The End of VOOM?
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FrankJo said:
problem is YOUR A LOSER TOO,ass are ALL with HDTV-less competition means everyone loses
There's only one loser here, well besides you I guess, and thats the people that are gonna lose their service.
I've only been reading here for about a week now, but the hateful stuff people say here is just amazing. Are we really that pathetic that we need to come on the internet just to be antagonistic? Were you picked on as a child and in all your toughness need to take it out on people by typing? It's like being surrounded by little girls. Get a life.
I've only been reading here for about a week now, but the hateful stuff people say here is just amazing. Are we really that pathetic that we need to come on the internet just to be antagonistic? Were you picked on as a child and in all your toughness need to take it out on people by typing? It's like being surrounded by little girls. Get a life.
Actually everyone loses in this deal. With voom gone there is really nothing pushing the other providers to add more HD. Most people are happy with crappy SD on a 27" tv and know nothing about HD. With the other providers having no motivation to offer more, it will take much longer to reach a high level of mainstream demand. Therefore, we all lose.
JimP said:
Why wouldn't they?
I signed up with Dish in January of last year. I was one of the lucky few that got in on the free 811 Receiver deal. At the time it was free installation and a free HD receiver with 1-year commitment to the HD pack and Top 60. Granted, they pulled that deal after only a month or so, but what's to keep E* or D* from doing the same thing again?
Since my 1 year is up, I signed up for Voom. I just had my Voom installed yesterday. Yes, I know, poor timing. But I figure I have nothing to lose.
I dropped all my Dish except for the Top 120. I'm keeping my Top 120 for another month so I can get the $50 mail-in rebate, then I'll change my service to just the HD pack to keep the account alive (and get HDNet).
If and when Voom goes dark, I have all the Dish stuff ready to go. But for now, I see no reason to NOT keep watching Voom.
I don't get why people are cancelling installs. You're risking a whole dollar. Enjoy the HD while you can. If Voom goes dark, they can't hold you to your 6-month commitment, so you're free and clear. And you might... just might... be offered one hella deal by E* and/or D* as a Voom subscriber.
What's the downside?
As a voom and D* dealer in Montana... It is a puzzling and sad day. Just yesterday i watched the innaugeral parade on voom hd. The first time in history and actually commented about that to a potential customer how such a techno benchmark it is to watch such a historical event in high definition. This guy was about 65 years old and marveled at the 30" lcd screen. He say's " I cannot believe how clear that is" Then i was switching back and forth to D* and the picture on the same screen was as anyone in this forum knows.... Not very good.
Viva La Voom. I hope someone at E* sees the value that I do for ALL programming to be HD. It is a standard worth staying with.
Rave alone is worthy of 10 bucks a month in my opinion, equator, and ultra, What about tank at 4:30pm? Alot will be missed in this office. Forget about what reasons the east coast boys did wrong. The real question remains....How to convince Mr. Ergen that HD is the path of success. What if you were to throw out all of your cd's and dig in the grave of 12"rpm records to listen to a "album".
Do we shephard tv viewers or lead them to better reproduction of visual events. This is more of a first amendment issue to me than a FCC issue.
Think about it...2005 the parade for the 55th president was in HD. On the news...in HD LIVE.It is the duty of major news to be delivering content in HD because it is the best (today).
Will that happen 4 years from now? I would like to think that everday's news can be in HD.....
Do I have a solid arguement? My hope is that Uncle Charlie reads this forum.
So as to make his investment decision in 61.5 more important to deliver the best content than merely than one from accounting.
Viva La Voom. I hope someone at E* sees the value that I do for ALL programming to be HD. It is a standard worth staying with.
Rave alone is worthy of 10 bucks a month in my opinion, equator, and ultra, What about tank at 4:30pm? Alot will be missed in this office. Forget about what reasons the east coast boys did wrong. The real question remains....How to convince Mr. Ergen that HD is the path of success. What if you were to throw out all of your cd's and dig in the grave of 12"rpm records to listen to a "album".
Do we shephard tv viewers or lead them to better reproduction of visual events. This is more of a first amendment issue to me than a FCC issue.
Think about it...2005 the parade for the 55th president was in HD. On the news...in HD LIVE.It is the duty of major news to be delivering content in HD because it is the best (today).
Will that happen 4 years from now? I would like to think that everday's news can be in HD.....
Do I have a solid arguement? My hope is that Uncle Charlie reads this forum.
So as to make his investment decision in 61.5 more important to deliver the best content than merely than one from accounting.
Iwonmoney.com
With Voom Sale, Cablevision Founder Faces Choices
Friday January 21, 6:54 PM EST
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--A respected cable industry pioneer, Chuck Dolan is facing a crossroads in his long and varied career.
An industry veteran, Dolan, 78, started and built Cablevision Systems Corp. ( CVC) into the sixth largest cable operator in the country. He also created Home Box Office Inc., the first premium cable TV channel.
But for the past several years, Dolan has moved away from cable and spent the better part of his time focused on Voom, a startup satellite TV business. Now that Cablevision has announced the sale of Voom to EchoStar Communications Corp. (DISH) for $200 million, Dolan will have to decide what to do next.
"Cable is not a religion, it's a delivery system," he once told those who wanted to know why he was showing so much interest in a rival pay-TV technology.
Nagged by a doubtful Wall Street, Dolan shrugged off criticism, hoping to prove naysayers wrong. After all, HBO drew doubts when it first launched, he pointed out. But after millions of dollars invested and only 26,000 subscribers, Dolan was forced to give up his satellite project.
Despite Dolan's stake in and his continued enthusiasm for Voom, Cablevision's board of directors and Jim Dolan, his son and chief executive, reportedly stood up against the founder, forcing him to sell. The Dolan family owns about 75% of the company's voting shares, but Chuck Dolan himself owns 41%. The elder Dolan's control in the company has made it hard for others to oppose his decisions. Chuck Dolan reportedly threatened to use his voting power to unseat directors who opposed him.
"It's been known for some time that Chuck was in favor of Voom and Jimmy and the board were not," said Kurt Funderberg of Harris Associates, which owns shares of Cablevision.
The board's turnaround and willingness to stand up to its chairman comes at a time the idea that directors can have personal liability for a company's missteps is gaining ground. Last week, court documents revealed that former directors at WorldCom, now MCI Inc. (MCIP) and Enron Corp. (ENRNQ), agreed to pay $31 million out of their own pockets to help settle shareholder lawsuits.
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a research note that the sale of Voom is "a welcome signal" that Cablevision's board members are " appropriately respectful of their fiduciary obligations,"
But for the elder Dolan, without his pet project, it's anyone's guess what he will want to do now. One possibility that's has been circulating for years is the idea is that Dolan might put Cablevision up for sale.
Dolan "doesn't seem to have that much interest in the cable business" and he's in a position now in which he has lots of assets at Cablevision and can't pursue his entrepreneurial dreams, said Anthony Gennaro, media analyst at Principal Global Investors Group.
Cablevision has never been particularly receptive to the idea of selling, but that could be changing, said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at New York research firm Fulcrum Global Partners.
"Whether it is fear of being personally held liable or simply a greater focus on independence and shareholder value, the board of Cablevision would appear to be more receptive to a takeover offer than ever before," Greenfield, who does not own shares, said.
Time Warner Cable, whose New York City cable system is next to Cablevision's territories, has long been seen as the most interested party. But the company has already cast a joint bid with Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) for bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp.'s (ADELQ) cable systems. Adelphia's call for bids ends this month. If Dolan wants to sell, "he'll have to do something sooner rather than later," Gennaro said.
Cablevision, with its tightly focused customer base in the New York area, is considered prime realty. Greenfield said that buying Cablevision subscribers would cost more, but the added cost would be "worth it."
Adelphia subscribers are estimated to be worth about $3,500 each, while Cablevision's could be worth between $4,000 and $4,500 each.
Consideration of any bid would require Chuck Dolan's approval, but pressure from the board and his apparently waning interest in cable might do the trick, analysts said.
Cablevision's shares closed up 13.2% at $28.84 Friday - a 52-week high. Charlie Schueller, a spokesman for Cablevision, declined to comment. Chuck Dolan was not available.
-By Ellen Sheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5863; ellen.sheng@dowjones.com
With Voom Sale, Cablevision Founder Faces Choices
Friday January 21, 6:54 PM EST
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--A respected cable industry pioneer, Chuck Dolan is facing a crossroads in his long and varied career.
An industry veteran, Dolan, 78, started and built Cablevision Systems Corp. ( CVC) into the sixth largest cable operator in the country. He also created Home Box Office Inc., the first premium cable TV channel.
But for the past several years, Dolan has moved away from cable and spent the better part of his time focused on Voom, a startup satellite TV business. Now that Cablevision has announced the sale of Voom to EchoStar Communications Corp. (DISH) for $200 million, Dolan will have to decide what to do next.
"Cable is not a religion, it's a delivery system," he once told those who wanted to know why he was showing so much interest in a rival pay-TV technology.
Nagged by a doubtful Wall Street, Dolan shrugged off criticism, hoping to prove naysayers wrong. After all, HBO drew doubts when it first launched, he pointed out. But after millions of dollars invested and only 26,000 subscribers, Dolan was forced to give up his satellite project.
Despite Dolan's stake in and his continued enthusiasm for Voom, Cablevision's board of directors and Jim Dolan, his son and chief executive, reportedly stood up against the founder, forcing him to sell. The Dolan family owns about 75% of the company's voting shares, but Chuck Dolan himself owns 41%. The elder Dolan's control in the company has made it hard for others to oppose his decisions. Chuck Dolan reportedly threatened to use his voting power to unseat directors who opposed him.
"It's been known for some time that Chuck was in favor of Voom and Jimmy and the board were not," said Kurt Funderberg of Harris Associates, which owns shares of Cablevision.
The board's turnaround and willingness to stand up to its chairman comes at a time the idea that directors can have personal liability for a company's missteps is gaining ground. Last week, court documents revealed that former directors at WorldCom, now MCI Inc. (MCIP) and Enron Corp. (ENRNQ), agreed to pay $31 million out of their own pockets to help settle shareholder lawsuits.
Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. analyst Craig Moffett wrote in a research note that the sale of Voom is "a welcome signal" that Cablevision's board members are " appropriately respectful of their fiduciary obligations,"
But for the elder Dolan, without his pet project, it's anyone's guess what he will want to do now. One possibility that's has been circulating for years is the idea is that Dolan might put Cablevision up for sale.
Dolan "doesn't seem to have that much interest in the cable business" and he's in a position now in which he has lots of assets at Cablevision and can't pursue his entrepreneurial dreams, said Anthony Gennaro, media analyst at Principal Global Investors Group.
Cablevision has never been particularly receptive to the idea of selling, but that could be changing, said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at New York research firm Fulcrum Global Partners.
"Whether it is fear of being personally held liable or simply a greater focus on independence and shareholder value, the board of Cablevision would appear to be more receptive to a takeover offer than ever before," Greenfield, who does not own shares, said.
Time Warner Cable, whose New York City cable system is next to Cablevision's territories, has long been seen as the most interested party. But the company has already cast a joint bid with Comcast Corp. (CMCSA, CMCSK) for bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp.'s (ADELQ) cable systems. Adelphia's call for bids ends this month. If Dolan wants to sell, "he'll have to do something sooner rather than later," Gennaro said.
Cablevision, with its tightly focused customer base in the New York area, is considered prime realty. Greenfield said that buying Cablevision subscribers would cost more, but the added cost would be "worth it."
Adelphia subscribers are estimated to be worth about $3,500 each, while Cablevision's could be worth between $4,000 and $4,500 each.
Consideration of any bid would require Chuck Dolan's approval, but pressure from the board and his apparently waning interest in cable might do the trick, analysts said.
Cablevision's shares closed up 13.2% at $28.84 Friday - a 52-week high. Charlie Schueller, a spokesman for Cablevision, declined to comment. Chuck Dolan was not available.
-By Ellen Sheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5863; ellen.sheng@dowjones.com
well thanks, it is good to see someone agrees with me. If I could write the satellite letter to santa claus it would be for all signal to be of HD bandwidth.
My eyesite appreciates it, my interest is peaked ,and it is just plain better. Perhaps anybody saw the goof (person) trying to light a banner above him with a lit stick on fire next to a building while the parade went by? Couldnt catch that on standard definition.... But WE saw it.... It was as if the camera operator saw it but had no comm link to the announcer.....
HD is the path all television should take wether it be cable, broadcast, or satellite...Hopefully this bird purchase will continue the path to the good...
Gotta go feed my family with earnings from both companies in question...
Keep your fingers crossed that the decisions made to buy 61.5 is a step toward more HD
My eyesite appreciates it, my interest is peaked ,and it is just plain better. Perhaps anybody saw the goof (person) trying to light a banner above him with a lit stick on fire next to a building while the parade went by? Couldnt catch that on standard definition.... But WE saw it.... It was as if the camera operator saw it but had no comm link to the announcer.....
HD is the path all television should take wether it be cable, broadcast, or satellite...Hopefully this bird purchase will continue the path to the good...
Gotta go feed my family with earnings from both companies in question...
Keep your fingers crossed that the decisions made to buy 61.5 is a step toward more HD
> With voom gone there is really nothing pushing the other providers to add more HD.
Personally, I don't agree. I really doubted, for example, DirecTV was that concerned with Voom stealing their customers seeing how Voom was doing. Even with Voom around, Echostar or DirecTV did not much to add non-local HD channels. For DirecTV, their insentive comes from cable companies, especially Comcast, as seen from their big announcement focusing on the HD locals.
But it is true that it's a sad day to see one alternative go.
Hong.
Personally, I don't agree. I really doubted, for example, DirecTV was that concerned with Voom stealing their customers seeing how Voom was doing. Even with Voom around, Echostar or DirecTV did not much to add non-local HD channels. For DirecTV, their insentive comes from cable companies, especially Comcast, as seen from their big announcement focusing on the HD locals.
But it is true that it's a sad day to see one alternative go.
Hong.
lostcause said:
A few years ago I can remember reading that the future of high-definition and even digital television was in doubt. You don't hear those things being said anymore. When I saw high-definition television sets being sold in WalMart I knew HDTV couldn't be stopped.
For a long time I thought that the cable companies where never going to support HDTV. I was afraid that if cable companies didn't start supporting HDTV it would die. Now I can't think of any service provider that doesn't provide HD programming.
As VOOM subscribers we have pushed the HDTV envelope. We wanted more HDTV than the other providers were offering now, not in the future and VOOM gave us more HDTV. But even though our requirements were more demanding, we are just the tip of the ice burg demanding HDTV, there is a great nation full of wouldbe HDTV subscribers.
Besides the VOOM exclusives there are other HD channels that are shown only on VOOM, channels like STARZ-HD, TNT-HD and Universal-HD. If we loose VOOM these channels will continue to exist and we continue to hear that more HD channels are coming. There is a possibility that even the VOOM exclusives, devoid of the money draining satellite, may continue to exist in some form.
Last time I turned on my HDTV, VOOM was still there and I hadn't lost any HD channels. If we loose VOOM as an entity that doesn't necessarily mean that we are going to loose VOOM programming or any HDTV content. I chose to speak with my pocket book and say "I want more HDTV" by subscribing to VOOM. If VOOM disappears I will continue to do the same.
If VOOM disappears I will still have three other service providers to choose from. If I have to I will go to the provider that offers the best HDTV programming and I will be very vocal if they do not live up to VOOM standards. I bet 26,000 ex-VOOM customers can make one heck of a noise.
Whats that they say about the fat lady sings?
For those that had voom (like me) it was truly from the future of HDtv. That was probably its weakness, it came before its time. Not enough people have HDTV’s, and the lcd/plasma HD tv's are still way up there $$$. It was just too soon to think that so many people would run out and get HDtv, and then get voom. But, unlike primestar and replay, voom was and is a great idea. I think its day will come again, maybe around 2006, under a new name. The new owners will probably just sit on voom until they resale it to someone, like D*? I felt vooms big loss was that they never had a HD dvr right off the bat, and with dual tuners. That would have given D* a real run for their money, and saved all those D* HD customers from spending $1000 for a dvr to record those few D* hd channels. Truth is, voom is a power house, a real asset, and killing off such a beautiful creature may not be in the industries best interest. If a major HD programming venture fails, then D* and E* will be much more nervous about investing in their own HD future. Its strange, but if you were sitting before 3 tv's, one with D* standard, one E* standard and then voom HD, you would not think twice which one wins out. That is, when the day you do finally have a HDtv in your home, you'll surely cry out for lots of HD programming, programming that voom delivers right now and those "others" dont!
For those that had voom (like me) it was truly from the future of HDtv. That was probably its weakness, it came before its time. Not enough people have HDTV’s, and the lcd/plasma HD tv's are still way up there $$$. It was just too soon to think that so many people would run out and get HDtv, and then get voom. But, unlike primestar and replay, voom was and is a great idea. I think its day will come again, maybe around 2006, under a new name. The new owners will probably just sit on voom until they resale it to someone, like D*? I felt vooms big loss was that they never had a HD dvr right off the bat, and with dual tuners. That would have given D* a real run for their money, and saved all those D* HD customers from spending $1000 for a dvr to record those few D* hd channels. Truth is, voom is a power house, a real asset, and killing off such a beautiful creature may not be in the industries best interest. If a major HD programming venture fails, then D* and E* will be much more nervous about investing in their own HD future. Its strange, but if you were sitting before 3 tv's, one with D* standard, one E* standard and then voom HD, you would not think twice which one wins out. That is, when the day you do finally have a HDtv in your home, you'll surely cry out for lots of HD programming, programming that voom delivers right now and those "others" dont!
Voom Dvr
VOOM's whole house dvr implementation [at the least the one i saw at CES 2004] was based on Ucentric technology. I don't believe that changed at CES this year, but I could be wrong [having skipped the booth since it was clear their end was imminent].
(see: http://www.ucentric.com/index.php?news/releases/62)
EDIT: Their technology again this year was still Ucentric: http://www.ucentric.com/index.php?news/releases/86
-Keith
graphiteRT said:
VOOM's whole house dvr implementation [at the least the one i saw at CES 2004] was based on Ucentric technology. I don't believe that changed at CES this year, but I could be wrong [having skipped the booth since it was clear their end was imminent].
(see: http://www.ucentric.com/index.php?news/releases/62)
EDIT: Their technology again this year was still Ucentric: http://www.ucentric.com/index.php?news/releases/86
-Keith
I sure will miss Voom, but I will be taking my Dish sd and hd receivers from the storage shed this weekend and getting them back in the equipment racks, hook up all cables and be ready to go back to Dish when the Voom lights go out.
What a shame to have to go back to single East coast feeds of only a small sampling of the available hd channels, and less than Voom quality sd reception.
Shelly
What a shame to have to go back to single East coast feeds of only a small sampling of the available hd channels, and less than Voom quality sd reception.
Shelly
shelly said:
Definitely true. Watching the SciFi channel tonight I could easily tell the difference between the poor SD pic with E* and the much, much better pic with V*. I was pleased with the V* picture, but was always very disappointed with the E* picture.
Competition is what forces companies to strive to give better performance for better price. Without it all you get is poor performance for high prices. So people out there can gloat about Voom's demise at their own expense. One less reason for D* and E* to improve their price and performance.
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