May 1st where will you be? Dish, Cable or DirecTV?

[dnyce]

I want this thread to be a place where people can talk about where they plan on going next month for their HD fix. Not an argument about wether or not Voom will find away to find a 10th life. There are a dozen other threads for that. I know it's a hard day for everyone but eventually people will begin to accept what has happened and plan for the future.

I left Voom last month mainly because I couldn't afford to have both Dish and Voom. I'm on the fence and I want to hear some other peoples opinions. I have Dish for the house right now (SD only) and have been listening to Sirius a lot and I love the interactive menus how I can check for local movie times and the weather. I know their HD content is limited but 75% of my HD watching is OTA and movie channels anyway. And ofcourse there is the NFL Package that keeps calling me to DirecTV. I think the deciding factor might be how much the HD Tivo costs in the coming months, Dish has the 942 down at $700 already.
One thing I learned from having Voom is that as pretty as HD is it's worthless without a DVR. I have two kids under the age of 3 and things are constantly going on that make it impossible to sit down for 2 hours straight and watch a movie.

 

[Mark Kays]

I will be stuck with directv and a blocked 119 satellite

 

[jeslevine]

I have dish and voom right now. When voom goes down, I will go with comcast, and get rid of dish without even blinking an eye.

I am tired of all the expensive equipment, i.e. the 921 that didn't work, and the lack of HD content from dish. At least with comcast I will not have to worry about hardware expense, and though the HD content from comcast can't compare to voom, it is more respectable than dish or direct

 

[FIREBIRD81]

Well, I'll be stuck with Dish until my contract is up. After that, it's anybody's guess. I'll take a wait and see approach. Not expecting any new HD content from either DBS this year and Adelphia sucks around here for HD. Maybe TWC will get Anaheim in the deal and I can check out their line-up.

 

[shanewalker]

I'm torn. I thought I'd be with Voom for at least a few months...

My plan B was Dish. I just cancelled my DirectTV and had the elliptical taken down. Now I don't know because Dish doesn't have UHD and they're playing 'Battlestar Galactica' in HD...crap.

Unfortunately, in my area of Chicago, cable HD isn't an option and won't be for a few months at least.

:shocked

 

[vurbano]

Directv probably so I can bitch about how bad it looks.

 

[Sean Mota]

I'm torn. I thought I'd be with Voom for at least a few months...

My plan B was Dish. I just cancelled my DirectTV and had the elliptical taken down. Now I don't know because Dish doesn't have UHD and they're playing 'Battlestar Galactica' in HD...crap.

Downgrade Dish to just the HD pack and get D* for UHD. This is what I am doing.

 

[seandudley]

I think I'll just go with OTA for a while.

 

[Stu Pedaso]

My options are only D* and E*. 6 HD channels vs. 7. Nothing against HDNet, but it's about as compelling to me as the lowest end of the VOOM originals.

I'm tempted to go with nothing for a while and see if I miss it. Live off of DVD's and Xbox. Fire something up when the new season of Sopranos is on. I just don't really give a rat's ass at this point in time. It's tough to decide between a punch in the stomach and kick in the ass.

 

[007BlackMan]

I have Service Electric Cable to fall back on after May 1st but they only offer nine HD channels. They will be adding four or five more HD channels by the end of the year. It will be a sad day in my home when Voom shuts down.

 

[Minsk1]

OTA only until somebody step up, I mean really step up to the HD plate.

 

[rasecane1]

Comcast all the way !!!

 

[shanewalker]

Downgrade Dish to just the HD pack and get D* for UHD. This is what I am doing.

What are we talking in monthlies here? And more importantly, can you JUST sub to the HD pack as a new E* sub? I was hoping to NOT pay up-front hardware costs or endure any commitment for the time being, thus the choice of E*, but missing UHD (and thus BG/Monk/etc.) is gonna' hurt...

Oh, and I hear you Stu--this is definitely a kick in the ass. I've had a not so great week and this is the capper.

 

[Sean Mota]

What are we talking in monthlies here? And more importantly, can you JUST sub to the HD pack as a new E* sub? I was hoping to NOT pay up-front hardware costs or endure any commitment for the time being, thus the choice of E*, but missing UHD (and thus BG/Monk/etc.) is gonna' hurt...

Are you under contract with E*. If you are not, you can. You will be paying a $5.00 fee for not carrying any package + the HD Pack.

 

[fireman1000]

Please forgive me for asking, but are there any options for D* or E* that don't require a year contract???

 

[T2k]

I think I'll just go with OTA for a while.

Yeah, that's also an option I'm thinking about... my beef is this sucker Cablevision, despite the fact that according to their own database (both online and over the phone) they do serve full Park Slope, they say sorry but not YOUR avenue... WTF? And THEY send me to Time Warner - no frikkin way. I'm almost sure this is some kind of under the table deal...

 

[TheForce]

Sean, keep us posted on how you make out with the downgrade process with Dish. I plan to do the same soon... maybe. I wanted to upgrade my V* to VA VA but no less than 2 weeks from doing that this announcement happens. I really wanted the prems that VOOM carries and the others don't, like TMCHD, Starz HD and Cinemax HD. As for the 21 Voom channels, I can live without them except for the Equator channel, we enjoyed that one and for the short period as well as the Wealth channel. I think I will allow my packages to stay put after 4-30 to see by end of August, who has these other channels. For now it appears that D* has the best chance but who knows?

As for Hardware- There is no doubt, the DirecTIVO HD is top gun and the 921 is a POS with no reliability at all. The 942 is an unknown factor, too new to tell. It is reported to be better than the 921 at the same life cycle i.e. 3 weeks out and the 921 was really a big bug. At least today, the 921 is at 70% usable, especially if you forget the OTA part and stick to Sat channels only. New kid on the block 942 is hot to get the release bugs fixed but the overall hidden problem with the 942 is it has little life expectancy for HDTV. They designed it to be obsolete in a year! Sux! In other words, buy E* hardware and throw big money down the toilet in a year!

Bottom line is I'll expand my service with whomever has the above mentioned channels in HD added to what they now offer. Now if D* adds them but in MP4, obsoleting the HDTIVO, then all bets change again! One thing is certain, there is no certainty with any of the options. That is why VOOM was so good. It had a DVR with 4 tuners on the way and it's primary theme was high quality and quantity HDTV. Looks like we now roll the clock back 18 months for HDTV! Sux!

And that's what we get for having faith in a cable company to run a DBS service.

 

[T2k]

Downgrade Dish to just the HD pack and get D* for UHD. This is what I am doing.

How much does it cost per month for, say, three STBs?

PS: fingers still crossed I'll have my Voom 21 somehow...

 

[T2k]

Sean, keep us posted on how you make out with the downgrade process with Dish. I plan to do the same soon... maybe. I wanted to upgrade my V* to VA VA but no less than 2 weeks from doing that this announcement happens. I really wanted the prems that VOOM carries and the others don't, like TMCHD, Starz HD and Cinemax HD. As for the 21 Voom channels, I can live without them except for the Equator channel, we enjoyed that one and for the short period as well as the Wealth channel. I think I will allow my packages to stay put after 4-30 to see by end of August, who has these other channels. For now it appears that D* has the best chance but who knows?

As for Hardware- There is no doubt, the DirecTIVO HD is top gun and the 921 is a POS with no reliability at all. The 942 is an unknown factor, too new to tell. It is reported to be better than the 921 at the same life cycle i.e. 3 weeks out and the 921 was really a big bug. At least today, the 921 is at 70% usable, especially if you forget the OTA part and stick to Sat channels only. New kid on the block 942 is hot to get the release bugs fixed but the overall hidden problem with the 942 is it has little life expectancy for HDTV. They designed it to be obsolete in a year! Sux! In other words, buy E* hardware and throw big money down the toilet in a year!

Bottom line is I'll expand my service with whomever has the above mentioned channels in HD added to what they now offer. Now if D* adds them but in MP4, obsoleting the HDTIVO, then all bets change again! One thing is certain, there is no certainty with any of the options. That is why VOOM was so good. It had a DVR with 4 tuners on the way and it's primary theme was high quality and quantity HDTV. Looks like we now roll the clock back 18 months for HDTV! Sux!

And that's what we get for having faith in a cable company to run a DBS service.

Pal: UPGRADE TO VA-VA NOW! What's the best time if not this???

 

[zanarchist]

I will just go back to Directv. I have everything still installed because I get NFL Ticket every year and just stopped my service after the last NFL season. Right now my service is suspensed until ticket starts again but I was told I could re-start service at anytime and I will be able to keep my earlybird discount for the ticket. I hate to do it because since getting VOOM I purchased another HDTV for my bedroom and I only have one Directv HD receiver so I would have to pay $349.00 for another HD Receiver and commit to their small very limited HD package for 6 months or a year.