| Voom – A New HDTV Satellite Service To Compete With DirecTV and Dish Network |
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| Home Theater News What Is On In HD News | |
| Written by Jerry Del Colliano | |
| Friday, 17 October 2003 | |
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Cable
provider, Cablevision, recently introduced Voom, a new HDTV oriented
satellite TV delivery system that will compete directly with DirecTV
and Dish Network as well as large scale cable providers in a market as
big as the continental United States. Voom isn’t available in Canada,
Alaska or Hawaii.
Voom’s first priority is to HDTV programming and it comes out of the gates with 21 channels including some unique channels produced by Cablevision as part of their $39.90 per month plan. Their most expensive plan is closer to $100 per month is it has even more HDTV channels than the standard 21 offerings including Discovery HD Theater, HBO, Showtime, Stars and Encore. The traditional channels found on Voom are still sparse at this point and will leave TV enthusiasts wanting to keep their existing digital cable or satellite provider so that they can have a more robust choice of non-HDTV programming. A representative from Voom claims that Cablevision is feverishly negotiating to add more channels so that they compete better with the other satellite and cable providers – even their own Cablevision cable TV product. Equipment and installation requires an initial investment of at least $749 for a one receiver HDTV capable system that includes an 18 inch dish and a complete installation. This is pricey compared to an NTSC system from the competitors however in order to do HDTV on other systems, the price for hardware increases significantly to about the same level as Voom. Voom does not have an HDTV TiVo receiver as many consumers have been demanding from the other satellite and cable providers. They use the Motorola 550 receiver for NTSC and HDTV control. Within months, a Voom representative tells AudioRevolution.com, that they plan to start using the Motorola 580 which will have recording capability. Upgrades for early adopters is reportedly to be done at no cost. One advantage videophiles will find with Voom’s hardware is it reportedly has a DVI output. For those with high performance plasmas, digital projectors or HDTV big screens – this is big news because the all-digital DVI picture for NTSC and HDTV picture is far superior to even the best analog connections. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
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