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Buyer Beware "VONGO"

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  • Liquid3D
    Junior Member
    Junior Member
    • May 2006
    • 1

    Buyer Beware "VONGO"

    I joined these forums with the sole intention of forwarning anyone considering this "download service."

    The Beta project happens to be one of the worst I'e ever come across.

    "If it sounds too good to be true it probably is...." supposedly offering full-length movies which can be downloaded in as fast as 30-sec (in another possible universe perhaps). I have two very fast PC's the PC I tried this service on is configured as follows: Opteron 148 running at 3.0GHz (10x300FSB (HTT)) / 2GB of Corsair XMS 4400 / DFI LAN-Party nF4 UT motherboard with Marvell Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet (watercooled)) all processes shut-down. Even under these circumstaes the two movies I tried took as long as their length to download.

    Understandig download speed can vary and the service can't control the Internet will give them the benefit of the doubt. Lets just say this is marketing at it's worst. What troubled me the most was bringing up the "Movie Selection" and VONGO front page which can be seen on the JPEGs below, most importantly there are two tiny Boxes at the top of all movie selection pages; one is labled "Pay Per View" the next is labled "Susbscribed Service" BOTH are ALWAYS checked by DEFAULT. This can mislead those whom may not understand or be paying attention into downloading movies which will then be charged to their Credit Card. Luckily I cuaght this, but almost didn't.

    Even more frustraing is after I un-checked the "Pay Per View" box the number of movies is cut in half or more depending on the catagory your in. If this weren't bad enough I found the PPV box MUST be continually unchecked. Everytime you enter a new catagory such as "Top Downloads" etc. by default the VONGO software re-checks both boxes regardless of how many time you un-check PPV (Pay Per View). This is only exacerbated by the fact there's no price listed for the PPV service anywhere on the order page? And after you negotiate through a mine-field of supposed "features" deisgned to seperate you from your hard eraned cash, the dam thing doesn't even work!!!

    Attempting to play the movie and watch it in Full Screen mode (I don't mean changing Aspect Ratio I mean a screen larger then your Cell Phone in the middle of your Monitor) the audio/video stream experince a latency lag effect. I tried every concievale fix unfortunately VONGO gives you absolutely no "settings" for the software player they've provided. below I've included a second JPEG which exemplifies what happens when you try to access the ONLY settings button.

    In summary, VONGO offers the worst selection of movies at any price. If VONGO had only released a Beta service prematurely that wouldn't necessarily be excusable; however, it might be an earnest transgression. It does seem the software was designed specifically to mislead the layperson by conitnually re-setting itself so the consumer would order Pay Per View movies either by accident (that VONGO cuased) or in furstration do to the limited selection under the Subscribed user section. Either way it would be a miracle if their able to get the thing working.

    Shame, shame on VONGO, the name may take it's place under Social Fuax Pas slang as in "Oh my your a real VONGO aren't you..." (Negative conotations apply).
    Attached Files
    Last edited by Liquid3D; 28 May 2006, 05:16 AM.
  • codajohn
    Digital Video Expert
    Digital Video Expert
    • Jul 2005
    • 661

    #2
    Maybe they're trying to get a head of the Verizon internet fiberoptic generation. Either way, sounds like they didn't think things through. Or maybe they did?
    Unfortunately the consumer is on the short end of this stick.
    Liquid3D, thanks for the heads up!!
    CJ
    My DVD Collection
    Register To Join Digital Video Forums


    Dell Inspiron 9100 Laptop, Windows XP Home SP 2 (build 2600), 2.80GH Pent 4, ST94811A 40GB HD, 2GB RAM, NEC DVD+RW ND-6100A 104D, ATI MOBILITY RADEON 9700, External 250GB Maxtor HD, External LG-5163D A105

    IBM ThinkCenter 8189, XP Pro, 3.2GH Pentium 4, 120 GB HD, 1GB Ram, BENQ DW1650 BCIC, Nvidia GeForce FX 5200, Generic floppy disk drive (3.5")

    The Golden Rules of Burning

    Comment

    • Chewy
      Super Moderator
      • Nov 2003
      • 18971

      #3
      anybody got any good links on how VideoOnDemand really works, I got the part about several streams for same movie/show, but can't figure the bandwidth or storage/playback end?

      Comment

      • Derree
        Digital Video Expert
        Digital Video Expert
        • Jul 2005
        • 546

        #4
        Thanks for the info..I am in Canada and it is not available here as of yet but as you said it sounded to good to be true...
        sigpic



        Turn down the suck...Turn up the
        good
        -------------------------------------------

        Comment

        • jmorton
          Junior Member
          Junior Member
          • Dec 2005
          • 1

          #5
          The selection isn't that great as far as new releases but they do have a good selection of older movies. Download time is slow though. I can't find where it is storing it on my harddrive though, any ideas?

          Comment

          • Taltor
            Junior Member
            Junior Member
            • Jun 2006
            • 1

            #6
            I have had a different experience than liquid. I have been using vongo for about 3months and have always got my full 500kb/s download speed. So most take only about 20-30 mins. And after about about min or so i can start watching them while they are downloading so its basicly streaming them. Its better than most other options that there are on the net. Just cause ur computers are fast doesnt mean that it going to dl any faster than what ur connection speed allows. The ppv thing he mention is incorrected also. Its clearly visable which movies are ppv and which are not. If u do accidently click on a ppv movies it asks u first if u would like to pay for this movie for 3.99. Which is a totally different interface when downloading there other moves. It doesnt just download and charge. Also there is a hell alot of more movies than ppv there are only like 40 ppv and a couple hundred subscribtion movies, and they add more every week. I watch the movies i've downloaded and the live stream feed of starz full screen on my monitor and my big screen tv and never had any problems no lags at all. I have used the service on several computers and had no problems at all. So unless ur a complete moron that cant read u shouldnt have any problems not downloading ppv movies unless u want to.

            And to jmorton. they movies are downloaded to ur vongo/content folder. u need to have view hidden files on to see them. They are downloaded in .wma format. So u can actually use Windows Media player to watch them when they are downloading but after it has completed downloading vongo changes the format so only their player will play them. It still uses WMP as the player its just encoded in the vongo software. If ur smart u can fiqure out what can be done with that information.

            So i hope this helps dont judge on just one bad post.
            Last edited by Taltor; 8 Jun 2006, 05:18 PM.

            Comment

            • Rando
              Junior Member
              Junior Member
              • Jun 2006
              • 8

              #7
              Vongo is crap! KEEP AWAY!

              Comment

              • Doobie52
                Junior Member
                Junior Member
                • Mar 2007
                • 2

                #8
                Originally Posted by Liquid3D
                I joined these forums with the sole intention of forwarning anyone considering this "download service."

                The Beta project happens to be one of the worst I'e ever come across.

                "If it sounds too good to be true it probably is...." supposedly offering full-length movies which can be downloaded in as fast as 30-sec (in another possible universe perhaps).
                I joined these forums with the sole intention of warning anyone considering listening to user Liquid3D.

                The Internet is wonderful, full of great information. But, there's wrong information and just plain idiotic information out here. Anyone with a brain knows that Vongo wouldn't claim 30-sec movie downloads (Considering that Liquid3D provided screenshots, why didn't he provide a shot of this incredible claim?). If such a statement ever appeared, a rational person would dismiss it as a typo.

                User Taltor is correct about the PPV movies being clearly marked and easy to unselect from being displayed as choices. I used Vongo for a while about a year ago and I never had any difficulty in avoiding selecting them.

                Vongo is a great value for $10/month. Hundreds of good movies (including new releases) to watch at your convenience, with new movies added all the time. It's very sweet downloading a couple dozen movies at a time and then watching them when I want, as many times as I want.

                The movie selection isn't as large as your local video rental store, but for the price, so what. You can always rent a few movies locally and still save a bundle if you're a movie buff.

                My only real criticism is some of the movies could be encoded at better quality (it's strange that someone like Liquid3D who comes with with a number of stupid objections to Vongo didn't complain about the excessive compression). A number of the earliest movies added to the Vongo service are about the quality of a 1CD rip. Although, a lot of the more recently added movies are near DVD quality.

                If you want to talk about bad deals, try Netflix. It costs more money and you have a practical limit of roughly 12 movies/month (especially if you don't live near a distribution center). If you find a movie you want to watch, you have to wait a day or two for the mail (or longer, if you need to return a movie first) vs. 30 seconds on Vongo. If you keep a movie for a little while, to watch at your convenience, you cost yourself another movie for the month.

                Comment

                • LT. Columbo
                  Demigod of Digital Video
                  • Nov 2004
                  • 10671

                  #9
                  Originally Posted by Doobie52
                  I joined these forums with the sole intention of warning anyone considering listening to user Liquid3D.

                  The Internet is wonderful, full of great information. But, there's wrong information and just plain idiotic information out here. Anyone with a brain knows that Vongo wouldn't claim 30-sec movie downloads (Considering that Liquid3D provided screenshots, why didn't he provide a shot of this incredible claim?). If such a statement ever appeared, a rational person would dismiss it as a typo.

                  User Taltor is correct about the PPV movies being clearly marked and easy to unselect from being displayed as choices. I used Vongo for a while about a year ago and I never had any difficulty in avoiding selecting them.

                  Vongo is a great value for $10/month. Hundreds of good movies (including new releases) to watch at your convenience, with new movies added all the time. It's very sweet downloading a couple dozen movies at a time and then watching them when I want, as many times as I want.

                  The movie selection isn't as large as your local video rental store, but for the price, so what. You can always rent a few movies locally and still save a bundle if you're a movie buff.

                  My only real criticism is some of the movies could be encoded at better quality (it's strange that someone like Liquid3D who comes with with a number of stupid objections to Vongo didn't complain about the excessive compression). A number of the earliest movies added to the Vongo service are about the quality of a 1CD rip. Although, a lot of the more recently added movies are near DVD quality.

                  If you want to talk about bad deals, try Netflix. It costs more money and you have a practical limit of roughly 12 movies/month (especially if you don't live near a distribution center). If you find a movie you want to watch, you have to wait a day or two for the mail (or longer, if you need to return a movie first) vs. 30 seconds on Vongo. If you keep a movie for a little while, to watch at your convenience, you cost yourself another movie for the month.
                  his so called "stupid objections" are Liquid3d's opinions, of which he/she is entitled. read the rules about being decent towards other members or your stay will be brief.
                  "One day men will look back and say I gave birth to the 20th Century". Jack The Ripper - 1888
                  Columbo moments...
                  "Double Shock" "The Greenhouse Jungle" "Swan Song" FORUM RULES
                  "You try to contrive a perfect alibi, and it's your perfect alibi that's gonna hang ya."
                  (An Exercise In Fatality, 1974)


                  Comment

                  • Doobie52
                    Junior Member
                    Junior Member
                    • Mar 2007
                    • 2

                    #10
                    Originally Posted by LT. Columbo
                    his so called "stupid objections" are Liquid3d's opinions, of which he/she is entitled. read the rules about being decent towards other members or your stay will be brief.
                    A seriously absurd, with a stench of maliciousness, review deserves no less than my response. If I had read his garbage before trying Vongo I probably would not have tried Vongo and then I would have missed out on a great service. Besides, Liquid3D is hardly another member here. He has posted here one time, and that was nearly a year ago. BTW, do you have anything to say about Vongo or any objection to any of my comments about Vongo? Or, are you just going off topic to show me how to be decent toward other members (haha)?

                    Vongo is a great bargain. Where else can you download thousands of movies for $10/month (our spamming rocket scientist, Liquied3D, who said Vongo is the worst choice offered no better choice). As I pointed out, Netflix offers a much larger selection, but it costs more and has a practical limit of about a dozen movies per month and you can't watch them with anything near the convenience of Vongo (wait a couple days to get your selection, hurry and watch them, return them). Many local video stores offer selections no larger than Vongo (although, video stores do have much broader selection of new releases), but you have to drive twice to them (once to pickup, once to return) and pay several dollars for each movie (at least for new releases). PPV on cable is $4 for every movie with a tiny selection. Movie channels cost more and have much less selection than Vongo and you can only watch movies on their schedule.

                    But, boohoo, I can't download whole movies in under 30 seconds from Vongo, even though I have a fast Opteron 148 CPU (but you can view them while they're downloading). And, boohoo, their box to select displaying PPV movie choices is checked by default.



                    In any case, you get two weeks free to judge for yourself.

                    Comment

                    • blutach
                      Not a god of digital video
                      • Oct 2004
                      • 24627

                      #11
                      Doobie52 - your tone in replying to one of our moderators is getting you awful close to an infraction.

                      As well, Liquid3D deserves your respect if he has 1 post or 100,000.

                      Be very careful with the way you post, always bearing rule 2 in mind please.

                      Regards
                      Les

                      Essential progs - [PgcEdit] [VobBlanker] [MenuShrink] [IfoEdit] [Muxman] [DVD Remake Pro] [DVD Rebuilder] [BeSweet] [Media Player Classic] [DVDSubEdit] [ImgBurn]

                      Media and Burning - [Golden Rules of Burning] [Media quality] [Fix your DMA] [Update your Firmware] [What's my Media ID Code?] [How to test your disc]
                      [What's bitsetting?] [Burn dual layer disks safely] [Why not to burn with Ner0] [Interpret Ner0's burn errors] [Got bad playback?] [Burner/Media compatibility]

                      Cool Techniques - [2COOL's guides] [Clean your DVD] [Join a flipper] [Split into 2 DVDs] [Save heaps of Mb] [How to mock strip] [Cool Insert Clips]

                      Real useful info - [FAQ INDEX] [Compression explained] [Logical Remapping of Enabled Streams] [DVD-Replica] [Fantastic info on DVDs]


                      You should only use genuine Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden media. Many thanks to www.pcx.com.au for their supply and great service.

                      Explore the sites and the programs - there's a gold mine of information in them

                      Don't forget to play the Digital Digest Quiz!!! (Click here)

                      Comment

                      • Derree
                        Digital Video Expert
                        Digital Video Expert
                        • Jul 2005
                        • 546

                        #12
                        hmmm maybe someone here works for Vongo...just a thought
                        sigpic



                        Turn down the suck...Turn up the
                        good
                        -------------------------------------------

                        Comment

                        • LT. Columbo
                          Demigod of Digital Video
                          • Nov 2004
                          • 10671

                          #13
                          Originally Posted by Doobie52
                          BTW, do you have anything to say about Vongo
                          yes, it's GARBAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

                          you are lucky you caught blooie in a good mood. i might have given you a 24 hour vacation.

                          ty blooie.
                          "One day men will look back and say I gave birth to the 20th Century". Jack The Ripper - 1888
                          Columbo moments...
                          "Double Shock" "The Greenhouse Jungle" "Swan Song" FORUM RULES
                          "You try to contrive a perfect alibi, and it's your perfect alibi that's gonna hang ya."
                          (An Exercise In Fatality, 1974)


                          Comment

                          • blutach
                            Not a god of digital video
                            • Oct 2004
                            • 24627

                            #14
                            Vacate away Looie - god only knows what came over me!!!

                            Regards
                            Les

                            Essential progs - [PgcEdit] [VobBlanker] [MenuShrink] [IfoEdit] [Muxman] [DVD Remake Pro] [DVD Rebuilder] [BeSweet] [Media Player Classic] [DVDSubEdit] [ImgBurn]

                            Media and Burning - [Golden Rules of Burning] [Media quality] [Fix your DMA] [Update your Firmware] [What's my Media ID Code?] [How to test your disc]
                            [What's bitsetting?] [Burn dual layer disks safely] [Why not to burn with Ner0] [Interpret Ner0's burn errors] [Got bad playback?] [Burner/Media compatibility]

                            Cool Techniques - [2COOL's guides] [Clean your DVD] [Join a flipper] [Split into 2 DVDs] [Save heaps of Mb] [How to mock strip] [Cool Insert Clips]

                            Real useful info - [FAQ INDEX] [Compression explained] [Logical Remapping of Enabled Streams] [DVD-Replica] [Fantastic info on DVDs]


                            You should only use genuine Verbatim or Taiyo Yuden media. Many thanks to www.pcx.com.au for their supply and great service.

                            Explore the sites and the programs - there's a gold mine of information in them

                            Don't forget to play the Digital Digest Quiz!!! (Click here)

                            Comment

                            • JakeBlues
                              Digital Video Enthusiast
                              Digital Video Enthusiast
                              • Dec 2006
                              • 364

                              #15
                              "Looie and Blooie" now I've seen it all....
                              It's made my day!! Thanks (lmao)
                              ElwoodsBrotherJake "...I'm on a mission from God, to help me and others from making coasters!

                              Comment

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