Voom
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Voom logo.png 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. The satellite's low position in the sky 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 3 boardroom 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 (PrimeStar, etc.), 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 STBs 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 has announced that it is scaling back and will now only launch 15 channels instead of 21. The 5 channels that Dish Network does not carry will be added to their lineup on Feb. 1, 2006.