VOOM and OTA reception in Cleveland, OH

[fayrich]

Glad to hear that all went well for you dts. Kind of funny about ch3 though. I receive it loud and clear here in N. Ridgeville. Ch19 is my sometimes problem. Usually get it fine, but at times it goes out on me. And that is the network we do most of our evening viewing on. As for using the D* eliptical dish--wonder if it really gets the maximum signal for you. It is designed to pick-up from 3 different satellites. Using the reflective surface for one only may not be the best thing to do. I get signal quality of 94 - 96 all of the time with the V* 18" dish. Does anyone reading this have any true technical expertise regarding this? Anyway dts, now you can finally speak from experience. Happy Vooming!

 

[dtsfanohio]

Thanks.. my signal is 88-89...I asked several times if it was peaked to the max and was told yes. I even questioned the use of the D* dish vs. the Voom dish and was assured it would be fine. The PQ and audio is terrific.. so if it can get better....I wil be REALLY impressed!

 

[dtsfanohio]

FWIW... an update on my install from Prostar Digital. Today, they came back out and installed the VoOm dish and took out the DirecTV dish. I felt it was PC to use the Voom dish. I now have a signal strength of 95-96 vs. 88-89 using the DTV dish. Even though the DirecTV worked, I believe the first installer was trying to cut corners to use the existing DirecTV dish. It took today's installer only 15 mins to make the change.

Also, I get all of my OTA channels now including Channel 3..using the Stealth antenna! All it required was turning the antenna to the left a little and bingo! I get all channels now..... The first installer was in a hurry and simply didnt want to take the extra time, I guess. This antenna adjustment took 5 secs !

I have experienced much better dolby digital 5.1 sound with VoOm vs. DirecTV. This was a nice surprise !

I love VoOm so far... what is there NOT to like? Of course, they will just get better... better software, more channels, etc.

A happier VoOmer in Ohio!!

 

[dtsfanohio]

FWIW... an update on my install from Prostar Digital. Today, they came back out and installed the VoOm dish and took out the DirecTV dish. I felt it was PC to use the Voom dish. I now have a signal strength of 95-96 vs. 88-89 using the DTV dish. Even though the DirecTV worked, I believe the first installer was trying to cut corners to use the existing DirecTV dish. It took today's installer only 15 mins to make the change.

Also, I get all of my OTA channels now including Channel 3..using the Stealth antenna! All it required was turning the antenna to the left a little and bingo! I get all channels now..... The first installer was in a hurry and simply didnt want to take the extra time, I guess. This antenna adjustment took 5 secs !

I have experienced much better dolby digital 5.1 sound with VoOm vs. DirecTV. This was a nice surprise !

I love VoOm so far... what is there NOT to like? Of course, they will just get better... better software, more channels, etc.

A happier VoOmer in Cleveland Ohio!!

 

[Ilya]

dtsfanohio,
Congratulations. Glad to hear everything worked great!

Also, I get all of my OTA channels now including Channel 3..using the Stealth antenna!

Except for 68.1, I assume...

 

[dtsfanohio]

I think you are correct...not 68

 

[dtsfanohio]

Cleveland Voomers.. regarding OTA Channel 3.. I find that it is weak and pixelates during the day but is fine at night. It this because they are throwing out more power at (6pm or later) night? All the other OTA channels seem stable all the time. Is this your experience? other explanation?

 

[dtsfanohio]

Do the other Clevelanders see the same thing on Channel 3?

 

[Ilya]

I don't watch local channels too often, especially at day time, but right now the signal quality on channel 3.1 is around 35, which is much lower than on other OTA channels: around 65 on 5.1 and 8.1.

 

[dtsfanohio]

Thanks.... yes, it is pixelating now. Check your 3.1 signal quality during prime time. You will see a difference.

 

[fayrich]

I have also noticed this pixelization during non-prime time hours. Seems to happen during fast movement. Have especially noticed it on ET at 7:30 PM. Have thought about calling their engineers on this, but have not gotten around to it yet. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with their wasting of bandwith on 3 different channels---

 

[Ilya]

I have also noticed this pixelization during non-prime time hours. Seems to happen during fast movement. Have especially noticed it on ET at 7:30 PM. Have thought about calling their engineers on this, but have not gotten around to it yet. I'm wondering if it has anything to do with their wasting of bandwith on 3 different channels---

Could be. Sounds like an over-compression.
By the way, happy (belated) birthday!

 

[dtsfanohio]

Channel 3 is more or less bahving itself most of the time. Still some pixelation at times but still watchable. I dont think I need to tweak my antenna anymore. I think it is the broadcast.

 

[fayrich]

Thanks Ilya - Just a further observation--notice the pixelization only on SD programming(analog material broadcast in digital). Their prime time HD and even the local studio produced news shows and tapes look great. Even though I feel that they are only giving us 720p instead of 1080i in prime time. On another subject--I keep watching for ch25 to appear via my Samsung STB hooked to another set. It has the capability of scanning, so will let you guys know when it is up and running so that we can get after V* to get it mapped for us.

 

[Ilya]

Since MrPorterhouse started a separate thread "Cable vs Voom - Cleveland, OH", I am mooving all related postings there.

 

[harrym]

I've been Vooming in North Royalton (SW Cleveland) for 3 days! Switched from DirecTV. Dealt with an incompetent installer from ProStar who tried to hook up my STB to the HDTV with a coax! He was in a great hurry and just handed me the remote without showing me how anything works. Now that that's behind, I am enjoying the added HD content that was not available on DirecTV and the 5.1 sound is great!

One remaining problem: OTA reception. I can only get channel 3 and 43 and that won't do, as I can't go without CSI (19) and Alias (5). The installer told me that the antenna he was installing was crappy and I should not expect reception. I called Voom and an upgraded antenna is on its way, although I don't know which one. Installer also refused to run a separate coax for the OTA, and instead used a diplexer to combine dish and ota in one cable.

I used to get all of the local with an indoor Terk 55 or even rabbit ears while I was with DirecTV. I tried plugging those into Voom's STB and no luck. Anyone know why?

Bottom line: I am enjoying Voom, but without all of the locals I will be forced to go back to DirecTV.

 

[harrym]

Also, how does one check the signal strenght for local channels?

 

[Ilya]

harrym,

Welcome to VOOM!
Which software version did the STB come with? Did you get updated to the latest (5.68) version yet? Assuming you are on 568, press HELP and then INFO on your remote. If you see "Nep: 568", you have the latest version. Now press "OK", wait a couple of seconds and then press the "down" navigation key twice. You will see the signal reading for both satellite and the latest OTA channel you tuned too.

I used to get all of the local with an indoor Terk 55 or even rabbit ears while I was with DirecTV. I tried plugging those into Voom's STB and no luck. Anyone know why?

Did you get any channels at all when you tried that? Have you disconnected the diplexer from the back of the STB when you tried that?

With the old STB (that didn't have any pre-loaded software and required 30-minute download during the installation) I had a similar problem (not getting some channels). I had to do Factory Reset to get them. The newer STBs that come with pre-loaded software don't seem to require the factory reset. But if you are brave enough you can try that


Good luck!

 

[fayrich]

Sounds like Prostar has really gone downhill lately. Must have hired some new personnel. In N. Royalton, you should be getting all of the digital locals. I do here in N. Ridgeville. Ch19 was the most difficult for me, but I do pretty well most of the time. Insist that they run a separate line in for the OTA antenna, and do away with the diplexer. Seems that this cause problems for many people. Good luck and welcome to Voom!

 

[harrym]

Thanks for the tips Ilya. I do have the latest software version (568). With the diplexer and VOOM OTA, I get a signal strenght of 20 for NBC and nothing for all of the other locals. If I take the diplexer off and plug in my indoor Terk 55, I get 35 on NBC, 55 on ABC and 25 on FOX (nothing on CBS). As I mentioned previously, I used to get all of the locals on with the indoor Terk on my DirecTV STB.

I guess I will wait for the stronger antenna next week, and I'll ask the installer to run a separate cable into the house for it.