Ok it just finished rendering and has been uploaded.

The VOOM CES Demo is now online for your viewing pleasure.

See it at http://www.satelliteguys.us/2005ces/ (And if you can make sure you visit some of our sponsors on that page) :D

Remember again that this demo is coming off an actual DVR 580 NOT a computer as we have seen before. :D

Enjoy!

Doesn't come up for me. I'll try again later.

I got it just fine .... Thank You Scott.

Got it, stored it on our public directory here at work, sent email to co-workers pointing to the file so they could see the video also.

Just finished watching the vid. This thing is going to be incredible. Can't wait to get it. Would love to be a beta tester for this thing.

GO Voom!

I Want My Voom Dvr Now....!!!!

Wow! I take one...thanks

Worked for me now! Very informative. I want it! Thanks Scott.

That guy must not speak publicly for a living, so boring to listen to...

Very informative, but how the heck is this thing going to be networked (i.e. what's a dongle)?

...but how the heck is this thing going to be networked (i.e. what's a dongle)?Not sure which way VOOM will decide to go, but here is an example of a USB-to-Ethernet dongle:
http://www.mcsx.co.uk/shop/images/usbnet.jpg (http://www.mcsx.co.uk/shop/usb-ethernet-adapter.htm)

Since the DVR has USB 2.0 ports, 10/100 Ethernet should not be a problem.

Very informative, but how the heck is this thing going to be networked (i.e. what's a dongle)?a USB to ethernet converter that plugs into the usb port most likely. Or a USB to something else maybe COAX. Im all setup for ethernet though. Will have to put the one of my xbox's onto wireless though.(usually called a dongle because it looks like a tiny box with a small usb cable as a tail).

If existing recievers do not have to be replaced then their USB ports must work already. Or just need a software hit?

a USB to ethernet converter that plugs into the usb port most likely. Or a USB to something else maybe COAX. Im all setup for ethernet though. Will have to put the one of my xbox's onto wireless though.(usually called a dongle because it looks like a tiny box with a small usb cable as a tail).
I'm wondering if it will support usb to 802.11b or 802.11g wireless ethernet. The tivo units support the 802.11b, but it would be great voom could support 802.11g (which is the higher speed home wireless networking). I have the g basestation from Apple, but having a b device in the network slows all the g devices down to the b speed (b=11Mb vs g=54Mb). You can't even buy a usb to 802.11b unit in best buy anymore, because all they sell or the 802.11g units.

A dongle is not just a conversion box. "Dongle" usually implies proprietary decryption with a serialized key, unique to each licensed user. Dongles were common for unlocking desktop software and preventing pirated copies from being usable. A dongle would ship with a licensed software package. You would plug the dongle into your PC serial port and the software would confirm that a valid dongle was plugged in before the software would do anything useful.

If Voom is going to make serious use of dongles, it could mean that you will be issued a serialized dongle in order to make Voom's data stream usable.

You are talking about a completely different type of dongles (cryptographic tokens). There is no need for those - VOOM has smart cards already!

Thanks guys. This is great news! I'll be ready for one in March. He didn't say anything about archiving to different media. This, I guess, wouldn't fly with content provider's copy protection desires. Still, it wouldn't take me long to rack up 50 hours of HD and need to find more space-without another DVR. He also said that Rainbow 2 would be coming online in March but didn't say anything more than the "capability" of 70 nationwide HD channels would be there-not that that added capacity would already be occupied with new programming. Still, I'm stoked. :D

I was just watching the VOOM DVR demo and I heard the magic word..."buy". If you recorded the demo video, it is approx. 6:55 into the video.

OK I am sold where do we sign up for it...

The mentioned the networking through the USB dongle. I'm thinking it would almost have to CAT5, reason being you have to have one COAX cable for the sat service and a secont CAT5 jack for networking with a hub somewhere. If it's COAX then I would think you'd have to have two COAX connections to the box, one for sat one for the network with one of those COAX going back to some coax/ip/router. The COAX would be easier for an installer to run but seemes like a nightmare of cables. Just have to see.

But I predict it will come in March for the simple fact that the current 1$ install expires March 1st. So I may have to jump soon.

Sorry, I'm not impressed. Also, if they don't know the networking method 2 months before it's supposed to ship, it not gonna work right right away. I can't wait to see the uproar in March when the schedule has slipped. :p

I have a question about the installation of the DVR.
Would we get to do it ourselves or would an installer do it? If done by an installer will he also run the cables needed to network 2 or more voom boxes and would this be covered under the basic installation or would we have to pay extra for it? And will the dvr need another RG6 coax from the dish?

I was told that if you dont need any new boxes and such they would ship you the box and not go through installs inc.... I specifically asked if they were going to have a program w/o installs inc and he said yes.

Granted things could change.

First of all, thanks for the effort in posting the CES DVR Demo video.

It leaves as many questions unanswered as it answered, tho; in fact, I have to say I was disappointed at the lack of hard hitting questions from the audience. What a bunch of wusses!

I'm excited about the DVR, that's for sure. I think VOOM is foolish for not running teasers on its HD promo channels -- very basic teaser for now and more detailed previews as the release date nears -- just like Hollywood does with movie releases.

If I can lease the thing I'm in. If I'm forced to buy DVR technology hardware without HDMI output that will be severely outdated in other ways in a matter of months with no resale value, they better offer up one hell of a good price -- like $99 with free installation and a 12-month committment.

With the introduction of the additional HD channels at the same time as the DVR release, VOOM has an incredible opportunity to capture a much bigger chunk of the market. I just hope they don't blow it by missing the March release date, shipping a buggy product, expecting folks to shell out hundreds of dollars or not including network channels in their 70 HD lineup (getting stuff through the off-air antenna is not possible for many folks).

March is make it or break for VOOM.

You are talking about a completely different type of dongles (cryptographic tokens). There is no need for those - VOOM has smart cards already!
Ahh but if i get that data stream running over my network I could sniff and capture the packets?

Ahh but if i get that data stream running over my network I could sniff and capture the packets?

Will you be able to decipher the encryption? :)

If I'm forced to buy DVR technology hardware without HDMI output that will be severely outdated in other ways in a matter of months with no resale value, they better offer up one hell of a good price -- like $99 with free installation and a 12-month committment.Thats rich. HDMI is basically a gimmic and of no real purpose. And if it ever combines audio and video well One can accomplish the same thing by using some wire ties to attach a tiny toslink cable to their DVI cable. DVI is all it needs. The Video signal is no "better" through HDMI than it is DVI.

Sorry, I'm not impressed. Also, if they don't know the networking method 2 months before it's supposed to ship, it not gonna work right right away. I can't wait to see the uproar in March when the schedule has slipped. :pThis thing has already been running on Cat5, Coax and twisted-pair phone line. I'm sure the hold up is between VOOM and Installs Inc. negotiating installation details...along with bigger dish, MPEG-4 modules, etc. However, I too am surprised the physical layer is still up in the air at this point in time. :confused: I'm sure the mods are busy trying to find the answer.

Hey, Scott,

Thanks for the video and all the effort your team puts into satguys! Now we may have to decide whether or not to get a DVR. We've lived without one but many good reasons for having one have been posted on the VOOM/Yahoo forum.

Watching HDTV under cold mostly cloudy (snow promised!) Seattle skies, Gill

Thank You Scott, Great Job.
He did say March but did not say what year. I am still apprehensive, I will believe it when I see it available on their website. I currently had the SA 8300 DVR for cable installed that has dual tuners, functions similar to the voom dvr minus the networking and records HD content. Just being able to record HD content is great.
If Voom releases the HD DVR with networking functional in march and the added channels are of quality content they just gained another subscriber. Still suffering with cable.
Do you know what the location of the second satellite is ? The first thing that grabbed my interest in Voom other than the HD Content was the satellite location Between 60-70 degrees west longitude. This is the only viable satellite content provider that I can use due to tall trees in my area.

72 degrees is Rainbow 2 (or what they are calling Rainbow 2)

Sorry if I'm a little slow on the take but is the USB/Ethernet network connection we are talking about a wired or a wireless connection? In other words, do I need to plan on having the ability to connect an actual wire from my HDTV to my other two tvs?

yes... ethernet or coax.

thanks, probably obvious that this is a wired connection to everyone else in this thread but me...

it would have to be because only the newest wireless 802.11g (which means you would need a fairly new hub/router, and many people dont have one) could support HD streams... there might be some sort of wireless adapter but it wont be on launch.

You can always get a wireless 11g bridge. Doesn't matter then, becauase Voom will think it's wired.

What are they doing to "upgrade Rainbow 1"? Is it the MPEG4 upgrade, or something else?

What are they doing to "upgrade Rainbow 1"? Is it the MPEG4 upgrade, or something else?
They have new encoders that get a 5-10% better compression on MPEG2. They have been testing and tweeking them for about a month now. That is the purpose of channel 700 vs 999. 700 is on the new hardware as well as HGTV and FOOD. If/when they roll the rest of the channels to the new encoders has not been announced. They may have already done it and not told us. The only way to tell is have software prior to 7.26 and notice some channels don't display. Nobody has squawked during an install that they cannot see 1/2 the lineup, so we can assume the rollover hasn't happened yet. Flushing the supply pipeline is the most likely cause for the upgrade not happening already.

Someone said the MPEG4 is running on a test channel. Unfortunately, only silent beta testers would be able to see that currently, so we don't have any real details on that. It would give about 40% better compression than the standard MPEG2.

Does anyone know what if any effect using a homes existing coax would have on a person using a cable modem?

They have new encoders that get a 5-10% better compression on MPEG2. They have been testing and tweeking them for about a month now. That is the purpose of channel 700 vs 999. 700 is on the new hardware as well as HGTV and FOOD. If/when they roll the rest of the channels to the new encoders has not been announced. They may have already done it and not told us. The only way to tell is have software prior to 7.26 and notice some channels don't display. Nobody has squawked during an install that they cannot see 1/2 the lineup, so we can assume the rollover hasn't happened yet. Flushing the supply pipeline is the most likely cause for the upgrade not happening already.

Someone said the MPEG4 is running on a test channel. Unfortunately, only silent beta testers would be able to see that currently, so we don't have any real details on that. It would give about 40% better compression than the standard MPEG2.
Selling it!!! :mad:

With the max bandwidth of 1080i at 19.2 Mbps, wireless options are limited. B is too slow at 11 Mbps max, A has too limited range (54 Mbps max, falls off fast), G is fast enough within 20-30 feet (54 Mbps max, 24+ Mbps) but beyond that the bandwidth shrinks quickly (18, 9, 4.5, 2 Mbps), useless for HD data. Also, even the best wireless G routers and cards have fairly wild fluctuations in signal strength from very good to poor from the same location in the space of seconds.

Pre-N/Super G might be an option, with max bandwidth of 108 Mbps, the main benefits are throughputs of 35+ Mbps at 200 ft. Also, with dual-antenna reception/transmission, it is less susceptible to fluctuating signal strength.

David

With the max bandwidth of 1080i at 19.2 Mbps, wireless options are limited. B is too slow at 11 Mbps max, A has too limited range (54 Mbps max, falls off fast), G is fast enough within 20-30 feet (54 Mbps max, 24+ Mbps) but beyond that the bandwidth shrinks quickly (18, 9, 4.5, 2 Mbps), useless for HD data. Also, even the best wireless G routers and cards have fairly wild fluctuations in signal strength from very good to poor from the same location in the space of seconds.

Pre-N/Super G might be an option, with max bandwidth of 108 Mbps, the main benefits are throughputs of 35+ Mbps at 200 ft. Also, with dual-antenna reception/transmission, it is less susceptible to fluctuating signal strength.

David

I have an airport basestation on the east corner of my house in the upstairs loft, and I have an airport express on the south east corner, downstairs in the media room. Together, they give me full coverage in the house (1600 sq ft on 2 floors). I have a tivo networked wirelessly by connecting it to the airport express with an ethernet cable, from a dlink usb 2.0 ethernet adapter.

Later when the dvr comes out, I intend to add an ethernet switch to the airport express and connect both the tivo (and I intend to get my xbox back in the network) and the hd dvr up for a while until I prove things can work, then I'll pass the tivo to my dad.

So even if the hd dvr doesn't offer wireless out the door, I can rig wireless (I'd sure like to be beta testing the hd dvr right now! hint hint, anybody from voom reading!).

I'm operating at the 54g level. I have no 11b devices to bring me down on speed, so my network is set to 54g only. I have 2 Macs and an XP PC gaming rig running on the net. I'm running tivo to go on the pc, and have already transferred 2 2-hour movies (the farscape final episodes) up and burned them to DVD with fair results. How can I determine the bandwidth used by the tivo 2 go transfers? I didnt' really time them as I left and came back, but they didnt seem to take to long. I record on the tivo at high quality. The movie files were in the neighborhood of 2GB each, I think.

Is that 19.2Mbps uncompressed bandwidth, or compressed? Maybe with MPEG 4 the transmission size of an HD channel will be smaller?

Well well here comes the DVR promises again!!!!!!!! we are going to have a DVR by the end of this month, PLUS 70 new HD channels, A N D the company is going to flip the ON OFF switch to OFF NLT 31 march 2005.... Very interesting, I have been VOOMing since FEB 2003 and I had seen pictures and read many articles in many magazines and talked to MANY VOOM CR folks and had a DVR promised to us VOMMERS to be out since June 2004, and about every 6 months since then, and I have not seen crap but a lot of BS from the company that treats us like blind step foster children... I hope VOOM sticks around and we do get allot more HD we need it and it bad. We are soooo far behind the rest of the world.. It really is bad that it is an OLD man like MR Charles Dolan, to see the the future and all the rest the A-Holes that run cable and satallite do not give a damn they just want to feed us 480P crap and fill there banks accounts full with our money!!!!!!!

Thanks Scott! Yeah, I want one of these...as soon as I can get one.

that is going to be cool! Can't wait for it to come out.

OK, after watching that demo, I want one bad! I really hope Voom can survive long enough to get this DVR out.