I believe that Persona is using HITS QT in most of their digital areas - which means they're using the Motorola DSR470, and for HD would use the HDD-201 (the Star Choice sidecar HD box).

As for digital channels, you would probably get a very similar lineup as compared to Star Choice - HITS QT pretty much takes everything off of Cancom, which is of course a wing of the Shaw empire.

I think Sudbury uses the Motorola DCT 2000s. Their digital line-up has no similarity to Star Choice in termns of dial positions. I would imagine that Elliots digital offerings would be very similar to Sudbury, with the exception of HDTV.

Travis,

I was in Sudbury a few weeks ago and saw that Persona had an HD Demo display at The Sony Store in the New Sudbury Shopping Centre.

I stopped to look at the demo (PBS loop), but unfortunately didn't bend down far enough to read the model number on the HD box they had in the store. It was definitely a single unit (no side-car) and was silver in colour.

When I look at the Motorola web-site, it can only be the DCT 5100 or the DCT 6208. Since Persona has not overtly mentioned that they are rolling out PVR's, (6208), the only box it could have been was the DCT5100.

Hope this is of assistance

hey everybody does anybody have any information on persona ...like when they are getting hdtv,pvr's or what type of boxes they will be putting out everytime i phone them i get the"we're not sure answer" i live in timmins but we get things shortly after sudbury does any info would be great i got a new tv a year ago and my dvd's look great but i want hdtv ha ha ha

Type persona into the site's search engine. There are a few threads. An example follows:

http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9825&highlight=persona

thanks 57 i did find those posts but they were 4-5 months old and i was hoping for more current info my wife thinks i'm crazy for bugging the cable company every 3-4 weeks for updates on the hdtv but i try to tell her how much better the picture will be when she watches her law and orders and csi

It's hard to say much about Persona for sure, because they have so many different systems and different hardware platforms. They have a lot of systems that are absolute ratholes, and some that are pretty good, like Sudbury. What digital cable boxes do you have now? If you've got the DSR-470s, then you're on a HITS QT system and I wouldn't bet on getting PVR within the next several years. HD, maybe, as I believe it can be done with HITS QT.

hi there travisc.I'm not 100%sure but i think my box is a dct 2000 in timmins persona says it is the best box they have.It says dolby digital on it but the only audio outs are left and right(i wasn't two impressed with that)whe i called persona the lady said that pvr's would definitely be before the hdtv(i'm sure she said within the nest couple of months)but she didn't know what kind it would be.When i asked what type of hd box they were testing out she put me on hold for 5 minutes and then told me motorola.I asked which motorola and she said she couldn't find THAT out.I think i was getting on her nerves,but hey...that's what they're there for.Any-hoo I'm pretty new with all this stuff -what does hits qt mean?Persona told me that timmins and sudbury were at the same level when trying out new stuff well i gotta go get another round I'm working in the lab tonight......thanks

If you've got a DCT2000, then you're not on a HITS QT system and there's hope for you. QT stands for Quick Take, and it's basically a platform adopted by some smaller operators to launch digital cable in a much cheaper fashion, without having to upgrade your plant to two-way. But if you've got the DCT2000, they've either got their own DAC (Digital Access Controller, I think) or they use full-out HITS. Either way, they can use the full range of Motorola boxes, so you're likely to see some of the DCT2500, 5100, 6200, 6208 or 6408 at some point in your lifetime.

However, Persona has been sold, so you never know what will come of that with respect to their growth plans.

thanks travisc there's hope on the horizon for me yeepah!!

hello , I'm new to the board .I'm a former BEV custumer but I've had to trade in my system and go with digital cable (Persona in Timmins)

Does anyone know if they have the ability to carry center ice pkg in the future ?

I've emailed them and I was told ''no'' , yet I've spoken to one of the CSR's to set up my install date and she said ''they are working on it''.

and yes , I did do a ''search'' to see if this topic has been discussed in the past .

excellent message board , I'm glad I found it

Center Ice requires fairly hefty minimums. Persona is unlikely to be carrying it unless the Canadian Cable Systems Alliance (CCSA) of which they are a part, can reach an agreement on behalf of the entire CCSA to spread the minimums around.

thanks Travis .

Maybe sometime down the road it will be affordable for them to do it .I can handle a few years without center ice considering I've watched alot of hockey the last few years while my wife was in school for nursing .

Other than the center ice issue , I'm quite looking forward to heading back to ''digitalcable'' for the simplicity of it all .

Hi Stamp


I'm in the same boat as you....I use DCCNET (fast!) but opted for BEV.
The only downer with BEV is this cr*p model 5200 receiver. Or should I say
the firmware. When I go HD I'll lease the receiver that way I can throw it back
in their face.

I'm hoping BEV will be bringing in the Echostar receiver with the digital PVR.

FaxCap

I'm hoping BEV will be bringing in the Echostar receiver with the digital PVR.Here's the forum dedicated to those upcoming BEV machines, Faxcap. They're on their way: http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=58

I've just returned from Elliott Lake to Rogers Digital HD Paradise in Scarborough. The cable TV up north is abysmal; channel selections mediocre and signal quality on some channels was terrible. I'm moving up there next year and looks like I have to choose between *C and BEV. I want to keep my HDTV service and BBC World, Euronews and DWTV as well as the Seattle channels. Persona by contrast doesn't even offer CFTO! OK, enough complaints , but could someone please offer some practical tips? Thanks!
(Oh, and for anyone interested, one downtown EL dealer is offering *C with a circular (rather than elliptical) dish as well as Sirius XM Satellite Radio!)

In your case, Euronews and DW are only on BEV, so that is the choice, based on those.

Hey all,

Well, the wife and I were going to go satellite before the snow starts to fly but decided to wait it out and took advantage of Persona's 60 day thing and get free digital cable for 2 months.:)

The tech's coming on the 18th of November to install it and I was wondering if anyone out there has signed up with Persona lately and also which model STB did you get.

We used to have a DCT2000 before we had to cut back last spring. ($$$) My in-laws box is an old DCT1000 and they got there service about 2 years ago. :eek: Hoping that I don't end up with one of those...

Anyone out there have a 2500 or even better a 5100?;)

Hey all,

Well, the wife and I were going to go satellite before the snow starts to fly but decided to wait it out and took advantage of Persona's 60 day thing and get free digital cable for 2 months.:)

The tech's coming on the 18th of November to install it and I was wondering if anyone out there has signed up with Persona lately and also which model STB did you get.

We used to have a DCT2000 before we had to cut back last spring. ($$$) My in-laws box is an old DCT1000 and they got there service about 2 years ago. :eek: Hoping that I don't end up with one of those...

Anyone out there have a 2500 or even better a 5100?;)


I can tell you there are no 2500's or 5100's in their network. It might be a 2000, it might be a 1200, its tough to tell, depends on the stock in the area. I'm sure you could always ask the technician, worst thing he would say is "this is all I have?".

They do have the single-tuner pvr in your area (6208), but at the extra $20/mth it might be a little pricey. But other than that, its pretty much the other boxes, the 1000/1200/2000s.

During the call, I did inquire about the PVRs and they do indeed have the single tuner available and they also have the dual tuner available at $25/mth. I agree that they are quite pricey....we had to think it over and we figured it's more than we can afford right now.

Any idea if there 2000s use the new i-guide? I know the website shows it as being "new" and available now but it wouldn't be first time they advertise something on there website then when you call about it and find out " Sorry, it's only available in Sudbury right now."