FAQs

How safe are my images?
Images are stored on our dedicated servers in a highly secure data center that is under 24 hour surveillance. Our servers are backed up daily with the backups stored off site. Each server has had the usual server security modified to be non standard and is protected with firewalls. We believe your data is safer on our server than on your desktop machine when you are connected to the Internet. And when was the last time you backed up those hard drives of images? What would happen if someone stole your computers and hard drives or there was a fire in our office? Some photographers are using the ProMediaserve system only as an off site back up solution.
Downloading images is secure too. You cannot download images with out using a log in username, the password for the username and then each image (except free images) requires another pass number which is unique and randomly generated for that download only. All passwords are e-mailed to validated e-mail addresses and every download and attempted download is tracked in the download log with the IP number and username.

Why is the software on your servers? Can I buy a ProMediaserve software package to use on my own server?
The reason the software is on our servers is that it is the only way we can assure safety of your images. The software is processor intensive on the upload with the auto watermark facility, and our security system has meant modifying the server software so that the server can effectively only run our software. Our servers are connected directly to the Internet back bone ensuring the fastest possible connections, we have 24 hour support and your images are backed up.
We are considering marketing a single account software package, but to use it will require a dedicated, dual processor server and it will require specialist installation. Many other features of the server, such as virtual hosting and mail handling may well be compromised. Please contact us if you are interested in having a single user package installed on your server, but this is a more expensive option requiring specialist knowledge and hardware.

How many images can I upload per Gigabyte?
That depends on three factors. The size in pixels you want to have available on the system, the content of the image as different subject matter compresses differently and the compression percentage used.
It is impossible to give an exact figure, but in practice we are getting about 400 to 500 double page (5000 pixel) sized images compressed at jpeg factor 8. If you only want 600pixel web images on the system then you would get 1000s or if you opt for full page A4 images (3800 pixels) then you could get perhaps 800 images per Gigabyte.

Is there a percentage or any charge on any of my sales?
No. We have no idea how much or to who you have sold a picture. We monitor download traffic only, in the same way a telephone company monitors units of telephone communications used.

Do you market my images or get customers to visit my site?
No, we are not a marketing company or photo agency. We are only the tool to present and distribute your work in the same ways you work with your cameras and the postal service.

Can I cancel my account at anytime?
Of course. Either delete your images yourself, or by not paying your images are deleted automatically.

Is there any restriction on the kinds of images I can upload?
Yes. We are legally responsible for your images as they are hosted on our servers. All images must be legal and you must have the legal right to use them on our servers. Any abuse of the ProMediaserve software or any illegal images will be reported and deleted from our servers.

Why is the ProMediaserve system so cheap compared to other software solutions on the market?
Basically ProMediaserve is only hosting your images so we believe the price should be in line with hosting charges. It was developed by a photographer who had the idea of spreading development costs amongst a community of photographers and came up with a figure everyone would be happy to pay each month.

Do we get automatic system upgrades and are we charged?
We are continually developing the ProMediaserve software and upgrades are automatic and free of charge.

I have regular clients or I work for magazines who need access to my images with out my need to OK downloads?
You can either credit downloads to specific clients in the viewers managers page so the download code is sent as soon as they confirm their order. Or you can put images into a private category and assign access to the private to that client or magazine. If you then make the images 'free' within that category, logged on users with access to that category only can download the photos without the need to order or use download codes.