Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner

Shaw Direct Programming/Pricing Discussions

202K views 726 replies 107 participants last post by  tvmaster 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
EDIT by Dr.Dave: See post 68 for the discussion of Skinny Basic (Limited TV.)

I have Digital Favourite pac + Movies package. That's a wack of $ / month and not justified since we have changed our viewing habits! Reading and music is to blame. Sorry SD.

The truth is we rarely watch TV and go with Netflix for an occasional movie from their large library. I'll be the first to support a CDN live stream service that competes with Netflix.
Shaw VOD is slow and limited.

Tuning into regular TV is only for news and sports.... plus the occaissional AMC show.... not that we can't access them from other locations.

I am thinking of cutting down programing to basic service to no service.

What will Shaw Direct try to do to keep me on?

I might return to shaw in the near distant future.
 
#2 ·
Shaw changed my set up.

About 18 mo's ago I switched to Shaw from Bell because Shaw offered a program called " Home away from Home" which gave me the same satellite programming at my cabin as I have in Calgary for only the cost of a receiver, no additional subscription fee's.
They cancelled that home away program and replaced it with a 50% deal and if I call when no one is at the cottage they will not charge for days when no one is there. I missed that notice so spent a few hours on the phone getting service back to the cottage on the 30th of Dec. I told the service rep I was going to re-evaluate to look for the best service so they gave me 50 bucks worth of PPV for each which has to be used up in a short period.
I am angry and want to switch. If there is anyone who is totally happy with their Satellite service, please let me know.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Shaw Direct

There was no mention of only one location being used at a time. I was baited, hooked and switched like I was a new hatchling. Prior to this I had one account with Shaw, now I have two. Soon I will have none.

I was also seriously considering switching my home phone to Shaw as well. Now that's out. I also have Shaw high speed at home and the cabin, separate accounts. I hate to lose it but..... I have to cool down before I make the decision.
 
#6 ·
Star Choice / Shaw Direct used to actively promote the idea of the "moveable" receiver. At one time, there was a web page devoted to the RV crowd. The retail package you bought at Radio Shack included a dish + a receiver. Providing the dish through affiliated installers is now used as a control over "wild" installations.

From what I gather, CRTC ruled 1 location = 1 bill at some point, so that home away from home got quashed. Read on some other forums that even a secondary building on the same property (e.g., garage, guest house) has to be within a certain radius of main antenna to qualify under the same plan.

I'm sure there are at least 4 bureaucrats in Ottawa who could enlighten us as to how we are being better served...
 
#7 ·
Not sure why people create their own problems. If you have a dish at the second location, you can get service. Just have two receivers active. If you "join" the new program, they charge you. Nothing has changed, just that they bill you now if you "tell" them you have multiple locations.
 
#8 ·
I agree with starchoice I have two receivers, when we go to the cottage in the spring we bring one with us. We are retired so never are we running both of the receivers at the same time. This calling them and having them turn one on and the other off is not going to happen, I'm sure most of you have tried calling them. Plus; there is know we in hell that I'm going to pay them another fee for having a receiver at our cottage.
 
#9 ·
Hi,

I have a few questions, and I'm not sure if they all apply to this thread - but I'll start here and see where it goes:

I've been a SD customer for a number of years. Originally I had Rogers at my home address, and Starchoice at my cottage ( I think I started SC 10 years ago ) - but I cancelled Rogers at home when I learned about the HAFH program. For a couple of years, my cottage was the primary address ( as I had SC there first ), but back in 2010 my cottage address was 'lost' by SD, which I realized when we went to add another receiver there - so my cottage is still primary address - though for some reason whenever I call in to SD to refresh box at cottage, we are told to give them my home address and phone number. I have no idea why that is - I get confused just reading my notes from my calls to SD. Bottom line, I am getting service to 2 residences in Ontario - I just wanted to mention that as this has nothing to do with wanting satellite service to a U.S. location. And I only have - and get billed - for one account.

I've read all the threads about the 'end' of the HAFH program. I haven't actually called SD about any programming or equipment changes since 2010 - but am thinking about making some changes, and want to know what I should and shouldn't say to anyone at SD.

1) I'm thinking about making an equipment change - getting the 630 PVR...I've never had a PVR with SD, as back when I followed these things more closely, the 530 seemed to be a nightmare. Currently I have three 605's and a 317 ( or 319, not sure ) at home, and one 605 and one 317/319 at the cottage. The HAFH program used to have a six receiver limit - what will happen if I call and say I want to add a 630 PVR? I pay a multi-receiver fee monthly - was the six receiver limit a HAFH policy, or a general policy ? If there's any chance that ordering a 630 PVR will jeopardize my one bill for two locations, then I won't bother.

2) I'm also thinking about some programming changes. Currently I have the Digital Value Pack and Digital Extra Value Pack ( eg. HBO, TMN, etc. ) - and the impression I get is that this Direct Sales package - is no cheaper than their standard packages I can see online. If that's true I'd like to change for the simple reason of not being able to register an account online with the DVP. Are there any compelling reasons to stay with the DVP - and if not, will switching to a similar standard package at all jeopardize my HAFH benefits that I'm still receiving ?

3) As mentioned, the last time I called to change anything was in 2010 - which was before the new satellite was added. I'm currently paying $ 4.99 a month for Leafs TV, but no longer am subscribed to the HD channel ( #119 ), only the SD channel. I don't quite understand all the terminolgy on here, but I think I may need a new satellite or LNB to access the new satellite - would that cause any HAFH problems if I tried to upgrade at my home, and does the upgrade cost money ? So far, it seems like HD Leafs TV is the only channel I've tried to get that I can't - so unless there's other benefits to upgrading, maybe I won't bother.

4) As mentioned, at my cottage I have a 605 and 317. The 605 is in my room, and I've never once had to 'refresh' the signal. But my parents, who always arrive at cottage first and use the 317 which is in the main room, ALWAYS have to call and refresh the signal. Does anyone know why that is ? And is there any danger when they call in to refresh the signal of alerting SD to this 2nd residence ?

I know that's a lot of questions, and please advise if I should put any of this ( or all of it ) in a different thread. I've been putting off making any changes for about 3 years now - ever since the news that SD would be adding a new satellite. And I guess indirectly it's because of that new satellite that the HAFH program has changed ( to paying for the 2nd residence when using it, while getting a discount of 25-50% for all programming ). I just want to keep things simple. I'd like to get a PVR, and make some minor programming changes - but not if it'll affect my ongoing HAFH benefits in any way.

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give me.

Cheers !
 
#10 ·
If you shut down power at the cottage, or at least fully unplug the receiver, it will cease receiving the monthly or so key updates, so need them refreshed first use in the spring.

I do have a couple older receivers I occasionally use (315, 505), and if I lave them unplugged for months, they lose authorization next time I try to use them. Leaving them plugged in for a couple weeks brings them up (I am patient).

I think 6 receivers is a general account limit on active receivers. Most single households should never need more than six. I doubt you will be affected adding 630 (or probably replacing one receiver), but I cannot guarantee that.

You will need anew LNBF on the dish, or in your case both the cottage and home dish, to receive the new channels from the G1 satellite. Each receiver has a go around getting the v-code updated. Only the 6xx receivers will get the G1 programming. The simple terminology is G1 is the new satellite, X-Ku is the LNBF you need to receive it, V-code is basically a code to receive a channel map, which contains the parameters the receiver needs set to to tune channels, which can vary based on what LNBF you have.
 
#11 ·
net29091, if you make any programming changes, it will not affect anything. As far as SD is concerned, you need to tell them that you only have one residence. It's up to you if you want the primary as the cottage or your residence as the cottage. I would assume that you get your bills at the cottage since it's listed as the primary?

Under no circumstances should you mention to them that you have two locations, otherwise you are hooped.

Keep in mind that your "service" will be at the primary address so if you need a service call for any reason, it will always be at the location they have listed for you.

Shaw Direct "lost" all the information on the HAFH subscribers that registered years back. It's not actually lost but very few reps know how to access it so if you registered for the program years ago, they likely wouldn't know about it today.

If you want you residence as primary, just tell them you moved and give them your change of address. Tell them you installed the dish yourself, otherwise they will offer you an install.

By not being in the official HAFH program, you are not eligible for service calls to a second location so whatever is not primary will be on your own.

Don't worry about the receivers. You are allowed 6 in total. Any of these can be at your second location and SD will be none the wiser. As classicsat mentioned, if the receiver is unplugged or otherwise not receiving a signal, it will lose its authorization after a month. You should have the same dish at both locations so you don't run into programming issues. If both dishes need upgrading, Shaw Direct will do your primary and then you can just buy a second dish off Kijiji for your other location.
 
#12 ·
It might be best to have all of the receivers temporarily brought to your primary location, as they will require a V-code download. I had to do this with an agent on the phone and it took some amount of time for each receiver. If you had to do this in two batches, it might raise questions about a second location, that are best not asked.

Once all receivers are working with the new codes and dish, they can be taken to either location.
 
#13 ·
Hi,
Thanks for your responses. Again, I haven't called SD since 2010 - and it looks like at that time I changed the primary service location from my house to my cottage, so I could get the REAL U.S. Super Bowl commercials. My notes from that phone call ( which also had to do with moving where the satellite came into the cottage ), were that after the call, my cottage was the primary service location, and my house was secondary service location. But my house address is where I receive all the bills, and when we call to refresh a signal - it's the house landline number that we give them. I think we have had SD at the house since Feb.2010 - but I think it was before the G1 satellite, and before the HAFH program was terminated. So I have no idea how my house ( which last I checked was the SECONDARY service location ) - is showing up now in the SD system. I would think that it wouldn't show up at all, but they're still sending the bills here.

So I still have a few questions:

1) Classicsat, I always unplug the 605 in my room at the cottage - yet I've never had to refresh it...is that possible ( I can't verify 100% that no one's ever gone into my room and plugged it in before I arrived, as it's a much nicer TV than in the main room ) ?

2) Is there a large benefit to the new channels from the G1 satellite ? As mentioned, the only channel I've ever tried to get that I couldn't get was Leafs TV in HD - and I'm pretty sure I could get that last year after the G1 was operational...it's hard to say, I only subscribe to this for the handful of games not on Sportsnet, TSN or CBC. Going to get rid of that channel regardless, the question is what other channels am I missing ?

3) Starchoice and Skifan, if my cottage is listed as the primary service location - then I assume they would have 'lost' my home address ( even though they still mail me the bill here ). So the impression I'm getting is that I might need to tale all my receivers and dish from home up to the cottage if I want to get the X-Ku LNBF - would that be correct ?

4) If I don't want to get the G1 channels, but still want the 630 PVR, can I do that with my present LNBF ? I thought the last time I had a service guy here he said we'd need a new multiswitch ( eg. whatever you call the box inside the house that all the receivers are wired up to from the one main line coming from outside the house ), as the 630 would need two input / outputs ( I assume to be able to watch one channel and record another ) - and there was no more room on the switch / box we are now using. My guess is if that's the case, then they'd automatically upgrade me to the new X-Ku LNBF - meaning I will need all the receivers in one location for the v-code download. Which means there's really no way to get the 630 PVR without upgrading my LNBF. And if that requires taking all my receivers to one location, and my cottage is that location - that's going to be a major pain that I won't really have time for until probably the May Two-Four weekend.

5) Is it just me or has SD gotten incredibly complex ? When I switched from Rogers to Starchoice, it was for the cost, and it seemed simpler ? Now, my bill has more than doubled over the past 10 years - though to be fair, I didn't have HBO and TMN when I started. But what gets me is that I have to do research for a couple of hours just to ask a ( halfway intelligent ) question. And when I read a lot of other threads and posts - there seems to be more unanswered questions than answered. Is anyone switching to Bell or Rogers ( I don't think there's any other choices in Ontario ) ? I've been offered really good deals by Bell and Rogers over the last few months, Rogers offered two free PVR's, and Bell ( I think it was that VIPE service ) offered an incredible price for the next two years ( it was about 60% of what I'm paying to SD ) - but I can't do without TSN and Sportnet at my cottage. There doesn't seem to be a way to get that on the internet...I know there's a TSN GO app or service, but the internet plans in my cottage area would be cost prohibitive for that type of usage, and it seems like all I've read about TSN GO is complaints.

I'm not sure what to do. All I really want to do is cancel a couple of channels, and put the savings towards a 630 PVR - but it appears that may open up a whole can of worms that would just make things worse. And if that's the case then I'd rather just leave things the way they are.

Thanks again for all your comments and help !

Cheers !
 
#15 ·
Hi,

3) Starchoice and Skifan, if my cottage is listed as the primary service location - then I assume they would have 'lost' my home address ( even though they still mail me the bill here ). So the impression I'm getting is that I might need to tale all my receivers and dish from home up to the cottage if I want to get the X-Ku LNBF - would that be correct ?


5) Is it just me or has SD gotten incredibly complex ?
I think you need to confirm what location is on record. If you need a service call, it has to be at that location. Where you get your bills may be what they have as your primary (and only) location; otherwise they would have contacted you about the "new" HAFH.

If this is the case, you would need to have all your receivers at your house. Any service guy will verify all your receivers. If no service guy, you can always say that you weren't using all your receivers at the time so you could justify a code update to the other receivers at a later date if necessary.

It's more complicated because there have been numerous dish upgrades and receiver upgrades and the dish upgrades are not backwards compatible with older receivers.
 
#14 ·
Hi,

Just noticed I wrote this: I think we have had SD at the house since Feb.2010 - but I think it was before the G1 satellite, and before the HAFH program was terminated.

What I mean by that is we've had a SD SERVICE PERSON at the house since 2010 - I think it was 2006 when I switched from Rogers to Starchoice at the house.

Cheers !
 
#23 ·
Oppps!

Reading the posts about Shaw HafH and I made the mistake of mentioning leaving a receiver behind at an address that my kid will be at while attending university. I was requesting a new dish be sent to the house we were returning to (dish is about 10 yrs old). Now they will not send the new dish, and I need to wait for a phone call from Shaw Direct to resolve the billing issue since I have violated their Terms of Service.

I gave the customer service rep the option of cancelling the receiver at the other address or cancel the account...

Their response was that I must call the 1-888 number to handle canceling the service (I was on the Web Chat).

Star Choice / Shaw use to have some of the best Customer Support I experienced, helpful, fast service, good service recommendations. I bad experience with the Terms of Service 'Mall Cop' and I am fustrated with this company.

If I cannot wander around with one of my receivers once in a while they why pay the premium monthly subscription when I can switch to Cable and bundle the internet and phone for the same or less cost!
 
#27 ·
Limited Satellite Capacity is one factor. Shaw Satellite is mainly for distribution of signals to Cable Systems and local cable systems can pick up CTV2 over the air in their local market.

There seems to be a different relationship between CTV and Shaw vs Rogers and Shaw. CityTV gets simsubbed across the board and out of market whereas CTV does not. Shaw of course simsubs Global across the board. Not sure if there is a strained relationship but there definitely is something different there and CTV2 HD seems to be a casualty of this. Others suggest that it is the lack of original HD programming ie news but who knows the real reason.
 
#28 ·
CTV2 is not available OTA in Halifax, Calgary or Edmonton.
You must subscribe to receive these stations.

The sadness is that they were forced to waste bandwidth on CTV Sydney and CTV Moncton (in SD) where only the local commercials differ from the content on CTV Halifax. Same story for CTV Northern Ontario: CTV Sault Ste. Marie / Timmins and North Bay.
 
#30 ·
I know that CTV and CTV2 station are fibre fed in Halifax to EastLink cable. I assume the same for other stations.

Master Control for CTV and CTV2 Halifax is done via fibre from Toronto, so going across Robie Street to EastLink is not that big of a stretch.
 
Top