After watching for a few days, I notice V* picture appears softer than D* (I have Hughes E86). I no longer have D* so I can't compare, but I still have the E86 hooked up with the same OTA rooftop antenna as V* (thru a coax splitter). Both are hooked via component cables (my Mits crt rptv has no DVI). So I made sure both inputs have exact video settings (briteness, contrast, etc) and did an A/B comparison by switching back and forth. I compared 2 1/2 Men, Las Vegas (NBC), and CSI:Miami, 3 HD programs with different looks to them.
The result: the VOOM picture looks slightly softer. Viewed by itself, it would be hard to say, but doing an A/B comparison, it became clear. I even gave the VOOM box the more expensive store bough cables and put the cheap looking cables VOOM gave me on the E86. Just to make sure I wasn't prejudiced, I asked my family's opinion. I labeled the inputs Component-1 and Component-2 so they wouldn't know which was which (not that they would know or care anyway). At first they just said "they look the same, can we just watch TV?" but after a bit they all said Component-1 (E86) looked a bit sharper and clearer.
So it seems at least on OTA and component output, the VOOM PQ is slightly inferior to the E86, which is very disappointing considering the E86 is pretty old and was never the top of the line like the Zenith, Sony, or even Samsung boxes. Unfortunately, unlike the UI, this will probably not be improved upon any time soon since I imagine a s/w update will not do it.
The result: the VOOM picture looks slightly softer. Viewed by itself, it would be hard to say, but doing an A/B comparison, it became clear. I even gave the VOOM box the more expensive store bough cables and put the cheap looking cables VOOM gave me on the E86. Just to make sure I wasn't prejudiced, I asked my family's opinion. I labeled the inputs Component-1 and Component-2 so they wouldn't know which was which (not that they would know or care anyway). At first they just said "they look the same, can we just watch TV?" but after a bit they all said Component-1 (E86) looked a bit sharper and clearer.
So it seems at least on OTA and component output, the VOOM PQ is slightly inferior to the E86, which is very disappointing considering the E86 is pretty old and was never the top of the line like the Zenith, Sony, or even Samsung boxes. Unfortunately, unlike the UI, this will probably not be improved upon any time soon since I imagine a s/w update will not do it.