Latest News Updates Summarized

[IvoGrijt]

April Summary, click to open

2020-04-30

@Philips_Support_N

We just had a conference call with our forwarder and we discovered that they were lying on some points, some other points are right:

For the previous shipment ( List 2 ):

• Flight departed on 11th of April
• Arrived the17th in Belgium, blocked for 1 week in Belgium for custom clearance
• 27th: released from customs
• 28th: arrived in Germany warehouse
• 29th: DHL/UPS finished pick up the devices
• 30: finishing scanning product
  So today, our forwarder told us that we will be able to track devices, already more than 700 devices can already be tracked online. UPS/DHL are scanning it now. Some people can already see their shipment moving. Also for people outside of EU in this shipment: same, scanning now in HK

Then for blocked countries:

• here is the official statement from the delivery companies (will send later today, waiting for it from the forwarder)
• we are checking with other partners (SF EXPRESS…)

New 1624 ( List 3 ):

• Flight booked for the 10th of May

We asked our forwarder to tell us EVERYDAY the status of the shipment.

2020-04-29

@Philips_Support_N

Answer from our forwarder for the previous order (list 2):
“Europe’s available online today at 2020-04-29T17:00:00Z, UPS and DHL. Other countries should check online around 2020-04-29T11:00:00Z”

@Philips_Support_N

Concerning the 1624 pieces (list 3): our forwarder just told us that they are pushing to book the flight: but impossible to get a flight before the 1st of May

2020-04-28

@Philips_Support_N

• 1624 new devices have been received by our forwarder.
  Next step: checking all addresses and book the flight.
• Previous shipment: DHL/UPS is picking up today the goods in the warehouse in Germany for the previous shipment. You will then ben able to track your Max!
• 1000 should be ready this week again, we will have more info on thursday/friday
• Holidays in China: from the 1st to the 4th of May. The factory will be closed

@Philips_Support_N

Everything is in stock. The only critical component is the light engine which comes everyday to our factory: 500 today, 500 tomorrow and then 300 a day. Really tough to make this engine due to high brightness for the size. We didn’t plan to have so much issues with this supplier. We are controlling the quantities everyday with him.
In fact here are the main issues we had during this development:

• Light Engine cost: increase from TI in Sept, we lost around 30 USD per device
• Autofocus issues: we managed to find the problem but that cost some delays in January
• Software: issues with Google and Widevine: but that’s done. Our product is pretty stable now and we will release a new super update
• Light Engine production capabilities: the suppliers told us they can provide 5K a week… In October, they even refused to ship us the engine and ask us to pay more. They saw that we were tied up with this Indiegogo project
• Covid 19: that didn’t help at all!
• Customers complaining directly to the CEO of Philips: that is not helping at all, instead to focus on production we need to focus on those cases

@Philips_Support_N

something we will do at the end of the campaign: a recap on all positive and negative points

2020-04-27

@Philips_Support_N

Hello, just received an email confirmation from the customs: they have released the goods 2h ago. Then will be transferred back to UPS and DHL

2020-04-25

@Philips_Support_N

• QC passed for 1612 pieces
• Backerkit List: Here
• This list may change depending on our forwarder analysis (blocked countries…)
• Packaging: starts tomorrow
• Shipment may happen on Tuesday: we will let you know as soon as the flight is booked

@Philips_Support_N

Is the fan noise reduction achieved by software or hardware? Will everybody get this benefit?

It’s done by software, and Yes, everyone will get it with a firmware update.

2020-04-24

@Philips_Support_N

We are working now on the FAN speed in order to decrease the fan noise. We found a pretty good way that will make the fan noise far more silent!

@Philips_Support_N

we will show the list of backers in current batch this weekend

2020-04-23

@Philips_Support_N

It seems we should have more product to inspect (QC) this week.
800 or 900 + 784. for a total of around 1600 pieces. We will tell you as soon as as we start the QC

@Philips_Support_N

we will update the Backerkit list this weekend

@Philips_Support_N

I just wanted to show some examples of the current prices in some countries those days:

2020-04-21

@Philips_Support_N

• 1K new light engines arrived at the factory
• on 23rd, 1K light engines should also be delivered
• After the 23rd: 200 to 300 light engines per day
• This Saturday: 1.5K PicoPix Max should be ready for QC, then packed

@Philips_Support_N

For EU:
The latest shipment of PicoPix Max’s is now in Germany. DHL is prioritizing medical goods… that’s the problem. We are in the queue. They are at the airport, not cleared by customs yet.

@Philips_Support_N

@Armandos

Did DHL provide any estimate for customs clearance

Yes. next Tuesday 28th of April. They are receiving 5.5 million masks for Switzerland, 2 million for France + other countries + other medical stuffs. They are even blocking masks: in Switzerland, 1M masks are blocked at DHL warehouse since 1 month.

@Philips_Support_N

I would like to apologize for all these issues and delays. I don’t want to apologize for people with a strong language or insulting everyone. But I would like to apologize to all the people that are supporting us.

2020-04-18

@Philips_Support_N

Unfortunately our QC rejected the production last night.
Reasons: over AQL for some buttons functions and some products have an issue with missing screws on casing.
In order not to lose time, we asked the factory to put these aside to be reworked later, and to just continue producing new ones.

In QC management, you don’t check 100% except if you know that this batch contains an issue. You check a certain percentage.
If you are over the AQL, then you reject the entire batch.

2020-04-17

@Philips_Support_N

• 784 Pieces are being prepared for QC tonight
• Within those 784, 21 pieces will replace previous backers that received a defective units
• We will keep you posted if it pass or not
• If it pass, next step is packaging and shipping
• We will also upload the list as soon as the QC is OK

@Philips_Support_N

We just started the QC in our Factory.

@Philips_Support_N

Our QC criteria are divided in Minor, Major and Critical levels.
I cannot give you all the criteria for each one cause we have more than 100 for each.
We Reject if (not the sum of the 3 but only if 1 of them is as below)

• 1x Critical
• 3x Major
• 5x Minor

2020-04-15

@Philips_Support_N

Hello guys, remember that the tracking number can ONLY be tracked when the parcels reach Germany DHL warehouse. Before that, DHL express uses an internal tracking number for the entire container.

Example of tracking progress in January shipment, click to open

@IvoGrijt

In January lots of countries didn’t have lockdown measures and traffic was normal, yet the delivery of the first EU batch took 10 days or so to even change from the “information received” status to “we will be loading your package onto a van for delivery”

So now with the corona lockdowns and delays I don’t expect that to go any faster really

Example of tracking progress in March shipment, click to open

@anatole

here is my status so European backers can know what to expect once the projector is shipped:

DHL
Tuesday 14.04.2020

• 23:26 Local time | The shipment is being prepared for delivery in the delivery depot France

Friday 10.04.2020

• 16:00 Local time | The shipment has arrived at the parcel center France
• 15:51 Local time | The shipment has arrived in the destination country/destination area France
• The shipment has left the import parcel center in the destination country/destination area. France

Monday 06.04.2020

• 11:56 Local time | The shipment will be transported to the destination country/destination area and, from there, handed over to the delivery organization. Lahr, Germany
• 02:46 Local time | The international shipment has been processed in the export parcel center Lahr, Germany

Thursday 02.04.2020

• 19:55 Local time | The shipment has been processed in the parcel center Köln, Germany

Tuesday 24.03.2020

• 18:07 Local time | The instruction data for this shipment have been provided by the sender to DHL electronically

LA POSTE (French mail)
Wednesday 15.04.2020

• shipment is on our local platform that serves your place. We are setting up the delivery.

Friday 15.04.2020

• shipment is on our platform, to be delivered asap
• shipment is in France
• shipment on our platforms, to be delivered asap

Monday 06.04.2020

• shipment left origin country and is on its way

Thursday 02.04.2020

• shipment dropped in sorting platform

@Philips_Support_N

@IvoGrijt

@Philips_Support_N: good morning. Can you please give an update on:

1. Replacement unit availability and process after shipping back of defective unit has completed.
2. Any progress on countries not serviced at the moment by main shipper.
3. How can backers whose perk got sent back after failed delivery attempt(s) arrange for it to be returned, do they have to start up the process or will you guys contact them automatically to reschedule delivery to a new / proper address?
4. Any other timelines or plans, as thin as they may be, regarding production, shipping, and the distribution of the units over the different countries?
5. Anything else you can share that’s of general information to the backers?

1. After shipping back your defective product, they will land to HK warehouse. From HK: collected to Shenzhen for tech check. In the meantime, we had a new device to be shipped on the next batch.
2. Ongoing: we unlocked HK and Taiwan already.
3. We will take care of it, if it fails twice, we are not shipping back because it costs a lot. We contact the backer.
4. We should have 600 pieces on Friday for QC. Then we will receive 1800 light engines on 20th. The production will accelerate as we will receive 300 engines every day.
5. The plane for EU (1732 pieces) departed on the 12th of April, landing in Belgium for customs inspection and then on to Germany.

@Philips_Support_N

@IvoGrijt

Can you clarify #1 by explaining how these owners will be notified of being in a batch, tracking numbers, etc.? Will that happen in the same sort of lists as recently, through Backerkit, or just email only?

We will post every time the backer numbers here for the shipment, they will also receive an email from backerkit

@Philips_Support_N

Some people have asked before why we are not using an automatic system for shipping. It’s because 65% of backers made a mistake in the address, zip code, or use PO BOX, sometimes a mistake in the number… So every time we ship, we take time to check EACH address on Google to be sure it exists.

@Philips_Support_N

This is the total number of backers, not projectors. Some have 2, 5, or more units in their pledge.

@Philips_Support_N

We have sent around 1000 to 1500 per week except last week cause the factory workers were on holidays.

@Philips_Support_N

@IvoGrijt

Another question @Philips_Support_N: how is the support team handling PPM related requests, are they staffed enough to cope, what are the quantities of mails received, and what can backers expect as turnaround time for non-automated replies to inquiries?

Do you have an overview of the distribution of mails they get in percentages of:
Tech support related, refund requests, status update requests, address change requests, defective return & replacement mails, other categories?

I ask this as one of the often-heard complaints / laments is that people mail to but get no personal response from the support desk after an automated reply. If you can share this information with us it might paint a picture of why things aren’t flowing so smoothly in that regard or perhaps show that they in fact are.

Overview of support requests so far, click here for a better view.

@Philips_Support_N

@IvoGrijt

Is the supportdesk staffed enough to cope, and if not, will there be changes to this in the foreseeable future?

Do you also have a breakdown with the categories of content, eg.Tech support related, refund requests, status update requests, address change requests, defective return & replacement mails, other categories?

No those information are too deep. We cannot give you such details as our support is also linked to other goods, and not only the PicoPix Max. And yes there is a team dedicated for that.

@Philips_Support_N

we are uploading now 401 new tracking numbers! These are for shipments going to the following countries:
Switzerland, Canada, Estonia, Israel, Korea, Lao, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Turkey, UAE, USA

@Philips_Support_N

• We just sent 14 new pickup labels for the people waiting to replace their defective products.
• Totally: 118 labels have been sent to backers with a defective devices. Still 40 are being managed and need a return label
• Around 45 have not been picked up (some backers never replied)

@Philips_Support_N

Here is, by country, the list of how many backers we already shipped to (SHIPPED), how many Backers are ready to have their perk shipped to them (need to be manufactured and shipped) (Ready to Ship), and Blank (need more info, backer never replied to Backerkit survey…)
NOTE : you need to click on the image to have it expand to the full image that was posted, the first image has all the countries up to China for instance.
Ready to Ship means that we have all the information needed to ship to those backers, but not necessarily have their perks ready just yet.

2020-04-14

@Philips_Support_N

• 400 products ready for QC since yesterday (Monday the 13th)
• We will receive 1800 engines before the 20th and then 300 Light Engines (the most important part of the projector) after the 20th of April. This pieces is the most strategic and difficult to do: very tiny but powerful
• for countries we removed for the list: we are finding another way to ship
• HK and Taiwan should be shipped those days. We were waiting for the tracking numbers, but are uploading 114 tracking numbers for HK now

Also: as usual we are not answering about one to one question for shipment

@Philips_Support_N

For HK, customers should receive their emails now from Backerkit

@Philips_Support_N

@Paul_Lockett

A couple of production questions.

• How many engines/light engines do you have on hand?
• is there any risk of delay to manufacturing because you are short on parts for the product.
• what is the estimated output per week if all parts are available?

1: 400 then 600 will come before the end of this week
2: yes, if the supplier cannot deliver, we cannot manufacture
3: we cannot say per parts: we have ALL the parts in stock except the light engine which comes day by day

@Philips_Support_N

@aero

What about other 1500 required Light engines, do you already have it at hand or you would need to wait for them before QC?

we need more than 1500: 8000 !
This light engine is specific to us, very small and powerful, there is no stock and only 1 supplier able to do it. It’s a very difficult process also and they cannot make 1000 a day. in Oct '19 they produced 3K in advance and since then producing them just for us.

2020-04-13

@Philips_Support_N

we just uploaded 157 new tracking numbers for NETHERLANDS

2020-04-10

@Philips_Support_N

Just as as example, here are the current cost for the countries we removed for the moment (we are trying to find a way for those ones, also to take on our margin to still ship, but the delivery lead time is slow):

Some of you paid 29euros, some of you paid 0. Today our average cost of shipping is around 58 USD worldwide.
Concerning product pick up: we found out many customers didn’t send their devices even after sending them the labels. Some of you already shipped back, we received some in our HK warehouse and we programmed their new device for the next shipment. As soon as we receive the defective product, we are shipping a new one in the next shipment.

Another info: for people saying that DHL is still working on those countries: yes they are. But not for special goods. If you have a LI battery, and with the size/weight of our parcel, + the fact that we need to handle the VAT (Yes a lot of you didn’t pay the VAT in some countries outside of EU ) DHL is, in some countries very slow or stopped to deliver.

Refund: Yes there is no possible refund anymore (before shipment), we already bought all the necessary components. But if a client doesn’t want its product after receiving it, we can for sure refund him during 30 days. On Indiegogo, the client can ask for a refund before shipment for around 14 days after purchase. Then Indiegogo blocks it.

Production will restart tomorrow after their holidays.

Also: a part of the tracking numbers will be delivered today (info from our forwarder)

We have the day OFF today and Monday. Answers by email are expected to be a bit slow.

@Philips_Support_N

There is a reason behind the refund policy. If you purchase something on Amazon and that the product is on the logistic side, you can’t stop the delivery. if you purchase a good on other Indiegogo campaign, you can’t even ask for a refund. Some other campaigners are even refunding 6 months or 1 year after. If you purchase a good on Internet, some companies won’t allow you even to modify anything after you clicked on PURCHASE.

@Philips_Support_N

we found a solution for Taiwan, HK and China. We are working on the remaining countries

@Philips_Support_N

We just received 1540 tracking numbers. We will upload them in the backerkit this afternoon.
The rest will come later

@Philips_Support_N

Concerning the 1540 tracking numbers and as usual, please be patient until you see them inside DHL tracking system.
Have a Great Easter day and take care!

@Philips_Support_N

We just uploaded 1540 tracking numbers on BackerKit

2020-04-08

Game Streaming Platform

2020-04-07

@Philips_Support_N

we are pushing our forwarder to give us the tracking numbers for the new orders.
Sorry again for this delay. Will give you the info as soon as we have it

@Philips_Support_N

• the 2370 pieces are booked for the 11th flight
• Tracking AWB will be provided before the end of this week

2020-04-06

@Philips_Support_N

The 1170 and 1200 pieces are still waiting for the flight confirmation. We will keep you posted as soon as we have some news

@Philips_Support_N

Here is the link (updated file: we removed the country where DHL service is stopped and added new ones) for the spreadsheet with the 1,170 current shipping and the new 1,200 new ones (flight is booked).

@Philips_Support_N

The factory workers are on holidays since Friday to tomorrow morning.

2020-04-03

@Philips_Support_N

• 1170 order: still waiting for the flight info. We also needed to change 200 addresses inside this one because backers were asking to move from Office to home delivery
• 1200: flight also booked

@Philips_Support_T

It can happen that while DHL is still working in one of the countries we listed on the DHL Suspended Service list, however, customs or even DHL blocked our product for the delivery as it’s not “urgent”. They prioritized medical supplies in order to fight Covid-19.
We will keep you informed

2020-04-02

https://community.projection.philips/t/how-to-find-your-backerkit-id/5181?u=ivog

@Philips_Support_N

Here is the link for the spreadsheet with the 1,170 current shipping and the new 1,200 new ones (flight is being booked).

@Philips_Support_N

We expect to be and are shipping around 1500 a week, we shipped already around 8090 (counting distributors + the current 1170+1200).

@Philips_Support_N

Sometimes we ship by country and sometimes by backer number. It depends the cost to send the goods. We are trying as much as possible to follow the list. In EU for eg, we cannot send below 500 product every time cause it’s too expensive. This is the reality.

@Philips_Support_N

There are projectors going to saudi arabia in this batch (8 of them)

@Philips_Support_N

We will tell you every week to whom we ship, as usual.

@Philips_Support_N

We just got news from DHL. These are the countries where DHL suspended their shipment due to Covid-19. There are about 187 backers in the current 2270 list. We are looking for a solution for them.

@PhilipsNono

We are now starting the discussion with our Cloud Gaming supplier. We tested the app: no bug was detected on their side or ours. Next step is to test the Xbox Controller (Bluetooth) along with the app and discuss about commercial terms.

2020-04-00

@Philips_Support_N

The 1,200 pieces successfully passed the QC today.
We will share the Backerkit number within today.

@Philips_Support_N

The previous/last/latest shipment is Still waiting for the flight. We booked it last week but still no news.