...Bell has a picture in guide so you can still watch your channel while surfing. But another big negative about Rogers guide is that advertising stuff at the lower left side
These remarks are on the Motorola STB used in Atlantic Canada (and by Shaw out west). The SA/Pace STBs in Ontario DO have picture in guide and NO advertizing.

These remarks are on the Motorola STB used in Atlantic Canada (and by Shaw out west). The SA/Pace STBs in Ontario DO have picture in guide and NO advertizing.Ohh... I see. Well, let's hope that the Atlantic region follows suit.... sooner than later. That is the one big drawback I see immediately between the Bell & Rogers.

Thanks for the info 57!

Hi everyone. First post.

I'm about to get an HD TV, so based on channel lineup, I decided to switch to Rogers via their "Ditch the dish" program (or whatever it's called these days).

As of now, I'm only using SD since the new TV won't be in for a week. Comparing "apples to apples", SC to Rogers SD, here are my observations..

1. IPG and ease of use of STB - Rogers by a mile.
2. Flexibility of programming - Rogers again.
3. Quality of picture - SC. Unfortunately, this is the most important thing for me.

I had Rogers Digital cable way back when it was first launched, and it was pretty bad. I switched to SC at that time to get the better picture. I thought that by now Rogers would have improved.

When the technician installed the Rogers box, I immediately went to TSN to see what a digitized analog feed would actually look like. Brutal. I asked the guy if there was a problem with the signal, and he said no, it's always like that. "But wait 'til you see HD!".

I must say that the TMN lineup has comparable PQ to SC, but the others I've watched (TSN, Sportsnet, CBC, etc.) are awful compared to SC. Very grainy, darks are too dark, brights are noisy. Then I saw SPIKE TV tonight! Made the other channels look great.

I sure hope that the HD PQ is much better. If not, I'll have to try BEV to see what they're like. I wish SC had a better channel lineup and Rogers didn't have the On-Demand stuff. It would have made it easier to stay with SC.

Is there hope for me ;)

Thanks for listening......

Dollar for dollar Rogers is cheaper with it's bundling options and packages BUT if you have only one TV and want select channels, then Bell may be cheaper.

As for quality if Rogers can provide an IPG that displays a week at without and real deals, why can't Bell? That only shows that Rogers is currentl ahead in the game of quality. They there's the issue of OnDemand capability. While it's still in it's infancy and has issue but it's something that Bell is not capable of doing.

Once the CRTC relaxes it's linkage rules and Rogers renegotiates it's contratc with the channel owners, they will be able to break out their Combo or Ultimate Package into theme packs and allow consumers more options like Bell.

I'm moving to London and am trying to figure out whether to get BEV or Rogers.

BEV currently has their All-in-One packages which seem to fit really well with my current needs. I'd be getting the Digital Extra Package for $68 a month and it comes with Digital Standard, 6 theme packs, Premium Movies with TMN, a PVR and a 2nd standard receiver free for a year.

With Rogers there's the Digital VIP package for $53, PVR Rental $14.95, 3 packages $16. So it comes out to $84, and doesn't include TMN.

For value the BEV package seems to be the best at the moment. But I'm just wondering if it's better to go with Rogers (on a comparison other than price). Am I missing something in terms of Rogers pricing?

Whatever service provider I chose to go with will dictate where I also get home phone service from because I want to bundle the services.

Does anyone know if Bell offers discounts for bundling services together?

What do you think? Different points of view would help.

If you're interested in TMN, I'd suggest you look into Rogers Ultimate Digital VIP with movies. It's $92 includes all specialty channels, a free SD STB (or credit I suppose), etc. If you are considering a broadband connection or mobile phone, etc, then you can also get bundle discounts.

Click on "pricing info" on the right side of the following link.

http://www.shoprogers.com/store/cable/ptv/digitaltv_programming_specialty.asp#

For the HD stations, see "Rogers HD offering" in the Digital Home FAQs (under help).

Hello all; As I am approaching the end of my contract with bell, I have found

a better deal with rogers digital cable(price only). I am just wondering if

anyone has compared the two in regards to pic quality. I do hear rogers has

better pic quality, but I need more feedback to help me in my decision to

either switch to rogers digital or stay with bev. I also hear bev is extremely

overly compressed were as rogers is not, does anyone know for sure?


Bev 6100 connected hdmi to sony kp46wt520.

As I'v seen Rogers does have slightly better pic quility but not by much.

I do not understand why people continue to put up with Rogers and do not take the time to really check out their options. The simple comparison is satellite is cheaper, more flexibility with programming and more features.
If you don't know why you haven't read the fine print but feel free to post reply and I will give the details.

I agree!!!!!
For 25+ years i was paying rogers cable/digital cable ( starting when digital first came out) for Almost no programming!

I always dreamed about getting a satellite system, but rogers would always say that its more expensive and when ever it rained the signal got lost etc...

Well after 25+ years, i decided to Really take my time and research it all.
after months of research, no matter how i looked at it, Bell express vu was Cheaper, and Less Money then i was paying rogers for 1 Digital box and 2 analogue cable outlets!

IMO bell picture quality is More vivid then Rogers digital.
and i get WAYYYYYYY more channels with EV then i did with rogers!
I used to pay about 80 bucks a month with rogers for just time shifting, a sports pack so i could get raptors tv and leafs tv, and 20Bucks for the movie network.

With bell, i get all that plus Much much more and i pay only $65+tax!
Plus, bell is very easy to Negotiate with. The installer missed the install date, so someone came the next day. I complained and i got a Free PPV and a month free.

Also, Bell signal cuts out very Rarely. Only if the weather is REALLY REALLY bad, and even then its only for 1 or 2 minutes!

With rogers it was always something. Either I'd be missing channels, the pic was always freezing up, or there was No EPG info unless i re-booted the box.

IMO, im Very Very happy with the Express vu service.
Only thing that sucks about EV is their CSR. Its like playing cards, you never know if the person u are talking to is telling the truth, or bluffing lol.

I'm moving to London and am trying to figure out whether to get BEV or Rogers.

BEV currently has their All-in-One packages which seem to fit really well with my current needs. I'd be getting the Digital Extra Package for $68 a month and it comes with Digital Standard, 6 theme packs, Premium Movies with TMN, a PVR and a 2nd standard receiver free for a year.

With Rogers there's the Digital VIP package for $53, PVR Rental $14.95, 3 packages $16. So it comes out to $84, and doesn't include TMN.

<snip>

Whatever service provider I chose to go with will dictate where I also get home phone service from because I want to bundle the services.

Does anyone know if Bell offers discounts for bundling services together?

Although Bell does have good offers for new customers (as does Rogers), bell no lnoger offers "bundles". They used to be called "Digital Bundles". Bell is not currently allowed to discount Home Phone or bundle it with any other services. Nothing stops you from buying satellite + internet + home phone on one Bell bill of course.

The PVR Bell offers in its $68 All-In-One is a standard def single tuner PVR. That's good for some folks but for me a PVR with one tuner is not good enough. (It means if the PVR is recording something, you can't change the channel to something else.)

Rogers has a $75 package (for new customers) right now that's pretty good: DVIP (includes all the traditional analog channels like Food, TSN, Space, Comedy) plus TMN (all 12 channels including TMN On Demand) plus the top 25 digital specialty channels. Granted, a dual-tuner PVR is extra -- an extra $20/mth.

That's a lot more programming than Bell but if you don't want the traditional analog channels you oculd choose just digital specialty. But you'd lose CNN, Life, Discovery, etc., as well as the ones I mentioned before.

If you think HD is in your future, Rogers offers about 15 free HD channels as well as "free" access to TMN HD and MPix HD (provided you already take TMN).

But I am asking if anyone can see a difference in pic quality between rogers and bell, both in sd and hd.

But I am asking if anyone can see a difference in pic quality between rogers and bell, both in sd and hd.

I cant comment on HD, as my tv is not, but IMO Bell's SD picture is more clear and vivid then rogers channels. On rogers, quite a few channels have a very dark picture quailty, and the sound just doesnt give you that "digital sound", were as on Bell, all the channels have good/GREAT picture quality ( using 4100 and 5900 IRDs) and S-video cable, and the sound is very clear also.

I hope to NEVER EVER go back to rogers. Mabie years down the line i could switch to *choice, but ill never go back to Rogers Cable/digital.

But I am asking if anyone can see a difference in pic quality between rogers and bell, both in sd and hd.

I had both Rogers and Bell at the same time so I could do A/B comparision.

On HD, I found them comparable. On SD, I found that it often depended on the station but overall when I had some folks over I asked them to look at both (while I flipped back and forth) and it was essentially a toss-up.

In my opinion, when it came to HD, the quality of television and the conditions under which you are watching, makes a bigger difference than the provider.

A lot of channels, especially OTA channels on Rogers in London are not very good. Most digital channels come from Cancom (*C) and suffer degradation due to reencoding for QAM256. Many OTA channels suffer from noise and multipath distortion due to distance from the originating station. Others are from repeaters that travel over land links from Toronto and suffer from picture loss in bad weather. I found that Rogers was just a pot luck mix of badly encoded and poor signal quality stations. About the only stations on Rogers that are better than EV are a very few nearby local stations and TMN. Of course, people in Toronto will jump in to defend the picture quality on Rogers. I am sure the picture quality is a lot better in Toronto but London is a lot different due to its location.

To get the best picture from EV you will need a 9200. No other EV receiver even comes close in picture quality, except for maybe the 6100. Many of the picture issues on EV are with their older SD and 6000 receivers. There are a few SD channels that are not that good but there are none as bad as some on Rogers.

A lot of channels, especially OTA channels on Rogers in London are not very good. Most digital channels come from Cancom (*C) and suffer degradation due to reencoding for QAM256.

Expressvu gets most of the same digital channels from Cancom as Rogers does in London. Rogers fibres the rest in. Ergo these Expressvu channels suffer degradation due to reencoding for DVB.

The trouble with judging analog cable PQ is that it can vary greater from one city block to another. The biggest joke is HD on Shaw and some Videotron systems where HD bitrates are disgraceful. Any HD sub on these systems would give their eyes a big treat by switching to either satellite company if possible.

I don't think EV gets as may channels from Cancom as Rogers. Some of the US networks, PBS for example, are almost unwatchable on Rogers but EV has their own feed for US networks. EV tends to fibre more stuff in than Rogers since they essentially own their network through BCE. Rogers relies on reciprocal agreements with Shaw AKA Shaw Cable AKA *C AKA Cancom for their western feeds and some US networks. From what I've seen, EV tends to have a better technical setup than Rogers. I found a number of Rogers digital channels that had improperly encoded sound. I called them up and the CSR agreed. If they do that to the sound, who knows what they do to the picture. *C/Cancom is not much better when it comes to encoding signals either. I have never seen a similar problem with EV.

To be fair, it's not a monopoly. They compete with BEV, other satellite providers (possibly grey-market), OTA; in a smaller way with DVDs (most hit shows are available on DVD 3-4 months after the season is over, and there is lots of competition in DVD distribution). Soon you'll have IPTV (through either Bell or Telus or someone else, entirely) and there's always the internet (for both pirated as well as clear-conscience sources).

But for the sake of argument, it's a duopoly (Rogers, BEV) and until they change the rules your best bet is to switch every two years, getting the best deal/discounts/rent-free equipment/etc. you can get.

Also, having dealt with both BEV and Rogers I would have to say Rogers customer support wins that battle by a few hairs. And you don't really have to threaten to cancel 5 times -- I've had good luck by asking nicely (although it was annoying that I even had to call to recover the discounts that had been promised).

In the city it's an effective monopoly because the concrete buildings don't accomodate OTA very well, and you're not erecting a satellite dish on most balconies.

That's what I mean by calling five times. Call and point out competitors' much lower prices and get a discount, but 6 months later it magically disappears off of your bill...

OK who would you call and speak to about the prices being too high and the competition being lower? Can you give me an example to use ... my yearly statement will be coming in a couple of months and I wish to be ready. They won't give you the phone number to the Office of the President and they ignore or just have a robot calling you back that the problem you reported has been fixed ... when it hasn't been ... I don't have the energy any longer to deal with them ...

EVU is the best for HD and the 9200 is the best available HD PVR on the canadian market with the best PQ. If you want the best available HD & PVR, flexible programming then it's bell all the way. And you can rent with Bell, I'm renting my 9200.
For just basic cable with multiple outlets and illegal splitters, then Rogers is the best for you.