I have had Voom for three days now and I must say they have fallen down on every aspect from sales to installation and finally delivery of a great picture. I will not dwell on any of the prior installation difficulties and will concentrate on the actulal quality of the image delivered. I am a photographer and videographer by trade so I think I am aware of a quality image when I see one. I have a Pioneer Elite tv that has been tweeked to the exception and all the electronics and speakers that any audiophile would be proud of to have back it up. That said I was a Direct TV customer and was lured away by Voom with all of the extra HD channels and a promise of higher quality by a satellite "built from the ground up for HDTV". The HD of Voom is not anywhere close to the quality and clarity of Direct. The resolution is not there, the color saturation is not as accurate. I was using the DVI hookup and found I had a slightly better picture when I used Progressive. I called Voom and they walked me through an update but that did nothing. I have the latest box that started shipping 7/01/04. I went into the "back door" to check the resolution and I got a picture for the 1081 that was "jumpy", filled with static and the last four blocks to the right of the screen that measure resolution had no discernable resolution lines. I was told by Voom that their quality should be better than Direct. I suggested that the Voom IRD may be bad and should be replaced but, Voom says to just leave it in SAT mode at night for 4-5 days and it should clear up. Any thoughts?
Voom vs. Direct sucks!
- Thread starter InSync
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I don't have any suggestions but I'm curious about the "back door" you found on the box. Is it a service menu in the voom receiver? I'm an avid tinkerer and would love to see what's in the voom service menu or any secret menu if anyone can tell me how to get into it.
I agree with you on the PQ. It is OK but not great compared to OTA HD. I have only seen Direct in stores so I have trouble on that score. There is a definite PQ problem that many on here have discussed over and over. Perhaps I should say a select few PQ freaks and you will here from them when they see your post and start the process all over again. I just hope the move to WM9 and MPEG4 will allow them to give more bandwidth to the HD.
I have also been involved in TV production for over 30 years and have been in the finest production houses to do posting (Editing to others here). I always judged the monitors by the maintenance and the frequency of the calibration. I always asked that question first. So I feel and agree with you.
I have tweaked until I am blue in the face. Some of the problem is that the transfers of some Old movies are from warn prints. current video does vary and see crushed colors. I even had my box replace twice. I am not a fan of Motorola equipment and this proves why.
I have also been involved in TV production for over 30 years and have been in the finest production houses to do posting (Editing to others here). I always judged the monitors by the maintenance and the frequency of the calibration. I always asked that question first. So I feel and agree with you.
I have tweaked until I am blue in the face. Some of the problem is that the transfers of some Old movies are from warn prints. current video does vary and see crushed colors. I even had my box replace twice. I am not a fan of Motorola equipment and this proves why.
Another thought, when using Direct tv and they had multiple high definition cameras shooting I could tell which camera was the better for resolution and color temperature. Now with Voom there is no discernable difference and the clarity appears muttled like looking through aquarium water. Also, I have the Samsung dvd player that upconverts 480 to 1080i through a DVI cable and it was never as good as high definition with Direct tv and it is now as good or better than the Voom pictures.
Have you tried the "little red button" on the voom box? May be you are not seeing 1080i.
For details see
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=13946&highlight=red+button#Q2-8
For details see
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=13946&highlight=red+button#Q2-8
How about us who hate the politics of Murdoch and Fox? PQ is a distant second to freedom of speech. Fox+Bush=Less Rights for Americans.
Go Voom!
Go Voom!
InSync said:
I had originaly thought the same as you on the PQ quality vs. Comcast HD and VOOM. After other problesm with my STB I got it switched out Yesterday and WALLA! GREAT HD performance. I had a bad box. Now on true HD camera HD it looks Frickin awesome. Way better then Comcast.
My next door friend has DTV HD and got Voom last month as well.
We have done like Vurbano said and did PQ tests side by side.
What we found was that on vs. same channels Voom has in some cases same PQ quality and in some much better PQ. The letdown is of course the
Voom only channels where they convert old movies to HD. THey dont look that sweet all the time.
I think possibly you have a bad box?
Also the SD channels look way better on Voom the DTV or Dish in our little tests.
I will upload some pics of comparisons.
To make your Home Theater look like those in stores you'll have to turn all controls up full, especially the contrast. The CRT should last about a year at that burn rate.
RE: Discovery, that's funny. I have both VOOM & Direct so I can compare Discovery on VOOM & Direct. They are about the same since both are 1080i. Same with HBO.
RE: Discovery, that's funny. I have both VOOM & Direct so I can compare Discovery on VOOM & Direct. They are about the same since both are 1080i. Same with HBO.
1. I have digital cameras, Hasselblads with the $19,000.00 backs but, I don't think posting photos on the internet can show what I am talking about.
2. My Pioneer elite was tweeked and looked better than any set I have ever seen in the stores.
3. I see pixelization like crazy in my HD with Voom that was never present with Direct TV. It is almost like posterization. The Direct TV picture was like Kodachrome 25. I often marveled openly to my wife how good the picture was and now with Voom keep saying how bad the picture is. I think I will cancel Voom and up the Direct TV package. Ouch on the price!
2. My Pioneer elite was tweeked and looked better than any set I have ever seen in the stores.
3. I see pixelization like crazy in my HD with Voom that was never present with Direct TV. It is almost like posterization. The Direct TV picture was like Kodachrome 25. I often marveled openly to my wife how good the picture was and now with Voom keep saying how bad the picture is. I think I will cancel Voom and up the Direct TV package. Ouch on the price!
I tried the red button and am definately on 1081i. However, it looks better in 720p. When I do the resolution test in 1081i the chart is going nuts on the screen and jumping around with static. I think you are right and I do have a bad box. I have suggested this to the Voom representative on the phone and via email but, they keep offering me solutions instead of switching the box.
I can identify with InSync....He has the skill and, most importantly, the critical eye to see the difference that some of us have noticed and commented on in other threads. While I can't compare VOOM to D" or to E", I can compare the PQ generally to the local HD OTA;s and there is no comparison. However, I will stick with VOOM because it the HD is still better PQ than SD and I can only hope that the change to WM9 or the MPEG4 will improve PQ as well as number of channels. I will stick it out but make illusions about current PQ.
InSync said:
If you are seeing static and pixelation on the channels, you either have a bad receiver or your dish is not peaked correctly. Switch the box. That's simple just tell CSR that you are getting static, it should be done quickly and to the point. Once you change your box, comeback and compare PQ's once more.
It is so unfortunate that this "bad box" phenomenon occurs. For those who are uninformed about this possibility getting Voom could become a nightmare because the PQ is being affected without their knowledge. 90% of the complaints I read on here about PQ, I have never noticed on my own set. I've never had D*, but still currently have E* and anyone who claims that the dishnet picture is as good as Vooms is downright silly. I'm thankful I recieved a "good box", but this has to be causing churn for Voom which is not what we need.
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