Shaw Direct HDPVR 630 Owners Discussion Thread

@tvmaster =>To my knowledge the rules are still the same, so I'd add it now. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll offer you replacement 8xx for all your units as they'll wake up a bit when you call to add the 630.

A buddy of mine moved last year, and his new basement suite came with Telus Optic TV, so he gave me a couple 6xx receivers. I too kept them as back-ups but never bothered to light them up on our account.

Service providers frequently stop activating used receivers that have reached end-of-life, so it may already be too late. Anybody that has 6xx boxes that haven't been added to their account shouldn't waste any time.

Yes, but it never hurts to try...

Dr.Dave said:

Service providers frequently stop activating used receivers that have reached end-of-life, so it may already be too late. Anybody that has 6xx boxes that haven't been added to their account shouldn't waste any time.

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Actually, turns out I acquired it in 2018, so not THAT long ago...I'll run it up the flag pole and see what CSR I end up with And given the new news about F2 crashing in December, I'd think Shaw would be happy to not have people demanding 800 series boxes by then. lol. What a mess this will likely end up as. Maybe Rogers wants it to collapse so they can just sweep the whole thing under the rug when they take over.

Jimsathome said:

@tvmaster =>To my knowledge the rules are still the same, so I'd add it now. Maybe you'll get lucky and they'll offer you replacement 8xx for all your units as they'll wake up a bit when you call to add the 630.

A buddy of mine moved last year, and his new basement suite came with Telus Optic TV, so he gave me a couple 6xx receivers. I too kept them as back-ups but never bothered to light them up on our account.

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Long time client I phoned and asked for an 800 & 830 to replace my aging 600 7 630 which were generally still good "No problem will send them out as free rental units"
Had them for a couple of weeks when the old units ended up "decommissioned" The new 800 would not activate & after 2 hours of frustration & finally a factory reset Agent said need to replace Now can the decommissioned units be given a factory reset & set up on another account?

Davee said:

"No problem will send them out as free rental units"

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I don't understand the term "free rental units"; Shaw owns them, but will not charge you rent?

RuralRouter said:

I don't understand the term "free rental units"; Shaw owns them, but will not charge you rent?

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It sounds like we're exchanging units that we COULD sell to someone else, for units we CANNOT sell to someone else. Nice.

It sounds like Shaw is trying to maintain stock levels and reduce profiteering by customers. Rentals, even free ones, must be returned to Shaw. This way, customers cannot get free 830 upgrades and then turn around and sell the for a tidy profit. It sucks that 6xx owners are losing the equity in their receivers but that would happen anyway.

Hi Gents,

Most folks don't resell their receivers when they move on from Shaw Direct anyway (see my post above), they give them away or simply recycle them. I see no problem with Shaw Direct sending out "Free 8xx Rentals" to replace the 6xx units that will be rendered technically useless very soon. In addition to preventing profiteering on Shaw Direct's dime, I'm betting there are tax write-offs in play for Shaw Direct with "Free Rentals", which will allow them to depreciate the cost of all these units over time versus taking a hit on their books in the year(s) they'd be giving away these assets. (My ages old accounting training at work here...)

It's a very complicated position that Shaw Direct is in with little time to sort it out, especially when you consider they are also in the middle of being taken over by Rogers (if the CRTC and Federal Government allows). So far, their effort seems top drawer to me. I just wish they'd announce a schedule for all this to be completed.

In FB Marketplace, in my immediate area (I live in the country so probably a lot more in the city) are 6 offers to sell receivers, Most 6XX series but there are a couple 830s for sale $80 and $100

@JasperJoe I hear you but they are practically giving away them at those "asking" prices. Asking $80 or $100 probably means they'll take $50 or $75. That shows there's not much value left in what retailed at one time for over $350.

I agree with Mr. Jim; I would not want to hold on to an obsolete receiver if given the free use of a new current model receiver.

Jimsathome said:

Most folks don't resell their receivers when they move on from Shaw Direct anyway, ... they give them away or simply recycle them. I see no problem with Shaw Direct sending out "Free 8xx Rentals" to replace the 6xx units that will be rendered technically useless very soon.

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LONSat said:

@tvmaster because the 830 can support both formats it will simply decode the channel and record it regardless of whether it is HEVC or not. I believe according to Shaw Broadcast that some of the channels begin the change in September and they indicate a dual feed period. In the past Shaw Direct and Shaw Broadcast have gone mostly with dual feeds. On some occasions they have done flash cuts of a channel from one format to another. It is more an issue for headends that they have to make sure they have all the equipment in place and personnel in place to handle the flash cut at the appropriate time. The 600 series could handle mpeg2 and mpeg4 and recordings on the 630 would have been encoded as either a mpeg2 or mpeg4 until that change over was finished. Because I am a bit of a PVR packrat I probably have some shows that are still mpeg2 on a 630.

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Technically speaking, 600 series cannot handle HEVC channels, so any channel which is converted will be list from a 600 series, yes? Any idea when the first channels to be changed to HEVC will begin, and which channels those are? And the 800 series will process both formats, so you could gradually start changing over boxes? I’d like to hold onto the component outputs until the last possible moment…

"I’d like to hold onto the component outputs until the last possible moment…"

Me too but eventually I'm going to have to split the HDMI output. (and buy a digital clock to replace the 630's clock)

tvmaster said:

Technically speaking, 600 series cannot handle HEVC channels, so any channel which is converted will be list from a 600 series, yes?

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We have a 605. what does "will be list from a 600 series" mean?

Bayguy said:

We have a 605. what does "will be list from a 600 series" mean?

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Typo. "Lost"

tvmaster said:

Typo. "Lost"

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wow, I guess we're going to lose channels even before the satellite dies then.

People without G1 access have lost nearly 1/2 the channel map in the last five years…

Does the red dot on the clock mean you're recording or have lost the sat. signal?