VOOM HD to be Carried on Cablevision

amf1932

JERICHO, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cablevision will now carry Rainbow Media's fifteen channel suite of VOOM HD Networks, it was announced today by Joshua Sapan, Rainbow President and Chief Executive Officer. The VOOM HD Networks will be available to Cablevision subscribers beginning July 1, 2007.

Read the whole article here> http://www.hdtvmagazine.com/news/200...bow_medias.php

Alan

amf1932

Update directly from Cablevision:
"COMING SOON - Beginning June 28th an additional 15 high-definition channels from VOOM HD Networks will become available. With these additional channels, iO digital cable customers may receive up to 40 HD programming services."

Alan

gossamer

I welcome any new HD channels, but a lot of these are ho-hum in my opinion. Looks to me like CV just wants to put in their ads as many HD channels to entice/keep customers. But if they would listen to us, they would add ESPN2, HDNet, HDNet Movies, NFL Network HD instead.

pjc

Cool, but WTF is VOOM, what channels does it entail?

drock912001

These are the voom channels,and to gossamer the NFL Network hasn't launched a 24/7 hd channel yet.Live games are in hd on the providers that carry the channel.
The fifteen VOOM HD channels are:

ANIMANIA HD

Eye-popping animation from the newest groundbreaking series, specials and cutting edge anime produced in stunning high definition to favorite cartoon classics re-mastered into HD. This is animation like you've never seen before.

EQUATOR HD

The first high-definition channel dedicated to exploring the world's most intriguing people and amazing places with intelligent programs about global adventure and green living, and cultural programs. Hear people of the world in their own words, and visit extraordinary landscapes that speak for themselves.

FAMILY ROOM HD

Movies, series and specials suitable for all ages - with movies like March of the Wooden Soldiers and The Muppets Take Manhattan, and series like Flipper and Thunderbirds.

FILM FEST HD

FILM FEST HD is a virtual revival house with a breadth of genres curated in HD. With restored classics, sleeper hits, retro favorites, docs, indies and even midnight cult movies, FILM FEST HD feels like a landmark movie house, it's a non-stop film festival with films re-mastered in high definition.

GALLERY HD

Gallery HD is the first and only HD channel that defines the most talked-about artists of today and tomorrow. This channel is dedicated to visual art and the artistic process, catering to a wide array of art lovers. Through visually stunning imagery and compelling storytelling, GALLERY HD is the first and only HD channel that showcases stunning imagery and stories from the front line of the art world.

GAMEPLAY HD

Enter the virtual worlds of video gaming for the first time in HD. The intensity of the video game comes alive on GAMEPLAY HD. Watch live video game tournaments and get tips on playing strategies from the creators of everything from the newest games to the arcade classics.

KUNG FU HD

Welcome to the Wild, Wild East! KUNG FU HD offers intense fights, amazing cinematography and lush colors in a line-up of all your favorite martial arts stars - from Bruce Lee to Jet Li, KUNG FU HD is all martial arts action, all the time!

HD NEWS

The first and only 24/7 national news source in high definition, HD NEWS offers news headlines, sports highlights, in-depth features and national weather reports supported by 5 news bureaus across the nation.

MONSTERS HD

TV's first all horror channel. The masters of movie horror in terrifying HD clarity. Monster movies are brought to life like never before on MONSTERS HD. From Frankenstein to Freddy, Godzilla to Jason, this monstrous mix of horror features blood-curdling clarity and spine-tingling sound.

RAVE HD

RAVE HD is the first music channel dedicated to delivering a larger than life concert experience in crystal clear hi-definition and 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. Live music has a whole new experience.

RUSH HD

Life on the edge with adrenaline junkies of adventure sports, RUSH HD takes you to the heart of adventure sports, from B.A.S.E. jumping and kayaking to big-wave surfing, snowboarding and more.

TREASURE HD

The first channel dedicated to the over 70 million Americans who share a passion for collecting. TREASURE HD also carries exclusive live coverage of prominent sales from the world's preeminent auction houses. Original, innovative, entertaining, it's a Hi-Definition look at what people treasure in life, from antiques to adventures.

ULTRA HD

Immerse yourself in the worlds of fashion, beauty and style. ULTRA HD delivers coverage of the hottest fashion, the coolest styles and insight into the 'luxe' life from around the world. From shopping to cuisine to interior design, ULTRA HD is devoted to stylish living.

WORLD CINEMA HD

TV without borders. WORLD CINEMA HD provides American audiences with a passport to explore the best HD imports, featuring award-winning movies and stars from around the globe.

WORLDSPORT HD

WORLDSPORT HD delivers a wide variety of top sporting events from around the globe, including live HD coverage of the Spanish Premier Soccer League and the Canadian Foot League, and other sporting events from premier arenas around the globe

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jpfrasier

I don't want to hijack this thread but I just wanted to clarify something real quick. The NFL HD channel does have other programming besides games that are broadcast in HD. Not much right now during the offseason but every once in a while I'll find something being shown in HD. I don't know what other providers carry NFL HD but Dish has it on channel 9426 full time not just for games. Of course, whether it's in HD or not solely depends on the program but some newer programming is in HD

Now back to our regularly scheduled topic. I receive the VOOM HD channels and they are kinda' hit and miss but sometimes I find something that interests me, especially on RAVE.

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i_capricorn

Just checked out the new Voom channels, which came up today here in Northern New Jersey. A lot of nonsense, it seems to me.

The Gallery and Film Festival channels look promising. But at least 3 channels seem dedicated to Japanese movies. Why? One maybe, but three? There are plenty of movie genres that would be of greater interest. I'd rather see a beautiful hi-def version of the Turner Movie Classics Channel, for instance, rather than all this non-stop Kung Fu drivel.

Why is so much of the HD programming guy-bait? Sports and more sports and sports piled up on that. Typically, the Voom junk includes a Gameplay channel (what!), which is one Xbox game promo after another.

I suspect there must be market studies that show that men are more likely to purchase HD sets. I can understand that. Being a man I was obsessed with these gadgets for years, waiting patiently for the price to come down to something realistic, which they did around Xmas. But all this pandering to testosterone and what I'm supposed to like. Do we really need an HD channel devoted to fishing and golf! Can I get an Amen somebody?

Cablevision is playing a numbers game. They want to boast that they carry the most HD. But the offerings are repetitious and trivial, the equivalent of pointless travelogues.

See this article:

http://ibc.broadcastnewsroom.com/art....jsp?id=155628

i_capricorn

Don't have time to read the whole article I suggested above. Here are the important paragraphs:

Cablevision's 500-channel HD play is a clear response to broadcast satellite giant DirecTV's claims of a 150-channel HD package. DirecTV has been very aggressive in touting its HD plans, which would provide more than three times the HD capacity of most cable operators.

DirecTV director of public relations Robert Mercer said in a prepared statement that the satellite distributor has "clearly incited a rash of HD envy among the cable providers. Nonetheless, viewers don't watch capacity, they watch channels, and we have an industry-leading lineup of the best HD programming locked and loaded for broadcast to our customers beginning in September."

Cablevision is also the most-exposed operator to competition from Verizon's FiOS TV.

Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst of Leichtman Research Group, said Cablevision's 500-HD-channel announcement is more directed at Wall Street than Main Street.

"They're trying to show to Wall Street that they don't have to go through a major upgrade to offer multiple HD channels," he said. "It's not about 500 channels for consumers, but about 500 channels for 10 people on Wall Street."

pjc

I was flippin through channels after midnight and noticed the new VOOM channels. What a load of crap and a waste of space. Those channels suck. "Maybe" there might be an occasional something to watch, but it reminds me of INHD2 (7 or so channels of INHD2). C'mon cablevision, get us some useful HD channels.

Jaws17

Any HD channels are better thaan no new HD channels but..

There are several channels that I would have liked to have seen other than VOOM.

ESPN 2 comes to mind, HD Net and HD net 2 are others, the food channel, MTV -HD etc.

I hope Direct TV has more ads about adding HD channels, its the only time Cable adds new channels.

Voom would be at the bottom of my list , Kung Foo........ foooey

Altutor

Saw these channels the other day. I can only say that the only channel the remotely peaks my interest is MonsterHD. All the others are shlock. Can't the concentrate on getting HD channels of the already existing SD channels? Would love for Comedy Central, Food Network, History Channel, TBS and others to make it into the mix.

Also, we need to start getting our hands on other channels like NFL and the upcoming NHL network. As a big hockey fan, I can only imagine that the NHL network will be last on CV's list of channels to acquire.

Marcus Carr

Cool. That means over 40 channels by September.

drock912001

Of channels you listed only the food network is avaible in hd as of now.

__________________
Samsung HL-R5667W
Toshiba HD-XA1
Directv HR12-100S IXOS audio & video connectors
Monster Power HTS2500
HD DVD 58?
Mover's hustled most of my collection last year!

dachay2tnr

Couldn't agree more.

These are nothing more than filler. The concert channel (Rave TV) in interesting, but in reality it's the same concerts shown over and over. In fact, most of the Soundstage stuff I've already seen on PBS.

I never thought I'd complain about more HD content... but then, I never thought anyone would waste bandwidth on this stuff.

Wasn't Voom a spinoff from Cablevision at one time. Somehow I recall the Dolans being involved. That could explain a lot.

Lee Stewart

From Wiki:

Voom was a direct broadcast satellite television provider serving the United States. It was a competitor to the established DirecTV and Dish Network systems. Voom was operated by Rainbow DBS Company, a subsidiary of Cablevision. In 2004, the organization promoted itself by advertising that it had more high-definition television channels available than its competitors.

Service was broadcast via the Rainbow-1 communications satellite, which was built by Lockheed Martin and launched on July 17, 2003. The satellite carries video streamed in both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 video formats from the 61.5°W orbital location. The satellite's low position in the sky on the west coast often made the service more difficult to receive than those of its competitors.

In early 2005, Voom's parent company Cablevision announced it would seek "strategic alternatives" for Rainbow Media Enterprises, the business unit that contains its Voom satellite service, leaving the future of Voom questionable. After a bitter dispute in the boardroom, Charles Dolan (the founder of Cablevision) ousted three board members who pushed for the extinction of Voom.

Dolan had until March 31st to arrange for Voom's assets to be purchased. When that deadline passed, Cablevision's board proceeded to shut Voom down. The service was shut off on April 30, 2005. The day before, Dish Network announced that they would be adding 10 of Voom's Original 21 channels to their Lineup starting May 1. The remaining channels would be added by 2006.

Unlike most discontinued direct broadcast satellite systems in the United States such as PrimeStar and AlphaStar, the Voom set-top boxes are still useful even though the service is gone; they can be used to receive ATSC off-air signals. Voom set-top boxes have commanded prices upwards of $100 on websites such as eBay as people seek a less expensive way to receive digital off-air broadcasts.

Due to overwhelming backlash by the public regarding the format of the newly re-named Voom HD Networks, Cablevision announced that it would only launch 15 channels instead of 21. The 6 channels that Dish Network did not initially carry were added to their lineup on February 1, 2006.