As long as the NDP stay in power there would be absolutely no chance of a Sasktel privatization, but given that is rumours of an election about this time next year and NDP are trailing the Saskatchewan Party, there's hope that Sasktel will be better suited to compete against private companies by joining the private sector. A Bell vs. Telus bidding war for Sasktel will be interesting.

I have been using Max as long as it has been available, and today I upgraded (after waiting patiently) to the Max HD service. Man I have to say, the picture and sound quality are great. I have never had HD on my set before (32" Sharp Aquos LCD) but I would say it looks as good as anyone could ask for. Finally having regular TV with 5.1 surround is really a treat as well.

The topic I'm interested in today is that of the ability to stream the channels through the computer using VLC media player. Since I subscribe to all the channels available, this is not stealing. I could always only watch two channels at a time between the computer, and two STB's.

Today with the HD installation and the new "Homenet" which is for some reason required with the HD instal, I have lost the ability to stream using VLC. This is a huge downside for me, as I regularly watch TV in my office while catching up on research / work / etc (basically surfing for info). I haven't had time yet to try to rectify the problem, but I would appreciate any insight anyone may have reguarding this change in protection / or perhaps just settings on my network.

Thanks for the previous posts, good info here.

WL

What is the new Homenet?
In the other thread Sonya wrote: Which router are you plugged into?

Could this have anything to do with the Widevine Technologies content security that was mentioned in press releases?

I beleive the homenet is what Sasktel uses to refer to any network which they set up in the home. My system is now set up using two modems, one dedicated for HDTV, and one for all internet and standard Max boxes. These modems remove the need for a switch as they have 4 ports built in.

This is probably the reason VLC can no longer stream the channels (at least not as it did before).

By the way, the service has been very un-reliable so far, requiring many many STB resets.

I would recommend holding off on an instal of HD until the bugs have been worked out, watching football today has been a huge pain, missing over 5 minutes at a time while the box resets. (has happened probably 15 times today)

Which football were you watching?

I found that the Rider game was almost unwatchable due to the sound constantly cutting in and out. The picture was also stuttering from time to time. However, the SD broadcast was fine and the other HD channels did not seem to be affected. Could this have been a CBC problem and not a SaskTel problem?

PS - I just noticed in another thread that someone was experiencing *Choice HD problems tonight too??

on that note you might like to know Shaw is launching their digital phone in Saskatoon soon, by the end of the year

The same goes for Access in Regina, I am told testing is already going on. A radio survey on CJME radio last week asked people if they would switch local phone companies and 85% said that they will switch when the service becomes available. Finally some compitition. Look out Sask Tel !!

You mean look out government owned crown corp! SaskTel has always been on the back burner of Shaw as between Telus and MTS they really didn't care about you guys in SK. So I assume now that they got MTS and Telus taken care of they are finally going to launch the attack against SaskTel.

People may like DSL and TV from their telco but basically everyone I have ever known hates thier phone service and price, especially calling features.

My brother was telling me that Sasktel will be offering a digital phone service as well. He called and spoke with one of the people on the 800 line and they told him that Sasktel offers a digital phone service called Webcall? I did a google search for it and its offered by some company that is owned by Sasktel called Navigata. They have services up and running in Regina(where I live), Saskatoon and Prince Albert. The cost is really cheap. Basic Phone is like 15 bucks and a service with 1000 minutes of long distance is 30 bucks. That is their standard cost. I can't see Sasktel holding the line on their analog lines pricing when they are beating themselves with the costs on their own service.

I guess we can all expect to see some benefits. I don't think I would ever give up my regular phone service but it would sure be nice to see some prices come down. Hopefully soon.

The SaskTel HD introduction is about the worst thing that has happened to me since I started using cable of any sort. My Max went missing in action for a full week as they plowed around the city trying to get their upgrades in place. Robbles, are you that guy with the SaskTel sandwich board on his back on 22nd Street?

Webcall is a voip service that is subject to packet dropping and is over the internet. It does not have 911 access. Navagata is a company that has been providing this service in B.C and Alberta for a number of years. Sasktel has lost millions of $ with this company. Google again it and see. The Access service will be Digital phone using existing co-axe cable to the switch. It never touches the internet. It will have 911.

All voip services are subject to packet dropping. It's actually built into the system by design since losing the occasional packet is less of a problem than introducing lag. That's why voip uses the lossy, but lag-free, UDP instead of the more reliable, but laggy, TCP.

According to the WebCall site, they do support 911. The only issue is that the call goes through an intermediate operator who confirms your location before passing the call to the correct local emergency service.

The Homenet is basically a Router and a Modem combined into 1 device. Most of the new installs in the main cities get these instead of the plain jane modems. It's good for those people who are sitting online with an un-patched Windows XP & exposed to the world with no idea what a firewall is.

link

The reason you have 2 modems is because HD uses up far more bandwidth than the SD service.