Telus Optik Television

[D'z Nutz]

Has anyone used Telus' Optik Television service? I'm moving into a condo in a couple months and unfortunately it doesn't look like I'll be able to get satellite because I'm not facing the right direction so my choices are just Shaw and Telus (unless Bell has a non-satellite service I'm not aware of).

I looked at Shaw's packages and they're a little more than what I'm wanting to spend considering I watch very little television. All I really want is my hockey and a few other channels in HD and I'm a happy camper and with Telus' packages it looks like I'm able to get what I want at a pretty reasonable cost.

http://www.telus.com/content/tv/iptv/programming/index.jsp

Just wondering if anyone's used it and has comments on the quality of it. From what I've read, it's just their old service with a rebranded name though I haven't verified that yet (it may have been their internet service it was referring to).

[Xtrema]

It is their old service with rebranded name. It's still uses DSL for majority of areas unless you are the lucky few with fiber pulled into your home.

I spend about 2hr in front of their PVR and I can tell you that it is the best in town right in term of usability and interface. Feels almost like a mini-Windows Media Center. Quality is ok coming from a DSL line but it's a shitty TV so I can't really tell. Their PVR also has built in PIP.

Much improved over Telus TV and with the old brand got such negative review, I don't blame them for the rebranding.

[D'z Nutz]

Yeah i was doing more reading up on it this morning and so far people seem pretty happy with it for the most part. It sounds like a big plus that Telus has is the interface (Microsoft Mediaroom), which is what most people complain about Shaw.

PVRing three shows at once is something that could come in real handy even if it's just two HD and one SD, as well as the remote PVRing that they are promising.

Some reviews I've read:
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=125345
http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=125286
http://www.justbroadband.org/forum/r24411861-Now-on-Telus-Optik
http://www.digitalhome.ca/2010/02/telus-tv-launches-improved-iptv-service/

Maybe I'll have to pop into a Telus store and see if they have something to demo.

[lint]

I've been on the new Telus service since April. I love it compared to Shaw. The biggest features, PVR anywhere, the PVR also responds much faster than Shaws and is built on the Media Center platform. Customizable guide to hide channels that I don't subscribe to. I haven't noticed any quality differences in my HD content, but I'm no videophile. The value is there as I got in on the initial promo and have discounted service for a year, but even after that I'll be paying $20 less per month and get more channels than I had with a similar shaw offering. I was an alpha and beta tester with the original Telus TV, and even with the employee discount I dropped it since the service sucked ass. I really have no complaints about the new service at all.

[cdnsir]

Been on it for a few months and no complains at all. Video quality is comparable to satellite (I used to have Shaw Direct), menu is fast and clean, and having TV and internet running at the same time doesn't cause any significant slowdowns. If you can get the $0 Essentials package for the first year and free pvr rental for the term, you can't go wrong!

Here're some tests I did a when I first got it.

http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&postid=3279411#post3277552

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by lint
I've been on the new Telus service since April. I love it compared to Shaw. The biggest features, PVR anywhere, the PVR also responds much faster than Shaws and is built on the Media Center platform. Customizable guide to hide channels that I don't subscribe to. I haven't noticed any quality differences in my HD content, but I'm no videophile. The value is there as I got in on the initial promo and have discounted service for a year, but even after that I'll be paying $20 less per month and get more channels than I had with a similar shaw offering. I was an alpha and beta tester with the original Telus TV, and even with the employee discount I dropped it since the service sucked ass. I really have no complaints about the new service at all.

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I'm not a videophile either so it's unlikely I'll notice the little differences either. As long as it looks good for the most part, i'm satisfied. I think the only thing I'm really hesitant with is Telus' shitty customer service! Even if I pull the trigger on Telus, I'll be reluctant to sign a contract just to save a few bucks.

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by cdnsir
Been on it for a few months and no complains at all. Video quality is comparable to satellite (I used to have Shaw Direct), menu is fast and clean, and having TV and internet running at the same time doesn't cause any significant slowdowns. If you can get the $0 Essentials package for the first year and free pvr rental for the term, you can't go wrong!

Here're some tests I did a when I first got it.

http://forums.beyond.ca/showthread.php?s=&postid=3279411#post3277552

Awesome review! Yeah I was searching earlier but I guess they weren't using the Optik name yet. Shit, I better check to see if my condo has optic fibre running through it! Haha! One of the threads I came across said someone got a free laptop for signing up. I better get one if I sign up! haha

[-relk-]

I'm also interested in getting optik tv and thought asking a few questions might help some others. In order to view the PVR recordigns on other TV's will you need to rent anything other than the PVR? And does anybody know if Telus offers student pricing like shaw?

[lint]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz


Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I'm not a videophile either so it's unlikely I'll notice the little differences either. As long as it looks good for the most part, i'm satisfied. I think the only thing I'm really hesitant with is Telus' shitty customer service! Even if I pull the trigger on Telus, I'll be reluctant to sign a contract just to save a few bucks.

Telus CS hasn't really improved, but you can tell they have a mandate for the new service after the crap that was Telus Tv. Also, I've found calling in to be hit or miss on service, pricing, etc, things are new and still changing, so not everyone is up to speed. So best thing to do is call in again and get another rep. When you find one that is knowledgeable, they make things go really smoothly.

[lint]

Originally posted by -relk-
I'm also interested in getting optik tv and thought asking a few questions might help some others. In order to view the PVR recordigns on other TV's will you need to rent anything other than the PVR? And does anybody know if Telus offers student pricing like shaw?

You need a STB for every other TV you want to watch on.

[-relk-]

Originally posted by lint


You need a STB for every other TV you want to watch on.

Does that cost any more money to rent per month?

[lint]

rentals are $15 for a pvr, $10 for a reg STB I believe

[cdnsir]

Just got a letter from them last night. Although I'm not quite sure why they even sent me a letter when I'm already a customer???

Anyway, for those looking for a deal on Optik. They replaced their $0 (TV, Internet, Phone) for the first 3 months with a hotter offer. It's now TV/Internet/Phone at $10 each per month, for the first 12 months. $30 bucks for everything is a hell lot better than what I pay right now!

At the bottom, it said to call 1-800-661-2200 using offer code PSC30. It doesn't look like a unique code, so feel free to exploit it. Enjoy!

[rumeo]

Originally posted by cdnsir
Just got a letter from them last night. Although I'm not quite sure why they even sent me a letter when I'm already a customer???

Anyway, for those looking for a deal on Optik. They replaced their $0 (TV, Internet, Phone) for the first 3 months with a hotter offer. It's now TV/Internet/Phone at $10 each per month, for the first 12 months. $30 bucks for everything is a hell lot better than what I pay right now!

At the bottom, it said to call 1-800-661-2200 using offer code PSC30. It doesn't look like a unique code, so feel free to exploit it. Enjoy!

is this on contract?

[Chandler_Racing]

Any updates on this?

I'm currently paying $125/month with shaw for extreme internet and cable (HD plus - no movie channels). I want to switch Telus, but have not heard all that much about it.

[cdnsir]

Yeah the catch is you need to sign for 3 years. But the positive side is that you'll get free rental and free replacements on the HD box and the wireless modem/router during that time. It saves us $ on the actual out of pocket hardware cost at least. Oh it also said you don't have to take all 3 products. If you take 2 only, you'll get $10/mth for first 6 months on those 2.

On a related note. Shaw sent me a letter yesterday as well! They have TV at 39.95 (6 months), Internet at 19.95 (3 months), and Phone at 14.95 (3 months). So I guess in exchange for higher prices, you won't have to worry about contracts. Their promo code is 405.

Funny to see how all these guys are going right at it. Lower prices for all, yay! :clap:

[D'z Nutz]

Shitty deal. One thing I won't do with Telus is sign a long term contract with them, especially since they're notoriously known for shitty service.

[lint]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
Shitty deal. One thing I won't do with Telus is sign a long term contract with them, especially since they're notoriously known for shitty service.

+1. That was the same offer they had when they launched with no contract restrictions. The contract was for the rental of the pvr only. And their service is still shitty, I've had to call in multiple times per problem to get a rep that knows what they're doing.

[D'z Nutz]

Since you brought it up, what sort of problems did you experience?

[lint]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
Since you brought it up, what sort of problems did you experience?

Initially internet speeds weren't what they were supposed to be. There was confusing from the reps as to what the capped turbo internet was supposed to be running at with no tvs going. Had to call a couple of times for them to get that resolved. I had billing problems, bought my pvr and stb, but was charged incorrectly and took a couple of calls to resolve that. Had some confusion around what channels I have in my package since I was an early customer and they already changed packages with the rebrand to Optik. The billing is really confusing with grandfathered credits etc.

If I problem now, I fully expect it will take two calls to get things resolved.

[cdnsir]

Very true. But at the end you get what you pay for right.

The way I see it, the actual product here is pretty much a commodity, the only difference that separates the two company is their customer service. Most issues pop up initially anyways, once those are fixed, you don't even need their support anymore. So if you can manage to grind it out on the first few calls, everything will be good after that. From that point on, it's all about the $$$. If the product is the same, why pay more for customer service that you might not even need?

[lint]

Originally posted by cdnsir
Very true. But at the end you get what you pay for right.

The way I see it, the actual product here is pretty much a commodity, the only difference that separates the two company is their customer service. Most issues pop up initially anyways, once those are fixed, you don't even need their support anymore. So if you can manage to grind it out on the first few calls, everything will be good after that. From that point on, it's all about the $$$. If the product is the same, why pay more for customer service that you might not even need?

I disagree. Optik (MS Media Room) is by far the better product, and I will deal with the crappy service because it is THAT much better than Shaw's offering. Service isn't a differentiator as I've had shiddy service from both providers.

[D'z Nutz]

I'd also have to disagree. As far as I see it, customer service is as much part of the product as the hardware or subscription. Yeah, most people will rarely ever need to contact the support after the initial set up, but the fact is there will be times some people will need them to fix shit (ie: wrong billing, add/remove service, slow connection, etc...) If they can't get that right, the rest of the service suffers.

[genfunk]

I've seen alot of complaints on Telus' CS. In my opinion they aren't that bad. They were willing to help, and our issues were fixed. (Our issues with any of their issues doesn't require anything more than 3 calls. That's satisfiable. The only thing that annoys me is that their agents are getting worse and worse in English :bullshit: .)

Shaw keeps popping into my head, but I download alot and I'm afraid of their traffic shaping on the network.

We are switching to Optik TV - I'm excited. Not exactly sure if our neighbourhood is serviced by fibre optics...

[prosh]

Originally posted by cdnsir
Yeah the catch is you need to sign for 3 years. But the positive side is that you'll get free rental and free replacements on the HD box and the wireless modem/router during that time. It saves us $ on the actual out of pocket hardware cost at least. Oh it also said you don't have to take all 3 products. If you take 2 only, you'll get $10/mth for first 6 months on those 2.

On a related note. Shaw sent me a letter yesterday as well! They have TV at 39.95 (6 months), Internet at 19.95 (3 months), and Phone at 14.95 (3 months). So I guess in exchange for higher prices, you won't have to worry about contracts. Their promo code is 405.

Funny to see how all these guys are going right at it. Lower prices for all, yay! :clap:

I signed up for Optiks and the 3 year contract only applies if you take advantage of the free PVR rental for the term. Other than that, it's $30 bucks for the 3 services + $10 for 1 receiver rental. I was able to get a $50 credit for not porting my phone number and another $100 credit because I signed up before July 1st.

As for the quality, the HD channels are okay but Bells HD (I have it in another location in my house) looks sharper watching the same show.

[ee2k]

So Telus has been whoring itself with the following plan and sending savings certificates to my place for the last little while:
- $10 per month for Optik TV with 89 Channels and 10 HD Channels + free PVR rental
- $10 per month for Highspeed Internet
- $10 per month for Home phone with one free calling feature

The catch? A 3 year agreement, which, if broken, translates to paying $10 for each remaining month in the contract. Also, it says that the monthly rates are only for the first 12 months.

So I'm thinking about this, and thinking out loud obviously. My current Shaw bill goes for $75 and includes Highspeed Internet + 22 channels and no phone. I rent, and chances are, if I move, I move to a city/place that has Telus service in.

So, with Telus, total cost for three years will be 30*12*3 = 1080 + tax, about $1134. Early cancellation penalty of $10 per month for each remaining month applies. So, after a year, if I were to cancel, it'd be $360 + $240 = $600 + tax, about $630.

With Shaw three years is $2700. One year is $900.

So, $ wise, Telus makes sense.

Anyone have experience with Telus' TV service? How's their Highspeed as compared to Shaw's? Keep in mind of the following:
- Not a big TV person, hence the 22 channels I have
- Not a big downloader or online gamer, though I like the speed and this could be a deal breaker if unreliable
- I could care less about the home phone

Is there something/a catch, am I missing something? What are the regular rates after the first year?

[prosh]

You're missing the catch that the $30 bucks a month is only a promotional rate for the first 12 months, once the 13th month rolls in, you're back to paying ~$80 per month for the basic services with bundle discounts. You don't have to sign a contract to take advantage of the 3 services at $30 bucks unless you want to get the free PVR rental for 3 years.


Originally posted by ee2k
So Telus has been whoring itself with the following plan and sending savings certificates to my place for the last little while:
- $10 per month for Optik TV with 89 Channels and 10 HD Channels + free PVR rental
- $10 per month for Highspeed Internet
- $10 per month for Home phone with one free calling feature

The catch? A 3 year agreement, which, if broken, translates to paying $10 for each remaining month in the contract. Also, it says that the monthly rates are only for the first 12 months.

So I'm thinking about this, and thinking out loud obviously. My current Shaw bill goes for $75 and includes Highspeed Internet + 22 channels and no phone. I rent, and chances are, if I move, I move to a city/place that has Telus service in.

So, with Telus, total cost for three years will be 30*12*3 = 1080 + tax, about $1134. Early cancellation penalty of $10 per month for each remaining month applies. So, after a year, if I were to cancel, it'd be $360 + $240 = $600 + tax, about $630.

With Shaw three years is $2700. One year is $900.

So, $ wise, Telus makes sense.

Anyone have experience with Telus' TV service? How's their Highspeed as compared to Shaw's? Keep in mind of the following:
- Not a big TV person, hence the 22 channels I have
- Not a big downloader or online gamer, though I like the speed and this could be a deal breaker if unreliable
- I could care less about the home phone

Is there something/a catch, am I missing something? What are the regular rates after the first year?

[hampstor]

I'd like to bump this thread - just got this promo letter in the mail.

Get all 3 services below for $10/month each for the first 12 months. Or choose any 2 services for only $10/month each for the first 6 months.

- Optik TV
- Optik High Speed
- Telus Home Phone

I was a little excited, I wanted the Optik High Speed and home phone. I figured it'd actually save me money (even after the promo ended) compared to shaw extreme + shaw phone. So I called them.

The guy on the end (Jeff) said no, you can't have Optik High Speed w/o Optik TV. WTF? I asked how come the flyer says I can pick any 2 sevices - so why can't I have Optik High Speed and the home phone? After a 20 minute conversation - we both realized the flyer is full of shit and it's impossible for me to get what the combination i'm trying to build from the flyer. :banghead:

[Thaco]

Originally posted by hampstor
I'd like to bump this thread - just got this promo letter in the mail.

Get all 3 services below for $10/month each for the first 12 months. Or choose any 2 services for only $10/month each for the first 6 months.

- Optik TV
- Optik High Speed
- Telus Home Phone

I was a little excited, I wanted the Optik High Speed and home phone. I figured it'd actually save me money (even after the promo ended) compared to shaw extreme + shaw phone. So I called them.

The guy on the end (Jeff) said no, you can't have Optik High Speed w/o Optik TV. WTF? I asked how come the flyer says I can pick any 2 sevices - so why can't I have Optik High Speed and the home phone? After a 20 minute conversation - we both realized the flyer is full of shit and it's impossible for me to get what the combination i'm trying to build from the flyer. :banghead: i think jeff is on crack, telus offered internet services long before their Tv service came out, so how could they NOT offer them separate?

[ee2k]

Originally posted by Thaco
i think jeff is on crack, telus offered internet services long before their Tv service came out, so how could they NOT offer them separate?

Perhaps the $10 deal requires that you have optic tv.

[D'z Nutz]

Maybe try doing what lint did and call them a few times and try getting what you want with a different CSR.

[hampstor]

Originally posted by Thaco
i think jeff is on crack, telus offered internet services long before their Tv service came out, so how could they NOT offer them separate?

He said bottom line - if you want Optik High Speed, you must have Optik TV. Otherwise, you have to do the High Speed Turbo over copper. I wouldn't be saving any money then since it costs more for the high speed over copper than over fibre.

He flat out said I was interpreting the flyer wrong. I said it clearly states I pick 2 services at $10 a month for 6 months and "Optik High Speed" was one of the choices. He didn't believe me that it said 'Optik' and believed it only said 'high speed'. I offered to scan and email them the flyer :rofl:.

Anyway, I guess i'm not getting Telus optik anytime soon.

[Ek9Max]

I got my optik TV/internet installed today.

LOVE it.

Internet is fast, and the TV is great. PVR anywhere feature is the best thing to happen to TV since the PVR. lol

[cdnsir]

Just tested out the Web Remote Recording feature last night. The web guide filters to only channels that you subscribed to, and it even has all the show details! Cool stuff!

[str8jkt]

Not trying to jack the conversation or anything as I was interested in the Telus Optik tv.. Just didn't want the internet that came with it. I was able to get the following deal through Shaw though..

For $85 per month I get
HD TV service with the HD Plus package (get the extra channels but not the movie channels)
Shaw home phone (VOIP) with free North America LD for a year.
Shaw hi-speed internet with Extreme-I or whatever its called.
Free HDPVR rental for 2 years.

This was all on no contract, valid for a year. Figure after the year is up I can look at extending it or renegotiating again.

Previous to this I was paying around $120 a month just for the HD Television service and the Internet.

Think Shaw at one time was calling this package the triple play bundle.


I was an existing client and just asked to speak to retentions to see what they could do since Telus was offering some nice deals if I were to drop Shaw and move over to them..

[str8jkt]

Originally posted by cdnsir
Just tested out the Web Remote Recording feature last night. The web guide filters to only channels that you subscribed to, and it even has all the show details! Cool stuff!

Thats an awesome feature. Always thought it was stupid listing all 300 or so channels when you only had access to a portion of them.. Wish you could do that through Shaws PVR boxes..

[Rarasaurus]

How long did it take to get the install done from when it was scheduled? I am leaning towards the Telus Internet and optik TV on a 3 year contract. However I have no use for the xbox, will they give me a credit?

[cdnsir]

Took me less than a week. But I guess it all depends on how accommodating you are with the time of day I guess... Regarding the free Xbox, you could easily sell that for $250 here. Better yet, use it as your secondary set top box to stream your recordings to a different TV! It would normally cost you $10 to rent out a second plain set top box anyways. But for $5 less, you can do the same plus also play an odd game once a while. Why not right?

http://www.telus.com/portalWeb/inlineLink/CP_SCS/Help/TV_Help/FAQ_Main/xbox/All_Platforms/?_region=AB

[Crymson]

Does your house need to be wired with network cable to use this service?

[jazzyb]

Originally posted by Crymson
Does your house need to be wired with network cable to use this service?

I do not believe so, the router they provide has a coaxil output which is sent to the OpTIK TV reciever.

but having a cat5e distribution would greatly increase flexibility of router/modem placement.

[TeamBestBud]

Originally posted by str8jkt
Not trying to jack the conversation or anything as I was interested in the Telus Optik tv.. Just didn't want the internet that came with it. I was able to get the following deal through Shaw though..

For $85 per month I get
HD TV service with the HD Plus package (get the extra channels but not the movie channels)
Shaw home phone (VOIP) with free North America LD for a year.
Shaw hi-speed internet with Extreme-I or whatever its called.
Free HDPVR rental for 2 years.

This was all on no contract, valid for a year. Figure after the year is up I can look at extending it or renegotiating again.

Previous to this I was paying around $120 a month just for the HD Television service and the Internet.

Think Shaw at one time was calling this package the triple play bundle.


I was an existing client and just asked to speak to retentions to see what they could do since Telus was offering some nice deals if I were to drop Shaw and move over to them..


Got a very similar deal from shaw but only 1 year PVR rental and with HBO and movie central and HDPLUS and a few sports channels came out to 102/month. Keep in mind I only had basic cable and high speed internet with shaw and we wanted to switch from telus with our home phone as well. We will see on wednesday when they send someone out now I guess!

[rumeo]

I'm looking to call shaw retentions as well, but I've only been a client of theres for about 6 months, think it'll work?

[topher91]

So are you guys calling in to setup service and they are offering you deals on the phone?

I'm looking at their stuff online as bundles, I can get more from TELUS (phone, TV, and internet) for less then what I'm currently paying for at shaw for similar service!!

Plus the XBOX deal is very tempting! lol

[eblend]

Thinking of switching to this. I got the flyer for the 10/10/10 deal and want to make the switch. I have fiber in the basement so should be good to go. I have a question thought, everyone seems to be talking about the 10/10/10 deal and the free xbox 360 thing, are these two deals mutually exclusive or can you get the 10/10/10 without a contract, and then sign a 2 year contract for internet only and get a free 360?

[cdnsir]

My buddy works at telus, pm me after your install and I'll give you his info to get $50 off Optik. It saids you need to register within 30 days after a NEW Optik install. Too short for me to qualify, but might be good for you guys!

http://promo.telus.com/tvreferral/

[lint]

has anyone got the $50 referral yet?

[eblend]

Just got optik installed and so far happy with it, already pulled down 70gb of data and was getting a solid 1.1MB/s on usenet (SSL) while watching HD on one TV.

Here is the speed result with watching 1 HD feed

http://www.speedtest.net/result/960675421.png (http://www.speedtest.net)


At any rate, happy with the internet speed so far as I used to have CIA (Cybersurf) and was only getting less then half.

Everything seems to work great, the PVR system looks good and the HD feeds look pretty good, however, I noticed that once every 5 minutes or so there is a small studder (like less then a quarter of a second). Anyone else experiencing anything like this? I didn't sing any contracts and thinking of buying out the recievers instead of trying to get the free pvr with a 3 year rental, that way I have an out, and can always resell the PVR and the recievers later on.

Just checking if anyone had such an issue before with that small studder.

[Rarasaurus]

Did they connect to your fiber? When they installed mine the tech said they do not connect to the fiber and when i called in the guy on the phone also said they do not use Fiber in Calgary yet.

[eblend]

Originally posted by Rarasaurus
Did they connect to your fiber? When they installed mine the tech said they do not connect to the fiber and when i called in the guy on the phone also said they do not use Fiber in Calgary yet.

No, just copper, the guy said I have fiber but telus doesn't hook up fiber to home just yet except for some condo buildings. Apparently it is in the works, but at the moment is it fiber to the distribution point in the community, and copper the rest of the way. I really wanted the fiber but I think that most people are confused on Telus side as to what a customer means when asked about fiber, as some say that it is fiber, while others say it is copper. I don't think they realize that I was talking about fiber to home. I am sure it will come, just isn't here yet, not in my community at least, but the fact that I have a fiber drop in the basement means it's just a matter of time.

[D'z Nutz]

Frag, I get possession of my condo in less than a month and all of a sudden the Telus website says Optik isn't available in my building now... though it did when I started this thread. :banghead:

Has anyone gotten Optik without internet?

[eblend]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
Frag, I get possession of my condo in less than a month and all of a sudden the Telus website says Optik isn't available in my building now... though it did when I started this thread. :banghead:

Has anyone gotten Optik without internet?

I don't think you can...it uses internet for the actual tv, it is IPTV so probably required.

[Hot_Wheelz]

We have Optik coming to our house as well now.

we're going to be using two Xbox 360 sims as our PVR's

here's a video I found on youtube showing the Optik TV on Xbox

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzFgSWFdyXs

[spikerS]

well, I have optik and it isn't bad. I have a couple of gripes about it.

The good:
hardly any pixelation
watch HD tv, and still fast internet
watch 1 show, while recoding another(S)
remote recording from your smartphone or computer.

the bad:
can't use the 360 as a receiver wirelessly
if recording a show in HD, can't watch another show in HD
I came from Bell Sattelite, and on their receiver, it was an option to set the guide up to only show channels that were subscribed to, I can't seem to do it on optik.

overall, it is pretty decent.

[Hot_Wheelz]

You should call telus and ask about it.. Apparently you should be able to remove stuff you don't have from the guide..

[Wrath]

Originally posted by spikers


the bad:

if recording a show in HD, can't watch another show in HD




Are you serious....that is brutal

I was thinking about Telus...........untill I read this

[psycoticclown]

Got this for about a month now, actually really like it. I hate Telus and thought this was gonna be some shitty high speed, but their speeds are damn good, faster then anything I've ever gotten from Shaw before (had Xtreme or w/e it's called 2 years ago). Pretty good service imo.

[lint]

I can have 2 HD and 1 SD stream going simultaneously. I regularly record 2 HD shows at the same time. It's just their customer service that is still in the shitter.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by lint
I can have 2 HD and 1 SD stream going simultaneously. I regularly record 2 HD shows at the same time. It's just their customer service that is still in the shitter.

Can you tell me how?

I can't seem to do it, and I get an error saying that all HD services are in use when I try, unless maybe you are talking like recording one HD and watching SD while on your xbox watching another HD maybe?

[Wrath]

Spikers,....I just called telus to confirm.....you must have something wrong with your system

[lint]

Originally posted by spikers


Can you tell me how?

I can't seem to do it, and I get an error saying that all HD services are in use when I try, unless maybe you are talking like recording one HD and watching SD while on your xbox watching another HD maybe?

That's how it works out of the box. You can have a total of 2 HD streams and 1 SD stream going at the same time on any combination of your devices. So you can record 2 HD streams and watch 1 SD, or record 1 HD and watch a different HD, or record 2 HD and watch recorded etc.

Maybe it's easier if you describe exactly what you're trying do with multiple streams

[sevewone]

I had Telus in Calgary, now ive got Bell in bc.

Telus Pros:
-Pvr anywhere is handy and a good idea
-Shows the program in a window when you scroll over it in guide mode
-The Fast forward and rewind brings you to the exact point in the show if say you fast forwarded to far into the show. It recognizes that you wanted to start at the beginning of the show, not 25 seconds into it.


Cons:
-FREEZING. so annoying, ALWAYS happend on G4 channel, and a few other ones. It used to be way worse, its getting better.
-Not very many hd channels at all compared to bell.. Considering Telus is just Renting out usage of the Bell sattelite in the sky, why not offer same amount of hd?
- Like another member said. hd is NOT very clear. Bell hd is way more clear and crisp.

Telus is alright, the menu is very user friendly, but they offer so many damn channels that you dont get which is very annoying. Bell offers way more, and way more incentives when you sign up (free movie channels, all hd channels free for first 3 months). Telus was lacking that.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by lint


That's how it works out of the box. You can have a total of 2 HD streams and 1 SD stream going at the same time on any combination of your devices. So you can record 2 HD streams and watch 1 SD, or record 1 HD and watch a different HD, or record 2 HD and watch recorded etc.

Maybe it's easier if you describe exactly what you're trying do with multiple streams

not doing anything weird or anything.

For example, a move i would like to watch is on in HD, so I record it. If at the same time, I try to watch another HD channel, i get the error "all HD services are in use", and I can only watch another SD channel.

[Crymson]

I didn't know the xbox wouldn't work wirelessesly as a reciever.

[lint]

Originally posted by spikers


not doing anything weird or anything.

For example, a move i would like to watch is on in HD, so I record it. If at the same time, I try to watch another HD channel, i get the error "all HD services are in use", and I can only watch another SD channel.

Can't help, that's not the way mine works. I'd call and ask

[Strider]

Originally posted by spikers


not doing anything weird or anything.

For example, a move i would like to watch is on in HD, so I record it. If at the same time, I try to watch another HD channel, i get the error "all HD services are in use", and I can only watch another SD channel.

Definitely call Telus. Something's wrong with your setup, you should be able to watch/record 2 HD and 1 SD all at the same time

[psycoticclown]

With the PVR box from Telus, is it possible for me to take a USB stick and watch shows/movies from that? If so, how?

[eblend]

Originally posted by lint
has anyone got the $50 referral yet?

Got mine I think, I logged in to telus online and it showed my balance at negative 50, so I assume that is what it is, won't know for sure until I get my bill.

The person who is experiencing only 1 HD channel, take a look, you should be able to record 2 SDs while watching 1 HD. This means you are on a different profile, possibly because you are too far from the distribution box. My friend lives a few blocks away and when he checked online, it said that he would only be able to watch 1 HD and 2SDs at the same time, whereas for me I get 2 HDs and 1 SD.

I had the service for about 1 month now, and the first 2 weeks were full of problems. The TV and internet would drop when I picked up the phone at time, at other times randomly, many times a day. Had 3 techs come out, the first one replaced the modem, the second did some work outside, but the third one was the guy who knew what he was doing and actually fixed me issue. I had terrible static every once in a while on my line which would cause this strange behavious. He swapped out the pair of wires that go between the distro and the street box, and whola, solid for the last 2 weeks, not even a single pixel drop on the screen or anything like that, and internet is fast and reliable, a must for my wife since she does alot of schooling online. Once everything is up and running it is running wonderfully, I never had any feezing experience that someone else mentioned.

Also, I switched from bell satellite and I don't know how anyone can say that Bell HD is better then Telus, as I had both for a short period and it was indistringuishable, and I find it better then Shaw that my friend and parents have.

And another neat thing I found is that if I am recording 2 shows at once in HD, and then watching one in SD, I can still preview what is on the other channels via the guide, pretty cool. Everything that shaw is installing in most communities is ADSL2+ right now, but all new telus installs already come with a combo ADSL2+ and VDSL modems, so when telus is ready, they will throw in VDSL gear in the back end and all of their customers will be ready for VDSL action, which will bring higher speeds yet. My house is fiber ready, and from what the tech who finally fixed me issue is telling me, is that in a short period of time the gear will be in place to get Fiber to my area, which will mean a buch of great stuff, like 3 or more HD streams at the same time. Really at that point, the limitation becomes the end user hardware, as there are no "tuners" in the Telus setup, it is all IP TV, so possibilities are pretty endless.

I would highly recommend telus tv to anyone now. Prior to all of this I thought telus would suck just as bad as they always did back when I last had them 6-7 years ago, but they have really stepped up the game. The support people on the phone were always super nice (too nice even haha), i was surprised. The only reason i gave them 3 tries to try to fix my link was cuz I knew how awesome it would be to have a central PVR and didn't want to lose that feature.

[Bushy]

The streams depend on your profile, and your profile depends on your distance from the carrier. There is a 15 meg profile (1HD, 2SD) or 19 meg (2HD, 1SD) If you go into the menu, settings, general, system info,system resources, on the top it says what streams you have. On VDSL I believe it will be 3HD, 1SD to start on a 32 meg profile.

Also, the USB is deactivated (useless for now)

[Bushy]

Also not sure if it was mentioned yet but if you have a xbox360 with a hard drive you can use it as a STB for $5/month(fee for GUID ID) or i think if you go on a 2 year adsl term you get a free xbox360 that gets mailed to you and you could use that as a stb

[bjstare]

.

[cosmok]

Originally posted by Hot_Wheelz
You should call telus and ask about it.. Apparently you should be able to remove stuff you don't have from the guide..
Anyone figure this out without making a "favorites" profile and removing all of the unsubscribed channels manually? It's kind of annoying not being able to remove the stuff you aren't subscribed to.

[lint]

just go in and edit your channels. you just turn off all the ones you're not subscribed to. takes a bit of time and you have to do it on every box.

[D'z Nutz]

So I finally took possession of the condo last week and as part of the "welcome to your new home" literature, there was a pamphlet about some exclusive offer to the new owners. I just got off the phone with the CSR and he said it was free Optik and High Speed Turbo for a year with no contract (and $30 for Optik/$47 for internet after) and no commitment to stay after that year. Needless to say I'm highly suspicious about it but I bit. Sounds like it's too good to be true.

I get it installed next week, so let's see what the catch is...

[prodigydud]

Originally posted by sevewone
I had Telus in Calgary, now ive got Bell in bc.
.........

Telus Pros:
-The Fast forward and rewind brings you to the exact point in the show if say you fast forwarded to far into the show. It recognizes that you wanted to start at the beginning of the show, not 25 seconds into it.

.........


What's this all about? Does the FF automatically stop after a commercial? I've been using the skip button (30 sec) and skip back (7 sec) button (x4, if I skipped too far), which kinda blows.....

[cam_wmh]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
So I finally took possession of the condo last week and as part of the "welcome to your new home" literature, there was a pamphlet about some exclusive offer to the new owners. I just got off the phone with the CSR and he said it was free Optik and High Speed Turbo for a year with no contract (and $30 for Optik/$47 for internet after) and no commitment to stay after that year. Needless to say I'm highly suspicious about it but I bit. Sounds like it's too good to be true.

I get it installed next week, so let's see what the catch is...

There isn't. My buddy just got that offer. Basic Digital Programming, a single box rental, and free internet. He torrents like mad, 1.4mb down.

Sweet deal.:thumbsup:

[eblend]

Originally posted by cam_wmh


There isn't. My buddy just got that offer. Basic Digital Programming, a single box rental, and free internet. He torrents like mad, 1.4mb down.

Sweet deal.:thumbsup:

Is there a special code for this? I am thinking of hooking my parents up as Shaw has been unreliable at best for the phone, so if I am going to switch the phone for them I might as well switch it all

[D'z Nutz]

Originally posted by eblend


Is there a special code for this? I am thinking of hooking my parents up as Shaw has been unreliable at best for the phone, so if I am going to switch the phone for them I might as well switch it all

Not that I know of. I just called and asked what this "exclusive offer" was and that's what they told me. I think it's some sort of agreement between the condo and Telus since everything in my unit was prewired with Telus hardware before I even took possession of it. The guy came in, swapped out the switch with a wireless router, plugged in my Optik receiver and punched in some activation code, and was out in like 10-15 minutes.

[TDA]

Just had Optik TV + Internet installed yesterday in my condo, I got the brand spanking new Actiontec V1000h router. Actually pretty impressed with it, its a little big physical size wise but has a lot of tech in it. Lots of RAM, Flash, Gigabit ethernet ports that really perform as well as my DIR-655, HPNA over phoneline or coax for the TV STB so I can keep my existing wired gigabit ethernet system. N Wireless, no problems with it so far. AND, actiontec has a source code release for the router as its based on GPL software, so it is hackable in the future.

Internet speeds - 1.8MB/S solid download via paid newsgroup servers. Exactly the same speed as my old shaw extreme just without the powerboost. TV rock solid, speed drops down to 1.3MB/S with one HD stream.

Comes preconfigured with WPA2-PSK encryption, so telus is trying to secure things from the start rather than keep propagating open and leechable hotspots from people who don't know or bother to secure their wireless. Supports Dual SSIDs also.

Also a USB port on it, trying to figure out if I can stick a external HDD on there or something...

Aside from some features as dyndns support that I will miss, I may just get rid of my DIR-655 and use this. I'm surprised too.

[eblend]

Originally posted by TDA
Just had Optik TV + Internet installed yesterday in my condo, I got the brand spanking new Actiontec V1000h router. Actually pretty impressed with it, its a little big physical size wise but has a lot of tech in it. Lots of RAM, Flash, Gigabit ethernet ports that really perform as well as my DIR-655, HPNA over phoneline or coax for the TV STB so I can keep my existing wired gigabit ethernet system. N Wireless, no problems with it so far. AND, actiontec has a source code release for the router as its based on GPL software, so it is hackable in the future.

Internet speeds - 1.8MB/S solid download via paid newsgroup servers. Exactly the same speed as my old shaw extreme just without the powerboost. TV rock solid, speed drops down to 1.3MB/S with one HD stream.

Comes preconfigured with WPA2-PSK encryption, so telus is trying to secure things from the start rather than keep propagating open and leechable hotspots from people who don't know or bother to secure their wireless. Supports Dual SSIDs also.

Also a USB port on it, trying to figure out if I can stick a external HDD on there or something...

Aside from some features as dyndns support that I will miss, I may just get rid of my DIR-655 and use this. I'm surprised too.

Have you tried downloading any torrents. I heard those new actiontech's have very small mac table list and crash when downloading torrents, any issues for you?

[4doorj]

Getting the whole bundle installed on sunday. Phone, internet, and optik tv. Leaving shaw, I will let you guys know what I think of it.
I called after reading this thread just to get a quote and ended up switching over. Too good of a deal to pass up.

[eblend]

Originally posted by 4doorj
Getting the whole bundle installed on sunday. Phone, internet, and optik tv. Leaving shaw, I will let you guys know what I think of it.
I called after reading this thread just to get a quote and ended up switching over. Too good of a deal to pass up.

What kind of deal did you get? Thinking of getting my parents onto it for christmas

[4doorj]

Originally posted by eblend


What kind of deal did you get? Thinking of getting my parents onto it for christmas
Just the normal one on the website right now.
* FREE HD PVR rental1
* FREE Xbox 360®2
* Optik TV™ Your Pick HD (3 year term)
* Optik High Speed™ (2 year term)

$65/mo for 3 months4

($112/mo. thereafter)

But I added phone, since I got a new number (porting takes to long) they gave me 50 dollar credit.
Don't know how it works but my first month ended up being free. Also for the first year everything costs half of what I'm paying now at shaw. After the year it's still way less then what I was paying at shaw.
Also what she said was that after the year I can get what ever promotion they have. She said the three years is just a contract to stay with them, not a price contract.
Plus they are giving me the HD PVR rental, and a second free box, and the xbox 360 for three tv's. But I'm thinking about not using the xbox 360 and just getting another box.

I told her that I was afraid it was going to be crappy like it was years ago. There is a 30 day guarantee, if I don't like it I can cancel it.

[eblend]

Originally posted by 4doorj

Just the normal one on the website right now.
* FREE HD PVR rental1
* FREE Xbox 360®2
* Optik TV™ Your Pick HD (3 year term)
* Optik High Speed™ (2 year term)

$65/mo for 3 months4

($112/mo. thereafter)

But I added phone, since I got a new number (porting takes to long) they gave me 50 dollar credit.
Don't know how it works but my first month ended up being free. Also for the first year everything costs half of what I'm paying now at shaw. After the year it's still way less then what I was paying at shaw.
Also what she said was that after the year I can get what ever promotion they have. She said the three years is just a contract to stay with them, not a price contract.
Plus they are giving me the HD PVR rental, and a second free box, and the xbox 360 for three tv's. But I'm thinking about not using the xbox 360 and just getting another box.

I told her that I was afraid it was going to be crappy like it was years ago. There is a 30 day guarantee, if I don't like it I can cancel it.

30 day thing I didn't know about, definatelly will make me less paranoid getting it for my parents, as I remember DSL was up and down way back when at their place, been solid for me at mine since I got this service.

They gave you the second non-pvr rental free (usually $10 a month)?
My parents have 4 TVs so I would need to buy 3 of the non-pvr units, so if I can find a way to just have to buy 2 it will save me a bit.

Yah using the 360 as a reciever isn't really the smoothest solutions, I decided to buy the reciever for my place as well as it is cumbersome to use the 360, and takes too long to power on ect.

[4doorj]

Yeah she said I get 1 pvr for free, and 1 non-pvr for free, and the xbox 360 for the other with a fee of $5. I think I'll just rent another non-pvr for $10. I agree with you with using the 360 being cumbersome which is why I would rather pay the extra $5 for renting the third box over the microsoft fee for using the xbox.
I have to call again to change it to a 2nd non-pvr one. I should get her to email me to make sure I get the 1 non-pvr for free too.

[4doorj]

Got it installed this morning!
Wow! Is all I got to say about it. It makes shaw look soooo old school.
PVR from anywhere is awesome.
Only hard part about the switch over is getting used to the channels.
So far very happy with their customer service too.
Ill use it for the next couple days, and give a full review of it.

[JordanAndrew]

My friend bought a place up in Kincora and has been living there for half a year now. He's got this hooked up in his house and every time I come over, the service cuts in and out a lot. Still not impressed with it. He doesn't like it either but since his renters pay for it, he doesn't complain as he gets it for free. Maybe because it's a fairly new area that the service isn't up to par yet?

:dunno:

[4doorj]

Not sure, it's been on now for 3 hours hasn't cut out once yet.
But again I haven't had it long so in a couple days I will let you know how it holds up. Got the PVR application on my blackberry and it runs super smooth!!!!
:thumbsup:

[eblend]

Originally posted by JordanAndrew
My friend bought a place up in Kincora and has been living there for half a year now. He's got this hooked up in his house and every time I come over, the service cuts in and out a lot. Still not impressed with it. He doesn't like it either but since his renters pay for it, he doesn't complain as he gets it for free. Maybe because it's a fairly new area that the service isn't up to par yet?

:dunno:

New areas are the ones that should be trouble free, i would definatelly call telus on this.

Just ordered telus for my parents today, they still are doing the 15/15/15 deal for a year. I signed them up for 3 years deal, they will get 1 pvr rental free, plus 1 free normal reciever as well, so i only have to buy 2 of them myself (they have 4 tvs). Not bad, scheduled the install for 21st of december, my day off work, but parents won't be there, so when they come home they will be surprised

[Ymerej472008]

Ive had Telus Optik for a few months now...No cutouts, HD channels

and the Microsoft Mediaroom revamped interface KICK MAJOR ASS compared to

competitors. I also have the PVR deal on my BB and I use it regularly,

definitely worth the money! Ive got 3 boxes as I believe thats the

maximum amount were allowed, the remotes are fairly good quality

although I'll probably end up switching to a Logitech HarmonyONE

[D'z Nutz]

I've had it for about 3 weeks and so far I'm fairly happy. The only weird thing I saw the other day was the audio was lagging a bit so it didn't sync up with the video. That went away when I changed the channel.


Originally posted by Ymerej472008
I'll probably end up switching to a Logitech HarmonyONE

That's the first thing I did after the guy hooked it up!

[eblend]

Anyone who doesn't want to sing a 3 years for the free pvr rental, the pvr can be purchased for 179.99 right now from Futureshop until December 9th

http://www.futureshop.ca/en-CA/product/telus-telus-optik-tv-320gb-hd-pvr-receiver-cis430-available-in-bc-and-ab-only-cis430/10151025.aspx?path=83078726262dc82dddef315dc59eea5den02

[Muji]

Can anyone chime in on the accuracy of the TV show listings? For example, on Shaw Poker After Dark never has the players names, so I cannot tell if I have seen it before or not. I have it all set up to record ONLY NEW SHOWS but it ends up recording all shows from Poker After Dark on the channel. Same story with Dog Whisperer, etc.

I was in Telus the other day and played around with the Optik TV, remote is far better than the one from Shaw, I really like that the major buttons light up. The interface is more 2010, unlike Shaw and their 1999 user interface. I liked everything about the user interface and remote.

I only watch HD, so anything non HD I really do not care about. For me, the remote, user interface, show content listings; those are the deal makers IMO.

What if you want to get out of the contract within the year, what are the get-out fees? Being tied to Rogers for my cell phone is bad enough.

[spikerS]

^^^Just like any other service contract, of course there are penalties for breaking contract early.

As for me, apparently my 6 year old house with fiber to the home is only able to get 1hd/2sd streams to it. Meaning I can only use 1 tv at a time to watch HDTV. this blows. why the hell did they run fiber here if I can't use it? apparently some households can have 3hd streams!

what really gets my goat is they told me i could have 2hd streams, and even the installer said I could do it, now I can't. DAMNIT!

Looks like I am going back to Bell satellite.

[Muji]

Originally posted by spikers
^^^Just like any other service contract, of course there are penalties for breaking contract early.

As for me, apparently my 6 year old house with fiber to the home is only able to get 1hd/2sd streams to it. Meaning I can only use 1 tv at a time to watch HDTV. this blows. why the hell did they run fiber here if I can't use it? apparently some households can have 3hd streams!

what really gets my goat is they told me i could have 2hd streams, and even the installer said I could do it, now I can't. DAMNIT!

Looks like I am going back to Bell satellite.

Your situation would be a deal breaker for sure. I was looking at Telus last summer and like you the Telus rep and the installer both said I was good to go for 2HD streams. Only a second call to a new rep did I find out the first one was wrong. Sounds like Telus had a change of plans for the roll out between my calls. I ended up only having the internet hooker up, which was great for the three weeks it took Shaw to fix my issues with internet reception.

[eblend]

Originally posted by spikers
^^^Just like any other service contract, of course there are penalties for breaking contract early.

As for me, apparently my 6 year old house with fiber to the home is only able to get 1hd/2sd streams to it. Meaning I can only use 1 tv at a time to watch HDTV. this blows. why the hell did they run fiber here if I can't use it? apparently some households can have 3hd streams!

what really gets my goat is they told me i could have 2hd streams, and even the installer said I could do it, now I can't. DAMNIT!

Looks like I am going back to Bell satellite.

Call them up, new areas should all be wired for 2HD at least from the get go. Some people had a misconfig on Telus side, and after a call were up and running with 2 HD no problem.

I got fiber to home as well, but it isn't being used yet, but I am gettin 2 HD and 1 SD over copper for now, until they upgrade to Fiber to home. Copper is able to run 3 HD as well, they just have to switch everyone to VDSL.

[Ymerej472008]

Originally posted by D'z Nutz
That's the first thing I did after the guy hooked it up!

I love the HarmonyONE, last one crapped out due to excessive dropping :(

The Telus Optik remote is actually really user friendly and I've been using it for a bit...

I just think I'll be able to bash a few skulls in on boxing day and pickup a couple HarmonyONE's

I also have Telus internet...I love it, I've had ZERO problems with it..

I have relatively high speeds according to speedtest.net, my result is like double the ISP avg?

[8Ball]

there is a message on telus support line right now... "currently working on the issue with PVR"

great start with my new service! FAIL

[8Ball]

wow... just confirmed with telus that I can only watch or record 1HD stream at a time.

this is news to me and will be cancelling.


False advertising i would say!

[4doorj]

Mine works fine!
Absolutely love it.

Still not used to the channels though. I'm so used to shaw channels, been with shaw my whole life.

[Ymerej472008]

Originally posted by 4doorj
Mine works fine!
Absolutely love it.

Still not used to the channels though. I'm so used to shaw channels, been with shaw my whole life.

Have you hit *MENU* -> *Television* -> *Customize Your Guide*? You can than scroll through the channels your subscribed to

and uncheck the ones on that list (using the PIP box in the bottom left) so the channels you don't get never show up on your guide!

My service has been top notch since Ive had it...:clap: