Telus or Shaw? Are there any other options!? - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

kevman · 08-09-2013, 02:47 PM

Shaw just raised my bill and it was the kick in the pants I needed to realize I really don't use anywhere near the amount of services I'm paying for. I've been looking at the little guys for ISP (Tek Saavy, Distrutel, etc.) but are there any other options for TV that are more economical?

Erick Estrada · 08-09-2013, 04:00 PM

I wish I could say yes but unfortunately you like everyone else is screwed.

Ozy_Flame · 08-09-2013, 04:02 PM

Yeah. Netflix.

DoubleK · 08-09-2013, 04:27 PM

Check here.

The only thing I'm paying cable for is to watch sports. Netflix hasn't really figured that out yet.

Coach · 08-09-2013, 04:45 PM

They need to change all sports to PPV. If you want to watch a game...$12 bucks or something. Any game anywhere. The market would set the prices for the sports eventually. I have no idea what that entails as far as bandwidth and such is concerned. But TV in general is gone. Like the VCR, it had a nice run, but its been innovated and the companies seem unwilling to adapt. Why not try and partner with Netflix? Make it an option to order through them along with your sports package or whatever.

There are many ways this could take shape but a major shift is going to happen soon.

Igster · 08-09-2013, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyC

But TV in general is gone.

I love when people speak as if their opinion is the general consensus for everyone. I know a lot of people who still watch a lot of network programming including my wife and I. TV is not gone. Not anywhere near it. There are some people who have decided Netflix is the answer for them, but it certainly is not the majority by any stretch of the imagination.

Coach · 08-09-2013, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Igster

I love when people speak as if their opinion is the general consensus for everyone. I know a lot of people who still watch a lot of network programming including my wife and I. TV is not gone. Not anywhere near it. There are some people who have decided Netflix is the answer for them, but it certainly is not the majority by any stretch of the imagination.

Well I'm not saying it has left and no one uses. But I am saying that the medium has been innovated and network/cable TV is on its way out. And this was the case as soon as people became able to download a TV show for free.

My Dad at 52 used Netflix because it was the only option for him the other day and couldn't stop raving about it awesomeness. After I'd been telling to get for forever.

TV will be gone before people stop using it. Eventually it just won't be a profitable service and won't be offered. From most of what I've seen, people who don't download movies or don't use Netflix mostly do so because they don't want to implement a new system for themselves. If you and your wife could watch all (not just the ones on Netflix, all) your favorite TV shows for free whenever you want, why would you pay for TV and advertisements? It just seems silly to me that this wouldn't eventually become how we all get our entertainment.

I love when people refute new things and new ideas, like a new one has never came in and taken over before.

Nehkara · 08-09-2013, 10:54 PM

Ouch... Matty, under your model it would cost almost $1000 to watch a Flames regular season. Maybe $2/game.

WilsonFourTwo · 08-10-2013, 07:34 AM

I'm going to align with MattyC on this one. I'd gone for extended periods (a year at a time for example) without cable and found it was generally convenient. Of course whenever Shaw/Telus called with a killer promo I'd still jump on it.

Over the past year I've had a combo of OTA (HD) channels for local news, Netflix for Movies and Series, and MLB.TV for sports (didn't get the NHL this year, screw them).

The sports packages definitely eat up the cable "Savings" but the convenience and quality makes it totally worthwhile. You don't know convenience until you can watch a great baseball game while waiting for/on a commuter bus. Brilliant.

Igster · 08-10-2013, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyC

I love when people refute new things and new ideas, like a new one has never came in and taken over before.

I love it when people assume. I love new ideas and technology.

I'm not refuting at all and I agree the model is outdated and will be gone eventually, but it's nowhere near being gone yet. Not even close actually.

Netflix is a start, but there will need to be many more services come along before the regular TV model is antiquated entirely.

Coach · 08-10-2013, 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nehkara

Ouch... Matty, under your model it would cost almost $1000 to watch a Flames regular season. Maybe $2/game.

Ya I just threw some number out. Either way, I think this is where it headed at least that's what I'd like to see.

Coach · 08-10-2013, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Igster

I love it when people assume. I love new ideas and technology.

I'm not refuting at all and I agree the model is outdated and will be gone eventually, but it's nowhere near being gone yet. Not even close actually.

Netflix is a start, but there will need to be many more services come along before the regular TV model is antiquated entirely.

I never meant to imply that the medium is gone right now. Obviously it's not, I still pay for cable (althought I think that's coming to an end soon), I just meant its inevitably done. It will be gone eventually, and I think it will happen faster than you seem to think. How long did it take everyone to switch to DVDs? CDs? Cell phones? These things can happen rapidly. 10 years ago I didn't have a cell phone, but now every 6 year old and their dog has an iPhone.

jammies · 08-10-2013, 12:10 PM

When people say TV is dead, by "TV" they mean the broadcast model of delivery. And by "dead", they mean has been superseded by better technology. The only problem is a lot of people don't realize that's what they mean.

Broadcast TV has incredible inertia and it won't die away anytime soon, any more than cell phones have completely replaced landlines despite the many, many, manifest advantages of a smartphone over what is essentially pre-electronic technology (at least at the level of user experience).

4X4 · 08-10-2013, 04:45 PM

Holy crap, SHAW can suck a dick. No, a pile of dicks. What a f'n useless company. Three times in the last three years I've moved my mom, and like f'n clockwork, they're too f'n stupid to follow a simple request: transfer the f'n cable to the new address.

Seriously, what a bunch of struggling failures.

Igster · 08-10-2013, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattyC

I never meant to imply that the medium is gone right now. Obviously it's not, I still pay for cable (althought I think that's coming to an end soon), I just meant its inevitably done. It will be gone eventually, and I think it will happen faster than you seem to think. How long did it take everyone to switch to DVDs? CDs? Cell phones? These things can happen rapidly. 10 years ago I didn't have a cell phone, but now every 6 year old and their dog has an iPhone.

We'll still have regular primetime TV and the major networks for at least 10 - 15 years. Until there is more services to compliment Netflix at least. Hey, I like Netflix as much as the next guy and sub, but really, it doesn't replace TV for me. Not even close.

Coach · 08-11-2013, 11:37 AM

10-15 years is a pretty short time frame for something like TV to become extinct. The thing is, Netflix may not replace tv, but for me and almost everyone I know, combining Netflix with online streaming completely replaces TV except for sports. My cable literally doesn't not leave my 5 sports channels. I haven't turned my cable on since the draft, and I watch tv every day.

Daradon · 08-12-2013, 04:30 AM

I always see Rogers home service internet/tv offered on Sportsnet East. Is this just an Eastern thing?

They've been very fair to me with my cell phone, I wouldn't mind looking at them for tv if it's available here. Their customer service has been good for me too. (I know right? I couldn't believe it either. Maybe I've just been lucky.)

oilyfan · 08-12-2013, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daradon

I always see Rogers home service internet/tv offered on Sportsnet East. Is this just an Eastern thing?

They've been very fair to me with my cell phone, I wouldn't mind looking at them for tv if it's available here. Their customer service has been good for me too. (I know right? I couldn't believe it either. Maybe I've just been lucky.)

Only in the East. Shaw, TELUS and Bell are your only cable TV options in the West.