Rogers Cable vs. Bell ExpressVu?

[RDog]

I am thinking of moving soon, and am trying to figure out if I should go with Bell ExpressVu or Rogers (Digital) Cable.

Can anyone make mention of the major points for/against either system?

Are there any notable deals going on at the moment I should look at?

Thanks so much,
RDog.

[Azenha]

I am thinking of moving soon, and am trying to figure out if I should go with Bell ExpressVu or Rogers (Digital) Cable.

Can anyone make mention of the major points for/against either system?

Are there any notable deals going on at the moment I should look at?

Thanks so much,
RDog.

First of all, the question is not which company to go with (Sympatico or Rogers), rather, the question should be whether you should go with DSL or Cable for your high-speed.

The base companies are Sympatico which directly and indirectly sells DSL; and Rogers which directly and indirectly sells cable. What I mean by directly is that these companies will sell you their services directly (i.e. you get billed by Sympatico or Rogers). The term indirectly is that you can buy the service from a re-seller (i.e. Mycybernet, Sprint, 3Web, Primus, etc).

Last year I started off with Sympatico (DSL), later switched over to Rogers (cable), and earlier this year moved to 3Web (cable). And I am very happy with 3Web.

For "simplicity of explanation", DSL is similar to the old Token Ring networks where every port gets the advantage of the full bandwidth, regardless of the network traffic (i.e. number of users on-line). Cable, on the other hand, is similar to an ethernet network. The total bandwidth is shared between the number of users on-line. Essentially, the more users, the slower the connection.

In terms of my own experience, earlier this year I would have recommended DSL over cable to anyone that asked. However, about two months ago Rogers upgraded my area with new switches, lines, etc., and now I get a bit over 4mb/s as my average download speed virtually all the time. Rogers has come a long way.

Consequently, if you live outside a major city, or your area appears to have older cable lines (which is indicative of an older cable infrustructure), go with DSL (Sympatico). On the other hand, if you have newer lines, then I'd recommend cable internet (Rogers).

In my case, I switched over to cable so that I could get my Bell telephone line disconnected and the service replaced with VOIP. Earlier this year DSL was only available over an active Bell telephone line (i.e. you had to have a land line telephone service in order to have DSL internet). Therefore, cable internet was my only option. Today, you can get DSL without a land line telephone service (naked DSL), but in my view, the price is too high ($45/month).

Currently, I use 3Web for my high-speed internet service. 3Web resells Rogers internet for $29/month for 3mb/s - although I average 4mb/s acording to my modem's on-line stats. And, for telephone service, I use VOIP.NET ($19/month US for telephone service).

And, in my view, the setup is great. For about $55/month I get unlimitd high-speed internet, and unlimited telephone service/calls within North America with two phone numbers and every calling feature imaginable.

I hope that the above is one some help.

[RDog]

I do appreciate the lengthy response, but what I was referring to was Television systems, not Internet access. I'm curious to know what the TV options are in a non-bundled capacity so I don't make a decision I regret a month/two months/6 months down the road...

Thanks,
RDog.

[pakmode]

First of all, the question is not which company to go with (Sympatico or Rogers), rather, the question should be whether you should go with DSL or Cable for your high-speed.

Wow you were totally shooting blanks with that one.
OP, I would do a forum search 'bell expressvu', you'll find more then enough info from past threads. IMHO, ExpressVu is better...bundle up your services and save some money.

[Azenha]

Wow... I guess I totally crapped out on the question. Oh well, at least there's some usefull info on internet.

In terms of ExpressVu and Cable - I agree that Expressvu is better. A much cleaner picture, better sound quality, and pricing is much better then cable. Digital cable is trying to compete with Expressvu and it is quite good with comparable features. However, the monthly cost is still on the high end and the receiver pricing is also much higher then Expressvu.

Wow you were totally shooting blanks with that one.
OP, I would do a forum search 'bell expressvu', you'll find more then enough info from past threads. IMHO, ExpressVu is better...bundle up your services and save some money.

[Absolute]

My main complaint with ExpressVu is that when a storm comes around, or if it's very cloudy out, the performance degrades severely. Usually when a thunderstorm hits I'll get artifacts on a screen, until the picture and sound finally quit and I see a "Acquiring Satellite Signal" message until the storm passes.

For quality, ExpressVu; it just has it's limitations when weather conditions interfere.

[acg1978]

I got on board the winback promo Rogers was having and traded in my 3100 receiver for their pvr hd receiver (free for two years). No complaints at all. To be perfectly honest, when doing a straight comparision my Rogers bill ends up being about $2 more... but the service is there all the time. Plus many more options on ppv and ROD. Unless Bell is having a similar promotion with their new HDPVR receiver, I am staying with Rogers.

[v00d00]

I agree that severe weather can and will mostlikely degrade your signal.. but I guess it depends how often you get severe weather storms in your area.

Just being cloudy out doesn't hurt our signal.. but a big storm that is very thick and full of water will wind up blocking the signal. Also, a big winter storm with huge snowflakes falling like crazy will hamper the signal.

All that said, I still would never go back to digital cable. I didn't have Rogers, but Shaw Digital Cable was horrible.

[RDog]

Thanks for all the great info thus far. I have a question about satellite placement/direction. Is there any particular direction the ExpressVu dish would HAVE to face? For example, if I have a north-facing balcony (or east-facing or any direction in particular) does that matter in terms of having a dish set up?

What about DirecTV or Dish Network - anyone have any recommendations on where to go for that, and approximate cost to purchase and pay monthly (if anything).

Thanks again.
RDog.

[Absolute]

Thanks for all the great info thus far. I have a question about satellite placement/direction. Is there any particular direction the ExpressVu dish would HAVE to face? For example, if I have a north-facing balcony (or east-facing or any direction in particular) does that matter in terms of having a dish set up?

Yes, the sattelite dish must point directly at the sattelite itself, you only have a few milimeters in either direction to play with, to try to aim it. In Ottawa it seems to need to point south-west, so those with a North or East facing balcony can't have ExpressVu, unless they can aim it around a corner balcony.

[Jono]

Check out this article from Digital Home Canada:

http://digitalhomecanada.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=234&Itemid=34

One factor that they did not consider is that if you have multiple TV's in your home, you need a separate digital/satellite receiver for each one regardless of which service you choose. However with Rogers, you can at least have analogue service on your other outlets even if you don't have a digital receiver for them. With Expressvu you get no service without a receiver on the TV.

[supergenius]

Well, you don't actually need to have a receiver for each Tv. Bell has several dual tuner receivers available (3200, 5200, 9200) that make it very easy to distribute satellite video to remote TV's and still be able to watch separate channels. In my case, I have a 3200 and 9200 which allows me to watch 4 separate programs on 4 TV's, all in digital quality.

[acg1978]

There is also the cost of the 9200 receiver to consider though.
You can splice a cable countless ways and receive analogue cable through the other jacks in the home.

[RDog]

For those of you with dual tuners and set-top-boxes, what exactly do you do to control each box separately via remote? By that I mean, if you want to change the channel on one tuner, how do you prevent a second tuner from responding?

Thanks.

[gman]

If you have more than one TV, will Bell ExpressVu still fit the bill?
With digital cable, you can use more than one TV except only one is digital.
Am I right?

[tomtong]

Yes, the sattelite dish must point directly at the sattelite itself, you only have a few milimeters in either direction to play with, to try to aim it. In Ottawa it seems to need to point south-west, so those with a North or East facing balcony can't have ExpressVu, unless they can aim it around a corner balcony.

More details in the installation menu:
http://www.bell.ca/media/en/all_regions/pdf/television/install.pdf

If you're in a condo, there's Expressvu for condos that doesn't need a dish. It worked like cable to me but the condo must support it.

http://expressvu.logient.com/condoTV

[rvs007]

Get yourself a used/broken satellite receiver and trade it in for the "Ditch the dish" promo for Rogers.

In return you get:

* Free rental of a PVR for 2 years or free rental of a digital terminal for as long as you are a Rogers Cable customer (the PVR deal is much better)
* Free installation
* Free programming for 2 months
* Free digital specialty channels for 2 months
* Up to 3 extra cable outlets for no additional charges for 2 months
* 1 Free Rogers on Demand or Pay-Per View movies
* Choice of any 2 multicultural channels free for 2 months

If you don't like Rogers after 2 months, just call them to cancel. You end up paying nothing (maybe the cost of a used/broken receiver).

If you have a HDTV, you can ask for a HD-PVR and they should give it to you without any hassle. A HD-PVR rental runs you $24.95/month, so 2 years of free rental is definitely worth it.

This deal used to be free rental of the PVR for as long as you remain a Rogers customer, which is the deal I got. That was definitely a hot deal.

Here's the link to Rogers' website:

http://www.shoprogers.com/store/cable/ptv/satellite_offer.asp

[CHINAdeals]

got bell xpressvu..

dont' watch tv much but i think a major plus is getting the same channel in different timezones..

3 cbcs

3 ctvs

3 globals.

etc.

u see the point..advantage if you miss your show..ther'es always one on 30 min..1 hour later..

don't think they have that with rogers digital i think..correct me if i'm wrong

.euge

[gman]

got bell xpressvu..

dont' watch tv much but i think a major plus is getting the same channel in different timezones..

3 cbcs

3 ctvs

3 globals.

etc.

u see the point..advantage if you miss your show..ther'es always one on 30 min..1 hour later..

don't think they have that with rogers digital i think..correct me if i'm wrong

.euge

I think you are wrong.
http://www.shoprogers.com/store/cable/ptv/control/timeshift.asp?shopperID=R8XFR73B1VG89M3KG75SRVT9U3 FRC8D5
It has 5 cbc, 4 globals, 3 ctvs.

[Prankster]

I am deabting the same question. Although I can only get Cogeco cable. Right now I am leaning towards star choice satellite.