Yes, you may use VuGreetings free of charge.  At some point, we may offer premium styles and services for which there will be a nominal cost, but you will still be able to create and share free VuGreetings as well.

VuGreetings can be used on iOS devices that are equivalent to an iPhone 5 or better. It can also be used on Windows and Mac computers as a web-browser based app using Google Chrome (your computer must have a webcam and microphone).  VuGreetings will be available for Android devices soon.

You can download the app to your iOS device through the App Store, just search for VuGreetings and install it.  From a Windows or Mac computer you can access the web-app here using Google Chrome.  If you don’t have Google Chrome, download it free here. VuGreetings will be available for Android devices soon.

You can register through the iOS app or the web version.  After registering, you will receive an email to verify your identity.  Be sure to click the link in this email (or copy and paste the link into your browser) to confirm your identity, and unlock all the capabilities of VuGreetings.

On the main screen, tap Contacts, then “Add Contact.”

• In the web-app this will prompt you to manually enter contact information.  You must enter a first and last name, and an email address or a phone number (for SMS).
• In the web-app you can also choose to upload a CSV file by choosing “Import from CSV.”  Follow the instructions on the import page.
• In the iOS app you have the option to either manually add a contact or “Import From Device.”  This enables you to add one, many, or all contacts from your device address book.

All your VuGreetings contacts added are available on all your devices using your login credentials.

The Library stores raw recordings (called “Takes”) and completed VuGreetings. You can reuse Takes to create new greetings.  Rendered VuGreetings can be viewed, shared, and downloaded from the Library.  On the iOS app you can choose to share with your device contacts, or export to your Camera Roll.

Select the camera icon from the home screen to launch the Recorder. The web-app provides you with step-by-step instructions. On the iOS app you can record in portrait, landscape, and use the rear facing camera. Max recording length is 30 seconds. Tap the red record button to start your recording. Tap the red square to stop your recording. You can tap the play button to review your recording (called a “Take”). Tap the red X to reject and record again, tap the green checkmark to accept and continue. You can choose a Style for your greeting by tapping on it. After you’ve made your selection, tap Next. In “Edit Details” you can input your name and title as you’d like it to appear on the final greeting. Tap Next to continue and choose whom you would like to send your greeting to. Whether or not you choose anyone, tap Send to complete.

Don’t select any recipients for your greeting, tap Send instead.  When your greeting has been rendered, it will appear in your Library.  Select that greeting and tap on “Send as new VuGreeting.”  You can then select recipients for that video, and tap Send to share it with them.

VuGreetings are sent as SMS or email messages containing a link to watch your greeting.  The system defaults to sending greeting notifications/links via email. If you have a contact with both an email address and mobile phone number, the system will send to their email. If you would like to send it via text, you can select “Prefer SMS to Email”. This way if a contact has both an email address and mobile phone number, the system will send them a text message instead.

You will receive an email notification at the address you provided during registration (turn this notification on or off in Settings). You can also go to the “Library” and select “VuGreetings”. If the greeting is not complete, its status will show “Processing.” Once complete it will no longer show “Processing” (you may need to refresh the screen for the “Processing” indication to dissappear).

While on the Recorder screen, you can import a recording.

• In the iOS app you will see a film slide icon. Tapping on that will allow you to import a video from your Camera Roll.
• In the web-app select “Import Video”. You can then select a recording stored locally on your computer to use in a greeting.
• VuGreetings are rendered with a 4×3 aspect ratio.  Imported videos often have a widescreen aspect ratio.  The rendering system will automatically crop an imported video so the center 4×3 section is shown in a completed VuGreeting.

Conversations are discussion threads that contain videos you have shared with other people, or videos sent to you by other VuGreetings users.  A conversation that contains multiple videos can be rendered into a single video by the originator of the conversation.

In Conversations select the greeting that was sent to you. From here you can choose “Send Reply” which will launch the Recorder.

If you are the originator of a conversation that has more than one video in it, this will be an available option in “Conversations.”  Tap “Render as One Show” to combine all videos in a conversation into a single recording. This way you can create a group greeting that is easy to share.  Conversations rendered as one show will only appear in your Library as a new VuGreeting which you can share with your contacts.

Go to the Settings screen, and turn Library Videos Autoplay “off.”