Can I upload videos?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no – unlike photos, this isn’t decided by the app but by the event. Two things have to line up before videos are possible.

What it depends on

• The event’s plan has to include videos. If the video allowance is zero, videos are switched off for this event entirely. They then don’t even show up in the file picker.
• The host has to allow videos. The switch is called Enable Video Uploads and lives in the settings under Features. If it’s off, a video added anyway is skipped during upload – with the reason “Video uploads are currently disabled.”

Note

Both conditions are set by the host, not by you. Small and free plans often don’t include videos at all. When in doubt just ask – it can be unlocked under Enabling features.

Host view: this tab holds the feature switches — further down, in the Media & Upload group, sits the Video Uploads switch. ① the tab row, with Gallery features open, ② Disable All and Enable All flip every feature at once, ③ a group header with its counter 4 of 4 active – one click folds the group open or shut; below it every feature has its own switch, ④ nothing takes effect until Save Changes at the bottom (Save on a phone).

“I can’t find a video option at all”

This is the most common case, and it doesn’t look like an error:

• You tap Upload Images and your device’s file picker shows photos only. Videos are simply filtered out.
• If you drag a video into the window on a computer anyway, it is accepted but marked Skipped during the upload.
• On the final screen it then appears under Videos not allowed:.

There is no hidden extra button for videos – when they are allowed, they simply appear in the normal file selection.

Phone

Computer

There is no separate video button: Upload Images opens the file picker, and allowed videos are listed right there. ① Upload Images opens your device’s file picker – several files at once are fine, ② Take Photo opens the camera straight away, ③ Solve a Photo Task only appears when photo tasks are switched on for the event and tasks exist; if one of them has a reference image, a card with that image and the task name takes the place of the button below. If you may not upload – because the event has ended or expired, for instance – the dialog shows a notice instead.

Supported formats

Once videos are unlocked, Photogala accepts the common formats and a good deal more:

• From phones: MP4, MOV (iPhone), 3GP and 3G2
• From computers and cameras: AVI, MKV, WebM, WMV, M4V, MPEG, OGV
• Named after the codec: H.264, H.265/HEVC, AV1
• Professional and legacy formats: MXF, DV, FLV, DivX, XviD and others

If a very exotic format doesn’t get through after all, the file is skipped with “This file type isn’t supported for upload.”

The video limit is a limit of its own

Videos do not count against the photo limit – they have their own cap:

• When it’s full you see Video limit reached and photos still work: “Video limit reached. Only photos can be uploaded.”
• The same applies the other way round: with a full photo limit, videos may still be possible.
• On top of both sits the event’s storage limit. Because videos take a lot of space, that’s the more common brake for them.

Size and length

• The app sets no fixed maximum file size. What counts is the event’s free storage.
• Big files take correspondingly long. Keep the tab open and the device unlocked until the bar is through.
• Short clips are the better choice: they upload faster, use less of the storage limit and are more likely to be watched.
• On a shaky connection, add large videos later on Wi-Fi, see Poor connection at the event.

Example

You want to share a 45-second clip of the first dance. On your iPhone you tap Upload photos – the file picker only offers photos, the video cannot even be selected. On your laptop you drag the MOV file into the window anyway: it is accepted, but marked Skipped during the upload and listed at the end under Videos not allowed:. You ask the couple, they turn on Enable Video Uploads in the settings under Features – on the second attempt the clip goes through. Your 12 photos from the same evening were never affected: photos and videos count separately. Only storage is shared, and the clip’s 700 MB weigh far more there than all the photos together.

Related topics

• Uploading photos
• My upload stops or fails
• How many photos can I upload?
• Poor connection at the event