New Voomer - Outsider's perspective

[kjaslow]

Hi, all. Call me an (overly?) exhuberant new Voomer. I've been watching this forum for nearly a month, and expectations and perception are key. I realize there's time for me to become jaded, but for now, I'd like to give a little back to the forum for all the help I've had making my choice, by describing WHY I'm so happy with Voom.

A while back, I posted to this and to HomeTheaterSpot about my distaste for Comcast, and my curiosity about Voom. After reading lots of negative posts, I became wary. Then, someone pointed out to me that (a) most people who are motivated enough to post are motivated by anger, not happiness, and (b) with no installation or cancellation fees, there's no reason not to give Voom a go. So, in response to (a), I thought I'd put some good vibes out here...

After my first night with Voom installed, I'm psyched, despite some of my installation hiccups. I'm getting the OTA channels I care about (though still working on UPN and PBS). I have all the Voom content, even though I can see that some of it may be wasted on me - but having the choice is awesome. And I'm getting a movie channel. I'm getting all this for about $30/mo LESS than I was for Comcast! And where Voom is adding channels now and then (say what you want about the content), Comcast seems to wait until I think I like a channel, and then takes it away and tries to charge me for it!

Also, the way the favorites works on Voom is awesome! Comcast's menu system stinks by comparison. I've seen others compare Voom with D* and E*. If those are better, then I can only say that Comcast must be in the dark ages! The fact that I can designate favorites, and then see the listings for just those favorites is great!

Just comparing content, with Comcast, I was getting 7 HD channels, and only 4 that I would ever watch (PBS, NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, INHD, INHD2). INHD & INHD2 are awesome when there's a sporting event, and are amazing for showing off how beautiful HD can be. But they rarely show movies or other content that I'd really want to watch. (Though I will say that they are so beautiful, that I've watched more fish and geography shows than I thought I would in my lifetime!) Keep in mind that Comcast gave me all this and (nothing) more for the low price of $85/mo! No HBO or other movie channels for that price. And when they considered taking away my INHD2 (CSNHD) and charging me for it, that pushed me over the edge to move ahead with Voom.

The only thing I can see so far where Comcast had the leg up was the HD-DVR box. (It's amazing how quickly one embraces good technology.) We'll miss being able to pause live tv for now. But that's hardly worth the extra cash, and we'll certainly upgrade to that when Voom offers it.

Thanks for all the info!

 

[bbqman]

Welcome aboard. It should do nothing but get better.

 

[1080iBeVuMin]

Absolutely, welcome aboard. Great to read your comments. We also came over from Comcast. You are right about all the complaints here (sometimes whining over trivialities, but everybody has a different idea of what is trivial).

(I haven't heard anybody complain that the Red Couch Girl should sit on a blue couch, but I figure that's next.)

 

[barth2k]

kjaslow: welcome! I'm pleased to hear you're happy. Btw, the program guide and favorites on the Voom box are HORRIBLE, so yes Comcast must be in the dark ages LOL. The next software upgrade should improve that a lot.

How do you feel the PQ stack up to Comcast's?

If you're willing to spend ~$10 more than the $85 you were paying Comcast, you can get vavavoom, which has what you have now plus ALL the premiums -- hbo, showtime, cinemax, starz, encore -- and in hd too. AND you get both east and west coast feeds. The ~$95 would include rental fee for 1 receiver plus tax.

 

[juanl0b0]

The only thing I can see so far where Comcast had the leg up was the HD-DVR box. (It's amazing how quickly one embraces good technology.)

LOL I feel your pain, my five year old was PISSED when I coudn't pause her show! "Pause it Papa, pause it, what d you mean you can't? The remote's right there?!"

 

[squicken]

It's all about your priorities. I think a lot of us would trade all the extras of Voom for additional SD (USA, TechTV/G4, Food, etc), InHDs, and a fully functional and available HD-DVR. It just matters what your preferences are, as well as your choices. I'm glad Voom looks good to you. It certainly has a lot to offer.

 

[kjaslow]

Comcast did not carry TechTV (at least not in my area). We'll miss Food Network - but never had much use for USA.

The Comcast DVR is not perfect. It only has the one tuner, which means you cannot watch one channel and simultaneously record another. If Voom comes out with the 2-tuner box when they claim, they will have caught up with Comcast.

As for picture quality, Comcast was not great there either. We would regularly see terrible pixellation with INHD at times. ABC would regularly drop off. NBC occasionally would flip back and forth between HD and SD. I think the bottom line is that HD is leading edge, and no matter who you buy it from, it's not going to be perfect. The difference to me is that Comcast was charging me an arm and a leg for their unreliable HD service, and providing little value. Voom is charging me much less, and giving me more for my money.

 

[squicken]

I'm sure Comcast is developing a multi-tuner DVR. Comcast owns G4/TechTV, so it's on there now. I can beleive PQ problems. Cable really compresses things. The PQ on my cable made InHD unwatchable. PQ is a big issue since we all forked over several hundred or thousand for our TVs. What's great is we're not locked into any long term deals. Enjoy Voom.

PS Voom has shown a bit of a tendency in doing things later (or not at all) than they've initially said. So have all the other providers. But don't hold your breath on Mpeg4/wm9 or DVR.