Q: What Windows operating systems are BuddyTalk compatible
with?
A: It is compatible with Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows
2000 Professional. BuddyTalk is not compatible with Windows 95,
Windows NT or Windows 2000 Server. For more information, see the
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
page.
Q: What is the minimum Internet connection speed required
to use BuddyTalk?
A: A 28.8Kbps dial-up Internet connection is all that BuddyTalk
requires. However, other factors such as latency and packet loss
will affect the quality of your calls. Consult your ISP to find
out the general quality of your connection. Also, the faster your
connection, the better the quality of your BuddyTalk calls. If
your connection is less than 28.8Kbps, the quality of communication
will suffer.
Q: Can I receive calls using BuddyTalk?
A: Yes. Your friends can call you if they have BuddyTalk installed.
Although you can call any phone in the world using the PC-to-Phone
feature, you will not be able to receive a call from someone on
a regular telephone.
Q: Can I use BuddyTalk anywhere in the world?
A: Yes. As long as you have a connection to the Internet,
you can use BuddyTalk anywhere in the world, to place and receive
calls to/from other BuddyTalk users. You can also use BuddyTalk
to call any phone in the world.
Q: Do my friends need BuddyTalk for me to be able to call
them?
A: If your friends also had BuddyTalk and they were online,
you could call one another for free. BuddyTalk can also connect
you to any phone in the world, even someone who is on a mobile
phone. Calls to people who do not have BuddyTalk will be charged
a low
per-minute rate based on the country called.
Q: How do I find out the remaining balance of my BuddyTalk
account?
A: Simply go to www.buddytalk.com
and login to your BuddyTalk account. Then select the RECHARGE
my account and you will be able to see how much you have remaining
in your account.
Q: When re-charging my BuddyTalk account are there other
things I need to be aware of?
A: In most cases, you simply just enter your credit card
and billing address information. However, for your protection
and ours, we may request for verification purposes that you fax
a photocopy of your credit card along with a credit card statement
showing your billing address and credit card number. We can accept
a driver's license, passport and bank/credit card statements.
Please black out any information that is private. Once your account
is verified, you will not have to provide this information again.
Q: Can AOL users use BuddyTalk?
A: Unfortunately, BuddyTalk will not be supported when
using AOL as the ISP. In our testing of AOL with BuddyTalk, we
were not able to get a reasonable voice quality when making PC-to-Phone
calls. In addition, we also experienced difficulty in the registration
process.
Q: I am able to make BuddyTalk calls successfully. When
I call people, they can hear their own voice coming back to them.
A: Cause: This echo is usually caused by the remote person's
voice coming from your speakers into your microphone. This results
in them hearing their voice again right after they say something
to you.
Solution: To correct this problem, you can turn down the speaker
volume or move your microphone slightly farther away from where
your speakers are. The recommended solution would be to use a
PC headset.
Q: The voice quality is poor.
A: Cause: You may be connected to the Internet at an inadequate
modem speed, experiencing heavy, ongoing Internet traffic, or
you are using a modem that does not handle data traffic very well.
Solutions: Do the following:
Adjust the volume level around midway in the BuddyTalk. Use a
direct phone line for your dial-up connection. Do not tap the
telephone line in parallel as this will reduce signal strength.
Use an ISP that has low data loss rate and provides sufficient
Internet bandwidth.
Try not to use ISP dial-up connections and other applications
that use push-technology, which continuously download Internet
traffic to your PC.
Test if the connection is improved by making a BuddyTalk call
with all other programs closed (except for the BuddyTalk). Adjust/lower
the modem speed to reduce error rate. This requires some experimenting.
If your modem is connected at 50 Kbps or higher, try to reduce
the connecting speed to between 40 Kbps and 48 Kbps. Connecting
the modem at high speed will increase error rate, and therefore,
cause the modem to spend more time performing error correction.
Try to use a serial modem as PCI modems may be subjected to interference
signals generated by the system.
Q: How can I use BuddyTalk behind a firewall?
A: BuddyTalk supports usage behind most firewalls. However,
due to the overwhelming number of firewall vendors in the market,
the steps to configure your firewall may not be the same as other
firewalls. Please consult with your firewall documentation or
contact technical support for your firewall if you are unsure
how to perform the necessary adjustments.
InnoMedia provides no guarantees, express or implied, that BuddyTalk
will operate correctly with your firewall. Also note that opening
ports on your firewall exposes your computer(s) to potential security
loopholes. InnoMedia takes no responsibility for any damage incurred
due to hacker penetration of your firewall. The following instructions
are provided as guidelines for configuring your firewall to accommodate
BuddyTalk operation:
1. Your firewall must support port mapping or forwarding.
2. Most firewalls have DHCP as their default configuration. DHCP
allows your firewall to dynamically assign a virtual IP address
to your PC. It is highly recommended that you assign a static
virtual IP address to your PC, as you will need to map ports to
a single static address. Consult with your firewall documentation
for details.
3. Configure your firewall to map the following ports to the IP
address of the PC that is using BuddyTalk:
UDP Port 8481
UDP Port 8995
4. You are ready to make and/or receive calls through your firewall.
Please note the following limitation when operating BuddyTalk
behind a firewall:
Only a single BuddyTalk client may be operated behind the firewall
at any time.
Q: Calls cannot be made even though "LogOn OK" is displayed
on the status screen of BuddyTalk. When the call is connected
only one person can hear.
A: Cause: BuddyTalk supports operation behind a firewall.
However, your firewall must be configured to accommodate BuddyTalk
calls. Also, if both parties are behind firewalls then both firewalls
must be configured properly.
Solution: On your BuddyTalk software, click on Options, Help on
BuddyTalk. Refer to Appendix A of the online help guide: Using
BuddyTalk Behind a Firewall.
Q: PC-to-Phone calls work fine, but PC-to-PC calls will
not connect.
A: Cause: It may be due to the following: Although the
other BuddyTalk user may be connected to the Internet, he may
have disabled incoming PC-to-PC calls.
Solutions: Do the following:
Make sure that the other BuddyTalk user has selected the Enable
incoming PC-to-PC call in the Options menu of the BuddyTalk.
Q: I can't contact another BuddyTalk user even though my address
book indicates that he/she is ONLINE.
A: The other BuddyTalk user may have disconnected from
the Internet before closing the Buddytalk program, and thus his
or her Internet connection status was not updated in the directory
server. Wait a short while and the correct status should be reflected
in the address book.
Q: I installed my BuddyTalk successfully. When I call people
I can hear them but they can't hear me. I am not using a firewall/NAT
for my internet connection.
A: Cause: BuddyTalk uses your soundcard for communications.
If your soundcard is malfunctioning or not configured properly,
you may not be able to establish a call using BuddyTalk.
Solution:
1. Make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card installed.
2. Check your sound card configuration and make sure that the
microphone is SELECTED under the recording section. (If you are
unsure how to do this, please consult your sound card documentation.
3. Make sure that your microphone is MUTED under the playback
section. Otherwise, you will hear a high-pitched tone due to the
feedback from your speakers.
Q: How do I uninstall BuddyTalk?
A: Click on My Computer -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove
Programs.
Then go to "InnoMedia BuddyTalk," click on Add/Remove and uninstall
BuddyTalk.
