United States consumers interested in setting up a small satellite-dish-based, direct broadcast television system in their homes now can select from three competing companies.
DirecTV and Dish Network are the two major players. Both have been around for several years and are well established. The newcomer is Voom, offered by Rainbow DBS, a subsidiary of New York-based Cablevision Systems Corp.
Voom is still new so it doesn't have a track record built up in terms of reliability and customer service.
The key selling point for Voom, which sets it apart from both DirecTV and Dish Network, is the number of high-definition television (HDTV) channels it offers -- 39, at present count, of which 21 are exclusive, commercial free HDTV channels with original programming.
Voom also is touting 10 HDTV movie channels, plus all the usual cable channels you would expect from any provider.
Picking between the three companies is a matter of personal choice.
