VOOM HDTV is reborn
By Kevin C. Tofel 
posted Aug 25th 2005 2:47PM
posted Aug 25th 2005 2:47PM
Remember when HD provider VOOM went "ka-boom" and blew up earlier this year? When VOOM went dark, their exclusive and extensive HDTV lineup got picked up by Echostar, the parent company of Dish Network. Dish promptly added an option for ten of the VOOM channels at an extra $5 a month. Looks like VOOM is rising from the ashes because they're not done just yet.Via an e-mail newsletter, I received confirmation that Dish will add the other 11 high-def VOOM channels in 2006; once Dish migrates their receivers from MPEG-2 to MPEG-4. This would make a total of 21 HDTV channels available to Dish subscribers and it's expected that these channels would be incorporated into Dish's current HD package.
The VOOM deal with Dish is a 15-year agreement and leaves open the possibility for VOOM to work deals with other providers. VOOM's parent company, Rainbow Media, plans to spend $100 million per year to help promote VOOM's vast HD channel lineup. Not only is this great for VOOM, but for HD consumers as well; it would be nice if these 21 channels were shared among the various satellite, cable and (dare I say it?) IPTV providers.
Oh boy! More Voom HD channels not worth watching!
The more HD content the better!
Hang on. Moving from MPEG 2 to MPEG 4.
That means a higher degree of compression will be used, which will mean a less clear picture:(.
Can the existing HD Dish Network set top boxes decode MPEG4 currently?
No can do Jeremy; current Dish boxes are MPEG-2 compliant. I've asked Dish how they intend to upgrade but haven't received a real answer yet.
Ian: more compression doesn't necessarily mean less quality. Compare uncompressed DVDs to MPEG-2; quality is similar but storage space is less for MPEG-2. This is a good thing: if MPEG-4 can compress better (i.e., use less bandwidth), you can fit more channels on the same infrastructure. That's how Dish will fit the extra VOOM channels; it won't require an additional satellite.
It's not more compression, it's better compression, so that they can fit more channels in the same bandwidth with the same quality.
Here's a nice article comparing MPEG 2 & 4:
http://graphics.tomshardware.com/video/20000913/dvd-05.html
Nice blog.I read some of you're articles and they are really nice.
Why won't these companies release an HD only package? I really don't care for the 200+ other channels they have. I just want HDTV and the last thing I want to do is pay through the nose for it. I think paying $20 per month is a decent price for getting only the 21 HD Channels without the hassle. Maybe it is just me.