August 31st, 2014
The offer period for new LTSS households will end on August 31st, 2014. This is because the threshold of 31,500 households has been reached.
September 30th, 2014
Installations of LTSS subscriptions occurring up to August 31, 2014 must be completed no later than September 30, 2014. This is to ensure an orderly end to the program.
August 31st, 2019
Shaw Direct will continue to operate the LTSS service for installed households at no charge, until at least August 31, 2019, which coincides with Shaw Direct’s current Licence period.
Something interesting that the V.P said about Global switch to digital (go at 3:05 if you're impatient) is that they are going to offer free satellite, receiver and installation to clients in remote area with the base channels for free. This might mean that they are planning on distributing via FTA (hopefully they will not encrypt those base stations) the available local channels.
So for those of you loosing completely the signal, there still hope...
Knowledge is indeed the BC public broadcaster, similar to TVO. AFAIK, it is open key (ZK) on Shaw Direct. The same with TSC. What is now CTV2 Alberta may or may not be ZK. When it was Access, it was.
as for London i was shocked that they (Shaw or *Choice a.k.a.) only offered like 4 - 5 stations (july, 2011) to London city dwellings that i did not watch and was told that was all they were allowed as directed by CRTC - going on memory cant find my emails...
can anyone from London City area confirm what exactly (channels) Shaw will include as a result of the loss of locals deal? LTSS? thanks
----------------------------------------------------
edit: just confirmed with Shaw and in London, now they offer 6 channels
- CBC Toronto
- Global Toronto
- Omni 1
- TVO
- CHCH
- City
of course that is far from somone getting 15 and agent said NO way you would get 15 FREE channels via LTSS through them (and their the only ones - Shawdirect Sat) of course would have liked more but at least for those who can install their dish and point to their sat its something and at least get CBC in SD with any of their digital box if you buy one..they will supply you with a refurbished one if you dont have one and the dish of course all free...anyways wanted to clarify what post #46 suggested and
in case anyone wanted to know...cheers
^^^AFAIK, everyone in Ontario receives the same package in the LTSS programme. Off the top of my head, missing from your list are:
- CTV Sudbury and
- CTV2 Barrie.
^^^ you dont have to take my word for it...call them up ... i know for sure 15 channels are way off the mark as for the 2 ctv s you mentioned all i know is the rep never mentioned so, who knows im only reporting what i was told by the agent at Shaw is all
^^^I would trust a forum member's personal experience over a Shaw agent who is trying to sell a package you have to pay for rather than give away an LTSS package.
Contacted Shaw. They said the "free local channels" was a promotion and was only a 90 day thing. A basic subscription is required to re-activate the receiver at $39/mo.
So I made two simple grey-hoverman antennas and bolted them on above the dish. Disconnected the feedline from the LNB and connected them to the antenna at each site. Had a couple ATSC tuners I picked up across the 49th ($10 for both) and replaced the Shaw boxes with these.
result:
Two very happy people with ALL the local channels plus a few more when conditions are good. Bonus: no one seems to notice the weird contraption on top of their satellite dish either.
I suspect someone at Shaw doesn't understand what I was talking about regarding this "free service". I am sure talking to the right person would have fixed this but I have no patience for sitting on the phone for hours talking to idiots.
Contacted Shaw. They said the "free local channels" was a promotion and was only a 90 day thing. A basic subscription is required to re-activate the receiver at $39/mo.
...
I suspect someone at Shaw doesn't understand what I was talking about regarding this "free service". I am sure talking to the right person would have fixed this but I have no patience for sitting on the phone for hours talking to idiots.
Yes, it does sound like the person at Shaw was confused. The LTSS programme doesn't expire until Nov. 30, 2012 Did you ask for the "LTSS" programme by name?
I did mention LTSS and Free local service program etc. They played dumb. Local installer/Shaw guy said it was only a temporary thing. I find that very odd and misleading for Shaw, I always thought they were a good reliable service.
I am wondering if the installer didn't activate the receiver (may have been previously activated on another account?) and didn't want to bother with it now... Just speculation of course.
Any way that problem is solved.
One variable though, the dish, receiver, and feedline; are these the property of Shaw or the home owner? There was no contract signed etc... maybe they will want them back?
The "OFFER" for the LTSS free locals is available to sign up for, until Nov. 30th 2012, but once you have it, you have it for "Life" according to SHAW Direct. If you get a paid package through SHAW Direct, you cannot revert back to the free package.
I imagine that depending upon who you talk to, the service and answers will vary.
So I'm disappointed I didn't hear about this sooner. We haven't paid for TV for a long time because the price has gotten ridiculous from both Bell and Shaw. I called Shaw up and I qualified for the program, they sent the form, but made a typo on my address. Postal Code is right so that'll get it to my post office so they shouldn't have any problem, I just don't want to have to call them back. I emailed them the form so hope to get it soon!
Located in SW Calgary, a few miles from most of the OTA broadcast towers. No complaints with the switch to digital reception using an indoor Stealth Hawk mounted on a high bookcase. Most of the 8 channels converted from analog a year ago. Access (CIAN channel 13) decided going digital wasn't worth it and pulled the plug.
But the recent SRC (Societe Radio-Canada) CBRFT is the big loss, as my wife is French-Canadian (we speak it in the house; even the cat [Dijon] responds). On July 31st, the one year extension on analog SRC expired and we dearly miss it.
Inquired on the Shaw Direct LTSS program; got the email details, but need more tech info before sending in the form.
Essentially we would plan to use the dish/receiver only for the French CBC. The others they provide are ones that we already receive digitally or are duplicates from Edmonton. We currently also get Omni and CTS OTA, which Shaw does not provide in their LTSS pkg. However, I see Shaw also provides Access, which would be nice to get back.
We're currently using a Motorola MDR515H/F7 HDD Recorder for our OTA, and looking at the manual, it seems to accept cable and satellite signals. Couple of questions: I'm new to cable or satellite and notice in the daily newspaper program guides that the channel numbers are a way up there (like 200 to 700). My digital TV and the PVR seem to accept only up to channel numbers 125 or so. So how does that work ? And if 75% of our TV viewing is OTA, would we use a sort of A/B coax switch to get SRC French from the dish while maintaing the connection to our indoor antenna ? I'm assuming that current OTA picture quality will exceed that from Shaw SD.
I'm also concerned about the outside mounting and running cable through the house, and would like to discuss this with them before they start punching holes. Then again, I shouldn't complain if it's free.
The Shaw Receiver will connect to the TV on a different Input than the OTA Antenna, so any channel numbers will be irrelevant, as you will just use the Sat Receiver to tune to the required channel, via the different Input, not the TV.
The Composite Output of the Sat Receiver will connect to the Input of your HDD Recorder.
I'm assuming they will provide you with the basic DSR600 receiver.
As pinza already mentioned, you will connect the composite outputs from the DSR600 to the composite inputs on your recorder. Hopefully the recorder is smart enough to allow you to schedule recording from multiple inputs. You may find you only end up recording from the sat box.
When you want to record something from the satellite receiver, I think you will have to Auto Tune to the channel before hand. Check out the other DSR600/605 threads about recording to an external device.
You could also take the TV out RF coax from the 600 and run that into existing cable lines in your residence to display on channel 3 or 4 to analog TVs in the house. This would allow someone to be watching something over the air on the main TV, while someone else is watching a different channel in another room from the sat box.
I am assuming since you are currently using OTA your in house cable would not be connected to the outside Shaw world, but make sure to check that in advance. Sending your signal out from your house onto the Shaw cable TV lines would be a Bad Thing.
The HDMI output from the 600 could then be connected locally to your main TV.
No, according to post #22 it is a reconditioned DSR-305. They may also use others, but it will almost definitely be an SD box.
You could also take the TV out RF coax from the 600 and run that into existing cable lines in your residence to display on channel 3 or 4 to analog TVs in the house.
The coax lines in the house are likely used for his antenna so care would need to be made not to interfere with that or worse, start broadcasting OTA (Industry Canada would crack down on him for that).
The HDMI output from the 600 could then be connected locally to your main TV.
There is no HDMI output, only S-VIDEO, composite and RF, so he would likely have to use S-VIDEO for his DVR and Composite for his TV or vise-versa. The audio would have to be split to go to both the DVR and TV.
Most DVD recorders allow you to specify the input (for SAT)/channel (for OTA) when setting up the recording. Of course the Sat STB needs to be "scheduled" as well (I assume there is a "timer" function), or left on the channel to be recorded if not.
My assumption that the OP could use his existing wiring to distribute signal in house, and my warning about its use, was based on the statement "using an indoor Stealth Hawk mounted on a high bookcase" - the implication being the antenna and television are in the same room.
My father has received a DSR600 HD PVR capable receiver for his LTSS from Shaw Direct, brand new to boot. According to his contract the equipment becomes his and he is responsible for it's replacement if it fails.
I suspect that Shaw have now run out of refurbished units, does anyone know this for a fact or was this a one off situation?
I don't know what channels he is getting or if any are in HD, but the PVR capability is quite the bonus for him.
Ensure whether "Serviced" or "Self Install" for dish
Dr.Sat, you are correct it does not have PVR capabilities....Yet.
I was fooled by down loading the HDDSR manual on line as it contains the 600, 605, and 630 ( 630 which does have the PVR) and they are not broken down in separate sections. The remote for them all, has the PVR buttons.
The manual in the box of the 600 has a user guide specific guide that states the USB jack is "for future use", which can mean anything. EHD PVR I hope!
What channel's does my father get? None, as apparently they don't have an installer for his area, and they will now be sending a dish out in 10 to 14 days for a self install.
The real point to this post is to let anyone who is applying for the LTSS to ensure at the time of the application if their area is "Serviced" or "Self Install" so the dish and receiver arrive at the same time.
Too bad, another couple of weeks for him without any programming.
Since in July 2012 I lost completely CBC(Ch 56) and the French channel (ch 61), I looked for a way to get them back and that's how I found about tje LTSS program trough this site.
I've applied on Sep 05, 2012 and I've got the DSR319 receiver in my hands on Oct 01, 2012.
Scheduled an installation on 06 Oct 2012 and since I've got 9 SD digital local channels through Shaw Direct - LTSS program:
Ch-37-CBC Toronto (CBLT)
Ch-39-Global Toronto (CIII)
Ch-50-CTV Sudbury (CICI)
Ch-40-City TV Toronto
Ch-41-CHCH Hamilton
Ch-44-A Channel Barrie (CKVR)
Ch-42-OMNI 1 - (CFMT)
Ch-55-TVO
Ch-704-SRC Ottawa (CBOFT)
I live in KW and since from my location I was not able to pick on OTA more than 3-4 channels with a 30' outside antenna, this LTSS offer came to the right moment for me.
Thanks to all who advertised their experience here and that is why I've tried to share my experience also with this program.
Very happy with my expanded number of channels and available for any questions for others ready to try.
I am in southwest New Brunswick and received a 319 receiver, and got 5 channels. CTV, ctv two, global, cbc, and 1 french station.
When getting set up I asked them if I could use my 630 PVR that I have not used it about 8 or 9 months. They verified, and said it was not a problem, so we activated my 630 on the LTSS program!
That's interesting, because then if you are applying to LTSS, you can pickup a PVR before installation and have it setup for free...
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