He said only a few days ago he knows patience is wearing thin. I was going to say, wafer thin, and post a link to the Mr Creosote Monty Python sketch but thought better of it.
They really should have stopped selling them when they realized the extent of the problems. But I suspect they will counter that with statistics that they’ve sold thousands of these things to many satisfied customers, and the unsatisfied customers are in a small minority.
This topic/thread is difficult for many as they spent a good amount on the DMP and remain frustrating it is not working as they expected. Others are more patient and handle the issues philosophically. Both are opinionated. Thus, there is tension.
Overall, members are handling things pretty well all things considered. There is some bickering, as expected, but generally it is not bad. It appears to me that often posters do not intend others to be offended and are unintentionally pushing buttons, causing others to react. (Yes, there are the occasional deliberate jerks. I try to address these.)
I agree, the Paul’s Posts discussions are often unpleasant. Thus, I do not go there.
I predict things will settle down in a bit.
If the DMP project was so difficult, wait and see how the Octave project turns out. I suspect Octave would be far more technically challenging in software savvy than DMP, and there is (potentially) a world of pain on the horizon and heading their way. But, good luck to them with it. And gazing into my crystal ball, the AN speaker project will probably be far less traumatic. Anything that is highly reliant on software is killing them at the moment, and it has been like that for years.
Dissatisfied customers are likely a small minority, but this does not make them any less unhappy or their complaints invalid.
As with the reviewers who offer nothing but praise, the DMP works well and meets the needs/expectations of most. Paul and clan are clearly trying to address the frustrations of those who are unhappy and, in the process, making the unit better for all.
Second disclaimer: I’m a professional market/consumer researcher. We—and most likely PSA—have no idea what percentage of the customer base is dissatisfied with the DMP or even how this is affecting non-owners of the DMP.
With regard to whether my observation that the friendliness quotient is declining or not on the forums, it’s my personal feeling that is is not simply bickering. Again if you wanted objective data a pop-up survey could go along way toward answering this question.
Yesterday, and this is not the first time, I asked a question and was immediately met with snark. The poster questioned my reading ability, felt that my inability to understand basic topology is due to my lack of logic, and then reacted very differently to a poster who has a more knowledgeable understanding of circuitry. And, then, ironically, the poster stated their own questions and doubt. I’ve seen any number of posters get shot down for stating their opinion. Not welcoming to the uninitiated.
Should we all be mechanics to drive a nice car or to be able to talk about the experience of driving? If the DMP were a car it would be subject to a recall. This level of bugginess is unacceptable no matter how good the unit sounds. I agree with Brodric that software design and implementation is not PSA’s strong suit.
I know of two other DMP owners who don’t post on the forum - but they too are experiencing crap functionality.
So who really knows how small the minority of disaffected DMP owners there actually is… Going by my own experience with the DMP thus far, what should I expect from the last, finalized operating system… “ipse se nihil scire id unum sciat”
no matter how one chooses to describe this mess it is unsatisfactory…this simply should not go on and on and on without final resolution…
I agree with Brodrick re: Octave and the server. I’ve noted before that, although computer “intelligence” is infiltrating every aspect of consumer goods, software is a separate and different core competency than the design and construction of audio gear.
How fast is fast enough in addressing these issues? Apparently, Paul and his team have decided how urgent this matter is. Customers will decide/vote on future products with their wallets.
FWIW, load time from shutting off the rear switch is 2 minutes 5 seconds. Is that TOO long? I don’t know what TOO long is. That seems like a long time to me. On a scale of 1-10 I rate that issue a 2, where 10 is most urgent.
I do a hard boot every day because I’ve read where forcing a re-synch to the DAC helps SQ.
We only have the fact that no reviewer complained of usability issues and relatively few owners have appeared here expressing frustration. Of course, the later example relies on the fact few who are happy will post only to express their happiness and only a self-selected group will post they have issues.
What post specifically are you referring to?
This is up to each user. PS Audio is obviously currently addressing this given the recent firmware offerings.
How long did the reviewers have the DMP? If there were no issues then all of this would be moot.
The thread I am referring to is the BHK and REL one.
I re-read the posts to see if I was being over-sensitive. There is an outward tone of please and thank you but I stand by my original statement on snark.
The apparent fact that none of the reviewers noted any DVD-A or Bluray issues suggests a failure to thoroughly test drive the units.
I do not know specifically how long the various reviewers had the DMP. I generically know reviewers will have product for quite some time and get a chance to thoroughly test the product.
Edit: I reviewed the thread you referenced. I understand why the poster responded as he did; he was merely a bit frustrated. I find it best to overlook what strikes me as less than ideal communication styles; we all have our ways of communicating, some of which will annoy others.
Digital communication methods like texting, email, posting to threads does have the drawback of not communicating inflection etc. I believe allot of the disagreements stem from this. When you speak to someone they can hear your tone and emotion and can affect how what they are saying is received by the listener.
Spot on… …
Excellent point, sixpack.
I find one also needs to cut others a good deal of slack. They may or may not intend to offend, especially when it is clear they are putting in a great deal of effort to try and help. A thick skin is a useful attribute.
This is certainly true. Inflection, tone, sarcasm, etc. are not intuitively interpreted along with the communicated words.
One benefit of non-real time communication is the ability to pause, if we so choose. That gives the reader the opportunity to calm down in a sense before rattling off comments that start fires or further fan the flames. Whether we take this opportunity to reflect, deflect, or outright ignore is entirely up to each one of us, but it is there for the taking.
I agree that indirect communication should gives us time to think but for some reason I think it also empowers some to fire away with things they would never say directly to someone.
We do the same in cars. People often treat each other very poorly when driving, due to the anonymity, and do things to each other I doubt they would do if they met on a sidewalk.