How do I cancel my membership?
What do I do if I've forgotten my password?
How do I contact DarkThunder.com
Watching DarkThunder.com
Why isn't DarkThunder.com picture quality the same as on TV?
Why are there occasional gaps in the video stream?
Why can't I receive any DarkThunder.com Video content?
What do I need to access DarkThunder.com Video content?
Are there any known streaming quality issues?
Can computer network 'protocols' cause audio and video streaming problems?
What requirements do I need to view audio and video on DarkThunder.com?
How can I check what version of Windows Media Player I have?
How can I check what Browser version I have?
For Mac users
Can I use an old login name to re-subscribe with?
Notes regarding Pay by Phone
Note to AOL users
Third Party Content (XXX Cinema titles)
Trial Memberships
Epoch Customers Billing Support

How do I cancel my membership?
Click here to cancel.

What do I do if I've forgotten my password?
Click here and retrieve your password

Watching DarkThunder.com
There are 2 ways that you can watch DarkThunder.com video episodes - You can DOWNLOAD and play DarkThunder.com video episodes from your computer hard drive, over and over again (Sorry - Mac users cannot dowload DarkThunder videos). Or you can stream them if you enjoy that more or are on a Mac computer. To download you need to right click on the "DOWNLOAD" button and then "SAVE TARGET AS".

Why would you want to do this?

For lots of good reasons!

• If your ISP charges you for downloading, you only have to download the video episode once (instead of every time you want to watch it)
• If you're on dial-up you can still watch the 700k videos (they're much better quality)
• Sometimes the internet becomes congested, which causes video streaming to fail. By downloading the video first and then watching it you always have a smooth experience.

You will occasionally be prompted to provide your user name and password when you try to download a video. Don't worry - this is supposed to happen.

If you haven't already, you are going to need to upgrade your Windows Media Player to Version 11. You can do this here.

You also need to click on the TOOLS button on you Windows Media Player, then OPTIONS, then PRIVACY and check the box that says ACQUIRE LICENSES AUTOMATICALLY FOR PROTECTED CONTENT.

Why isn't DarkThunder.com picture quality the same as on TV?
Internet bandwidth is an important part of video streaming delivery and playback. We have made each episode available in four formats: 38kbps 'narrowband', 180kbps, 300kbps, 700kbps and 1800kbps 'broadband' (for ADSL, ISDN, T1...). Bandwidth requirements for 38kbps are such that it reduces the quality of the images and sound when compared to television broadcast quality. The quality of video streaming through 38kbps modems and standard telephone lines may therefore be poor, whereas the quality through 1800kbps+ broadband will be greatly increased.

DarkThunder.com has been optimised for viewing on Windows Media 10 or Flash Player 9. If you haven't already done so, we recommend you update your Windows Media Player by clicking here. Or udpating your Flash Player by clicking here.

Why are there occasional gaps in the video stream?
You may experience streaming problems as a result of internet congestion. It is likely to be temporary.

Why can't I receive any DarkThunder.com Video content?
Please make sure that you have a recent browser version (we recommend Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher), and you have Windows Media Player 10 or above installed or Flash Player 9 or above installed. Additionally, you may not be able to access the content if you are operating a firewall. You may need to review your proxy settings that will enable access. DarkThunder.com footage has been optimised for viewing on Windows Media 10 or Flash Player 9 and above. If you haven't already done so, we recommend you update your Windows Media Player or install the Flash Player.

Click here to update your Windows Media Player or click here to install the Flash Player.

You will also need to enable Licenses to be acquired automatically by your Windows Media Player. You do this clicking the following settings on your Windows Media Player:

Click Tools, then OPTIONS, then PRIVACY and check the box that says ACQUIRE LICENSES AUTOMATICALLY FOR PROTECTED CONTENT.

What do I need to access DarkThunder.com Video content?
Ensure that you have a recent browser version with JavaScript enabled (we recommend Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, Mac Safari 2 or higher or Firefox 2 or higher), and you have Windows Media Player 10 or Flash Player 9 installed.

Are there any known streaming quality issues?
Members may encounter issues with video streaming quality due to the distance and multiple networks and ISP's that he data has to be transferred through in order to reach your computer. These issues are not unique to DarkThunder.com and are not related to the quality of the video content available on the site. Many factors can affect the viewing quality of audio and video streaming. For example:

• The user's computer and its ability to playback audio and video content -- from processing power and graphics cards to quality of speaker, modem and so on.
  
• The ISP (Internet Service Provider) of the user.
  
• The connectivity 'hops' to access a streaming server and playback the audio and/or video content. Some users may be come through to the DarkThunder.com streaming server via many hops. The audio and video playback quality could be affected by this.
  
• Connection speed of the user (this may not be guaranteed by ISPs)

Protocols, or rules, exist at several levels in a telecommunication connection. Your Windows Media Player or Flash Player tries to use the most efficient protocol for streaming. If a protocol fails, the media player checks for less efficient but more reliable protocols. HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a commonly-used set of rules for exchanging files on the internet. In some cases your media player will not correctly switch protocols to use HTTP. If you are experiencing streaming problems, we recommend you configure your media player to use HTTP protocol only.
Ensure that you have Port 81, 80, 83, 1935 open.

To set HTTP as your Windows Media Player default:

• Open Windows Media Player
  
• Choose Tools - Options
  
• In the Network Tab check all Protocols
  
• In the Privacy Tab make sure Download Usage rights automatically is checked
  
• In the Performance Tab choose Detect for Connection Speed, Default for Network Buffering and set Video Acceleration to Full
  
• Click on the OK button(s)

Your Windows Media Player now has HTTP as its default protocol.

What requirements do I need to view audio and video on DarkThunder.com?

Operating Systems:

• Windows Vista
• Windows XP
• Windows 2000
• Mac OSX 10.3 or higher

• 56kbps

• Pentium III (450mhz minimum)
• We recommend PIII or above, 500MHz with 500M RAM as a minimum

• 256 colours

• Internet Explorer 6.0 and Firefox 2.0 and Safari 2.0 and above

• Microsoft Windows Media Player 10 and above
• Macromedia Flash Player 9 and above

How can I check what version of Windows Media Player I have?

Open Windows Media player - Click the "Help" button on the player and go to where it says "About Windows Media Player".

How can I check what browser version I have?
Click the "Help" button on the browser and go to where it says "About Internet Explorer or Firefox".
For Safari go to Menu - About

For Mac Users
You will not be able to DOWNLOAD the videos within this site. You are able to STREAM them instead.

Can I use an old login name to resubscribe?
Unfortunately a login name can only be used the once. Our database stores login names indefinitely so each one can only be used the one time.

Notes regarding Pay by Phone
If you choose the Pay by Phone option - you will be charged by minute for the time that you are accessing the site. You are not given a username and password and hence you will not be able to play downloaded video content.

Note to AOL users
It is recommended that you do not use the AOL browser - it can cause issue with streaming and third party content.

Third Party Content (XXX Cinema titles)
Please note that the content in XXX Cinema is provided by Third Parties - we will help you as much as we can to get an answer to issues you may be having with this content but will generally need to contact them for support which may take a little longer to resolve your issue.

Trial Memberships
A Trial Membership gives you access only to a limited amount of content on the Members Home page to give you a taste of the site. You can upgrade your trial if you like what you see by clicking the banner at the top of the members home page. If you do not immeadiately get access to the full site after upgrading please restart your browser.

Epoch Customers Billing Support
Please visit www.epoch.com/billingsupport.