Shaw Satellite in Southern California

[nbuubu]

Hey guys, sorry in advance if some of these questions have been answered elsewhere, I've been reading the threads and I'd really like some clarification before I pull the trigger.

Here's my situation. Canadian ex-pat living in Los Angeles who'd like to get Leafs games in HD. Even if they're bound to lose most of them this year.

Finally have a place of my own to put a dish (or dishes) up on the roof, and price is essentially no object. I travel back to Toronto often so I figure I could get most of the equipment there, and use my Toronto address to activate the system so I'd theoretically be able to access Leafs TV. I'll be using local LA cable as well, and have a Tivo Series 3, so I'm not really interested in many Canadian packages besides sports, so I doubt I'll need a DVR.

After reading these forums it seems as though the consensus is that Shaw/StarChoice will be more reliable in the Southwest than Bell, and that for HD I'll probably need a dual dish setup.

If I buy the equipment directly from Shaw back in Toronto, and bring it back down here, will it be terribly difficult to set up myself? Or are there any installers in the LA area who cater to the many many ex-pats living down here? I have to assume there must be.

That's really it. I'd just like some confirmation from a fellow viewer in the LA area that what I've described above will work.

Thanks in advance.

 

[QCK]

In my opinion, unless you are at a boarder state and are planning a new subscription to Canadian satellite you are safer to get Shaw Direct intead of Bell TV. I have a second residence in Alabama and used the Home Away From Home package to have my satellite service there. It is best not to use a broker unless you have no choice. Since you have a Toronto address let Shaw Direct do a single receiver install at your house in TO. Once the install is done, call Shaw Direct and tell them you want the HAFH option. It will cost you $99 + taxes I believe, and they will mail you the larger 75E dish which you can bring/send to LA. You will need to fax them a utility bill or property tax bill that has your name and address in the US. If you do not want a PVR and want HD you will need to buy the 505 model receiver (the HD PVR model with two tuners is the 530). I have the larger 75E dish and would not want anything smaller, yet there are people that live in Mexico that say they get everything with the standard Shaw Direct dish. You could try the standard size dish at your location and see how strong your signal is, it will probably be ok most of the time but if you are going to get sent the larger dish you might as well take advantage of this. It is not that hard to setup. This site will help you aim your dish: Satellite Finder / Dish Pointing Calculator with Google Maps | DishPointer.com. You will only need one coax from the dish to the 505 receiver. I'm not sure about local installers but you could call installers in your area and ask them if they would be willing to help you. You probably know already, but most games are on TSN/TSN2 and Sportsnet Ontario. There are about 8-12 games on LeafsTV that you can subscribe to for $4.99/month if you must have every game. Anyone living in Ontario and are West of Ottawa can subscribe to LeafsTV.

 

[nbuubu]

Awesome thanks, that answers everything I wanted to know. I didn't even know they had a Home Away From Home option ... that wouldn't cancel out certain packages or trigger blackouts of certain games? I'll have to look into that further.

Thanks!

 

[QCK]

There would not be any cancelations/blackouts as your main address is considered to be in TO. Also I forgot to mention you can do paperless billing, and I have had no problems calling Shaw Direct for changing my programming or ordeing PPV from the US.

 

[Grandpa J]

I live a little west of LA. No problem with the Star Choice/Shaw signal from both their Sats. I did use installer who earlier set up my US Dish receiver because I did not to get on roof my self. But there was no problem. If you get 530 box you need 2 cables from roof to box.

 

[rprenove]

I reside in Rancho Mirage (110 miles east of LA) and have Shaw Direct. I am using the 75e dish. You definitely need that size dish and tweaked properly. CBC HD looks good even if the Leafs do stink again next year. I also get RDS HD and the Habs telecasts are fabulous on RDS. Good luck with your install; the most critical factor is get the pole absolutely plum.

Rick

 

[nbuubu]

Awesome thanks so much. Glad to hear it'll work in LA ... will get all the gear next time I'm in Toronto.

Since the home-away-from-home option is somewhat official, I suppose it'd be fine to plug the receiver into a land-line? Or is that even done anymore? Just curious. Now that I think about it I might just spend the extra and get the DVR version.

 

[QCK]

Threre is no real need to connect your phone line except saving a dollar if you order PPV movies or events. I never have connected mine. They do have a good offer with the 530 DVR receiver right now. I couldn't live without it. Like it was said above you will need two cables from the dish to the receiver. The install in TO will be done for free for either receiver.

 

[uplinkguy69]

I read that Shaw canceled their Home Away From Home program in March.
HAFH or cottage program cancelled Mar 30th - Digital Forum Probably safer anyway to not let them know you are using a system out of the country in case they get forced by DirecTV or Dish to shut off their American subscribers.

Just bring the system to the US and find a local installer. I recommend looking for someone on this forum, or find a dealer that specializes in doing FTA installs for ethnic communities. They usually are glad to take your money and aren't concerned about gray market installs.

 

[QCK]

The HAFH program still exists but it is not advertised anymore. You just have to call and ask for it. The price has gone up from $49.99 to $99.99 but you will still get a second dish sent to your Canadian residence for this price.

 

[nbuubu]

Probably safer anyway to not let them know you are using a system out of the country in case they get forced by DirecTV or Dish to shut off their American subscribers.

This is the thing that scares me about the program. I can't imagine content providers being happy about the possible duplication or overlap. The scary thing is NFL Sunday Ticket. DirecTV pays huge bucks for NFL exclusivity and might actually do something about this loophole if they're able to.

 

[QCK]

If you are scared don't do it lol. There are no rules un the US that would stop you from using Shaw Direct. Even if there was a law do you really think Direct TV is worried about the few people out of 300 million that are watching TV with Shaw Direct? If it was a big deal they would have done somehting by now IMHO.