One-stop channel shopping
By David Lagesse
Mounting a rooftop antenna seems comically retro these days, but it's often the only way to get the latest in digital television. It was the lure of high-definition TV, with its stunning picture and sound, that compelled Jeff Kingsley to clamber out his baby daughter's bedroom window, snaking along the roofline with gangly, custom-made, pole-and-rod monstrosities designed to pull in a signal. "I've been out there repeatedly," he says, having tried six different antennas.
Then Kingsley of Saratoga, Calif., heard about Voom , a new satellite service that promised to simplify life for HDTV junkies, offering more than 30 channels of glorious high-def to fill his big-screen, with nary a slip on roof tiles. Easy choice. "I was an early adopter and can't imagine giving it up," he says.
Consumers have bought 10 million HDTV sets but have found there is surprisingly little to watch. An antenna can pull in digital broadcasts from most local channels, but the networks'HD programming is pretty much limited to prime time and Jay Leno. Cable and satellite systems add HD versions of some movie channels and sports but little else. Voom aims to keep high-def viewers happy 24 hours a day. It's an enticing option, though its offbeat channels, installation hassles, and imminent competition add some static to the picture.
Basic Voom isn't too costly, at $60 a month. More expensive is the installation fee: $200 for a small satellite dish and HDTV receiver. The fee is often cut during special offers ( voom.com or 800-438-8666). The package includes an antenna for local broadcasts and about 50 channels of standard-definition TV, including CNN and MTV.
Voom's 21 exclusive HD channels are sometimes entertaining, sometimes baffling. There's one that travels from art gallery to gallery, others with nonstop fashion, video art, and extreme sports, and one with a bit of yachting mixed amid Spanish soccer. Go figure, or should we say, "¿Por que?" Voom also includes 10 exclusive movie channels, though most of them are older or "B" flicks, with styles ranging from foreign films to monsters to gay themes. Then there is Equator, about foreign travel and exotic cultures. Its airborne tours of Italian coastlines and shots of tigers in snow-drenched Siberian forests explode with high-definition's intensity.
You can save $10 a month by buying the special Voom receiver outright ($500 ) instead of leasing as you do with the $200 package. But that's a risky investment because Voom, owned by Cablevision of New York, is bleeding money. Speculation abounds that it won't withstand growing competition. The satellite service DirecTV, for one, already offers more HD sports, particularly NFL games. That was enough to lure away Chris Scheel, a 34-year-old HD devotee in DeForest, Wis. "Voom fills a niche, but it's really more about movies," he says.
Installation can be tricky. Our test required two return trips and a new receiver; the company acknowledges too-frequent setup and equipment problems. But worse, for some subscribers, is imagining life without Voom. "Yes, it's made us TV snobs," says Deborah Proctor, a 45-year-old Voom fan in Phoenix. Once you're tuned in, high-def can definitely be hard to turn off.
My television is better than your mood ring
We've seen the light and are surprised at how much we like it.
Ambilight, a set of tubes mounted on the back of Philips TV s, provides, well, ambient lighting that echoes what's happening on the screen. It brightens for daylight shots and shimmers in soft blue for the open water. It sounds goofy but is rather pleasant.
We watched it on a top-of-the-line Philips HDTV set, one of the largest commercially available liquid crystal displays at 42 inches ($11,000 ). Glare can be particularly bad on flat-panel screens. Hence, the idea of backlighting the set. Philips execs claim Ambilight's synchronized glow intensifies screen colors and image depth. Perhaps. The Ambilight can stay on when the set is off. But a cheap lamp behind the telly would do that just fine, thank you.
-David Lagesse
By David Lagesse
Mounting a rooftop antenna seems comically retro these days, but it's often the only way to get the latest in digital television. It was the lure of high-definition TV, with its stunning picture and sound, that compelled Jeff Kingsley to clamber out his baby daughter's bedroom window, snaking along the roofline with gangly, custom-made, pole-and-rod monstrosities designed to pull in a signal. "I've been out there repeatedly," he says, having tried six different antennas.
Then Kingsley of Saratoga, Calif., heard about Voom , a new satellite service that promised to simplify life for HDTV junkies, offering more than 30 channels of glorious high-def to fill his big-screen, with nary a slip on roof tiles. Easy choice. "I was an early adopter and can't imagine giving it up," he says.
Consumers have bought 10 million HDTV sets but have found there is surprisingly little to watch. An antenna can pull in digital broadcasts from most local channels, but the networks'HD programming is pretty much limited to prime time and Jay Leno. Cable and satellite systems add HD versions of some movie channels and sports but little else. Voom aims to keep high-def viewers happy 24 hours a day. It's an enticing option, though its offbeat channels, installation hassles, and imminent competition add some static to the picture.
Basic Voom isn't too costly, at $60 a month. More expensive is the installation fee: $200 for a small satellite dish and HDTV receiver. The fee is often cut during special offers ( voom.com or 800-438-8666). The package includes an antenna for local broadcasts and about 50 channels of standard-definition TV, including CNN and MTV.
Voom's 21 exclusive HD channels are sometimes entertaining, sometimes baffling. There's one that travels from art gallery to gallery, others with nonstop fashion, video art, and extreme sports, and one with a bit of yachting mixed amid Spanish soccer. Go figure, or should we say, "¿Por que?" Voom also includes 10 exclusive movie channels, though most of them are older or "B" flicks, with styles ranging from foreign films to monsters to gay themes. Then there is Equator, about foreign travel and exotic cultures. Its airborne tours of Italian coastlines and shots of tigers in snow-drenched Siberian forests explode with high-definition's intensity.
You can save $10 a month by buying the special Voom receiver outright ($500 ) instead of leasing as you do with the $200 package. But that's a risky investment because Voom, owned by Cablevision of New York, is bleeding money. Speculation abounds that it won't withstand growing competition. The satellite service DirecTV, for one, already offers more HD sports, particularly NFL games. That was enough to lure away Chris Scheel, a 34-year-old HD devotee in DeForest, Wis. "Voom fills a niche, but it's really more about movies," he says.
Installation can be tricky. Our test required two return trips and a new receiver; the company acknowledges too-frequent setup and equipment problems. But worse, for some subscribers, is imagining life without Voom. "Yes, it's made us TV snobs," says Deborah Proctor, a 45-year-old Voom fan in Phoenix. Once you're tuned in, high-def can definitely be hard to turn off.
My television is better than your mood ring
We've seen the light and are surprised at how much we like it.
Ambilight, a set of tubes mounted on the back of Philips TV s, provides, well, ambient lighting that echoes what's happening on the screen. It brightens for daylight shots and shimmers in soft blue for the open water. It sounds goofy but is rather pleasant.
We watched it on a top-of-the-line Philips HDTV set, one of the largest commercially available liquid crystal displays at 42 inches ($11,000 ). Glare can be particularly bad on flat-panel screens. Hence, the idea of backlighting the set. Philips execs claim Ambilight's synchronized glow intensifies screen colors and image depth. Perhaps. The Ambilight can stay on when the set is off. But a cheap lamp behind the telly would do that just fine, thank you.
-David Lagesse
