Watch Full-Length Videos Online
3 Dec
The commentary on our last posting has been, uh, voluminous to say the least. But things have gotten a bit out of control and the tone of the posts isn’t something that benefits Graboid or its users. We thank all of those supporting Graboid by saying nice things (i.e. most of you). For everyone else, here are the rules:
1. We respond to all customer emails. ALL of them. If you send us an email and don’t get an autoresponder immediately confirming we’ve received your message, then we didn’t get it. Make sure you check your spam folder for the response.
2. If you can’t get ahold of us by email, then by all means post a *polite* comment here to that effect and your concern will go to the appropriate people.
3. For any other posts, if we don’t think they’re appropriate or beneficial to other users, we’ll remove them.
The recent service outages are regrettable to say the least. Graboid doesn’t make a profit from this service (although we’d like to). So the comments implying that we’re taking advantage of our users hurt our feelings. We’ll keep working on making Graboid better, but yelling at us won’t do any good, and neither will demanding that 80 cent refund. We did feel terrible right after the failed upgrade attempt last week, and responded a bit too quickly that we’d have a formal ‘make-up’ of some sort.
We’re spending all of our time creating a more stable version of the software. ALL of our resources are going toward that right now. If you don’t like the software, you don’t have to use it. If you paid for premium service and didn’t get what you expected/wanted, then just let us know and we’ll address your concern.
Thanks for using Graboid Video. We like you too.
37 Responses for "Feedback Welcome, But…"
Thanks again, Graboid for all of your hard work! I didn’t reply during the last posts, as I hate(HATE) fighting of any kind, and find it a very immature way to handle differences. I personally am an unlimited subscriber, and also a new one, having only discovered Graboid last month. All I can say is, this is absolutely the most premium service of it’s kind! It is worth much more than we are paying! I feel sorry for people who have nothing better to do in their lives than to bully and fight others over a few cents. I truly feel that that is sad, and not the way mature, intelligent human beings should behave. Please, folks, appreciate what you have, and suggest ways to make it better, if you want, but belittling their hard work succeeds at nothing.
I love your service. Keep up the good work. And ,Thank you.
Dear Developers,
Bill Gates and Co. have been trying to get it right for over 25 years. Gates started with some one else’s disk operating system.
Programing is complex. It’s like a sand mural – every grain has it’s proper place.
You have an enormous task and just like FidoNet not everyone will be happy.
I see a broadband reception over 125 KB/s on Graboid and I rarely see speed over 25 using torrent software.
The available library is magnificent. You have a great television library.
You began with a vision. Keep with your vison and disregard the miracle-expectors, they subscribe so they can justify complaining about beta software.
Be Good to Yourself,
ywure
Don’t be discouraged by the haters… they will always be there. Your site is great and I will continue to subscribe while the service is still available. I receive 5 times faster download speeds here than by torrent and can always watch what I want WHEN i want.
One suggestion and I think you guys were addressing it is:
If I stream a video there should be an option to save it to your hard drive without using double the bandwidth by having to download it again. Other than this, I have no other major concerns.
Keep up the good work!
[moderator: yes, it's in the next version!]
So, in otherwords, “benificial” meaning that if it doesn’t help graboid look good, then it’ll be deleted. Ladies and Gentlemen, censorship is alive and well.
[moderator: You can say whatever you want. Just get your own blog.]
I think you guys an gals…ae doing a great job….keep the 80 cents , the sheer joy of watching old programs I forgot about or new ones that I wanna…is well worth more than 80 cents. And to anyone who wants to cry moan and bring others morale down should consider this…you are using a beta program…if you are using it free or paying for it…you are using it, so if you went to wal-mart and bought a $10 bag of socks and one of the socks had a tiny hole in it would you return them? If you answered yes to that, then you are a cheap bastard…and need to go somewhere else and look for a service like this…I know you cant so do us ALL a favor and SHUT THE (bleep) UP!! or better yet go buy yourself a pouty doll and sit in the corner with it! I thank you graboid for continuing to bring us the outstanding service and support you have so far and yes I will continue to pay for this service.
I have presented a problem to you via your help and support email address. I did in fact receive an automated response. The automated responce certainly lets us know that you have gotten the email, but it does not answer the questions, or concerns. That was last Thursday, until now I have not gotten an answer to my concern. The concern involved the downloading of a movie. The movie was not the same as indicated on the website. Specifically the movie Sahara from 2005 was the one I wished to get the one I got was Sahara starring Humphrey Bogart from the 1940s. No doubt a fine movie, but not the one I wanted. Are there others who are running into the same sort of confusion?
Joe
[moderator: Joe, sorry you haven't received the final response on your question. Unfortunately, the content itself isn't controlled by us, and is sometimes (infrequently) incorrectly labeled on the server where it resides.]
i love graboid and (bleep) the fcc and the gov to tell me i cant watch a publicly aired show. nbc cbs, and abc will be ok with me watching a show my tivo didnt catch. i love graboid and will continue to use your service. you guys rock and (bleep) everyone else.
I think this site is fantastic iam in the U.K so love this site as i get to watch everything B4 it gets here Yeah Ok is was bad not having it for a day but come on people its not like it was a week or 2. To us loyal users we understand u have to try to keep making it better for us keep up the excellent work. U R THE BEST!!
PLEASE DON’T LET A FEW SPOIL THE AMAZING THINGS THA YOU HAVE DONE! AS I HAVE STATED BEFORE, I AM NOT COMPUTER SAVY SO A SITE LIKE GRABOID IS HEAVEN SENT; THOSE THAT DON’T THINK SO SHOULD REMEMBER THAT EVEN THE PREMIUM PRICE IS BARLY ONE MOVIE TICKET AND POPCORN! SO PLEASE TELL ME HOW YOU COULD FEEL CHEATED? SOME PEOPLE ARE NEVER GOING TO BE HAPPY, THEY KNOW IT ALL AND WANT IT ALL, KEEP YOUR CHIN UP AND MANY THANKS FROM MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS!
I am curious what the new program will looks like. Would you be able to supply some screenshots of the new version?
Thanks,
Kevin
[moderator: We've seriously considered putting up screenshots, but are worried that it will just get people impatient for the new release. We'll consider it again.]
Yes we would all like to see Graboid up 100% of the time but we all know that is not realistic even past the beta stage. Unfortunately I am afraid you will find that there are some people who seem to be unable to go through life without having conflict with everyone they come into contact with over the most insignificant reasons. A check of their “history” would surely show you that everyone everywhere has problems with them. So don’t let a few flaming apples spoil the whole barrel. Keep up the good work. And believe me…deleting offensive posts is not censorship, just good housekeeping
whatever anyone else says about you ,one thing I have to say is that your site rocks.keep it up
I am connected by wireless at an RV Park. I get 54 Mbps signal strengtn yet my downloads are only running at 27-42 KB/s. Should I expect to get a faster download speed?
Also I have selected to play a couple files without downloading them. They buffer completly but then the player shows 0.00 of 0.00 like nothing buffered. Am I doing something wrong? Must I download everything first in order to view it?
Lastly I downloaded a TV season of about 4.6 MB and it would not play so I deleted it. It too showed 0.00.
[moderator: The signal strength has nothing to do with your actual internet bandwidth. Odds are you're sharing the RV park bandwidth with other users and that's why you're only seeing 42 kBps. Use speedtest.com to check your internet connection speed. The buffering and 0/0 problem I don't think I understand - you downloaded a 4.6 GB (I assume you meant GB) file, so you're clearly able to receive content. It sounds like a problem with your VLC player plug-in. Are you using Windows Vista? If so, please refer to this.
There seems to be too much heat developing about the legality of this service. I’ve reread through all the legal mumbo-jumbo and have realized that any one that has a problem with their copyrighted material being accessible through granoid can request to have it removed. With that said, as graboid becomes more well known, and people are requesting their content taken down, what content will we be left with?
I’m deleting everything I’ve downloaded, and discontinuing my service. Sorry, Graboid. You’ve been real fun, and a great asset. I wish I could stay with you, but this seems to be a pretty bunny road. I’m just gonna sit back for a while and see what happens with you.
[moderator: What's a bunny road?]
Keep up the good work Graboid ! For those of us that have tried other “services” out there, I believe we’ll agree that this trumps the rest by a good margin. Just knowing that I can access any of my favorite shows and movies with a few clicks: is refreshing . I am yet to find a software with this much versatility and reliability, even with it’s minor ups & downs…the pros far out weighs the cons.
Kudos !!! Once again.
Thinking about it (maybe graboid found a way around it), wasn’t Napster shut down completely in part becasue they didn’t have the ability to filter out copyrighted materials within their application?
From Wikipedia:
“Napster lost the case in the District Court and appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Although the Ninth Circuit found that Napster was capable of commercially significant non-infringing uses, it affirmed the District Court’s decision. On remand, the District Court ordered Napster to monitor the activities of its network and to block access to infringing material when notified of that material’s location. Napster was unable to do this, and so shut down its service in July 2001.”
Graboid, can you clarify exactly how you are legal.
Is it legal for us to download the content you halep to make available?
If you are investigated, will you turn over our usernames to the RIAA?
I would like to know the answers to these questions before I sign up for your service.
[moderator: What we've been told is that Napster was shut down because they encouraged copyright violation. Same for Grokster. Kazaa was successfully sued because their peer to peer technology required you to share your files. Limewire doesn't have that requirement, so they have not been shut down. Sharing files without permission is illegal. Don't do it. Files on servers accessed by Graboid have been placed there, we presume, by people promoting movies they want to promote. Having permission to post those files is their business, not ours, and not yours.
don’t download just watch.
You people are awesome, and thank you for what you do. The customer service has been excellent for us.
Hey anyone got any suggestions on choosing dowloaded files? Such as the difference between the monster sized ones and the smaller ones? Would like to start seeing some best practice blogging for us new users. Now THAT would be a great blog!
[moderator: What a great idea! I'll start 'Best Practices' posts shortly.]
I have labeled myself a GRABIODIAN!!!!! I get about 1500 – 1900 kb/s on almost every download and have for the last 3 months. I get excited to sit at home again. Thanx Graboid.
Tat one guy rasies a good question though…if for some reason Graboid is investigated will our names be involved? I am a rebel of sorts and I was a proud napster user….it isn’t going to stop me from downloading…but it would be nice to hear some feedback on that….or not…as long as I can keep watching stuff!!!!!
They way I see it, They won’t have to rely on Graboid giving names of it users. Remember, we all pay through PayPal. PayPal has a history of cooperating with criminal investigations.
That is why I would like to know if it is legal for US.
To be honest, I think it’s only a matter of time before Graboid becomes so big, that they can’t be ignored by the media giants. A stink will be made, then we’ll all have to sit back, hold our breaths, and see how all the cards fall.
And for the sake of the paying customers, I hope they’re not running a get rich quick scheme, making money off of their paying customers, while turning them into criminals, and they sit back and laugh because ‘they’re not responsible’ for what we download.
I know, it’s a negative way to look at things, but I’ve looked at line 2 in the EULA, and it does seem to say they are turning us into distributors by using us to provide content to others users.
Brent seems to be making a good point.
Graboid, please address this issue. Specifically, Are we in violation of any copyright laws by downloading copyright materials using your service?
[moderator: We don't check the copyright status of material on the servers the Graboid accesses. It's not our stuff. We're also not lawyers, so we can't give you legal advice. I can state categorically however, that this isn't a get-rich-quick scheme, and we aren't encouraging you to do anything that we believe is illegal. See the new post on legal issues for comments on the EULA.]
I’ve been exceptionally pleased with graboid so far. However, recent comments made here are making me very nervous. I really would appreciate if you would explain the legal aspect of graboid to put us at ease. Thank you.
[moderator: Done.]
Graboid,
Just saying thanks again for the good work I use this service way more than I use my sattelite (yet i still pay for sattelite for some reason, i’ll get back to you on this.) Anyway. I didn’t read all the reply’s so don’t know if it was covered. In your post you said you didn’t profit from the service. That kinda dissapoints me. You need the dough guys. You gotta keep me watching this thing after work. What gives?
Thx
Brian
[moderator: Your concern for our well being is touching. Thank you. Rest assured that though we don't make a profit from this service, we hope that won't always be the case.]
Ok I read some of the reply’s and would like to throw in my two cents. Um hmm geee let me think. WE DOWNLOAD MOVIES THAT JUST CAME OUT IN THEATER. I wonder if that is legal. Hmm probably not. I personally don’t give a crap. Come get me and throw me in jail for a few movies i don’t give a (explicitive) but don’t sit here and act naieve about the whole subject. Go graboid I’m with you all the way while it lasts.
Deall Graboid folk…
It seems to me there is an element of choice involved–one chooses to subscribe or not, and at what level. I have been happy overall with the graboid experience–and it certainly has allowed me opportunities to see shows I have missed (I don’t own a tivo).
When one subscribes to something, you are able to ask clarifying questions about the subscription as well as provide suggestions/comments to make the experience better…and you are also able to cancel a subscription. I agree that some of the comments here seem to be from individuals that may need to “move on” rather than continue bashing this service-oriented subscription.
And then “watch a movie”.” ur still the best Graboid watch out for that claymore”
You could spell it out clearer, maybe more infomation about what actually goes on behind the scenes. I feel that the Number of users you have puts you in a safe position, or at least weight behind this participation. What would be wrong about seeing someone slaving over a hot terminal, beevering away, whips chains, fire and brimstone, or would that be incredably unstylish? u dig? ‘}
[moderator: Are you suggesting we put a webcam in the office? Uh. No.]
It seems to me the moderators at Graboid is mysteriously absent today. Usually they are on top of things, supplying questions to our answers.
Come on, graboid. What’s going on?
Answers please.
[moderator: Moderating is but a small part of what I do at Graboid. Nice to know I was missed.]
Oh, I don’t think you have to worry about people being impatient for the new release. I’m pretty sure we’re way beyond that stag… Do you have an estimated release date yet?
[moderator: We’ve seriously considered putting up screenshots, but are worried that it will just get people impatient for the new release. We’ll consider it again.]
Comment by Kevin — December 4, 2007 @ 9:07 am
I am curious what the new program will looks like. Would you be able to supply some screenshots of the new version?
Thanks,
Kevin
I just joined this website for the unlimited plan this afternoon and I need some help please. I downloaded one movie so far and I can only access it in the program its not available on my hard drive and cant be found. I know it says in the FAQ that they are available to use without the program so Im hoping someone can help me out. I used the goto feature and its not there. Then I tried to download a tv show and it keeps telling me Added to Queue but its not listed and not downloading. Ive been trying to do this for an hour and nothing will download anymore (movies nor tv shows). Im really not trying to be mean here but im paying 25 dollars a month to be able to download stuff and if i cant download anything then i think a refund should be in order.
[moderator: Your file location was set when you first installed and ran Graboid. You can check it by going to File->Preferences in the menu of the Graboid application. It's in the box labeled "download location". The default is C:\Program Files\Graboid\tools\nntp\archiver\. For your downloading/streaming problems, not sure the issue, but you should try restarting your PC, and if that doesn't work, re-install the software. If you're getting added to queue and then it doesn't start downloading, it's also possible someone else is using your account. You can log in on multiple PCs, but you can't actually watch anything on more than one with a single account. If you're not able to use the program, then of course we'll refund you or otherwise keep you happy.]
In the middle of watching film segment Magical Egypt ( The Old Kingdom and Still Older) the VLC media Player stops working. I have tried downloading multiple times and each time I am losing my band width. Other segments Magical Egypt The Temple In Man I have had the same issue. This is my sixth time now and the video stops each time at 0:21:58. Is there an error with this video. If so I would Iike to know so that I do not use up all of my bandwidth. . I am concerned that when issues like this occur I am losing bandwidth when I have to reload programming. Pls advise. My user id is kfoliver.
This is my 10th time trying to contact you. I am not recieving a automated response from you.
[moderator: You can use the graboid community forum to ask other users (and us) for help. It's at http://www.graboid.com/forum. We don't provide the content on servers that Graboid accesses, so unfortunately can't help you determine whether a specific file is corrupted. From what you're describing though, it certainly looks like it's corrupted. You don't mention whether you're streaming or downloading the full file? Some files are stored as multiple clips and VLC doesn't always know to move from one to the next. If you've downloaded the file, you can find it on your hard drive and look for the individual clips in the folder containing your downloads. You can find the location under File -> Preferences and there is a spot where the download folder is specified. If you want to ask further questions on this, please use the community forum. Thanks.]
On most of the downloads, the sound is off track. Is there a way to fix this problem. Thanks
VLC player allows you to adjust audio delay forward or backward. Go to the hotkeys setup in preferences and see what the control keys are.
Why does Graboid not respond to email regarding technical difficulty ????? I have been emailing them for two weeks with no response. If this is the type of service they offer then I will not be purchasing any of their plans. Its ashame I was actually considering paying for their service. I am glad to know that they are not reliable.
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