I tried to install the DV.now.AV today. Couldn't even get past the POST. I removed all of the other cards from the slots. I disabled both COM ports in the BIOS. I disabled USB in the BIOS. Only the DV.now.AV was installed.
I tried the DV.now.AV in all 6 of the PCI slots. No other card was installed.
The thing still wouldn't POST (Power On Self-Test of the BIOS).
I contact Dazzle Tech support. Talked to a person named Arsalan.
Told him my problem. Told him clearly that I couldn't get past the POST.
He asked me Windows questions about what other software I had installed and what devices showed in the System Control Panel of Windows.
Seemed obvious he knew nothing about computers and was probably reading from a list of standardized questions.
It took me a long time to get the idea through to him that none of that really mattered since I couldn't get past the BIOS with the defective DV.now.AV installed into any slot of the computer while the DV.now.AV was the only PCI peripheral installed.
He picked that one suggestion from his standardized list that gripes me ... he told me to try it in another computer.
Now, why would I want to do that? This DV.now.AV board is already so badly screwed up that my computer won't boot past the BIOS. There's a chance that this bad Dazzle board has fried my computer motherboard. So, why would any prudent individual want to install this DV.now.AV into another computer and take a chance on frying that computer as well?
Here's the kicker. Listen closely. It's important to all of us, I think.
I'm thinking that Dazzle might like to respond in a manner I've experienced with other reputable companies. I ask him if Dazzle would like to send a new circuit board to me.
He says, "No. we don't do warranty replacements."
Hmmmmmm. Now I wonder. What does he mean?
He says I have to take it to the store.
What vendor has ever made this type of agreement for computer hardware whereby the store that sells it will replace a defective item during the first year? Doesn't sound likely to me. It might be true in some rare cases, but, it's not a situation that I've encountered in the past.
I checked with the vendor. They say, no, they do not provide any warranty past the first 30 days. They have no such agreement with Dazzle.
So, does this mean that after 30 days I have no warranty? Sounds like it to me.
Arsalan also tells me that Dazzle has recently discontinued their toll free telephone number.
Now, I'm thinking ... phone disconnected and no warranty replacements.
Does this mean that Dazzle is in financial trouble?
Or have I just toally miscommunicated?
I'm sending the DV.now.AV back to the store so I can get my money while the getting is good.
--Bing
Please tell up about your PC.
What motherboard?
What processor?
What chip set?
What graphics card?
You might have a bad board. Trying it in a different make/model PC can check that point.
However, be aware that there are a few chipset and graphics card combinations that will NOT work with the DV.nowAV card. That is just the way things are in the WINTEL world. Too many variations in components to test all possible combinations.
MB: ASUS CUSL2
CPU: P3-FCPGA Coppermine 733
MB Chips: Intel 815e Solano 2
Graphics
Card: On-board Intel graphics chip
Memory: 512MB Crucial
BIOS Version: all versions tried
At the Dazzle-Europe site, this same motherboard is listed as compatible. Of course, in the listed configuration at the Dazzle-Europe site, they used a Diamond Fire GL 1000 Pro graphics card in the ASUS CUSL2 Motherboard.
That ASUS CUSL2 at the Dazzle Europe site uses BIOS Version 1001A. I have also tried this BIOS version ... as well as 1002, 1003, and 1006. 1006 is the newest. None of the BIOS flashes made a difference.
I tried disabling IDE, USB, Serial ports, and Parallel port. Even with these items shut down, the Dazzle card stopped my computer from completing the BIOS checks even when the Dazzle card was the *only* card installed in the PCI array. There were no ISA cards installed because there are no ISA slots. I also made sure that no IRQ's were being held for legacy ISA applications.
I am presently using the onboard Intel VGA chip. There is no cautionary statement at the Dazzle Europe site to warn against using this on-board Intel graphics chip on the ASUS CUSL2 motherboard. Since the Dazzle people did test an ASUS CUSL2 motherboard, I would certainly expect that they would test the on-board VGA with the DV.now.AV ... at least enough of a test so that they could warn users if it did not POST.
No such warning at the Dazzle site.
They do, however, use the Intel on-board graphics chip of another 815e board. They mention the Siemens SCENIC el 1183. They do caution in this arrangement, however, that digital and analog output cannot be accomplished simultaneously. I presume that the analog/digital output limitation is related to the on-board Intel chip's limited ROM. But, point is, I think, that the Dazzle didn't stop the Siemens board from booting when the Siemens used the Intel on-board graphic chip.
Okay. Digital and analog cannot be output simultaneously.
But, no where in the configuration listings of any of the motherboards do they say *system will not POST without an AGP-VGA card.*
Throughout all of their testing, if this non-POST situation had been encountered, it should have been an alert to consumers on that Dazzle-Europe hardware sample configuration web page. No such warning is posted for any of the sample configurations.
But, these technical problems are of less concern to me, at this point in time, than the stability of the Dazzle company.
The 800 toll free number disconnected? Why is that? Cutting costs? Cutting costs because there's serious financial problems?
Also, these technical problems are of less concern to me, at this point, than the statement made by the tech support person whereby he says that Dazzle does not provide warranty replacements.
Well, if Dazzle doesn't provide warranty replacements ... then who does? This worries me, also.
The tech support person tells me to take it back to the store for warranty. The store tells me they have no such agreement with Dazzle that would provide a rememdy under warranty stipulations for an entire year.
So, to whom do I turn to for warranty problems after my 30 day return privileges are expired?
However ... there you have it. My configuration and my problems.
Yes. I realize that my configuration is not *exactly* the same as that which is posted at the Dazzle Europe site. However, I can't say I want to be restricted to such limited choices for configuration. There's no telling what other piece of hardware I might want to use in the future. I want the flexibility to choose. I don't want to be restricted by the Dazzle card to that extent.
But the warranty thing bothers me. And the phone disconnection bothers me. I'm just going to get out while I can.
--Bing
I hear your frustration. My guess would be the graphics card issue - if the board is good. But the only way to resolve it is to divide and conquer, which means trying the card in a different system, or try a different graphics card (known to work with DV.now) in your system.
It also is reason to buy from a good dealer that provides after sale support.
The rather limited support from Dazzle/USA is of great concern. They really need to get their act together.
This is interesting! I was like just about to purchase this ASUS motherbaord that BING is using because I saw it as a recommended system! I have been having trouble getting it to work on my Aopen AK33/Duron 700. It works, and by that I mean it does not crash, but there are little anomalies, like the audio drifting out of sync(in the raw captured clips, not by the fault of premiere) after 7 or 8 minutes of a talking head shot, and little "skips" in analog captures. I am concerned that you can't get the thing to work on a recommended MB! So Bing, were you able to determine if you had a bad DVnowAV or a bad ASUS CUSL2? Thanks!
Steve
If your audio is going out of sync, do you have "Use Windows Sound System" unchecked in properties>audio ? This needs to be unchecked so it doesn't attempt to use your soundcard to capture audio causing audio drift over time.
Another thing that can cause audio drift (with firewire capture) is if the camcorder audio clock was not the same as the NLE systems. I've seen some video shot where the audio drifted by about 4-5 frames in a 18 minute capture to an NLE that upconverted the audio from 32 kHz to 48 kHz.
Easily corrected in post, but something to keep in mind for long captures.
I had this box unchecked in adobe. Are you saying there is a box in Fast Forward like this as well for capturing? I know for sure the sync problem was in the captured clip. The other thing is that I have no sound card. I disabled the integrated MB sound in the bios before I even loaded the OS.
Steve,
You ask if I'm able to determine if the ASUS CUSL2 is at fault or if the DV.now.AV is at fault.
I really can't answer that question absolutely and I'd have to forewarn you that I'll not be able to offer any informational input in that regard. Reason being, I think I'd be rather stupid to put the DV.now.AV, which I suspect has a serious flaw, perhaps, even within the power utilization circuitry, into another known "good" computer with a known "good" motherboard.
If I simply "try" the Dazzle DV.now.AV in another computer, I'd risk damaging some other $2,000 computer with a $500 Dazzle board. So far, I've been able to "experiment" with this DV.now.AV on my own ASUS CUSL2 and the CUSL2 seems to have suffered no ill effects. But, another board might be weaker and might not suffer the same insult from the DV.now.AV as gracefully.
On the other hand, I can forgo that risk and simply return the DV.now.AV under the generous stipulations of the 30 day return policy granted by the vendor who has sold the Dazzle product to me.
However:
I believe I can make some suppositions based on logical deductions that might give me reasonable and reliable predictors toward ruling out the more likely defective item ... and all indications ... in my little mind ... point the DV.now.AV as the problemmatic piece of hardware.
This CUSL2 is only about 3 months old. In it I have a SCSI card. The SCSI controls a CD burner, an image scanner, and a hard drive. I have a SoundBlaster, and A LinkSys NIC also in the PCI slot array of the ASUS CUSL2. I've got 1 printer on the USB bus and one printer on the parallel port. I've got a 3Com modem on the USB port. I use Windows 2000 and Windows 98SE in dual boot. There's a Zip drive on an IDE port, a hard drive on an IDE port, and a CD-ROM reader on an IDE port.
All I can say is that each and every other function of every other piece of hardware is operational without difficulty. This is one of the best computer systems I've built in the last 3 years and much of the hardware has been transferred from other motherboards to this ASUS CUSL2. I can only say that since implementing the ASUS CUSL2, I have been overwhelmingly amazed with the performance, stability, and compatibility of the ASUS CUSL2.
With 512MB of SDRAM, I can multi-task like a madman with 2 printers producing print jobs while I've got PhotoShop, Word, and a couple of other odd programs launched and functional. I can drag and drop, or transfer embedded files between all the open programs while the 2 printers work on their jobs. This thing is just entirely stable in Windows 98SE and Windows 2000.
All of this takes place without problem. All those threads. All thost tasks. Everything works like a charm on a motherboard that has been acclaimed as one of the most stable, and most compatible motherboards using the Intel 815e chipset--the ASUS CUSL2.
Overclocker sites give the ASUS CUSL2 some great reviews and those O/C'ers push things way beyond "normal" limits.
I just cannot bring myself to consider that this ASUS board is at fault. I have no reason to suspect it as problemmatic.
All of the above hardware is mentioned only to demonstrate that about a half a dozen different hardware items work without flaw in this CUSL2, because, actually, the hardware array has no bearing on my problems with the DV.now.AV because the DV.now.AV causes serious problems even when it is absolutely the only thing installed.
On the other hand, if I plug in the DV.now.AV, I can't even get to Windows. I can't even get through the Power On Self Test of the BIOS boot up routine.
Interactions with other hardware is absolutely not of any significance in this instance because I have pulled all other hardware cards from their slots, and I have disabled USB, IDE, COM, and Parallel functions in various combinations.
Even when all other things are shutdown, the computer will not even get past the BIOS boot routine if the DV.now.AV is in any of the 6 PCI slots of this ASUS board.
So, you see, after using this ASUS CUSL2 so heavily for about 3 months ... and after experiencing the most outstanding stability, reliability, and compatability of any arrangement I've built over the last 3 years, there can be no logical path that would make me suspect this ASUS board.
On the other hand, after reading some of the Dazzle-Europe tech docs, and after reading so many postings in this newsgroup/bulletin board about the multitude of problems related to the DV.now.AV in so many varied computer hardware configurations, I must only consider that the problem most probably lies in the DV.now.AV ---- period.
I know that if a piece of hardware stops a computer from booting past the BIOS POST, that piece of hardware could be (probably is)seriously flawed if an IRQ conflict has been ruled out. And, I believe I have ruled out the possibility of an IRQ conflict by disabling so many of the CUSL2 onboard chip functions whereupon the DV.now.AV still prevents a boot up as the only hardware installed.
The flaw could stem from any number of problems on the DV.now.AV.
The flaw could be a direct short in a component of the DV.now.AV.
Why would I even consider jeopardizing the integrity of another known working motherboard with a DV.now.AV that might be so seriously flawed as to "wreck" the motherboard of another computer?
Maybe I've got a bad DV.now.AV. However, tech support at Dazzle hasn't been able to tell me that.
I reached to a tech support person who didn't seem to understand what a BIOS POST is.
The tech support person asked me questions related to Windows configuration difficulties.
Windows has nothing to do with it. The BIOS was never able to complete the hardware check.
Now, I might have considered returning the DV.now.AV for an exchange in order to rule out the possibility of a bad DV.now.AV. But, not any more.
If all I can expect from tech support is to hear Windows questions about a problem that occurs long before a boot into Windows, then I know that quite possibly all problems are beyond any help I might seek at Dazzle tech support.
There are far too many other problems related to the DV.now.AV. Even people who have been able to, at least, boot into their operating system, are reporting problem after problem after problem.
Those kinds of headaches just aren't worth half a grand in U. S. Dollars.
If I waste time waiting for another DV.now.AV, the clock is ticking and the vendor only allows 30 days to return the DV.now.AV for a full refund.
The vendor with whom I am dealing has been so wonderfully accomodating, sincere, and trustworthy, I certainly cannot find fault with the vendor in any way.
There's a post in this thread where someone says something like, "You need to find a decent dealer."
Obviously, that person has not read my postings with much thought or read those postings in their entirety.
My vendor is giving me a 30 day period for return of the product. This 30 day return period is more or less guaranteed by law in the United States, however, many dealers choose to try to ignore this law.
The dealer in question gives me the full 30 days with no questions asked.
I've never seen a better arrangement online and I've never experienced a better arrangement through a brick and mortar company, either.
Now ...
The person who "misread" my posting actually read this:
Dazzle tech support tried to tell me that warranty solutions were to be handled for an entire year by the vendor who has sold the DV.now.AV.
I have never experienced an arrangement whereby a vendor is responsible for exchanging defective hardware for an entire year or for an entire warranty period.
Once a vendor has fulfilled the obligation to accept a return 30 days after the sale, the responsibility for warranty solutions falls back on the manufacturer in the U.S.A.
The only "vendors" who might handle a warranty for the full term might be "computer vendors" like Dell, Gateway, Compaq, etc.
I purchased from a dealer who sells components. I would not expect a vendor of components to honor a warranty beyond 30 days.
So, I'll not waste time with this DV.now.AV any longer:
(1) because it has already eaten up too much of my time,
(2) because tech support not suportive,
(3) because a bootable DV.now.AV seems prone to delivering multiple frailties in its "normal" modes of operation according to that which I've seen posted around the WWW,
(4) because once the 30 day full credit return period is exhausted, there seems to be little recourse available,
(5) because there are other products available on the market.
This is probably the end of my postings.
Hope it has been enlightening or of some help to someone.
--Bing
Get a Matrox RT2000.. I hear they are a real pain to get working also. heh.
Sorry you couldn't get the DV Now.AV working. Video capture hardware has always been a chore to get working in some systems. This is the reason we have such loyal MAC Video editors.