlimited re-billing options and introductory membership offers—everything you need in a billing solution is at your fingertips!
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Do you offer an affiliate program?
Yes, we do!
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What is considered high-risk content?
The high-risk category of content includes anything of an adult nature that is not suitable for general audiences.
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Can I use your billing service if I am selling high-risk content?
No. We cannot offer billing for high-risk merchants at this time. However, our partner, CCBill, can offer you billing services for this type of content, and we can still continue to offer you encryption and licensing services.
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If I use CCBill, is all of the data stored on their servers?
CCBill passes the subscription information to our database, so we can track separately end-users as well as tokens purchased and used. This information is stored in an encrypted form for extra security.
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I’m using CCBill for my billing, how can I develop my content if CCBill requires pre-approval of the content?
CCBill will make an exception for DRM Networks clients. You still must follow their Terms and Conditions and Acceptable Use Policies, but the account will be installed and you will be able to test billing during development. You will not, however, be able to process live consumers until the site has been reviewed and approved by CCBill.
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Technical
Do I need to buy additional software to use the billing solution?
Typically you do not. Our system is designed to issue Usernames and Passwords. A windows-based server may need an authenticator, but you should contact us before purchasing any software as alternatives may be available.
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How do I re-direct new subscriptions to my members’ area?
From the Navigation Menu choose Billing>Tools>Account Maintenance>Account Admin. Choose the appropriate sub-account website from the account list in the View Sub-account List report. Click Basic. Type the URL that points to your root directory or members’ area start page in the Approval URL text box.
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Where should I point my “join” link?
The join link should point to the “index.htm” page, ex: www.yourdomain.com/bill/index.htm.
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What do I do if my CGI scripts are not working?
For CGI scripts to work you must have PERL installed on your server and the permissions on the CGI script must have permissions set to “executable.” If you have recently changed servers the DNS may not have propagated and you may be viewing the wrong site. You can try browsing to the IP Address instead of the domain name. In your Internet browser address bar put in your servers’ IP address (i. e. 127.0.0.1 instead of www.yourdomain.com). If after performing these steps the CGI scripts still appear non-functional, please contact clientsupport@ecsuite.com for further assistance.
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I would like to extend a consumer’s subscription. Where can I manually add this?
From the Webmaster Admin System click Billing>Reports>Members>Active Members. You will see a link called Manual Add where you can add this information.
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My sign up page does not reload after I make changes to it. What should I do?
We store a copy of your signup form on our server, so it is imperative that whenever you make changes to the signup form you clear the cache so that our server will retrieve the new form from your website. Go to the Navigation Menu and click Billing>Tools>Account Mainenance>Account Admin. Choose the appropriate sub-account and click Form Admin. Select a form from the Form Library in the View Form List reports. Click the Reset Form link to clear the cache.
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How do I set prices?
From the Navigation Menu click Billing>Tools>Account Maintenance> Account Admin. Choose the appropriate sub-account from the Account List and click the Pricing Admin link. Choose the billing types that you want (recurring or single) and perform a test signup for all billing options to make certain that you have set the correct amounts.
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What if I want to pay for the credits for my consumers?
Many of our corporate and association clients wish to pay for the delivery of the content and yet still want to secure the content. This custom feature is offered by EC Suite.
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What if I want to apply more than one DRM Rule to content?
Content must be re-packaged to offer the content in multiple access formats because the rules for that format are packaged with the file. For example: If you want one file to be offered in both Video on Demand and Token formats, you would need to package that content twice, once for each format.
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What is an SKU?
An SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) is the method that we use to determine how to sell content. When you set up an SKU you are telling us how to distribute the content being packaged. For example: You have a video that you want consumers to pay for every 30 days, but you also want to use the same video on a different web site and give your consumers a chance to buy the video and the right to burn that video to a disc 3 times. In this situation you would package the content twice, once for each payment model, so that when a consumer accesses the content from one site we charge them appropriately based on the SKU associated with the file.
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Can I change DRM Rules without re-packaging the content?
You may associate a license with an SKU and an SKU with a piece of content at any time. If access has already been purchased, it will continue to function under the old SKU, but all new purchases with be associated with the new SKU.
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Consumer FAQ
My password isn’t working, how can I re-set it?
Please ensure that you are typing in the password correctly, remembering that our system is case-sensitive. If you are still unsure of your password, please visit https://support.ecsuite.com to look up the information. You will be required to verify your subscription by providing additional account information before your password can be retrieved or changed.
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How can I cancel my subscription?
There are two ways that you can cancel a subscription:
- If you know your Subscription ID number and Username, fill out the Subscription ID Form to cancel your subscription
- If you have forgotten your Subscription ID number or Username, you can use the Account Form to cancel your subscription
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I’d like to email my credit card number to EC Suite, who can I send it to?
DO NOT email credit card information to EC Suite. E-mail is not secured and could possibly be intercepted by anyone on the Internet, while EC Suite uses high-encryption levels for the credit card entry forms on your signup page. If you see a lock in your browser, or the web address reads https://www.drm... (the “s” means “secure”), then you can be assured that the credit card information you are sending is safe and secure.
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What will appear on my credit card statement for this purchase?
Because the billing provider for the website that you are purchasing content from is EC Suite, you will see ecsuite.com, along with our consumer support number, on your billing statement.
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How do I look up my account information?
By logging in from the Account Form you may view or update your account information, including account cancellation. If you have any difficulties with this form you may fill in the Customer Support Form (with as much detail as possible, but no credit card information) and submit it to EC Suite.
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My credit card is not working, why is this?
Approvals and denials of credit-card transactions are generated by the processor. While we accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and JCB credit cards, there is still the possibility that some transactions will be declined. Some examples include, but are not limited to:
- Invalid Fields: You may have input invalid information in one of the fields on the payment form
- Declined at Pre-Auth: The card was rejected because it is considered to be at a high risk based on the address verification, usage patterns, and history. Your card can be blocked for a history of chargeback and refund requests
- Exceeded Usage Limits: If you have used your card many times in one day—even if you have available credit on your account—you may receive this message. You may want to try again the following day
- Incorrect Address Provided: The address you filled in does not match that on record with the card issuer.
- Sale Declined By Credit Card Network: This indicates a network block; you may want to try this transaction again at a later time as networks blocks are typically removed/resolved within a day or two.
- Card Declined. Blocked: The card is blocked by the processor at the customer’s request or because of fraudulent usage or other reasons
- Declined Due to Chargebacks: The credit card shows a previous chargeback history and will not be accepted for this reason
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I clicked the submit button twice, will I be billed twice?
No. EC Suite's system employs specific flood-control measures that prevent you from performing a successful signup more than one time in succession.
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What is a Subscription ID number?
The Subscription ID is a number that EC Suite uses for billing your account.
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What is a CVV2 code and where can I find mine?
The CVV2 code is a 3-digit number that is located on the back of your credit card; typically following the last 4 digits of your card number, usually in the signature area of the card. This code helps provide extra security for your online transactions and helps to ensure that the person using the card is actually the owner of the card.
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What types of payment are accepted?
Currently EC Suite only accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and JCB as world-wide payment options.
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The content I purchased will not run, what should I do?
Most problems playing media are due to incompatible software such as Windows Media Player or your Internet browser. Check to make certain that your system is compatible with EC Suite’ Encrypted content by running the Compatibility Test Tool (CT Tool) located at http://ct.drmnetworks.com. The test will give recommendations if your system is not currently compatible.
What is the “CT Tool”?
The CT Tool is EC Suite’ application that will test your computer system to make sure that it is compatible with content that has been encrypted using EC Suite’ technology. The test will check your computer, verify that you meet the requirements to play content, and give recommendations or refer you for further support if you do not. The CT Tool runs solely on our network and nothing is installed on your computer.
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If I use the CT Tool, are you collecting information about my computer?
No. EC Suite does not use the CT Tool to collect information about consumers. We are committed to guarding your privacy and the tool is provided solely for your use in troubleshooting any issues that you may have with playing content encrypted by our system.
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Where can I download a current version of Windows Media Player?
The most current version of Microsoft Windows Media Player can be downloaded here.
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My computer crashed and I don’t have a back-up of the content that I purchased. Is there any way for me to restore the data?
If your content provider has enabled License Restoration you may be able to download and play the content again. Visit the website where you downloaded the content and look for the EC Suite License Restoration link. Remember that this is optional for webmasters and you may not have the ability to restore your licenses in all cases.
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I’m using the CT Tool to verify my system compatibility with EC Suite encoded media and the CT Tool has become non-responsive. How do I resolve this?
This sometimes happens if Internet Explorer is configured to play media files in the Windows Media Bar. To change this setting:
- *In Internet Explorer click View and choose Explorer Bar from the menu, then click Media.
- On the Media Bar click the Media Options link.
- Select Settings.
- If there is a checkmark in the box next to Play Web Media in the Bar, click to remove.
*Instructions pertain to Internet Explorer 6.0. The Media Bar has been removed in Internet Explorer 7.
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