Mobtv Sg Reader Feedback
The following is a feedback shared by reader Jacky about the Mobtv Sg online video on demand service provided by Mediacorp. If you would like to share your own review (good or bad), drop us a email to mobtvsgfeedback@gmail.com and it'll be updated here.
Why Mobtv Singapore Is Not Getting My Subscription Again (by Jacky Wong)
I was lookng forward to using the service as i'm a regular mediacorp channel 8 viewer and wanted to catch the dramas in the Mobtv Channel 8 session as well as Mobtv Singapore Idol archives. Initially i was undecided whether to subscribe to the service as it cost $15 (at that time) but there was a Mobtv promo code available and i decided to take up the offer and had a free Mobtv trial period of a few days to make up my mind.
To be honest, i really enjoyed the service during the trial period and i decided to sign up for the 1 month package. During the period of first month, i watched Mediacorp shows and series that i had missed due to work. My subscription was over soon after 30 days and i opt not to renew since i had downloaded many Mobtv shows for viewing and could not finish them yet. Then i tried to play the videos of a Mobtv series i had downloaded and realise i could not play it, there was a DRM message. For those that don't understand DRM, it is known as Digital Rights Management. Basically Mobtv was using DRM to controll whether you could view the Mobtv shows. To me, it not only means i had wasted time downloading all the videos (several Gigs in data) that i could not watch, i also had to renew my subscription just to watch them. If i had been told of this before, i would have been less surpised and upset.
I surf the forums of Mobtv and realise this was a common complain by other users of the video on demand service by Mediacorp. It seems that they don't really notify about the DRM issue and the inconviences caused by it to us until it has become a problem and we are left to stumble upon it ourselves. Netherless i decided to subscribe to another 3 months of service because of a promotion offer by Mobtv. Basically i paid $30 for the price of 3 month service since i figured i could finish up some of the older Mobtv series and Mobtv shows in the other sections. Particularlly i was interested in Mobtv Gold as there were old Channel 8 shows in there. This is when i realise two problems, firstly, shows were being taken off due to what become known as licensing issues/ Pardon me, but Mediacorp has licensing issues with Mediacorp? I thought it was ridlciious, and i read the official reply of a moderator on the forum and he said something about Mobtv being a seperate unit from Mediacorp (BS) and hence problems with licensing. I didn't really care, i saw that most people didn't either and were downright skeptical about these responses.
The bottom line was I was expecting new shows and more shows in the Mobtv Gold section. Apparently due to Mediacorp having problems getting license from itself, me and every other subscribers were not getting the content requested so frequently. Also due to the "licensing issues" some Mobtv dramas were expiring, This means again that i was watching a series halfway (15 espidoes) and could not finish the final 5 because it was taken down due to "license expired". Whatever lame stories they are trying to sell, i am not buying it anymore.
The support is terrible as well. Any legit company that cares about customer service should have live human support via phone at the MINIMUM. All i can get is some faceless moderator on a forum telling me about licensing issues and i also saw that the Mobtv moderator on purpose avoide the questions about licensing issues when people actually are skeptical and use point out the flaws in his theories. Several threads are also unaswnered and overall it gives the impression that the "support forum" is simply quite useless.
In summary, Mobtv has lost my business since i come to realise if i am not getting any extra benefit out of it, i am not gonna spend $15 every month. I would rather spend it on Cable Tv such as Starhub or Miotv. Maybe i should just invest in a video recording device and then i can rewatch the shows on my own sweet time. Maybe if i can get Mobtv free i wouldn't mind using it for fun but they don't even give Mobtv Promo code anymore so nvm. I'm sure Mobtv Singapore have enough subscribers who still believe in them and continue paying them. Not me.
