After a bad experience with Amazon’s video download service, Unbox, I wrote up my review called Amazon Unbox Fails to Deliver. Despite numerous emails back and forth it still doesn’t work.

So I thought I would scout around and see what the Unbox reviews have been like, and the outcome is not pretty.

Here’s a few samples from top search results on Unbox Review:

I do not recommend you try Amazon Unbox, and here’s why……Even after it downloaded fully, it wouldn’t play. I tried several times in both the Amazon player and the regular Windows Media Player, to no avail…..

Via CNet Reviews - My Fight With Amazon Unbox

Unbox’s flaws begin and end at the Amazon Unbox Player, which would be described among highly technical types as FUBAR.

Via ARS Technica - Amazon Unbox better left off your box

Amazon.com’s Unbox is a horror show. The Unbox service appears not so much to have been introduced as to have escaped from the laboratory.

Of all the smart and talented people at Amazon, did no one dare say, “Wait, our new service bites! It’s slower than a trip to Blockbuster, more expensive than a DVD, absurdly restrictive on how the consumer uses the movie, delivers lower resolution than a DVD, and requires running a cable from the PC to the TV if you want to watch the movie on something larger than a PC monitor”?

Via CNN - Two thumbs down for Unbox

And there are many more bad reviews floating around just like these. I like Amazon a lot and have even been considering moving Digital Podcast to their Elastic Computing Cloud to improve performance when a slot opens up. However, experiences like this make me think twice. Amazon has always been all about a great user experience and this seems like a major set back to me.

It has damaged my perception of Amazon and I’m sure it has had a negative effect on lots of others. I hope they get it fixed soon.