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Netflix makes pro-consumer shipping adjustment to deal with long waits

by Darren Murph posted Dec 30th 2008 at 10:32AM


The pessimistic among us will insist that Netflix is implementing this change in order to avoid acquiring more new releases and ditching the infamous throttling process, but we still maintain that it's better than nothing. For absolutely zero dollars more per month, Netflix has committed to shipping the next "Available" movie in your queue from a local distribution hub as well as the number one unavailable title in your list from another hub (when available) in order to better meet demand and keep subscribers happy. In essence, this change gives users a free (albeit less desired) flick while a more highly sought after disc gets shipped from somewhere else. Netflix only recently announced that this process was in effect, though it was supposedly put into place a few weeks ago -- so, has anyone benefited yet?

BHN gives free premiums for Florida outage, adds 4 new HD nets early

by Darren Murph posted Dec 23rd 2008 at 4:23PM

We can't possibly overstate the awesomeness of competition, and it's readily apparent in this here scenario. After many Central Florida-based Bright House Networks customers were left without TV service for around eight hours earlier this month, the outfit made known that small refunds would be given. Now, it's stepping the apology up another notch by promising a free month of Showtime HD, The Movie Channel, Showtime on Demand and TMC on Demand. Additionally, it's adding in those four high-def stations -- SciFi HD (1369), FX HD (1370), Travel HD (1365) and USA HD (1399) -- a few days early, giving you four more to enjoy over the Christmas holiday. Thanks, AT&T.

[Thanks, Rob]

Poll: Are your Blu-ray Discs taking forever to ship from Netflix?

by Darren Murph posted Dec 20th 2008 at 12:00PM


We've beaten this bush down before, but it seems that the issue is cropping up once more: Blu-ray Discs are taking ages to ship from Netflix. A recent CNET piece on the quandary took a closer look at why we're all paying more ($1 per month, but still) to get less. According to company spokesman Steve Swasey, the problem is twofold. First off, Hollywood simply "isn't providing enough Blu-ray copies of newly released films as the company would like to get," and secondly, Netflix is being ultra-cautious about spending too much dough on BD. Sure, some 500,000 customers are signed up to receive them, but that's a small chunk of the 9 million total that it serves. According to Steve: "These things [Blu-ray Discs] cost money. We deploy money where we think it's going to be most efficient to keep subscribers and investors happy. It's always check and balances." So, we're interested in seeing just how bad the issue is for our readers in particular -- drop your vote / rants below.

Are your Blu-ray Discs taking forever to ship from Netflix?

Sharp's AQUOS Advantage support program launches in Canada

by Darren Murph posted Dec 12th 2008 at 8:01PM


Sharp just recently announced that its AQUOS Advantage Program would be expanded to cover 32- and 37-inch sets here in the States, and apparently it felt quite rotten about leaving our dear friends to the north out in the cold. Sadly, the Canadian launch of the platinum-level customer support experience -- which includes "priority repair services, extended weekday and weekend telephone support hours and a dedicated toll-free support line staffed by highly-trained AQUOS Advantage Advisors" -- only applies to HDTVs 42-inches and up, so those looking to get a set for their bedroom will likely be sorely disappointed in the lack of coverage. C'mon Sharp, whatever happened to fair and equal treatment?

Comcast going all digital in Seattle, bringing DTAs to the Pacific Northwest

by Darren Murph posted Dec 12th 2008 at 6:25AM

You already know what Comcast's Digital Transport Adapter looks like, and for folks in Salem, Eugene and Corvallis, Oregon (not to mention Seattle, Washington), you'll be seeing 'em in the flesh soon enough. Comcast has announced that its all digital transition will be heading up from Portland and into Seattle in the near future, and it's upsetting quite a few locals with Media Center PC / TiVo setups. Of course, these are just the growing (or should we say "changing") pains associated with a mass switch from analog to digital, but at least in theory, the conversion should free up oodles of bandwidth for the carrier to expand its HD lineup. And remember, a cable company choosing to pipe its channels out in digital is very different than the broadcast change coming in February 2009 -- it's confusing, we know, but the read link does a fairly decent job of spelling everything out.

[Thanks, Doug]

Bright House gives refunds for 8-hour service outage in Florida

by Darren Murph posted Dec 10th 2008 at 10:17AM

With all the price hikes and complaints about quality, it's not often that you find a story tied to a cable company that's positive. And in fairness, it's totally not positive that Bright House Networks' subscribers in Florida had to deal with an eight hour TV outage starting at around 3:00PM Monday, but just bear with us. In an effort to express its "sincerest apologies," the carrier has decided to automatically issue credits to affected customers. Sure, the refund won't be huge, but it's a sentiment that's rare and much appreciated in today's cutthroat business world. The outage was unlike any other outside of times in which a hurricane had struck, and a corrupt database used to deliver programming to cable boxes was blamed for the incident. We know, you're still upset that you missed the series finale of Boston Legal and / or the trouncing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but hopefully a few pennies back on your next bill will make things easier to get over.

Sharp expands AQUOS Advantage Program to cover mid-sized HDTVs

by Darren Murph posted Nov 29th 2008 at 2:43PM


Maybe companies really do get in the holiday spirit, as it seems that about this time each year we get wind of yet another concierge type service related to HDTVs. This year, we're seeing Sharp kindly expand its AQUOS Advantage Program to cover mid-sized HDTVs. Previously, only AQUOS sets 42-inches and up were eligible for the special customer service program, which grants owners "priority repair services, including next business day scheduling and expedited service visits." Now, even AQUOS HDTVs of the 32- and 37-inch varieties are included. Unfortunately for Sharp, we still get the feeling that cash-strapped consumers will be eying that sticker more so than any fancy extras this holiday season, but we reckon it can't hurt.

Panasonic reopens VIERA HDTV Concierge Service to the public

by Darren Murph posted Nov 26th 2008 at 8:52PM


It's official: Panasonic reopens its VIERA HDTV Concierge Service to the public at large every single holiday season. This year, however, is different. Rather than shutting down the lines to all but those who actually own a VIERA HDTV on December 31st, Panny will keep the cords of communication open through February 17, 2009. Yep, from now until the Digital TV Transition takes place in America, any human with access to a phone can call in to receive all sorts of buying advice and subliminal encouragement to choose a Panasonic set over any other. If that sounds like something you'd be interested in, hit 'em with your best shot at 1-888-777-1170. Just mind the brainwashing and you'll be a-okay.

Cable One makes some HD channels viewable only with CableCARD / STB

by Darren Murph posted Nov 20th 2008 at 5:43PM

At first glance, we assumed that Cable One had relegated a number of channels to switched digital video, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Instead, company officials have proclaimed that "cable programmers like Discovery HD, Nat Geo HD and ESPN HD have requested their signals to be scrambled," meaning that subscribers will now need to fork out for a CableCARD or cable company-issued set-top-box in order to see all 24 high-def stations offered in Sioux City, Iowa. Ah well, you've been looking for a valid reason to make the leap to a carrier with a real dose of high-definition anyway, right?

AT&T's U-verse TV notches high ranks in J.D. Power study

by Darren Murph posted Oct 2nd 2008 at 12:54PM


Aside from the recent compression bit, we haven't heard a whole lot of negative things about AT&T's U-verse. In the same breath, we'd like to add that we haven't heard a tremendous amount of praise either, which leads us to believe it's about as good as every other middle-of-the-road carrier out there. Clearly, those assumptions are remarkably misguided, as AT&T has pumped out a release tooting its own horn over the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Study. In the three regions where it was critiqued, U-verse TV ranked highest in customer satisfaction, with the service receiving particularly high marks in the "offerings and promotions factor and the performance and reliability factor." So, the question beckons: agree, or disagree?

Panasonic extends Concierge service to plasma and LCD HDTV owners

by Darren Murph posted Jul 7th 2008 at 12:26AM


Owners of Panasonic LCD HDTVs can finally enjoy the same luxuries afforded to the plasma owners, ending a two-year phase of panel discrimination. The outfit's "exclusive" service has been rechristened VIERA Concierge and is now available to both LCD and PDP owners. Per usual, callers will be connected with subject matter experts to answer any questions they have, and there's also an HDTV loaner program which "makes HDTV loaners available at no charge to customers who have a plasma or LCD undergoing repair." It's about time LCD users got some respect around here, yeah?

Texas Instruments extends projector-based DLP chip warranty to 5 years

by Darren Murph posted Jul 5th 2008 at 7:11AM


In a bid to assure you, the prospective customer, that Texas Instruments' DLP chip is "bullet-proof" (its word, not ours), said outfit is stretching the warranty on any single-chip DLP module to five full years. Of note, this announcement covers chips within education, business, and home theater projectors only, and each manufacturer will be responsible for "providing details regarding their warranty programs, taking into consideration this new five year extension." Curiously enough, we can't decipher whether units that have already been purchased will be covered under the extension or if only new units purchased post-July 1, 2008 will be affected. If we owned one such device, we'd sure be on the phone with our manufacturer with this press release (in the read link) in hand.

DirecTV opens sixth call center in Huntington, West Virginia

by Darren Murph posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 3:08AM

Hot on the heels of DISH Network's call center expansion comes word that DirecTV is doing similar by opening up a 114,567-square foot facility in Huntington, WV designed to improve customer service. The center becomes the satcaster's sixth in the US, and some 550 company customer service representatives and supervisory staff will be employed here. Maybe it's expecting a rush of new calls about a bundle of new HD channels we aren't at all expecting? Ah, a man can dream, can't he?

Samsung launches Blu-ray resource center

by Darren Murph posted Jun 23rd 2008 at 8:21PM


Samsung's been pretty good about keeping its HDM players up to date with the latest protocols, and now it's launching a dedicated site to keep prospective consumers and current owners alike informed about the Blu-ray format. The aptly-titled Blu-ray resource center is split into two sides, one of which includes topics for existing BD addicts and one with information for those "looking to buy Blu-ray." Interestingly, the forum packs some pretty noteworthy questions, with the latest explaining how upconverted DVD just isn't as good as bona fide Blu-ray. Head on over and swallow some knowledge -- just be sure to watch for falling propaganda.

Los Angeles to sue Time Warner Cable over shoddy service

by Darren Murph posted Jun 6th 2008 at 7:42AM


Far from being the first time Time Warner Cable has upset its subscriber base, the Los Angeles city attorney's office is pulling a Dee Snider and refusing to take the carrier's lackluster service anymore. In a 25-page lawsuit, the city is alleging that the operator "caused major havoc and distress" two years ago when it "failed to live up to its part of the franchise cable agreement requiring that a company answer subscribers' calls within 30 seconds and begin repairs of service interruptions within 24 hours of notification in 90% of its calls for service." The suit claims that no more than 60% of customer calls were answered in time, and cable / internet service was said to be "so intermittent and inferior in quality that it was not much better than no service at all." Not surprisingly, TWC representatives chose not to comment on the whole ordeal, but the outfit could face civil penalties of tens of millions of crisp US dollars in the case. Should've picked up the phone, TWC -- it would've been easier than picking up this tab. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Image courtesy of Web 2 Concepts, thanks Scott]




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