New Telus TV platform - a review of the new system

[Hilman]

You should definitely call them and let them know, here are my connection speeds:

No TV's


1 HD


2 HD

[Dr.Dave]

Hilman, yvr72 posted earlier that he was still on the old Telus TV system so his speed is normal for that configuration.

[Hilman]

Sorry about that, it sure looked slow!

[Cockroach]

A real world test of download speeds this morning. I was getting a few well-seeded files that were coming in at 1,670 KB/s - so fast that 5 torrents were overloading my new 2 TB drive (and my first hard drive was a 10MB one). Upload speed seems to max out at 45 KB/s by itself though. What is a byte defined as these days (especially for data transfer)? When did computer science courses when mainframes and card readers were in vogue, it used to be 7-8 data bits and 0, 1 or 2 check bits so anywhere from 7 - 10 bits per byte.

[yvr72]

Originally Posted by Dr.Dave

Hilman, yvr72 posted earlier that he was still on the old Telus TV system so his speed is normal for that configuration.

My question is - why does it report "Performance Systems"? It used to say TELUS before.

The Google tells me that it is a company related to TELUS somehow.

[ttvguy]

Originally Posted by yvr72

My question is - why does it report "Performance Systems"? It used to say TELUS before.

The Google tells me that it is a company related to TELUS somehow.

PSI (Performance Systems) was an ISP that was going bankrupt and was acquired by Cogent back in 2002. They were one of the first major backbone providers that Cogent still uses the name of and has it linked to some of their IP ranges. Depending where speedtest.net queries the information from based on your IP it could be referencing older records (ie. http://ipindex.homelinux.net/index.p..._range&ID=8424 last updated in 2008). TELUS is regularly obtaining new IP ranges to add to it's ever growing list so you likely just ended up with an IP tied to an older record for psi.net.

You could verify your ip with a whois check on arin.net (http://ws.arin.net/whois/whois) to see who it's registered to, the records could be wrong. No reason for concern, it shouldn't affect your performance.

If you want, pm me your IP and I could check it out.

Edit: Actually I forgot. Cogent purchased the USA portion. TELUS purchased the Canada portion of PSINet.
"Most of the PSINet United States's assets were acquired by Cogent Communications in April 2002. PSINet Canada was acquired by TELUS Communications."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PSINet

[MikieCGY]

Well.. I have had it for a month s far.. no complaints.. UNTIL TODAY!
Seems like my internet Speeds have dropped A LOT.. and my PING is THRU THE ROOF!

urgh ..

not impressed right now..

ONLY 2 COMPUTERS... AND 1 HD FEED at the moment.. has been the same scenario the entire month.. don't understand why its much different today

[Cockroach]

See this:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=122336

May be worth checking as I had the same problem.

I thought it had come back but my tenant had a computer infected with malware that was hogging internet resources.

[beanagee1]

What boxes is Telus using as PVR? I need to program my MX-700 remote control.

Cheers.

[C Goon]

Originally Posted by greywolf3114

Hey saw TNSF commenting on the new Telus service ,seems good and You like TNSF ?
I am trying to get some info on how it compares to Bell Express Vu HD.
I currently Run a Panasonic Viera HD 42 inch w/ Express vu and the HD is pretty good.
I am familar w/ the channel offerings of the Telus IP TV Svc and have observed that channell offerings are somewhat comparable.

1. Has anyone out there switched from Bell to Telus IP TV with the new service Telus has just launched in early Feb. and what is the HD picture comparison is like vs: Bell HD ?
2. What are the box and remote's functionality's like ?
3. General feedback on HD picture quality and sound quality of the new telus IP TV

Any and all comments greatly appreciated
greywolf3114

I just had Media room installed on a $9.95/mth for 6mths promo. which means minimal programming pkg but I do get the major American and Canadian Networks in HD for a comparison with my Bell Sat. So far there's a lot to like about TTV. The PVR and STB are small and slick as is the On screen guide, slick that is. The one irritant about the guide so far is the slow response of the guide, not nearly as fast as the Bell.
On the PQ side I'm not so sure. The SD channels are definitely not as crisp as Bell and at first glance I would say the HD stuff is a notch below in crispness as well but I still have some tweaking to do. I'm going to give it a month before I make a decision about dumping Bell. I think it will boil down to, does the convenience of the PVR Anywhere trump a slight PQ degrade and drop in HD content. Maybe?

The PQ observations are off a Panasonic 50" Plasma. One of my initial conclusions is that the HD PQ of the TTV wouldn't be an issue at a smaller screen size.

[yvrwindsor]

C_Goon,
This sounds more like the other IPTV system Minerva.

[Dr.Dave]

Originally Posted by beanagee1

What boxes is Telus using as PVR? I need to program my MX-700 remote control.

Telus uses the same hardware and software as AT&T U-verse in the U.S. They also use the Motorola VIP1200/1216 which are compatible with the Cisco boxes. I've read that for URC remotes you should use AT&T or VIP1200.

[C Goon]

Originally Posted by yvrwindsor

C_Goon,
This sounds more like the other IPTV system Minerva.

I don't see why they would send around a flyer promoting an older technology. I asked the installer and he said yes it was the Mediaroom system with the 19.2 mbps profile. I'm getting 14+ mbps download speeds on the internet when the system is idle so I have no reason to think they stuck me with Minerva. Like I said it looks pretty good just not up to the Bell PQ

[TheSphinx]

Ouch not up to bell picture quality? For hd i and many others consider them the worst. I had a shaw trial recently and it looked much better on hd channels, sharpness and crispness especially since bell converts all to 720p.

This also seems to go against every other report (I am currently with bell looking to switch to media room due to improved pq) I asked many users and they have all had wonderful things to say about the pq.

Video is a huge hobby for me so I would be curious to know what model your set is, I also own two panasonic plasmas different models and can maybe help you on the picture quality end, unless you are on the old system?

[beanagee1]

I have had the system for abut 3 days now and here is a quick summary of what I think of it. I am sure there are many more pluses and minuses but this is what is important to me.

I was with Shaw (was Rogers before the exchange of assets) for 22 years.

Pluses:

* The box responds without the Moto (Shaw) box delays.
* PVR anywhere works as advertised and it a huge plus for my family. We had two PVRs with Shaw but the second box was never used by anyone.
* The 3 year contract, which I opted for, is a red herring given that I don't change providers very often. The overall cost of 2 PVRs works out to about $149 vs. over $800 for Shaw (about $400 for each box)
* I sold a Shaw 6412 and 3416 for a total sum of $500 so I am ahead of the game.
* Generally, the Internet speed is faster than Shaw, the upload speed for about 2X that of Shaw. The latter for important to me for online meetings.
* no box resets, so far.
* more HD channels.

Negatives:

*The picture quality seems less crisp and in your face relative to Shaw. My family noticed the difference. I gather the picture quality is better than what Telus TV but I cannot confirm that.
* I am now paying $10 more for my home phone with Shaw (non bundled price). Telus could not beat $56 for two lines, distinctive ring and LD included for NA and most of Europe.