Recording / DVR with Shaw system?

[hkrause]

We have Shaw satellite box without DVR/Recording built in. What options are there for a separate device to record shows for later playback? I've been told that the Shaw boxes with DVR built in are unreliable and prone to failure, which requires shipping the unit back to Canada for repair/replacement. Would prefer a 3rd party device that can go between the Shaw box and TV. Anybody?

Heather

 

[johanson]

I knew that was so with the larger and older 500 series receivers. I believe mine was numbered the 530 model. They have a newer model which is smaller and is a 600 series model. I heard early on that folks were having better luck with this model. I hope someone else with more than just my hearsay comments will add their actual experience with the newer 600 series model, I believe called the 630.

 

 

 

[lumieretoo]

I have 2 630s. Never watch live TV.

One (Motorola) is 3 years old. Bought a new one (Arris) one year ago. No problems.

[cedros]

"I've been told that the Shaw boxes with DVR built in are unreliable and prone to failure". Where did you hear that? Mine has been working fine for years.

[giltner68]

Mine worked fine for the years I had it.

[Ezzie]

I have had 2 DSR630s on my account for about 5 years.  I had one fail and had to have Shaw exchange it about a year ago, one of the two tuners failed - could have been due to lightning or a CFE surge.  The early Motorola boxes MAY have had some hard disk issues but I think that was resolved in later units - I have not had any issues with mine.

[ComputerGuy]

There are always stories of the odd machine failing, but no more so than any other brand (or type of device, actually). The only alternative is to buy a DVR (same thing as a Shaw box but without the channel capability). These are not cheap. You set it up so that your TV show plays manually (that is, you turn the Shaw box on to the right channel at the right time), and record via the AV outs on the Shaw box to the DVR.

NOTE that anything less than the 600 series of Shaw receivers will probably lose their HD signals as of sometime this year, according to a letter I received from Shaw. They are phasing them out. Quote: "Some of your older HD equipment will not be fully comptible with our upgraded network and needs to be replaced by June 6, 2017... to avoid losing HD channels... the first phase is between April 19 and October 31, 2017." "To find out if your current receiver is compatible, go to channel 988."

[Ezzie]

ComputerGuy, this is not completely "technically" correct as I understand it.  Channel 988 talks about a dish upgrade that is needed to get the signals from the newest  satellite broadcasting Shaw signals - the Anik G1 that is co-located with the Anik F1R at 107.3W.  The new dishes have an LNBF that can get the higher frequency signals (xKu) from the G1 however we are not able to get sufficient signal strength here to get those channels. 

The other technical upgrade that is being done is to use a new video compression algorithm called MPEG-4.  The 600 series Motorola receivers (DSR600 & 630PVR) have the ability to decode MPEG-4 video compression but some of the older boxes don't (don't know about the 500 series). I also don't know is if this will affect any of the signals that we get here in Mexico from the older F1R and F2 satellites but I would assume no - it should not as this is only a software thing.  I wouldn't feel comfortable posing that question to Shaw Direct's Technical Support.

The first phase of converting older MPEG2 channels to MPEG4 has started here in April 2017.  Go here

http://www.shawbroadcast.com/Documents/mpeg/2017_01_17_Sequence_of_Events_Phase_1-MPEG_2_to_MPEG_4_rev9.pdf

for a technical publication that discusses this. 

There is also a page that discussed to timeline for the total rollout conversion over the next few years.

http://www.shawbroadcast.com/Content/US/mpeg4.htm

[ComputerGuy]

Just reporting what their letter said, keeping in mind "HD"... We are certainly not going to get the G1 signal; it barely laps over the southern edge of Canada's border. As they transition all to MPEG-4 and move more HD channels to G1, we will lose access to those channels even with a 600 series receiver. 500 series' will not accept MPEG-4. So, as they transition, anything that is MPEG-4 will be gone from the 500 series. That is all the HD channels, no matter which satellite they feed from.

You can use the same dish as you do for the 500 series; you just need an upgraded LNB. One that will take all three sat signals (except of course it won't get G1).

So my original comment is still that if you have a 500 series, you will lose your HD channels... whenever.

[johanson]

 

I was hoping that the 500 series Shaw receivers would pick up Mpeg-4..  The local satellite dealer said no that I would need either a 600 or 630 receiver to get the new HD MPEG 4 channels, The last 600 I picked up for the cottage in BC cost $99 Loonies, but that was when it first came out maybe 2 or more years ago. I hope the prices haven't gone up. I'll find out when I head north.

Oh and Mike, when Anik G-1 first went active people were posting that with a 2.4 meter (almost 8 foot) satellite dish that you could get the signal as far south as northern California, but no way down here.  I'm hoping that because Anik F-1R and Anil F-2 will be using the same frequencies after the changeover that we will not need a NEW Quad LNB down here. But up North of course I would need one should I want all the new channels on the new bird.

I copied the below update from a Canadian Store sales brochure. Therefore the fancy words

UPDATE: The Motorola HDDSR 600 combines a full-featured, MPEG-4 capable  with an advanced HDTV decoder to deliver high-definition programming and an easy-to-use interactive menu costs  $149.99

[Ezzie]

Just remember that you need to be careful which LNB you are supporting on your account.  If you have multiple dishes on one account, they need to be all the same, either the older dual satellite Quad/4 output LNB OR the newer triple satellite 4 output LNB.  The receivers need to be configured according to the LNB type to which they are connected.  Most of the installations here use an aftermarket (non-Shaw supplied) LNB that has two outputs - and you need two of them either on two separate dishes or a special mount that positions the two side-by-side in front of the reflector on one dish.  There is no advantage to using the Shaw triple satellite LNB here since you cannot get the third satellite (G1).

[REC]

I used Tivo with Shaw down here for years. You do not have to sit there and manually select the channel and start the recording at the correct time. You can definitely schedule recordings. You can download the program guide over the internet from here without a phone line hooked up.

However, I have changed to the new Shaw 630 with the built in DVR. No change to the dish or LNB. Just had to have another line run to the box but no changes other than that and course getting my new box activated. 

For a while I had the new Shaw 630 plus an old Shaw 315 (I think) with Tivo running at the same time. And now I have replaced that old Shaw box and Tivo with another 630. No change to the LNB for any of these changes. All really quick and simple. Only change was having second lines run to the two 630's.

I even found a dealer in Canada that would ship to the U.S. - but not to Mexico. I had them shipped to our daughter's house in Texas and brought them down here in my luggage.

Let me know if you want more details on either configuration.

[ComputerGuy]

Interesting. Never heard of Tivo working down here with Shaw.

[cedros]

8 hours ago, REC said:

I used Tivo with Shaw down here for years. You do not have to sit there and manually select the channel and start the recording at the correct time. You can definitely schedule recordings. You can download the program guide over the internet from here without a phone line hooked up.

However, I have changed to the new Shaw 630 with the built in DVR. No change to the dish or LNB. Just had to have another line run to the box but no changes other than that and course getting my new box activated. 

For a while I had the new Shaw 630 plus an old Shaw 315 (I think) with Tivo running at the same time. And now I have replaced that old Shaw box and Tivo with another 630. No change to the LNB for any of these changes. All really quick and simple. Only change was having second lines run to the two 630's.

I even found a dealer in Canada that would ship to the U.S. - but not to Mexico. I had them shipped to our daughter's house in Texas and brought them down here in my luggage.

Let me know if you want more details on either configuration.

Very interesting. I had no idea that you could ship Shaw euqipment to the US-what dealer?

[Ezzie]

Well, CP Electronics in Guadalajara is one of the largest satellite TV installers in the area.  There are a number of CP Electronics locations in Canada so I would not be surprised if there is some sort of a connection there.  I have purchased aftermarket LNBs (2 output Shaw compatible) from the store in Guadalajara so they know their stuff.

[ComputerGuy]

I'm still curious about the TiVo idea. Can you buy a TiVo cheaper than a $250 Cdn Shaw 630 PVR? I thought TiVo required a cable card to use... does this get bypassed when you hook a Shaw Direct receiver to the inputs? And what displays as a guide: Shaw's or someone else's?

[REC]

Cedros - This is the dealer I have used to get things shipped from Canada to the U.S.   http://www.kusat.com/   It has been a couple of years since I ordered from them but have had no problems in the past and have referred others to them who have had no problems.

ComputerGuy - Not sure about the cost of the current Tivo boxes or the cable card issues. I bought my Tivos more than 10 years ago at BestBuy in the U.S. They were the old Series 2 models which are no longer sold or supported. In fact when I cancelled my Tivo account they told me specifically that they were no longer supported so could not be reactivated.

It is has been a while but I think the programming was from a third party but is matched up exactly with the Shaw schedule. Not problem at all with viewing, searching, recording or scheduling.

The Tivo options probably doesn't make much sense these days but it worked well for me for something like 8 years, But as you will see from my post I changed to the Shaw 630 boxes.

[cedros]

Thanks REC.

[hkrause]

Thanks, everybody, for the info and input. I'll check with our satellite dealer and see about getting an upgraded Shaw box with DVR. Sounds like new equipment might be in order anyway to keep up with all the changes they're making.

Heather