Perhaps it was naive of Josh to assume that his Vizio Blu-Ray player came with free Amazon.com video streaming. It’s listed as a feature of the player, Amazon is one of Vizio’s “Internet apps,” and the Amazon logo is featured on the product box and on Vizio’s site for the product. All that doesn’t mean that Amazon streaming actually works, though.

On June 15, at a local Wal-Mart, I saw a Vizio VBR-122 BluRay player. Large logos on the box proclaimed “Amazon Streaming”. Knowing that I had an Amazon Prime membership with free streaming, I bought the Blu-Ray mainly for that purpose.

When I got it hooked up and clicked on Amazon Streaming, it just took me to a page that says “Coming Soon” with an exit button. So, despite claims on the packaging, Amazon Streaming did not work on this unit.

I’ve since contacted Vizio through various support channels. Each time I receive a virtually identical response: “We found a performance issue that we’re working on with Amazon; and it’s currently in the final stages of testing.”

Despite my best efforts, they will not give an estimated time frame. Frankly, I feel cheated. They promoted and released a product that was not as-advertised and have failed to provide any meaningful information or options to dissatisfied customers.

PS The online Chat customer support rep said they took the issue “very seriously” and that “Vizio does not cheat its customers. It is the number one TV maker in the US.”

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