Everyone in their lifetime should be burned by a format war. I’m talking about the HDDVD/Bluray, BetaMax/VHS kind where only one side wins. The moment you’re burned is when you should turn in your early adopter card. There’s something to be learned when you dump your cash into too-new technology. Over the past two years I’ve reflected on my decision to go with HD-DVD and the lessons, while not profound, have certainly made me a smarter consumer. If you’re not familiar with the HD-DVD/Bluray battle, then read Engadget HD’s postmortem.
Around the time I was ready to buy an HDTV is when I also chose to buy an HD-DVD. The price, about $230, was reasonable and it came with five free movies worth about $100. The player could up-convert my existing DVDs in addition to playing the newer format. It was enough to convince me that the benefits exceeded the risks. I fell into two traps: Toshiba promoted a killer deal and promised a safety net: “Hey, we’re backwards compatible!” For Sony’s Bluray the promotion was the PlayStation 3, an overpriced game console that also happened to be a Bluray player.
Inherent with any new technology is a period of unknown reliability. I believe this single attribute, even more than cost, will drive down early adoption if not addressed. As electronic devices become increasingly dependent upon the software that runs them, manufacturers have pushed products out the door even when that software is incomplete. As the ability to distribute software has improved, product managers have rationalized that early shipment is preferable to a more complete product. Scenarios like the following are becoming too common:
Manager: We’re getting close to our ship date. What’s the status?
Engineer: There are over 60 issues still open. Plus, we just found a few new ones.
Manager: Any hardware issues?
Engineer: We’ve noticed occasional reboots; it’s probably firmware.
Manager: Great. We’ll update over-the-wire. Mmmkay, thanks.
Some managers have a low standard for the shipment readiness of a product; others demand the best. I’ve drafted a sort of “early adopter’s manifesto” to address this reality:
- Spend no more than you’re willing to lose while gambling in Vegas for one night. If you’re willing to throw the dice on new technology then also be ready to lose.
- Keep nothing past the warranty if you suspect reliability issues. Disregard what the manufacturer claims about updates or incremental improvements via firmware. This only empowers the next generation of product managers to pull the same shenanigans.
- Do not invest heavily in media. Consider if your purchases would further lock you into one format, whether it’s DRM-laden music, a new optical disc format, or an electronic book. I’m looking at you, Kindle.
- Consider a six-month cooling off period. You don’t want to discover the battery explodes after charging for six hours. Major hardware issues are going to surface within a few months. Let someone else find them first.
Post-shipment product completion is common. We update Microsoft Windows with security patches but what’s a reasonable expectation for new products? What some people consider the risks of early adoption—reliability, obsolescence, incompatibilities—now seem common to most products that lean heavily on software. Just about any cell phone, MP3 player, HDTV, or gaming console requires firmware updates. Shifting expectations also have an impact on warranties. My Samsung Bluray (BD-P2550), which I purchased in January, 2009 is a case study in expectations.
I was a voluntary beta tester for HD-DVD so why risk the same on Bluray? My experience with the Toshiba HD-A2 player was a good one. It only had occasional video playback issues and was reliable. It was excellent in all areas, including technology; the format lost because movie studios failed to support it. Once again, the allure of newness and features was too great. Samsung included built-in support for Netflix. It was enough to convince me to buy. Unfortunately, Samsung’s managers felt compelled to ship too early.
The problem with warranties is they expire. It’s the same with Samsung. The Netflix streaming was smooth, Bluray movies looked crisp, but some movies had issues. “No matter”, I thought. I expected some initial problems but nothing a firmware update wouldn’t address. However, the rate of testing different Bluray titles from Netflix averaged to less than one movie per week. The anomalies, after two firmware updates, and four months of renting Bluray movies did not go away. The disc-read failures were above 50%, movies with HD audio had issues, and after hours of experimentation with cabling and settings I discovered the video output was even less reliable in 1080p mode. “Enough”, I thought. It was time to get it serviced. One call to support and I was told the labor was out of warranty coverage. I was burned by a losing format and now, as an early adopter, I was burned by a warranty.
I’m still waiting for my Bluray player to be returned. When it’s returned I’ll update this entry. In the meantime I’m going to enjoy some HD-DVD movies.
Update 1: I received my Bluray player back from Samsung on August 18 and because I don’t own any titles I had to wait until Netflix delivered one.
I first received Sharkwater and was pleased to see it worked. However, on closer inspection the time elapsed wasn’t incrementing. Another Bluray title later and I confirmed movies seemed to play but special features, from disc to disc, seem to bring out bugs in the format itself. When I received Watchmen I was unable to watch the director’s special commentary feature. This all begs the question: Why would I ever buy a movie if certain features of the disc are inaccessible?
What was broken with my player? The packing slip indicated the optical drive was replaced and the firmware was updated. Indeed, the player isn’t fixed, there are just fewer bugs.
Update 2: Skipping and freezing continue. However, one tweet to @samsungservice resulted in a UPS shipping label. That was totally unexpected and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s October 26 and the tedium is quickly approaching the one-year mark.
Update 3: I received the same player back from Samsung in early November. I thought it would work this time but I was proved wrong. I think my letter to Consumerist says it all best. I opened another service request with Samsung around early December. When I returned from vacation, I sent the player back. The good news: Samsung finally sent me a new Bluray player in early January. The even better news: it’s an upgraded player, the BDP-3600. In addition to having more features and faster start-up time, this one actually works.
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