VOOM sub numbers?

[DarrellP]

I bet those three are not HD aficionados but just TV viewers (or they can't live without an overdose of NFL via Sunday Ticket or shopping channels or religious channels). It's true that for a typical TV viewer Voom is not the best option.

If they are a true HD afficionado, they probably are jumping ship. For the casual HD viewer who doesn't know skeeter noise from OAR, Voom is just the ticket. I am getting sick and tired of the skeeter noise on Voom and since I am still unemployed, I will have no choice but to drop them come January 1st. If they were to fix their PQ problems, I MIGHT be able to dig deep and find $74/month to keep them around.

Recently they added Food Network and DIY, and HGTV, so they are listening.

Now if they would only listen about the PQ, I'd be happy. If channel 700 is any indication, then they are listening, but it is not happening fast enough.

 

[andrzej]

If they are a true HD afficionado, they probably are jumping ship. For the casual HD viewer who doesn't know skeeter noise from OAR, Voom is just the ticket. I am getting sick and tired of the skeeter noise on Voom and since I am still unemployed, I will have no choice but to drop them come January 1st. If they were to fix their PQ problems, I MIGHT be able to dig deep and find $74/month to keep them around.
...

1. So where are those "true" HD afficionados going to? Let me know so I can try their service. (Btw. I already have D* with their full galore of ~5 HDlite channels and Comcast.)

2. I am sorry for you DarrellP but your are dropping Voom mostly because of your bottom line (i.e., unemployment) not because it sux big time.

 

[calikarim]

Difference between Voom and Direct Tv

Do you guys realize how big the announcement that Dolan made is

IT IS HUUUUGGGEE. 70 Channels of Hd by March, that is only 90 days away. 70 channels mean every conceivable HD available will be on voom. Direct Tv is talking about 2007, when there full HD lineup is available. Voom will see a mass movement in their direction by then. This holiday just figure how many millions of HD sets will be sold. I say a voom ad where the New York Times, CNET, were ranting and raving about Voom saying there is nothing like it out there. I think this year is the year of voom. When the Dvr comes out and 70 channels in 90 days or less, Dolan will be crowned the King of Hd in 2005 and the Kingdom of Voom will flourish in 2005

Picture Quality is only bad on Equator, i watch rave , ultra, and and the voom cinema channels, and am blown away by the pic quality

I don't even rent dvd 's any more. Sayonara Netflix. Watch Lord of the Rings on Starz and you will see voom in its finest. The picture quality is stunning, it puts progessive Dvd's in their grave

 

[hongcho]

1) "progessive Dvd" -- there is no such thing. There are only progressive DVD "players". All DVDs are interlaced.

But I agree, I hardly rent DVDs. With an HD DVR, though, you could watch LotR at your pace (like answering my wife's questions), often analyzing Ms. Tyler's facial structures.

2) "Direct Tv is talking about 2007, when there full HD lineup is available." -- I am not sure what you mean by "full HD lineup", but DirecTV has, at least, a couple of Ka-band satellites launching in 2005, used for HD channels.

Hong.

 

[zubinh]

My best guess is 45 000, including those waiting to be installed. With the new $1 promotion, everyone i know who has HD is getting or contending gettting Voom.

CaliKarim: Dont do this to yourself. You are much better than that. The dangers of smoking marijuana are inumerable and as we can see from your post can result in hallucinations, nightmares and even the dreaded "voom rules" syndrome.

In actuality, Jessica Reif Cohen of Merrill Lynch stated two weeks ago that Voom is experiencing Negative subscriber growth

 

[Bruce]

CaliKarim: Dont do this to yourself. You are much better than that. The dangers of smoking marijuana are inumerable and as we can see from your post can result in hallucinations, nightmares and even the dreaded "voom rules" syndrome.

In actuality, Jessica Reif Cohen of Merrill Lynch stated two weeks ago that Voom is experiencing Negative subscriber growth

I found this, but no where does it say she says " Negative subscriber growth"

Cablevision shares slip, spin-off delayed
Dec. 7 2004 -- 12:22:43 PM EST
by KEN SCHACHTER
BETHPAGE - Shares of Cablevision Systems Corp. (NYSE: CVC) fell 63 cents, or 3 percent, to $20.92 Monday afternoon after the company announced Friday that the spin-off of its satellite TV business would be pushed into 2005.

The company had planned to spin off Rainbow Media Enterprises, which includes the new Voom satellite business, several cable channels and the Clearview Cinemas chain, by year's end.

Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen said the unexplained delay may be related to a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Cablevision's accounting.

"In our view, the SEC approval is considerably overdue now, suggesting that the SEC issues are more significant than previously thought," Cohen said.

The analyst also predicted that Cablevision will complete the spin-off or shut down Voom, which has struggled to gain a foothold in the competitive satellite TV business.

 

[stevesmall]

Ok, think about what you just posted, "HD aficionados", if Voom just targeted them( which is very limited base), they will never get ahead, they need to go after everyone that's has a HD set, if not, they will be out of money way before the "HD aficionados" catch up in numbers.

This is from a person who said he is a installer:

http://www.dbsforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?threadid=40592
Posted by: signalman1,12-16-2004 09:21 PM

I have been installing Voom since they started and i for one have deinstalled around 96 percent of the installs that went in --- all for various reasons - but mostly just because Vooms data stream issues or horendous software problems . I can't understand why anyone is even supporting them after SkyRetailer blasted them so hard last month . I am glad to see the end of the off air antenna service call ssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww. Good luck to the guys that are still wrestling with that beast

If this is True, that means only 4% of his installs are HD aficionados, that's bad.
And I don't need NFL Sunday Ticket or shopping channels or religious channels.

OR JUST MAYBE THEIR VOOM ISNT WORKING ! just cancelled and im not the least concerned, HD is only great if you can actually see a picture, Voom management doesnt return calls, i had another promise today. 2 week wait for service the first time 2 weeks ago and now rescheduled for jan 3rd lol this could be a skit on saturday night live

 

[Sean Mota]

Anyone who takes any of these Wall Street analyst seriously is not in their right mind. These people whether you believe it or not have a special interest to protect and would never say anything beyond protecting their own skin. Classic example is when TWC/AOL merger happened. Wall Street and their analyst "in the know" stated that TWC should be sold because of the chaotic relation with AOL. Three years after TWC is in the best shape of their business. Another classic one Enron. All Wall Street analyst did not see anything wrong with them and look what happened. Wall Street Analyst are good for one thing making idiotics statements that lead no where and mislead people.

 

[stevesmall]

If they are a true HD afficionado, they probably are jumping ship. For the casual HD viewer who doesn't know skeeter noise from OAR, Voom is just the ticket. I am getting sick and tired of the skeeter noise on Voom and since I am still unemployed, I will have no choice but to drop them come January 1st. If they were to fix their PQ problems, I MIGHT be able to dig deep and find $74/month to keep them around.

Now if they would only listen about the PQ, I'd be happy. If channel 700 is any indication, then they are listening, but it is not happening fast enough.

OR JUST MAYBE THEIR VOOM ISNT WORKING ! just cancelled and im not the least concerned, HD is only great if you can actually see a picture, Voom management doesnt return calls, i had another promise today. 2 week wait for service the first time 2 weeks ago and now rescheduled for jan 3rd lol this could be a skit on saturday night live
Edit/Delete Message
And do the math their are not enough of US , HDTV afficionado as you say to support a sat comapny all on our own , at the rate Voom is crapping on Some of us they dont stand a chance, by the time HDTV is anywhere close to the norm, Directv , cable and Even charlie, will believe the content is compelling enough to supply us with plenty of hdtv. i for one wish Voom would work, i wish the installers would actually show up when they say. BUT to those of you that blame installers inc, thats a cop out. VOOM is ultimately responsible for making sure their product is delivered in a competent and efficient manner. And lets be realistic look at the compaints here, i am not the only unhappy voomer, there are more unhappy than happy voomers on all of the forums.

 

[Bruce]

But my point was she did not say what zubinh said she said:
"Jessica Reif Cohen of Merrill Lynch stated two weeks ago that Voom is experiencing Negative subscriber growth"

But what is bad is the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Cablevision's accounting.

It is never good when they are looking into things.

 

[Bruce]

Anyone who takes any of these Wall Street analyst seriously is not in their right mind. These people whether you believe it or not have a special interest to protect and would never say anything beyond protecting their own skin. Classic example is when TWC/AOL merger happened. Wall Street and their analyst "in the know" stated that TWC should be sold because of the chaotic relation with AOL. Three years after TWC is in the best shape of their business. Another classic one Enron. All Wall Street analyst did not see anything wrong with them and look what happened. Wall Street Analyst are good for one thing making idiotics statements that lead no where and mislead people.

But my point was she did not say what zubinh said she said:
"Jessica Reif Cohen of Merrill Lynch stated two weeks ago that Voom is experiencing Negative subscriber growth"

No where in that story did she said that.

But what is bad is the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Cablevision's accounting.

It is never good when they are looking into things.

 

[stevesmall]

I bet those three are not HD aficionados but just TV viewers (or they can't live without an overdose of NFL via Sunday Ticket or shopping channels or religious channels). It's true that for a typical TV viewer Voom is not the best option.

OR JUST MAYBE THEIR VOOM ISN'T WORKING ! what a stupid statement !, I just cancelled and im not the least bit concerned, HD is only great if you can actually see a picture, Voom management doesnt return calls, i had another promise today. 2 week wait for service the first time 2 weeks ago and now rescheduled for jan 3rd lol this could be a skit on saturday night live And do the math their are not enough of US , HDTV aficionado's as you say to support a sat company all on our own , at the rate Voom is crapping on Some of us they dont stand a chance, by the time HDTV is anywhere close to the norm, Directv , cable and Even charlie, will believe the content is compelling enough to supply us with plenty of hdtv. i for one wish Voom would work, i wish the installers would actually show up when they say. BUT to those of you that blame installers inc, thats a cop out. VOOM is ultimately responsible for making sure their product is delivered in a competent and efficient manner. And lets be realistic look at the complaints here, i am not the only unhappy voomer, there are more unhappy than happy voomers on all of the forums.
Edit/Delete Message yes by the way I TOO HAVE DIRECTV , and thank god i kept it, Because my voom has been out more than it has worked as for the typical viewer comment that i agree with but their are way too many typical viewers out there that wont try a new service when they do go HD if the person they count on for their hd advice (i am that person in my neighborhood)tells them that voom customer service is horrible

 

[Sean Mota]

Bruce,

I know what you meant about Jessica Reif Cohen of Merrill Lynch. I just trying to say that whenever we quote these people we are quoting a "void". These people make money for their company by taking care of their clients money. That's the bottom line. They do not want to get their clients or get involved in anything that it is risky. That's their nature of their decision making. Based on this is how they came up with their ridiculous statements. They are not allowed to say anything more.

 

[stevesmall]

Do you guys realize how big the announcement that Dolan made is

IT IS HUUUUGGGEE. 70 Channels of Hd by March, that is only 90 days away. 70 channels mean every conceivable HD available will be on voom. Direct Tv is talking about 2007, when there full HD lineup is available. Voom will see a mass movement in their direction by then. This holiday just figure how many millions of HD sets will be sold. I say a voom ad where the New York Times, CNET, were ranting and raving about Voom saying there is nothing like it out there. I think this year is the year of voom. When the Dvr comes out and 70 channels in 90 days or less, Dolan will be crowned the King of Hd in 2005 and the Kingdom of Voom will flourish in 2005

Picture Quality is only bad on Equator, i watch rave , ultra, and and the voom cinema channels, and am blown away by the pic quality

I don't even rent dvd 's any more. Sayonara Netflix. Watch Lord of the Rings on Starz and you will see voom in its finest. The picture quality is stunning, it puts progessive Dvd's in their grave

what you fail to realize is the person that wrote that review raving about Voom was just like you or i, an early adopter. most people and if you think about it across the country dont want an antenna on their roof, some just dont have a choice and others think it is a step backward, in the areas of the country that can receive cable they can get high def w/o an ota antenna.
thats Vooms number one mistake, Directv is bringing national feeds of hd just so they can convince a couple of hundred thousand people to try directv hd, those same people and that number is relatively small are having to choose between cable, directv, dish & voom, even with a free antenna voom is already behind because most (and if you are reading this i dont mean you)people do not want an antenna on their roof. i have had an ota antenna on my roof before any station here in philly was even broadcasting in hd, PBS would occasionally show something. Also with voom they cant even get the locals to fit on the 4 to 3 they still have, And this is a fact, the vast majority of televisions in America are still SD. All of the major cable companies deliver HD thru cable. The majority of viewers in this country have cable , you do the math, cable will always come out the winner when it comes down to an antenna or no antenna. people just dont want an antenna on their roof, all of the sat providers lose a percentage of their customers due to this one fact, so what did they do, the sat companies started offering locals , maybe they did this out of the goodness of their hearts but i think it was to grab more customers. VOOM's mistake number 2 very closely related to #1 NO offering of sd locals. and now to # 3 #4 #5 ill sum this up quickly, bad service, csr and major billing issues have plagued and still continue to plague Voom since inception. #6 Still having installs inc as your installer, i know they sub out but it has been bad install install after bad install multiple missed installs to the same customers, and a 2 week wait for a service call early in the month, they showed up didnt fix the problem and now i have too wait till jan 3rd for another service call, this is just stupidity on VOOMS part. so from the time of my initial problem till the time of a possible fix will be at a minimum 5 weeks thats not acceptable, o btw i have no picture at all, no signal, i subscribe to the VAVAVOOM Pack so you would think they would want a customer who would spend the maximum amount you could spend with them but no they are more concerned with new installs, a good business practice would be to fix the existing problems and then bring on new customers. again 5 weeks for a service call to fix a major issue enough of my rant, im officially cancelled so good bye to all of the intelligent people i have read on this forum.

 

[stevesmall]

1. So where are those "true" HD afficionados going to? Let me know so I can try their service. (Btw. I already have D* with their full galore of ~5 HDlite channels and Comcast.)

2. I am sorry for you DarrellP but your are dropping Voom mostly because of your bottom line (i.e., unemployment) not because it sux big time.

you keep passing judgement on people telling them why they are dropping voom, you dont know him nor do you have any idea why he is dropping voom, and so what if it is because he is unemployed thats the time in life you have to spend money wisely and obviously like a lot more of us he feels Voom is not a wise expenditure

 

[vurbano]

you keep passing judgement on people telling them why they are dropping voom, you dont know him nor do you have any idea why he is dropping voom, and so what if it is because he is unemployed thats the time in life you have to spend money wisely and obviously like a lot more of us he feels Voom is not a wise expenditure

I thought you said goodbye already.

 

[DarrellP]

1. So where are those "true" HD afficionados going to? Let me know so I can try their service. (Btw. I already have D* with their full galore of ~5 HDlite channels and Comcast.)

2. I am sorry for you DarrellP but your are dropping Voom mostly because of your bottom line (i.e., unemployment) not because it sux big time.

DishHD is MUCH better than Voom, PERIOD. If you had Dish, you could compare the two, Voom sucks compared to Dish. The skeeter noise is driving me up a wall.

I am NOT considering dropping Voom just because of the bottom line, though right now, that is a big concern, I've been on the fence for months because of their pitiful PQ and I am sick and tired of tuning in a cool show just to be driven away by the GOD AWFUL MOSQUITO NOISE. I will gladly invite anyone over to my house anyday to see the difference, it is like night and day, Dish kicks Voom's ass in the PQ arena.

FWIW, I watched Graveyard Shift on MonstersHD tonight and it actually was very good. Most of the shows I've watched on ANY channel lately on Voom have been full of skeeter noise, but this show was very clean. Why can't they all be like that? The day Voom has skeeter free noise is the day I will stop complaining.

It doesn't matter how many channels Vooms adds, they can have 500 HD channels, but if they don't look good, who gives a F***? You Voom lovers need to take off the rose colored glasses and check out the PQ.

 

[voomster2]

2. I am sorry for you DarrellP but your are dropping Voom mostly because of your bottom line (i.e., unemployment) not because it sux big time.

I love the way andrzej knows all and tells all as fact. I'm sure his "VOOM can do no wrong" posts (which is ALL of them) has great influence over all of us.

Where's the poll for VOOM Lover of the Year award? andrzej has my vote!

 

[vinnyv07]

I wish the PQ could be better...but Im not switching to Dish for their HD. There really is no upside to that in my eyes. They should have the best PQ because they have next to nothing in HD. I dont like the way EQHD looks on VOOM, but other ch's like RAVE look great. I just added StarzHD and enjoyed Lord Of The Rings.ROTK. I couldnt live without the choices. In my opinion I could never switch to Dish because even though their PQ is the best , there is really nothing to watch. On Voom I can always find something to watch. Im not saying I know it all and everyone should have my opinion...different opinions make forums like this what it is. I have Directv HD also....the PQ on DTV's HD is about the same as VOOM. I switch back and forth from DiscHD and UniversalHD and I really cant tell a difference. I cant compare VOOM to Dish HD ...but I can tell you that EQHD is one of VOOM's worst PQ ch's as far as HD goes. I have no idea why they dont do nything to fix it. When you switch to RAve or Worldsport...its a different story. But I go to Dish's website and look at their HD offerings...and its just not enough. Yes they probably do have the best HD around....but I cant see myself making an investment to switch to Dish when they have such a small amount of HD ch's with not much on the horizon. Just an opinion.

 

[andrzej]

I love the way andrzej knows all and tells all as fact. I'm sure his "VOOM can do no wrong" posts (which is ALL of them) has great influence over all of us.

Where's the poll for VOOM Lover of the Year award? andrzej has my vote!

Thanks voomsetr2, I appreciate your interest in my posts.

No, I don't know it all and therefore here's my question about the influence of "bottom line" on our decisions:

Would you keep Voom if the installation, equipment, programming and service were for free (free like in $0.00)?​

If this question is too touchy and personal and makes you nervous and incapable of straight answer ask yourself the following question:

Would the number of Voom subs increase significantly if Voom were for free?​

Based on my reading of several posts discussing dropping Voom because of $10 monthly increase I think I can guess the answer.