Re: HD DVD player updates
As promised I have some updates tonight.
XA2s:
First for those of you who ordered XA2s, half of you will receive your player tomorrow (Thursday 9/26), the other half on Friday (9/27). In an effort to get the XA2s out the door, Ken is having them shipped direct from Toshiba. If you haven’t yet sent in your payment to the fulfillment house you are still expected to do so—as of last week there were still a few stragglers. We didn’t want to hold up the players any longer while we waited for a tally of who had paid. If you all have paid, then thanks for your patience. If not please submit your payment immediately. I should have the tally next week, and I am hoping that by them everyone will have submitted their payment.
A2s:
Everyone who is getting an A2 should expect to see it this Friday.
Tracking numbers:
I believe that both were shipped via FedEx. I won't have tracking numbers until tomorrow (Thursday). Based on my schedule I would rather not have to rush out tracking numbers to everyone since the A2s were shipped two-day and the XA2s overnight, in other words you may get your player before I can get you the tracking number. If you don't have a player (or a FedEx door tag) by the end of the day on Friday send me a PM and I will get you a tracking number.
Titles:
I think Heroes "may" be getting shipped with the A2's. Check the box to see if they are inside. For those getting the XA2s let me know if you don't receive it by Friday night by posting in this thread and I will get it taken care of next week. Transformers won’t be released until mid October, so don't count on receiving it until the third week in October. Knocked Up, Elizabeth AND The Last Starfighter (a thanks for your patience add-on) will ship out either the end of this week or the first part of next week.
Blu-Ray: My contact at Panasonic is waiting for the last batch of players to be released. She has the paperwork ready to go as soon as they arrive. She has told me that she is hoping that they will be able to go out this Friday, but it could be as late as the middle of next week. When I know that they are going out I will let you know. They should go out FedEx ground from the West Coast, so it may take up to a week for them to arrive.
I would like to thank all of you for your patience. The Blu-ray delay has been due to player availability. The HD DVD delays were initially due to player availability, and then due to the fact that they got lumped into the EMA attendees process.
I also really need to thank Ken Graffeo from Universal. He called me last night unprompted and apologized that this hasn’t run as smoothly as they should have and that he was going to step in and personally take care of everything….and he has. On one hand yes I know that things shouldn’t have come to this, but on the other had if he hadn’t stepped up like he did I would still be spinning my wheels for another week or two. I was also amazed that someone at his level personally took the time to call, accepted responsibility (buck stops with him) and apologized, when he could have left that to others. He has earned my respect.
One final note: With 70 players, and software being sent from multiple locations there may be a hiccup with one or two shipments. In the unlikely and unfortunate event that it happens to you I will work to get it fixed ASAP, but I would ask for your patience in advance. Most of my contacts are out of town and at Digital Life in New York, so it may take a day or two to track down people and mis-directed shipments.
