Does anyone know if shaw has a return policy? I purchased 2 DCX3400s at the secret sale and want to return one of them as it is too loud for my bedroom.

The reps at the secret sale I went to said all pvr/gateway sales are final.

Contact Shaw and complain and get them to replace the noisy one.

Are they even allowed to do that? Don't consumers have some sort of right to return the box? Shaw's just going to clean it up and sell it again anyway....

I was a little ticked to hear that the PVR was $98. Two weeks before I bought a PVR from Future Shop for $200 as a Christmas present for my parents. Oh well.

Or if you really don't want it, since it's brand new anyway, sell it for $150 and pocket the difference. It will make the one you keep even cheaper.

If you do want a PVR for the bedroom, do what DSgamby suggests.

Are they even allowed to do that? Don't consumers have some sort of right to return the box?

Returns for functional products/goods are simply good customer service policies. Companies are by no means obligated by law to do so (unless item is defective). Although some regulations/laws do vary by province.

All the pvrs are a bit noisy because they are always running, even when you think you have them shut off. Was told this by a Shaw rep and Best Buy rep.

Thanks for the feedback all, sounds like there were some great experiences and some of you got in on some good deals (not to mention a few prizes as well!) but there were also some challenges as well.

I can't speak to specific offers but I can say that we have offers in specific regions - and contrary to what some may think, the intention is not to alienate our customers ;)

We have offers that are specific to Winnipeg where we compete with MTS or specific to Thunder Bay where we compete TBayTel. But as part of the team that helped put together the Secret Sale, it had less to do with our competition as it had to do more with pulling together all our resources and securing our locations in time for the event.

So in response to the customers that were not in areas where the sale was offered, I apologize and know this may have rubbed you the wrong way, but we are always looking at what we can do locally so stay tuned.

Thanks,
John

I have been a "Shaw" customer for many years with a single one year "absence" going back to when it was "Greater Winnipeg Cablevision". I have never received any "existing" customer offer or any other such offer (I was one of the first "SOHO" installs as a beta tester). Shaw has made offers to me as "current occupant", none of which were available as they were specified to be to a person who had no Shaw service for the previous 30 to 90 days.

There have been promos offered at the Winnipeg Home Show (show site only, $10+ to get in).

So where is these Winnipeg existing customer offers? When I have received offers from MTS and contacted Shaw, the CSR has suggested I leave Shaw for 30/60/90 days till I qualify for the offer...nice customer service. My family has gotten tons of "free" hardware on new customer offers though...sad though it is, Shaw does not want to give long term paying customers offers, they want to report on "new" subs. Thanksfully I have PVRs from other family members...lol

Vis

Thanks for the responses. The unit itself it not louder than any normal unit; both units make the same amount of noise. I am just sensitive to the fan noise and have a hard sleeping with the fan on constantly. I have since contacted Shaw twice and received conflicting information. One representative told me I could bring it back to shaw and get a refund within 30 days while another said sales are final from the secret sale.

I realize this is too late now but if anyone wants a 'silent' solution for PVR in any room, not just the bedroom, then the Gateway/Portal system is the answer. It's too bad you didn't go for that during the sale, Gears. Were you aware of the differences in the boxes at the time or were you sold on the two DCXs by Shaw? Maybe they will let you switch to the Gateway on an 'exception' basis?

Despite it not being able to access the recordings of the other device, I think some people still bought the 3400 instead of the portal/gateway because of the extra storage they'd get (versus a portal) or they already have older pvrs and didn't want to upgrade. For example, at the secret sale, you could have bought 2 x 3400 for $196 (get 1TB storage) or 1 x gateway with 2 x portals for $196 (get 500GB storage).

Honestly, I don't think Shaw's current pvr trade-in offer is very good. Although it's newer hardware, it doesn't seem like a fair trade as you lose 500GB of storage. It'd be more fair if it was trade a pvr and pay $50 for a portal + expander (new pvr is $198 while new portal + expander is $142+$100 = $242).

But the Gateway can handle an additional 6TB of external storage, if you want or need it. I realize not everyone needs this but I have found being able to watch recordings in any room and set them from any TV is really nice to have. I only have 1TB of external storage and I seldom go over 40% used. Right now I'm at 30% and I recorded several short series over the holidays, all in HD. It'll probably be back down below 20% in just a few days.

Just something to keep in mind. If I wasn't already a Gateway owner, the sale would have been the ideal time to get one.

But the Gateway can handle an additional 6TB of external storage, if you want or need it.

True, but you would need to spend more money on an expander or a hd + enclosure whereas for the same price you would have an extra 500GB (for the $196 example). And, if I'm not mistaken, the gateway is only hot-swappable for up to 6 x 1TB drive, it can't connect to all 6TB at once. Of course, it really depends on whether one values extra storage more or the ability to share recordings more (+ gateway's other functions).

I agree with you that the secret sale was an excellent opportunity for those without a gateway (and want one) to get one. But, I still feel that the current gateway trade-in promo of 1 pvr for 1 portal is not the most ideal.

Actually, the Gateway can handle 6TB all at once but, as you point out, that comes at an additional cost. I bought my 1TB Expander when they were on sale for $50 so one can add to their storage rather affordably if they watch for such sales.

I was unaware the gatewaty would be noiseless compared to the hdpvr, otherwise I would have went with that option. I guess I'll try brining my pvr down to shaw and try to get a refund for it.

Also did anyone get receipt for purchases from the secret sale? I was told there were no receipts and I would have to check my bill.

Actually, the Gateway can handle 6TB all at once but, as you point out, that comes at an additional cost.

I was unaware of that. How do you plug in all 6 expanders at once? I only see one eSata port listed: www.arrisi.com/product_catalog/_docs/_specsheet/MoxiGateway_PF_14NOV11.pdf. Or do you mean it can handle a single hard-drive with capacity up to 6TB?

I bought my 1TB Expander when they were on sale for $50 so one can add to their storage rather affordably if they watch for such sales.

It's unlikely that HD with enclosure prices will drop back down to $50 anytime soon (especially after HD prices skyrocketed due to last year's flooding in Thailand). But good point!

I was unaware the gatewaty would be noiseless compared to the hdpvr, otherwise I would have went with that option.

The portals are noiseless as the harddrive for the pvr function is in the gateway. The noise you hear is mainly the harddrive noise of the motorola pvr.

The details of what the Gateway can do now and what it will likely be capable of in the future are well documented in the Gateway threads, including the original one, so I would suggest you have a read through them (yes, I know they are rather long) as there is a lot of good info there.

I would agree that hard drive prices are likely not going to be 'cheap' again for quite a while for the reason you stated.

The 'Gateway' is actually not silent as it has a circulation fan and the hard drive in it but it is supposed to be remotely located and the silent Portals are what gets located at each TV so no issue with noise.

If you are referring to this thread: http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=142528. Then yes, I am already aware of those capabilities.

My response above was in reference to your comment of buying 1TB drives (I assumed you were talking about Shaw expanders as you also mentioned the $50 deal in the following post). You would need to set up your own enclosure to get access to multiple drives (albeit I did do small typo in my previous post as I meant "a single enclosure" instead of "a single hard-drive"); I had mistakenly thought you meant you could plug in 6 expanders simultaneously.

Nonetheless, I think we are going off-topic a bit. What I am trying to say is that given Shaw's current pricing scheme and trade-in offers, the gateway is not as suitable for everyone as Shaw marketed it to be in the Secret Sale.

An array is required and several have been 'qualified' and are listed somewhere in one of the other Gateway threads. I wasn't actually referring to the one you quote but that is an excellent example of a 'do it yourself' option that is, or was, much more affordable.

Further discussion about Gateway and external storage should take place in those existing threads.

To Gears: I went to Coquitlam Centre and did not get a receipt. A form was written up and Shaw would not take cash so I had to use my Credit Card. Had to phone Credit Co. to find if Shaw billed me correctly for my hdpvr.