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Zazeen/Acanac - IPTV Provider Discussions

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59K views 61 replies 29 participants last post by  nerakmacd 
#1 ·
Yeah Yeah I know we don't talk about Acanac here cause of previous SPAM bad reviews but they just got CRTC approval to provide IPTV so I think we need to rethink this one.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!


2012-539 Zazeen Inc.
Gatineau, Montréal, Québec and Sherbrooke, and their surrounding areas, Quebec
APPROVED - Application for a regional broadcasting licence to operate terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertakings to serve the above-noted locations and their surrounding areas

2012-540 Zazeen Inc.
Toronto, Hamilton/Niagara, Oshawa, Kitchener, Ottawa, London and Windsor, and their surrounding areas, Ontario
APPROVED - Application for a regional broadcasting licence to operate terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertakings to serve the above-noted communities in Ontario
 
#31 ·
Before everyone dismisses it as "too pricey", have a look at an apples-to-apples comparison I attempted to make in this article: Zazeen - shaking up the Canadian TV landscape

I agree that it would be nice if they had an entry level package in the $20-25 range, but they're only in the beta phase now so it's possible they'll add a lower priced plan when they do their full launch.

Even still, for $40 you get a better list of channels from Zazeen than the big boys give you in their $40-50 packages, and their HD receiver is pretty cheap at $75 compared to Bell/Rogers/Shaw. If you're willing to sell your soul for a contract + bundle then the big boys will give you some discounts, but Zazeen is a no-contract service at this point so it's not fair to compare it to a short term teaser rate in a 12-36 month contract. When they launch publicly I would imagine they'll have some discounts if you commit to a longer term - that's what Acanac does for Internet.

I just hope they add the Sportsnet channels soon - they're the only ones I really want that they don't have yet.
 
#32 ·
The reason they are so expensive is they had to jack up the price of

1) the set top box at $75, not $55to cover the cost of the $20 agent fee

2) 39.95 not $36.95 to cover $3 per month for agent commission

3) a whole stack of one off agent bonuses when they reach sign up milestones

4) all the stupid Channels that should be in an optional addon package. Why make people pay for channels they don't watch?

5) the additional cost of bandwidth they have to pay rogers and bell cause they are trying to do a unicast of content when they don't have multicast capabilities. You can't possibly send the same content simultaneously to 50k different users all at the same time on separate encrypted streams. This will just kill bandwidth for the sake of killing bandwidth.

To make this work for live TV they need to put repeaters at every node because if the NHL does decide to show hockey again this entire system will crash when we all try to watch the game. # fail

If they want to make this work lose all these stupid middle men fees and offer an apples to apple package with the other providers. So STB $55 per month and TV $20 per month

Check out Colba.net. $19.95 when bundled for IPTV. http://www.colba.net/main.php?cont=iptv&lang=en
 
#33 ·
Check out Colba.net. $19.95 when bundled for IPTV. http://www.colba.net/main.php?cont=iptv&lang=en
Colba has very few HD channels, and they're only in the Montreal area. No HD means much less data to transmit per channel. I'm guessing they have access to the last-mile copper pair via the Bell central offices in the neighbourhoods they serve, so they have almost 100% control of the network from the customer to their facilities.

Their pricing in a bundle is good but their basic package lineup is pretty much the mandated minimum plus TSN, RDS, and the US networks. It's an extra $10 to get most of the channels that Zazeen is throwing into their basic package, and Colba's set-top box is $150 vs. $75.

I don't think any provider in Canada has what we consumers would consider to be the ideal offering. Given the wide variety of viewing tastes, such a thing probably doesn't exit.
 
#34 ·
I'm not sure that unicast bandwidth should be that big an issue. Netflix manages it for $8.99/mo. YouTube does it for the cost of advertising. If Rogers and Bell are the issue, then that needs to be dealt with at the legal or regulatory level. Carriage fees for mandatory channels are an issue that, again, needs to be addressed at the legal or regulatory level.

A lot of the channels being carried are OTA channels that are essentially free but not really necessary. Ontario or Quebec viewers do not need CTV and Global channels from 5 or 6 different provinces.

As I see it, the main issue is that Zazeen is working within a regulatory framework that is stacked against them and favours established BDUs and broadcasters, who happen to be owned by the same corporate entities. Since this is a new type of service, an on-demand IP offering, Zazeen needs to be pushing the boundaries of the current regulatory framework in order to create a more appealing offering. Playing head to head with the likes of Rogers, Bell, Cogeco and Shaw on their own terms will be a tough, uphill fight.
 
#35 ·
Good Evening Everyone,

As a first time registrant on this forum let me first say that I appreciate the time given to Zazeen/Acanac and for all your comments good and bad.

Secondly, I would like to apologize to Hugh for his unsatisfactory experienced with Acanac and I want to be clear that this is not our business practice. I am confident that the individual responsible for these actions is no longer with our company however if I am wrong and information as to whom is available then please message me in private and I will deal with this issue swiftly.

Third, Acanac and our related companies have come a long way from our younger days but we recognize that there is always room for improvement. Our vision of a perfect ISP continues to drive us to improve all areas such as Customer Services, Products, and Pricing. That said we welcome Supporters and critics alike and we will do our best to address all issues as efficiently as possible.

Lastly, to address some questions as to our new Zazeen Service.

1. Our pricing is not yet fixed. We understand the $20 price point that everyone would like to see however there are many factors that must be taken into consideration such as :

- Our HD is 1080p and 720p ( also working on new 4K resolution channels/video )
- We try and achieve and HD stream whenever possible over our SD streaming counterparts
- Based on CRTC fees our interconnect points are very expensive and our bit rates on HD exceed over 4Mbit/s in many cases which we will try and keep during prime time.
-Development of H265 Encoding in order to bring you even greater picture quality.

2. TVJunkie mentioned items related to our STB Pricing and Services. Again this is not yet fixed and here is why.

- We know that your first box is priced at $75 but without our beta launch and ratios we will not know for sure what additional boxes will cost and the bandwidth associated with that is yet.
- Our boxes will include PVR support for free

3. Channel Lineups – Some of you are wondering where the advantage over rogers or bell is and if it will make sense to switch and here is what we want to see happen. As everyone may have already seen in our ads , things like “ Save 50% on TV Service “ is a common expression. We want to achieve those savings whenever possible over the incumbents. This may not always be possible in every situation but our packages are going to be structured in a way that what you get on Bell or Rogers as a premium add-on is available in our basic package. Thing like TLC, Bravo, Discovery, TSN, TSN2, etc, are included at no extra cost.

We want to bring the premium service to everyone who today has a difficult time purchasing those services from the larger players.


4. Beta – We don't have a final date as of yet and this is largely due to the contractual negotiations with content owners. This is a long process in which others before us have fought for years to get through. We are moving quiet fast considering but we are as eager as our customers to get this off the ground. Rest assured that the delays are not all negative. Over the last several months we have received a lot of feedback from staff who has been testing the product. We have made many changes and improved many services that we feel will directly impact our customer experience.


5. Another concern is the videos that are online and we do plan on updating those using the latest software release. We have improved channel change times to nearly 1 second ( depending of customer network conditions of course ). We will update this as soon as possible.



Final Note : Seeing as how this is uncharted territory for us and using our HLS technology, I will say that it hasn't been easy. We are confident that when our product surfaces which we hope to be much sooner then later, customers will be pleased with what we have come up with. Please feel free to post any questions or comments or e-mail us directly and we will answer all your questions as quickly as possible. If allowed by the administrators, we will hire staff to monitor these Digital Home forums and keep up to date with any questions or concerns.

Regards,
Sandro Henriques
Zazeen Inc.
http:///www.zazeen.com
 
#37 ·
I sat down with Sandro yesterday for several hours. During that time, I asked lots of questions and watched Zazeen tv.

I wrote about our meeting in this lengthy piece Zazeen: A look of Canada’s newest IPTV provider for those that are interested.
 
#40 ·
These services are a great idea, but they're just killed by the channel bundling rules and the need to get their Internet service. With the Internet requirement, there is zero chance I'd ever be able to sign up until the rules change such that alternate providers can offer Internet over FTTH. (Even free TV would not convince me to give up FibreOp for DSL, ever.)

If that problem goes away, with the discount I was able to negotiate out of Aliant and the channel bundle requirements Zazeen are offering, I'm not going to really save anything. I mean the "Rogers bundle" they have is extremely expensive for Sportsnet and three other channels.

It's a frustrating situation because I'm really rooting for providers like this to do well, but with how the rules and market are set up right now they can't offer anything I'd actually want to buy.
 
#42 ·
I love this Clause in their contract agreement...

The customer agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Zazeen Inc., its officers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents, legal representatives and any other service provider who offers services to the customer or Zazeen Inc. in relation with the present agreement or the service provided, from any and all claims, losses, damages, fines, penalties, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, legal fees and expenses) by, or on behalf of, the customer, any third party or user of the customers' service relating to the absence, failure or outage of the service.

The customer agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Zazeen Inc .... relating to the absence, failure or outage of the service.

Really? Like why would anyone agree to something so stupid? So if you pay for their service and it doesn't work they don't have to do anything about it.
 
#47 ·
VMedia vs Zazeen. Which is better?

Well I looked at both VMedia & Zazeen, trying to see which was better. It some what hard to decide between the two. One offers more in their basic package, while the other offers a smaller choice but at a cheaper cost and two basic packages.

Putting a side the Specialty channels and just looking at the locals I found this betweeen the two(based on top basic packages)

VMedia----------------Zazeen

CTV-------------CTV

Toronto-------------Toronto
Ottawa--------------Ottawa
Kitchener------------Kitchener
Sudbury--------------N/A
North Bay------------N/A

CTV2---------------CTV2

Toronto(Barrie)------Toronto(Barrie)
Ottawa---------------Ottawa
Windsor--------------Windsor
London---------------London

CBC----------CBC

Toronto---------------Toronto
Ottawa----------------Ottawa
Windsor---------------Windsor
CHEX(??)-------------------CHEX(??)


You get OMNI's in Ontario on both.
You get ABC,Fox,NBC,CBS & PBS Buffalo on Vmedia, not sure where there from on Zazeen it just say ABC, Fox, NBC, PBS.
You also get MY Network WNYO Buffalo & WNLO CW23 Buffalo not available on Zazeen. Not sure if WNLO CW23 would be available in Ottawa or not.


Based on what I can see if you like locals VMedia is the way to go in your basic package.

If you like specialty channels in your basic package Zazeen is the way to go.

Although VMedia offers some Ethnic services they only offer South East Asian & Chinese,all other ethnic groups are not offered. Zazeen doesn't even offer ethnic services.

If I had to choose between the two as a add on to my Bell Fibe I'd take VMedia(I'm into the locals)
 
#49 ·
Zazeen HD quality is much better than Vmedia because it uses adaptive bit rate streaming and peaks at about twice the bit rate as Vmedia. Zazeen also does much better on the PVR front

BUT, as you noted,

Vmedia has more sports

and I think Vmedia has slightly better pricing.
 
#50 ·
Saw a demo of Vmedia at the local Canada computer store. It looked like a low res YouTube video from 2008. Their public face George Burger assures me this in an anomaly.

Until I get the picture quality I need (flawless HD), full pvr capabilities (speciality channels are not recordable on Vmedia). The ability to use my slingbox, better hardware (not some repurposed Android box) and all the sports I need (TSN 1-5. RSN E,O,W,P,1 and 360 I'll pay extra to stay with Bell fibe.
 
#52 · (Edited by Moderator)
Looking for HD TV packages in Ontario.

I am totally disappointed with the current TV channel providers. I am facing lot of issues frequently. I decided to change to some other services. I am searching for some HD TV packages in Ontario. Anybody of you know about the service of Acanac-Inc Toronto. If it is good I can go for it. If somebody uses their service please share your experience. Thank you.
 
#53 ·
I have read a lot of Zazeen and Vmedia customer reviews and neither of them are any good. Both of the services are unreliable and have all kind of Internet and tv problems. Obviously every time there is internet speed issue it also affects tv service.
Vmedia promises all kinds of improvements to their picture quality, PVR reliability, sinc issues and picture freezing issues in the next few months but it remains to be seen if they can do that.
 
#54 · (Edited by Moderator)
Run, as quickly as you can, away from Acanac and Zazeen.

I had acanac internet and while the service is on par, don't expect anything in the way of customer service. They don't even let you talk to anyone in billing. AT ALL. It's all by email and they never help. Only time I actually spoke with someone was after I had cancelled my service and that ended in a huge argument and total frustration.

We got my father zazeen because he likes the races. What a nightmare. Channels disappearing with regularity, no help from them either and nearly impossible to cancel. They were rude to my father, who is elderly, when he tried to get tech help from them, treating him like an idiot.
 
#55 ·
I had acanac internet several years ago and was very unimpressed with their customer service, every time I had a problem it took too long to resolve, on several occasions I was without internet access for 1-2 weeks at a time. Ended up cancelling. They were cheap but it wasn't worth the headaches. I don't know whether they have improved since then.

I think iptv simply isn't ready for the masses yet, there are too many kinks still left, and anybody who subscribes to it will have to put up with unreliable service for a few years until iptv matures.
 
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