Wife's Comment About Voom

[Alto101]

We just had E* installed at our house last week with a 942 feeding both the HDTV and the 4X3 TV. We kept Voom hooked up to both tv's because I didn't want to pull the plug. The installer was really pushing up to remove the Voom dish but I refused to let him...who knows what E* might be transmitting at 61.5 soon

Anyway, I made the E* setup the default so that my wife could get used to the new system. Yesterday I came upstairs and she was watching TV. I saw the Voom remote by her hand and asked her why she wasn't watching E*. She said that she doesn't like the new satellite service and wants to keep Voom She knows that they are shutting down but she and I both agree that Voom is more user friendly. For example, with Voom the HD channels are integrated into the guide alongside the SD versions. With E* they are placed in a distant area of the guide with all of the other HD channels. The Voom remote is backlight, the Dish remote has no light. Plus, the presentation of Voom's guide and menus is just prettier than E*'s.

I know that these are minor things, but I just was so happy when she said that she wanted to keep Voom. Even though I have a 942 with E* I would ditch it in a second for a standard TiVo and my Voom.

Anyway, my wife will come around as she gets to know the new system. She is not a gadget freak like me but she learns quickly. We will miss Voom and the additional HD channels they offer, but more than that, we will miss seeing the growth of a service that if given the proper time and leadership, could have grown into a true competitor to both D*,E* and cable.

 

[piperut]

We had Voom installed in Feb. It took a couple of days to get used to it. I actually programmed the Voom codes into are universal remote. Some of the special funtions did not work on the universal remote. (If you want to set the STB to turn itself on, and program the local channels... stuff like that.) Normal operation, channel surfing, worked fine on the universal remote.

My dvd recorder is the same sort of thing. I can play dvd's with the universal remote, but can't set up the timer with it, or record. So for progamming I have to use the remotes that came with the boxes. For general stuff, the universal remote. (The other stuff, surrond sound an VCR are in the universal remote... so I am down to 3 remotes from 5).

Anyway, we had Dish Network for about 2 weeks after we had Voom installed. The Voom PQ is better then Dish Network. The Voom guide is easier to use then Dish Network. Dish did have more sports channels, and regional sports channels.

I can get my local HD channels off an OTA antenna (except when it rains). We are most likely going to go back to Dish Network. However, we are going to wait into May and see what happens. No need to rush into anything.

roland

 

[Indy]

For example, with Voom the HD channels are integrated into the guide alongside the SD versions. With E* they are placed in a distant area of the guide with all of the other HD channels. The Voom remote is backlight, the Dish remote has no light. Plus, the presentation of Voom's guide and menus is just prettier than E*'s.

I know that these are minor things, but I just was so happy when she said that she wanted to keep Voom.

You are right about everything you point out in the differences between the two providers. I had E* for 8 years before Voom and thought the inconveniences were something we had to live with due to the nature of HD and SD together on the same box. No we don't have to live with them as proved by Voom. To me these are major differences and only shows how crude the engineering on the E* equipment really is compared to the cutting edge of Voom's design integration.
I will cancel E* before going back to a full line up with them. I would rather do without and savor the memories of Voom then be thrown back into the dark ages with E* or D*.

 

[mdonnelly]

...For example, with Voom the HD channels are integrated into the guide alongside the SD versions. With E* they are placed in a distant area of the guide with all of the other HD channels. ...

That's a user preference option that can be changed. It's part of the Local Channels setting in the Installation Menu. It says something like "Locals in 1-100".

 

[Devil24]

Heh... at least you're not dealing with TWC's HD Box... now, that's what I call a mess... channels are distributed all over the place without a specific logic.

I'm already missing Voom a lot .

 

[Shawn95GT]

My 'wife' (fiance) feels the same way. She was initally mad at me because she thought it was my choice to switch to cable intead of Voom - lol.

Cox's guide is as equally scattered with the HD stuff clumped together in the 700s. The DVR is nice but I still don't get the 'can't live without it' feeling so many people seem to have.