Voomer Coming Back Into the Fold...

smata67

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Mar 26, 2005
118
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I've had cable since Voom folded, am looking to get back into large quantities of HD programming. At this time, what is my best move? I would be a new customer with either DishNetwork or DirecTV. I like DN 26 channel option and it looks like the DVR box can be had for $200. There is also a $20/mo discount for 10 months promotion going on. Is this my best bet?

I would be looking at one single TV and I do not and will not get a landline.
 
That's currently your best best bet if you want the most HD, VOOM HD, and a great HD DVR. D* is said to be offering "tons" of HD channels before 2007 is over, but who knows at this point. Additionally, you may wish to look at Verizon FiOS TV if it is currently available or coming soon to your area.
 
How picky are you about the quality of an HD channel?

I ask because if you one of the VOOM'ers who was pushing them to up the resolution from 1440x1080 to true HD, then you may be disappointed with Dish's VOOM channels, which are at 1280x1080.

But you aren't too picky on quality and are looking for quanity, then Dish is the biggest game in town.
 
More HD-Lite Drivvle. One more thread taken over, hurrayy!!!

As with any purchase, if you can check it out before you buy; DO IT !!!!
DISH is the best provider out there and the quality is on par with HD you see everywhere.
DISH also has a 30 day guarantee. So no one should be afraid to make the call.
 
dslate69 said:
More HD-Lite Drivvle. One more thread taken over, hurrayy!!!

As with any purchase, if you can check it out before you buy; DO IT !!!!
DISH is the best provider out there and the quality is on par with HD you see everywhere.
DISH also has a 30 day guarantee. So no one should be afraid to make the call.

This guy does make one valid point..

The 30 day guarantee is a great thing...Check out DISH, if you like it keep it, if not cancel it..

I would not consider giving even a small amount of merit to his other comments regarding DISH HD quality though..The quality is in general marginal, but in some cases acceptable..The downrezzed VOOMS do actually look outstanding, IMO..

There are other HD channels that look no better than a horses ass though. Spefically HD NET, HD Net Movies, Food HD, HGTV, NFL HD, and Starz HD come to mind..
 
dslate69 said:
More HD-Lite Drivvle. One more thread taken over, hurrayy!!!

As with any purchase, if you can check it out before you buy; DO IT !!!!
DISH is the best provider out there and the quality is on par with HD you see everywhere.
DISH also has a 30 day guarantee. So no one should be afraid to make the call.
A former VOOMer asks for input, and a valued member providers a short, accurate, and factual opinion of the service. There was no grandstanding, there were no overt messages concerning HD-Lite, and the only mention of HD-Lite was made by you.

For your information, there is a world of difference between FiOS HD and many of the DishHD channels. Perhaps you should change to your handle to MrStevieWonder - The Blind Supporter of DishHD.:rolleyes:

I'm glad you love DishHD. I still still enjoy the service, just not as much these days. And I'm sorry if you don't like someone providing a less than glowing evaluation of DishHD, but get it over it already or visit a forum where nobody says nothing about no one...a forum like DBSTALK. That's www.dbstalk.com
 
"visit a forum where nobody says nothing about no one...a forum like DBSTALK. That's www.dbstalk.com"

Well, you can't even say anything on that other forum because they'll ban you or delete your posts. :p
 
This is my whole point. Quoting resolutions like they mean something is what I took to be a shot at HD-Lite. When guffy1 states that the most down rezzed channels (VOOMs) look outstanding and the others that aren't as down rezzed look like crap that tells me that resolutions shouldn't be considered when answering someones question that didn't even hint a quality of picture.

But it looks like by my own post I have derailed the thread more than a simple off-topic resoultion comment. I apologize to the original poster.
 
dslate69 said:
This is my whole point. Quoting resolutions like they mean something is what I took to be a shot at HD-Lite. When guffy1 states that the most down rezzed channels (VOOMs) look outstanding and the others that aren't as down rezzed look like crap that tells me that resolutions shouldn't be considered when answering someones question that didn't even hint a quality of picture.

But it looks like by my own post I have derailed the thread more than a simple off-topic resoultion comment. I apologize to the original poster.

You are right that resolution dosent mean everything..Bit rate and the quality of the original source material are both very important also..

I would not say that resolution means nothing though...

Yes I did state the Voom channels still look outstanding at HDLite resolutions..But if they were at full resolution they would look much better than they do, without question..
 
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dslate69 said:
DISH is the best provider out there and the quality is on par with HD you see everywhere.

I'm not going to respond to the attempt to drag this into an HD-lite argument.

But I will state that the above statement by dslate69 is not true. There are cable & FIOS companies providing high resolution, high bandwidth HD. And, of course, there are millions who get HD via OTA. So it is definitely a false statement to say that E*'s HD quality is "on par" with the HD you see everywhere.

About all one could say as a positive assessment of E*'s HD quality is that it is "on par or a little better" than other DBS companies and some of the lower quality cable providers. And it has an excellent ESPN HD channel.

I see no reason to oversell E*'s HD as being more than it is to potential new subscribers.
 
When I initially switched from DN to Voom, I was able to do a side by side comparison of the SD channels--DN did not have HD back then (or I did not have them). The VOOM SD channels were somewhat inferior on my set (60" Sony LCD Projection) to DN's. When VOOM was dropped, I had Cox Cable (Alexandria, VA) and VOOM simultaneously and there was a world of difference in the quality of SD channels, cable was far superior to both VOOM AND DN on their digital lineup. Even some of the analog channels had a much better picture, sharper and brighter colors, albeit with some noise. There is variation on the cable channels, for example, the pay channels (HBO) and some of the digital channels (a handful), have an even better picture than the SD digital channels, of course not quite HD, but still very, very good. The satellite SD to my eyes have always been somewhat washed out due to high compression. Mind you, the 60" screen is also a major factor, this was really not noticeable at all on my old 27", so if you don't have this or larger screen size, not a factor. The reason I have been holding off is that I'm pretty sure I am going to see a degraded PQ on most of the channels, with the advantage of getting a larger number of HD channels (Cox only has a handful). But now, it seems that even the HD channels may not be up to snuff. If the so-called HD channels are not quite full HD, then maybe I need to think a bit more whether it is worth it to switch.
 
smata67 said:
... But now, it seems that even the HD channels may not be up to snuff. If the so-called HD channels are not quite full HD, then maybe I need to think a bit more whether it is worth it to switch.
When I said DISH's channels are on par, I meant they are in the same ball park. I by no means want to over state DISH's HD, I just don't want anyone believing the over stating going on about HD-Lite.
Read the threads, you will hear high praise for equator, rave, hd-news and lots of other so called HD-Lite channels; even in this thread. No one should let the buzz words scare them away. See for yourself, and take the 30 day no risk DISH challenge. And remember the 622 has an OTA tuner so a side by side comparison can be done at a local retailer or the day the installer sets you up.
One more point... remember that the guys putting HD-Lite doubt in your mind are still DISH subs. :cool:
 
Dish PQ just as good as most TV Providers! Yes HD needs to improve but most of all the Tv Providers need to improve.. Overall Dish offers the most HD and you get the most for your money.. Cox stinks as far as what they offer and the PQ is not any better.. If anything cable compaines have fallen behind and will half to go up on their rates to improve their networks.. High bandwidth TV will be limited to on how well it will work. Haveing all your eggs in one basket will not be good which means haveing your net connetion tied into your tv connection is not a good thing. Its still always best to keep your net connection seprate from your tv service. That way if your have internet connection problems it does not effect your tv. So if your internet goes down at home so does your TV.. IPTV is not going to be all what they are trying to make it out too be it will have just as many issue's but more.. Its better to keep those things seprate that way if you have a issue it does not take all of your services down.. I will always keep my Tv Serivce seprate from my net instead of putting them all togeather which can lead into big problems..
 
Concern about PQ is very legitimate for someone with a high quality 60" HDTV set, particularly if they are a discerning viewer - and doubly so if you plan to watch a fair amount of SD. I find the SD channels to be okay on my 32" but mediocre on my 47". HDTV set performance on SD material does vary a lot, so perhaps your experience will be better.

I would say to not get your hopes up about the PQ, but perhaps you will find it tolerable/acceptable and given that you will have a 30-day opt-out, you might want to keep a fall-back plan open for a month. If you go into it with reservations, then maybe you will be more pleasantly surprised than disappointed.
 
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