Getting Started With Soapbox

Information about getting started on your Soapbox journey.

Alert
The video recording power of Soapbox is now available natively in Wistia. Learn more

Getting Started

Before your big screen debut, you’ll need to make sure Soapbox is properly installed and ready to go. Let’s make it happen!

Note: Soapbox is currently only available in the latest version of Chrome.

Installing the Chrome Extension

Your journey begins on the Soapbox landing page.

Click the Get Soapbox option to get started. Once you’ve installed the extension you’ll be prompted to create an account, answer some questions, and grant webcam permission to Soapbox to begin recording. Make sure you grant permission, or you won’t be able to record anything!

Creating an Account

Although Wistia and Soapbox are separate products, your Soapbox account will share login credentials with a Wistia account. This means that you’ll need to log in with an existing Wistia account or create a new one when you install the Soapbox extension and are prompted to log in for the first time. After you do either, you’ll be taken to this page:

Note
Although you’ll technically be creating a Wistia account when you create a Soapbox login, you won’t be redirected to Wistia.

From this welcome page, you can click the Recording Settings link in the orange banner, which will take you to your account settings. There, you can click Grant permission > Allow so that you’ll be able to begin recording.

Or you can fill out the few quick questions about your company and how you plan to use Soapbox (we’d really appreciate it!), and after you click Submit, you’ll be prompted to enable the same webcam and microphone permissions.

Once you’ve done that, you’re all set. Click the blue camera button in your toolbar to record your first video!

Setting Up Recording Devices

Soapbox will automatically use the default camera and microphone for video and audio. In most cases, these will be the built-in options on your computer. To choose an external device, click the Soapbox icon in your Chrome toolbar. This will open the recording page in a new tab where you can select a video and audio source.

Camera Settings

You can adjust the webcam recording width and frame rate right from the recording page by selecting “Show Advanced Settings” under your webcam preview.

If you’re concerned about the quality of your video, you’ll want to set these options as high as possible. Keep in mind that two simultaneous video recordings can take quite a toll on your computer. We recommend that you close any unnecessary programs while using Soapbox and also that you keep your recordings under 15 minutes in-length when possible.

Note
Longer Soapbox recordings put a larger strain on your computers local hardware. We recommend recordings under 15 minutes in-length for the best results, but depending on your set-up your results may differ!

Minimum System Requirements

Recording multiple streams of video and an audio stream from your computer can be somewhat taxing on your computer. For that reason, we’ve put together some minimum system requirements for using Soapbox. Anything less than these settings will likely make using Soapbox difficult.

  • Dual core 2.0 GHz or Core i3 1.7 GHz processor, or better
  • 2 GB RAM
  • 128 MB video RAM
Note
Not sure if you qualify? To see your computer specs, on a Mac click the Apple icon in the top left corner, and select About this Mac. On a PC you’ll want to check in Control Panel > System.

Connecting Soapbox to Wistia

Want to export Soapbox videos to your Wistia account? It’s easy! But first you’ll have to turn on the Wistia Connector from your Account page. You can access this by selecting Account from the dropdown menu in the upper right corner of any page in Soapbox, or visit this link: https://soapbox.wistia.com/settings/account

Under Wistia Connector, select Connect. Soapbox will then link to the Wistia account or accounts that are associated with the same email address you used to log into Soapbox. When you click Connect, you’ll be presented with that list of accounts (of which you should select one) or a window with the following message:

“Authorize Soapbox Connector to connect with your Wistia account? Once authorized, this application will be able to read, update, and delete anything.”

Read the warnings and confirm you’d like to give Soapbox access to your Wistia account, and then you should be all set to export your videos to Wistia!

If you no longer want Soapbox connected to your Wistia account, just select Disconnect under Wistia Connector. Once you do, the option to Connect your account will be available again if you’d like it.

Note
Soapbox can only connect to a Wistia account that’s associated with the email address that you used to log in to Soapbox. If you want to connect to a different account, you’ll first need to have the Account Owner or a Manager add you as a user using your Soapbox email address.

Removing Soapbox

Not feeling comfortable on your Soapbox? No problem at all.

If you’d like to completely remove Soapbox from your Chrome browser, you’ll have to remove its permissions to your Google account.

  1. While logged into Google, go to myaccount.google.com.
  2. In the Sign-in & Security section, click Connected Apps and Sites.
  3. Click Manage Apps.
  4. Find Soapbox in the list of apps, and click the button to remove it.

This will remove any access Soapbox has to your Google account.

Once that is finished, only one step remains. Right click the Soapbox icon in the Chrome toolbar, and select Remove from Chrome.

That’s it. See you around! 👋