VOOM Installations

[Innova]

I'm assuming Ken is watching SHO-HD. Was probably just a typo.

The music channels just show stills with artist info, and facts.


A few notes. The box hasn't lock up at all, but a few times a channel will be all black, no picture or sound. If I change the channel and go back, that usually solves it. Picture quality is Very good. Discovery HD just started showing some real HD and I was impressed.

I did notice some macro-blocking (?) on the weather channel. There was a blue block in the lower right corner that kept popping up from time to time. The other channels don't have this.

The soccer game on the World Sport channel looks unbelievable when you first turn it on. After a while you do notice some pixelation, but it still is very good.

Rush HD was showing some board surfing that also looked really good.

Standard Def channels also vary, but they seem to be better overall than D*.

One question for other users out there.....do you know of a way to bring up the channel guide at the channel you are on? When you push the Voom button and select one of the options, it always takes you to channel 100, very annoying......

 

[jerryez]

What kind of programming are you getting on the Voom exclusive HD channels.

 

[Innova]

I only watched it for an hour or two last night (Had to watch Finding Nemo too), but it looks good so far. The Worldsport was all Soccer, Rave was mostly Fashion, There were Ten different movies on the Movie channels (I'll have to see how often they change), Rush HD had some interesting programming too.

So far they programming looks good, but it is too early to see how often things are repeated.

 

[Stargazer]

I think at first you will see more repeats (just like you do on the Discovery channels because of the lack of content to provide) but later on you will see the content grow allowing fewer repeats. I have even heard complaints of repeats on the movie packages that are not HD from several customers. I have been hearing that Showtime seems to be bad about that.

 

[Sean Mota]

After reading of all the Voom installation horror stories (installer not showing up or showing up late), I decided to call Voom to verify the installation time and date. Voom called the installer and the installation has been verified. The contractor is Installer Inc (no surprise!) but Voom gave me the wrong 1-800 number to contact them as well. V* gave me 1-800-344-4846. I went to their website and found that Installer Inc does not have an 800 posted on their site. If anyone knows the correct number, please let me know.

I will suggest to those that are getting install to do the same. I do not want to take a day off and then find out that somehow the installation date was missed by someone other than me.

 

[Sean Mota]

Well I got the right number (from AVSforum) for Installs Inc.

888 987 3474

I am given them a call tomorrow. Apparently there had been horror stories about these installations. It ranges from equipment or installer forgetting part of the installation to miscommunication between the Installer, VOOM and the customer. I am keeping my finger cross for Monday. This is more of a problem than technical problems...

 

[Sean Mota]

For all that it is worth. I confirmed my installation date with Installs Inc. I think I have cover all the parties involved in this installation.

 

[rudolpht]

I heard nothing from Installs Inc. Called them for Frio AM install. All set.

Called back an hour later saying no install & I have to call them for a new date. They don't have equipment.

 

[Stargazer]

Usually when a business does not come out and do the install as planned they are usually very busy or do not have enough people to do the job. Perhaps they do not have enough people do install these since they are just starting service, either that or some do not have a clue what is going on and they do not have things organized enough to perform the service as it should be performed.

 

[Sean Mota]

Voom Installation Horror Stories

Here is quick analysis of the VOOM installation. I have followed both the AVSforum and the Yahoo Forum and found the following:

At AVSforum 23 people reported minor problems with installation but not major. 9 people reported that their installation was a total fiasco.

At the Yahoo Group 31 people reported minor problems with installation but not major. 12 people reported that their installation was a total fiasco.

What you think the actual percentage is for both? ~ 28%. This is not an actual analysis because there might be people in both groups under different user names.

So far 2 people publicly cancelled their subscription.

Here are some of the horror installation stories:

Yahoo Group

Posted by: Dreadeye Tue Nov 4, 2003 3:30 pm

Pretty much a total fiasco. Box locks up continuously. Very experienced installers had not been provided with adequate information by VOOM. Had to hard reboot a couple of dozen times. Currently have satellite acquired but can't do anything without box freezing. VOOM tech support told installers that there are massive problems with the downloads and that I am one of the few that actually is getting any picture. Advised patience while they "work out the problems". Good luck, y'all!

Posted by: markrubin83 Tue Nov 4, 2003 6:02 pm

well my box got nailed: the installer did not even stick around to troubleshoot; my VOOM box is DOA and I am very disappointed: a total fiasco from my point of view: spent 8 hours trying to get the thing to reboot/work: called VOOM and told them to take it away. the installer arrived saying VOOM had never shipped him a box or dish, but he had one for a Sears store on his truck; he knew nothing about an OTA antenna; he installed the dish and got a signal level of 30: called to activate the stb, and got a trip count on the report back screen; now the download starts; we wait 30, 60, 90 minutes- installer leaves saying he has other installs- I have tried to get this stb to work for over 8 hours-
turns out I was one of the unlucky ones whose box was sent a fatal download- the box is DOA- calling VOOM is a useless waste of time
I give up

Mark Rubin

Posted by: rdavidson75 Tue Nov 4, 2003 7:27 pm

After getting confirmation yesterday that my installation was on schedule, I settled down for a good nights sleep, dreaming of good things to come.... When the alarm company called at 4:30AM and said the alarm at my office had been tripped, I should have known it was not going to be a real good day. A quick trip to the office and a meeting with local police showed the alarm was just some door rattler, so back to sleep. About 10:00AM, the installers office calls and said the installer was having vehicle problems, wanted to put off for another day. After I informed them that I had taken the day off, and scheduled the replacement of a heat pump for the same day as VOOM, he said he would send a different installer.

The second string installer (and her son) arrived a little after 3:00PM, and quickly installed the Stealth antenna, and the dish. Spent the next three hours trying to get a signal from the dish. About two hours of that time on the phone. I asked them if this was their first install, and they said yes, but they were not supposed to tell me that. They had done over a thousand direct & dish installs, and the acted like they knew what they were doing. I overheard her say to the tech on the phone"What do you mean by PUNT?" They were very sorry, but it was after 6:30 and had a 3 hour drive to get home, and were not making any progress.

I am to call the installer in the morning to reschedule the install. The installation technicians were back today, got the system to the point where it would show the demo channel behind the menu, but the menu would not go away. Would not tune directly to any channel, and hitting the channel up button froze the box. Analysis from tech support: The Box Is Dead. The installers now have 12 hours of driving time to install a dead
box. Well, I guess the third time is a charm.

(Maybe VOOM can fedEX the receiver to me? I've got the install
procedure down pat after only 10 attempts)

Good Luck! Maybe I will get this installed by SuperBowl.

Posted by: Dreadeye Thu Nov 6, 2003 8:35 am

Apparently I got a bad box............needs to be replugged numerous times before it comes to life, then after getting a channel it won't recognize the remote, then it loses sound. VOOM says I need a new box.

The problem is they say I should hear something in 24 to 48 hours (WHAT?) and my installer hasn't responded to 2 e-mails and a phone message. I'm not feeling warm and fuzzy about the VOOM experience so far!

Mark

Intalled Tuesday AM......bad box.........still don't have any word on when or how I'm getting a new one. Spoken to VOOM twice, e-mailed installer twice and left him a message once. VOOM says installer will call me, installer e-mailed today and said he "thinks" the new box will be sent direct to me.

Posted by: ubidubi Mon Nov 17, 2003 4:59 pm

Had the appointment for 8-12 this morning. As I had received no confirmation (phone, email, etc.), I called VOOM this morning. I was told the install was all set and they would be by sometime in the morning.

As 12:30 rolled around, and no one had shown up yet, I gave VOOM another call. After checking, and then having me hold while he called Installs Inc., I was told that the equipment was shipped to the wrong area. I was given the number for the installer and told to call them to make sure that everybody got it right this time.

Talked with the Norcal Installer (who is in Santa Rosa and I'm in Grass Valley on the other side of the state.). They stated that Installs Inc had made the appointment, but didn't let them know. Therefore, they claimed to know nothing about my appointment even though they did have my equipment in their storeroom, and now that they know what it is for, they will ship it to their installer in my area.

The install has been rescheduled for Thursday. It is nice to know that I am not the first one who has had a no-show from the installers.

Items of note: The company seemed very unfamiliar with the different OTA antennas that are available for the VOOM install. He read from a form that said VOOM wanted them to install the Stealth first, and confirm that it didn't work, and then they would be authorized to use a different antenna. He seemed to indicate that if the Stealth did not work, they would have to come out another time to install a different OTA antenna. They do not carry the other antenna on the truck. He didn't know what the other antenna would be, nor could he tell me what might be included in the "normal installation". I was curious as to whether they would put it on a mast, or install it off the house, for no additional charge.

The worst part of the whole experience was having to listen to the "music on hold" at VOOM. Can't they patch something from one of the Music Choice channels? I thought I was at a funeral.

Here's hoping that Thursday goes better....

If you are interested in reading more of them, here are the rest of them. I hope I do not become one of them MONDAY.!!!

 

[Doctor Bob]

Sound to me like II has their hands full to me... RONTGLMAO...

 

[rudolpht]

Install Inc is coming today, Sunday, apologetic for missing Fri install. There is hope.

Tim

 

[Sean Mota]

That's great! hope to hear your install experience and your overall assessment of Voom. I am due for an installation tomorrow. Finger Cxxx.

 

[Sean Mota]

Here's something useful that the installer might not know about and declared you box DOA. Do not let him go with your receiver before doing the following:

Posted by markrubin83 Sat Nov 22, 2003 5:35 pm

it seems VOOM stb's are still being installed as DOA: this is a procedure I got that might help:

Recovery Instructions for Loss of Satellite Service modified for Presence of correct / replacement map in Control Center And Partial Initial Code Download Already Performed.

I) Reboot the receiver by pressing and holding the front panel "stand-by" button for 5 seconds. Wait until lights on receiver stop flashing and reboot cycle is complete.
2) Voom Menu (or partial) will appear.
3) Press Green button on remote control unit to get to "Options and Settings" screen
4) Select System Settings from the menu
5) Select Installation Settings (press # 8 )
6) Press 9 -8 -8 on the remote control unit. This will bring up a
new (hidden) menu.
7) You should see a screen titled "System Configuration". If not, go back to step 1.
8 ) Select Manual Tune (Option #1)
9) Verify that the frequency field has a value of 1235:444. If it does, skip to step II, otherwise continue to step 10.
10) Press the Down Arrow to select frequency. Press the left arrow
to delete the current values. Set the frequency to 1235.444.
II) Press the Down Arrow to highlight TUNE
12) Press OK. TUNE will change to TUNING to TUNED and the front-panel DISH icon will turn from Red to Green. This process may take a few minutes. Depending on the point of initial failure during download, either
the receiver will continue the download process or will be completed.
If the download screen does not appear (on composite connections), perform the following:
13) WAIT 5 MINUTES, press Voom button, press watch and check channel
100 and 101.
14) If channel 100 does not come up upon pressing watch, re-start this procedure and wait the full 5 minutes, after trips are received.

If the download screen does appear:
A. Allow the download process to continue. This may take 20 -30 minutes.

B. Upon completion, the receiver will automatically reboot. The screen will go blank and the front panel lights on the receiver will flash.

C. When the reboot process is completed, the Voom menu will appear
and the process is completed.

Note: It is possible that the receiver may be in stand-by mode upon completion of reboot. If this does occur, press the front panel stand-by button momentarily to toggle out of stand-by mode.

 

[rudolpht]

Install went great. Still waiting on the remote. 61.5 DLNB (half Dish 5000, half Voom) works very well.

I now have an Installation UnHorror story. Installer very flexible & got another line run to viewing room in the bargain.

Tim

 

[Sean Mota]

Install went great. Still waiting on the remote. 61.5 DLNB (half Dish 5000, half Voom) works very well.

I now have an Installation UnHorror story. Installer very flexible & got another line run to viewing room in the bargain.

Tim

Glad to hear that your installation went well. How many Voom receivers did you get? Did you get installed the OTA antenna that Voom provided or you had an antenna already in placed? How are the SD channels compare to E*?

I hope my installation goes well tomorrow. I am getting two receivers and I already have an OTA antenna installed (I am using with my 6000 receiver) which I am planning to share both receivers with.

 

[Sean Mota]

So, I decided to call Install Inc this morning at 9:15am. I had confirmed this appointment last week. Install Inc says now that the equipment will not arrived at the local installer until 1pm (fedex). They cannot say whether installation will be done today or not. I called VOOM and they gave me the same story. I asked why is it that no ones has the courtesy of giving me call to let me know about all of this. VOOM says that a third party ships the equipment unware of the installation date. VOOM!!! Geezzz!! You would think that these people would have better brains than to do this. I wasted a day of work and got no VOOM! I am trying to stay cool but this is unacceptable. Right now I am on the phone with VOOM trying to get a phone number of the local installer...

 

[Sean Mota]

So I spoke to the installer. The latest he can do is 4:30pm if he receives the equipment this afternoon. If he receives it after 4:30pm, I have arranged to do an installation tomorrow at 7:00am. If VOOM does not get their act together with this installation and equipment shipping, I do not see how they can provide a good service from the get go...

 

[rtt2]

Such is to be expected when dealing with a cable company.

 

[Sean Mota]

Such is to be expected when dealing with a cable company.

Not trying to defend Voom but I was a cable subscriber for over 10 years before I switched to E*. The cable company always kept their schedule. When I switched to E*, I had to be scheduled twice because E* screw up the schedule. At another time, I called E* because one of my receivers was dropping the signal. They also screwed that call. I finally gave up on E* schedules repairs and decided to take matters on my own hands. Now I have been without any problems for about a year and 1/2. I wished Voom would have just shipped the equipment to me. I would have taken matters, again, on my own hands.