I had Voom installed several weeks ago and will be having it uninstalled next week. I am a long time D* subscriber and wanted to see what Voom had to offer. Overall the experience has been disappointing. Sorry this repeats the problems listed in a lot of other posts but here are my comments.
Installation: Signed up through the web site and scheduled install there. I received an email addressed to the wrong person with all wrong info. Had to call to schedule appointment and they said they were having problems with web site. Installer called and had to change appointment because he was overbooked. He did show up on time for the new appt and did a good job and was very friendly. Left a box in the back yard and scraps of cable on the roof. (I know that this is sub-contracted and then sub-contracted again but ultimately Voom is responsible)
Problems: (note: these problems still occurring after software upgrade to 5.68)
The DVI connection will only show 480i on my set. Component works fine for all resolutions. DVI works fine with D* HD STB. Bad pixelation and loss of sound when changing channels. Audio dropouts on HD channels. Audio sync problems on HD News. System has locked up multiple times. Guide returns to lowest channel instead of the current channel. Program descriptions very brief w/ no content advisories. No PPV. Very little sports programming.
Good Stuff:
Picture quality on channels with 1080i programming is incredible. I ended up watching the Japanese World Series because of the unbelievable picture. Customer service was very helpful and nice when I called to uninstall and I was only on hold a few minutes. The no commitment, free install, equipment lease deal is great.
Conclusions:
I realize that some of the problems could be resolved by replacing the STB. The combination of all the technical problems and the lack of content is the reason I am sticking with D*. The picture quality of my standard D* stuff is slightly better than the picture of the SD programming on Voom. The picture on Rush, Rave, Ultra, Discovery HD, Gallery, etc is truly amazing but there is very little that I want to watch. D* is better choice for me because I get local channels (finally), NFL, many more sport channels, a much more stable STB and better overall picture and sound quality. Voom does offer many more HD channels but adds very little in content for me personally. Voom has great potential but for me is not ready for prime time.
Installation: Signed up through the web site and scheduled install there. I received an email addressed to the wrong person with all wrong info. Had to call to schedule appointment and they said they were having problems with web site. Installer called and had to change appointment because he was overbooked. He did show up on time for the new appt and did a good job and was very friendly. Left a box in the back yard and scraps of cable on the roof. (I know that this is sub-contracted and then sub-contracted again but ultimately Voom is responsible)
Problems: (note: these problems still occurring after software upgrade to 5.68)
The DVI connection will only show 480i on my set. Component works fine for all resolutions. DVI works fine with D* HD STB. Bad pixelation and loss of sound when changing channels. Audio dropouts on HD channels. Audio sync problems on HD News. System has locked up multiple times. Guide returns to lowest channel instead of the current channel. Program descriptions very brief w/ no content advisories. No PPV. Very little sports programming.
Good Stuff:
Picture quality on channels with 1080i programming is incredible. I ended up watching the Japanese World Series because of the unbelievable picture. Customer service was very helpful and nice when I called to uninstall and I was only on hold a few minutes. The no commitment, free install, equipment lease deal is great.
Conclusions:
I realize that some of the problems could be resolved by replacing the STB. The combination of all the technical problems and the lack of content is the reason I am sticking with D*. The picture quality of my standard D* stuff is slightly better than the picture of the SD programming on Voom. The picture on Rush, Rave, Ultra, Discovery HD, Gallery, etc is truly amazing but there is very little that I want to watch. D* is better choice for me because I get local channels (finally), NFL, many more sport channels, a much more stable STB and better overall picture and sound quality. Voom does offer many more HD channels but adds very little in content for me personally. Voom has great potential but for me is not ready for prime time.
