Amazon Prime membership offers its members a few great perks with the membership. You get Amazon Prime video, where you can watch movies and videos (including originals), unlimited photo storage, and of course, 2-day free shipping on eligible products. But lately, I have noticed some odd things happening with the 2-day free shipping and want to elaborate on my findings...
General Mood
I am usually very content with Amazon and its support. It offers so many things that I cannot imagine a world without it. The only major concern I have now is its support.
For minor issues--depending on how you see it--the Amazon support is normally quite helpful. If you have a broken or defective product, they will help you remedy that problem quickly. If a product does not arrive, the can make sure you get another as quickly as possible.
But when it comes to specific issues, that is when Amazon support seems to have little to no clue as to what they are doing, until you are lucky enough (or spend enough time) to get a satisfactory answer. Part of this is because the support either does not understand the situation, or does not think "outside the box", or simple does not have an answer (which they will not admit to easily).
Overall, this is not a regular problem that will arise. Yet, as I will explain, there can be times when just trying to get a straight answer becomes a long, grueling quest that will go in vain unless an answer is given.
Starting Point
So, some time late last year, I started noticing this "phenomena", where items sent using the 2-day free shipping for Prime were being sent 3 days after the day of purchase. I was not completely sure of this since I had not been monitoring the actual days it took to be ordered and sent.
The only way I could justify this was that the day of order was not counted, the next day was when the item was actually shipped, so the next 2 days were the shipping time. But this did not sit well with me as I did not recall this being the procedure for 2-day free shipping before. I also considered that maybe I had ordered items after 12pm, so that day would not be considered towards the total...
Since I had no proof of this, I had no reason to contact Amazon and ask as to why this was happening.
Then It Happened
I had ordered a couple of external hard drives and waited for them. Of course, they decided OnTrac was the best courier to use for my items, which some of you may already know how bad they can be.
OnTrac did not deliver the items on time, and I was frustrated since they had recently screwed me over on some other items. I called Amazon support and told them the situation. They called OnTrac and assured me that it would arrive the next day.
This did not happen. I called Amazon support again and told them the situation, which they responding by telling my they could offer a refund for the items. The two items I had bought were both used and were not available again at the same prices, so I was furious that I was not getting what I paid for, then would be forced to pay more for the same two items!
My reasoning was sound, so I told the Amazon support representative why I could not do that and that I needed them to remedy the situation properly. Eventually, I was escalated to a supervisor.
This conversation took a while to get through, but the supervisor finally conceded that they could offer me a small amount of credit to help with paying for the items. Essentially, they thought I wanted to buy two new items. (Remember when I commented on how they do not think out of the box?) After some creative thinking on my part, I was able to get two more external hard drives at a slightly cheaper cost than what I had originally paid.
The supervisor stayed on the phone with me throughout the purchase process. One of the external hard drives was new, and another used. Both had Prime shipping available. When I added them both to my cart, Amazon checkout stated that the used item would come in 3 days instead of 2!
I mentioned this to the supervisor and she offered to give me "one-day" shipping for free on the used item (to make it arrive in 2 days...). Obviously, I accepted, but I asked why it was considered to be Prime shipping when it was clearly not going to arrive in 2 days like the new item? She tried to give me some song-and-dance about how they were in different places and that it was likely that one was operating at a different time than the other. To which I responded that it was (something like) 1am, and that neither should be operating regardless of where it was in the US.
It did not make sense. There are certain products on Amazon that have Prime and explicitly state that they will take 3 days to be delivered, but this was not one of those products. Why would it have Prime shipping if it clearly was not?
I did not push the matter any further since I just wanted my external hard drives at the time. But this did not stop me from continuing to wonder why was Amazon lying to me? Not the Amazon customer support, I have grown accustomed to them lying to me, but why would their systems reflect this? Systems do not lie, people do.
The Quest Continues
A few times since, I did try to resolve this issue with Amazon online chat support. Most of the time I was using the chat support to resolve other issues or ask other questions, so I really only tried once or twice to figure out why Prime shipping had been 3 days instead of 2, when the same item was showing the 2 days.
Had they both been for 3 days, then I would have left the matter alone and probably not thought about it too much more. But because this was not the case, I was determined to get a real answer that made sense and was not some obligatory answer they love to throw at you when they have no idea what the real answer is.
Again, I turned to Amazon chat support, since I knew it would take a while and I wanted to be able to multitask while chatting. I first got a person who really could not understand the issue. It was late night, so I had someone from India who had some problems replying in proper English (or at least English that would be passable). After going back-and-forth with him for what was at least 20-30 minutes, I told them they could not comprehend what I was trying to ask and that I needed a superior to talk to.
A few minutes later I was transferred to someone who--after some prodding--stated they were the supervisor of the last person. Their English was vastly better, so I had hope that I could finally get an answer.
They asked what the issue was, and because I did not want to go through everything again, I had them reread the chat I had just had with their subordinate. Thankfully, he did so, and we began our conversation. The first thing we determined was that 2-day shipping is two days after the order.
The rest of the chat took around 2 hours or more. The main points the supervisor tried to pass off as answers were as follows:
- The availability of a product is (rarely) not correct on the Amazon product pages.
- The availability of a product can affect the time it takes for an item to be delivered.
- A product delivered passed 2 days should still be delivered earlier than free shipping.
- A product delivered through Prime was still free shipping.
- An item's transit time is not part of its shipping time.
- Demand of a product can affect availability and shipping times.
Let me break down these points in terms of our discussion. The availability of items for Amazon will usually be stated on the main product page if there is little stock, the item is not yet available but will be soon, or that it is simply not available.
The product I was getting was widely available from many websites and is not a rare item. It also was in stock. Thus, there should be no reason for it to be a rare situation. The supervisor tried to blame the "system" for these types of issues, which does not give me much of any information because I am (absolutely) sure Amazon has several systems; and does its best to ensure that everything runs correctly as big as it is.
I also want to mention that the supervisor pushed this point like he was selling it. I got it the first time, and it really did not apply to my situation...
As for the third point and fifth points, the real selling point of Prime is the 2-day free shipping, not the extras it comes with, as I rarely use them (although The Main in the High Castle is definitely worth watching). Transit time is never advertised as a problem, or otherwise, for Prime memberships.
I gave an example to this supervisor that if I bought a product with Prime shipping and the transit time took 7 days, and then 2 more days to get delivered to me, was that still Prime shipping? Of course, he avoided this question altogether, which would not be the last time he would do so in our chat.
As a side note, transit time is considered a part of the shipping time in any business that I know of. The transit time is when a product is on the move to its recipient, thus it is part of shipping. So why was this guy so keen on pretending this was a different subject than shipping? We did not get into that, but I did find it odd...
But along the lines of transit, he was implying that because the used item would take so long coming from wherever it was, this was a transit time issue. This had me raise two questions, at separate times, with him. The first was why would the transit time matter when the two external hard drives came in the same box? Again, he steered clear of that question... Unless Amazon overnighted the used external hard drive to meet the other, and then ship them together (which would cost more than just sending them individually from their respective locations), the transit of the used item should be exactly the same amount of time as the new item being they are from the same location.
The second question I asked was if the used item was coming from somewhere other than the Amazon Warehouse that it was meant to? He had suggested--prior to my inquiry--that they had to wait for sellers to supply them items at times, but that would mean they had not received the used item yet and already had it listed. I doubt very much this is a practice Amazon employs. For a third time, he ignored the question and kept rattling on.
In regards to the shipping still being free, I had to retort (after he had given this response at least three times) that it was not free. I paid for the Prime membership, so it was not entirely free. While I do use Amazon a lot, others may rarely use Amazon or buy largely from 3rd-party sellers, not offsetting the costs of shipping for the products they do buy with Prime.
The last point was that demand could affect shipping times. I told him that this was a used item, and the only item at that price. I was the only one demanding it! Finally, he admitted that this was an error on their part.
Throughout this conversation I repeatedly asked if a similar situation were to arise, could I call Amazon and get the shipping expedited so that whatever product I was buying would arrive in 2-days, as my Prime membership is meant to allow me. As expected, he tried to dodge that question every chance he got, until he had stated that they had erred. So I asked once more.
He told me yes, if it was a similar situation, I could do so.
Aftermath
I have not (yet) come across the same situation. And I suspect I would need to buy a new and used item for this to occur again. Or, I would need to see how fast a new and used item would come from Amazon before deciding to purchase one or the other.
It was and continues to be like pulling teeth with Amazon support on questions like these. It took me several tries to get an answer to what was seemingly a simple question. Amazon does mess up, and they should not pretend to be doing you a favor to correct it, or try to give you unrelated or false information in order to get rid of you.
So, if you ever notice that something is going to take 3 days or more, instead of 2, call Amazon and have them correct it. This is their problem. If they cannot deliver on their promises, then they should not advertise it as such.
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Amazon is a great company, but it does make mistakes from time-to-time. This is part of the secret of how to get Amazon to cough up some free credits. Amazon will not just give you free stuff for nothing, but it will compensate you if they make an error on their part. Here's how
Shipping Delay
The easiest way to get a free credit (voucher) or an extension on your Prime account is if the product(s) you order are late.
On a recent purchase I was offered free one-day shipping if my total order was at least $35. I had to spend an extra $10 to be eligible for this offer as the products in my cart did not equal the amount Amazon cited.
I was in a bind as it was the holidays and for whatever reason, Prime shipping had then become next week shipping! I tried the Amazon locker first, but the closest one to my vicinity was already full. I opted for a cheap SD card that I could use, but did not need, in order to get my one-day shipping.
The next day I waited for the package to arrive, but nothing came. I checked the tracking and it was OnTrack. A company I was not familiar with, but apparently many Amazon users are. There are tons of reviews about how bad OnTrac is and to never use them if possible. I was worried as I knew USPS would not be the deliverer, but had assumed UPS would be.
As night time came and the expected time passed for the package to arrive, I called Amazon and spoke with a lady about the situation. We talked for a bit and she even called OnTrack in order to reassure me the package would arrive by the next day. After I got off the phone, I received an email about my call and the situation.
The package did arrive the next day, so I decided not to press the matter since it was the holidays. A week later I was checking my previous orders from Amazon and noticed that they stated my previous package had arrived on time!
I contacted Amazon and explained that my package had not arrived on time. They checked and tried to state it was because it said as much on my orders page. I explained that I had also called Amazon on that night about the late delivery, and even had an email from the customer support representative on the matter.
With a bit of back-and-forth, I was offered either a $5 credit, or a month's extension on my Prime. Considering the price of one month of Prime (now $8.25), I took the latter.
I probably could have explained how I had to spend an extra $10 to even get the one-day shipping so I should get a $10 credit, but I felt that was a harder point to argue...
Missing Items
Most of the time if you order something new from Amazon, it will have everything it is meant to have. In the off-chance it does not, this will apply to you. But more than likely, this will apply to those who buy "used" items from Amazon.
I had ordered an expensive computer part for my laptop and got it used since it was not only around $30 cheaper, but it was directly from Amazon. The part was in great condition and did work, yet, a crucial piece was missing: The screws needed to hold it in place.
I called Amazon support and explained the situation. The part I had ordered was also the only used part they had in stock, so I did not want to return it and get a different one since I would then have to pay full price. Without any prodding, I was offered a $5 credit.
I ended up ordering the screws for a little less than $5, with Prime, and I actually got 20 screws for that price!
Price Changes
Sometimes you will buy something from Amazon and the price will change only a few days later. Mind you Amazon does not guarantee price changes, but they seem more than willing to help in these matters. My situations are a bit different, but will still work. It involves not just a price change, but an addition of product for the first one, and replacements for the second.
A) I like to collect collections and sets of movies, specifically Blu-ray movies. Last year I saw a collection for all the Wolverine and X-Men movies, save the newest which had just been released on Blu-ray (Days of Future's Past). It had come through in my Amazon newsletter, and it was a good deal, so I bought it. I figured there was no way they would sell the collection with the newest franchise addition because they could probably still sell it for high prices for at least a few more months (if not more).
Exactly 31 days later I get an Amazon newsletter with what I thought would not happen. They were selling the same collection with the new movie for a mere couple dollars difference! I was somewhat upset and did not want to buy the deal again as the time had passed for me to return the collection I had bought.
Figuring there was no harm in trying, I called Amazon support and explained the situation. It was a bit difficult to explain, but after some time, the customer support representative understood what I was asking; which was to simply purchase the new movie for the extra couple of dollars it should have cost me originally.
The representative put a note on my account that would allow me to buy the additional movie for the small amount it would have cost me with their "new" collection. I first had to buy the movie for its full price then contact Amazon support and have them reimburse me for most of the amount afterwards.
I did end up getting reimbursed, and because we were not doing exact calculations, I actually ended up paying less than $2 for the newer movie!
B) Amazon usually chooses decent shipping services, but OnTrac is the worst partnering they have ever made. If my story above suggests that, this story will confirm it.
Anyways, I ordered two used external hard drives that I had waited for to drop in price (which lasted for less than a day). They never arrived. I checked my orders on Amazon and it stated there was an address mistake and that I needed to contact them. I found this odd since I have used the address for years now without an issue...
I called Amazon support and verified the shipping address, which was correct. They contacted OnTrac, the deliverer, and then an Amazon representative told me it would arrive by the next day. I waited through the next day and, of course, the shipment never arrived.
Again, I contacted Amazon support and explained the situation. They offered a refund as they stated the price difference for a NEW drive was too great. But I told them that none of the current prices on their site were the same so I would end up paying far too much compared to how much I had just paid. Eventually I was given a supervisor, where I had to retell my story. The supervisor was more helpful and finally offered a $40 credit. Not enough to cover the expense of two new external hard drives of the same make and model, but enough for me to get creative.
I found an even cheaper used external hard drive and a brand new external hard drive. There were other cheaper used drives, but this would allow me to get a used and new drive for a cheaper cost than what I originally paid. In total, I ended up saving about $10.
How To Get FREE Stuff!
Obviously, first wait until Amazon makes a mistake. No matter how small, you will likely be able to get something for free. If it is something like a shipping delay, be sure to call them the day it should have arrived so they at least can see you did call them (about what, they usually cannot discern unless good notes were taken). You can also ask that they send an email about what you discussed as further proof that something did happen on that day, and this could be very helpful if their notes show otherwise.
When you contact Amazon support either do it by phone or by live chat. I have not done anything by email, and I cannot imagine how long a correspondence would take before anything was given.
Live chat is definitely the easiest for things like missed shipment dates. I do not act overly courteous, but I am nice and try to be as concise about the matter as possible. When they find that they are in the wrong, they will offer you credits or a month extension of your Prime account.
I would suggest contacting by phone for more complicated matters such as price changes or missing items. Live chat may work for missing items, but I would think a price change would be easier to explain, and get something for, if done by phone. (Just reread my circumstances above and you will understand why.)
On the phone, always try to be courteous, but always try to explain everything in a way that comes across that you got screwed over somehow. Most of the time, they will be able to give you something for a 5-10 minute phone call.
Pushing Further
I do not like pushing passed my luck, but at times it does help. Maybe you feel that a $5 credit is not enough and that you deserve a $10 credit. Maybe you paid for overnight shipping and it took 3 days to get. I would say that this entitles you to that $10 credit, if not more. Just be sure to explain why you deserve it (i.e. overnight shipping costs were above $10).
Or maybe you think a two month free extension to your Prime account is in order. As long as you have a good reason to ask, and explain it properly, you will likely get what you are asking for.
Do not push too hard as sometimes they cannot do anything. For example, if you paid $5 for something and are asking for a $10 credit, that may not be something they are allowed to authorize.
Word of Caution
While complaining can get you far, it can also get you in trouble. There are times when Amazon sends out emails on how they noticed so many discrepancies in your account and will be investigating to determine if your account should be closed.
This has happened to a lot of people, meaning the emails, and one simply has to do a Google search to see examples. Sometimes they are about constant returns, other times they are about constantly lost packages. Others are about just having a lot of problems.
I have received one of these emails and was very distraught about it. I use Amazon a lot as it is convenient and you can get good deals with diligent research. So, I was not sure what to do to avoid getting my account closed.
My first thought was that I could open another account. But after reading about one person who tried this when his original account was closed, I realized this was not a viable solution. The man would open a new account and as soon as he put in a credit card for payment to pay for something, his new account would be closed by the next day. There is the possibility of being hooked onto someone else's account, but they may still close it down if you happen to use your own card for payment.
Just before I went to bed after getting the email, I decided to search for a possible solution. The only one I found was on a forum that required a free signup to view the solution. At first I decided I would go to sleep and let things play out, as I had deeply considered replying to the email, but was unsure that would be best. As I laid in my bed, I decided I needed to see that solution.
I was lucky that I did as it essentially showed a guy who got an email about a lot of missing packages. Although I am unsure if his response was true, he essentially claimed that he lived in a shady neighborhood, and his neighbors were having the same problems. Furthermore, he was next to a busy highway, but a new road was being built to lessen the traffic through his area. This seemed to work for him as he got a reply from Amazon a day later stating that they would not be closing his account.
My situations were real, so I wrote everything I could about what had been happening lately. I also included that I had never asked for any of the compensation given, but did take the compensation when offered. In ending, I pretty much commented on how I love Amazon and their support, and would like to continue using them. A day later I received a similar email saying that they would send my information up the chain to whomever dealt with this, and that my account would remain open.
Why am I mentioning this? Because I did nothing shady, but because they had missed due dates, sent me open or damaged packages, and I had decided to report all of this to them, I was being punished. Complaining too much may give them the idea that you are somehow doing things you should not, even if you are not. Is it fair? No. But because of how they are setup, they tend to want to blame the customer after seeing so many incidents instead of truly trying to investigate an issue.
Can I live without Amazon? Sure. I did that for years. But do I want to is the real question.
Cons of Credits
The main reason I opted for an extra month of Prime in my shipping delay example was mainly because it was worth more and I will take advantage of it. Hardly a month goes by that I do not go onto Amazon and purchase some product.
But there is something else to consider when choosing extensions over credits. The credits they give are ONLY for Amazon purchases. Meaning, if the product is not sold by Amazon, the credit cannot be used.
I am not saying never buy from third-party vendors on Amazon. I often find myself getting cheaper deals for the same product from third-party vendors on Amazon, and end up saving a lot more than $5 by buying from them. A lot of times third-party vendors do not charge tax for where I am (and I go so far as to actually seek those vendors out), so I end up saving quite a bit more using one of them.
Just be aware that Amazon credit is just for Amazon sales...
BONUS!
It
does not happen all the time, but once in a while an Amazon package
will get lost. They will send you a replacement immediately.
Even
less rare is that the lost package is found and sent to you. Now you
have two of the same products. In all likelihood you could just keep the
products and Amazon may never be the wiser. However, I have heard of
this happening to people who call Amazon and tell them what has
transpired. Amazon support then tells them to go ahead and keep both
packages.
This definitely does not happen all the time, and I doubt they will let you keep something that is too expensive. But it is something you can always hope for!
Redux
Amazon is a company that gives some great deals, and even moreso if they make a mistake. Take advantage of these mistakes and save yourself a bit of money. Sometimes they will go so far as to give you free products. But if you never try, you will never know...
If you've perused my articles then you know how big of a fan I am of Amazon. I think they have fair deals, and their support is second-to-none. But every so often there is something I don't like that they do or don't do. It seems like the problems are too small for Amazon to take heed of, but I've come across them a few too many times where I think there could and should be easy fixes to solve them. This article will explain some of those issues.
Fake Products
One of the biggest issues I have come across is misleading advertising. It happens. However, many of the ones I have seen are knowingly misleading.
A good example of this are Chinese clones or knockoffs smartphones. The fake iPhones are easy enough to spot, but Android smartphones are a lot harder to notice if you don't know the specs. I have come across several fake Galaxy clones or knockoffs that seem like the real deal. After I read the specifications only then do I realize that this is not a true Samsung Galaxy smartphone. One problem is most people don't realize "Clone" is not part of the Samsung nomenclature. And what's worse is that these phones are not clones, if they were, they would be identical in their specifications. So really this is just false advertising. Other listings don't even mention "Clone", they say something else much more subtle in an attempt to trick a buyer.
Unfortunately, it's just another tactic of how to make a buck off of unassuming foreigners. There may be other (domestic) sellers doing the same, but I have no recollection of coming across any.
Item's Out-of-Stock, No Notification
I hate when this is done, whether it's by Amazon or any other company. You purchase a product that gives no indication of low stock and then you wait days, possibly weeks, wondering what happened.
There was an occurrence like this where I had bought a small electronic device and was due to fly overseas less than a week later. I have Prime shipping, so it should've arrived with plenty of time to spare. The item never came. I called Amazon a couple days before I was going to leave and asked what the hold up was. They informed me that the item was a specialty item and had just been shipped. I explained how I was never notified of such and that it would need to be returned since I wouldn't be around to get or use it. In the end, the item never came, so I just requested a refund that I did receive.
Amazon, and all companies, should know that if something is up with their order, they need notify the purchaser quickly and immediately. Customers shouldn't be the ones having to call Amazon to find out if and what trouble there is.
Wrong Prices
This one isn't so bad, but it does aggravate me when prices are advertised lower than what is actually advertised. A lot of times I check the prices for what's used, refurbished, and new. Many times you will find items much cheaper than the Amazon price.
Lately I noticed that prices were off more than $100 for iPhone 6's, and some iPhone 5S cases were actually $10 higher than what was stated. It seems like Apple products are having some problems on Amazon... This does occur with many other products though.
What's even more alarming is that the wrong price is still shown as the lowest prices when checking all the offers, and there is clearly no item at that price! This is probably just a glitch in the system, but one they need to take seriously. People like me, who purchase a lot from Amazon, don't appreciate wasting our time because of incorrect pricing.
No Product AFTER Purchase
From what I can recall, this has happened to me only once. You purchase a product from Amazon and then the item is suddenly unavailable and a refund is automatically processed.
When this happened to me I had gone ahead and purchased a graphic card from a third-party through Amazon. I got a good deal, so I was satisfied. The next day I find out that the graphic card is no longer available and I was given a refund.
This is just bad business practice. I assume the company sells not only online, but in an actual store. If that's true, you really need to learn how to organize inventory for online and in-person sales. It's not that hard, you setup a database or whatnot that denotes when something is sold online or in-store. Or, you divvy up so much inventory for online and in-store to avoid these type of situations.
What if I desperately needed that graphic card for some scientific number-crunching (for example). But I was unable to do it causing a chain of events that got me into a lot of trouble??? Amazon should force third-parties to send all their products to them in order to avoid this, but that'll never happen.
Overseas (Return) Shipping
Amazon does ship overseas, but if you bought a product and it doesn't work or breaks within the 30-day refund period while in the US or UK (or wherever they're stationed), then it must be returned to the country of origin.
Understandably, if you get something while already overseas, then you take the risk of having to ship it back. There may be some recourse, but I doubt it. However, if you picked up an item while in that country, it worked for some time, you left, and then it broke, the rules still apply.
This is garbage in my eyes. If you bought a product from someone, it worked, and then you have to go on a long business trip, then the fault should lie with Amazon, as well as the delivery prices to return the item. In some countries you may be able to ship items fairly inexpensively, but there are more where that is just not an option.
I had a similar experience myself. My Samsung Galaxy S3 had been lost so I went ahead and ordered a Galaxy S4 to replace it. I made sure it was unlocked as I would be traveling a week or two later. The phone arrived and it worked without flaw. Once I was overseas the phone died after approximately one week. Needless to say, I was irate.
I called Amazon and explained the situation and how it was still under the 30 days, and of course they wanted me to pay for the shipping charges. Had I used the local mail it would've been rather cheap, but most people knew that trusting the local mail service was downright risky, not to mention I could not track the item internationally. My alternative was to use a courier like DHL, but even for such a small item, it would cost at least $100! So I spent an hour yelling at some outsourced support representative about how they sold me a product that broke and that was their problem, where I go after I purchase an item should not be a concern. Eventually I wore them down and got a supervisor to note and agree to reimbursing the shipping costs once the item was back with Amazon. I got lucky.
Most people who will go through this will never be so lucky. They will be forced to pay a huge shipping amount for something that may cost much less! Amazon, as big as they are, doesn't seem to have any type of deals in play for international couriers. You would think they would be smart enough to ensure that all places receive the same type of customer service.
Lost Time
As mentioned before, a lot of these troubles can cause time loss. Sometimes it's not a huge deal, but what about those times when it is? Amazon should be at the ready to give credits to those who have truly been screwed.
Sure, it wouldn't be easy to discern if someone truly got screwed because of lost time, but I'm sure there are plenty of people who would have no problem proving it in order to get a $5 credit.
People like me, who have Amazon Prime, really get pissed off because we pay for a premium shipping service and expect no time to be wasted. And while most items will come in a timely manner, the times they don't can and do affect us. This is not just about shipping times, but time wasted for the same reasons written above and more.
Oh, Amazon
I still love Amazon. I don't plan on stopping myself from buying from them unless they pull something really crazy. Even then, it may be hard to get away because they offer the cheapest prices on so many items. My hope is that even though they do very well in how they operate, they take time to evaluate what could be done better rather than trying to progress themselves before doing so.
Amazon is by far my favorite online store. It is my favorite store even compared to those I can find down the street. They are large and in charge, and have a great support system in place. They are always making advancements into newer markets, and their service is second-to-none. However, there are many of us out there taking advantage of Amazon. I would like to discuss those methods.
DISCLAIMER: I am in no way responsible for how this information is used. The following information is only for educational purposes.
The Lost Trick
One of the easiest tricks to pull on Amazon is having a "lost" item. What this entails is ordering something from Amazon, receiving the item, then contacting Amazon support and claiming that the item never arrived.
This is an easy trick, and if done right, can be done multiple times. However, someone who has--or almost always has--items lost will likely be caught. It becomes much harder when it is spaced out with legitimate purchases. In the same fashion, inexpensive items are easier to steal than items that cost hundreds of dollars.
How This Hurts Us
While many of us might think that Amazon is a huge company so a few hits here and there isn't going to affect them, the problem becomes how often and how many people pull this trick. If hundreds of people start doing it, they'll likely clamp down on delivery service one way or the other, making it much harder to receive a package than it is now.
In addition, for those of us who actually do lose an item, it could become a big hassle to get a refund if Amazon suspects everyone of trying to swindle them.
The Broken Media Trick
Another trick which is quite effective is ordering a piece of software or movie that comes on DVD or Blu-ray. After the DVD or Blu-ray is received, you quickly make a copy of it and then crack or break the DVD/Blu-ray.
This is a much harder trick for Amazon to battle against unless it opened each item and checked beforehand, making it a "used" product during the process. Think of it like driving a new car off the lot, once it's off the lot the price automatically drops. Amazon will give you a refund and never be-the-wiser of what really happened.
How This Hurts Us
I would have to honestly say this has little effect on Amazon's general base of customers. Not unless the person committing this crime does this repeatedly, forcing Amazon to create new rules and guidelines on how such matters are handled and preempted.
In either case, this is just dishonest. I like owning my actual movies or software. I always make backups in case they do get ruined, but the point of me buying them are to support the companies producing these products. This in turn could affect how those movies or software programs are priced in the future...
The Swap Trick
This trick involves swapping out items and is a bit more devious in my mind. This can be done with most any item of a decent size, and with a little communication, you can end up having a new item free.
An example of this would be if you already had a phone, like a Samsung Galaxy S5. You personally purchased it from Verizon without insurance, and now it has a cracked screen that renders it nearly inoperable. On Amazon someone is selling the exact same model and color, second-hand. You order the phone and wait for it to arrive. After ensuring that it works you contact Amazon and claim that the phone arrived but has a crack on the screen which was never detailed in the listing. Amazon has you return the phone and refunds your money, leaving you with a brand "new" Samsung Galaxy S5 to continue using.
I should note that items do not have to be used, but likely if the item isn't in perfect condition crooks have a better chance of getting away with the dirty deed.
How This Hurts Us
This truly hurts the sellers of Amazon, and by hurting them, that hurts us. If too many people were to perform this trick sellers may be wary and prefer to sell their items elsewhere, somewhere we don't want to buy from.
And if Amazon were to catch on to what was happening, they may go ahead and introduce new policies for used items to ensure (as much as possible) that whatever was sold worked and appeared as detailed. This could be good for us in reality, but it could also cause higher delivery prices, or introduce a new tax to make these new policies possible.
The Still NIB Trick
This still NIB (New-In-Box) trick has been used for a long time. A product is bought that comes in some sort of box and shrink wrapped. You open the box and use the product, then either put it back or keep it, followed by shrink-wrapping the box and sending it back. In the case of Amazon, you contact their support and tell them you no longer want the product and need a refund.
This is definitely riskier than the other tricks on the list, but can still be done. Boxes that have taped edges will be extremely hard to remove and put back as that would be a surefire way to know if someone tampered with the box. And keeping the product is even riskier than sending it back. I would imagine criminals would choose a product sold on through a third-party on Amazon since they would likely not have as much recourse as Amazon itself.
How This Hurts Us
Again, this really hurts the sellers. Which can push sellers to other online shops for selling. I don't think it would be as much of a threat to Amazon's customers as it would be difficult to determine what was done, and I doubt it happens very often, if at all. But there is a chance Amazon would decide to check all boxes first, then re-shrink wrap them to ensure no funny business occurs on either end on the transaction.
The Financing Trick (Update!)
This trick isn't as bad as the others, but it's still immoral nonetheless. Amazon offers a store card, which is much like a credit card, but it can only be used for Amazon purchases. You receive a credit line and make payments for items you either can't afford immediately, or wish to pay off slowly.
The financing is $149 for 6-months with no interest payments, $599 for 12-months with no interest payments, and 2 years on select items (like TV's). If you are unable to pay the full amount within the specified time, the full interest amount will be added to your remaining payments.
This trick is used when you want to get financing, but are just under the amount needed to apply for it. For example, I have $500 worth of items, but would like 12-months of no interest payments instead of six. I then find another item worth at least $99. I agree to the 12-months of no interest payments and wait for my items to arrive. Once they have been delivered, I contact Amazon and tell them I would like to send back my $99 item--and/or any others. They deduct the amount from my payment and allow me to still keep the 12-months of financing.
I have since been told this trick does not actually work. I had an incident where I was trying to buy a new phone along with phone accessories and some other items to get the 12 months of no interest financing. The third-party seller did not send the item, so I had to return the accessories. I called the bank to find out if I would still get the special financing, but they stated no (I believe it would become 6 months of no interest if I had kept the items and they met the $199 price point).
How This Hurts Us
This can come in handy when you genuinely no longer need an item you just ordered, or if done by accident. However, if people use it just to get the special financing and keep sending items back, Amazon will eventually decide not to allow people to return anything unless it's broken in some way. Those who would no longer need a product would then be stuck with it regardless, and still end up making payments for it.
Tricks I've Used
I've never used these tricks for personal gain. That being said, I have had a Blu-ray movie lost in the mail. I contacted Amazon after a month to report it to them and I was immediately given a refund. Another time I did do special financing where I no longer needed one of my items I had purchased. They gave me a shipping label, but I ended up keeping the item.
Don't Hurt Us
The big reason for this article is to not just inform, but to let people know that even if they don't believe these tricks to be immoral, they can affect all Amazon customers. No one wants to pay for other people's "mistakes", and no ones wants procedures to get difficult because of it. If you ever think about doing any of these things, think twice, there is always risk involved and inevitably you end up hurting yourself as well as others.
There are many ways to download media streams in this day and age, many of which are illegal or frowned upon. But I want to discuss a program that does just that - and as far I have read, legally. More importantly I want to delve into whether or not what they state as HD recordings are actually so. That program is PlayLater.
PlayLater
Mediamall is the company behind PlayLater and PlayOn. PlayOn is a media server that allows you to stream media from your PC - as well as many other devices - to your TV. This is not a new technology feat by any means, and there are several other companies that have similar software.
PlayLater is a time-shift recording program that can record in SD or HD (if opted for and purchased). It relies on the PlayOn server to stream from many different sources. It can be likened to screen capturing software, but it is different. Here are a couple of differences that make it unique:
- While PlayLater does do live recording-like screen capturing, a screen of the actual source footage is never needed or seen.
- PlayLater requires logins to (most) popular media streaming sites such as Hulu, Netflix, Amazon, HBO Go, YouTube, etc. Screen capturing software merely captures what is being shown regardless if it is a paid service or not.
Why Bother?
There are plenty of free screen capturing programs out there, so why not just use that? Well, I think there are a few good reasons that PlayLater can become a necessity:
The first is ease-of-use. It is simple to get running and all settings are already defaulted for you. Some screen capture software is fairly simple, but it can also be tedious in setting up. This may be more trouble than what it is worth for some.
The second is that not all media streaming sites are easily captured. Without advanced knowledge, sometimes it becomes impossible to capture streams from certain sites. And even if possible, the potential additional tasks of having to crop out certain items might be cumbersome to perform for every single recording.
The third is that this is good for travelers. In some foreign countries bandwidth can be so restrictive (or just not abundant) that buffering plagues a 20-minute video making it a 50-minute experience. Throw in a proxy or VPN and buffering becomes a complete nightmare. But with PlayLater, even with a proxy or VPN, and given just enough bandwidth, a show or movie is recorded and then playable without such hiccups.
Is It Legal?
There are many that contend that it is not, but ask for evidence from those that believe as such and they will be hard-pressed to find anything to the contrary.
In the US, there is a law that allows for time-shifting. This was created when VCR's became widely popular so that people could watch shows and movies at a later time if they had to be somewhere else when the media was shown on TV.
Today is a bit different with all the new technological methods of recording media. Because piracy is everywhere, it becomes an even bigger problem as people will not just record a show or movie and watch it, but later upload it to the web and allow others to download it.
As I have mentioned in a previous article the heart of the problem is really in TV networks losing funding and support due to ratings, which in turn affects DVD and Blu-ray creation and sales. And the sales that they do make are often diminished due to pirating of a DVD or Blu-ray.
However, PlayLater still exists, and has for some time. It has been featured in numerous popular magazines, and claims that it is perfectly legal. You have to remember that PlayLater is essentially a DVR for your computer. It does the exact same thing, however, networks cannot get ratings from it as they can with devices like a TiVo...
Downsides
There are some apparent downsides for both the end-users and the companies that provide the media streaming:
- The quality of the recordings, albeit with large bitrates and hefty files, are decent to great depending on your PC setup. Animations seem to fare far better than live action shows or movies regardless of your hardware and bandwidth.
- The files seem padded to me, but even if not, you will need quite a bit of hard drive or SSD storage space to have more than a few recordings on hand.
- Because PlayLater is meant for "average" users, there are almost no settings that can be changed to squeeze out better quality and/or shrink file sizes.
- While it is not impossible to download and pirate streams from a DVR, it is in no means an easy task. With PlayLater, the file given is one you are meant to be able to use on portable devices and TV sets. This makes it much more susceptible to piracy than more common time-shifting devices.
- I have encountered bugs that would not allow me to login to a media streaming site, or simply disallow me from recording at all. I will discuss this further below.
So Is It HD?
To reiterate from a past article, HD is considered 720p, full HD is considered 1080p. PlayLater does only the former so anything HD is allegedly in 720p.
I first became suspicious of PlayLater recently when I wanted to grab some Sesame Street episodes for my daughter. The quality was fairly bad. Watchable, but in no way could I mistake it for HD content. I was writing in the support forums and came to find out that many users had already determined that Netflix was not actually recorded in 720p, but at a much lower resolution. The shows or movies were then reencoded to a resolution of 1280x720, which is not 720p, it is just an upscaling of a smaller resolution. This problem with Netflix has supposedly been fixed, but as I will explain later, upscaling SD content has not...
H.264 Profiles
I had entered a discussion on being able to increase bitrates, but this led me into delving into the recorded files themselves and seeing what details would shed light onto the subject. The bitrates were actually quite high from what I had expected to see. I then went online and compared the file to specifications readily available to view for that of illegal online content of seemingly far better quality. That content was using only half the bitrate of what PlayLater was using...
To preface my next paragraph, there are several H.264 profiles ranging from baseline, to main, to high. Main and high can handle HD content, and high profiles are meant for HD quality. The lower-leveled the profile the more compatibility across devices and the less CPU power needed for live recordings. The higher-leveled the profile the higher the quality of a file.
While I thought the bitrate was and is an issue for PlayLater, it was more in terms of overdoing the bitrate. In other words, I don't think you could achieve (much) higher quality files by increasing the bitrate. So there had to be another possible culprit that was hindering good 720p quality. This led me to H.264 profiles.
The real concern I noticed was the profile being used to do the recording in PlayLater was a main profile level 3.0. Content in HD should have a minimum main profile level 3.1 in order to achieve 720p at a maximum of 29.97 frames per second. However, my PlayLater recordings are done at a main profile level 3.0 at a 1280x720 resolution with 29.97 frames per second.
If you go to Wikipedia they try to explain the many aspects of these profiles in greater depth. You will see that there is no 1280x720 resolution listed for a main profile level of 3.0. Regardless, I did some basic calculations and determined that the two resolutions in common between main profile level 3.0 and 3.1 are increased almost identically by 267%. Using this number I determined that even if main profile level 3.0 could support 720p, it would have have a maximum frame rate of just over 11fps.
Standards
A simple jump from 3.0 to 3.1 seems like nothing to worry about. But these are not small jumps by any means, and the amount of extra data that can be used can vastly improve quality for these profiles. Again, that is if that profile can be used to its full extent. If you do check Wikipedia, you will see the differences between them in these terms.
While a lower-leveled profile does mean more compatibility for more older devices, this should be put into perspective with an example: The iPhone 3GS was the first iPhone to accept and display videos with a main profile of 3.1. Other apple products of that time are similar, anything before (e.g. iPhone 3G) was restricted to a main profile of 3.0. The iPhone 3GS was released in 2009, almost six years ago!
Main profile level 3.1 is the standard for bringing 720p content to devices, and it should be followed, but it doesn't have to be as we will soon learn.
CPU Power
It is true that more CPU power is needed to record at higher levels, but again, the main profile level 3.1 is not new. It has been around for a long time now and while CPU power for that profile may have been somewhat of concern years ago, today most any laptops or desktop computers easily supply the necessary CPU power to record live at a main profile level of 3.1.
To given you a simple example of how much CPU power is truly needed, I can easily achieve a main profile level of 3.1 on my computer which I have decided to currently use along with a Phenom X II 1100T. This is an unlocked AMD CPU with 6-cores. It runs at 3.3GHz and can "turbo" itself to 3.7GHz.
That sounds like an amazing CPU, so of course it can do what is needed. But, there are a couple of factors that are important not to forget:
- Just because it has a higher frequency than some modern CPU's, that does not mean it is faster or better, that is just a common misconception.
- More importantly, this chip was a top-of-the-line CPU... almost 5 years ago!
- There are newer, cheaper CPU's that can perform as well or better than the CPU I am using now. And better yet, YOU DON'T NEED THIS MUCH POWER FOR MAIN PROFILE LEVEL 3.1!
Reasoning
Now, I am sure that the settings of how PlayLater encodes could use some tweaking for higher quality HD content, but the aspect about the H.264 profile just bugged me too much.
The only possible reason I could see a company wanting to use it is because it is used for both their SD and HD recordings, so instead of giving different profiles, they could just keep them the same. Essentially, this is just laziness of their part. But even this seems like idiotic logic because you would have to force "720p" into a main profile level 3.0, as opposed to not having to at all for level 3.1.
The argument that it requires more CPU power seems invalid, as well as the need for compatibility across devices, especially if you read what I wrote above on the subjects. And I was told that many people are just using a PC as a media center. There is no way to know if a person uses a PC as a media center or not, and why would you use something that would have to be ridiculously old in order to record HD content?
The only other way I could see "720p" being done with a main profile of 3.0 is by upscaling. Which, again, means that it is not really 720p at all. It is just a lesser quality video enlarged to be the same resolution as 720p, but certainly not the same quality that it should or could have.
I was told it was possible to change a video file's "labels", which would just be in namesake alone. However, it seems unlikely MediaMall did this as why would they forget something as significant as a profile. Even if so, other aspects are truly as detailed, so the profile would be the only thing they would really need to change.
Evidence to the Contrary
Trying to give PlayLater the benefit of the doubt I started to do some searching for articles or posts that would suggest 720p is possible with a main profile level 3.0. I found one media streaming site that did suggest that it used a main profile level 3.0 at one time, but that it had since updated to level 3.2.
I found a couple of Chinese IP cameras that also suggested they used a main profile level 3.0, but whether they actually do or not is beyond me. Chinese specifications are not known for being accurate.
I decided to try to see if I could make a video on Premiere Pro with a resolution of 1280x720 using a main profile level 3.1. When attempted, Premiere Pro would give an error saying that the profile needed to either be increased for the resolution wanted, or that the frame rate would need to be decreased.
I tried to check the label of a PlayLater recording, and the program I was using at first could not find any. Once I changed some settings I got multiple profiles, including high and baseline. Something was definitely not right...
After some discussion with someone on the subject, they stated it should not be possible to encode at 720p while using main profile level 3.0 if following the standard constraints. However, if someone was able to force or go beyond the constraints of the profile for an encoder, then it could be possible.
The First Response
The support forum is fairly good for responses that are not time-sensitive. But people with the software have a support area in the settings to email questions, which I find has a much faster response time.
I had already asked the questions I wanted to in the forum, but I figured I would just take the direct approach. I asked two questions, the first about why main profile level 3.0 was being used, and the second asking if Amazon was like Netflix in that real 720p recordings were not taken?
The reply I got was short, but mainly sidestepped the issues at hand. To paraphrase, I was told that there would be no problems for recording HD. And this is (somewhat) correct, but this didn't really answer anything I asked.
Initially, I wanted to reply with a bunch of information, but it was a lot and some came out as too much of an attack. I instead shortened my response to just ask how the main profile level 3.0 was implemented, and if there was documentation I could read on it. I also reiterated the problem about Netflix as the support staff's reply seemed to indicate as though recordings were in HD, despite the many users who stated otherwise on their forums. I also explained that reencoding a source that is less than 720p and then upscaling was not true 720p.
A final remark made on their part was that of CPU power needed for an increase in profile level. I fought the urge to explain what I have done so in this article, if anything, I would bring up at a later time.
The only interesting point they did say was that GPU encoding was on the way. Although, there was no ETA on when it would happen, and no information on if they were taking an OpenGL, OpenCL, or dual approach. They did add that this may cause them to make some changes, but the keyword there is 'may'.
The Second Response
This response was even less helpful than the last. They admitted they had no documentation to point me to in order to help me understand how their encoder was setup. I was told I could look at the video to know if it was a 720p recording.
This was disheartening. I wanted some real answers not, "I don't know." I don't expect support staff to know everything, but to know nothing is frustrating.
I replied that all I could do to check a recording is see its resolution size and its profile, by which a resolution size doesn't mean 720p, and that the profile being used was being used improperly.
I reiterated my question on why the profile was being used, and gave a bit of information on why CPU power and compatibility were non-issues for what I was asking. I went so far as to say that if they could not give me a real answer, then I would be happy to handed off to someone in the company that had some.
Testing
At this point I realized there were really only one of two problems occurring. Either the profile really was the issue, or the encoding settings were. Of course there could be a bit of both, but to me, one or the other is the main hindrance in getting proper and satisfactory 720p recordings.
I decided to find an encoder that would allow me to bypass the constraints of a profile and enable me to perform a simple test. The test would be to take a 720p video that ran at 29.97fps, identical settings to what these "720p" recordings are from PlayLater. I would then take that sample video and use FFMpeg to manually enter parameters into a command line interface that would enable me to use the same settings and bitrate, with only the profile changed.
The first step to achieve this was to create a 720p@29.97fps file. To do this I used Adobe Premiere Pro. I decided to use a sample from an old music video I had shot in 1080p of the same frame rate. I shrunk it down to 720p, placed it in a MP4 container, and changed the main profile level from 3.2 to 3.0. The 29.97fps remained the same. No other settings were changed. I used a 1-pass VBR and did not enable any extra render settings to help maintain quality. The video came under just 9 seconds with an overall bitrate of 3100+Kbps, quite similar to most of my PlayLater recordings.
The next step was to put it in FFMpeg and give it the parameters necessary to output a similar file but with a main profile level 3.0. I typed in the commands and had to wait a couple of seconds.
The results were that the files looked identical. I expected this because if the stream stays the same - the raw file in the container - then the quality should remain the same. It would only be worse if the bitrate somehow dropped, or something else was constrained, but it wasn't.
What this meant was that the profile, while not being a standard and a no-no for professional encoding, was not an issue for PlayLater. Meaning that it must be something with the encoding settings. The problem there is that we have little real control over the settings. You can choose from Auto, Max, and others, but nothing that would enable us to specify bitrates, profiles, frame rates, resolutions, etc.
The Third Response
This email was just as pointless as the last. I was again told how moving up the profile would be a problem for users and that there were "settings" that could help with quality.
I wrote back asking what data they had to suggest that their users did not have systems capable of running main profile level 3.1 (since none was cited)? I even went so far as to explain that I could think of no friends from a third-world country that did not have computers capable of sustaining live recordings at this level.
Even ignoring that, I stated that it should be a feature for HD users, since that is what the profile is for. It does not have to be an across-the-board implementation. And explained that I knew of no other company that had a business plan where staying behind was the best idea. If anything, people allowed backwards compatibility while updating and upgrading, which further opens up your audience.
I continued with stating that they were right about no quality enhancement by jumping up profiles, but because there was no way to increase the settings of the PlayLater's encoder, no one could ever test this and be sure.
I then just made my point that if the profiles are not the issue, then the encoder settings are. All my settings are set to max so the problem isn't there. I asked that he help me with that issue so we could determine where the real problem lies.
My final words in this reply were about sending me some sample clips of what HD is supposed to look like from PlayLater. This would tell me if the same crappy quality I am getting is just what is MediaMall considers HD, and if it was better it would mean that something on my end was the problem.
The Fourth Response
I received another email explaining that they did have data and that most people were using "old" laptops and PC's for media servers. Of course, "old" is a preference word that doesn't determine or give any information.
The reply stated that they would not be implementing main profile level 3.1 now, but that it may occur when they released a PlayLater version that supported GPU encoding. However, no ETA could be given.
Mention was made of the VPN I used and that it may be why my recordings are unsatisfactory. This could be true, but I had no way of knowing giving my present conditions.
The only other interesting information I was told was that they knew exactly which VPN site I had been using recently, which is somewhat frightening in these post-Snowden times. Although, there is not much they could actually do with that data, I did send another email asking what else they collected from its users.
Another Set of Emails
Recalling that when I Initially purchased PlayLater I could not download Amazon Prime Instant Videos, I decided to try again and see if it was still an issue I should bring up with PlayLater support.
This time it did work, which was great, but having solved that issue another took its place. I had decided to download an old 90's cartoon show, something that was created during a time HD was not around on TV channels. It did record and the quality was fine, but the resolution was at 1280x720... This show would have likely been created and displayed in 480i, but certainly not at 720p.
I tried another 90's cartoon show from Amazon, as the previous one did run long enough where it could have been made in HD at some point. However, I did download from the first season so that shouldn't have mattered. Anyways, I chose a show that was not even around during the times HD came to pass for networks and channels. Yet again I got a video at 1280x720.
Puzzled, I contacted PlayLater support and explained my dilemma. Being somewhat obtuse, as I had noticed previously, they thought my problem was with the black bars created by the 4:3 aspect ratio.
My reply reiterated that I was recording a SD show in HD resolution. The response I received gave me a workaround to get 480i (or 480p as stated) to achieve the actual resolution the shows were broadcast in, and came on DVD.
Before I forget, I was also told that I could not get any samples. I am not sure why as YouTube and other sites they list are free, so I'm not sure why they couldn't take a minute to product a sample...
Wait, What Now?
I sent one final email explaining what HD was, which is not just resolution but quality. The support person I was talking to kept referring to these recordings as if they were HD, which they are clearly not. I then realized something and asked another important question: Is PlayLater able to differentiate between quality and resolution, or just resolution?
About 10 minutes later I got an email with a partial answer. Amazon allegedly does not communicate if what it is showing is in SD or HD. Therefore, PlayLater can only go by the resolution that is given. And if Amazon determines that you have a slow Internet connection it may reduce the quality but still give a resolution of 1280x720.
Eager to know more, I asked if this applied to all channels, or if PlayLater could determine the difference between SD and HD on some channels? And if so, was there a list anywhere users could view to know. I was told that it applies to all channels. Which means, even sources that are should be or start off in HD, may have a final output of mostly SD!
Admittedly, Amazon, or any other channel, is not going to try to work with PlayLater on this matter (or any other) because MediaMall is essentially doing something they frown upon.
But this could easily be argued as falsely advertising HD recordings. A normal user might think they are getting 720p recordings, when in reality they are not. They won't even know it if they aren't looking for it. This is similar to the current NVIDIA GTX 970 debacle where it was advertised as 4GB GDDR5 RAM, but it was actually 3.5GB and an additional .5GB. They are currently in a class action lawsuit about this...
Furthermore, it seems unfair that the user is forced to recognize this and fix it. Especially when considering the average user would not even know it is an issue. For a company trying to make a product easy for users, does that give them the right to knowingly withhold information to trick users into only thinking they got what they paid for?
The Final Test
There was only one other test I could perform to see if the quality was bad because of my circumstances. I enlisted the help of my brother who is back in the USA. He has a great Internet connection and the ability to use Netflix. All he needed was my login credentials to use PlayLater, and then he could record an episode I had already recorded while overseas. If the two looked the same, the problem was with PlayLater. If his copy was better, then it was likely my VPN and Internet connection.
We coordinated a time and at that time began preparation. I had him setup PlayOn and PlayLater and ensure his computer had all the same settings as mine. The only difference was that my Internet speed was shown as "High", and his as "Max". My CPU was shown as "Max", and his as "High".
I also want to mention that we share the same Netflix and Amazon Prime account, and the Amazon video used was a HD purchase I made. Those that might argue that the HD purchase should not be shared are not considering a Bluray or DVR. If I bring a Bluray to anyone's house and watch it even if they haven't purchased it as well, there are no laws being broken. If I go to someone's house and watch a recorded show from their DVR, there are no laws being broken.
We started with my Amazon HD purchase - an animated episode from last year - and after a few failed attempts finally made a full recording. I then had him upload the video and send me a link so I could compare the copy I recorded to "his".
His copy was far superior in quality. You could see it jump from more of a SD to HD version in the very beginning, but it seemed to hold throughout the rest of the video. His copy also had a ever-so-slightly higher bitrate, but were talking a matter of 40Kbps. My copy was a larger file, but once I viewed mine and his, I realized that mine had some advertisements that must've been removed since that time.
From here we moved on to Netflix. We used a live action show that I had already downloaded, a kids show if you must know. After a few attempts we were unable to record the show. Not even a partial recording could be made. The recording would begin at last for a short time before abruptly failing. We decided to call it quits, and try again later.
I decided to record a clip from Comedy Central, which required no login of any sort. In doing so, I could use one of their short clips. The choice was just under a minute. My assumption was that as long as we could start the recording, we would probably be able to finish before failing.
A few days later my brother and I scheduled a time to try this last clip. Without going into too much detail, no recordings were made. The server was reset several times, the program restarted just as many, and even a change of venue back to Netflix proved fruitless. This just goes to show that a nice interface is worthless without a functioning product.
The test completed successfully proved one thing, bandwidth, which can be restricted by where you live and what speeds you opted for, or by a proxy or VPN, does have an impact on PlayLater recording. As described above, even if a recording starts off in HD, it can switch into SD but PlayLater will continue to record in HD resolution.
The Rundown
So let's go over all the facts we know:
- PlayLater records in a main profile of level 3.0. While not standard for 720p, and considered bad practice to do so, it can be done. This should not affect the quality.
- PlayLater records in an arguably high bitrate, which at face value would lend to quality video recordings.
- PlayLater creates large files, which at face value would lend to quality video recordings.
- PlayLater cannot distinguish between a SD or HD stream, only resolution. This means it can produce videos that are in HD resolution but are actually SD quality.
- PlayLater cannot distinguish if a HD source has been reduced to SD. This means it can produce videos that seem to be HD quality (or are at first) but are actually in SD quality.
- PlayLater relies on abundant bandwidth to record HD, which can greatly affect how "good" a HD recording looks.
- PlayLater virtually makes no change in bitrate if a recording is done in SD or HD, which may make it harder to discern if a file is actually in SD or HD.
- PlayLater can still be quite buggy, which means that even with a powerful CPU, a copious amount of RAM, and an Internet connection with blistering speeds, you may still be unable to record HD because PlayLater doesn't work perfectly or properly at most times.
PlayLater has a smooth interface, and easy enough controls, but problems still occur quite frequently. The majority of the bugs I encounter is about failing to record. Normally, closing out PlayLater (and ending the process in the Task Manager), then restarting PlayLater fixes it. Sometimes just restarting the PlayOn server from PlayLater's settings will fix this too. And in some occasions, nothing seems to fix this. While there are other concerns, this major point of conflict should take priority over all others due to the simple fact that if PlayLater doesn't work, it's a waste of money.
The Verdict
PlayLater can and will make HD recordings. The main problem is if your computer can handle live recording, and if so, do you have the necessary bandwidth to achieve true HD results. And even if all that, will PlayLater actually work or just bug out?
So, in all honesty, the answer is yes and no. If you have a new computer with an Internet connection that allows for high speeds, chances are you can get true HD recording. However, if you are in a foreign country that has decent speeds at best, and are forced to use a proxy or VPN, there is a probability that you will not be able to get true HD recordings (even if you have a top-of-the-line computer).
And again, it can come down to PlayLater just not working. PlayLater seems to work perfectly about 30% of the time in my experience. Most of the time it's a game of will it work and how to make it work. During those times, I would say you have a 50% chance of getting it to work.
Final Words
PlayLater is a good product, however, it has many sides to it. Things that you will not learn before purchasing it. Those who are in first-world countries may appreciate it more than those who are not. Then again, foreign and third-world country users may still appreciate its abilities if not using it for HD purposes, or HD is not a real concern.
In either case, given the requirements, HD recording is possible and looks great. If you can survive the bugs, and its secrets, then it can be a worth-while purchase. The support is also good about replies, although, they may not be as good at given answers to certain questions...
