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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)Find Answers on EC Suite's ServicesPlease take a moment to benefit from common questions other online merchants, just like you, have been asking. Below you will find succinct answers to conveniently categorized questions. Please contribute and let us know if you feel a topic or question should be added. EC Suite General FAQ's
 Windows Media DRM
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Payment Processing
Affiliate Program
SecuredApp
Hosting and Streaming
Catalog Builder/Shopping Cart/Download Manager
EC Suite General FAQ's
Why did you change your name to EC Suite? We changed our name to better reflect the full suite of services we now offer to compliment our flagship product. In addition to the Windows Media DRM services we originally offered, we now offer Payment Processing, an Affiliate Network, CDN services, Hosting and Streaming, Shopping Cart and Catalog Builder, and SecuredApp for application and video game protection. What does EC Suite do? EC Suite provides an array of services, including:
I already use your Windows Media DRM services; do I have to do anything to enable the new features on my account? Many of our new features do require activation. Please contact your sales representative so they may assist you with enabling these new features. If I add new features to my account, will I incur an additional monthly fee? There may be additional fees involved with some of the services. For example, the Payment Processing option does not have any out-of-pocket fees to start up, and no minimum monthly fee, but there is a transaction-based service fee. How reliable is EC Suite's network? EC Suite uses RAID 5 storage technology with redundancy servers. A system backup is performed every 10 minutes and our servers are housed in a climate-controlled data center with a diesel generator power backup. We have 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 the equipment meets your high standards. How can EC Suite help my business? EC Suite is a valuable partner that can secure and package your media and applications, offer you Payment Processing services to simplify and streamline your business transactions, and combine it with a highly reliable hosting package designed to meet all your electronic needs. Add to that our Shopping Cart and Catalog Builder services and industry leading Affiliate Network, and we're sure you'll agree that our suite of services offers more ways to build your site and grow your business than you'll find anywhere else. Do I have to use all of your services? EC Suite offers a wide range of services, beginning with our Windows Media DRM service. From there, our services are offered in an à la carte fashion, and you can add services to suit your unique needs. What is the difference between a Client and a Consumer? Because EC Suite provides services to both webmasters and end-users, we use different terms to differentiate between the two. The term "Client" indicates the person or entity who owns the website 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!" 
Windows Media DRM
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 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 EC Suite's License Manager. 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 receive 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, and even which IP address they can play it from. With EC Suite YOU are in control of everything! 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 the License Manager to create SKUs that require a consumer to provide payment, e-mail information, view an advertisement, etc. You can also set up your own online database that EC Suite can use to verify information. The combinations are endless! 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 your variables and determines if those variables have been met. Once the server verifies that the license criteria have been met, a license is then issued to the consumer according to those rules. 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 Admin System. What source files does Windows Media Encoder 9 Series support? The encoder can handle source from files that have the following file name extensions: .wav, .wma, .wmv, .asf, .avi, .mpg, .mp3, .bmp, and .jpg.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
What is a CDN? A CDN, or Content Delivery Network, is a highly specialized network used to optimize the process of delivering media to consumers by placing the content on servers around the globe, which increases the performance and reliability of your site and the satisfaction of your consumers. What can a CDN do for my site? Implementing a CDN places your media on powerful servers located all over the world, which increases the speed your consumers can access your media files and increasing the bandwidth of your site. Where are the servers located? Our CDN has delivery points located around the globe, including New York, Ashburn, Chicago, Miami, Atlanta, San Jose, Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Dallas, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Hong Kong, as well as many other locations. Why should I use a CDN? When using a CDN, your media files are served to your consumers directly from the network instead of your server. This takes the load off your server, delivering your media directly to the consumer from the geographically closest server — increasing the speed of your site exponentially.
Payment Processing
How can I process payments for my content? EC Suite is proud to offer a fully-integrated payment processing solution that allows you to control both single and recurring billing methods offers a variety of payment methods including, American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa, and JCB (bank debit cards are only accepted if they have the MasterCard or Visa logo on them). How is the Payment Processing 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 to our database containing your consumer information. Do I need to obtain a merchant number? No! EC Suite's payment processing solution is intended to be all-inclusive. You do not have to hassle with banks and processors, chargebacks or refunds. With EC Suite, everything is taken care of for you, including round-the-clock customer service for your end-users. How am I paid? EC Suite issues payments for transactions every Monday (with the exception of bank/federal holidays). You can choose to receive payment by regular post, FedEx, UPS, or as a wire transfer. The payments will include your weekly revenue—minus your security deposit, processing fees, and any other applicable fees. 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. If a United States holiday falls on a Monday, how will this affect my payment? 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. When will I receive a payment? EC Suite sends payments the second Monday following the end of the billing cycle. Our billing cycle runs from 12:00 a.m. Sunday to 11:59 p.m. Saturday, Mountain Standard Time (Arizona). Can you explain the security deposit 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. How much does it cost? There is no cost associated with signing up for the payment processing service. When you begin processing, a percentage of your total sales are taken out each week as a processing fee. This fee is variable and is associated with sales volume — the more you sell the lower the fee. Please contact your sales representatives for current processing fees. How am I protected from fraudulent transactions? EC Suite uses a state-of-the-art fraud protection system — called "scrubbing" — to determine the likelihood that the transaction is fraudulent. We employ several methods including a negative database, address verifications, CVV2 code request, among others. 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 Payment Processing service to pay for access to your content. Can I choose my own prices, or is everything pre-set? Our Payment Processing 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 sign-up form. Our system currently allows for minimum dollar amounts set at $2.95, and no more than $99.99 by default. We do, however, understand that your price points and transaction amounts might need to exceed the default maximum amount. In these situations your sales representative will work with you to determine the right cap for your business needs. Can I use the Payment Processing option if my site is physically located outside of the United States? Yes! Sites anywhere in the world that need a Digital Rights and Payment Processing 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. How can I see the sales generated from my site? EC Suite offers unparalleled administrative utilities that allow you to track sales for your account and all sub-accounts through one easy-to-use interface. Just log in to the Admin area and choose the Payment Processing option from the navigation menu for access to a wide array of reporting utilities. Can I sell tangible goods on my site? EC Suite does not allow Payment Processing for tangible goods on your site at this time. Please refer to the Acceptable Use Policies and your Terms & Conditions for further information. Do you offer an Affiliate Program? EC Suite is pleased to announce that we have added an Affiliate Program to our line up of services for webmasters.
Affiliate Program
What is an Affiliate Network? An Affiliate Network allows other webmasters to refer consumers to your website through links and banner ads on their site. In return for the referral, you give a portion of the proceeds of any resulting sales to the Affiliate. EC Suite pays the Affiliate for you based on your preferences in the Affiliate area of the Admin system. How are Affiliate sales tracked? All subscribers are tracked through cookies. The cookie is set when a potential subscriber is logged through EC Suite's System after leaving an Affiliate's site. The subscriber's IP address and current timestamp are logged and compared after sign up. If the cookie has not expired, then the original Affiliate site is credited for the sale.
SecuredApp
What is SecuredApp? SecuredApp is a powerful application for developers that locks source code and protects it from malicious intent. This application was designed specifically for video game and computer application protection as a valuable tool in the war on piracy. How does it work? SecuredApp works by encrypting your source code and valuable .dll files before you create an installer file for end-users. With SecuredApp you can effortlessly apply licensing restrictions on your software such as limiting the installation, the length of the license, how many times the application can be launched, and many other possibilities. At the same time, it vigilantly guards your code from reverse engineering and other attacks while the software is running.
Hosting and Streaming
Do you handle hosting? Yes. Our system is designed to fully integrate all of our services — packaging, licensing, payment processing, and hosting. We will work with you to provide a package that meets all of your electronic business needs. 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 websites. Do I have to share a server? EC Suite has many different configurations that can be used in conjunction with a hosting and streaming account. You can use a Shared Server (many sites hosted on the same server), Dedicated Server (we own the server but your site is the only site hosted on that server), or a Co-Located Server (the server belongs to you but is stored at our facilities and maintained by our staff). How much server space do I need for Streaming? This depends on the size of the media library. For a rough estimate you can multiply the bit rate by the number of seconds of total media. If you have 100 films, each 30 minutes long and encoded at 200 kbps, there are a total of 36 million kilobits (100*(30*60)*200) and since there are 8 bits in a byte and 1024 kilobytes in a megabyte, the total storage required is 4,394 megabytes — roughly 4 gigabytes. How much bandwidth do I need for Streaming? This depends on the bit rate and the number of simultaneous connections. You can multiply your anticipated connections and the bit rate they are encoded at. So, if you anticipate 30 simultaneous visitors at your peak time watching videos encoded at 200 kbps, then a total 6 megabits per second of upstream bandwidth are required during that peak time. Our sales representatives can help determine the best package for your needs.
Catalog Builder/Shopping Cart/Download Manager
What does Catalog Builder do? With our Catalog Builder, you can effortlessly create a store front from within the Admin system. The Catalog comes with a Shopping Cart and is fully-integrated into our Payment Processing system as well as a Download Manager Applet that helps consumers retrieve their purchases. To direct consumers to your store front, simply place a shop link on your site! I just want to use your Shopping Cart; do I have to have the Catalog Builder as well? No, this service suite can be used in two different combinations—Catalog Builder, Shopping Cart, and Download Manager, or, Shopping Cart and Download Manager only. Do my consumers have to install the Download Manager? No. The Download Manager is served to consumers as an Applet and does not need to be installed.
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