On February 16, 2009 at 09:37, LordPhilomont said...
Really? That statement bothers me alot. It's mine, I
paid for it, I'll do what I want with it. I can certainly
understand if I mess up the programing that someone else
created, I have to pay to have it repaired. If I open
the device up and break the hardware, my fault, I have
to pay to have it fixed or I'm SOL. But if I buy a brand
new, sealed in the box device that was faulty when it
left the factory through no fault of my own, I would like
to think that the manufacturer would stand behind it.
If you as a consumer buy a brand new unsealed Nevo remote that you did not get thru a Nevo dealer.. you broke the rules when you bought it and you should assume any drama that comes a long with it.
As a DIY'er have I gotten myself in over my head before
and gotten in trouble? Of course I have (iPod connection
kit for the car comes to mind), but I knew the pitfalls
when I got into it, and when I needed help I was perfectly
willing to pay extra to have someone back out my mistakes
and do it correctly. And I learned alot and enjoyed the
experience much more than if I had just had someone else
do it for me.
If you had purchased an ipod from someone other than an ipod dealer.. should apple support it if its defective? Im going to guess that apple will say no. Nevo definately will say no.
I love my Nevo, I've had it for a couple of months now
and don't know what I did before. I've reprogrammed it,
adding new z-wave devices, changing screens, new layouts,
new colors, button changes, etc about a dozen times since
I got it. Quite honestly, it would be worth less to me
if I wasn't able to do this, if it was static and I couldn't
play around with it I would be frustrated and probably
not be nearly as happy with it. But that's me, I know
I'm not the mainstream type of Nevo user. And really,
programming this thing is pretty simple. I've even cracked
open the packages to see what makes them tick, and it's
they're really just a bunch of XML zipped up, it's pretty
cool actually. Now someone will probably tell me that's
not allowed either, and I'm a terrible person for doing
it. I've even thought about putting a sniffer on my network
and seeing how it controls the NevoConnect, that would
be cool to see and emulate. I'd bet you could control
it from an iPhone with just a little work. And I wouldn't
downplay PDAs like the iPhone or iPod Touch, they will
be the future of the Nevo. The only thing the Nevo has
that they don't is the IR, and that can be done via a
NevoConnect device hidden in the cabinet. Could you imagine
if Nevo made a version of Studio/Software to run on the
iPhone with a NevoConnect and then charged for the software
and a small fee for each device's discrete codes?
Lets get one thing straight.. im not calling you a terrible person for wanting to do it yourself. Im saying that you dont get to break the rules Nevo created and then expect them to provide service or support for the product. Just because you want something a certain way doesnt make it so. If that were the case i would have no problem bringing extra chicks home. I would just justify it to my girlfriend by telling her i will be
frustrated and not nearly as happy if i couldnt have multiple chicks tonight.
I wont guess about PDA's and what their place in AV is.. it has always been a DIY toy thats cool but cool doesnt make it a bullet proof remote control. The iphones remote app is great.. unless of course you forgot to launch itunes. Before apple or any PDA can calim market share in the universal remote realm they need to address things like this. Obviously this limits what products like Nevo can do but its better to have 75% of everything being controlled properly 100% of the time then 100% of the products being controlled 75% of the time.
I guess in the end we're saying the options are, buy it
on ebay and pray it's solid, or buy it from an authorized
reseller who is going to charge twice as much for services
I don't need or want. What I'm asking, and I think other
DIY'ers as well, is isn't there a happy middle ground
somewhere? Pay more than they are going for on ebay,
although I'm not sure why, the ebay sellers must be making
a profit and I'm sure UEI is getting their cut, but hey
throw another one or two hundred in and sell it as 'authorized'
with a warranty.
Nevo is a solution not a remote. If you buy it from ebay your getting the bare bones kit. You are your tech support and installer and programmer.
When you buy something on ebay that should be purchased thru an authorized retailer.. your either a Cheap Bastard or a DIY'er. Cheap bastards want something for less than it really costs and then they want to complain about why they dont get tech support or why their projector remote (they bought in japan to save money) doesnt have english buttons on it. A DIY'er knows the rules and risks.. and anyone using ebay to purchased anything knows the rules and risks.
Either way, mine seems pretty solid (cross fingers) and
if it makes it past the UEI warranty's year long period,
I'm ahead $750. And I can fiddle with it and add my own
pictures and buttons and everything!
-CP
If it breaks what then?
