Informed Webmaster

I am a Rogers subscriber. I use their cable TV and internet services. There are up to 1000 channels one can subscribe to and view, albeit there are no extra channel groupings beyond my own package, I would consider subscribing to. But in all honesty, many channels are in different languages, for different cultures, and there are many duplicate channels, showing the same programming too. Being honest again, I watch maybe up to 30 channels, but I'd say there are about 8-10 I watch regularly more than the others. Of those 9-10, I'd watch maybe 4 movie channels and the rest are news, sports, some weather, and the remaining few are just fluff.

Then, there is the Disney channel. Crave. Prime, and so on and so on. Most have their special programming selections (I like Billions on Crave and will probably pay their $9.99 per month for a few months to watch that series) but, beyond a few specialty movie/series etc, I don't find any channel packages (outside the cable I currently subscribe to) worth the extra money.

When I was in AZ, the rentals owners didn't have cable. I forget what they had, but it was a specialty package with a lot of content - quite a few movies and tv shows, but technically, no live cable shows you could sort thru. I kind of got used to it by the end of the month, but the only sparkle in that package was being able to watch two Leaf games.

Watched "Dark Waters" tonight. Good movie. Really tired tonight. Off to sleep I go....

We have Shaw and have had them for TV for years. Started with basic cable the upgraded to the next step up to get a certain channel. Use to have internet and cable separate but got mad at Telus so now internet and TV are with Shaw. Where we use to live satellite was not an option.

I use the TV to get away from the computer. Use to have a plan of what shows to watch each evening but now all the shows we liked have finished.

Some days there is nothing on that we like and feel like cancelling cable all together... It's costing almost $200 per month for TV & internet.

Right now we just watch the news and HGTV mostly. If there was golf we would watch that.

A few years ago the government made changes that you are supposed to be able to pick and choose what channels you want to get. When I ask at Shaw I keep on being told it is cheaper to leave things the way they are. I think there is a basic fee of $60 plus about $5 per extra channel you want.

Years ago (in the days of antennas) the local channels and CBC were required to broadcast so anyone could get them with or without cable.
Bruce Springsteen - 57 Channels (And Nothin' On)

Accrete wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 2:33 pm
Some days there is nothing on that we like and feel like cancelling cable all together... It's costing almost $200 per month for TV & internet.

Right now we just watch the news and HGTV mostly. If there was golf we would watch that.

A few years ago the government made changes that you are supposed to be able to pick and choose what channels you want to get. When I ask at Shaw I keep on being told it is cheaper to leave things the way they are. I think there is a basic fee of $60 plus about $5 per extra channel you want.

Years ago (in the days of antennas) the local channels and CBC were required to broadcast so anyone could get them with or without cable.

Same here and I bet if we adjusted my 175 USD to CAD it would virtually the same.

Your stations don't do an OTA (over the air) signal? Antennas still work in the US and don't let anyone con you, HDTV antennas are just a marketing ploy. An antenna is an antenna. There are 2 classes, VHF and UFH. There are also combo antennas that do both. A realistic range from transmitter to TV is about 50-60 miles max.

At my location and elevation I could pull in all the local channels OTA for free. That is why it irks to pay the cable company a $14 a month rebroadcast fee as a surcharge. If I drop the TV portion of cable then I lose my discount on phone and internet so I only save about $75 per month.

The sad thing is we have 2 internet options one with GB service which I don't need and the cost is virtually the same.

Accrete wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 2:33 pm It's costing almost $200 per month for TV & internet.

That sounds about right. I finagled them from $210, down to $186 per month. I think I may have lost a couple of channlels, but big frig, there are so many of them.

Colbyt wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 3:19 pmSame here and I bet if we adjusted my 175 USD to CAD it would virtually the same.

Pretty close.

Colbyt wrote: ↑Sat May 16, 2020 3:19 pmIf I drop the TV portion of cable then I lose my discount on phone and internet so I only save about $75 per month.

That's what's kept me from looking around. If I try to separate the two (cable and internet services) and for example, try another internet company, my cable bill will go up. So, ya, I'd lose the apparent discount on either one I keep. So, for now I stay with Rogers and when the kids leave, and I'm completely done work, I'll downgrade the internet, and maybe cable service too, to save a few bucks. We'll see.

I'm going to look something up before I reply.

I have phone and internet separate in case the "big one" comes. Afraid all the mobile phone and internet phone services might be down or over whelmed when it comes. Hopefully with my landline I will be able to check on family (who also still have landlines). It's only costing about $16 a month for that bit of feeling secure.

Accrete wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 5:43 pm I have phone and internet separate in case the "big one" comes. Afraid all the mobile phone and internet phone services might be down or over whelmed when it comes. Hopefully with my landline I will be able to check on family (who also still have landlines). It's only costing about $16 a month for that bit of feeling secure.

That was the reason I kept it for years but alas they offered no automated robo call blocking. Thirty something $ a month to be harassed 15 times a day is a little much. So I dumped the landline. Currently using the cable VOIP phone service withNoRobo.

I'm going to look something up before I reply.

What I was investigating was independent VOIP providers. That turned into a rather long morning and I have yet to reach a solid opinion but have a working premise. If I can separate the phone and internet providers I can do whatever I want as long as I get good service from the ISP.

I used Ooma, and for $4.95 a month (regulatory fees, not any ooma fees) i could call across Canada. I think Canada and US was $9.95. The hardware is where they get you. My cell plan is now Canada wide and unlimited talk , so i dumped Ooma.

LMD wrote: ↑Sun May 17, 2020 6:32 pm I used Ooma, and for $4.95 a month (regulatory fees, not any ooma fees) i could call across Canada. I think Canada and US was $9.95. The hardware is where they get you. My cell plan is now Canada wide and unlimited talk , so i dumped Ooma.

Was the voice quality as good as they make it sound with that demo?

I can't speak to "the demo" as I don't know what that is. However, I don't remember it being bad. With this, and maybe other VoIP services, there might be a bit of a delay when speaking and hearing replies, so a quick "back and forth" convo could end up facilitating the tripping over each other's words now and then. I also had a wireless thing for my fax machine too, but I think it had some connectivity or quality issues, I can't remember. I was happy to get it, but then dumping it a couple years later wasn't a sad goodbye.