Some Macintouch readers seem to have had trouble contacting anyone at Formac... raising questions about the company's continued existance.
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Formac Still Around?
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Ha, nothing new
That's nothing new... you think that's bad, try seeing how much harder it is to get a hold of them if you are a customer reseller and not just a customer.
Never found anyone so hard to reach, nor so quick to offer a reason errr uh, excuse...
That being said, they make great products so lets just hope they are badly understaffed as I'd hate to see them go.
Looking at there web site though, it looks updated rather recently. Seems like a few weeks ago, they weren't advertising that particular 19" monitor. So hopefully there still there, just not answering.
That's nothing new... you think that's bad, try seeing how much harder it is to get a hold of them if you are a customer reseller and not just a customer.
Never found anyone so hard to reach, nor so quick to offer a reason errr uh, excuse...
That being said, they make great products so lets just hope they are badly understaffed as I'd hate to see them go.
Looking at there web site though, it looks updated rather recently. Seems like a few weeks ago, they weren't advertising that particular 19" monitor. So hopefully there still there, just not answering.
Formac has split from it's parent German company.
So, from now on, they're "Formac Electronics, Inc."
The CEO or something of the new company said that things should be back to normal soon as they get back in the swing of things.
enoch
So, from now on, they're "Formac Electronics, Inc."
The CEO or something of the new company said that things should be back to normal soon as they get back in the swing of things.
enoch
Order elsewhere
When I got my Mac about 2 years ago I bought a Studio DV/TV. Great item, but took forever. I like Formac's products however.
Last week I tried to order a DVD burner...everything went ok, but after no shipping tracker was ever issued I tried to contact them. I called, waited, emailed, left messages, and searched the heck out of the site, with nothing to show for it. I couldn't even cancel my order!
So yesterday I called my credit card company and told them to stop payment and they told me it hadn't been charged...so I told them to not pay if it did.
I still like Formac stuff, alot actually, so I went to B&H's site and ordered one of Formac's DVD burners they had in stock. Should be here tomorrow.
I still like Formac and will probably get more of their products, but they need to keep their customers up to date if they are undergoing changes.
Nice stuff though
Later,
Eddie
When I got my Mac about 2 years ago I bought a Studio DV/TV. Great item, but took forever. I like Formac's products however.
Last week I tried to order a DVD burner...everything went ok, but after no shipping tracker was ever issued I tried to contact them. I called, waited, emailed, left messages, and searched the heck out of the site, with nothing to show for it. I couldn't even cancel my order!
So yesterday I called my credit card company and told them to stop payment and they told me it hadn't been charged...so I told them to not pay if it did.
I still like Formac stuff, alot actually, so I went to B&H's site and ordered one of Formac's DVD burners they had in stock. Should be here tomorrow.
I still like Formac and will probably get more of their products, but they need to keep their customers up to date if they are undergoing changes.
Nice stuff though
Later,
Eddie
I purchased a Studio DV converter for my G4 and not even half a year later, they tell me the thing won't work with the latest Formac software. And no...you cannot simply flash the ROM on this device, you must send it back and pay $49.99 to have it upgraded. Like $400 wasn't enough for that damn thing. I hope Formac rots in hell with Bill Gates and Steve Balmer.
Formac products have always looked like high quality alternatives to many other brands, but I have never gotten anything from them simply because of my low funds.
Yikes! I bought a 17" LCD from them, tracked my shipping with no problem and I love the monitor. I bought it when it was on sale, basically they were out of stock so the did a "Pre-Order" deal. It shipped exactly when they said it would.
ah, formac....
I actually like my Studio TVR. Since I dont use it for iMovie (blah...), I didnt need to get a new ROM put into it. However, is there any advantage to the new ROM (aside from working with iMovie)?
And I dont think it's ugly....
I actually like my Studio TVR. Since I dont use it for iMovie (blah...), I didnt need to get a new ROM put into it. However, is there any advantage to the new ROM (aside from working with iMovie)?
And I dont think it's ugly....
I have always thought ForMac was the quality parts 3rd party provider for the mac. I guess not....
Completely off topic -
TSMacEd - fix your sig please.
Should read...
Medal of Honor for killing a man and a
Dishonorable Discharge for loving one.
not entirely true but sounds good... usually a Medal of Honor comes from extreme sacrifice while an individual saves lives of his comrades, often at the cost of his/her own life.
Z
TSMacEd - fix your sig please.
Should read...
Medal of Honor for killing a man and a
Dishonorable Discharge for loving one.
not entirely true but sounds good... usually a Medal of Honor comes from extreme sacrifice while an individual saves lives of his comrades, often at the cost of his/her own life.
Z
I think it's pretty obvious Formac displays look like Apple displays, not the other way around. They do generally make an attempt to make products that fit in with Apple's look and feel, and they're one of, if not the only other company, that makes ADC monitors.
I don't own any of their products, but I've heard a fair number of good things (for example, although the cases on their LCDs are apparently a bit flimsy, they look ok and the screens are supposed to be very nice), so I hope they revive one way or another. Exceedingly poor way to do business, though.
They are the worst company I have ever dealt with. 2 years ago when they shipped me a CD burner which blew out the sole firewire port on my iBook, they gave me the same song and dance by saying that they were in the process of improving things and would be much better very shortly. Nevertheless my fight to get my money back went on for months. I contacted the BBB and the Alameda County DA about them, along with the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce. They make bad products and they refuse to provide support. They lie and steal. I'd like to see all of their US employees in prison.
America FORMAC
Details please?
I own a Formac Studio, which I use when I need it and it works well.
When they first did the ROM firmware update right after iMovie3, I paid the $49 and it worked exactly as advertised. I'm pleased they are still offering it.
I was impressed when they sent me status reports by email telling me that my Formac Studio had been received, was repaired, shipped, and what the UPS tracking number AND web URL were, so I could track it.
Now I'm wondering why they made such a big deal about them doing it THEMSELVES instead of Mac users fixing their own? Certainly, the $49 barely covered the shipping and labor.
However, when I talked to them on the phone, I got the SAME EXCUSE line of being overwhelmed by the upgrade.
FORMAC is very much for Mac. That's good. I also got the impression that the American division was too closely controlled by the German parent, or too centralized in Germany, a separation or divorce would be in order.
Not to CHANGE THE THREAD but be CAREFUL about buying anyone's external FireWire SuperDrive because 4x is passé since the 8x DVD SuperDrive is due in a few weeks.
Look for killer deals on existing 4x DVD burners from Formac, Iomega, or LaCie (I just got one heavily discounted at an Apple Store; love it, solid as a rock, works much better than my iBook internal SONY combo drive).
They did what?
Details please?I own a Formac Studio, which I use when I need it and it works well.
When they first did the ROM firmware update right after iMovie3, I paid the $49 and it worked exactly as advertised. I'm pleased they are still offering it.
I was impressed when they sent me status reports by email telling me that my Formac Studio had been received, was repaired, shipped, and what the UPS tracking number AND web URL were, so I could track it.
Now I'm wondering why they made such a big deal about them doing it THEMSELVES instead of Mac users fixing their own? Certainly, the $49 barely covered the shipping and labor.
However, when I talked to them on the phone, I got the SAME EXCUSE line of being overwhelmed by the upgrade.
FORMAC is very much for Mac. That's good. I also got the impression that the American division was too closely controlled by the German parent, or too centralized in Germany, a separation or divorce would be in order.
Not to CHANGE THE THREAD but be CAREFUL about buying anyone's external FireWire SuperDrive because 4x is passé since the 8x DVD SuperDrive is due in a few weeks.
Look for killer deals on existing 4x DVD burners from Formac, Iomega, or LaCie (I just got one heavily discounted at an Apple Store; love it, solid as a rock, works much better than my iBook internal SONY combo drive).
Its twitchy
I am a new convert (thank you, I want to thank the academy) from MS and bought the ForMac Studio D/TV when i bought my G5. I like to record shows and sometimes burn them.
* I think its the best looking of its kind (DVR) out there. I had Eye TV but took it back.
* Its still very twitchy and freezes up all the tiime. I also have digital cable and it will not change the channels itself so I have to have my cable box on to what I want to record and then it works...mostly.
* the preferences reset themselves sometimes.
* I recorded Angels in America through ForMac in iMovie and it seemed to work brilliantly. Except there was no sound.
So my opinion is its about as reliable as something for a PC which is sad since this is Apple.
I am a new convert (thank you, I want to thank the academy) from MS and bought the ForMac Studio D/TV when i bought my G5. I like to record shows and sometimes burn them.
* I think its the best looking of its kind (DVR) out there. I had Eye TV but took it back.
* Its still very twitchy and freezes up all the tiime. I also have digital cable and it will not change the channels itself so I have to have my cable box on to what I want to record and then it works...mostly.
* the preferences reset themselves sometimes.
* I recorded Angels in America through ForMac in iMovie and it seemed to work brilliantly. Except there was no sound.
So my opinion is its about as reliable as something for a PC which is sad since this is Apple.
Recieved email from Formac
Hey all just got an email from formac. I placed an order on Nov 15th and hadnt heard anything form them since till today. They basically repeated the we are now seperate spiel already up here and stated that my order would ship withn two weeks now that they are back up and running.
Hey all just got an email from formac. I placed an order on Nov 15th and hadnt heard anything form them since till today. They basically repeated the we are now seperate spiel already up here and stated that my order would ship withn two weeks now that they are back up and running.
I read about the specs plus lots of reviews about it, and despite the fact it seemed to have flimsier structure than the apple ones, it still had by far much superior contrast ratio and pixel flipping speed.
I wanted to see this monitor in action, so I called ALL formac's resellers, but NONE have them in stock. In fact many of them werent even planning on back ordering these monitors unless a customer requested one. So I kept on trying, but unlike others this one place told me they never had and never will have a formac monitors cause many consumers complained about them going up in flames, just out of the blue. I googled it, but found nothing about it...
Then I ran into this thread and I figured there is a big risk if I decide to get their monitors, even if they have an impressive warrenty time of 3 years...
I wanted to see this monitor in action, so I called ALL formac's resellers, but NONE have them in stock. In fact many of them werent even planning on back ordering these monitors unless a customer requested one. So I kept on trying, but unlike others this one place told me they never had and never will have a formac monitors cause many consumers complained about them going up in flames, just out of the blue. I googled it, but found nothing about it...
Then I ran into this thread and I figured there is a big risk if I decide to get their monitors, even if they have an impressive warrenty time of 3 years...
when I got my G5 and a 23" display last fall, I bought a formac 17" to replace the (aging) 17"CRT on my (aging) G4. now, maybe comparing their 17 to apple's 23 isnt fair - dont know if the screen quality on the low end formacs differs from their high end - but for sheer image quality, the apple screen is far far far superior. the apple has much better brightness and contrast, and the formac has major trails. again, I may be comparing apples to oranges, but I have to say I was quite disappointed with the formac (and yes, the case does feel flimsy). I had no issues with my order, however (this was around september) - shipped on time - and I have not had occaision to call them, so I cant speak to their customer service (which I've heard unanimously is horrible).