Right now, Bell has a promo going where they offer you a free HD receiver (the 6131) if you sign up for a 2 year term. I've been a Rogers digital subscriber since before the Flood and at the beginning of this year I made the switch from an SD to an HD TV, buying a Rogers 4250 HD box at that time. Last weekend a Bell sales rep talked me into signing up and they installed it last Thursday.

So for a few days at least, I have the opportunity to do an A/B comparison of picture quality with both Rogers and Bell boxes hooked up to the two HDMI inputs on my TV, whose picture is set identically on both inputs. My initial impression is that Bell wins on quality, but the difference is very very slight. The Rogers picture appears a bit noisy compared to Bell (the TV's sharpness is cranked up to 90).

On Rogers I have a VIP + movies package which gives me the major networks and TMN (including HBO and Mpix) movie channels in HD and a bunch of digital channels in SD. I don't watch the major networks much but I do watch a few digital channels, especially Comedy and sometimes HGTV and their new subsidiary DIY. Rogers also offers free On-Demand for TMN, Mpix and, just recently, HBO. I do use On-Demand and I'm going to miss that with Bell.

On Bell, they seem to have given me the TMN channels plus Superchannel channels in HD, and multiple major network channels from the east and west coasts in HD. But I seem to have ZERO digital channels in SD or HD. Strange that Bell owns both TSN and Comedy and neither channel is automatically included in Bell TV. I guess I'll have to look into adding some of those infuriating "theme packs" to get the few channels I really want bundled with a bunch of dreck I'm not interested in.

I have 10 days after the installation date to back out of the Bell deal. I get the feeling I'll be doing that. We'll see - I'm trying to keep an open mind.

Very different opinion here! Just switched my parent's place to Bell from Rogers. Offer was 1 free 6131 HD receiver, 2 free 3100 standard receivers, free install, and the real kicker for the folks, free International combo for a year. They had been paying $35/mo for all the available Greek channels and now with Bell, only $5/mo for the same channels for the year, and still only $15/mo after that.

Anyway, on my calibrated LG 50PK500 50" plasma set, the Bell HD picture is very obviously softer than Rogers. NO CONTEST. It's not that it's bad, but it honestly looks more like really good SD than true HD.

gun26, thanks for pointing out the today is the best time to switch to Bell TV as the new customer promotions today are some of the most generous that I've seen in the last couple of years.

The lack of manditory specialty channels is what seperates Bell TV from the cable companies, as it gives you more choice, but if you choose a programming package like HD Extra you can watch what you want. In Digital Standard, Bell TV most basic package only contains a few specialties the rest you have to order in Digital Theme Packs or a la carte.

I am considering switching over to Rogers from ExpressVu but I don't want to if it means that I have to rewire the house. Does Rogers Digital Cable use the same grade of coax cable that is used for satellite coax?

yes they do

Yep. You don't need to do anything. The tech will install the dish for you...he will use the existing points of entry where your current Rogers connection is outside the house.

It's the other way around cambo,

the op's house is wired for BTV (Formerly ExpressView), but would like to switch over to Rogers Digital Cable. The tech has the super easiest job in the world, just remove any associated bell equipment ,and put the necessary splitters and your jacks will be delivering cable tv signals.

My bad. Coffee just kicking in.

It's the other way around cambo,

the op's house is wired for BTV (Formerly ExpressView), but would like to switch over to Rogers Digital Cable. The tech has the super easiest job in the world, just remove any associated bell equipment ,and put the necessary splitters and your jacks will be delivering cable tv signals.
When you say "remove any associated bell equipment" are you implying that the Rogers tech will remove the Dish? What if I don't want to remove the dish for future use (in case, for example, that I'm not pleased with Rogers service and want to switch back six months later).

They won't remove the dish, they'll just disconnect it from the entry point to the house and change it out with incoming Rogers' connections. You can't get into the box anyway without a fancy tool...or a hammer :). The tool is only available to the techs.

You know it's funny. Before switching to Bell HD(I was an existing Bell customer), I did some research on who offered a better HD experience, Rogers or Bell. I found that a a lot of opinions I read from the internet favoured Bell over Rogers, stating the quality was better. This is the first forum I have come accross where the oposite is true.
With the info available, I decided to stay with Bell, and so far I am very happy. I don't experience rain/snow fade anymore either(during the big weather bomb that hit SW Ontario, the signal never missed a beat!:)).

@joebloggs13 , signal strength might be fine but Bell has the worst HD PQ of any provider period. I just don't know how any Bell sub can even view Bell's so-called HD as anything but a little better than upconverted material. It is truly terrible and they just added 2 new HD channels to an already overcrowded , overly compressed signal. If I had to choose between Rogers and Bell for HD quality I would for sure choose Rogers regardless what we think of the company itself.

I'm looking to switch from Shaw Direct satellite to Rogers cable due to poor HD picture quality. I'm a long time Shaw/Starchoice subscriber and have noticed a degradation over the years. Is there anyone who went from Shaw to Rogers in the Ottawa area and can vouch for a better quality HD picture?

As many people in Canada, I've become fed up with the service I get with Rogers and am looking at moving to Bell.

I won't be getting fibe as it requires me to sign up for their internet and I live in a condo which has a 100mps connection with no download limits through Telus. This leaves me considering their satellite option.

In terms of picture quality, is there a noticeable difference between the two providers?

As discussed in the Bell picture quality thread, the Bell PQ is slightly softer than Rogers because Bell changes all channels to 720P and because they currently use slightly more compression.

If you think you're going to get better service from Bell, you're sadly mistaken - Bell has some of the worst Customer Service in Canada. (Yes, typically much worse than Rogers)

Here's a post useful for those new to the forum - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741

Yikes, considering how brutal the service with Rogers is, I can't imagine what Bell would be like if it's even worse. You would think at least one telecommunications/TV company in Canada could have decent CS.

At the end of the day I want a reliable service with good PQ and people that understand you when you ask a question of them. From what I've priced out, it seems like Bell is a tad cheaper as well.

Who knows, maybe I'll switch back within a few months....at least that way I could get a new promo from Rogers I suppose.