Brian's Brain

Mid-last month, I discussed the transition from ROM- and EPROM-based system firmware to flash memory-housed code, and the blessings (and curses) that the migration has created for suppliers and consumers alike. I thought you might enjoy, as follow-up, a truly batty situation that I'm currently battling (note: throughout the entire litany that follows, I did not identify myself as a 'press person'; I intentionally wanted to have a similar experience to the one that any of you would endure).

As part of the debug and optimization of my over-the-air NTSC and ATSC reception situation, I checked Syntax-Brillian's support website mid-last week to see if a firmware upgrade for my Olevia 237T LCD TV was available that might boost its tuners' performance. After punching in my particular system's 'FM' code, I was told that the latest firmware available for my '237-T12' (with 'L' in the third digit of its serial number, by the way, indicative of a LG-sourced panel, for those 'in the know') was contained within a file named 'MDB1_AQ_242T_L_22A.rar'.

The filename suggested a rev. 22A firmware image, and my set was currently running firmware 21B (specifically, MDB1_AQ_242T_L_21B) so I downloaded the proffered file and fired up WinRAR to examine its contents. I was surprised to find only one file, the firmware IMG, inside the RAR archive. Two key items were missing:

• The USB drivers needed to successfully tether a computer to the 237T, and
• An update utility (specifically, MTK_DownLoad1.exe, along with two INI files) to run on the computer in order to manage the erasure and reprogramming of the flash memory inside the display

As it turns out, I already had the necessary USB drivers on my system, from the past upgrade of a ReplayTV-to-DirecTV interface module. But I couldn't find the update utility anywhere on Syntax Brillian's website, and the download links listed within the requisite AVS Forum discussion thread were no longer valid. My first phone call to Syntax-Brillian's support line last Wednesday resulted in a lengthy interrogation of 'just why do you want to upgrade the firmware', followed by a promised email of the update utility 'within 30 minutes'.

Two days later, when the promised program still hadn't arrived, I called back and talked to a different support representative. After a similarly lengthy 'what problems are you seeing that are motivating you to want to do a firmware upgrade' grilling, this person did send me two emails. Unfortunately, although the ZIP attachments had different filenames, they both contained the exact same suite of USB drivers, not the update utility itself. And when I responded via email and reported this discrepancy, the terse response indicated that I'd have to call back again, wait on hold again, and request a tier 2 support representative.

So I called again. And I waited on hold. And I made the tier 2 support request. And I waited some more. And once the tier 2 support person got on the line, I was again subjected to an intensive verbal examination of my need for the firmware update, my qualifications for installing the firmware update, and other relevant-and-not factoids. After about 15 minutes' worth of this run-around silliness, I got a little angry ;-) and demanded that the company either supply the full suite of code necessary for consumers to do a firmware upgrade or completely yank the update image off the webite; as it stood, this half-assed support offering did neither Syntax Brillian nor its customers any good.

The tier 2 support person backed down and promised to track down the update utility and send it to me, as well as to update the website with a complete set of files. To date, neither has occurred. However, if you scroll to page 47 of the AVS Forum thread, you'll see that I've just tracked down the necessary files with the help of my videophile peers.

Granted, Syntax-Brillian just entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, so things might be a bit more unsettled around the company than usual. But the run-around isn't what fundamentally irks me about this situation. The tier 1 and 2 support representatives both repeatedly tried to talk me out of doing the upgrade, regardless of what benefits it might provide to the LCD TV for which I already paid good money to Syntax-Brillian, because (I directly quote from one of them) "if you screw up the upgrade, you'll have to send the set in to us to fix, and that costs us too much money". Which begs the following questions:

• If they don't want consumers doing upgrades, why do they even offer the firmware image file? And conversely,
• If they do want consumers doing upgrades, why aren't they providing everything necessary to accomplish this? By only providing the firmware image file, all they're doing is incurring additional short-term cost, as well as damaging their long-term reputation, as customers like me subsequently call in and tie up support resources.

Grrr...