Frequently Asked Questions

It is important to us to provide all users with barrier-free access to filmfriend Schule. We design our website, mobile and TV apps to support technologies for barrier-free use, e.g. keyboard navigation, screen readers. All pages are easy and intuitive to use. We pay attention to sufficient contrasts and a page structure with semantic markups. When possible, we provide audio descriptions and subtitles for the hearing impaired. We are constantly working to make filmfriend even more accessible to all.

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) define requirements for websites to improve accessibility for people with impairments. Here you can find detailed documentation on filmfriend's accessibility (VPAT© Version 2.4.Rev) based on these requirements.

You can only register if you are a teacher or pupil at one of the participating schools. You will find these in the selection list under ‘Register’. 

To register, select your school in the registration form. Then enter the user name and password of your school account. 

If a login fails, your account data may be incorrect or no longer valid. To check this, please contact your school via the ‘Contact’ tab in the main menu. Select this as the ‘Desired contact person’.

PC and Mac? Yes!

filmfriend School is available using an internet browser on both PC and Mac computers.

Keep your computer operating system and browser up to date at all times.

Windows or macOS

• Microsoft Edge
• Firefox
• Google Chrome
• Safari

Linux:

• Firefox
• Google
• Chromium

Tablets and smartphones?

You can use filmfriend School on a tablet or smartphone as well.

You can also download the Android-App from filmfriend in the Play store and the iOS-App is found in the App Store.

Streaming on mobile browser

• on Android with Chrome
• and iOS-devices with Safari

More Information at help and devices.

Connect your PC to the TV using an HDMI cable. Please ensure that the HDMI cable supports HDCP. HDCP is a copy protection technology that prevents digital audio and video content from being illegally copied or recorded. 

It's even easier for owners of an Apple TV (HD - formaly 4th generation - or higher) or AirPlay-compatible TV. Using the Airplay feature (not screen sync), you can stream the screen content on your iPad or iPhone wirelessly to your TV through Apple TV. 

With a Chromecast Stick or with a Chromecast-compatible TV, you can transfer your movies to the TV for Android and Apple devices and navigate from your mobile phone/tablet. Simply plug the stick into your TV and open our platform filmfriend School on your mobile phone. 

Select the desired film here and press the transfer icon to the TV in the player.

More Information at help and devices.

If you are logged in, Videos that have not played all the way through are displayed on the Home screen in the "Continue Watching" strip.

If available, you can switch languages and subtitles in the player:

• Start the movie first. At the bottom right you will find three dots.
• Click on it, a selection menu appears.
• Under "Language" select the desired language and under "Subtitles" the subtitles.
• The menu items are only displayed if additional languages or subtitles are available.

You can find which films have which languages and/or subtitles as follows: 

• Open the search via the search button above
• You will find various filters under the search bar, including language and subtitle filters
• Clicking on a button for language or subtitle will open a selection list
• Clicking on the required language opens a page with all titles we offer for your selection
• On the left side you will find the filters again, in order to make a further restriction if necessary
• With the button "Reset all filters" you get back to the search

Film ratings are made with the intent to protect children and teenagers from seeing age inappropriate content. The age classification of films in cinemas is regulated by national youth protection laws. For example, in Germany, the classification decisions are made by the Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft (FSK), in France, the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée (CNC) is responsible, and in the USA, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) represents the interests of the American film and television industry in terms of youth protection in the media.

Age classifications vary due to different systems in many countries. It is important to note that an age classification is not a pedagogical recommendation. A film could be designated as not harmful to children, but its meaning may still be better understood by teenagers. It is the parents or guardians who know their child best and must decide what the child can watch.

Streaming providers must clearly indicate an age rating according to the youth protection laws (in Germany, for example, according to § 12 JMStV). However, if a film or series does not have an age classification, it can be assigned by the respective streaming service provider. filmfriend School follows the guidelines of national classification bodies but also considers pedagogical criteria and seeks a balance between the cultural sensitivities of different countries – certain themes are perceived differently in different countries.

All filmfriend School movies have age ratings. If your school has a policy regarding youth usage privileges, they will provide us with users ages and usage privileges via an encrypted channel during registration. If a user is younger than the age rating of a film, they will be unable to play the film. This also applies to movie trailers. 

PIN

You can also store a PIN for your account and set an age. Movies with an age rating above this age can then only be played when this PIN is entered. PIN and age can be changed. You can find the settings for PIN assignment in your profile area (icon at the top right next to the search).

You can collect movies, series and collections in an individual watchlist. You can find the watchlist in your profile area.

You can add movies, series and collections to the Watchlist in two ways:

• Mouseover the preview images in browser and a colored icon will appear in the upper left corner. Click on this icon to add the movie, series or collection to the Watchlist.
• On the respective detail page of the film, series or collection you will find a button "Watchlist". Click this button to add the movie, series or collection to the Watchlist.

Removing movies, series and collections is also possible in several ways:

• On the respective detail page of the movie, series or collections you will find a button "Watchlist". If a movie, series or collection is already on the watchlist, the icon in the button is filled in color. By clicking on the button you can remove the movie, series or collection from the watchlist again.
• You can also remove content from the Watchlist directly in your Watchlist in your profil. With mouseover on a preview picture in browser an icon appears on the top left. Clicking on the icon removes the content from the watchlist. The next time you load the browser, the content will no longer appear in your watchlist.
• You can also remove several items from the watchlist at the same time: Above the watchlist you will find a menu item "Edit" on the right. When you click on it, small circles will appear at the top left of all content. Click on these circles to select all the content you want to remove. By clicking on the "Remove" button, all marked content will be removed and will no longer be visible after the next loading of the browser.

In the filmfriend School mobile app you can also download films temporarily for a period of up to 30 days. This allows you to use the app offline in situations where an adequate internet connection is not available. However, copying the movies is prevented by the DRM used.

iOS devices do not allow the connection of an external memory card.

With Android devices it is basically possible to use an external memory. In the filmfriend School app you can choose in the "My Downloads" section via the memory icon whether the movie should be downloaded to your device or to an external memory card.

If this icon is not displayed on your device, your device does not support the standards for external storage.

Open the search page via the search button at the top right of the header and enter one or more terms in the search field. With Autocomplete, results are already suggested to you.

• Either select a suggested result: Then a page opens with the movie as search result.
• Or click on the arrow on the right in the search field. Then a page opens with all matching search results.

All films that contain the term at least once will be displayed. If there are several terms, all terms must be included (AND search).

The result display is prioritised according to how often the or all terms are contained in the title and metadata. Results in which the term(s) appear(s) in the title or in the name of a participant are given higher weighting.

If you do not receive a search result when searching for several terms, you can extend the search. All terms will then be searched individually (OR search).

To the left of the search results you will find further filters to narrow down the results if necessary.

Yes, we offer various filters:

Open the search page via the search button at the top right of the header. Below the input field for the keyword search you will find various filter buttons.

Click on a button to open a selection list. Select the desired filter and a page with the filter results will open. 

To the left of the results you will find further filters to narrow down the results if necessary.

On the search page we offer various filters. You can open the search page by clicking on the search button in the upper right corner. Below the search bar you will find various filters, including "Type".

Click on the filter to open a list. Click on the list entry "Collections" to open an overview of all collections.

Click on the button "Reset all filters" to return to the search.

The licenses for movies in different countries are given by different copyright owners.

We do try to show all our movies worldwide, but that’s sometimes not possible due to copyright law.

Normally, the movies are at least available in Germany, Austria and the German-speaking part of Switzerland.

Streaming: We suggest a broadband internet connection with at least 2 Mbps (megabytes per second) data transmission rate for movies in SD quality and 6 Mbps for movies in HD-quality. Generally, streaming also works with low-speed internet.

The movie quality will adapt depending on your internet speed.

Please keep in mind that your actual Internet speed is typically less than the speed advertised by our internet provider.

In those, it’s regularly giving that the speed can ‘go up to’, which are assumed to be based on an ideal line connection. But if many households share one DSL-line, it’s a must to wipe off some of the connection on a constant basis.

There are many free options on the Internet that can test your actual Internet speed, e.g. at www.wieistmeineip.de/speedtest.