Voomer moved to Comcast – initial thoughts

[hd_SDI_1080i]

Unfortunately due to some very high trees, neither DISH nor DirecTV are available to me and as luck would have it Voom or Sky Angel are my only satellite options. I’ve therefore had to sign-up for Comcast silver plan with HD … my thoughts thus far:

- In New England expect to pay between 85-90 bucks a month for a comparable Voom package with HBO (about 20 dollars more than I was paying for Voom) and also receive less channels as FUSE, FXM and some of the Fox sports offerings cost another 7 dollars a month.

- HD lineup does include local HD offerings which is useful as the network affiliates around here are transmitting at about the same power as a Cordless phone INHD is included however is nowhere near as well programmed as Voom 21 or even HDnet. It’s been 3 days with Comcast and I’m already missing KungFu and Monster big-time. Also not having Universal HD and TNT HD is a loss

- The program guide on my Scientific Atlanta brings back fond memories of my Texas Instruments TI994A– horrible looking graphics and it blows me away that in 2005 one has to look at 8 bit blocky graphic guides.

- ON demand is a bonus and will say a bright spot - however I’m counting the days until the greedy engineering team at Comcast convince management to charge an additional 10 bucks a month for it.


Regardless of my complaining I’m pretty much a captive customer of Comcast in the near term until SBC comes up with an alternative. It saddens me that other bleeding edge and low subscribed technologies such as Sky Angel and Sirius keep on ticking along for years and Voom was canned so early.

Lastly, I want to thank Scott for this fantastic forum and my other fellow Voomers’ who have put tons of effort and thought into posting and participating. Thanks again.

 

[B.Greenway]

I did exactly that, have Voom (until the 30th) and Comcast came out last Monday, I'll live, but Voom its not. I am enjoying finally having a DVR though.

 

[seandudley]

It saddens me that other bleeding edge and low subscribed technologies such as Sky Angel and Sirius keep on ticking along for years and Voom was canned so early.

And I sure hope Serius keeps on going since I just bought a lifetime subscription to their service last year. It would really suck for me if they suddenly shut down. I guess I'd feel like those people that spent $750.00 on a Voom receiver.

 

[lilyarbie]

I don't think you should have a problem seandudley

Unlike Voom, which only had 40,000+ subscribers, Sirius has 1,000,000+ subscribers and is still growing at a rapid pace. Satellite radio is more interesting to people than HDTV satellite television is to people. Not talking about people on this board, but most people out there in general. Also, Sirius has tons of funding to keep it going for years, unlike Cablevision, which was the sole financier of the satellite television company. Sirius has run up a lot of debt in the past year or so with new contracts for sporting events as well as signing up Howard Stern starting next year, but they will more than likely get all the subscribers they are wishing for. Sirius is more interested in attracting subscribers than Voom was. Voom wasn't all that interested in attracting non-HD subscribers until recently when they added all of those SD channels to their line-up to only do it too late. According to financial reports XM will break even before Sirius over time, but this doesn't mean that they will go belly up. Also, Sirius has been more widely publicized and has become more popular since all of these contracts have come through. Many popular magazines have even claimed that Sirius is now better than that of XM.
I see this as more of the DirecTV versus DishNetwork of satellite radio and will probably remain that way, since there have only been two sets of frequencies allocated to Satellite radio unlike satellite television. The only outside competitor they have is terrestrial radio and its highly unpublicized HD Radio, which has a much more slower growth than that of HDTV. Not to mention the fact that there are only a few HD Radio tuner makers out there and they are only vehicle based and not home based yet for home stereo systems or for home surround sound systems. Besides, I wouldn't want to pay $300 bucks for an external tuner for my cd player receiver or to pay $1,000 bucks for a cd player with a built-in HD Radio tuner.

 

[B.Greenway]

"Satellite radio is more interesting to people than HDTV satellite television is to people."

I'm not even remotely interested in satellite radio, but to each their own.

 

[lilyarbie]

I meant to the general public

The general public really isn't interested that much in HDTV as we in the forum are. Most of them are familiar with satellite radio and have more of an interest in that area than having an HDTV with lots of HDTV channels.

 

[jgantert]

My Comcast first impressions

Well, I was just installed this morning in Baltimore, MD. I got the Scientific Atlanta 8000HD box (2 tuner HD-DVR).

Good:
- PQ is simular to Voom. Even the analog channels are simular. ESPN-HD looks better on Comcast, but in general the HD looks simular.
- Comcast OnDemand seems cool. All SD, tho.
- Bunch of Encore, Flix and Sundance SD channels.
- HD PiP controlled by the box (my RCA TV doesnt do PiP with a HD source!)
- Decent installer (replaced all outside boxes and connectors).

Bad:
- Missing some good channels like Fox Movies, Voom21 (duh), UDH and TNT-HD.
- iNHD1/2 conntent lame so far.
- Strange channel numbering. For example, ESPN is 3, ESPNHD is 202, some other ESPNs in the 100's
- No useful Favorites list (Voom/DirecTV has a seperate guide for Favorites).
- Limited EPG, simular to Voom, but not nearly as nice as D*
- no "smart" strech mode (ala TNT-HD). Only Norm, Stretch, and Zoom.

Like I said, only first impressions. I don't know what really nags me yet.

-John

UPDATE 4/19/05:
At first I was reasonably impressed, but the more I try to do with the HD DVR, the more I dislike it. I got the 8000HD box and it doesnt do SD and HD at the same time... no DVI... Dolby Digital audio skips during playback... extremely basic EPG (simular to Voom's except in 8 bit 4:3 mode). Actually the EPG is WORSE than Voom's because when you scroll left/right it actually moves the time, not just the cursor. So you need to scroll right twice, click info, then scroll left twice to get back to the current time. ALSO, you cant change the PG channel without changing the actual channel. UGH!

Who designed this awful thing??? Man, I've only had cable since Saturday, and I'm already back to using my Voom box as my main box. I've actually used Zap2It to find programming, then went thru the EPG to set up DVR recordings because that's easier than trying to use the EPG on the 8000HD....

 

[rollerfink]

I was looking forward to the on-demand feature but when i finally got it on my system about a month ago i was very disappointed. There is no HD at all and the menu system is clunky and very slow. I've watched a couple of things on it but can't see myself using it much. I'd rather they add more HD and let me use my DVR to find stuff that i want to watch.

 

[James Long]

It saddens me that other bleeding edge and low subscribed technologies such as Sky Angel and Sirius keep on ticking along for years and Voom was canned so early.

SkyAngel managed to get on the air as cheaply as possible (trading TP space for use of TPs with E*) and has very limited costs paying NO channel for the rights to rebroadcast. They I suspect that SkyAngel's biggest cost is advertising the service. They are also at around a million customers ... 25x more than Voom. Their $12 per month fee works out to a quarterly revenue of $36 million - V* managed just over $5 million in their best two quarters last year and has collected only $15 million in revenue in their lifetime.

Sky Angel kept costs low, revenues high and actually have a 4% DBS market share for their "nitch". They have also partnered well, using E* equipment allows subscribers to integrate heathen content if they desire. And while V* targeted a nitch that was around 1% of US TV homes when they started (now about 4% of US TV homes) Sky Angel targets the 90% of the US that claims to be religious. A bigger marketplace to succeed in.

JL

 

[bratboy]

Had never heard of Sky till the last post and went to look at it. Oh my Goddess what a scary option (Runs screaming into hills like a good Pagan, hehe)

 

[kfried001]

"Satellite radio is more interesting to people than HDTV satellite television is to people."

I'm not even remotely interested in satellite radio, but to each their own.

I am into both. I miss VOOM, but I have Sirius. Once you listen to satellite radio, you won't go back. Unless you like comericals, non-specific music genre's etc... they even have the NFL ticket on Sirius. I just might cancel my Directv NFL ticket.

 

[riffjim4069]

Well, I was just installed this morning in Baltimore, MD. I got the Scientific Atlanta 8000HD box (2 tuner HD-DVR).

Good:
- PQ is simular to Voom. Even the analog channels are simular. ESPN-HD looks better on Comcast, but in general the HD looks simular.
- Comcast OnDemand seems cool. All SD, tho.
- Bunch of Encore, Flix and Sundance SD channels.
- HD PiP controlled by the box (my RCA TV doesnt do PiP with a HD source!)
- Decent installer (replaced all outside boxes and connectors).

Bad:
- Missing some good channels like Fox Movies, Voom21 (duh), UDH and TNT-HD.
- iNHD1/2 conntent lame so far.
- Strange channel numbering. For example, ESPN is 3, ESPNHD is 202, some other ESPNs in the 100's
- No useful Favorites list (Voom/DirecTV has a seperate guide for Favorites).
- Limited EPG, simular to Voom, but not nearly as nice as D*
- no "smart" strech mode (ala TNT-HD). Only Norm, Stretch, and Zoom.

Like I said, only first impressions. I don't know what really nags me yet.

-John

John, can you exchange your box for an SA8300HD DVR? It's much better IMO....even the remote control.

 

[stevesmall]

I am into both. I miss VOOM, but I have Sirius. Once you listen to satellite radio, you won't go back. Unless you like comericals, non-specific music genre's etc... they even have the NFL ticket on Sirius. I just might cancel my Directv NFL ticket.

Well why not just throw the TV out too

 

[mrhph]

Comcast has a promotion called "Dish Win Back" for dish subscribers looking to switch to cable. If you get Digital Plus w/ Standard, it will be $33 per month for 16 MONTHS. Add HD-pack and it will be $38.

If you get Digital Silver+HD it will be ~$53/month. Call them up and ask for the promotion by name.

 

[Wayne88]

Comcast Confusion

Comcast has a promotion called "Dish Win Back" for dish subscribers looking to switch to cable. If you get Digital Plus w/ Standard, it will be $33 per month for 16 MONTHS. Add HD-pack and it will be $38.

If you get Digital Silver+HD it will be ~$53/month. Call them up and ask for the promotion by name.

The Comcast "Dish Win Back" promotion is definitely the way to go. Still I have talked to 4 people at Comcast and gotten 3 different versions (and at least 2 other sub-versions) (no pun intended) of the promotion. One is $400 dolar reduction of service charges spread over 16 months ($25 dollar reduction per month). With that it would be $29.99/month for digital cable $5 dollars per month for each premium package (so 5 x $5=25 for the premium gamut) the HD DVR is included plus 2 X $4.95 per month (=$9.90 per month) for 2 additional rooms of HD so that totals $70.95 per month for 16 months before increase. Another person told me that it would be $29.99 per month for digital cable plus HD DVR thrown in but $5 per month for HD service plus the $25 per month for the 5 premium packages (again 5 x $5) plus that $9.90 for 2 additional rooms.....giving a per month total of $69.89 (for 12 months)for their total package (minus the internet for my 3 room setup). The third, and best offer, which I have received (and would have had if their computers had not been down) calls for again $29.99 per month for digital cable with HDDVR and HD programing thrown in along with HBO, Showtime and The Movie channel packages. Stars and Cinemax would be $7 and $9 per month respectively. Also there would be that $9.90 for the 2 additional rooms in HD for a grand total of $55.89 per month for one year. I stupidly signed up for the $69.89 per month option because the CSR with the best deal was not in yet and the other one convinced me that she was mistaken. But later I talked to the CSR with the best deal and she will fix the situation by tomorrow. Installation day is April 30th (joining the evil empire! who would have thunk it?)
Wayne

 

[jagouar]

I actually went with cable co (COX) because they offered me the cheapest basic service with HD programming and DVR.

I get "extended basic" for 40 bucks a month and 15 to lease the DVR (moto)

E*/D* would have been a bit cheaper but you dont have to pay 5 bucks per TV to get service at them..... so cable is actually a bit cheaper for my 4 room system.

I have to saw as far as DVR's go the COX moto box is pretty impressive.... dual tuner and it works flawlessly so far (even with the small drive). It does lack a few things (doesnt run in a 16x9 window, just 4x3 and theres no way to remove channels from your guide, non subbed ones).... but other than that Im impressed with cable right now.

I disagree about InHD.... for sports InHD blows Hdnet away. The IMAX stuff is great, they have some interesting series as well (traveler, stormchasers). Id rate InHD slightly better than Hdnet right now... but well see how bad the repeats get.

Hdnet is better in the series/concerts though.

 

[Mindstorm]

I've had both for about 2 months

When I moved, I cancelled directv and ordered voom. Couldn't get CBS or ABC and other misc locals OTA so when I signed up for cable modem HSI I was going to get the basic cable package (~$13.00) which in turn would take $10 off my HSI bill...then I heard about the dish payback promotion and knowing the uncertainity of voom I order that and gave them my old directv dish and some old receiver...sold the other HD ones on ebay I pay around ~$70/month for HSI, HD DVR, and digital cable that includes HBO. Of course in 12 months that cost will jump up >$100 so I'll have to put on my poker face and negoiate a new deal.

Over the past two months, I've probably watched more cable since the HD for locals was more reliable and the cable gave me DVR capabilities. Still voom was used for watching the voom content or any normal SD programming since it didn't have the analog cable noise.

The HD content from comcast(here in Denver anyway) is of very decent quality and having a HD DVR makes it worth while (although its interface is no tivo and I have seen the box lock up quite often when doing stuff on both tuners (it's a Motorola 6412 which I believe runs some Windows based sw from what I've read and is still going through firmware upgrades--last fw upgrade reduced box lockups by ~80% so things appear to be getting better). Of course the amount of HD content is where voom was king...no voom21, tnt-hd, etc here in cable land. The SD quality can leave a lot to be desired. Part of the problem could be that I'm viewing the SD programing via the HD cable tuner which connects to my tv via DVI so the noise is very noticeable. When I bypass the box, the SD qualiity appears less noisy, but softer. I've read that the Motorola boxes due a terrbile job with the output of the analog cable signals, but I haven't tried viewing the output of the box on anything other than DVI. What I don't like about the non HD DVR boxes (my deal included 2 cable stbs, one upgraded to HD) is that the non HD boxes won't display the HD stations at all...(i.e. 480i)...just audio so you have to tuner to their analog counter parts. Plus the non HD box is really cheap as outputs go...only composite and stereo outputs. You can see that there is a spot for svideo, but I don't see any connector inside the box for one and since it is a rented box, I haven't found it worth my while to open it and see if I can enable s-video output and/or digtial output.

I must stay I do like having the ability to distribute the analog cable as I see fit and not requiring a box/mirroring fee at each tv; if comcast can add more HD content then I may stay with them for a while.

 

[Mindstorm]

I actually went with cable co (COX) because they offered me the cheapest basic service with HD programming and DVR.

I have to saw as far as DVR's go the COX moto box is pretty impressive.... dual tuner and it works flawlessly so far (even with the small drive). It does lack a few things (doesnt run in a 16x9 window, just 4x3 a .

Which Motorola box do you have? On the 6412 if you press menu button on the box while the box is powered off, you get into the setup options and can select 16:9. Then installer knew nothing of this, but the internet is a wonderful thing.

 

[mrhph]

The third, and best offer, which I have received (and would have had if their computers had not been down) calls for again $29.99 per month for digital cable with HDDVR and HD programing thrown in along with HBO, Showtime and The Movie channel packages. Stars and Cinemax would be $7 and $9 per month respectively. Also there would be that $9.90 for the 2 additional rooms in HD for a grand total of $55.89 per month for one year. I stupidly signed up for the $69.89 per month option because the CSR with the best deal was not in yet and the other one convinced me that she was mistaken. But later I talked to the CSR with the best deal and she will fix the situation by tomorrow. Installation day is April 30th (joining the evil empire! who would have thunk it?)
Wayne

I have called Comcast twice now about the 3rd deal that you have mentioned, but they couldn't find it. It could be that it is only offered in MD and not CA where I live.

 

[wase4711]

yes, every Metro area seems to have a different "deal"..