Just got voom installed!! Brand new software??

[Brajesh]

Just got VOOM. I plan on keeping DirecTV for another two weeks before I pick one provider & stick w/it.

If it wasn't for this forum, my installation might have been much worse (than it was) today. I'd read up on most of the FAQs & people's posts in the last few weeks & boy did all that knowledge come in handy...

The installer came 4 hours late, but apologized, so I didn't say anything. He set up the dish & said claimed to get a signal strength of 99. Wow I thought, what a good start! I said I didn't want the VOOM OTA antenna (opting for my current RadioShack UHF/VHF antenna in the attic) or the diplexor--he agreed. While chatting w/him, he was impressed I knew as much as I did (thanks to this forum). The problems began when we got the receiver connected. No signal. He blamed my cabling--I insisted he needed to re-aim the dish. Guess what?! ... it was the dish. After a few tries, we locked in at 96, so I was pretty happy.

Next he said he'd call Installs, Inc. & activate the box. The guy just couldn't get to the installer menu. The Installs guys was also unfamiliar w/the new receiver & they kept trying different things & it just didn't work. This went on for 1/2 hour, w/the installer blaming the Installs guy for being an idiot. It didn't help that the installer spoke poor English & didn't know his VOOM button from the OK button. I insisted he let me try & I got on the phone w/the Installs guy. Got to the installer menu within seconds & went through the steps & got the receiver activated. The Installs guys actually thanked me for coming to the rescue & knowing more that the idiot installer. That was it--everything looked to be working beautifully...

Not quite! Ten minutes into checking out channels, I get a 'receiver not authorized--call VOOM' message. I try rebooting & nothing. Did this a couple times & nothing. I called VOOM & after a long hold, the rep asks me to take the access card out, check to make sure it's undamaged, then re-insert it. Nothing. She says she'll reset the a/c & puts me on hold for 10 minutes. She says try again. Nothing. Finally, she says just turn off the receiver & try after 1/2 hour & everything should be fine. Yah right! I'm now thinking these reps are just as bad as DirecTV's. Their solution to every problem seems to be the access card or turning off/on the receiver. I decide to call Installs figuring they may know better & the rep there says my a/c & receiver were never activated. I insist that the installer & I did speak to someone who we thought was from Installs. She says it was likely a VOOM rep & the installer should have called Installs instead. Anyway, we go through the whole install setup again & get the receiver activated. Everything appears to be working now... I'm sure people have had worse install experiences, but this was far from smooth & like I said I'd have been out of luck if it hadn't been for this forum.

I'm Vooming...yea! Right away, I can tell DirecTV's PQ surpasses VOOM's. I have a hi-def front projector w/a 100" screen, & while VOOM's PQ is pretty good, it's definitely softer than DirecTV's. Still, it's really cool to channel-surf & see so many hi-def channels. I got fed up waiting on DirecTV to add more hi-def & them just not delivering.

I have the new receiver w/the v.6 software, but because I had to reboot, there's no guide data. Does that come in a few minutes like DirecTV's? Also, I'm not getting 4-5 OTA channels I was getting w/my Sony HD300. Is the VOOM/Motorola box not as good in picking up locals?

 

[Sean Mota]

Brajesh,

you posted this at 6:04pm so I assume that you have guide data by now. Since you have the new version with the OTA function what happened when you scanned for those channels. Are those channnels in the same direction as the others?

 

[cmercer]

New software in receiver installed tody in SLC

This morning I had a second receiver added to my system. It has the new software. Upon installation the channels were the standard HD locals that I had beofre on my other receiver.

A new menu choice has been added:

You select Installation Settings under System Settings

Then select Installer Menu

Choice number 4 is Scan for Local Channels

It took a few minutes to scan for locals and then gave you a list of the channels that it found. If you did not find all the channels you had before, it gave you a choice to press the red button and go back to the old load.

If you press the green button, it loaded the channels it found.

I am in the Salt Lake area and here is the difference between the two loads.

It took out 4-2, which never showed a signal before.

It added 4-3, which was not there before and toggles between different traffic and weather cameras. I was told by an engineer at this station that it would have programming in the future.

These are the only changes it made except:

99-1 USDTV (Multiple video screens of different programming (apparently the following))
99-2 ESPN (audio only)
99-3 ESPN2 (audio only)
99-4 DISN (audio only)
99-5 TOON2 (audio only)
99-6 FOOD (audio only)
99-7 DISC (audio only)
99-8 TLC (audio only)
99-9 HGTV (audio only)
99-10 LIFE2 (audio only)
99-11 LMN (audio only)
99-12 FNC (audio only)
0 STARZ2 (audio only)

The channels in the 99's and 0 seem to be from the satellite because they are affected by a thunderstorm that passed by.
These channels are labelled on the PG.

Channel 4-2 is labelled no info.

If anyone has any other questions I will look.

 

[cmercer]

New software in receiver installed tody in SLC

I didn't mention that the PG had the rest listed as before.

 

[HDFreud]

This is all wonderful, but when are we going to benifit from this?????????????????

 

[barth2k]

These are the only changes it made except:

99-1 USDTV (Multiple video screens of different programming (apparently the following))
99-2 ESPN (audio only)
99-3 ESPN2 (audio only)
99-4 DISN (audio only)
99-5 TOON2 (audio only)
99-6 FOOD (audio only)
99-7 DISC (audio only)
99-8 TLC (audio only)
99-9 HGTV (audio only)
99-10 LIFE2 (audio only)
99-11 LMN (audio only)
99-12 FNC (audio only)
0 STARZ2 (audio only)

The channels in the 99's and 0 seem to be from the satellite because they are affected by a thunderstorm that passed by.
These channels are labelled on the PG.
If anyone has any other questions I will look.

I got excited when I saw food and hgtv but realized these are USDTV channels in Utah. They're using digital OTA to transmit cable channels. You need their decoder box to see those channels. They're not part of Voom, of course.

 

[Brajesh]

Sean, I just did a re-scan of locals & the VOOM box can't lock onto two locals & breaks-up/pixelates on another. Switching back to my Sony DirecTV HD300 box, I get all locals. The latter's sensitivity is clearly better.

I'd rate HD PQ on VOOM a B/B+, while I'd rate DirecTV's A/A-. I know it varies by channel & type of HD content, but switching back & forth between DirecTV's & VOOM's DiscoveryHD channels, DirecTV's is far superior--no contest. Like I wrote earlier, VOOM's HD PQ is softer. I've tried both DVI & component. The scope of HD programming on VOOM is awesome, but since PQ is #1 in my book--it's why we get hi-def to begin with--I'm not sure if I'm keeping VOOM. I'm going to continue to try both for another week & decide.

 

[Sean Mota]

Sean, I just did a re-scan of locals & the VOOM box can't lock onto two locals & breaks-up/pixelates on another. Switching back to my Sony DirecTV HD300 box, I get all locals. The latter's sensitivity is clearly better.

Um.... The ones that doe not lock up do they show PSIP Id on your direcTv box. This is one of the requirements of the scanning software. The one that pixelates, I assume it does lock up on it, so what signal quality and strength does it show on VOOM and the DirecTv system. I'll be interested to know this information.

 

[SeattleVoomer1]

Brajech, about your PQ on VOOM. I assume you did...

the dance with the little red button behind the "secret" door on the lower right of the front panel. Changes resolution. At first our PQ was soft but using this button made a tremendous difference on our SimSeleco front projector on a 96 in. screen.

Enjoying the heck out of VOOM under partly cloudy Seattle skies, Gill

 

[Brajesh]

With the new VOOM box, is it necessary to use the red button to set 720p or 1080i? When I go into the installer > initial setup menu, for output resolution, I already set it to 1080i. I'd previously tried 720p, but 1080i looked better even though my projector is native 720p. This could be because all VOOM hi-def channels appear to be 1080i. I've found that feeding my projector that 1080i signal & having it scale to its native resolution is better than letting the VOOM box do it.

An update on my OTA situation... it appears the VOOM receiver may not be to blame after all. I switched back to my Sony HD300 & I'm currently not picking up two locals on it either. There appears to be a problem with those two stations right now. I have an attic-mounted 80" RadioShack UHF/VHF antenna, but I plan on trying the VOOM-supplied Wineguard antenna by attaching it to the VOOM dish pole. It looks like that's where it's supposed to go right? Can someone point me to instructions on how to put together the antenna & attach to the VOOM dish pole?

In any case, I'm leaning toward keeping VOOM & dropping DirecTV. PQ looks better than at first & OTA looks promising (or at least something I think I can fix). My main gripe is now the VOOM Motorola box itself. It's a far cry from my Sony HD300 I tell ya. Lots o' reboots & unplugs due to the thing freezing & not responding. It also isn't as well-designed or intuitive. But, the bottom line is VOOM's delivering HDTV as promised.

 

[Brajesh]

Looks like I'm not the only one w/problems w/the VOOM box . I had tried Sean's unplug & wait for PG to download method late last night w/o knowing & it worked for me.

 

[Brajesh]

I got my OTA issues resolved. It was my cabling & splitters. Getting all OTA channels now. Given this & having used VOOM for five days, I'm dropping DirecTV. Glad I tried VOOM. I had been on the fence for the longest time, but it's clear to me that VOOM can't be beat for HDTV programming.

 

[bmann]

Hi all i have had the new voom box for two weeks with scanning option how every true to form the box has bit the dust can't get anything not even off air signals, The box always goes back to a ref date of 12/30/1980 oh buy the way voom has had some satelilite troubles not sure what.

 

[bmann]

Hi all i have had the new voom box for two weeks with scanning option how every true to form the box has bit the dust can't get anything not even off air signals, The box always goes back to a ref date of 12/30/1980 oh buy the way voom has had some satelilite troubles not sure what.

Ps. My stb is Current software version: V00.01.04
HAL Version: 00.06.00
Middleware version: 00.01.36
Guide version: 00.19.8E