Internet: What are your speeds?

[speedog]

Because it's been discussed in a variety of threads but I do not recall a thread dedicated just to what type of internet service people have and what their usual upload and download speeds are. Are you near the stated service plan maximums or well below or above?

I'll even build a poll but it may not have the correct options because I am not that aware of Shaw's offerings - do they even offer FTTH (fiber to the home)? My poll will only address TELUS DSL, TELUS FTTH, Shaw and other high speed connections because for the most part, that's what we here in Calgary will be using.

For us, we were on the TELUS Internet 25 plan last week on copper DSL that was fed by a node about 180 meters away - always got above the stated maximum upload and download speeds. Moved to the TELUS Internet 50 plan week ago on fiber to a node about 135 meters away and am always getting about 5-6% faster on downloads (usually 52.5-52.9Mpbs against 50Mbps stated maximum) and 44-45% faster on uploads (14.4-14.5Mbps versus 10Mbps stated maximum). Doesn't matter what time of day/night nor what is going on in our home network - it just rocks along.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189525694.png

[theken]

just switched from shaw to telus, impressed for the most part. My speeds throughout the entire house on wireless are at or close to the 50 I pay for. I was with Shaw, and was getting 2-3mbps paying for 50. and it took Shaw 2 years to bring me a wireless router.

[CanmoreOrLess]

TELUS Internet 50. Been with them for a couple of years, upgraded from whatever was the package just below this, wish I'd have upgraded from day one. Well with it and considering moving to the highest package at TELUS.

Ping too high?

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189534653.png

[snowcat]

Anyone have telus 100 and can comment if they get the advertised 20 up?

[benyl]

Look at my sig

[A790]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189567958.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4189567958)

[CanmoreOrLess]

Originally posted by A790
http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189567958.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4189567958)

Unless I bust out the Photoshop, we have a winner.

[GTS4tw]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189602515.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4189602515)

[rage2]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189777187.png

The download is my wireless max. BB250. Will try to plug into the switch and try again.

[blairtruck]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189849298.png
shaw 50

[Cowtown_Raider]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189886239.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4189886239)

Shaw BB100

[eblend]

Telus 50 FTTH

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189888308.png

Can't get 100 last time I checked. Get a solid 6.2 MB/s on usenet day or night constant.

[J.M.]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189892828.png

Shaw 25 lol

[benyl]

Originally posted by eblend
Telus 50 FTTH

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189888308.png

Can't get 100 last time I checked. Get a solid 6.2 MB/s on usenet day or night constant.

Threaten to leave. You will miraculously qualify for 100. haha, I was really going to leave for Shaw and just get 50. Told them the reason I was leaving was for 100. I went from it not being available to "sending a tech to you tomorrow."

[eblend]

Originally posted by benyl


Threaten to leave. You will miraculously qualify for 100. haha, I was really going to leave for Shaw and just get 50. Told them the reason I was leaving was for 100. I went from it not being available to "sending a tech to you tomorrow."

haha, maybe later. 50mbps is more then enough for me, the only reason I wanted to go to 100 is because it was only $10 more, but I really don't even need the 50, but once they put me on a free trial I couldn't go back down to 25 :)

I like the upload, it's fast enough to play plex of my plex server at my parents place without so much as a hiccup, watching HD movies

[78si]

Omg. I must have farmer internet :(
2.8 upload .9 download

[A2VR6]

Telus 50 FTTH

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4189984398.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4189984398)

[89coupe]

My Wife records too many shows to switch to Telus. Once they get a better PVR setup I will probably switch, as I have fibre to my door.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4190001131.png

[eblend]

Originally posted by 89coupe
My Wife records too many shows to switch to Telus. Once they get a better PVR setup I will probably switch, as I have fibre to my door.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4190001131.png

??? Better PVR? What's wrong with Telus PVR? One PVR for the whole house...watch in any room on any device...been using this for 5 years, works perfect, not sure what your complaint with them is. I use PVR a lot myself and no issues.

[theken]

if she records a whole bunch at one time telus is no good for that. IE if you are watching tv you can only record 2 others, or however many boxes you have i believe. I don't see this being a problem for anybody though

[89coupe]

Originally posted by theken
if she records a whole bunch at one time telus is no good for that. IE if you are watching tv you can only record 2 others, or however many boxes you have i believe. I don't see this being a problem for anybody though

Exactly, Shaw can record 6 shows at once.

[RX-7_TWINTURBO]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4190125987.png

shaw50, had issues a while back, but after a call to tech support they switched some filters on the cable hub outside and it's been solid ever since.

[Boostn]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4190128867.png (http://www.speedtest.net/my-result/4190128867)

Shaw 100

[speedog]

Originally posted by 89coupe
Exactly, Shaw can record 6 shows at once.

Can view/record 5HD channels on the TELUS Internet 50 plan we just got, seems adequate for our household.

[speedog]

So far in this poll (and it's early on), 90% of TELUS DSL/FTTH users appear to get more in DL/UL speeds than the stated maximums while barely over 50% of Shaw users are reporting the same - will be interesting to see if this changes as time goes on and more people participate in this poll.

One other thing I've noticed is the much slower UL speeds for Shaw users - not that UL speeds are all that important to most people but I am left wondering if that is the result of the type of design/infrastructure that Shaw is using as opposed to TELUS? How does Shaw get into the home - is it still all coax or do they use FTTH anywhere? If it's coax, then is that the contributing factor?

It's hazy, but my training from decades ago suggests to me that a coax cable just can not offer up the same 2-way throughput that a fiber can and either DL or UL has to be sacrificed for the other to be faster/more robust. Possibly there are some more up to date experts on here that could chime in.

[firebane]

Originally posted by speedog
So far in this poll (and it's early on), 90% of TELUS DSL/FTTH users appear to get more in DL/UL speeds than the stated maximums while barely over 50% of Shaw users are reporting the same - will be interesting to see if this changes as time goes on and more people participate in this poll.

One other thing I've noticed is the much slower UL speeds for Shaw users - not that UL speeds are all that important to most people but I am left wondering if that is the result of the type of design/infrastructure that Shaw is using as opposed to TELUS? How does Shaw get into the home - is it still all coax or do they use FTTH anywhere? If it's coax, then is that the contributing factor?

It's hazy, but my training from decades ago suggests to me that a coax cable just can not offer up the same 2-way throughput that a fiber can and either DL or UL has to be sacrificed for the other to be faster/more robust. Possibly there are some more up to date experts on here that could chime in.

Shaw is all coax from my understanding except the few areas that Shaw has FTTH setup. I know there was a test area in the NE for awhile but I don't know how far that went.

[speedog]

Originally posted by firebane
Shaw is all coax from my understanding except the few areas that Shaw has FTTH setup. I know there was a test area in the NE for awhile but I don't know how far that went.
So with respect to COAX, the haziness is disappearing a bit - it all has to do with frequencies in COAX and (correct me if I am wrong) COAX is still just an analog interface into one's home, correct? If it is indeed analog, then there a lot more design restrictions that come into play and part of that would explain the generally low UL speeds that Shaw people are showing. Techno geeks, please chime in here.

[stevelou]

Man my shaw is shit. I have the 50 bundle and am lucky to get 25 mbs dl and 5 or 6 mbs up. Called Shaw and they say that is somewhat normal, or the last time I spoke with them they said Auburn bay is in need of an upgrade..... Might be worth jumping ships to Telus if they can't figure it out.

[killramos]

My shaw 50 always tests above my 50 mbps limit, averages probably 52. I don't torrent anything so my upload is pretty inconsequential to me but has never felt slow.

Plenty to run multiple HD netflix or Xbox Video streams in the house, download Xbox One games while having dinner etc.

I live in a pretty dense neighborhood to. I am not pleased with my pricing so i might give them a courtesy call that I am considering switching later this summer to see what they are willing to do for me.

as for PVRing i don't use the Arris system ( hate the interface) but as far as i can tell i can record 2 streams for every DVR box I have if I so cared. I only have 1 DVR in the house ( media room) since i usually use the others for background noise/music or watching the news.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by speedog
So far in this poll (and it's early on), 90% of TELUS DSL/FTTH users appear to get more in DL/UL speeds than the stated maximums while barely over 50% of Shaw users are reporting the same - will be interesting to see if this changes as time goes on and more people participate in this poll.



There are also twice as many Shaw users as Telus so far, better sample maybe.

[rage2]

Originally posted by speedog
One other thing I've noticed is the much slower UL speeds for Shaw users - not that UL speeds are all that important to most people but I am left wondering if that is the result of the type of design/infrastructure that Shaw is using as opposed to TELUS? How does Shaw get into the home - is it still all coax or do they use FTTH anywhere? If it's coax, then is that the contributing factor?

It's hazy, but my training from decades ago suggests to me that a coax cable just can not offer up the same 2-way throughput that a fiber can and either DL or UL has to be sacrificed for the other to be faster/more robust. Possibly there are some more up to date experts on here that could chime in.
Shaw just dedicates less channels for upstream and uses the room for more downstream channels, hence they can only offer lower upstream than Telus. Just a balancing act. It also doesn't help that upstream channels carry half the bandwidth of downstream channels, making things worse. That's a DOCSIS limitation.


Originally posted by firebane
Shaw is all coax from my understanding except the few areas that Shaw has FTTH setup. I know there was a test area in the NE for awhile but I don't know how far that went.
There's only 1 residential area that has Shaw FTTH, because an exec lives there. Somewhere out by the Elbow Valley Discovery Ridge area.

[speedog]

Originally posted by GTS4tw
There are also twice as many Shaw users as Telus so far, better sample maybe.
Maybe, maybe not. current numbers as of this post are 59% of Shaw users getting consistent faster then stated maximums while 91.6% of TELUS users are getting consistent faster then stated maximums. Now I realize this is still a very sample and it is early on, but that still seems to be quite a spread - will be interesting to see where the numbers go as more people hopefully fill out the poll.

On a side note with respect to PVR's, can I assume that with Shaw that each television gets a PVR that is capable of 2 HD channels (watched/recording combined)? If that's true, then do you need 3 PVR's to get 6 HD channels? Also if that's true, can a television located in one room access PVR content on a different PVR with Shaw? Just trying to under stand how Shaw is set up.

Also, can a Shaw subscriber set up their PVR to record something from anywhere that subscriber has internet access - with TELUS, I can be at my parent's place in High River watching a show and get my PVR in Calgary to record that show via an app on my Android device? I believe I can also go on-line - does Shaw offer remote PVR handling?

With respect to PVR's again, with TELUS you get one PVR that can be accessed from any television set. I can be downstairs and be watching a different recorded show that's on my PVR (located upstairs) or be watching the same recorded show that someone might be watching upstairs at the same time. Each TELUS remote TV box can control the central PVR independently and all at the same time. Hell, I can control what's being watched on the television through the man PVR box with my Android - have had some giggles screwing around with my kids with this one (Android device has to be connected to our local Wifi is the only caveat here).

[rage2]

Originally posted by speedog

Maybe, maybe not. current numbers as of this post are 59% of Shaw users getting consistent faster then stated maximums while 91.6% of TELUS users are getting consistent faster then stated maximums. Now I realize this is still a very sample and it is early on, but that still seems to be quite a spread - will be interesting to see where the numbers go as more people hopefully fill out the poll.

On a side note with respect to PVR's, can I assume that with Shaw that each television gets a PVR that is capable of 2 HD channels (watched/recording combined)? If that's true, then do you need 3 PVR's to get 6 HD channels? Also if that's true, can a television located in one room access PVR content on a different PVR with Shaw? Just trying to under stand how Shaw is set up.

Also, can a Shaw subscriber set up their PVR to record something from anywhere that subscriber has internet access - with TELUS, I can be at my parent's place in High River watching a show and get my PVR in Calgary to record that show via an app on my Android device? I believe I can also go on-line - does Shaw offer remote PVR handling?

With respect to PVR's again, with TELUS you get one PVR that can be accessed from any television set. I can be downstairs and be watching a different recorded show that's on my PVR (located upstairs) or be watching the same recorded show that someone might be watching upstairs at the same time. Each TELUS remote TV box can control the central PVR independently and all at the same time. Hell, I can control what's being watched on the television through the man PVR box with my Android - have had some giggles screwing around with my kids with this one (Android device has to be connected to our local Wifi is the only caveat here).
Is this a Telus Marketing Q&A session? haha

I don't subscribe to Shaw for TV, but you can have as many DVR's in the home as you like. That's one way to skin the cat. The other way is to use gateway, where the main PVR box can record 6 channels at once, and each connected "viewing" box accesses that central DVR for everything.

Shaw technically doesn't have a limitation on how many HD streams you can watch at one time. That's because with Cable, every single channel is coming down the cable simultaneously. With Telus, there's a limitation, because the data coming down is only sent on demand through a fixed size pipe to the home, which also shares your internet data. Watch more TV streams, less bandwidth for internet. Pretty much the opposite restriction of cable modem sharing nodes for internet.

[speedog]

Originally posted by rage2
Shaw just dedicates less channels for upstream and uses the room for more downstream channels, hence they can only offer lower upstream than Telus. Just a balancing act. It also doesn't help that upstream channels carry half the bandwidth of downstream channels, making things worse. That's a DOCSIS limitation.
Interesting to know although I suspect upload speeds really aren't an issue for the majority of people.

So is the solution to increased and/or consistent DL and UL speeds just to reduce the number of subscribers per neighborhood node? Also if that is the case, can upload speeds be increased if the number of subscribers per node is decreased or are upload speeds still going to be considerably slower due to the DOCSIS limitations? Put it this way, if your COAX connection was the only one between your home and the node (not shared with any other subscribers) and that node did not have any upstream capacity issues, could you get increased UL speeds?

[killramos]

Originally posted by speedog

Maybe, maybe not. current numbers as of this post are 59% of Shaw users getting consistent faster then stated maximums while 91.6% of TELUS users are getting consistent faster then stated maximums. Now I realize this is still a very sample and it is early on, but that still seems to be quite a spread - will be interesting to see where the numbers go as more people hopefully fill out the poll.

On a side note with respect to PVR's, can I assume that with Shaw that each television gets a PVR that is capable of 2 HD channels (watched/recording combined)? If that's true, then do you need 3 PVR's to get 6 HD channels? Also if that's true, can a television located in one room access PVR content on a different PVR with Shaw? Just trying to under stand how Shaw is set up.

Also, can a Shaw subscriber set up their PVR to record something from anywhere that subscriber has internet access - with TELUS, I can be at my parent's place in High River watching a show and get my PVR in Calgary to record that show via an app on my Android device? I believe I can also go on-line - does Shaw offer remote PVR handling?

With respect to PVR's again, with TELUS you get one PVR that can be accessed from any television set. I can be downstairs and be watching a different recorded show that's on my PVR (located upstairs) or be watching the same recorded show that someone might be watching upstairs at the same time. Each TELUS remote TV box can control the central PVR independently and all at the same time. Hell, I can control what's being watched on the television through the man PVR box with my Android - have had some giggles screwing around with my kids with this one (Android device has to be connected to our local Wifi is the only caveat here).

Shaw has 2 different systems each with different features restrictions etc.

http://www.shaw.ca/television/equipment/

You seem to have quite a hate on for shaw based on your pointed questions?

I can similarly ask questions about how Does your telus service allow you to watch tv in 5 rooms without compromising your ability to download at top speed?

or otherwise does your telus service allow you to ___ Insert proprietary shaw feature here___?

[benyl]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak

Plus I get to pay mine on my credit card, so I get a little kickback on it. Shaw and Telus refuse to do this.

TELUS takes my money from my AMEX just fine. If not, I haven't been paying them for 3.5 years.

[benyl]

Originally posted by rage2

There's only 1 residential area that has Shaw FTTH, because an exec lives there. Somewhere out by the Elbow Valley Discovery Ridge area.

Pinebrook. The ring road will go right through it. lol

[killramos]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak

Plus I get to pay mine on my credit card, so I get a little kickback on it. Shaw and Telus refuse to do this.

Thats so weird because for some reason Shaw shows up on my Visa statement every month...

:rofl:

[rage2]

Originally posted by speedog
Interesting to know although I suspect upload speeds really aren't an issue for the majority of people.

So is the solution to increased and/or consistent DL and UL speeds just to reduce the number of subscribers per neighborhood node? Also if that is the case, can upload speeds be increased if the number of subscribers per node is decreased or are upload speeds still going to be considerably slower due to the DOCSIS limitations? Put it this way, if your COAX connection was the only one between your home and the node (not shared with any other subscribers) and that node did not have any upstream capacity issues, could you get increased UL speeds?
Split a node into 2 and you've doubled the bandwidth. Then you can assign fewer channels for downstream (if there's room), more channels for upstream, and you've got more upload. It's just more inefficient use of a channel when using it for upstream, because it only moves half the data, but it's a balancing act depending on the usage patterns of the node. Of course, majority of the people don't care about upload, so it's not a focus that Shaw needs to make.

More ways to get more bandwidth, kill off remaining analog channels (not sure how many are left). That opens up a huge amount of channels for data/TV. Does anyone still use the analog channels these days? Each analog SD channel can pack in 8 digital SD or 2 digital HD (for everyone in the node), or around 40mbit of downstream (shared with the node), or 20mbit of upstream (shared with the node). Note that you can't have a channel do upstream and downstream at the same time.

[speedog]

Originally posted by rage2

Is this a Telus Marketing Q&A session? haha

I don't subscribe to Shaw for TV, but you can have as many DVR's in the home as you like. That's one way to skin the cat. The other way is to use gateway, where the main PVR box can record 6 channels at once, and each connected "viewing" box accesses that central DVR for everything.

Shaw technically doesn't have a limitation on how many HD streams you can watch at one time. That's because with Cable, every single channel is coming down the cable simultaneously. With Telus, there's a limitation, because the data coming down is only sent on demand through a fixed size pipe to the home, which also shares your internet data. Watch more TV streams, less bandwidth for internet. Pretty much the opposite restriction of cable modem sharing nodes for internet.
Nope, not a TELUS marketing Q&A at all. Just trying to understand how Shaw's system is set up - haven't had Shaw in our home since 1991 and as such, my only exposure to Shaw has been at other people's homes. Certainly a little knowledge can't hurt, eh.

BTW, the 5GB of secure storage that TELUS says comes with their internet plans - not there yet. TELUS rep told me this morning it's coming, just a matter of when not if - hopefully that 5GB will be easily accessible via windows explorer on my computers and also on my Android device similar to how Dropbox works..

[speedog]

Originally posted by killramos


Shaw has 2 different systems each with different features restrictions etc.

http://www.shaw.ca/television/equipment/

You seem to have quite a hate on for shaw based on your pointed questions?

I can similarly ask questions about how Does your telus service allow you to watch tv in 5 rooms without compromising your ability to download at top speed?

or otherwise does your telus service allow you to ___ Insert proprietary shaw feature here___?
No hate on, just haven't been with Shaw since 1991 and am trying to understand how their system works - I am truly not trying to appear as having a hate-on for Shaw.

With respect to TELUS, we never seem to see our DL speeds suffer regardless of how many HD streams we are watching/recording - I know people say that DL speeds can be reduced depending on HD usage but we've never seen it.

[killramos]

Well basically shaw has 2 systems. Gateway which is similar to what you have with telus which is basically a centrally connected server that stores all your PVR recording and pushes TV to each of the receiver boxes in the house. Personally i hate the gateway interface ( my parents have it) and whole home PVR isnt worth it for me because of that.

Then shaw has their regular PVR boxes which are standalone, just buy 1 box for each TV in the house ( no real limit to the number) can choose if you want a PVR or not. These boxes are nothing more than a fairly upgraded version of their boxes form the 90's. but the interface is familiar and has alot of features i appreciate. Like only showing me channels i subscribe to. Group HD and SD channels ( ie if i want to want CTV HD i don't have to find whatever channel 217 or what i just go to channel 3 and it automatically gives me the HD stream even though channel 3 is not in HD). They also have a great on demand interface where you just scroll left on the channel you want to see the on demand offerings for that channel. I personally like it quite alot. :dunno:

To the best of my knowledge at least on my system there is no way to program things with my cell phone, maybe you can on the Arris Gateway system :dunno:

Hopefully you find that helpful.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[firebane]

Oh snap :D LOL.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/4191365950.png

[rage2]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
This is exactly why I hate Shaw and Telus

"Do you take credit card?"

"NO! WE RECOMMEND GIVING US UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNTZZZZ!!!... sorry, I mean direct withdraw method.

By the way, if you choose our "we don't even send you a bill in the mail so when we hike the rate you have no idea" method, we will give you a 2$ credit!"
I've never had that problem (Shaw). I just setup a new account for someone on CC no problems.

The only utility that I can't get on a CC is Enmax. Fuckers.

[killramos]

Originally posted by rage2

I've never had that problem (Shaw). I just setup a new account for someone on CC no problems.

The only utility that I can't get on a CC is Enmax. Fuckers.

:werd: They asked me how I want to pay and i said Visa lol

Don't remember arguing with anyone...

[beyond_ban]

I use Shaw 25 and it tests around 25-26 mb/s, but a lot of the time i can be sitting close to the router and HD YouTube videos struggle to load without buffering. Is this normal? For reference, router is a Dlink 655 that was purchased back around 2011.

[killramos]

Unless the issue persists when you Ethernet into your modem it isn't shaws fault. Almost certainly the wireless Router.

2011 is a long time to still be using a router they have a tendancy to start shitting the bed after a few years.

Try an ethernet link. If that fixes the problem then buy a new router. Though it might be worthwhile to scan the wifi channels in your house( i beleive there are iphone apps etc). If they are all clogged up it might not help much unless you try 5Ghz. Its a complicated problem unfortunately.

[firebane]

Originally posted by beyond_ban
I use Shaw 25 and it tests around 25-26 mb/s, but a lot of the time i can be sitting close to the router and HD YouTube videos struggle to load without buffering. Is this normal? For reference, router is a Dlink 655 that was purchased back around 2011.

What modem are you using of theirs? A lot of people still use their older ones and don't realize there is a newer one.

[CompletelyNumb]

Telus 50 on fibre. Consistent >50 on my WiFi. 16Mbps upload.

[beyond_ban]

Originally posted by firebane


What modem are you using of theirs? A lot of people still use their older ones and don't realize there is a newer one.

Modem is a Motorola SB5102.

[firebane]

Originally posted by beyond_ban


Modem is a Motorola SB5102.

Yeah you are using one of their older modems. Shaw has an updated model from that one.

Yours isn't bad but a newer version could maybe do better.

[eblend]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak

This is exactly why I hate Shaw and Telus

"Do you take credit card?"

"NO! WE RECOMMEND GIVING US UNRESTRICTED ACCESS TO YOUR BANK ACCOUNTZZZZ!!!... sorry, I mean direct withdraw method.

By the way, if you choose our "we don't even send you a bill in the mail so when we hike the rate you have no idea" method, we will give you a 2$ credit!"

Yah, like others mentioned, not sure what you are going on about here, for the last 5 years I have been with Telus it has always been billed directly to my credit card. They even have a neat feature where you can set the maximum limit to bill, so that it catches anything that is out of the ordinary. For example, my bill is usually $130 per month, I set my limit to $150, so if something screws up somewhere and there is some unknown charges, it will pay up to the minumum and inform you that you still have a balance outstanding, at which point you can call telus and tell them to fix the problem, vs being out the full amount and then trying to get all your money back for a screwup.

[killramos]

^ think you meant to quote Freak...

[eblend]

I don't know if this is the right place to put it, but since there are a few Telus subscribers in here, I figure I throw out a few tips as well to additional capabilities you may not be aware of.

1. If you hookup your cable boxes via Coax throughout your house, you can actually utilize the Ethernet port on the back of the STB as a switch port and plugin an Ethernet device. So for example, if you have a TV setup in a location and also have some ethernet device like a WDTV for example, you can plug the WDTV directly into the ethernet port on the back and get on your network that way. This is great for those people in older homes without ethernet connections.

2. You can watch live TV on your computer at home as long as you are on the same network. https://onthego.telus.com/#!/en Usefull if you are working on a computer and are away from the TV but want to keep watching something. Can also do the same with Android app. Android app allows you to watch some channel even when away from the house over cell network or wifi elsewhere.

3. Remote record. This has been mentioned. Can use an app on your smartphone or via the web interface anywhere: https://webservices.tv.telus.net/RdvrSilverlight/RDVR.html

4. Netflix on 422. This is new and was discussed previously but in case you were wondering. The interface is kind of slow but does the job if you don't have another device.

I didn't know about the 5 HD recording option, must be new. I only have 3HD. And to answer the question on the slowdown of download when watching TV, Telus actually provisions your speed faster then your plan, which offsets a few TV streams before it affects your speed at all. For example, when I was on 25mbps dsl plan, the modem would actually negotiate at 32mbps, but the internet portion was restricted to 25mbps. Each stream is roughly 3mbps in HD, so the performance impact is not great even if it started eating into your internet allocation.

[rage2]

3mbps HD streams, no wonder the video quality is so bad on Telus. As a comparison, Netflix HD runs at around 6.5mbps, iTunes HD Movies at around 12mbps, and Blu ray is encoded at 20-30mbps rate (including all audio/languages) depending on the title.

I'm curious what kind of bitrate Shaw is using. I haven't had a chance to measure since the old MPEG2 days.

Bell cheats, they downres everything to 720p streams, and run at around 5mbps. It's upscaled to 1080i on the end device, which is terrible.

[speedog]

eblend - when TELUS came last week to change me from the Internet 25 to Internet 50, the guy automatically replaced every Optik TV box in the house - said I could get 5 HD streams with the Internet 50 plan but the existing hardware would only support 3 HD channels.. Maybe they're new boxes but certainly I didn't argue with the guy and that isn't costing me anything extra.

[speedog]

Originally posted by rage2
3mbps HD streams, no wonder the video quality is so bad on Telus. As a comparison, Netflix HD runs at around 6.5mbps, iTunes HD Movies at around 12mbps, and Blu ray is encoded at 20-30mbps rate (including all audio/languages) depending on the title.

I'm curious what kind of bitrate Shaw is using. I haven't had a chance to measure since the old MPEG2 days.

Bell cheats, they downres everything to 720p streams, and run at around 5mbps. It's upscaled to 1080i on the end device, which is terrible.
Nope, TELUS' HD streams are at 6Mbps and the SD are at 3Mbps and like eblend said, it appears that the bandwidth required by those HD/SD channels is accounted for above and beyond the plan maximums - certainly that appears to what we've experienced because we so no drop in our DL speeds when we have 3 or 4 HD channels going/recording. Shaw I suspect to be about 13 or better Mbps.

[rage2]

Originally posted by speedog
Nope, TELUS' HD streams are at 6Mbps and the SD are at 3Mbps and like eblend said, it appears that the bandwidth required by those HD/SD channels is accounted for above and beyond the plan maximums - certainly that appears to what we've experienced because we so no drop in our DL speeds when we have 3 or 4 HD channels going/recording. Shaw I suspect to be about 13 or better Mbps.
I'm just going by what buddy posted. Regardless, your SD bitrate is 100% wrong. 1mbit h264 480p is close to DVD quality (4mbit mpeg2). 3mbit is just throwing bandwidth away haha.

[eblend]

Found this online:

Telus HD is streamed in MPEG 4 @ 5.6mbps and SD is 2.25mbps bitrate.

Guess I was off, didn't recall where i got 3mbps from. As for picture quality, I don't actually see a difference. My buddy is on Shaw and looks pretty much the same to me. As with anything, it pixelates horribly when everything on the screen is changing at once rapidly. I remember during the Gray Cup when stamps won and all the confetti was falling as they zoomed in on the player...couldn't tell anything from anything haha.

[speedog]

Cool, was just going by some TELUS Q&A stuff I stumbled on.