Thinking of going with Shaw in California, have a few questions

forecheck

Well-Known SatelliteGuys Member
Original poster
Mar 28, 2005
27
8
Northern California
I am in Northern California and am looking at getting Shaw, but was wondering if they have any HD, PVR or other hidden fees or taxes not listed on their site? I am looking at getting just a single room PVR setup with either Western Life or Ontario Life, is there any benefit programming wise being in the east vs west?

I haven't quite figured out yet if I am going to go the broker route or just try to open the account myself with a made up address, so any advice there would be appreciated too.

Thanks
 
You really should look at an Android TV box, way more content and most apps are free. SOme contain ads, but you can put an adblocker on it too.

East or west does not matter unless you are after a specific sports team, then you should choose your address accordingly. The digital Advantage is the best programming package. HD sports is included free and other add on's are cheaper than any other package.
If you have more than 1 receiver there is an additional $5.99 a mth for additional receivers.

Cheers
 
Hey, sorry for the delayed reply. There are no hidden fees for HD or PVR with Shaw Direct. You will have to pay sales taxes based on your province. There are three satellites (F1, F2, and G1). Based on your location, I'm not sure if you can get G1. In that case, you would be better off with an Ontario-based package, since the main nets in HD are on F1 and F2, which are both easy to catch
 
I am in Northern California and am looking at getting Shaw, but was wondering if they have any HD, PVR or other hidden fees or taxes not listed on their site? I am looking at getting just a single room PVR setup with either Western Life or Ontario Life, is there any benefit programming wise being in the east vs west?

I haven't quite figured out yet if I am going to go the broker route or just try to open the account myself with a made up address, so any advice there would be appreciated too.

Thanks

Same here. I am of thinking of using a broker so they take care of all the stuff since I am not familiar with Canadian address and a good broker is not to expensive and if you don't change packages they are pretty reasonable. I don't think I could do it properly and I used to have it when it was called StarChoice and needed to look at just one bird before HD transmissions started. I used a broker "Freeway" but they were always late paying SC so I was cut off once. They went out of business right after I cancelled it. I live up north enough to receive all the satellites so that is not a problem. My gut feeling says to use a broker since dealing with Canada using a fake address and hopefully your credit card will be accepted could be a pain in the a**. It's not as easy as using a fake address with Dish & Direct for a different set of locals. Keep us informed on what you do. That would be a great help to myself or others thinking of subscribing to Shaw. I heard Bell is a nightmare for "southern subs" and their footprint is pretty much for Canada so signals are probably good for about 300-400 into the northern U.S. Drove to Mike Kohl's house on Wisconsin and he got everything up and running for me, when I returned home I just had to install the dish at my place. He was a big help to me..
Shaw is a great provider and you will be happy with it.

Good Luck!.
 
I understand that since you are in California you won't get signal from G1 as mentioned above by frenchophile. I would bet on that, from what I remember on the footprints map and info provided years ago when G1 was launched.

But as he mentioned the main nets (CBC, Global, CTV and City, Toronto feeds) are on F2 I think.

So keep that in mind.

I'm way down in Central Mexico and I'm fine with the 2 sat signals I receive, I use a broker, and my credit card is directly charged by Shaw, without a problem.
 
The G1 bird is mainly used for locals anyway so you are not missing much. I can't wait to get a setup before winter, I really liked their service when I had it but had to drop them in 2002 to cut costs. I have read that their DVR (the 630 HD model) has some stability problems but that was a few years ago and they probably have fixed them with newer software. Bell would be allot easier to receive since I have a Dish 500 on 110/119 that can be easy to re point to the 82/91 Bell satellites, but Bell can be a real PITA to "southern subs" where as Shaw really doesn't care and they know some subs are in the U.S, but along as the bill is paid they don't care one way or another. Bell uses some tight beams to cut off signals a few hundred miles south into the U.S. Also a DirecTV slimline dish can be used by swapping the LNB's out but I have never seen one like that. The two birds mentioned above throw really hot signals to the U.S but G1 is mainly for Canada but does reach the northern their of states. Some people have figured out their account # and were able to maintain their account by using on-line access and dump the broker. I hope you get everything working and enjoy some great Canadian programming!.
 
Based upon your profile picture, I'm guessing we're in the same area of California (more or less).
Go with a broker. If you're nice and tell them you understand the risks, they may give you access to your account to make changes yourself. Using a US-based credit card is not a problem. Remember that brokers either are dealers, too, or work with dealers. They can tell you what will work and what won't, and give you a bit of a safety net if you have problems.

There's no chance of G1 in the central part of California. So, you'll pretty much be relegated solely to HD broadcast networks from Toronto (though you can get SD from across the country). There used to be a lot more variety with the various locals around the country, but now they're pretty much all clones within their respective networks. So, aside from time-shifting (not necessary if you have a DVR), not much reason to get time-shifted channels. As others have mentioned, the province you choose will relegate what sports teams you get (or get blacked-out) and what tax rate you pay (Alberta has the lowest, while everything east of Ontario are the highest). It may also determine, depending on the receiver, what time your receiver displays. You may run into a problem in that only the newer LNBFs can be activated on the system for new users, but a broker can help you with that. There are also different packages based on east or west and some non-advertised packages, as well. One tip...if you specify Spokane for your US SD networks, you still get the HD ones from Seattle (they don't carry Spokane networks in HD)

I hope that helps.
 
If you have any receiver other than a 60 or 800 series you will keep losing channels as they are switched to Mpeg 4. F1 actually has more SD channels and F2 is the HD sat. Also for anyone wanting the BC channels in HD they were moved to the F2 sat and now available down south :)
 
F2 traditionally was the HD bird but there are several transponders on F1R now that carry HD. Beginning in spring of 2019 as standard definition signals are dropped and the final conversion to an almost entirely HD lineup happens most of what is on F2 will be moved to F1R. F2 is getting old, by the end of 2019 there will only be a handful of active Ku transponders in use. It is speculated that by powering down a number of the transponders they can extend the life of Anik F2. Most of the signals by the end of 2019 will come from F1R and G1. G1 has a reduced footprint.

The following lists the channels currently on G1 in HD but will be lost (barring changes) when the Standard Definition version disappears.

CHANNEL
ABC Spark
Action
APTN
Bein Sports
Bravo
Cartoon Network
CBC News Network
CMT *
Comedy
CP24
CTV News Network
Discovery
Disney Channel
Disney XD
Dtour
Encore 2 West
Encore East 1/Starz
Family Channel
Family Chrgd
Family Jr
Fight Network
Gusto *
H2 Canada
Knowledge
Lifetime
Much
NBA TV
Slice
Sportsnet World
Teletoon
TFO
TMN 2 East
TMN3 East
TMN3 West
W Network
WWE Network
YTV

This list is subject to change as Shaw Broadcast may modify the final G1/F1R outcome. I marked CMT and Gusto with a * as they may move to F1R according to old documents.

The only notable broadcast channels lost are
CHCH from Hamilton
CHEK from Victoria
TVO from Toronto

There will be many locals (CBC,CTV,Global) currently on G1 that disappear but oddly you will gain many secondary market HD signals when they convert to HD on F1R.
 
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Anyone interested in seeing a list of the channels that will probably end up on F1R and F2 when the transition is complete?
 
Based on the last spreadsheet I had downloaded before Shaw Broadcast took it down (probably for revision) here are the English Services that will be on F1R. CBC Vancouver I believe will probably be on F1R as it was a late addition to the move to F2. There were originally a couple channels on here that have shut down, such as Viceland. This is all subject to change but was based on Version 9 of the Phase 3 spreadsheet.

On F1R
ABC East HD (MP4)
ABC West HD (MP4)
CBC Calgary HD (MP4)
CBC Charlottetown HD (MP4)
CBC Fredericton HD (MP4)
CBC Toronto HD (MP4)
CBC Windsor (MP4)
CBC Yellowknife HD (MP4)
CBS East HD (MP4)
CBS West HD (MP4)
City TV Tor HD (MP4)
City TV Van HD (MP4)
CTV Kitchener HD (MP4)
CTV Lethbridge HD (MP4)
CTV Moncton HD (MP4)
CTV Ottawa HD (MP4)
CTV Prince Albert HD (MP4)
CTV Saskatoon HD (MP4)
CTV Sault Ste. Marie HD (MP4)
CTV Sudbury HD (MP4)
CTV Sydney HD (MP4)
CTV Timmins HD (MP4)
CTV Toronto HD (MP4)
CTV Windsor HD (MP4)
CTV Yorkton HD (MP4)
CTV2 Atlantic HD (MP4)
CTV2 CFTK HD (MP4)
CTV2 CJDC HD (MP4)
CTV2 London HD (MP4)
CTV2 Toronto HD (MP4)
CTV2 Victoria HD (MP4)
FOX East HD (MP4)
FOX West HD (MP4)
Global Durham CHEX TV-2 HD (MP4)
Global Kingston CKWS HD (MP4)
Global Lethbridge HD (MP4)
Global Okanagan HD (MP4)
Global Peterborough CHEX HD (MP4)
Global Saint John HD (MP4)
Global Saskatoon HD (MP4)
Global Toronto HD (MP4)
Global Vancouver HD (MP4)
KTLA HD (MP4)
NBC East HD (MP4)
NBC West HD (MP4)
PBS Buffalo HD (MP4)
PBS East HD (MP4)
PBS Spokane HD (MP4)
PBS West HD (MP4)
WGN HD (MP4)
WPIX HD (MP4)
WSBK HD (MP4)
Yes TV HD (MP4)
A&E HD (MP4)
AHC HD (MP4)
AMC HD (MP4)
AMI TV HD (MP4)
Animal Planet HD (MP4)
AUX HD (MP4)
BBC Canada HD (MP4)
BBC World HD (MP4)
BET HD (MP4)
Bloomberg HD (MP4)
BNN HD (MP4)
Book TV HD (MP4)
C&I HD (MP4)
CMT HD (MP4)
CNBC HD (MP4)
CNN HD (MP4)
Cooking Channel HD (MP4)
Cosmopolitan HD (MP4)
Cottage Life HD (MP4)
CPAC HD (MP4)
Daystar HD (MP4)
Dejaview HD (MP4)
Discovery Sci. HD (MP4)
Discovery Vel. HD (MP4)
Disney Junior HD (MP4)
DIY HD (MP4)
Documentary HD (MP4)
DTOUR HD (MP4)
ESPN Classic HD (MP4)
EWTN HD (MP4)
Exxtasy HD (MP4)
Fashion HD (MP4)
FOX News HD (MP4)
FYI HD (MP4)
Game Show Net HD (MP4)
Game TV HD (MP4)
Golf HD (MP4)
Gusto HD (MP4)
HBO Canada 1 HD (MP4)
HBO Canada 2 HD (MP4)
History HD (MP4)
HNN HD (MP4)
Independent Film HD (MP4)
Investigation Dis. HD (MP4)
Leafs HD (MP4)
Love Nature HD (MP4)
Makeful HD (MP4)
Miracle Ch HD (MP4)
MSNBC HD (MP4)
MTV 2 HD (MP4)
National Geo HD (MP4)
NFL Network HD (MP4)
Nickelodeon HD (MP4)
OLN HD (MP4)
ONE HD (MP4)
Out TV HD (MP4)
OWN HD (MP4)
Peach Tree HD (MP4)
Penthouse HD (MP4)
Playboy HD (MP4)
Playmen HD (MP4)
PPV 1 HD (MP4)
PPV 10 HD (Events Ch) (MP4)
PPV 11 HD (MP4)
Red Hot HD (MP4)
Salt and Light HD (MP4)
Spike HD (MP4)
Sportsnet 360 HD (MP4)
Stingray 1-42 (2 HD Slots) (MP4)
Stingray Juicebox HD (MP4)
Stingray Loud HD (MP4)
Stingray Retro HD (MP4)
Stingray Vibe HD (MP4)
Sundance HD (MP4)
TLC HD (MP4)
TMN 1E HD (MP4)
TMN 1W HD (MP4)
TMN 2W HD (MP4)
TMN Encore 1W HD (MP4)
Travel HD (MP4)
Treehouse HD (MP4)
TSC HD (MP4)
TSN 1 HD (MP4)
TSN 2 HD (MP4)
TSN 3 HD (MP4)
TSN 4 HD (MP4)
TSN 5 HD (MP4)
Vintage TV HD (MP4)
Vision HD (MP4)
Weather HD (MP4)
WFN HD (MP4)
Wild TV HD (MP4)
Multicultural
Omni 1 HD (MP4)
Omni 2 HD (MP4)
Telelatino HD (MP4)


On F2
Big 10 HD (MP4)
FOOD HD (MP4)
HD PPV (MP4)
HDPPV 4/Comp.(MP4)
HDPPV 5/Comp.(MP4)
HDPPV 6/Comp.(MP4)
HDPPV2/Comp.(MP4)
HGTV HD (MP4)
Showcase HD (MP4)
SNET East HD (MP4)
SNET One HD (MP4)
SNET Ont. HD (MP4)
SNET Pac. HD (MP4)
SNET West HD (MP4)
Space HD (MP4)

There will only be 4 transponders in use on F2 by the end of the conversion process.
 
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French Services

On F1R
SRC Rim. HD (MP4)
SRC Trois Riviere HD (MP4)
TVA Chic. HD (MP4)
TVA Que. HD (MP4)
TVA Rim. HD (MP4)
TVA Sherbr. HD (MP4)
TVA West HD (MP4)
V Que. HD (MP4)
V Saguenay HD (MP4)
V Sherbr. HD (MP4)
V Trois Riviere HD (MP4)
AMI French HD (MP4)
Avis de Recherche HD (MP4)
Canal Savoir HD (MP4)
La Chaine Disney HD (MP4)
Meteo Media HD (MP4)
Moi & Cie HD (MP4)
RDS 2 HD (MP4)
RIS HD (MP4)
SPM 1 HD (MP4)
TALC 1 HD (MP4)
TALC 3 HD (MP4)
Teletoon French HD (MP4)
Unis East HD (MP4)
Yoopa HD (MP4)

On F2
SRC Mon. HD (MP4)
TVA Mon.HD (MP4)
V Mon. HD (MP4)
Canal D HD (MP4)
Canal Evasion HD (MP4)
Canal Vie HD (MP4)
Musi Max HD (MP4)
Musi. Plus HD (MP4)
RDS HD (MP4)
Series + HD (MP4)
Sup.Ecran 3HD (MP4)
Sup.Ecran 4HD (MP4)
Super Ecran HD (MP4)
Super Ecran HD 2 (MP4)
TVA Sports HD (MP4)
Ztele HD (MP4)

All subject to change while Shaw (Broadcast) optimizes the final traffic plan.
 
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While many will lose CBC and CTV 24 hr News Channels when the Standard Definition version drops. There will be many CBC and CTV local channels across timezones to pick up Canadian News. BBC World is also slated to be on F1R so there should be some choice of news sources. CBC use some News Channel feeds in the morning and at noon so there will be opportunity to find it at many times during the day.
 
I will have to redo the charts above because Shaw Broadcast has redone the final traffic plan. Interesting it almost reverses what was in previous plans. F2 will be used highly and F1R will have only 4 transponders used by Shaw Broadcast and a couple by BellMedia. Out of the 32 ku transponders on F1R only 6 are listed as in use and 16 are vacant.
F2 will now have 22 in use and only 10 left vacant.

Good news for news junkies, CBC and CTV News HD Channels will move to F2 from G1. The HD versions of Family Channel, Disney jr, Treehouse, Nickelodeon, Disney French and Teletoon French will all on F2, also moved from G1.
TCM HD also moves to F2.

Quite the change in traffic planning. I wonder does this mean that F1R is experiencing abnormal aging and that F2 is expected to last longer then expect.

Look for Phase III documents here
Shaw Broadcast Services - Bulletins
 
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Phase III Version 14 - F1R
CBC Calgary HD (MP4)
CBC Charlottetown HD (MP4)
CBC Yellowknife HD (MP4)
CTV Kitchener HD (MP4)
CTV Ottawa HD (MP4)
CTV Saskatoon HD (MP4)
CTV Sudbury HD (MP4)
CTV2 Atlantic HD (MP4)
CTV2 CFTK (CBC) HD (MP4)
CTV2 CJDC (CBC) HD (MP4)
CTV2 London HD (MP4)
CTV2 Toronto HD (MP4)
CTV2 Vancouver Island HD (MP4)
Global Kingston HD (MP4)
Global Okanagan HD (MP4)
Global Peterborough HD (MP4)
Global Regina HD (MP4)
Global Saint John HD (MP4)
Global Sask HD (MP4)
Omni 1 HD (MP4)
Omni 2 HD (MP4)

F2
43 (Canadian) radio services
ABC East HD (MP4)
ABC West HD (MP4)
CBC Toronto HD (MP4)
CBC Vancouver HD (MP4)
CBC Winnipeg HD (MP4)
CBS East HD (MP4)
CBS West HD (MP4)
City TV Edmonton HD (MP4)
City TV Toronto HD (MP4)
City TV Vancover HD (MP4)
CTV Calgary HD (MP4)
CTV Toronto HD (MP4)
CTV Van HD (MP4)
FOX East HD (MP4)
FOX West HD (MP4)
Global Montreal HD (MP4)
Global Toronto HD (MP4)
Global Vancover HD (MP4)
NBC East HD (MP4)
NBC West HD (MP4)
PBS Buffalo HD (MP4)
PBS East HD (MP4)
PBS Spokane HD (MP4)
PBS West HD (MP4)
Peach Tree HD (MP4)
Yes TV HD (MP4)
360 HD (MP4)
A&E HD (MP4)
AHC HD (MP4)
AMC HD (MP4)
AMI TV HD (MP4)
Animal Planet HD (MP4)
AUX SD (MP4)
BBC Canada HD (MP4)
BBC World HD (MP4)
BC Leg. HD (MP4)
BCLC1 SD (MP4)
BET HD (MP4)
Big 10 HD (MP4)
BNN HD (MP4)
Book TV HD (MP4)
Bravo HD (MP4)
BTV SD (MP4)
CBC News Network HD (MP4)
CNBC SD (MP4)
CNN HD (MP4)
Comedy Network HD (MP4)
Cooking Channel HD (MP4)
Cosmo HD (MP4)
Cottage Life HD (MP4)
CPAC HD (MP4)
Crime & Inv. HD (MP4)
CTV News Network HD (MP4)
Daystar HD (MP4)
Dejaview HD (MP4)
Discovery Channel HD (MP4)
Discovery Science HD (MP4)
Discovery Velocity HD (MP4)
Disney Jr. HD (MP4)
DIY HD (MP4)
Documentary HD (MP4)
E! HD (MP4)
ESPN Classic HD (MP4)
EWTN SD (MP4)
Exxtasy SD (MP4)
Family East HD (MP4)
Family West HD (MP4)
FOOD HD (MP4)
FOX News HD (MP4)
FX HD (MP4)
FXX HD (MP4)
FYI HD (MP4)
Game TV HD (MP4)
GINX eSports TV HD (MP4)
Golf HD (MP4)
GSN HD (MP4)
HBO Canada 1 HD (MP4)
HBO Canada 2 HD (MP4)
HD PPV (MP4)
HDPPV 3 (MP4)
HDPPV 4/Comp.(MP4)
HDPPV 5/Comp.(MP4)
HDPPV 6/Comp.(MP4)
HDPPV 7 (MP4)
HDPPV 8 (MP4)
HDPPV2/Comp.(MP4)
HGTV HD (MP4)
History HD (MP4)
HLN HD (MP4)
Independant Film HD (MP4)
INFO 299 HD (MP4)
Investigation Dis. HD (MP4)
KTLA HD (MP4)
Leafs HD (MP4)
Love Nature HD (MP4)
Makeful HD (MP4)
Mav TV HD
Miracle Channel HD (MP4)
Movie Time HD (MP4)
MSNBC HD (MP4)
MTV 2 SD (MP4)
MTV HD (MP4)
National Geographic HD (MP4)
National Geographic Wild HD (MP4)
NFL Net. HD (MP4)
Nickelodeon HD (MP4)
Northern Legislature HD (MP4)
OHL HD (MP4)
OLN HD (MP4)
ONE TV HD (MP4)
Out TV HD (MP4)
OWN HD (MP4)
Paramount Network HD (MP4)
Penthouse SD (MP4)
Playboy HD (MP4)
Playmen SD(MP4)
Red Hot SD (MP4)
Salt and Light HD (MP4)
Showcase HD (MP4)
SNET East HD (MP4)
SNET One HD (MP4)
SNET Ont. HD (MP4)
SNET Pac. HD (MP4)
SNET West HD (MP4)
Space HD (MP4)
Stingray (43 audios)
Stingray Juicebox HD (MP4)
Stingray Loud HD (MP4)
Stingray Retro HD (MP4)
Stingray Vibe HD (MP4)
Super Channel Fuse HD (MP4)
Super Channel Heart&Home HD (MP4)
Super Channel Vault HD (MP4)
TCM HD (MP4)
TLC HD (MP4)
TMN 1E HD (MP4)
TMN 1W HD (MP4)
TMN 2W HD (MP4)
TMN Encore 1W HD (MP4)
TMN Encore 2 E HD (MP4)
Travel & Escape HD (MP4)
Treehouse HD (MP4)
TSC HD (MP4)
TSN 1 HD (MP4)
TSN 2 HD (MP4)
TSN 3 HD (MP4)
TSN 4 HD (MP4)
TSN 5 HD (MP4)
Vintage SD (MP4)
Vision HD (MP4)
W Network HD (MP4)
Weather Net. HD (MP4)
WFN HD (MP4)
WGN HD (MP4)
Wild TV HD (MP4)
WPIX HD (MP4)
WSBK HD (MP4)
Omni East HD (MP4)
Omni Pacific HD (MP4)
Omni Prairies HD (MP4)
Telelatino HD (MP4)

Original Post was taken from Phase III - Version 9 spreadsheet

There are a number of small market channels on G1 not referenced any more. Either there is going to be a Phase IV or they will remain in Std Def on G1.

The following US Radio stations seem that they will be dropped entirely ON 09/25/2019
KDRK-FM
KZZU-FM
KISC-FM
KZBD-FM
KMBI-FM
KXLY-FM
KPBX-FM
 
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F1R French Services
11 French Radio
SPM 1 HD (MP4)
SRC Trois Riviere HD (MP4)
TVA Chic. HD (MP4)
TVA Hull HD (MP4)
TVA Quebec HD (MP4)
TVA Rimouski HD (MP4)
TVA Sherbrooke HD (MP4)
V Quebec HD (MP4)
V Saguenay HD (MP4)
V Sherbrooke HD (MP4)

F2 French Services
ICI Television Montreal HD (MP4)
TVA Montreal HD (MP4)
V Montreal HD (MP4)
Addik TV HD (MP4)
AMI French HD (MP4)
Canal D HD (MP4)
Canal Evasion HD (MP4)
Canal Vie HD (MP4)
HD TALC 5 (MP4)
HD TALC 6 (MP4)
Ici ARTV HD (MP4)
Ici RDI HD (MP4)
La Chaine Disney HD (MP4)
LCN HD (MP4)
Meteo Media HD (MP4)
Musi Max (MP4)
Musique Plus HD (MP4)
RDS1 HD (MP4)
RDS2 HD (MP4)
RDS Info HD (MP4)
Series + HD (MP4)
SRC Montreal HD (MP4)
Super Ecran 1HD (MP4)
Super Ecran 2HD (MP4)
Super Ecran 3HD (MP4)
Super Ecran 4HD (MP4)
Teletoon French HD (MP4)
TVA Sports HD (MP4)



F2 Other Language Services
Aapka Colour SD (MP4)
ATN SD (MP4)
Fairchild SD (MP4)
Odyssey SD (MP4)
RAI SD (MP4)
Sony TV SD (MP4)
 
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