Tag Archives: VOD

Equipment, Technical Tips

The new HD Guide is here!

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Introducing: the new HD Guide!

The new guide interface is more intuitive, delivering an industry-leading customer experience. The HD Guide user interface offers many improvements when compared to the SD Guide, including: faster navigation, redesigned menus to ensure optimal usability and enhanced shortcuts/preference functionality. The HD Guide is available for 6XX series receivers only. Legacy receivers (including 5XX HD receivers) will not be updated.

HD Guide

With the launch of HD Guide, two features on the 6XX series receiver have been retired:

  • Interactive Weather Application.
  • Instant Pay-Per-View (IPPV) ordering: the IPPV order feature has been removed from the 6XX series. The phone line will remain for caller ID only. IPPV will continue to be available on all legacy receivers.

There are six new major features introduced with the HD Guide:

1.  Customizations

Three different font sizes are available, controlling the number of rows of data in the guide, plus two different program colouring options. These settings can be changed at any time by pressing the following: Options // Preferences // User Settings & Appearance.

2.  MiniTune & MiniPlay

  • MiniTune: You can press the ‘B’ button from the guide to immediately tune the video window to the selected channel, while maintaining your current position in the menu.
  • MiniPlay: For customers with an HDPVR 630, MiniPlay functions the same way as MiniTune, but within your list of recorded programs. You can press ‘B’ to begin playback of the selected program in the video window, while maintaining your current position in the PVR list.

3.  PPV Store

A new way of browsing available PPV movies! Selecting ‘PPV Search’ from the Pay-Per-View (PPV) menu bar allows you to:

  • Narrow results by genre.
  • Show clear ordering instructions and ID above the movie description.
  • Be notified that the purchase has been successful once it’s been ordered through the IVR.
  • Purchased program are identified by a checkmark in the guide, PPV Store, and ‘Upcoming Airings’ screens.

4.  Smart PVR Technology

Our HDPVR has an overlooked feature: the ability to look for the episode on multiple channels. This feature, in conjunction with the fact that Shaw Direct carries channels from every Canadian time zone, effectively eliminates recording conflicts.

  • The HDPVR allows you to record from ‘HD only’, ‘SD only’, or ‘All channels’, rather than a single channel.
  • Descriptive information written in user-friendly language.
  • You can also edit your recording preferences by pressing ‘Enter’ on the program and selecting the new menu option.
  • When customizing a particular recording event, you can now access a ‘More Channels’ selector to change the channel you want the recording to take place on.

5.  Multi-User and Single User Modes

Multi-User Mode: Up to eight users can have their own preferences applied at login, in addition to parentally-defined permissions, locks, and restrictions.

  • The current profile can be changed at any time by pressing the FAV button on the remote. Each profile can have a unique PIN.
  • Users can be copied to a USB key for transfer to another satellite receiver.

Parental restrictions that can be customized for each user include:

  • Ratings locks
  • Channel locks
  • Access to Adult content
  • Ability to order free VOD titles
  • Daily VOD purchase limit ($ value)
  • Auto-logout duration
  • PVR Permissions (ability to schedule new recordings, delete existing recordings, etc.)

Preferences that can be customized for each user include:

  • Onscreen and audio language
  • Closed Captions display and settings
  • Descriptive Video
  • Font size and program colouring style
  • Unsubscribed channels in Guide (show or hide)
  • Caller ID notifications (not available on the HDDSR 600)
  • Automatic prompt to delete recordings

Single User Mode: It uses the same approach as before, wherein a single set of restrictions is applied consistently and unlocked individually on an ad-hoc basis. While Multi-User mode generally does not present a PIN challenge upon encountering locked content, Single-User mode does.

  • When migrating from SD Guide with the Parental Controls enabled, you will be placed into this mode by default.
  • You can switch between Single and Multi-User modes whenever you want. If set, a PIN is required to make this change.

6.  Notification Bar

The Notification Bar replaces the ‘Alert’ (!) icon used in the SD Guide and will notify you of Caller ID, PPV purchases, reminders or auto-tunes, dual recordings, and more. It also displays the signal strength, Internet connectivity status (for VOD), HDD space (HDPVR only) and number of active reminders.

Press the ‘Down’ arrow while watching TV to show the notification bar.

Other enhancements:

  • The A, B and C buttons on the remote control serve as shortcuts in a number of different windows – try them out!
  • New ways to search for content: Keyword Search and Category Search. Press Menu // Search to see the different categories.
  • Redesigned Video on Demand store.

Now go on and play with your new HD guide!

HD Guide 2

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Reviews

The 86th Academy Awards

 

The 85th Academy Awards® will air live on Oscar® Sunday, February 24, 2013.

The 86th Academy Awards aired Sunday, March 2nd on ABC and CTV (for us Canadians!). Getting nominated is simply an honor; receiving a coveted gold statuette is considered one of the greatest achievements in the industry! The 2014 Oscars were hosted by Ellen DeGeneres, known for her fabulous sense of humour and entertainment qualities – She broke Twitter for a short while with that selfie and ordered pizza for everyone. The night went on smoothly with performances, among others, from Pharrell Williams, Karen O and Idina Menzel (aka Adele Dazim, if you’re a slightly-off John Travolta).

The Oscars are organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Movies, actors and actresses, music scores, directors and other behind-the-scenes components are nominated into different categories and voted on by over 6,000 Academy members. You can learn more about the Oscars’ history right here.

Bottom line: What we care the most about these events are the winners, those who should have won (we’re looking at you, Leo), and how good-looking everyone was in their outfits! Take a look at the gentlemen here and the beautiful ladies here. They looked ever-so-glamorous during the ceremony, but also at the after party – Pictures galore here!

The complete list of nominees and winners can be found on the Oscars Site. Many of the nominated and winning movies are already available on Shaw Direct Pay-Per-View (channels 951-983) or Shaw Direct Video On Demand:

  • 12 Years a Slave: Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o).
  • Dallas Buyers Club: Best Actor (Matthew McConaughey), Best Supporting Actor (Jared Leto).
  • Blue Jasmine: Best Actress (Cate Blanchett).
  • Frozen: Best Animated Feature.

If you wish to get more information on our Pay Per View or Video On Demand services, don’t hesitate to chat with a member of our eCare team via our Contact Us page, available 7 AM to 9 PM MT Monday to Friday, or contact our Social media team on Facebook or Twitter.

*Marie-Eve T.

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Programming

The Shaw Fire Log

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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.

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Apps

Shaw On Demand Search App

Ever wanted to figure out what you should watch when you get home before you get there? With the Shaw On Demand Search app, you can do just that. Whether you’re waiting for the bus or on the train, you can browse our entire Shaw Direct On Demand library from the comfort of your mobile device, and even order your pick so it’s ready to go as soon as you get home.

The app is currently available for Apple iOS devices and Android, so you can get it for your iPhone 3GS and up, your iPad 2 or the new iPad, on any iPod Touch device, and any Android device with version 2.2 and up. You can download it for free from Apple here, and from Google app store for Android here.

sod01When you launch the app, you’ll be taken to a login page with three different options; the first two (“Email” and “Customer Centre”) are for Shaw customers, while the third (“Shaw Direct”) is the one you’ll want to tap on. To login, you need to ensure that you’ve already registered for an online ShawDirect.ca account. You’ll also need to know the password that you used for the online account, as well as your account number.

sod02Once you’ve entered this information and the login has been completed, you’ll automatically be taken to the main “Movies” page, which allows you to browse the listings in several different ways, including by genre, by newest release, and by the most popular titles. Pricing for these titles ranges from free up to $6.99 (taxes extra).

One of the browsing options that we liked was “All Movies,” which takes you to a master list of all available movie titles. The cool thing about this is that you can alter the results by tapping on “Sort” in the top-right corner. Here, you can choose to sort alphabetically by title, by the year of release, by the star rating,  by popularity, and by the date the title was added to our library, which is great if you’re not entirely sure what you’d like to watch yet. You can also choose to only have the app display movies that are available in HD.

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The icons along the bottom of the screen will take you to the other areas of Shaw Direct On Demand listings, including “Movies,” “TV,” “Subscription,”, “Search,” and “More.”

Tapping on “TV” will show you all of the On Demand titles offered by a variety of broadcasters; the titles will be broken up by the different channels, and the content listed here will be available at no charge as long as you have a subscription to the channel.

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sod04Speaking of subscription, the “Subscription” section will list premium channels such as Movie Central or The Movie Network. If you have a subscription to one of the premium channels, you’ll receive On Demand content from that channel at no cost.

“Search” allows you to look for listings by their title, by the name of one of the listed actors, or by the director’s name.

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sod11“More” provides you with the option to view titles that you’d like to watch in future (“Wishlist”), your current orders, settings (including changing your preferred language), general help, and allows you to search for content based on a specific language (“Multicultural”). You can also sign out of your account through here.

To order a title, tap on the listing, which will take you to a description of it. At the bottom of the description, there is a blue icon that says “Order Now”; tap this to choose your format (SD or HD), and then tap “Complete Order.” When the order is successful, you’ll be taken to a screen with instructions on how to watch the title once you’re settled in front of your receiver.

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If you’d rather just add the title to your wishlist, you can do that too. Just to the left of the “Order Now” icon is a small heart icon. Simply tap on this, and the title will appear in your wishlist to be ordered at a later date.

One thing to bear in mind with this app is that you are only able to search titles and remotely order them; it does not stream video.

Any questions about the Shaw On Demand Search app? Don’t hesitate to ask us in the comments below.

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Equipment

600-Series Receivers – February 2013 Software Update

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Starting on February 12 (for HDPVR 630 units) and February 18 (for HDDSR 600/605 units), Shaw Direct will be deploying software version 09.15.  Once targeted (as seen on line I in OPTIONS 4-7), your receiver will automatically update at around 2:10AM local time.  It is not possible to force the update if you have not been targeted.

The overall look and feel is unchanged with this download, with the exception of updating branding.

This release provides increased VOD speeds, significant PPV enhancements, updated Closed Captions decoding and improved stability.  Prior to 09.15, the last software download was 08.26 in late October 2012.

09.15 Release Highlights

Overall Stability Improvements

  • General updates related to stability/reliability to reduce the chances of the receiver becoming “frozen”
  • If an issue is encountered that the unit is unable to resolve, a reboot may occur automatically to restore normal operation.

Shaw Direct On Demand (VOD) Dual Streaming & Usability Updates

  • Network and streaming drivers have been rewritten to enhance network throughput Speed Test - Results (GL)and VOD streaming performance.
  • A substantial increase in average speeds has been experienced with our Field Trial and Employee Trial groups.
  • If you previously had unexpectedly low Speed Test results, or issues streaming during local peak usage, an improvement should be seen with this release.
  • Unsubscribed content on VOD should display “grey” consistently, rather than sometimes giving a W4 error.

Shaw Direct On Demand (VOD) Adult Content

  • Support has been added for Adult content.  Adult content is found in a separate VOD menu, which is hidden by default.  A variety of Parental Control options are available to further limit access to this content.
  • To enable access to the Adult VOD store, Parental Controls must be enabled.  Then, press D to access the VOD menu bar, scroll to “VOD Settings”, and enter your password.  Change “Adult VOD” to “Enabled”.  Exit the menu, and press D again.  You’ll see a new button in the middle of the menu bar labelled “Adult”.
  • All Parental Control options (including Purchase Limit) will also apply to Adult content.
  • As with Adult PPV Content:
    • There is no free preview period on Adult VOD content
    • Coupons do not apply to Adult VOD titles
    • Adult VOD content features discrete billing.

PPV Order Enhancements

  • PPV programs now feature an “Order ID” in the Guide.  You can use this number to PPV - IPG with Order IDquickly place your order via the automated phone system (1-866-782-7778).
  • Once your receiver gets the order, the “!” alert icon will appear.  Pressing ENTER will display the Purchase History screen, which will list details of the title you ordered.  The “$” sign will also appear in the Guide on the title you purchased.
  • You must still setup an auto-tune, recording, or remember to tune in when the PPV starts.
  • If you didn’t receive confirmation of the purchase and the title doesn’t appear in Purchase History, use the “receiver refresh” option via the automated phone system or Self Serve to send the purchase through again.
  • In alignment with industry and studio standards, PPV movies recorded on the HDPVR 630 will be available for unlimited viewing for 48 hours, after which the title will automatically expire.

External HDD Updates

  • Once paired, eSATA hotplug is now supported.  However, unplugging your external HDD while it is connected is still not recommended. (Note that on initial pairing, you must still reboot the receiver to initiate the connection).
  • Units with a large number of recordings stored on an external drive should see improved performance after bootup, in the PVR List, and with the playback of recent recordings.

This release also updates the Shaw Direct logo to reflect the new brand launched in late Fall.

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Equipment

ReadyNet Powerline Bridge

If you’ve been curious about Shaw Direct On Demand, but aren’t able to connect your receiver to the Internet because it’s too far away from your router, we’re excited to let you know about the ReadyNet Powerline Bridge!

16_readynetThe ReadyNet Powerline Bridge allows you to convert any electrical outlet in your home into an Internet connection. Each kit comes with two adapters, two Ethernet cables, and an installation CD. Simply connect one adapter to your home router and a power outlet, and then connect the other adapter to your 600-series receiver and a nearby power outlet. As soon as this is completed, you can explore the vast Shaw Direct On Demand library and enjoy your favourite titles!

Once the first bridge is installed, the router connection will be established; if you need more than one additional Internet connection, you can just get a second ReadyNet kit for another two connections. The ReadyNet Powerline bridge sells for $49.99 (taxes extra), and as an added bonus, you get a coupon for eight free regular Shaw Direct On Demand titles just for connecting your receiver to Shaw Direct On Demand (to a maximum value of $7.99 each).

The bridge creates an Internet signal that will pass through your home’s circuit breaker without any issues, can support a bandwidth of up to 200 Mbps, and offers 128-bit AES encryption to ensure the security of your data.

If you’re interested in ordering a ReadyNet Powerline Bridge, you can find them in our online store. If you have any questions for us, please ask in the comments below!

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Equipment

600-Series Receivers – Software Update

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If you own a HDDSR 600, HDDSR 605, or a HDPVR 630, your receiver should have downloaded our most recent software, version 08.26. To check if you have received the download, you can go into your Options menu > 4 > 7 and look at line H. If this says 08.26, you are good to go with the below changes!

While the overall look and feel of your interface will remain the same, we have added in some new features and have dramatically changed your On Demand experience!

For all 600-series models, you should notice the following changes:

Shaw Direct On Demand Interests Menu Revamp

  • We have completely redesigned our Interests Menu to make it even easier for you to browse through our 4000 + titles available through Shaw Direct On Demand. This is a direct result of user feedback!
    • Now, in the first column, you select whether you’re looking for Movies, TV shows, Music or your Premium subscription titles.
    • In the second column, you are now able to select the channel or network the title is provided by.
    • With the third column, you are still able to search by genre or other filters.
  • This layout separates content in a more logical manner, providing you with the results you were looking for in less keystrokes.
  • Be sure to check out the hundreds of titles that are available at no extra cost with your subscription! Any titles that are included with a network that you are not subscribed to will appear grey, just as you’re used to in your guide.

Other Shaw Direct On Demand Enhancements

  • Other improvements have been made to your Shaw Direct On Demand experience, such as faster rewind and fast forward response, connectivity improvements, more consistent display of season and episode information under a specific TV show, and the ability to order in both HD and SD.

Multi-Audio Selections

  • Some specific TV programs have additional audio tracks available, such as descriptive video (DVS) or another language. This is used to ensure accessibility for all of our customers. When available, you will see the headphones icon (as shown) in the info banner.
  • To select a different audio track, simply hit the ‘Source’ button on your remote and select from the list displayed in the top left hand corner
  • Your default audio preference (as set in Options > 4 > 1) will be restored once you change the channel.

For HDPVR 630 users:

External Hard Drive Support

  • You are now able to connect an external eSATA hard drive to increase your HDPVR 630 recording capacity by up to 2.0 TB! That’s equivalent to over 1000 SD hours, or 300 HD hours!
  • External hard drives must be connected via eSATA, must be externally powered, and cannot be over 2.0 TB. For the most reliability, the drive should also be rated for PVR/DVR usage.
  • For complete information on adding an external hard drive to your current HDPVR 630, please take a look here.

If you have any questions about this recent update or about your receiver in general, feel free to leave us a comment and ask!

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