Voom in North Louisiana

[kawdog]

I couldn't find a thread for North Louisiana so I am starting one, lol. Anyway, I ordered Voom last week with one receiver and was set up for an install on the 27th of May (my birthday ). I have a 65" Hitachi SWX20B model television that I have had for a little over a year but have never experienced HDTV on it. We have Cox Cable up here in Ruston, when I asked them if they had HDTV they said "they are trying to get it", I can't stand Cox but I will keep them for Internet and locals. I also have two analog tv's downstairs and decided to call Voom back and lease two more receivers so I could do away with everything from Cox but basic on all my tv's. When I talked to the CSR she was unable to change my account info and said that adding the receivers might bump my install back but she was also unable to giveo me an updated install date (something was wrong with the system). I called back today, everything got changed and am still on for the 27th .

Does anyone else on here live up this way and have any info on the locals and any reception problems? As I mentioned I am in Ruston, between Monroe and Shreveport on Interstate 20. I will keep y'all updated on the install and the locals. Thanks again for the great forum.

kaw

 

[kawdog]

Well, heeding everyone's advice I have kept checking back with Voom periodically. Tomorrow is the big day I am scheduled to have Voom installed so I decided to check in one last time. Good thing I did...They switched installers on me two days ago according to the CSR, she checked the ticket and it shows he may not have all the equipment yet, he could have it, but she said more likely than not he does not. She was very apologetic and thanked me a couple of times for calling in and checking since she was worried I had already taken off work (which I have). Anyway, she gave me his number and the name of his company. I am going to call him in the morning and see what is going on. Hopefully he can come out this weekend or Monday (Memorial Day) if he can't tomorrow.

She was kind enough to give me my first months programming of Va Va Voom for FREE . Nice gesture on Voom's part and she showed real concern and said anytime I have problems or questions please call and let them know. Great service Voom. I will keep y'all updated.

It also looks like from the name and address I traced the phone number too the dude might work out of his house. I am sure alot of satellite and antenna installers do this, but it kinda worries me for some reason. I am not going to pass judgement on the guy though until after he does his work, he might do a great job.

kaw

 

[kawdog]

I called the installer this morning, the guy I talked to seemed pretty knowledgeable and was familiar with Voom. One thing he confirmed though is Voom cannot make enough receivers to keep up with the demand and everyone is waiting. He told me anywhere from 4 to 6 days. That seemed like a friendly estimate to me. The CSR last night either did not know what was going on or she knows more than the installer does. She claimed the installer was switched two days ago and that the original installer had the equipment but the new installer has not got it yet. The installer I talked to last night seems to have guys who work for him all over the state and said the Monroe installer was going to do my system. He said that the receiver had probably not even left Voom yet. I will keep y'all informed.

kaw

 

[kawdog]

Well, I am scheduled for a 8-12 install tomorrow. Everything looks like it is really going to happen this time. I will post an update tomorrow. Wish me luck

kaw

 

[kawdog]

Tonight it rained pretty bad and the signal went out a few hours ago and has yet to return. I suppose I will have to deal with this since it seems to be a pretty common occurance. When it is working, HD looks good. I am not blown away though like I thought I would be. Don't get me wrong, sometimes the picture is great but other times it is just ok. Either way it is always clean. Overall I am very please with the picture, I guess I just don't know what it is supposed to look like. I have seen HD on some plasma's and direct view sets at SEARS and that is about it. I think it is just the material being shown because HDNEWS and RAVE looks amazing sometimes. What I am saying is I don't think it is my TV, which is all I am worried about. Most of the time it looks DVD quality to me, which is still better than what I am used to. And you have to keep in mind I am watching it on a 65" screen, I am sure it looks WOW on a smaller set. I have yet to get locals as I discussed in the installation thread but hopefully that will be resolved in the future. I like VOOM though, I do find myself watching stuff I never would have just because it looks so good, and I suppose that is all you can ask for.

kaw

ps I LOVE MONSTERS HD, that is the channel I have been waiting for all my life.

 

[kawdog]

I still like VOOM alot but I will probably have to cancel. I thought all the stories about rain fade were exagerated, turns out they are not. It rains a good bit here in Louisiana and my signal drops from the mid 80's to anywhere from 0 to 65. I get no picture at all or it is messed up and I can't watch it most of the time. I have had this problem almost everyday since I got VOOM since it seems to rain everyday lately. I can't pay 126 dollars a month not to be able to watch tv when I want. This really upsets me because I like VOOM so much. Hopefully it will stop raining one day.

kaw

 

[craigs2553]

From what I have been reading on the posts voom is supposed to have a larger dish. Have you checked on that? I live in Lake Charles and are supposed to have voom installed on July 19th.

 

[kawdog]

Sorry I have not updated my thread sooner. I took matters into my own hands regarding the signal quality, the OTA antenna is another story. I was able to watch the signal through my bedroom window and adjust the satellite signal until it was a solid 90-93, this has eliminated all signal dropouts I was having, which included cloudy skies. My theory was the installers were peaking the Dish Network Sat. and that seems to be the case, another example of why the VOOM dish should not be peaked at the sat. but only by the on-screen signal meter.

I am still waiting on my antenna upgrade since the installer keeps canceling the work order due to antennaweb.org having incorrect info for my area and only showing one digital station for my zipcode. Last I heard this was being taken care of and I should hear something in a few days.

I have now started the process of contacting all broadcasters out of Monroe/El Dorado and inquiring about their digital signal and plans for HDTV.
According to the FCC there are five stations transmitting a digital signal from Monroe/El Dorado:

KNOE-DT CBS
KTVE-DT NBC
KARD-DT FOX
KAQY-DT ABC
KMCT-DT IND

I have emailed all stations except KMCT. KARD is my main concern since they have the NFL (Saints) and I would very much like to watch them in HDTV. KTVE and KARD are sister stations now and share the same web-site, can you believe that there is no email address anywhere on the site. I found one with a web search and tried it, I have yet to hear a response. In fact I have only received one response so far, which was from KNOE, I applaud you KNOE.

Dear Mr. Wyatt:
Please let me assure you that KNOE-TV is fully committed to DTV and we are proceeding full ahead with our digital transition. We had prepared an application to the FCC to increase our power but unfortunately just yesterday the Commission ordered a freeze on all DTV applications and so it appears at least for the time being that we will remain at low power on KNOE DTV channel 7. We are currently authorized to operate up to 5kw but intend to petition for authorization up to 17kw. I understand your eagerness for HDTV and we are trying to make it happen as quickly and as financially prudentially as possible. We have already spent 1.2 million dollars in making this transition and still have several hundred thousand dollars left as we move from DTV to HDTV and we are currently budgeting this now. Thank you for your interest in KNOE and KNOE DTV, please bear with us, it is coming!
Sincerely,
Roy Frostenson
KNOE-TV General Manager

So it is ironic that yesterday the commission ordered a freeze on DTV applications, hopefully they can get their power up soon. As for the rest of the stations, they must not care enough about me to reply . I will update as needed.

kaw

 

[kawdog]

Here is the latest update on the Monroe/El Dorado stations. KNOE emailed me again today, this time the chief engineer. He advised me that the digital signal being transmitted is still in SD. This is disappointing but it seems they are trying their best to get HD going, we will just have to be patient. Here is what I received.

kaw

Please be advised that we are operating a standard definition only digital signal at this time. We are hoping in the near future to upgrade our digital facility to at least accommodate CBS High Definition programming. We were in the process of increasing our power level to increase our digital coverage area. On August 3, the FCC put a freeze on all upgrades of any kind. I am not quite sure when that freeze will be lifted. At that time we will proceed with our power increase plans..



Jerry Harkins

Chief Engineer

KNOE TV

 

[kawdog]

Mr. Harkins was nice enough to email me again today with some more information for all of us in North Central Louisiana. It seems the PBS station is about to get up and running with their HD signal, this is great news for all of us. Here is what I was told.

kaw

I forgot to mention it earlier, but at this time KLTM (ch 13 analog, ch 19 digital) is in the process of installing their digital transmitting equipment here in Monroe. You can probably look forward to receiving their signal in the next week or so..

They will initiate their digital signal with HD programming. I am not sure whether or not everything will be HD, but they will have a lot.. Their antenna will be 500 feet in the air and they are running 6800 watts (digital) which will probably reach Ruston without too much problem. This is Louisiana Public Broadcasting.. LPB


Jerry Harkins

 

[Cegarrett]

Getting NBC channel 6 guide info since the Super DMA upgrades?

 

[Dog6869]

I Live in laplace la (SE LA) I had to get a larger Dish to cut back on rain fade too I was not receiving any Satt signal for hours during a heavy rain or thunderstorms.. VOOM upgrade me to an 24 inch dish..... I love the PBS HD channel allot.... Sucks that you are not WOWed with your pictures on your HDTV Are you using the DVI??