Sony doesn't know what it's selling? at DVinfo.net

Gabor Heeres · February 27th, 2014, 02:22 AM

Hmmmmz,

Either Sony has a too wide line of products or does not know which cameras they sell at all. Because our NX5 is almost two years old I received the email below from prime Support. It seems Sony themselves don't know the NX5 was one of their first professional handheld tapeless camcorders?

Weird.....

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Dear GABOR ,

As the cover for your HXR-NX5E is due to expire on 30/05/2014, you've probably considered upgrading from tape to the latest file based technology. File-based camcorders allow you to film, edit, distribute and store footage more quickly and cost effectively – saving your business time and money.
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Noa Put · February 27th, 2014, 02:27 AM

Maybe the camera has a hidden compartment for tapes that you are not aware off? This looks like a automated email where everything in capital letters is generated by a machine and send out to thousand of users that have registered on the Sony site, one Sony employee probably wasn't awake when they had to enter the parameters for this email, you can't blame them though, like you said Sony has so many different models and replacing them faster then it takes to develop them. :)

James Manford · February 27th, 2014, 04:50 AM

If they really wanted too I would bet that they could release the best camcorder that does everything right now. But why would they, they would rather cripple models and release them with '1' new feature at a time to make more money.

Dave Blackhurst · February 27th, 2014, 07:36 PM

I know it's popular to say manufacturers "cripple" products to make extra $$, but think about it, there are ALWAYS new features, new improved technology, and other updates/upgrades! Plus added features cost more in production, and must meet expected price points for projected production quantities...

Do you really think they could release a "kitchen sink" model at a reasonable market price point "now", and 3-5 years down the road that same piece of technology would still be "state of the art"?!? Heck, just the introduction of backlit sensors made huge differences in performance, and that was released within a YEAR after being announced as a new patented tech...

Technology moves FAST, so it's more likely that the manufacturers are scrambling to stay ahead of their own R&D departments before the engineers obsolete the stuff they are trying to get into production! In consumer lines, they are "lucky" if the product retains more than a passing resemblance to the same design/features after a year on the market! There is little time to scheme about "crippling" products in devious ways, IMO.

It is "funny" that Sony doesn't appear to know the features of their own stock #'s (actually not THAT uncommon from my experience...), but they have a broad line, so I suppose someone in the "upgrade marketing" department might not be up to speed on a model that's a couple years "old" now?

February 27th, 2014, 02:22 AM	#1
Gabor Heeres Major Player Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands Posts: 322	Sony doesn't know what it's selling? Hmmmmz, Either Sony has a too wide line of products or does not know which cameras they sell at all. Because our NX5 is almost two years old I received the email below from prime Support. It seems Sony themselves don't know the NX5 was one of their first professional handheld tapeless camcorders? Weird..... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear GABOR , As the cover for your HXR-NX5E is due to expire on 30/05/2014, you've probably considered upgrading from tape to the latest file based technology. File-based camcorders allow you to film, edit, distribute and store footage more quickly and cost effectively – saving your business time and money. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

February 27th, 2014, 02:27 AM	#2
Noa Put Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 9,510	Re: Sony doesn't know what it's selling? Maybe the camera has a hidden compartment for tapes that you are not aware off? This looks like a automated email where everything in capital letters is generated by a machine and send out to thousand of users that have registered on the Sony site, one Sony employee probably wasn't awake when they had to enter the parameters for this email, you can't blame them though, like you said Sony has so many different models and replacing them faster then it takes to develop them. :)

February 27th, 2014, 04:50 AM	#3
James Manford Trustee Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,393	Re: Sony doesn't know what it's selling? If they really wanted too I would bet that they could release the best camcorder that does everything right now. But why would they, they would rather cripple models and release them with '1' new feature at a time to make more money.

February 27th, 2014, 07:36 PM	#4
Dave Blackhurst Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Apple Valley CA Posts: 4,874	Re: Sony doesn't know what it's selling? I know it's popular to say manufacturers "cripple" products to make extra $$, but think about it, there are ALWAYS new features, new improved technology, and other updates/upgrades! Plus added features cost more in production, and must meet expected price points for projected production quantities... Do you really think they could release a "kitchen sink" model at a reasonable market price point "now", and 3-5 years down the road that same piece of technology would still be "state of the art"?!? Heck, just the introduction of backlit sensors made huge differences in performance, and that was released within a YEAR after being announced as a new patented tech... Technology moves FAST, so it's more likely that the manufacturers are scrambling to stay ahead of their own R&D departments before the engineers obsolete the stuff they are trying to get into production! In consumer lines, they are "lucky" if the product retains more than a passing resemblance to the same design/features after a year on the market! There is little time to scheme about "crippling" products in devious ways, IMO. It is "funny" that Sony doesn't appear to know the features of their own stock #'s (actually not THAT uncommon from my experience...), but they have a broad line, so I suppose someone in the "upgrade marketing" department might not be up to speed on a model that's a couple years "old" now?