Those out of G1 footprint may lose a few channels in the next couple of years.

[miguelaqui]

First of all, a dealer told me that he is being told by Shaw that they will only grandfather in customers who do not have the xku LNB for another year or so, After that, all customers will have to upgrade or disconnect. This will be bad for those who have an address that is outside Toronto and , even for those who have a Toronto address, whenever CHCH is airing a program that is also being broadcasted on one of the major US nets; instead of watching 48 hours on CBS, you will be seeing an error message.

You can find the information on Shaw's website that they will be upgrading all channels to MPEG4 and will be deleting the SD versions of channels that are also carried in HD. They do not have anything listed about moving the HD channels off G1.

So, it looks like we will lose almost all the channels they are currently on G1, but have their SD feeds on one of the other satellites .

I really wish they would use G1 for PPV and not-so-common local channels. But, it doesn't look like that will be happening.

 

[DJdish]

First of all, a dealer told me that he is being told by Shaw that they will only grandfather in customers who do not have the xku LNB for another year or so, After that, all customers will have to upgrade or disconnect. This will be bad for those who have an address that is outside Toronto and , even for those who have a Toronto address, whenever CHCH is airing a program that is also being broadcasted on one of the major US nets; instead of watching 48 hours on CBS, you will be seeing an error message.

You can find the information on Shaw's website that they will be upgrading all channels to MPEG4 and will be deleting the SD versions of channels that are also carried in HD. They do not have anything listed about moving the HD channels off G1.

So, it looks like we will lose almost all the channels they are currently on G1, but have their SD feeds on one of the other satellites .

I really wish they would use G1 for PPV and not-so-common local channels. But, it doesn't look like that will be happening.

Yep, that's bad news, I was reading about their plans and time lines, and it certainly doesn't look good for us way south of G1's footprint.

As i see it, that would mean losing a bunch of channels that are already HD on G1, but that those of us south of G1 are watching SD on the other two birds.

Now, if what the dealer told you also comes into the picture, then that would be even worse....

 

[joshuals]

@miguealaqui

Did the dealer you mentioned offer to sell you an xku LNB? Is the dealer selling such an item without having to purchase the entire dish assembly?

I realize that isn't going to solve the entire problem if you don't receive a signal from G1, but at least you would avoid being "disconnected" and you would keep whatever HD programming you now receive plus whatever new HD channels they add to F1R/F2.

 

[miguelaqui]

Many use Shaw because the signal goes a lot further south than Bell’s signal, especially 91. After the launch of Anik G1, not all Shaw Direct channels were available outside of the bordering states.

Shaw could have chosen to have just placed many of the additional local channels on G1, but they decided to put H2, MUCH, E!, Lifetime, Comedy, ABC Spark, YTV, Disney, Disney XD, Cartoon Network, Family jr HD, Slice HD, Bravo HD, W Network, Discovery, Action.

Look for yourself, http://www.shawbroadcast.com/Content/US/mpeg4.htm

If you look at the plans for the MPEG 4 conversion, you will see that there is indeed a plan to remove all SD duplicate channels, without moving the channels that are currently on G1, to F1 or F2.

This means that, those of us who are unable to receive the G1 signal. This makes no sense to me because there has to be many subscribers who are actually located outside of Canada, or they have Shaw just for the convenience of being able to take it with them outside of Canada.

Shaw could easily move all the specialty channels to F1 /F2, and then only put the less commonly watched locals on G1. Basically, F1 / F2 would have everything , but only carry one set of locals per time zone; all other locals could go to G1.

Sadly, it seems clear that they are helping rid the Southern US of Canadian TV. It seems that they will only be hurting themselves. I saw more almost as many DirecTv dishes and 30” dishes with 4 or 5 lnbf’s, made for getting Bell and Dish, satellite antennas as I did Shaw.

I could be wrong because, as far as I know, Shaw could be the more common provider in Western Canada

 

[miguelaqui]

@miguealaqui

Did the dealer you mentioned offer to sell you an xku LNB? Is the dealer selling such an item without having to purchase the entire dish assembly?

I realize that isn't going to solve the entire problem if you don't receive a signal from G1, but at least you would avoid being "disconnected" and you would keep whatever HD programming you now receive plus whatever new HD channels they add to F1R/F2.

I already have an XKU LNB for whenever it happens.

 

[joshuals]

This means that, those of us who are unable to receive the G1 signal. This makes no sense to me because there has to be many subscribers who are actually located outside of Canada, or they have Shaw just for the convenience of being able to take it with them outside of Canada.

Shaw could easily move all the specialty channels to F1 /F2, and then only put the less commonly watched locals on G1. Basically, F1 / F2 would have everything , but only carry one set of locals per time zone; all other locals could go to G1.

Sadly, it seems clear that they are helping rid the Southern US of Canadian TV. It seems that they will only be hurting themselves.

I understand your point and I do agree with you, but we must remember that, from Shaw's viewpoint, it's a non-issue. I'm sure Shaw is aware that there are subscribers to their service in the US, but the fact remains that it is not legal for Shaw to knowingly provide service to any user whose receiver is located outside Canada. If it were legal to do so, then it would also have to be legal for Dish/Direc to provide service to Canada, and neither Shaw nor Bell would be excited about seeing that happen. So until the day that cross-border geoblocking is no longer at issue (if ever).......

 

[Joe The Dragon]

Shaw Broadcast does have some legal stuff for people out side of Canada

 

[DJdish]

Good to have this thread back, Thanks Scott

 

[Jw2016]

So I assume the DSR630 is MPEG-4 compatible. I should be ok with receiving G1 here in Minneapolis. I haven't bought my equipment yet but will do soon and that upgrade information is good information. In the old days when there was a sim-sub it was just of matter to unplug it and when it would come back the receiver never got the channel re-map and no change happened. I would thought it was fixed where that could not be done. I guess my broker to a location where sim-subbing does not happen very often. I can't wait to get my system up, subscribed around 20 years ago and stopped my sub before the Freeway Support mess. Shaw is great to get good Canadian TV.

 

[Bronx]

Shaw Direct may be shocked at the number of subscriber cancellations on the days that follow the SD feeds being dropped. Unfortunately not being within the G1 footprint, I'll be one of them.

Bronx

 

[Frenchophile]

glad the forum is back. thanks, scott.

JW2016: the 630 is mpeg-4 compatible. You should have no problems receiving the three satellites with a stock 60 cm dish. If you go to Canada regularly and/or have contacts there, you don't necessarily have to go through a broker

 

[Jw2016]

glad the forum is back. thanks, scott.

JW2016: the 630 is mpeg-4 compatible. You should have no problems receiving the three satellites with a stock 60 cm dish. If you go to Canada regularly and/or have contacts there, you don't necessarily have to go through a broker

No contacts in Canada and I was planning a trip Winnipeg but probably will not happen now. I will have to use a broker and fortunately there are some decent ones out there since using the phony address that some of us use here with Dish & Direct may not fly with Shaw. I was lucky and got out before the Freeway broker fiasco. I mind as well get the 75cm dish while I am at it just in case. Some good news I maybe moving to the Seattle area so there diffidently won't be a signal issue. Thought of getting Bell but have heard so many issues with southern subs but liked the small dish like a Dish 500 setup. Mike Kohl got me started with my first Starchoice (when it was known as before) and really enjoyed my system. Even though it was SD, the programming was great and since the Canadian to U.S dollar currency rate was cheap it was not that expensive. Thanks Frenchophile for the info.

 

[showtime]

DNU Update

Satellite DNU is a transformative upgrade to our satellite service offering. We have begun the multi-year process of upgrading all channels to MPEG-4, allowing us to offer all available English and French channels in HD by early 2020. When a channel that a customer watches is converted to MPEG-4, they will require an MPEG-4 DSR (6xx series) to continue to watch that channel.

In most cases throughout 2017 and 2018, a customer will continue to be able to access SD versions of converted channels until 2019. In 2017, we will be converting 45 MPEG-2 HD channels to MPEG-4 HD and 4 MPEG-2 SD channels to MPEG-4 SD. Channels not converted in 2017 include all sets of HD US and Canadian Networks.

Key dates

April 19, 2017: Series+ HD, Canal Vie HD, and Z HD convert from MPEG-2 HD to MPEG-4 HD.
May 2, 2017: RDS HD, Canal D HD, and Super Ecran 1 & 2 HD convert from MPEG-2 HD to MPEG-4 HD.
June 6, 2017: TMN 1 & 2 West HD, TMN 1 East HD, HBO Canada 1 & 2 HD, TMN Encore 1 West HD, Love Nature HD, and National Geographic HD convert from MPEG-2 HD to MPEG-4 HD.
2017 conversions continue to October 31, 2017 and affect key channels including all Sports HD channels, HDPPV channels, and specialty channels like CNN HD, TLC HD, A&E HD, AMC HD, and more.

 

[DJdish]

DNU Update

Satellite DNU is a transformative upgrade to our satellite service offering. We have begun the multi-year process of upgrading all channels to MPEG-4, allowing us to offer all available English and French channels in HD by early 2020. When a channel that a customer watches is converted to MPEG-4, they will require an MPEG-4 DSR (6xx series) to continue to watch that channel.

In most cases throughout 2017 and 2018, a customer will continue to be able to access SD versions of converted channels until 2019. In 2017, we will be converting 45 MPEG-2 HD channels to MPEG-4 HD and 4 MPEG-2 SD channels to MPEG-4 SD. Channels not converted in 2017 include all sets of HD US and Canadian Networks.

Key dates

April 19, 2017: Series+ HD, Canal Vie HD, and Z HD convert from MPEG-2 HD to MPEG-4 HD.
May 2, 2017: RDS HD, Canal D HD, and Super Ecran 1 & 2 HD convert from MPEG-2 HD to MPEG-4 HD.
June 6, 2017: TMN 1 & 2 West HD, TMN 1 East HD, HBO Canada 1 & 2 HD, TMN Encore 1 West HD, Love Nature HD, and National Geographic HD convert from MPEG-2 HD to MPEG-4 HD.
2017 conversions continue to October 31, 2017 and affect key channels including all Sports HD channels, HDPPV channels, and specialty channels like CNN HD, TLC HD, A&E HD, AMC HD, and more.

Thanks for the update,

Would you know if those changes to MPEG 4 HD, of channels currently on F1 and F2, means these channels will move to G1?

 

[showtime]

No, I honestly could not say at this point. I can not see it as F1 & F2 still have lot of life in them, but one never knows for sure what they will do.
Will keep you informed though as we find out.