On Mon, Jan 31, 2005 at 02:14:36PM -0000, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Axel wrote: > > On Mon, Jan 31, 2005 at 03:58:02AM -0000, > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > I have a hauppauge Nova-T and PVR-350 working perfectly, due > > > however to the awkwardness of hauppague in updating the Nova-T > > > I've had to go with the latest version of video4linux (20050125) > > > > That's no awkwardness, it's the same story of marketing based > > on popular names. The users know Nova-T as Hauppauge's DVB-T > > card, and the new DVB-T design had to reuse the same name. > > I think you'll find it *is* awkwardness, it was fscking awkward for > me (and a number of other people) anyway, the same can be said for > the changing parts on the pvr-x50 range. > > People look at the mailing lists and go "Hmmm what shall I buy to > build this mythtv box, ahhh (for example) a PVR-350, hardware > encoding/decoding perfect." Then when they try it they find that > hauppage have changed the specs and the thing doesn't work for them. > That is awkward no matter what 'marketing' spin you put on things,
That "marketing spin" is branding, and while I'm no economist I understand the importance or it. > infact I would say it could be seen as a marketing own goal as > instead of the legions of happy "I got it working no problem" users > you get a load of "I wish I hadn't bothered/I couldn't get it to > work" reports. > > Hauppauge's only get out is they don't claim that their cards work > with linux so any "it doesn't work" complaints are can be met with > "well we never said it did". Well, in the case of the new Nova-T, the author has a hauppauge.com address, so this definitely not true. He also submitted the driver into Open Source last summer almost at the same time the cards hit the shelves. And while there has been no direct involvement in PVR x50 driver development by Hauppauge, Hauppauge has been supporting ivtv as good as possible for the company (including going to Conexant to ask for releasing NDA'd documentation to the devlopers of ivtv). IMHO Hauppauge is doing much better than some other N times larger companies that offically support Linux, and had Linux users wait for _years_ to get support (like Intel for centrino). > > The same thing happens a couple of decades with VW Golf ;) > > Yes but you didn't order a Golf expecting to get one model Did you order you PVR-x50/Nova-T by model? There _is_ a model number attached to the cards. > and get a totally different model that you couldn't drive without a > whole load of extra training and a load more grief did you. ;-) If it were possible to order "a Golf" w/o any further specifications, chances are that you would expect an automatic red Golf running on normal gas, and you might get a manual geared pink colored Golf running on Diesel and would probably sit on the wrong side of the car ;) I agree with you that rebranding the same label is not nice from a technical POV, but that's the market system we live in, and neither we, nor Hauppauge gives the rules of this game. -- Axel.Thimm at ATrpms.net
pgptSIdG0upTd.pgp
Description: PGP signature
