ShowBizPizza.com FAQ
Updated September 1, 2010
The following is a list of answers to questions and topics that all relate to ShowBizPizza.com and its subsections. Of course, not every question is included here. If there's a question you have regarding the website that's not answered below, please feel free to contact a member of our Staff for help.
What's the story on SP.com - how long have you been online and why aren't there any other SPP/CEC fansites of this caliber around?
VegaNova founded SP.com in late 1999 and it began with two seperate websites - one for CEC and one for ShowBiz (originally titled "The ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's Website"). That amounted to maybe a total of 10 webpages that used 5 or 6 photographs, a few images of collectables, and some rather poor sound files pulled from old vinyl records. Pretty embarrassing but it had to start somewhere. Since our inception the fan community has gathered around SP.com and with the help and submissions of fellow fans around the country, we've been able to put together a literal online archive of information. Now there are hundreds of different webpages, a vast assortment of documented info, thousands of photos, a community forum, radio station, and so much more!
Why are there no other SPP/CEC sites that are nearly as extensive as SP.com? It's a matter of hard work, dedication, and the nature of our fan community. SP.com is the result of combined efforts - what started out as one fan's dream soon grabbed the attention of others. Many parts of SP.com were envisioned by others (The Showtape Review, Radio Showbiz, etc) and could very well have been their own stand-alone websites. However due to the friendly nature of the community and the established presence of SP.com, these ideas were collected together under the same roof. So long story short, SP.com is a grouping of separate websites all combined into one - a site made by fans, for fans.
Why does most of this website look a certain way, but some of it looks different?
We are currently undergoing a full remodel to our "version 4.0" style. For the remainder of 2010 we're going to be working at this so you're probably going to find a few dead links and many 'older' pages. We appreciate your patience through this mess and hope you enjoy the final outcome once completed!
How do I submit content to ShowBizPizza.com? What are the submission guidelines?
If your submission is already in digital form (JPG, PDF, mp3, WMV, etc) you can attach it to an e-mail and send it directly to the webmaster at veganova@showbizpizza.com. If the submission is physical (brochure, showtape, photo prints, etc) you can snail mail them directly to ShowBizPizza.com. Please see our contact page for our mailing address. All content sent to us will be returned upon request, however please send any items at your own risk! We have no control over the mail once it's out of our hands.
You will be given credit (recognition) for your submissions - the name or ID used is your choice. Once the content is digitally posted on our website it becomes the property of ShowBizPizza.com, and may be used in any manner without further compensation to the submitter. If you need your content removed for whatever reason, please contact us. Removal will be decided on a case by case scenario, but is ultimately the decision of ShowBizPizza.com.
Updated September 1, 2010
The following is a list of answers to questions and topics that all relate to ShowBizPizza.com and its subsections. Of course, not every question is included here. If there's a question you have regarding the website that's not answered below, please feel free to contact a member of our Staff for help.
What's the story on SP.com - how long have you been online and why aren't there any other SPP/CEC fansites of this caliber around?
VegaNova founded SP.com in late 1999 and it began with two seperate websites - one for CEC and one for ShowBiz (originally titled "The ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's Website"). That amounted to maybe a total of 10 webpages that used 5 or 6 photographs, a few images of collectables, and some rather poor sound files pulled from old vinyl records. Pretty embarrassing but it had to start somewhere. Since our inception the fan community has gathered around SP.com and with the help and submissions of fellow fans around the country, we've been able to put together a literal online archive of information. Now there are hundreds of different webpages, a vast assortment of documented info, thousands of photos, a community forum, radio station, and so much more!
Why are there no other SPP/CEC sites that are nearly as extensive as SP.com? It's a matter of hard work, dedication, and the nature of our fan community. SP.com is the result of combined efforts - what started out as one fan's dream soon grabbed the attention of others. Many parts of SP.com were envisioned by others (The Showtape Review, Radio Showbiz, etc) and could very well have been their own stand-alone websites. However due to the friendly nature of the community and the established presence of SP.com, these ideas were collected together under the same roof. So long story short, SP.com is a grouping of separate websites all combined into one - a site made by fans, for fans.
Why does most of this website look a certain way, but some of it looks different?
We are currently undergoing a full remodel to our "version 4.0" style. For the remainder of 2010 we're going to be working at this so you're probably going to find a few dead links and many 'older' pages. We appreciate your patience through this mess and hope you enjoy the final outcome once completed!
How do I submit content to ShowBizPizza.com? What are the submission guidelines?
If your submission is already in digital form (JPG, PDF, mp3, WMV, etc) you can attach it to an e-mail and send it directly to the webmaster at veganova@showbizpizza.com. If the submission is physical (brochure, showtape, photo prints, etc) you can snail mail them directly to ShowBizPizza.com. Please see our contact page for our mailing address. All content sent to us will be returned upon request, however please send any items at your own risk! We have no control over the mail once it's out of our hands.
You will be given credit (recognition) for your submissions - the name or ID used is your choice. Once the content is digitally posted on our website it becomes the property of ShowBizPizza.com, and may be used in any manner without further compensation to the submitter. If you need your content removed for whatever reason, please contact us. Removal will be decided on a case by case scenario, but is ultimately the decision of ShowBizPizza.com.
Radio ShowBiz FAQ
What is Radio Showbiz? Do I have to pay to listen?
Radio Showbiz originally aired from August 2005 to May 2007. We returned to the air in April 2009 and play music relating to ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's. We are an online radio station created by fans for fans. The station is broadcast through SHOUTcast and is on the air continuously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no cost to sign up or tune in, this is a free service offered by ShowBizPizza.com.
Do I need to be connected to ShowBizPizza.com to listen to the station?
Nope! That's the beauty of Radio Showbiz - you can be tuned in while your checking out SP.com, surfing other sites on the net, chatting with friends through a messenger service, or doing anything at all! We welcome you to tune in anytime and as often as you want - it's free after all!
Do I need any special software to tune in?
The Radio Showbiz stream can be played directly from the embedded player at the top of the Radio Showbiz homepage here, or it also be played through popular audio programs such as Winamp, Windows Media Player, Real Player, and Quicktime. Just click on the playlist links below (right-click and select "Save Target As" to download the links to your computer for easy future reference if you would like).
Winamp / iTunes
Windows Media Player
Real Player
Quicktime
You can even catch the station while mobile with your table or smartphone (iOS and Android compatible) by using the embedded player found on the Radio Showbiz homepage. There's also many apps that can tune into SHOUTcast streams, available in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.
I can't hear the broadcast - is something wrong?
This can be tricky - if you're trying to listen through a dial-up modem you won't be able to tune in. Our station streams at 128kbps which is faster than a dial-up connection can handle. The higher bitrate allows us to broadcast in CD quality, unfortunately at this time only users of high-speed internet will be able to tune in. It should be noted that we have a very limited listener cap (50 simultaneous listeners).
If you can hear the intro bumper but the stream fails to load (or is silent minus a few audio blips) it's likely that the station is temporarily down. This is something that happens outside of our control as the radio broadcasts automatically. We can usually fix this with a stream rebooting. If you find the station acting like this, please send a notification to radioshowbiz@showbizpizza.com - we will reboot the station as soon as possible, but please be patient as it may take a full 24 hours before the stream returns.
If you are on a high speed connection and still can't hear the stream, please consult the SHOUTcast Support Forums.
What is Radio Showbiz? Do I have to pay to listen?
Radio Showbiz originally aired from August 2005 to May 2007. We returned to the air in April 2009 and play music relating to ShowBiz Pizza Place and Chuck E. Cheese's. We are an online radio station created by fans for fans. The station is broadcast through SHOUTcast and is on the air continuously 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is no cost to sign up or tune in, this is a free service offered by ShowBizPizza.com.
Do I need to be connected to ShowBizPizza.com to listen to the station?
Nope! That's the beauty of Radio Showbiz - you can be tuned in while your checking out SP.com, surfing other sites on the net, chatting with friends through a messenger service, or doing anything at all! We welcome you to tune in anytime and as often as you want - it's free after all!
Do I need any special software to tune in?
The Radio Showbiz stream can be played directly from the embedded player at the top of the Radio Showbiz homepage here, or it also be played through popular audio programs such as Winamp, Windows Media Player, Real Player, and Quicktime. Just click on the playlist links below (right-click and select "Save Target As" to download the links to your computer for easy future reference if you would like).
Winamp / iTunes
Windows Media Player
Real Player
Quicktime
You can even catch the station while mobile with your table or smartphone (iOS and Android compatible) by using the embedded player found on the Radio Showbiz homepage. There's also many apps that can tune into SHOUTcast streams, available in the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.
I can't hear the broadcast - is something wrong?
This can be tricky - if you're trying to listen through a dial-up modem you won't be able to tune in. Our station streams at 128kbps which is faster than a dial-up connection can handle. The higher bitrate allows us to broadcast in CD quality, unfortunately at this time only users of high-speed internet will be able to tune in. It should be noted that we have a very limited listener cap (50 simultaneous listeners).
If you can hear the intro bumper but the stream fails to load (or is silent minus a few audio blips) it's likely that the station is temporarily down. This is something that happens outside of our control as the radio broadcasts automatically. We can usually fix this with a stream rebooting. If you find the station acting like this, please send a notification to radioshowbiz@showbizpizza.com - we will reboot the station as soon as possible, but please be patient as it may take a full 24 hours before the stream returns.
If you are on a high speed connection and still can't hear the stream, please consult the SHOUTcast Support Forums.
Photo Gallery FAQ
I have some photos I'd like to share - can I have them added to the gallery?
Yes, we would love to see what you have. We are particularly interested in older and/or unique material. Photos from the 1980s of Pizza Time Theatre or ShowBiz Pizza Place are always needed. Please see our submission instructions above to learn how to get your photos to us!
All photos received are subject to evaluation. As much as we'd love to post every single photo that is submitted to us, we may be unable to do so because of bandwidth and webspace limitations. Photos will be evaluated based on content, number of photos, clarity, artistic nature, and relevance to Chuck E. Cheese's and ShowBiz Pizza.
If we are unable to give your photos their own page, we will do our best to incorporate your photos somehow into ShowBizPizza.com (perhaps into a misc photo section or somewhere else). It may also be the case that only a portion of your photos are posted, again due to webspace limits.
I have some photos I'd like to share - can I have them added to the gallery?
Yes, we would love to see what you have. We are particularly interested in older and/or unique material. Photos from the 1980s of Pizza Time Theatre or ShowBiz Pizza Place are always needed. Please see our submission instructions above to learn how to get your photos to us!
All photos received are subject to evaluation. As much as we'd love to post every single photo that is submitted to us, we may be unable to do so because of bandwidth and webspace limitations. Photos will be evaluated based on content, number of photos, clarity, artistic nature, and relevance to Chuck E. Cheese's and ShowBiz Pizza.
If we are unable to give your photos their own page, we will do our best to incorporate your photos somehow into ShowBizPizza.com (perhaps into a misc photo section or somewhere else). It may also be the case that only a portion of your photos are posted, again due to webspace limits.
Video Archive FAQ
What do I need to do to watch? Do I need any special software?
The videos are streamed in WMV format (Windows Media Video) and most browsers already have the current version installed. If yours doesn't, you can always check the Microsoft Website for the latest version (free download).
I can't see any videos - is something wrong?
This can be tricky - if you're trying to watch through a dial-up modem you will have a hard time viewing some of the streams. Many of these videos are several minutes in length and do require some time to download and buffer on slow connections. If you know you have a slow connection you might try giving the video a minute or two to dowload before attempting to view it. Or you can press the "stop" button on the player and download the video instead for later viewing on your computer.
How do I download these videos?
If you're wanting to save these to your computer for later viewing, we strongly recommend that you do so! Simply right-click any video link and select "Save Target As" and that's it - the download should begin to the desired location on your computer. If you simply click the link, the media will launch in the embedded "shadowbox" and begin playing, so remember to right-click if you want to download!
My browser keeps crashing when I'm trying to load a video. What's causing this?
Hard to say. In testing the video pages we've found that Internet Explorer can sometimes crash randomly when a video begins playing. All reported issues contend that it's due to an IE plugin that's causing the issue. Check to see if your IE uses any plugins (such as Google or Yahoo Toolbar, etc) and see if disabling them creates a solution.
My videos are playing but they always display at the top of the webpage where I have to scroll to see them. What can I do about this?
Our videos are displayed using a newer "shadowbox" coding, which allows the videos to launch directly on the page by clicking a simple link. However there are some compatibility issues with certain browsers / versions. We've tested the code in IE, Firefox, and Chrome but if you have an older version or different browser your results may vary from ours. The best suggestion is to simply download the videos you're interested in as described above, so you can play them locally on your computer.
Why can't I view any videos using my Nintendo Wii or my smartphone?
The Nintendo Wii uses a version of the Opera browser that, unfortunately, does not play WMV files. If you're surfing the web this way, we suggest that you check out our sister accounts on YouTube that host many of these videos. Searching for "ShowBiz Pizza" or "Chuck E. Cheese" will also turn up a variety of accounts that host the very same movies shown here in our Archive.
Most smartphones cannot display WMV videos, so unfortunately the movies in our archive are unplayable. This holds true for iPhones, Android phones, and others.
I have a video that's not in the Archive and I'd love to share it - how do I do that?
We're glad you want to help! The most painless method (for us) is for you to create a YouTube user account and upload your digital video, let us know the link, and we'll add it to the Archive and credit your name for the submission! If you have your video on VHS or DVD or in digital form, read our submission instructions above and we'll get it added when we can. Although we'd love to post every video we can, our selections may be limited to rarity and quality of a video depending on the amount of time we have. Please let us know what you have and would like to share before mailing out any videos!
What do I need to do to watch? Do I need any special software?
The videos are streamed in WMV format (Windows Media Video) and most browsers already have the current version installed. If yours doesn't, you can always check the Microsoft Website for the latest version (free download).
I can't see any videos - is something wrong?
This can be tricky - if you're trying to watch through a dial-up modem you will have a hard time viewing some of the streams. Many of these videos are several minutes in length and do require some time to download and buffer on slow connections. If you know you have a slow connection you might try giving the video a minute or two to dowload before attempting to view it. Or you can press the "stop" button on the player and download the video instead for later viewing on your computer.
How do I download these videos?
If you're wanting to save these to your computer for later viewing, we strongly recommend that you do so! Simply right-click any video link and select "Save Target As" and that's it - the download should begin to the desired location on your computer. If you simply click the link, the media will launch in the embedded "shadowbox" and begin playing, so remember to right-click if you want to download!
My browser keeps crashing when I'm trying to load a video. What's causing this?
Hard to say. In testing the video pages we've found that Internet Explorer can sometimes crash randomly when a video begins playing. All reported issues contend that it's due to an IE plugin that's causing the issue. Check to see if your IE uses any plugins (such as Google or Yahoo Toolbar, etc) and see if disabling them creates a solution.
My videos are playing but they always display at the top of the webpage where I have to scroll to see them. What can I do about this?
Our videos are displayed using a newer "shadowbox" coding, which allows the videos to launch directly on the page by clicking a simple link. However there are some compatibility issues with certain browsers / versions. We've tested the code in IE, Firefox, and Chrome but if you have an older version or different browser your results may vary from ours. The best suggestion is to simply download the videos you're interested in as described above, so you can play them locally on your computer.
Why can't I view any videos using my Nintendo Wii or my smartphone?
The Nintendo Wii uses a version of the Opera browser that, unfortunately, does not play WMV files. If you're surfing the web this way, we suggest that you check out our sister accounts on YouTube that host many of these videos. Searching for "ShowBiz Pizza" or "Chuck E. Cheese" will also turn up a variety of accounts that host the very same movies shown here in our Archive.
Most smartphones cannot display WMV videos, so unfortunately the movies in our archive are unplayable. This holds true for iPhones, Android phones, and others.
I have a video that's not in the Archive and I'd love to share it - how do I do that?
We're glad you want to help! The most painless method (for us) is for you to create a YouTube user account and upload your digital video, let us know the link, and we'll add it to the Archive and credit your name for the submission! If you have your video on VHS or DVD or in digital form, read our submission instructions above and we'll get it added when we can. Although we'd love to post every video we can, our selections may be limited to rarity and quality of a video depending on the amount of time we have. Please let us know what you have and would like to share before mailing out any videos!
SP.com University FAQ
How do I view the item in the University? Do I need special software?
All of our documents are in PDF format, which allows us to post an entire collection of papers (ie, a 30 page manual) as one single document. To view these, you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader which is already built into most of the major web browsers - simply click on the links and you'll be able to view the documents. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, you download it here free.
Can I save the files from the University?
Yes! Simply right click any of the links and select 'Save As' and you'll begin downloading the documents. We strongly stress that the files contained here are for educational use only. Please use them only for your own reference.
Why can't I find just the CEC documents, or only the ShowBiz documents?
Navigating through our archives might seem confusing at first, however the catagories are divided up in the manner they are for a reason. The first division is by document type (advertisement, company document, news article, etc). From there they are subdivided by the company from which they were printed, not necessarily which restaurant or characters they pertain to. For instance you'll find both CEC and SPP items that were released by ShowBiz Pizza Time Inc (1985-1998).
The reason they're sorted this way is to put the documents into the context of where the company(ies) were during the time period the documents were released. The goal of the University is to educate viewers about the entire ShowBiz/CEC concept, which at times is fairly intertwined.
Where is the info about characters and animated stages?
The SP.com University deals mainly with the history and documents relating to the parent companies of these restaurants. If you're looking for comprehensive information about the Rock-afire Explosion and Chuck E. Cheese characters, please check out the RAE and CEC sections of this website.
Where are all the current CEC newsletters?
We understand fans who want to know about the latest info about CEC. We also understand how sensitive certain company materials can be. Since our goal is to educate about the historical perspective, and we want to respect CEC's right to privacy, documents must meet two criteria before being posted to our University.
#1 - The document is over 5 years old
#2 - The document does not contain overly sensitive material
I have a document that's not in the University, can I submit it?
Of course! We're always looking for new material. Please let us know what you have, and we'll figure out the best way of handling the submission. Please see our submission instructions above to learn how to get your documents to us!
How do I view the item in the University? Do I need special software?
All of our documents are in PDF format, which allows us to post an entire collection of papers (ie, a 30 page manual) as one single document. To view these, you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader which is already built into most of the major web browsers - simply click on the links and you'll be able to view the documents. If you don't have Acrobat Reader, you download it here free.
Can I save the files from the University?
Yes! Simply right click any of the links and select 'Save As' and you'll begin downloading the documents. We strongly stress that the files contained here are for educational use only. Please use them only for your own reference.
Why can't I find just the CEC documents, or only the ShowBiz documents?
Navigating through our archives might seem confusing at first, however the catagories are divided up in the manner they are for a reason. The first division is by document type (advertisement, company document, news article, etc). From there they are subdivided by the company from which they were printed, not necessarily which restaurant or characters they pertain to. For instance you'll find both CEC and SPP items that were released by ShowBiz Pizza Time Inc (1985-1998).
The reason they're sorted this way is to put the documents into the context of where the company(ies) were during the time period the documents were released. The goal of the University is to educate viewers about the entire ShowBiz/CEC concept, which at times is fairly intertwined.
Where is the info about characters and animated stages?
The SP.com University deals mainly with the history and documents relating to the parent companies of these restaurants. If you're looking for comprehensive information about the Rock-afire Explosion and Chuck E. Cheese characters, please check out the RAE and CEC sections of this website.
Where are all the current CEC newsletters?
We understand fans who want to know about the latest info about CEC. We also understand how sensitive certain company materials can be. Since our goal is to educate about the historical perspective, and we want to respect CEC's right to privacy, documents must meet two criteria before being posted to our University.
#1 - The document is over 5 years old
#2 - The document does not contain overly sensitive material
I have a document that's not in the University, can I submit it?
Of course! We're always looking for new material. Please let us know what you have, and we'll figure out the best way of handling the submission. Please see our submission instructions above to learn how to get your documents to us!
Special Events - CheeseVention DVD FAQ
What exactly is the "CV Fund"?
The CV Fund is a fundraising effort spearheaded by the sponsors of CheeseVention. The funding is entirely raised through sales of CV related merchandise (commemorative DVD sales, and yearly t-shirt / merchandise sales). Your purchase of CV items helps us to perpetuate the yearly conventions, and all funds are used to help purhcase snacks for our guests, transportation costs, hotel conference room fees, etc. All money raised is used 100% to cover costs directly related to CheeseVention - so even if you can't afford to make the trip out, you can still help support the cause by purchasing CV related items!
How much are shipping charges?
Shipping charges depend on the quantity of DVDs purchased - for a single DVD set, the charge is $3.00. For two or more DVD sets, the charge is $5.20. Shipping is via USPS standard mail.
I would like to send a check or a money order - do I have to use Paypal?
Paypal is the preferred method of payment, for its ease of use and immediacy. We will however accept money orders or personal checks (which will take a little longer to clear before we can ship). If you would like to make a snail-mail payment, please send an order request to veganova@showbizpizza.com, and we'll get you the total with shipping and the address to which you can send payment.
What exactly is the "CV Fund"?
The CV Fund is a fundraising effort spearheaded by the sponsors of CheeseVention. The funding is entirely raised through sales of CV related merchandise (commemorative DVD sales, and yearly t-shirt / merchandise sales). Your purchase of CV items helps us to perpetuate the yearly conventions, and all funds are used to help purhcase snacks for our guests, transportation costs, hotel conference room fees, etc. All money raised is used 100% to cover costs directly related to CheeseVention - so even if you can't afford to make the trip out, you can still help support the cause by purchasing CV related items!
How much are shipping charges?
Shipping charges depend on the quantity of DVDs purchased - for a single DVD set, the charge is $3.00. For two or more DVD sets, the charge is $5.20. Shipping is via USPS standard mail.
I would like to send a check or a money order - do I have to use Paypal?
Paypal is the preferred method of payment, for its ease of use and immediacy. We will however accept money orders or personal checks (which will take a little longer to clear before we can ship). If you would like to make a snail-mail payment, please send an order request to veganova@showbizpizza.com, and we'll get you the total with shipping and the address to which you can send payment.