Rookie Optik Questions

25081 Views 84 Replies 44 Participants Last post by merve04, Mar 26, 2011

7cal

Discussion Starter · Sep 10, 2010

Optik noob questions

I am planning to pull the trigger and switch from Shaw to Optik in the next week or two. I've been browsing the forums but haven't found the answers to these questions: should hopefully be easy and any Optik user can answer them.

1) The install: I understand they put in their router or whatever near a phone outlet and connect it to a coax outlet, and then every coax outlet in the house becomes 'active' for Optik. Does every TV then require a 'set top box'. Is this like a box that takes the signal from coax and then gives component / HDMI output?

2) How many set top boxes do you get with an Optik install?

3) How many remotes do you get? No real issues with the Harmony One that anyone is aware of? (I did see this thread, but don't know what flavor of Harmony remote)

Thanks and sorry if this info is posted elsewhere- it seems so basic but I couldn't find it.

21 - 40 of 85 Posts

Dr.Dave

· #21 · Sep 17, 2010

@insync44, you can check with Telus to find out how many HD and SD streams you can receive simultaneously. That will tell you which profile you will be on and how fast your internet speed will be.

The typical profile is 19.2 Mbps with 2HD and 1 SD and an internet speed around 15 Mbps down.

There are many threads here describing the Telus PVR features.

When you cancel your Shaw internet account, you will no longer have access to you shaw.ca email address. Any emails saved on your PC (such as in Outlook) will still be there. You can use a Telus email address or a web-based email service such as Gmail or Hotmail.

insync44

· #22 · Sep 17, 2010

The problem is that my wife and I already have Shaw Emails on our business cards for a long time. Its difficult to change.
Phoned Telus and they said they could redirect Shaw emails to Telus.

Mousepotato

· #23 · Sep 17, 2010

insync44 said:
The problem is that my wife and I already have Shaw Emails on our business cards for a long time. Its difficult to change.
Phoned Telus and they said they could redirect Shaw emails to Telus.

Telus are giving away so much stuff right now I'm surprised they didn't offer to pay for the printing of 500 B/C's for both you and your wife with @telus.net on them.

Dr.Dave

· #24 · Sep 17, 2010

insync44, I don't think Telus can redirect shaw.ca emails. Shaw has complete control of the shaw.ca domain. Here is another alternative from the Shaw forum:

Cancel Internet, but keep email account

insync44

· #25 · Sep 17, 2010

I'm beginning to have doubts about the contract.

The monthly price is great, on paper, but then I can change to SHAW PHONE and get it $20 cheaper than what I am currently paying with Telus.

The fly in the ointment is NFL Sunday Ticket.

Shaw already has my 4 months payment and I phoned them today and asked about it. No refunds they said. I can't complain since I knew about it.

Telus is also making me pay 4 months @ $49.95 per month, which is higher than the $39.95 with Shaw. So actually I will be paying twice.

Since Telus will not install till Oct. 9th, why am I being charged for 4 months with Telus? i know the answer. Its a 4 month deal. Telus will not budge.

I just purchased Shaw DCX3400 (35 days ago) and a PVR Extender (Total: $350 app). The Extender is not compatible with Telus PVR. I could sell them on Craig (since they both have Warranties).

This coupled with the Business Emails is making the deal less appealing.

Think I will look into the deal after NFL season. Its not good to sign Contracts when dinner is waiting and the wife is nagging.

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WetCardboard

· #26 · Sep 17, 2010

Just got Optik installed today. The installation took under a 1/2 hour and I am overall pleased with the service so far, however they gave me a regular HD box instead of the PVR. I called in and was indeed supposed to be getting the PVR but someone screwed up on their end they said.

I was told by the technician I had 19Mbps coming into my place and he said the node is very close-by. I have a few gripes...for one my internet speed drops to 9-10Mbps with one HD feed going, with TV off I get 14.6Mbps which is where it should be. I asked him if having only 1 HD feed would affect my internet speed and he said it wouldn't since it's "seperate" I thought maybe having a 19Mbps connection would allow me to not notice a big ding in my speed when watching tv. The second problem which isn't a big issue until I miss sporting events, is the other regional Sportsnet HD channels. I only get West, but I should be getting all three. I verified my package when I called in and am subscribed. I have the "Your Pick HD" which includes 9 HD theme packs (which is EVERY HD CHANNEL not including the movie channels and some US superstations).

Hopefully the 25Mbps option is available very soon in my area, I was told it should be in a month or two. I am also concerned about not being able to watch pre-season games with Center Ice.

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jean luc picard

· #27 · Sep 17, 2010

was told by the technician I had 19Mbps coming into my place and he said the node is very close-by. I have a few gripes...for one my internet speed drops to 9-10Mbps with one HD feed going

hd stream is 8 Mb. 19 - 8 = 11 Mb.

what is everyone dowloading that you seem to complain about speed? i downgraded from 15 mbit to 5, and haven't noticed anything. torrents don't usually reach your peak anyway, and i don't sit in front of the computer watching them download. websites load in 1 second. youtube videos are under 5 mbit/s. is there any streaming service in canada > 5mbit??

i've always said i'd rather a 5 mbit no cap vs. anything faster with any cap.

concordal

· #28 · Sep 18, 2010

Telus PVR - FAQ Question

According to the Telus PVR FAQ , the answer to the question "Can I watch a previously recorded program while recording a live program with my HD PVR?" is no.

Surely that must be left over from the pre-Optik days. Please tell me that with Optik, I can watch a previously recorded show while I am recording a live show. (I can certainly do this with my Panasonic PVR)

Many thanks for any advice.

Hilman

· #29 · Sep 19, 2010

You are correct, it depends on your connection speed but you will be able to watch/record a minimum of one HD feed but most likely 2 HD feeds when watching a recorded program (a few people can record 3 HD feeds as well).

rkoshack

· #30 · Sep 19, 2010

A few concerns with Telus Optik

Hey so I'm considering switching from Shaw to Telus Optik but I'm concerned with a couple things.

1. HD Pic quality not being as good or better than shaw
2. Pic quality suffering when I'm recording other shows or downloading movies on my computer. I download many torrents
3. Internet speed slowing to a crawl when watching and recording shows

yvr76

· #31 · Sep 19, 2010

1. I found the HD quality to be better than Shaw, and definitely more consistent between the channels.

2. TV bandwidth takes precedence over Internet. It won't be affected.

3. Your internet will slow down when you're watching/recording TV, but you should always have around ~5Mbps dedicated to internet; going up to about 15 when you're not watching any TV.

Volks

· #32 · Sep 21, 2010

tech person in North Van

Does any one know how I can get hold of a Telus tech person in N.Van ?
If Telus won't send one to my place, going to give all to Shaw.

myteammytown

· #33 · Sep 21, 2010

@volks

i am a bit confused, are you are trying to get a telus person out to check out your house and go through the install before you order?

like a pre-survey type situation?

****telus employee, but my views are all my own****

chromium

· #34 · Sep 21, 2010

@volks

Telus won't typically do a prefield on a small consumer job. It's expensive to roll a truck and it takes away from customers who are already commited and expecting service. There's quite a wait time for TV installations and the demand is high so it's a waste of resources.

That being said, exceptions can always be made. However you're better off to order the service and when the tech gets there to do the installation you can discuss your options at the time. If you like what you hear, go ahead with the installation, if you don't, cancel on the spot and the tech can simply cancel the install. It saves having to send a technician out twice and it makes more sense.

HD_Junkie

· #35 · Sep 21, 2010

Shaw for me suffered from absolutely brutal macroblocking. Just ridiculous amounts of it. I don't see any of that at all on Optik. What I do see though that does drive me nuts is banding. You only notice it in large areas that have a slight color fade in them. But there is really no excuse for them to be there. I don't know if they have a bad encoder, bad settings on the encoder or what I dread most is that they have reduced the number of color bits to save bandwidth.

What ever it is I really hope they are working on fixing it. But given the choice between what shaw was offering and what Optik offers I would take Take Optik any day of the week.

thejoker

· #36 · Sep 21, 2010

Optik internet speeds..

so, I'm not totally happy with the speeds we are getting here..in North Vancouver...on the 1HD 1SD profile..they say it's the 15Mbps profile...with 1 HD channel on, internet goes down to 5Mbps, and with both boxes off...we get around 12Mbps...so i called them and they were telling me that SHAW is incapable of letting people watch 2 HD streams at the same time...is this true??? this sounded incorrect to me...so, on Shaw you can't run 2 TV's where each TV has an HD channel on at the same time? can someone verify this for me?

Thanx!

jean luc picard

· #37 · Sep 22, 2010

on Shaw you can't run 2 TV's where each TV has an HD channel on at the same time?

i don t think so tim

HD_Junkie

· #38 · Sep 22, 2010

You can't do that from 1 receiver but you can put in splitters and have multiple receivers. The dual tuner PVR is capable of recording 2 shows at once but only outputting one at a time.

For the record the Motorla PVRs are probably the worst in the business. I could press the buttons on the remote and have to wait up to 30 seconds before the PVR would react. Press the button to skip forward then think the PVR didn't get the message. Hit the button again and then 20 seconds later it jumps twice. Brutal stuff. Telus is going to eat their lunch.

Volks

· #39 · Sep 22, 2010

Re Telus pre order

Thanks again for the input. Good idea if I can cancel right then and there when the tech person shows up and I don't happen to like the installation process.
I will try that approach.

Must say, much appreciate the quick response on this forum.

Great job all.

Volks

MarshMalo

· #40 · Sep 27, 2010

Well the switch is made, I'm fully optik, gotta say 24 hours in i'm all smiles. I thought i'd put in my two cents since i kinda helped start this thread with some rookie questions. I can agree with the general consensus out there. The guide is great, multiroom pvr is awesome, i have 2 HD and 1 SD feeds currently but anxiously await the 3 HD 1 SD. I have 3 boxes in my house a PVR box an HD box and a 360.

My main worry was picture quality. Everyone mentions how much better it is than shaw but there weren't many ex-bell users bragging about their switch. My friend was the service tech who did my setup and he was honest. Bell would be better, but it's not like the HD was brutal. He was right to some extent. I have a 32 inch samsung on the PVR box and a 52 inch on the 360. After we set them up we noticed the 32 inch was perfect, but the 52 inch was not so much. However the perfectionist in me wouldn't settle though. Always play with your settings. After 30 min of playing i had the quality way up. Really good quality yet it was true Bell was better, however not by much.

This is not to say Telus won't help us out down the road and beef it up. The pro's far out weight the cons and I'm very happy. Watched Dexter after my settings changed and it was beautiful. Yet to have internet issues. I've been playing halo while my gf and kids are watching each hd streams and experience no lag. Sunday Ticket is the same as all other platforms for those wondering about that. 360 users there is one tip of advice i'd like to mention. If you play games on 1080p switch it to 720p before watching TV. I was getting some lag and pix-elation when watching sports specifically and couldn't find out why. Made the switch and was gold jerry, GOLD. If you guys have any questions shoot me a line I can hopefully answer it or shoot my buddy who setup the service a text too.

Thanks.

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