Telus TV

[Dial 9-1-1]

Anyone have this? I just signed up and committed to two years. If you cancel you pay a flat fee of $120.

-High Speed Internet (+ first month free) $20 per month
-Telephone and 4 cent long distance plan and call display (+ first month free) $20 per month
-Basic Cable plus sport channels plus "family favourites" $22 per month
-Free movie channel for 6 months
-$50 credit for not keeping my current 778-phone number

These prices stay in effect for 1 year then it goes up $10 per month for the internet. They currently do not have HD in my area, but when they do, they throw in a free HD Box/PVR and HD Cable. HD channels are free for a year as well.

Never mind all the free stuff you get, I figure I'll be saving at least $400 per year from my current internet/phone/cable packages.

I called Shaw and asked them to match it. They were able to add some freebies for 6 months, but that was it. If it is a crappy product/service, I'll pay the $120 and go back with Shaw.

 

[Kevin Hector]

I'm going to check it out. that sounds awesome.

 

[Stepchild]

few friends had Telus, were not impressed with cable service. I have been looking into telus, based on the savings, but have heard bad things. my 2 cents

 

[sixfyv]

a buddy has it and the picture is terrible. i will only assume he has hi def... but it is freakin awful.

 

[glacierfresh]

i got telus tv, got the package with internet/home phone with long distance/tv pay a 100 flat every month. tv comes out to $22 which includes setanta and gol so im happy.

 

[Polska]

if u like waiting 3 - 5 seconds for a channel to show up after u change it. telus is the way to go

 

[Kevin Hector]

I fcuking hate Shaw. I will definetly check out all and any other options.

 

[Zaurrini]

My brother has it.

Agree, the picture is OK at best.

 

[cside17]

Anyone have this? I just signed up and committed to two years. If you cancel you pay a flat fee of $120.

-High Speed Internet (+ first month free) $20 per month
-Telephone and 4 cent long distance plan and call display (+ first month free) $20 per month
-Basic Cable plus sport channels plus "family favourites" $22 per month
-Free movie channel for 6 months
-$50 credit for not keeping my current 778-phone number

These prices stay in effect for 1 year then it goes up $10 per month for the internet. They currently do not have HD in my area, but when they do, they throw in a free HD Box/PVR and HD Cable. HD channels are free for a year as well.

Never mind all the free stuff you get, I figure I'll be saving at least $400 per year from my current internet/phone/cable packages.

I called Shaw and asked them to match it. They were able to add some freebies for 6 months, but that was it. If it is a crappy product/service, I'll pay the $120 and go back with Shaw.

Been there,done that! Get out now while you can!

Did they tell you that when you cancel you have to, at your expense mail everything back, and that they have the right to hold your phone line, and internet for up to 60 days! Bet they didn't. Read the fine print. I sure wish I had! Get out, you have 30 days!

 

[Polska]

I fcuking hate Shaw. I will definetly check out all and any other options.

borrowing satellite signals is the way to go.. for now at least

 

[Dial 9-1-1]

i got telus tv, got the package with internet/home phone with long distance/tv pay a 100 flat every month. tv comes out to $22 which includes setanta and gol so im happy.

$100 per month? With the extra channels and the private number, my bill is just under $65. I thought Setanta cost $15 per month?

I've read reviews online and it appears that early on, Telus TV had some huge problems, but it appears that a lot of these problems have been improved or resolved...maybe not for HD TV though? Glacier...do you have melt downs that require rebooting the system? Crappy picture/pixelation? Huge delays changing channels? Not being able to get through to customer service? These are a lot of the complaints I've read about online.

It's funny though...when you call 1-800-661-2200 to order, a live operator picks up on the first ring!!

 

[johnnybluenose]

The picture quality depends on where you live from what I have been told.

People in newer neighborhoods that had new infrastructure installed when the neighborhoods were being developed are having good testimonies about telus tv (My Brother in law in the Bell Ridge area of cloverdale for example) whereas folks with older established neighborhoods where the cable was installed on piggyback of existing infrastructure have signals that struggle from time to time (My sister in Burnaby on Gilpin in the Burnaby Lake area in a 50 year old house)

What I like is that you are not shelling out for the HD PVR's like you do with Shaw, and that Telus will replace the stuff as it becomes obsolete (What I and my family members have been told) however there is a service agreement/contract that you are bound to with a cancellation fee.

I have stayed with Shaw for the time being as I have existing equipment etc. However I am moving my office home in the near future and will need to review my services as I will be adding phone lines etc.

It will be good to hear if anyone has conflicting stories to what I have been told.

You know what they say: If you have a good experience you will tell 10 people, if you have a bad experience you will tell 100!

 

[joely_the_goalie]

I'm not sure if this has changed, but when i was having a look at switching to Telus TV (still with Shaw) the guy in the store made it quite clear that the service only supported 2 tv's max and that if you have additional outlets needed then you would have to pay for another full setup, not just pay a fee for additional outlets

again, this may have changed, and it may have never actually been this way, but this is how it was explained to me in a telus store

 

[glacierfresh]

dial 911 like JBN said it depends on where you live. when i was getting the install done the guy told me that the new areas like the new ones in cloverdale have fiber optic running right up to the house and get 20GB coming in. i live in a older area and only get 30MB but i live down to street from one of those telus hubs so picture/audio is great. changing the channel does take like 2-3 secs but thats ok, i like it better then shaw, equipments way better more updated and free. i've read about complaints on customer service but i've never had a problem with them. in my area telus can only support 3 tvs only 1 can be HD, but the new areas i was told that 4 tvs can be run all on HD.

 

[Dial 9-1-1]

Not sure if this an omen of things to come, but Telus mucked up my entire work order today and the installer (who said this should take about 5 hours) is going to come back tomorrow. They took away the phone number they promised me and had no record of what exactly they were there to do. In fact, they first went to the wrong home (where the phone number they were going to give me was originally located).

This installer, however, was excellent and answered every question I had while he waited for 30 minutes on his phone for the Telus CSR---30 minutes even though he had access to jump ahead of all those waiting. I couldn't keep up with all his techie lingo.

He admitted that the original equipment and set up Telus had was poor (i.e. had to run ethernet cables througout the house) but that their 3rd generation box and their digital only signal was much improved and in his opinion is better than Shaw.

He added that the problem most people have is purchasing a cheap flat screen that has good analog and HD receivers, but poor digital receivers. He added that because Telus was pure digital, this is where the problem arises.

He noted that you should never purchase a TV that has a slightly different code than the usual code since this is a sign that the TV was refurbished or had some of its better original equipment removed--common with Boxing Day or Blowout price merchandise.

 

[bergamascho]

Telus gave you the old April Fool's right in the a$$ I see...Yikes!!!

Hope it works out in the end, no pun intended.

 

[peter]

He added that the problem most people have is purchasing a cheap flat screen that has good analog and HD receivers, but poor digital receivers. He added that because Telus was pure digital, this is where the problem arises.

He noted that you should never purchase a TV that has a slightly different code than the usual code since this is a sign that the TV was refurbished or had some of its better original equipment removed--common with Boxing Day or Blowout price merchandise.

Sounds like a bit of technobabble to me. Is not their box the "digital receiver"? I haven't seen it or seen any specs on it but what is the connection to the TV from their box? HDMI or coax or what? Where does the TV's decoder come in to play? I would think the Telus box does the decoding and sends a signal directly to the TV as any other device would do, no?

 

[Dial 9-1-1]

Sounds like a bit of technobabble to me. Is not their box the "digital receiver"? I haven't seen it or seen any specs on it but what is the connection to the TV from their box? HDMI or coax or what? Where does the TV's decoder come in to play? I would think the Telus box does the decoding and sends a signal directly to the TV as any other device would do, no?

I asked the installer about that today and he noted that yes the box receives the signal but there is more to it. He's taking me out for coffee tomorrow to explain it again.

Must say, however, that I have been very happy so far with the product. It was professionally installed. Not overly happy that they had to drill in one outlet from outside, but only about 4 inches of wire is noticeable. The install, as a whole, however, is very neat and tidy.

FYI to those contemplating Telus TV...if the cable coming out of your wall has any splitters on the line then that line cannot be used (unless the splitters can be removed). From its previous owners, there are splitters everywhere in my house and I have no idea where they all are.

The picture, however, is much clearer than what I was getting with Shaw--perhaps because there were so many splitters in my house. The game on Sportsnet was clear, though I wasn't overly impressed with the picture on TSN. There is a crap-load of channels and the digital box has more features and is easier to use than the Shaw Boxes I have had in the past. The time between changing channels is anywhere from 1 sec to 1.5 secs max---definitely not noticeable. Considering this is all for $60 (TV, phone, and HS Internet) and that they threw in a better router than I had, it's a great deal. Love how the call display shows up on my TV as well!

 

[Reccos]

Is Telus limited to two TVs? If so how much to add others?

 

[Dial 9-1-1]

Is Telus limited to two TVs? If so how much to add others?

No, I believe they have capacity for three outlets now. It'll cost you another year on the contract which can be broken for $120 total (not $120 per box).