First Installed VOOM users speaks

[Scott Greczkowski]

Somehow someone managed to get a VOOM system installed and has spoken at AVSforum.

www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=317039

Interesting reading!

 

[Tahoerob]

Somehow someone managed to get a VOOM system installed and has spoken at AVSforum.

www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=317039

Interesting reading!

AMAZING! That solidifies my thoughts of waiting until AFTER 2/04. Hopefully by then we will see how many channels really are up & running & if they have a receiver that actually works!!!

Dish 921 here I come!

Robert

 

[Sean Mota]

Here is a summary of this first installation (from the link on the first post):

Posted by techweb 10-25-03 07:07 PM
Because firmware is in the process of being upgraded, STB has no analog audio output (only digital audio works), and I can tune in only two of the six local digital channels. Box worked in HD mode for one day, but it's now stuck in the SD mode. Also, signal level is only 55, which could be a problem.

From what little I've seen, PQ looks to be very good. One caveat, however, is that Voom is currently transmitting only seven channels; tuning in any other channel brings up a promo loop. I watched an hour of ABC OTA HDTV, and it looked good as well. Box doesn't appear to tune in NTSC OTA. HD programs are indicated as such in the guide, and in fact there's an HD-only selection in the Voom menu.

New firmware is scheduled to be downloaded Monday, so I'll check so see if things are working better then.

Posted by techweb 10-26-03 12:56 AM

More info on my Voom experience so far:

The Voom box does not appear to have a means to scan for local channels or display their signal strength. I'm guessing the box is provided with a local channel map via satellite. (Incidentally, that first download takes about 30 minutes, so be prepared to wait).

A couple HDTV boxes I've tried out briefly reported a signal strength on all Cleveland digital stations of 95-100% except for virtual channel 3 (RF channel 2), which was about 85%, so you can see I have very good reception and cannot answer how well the Voom STB would do in weak signal areas. Because of software bugs, I could tune only virtual channels 3 and 5 (RF 2 and 15). Other OTA channels in the guide could not be tuned, and a couple were missing from the list.

The Voom installer brought along the standard 18" dish, boom, and mast. Since I already had a Hughes 18" dish up and running, and because elevations to the 101 and 61.5 birds are within a half degree at my location, I told him to use the old dish but leave me the new one, which he did. He only swapped out the LNB (which probably wasn't necessary, but maybe he wanted to feel useful) and re-pointed the dish. He left me with a signal strength of 48, which I later peaked to 55 (elevation setting was dead on, but azimuth was a little off). The Voom box, by the way, has two separate readings, one for signal quality, and another for signal power.

For OTA reception, the installer brought along a Channel Master "stealth" antenna and amplifier (15dB gain), as well as diplexers to run OTA signal down the same coax. I'm guessing this combination would work well enough to 50 miles or so for digital on fairly flat terrain, assuming multipath isn't a problem. Again I declined installation but told him to leave it since I'm paying for it. I may use it to receive Akron-Canton stations if those stations ever broadcast worthwhile HDTV.

As for the Voom box itself, there are a few things I noticed about operation that they damned well better fix. For one thing, it's a bit slow in its response. When you first turn on the power, it always goes to the main Voom menu instead of the last channel tuned. Selecting a channel is the most exasperating of all. When selecting a new channel, either via the guide, or by keying in the channel number, video briefly comes and and then disappears. To restore it, you have to press the big Voom button, wait until video appears in the preview window, and then press the Watch button.

Posted by techweb Yesterday 09:47 PM
No software upgrade downloaded today, so I'll try again in a couple days. The box has degraded to the point that I get neither analog audio nor a picture. I can see the menus and guide, but that's about it. At least digital audio works so I can listen to Music Choice.

Posted by techweb Today 11:18 AM

From what little I can see, progress is being made. Most if not all the channels in the guide are up and running now, and many have DD 5.1 audio. I suspect that all the Sears units with the same current software version as mine (V00.04.12) have degraded to the point where they are barely usable, but I'm sure Motorola is working feverishly to iron out the major bugs. Pressing the red reset button with this software rev is a big no-no as the box becomes brain dead.

A manager from Installs Inc. called me Friday to apologize for installing the system despite postponement by Voom. He said that the major problem occurred when Voom started loading up the system with channels, and bugs became evident. An installer is scheduled to come out on 11/4 whether or not these issues are cleared up with new software. Although we are all assuming these problems are due to software bugs, the installer is going to bring another box in case mine has harware problems.

 

[James Long]

He said that the major problem occurred when Voom started loading up the system with channels,

Yep, it worked perfectly before they put the channels up!

How not to launch a service, by VOOM.
Market expectations are already low, since D* and E* can easily match V*'s offerings on existing bandwidth at a lower price. E* is actually expecting more revenue out of the introduction of V*!

It is a shame that they didn't load the system fully and do some serious hard testing of consumer units prior to rushing them to market. I've seen this kind of Three Stooges management by cellphone companies and their new products -- it isn't pretty.

JL

 

[silversurfer]

I think this will just about kill them before they even get started. Who wants to drop 750 bucks in additional buggy hardware? Not me. If they are still around in a year or so after all the bugs are worked out and promises are fulfilled it might be an option....

 

[Stargazer]

The hardware pricing is their biggest problem. Are they actually subsidizing anything on new customers at that pricepoint?

 

[Sean Mota]

Here's more good news...

Posted by techweb 10-28-03 11:18 AM
Progress is being made

From what little I can see, progress is being made. Most if not all the channels in the guide are up and running now, and many have DD 5.1 audio. I suspect that all the Sears units with the same current software version as mine (V00.04.12) have degraded to the point where they are barely usable, but I'm sure Motorola is working feverishly to iron out the major bugs. As one who writes software, I understand the problems. (My Hughes DirecTV box still has bugs in it, one of which was introduced in the last download.) Pressing the red reset button with this software rev is a big no-no as the box becomes brain dead.

A manager from Installs Inc. called me Friday to apologize for installing the system despite postponement by Voom. He said that the major problem occurred when Voom started loading up the system with channels, and bugs became evident. An installer is scheduled to come out on 11/4 whether or not these issues are cleared up with new software. Although we are all assuming these problems are due to software bugs, the installer is going to bring another box in case mine has harware problems.