Helpful tips & support
Support for Funeral Arrangers & venues
Support for
Families
Helpful tips & how to guides
General questions
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Simply speak with your Funeral Arranger and let them know which products you would like at your service.
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As with all our products, the final cost is set by the venue and the Funeral Arranger. Please confirm this with them directly.
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We regret we are unable to pass on memorial messages directly to family members (we don't have their contact details). Please send any memorial messages to the Funeral Arranger or the family themselves.
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Use our form at the bottom of the page if you can’t find an answer to your question in the FAQs below.
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Your Funeral Arranger can book your chosen music through our order platform. Simply let them know the tracks you’d like and they will order them ready for the day.
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Yes, get in touch with your Funeral Arranger to find out the password for our Music and Hymn Library.
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Our music library is constantly growing as more people choose songs for their service. If we don’t already have the music track, we’ll do everything possible to find it elsewhere.
Give as much information as you can to your Funeral Arranger to submit, and our dedicated Music team will then search a range of other sources, from eBay to record shops, to find it for your service.
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When you browse our licensed music library, you can click to listen to a 30 second preview (the length determined by our licensing obligations).
To hear more, just click Play again and the track will pick up from where it stopped. So anyone can hear as much of the track as they need to. -
We realise how important it can be to use the exact version the family has requested, so we’re happy to receive any link that will help us locate it.
Please note: We can’t guarantee that we will be able to use that specific version, especially if it has not been commercially released, such as a version that only appears on YouTube or similar streaming services. -
Yes, we’re able to play pieces personally recorded by the family, including songs, poems or eulogies.
Simply send us a copy of the file and we’ll add it to the service – we even master the track so the sound quality is as good as it possibly can be. And we always list these pieces as one-offs, so they’ll never be added to the public version of our library.
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If the hymn is in our specialist Hymn Library, you’ll be able to see the full lyrics, as well as the specific arrangement.
There are also more hymn recordings in our standard Music Library, which we're happy to provide the lyrics for should you need them for an order of service.
Support for families
Music
Tributes
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Once a Tribute is ordered, your Funeral Arranger will receive an email with log in details to upload content.
Your Funeral Arranger will then make sure that your chosen photos and/or videos are uploaded for the service, or they may send you the link so you can upload your photos directly.
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Absolutely, our standard cost covers up to 25 images, but we’re happy to feature more. As with all our products, the final cost is set by your chosen venue.
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With our Basic Slideshow, each photo is shown for approximately 10 seconds and does not include music in the production. You can ask the Venue to play a music track while the Basic Slideshow is being shown, but the length of the Tribute may not exactly match the music.
We recommend going for the Music Tribute if you would like your photos played to music. This option is carefully produced by our dedicated Media team to perfectly transition your photos to the timings of your chosen song. -
Family Supplied Tributes can include any kind of video originally created by the family.
This could be a pre-edited Tribute, a video eulogy for a family member unable to attend, or even home videos. We just need everything supplied as a video file, with any music or audio embedded beforehand.
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We don’t accept PowerPoint files as we can’t play PowerPoint files or presentations in any of our Tributes, we can only show video.
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If you’re having trouble uploading your photos, check that the file type is one that we accept (Jpeg or PNG). If your issue continues, please speak with your Funeral Arranger.
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We recommend placing an order for a Tribute as soon as you know you’d like one at your service. This gives you as much time as possible to collect your photos.
We need around two clear working days from the service to create and finalise the Tribute - so if the service is on a Friday, the booking and content would need to be with us by close of business on Tuesday). Meanwhile for the Single Photo, Basic Slideshow or Family Supplied Tribute, we can turn this around in around one working day before the service.
If you need to place a booking closer to the day, please ask your Funeral Arranger to get in touch with our Customer Service team and we’ll do our very best to help. Although we can’t guarantee that a booking can be placed, and it may incur a small late fee. -
Everything we receive is quality-checked by the specialist editors on our media team. If we’re unable to use any of the content (e.g. if the images are very low quality), our Customer Service team will get back in touch with your Funeral Arranger and advise on the next steps.
Where necessary, we’ll also correct the orientation of any images and crop out any unnecessary or blank backgrounds, such as images scanned in with a large white edge. -
All content we use is uploaded online to a secure system that sends it to the venue for the day. The Obitus system doesn’t accept any external devices or data, this ensures all our quality and security standards are met and that everything runs smoothly on the day.
We aim to provide a beautiful, memorable and professionally produced Tribute, so it is important that we receive all photos ahead of the day and have time to properly prepare each Tribute. -
Given the time we need to create and prepare everything, we’re unable to provide previews (although we’re working on this for the future).
However, for a general idea of what to expect, you can see samples of a Tribute here.
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Of course, you can order a copy of a Tribute either as a download link, or as a physical Keepsake in the form of a DVD, USB, Video Book or Memory Box. Simply speak with your Funeral Arranger or venue to place the order.
If you have selected a Basic Slideshow, you will need to select a Music Track to accompany it as a Keepsake video.
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Once a Live & On Demand streaming service is booked by your Funeral Arranger, they will receive a secure link and log in details for your service and forward them on to you.
From this point, you can share the details with who you like, and on the day of the service, this link will lead to a secure webpage where the service will be live streamed.
Next, your On Demand video will be tidied up by our media team, reuploaded then made available within two to three working days after the service on the same link and password, where it will be available to watch for a further 28 days. Your Funeral Arranger will be notified when the video becomes available to watch.
Please note: We recommend that you and your family members test the log in details before the day of the service to make sure you can access the stream. Before the time of the service, there will be a test stream available to make sure it works. -
Yes, our camera equipment is always on and ready to go. So, a booking for a Live & On Demand stream can be placed right up to the time of the service.
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If you're trying to watch a Live Stream but your username/password aren't working, please contact your Funeral Arranger or venue to confirm your log in details. For privacy reasons, we cannot tell you these directly.
Your username should be a short word, then some numbers. Your password should just be numbers, no spaces.
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If you’d like a recording of the Live Stream put back online to watch again, please speak to the Funeral Arranger or venue as they need to order this with us so that the family can authorise it.
Most services will be back online within 2-3 working days to watch.
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Please speak to your Funeral Arranger or Venue - they need to order this with us so that the family can authorise it. Visit our Keepsakes page for information about our Keepsake range.
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We regret that we are unable to pass on memorial messages directly to family members (we don't have their contact details). Please send any memorial messages to the Funeral Arranger, or the family themselves.
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Due to the nature of internet connections, sometimes our Streaming service which is delivered over the Internet can be impacted by external factors, causing disruption. We recommend to access your Streaming link before the day of the service and check it works on your device. Here are some things to try if your connection is struggling:
1. If you have another device, try that as well. Mobile devices, such as tablets and phones work most reliably.
2. Restart your computer and internet router.
3. Clear your web browser's "browsing data", including history, cookies and cache.
4. Try using a different web browser. Google Chrome is often best, Firefox and Safari are good too. Edge/Internet Explorer both work, but are sometimes less reliable. Please make sure any browser is fully updated.
5. If you're using wireless/wifi, try plugging your computer into your internet router using an Ethernet cable, if you can.
6. If you can't hear anything make sure your speakers are turned on and turned up. Try listening to something else just to check.
If you are still experiencing problems viewing this service, please use the form below to contact us so we can help you troubleshoot this issue. It would be helpful if you are aware what type of device and browser you are viewing the stream with, if not it may take longer to troubleshoot the issue you are having.
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If you were viewing a Live Stream (happening as the service takes place) and can no longer see the video, it's possible that connection to the funeral venue has been lost.
Please wait, and this should be restored as quickly as possible. If you were viewing an On Demand stream (a service which has already taken place), please check your internet connection and reload the page.
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Yes, we record every service. So not only can you order a copy of the service after it has happened as a Keepsake of the day, but anyone at home experiencing technical difficulties can watch our back-up of the service. These can be requested for up to 28 days after the service, even if no stream was ordered beforehand.
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For a downloadable copy of the service, let your Funeral Arranger know that this is what you’d like. They can select this option upon booking, and once the edited service is online, they will automatically receive the download link by email to be forwarded to you.
Don’t worry, if you didn’t ask for this option when you first ordered Live & On Demand, just ask your Funeral Arranger to order it up to 28 days after the service. -
Live & On Demand streams will allow up to 250 connections at any one time.
If you think more than 250 people would like to join and view the service online, please only publicly share the detail of the service once the On Demand video has been reuploaded after the service.
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After the Live service has streamed, we fine-tune each video to offer the best possible experience. This includes setting the start and end time for every recording so there’s no waiting around for the service to start.
We also quality check that the audio and video meet our high standards. If we don’t think the recording is up to standard, we’ll do what we can to manually improve the audio or video before it goes back online (although please be aware that some issues may be outside of our reasonable control). -
Our Live Streams run on a semi-automated schedule, based on the service times at each of the venues we work with.
If a service needs to start early or is overrunning, the chapel staff can also manually set and adjust the timings on the day. Once family and friends log in, a message on the webpage should let viewers know if there’s been a change to the timings. -
The camera is framed so the Tribute screens in the chapel are in view, although we appreciate these aren’t always clear to see because of the layout and lighting of some funeral venues.
Some of the venues we work with have an upgrade known as Tribute Switching, which enables viewers at home to see the tribute full-screen whilst it is played. However, not everywhere offers this, so it’s always a good idea to check what options are available at your chosen location before the service. -
Obitus Live Streams are captured by a single, HD camera placed discreetly at the back of the chapel, framed to focus on the lectern, catafalque, Tribute screen and main mourners.
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The Obitus Streaming service can be watched in any country worldwide (except for The United Arab Emirates, where Live Streaming is prohibited). All you need is a strong internet connection.
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Live Stream feeds are proactively monitored by the Obitus team each morning before services begin to make sure they’re running smoothly.
We also recommend that families log in at some point before the service to check their connection is working properly. -
Please click the option below to contact us so that we can help with your query.
Streaming
Keepsakes
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Yes, we record all services. Even if you didn’t have a Live Stream, we can still provide a copy of the service for up to 28 days afterwards. Meanwhile a Keepsake of our Tribute range can be ordered at any point.
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Absolutely, if you would like a Keepsake of the service as well as the Tribute, we can provide both on the same Keepsake.
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All our Keepsake copies are sent from us directly to the funeral venue, and the staff should be able to let you know once it has been delivered.
If you think the Keepsake should have arrived, it’s always best to check with the venue first to see if they’ve received it.
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Yes, we don’t lock down any of our Keepsakes, so the family is free to make copies of any file on the Keepsake.
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Given the time we need to create and prepare everything, we’re unable to provide previews (although we’re working on this for the future).
However, for a general idea of what to expect, you can see samples of a Keepsake here.
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A Keepsake order can be cancelled or changed up to the date of the service. Once the service has taken place, the Keepsake order cannot be cancelled.
Support for Funeral Arrangers & Venues
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Use the contact form at the bottom of this page and we’ll get back to you about setting up an account and helping you get to know the products and system.
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Yes, under the section ‘My Account’, there is an option to change your contact details.
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We recommend placing your music requests at least two working days before a service. After this we cannot guarantee that music will be supplied. Music amendments or new requests made on the day of the service will be directed to the venue.
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We prioritise all requests on a date order basis to ensure that music is supplied to all services. Depending on complexity and availability, music requests have no fixed time frame in which they are completed.
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We recommend placing an order for a Tribute as soon as you know you’d like one at your service. This gives you as much time as possible to collect your photos.
We need around two clear working days from the service to create and finalise the Tribute - so if the service is on a Friday, the booking and content would need to be with us by close of business on Tuesday. Meanwhile for the Single Photo, Basic Slideshow or Family Supplied Tribute, we can turn this around in around one working day before the service.
Basic Slideshows, Single Photos and Family Supplied Tribute Videos can sometimes be accepted the day before but will incur a late fee charge which is set by the venue. -
Once you have booked a Tribute, you will receive an email with log in details to upload content. You then have two options; you can either receive the photos and/or videos from the family and upload on their behalf.
Alternatively, you can also forward the link to the family to upload their own content.
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If we haven’t received any content by the cut-off time, we may have to cancel the booking. Please contact our Customer Service team to discuss your options.
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Viewers can only log in with the unique username and password we provide to the Funeral Arranger and venue.
If this is not working for any reason, you just need to contact our Customer Service team for technical support. We take the privacy of funeral services very seriously, so we never give out login details over the phone, or to members of the public. -
Of course, you can order a copy of a Tribute either as a download link, or as a physical Keepsake in the form of a DVD, USB, Video Book or Memory Box. Just place your order on the ordering platform.