Washington D.C. Metro area Voomers
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No Channel 7 this am 6/17/04
I was seeing black this morning on my Channel 7-1 (I didn't check 7-2). It was a really nice black, though.
I was seeing black this morning on my Channel 7-1 (I didn't check 7-2). It was a really nice black, though.
VOOM Broadcasting OTA in DC, MD, VA area?
I recieve a Voom promtional channel on 8-1 in DC Metro. Are they broadcasting OTA in DC?
Is anyone in other areas of the country recieving this channel below channel 100?
I recieve a Voom promtional channel on 8-1 in DC Metro. Are they broadcasting OTA in DC?
Is anyone in other areas of the country recieving this channel below channel 100?
FrankJo,
I think it is better to keep this in the "in your area" forum. There is a thread there for Washington DC already.
I think it is better to keep this in the "in your area" forum. There is a thread there for Washington DC already.
Sean,
I wanted to know if others around the country were recieving the same thing.
Sounds like it is a satellite channel, though.
I wanted to know if others around the country were recieving the same thing.
Sounds like it is a satellite channel, though.
Were you getting the no signal message? If not then WJLA was broadcasting the black.FrankJo said:
OTA Mapping - Front Royal? I'm in PG!
Ok, I live in PG county. I get my DC stations fine. But, My box is mapped for 2 PBS stations. One is in Front Royal, VA The other is in Hagerstown/Frederick. Voom has said that they are no longer remapping STBs. Neither of those channels come in at all. Hagerstown is 75 miles from here and Front Royal is 90 miles!
Why in the hell am I mapped for those stations! They want to install a new antenna. I don't need a new antenna, I need to be mapped correctly. They are just wasting money. That's an installer that they have to pay to come out and give me a new antenna!
Are any of you in the DC area mapped for these same stations? Is anyone in PG/Montgomery mapped to recieve the Annapolis PBS station? The channel 42 that I have listed is for WVPY - which acording to the internet is in Front Royal, VA.
ALSO. As many of you know, last it rained pretty good. I got no signal for 30 miutes during the rain. Should I start whining for a bigger dish?
Any thoughts you can offer will be appreciated.
(Folks, I never had these problems with Comcast. BTW - I still haven't turned in my Comcast STB yet.)
Ok, I live in PG county. I get my DC stations fine. But, My box is mapped for 2 PBS stations. One is in Front Royal, VA The other is in Hagerstown/Frederick. Voom has said that they are no longer remapping STBs. Neither of those channels come in at all. Hagerstown is 75 miles from here and Front Royal is 90 miles!
Why in the hell am I mapped for those stations! They want to install a new antenna. I don't need a new antenna, I need to be mapped correctly. They are just wasting money. That's an installer that they have to pay to come out and give me a new antenna!
Are any of you in the DC area mapped for these same stations? Is anyone in PG/Montgomery mapped to recieve the Annapolis PBS station? The channel 42 that I have listed is for WVPY - which acording to the internet is in Front Royal, VA.
ALSO. As many of you know, last it rained pretty good. I got no signal for 30 miutes during the rain. Should I start whining for a bigger dish?
Any thoughts you can offer will be appreciated.
(Folks, I never had these problems with Comcast. BTW - I still haven't turned in my Comcast STB yet.)
typo
I also have a whole lot of PBS stations mapped that I don't bring in. For me it's no big deal because I am only really concerned with the big four and WETA (NOVA's) PBS station. Rain fade is a fact of life with satellite TV. I don't know if Voom will issue another dish now because of the larger dish that is comming in the fall.
I also have a whole lot of PBS stations mapped that I don't bring in. For me it's no big deal because I am only really concerned with the big four and WETA (NOVA's) PBS station. Rain fade is a fact of life with satellite TV. I don't know if Voom will issue another dish now because of the larger dish that is comming in the fall.
Contrary to what wasch24 says, rain fade is not exactly a fact of life with satellite TV. I've had DirecTV pretty much since its inception in 1994, and the reality is that I've already had more incidences of rain fade with Voom than I've had with DirecTV in 10 years. That is no exaggeration. I've also had Comcast go out on me for one reason or another more than DirecTV over that time period. Concerning the channel mappings, it definitely seems like a little common sense should have been applied. Many of the stations are clearly out-of-range for the antenna they provide. And if you're going to map stations that are in range, but are all over the map, then they should provide an omnidirectional antenna by default. I'm just hoping for one of the players to make a major move so that I can go ahead and eliminate the others.FrankJo said:
Poor Local Reception and Emerald Cabling & Satellite Inc?
hey now,
i've had voom for a few months now...
not really much of a tv person - had to get a new tv - thought i might as well go for hd... why not get voom... if i catch "Frontline" and "South Park" each week, i'm all set (of course now i'm hooked on "American Chopper...)...
anyhooo...
i'm in Wheaton, MD
my install was done by:
Emerald Cabling & Satellite Inc
and my local channels are disappointing. i never get 9, 20, or 50, rarely get 26 (my favorite channel!), even 4, 5, and 7 are spotty, at best. no problem with non-local channels.
didn't have much confidence in my installation man. and the fact that he left behind all his garbage in my front yard after the installation suggested to me the level of professionalism with which i was dealing...
so now Emerald Cabling & Satellite Inc seems to be gone? does anyone know anything about this? i guess i need to take it up the ladder but i thought i'd see if anyone here had any input...
fwiw - i have no desire to leave voom.
thanks for reading...
hey now,
i've had voom for a few months now...
not really much of a tv person - had to get a new tv - thought i might as well go for hd... why not get voom... if i catch "Frontline" and "South Park" each week, i'm all set (of course now i'm hooked on "American Chopper...)...
anyhooo...
i'm in Wheaton, MD
my install was done by:
Emerald Cabling & Satellite Inc
and my local channels are disappointing. i never get 9, 20, or 50, rarely get 26 (my favorite channel!), even 4, 5, and 7 are spotty, at best. no problem with non-local channels.
didn't have much confidence in my installation man. and the fact that he left behind all his garbage in my front yard after the installation suggested to me the level of professionalism with which i was dealing...
so now Emerald Cabling & Satellite Inc seems to be gone? does anyone know anything about this? i guess i need to take it up the ladder but i thought i'd see if anyone here had any input...
fwiw - i have no desire to leave voom.
thanks for reading...
Definitely call Voom and tell them you are having problems with locals. They should be able to fix it. Even if the company that installed the system is not in business any more, they will send someone else.566 said:
You should be able to get good reception of all the stations you mention in Wheaton -- that is pretty close to DC. 4, 7, 9, and 50 are all pretty strong signals. 20 and 26 are a little spotty in my experience, but I usually get them in Arlington. In fact, you are so close that its possible you have the same problem I have in Arlington -- the various stations are located in different enough directions that I need an antenna rotor to pull them all in reliably. (I had my OTA antenna with rotor installed several years ago, at my expense, when I was with DirecTV. I don't know whether Voom installs them for customers if they need them.)
It may be that your basic Voom-supplied antenna was never positioned properly (sounds like your installer was not the best). Or a rotor might solve your problem. Or maybe you need an improved antenna -- there are supposedly some on the market that do a better job in urban areas of pulling in stations from different directions.
Regardless, don't suffer through bad locals, call Voom and see what they can do for you.
If you haven't already done so go to www.antennaweb.org and see what direction all the digital towers are in. I have a very directional antenna (PR8800) and it picks up towers that are about 8 degrees apart. If you do need a rotor I am not sure whether or not Voom will foot the bill for it.....Iv'e never heard of anyone getting one. At the very least call them and say that the installer exhausted all options so you need an upgraded antenna. That way if that doesn't work you will only have to buy the rotor.
Good installation!
Hi, all. Since I got so much great info from this site, I thought I'd post a good experience.
I am in the process of testing Voom, and hoping to drop Comcast after I give Voom about a month or so to prove itself. I was debating for quite a while, when someone in HomeTheaterSpot (who also posts in this forum) pointed out that with no installation fee and no cancellation fee, there's really not much to lose by trying Voom, and moving on from there.
After a few scheduling hiccups, my installation was completed last night. I did have to be assertive initially, as the first installation sub-contractor did a big no-show on my install date, and then claimed that the installer had an accident and could not show up, but made no efforts to send anyone else and expected me to wait another 2 weeks for an installation date. To this, I called Installs, Inc, and insisted on using one of their premier installation companies. They connected me with Emerald.
I noticed that someone else from this list complained that Emerald would not remove their empty boxes, and I had the same experience. But on the other hand the installers...
- were courteous
- called to give me a smaller window of time when they thought they'd be by (rather than the 5-hour window that you get when you first make the appointment)
- did not try to make off with any of the equipment (cables, etc)
- seemed to me to be very competent
- came when they said they would come!
- answer their phones when you call, so you are not imprisoned waiting for them to arrive!
There were a couple of glitches - the first attempt to install was thwarted by the installer bringing a box of "extras" that he thought was the dish, and as a result had to reschedule. D'oh!
The second attempt was also doomed - we swapped out two of the Motorola boxes, which both failed some sort of hardware test. But the third try was the charm - the installer brought a new box, and it seems to be working well.
My reception in non-rainy weather so far has been terrific. I watched World Sports last night - Real Madrid looked awesome in HD.
My box got whatever update it needed last night, and now I see some OTA channels, but don't have much experience with them yet.
I do have a couple of questions, if you've made it this far through my post:
- The signal is listed at around 55 out of 99. The installer claims that the bar used to only go to 60, and that's why so many people reported >90% when they were also getting a signal strength of 55. My picture looked great last night. Should I be concerned over the number? Will that mean that if the weather goes bad, I'll have problems?
- Flipping through my OTA, I see CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, and WB. I don't see any UPN. I also don't seem to get any of the PBS stations - got a little one and may need access to teletubbies (ugh.) I live right in DC, and very close to a tower, so I should see absolutely everything. Anyone else have any trouble with UPN or PBS coming from DC?
- Do the OTA stations come in as HD if the station broadcasts HD? Is that the deal? Is there no NBC/CBS/ABC coming in over the satellite? I couldn't find it in my listings.
Thanks for any tips!
Hi, all. Since I got so much great info from this site, I thought I'd post a good experience.
I am in the process of testing Voom, and hoping to drop Comcast after I give Voom about a month or so to prove itself. I was debating for quite a while, when someone in HomeTheaterSpot (who also posts in this forum) pointed out that with no installation fee and no cancellation fee, there's really not much to lose by trying Voom, and moving on from there.
After a few scheduling hiccups, my installation was completed last night. I did have to be assertive initially, as the first installation sub-contractor did a big no-show on my install date, and then claimed that the installer had an accident and could not show up, but made no efforts to send anyone else and expected me to wait another 2 weeks for an installation date. To this, I called Installs, Inc, and insisted on using one of their premier installation companies. They connected me with Emerald.
I noticed that someone else from this list complained that Emerald would not remove their empty boxes, and I had the same experience. But on the other hand the installers...
- were courteous
- called to give me a smaller window of time when they thought they'd be by (rather than the 5-hour window that you get when you first make the appointment)
- did not try to make off with any of the equipment (cables, etc)
- seemed to me to be very competent
- came when they said they would come!
- answer their phones when you call, so you are not imprisoned waiting for them to arrive!
There were a couple of glitches - the first attempt to install was thwarted by the installer bringing a box of "extras" that he thought was the dish, and as a result had to reschedule. D'oh!
The second attempt was also doomed - we swapped out two of the Motorola boxes, which both failed some sort of hardware test. But the third try was the charm - the installer brought a new box, and it seems to be working well.
My reception in non-rainy weather so far has been terrific. I watched World Sports last night - Real Madrid looked awesome in HD.
My box got whatever update it needed last night, and now I see some OTA channels, but don't have much experience with them yet.
I do have a couple of questions, if you've made it this far through my post:
- The signal is listed at around 55 out of 99. The installer claims that the bar used to only go to 60, and that's why so many people reported >90% when they were also getting a signal strength of 55. My picture looked great last night. Should I be concerned over the number? Will that mean that if the weather goes bad, I'll have problems?
- Flipping through my OTA, I see CBS, Fox, NBC, ABC, and WB. I don't see any UPN. I also don't seem to get any of the PBS stations - got a little one and may need access to teletubbies (ugh.) I live right in DC, and very close to a tower, so I should see absolutely everything. Anyone else have any trouble with UPN or PBS coming from DC?
- Do the OTA stations come in as HD if the station broadcasts HD? Is that the deal? Is there no NBC/CBS/ABC coming in over the satellite? I couldn't find it in my listings.
Thanks for any tips!
Welcome.
-Signal Quality of 55 is good if you still have SW version of 5.08. You mentioned a download accuring, try checking the current SW version by hitting the VOOM button, then the GREEN button for 'Options and Settings', scroll down to the last option in this menu (system settings or something, I'm at work), use the down arrow to scroll the pages until you see the SW version. It should be 5.68, if not just hit the power button at night to put the STB in stand-by and it will download the new SW eventually.
-UPN broadcasts at avery low power level and very few folks can pick it up.
- The OTA staions should come in all the time. If the current program isn't HD then there will be black pillars on each side of the image. The Voom STB and most TV's will not get rid of these, they are part of the broadcast. Most HD OTA is during "primetime" except for PBS, they do a lot of HD. There is no ABC, CBS, etc. over the satellite but the PG info for them comes from the satellite.
-Signal Quality of 55 is good if you still have SW version of 5.08. You mentioned a download accuring, try checking the current SW version by hitting the VOOM button, then the GREEN button for 'Options and Settings', scroll down to the last option in this menu (system settings or something, I'm at work), use the down arrow to scroll the pages until you see the SW version. It should be 5.68, if not just hit the power button at night to put the STB in stand-by and it will download the new SW eventually.
-UPN broadcasts at avery low power level and very few folks can pick it up.
- The OTA staions should come in all the time. If the current program isn't HD then there will be black pillars on each side of the image. The Voom STB and most TV's will not get rid of these, they are part of the broadcast. Most HD OTA is during "primetime" except for PBS, they do a lot of HD. There is no ABC, CBS, etc. over the satellite but the PG info for them comes from the satellite.
kjaslow said:
As Wasch points out, UPN20 has a weak signal. However, I receive it ok in Arlington, so I would be surprised if you cannot get it in DC.
PBS (WETA -channel 26) broadcasts from Arlington, not DC. Still, the signal should be strong enough to receive it. Also, be aware that their HD broadcast (which is on 26.1) is only on during certain times of the day and evening. During the day, they split up their bandwidth to broadcast three standard definition channels, 26.2 through 26.4. If you are trying to find 26.1 during the day, that may be the problem. They have informaiton on their website about when the various sub-stations are broadcasting. http://www.weta.org/tv/dtv/
Being right in the city, your reception issues are probably more similar to mine in Arlington that to folks in more distant locations on here. Signal strength for us is not a problem, but getting the antenna pointed correctly can be tricky. Also, if there are tall buildings near you (as there are near me) that can create multipath problems. Have you checked antennaweb.org to find out exactly where the digital transmitters are located relative to your house? That may help you point the antenna just right.
I think the bottom line is that the quality of OTA reception from our DC stations is great once you figure out how to get everything set up to receive it in your location, but unfortunately it isn't as easy as cable tv where you just flip the channel and its always right there. But to me, being able to dump Comcast was worth the hassles with OTA!
I see Channel 2 is broadcasting some Baltimore makeover crap tonight at 9pm. Do you know if they are going to re-run Kingdom Hospital that ABC is showing in that time slot? I'd hate to have to tune to Ch 7 to get it and miss DD5.1!
-John
-John
hey now,
thanks for the thoughtful and useful resonse mike528. i appreciate it. once i get off my fat bum and resolve this, i'll make a post here.
also, i'd like to make it clear that i didn't intend to slag emerald. the installer was super polite and made a good effort to keep the insdie of my house clean.
you suggested:
>In fact, you are so close that its possible you have the same problem I have in Arlington -- the various stations are located in different enough directions that I need an antenna rotor to pull them all in reliably.
this makes some sense to me. there are a number of broadcast towers (the nature of which i don't know) within about four blocks my of downlink. i just hope i can receive the same amount of local stations with voom that i can with rabbit ears. i seem to be able to get the best of dc and baltimore, as well as a few nova stations with rabbit ears...
thanks again.
thanks for the thoughtful and useful resonse mike528. i appreciate it. once i get off my fat bum and resolve this, i'll make a post here.
also, i'd like to make it clear that i didn't intend to slag emerald. the installer was super polite and made a good effort to keep the insdie of my house clean.
you suggested:
>In fact, you are so close that its possible you have the same problem I have in Arlington -- the various stations are located in different enough directions that I need an antenna rotor to pull them all in reliably.
this makes some sense to me. there are a number of broadcast towers (the nature of which i don't know) within about four blocks my of downlink. i just hope i can receive the same amount of local stations with voom that i can with rabbit ears. i seem to be able to get the best of dc and baltimore, as well as a few nova stations with rabbit ears...
thanks again.
