Shaw vs. Telus Cable TV

[theonlywhiteout]

guh. i just went out to the NE to pick up a modem from shaw. come home and i get 3 megabits (im on extreme). I call tech support and he asks if I have a router hooked up. I say ya but I just was getting 13 on telus before I hooked up. Refused to help me unless I went straight in. Got pissed off and called back later. Second guy says I have a terrible signal at that outlet and would have to have a technician come and look at it. Really seems like a huge hassle to save a few bucks and what irritates me is I had shaw internet maybe 7 months ago tops, on the same outlet.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

guh. i just went out to the NE to pick up a modem from shaw. come home and i get 3 megabits (im on extreme). I call tech support and he asks if I have a router hooked up. I say ya but I just was getting 13 on telus before I hooked up. Refused to help me unless I went straight in. Got pissed off and called back later. Second guy says I have a terrible signal at that outlet and would have to have a technician come and look at it. Really seems like a huge hassle to save a few bucks and what irritates me is I had shaw internet maybe 7 months ago tops, on the same outlet.

bad signal or not, connecting your modem directly to your PC should always be one of the first troubleshooting steps you take before calling in. at best it fixes the issue and then you nail the issue down to the router, at worst it does nothing but save you time on the phone when calling in

[theonlywhiteout]

Yeah fair enough. I dont know if I want the hassle of a service guy to save a few bucks.

[teamchachi]

I switched from Bell to Telus Optik about 2 months ago. Got the free Xbox 360 for switching to Telus from Shaw and now we use it as a set top box (when not playing games).

I am not a Telus fan. But I'm a fan of Optik TV. The service on the phone has been great, the installer was great, the picture quality is great, and the 25Mbps DSL is awesome.

The shared PVR feature puts the Bell and Shaw offerings to shame.

I have had the top PVRs from Bell and Shaw in the last 9 months. You could not pay me to go back to either of them. I would have to take the Telus remote of my wife's cold, dead, fingers.

Telus is the king of the mountain for TV service until Bell or Shaw come out with a Google TV set top box.

[CrazyIvan]

Does Telus give free access to usenet like Shaw does? I couldn't do without that for our HD viewing choices.

[MickMcGeough]

Got my optik installation scheduled for Friday. Anything I should know?

[TomoMoose]

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

Does Telus give free access to usenet like Shaw does? I couldn't do without that for our HD viewing choices.

They don't have a usenet server anymore. But Shaw's usenet server has terrible retention, one or two days perhaps. I wouldn't be surprised they discontinue it too. Commercial server is the way to go. I am using newdemon for $9/month. I am getting downloads at over 1.5-2MBps (encrypted), basically maxing out my connection from Shaw. Alternatively you can buy blocks, astraweb has 200GB for $22.

I am upgrading (hopefully) this Friday to Optik Turbo, rated at 25Mbps with 250Gb traffic.

[CrazyIvan]

Originally Posted by TomoMoose

They don't have a usenet server anymore. But Shaw's usenet server has terrible retention, one or two days perhaps. I wouldn't be surprised they discontinue it too.

You must have been away from Shaw for a while. We've had great 30 day retention for $0 for at least a couple of years now. We get all our HD TV and movies off it. That's why I was asking about Telus as Shaw's free usenet is great for getting your viewing material.

[TomoMoose]

Originally Posted by CrazyIvan

You must have been away from Shaw for a while. We've had great 30 day retention for $0 for at least a couple of years now. We get all our HD TV and movies off it. That's why I was asking about Telus as Shaw's free usenet is great for getting your viewing material.

I admit, I didn't try it in awhile even though I have the internet with shaw right now. The thing is their unbundled price is $57 compared with $37 for a similar profile from Telus. Even the 25Mbps profile from telus is cheaper, at $50. $9/months doesn't seem that much of an expense when you factor in the difference in price.

Anyway, if I am wrong, and I will find that ina week (switching to telus), I will move back to shaw. Truth be told, their internet service was flawless qualitywise in all my years with them.

[CrazyIvan]

Nope your not wrong about the pricings, it was just your statement about Shaw's usenet that was incorrect.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by TomoMoose

I admit, I didn't try it in awhile even though I have the internet with shaw right now. The thing is their unbundled price is $57 compared with $37 for a similar profile from Telus. Even the 25Mbps profile from telus is cheaper, at $50. $9/months doesn't seem that much of an expense when you factor in the difference in price.

Anyway, if I am wrong, and I will find that ina week (switching to telus), I will move back to shaw. Truth be told, their internet service was flawless qualitywise in all my years with them.

A couple things to note:

1) To have Telus internet, you must also have Telus phone, so that must be factored into the pricing, especially if you don't want a land line. It can be a basic line, which is about $15-$25 IIRC depending on your promo bundled pricing. If you already have a Telus line, then this obviously isn't an issue.

2) Telus TV usage directly affects your internet bandwidth, so internet use during prime time TV hours will probably be closer to 15-20Mbps, depending on the number of feeds you are using. When I asked Telus about it the rep claimed to not know the amount of speed reduction, but told me he would call me back when he found out. He never called back but from CP and avsforum I think a good guess is 2-3Mbps for each SD feed and 3-5Mbps for each HD feed, depending on the compression.

[theonlywhiteout]

Originally Posted by Rathji

A couple things to note:

1) To have Telus internet, you must also have Telus phone, so that must be factored into the pricing, especially if you don't want a land line. It can be a basic line, which is about $15-$25 IIRC depending on your promo bundled pricing. If you already have a Telus line, then this obviously isn't an issue.

2) Telus TV usage directly affects your internet bandwidth, so internet use during prime time TV hours will probably be closer to 15-20Mbps, depending on the number of feeds you are using. When I asked Telus about it the rep claimed to not know the amount of speed reduction, but told me he would call me back when he found out. He never called back but from CP and avsforum I think a good guess is 2-3Mbps for each SD feed and 3-5Mbps for each HD feed, depending on the compression.

you dont need telus phone for internet, you can have dark or 'dry' adsl

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

you dont need telus phone for internet, you can have dark or 'dry' adsl

That is something that is newly added in the past year or so then.

I stand corrected.

[theonlywhiteout]

Originally Posted by Rathji

That is something that is newly added in the past year or so then.

I stand corrected.

not to be a ###### but that hasn't been the case for years years and years

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

not to be a ###### but that hasn't been the case for years years and years

I don't know why you would think it would be being a ###### because I certainly am not taking it personally. I do think your time frame of years and year and years is slightly inaccurate though, as much as it really doesn't matter at all.

I was simply passing along information that I have obtained by talking with Telus on behalf of a ESL co-worker about 13-14 months ago. If the CSR from Telus really was lying to me through his teeth just to finally get him to agree to $10 a month for a base phone plan that he didn't need, then so be it.

If they have changed it, with the addition of Optik TV then good on them. It really does make sense for it to be that way and a better value for their product is certainly better for competition in all of Alberta. Aside from that, I certainly don't have any personal interest in how Telus conducts their business.

[TomoMoose]

Originally Posted by Rathji

A couple things to note:

1) To have Telus internet, you must also have Telus phone, so that must be factored into the pricing, especially if you don't want a land line. It can be a basic line, which is about $15-$25 IIRC depending on your promo bundled pricing. If you already have a Telus line, then this obviously isn't an issue.

2) Telus TV usage directly affects your internet bandwidth, so internet use during prime time TV hours will probably be closer to 15-20Mbps, depending on the number of feeds you are using. When I asked Telus about it the rep claimed to not know the amount of speed reduction, but told me he would call me back when he found out. He never called back but from CP and avsforum I think a good guess is 2-3Mbps for each SD feed and 3-5Mbps for each HD feed, depending on the compression.

In fact I signed up only for Internet and TV. My phone is with Vonage and I don't want to change that. I know that bandwith is shared between the TV and Internet. I would have a max of one HD feed so theoretically I should still top 20Mbps for internet alone. I guess I will see how good telus service is. The good part is that Internet is not on a contract, only the TV is in order to get the discount and free PVR rental.

[theonlywhiteout]

for those who use VOIP, have you considered just using skype? I'm considering switching my phone service to skype for it's awesome rates and iphone app

[TomoMoose]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

for those who use VOIP, have you considered just using skype? I'm considering switching my phone service to skype for it's awesome rates and iphone app

I pay $20 with Vonage, and that includes caller ID, call forwarding, 3 way calling, voice mail (also sent to email as a audio file), plus some other stuff I don't use anyway. This includes 500 minutes within NA (4c/min after that) and I rarely exceeded this, is more than I need for a fixed phone. I also got to keep my usual number and "standard" phone. For long distance outside NA I use Nonoh (VOIP Betamax provider) which is almost free. I don't think Skype can beat that. In fact neither Shaw or Telus can, so that's why I decided to stay with Vonage.

Can one use Skype and still keep a local phone number, can you be called back on a regular phone?

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by theonlywhiteout

not to be a ###### but that hasn't been the case for years years and years

In January, April, June 2009 I called and it was the case then. Couldnt install without a home phone installed.

[theonlywhiteout]

Originally Posted by mykalberta

In January, April, June 2009 I called and it was the case then. Couldnt install without a home phone installed.

Whoever you were talking to lied to you, I'm afraid