Problems with my Rocket. ..dead????

[Trevor Meeks]

Wait, so they're basically blaming you for damaging the card? Seriously?

[Alexandre Bouchard]

I'm waiting for a reply from Red.. They said it's not anymore under warranty and ask me 3200$ for an exchange.........

[Tom.Wong]

if it's under warranty why do you need to pay for an exchange? are they claiming you did physical damage to the unit?

[Alexandre Bouchard]

Oups

I'm waiting for a reply from Red.. They said it's

not anymore

under warranty and ask me 3200$ for an exchange.........

[Trevor Meeks]

if it's under warranty why do you need to pay for an exchange? are they claiming you did physical damage to the unit?

Tom, read his post on the last page with a response from RED. I find this quite interesting, and VERY WORRISOME!! This is one of the only reasons I have not purchased a RED Rocket... this kind of sketchy sh*t

"Our technicians completed their evaluation of your RED Rocket and noted the failure was caused by a damaged solder joint interconnection between the heat sink and PCB that was likely caused by excessive mechanical pressure during improper installation or handling.*This is likely the result of torque applied to the board in a bending or twisting motion that separated contacts on the board.*"

This very well could have been a manufacturing defect... instead, RED blames the user for negligent handling during installation. Hmmm... $$$$$$

[Brian Timmons]

This very well could have been a manufacturing defect... instead, RED blames the user for negligent handling during installation. Hmmm... $$$$$$

I truly do understand this concern and hope it's not the case but we might be careful to jump to conclusions.

From my own observations, the cards seem to go out soon after a firmware update but again I wouldn't state this as a fact because I simply don't have definitive proof of that.

There was a thread earlier this year that discussed this issue of failing Red Rocket cards and it did have members from RED stating they were looking into the problem.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthr...w-red-wants-3k


In the spirit of finding a workable solution for both REDusers and RED I ask that someone from RED get involved with this thread and communicate what they think is going on with these RED Rocket cards. At least prevention steps a user could take to avoid possible card failure.

I think the typical RED Rocket owner is a pretty seasoned professional who is quite experienced with installing computer hardware so I wonder what users with failed cards are doing to the cards for the hardware to fail like this.


I also propose a RED armour style protection program for the card with an option that includes coverage for existing RED Rocket owners.

We all know this card is quite important for getting the most out of RED footage and easing the workflow.
This is perhaps the one product outside of the camera that could truly benefit from an extended warranty program and I ask that this can cover existing users.

The $3200 exchange is definately better than buying a new card but that still is a considerable expense.
To be honest, I couldn't afford it thus knocking hurting my production a bit. I'm sure others are in a similar situation.
A paid extended warranty service can help.


At the end of the day these Rocket issues are not good for RED particularly with the misperceptions regarding workflow and for
REDusers who may be on a job and have to deal with the professional and financial fallout of having a card fail on them.

Lets get a workable solution to this.

Brian Timmons
BRITIM/MEDIA

[Tom.Wong]

Tom, read his post on the last page with a response from RED. I find this quite interesting, and VERY WORRISOME!! This is one of the only reasons I have not purchased a RED Rocket... this kind of sketchy sh*t

"Our technicians completed their evaluation of your RED Rocket and noted the failure was caused by a damaged solder joint interconnection between the heat sink and PCB that was likely caused by excessive mechanical pressure during improper installation or handling.*This is likely the result of torque applied to the board in a bending or twisting motion that separated contacts on the board.*"

This very well could have been a manufacturing defect... instead, RED blames the user for negligent handling during installation. Hmmm... $$$$$$

identical response i got : \

[Jeff Kilgroe]

...or it could be that crappy heatsink/fan assembly installed on the Rocket. You know, those tend to vibrate a lot. I know of a handful that have failed entirely. How do they determine if a solder joint fractured due to stress during installation or due to continuous vibration from their own fan assembly?

Tips for those of you with Rocket cards. Make sure your system has adequate airflow across the Rocket and also be sure to keep its fan clean. It's not a bad idea to clean and inspect the insides of your system(s) every now and then.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the fan/heatsink implementation on the Rocket. It's the loudest thing in any system I have it installed in. The Rocket is louder than a Quadro 6000 and about the same, but higher pitched, compared to an EVGA GTX580 Classified Ultra GPU. I think they should have gone with a more ducted design that has more structural mount points and better channeling for airflow. It could have still fit within the single slot design, similar to what nVidia and PNY did with the Quadro 4000.

I love RED as much as anyone, but I think the build quality of the Rocket isn't completely in line with the price tag. RED didn't really design this card, it's based on another product from DVS, the prior generation Atomix card. Which, I'm sure DVS has actually sold fewer of those cards than RED has. DVS offers a 3 year warranty on all their video cards. Most "professional" cards out there on the market have 3+ year warranties. AJA cards are 3 years and Quadro cards all carry 5 year warranties.

[Alexandre Bouchard]

I don't know what to think.... Read the description:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/RED-ROCKET-c...item5649dc86f6

So, 'copy & paste' is the evaluation and the conclusion of the technician...

[Trevor Meeks]

No shit... copy and paste. This really irks me... and further solidifies my concerns about buying a ROCKET.

How this isn't a bigger deal already is beyond me.