Digital Download FAQs

Written by Chris Ediger

LifeWay's digital downloads allow you to experience life-changing audio, video, and Bible study through the convenience of online purchasing and delivery. Listen to a single session or a complete Bible study on your computer. It's easy and you can do it when it fits your schedule. 

Download Your Files in 3 Easy Steps

Step 1. Browse the Digital Downloads Catalog
Choose the product you are interested in purchasing from the site menu. Add the individual products/sessions you want to your shopping cart using the "Add to Cart" button.

Step 2. Make Your Purchase
When you're ready to checkout click the "Check Out" button. You will be prompted for your billing and shipping information on the subsequent pages. You may place your order using a debit/credit card or a LifeWay charge account. You will also be asked to verify your order a final time before purchase. Any changes desired may be made at that time.

Step 3. Download Your Files
Once your order has been placed, you will be presented with download links to the products you purchased. Right-click on the link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save Link As" to save the file to your computer. Save to a location where you can find them easily (on your Desktop, or in your My Documents folder, for example).

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find the download that I purchased?
Lose your download? Can't remember what downloads you have purchased? With your email address and a receipt number, you can now access the downloads you have previously purchased.

Go to My Orders (http://www.lifeway.com/orderlookup) and follow the simple instructions to access your download information.

Can I download and copy to a CD or DVD?
"Individual Use" files should not be copied or burned to CD or DVD media due to copyright laws. Exception: "Small Group Use" files can be downloaded to a computer and one copy may be burned to a DVD for use in a class setting. See specifics in "Small Group Use" description below.

What's the difference between "Individual Use" and "Small Group Use" videos?

Individual Use
Individual Use video downloads are only meant to be used by the person who purchased them. These individual use videos cannot be copied or shared. If you are needing videos for showing in a small group study,  we suggest purchasing the DVD Leader kit separately, or purchasing the 'Small Group Use' video downloads, if available.

Small Group Use
Some studies offer Small Group Use video downloads. These Group Use videos (higher-resolution for larger displays) are liscensed for individuals or groups of 25 or less. Because of the quality and file size of the these videos, please be aware that the download time will be dependant upon your Internet service provider. These files are for download via broadband connections only. Or, one copy may be burned to a DVD for use in a DVD player for in class viewing, but cannot be distributed.

Can I return a digital download that I purchased?
Once a digital file has been downloaded to your computer it cannot be returned and therefore is not refundable.

Can I play the digital media on my Macintosh computer?
Mac users can download and view content with the free Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X. New plug-in support added for Internet Explorer, Netscape and Safari enables playback of Windows Media files right from the browser. If you don't have Mac OS X, get the Windows Media Player for Mac 7.1 which runs on the Mac Classic OS.

Download Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/mac/mp9/default.aspx

Note: Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X will download to the download location specified in your browser. The default location is the desktop. You will need to use StuffIt Expander to decompress Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X. You can get StuffIt Expander from Aladdin Systems.

If you have an Intel-based Mac you can view the digital media within a WindowsXP installation on your Mac using Apple’s Boot Camp software (http://www.apple.com/macosx/bootcamp/), or some type of virtualization software, such as Parallels Desktop for Mac (http://www.parallels.com/en/products/desktop/).

Can I transfer movies/audio files to my iPod?
Yes. Converting WMV videos to the iPod format allows users to Watch DVDs, home movies and TV on your video iPod in great quality. To do this, you need a special kind of iPod software that converts WMVs to one of the formats that play on iPods. A good article explaining the many options can be found at the following:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/the-complete-guide-to-ipod-video-conversion-win/

There are several free software packages that help with this process. iPods can play the following video formats:

H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 x 480, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Low-Complexity Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

H.264 video, up to 768 kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 x 480, 30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats

Can I Download Webcasts?
Webcasts are only viewable online, so technically can't be downloaded. With the webcasts, we run audio along with a slide presentation, so there isn't video in the traditional sense. To make the viewing experience the best it can be, you may want to update your Flash player. You can do so (free) at the following link:
http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash&promoid=BIOW

Can I transfer movies to my Windows Media portable player?
Yes. We support PlayForSure windows media devices. For more information please visit the PlayForSure web site. http://www.playsforsure.com

I’ve purchased a new computer. Can I move my media licenses to the new PC?
Yes. Windows Media Player provides a way to backup and restore licenses. For more information about using this feature, please visit the Windows Media Player FAQ website (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/default.mspx). In the event your license is damaged or lost due to system failure, with proof of purchase, customer service may be able to provide additional licenses. (Additional content downloads may be required.)

Can I transfer movies to another computer for viewing?
No. The content protection license only allows viewing the video or audio file on the computer that was used to download the actual file. Please be sure to use the computer that you plan to use for the study when purchasing or downloading the audio or video files.

What are the minimum technical requirements to play the digital media?
You might be able to watch some files using Windows Media Player 9 and older operating systems such as Windows 98 or ME, but we no longer support or recommend our products for use with these OS's or players. In order to make full use of downloadable products from LifeWay.com you will need:

• Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher
• Windows 2000, XP, or Vista
• Windows Media Player 10
• Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X (Mac Users)
• A fast Internet connection: we recommend a cable or DSL connection. Dial up is not recommended.

Can I view these videos full-screen on my computer or television?
At normal viewing resolution, these videos should look fine. However, these videos are not meant to replace our DVD products. The digital download videos are a smaller resolution and are designed for individual use. Customers who require the higher resolution that LifeWay DVDs offer should consider purchasing those products.

How large is a movie file? How much space do I need on my computer to store the file?
Our downloadable video files have been optimized for Internet usage. A one hour video session, on average, requires 120MB of hard drive space. A one hour audio file requires around 20MB. (Per session)

How long does it take to download a movie?
With a fast connection (DSL, Cable Modem or better) a one hour video session should download in 15-20 minutes. The audio only session should download in about 5 minutes. Please be aware, dial up downloads times for the video sessions could exceed 8 hours per session. If you plan to download the videos, dial up is not recommended for this study.

My question is not answered in this FAQ. What can I do?
For Windows Player Issues not addressed by our FAQ, please visit the Windows Media Player FAQ website. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/default.mspx 

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