Just to expand on OK's question about using a non-Shaw PVR on Shaw. First of all, the guys are mostly correct that you have to use a Shaw PVR. The exception is that you can buy a Tivo, but then to use it you have to pay Tivo a monthly subscription (so you might as well just rent a Shaw box.)
You can also buy a DVD Recorder that has a built in hard drive, however Shaw et al have stopped supporting them, meaning no guide or channel info. Plus with more and more channels becoming digital, you would need a Shaw box anyways for the tuner aspect, may as well get one that also acts as a PVR.
With respect to buying a box that looks like Shaw's elsewhere and getting Shaw to activate it- as others have said they will no longer do this. The short version of the story is every cable company subsidizes the boxes to a certain extent. If everybody buys a Comcast box and activates it on Shaw, the Comcast is now paying for Shaw's customers to have service. So it's either a case of Comcast telling Motorola "Tell Shaw to stop or else we will buy our boxes elsewhere." Or Comcast could even be locking down their own boxes; and Shaw wouldn't be wanting to hack them as I'm sure there are licensing agreements.
So it really comes down to a matter of buying the box from the service provider; or one of their authorized retailers.
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