Quote:
Originally Posted by
zoetmbÂ
Pioneer doesn't give a crap after a receiver goes out the door. Not a good way to retain customers. You can apologize or rationalize for them all you want.
and what would you like a company that was on the verge of bankruptcy to invest its money on? a phone app that make it NO money or new & improved features in receivers that will entice people to buy & upgrade?
D&M Holdings (Denon & Marantz) are in similar financial situation. Sharp Electronics - who owns a
large % of Pioneer & basically helped keep them afloat while they closed the plasma div to stop the bleeding - has recently said that unless THEY get a partner, they may not be sustainable as a company. Sony is bleeding more than a billion/yr for several years and I believe Panasonic is not far behind them.
unless you want NO company left to make TV's & mass market receivers, except cheap Chinese goods sold in Walmarts, maybe you should keep things in perspective
Pioneer & all other receiver companies are NOT Apple or Samsung
Believe me, I understand where you're coming from, as an SC-09 owner, the original $7K Ice amp receiver from Pioneer, one of many disappointed & at one time pretty mad that Pioneer never offered hardware/software update program for us. And most Susano owners were willing to
pay a similar amount as Denon's AVP & 5308 upgrade, about $1000-1200. We were Not complaining about some
freebie app that is NOT mandatory for using the receiver - there are universal programmable remotes that will do the job just as well.
And I too ranted & raved, even in this very thread. But I sent emails to top execs at Pioneer, went to 2 CEDIA shows to meet & discuss the issue with Pioneer top personnel at their booth, set up an email campaign for US & international owners giving Pioneer professional business reasons for investing in a $1000 upgrade. But eventually I concluded it was not going to happen, that Pioneer's financials & the hardware platform getting increasingly old, that Pioneer was not in the position to develop it when they needed to improve their bottom line to survive as a company.
And I had to make a decision, go with Denon or stay with Pioneer. I stayed, due to Denon obsoleting their DenonLInk interface but mostly the big cost to get the AVP, pay for the upgrade, and buy a 7 ch amp.
Let me ask you, are YOU willing to pay for icontrol upgrades? I would guess not.
At least we, who spent anywhere from $3000-7000 on the SC-09, were willing to
pay Pioneer for a hardware upgrade program. When you commit to spending YOUR money to support updating programs and
tell Pioneer you're willing to do so, then you can legitimately complain about their support.
Instead of just whining here, why don't YOU do something constructive and start an email campaign like I did, getting owners on board, take the time to PM AVSForum member Walkamo, the head of marketing for Pioneer US, and send him constructive business oriented emails to see what he can do to persuade Pioneer Japan (the final decision maker) to offer app upgrades. Until you do that, you're just complaining about it & get no sympathy from me...sorry
Plus, it's not like you don't have alternatives. I've read about i-rule and other phone apps that will turn a phone into a remote. I don't know details but I would imagine the apple & droid apps supports multiple receivers from different companies. I know I've read posts here about it. Try Home Theater Mag & Audioholics sites...they may have some writeups.
(chris, are you happy now....I wasn't going to do this but these gripes just pulled me in
)
it's one thing to blow off steam about a disappointment and even be mad (I was for 1+ years but I also spent one hell of a lot more than you guys ever did on a receiver & spent my time trying to do something on behalf of ALL owners!)
but to threaten a lawsuit over a free phone app & be serious about it? Way over the top
very hard to take you guys seriously
Edited by ss9001 - 12/9/12 at 1:47pm
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