This is probably not the place to post this question but I can't start a new thread. Since I do not know anyone who has Shaw I pose this here. To those of you who know MTS and Shaw I would like to get opinions on the verses of picture quality. I'm viewing on a 43" dlp. On mts, some things look ok, like discovery, but most things are pretty unwatchable. Hope I don't get kicked but I'm just looking for information.

The HD picture on Shaw is definately what I would classify as sub-standard. Sure, it's better than SD, but it's pretty weak for HD. The bitrate is only 10-12Mbps instead of the ~19 that seems to be the recommended HD bandwidth, so I can't say the amount of compression artifacting surprises me. I captured the opening of CSI and analyzed it, and it's pretty ugly...

If you have a DLP and want good PQ stay away from MTS. They don't have HD. Once you see HD you will never go back to watching SD. MTS only has low bit rate SD programming. My father has it and I am always amazed that people with big screen TV'S ask this question. A big screen TV needs HD. Get Shaw or get Bell or star choice. They all offer HD. Something MTS can't do at this time.

Yes us poor folks in Southern Sask just recieved CBC on Feb 9 just in time for olympics. Thanks Shaw. But on a negative note there now seems to be a huge amount of pixelation and macroblocking on the 5 HD channels we are now recieving. I don't know if it is my 6412 P3 box or just poor reception. Shaw had to replace my 6412 P1 last week because of a few issues so mabey it is just my box that is poor. When I first got the new box shaw had ouble with it. the HD channels appeared to be playing at about 5 frames/sec. Very shoppy. A reset from the office and it seems much better but not as good as the old P1 box.

Yes us poor folks in Southern Sask just recieved CBC on Feb 9 just in time for olympics. Thanks Shaw. But on a negative note there now seems to be a huge amount of pixelation and macroblocking on the 5 HD channels we are now recieving. I don't know if it is my 6412 P3 box or just poor reception. Shaw had to replace my 6412 P1 last week because of a few issues so mabey it is just my box that is poor. When I first got the new box shaw had ouble with it. the HD channels appeared to be playing at about 5 frames/sec. Very shoppy. A reset from the office and it seems much better but not as good as the old P1 box.


Funny thing about this is that Shaw flat out denies knowing anything about a decrease in HD quality. And it's NOT my 6412, a while ago it was perfect, now I'm seeing some pixilization (particulary with reds & fast motion) which I NEVER saw before.
I know personally of 4 other people in Wpg who are seeing the exact same thing.

Please Shaw. No more new channels until you improve what we already have.

Just curious about some info on these terminals. I am in Calgary. I bought the $200 terminal last week because I cheaped out on the more expensive ones. I have a Sony Bravia LCD TV and I was wondering this:

Shaw has 3 terminals, one that is $200, one that is about $400 and the other is about $700 and is a PVR. Is the $400 one HD because I don't care about the PVR part of it I just want the best clarity for my TV? Thank you!

Southey!

Just curious about some info on these terminals. I am in Calgary. I bought the $200 terminal last week because I cheaped out on the more expensive ones. I have a Sony Bravia LCD TV and I was wondering this:

Shaw has 3 terminals, one that is $200, one that is about $400 and the other is about $700 and is a PVR. Is the $400 one HD because I don't care about the PVR part of it I just want the best clarity for my TV? Thank you!

Southey!

If you want best clarity, then go for Model 6200 which is just under $400. Mind you I've seen it as low as $229 at FS a while ago.

southey - if you have a Sony Bravia Lcd that is an HDTV so you should not bother with a NON-hdtv terminal. Make sure to get an HD terminal. The one without PVR is the Shaw Motorola 6200. You will be blown away by the HD channels on your Sony HDTV.

Just curious about some info on these terminals. I am in Calgary. I bought the $200 terminal last week because I cheaped out on the more expensive ones. I have a Sony Bravia LCD TV and I was wondering this:

Shaw has 3 terminals, one that is $200, one that is about $400 and the other is about $700 and is a PVR. Is the $400 one HD because I don't care about the PVR part of it I just want the best clarity for my TV? Thank you!

Southey!

What you are seeing is the following:

~$200 Standard Digital Box
~$400 HD Digital Box
~$700 HD Digital Box w/ PVR

I will tell you that the PVR box is by far the way to go. I originally picked up the 6200 and the first time my wife said lets record the hd movie and I said that actually you can't record HD on the VCR she game me the immediate approval to take back the 6200 and get the 6412(PVR). The shaw lady was more than understanding and traded no problem(with the cost difference of course)This is the first electronic device in my house that the females in the house will enjoy and they will agree that it is worth every Penny. If you have already spent the big bucks on the Sony then go all the way and get the PVR. You will not regret it.

If you have already spent the big bucks on the Sony then go all the way and get the PVR. You will not regret it.

I agree sctlenz. As far as I'm concerned the PVR is worth more than the TV. It has totally changed my viewing habits. I'm in control of television now. I see what I want, when I want. I like being able to back up and see something over again, or hit the record button and have the program saved while I'm watching it (although I rarely watch anything live anymore).

When I'm in the mood for some television, I just push the "List" button and select from the programs I've recorded with the help of the searchable listings at zap2it.com. When I come across something in the listings that I want to see, I just put it on my calendar. Next time I'm in the TV room I slip through the guide to set those programs and then forget them completely, until such time as I'm back to do some TV viewing.

A friend of mine was recently spending $4000 on a LCD TV and was going to get the non-PVR cable box to save some money. He was hardly ever able to set a VCR, so figured he would never learn or use the features. He has since thanked me for pushing him to spend the extra bucks.

meshmellow

Yea, if you're really concerned about clarity, then the PVR is really the way to go. Personally, I find that the majority of my television watching now is HD, and you'd never be able to duplicate the quality of HD with any other recording device (unless you have an HTPC hooked up). So if you plan to do any recording of HD material, do yourself a favour and splurge for the PVR. You'll also get the added bonuses of being able to pause live tv and never having to watch commercials if you don't want to. I almost never watch live tv anymore.

I too was convinced by a friend to spend the extra for the PVR...I wasn't going to initally, I'd already spent more than I planned to...However, NO regrets here, I love it!

Back to programming,

a Shaw tech was at my house tonight and said HD VOD is coming!

He said he had no clue where the bandwidth was going to come from (which seems to validate my concerns about overcompression of HD signals).

He was not able to tell me when, but he did say HD VOD is in the works.

Let's wait and see...

Back to programming,

a Shaw tech was at my house tonight and said HD VOD is coming!

He said he had no clue where the bandwidth was going to come from (which seems to validate my concerns about overcompression of HD signals).

He was not able to tell me when, but he did say HD VOD is in the works.

Let's wait and see...

Unless they do some upgrades I hope this is not true. The 'HD' we'll be seeing will be right on par with a SD signal soon.

Currently in Kamloops Shaw offers 4 HD Channels (301-304). They are Movie Central, CBS, FOX and Sportsnet. I called Shaw Customer Service this week regarding the Loss of Channel 305 (CBC-HD) and asked them if they are planning to bring it back and/or add more HD channels for my area.

I was informed that that CBC-HD plus 4 additional HD channels will be available by the end of next week (March 11th). She said that it will be the same channels that are currently available in other areas of the province including Kelowna and Vancouver.(301-309)

Has any body heard about this or can confirm/deny this news?

Thanks

Currently in Kamloops Shaw offers 4 HD Channels (301-304). They are Movie Central, CBS, FOX and Sportsnet. I called Shaw Customer Service this week regarding the Loss of Channel 305 (CBC-HD) and asked them if they are planning to bring it back and/or add more HD channels for my area.

I was informed that that CBC-HD plus 4 additional HD channels will be available by the end of next week (March 11th). She said that it will be the same channels that are currently available in other areas of the province including Kelowna and Vancouver.(301-309)

Has any body heard about this or can confirm/deny this news?

Thanks

Wow did shaw actually take off CBC HD in your area after the Olympics?Here in Swift Current Sask we have the same 4 channels that you have and then we have the CBC HD which was added before the Olympics. Shaw has not turned off the CBC here yet.

What 4 channels are you getting. TSN, NBC, CTV as well as the CBC?? I have a feeling that the rest of us may get the same shaw package.I know the shaw guy locally who installs the new channels in our area. He said they have not heard yet what and when any new channels are coming.

Shaw introduced CBC-HD just prior to the olympics. When they called to inform us of this new channel, they told us that it would only be for the duration of the olympic games. The monday after the games, they removed the channel.

Now we are stuck with only 4 channels: Movie Central, CBS, FOX and Sportsnet.

I was dissapointed and called Customer Service and the rep told me that they are planning to add 5 more HD channels including CBC-HD by the end of the week ending March 11th.

This would mean that we would have 9 total HD channels including: CBC-HD, NBC-HD, ABC-HD, TSN-HD, PBS-HD and the 4 current ones mentioned above.

I have heard that this fiasco of introducing CBC-HD and removing it was a local Kamloops region problem. They told me that they did not have the Hardware installed to handle the Bandwith of more HD channels but they were working on installing it.

I'll let you know what happens by the end of the week.

Rumor:
You guys might already know this, but, I called Shaw the other day inquiring about HD box prices. The guy voluntarily told me that Shaw will be getting two new HD channels very soon. The first was DiscoveryHD and also CTVHD.
http://www.digitalhomecanada.com/forum/showpost.php?p=345912&postcount=44

I'm currently a sub to analog cable with Shaw and would like to make the jump to HD. But before I make any purchases (DLP, cable box, etc), I'd like to get a better idea of how much HD content is currently out there.

Do the HD channels (Shaw has 9 in Calgary) have 100% HD programming or is it only a couple shows each? I just want to make sure it's worth the investment to upgrade now or wait until BluRay/HD-DVD content goes mainstream.

Also, how many more HD channels are out there? After reading this thread it seems there's Discovery, CTV and Global. Is that it for HD in Canada or do other providers offer more? I'm just curious how large the HD universe is.

TIA