PCDJ WARNING, Please Read!!

[Megasong]

Please take the time to read this in full as it is important.

If any of you are thinking about buying any of the PCDJ products please be aware that they misdescribe the hardware requirements, the trial does not give you enough time to properly check the software with a large database and they refuse to refund when it is discovered to be unfit for purpose.

Moderators please note I have a full email and evidential trail and am prepared to stand by and justify my claims in full.
I purchased a copy of Red Mobile 2 after performing an evaluation on a different machine from that on which it was to be run. A less powerful machine (by several orders of magnitude) but which had one thing the actual machine did not have, a dual head graphics card with access to system memory.

The software ran well on this machine although we were unable to load our full database in the 20 minutes the trial runs for. We were also able to play Karaoke tracks. The system requirements said that a dedicated graphics card with at least 256Mb was needed to mix video but we had no need of this plus the server in the club where it was to be implemented was already running both Karaoke and Video along with DJ and Background music etc with no problems at all using external USB cards. The processing power and memory in the server was WELL in excess of anything you'd find in a desk/lap top machine and gives us the safety of dual PSUs etc all hot swappable which you won't find in a domestic machine.

When the software was installed on the server we couldn't even get past the opening screen so we contacted technical support, we were then told - and I quote

"As for your issue your USB video card may say that it has dedicated memory however the bandwidth of USB simply cannot handle the amount of data transfer necessary in order to perform decoding of motion video. Yes you might be able to perform simple computing tasks and show the desktop second monitor however a traditional dual head card connected to the system bus with dedicated video memory is necessary to run PCDJ. I apologize that on the system requirements it does not not specifically state that USB video cards are not supported however it is implied that you have a standard configuration of a desk top or laptop which obviously is not the case here as you are using a server designed for server use and not pro audio / video software."

This was a card that has been (along with other cards and concurrently) been serving up Karaoke and live and recorded video feeds using our existing software absolutely faultlessly, and continues to do so!

We therefore asked for a refund, we had been unable to register our purchase and it was obviously unfit for purpose, in the UK this would have been a simple process since I had bought the software as an individual not a company and would have been covered under the sale of goods act. I had also bought through the new UK distributor's web site, but this had taken me offshore and had me dealing directly with PCDJ.
Their reply was - and again I quote

"I apologize but we do not offer refunds on purchased software as the code has been delivered and all security fees and royalties have been paid to the developer. We also offer a liberal fully functional free trial in order for you to test out all features so you can make an educated purchase decision."

Despite a number of further emails I gave up as they would not budge. £100+ down the drain.

Anyway, time passed and the opportunity arose to use another piece of their software, PCDJ DEX2 for an all in one solution running on a suitable PC so I approached them again asking if they would, as a goodwill gesture, refund my initial -unregistered and unused - purchase against the cost of this other software. I included the complete email trail from the original transaction from the original purchase and support request up to their refusal to refund.
They agreed in an email and again I quote

"After speaking with our CFO she suggested that you can go ahead and order DEX 2 from our Web cart. After checking out forward me your receipt and we will go ahead and refund your RED Mobile purchase order. "

Well you don't get much clearer than that do you? Like a complete fool I trusted them and went ahead with the purchase and forwarded them the receipt only to receive this by return mail

"Because your RM 2 order was over 90 days ago we have partially refunded your DEX 2 order from today for $100 USD (£64). Please allow 7-10 days for the the refund to reflect in your account."

Would you deal with this company?

Please spread the word as widely as you can, companies like this deserve to be named and shamed if not put out of business completely.
Steve

[Cryder]

Good to know, although anyone looking to take a serious crack at digital DJ'ing will probably opt for one of the Big 2 regardless.

[drzinc]

Good to know, although anyone looking to take a serious crack at digital DJ'ing will probably opt for one of the Big 2 regardless.

That would be big three....

[Manu]

I purchased a copy of Red Mobile 2 after performing an evaluation on a different machine from that on which it was to be run.

Or you could have downloaded and tried the trial version on the device you were going to use.

£100+ down the drain.

Nope. Trading standards/small claims, check with them if you have a case. But to be honest, it sounds like a case of you have a little try on the software but not an actual, full check on your machine. The company have been out of their way to meet your claim, which is fair enough on them.

Like if you trialled Pro tools on a macpro then bought it for your laptop and found out it won't work purely because of insufficient hardware. Don't just rely on some spec requirements you read somewhere, or for that matter a lack non compatibility specs that you did not find.