Got the DVD player today, so no need to check on the status.

Do have a couple of questions/complaints.

1) Since this DVD player is a second one and more for the kids movies, first disk I put in was Disney's Dumbo. Tried to play the movie, but disk kept starting over. Think this might be Disney's stop on multi-region players, but not sure. I was able to get the movie going if I 'found' the right chapter.

2) Also really wanted this player to play my MP3 CDs. It plays them and sounds great....but... There's no RANDOM! At least I can't find one. Can anybody help. That pretty much sucks to have 150 songs on a disk and it will always start at the beginning.

Any ideas on these two issues?

I messed with mine for a few minutes and can't find any kind of shuffle/random feature. You can program in an order and you can repeat 1 or all, but that's it apparently.

Total movie inquirey
 

I originally had a subscription to the magazine the first time around and only got 3 issues before it folded. when it started up again I subscribed again to get the 40 free movies in september. I got the October november issue as well as the December January issues. I had been reading about everyone's problems on this forum but had assumed I was one of the few who were not affected by all the problems.

Today in the mail I got a renewal notice stating that if I renewed now I would get 40 free movies on DVD! That's what I ordered in September. Now I have to wonder if I'm screwed up in your system too. Have I been getting issues based on my old subscription, and been charged in September for the new subscription and 40 movies and will never see them. I called customer service and got a voice mail. I left my pertinent information on the voice mail. Will I hear back? I only got three magazines with my first subscription I assume I should be in the computer for getting 9 issues with the current subscription to make good on the old subscription and the 40 movies. The account # on the renewal notice is 10221034. I have no idea if this is the old one, the new one, or if as they should be both combined onto one. I also have not received the latest issue which I have seen on the newstand another reason to worry I'm all screwed up now too.

Can you please look into this for me and let me know where my account stands. my name is Robert Dunkelberger. my home e-mail is [email protected]

Thanks

Robert_D Said: I originally had a subscription to the magazine the first time around and only got 3 issues before it folded. when it started up again I subscribed again to get the 40 free movies in september. I got the October november issue as well as the December January issues. I had been reading about everyone's problems on this forum but had assumed I was one of the few who were not affected by all the problems.

Today in the mail I got a renewal notice stating that if I renewed now I would get 40 free movies on DVD! That's what I ordered in September.


EXACTLY the same thing happened here. I ordered at almost exactly the same time for the 40 movie promotion. I know it was charged to my account. I am NOT sending ANY MORE money. Just send me the movies and ALL of the magazines I have already paid for PLEASE!!!!

Mark L.
Columbus Ohio

Re: Total movie inquirey
 

Hi. I got the same thing today and I called the 626 number instead of the toll-free number and got right through to an operator. She said apparently the mailings got crossed so EVERYONE will get a subscription notice. I asked if this affected my current subscription (DVD player/magazine/movies) and she said no. My subscription is A-OK.

I also noticed when reading the new subscription notice that Inside DVD will now have MGM movies on the flip side! They advertise Malice, Species and Species II. I don't know if that was announced anywhere yet but it's pretty cool. I've been wanting to buy Species for awhile.

Andrew

Tried Dumbo tonight. If I select play in the menu it doesn't work, but if I select chapter 1 from the Chapter Selection section it plays just fine.

attn: mt totalmovie
 

hi
im happy to report that i got my total-movie dvd player yesterday, but it has a few bugs. as for the sound it works just fine with my system but the aspect ratio selection does not seem to work . when i set it to letterbox to play a movie ( phanton menace) the entire picture is made out of large blocks . not pixels, when i set it to "wide" it takes the anamorphic transfer and steches it but the picute then looks very grainy , like a bad vhs copy. please let me know if i have some how screwed up the settings or if i just got a dud! please get back to me.
jth

If your player isn't working properly...and it sounds like some are and some are not, please call 866-896-6843 and talk with Myra or Aaron. They'll do their best to efficiently take care of the situation (ie. refunds or replacements).

As for simple fixes for anamorphic issues or rolling setup screens. I don't have those answers right now.

I just wanted to mention that the folks at Total-Movie customer service have been responsive to my defective player.
I called CS on Monday, spoke with Aaron and Myra. She promised to call be back Tuesday with info. She did, and they arranged a FedEx pickup at my office today, on Wednesday.
The FedEx guy came as scheduled, and the player is on the way back, at no shipping expense to me.
Hopefully a replacement will be sent out quickly, but so far, so good.

TotalMovie, thanks for your responses in this forum.

My opinion is that if you're patient with these people that they will try to correct any problems you have. It's too bad that for some folks, it just got to be too much hassle, and there have definitely been some seemingly valid complaints.

Is this considered acceptable? I have quite a few DVDs that the menu won't work. I have to keep guessing at the right chapters to get it to go.

Also, does everyone else have a noticeable noise from the player? If the front power is pushed in, there is a noise, even if the player is turned 'off'. Which is another thing. Off on the remote isn't really 'off', it's more of a standby mode.

I thought it would be an 'OK' player for the $60. Just wanted it for a second player really wanted a MP3 player. Without a random, or ID tag reader, it's not worthwhile as a MP3 player.
Some of the other things (menu support, noise, etc.) make it seem even a little too 'cheap' of a machine for $60.

Kesslerm,

If the player doesn't suit your needs, call customer service as I suggested a few posts up and they should take care of you.

Finally received 2 magazines yesterday. Oct/Nov and Dec/Jan.

Why does "bi-monthly" not seem to mean "published every two months" to the folks at Total Movie? I've been quietly waiting to see if they got their act together before giving them more of my money and, hey, February must no longer be a month! I'm glad the cheap DVD players are shipping and the 40 movies are finally shipping but if they can't get out the <b>magazine</b> then my hopes for seeing the end of a two-year subscription are slight.

TotalMovie guy, can you address why February was skipped? Can we hope for more regular publication in the future or is this a sign of things to come? I'd really really like to renew but I've already been burned once by this outfit and I'm not going to let it happen again.

Follow up: I got issues 5 and 6 yesterday! The post office beat them up pretty badly, but they're here.

Are the free movies in fact shipping? I know they were supposed to be at the office tuesday or Wednesday, but have they actually shipped yet?

robyn

What the heck?
 

I've been reading this thread from the beginning, and now have to share my own current experience with TM.

I was not a subscriber, and aware of the difficulties people here had been having. But about 2-3 mos ago TM sent me a free copy and an offer for a 1 year subscription at a discounted rate. The price was right, so I figured why not take the chance? I figured I was already ahead of the game with the free issue and all, which is more than some others have ever seen.

So far I haven't received anything of course, because the next issue is just coming out. However, yesterday I received a letter from TM stating that my subscription (which hadn't even started) was about to run out, and that I really needed to resubscribe now in order not to miss an issue! :confused:

That letter, combined with the original one (that I subscribed with) that stated I should call them with my CC# so I could get the 40 movies (which didn't exist yet) sent out immediately tells me TM has monkeys, children, or monkey children running their subscription dept, or at least mail dept.

Note to TM: Don't send hassle letters to resubscribe when you haven't even started the subscription, and don't send letters telling people to call to immediately receive products that don't yet exist.

Have all the DVD players been shipped?...I subscribed on January 10th and haven't received the DVD player, magazine, or any response to my email.

If you're reading TotalMovie, could you please check on my order?
Order# dvd4u-6090

Ack! The Player has started to act up!

When I got it last week, I tested the player out on a bunch of different DVDs. I had no problems with any of them apart from the anamorphic down conversion and since it was going into the kids room, it wasn't a big deal.


But today, I tried to play Superman on it and the Player wouldn't load it. I then put in Shrek (which played in it last week) and it didn't work either. I then dug out a ton of DVDs and almost all of them wouldn't load. I can hear the DVD Player working but all I got was the LOAD message.

The odd thing is, it had no trouble loading titles from smaller companies (like Rhino, Full Moon and Synapse). It only had troubles with major labels (MGM, Warner, Dreamworks/Universal, Disney).

So I'm off to call the support line. Hopefully this doesn't happen to all the players.

Andrew

Any movement on the 40 movies? Does the absence of a FEB/MARCH issue mean we really get 5 issues and movies a year? March is dangerously close to passing TOTAL MOVIE/INSIDE DVD if you guys don't start mailing your paying customers the new issue and 40 movies soon, you aren't gonna have any.

lots of questions, lots of answers. Here we go.

1) no, all of the DVD players have not shipped out....I was incorrect before in saying they all went out. There is still a batch to go. Please call Myra or Aaron at 866-896-6843 for an update on your player....Omega, if you don't get through over the next few days post on the forum again and I will try to take care of you.

2) if you are having problems with the DVD player, please call customer service and they will take care of you.

3) A large portion of the 40 Free Movies on DVD packs due to subscribers are in LA in customs. We expect them to clear customs by Wednesday and shipping should start Thursday. There is still another batch on a boat which will arrive in about 2 weeks.

4) What happened to February? That's a fair question. In December we stepped back a bit to take a look at the magazine through our readers eyes. We figured that if there was ever going to be a time to examine the editorial, a few issues into the new pub was that time. So, February is the lost month. The issue is now a March/April. It shipped to subscribers last Friday. May/June is scheduled to hit newsstands on April 28th. Hopefully it will be to subscribers by that time or early. Bi-monthly is every 2 months...and we are committed to being more timely.

5) The subscription renewal letters went out globally...not just to the people who were due. If you call the customer service # and talk to Myra or Aaron, they can tell you the status of your subscription...did anybody other than Valeyard read those letters? I am really surprised that there is not more conversation about what Valeyard wrote about 15 posts ago.

I DIDN'T get one of those letters. I hope that wasn't a sign of something bad. :)

I am eagerly awaiting the next issue and am really excited about the prospect of getting those MGM movies included on the future DVDs. I guess this is what was meant by that promise (in the old, now closed thread) of better films being included on the disc. Frankly, I'm surprised that such a deal doesn't cost so much money as to make the publication unprofitable, but I'm VERY happy that we'll get these movies (and others like them).

I'm sure this was the idea, but I'm willing to bet that a lot of the nay-sayers will subscibe to this great magazine when the DVD includes movies people are familiar with.

Thank you, TotalMovie for keeping us constantly informed on the status of the magazine and the subscription offers. I, for one, really appreciate the lengths you go to in order to keep us happy. :)

-Kelly

No one reads my posts. :(


Looking forward to those MGM movies.


Andrew

attn: mr. totalmovie
 

well it's been about 2 weeks since i got the free dvd player. i have tried everything in terms of using the set-up options and i still have a crappy picture. but excellent sound. you said to call up arron to get the problem fixed but i was wondering if you can tell me what will happen. im sure i'll be told to send back the player but in main problem is that i was never told the truth by arron or maya when i called before , it was just a big waste of time.

so far you ( mr. total movie) seems to be the only person with correct info and prompt answers to our questions comments. i do not want to send this player back and then have to start up the games with those 2 ( arron & maya) and the invisible supervisor ( amanda) . do you know if i will be shipped a replacement player asap or will it turn into another "checks in the mail " type deal. i and my fellow subscribers have been very forgiving for all the screw ups totalmovie has had. im going to call today . i was hoping you could follow up with my return since you are the only credible source of info at total movie. heres my total movie subscriber number# 10314466. please let me know the date i'll be getting the working player. i'll call today around noon please post any info you have for me here. thanks
steve hughes (aka jth1106)

I'm really looking forward to Wings of Desire, Malice, Species I & II. Are those going to be the flip-side movies after Omaha? Also, do they have special features?
Sounds really great! I can't wait for the March/April issue and the 40 DVD movies :)

Steve, sounds like your DVD player is to be scheduled for pick up on Monday. When it gets back to TM's office, another one should be shipped out to you.

skywalker - May/June will be another indie film...a little gem called called Scrapple. The MGM movies are to begin following that. Can't answer the special features question yet. Though we are hopeful that they will include some special features. As soon as I know more I will let you know.

Kelly W. - I can't tell you how much I appreciate your copying my posts to the Home Theater Forum. With all the bashing that goes on in online forums it is really, really heartwarming to see you practicing some of the helpful humanism that the web was originally built upon. I have to say, your actions have been the coolest, most positive thing that I personally have seen any of Total Movie's subscribers do for the mag...Your last name is Wouters correct? I just extended your subscription by 3 issues...so now you have 6 more after the March/April to look forward to.