Like TV Hockey in the Black and White Days

[Tape Splicer]

It was like Hockey Night In Canada in black and white in the '50's when CBUT would join the game in progress. Shaw has to get their act together and run games as advertised. The program guide for Shaw showed the game at 7PM on Rogers...Some one was asleep at the switch. If you're a Shaw customer you missed the first and second period. The game came on the channel after the baseball game. just prior to the third period. Sportsnet ran a scroll at the bottom of the screen just after 7PM saying that the game was being carried on the sportsnet one canucks channel 326, but when trying that channel there was no game. Thank goodness for radio. We listened to TEAM 1040 but with out Shorthouse it isn't the same. 1040's play-by-play and color folks commented that some people had the game on TV and others didn't. I'm thinking those that were able to view the game were watching Telus TV. Someone isn't communicating .....

[CKNF]

Well, two months ago I ditched cable completely in favour for a much faster data connection. Saving over $50 a month off my cable bill...and yesterday I subscribed to NHL GameCenter LIVE (to make up for the loss of TSN and Sportsnet channels..I only really watch hockey anyways) and just stream that to my TVs (via the PS3). The online streams are in High Definition and I can get the out of market games as well! I will only rely on Shaw for internet now. From reading this thread, sounds like I made the right choice.

Traditional cable is dead for me. I can stream or download anything that can and cannot be watched on traditional television. I know to some that this may sound like a more complex setup or a hassle, but it really isn't. It's taking full control of all your media and entertainment content and managing it the way you want. I don't even have any need for a PVR anymore. Once you setup a media server in your home, you will not want to go back to the old way.

[jon]

Only thing I would caution you about, CKNF, is Shaw's past attempts at blocking IPTV services. My in-laws had NexTV for the German channels and Shaw began blocking it during peak periods, then expanded to most of the afternoon and evening hours. We fought for months to try and fix it, never with any success. Then NexTV told us that Shaw admitted blocking them and they were negotiating a settlement.

I moved them to TELUS Internet, and it has been flawless ever since.

Bottom line to anyone using IPTV (television over the Internet): if it stops working during high traffic periods, try another Internet provider. Preferably in parallel, so you can see the difference between the two. We ran both TELUS and Shaw Internet services at my in-laws for a month just to be sure.

[CKNF]

That's actually good advice jon. I haven't had any issues yet. We watch a lot of TV shows on the station's websites (like CTV.ca ect...) as well plus services like Netflix and a plethora of other places where shows can be downloaded for free. But I will definitely be on the lookout for any blocking of services.

[Mike Cleaver]

And reporting any such "blockages" to the CRTC.
Rogers was called on the carpet for throttling on line gaming.
The ISP simply is the conduit and is not permitted to selectively block content.
However, the CRTC has allowed this line to be blurred by allowing ISPs (Bell, Shaw, Rogers, etc.) to acquire radio, tv, satellite and cable services and they will block some programming on the internet to protect their main revenue streams, cable, satellite and telephone.
The government must make it clear that the internet must pass all information freely, not allow the owners to decide what you can get for free and what you can't.
It's a major flaw in the so called "integration of services," which really means creating fewer choices for Canadians and concentrating the revenue stream into a few huge corporations.

[groundwave]

Couldn't agree more. How interesting that Telus, the only national telecom company not corporately tethered to a TV network (ie owns rights to a stable of marketable program content) just happens to have no issues with it's customers accessing third-party IPTV.