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Does it cost anything to watch digital terrestrial TV?
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The short answer is 'no, nothing at all'. However, not many things in life are absolutely
free and you will need an ordinary TV licence to cover you to receive the transmissions. If
you already have one for a colour TV in your house, then you already have everything that you
need - ie. that licence will cover you for digital reception as well. For countries that support pay-tv (including TopUP TV in the UK), there will
be a subscription charge levied by the channel provider to view the encrypted content.
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Do I need a telephone line to access the digital channels?
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No you don't. It's true that for many digital receivers, including those supplied by sky, you do need a telephone line to connect you to the internet (and for
pay-as-you-view services). With DigiTV and Freeview however, all the information you need is transmitted over the air and there is no need for a telephone connection.
If you need to purchase licences to extend the functionality of your DigiTV application, you will need an internet connection on the computer that you wish to install the
licences on to (see DigiTV extra function licenses).
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Will DigiTV work outside the UK?
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The DigiTV hardware and software is designed to allow reception of Digital Terrestrial Television in
any country that broadcasts DVB Digital Terrestrial Television. However, at the time of writing, exhaustive test have not been conducted
in every country and so operation cannot be absolutely guaranteed for your location. Currently we know that DigiTV operates well in the UK, all of Europe, Singapore and Australia.
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Can I access any pay-per-view channels?
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At the same time that the BBC announced that they will be providing the Digital Terrestrial serviced in the
UK, they also said none of the new channels would be subscription based. However, recent developments in the UK have given rise to a new subscription based service run by TopUp TV. You can
view how this new service affects DigiTV here.
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Can I connect DigiTV to my satellite dish or cable?
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At the moment, you can only connect DigiTV to an external TV antenna to receive Digitial Terrestrial signals.
However, if you have a current satellite or cable decoder with a composite video output, you can connect this to the video input on the DigiTV PCI card to watch the decoded signal on your PC.
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How powerful does my computer need to be to use DigiTV?
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We recommend a PC running with a 1GHz AMD or Intel CPU (MMX enabled) as a minimum. You should also have 64MB or more
of installed RAM and at least 20MB of free hard disk space. Your graphics card needs to support video overlays (practically
all do - unless its ancient) and preferably of the AGP rather than PCI variety. Tests have shown that most video adapters
integrated onto modern motherboards are also OK. Please note that the EPIA M1000 motherboard manufactured by VIA is not powerful enough to support DigiTV's software MPEG2 decoder. VIA have
recently introduced an M1200 variant and tests have shown that it gives acceptable performance when used with DigiTV.
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Does the 'HD' in 'DigiTV-HD' mean that it can only be used with High Definition transmissions?
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No. DigiTV-HD is the new name for the DigiTV application and is intended to convey that it is capable of High Definition reception, rather than being used soley for that purpose.
The DigiTV-HD application software represents the cutting edge of our software development and all users will be able to benefit from the new features that are being added as part of our continuous improvement
program.
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Does DigiTV work with Windows MCE (Media Centre Edition)?
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Windows MCE is an XP-based operating system that contains an application written by Microsoft that attempts to give the PC full 'Home Cinema' capability providing a compatible TV card is installed.
The DigiTV application software will run under Windows MCE, in exactly the same way as it will run under Windows 2000 or XP. However, to use Microsoft's own TV interface rather than the software supplied
with the DigiTV card you will need BDA compatible drivers.
Nebula Electronics has produced the necessary drivers for our range of DigiTV devices, and the PCI card version is now available (download the BDA drivers here).
You should note however, that the Microsoft MCE TV interface does not fully support all Digital features available in the UK. For example, it will not support Digital Text, Subtitles, Audio Description or the full transmitted EPG. The Nebula DigiTV software supports all of these.
For a full explanation of what the MCE interface can do, visit Microsoft's web site.
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Do I need a PC to use your products?
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Both µDigiTV and DigiTV PCI versions are PC based products which must be used in conjunction with a PC that meets the minimum requirements (see the information for the device you're interested in).
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Can I view DigiTV on my TV?
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You can view DigiTV on your TV using the TV output on your graphics card. DigiTV itself does not have a dedicated TV-out facility, but most modern graphics cards provide this in the form of an s-video or composite connection. Audio would then be connected to your TV/external amplifier from the outputs on your soundcard.
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Can I obtain programme information without an internet connection?
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As you may be aware, Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) information is now being broadcast in many countries. DigiTV is capable of automatically receiving this data so you don’t have to download it from our server.
To configure DigiTV to pick up live EPG data, go to File -> Settings -> EPG tab, and then ensure that the ‘Use Live Data’ and ‘Never auto-download EPG’ options are selected. Then click 'Clear Cache'.
If you then visit one of the EPG pages, you should see it fill with programme information.
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What are the differences between DigiTV PCI and µDigiTV (USB)?
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Both PCI and USB DigiTV versions use exactly the same software and are identical in digital functionality. One key difference between the two is that DigiTV PCI includes a composite video input which allows you to capture video from an analogue source (such as a webcam or camcorder), whereas µDigiTV doesn’t offer this functionality.
DigiTV PCI provides a neat solution since it is contained within your PC’s case. µDigiTV provides for a more portable alternative as it is external to your PC and is powered via the USB lead.
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Will µDigiTV work on USB 1.0/1.1 ports?
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µDigiTV will only function correctly when connected to a USB 2.0 port.
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Can I transfer my DigiTV recordings on to DVD for playback by a standalone DVD player?
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Yes, DigiTV has an option that allows you to record in a format that is compatible with DVD authoring applications, such as Ulead DVD Movie Factory 2.
Start by either recording your programme in DVD authoring tool compatible format (File -> Settings -> Recordings tab) OR you can choose to record in original broadcast format and then convert the recording to "DVD format" using the DVD Format Conversion Tool (File -> Tools). Both of these options ultimately do the same thing - make the broadcast MPEG2 video into a format that is compatible with DVD format, except the first one does it "on the fly" whereas the second is a conversion process carried out once the recording is complete. Please note that when broadcast MPEG2 is either recorded/converted to make the recording DVD compatible, the few adjustments that are made are to the packing of the packets and not to the video data itself (ie, DigiTV does not re-encode) and therefore, there is no loss in quality.
Once you have a DigiTV recording that is DVD compatible, it will need to be put through DVD authoring software (such as Ulead DVD Movie Factory). The DVD authoring software will then translate the recording into .vob, .bup and .ifo files which is the necessary structure for a standalone DVD player to understand. These files can then be copied straight to DVD using burning software and your standalone DVD player should recognise this format and successfully play your DigiTV recording.
Summarised Guidelines for making a DVD from a DigiTV Recording:
Either:
Record a TV programme in DigiTV in original broadcast format and once the recording is complete, put the recorded MPEG2 file through our DVD Format Conversion Tool (File -> Tools).
or:
Directly record a TV programme in DVD compatible format (File -> Settings -> Recordings tab -> select DVD authoring tool compatible format).
then:
Open up the file produced in your favourite DVD authoring software (eg, Ulead DVD Movie Factory) and select 'Create a DVD'; it will produce .vob, .bup, .ifo files.
Burn these files onto DVD using burning software (eg, Nero).
You should now find that your DVD containing your DigiTV recording will successfully play on your standalone DVD player.
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What's the difference between the Networking Licence and the IPTV Licence?
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The networking licence will allow you to stream TV and Radio around a LAN to a number of clients. Each client
machine on the LAN must have the DigiTV application installed, but it is only the DigiTV network server that needs the DigiTV hardware installed.
If you choose to unicast from the server, you have to choose which client machine the data will be streamed to. If you choose to multicast the data, then the number of clients that
can connect and use that data is only limited to the number of clients allowed by the network licence.
The IPTV licence will allow you to stream TV and Radio over the Internet. You can access this data as long as you have access to a client machine with an internet browser installed, and the DigiTV server has been set up for internet serving.
The client machine doesn't have to have the DigiTV application installed as all access and viewing is performed via the internet browser. The DigiTV server acts as a web-server and will serve the appropriate web-pages to your browser for whatever you want to do.
Only one client is permitted to have access to the DigiTV internet server at any one time, so IPTV can only be used to stream to one client.
In summary, the networking licence is used for streaming TV locally, while the IPTV licence is used to stream TV to anywhere in the world.
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I've got DigiTV hardware, but I keep getting a nagging screen after 2 minutes asking me to purchase a BDA licence
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If you have DigiTV hardware, and you want to use the DigiTV software supplied, then you should use the native WDM drivers that ship with your software installation and not the BDA drivers. This will ensure you get the maximum functionality from your DigiTV device.
If you have DigiTV hardware, and you want to use third-party BDA software with it (eg Windows MCE), then you should install the DigiTV BDA drivers.
If you have a third-party Digital terrestrial tuner and you want to use the DigiTV software, then you should install the BDA drivers that the tuner manufacturer supplies. You will also have to buy a BDA licence to allow DigiTV to work with your tuner (see DigiTV extra function licenses)
Please see How do I change my µDigiTV USB WDM drivers for the BDA ones, and vise-versa? for instructions on how to swap beween the different driver types.
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How do I change my µDigiTV USB WDM drivers for the BDA ones, and vise-versa?
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Before following these procedures, please see the Which drivers to install answer immediately above.
Changing from WDM to BDA drivers (Windows XP):
Make sure the µDigiTV device is plugged in and the DigiTV application is shut down completely.
Open up the Windows Device Manager.
Navigate to the Universal Serial Bus Devices section.
Right Click on Nebula DigiTV USB and select Update Driver.
Select the No Not This Time option then click Next.
Select the Install from a list or specific location option then click Next.
Select the Don't search. I will choose ... option then click Next.
Press the Have Disk button.
Browse to your ../program files/nebula/digitv/drivers/bda/ directory.
Select the file DigiTV-USB-BDA.inf and click Open.
Click OK.
Click Next.
Click Continue Anyway when asked.
Wait for the drivers to install and then click Finish.
Wait for the drivers to install and then click Finish.
Unplug the µDigiTV device from the USB port, wait for 10 seconds and then plug it back in.
Changing from BDA to WDM drivers (Windows XP):
Make sure the µDigiTV device is plugged in and the DigiTV application is shut down completely.
Open up the Windows Device Manager.
Navigate to the Sound, Video and Game Controllers section.
Right Click on Nebula DigiTV USB BDA and select Update Driver.
Select the No Not This Time option then click Next.
Select the Install from a list or specific location option then click Next.
Select the Don't search. I will choose ... option then click Next.
Press the Have Disk button.
Browse to your ../program files/nebula/digitv/drivers/ directory.
Select the file DigiTV-USB.inf and click Open.
Click OK.
Click Next.
Click Continue Anyway when asked.
Wait for the drivers to install and then click Finish.
Unplug the µDigiTV device from the USB port, wait for 10 seconds and then plug it back in.
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