1. What is Jaman?
2. How big are the film files? How fast will they download?
3. Why should I download the Jaman Player?
4. How did you set the system requirements?
5. What is the Jaman Cascade Network?
6. How do rentals work? Why are some film rentals free?
7. What are tickets? Why do I need them?
8. Can I watch Jaman films on my TV? Can I watch Jaman films on my iPod or through AppleTV? Can I burn a DVD of Jaman films to watch on my DVD player?
9. Why are some films not available to me? (Outside the US/North America)
10. Why is the film playback jumpy? Why is the sound and picture out of synch?
11. What do I do if I see an error?

1. What is Jaman?
Jaman is the best place to find and discuss world and independent cinema. You can download great films to your computer and watch them on your computer or TV.

2. How big are the films? How fast will they download?
Film files are BIG. They run about 1GB per hour of film, so most of the feature-length films are 1.5 - 2GB.

Download speed will vary greatly depending on your type of broadband access and sometimes on your ISP's current traffic. Test out your bandwidth using this CNET tool (opens in a new window).

By the way, here's something for you to keep in mind: bandwidth is measured in BITS, while file size is measured in BYTES (there are 8 bits in a byte). Without going into the math, just know that if your connection is 1 mbps (1000 kbps) connection, that's approximately 450MB/hr, so approximately 3 hours for a 1.5-hour film.

At 3 mbps, it's approximately 1 hour for the same film.
At 6 mbps, it's about 30 mins for that film.

3. Why should I download the Jaman Player?
Watching short films and trailers on Jaman is great, but downloading both feature films and shorts (when available for download) is where you really get to see what Jaman is all about. To do that, you need to download the free Jaman Player.

Plus, watching films in the Player is the only way to experience true social cinema using our in-film discourse!

4. How did you set the system requirements?
Watching a film on your computer is a great way to get films that would otherwise be unavailable. One thing about films is that they are incredibly data-intensive, so it takes a good processor and plenty of memory to do that beautiful movie justice. Revisit the requirements.

5. What is the Jaman Cascade Network?
When you download a film from Jaman, pieces of it can come from the Jaman servers directly or from other Jaman members. This way, you get the movie files from the nearest source.

All of this is fast, efficient, secure, and anonymous. Plus, you should never notice when parts of a film are being uploaded from your computer, even during the Beta.

After all, high definition cinema translates into big files (a 2-hour film is approximately 2GB). We want to keep great film affordable and accessible. The Cascade Network allows that to happen.

The Jaman Cascade Network runs on your computer in background as "jamdownloader.exe." When it is running, you will see tray icon (PC) or a Menu Bar icon (Mac).

6. How do rentals work? Why are some film rentals free?
Rent = 7 days from when you download, watch as many times as you want.

Because we're in Beta, we want you to download films. Lots of them. Try out Jaman, and get a taste for the great World Cinema that's available. Don't worry, all of this is perfectly legit. We still pay the film owners with whom we have revenue shares, and many the shorts and all of OpenCine are free on a regular basis.

The films currently on Jaman are only the start of something amazing. We have over 1000 films under contract, with many more deals in the works. The mix of free rentals will change (and shrink) over the next few months, so sample the free films while you can!

7. What are tickets? Why do I need them?
Starting with the latest Beta release (Feb 28), all new and existing Jaman members will receive one free rental ticket. We created these "tickets" for you to use on films that are not available for free rental.

Until this point, all films were free for rental. We're going to start charging for some of them. Others will remain free (that mix will change over time). We still want you to have the freedom to check out any films and get a good taste of Jaman cinema goodness.

See My Jaman Accounts & Payment Settings to check your current ticket balance. You can also redeem any flyers you get from film festivals/special offers or buy tickets and send them to your friends. That's a great way to get new people to Jaman.

8. Can I watch Jaman films on my TV? Can I watch Jaman films on my iPod or through AppleTV? Can I burn a DVD of Jaman films to watch on my DVD player?
TV: Connecting your computer to your TV is a fantastic way to watch Jaman films. Start learning about that process with this CNET video (will open in a new window).

iPod and AppleTV: At this point, watching Jaman films on your iPod is not available, as they only play unprotected video or video protected with Apple's proprietary FairPlay digital rights management (DRM). Jaman protects our film with a custom DRM that does not work with FairPlay. We want to watch Jaman films on our iPods, too, so we'll continue to research how we might make that happen.

You can find instructions for modifying your AppleTV here. Many similar products are coming onto the market, and we will look at them as they become available.

9. Why are some films not available to me? (Outside the US/North America)
Film rights are a complex business with multiple owners, channels, and geographic regions. Jaman tries to take all internet rights available. At times, North America may be the only territory available, or adding more territories may require a substantial fee. When large fees are involved, we may only take North America at first to try out the film, then add more rights later if it makes sense.

Some of our film owners have decided to try out Jaman in the US or North America only. We use your IP address to determine where you are and will restrict you from downloading the film, if necessary. You can still check out the film detail page, participate in the community, etc.

Right now, we are working on ways to improve how the site shows you which any films you will not be able to download. Until then, see the Cinequest and Tip Top Selections on the Movies page for films that can be seen (almost) anywhere in the world.

10. Why is the film playback jumpy? Why is the sound and picture out of synch?
Most of the time this is because your computer, though try as it might, just cannot process all the data necessary to redraw the picture 24-30 frames per second and manage the sound as well.

This happens most often if you are watching a movie in full screen on a computer that meets minimum requirements, but not the recommended ones. Revisit the system requirements.

If your computer meets all the recommended requirements and you still see strange things happening during playback, please let us know in the Suggestions and Issues forum.

11. What do I do if I see an error?
Ok, everyone, let's remember that this is a Beta! Hiccups do happen, but we've tried to catalog some of the main ones. Please let us know in Suggestions and Issues if what you see is not in the list.