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Best and Worst of Manufacturers Technical Support

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  • ... and are always so pleasant to talk to.
    I'll continue the lovefest here, I agree about the AMX tech support crew. They are top notch. There have been times where I couldn't even figure out how to ask my question properly and still they were patient and polite and able to figure it out. Talking to any one of them is like talking to an old friend -- a really smart old friend. My opinion is that they really do care about each of us as people and they care tremendously for our success.

    GE tech support is also very capable from a technical standpoint and so is Apriliaire.

    I will throw Krell under the bus though. I don't think they even have a tech support department anymore. In a recent experience with them just to get a simple product warranty repair took about 30 phone calls from me and a whole lot of e-mails. Never ONCE was able to speak to a live person on any call, their tech support NEVER called me back. The VP finally called me back after I mass e-mailed them with how bad their company was making both of us appear. It was easy to make the business decision to drop that manufacturer. I don't care how good they think their equipment is, that experience was unacceptable every step of the way.

    --John
  • a_riot42a_riot42 Posts: 1,624
    I don't care how good they think their equipment is, that experience was unacceptable every step of the way.

    Yes, but they sound soooooo good.
    Paul
  • Samsung hands down the worse. Called them for an RS-232 protocol manual a few weeks back, they told me over the phone the email link (twice) that was dead, After 20 min, I asked to get the manual sent to me via email, they sent it fine but it was in Korean! Thx to my fellow co-workers who dug one out for me in English. I understood why my check sum wasn't working after I read it in my native tongue.

    AMX hands down are awesome! Lutron when I dealt with them a few years ago were great too.

    Panasonic horrible and LG about as bad as Samsung.
  • JeffJeff Posts: 374
    I've had a few pretty awful experiences with Sanyo, including one for a blu-ray player where all of the commands are "'D***',$0D" and the 3 asterisks are 3 letters. The manual came only with the commands for play, stop, pause, fwd, and rwd. To get any more controls, like say chapter skipping or menu controls, I had to call them. The only guy in the office who knew anything about RS232 wasn't in, and when he finally called back, he didn't understand why I'd want those commands anyway, kept saying that I could use the remote control that came with it for that.

    I ended up writing a program that ran for 3 hours that sent every possible command do it (DAAA, DAAB, DAAC, etc) and logged the commands that got positive responses, then guessed which commands from those 40 or 50 were the ones I needed.

    Ridiculous

    J
  • viningvining Posts: 4,368
    Sharp TV "no audio"

    I just found out that Sharp LCD TVs purchased about 1-2 years ago may loose their audio because of a manufacturing/design defect. An audio chip insulator breaks down over time and eventually causes it to short out and poof no more audio. I just had one customer with 2 of these Sharp TVs crap out this month and so far all I get from distribution and from Sharp is "Sorry, no longer in warranty".

    If you google the problem you can find a fix after ordering a $20.00 dollar part but other than that the only remedy is the trash or sending it to a service center at your dime. The trash makes more sense or take a chance that the self repair will actually work.
  • I honestly have to put Extron at the top of my list. The longest hold I have ever had was roughly 2 minutes and I can't remember ever having the phone ring more than 4 times before a real, English speaking human being answered. Nothing against AMX, their tech support has been very good in the past, however they have to take second here. ClearOne is a very close 3rd for me. I have had tremendous success with them and their awesome tech support.

    The worst for me is Craptron. Any company that (as a rule not an exception) allows new product to be shipped without being firmly tested, sucks. I will not pull punches with this company. I had a 20 minute conversation about battery technology with one of their clowns when my back was against a wall with a project, been called a liar by a rep who insisted I was wrong about waiting 35 minutes to talk to someone at tech support. Let us not forget that to update one piece of software, you must update damn near ALL of their BS software. This is obviously the best case scenario for someone using a Verizon broadband card with spotty reception while dealing with a time crunch. I have averaged way more defective product with them than any other company.
  • jsnyderjsnyder Posts: 23
    Epson product knowledge

    For the most part? Epson Tech. support has been good.
    today was an odd one though, powerlite 1730w (i was hunting an IR file to control it, no luck yet)
    called Epson T.S. within 2 minutes I was bumped up to tier 2 who then had me navigate their website to a PDF with info on all of the command structure and syntax for controlling the pl1730W, I told them i was familiar with this info since our fleet of 7900's and G5150's in classrooms use it.

    Just one hitch,,, the powerlite 1730W has no rs-232 port :-O !!

    know your product kiddies!!!!!

    I was told that the USB port on the projector could "change modes" to be used for control by a pc but last time i checked the NI-2100 doesn't have a "usb" port :-\

    WEEEEE!
  • rcainrcain Posts: 11
    I've had bad luck with just about every video product with exception of Sim2. I've literally gotten so frustrated with Toshiba and BenQ to the point I was yelling at the person on the other end of the phone.

    Pretty much all most of the smaller manufacturers I've had great luck with Tech Support: Sim2, ADA, Lutron, and Richard Gray just to name a few. We've also found that Linksys/Cisco Small Business Series Tech Support is very helpful and located in the US. Much better than their regular tech support.

    Absolute worst: BenQ, Toshiba, and Marantz. Just last week I blew up a brand new Marantz SR-5004 receiver inside of 15 minutes. I called tech support dumbfounded how I could put it in protect mode with no speakers connections (was testing HDMI baluns) and the lady at tech support acted like I was a moron because apparently when the 5004 doesn't have a load causes it to run hot and burn up the amplifiers.

    I would honestly say the best would honestly be AMX. They manage to put up with me on a regular basis with both weird and elementary questions. I always get nervous when they ask for my name and they know right away what company I'm with. It's like not knowing what your doctor is writing in your file. lol
  • a_riot42a_riot42 Posts: 1,624
    rcain wrote: »
    I called tech support dumbfounded how I could put it in protect mode with no speakers connections (was testing HDMI baluns) and the lady at tech support acted like I was a moron because apparently when the 5004 doesn't have a load causes it to run hot and burn up the amplifiers.

    Theoretically solid state power amps should be ok with no speaker load, as long as there is nothing at the input, but I still wouldn't do it. You may have fried the transformers.
    Paul
  • travistravis Posts: 180
    INGRAM MICRO
  • IR control of 1730w? I borrowed a vendors AMX "irlearner", worked fine. good luck
    jsnyder wrote: »
    For the most part? Epson Tech. support has been good.
    today was an odd one though, powerlite 1730w (i was hunting an IR file to control it, no luck yet)
    called Epson T.S. within 2 minutes I was bumped up to tier 2 who then had me navigate their website to a PDF with info on all of the command structure and syntax for controlling the pl1730W, I told them i was familiar with this info since our fleet of 7900's and G5150's in classrooms use it.

    Just one hitch,,, the powerlite 1730W has no rs-232 port :-O !!

    know your product kiddies!!!!!

    I was told that the USB port on the projector could "change modes" to be used for control by a pc but last time i checked the NI-2100 doesn't have a "usb" port :-\

    WEEEEE!

    I borrowed a vendors AMX "irlearner", worked fine. good luck
  • viningvining Posts: 4,368
    jsnyder wrote:
    I was told that the USB port on the projector could "change modes" to be used for control by a pc but last time i checked the NI-2100 doesn't have a "usb" port :-\
    How about a USB to RS2332 adapter? I've never tried these but apparently folks here on the forum use them with success for DirecTV boxes.


    travis wrote:
    INGRAM MICRO
    Not sure if this thread is geared toward distributors but since you brought it up my biggest beef with IM is the constantly changing password requirement and they freaking track used passwords forever so I can't even rotate every 2-3 changes. Then they buy AVAD and corrupt them. Unfortunately sometimes you just need stuff from them.
  • jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    Speco - terrible in my opinion. The tech had no clue what I was asking for (telnet control over their boxes) - in fact, I'm pretty sure he said he didn't know what telnet was. The sad thing was, this was a callback from a more "advanced" technician.

    I am also 99.9% sure the guy was either slowly filling up a large glass of water from the faucet, or he was using the bathroom while I was talking to him. It was quite awkward to say the least.
  • ericmedleyericmedley Posts: 4,177
    jjames wrote: »
    I am also 99.9% sure the guy was either slowly filling up a large glass of water from the faucet, or he was using the bathroom while I was talking to him. It was quite awkward to say the least.

    I can say I've had two instances of this happening. One guy admitted it. (I won't say who it was here...) I told him that it was taking 'telecommuting' a bit too far.
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