Goodbye KyLinTV & Call to Action

After half a year of outage (I was a paying customer for almost about 1.5 years), deceptive practices, and no progress from KyLinTV I finally boxed up the Set Top Box (Which isn't free as another person found out, it's on a $198 loan) and sent it back on my own buck.

While KyLinTV was plagued with Mainland outages, DishNetwork and DirectTV were able to maintain service. FTA programming remained available as well. KyLinTV blaming the Chinese government for the outage repeatedly was a poor excuse in my opinion.

The video quality degraded and was never great to begin with. Artifacts, synchronization problems, buffering issues all were never solved and never improved. Comments were ignored and support was slow to respond.

The programming offered in lieu of the advertised channels Fig. 1,2were channels KyLinTV should have been paying me to watch most of the time. It is a issue of taste of course, but I joined for certain channels and was force fed something else. Month after month KyLinTV promised "Soon the outage will be over," but nothing happened. Just more channels that quite frankly sucked and none of the channels returning which they advertise! Customer even posted to this blog stating that KyLinTV wasn't informing them of the outage when they were signing up for new service. Per my advice they called KyLinTV back and specifically asked. Upon this the answer was given that their monthly fee would be reduced and admission of the outage was explained.

Fig. 1


Fig. 2




Ending service was as enjoyable as the past half a year of service. It wasn't. Had to send back the STB, so it wasn't really "Free" as advertised on the very first page of their website. Fig.3,4 Not only that, I had to box it and pay for return shipping. No offer of a return shipping container or anything. Just, "OK, your account has been canceled, just send it back to us."

Fig. 3



Fig. 4



I think the FTC should be alerted to the false advertising that KyLinTV habitually carries out. Maybe if enough people file formal complaints something will be done ;-)

I will keep the blog going for all the KyLinTV customers out there and as a warning to future consumers.

I would like to also extend my willingness to KyLinTV to review their products should they ever decide to want a fair and balanced report to the public. During this whole time I was a paying customer and this blog has recorded the issues, treatment and history of my time with KyLinTV.

I hope that my effort and time can serve as an informational tool for others. Of course, everything I wrote is only my opinion and that may not be valued by all. Nonetheless, I hope that I have helped just one person.

Goodbye KyLinTV

KyLinTV Customer Service EXCELLENT!!

Well, I was having a lot of trouble with KyLinTV the past few weeks. Turns out it was my wireless router was on the fritz. However, KyLinTV was extremely helpful. They were quick to respond to e-mail support requests. They also responded with useful and worthwhile comments. So many technical support centers simply respond with, "Call us." In addition, KyLinTV called me I don't even know how many times trying to correct the issues. They were technically knowledgeable and I can't say enough good things about their support team.

They speak Chinese and English very well and there is no communication problem even during the most technical issues.

Good Job KyLinTV!

Four New Channels on KyLinTV

Four More additions to the KyLinTV lineup! This is great, if they keep it up TV in North America will have as many options as in China!

• ETTV Global - ETTV GLOBAL is a variety channel delivering top rated shows each new season. Programs include drama series, talk shows and miniseries from Taiwan and China. Talk shows and entertainment programs already receive great responses from the subscribers satisfying the interests of Chinese speakers in the United States. ETTV GLOBAL provides breaking news updates including domestic and international coverage. Most importantly, ETTV GLOBAL now broadcasts programs produced from the ETTV America Headquarters located in Los Angeles.

• ETTV News - ETTV NEWS is a 24-hour news channel, dedicated to providing objective, fair and extensive news coverage. The regional news team provides complete coverage of local and community news. ETTV travels nationwide transmitting news - live via satellite. Taiwan's top anchors bring the latest news and current events directly from Taiwan to keep subscribers informed with up-to-the-minute news. ETTV has established cooperative ties with over 20 international media organizations in the US, Europe, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore to facilitate news worldwide with affiliate networks such as CNN, Phoenix TV, BBC, Reuters and ABC.

• ETTV YOYO - ETTV YOYO is a channel dedicated to serve the youngest audience featuring exclusive programs for children up to 7 years old. Unlike other children's channels, ETTV YOYO takes a holistic approach to programming by encouraging parents and adult caretakers to watch the programs alongside their youngsters on a daily basis. ETTV YOYO features DIY educational items and internationally popular cartoons designed for children from all cultural backgrounds. ETTV YOYO has become widely popular and statistics show its ratings have surpassed Disney-Taiwan.

• Sino Vision - SinoVision was launched in 1990 as a Chinese language television program provider serving the Chinese community with locally produced news, and a variety of entertainment programs in Mandarin.
  
  Market Coverage
  · Five Boroughs of New York City
  · New Jersey, Connecticut, and sections of Pennsylvania
  · Long Island, including Nassau County and part of Suffolk County
  · Upstate New York including Westchester

Video-On-Demand Review

Well, I have been viewing a lot of Video On Demand (VOD) with KyLinTV the past couple of days and it really looks great. I must admit that it seems worth the value ($.10-$1.50 US).

Resume Feature

I also really like the convenience of the "Resume" feature. I wish the TV Shows had that same feature. It is a real pain when you are watching a movie on one of the live TV channels and then suddenly either because of Internet issues, power outages or you need to leave and return later that you must restart the show from the beginning. That is where the VOD is really nice, you can stop and resume within 30 days!

Quality

If you have watched the "Live TV Shows," on KyLinTV, there is a noticeable difference in quality. The VOD is much higher quality! Smoother, better video/audio sync and less artifacts than appear in the "TV Programs".

Price

The price is very reasonable. This is especially true when compared to "Pay-Per-View" found on other networks. The prices range from $.10-$1.50 US Dollars per VOD. $.10 is for a special lasting less than 10 minutes, $.50-$.60 for a TV show and $1.00-$1.50 for movies and special shows lasting 60+ minutes. KyLinTV also offers a package which allows unlimited VOD viewing $420.00 US. If you interested in a TV Drama series you can view the first episode of most for free! While this is a great way to hook you into watching that series, it is also a great way to find new shows you are interested in watching. I think allowing you to watch that first episode for free is a great move on the part of KyLinTV.

Programming Selection

WOW! That best describes the selection. There are A LOT of choices, sports, movies, TVshows, specials, etc. The TV shows (drama) are really great! You can find the show you like by browsing KyLinTV's large library of Chinese language programming and then you can choose which episode from the entire series you want to watch. This is a great way to catch-up on missed episodes or just start back at the beginning and watch the progression of the show.
As mentioned earlier, the first episode in each series is usually free so you have nothing to lose by watching just to sample VOD or to see if the show actually sucks or not ;)

Conclusion

I would certainly recommend this feature if you are interested in catching up on your favorite dramas or just watching movies without going to the store or ordering DVDs from overseas.
I will actually be upgrading my subscription soon to the unlimited package.

Subtitle Info

We watch movies in a multi-lingual environment and it would be great to know if the shows and movies (especially on-demand) had subtitles and in what language before watching. Maybe the folks over at KyLinTV will add that sometime soon :) Just a little request...