How do we now if VOOM reciver is still activated?

[dpaunovic]

My neighbor is trying to sell me a voom receiver that was working for two weeks before voom run out of business. What kind of antena do I need to check if it is going to receive local channels in HDTV?
How do I know if it still activated?
How does it become deactivated?
Thanks

 

[Ilya]

Welcome to the forum!
If the box worked till the last day of VOOM, it is very likely that it is still operational. VOOM only deactivated boxes for those who terminated the service earlier.
Since this is your neighbor, can you visit him and check if it currently works for local channels?
As for antenna, it all depends on how far you are from the towers.
Go to www.antennaweb.org and check for your street address. It will tell you which digital channels are available in your area and what kind of antenna you need to get them.
Good luck!

 

[dpaunovic]

Thank you for your help.
He disconnected everything, so it is in his garage. He does not want to mess with it anymore. Since I live in Dallas area there are many Channels available in HDTV. Accoeding to antennaweb.org, I need either small or medium multidirectional antena.
I have old style antenna in my attic, and it works OK for locals. Some people says it works well for HDTV as well.

If I understood well there is only one kind of voom receivers. Naighbor says it worked until the last day, so it should be active.

 

[Ilya]

Just give it a try! Your attic antenna will most likely work. If not for all channels, then at least for some.

 

[puck71]

If you can get into the menus that all, then my understanding is that the box is still activated. If it's not, you'll get a "needs activation" screen right when you turn on the box.

Another concern is whether or not the firmware on the box is new enough to let you scan for local channels...however if it was in use that late and since he lives in your area it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[dpaunovic]

Thanks guys

Ilya you are the best!
I got it to work and I love ittttttttttttt.
Great picture quality.

I have a few questions though.
DVI is if I understood it well used for Video only.
I wanted to use DVI, but I ended up using RGB+composite audio (red and white) for audio.

I have HDMI, DVI, VGA and one speaker connector (green ring) on that one section on the back of my TV. If I connect a cable to that cponnector I am not getting an audio.

I am thinking something might be wrong with either my TV audio input or VOOM audio autput.

Also, I have question about aspect ratio settings, I am trying to set a 4:3 to be wide, but whatever I try (lettrerbox, squeze, crop) it does not make it wide.

Thanks

 

[hdtvtechno]

Ilya you are the best!
I got it to work and I love ittttttttttttt.
Great picture quality.
I have a few questions though.
DVI is if I understood it well used for Video only.
I wanted to use DVI, but I ended up using RGB+composite audio (red and white) for audio.
I have HDMI, DVI, VGA and one speaker connector (green ring) on that one section on the back of my TV. If I connect a cable to that cponnector I am not getting an audio.
I am thinking something might be wrong with either my TV audio input or VOOM audio autput.
Also, I have question about aspect ratio settings, I am trying to set a 4:3 to be wide, but whatever I try (lettrerbox, squeze, crop) it does not make it wide.
Thanks

Set it to 16.9 and then try to set it to widescreen

 

[Ilya]

Ilya you are the best!
I got it to work and I love ittttttttttttt.
Great picture quality.
I have a few questions though.
DVI is if I understood it well used for Video only.
I wanted to use DVI, but I ended up using RGB+composite audio (red and white) for audio.

Yes, DVI is for video only. You must use red-and-white for analog audio.
There are also two types of digital audio connectors if your tv set accepts digital audio, or if you have an AV receiver.

Also, I have question about aspect ratio settings, I am trying to set a 4:3 to be wide, but whatever I try (lettrerbox, squeze, crop) it does not make it wide.
Thanks

You can adjust the aspect ratio, but only for SD channels. The box cannot adjust HD channels. So, if your station sends vertical bars as part of the HD image (e.g. when showing SD programs), there is no way to get rid of them within the box itself.

Good luck!