OT: Shaw v telus v other

[west in the east]

I am moving in a couple of weeks and need to decide which company to go with. I have shaw, which is fine but expensive. What are others' recommendations on companies like telus? We're looking for tv and Internet. I watch a lot of sports.

Click to read more...

 

[west in the east]

Seems that the OT preface didn't show up...

 

[Eddy Punch Clock]

Shaw - better customer service

Telus - better free stuff when you sign up (for something expensive and long term so basically you end up paying for your free-bee overtime)

 

[Pseudonymous*]

I have an internet based business and went to school for computer networking. Theres no doubt Shaw is the better internet service provider. Also have more expensive packages for blazing speeds. Dont believe Telus has packages that go up to 100mbps-250mbps. Telus only has packages up to 25mbps if what im seeing on their site is correct

However telus does have good promotional packages and if you hardly use the internet and dont download a ton of stuff or work on the internet, then i guess telus wouldn't be a bad path to go as it is typically cheaper

As far as television, not sure.

I know alot more people that went to telus and weren't nearly as happy. So im going to say go with Shaw, despite the cheaper packages

Like the poster said above, i also heard Telus doesn't have the best customer service

 

[m9]

Shaw - better customer service

Telus - better free stuff when you sign up (for something expensive and long term so basically you end up paying for your free-bee overtime)

Yes, this. Went with Shaw when I had a recent choice.

 

[skg]

There was a thread started by Wetcoaster a few years ago that had a lot of good info. Search for it. Too bad he's not around anymore.

I've been a long time Shaw user. Love their Internet speeds. It's consistently fast in our area. Shawopen is also awesome and I've eliminated my data plan because of it.

I've been tempted to switch to Telus many times, but never got around to it. I see they're giving away a 40'' tv now on 3 year contract.

 

[g35]

Switched to Telus and hated their DVR. It has slick aesthetics and some cool "look at this" features but Shaw's is so much simpler to use, plus I underestimated the value of a familiar channel layout. It's ancient but works so much better for me, and I'm in my 20's - not some technologically-unsavvy old man.

Plus Telus managed to royally F-up the promotional rates they offered me...rates tripled after the first month when they said it would last 6 months, kept promising things they couldn't deliver. I never thought Telus' customer service was as bad as everyone said when I just had their landline but getting them for internet and TV opened my eyes. Really glad I didn't bite on the free computer and sign a 3-year contract.

I know that this experience is not necessarily representative of everyone else's but I'd take Shaw for the better DVR alone.

 

[Karl Hungus]

If any thread will draw Wetcoster out of retirement it's this one!

 

[Finkle is Einhorn]

I'm wary of any company that feels the need to lure you into purchasing their product with a free TV or an Xbox. A while back I called Telus up and asked them how much they'd charge for the services I currently had with Shaw, and their quote came back about $100 higher than what I was paying at the time.

But even with all else being equal, I still go with Shaw for the simple fact that I'm not signing a contract. I've cancelled my services with Shaw at various times in the past and they haven't so much as asked why.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Shaw. It just works better.

 

[Pump n Dump]

Shaw - better customer service

Telus - better free stuff when you sign up (for something expensive and long term so basically you end up paying for your free-bee overtime)

Had Shaw for many years. They billed every two months and our bills were always paid on time. One time the bill didn't come and we didn't realize it until the next one showed up and we paid up immediately through online banking. Two days later Shaw cut-off our service. Customer service's attitude was basically, tough ****. Changed to telus at the end of the month.

With telus I got a pvr and a cablebox for a 2nd tv. The 2nd tv can access the pvr over my home network. Maybe Shaw does that too now but they didn't then. It's been just over a year and the quality is certainly no worse than what I had been getting from Shaw.

 

[Pump n Dump]

^^

I should add that I'm not sure that Telus has the same bandwidth available everywhere. That is something to double check if you are thinking of using them.

 

[Finkle is Einhorn]

With telus I got a pvr and a cablebox for a 2nd tv. The 2nd tv can access the pvr over my home network. Maybe Shaw does that too now but they didn't then. It's been just over a year and the quality is certainly no worse than what I had been getting from Shaw.

Yeah they offer Gateway now, which I have. My package has a PVR plus 2 portals, all HD programming plus 100Mbps internet.

 

[DL44]

I hate my Shaw TV service. watching on delay (where you've paused for a few minutes) its glichy as hell and drives us nuts. The PVR fails to record when it looks like it is. And it will go through phases where the PVR will freeze and reset itself... Drives me nuts!

Optic TV looks awesome. Great reviews froms friends. I got the 1st generation Telus internet tv and it was brutal. when back to Shaw... but since Optic came out.
Using Optic's on screen guides and menu is so cool compared to Shaw.

There is NO comparison to the 2 internet systems tho... Shaw is awesome. Reliable as hell. Had nothing but problems with Telus internet.

As much as I hate the PVR at times... I like the no contract, the channel organization, the HD channels, cost, and are generally just very comfortable with it.

But i will curse the hell outta of it at least once a week and threathen to throw it out the window. I'm hoping its just that i need a new PVR since this one is like 3-4 yrs.. But i want to make sure it is before i go spend another few hundred on a new one and end up with the same issues.

So overall..
Internet - Shaw
TV - Telus Optic, but i'm favoring the devil i don't know vs the one i know.

 

[KidCanuck*]

I hate my Shaw TV service. watching on delay (where you've paused for a few minutes) its glichy as hell and drives us nuts. The PVR fails to record when it looks like it is. And it will go through phases where the PVR will freeze and reset itself... Drives me nuts!

Optic TV looks awesome. Great reviews froms friends. I got the 1st generation Telus internet tv and it was brutal. when back to Shaw... but since Optic came out.
Using Optic's on screen guides and menu is so cool compared to Shaw.

There is NO comparison to the 2 internet systems tho... Shaw is awesome. Reliable as hell. Had nothing but problems with Telus internet.

As much as I hate the PVR at times... I like the no contract, the channel organization, the HD channels, cost, and are generally just very comfortable with it.

But i will curse the hell outta of it at least once a week and threathen to throw it out the window. I'm hoping its just that i need a new PVR since this one is like 3-4 yrs.. But i want to make sure it is before i go spend another few hundred on a new one and end up with the same issues.

So overall..
Internet - Shaw
TV - Telus Optic, but i'm favoring the devil i don't know vs the one i know.

Wow I use to love Shaw when I had it. I have optic now and have no problems but always thought Shaw was the better product for functionality. That's too bad. I am up for a new contract and was thinking about making the switch back, thanks for the heads up.

 

[Callhee]

The bandwidth for Telus Optik is smaller compared to Shaw's, this is limited by the connection to your home, Shaw simply uses a larger connection with more bandwidth. I've had both Shaw and Telus as ISP's and I have to say Shaw is faster, has better customer service and is much more reliable (one short period of downtime in 5+ years of service vs. multiple long periods of downtime on Telus)

Furthermore, I have friends with Optik and they tell me they see internet slow down when watching TV at the same time, if internet speeds are important to you, than this may be a important factor. Shaw also offers significantly faster internet packages, I'm on their Broadband 50 and it's blazing fast.

 

[Finkle is Einhorn]

Furthermore, I have friends with Optik and they tell me they see internet slow down when watching TV at the same time, if internet speeds are important to you, than this may be a important factor. Shaw also offers significantly faster internet packages, I'm on their Broadband 50 and it's blazing fast.

Yeah my uncle has Optik and if someone's downloading a big file, their TV picture gets a bit glitchy. He regrets signing up with Telus, but his experience might not be everyone's.

The other thing to realize with Shaw is that their Gateway PVR is made by Arris, whereas their older PVRs are Motorola. When I switched to Gateway I heard some early-adopter reviews saying that it was glitchy, but I haven't had a problem with it.

 

[Jyrki]

My family has been a Shaw customer for the last 7 years, and now that I live by myself I'm also one. Never had any major issues, internet/cable has always been reliable and customer service has been impeccable whenever we had questions or concerns.

I hear a lot of people ***** about Telus, try to penny-pinch them after they realize their contract and freebies are not so good, slow customer service... so it makes me glad I never had to experience any of that stress.

 

[EpochLink]

Since I'm renting in a basement suite they use Shaw. When I was living in Calgary I was under 3 years with Telus High Speed, mind you this was way back in 2006 before they released Optik TV. The internet was fine but got slow when the years go by. Switched to Shaw and never looked back.

I don't watch TV at all so I could give a rats ass about television...I stream for my Canucks games.

 

[Free Edler]

I have Shaw and their cable-phone-internet bundle is $175/month. I don't care for their customer service that much but I don't know that Telus is a better deal either.

 

[LickTheEnvelope]

Since I'm renting in a basement suite they use Shaw. When I was living in Calgary I was under 3 years with Telus High Speed, mind you this was way back in 2006 before they released Optik TV. The internet was fine but got slow when the years go by. Switched to Shaw and never looked back.

I don't watch TV at all so I could give a rats ass about television...I stream for my Canucks games.

Ya I barely use TV. Used to have Bell TV but just wasn't using it enough (easily the best TV service).

Only thing I greatly dislike is the damn upload speeds in Canada. On Shaw 100 and what is up with 5 mb/s upload in 2000-freaking-13!

 

[nameless1]

Telus internet is a joke.
When I was with them about 5 or 6 years ago, the Internet was down constantly.
I remember one time when it was down for the whole week.
At the time there were renters at my place, and I continued to get yelled at.
Once it was fixed, the service went down again in a month, this time for 3 days.
If I add up all the days that I went without service during the 3 years I was with them, it had to be more than a month, maybe 2.
Even when they offered me 6 free months to stay, I refused and switched to Shaw.
I am so much happier now.
It is expensive, but I only had 3 or 4 outages, and usually those were fixed within an hour or 2.
The longest I went without Internet was maybe a day and a half, and that I could live with.

 

[Virtanen2Horvat]

Telus internet is a joke.
When I was with them about 5 or 6 years ago, the Internet was down constantly.
I remember one time when it was down for the whole week.
At the time there were renters at my place, and I continued to get yelled at.
Once it was fixed, the service went down again in a month, this time for 3 days.
If I add up all the days that I went without service during the 3 years I was with them, it had to be more than a month, maybe 2.
Even when they offered me 6 free months to stay, I refused and switched to Shaw.
I am so much happier now.
It is expensive, but I only had 3 or 4 outages, and usually those were fixed within an hour or 2.
The longest I went without Internet was maybe a day and a half, and that I could live with.

LOL I don't know why but this makes me laugh for some reason?

EDIT: I do agree Telus does have bad internet.

 

[Johnny LaRue]

...plus I underestimated the value of a familiar channel layout. It's ancient but works so much better for me, and I'm in my 20's - not some technologically-unsavvy old man.

Isn't that the darn truth? My parents have Telus, and when I go there I cannot for the life of me figure the bloody channels out! The Shaw setup is not only more familiar, it also seems a little more sensible.

Also, the Shaw speeds are so, so fast. I love Shaw and would recommend it.

 

[professorchaos]

Telus = Hell

Edit: recently learned that Telus' servers are overused and their bid to acquire more has fell through, meaning terrible internet speed for the unforseeable future.