A few more questions

AMike

SatelliteGuys Family
Original poster
Oct 25, 2010
73
12
Metro Atlanta
As I get closer to making my decision about getting a CDN dish, I have a few more questions about service/selection. As mentioned in another thread, it will likely be Shaw because of my desire to get HD programming. I have looked throughout this category for answers and since I could not find what I was looking for, I thought I would post this here. Please forgive me in advance if the question has been duplicated or if this post gets a little long winded. :)

Programming:

1. If going through a broker, I see that there is a charge when making a change to programming. Does this include: PPV, Sports subscriptions.

2. Is there a minimum amount of programming you are required to have when going through a broker? Or is there a cap? Or you can have pretty much whatever you want?

3. I have noticed that Shaw has one feed for CTV and CBC HD. Is that feed based on location, or is that a feed from Toronto? Also, when Hockey Night in Canada has multiple games at the same time, are all of those feeds available in HD?

4. US Nets-is it possible to get both east and west coast feeds?

Centre Ice

1. I have noticed that there were 9 HD feeds for Centre Ice on Shaw. Do the Canadian teams take priority for those HD feeds?

2. I have read older threads about SportsNet One. Are games on that channel part of the Centre Ice package?

3. Are Leaf TV games part of the Centre Ice package?

NFL Sunday Ticket

1. I have noticed that there are only 4 channels available for Sunday Ticket. Do those channels carry both the 1 ET and 4 ET games?

2. I recall during one of my last visits to Canada there were afternoon games broadcast on CTV. Are those games part of Sunday Ticket as well?

3. Is there any process used to determine which games are selected for the HD channels? Or is it based on popularity of the teams? Or closest teams to the border?

Equipment:

1. How does the Shaw 75e dish handle rain fade?

2. Is it possible to get an equipment protection plan on hardware if going through a broker?


Thanks again for your assistance.
 
My answers are in bold:

As I get closer to making my decision about getting a CDN dish, I have a few more questions about service/selection. As mentioned in another thread, it will likely be Shaw because of my desire to get HD programming. I have looked throughout this category for answers and since I could not find what I was looking for, I thought I would post this here. Please forgive me in advance if the question has been duplicated or if this post gets a little long winded. :)

Programming:

1. If going through a broker, I see that there is a charge when making a change to programming. Does this include: PPV, Sports subscriptions.

I don't know for sure but probably any change there will be a charge. If using a broker try not to change your programming that often.


2. Is there a minimum amount of programming you are required to have when going through a broker? Or is there a cap? Or you can have pretty much whatever you want?

Pretty much whatever you want.

3. I have noticed that Shaw has one feed for CTV and CBC HD. Is that feed based on location, or is that a feed from Toronto? Also, when Hockey Night in Canada has multiple games at the same time, are all of those feeds available in HD?

It is not based on location, everyone with a subscription gets CTV, CBC & Global in HD from Toronto.

As for HNIC at the current time you will not get the other feeds in HD, Toronto usually tackes precedence. When the new satellite goes up in late 2012 that may change.

4. US Nets-is it possible to get both east and west coast feeds?

Except for the lowest packages you will get East and West coast Feeds in HD. It may cost you an extra dollar now depending on the programming you have.

Centre Ice

1. I have noticed that there were 9 HD feeds for Centre Ice on Shaw. Do the Canadian teams take priority for those HD feeds?

All Canadian games will be on one of the following HD channels: Sportsnet (any of the following: One, East, Ontario, West, Pacific, SN Cancuks, SN Oilers, SN Flames, SN Sens), Leafs TV, TSN, TSN2 or CBC.

4 of the 9 channels you mentioned are just copies of the 4 Sportsnet channels East, Ontario West & Pacific. Also they took one channel away for Sportsnet One so there are ony 4 other free HD channels for NHLCI at this time.

2. I have read older threads about SportsNet One. Are games on that channel part of the Centre Ice package?

Yes, if you have NHLCI you will get all games aired on the Sportsnet channels.

3. Are Leaf TV games part of the Centre Ice package?

If your location is in Ontario and not in the Ottawa area they are not part of the NHLCI package and you will need to subscribe to Leafs TV, anywhere else in Canada you will get these games as part of your NHLCI package.


NFL Sunday Ticket

1. I have noticed that there are only 4 channels available for Sunday Ticket. Do those channels carry both the 1 ET and 4 ET games?

Yes & actually there are only 3 extra channels for NFLST, they took away one for the new Sportsnet One channel.

2. I recall during one of my last visits to Canada there were afternoon games broadcast on CTV. Are those games part of Sunday Ticket as well?

No, you will get them regardless, as well as the games on the east and west coast feeds.

3. Is there any process used to determine which games are selected for the HD channels? Or is it based on popularity of the teams? Or closest teams to the border?

No one knows, it often makes no sense what they choose and sometimes the games are already on CBS or FOX which really sucks.

Equipment:

1. How does the Shaw 75e dish handle rain fade?

It is better than the 60e of course but it will still go out with heavy rain.

2. Is it possible to get an equipment protection plan on hardware if going through a broker?

Yes, if you have 2 or more receivers it is mandatory to have it at $5.99 per month.

Thanks again for your assistance.

One other note is that brokers do not like too many receivers on one account, two or three at the most. If it is at all possible to get an account in yout own name it is much easier and then all your changes can be done online when need be. You can also call from the US without any issues.
 
One other note is that the NFL RedZone is around $50 or $24.50 if you have NHLCI/NFLST. Once you start watching the NFL RedZone is is really hard to leave it. All the important action is shown on it and it sucks you in to stay watching it. And with the Bills sucking so bad there really is no other reson to change the channel unless you really love another team.
 
An MPEG4 receiver (6xx models) will be required for NFLST and NHLCI this fall. There will be no more MPEG2 channels added by SD.
 
Does shaw let you see your acct online? b'cuz Bell does so we can order PPV and change our subs on their website, no need for our broker. (Except we did use our broker when we had to change pkgs a few months ago but technicly we could have done it ourselves i guess.)
 
You can see your account and change your programming. They do not have ordering PPV online setup, but there is not problem calling from the US to do so on their automatic phone system. It costs an extra dollar to do that though.
 
Does shaw let you see your acct online?

You can see your account and change your programming

You should understand, however, that if you are using a broker, the broker may expect you to go trough them (and pay a fee) to make programming changes. That's part of the game when using a broker. The way the broker ensures that this procedure will be followed is by not supplying you with your Shaw account number or your Canadian service address postal code. If you do not know this information, you will not be able to set up access to Shaw's website to perform account activity. I have never called Shaw from the US, so I do not know if they ask you for your account number/service address before giving you any service over the phone. My understanding is that if you do not know your account number/service address, you are forced to go through your broker to make any contact with Shaw. I was also warned by my broker to not attempt to use the PPV feautre or to hook a US phone line to the receiver as it will immediately reveal that your receiver is located outside of Canada, giving Shaw at least the opportunity (and a legitimate reason) to disconnect your service altogether.

That being said, there is a broker who may, at their option, provide you with your Shaw account number/service address. I am not aware of how this broker decides if they will provide you with the information; perhaps they do it for all of their clients. If they give you this information you will be able to access all pages of their website, make changes to your programming, and see a pdf of your bill.
 
I have never called Shaw from the US, so I do not know if they ask you for your account number/service address before giving you any service over the phone.
they verify your name/address/phone and account number before helping you
 
Thank you all for your information. I have decided to take the plunge. I just ordered my equipment today. Now, just need to find an installer to do this for me.

Again, your assistance is appreciated!
 
It looks like you would need to get the "Sports Combo" pack they offer of RDS and RIS Info Sports for $3.99/month.
 
Thanks...I have a couple of days to finalize my programming options before my equipment arrives and installation occurs.

One more question: to get channels like WGN, KTLA, etc., I would have to subscribe to the SuperChannel pack, correct? I assume those channels are not available on a stand-alone basis.
 
you can get them individually for 99 cents or subscribe to the superstation speciaty bundle

in the past, you would get wpix, wsbk, wpch and ktla if you have family as part of your programming package. not sure if that is still true for new subs
 
After going through about 5 people here locally, I finally found someone to complete my installation. It was a process that I could not do myself as all of my switches are located in my attic, therefore, the dish had to be mounted on the roof. I have a very steep roof. The person who did my installation did a great job and actually has participated on this site in the past.

Now, I am awaiting activation. There is one final question that I have. I was looking through the on-screen guide and noticed that the channels coming in are the "classic" lineup. Is this common prior to activation? I have one of the new 630 DVRs.

Again, thanks for all of the assistance here. It is truly appreciated.
 
Yes, the default for any new receiver is the classic lineup, you must request the advanced lineup and have them send a re-map of the channel numbers to get the advanced channel lineup.
 
"I am interested in ordering shaw direct also, but what is a broker and where do you go? " I am in Indianapolis and have Bell with no reception issues using a 90cm elipitical dish. PM me and I can give you broker info on either Shaw or Bell.
 

Intermittant 630 HD Problem

Shaw Direct: Sunday Ticket Centre Ice with standard-def TV?

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