Dallas/Texas Voomers Unite!
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Lakewoodvoomer,
I don't really know the brand but it is just a little piece of metal with an in and an out line. I have seen them at Radio Shack for about $35.00. The Voom guy just happened to have one on him and he gave it to me at no charge.
Matt
I don't really know the brand but it is just a little piece of metal with an in and an out line. I have seen them at Radio Shack for about $35.00. The Voom guy just happened to have one on him and he gave it to me at no charge.
Matt
Hello World!! Denton, Tx
My install is this coming Monday 10-11-04. Any tips about OTA particularly the Denton area will be greatly appreciated. Keep Vooming!!
My install is this coming Monday 10-11-04. Any tips about OTA particularly the Denton area will be greatly appreciated. Keep Vooming!!
New Voomer in Dallas area since 10/20/04.
Everything has gone well with my install and I've been really impressed with the Metro installer. I have experienced a couple of problems, one major one I did not catch during the install. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this problem...
Channel 27 is in my listing, however, it always displays the last viewed OTA channel and not the actual channel 27. So in my case, if I come in from 21-2, I will see the 21-2 radar screen. Similarly, I will see channel 33 if I came from that channel. Hitting info will state that the channel it is showing is channel 27. So far I have not managed to actually receive channel 27. I have several other OTA HD tuners and they seem to pickup channel 27 just fine, even off the same antenna. So I expect it is a software issue on the box. But when I check the signal quality on the Motorola box, it has by far the lowest signal strength of all the channels I receive. Most channels I get are around 94-100%, but on 27 it dips down into the 70s. On the new antenna I seem to actually pix up the HD stations even stronger on my old equipment, even channel 27.
Also I've noticed on some occasions a couple of channels drop out for several minutes. I've usually experienced the same problem on my other HD receivers, so I expect it is a transmission problem. However, I am concerned it could be an antenna issue. This never happened on my other OTA HD receivers before using the Voom antenna. It does not happen often, but one time I switched back to one of my older tabletop antenna's and I picked up the same channels just fine. By the time I switched back, everything was working fine with the Voom installed antenna. I know this is not conclusive of anything, so I'll keep an eye on it. But if anyone else has experienced this I would like to know.
In case it was just a transmission issue... I've only seen it happen during prime time. I think I was watching CSI or Law&Order, this past week. It occurred just at the beginning of a commercial break and the program did not return until the next show at the top of the hour. One other program the channel started to pixelate and tear, then just went off the air until the next show. In one other case I managed to get mostly audio and some momentary video on one my old receivers. Again I'm hoping it was just a transmission or distribution issue, and not an equipment issue. It just seems strange it started when I received my Voom equipment and new OTA antenna.
OTA HD has been great, but it is nice to finally receive all these wonderful HD channels. Other than a select few SD channels, I wish Voom would drop SD altogether. At least drop all the duplicate SD channels or compress them to nothing (if some contractual requirement), and give that bandwidth back to the other channels.
I hope it does not seem like I'm complaining too much, but no service is perfect and I hope to see Voom improve and compete and more importantly they need survive in this market.
I also plan to be one of the first to adopt their DVR. I was hoping to to hold off until it was available, but I couldn't wait any longer. I just wish I had signed up sooner.
Everything has gone well with my install and I've been really impressed with the Metro installer. I have experienced a couple of problems, one major one I did not catch during the install. I wonder if anyone else has experienced this problem...
Channel 27 is in my listing, however, it always displays the last viewed OTA channel and not the actual channel 27. So in my case, if I come in from 21-2, I will see the 21-2 radar screen. Similarly, I will see channel 33 if I came from that channel. Hitting info will state that the channel it is showing is channel 27. So far I have not managed to actually receive channel 27. I have several other OTA HD tuners and they seem to pickup channel 27 just fine, even off the same antenna. So I expect it is a software issue on the box. But when I check the signal quality on the Motorola box, it has by far the lowest signal strength of all the channels I receive. Most channels I get are around 94-100%, but on 27 it dips down into the 70s. On the new antenna I seem to actually pix up the HD stations even stronger on my old equipment, even channel 27.
Also I've noticed on some occasions a couple of channels drop out for several minutes. I've usually experienced the same problem on my other HD receivers, so I expect it is a transmission problem. However, I am concerned it could be an antenna issue. This never happened on my other OTA HD receivers before using the Voom antenna. It does not happen often, but one time I switched back to one of my older tabletop antenna's and I picked up the same channels just fine. By the time I switched back, everything was working fine with the Voom installed antenna. I know this is not conclusive of anything, so I'll keep an eye on it. But if anyone else has experienced this I would like to know.
In case it was just a transmission issue... I've only seen it happen during prime time. I think I was watching CSI or Law&Order, this past week. It occurred just at the beginning of a commercial break and the program did not return until the next show at the top of the hour. One other program the channel started to pixelate and tear, then just went off the air until the next show. In one other case I managed to get mostly audio and some momentary video on one my old receivers. Again I'm hoping it was just a transmission or distribution issue, and not an equipment issue. It just seems strange it started when I received my Voom equipment and new OTA antenna.
OTA HD has been great, but it is nice to finally receive all these wonderful HD channels. Other than a select few SD channels, I wish Voom would drop SD altogether. At least drop all the duplicate SD channels or compress them to nothing (if some contractual requirement), and give that bandwidth back to the other channels.
I hope it does not seem like I'm complaining too much, but no service is perfect and I hope to see Voom improve and compete and more importantly they need survive in this market.
I also plan to be one of the first to adopt their DVR. I was hoping to to hold off until it was available, but I couldn't wait any longer. I just wish I had signed up sooner.
I had MetroTech come back and move the antenna and dish. All now works fine.
Also before having the dish moved, I found that I was getting severe rain fade even with a slight drissle using the larger dish. Since the move, this too seems to have been solved, even during the heavy rains during the last week or so.
FYI, I would suggest putting the dish as high up on the roof line as you can. 1) It improves OTA reception. I heard from the MetroTech intaller that the software has issues when one weaker OTA channel is surrounded by two very strong signals. Even when the weaker channel should easily be reeived. However, when I revisited the setup menu after the dish move, the signal strength of each channel did not change. However, my other OTA boxes showed decent signal improvement on all channels. Ultimately, I expect it was multipath issue with channel 27 and the Voom/Motorala box is more susceptable.
2) The rain fade may improve moving it higher or a different location. I think I may understand why the issue went away. My dish was on the bottom of the roof line looking perfectly straight up the roof. I think when the roof became wet it caused a signal reflection off the roof that caused the signals to cancel out.
So, for those looking to install or having rainfade or OTA reception issue, install the dish as high on the roofline as you can. Make sure it is on the side of the house where the roof can not possibly reflect a signal into the dish.
Also before having the dish moved, I found that I was getting severe rain fade even with a slight drissle using the larger dish. Since the move, this too seems to have been solved, even during the heavy rains during the last week or so.
FYI, I would suggest putting the dish as high up on the roof line as you can. 1) It improves OTA reception. I heard from the MetroTech intaller that the software has issues when one weaker OTA channel is surrounded by two very strong signals. Even when the weaker channel should easily be reeived. However, when I revisited the setup menu after the dish move, the signal strength of each channel did not change. However, my other OTA boxes showed decent signal improvement on all channels. Ultimately, I expect it was multipath issue with channel 27 and the Voom/Motorala box is more susceptable.
2) The rain fade may improve moving it higher or a different location. I think I may understand why the issue went away. My dish was on the bottom of the roof line looking perfectly straight up the roof. I think when the roof became wet it caused a signal reflection off the roof that caused the signals to cancel out.
So, for those looking to install or having rainfade or OTA reception issue, install the dish as high on the roofline as you can. Make sure it is on the side of the house where the roof can not possibly reflect a signal into the dish.
I know the last post was back in Nov. I was wondering if anyone has success with OTA signal for ABC in the Uptown area.
I had the upgraded antenna but still no ABC. I asked the technician about the square shooter that was mentioned in the beginning of this thread and he wasn't aware of the product but advised me to mention it to Voom.
Anyone in the Uptown area found something successful in pulling in the OTA signal??
I had the upgraded antenna but still no ABC. I asked the technician about the square shooter that was mentioned in the beginning of this thread and he wasn't aware of the product but advised me to mention it to Voom.
Anyone in the Uptown area found something successful in pulling in the OTA signal??
I am in Denton and getting all the locals except for channel 55. ABC comes in nice and clear with an excellent signal strength.
I live in Wylie and am seriously considering getting Voom. I have a few questions regarding the metroplex and Voom. Who does the installs here locally? How reliable are they? How knowlegable are they? Do we need the 24" dish for the few heavy rain storms we get?
I have read quite a bit here and on the Voom thread in Yahoo Groups and feel I am almost ready to take the plunge. I have a Mitsubishi WS55313 (55") and would love to take advantage of the HD capability. I have Direct TV now and I know my wife would miss the Tivo, but I feel the trade-off for HD would be better.
Any thoughts from anyone?
Have a Happy and Healthy New Year y'all.
I have read quite a bit here and on the Voom thread in Yahoo Groups and feel I am almost ready to take the plunge. I have a Mitsubishi WS55313 (55") and would love to take advantage of the HD capability. I have Direct TV now and I know my wife would miss the Tivo, but I feel the trade-off for HD would be better.
Any thoughts from anyone?
Have a Happy and Healthy New Year y'all.
icehckylvr said:
icehckylvr,
Metrotech Solutions did my install here in Arlington and they were fast & professional. I've had a regular sized 18" dish & a stealth antenna for almost a year and have not had any major issues with rainfade on SAT or OTA. The most rainfade I've had is when there is a heavy downpour out to the southeast where the dish points but it usually is a very short period. Be sure to show your wife the Voom HDVR video from CES to show her what us Voomers will have in March. I bet she won't miss TIVO that much with one of these full house networked HDVRs in its place
New Area Voomer
Hello all,
Thought I might stop by and say hi. I too had many questions about Voom and wether I would pull the trigger. Ordered it a couple of nights ago. Scheduled install for next Saturday (01.22.05). Metro Tech will do the install. Anything to know about them? I plan on giving a call later next week to verify.
Question for Lakewoodvoomer...any trouble picking up the locals on the voom reciever? I am in an apartment complex in Lakewood and have the modified double bowtie and have good reception on the TS-360. I had trouble with the Hughes E-86 box last year. What antenna did they install for you?
Also, anyone have any luck with TiVo and Voom? That's the next purchase.
artm001...I did some research on this as well b/c of limited dish sight lines (trees). It looks as though the satellite is at 121 degrees on the compass (SE). I will let you know the direction of actual installation upon competion.
I am always excited about new toys! I will post my experience later.
-ag hd
Hello all,
Thought I might stop by and say hi. I too had many questions about Voom and wether I would pull the trigger. Ordered it a couple of nights ago. Scheduled install for next Saturday (01.22.05). Metro Tech will do the install. Anything to know about them? I plan on giving a call later next week to verify.
Question for Lakewoodvoomer...any trouble picking up the locals on the voom reciever? I am in an apartment complex in Lakewood and have the modified double bowtie and have good reception on the TS-360. I had trouble with the Hughes E-86 box last year. What antenna did they install for you?
Also, anyone have any luck with TiVo and Voom? That's the next purchase.
artm001...I did some research on this as well b/c of limited dish sight lines (trees). It looks as though the satellite is at 121 degrees on the compass (SE). I will let you know the direction of actual installation upon competion.
I am always excited about new toys! I will post my experience later.
-ag hd
About to Get Voom
Thinking about getting voom, and would like to know what Kind of reception I should get OTA. (Which channels, quality etc...). I live in Far North Fort Worth, In the Summerfields Area. (Basicly next to the high school)
Also, I see people talking about different types of antennas? Can I specify what they bring out on the install? Or would I need to buy a better antenna and have it here waiting on them? If I need to buy one, how much would I be looking at spending?
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tim
Thinking about getting voom, and would like to know what Kind of reception I should get OTA. (Which channels, quality etc...). I live in Far North Fort Worth, In the Summerfields Area. (Basicly next to the high school)
Also, I see people talking about different types of antennas? Can I specify what they bring out on the install? Or would I need to buy a better antenna and have it here waiting on them? If I need to buy one, how much would I be looking at spending?
Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tim
Hi there. I just got voom installed and so far its wonderful. I live in central texas about 70mi for Sa and Austin and get the Austin stations perfect with the antena i originally had on my house. So far its been amazing how good the stations all look. After reading the horror stories about installs, I'm glad to say that mine went off w/o a hitch and a week early to boot. Now if VOOM only had the fox regionals, I'd be totally happy. I do wonder when we'll get the DMA for this area so I can get the SA stations too. Also i was surprised the PBS seems to do more with their digital signal than anybody else and also there HD shows are almost the equal of discoverHD.
Pat
Pat
Very,very cool !
Had a GREAT install about 3 weeks ago in the Carrollton area. Ordered VaVaVoom,everything looks great on the Mitsi 65". Metro Tech installed...
Excellent ! Get ALL off air w/supplied antennae @
94% signal strength or better ! DVE disc arrived,
(goofy to navigate,but,got there) WOW
Had a GREAT install about 3 weeks ago in the Carrollton area. Ordered VaVaVoom,everything looks great on the Mitsi 65". Metro Tech installed...
Excellent ! Get ALL off air w/supplied antennae @
94% signal strength or better ! DVE disc arrived,
(goofy to navigate,but,got there) WOW
I'm in Carrollton, too. Metro Tech installed here as well. The tech was great - knowledgable and efficient. He was pretty surprised at my OTA levels - all in the high 90s! I'm hanging in there, watching all the shenanigans going on with the board. Keeping my fingers crossed!! 
Texas Voomers...might I encourge you to Unite with the other parts of the US at this moment?
I fully recogize that Texas is a whole different country...and I love it!! But right now, your experiences could help bolster a cause dear to VoOmers everywhere! Please post postives as well as negatives in threads that more people will read!! The In Your Area forums are only read (usually) by those whose area it applies to. Thanks! Vicki
I fully recogize that Texas is a whole different country...and I love it!! But right now, your experiences could help bolster a cause dear to VoOmers everywhere! Please post postives as well as negatives in threads that more people will read!! The In Your Area forums are only read (usually) by those whose area it applies to. Thanks! Vicki
