With a pj, I would go with Voom if I were you. Voom's SD channels look much better on a pj than Dish's SD channels. They just added Sci Fi so they are now only missing HGTV that people are really screaming for. Voom is kind of spendy right now, but after the dismal signups they had after they ended their freebie, they are going to have to do something to lure new people over.
Regarding the Voom PQ, it's not as bad as it may sound around here, we bitch a lot to get Voom to improve it to be up where we feel it should be. Several channels look excellent: DiscoveryHD, Rave, Ultra, Monsters, Rush, Auction, Moov, Bravo, ESPN all look very good, they are just about 2 mbps/channel shy of having a stellar picture all around. Hopefully when they launch their new codec things will improve. Several channels are pretty bad like EquatorHD and a few SD channels: Travel, Bet. I don't watch them so I can't really give you an accurate list. The Cinema10 channels look good, but do exhibit some noise occassionally.
The Voom channels look excellent on a SD TV. I have a 2nd stb hooked up to an old 27" TV via composite and the picture rocks!
It stinks if you can't pull in OTA. There's always the off chance that Directv will get the local HD channels up over the next 2 years or so, but I'm sure you are itching to get viewing some HD.
A couple of guys just went to CEDIA and saw Voom's whole house distribution system, it sounds very sweet. They will probably have that out by Q1 next year along with the PVR. What you may try as a stop-gap measure is going down to a big mega store like Best Buy and purchase an OTA stb and see if you can pull in any OTA signals. If you are adept at installing your own gear, you could experiment with different antennas until you find one that may do the job. Most of these places have at minimum, a 15 day return policy, try it and if doesn't work, take it back, or even if it does work, take it back then order Voom.
Good luck with your decision.
Regarding the Voom PQ, it's not as bad as it may sound around here, we bitch a lot to get Voom to improve it to be up where we feel it should be. Several channels look excellent: DiscoveryHD, Rave, Ultra, Monsters, Rush, Auction, Moov, Bravo, ESPN all look very good, they are just about 2 mbps/channel shy of having a stellar picture all around. Hopefully when they launch their new codec things will improve. Several channels are pretty bad like EquatorHD and a few SD channels: Travel, Bet. I don't watch them so I can't really give you an accurate list. The Cinema10 channels look good, but do exhibit some noise occassionally.
The Voom channels look excellent on a SD TV. I have a 2nd stb hooked up to an old 27" TV via composite and the picture rocks!
It stinks if you can't pull in OTA. There's always the off chance that Directv will get the local HD channels up over the next 2 years or so, but I'm sure you are itching to get viewing some HD.
A couple of guys just went to CEDIA and saw Voom's whole house distribution system, it sounds very sweet. They will probably have that out by Q1 next year along with the PVR. What you may try as a stop-gap measure is going down to a big mega store like Best Buy and purchase an OTA stb and see if you can pull in any OTA signals. If you are adept at installing your own gear, you could experiment with different antennas until you find one that may do the job. Most of these places have at minimum, a 15 day return policy, try it and if doesn't work, take it back, or even if it does work, take it back then order Voom.
Good luck with your decision.
