vTuner Offline on Some Devices [Nov 2014]

[MK_Slinky]

Hi all,

It looks as though vTuner is now off-line again on some devices. My own STR-DN1040 Receiver remains unaffected at this time however my BDP-S7200 Blu-ray is displaying the following message:

“This service cannot be accessed at this time because the server replied with incorrect or invalid information”.

Please report any other affected devices here for simplicity of colaborating the information, kindly do not start a new thread.

Thanks in advance!

[MK_Slinky]

To be fair, at this moment in time I don't think Sony have the slightest clue what is going on with vTuner hence why their support staff are issuing conflicting reports.

So far I believe Sony are reliant on what they read here in these forums and haven't actually plugged in a device to check the problem or themselves. Mostly the members posting here are still experiencing limited or no service it seems very odd that Sony staff can make any statements to the contrary.

I reported only last week that on my BDP-S7200 Blu-ray Player service had resumed and that much is true however having checked my device daily the service is still not 100% fully functional!! The other day when I checked the 'Editor's Pick' category there were 32 stations none of which worked, however all other categories were fine with the exception of the odd one or two stations not working. A day later the Editor's Pick category had an increased in the number of stations and was now 34 in total, again none work. Today for instance there are now only 26 stations which again don't work.

Also I have now noticed a reduction in the number of countries listed in the Europe category, previously it was 50+ but today it is only 45. Clearly vTuner is not fully operational as my previous post might have indicated.

Some of you have hinted at taking action with the various consumer bodies and quite frankly I'm beginning to think this might be our only option right now. Clearly Sony are not telling us anything of any substance and as for vTuner making a statement it seems beyond their capability. Yes we've all seen that troll statement which incidentally breaks forum guidelines but I think that has now been firmly discredited as a work of fiction.

Where do we go from here you might ask? Well since neither party is talking to us we can only turn to other organizations for help, it is after all our legal right to do so. Yes we can all air our grievances through Social media which might get the problem noticed but we really need to turn to an independent regulatory body at this stage, that choice is yours to decide.

[Pistabacsi]

What's clear is that sony have shown themselves to be a gang of penny pinching con men/ women.

This isn't the first time they've hawked a product that doesn't do what they say it does

Bottom line. They are downright liars & should be exposed as such.

[MK_Slinky]

For what it's worth some of you may find this information helpful.

Members based here in the UK and who are considering returning their Sony products for refund may find the following information useful. Reading the advice given in the link below it is clear that some of our devices no longer perform the tasks for which they've been designed for meaning that they fall into the category of 'not fit for purpose', other member countries may have similar laws governing the sale of goods.

What is meant by goods not fit for purpose

In brief:

When you buy something, consumer law says the item must be fit for purpose.

For example, a toaster must be able to make toast and a washing machine must be able to wash clothes.

As well as being fit for their normal purpose goods must also be fit for any specific purpose that the seller told you they would be fit for. The law which gives you this right is called the Sale of Goods Act 1979.

This right only applies when you buy something from a business, not from a private seller.

I'm not a lawyer but it seems clear enough that as our product is advertised on the packaging or on the dvice itself as being able to access vTuner and no longer can this likely contstitutes a breach of these laws.

[Pistabacsi]

Pista's log:

Day 27 & I'm betting you can guess what's happened............yeah.

Incidentally, sony is trending like Billyo on twitter today, albeit for other reasons.

Still worth tossing a few tweets in the mix.

Oh well, back to number 5 on my list.

Building a full scale Millenium Falcon out of grains of coloured rice.

[JacobZ]

Got another answer from Sony: 

"Ik begrijp dat u een vraag heeft over NPO. Zoals in mijn eerdere e-mail is vermeld. De dienst is hersteld op 11 December. Sony is niet aansprakelijk van het aanbod van derde partijen."


Translation: "I understand you have a question about Duch Public Broadcast. As stated in my former mail the service is repaired since 11 December. Sony is not responsible for third-party-offers."

Sony seems not to understand that my Sony device is the only cause of the problem. Every computer in the house can receive the digital Dutch Public Broadcast (NPO), only my Sony Digital Radio cannot...

Are there other Dutch customers reading this forum? Is somewhere the service 'repaired', als Sony says?

[Pistabacsi]

@JacobZ 

I'm not in the Netherlands, (in Hungary) but I've just tried all the NPO stations & they all seem to work here.

I know that's not much help.

Try to go to options & select "refresh". Then try the NPO stations again.

It might work.

In return, can anyone get BBC6 Music on their devices?

I am on a DN1040 & 6Music is still on the editor's list, but won't play.

[JacobZ]

PS - does anybody know an address in the Netherlands where I can sent my reclamation to. The only way of communication with Sony I now have is the custommer-support-team. Which does not work (since they say the problem is repaired, wich is not). 

TIA

Jacob

[JacobZ]

Tried 'refresh' but no result.

Is there another way of resetting?

[Pistabacsi]

Not that I know of.

On your European Guarantee information document, you'll see the address, phone number & web address of the Netherlands sony service folks.

But I wouldn't hold your breath on a response.

They are all too busy making sure they have their xmas sales quotas up so they can all get a nice bonus while we all sit at home with useless internet radios

[richardc79]

Hello Jacob,

Looks like i am not the only dutch customer over here! 

Just like you i have several emails and statements from Sony Support NL but they all fingerpoint to vTuner.

Last night i checked my station list (also refreshed it a couple of times) but it is still strongly reduced and from my 6 favourite radio channels only 1 is functioning/available. Also from several ways in the subtree (like genre, location etc) there are still gone.

So the statement from Sony is incorrect.

I have NPO channels, but also the NPO channels are strongly reduced as far as i can see. Before i had over 6 NPO channels, now only 1 or 2.

Point is that Sony lies that they are not responsible for the vTuner service because they surely are.

It is a bit like you buy a new car, for example a BMW, and it was Michelin tires. After a week the tires are all beginning to run flat because of the fact that the tires are not really well made. (so it has nothing todo with usage, just like this) So you bring the car back in and your dealer says: Well the tires are not well made but well it is not BMW, they are Michelin, so we won't help you, you must claim warranty at Michelin.

No dealer will ever do this, because THEY decided to put Michelin tires under your brand new car. I know for sure the never will say that to there customers.

So maybe BMW would claim there warranty at michelin after they gave you (probably another brand) set of tires, but hey, that's there decision and is never the problem of the customer.

Exaclty the same thing is happening here, but here Sony says that are not responsible for the vTuner service.

Not gonna happen Sony, just take responsibility for the decisions your make Sony.

So, I've sended an email back that i won't accept such an answer because there statements are not legal because we as customers in NL are protected with customer rights. Your Sony reciever is not working like it shoudl be and was worling at the time you bought it. Simple as that.

I am awaiting a response of Sony with a desent solution. (also if they cannot solve it)

If they don't agree and keeps finger pointing to vTuner i will surely take serious steps to get my right as a customer at Stichting De Ombudsman and Consumentenbond.

Hope they will solve it properly like they should do, but it is in there hands.