I've had HD for 2+ years now and when Voom came along, I thought it was something I had to get in on. The insane cost at the start kept me away until the free install/ rental plan. I took the plunge in what I guess was the height of the Voom install rage. I was given an install date about 2 weeks out. The day before the install, I get a call from the local installer telling me that they don't have the hardware and don't know when they will get more. No biggy, I was running on OTA with my Toshiba box and it was summer, so TV wasn't a big deal.
Two weeks pass and I finally get a call to set up an install. Install shows up right on time, even calls me at work to tell me he is on the way. I have nice OTA antenna, rotor, and amp already set up, so he skips the antenna install and puts up a new dish. The cables all run through the crawl space and I figured I would take advantage of the deal and get new cables with this 'free' install. Installer won't go in a crawl space unless I pay the extra fees. I think he wanted $25. I told him to go ahead and reuse the existing cable. Installer was satisfied with a 85% signal strength, I let it fly and later tuned it myself to 96%. Rain fade at 85% was terrible.
During the install/set up call, I asked about making sure my DMA was not based on my zip-code because that would leave me with no OTA locals. I knew this from reading the forums. He asked the Voom rep and came back with some BS about they can't do that because of the FAA. End result was I was only able to pull in one local OTA because of my mapping. After several requests through this forum and directly with Voom, I have tried to have my DMA changed with no results. The new software did give me the ability to scan for channels and I am now able to watch them, but my guide if populated with (no info). When I called Voom, they basically said , too bad, print a guide off the internet.
Yesterday I received a call back from Voom about my DMA issue. There was a short message on my answering machine that basically told me that I can only get 1 local OTA for my area. I'm thinking that's funny, I've been watching 8 OTA channels and their sub channels for long before I even heard of Voom, but now the Voom gods have decided I must be nuts. To me this is crazy and I really don't understand the limitation that Voom put up for their customers. The big catch for VOOM is HD and if they are screwing up with the OTA HD. The 30+ exclusive channels have turned out to be a major disappointment. The HD channels of value are available at D*, E* and cable.
So as of yesterday, my service with Voom has come to an end. And the $25 programming credit offer to keep me was almost laughable. I really wish it would have been better. For Voom to service they will need to step up to the features offered by others. The program guide is about worthless, an eye sore, gives very limited information, and not customizable. I was hoping to 'just get use to' the menu and guide. It never happened. Maybe it is not a priority for a HD provider, but PPV and on-demand type features are not something that should be left out. Maybe the DVR will become a reality. Not sure, but I do know my local cable provider has HD-DVR, PPV, On-demand, ALL my local OTA HDs and costs basically the same as what I was paying Voom.
Not all with the service was terrible. I didn't have any problems getting in touch with Voom, just never got any results. The picture quality was good to excellent and I did enjoy a couple of the specials on Rave and the sports on Rush. I'll miss moto P.I.G. Outside my rain-fade trouble until I adjusted the dish myself, the reception was not a problem. The two upgrades I received went flawlessly and the OTA scanning works great. My billing to date has gone by without any problems. Now, I just hope I don't run into the nightmares that others have when they canceled.
My end opinion of Voom is they jumped the gun. They are still not ready for prime time and the group they are focusing on won't let it slide. Voom's main audience is the leading edge group that wants the latest and the greatest. Most of us are not new to HD and the initial wow feature isn't as intense. The new people to HD are not going to settle for near perfect or even a perfect picture if the majority of the programming is not worth watching. I'd give Voom a 6.5 on a scale of 10. Anything supposing HD is worthwhile and I wish Voom the best, you've got a rocky road to travel.
Two weeks pass and I finally get a call to set up an install. Install shows up right on time, even calls me at work to tell me he is on the way. I have nice OTA antenna, rotor, and amp already set up, so he skips the antenna install and puts up a new dish. The cables all run through the crawl space and I figured I would take advantage of the deal and get new cables with this 'free' install. Installer won't go in a crawl space unless I pay the extra fees. I think he wanted $25. I told him to go ahead and reuse the existing cable. Installer was satisfied with a 85% signal strength, I let it fly and later tuned it myself to 96%. Rain fade at 85% was terrible.
During the install/set up call, I asked about making sure my DMA was not based on my zip-code because that would leave me with no OTA locals. I knew this from reading the forums. He asked the Voom rep and came back with some BS about they can't do that because of the FAA. End result was I was only able to pull in one local OTA because of my mapping. After several requests through this forum and directly with Voom, I have tried to have my DMA changed with no results. The new software did give me the ability to scan for channels and I am now able to watch them, but my guide if populated with (no info). When I called Voom, they basically said , too bad, print a guide off the internet.
Yesterday I received a call back from Voom about my DMA issue. There was a short message on my answering machine that basically told me that I can only get 1 local OTA for my area. I'm thinking that's funny, I've been watching 8 OTA channels and their sub channels for long before I even heard of Voom, but now the Voom gods have decided I must be nuts. To me this is crazy and I really don't understand the limitation that Voom put up for their customers. The big catch for VOOM is HD and if they are screwing up with the OTA HD. The 30+ exclusive channels have turned out to be a major disappointment. The HD channels of value are available at D*, E* and cable.
So as of yesterday, my service with Voom has come to an end. And the $25 programming credit offer to keep me was almost laughable. I really wish it would have been better. For Voom to service they will need to step up to the features offered by others. The program guide is about worthless, an eye sore, gives very limited information, and not customizable. I was hoping to 'just get use to' the menu and guide. It never happened. Maybe it is not a priority for a HD provider, but PPV and on-demand type features are not something that should be left out. Maybe the DVR will become a reality. Not sure, but I do know my local cable provider has HD-DVR, PPV, On-demand, ALL my local OTA HDs and costs basically the same as what I was paying Voom.
Not all with the service was terrible. I didn't have any problems getting in touch with Voom, just never got any results. The picture quality was good to excellent and I did enjoy a couple of the specials on Rave and the sports on Rush. I'll miss moto P.I.G. Outside my rain-fade trouble until I adjusted the dish myself, the reception was not a problem. The two upgrades I received went flawlessly and the OTA scanning works great. My billing to date has gone by without any problems. Now, I just hope I don't run into the nightmares that others have when they canceled.
My end opinion of Voom is they jumped the gun. They are still not ready for prime time and the group they are focusing on won't let it slide. Voom's main audience is the leading edge group that wants the latest and the greatest. Most of us are not new to HD and the initial wow feature isn't as intense. The new people to HD are not going to settle for near perfect or even a perfect picture if the majority of the programming is not worth watching. I'd give Voom a 6.5 on a scale of 10. Anything supposing HD is worthwhile and I wish Voom the best, you've got a rocky road to travel.
