Regarding the update to New cable boxes being released in the future.


SA will be in testing soon, with a possible release in Calgary this fall if everything goes accordingly.

SA will be in testing soon, with a possible release in Calgary this fall if everything goes accordingly.
Now that I haven't heard before. What's the source of your info, jvic? Can anyone else confirm?

Does this mean we'd get Rogers-like pricing for cable boxes too?? ;)

no info on pricing, Calgary is suppose to have a test equip wirelink and sa boxes in testing soon.

my source: My Dreams.

sorry, but what is SA?

Scientific Atlanta. A platform used by many cable operators instead of Motorola.

The Shaw headends are incompatible with SA equipment. It is highly unlikely that Shaw would change all of their headends (probably 100's of millions of $, if not Billions) and switch to SA, also alienating their customers who have purchased Motorola Equipment.

Rogers uses SA in Ontario and Motorola in Atlantic Canada.

The Shaw headends are incompatible with SA equipment. It is highly unlikely that Shaw would change all of their headends (probably 100's of millions of $, if not Billions) and switch to SA, also alienating their customers who have purchased Motorola Equipment.

Rogers uses SA in Ontario and Motorola in Atlantic Canada.
You should not assume, it is not in millions, stop making up numbers. It will happen just like the launch of the new shaw phone modem which got pulled but will relaunch.

jvic, if it were as easy as you say, Rogers would have changed their headends in Atlantic Canada to handle SA by now. I'm hoping someone with some actual knowledge of the technology involved and the cost of changing reads this thread.

Perhaps SA has some firmware/hardware that can emulate the Motorola STB functionality?

Back in 2000 when Rogers and Shaw swapped some territories, Vancouver went to Shaw from Rogers. I had digital with a SA box w/ Rogers and Shaw switched out everyone who had digital at the time to Moto boxes. Either they spent the money (millions?) then to switch the headends or they were already compatible with both.

Let's see (and this is just off of the top of my head so the figures are a bit of SWAG):

A DNCS (which would have to replace the Moto DAC) is roughly $100,000.
Each Moto OM1000 (Out of band modulator) would have to be replaced with an SA QPSK Modulator: $1000ish each (and we're talking dozens if not hundreds of devices depending on the number of homes passed).

Each Moto RPDx000 (Return Path Demodulator) would have to be replaced by an SA QPSK Demodulator (and in fact, they would have to add a QPSK demod for eack QPSK Mod whereas the Moto headend can have up to six OM1000s per RPD chassis) so there's another $100,000 or so.

So far, we're already at or close to half a million and we've only dealt with out-of-band signals. We haven't replaced anything that deals with in-band signal delivery (actual content). Now a good chunk of that equipment would be useable on both headends but there would be various pieces of equipment that *would* have to be replaced. Interfaces between the headend and the billing systems would have to be re-worked. VOD systems would require software upgrades. All of these things cost a big pile of money and we still haven't factored in the labour costs to make all of these changes to their infrastructure.

Then you have the upfront cost of replacing *thousands* of digital set-top boxes. That alone would be millions.

I'm not saying that Shaw won't do it. But it *will* cost them MILLIONS if they do.

I will re-interate: Moto and SA headend technologies are *not* interchangeable. When/if OCAP rolls out then it's a different story but until then, you will not see Moto boxes running on legacy SA headend or vice versa.

there is something coming, I can't relase more, where there is a will, there is change, thats all, end of discussion.

New Arrisi phone modem relaunched also.

Thanks

Passport does make software for the DCTs now. It's the exact same interface as the SA boxes. There is Passport DCT which is for all SD and HD receivers and Passport Echo which is for the DCT PVR units.

If Shaw got SA terminals Does this mean I would have to buy 4 new digital cable terminals thanks

As both 57 and MacTVJunkie have posted, it is extremely unlikely that Shaw will switch to SA. It simply makes no business sense.

In the very unlikely event they did, it is hard to imagine that they would disable the Motorola platform and render thousands of terminals instantly obsolete. I am not sure of the technical issues around running dual headends, but an instant switch to SA would be a business disaster.

I just checked out Shaw.ca and typed in vancouver and calgary postal codes and Shaw is still selling the motorla boxes. Im sure if they were no longer going to be supported they would no longer be selling them. So maby they might get two headends or maby there headend now can support both motorla and SA. Is that possible? thanks

Passport does make software for the DCTs now. It's the exact same interface as the SA boxes. There is Passport DCT which is for all SD and HD receivers and Passport Echo which is for the DCT PVR units.

Passport has been available for SA and Moto boxes for years. But that's not the issue. The core headend technologies for a legacy Motorola headend are completely different than those used in a legacy Scientific Atlanta headend. So regardless of what anyone tells you, Shaw has to install a new headend system in order to switch from Motorola to SA.

I'm not saying that they *won't* do so. I'm simply saying that the switch will be very expensive.

First question would be: WHY? and second one would be: HOW?

This would have so much complications in the beginning unless Shaw wants a dual head-end, which would be insane, but maybe Jim Shaw is going insane, look at all the stunts he's been pulling in the past year. Publicity stunts I say. lol

As for the modems, yes I heard about that, and I heard rumoured by April they should be out, but nothing about new Digital Cable Terminals, why would say invest in all digital just to change everything?

I am very skeptical at this point in time
Shawguy

just wait and see i guess

jvic

Where could have possibly got this info seeing that Shaw just launched All Digital MOTOROLA DCT's in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary why would they shoot themselves in the foot by having to trade all those moto boxes in for SA?

you say its wouldn’t take millions but MACTVJukie has it right each headend is millions of dollars and bigger city's have multiple hubsites off that head end that can be in the millions of dollars too.

Kamloops just over 70,000 people has 1 headend and now and a hubsite and that’s a smaller system.

They are able to use Arris modem for the Digital phone as both moto modems and arris are DOCSIS compliant and work with virtually all DOCSIS CMTS devices as it is a STANDARD
Moto and SA TV signal equipment is not the same as it does not follow the same stringent standards as Internet Devices
PS
Digital home did a poll once upon a time on PVR's and people were less satisfied with SA's on Rogers than Motorola's on Shaw.


fami Wrote:
If Shaw got SA terminals Does this mean I would have to buy 4 new digital cable terminals thanks

in the past when Hardware changes forced Customer premise equipment changes Shaw did so for no charge or very little charge i would not worry about it. But if you see a press release on Shaw's Site that verifies this rumor I would call and ask.

I agree with Nyk0n, I don't see why Shaw would be doing this. They just released 2 new All Digital Motorola DCTs so they wouldn't stop supporting them this quickly.

And is there really any advantage with SA over Motorola? The only case I could see why they would switch to SA is if Rogers & Shaw are linking up again (like that would happen :p )

Also, we all know that Starchoice is owned by Shaw; would they have to change their Motorola DCTs to the new SA boxes? It just doesn't seem right for Shaw to do this, i really believe this is a rumor.