Understanding Video Processing

Note: We updated our video processing pricing on October 1, 2024. If you created your Vocal Video account prior to this date, look for your account's video processing details here or contact us for details of your video processing plan.

What is Video Processing?

When you upload a video clip, or someone responds to one of your video collectors, we perform several steps to process the raw data:

  • We transcode and compress the video into an optimized HD encoding that's suitable for streaming and fast playback.
  • We transcribe the video to generate a transcript and subtitles.
  • We securely store the original files and the transcoded versions in the cloud.
  • We generate thumbnail images and other metadata.

Read on to learn more about how much video processing is included in each plan, and what happens when you exceed your plan's included video processing.

How Video Processing Works in Free Accounts

If you have a free Vocal Video account, video processing is limited to 20 minutes per month. You can collect (or upload) more videos, but after your video processing is exhausted, the additional video footage will be locked until your video processing resets at the beginning of the next month. If you don't want to wait for your footage to be unlocked and processed, you can upgrade to a paid plan.

How Video Processing Works With a Paid Subscriptions

Every Vocal Video subscription includes a certain amount of video processing per subscription term that covers the needs of most customers:

  • Essential: 240 minutes included
  • Pro: 360 minutes included
  • Enterprise: custom video processing limits

If you reach your video processing limit, additional video collector responses and uploaded video clips will be locked until more video processing minutes are available.  Video collection is still enabled. Nothing is deleted.

If you exceed your plan's included video processing – and some of your video clips are locked as a result – it will reset when your subscription renews. If you don't want to wait for renewal, you can upgrade your video processing limit, or upgrade to a plan with more video processing included – see below for details.

Upgrading Your Video Processing Limit

Here's how video processing upgrades are billed on our paid plans:
  • Essential: $360/year ($30/month) for 120 additional minutes of video processing. Limit of 3 upgrades (up to 10 hours of total video processing).
  • Pro: $360/year ($30/month) for 120 additional minutes of video processing. Limit of 10 upgrades (Up to 26 hours of total video processing).
  • Enterprise: custom pricing and limits
When you upgrade your video processing, your charge will be prorated based on your subscription's renewal date. For example, if you're on Essential plan with 4 months until renewal, your video processing upgrade would cost $120 (4 months left until renewal * $30/month = $90).

How video processing is calculated

We count the number of minutes of video collected in your video collectors or imported into Vocal Video. Published videos and draft videos are not counted.

Why do we charge for video processing in the first place?

Vocal Video is not ad-supported in any way. We will never put ads in, on, or anywhere near your videos. We believe that this enables you to realize a much higher return on investment from your videos, as viewers are not immediately drawn away from your site.

It's complex and costly for us to store your video content in such a way that we can provide fast HD streaming to any viewer across the globe. (This also includes making our video editor as fast as possible.)

Some of our customers use a little video processing, some use a lot. Without any additional charges for those that use a lot of video processing, we would need to raise subscription rates across the board. We have found that this approach is the most equitable option across our global customer base.

If you have feedback on our video processing, feel free to contact us.