Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums banner

New Pace/Shaw equipment launching Sept 30th

51K views 80 replies 42 participants last post by  Mysticode 
#1 ·
On Sept 30th Shaw will be launching 3 new products.

Pace Whistler: A dual tuner 160GB PVR with analogue tuner which will be available for rent in all markets (replacing Pace Aspen and Tahoe rentals) and available for purchase in non-all digital markets as the current model of PVR for sale.

Shaw PVR Expander: a 1TB hard drive that can be attached to any existing Pace PVR and (once an upgrade completes in late October) most Motorola PVRs (those with sata connections)

Pace Summit: An HD DCT that by itself replaces the Motorola 6200 (non-pvr hd dct) however with a Shaw PVR Expander it becomes a dual tuner PVR with 1TB of storage. This will be sold as a 2-in-1 unit (along with the PVR Expander) and will be the current PVR available for sale in all digital markets going forward after Sept 30th.

Now that is not to say that Shaw will be getting out of using Motorola products but Pace will be the units for sale for the near future. (pure speculation on my part here) I think Motorola will eventually come out with a bigger and better product that Shaw may launch but right now there are no new products from them.
 
See less See more
#4 ·
My apologies for not including the pricing on the original post.

Pace Whistler: $19.95 rental (in all markets) (160GB dual tuner PVR)
Pace Whistler: $498 purchase (in non-all digital markets only). (160GB dual tuner PVR)

Pace Summit with a Shaw PVR Expnader: $498 (1TB dual tuner all digital PVR)
*you get 2 devices to make the PVR.

Pace Summit: $298 HD DCT with no internal hard drive

Shaw PVR Expander: $200 (1TB ESata enable harddrive that is compatible with all Pace DCTs and will be compatible with Motorola PVRs with ESata connections)
 
#3 ·
This is interesting news. I have a Shaw tech coming to check my setup today so I'll be interested to find out what info he know about these new boxes. I guess this means I'll have to put up with 6412 until the new Pace Whistler box comes out. Any word on the price of the Shaw PVR Expander ?
 
#7 ·
The summit looks like it'll be a good deal to get into a PVR, particularly for those who already have an external drive sitting around.

My experience with the pace boxes has been that they work with pretty much any external enclosure you throw at them, though I know others haven't had the same experience.
 
#9 ·
My mom has a DCT 6200 from what I've read is a PVR but just has no internal hard drive. With the new shaw 1tb drive coming im hoping to be able to connect the 2 but the 6200 does not have an esata drive. Would a usb to esata adapter work or is she pretty much outta luck of being able to record on this model?:confused:
 
#11 ·
Had the shaw tech out today,he looked at the shaw - 9db splitter which he replaced but after the hard reset the problems are still happening. So I'm left with a box that's out of warranty & them wanting me to pay full price for a replacement Pace box. After looking at the website I have a question on the new Pace boxes. Is the only difference between the Whistler & the Summit just the Whistler has the HDD built in ? I'm disappointed that HDD is only the 160gb but aleast we can finally expand it to something decent for TV junkie like me :D I guess I'll wait till the new Pace boxes come out & try to get a trial rental with maybe a discounted purchase
 
#12 ·
Hi there,

On the bestbuy site they state the non-shaw one being in stock right now for $199 and the Shaw one coming on October 10.

Is there any reason to wait, like extra warranty or anything like that?, or is the non-shaw one the same thing and if we can get it say today, buy it and then call shaw after it's plugged in?

Thanks
 
#16 ·
And the best thing about a Summit is that it gives the customer an option. They can enter the HD market for $298 and then if they choose to upgrade later on they just add a Shaw PVR Expander for $200 to what they have instead of having to trade the unit in and get a whole new one.

If you have a Motorola 6200 (under warranty) you get less than you paid for it on a trade up and then you still have to pay full price for the new PVR (minus the trade up value). So you pay $298 for a Moto 6200 then a year later you want a PVR so you have to buy one at $498 -$150 (trade up) = $348 so in reality you paid $646 (348 + 298) where with the Pace it is still $498
 
#18 ·
I have been looking to get a PVR for some time now, and since the start of the hockey season is around the corner I finally called shaw and got somewhat of a deal out of them. They offered me the 6 month PVR rental and buyout at $250 after the 6 months. I was about to do it but decided I will wait a couple of days, and just saw this topic.

I was curious if the Pace Summit will allow any external hard drive to be attached to it, or if it would have to be the extender? And if I can use an external hard drive, would they still give me the 50% off on the Summit, or $250 off or whatever?
 
#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
The Summit is not for rent so if you will be getting a free rental is may be an Aspen or a Motorola model.

Shaw, Pace and Motorola have tested the 2 models of PVR Expanders and they have worked through all of the testing. Other external hard drives may indeed work but their reliabilty and compatability is not know.
 
#23 ·
My parents have an HD-PVR install tomorrow and I just called in. The rep. had no idea about the new Pace products, and said that they're scheduled to receive a Pace Aspen.

Given that they're unlikely to want more than 160 gigs of recording space, I'm not going to bother postponing it.

Is there actually a difference between the Pace Aspen and the Pace Whistler? Just the analog tuner?
 
#24 ·
I spoke to Shaw this morning, and they said that the 6200 *CAN* be turned into a 2-tuner PVR *if* you use their own expander. Apparently their expander is more than just sata harddrive in a box - it also has the 2nd tuner in the box to enable dual watch and/or record capability on the 6200 and on the Pace box that also has no internal HD and ony one tuner.

Cheers,
the REAL Joe
 
#25 ·
#26 ·
Well, he was pretty clear in 2 messages that the Shaw version *does* include a 2nd HD tuner. We'll have to wait and see. Bestbuy definitely lists the items seperately, both with (similar but) different descriptions, so my guess would be that BB maybe has the wrong picture with the Shaw device (it wouldn't be the first time they did that!) and that the two are possibly different devices...

Cheers,
The REAL Joe
 
#27 ·
@yvr76:

Here's what a Shaw CSR mailed me this morning:

The Pace Summit is very similar to the Pace Aspen, except it does not
have PVR capabilities. It is compatible with the 1TB PVR expander,
which turns it into dual-tuner PVR. Like the 3416, it only has a
digital tuner, so while it will work in Winnipeg, it will not be
available in all Shaw areas.

The Pace Whistler is very similar to the Pace Tahoe. The primary
differences between the Whistler and the Tahoe are cosmetic. The
Whistler is black, while the Tahoe is silver. The Whistler also lacks
an Ethernet port, which is something we did not use on the older units.
It has a 160GB internal hard drive, and is compatible with external hard
drives.


Cheers,
The REAL Joe
 
#28 ·
Pretty sure Hot Potato's right. As I recall, the 6200 has no eSATA connector making the whole issue moot. The firmware revisions and hardware costs of doing what the CSR suggested seem prohibitive, and certainly not likely deliverable at a sub-$200 price point.

I suspect the CSR was confused between the PVR Expander, support for existing Pace STB's, upcoming support for Moto STB's, and the new Pace hardware. They've been given a lot of new info over the past few days and he likely got his wires crossed. The new Pace Summit and Whistler are dual-tuner.
 
#29 ·
I stand corrected, you are right. I just now received an e-mail from the Shaw CSR (all of their own accord, mind you!) apologizing for sending me incorrect info this morning, and setting the record straight, as follows:

-The PVR Expander is *only* a harddrive (that Shaw fully supports) and does not contain a 2nd tuner.

-The Pace Whistler itself *is* already Dual Tuner, but without a harddrive, and therefore becomes a dual tuner PVR with the addition of an external drive.

-The 6200 is NOT compatible with external drives; it was the older 6208 that the CSR was thinking about.

Sorry to add to the confusion, but this should set the record straight.

And FWIW, I think it was pretty nice of the Shaw CSR to remember what he messaged me this morning and then all on his own, send me another message in the afternoon admitting he gave me the incorrect info, correcting it (with a trememndous amount of detail), and apologizing for any confusion he might have caused. That was well done!

Cheers
The REAL Joe
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top