When Does a Product Stop Being Useful?

Introduction

As my recent post indicates, I just finished installing the last bit of surround sound in my house.  Its pretty cool when everything is working correctly.  When its not, I can be no fun.  Here are some of the problems I have had with my Sharp Aquos TV / Pioneer VSX-1122K / Roku 2 XS / Verizon FIOS Router (core components for this discussion) setup.  You will note that the Roku, VSX and router are all connected via ethernet cable (i.e., wireless connectivity hasn't been one of my problems).

Problem Discussion

1. Easiest one of the bunch: sometimes the picture from the Roku turns purple.  Basically, everything has a purple hue to it.  This is not solved by pulling out the HDMI cable and resetting the HDMI connection.  Solution: unplug the Roku, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in.  Unfortunately, you have to wait for the Roku to boot up, which takes a surprisingly long time.  It is a good thing that Netflix and Amazon save your spot when you are streaming a movie or show.
2. VSX stops responding to commands sent to it via the iPad app.  Whenever this happens, it will also be unavailable for AirPlay.  Sometimes, we'll live with this problem for a while before its fixed.  If you want to change your input source or volume level, it requires walking over to the island (not in the viewing room) and making the change.  Somewhat of a pain, but can be a useful short-term fix if you want to watch something right away.  There are two potential solutions:
1. Most of the time, unplug VSX for 30 seconds and then plug back in.  Give it a few minutes to find itself on the network.
2. Rarely, doing the above doesn't work.  Then I will unplug the VSX, unplug the FIOS router.  Then plug back in the FIOS router, wait for about 5 to 10 minutes and then plug back in the VSX.  There is probably an easier way to do this (force a DHCP reset for the VSX's MAC address - but whenever I've looked, I haven't been able to figure out which device was the VSX).
3. VSX stops sending video whatsoever.  This was the most troubling problem I've had.  I was quickly able to troubleshoot by switching out the cable from the TV to the VSX and putting it directly into the Roku.  So the TV and Roku and HDMI cable were all good.  Then using the remote on the VSX and getting no video sealed the deal.  The source of the problem was the VSX.  Not good.  Solution: power the VSX down for 30 seconds, then plug it back in.
4. While watching the TV, there will be a quick green flicker across the screen.  I think that this is some sort of HDMI handshaking issue.  Sadly, I have found no solution to this.  It appears to be the fault of the VSX - it does not occur when the TV and the Roku are directly connected.  It has been mitigated with the Roku by setting the Roku to display in 1080p, but it hasn't gone away.  It is tolerable, but still an annoyance.  There is a firmware update that is supposed to improve HDMI stability, but after trying 4 different USB drives (and reading a bunch of forum posts about formatting, etc.), I have been unable to make the VSX recognize the thumb drive.

We make due with these problems, but it is far from an ideal situation.  The primary watchers (myself and my college-age son) are able to deal with the issues when they come up, but both get a bit fatigued.  This leads me into the point of the post - at what point does this setup become unusable?  Generally, when do products reach that point for other people?  I have a few other questions that come along for the ride:

• Why is it that cycling the power fixes 90% of problems?  Shouldn't there be an easier way?
• Why don't manufacturers build in error checking routines into their equipment that recognize the problem and allow for a more elegant fix to the problem?
• Finally, why are user manuals so lame?  This isn't a terribly serious question - I have no hope that they get better.  That said, I think that its ridiculous that the best place to find answers is not the Pioneer website.

So back to our key question for this post.  When is your average consumer done with a product or system (i.e., it has lost its usefulness)?  How much pain can they tolerate in the form of the device or system not working?  What are the key drivers for consumer behavior that distinguishes one set of people from another?  Are there variations in people's expectations for one class of good versus another?

Perfect Product

Perhaps one place we could start it by defining the perfect product.  My definition will start out as follows:

The perfect product is one that always performs the function it was designed to perform

This immediately causes some problems for consumers.  Many don't know how to use a product and will blame the product instead of their own ignorance in how to use it.  While I'm pretty sure that my problems as laid out above are not due to my ignorance, they could be.  But maybe, the perfect product definition should be amended to:

The perfect product is one that always performs the function it was designed to perform in a way that a user will always correctly use it.

User interface matters.  We all know this.  Apps will make it much easier for electronics manufacturers to get this right.  The ones that don't, will disappear.  Is that enough?  Probably, if we were living in a perfect world.  Perhaps we add the following:

The perfect product is one that always performs the function it was designed to perform in a way that a user will always correctly use it.  The product is aware of what its output should be and alerts the user to problems when they occur.

Purple screen - Roku, you should know better.  You should be looking.  Let's go a couple of steps further:

The perfect product is one that always performs the function it was designed to perform in a way that a user will always correctly use it.  The product is aware of what its output should be and alerts the user to problems when they occur, automatically correcting the problem, or as a last resort, telling the user how to correct the problem.

Even so . . .

Even if we are able to make a perfect product, it will likely only be able to evaluate its performance and potentially the performance of its input.  In no event is it reasonable for the device to evaluate the performance of downstream devices.  So, if our purple Roku problem was actually caused by the TV, it'd be unreasonable to blame the Roku for the error.  Nonetheless, devices that are intended to work with others, or in a system, should be as aware as possible of their surroundings.  They should be able to evaluate the quality of their inputs and their outputs.  Perhaps I am intending to watch as show consisting of life on a purple world, but probably not.  I don't think that this too much to ask for.  The VSX should be providing a warning on its LED face saying that the video output has failed, cycle the device.

Enough is Enough

I don't have a good answer to the question posed at the beginning of the post.  I think that most folks will stick with a product if it performs the way its intended 90% of the time or greater for tech-savvy people and 98% for non-tech-savvy people..  At least this is my guess for home electronics.  After that, it just gets to be too much of a hassle.  I think most of the change in behavior comes from "abandoning in place" unless the device is critical to your viewing experience - or is the fault of somebody else - like your cable box.

My system is not currently performing at the 98% level.  I'm living with it, but hoping for more.  Its still useful and sounds great, but I'm hopeful.  That said, I have only one real basis for hope.  Pioneer has released an update to the firmware.  I'm terrified to run it, but one of the stated improvements is "stability of the HDMI connection". The other is "Improve the stability of the NETWORK features".  Both need improving.