RED Europe Repair Center

[TATOU]

European center is a good idea.

Because you can't send to US the camera all the time we have a problem.

But doesn't possible to have service information and spare parts for rental company like us.

Customer destroy some cable or plug, and other things.
Meet some problems with blue screen, media not recognize, audio fault,.....

It's impossible for a rental company to send back to US all the time.

Our technical team can't repair it because of no information.

This is the big difference between Panasonic/Sony and Red.



Panasonic/Sony give us full access to their technical documentation and possibilities to order spare partes.

With Red you can't.

This is the black point.

Yoann
Technical team
Tatou France

 

[Nova Invicta]

The guy looking after the day to day stuff at Red Europe in Pinewood Alan Piper is a fantastic catch for Red, Alan started out at the BBC and has worked for both Arri and Panavision he is both very technical and very personable. It is totally unacceptable that cameras have to go back to the US especially as Red has a considerable user base in Europe now the facility should be fully supportive, be able to deliver new cameras (not solely from the US). I agree with Tatou by comparision to Sony, Panasonic, Arri etc if Red wants to remain to be seen as a professional market leader it has to supply professional support otherwise like many Amercian companies it will be one service for the US and a lower one for the rest of the world.

 

[Largo]

Our university would buy 3-6 Reds... but.... unfortunately some (gove) rules say, there must be a german/european service (center).
Im sure Red could sell more in Europe with a servicecenter. Redcams would then also be interesting for filmschools. But at the moment, red ist a no-go.

 

[Jay A. Kelley]

Brent, I didn't want to bash Red, of course : Red did a great job of repair on the camera itself. I'm just saying that there should be different levels of support depending on the situation. If you're in the middle of a shoot, the emergency isn't the same as when you can wait several weeks. If you're renting a Red package from a pro rental company you can obsviously put pressure on them, usually they have several other bodies or/and accessories. The difficulty is to rely on one camera if we don't have enough money to rent a second body just in case. When you're shooting a feature it's reassuring to have a phone number and a name to call in emergency.

For instance, when I bought my HVX200, if the camera is broken during a shoot, the dealer told me that I could have a remplacement camera during the repair (for free): it's nice because you don't have to have everything in double, especially when you don't have a lot of money, just enough for one camera.

I'm pretty sure that some camera owners are in the same situation : if you're a producer/director, when you rent the gear from them, you want to make sure that there is a backup solution in case : so actually it's more reassuring to rent from a company which has at least 2 bodies.

Sure, Stephen, if you have enough money to take a plane to do the repair, that's OK. But in that case you probably have enough money to rent a second Red body.

Things will probably improve with the London center, I just hope it will be fully functional in July...

Please accept my apologies, Brent, if I was too harsh.

Kristin,

Forgive me in that this will seem harsh, but I think it's a fact nonetheless.
If the feature is that important, and you must have piece of mind, then, in my humble opinion, you should not be looking to the bomb squad or a rental house, but to the checkbook of your investor.

Get more money and rent a second body.

Now if there is simply NO MORE money, then you and those paying for the feature must accept the fact that you have chosen to shoot the movie at a considerable risk. You have the power and choice right here and now to either say, 'No this is too large of an investment to take this kind if risk, we're gonna need some more funds to protect ourselves" or "Screw it, we'll just be careful and see what happens".

Either way, the choice is yours to make. But the resonsibility for that choice cannot be laid off on a rental house or Red customer service, or even customs.

I'm sure you already know all this, but from your posts, it sounds like you need a friendly reminider. Shooting low budget features is risky business.. Sucks, but that's the way of things.

My mom would always say: You don't have a money problem, you have an idea problem. Perhaps work out a couple of "Free RED trades" with other owners in the area.

Jay

 

[Liam Hall]

Kristin,

Forgive me in that this will seem harsh, but I think it's a fact nonetheless.
If the feature is that important, and you must have piece of mind, then, in my humble opinion, you should not be looking to the bomb squad or a rental house, but to the checkbook of your investor.

Get more money and rent a second body.

Now if there is simply NO MORE money, then you and those paying for the feature must accept the fact that you have chosen to shoot the movie at a considerable risk. You have the power and choice right here and now to either say, 'No this is too large of an investment to take this kind if risk, we're gonna need some more funds to protect ourselves" or "Screw it, we'll just be careful and see what happens".

Either way, the choice is yours to make. But the resonsibility for that choice cannot be laid off on a rental house or Red customer service, or even customs.

I'm sure you already know all this, but from your posts, it sounds like you need a friendly reminider. Shooting low budget features is risky business.. Sucks, but that's the way of things.

My mom would always say: You don't have a money problem, you have an idea problem. Perhaps work out a couple of "Free RED trades" with other owners in the area.

Jay

One is none

 

[Nikolay Spasov]

CF 16G firmware upgrade

CF 16G firmware upgrade

is it possible to upgrade firmware of 16G CF Cards in RED Europe Repair Center ?

 

[Kristin Stewart]

Jay,

Saying "get the money first, and then rent a 2nd body" is typically the thing I hear everyday from people who never looked for money and tried to do a feature on their own. Coming as a technician is the easiest way, believe me. I have a +20 years experience of production : if I have the money, I go for 35mm, not Red, sorry guys. It's more beautiful, more reliable, easily archivable, etc... And I hire top dops, known ones (at least 4 features under their belt). Not Red alone owners.

When you're renting professional gear, whatever brand, you're expecting some safety and some service, whatever your budget is. Instead of posting endless "things change", 3D things which are obsololete 2 days later, etc... Red guys should really open a Red Europe Center for repairs. Again, even for a simple HVX200, you have a 5 years repair program, with a 5 days turnaround.

Making a movie is always a risky business, whatever the budget you have. Maybe you should try to fund a feature, just to see ? With your own money, of course : if you really think you're talented, put your money where your mouth is. Sorry to sound harsh but I hate teachers !

 

[Alan Piper]

is it possible to upgrade firmware of 16G CF Cards in RED Europe Repair Center ?

The 16GB CF Cards need to go back to the manufacturer via Lake Forest for their firmware upgrade. The guys at LF are co-ordinating the return and upgrade in block batches from there.

Alan.

 

[Ramy]

So, finally is there a repair center in Europe ? Or any agreed company acting as sole representative of RED ?

 

[Brent Carter]

Yes, Ramy. There is RED EUROPE in Pinewood Studios in the UK. Right now, dos upgrade program but is quickly approaching being able to do full service and sales.

BC

 

[Nova Invicta]

Long overdue

Long overdue

Brent
About time the rest of the world often feels second class citizens when dealing with US companies as compared to US customers.

 

[ericyoung]

Yes, Ramy. There is RED EUROPE in Pinewood Studios in the UK. Right now, dos upgrade program but is quickly approaching being able to do full service and sales.

BC

Hi Brent

Any update on RED Europe Pinewood becoming full service & sales capable?

It'd be so great to just be able to walk in and buy bits instantly!

Thanks
Eric

 

[Tony Lorentzen]

Can RED UK repair broken batteries. Seems like the RED batteries are pretty vulnerable compared to other brands and I'm hearing about a lot of broken batteries - not just due to the connector going bad, but because cells die or the electronics is broken.

 

[Brice Ansel]

Hi Brent

Any update on RED Europe Pinewood becoming full service & sales capable?

It'd be so great to just be able to walk in and buy bits instantly!

Thanks
Eric

I second that, buying accessories at Pinewood facilities would make my life much easier. fed up with the Europeen custom circus.
Brice

 

[Petri Teittinen]

I'm also fed up with fighting with customs. Here's hoping I can buy a camera inside the EU once Scarlet and Epic become available.

 

[Hans von Sonntag]

Can RED UK repair broken batteries. Seems like the RED batteries are pretty vulnerable compared to other brands and I'm hearing about a lot of broken batteries - not just due to the connector going bad, but because cells die or the electronics is broken.

Tony, I recently had a chat with Alan at Red Europe about repairing a red brick. The shipping of the big 140wh batteries needs a special treatment (dangerous goods) and is pretty expensive. Add the cost of the repair and you are better off buying a new one, which again needs the expensive shipment.

In short: You either find someone who repairs you battery locally or you dump it and buy a new one. The new IATA laws made the shipping of 140wh batteries difficult. I would either wait for Epic and the new smaller RedVolts or get a cheap 140wh now by someone else.

Hans

 

[Stephen Williams]

I'm also fed up with fighting with customs. Here's hoping I can buy a camera inside the EU once Scarlet and Epic become available.

Hi,

Remember one of the reasons that RED One is cheaper, because taxes & shipping costs have not been applied. If they were sold in Europe a minimum of 1 year guarantee would have to be provided on everything, plus the costs of shipping, import duties, CE certification & warehouse costs. The Europe prices would have to be higher.

Stephen

 

[ericyoung]

Hi,

Remember one of the reasons that RED One is cheaper, because taxes & shipping costs have not been applied. If they were sold in Europe a minimum of 1 year guarantee would have to be provided on everything, plus the costs of shipping, import duties, CE certification & warehouse costs. The Europe prices would have to be higher.

Stephen

Higher, but hopefully not with the ridiculous £1=$1 exchange rate that seems to be the extortionate norm with other manufacturers! It annoys me no end that the US gets their electronics over a third cheaper than the UK does, and they have to pay shipping, import duties, sales tax, etc too.

 

[Stephen Williams]

Higher, but hopefully not with the ridiculous £1=$1 exchange rate that seems to be the extortionate norm with other manufacturers! It annoys me no end that the US gets their electronics over a third cheaper than the UK does, and they have to pay shipping, import duties, sales tax, etc too.

Hi Eric,

In the UK consumer goods are always VAT included & US prices are always ex Sales Tax. The £/$ is fairly volatile 1.3501 - 1.8344 in the last year. Lower Pay, Lower Rents, way cheaper petrol & economies of scale have a great deal to do with it. Just look at the BIG MAC index.
http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14036918
I notice Switzerland is the most expensive (+68%).

 

[Stephen Webb]

The Red Service Centre at Pinewood has been selling accessories for ages. Just call Alan and ask for a quote. Prices are very reasonable.

No, they don't repair batteries.