Shaw/Telus Deals and Frustrations

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Thanks, Mike that is very interesting and useful info. I live in Langley, on the south side, plus we are up on a hill, so looks like we could also get a lot of the US stations. The list even includes Seattle channels, but might be hard to pick those up (in grey).

But unfortunately still wouldn't get some of my fav cable channels (like Live Nature, formerly called Oasis).

Well yeah, I like similar channels, PBS, nature etc. but am learning to live without. I'd love to be able to choose a channel that features soccer, but no such animal from Cable providers without having to pay for the whole bundle + sports bundle, +++++. They've had that stranglehold with their packages for a long time, but with any luck the proposed changes by the CRTC will change that. In the mean time, there is life without TV. More & more the internet is providing the things I miss on TV. All about choices, or lack thereof.

It certainly won't cost you much to check into the OTA possibilities where you are. If you can find or borrow an old rabbit ear antenna, you're all set to give it a go. Don't get sucked into buying the so called 'digital' room antennas, they don't do anything special that $10 rabbit ears from the flea market can't. You can easily do that before making any decisions about cutting TV service from your cable company. Your TV does need to have a built in ATSC tuner though, or you'll need to buy a separate unit such as the HomeWorX converter. If you purchased your TV within the last several years, it should have the tuner built in. Smaller TV may not. I used a HomeWorX box for a year since my 1st gen flat panel only had an analog tuner. It crapped out almost on cue a few weeks ago just after the 1 year warranty expired. Nevertheless, for $70 & a year of free TV, I reckon it was worth it. I might try to fix it so I can use it in another room with the old TV.