Shaw, Bell or Telus Services?

[Igottago]

^^^Good advice. I just did receive an offer from Telus in the mail, so I'll be sure to keep it and give Shaw a call to see what they can do for me.

[dcbc]

Originally Posted by Igottago

Yeah I'm paying astronomically with Shaw as well. I switched over from Telus about 6 months ago, but now that all my promotional deals are over its back to regular pricing. When I consider how many channels I watch compared to the package I have to order in order to get those channels, it just feels like a major rip off. I honestly watch about 6-10 channels at most, primarily for sports.

I just reduced my package from HD Plus to HD Basic, because its just not worth it. And when I add in Setanta and Centre Ice in a couple months, my tv bills are just going to look ridiculous.

I've checked out the info on the re-named Telus Optick service, and it doesn't seem their pricing is that much better anymore. And I don't want to sign up for 3 years just to get a deal on stuff.

Im pretty sure that Optik (Telus) TV does not offer Centre Ice. Please correct me if Im wrong, because if they did, I`d seriously consider switching to Telus.

[Igottago]

Originally Posted by dcbc

Im pretty sure that Optik (Telus) TV does not offer Centre Ice. Please correct me if Im wrong, because if they did, I`d seriously consider switching to Telus.

Telus TV never used to offer centre ice, which was a big reason I switched over to Shaw. Although I heard a rumour from a Telus employee that Optik will be offering it for the upcoming season.

Don't take my word for it though, i'm not sure if its true or not.

Centre Ice is a dealbreaker for me.

[amorak]

Hi guys,

I see Telus is offering IPTV with the sweet MS Mediaroom (can watch your DVRs on any TV, play from your paused recording on one TV in another room, etc).

I am interested, and am currently on Shaw's Extreme 15MBps internet - The Optik is also 15MBps, along with the less-compressed IPTV, so hopefully the HD TV signal will improve over Shaw's jaggy-filled vomit.


Has anyone used Optik with the IPTV service (Media room PVRs, etc)? What do you think?

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by amorak

Hi guys,

I see Telus is offering IPTV with the sweet MS Mediaroom (can watch your DVRs on any TV, play from your paused recording on one TV in another room, etc).

I am interested, and am currently on Shaw's Extreme 15MBps internet - The Optik is also 15MBps, along with the less-compressed IPTV, so hopefully the HD TV signal will improve over Shaw's jaggy-filled vomit.


Has anyone used Optik with the IPTV service (Media room PVRs, etc)? What do you think?

Guy at work says it is awesome, as long as you don't mind your internet speeds sucking big time while your PVR is on.

Guess it just depends on your priorities.

[Roast Beef]

The Optik service is great. 2HD and 1 SD stream can be recorded at the same time. The interface is snazzy and responsive. Channel changing is instant. Unlike the older IPTV Telus boxes this has been running for 3 or 4 months now and has never frozen or needed a reboot. The only downside is of course your internet speed does drop but 95% of the time that is not an issue for me.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Don't hear much about Starchoice in these types of threads. I know it's a division of Shaw but how does it compare in terms of price/quality to Bell?

[Prototype]

Originally Posted by getbak

For what? The only time in years that I've needed any customer service from Shaw was when I moved a couple of months ago, and I changed my address and booked the hook-up entirely online.

The last time I actually called Shaw Customer Service was when they were screwing up the Flames HD broadcasts before they had Sportsnet West HD up and running.

We always had problems with the hardware, or channels. The support we got over the phone was amazing (I even got a credit for the TV issues a month after the fact when calling about an internet issue.). But we had to get our box zapped from their end atleast once a month. For some reason our internet would zonk out quarterly as well.

Since moving to Airdrie, things are better. Bell hasn't done anything to piss us off... although I'm in the same thought as some people here about Telus and the multiple TVs, one PVR idea.

[kipperfan]

Interesting topic as I just had to make this decision myself while moving into a new place. I decided to go with Telus, mainly due to Mediaroom feature you mentioned and also due to the promotions they're offering with three year contracts. If you sign up for both Optik TV and Inet you get a free $600 laptop and free rental on the PVR for the term of the contract. On top of that I am paying about $15/month less for basically the same channels with the Telus service.

With regards to the service itself, so far I am very impressed. I think the HD quality is equal to, if not superior to Shaw's service and the Inet is pretty darn quick as well. I think what you might want to look at is how good Telus Optik network is in your area. From my understanding the service performs alot better in certain area's (the inner city) and not so well in some of the newly added service areas. That being said, it has been great for me so far.

Edit: Also, when and if you decide to switch, make it a hard sell for the Telus rep and you'll get even better promos. On top of getting free use of the PVR I also got free use of a 2nd digitial box - so I basically have 2 PVR's that I didnt have to pay for and dont have to pay a rental fee on for as long as I have them! I also got 1st 6 months of full HD package (basically every channel but HD movies) for 19.99/mth.

[kipperfan]

Originally Posted by GoinAllTheWay

Don't hear much about Starchoice in these types of threads. I know it's a division of Shaw but how does it compare in terms of price/quality to Bell?

Well you wont hear about them anymore, that service is now called "Shaw Direct". I do not know a single person that has the service nor do I see any tangible reason to choose that product over anything else out there, but I am sure someone out there will disagree with me.

[Robbob]

Looking to renew (more likely) with Bell and I was curious what sort of retention offers people have/were offered. Last year I had 30% off the total bill and I was wondering where that sits in comparison to other offers.

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Guy at work says it is awesome, as long as you don't mind your internet speeds sucking big time while your PVR is on.

Guess it just depends on your priorities.

Not sure where you've seen that Internet speeds slow down? I regularly am recording 3 shows while browsing the web and downloading torrents, I still easily see speeds of ~15mpbs on speed tests.

[Robbob]

I should have probably said in my post that I am bumping an old thread.

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Looking to renew (more likely) with Bell and I was curious what sort of retention offers people have/were offered. Last year I had 30% off the total bill and I was wondering where that sits in comparison to other offers.

That seems about in line with what I was offered last year.

You could also see if they'll give you credits for their On Demand/PPV service if you like renting movies. Plus if you have a PVR you can record them and watch anytime with no expiry date.

Or ask for MC/HBO etc for free for 6 months or a year.

I really miss Bell's TV.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

Not sure where you've seen that Internet speeds slow down? I regularly am recording 3 shows while browsing the web and downloading torrents, I still easily see speeds of ~15mpbs on speed tests.

You might notice that my post was over a year old, and was pertaining to the pre-Optik TV era. Also, the post pretty clearly stated where I heard that internet speeds slowed down, from my co-worker who had the service.

[csnarpy]

Originally Posted by Robbob

Looking to renew (more likely) with Bell and I was curious what sort of retention offers people have/were offered. Last year I had 30% off the total bill and I was wondering where that sits in comparison to other offers.

take a look here for the latest retention deals that people are getting from Bell.

http://forums.redflagdeals.com/bell-...rs-550508/120/