My reasons: When in the Military way back when, I was stationed in Goose Bay for a stint, I was also stationed in Winnipeg as well, and like others I was infatuated by the programming we didnt get here in the US. While not the greatest by any means, and of course this was the late 90s, it was cool to see the different sporting events like Cricket, Curling, and the Hockey we never seemed to receive in the US. Flash forward years now and in California, getting tired of all the "package deals" and "bundles" they force down your throats. We moved into a new house and not even watching TV very much at all, I refused somewhat to even pay for it and get sucked into the whole "HD, Million channel package, DVR" thing not to add, I cannot stand that contracts are of the norm these days. I want my own equipment, dont want to have to owe somebody back their stuff when I am done, etc.
Needless to say, I found this site and a lot of great folks who turned me on to Shaw Direct. Figured, yeah no locals, but I have a digital antenna for that mess, so whats the worst that could happen, a bunch of strange programming I wasn't used to, some news that meant nothing to me, etc. at worst, I could pack up my $399 (HDPVR 630) and call it a day and lose out.
I was wrong. While it was a huge hassle to get going because you are dealing through a broker, and while still not sold on the quality of the signal and how very few HD channels you seem to get, I loved it. It was different, and most of all, the HDPVR630 box flies through channels like I have never seen, maybe I havent seen them all, but you can pull this menu up, page it down, up left, right, etc and it is smooth and tactful. Others seems to still get get hung up, stuck, etc. Best of all out of all of this, its my equipment, period. Price was like 95$ for nearly everything, always, no gouging, no jump in price, and this one will really get you....Customer service! Even going through a broker, I would send an email to change something, boom! Done, instantly, no BS, no waiting on hold, no "oh we forgot to add that channel, we'll credit you next month, blah blah", outstanding that I could get better customer service through a middle man versus a major company and I was a direct TV customer for some time, and their service stinks if you have to call them.
Stuff I liked:
Hockey and other cool sports I never get here in the states.
Different news without all the celebrity hype and drama even if I dont really need to know whats going on in Halifax!
Music channels, while not a whole lot of them, I really enjoyed the real radio stations and even the programmed ones were cool, good variety, not just the pop normal stuff we are saturated with.
My own personal DVR, no fees, easy to work, dual tuners, etc. Why should I pay to lease the box, and then pay for the DVR service, and more, ridiculous.
Time shifting I still dont get, not sure what it is, but the fact that I get locals from two coasts is awesome, wife can watch her dancing with the stars as she gets home on the west coast from the east coast feed, I dont think the others will still not let you do that, maybe for a fee I am sure.
Children's programming; We had our child as we setup the new system and let me tell you, Treehouse TV was awesome, I think the laws up there allow fewer commercials which we loved, they had lots of BBC CBeebies programming for kids which we do not get at all down here. While it may seem strange, my daughter still loves In The Night Garden, and Waybuloo like they are going out of style. And I think they dont even show them anymore!
Biggest dislike, My wife was pissed because mo more Army Wifes on LIfetime, but I think now they get it up there.
While now we have moved on to Central TX, I went ahead with Time Warner Cable because my wife wanted up and running now! Awful. So many channels its a chore to even find something to watch. Box and remote get hung up constantly. And they reeled me into $89 package that with lease fees and taxes is now $119! And thats for a year only. As soon as I can find someone to put this dish up, I am back on Shaw for sure!
