Physical & Digital EST: The Future of Home Video Discussion Thread

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Groot

I've had that experience of them trying to blame my eqiupment, but most of the time the issue is their equipment/line/signal. I've never had my own bought modems/routers fail. I just updated to new tech for more options.

Yes that's quite common place now. It appears the call centre operators just follow a set procedure where they ask you repetitive questions like "have you tried re-booting" or "have you tried leaving the router switched off for 10 minutes", etc. before being passed on to an engineer.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by CV19

Yes that's quite common place now. It appears the call centre operators just follow a set procedure where they ask you repetitive questions like "have you tried re-booting" or "have you tried leaving the router switched off for 10 minutes", etc. before being passed on to an engineer.

Yep. It annoys me so much when they go full IT Crowd "Have you tried turning it on and off again?"...

A few months ago I was needing to call because my signal completely dropped and after 30 minutes didn't come back. I was talking to an agent and explaining the issue and said the online website shows it's up and yet it isn't working. The call center employee says "Well clearly your internet works if you can see the website" and I say "No, it's called LTE and a cellphone letting me see the website." They wanted to argue with me for toooooo long about it before I finally got someone else on the line and they recognized I had a connection but low signal, reset it on their end and bam internet worked.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Groot

Yep. It annoys me so much when they go full IT Crowd "Have you tried turning it on and off again?"...

A few months ago I was needing to call because my signal completely dropped and after 30 minutes didn't come back. I was talking to an agent and explaining the issue and said the online website shows it's up and yet it isn't working. The call center employee says "Well clearly your internet works if you can see the website" and I say "No, it's called LTE and a cellphone letting me see the website." They wanted to argue with me for toooooo long about it before I finally got someone else on the line and they recognized I had a connection but low signal, reset it on their end and bam internet worked.

I've sometimes wondered if these organisations have some kind of deal going on with the phone companies where they keep you on the line for as long as they can to mount up the call charges. I'm willing to bet when you eventually got someone else on the line, you probably had to explain everything again from the beginning. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you got it sorted in the end.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by CV19

Yes that's quite common place now. It appears the call centre operators just follow a set procedure where they ask you repetitive questions like "have you tried re-booting" or "have you tried leaving the router switched off for 10 minutes", etc. before being passed on to an engineer.

Come 2020, we (UK) will be compensated for every hour we don’t have a working internet connection. That will get these companies moving!

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by CV19

I've sometimes wondered if these organisations have some kind of deal going on with the phone companies where they keep you on the line for as long as they can to mount up the call charges. I'm willing to bet when you eventually got someone else on the line, you probably had to explain everything again from the beginning. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you got it sorted in the end.

I was once asked to disconnect the phone line while talking over the telephone! It was like a Monty Python sketch! I had to explain that it would end the conversation.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Come 2020, we (UK) will be compensated for every hour we don’t have a working internet connection. That will get these companies moving!

Well that can only be a good thing. I feel sorry for those who work from home and need a reliable internet connection.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I was once asked to disconnect the phone line while talking over the telephone! It was like a Monty Python sketch! I had to explain that it would end the conversation.

It's worse if it happens to be a call centre in India. I remember many years ago having to ring up AOL and the guy I spoke to was asking me questions that I had previously answered, and we were just going round in circles. Got it sorted in the end thankfully.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by CV19

Well that can only be a good thing. I feel sorry for those who work from home and need a reliable internet connection.



It's worse if it happens to be a call centre in India. I remember many years ago having to ring up AOL and the guy I spoke to was asking me questions that I had previously answered, and we were just going round in circles. Got it sorted in the end thankfully.

I was once on the phone for 1 hour and I ended up with a headache. It was one of the hottest days of the year as well. I must have said the same thing ten times. I HATE call centres.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Steedeel

I was once on the phone for 1 hour and I ended up with a headache. It was one of the hottest days of the year as well. I must have said the same thing ten times. I HATE call centres.

Me too. I could tell you a couple of recent experiences, but I'll save that for another thread.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by alchav21

I keep saying it's all Digital Bit Streaming, and with enough Consistent Bandwidth Disc Quality can be achieved. I see no difference in PQ with Streaming Digital HD as compared with BD. So Flyry is correct, it's the next Natural Order or Evolution.

Streaming is not the "next natural order or evolution" as things stand now. It has not matched the quality of the corresponding disc format in either picture quality or in audio quality. Multiple sources have attested to these facts; the bitrates do not lie.

Streaming can look very, very good, but it has not equaled, and it has not surpassed, physical media. You, of course, can perceive these as you so please, but perceptions do not override facts.

To be evolutionary it needs to be more than just different, but an actual improvement, as is the term's usual connotation. Nothing has been improved with streaming. Even if streaming ever does match the quality of physical media, that would not be evolutionary, either. It would just be matching what already exists with physical media.

Subscription streaming offers convenience, affordability, and good quality. It could be argued that people's viewing habits have evolved, if you see this growing preference for convenience over quality as a good thing. I, personally, do not see this as an advancement in consumer behavior. Streaming, itself, though, still lags behind physical media in objective quality measurements.

It bears reminding that when it comes to purchases, not recurring subscriptions, discs still outsell codes by about 2 to 1. The strongest sustained growth, year after year, in this market has been with subscription streaming, about 31% growth last year, and with the sale of 4K discs, up 130% over last year.

[Vilya]

I think I could recall some anecdotes about calls to my ISP for tech support, but I will keep those fond memories to myself. No need to thank me for doing so.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by Vilya

I think I could recall some anecdotes about calls to my ISP for tech support, but I will keep those fond memories to myself. No need to thank me for doing so.

Feel free! It could be like a sequel!

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by Groot

Yep. It annoys me so much when they go full IT Crowd "Have you tried turning it on and off again?"...

A few months ago I was needing to call because my signal completely dropped and after 30 minutes didn't come back. I was talking to an agent and explaining the issue and said the online website shows it's up and yet it isn't working. The call center employee says "Well clearly your internet works if you can see the website" and I say "No, it's called LTE and a cellphone letting me see the website." They wanted to argue with me for toooooo long about it before I finally got someone else on the line and they recognized I had a connection but low signal, reset it on their end and bam internet worked.

I work in IT, so when I have to call Comcast I start out by saying "I work in IT and I've already done everything you are about to ask me to try so please transfer me to an engineer or someone who can technically troubleshoot the issue for me". 7 times out of 10 they don't question it and transfer me immediately. The other times they will go through their script as I say "Did that, did that, did that" and then they transfer me.

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Ender14

I work in IT, so when I have to call Comcast I start out by saying "I work in IT and I've already done everything you are about to ask me to try so please transfer me to an engineer or someone who can technically troubleshoot the issue for me". 7 times out of 10 they don't question it and transfer me immediately. The other times they will go through their script as I say "Did that, did that, did that" and then they transfer me.

I may well try that myself if I ever have to call them again. However, with my extremely limited knowledge of IT, I suspect they'd soon catch me out.

[The_Donster]

Originally Posted by Groot

I've had that experience of them trying to blame my eqiupment, but most of the time the issue is their equipment/line/signal. I've never had my own bought modems/routers fail. I just updated to new tech for more options.

See, I usually start out with any service call with their by the book checklist. Saves times and cuts out all of the bullshit. Sadly, it doesn’t matter if it computer, cable, internet, BD player or Flatscreen they all have the same script.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by The_Donster

See, I usually start out with any service call with their by the book checklist. Saves times and cuts out all of the bullshit. Sadly, it doesn’t matter if it computer, cable, internet, BD player or Flatscreen they all have the same script.

When you call my ISP, the automated robot that answers the phone tries to make you go through all of those power cycle and reboot the modem/ router steps. I just make incomprehensible replies until the robot transfers me to a human who then, in turn, wants me to repeat the exact same steps that the robot tried to make me do!

Personally, I recommend owning your own modem and router, especially if your ISP charges you to rent theirs. My ISP charges $10 per month to rent a modem/router. Seeing as many modem/router combos cost under $100, and even the best ones cost less than $200, renting one just makes little economic sense. In less than 2 years, the rental fees will have exceeded the cost of owning even a top tier modem/router, and in less than one year if you select one of the more economical models. I prefer to own a separate modem and router, not a combo unit.

You can contact your ISP and ask for a list of makes and models that work well with their system. The techs that visited my home recommended the Netgear brand, specifically.

[Groot]

Originally Posted by CV19

I've sometimes wondered if these organisations have some kind of deal going on with the phone companies where they keep you on the line for as long as they can to mount up the call charges. I'm willing to bet when you eventually got someone else on the line, you probably had to explain everything again from the beginning. Anyway, I'm glad to hear you got it sorted in the end.

Pretty much any company I call with issues makes me repeat my issue over and over. AT&T has been he absolute worst tho. I hateeee them. I wish my folks would stop watching cable so I could drop DirecTV and ATT. When you spend four hours on the phone only to get bullied and taken for money you’re gonna have a bad time.

[The_Donster]

I just keep yelling “customer service” until they patch me through Vilya. UPS seems to have the worse automated bot though

I really hate that too Groot. Doesn’t the screen or the last rep let you know what the problem is? Because all you are doing by having me repeat the problem is firing me up! ARGH 😤

[CV19]

Originally Posted by Groot

Pretty much any company I call with issues makes me repeat my issue over and over. AT&T has been he absolute worst tho. I hateeee them. I wish my folks would stop watching cable so I could drop DirecTV and ATT. When you spend four hours on the phone only to get bullied and taken for money you’re gonna have a bad time.

This is one of the things I hate, so I do sympathize with you. I don't know if it's the same in the States, but here in the UK when you ring up a call centre, you hear a recorded voice telling you to select various options with your keypad - press 1 for this, press 2 for that, etc, and when you eventually get through to a human, you explain your problem.

After explaining everything, the operator then says something like "oh, I'll put you through to so-and-so department", where you then have to go through the whole procedure of explaining again - even though you already selected the correct department originally on your keypad. Now if at this point I was speaking to an engineer, I'd be happy, but sometimes you get transferred yet again to another "expert" whereby you then have to start all over once again!

[The_Donster]

I think it is about the same here in The Colonies CV19. At least from my experience dealing with things. I get so damn frustrated too easily. Which is why I put my wife on point when it comes to important stuff. Because I finally blew up on the third realtor who wanted to sell us on their town before showing us more houses. My wife was “mortified”, but I stand by rebuttal. “What’s the point in doing that if you don’t have a house we love?”

[Ender14]

Originally Posted by Vilya

Personally, I recommend owning your own modem and router, especially if your ISP charges you to rent theirs. My ISP charges $10 per month to rent a modem/router. Seeing as many modem/router combos cost under $100, and even the best ones cost less than $200, renting one just makes little economic sense. In less than 2 years, the rental fees will have exceeded the cost of owning even a top tier modem/router, and in less than one year if you select one of the more economical models. I prefer to own a separate modem and router, not a combo unit.

You can contact your ISP and ask for a list of makes and models that work well with their system. The techs that visited my home recommended the Netgear brand, specifically.

I agree Vilya. I have had my own modem and router for over 10 years now. Performance is generally better and you have more control over your settings.