Voom announces intent to introduce a HD DVR in the summer

[rexoverbey]

Ken F $1000 DVR! Where do you buy your dvr's at?

Directv and Dish give them away for free now! They have TIVO built into their receivers for FREE! For $1000 you could buy an HDTV.

 

[Videofx]

The Dishnetwork 921 HDTV PVR is $1000 and so is Directv's HDTV PVR - Neither is giving them for FREE.

They are only giving the SD PVR for FREE.

Bill

 

[Ken F]

Look at the cell phone industry. Companies will give you a phone for little or nothing. You can't tell me Verizon is paying nothing for those phones. Sure, they have some phones they're selling for a few hundred dollars but try giving your cell phone provider a call and tell them you're switching to another provider because they're offering you a better phone. I can almost garantee you will receive a phone (close to equivalent to what you're saying you're getting) for next to nothing.

They'll also stick you with a two year contract.

The Dishnetwork 921 HDTV PVR is $1000 and so is Directv's HDTV PVR - Neither is giving them for FREE.

The reported cost to Best Buy for the HD DirecTivo is in the $740-$780 range, iirc. It's been said elsewhere that DirecTV is also subsidizing these boxes, though how much is unknown. If the subsidy is anything like the standard DirecTivo, it would be somewhere between $200 and $250, as reported by Dan Collins on the DBSForum. Tivo service improves customer loyalty and reduces churn, so they can justify it as an expense in their marketing budget. The fee to Tivo is also $2/mo, whereas DirecTV charges $5/mo, which probably helps to pay for some of the box maintenance.

 

[Ken F]

The Dishnetwork 921 HDTV PVR is $1000 and so is Directv's HDTV PVR - Neither is giving them for FREE.

The reported cost to Best Buy is in the $750 range, iirc. It's been said elsewhere that DirecTV is also subsidizing these boxes, though how much is unknown. If the subsidy is anything like the standard Tivo, it would be somewhere between $200 and $250, as reported by Dan Collins on the DBSForum. Tivo service improves customer loyalty and reduces churn so they can justify it in their marketing budget.

 

[rexoverbey]

This also is an add on. It isn't including the STB that everyone already has. Is it really worth $1000???? LG is selling a STB with HD DVR for around $600 w/ a built in ATSC tuner.

 

[rexoverbey]

Here is an RCA HD video recorder for $399

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t..._alx-jeb-9-1_ce_4713881_2/102-9830593-6277719

 

[Ken F]

rex,

The VOOM DVR is not an add-on in the sense you describe. It is a fully functional DVR that incorporates the STB functionality. It can be used with other boxes to distribute programming around the house, but it also functions as a standalone box. Think of it as two STBs in one box with a larger hard drive and more memory, with software that lets it communicate with other boxes.

The LG has one-tuner (record one program at once). From what I understand, it does not let you record one program while watching another. It also offers only ~12 hours of HD storage. It does not work with satellite.

Here is an RCA HD video recorder for $399

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...9830593-6277719

Now that RCA product is a Firewire add-on. It won't function by itself, as it does not have any tuners. It is designed to interface with the latest RCA televisions and record, much like a digital VCR. It can only record one program at once, and it can't record one program while playing back another. It only has 9 hours of HD capacity. It does not work with satellite.

 

[rexoverbey]

Isn't Voom plannining on adding firewire? If they do the RCA would be a good deal or some D-VHS player. I'm still counting on a DVR rental

 

[Ken F]

rex,

Wilt said he would like to add Firewire, and that was in the original plan, but it doesn't seem very practical to me, given the move to MPEG-4 and WM9. Others have suggested that D-VHS VCRs may serve as "bit buckets," and allow playback of recordings through the VOOM STB, but I don't think this is the case, at least not with the JVC 30K. For models where it is possible, I think it's probably too much to ask of VOOM.

It will probably be mid-late 2006 by the time blu-ray or blue-laser disk recorders with MPEG4 and WM9 support are available for less than $1000. By that time, VOOM will probably have an updated DVR on the way. I do agree that a Firewire connection on the DVR, even if they don't enable it this year or next, would be nice for when those future blu-ray HD disk recorders hit the market.

 

[dpike@email.unc.edu]

How will you connect additional TV's to the Voom DVR?

The "Title" already askes my question: what kind of "cable" will need to be run from the VOOM DVR with "whole house networking" to the additional TV sets?

 

[dpike@email.unc.edu]

Connecting cables (sorry)

Sorry, I see the answer to this question was already available in the original post - coaxial cable will need to run from the DVR to all additional sets.

 

[Odys]

Thanks to everyone on this forum for the great info, especially Sean. I just made the plunge and set up an install date for May. I've been with Dish for quite a while but I'm dumping them because of their DVR fiasco, as well as the Comedy Central/MTV issue recently.

I was just told by a CSR that the DVR will be avaliable around October or November of this year. I thought it would be by this summer. Has anyone else heard this?? Thanks.

The CSR at VOOM told me that when the DVR becomes available, it would be upgraded for free. When I asked when, he said "probably by the end of the month." I'm assuming he meant end of May, since it's already April 27, but even May seemed unlikely. I'm not holding my breath, but I thought I'd share this rather dubious info anyway.

 

[squicken]

Thanks to everyone on this forum for the great info, especially Sean. I just made the plunge and set up an install date for May. I've been with Dish for quite a while but I'm dumping them because of their DVR fiasco, as well as the Comedy Central/MTV issue recently.



The CSR at VOOM told me that when the DVR becomes available, it would be upgraded for free. When I asked when, he said "probably by the end of the month." I'm assuming he meant end of May, since it's already April 27, but even May seemed unlikely. I'm not holding my breath, but I thought I'd share this rather dubious info anyway.

Welcome aboard. But dubious information indeed.

 

[Tahoerob]

When the Voom HD DVR comes out, I will seriuosly considering switching from Dish & selling my 921!!

 

[rudolpht]

Rob,

You need an arrow to the aluminum tape over the firewire in your avatar

 

[sprinklerguy]

Question:

if it is coax to the thin clients.....won't that be bad for HD? I thought HD really needed component or DVI to work well?

thanks,

 

[astrossuperfan]

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if it is coax to the thin clients.....won't that be bad for HD? I thought HD really needed component or DVI to work well?
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You already use coax to push HDTV through your home: from the dish to the box. This shouldn't be any different than that.

 

[MNHTUG]

Voom will use coax instead of ethernet. This will allow users to network to each client via existing cable runs instead of having to run ethernet thru the house. IE: If your house is wired for cable tv, your good to go with Voom Server/Client DVR.

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if it is coax to the thin clients.....won't that be bad for HD? I thought HD really needed component or DVI to work well?
------------

You already use coax to push HDTV through your home: from the dish to the box. This shouldn't be any different than that.

 

[rexoverbey]

I would rather have 802.11

 

[Ken F]

rex,

The final version of the 802.11g spec doesn't provide sufficient bandwidth for HD beyond short distances. And no version of 802.11 provides sufficient bandwidth to stream different HD channels to multiple clients simultaneously.

The VOOM DVR will act as a router, so presumably there will be some sort of switch you install outdoors that will permit the DVR STB to communicate directly to the client STBs.