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Home Away From Home Program

207K views 306 replies 94 participants last post by  dosgringos 
#1 ·
Not too long ago there was an announcement that Shaw Direct had canceled their Home Away From Home program, posted on Digital Home at http://www.digitalhome.ca/content/view/3559/279/. HAFH, explained below, would henceforth only be available to customers already on the program.

I recently asked Contact Us at Shaw what the program was all about, and the legalities of receiving Shaw in the U.S., and got this reply today:

"Home Away From Home is a program offered to our customers who are looking to stay connected to Shaw Direct (previously Starchoice) year round. The purpose of the program is to ship a second dish and self install kit (if necessary) to a 2nd residence within Canada so that customers can continue to enjoy Shaw Direct programming while on vacation (at the cottage, RV, etc.) You can have both your primary residence and vacation residence all under one account. One account = one bill.

HAFH is NOT to be used for watching programming at two locations simultaneously. You are responsible for ensuring us that the programming is being watched at one address at a time, not both.

$99 plus tax one time charge to cover the cost of the dish. $13.99 shipping fee for dish. Receivers purchased at regular Cash and Carry price . Thank you for choosing Shaw Direct.
Raj, Shaw Direct"
 
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#28 ·
Traveling with Shaw Direct Question.

I am looking at getting Shaw Direct, do I need to let Shaw Direct know every time I want to use one of my receivers in my motor home when on a trip.
Also if my kids are home and me and my wife are away in our motor home can we still use Shaw direct in both locations?. I talked to Shaw and the person I talked to could not give me a straight answer.
 
#32 ·
I am looking at getting Shaw Direct, do I need to let Shaw Direct know every time I want to use one of my receivers in my motor home when on a trip.
No

Also if my kids are home and me and my wife are away in our motor home can we still use Shaw direct in both locations?.
Yes


From the website:

I'm travelling this winter. Can I take my dish with me?

Yes! Cottage goers and RVers can experience their holidays away with great Shaw Direct programming. Including access to over 500 television channels. The true portability of our satellite TV product allows people to remain connected to their communities and programming, regardless of where they actually are.
 
#29 ·
Officially this isn't technically allowed, but Shaw tends to look the other way, and even used to provide a second dish to people as part of the "home away from home" program. (I believe that was eliminated....)

The current terms of service say that all receivers on your account must remain in your residence at all times, so you would be breaking the terms of service. Can you get away with doing so? Probably, unless your account is red flagged for some reason.
 
#30 ·
Thanks TJ77
Can you tell me if we were in our RV and kids at home could we both be recording a program at the same time on each receiver? Not sure if this would ever happen but just checking. And how about pay per view would we just call in or can we do it off of the receiver when on the road with our RV?

Thanks
 
#36 ·
I want to make it clear that Digital Home does not condone satellite piracy or violating the terms of service with any provider, however, this policy of Shaw's has always been a source of confusion.

I'm not sure what Shaw Direct's policy is so I will leave this thread open for our Shaw reps to clarify what is and isn't acceptable with regards to all this.
 
#37 ·
Also if my kids are home and me and my wife are away in our motor home can we still use Shaw direct in both locations?.
Threads were merged by admin. Per post 1 of this thread, I believe that the purpose of HAFH is to allow usage at various locations, however, not at two locations at the same time, which would represent account splitting. From post 1:
HAFH is NOT to be used for watching programming at two locations simultaneously. You are responsible for ensuring us that the programming is being watched at one address at a time, not both.
 
#38 ·
Account splitting, seriously?

Example: if my immediate family of four members are all home watching different programs on separate TVs, how does this differ from two of those family members being at the cottage or the RV watching a program at the same time as immediate family members who stayed home? Answer: It doesn't.

If Shaw Direct didn't agree with this, why would they send me, at no charge, a second dish for my RV?
 
#39 ·
This thread is not about what is reasonable, it's about what is allowed by the provider's terms. If you have two different geographical locations, viewing at the same time, with most providers you require two accounts.

For example, even if only one person in each home is watching, but there are are two homes (single neighbours for example), then two accounts are required, even though this is less than a family of 10 in one home.

If Shaw Direct didn't agree with this, why would they send me, at no charge, a second dish for my RV?
Because, as outlined in post 1 of this thread, you're allowed to have two locations, however, not operating at the same time.

It would be good to have a Shaw Direct rep provide the answer
 
#40 ·
57, while I understand what you are saying, from all appearances it seems that Shaw Direct is saying no to account splitting but practically speaking is encouraging it by sending Starchoice a Dish.

This kind of "don't ask and don't tell" policy is what the cable companies have been complaining about for years.

IMO, The simple solution is for Shaw Direct to have one receiver be the "HAFH" receiver and the rest Home receivers and only allow the HAFH or Home receivers to be active at one time.


Regardless, I'll re-iterate, we really need a clear and unambiguous statement from Shaw Direct.
 
#41 ·
It is not account splitting. My wife and I take our RV on trips and take the dish they gave me with us. The PVR's record programs at home (with no one else watching) in case we miss them on the road(which we do miss quite a few, having other things to do of course) but we get the occasional bit of news or a program or 2 while in the RV. That is one case which is not account splitting and that was why they used to give out the dishes. I'm not sure they do any more.
The more we discuss this the more the chance of things being restricted. Why don't we leave it as SD allows an RV'er to watch TV on the road!

I personally know of other providers' customers that are account splitting. I know of no SD customers myself, that are.
 
#42 ·
When I ordered my equipment and set up my account 2 weeks ago today(Install this Friday) I was flat out told by the rep that I could buy another 630 take it down to my residence in Montana and leave it there. The only thing is that they can`t ship equipment down there so I would have to get it here first. Then I said would I have to shut down my home receiver first before I go and then activate the second 630 down there? He said it didn't matter much.
 
#43 ·
Account splitting, seriously?

Example: if my immediate family of four members are all home watching different programs on separate TVs, how does this differ from two of those family members being at the cottage or the RV watching a program at the same time as immediate family members who stayed home? Answer: It doesn't.
Account Splitting by definition is using the same account to watch programming in different domiciles.

The cable companies argue, and the CRTC agreed, that whether that second location is a House, cottage or RV, it's still account splitting.

Blackloz's comments suggest that SD customer service reps are actively encouraging account splitting despite the fact the CRTC has forbid it.
 
#44 ·
That.

I am not lawyer, but my belief is a that a pay TV subscription (IE, a license to the content) is legally bound to the single location (domicile) it is registered to, not the people withinh that domicile. That would mean one using one subscription for more than one domicle would be account splitting, since eithe rone location does not have a legal license, or are not getting their just revenue for service at that domicile.
 
#46 ·
I couldn't quite believe it myself Hugh so I made sure to ask multiple times and it was the rep who brought it up to begin with as he asked if I travel at all. I said that i own a home in MT and he said great why not have a receiver up there so I don't miss any CFL games ect.ect when im up there for weeks at a time. The rep also told me that they have customers all over the US & Mexico and thats one of the things that makes them(SD) stand out from Bell(which I am also with for now) being that Bell doesn't offer any HAFH programme.
 
#49 ·
Let sleeping dogs lie.
I don't see the harm in Shaw Direct explaining the policy for us and providing some concrete examples on what is valid and what is not.

Simply saying "call us and we can talk" is ridiculous, consumers should have a clear understanding of what is acceptable under the terms of service and what is not.
 
#50 ·
Can't let a grey area be to the advantage of the consumer? Let it be already!:eek:;)

The harm is it will disappear!! And then we get to phone them and cancel one account and renew another and no recordings at home while away.(Just because cable can't provide that same service and they will complain about the rules).

PS Delete this if you like(of course) but that is the reason.
 
#51 ·
That's what happened to Bell if I remember correctly. Some cable company made a complaint to the CRTC and Bell was forced to discontinue their open HAFH program. Now all they can offer is to shut down either the home or camper receivers, both can't be activated at the same time. Bell did not want to do this, the CRTC forced them. Since Shaw wasn't mentioned in the ruling, they kept going and going as before.

Some policies are better left in a grey area, especially if it benefits the customers.
 
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