OT - Voom Users? Options

[seanery]

I'm thinking about switching to Voom...it looks like a nice service with some good packages available.
Anyone use it and have comments about it?

[Gint]

I looked at it. Waaay to much money for me given the amount of time I have (not) to spend in front of the TV. I watch to much TV already. I can't even make a dent in what I have Tivo'd.

[vortrex]

I will get this once I quit comcast. it is so hard watching stuff that is not HD, but right now I get it all for free so I will suffer with the 10 or so HD channels I have.

[seanery]

I made the plunge....3 HD Motorola 550 receivers, the basic package plus HBO...$64/mo which is $25 less than my DirecTV bill.
$1 installation, to be done on Mon Jan 17th.

I'll report my findings after installation.

[Rhodes71/914]

I want an HD tv, but alas I am not willing to pay more than $500 for a tv.

[Gint]

QUOTE (seanery Posted on Jan 8 2005 @ 07:32 PM)

I made the plunge....3 HD Motorola 550 receivers, the basic package plus HBO...$64/mo which is $25 less than my DirecTV bill. $1 installation, to be done on Mon Jan 17th. I'll report my findings after installation.

I only have the one HDTV anyway and a 4 other TV's in the house (and one in the garage). And a wife and 3 kids. And channels I/they watch that wouldn't be on Voom. But...

Do please let me know what you think of it. It's been a while since I looked, do they do local programming?

QUOTE (Rhodes71/914 Posted on Jan 8 2005 @ 08:43 PM)

I want an HD tv, but alas I am not willing to pay more than $500 for a tv.

Yep, you'll be SOL for a long time to come then.

[seanery]

I saw a 30" widescreen CRT HDTV for $499 at a major national department store...regular price, not on sale.

The prices are already on the way down, and will continue to fall - quickly I believe (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

[Rhodes71/914]

QUOTE (seanery @ Jan 9 2005, 08:15 AM)

I saw a 30" widescreen CRT HDTV for $499 at a major national department store...regular price, not on sale. The prices are already on the way down, and will continue to fall - quickly I believe (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

Thanks Sean just what I didn't need to read. Let's see new part for the 914 or new tv, think I'll get the 914 running first.

[Red-Beard]

QUOTE (Rhodes71/914 @ Jan 8 2005, 07:43 PM)

I want an HD tv, but alas I am not willing to pay more than $500 for a tv.

27 inch CRT HDTVs are going for under $500.

[Rider914]

Dont forget the $$ Tuner. . . one day it will be included on all.

How much does VOOM compress the HD channels? An off-air antenna is much better than the locals on cable HD (cable compresses hd's hard)

When you watch a HD (off air antenna) set tuned to Monday Night Football it looks like there is a hole in your wall and the game is in your back yard. The Shows that are shot on film then transfered are not as sharp but better than normal analog or upconverted shows.

[richardL]

The Voom installation deal is hard to beat ($1). They have multiple channels but many of them are old movies over and over again. I hear the World Sport channel and the news channel are pretty good.

Voom has a 'troubled' future - it only had 26,000 subscribers a few months ago and has a huge churn. Cablevision just announced that they will not invest any more money into Voom - which probably means its doomed. It will probably be shut down with their sateelite being sold to Dish, which is desparate for some extra HD bandwidth. However, your risk is low as the upfront is very low.

They are very unlikely to ever release their promised HD DVR. DirectTV is going to use the same company for their new HMC at the end of the year and I imagine that most resources will go that way.

Voom are known to highly compress their signal - down to about the same as DirectTV have been using while allocating badnwidth to football. Of course DirectTv will have vast bandwidth in 6 months with their 2 new satellites (and the switch to MPEG-4). And they have a fabulous HD DVR (I got one for Christmas (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif) )

Richard

[seanery]

wow!

my first impression is good.
Pros
-remote has a nice feel
-motorola box is way, way, way upgradeable
-image quality is heads and tails better than DirecTV (I'm very surprised at this)
-Installation was painless
-remote pre-programmed for Sony tvs
-multiple options for viewing wide-screen content on a 4:3 tv
-2 options for viewing 4:3 content on a wide screen tv
-$1 to install 3 rooms
-similar regular channels as my DirecTV subscription for less $
-lots of HD channels

Cons
-No local channels, available through terrestrial antenna (which is included)
-I can't get all of my area's digital channels (4 & 23)
-remote is very simple (I feel like it's missing buttons-I'm sure I'll get used to it)
-downloading during first install takes an hour or so to complete (some channels ready after 10 minutes)

[richardL]

Sean - you might want to hold onto that DirectTV equipment, just in case: (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sad.gif)

By PETER GRANT Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 19, 2005; Page B3
The board of Cablevision Systems Corp. reiterated its determination to shut down or sell its unprofitable satellite service over the protests of Cablevision Chairman and Founder Charles Dolan, who wants to keep it going, people familiar with the matter said.
At a three-hour meeting via phone, the board asked Cablevision's management to give it a plan for cutting back funding of the service, known as Voom, which launched about a year ago.
The board also asked for a status report on efforts to sell the business. The company has funded the service, which lost $75.3 million in the third quarter of last year, only until the end of the month, people said.
A Cablevision spokesman declined to comment.
The satellite service has created an unusual public rift between Mr. Dolan and his son James Dolan, Cablevision's chief executive. James Dolan sides with the majority of directors who voted last month in favor of shutting Voom down or selling it.
Charles Dolan has indicated that he might try to unseat some of the directors who oppose him. He would likely be able to do this because the Dolan family elects 75% of the directors through a separate class of stock that it owns. Charles Dolan is believed to control the family stake through his own shares and his influence with other family members.
Charles Dolan didn't mention the threat to replace board members at yesterday's meeting, people familiar with the matter said. But he continued to argue that Cablevision should continue funding Voom, they added.
Most investors and analysts favor pulling the plug on Voom, which has cost Cablevision over $500 million and would likely run at a deficit for years. In 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the stock was trading down 38 cents, or 1.6%, at $23.97.
"The uncertainty will persist until they can figure out a structure to get rid of Voom," says Aryeh Bourkoff, a cable analyst with UBS Securities who downgraded Cablevision on the news of the board rift.


Its not over yet, but its not looking good for Voom. Most likely it will be shut down and Dish will buy the satellite for cheap.

[seanery]

It doesn't look good, well the picture quality does. I'm not too worried, DirecTV made it pretty clear that I could deal with them. I hope Voom lasts long enough for DirecTV to get their upgrade and compression change done.

[richardL]

DirectTV have pretty much promised to do a 'no cost' swap when they go MPEG4 - so I would suggest keeping your receiver.

I really hope they do since I have a new HD Tivo!

They have suggested that San Francisco is one of the first 12 markets to convert, so I am waiting to see - however, an upgrade to MPEG4 requires new satellites, new encoders, new dishes, new receivers - so I expect there will be some interesting engineering challenges before all that happens. Once its done though, the capabilities will be awesome.

Voom is a good deal if you have the 'cheap' installation, and the extra channels are pretty nice - I especially like the sound of the World Sports channel and the music channel sounds pretty good also. I have to admit being very biased against anything to do with the cable monopolies.

I am getting involved with a company doing Video over IP, which is pretty exciting.

The best source for info seems to be www.avsforum.com - they have an HD section

Richard

[vortrex]

what company richard?

[richardL]

Sorry, its sold and soon will be dead!

"EchoStar to Buy Voom's Assets
From Cablevision
By PETER GRANT and ANDY PASZTOR Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
January 21, 2005; Page A3
Cablevision Systems Corp. will shut down its Voom satellite service and sell most of the assets of the money-losing business to EchoStar Communications Corp. for $200 million in cash.
The deal amounts to a major defeat for Cablevision Chairman Charles Dolan, who has championed the service for more than 10 years. It also marks the climax of a family and financial drama that pitted Mr. Dolan against his son James Dolan, Cablevision's chief executive.
Yesterday's announcement follows a tumultuous month in which James Dolan sided with a majority of Cablevision board members in trying to sell Voom or shut down the service that had little hope of seeing a profit for years. Charles Dolan at one point threatened to use his controlling stake in the company to force directors off the board who opposed continued funding. Earlier this week, Charles Dolan indicated in a memo to Voom employees that family members might buy the service themselves to keep it operating.
"It closes the book on what has been a relatively unhappy chapter in Cablevision's history," says Craig Moffett, analyst for Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.
EchoStar will purchase Voom's only satellite, launched by Cablevision in 2003, and other equipment. Cablevision will continue trying to sell Voom's other assets, including valuable slots for satellites to orbit, which could fetch tens of millions of additional dollars. But the cable operator is unlikely to come close to recovering its investment in the business, estimated at more than $500 million.
Cablevision said in a press release that it would continue to provide service to Voom's roughly 26,000 subscribers "during a transition period." A spokesman declined further comment. James and Charles Dolan couldn't be reached.
EchoStar, the country's second-largest satellite-TV operator, has long been seen as the most logical buyer of Voom's assets. Charles Ergen, the company's chairman and chief executive, for months has been weighing alternatives to compete more effectively against the deeper pockets of DirecTV Group Inc., the largest satellite operator.
The deal with Cablevision could alleviate the concerns of investors worried about EchoStar's ability to keep up with DirecTV in providing additional high-definition programming.
Mr. Ergen negotiated what industry officials said was a surprisingly low price for a powerful, two-year-old satellite with no known defects and more than 16 years left in orbit. It cost about $250 million to build and put the satellite into orbit, while EchoStar has avoided the risk of a launch failure and early operational malfunctions.
Voom began selling its service in late 2003, but it got off to a bad start, burning through $75.3 million in cash in the third quarter of last year. Voom's strategy was to offer more high-definition channels than cable companies and other satellite operators. But this failed to attract much demand, especially as competitors added more high-definition offerings. Crutchfield Corp., a large retailer of television and audio equipment, recently stopped selling Voom.
Cablevision, the nation's sixth-largest cable network, also owns Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers. Its shares continued to rally yesterday on investor confidence that the company will soon stop funding Voom's deficits. In 4 p.m. composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares were up $1.10, or 4.5%, at $25.48.
The decision to sell Voom marks the first time that James Dolan has publicly stood up to his father after working for years in his shadow. Until now, James Dolan was primarily known for the ho-hum performance of Cablevision's sports teams and his high-profile battles with other prominent New Yorkers. Most recently he has fought New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg over the city's efforts to build a new stadium on Manhattan's West Side that would compete with Madison Square Garden."


Hope you still have the DirectTV equipment, I wouldn't be too hopeful of anything good from Dish for a while

R

PS: Vortrex: The company is in Italy and is looking good in Asia, very little US presence at the moment.

[campbellcj]

Ya know...usually I could be lumped into the "early adopter" category but in this case I feel perfectly fine about waiting to jump into the HDTV and HD source wars. The prices of the large monitors/tv's are already starting to plummet and I want to make sure DirecTV (my current provider) or -somebody- is gonna be around a while if I plunk down a few $large on some equipment updates.

Plus...I wonder if I really need to watch Dragon Tales, Clifford, and Thomas Tank Engine in HD? (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wacko.gif)

I've been opposed to putting tv's in Logan's or our bedroom so that essentially means we watch kids shows 90% of the time...I'm beginning to rethink this position, however.

[Rider914]

QUOTE

They have suggested that San Francisco is one of the first 12 markets to convert, so I am waiting to see - however, an upgrade to MPEG4 requires new satellites, new encoders, new dishes, new receivers - so I expect there will be some interesting engineering challenges before all that happens. Once its done though, the capabilities will be awesome.

New satellites??? The birds just bounce back what you send to them. . . Then again I have only sent mpeg2 up. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/unsure.gif)
I would think that they would roll out mpeg4 a few channels at a time. New receivers would handle both untill everyone is switched.

[seanery]

auction cancelled

I should probably keep my gear.
The good news is that the motorola receivers are bitchin'
I'll keep them and use them for my terrestrial channels.

Oh well, only cost me a buck (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sad.gif)