"Television, the drug of the nation." (Nebula DigiTV PCI)

Member Name: The Duke

Product:	Nebula DigiTV PCI
Date:	21/09/06 (961 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Freeview box and hard drive recorder for your PC , all in one package.

Disadvantages: The most expensive solution on the market.

A few years ago, when the idea was first presented in the computing press for a 'media PC' that would eventually replace our various entertainment solutions (TV, DVD players, video recorders, stereos etc.), I admit that I scoffed at such a thing. However, these days my old stereo has pretty much been left untouched since the CD player developed a problem a few years ago and all of my music is now converted from CD to mp3 and played through iTunes. Also, a power-crazed matriarch controls the main TV our house. She growls at the very thought that someone might want to watch a DVD or football instead of some identikit travel or home improvement programme, so for the past few years, my PC has also been my viewing source for DVDs and my telly viewing has fallen to practically zero levels.

With the aforementioned power-crazed matriarch in mind and with half an eye on this season's Champion's League nearing kick off, I made the decision to get a TV card for the PC. To be honest, I've been considering one since September 2005, but buying one was never a high priority.

"Starring Rex Hamilton as Abraham Lincoln"

At this point, I feel I have to point out that you really should do some homework if you're considering Freeview. Not everywhere has Freeview coverage, and even where there is some, reception can be patchy at best. For example, two work colleagues live within 200 meters of each other (as the crow flies), yet the colleague who has an outdoor, fixed aerial and a Freeview set top box receives less channels than the colleague who has a TV card in his PC and a portable, indoor aerial. It was this kind of fluctuation in reception that was putting me off buying a card until I spoke to other people who had Freeview reception. Freeview is really taking off and it's envisaged that there will be more Freeview-only homes than Sky-only by the end of 2006. At the time of writing, the coverage levels have reached the maximum possible while both digital and analogue services run side-by-side. Once analogue services are turned off, the range of the digital Freeview signal will increase.

From reading many reviews on the various products on the market over the past year, the Nebula product stood out time and again in tests (the most recent tests I have found are in the October 2006 issue of Computer Shopper). Not only was it the best performer in terms of picture quality, but also offered a lot more options and features than similar products. Despite the fact that it's probably the most expensive card of its type on the market, I eventually succumbed and bought it at a sale price of £74.80 (including VAT and delivery), direct from Nebula. I believe the normal price is £79.95 including VAT but excluding delivery.

Immediately, I was impressed by Nebula. Ordering the card online during lunchtime at work should have been followed up by a confirmation email once payment had been validated, but after a few hours had passed, there was still no sign of it. I sent an email to Nebula to confirm the order and got a very friendly email in reply, less than half an hour later. It turns out that a confirmation had been sent out, but there was a problem somewhere. The nice Nebula person (thanks, Alison) confirmed the order and sent the email from two completely different email accounts to ensure delivery. (The wayward emails did eventually turn up in my inbox nearly 24 hours later, so it was a problem with the email server at my place of work rather than an issue at Nebula).

In fact, it took less time for the card to be delivered to my home than it did to get the original confirmation through the over-zealous security settings at work! As I was planning on using the card as a backup to the main television rather than a television replacement, I also required an indoor aerial capable of picking up Freeview as the PC was going to be nowhere near an aerial connection. These are a lot more common than they used to be and I picked one up from Argos for around £15.

When the card did arrive, it was well packaged and protected. It wasn't a huge package, but the smallish box included the card itself, the remote sensor, the remote control, batteries, an installation guide and a CD of the required software and drivers.

"This week's special guest star: Lorne Greene!"

Installing the card was easy and straightforward. As with any other internal card for your PC, it's simply a matter of locating a spare PCI slot on the motherboard, slot the card into place and screw it in securely to the backing plate. Replace the case of your PC, insert the connectors for the remote sensor and the aerial and boot up your PC (all while taking the usual safety measures, of course). This is a supremely easy job, even for those who have not delved around your PC's innards before. It's only a matter of taking the plunge. There's a USB version available for those that don't fancy poking around inside, though I think it has slightly less features, such as programme recording.

At this stage, your operating system (Windows XP in my case, Windows ME and 98 are not supported) should "find" the card and begin installing the drivers. These steps are all clearly explained in the included installation guide with lovely pictures and screenshots where necessary, so you shouldn't have too many problems. Installation of the drivers and software shouldn't take any longer than a few minutes.

Once the operating system has installed the drivers and software and the PC has been rebooted, then setup can begin.

"Act II: Brute?"

This is where things started getting a bit trickier. Unfortunately, once you get this far, you're a bit stuck. There aren't any printed instructions with the card that tell you how to get started, so I began by selecting 'auto-tune' from the menu. This got me some channels, but not all. A full list of channels can be found at the Freeview website: http://www.freeview.co.uk/ while further information can be found by searching for 'Freeview' on the Wikipedia.

Despite having line of sight with my local transmitter, being within an acceptable distance of it and having a good signal coming through with my (boosted) aerial, I was dismayed to see that I was getting very few channels and that there was a lot of pixellation. (Interference on digital TV is represented by blocks of your picture being 'wrong' rather than the ordinary distortion and/or snow of analogue television). This was only a minor hiccup and by moving the aerial around, I was able to pinpoint where I could get better reception. With the aerial in these new positions and 'auto-tune' selected again, more channels were found and there was less interference/pixellation.

I still have issues getting the available Sky channels (Sky Sports News, Sky News and Sky Three) and Channel 5. I'm not sure if this is anything to do with the card or the rather unpredictable nature of Freeview. I'm still trying to figure out if it's possible to enter the required information for these channels to see if the aerial can pick them up then. Apart from that, most other channels are now available, including "Top Up TV", although you'll need an add-on for your card in order to be able to make payments, but that's something of a guess – I've no real interest at the moment in Top Up TV.

"Act II: Richard III"

Watching the output of the card on my monitor is superb in most cases, though I seem to have a slight issue with things like football matches where it looks like the card has trouble keeping up with the fast motion of the picture. Admittedly, that might be a setup issue or even a monitor issue, but it's a minor irritation that I'm still investigating. I'm currently using a 19" CTX-branded CRT monitor (i.e. one of those big TV type monitors) running at a resolution of 1280 x 1024 and the picture is clear and detailed. Very occasionally there might be the odd spot of pixellation, which normally has something to do with someone moving around the house, and is a problem more related to the aerial/broadcast signal rather than the card. Quality-wise, it's as good as you'll get and I find it difficult to think that a better picture is possible (excluding HD on dedicated equipment, of course).

When watching the output in a window, it's easy to see the card switch to and from the widescreen formats quickly and the picture quality is maintained irrespective of whether you're watching in windowed or full-screen modes.

I also found that I spent a little time setting up the remote sensor, getting it into an optimum position for those times when I was using the PC as a 'proper' TV (and would be sitting further from the PC than usual) rather than TV-while-you-work when the keyboard and mouse are just as handy. I would advise spending a little time planning your setup (looking for optimal places to set the aerial and making sure you have enough power outlets, for example) before even making the purchase, as this could save headaches in the long run. If applicable, it might be worth your while updating your graphics and sound drivers before installing the card and software.

While I'm on the subject, the remote control for the DigiTV card is very good. It comfortable to hold, the buttons are laid put well (and labelled). Importantly, the sensor picks up the signals from the remote easily, although I sit reasonably close to the PC when using it as a TV (around six feet away).

"Act II: Gesundheit"

Once I got the TV output up and running satisfactorily, I was able to then get stuck into some of the DigiTV's features. Currently, DigiTV offers much more than simple TV. How does picture in picture viewing sound? Oooooh! Recording programs! Digital radio! Pause live TV! The feature list of the DigiTV card is really extremely impressive, though getting the most from the card will involve a delve into the manual as supplied on CD and available on your hard drive after installation (and also available online in a browsable version or as a 138 page PDF download). Just as a rough guide, the installation of the card takes up around 24 pages of the manual and the rest of the manual deals with the various features of the card and the settings you can change to make life easier for you.

I thought that the (PDF) manual was excellent (although, if I'm being picky, perhaps a 'contents' list or index would have been helpful). Everything is covered in good detail with plenty of screenshots where necessary and a distinct lack of unexplained jargon. Importantly, using the PDF version, I found it extremely easy to understand and when looking for information on a feature, I was able to set it up and get it working quickly and easily. Features were described in detail with plenty of accompanying images and screenshots to help any technophobes (and even nerds) along the way. It would have been nicer if there were a PDF version either on the CD or copied across at installation, but that's a minor hiccup and a 5MB download on broadband is not really an inconvenience.

Emails regarding aerials and signal strength that I had a few months ago, long before I'd made any purchase, were answered quickly and personally and were accurate and helpful. To be honest, this did slightly sway my decision towards the more expensive Nebula solution. A good customer service is always worth the price in my opinion.

"Act II: Ball III"

At first, I found Nebula's EPG (electronic programme guide) a little daunting, but it only took a little while to get accustomed to it and it's now second nature with a lot of information at your fingertips. Recording programmes, for example, is simplicity itself (click on a programme and you're given options such as recording it or changing to that channel). I use the EPG with my remote as I find it more intuitive than using the mouse. Recorded programmes use around 1.5 GB of disk space per hour. There's also an option to burn recorded TV programmes to DVD, which is an incredibly useful feature, although I don't use it that often.

The use of such features as pausing live TV is excellent and a feature I can see myself using a lot more in future. Being able to get up from the front of the telly and take a phone call or make a cup of tea and return to the exact point you left is extremely helpful.

As well as the obvious telly signal, the DigiTV is capable of delivering digital radio (DVB rather than the more well-known DAB) to your PC, too. While I've only listened to the radio once or twice since installation, sound quality is, as you might expect, excellent. Apparently, you can also record from the radio and play recorded programmes through other audio programs such as WinAmp and Windows Media Player. It's not a feature I've tried myself, though.

"Epilogue"

While it is undoubtedly an expensive piece of kit, there is no doubting the quality of the DigiTV. I do sometimes have trouble with interference and changing channels, but I think that's more to do with the coverage levels and signal strength in my area (or possibly the aerial) rather than the card itself. When I do get a good aerial placement, picture quality is superb with little or no interference and everything operates smoothly and quickly. Recording programmes is a breeze and general use of the card is straightforward. There are other, cheaper options on the market and I suppose the decision on spending the cash depends on how often you'd use the card or any of its features. If you have the cash, then this is thoroughly recommended.

System Requirements:

Windows Operating System (2000/XP/MCE)
Pentium III or AMD CPU running at 800MHz or higher
(2.8GHz P4 for HDTV where transmitted)
64MB or more of RAM
20MB or more of free hard disk space (much more for recording programmes)
Graphics card (or onboard graphics) preferably PCI-express or AGP, capable of supporting 800x600 minimum resolution at 16-bit colour and hardware overlays
Sound card (or onboard sound) and speaker combination.
A system PSU that has enough spare capacity to cater for all existing devices, plus the DigiTV unit (2.5W). A 400W PSU is recommended for most modern systems.
DirectX 7 or greater.

Summary: Get freeview TV and use your PC as a hard drive recorder.

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