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trew · 09-26-2006, 10:07 PM

I did a lot of research into both Shaw and Bell, and ended up going with Shaw. Here's why:

- Analog is actually a reason to go with Shaw, the digital channels are compressed and this makes sports, particularly hockey, look pretty bad. Hockey doesn't compress well, the cameras move around constantly and the image quality has to be compromized in order to compress the signal. A big screen TV makes the problem worse, because you can really notice the blocky artifacts from the digital compression process. (Actually resembles crappy video on the internet). Analog cannot be compressed in the same way and this tends to provide a much better image for watching standard definition sports programming. Shaw offers both CBC and Sportsnet on their analog tiers, so as a Flames fan, this means that most of the hockey broadcasts offered will be offered in analog on Shaw.

- I found the pricing to be better on Shaw, especially since they offer a $10/month discount if you also have high speed internet through them. I opted for one of their bundles that gives me the movie channels, and movie central HD. To get the equivalent on Bell costs $20+ more a month.

- I didn't want to sign a two year contract with Bell, and I didn't like leasing the hardware. They do offer purchase and non long term contracts, but the price is pretty crazy. Shaw makes you buy the settop boxes, but I figure they are pretty easy to sell second hand if you decide to switch to something else. Even if you get half the price, you still come out ahead compared to the lease price.

With that said, Bell does have Center Ice, and that was the only reason I even had to debate between the two.

PVR's are better than VCR's because they offer the only reliable and simple way to record HD content. I haven't rented a single movie since I got mine. I just scan Movie Central HD for the next couple weeks and record anything that looks good. I usually have four movies queued up to watch whenever I get around to it. The incremental price to go from a HD box to a HD+PVR box is well worth spending.

09-26-2006, 10:07 PM	#13
trew Crash and Bang Winger Join Date: Aug 2004 Exp:	I did a lot of research into both Shaw and Bell, and ended up going with Shaw. Here's why: - Analog is actually a reason to go with Shaw, the digital channels are compressed and this makes sports, particularly hockey, look pretty bad. Hockey doesn't compress well, the cameras move around constantly and the image quality has to be compromized in order to compress the signal. A big screen TV makes the problem worse, because you can really notice the blocky artifacts from the digital compression process. (Actually resembles crappy video on the internet). Analog cannot be compressed in the same way and this tends to provide a much better image for watching standard definition sports programming. Shaw offers both CBC and Sportsnet on their analog tiers, so as a Flames fan, this means that most of the hockey broadcasts offered will be offered in analog on Shaw. - I found the pricing to be better on Shaw, especially since they offer a $10/month discount if you also have high speed internet through them. I opted for one of their bundles that gives me the movie channels, and movie central HD. To get the equivalent on Bell costs $20+ more a month. - I didn't want to sign a two year contract with Bell, and I didn't like leasing the hardware. They do offer purchase and non long term contracts, but the price is pretty crazy. Shaw makes you buy the settop boxes, but I figure they are pretty easy to sell second hand if you decide to switch to something else. Even if you get half the price, you still come out ahead compared to the lease price. With that said, Bell does have Center Ice, and that was the only reason I even had to debate between the two. PVR's are better than VCR's because they offer the only reliable and simple way to record HD content. I haven't rented a single movie since I got mine. I just scan Movie Central HD for the next couple weeks and record anything that looks good. I usually have four movies queued up to watch whenever I get around to it. The incremental price to go from a HD box to a HD+PVR box is well worth spending. Last edited by trew; 09-26-2006 at 10:13 PM.