Matrox "rebate" plan for Win2K/Marvel-RRG users

[Dr Mordrid]

Here's the plan;

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For Matrox Hardware MJPEG users with Windows 2000 (Marvel G200, Marvel G400 TV, Rainbow Runner G).

As you may know, Matrox recently advised its customers that our internal efforts to provide software support for MJPEG under Windows 2000 have been curtailed due to technical difficulties experienced. While the MJPEG products were clearly sold as only supporting Windows 98 and Windows 95, we have received much feedback from customers who have upgraded to Windows 2000 and are now unable to utilize the Hardware MJPEG capabilities of their card. In an effort to offer some relief to such affected customers, Matrox is putting together a limited-time rebate program for various hardware and software products worth a total value of US $475.

This rebate program is an instant* discount from list price offer available for the following products on Matrox's and Ulead's online store

Product Name-> Discount*-> List Price**

Matrox RT 2500-> -US $125.00-> US $999.00

Matrox Marvel G450 eTV-> -US $ 50.00-> US $230.00

Ulead MediaStudio Pro 6.0-> -US $250.00-> US $495.00

Ulead VideoStudio 5.0-> -US $25.00-> US $89.95***

Ulead VideoStudio 5.0 DVD-> -US $25.00-> US $129.95***

* No mail-in rebates required
** Taxes, custom duties, shipping and handling extra
*** Note that the list price is further discounted by US $ 10.00 if the product is Downloaded instead of shipped. Ulead offer only available at Ulead's North American website but overseas shipping is allowed.

Please note that these discounts are only available to qualified customers, as determined by Matrox. Products offered through this program will not resolve your product's lack of MJPEG support under Windows 2000, but are intended to provide various alternatives at discounted prices.

Further details regarding this offer including specifics on eligibility and fulfillment will be disclosed shortly.

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Dr. Mordrid

[jeepman]

Wow, pretty nice. And to think that my post about a petition drive went so far off topic, but I guess it still worked!

Hehe.

[Dr Mordrid]

This has been in the works since quite a while before the original announcement.

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 18 June 2001).]

[Ansigod]

If this has been "in the works" for so long, I'm quite stunned by the density of Matrox's PR department. They seem to move at glacial speeds.

[moreau]

One other thing, the shopmatrox.com prices are never the lowest in town.

For instance, the G450etv retail can be had for 190-200 dollars. The OEM for somewhat less. The rebate offered by shopmatrox will take the retail price down to what it could be had for on the street, but not less.

=> The reduced price is still greater than wholesale. Wholesale is greater than manufacturer cost. => The "rebate" priced board is still a profit maker.

That is to say, matrox is happy to offer us a rebate that nets them a profit. Not a "here is a board at near cost to appease you".

Hmmm, perhaps this isn't such a great deal after all...

[Haig]

I think what Doc was referring to was the amount of comments we received the same day that we announced dropping mjpeg.

When you are getting comments from angry clients at a consistent pace, anything above 3 days is long. In this case, it was 18 days so it was quite a while.

Haig

[This_Idiot]

Hi Haig, nice to see you.

I have to say that this is more than I expected of Matrox. I hope that it helps make a lot of bitter people think again about Matrox and puts aaome kind of smile on their faces.

I still hope that Matrox can deliver at least one more VT revision for W9x addressing some of the issues that have been raised over the last year. Then we can be satisfied that Matrox HAS fulfilled it's side of the bargain by delivering a satisfactory capture/editing tool for the O/S's it originally claimed to support.

[Haig]

Charles - I would but it's not my place to comment on pricing issues. This is the best package that we can offer and it's upto the people to decide what they want. All I know is that the rebates are on full retail versions, not oem or bulk versions.

Chris - Unfortunately, the current build of video tools on our web site for 98 is the final build. We'll bee releasing a new display driver to match it in order to fix up a few display/game/dvd issues.

Haig

[moreau]

Well, I'm generally not a harsh person, but I'm a little bothered by this "gift" from matrox.

if a discount reseller can buy a retail box card from matrox and sell it for 190 dollars, that means that at most, wholesale is equal to that. But even the most maverick of retailers is going to make, say, 5% on a card. That puts wholesale at 190. If matrox makes 5% over cost, that puts the cost to matrox at about $170. I would put it substantially lower, because I'm sure matrox is smart enough to run at more than a 5% margin. Sudenly, my $200 (post rebate) G450 etv doesn't seem like such a generous offer, especially when it is cheaper down the street.

The point is, to Haig or the Matrox secret police, or whoever is reading this, that I see through your "gift". You aren't biting any bullet here. You are just trying to prevent defectors and entice buyers into your online store (where you make a greater profit on each board sold, when compared to other retailers).


So, this is a profit making scheme thinly veiled as a reparation.

So, I've gone from joyous to insulted in a few short posts.

BAH

[This message has been edited by moreau (edited 18 June 2001).]

[moreau]

Haig, from reading your posts here and over at the offical forums I know you are stuck in the middle to some extent. So, direct these and my previous comments whomever you deem necessary.

But to be perfectly clear: to make this offer "in an effort to offer some relief to such affected customers", where relief means you will sell us a card at greater than wholesale price is an insult. Indeed it is worse than saying "tough, deal with it". It is worse because it is the same damn deal, just repackaged and sugar coated.

Sigh...

[SebastianX]

Matrox keeps insulting its customers, and those who are very stupid will fall into this "rebate" crap. First, Matrox sells a card that is total piece of s**t, that works terrible in Windows 98, almost doesn't work in Win 2000 and for which they offer the lowest support they can (the newest Win2000 display drivers they offer for the Marvel 400 at their site is version 5.20, which crashes Win2000 so bad it's impossible to use. I tricked version 5.52 of the drivers to install under the Marvel and Win2000 never crashes. So 5.52 it's a stable driver for the Marvel and these useless idiots can't modify themselves a couple of lines in the install.inf file to offer better support). But going back to the rebate crap, first they sell this total piece of crap that they say it's intended only for Windows 98 but it works like s**t in W98 and W2000 as well. Then, in an arrogant and very stupid move, they withdraw all support from it, leaving lots of users with a piece of crap in their machines that works terrible and will work that way until they replace it for a video card of a decent brand. And finally, these as***les offer us a rebate to keep buying their crappy products!! How the hell do they have the nerve to do this? Well, stupid question, they're Matrox, so it's pretty obvious. Matrox stole money from thousand of customers that in good faith bought their terrible products and now they want to charge everybody for their incompetence!!! and for what I've read in earlier posts, at a ridiculous price that is about the same anybody can get those products at online retailers!!!
I hope nobody falls for this, this is a very dirty way of doing business, typical of third world countries, not of Canada or the USA.

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Sebastian

[Dr Mordrid]

FLAME ON

I DON'T HAVE TO PRIVATELY MAIL ANYONE TO EXPLAIN MY STATEMENT! PUBLIC IS JUST FINE. HOW ARROGANT....

As for the "MATROX SECRET POLICE" comment....PFFFTTTTTT!!

You don't want to know the translation....

FLAME OFF

Haig is correct. I'm referring to the fact that a compensation plan was forthcoming almost as soon as the decision not to continue development for MJPeg. Almost 3 weeks qualifies as "quite some time" in my book.

As for the other commentaries:

there are a LOT of companies who would have offered NOTHING at all to compensate users for such a problem. ATI, Pinnacle, Iomega etc. etc. for starters have done this nasty and left their user base hanging.

Would you rather have received that level of support or what Matrox has offered?

Jezzz....

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 18 June 2001).]

[frogster]

This rebate doesn't help me much. I just paid >$300 with tax a couple months ago and now i have to pay another $180 if I want to use a matrox capture card that's supported in win2k.

I am looking forward to the release of the g400tv 2k drivers in a couple days. maybe they will work great and i won't mind the lack of mjpeg support.

[SwAmPy]

If you 2 are so insulted by the offer, then why don't you get the ulead rebate?

SwAmPy

[moreau]

Well, Dr., if my issues with this rebate have ired your wrath, I apolgize. The fact is, my beef is with matrox.

As far as the bold face response goes, if you reread my posts in order, you realize that my first response was toungue-in-cheek, as i hadn't contemplated the issue in its entirety. Hence all the smileys and what not.

Now, as I progressed, I analyzed things more fully, I became upset by the offer, and my posts grew more serious. The MSP joke is just a joke from this site, and should be treated as such.

As for my arrogance, please feel free to inform me of what was arrogant, and if I am in error, I will gladly capitulate.

BUT... I won't veer from the topic. I feel this offer is *NOT* compensatory, as the original post offers. That I stand by.