Skippa Pre-Order

[Leon K]

Hey Guys,

Just to please note too that the warranty will be void if opening the box / replacing the HDD, as it is not designed to be upgraded.

[Rat]

Don't any of the staff know who is manufacturing this box? or have they been told to withhold this information? my question is a valid one and has been ignored twice now.

Also I repeat who will be doing the bug fixes and upgrades?

[bodogbodog]

Don't any of the staff know who is manufacturing this box? or have they been told to withhold this information? my question is a valid one and has been ignored twice now.

Also I repeat who will be doing the bug fixes and upgrades?

Do you ask that question of every supplier of consumer electronics you buy - or for that matter any item you purchase?

Seriously - IceTV are offering us the SKIPPA - pretty simple really - take it or leave it...

But rolling into the forums and demanding answers to these sort of questions, which no other supplier would expect to answer, isn't going to get you answers

I can answer the bug fixes and upgrades question - it will be IceTV, the supplier of the unit

[IanL-S]

As I understand it IceTV have contracted with an OEM (original equipment manufacture) to manufacture the Skippa. The operating system (firmware) is developed and provided by IceTV. The OEM has no role in firmware development and maintenance. All the OEM does is to load the firmware at some time before the Skippa is put into its carton.

Ian

[Rat]

Do you ask that question of every supplier of consumer electronics you buy - or for that matter any item you purchase?

Seriously - IceTV are offering us the SKIPPA - pretty simple really - take it or leave it...

But rolling into the forums and demanding answers to these sort of questions, which no other supplier would expect to answer, isn't going to get you answers

I can answer the bug fixes and upgrades question - it will be IceTV, the supplier of the unit

Thanks for the answer regarding the bug fixes and upgrades, I'm glad it will be IceTV doing that as I imagine that will speed up the process and we will be able to give feedback directly.

Most purchases I make I am able to look up reviews and information about so Seriously YES all major purchases I would know that information. Skippa is not a major purchase at $400 but it will be a major PITA if it doesn't work as expected. I have taken a blind leap of faith by pre-ordering and paying for a box that there is scant info about and no one here has reviewed or beta tested, well not publicly anyway.

This is the information age, it is normal for people to ask the type of questions I have especially about high-tech purchases such as this and especially from a seller who has no previous experience releasing hardware. To tell people to just take it or leave it when it is a Pre-Order is quite an arrogant attitude IMHO.

[bodogbodog]

To tell people to just take it or leave it when it is a Pre-Order is quite an arrogant attitude IMHO.

but reality nevertheless

I am relying on the protection we have as consumers that the goods must be of merchantable quality - if they are not normal redress would be to return them and get a refund

I'm more concerned about the $2,000,000 or so "cash" that IceTV are sitting on assuming that they've got 500 pre-orders...I guess most of that will pretty quickly go to the supplier to secure the production of the first run

[bodogbodog]

Just to please note too that the warranty will be void if opening the box / replacing the HDD

What is the warranty period for SKIPPA?

[Leon K]

Hi bodogbodog,

The warranty is 12 months.

[bodogbodog]

The warranty is 12 months.

Thanks Leon
Can you clarify - is that return to IceTV offices or does IceTV provide a courier pickup and delivery for warranty repairs?

[Leon K]

I can't confirm just yet, but depending on the cause of the warranty claim ie. if it is outside the first month you most likely would have to return it to us for the warranty repairs / inspection - similar to other PVR manufacturers:

http://support.icetv.com.au/entries/20293087-If-I-need-to-return-my-item-for-repair-or-replacement-who-pays-for-the-postage-costs-

[bodogbodog]

I can't confirm just yet, but depending on the cause of the warranty claim ie. if it is outside the first month you most likely would have to return it to us for the warranty repairs / inspection - similar to other PVR manufacturers:

http://support.icetv.com.au/entries/20293087-If-I-need-to-return-my-item-for-repair-or-replacement-who-pays-for-the-postage-costs-

Thanks for the link - but it raises as many questions as it answers - Beyonwiz put the onus on the customer to pay and Topfield provide a pickup and delivery service. Of course in the case of SKIPPA it will be IceTV's call on what is to happen so we look forward to learning how warranty will be handled

[csutak40]

I can't confirm just yet, but depending on the cause of the warranty claim ie. if it is outside the first month you most likely would have to return it to us for the warranty repairs / inspection - similar to other PVR manufacturers:

http://support.icetv.com.au/entries/20293087-If-I-need-to-return-my-item-for-repair-or-replacement-who-pays-for-the-postage-costs-

Thanks for the link - but it raises as many questions as it answers - Beyonwiz put the onus on the customer to pay and Topfield provide a pickup and delivery service. Of course in the case of SKIPPA it will be IceTV's call on what is to happen so we look forward to learning how warranty will be handled

I have to agree, that doesn't answer anything at all.  Basically, it is up to IceTV to decide which supplier they want to emulate, as they are all different.  AFAIC, packing up and safely shipping a PVR  interstate would be quite costly, so arranging a courier would be a fair thing to do (of course, they could stipulate that if the fault is not with the equipment, the customer has to pay)

[Nodeity]

Hey Guys,

Just to please note too that the warranty will be void if opening the box / replacing the HDD, as it is not designed to be upgraded.

That's fine and of course understandable, I have pre-ordered mine already and have no problem with this. However given the nature of recorders like this, they do tend to fill up rather quickly depending on individual use.  My T3 currently has only about 25% storage left on a 1 TB HDD.  I can and will update it sooner or later Warranty or not, because I can.  Will the Skippa allow HDD change and what is the maximum size HDD it can handle?  I'd like to put a larger one in there probably sooner rather than later.  Looking forward to playing with it.  ;)

[IanL-S]

The max HDD size is presumably governed by the Linux kernel that is being used. Ancient kernels support up to 2TB (this is the case for TRF-2400 and similar generation Toppys), more recent kernels which support GPT and can support any size HDD.

Ian

[warkus]

Bodogbodog,

Your info on returns from other companies isn't correct.

I can't categorically speak for topfield, however I am fairly sure they DO NOT organise pickup and delivery, only delivery, on machines older than 3 months. For machines less than 3 months old they pay both ways but if more than 3 months old, they can organise pickup for you but at your cost.

Beyonwiz, definitely DO pay both ways for machines that are 30 days old or less and fail, as has been the case with many T3 owners. After that again it's at your cost for sending to them.

Once it goes past a certain time most manufacturers put the onus back onto the customer to return the item at their expense, that's why it's called a return to base warranty. The DOA period differed greatly, but the mains ones I know seem to be 30 days from invoice, after that you ship yourself. Almost all companies seem to pay for return freight however so at least it's only one way you have to fund yourself.

This is often why you pay more from an in-store retailer local to you as they have to factor that cost of return in to the price, if it fails inside the warranty period with a store, you just take it back there and it becomes their problem.

I imagine ICE will implement a similar system with a set DOA period etc, just like the rest do.


Mark