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User Experience Report (05/19/04) by Rex
Overbey
I have been using Voom HDTV satellite service for about two months now. At
first I was really excited to see how many channels Voom had so I gave it
a-go. When I ordered I had to use a credit card because that is the only
form of payment they will accept. It took about two weeks before it was
ever installed, do to the rescheduling of their installer. As for the Voom
experience, well to say it nicely, "it's horrible". Even after the upgrade
you download, the receiver constantly locks up. If the receiver locks up
you have to re-download all of the program guide which takes up to half an
hour. This is actually one of the more tolerable things about Voom. The
HD channels are not even worth watching. Constant looping of the same
material gets quite frustrating. Another thing Voom needs is more standard
definition channels like Sci-fi, Tech TV, and HGTV. Voom doesn't have any
Pay Per View sports or movies yet either. The Picture quality of Voom is
decent at times.. if you don't count pixelation, washed out colors, and rain
fade. Channel surfing is next to impossible with the small channel guide.
Since Voom is only available online and at Sears, it needs to get in more
stores to compete. As of now I couldn't and wouldn't recommend Voom.
User Experience Report (05/05/04) by Anonymous
My husband and I signed up for Voom last week. It only took us 3 days to quickly start getting really frustrated with the lack of experience, organization, and professionalism of the people working there and from the installers they work with!
First, the installers were 4 hours late, showed up with no tall ladder to get to the roof and tried to charge us $50 for some put the dish and antenna on the roof when it was supposed to be free. After installing the equipment (we helped then get to the roof from our deck), we weren't getting the local channels. We call Voom and spend 2 hours on the phone doing reboots and getting instructions from them but still it didn't work. We call Voom again and set up an
appointment for the installers to come back to replace the antenna with a bigger one.
Voom promised that an installer will call us the second day by noon to set up the
appointment which he never did. We call back and spend another hour on the phone explaining our problem and trying to get an installer soon. When the installers showed up 5 days later (that's how soon they sent them to us) with a 4x4 antenna, big enough to cover the half of my roof (don't know if my HOA will let me keep it) I still didn't get the local channels. By the way, I live 12 miles from DC where all the Local TV stations are and have no tall tress or anything covering the my house which didn't make any sense. Then they tell me that they need a bigger antenna (12 foot) I tell them I can't have that, it will cover my roof and my HOA will
definitely not let me keep it. I spend another 2 hours on the phone with Voom and still I didn't get my local channels. Then one day 2 boxes stopped working completely, I got nothing on them. Voom made me wait 5 days to send me other ones. My husband and I got really frustrated with all the hours spent on the phone and taking off from work to be with the installers so a manager from Voom tells us that we will not be charged for the 1st month for all the aggravation we've been through. Few days later, I see a charge on my credit card from Voom for a whole month (after only 10 days of service) and another month due the next day! I call them and they say (after
being on hold for half an hour...of course) that I won't be credited the whole amount back and I insist that they do since the manager told us we have the 1st month free and that the only reason we kept the service until now, is because we were trying to find a solution to the local channels. Then they agreed after
being on hold again for 10 mns.
I hope that I won't have problems again with Voom until they come and uninstall and take all their equipment. I never want to hear of them again! although we were extremely disappointed, the channels in HD have really nice quality, clear picture specially with our 60inch
LCD
Sony TV, too bad they don't have their act together! and they admitted it to us, that they are still a new company and not very organized.
If they offer me one whole year of free VOOM service, I will refuse it! it is not worth the aggravation! I don't recommend it to anyone now although it sounds very tempting: no annual contracts, no installation fees, a lot of HD channels (although some of the channels replay the same movie all day and most of the movies are old and are rated 2 stars)....at least not before a couple years when they get their act together...if they do!
User Experience Report by Joe Wichowski
I signed up for Voom back in early February. So far, I give it a medium
grade as far as services versus value.
Basically, you get a ton of HDTV channels. However, the 10 to 12
"exclusive" channels are a bit on the "ho hum" side. The movies are a bit
old, and most only get 2 stars or less. I'm sure in time, they might be
able to license more content. But for now, the 10 channels of movies
basically "repeat" the same movies for the month (much like HBO, but with
way less variety - you will see the same movie on the same channel all day
long, then it will repeat itself within 1 or 2 days).
It's definitely nice to have HBO, Showtime, Startz, TMC, all in hi-def
(and most of them come with the east-coast and west-coast feeds, unlike
DirecTV and Dish Network). However, I'm not sure if they have yet
resolved their licensing issue with Dish Network. Voom has licensed a
portion of Dish Network frequencies to deliver their "plus packs", which
include HBO, Starz, TMC, etc. So, if it doesn't get renewed, the premium
channels could go dark.
The tuner box is a little basic - and not extremely user-friendly. There
is a lot of work that needs to be done here. It includes an over-the-air
HD tuner, and they even put in an antenna alongside the Voom dish, which
actually gives me great local reception of HD. Actually, I tend to watch
most of my HD using my over-the-air channels.
The guide on the tuner is horrible. Anyone used to Dish or DirecTV will
hate it instantly. There really isn't enough information. Channel
switching is a little slow, especially when going from HD to HD.
The tuner supports 1080i, 720p, 480p, 480i, and an "auto" version which
will automatically switch the output resolution to the native format. This
is the best thing about the box.
Supposedly they have a PVR unit coming in the fall. Until then, I
recommend leasing a box, as there is no "contract" (with either the
equipment or the service), so you can cancel the lease at any time and
upgrade to the PVR when necessary.
For anyone looking to get some HD to watch, this is a great option.
However, I still have my DirecTV, and will not get rid of it until most of
the issues with the system are taken care of. I currently pay $79 per
month for full Voom (all channels, including premium). There was no
signup fee, and no installation fee. I do pay $9.50 per month to lease my
box, so maybe that is what the flyer is referring to? It's also possible
they could be pushing the system for the next few months, and giving new
subscribers a deal they cannot pass up. So, what I am saying is that if
you can afford to keep your DirecTV or Dish and get something else as
well, this is a great option.
I know some people have experienced issues with the installation
(installers really don't seem to know what they are doing, or can't get a
good enough signal). I did not have these problems however. My
installation was fairly straight forward.
User Experience Report by Robert Wm. Shomer, Ph.D.
I have had Voom in Encino, CA for more than one
month hooked up to a 42” plasma.
The picture quality is amazing, even my non-technophile wife
was impressed. I believe Voom offers more HD channels than Directv
HD.
The VOOM receiver also gets all the local Los Angeles HD network
programming. (CBS, NBC, ABC, KCET, FOX, UPN, etc.)
A separate antenna in addition to the Voom dish is required, and
furnished in the package.
The installation cost was about $250, the per month currently for me
is $43. This includes all the programming they have including HBO.
This cost may change in the future.
Additional receivers are $199 with no additional monthly charge and
I believe installation is included at that price.
Voom is a very good choice if you want the maximum HD experience.
There are a few downsides. They include the following:
Currently there is a long lag-time in changing channels, on the
order of 5 to 6 seconds. Faster times are supposedly in the works.
There is no current TIVO or Replay TV (my choice) programming
compatibility.
This is a big deal that needs to be addressed ASAP.
From my Southern California location, the dish points relatively low
on the horizon to the East. It took a long time for the installer to
lock on to the Voom satellite, however, the picture quality has
remained high except during heavy rain which I understand affects
all satellite systems. I also currently have DirecTV until I settle
on one system.
If free installation and $9.95 monthly is not a mistake, GRAB IT.
Overall, I am very pleased and plan to get additional receivers.
Hope this info helps.
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