UMC-1 is back on track

[ratmice]

Apr 3, 2010 23:24:12 GMT -5 DYohn said:

Apr 3, 2010 19:09:13 GMT -5 ratmice said:

A simple OFFICIAL statement .

I believe there is an entire thread that is made up of "official statements." These are not enough?

You tell me. How many complaints have you seen about the lack of posts there? How many threads being started regarding "what's up with the UMC, XMC, Subs, DAC". Draw your own conclusions.

Now, I do post comments about this issue, but it's in response to seeing those kind of posts here, and elsewhere. I also see a growing animosity/discouragement/frustration that others are showing toward Emotiva. Timely communication is a simple thing that could help their image. Please note that I am making an observation about what I see happening in the forum - NOT that I am craving more and more and more updates (well sometimes I do). I am happy with what I get, I'm just convinced that it's obvious that's not true for many.

One more thing, I have a UMC-1 in my system, I like how it sounds, I'm waiting for a FW update. I couldn't really care less what Emotiva does, either it'll be fixed or it won't - either I'll keep it or I won't. It just drives me crazy that a simple few comments, given in a timely manner, could remove a bunch of the crap that piles up in this, and other, forums.

p.s. in response to billbaumann, my recommendation to how much info is enough - when you start having to wade through lots of crap in the forum, it's time for an update.

That's it from me, you won't have to put up with my ramblings about this topic anymore.

[BillBauman]

Apr 4, 2010 7:59:43 GMT -5 ratmice said:

p.s. in response to billbaumann, my recommendation to how much info is enough - when you start having to wade through lots of crap in the forum, it's time for an update.

Agreed. The UMC-1 was late to market, Emo felt pressured to ship it, and here we are. Lots of threads about problems and what's the status.

Notice the deafening roar of silence about the XMC-1? That's my point. If Emotiva says nothing, things stay pretty quiet, save for the every-now-and-then, "what's going on with the XMC-1?" I imagine it's going to stay that way, too. Actually, I'm hoping it does. Now, if the XMC-1 takes another 2 years to ship, but ships with only very minor bugs that are fixed in the first 4 to 6 weeks, the forums will only be filled with chatter about how great it is, or how someone wished it would have come with x,y,z feature(s).

To my point, also, I have not heard anyone complaining about the lack of update from Emo on their universal, all-in-one, SACD/Blu-Ray/DVD-A/3D/HD-DVD/CD/MP3/USB/Apple/Laserdisc/Cassette/Betamax/VHS player. And as long Emotiva doesn't ever mention it, we won't have to deal with any of the complaints about what it's features are or aren't and when it will come out.

[DYohn]

Like I said earlier there is an official update thread and the last message was posted there on April 2.

emotivalounge.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=preamps&action=display&thread=9051

So it seems that Emotiva is keeping the forum updated about the progress of the UMC-1 software update on a fairly regular basis. What do you folks want, live feeds from their software lab?

As far as information about their other product development activities, because of the uproars made on this forum by some members about supposed "missed deadlines" and "unkept promises" Emotiva made the decision to stop sharing their ideas and progress as they develop new products and reserve this information to their web-casts and other official announcements. This change in communication style is the fault of some unruly behavior by some from this forum's membership.

[jdskycaster]

I agree that there has been regular official communication regarding the status of the UMC-1 and I am satisfied with that. I also think that since the XMC-1 has been let out of the bag that it will be tough to just discontinue communication of what is happening with it.

My advice regarding that product (and others that have been pre-announced) would be to create another status update thread for it with an official statement letting everyone know where the product currently is in development and then set everyone's expectations as to when the next update will be given - weekly, monthly or quarterly. That would definitely stifle all of the needless speculation in these threads as well as provide an opportunity to exceed expectations.

Post to all that you can expect the next official update in 12 weeks. There is now an opportunity to shock everyone with an update at 8 weeks!!!! Imagine the positive vibe within the forum community. When you do that you also need to set expectation again that although you just exceeded your SLA you can still expect to hear from us again in 12 weeks. Not rocket science - just best practice for customer relations.

Big Dan,
If you are listening in and would like to add a PR liaison let me know. I am fully employed at the moment but am always open to offers:)

Best Regards,
JD

[billmac]

Apr 4, 2010 11:47:09 GMT -5 DYohn said:

This change in communication style is the fault of some unruly behavior by some from this forum's membership.

No disrespect to Emotiva but is it the fault of these "unruly" members here that there were delays in the release of the UMC-1 and the subsquent FW issues? So if there was not a delay or FW issues would these "unruly" members still be as "unruly" ? See there are two sides of this story it all depends on how you look at the big picture. Whether it is through tunnel vision or if you look at it from both sides . Just a thought to ponder .

Bill

[LCSeminole]

Apr 4, 2010 12:11:15 GMT -5 jdskycaster said:

I agree that there has been regular official communication regarding the status of the UMC-1 and I am satisfied with that. I also think that since the XMC-1 has been let out of the bag that it will be tough to just discontinue communication of what is happening with it.

My advice regarding that product (and others that have been pre-announced) would be to create another status update thread for it with an official statement letting everyone know where the product currently is in development and then set everyone's expectations as to when the next update will be given - weekly, monthly or quarterly. That would definitely stifle all of the needless speculation in these threads as well as provide an opportunity to exceed expectations.

Post to all that you can expect the next official update in 12 weeks. There is now an opportunity to shock everyone with an update at 8 weeks!!!! Imagine the positive vibe within the forum community. When you do that you also need to set expectation again that although you just exceeded your SLA you can still expect to hear from us again in 12 weeks. Not rocket science - just best practice for customer relations.

Big Dan,
If you are listening in and would like to add a PR liaison let me know. I am fully employed at the moment but am always open to offers:)

Best Regards,
JD

JD, Nicely put.

[DYohn]

IMO, when Emotiva posts "well we had hoped to be done by now but due to circumstances beyond our control the release is delayed" and some members posted "well hell, that means I have to wait longer" while others posted "See, I told you Emotiva is a crap company who can't keep their promises and it's probably all a smoke screen anyway and you should go buy from Onkyo because Emotiva sucks," then one member is being reasonable and the other is being unruly.

You may interpret things differently.

[cgolf]

Everyone reacts differently to a situation based on many variables. Do they own a product, want a product, or don't care. Are they honestly trying to get information or just stir things up. Are they offering opinions or just gabbing. On and on and on. Many of the posts here are valid and useful and many of them should be deleted IMHO but I'm not a moderator so that's just my opinion.

I bought a UMC-1 but sold it because it just wasn't right for me at this time. However, personally I think Emotiva has gone way out of their way to provide information about the product and has put up with a whole lot more than most other companies would. Much of the mess has been the fault of some forum members and some of it has been the fault of how Emotiva has handled their end. I'm sure they are learning and have and will make changes to their PR processes. ;D

They really do care and really do want to resolve this issue. ;D

[billmac]

Apr 4, 2010 12:23:22 GMT -5 DYohn said:

IMO, when Emotiva posts "well we had hoped to be done by now but due to circumstances beyond our control the release is delayed" and some members posted "well hell, that means I have to wait longer" while others posted "See, I told you Emotiva is a crap company who can't keep their promises and it's probably all a smoke screen anyway and you should go buy from Onkyo because Emotiva sucks," then one member is being reasonable and the other is being unruly.

You may interpret things differently.

This might shock you but I agree with you 100% that the members that post rude and obnoxious posts are the unruly ones. Their posts should be deleted and the members warned that posting like that will end with a ban from the forum.

But I see that some here are finding issues with members who are asking tough questions even when asked in a respectful way. They are grouping those members as unruly as well even though they are well within the guidelines of forum etiquette. The point that some of these members are missing is that no matter what the situation is they will never openly admit that Emotiva could be in the wrong on anything. That is kind of frustrating to many members here who see what goes on from both sides .

Bill

[moe]

Apr 4, 2010 12:38:43 GMT -5 cgolf said:

Everyone reacts differently to a situation based on many variables. Do they own a product, want a product, or don't care. Are they honestly trying to get information or just stir things up. Are they offering opinions or just gabbing. On and on and on. Many of the posts here are valid and useful and many of them should be deleted IMHO but I'm not a moderator so that's just my opinion.

I bought a UMC-1 but sold it because it just wasn't right for me at this time. However, personally I think Emotiva has gone way out of their way to provide information about the product and has put up with a whole lot more than most other companies would. Much of the mess has been the fault of some forum members and some of it has been the fault of how Emotiva has handled their end. I'm sure they are learning and have and will make changes to their PR processes. ;D

They really do care and really do want to resolve this issue. ;D

That's a good well reasoned post,the UMC didn't work for you right now but you appreciate the opportunity to consider it.In this event I'm sure we all wish you the best in whatever you choose.Most supporters don't mind a bit if it's not suitable or the issues are too many for someone.Some may be mildy offended when it's suggested they shouldn't like Emotiva or the UMC either.

So I think Emotiva and the UMC are on the right track.

[jdskycaster]

I for one hope the Easter Bunny passed by all of those unruly members houses last night! I know I was good. I received a shiny new power conditioning UPS to prolong the life of my projector bulb and UMC-1 during those spring thunderstorms coming our way.

[monkumonku]

Apr 4, 2010 13:19:07 GMT -5 billmac said:

Apr 4, 2010 12:23:22 GMT -5 DYohn said:

IMO, when Emotiva posts "well we had hoped to be done by now but due to circumstances beyond our control the release is delayed" and some members posted "well hell, that means I have to wait longer" while others posted "See, I told you Emotiva is a crap company who can't keep their promises and it's probably all a smoke screen anyway and you should go buy from Onkyo because Emotiva sucks," then one member is being reasonable and the other is being unruly.

You may interpret things differently.

This might shock you but I agree with you 100% that the members that post rude and obnoxious posts are the unruly ones. Their posts should be deleted and the members warned that posting like that will end with a ban from the forum.

But I see that some here are finding issues with members who are asking tough questions even when asked in a respectful way. They are grouping those members as unruly as well even though they are well within the guidelines of forum etiquette. The point that some of these members are missing is that no matter what the situation is they will never openly admit that Emotiva could be in the wrong on anything. That is kind of frustrating to many members here who see what goes on from both sides .

Bill

I have to agree.. you are one of those people that ask the tough questions and I think some have jumped on you about that but I think you've always posed your difficult issues in a respectful and constructive way.

[Deleted]

Apr 4, 2010 0:04:03 GMT -5 Cathy Laufman said:

Hello,
Changing subjects...
we have a new webcast up, has anyone listened? We talked about our new offices, new staff, new products, SW release for UMC-1, etc, etc........

Up late on Easter Bunny duty and thought I would check in.
Good night all and Happy Easter.

Cathy

I like the idea of Emotiva radio . . ;D

[elee532]

Apr 4, 2010 13:19:07 GMT -5 billmac said:

But I see that some here are finding issues with members who are asking tough questions even when asked in a respectful way. They are grouping those members as unruly as well even though they are well within the guidelines of forum etiquette.
Bill

From what I have seen, the former is much more often the case than the latter and it just rubs me the wrong way. I will admit that the unruly posts have increased somewhat since the UMC-1 started shipping, but I still find the unruly posts to be few and far between… it’s the lumping together that billmac describes above which makes the tension here feel worse than it really is.

[elee532]

Apr 4, 2010 11:47:09 GMT -5 DYohn said:

As far as information about their other product development activities, because of the uproars made on this forum by some members about supposed "missed deadlines" and "unkept promises" Emotiva made the decision to stop sharing their ideas and progress as they develop new products and reserve this information to their web-casts and other official announcements. This change in communication style is the fault of some unruly behavior by some from this forum's membership.

You state this as fact. I don't recall this every being stated by an official source. If it is true, then I think it's an over-reaction to an over-exaggerated problem. My $.02.

[ottaone]

Apr 4, 2010 12:11:15 GMT -5 jdskycaster said:

...
Big Dan,
If you are listening in and would like to add a PR liaison let me know. I am fully employed at the moment but am always open to offers:)

Best Regards,
JD

Right, additional Emo staff! Before we know it, Emo products are beyond my financial reach. ;D

My advice would be the opposite: cut costs including this forum and sell the XMC at $800, okay $899. Then watch the dough roll in.

[Topend]

Why don't we all just talk about Emotiva products and leave the public banter alone.

[threxx]

So this upcoming UMC firmware update is the final update?

Is that a hopeful statement? Like a goal or something?

Or have they just decided to throw in the towel regardless of what the outcome is for this update?

I guess it'll make it much easier of a decision for people who aren't sure whether to keep their UMC-1. If you still experience unlivable bugs after this update then you should send it back, since this is your final fix.

[ntrain42]

Apr 5, 2010 7:42:50 GMT -5 threxx said:

So this upcoming UMC firmware update is the final update?

Is that a hopeful statement? Like a goal or something?

Or have they just decided to throw in the towel regardless of what the outcome is for this update?

I guess it'll make it much easier of a decision for people who aren't sure whether to keep their UMC-1. If you still experience unlivable bugs after this update then you should send it back, since this is your final fix.

I doubt its the final update, but it should be the last major one for atleast awhile..............

[billmac]

Apr 5, 2010 7:42:50 GMT -5 threxx said:

So this upcoming UMC firmware update is the final update?

Is that a hopeful statement? Like a goal or something?

Or have they just decided to throw in the towel regardless of what the outcome is for this update?

I guess it'll make it much easier of a decision for people who aren't sure whether to keep their UMC-1. If you still experience unlivable bugs after this update then you should send it back, since this is your final fix.

Not sure of the wording but my thought would be that the FW will hopefully address the major issues reported with the UMC-1. Then Emotiva can let UMC-1 owners know that then the 30 day clock will be starting as it can't run forever.

Bill