Thinking about leaving Voom- Here are 7 reasons

Seawaves

SatelliteGuys Pro
Original poster
May 10, 2004
567
0
Los Angeles, CA
Not in order of importance-



1.) Volume variation.
2.) Picture breakup when changing channels.
3.) STB that locks up- alot!
4.) Lack of SD channels (more kids stuff to start with)
5.) STB cannot tune local cable TV (D* can)
6.) No Sunday Ticket (but I knew this)
7.) Lousy install- not fixed yet (except for what I had to fix myself)

What am I missing? Am I just one of a few thinking about leaving?

Reasons to Stay:
1.) HBO HD West coast- No one else has it.
 
leave.

lousy frimware
firmware delays
features that just dont work
average PQ due to low power and 12mbps bitrate
repetitive content on HD exclusive channels reducing the PQ of the rest of them.

stay.

starzhd east and west
cinemaxhd east and west
encorehd
bravohd
tnthd
tmchd
 
vurbano said:
leave.

lousy frimware
firmware delays
features that just dont work
average PQ due to low power and 12mbps bitrate
repetitive content on HD exclusive channels reducing the PQ of the rest of them.

stay.

starzhd east and west
cinemaxhd east and west
encorehd
bravohd
tnthd
tmchd

Vurb-

This STB is feeling more an more like a bad toaster!

Once basketball was over- I haven't watched TNTHD and I don't get the others exceprt Bravo which I don't watch.

Guess I need to start checking prices on a DirecTV HD box.
 
Seawaves,
If you are not subscribing to the majority of the premium HD channels and if VOOM exclusive channels are not for your taste, then indeed VOOM may not be your best choice!
 
Seawaves, I remember you and I were installed at about the same time.
My comments:

.) Volume variation.

I haven't noticed. I run my optical sound into my Sony amp and get great sound.

2.) Picture breakup when changing channels.

Yes, you get some pixelization but picture shows up immediately after change.

3.) STB that locks up- alot!

Depends upon what you are demanding from it, like a computer. Mine has locked up from time to time when I try to "chanel surf" too fast but never at a critical time.

4.) Lack of SD channels (more kids stuff to start with)

SD channels are not why one subscribes to VOOM. I wanted more HD channels and got them.

5.) STB cannot tune local cable TV (D* can)

That's what the antenna is for - no problem here.

6.) No Sunday Ticket (but I knew this)

We all knew that. That's why I kept a basic Direct TV service.
This fall I will have VOOM & NFL Ticket.

7.) Lousy install- not fixed yet (except for what I had to fix myself)

Sorry but I had a great install. They should fix your problem here. A good reason to complain to VOOM.

I agree with Vurbano. EncoreHd, Movie Channel HD, HBOHD East, SHOWHD East,Cinemax HD East & West, etc. gives you 10 channels daily of movies all in Hd plus the Cinema 10. 20 HD movie channels is what I wanted. Was tired of seeing chopped off versions losing 48% of picture.

Hey, I hope you get this resolved. Good luck.
 
The lack of kids stuff and not enough SD channels might be your reasons to leave.

The other problems will get fixed over time.

I hope Voom keeps its HD focus and does not go after SD. No point in every provider doing everything the same.
 
Tvlman said:
Was tired of seeing chopped off versions losing 48% of picture.

And now you're satisfied losing only 25% of the picture?

Stay

To see the price and features of DVR

Leave

Everything else.
 
slffl said:
And now you're satisfied losing only 25% of the picture?

Stay

To see the price and features of DVR

Leave

Everything else.

LOL, you don't need VOOM to read about prices and features of DVR. I guess everybody should cancel then.
 
andrzej said:
LOL, you don't need VOOM to read about prices and features of DVR. I guess everybody should cancel then.

LOL, I got VOOM for other reasons, all of which I have not been happy with. So why would I want to cancel and then pay a fee to re-subscribe if an awesome/cheap DVR is released by VOOM?
 
If I didnt have DTV also....my family would be hounding me every min. VOOM is in my eyes right now an incomplete product. Its a new service and I feel it will be ten times better than what it is today at this time next year. If you cant wait that long or you cant afford to carry two services then I would leave VOOM. VOOM is for me and my HDTV...for the rest of my family its DTV all the time.
 
slffl said:
LOL, I got VOOM for other reasons, all of which I have not been happy with. So why would I want to cancel and then pay a fee to re-subscribe if an awesome/cheap DVR is released by VOOM?

Cause it will not be awesome or cheap for people with expectations set too high. :no
 
You know the old saying, you can't please all the people all the time. If you could then there would be only one choice of a car or a refrigerator or a HD STB. The perfect one that pleases ALL the people and leaves no one unhappy. Life is full of compromises and decisions. I for one like having a selection of similar items to buy or lease. Take the choice that satisfies most of your wants and learn to live with the wants that are not addressed. Or buy several that address all your wants as a group and be happy you had the selection to make choices.
 
Pros/cons

Reasons to Leave

-STB not QUAMM compatible
-Repetitive, often times not very interesting, content on exclusive channels
-software delays
-pixelation/picture breaking up/freezeups when changing channels too fast
-installation nightmares

Reasons to Stay

-Overall superb picture quality on HD channels, including non-exclusive ones
-availability of Discovery HD, TNT HD, Bravo HD+, and HBO/W-HD
-very competitive pricing/no committment subscription options
-the notion that new HD channels will be added in the near future
-upcoming (?) DVR/computer file streaming through existing coax wiring.
 
Staying for the VooM potential

I'm staying for the VooM potential. I find that I am irritated by almost every issue brought up in the forum. I feel like this is more of a beta test of VooM than an actual product that should be charge for. I've done beta testing for a lot of software projects.

Nonetheless, VooM is it if you want a lot of choice in HD. If voom cold add QAM for cable must carry HDTV stations it would fill the gap in over the air, and if they could get SDTV cable stations on the limited basic list, that would be a great addition.

I love the HDTV but I too would love to see more SDTV channels. I miss a lot of the stations I used to see on cable and DTV.

I'm using the component stereo sound cables so far and I have the sound problems. I have to get a better receiver though if I want to try anything else. I don't have enough toslink's or any component inputs on my av receiver. I really need a new one. Until then, I suppose I just put up with the variation in volume on each channel.

But I think it's going to get so good with the DVR, that I can't leave until at least then. And I doubt I'll leave after that. There's just too much HDTV to leave for a service with less channels.
 
jmartinacevedo said:
Reasons to Leave

-STB not QUAMM compatible
-Repetitive, often times not very interesting, content on exclusive channels
-software delays
-pixelation/picture breaking up/freezeups when changing channels too fast
-installation nightmares

Reasons to Stay

-Overall superb picture quality on HD channels, including non-exclusive ones
-availability of Discovery HD, TNT HD, Bravo HD+, and HBO/W-HD
-very competitive pricing/no committment subscription options
-the notion that new HD channels will be added in the near future
-upcoming (?) DVR/computer file streaming through existing coax wiring.

Do any of our wives say "yeah- it's great to pay for two SAT providers"!

I do agree with Vinny, I need DirecTV for the kids ( and maybe ST if my 'skins look good in the preseason).

There have been some really excellent comments to my posting. Thanks guys. Lot's of food for thought.

I really love HBOHD-west. It's great to watch stuff after the kids hit the sack. But- it's two hours out of one week.

I'm really sick of the channel pixlation when I surf "too fast". The moto box that Voom uses is a real dog. I'm calling the pound!

And the sound? Well- others may not hear it but a channel's volume shooting up a 20db, really is annoying. More so when my wife constantly complains about it! That's my fault for marrying an audiolgist.
 
Seawaves said:
And the sound? Well- others may not hear it but a channel's volume shooting up a 20db, really is annoying. More so when my wife constantly complains about it! That's my fault for marrying an audiolgist.
It is annoying indded, but hopefully will be fixed soon. Here is what Wilt posted this morning:
We're going through all the audio levels this morning.
Thanks,
Wilt
 
Indy said:
You know the old saying, you can't please all the people all the time. If you could then there would be only one choice of a car or a refrigerator or a HD STB. The perfect one that pleases ALL the people and leaves no one unhappy. Life is full of compromises and decisions. I for one like having a selection of similar items to buy or lease. Take the choice that satisfies most of your wants and learn to live with the wants that are not addressed. Or buy several that address all your wants as a group and be happy you had the selection to make choices.

Thank you Dr. Phil. :D :D
 
(Do any of our wives say "yeah- it's great to pay for two SAT providers"!) LOL, No mine said the other day were paying for 3 and I said no, she said DTV, VOOM and DTV HD package , she said thats 3 bills , I said no DTV is all in one bill. lol
 
As far as the family thing, I think there are more than sufficient SD channels for the kids. I keep TOON, BOOM, DISN,TOOND, ABCFAM, and NICK in the program guide. As a bonus I have PBS Kids in my OTA, but it's rarely watched. As you know there are a few others too. Of course there are the premium family SD focused channels as well.

A want a DVR quickly too, but a DVR on a service w/o much content is not a good balance. Canceling for quirks is not for me, but if a competitive service with 80% of the content came around with a DVR, I would think twice.
 
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