Tag Archives: Shaw Direct

How-To

Bundling with Shaw

2 Comments

Interested in bundling your Shaw Direct satellite service with Shaw Internet and Shaw Home Phone? If you’re in a Shaw-serviceable region, you may be eligible to receive up to $15.00 off your services per month!

With Internet speeds up to 250 Mbps, access to thousands of complimentary Shaw Go WiFi sites,   free Shaw-to-Shaw calling, and the ability to check your home phone messages from any computer or mobile device, you simply can’t go wrong. Pair all of this with the most HD channels in Canada and 10,000 (and counting!) Shaw Direct On Demand titles, and you have a winning combination!

Not sure if you’re in a Shaw area? Check out Shaw’s website, and select your location up at the top of the page to see if Shaw Home Phone or Internet are available where you live.

If you’d like more details on this great bundle discount, call our One Shaw Care team at 1-855-237-8904!  They’re available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.

If you don’t live in a Shaw area, you still may qualify for a discount on Internet with Xplornet. Find out more about this offer here.

*rg

Programming

The Shaw Fire Log

2 Comments

It’s that time of year again. A time for hot chocolate, woolly toques, building snowmen, and of course, the Shaw Fire Log.

You can enjoy it on channel 299 (in between regular programming), in HD on channel 955 (you’ll need a 600-series receiver), or on Shaw Direct On Demand. Can’t wait until you’re at home to bask in the warm glow of the fire log? Fear not: Today we introduce the Shaw Fire Log online, available exclusively on our Facebook page! Whether you’re on your laptop, tablet, or smartphone, you can see all of the ember-y goodness.

Did you know that the original televised fire log was on New York’s WPIX in 1966? It was inspired by an animated Coca Cola commercial that showed Santa in front of a fireplace. WPIX CEO Fred Thrower wanted the channel to be available to New Yorkers who lived in apartments or homes without fireplaces.

And, who can forget the hard-hitting feature The Daily Show did on the Shaw Fire Log?

Whether you’re curled up at home, or trying to stay warm on your morning commute, don’t miss out on the Shaw Fire Log.

*rg

Fun Facts

Refer-a-Friend

Did you know that you can refer your friends or family members to Shaw Direct and receive a free month of service in return? With our Refer-a-Friend program, it’s simple!

If the person you refer opens an account with us and keeps it open for at least 60 days, we’ll cover your bill for one month. Do you have a bunch of people you’d like to refer to us? Go right ahead! For as many people you refer to us that sign up and stay for 60 days, we’ll give you the same number of free months. Pretty cool, right?

So, how does our Refer-a-Friend program work? All you have to do is fill out a form on our website. Once we have the information, we’ll take care of contacting your referral and getting them ready to go!

The day their equipment is installed and their service is turned on is the day the countdown to your free month begins. We automatically go through all of the referrals we receive, and assign the credit for your account once the 60-day period is up.

There are a few things to bear in mind with the Refer-a-Friend program:

–          Referrals can only be brand new customers, or former customers who have not had service for at least six months.

–          The programming credit is non-transferrable, so it can only be applied to your account. It also has no cash value.

–          The programming credit covers your base programming package (so, if you have Digital Favourites with a Take 2 added on, we’ll cover the cost of Digital Favourites only), and excludes applicable taxes.

–          In order to receive the credit, your account (the referrer) will need to be current with payments.

Have any questions about our Refer-a-Friend program, or anything else? Let us know in the comments!

*rg

Fun Facts

International Animation Day

In honour of International Animation Day, here are 10 facts about the history of animation:

1. An early predecessor of the projector existed around 1650. This was called the “magic lantern,” and consisted of a translucent oil painting, a very simple lens, and a candle or oil lamp. The images would be projected in a darkened room, and often were used to convince viewers that they were witnessing something supernatural.

2. The flip book was patented as the “kineograph” in 1868 by John Barnes Linnett.

3. Thomas Edison announced the creation of a device he called the kinetoscope in 1889. This projected a 50 foot length of film in about 13 seconds.

4. Charles-Émile Reynaud is considered the pioneer of projected animated films. After inventing the praxinoscope, his animation Un bon bock was the first he showed publicly in 1892. It was shown alongside Le Clown et ses chiens and Pauvre Pierrot. In 1910, Reynaud threw most of his films into the Seine in Paris. Pauvre Pierrot is one of two that survived.

5. The first entirely animated film recorded on standard picture film was created in 1906. This was called Humourous Phases of Funny Faces, and was created by James Stuart Blackton. This featured scenes drawn on a chalkboard. Blackston is considered the father of North American animation.

6. In 1908, Émile Cohl created the first animated film using what became recognised as traditional animation – hand-drawing the images on paper. The film, called Fantasmagorie was made up of 700 separate drawings (cells), and is about 80 seconds in length.

7. Not one to stop trying new techniques, Cohl created another animation called En Route in 1910, which was the first paper cutout animation. This allowed the animator to save time by simply repositioning the paper drawings rather than having to redraw each new cell.

8. Walt Disney owned a studio in Kansas City called Laugh-O-Grams prior to opening Disney Studios. It went bankrupt in 1923, which is when Disney moved to Los Angeles and opened his new studio.

9. Disney originally wanted to call his famous mouse Mortimer. His wife disliked the name and suggested Mickey instead.

10. The first time computer animation was used for an entire film was with Toy Story in 1995. The last film of the franchise, Toy Story 3, was the first animated film to earn more than $1-billion worldwide.

*rg

Programming

NHL Centre Ice

If the best game you can name is the good ol’ hockey game, and the best team you can name is from out of your region, then NHL Centre Ice might just be for you.

NHL Centre Ice is the ideal package for those who want to watch “out-of-market” hockey games. For example, if you live in Winnipeg, but you root for the Ottawa Senators, this would be considered an “out-of-market” game. This means you wouldn’t normally receive the game, which could make you a very sad Senators’ fan. Subscribing to NHL Centre Ice would help prevent this from happening (as long as your favourite team wins), providing you with 15 HD channels of goals, shutouts, and hat tricks. That’s up to 40 games per week!

This great package is available for $30.14 (taxes extra) per month for the duration of the regular NHL season. Wondering what you’ll need to enjoy all of the action? You will need a 600-series receiver (the HDDSR 600, HDDSR 605, or HDPVR 630), as well as an updated xKu LNBF installed on your dish. If you’re not sure what kind of equipment you have, follow the instructions here to find out. If you need any upgrades, contact us for more information.

*rg

Bonus: Stompin’ Tom Connors – The Hockey Song

 

Fun Facts

100 Kilometers for Children’s Wish

dsc_0924-jpg
Sicotte reaching the finish line alongside his family

Philippe Sicotte, the Eastern Regional Manager at Shaw Direct, isn’t afraid of challenges. For the second time in two years, he ran to raise money for a cause close to his heart: the Children’s Wish Foundation. Sicotte ran 80 kilometers last year for the organization whose goal is to deliver dreams to children who have a life-threatening illness. This video, prepared by his son last year (in French), will take you through the 10 hour 47 minute journey through which he raised over $6,000 for Children’s Wish. This year, Sicotte challenged himself in running the approximate distance of two and half marathons, 100 kms, and to raise $10,000 in donations. Leaving from Chambly, QC very early Saturday towards Longueuil, weather wasn’t on the runner’s side. Finishing his run in 13 hours and 45 minutes, he arrived at the Marie-Victorin Park, welcomed by his supporters.  Several members of his family followed him along, his dad for instance, running the last kilometer by his side.

dsc_0904-jpg
Shaw Bear having some fun with the DJ!

Since its creation in 1984, Children’s Wish has made the wishes of over 20,000 children come true. The organization reports that the more popular wishes are travel, entertainment centers, computer systems and meeting celebrities. They explain that for the children, accomplishing these dreams have a remarkable effect on the healing process. Sicotte, who is quite involved with the organization, mentions how much work is done by them and the incredible reach they have.

Sicotte’s goal is to raise enough money to cover the average cost of one wish. Donations are of course accepted all year long – here’s a link to their website if you would like to do so. Prefer giving directly towards Sicotte’s fundraiser? Just click here to access the website (in French) or contact us directly and we will give you more detail on how you can help.

Community engagement is very important for Shaw Direct. The company was indeed very involved throughout this event. The team in Montreal also organized a fundraiser barbecue the week before Sicotte’s run, where $1,533 was raised and added to the total donation. Here is a link to an interview that was done by Global News. Congrats to everyone that was involved in making this fundraiser a success, and especially to Sicotte, who, for another year, has shown incredible courage and perseverance.

dsc_0947-jpg

 

*Marie Michelle P.
Fun Facts

Talk Like a Pirate Day

Avast, me hearties! ‘Tis Parley Akin ta a Matey Day. Arr! Here’s a wee chart fer ye land lubbers ta abide by so ye can parley proper this day.

Translation: Attention, my friends! It’s Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yay! Here’s a short guide for you land dwellers so you can converse properly today.

Key Pirate Phrases:

Ahoy: Hello

Arr!: A multi-purpose exclamation

Avast: Stop, or attention

Aye: Yes

Hearties: Friends

Land lubbers: One who loves solid land, or land dwellers

Matey: Associate, or fellow pirate

Me: My

Parley: Converse, or talk

Run a rig: To play a trick

Scallywag: Scoundrel

Ye: You

Pirate Speak Example: Ahoy, me hearties! Let’s parley about running a rig on the land lubbers. Arr! (Hello, my friends! Let’s talk about playing a trick on the land dwellers. Haha!)

If you’re ready for the full Talk Like a Pirate Day experience, Facebook has you covered. Did you know you can change your Facebook language to Pirate? Here’s how:

  • Click on the settings icon along the top bar of your page, then click on “Account Settings.”
  • You’ll now be on the “General Account Settings” page. From here, find the line that says “Language,” and click on “Edit.”
  • Scroll through until you find “English (Pirate),” and click on it. Once this is selected, click on the “Save Changes” button.

When you’re ready to switch back from Pirate:

  • Click on the settings icon along the top bar, and then click on “Ye Ship’s Rigging.”
  • Once on the “General Account Settings” page, find the line that says “Tongue,” and click on “Mend th’ sails.”
  • Scroll through until you find your regular language option, and click on it. Once this is selected, click on the “Stow Changes” button.

*rg (*Arr-g)