Moviebeam-less

Michael Gartenberg | July 06, 2006, 07:26 AM

Moviebeamless

So I've talked about my experience with Moviebeam, here's a little update. First, I got a nice note from their PR folks who noticed my blogpost who explained why I'm not seeing HD content. Seems I need to connect the box to my screen via HDMI or DVI. Since DVI is in use and there's no HDMI port, it looks like I'm stuck with upscaled SD which frankly looks pretty good. Bigger issue is I noticed in the Moviebeam email that the Producers was now available. Odd, I didn't see that in the guide. Quick check, it's not there. Quick check to see if my signal strength is OK and I notice I'm not getting any new content for the last week. I called tech support figuring I'd just send the unit back. Waited all of a minute for someone to get on the line and they told me there's a problem with the tower in NJ and it might not be fixed until the end of the month. I spent some time with a tech support person who was knowledgeable about the issue and gave me some pointers how we might fix it. In general, the support was pleasant, quick, knowledgeable (no one asking me to re-boot the unit). I was offered a credit for a free movie for my hassle and the option of getting a new box with all the content loaded on it that I missed. I declined saying it wasn't necessary and decided to keep the box for a few more weeks to see if the tower issue gets resolved. It's a tricky eco system and I'm surprised it works as well as it does. In an era of declining tech support and long hold times to support centers in places unkown, it was refreshing to see this type of interaction. Certainly worth sticking around a little longer.