StageDirect Help Page

Trailers & Virtual Audition Room videos

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If the trailers won't play at all, you may have one of several problems.

1. Try another format:
   First and simplest, try another format. We offer trailers in two popular formats: Quicktime and Windows Media. If you tried only one format, please try the other. If neither works, try these other solutions (in order of likelihood).



2. Movie player software:
   If a new window pops up but you never see a trailer, you may not have the right movie playing software loaded. The trailer pop-up windows may ask you to download and install additional software from either Apple or Microsoft: saying "Yes" will enable you to view the trailers. Please see our "Software: Movie Players" section for more help.



3. Internet connection speed or congestion:
   If a new window pops up but you never see a trailer, you may have a bandwidth or connection problem. If the rest of the site loads very slowly or sporadically, bandwidth maybe the problem. The trailers are highly compressed, but we can't work miracles with your Internet connection. Your best bet may be to try again later when your local connection isn't so busy.



4. JavaScript:
   If a new window does not pop up, you probably have JavaScript disabled. Please see our "Software: JavaScript" section for more help.

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If the Virtual Audition Room video won't play at all, you may have one of several problems. Try these (in order of likelihood):

1. Movie player software:
   If a new window pops up but you never see a trailer, you may not have Real Player installed. You can download it free from Real (when you get to this page, be sure to click the Free RealOne Player link), then come right back and watch the audition. Please see the "Software: Movie Players" section for more help.



2. Internet connection speed or congestion:
   If a new window pops up but you never see a trailer, you may have a bandwidth or connection problem. If the rest of the site loads very slowly or sporadically, bandwidth maybe the problem. The trailers are highly compressed, but we can't work miracles with your Internet connection. Your best bet may be to try again later when your local connection isn't so busy.



3. JavaScript:
   If a new window does not pop up, you probably have JavaScript disabled. Please see our "Software: JavaScript" section for more help.

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If your video plays but the sound does not, or vice-versa, or sound or video is choppy:

First, if you're trying to view a trailer, please try both formats: Quicktime and Windows Media.

If you can't do that, then you should update your current movie player software. Please see the "Software: Movie Players" section for more help.

If you've done all that, you likely have a codec problem. Codecs are little bits of digital information that tell your movie player how to interpret and play back the movie, and there are many available. We use fairly standard codecs for all our video, and these codecs are included in default installations of either Windows Media Player or Quicktime Player.

Here's a link to Apple's Quicktime support page

Here's a link to Microsoft's Windows Media Player support page.

If you've reached this point, we're sorry but we don't have any better advice for you. We would try uninstalling and reinstalling your movie player software, using the latest version.

Ordering

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We only accept orders on our web site. Our apologies, but we don't accept phone orders. We're a small operation (4 of us!) and while we're here nearly 24 hours a day, we're often pretty grumpy. Online ordering is best - trust us.

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We have the following requirements:

1. You gotta love cool, challenging, non-formula entertainment (sorry, no exceptions).
2. You must be using a web browser that can process 128-bit security. Most modern browsers will work, but please go to our "security information page" or "Software: Browsers" section if you have trouble.
3. You must have a credit card (we can't help you with this one).
4. You must have an email address so we can send your order receipt and communicate with you afterwards. If you don't have one, free addreses are very easy to get: our favorites are Yahoo! Mail and Hushmail. Please see our Privacy Policy if you have questions about how we use your personal information.

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To complete your order, we ask for your name, shipping and billing address, and email address. Please see our Privacy Policy if you have questions about how we use this information.

Shopping cart & store

Security information

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We have a separate page about our security; please go there for detailed information.

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There are two ways to add items to your cart, both similar:

1. On every video-specific page there's an "Add to Cart" link. Click this button and (as if by magic) you'll be whisked to a shopping cart containing that item.
2. If your shopping cart is empty and you click the "Cart" button on the menu bar above, you'll see a catalog of items. Each item will have an "Add to Cart" button next to it.

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So you add an item to your cart, return to shopping, and when you get back to the cart your item's gone! Bad shopping cart!

There's a simple explanation: cookies. The order process works perfectly without cookies, but you won't be able to leave the cart and return to the site unless you have cookies enabled. Please see the section "Software: Cookies" below for more help.

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Next to every line item (that is, each video title) there is a "Remove Item" button. If you click this, that item and only that item will be removed from your cart. Nothing else will be affected.

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Next to every line item (that is, each video title) there is a "Qty." box containing a number. Change that number and click the "Save Quantity Changes" button at the top of the cart. You can also change this number to "0" (zero) if you want instead of using the "Remove Item" button.

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From the shopping cart, click the "Start Checkout" button at the right of the screen. You'll be whisked through the following easy steps:

1. Shipping information, where you enter your shipping address and shipping method.
2. Billing information, where you enter your billing address (if it's different) and your contact information.
3. Payment information, where you enter your payment information.

At any time (until you click the "Process Order" button in the last screen) you'll be able to edit your cart, shipping, or billing infromation.

Shipping

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We currently offer 3 shipping options: US Mail First Class (5-7 days), US Mail Priority (2-3 days), and UPS Next Day (overnight). These are the transit times reported to us by these shipping vendors, and not necessarily the time it will take us to fill and ship your order. Please see the next item, "When do we ship your order?"

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Orders received before 1:00 pm Pacific Standard Time on any business day will generally be shipped that day. Orders received after 1:00 pm Pacific Standard Time on any business day, or at any time on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday, will generally be shipped the next business day. These shipping timelines are based on the experience of StageDirect's fulfillment vendor, whose practice is to make all shipments within 3 business days of receiving an order.

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We offer international shipping to many countries. The full list is available at the second step in our shopping cart (there's no obligation to buy, and you don't need to give us any personal information before you get to this step).

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StageDirect takes pride in offering its productions on high quality video stock. Inevitably, however, some videotapes will prove to be defective. If you receive a defective videotape from StageDirect, please contact us at customerservice@stagedirect.com and let us know your name, shipping address, telephone number, video title, and the nature of the defect (which must relate to the actual condition of the video, not that you would prefer a character to show more motivation in the second act). We will make arrangements to ship you a replacement video and to provide for the return of the defective video, at our cost. Our policy in connection with a defective video is limited to replacement; we do not refund your purchase price or shipping and handling charges.

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We ship orders pretty fast, so there's no guarantee that you'll be able to cancel if you change your mind, but we'll do the best we can. Please forward the confirmation email you received from us to cancel@stagedirect.com. If you don't have that email, the very least we need is your order number and name. If we can stop your order before it ships then we won't charge you a dime.

Billing & payment

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We bill after we receive confirmation that your order has shipped.

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If you have problems or questions, please email billing@stagedirect.com and we'll do everything we can to resolve your problem.

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No. StageDirect lives and does business in beautiful Portland, Oregon, land of trees, rain, and no sales tax on any purchases from Oregon businesses.

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We offer the following quantity discounts (mix and match any shows):

• 5% for 3 to 5 tapes.
• 10% for 6 or more tapes.

If you'd like to order more than 20 tapes, please contact us before ordering to see if further discounts may be available.

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At the moment we accept only Visa and MasterCard.

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Most debit cards can be used as credit cards. As long as your debit card has a "Visa" or "MasterCard" symbol on it we can almost certainly accept it. If your transaction is failing and you think this is the reason, please call your bank.

Software

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Quicktime Player

Our movie popup windows should prompt you to install Quicktime Player if you don't have it, but if that doesn't work you can download and install the player from Apple's web site.

Windows Media Player

Our movie popup windows should prompt you to install Windows Media Player if you don't have it, but if that doesn't work you can download and install the player from Microsoft's web site. Please note that all our trailers work with Windows Media Player version 6.4, so you don't need version 7 (although they do work with version 7 as well).

MPlayer & Crossover (advanced users only)

If you're running Linux or another OS for which there's no available Windows Media or Quicktime player, give MPlayer and Crossover a look. MPlayer plays MPEG, AVI, some Windows Media and some Quicktime. Crossover is a Netscape plugin that allows other plugins (e.g. Quicktime, Powerpoint viewer) to run; they claim to be the only plugin that will correctly render Sorensen-encoded Quicktimes (like ours). Your mileage may vary, of course, but both of these worth a look.

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This site is best viewed with the latest version of a modern web browser. All these browsers are free to download:

• Internet Explorer.
• Netscape 6.
• Opera.

Security information

Please also see our "Shopping cart & store: security information" section.

Be sure to download the 128-bit security enabled version if you are asked. The alternative is 40-bit security, which we do not consider strong enough to be secure. To shop with StageDirect, you must use 128-bit security.

You can use Netscape Navigator 4.x or Internet Explorer 4.x, but they are superseded in features and web standards support by newer versions, and your experience at StageDirect will not be as scintillating as if you were using a modern browser. The site should, however, degrade relatively gracefully for older browsers (no promises about the video, though). If you have trouble with the site that you believe to be browser-related, please let Randall know.

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We use JavaScript for some site functions, so you'll need to enable it for the full StageDirect experience.

Netscape:

1. Pull down the "Edit" menu.
2. Select "Preferences."
3. Select the "Advanced" category.
4. Check the box labeled "Enable JavaScript."

Internet Explorer:

1. Pull down the "Tools" menu.
2. Select "Internet Options."
3. Select the "Security" tab.
4. Select "Internet."
5. Click the "Default Level" button or move the slider to "Medium."

If you are not comfortable with this level of security in Internet Explorer, you can custom edit your security preferences by selecting "Custom." Look for the "Scripting" section, and click the "Enable" or "Prompt" option.

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We use cookies for some site functions, including saving your shopping cart items while you browse the site, so you'll need to enable it for the full StageDirect experience.

Netscape 6.x:

1. Pull down the "Edit" menu.
2. Select "Preferences."
3. Select the "Privacy & Security" category.
4. Select the "Cookies" sub-category.
5. Select "Enable cookies for the originating web site only."

Internet Explorer (versions through 5.5):

1. Pull down the "Tools" menu.
2. Select "Internet Options."
3. Select the "Security" tab.
4. Select "Internet."
5. Click the "Default Level" button or move the slider to "Medium."

Internet Explorer 6 has Compact Privacy Policy support, which gives you great flexibility in customizing your cookie acceptance. StageDirect's cookies work with the all settings through "High Privacy."

Netscape 4.x:

1. Pull down the "Edit" menu.
2. Select "Preferences."
3. Select the "Advanced" category.
4. In the "Cookies" section, select "Accept only cookies that get sent back to the originating server."

If you are not comfortable with this level of security in Internet Explorer, you can custom edit your security preferences by selecting "Custom". Look for the "Cookies" section, and click the "Enable" or "Prompt" option.