Shaw cable customers still facing quality issues?

by Darren Murph posted Feb 28th 2008 at 12:20AM

We had heard that some Shaw customers up north (that's Canada, to be precise) were having some serious quality issues with their HD programming towards the end of 2007, and according to a recent writeup by Digital Home, the problems haven't gone away -- entirely, at least. Apparently, the audio dropouts and macroblocking that seemed to be present on nearly every HD channel were finally brought to the attention of management, and while the bigwigs did proclaim that they were taking the complaints "very seriously," nothing had been done as of early January. After a six-week effort that consisted of gathering data from 38 volunteers experiencing the problems, users say that the audio issues have improved somewhat, yet visual quirks are persisting. Any problem that hangs around for months on end can't be good, but we're curious to see if Shaw's done anything since to improve matters. So, dear Canadians, has it?

[Image courtesy of Vidiot]

Filed under: Industry, Cable

Tags: dropouts, hd lite, HdLite, issue, macroblocking, problem, quality, shaw

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Highly Ranked

Wes @ Feb 28th 2008 1:10AM

Aye, the audio dropping happens more and more frequently. I started noticing it about 9 month ago when I first got ShawHD cable-terminal back in Summer 2006. Its gotten progressively worse. The worse part is when it comes back on you initially hear some...static-noise sounds. It sounds like a loud ringing noise almost like a power surge going through your tv-speakers or stereo-speakers.

Basically, the picture quality was excellent and so clear! In early Summer 2006 and possibly before then? and audio dropped out rarely if ever. In summer 2007 they added in 'extra channels'. They expanded their HD lineup from '8', yes an entire '8' channels to '15-17'.

The original channels were abc, nbs, cbs (west coast) + abc, nbc, cbs (east cost) + 2 hd movie channels. After the channel line up was increased we started getting at an additional cost some channels with pretty good programming A&E HD and DiscoveryHD.

The downside is as soon as the new channels came online, there was a noticeable drop in picture quality and the audio-drop outs started to occur. So I am pointing the finger at bandwidth. Its been an on-going problem for nine-months which leads me to believe it may be infastructure related or expensive to fix. Such as needing to upgrade local or neighbourhood equipment to increase bandwidth etc.

Neutral

Slippery Snake @ Feb 28th 2008 2:07AM

I wouldn't have HD through cable. Too much compression degrades the picture. Satellite HD is the way too go! Better picture, and a greater selection of channels.

Neutral

Brian @ Feb 28th 2008 2:43AM

IPTV...even better for HD

Neutral

pete @ Feb 28th 2008 5:38AM

its better not to generalize. Your cable maybe bad with Shaw but not with other cable companies. With Comcast cable the video is quiter good here although the selection is quite limited.

Neutral

Brian @ Feb 28th 2008 2:42AM

That's why everyone in Edmonton and Calgary Alberta should switch rite over to Telus Tv. 25 HD channels for 15 dollars ain't bad...

Neutral

kevinor @ Feb 28th 2008 11:31AM

Last time I checked, Telus has no HD service. At least not in Calgary. In fact, when Telus called me to sell me it and I said no because they had no HD, they didn't even argue. Shortest sales call I've ever had.

Neutral

Reapman @ Feb 28th 2008 11:52AM

Ya i just looked into it... they have a "when will you offer HD service" question on their FAQ, and a "sometime in the future" standard answer.

Plus I don't own a land line, so I'm kinda hooped from what I can tell.

It's too bad, I hate the idea of spending money on over 100 channels just so I can get the HDTV lineup. I'd be quite happy with only the HDTV stuff since i only watch a few things like Hockey, National Geographic HD and Discovery HD.

Neutral

aplen22 @ Feb 28th 2008 1:26PM

I work for a Telus dealer in Alberta and HDTV on Telus TV is launching very soon. The final upgrades have been finished, they just need to launch it. I'm guessing due to bandwidth restrictions, HD channels will only be available in High Speed Extreme capable houses, which should be the majority of people in the Edmonton and Calgary areas.

But honestly, cable? There is this new technology called satellite, works great! In my opinion, Starchoice is the way to go, after all they did get the strongest transmitting satellite from Telesat. My TV hardly ever goes out compared to Bell Expressvu which takes a light wind to knock out completely. "Oh no there's a cloud in the sky, dang, so much for watching TV!" And Starchoice doesn't rape you for HD like Bell does.

Neutral

Reapman @ Feb 28th 2008 3:21PM

@aplen22:

That's good to hear, more competition for Shaw. I do believe however that since I'm in a north facing apartment I'm basically screwed out of satellite. I wish I was going satellite if only for the deal Shaw had/has where you trade in your receiver and you get a free HD-PVR.

If they start offering HD, and I can get it (along with the inevitable phone line i'll have to pay for, from my understanding) for less then Shaw.. i'm probably sold.

Neutral

Brian @ Mar 1st 2008 5:27AM

yeah i work for a telus dealer in deadmonton and i have hdtv....with telus...lol call in...

Neutral

Mike @ Feb 28th 2008 3:27AM

I have the Shaw HDPVR and i have to say that both the on screen menu and picture quality is poor. Major pixelation on fast moving anything. Sound dropout and everything still remains. I really wish we had DirecTV or TiVOHD, i would switch in an instant. I'm sick of all this SD in HD crap and constantly repeated programming.

Neutral

Kris @ Feb 28th 2008 5:41AM

I've had Shaw HDTV in BC for a few months. I, too, notice pixelation on most SD channels even on a high-quality smaller screen. The repetitive programming I blame on screen writer issues and the fact I'm at home a lot more. And the broadcasting formats for SD is absurd - my picture stretches back and forth so often I feel like I'm watching a bad music video.

However the audio drop-outs and video interruptions are extremely agitating. We tried PVRing a recent Mayerthorpe docudrama on CBC and were heartbroken when it proved to be nearly unwatchable. Not cool, Shaw, not cool at all.

Neutral

digitalanarchist @ Feb 28th 2008 8:12AM

The only providers not having this issue in Calgary at least are the satellite providers. Neither Shaw nor Telus have the bandwidth to provide a serious HD service. The issue with Telus is slightly sneakier... you're HD channels will be fine, but your internet will be useless. QoS for the sneaky win.

Perhaps if/when they upgrade to fibre to the door...

Neutral

Brian @ Mar 1st 2008 5:30AM

I have HD with Telus and I game out when watching hd movies...or hd programing period...my ps3 runs COD4 fine....dunno what ur problem be...all i have is just high speed...

Neutral

Shawn @ Feb 28th 2008 10:42AM

i dont understand how a huge company can be allowed to advertise a service that works, sometimes? i have had shaw for 6-8 months and nothing but issues. just a question to all, if you went to rogers video or blockbuster video and rented a movie and it skipped or didnt play correctly the whole time would you return the video to the store? of course you would!! so how is it that shaw is allowed to charge a premium price for a service that works 50% of the time? isint their a law being broken here?great example " would you pay top dollar for a car that only had 2 out of the 4 windows that worked?" so why a customer that has no other choice but to use shaw because of area to pay 100% for a service that works 50% of the time?!

Neutral

Mikey @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:58AM

The car window analogy is pretty weak. How about "would you pay top dollar for a car that got bad radio reception a couple of times a day?"

It's not like half of the HD channels are not working, it's that some of the HD channels have the occasional audio or video glitch. The problem is that if that once-an-hour glitch happens during some important dialog on your favorite show, you get really pissed off!

Neutral

kevinor @ Feb 28th 2008 11:20AM

I also have a Shaw HDPVR, and combine the crappy shaw signal with this janky box with no sense of usability is just barely tolerable. I find the PVR box sends really loud speaker pops probably a couple times an hour. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Any thing with quick motion on screen has compression artifacts, as does slower dark scenes. When I go to my buddy's place who has Bell ExpressVu (which also has more channels and better hardware), the visual difference is stunning.

Neutral

hoc @ Feb 28th 2008 3:32PM

I have experienced the same issue with SaskTel MAX HD (iptv). Not so much on the video side. I work on the network side with SaskTel and know that Motorola sent us a new build in December which fixed our video pixelization issues however it introduced this sound issue. I could be watching a show and within in 10-15 minutes the sound makes either a popping sound or a sound like a tape fast forwarding and then cuts out for 10 seconds. This has been ongoing for over 2 months we have a ticket in with Motorola to have a new build made. I have has Access communications HD as well (cable HD) but found the video issues rendered it unwatchable on some channels.

What pisses me off is that HD customers who fork out the cash for a new TV get subpar HD signals. Bell supplies SaskTel thier HD streams which Bell sends as VBR. SaskTel encodes on the fly and pushes out the stream at around 10mbps, however Bell's feeds are as low as 3.5mbps for some channels and as high as 18mbps for CBC. Consumers need some type of regulation making providers adhere to some type of standard. My 2 cents

Neutral

HDTVFanAtic @ Feb 29th 2008 9:13PM

The problem is in the new Motorola Encoders they are using for satellite distribution that have the ability to use variable GOP length. The problem is also happening on the StarChoice HD Channels. It averages 3-6 AC3 Errors per program and some channels are worse than others.

It is especially prone during switching of material between 2.0 and 5.1 sources, such as the beginning of movies and usually results in several seconds of audio time gap as well.

StarzHD had the same issue on STARZHD West for about 3 weeks on STARZHD West last Fall when they changed their Motorola Encoders out to the same units they were using on the newer
StarzHD Channels. They should contact Starz to find out exactly how it was solved as the Techs spent a good week troubleshooting it.

Until the fix it at the uplink, the individual Shaw Systems (and StarChoice) will continue to have the problem.

However, I suspect this post contains more information on how to solve the problem then they have ever been aware of - which is pretty sad overall.

Neutral

Mikey @ Mar 2nd 2008 11:50AM

The audio drops and video issues have gotten a lot better in the last month, but there is still the occasional glitch. Some channels are worse than others (PBS and Fox Detroit are the worst for me.)

Neutral

jshel101 @ Apr 21st 2008 9:45AM

I live in Calgary and have had Shaw HD since the fall of 2005. I do admit that the quality has gotten a little worse than before, but I don't think it is as bad as some people make it out to be. I hardly notice the audio drop outs, I can't even remember the last one I got. As for macro blocking, i hardly get this also. If you do a search on Marco blocking with Bell, you will get a lot more hits than Shaw. Bell is having a worse problem with this than Shaw is.

As for going with Telus, well you would then have to deal with Telus. Telus has one of the worse customer support departments in Canada. I have been with Starchoice, Bell, telus, and now Shaw. Bell isn't that great either, but not as bad as Telus. I really don't see how Telus would have the bandwidth to offer anything good for HD content.

Neutral

Fin @ Apr 23rd 2008 1:09PM

I also have lots of audio drops and blocked pixilation from Shaw in British Columbia .From reading a recent article MSN http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24238071
it seems that all the cable companies have the same issues .And it doesn't sound like their systems can handle the capacity for their HD channels without compromising the quality by compressing the signal

Final Fantasy XIII announcement possibly due on Nov. 13 EA Sports MMA gameplay footage revealed during Strikeforce match Nintendo 'hasn't committed' to new Zelda for Wii in 2010	HTML5 YouTube viewer: close, but not quite there Photoshop.com Mobile now available for Android devices Jailbroken iPhones in Australia getting Rickrolled by a worm
Balloons! Sending out a mystery message on your iPhone Brenthaven: The best computer backpack I've ever seen Is the Magic Mouse a dog?	Sunday Funnies: Barron's predicting profits? Entrepreneur's Journal: Putting together a solid sales contract Walmart, Amazon now slash DVD prices: What's next?
Reminder: Watch the first episode of Halo Legends today [update: It's gone] Homemade Fallout 3 Shishkebab, make 'em now before the apocalypse Gears of War 2 celebrates first anniversary with triple XP	SEMA 2009 Worst of Show: This car stinks... The Tony Fox "Proud American" and "Bonneville Boss" Rocket Truck High Speed, High Fashion: Izod secures deal as IndyCar title sponsor
The Best of Big Download: November 2-8 BioWare's Neverwinter Nights downloadable modules no longer available PC Modern Warfare 2 can't be played until Tuesday, even if you get it early	Philip Rivers Redeems Self in 'Eli Bowl' Patriots Taking Control in AFC East Mike Holmgren on Cleveland's Radar