THE GREAT HD RIP-OFF! Anyone here to represent us trusted by over 1 000 000 readers per month?

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Hi there fellow Home Cinema enthusiasts, I am currently on a major downer with my home cinema system and really need to vent some serious frustrations that have left me wondering if HD is here 5 years too soon. I have always tried to be at the forefront of home entertainment technology, being the first person I know to own a cassette deck, Video recorder, CD player, CDi player, Projector, DVD player, Pro-logic, DD5.1, DTS etc etc and so I considered I was pretty clued-up with the latest gear. Having been around for the Betamax/VHS battles of old, I held back somewhat with the intro of Blu-Ray and HD-DVD. Last year I decided that with all the HD TV's now available at ever decreasing prices, I would purchase my 3rd Projector, an HD 1080p Sony VPL Ruby. FANTASTIC! A year down the line, and with no clear leader in the BD/HD DVD race, I decided to cover my @ss and buy a combo player from LG, the BH-100. A bit expensive but it covered both formats and I halved the cabling and space required, significant if like me you use good quality wires. All went great for 8 weeks, then the great FIRMWARE scam reared its ugly head. My player would not play Fantastic 4 Silver Surfer stating it required a firmware upgrade to do so, and 28 Weeks later (the movie) totally froze the player, requiring it to be unplugged from the wall then plugged in and eject button pressed just to get the disc out! No problem methinks. Go on the internet and get a firmware upgrade. Err no, you need a DVD burner and software. So I see this as an opportunity to buy these and off I trot, set it up and err no! The LG ALREADY HAS the latest software. So I call LG and they arrange to pick it up, (excellent service) and off it goes to Scotland for "repair". I am a pretty patient guy so I wait 2 weeks before calling to check on progress. It has been found to be "unrepairable" and sent to the head office in Slough, Berkshire. I call again a couple of days later and am told to try using a different brand CD in it as it is sensitive to disc make. IT DOESNT EVEN PLAY CD'S, ITS NOT A RECORDER AND I DOUBT THAT PARAMOUNT OR SONY PICTURES WILL CHANGE THEIR DISC SUPPLIER JUST FOR ME! !!! I gave up on that conversation and called back a few days later. Anyway, 7 calls to customer services with explanations ranging from " It was returned to you 2 weeks ago and signed for by Ali" to " we have left e-mails with head office to call you but they are our superiors so we cannot chase them" and NEVER ONCE being called back as promised, I decided to try my rights and return it to the supplying dealer for refund or exchange if a new one worked. I swear on my childrens lives this is the reply I got. (Dealer details withheld for obvious reasons!) There is no warranty on the ability of the player to keep playing updated discs, and there is no responsibility for the manufacturer to provide indefinite firmware updates.YOUR BEST BET IS TO DROP AND SMASH THE PLAYER AND CLAIM ON YOUR HOUSE INSURANCE, the player is now obsolete! $^*()&%$ OBSOLETE!! It's 2 months old for chrissakes. So now you have my story, I will explain my post title. How many "general public" ie not enthusiasts like us here, bought HD Ready TV's from high street retailers expecting to get the same picture quality as they saw in the shop with it running off a 1080 hard drive, got it home, plugged it in with their 40 year old co-axial cable and then lost all faith in HD.? How many Blu-Ray/HD-DVD player owners were told you need a computer with DVD software and burner to (hopefully) upgrade the firmware? How many people, (like me) thought that firmware upgrades were required to access new material on the discs, ie features or games, not to actually access the movie. This is FAR, FAR from backwards compatability! Connect your player via the ethernet port? So BIG BROTHER can control what you see, where you see it? Ah Mr Smith, you have a region A Blu-Ray player hacked to multi-region there connected to the internet in Surrey! Not anymore matey, we just uploaded the firmware to stop you. And does your wife know what discs you watch at night? Would you like a brochure sent to you with that type of material, we have forwarded your details to 2 billion spammers. So my prediction for HD if the system is not sorted soon is: Man in street buys a Blu-Ray or HD DVD player, rents or buys a few discs until his player is obsolete. (2 months?) Man in street keeps taking player back until he gets a refund or fed-up. Millions of discs start to get returned to renters or shops as unplayable, shops and renters stop stocking them, formats fall flat on their face. HD only available generally on Sky/BBC OR Blu-Ray/HD DVD masters stop trying to scam the buyers and ALL new discs are backwards compatible. The future is in their hands, Thanks for listening, Oldskool.

 

[Andrew Everard]

And breathe...

Seriously, though, the player must have come with a warranty, which is presumably still in force, so the manufacturer should replace it with one which works, in that it plays the discs it was designed to.

And the retailer has an obligation to supply you with goods which are fit for purpose, so you have every right to demand your money back, as far as I can see it. Any reasonable person would expect a Blu-ray/HD DVD player to play Blu-ray and HD DVD discs, wouldn't they?

I'd suggest you email us with full details, including the name and contact details of the supplying dealer, and as exact a timeline of the saga as you can, and I'm sure someone on the magazine would be keen to pursue what is clearly an interesting consumer story.

Alternatively, you should have a word with your local trading standards or consumer advice people - they're usually pretty good at resolving situations like this with retailers in the local area.

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much Andrew,

Hopefully your much respected publications may well have the influence to get something sorted here. I am in complete agreement with your comments and will, as requested, forward the exact details to your mag by private e-mail. Whilst very upset by my dealer comments, I still respect their privacy here on the forum and one representatives comment is not (hopefully) representative of the company as a whole and the business should not suffer from this if this is the case.

Please look out for my mail early next week.

Regards, Gerry S.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Will do - not in the office next week, but will make sure it's forwarded to the right people.

 

[Anonymous]

I think you have highlighted an important issue here Gerry, and glasses raised to Andrew for taking up the baton. Whether it's the discs or the players, this has gone beyond just being an annoyance. My Legends of Jazz Blu-ray disc being a case in point.

Scrapping regional coding would be a start. The industry rightly shouts about the evils of piracy but continues coding discs, inluding now some HD dvds which surely must help to promote illicit copying.

I wonder whether the Samsung's repeated delay in the launch of their dual format BD-UP5000 player has anything to do with the problems you have encountered with the LG?.

 

[Anonymous]

Not the bets start to your HD viewing I must say. The combo machines that have been released upto now do seem to be compromised in some way. The problem as I can see it is with the Blu-ray disc format itself and the move to newer profiles. While the HD DVD format is already finalised. I myself have seperate machnes HD-E1 for HD DVD (I have had this machine now for 6 months and havent needed a firmware update as yet to the machine plays discs from all around the world as there is no region coding at on HD DVD) and a PS3 for playing Blu-Ray. I know this solution will add another box to your setup but it is seriously worth considering especially looking at the problems you have had.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi bicoralboy,

I knew the limitations of the player when I purchased it and as a person who is uninterested in the special features, I just want to watch the movie in the best quality I can afford. To this end I was uninterested in what the directors sisters neighbours dog had for dinner, or any of the interactive menu's. Just give me a movie with 6.1 DTS or DD in English, 1080p and I am happy, and this player SHOULD do all this, any more was a bonus.
I fully appreciate your solution but as a videophile, that PS3 just does not sit right in the AV rack, but hell, at least all yours works!
Thanks for taking the time to read and respond,
Oldskool.

 

[Anonymous]

Wow how long did that take to write? Just a quick note to ask & im sure you will oldskool & thats to tell us the end (in a nice way I hope for you) to your saga? I like you was around when the Beta/VHS war went on....Oh wow they was the days!! Just think there was no mobile phones, no ipods, no home cinema, santa was real (no he really is trust me) sweets you could get 5 teddy bears for half a penny, oh I could go on & on lol! Good luck matey.

 

[Anonymous]

Great - someone as old as me! (unless you are the one being held).

Unlike the Betamax/VHS war, I do not think the consumers will lose this time. Just a few casualties like Oldskool. I really hope this mag. can help out.