General FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)

• What is the STB?
• Can you rent the Set Top Box?
• Is Humtum TV available in all countries?
• What if I am not satisfied with the contents?
• Are there any corporate discounts?
• Can I watch Humtum TV on an NTSC television set?
• Do I have to live near Osaka to view Humtum TV?
• Are there any trial periods?
• How fast an Internet connection is necessary?
• Image breaks up or video stops while playing
• PC works fine but trouble connecting with the STB.
• The screen only says "Internet connecting." and no menu appears.
• Can I connect a USB keyboard to the port in the rear of the STB?
• I get a black screen while watching my programs.
• What are the differences between "Mode A" and "Mode B"

What is the STB?
The Set Top Box (STB) is used as a decoder to view the programs on Humtum TV. It will come with a wireless remote and function like a cable TV tuner. Program guides of that day and announcements from our office are also viewable on the screen.

Can you rent the Set Top Box?
The Set Top Box must be purchased with each subscription and is necessary to view the programs.

Is Humtum TV available in all countries?
Under the contract we have between ZEE Networks, Humtum TV currently carries the rights to distribute the programs within the following countries.
Japan, Korea, Taiwan

What if I am not satisfied with the contents?
We have a 7day money back warranty in case you would like to cancel your subscription.

Are there any corporate discounts?
Please contact support@humtumtv.com for corporate discounts.

The countries the service are available in (Japan, Korea, Taiwan) have a different video formats from India (NTSC/PAL). Can I view the programs on my TV purchased locally?
The output of the Set Top Box is in NTSC. No converters are necessary to connect the STB when used with a television set manufactured to be use in the countries we provide our service in.

I understand Humtum TV is located in Osaka, Japan. Does the physical distance effect the quality of the image?
As long as you have a stable connection speed to our server, the physical distance should not be an issue.
There is a chance you will have a relatively stable connection if you choose any of the Flets lines offered by NTT as your service provider. In case you do not feel confident with your network conditions, please also refer to our refund policies.

I cannot imagine what it is like to get TV programs off the Internet. Will there be a trial period ?
Due to the nature of our service where the STB is mandatory, we currently do not plan to have a trial period. However, you can always use our money back warranty program when you are not satisfied with our service.

How fast a connection is necessary?
Is my 25Mbps Internet connection fast enough?
A stable connection of 1Mbps should be enough to view the programs without gaps. However, the actual connection speed is usually much lower than what your service is titled. (i.e. 100M, 50M, 25M)
This is present in especially ADSL connections where the speed is effected by the physical distance from the switching center.

Image breaks up or video stops while playing.
Aside from network issues that may be the case, we have a system to check invalid connections installed for security purposes. All play backs made through our member page is considered a "valid" connection while others (i.e. played back from URLs remaining in your cache) maybe considered"invalid."

Please make sure you always click on the link in the channel menu after pausing or when changing channels.

PC works fine but trouble connecting with the STB.
If you have no trouble watching the programs on the PC but cannot connect using the STB within the same network, the cause is generally with the networks settings in your STB.

1. Try setting up your STB to use the same network settings as your PC.
   i.e. If the PC is set to "Automatically retrieve an IP address", set your STB to use DHCP.
   Or if you have your PC setup to use PPPoE (VDSL modem, etc) setup your STB with the required login name and password.
   
   
2. Make sure you have the correct type of LAN cable. There are two types of LAN cables "straight" and "cross". Although the "straight" cables are most popular and what is called for in most environments, there have been reports on cases where the incorrect type of cable was being used. Many of the recent PCs detect which cable is being used and automatically compensate with the cable types. In such cases the PC may work but not on the STB using the same LAN cable.

The screen only says "Internet connecting." and no menu appears.
It is most likely that the STB is not properly set up to connect to the Internet. Enter the "Menu" screen using the button you will find on the lowest left of your remote controller. General situations will require you to select DHCP if you have a broadband router or you may have to enter custom PPPoE settings if not. Although these settings may vary depending on your situation, most settings and terminology are common with setting up your PC. Please consult your ISP(Internet Service Provider) as they should have detailed information on the necessary settings.

Can I connect a USB keyboard to the port in the rear of the STB?
Yes. It may ease your work when entering the network settings, but is not mandatory. A "virtual" keyboard on the screen is also available by pressing the "keyboard" button on your remote controller.

I get a black screen while watching my programs.
If you get a black screen and no sound for 20 to 30 seconds while viewing, there are chances that your STB has frozen. (This may occasionally happen from over heating or long term runs over hours and days.) Please try leaving the STB off for a few minutes and then retry. On the other hand, if the video starts dropping frames but the audio remains or is choppy but not lost completely, your STB may be suffering of the speed drop in the Internet connection. Especially with ADSL lines it is common that the ISP cannot provide the speed they mention such as 8Mbps or 24Mbps.

What are the differences between "Mode A" and "Mode B" ?
This is to manually select the streaming methods. Under rare circumstances, one of the modes may work better than the other. However, most users will only have the choice to use Mode A is used to view on PCs and Mode B for STBs and selecting the other will cause the player to reject the connection.