While I will hate to see Voom go dark, I have accepted the inevitable. Yesterday Comcast arrived at my house and I am pleased to assure everyone that while not quite the same, there is life after Voom and it ain't all bad.
Installer showed up on a Sunday withing the two hour scheduling window. Very pleasant and knowledgable. Even replaced all the connectors on the coax cables just for good measure.
Comcast is not Voom but it is a heck of a lot better than E* which I had previously. I am impressed with how the technology has advanced in the last 2-3 years.
I now have 2 HD DVR's and 1 HD STB. I have the Platinum everything package and I am still paying less per month than I was before. No commitment, I could drop in the morning without penalty.
In terms of PQ, the HD is as good as (and dare I say better) than even Voom. The digital channels look great, better than they did on E*. SD is SD but I can tell you that the locals are orders of magnitude better than on E* and I also get all of the local networks in HD.
The Video on Demand feature is AWESOME. I am really amazed at how much stuff they have made available via VOD and I can understand why this feature is seen as a satellite killer. No HD but again, the VOD PQ is very good even on the 65" RP.
This is my first foray into DVR's. One quickly comes to realize why so many people consider this a "must have" feature. No up-front purchase cost, no monthly "DVR fee", just the rental on the DVR box which is very reasonable. What is especially nice is that when the DVR becomes obsolete in 2-3 years they will just swap it out with a newer model. The dual tuners is also a great feature. The only shortcomings are no input for OTA and if you listen very carefully you can hear the hard disk churning.
The Guide is not as intuitive as Voom but you also have a lot more features and categories to work with. The ability to search for programming is a nice touch.
I will miss Voom and will leave one box hooked up until they go dark. No one comes close to Voom's HD offerings but Comcast does offer me more than E* or D* and it seems certain that even more is coming. According to the WSJ, CVC's move on Adelphia will be used as a bargaining chip with Comcast. If Comcast agrees to carry some of the Voom 21 offerings, CVC will step out of the bidding war. Thus, you may actually see Voom 21 on cable long before anywhere else.
So, in the end it is a trade off. I am giving up some things with Voom but gaining others. Kind of like breaking up with the girl who has a trust find but picking up the girl who is willing to ....! No commitment and no up-front cost either. Do not be afraid to come over to the dark side (cable), they have come a long way.
Installer showed up on a Sunday withing the two hour scheduling window. Very pleasant and knowledgable. Even replaced all the connectors on the coax cables just for good measure.
Comcast is not Voom but it is a heck of a lot better than E* which I had previously. I am impressed with how the technology has advanced in the last 2-3 years.
I now have 2 HD DVR's and 1 HD STB. I have the Platinum everything package and I am still paying less per month than I was before. No commitment, I could drop in the morning without penalty.
In terms of PQ, the HD is as good as (and dare I say better) than even Voom. The digital channels look great, better than they did on E*. SD is SD but I can tell you that the locals are orders of magnitude better than on E* and I also get all of the local networks in HD.
The Video on Demand feature is AWESOME. I am really amazed at how much stuff they have made available via VOD and I can understand why this feature is seen as a satellite killer. No HD but again, the VOD PQ is very good even on the 65" RP.
This is my first foray into DVR's. One quickly comes to realize why so many people consider this a "must have" feature. No up-front purchase cost, no monthly "DVR fee", just the rental on the DVR box which is very reasonable. What is especially nice is that when the DVR becomes obsolete in 2-3 years they will just swap it out with a newer model. The dual tuners is also a great feature. The only shortcomings are no input for OTA and if you listen very carefully you can hear the hard disk churning.
The Guide is not as intuitive as Voom but you also have a lot more features and categories to work with. The ability to search for programming is a nice touch.
I will miss Voom and will leave one box hooked up until they go dark. No one comes close to Voom's HD offerings but Comcast does offer me more than E* or D* and it seems certain that even more is coming. According to the WSJ, CVC's move on Adelphia will be used as a bargaining chip with Comcast. If Comcast agrees to carry some of the Voom 21 offerings, CVC will step out of the bidding war. Thus, you may actually see Voom 21 on cable long before anywhere else.
So, in the end it is a trade off. I am giving up some things with Voom but gaining others. Kind of like breaking up with the girl who has a trust find but picking up the girl who is willing to ....! No commitment and no up-front cost either. Do not be afraid to come over to the dark side (cable), they have come a long way.
Vicki
