Sacramento, Comcast, VOOM Installation
I have used these forums to do a bit of research and get opinions so I thougth I would register now, say THANKS, and give my two cents back.
Ok, well. Here is how the story goes. After a remodel to my house, I decided that the 24' wall that was to be my media wall was too large for the Sony 36" WEGA I had, (thats what I told my wife anyway) so I finally did the deed and jumped into the HD pool. I did a little research first (which means nothing really) and this is how it all went. I had determined that for finacial reasons, I would go with a DLP HDTV. I had decided on a 62" Mitsubishi HDTV, went down to purchase it and ended up buying a Pioneer PRO-1110HD instead. I got an awesome deal (I think) of $5500 on it as a sales person had accidently opened up 3 of them for some reason and after haggling with the store manager, they sold me one below cost (so they say). Anyway, I have no complaints about the TV. (Even SD looks great with this TV once I enabled the 3:3 pulldown feature)
I then ordered Comcast HD as my current Digital TV Provider has no HD content, (SureWest). I could have went with Dish, but I had tried them in the past and there PQ and CSR's had left a bad taste in my mouth, so I was not willing to give them another shot. DirectTV is another option, but for some reason, I just didn't want to try them yet.
The Comcast tech arrived as scheduled and the first thing he said upon seeing my system was "Heh, I have never seen a TV like that." He then went outside, hi-jacked the Surewest cable and attempted to hook up his equipment. When he could get absolutely NO picture, he went to his vehicle and retrieved another box. Still no picture, but some screen noise when he jiggled the RGB cables. I informed him that I thought his cables were bad and he informed me that that was impossible. 15min later, I DEMAND he try replacing the cables with my own and what do you know, picture. Ok, now he changes the channel to a HD station and says "Ok, sign here please". Well, the video looked like an original MPEG file, you know, remember when mpg first came out, blocky compression, grainy. The de-compression was horrible. I stated as much and he told me that that was a great quality picture and I could expect no better, so I turn on the Sony WEGA (in the same room) and showed him the picture on that, he says "See, they look the same", (actually, the SD picture on the Sony looked better to me). I pointed out to him that the signal on the Sony was SD and not HD so they should NOT BE the same, the HD should be BETTER, he went blank for a min, then said he needed to talk to his supervisor. He disconnected his box, went out to his truck to use his cell phone, and then drove away. I called Comcast and informed them that I appreciate that they hire the handicapped, but they should at least train them before sending them out on a job, and that no, they would not be seeing me as a customer. Thanks, but no thanks.
Enter VOOM:
I ordered VOOM the same day, 2 days later the installers arrive. They fixed the cable comcast screwed up, ran a new line for the VOOM dish (24"). Pulled it down thru the wall and mounted the jack on the wall for me. Connected the system and OMG what a clear picture! But wait, the installer was not happy with the picture. He then produced a Digital Video Essentials DVD and proceeded to adjust my Contrast, Brightness and Color for me. Wow. I am ruined! I must now replace all my SDTV's with HDTV's.
My wife actually told me after watching EquatorHD, GalleryHD and DiscoveryHD for a couple days that every cent I had spend on the equipment was justified! :shocked She says that its wonderful that she can now sit in the living room and travel the world.
I will wait patiently for the PVR and additional content. I LOVE MY VOOM!
:::steps off the soapbox:::
SactoCal
I have used these forums to do a bit of research and get opinions so I thougth I would register now, say THANKS, and give my two cents back.
Ok, well. Here is how the story goes. After a remodel to my house, I decided that the 24' wall that was to be my media wall was too large for the Sony 36" WEGA I had, (thats what I told my wife anyway) so I finally did the deed and jumped into the HD pool. I did a little research first (which means nothing really) and this is how it all went. I had determined that for finacial reasons, I would go with a DLP HDTV. I had decided on a 62" Mitsubishi HDTV, went down to purchase it and ended up buying a Pioneer PRO-1110HD instead. I got an awesome deal (I think) of $5500 on it as a sales person had accidently opened up 3 of them for some reason and after haggling with the store manager, they sold me one below cost (so they say). Anyway, I have no complaints about the TV. (Even SD looks great with this TV once I enabled the 3:3 pulldown feature)
I then ordered Comcast HD as my current Digital TV Provider has no HD content, (SureWest). I could have went with Dish, but I had tried them in the past and there PQ and CSR's had left a bad taste in my mouth, so I was not willing to give them another shot. DirectTV is another option, but for some reason, I just didn't want to try them yet.
The Comcast tech arrived as scheduled and the first thing he said upon seeing my system was "Heh, I have never seen a TV like that." He then went outside, hi-jacked the Surewest cable and attempted to hook up his equipment. When he could get absolutely NO picture, he went to his vehicle and retrieved another box. Still no picture, but some screen noise when he jiggled the RGB cables. I informed him that I thought his cables were bad and he informed me that that was impossible. 15min later, I DEMAND he try replacing the cables with my own and what do you know, picture. Ok, now he changes the channel to a HD station and says "Ok, sign here please". Well, the video looked like an original MPEG file, you know, remember when mpg first came out, blocky compression, grainy. The de-compression was horrible. I stated as much and he told me that that was a great quality picture and I could expect no better, so I turn on the Sony WEGA (in the same room) and showed him the picture on that, he says "See, they look the same", (actually, the SD picture on the Sony looked better to me). I pointed out to him that the signal on the Sony was SD and not HD so they should NOT BE the same, the HD should be BETTER, he went blank for a min, then said he needed to talk to his supervisor. He disconnected his box, went out to his truck to use his cell phone, and then drove away. I called Comcast and informed them that I appreciate that they hire the handicapped, but they should at least train them before sending them out on a job, and that no, they would not be seeing me as a customer. Thanks, but no thanks.
Enter VOOM:
I ordered VOOM the same day, 2 days later the installers arrive. They fixed the cable comcast screwed up, ran a new line for the VOOM dish (24"). Pulled it down thru the wall and mounted the jack on the wall for me. Connected the system and OMG what a clear picture! But wait, the installer was not happy with the picture. He then produced a Digital Video Essentials DVD and proceeded to adjust my Contrast, Brightness and Color for me. Wow. I am ruined! I must now replace all my SDTV's with HDTV's.
My wife actually told me after watching EquatorHD, GalleryHD and DiscoveryHD for a couple days that every cent I had spend on the equipment was justified! :shocked She says that its wonderful that she can now sit in the living room and travel the world.
I will wait patiently for the PVR and additional content. I LOVE MY VOOM!
:::steps off the soapbox:::
SactoCal
