ColinB_NI
|
Why defend??? a response to post 'Response from Nebula!' below...Sorry to 'butt in' here but I do feel that those who for whatever reason are in defense of Nebula as a company have to take into account one totally undisputed fact....
The hardware I was sold worked perfectly from day one.... the SOFTWARE however has been a totally different kettle of fish!!! Despite many updates and patches in the past... Nebula NEVER got their software to do what it was meant to do. I.E. Record and Playback TV programmes in any kind of reliable, repeatable and therefore dependable manner!!
I like many, many others held on from one 'fix' to the next... sometimes with many months between each... hoping that the next one would be reliable and would do that one simple task... Record and Playback Digital TV in a RELIABLE, REPEATABLE and therefore DEPENDABLE manner!!
Now this has never happened.... Nebula did not sell 'what it says on the tin' in a very real sense they 'conned us all' because the product they sold was defective from the start!!
We on the other hand have been very faithfull to them... we held on and held on... even helping them in a big way by acting as unpaid testers for their attempts to fix things!! By their own admission, those of us who complained were only a 'headache'... customer service was always a joke! The call for reliability over more features was always ignored etc etc. All of this despite the fact that Nebula's gear was becoming more and more overpriced as time went by.
To be honest the only reason I ever come on here anymore is to see if they have 'done the decent thing' and finally released a fix that works!
Why is their website still running? Why do they still to this day promise software version 3.2 when clearly it's not gonna happen? (I mean it was a year ago since the last update for f..k's sake!!)
My card lies in it's box... I gave up on it at christmas, fed up with crashes, progammes only half recorded etc etc etc etc etc.
So you tell me fellow defender.... DID I GET A GOOD DEAL FROM NEBULA?????
I DON'T THINK SO!!!!!! 
Colin B
|
RyFish
|
Re: Why defend??? a response to post 'Response from Nebula!' below... | ColinB_NI wrote: | | in a very real sense they 'conned us all' because the product they sold was defective from the start!! |
I wouldn't say they "conned us all", as I have barely had a problem with mine in the 4 years I've owned it. The only real issue I've had was caused by a motherboard driver. You might not be happy, and possibly with good cause, but that doesn't mean that everyone is in the same boat.
|
ColinB_NI
|
Re: Why defend??? a response to post 'Response from Nebula!' below... | RyFish wrote: | | ColinB_NI wrote: | | in a very real sense they 'conned us all' because the product they sold was defective from the start!! |
I wouldn't say they "conned us all", as I have barely had a problem with mine in the 4 years I've owned it. The only real issue I've had was caused by a motherboard driver. You might not be happy, and possibly with good cause, but that doesn't mean that everyone is in the same boat. |
Here we go again!! Nebula got it right and every other hardware/software manufacturer (apart from yours that is!) got it wrong!!! LOL 
Look... I have had 3 different motherboards, at least 3 different graphics cards, 1 new sound card, new memory, more memory, new hard drives, new drivers for everything, countless new installs of XP (and lets not even go there for Vista).... I could go on but I think you get the point!! Each time I get problems... granted maybe not every time I use the card, I never said it never worked! It does work for a lot of the time and will record and playback ok.
The problem is it DOES NOT WORK RELIABLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
STOP DEFENDING WHAT IS IN-DEFENDABLE
|
Liam
|
Colin,
Not to defend Nebula (the Joneses could perhaps have been more open about their woes, both technical and financial)... but DigiTV 3.7.06 does work reliably for some of us.
I honestly suspect that the secret is to have an ancient PC, with a single-core 32-bit CPU, running Windows 2000 or XP.
I get the feeling that Nebula never quite got the hang of coding for multiple cores, Vista or 64-bit. But if you can stick to 20th Century Technology like I do, then you might be ok. 
Liam
|
ColinB_NI
|
| Liam wrote: | Colin,
I honestly suspect that the secret is to have an ancient PC, with a single-core 32-bit CPU, running Windows 2000 or XP.
I get the feeling that Nebula never quite got the hang of coding for multiple cores, Vista or 64-bit. But if you can stick to 20th Century Technology like I do, then you might be ok.
Liam |
You know, the more I think about it the more I realise that you may indeed have a valid point there!! 
But really... where does that leave everyone? While everything progresses towards High Def and Surround Sound (even now you can buy satellite cards for PC that can receive HD) We need to 'downgrade' everything just to get it to work??
Not a wonder they went bust... but who pays for that damn site to stay up and running? if they are gone then they should have removed the website or at least any promise of updates that just ain't gonna happen!!!
BTW my sig below is way outta date now... but even that pc config gave probs... maybe I should have tried nebula H/W and S/W with a good ol' fashioned Abacus!!!!
|
SciDoctor
|
The digitv software app is now dated and the chance of updates/bugfixes is remote.
The hardware and drivers are very stable and work (BDA) with all apps that I have tried.
32 bit OS w2ksp4,xpsp2 and VISTA are fine .
XP and VISTA MCE are good apps and the digitv hardware is very stable in these.
There are other good apps which work well and offer at least what digitv offered.
I personaly use MediaPortal and have for some years now.
Simple choice realy.
Buy VISTA and use the inbuilt MCE.
Or stay with XP and use the opensource MediaPortal TVSERVER
Or both of the above.
|
beardedwonder
|
I would like to re-iterate, i have pretty much no problems with DigiTV. Running pretty much 24/7 on an Intel Core2Duo setup with windows XP. I had some problems with an older motherboard but that was a power issue.
For me it's reliable and repeatable and therefore dependable, otherwise i would've junked it by now. I'm using the latest beta there are some minor issues, but they are just that, minor.
I'm so glad i bought the Nebula, it's been the ideal solution for me.
|
RyFish
|
Re: Why defend??? a response to post 'Response from Nebula!' below... | ColinB_NI wrote: | Here we go again!! Nebula got it right and every other hardware/software manufacturer (apart from yours that is!) got it wrong!!! LOL
STOP DEFENDING WHAT IS IN-DEFENDABLE |
From my point of view, there is nothing to defend. It worked on my Athlon and Athlon64 and it works on my Core2 Duo. It works reliably (not ONE duff recording in nearly four years) - end of!
I'm sorry if your experience hasn't been the same, but don't have a go at those of us for who the Nebula has been the right choice.
|
murrayt
|
I'm not here to defend Nebula (the company) or those who run (ran) it.
The hardware devices I have (seven all up USB and PCI) all work without trouble. The application (3.7.11) runs fine on my two PC's which are C2D and Win XP.
And I haven't gone to any great trouble to have it working reliably i.e no special tweaks or tricks, just plug it in, install and away she goes.
I've also used some of the devices with Websheduler Pro with good results.
So all up I've gotten what I paid for and value for money. And much better outcomes than a raft of software/hardware combos/suppliers out there in PC land. That said It would be good to see further developments and progress, but I don't hold out great hope of that occurring.
|
SimonP
|
Regarding the price, it's important to remember that Nebula were amongst the first to release a DVB-T card and at the time it seemed reasonable to pay UKP100 for something so special - it was to me as I needed to be able to record subtitles and theirs was the only card that could do it back then.
I think one of their main problems was that they were overtaken by the cheap (UKP25) USB dual tuner devices that work just as well. Nebula still needed to charge a lot for their hardware in order to recoup their investment but towards the end people weren't prepared to pay that kind of difference with little extra to show for it.
Mine has served me well over the years; I am now running a 4 tuner setup with different software and I just use the Neb for watching TV on my workstation but it's still going strong and can always be used as a fifth tuner should I want to so it's far from obselete, it just never quite lived up to expectations.
|
cadlon23
|
I'm afraid in gonna have to agree with ColinB_NI on this one, for the following reasons...
(but first I’m a once proud owner of a USB Master, USB Slave & PCI Neb oh and the HD CODEC for the BBC, ITV HD Trials way back when... all sitting on a shelf now  )
Neb-Elec seemed to loose track of what was important from a hardware, software & market point of view, which is why the inevitable happened... bankrupt, bust, liquidated or bang outta business
Hardware
.If your gonna sell a low profile card, make sure its got a low profile bracket!
.Keep up i.e. PCI-Express and/or Dual Tuners
.DONT sell hardware when the software/drivers not available to use it i.e. USB Slave Tuners, long time ago I bought one the instant they were available
Software/Drivers
.Too many long running Beta's
.Too much concentration on "enhancement" rather that bug fixes during Beta's
.They needed a Solid Core non-beta build of the iTuner both 32 & 64 bit, add the fancy bits in later, don’t end up with a perpetual beta app
.BDA drivers 64bit ones!!!
the Market... Neb-Elec had their head stuck in the sand in a development cycle that was treated like a pet project rather than business, taking a step back and seeing what the end user Actually wanted & the way the market was developing would have helped no end!
it all boils down to a Stable Core non-Beta iTuner build, drivers for native & BDA in 32 & 64 bit, PCI-E, Dual Tuner cards & low profile brackets lol
i have to admit when it worked it worked well, but was inherently flaky & in perpetual beta!!!
Apologies for this sound a bit like a good old rant, it is kind of, but it's more out of pure frustration for a company & product that seemed to have a unique & brilliant philosophy in the computing industry, which let itself & it's loyal customers down
|
ColinB_NI
|
| cadlon23 wrote: | I'm afraid in gonna have to agree with ColinB_NI on this one, for the following reasons...
(but first I’m a once proud owner of a USB Master, USB Slave & PCI Neb oh and the HD CODEC for the BBC, ITV HD Trials way back when... all sitting on a shelf now )
Neb-Elec seemed to loose track of what was important from a hardware, software & market point of view, which is why the inevitable happened... bankrupt, bust, liquidated or bang outta business
Hardware
.If your gonna sell a low profile card, make sure its got a low profile bracket!
.Keep up i.e. PCI-Express and/or Dual Tuners
.DONT sell hardware when the software/drivers not available to use it i.e. USB Slave Tuners, long time ago I bought one the instant they were available
Software/Drivers
.Too many long running Beta's
.Too much concentration on "enhancement" rather that bug fixes during Beta's
.They needed a Solid Core non-beta build of the iTuner both 32 & 64 bit, add the fancy bits in later, don’t end up with a perpetual beta app
.BDA drivers 64bit ones!!!
the Market... Neb-Elec had their head stuck in the sand in a development cycle that was treated like a pet project rather than business, taking a step back and seeing what the end user Actually wanted & the way the market was developing would have helped no end!
it all boils down to a Stable Core non-Beta iTuner build, drivers for native & BDA in 32 & 64 bit, PCI-E, Dual Tuner cards & low profile brackets lol
i have to admit when it worked it worked well, but was inherently flaky & in perpetual beta!!!
Apologies for this sound a bit like a good old rant, it is kind of, but it's more out of pure frustration for a company & product that seemed to have a unique & brilliant philosophy in the computing industry, which let itself & it's loyal customers down |
Thanks for that! At least someone else on here has Ba11s to actually tell the truth!!!!
To all those who somehow can make an apology for Nebula and the shoddy way it was managed.... YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!!
BTW... I hope anyone who gets the chance to read this will know that I was banned from using this board for a while.... WHY?????? For telling the truth... that's why!!
|
cadlon23
|
...forgot to mention, i got stung by the liquidation bit too, oredered a LCD screen/panel thing for my HTPC, paid for & never turned up! 
|
RyFish
|
| ColinB_NI wrote: | Thanks for that! At least someone else on here has Ba11s to actually tell the truth!!!!
To all those who somehow can make an apology for Nebula and the shoddy way it was managed.... YOU MAKE ME SICK!!!!
BTW... I hope anyone who gets the chance to read this will know that I was banned from using this board for a while.... WHY?????? For telling the truth... that's why!! |
Or were you banned for being overly aggressive and accusing us of lying?
|
ColinB_NI
|
| RyFish wrote: | | ColinB_NI wrote: | Thanks for that! At least someone else on here has Ba11s to actually tell the truth!!!!
BTW... I hope anyone who gets the chance to read this will know that I was banned from using this board for a while.... WHY?????? For telling the truth... that's why!! |
Or were you banned for being overly aggressive and accusing us of lying? |
Excuse me but exactly where did I accuse you (or anyone) of lying???
My rant is about being totally honest about Nebula as a product and as a company.... not defending them with all these silly comments (my card has never let me down.... it works for me.... etc etc)
It works for me too..... but I would never be able to depend on it!!!!!!!!
Too many people have let Nebula walk away (probably laughing) with their money...
Like I said at the beginning.... why defend them????????? 
BTW if you care to look at the thread that caused me to write this in the first place...... 'response from Nebula' you will see the most recent post in it from m100 sums up exactly what I am on about!
|
beardedwonder
|
| ColinB_NI wrote: | | To all those who somehow can make an apology for Nebula and the shoddy way it was managed.... YOU MAKE ME SICK!! |
Why do i make you sick if you and a few others have problems. I have never said anything about that i have merely said that my DigiTV unit has worked practically flawlessly since i got it. Add to that a new motherboard with no power issues and it's brilliant now.
|
Bill
|
| Quote: | | BTW... I hope anyone who gets the chance to read this will know that I was banned from using this board for a while.... WHY?????? For telling the truth... that's why!! |
Not my me Colin,
Complaining about Nebula/DigiTV in a civil manner will not get anyone banned from this forum. If you were banned by my fellow administrator, then I'm sure that wasn't the reason.
This is a completely independent forum. It is not linked in any way to the various Nebula companies.
|
Bill
|
| cadlon23 wrote: | | ...forgot to mention, i got stung by the liquidation bit too, oredered a LCD screen/panel thing for my HTPC, paid for & never turned up! |
Cadlon23,
Could you write to Nebula-Media and ask them to honour their pledge:
| Nebula Media Solutions wrote: |
Nebula Media Solutions Ltd takes very seriously its responsibility to maintain good customer relations, so all orders placed on the Nebula Electronics website have been, and will continue to be, honoured by Nebula Media Solutions Ltd. After-sales care as well as all warranties and repairs to existing equipment will also be honoured for the lifetime of the product range. |
It would be interesting, for all of us, to see how Nebula respond.
Nebula Media Solutions Ltd
Unit B
Pembrooke Business Centre
College Road
Hextable
Kent
BR8 7LT
United Kingdom
|
HyperReality
|
| Bill wrote: | | Complaining about Nebula/DigiTV in a civil manner will not get anyone banned from this forum. If you were banned by my fellow administrator, then I'm sure that wasn't the reason. |
Just for the record, I've not banned anyone either...
|
ColinB_NI
|
| HyperReality wrote: | | Bill wrote: | | Complaining about Nebula/DigiTV in a civil manner will not get anyone banned from this forum. If you were banned by my fellow administrator, then I'm sure that wasn't the reason. |
Just for the record, I've not banned anyone either... |
That is good to know! Truth is I don't know what happened, but over the last week I could not log in using my regular username & password... also no email notifications were received when a response was posted to my thread.... I have had to request a new password and have only just got back on today. I presumed I had been banned... 
Do any of you guys know why Neb's website is still up and running... and therefore why they still promise the next beta (3.7.2) when it seems this will never see the light of day???
|
Bill
|
| Quote: | | Do any of you guys know why Neb's website is still up and running... |
Because there's no legal reason why it should not be up and running; Only Nebula Electronics went into liquidation, the other Nebula group companies remain solvent and can continue trading as they see fit.
| Quote: | | and therefore why they still promise the next beta (3.7.2) when it seems this will never see the light of day??? |
I assume, because they still intend to release updates to DigiTV (not necessarily 3.7.20) in the future.
|
cadlon23
|
| Bill wrote: | | cadlon23 wrote: | | ...forgot to mention, i got stung by the liquidation bit too, oredered a LCD screen/panel thing for my HTPC, paid for & never turned up! |
Cadlon23,
Could you write to Nebula-Media and ask them to honour their pledge:
| Nebula Media Solutions wrote: |
Nebula Media Solutions Ltd takes very seriously its responsibility to maintain good customer relations, so all orders placed on the Nebula Electronics website have been, and will continue to be, honoured by Nebula Media Solutions Ltd. After-sales care as well as all warranties and repairs to existing equipment will also be honoured for the lifetime of the product range. |
It would be interesting, for all of us, to see how Nebula respond.
Nebula Media Solutions Ltd
Unit B
Pembrooke Business Centre
College Road
Hextable
Kent
BR8 7LT
United Kingdom |
TBH i'd given up aaages ago & put it down to expiereience... but there no harm in dropping them a letter 
Thanks for the address details... i'll let you know how i get on 
|
|