D* vs. V*

[dogbert]

Uhh, try some honesty...

D* is DirecTV. DirecTV would be way better than Voom for programming and signal.

DirecTV will take care of you. Any upgrades will be coming out of THEIR pockets, not yours.

I have V* and D* - Voom for HD (D* has terribly few HD channels) and D* for Sports (V* minimal sports).

V* and D* are equal on signal (actualy my HD channels on D* weather fade before by V* channels do)

V* has much more HD and D* has much more SD content - what you want more is your own decision.

As an 8 year D* customer all I can say is that I have owned 6 D* receivers and 3 dishes. I had to upgrade for local channels and HD, each time I had to pay retail prices for NEW equipment and then sign a new 1 year agreement (on the IRD's that is) for the pleasure. Anyone who thinks they will be upgraded to MPEG-4 for free is being highly optomistic because precident proves the opposite.

 

[vurbano]

IF you want HD picture quality D* isnt even a consideration.http://www.widemovies.com/dfwbitrate.html
Infact it is debatable as to whether or not D* is doing HD at 1280x1080i downrezzing and bitrate reduced. Just take a look at the blocking from the HBO fight this weekend on D*: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?threadid=511789&highlight=hbo These people were hardly moving. I saw none of these problems on Voom.

 

[rkr0923]

lol....imagine that coming from a Voomer.............let's see the one from Doom, I mean Voom

 

[vurbano]

lol....imagine that coming from a Voomer.............let's see the one from Doom, I mean Voom

The above picture came from a D* sub.

 

[rkr0923]

so, I can take any pic from any channel on any provider and make it look like that

 

[Rick4464]

Don't Do It

In my opinion, V* service and equipment sucks. I decided to leave D* and switch to them because of the HD. Prior I was using an OTA to pick up 2 local channels, sometimes a 3rd. The quality with V* was nice, but the HD channels were the same after about 3 days. They do not provide local channels though w/o OTA though. I really didn't care about that, but looking back I realized I should not have gone through with it from my initial contact.

I called the 800 # to get service and gave the CS rep my info. I told him D* installed my antenna on my roof no problem/ no charge and CS told me they could too. Installer would call me 1-2 days prior to confirm time/date. Evening before install I still had not heard from them so I called and was told I would have to pay $60 for roof install. I told them CS said I would not be charged, but since I had already taken time off for install (the reps in MD only install M-F 8-5pm) I went ahead with plan. Rep came out, D* came off the roof and V* went up. When installer installed the box, he said wait 30 min for download and all should be well, boxes can be temperamental if d/l does not go through. I left the boxes on for 2 hrs to be sure and all was good. Next day box 1 channels were mixed up (ESPN on CNN, MTV on MAX) so I called, waited about 5 min and spent about 30 min unplugging boxes, checking connections, going through reboots to finally fix the issue. Exactly 1 week later, Box 2 has access card problems. I unplug to reboot and nothing so I call V* AGAIN. Wait another 10 min on hold, go thorough same thing I did with other box for 30 min then told box issue. I have to take time off again after having box for 1 week to replace box. At that time I said cancel because if I have to keep calling and changing my schedule, it's not worth my time or me paying you. They told me about $250 cancel fee pre 6mos so I said they did not provide quality service I should not have to pay. After many email and calls wanting to talk to someone about this matter, I have not received a call back from anybody there about the fee. Since then they have done software upgrades and along with the upgrades, boxes have had to be unplugged so they work right or work at all. I have now gone back to D* with dish back up and EXTREMELY HAPPY !!! P.S. I'm also posting this to to the V* Forum.

 

[texansgal8]

I went Voom when their free hardware and installation deal came, and couldn't be happier. I had dish, and downgraded that service. The quality and content of Voom's HD is better than anyone elses, and on March 1st they are going to be adding more HD content.

The HD promise from Dish and DTV are just that promises. I will look at it when it comes, but right now if you want HD content and quality go with Voom, the next best one would be Comcast believe it or not.

What do you have to lose? Free hardware and installation, and a six month contract. If you don't like it, you can cancel in six months.

Well i have Voom also and love the quality and HD channels, but of course we're not even sure if their will even be a Voom april 1st. Theres alot up in the air. Personally i'd wait till the end of the month to see where the future of voom is first. Iam exploring other options right now, but what i do miss with Voom is the lack of NFL. They do have the NFL network but i really would like to have the NFL sunday sports ticket with Direct tv. Only thing that stopped me from getting Direct tv from the start was i didn't have $1000 to purchase their HD receiver with DVR and had no interest in the Tivo because that would have been extra clutter in my entertainment system with another piece of equiptment added. I prefer all in one systems. So i'll have to wait till i can afford the extra $1000 to switch to Direct tv . I just wish they offered a lease agreement for their equiptment. That is quite a bit of money to shell out in one shot. And because of that most ppl end up with Dish net. Seems like Direct tv would understand that already.