ErikRP
join:2004-11-06
Winnipeg, MB
| [TV] Shaw controls their PVRs
I had something interesting happen a few weeks ago that kind of surprised me. We had an outstanding cable bill with Shaw and to get our attention they shut off the digital signal, so we couldn't watch TV with our HD-PVR (the other sets on the non-digital signal were unaffected). What I found interesting though was not only could we not watch TV, we could not watch any previously recorded shows that were still stored on the PVR. There was some sort of error message to the effect that it could not be authorized.
Maybe that's not news to everyone, but it surprised me. I can see not letting me watch any more TV until the bill was paid up, but to not allow me to watch what I've already recorded on a unit that I purchased?
I'm curious now - if I ever decide to leave Shaw, do I have to transfer over any content remaining on my unit before service is terminated, or lose it? |
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Peateargriffin
@shawcable.net | I'm pretty sure that the PVR has to be connected to the cablesystem to view recorded programming, especially if it has been unplugged. So if you get disconnected, you will lose the recorded shows until you reconnect. |
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joshb
Don't sweat the small stuff.
Premium
join:2006-03-04
Calgary, AB
clubs:
 ·TELUS
·TekSavvy Solutions..
 ·Shaw
 ·Primus Talkbroadband
 ·GoDaddy Hosting
| reply to ErikRP
said by ErikRP  :I'm curious now - if I ever decide to leave Shaw, do I have to transfer over any content remaining on my unit before service is terminated, or lose it? In most cases if you decide to cancel your service you will most likely loose it. What they did to you for your outstanding bill is the same procedure they would do if you cancelled your service. They de-provision the box.
The only you would avoid loosing your material would be to pull it off the box before hand.
The menu and guide options are fed from the network. Once box no longer has communication with the head end there is no more menu and you will get the same error message. Not authorized.
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R.I.P Mom. |
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jrsaysbiteme
join:2005-09-13
Fort Frances, ON | reply to ErikRP
Im not surprised they can do that and i dont blame them. If you cant pay your bill then you dont deserve to have the service. |
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cableguy84
join:2006-09-12
Alberta
| said by jrsaysbiteme :Im not surprised they can do that and i dont blame them. If you cant pay your bill then you dont deserve to have the service. agreed |
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ErikRP
join:2004-11-06
Winnipeg, MB
1 edit | said by cableguy84 :said by jrsaysbiteme :Im not surprised they can do that and i dont blame them. If you cant pay your bill then you dont deserve to have the service. agreed Whoa, slow down there.
It's not that I can't pay a bill, I didn't, for reasons that are none of your concern or business. I was simply making an observation that a piece of hardware that I own outright would not allow me to watch previously recorded material. While the technology is different, it's essentially the same principle as if I could no longer watch what I had recorded via a VCR, or a non-Shaw PVR (i.e. digital recorder).
I (now) understand that the interface used by the device requires an active connection with Shaw, which means anything a person records must either be deleted or removed via Firewire, since I'm not aware of any other way of extracting a recorded show from the box.
Go do your judging somewhere else. |
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AnonShawUser
join:2006-06-17
Calgary, AB
| And even then, you'd have to use a non-authorized firmware hack, to enable the firewire functionality on anything other than the Pace PVR units. But if you're doing that... I imagine they have firmware that would allow the box to function, without a provisioning state, as just a standalone PVR of some sort. |
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Xtort
join:2001-07-28
Edmonton, AB
| reply to ErikRP
Welcome to the world of DRM. As for as Shaw is concerned, you don't own the content on the PVR and they locked you out after you were disconnected from their service.
Shaw has every right to modify a device to work with their service as you didn't buy it from the manufacturer. It's no different than buying a cell phone from a cell service provider. There's always going to be an implemented restriction on the device.
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Asus P5Q-E / Q9450 @ 3.6 / 4GB OCZ Reaper HPC 8500 / XFX 9800 GX2 / Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 |
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anonmaname
@shawcable.net | What if you bought the hardware from shaw?:) |
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AnonShawUser
join:2006-06-17
Calgary, AB | Then you're free to sell it to someone else if you don't want Shaw service any more. Or do whatever else you want with it, if you feel adventurous. |
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jbcalg
Premium
join:2001-10-08
Calgary, AB
·Shaw
| reply to jrsaysbiteme
said by jrsaysbiteme :Im not surprised they can do that and i dont blame them. If you cant pay your bill then you dont deserve to have the service. LOL -what a cheery soul you are
no idea why the OP hadn't paid bill - don't care
i didn't pay mine because i forgot - i get the email notification but no longer have a paper bill from another service to remind me it's due
- my fault
- 100%
but when Shaw calls and says: please call us, without leaving a number or department, or name
i was a little surprised to be cut off 5 minutes later when i was finally able to speak to someone who could access my file
the Rep was equally surprised and switched it back on without a penny being paid in payment - she looked at the logs and said they never do a cut-off 5 minutes after leaving a message 
i paid in full anyways while speaking to her
... and am drafting my oh-so-polite letter to Shaw suggesting just maybe they could include a 'last payment date' line in their auto-email about the bill being available
my point - it's not what was done, but how it was done
... please return to your regularly scheduled browsing |
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ShutUrMouth
@shawcable.net
| reply to ErikRP
The DVR function of digital boxes are controlled by Shaw, when they shut your box down for non-payment they also shut down the DVR service.
DVR services are controllable because company's can either use a hard drive in the box for recording or they can use a sort of "virtual dvr" where if you hit record on the box it actually records to a server in the headend. While nobody uses the latter it is possible...kinda like PVR on Demand. |
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ErikRP
join:2004-11-06
Winnipeg, MB
| I'm a little less concerned about the service being shut down for non-payment as I am having it useless when I'm no longer with Shaw. I will probably not always be with Shaw, so anything that I have recorded that I want to save I will need to find a way to export.
I have seen ways to do this, with this box, from other places but I have yet to attempt. |
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