Monthly Archives: September 2012

Apps

Shaw Go Movie Central App

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For those who love the convenience of TV-on-the-go, we’re proud to announce the launch of our new Shaw Go Movie Central app! This provides Shaw Direct customers who subscribe to Movie Central with the latest HBO and Movie Central content to enjoy anyplace, anytime.

The app is currently available for Apple iOS devices, so you can get it for your iPhone 3, 4, or 5, your iPad 2 or the new iPad, and on any iPod Touch device. You can download it for free from Apple here. We know a lot of you love Android, so rest assured that we are looking at developing the app for other devices in the future.

To login, all you need is a ShawDirect.ca Self Serve account, and subscription to our Movies West package. If you are interested in subscribing to it, let us know and we can help you out.

The app features layered navigation, which is perfect for easily swiping though all of your viewing choices with the touch of a finger. It also provides smart search (it predicts what you might be looking for to speed things up), video bookmarking (you can stop what you’re watching and start it up in the same spot later), and intelligent streaming (you get the best possible video quality based on your connection speed). You can check out a detailed description of all the features and how to use the app here.

There are two other cool features that we really liked: If you use Apple TV, AirPlay lets you stream Movie Central content from the app directly to your TV, and you can let your friends and followers know what you’re watching by sharing to Facebook and Twitter!

At this point, we’ve got more than 670 titles available, which works out to more than 600 hours of content. This includes great shows like Game of Thrones, True Blood, and Boardwalk Empire, and popular movies like The Iron Lady, J. Edgar, and The Artist.

Whether you’re travelling within Canada, waiting for a bus, or on your break at work, you can get caught up on your favourite shows. And this is only the first of many apps by Shaw Go to come; stay tuned for more!

*rg

VOD

Video On Demand – A How-To

In our last post we talked about our new Video On Demand (VOD) system and what it is. This time, we want to give you some more information on what you need to use it, and how you can connect to VOD.

What do you need to use VOD?

How do you connect VOD?

  • Connect your Shaw Direct receiver directly to your router or powerline bridge using the Ethernet cable
  • Make sure your receiver is connecting to the Shaw Direct On Demand server
    • Press the “D” button on your remote control or select “VOD” from the menu bar. Scroll to “Network” and press “Enter”
    • Scroll down to “Home network status”, “Internet connectivity status” and “SOD server status” – all three must be “Online”. If one or more is “Not Available”, follow the steps available here
  • Test your connection speed to the Shaw Direct On Demand server
    • Press the “D” button on your remote control or select “VOD” from the menu bar. Scroll to “Network” and press “Enter”
    • Scroll down to the “Start connection speed test” button and press “Enter”. If the results are lower than expected, take a look at this page
  • Manage your bandwidth
    • You can set a limit on the maximum download rate when streaming content. Make sure your parental controls are enabled first.
    • Press “D” on your remote control, navigate to “VOD Settings” and enter your parental password to access the menu.

That’s all there is to it! If you have any questions about VOD, don’t hesitate to ask us.

*rg

VOD

Shaw Direct – Video On Demand (VOD)

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As you may have heard, we’ve recently launched our new Shaw Direct On Demand service! This is an expansion of our Shaw Direct Online Video On Demand, and allows you to watch your favourite series and great movies direct from your receiver; in fact, we now are offering more than 3,000 titles ranging from $0.99 to $6.99 for regular content (and lots of free content, too), with plenty more on the way. We’re also the first satellite provider in Canada to use adaptive streaming technology.

You might be wondering why the use of adaptive streaming is a good thing. You might also be wondering what “adaptive streaming” is.

Adaptive steaming is a process that automatically adjusts the quality of video that you are receiving (“streaming”) based on how much bandwidth you have available at any given time, and the speed of Internet that you are receiving. So, if you have one person in your home playing an online game, and another downloading music, your receiver will automatically stream a slightly lower quality of video; this ensures that you won’t ever have to wait for your movie to buffer. If one of the other online activities ends, then the movie will seamlessly start streaming a higher quality. The same goes for the opposite; if someone else in your home hops online and your available bandwidth is reduced, the switch to a slightly lower quality video will be completely seamless. No buffering, no waiting. Pretty cool, right?

In order to access Shaw Direct On Demand, you just need to make sure you’ve taken care of a few things. First, you’ll need one of our newest line of receivers: the HDDSR 600, HDDSR 605, or the HDPVR 630. If you don’t have one, talk to us about your options for getting one.

Next, you’ll need to make sure that you’ve got a high-speed Internet connection to your receiver. In order to access Shaw Direct On Demand, you’ll need to subscribe to an Internet package that offers a minimum speed of 5.0 Mbps; your receiver must be able to connect to the Shaw Direct On Demand servers at a minimum speed of 1.75 Mbps for standard definition, and 5.0 Mbps is the minimum speed for high definition (remember that during peak Internet usage times, you might not be getting the full speed possible for your Internet service). Not sure what your Internet speed is? You can test it on your receiver. You can find instructions on how to do this here.

If you don’t have a router close enough to your receiver, fret not; a powerline bridge will solve the problem.  A powerline bridge is a device that allows you to turn a power outlet into an extension of your router. Simply plug one half into your router and a power outlet, and the other half into another power outlet and your receiver, and you’re ready to go. If you are interested in more information, feel free to ask us.

Lastly, make sure you’ve registered for a Shaw Direct Self Serve account. If you haven’t registered yet, you can do so here. This will also give you access to some handy features like changing your programming online, refreshing your receivers, making a payment, and tons more.

If you want some additional information about Shaw Direct On Demand, you can check out the FAQ, connection how-to, and assistance with any issues.

Question of the Week:

What are you excited about getting to watch on Shaw Direct On Demand?

*rg