Bell Fibe TV / Entertainment Service Package 50% off

[silvery]

There's a Bell Promo going on in certain areas (my condo townhouses (Yonge/401) and my moms condo (Sheppard/Bayview) that give you 50% off for one year service, no contract.

http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/package.html

Now available as Bell Fibe TV (BES was beta period)

http://fibetv.bell.ca/en/features/introduction/

http://entertainment.bell.ca/images/back_section_title_pack3.jpg



Essential $49.50/mo (reg $99) includes

Whole Home, HD-ready Smart PVR
Next Generation Programming guide
Fibre-Fed Internet access with speeds of up to 20MPBS
Wireless Home Networking
Digital Standard (includes more than 50 digital audio channels)
Free HD Channels

Core $65/mo (reg $130) includes all of above plus extra choice of 5 Digital Theme Packs

Extra $75/mo (reg $150) includes all of above plus extra choice of 6 Digital Theme Packs AND
Premium Movies Pack

Super $82.50/mo *reg $165) includes all of above plus extra choice of 6 Digital Theme Packs, Premium Movies Pack and SUPER pack (Sex TV etc)

Available to select residential customers where access permits.Valid photo ID and One Bill required to activate system. Subject to change without notice and cannot be combined with any other offer. Taxes, additional fees and other conditions apply including the terms of service available at bell.ca/terms.


Questions about Bell Entertainment service?

Q: What is Bell Entertainment service?
A: Bell Entertainment is an integrated broadband service that uses the power of Internet protocol technology to provide you with both next generation digital television and broadband Internet access.

Q: How is Bell Entertainment service different from cable TV?
A: Bell Entertainment is delivered to your home via your existing telephone line rather than through a traditional cable. It's a new, fully-integrated video and data service that carries standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) digital television signals over your regular phone line, making it possible to offer television service on a line already coming into your home with little or no change to existing wiring.

Q: Do I need a satellite dish to get Bell Entertainment service?
A: No.

Q: How is Bell Entertainment service different than DSL or cable broadband Internet access?
A: Bell Entertainment is a broadband Internet access service that optimizes the use of fiber-optic cable so it can deliver the ultimate in Internet speed and performance.

Q: Why is there a limit to the number of customers you can accept for Bell Entertainment service in a specific neighborhood?
A: Bell Entertainment service is being introduced in a highly contained beta launch, in order to ensure the highest possible quality of service a certain threshold of accounts in a given location is required at this time.

Q: Do I need to have a Bell Home Phone in order to be eligible for Bell Entertainment service?
A: No

Q: What happens after the promo ends in December 2009?
A: New offers and promotions will be introduced to our customers a few months before the end of the promotion period.

Q: How many TVs can I get Bell Entertainment service for?
A: You can hook up to 4 TVs with Bell Entertainment service depending on your bandwidth qualification. The primary Entertainment Console is included in the package price. Any additional consoles can be rented for a monthly fee of $5. All entertainment consoles are HD ready and support HD programming.

Q: What equipment is included with Bell Entertainment service?
A: The equipment included in the package are a Bell Entertainment console, a wireless gateway and a remote control. Highly-trained Home Entertainment Specialists will deliver and install everything you need. In some homes, additional equipment may be needed.

Q: What will the wiring of the equipment look like?
A: While each configuration is different depending on the number of TVs you have in your home, our certified Home Entertainment Specialists will use the existing coax wiring in your home and provide a minimally disruptive set-up during the professional installation appointment.

Q: I don't have an HDTV yet. Can I watch digital TV even though I do not have a high definition television?
A: Yes. The Bell Entertainment console receives a digital signal and then converts it into a format that will work with your conventional television. When you make the leap to HD, just connect your new TV with HDMI or Component cables and enjoy the full viewing pleasure of your HD programming.

Q: What will my bill look like?
A: The charges for Bell Entertainment service will appear on your One Bill in the section called Entertainment services, where you will see a line item charge your Bell Entertainment package, along with a promotional credit line item for 50% off.

Q: If I have any support questions or technical problems, who should I call?
A: Our expert Bell Entertainment customer support team can be reached 1-866-247-5703. They will be able to answer your questions anytime Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm and on Saturdays from 9am to 5pm. For major technical issues outside these hours, a technician is on call for rapid response.

[mcaj]

Does anyone have any experience with their "fiber-fed" internet?

It says "upto" 20Mbps (and I know this is a standard marketing terminology), but does the speed get atleast close to 20?

[yhap2003]

Here are some very interesting FAQs

Q: How is Bell Entertainment service different from cable TV?

A: Bell Entertainment is delivered to your home via your existing telephone line rather than through a traditional cable. It's a new, fully-integrated video and data service that carries standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) digital television signals over your regular phone line, making it possible to offer television service on a line already coming into your home with little or no change to existing wiring.

Q: Do I need a satellite dish to get Bell Entertainment service?

A: No.

Q: How is Bell Entertainment service different than DSL or cable broadband Internet access?

A: Bell Entertainment is a broadband Internet access service that optimizes the use of fiber-optic cable so it can deliver the ultimate in Internet speed and performance.

Q: Why is there a limit to the number of customers you can accept for Bell Entertainment service in a specific neighborhood?

A: Bell Entertainment service is being introduced in a highly contained beta launch, in order to ensure the highest possible quality of service a certain threshold of accounts in a given location is required at this time.

more....http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/faq.html

This seem rather temping. But knowing that it's a Beta launch, it is inevitable that there will be disruption in service. Does anyone know if they are going to run fiber line to your home or is everything going through the telephone line? HD TV requires pretty high traffic flow, how can they pack all that in just the telephone line? :S any experts out there?

[AirBosh]

Enjoy the war of words with Rogers.. :razz:

Read this:

http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/media.html

[yhap2003]

Enjoy the war of words with Rogers.. :razz:

Read this:

http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/media.html

yeah I saw that and I was giggling. LOL

[M-e-X-x]

This seem rather temping. But knowing that it's a Beta launch, it is inevitable that there will be disruption in service. Does anyone know if they are going to run fiber line to your home or is everything going through the telephone line? HD TV requires pretty high traffic flow, how can they pack all that in just the telephone line? :S any experts out there?

It's basically TelusTV for the east. I guess Telus took Bell's satellite service in exchange for Bell taking their TV service.

[chinmoku_tak]

is it just me or I don't see the maximum monthly usage for internet option?? is it unlimited or is it supid 75GB cap??

[Dota]

Guys this is the next generation of TV and internet.

[Amp]

Guys this is the next generation of TV and internet.

Which means they'll have the bugs worked out and the promises of service fulfilled.... sometime next generation :razz:

[yhap2003]

I'm going to give Bell a call and ask for more details about it then call Rogers and ***** at them to see if I can get a good deal. :cheesygri

[bubble_tea]

darn, toronto only?

[cechlin]

so does anyone know the cap and when this will be rolling out for the rest of ontario?

[milhouse6]

I don't care if they're giving away stewardesses that poop chocolate bars and gold, I promised myself a loooong time ago never to get into bed with Bell again and I'm sticking to it.

[ckhw]

Essential $49.50/mo (reg $99) includes

Whole Home, HD-ready Smart PVR
Next Generation Programming guide
Fibre-Fed Internet access with speeds of up to 20MPBS
Wireless Home Networking
Digital Standard (includes more than 50 digital audio channels)
Free HD Channels


Sounds a good deal when it is 50% off ($49.50/mo). Reg $99 is overpriced. My brother should be saving some money if it is available at his condo.

Thanks for posting.

[gottagetta]

This Bell Entertainment pack, is it just IPTV?

[a in yul]

darn, toronto only?

t this time, Bell Entertainment service is available in select neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto Area.
To find out if you are lucky enough to get the service, call us at 1-866-247-5703 to find out.

[whabs]

man, this deal seemed hot, too bad its gta only...

[Meridian]

Great deal but area served will be very limited. VDSL PQ is supposed to be better than both cable and satellite. Good for those who can get it.

[beachlover]

Even a 22 story condo building that was built a year and a half ago didn't have this.....

[infamouskid]

my brother has this service and it absolutely rocks.
i wish i can get it in my building.
it also tells you who is calling on your tv screen when your phone ringers are off. internet is fast and pings are good.

[MJB]

t this time, Bell Entertainment service is available in select neighbourhoods in the Greater Toronto Area.
To find out if you are lucky enough to get the service, call us at 1-866-247-5703 to find out.

Just Talked to a CSR. The program is/has starting in Toronto and Mississauga and will be in the rest of the GTA and then all of Ontario 'hopefully' in the next few months.

I am currently a Bell subscriber for phone and internet and can 'upgrade' to this with the promotion (ends Dec 31) according to the CSR. He also took down my name etc so that when it is available in my area they will contact me.

For more info go to
http://www.bell.ca/myentertainment/

Thanks OP

[Fraggle]

Not available north of steeles at all, restricted to city limits according to bell.. meh.

[andrewhaji]

I just got a letter from Bell yesterday about this service. They're coming in this week to do a demo, so I'm definitely going to pop by and take a look.

I'm currently with TekSavvy (5 mbps DSL) but if they're going to offer me 27 mbps Internet and HDTV for $50/month, it'll be hard to turn it down...

[idawg81]

If you sign up is it 50% until Dec 31 or is the deal only available til Dec. 31 (and therefore 50% for a longer period of time)?

[winstona]

Looks really promising. If it is really that good as advertised, I will say goodbye to robbers.

[MJB]

If you sign up is it 50% until Dec 31 or is the deal only available til Dec. 31 (and therefore 50% for a longer period of time)?

From OP post -
.... that give you 50% off for one year service, no contract.

[silvery]

From OP post -
.... that give you 50% off for one year service, no contract.

When i spoke to them last night in person, they said they would introduce new offers a few months before the one year service expires...

Also it doesn't matter how new your condo building is, they have to install kind of a unit where there is fiber connectivity in your area before you can get the service... but they are rolling out around ontario rapidly, so keep trying... also they mentioned they are limiting the # of installs per area so quality doesn't suffer....

[AzureD]

Just called, not available in Yonge n Finch area yet :(

[Smotz]

Just called, not available in Yonge n Finch area yet :(

I know they are available in Yonge and Sheppard. So they are getting VERY close to you.....

I am all the way in Vaughan..... it is going to be a long wait for me.

[ahcash]

looks like the west side will have to wait a bit... SHAW is ripping me off.

[idawg81]

From OP post -
.... that give you 50% off for one year service, no contract.


Thanks. Went straight to the link...

[M-e-X-x]

looks like the west side will have to wait a bit... SHAW is ripping me off.

Probably won't happen. As I've mentioned earlier in my other post, this just looks like TelusTV for Eastern Canada.

[horco]

Called in internet cap is 60GB... TV doesn't affect the cap.

Apparently $30 max overage. Call to confirm though.

Didn't get a firm answer on speeds? OP they said it was 20mbps?

[silvery]

Called in internet cap is 60GB... TV doesn't affect the cap.

Apparently $30 max overage. Call to confirm though.

Didn't get a firm answer on speeds? OP they said it was 20mbps?

Yes or $1.50 per GB up to $30 max monthly....

[sprung]

On the phone ordering it right now, literally, seems like a good deal. We pay more for Expressvue and Sympatico Internet w/Bell right now. Rate is for a one year commitment.

Ordered 2 consoles. Guess our area was newer wiring. My install is set for Oct 23. Will post review/impressions here once it is done.

FAQs (http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/faq.html)
Q: How many TVs can I get Bell Entertainment service for?
A: You can hook up to 4 TVs with Bell Entertainment service depending on your bandwidth qualification. The primary Entertainment Console is included in the package price. Any additional consoles can be rented for a monthly fee of $5. All entertainment consoles are HD ready and support HD programming.

BTW - I'm in a house, Mt Pleasant/Davisville area

[terri]

Only supports 1 TV and gives you 1 console. (You won't be able to view anything on the other TVs)
According to the rep, any more consoles will affect the internet apparently which is why it only supports 1 TV for now.
Bad for us multiple TV folk! :( Boo!

[Henweee]

Doesn't seem to have Raptors or Leafs TV in the bundle. Not listed in the additional specialty channels either.

[Evil Baby]

LOL, 60GB cap with 20mbps service. That is pathetic. I really really hope you TV bandwidth doesn't count against your cap as well. According to the other thread on this, in NB, there is no cap on the service. I find it difficult to believe that there is a 60GB cap, but if there is that is pathetic.

Even still I am jealous that this service is not in Niagara Falls, and even if it was it surely wouldn't be in my 75 year old neighborhood.

[statick]

Only supports 1 TV and gives you 1 console. (You won't be able to view anything on the other TVs)
According to the rep, any more consoles will affect the internet apparently which is why it only supports 1 TV for now.
Bad for us multiple TV folk! :( Boo!

Really, when i spoke to them they said 3 boxes were perfectly fine! And all in High definition, and they are promoting the extra boxes for $5/month!

[fulrach]

This is really interesting!

Just called them about it, didn't expect that it'd be available in my area as it's 5yrs old already but they said maybe in the next couple months as they're already offering 16mbps in the area (which I've already signed up to). The minimum you should have is 25mbps in order to have 1 tv going.

[horco]

Really, when i spoke to them they said 3 boxes were perfectly fine! And all in High definition, and they are promoting the extra boxes for $5/month!

Did they say if they have problems installing to upstairs?

Ie 1 tv downtsairs, 1 tv up.

[lostradamus]

Sounds like an awesome service even though I would go way over the 60GB/month cap.

Unfortunately not available at my Yonge/St.Clair apartment building. We can only get 16Mbps when you need 23Mbps for the full service. Looks like I am stuck with Rogers for a few more months >:(

[markj]

is this eventually coming to montreal?

[frugal1]

I took a look at their online demo. I think the box can act as a media server so you can stream music on your computer to your tv. Not sure if it can do that for videos though. It's an interesting service in any case.

[sprung]

I took a look at their online demo. I think the box can act as a media server so you can stream music on your computer to your tv. Not sure if it can do that for videos though. It's an interesting service in any case.

No videos and looks like they're dropping support (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=113388) for pics/music streaming

"I just got a notice that Bell IPTV will be dropping the "My Home Media" feature from it IPTV offering. Not that I ever used my STB to look at my personal pictures or play music off my PC but can anyone guess why this is being done. The notice from Bell suggests that it is not stable enough to meet their standards. Was it too costly to support none technical users?"

And a long thread on the service here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=46356) and another thread here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=91988). Sounds like installation is pretty time consuming +/- 4 hrs.

[techfox]

When does the 50% promotion end? (When does the discount expire? -- ie 50% for life if you sign up before Dec 31st?

edit -- nvm.. I just read the entire thread.. 1 year.

[statick]

Did they say if they have problems installing to upstairs?

Ie 1 tv downtsairs, 1 tv up.

Nope no problem in my townhouse apparently they can use the coaxial connection or Phone line either one...

Also the TV service has built in Picture In Picture feature so you can scan through other channels while watching your current channel!

[drawde]

Just called, not availalbe at an address in Maple ON at this time.

The guy said its a 60gb internet cap per month included in the price.

Also said they gaurantee a minimum of 3mb/s

[Traian2003]

Not available in the Warden and Finch area >:(

[horco]

Just called, not availalbe at an address in Maple ON at this time.

The guy said its a 60gb internet cap per month included in the price.

Also said they gaurantee a minimum of 3mb/s

Is this similar to what telus offers out west? Or was it 1.5mbps

[Fox]

I don't care if they're giving away stewardesses that poop chocolate bars and gold, I promised myself a loooong time ago never to get into bed with Bell again and I'm sticking to it.

I couldn't agree more. If you do business with Bell, you will regret it. I've had nothing but bad experiences with Bell.

[Genia11]

Not available at Mavis & 401

[mjl_toronto]

Not available at my house. Who do I call to upgrade my home to fibre optics? :D

[lostradamus]

Doesn't sound like a lot of people are having much luck getting this service. Bell should setup a Google Map with a service area so we don't waste time tying up their help desk.

[trucanuck]

Called. Not available in my area either. Also checked for parents and they couldn't get it. Why do advertise this but nobody can get it????

[silvery]

Called. Not available in my area either. Also checked for parents and they couldn't get it. Why do advertise this but nobody can get it????

Be Patient and check back again soon, they have just begun the Pilot and are expanding slowly all over GTA/Ontario... they can't get everything done in a week!!

[Evil Baby]

Called. Not available in my area either. Also checked for parents and they couldn't get it. Why do advertise this but nobody can get it????

They're not really advertising it. It's on a website. If they were advertising you'd see it in every newspaper, on the tv, on bus stops.

Clearly they are just testing the product right now and early adopters are going to have to put up with the pains of those test. However, for full package of TV and internet at $86, you can't go wrong. If this package was in the Falls it would save me $120 a month.

[kashan]

I had this service installed in Mississauga a few weeks ago with 2 receivers. Real life speeds when not watching tv are 22 mbit down/8 mbit up. Torrents ARE throttled to 30k/s during peak hours just like normal Bell DSL. They use VDSL2 (which is different than the old VDSL used by Bell in some condos) and the modem syncs at 30/10. The IPTV HD quality is very nice and comparable to OTA HD - even the SD channels are far better than cable/satellite. The channel changes are VERY fast, even faster than old analog cable. The 50% promotion is for 12 months from when your service is activated. For 65/month (+5 for 2nd receiver) it is well worth it if you don't usually go over 60gb/month, though I'm not sure if I would keep it for 130/month after the promotion is over.

[cf18]

Doesn't seem to have Raptors or Leafs TV in the bundle. Not listed in the additional specialty channels either.

They are listed with the other basic channels in all packages.

[jukster]

I had this service installed in Mississauga a few weeks ago with 2 receivers. Real life speeds when not watching tv are 22 mbit down/8 mbit up. Torrents ARE throttled to 30k/s during peak hours just like normal Bell DSL. They use VDSL2 (which is different than the old VDSL used by Bell in some condos) and the modem syncs at 30/10. The IPTV HD quality is very nice and comparable to OTA HD - even the SD channels are far better than cable/satellite. The channel changes are VERY fast, even faster than old analog cable. The 50% promotion is for 12 months from when your service is activated. For 65/month (+5 for 2nd receiver) it is well worth it if you don't usually go over 60gb/month, though I'm not sure if I would keep it for 130/month after the promotion is over.

They do not list the sportsnet HD channels as part of the programming.... Can you confirm these are not available in HD with the $65 package?

[yhap2003]

I called and they said this service is only available to Mississauga and the Toronto area. I live in Markham. They said they are working on expanding the service and I should check back soon.

It seems like all the signal will be going through fiber lines. The TV, HD and Internet will share one line.

[parkourster]

any contracts with this?

[Webslinger]

Real life speeds when not watching tv are 22 mbit down/8 mbit up.

What are the speeds like when watching an HD channel? Also, can you use an existing wireless N router, or do you have to use theirs?

[Webslinger]

On the phone ordering it right now, literally, seems like a good deal. We pay more for Expressvue and Sympatico Internet w/Bell right now. Rate is for a one year commitment.


So they do put you on a 1 year contract?

[Meridian]

A person at my work has this service. He logged on his account and can select shows to record on his pvr. Pretty cool!

[TypeVR6]

I had this service installed in Mississauga a few weeks ago with 2 receivers. Real life speeds when not watching tv are 22 mbit down/8 mbit up. Torrents ARE throttled to 30k/s during peak hours just like normal Bell DSL. They use VDSL2 (which is different than the old VDSL used by Bell in some condos) and the modem syncs at 30/10. The IPTV HD quality is very nice and comparable to OTA HD - even the SD channels are far better than cable/satellite. The channel changes are VERY fast, even faster than old analog cable. The 50% promotion is for 12 months from when your service is activated. For 65/month (+5 for 2nd receiver) it is well worth it if you don't usually go over 60gb/month, though I'm not sure if I would keep it for 130/month after the promotion is over.

Damn! 22Mbps down?! W/ Newsgroups - there's no throttling, this is going to be really fast :)

Where in Sauga are you? The service is currently not available near Derry & 9th Line :(

[Slingshot377]

Sweet! Can't wait for Rogers to offer FTTH. I honestly thought it would be a lot longer till the GTA got FTTH, but this is awesome news!

[cechlin]

Damn! 22Mbps down?! W/ Newsgroups - there's no throttling, this is going to be really fast :)

Where in Sauga are you? The service is currently not available near Derry & 9th Line :(

60gb cap tho :(

[andrewhaji]

60gb cap tho :(
It's only an extra $30 for unlimited. If you get the lowest package, that makes it $80 for HDTV and unlimited Internet. I'd buy that.

[cechlin]

It's only an extra $30 for unlimited. If you get the lowest package, that makes it $80 for HDTV and unlimited Internet. I'd buy that.

good deal, i would do that.

cant wait till this comes to hamilton.

i wonder if they will enable the 360 iptv like in europe.

[kashan]

They do not list the sportsnet HD channels as part of the programming.... Can you confirm these are not available in HD with the $65 package?

Sportsnet HD isn't included, but the SD versions are. The only HD sports channels are TheScore, Raptors TV, TSN HD.


any contracts with this?

There is no contract, you can cancel at any time.


What are the speeds like when watching an HD channel? Also, can you use an existing wireless N router, or do you have to use theirs?

Each HD channel you watch/record eats up about 8mbit. With 2 recievers there is a limit of recording/watching 2 HD and 1 SD channel at the same time. If you get even more receivers you supposedly get an additional 5mbit downstream for each one (I only have 2 so can't confirm this).

There is no way to disable routing in the modem they give you, but I was still able to use my Linksys WRT320N with it. I plugged the Linksys WAN port to an empty port on the modem, set it to use DHCP and put the Linksys in DMZ in the modem. All my devices connect to the Linksys and there is no noticeable drop in speed with being double NAT'd. The modem only has Wireless-G but the most annoying part is that it forces AP-isolation on wireless so there is no way to access the internal network through the modem's WiFi. With everything going through the Linksys now I haven't had any issues. Just make sure to enable "Filter Multicast" on your own router or you will have issues with the TV dropping out after 20 seconds.


Damn! 22Mbps down?! W/ Newsgroups - there's no throttling, this is going to be really fast :)

Where in Sauga are you? The service is currently not available near Derry & 9th Line :(

Hurontario & Eglinton

[heyhey]

I'd like to see what Rogers is offering to counter this deal.

[infamouskid]

Not available north of steeles at all, restricted to city limits according to bell.. meh.


I'd like to see what Rogers is offering to counter this deal.

yeah its called nothing. its rogers all they care about apru
and i dont see this being avail to all customers in the GTA for years. unless they do a total network overhaul of all Central offices. in order for this to work bell has to deploy fiber stinger remotes to the basement of condos during construction or outside on a ugly box (just like at&t uverse is doing but getting sued). this is not FTTH ppl. this is FTTN. its not the same thing. your still getting data over traditional copper and you are still using an adsl modem. not that nice stuff verizon got down south.
and sadly bell is far far far behind its schedule on iptv by more then 4 years. it was supposed to be launched in march 2007 to all bell customers but the idiot execs and network engineers at time decided that adsl1/2+ was the proper technology to provision this. then a merger was in talks then a buyout and new ownership happened. guess what?? new owners said hey lets do that iptv shiet!!!! wait a sec WTF!?!?!? why did they spend all this money deploying adsl1/2+ gear?? we should of been deploying vdsl1/2+ equipment. once this news broke out Microsoft backed out (they were the software supplier for iptv) and the new owners decided to postpone and focus on laying more fiber in the ground and conduct more testing with bell labs and expertech.
then at this point aliant (another baby bell) got fed up of waiting for a network wide launch and decided to go forward with their own iptv brand in 2008. which now serves entire cities. about 100k now but back then 70k subs.
oh and reps lied. the reason why they will only do a few installs in an area is because they cannot push that much data over copper with the hardware they deployed years ago. its just not possible.
think about it. voltage over copper vs light over fiber. both carry data but one suffers over distances and can have a number of things interfere with it.

[milhouse6]

This is 2nd hand, but a rogers installer friend tells me they're gearing up for FTTC (fibre to the curb). No idea re pricing or date as yet, but I'm sure he'll keep me posted.

[infamouskid]

This is 2nd hand, but a rogers installer friend tells me they're gearing up for FTTC (fibre to the curb). No idea re pricing or date as yet, but I'm sure he'll keep me posted.

that is only new development areas under construction. the way they are implementing this is when a home builder sells a house he offers the option of fiber from the home buyers home demarcation point inside their home to the edge of property where it meets a fiber provider. this way the home owner incurs the fees of installing fiber. if all owners in the neighborhood do it the cable company wins and doesnt have to pay a cent.

fttc will not be avail everywhere since the costs of doing a major fiber route all over the gta will cost billions in digging and construction. instead rogers will be doing docsis 3.0 deployments and feed off of that for a while while doing ftth and fttc trials in developing neighborhoods. they will be deploying fibre to and from their data offices to the nodes. but from the nodes its the same coax last mile to the home. just like bell and other telcos.

as long as the old copper networks can still generate revenue in canada. they big 3 will continue to squeeze every penny it can out of it until that technology is fully exhausted or there is no more need.

[infamouskid]

here is what's already in the east and what everyone hopes we will get one day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjMs7N0a2Pw

[Webslinger]

Each HD channel you watch/record eats up about 8mbit. With 2 recievers there is a limit of recording/watching 2 HD and 1 SD channel at the same time. If you get even more receivers you supposedly get an additional 5mbit downstream for each one (I only have 2 so can't confirm this).

There is no way to disable routing in the modem they give you, but I was still able to use my Linksys WRT320N with it. I plugged the Linksys WAN port to an empty port on the modem, set it to use DHCP and put the Linksys in DMZ in the modem. All my devices connect to the Linksys and there is no noticeable drop in speed with being double NAT'd. The modem only has Wireless-G but the most annoying part is that it forces AP-isolation on wireless so there is no way to access the internal network through the modem's WiFi. With everything going through the Linksys now I haven't had any issues. Just make sure to enable "Filter Multicast" on your own router or you will have issues with the TV dropping out after 20 seconds.



Great info!! Thank you!!

[silvery]

I'd like to see what Rogers is offering to counter this deal.

When i called in to cancel my Rogers service, they immediately offered 20-30% discount on both internet and cable service, and to extend my free HDPVR, but still came to $90+tax monthly.....

[sprung]

Click here (http://www.bell.ca/myentertainment/IPTVEmail_WelcomeEmail.page?regionToggle=true&languageToggle=true&_windowLabel=portlet_9_2&region=ON&language=en) to see the Bell pre-installation checklist steps. Weird that Vista isn't mentioned?

There are a number of things that will take place between now and your Installation and Set Up date.

1. Before our Home Entertainment Specialist arrives at your home for the actual Installation and Set Up, we'll first conduct a line test to make sure the cables around your home are ready for Bell Entertainment service. So don't be alarmed if you see one of our Home Entertainment Specialists around your home (you do not need to be home for this step as it will take place outside your home).
2. Installation and Set Up day. Please be sure that you're home for the date and time specified in your Welcome email. A Home Entertainment Specialist will call you approximately one hour before your scheduled appointment time to let you know he's on his way. The Home Entertainment Specialist will install and set up your Bell Entertainment consoles and configure your computer so that you'll be able to enjoy your Bell Entertainment service immediately. You'll be asked to make your programming selections during this visit, so please be sure you review your options in step 4.

How can you prepare for your Installation and Set Up? You should:

1. Be sure that your TV(s) and computer(s) are functional, and that the connections to both are accessible.
2. Ideally, your TV(s) should be located close to your coaxial cable outlets (where the cable comes out of the wall) and your computers should be near power outlets.
3. Have 2 power bars available to facilitate all the connections required.
4. Be sure your computer meets these minimum system requirements:
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Service Pack 2; or
* Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2; or
* Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; or
* Windows XP.
If you do not have one of the above-mentioned operating systems, please upgrade before your Installation and Set Up date. Without the correct operating system, the Home Entertainment Specialist will not be able to configure your computer for you to enjoy My Home Media, a cool feature which will allow you to enjoy your photos and music from your TV.

[signup]

Weird that Vista isn't mentioned?

Minimum requirement is WindowsXP; therefore Vista & Windows7 are supported.

[ayb]

Just called them, closest major intersection is Matheson and Hurontario in Mississauga. Not available.... dammit. I was getting ready to cancel Rogers.
:(

[ferkel]

Cancelled Robbers.. I mean Rogers

[avster]

It isn't being offered in Bathurst and Sheppard area. I was all set to call Rogers and cancel my service. They said it's primarily downtown Toronto and to try back in a month.

[productionteams]

I have been using Bell IPTV for 2 weeks.

Generally I am quite pleased with the service. With 1 HDTV on, I get the following speedtest:

http://www.speedtest.net/rank/1242510718.png

The great thing about Bell is the upload speed. It's a lot faster than Rogers'. When my HDTV is off, I get about 21Mbps download. In theory, I can get up to 5 consoles andd I can get up to 30Mbps download (when I turn all the consoles off).

Pros:
- Channel switching on HD console is lightening fast compared to Rogers HDPVR.
- HDMI connection directly from HD console to TV (Although it conflicts with my Sharp LCD TV, so just using component right now).
- UI is by far the best in class. Much better than Rogers. It's Windows CE based OS.
- Specific Bell CSR line with superior customer service. Think of Fido's CSR 5 years ago.
- Dedicated installation. One of the best I had in years.

Cons:
- Had a wide area system outage yesterday night (including sympatico internet), so no internet and TV for many hours. Glad that I still have basic Rogers cable in my building. Otherwise, hadn't had much problem.

Overall, for those who are geeks or early adopters, I recommend IPTV. For those who are not tech savvy, wait for the official launch.

[mcaj]

I have Rogers Extreme (10mbps) for $35/month, but I don't have any tv right now. So, i'm really looking into this, primarily for the tv. It seems like the early adopters will be "guinea pigs", but for $50/month for tv + internet, its well worth the "pain". :|

Btw, for someone who has signed up already, can you confirm what your final bill (incl. taxes and everything) is going to be for the cheapest package (essential)?

[tariaki]

I live in Misissauga Winston Churchill/Dundas. Signed up and getting setup on Oct 20.

This seems like a great deal, it's half price for one year with no contract.

Thanks OP!

[avp77]

A couple of questions I have, don't know if anyone here has the answers:

1) Is this for individual houses as well, or only for new condos? All of the comments seem to be about newly-built condos.

2) What does the actual wiring in your place look like? I'm assuming that when they do the install they put in fiber optic wires to every room where you have a TV/computer?

[cell567]

I live in Misissauga Winston Churchill/Dundas. Signed up and getting setup on Oct 20.

This seems like a great deal, it's half price for one year with no contract.

Thanks OP!

I don't get how their system works then because I live on dundas / dixie (closer to toronto / etobicoke) and there is no service being offered. Are they supporting a certain amount of area or random spots within Mississauga / Toronto?

[jigsatics]

For those who have this service already, are there any other fees associated with it aside from taxes? So for the essential package, it would only be $49.95+tax?

[kashan]

A couple of questions I have, don't know if anyone here has the answers:

1) Is this for individual houses as well, or only for new condos? All of the comments seem to be about newly-built condos.

2) What does the actual wiring in your place look like? I'm assuming that when they do the install they put in fiber optic wires to every room where you have a TV/computer?

I am in a house and have the service. There is no fiber optic cable anywhere (aside from Bell to the box in your neighborhood). You plug their VDSL2 modem into your phone line, just like a normal DSL modem/router. All the TV receivers plug into the modem/router using either CAT5 ethernet or standard coax cable (using HPNA), depending on the wiring in your home.

[avp77]

I am in a house and have the service. There is no fiber optic cable anywhere (aside from Bell to the box in your neighborhood). You plug their VDSL2 modem into your phone line, just like a normal DSL modem/router. All the TV receivers plug into the modem/router using either CAT5 ethernet or standard coax cable (using HPNA), depending on the wiring in your home.

Hm. Damn that's pretty good then. Too bad I just got a 6-month deal for Rogers, hopefully Bell will have some more good deals like this in the spring (or even open it up to 3rd parties? I guess I can dream).

[sensucht69]

I signed up for this service last month and absolutely love it so far. The PVR is so far ahead of Rogers it's not even funny.

Plus the internet is super fast. I routinely hit 2 mb/s on my downloads. Only drawback is the 60 gig cap but for everything else, this absolutely rocks.

[magnum]

I tried getting this service yesterday. They ran a few tests on my line and said I was able to receive 23 mb/s. But according to the agent, they recently implemented a minimum requirement of 25 mb/s to qualify for the service.

Unfortunately, I was told I could not get the service.

[PARIAHGRINCH]

Not available coxwell/danforth...no chance of locking in the half price deal...gonna call back to c if I can secure a "waiting list" price cap. CSR stated it was only being available in "tall" buildings. If I hold my breath I'll drown

[carpeter]

I signed up for this service last month and absolutely love it so far. The PVR is so far ahead of Rogers it's not even funny.

Plus the internet is super fast. I routinely hit 2 mb/s on my downloads. Only drawback is the 60 gig cap but for everything else, this absolutely rocks.

Does the hd receiver (PVR) has usb, esata or Firewire ports?
Can you add additional hard drives with such connections like above?

Also does any one know if my Hauppauge HD PVR will work with this receiver?

[avp77]

I did a little more digging and realized that this service doesn't carry channels like CNN and Turner Classic Movies - that's definitely a deal-breaker in my house.

[buyways]

Not available coxwell/danforth...no chance of locking in the half price deal...gonna call back to c if I can secure a "waiting list" price cap. CSR stated it was only being available in "tall" buildings. If I hold my breath I'll drown

Interesting - I called and was told it was available to a house very near to there, and others have posted they are getting it in their houses... Did you call the number in the OP? (sounds like CSR was thinking of their condo service)

[felix]

Not available north of steeles at all, restricted to city limits according to bell.. meh.
Darn, was going to tell my parents about this deal. They're moving to a new place in a few weeks.

[PARIAHGRINCH]

Interesting - I called and was told it was available to a house very near to there, and others have posted they are getting it in their houses... Did you call the number in the OP? (sounds like CSR was thinking of their condo service)


Interesting. I must hop back on the broken horse and ride again, thanks for that

[PARIAHGRINCH]

Just got off the phone...22mbps doesn't cut it. 25mbps minimum "they are upgrading the fiber lines in my area and should check back soon...." ya right!! So the first CSR did the speed test and didn't elaborate that it was slow...instead just made a general statement that my area didn't qualify...now makes sense. Why would they be upfront about sucky service when they can blanket statement it....gotta love em

[PARIAHGRINCH]

I did a little more digging and realized that this service doesn't carry channels like CNN and Turner Classic Movies - that's definitely a deal-breaker in my house.

True...BET, a couple kids channels aswell "we haven't secured a contract yet"

I also wonder if this setup can work smoothly with a slingbox. I'm afraid all of the wireless flyin around wouldn't leave room for toy addons....it'll be at least a year before I'm able to find out anyway...booooo

[tariaki]

Originally Posted by kashan


Each HD channel you watch/record eats up about 8mbit. With 2 recievers there is a limit of recording/watching 2 HD and 1 SD channel at the same time. If you get even more receivers you supposedly get an additional 5mbit downstream for each one (I only have 2 so can't confirm this).

There is no way to disable routing in the modem they give you, but I was still able to use my Linksys WRT320N with it. I plugged the Linksys WAN port to an empty port on the modem, set it to use DHCP and put the Linksys in DMZ in the modem. All my devices connect to the Linksys and there is no noticeable drop in speed with being double NAT'd. The modem only has Wireless-G but the most annoying part is that it forces AP-isolation on wireless so there is no way to access the internal network through the modem's WiFi. With everything going through the Linksys now I haven't had any issues. Just make sure to enable "Filter Multicast" on your own router or you will have issues with the TV dropping out after 20 seconds.


Great info!! Thank you!!

+1

[tariaki]

I have been using Bell IPTV for 2 weeks.

Generally I am quite pleased with the service. With 1 HDTV on, I get the following speedtest:

http://www.speedtest.net/rank/1242510718.png

The great thing about Bell is the upload speed. It's a lot faster than Rogers'. When my HDTV is off, I get about 21Mbps download. In theory, I can get up to 5 consoles andd I can get up to 30Mbps download (when I turn all the consoles off).

Pros:
- Channel switching on HD console is lightening fast compared to Rogers HDPVR.
- HDMI connection directly from HD console to TV (Although it conflicts with my Sharp LCD TV, so just using component right now).
- UI is by far the best in class. Much better than Rogers. It's Windows CE based OS.
- Specific Bell CSR line with superior customer service. Think of Fido's CSR 5 years ago.
- Dedicated installation. One of the best I had in years.

Cons:
- Had a wide area system outage yesterday night (including sympatico internet), so no internet and TV for many hours. Glad that I still have basic Rogers cable in my building. Otherwise, hadn't had much problem.

Overall, for those who are geeks or early adopters, I recommend IPTV. For those who are not tech savvy, wait for the official launch.

Can't wait til i get speeds like that

[cyphr]

does this still have caps for Internet?

[vinnie1990]

does this still have caps for Internet?

yes... read the thread before asking, clearly says 60GB

[productionteams]

A couple of questions I have, don't know if anyone here has the answers:

1) Is this for individual houses as well, or only for new condos? All of the comments seem to be about newly-built condos.

2) What does the actual wiring in your place look like? I'm assuming that when they do the install they put in fiber optic wires to every room where you have a TV/computer?

1) At least in my area, it's fiber to the exchange. And my building is less than 100m from the exchange. Mine is not a new condo, but I assume for maximum ROI, they will be condo buildings first. More customers for the same investment.

2) It all depends. I got my internet from a Bell telephone jack, then goes to my modem/media hub/wireless router, then split to my Airport Extreme as well as the Motorola VIP1216 HDPVR. If I need a second PVR, they will run coaxial cable to my bedroom. Mine has 2 USB ports. Hope this helps.

[buyways]

Just got off the phone...22mbps doesn't cut it. 25mbps minimum "they are upgrading the fiber lines in my area and should check back soon...." ya right!! So the first CSR did the speed test and didn't elaborate that it was slow...instead just made a general statement that my area didn't qualify...now makes sense. Why would they be upfront about sucky service when they can blanket statement it....gotta love em

hm. I don't think the guy I got ran any speed tests, just typed in my bell home phone number and confirmed the address, so now I'm less sure again. I actually have an acanac pre-pay that runs until March, so if I did this I would prob. wait to till the last minute (Dec. 31)...
Given the download cap, I'm mostly interested in the better TV picture quality, I'm pretty tired of Rogers compression artefacts...

so is anyone who has this NOT getting better picture? And does that include better HD? (which is all I like to watch now anyway, so don't care about SD much). thanks

[productionteams]

hm. I don't think the guy I got ran any speed tests, just typed in my bell home phone number and confirmed the address, so now I'm less sure again. I actually have an acanac pre-pay that runs until March, so if I did this I would prob. wait to till the last minute (Dec. 31)...
Given the download cap, I'm mostly interested in the better TV picture quality, I'm pretty tired of Rogers compression artefacts...

so is anyone who has this NOT getting better picture? And does that include better HD? (which is all I like to watch now anyway, so don't care about SD much). thanks

Just FYI: Beware of Acanac renewal policy. They were good until my second year renewal. I had received no 30-day billing notice and they just charged $600+ (prepaid for 2nd year, at regular price) on my credit card without any notice.

[buyways]

Just FYI: Beware of Acanac renewal policy. They were good until my second year renewal. I had received no 30-day billing notice and they just charged $600+ (prepaid for 2nd year, at regular price) on my credit card without any notice.

woah. I'm actually in my 2nd year, but I knew it was coming (they actually left a phone message, maybe they were more desperate for re-signs then?) and chose to do it because I was so happy with the service and the no-cap, but my 'regular price' was $407 for the year ($34/mo).

(I know, could've probably gotten a lower price, but after years of 3-month trials, switching ISPs, and wheedling extensions to intro rates, I was done. My average over the past 5 years would still be RFD-approved!:cheesygri)

If their current regular price is $600/yr, makes it easier to say I'm out.

[productionteams]

woah. I'm actually in my 2nd year, but I knew it was coming (they actually left a phone message, maybe they were more desperate for re-signs then?) and chose to do it because I was so happy with the service and the no-cap, but my 'regular price' was $407 for the year ($34/mo).

(I know, could've probably gotten a lower price, but after years of 3-month trials, switching ISPs, and wheedling extensions to intro rates, I was done. My average over the past 5 years would still be RFD-approved!:cheesygri)

If their current regular price is $600/yr, makes it easier to say I'm out.

Glad they have improved their renewal process. They were quite good. I was pleased to support local ISP.

Here's my speedtest with PVR turned off.

http://speedtest.net/result/587345574.png

[jigsatics]

not available in the st clair and keele area.

[ADRiiAN`]

Not available near Heartland Town Centre (Creditview & Britannia)

[vinnie1990]

avail in the Mccowan And Finch area, ordered mine, coming in less than two weeks. I'll post speed and Quality results when I get it =]

[Iggynatz]

After having been told I could get it late last week, I am now told that I can't. Brittania and Winston Churchill area.

[ssoh]

near Yonge/hollywood condo in north york, not available.

also yonge/mckee condo in north york (for parents), not available...

geez..i guess condos that have vdsl service currently don't have this line converted.

[sixer]

Great deal!

[mcaj]

1) At least in my area, it's fiber to the exchange. And my building is less than 100m from the exchange. Mine is not a new condo, but I assume for maximum ROI, they will be condo buildings first. More customers for the same investment.

2) It all depends. I got my internet from a Bell telephone jack, then goes to my modem/media hub/wireless router, then split to my Airport Extreme as well as the Motorola VIP1216 HDPVR. If I need a second PVR, they will run coaxial cable to my bedroom. Mine has 2 USB ports. Hope this helps.


So, how do they feed the signal from the exchange? Coaxial cables I guess? However, you reported that you get your internet through bell telephone jack. What about your tv signal? Is that through the same telephone jack as well?

PS: I've never been with Bell, so pardon my ignorance :)

[productionteams]

So, how do they feed the signal from the exchange? Coaxial cables I guess? However, you reported that you get your internet through bell telephone jack. What about your tv signal? Is that through the same telephone jack as well?

PS: I've never been with Bell, so pardon my ignorance :)

I am not sure what's the connection from Exchange to my unit. I think it's just copper wire that carries the phone line.

Both internet and TV connected to the Media Hub (or the modem). It's connected via Ethernet Cable from Media Hub to my Airport Extreme and the HDPVR. HDPVR has coaxial, HDMI, and component outputs.

I had never been with Bell before, but bare in mind, this is not a traditional Bell Expressvu / Sympatico service. It's mostly IP-based service.

[JunkHunter]

Sounds like a great deal... I'm definitley ready to cancel Rogers. Anyone had any luck in Scarborough?

I'm by the Scarborough Town Centre, I'll call over the weekend and find out.

[Hunmeow]

This new Bell deal is great in price but definitely have its drawbacks. I have a friend that works over at Bell Tech support and he sometimes get these calls from fibre optic lines and he said these people have lines that is actually capable of 44Mbps. So for those that are wondering if they can get 20Mbps, I would say you can! Unless some stupid agent would sign you just to make a quick buck and you're just below bare minimum (considering distance and noise on line factor after that minimum). Bad part is outages, Bell has loads of outages, so which means... no TV and no Internet = no Redflags! But can't beat the price!

[mcaj]

Bad part is outages, Bell has loads of outages, so which means... no TV and no Internet = no Redflags! But can't beat the price!

How frequent are the outages? Once a month? Bi-monthly? Quarterly? Or just simply depends?

[RaTeD]

I have had the entertainment service for 2 months. I use the internet everyday and haven't had an outage since.

[fulrach]

ok... so... I've called and found out that I don't have the proper speed in my area to get the service but i'm currently signed up for their 16mbps service. I've done the speedtest thing numerous times and I'm wondering if it's accurate at all. Does anyone know how accurate it is?

For instance, i just did a test 3 mins ago and these are the results:

http://www.speedtest.net/result/588600942.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

I've had this service for almost a month now and it varies from between 23mb/s to 108mb/s.

Does this happen frequently with anyone else? It's kinda weird

I will admit that my downloads are pretty decent and I typically get rates between 900Kb/s - 1.4Mb/s on torrents

Is there a site that's possibly more accurate?

Thanks!

[mcaj]

ok... so... I've called and found out that I don't have the proper speed in my area to get the service but i'm currently signed up for their 16mbps service. I've done the speedtest thing numerous times and I'm wondering if it's accurate at all. Does anyone know how accurate it is?


I've had this service for almost a month now and it varies from between 23mb/s to 108mb/s.

Does this happen frequently with anyone else? It's kinda weird

I will admit that my downloads are pretty decent and I typically get rates between 900Kb/s - 1.4Mb/s on torrents

Is there a site that's possibly more accurate?

Thanks!

From experience, 900KB/s roughly translates to ~9Mbps .. so, 23Mbps should get speeds much higher, maybe close to 2MB/s.
Please notice the difference between "kb/s" and "KB/s".

And how on earth did you get 108Mbps? That's weird. If you get that speed consistently, then you're one lucky dog :D

[horco]

Thanks OP ordered this for the 30th. Got a question however to anyone who has this. Is this under the classic bell p2p throttle of 4pm-2am?

Also I hear it is YMMV depending on CO location. So just curious on what people are getting.

[RaTeD]

Thanks OP ordered this for the 30th. Got a question however to anyone who has this. Is this under the classic bell p2p throttle of 4pm-2am?

Also I hear it is YMMV depending on CO location. So just curious on what people are getting.

yep, but before 4PM I can get really good speeds - up to 2.4MB/s on utorrent

[vinnie1990]

Ok, for people that are worried about bell.

1 - The outages someone mentioned earlier was tied with satellite, this is purely IPTV, and as a user of bell internet for almost 10 years, their internet never failed me, ONE MAJOR DOWNSIDE, as rfders have made clear, is their monthly bills, they rather suck, and when you call in to fix it, you either have to wait forever, or you get a guy in india that doesnt help at all,

ONE good thing, is that after calling them they are pretty nice about giving you a month back for free.

That should sum up most of your concerns.

Their internet is actually a lot more consistent for me than rogers ever was. And for this deal, youll need to be in their 'strong' zones... so no worries there.

[iamdman]

Ok, for people that are worried about bell.

1 - The outages someone mentioned earlier was tied with satellite, this is purely IPTV, and as a user of bell internet for almost 10 years, their internet never failed me, ONE MAJOR DOWNSIDE, as rfders have made clear, is their monthly bills, they rather suck, and when you call in to fix it, you either have to wait forever, or you get a guy in india that doesnt help at all,

ONE good thing, is that after calling them they are pretty nice about giving you a month back for free.

That should sum up most of your concerns.

Their internet is actually a lot more consistent for me than rogers ever was. And for this deal, youll need to be in their 'strong' zones... so no worries there.

how does the TV compare to Rogers TV/PVR'ing?

[vinnie1990]

how does the TV compare to Rogers TV/PVR'ing?

PVR'ing is made really simple by having online access. Quality wise, I haven't tested that out yet.

[Jagmit]

I tried calling and i think they are closed on sundays, so the next time i can call i guess is tuesday :( but i live in etobicoke, my fingers are crossed that it will be available here. I pay about $70 for cable from rogers, and another $40 for internet, so this deal seems pretty sweet to me considering how much you get.


But i have some important questions:

1) What are the actual download speeds for the Internet. Like lets say when your downloading something from download.com?

2) Is the rental fee for the boxes (HD or SD or HD PVR) included in the cost? Or do we have to rent one from them separately?

If you can please answer my questions that would be very helpful. THANKS.

[creoledude]

I live in a condo where dish cannot be installed and also I do not subscribe to any landline.

So does the Bell gives out the signal and HDTV signal??

[productionteams]

Ok, for people that are worried about bell.

1 - The outages someone mentioned earlier was tied with satellite, this is purely IPTV, and as a user of bell internet for almost 10 years, their internet never failed me, ONE MAJOR DOWNSIDE, as rfders have made clear, is their monthly bills, they rather suck, and when you call in to fix it, you either have to wait forever, or you get a guy in india that doesnt help at all,

ONE good thing, is that after calling them they are pretty nice about giving you a month back for free.

That should sum up most of your concerns.

Their internet is actually a lot more consistent for me than rogers ever was. And for this deal, youll need to be in their 'strong' zones... so no worries there.

Yes the Bell Entertainment customer service hours are not 24/7. But, they are a special team of apps and all the reps I have dealt with are in Montreal and the average wait time and level of support feel like a small dedicated company than Bell. In fact if you call the general Bell CSR line, they don't know how to provide you support.

[vinnie1990]

I tried calling and i think they are closed on sundays, so the next time i can call i guess is tuesday :( but i live in etobicoke, my fingers are crossed that it will be available here. I pay about $70 for cable from rogers, and another $40 for internet, so this deal seems pretty sweet to me considering how much you get.


But i have some important questions:

1) What are the actual download speeds for the Internet. Like lets say when your downloading something from download.com?

2) Is the rental fee for the boxes (HD or SD or HD PVR) included in the cost? Or do we have to rent one from them separately?

If you can please answer my questions that would be very helpful. THANKS.

1- The downloads will depend on how many receivers you are going to rent. Each receiver can take up to 3-8mbs/sec. You will get 20-30mbs/sec so you can do the math. (i have no idea what that dude was talking about getting 108mbs/sec, thats insane.)
As for if you were downloading from torrents/sites that are fully seeded or server given, a good way to estimate, and take me on the word, estimate, is that youll get about 8-12% of w/e speed you calculated from the ones i mentioned above. Here's an example, if you are getting 28mbs thats 2800, theoretically you can get UP TO 2.8mbs downloads... ill give or take 2mbs.

As far as i know, that sinks rogers internet faster than the titanic.

2 -The initial rental includes one box(main component), afterward, if you require more, then have a 5$ rental fee i believe, or thats what they are charging me anyway.

For the guy with the condo problem, can you elaborate? cause Im a bit confused on what exactly is the problem you are trying to ask. Simpe ay is to call their new department and ask if you can get the service first, If you cant, you are just an RFD dreamer hahahaha, sorry to burst your bubble, it's not available everywhere

[Jagmit]

1- The downloads will depend on how many receivers you are going to rent. Each receiver can take up to 3-8mbs/sec. You will get 20-30mbs/sec so you can do the math. (i have no idea what that dude was talking about getting 108mbs/sec, thats insane.)
As for if you were downloading from torrents/sites that are fully seeded or server given, a good way to estimate, and take me on the word, estimate, is that youll get about 8-12% of w/e speed you calculated from the ones i mentioned above. Here's an example, if you are getting 28mbs thats 2800, theoretically you can get UP TO 2.8mbs downloads... ill give or take 2mbs.

As far as i know, that sinks rogers internet faster than the titanic.

2 -The initial rental includes one box(main component), afterward, if you require more, then have a 5$ rental fee i believe, or thats what they are charging me anyway.

For the guy with the condo problem, can you elaborate? cause Im a bit confused on what exactly is the problem you are trying to ask. Simpe ay is to call their new department and ask if you can get the service first, If you cant, you are just an RFD dreamer hahahaha, sorry to burst your bubble, it's not available everywhere


is the box an HD PVR box? (for tv)

[andrewhaji]

is the box an HD PVR box? (for tv)
Yes, the free box is an HD PVR.

[Jagmit]

Yes, the free box is an HD PVR.

I went to the Bell store in woodbine today to get some more info because their call centre was closed. They didn't know anything about it, but said they would find out and tell me next weekend. I just really want to know if it would be available in my area. :(

[kcotoulas]

I went to the Bell store in woodbine today to get some more info because their call centre was closed. They didn't know anything about it, but said they would find out and tell me next weekend. I just really want to know if it would be available in my area. :(

you'll get more info here at RFD then you ever will in a Bell store :cheesygri

[Jagmit]

you'll get more info here at RFD then you ever will in a Bell store :cheesygri

LOL, so then how does this package work? I mean, lets say it is available, and you sign up, how long does it take for the guys to come and set it up? They give you an HD PVR, but what else? Modem for internet? Wireless router? etc etc.

[horco]

LOL, so then how does this package work? I mean, lets say it is available, and you sign up, how long does it take for the guys to come and set it up? They give you an HD PVR, but what else? Modem for internet? Wireless router? etc etc.

First step is to call in see if it's available.

Second you pick a package you want on the phone with the rep.

Third you pick a day you want to install. Usually its about 1 week after your call depending on your area. They seem to be pretty busy with installs from what I gathered.

It's a 1 year no commitment price. If you want to cancel you need to give 30 days notice to them.

You get 1 terminal included and it is an HD-PVR. Each extra one is $5.

Can run through coaxial or telephone jack.

Here is part of the email that I have that you get after your order.

How can you prepare for your Installation and Set Up? You should:

1. Be sure that your TV(s) and computer(s) are functional, and that the connections to both are accessible.
2. Ideally, your TV(s) should be located close to your coaxial cable outlets (where the cable comes out of the wall) and your computers should be near power outlets.
3. Have 2 power bars available to facilitate all the connections required.
4. Be sure your computer meets these minimum system requirements:
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Service Pack 2; or
* Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2; or
* Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; or
* Windows XP.

You have to sign some agreement before they start the install etc.

That's what I know so far. The rest you can probably get by the rest of the thread.

[andrewhaji]

LOL, so then how does this package work? I mean, lets say it is available, and you sign up, how long does it take for the guys to come and set it up? They give you an HD PVR, but what else? Modem for internet? Wireless router? etc etc.

I was told that 2 weeks is about the average wait time for installs. They say it might take up to 4 hours to install, but I'm sure it won't take nearly that long. You get the HD PVR and you get a wireless gateway, which acts both as an Internet router and also serves IPTV to your set-top box(es).

[Jagmit]

First step is to call in see if it's available.

Second you pick a package you want on the phone with the rep.

Third you pick a day you want to install. Usually its about 1 week after your call depending on your area. They seem to be pretty busy with installs from what I gathered.

It's a 1 year no commitment price. If you want to cancel you need to give 30 days notice to them.

You get 1 terminal included and it is an HD-PVR. Each extra one is $5.

Can run through coaxial or telephone jack.

Here is part of the email that I have that you get after your order.

How can you prepare for your Installation and Set Up? You should:

1. Be sure that your TV(s) and computer(s) are functional, and that the connections to both are accessible.
2. Ideally, your TV(s) should be located close to your coaxial cable outlets (where the cable comes out of the wall) and your computers should be near power outlets.
3. Have 2 power bars available to facilitate all the connections required.
4. Be sure your computer meets these minimum system requirements:
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Service Pack 2; or
* Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2; or
* Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; or
* Windows XP.

You have to sign some agreement before they start the install etc.

That's what I know so far. The rest you can probably get by the rest of the thread.


I was told that 2 weeks is about the average wait time for installs. They say it might take up to 4 hours to install, but I'm sure it won't take nearly that long. You get the HD PVR and you get a wireless gateway, which acts both as an Internet router and also serves IPTV to your set-top box(es).

wow, you guys are really helpful. i still have a bunch of questions but i don't want to be annoying and i still have to call them when they're open to see if its available in my area. again, thanks for the quick responses

[vinnie1990]

wow, you guys are really helpful. i still have a bunch of questions but i don't want to be annoying and i still have to call them when they're open to see if its available in my area. again, thanks for the quick responses

its RFD, its what we do hahaha, all the questions you had were asked all over this thread hahaa

[RaTeD]

this bell entertainment service is a pilote project so the general customer service line wont know anything about it. You have to call the entertainment service number.

[infamouskid]

can some ppl post onscreen tv pictures and hardware pictures of the devices used.

[andrewhaji]

can some ppl post onscreen tv pictures and hardware pictures of the devices used.

As soon as my service is installed (October 24th) I'll post pictures and more information.

[bug]

Anyone know what the internet monthly download limits are for this service? I don't see anything listed on their site.

[cechlin]

Anyone know what the internet monthly download limits are for this service? I don't see anything listed on their site.

people already posted 60gb earlier, $30 more for unlimited.

[Jagmit]

I live in a condo where dish cannot be installed and also I do not subscribe to any landline.

So does the Bell gives out the signal and HDTV signal??


Anyone know what the internet monthly download limits are for this service? I don't see anything listed on their site.

i've heard 60GB

[infamouskid]

if bell starts offering unlimited this would be illegal since they are only supposed to be offering 60gb to all customers network wide. even wholesale customers are affected by this. i would love to see where it says unlimited.

[Jagmit]

if bell starts offering unlimited this would be illegal since they are only supposed to be offering 60gb to all customers network wide. even wholesale customers are affected by this. i would love to see where it says unlimited.

so putting a cap on Internet usage is the LAW? news to me, i thought it was a stupid scheme by the ISPs to lower the heat on their networks, and make some extra money all the while using the excuse of lowering piracy/torrenting. 60gb caps are ridicilous, comcast i think in the US put a 200GB cap, and people went CRAZY! And they may have stopped it, but here we get a 60GB cap, and they get away with it!

[Salinger]

Minimum requirements list only Windows XP; is this just for set up?

My main computer is a Mac, but I do have a Windows machine as well that I use mainly for Windows Media Centre. As long as they can set up how they like on the Windows machine, will everything work okay, including internet on the Mac? Sorry, that's probably a really stupid question, but I'm never sure about these things when they only mention Windows.

Also noticed no DejaView or TV Land. I'll miss watching some of the old shows on these if this is available for me, but I'll save over $80/month compared to what I'm currently paying Rogers, so definitely worth it.

[andrewhaji]

Minimum requirements list only Windows XP; is this just for set up?

It should work just fine with a Mac. I don't think there's much (if any) setup required on the computer side of things...plugging in a network cable and opening up a browser to make sure it works. They'll probably want to install their garbage Sympatico software, in which case you're probably better off if you have a Mac so that they can't do it. :-)

[andrewhaji]

if bell starts offering unlimited this would be illegal since they are only supposed to be offering 60gb to all customers network wide. even wholesale customers are affected by this. i would love to see where it says unlimited.

They aren't offering an unlimited service. Rather, they are offering a 60 GB service with a limit on how much overages you can be charged. This is currently the same as what they are doing with wholesalers (including TekSavvy). At an undetermined point in the future they may elect to remove this cap and charge users unlimited dollars for unlimited bandwidth, and when they do that the change will also affect wholesalers.

[vinnie1990]

They aren't offering an unlimited service. Rather, they are offering a 60 GB service with a limit on how much overages you can be charged. This is currently the same as what they are doing with wholesalers (including TekSavvy). At an undetermined point in the future they may elect to remove this cap and charge users unlimited dollars for unlimited bandwidth, and when they do that the change will also affect wholesalers.

I dropped my "grandfather" plan with them that gives me 8mbs and UNLIMITED bandwidth for this deal.... considering i was paying 57roughyl 60$ a month.... I'd rather take a package with IPTV and pay 30$ surcharge for 20-30mbs of speed with IPTV IMHO worth it. Most people don't really go over 60GB... I don't understand why people are so scared. 60GB is more than enough for an avg web browser even if you youtube a lot.

[signup]

60G is not enough if you download torrents.

[Evermore]

Hope the beta goes well in GTA and they roll this out to the rest of the country. Looks decent and gives everyone another option.

[vinnie1990]

60G is not enough if you download torrents.

thats why i said average users. No torrents =], torrents are illegal hehe hahahaha:twisted:

[Books]

Weird...I just called to check availability at my house, and they said no. I live near HWY 10/Eglinton, and there is a C.O. on my street.

Unfortunate.

[Salinger]

Weird...I just called to check availability at my house, and they said no. I live near HWY 10/Eglinton, and there is a C.O. on my street.

Unfortunate.

They're open today? I called yesterday and the recording said office hours are Mon-Sat except on statutory holidays. I didn't call today being Thanksgiving Day. I should check.

...one other thing, anyone who had the service installed, is it possible to request an evening or weekend install?

[Kinki]

darn... not available in Markham.

[andrewhaji]

60G is not enough if you download torrents.

That's what the $30 overage cap is for. :-)

[gamer123]

csr said the line isnt fast enough, call again in a few weeks to check again

[AznVengence]

hey guys just a question... this is a one-year deal right?

and are we able to kinda work out deals in order to get the channels we want?

[bug]

Called to find out if this was available in Montreal and the rep said no, even though the Fiber Optic network is in place. BTW, the monthly internet download limit for this service is 60GB a month with a $30 maximum charge for overuse.

For 2 TV's they set you up with a 27mbps profile with 7mbps reserved for TV viewing. He said the service should be offered in Montreal by May 2010.

[leafs4_cup]

I have an uncle that works for Bell and he is one of the people responsible for installing the fibre. He said even though he personally put the fibre in down the street from my house, he thinks it could be another year before we are offered this service. We are in the Bramalea & Central Park Drive area in Brampton.

Take what you want out of that.

[macalin]

Not available in DVP/Wynford area. Would've definately jumped on this.

[infamouskid]

I have an uncle that works for Bell and he is one of the people responsible for installing the fibre. He said even though he personally put the fibre in down the street from my house, he thinks it could be another year before we are offered this service. We are in the Bramalea & Central Park Drive area in Brampton.

Take what you want out of that.

i think your full of horse ****. since bell contracts that type of work out to expertech.

[leafs4_cup]

i think your full of horse ****. since bell contracts that type of work out to expertech.

Wow, what a welcoming environment this is.

The hell if I know if he works for Bell or does work for Bell. Just thought some people in the area would appreciate some information, even if it's limited and only an estimate.

[vinnie1990]

Wow, what a welcoming environment this is.

The hell if I know if he works for Bell or does work for Bell. Just thought some people in the area would appreciate some information, even if it's limited and only an estimate.

some people are just mad they can't get the service, and something is weird about your statement that's all. If bell spent money on running fiber optics to the area, I'm sure they'd offer the service.

[leafs4_cup]

some people are just mad they can't get the service, and something is weird about your statement that's all. If bell spent money on running fiber optics to the area, I'm sure they'd offer the service.

Admittedly, I don't know much about the process, so perhaps I didn't follow everything he said. He was talking about installing brown boxes with the fibre or something like that. Is that the first step?

[ratan]

not avail in morningside heights.

so just to confirm, is this only being offered to condos or houses near condos or what?

[vinnie1990]

not avail in morningside heights.

so just to confirm, is this only being offered to condos or houses near condos or what?

It's by where they have their main core networks set up I believe. High res places... bell channel boxes... no indsider would leak this information but that's a rough guess haha.

And leafs, those brown boxes can control things from phone lines, to cable. Not always true that it has fiber optics for the IPTV service. Remember bell still uses PPoPE.

[puff_daddy_58_99]

not available in college park condos (college and bay).... that was a surprise to me. This deal would get me back from teksavvy to bell, and I don't have tv right now, so ya, I would have got it if I could

[Kherani]

Not available at Scarlett and Lawrence.

[andrew-g]

Ordered last night and I'm @ Coxwell & O'Conner in East York. Install for next Tuesday.

[roadrunner17]

not available at 401/ mccowan

[sahilz]

Not available at 403/Erin Mills in Mississauga. Expected availability date is end of this year.

[sachin1]

Not available at 403/Erin Mills in Mississauga. Expected availability date is end of this year.

That's odd, it was available last December (2008) at my parents place @ Erin Mills/Erin Centre. They didn't want to change because they are familiar with Rogers and don't really care about internet speeds etc.

[benlucier]

I have Bell installing their service tomorrow with the 50% off deal, including the HD PVR. I also noticed a lot of mis-information about the service so I wrote a post about the service, along with a high level technical description. Thanks for the heads up! http://www.benlucier.ca/work/technology/iptv-television-service-from-bell-how-it-works/

[mcaj]

What areas (intersections) in mississauga have this service?

I live at Mavis & 403 and it isn't available here. :( When I asked for it, he did name a few streets where the service is currently being provided but i wasn't familiar with them. I think one of them was Eglinton.

[akpower]

I live near Burnhamthorpe/Fieldgate and they have it available here. Bell even did a few info sessions to our condominium audience, but I did not care about it much when I saw the Bell logo on the notices!

Turns out its quite a service. Nonetheless, I will order it before year-end if I continue to read good reviews it.

[sahilz]

You may have the advantage of fibre running to your building.

In my case csr said my line can handle upto 10mbs, and the minimum requirement for entertainment package is 25mbs if i remember it correctly.

[callmethecat]

Just signed up at Avenue and Lawrence.

Will be installed next Friday.

Shawn

[quiksilver_blue]

Hey guys, just wondering. When u choose theme packs, are the HD categories beside the regular channels its own theme pack? so for example would the Sports theme pack include the 2 HD sports channels beside it?

Thanks

[vinnie1990]

Hey guys, just wondering. When u choose theme packs, are the HD categories beside the regular channels its own theme pack? so for example would the Sports theme pack include the 2 HD sports channels beside it?

Thanks

yup.

[quiksilver_blue]

yup.

Thanks man.

One more question, if i Choose "core" and its $65. Are there any other fees?

Or is it just $65 + tax = $73.43?

[Salinger]

I live in the downtown core of Toronto, and they told me it's not available in my neighbourhood yet... call back in a month and check again. :(

[vinnie1990]

Thanks man.

One more question, if i Choose "core" and its $65. Are there any other fees?

Or is it just $65 + tax = $73.43?

no fees for when i signed up. There are rental fees for each additional box. It's like 5$ per box, max of 3 boxes, from what they told me

[infamouskid]

ok so where are the pics?

[illyas]

Got it installed last week. HD is much much better than rogers, pvr is decent, internet is fast (get 20-25mbits/10 mbits). Thanks op!

Last Result:
Download Speed: 20445 kbps (2555.6 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 7212 kbps (901.5 KB/sec transfer rate)

http://i37.tinypic.com/2hqcawm.jpg

Connection is throttled and there are no extra fees other than for extra boxes/taxes. Tech said they plan to have 100 mbits/100 mbits in the next 5 years...

[andrewhaji]

Tech said they plan to have 100 mbits/100 mbits in the next 5 years...

From my experience, Bell technicians tend to lie and tend to believe everything they hear around the watercooler at work--so I wouldn't put too much confidence in this. Knowing Bell, they'll probably drop speeds once they have lots of subscribers and blame it on P2P users. The technology for 100/100 is already here, but Bell is far too greedy to allow us to take advantage of it.

[wrigley]

Not available at Yonge and Empress and Yonge and Steeles, can't wait to dump Rogers!

[dujathedude]

I'm at a new condo at Islington Bloor area, not available yet.

[chinmoku_tak]

I live in the downtown core of Toronto, and they told me it's not available in my neighbourhood yet... call back in a month and check again. :(

called to inquire about Mississauga location, the rep told me the same thing, I wonder if it takes a month or so to set an infrastructure...

[vinnie1990]

Connection is throttled and there are no extra fees other than for extra boxes/taxes. Tech said they plan to have 100 mbits/100 mbits in the next 5 years...

how do you consider that throttled if youre hitting 2500Kbs. There are always methods to bypass their throttling anyway. Not very hard. Simple google will show you how.

And as for those wondering about calling back in a month. It's pretty sure they'll keep telling you that, up until the offer expires.

[illyas]

how do you consider that throttled if youre hitting 2500Kbs. There are always methods to bypass their throttling anyway. Not very hard. Simple google will show you how.


Because if you don't use any of the methods such as mlppp then p2p connections are throttled(such as torrents)...I'm hitting 2500 as newsgroups were never throttled by bell.

[andrewhaji]

how do you consider that throttled if youre hitting 2500Kbs. There are always methods to bypass their throttling anyway. Not very hard. Simple google will show you how.

He is using newsgroups. Newsgroups have never been throttled.


Because if you don't use any of the methods such as mlppp then p2p connections are throttled(such as torrents)...I'm hitting 2500 as newsgroups were never throttled by bell.

I don't have MLPPP, and I have been able to successfully bypass throttling by using uTorrent 2.0 Beta. You should give it a try.

[gamer123]

I don't have MLPPP, and I have been able to successfully bypass throttling by using uTorrent 2.0 Beta. You should give it a try.

what utorrent settings do you have to bypass the throttle?

[andrewhaji]

what utorrent settings do you have to bypass the throttle?

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22141654-Evading-throttling-with-uTP-uTorrent-19a

[sschopra]

Has anybody tried telling Rogers that they are switching to Bell with their internet and TV to get this deal and see what Rogers will offer.

Because this is almost a deal that shouldn't be passed up. Although after 1 year it is rather expensive.

[wmahmud]

is this for condo's only? or can home owners get this as well?

[andrewhaji]

is this for condo's only? or can home owners get this as well?

At the moment availability is pretty limited. Mostly condos but there are some people with houses that can get it. You should call in and ask.

[andrewhaji]

Has anybody tried telling Rogers that they are switching to Bell with their internet and TV to get this deal and see what Rogers will offer.

Because this is almost a deal that shouldn't be passed up. Although after 1 year it is rather expensive.

After a year if the price goes up to "normal" I'm going to cancel the service, no questions asked. But hopefully they'll have new promotions available by then.

It's not even worth it to haggle with Rogers--there's no way they'd offer 20/10 Internet and HDTV with a free PVR for anything even close to $50/month.

[vinnie1990]

After a year if the price goes up to "normal" I'm going to cancel the service, no questions asked. But hopefully they'll have new promotions available by then.

It's not even worth it to haggle with Rogers--there's no way they'd offer 20/10 Internet and HDTV with a free PVR for anything even close to $50/month.

true that. Also Rogers has been offering 90-130$ packages, terrible stuff,

Houses can get this deal, as I got it for my house. Call in and ask. Some of the best reps i've ever spoken to.

As for the promotion, talking to the Reps, they can make a note for you to get your back your existing plan ( usefull for me cause my existing plan is no longer offered, aka no cap, 8mbs)

and after a year, they said they can usually retain the same value for you under contract. Either way, the future has a lot of uncertainties especially with all the new services rumored to be coming to Canada.

[tkl]

........And as for those wondering about calling back in a month. It's pretty sure they'll keep telling you that, up until the offer expires.

I asked about that when I phoned noting to them it's pretty stupid to have an offer but not have the infrastructure yet and the CSR basically said the same type of offer will be available to new customers when it hits their area even if it's after the promo offer.

[Chocolinx]

true that. Also Rogers has been offering 90-130$ packages, terrible stuff,

Houses can get this deal, as I got it for my house. Call in and ask. Some of the best reps i've ever spoken to.

As for the promotion, talking to the Reps, they can make a note for you to get your back your existing plan ( usefull for me cause my existing plan is no longer offered, aka no cap, 8mbs)

and after a year, they said they can usually retain the same value for you under contract. Either way, the future has a lot of uncertainties especially with all the new services rumored to be coming to Canada.

I really hope that works. I wouldn't mind switching over if I can keep my grandfathered plan after a year of usage on this new stuff. There's been mad construction on Victoria Park, was all that new tubing stuff to fit new fibre? lol I have no clue. Anyway, I'll give them a call, hopefully I don't lose my grandfathered plan after a year. And is this capless fibre? Kind of like the Telus Fibre in CityPlace?

EDIT: Nevermind, searched and found 60GB cap. That's still a good deal to pay the overcharge I guess, which is capped at $30 right? I usually do about on average 500GB so I'll probably be doing that haha

[mudd_stuffin]

Not available in my building yet and I am in the middle of downtown!!

[Hairball]

I just called, it's not available where I live at Markham Rd/16th Ave in Markham. But on the Bell website it shows I can get 16 Mbps Internet based on my phone number, so maybe it won't be long until we get it here.

[vinnie1990]

I really hope that works. I wouldn't mind switching over if I can keep my grandfathered plan after a year of usage on this new stuff. There's been mad construction on Victoria Park, was all that new tubing stuff to fit new fibre? lol I have no clue. Anyway, I'll give them a call, hopefully I don't lose my grandfathered plan after a year. And is this capless fibre? Kind of like the Telus Fibre in CityPlace?

EDIT: Nevermind, searched and found 60GB cap. That's still a good deal to pay the overcharge I guess, which is capped at $30 right? I usually do about on average 500GB so I'll probably be doing that haha

I'm on the same boat. haha 500+gigs a month, and yes its capped at 30$, but i just told them to make a note of my "grandfather" plan. Incase I ever wanted to go back. Since this is a trial offer(not everyone can get it), it's only fair...

[Chocolinx]

I'm on the same boat. haha 500+gigs a month, and yes its capped at 30$, but i just told them to make a note of my "grandfather" plan. Incase I ever wanted to go back. Since this is a trial offer(not everyone can get it), it's only fair...

Where do you live vinnie? I'm in the Finch/Victoria Park area right now, wondering if anyone else in my area's got it.

[infamouskid]

At the moment availability is pretty limited. Mostly condos but there are some people with houses that can get it. You should call in and ask.

my parents are at eglington and hwy 10 in Mississauga in a house and they got it today. so no houses can get this too.

[gamer123]

hopefully my area (~23mbps as csr claimed) will get upgraded soon

[infamouskid]

whoever said bell plans 100mbps in the next 5 years is being lied to.

first off it's on copper. no fiber. it fiber fed...to the node or stinger or central office. then the traditional copper phone line tp your home. which means its vdsl. and the fastest speed for that technology is 54mbps but this is a distance limited thing. you gotta be really close and have excellent wiring. with the present way bells copper network looks. 100mbps over copper ain't gonna happen.

the only way this can happen is 2 ways. etth or ftth. both of which require lots and lots of fiber and a total rehaul of bells backbone.

[jamgyu]

Has anybody tried telling Rogers that they are switching to Bell with their internet and TV to get this deal and see what Rogers will offer.

Because this is almost a deal that shouldn't be passed up. Although after 1 year it is rather expensive.


Rogers doesn't have a comparable service or package of discounts to this as of yet..

BUT

I did use the Bell Entertainment Service promo to negotiate my latest offer from Rogers.... they pretty much gave me the maximum discounts allowed (30% off extreme internet and 20% off Digital VIP cable) and as many FREE HD-PVRs as I wanted (I got 3 but the guy offered 4) with the movie network free as well.


The retentions rep did tell me though that Rogers is releasing an IPTV and fibre optic service sometime in 2010.

https://www.rogers.com/web/link/showNewsDetail?fromWhere=linkInRSSXml&rssBusiUnit=C&NewsID=1708185714

*EDIT*

I called in just now to see if Rogers could discount their Extreme Plus or Ultimate Internet services and they said they couldn't. The retentions rep tried to add a 20% or 30% discount to the service but she said the system wouldn't allow it.

[vinnie1990]

Rogers doesn't have a comparable service or package of discounts to this as of yet..

BUT

I did use the Bell Entertainment Service promo to negotiate my latest offer from Rogers.... they pretty much gave me the maximum discounts allowed (30% off extreme internet and 20% off Digital VIP cable) and as many FREE HD-PVRs as I wanted (I got 3 but the guy offered 4) with the movie network free as well.


The retentions rep did tell me though that Rogers is releasing an IPTV and fibre optic service sometime in 2010.

https://www.rogers.com/web/link/showNewsDetail?fromWhere=linkInRSSXml&rssBusiUnit=C&NewsID=1708185714

what is your total?

[lingenfelter7]

^interesting, first to hear about as many hd-pvrs but this makes it comparable to bell. Do you remember the name of the agent? Did you commit to any type of contract to get this?

Funny cause they will probably have a winback promo to serve the clients that switched over rather than their own first with the iptv service.

[illyas]

whoever said bell plans 100mbps in the next 5 years is being lied to.


I was just repeating what the guy said, I'm not sure how truthful or not it is. He was a pretty senior tech and seemed to know what he was talking about, which is why I posted it...maybe he meant certain areas where they lay fiber or condos only.

[Kat]

whoever said bell plans 100mbps in the next 5 years is being lied to.

first off it's on copper. no fiber. it fiber fed...to the node or stinger or central office. then the traditional copper phone line tp your home. which means its vdsl. and the fastest speed for that technology is 54mbps but this is a distance limited thing. you gotta be really close and have excellent wiring. with the present way bells copper network looks. 100mbps over copper ain't gonna happen.

the only way this can happen is 2 ways. etth or ftth. both of which require lots and lots of fiber and a total rehaul of bells backbone.

Not to be rude, but do you work at Bell? And not even that, but do you work in the department that is responsbile for laying out the Fiber?

Of course Bell isn't going to be able to provide FTTH for its entire network soon, however, all new MDUs do have Fiber To The Basement.. For those who Bell is able to offer the service to, they will.

For others, it will be like Sympatico is now... Meaning some people will only be able to get 2Mb/s max simply due to logistics...

[jamgyu]

what is your total?


My total per month with Rogers for

Home phone (with 2 features and 1000LD min)
Digital VIP cable and HD Specialty channels, with 3 HD-PVR free and movie network free
Extreme Internet

is about $133 taxes included give or take a couple bucks



^interesting, first to hear about as many hd-pvrs but this makes it comparable to bell. Do you remember the name of the agent? Did you commit to any type of contract to get this?

Funny cause they will probably have a winback promo to serve the clients that switched over rather than their own first with the iptv service.


There's a bit of a contract.... they've committed to all my discounts for a year but at the same time if I cancel at anytime during that year I have to pay back all of my discounts. I think there's a maximum payback amount though.

[Paranoidandroid]

My family gave in to Bell and are ending our service with Teksavvy. It's been a great 2 years but HD channels and superior internet speed is irresistible, especially at the promotion price. After 12 months the monthly fee will increase, which means we'll probably switch back

[mlerner]

Not to be rude, but do you work at Bell? And not even that, but do you work in the department that is responsbile for laying out the Fiber?

Of course Bell isn't going to be able to provide FTTH for its entire network soon, however, all new MDUs do have Fiber To The Basement.. For those who Bell is able to offer the service to, they will.

For others, it will be like Sympatico is now... Meaning some people will only be able to get 2Mb/s max simply due to logistics...

You mean greed and stupidity. Aliant has IPTV and remotes available to 99% of their coverage area, not only just MDUs. Bell is 50% at best.

[andrewhaji]

My family gave in to Bell and are ending our service with Teksavvy. It's been a great 2 years but HD channels and superior internet speed is irresistible, especially at the promotion price. After 12 months the monthly fee will increase, which means we'll probably switch back

This is exactly what I did. I love TekSavvy but this offer was too good to resist.


whoever said bell plans 100mbps in the next 5 years is being lied to.

first off it's on copper. no fiber. it fiber fed...to the node or stinger or central office. then the traditional copper phone line tp your home. which means its vdsl. and the fastest speed for that technology is 54mbps but this is a distance limited thing. you gotta be really close and have excellent wiring. with the present way bells copper network looks. 100mbps over copper ain't gonna happen.

the only way this can happen is 2 ways. etth or ftth. both of which require lots and lots of fiber and a total rehaul of bells backbone.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_high_speed_digital_subscriber_line_2:

"VDSL2 deteriorates quickly from a theoretical maximum of 250 Mbit/s at 'source' to 100 Mbit/s at 0.5 km (1640 ft) and 50 Mbit/s at 1 km (3280 ft), but degrades at a much slower rate from there, and still outperforms VDSL. Starting from 1.6 km (1 mile) its performance is equal to ADSL2+."

As the fiber cabinet is located in my condo's basement, it's certainly no more than 0.5 km away from my unit. Therefore, I should be able to get 100 mbps or more. Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to have a cabinet in their basement, so these kinds of speeds won't be available to everyone, but the technology is definitely there.

[amd5s]

Now we know why Big Bell, Rogers, etc. have been lobbying to keep services such as Amazon Video On Demand and Netflix out of Canada. Sigh ! :)

Sure the Bell service is a good value at the promotional 50% off rate but not once the promotion runs out.

[infamouskid]

Not to be rude, but do you work at Bell? And not even that, but do you work in the department that is responsbile for laying out the Fiber?

Of course Bell isn't going to be able to provide FTTH for its entire network soon, however, all new MDUs do have Fiber To The Basement.. For those who Bell is able to offer the service to, they will.

For others, it will be like Sympatico is now... Meaning some people will only be able to get 2Mb/s max simply due to logistics...

forgive yourself. but are you? im actually a bell reseller and actually i dont work for the dept that lay fiber because bell does not have one. you see bell sub contracts that work out to smaller companies like expertech. and being in my position i am able to see dates and nxx locations of when these upgrade are planned to start and finish.and the sympatico brand is no more since the new owners didnt like the old bell image and marketing strategy.
and under the new bell network plans it wont be 2mbs minimum it will be 5mbs to all customers once upgrades are done and its not due to logistics it's due to a number of things such as geography, manpower and corrosion of copper. but 5mbs is their goal which is achievable if more stingers are put out. and again having mini L2's in basements and mdu's is good and all but bell is facing a problem. since most buildings are already developed bell doesnt have the right to put in the fiber in the basement of those buildings and property management doesn't want to fork out the dough.
second it's mad expensive to dig and install fiber to every single building already standing and all new areas are not aerial drop fed like older parts of Toronto so this is another challenge. now if the property management and owners don't want to fork over the money to do this. and if the government wont subsidize this build out what makes you think bell will?
the only reason aliant has this much coverage is because the public spoke out and the government passed a bill supporting the funding in such a small region it serves compared to bell.
ftth is just not affordable right now. which is why home builders are offering buyers the option to buy homes with fiber installed already leading to the curb. but even then ftth to the curb range anywhere from 10k to 15k and that is not including the DCE or the MCU those alone are $$$. look at what verizon spent...19 billion. at the way things are looking now ppl ftth is not gonna happen.
cable will offer fttc and bell will offer etth and fttn and that is the best its gonna be for a long time. you dont have to like what i'm saying but that's the truth.

[guyanese_bai]

I keep trying to call the number but I never get through.

Called around lunch time yesterday, waited 20 minutes and hung up. I figured I called at lunch thats why it was so busy, so I called back at 8 last night and waited for 20 minutes and still no one answered so I hung up again.

If it is available in my area I hope customer service doesnt take that long to answer you.

How long did it take you guys to get through with them?

[illyas]

How long did it take you guys to get through with them?

20-30 mins.

[belfour]

Does it require phone service (eg. a phone number) ?

[andrewhaji]

Does it require phone service (eg. a phone number) ?

No. Without a phone number it's considered a "dry loop", and they do have a checkbox for that on their sign-up form.

[infamouskid]

seriously you guys could not get through via phone????
when i called for my parents i got through on the first try in under 3 minutes by pressing 1 then 1?? are you sure your calling the right number?

18662475703


and no you don't need to get home phone service with bell for this. this is just iptv and internet.

[mlerner]

This particular service is still in trial stages so it's handled by a special department and you may not be able to reach them right away.

[akravator]

I keep trying to call the number but I never get through.

Called around lunch time yesterday, waited 20 minutes and hung up. I figured I called at lunch thats why it was so busy, so I called back at 8 last night and waited for 20 minutes and still no one answered so I hung up again.

If it is available in my area I hope customer service doesnt take that long to answer you.

How long did it take you guys to get through with them?

I've called twice and each time took about 20-30 minutes. It really is a long and frustrating wait. But at least the reps are helpful.

[Dash]

damn. apparently my condo hasn't done the bandwith upgrade that's needed for this package. At least this offer is good until the end of the year, and hopefully I can qualify for it later.

this would have been great timing, since I just finished my internet and cable contract with bell and was looking to cancel my subscription.

[ardo]

I called last night (30min wait), and was surprised to hear that it is actually available at my location: 2blocks South of Steeles, 1block East of Yonge. This is a house, not a condo.

I have the installers coming on Monday, there's a 12-5pm window. I'm told my sympatico DSL service won't be available from roughly midnight on the day of the install. My wife is furious - she works from home - so Bell better not screw up. How's everyones experience with their install service so far, are they usually done in a couple of hours, or could this drag out to be days? :confused:

I also hope that connecting and configuring my Linksys router won't be a pain, I want to keep my home network as-is...

[akravator]

Just ordered the service to be installed on November 18th. (Called this morning. Exceedingly short wait time ~1min)

This is in Mississauga near Central Parkway and Confederation. Glad to be away from Rogers but less glad to have to drop Teksavvy.

[infamouskid]

I called last night (30min wait), and was surprised to hear that it is actually available at my location: 2blocks South of Steeles, 1block East of Yonge. This is a house, not a condo.

I have the installers coming on Monday, there's a 12-5pm window. I'm told my sympatico DSL service won't be available from roughly midnight on the day of the install. My wife is furious - she works from home - so Bell better not screw up. How's everyones experience with their install service so far, are they usually done in a couple of hours, or could this drag out to be days? :confused:

I also hope that connecting and configuring my Linksys router won't be a pain, I want to keep my home network as-is...

service will be down because they have to change line cards at the remote or co that serves your location from adsl to vdsl. they also have to do some bonding of copper if needed. regular techs wont know what to do so rest assured you got senior techs like actual techs and not just some sub contracted installers that day. your in good hands.

[vinnie1990]

service will be down because they have to change line cards at the remote or co that serves your location from adsl to vdsl. they also have to do some bonding of copper if needed. regular techs wont know what to do so rest assured you got senior techs like actual techs and not just some sub contracted installers that day. your in good hands.

to add to this, they will send you a senior tech. And as for attaching your Linksys router afterwards. No worries, theres a post teaching you how to do it somewhere in the earlier pages(2-5) and it'll run superb.

The down time is rather short. So you don't really need to worry so much, just steal the neighbours for the time being hahahaha

[ardo]

Thanks for reassurance, guys!

Since the console is installed in the basement and my Linksys is on the 2nd floor, I think I have to run a CAT5 to connect these two.

I saw the instructions, thanks. I'm a bit challenged when it comes to network config. I'm running Tomato on my WRT54GL, and don't know what 'Destination address' means in DMZ config. Also, I cannot see where to filter multicast... :o

NM, found the multicast in Firewall settings... Also, should've read 'DMZ in the modem', not it Tomato. Sorry...

[ziggazig]

I've always hated this about Rogers:

http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm18/ziggazig777/screen-capture-1.jpg

There's no excuse for this.

[Dizzle11]

First step is to call in see if it's available.


4. Be sure your computer meets these minimum system requirements:
* Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition Service Pack 2; or
* Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2; or
* Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005; or
* Windows XP.[/I]

You have to sign some agreement before they start the install etc.

That's what I know so far. The rest you can probably get by the rest of the thread.

Does Mac OS meet the min system requirements?

[akravator]

Does Mac OS meet the min system requirements?

The individual I spoke with said it works with XP to Vista (I hope it works with Win7 because thats what I'm running) in addition to Mac OS 9 and above. He mentioned that some documentation only mentions XP but not to worry about that.

[Think]

Q: What is Bell Entertainment service?
A: Bell Entertainment is an integrated solution to suck you dry of you wealth.

Q: How is Bell Entertainment service different from cable TV?
A: Yes, but who cares...once a Vampire, always a Vampire.

Q: Do I need a satellite dish to get Bell Entertainment service?
A: Absolutely not but for those that do, you can use it as a WOK.

Q: How is Bell Entertainment service different than DSL or cable broadband Internet access?
A: Bell Entertainment is a broadband Internet access service that optimizes the total dominance of what you see, eat, hear and in the future...have direct plug to you brain.

Q: Why is there a limit to the number of customers you can accept for Bell Entertainment service in a specific neighborhood?
A: To reduce the liability issues and complaints that will follow.

Q: Do I need to have a Bell Home Phone in order to be eligible for Bell Entertainment service?
A: No, we can't handle that service since we suck.

Q: What happens after the promo ends in December 2009?
A: We will remove our mess.
Q: How many TVs can I get Bell Entertainment service for?
A: This will be totally and purposely confusion...we will let you know how much on your next invoice and average the complaints with extra, redundant charges. If only 20% complain then that's an acceptable loss.

Q: What equipment is included with Bell Entertainment service?
A: Don't worry about it....trust us:twisted:

Q: I don't have an HDTV yet. Can I watch digital TV even though I do not have a high definition television?
A: Yes. So long as you are set for pre-approved payment. This way, we can go to our local Starbucks.:cheesygri

Q: What will my bill look like?
http://www.avidimages.com/preview/2007/04/08/tangled_wiring_avidimages_1938_prev.jpg


Q: If I have any support questions or technical problems, who should I call?
A: India, press 1, then 5, then 44, then 8, then hang up and call again...then press 937825...or WESUCK for short.

[Dizzle11]

The individual I spoke with said it works with XP to Vista (I hope it works with Win7 because thats what I'm running) in addition to Mac OS 9 and above. He mentioned that some documentation only mentions XP but not to worry about that.

cool thanks for the response.

Has anyone from Brampton/Vaughan/Woodbridge been able to qualify for service?

[chinmoku_tak]

hopefully my area (~23mbps as csr claimed) will get upgraded soon
CSR told me the same, I wonder if this is a "templated" response instead of saying "there's no way you gonna get the service so stop calling..."

[ahsanfarhan22]

I called this morning to find out if it's available for broadview-dundas area and unfortunately it's not. They said the service might be available in couple of months but no guarantee.

Do you guys think they'll widen their range for this service soon or it'll just be a limited area service?

[andrewhaji]

I also hope that connecting and configuring my Linksys router won't be a pain, I want to keep my home network as-is...

Take this with a grain of salt, as the guy I was speaking to might have been clueless. But I was told that Linksys routers have issues with the multicast nature of the service, and as such they won't work as a router. You can still use it as an access point, but the routing functions will have to be handled by the Bell device.

[Chocolinx]

I'm on the same boat. haha 500+gigs a month, and yes its capped at 30$, but i just told them to make a note of my "grandfather" plan. Incase I ever wanted to go back. Since this is a trial offer(not everyone can get it), it's only fair...

Hey Vinnie hope you read this thread. I called in and someone from India picked up. Anyway the dude was like there was no way they could hold me to my old Grandfathered plan. The service is available in my area though! So that's some good news. But I really want that security. Should I keep on calling in until someone speaks the truth? Or do I ask for a supervisor or connect me back to someone in Canada?

[brunes]

I've always hated this about Rogers:


There's no excuse for this.

It's pretty silly they are bashing Rogers EPG when the Bell DSL EPG is still sucky, being vastly inferior to ExpressVu EPG (it's the same firggin company why didn't they hire the same EPG team?!?!)

[vinnie1990]

Hey Vinnie hope you read this thread. I called in and someone from India picked up. Anyway the dude was like there was no way they could hold me to my old Grandfathered plan. The service is available in my area though! So that's some good news. But I really want that security. Should I keep on calling in until someone speaks the truth? Or do I ask for a supervisor or connect me back to someone in Canada?


I spoke to a rep that just made a note of it, and the technician that came to my house said, he'll highly doubt I'll ever go back, especially with the new plans they'll be rolling out soon(prob cause of the new competitors coming into canada and rogers). You can try again... but the people i called were the same guys that i called for the service. It wasnt no indian guy.

hope that helps.

[andrewhaji]

It's pretty silly they are bashing Rogers EPG when the Bell DSL EPG is still sucky, being vastly inferior to ExpressVu EPG (it's the same firggin company why didn't they hire the same EPG team?!?!)

The IPG being used for the Bell Entertainment service is based on Microsoft's Media Center application. It's quite good. It is not related in any way to Bell's satellite IPG.

[milhouse6]

The IPG being used for the Bell Entertainment service is based on Microsoft's Media Center application. It's quite good. It is not related in any way to Bell's satellite IPG.

Wow! The MCE interface is awesome. Maybe someday Rogers will let us edit out channels we don't want to see from the guide. Sigh.

[jebise]

i been trying to get this for months, i live in mississauga. I was told that there is a 20MB line in my area but i still don't qualify for the service yet i can get there max 16 internet service. Bummer

[quiksilver_blue]

I just ordered it yesterday.

I called a few times before and they said my building didn't have it. But after Insisting that I've been getting ads in the mail and there was a presentation in my building, the CSR had to do a bunch of stuff to actually find out that they can offer me the service. They automatically said no a few times first.

I live in the Yonge/401 area.

Hope this Helps.

[Homer88]

Did anyone managed to get Fairchild included in the package or for a discounted price? Its a bit ridiculous that they want $15 for a mediocre channel....

[gdnmatrix]

Got the service installed yesterday and these are my humble observations:

The PQ is really of good quality even on SD sets.
The console PVR only has 160GB hard drive.
The IR remote is alright, but has limited angle, so really have to point it directly at the console.
The Internet speeds are at least for me NOT reaching the lofty highs of 20Mbs as some may claim. Bell only guarantee's 3Mbs. I was only able to achieve around 10Mbs Down and 5Mbs Up.
The Alcatel Lucent Cellpipe 7130 Residential gateway router is a "pain". Meaning, you will have problems with other devices connecting thru it due to some sort of incompatibility or security issue.


I'm running 1 HD and 1 SD set and signed up for the Core pkg.

[Paranoidandroid]

The console PVR only has 160GB hard drive.
How much space does one HD and SD episode (30 min) take up?

[ardo]

The Internet speeds are at least for me NOT reaching the lofty highs of 20Mbs as some may claim. Bell only guarantee's 3Mbs. I was only able to achieve around 10Mbs Down and 5Mbs Up.
The Alcatel Lucent Cellpipe 7130 Residential gateway router is a "pain". Meaning, you will have problems with other devices connecting thru it due to some sort of incompatibility or security issue.

At least the Up speed is decent, way better than my current 640 or so Kbs.

Can you elaborate on the Alcatel device, what kind of connectivity problems are you having? I'm still planning to connect my Linksys to it when service is installed on Monday. TIA.

[TRK9]

Is it true that you can only record 1 program at a time?

That really sucks! I have 2 HD PVRs right now with the cable co., and I can record 4 HD programs at once.

[mellis102]

I called Bell and was advised that the service is available in my area (Lorne Park Rd & Lakeshore), but I am only able to have service to two televisions. Does this mean that the bandwidth going into my house is not as high as some others on the list who have been quoted for four televisions?

In addition, is it really true that there is no CNN? Is that possible? If you can get CNN in a foxhole in Baghdad, I would thought you could get it with Bell...:razz:

[pandabear86]

just called and got some indian guys during business hours.

he said the service is not available in my area, but ill call again later for someone from canada to pick up cuz those indian call centre never knows what they're talking about and always makes mistake (terrible personal experience)

[gdnmatrix]

At least the Up speed is decent, way better than my current 640 or so Kbs.

Can you elaborate on the Alcatel device, what kind of connectivity problems are you having? I'm still planning to connect my Linksys to it when service is installed on Monday. TIA.

Ardo,

My Wii cannot connect wirelessly to the Internet via the Alcatel device and my Pioneer DVR that is on the network; the Alcatel device is not allowing me to see my DVR....Bell tech's are no help......will probably have to connect my Linksys router to the Alcatel router and configure it to work hopefully it won't be too much of a challenge.....just gotta figure the DMZ setup.

Hope that helps.

[silvery]

Is it true that you can only record 1 program at a time?

That really sucks! I have 2 HD PVRs right now with the cable co., and I can record 4 HD programs at once.

No it depends on the number of terminals you have, i have 3 terminals and can record 2 HD and 1 SD at the same time, while watching another SD...

[mcaj]

No it depends on the number of terminals you have, i have 3 terminals and can record 2 HD and 1 SD at the same time, while watching another SD...

Is there any way I can get a splitter and split the signal going into my tv? That's what i do with my rogers tv cable.

[TRK9]

No it depends on the number of terminals you have, i have 3 terminals and can record 2 HD and 1 SD at the same time, while watching another SD...

Thanks. Wow, I figured the guy I spoke to at Bell was clueless. What he told me is that only the main terminal records and it only has one hard drive, so one program only.

[andrewhaji]

Is there any way I can get a splitter and split the signal going into my tv? That's what i do with my rogers tv cable.

No. This will not be possible with this service, since it's all IPTV (Ethernet) based.

[The Punisher]

I just called, it is available in my area, Symington ave & Dupont. Getting it installed on the 29th of october.

stupid me should have checked this as i just got dsl sympatico installed yesterday ... argh... paid 30 bucks activation fee for nothing..

[gei]

Is it true that you can only record 1 program at a time?

That really sucks! I have 2 HD PVRs right now with the cable co., and I can record 4 HD programs at once.

It depends entirely on how much bandwidth you have available. Apparently for each additional box you get an extra 5mpbs of downstream (assuming that much is available to you)


Is there any way I can get a splitter and split the signal going into my tv? That's what i do with my rogers tv cable.

lol... this isn't the 1980's...

[Hdfan]

Called this morning to get the service (I'm with the original VDSL) and got an answer in under 5mins. I'm surprised to read why others are experiencing 20-30mins waiting time. Probably depends on the time you called. CSR scheduled me for Oct 28 appointment.

I'm about to sign-up with teksavvy when I read this thread. So for the next 12months, I am expecting my monthly bill to be around $101 (VDSL2 core pkg + extra console + phone line). I think it's not bad considering I've been wanting an HD channels + PVR for a long time.

I'm in Mississauga by the way, near Hurontario & Dundas.

[tzcnd]

Just got back from Portugal and compared to what they offer we are still living in caves in Canada.

Check this out:

http://www.cabovisao.pt/nitro/nitro.html

For those who don't read Portuguese you are getting:
Digital TV - 90 channels
Internet - 120Mb/6Mb (this is not a typo)
Home phone - with 30 minutes fixed networking calling (their home phone system is different than here so I won't get into a long description)

This package is 65,65 euros (about $105 Cnd and this includes all taxes)

The stuff they are offering in Portugal right now we won't see in Canada for 10 years or more.

Our cell phone system is so far behind that we might as well be talking into two cans attached with a string. Check this out - 27 television channels on your cell phone for 5 euros a month (about $8 Cdn). Watch as much TV on your cell phone as you want for just 5 euros.

Portable internet (internet stick) - many packages available but the one I used was 10 hours for 10 euros ($1.60 Cdn per hour). No download limits just time limits. No contract to sign. When you want more time just add another 10 euros and get another 10 hours. Unused time expires after 6 months.

In Portugal they actually have competition. There are many companies offering similar packages and they are always offering specials.

This Bell Entertainment Service Package is a step in the right direction but we are already so far behind Europe that we will never catch up. Canada is really a third world country.

[sprung]

Got it installed today. Installers arrived at 1130AM just as scheduled. The were here until 5PM. Got 2 terminals installed. Wiring was old from the phone box outside to the house so the longest part of the install was redoing all that wiring. Inside they used my existing coax cable to link the boxes together however the boxes can also be linked via ethernet.

Techs were friendly and they had a whole team of 5 guys to install it all. Torrents are still throttled though during the normal hrs that Bell does that.

Getting 20down 1.5 up. The up is being looked at 'cause it should be higher. Picture quality is very good. Some pixellation but heard it is a temporary system wide issue right now.

Logged into the modem and saw that they configured it for WEP, bah. Changing that to WPA immediately.

Update - one more thing I had to do because I lost connectivity to my server when I switched to this new service, found solution here (http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/whsfaq/thread/15a9e657-54a3-453f-b0e7-1efa59b7feea):

Method 1: Removing the DNS suffix from the router

Drawbacks of this method: not always applicable, depending from the router/ISP

You will find the domain given as suffix usually somewhere in the routers configuration interface. It depends from the model and the ISP, if you can successfully remove it. If you cannot remove it, but alter the value, try a single label name, i.e. Workgroup. These are not resolved through the Internet. After that at least a reboot of the client and the server are necessary. If the suffix still is stuck in the configuration, you may have to renew the IP address on the client. To do this, open a command prompt (on Vista/Windows 7 as Administrator) and enter the following commands:

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

To do this I logged into the new modem/router at 192.168.2.1 then changed the DHCP Domain Name that had been set to 'no-domain-set-bellcanada' to just a blank entry instead. You'll find it in LAN settings page of the modem. After that I was again able to use remote desktop connection to my server.
BTW - i'm in the Mt Pleasant/Davisville area

[beljevina]

... For those who don't read Portuguese you are getting:
Digital TV - 90 channels
Internet - 120Mb/6Mb (this is not a typo)
Home phone - with 30 minutes fixed networking calling (their home phone system is different than here so I won't get into a long description)

This package is 65,65 euros (about $105 Cnd and this includes all taxes)

The stuff they are offering in Portugal right now we won't see in Canada for 10 years or more. ... This Bell Entertainment Service Package is a step in the right direction but we are already so far behind Europe that we will never catch up. Canada is really a third world country.I assume you're referring to technology on the 3rd world reference: yes, things are better/faster in most other western nations and many emerging nations. Mostly, it's due to newer infrastructure, and governments (not corporations) biting the bullet to part with the money today, for a country's better future. Canada dilly dallies for decades on things like fibreoptic cable installations, transportation infrastructure expansion/upgrading, among others, thereby leaving us behind much of the developed/ing world. Throw in stall tactics and corporate love-in organizations like the CRTC, and you're guaranteed overall economic stagnation for decades to come, unless their sorry butts are displaced and realities start getting confronted.

[statick]

Just got this installed yesterday... not many HD channels with the Essential Pack, think i might upgrade to the next higher so you can choose theme packs. Wireless modem included has ok signal strenth, not as good as my trendnet wireless N router. Other than that all seems good in the world of Bell....

[mcaj]

I assume you're referring to technology on the 3rd world reference: yes, things are better/faster in most other western nations and many emerging nations. Mostly, it's due to newer infrastructure, and governments (not corporations) biting the bullet to part with the money today, for a country's better future. Canada dilly dallies for decades on things like fibreoptic cable installations, transportation infrastructure expansion/upgrading, among others, thereby leaving us behind much of the developed/ing world. Throw in stall tactics and corporate love-in organizations like the CRTC, and you're guaranteed overall economic stagnation for decades to come, unless their sorry butts are displaced and realities start getting confronted.

You hit the nail on the head. But, remember that Rogers did get help from the gov't and created this *cough* monopoly *cough* using OUR money. So, I guess the gov't did its part, but Rogers didn't return the favour. Lesson learnt?

[andrewhaji]

I just got my service installed yesterday. So far, so good!

http://www.speedtest.net/result/601890927.png

[Paranoidandroid]

Getting ours installed tomorrow. How long does it usually take for condos?

And why doesn't Canada have Food Network HD when they have the license for it? :confused:

[horco]

Anyone know how long the install takes in a house?

[sprung]

Anyone know how long the install takes in a house?

Mine took over 5 hours. The wiring outside was crappy so they had to replace it all. Inside we had new coax from a satellite install so that was used to connect the 2 TV boxes we got.

Beyond that, it was lots of configuring and rebooting of the modem.

[vinnie1990]

Anyone know how long the install takes in a house?

depends how the wiring is, and how big your house is essentially. It may vary from 2-10hours(the rep told me he had to spend 10 hours on one a week ago because the wiring in their house was messed).

[CadillacJack]

...do those with this service get a different internet speedtest result with your TV(s) on?

[andrewhaji]

To answer a few questions:

Time for installation was about 3 hours in my case. The first hour was spent rewiring my phone jack (he put the VDSL signal on the second pair so that I can still use the first pair for regular DSL/voice in the future).

The second hour was spent getting the hardware set up, including the modem and the HDTV box. The first HDTV box was bad so he had to get his partner to bring another box. Guess the firmware has some issues.

The third hour was spent waiting on the phone to get my TV service activated. We had to call the 1-866 number and wait for half an hour before getting a real person who then activated my TV service and gave me some terms over the phone.

Speed tests are 20/8 when TV is off, and when TV is on it depends very much on the channel you're watching. Watching an HD channel, speeds go down to 14/8. Watching an SD channel, it's about 18/8. Listening to a digital audio channel is about the same.

The first hop ping is about 20 ms. Not sure if the service is fast path or interleaved.

[andrewlala]

i have Bell home phone service ~25$.
and just got a 2 year contract with Bell TV(HD basic+ movie network pack for 31$) last month.

so im actually paying 60$ for just phone and TV. it would be nice to get all in one for 50$

can i still switch to this entertainment package without contract penalty?
or do i have to wait 2 more years to switch?

[andrewhaji]

i have Bell home phone service ~25$.
and just got a 2 year contract with Bell TV(HD basic+ movie network pack for 31$) last month.

so im actually paying 60$ for just phone and TV. it would be nice to get all in one for 50$

can i still switch to this entertainment package without contract penalty?
or do i have to wait 2 more years to switch?

You'd have to ask Bell that. Keep in mind that this service is Internet and HDTV. It does not include home phone.

[ryehighguy]

I was looking on the Bell Entertainment System's website and didn't see logos for CNN, CNN HD or Sportsnet HD in any of the packages.
Can anyone who has the service say whether or not these channels are offered?

[horco]

I was looking on the Bell Entertainment System's website and didn't see logos for CNN, CNN HD or Sportsnet HD in any of the packages.
Can anyone who has the service say whether or not these channels are offered?

They are offering more channels as time goes by from what I've been told.

Thank you to all who answered my question. One more =P

I know I posted earlier in the thread how $1.50 per gig or $30 max overage however is there bandwidth insurance for this? I read that regular sympatico has $10 for 80GB or $5 for 40gb?(not sure on the $5 charge)

Just curious if anyone knows of any other bandwidth packages for the bell entertainment service.

[andrewhaji]

I was looking on the Bell Entertainment System's website and didn't see logos for CNN, CNN HD or Sportsnet HD in any of the packages.
Can anyone who has the service say whether or not these channels are offered?

They do not have CNN at all. They even have a little checkbox on the sign-up form which says, "I don't mind that I won't be able to watch CNN."


I know I posted earlier in the thread how $1.50 per gig or $30 max overage however is there bandwidth insurance for this? I read that regular sympatico has $10 for 80GB or $5 for 40gb?(not sure on the $5 charge)

I don't think that option exists for this service.

[j8lam]

For those with TMN, do you have TMN on Demand as well?

[scamit]

I live nearby, at Webb Drive and Duke of York and they said service not available. Bummer.


Just ordered the service to be installed on November 18th. (Called this morning. Exceedingly short wait time ~1min)

This is in Mississauga near Central Parkway and Confederation. Glad to be away from Rogers but less glad to have to drop Teksavvy.

[ardo]

I just had my install finished, worked really well. It took about 3Hrs for Internet + 3TVs. Thanks to the instructions posted in this thread, I have my Linksys WRT54GL connected to the Bell router, seems to work fine. BTW, I didn't need to set the Linksys in the DMZ of the Bell router, it just worked.

Download speeds are just insane, but I'm about 550m away from the DSLAM:

http://www.speedtest.net/result/603537168.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

My biggest joy is the upload speed, about 10 times of what I used to have...

[beljevina]

Not available @ Bristol/Creditview, although there's fibre to the curb they tell me, but they've not installed the equipment needed to enable my neighborhood. Check back in a few weeks the fellow said.

Once/if I get it, I'm going to be perturbed about having to cough up the extra $30 for the "extra" above 60/90GB internet bandwidth I'll be using, when, most everyone will already be downloading terabytes of data as part of their IPTV viewing, yet Bell will insist on nickle and diming folks when an arbitrary fraction of that is used within the internet data sliver of your pipe: it's things like that that make people dislike Bell and this, esp. when you're paying $65+$30+tax=$110/month ($65 is the 1st package worth getting). And if Bell thinks this is half-price, and that folks will pay more, they're sorely out of touch.

[scamit]

Just spoke to another CSR and claimed they are aiming to have all of Mississauga covered by end of this year. All of Toronto and Montreal by spring next year.

[djino]

Just spoke to another CSR and claimed they are aiming to have all of Mississauga covered by end of this year. All of Toronto and Montreal by spring next year.

What about Ottawa? :( 2011?

djino

[gei]

Gonna sign my parents up for this. Question.. if my current Rogers bill says it's for oct 15 - nov 15, I assume that means I've paid up to nov 15. however i believe they require 30 days notice to cancel.. which would put me up to nov 27. would my next rogers bill be prorated just for nov 15-27, or would it be all the way up to dec 15?

also, just to confirm, does rogers indeed need 30 days to cancel cable? If so I guess i should just schedule the bell install for 30 days from now..

[djino]

Gonna sign my parents up for this. Question.. if my current Rogers bill says it's for oct 15 - nov 15, I assume that means I've paid up to nov 15. however i believe they require 30 days notice to cancel.. which would put me up to nov 27. would my next rogers bill be prorated just for nov 15-27, or would it be all the way up to dec 15?

also, just to confirm, does rogers indeed need 30 days to cancel cable? If so I guess i should just schedule the bell install for 30 days from now..

Yes, most all Bell/Rogers/etc need 30 Days prior noticed to cancelling.

And yes, thats what "should" happen, but what most likely "will" happen is

You will still get a bill Nov 15 for charges up to Dec 15. You can choose to pay it in full or pay what you think you owe, then on Dec 15th, you will be credited the days Nov 27th to Dec 15th on the bill and if you paid the previous bill in full, they will issue you a cheque.

djino

[carpeter]

Compared to Rogers, my HD seems to be grainy and the SD channels are worse than Rogers.

I am hooking it up with HDMI cable on Samsung 720p LCD TV.

Can anyone tell me you are observing the same?

[mcaj]

Just spoke to another CSR and claimed they are aiming to have all of Mississauga covered by end of this year. All of Toronto and Montreal by spring next year.

woohoo! :D
Now, the question is .. can we really trust Bell and everything they say?

[mlerner]

What about Ottawa? :( 2011?

djino

That's being optimistic. Ottawa is low on the priority list.

[Paranoidandroid]

Compared to Rogers, my HD seems to be grainy and the SD channels are worse than Rogers.

I am hooking it up with HDMI cable on Samsung 720p LCD TV.

Can anyone tell me you are observing the same?
Is your box set to 720p or 1080i? I am observing the same results with my Dynex 32" but the picture on our Sony looks amazing. It depends on what I'm watching though, because sports/TV series/talkshows look grainless and very sharp on both sets. It's the specialty channels like Discovery/Oasis/Rush HD that look slightly worse on the Dynex. perhaps I need to adjust my picture

Also, what do they show on OMNI HD that's actually HD? everything looks like complete crap, I don't know why they bothered bringing it out

[Free Willy]

Darn, my condo won't be finished till 2011. How do I know if my condo will support this service?

[mgbdragon]

What about Ottawa? :( 2011?

djino

Ottawa always get screwed out of promotions. We're not important enough...or corporations really dislike the government ;p

It would be nice to get another option out here other than Bell satalite or Rogers

[gei]

On the flip side, are there any channels you get with the super package with the bell entertainment service that you DONT get on rogers?

[RudeDoggy]

Not available at Yonge and Empress and Yonge and Steeles, can't wait to dump Rogers!

They now seem to have it at Yonge/Empress. I guess it depends on where exactly you live but it is available for my condo at Yonge/Empress as of today.

[beljevina]

Compared to Rogers, my HD seems to be grainy and the SD channels are worse than Rogers.

I am hooking it up with HDMI cable on Samsung 720p LCD TV.

Can anyone tell me you are observing the same?Wow, that's concerning. Please let us know how or if you resolve this; Paranoidandroid has some good suggestions.

I was going to say that you should try a speedtest.net while watching TV and without - might be interesting to see the results, but regardless, with IPTV either you have a picture (meaning sufficient bandwidth is there) or you have no picture, or one that freezes and drops many frames.

Your observation is concerning, and puzzles me on how others have commented it is a (way) better picture than both Bell satellite and Rogers. In theory, everyone should have the same quality, given you're comparing it to whatever signal provider you used on the same TV, and where you were clearly more satisfied with the picture.

I'll note that there are many IPTV options available via the web, and yes I've seen them to be grainy, but that's because they are SD, using <1Mbps, and inefficient/limited codecs via something like silverlight. I think you can get 720p in 4Mbps, but have never seen the picture quality.

[vinnie1990]

Wow, that's concerning. Please let us know how or if you resolve this; Paranoidandroid has some good suggestions.

I was going to say that you should try a speedtest.net while watching TV and without - might be interesting to see the results, but regardless, with IPTV either you have a picture (meaning sufficient bandwidth is there) or you have no picture, or one that freezes and drops many frames.

Your observation is concerning, and puzzles me on how others have commented it is a (way) better picture than both Bell satellite and Rogers. In theory, everyone should have the same quality, given you're comparing it to whatever signal provider you used on the same TV, and where you were clearly more satisfied with the picture.

I'll note that there are many IPTV options available via the web, and yes I've seen them to be grainy, but that's because they are SD, using <1Mbps, and inefficient/limited codecs via something like silverlight. I think you can get 720p in 4Mbps, but have never seen the picture quality.

One bad review shouldnt really make you that worried, theres always going to be people that have bad reviews...

Also for the person that has the "bad/grainy" quality, check your tv setting, you should've got the bell guy to do that with you since you maybe don't know how to make the most of your settings.

I've tried the cable from an old CRT tube tv to high end plasmas and lcds and projectors, unfortunately i dont have a LED tv so that I wouldnt know. And the picture has been stellar... it's pretty amazing haha.

The tv is really crisp. Check the model of your samsung and adjust picture quality, there's plenty of high tech options. If you don't know, post your TV model maybe someone can help, even maybe even I can help.

[andrewhaji]

I've had the service for a few days, and the picture quality is about on par with Rogers, and maybe even a little better. There are fewer "glitches" and fewer compression artifacts than Rogers. I do notice quite a bit of grain as well (mostly in dark scenes), but I'm going to attribute that to my cheap Dynex TV. It doesn't really bother me.

[iamdman]

rep said not available all of brampton, no eta.

[infamouskid]

Darn, my condo won't be finished till 2011. How do I know if my condo will support this service?

ask property management and tell them to make sure they let bell install their service.

[escapehatch]

Ready to pull the trigger and say g'bye to Rogers after more than a decade.

The only thing I might miss are the digital music channels. Does it have any? Not necessarily a deal breaker.

[gei]

Ready to pull the trigger and say g'bye to Rogers after more than a decade.

The only thing I might miss are the digital music channels. Does it have any? Not necessarily a deal breaker.

I think it has the same ones as rogers...

[silvery]

Wow, that's concerning. Please let us know how or if you resolve this; Paranoidandroid has some good suggestions.

I was going to say that you should try a speedtest.net while watching TV and without - might be interesting to see the results, but regardless, with IPTV either you have a picture (meaning sufficient bandwidth is there) or you have no picture, or one that freezes and drops many frames.

Your observation is concerning, and puzzles me on how others have commented it is a (way) better picture than both Bell satellite and Rogers. In theory, everyone should have the same quality, given you're comparing it to whatever signal provider you used on the same TV, and where you were clearly more satisfied with the picture.

I'll note that there are many IPTV options available via the web, and yes I've seen them to be grainy, but that's because they are SD, using <1Mbps, and inefficient/limited codecs via something like silverlight. I think you can get 720p in 4Mbps, but have never seen the picture quality.

Yes i find the picture to be more grainy than Rogers as well in HD. With the essential package you dont get many channels at all. Timeshifting is an additional $2/month.

[escapehatch]

Can someone provide a link to the specs for equipment (Console/PVR/router)? I need to know the dimensions, input/outputs etc. I have very limited space under the TV. Where do the various components need to be located?

Could a second TV be connected as a monitor for alternate viewing location?

Can PVR files be accessed/transferred from the unit in any way?

My TVs are just SD but this may force me to upgrade. So much for saving money.

Thanks.

[n1ng]

Yes i find the picture to be more grainy than Rogers as well in HD. With the essential package you dont get many channels at all. Timeshifting is an additional $2/month.

I have to agree that the picture is more grainy. It's not much of an issue for me, though. Another thing about the timeshifting is that I don't see any of the west channels in HD. Can't find Spike either.

Otherwise the guide is pretty slick. Makes channel surfing more tolerable. When I was on Rogers, the feed would skip/drop at the worse time, we will see if this happens with IPTV.

[Free Willy]

ask property management and tell them to make sure they let bell install their service.
Do you mean the condo board once the place has closed? Or should I talk to the developer now?

[andrewhaji]

The only thing I might miss are the digital music channels. Does it have any? Not necessarily a deal breaker.

It does have all the Galaxie channels, but it lacks the local radio stations that Rogers digital cable provides.

[dealguy1]

Does anyone who has this service know how to change the output resolution to be whatever the source feed is? ie. when watching an SD channel, it should output at 480i (and not 1080i).

I had my Rogers HD box set to do that before making the switch to Bell, but can't seem to figure out how to get the Bell receiver to do the same. It outputs everything at 1080i, according to my TV (indicates the resolution when I hit "display").

I had read that the upconverting is better done by my TV, which is why I'd like to make that change...

Also, anyone know if recording an SD program on an HD channel (eg. Family Guy on OMNI HD) takes up HD or SD recording space on the PVR?

Thanks in advance!

[kevinlee2]

Not available coxwell/danforth...no chance of locking in the half price deal...gonna call back to c if I can secure a "waiting list" price cap. CSR stated it was only being available in "tall" buildings. If I hold my breath I'll drown

weird... i was accepted... and i live around jones/gerrard...
like 3 streets below you... you better double check!

[PARIAHGRINCH]

weird... i was accepted... and i live around jones/gerrard...
like 3 streets below you... you better double check!

Ya, I was told you need at least 25mbps, I only have 20. guess each residence is different

[carpeter]

Can someone provide a link to the specs for equipment (Console/PVR/router)? I need to know the dimensions, input/outputs etc. I have very limited space under the TV. Where do the various components need to be located?

Could a second TV be connected as a monitor for alternate viewing location?

Can PVR files be accessed/transferred from the unit in any way?

My TVs are just SD but this may force me to upgrade. So much for saving money.

Thanks.


Google motorola VIP 1216 dvr

[ardo]

I had the service installed for 3 TVs. The next day (Tuesday) one of the TV boxes stopped working: the power light plus all 3 front panel lights are constantly on. Tech. support guys couldn't resolve this over the phone, so a tech will be coming tomorrow to have a look.

Everything else - Internet and 2TVs - work fine.

[horco]

Installed today:

Pros
Channel Changes are fast
25/10 down (2 receivers)
SD and HD are clearer than rogers for most channels
Install was short (1.5 hours for me)
Techs were friendly and knew what they were doing for the most part.
Receiver is much smaller than pictured on the website.
Receiver is customizable (has windows OS I believe)
No contract


Cons
60gb (but can pay $30 for unlimited)
Throttled at standard bell times (can do a udp workaround)
Cost after 1 year is extremely expensive
Have to pay 2 months right away (for 30 days cancellation..I believe this is standard)
Missing some channels in HD but more are coming from what I was told.

I'll post some pics if anyone wants any. Won't be the clearest but will take some requests.

[escapehatch]

Google motorola VIP 1216 dvr

If only it could stream off network shares, Internet and external drives...

[infamouskid]

Do you mean the condo board once the place has closed? Or should I talk to the developer now?

is your condo built already?

[coolroc]

Anybody have any luck getting this service in Oakville??

Just called and they said no to me, I'm in River Oaks

[tariaki]

Got it installed in Missisauga Winston Churchill/Dundas area. The installation took about 6 hours, longer than i expected.

One issue that I see with my TV is that it says the input is 720p. My TV is a Sharp D64U and should be 1080. I can't change the settings on my TV, when I read the manual it said that I have to change the output source.

Anyone have similar problems or suggestions on how to fix this?

[gamer123]

Throttled at standard bell times (can do a udp workaround)

I'll post some pics if anyone wants any. Won't be the clearest but will take some requests.

what udp workaround? and yes pics are appreciated

[illyas]

Got it installed in Missisauga Winston Churchill/Dundas area. The installation took about 6 hours, longer than i expected.

One issue that I see with my TV is that it says the input is 720p. My TV is a Sharp D64U and should be 1080. I can't change the settings on my TV, when I read the manual it said that I have to change the output source.

Anyone have similar problems or suggestions on how to fix this?

You can change it under the settings of the bell terminal. I think its under menu-settings-tv-aspect ratio & resolution.

[tariaki]

You can change it under the settings of the bell terminal. I think its under menu-settings-tv-aspect ratio & resolution.

It Worked. Thanks so much, you don't know how much time I spent on that and it was so simple.

Thanks Again!

[johners]

I have had the Bell entertainment service for around 2 years now. Each year they have simply extended the 50% off offer. I have just had confirmation that this is going to happen at the end of this year, which will now be year number 3.

Don't hold out for any Turner channels coming any time soon - they have been promising this for 2 years and still no CNN... No CNBC or MSNBC either. It is something to do with CNN not wanting to be on a pilot service or something and the fact that a license to deliver the signal down the phoneline (i.e. IPTV) needs negotiating blah blah blah...

Outages have been few and far between. Sometimes the boxes crash and need a reboot - well they run Windows CE so what do you expect! Also the router sometimes needs a reboot or a manual reset, especially if they are doing upgrades etc. The interface is a bit like windows media centre and is about a million times better than Rogers interface.

I have 2 boxes - there is no hard drive in the second box, although it can pull recordings from the PVR (the main box) which is kind of cool. You can also tell it to record from the second box, although you cannot pause or rewind live tv from the second box. Second box is also a bit slower - especially when pulling recordings (and using FFwd/RWnd) from the main box.

The Internet is pretty fast. I get about 25Mb down and 10Mb up. Itunes can download a whole movie in about 2-3 mins.

Overall I am happy and would recommend it. You wont get a better deal on Rogers. You can bundle phone and are entitled to a bundle discount. The CNN issue bugs me, but Rogers is a rip off, requires a contract and has dated boxes and software.

Bell general customer service know nothing about this service - I even had someone call me and try to sell me TV erm...... The entertainment service has a dedicated customer service line which is great, as you get straight through to a technician that knows exactly what they are talking about and speaks English.

[alesto]

... they have been promising this for 2 years and still no CNN...

The CNN issue bugs me...

.... The entertainment service has a dedicated customer service line which is great, as ... they ... speak .. English.

HMMM...

Not all of us around this forum respect CNN as only source of news and not all of us here speak "English" the way you mentioned that as a benefit of support team - wrong website/forum to praise those benefits?

[chestnut]

HMMM...

Not all of us around this forum respect CNN as only source of news and not all of us here speak "English" the way you mentioned that as a benefit of support team - wrong website/forum to praise those benefits?

If anything your response was uncalled for. He / she was stating facts. I would have to agree that EVERYONE here speaks English (or at least writes it), or why would you be on an English forum. Besides what's wrong with him/her liking CNN? It's like someone liking MTV or the Food Channel. You could have replaced the words CNN with "MTV" and it would have had the same meaning, it was personal, as stated in the msg ("The CNN issue bugs me"). Opinions don't need to be politically correct or filtered, it's just a personal preference - which in this case differs with yours.

[Think]

I have had the Bell entertainment service for around 2 years now. Each year they have simply extended the 50% off offer. I have just had confirmation that this is going to happen at the end of this year, which will now be year number 3.

Don't hold out for any Turner channels coming any time soon - they have been promising this for 2 years and still no CNN... No CNBC or MSNBC either. It is something to do with CNN not wanting to be on a pilot service or something and the fact that a license to deliver the signal down the phoneline (i.e. IPTV) needs negotiating blah blah blah...

Outages have been few and far between. Sometimes the boxes crash and need a reboot - well they run Windows CE so what do you expect! Also the router sometimes needs a reboot or a manual reset, especially if they are doing upgrades etc. The interface is a bit like windows media centre and is about a million times better than Rogers interface.

I have 2 boxes - there is no hard drive in the second box, although it can pull recordings from the PVR (the main box) which is kind of cool. You can also tell it to record from the second box, although you cannot pause or rewind live tv from the second box. Second box is also a bit slower - especially when pulling recordings (and using FFwd/RWnd) from the main box.

The Internet is pretty fast. I get about 25Mb down and 10Mb up. Itunes can download a whole movie in about 2-3 mins.

Overall I am happy and would recommend it. You wont get a better deal on Rogers. You can bundle phone and are entitled to a bundle discount. The CNN issue bugs me, but Rogers is a rip off, requires a contract and has dated boxes and software.

Bell general customer service know nothing about this service - I even had someone call me and try to sell me TV erm...... The entertainment service has a dedicated customer service line which is great, as you get straight through to a technician that knows exactly what they are talking about and speaks English.

Do you work for bell or something? A single post with a BS rant of acknowledgment?

Bell is a huge friggin hemorrhoid that will slowly bleed you to death with there useless customer service, unexplained costs, false promises and idiotic...monopolistic control over the net....they are a dictatorship in our socialist system and no one should use there service...or at least...minimize the size of there hemorrhoid. :evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:

[ADRiiAN`]

^ Just for that unnecessary use of font size, I am going to support Bell!

[mcaj]

Do you work for bell or something? A single post with a BS rant of acknowledgment?

Bell is a huge friggin hemorrhoid that will slowly bleed you to death with there useless customer service, unexplained costs, false promises and idiotic...monopolistic control over the net....they are a dictatorship in our socialist system and no one should use there service...or at least...minimize the size of there hemorrhoid. :evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:

So, when are you giving Bell a call to see if its available in your area? :razz:

[Think]

^ Just for that unnecessary use of font size, I am going to support Bell!

I was yelling!:twisted:


So, when are you giving Bell a call to see if its available in your area? :razz:

When I learn to speak Hindi:twisted:

[karma007]

Speaking hindi wont help you .. i tried !..

oh well this is just what i need!! i have had bad experiences with bell.. i am kind of looking over all of it for this.. shall call soon.. did not have a reason to get HD PVR but since yesterday have all the reasons to..

[johners]

Do you work for bell or something? A single post with a BS rant of acknowledgment?

Bell is a huge friggin hemorrhoid that will slowly bleed you to death with there useless customer service, unexplained costs, false promises and idiotic...:

Hmm, there I was thinking that I would give my opinion about a service I have been using, for the benefit of those who are thinking of getting the service. In return, I get childish abuse.

I don't work for Bell, no. I have had both Rogers and Bell for telecom so feel well placed to comment. At the end of the day, they are both fairly socialistic services that lock you in with high pricing and awful customer service. There is no other real alternative, so you have to go with one or the other. My point here is that (for now) this service has a dedicated customer service department, based in Toronto that you get straight through to. The person on the end of the phone is highly knowledgeable and is able to fix most problems instantly - which is what you want. Therefore, if you are lucky enough to get this service, then you should.

[arm2000]

Don't hold out for any Turner channels coming any time soon - they have been promising this for 2 years and still no CNN... No CNBC or MSNBC either. It is something to do with CNN not wanting to be on a pilot service or something and the fact that a license to deliver the signal down the phoneline (i.e. IPTV) needs negotiating blah blah blah...

They don't have Turner channels (and probably neither CNN) on their regular ExpressVU service so it's not about pilot service or something.
Anyway, good review, thanks

[beljevina]

Do you work for bell or something? A single post with a BS rant of acknowledgment? Bell is a huge friggin hemorrhoid that will slowly bleed you to death with there useless customer service, unexplained costs, false promises and idiotic...monopolistic control over the net....they are a dictatorship in our socialist system and no one should use there service...or at least...minimize the size of there hemorrhoid. :evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:You seem very intolerant and incapable of providing a level assessment towards what is a very good & fact filled post - johners actually provided info not yet disclosed in the 22 pages of this thread, and detail few Bell CSRs would know or disclose. And for all the dislikes to have towards Bell, they're not a dictatorship nor is Canada socialist. Lack of choice for us and lack of desire on the part of businesses to build a better product isn't something that the ordinary public can easily influence. In this case, their IPTV service is probably the biggest deployment in the country, and costwise it will provide me more for less compared to Rogers, so it's a step in the right direction for the consumer.

[atomcc]

Got it installed in Missisauga Winston Churchill/Dundas area. The installation took about 6 hours, longer than i expected.

One issue that I see with my TV is that it says the input is 720p. My TV is a Sharp D64U and should be 1080. I can't change the settings on my TV, when I read the manual it said that I have to change the output source.

Anyone have similar problems or suggestions on how to fix this?

You should be able using the remote to hit the settings button and then aspect ratio option. It will then give you a list of resolutions. Just pick 1080i (the highest it goes).

[gei]

Hmm, there I was thinking that I would give my opinion about a service I have been using, for the benefit of those who are thinking of getting the service. In return, I get childish abuse.

I don't work for Bell, no. I have had both Rogers and Bell for telecom so feel well placed to comment. At the end of the day, they are both fairly socialistic services that lock you in with high pricing and awful customer service. There is no other real alternative, so you have to go with one or the other. My point here is that (for now) this service has a dedicated customer service department, based in Toronto that you get straight through to. The person on the end of the phone is highly knowledgeable and is able to fix most problems instantly - which is what you want. Therefore, if you are lucky enough to get this service, then you should.

That guy is a clown.. I would ignore him. I'm sure everyone else appreciates your post.

[vinnie1990]

That guy is a clown.. I would ignore him. I'm sure everyone else appreciates your post.

the guy is a donkey... I mean it's one thing to hate bell, but a fellow rfd'er.. just wow. Get a life, we're here to help and share pros and cons about services and price.

GTFO if you don't like it...

especially gloating of being a member since 2003... show some respect, he's new and he's trying to help.

[Think]

the guy is a donkey... I mean it's one thing to hate bell, but a fellow rfd'er.. just wow. Get a life, we're here to help and share pros and cons about services and price.

GTFO if you don't like it...

especially gloating of being a member since 2003... show some respect, he's new and he's trying to help.

Wow...vinnie1990...who would of thought...last time I read your post. GEI been on my ignore for ages.

[atta]

Do you work for bell or something? A single post with a BS rant of acknowledgment?

Bell is a huge friggin hemorrhoid that will slowly bleed you to death with there useless customer service, unexplained costs, false promises and idiotic...monopolistic control over the net....they are a dictatorship in our socialist system and no one should use there service...or at least...minimize the size of there hemorrhoid. :evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:

You are one super *****. GTFO.

Guy provides honest and valuable feedback on the service and you rip into him out of no where. Your life must suck.

[dalkeith]

I live in the Yonge/401 area and I've had the service for two weeks. I'm happy with it. Some pros/cons from my point of view.

Pros

- Internet/gateway has no problems with VPN
- Good picture, fast internet, good promotion
- Better guide than rogers

Cons

- No Sportsnet HD channels
- No free On Demand
- Can't pause/rewind live TV on a secondary receiver
- Bell techs forgot to bring an antenna with my gateway (used the one from previous setup)
- Minimal options in settings area

* I'm unable to find an online manual for the universal remote, and my wife already recycled the manuals that were included. Closest I could find was this model, but Bell's remote doesn't have a "learn" option, and the codes in this list don't work for my (crappy) Prima TV's HD/SD. In trying to find a code the volume buttons no longer controls the receiver and always defaults to "TV", and I'm unable to revert it back.

http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/Accessories/IP+Set-Top+Accessories/MXv3_US-EN

If anyone has the manual and/or can advise how to properly search for a TV code (or scan the manual), would be appreciated.

[andrewhaji]

http://helpme.att.net/pdf/uverse/remote_control_user_guide.pdf

[horco]

Hi to whoever asked for the utp workaround.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22141654-Evading-throttling-with-uTP-uTorrent-19a

As for pics my camera is broken sorry everyone.

Has anyone gotten this bundled with homephone? I have been told that it's not possible but have read that some have? YMMV?

[vinnie1990]

Hi to whoever asked for the utp workaround.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22141654-Evading-throttling-with-uTP-uTorrent-19a

As for pics my camera is broken sorry everyone.

Has anyone gotten this bundled with homephone? I have been told that it's not possible but have read that some have? YMMV?

not possible, if the 50% ever goes away, it will be. haha

[horco]

Overall I am happy and would recommend it. You wont get a better deal on Rogers. You can bundle phone and are entitled to a bundle discount. The CNN issue bugs me, but Rogers is a rip off, requires a contract and has dated boxes and software.



not possible, if the 50% ever goes away, it will be. haha

Perhaps it's after our first year? I'd like to know how johners got the discount but seems to be MIA. That would be an even better deal than we have now hah.

[vinnie1990]

Perhaps it's after our first year? I'd like to know how johners got the discount but seems to be MIA. That would be an even better deal than we have now hah.

he just got his service. I "bundled" it and it doesn't apply on the bill.. trust me on that hahaha. And for people that get their bills, dont be scared bell does a double charge on the first bill. It's fine after that.

wouldn't mind having to pay less tho. hahaha

[horco]

I have had the Bell entertainment service for around 2 years now. Each year they have simply extended the 50% off offer. I have just had confirmation that this is going to happen at the end of this year, which will now be year number 3.




he just got his service. I "bundled" it and it doesn't apply on the bill.. trust me on that hahaha. And for people that get their bills, dont be scared bell does a double charge on the first bill. It's fine after that.

wouldn't mind having to pay less tho. hahaha

Perhaps YMMV? :) or after the first year? Who knows with bell =P

[SPARTACVS]

i don't care if they're giving away stewardesses that poop chocolate bars and gold, i promised myself a loooong time ago never to get into bed with bell again and i'm sticking to it.

+1

[dalkeith]

Thank you!


http://helpme.att.net/pdf/uverse/remote_control_user_guide.pdf

[gamer123]

hopefully they'll continue to expand the supporting area

[Red Smart]

Well I've been reading this post for the past 2 hours now, and I have to say that there is a lot in here that has made me laugh and shake my head all at the same time.

Though I am a new member I have popped in and out of this site often over the past several years, so I am quite familiar with the workings of it.

I'd like to say thanks to those of you who have taken the time to post full reports of your thoughts (good or bad) of how this new system works.

There are many things about it that I like, but I think almost an equal amount of things that I don't. Clearly this is another offering (like things in general in life) that we all won't agree on or be happy with.

For me not offering Sentanta would be deal breaker so with that I will ask my question......does anybody know if you can get Setanta with this new program?

Again thanks for the two hour read and any feed back that you can offer on the Setanta offering.

[Chocolinx]

Questions about installation:

1. Are they rewiring the current phone line in the house? If they are think they'll add an additional phone jack in my main floor living room?

2. If they use ethernet to hook up all the HDPVR boxes (I plan on getting 2), think they'll do the ethernet wiring to my other PCs in my house? Currently 3 PCs are wired to my router and I'd like to keep that way, so they can stream 720p and 1080p videos off the media server.

[sprung]

1. Are they rewiring the current phone line in the house? If they are think they'll add an additional phone jack in my main floor living room?

They rewire if the existing wiring is bad. For my installation they had to put new wiring in from outside right to the main demarc in the house. Doubt it, that's not why they're at your place.

2. If they use ethernet to hook up all the HDPVR boxes (I plan on getting 2), think they'll do the ethernet wiring to my other PCs in my house? Currently 3 PCs are wired to my router and I'd like to keep that way, so they can stream 720p and 1080p videos off the media server.

Again no. Why would they take extra time to add Ethernet jacks that aren't for use with their boxes? They are there to install the service and get it running properly. That alone can sometimes take quite a bit of time (5+ hours in my case) .

Maybe you can slip 'em a few extra $ and have those other jacks (ethernet, phone line). Or ask them nicely. For my installation they did put in one dual Ethernet jack direct from the modem so my WHS server and one of the computers connect to that. The others are all wireless. BTW, the coax cable at our place was really high quality so they used that rather than Ethernet to interconnect both TV boxes.

Also, remember that for whatever reason the wireless is set to WEP encryption. Probably best to change that right away to WPA. The username and password are Admin. Modem address is 192.168.2.1

[TypeVR6]

Has anyone experienced any Billing issues/surprises with this service? :) If their Billing and CS has improved, I'm definitely going to get this!

[Evil Baby]

1. Are they rewiring the current phone line in the house? If they are think they'll add an additional phone jack in my main floor living room?

They rewire if the existing wiring is bad. For my installation they had to put new wiring in from outside right to the main demarc in the house. Doubt it, that's not why they're at your place.

2. If they use ethernet to hook up all the HDPVR boxes (I plan on getting 2), think they'll do the ethernet wiring to my other PCs in my house? Currently 3 PCs are wired to my router and I'd like to keep that way, so they can stream 720p and 1080p videos off the media server.

Again no. Why would they take extra time to add Ethernet jacks that aren't for use with their boxes? They are there to install the service and get it running properly. That alone can sometimes take quite a bit of time (5+ hours in my case) .

Maybe you can slip 'em a few extra $ and have those other jacks (ethernet, phone line). Or ask them nicely. For my installation they did put in one dual Ethernet jack direct from the modem so my WHS server and one of the computers connect to that. The others are all wireless. BTW, the coax cable at our place was really high quality so they used that rather than Ethernet to interconnect both TV boxes.

Also, remember that for whatever reason the wireless is set to WEP encryption. Probably best to change that right away to WPA. The username and password are Admin. Modem address is 192.168.2.1


My guess is that they set the wireless encryption to WEP because if you don't have SP2 installed on your XP installation it can only do WEP encryption if I'm not mistaken.

[Think]

You are one super *****. GTFO.

Guy provides honest and valuable feedback on the service and you rip into him out of no where. Your life must suck.

Did I hurt your widdo widdo fee - woo - lings. Pooh hoo...me cry for widdo widdo.

Ignore list.

Bell sucks..period. If I have to choose between either devil then I'd choose Rogers.

[yds]

Anyone know if you get a static IP with this service? I have a small webserver I run at home, and I wonder if I could continue to run it if I sign up for BES?

I've been a Rogers customer for close to 20 years. Have hated them almost that entire time, but was always reluctant to get a dish since I've always had at least 2 TV's and didn't want to get separate dishes/receivers. This service, having no dishes and being a whole home service, looks pretty sweet though. Only big downside for me is having to give up my TekSavvy internet. I love those guys!

[asmielia]

Got a notice in my mailbox that this will be available in my condo (Yonge and Eglinton) starting next week.

I'm signing up the minute it is. Sounds amazing. Been waiting for something like this for a long time.

Also looking forward to telling Rogers to screw themselves.

[macalin]

Called back, and it is now available in my area(DVP/Wynford). NICE! :cheesygri

Time to give Rogers the boot.

[azkab]

i have Bell home phone service ~25$.
and just got a 2 year contract with Bell TV(HD basic+ movie network pack for 31$) last month.

so im actually paying 60$ for just phone and TV. it would be nice to get all in one for 50$

can i still switch to this entertainment package without contract penalty?
or do i have to wait 2 more years to switch?

I was on the same situation, that is a 2 year contract ending december 2011. the rep on the phone had to ask his supervisor and ended by accepting the switch to BES. he said that there is no penalyites and that BES is free of contract; it takes 30 days cancelation notice.

re your landline, you still can bundle it with BES so you get the 5$ discount.

Good Luck!

[andrewhaji]

Anyone know if you get a static IP with this service? I have a small webserver I run at home, and I wonder if I could continue to run it if I sign up for BES?

I've been a Rogers customer for close to 20 years. Have hated them almost that entire time, but was always reluctant to get a dish since I've always had at least 2 TV's and didn't want to get separate dishes/receivers. This service, having no dishes and being a whole home service, looks pretty sweet though. Only big downside for me is having to give up my TekSavvy internet. I love those guys!

No, you get a dynamic IP.

I was in the same boat as you--I dumped TekSavvy for this new service. As much as I liked TekSavvy, a service like this (with a price like this!) was hard to pass up.

[gamer123]

hopefully they'll upgrade the speeds in my area soon so i can qualify

[hash76]

I signed up for this service. I am getting more for the same price i was paying rogers. However I had to pay rogers a penalty because i had 20% off both cable and internet and I have to pay them back.. but its still worth it. Bayview and Sheppard area

[urameatball]

No luck at Leslie & Steeles.
CSR told me to call back again weekly as they're expanding their footprint.

Dying for this because I'm paying a lot more for an inferior service with rogers.

[Mullah_Kintyre]

near Yonge/hollywood condo in north york, not available.

also yonge/mckee condo in north york (for parents), not available...

geez..i guess condos that have vdsl service currently don't have this line converted.
When a building is converted to have this new service, can people with the old VDSL terminal continue to use it? I ask because my mother, in her 70s, has had the older VDSL service for a few years, and has no interest in internet or paying more than she does now.

[bitbrain]

Bell rep says they will call me when my street is done (all of toronto finished BEFORE end of THIS year). Sweet!

[a in yul]

cant wait for mtl to come around...:razz:

[xGambitx]

i know someone probably already asked this. Anyone have a link where you enter your phone number to see if this service is offered in your area or do you have to call them to find out?

Also does anyone know if this service is offered in Mississauga? Square One area?

Looking to get this service if possible, since robbers is robbing me out of 100$ for just basic tv and internet. :(

Thanks in Advance.

Edit: is there also a bandwidth limit?

[lostradamus]

For those who already have this service, how many tuners does the PVR have? Can you watch one channel while recording another like the Rogers PVR?

[Homer88]

Hmm... I asked this before but this was a good 10-20 pages ago... But, did anyone managed to get Fairchild bundled for a cheaper price?

[illyas]

For those who already have this service, how many tuners does the PVR have? Can you watch one channel while recording another like the Rogers PVR?

Yup.


Hmm... I asked this before but this was a good 10-20 pages ago... But, did anyone managed to get Fairchild bundled for a cheaper price?

I don't think they're giving out any deals in addition to the 50% off, but you can call and ask...

[infamouskid]

parents just had theirs installed. i am very jelous.

[bug]

i know someone probably already asked this. Anyone have a link where you enter your phone number to see if this service is offered in your area or do you have to call them to find out?

Also does anyone know if this service is offered in Mississauga? Square One area?

Looking to get this service if possible, since robbers is robbing me out of 100$ for just basic tv and internet. :(

Thanks in Advance.

Edit: is there also a bandwidth limit?

As far as I know the only way to find out if the service is available is to call the toll free number. The bandwidth limit is 60GB/month.

[spawn582]

they were in my condo at yonge/finch yesterday doing their promo in our party room.

it's a great deal but i need to keep my unlimited bandwidth as 60gb is not enough.

[n1ng]

Has anyone tried using the usb ports? Are they enabled? What are they used for? I tried to charge my ps3 controller, it didn't work....

[asmielia]

they were in my condo at yonge/finch yesterday doing their promo in our party room.

it's a great deal but i need to keep my unlimited bandwidth as 60gb is not enough.

You do realize you can just pay $30 extra and it becomes unlimited. I plan on doing that as it will still be cheaper than Rogers.

[Rocketo]

ghey im at bayview and 401 and they don't do it in my complex..

[gatkinson]

called to check availability at Kipling/Dundas, have been in queue for about 30 minutes thus far.

looks like this is getting a lot of attention!

[gatkinson]

Not available at my Dundas/Kipling condo.
:(

[escapehatch]

I am scheduled for an install, but after reading this thread I am worried about doing business with Bell and am thinking about cancelling.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/bell-tv-internet-800921/2/

I haven't cancelled Rogers yet.

[johners]

Perhaps YMMV? :) or after the first year? Who knows with bell =P

I have Bell Entertainment (TV+Internet) and Phone with Bell and I do get the bundle credit of $5 on my bill every month. It is labelled "Bell Home Phone Bundle Savings". I simply rang the regular bell customer support number (not the Bell Entertainment number) and requested it after they set me up with the entertainment service around 2yrs ago. I dont see why you wouldnt be entitled to it also - after all, you dont have to get your phone with Bell.

[xGambitx]

they only guarantee you 3mpbs connection.. which is horrible for the price i think. Anyone getting those speeds? I guess it depends how close you are to the server. >??

[asmielia]

they only guarantee you 3mpbs connection.. which is horrible for the price i think. Anyone getting those speeds? I guess it depends how close you are to the server. >??

No. They only guarantee that speed when you're watching multiple Tv streams. If your apartment only had 3mbps access you couldn't even stream one HD channel. It was said earlier in this thread that you need a minimum of 25mbps of bandwidth to qualify

[xGambitx]

No. They only guarantee that speed when you're watching multiple Tv streams. If your apartment only had 3mbps access you couldn't even stream one HD channel. It was said earlier in this thread that you need a minimum of 25mbps of bandwidth to qualify

well thats good news because I qualify! :)

To all you guys what kind of speeds are most of you averaging out? I know some people posted speedtests from online. Anyone else care to post their resutls?

Thanks.

[TRIFORCE89]

How does the quality compare to Bell's current satellite and Internet offerings?

I understand that the Internet speed can fluctuate depending on number TVs in use and how many are recording something, but overall is pretty good. But is the picture quality better than what they offer with satellite?

[asmielia]

Hmmm, now that Rogers is dropping the price on their top tier services, I'm torn between the two. Bell has their demo in my building today for this service.

Basically my choice is between the following:
BELL
$70/month for a year, $130/month afterwards (I'm sure I could get some discounts after a year)
-More HD channels than Rogers (TSN + TSN2 are the big ones for me)
-22-25mbps internet (down to 16-20 when we're watching TV)
-2 awesome HDPVRs
-60gb cap (I will go over this, so probably average of $15/month extra)

Total price: $85/month for a year + tax

ROGERS
$108 a month currently, assuming upgrade to Extreme Plus
-have a free HDPVR that I need to keep renewing, and one HD box that I own
-25mbps internet, with no slowdowns due to TV watching
-125gb cap (will rarely go over this, probably average $5/month extra)

Total price: $113/month for a year + tax

Tough decision...

[spyhero]

I have a stupid question. Does watching tv contribute to monthly 60gb internet usage?

[beljevina]

I have a stupid question. Does watching tv contribute to monthly 60gb internet usage?No, it doesn't. They volunteered the information to me when I called BES about possibly buying overage in advance of consuming it - it was simply a flat out max of $30 for true unlimited. (If I subscribe, I will want that in writing.)

Which, really is a very in-your-face scam by Bell, given it is the same type of traffic that is generated and brought into your house (IPTV & IP/web traffic) yet if you surpass the ludicrous 60gb barrier, they stiff you for another (maximum) $30; it is simply a way to extract more $$$ from people who basically know what they are doing. I usually create around 1TB of traffic with Rogers, and also pay an extra $25/month. No, it's not pr0n, rather there are is a plethora foreign and/or english language TV/video available either live or via newsgroups & rapidshare that cannot be attained in North America. If I could get it more officially, I would, but you can't; and there's no reason to be satisfied with the little, canned and often poor selection of news, documentaries & entertainment we're presented with - there's a whole world out there! But, they do it, well, because they can; just look to how competitive and consumer responsive the CRTC is to us, who fund their sorry asses, by what they're doing to Globalive.

[lostradamus]

I'm very curious about the features of the PVR, does anyone know if Bell is demoing anywhere other than apartment buildings?

[sprung]

I'm very curious about the features of the PVR, does anyone know if Bell is demoing anywhere other than apartment buildings?


The PVR is a Motorola 1216 model. You can read the manual/find out more here. (http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/TV+Video+Distribution/Customer+Premises+Equipment+%28Set-tops%29/IP+Set-tops/VIP1216_US-EN)

Had it for almost 2 weeks now and it is working great!

[roadrunner17]

no service at 401/McCowan yet, rep asked me call mid Dec >:(

[buyways]

Hmmm, now that Rogers is dropping the price on their top tier services, I'm torn between the two. Bell has their demo in my building today for this service.

Basically my choice is between the following:
BELL
$70/month for a year, $130/month afterwards (I'm sure I could get some discounts after a year)
-More HD channels than Rogers (TSN + TSN2 are the big ones for me)
-22-25mbps internet (down to 16-20 when we're watching TV)
-2 awesome HDPVRs
-60gb cap (I will go over this, so probably average of $15/month extra)

Total price: $85/month for a year + tax

ROGERS
$108 a month currently, assuming upgrade to Extreme Plus
-have a free HDPVR that I need to keep renewing, and one HD box that I own
-25mbps internet, with no slowdowns due to TV watching
-125gb cap (will rarely go over this, probably average $5/month extra)

Total price: $113/month for a year + tax

Tough decision...

sorry, I don't follow how this is a tough decision - from what you wrote, doesn't it come down to whether $20/mo more for Rogers is worth it to you for 25mbps internet while watching tv, instead of 16-20?

[asmielia]

sorry, I don't follow how this is a tough decision - from what you wrote, doesn't it come down to whether $20/mo more for Rogers is worth it to you for 25mbps internet while watching tv, instead of 16-20?

Yeah, you're right. I signed up for Bell last night. They said it takes a month to cancel Rogers though, so I won't get the Bell service until Dec 12th. I'm going to wait until Sunday to cancel, when those new prices for Extreme plus kick in at Rogers and see what kind of deal they offer me. Pretty sure I'll be going with Bell though.

I think what really made the decision easier was the woman said they rated the line in my building at 27-30mbps.

[escapehatch]

I think what really made the decision easier was the woman said they rated the line in my building at 27-30mbps.

My place was rated at 39Mbps. Is it really an indication of the speeds I can expect?

[asmielia]

My place was rated at 39Mbps. Is it really an indication of the speeds I can expect?

I'm sure it's a pretty valid indication. I don't think they cap speeds at all, based off what others have posted. I'm jealous of you now.

[icevulture]

I knew the answer would be no but I thought I'd try anyways; service not yet available in Guelph, ON. Was told "within the next couple of months" and specific reference was made to January 2010.

I guess we'll see what happens. My internet alone from Rogers costs more than the $50/mo package. Finally FiOS type service in Canada.

[mcaj]

So, I called Bell today and the service is available in my area.

HOWEVER, this summer, I signed a 1-yr "verbal contract" with Rogers to get Express at $34.99 .. and now i'm stuck. Its $20 x months remaining to get out of the contract. :cry: It was the "offer" where they were offering free modem.

Anyone in similar position? :o

Edit: Also, they offered me 3 months free. Shouldn't that be part of the 1 yr? Or does the 1yr start after the 3 months are over?

[gei]

No, it doesn't. They volunteered the information to me when I called BES about possibly buying overage in advance of consuming it - it was simply a flat out max of $30 for true unlimited. (If I subscribe, I will want that in writing.)

Which, really is a very in-your-face scam by Bell, given it is the same type of traffic that is generated and brought into your house (IPTV & IP/web traffic) yet if you surpass the ludicrous 60gb barrier, they stiff you for another (maximum) $30; it is simply a way to extract more $$$ from people who basically know what they are doing. I usually create around 1TB of traffic with Rogers, and also pay an extra $25/month. No, it's not pr0n, rather there are is a plethora foreign and/or english language TV/video available either live or via newsgroups & rapidshare that cannot be attained in North America. If I could get it more officially, I would, but you can't; and there's no reason to be satisfied with the little, canned and often poor selection of news, documentaries & entertainment we're presented with - there's a whole world out there! But, they do it, well, because they can; just look to how competitive and consumer responsive the CRTC is to us, who fund their sorry asses, by what they're doing to Globalive.

It's not quite that simple. Companies have to pay bandwidth providers for their own internet access. The IPTV signal doesn't cost them anything to send over their own network, but internet usage certainly DOES.

[xGambitx]

Yeah, you're right. I signed up for Bell last night. They said it takes a month to cancel Rogers though, so I won't get the Bell service until Dec 12th. I'm going to wait until Sunday to cancel, when those new prices for Extreme plus kick in at Rogers and see what kind of deal they offer me. Pretty sure I'll be going with Bell though.

I think what really made the decision easier was the woman said they rated the line in my building at 27-30mbps.

It doesn't have to take a month to cancel. I have 3 services with rogers (ie. high speed internet, home phone and Cable). Rep told me that you can cancel the two services (internet, cable) and keep the home phone then you wont need to give a 30 day notice. So instead they canceled the two services for me, next week 18th of November which is like 1 week notice and that is when my billing cycle starts.

Either way all I needed to cancel were the cable, and internet anyways, i might switch the home phone to bell aswell if they give me a bundle discount.

[asmielia]

It doesn't have to take a month to cancel. I have 3 services with rogers (ie. high speed internet, home phone and Cable). Rep told me that you can cancel the two services (internet, cable) and keep the home phone then you wont need to give a 30 day notice. So instead they canceled the two services for me, next week 18th of November which is like 1 week notice and that is when my billing cycle starts.

Either way all I needed to cancel were the cable, and internet anyways, i might switch the home phone to bell aswell if they give me a bundle discount.

I have cell phones with Rogers, will that work?

[xGambitx]

I have cell phones with Rogers, will that work?

yea it might. I think the goal is that they do not want you to cancel the WHOLE account. Meaning that to change services (ie. cancel some) is okay and do not need a 30 day notice.

Basically to cancel the whole account (ie.all services) requires a 30 day notice. Try it out and post your results here.

[mcaj]

Either way all I needed to cancel were the cable, and internet anyways, i might switch the home phone to bell aswell if they give me a bundle discount.

You will not be offered bundled discount with this offer. I asked a rep and that's what he said. It makes sense as well.

Going off-topic here .. does anybody know if you need to sign a 1yr contract for this offer? I know that they'll guarantee you this 50% off price for 1yr, but does that imply that this is a contract?

[vinnie1990]

You will not be offered bundled discount with this offer. I asked a rep and that's what he said. It makes sense as well.

Going off-topic here .. does anybody know if you need to sign a 1yr contract for this offer? I know that they'll guarantee you this 50% off price for 1yr, but does that imply that this is a contract?

no contract, it means that this price won't change for a month, even if they advertise it later on for higher, or plan to change their price in the future. It's a promo price that you may drop at any time.

[buyways]

Yeah, you're right. I signed up for Bell last night. They said it takes a month to cancel Rogers though, so I won't get the Bell service until Dec 12th. I'm going to wait until Sunday to cancel, when those new prices for Extreme plus kick in at Rogers and see what kind of deal they offer me. Pretty sure I'll be going with Bell though.

I think what really made the decision easier was the woman said they rated the line in my building at 27-30mbps.

I think I'll switch to Bell too. The new lower prices from Rogers did make me think twice about it, but you laid out the comparison pretty well. I also have the free HDPVR and VIP discounts and whatnot, so I have a feeling Rogers won't be in any mood to offer me much more off!

Thanks for the reminder re: 30 days' notice to Rogers too.

The other factor for me is PQ - some people have said it's better with Bell (although that seems highly variable, and Rogers seems to be compressing somewhat less these days, for me anyway...)

[mcaj]

no contract, it means that this price won't change for a month, even if they advertise it later on for higher, or plan to change their price in the future. It's a promo price that you may drop at any time.

I'm assuming you meant the price wont change for a year?
PS: Thanks for replying

[dalkeith]

I've had the service for almost a month now - posted some pros/cons some paged back.

Something I didn't mention was that I wasn't provided a Sympatico/Bell email address, and I've been unable to send smtp email via Outlook ever since.

After many calls and escalations, Bell has been unable to create an account for me.

Their solution - wait until I get my first bill at which point my Bell login page will change and I can create an account in there. They advised at my disbelief that all new subscribers need to wait a month for email creation.

Anyone else in the same boat?

[asmielia]

yea it might. I think the goal is that they do not want you to cancel the WHOLE account. Meaning that to change services (ie. cancel some) is okay and do not need a 30 day notice.

Basically to cancel the whole account (ie.all services) requires a 30 day notice. Try it out and post your results here.

Just called Robbers to cancel. The woman at first seemed nice, but then claimed I was on contract, which I definitely wasn't. Went on hold then came back, agreed with me but said she couldn't offer my any more discounts (I have 20% off cable and internet with free HDPVR). Since I was cancelling all my cable services, she insisted on a 30 day cancellation period. So I have to wait a month.

Ah well, good riddance.

[johners]

You will not be offered bundled discount with this offer. I asked a rep and that's what he said. It makes sense as well.

Not true - you can bundle phone with the Bell entertainment service. I have done it and get a $5 credit every month.

[illyas]

I've had the service for almost a month now - posted some pros/cons some paged back.

Something I didn't mention was that I wasn't provided a Sympatico/Bell email address, and I've been unable to send smtp email via Outlook ever since.

After many calls and escalations, Bell has been unable to create an account for me.

Their solution - wait until I get my first bill at which point my Bell login page will change and I can create an account in there. They advised at my disbelief that all new subscribers need to wait a month for email creation.

Anyone else in the same boat?

You can try adding the B1 number you got in your welcome email to your bell account, that would probably let you create an email.

[spinbot]

I usually create around 1TB of traffic with Rogers, and also pay an extra $25/month. No, it's not pr0n, rather there are is a plethora foreign and/or english language TV/video available either live or via newsgroups & rapidshare that cannot be attained in North America. If I could get it more officially, I would, but you can't; and there's no reason to be satisfied with the little, canned and often poor selection of news, documentaries & entertainment we're presented with - there's a whole world out there! But, they do it, well, because they can; just look to how competitive and consumer responsive the CRTC is to us, who fund their sorry asses, by what they're doing to Globalive.

1TB/month = 232 DVD quality (4.3GB) Movie downloads.
You are doing more than "plethora", you are torrenting 24/7 to move that amount of data.

As an ISP employee, you are the type of person we like being a Sympatico subscriber as it costs us more for the bandwidth you use, than you would play. Just like old dialup customers that would be on 24/7 (although they would have to re-dial every 8 hours)... the cost for 1 business line was more than the $25/month the client paid.

Bell's usage based billing (pending), for ISPs and caps all have one major hidden agenda and that is to keep all the independent ISP out of the IPTV competitive market. If an ISP has to pay Bell for usage over 60GB, their is no way they can compete fairly, due to IPTV's bandwidth needs. Just an FYI, Bell already takes over $20 per month for each DSL client an ISP has and that isn't enough. They are now trying to get that essentially deregulated, so they can set the wholesale rate to whatever they want.

We made Bell. It was our money that built the infrastructure on public land and that still travels through/on public land. Take away all their right-aways and see how well they do! :)

[yonlee]

I got the installation yesterday, but it is not completed yet due to technical issues.

The internet part is working, and I tried to connect the LINKSYS VOIP gateway to this vdsl modem/wifi router and it failed. I used to have Rogers cable internet and connected the voip box to my router.

If anyone have done it, please tell me how it should be set. I read the PDF files, set voip box to use 192.168.2.xx static ip, also failed.

[icevulture]

We made Bell. It was our money that built the infrastructure on public land and that still travels through/on public land. Take away all their right-aways and see how well they do! :)

This is essentially what happened in the US in the 80s I've been told. They used to also have a company called Bell down there, which is now mainly AT&T. At the time it had a monopoly on the lines like our Bell (i'm not 100% sure if it was built with public money or if it ever was a crown corp or not). A number of small isp's banded together in a class action suit that eventually ended with the FCC telling Bell it had to sell off its assets in chunks and all but dissolve. The result was a boom in competition that resulted in better prices for better products than we have up here. They've had FiOS for years and just now we're starting to get it. I should mention in the US most companies have little or no monthly bandwidth usage cap at all (hooray free competition).

We might have had fibre sooner if Bell wasn't so busy lately trying to sell itself to the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan. Once that fell through they finally started to focus a little on their customers and the result is around a 2+ year lag behind our American brothers for fibre to the home. At least it's here now and as consumers we have a new option for internet (in addition to cable, dsl, sattelite, dial up).

I'll be watching diligently for the service to become available in the Guelph/KW/Cambridge area.

[escapehatch]

Not true - you can bundle phone with the Bell entertainment service. I have done it and get a $5 credit every month.

I also tried for a bundled reduction and they didn't go for it.

[buyways]

I live in the Yonge/401 area and I've had the service for two weeks. I'm happy with it. Some pros/cons from my point of view.

Pros

- Internet/gateway has no problems with VPN
- Good picture, fast internet, good promotion
- Better guide than rogers

Cons

- No Sportsnet HD channels
- No free On Demand
- Can't pause/rewind live TV on a secondary receiver
- Bell techs forgot to bring an antenna with my gateway (used the one from previous setup)
- Minimal options in settings area

oh noes - that's not good. So the OnDemand described here:
http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/tventert_sub2.html
is all for-pay?

[illyas]

oh noes - that's not good. So the OnDemand described here:
http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/tventert_sub2.html
is all for-pay?

Yup. They have the tmn on demand online, however the bell entertainment isn't eligible for it yet...they "working on it"

[ironchefbryce]

Just called Robbers to cancel. The woman at first seemed nice, but then claimed I was on contract, which I definitely wasn't. Went on hold then came back, agreed with me but said she couldn't offer my any more discounts (I have 20% off cable and internet with free HDPVR). Since I was cancelling all my cable services, she insisted on a 30 day cancellation period. So I have to wait a month.

Ah well, good riddance.

YEah I had the same problem too, total BS and crap on a stick. Its just thier way of taking one last shot at you before you go out the door. Bell for TV IMO, is the lesser of two evils. Rogers has terrible PQ when it comes to HD. Bell sucks at Customer Service. Ahh what can you do....

[dalkeith]

You can try adding the B1 number you got in your welcome email to your bell account, that would probably let you create an email.

Problem is I have nowhere to go to create an account. Support advised that 'My Bell' options will change once I receive my first bill.

[Tibbs]

I called and was told Brampton will be early next year. :cry:

[ryehighguy]

I just got the service this week and am pretty impressed with the HD picture using the supplied component cables.
Wondering if anyone is using HDMI to watch and if there is a big difference on HD and SD channels?
Thanks!

[gregorychu]

Does Rogers have anything like this?
Are they going to be doing fiber optics soon as well?

[sprung]

Had this for a few weeks. So far so good. BTW, instructions here (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22141654-Evading-throttling-with-uTP-uTorrent-19a) worked great for helping bypass throttling. Got top speeds yesterday @ 8PM.

[dailce]

Got the service installed yesterday and these are my humble observations:

The PQ is really of good quality even on SD sets.
The console PVR only has 160GB hard drive.
The IR remote is alright, but has limited angle, so really have to point it directly at the console.
The Internet speeds are at least for me NOT reaching the lofty highs of 20Mbs as some may claim. Bell only guarantee's 3Mbs. I was only able to achieve around 10Mbs Down and 5Mbs Up.
The Alcatel Lucent Cellpipe 7130 Residential gateway router is a "pain". Meaning, you will have problems with other devices connecting thru it due to some sort of incompatibility or security issue.


I'm running 1 HD and 1 SD set and signed up for the Core pkg.


I signed up for Bell high speed a year ago and ending up canceling. They claimed I would get speeds of Up to 10 or 16 Mbps (I think). After it was installed I was getting 90KB max, after about 2 weeks on the phone with them and jumping through hoops, they (the CSR from India) said I was too far from the service station, and that there's no way I could get faster speeds than that, not from them or any other company! Well I canceled and got rogers internet, I now get DL speeds of 600KB-900KB - much faster.

Bell's hdtv is good, as I really hate rogers program guide.

[xGambitx]

Had this for a few weeks. So far so good. BTW, instructions here (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r22141654-Evading-throttling-with-uTP-uTorrent-19a) worked great for helping bypass throttling. Got top speeds yesterday @ 8PM.

Care to elaborate more on the speeds? Download/Upload? Thanks.

[visionqueen]

Service available at Bayview and Finch.:cheesygri

[ealskriptik]

Can someone tell me if the 61V modem you've received has a coax port on the back? Any phone jacks for VoIP?

[yonlee]

Can someone tell me if the 61V modem you've received has a coax port on the back? Any phone jacks for VoIP?

My CellPipe 7130 Modem (61v) has coax going out to two TVs, but no phone jacks. I still have to figure out how to connect my Linksys Voip to this thing.

[realist123]

Anyone know how many shows the PVR can record at the same time?

My Rogers 8300HD can do 2 and I'm reluctant to switch if I'm only able to record one show at a time.


Thanks!

[asmielia]

Anyone know how many shows the PVR can record at the same time?

My Rogers 8300HD can do 2 and I'm reluctant to switch if I'm only able to record one show at a time.


Thanks!

I don't have the service yet so I can't say for sure but there shouldn't be anything preventing 2 shows from being recorded at once. It's not like the Rogers box which requires a separate tuner for each channel being recorded/watched. This box has no upper limit on simultaneous streams apart from processing capability. The tech I spoke to in my building said they were working on the ability to display 6 stations at once side by side.

[silvery]

Anyone know how many shows the PVR can record at the same time?

My Rogers 8300HD can do 2 and I'm reluctant to switch if I'm only able to record one show at a time.


Thanks!

You can record 2 high def and 1 standard if you have 2 extra non pvr boxes like myself.... so more than rogers capable! But slows down the internet connection...

[realist123]

You can record 2 high def and 1 standard if you have 2 extra non pvr boxes like myself.... so more than rogers capable! But slows down the internet connection...

Ok, but I'll have only 1 box. So how many shows can 1 box record?

[yonlee]

You can record 2 high def and 1 standard if you have 2 extra non pvr boxes like myself.... so more than rogers capable! But slows down the internet connection...

I found that when I'm recording two HDs, I could not even watch the previous recorded HD, only SD. With Rogers 8300HD, you could record two HD channels while watching one recorded HD. I don't understand why the new Bell box could not outperform much older 8300HD. It could have been dumbed down.

Bell PVR allows you to resume watching the recorded programs from the last position even after you watched another recorded one. 8300HD allows only one bookmark position. 30-sec skip is neat, but the quick replay is only 7-sec. Both Bell and Rogers have USB ports for dust collection only.

[Kaiu]

No service at Warden and Sheppard area too T.T

Can't wait to finally get some real internet rather than my crappy dsl service :P

[need4greed]

Just ordered! Condo at Yonge/Finch...

[lim1017]

sorry of these have been asked before, just found this topic and its 29pgs.


how long do we get 50% off for? 3m, 6m 1yr?? or only till end of dec..

extra $$ for dry loop or w/e if i don't have a home phone??

bandwidth limit on the internet service is??

available at bathurst and bloor area?

[jamgyu]

Does Rogers have anything like this?
Are they going to be doing fiber optics soon as well?


Rogers doesn't have IPTV service (which is what Bell's Entertainment Service is) but they do have fibre optic to the node internet service rated at 25mbps and 50mbps

[illyas]

sorry of these have been asked before, just found this topic and its 29pgs.

Is it really that hard to read the thread? :rolleyes:


how long do we get 50% off for? 3m, 6m 1yr?? or only till end of dec..

1 year + any extension of the promo they decide to do.


extra $$ for dry loop or w/e if i don't have a home phone??

No.


bandwidth limit on the internet service is??

60 gigs + $30 max for any overage.


available at bathurst and bloor area?

Call them.

[notso]

Is it really that hard to read the thread? :rolleyes:





Call them.

I was on hold for 15 minutes.... trying to order, then disconnected... I bet their service is great though:D

[Scorpionsy]

so putting a cap on Internet usage is the LAW? news to me, i thought it was a stupid scheme by the ISPs to lower the heat on their networks, and make some extra money all the while using the excuse of lowering piracy/torrenting. 60gb caps are ridicilous, comcast i think in the US put a 200GB cap, and people went CRAZY! And they may have stopped it, but here we get a 60GB cap, and they get away with it!

They get away with it because Canadians are very passive compared to our neighbors from the South who are much more vocal and aggressive. I can name a dozen things that they get away with here in Canada that would cause riots in the states.

I don't know what this is so. It's like we just don't want the headache or something. But I am very vocal so it hurts me to see Canadians just accept what gets thrown their way...and live with it. It needs to change for the best interest of everyone here. :(

[andrewhaji]

I've had the service for 3 weeks, and overall I'm very happy. Speeds are good (speed test included below) and I have no issues with BitTorrent throttling thanks to the new uTorrent.

I had to reboot the router once as the Internet stopped working entirely. (I could access the router's setup page but it wasn't getting an IP address from Bell, no matter what I did.)

I disabled the Bell router's built-in wireless, as I am using my own Apple AirPort Extreme as a wireless access point. The Bell router only supports b/g, whereas my AirPort is a/b/g/n.

TV service is great; good quality, and the PVR is nice.

http://www.dslreports.com/im/81838455/47235.png

[ipassgas]

What are the inputs/outputs on the "cable box"? Can I hook my home theatre up to it? Does it have a coax out (my house is wired and I'd be able to use the box to watch on a 2nd old tv in another room if it does). Is the main input from a router, a phone line or coax cable? Does the remote only work in the same room as the box or is it RF and would work from a different room?

Does anyone know? IS there a picture of the box anywhere?

[Eyeman]

I don't what some people are thinking. This Bell, folks, Ma Bell. They are the same rotten scum they were when they had the monopoly on phone service. Everything might seem fine for a while, but sooner or later they are going to screw with you.

[shadow_cruiser]

Not available in the Burhamthorpe/Wolfedale area in Mississauga, damn. He said to call back after the new years but I said the promotion will be done by then. He said they will have another promotion but not sure what it will be

[andrewhaji]

I don't what some people are thinking. This Bell, folks, Ma Bell. They are the same rotten scum they were when they had the monopoly on phone service. Everything might seem fine for a while, but sooner or later they are going to screw with you.

What alternatives do we have? Rogers? They're no better.

[andrewhaji]

What are the inputs/outputs on the "cable box"? Can I hook my home theatre up to it? Does it have a coax out (my house is wired and I'd be able to use the box to watch on a 2nd old tv in another room if it does). Is the main input from a router, a phone line or coax cable? Does the remote only work in the same room as the box or is it RF and would work from a different room?

Does anyone know? IS there a picture of the box anywhere?

Here is the back of the box: http://www.mornington.ca/image/vip1216_back_lg.jpg

The cable box receives IPTV data via either Ethernet OR coaxial. If you decide to go Ethernet, you have to have an Ethernet cable between the box and your router. If you decide to go coaxial, you can hook it up to any coaxial outlet in your home as long as your router is also connected to your coaxial network.

The remote is definitely not RF. It only works when you're pointing it at the box.

[sprung]

What are the inputs/outputs on the "cable box"? Can I hook my home theatre up to it? Does it have a coax out (my house is wired and I'd be able to use the box to watch on a 2nd old tv in another room if it does). Is the main input from a router, a phone line or coax cable? Does the remote only work in the same room as the box or is it RF and would work from a different room?

Does anyone know? IS there a picture of the box anywhere?

The main PVR is a Motorola 1216. The non-pvr boxes are Motorola 1200. You can find pictures and info on the 1216 here. (http://www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Product+and+Services/TV+Video+Distribution/Customer+Premises+Equipment+%28Set-tops%29/IP+Set-tops/VIP1216_US-EN)

The one definite knock against it so far vs Rogers are the really limited TV on demand offerings. First you have to pay ($0.99 /show) whereas Rogers is free also all I can find on Bell is Outer Limits??? Definitely limited choice in that respect. With Rogers you get tons more shows available at no charge.

[yds]

I don't what some people are thinking. This Bell, folks, Ma Bell. They are the same rotten scum they were when they had the monopoly on phone service. Everything might seem fine for a while, but sooner or later they are going to screw with you.

My fear also. But my dislike of Rogers is even greater. I'm scheduled to get my install tomorrow. We'll just have to see how things go.

[azkab]

I've had the service for 3 weeks, and overall I'm very happy. Speeds are good (speed test included below) and I have no issues with BitTorrent throttling thanks to the new uTorrent.

I had to reboot the router once as the Internet stopped working entirely. (I could access the router's setup page but it wasn't getting an IP address from Bell, no matter what I did.)

I disabled the Bell router's built-in wireless, as I am using my own Apple AirPort Extreme as a wireless access point. The Bell router only supports b/g, whereas my AirPort is a/b/g/n.

TV service is great; good quality, and the PVR is nice.



just a FYI. CellPipe 7130 gateway does support B/G/N
http://certifications.wi-fi.org/pdf_certificate.php?cid=WFA8097

[nyliquidpk]

I'm excited ......

One question.

I have finished basement and currently using Rogers cable in the basement for my HD antenna. How do Bell bring signal in my basement? Also is ethernet better than coaxial ?

Thanks in advance?

Regards,

[ipassgas]

I have a similar question.... what feed the modem? A phone line? What I assume a RJ45 comes out of the modem to the router... then via another RJ45 can it be connected to my existing router? Does the router have 4 coax cable outs to the set boxes? I'm a bit confused as to how the set up works.
I want to make sure that I can have 2 hard wired computers and 2 coax feeds to the 2 tvs.

[mcaj]

Here is the back of the box: http://www.mornington.ca/image/vip1216_back_lg.jpg

The cable box receives IPTV data via either Ethernet OR coaxial. If you decide to go Ethernet, you have to have an Ethernet cable between the box and your router. If you decide to go coaxial, you can hook it up to any coaxial outlet in your home as long as your router is also connected to your coaxial network.

The remote is definitely not RF. It only works when you're pointing it at the box.

Looking at that picture, it looks like the "TV OUT" uses coaxial cable, which is what I want. Does this mean that I can use a splitter to connect to two TVs (both of them are old and use coaxial cable input).

[andrewhaji]

just a FYI. CellPipe 7130 gateway does support B/G/N
http://certifications.wi-fi.org/pdf_certificate.php?cid=WFA8097

Mine doesn't.

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/5204/wirelessh.th.png (http://img42.imageshack.us/i/wirelessh.png/)

[andrewhaji]

I have a similar question.... what feed the modem? A phone line? What I assume a RJ45 comes out of the modem to the router... then via another RJ45 can it be connected to my existing router? Does the router have 4 coax cable outs to the set boxes? I'm a bit confused as to how the set up works.
I want to make sure that I can have 2 hard wired computers and 2 coax feeds to the 2 tvs.

The modem/router is a combination unit. You have to use it as both a modem and a router since it establishes two separate connections for Internet and IPTV, respectively. If you have your own router already, you won't be able to use it as a router--you could potentially use it as a simple wireless access point, like I do.

The modem/router has 4 Ethernet jacks, and a single coaxial jack. You can connect your computers and set-top boxes via Ethernet, which is the preferred method. If you have a set-top box very far away from the modem/router unit and you don't want to run a long Ethernet cable, you can use coaxial instead. You will have to plug your modem/router's coaxial jack into an existing coaxial plug in your house. This "lights up" the coaxial network in your house with the IPTV signal, which can then be received by any set-top box that is connected to a coaxial jack.

I hope that makes sense.

[lim1017]

just a heads up for anyone who interested for bathrust and bloor area

i just spent 30 min on hold to be told they DO NOT HAVE service there yet. but check back in the near year as they are laying down the line or something? couldnt really understand him.


i actually live a block away @ bathurst and harbord but im sure it applies.

[andrewhaji]

Looking at that picture, it looks like the "TV OUT" uses coaxial cable, which is what I want. Does this mean that I can use a splitter to connect to two TVs (both of them are old and use coaxial cable input).

In theory, yes. But keep in mind that you would have to watch the same channel on both TVs, and the quality would be horrendous (you're not getting HD with that setup!).

[sprung]

Mine doesn't.

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/5204/wirelessh.th.png (http://img42.imageshack.us/i/wirelessh.png/)

me neither. looks like Bell firmware has removed the wireless-n capability for now

http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/ee220/sprungman/bellmodem.jpg

[xGambitx]

so i got mine installed today, took 5 hrs!! Anyways not so much impressed with the speed (relatively speaking). I am only getting 11meg down/7 up. :(

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5516/speedk.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/i/speedk.jpg/)

[chinmoku_tak]

The modem/router is a combination unit. You have to use it as both a modem and a router since it establishes two separate connections for Internet and IPTV, respectively. If you have your own router already, you won't be able to use it as a router--you could potentially use it as a simple wireless access point, like I do.

The modem/router has 4 Ethernet jacks, and a single coaxial jack. You can connect your computers and set-top boxes via Ethernet, which is the preferred method. If you have a set-top box very far away from the modem/router unit and you don't want to run a long Ethernet cable, you can use coaxial instead. You will have to plug your modem/router's coaxial jack into an existing coaxial plug in your house. This "lights up" the coaxial network in your house with the IPTV signal, which can then be received by any set-top box that is connected to a coaxial jack.

I hope that makes sense.

How is the modem/router unit? Is there option to forward ports? I need to be able to open ports to use couple softwares I use

[Kaiu]

so i got mine installed today, took 5 hrs!! Anyways not so much impressed with the speed (relatively speaking). I am only getting 11meg down/7 up. :(

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5516/speedk.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/i/speedk.jpg/)

I'd be happy with that lol, more than fast enough...

I WISH I could get faster than 700kbps up lol.... (I'm really only getting like 150 kbps in speed tests to bell, but I have been broadcasting at 400kbps no problems... so probably a problem with their speed test)

And Roger's pricing is WAY overpriced T.T in comparison to this

[xGambitx]

I'd be happy with that lol, more than fast enough...

I WISH I could get faster than 700kbps up lol.... (I'm really only getting like 150 kbps in speed tests to bell, but I have been broadcasting at 400kbps no problems... so probably a problem with their speed test)

And Roger's pricing is WAY overpriced T.T in comparison to this

Yea thats true, however I just turned on a tv and someone downstairs also has a tv. So my down went down to 8meg. only bad thing about it is that when aall 3 tv's are on. The download will probably come down to 3mbps

Edit: i just noticed I am SERIOUSLY getting throttled, I was getting 475Kb/s on a download in morning (rogers) and now the same download after installing bell its running at 75Kb/s. If this is always gonna be the case, this is gonna suck.! :(

Edit 2: the previous post which shows a tutorial to overcome throttling didn't work for me. And this is getting really annoying. I am getting right now 30Kb/s down and 45Kb/s up. Whats the point of getting a fast connection when you can't even use it?!

[andrewhaji]

so i got mine installed today, took 5 hrs!! Anyways not so much impressed with the speed (relatively speaking). I am only getting 11meg down/7 up. :(

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/5516/speedk.jpg (http://img141.imageshack.us/i/speedk.jpg/)

Is that with all your set-top boxes turned off?

[andrewhaji]

Yea thats true, however I just turned on a tv and someone downstairs also has a tv. So my down went down to 8meg. only bad thing about it is that when aall 3 tv's are on. The download will probably come down to 3mbps

Edit: i just noticed I am SERIOUSLY getting throttled, I was getting 475Kb/s on a download in morning (rogers) and now the same download after installing bell its running at 75Kb/s. If this is always gonna be the case, this is gonna suck.! :(

There are ways around the throttling using uTorrent 2.0 Beta. There's a link earlier in this thread with instructions.

[andrewhaji]

How is the modem/router unit? Is there option to forward ports? I need to be able to open ports to use couple softwares I use

Yes, it has port forwarding. Here is a screenshot of the admin utility:

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/184/screenshot20091117at930.png

[Kaiu]

so jealous @.@ I have to use stupid iPhone to go online and browse when I broadcast since internet becomes unusable....

[xGambitx]

There are ways around the throttling using uTorrent 2.0 Beta. There's a link earlier in this thread with instructions.

tried that, didnt help much.

[xxyyzz]

Markham, Warden/HWY7, no service yet. Told to check back early next year.

[bender_bending_rodriguez]

i read here you can "upgrade" to BES if you already have bell TV. How about if I am already in a contract with Bell for DSL internet? Can I upgrade to this at no penalty?

[xGambitx]

i read here you can "upgrade" to BES if you already have bell TV. How about if I am already in a contract with Bell for DSL internet? Can I upgrade to this at no penalty?

I can 100% confirm what you said is true. The tech who was here yesterday installing my service said exactly that. You should have no problems getting out of the contract. :)

[HKPolice]

Can the routing functions be bypassed so we can use our own routers?

[Kaiu]

I called Monday, and they said it was unavailable... Any ideas how long it takes them to lay the wire?

Should I call back each week to check?

Or is it gonna take months at least....

I hear its available Bayview/Sheppard, and Bayview/Finch area...

I live around Warden/Sheppard, and Warden/Finch area... so not that far...

[andrewhaji]

Can the routing functions be bypassed so we can use our own routers?

No. The router establishes two connections--one for the Internet, and one for TV. I don't think your existing router will be able to do that.

Also, I don't see any option for "bridge mode" in the router setup.

[ipassgas]

They wont let me get it because I have a primus land line. Only works if you have no phone or if you have a bell land line.

[xGambitx]

Got some pretty decent upload speeds, in the span of 6-7 hrs I have up'd about 3.5gb. However, I think I am still being throttled at times..

[99bimmer]

Do I need to pay for a home phone line to get this? I use my cell phone so don't have a home phone.

Like Rogers makes you have basic cable to get their internet.

[azkab]

Do I need to pay for a home phone line to get this? I use my cell phone so don't have a home phone.

Like Rogers makes you have basic cable to get their internet.

NO you dont need a landline to get the Bell ESP.

[ipassgas]

I have rogers internet without basic cable.

You don't have to have a bell land line (or any land line) but I have PRIMUS as my land line phone company and they told me it can't be installed if you have another company as your phone company.

[yds]

Can anyone out there who has this service tell me if the time shift channels (west and east coast) are HD or not? We do a lot of PVRing and it helps (frees up channels to watch) to PVR stuff when its on later on the west coast. But if the west signals are only SD, then that would suck.

[ipassgas]

I keep getting different info from different reps. Some tell me I can keep my primus land line and order this package. Some tell me that I CAN NOT have a primus landline and this service. Anyone know for sure what the correct answer is?

[atta]

What are the differences in channels compared to Rogers HD? No CNN? No sportsnet HD? What else?

[ReBeL]

I have rogers internet without basic cable.

You don't have to have a bell land line (or any land line) but I have PRIMUS as my land line phone company and they told me it can't be installed if you have another company as your phone company.


That's odd........

My land line is through Teksavvy (Essentially BELL) and was told "no problem".


----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[andrewhaji]

I keep getting different info from different reps. Some tell me I can keep my primus land line and order this package. Some tell me that I CAN NOT have a primus landline and this service. Anyone know for sure what the correct answer is?

I think it is possible.

When my service was installed, the technician set up the VDSL signal on the second pair of one of my telephone jacks. That means that I can still use the other jacks in the house for regular phone service (with ANY company) if I choose.

[gei]

What are the differences in channels compared to Rogers HD? No CNN? No sportsnet HD? What else?

no cnn, no sportsnet hd, no tsn2 hd

sportsnet HD and tsn2 HD are the only ones that really bother me. lots of raptors games on those channels :(

[asmielia]

no cnn, no sportsnet hd, no tsn2 hd

sportsnet HD and tsn2 HD are the only ones that really bother me. lots of raptors games on those channels :(

Damn. I knew about CNN. Didn't realize Sportsnet HD wasn't there. That's annoying. Hopefully that gets added soon.

[andrewhaji]

Damn. I knew about CNN. Didn't realize Sportsnet HD wasn't there. That's annoying. Hopefully that gets added soon.

The lack of those channels doesn't bother me. In fact, I didn't even own a TV until a few weeks ago. My main reason for getting Bell Entertainment is the Internet.

[Kaiu]

same... almost....

I have TVs but no cable or satellite for the last 4 years lol.... Saved alot of money by not having cable...

But then my family became very heavy internet users cuz you can stream literally anything off the net now... haha

$50/mth is an awesome price.... if only it was available for me T.T

[akravator]

Is there a way to set a default TV station so that when the TV/box powers up it always starts at the same station?

Hope someone can help this newbie to the service!

[Edit]: Also, utorrent isn't working for me 'out of the box'. Anyone know what I have to do? Is it just some port forwarding or is it more than that that is currently blocking me.

[buyways]

Damn. I knew about CNN. Didn't realize Sportsnet HD wasn't there. That's annoying. Hopefully that gets added soon.

feh, I'm watching sportsnert "HD" on rogers right now and it's so compressed and pixellated I'm looking forward to watching it in SD on Bell when the installers come in a couple weeks

[rgilld]

It took over 30 mins on hold just to order it. I know I am going to regret switching but saving $500 is pretty good.

[H3ll3r]

feh, I'm watching sportsnert "HD" on rogers right now and it's so compressed and pixellated I'm looking forward to watching it in SD on Bell when the installers come in a couple weeks

I feel the same as you, but I'm on Bell ExpressVu! On my projector, the 100 inch image is so pixelated and compressed when watching the Jays on Sportsnet HD or hockey on other channels that it's almost unbearable, and I wonder if it would be better on SD with this new service....

[netcbc]

I'm new condo owner at Yonge/Finch, I can literally see the Bell building right outside my window, they did a demo at my condo, although skeptical as I place them in the Rob(g)ers category it blew me away, the 60gb cap is questionable though.

I read through 30-35, seems like a decent deal to at least try, anything remotely comparable to this offer? I know there are some decent third party internet providers in the yonge/finch area?

[slydevil]

checked today. Don't bother calling if you're in Richmond Hill not available yet.

[Carrtuzzi]

Just to confirm on two of the most recent questions...

1) You DO NOT have to have Bell telephone to get the service. I kept my Rogers home phone and there was no issue.

2) The Time Shifted network channels are only in SD right now. Supposedly they should be coming in HD soon but at this point they're not available. I have a two TV setup and can record two HD programs at once as well as a standard definition so depending on what's on, I've been balancing that to make sure the "must watch in HD" programs get taped in HD even with the lack of time shifting options...

[azncapcom]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/631685367.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

oh sh*ttt look at my sick speed.

[FulltimeIT]

I don't have a decent TV at my place...would I able to use my HD monitor with the PVR? also is this available to Downtown TO ? any1 called yet? gonna call after I finish my classes today

[ipassgas]

Does this service come with any dial up time for when you travel?

[ipassgas]

as long as your monitor has an HDMI, DVI or Component input, I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to. I use a 24" monitor with a satelite box with no problem.

[FulltimeIT]

as long as your monitor has an HDMI, DVI or Component input, I see no reason why you wouldn't be able to. I use a 24" monitor with a satelite box with no problem.

man thxn for the answer lol I being looking for that answer for a long time, but yea my monitor has HDMI and DVI so as long as I hook it up to the HD cable Box it will just be like a regular TV right? cant wait to check in to see if I can use that bundle

[lead]

is it just me or I don't see the maximum monthly usage for internet option?? is it unlimited or is it supid 75GB cap??

will it matter isn't the gov't trying to secretly past a law that will ban users who download copywrite material for one year plus a fine.

[silvery]

will it matter isn't the gov't trying to secretly past a law that will ban users who download copywrite material for one year plus a fine.

That will be good, 80% of rogers and bell users will be banned from the internet and they will go out of business....

[Kat]

No. The router establishes two connections--one for the Internet, and one for TV. I don't think your existing router will be able to do that.

Also, I don't see any option for "bridge mode" in the router setup.


Actually yes it can. As I'm doing it right now.
Just ask the installer to set it up for you. Basically, I have my Linksys with Tomato firmware doing the PPPoE connection for the Internet, and the Bell provided router performing the connection for the IPTV.

The connections are seperate, and independent (to most extent... If your link to Bell is broken, obviously Internet and TV wont work).

This setup has been working perfectly for me since February or so...

[Dash]

called again today, and they still don't have it in my area. If they don't have it by the end of the year, I might give Rogers a call and see what kind of deal they can give me.

[generic_username]

Called in and not available near Bathurst and Bloor.

[mofoman69us]

Markham, Warden/HWY7, no service yet. Told to check back early next year.

Markham, Brimley/Denison, no service yet either. Told me to call back in 3 weeks, which seems like a generic alternative to "call back later".

Also, the rep told me that service is available in Markham, but not in my area.

Sooooo, anyone out their in Markham with the Bell Entertainment Service?

[nyliquidpk]

Here is summary of today's installation.


Upload 22 MB/s Download 8MB/s
Quality is good but not as good as outdoor HD antenna
2 tvs connected, 2 Routers, 3 Voip adapters, Vonage, Home Server and 4 Computers with n problem.
PVR works well
6 hours for installation


I only needed it for internet so I really don't care that much about TV.

Regards,

NYL

[xGambitx]

Here is summary of today's installation.


Upload 22 MB/s Download 8MB/s
Quality is good but not as good as outdoor HD antenna
2 tvs connected, 2 Routers, 3 Voip adapters, Vonage, Home Server and 4 Computers with n problem.
PVR works well
6 hours for installation


I only needed it for internet so I really don't care that much about TV.

Regards,

NYL

wow how come your upload is almost 3 times your download speed? i thought download speed was always higher. I am getting 11 down/ 7.5 up. Does anyone know if they did a a dry loop (since I do not have home phone with them) would reduces your speeds?

[shadow_cruiser]

Here is summary of today's installation.


Upload 22 MB/s Download 8MB/s
Quality is good but not as good as outdoor HD antenna
2 tvs connected, 2 Routers, 3 Voip adapters, Vonage, Home Server and 4 Computers with n problem.
PVR works well
6 hours for installation


I only needed it for internet so I really don't care that much about TV.

Regards,

NYL

Where abouts in Mississauga do you live?. I'm still waiting for lines to be installed in my area Mavis/Burnhamthorpe:(

[andrewhaji]

Upload 22 MB/s Download 8MB/s


I'm pretty sure he reversed those numbers. Download should be 22 mbps and upload 8 mbps.

[beljevina]

I don't have a decent TV at my place...would I able to use my HD monitor with the PVR? also is this available to Downtown TO ? any1 called yet? gonna call after I finish my classes todayAssuming your monitor has DVI or HDMI input, yes you can take the HDMI output of the Motorola box to watch the image on your monitor - you'll need a regular HDMI cable or a DVI-HDMI, depending on what your monitor has. Of course you'll need to route the audio from the Motorola box's RCA-out to speakers, or, if the whole setup is part/close to your computer, into the sound-in of your PC's sound connections.

[netcbc]

Where in TO are you exactly? That's 10x faster then my rogers express in markham lol


http://www.speedtest.net/result/631685367.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

oh sh*ttt look at my sick speed.

[yds]

Can anyone help with a problem I'm having trying to access my web server behind the Cellpipe61V? I'm running my webserver on port 80, but I can't seem to access it from the web. I've tried the port range forwarding, the basic virtual server, and the advanced virtual server settings to forward port 80 to the machine I'm running the server on, but to no avail. It seems the Cellpipe wants to use port 80 for its own maintenance page, and won't let me forward it elsewhere. Anyone else have this problem, or have a solution?

[yonlee]

Could you explain about your VOIP set-up, please? I was using Primus VOIP, and it is not working at all, both Bell and Primus has no idea.
If it works for Vonage VOIP, I will switch.


Here is summary of today's installation.


Upload 22 MB/s Download 8MB/s
Quality is good but not as good as outdoor HD antenna
2 tvs connected, 2 Routers, 3 Voip adapters, Vonage, Home Server and 4 Computers with n problem.
PVR works well
6 hours for installation


I only needed it for internet so I really don't care that much about TV.

Regards,

NYL

[andrewhaji]

Can anyone help with a problem I'm having trying to access my web server behind the Cellpipe61V? I'm running my webserver on port 80, but I can't seem to access it from the web. I've tried the port range forwarding, the basic virtual server, and the advanced virtual server settings to forward port 80 to the machine I'm running the server on, but to no avail. It seems the Cellpipe wants to use port 80 for its own maintenance page, and won't let me forward it elsewhere. Anyone else have this problem, or have a solution?

I tried setting up an FTP server the other day. Got port forwarding set up correctly and everything, but I couldn't access it from the Internet. I'm willing to bet Bell is blocking those ports.

[lead]

That will be good, 80% of rogers and bell users will be banned from the internet and they will go out of business....

Not if your locked into a contract. They get your money anyway, regardless if your allowed to use it or not like a lease! Bad law indeed.

[nyliquidpk]

Could you explain about your VOIP set-up, please? I was using Primus VOIP, and it is not working at all, both Bell and Primus has no idea.
If it works for Vonage VOIP, I will switch.

I connected my Wifi D-Link Router and Vonage without a problem. You get 4 Ethernet ports in the Bell router. 2 ports are going to bell TV and using other two for Vonage and Dlink.

I forward DMZ to Dlink and open ports required on Dlink to run my Home Server. For VOIP I didn't make any changes and everything is working perfectly.

Also a note. I made a mistake in my previous note.

22 MBs download. About 10 MBs upload.

Cheers,

NYL

[dp_action]

The service is available in my area & I'm having a Bell tech coming in to install it shortly.
TV & internet for $50/mth w/ free PVR, and no contract...this is a fantastic deal... thanks OP!

[speedyturtle]

22MB or 22Mb ??? 1MB = 8Mb
22MB would equal 176 Mb, and that's insane speed


I connected my Wifi D-Link Router and Vonage without a problem. You get 4 Ethernet ports in the Bell router. 2 ports are going to bell TV and using other two for Vonage and Dlink.

I forward DMZ to Dlink and open ports required on Dlink to run my Home Server. For VOIP I didn't make any changes and everything is working perfectly.

Also a note. I made a mistake in my previous note.

22 MBs download. About 10 MBs upload.

Cheers,

NYL

[The Punisher]

what i don't get, is if the cellpipe gateway is suppose to support wireless N, why is the bell firmware disabling it? On my setup i only have B and G..

If anyone know how to enable it please share...

[visionqueen]

Just got this service a few days ago, when the hd tv is on - there is no wireless internet connection on the 2nd floor - strange! Complained to bell and they had the nerve to tell me to buy a signal booster for the 2nd floor to get signal! Complained to them for about 30 minutes before they decided to assign a service tech to the house to fix the problem this Thursday. Hopefully it will be fixed or else it will be a dark road to....:evil:

[chorizo3663]

Got the service last week. The wireless signal is so weak. The wireless signals coming from my neighbors are stronger. :?:

[yonlee]

Thanks for the update. Just a little more question.

I used D-Link DI-524 Wifi router, and Primus provided Linksys VOIP gateway in DHCP mode. I tried to put DI-524 in DMZ and connected VOIP, but it didn't work. It seems that your Vonage VOIP is connected directly to the Bell router. Is it DHCP mode, or the configuration was changed?

After contacting both Bell and Primus several times (they had no idea, or ignoring me), I am considering to switch back to bell paying twice more than now for my basic phone service.


I connected my Wifi D-Link Router and Vonage without a problem. You get 4 Ethernet ports in the Bell router. 2 ports are going to bell TV and using other two for Vonage and Dlink.

I forward DMZ to Dlink and open ports required on Dlink to run my Home Server. For VOIP I didn't make any changes and everything is working perfectly.

[yds]

I tried setting up an FTP server the other day. Got port forwarding set up correctly and everything, but I couldn't access it from the Internet. I'm willing to bet Bell is blocking those ports.

I don't think they are blocking port 80 at least. When I clear out the port forwarding and virtual server info, and try to access my webserver from outside, I get to the admin page for the Cellpipe. So port 80 seems to be getting through at least. Going to try a port scanner to see what's open.

[number6]

I got Bell Entertainment a few days ago. Picture quality (PQ) on both HD and SD are slightly poorer (whiter) than Rogers. CP24 looks especially bad on Bell. PVR takes getting used to. Can't find a way to change the the channel guide to a different date like it was possible on Rogers. Internet is blazing fast, however especially on uploads. I was only getting 500kbps on Rogers, while on BE I can get 7 + mbps I can live with the poorer PQ and am hoping that it gets better with time (upgrades etc.) Price is unbeatable. I am saving 50 percent off my Rogers bill. In summary as deals go this is thumbs up.

[plymouthhater]

what i don't get, is if the cellpipe gateway is suppose to support wireless N, why is the bell firmware disabling it? On my setup i only have B and G..

If anyone know how to enable it please share...

the 61V modem only supports B/G

[hash76]

today I got a contract by email which is like 15 pages long and there is a page that says installation charges are $199. And I am suppose to initial that page when the installation happens. Has anyone yet received their first bill where they were charged the $199 and then credited?
I'm really curious and scared knowing Bells reputation. Are they out there to get us?

[number6]

today I got a contract by email which is like 15 pages long and there is a page that says installation charges are $199. And I am suppose to initial that page when the installation happens. Has anyone yet received their first bill where they were charged the $199 and then credited?
I'm really curious and scared knowing Bells reputation. Are they out there to get us?

When the installer comes they will cross off the $199 installation charge from the service agreement when you sign it.

[Kaiu]

has anyone from scarborough been able to get this deal?

[visionqueen]

Got the service last week. The wireless signal is so weak. The wireless signals coming from my neighbors are stronger. :?:


same here!

[need4greed]

I got Bell Entertainment a few days ago. Picture quality (PQ) on both HD and SD are slightly poorer (whiter) than Rogers. CP24 looks especially bad on Bell. PVR takes getting used to. Can't find a way to change the the channel guide to a different date like it was possible on Rogers. Internet is blazing fast, however especially on uploads. I was only getting 500kbps on Rogers, while on BE I can get 7 + mbps I can live with the poorer PQ and am hoping that it gets better with time (upgrades etc.) Price is unbeatable. I am saving 50 percent off my Rogers bill. In summary as deals go this is thumbs up.

I have to agree on the picture quality, I also find Rogers to be slighter better. I watch Jay Leno quite a bit and I noticed that on Roger, the picture is sharp and the color vivid. With Bell, it seems the color is too red/warm. I tried adjusting my TV but not much improvement.

[need4greed]

Just curious, for people using newsgroup, what speed are you getting.

I use usenetserver.com. I find the max speed with Bell is around 11.5Mbps vs. 9Mbps when I was using Rogers (but for Roger, my max speed is only 10Mbps). With speedtest, I have tested the avg d/l speed for Bell to be 20Mbps+.

Not sure if this is an usenet server issue or Bell issue.... I asked the newsgroup company, they just said they don't throttle the speed.

[hash76]

When the installer comes they will cross off the $199 installation charge from the service agreement when you sign it.

Thanks for the info. I feel relieved.

[number6]

I have to agree on the picture quality, I also find Rogers to be slighter better. I watch Jay Leno quite a bit and I noticed that on Roger, the picture is sharp and the color vivid. With Bell, it seems the color is too red/warm. I tried adjusting my TV but not much improvement.

I have adjusted my TV settings and have improved the PQ. Right now I am running both Rogers and Bell side by side using the same TV (just switching HDMI connections) so it is easy to compare. I can definitely live with and will get used to the slight differences.

[lostradamus]

How long does it take to schedule an installation? Is there a waiting list at all?

I'm moving into a new apartment where this service is available but I don't get the keys until December 15th. Don't wanna miss out on the 50% off deal.

[yds]

How long does it take to schedule an installation? Is there a waiting list at all?

I'm moving into a new apartment where this service is available but I don't get the keys until December 15th. Don't wanna miss out on the 50% off deal.

I had mine installed on Nov 18th, which was about two weeks after I called to sign up. Could have had it a few days earlier, but I wasn't available.

[BuildBuyBreed]

Bell promo people came to my building with this deal and I didn't hesitate to signup. HD sealed it for me, I'm in an older building so for some reason Bell couldn't bring in HD, until now!

My current TV + Internet + landline = $155 but with this deal I'll get HD + Tier 1 Internet and for cheaper! There are no deal bundles with phone lines so I'll have to hustle them for that.

My current Tier 2 internet is not capped but with this new one it'll be capped at 60 GB and the TV signal uses about 6 GB of it, even with all my downloading, I shouldn't reach 54 GB anyway.

No contract, free PVR & wireless router included, no installation fee, and did I mention HD finally?

Signed up Nov 23 and the Bell guy is coming in to install on Dec 4.

I am happy.

[andrewhaji]

My current Tier 2 internet is not capped but with this new one it'll be capped at 60 GB and the TV signal uses about 6 GB of it, even with all my downloading, I shouldn't reach 54 GB anyway.


Watching TV does not count towards your 60 GB monthly limit.

You might be confusing monthly download limits with bandwidth. The TV signal will use about 6-8 mbps out of your 20 mbps total bandwidth.

[netcbc]

That's a relief


Watching TV does not count towards your 60 GB monthly limit.

You might be confusing monthly download limits with bandwidth. The TV signal will use about 6-8 mbps out of your 20 mbps total bandwidth.

[Stepmiller]

I've read through the forum, and can't seem to find answers to a few simple questions, maybe someone who's been using, or switched from Rogers can help.

Right now, I have the HD package (NO PVR) with Internet at home. I have my own wireless router, and have 2 desktops connected, with both a PS3 and Wii via wireless. What I use a lot on Rogers is HD (duh!) Rogers OnD (for tv shows I missed) and TMN On-D (for movies and shows I missed as well)

Questions..
1. What's the situation with Bell On-demand TV? Is it free for TV shows (Rogers charges for new movies, I assume of course Bell is the same) like Rogers, or do you pay for TV Shows?
2. I know about TMN on demand situation, so no need to comment that it's not available for Bell.
3. Since Bell deal includes PVR, do i even need On-demand for TV shows and TMN?
4. Can I still use my wireless router or do I have to use their wireless install?

[yds]

Questions..
1. What's the situation with Bell On-demand TV? Is it free for TV shows (Rogers charges for new movies, I assume of course Bell is the same) like Rogers, or do you pay for TV Shows?
2. I know about TMN on demand situation, so no need to comment that it's not available for Bell.
3. Since Bell deal includes PVR, do i even need On-demand for TV shows and TMN?
4. Can I still use my wireless router or do I have to use their wireless install?

1. Currently no on-demand TV shows or free movies
3. If you get the channels you want, you can record them (only 2HD at a time max though).
4. You can keep your wireless, though you may have to change how you have it configured.

[number6]

1. Currently no on-demand TV shows or free movies
3. If you get the channels you want, you can record them (only 2HD at a time max though).
4. You can keep your wireless, though you may have to change how you have it configured.

IMHO Rogers is a more mature TV service. It has more channels, including HD sports channels, HD time shifting and on-demand shows. Bell is definitely a deal (price for TV+Internet), but you should make your based on what is important to you.

[Kaiu]

internet is the more important thing :D

we need some more basic internet connections in canada @.@ we're falling behind in the world T.T

haven't had any channels since 2003 lol survived ok.... one day without internet and we CAN BE screwed....

[mattchew008]

Hey all,

I just ordered BES yesterday. They will come in and install it Dec-4, so there's a fairly quick turnaround.

I asked about bundling BES along with phone (no long distance plan), and I was told by the BES rep you couldn't do so because BES "isn't considered a service", which I think is BS.

When I get the installation I'm going to simply call in to the regular Bell line and ask for the bundle discount then.

Anywho, I'll post the results of the installation and TV and Internet quality.

Cheers,

[Stepmiller]

IMHO Rogers is a more mature TV service. It has more channels, including HD sports channels, HD time shifting and on-demand shows. Bell is definitely a deal (price for TV+Internet), but you should make your based on what is important to you.

Which is why I asked the question, with PVR, do I even need timeshifting? Unless I have the desire to watch the lcoal news in Newfoundland, then I guess I would.

Anyone in Scarborough West have an ETA on the BES?

[frogger]

Does the PVR hook up to the vdsl router via rj45? I'm wondering if I can use powerline networking to hook it up since my TV is nowhere near a phone jack in my condo.

[extnct]

It plugs into your homes coax network (HPNA) so any room with a coax outlet can have a BES television receiver

[laptop-tech]

NOT available in Mississauga, near Britannia and W. Churchill.

[xGambitx]

^ Available in Mississauga. Near Confederation/Burnhamthorpe.

[luongo321]

I don't care if they're giving away stewardesses that poop chocolate bars and gold, I promised myself a loooong time ago never to get into bed with Bell again and I'm sticking to it.

I agree.

Keep away from those sticky situations.

[ipassgas]

Does anyone know what the USB port on the receiver does?

[number6]

Which is why I asked the question, with PVR, do I even need timeshifting? Unless I have the desire to watch the lcoal news in Newfoundland, then I guess I would.

Anyone in Scarborough West have an ETA on the BES?

I had time shifting with Rogers. They also have American channels in the west (seatle) available in HD (NBC, ABC etc.). It was nice to have if you want to watch Oprah in HD at dinner time or if you have too many shows the record at the same time (say 8 pm - 2 show limit on the PVR) and you can record the same show in HD at 11pm. I didn't find it that useful other than for what I mentioned. I never watched the news in Newfoundland or Calgary so I don't have it with the BES service.

[nomik2]

Markham, Brimley/Denison, no service yet either. Told me to call back in 3 weeks, which seems like a generic alternative to "call back later".

Also, the rep told me that service is available in Markham, but not in my area.

Sooooo, anyone out their in Markham with the Bell Entertainment Service?

None in Markham and Denison area.

[buyways]

I asked about bundling BES along with phone (no long distance plan), and I was told by the BES rep you couldn't do so because BES "isn't considered a service", which I think is BS.

When I get the installation I'm going to simply call in to the regular Bell line and ask for the bundle discount then.

I tried asking both regular Bell support and BES support about bundling phone and getting the 'cap insurance' available for their other internet services, and they both said on both occasions that BES cannot be bundled with anything else. As others have posted, the BES service is being kept separate - billing, tech support, etc - from other Bell services for now. This makes sense to me from a business operations POV - Bell wants to keep this a nice clean rollout so they can manage and monitor it without noise from other parts of operations.

Given the big discount that BES gives, I don't esp mind that they won't give another $5 for phone bundle.

[moonrider77]

^ Available in Mississauga. Near Confederation/Burnhamthorpe.

what!!! my brother lives right around Hwy 10/Burhamthorpe, and he said Bell told him to call back couple of moths later !!! Oh well, must be only available to those new condos building around that area. :evil:

[shadow_cruiser]

what!!! my brother lives right around Hwy 10/Burhamthorpe, and he said Bell told him to call back couple of moths later !!! Oh well, must be only available to those new condos building around that area. :evil:

I'm at Mavis/Burnhamthorpe and its not available here but the rep said ALL of Mississauga will be done before the new year. I called about two weeks ago. Will try again in another week.

[Andrewm]

I'm near Victoria Park and Sheppard (North West side), just a bit east of Don Mills and they are installing dec 4.

Price is excellent. I'll post about quality.

[Scorpionsy]

Does anyone know what the USB port on the receiver does?

I asked the same question to the 2 technicians who installed it for me about 10 days ago...

They said USB was disabled on the unit...probably to protect from piracy or copying (???). Someone will hack it probably soon and then we can find out what use it is for.

I thought it was for watching movies or music from the PC directly via the PVR.

[andrewhaji]

If anything, the USB port is used for servicing--firmware updates and the like. My old Rogers PVR had a USB port and it didn't do anything useful, either.

It DID, however, provide power, which was nice since I could charge my iPhone with it!

[input]

Couple of questions:

1. For the internet, what kind of modem to they set you up with? Does it rely on a PPoE connection?

2. For the TV, does it use that weird channel numbering scheme that they have on their satellite services? I've been wary on switching to Bell from Rogers just because of this issue.

Thanks

[andrewhaji]

Couple of questions:

1. For the internet, what kind of modem to they set you up with? Does it rely on a PPoE connection?

2. For the TV, does it use that weird channel numbering scheme that they have on their satellite services? I've been wary on switching to Bell from Rogers just because of this issue.

Thanks

1. It's a combination modem/router. It establishes 2 PPPoE sessions--one for Internet, and one for TV.

2. Yes. Having switched from Rogers, I'm having a hard time getting used to the new numbering scheme.

[number6]

1. It's a combination modem/router. It establishes 2 PPPoE sessions--one for Internet, and one for TV.

2. Yes. Having switched from Rogers, I'm having a hard time getting used to the new numbering scheme.

It took me some time to learn that 503 is CP24, but I am getting used to it. It really is no difference between learning Rogers numbers for HD and Bell. I have set up the "favorites" list to help in learning the numbers.

[yds]

Anyone have any issues with choppy play on some channels? On some of the "lesser" SD channels (eg: CMT) I have noticed occassionally that the stream is kind of choppy. Kind of like when you are watching on a computer where the CPU can't quite keep up. Around 7:30pm tonight it was on TMN.

[-=phelan=-]

Wondering about a few things...

1.I don't have a land line, will this still work as wouldn't they have to dry loop it to my house?
2.Does anyone know if service is available around Eglinton and Winston Churchill (Mississauga)

[andrewhaji]

Wondering about a few things...

1.I don't have a land line, will this still work as wouldn't they have to dry loop it to my house?
2.Does anyone know if service is available around Eglinton and Winston Churchill (Mississauga)

1. You don't need a landline. I don't have one.

2. Not sure.

[xGambitx]

It took me some time to learn that 503 is CP24, but I am getting used to it. It really is no difference between learning Rogers numbers for HD and Bell. I have set up the "favorites" list to help in learning the numbers.

Yea what I hate is that if your sub'd to a basic package. WHen you skip a channel, it should skip to the next working channel. However when you skip, you will just see a black screen if you are not sub'd to that channel. Imo its a hassle flipping through the channels and remembering the numbers.

Although I am pretty sure you can setup up a favourite's list. Haven't played around with that yet though.

[mikka1989]

so after 1 year, the pricing goes back to over 100/month?

[Rj_The_Man2]

Is there anywhere to check (maybe online?) where their service coverage area has expanded to without being on hold for 15-20 mins?

[haranzo]

Does anyone know this offer will apply to condos @ Cityplace (lake shore and Spadina)

I know Condo here has optical wires with Telus, but i am not sure if Telus offers te same package. anyone?


thanks!!

[sprung]

Service so far so good about 1 month in. Only one new issue i've discovered. Sometimes the non-PVR console has trouble seeing all the recordings on the PVR console. For example, I had 28 things recorded but it only found 14 of them. Solution has been to hard reset the non-PVR unit.

To hard reset you hold down the power button on the console until all 3 lights turn on (green, blue, red). Then it will reinitialize. After that I can access all the recordings.

[yonlee]

Does the PVR hook up to the vdsl router via rj45? I'm wondering if I can use powerline networking to hook it up since my TV is nowhere near a phone jack in my condo.

It could be done either by coax or rj45. In my set-up, they connected one TV by coax and the other by rj45. I don't know if the power line networking might work for the TV or not, however, it is a little not clear why you're concerned with the phone jack.

The input siganls for both TV and internet come through using copper wire (phone line) and connected to the vdsl router, and then distributed to TVs, PCs and other internet devices using rj45, coax and wi-fi. So only the vdsl router is connected to the phone jack, not your TV.

[The Punisher]

I have had the service for just over a month. Not bad, love the internet speed :)

Only thing that sucks is the wifi signal absolutely sucks on the gateway. I am thinking of disabling it and using a router to take care of the wifi part..

Has anyone managed to increase the wifi signal on the gateway ?

[ipassgas]

I have the same question. I currently have my modem going to my lynksys router. From there, I have 2 hard wired connections and I also use the wireless. Will I be able to keep this same set up or will I have to use their router?

[andrewhaji]

I have the same question. I currently have my modem going to my lynksys router. From there, I have 2 hard wired connections and I also use the wireless. Will I be able to keep this same set up or will I have to use their router?

One person in this thread said he was able to use his old router as a router. I imagine it's a bit of a tricky setup, since the Bell modem establishes 2 PPPoE sessions. In my case, I'm using my old router as simply a wireless access point, and I've disabled the wireless built into the Bell modem.

[gei]

Yea what I hate is that if your sub'd to a basic package. WHen you skip a channel, it should skip to the next working channel. However when you skip, you will just see a black screen if you are not sub'd to that channel. Imo its a hassle flipping through the channels and remembering the numbers.

Although I am pretty sure you can setup up a favourite's list. Haven't played around with that yet though.
you can go into the channel guide and disable the channels you don't have. then it will skip over them


Does anyone know this offer will apply to condos @ Cityplace (lake shore and Spadina)

I know Condo here has optical wires with Telus, but i am not sure if Telus offers te same package. anyone?
it's available in most (if not all) cityplace condos


I have the same question. I currently have my modem going to my lynksys router. From there, I have 2 hard wired connections and I also use the wireless. Will I be able to keep this same set up or will I have to use their router?
you MUST use their router/modem. However if you really want, you can plug your router into their router. You would just plug the WAN port of YOUR router into one of the available ports on the bell router. You have to disable "filter multicast" on your router to make this work.

this is a very innefficient way of doing things however, as the connection will be NAT'd twice.

[number6]

One person in this thread said he was able to use his old router as a router. I imagine it's a bit of a tricky setup, since the Bell modem establishes 2 PPPoE sessions. In my case, I'm using my old router as simply a wireless access point, and I've disabled the wireless built into the Bell modem.

I also did the same. I disabled the wireless on the Bell modem and plugged my existing Wireless N access point (AP) into the Bell modem. I set my AP to "bridge" mode and let the Bell modem offer up IP addresses to my devices. I therefore did not to reconfigure any of my existing PCs and systems. This also avoids the double NAT problem.

[CFC85]

Hey Guys,
A bell rep came to my condo today and is offering me a package 60bucks for HD tv and cable internet.

I asked to see the terms on the sign up form and i can cleary see 2 warning sentences.

1) Early termination fees apply
2) All pricing and offers subject to change wihotut notice and cannot be combined with any other offers.

She informed me that this is a no contract offer. However, i'm a little worry about her statement.


People that are on this BES plan, do you see this on the sign up form?

[number6]

Hey Guys,
A bell rep came to my condo today and is offering me a package 60bucks for HD tv and cable internet.

I asked to see the terms on the sign up form and i can cleary see 2 warning sentences.

1) Early termination fees apply
2) All pricing and offers subject to change wihotut notice and cannot be combined with any other offers.

She informed me that this is a no contract offer. However, i'm a little worry about her statement.


People that are on this BES plan, do you see this on the sign up form?

I can't find 1) and 2) in any of the paperwork. My understanding is that 30 days notice is required for cancellation (no contract) and the introductory price is valid for 1 year.

[kevinlee2]

Hi Guys, I finally got it last night...
I'll tell you guys some of my experience with the Bell Tech guys...
They were suppose to come @ 6pm... but they came @ 11am ish. while i was @ work, but somebody was home so it wasn't big deal. (They called me to confirm if it was okay to come @ that time, which is good)
Because i live in old house, there had to be major work...
They worked on it 11amish till i got back, which was 5:30pm, then they worked inside...
They clearly explain to me what they had been doing, and even went further ahead to finish (what would of normally required next day to finish)...
Installed brand new lines, and box around my house, as the previous one was too old to do anything...
They Clearly explained to me how the system work, and what i should do when i'm having any trouble with the system...
They answered all my questions, and even gave me his personal cell if i had any future question...
He explained that this is different from 310-BELL, and that they are very concern about the costumer satisfcation...
Gave me 2 numbers to call for CSR, and his own cell for future purpose...
I checked the internet, it is very fast, getting about 21Mbps//3.3mbps...
Compare to Rogers Extreme Internet I had before and i was getting approx 10Mbps//0.99mbps... and this comes with the TV and it's CHEAPER...
IPTV is amazing, I couldn't believe what i was able to do...
Overall, I think the service is GREAT, and so far (i know it's been only 1 day now) but i have no problem with it...
If I interact any problems in the future I will let you guys know...
But whoever can grab this deal, they should ASAP, as it will disappear in month or so... GREAT JOB BELL!!!

[beljevina]

Hi Guys, I finally got it last night...
I'll tell you guys some of my experience with the Bell Tech guys...
even gave me his personal cell if i had any future question... they are very concern about the costumer satisfcation... But whoever can grab this deal, they should ASAP, as it will disappear in month or so... GREAT JOB BELL!!!
Thanks for the write up - I find these very valuable.

The service is available close to Mavis/Eglinton but I am on the fringe area, and am calling every 2 weeks. I highly doubt the price would go up @ the end of the year, because their demand will go kerplunk - demand would stop, and they could not pay for the infrastructure costs for this. At $50, rather $65 for the most useful combo package it's a great deal, but at $130 it's a budget breaker and Rogers would clearly be less. It's nice to have 20+mbps inbound fibre, but not at a ridiculous cost - 5mbps is quite sufficient for 97% of people. Bell knows this. Whether or not they keep the artificial 50% off in 1 year's time will largely depend on where Rogers has gotten to. Thank goodness there's at least some form of competition between these essentially monopolistic companies.

[adobedream]

n/a in Ajax... :mad: Want to get rid of Robbers.

[Iggynatz]

I highly doubt the price would go up @ the end of the year.

I just had a rep suggest that you are correct, though he did not say so outright. He said I should be able to get the same deal in January.

[yds]

I have posted my review of this service for the two weeks I have had it here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=116494).

[stealth]

I just had a rep suggest that you are correct, though he did not say so outright. He said I should be able to get the same deal in January.

He probably doesnt know for sure. I bet other than a few executives at Bell few ppl know for certain what the business plans to do 6months down the road. And they're not telling.
besides, plans change. esp in "test-market" type scenarios as this one.

[beljevina]

I have posted my review of this service for the two weeks I have had it here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=116494).
Fantastic review - thanks. One thing that bugs me is that you can't dump or somehow move the programs to your PC once recorded, from the HD PVR. The next level up of IPTV boxes allows this, via the KreaTV platform, which I don't think has seen any real operator implementation yet. I know some of it is an encryption/rights issue, but it should be possible; I believe TIVO allows this. I know some IPTV implementations in Europe allow you to stream/watch via your PC - inadvertently I suppose - and therefore record it. And as far as I know, there's no way to loop HDMI output back to your PC to capture/record it. Perhaps the software interpreters (cough) will come up with something; not sure if Windows CE running on the Motorola boxes is a plus or negative.

[illyas]

Fantastic review - thanks. One thing that bugs me is that you can't dump or somehow move the programs to your PC once recorded, from the HD PVR. The next level up of IPTV boxes allows this, via the KreaTV platform, which I don't think has seen any real operator implementation yet. I know some of it is an encryption/rights issue, but it should be possible; I believe TIVO allows this. I know some IPTV implementations in Europe allow you to stream/watch via your PC - inadvertently I suppose - and therefore record it. And as far as I know, there's no way to loop HDMI output back to your PC to capture/record it. Perhaps the software interpreters (cough) will come up with something; not sure if Windows CE running on the Motorola boxes is a plus or negative.

You can grab the recorded files from the usb port on the front (people have done so already). However the recordings are stored in a special DRM format that noone has been able to decrypt as far as I know.

[gei]

There are NO cancellation fees... I've confirmed this with them multiple times.

Not being able to move content to a PC has more to do with licensing restrictions than it does with not being technically able to.

And to some of the posts above... if your router supports "bridge mode" then there should be no issues using it in front of the router bell provides.

[beljevina]

You can grab the recorded files from the usb port on the front (people have done so already). However the recordings are stored in a special DRM format that noone has been able to decrypt as far as I know.Really? Am only questioning it because I'm quite certain I read (here, multiple times) it was disabled, except for the 5v as a convenient charging point. Wasn't sure if DRM was across the board or just some channels.

[llamasmurf]

anyone else notice that some stuff on sd channels is marked hd? i've had bell entertainment for a few weeks and just noticed this now, does that mean theres going to be more hd content or just a mislabel?

[illyas]

Really? Am only questioning it because I'm quite certain I read (here, multiple times) it was disabled, except for the 5v as a convenient charging point. Wasn't sure if DRM was across the board or just some channels.

Yup, it uses .slc drm files for all recording/channels. Although it seems fairly easily to open it up and upgrade the harddrive if a bigger size is needed (people with at&t with the same dvr have already done so and there are instructions online).

[kevinlee2]

some more updates:

"box" this determines either you are able to get this service or not, they will not do it if you are further than 825m away from the box or something...

- i'm approx 400m away from the "box", and able to get 22mbps//7mbps
(wired), and my wireless receives 11mbps//7mbps... (while TV ON, didn't try without the TV on, cuz my parents are watching the TV everytime i get home)
- Just to check the speed I went on apple site to download itune to see what speed i was able to get since they have reliable server that allows you to download pretty fast... I was downloading @ 1.5MB+ per second... (never reached this speed of downloading before)
- but i've been told that if you are really close from the "box" you can get high as 30mbps+//?mbps...
- i have 4 computers + TV, 1 wired (computer connecting to TV), and 3 wireless (2 desktop, 1 laptop)...
- thinking of getting 30" TV, in my room to enjoy this service. Every time you order extra iptv system, it costs u extra $5 however you get extra 3mbps boost for connection you get lost, travelling around the cable...
- modem is always reserving 3~5mbps for updates whenever necessary, so you don't see the variation in speed.
- it is approx outputting 25mpbs~30mbps+ however depending on the distance of the box, and how well wires are connected 3~8mbps during the transfer will get lost.
- i'm pretty sure other posted this already but just to avoid clicking on the pages, 60Gb is cap, however when you go over they charge you up to $20 or $25 maximum fee. This only applies to internet ONLY, transfer you use on TV doesn't affect.

[tariaki]

Just a heads up. Got my first bill today and there were some mistakes on it. Not a huge deal, but I had to call and get a credit to get it corrected. Make sure you watch your bills carefully.

[netcbc]

What kind of mistakes? Aren't there only specific packages, essential, core, etc


Just a heads up. Got my first bill today and there were some mistakes on it. Not a huge deal, but I had to call and get a credit to get it corrected. Make sure you watch your bills carefully.

[andrewhaji]

Just a heads up. Got my first bill today and there were some mistakes on it. Not a huge deal, but I had to call and get a credit to get it corrected. Make sure you watch your bills carefully.

FWIW, I got my first bill 2 days ago and it was perfect. $49.50 plus $30 overage fee. I was pleasantly surprised!

[Star*]

FWIW, I got my first bill 2 days ago and it was perfect. $49.50 plus $30 overage fee. I was pleasantly surprised!

what's the overage fee for?

[andrewhaji]

what's the overage fee for?

I used 322 GB of my 60 GB limit. :-)

[kevinlee2]

I used 322 GB of my 60 GB limit. :-)

Holy crap... i've never went that much... you have download server on 24//7 or somethin? lol

[Star*]

I used 322 GB of my 60 GB limit. :-)

I heard the max is $25, isn't it?

[littlelarry]

Can I have 1 Tv hooked up by cable in one room, and then in the other room have the following 3 items hooked up by ethernet cable (not wireless)...
TV, Wii, playstation? I also need 1 computer hooked up with ethernet (not wireless). Is this possible?

[netcbc]

Great question i'd like to know as well


Can I have 1 Tv hooked up by cable in one room, and then in the other room have the following 3 items hooked up by ethernet cable (not wireless)...
TV, Wii, playstation? I also need 1 computer hooked up with ethernet (not wireless). Is this possible?

[ipassgas]

How many ethernet out ports are there on the modem/router which can be used for computers?

[vinnie1990]

How many ethernet out ports are there on the modem/router which can be used for computers?

4 outgoing ports. i thought someone if not myself went over this? read some of the previous posts before posting. it might help

[Audiogenic]

Does anyone know the specific Bell product codes for each of the tiers of service for this?

[ipassgas]

How many ethernet out ports are there on the modem/router which can be used for computers?

I should have been more clear....
I know there are 4 ethernet ports on the router, but can all of them be used for computers or are some of them for TV?

[mrnice]

I had my install yesterday at Bathurst/Eglinton. Two guys came and stayed for ~6 hours. They were great. I had three TV's hooked up, all by network home runs to the modem.

Originally we setup one TV using my existing gigabit network to my den. I have a hub behind my TV which feeds my PS3 and MacMini. This setup was causing the VIP1216 to freeze up. Rather than spend a long time trouble shooting potential conflicts with my existing network and router they just ran a dedicated TV network cable from the modem.

All cable runs were done REALLY neatly. Unlike my experience with Rogers. The guys actually helped me staple some of my own wires which won me points with the wife.

Of the four ports on the modem three go straight to TV boxes. The fourth goes to my Dlink. The wireless was turned off on the Bell router. When plugged into the Dlink all computers were immediately connecting. No further steps were required. I should also mention that I had previously changed my default address for the Dlink to 192.168.1.1. The Bell routers default is 192.168.2.1. If you have an existing router with this same default you would obviously have a problem.

When it comes to port forwarding I will share my experience as it took me a few tries to get what I wanted.

On the Dlink, prior to getting Bell Entertainment I only forwarded one port. I had set the router to reserve 192.168.1.199 for one computer and to forward a port to it.

When running through the Bell router to the Dlink the forwarding was not working. I tried a lot of different setups with no luck. In the end what worked was putting the Dlink in the DMZ on the bell router.

I forget which screen on the Bell router showed the DHCP lease list. On it I could see the addresses being assigned for each TV and the Dlink. I simply set the Dlink address as being in the DMZ on the Bell router. With that done my forwarding rules on the Dlink began working

The Dlink is still handling the forwarding, wireless and leases for the rest of the house.

I have not had a lot of time to play around, but I can say that the PVR interface is much better than Rogers. The look and feature set is much more modern and richer. Picture quality was very nice. When changing channels the frame is frozen for the briefest of moments before beginning to play.

I ran a couple of speed tests. All wired connections were hitting the low 20's. Uploads were all at 10+. Download speed was not affected noticeably with one TV on. Wireless speed tests suffered a significant speed loss with a TV on. When I say significant I mean it went to less than 5mbps. With the TV off it was ~11mpbs.

Only tried once, will see if I can repeat.

I have a harmony 890 and the setup was super easy. The default settings for the VIP1216 were good but it was missing the recorded shows. Quickly added as a custom button and everything is golden.

The additional units can NOT pause live TV. Even though the don't have hard drives I had assumed that since they can record to the main box they could pause... they can't.

You have a finite number of streams. Currently I have three streams. My installer spoke to the call centre thinking it should be four but they said three. The documentation I have read indicates that with three TV's I should have four streams also... I will have to follow up with them.

Streams really matter. Since I have three TV's, if all were on I would not be able to record anything. If one is on, another could watch live and record. There are a lot of combinations but with only three streams it could be limited quickly. Watching a recorded show does NOT use a stream. Watching the same show on different boxes uses ONE stream.

Less than 24 hours in I am super impressed with the installation process, the TV quality, both picture and functionality and internet speeds.

The installers asked where I had heard about the service. They knew of this thread and have been reading it (Hi Tim). They said there is no promotion of this service to houses right now, only condo's, and that just about all installs have been coming from this thread.

[Kaiu]

I called again, and was told most likely within 2 weeks it will be available in my area because I am REALLY close, now I am just waiting T.T

[NeilMcduck]

I called again, and was told most likely within 2 weeks it will be available in my area because I am REALLY close, now I am just waiting T.T

Where in Scarborough are you? I'm at Danforth & Warden and also got the generic 'call back in 2 weeks' response...

I did see an army of bell guys climbing up ladders around the neighbourhood a couple of weeks ago...wonder if they were setting us up.

[Andrewm]

Okay so they just installed it.

The install guys were nice, it took forever since I didn't even have coax to the house. So they installed Cat5 into my house, and the internet is blazing fast. About 22 mbps down, 11 up. They told me it's a 30 mbps connection, and that the 3 TVs I have hooked up each take about 3/mbps during HD content.

Nice picture quality too.

Overall, I am impressed. Excellent deal. Thanks OP.

[andrewhaji]

I heard the max is $25, isn't it?

Nope. $30.

[andrewhaji]

For all those asking about numbers of ports and so on, here's a post I made earlier in the thread which explains it:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/9771244-post453/

[xGambitx]

I just checked, I get waay better speeds with a wired connection.

Wireless: 11down/7 up
Wired: 20 down/7 up

downloaded itunes 88meg file at 2.5mb/s in what seemed like seconds.

Anyone know how to check bandwidth usage so far?

I called them and told them I couldn't log into my account. They said I couldn't do that for the first month until i receive my first bill. So i have no idea what usage I am standing on currently

Anyone know of any good free bandwidth monitoring programs?

[Andrewm]

They actually don't have a way to tell the difference between your internet bandwidth and your TV bandwidth, so the policy they are telling you is for the future when they can differentiate it.

As it stands, it's unlimited at least for the first little while. It's also not traffic shaped like the rest of Bell internet.

[Kaiu]

I used 322 GB of my 60 GB limit. :-)

lol you don't need to download 24/7.... about 8 hours of internet a day will get one computer to around 200gb/mth, combine that with maybe 3+ computers in the house, which is the norm nowadays?

e.g. 4 kids in the house usually means 4+ computers lol...

[ipassgas]

For all those asking about numbers of ports and so on, here's a post I made earlier in the thread which explains it:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/9771244-post453/

I understand that there are 4 ethernet jacks... if you use cable for the TV, does that mean that all 4 of those can feed computers? Alternatively, can you have 3 of them feeding TVs and 1 feeding a computer?

[xGambitx]

They actually don't have a way to tell the difference between your internet bandwidth and your TV bandwidth, so the policy they are telling you is for the future when they can differentiate it.

As it stands, it's unlimited at least for the first little while. It's also not traffic shaped like the rest of Bell internet.

According to the user below. He got charged over usage fee the first month so apparently its not unlimited.



FWIW, I got my first bill 2 days ago and it was perfect. $49.50 plus $30 overage fee. I was pleasantly surprised!

[andrewhaji]

They actually don't have a way to tell the difference between your internet bandwidth and your TV bandwidth, so the policy they are telling you is for the future when they can differentiate it.

As it stands, it's unlimited at least for the first little while. It's also not traffic shaped like the rest of Bell internet.

Not exactly true. I was charged the full overage amount last month, $30. I can check my bandwidth usage from Bell's website.

Internet and TV traffic flow over a different PPPoE session, so it's easy for Bell to differentiate the two.

Also, there is definitely throttling/bandwidth shaping. It's just, with the new uTorrent, you can get around it.

[andrewhaji]

I understand that there are 4 ethernet jacks... if you use cable for the TV, does that mean that all 4 of those can feed computers? Alternatively, can you have 3 of them feeding TVs and 1 feeding a computer?

Yes, all the scenarios you proposed are possible. All 4 Ethernet jacks can be used for either TVs or computers.

[xGambitx]

Not exactly true. I was charged the full overage amount last month, $30. I can check my bandwidth usage from Bell's website.

Internet and TV traffic flow over a different PPPoE session, so it's easy for Bell to differentiate the two.

Also, there is definitely throttling/bandwidth shaping. It's just, with the new uTorrent, you can get around it.

Did they give you your username with the password first month? The rep told me I would have to wait until I receive my first bill. :confused::confused:

[andrewhaji]

Did they give you your username with the password first month? The rep told me I would have to wait until I receive my first bill. :confused::confused:

I had my user name and password right away, but I needed my account number to sign up on Bell's website. I didn't have that number until my first bill arrived.

[xGambitx]

I had my user name and password right away, but I needed my account number to sign up on Bell's website. I didn't have that number until my first bill arrived.

ohok yea i have the username/password aswell, just not the account number.

My case I am not sure right now, if i did then I would want to download like crazy and take advantage as much as i can but if I haven't gone over my limit then I would want to hold off. I have about 11 days until my new month starts.

[andrewhaji]

ohok yea i have the username/password aswell, just not the account number.

My case I am not sure right now, if i did then I would want to download like crazy and take advantage as much as i can but if I haven't gone over my limit then I would want to hold off. I have about 11 days until my new month starts.

Keep in mind that the most you can be charged in overages is $30. That limits the damage if you do go over your limit.

[icy_krystalz]

What other fees are there for the service besides the package fee?
Digital service fee?
Hidden fees?
Jargon fees? haha

Or is it just straight core fee + tax?

[andrewhaji]

What other fees are there for the service besides the package fee?
Digital service fee?
Hidden fees?
Jargon fees? haha

Or is it just straight core fee + tax?

There was a $0.38 LPIF fee on my bill. But that's the only additional fee to be found.

[-=phelan=-]

Lpif?

[andrewhaji]

Lpif?

http://www.cab-acr.ca/english/television/lpif/default.shtm#1

[ron_reck]

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/ENG/archive/2009/2009-113-1.htm
Just wondering how long before we see this post turn into another Bell billing screw-up discussion.

[haranzo]

I really hope that works. I wouldn't mind switching over if I can keep my grandfathered plan after a year of usage on this new stuff. There's been mad construction on Victoria Park, was all that new tubing stuff to fit new fibre? lol I have no clue. Anyway, I'll give them a call, hopefully I don't lose my grandfathered plan after a year. And is this capless fibre? Kind of like the Telus Fibre in CityPlace?

EDIT: Nevermind, searched and found 60GB cap. That's still a good deal to pay the overcharge I guess, which is capped at $30 right? I usually do about on average 500GB so I'll probably be doing that haha

anyone know Toronto Cityplace condo has this service yet!! I am itchy for this.

what other service can i opt for that is cheap?

[bluedcfive]

getting this installed in a week!

[hash76]

I had my install yesterday at Bathurst/Eglinton. Two guys came and stayed for ~6 hours. They were great. I had three TV's hooked up, all by network home runs to the modem.

Originally we setup one TV using my existing gigabit network to my den. I have a hub behind my TV which feeds my PS3 and MacMini. This setup was causing the VIP1216 to freeze up. Rather than spend a long time trouble shooting potential conflicts with my existing network and router they just ran a dedicated TV network cable from the modem.

All cable runs were done REALLY neatly. Unlike my experience with Rogers. The guys actually helped me staple some of my own wires which won me points with the wife.

Of the four ports on the modem three go straight to TV boxes. The fourth goes to my Dlink. The wireless was turned off on the Bell router. When plugged into the Dlink all computers were immediately connecting. No further steps were required. I should also mention that I had previously changed my default address for the Dlink to 192.168.1.1. The Bell routers default is 192.168.2.1. If you have an existing router with this same default you would obviously have a problem.

When it comes to port forwarding I will share my experience as it took me a few tries to get what I wanted.

On the Dlink, prior to getting Bell Entertainment I only forwarded one port. I had set the router to reserve 192.168.1.199 for one computer and to forward a port to it.

When running through the Bell router to the Dlink the forwarding was not working. I tried a lot of different setups with no luck. In the end what worked was putting the Dlink in the DMZ on the bell router.

I forget which screen on the Bell router showed the DHCP lease list. On it I could see the addresses being assigned for each TV and the Dlink. I simply set the Dlink address as being in the DMZ on the Bell router. With that done my forwarding rules on the Dlink began working

The Dlink is still handling the forwarding, wireless and leases for the rest of the house.

I have not had a lot of time to play around, but I can say that the PVR interface is much better than Rogers. The look and feature set is much more modern and richer. Picture quality was very nice. When changing channels the frame is frozen for the briefest of moments before beginning to play.

I ran a couple of speed tests. All wired connections were hitting the low 20's. Uploads were all at 10+. Download speed was not affected noticeably with one TV on. Wireless speed tests suffered a significant speed loss with a TV on. When I say significant I mean it went to less than 5mbps. With the TV off it was ~11mpbs.

Only tried once, will see if I can repeat.

I have a harmony 890 and the setup was super easy. The default settings for the VIP1216 were good but it was missing the recorded shows. Quickly added as a custom button and everything is golden.

The additional units can NOT pause live TV. Even though the don't have hard drives I had assumed that since they can record to the main box they could pause... they can't.

You have a finite number of streams. Currently I have three streams. My installer spoke to the call centre thinking it should be four but they said three. The documentation I have read indicates that with three TV's I should have four streams also... I will have to follow up with them.

Streams really matter. Since I have three TV's, if all were on I would not be able to record anything. If one is on, another could watch live and record. There are a lot of combinations but with only three streams it could be limited quickly. Watching a recorded show does NOT use a stream. Watching the same show on different boxes uses ONE stream.

Less than 24 hours in I am super impressed with the installation process, the TV quality, both picture and functionality and internet speeds.

The installers asked where I had heard about the service. They knew of this thread and have been reading it (Hi Tim). They said there is no promotion of this service to houses right now, only condo's, and that just about all installs have been coming from this thread.

Installation process was nice and professional and they put new wires from junction box etc. Very clean work and impressive. I am not so impressed with the picture quality however. some channels are very grainy compared to the Std digital of rogers. Any suggestions or hints? is it true HDMI may not be suitable and I should use component cables?

[andrewhaji]

Installation process was nice and professional and they put new wires from junction box etc. Very clean work and impressive. I am not so impressed with the picture quality however. some channels are very grainy compared to the Std digital of rogers. Any suggestions or hints? is it true HDMI may not be suitable and I should use component cables?

I am using HDMI, and the picture looks great.

[haranzo]

you can go into the channel guide and disable the channels you don't have. then it will skip over them


it's available in most (if not all) cityplace condos


you MUST use their router/modem. However if you really want, you can plug your router into their router. You would just plug the WAN port of YOUR router into one of the available ports on the bell router. You have to disable "filter multicast" on your router to make this work.

this is a very innefficient way of doing things however, as the connection will be NAT'd twice.

I called Bell, but they say they can not confirm that Cityplace condo (Westone) are in service area. I am surprised since in am in downtown core and the condo I live in is already 2 yr. old.
Can some one confirm they are using Bell for their TV living at the same condo?

It's weird that I can not even find the my street on Google map.

I have Telus Fiber optics, but that is just overkill for me. I need only need basic HD cable Channels and 5mbs internet service.

I really want it before new year as I am trying to host a new year housewarming party.

[mlerner]

I called Bell, but they say they can not confirm that Cityplace condo (Westone) are in service area. I am surprised since in am in downtown core and the condo I live in is already 2 yr. old.
Can some one confirm they are using Bell for their TV living at the same condo?

It's weird that I can not even find the my street on Google map.

I have Telus Fiber optics, but that is just overkill for me. I need only need basic HD cable Channels and 5mbs internet service.

I really want it before new year as I am trying to host a new year housewarming party.

CityPlace is TELUS ONLY! There is only one building I hear that is possibility wired for copper but even then it's unlikely there is a remote in your area for Bell IPTV.

[number6]

I had my user name and password right away, but I needed my account number to sign up on Bell's website. I didn't have that number until my first bill arrived.

I got a 0$ bill from Bell the other day. Did you get an account number that starts with 1 or 2 on your first bill. The only account number I have is my dry loop phone number.

Thanks

[number6]

I am using HDMI, and the picture looks great.


Installation process was nice and professional and they put new wires from junction box etc. Very clean work and impressive. I am not so impressed with the picture quality however. some channels are very grainy compared to the Std digital of rogers. Any suggestions or hints? is it true HDMI may not be suitable and I should use component cables?

I agree with you regarding the picture quality. It is not quite as good as Rogers, but I find it acceptable. I played around with the picture settings of my TV (colour warmth etc.) and I made it look better.

[aingaran]

Sounds like a great deal... I'm definitley ready to cancel Rogers. Anyone had any luck in Scarborough?

I'm by the Scarborough Town Centre, I'll call over the weekend and find out.

Did you ever find out?!

Are you by Omni, Brian Harrison, Grangeway, in front of YMCA or Lee Centre/Corporate Drive?

[andrewhaji]

Did you get an account number that starts with 1 or 2 on your first bill.

Yes, I did. Exactly as the sign-up page showed.

https://www.bell.ca/web/common/en/all_regions/myaccount/onebill_200907.gif

[ipassgas]

Does anyone know if MExcess HD and MFun! HD will be added to this package? It's going to be part of the regular bell package starting Wednesday.

[deleriouz]

Did you ever find out?!

Are you by Omni, Brian Harrison, Grangeway, in front of YMCA or Lee Centre/Corporate Drive?

Located 401/Meadowvale and just had it installed last week. Techs were knowledgeable and professional, though I agree standard channel quality is not as good as Rogers.

[asmielia]

Got mine installed last night near Yonge and Eglinton.

Install didn't take too long, about 2 hours or so, not including the time they spent outside my condo wiring things.

Here's my perspective coming from Rogers:

So far so good. They used most of my existing wiring in the house. Internet speed is as expected, I was hoping for a bit faster, but it's about 21 down, 6 up. Doesn't seem to matter what time of day I test it at, it's consistent. Haven't tried torrents yet, just newsgroups and they fly.

The TV seems pretty good. Haven't watched it a ton yet. No clock on the STB which is a bit annoying. The STB is narrower and shorter than the Rogers HDPVR but slightly deeper, so it doesn't save me any space. The guide must always be displayed in HD, which means I can no longer let my TV do the scaling of SD channels. This might be part of the reason people are complaining about the SD picture quality. The set top box is doing the scaling and it might not be doing a good job. That also means I can no longer stretch an SD picture using my TV's "Just" mode, which I find superior to regular stretching. I could turn off stretching altogether which I might do. None of the channels are the same as Rogers so it's going to take some getting used to. I need to set up channel favourites, that will make my life easier.

The box also only outputs digital optical out (SPDIF), I used to use digital coaxial audio out with my Rogers box because I'm short on inputs on my receiver, but I managed to work around this.

Rebooting the router/modem takes a lot longer than with Rogers. On Rogers the box is up in 45 seconds, here it takes like 8-10 minutes. I unplugged my Linksys running Tomato firmware and just started using the Bell one. I tried setting up QoS on Tomato and it didn't seem to work properly, so no big loss. Haven't tried anything like WoL yet with it, but it seems like it would support it all. There are a decent amount of options.

So far I'm happy.

[ipassgas]

can anyone with this service confirm whether or not the 2 new HD stations with the movie network are now available (as of today, they are available with the regular Bell TV)

[adamm]

Sounds like a great deal... I'm definitley ready to cancel Rogers. Anyone had any luck in Scarborough?

I'm by the Scarborough Town Centre, I'll call over the weekend and find out.

Just a heads up to everyone. I called bell the other day. As people have mentioned before, this is only available in Toronto at the moment. The rep I spoke to also said they hope to have 60-70% of Ontario and Quebec covered by Summer 2010, but nothing is definite -- it could be earlier or later than that.

[Nutella]

Not avail. in Mississauga at Thomas/9th-Line (the extreme west farm end of Mississauga). Bell said max speed on the lines here is 6MBit.

[a in yul]

Just a heads up to everyone. I called bell the other day. As people have mentioned before, this is only available in Toronto at the moment. The rep I spoke to also said they hope to have 60-70% of Ontario and Quebec covered by Summer 2010, but nothing is definite -- it could be earlier or later than that.

def switching to bell as soon as this is available here in QC!!

[Iggynatz]

Not avail. in Mississauga at Thomas/9th-Line (the extreme west farm end of Mississauga). Bell said max speed on the lines here is 6MBit.

I'm near Battleford and Tenth and I can get the 16Mb connection. I've seen posts on here saying it was installed at Britannia and Tenth. So we are close.

[Iggynatz]

Got mine installed last night near Yonge and Eglinton.

Install didn't take too long, about 2 hours or so, not including the time they spent outside my condo wiring things.

Here's my perspective coming from Rogers:

So far so good. They used most of my existing wiring in the house. Internet speed is as expected, I was hoping for a bit faster, but it's about 21 down, 6 up. Doesn't seem to matter what time of day I test it at, it's consistent. Haven't tried torrents yet, just newsgroups and they fly.

The TV seems pretty good. Haven't watched it a ton yet. No clock on the STB which is a bit annoying. The STB is narrower and shorter than the Rogers HDPVR but slightly deeper, so it doesn't save me any space. The guide must always be displayed in HD, which means I can no longer let my TV do the scaling of SD channels. This might be part of the reason people are complaining about the SD picture quality. The set top box is doing the scaling and it might not be doing a good job. That also means I can no longer stretch an SD picture using my TV's "Just" mode, which I find superior to regular stretching. I could turn off stretching altogether which I might do. None of the channels are the same as Rogers so it's going to take some getting used to. I need to set up channel favourites, that will make my life easier.

The box also only outputs digital optical out (SPDIF), I used to use digital coaxial audio out with my Rogers box because I'm short on inputs on my receiver, but I managed to work around this.

Rebooting the router/modem takes a lot longer than with Rogers. On Rogers the box is up in 45 seconds, here it takes like 8-10 minutes. I unplugged my Linksys running Tomato firmware and just started using the Bell one. I tried setting up QoS on Tomato and it didn't seem to work properly, so no big loss. Haven't tried anything like WoL yet with it, but it seems like it would support it all. There are a decent amount of options.

So far I'm happy.

I read a while ago on AVSforums that all STBs are utter crap with scaling. So that kind of sucks.

[aingaran]

I called yesterday and is not available at 18 Lee Centre (Scarborough Town Centre Area).

[Kodiak]

Got installed this week, at Yonge/Eglinton, as a comparison CBCHD and CityTVHD which I find was clearest on Rogers, is not as clear on Bell, but acceptable, internet is fast as commented. Overall happy, no Golf channel, though is on the package descriptions on website.

[-=phelan=-]

not available in west mississauga, eglinton & 10th line.

[jarko]

damn not available at kennedy rd + ellesmere area, but the guy said they are spreading it and it should be matter of weeks, hope its before the deal ends

[mcaj]

I believe they added something to the fineprint:

(1) Available to new customers who subscribe to Bell Entertainment Essential, Core, Extra or Super. Monthly rate for Essential is $99/mo., less $49.50 credit until December 31, 2010. 50% off applies on the account before taxes, and only to monthly rate; excludes additional hardware and extras.

The offer expires Feb 2010. And as far as I understand, they guarantee the price for one year. So if you sign-up in Feb. 2010, the 50% will apply until Feb. 2011. But the fineprint says discount will last until Dec. 2010. So, I'm assuming you won't get the discount only for 10months?

[-=phelan=-]

somehow i remember reading somewhere prices subject to change without any notice.

[hhkx]

damn not available at kennedy rd + ellesmere area, but the guy said they are spreading it and it should be matter of weeks, hope its before the deal ends

available at kennedy&lawrence...guess u will get it very soon

[bug]

def switching to bell as soon as this is available here in QC!!

I was told by the CSR when I called that it would be available here in the Spring.

[buyways]

I believe they added something to the fineprint:

(1) Available to new customers who subscribe to Bell Entertainment Essential, Core, Extra or Super. Monthly rate for Essential is $99/mo., less $49.50 credit until December 31, 2010. 50% off applies on the account before taxes, and only to monthly rate; excludes additional hardware and extras.

The offer expires Feb 2010. And as far as I understand, they guarantee the price for one year. So if you sign-up in Feb. 2010, the 50% will apply until Feb. 2011. But the fineprint says discount will last until Dec. 2010. So, I'm assuming you won't get the discount only for 10months?

No, I think they've basically just changed the offer for new signups. Now the length of the 50% off price guarantee is not "one year" but "until Dec 31 2010". So yes, if you sign up in Feb you will only get that price for ten months. Conversely, if you signed up already, they MIGHT come back one year from your sign-up date, i.e. before Dec 2010 - but you knew that going in, didn't you :D

[buyways]

... you should ask BES to tell you when you need to have that ISP off your line, and get that process started. I had assumed BES would just take it over, but no - apparently the other provider's DSL has to be disconnected first.

background: I ordered BES a month ago, got a call from the Monday before a Saturday-scheduled install telling me for the first time I had to get my provider (Acanac) off the line by Friday or they'd cancel the install appointment- as you may know, Acanac is SLLLOOOOWWW to do anything, it took some repeated emailing and calling to get them to submit the disconnect ticket (to Bell, of course...). In my case, a disconnect order issued from Acanac to Bell on Thursday was too late to save my convenient Saturday BES install, so install had to be pushed back 10 days to a weekday afternoon = no home internet for almost a week + no TV for a weekend (since I had cancelled Rogers a month ago, of course) = booooo-urns.

edit: call back from BES to confirm new install date, tech agreed to delay DSL disconnect to just before BES install = am happier again:D. Only regret is that unless Rogers is slow to cut off TV service, I won't get to watch the Dolphins climb another step closer to the playoffs this weekend....

[beuh_dave]

NOT available at Lakeshore / Fort York and Bathurst

[deeman101]

available at kennedy&lawrence...guess u will get it very soon

No way! Apartment building? I'm at Warden & lawrence (home) and its still not available.


And what happens after the 50% discount is up? We all pay full price? Thats a lot considering base price would be $100/mnth. I pay ~85/mnth for digital basic and 12max (with 80gb extra usage) right now. I'm afraid of being trapped here.

[shadow_cruiser]

I just saw this link from dslreports. How Bell IPTV works

http://www.benlucier.ca/work/technology/iptv-television-service-from-bell-how-it-works/

You guys should check the followup post too. Quite a difference when watching two HD sources at once

[techno_smd]

people are saying it,s better than Rogers in SD and HD.I read somewhere that HD channels are in 12 Mb/sec to 16 Mb/sec streams and rogers pass on these streams without any compression.While in the case of Bell is using 7-8 Mb/sec for HD channels, so it means they are compressing channels on average from 25%-50%.How come it,s PQ is better or equal to Rogers.

[GateGuardian]

Does the Bell technician need to come inside to install anything? Because whenever I order internet, they can do everything outside.

[asmielia]

Does the Bell technician need to come inside to install anything? Because whenever I order internet, they can do everything outside.

You gonna keep the modem outside in the rain? ;)

I can't imagine them not needing to come in.

[andrewhaji]

people are saying it,s better than Rogers in SD and HD.I read somewhere that HD channels are in 12 Mb/sec to 16 Mb/sec streams and rogers pass on these streams without any compression.While in the case of Bell is using 7-8 Mb/sec for HD channels, so it means they are compressing channels on average from 25%-50%.How come it,s PQ is better or equal to Rogers.

Bell's IPTV service uses MPEG-4 instead of Rogers' MPEG-2. It's more efficient.

[creoledude]

No way! Apartment building? I'm at Warden & lawrence (home) and its still not available.


And what happens after the 50% discount is up? We all pay full price? Thats a lot considering base price would be $100/mnth. I pay ~85/mnth for digital basic and 12max (with 80gb extra usage) right now. I'm afraid of being trapped here.

Comes Dec 31, 2010, The Bell Rep says that it will most likely to go back to reg price.

But then, I am also sure Rogers will have a nice package ready to try to lure all these Bell Subscribers, so all we need to do threaten to cancel with Bell and switch to Rogers, Bell will have to reduce its price.

One thing to remember is that you need to give Bell 30 day notice to cancel.

So, Red flaggers, let's all give Bell a call come Nov 30, 2010 to negociate a good price.

[GateGuardian]

You gonna keep the modem outside in the rain? ;)

I can't imagine them not needing to come in.

LOL I dunno. I thought they would install a line outside and I just plug in whatever they send me.

[buyways]

I just saw this link from dslreports. How Bell IPTV works

http://www.benlucier.ca/work/technology/iptv-television-service-from-bell-how-it-works/

You guys should check the followup post too. Quite a difference when watching two HD sources at once

true, but it doesn't seem too bad - if you have one TV and record one HD stream while watching another (or record two HD streams), you drop to 10Mb/s (in his case) on the internet connection. But add another TV in your house (=$5/mo, I think) and you'd be back up to 15Mb/s internet when taking in two simultaneous HDTV streams. In my house, we have one TV we'll hook up in the guest bedroom but will hardly use = an extra 5Mb/s for $5/mo.

i.e. if you have a little-used TV and you're willing to spend another $5/mo, you can keep it ~3x faster than regular ADSL even when taking in 2 or more HD streams at once.

[Breton_Rex]

I need some help with the email setup: Can someone give me an incoming/outgoing server names? something like it was with rogers: pop.broadband.rogers.com / smtp.broadband.rogers.com. I need that info in order to setup my email account with them.

Thanks in advance.

Richard

Cannot open their email with this info

[beljevina]

Comes Dec 31, 2010, The Bell Rep says that it will most likely to go back to reg price. ... So, Red flaggers, let's all give Bell a call come Nov 30, 2010 to negociate a good price.I highly doubt it. Solely because their coverage area for the service is sporadic, and the network is still being built, as is a customer base. Blocks away from my house, people are getting Bell IPTV @ the $50 price for the base package. But for me and the vast majority of others, it will remain uninstallable prior to Dec 31, solely because of Bell's network non-preparedness. Imagine if other customers were forced to pay $100 for the exact same service, through no fault of their own: few would tolerate the 1) moral injustice but moreso 2) demand falls off significantly @ $100, and therefore Bell wouldn't have a revenue base to further finance expansion. Not to mention, a 100% rate difference for the same service to one set of customers (say, through to Dec 2010) would be a loyalty and good-will killer. Heck, with that kind of mark-up, even the CRTC couldn't side with Ma Bell.

[adamm]

Comes Dec 31, 2010, The Bell Rep says that it will most likely to go back to reg price.
I highly doubt it. Solely because their coverage area for the service is sporadic, and the network is still being built, as is a customer base. Blocks away from my house, people are getting Bell IPTV @ the $50 price for the base package. But for me and the vast majority of others, it will remain uninstallable prior to Dec 31, solely because of Bell's network non-preparedness. Imagine if other customers were forced to pay $100 for the exact same service, through no fault of their own: few would tolerate the 1) moral injustice but moreso 2) demand falls off significantly @ $100, and therefore Bell wouldn't have a revenue base to further finance expansion. Not to mention, a 100% rate difference for the same service to one set of customers (say, through to Dec 2010) would be a loyalty and good-will killer. Heck, with that kind of mark-up, even the CRTC couldn't side with Ma Bell.
You're exactly right. And in fact when I spoke to a rep at bell, he said they've been renewing the promo price every year and they will most likely be renewing the promo again for the year of 2010. This is straight from bell's mouth.

Since they're only covering Toronto, and parts of Mississauga and Scarborough, they would be stupid not to renew the promo for the customer's that they COULD potentially get when more areas are covered.

That being said, the full price for any of the packages is STILL cheaper than anything comparable at Robbers. And that's sad and pitiful :mad:

[netcbc]

Acanac is pretty cheap now, guess you wanted the TV service, if it wasn't for my GF I'd just get Acanac and dl everything......


... you should ask BES to tell you when you need to have that ISP off your line - I got a call from a tech the Monday before a Saturday-scheduled install telling me (yes, telling, not asking or advising) I had to get my provider (Acanac) off the line by Friday or he'd cancel it the install appointment- as you may know, Acanac is SLLLOOOOWWW to do anything, it took some repeated emailing and calling to get them to submit the disconnect ticket (to Bell, of course...).

Long story, a disconnect order from Acanac to Bell on Thursday was too late to save my convenient Saturday install arranged a month ago. Install had to be pushed back 10 days to a weekday afternoon = no home internet for almost a week + no TV for a weekend (since I had cancelled Rogers a month ago, of course) = booooo-urns.

[tech was a real a** about it too: I told him on Monday I'd get it done by Fri as we'd discussed; he left a message at 2pm on Wed telling me he'd cancel the install if I didn't call him by 5pm that day, then when I called him he told me I had till 5pm Th, not Friday, to do it, then he cancelled it without notice anyway. Nor a please or thank you at all. Not that I thought Bell would be all that much friendlier/more competent that Rogers, but that's not the best way to start a new customer relationship. Merci bocoup, Mr Montreal Tech Installation Coordinator Guy.:rolleyes:

[dragon_ll]

actually i visited the website today and spoke to a rep. the 50% promo now works for anyone in areas that its available and expires Dec 31, 2010.

so basically you if you sign up for the service this month... you get the 50% promo till dec 31, 2010.

if you sign up for the service.... let say in march, or july or october of 2010, then you get the 50% promo until dec 31, 2010.

that is what the rep said on the phone. but the website has changed the promo expire date that was dec 31, 2009 to feb 28, 2010. i don't what is right or wrong... but if its available in your area.... i say good deal and you will get the promo price until end of next year.

oh.... its still not available for me in the broadview/o'connor area....

[adamm]

actually i visited the website today and spoke to a rep. the 50% promo now works for anyone in areas that its available and expires Dec 31, 2010.

so basically you if you sign up for the service this month... you get the 50% promo till dec 31, 2010.

if you sign up for the service.... let say in march, or july or october of 2010, then you get the 50% promo until dec 31, 2010.

that is what the rep said on the phone. but the website has changed the promo expire date that was dec 31, 2009 to feb 28, 2010. i don't what is right or wrong... but if its available in your area.... i say good deal and you will get the promo price until end of next year.

oh.... its still not available for me in the broadview/o'connor area....

Unless the terms have changed, you get the promo price for one full year from the date you sign up.

And as I said in my post above, they'll probably keep extending the promo for a while (probably all of 2010) to get new customers as they broaden their coverage. The rep told me they expect to have 60% of Ontario and Quebec covered by summer 2010.

[nikki68]

I heard that certain channels are not available as yet regardless of what package you chose. ie. CNN. Does anyone happen to know ? I tried calling Bell but I was on hold for too long.

[adamm]

I heard that certain channels are not available as yet regardless of what package you chose. ie. CNN. Does anyone happen to know ? I tried calling Bell but I was on hold for too long.

Yes, I'm not sure about other channels, but CNN is confirmed as not being available "yet" as the rep I spoke to said. They said they should be getting it soon. Although I personally couldn't care less. Some people were/are getting all hopped up because CNN isn't currently offered -- in all honesty I really don't see the big deal. 1) it's just temporary and 2) so what.

And yeah, bell's wait times are disgusting! For a company that primarily uses off-shore phone support, you'd think they'd have MUCH quicker wait times (even if the service is bad). I've called twice and both times I waited 30min+ on hold. It's ridiculous. That would be one of the ONLY things that MAY turn me off of their services. It's bad enough I have to speak to someone who barely knows English AND can't answer 75% of the questions you ask them, but I have to wait ridiculous amounts of time for that kind of customer service. :rolleyes:

[hhkx]

No way! Apartment building? I'm at Warden & lawrence (home) and its still not available.


And what happens after the 50% discount is up? We all pay full price? Thats a lot considering base price would be $100/mnth. I pay ~85/mnth for digital basic and 12max (with 80gb extra usage) right now. I'm afraid of being trapped here.

i ordered yesterday, and they will come next Tuesday for installation. the whole ordering process is rather smooth unlike many other posters here, there was no wait time whatsoever, took less than 10 mins for everything.

as for the availability, we live south of lawrence, and it is a house. bell said that, in my area, it can only support up to 2 TVs atm.

[hhkx]

when I called rogers today to cancel my internet service and cable tv, their rep immediately offered a 30% discount for my high speed internet, which i didn't take...i hope bell live up to my expectations..

[buyways]

Acanac is pretty cheap now, guess you wanted the TV service, if it wasn't for my GF I'd just get Acanac and dl everything......

Acanac is $35/mo after the first year plus $5/mo add-on charge for naked DSL if you don't have bell home phone (prepaid for one year, no refund if canceled early), and it's 5Mb/s vs. 20Mb/s plus or minus (depending on # of TVs and how many HDTV streams are coming in at the time) = not that much cheaper & not as fast internet. But yes, I wanted the TV service too (live sports, news, random things that I'd not know to look for & download, easy peasy to use TV)... ((plus WAF too:D))

[shadow_cruiser]

Yes, I'm not sure about other channels, but CNN is confirmed as not being available "yet" as the rep I spoke to said. They said they should be getting it soon. Although I personally couldn't care less. Some people were/are getting all hopped up because CNN isn't currently offered -- in all honesty I really don't see the big deal. 1) it's just temporary and 2) so what.

And yeah, bell's wait times are disgusting! For a company that primarily uses off-shore phone support, you'd think they'd have MUCH quicker wait times (even if the service is bad). I've called twice and both times I waited 30min+ on hold. It's ridiculous. That would be one of the ONLY things that MAY turn me off of their services. It's bad enough I have to speak to someone who barely knows English AND can't answer 75% of the questions you ask them, but I have to wait ridiculous amounts of time for that kind of customer service. :rolleyes:

CNN was the deciding factor for me since I watch it everyday. When I spoke with the rep, he said it will be coming eventually so not a big deal.

When I called and pressed 1 for english, I was on hold for 30+min. I hung up and called again, this time pressed 2 for french. Someone answered within 10 seconds, I guess the perks of being bi-lingual:)

[sduncan343]

I was able to get it at Dufferin and Dupont in Toronto, but only for two televisions, which is fine because I only have one.

I attempted to call on Saturday, and just left the phone on speakerphone while I did work at my desk, and I gave up both times after about 40-60 mins.

I called on Monday morning at 9 am when they first opened their lines, and had no wait at all, if that helps.

[Importspeed]

Unless the terms have changed, you get the promo price for one full year from the date you sign up.

And as I said in my post above, they'll probably keep extending the promo for a while (probably all of 2010) to get new customers as they broaden their coverage. The rep told me they expect to have 60% of Ontario and Quebec covered by summer 2010.

The website has now been updated. The fine print says the offer is now until Feb 28, 2010.

Here's what it says:



Offer ends February 28, 2010. Available to residential customers in select residential dwellings in Ontario, where technology permits. One bill account required to activate system. Subject to change without notice and cannot be combined with any other offer. Taxes, additional fees and other conditions apply including terms of service available at bell.ca/terms.

(1) Available to new customers who subscribe to Bell Entertainment Essential, Core, Extra or Super. Monthly rate for Essential is $99/mo., less $49.50 credit until December 31, 2010. 50% off applies on the account before taxes, and only to monthly rate; excludes additional hardware and extras.

[buyways]

CNN was the deciding factor for me since I watch it everyday. When I spoke with the rep, he said it will be coming eventually so not a big deal.

When I called and pressed 1 for english, I was on hold for 30+min. I hung up and called again, this time pressed 2 for french. Someone answered within 10 seconds, I guess the perks of being bi-lingual:)

now you've done it! How to annoy a Québécois (I think the call center is in Montreal): call from Toronto, press the French option, and speak only English...:D

[illyas]

For a company that primarily uses off-shore phone support, you'd think they'd have MUCH quicker wait times (even if the service is bad). I've called twice and both times I waited 30min+ on hold. It's ridiculous. That would be one of the ONLY things that MAY turn me off of their services. It's bad enough I have to speak to someone who barely knows English AND can't answer 75% of the questions you ask them, but I have to wait ridiculous amounts of time for that kind of customer service. :rolleyes:

Actually this specific bell entertainment department isn't offshore, and I haven't encountered anyone who barley knows English. Although I have to agree about the atrocious wait times.

[gamer123]

Any lucky winner in Markham?

[xstatik]

Does anyone know/have a link showing their build out schedule of new areas for the Bell Entertainment Service???

I called and they mentioned it's not available in my area and didn't know when it would be available. I

[HowEver]

Damn, if it weren't for the 60GB cap, I'd take this in a heartbeat. I don't want to stick with Bell Internet/"Sympatico" but it's hard to give up 'no caps' for 60GB.

[infamouskid]

Damn, if it weren't for the 60GB cap, I'd take this in a heartbeat. I don't want to stick with Bell Internet/"Sympatico" but it's hard to give up 'no caps' for 60GB.

30 bucks on top of any price listed is unlimited.

[HowEver]

30 bucks on top of any price listed is unlimited.

That's a good point...

[imajin]

can anyone tell me why wireless will only get 11Mbps whereas plugged into the lan gets 22Mbps. Doesn't make any sense. Any way around this? It has to be the modem/router.

[rgilld]

Got it set-up today. My wife was home but she didn't ask them anything about set-up, passwords, etc. Can someone answer a few questions please?

1. Gave me the following details. What do I use this for?
My Bell Internet Service
User ID: ********
Access Password: ********

2. I don't know what password they set-up for the wireless. Do they use a standard password?

3. They asked her to select a four digit code. Any idea what this is used for?

4. They didn't connect the wired network. Can't do this on my own because there are too many wires. Will they come back to fix this or is it too late.

5. How does bell make money on this given it took 3 guys 5 hours (total 15 man hours) to install.

Thanks

[illyas]

Got it set-up today. My wife was home but she didn't ask them anything about set-up, passwords, etc. Can someone answer a few questions please?

1. Gave me the following details. What do I use this for?
My Bell Internet Service
User ID: ********
Access Password: ********

2. I don't know what password they set-up for the wireless. Do they use a standard password?

3. They asked her to select a four digit code. Any idea what this is used for?

Thanks

1. Should be written inside the booklet given to you (the manual).
2. Should be on the side/bottom of the modem, entitled WEP key
3. Confirm its you when you call in for whatever reason

[ipassgas]

Type mynetwork into your browser.
Usernalme and password is admin/admin.
Go to wifi settings and you can see the WEP key to log in wirelessly

[statick]

Type mynetwork into your browser.
Usernalme and password is admin/admin.
Go to wifi settings and you can see the WEP key to log in wirelessly

Thanks! Did not know this!

[imajin]

nobody knows why wireless yields only 11mbps whereas wired yields 22? Wireless G is much faster than 11mbps and should be able to handle 22.

[silvery]

nobody knows why wireless yields only 11mbps whereas wired yields 22? Wireless G is much faster than 11mbps and should be able to handle 22.

Are you sure you're not running in B mode?

802.11b has a maximum raw data rate of 11 Mbit/s and uses the same media access method defined in the original standard. 802.11b products appeared on the market in early 2000, since 802.11b is a direct extension of the modulation technique defined in the original standard. The dramatic increase in throughput of 802.11b (compared to the original standard) along with simultaneous substantial price reductions led to the rapid acceptance of 802.11b as the definitive wireless LAN technology.

[GateGuardian]

nobody knows why wireless yields only 11mbps whereas wired yields 22? Wireless G is much faster than 11mbps and should be able to handle 22.

Your wireless will drop to the speed/frequency based on the device that is the slowest. So if you have a device that runs on b (i.e Nintendo DS) then all the other wireless device on your network will be connected as wireless b

[Kaiu]

I've called in 4 times in the last 2 months, and each time I'm told call in a couple weeks T.T

Supposedly I am right by the central office, and my line just needs to be ok'd or something >.>

*I think it might have to do with me using 450gb+ a month....*

Before inconsiderate people flame.... I use it for legit purposes :D

Parents watch TVU, GF uses Xunlei (Another streaming thing for Asian Dramas and stuff...), I use Youtube, Justin.TV, broadcasting, PS3, MMORPG, my bro uses it for the same as me...

My PC uses only like max 60gb/month based on the netmeter (So far this month I've used 31gb on my PC) My laptop uses probably 10gb, and my PS3 is probably under 10gb for sure

It's mainly the streaming, and obviously I want the better upload, so I could broadcast in Hi Quality instead of Low Quality, and upload to youtube faster @.@

Sucks how there isn't competition for internet in Canada.... No choices for upload speeds T.T (few choices for download speed T.T)

[netcbc]

Got everything installed at yonge/finch...

1 issue i'm having is, the tech linked the cable box and my TV so when I turn on the cable box, it turns on the TV or vice versa...

only issue is everytime i power down and power on, the cable box loses it's HD signal and the HD signal starts flashing and the TV flashes between 720p and 420p. I have to power down the cable box manually by pressing power and leave the TV on, then power the cable box on and everything works. This is kinda annoying everytime unfortunately.

Call Bell, they said to try to unlink the tv and cable box or to change settings on aspect on the TV..... seems like a crappy solution, anyone have any ideas?

[dhobiwala]

just called, no service in Hamilton yet, but the offer has been EXTENDED until Feb 28, 2010. strangely enough, i got through in 10 seconds. I guess sales is different than service...

[mrdarren]

no service at Kipling @ Eglinton~
still waiting :(

[escapehatch]

Got everything installed at yonge/finch...

1 issue i'm having is, the tech linked the cable box and my TV so when I turn on the cable box, it turns on the TV or vice versa...



They set mine up the same way and I find it annoying. How do I un-link it?

I do not have an HD set so am not having the same issue with the signal.

[xstatik]

I use it for legit purposes :D

Parents watch TVU, GF uses Xunlei (Another streaming thing for Asian Dramas and stuff...), I use Youtube, Justin.TV, broadcasting, PS3, MMORPG, my bro uses it for the same as me...

That's a legit purpose??!?!? What is a Non-legit purpose?!?

If anything you need business/commercial level internet service.

[sprung]

can anyone tell me why wireless will only get 11Mbps whereas plugged into the lan gets 22Mbps. Doesn't make any sense. Any way around this? It has to be the modem/router.


Mine was also set WEP encryption by Bell, I promptly changed it to WPA. BTW, this modem can do wireless N as well but current Bell firmware doesn't have that option enabled.

[horco]

Does anyone know a full list of channels added recently?

I saw SPIKE and BET

[infamouskid]

they are adding channels slowly.

[horco]

they are adding channels slowly.

Sorry I mean were there other ones added recently? I only know of those 2.

[mlx1]

I was able to get it at Dufferin and Dupont in Toronto, but only for two televisions, which is fine because I only have one.

I attempted to call on Saturday, and just left the phone on speakerphone while I did work at my desk, and I gave up both times after about 40-60 mins.

I called on Monday morning at 9 am when they first opened their lines, and had no wait at all, if that helps.

I live less than 1km east from there, and they told me it is not available at my location. Too bad - I am not getting Rogers no matter what.

[imajin]

stupid tech support closes at 9pm! My internet light is OFF...and i'm really irritated!

[lostradamus]

Just got it installed today at Yonge/Lawrence. The guys doing the install (Tim and Mike, who are awesome by the way) ran into some problems because of the old wiring in the house. In the end they were able to get it working and it has been awesome so far!

Thanks OP and thanks again Tim and Mike if you are reading this, Merry Christmas!!

[mcaj]

If you decide to add another TV later (say in the basement), will they send the technicians again? Will I be charged for that? I know the box itself will cost additional $5/month, but what about installation charges?

[Kaiu]

That's a legit purpose??!?!? What is a Non-legit purpose?!?

If anything you need business/commercial level internet service.

Business/Commercial level internet service is just an excuse, I am using it for purely residential/personal level purposes....


It would be like saying Fibre is ONLY meant for Business/Commercial level service...

Or how we shouldn't use/have our own blogs/forums/websites because anything other than checking email, and browsing sites would be considered business/commercial level....

Streaming is a part of everyday life, its going to the point where even Bell and Rogers are starting to put their channels/shows online, online video rentals, Youtube..... Based on how you interpret it... Everyone needs Business/Commercial level internet service....

Those money grabbers want us to believe there is a difference between business and personal levels etc....

It's only a title to scam the people and limit access..... When you give in to their ways, away goes net neutrality...


The problem is our infrastructure is WAY behind the times, and hopefully this Entertainment Service will start bringing change :D

Non-Legit just basically means 'not legal' stuff...





I called again, and was told to call again in 2 weeks haha... Can't wait !!!!!

[yds]

So I've had this service for over one month now. I posted a review earlier here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=116494).

Still having the stuttering issues. They seem to go away if you change the channel, and then change back. But its kind of annoying.

A few weeks ago, the PVR wasn't working. After rebooting the unit numerous times, and after talking with tech support for about half an hour (after waiting almost a half hour to get through), they had me reset the PVR, which meant I lost all of my recorded shows. Drag.

Now the lastest. For the last two days I've been without TV service at. The Cellpipe router reset itself spontaneously, and lost all of my settings (it did this once before, just after I got it set up initally). I was able to get the internet portion up and running again, but the TV requires a reset at Bell's end, and after spending over an hour on the phone the other night they were unable to get it working again. They were supposed to send a technician to my house today to replace the Cellpipe, but instead we got a phonecall saying the technician who tried to fix it over the phone the other night put some numbers in incorrectly at the time. Today they put the "right" numbers in, and restored the TV service remotely.

This afternoon I called the billing department, and asked for an adjustment to my next bill to reflect the two days without service. They tried to tell me that the reason I am getting the service at a 50% discount was because I might experience technical difficulties as this is a new service. I said show me where in the literature or contract it says that I am getting a discounted price because I accept there might be technical difficulties. In the end, the rep credited me for the two days, but says they will not do it in future (like that's going to stop me from demanding it if it does go down again).

So, liking the service a little less than initially.

[BaboSo]

To the people that have this service, does it say Internet anywhere on the bill? I am asking because my company pays for my Internet, but if it doesn't say anywhere on tge bill, I won't be able to expense it.

[number6]

To the people that have this service, does it say Internet anywhere on the bill? I am asking because my company pays for my Internet, but if it doesn't say anywhere on tge bill, I won't be able to expense it.

It listed as Entertainment on the bill and only lists internet under the details of the service (ie.TV package etc.)

[mcaj]

Can you add specific channels to your package? I'm thinking about getting the Essential package and it doesn't include some good channels like BBC, History, Discovery etc. Are we able to add these channels for a nominal charge?

[buyways]

Yea what I hate is that if your sub'd to a basic package. WHen you skip a channel, it should skip to the next working channel. However when you skip, you will just see a black screen if you are not sub'd to that channel. Imo its a hassle flipping through the channels and remembering the numbers.

Although I am pretty sure you can setup up a favourite's list. Haven't played around with that yet though.

Even better - you can "customize the guide" under the settings-TV menu to show only the channels that you've subscribed to and want to see. You can then also put a subset of those (e.g. the HD channels) in a favourites list. This customization alone is such a great improvement over Rogers - I was so tired of seeing channels I did not get (ooh, goonies is on - oh cr*p we don't get that:cheesygri)

[buyways]

When I got the install, agent on phone said the 60gb soft cap was for downloads and uploads. Later it occurred to me: this could be an issue for torrenting, since that involves uploading too, esp if you play nice and allow seeding. Haven't confirmed the cap includes uploads, but FYI/caution.

Also, does VOIP consume a lot of bandwidth? I think not, but am considering dropping the landline now that I have a fat pipe but I wouldn't want to chew up too much of that 60gb. Anyone know how much VOIP consumes, roughly?

Finally, I assume this service does not require a "dryloop" DSL connection (and monthly charge) - can anyone with BES using VOIP confirm that there is no dryloop charge?
thanks.

[Stepmiller]

Ok, right now I have Rogers HD, TMN package, No PVR, and regular high speed Internet. I'm ready to cancel the minute the BES becomes available in my area. However....what type of reduction or deal can I expect from Rogers to try and keep me as a customer? The price difference for what I'm paying now and what I can get from Bell seems to be about $80 a month.

I'm not on a contract with Rogers, and I have zero interest in the Rogers Home Phone.

[rgilld]

I tried this before I cancelled. I was already getting 20% off. They were going to give me 30% off interest and waive the digital channel fee. So not much.


Ok, right now I have Rogers HD, TMN package, No PVR, and regular high speed Internet. I'm ready to cancel the minute the BES becomes available in my area. However....what type of reduction or deal can I expect from Rogers to try and keep me as a customer? The price difference for what I'm paying now and what I can get from Bell seems to be about $80 a month.

I'm not on a contract with Rogers, and I have zero interest in the Rogers Home Phone.

[HowEver]

Upload is *always* a factor, with any service there is. So no matter which ISP it's included in caps.



When I got the install, agent on phone said the 60gb soft cap was for downloads and uploads. Later it occurred to me: this could be an issue for torrenting, since that involves uploading too, esp if you play nice and allow seeding. Haven't confirmed the cap includes uploads, but FYI/caution.

Also, does VOIP consume a lot of bandwidth? I think not, but am considering dropping the landline now that I have a fat pipe but I wouldn't want to chew up too much of that 60gb. Anyone know how much VOIP consumes, roughly?

Finally, I assume this service does not require a "dryloop" DSL connection (and monthly charge) - can anyone with BES using VOIP confirm that there is no dryloop charge?
thanks.

[HowEver]

Is anybody else having these problems or anything like them?

TIA



So I've had this service for over one month now. I posted a review earlier here (http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=116494).

Still having the stuttering issues. They seem to go away if you change the channel, and then change back. But its kind of annoying.

A few weeks ago, the PVR wasn't working. After rebooting the unit numerous times, and after talking with tech support for about half an hour (after waiting almost a half hour to get through), they had me reset the PVR, which meant I lost all of my recorded shows. Drag.

Now the lastest. For the last two days I've been without TV service at. The Cellpipe router reset itself spontaneously, and lost all of my settings (it did this once before, just after I got it set up initally). I was able to get the internet portion up and running again, but the TV requires a reset at Bell's end, and after spending over an hour on the phone the other night they were unable to get it working again. They were supposed to send a technician to my house today to replace the Cellpipe, but instead we got a phonecall saying the technician who tried to fix it over the phone the other night put some numbers in incorrectly at the time. Today they put the "right" numbers in, and restored the TV service remotely.

This afternoon I called the billing department, and asked for an adjustment to my next bill to reflect the two days without service. They tried to tell me that the reason I am getting the service at a 50% discount was because I might experience technical difficulties as this is a new service. I said show me where in the literature or contract it says that I am getting a discounted price because I accept there might be technical difficulties. In the end, the rep credited me for the two days, but says they will not do it in future (like that's going to stop me from demanding it if it does go down again).

So, liking the service a little less than initially.

[netcbc]

Nope, had it for a month, everything is great, PVR is pretty cool and with a wired connection I can get 2500/kbps believe it or not through newsgroups.

Only issue I'm having and not sure if anyone else is having this...

Got everything installed at yonge/finch...

1 issue i'm having is, the tech linked the cable box and my TV so when I turn on the cable box, it turns on the TV or vice versa...

only issue is everytime i power down and power on, the cable box loses it's HD signal and the HD signal starts flashing and the TV flashes between 720p and 420p. I have to power down the cable box manually by pressing power and leave the TV on, then power the cable box on and everything works. This is kinda annoying everytime unfortunately.

Call Bell, they said to try to unlink the tv and cable box, they mention change the aspect ratio on the tv but it didn't work..... seems like a crappy solution, anyone have any ideas?


Is anybody else having these problems or anything like them?

TIA

[Bymark]

I've ordered my entertainment service. Yonge/Wellesley area. Install date is Jan 6th. Can't wait!

[HowEver]

Thanks, turns out this won't be an issue, not available where I am in Downsview.


Nope, had it for a month, everything is great, PVR is pretty cool and with a wired connection I can get 2500/kbps believe it or not through newsgroups.

Only issue I'm having and not sure if anyone else is having this...

Got everything installed at yonge/finch...

1 issue i'm having is, the tech linked the cable box and my TV so when I turn on the cable box, it turns on the TV or vice versa...

only issue is everytime i power down and power on, the cable box loses it's HD signal and the HD signal starts flashing and the TV flashes between 720p and 420p. I have to power down the cable box manually by pressing power and leave the TV on, then power the cable box on and everything works. This is kinda annoying everytime unfortunately.

Call Bell, they said to try to unlink the tv and cable box, they mention change the aspect ratio on the tv but it didn't work..... seems like a crappy solution, anyone have any ideas?

[silverspec]

I am getting it installed tomorrow. Problem is I forgot to cancel my existing Rogers connection. Does that have to be cancelled\removed prior to getting the Bell service installed or can I get that done over the next few days??

[MoeJoe]

Wow Windsor sucks. The guy said we should have it by 2011. 6mbit is all that's available in my area, not even close.

Having Rogers also will not really matter silver, just having both services is sort of a waste obviously.

[crispwolf]

ordered it for location at 401/port union,will have it installed on Jan 2..hope everything goes fine esp cabling

[xGambitx]

I am getting it installed tomorrow. Problem is I forgot to cancel my existing Rogers connection. Does that have to be cancelled\removed prior to getting the Bell service installed or can I get that done over the next few days??

Bell told me that I must cancel rogers and they must receive a notice from Rogers that its being canceled in order for them to install the service.

[rfd-addict]

Regarding Voip: I dont think u should be charged for the drp loop if you are have BELL's internet..

How much would Voip consume on ur internet depends on how much you use..

"to quote: If you talk 1 Hr a day * 30 days on a decent codec(G711) It should consume ~2.3 GB / month.., there are better codec available But you wont be always using the best codec, so estimate a decent codec"
read more here:

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/12190





When I got the install, agent on phone said the 60gb soft cap was for downloads and uploads. Later it occurred to me: this could be an issue for torrenting, since that involves uploading too, esp if you play nice and allow seeding. Haven't confirmed the cap includes uploads, but FYI/caution.

Also, does VOIP consume a lot of bandwidth? I think not, but am considering dropping the landline now that I have a fat pipe but I wouldn't want to chew up too much of that 60gb. Anyone know how much VOIP consumes, roughly?

Finally, I assume this service does not require a "dryloop" DSL connection (and monthly charge) - can anyone with BES using VOIP confirm that there is no dryloop charge?
thanks.

[silverspec]

Bell told me that I must cancel rogers and they must receive a notice from Rogers that its being canceled in order for them to install the service.

Just called Bell and the rep told me it's not issue getting it installed if Rogers is already at my place. I don't plan on keeping both services and will be kicking rogers to the curb, but can't get to it till tomorrow.

[4gen_accord]

I just finished reading the entire thread.

When I called Bell, the rep said I can save $15 per month since I'll be getting this deal, home phone and I already have a cell phone from them.

Anyone know how much a home phone line would cost with CID feature?

[yonlee]

I just finished reading the entire thread.

When I called Bell, the rep said I can save $15 per month since I'll be getting this deal, home phone and I already have a cell phone from them.

Anyone know how much a home phone line would cost with CID feature?

It depends to each rep. You need to call them yourself to find out. I called them recently. There seems to be two options, you got CID and call waiting, or 5 features you choose. I believe Bell left out voice mail from the basic, and it hurts to add it alone. When you call Bell, the first thing they ask is the long distance, as I guess that's where the profit comes from. When I had VOIP with Primus, I got almost every known feature at no cost, but not any more.

[yds]

Still having the stuttering issues. They seem to go away if you change the channel, and then change back. But its kind of annoying.



So no one else with the service is exhibiting this problem? I wonder if it has to do with the the connections to the extra boxes? Its possible this issue is only visible on my extra units, as frankly, don't recall if I've seen it on my main PVR unit (I'm mostly relegated to watching my sports on the kitchen television while my spouse and kids watch the 52" aquos in the living room!!!)

My boxes are all hooked up via my existing coax. Perhaps I can try a CAT5 connection to the box attached to the kitchen tv to see if that corrects the problem? On that note, can the cat5 connections go through a router, or do they have to be direct to the Bell modem/router?

[buyways]

So no one else with the service is exhibiting this problem?

Maybe a bad router or pvr box? I'd ask for replacements, as this sounds like an annoying problem...

Only problem I've had is out-of-control scrolling through the guide, but that could be related to my Logitech Harmony (which, FTW, had no problem finding the PVR in its database)

[buyways]

I just finished reading the entire thread.

When I called Bell, the rep said I can save $15 per month since I'll be getting this deal, home phone and I already have a cell phone from them.

Anyone know how much a home phone line would cost with CID feature?

huh. BES rep told me the BES does not count towards the bundling discount. Regular Bell reps tend not to know about this BES service and confuse it with the condo IPTV service - you may not want to count on that $5/mo in bundling discount. Frankly, I like that BES is separate from regular Bell services - less likely to lead to billing screwups.

In ON, not factoring in bundle discounts:
CID can be had for $20/mo:
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpPns_wirelinePackages_Lite.page#1

but you'd prob. want this $30/mo plan:
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpPns_wirelinePackages_Basic.page

each can be had for $5 less/mo for 6 mo on 12 mo contract for new customers.

BTW, your phone can probably display the names of callers in its directory w/o a CID subscription, if you really want to go cheap (but of course that doesn't do anything for numbers not in your phone already)

[beljevina]

Bell told me that I must cancel rogers and they must receive a notice from Rogers that its being canceled in order for them to install the service.This doesn't sound right; sounds like a rogue CSR. There's no mention of this in any of the print related media around this offer, there's no contractual terms involved, so this doesn't make sense. Shame on Bell for letting CSRs dispense drivel like this to customers. Nor could/should it be for Bell's desire to use coax cable in/around the house, because from what I've read, they will wire up ethernet to get the signal to the right place, with the source being your phone wires. And, although I don't want to, once I get Bell's IPTV, I will likely need to retain some form of Rogers service for data backup/redundancy, as my livelihood depends on a constant web connection; BES has been down for hours at a time - I wouldn't care much about the TV service, but no internet connectivity is a problem.

[silvery]

This doesn't sound right; sounds like a rogue CSR. There's no mention of this in any of the print related media around this offer, there's no contractual terms involved, so this doesn't make sense. Shame on Bell for letting CSRs dispense drivel like this to customers. Nor could/should it be for Bell's desire to use coax cable in/around the house, because from what I've read, they will wire up ethernet to get the signal to the right place, with the source being your phone wires. And, although I don't want to, once I get Bell's IPTV, I will likely need to retain some form of Rogers service for data backup/redundancy, as my livelihood depends on a constant web connection; BES has been down for hours at a time - I wouldn't care much about the TV service, but no internet connectivity is a problem.

Yes i had my rogers service with the Bell Ent at the same time, then cancelled rogers later.... i think you would have to cancel the home phone with rogers to get the bell maybe if you want to keep your same #, but thats about it....

BTW, if you're still deliberating about this i think today or tommorow is the last day to get the deal, as it says until end of the year on the website!!

**edit ** just confirmed that they are extending the deal until the end of February....!

[Kaiu]

Unfortunately, even though it is until February, it won't be a full year of this discount because of: less $49.50 credit until December 31, 2010.


T.T Still a really nice deal.... until rates go back up to $130 before taxes after Dec. 31..... (Including $30 overage fee obviously)

[plymouthhater]

Bell told me that I must cancel rogers and they must receive a notice from Rogers that its being canceled in order for them to install the service.

The only time that there would be any potential interferance between Rogers and Bell services in the same dwelling would be if the Bell installer chose or was required to use the existing coax runs to the TV's i.e. using the HPNA output of the modem to feed the set top boxes...otherwise the fact that there is a piece of coax at the rear of the TV with the Rogers feed on it would have no bearing on the iPTV service.

[sduncan343]

Got mine installed on Monday, it has been working fine, no stuttering issues. I'm in an area where I can only hook up two tvs to it (which is fine I only have one). I have noticed the Internet is faster but I don't think it is as dramatic as speed increase because of the less bandwith available. I tested it out and it was 14Mbps-ish.

Haven't been able to get the web portal thing to work yet though. Is it is supposed to be available right after install, or does it take a while to get going ?

[yds]

Haven't been able to get the web portal thing to work yet though. Is it is supposed to be available right after install, or does it take a while to get going ?

I've had mine installed for over month now (and had a bill) but I still can't get the web portal working (to see or schedule recordings, or look at the online programming guide).

[4gen_accord]

Does anyone have BES and home phone from Bell? I'm trying to get home phone and BES, but the reps have no idea what BES is. I have to call a different dept. and order each service separately. I'm just worried about my bundle discount :cheesygri

[yds]

Does anyone have BES and home phone from Bell?

I have both. I haven't tried to get any discounts, but from others on this thread it seems unlikely. And its also clear that the Bell phone CSR's know nothing about BES.

[Roachx]

ordered it for location at 401/port union,will have it installed on Jan 2..hope everything goes fine esp cabling

I'm near 401/portunion too but they said my areas speed is 20mb and that even if i only want one tv hooked up it has to be 25mb.

Has anyone else been quoted what the minimum speed for your area has to be before they will offer the service?

[4gen_accord]

I've confirmed myself that BES does not qualify for bundle discount. However, home phone and mobile phone does for a total for $10 discount per month. The cell phone plan must be a consumer plan and I'm pretty sure you have to have atleast one calling feature for the home phone.

[Chief]

I'm near 401/portunion too but they said my areas speed is 20mb and that even if i only want one tv hooked up it has to be 25mb.

Has anyone else been quoted what the minimum speed for your area has to be before they will offer the service?

I'm at Kennedy/Denison and they said we're at 21mbps and need 23 to get the service.

[number6]

I've had mine installed for over month now (and had a bill) but I still can't get the web portal working (to see or schedule recordings, or look at the online programming guide).

Mine does not work either.

[mcaj]

Is there a usage monitor that bell provides online for your internet account? I know rogers does that and I need it stay within the 60GB cap whenever i'm sane. Also, for some reason I'm not able to setup my account online. There happens to be no place where "Bell Entertainment Service" account holders can register. The account numbers it will accept are either iptv or internet, but nothing specific for BES.

[cofh]

Is there a usage monitor that bell provides online for your internet account? I know rogers does that and I need it stay within the 60GB cap whenever i'm sane. Also, for some reason I'm not able to setup my account online. There happens to be no place where "Bell Entertainment Service" account holders can register. The account numbers it will accept are either iptv or internet, but nothing specific for BES.

It takes them a while to get everything set up properly (usually just after you get your first bill). Once it is setup in your My Bell account you are able to check your usage and set it to email you at 50% 70% and 90% of your limit. I'm sitting at 98% right now waiting for Jan 4 to download some Steam games I bought. Damn this 60GB cap. $1.25/GB is highway robbery and I refuse to pay another $30 to get games that were on sale to begin with. I might as well have bought them at regular price. :mad:

BES is pretty good so far, but 60GB is a ludicrous amount in the days of Steam Games and Streaming video. I sincerely hope that Rogers' offering provides a higher limit as a way of attracting more customers, forcing Bell to raise theirs, but that's a pipe dream I'm sure. 'Nuff said.

[infernalaffairs]

I called today and is not available at 60 Brian Harrison Way :( (Scarborough Town Centre Area, right behind the Scarborough RT).

But there's a freaking BELL building/office right beside my condos...:mad:

[shadow_cruiser]

I called today and is not available at 60 Brian Harrison Way :( (Scarborough Town Centre Area, right behind the Scarborough RT).

But there's a freaking BELL building/office right beside my condos...:mad:

Its not available at Mavis/Burnhamthorpe in Mississauga but its available at Confederation/Burnhamthorpe which is ONE block over. I don't get in what order they are laying these lines. I've been calling every 3 weeks since this thread first started. 3 weeks ago the CSR told me my area will be done by the end of the year. I called yesterday and the CSR told me my area should be ready in 2-3 months:confused:.

I've been holding off on subscribing with acanac because this new bell service popped up. I guess we will wait till Feb 28

[buyways]

The only time that there would be any potential interferance between Rogers and Bell services in the same dwelling would be if the Bell installer chose or was required to use the existing coax runs to the TV's i.e. using the HPNA output of the modem to feed the set top boxes...otherwise the fact that there is a piece of coax at the rear of the TV with the Rogers feed on it would have no bearing on the iPTV service.

Even then, couldn't the Bell tech just disconnect the coax feed coming into the house, e.g. at the box on the wall outside the house?

[number6]

Is there a usage monitor that bell provides online for your internet account? I know rogers does that and I need it stay within the 60GB cap whenever i'm sane. Also, for some reason I'm not able to setup my account online. There happens to be no place where "Bell Entertainment Service" account holders can register. The account numbers it will accept are either iptv or internet, but nothing specific for BES.

Yes there is one. You need to wait for your first bill to get your account number so you can link the BES service to you Bell.ca account.

[silvery]

Yes there is one. You need to wait for your first bill to get your account number so you can link the BES service to you Bell.ca account.

What if you dont already have a bell.ca account, can you create a new one on the website?

[[H]ackerK]

Even then, couldn't the Bell tech just disconnect the coax feed coming into the house, e.g. at the box on the wall outside the house?

If the coax is owned by Rogers (i.e. not Bell), they can't touch it.

[yds]

Anyone try upgrading the hardware on the VIP1216 yet? ie: bigger HDD?

[number6]

What if you dont already have a bell.ca account, can you create a new one on the website?
yes, you will need to create one. It is independent of any services that you may buy from bell.

[silvery]

Unfortunately, even though it is until February, it won't be a full year of this discount because of: less $49.50 credit until December 31, 2010.


T.T Still a really nice deal.... until rates go back up to $130 before taxes after Dec. 31..... (Including $30 overage fee obviously)



Are ppl going to switch back to Rogers in Feb when rates go back up, because i think i would have a better deal with Rogers, <$100 with high speed internet, 2 HD Boxes (1 PVR), and Specialty channels....

[mjjrules]

Anyone in the Milton area try getting this? I will be needing cable/net/phone in Feb.

[beljevina]

Its not available at Mavis/Burnhamthorpe in Mississauga but its available at Confederation/Burnhamthorpe which is ONE block over. I don't get in what order they are laying these lines. I've been calling every 3 weeks since this thread first started. 3 weeks ago the CSR told me my area will be done by the end of the year. I called yesterday and the CSR told me my area should be ready in 2-3 months:confused:.

I've been holding off on subscribing with acanac because this new bell service popped up. I guess we will wait till Feb 28I hear you: @ Britannia/Creditview it's not available, but I know a few blocks south it is. I've given up calling every few weeks, although there's a different answer every time. I can't expect we're more than a few months away, so subscribing to another provider probably isn't worth it. I'd guess they're using a combination of population density, existing high speed penetration (Bell's own ADSL customers vs. Roger's own), and perhaps infrastructure installation costs. Funny, I'd thought that as a ~13 year old neighborhood (newer than the folks south of me!), we'd be getting hooked up first, but apparently not.

[ipassgas]

Are ppl going to switch back to Rogers in Feb when rates go back up, because i think i would have a better deal with Rogers, <$100 with high speed internet, 2 HD Boxes (1 PVR), and Specialty channels....

The good deal will last until Dec 2010. After that, if they double the price, I'll be switching in a second. It's a good product and a good deal at that price point. At twice the price, watch everyone run, run, run.

[johners]

The good deal will last until Dec 2010. After that, if they double the price, I'll be switching in a second. It's a good product and a good deal at that price point. At twice the price, watch everyone run, run, run.

This is my 3rd year of service at 50% off, so it seems they keep extending the offer year after year, while they ramp it up and 'experiment' with the customers they have to see what features work and what doesnt.

[buyways]

ackerK;10049566']If the coax is owned by Rogers (i.e. not Bell), they can't touch it.

The box doesn't say anything like 'property of Rogers'. I'm pretty sure I have the right to cut off any cable - or signal - coming onto my property that I want, especially if it's interfering with my use and enjoyment of my property e.g. a service I've purchased like BES. Given that, I'm also pretty sure I can designate whomever I want to be my agent in carrying that out, e.g. to ask a Bell tech to disconnect a Rogers cable connection on my property. I also know that somehow after my BES install I had a new coax cable running from the coax connection box on the side of my house to my upstairs bedroom where no coax had run before...:cheesygri

[plymouthhater]

ackerK;10049566']If the coax is owned by Rogers (i.e. not Bell), they can't touch it.

There are many single family dwellings where the builder charged homebuyers to "prewire" rooms with coax. Somehow I doubt that this coax belongs to Rogers.

The Rogers "Home Phone" techs seem to have no problem yanking the telephone prewire off the Bell block in the basement and swinging it over to the Rogers Home Phone VOIP connection. Turnabout is fair play!

[Imelda_Acanac]

I called and spoke to a Bell rep and gave my address
and he said the same it is not available in the Queen St. East
and Sherbourne St. neighbourhood. This area is in the Historical District.
He said it uses the phone and coax lines together with internet
at fiber optic speeds and tv movies. Fiber optic lines are really
expensive to install that's why the prices are too. The offer is
good until Feb 28, 2010 and discount prices only till Dec 31, 2010.

Imelda O. Suzara
Acanac Rep


Its not available at Mavis/Burnhamthorpe in Mississauga but its available at Confederation/Burnhamthorpe which is ONE block over. I don't get in what order they are laying these lines. I've been calling every 3 weeks since this thread first started. 3 weeks ago the CSR told me my area will be done by the end of the year. I called yesterday and the CSR told me my area should be ready in 2-3 months:confused:.

I've been holding off on subscribing with acanac because this new bell service popped up. I guess we will wait till Feb 28

[mcaj]

Does anyone experience throttling for non-p2p downloads? Like downloads from file sharing sites (rapidshare, megaupload, hotfile)? I somehow feel that i'm being throttled because my downloads from these sites are almost always at ~60KB/s. Even my youtube videos don't buffer as quickly as they used to with Rogers internet. The thing is, I do get speeds of upto 24Mbps on http/ftp downloads, so definitely there isn't anything wrong with my line.

But, throttling of online video is absolutely not acceptable. :mad:

[Tainger]

how is the bandwidth? does it lag like hell when someone streams a youtube video? i remember back when i had bell my connection would get rocked whenever my sister streamed a utube video

[silvery]

how is the bandwidth? does it lag like hell when someone streams a youtube video? i remember back when i had bell my connection would get rocked whenever my sister streamed a utube video

No lag on youtube, even HD... the bandwidth is much better than Rogers anyways, i get like 20mpbs now....

[number6]

Has anyone tried connecting a Mac/PC TV tuner to the Bell setop box? I was told that the Bell technicians use WinTV sometimes if the subscriber does not have a TV yet.

[TM!!]

Does anyone know what the usb port is for on the console? It must have been included in the console for some purpose?

[plymouthhater]

Does anyone know what the usb port is for on the console? It must have been included in the console for some purpose?

Motorola says it's there for "firmware updates".

[TM!!]

thanks

[xGambitx]

i have been getting interuptions with the service. There are glitches every week where the tv freezes time to time and internet stops working for 1/2 an hr or so.

Not sure what it is, called bell and they sent a technician who didn't do anything except just pretended to tighten the cables hooked up to the receiver. (which were already tightened up).

[yds]

Has anyone tried connecting a Mac/PC TV tuner to the Bell setop box? I was told that the Bell technicians use WinTV sometimes if the subscriber does not have a TV yet.

I run one of my VIP1200 boxes into my ATI AIW card (using S-Video cable) on one of my PC's. Using the ATI TV software to watch. Works fine.

[mcaj]

i have been getting interuptions with the service. There are glitches every week where the tv freezes time to time and internet stops working for 1/2 an hr or so.

Not sure what it is, called bell and they sent a technician who didn't do anything except just pretended to tighten the cables hooked up to the receiver. (which were already tightened up).

I have the exact same problem. Not so much of the tv freezing, but my internet goes down sometimes. What area are you living in?

[beljevina]

I run one of my VIP1200 boxes into my ATI AIW card (using S-Video cable) on one of my PC's. Using the ATI TV software to watch. Works fine.

What resolution is your ATI viewer reporting the signal as? I'd expect it to be SD regardless if the broadcast is HD.

[yds]

What resolution is your ATI viewer reporting the signal as? I'd expect it to be SD regardless if the broadcast is HD.

Ya, its all SD on that one. In fact, the HD channels look worse than the SD ones. But its only for watching tv while working on the office computer - usually in a small window in the corner of the screen, so no biggie.

[crispwolf]

how is the bandwidth? does it lag like hell when someone streams a youtube video? i remember back when i had bell my connection would get rocked whenever my sister streamed a utube video


youtube streaming is nothing compared with bell's own TV streaming.
It's definitely be ok.

[crispwolf]

I'm near 401/portunion too but they said my areas speed is 20mb and that even if i only want one tv hooked up it has to be 25mb.

Has anyone else been quoted what the minimum speed for your area has to be before they will offer the service?

20Mbps is totally enough if you have less than 4 HDTV, each 1 HDTV will consume about 6Mbps. the rest will be used for Internet.

Just got mine installed today. download 20Mbps upload around 10Mbps.It's really cool and simple to use/record etc compared with Rogers box.

[buyways]

I called and spoke to a Bell rep and gave my address
and he said the same it is not available in the Queen St. East
and Sherbourne St. neighbourhood. This area is in the Historical District.
He said it uses the phone and coax lines together with internet
at fiber optic speeds and tv movies. Fiber optic lines are really
expensive to install that's why the prices are too. The offer is
good until Feb 28, 2010 and discount prices only till Dec 31, 2010.

Imelda O. Suzara
Acanac Rep

Y e a h, thanks for sharing, but wtf is Acanac doing here in this thread? No new or useful information plus nonsense (expensive? this price is excellent, even if it's 'only' for an entire frickin year ((so far - some have had this price for 3 years now)) and incoherence ("phone and coax lines together with internernet at fiber optic speeds and tv movies"?? multiple fail).

Want to be helpful, Imelda, tell your colleagues to actually reply to emails from their clients quickly and with, you know, actual answers, unlike what they usually do, which is to repeatedly parrot from their cribsheets - you might lose fewer clients that way.

I will say, good on Acanac for employing the developmentally challenged, as their reps seem... lacking.

[buyways]

Does anyone experience throttling for non-p2p downloads? Like downloads from file sharing sites (rapidshare, megaupload, hotfile)? I somehow feel that i'm being throttled because my downloads from these sites are almost always at ~60KB/s. Even my youtube videos don't buffer as quickly as they used to with Rogers internet. The thing is, I do get speeds of upto 24Mbps on http/ftp downloads, so definitely there isn't anything wrong with my line.

But, throttling of online video is absolutely not acceptable. :mad:

For me, no throttling of newsgroups and youtube is much much faster than Acanac was (haven't had Rogers internet in years). No luck with technical support?

[buyways]

i have been getting interuptions with the service. There are glitches every week where the tv freezes time to time and internet stops working for 1/2 an hr or so.

Not sure what it is, called bell and they sent a technician who didn't do anything except just pretended to tighten the cables hooked up to the receiver. (which were already tightened up).

That's too bad - when I first got it installed, the TV would freeze after a few minutes (not sure about internet) - the install tech said that since I was one of the first in my area to get the service, something in the neighbourhood distribution system had to be flashed. Doesn't sound quite the same as your situation, but it fixed the problem for me...

(They do like the tight connections, don't they? Wanted to re-arrange some cables and had to bust out the pliers to get the coax off the modem/router; hand-tightened has of course been fine since then)

[sprung]

A few more notes:

- The firmware on the modem has updated automatically, it definitely has a later date on it now in the version info but Wireless N still not available.

- Newest bug but not a showstopper, when I pause recorded content playback on the non-PVR console for more than a few minutes it comes back with an error when I try to resume playback. Then it takes a few seconds to populate the list of recordings available. I am then finally able to resume playback where it was previously paused. Both are connected with coax.

- Also, why is the TV on demand content so limited and expensive? All I see so far for TV shows are Outer Limits priced at $0.99 each. Why does Rogers offer so many more TV shows, etc for free and Bell charges for old stuff?

- As for Internet, still working great. Very fast!

[asirota]

I've created a dedicated discussion forum for Bell Internet Service customers -- please visit today and provide your input and reviews... Let's shape a good community, that is well organized and will provide input to Bell for future improvements to the service.

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/

[bigben]

I don't care if they're giving away stewardesses that poop chocolate bars and gold, I promised myself a loooong time ago never to get into bed with Bell again and I'm sticking to it.

Until Rogers really pisses you off.

[number6]

I run one of my VIP1200 boxes into my ATI AIW card (using S-Video cable) on one of my PC's. Using the ATI TV software to watch. Works fine.

Thanks I will try a s-video cable, I only tried using coax and got no signal.

[yds]

Thanks I will try a s-video cable, I only tried using coax and got no signal.

Coax worked for me, but picture was noticeably worse than using the S-video cable.

[escapehatch]

I have had BES for about a month. Internet speed averages 19/7.5 and no glitches so far. SD TV is far superior to Rogers and PVR is great. I have the "Core" package.

In December I had access to more channels, like AMC and others, which it now reports that I have now not subscribed to. Anyone else find this?

Where can I find a channel guide, ie channel numbers? It seems to be different from the satellite system.

[icevulture]

Still not available in Guelph as of 1/6.

[neostylez3]

Not available in North York => Yonge and York Mills Area... Bummer
Nor => Leslie and Lawrence Area... Double Bummer

[Tainger]

hi i currently have rogers 10Mb line and i pay around 50 a month for my service!!! this bell deal is 25 Mb and tv for 50 right. can i get this deal for longer than 1 year? or is it only limited to 1 year maybe i can talk the csr's to extend it for me?

[mcaj]

Alright, so I got my first taste of Bell's infamous billing errors. I received my "bill" today and it says I owe them a grand total of $0 for services from Dec.25 - Jan.24. Well, unless they're giving me first month free :cheesygri, this ought to be a terrible mistake. Second, my name on the bill is incorrect. Yeah, I know its hard to get your name right despite giving them your driving license and credit card for verification :rolleyes:. And the weird part is, when I gave them a call today, the rep said my bill isn't even ready :confused:. He couldn't even pull up my account.

Now, some might call me paranoid, but I'm just trying to mitigate future whiplashes from Bell. Anyone got any idea what's going on with my account?

[buyways]

Alright, so I got my first taste of Bell's infamous billing errors. I received my "bill" today and it says I owe them a grand total of $0 for services from Dec.25 - Jan.24. Well, unless they're giving me first month free :cheesygri, this ought to be a terrible mistake. Second, my name on the bill is incorrect. Yeah, I know its hard to get your name right despite giving them your driving license and credit card for verification :rolleyes:. And the weird part is, when I gave them a call today, the rep said my bill isn't even ready :confused:. He couldn't even pull up my account.

Now, some might call me paranoid, but I'm just trying to mitigate future whiplashes from Bell. Anyone got any idea what's going on with my account?

I'd keep quiet and enjoy the $0 charge, i.e. don't call to correct your name or otherwise draw any attention to yourself :cheesygri.
I also had no luck finding out how much I've used of the 60GB when I called 3 weeks after install (rep could not pull up my account either, said I had to wait until first bill issues, maybe I won't ever get a bill either :!:) They didn't ask me for DL or CC info... <shrug>

[buyways]

I have had BES for about a month. Internet speed averages 19/7.5 and no glitches so far. SD TV is far superior to Rogers and PVR is great. I have the "Core" package.

In December I had access to more channels, like AMC and others, which it now reports that I have now not subscribed to. Anyone else find this?

Where can I find a channel guide, ie channel numbers? It seems to be different from the satellite system.

I found this channel guide poking around after logging into the 'mybell' page, going to the entertainment' service, then 'help & support - more - television & internet surfing':

http://www.bell.ca/web/iptv/all_languages/on/pdfs/channels/Toronto-Channel-Guide.pdf

You can also check your programming package there.

[dealguy1]

I have had BES for about a month. Internet speed averages 19/7.5 and no glitches so far. SD TV is far superior to Rogers and PVR is great. I have the "Core" package.

In December I had access to more channels, like AMC and others, which it now reports that I have now not subscribed to. Anyone else find this?

Where can I find a channel guide, ie channel numbers? It seems to be different from the satellite system.

I've had this service since late-October. I haven't noticed channels disappearing, but I'm disappointed in two aspects:

1. Channel lineup/packages: many channels/packages are unavailable, such as HD versions of TSN2, all the Sportsnet channels, all time-shifting channels (why in SD only?), as well as no NFL Sunday Ticket; National Geographic channel is included in only the most expensive "Super" package (I'd love to have it, but I'm not paying an extra $20/month to get it - why can't you add it individually?)

2. The TV service can be a bit unreliable at times... sometimes the audio cuts out for no apparent reason. TV service was out one time and required a hardware reset, which took about 20 minutes by phone. No explanation given, but a bit less reliable than previous experience with Rogers digital cable.

Overall, I'm still happy with the service, as nothing is perfect, but I'd like Bell to improve their channel selection offered. I'll take Bell over Rogers any day, given my past difficulties with Rogers bills on an almost monthly basis!

[yds]

Is anyone else having problems with the Web Portal? I'm going on 8 weeks of service now, and have yet to be able to see my recordings, or get the guide to work, in the Web Portal. I can log into it ok, and I can access my bill (including seeing my bandwith used) no problem. But won't show me guide or recordings. Just get a blank tab for recordings, and a message saying "The system is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. " on the Guide tab.

[illyas]

Is anyone else having problems with the Web Portal? I'm going on 8 weeks of service now, and have yet to be able to see my recordings, or get the guide to work, in the Web Portal. I can log into it ok, and I can access my bill (including seeing my bandwith used) no problem. But won't show me guide or recordings. Just get a blank tab for recordings, and a message saying "The system is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. " on the Guide tab.

Same problem for me...had service for about 3 months now.

[luckiecookie]

Too Bad. it's not available in my apt (Yonge between Empress & Shepperd)

[andrewhaji]

Is anyone else having problems with the Web Portal? I'm going on 8 weeks of service now, and have yet to be able to see my recordings, or get the guide to work, in the Web Portal. I can log into it ok, and I can access my bill (including seeing my bandwith used) no problem. But won't show me guide or recordings. Just get a blank tab for recordings, and a message saying "The system is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. " on the Guide tab.

Same. In fact, after trying to access the portal, my PVR refused to record the various scheduled series I had set. I had to reboot the PVR to get it to work.

[deleriouz]

I have had BES for about a month. Internet speed averages 19/7.5 and no glitches so far. SD TV is far superior to Rogers and PVR is great. I have the "Core" package.

In December I had access to more channels, like AMC and others, which it now reports that I have now not subscribed to. Anyone else find this?

Where can I find a channel guide, ie channel numbers? It seems to be different from the satellite system.

Same issue here. I had access to AMC and TSN for about 5 weeks since installation, but starting getting the 'not subscribed' message this week. However, Superchannels HD1 and HD2 showed up instead, strange... I'm also on the 'Core' package.

[Madwand]

My service was installed two days ago. Yonge/Wellesley area.

21 down and 13 up (at the best of times when TV's are off).

Quite nice, but you should be able to purchase individual channels when you don't want to buy themes that contain a lot of channels you won't watch.

The internal wireless router they provide is poor so I use my own Linksys which is much faster.

[Chief]

I found this channel guide poking around after logging into the 'mybell' page, going to the entertainment' service, then 'help & support - more - television & internet surfing':

http://www.bell.ca/web/iptv/all_languages/on/pdfs/channels/Toronto-Channel-Guide.pdf

You can also check your programming package there.

great to have the channel guide

LOLLL look at channel 803... "803 Clitytv HD"

[icevulture]

Quite nice, but you should be able to purchase individual channels when you don't want to buy themes that contain a lot of channels you won't watch.


This isn't something that's in a TV provider's complete control. We have stupid laws in Canada, LOTS of stupid laws. One of those stupid laws is regarding a minimum percentage of Canadian content on your tv. As of right now, providers can only offer packages that meet the minimum percentage of Canadian content. If they let people pick and choose their own channels, they might pick all US channels and then the Canadian government would be very very sad.

To see how some of these stupid laws affect us beyond just TV service, here's an article written today from the CES in Vegas: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/01/08/ces-microsoft-darren-huston.html

I thought I read an article about a year ago stating that our government is going to allow the TV service providers to let us pick and choose individual channels as long as the channels we pick satisfy the content law. In the article I'm also pretty sure they said this wouldn't happen until 2011, but I can't cite my source because it was a while ago.

[lostradamus]

I've had a weird issues twice now in the past week and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced the same thing.

On the main PVR when I try to play a recorded show nothing shows up on the screen, just a black screen. On the other box it says something like "The main recording unit is unavailable...". A reboot of both boxes has fixed it for me so far.

Anyone else have this problem? I tried calling technical support but gave up after 20 minutes on hold.

[andrewhaji]

Same issue here. I had access to AMC and TSN for about 5 weeks since installation, but starting getting the 'not subscribed' message this week. However, Superchannels HD1 and HD2 showed up instead, strange... I'm also on the 'Core' package.

A few days ago, on the same day as the WJHC finals, I turned on my TV and found that I could watch TSN-HD. This was awesome! The very next day I turned my TV on again and it was gone. At first I was hoping that Bell turned on TSN-HD for everyone so we could all enjoy some good hockey, but now that I think about it, that's probably not very likely. They were probably just having issues with their system.

I also have access to SCHD1 and SCHD2 on my box. I'm watching a movie on SCHD1 right now.

[xGambitx]

To those who have had the service for a while, anyone having a hard time keeping their bandwidth usage below 60GB?

I am finding it really hard, as I reached 186GB total last month. Pretty sure I have already passed the 60GB mark for this month.

Also, not sure how they track the usage, when I check online it shows my usage from 28th of a month to 27th of next month. However my billing cycle starts from 17th to 16th of nxt month. Not sure why its setup this way as I can't really moniter the usage properly. Anyone else notice this?

[andrewhaji]

To those who have had the service for a while, anyone having a hard time keeping their bandwidth usage below 60GB?

I use about 300-400 GB per month, so I don't even bother looking at the bandwidth meter. I'm pretty much guaranteed the $30 maximum overage charge every month.

[xGambitx]

I use about 300-400 GB per month, so I don't even bother looking at the bandwidth meter. I'm pretty much guaranteed the $30 maximum overage charge every month.

yea its worth it for you, but it would suck if went JUST above 24GB over your usage. You would still get charged $30.

Edit: do you think it would raise any red flags if you keep downloading this much over ?

[lusion]

Is the offer still going or did it expire on the 31st?

[mypassword]

I have had the Bell Entertainment package for 2 months now and these are some observations.

- increased download speed - I also had Bell internet prior to this
- better picture signal than with my prior Rogers cable

The system still seems to have some bugs inc.
- a recent update that didn't work in my Bell PVR and knocked out both
internet and TV service requiring about 45 minutes on the phone to get
things sorted. They are replacing the PVR.

The one thing you do become aware of is that your TV signal comes through a modem and the signal is not as stable as through a standard cable where nothing seems to go wrong. I had to reboot the modem when the image started freezing every 15 seconds. That said I am happy to not have to pay Rogers after 30 years of feeding them every month.

[deal_with_singh]

Is this deal still available or dead?

[chestyleroux]

Deal has been extended to February 28.

[xGambitx]

watching tv is to a point where its unbearable. The pic freezes every 5 sec or so. Did it fix after you reset your modem?


I have had the Bell Entertainment package for 2 months now and these are some observations.

- increased download speed - I also had Bell internet prior to this
- better picture signal than with my prior Rogers cable

The system still seems to have some bugs inc.
- a recent update that didn't work in my Bell PVR and knocked out both
internet and TV service requiring about 45 minutes on the phone to get
things sorted. They are replacing the PVR.

The one thing you do become aware of is that your TV signal comes through a modem and the signal is not as stable as through a standard cable where nothing seems to go wrong. I had to reboot the modem when the image started freezing every 15 seconds. That said I am happy to not have to pay Rogers after 30 years of feeding them every month.

[andrewhaji]

Deal has been extended to February 28.

In fact, it looks like it's been extended to December 31, 2010:

"Available to new customers who subscribe to Bell Entertainment Essential, Core, Extra or Super. Monthly rate for Essential is $99/mo., less $49.50 credit until December 31, 2010. 50% off applies on the account before taxes, and only to monthly rate; excludes additional hardware and extras."

http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/package.html

At this point I don't think we can really consider it a "deal" anymore. They're going to keep extending this promotion as long as they need to earn new subscribers. Once they reach critical mass they'll take it away and screw everyone over. But let's hope that day doesn't come for a while.

[illyas]

In fact, it looks like it's been extended to December 31, 2010:

"Available to new customers who subscribe to Bell Entertainment Essential, Core, Extra or Super. Monthly rate for Essential is $99/mo., less $49.50 credit until December 31, 2010. 50% off applies on the account before taxes, and only to monthly rate; excludes additional hardware and extras."

http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/package.html

At this point I don't think we can really consider it a "deal" anymore. They're going to keep extending this promotion as long as they need to earn new subscribers. Once they reach critical mass they'll take it away and screw everyone over. But let's hope that day doesn't come for a while.

That's only after you sign-up - you get to keep the price for a year since sign-up or Dec 2010 (whatever is earlier), the actual promotion sign-up date supposedly ends on Feb. 28.

"Offer ends February 28, 2010. Available to residential customers in select residential dwellings in Ontario, where technology permits. One bill account required to activate system. Subject to change without notice and cannot be combined with any other offer. Taxes, additional fees and other conditions apply including terms of service available at bell.ca/terms."

[Importspeed]

just got onto BES. So far so good. Did a speedtest hitting 20ish down and 8 up.

Located in North York.

The picture quality is just as good. But man it's going to take some time for me to get used to the channels after the 25+ years of Rogers brainwashing.

[mypassword]

watching tv is to a point where its unbearable. The pic freezes every 5 sec or so. Did it fix after you reset your modem?

Resetting the modem fixed the picture freeze problem the first time I had it.
It came back a few days ago and Bell is now going to replace the PVR. They recently did a software update and my PVR did not seem to like it.

I think that these type of problems will continue to creep up since you have the main point of distribution, then your modem, then your PVR for the signal to get transfered through. More processing points increase the likelihood of problems and the fact that the modem is also handling internet distribution only adds to this.

Still this is probably the wave of the future and Rogers must be dreading the day it becomes marketed on a large scale.

[McDealer]

Hey folks - I am about to sign up for BES and I'm not sure I understand the theme packs HD situation. Someone has already asked but the answer was a bit ambiguous. To paraphrase:

Q: Are the HD channels a separate pack? Or are they in the same pack?
A: Yes.

Would love specific confirmation so I'll re-pose the question.

Does the sports theme pack include the HD channels (TSNHD and ScoreHD)? Yes or no.

Thanks!

[buyways]

great to have the channel guide

LOLLL look at channel 803... "803 Clitytv HD"

oh dear. On a similar note, after midnight last Friday, one of the channels (sorry forget which, I think it was in 300s with "mov" in the channel title, the movie was called something like "Mouth" - "A reporter investigates an unusual cult...") was showing a p*rno that I'd guess from the cast was a Quebec production- maybe a feed that wasn't supposed to be shown in prudier Ontario? I've certainly never seen anything so explicit on Rogers before, good for a LOL anyway, but if you have kids you may want to setup that parental control feature...

[buyways]

Also, not sure how they track the usage, when I check online it shows my usage from 28th of a month to 27th of next month. However my billing cycle starts from 17th to 16th of nxt month. Not sure why its setup this way as I can't really moniter the usage properly. Anyone else notice this?

My usage cycle is out of sync with my billing cycle too - I just got the service starting Dec. 23 or so, but my internet usage is showing (on the mybell site) as from the 4th to the 3rd.

To monitor usage: from the mybell homepage, click on the "See programming package..." link next to the entertainment package, then "see my bandwidth usage" then "learn more about tracking internet usage" link for more info - most useful to you would be the email notification you can set:

Sign up to receive email notifications when you reach 50%, 75% or 90% of the Internet usage included in your monthly plan (or all three!).

System upgrades to our Internet Usage tracker have improved the refresh rate from a 60 hour delay to 2 hours providing near real-time usage tracking capability.

[buyways]

This isn't something that's in a TV provider's complete control. We have stupid laws in Canada, LOTS of stupid laws. One of those stupid laws is regarding a minimum percentage of Canadian content on your tv. As of right now, providers can only offer packages that meet the minimum percentage of Canadian content. If they let people pick and choose their own channels, they might pick all US channels and then the Canadian government would be very very sad.

To see how some of these stupid laws affect us beyond just TV service, here's an article written today from the CES in Vegas: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/01/08/ces-microsoft-darren-huston.html

I thought I read an article about a year ago stating that our government is going to allow the TV service providers to let us pick and choose individual channels as long as the channels we pick satisfy the content law. In the article I'm also pretty sure they said this wouldn't happen until 2011, but I can't cite my source because it was a while ago.

Interesting - CanCon requirements might explain why BES doesn't have CNN, for example (my install tech said it was because Bell had to negotiate with the CRTC before it could include it; though he didn't refer to CanCon requirements).

I don't think bundling of channels is driven entirely by CanCon requirements though: you can't get a la carte cable channels in the states either:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/FineOnMedia/archives/2009/12/will_fox_and_ti.html

[azkab]

Hey folks - I am about to sign up for BES and I'm not sure I understand the theme packs HD situation. Someone has already asked but the answer was a bit ambiguous. To paraphrase:

Q: Are the HD channels a separate pack? Or are they in the same pack?
A: Yes.

Would love specific confirmation so I'll re-pose the question.

Does the sports theme pack include the HD channels (TSNHD and ScoreHD)? Yes or no.

Thanks!

the Answer is YES.

HD channels comes with the pack that you choose.

[gei]

Does the sports theme pack include the HD channels (TSNHD and ScoreHD)?

YES. You get The Score HD and TSN HD.

But no Sportsnet HD or TSN2 HD :(

[creoledude]

Just got my Bell installed on Saturday.

Internet is way faster with 20MBps but I mus admit the picture quality seems to be a bit poorer than Rogers cable....

Yep no HD Sportsnet kinda suck.....but for the price, it is good value.

[McDealer]

YES. You get The Score HD and TSN HD.

But no Sportsnet HD or TSN2 HD :(

That is good to know - it means 5 theme packs gets me almost all the English specialty channels they offer. Yes it would be nice if they carried a few more channels, but for the price I can live without them.

Thanks for the answer.

[statick]

Just got my Bell installed on Saturday.

Internet is way faster with 20MBps but I mus admit the picture quality seems to be a bit poorer than Rogers cable....

Yep no HD Sportsnet kinda suck.....but for the price, it is good value.

My quality seemed poor in the beginning then has gotten better over time, anyone else notice this??

[yonlee]

My quality seemed poor in the beginning then has gotten better over time, anyone else notice this??

I noticed it too, but I think I got used to it, even though the quality remained the same. Somehow, from my old fat TV (15 yrs old, still kicking), BES has much better picture.

At least for me, BES is a little more grainy and sometimes freezes 1/2 or 1 second. Rogers (8300HD) had more vivid pictures overall, but would sometimes had blocked chunky images and some recorded shows does not even start, and I should have selected other show and exit and select the same again and it plays.

[skywalker]

Got some questions, thanks for the help.

1)So the fiber-fed interest had 60GB cap. Can I buy a $5 40G insurance usage plan with this?

2) Is there modem and pvr rental fee on top of $49.50? any "hidden" charges like term contract?

Thanks.

[darkmagician]

Got some questions, thanks for the help.

1)So the fiber-fed interest had 60GB cap. Can I buy a $5 40G insurance usage plan with this?

2) Is there modem and pvr rental fee on top of $49.50? any "hidden" charges like term contract?

Thanks.

According to what they told me just a few seconds ago,

1) 60gb is all u can get, there no other plans to increase. But if u do use over its $1.30 or somethign like that for each gb u go over to a max of $30

2) Told me 49.50 includes the rental of the PVR. All you will see is the discounted price.


These are the most important things i asked when I called them. Too bad i cant get more the 60gb cuz at my home, streaming is intense. Even if i pay $30 im still better off then rogers from what im currently getting. Looks like I will have a good chat with rogers retention tonight.

[silvery]

Here's my invoice in case anyones interested, with the essential service, 2 additional boxes, and timeshifting...

Your Bell Products This Month 61.50

Entertainment
61.50
GST 3.06
Ontario PST 2.95
Amount Due 67.51

[creoledude]

From what the Bell guys were telling when they did my install is that Bell will be having other promotion in the spring (April/May). So for those who already signed up for the 50% discount package, you can switch if the spring deal is better that your current one. There will apparently be more options such as CNN ...hope they can get sportnets in HD...

[dP21]

Here's my invoice in case anyones interested, with the essential service, 2 additional boxes, and timeshifting...



Does the PVR allow you to record shows which are timeshifted? My installer told me that it doesn't allow it, and for that reason I didn't get it.

[jonno]

Does the PVR allow you to record shows which are timeshifted? My installer told me that it doesn't allow it, and for that reason I didn't get it.

I find that hard to believe, it's just another feed. I'm sure your PVR would allow it

[McDealer]

My quality seemed poor in the beginning then has gotten better over time, anyone else notice this??

Maybe you're just getting used to it?

[rgilld]

I called Bell today to determine why I cannot access the schedule and recording online through the Enterntainment Portal. The customer service rep said they are waiting for an update from Microsoft and have disabled the feature until then. He the feature has been turned off for everyone and he did not know what the update would be available. Are others able to access through the website?

[andrewhaji]

I called Bell today to determine why I cannot access the schedule and recording online through the Enterntainment Portal. The customer service rep said they are waiting for an update from Microsoft and have disabled the feature until then. He the feature has been turned off for everyone and he did not know what the update would be available. Are others able to access through the website?

It doesn't work for me, either. Thanks for looking into this--I'm not surprised that Bell is playing the blame game with Microsoft. But according to what we saw at CES this year, the new updates for Mediaroom (the software Bell's set-top boxes are built on) are pretty sweet, so I look forward to having these updates rolled out.

[-=phelan=-]

haven't given them a call in a little while, but anyone get service in west side mississauga?

[sujat]

I will call them today to see if they have expanded further into Mississauga. I called mid-Dec and the rep said Nope back then.

Anyone near Winston Churchill - Derry road area inquired?

[buyways]

I noticed it too, but I think I got used to it, even though the quality remained the same. Somehow, from my old fat TV (15 yrs old, still kicking), BES has much better picture.

At least for me, BES is a little more grainy and sometimes freezes 1/2 or 1 second. Rogers (8300HD) had more vivid pictures overall, but would sometimes had blocked chunky images and some recorded shows does not even start, and I should have selected other show and exit and select the same again and it plays.

I'm getting a much better overall picture on my 4-year old LCD than I did with Rogers (esp. no more chunkies), although I also see graininess sometimes (almost film-like; I wonder if it comes from the source, e.g. sometime scenes in a show will have it and then it goes away in other scenes...)

For those not satisfied with their PQ, trying changing the PVR's resolution output settings (I think it's menu-settings-television or something like that). I get the best with the output set to 1080i, even though my TV is a 720p.



Does the PVR allow you to record shows which are timeshifted? My installer told me that it doesn't allow it, and for that reason I didn't get it.

Yeah, that makes no sense to me either - the timeshifting is just a group of channels, as shown int he channel guide:

TIMESHIFTING
199 CJON St - John’s Newfoundland
202 ASN
203 CBC - Fredericton
204 Global - Halifax
226 CBC - Winnipeg
227 Global - Winnipeg
243 CTV - Calgary
250 CTV - Vancouver
251 CBC - Vancouver
252 Global - Vancouver
253 Citytv - Vancouver
255 E! Entertainment - BC
287 NBC - Seattle
288 ABC - Seattle
289 CBS - Seattle
290 Fox - Seattle
291 PBS - Seattle

[sansub]

Got connected today. I am very impressed with the internet speed. Here is the speed test result.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/684045885.png

I get 20mbps whether the TV is running or not. That is double the speed of Rogers Express that I have.

I am not really satisfied with the TV though. SD channels have vertical and horizontal bars (still searching for the Zoom/Stretch option). HD channels are good but very limited for Basic service. For 49$, I am not complaining :). Hopefully I can add insurance to the account (there are mixed responses on this topic). Overall, I am a happy customer for now.

[TypeVR6]

I will call them today to see if they have expanded further into Mississauga. I called mid-Dec and the rep said Nope back then.

Anyone near Winston Churchill - Derry road area inquired?

I did - not available yet. Conflicting information, Tech that came to my house recently to install DSL said that you need a minimum of 21mbps in order to be able to get iptv, which according to his meter my line is capable of. When you call it in - they say 21 is not enough.... Hopefully sometime this year!

[creoledude]

My quality seemed poor in the beginning then has gotten better over time, anyone else notice this??

I kinda of experience the same, at first the picture quality seemed poorer than Rogers....but now somehow it seems OK, not sure if my eyes just got used to it or not, however I noticed that the HDScore channel is definitely grainier than Rogers, anyone noticed that?

[visionqueen]

I'm getting a much better overall picture on my 4-year old LCD than I did with Rogers (esp. no more chunkies), although I also see graininess sometimes (almost film-like; I wonder if it comes from the source, e.g. sometime scenes in a show will have it and then it goes away in other scenes...)

For those not satisfied with their PQ, trying changing the PVR's resolution output settings (I think it's menu-settings-television or something like that). I get the best with the output set to 1080i, even though my TV is a 720p.




Yeah, that makes no sense to me either - the timeshifting is just a group of channels, as shown int he channel guide:

TIMESHIFTING
199 CJON St - John’s Newfoundland
202 ASN
203 CBC - Fredericton
204 Global - Halifax
226 CBC - Winnipeg
227 Global - Winnipeg
243 CTV - Calgary
250 CTV - Vancouver
251 CBC - Vancouver
252 Global - Vancouver
253 Citytv - Vancouver
255 E! Entertainment - BC
287 NBC - Seattle
288 ABC - Seattle
289 CBS - Seattle
290 Fox - Seattle
291 PBS - Seattle

thanks for info.

[-=phelan=-]

I did - not available yet. Conflicting information, Tech that came to my house recently to install DSL said that you need a minimum of 21mbps in order to be able to get iptv, which according to his meter my line is capable of. When you call it in - they say 21 is not enough.... Hopefully sometime this year!

i was told it was 25mbps line. I know where i'm @ we only have a 11mpbs line *according to bell rep* near erin mills & 403

[scarboroughjoe]

I've had the service for a month and I think it's great although I'm not much of a power user (I haven't even used the PVR to record yet).

My question is, does anyone here use Ninjavideo, and if so, is it working with Bell? I can't watch any of the divx streams, it just stays at 0% buffer. Is there any way to fix this?

[bigmike]

Just noticed that my upload speed has gone down from 11 to 4.5mb/s,anyone else has the same problem?

[congeestar]

Tech came by our house last week to install BES. After an hour of testing, he cancelled the installation. He said the line is too far away from the main box. So even the phone rep said its available in your area it doesnt mean its installable.:(

[Lexi]

i don't care if they're giving away stewardesses that poop chocolate bars and gold, i promised myself a loooong time ago never to get into bed with bell again and i'm sticking to it.

+1

[jarko]

is there a bandwidth download limit in this package?

[xGambitx]

Just noticed that my upload speed has gone down from 11 to 4.5mb/s,anyone else has the same problem?

its probably because your tv('s) are in use?

Edit: turn them all off and try measuring again.

[sansub]

is there a bandwidth download limit in this package?

60GB per month.

[KennethToronto]

Not sure how some people are getting 20/10.

I just got it and my speed is
http://www.speedtest.net/result/685884442.png

I think I need to call in and fix this.

[Importspeed]

anyone know what ports to set for listening for Torrents?

[andrewhaji]

anyone know what ports to set for listening for Torrents?

Opening up port 1723 seems to work for most people.

[andrewhaji]

Not sure how some people are getting 20/10.

I just got it and my speed is
http://www.speedtest.net/result/685884442.png

I think I need to call in and fix this.

Looks like you're still on an ADSL profile/DSLAM. Your upload should be WAY faster than that if you're on VDSL.

...unless you were uploading stuff at the time of the speed test.

[jed]

Originally Posted by milhouse6
i don't care if they're giving away stewardesses that poop chocolate bars and gold, i promised myself a loooong time ago never to get into bed with bell again and i'm sticking to it.

+10000

[GateGuardian]

anyone know what ports to set for listening for Torrents?

18664 works for me

[eh97ac]

Not sure how some people are getting 20/10.

I just got it and my speed is
http://www.speedtest.net/result/685884442.png

I think I need to call in and fix this.

Turn off all your STB's and run the test again with the closest server

[adrianf74]

I don't care if they're giving away stewardesses that poop chocolate bars and gold, I promised myself a loooong time ago never to get into bed with Bell again and I'm sticking to it.

+1

Hell Disability(tm) screwed me on a cell phone (Telus actually did something for me as a NEW CUSTOMER that Hell couldn't do as a long-term existing customer - something the office of Kevin Cruller even admitted sad defeat to).

Hell Sympatislow(tm) jacked up my "grandfathered" unlimited internet account from a contract price of $32.95 (with modem rental) to $52.95 + modem rental after having been with them for over 10 years. Left for Teksavvy as a result.

Hell Telephone(tm) offers stupid rates for a landline service and charges obscene rates for "calling features." Pulled the plug on them last year because they wanted $10+ more per month (nevermind "Smarttouch Features") compared with other Bell "Resellers."

Simply put, Hell(tm) will never see another dime (directly) from me for any of their services.

Yes, Robbers(tm) may have its issues but they've at least been accomodating over the years. With the introduction of Hell Entertainment (tm) and their offerings, I'm sure Robbers(tm) will make better offers to keep people.

[adrianf74]

Looks like you're still on an ADSL profile/DSLAM. Your upload should be WAY faster than that if you're on VDSL.

...unless you were uploading stuff at the time of the speed test.

Either that, or someone in India screwed with your profile. I've had similar situations where I only got those UPLOAD speed both ways - someone kept scr*wing with my profile. The first time, it took them over a month to "figure" this out including several calls to senior technical support people here in Canada.

Oddly enough; when I left Hell(tm), this never happened again.

[Fazilm]

Interesting - CanCon requirements might explain why BES doesn't have CNN, for example (my install tech said it was because Bell had to negotiate with the CRTC before it could include it; though he didn't refer to CanCon requirements).

I don't think bundling of channels is driven entirely by CanCon requirements though: you can't get a la carte cable channels in the states either:
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/FineOnMedia/archives/2009/12/will_fox_and_ti.html


The performance and quality of signals are very good and I do like the package , except for.......... I think Rogers has a better mix of channels in their VIP package. Their "News and Learning" pack misses the international news standard of CNN and CNN headline news. Also wished they had Turner Classic Movies. The HD basically just rebroadcasts the regular channels in HD format, so no real additional value there. Time shifting is not significantly different from Rogers.

Like performance but may have to return to Rogers for better channel mix.

[sansub]

+1

Hell Disability(tm) screwed me on a cell phone (Telus actually did something for me as a NEW CUSTOMER that Hell couldn't do as a long-term existing customer - something the office of Kevin Cruller even admitted sad defeat to).

Hell Sympatislow(tm) jacked up my "grandfathered" unlimited internet account from a contract price of $32.95 (with modem rental) to $52.95 + modem rental after having been with them for over 10 years. Left for Teksavvy as a result.

Hell Telephone(tm) offers stupid rates for a landline service and charges obscene rates for "calling features." Pulled the plug on them last year because they wanted $10+ more per month (nevermind "Smarttouch Features") compared with other Bell "Resellers."

Simply put, Hell(tm) will never see another dime (directly) from me for any of their services.

Yes, Robbers(tm) may have its issues but they've at least been accomodating over the years. With the introduction of Hell Entertainment (tm) and their offerings, I'm sure Robbers(tm) will make better offers to keep people.

Had a good laugh with all those (tm) names :) "Hell Disability" is cracking me up every time when I read it :)

In my case, I am either stuck with Bell or Rogers. I tried Teksavvy earlier but bell screwed me royally with profile. I only got 512kbps to 1MB. After many complains I decided to move to Rogers and now with Bell again (due to roger's higher usage charge). I will soon be moving to new house. When that happen, I am going to try Teksavvy again.

[PARIAHGRINCH]

The thing to remember about anything Bell is that they are a sleeping baby. DO NOT WAKE. If everything is running just OK leave it alone. Once you inquire about a few points of DL speed or a crackling in a phone line, you end up getting dinged 10 bucks more a month and half the features work. Don't pull the blankets up!

[HowEver]

If everything is running okay, why the heck would you do anything like that?

"Um, hello, service is good! Now please make it stop." ???


The thing to remember about anything Bell is that they are a sleeping baby. DO NOT WAKE. If everything is running just OK leave it alone. Once you inquire about a few points of DL speed or a crackling in a phone line, you end up getting dinged 10 bucks more a month and half the features work. Don't pull the blankets up!

[Importspeed]

Opening up port 1723 seems to work for most people.


18664 works for me

are you guys just setting the listening port on the torrent app? Or going into the router?

[escapehatch]

Hmm. Currently experiencing my first full outage of TV after 1 1/2 months. Will have to call them in the morning. Have rebooted everything and PVR just says BELL with nothing else. Before reboot it froze on a show.

Luckily Internet still works.

[deal_with_singh]

I hate calling bell...Those outsourced people in india don't have a clue what you're saying sometimes

[andrewhaji]

I hate calling bell...Those outsourced people in india don't have a clue what you're saying sometimes

Bell Entertainment has its own phone number which connects you directly with someone in Toronto who knows about this service. Calling 310-BELL will undoubtedly get you routed to India and to a person who knows nothing at all about this service.

[asirota]

Hmm. Currently experiencing my first full outage of TV after 1 1/2 months. Will have to call them in the morning. Have rebooted everything and PVR just says BELL with nothing else. Before reboot it froze on a show.

Luckily Internet still works.

Before you try to figure out the problem with Bell I'd suggest this:

1. get another wifi/ethernet router, I like the DLINK DIR-655

2. plug it into the alcatel lucent modem

3. power cycle the modem

4. soft - reset the STBs

Configure the Alacatel Lucent stop the wifi routing. Use the secondary router for all your ethernet/wifi activity.

Use the Alcatel Lucent VDSL modem ONLY for giving ethernet access to the router (1 LAN port) and nothing else. Let it do the video streaming to the STBs. I believe the Alcatel Lucent is the weak link in this setup, not the wiring as the techs may tell you.

More details are available on the Bell Entertainment Service Community Forum.. (http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=21)

[asirota]

Resetting the modem fixed the picture freeze problem the first time I had it.
It came back a few days ago and Bell is now going to replace the PVR. They recently did a software update and my PVR did not seem to like it.

I think that these type of problems will continue to creep up since you have the main point of distribution, then your modem, then your PVR for the signal to get transfered through. More processing points increase the likelihood of problems and the fact that the modem is also handling internet distribution only adds to this.

Still this is probably the wave of the future and Rogers must be dreading the day it becomes marketed on a large scale.

This is not a PVR problem in my opinion, you're probably overloading the alcatel lucent VDSL modem with wifi/ethernet traffic. See solution here (http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=21)

[bluedcfive]

got signed up in mid Dec and I still have not received a bill... is this typical or shall I call Bell?

[xstatik]

Bell Entertainment has its own phone number which connects you directly with someone in Toronto who knows about this service. .

Are you sure. I called direct to BES and got somone with a very strong Indian accent.

[escapehatch]

This is not a PVR problem in my opinion, you're probably overloading the alcatel lucent VDSL modem with wifi/ethernet traffic. See solution here (http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=21)

I turned it on in the morning and it was working. My recordings were retained as well as everything else.

[TypeVR6]

Are you sure. I called direct to BES and got somone with a very strong Indian accent.

You've never met anyone with an accent in Canada? Sigh...

The call center is here in Canada, not in India/Phillipines. It's a special group trained specifically for this service. As are their Field Techs, specifically trained group that installs/services BES. Regular field techs either know nothing of it or have not been trained on the service.

[McDealer]

Are you sure. I called direct to BES and got somone with a very strong Indian accent.

Are you sure it was Indian? In my experience most of the BES reps are bilingual and a few have strong French (Canadian) accents.

It's possible (likely) that support will eventually get out-sourced but for now I'm pretty sure it's Bell employees somewhere in Canada. (I heard Montreal).

[McDealer]

Several people have complained that CNN is missing from the BES line-up. Soon this won't be an issue. CNN is coming to BES on Feb 23rd. Also CNNHD and Headline News.

http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/channel_update.html

[johners]

Woohoo - finally...
I guess they must have done a deal with Turner Broadcasting as TCM is there also.

[frogger]

Anyone else's audio cut out for ~20 seconds at a time every half hour or so?

[loudsubz]

How does everyone like this $50 deal?

My DSL is coming to an end soon and if I continue on I am going to be paying about $38 a month, so I figured for a bit more I can get a PVR aswell, but have never used bell before so I don't know what to expect.

[loudsubz]

on another note is this iptv or sat dish for the tv?

if its iptv does anyone have it in the mississauga (401 and winston churchill area - meadowvale) or is it closer to T.O. for now?

[xGambitx]

get horrible service on the tv part. It's freezing too much and its unwatchable. The second receiver does not even have video. However, the internet seems to be just fine.

Anyone having these issues? I tried calling bell, agent mentioned he increased the bandwidth however it did not help at all.

Guess I'll have to call them back again tmr.

[XXmonetXX]

I had the same question. By turning off the STB, I've seen an increase in the download speed from 14 Mb/s to 20 Mb/s, but the upload speed has barely changed and is stuck at less than 2 Mb/s. Any reason(s) why and how can I increase the upload speed?

Thanks!


Turn off all your STB's and run the test again with the closest server

[Agamernon]

I had the same question. By turning off the STB, I've seen an increase in the download speed from 14 Mb/s to 20 Mb/s, but the upload speed has barely changed and is stuck at less than 2 Mb/s. Any reason(s) why and how can I increase the upload speed?

Thanks!

You can't increase the upload speed. My installers told me that Bell has adjusted the profiles for all accounts. Download remains unchanged but they have lowered all the upload speeds. They didn't know why it was done but it was done none the less.

[skywalker]

Anyone else's audio cut out for ~20 seconds at a time every half hour or so?

Yep. Later I change the audio from digital surround to stereo. So far it's fine.

I found there is no CC (closed captioning) buton on the remote. Has to go to manual to set it on and off.
I wish there is one button like TV remote easy turn on/off cc.

[McDealer]

get horrible service on the tv part. It's freezing too much and its unwatchable. The second receiver does not even have video. However, the internet seems to be just fine.

That is almost certainly an issue with the wiring between the Cellpipe modem and the Motorola STBs. If they are connected with coax cable, make sure all the connections are snug. If that doesn't fix it, you may need to have the in-house wiring re-done.

[mjjrules]

I called and the service is not available in the Milton Trails subdivision.

[escapehatch]

You can't increase the upload speed. My installers told me that Bell has adjusted the profiles for all accounts. Download remains unchanged but they have lowered all the upload speeds. They didn't know why it was done but it was done none the less.

My up speed is still ~12Mb and my down is usually 21Mb.

[SuckaB]

what in the world?! they bumped the prices on my latest statements...everything by a few dollars. Can they do that?

EDIT: blah...they can...

[GateGuardian]

Is this only available in Condos?

[escapehatch]

Several people have complained that CNN is missing from the BES line-up. Soon this won't be an issue. CNN is coming to BES on Feb 23rd. Also CNNHD and Headline News.

http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/channel_update.html

I still want to know what happened to AMC. It came and went.

[bigmike]

You can't increase the upload speed. My installers told me that Bell has adjusted the profiles for all accounts. Download remains unchanged but they have lowered all the upload speeds. They didn't know why it was done but it was done none the less.

I knew something was up ,so typical of bell.shoulda seed all my torrents 24/7 when I had the 12mb/s up.;)

[Importspeed]

i've seen a significant drop in speed. When I first installed, I got 20/10 speeds with the tv on and 2 laptops. Now it's 11.7/6. I've only had this service for like 2 weeks.

[xGambitx]

That is almost certainly an issue with the wiring between the Cellpipe modem and the Motorola STBs. If they are connected with coax cable, make sure all the connections are snug. If that doesn't fix it, you may need to have the in-house wiring re-done.

Yea, thats exactly whats going to happen. The tech is going to come for a visit and most likely going to end up re-wiring.

[andrewhaji]

You can't increase the upload speed. My installers told me that Bell has adjusted the profiles for all accounts. Download remains unchanged but they have lowered all the upload speeds. They didn't know why it was done but it was done none the less.

I'm not so sure about this. I just did a speed test and my upload is as fast as ever:

http://www.dslreports.com/im/85445562/36189.png

[statick]

Mine's pretty damn fast too

http://www.speedtest.net/result/690586770.png

[horco]

http://www.speedtest.net/result/690610027.png

http://www.pingtest.net/result/8495284.png

Upload is a bit slower now. Was about 8900 or so.

But my ping is lower this time around. It was about >20ms per hop now it's around 10.

[asirota]

get horrible service on the tv part. It's freezing too much and its unwatchable. The second receiver does not even have video. However, the internet seems to be just fine.

Anyone having these issues? I tried calling bell, agent mentioned he increased the bandwidth however it did not help at all.

Guess I'll have to call them back again tmr.

Some trouble shooting tips you can do on your own here

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=21

[asirota]

i've seen a significant drop in speed. When I first installed, I got 20/10 speeds with the tv on and 2 laptops. Now it's 11.7/6. I've only had this service for like 2 weeks.

It all depends on the TVs that are running and STBs that are turned on. Note that my upload speed did get cut in half recently.

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=31

[Stepmiller]

Any news on South-West Scarb?

[mcaj]

So, I have this service installed for almost a month now and I've been facing some problem with the modem/router (Cellpipe 7130).

It frequently has problems leasing out IP to devices wirelessly connected to it. I have around 5 laptops at home and I frequently get the "low or no connectivity" message when I try connecting to internet. When this happens, the laptop is assigned a 169.254.xx.xx IP, which generally indicates that your computer was unable to get an IP from the router. I've tried tweaking router settings by setting static lease (telling it to assign a certain IP based on MAC address) and even that didn't work.

It gets quite frustrating when this happens almost every day :cry: Is anyone else having these problems? I'm giving Bell a call, but I wonder whether I have a bad unit or does Cellpipe 7130 just suck?

[neilio]

Service for me has been up and down. Quality-wise, when it's working it's awesome - better picture than Rogers, fast channel changing, etc. Internet speed is great, though I've also noticed upload speed profiles getting moved around a bit. I'm still at around 21 down, 7 up, but my uploads have been as slow as 2mb as well.

The biggest issue is the TV portion sometimes dies, or recorded shows come back as a black screen. Based on posts I've read by U-verse users in the US (which has a similar system to Bell's, and uses the same Motorola box) this is a DRM / syncing issue with the main server. Frustrating, nonetheless.

My current issue originally started with weird sluggishness on the STB (changing channels was weirdly unresponsive, no recorded shows would play back). When I tried to do a soft reset on the STB (unplugged, waited 5 seconds, plugged back in) I get the single gear with the progress bar that slowly loads - I think this is the main software initializing.

Next I get two gears, with a three-dotted scroll bar at the bottom, similar to the Windows start up screen. I seem to be stuck on this screen - the process doesn't seem to go any further, at least in the past 30 minutes I've left the box.

I'll leave it over night and see what happens, but I'm not too hopeful - I had a previous issue where the STB completely died and they had to do some kind of reset on their end to bring it back.

Anyone else seen this issue? I heard they were planning to push out a major update to the STB, so maybe this is what killed mine?

[andrewhaji]

Next I get two gears, with a three-dotted scroll bar at the bottom, similar to the Windows start up screen. I seem to be stuck on this screen - the process doesn't seem to go any further, at least in the past 30 minutes I've left the box.

My first STB suffered from a similar issue. It was stuck at a screen with a scroll bar and wouldn't go any further. The Bell technician swapped it for a new box, no questions asked. You might have to do the same.

[asirota]

So, I have this service installed for almost a month now and I've been facing some problem with the modem/router (Cellpipe 7130).

It frequently has problems leasing out IP to devices wirelessly connected to it. I have around 5 laptops at home and I frequently get the "low or no connectivity" message when I try connecting to internet. When this happens, the laptop is assigned a 169.254.xx.xx IP, which generally indicates that your computer was unable to get an IP from the router. I've tried tweaking router settings by setting static lease (telling it to assign a certain IP based on MAC address) and even that didn't work.

It gets quite frustrating when this happens almost every day :cry: Is anyone else having these problems? I'm giving Bell a call, but I wonder whether I have a bad unit or does Cellpipe 7130 just suck?

Advice: The Cellpipe router sucks -- it's true. Follow this advice

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=10&sid=9fdc46988fa23a087482d83de5e8618d

Get a separate better router and leave the cellpipe to do the job for the STBs only. Hopefully Bell will replace the modem.

[asirota]

Service for me has been up and down. Quality-wise, when it's working it's awesome - better picture than Rogers, fast channel changing, etc. Internet speed is great, though I've also noticed upload speed profiles getting moved around a bit. I'm still at around 21 down, 7 up, but my uploads have been as slow as 2mb as well.

The biggest issue is the TV portion sometimes dies, or recorded shows come back as a black screen. Based on posts I've read by U-verse users in the US (which has a similar system to Bell's, and uses the same Motorola box) this is a DRM / syncing issue with the main server. Frustrating, nonetheless.

My current issue originally started with weird sluggishness on the STB (changing channels was weirdly unresponsive, no recorded shows would play back). When I tried to do a soft reset on the STB (unplugged, waited 5 seconds, plugged back in) I get the single gear with the progress bar that slowly loads - I think this is the main software initializing.

Next I get two gears, with a three-dotted scroll bar at the bottom, similar to the Windows start up screen. I seem to be stuck on this screen - the process doesn't seem to go any further, at least in the past 30 minutes I've left the box.

I'll leave it over night and see what happens, but I'm not too hopeful - I had a previous issue where the STB completely died and they had to do some kind of reset on their end to bring it back.

Anyone else seen this issue? I heard they were planning to push out a major update to the STB, so maybe this is what killed mine?

This all has to do with the relaibility of the STBs and getting an address from the Cellipipe modem -- sometimes you have to power cycle and reestablish the connectivity. Check this thread for more:

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=21

[McDealer]

I got BES installed about a week ago and have been meaning to share my experience. I am in central Toronto and my house is about 200 feet from the Bell box so I'm one of the lucky few who can get it today.

The install was quick and painless (less than 2 hours) since all my wiring comes together at one spot in my basement. The techs basically plugged the DSL modem into my existing phone line and my existing coax and we were ready to roll.

The TV service is about what I expected. Not every channel I want but more than enough. HD looks nearly as good as uncompressed over-the-air DTV and SD looks a lot better than I expected (most channels appear much less compressed than Rogers).

The Internet connection is nice and fast.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/692428596.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

Apparently the upload speed is being scaled back in new profiles but 4.5Mbit is plenty for me.

As an added bonus, the set-top boxes extend my home network so I no longer need power-line networking or wireless to connect my entertainment center to my home network (the router is in the basement and the TV is on the second floor). I just plug into the ethernet port on the back of the STB and it's connected to the Internet router over the coax HPNA. Nice.

As long as the service is discounted it's just about everything I could hope for.

[xGambitx]

the tech guy fianlyl came to my house and after 3 hours he couldn't figure out what was happening so he said there is something wrong outside the network.

Don't know what to do, the tv still doesn't work.

[escapehatch]

My upload speeds have dropped from ~12Mb to 1.5Mb in the last day :confused:

[rgilld]

Same with me. When first installed I was getting download and upload at
10 Mb/s and now the upload is about 2 Mb/s.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/692613721.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[skywalker]

As an added bonus, the set-top boxes extend my home network so I no longer need power-line networking or wireless to connect my entertainment center to my home network (the router is in the basement and the TV is on the second floor). I just plug into the ethernet port on the back of the STB and it's connected to the Internet router over the coax HPNA. Nice.

As long as the service is discounted it's just about everything I could hope for.

Great. I didn't notice that. I have a WDTV and was thinking get a wirelss USB adapter so it connects to my PC. Now a short cable fix all. Very nice indeed.
Thanks.:D

[crispwolf]

Same with me. When first installed I was getting download and upload at
10 Mb/s and now the upload is about 2 Mb/s.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/692613721.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

Same here,and I got disconnected several times in the last 2 weeks.

Tech Rep said they are working on upgrade and that would impact some users,I'm one of those 10% ,,twice.

[J-Wo]

So I guess the promo pricing has been extended by another year? Sounds good to me, moving into a new place downtown in April and looking forward to trying this out

[neilio]

Update on my issue - for the second time I had to do a full hard reset to fix the problem, which of course wiped out all of my recordings. The tech said issues like this are rare, but when they do happen a reset like this is the only way to fix it.

Annoying as hell, but as we don't really watch too much TV (and almost all of the recordings we had on the box were kid's shows) it's not the end of the world. I have to wonder if issues like this (and others people have noted here) are what continue to prevent Bell from doing a mass roll out of this product.

[crispwolf]

My modem hangup again tonight,have to reboot it to fix it. It's really annoying,and upload speed scale back to 2Mbps now.

Has anybody seen issue like this?

2010-01-24S22:46:01 PPPOE info [PPP36]LCP:No response to 4 echo-requests
2010-01-24S22:46:01 PPPOE info [PPP36]LCP:Serial link appears to be disconnected.
2010-01-24S22:46:01 PPPOE info [PPP36]IPCP down
2010-01-24S22:46:01 PPPOE info [PPP36]Connect time 11.5 minutes.
2010-01-24S22:46:01 PPPOE info [PPP36]Sent 37242 bytes, received 456351 bytes.
2010-01-24S22:46:03 DNSMASQ info using nameserver 207.164.234.129#53
2010-01-24S22:46:03 DNSMASQ info using nameserver 207.164.234.193#53
2010-01-24S22:46:04 PPPOE warn [PPP36]Couldn't increase MTU to 1500
2010-01-24S22:46:04 PPPOE warn [PPP36]Couldn't increase MRU to 1500
2010-01-24S22:46:04 PPPOE info [PPP36]LCP down
2010-01-24S22:46:07 PPPOE info [PPP35]LCP:No response to 4 echo-requests
2010-01-24S22:46:07 PPPOE info [PPP35]LCP:Serial link appears to be disconnected.
2010-01-24S22:46:07 PPPOE info [PPP35]IPCP down
2010-01-24S22:46:07 PPPOE info [PPP35]Connect time 11.6 minutes.
2010-01-24S22:46:07 PPPOE info [PPP35]Sent 120393 bytes, received 123597 bytes.
2010-01-24S22:46:07 PPPOE warn [PPP35]Couldn't increase MTU to 1500
2010-01-24S22:46:07 PPPOE warn [PPP35]Couldn't increase MRU to 1500
2010-01-24S22:46:07 PPPOE info [PPP35]LCP down
2010-01-24S22:46:10 PPPOE info [PPP36]No response from ISP.
2010-01-24S22:46:10 PPPOE info [PPP36]Connection terminated.
2010-01-24S22:46:12 PPPOE info [PPP36]Modem hangup
2010-01-24S22:46:13 PPPOE info [PPP35]No response from ISP.
2010-01-24S22:46:13 PPPOE info [PPP35]Connection terminated.
2010-01-24S22:46:14 PPPOE info [PPP35]Modem hangup

[asirota]

Update on my issue - for the second time I had to do a full hard reset to fix the problem, which of course wiped out all of my recordings. The tech said issues like this are rare, but when they do happen a reset like this is the only way to fix it.

Annoying as hell, but as we don't really watch too much TV (and almost all of the recordings we had on the box were kid's shows) it's not the end of the world. I have to wonder if issues like this (and others people have noted here) are what continue to prevent Bell from doing a mass roll out of this product.

From my experience I have found that the cellpipe 7130 is unreliable as a LAN switch. Attaching a separate router for your LAN traffic makes the whole thing work better. And it's more reliable for your wifi. See this post

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=10

for more details from several BES subscribers.

In general when you are having an issue with your STBs do the following

1) power cycle your dsl modem
2) wait about 30 minutes for it to reestablish the second VDSL2 connection
3) soft reset each STB using the power key hold for a few seconds procedure

I found that a hard reset did fix the problem but not for good. Attaching all my separate devices to a separate router makes everything more reliable.

[escapehatch]

My TV has been non-functional since last night. It pauses after 10 seconds of playing a live show. If I change the channel, it plays and then stops again. Internet is OK.

It was rock solid for a month and now seems quite flaky. Shame on Bell for implementing a new system, no matter how discounted, without first ironing out all the bugs.

[xGambitx]

My TV has been non-functional since last night. It pauses after 10 seconds of playing a live show. If I change the channel, it plays and then stops again. Internet is OK.

It was rock solid for a month and now seems quite flaky. Shame on Bell for implementing a new system, no matter how discounted, without first ironing out all the bugs.

+1000, sad part is i didn;t even get proper tv service since I have had the service (2 months).

[playanav]

Anyone know if Bell TV has the "COSMO" Channel?

sadly this is a deal breaker LoL

[1800XP]

Just called, no luck in Markham Hwy 7 + Warden. No fibre optics there I was told :(

[xGambitx]

finally i randomly got back service for tv today, even though the technician spent 3 hrs the other day trying to get it to work. :confused:

[crispwolf]

Confirmed all profile's upload speed being limited to 2Mbps,cuz earlier 10Mbps draw too much power on their side and caused problem.:cry:

[yds]

Confirmed all profile's upload speed being limited to 2Mbps,cuz earlier 10Mbps draw too much power on their side and caused problem.:cry:

I'm at about 4Mbps. Down from the 10Mbps earlier, but still better than 2Mbps.
http://www.speedtest.net/result/695918878.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[andrewhaji]

Confirmed all profile's upload speed being limited to 2Mbps,cuz earlier 10Mbps draw too much power on their side and caused problem.:cry:

Sadly, I can confirm this change. As of this morning, my upload speed is down to 2 mbps.

http://www.dslreports.com/im/85667009/69217.png

[yds]

Anyone try upgrading the hardware on the VIP1216 yet? ie: bigger HDD?
Asked this a while ago. Anyone try upgrading HDD to something bigger yet? Only thing I've been able to find about putting in a larger HDD is here (http://www.uverseusers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=128&Itemid=8)

[escapehatch]

Great. I didn't notice that. I have a WDTV and was thinking get a wirelss USB adapter so it connects to my PC. Now a short cable fix all. Very nice indeed.
Thanks.:D

Darn, I requested twisted pair to the STB rather than coax. This would have been nice to have.

[McDealer]

Darn, I requested twisted pair to the STB rather than coax. This would have been nice to have.

All I see on the back of the VIP are Coax and Ethernet. I am guessing that "twisted pair" means they ran a Cat-5 or better bundle, put RJ-45 (8P8C) connectors on it, and hooked it up to Ethernet ports on the Cellpipe and the STB. If so, good news, you have Ethernet cabling. Take the cable that goes to your STB and plug it into an Ethernet switch and you've got extra ports to plug everything into.

I haven't tried this but imagine it would work...

[escapehatch]

All I see on the back of the VIP are Coax and Ethernet. I am guessing that "twisted pair" means they ran a Cat-5 or better bundle, put RJ-45 (8P8C) connectors on it, and hooked it up to Ethernet ports on the Cellpipe and the STB. If so, good news, you have Ethernet cabling. Take the cable that goes to your STB and plug it into an Ethernet switch and you've got extra ports to plug everything into.

I haven't tried this but imagine it would work...

Correct, I had them run cat5 (which is twisted pair). I assumed introducing a switch would be a bad idea since it might introduce noise etc. I may try it.

[Webslinger]

I was pretty interested in this service until someone mentioned Bell throttles gaming traffic. Is that the case here as well?

What are pings like in WOW, Left4Dead2, Everquest, etc. with this new Bell Entertainment service?

[asirota]

If you are curious to see what the BES service looks like on a TV, I took about 20 screen shots of the various screens. I didn't take a playing video to show pause and rew/ff features, but I think you get the idea.

There are some technical info screens near the end for the really curious.

Enjoy!

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=50

[Anthem]

I was pretty interested in this service until someone mentioned Bell throttles gaming traffic. Is that the case here as well?

What are pings like in WOW, Left4Dead2, Everquest, etc. with this new Bell Entertainment service?

+1. Want to be sure that there are no bottlenecks on this system with concurrent use of multiple devices...

[beljevina]

Confirmed all profile's upload speed being limited to 2Mbps,cuz earlier 10Mbps draw too much power on their side and caused problem.:cry:If that's so, that is starting to lean this service to the sucky side. Combined with more folks climbing on board, it's to be expected speeds will be mandated down across the board on everything, even though there's a primarily fibre backbone - they'll come up with tiered (web) packages, like the ridiculous & severely lame 6+ packages Rogers has. Combined with Roger's criminal increase to a $50 quota overage fee, you know Bell's $30 has no reason to hold. It's not as if Bell has EVER offered a better technical product or been cost competitive. When in doubt, as a Canadian, prepared to be gouged and screwed over, due to false pretenses or a myriad of other Canadian non-competitive like tactics.

[llamasmurf]

I was pretty interested in this service until someone mentioned Bell throttles gaming traffic. Is that the case here as well?

What are pings like in WOW, Left4Dead2, Everquest, etc. with this new Bell Entertainment service?

for me pings are similar to what i had with regular bell internet

[MisterSkills]

I was pretty interested in this service until someone mentioned Bell throttles gaming traffic. Is that the case here as well?

What are pings like in WOW, Left4Dead2, Everquest, etc. with this new Bell Entertainment service?

Bell only throttles Peer to peer transfers during peak hours, like the WOW updater, but not the actual gaming.

It's also possible that if you do peer 2 peer transfers while you are gaming you might run into some problems.

[scarboroughjoe]

I've had the service for a month and I think it's great although I'm not much of a power user (I haven't even used the PVR to record yet).

My question is, does anyone here use Ninjavideo, and if so, is it working with Bell? I can't watch any of the divx streams, it just stays at 0% buffer. Is there any way to fix this?


Anyone encountering issues with Ninjavideo?

[DominicRFD]

thanks OP

[phht]

My wife and I both watch streaming live movies with acanac 5Mbps and unlimited, I saw some video lags sometimes as 5Mbps is not fast enuf if both us streaming at the same time for HQ movies from justin.tv.
So is Bell Entertainment Service better for us as it has faster speed?
the cap 60G is just barely meets our demand.
BES told me i need to cancel acanac before the contract expires in order to meet BES intallation at the end of Feb.
Does anyone have any issue with disconnecting acanac before the contract expires? (of course with no money back since i already paid up front for a full year). How long does it take from the day of cancelation till the line disconnected?
Thanks for any input

[mcaj]

If that's so, that is starting to lean this service to the sucky side. Combined with more folks climbing on board, it's to be expected speeds will be mandated down across the board on everything, even though there's a primarily fibre backbone - they'll come up with tiered (web) packages, like the ridiculous & severely lame 6+ packages Rogers has. Combined with Roger's criminal increase to a $50 quota overage fee, you know Bell's $30 has no reason to hold. It's not as if Bell has EVER offered a better technical product or been cost competitive. When in doubt, as a Canadian, prepared to be gouged and screwed over, due to false pretenses or a myriad of other Canadian non-competitive like tactics.

I was really wondering if there is any law that can restrict the severity of a penalty? The increase of overage from $25 to $50 is indeed ridiculous. You know how those payday loan sharks were finally roped in by capping their max. interest rate at 50%, something similar needs to happen here. But I wonder whether Rogers is trying to get people to stop downloading or if they're trying to make more money without raising base price.

[andrewlala]

dam they don't work on sunday.

anyone know if its available in houses? near Kennedy and Lawrence

[a in yul]

any news on this being available in Montreal and or the target date?

[Imelda_Acanac]

If you are on the first promo year with Acanac, you can
cancel anytime by emailing billing@acanac.com with the
reason why. You can request the termination date to time
with your Bell activation.
But there will be no refund if you used the year term.

Imelda O. Suzara
Acanac Rep


My wife and I both watch streaming live movies with acanac 5Mbps and unlimited, I saw some video lags sometimes as 5Mbps is not fast enuf if both us streaming at the same time for HQ movies from justin.tv.
So is Bell Entertainment Service better for us as it has faster speed?
the cap 60G is just barely meets our demand.
BES told me i need to cancel acanac before the contract expires in order to meet BES intallation at the end of Feb.
Does anyone have any issue with disconnecting acanac before the contract expires? (of course with no money back since i already paid up front for a full year). How long does it take from the day of cancelation till the line disconnected?
Thanks for any input

[beljevina]

...
Does anyone have any issue with disconnecting acanac before the contract expires? (of course with no money back since i already paid up front for a full year). How long does it take from the day of cancelation till the line disconnected?
Thanks for any inputI believe Rogers takes the full 30 days from your call & then disconnects - that way, they get the maximum amount of money from you. But ... if you have paid a full year in advance with Acanac, why would you disconnect it and cancel? Your Acanac comes in on coax cable; BES wires in their own ethernet cabling, and you should be able to use both - it'd be up to you which you want to have hooked up to your home PCs, or, you could purchase a load-balancing router (ie., DI-LB604) and have fantastic web throughput. If I get BES, I will for redundancy & livelihood need to have both.

[phht]

If you are on the first promo year with Acanac, you can
cancel anytime by emailing billing@acanac.com with the
reason why. You can request the termination date to time
with your Bell activation.
But there will be no refund if you used the year term.

Imelda O. Suzara
Acanac Rep

Thnks for quick reply, Imelda, timing the termination with Bell activation is a tricky part, I will request a termination day with Acanac, will acanac reply and confirm the day? my concern is that if Bell technicians comes to my house and the line with acanac is still on, i hope that won't happen


I believe Rogers takes the full 30 days from your call & then disconnects - that way, they get the maximum amount of money from you. But ... if you have paid a full year in advance with Acanac, why would you disconnect it and cancel? Your Acanac comes in on coax cable; BES wires in their own ethernet cabling, and you should be able to use both - it'd be up to you which you want to have hooked up to your home PCs, or, you could purchase a load-balancing router (ie., DI-LB604) and have fantastic web throughput. If I get BES, I will for redundancy & livelihood need to have both.

I am not aware of Acanac coming in on a coax cable, but my acanac dsl comes in from 2 copper phone lines which is also used by BES. So it does make sense when BES told me to disconnect acanac before BES installation, unless i want to spend extra $100 to open up a second phone line into the house. BES only uses coax (or CAT5) to connect between their boxes, the phone line is still the main feed to the BES modem.

[Webslinger]

Bell only throttles Peer to peer transfers during peak hours, like the WOW updater, but not the actual gaming.

It's also possible that if you do peer 2 peer transfers while you are gaming you might run into some problems.

I'd be pretty annoyed if Bell does port shaping with Steam, game downloads or otherwise, for example.

[fredsmith]

Why cancel? Just get a dry loop. Might be useful for the overages . . . .

[phht]

Why cancel? Just get a dry loop. Might be useful for the overages . . . .

This is a good idea, wonder if it requires new physical phone line and if bell agrees to that.

[andrewlala]

wow so pathetic...
i called them, they told me they stopped taking customers who live houses starting Jan.30....

[scamit]

I called again after 4 months and still no service in Duke of York Blvd and Webb Drive in Mississauga. 2 reps told me that all of Mississauga should have been completed by Feb 2010, obviously running behind.

[mlerner]

I called again after 4 months and still no service in Duke of York Blvd and Webb Drive in Mississauga. 2 reps told me that all of Mississauga should have been completed by Feb 2010, obviously running behind.

When hell freezes over. They only know what their computer tells them and it never matches up with their actual plans. It's likely you will never receive service.

[beljevina]

I am not aware of Acanac coming in on a coax cable, but my acanac dsl comes in from 2 copper phone lines which is also used by BES. So it does make sense when BES told me to disconnect acanac before BES installation, unless i want to spend extra $100 to open up a second phone line into the house. BES only uses coax (or CAT5) to connect between their boxes, the phone line is still the main feed to the BES modem.So sorry - my bad ... I though Acanac was coax and not DSL. Hope it turns out to be the better service for you. We other Mississaugians will sit around waiting for Bell to offer it up ... and then we'll sit around crossing our fingers hoping they don't undertake some other ploy to diminish the service or increase cost craftily.

[chrisuoft]

I am quite frustrated at Bell and their representatives. I was told last week by 2 different reps that the service was available in my building. I tried to order the service but his computer was down and could not schedule me for an install and that he'd call me back the following day. Of course I received no call back. So today I called, and was told that the service is not available in my building. Apparently there was a new directive given on the weekend that rolled back some of the service areas. Well unfortunately for me I already canceled my Rogers services.

The first rep refused to transfer me to a supervisor and was very rude. The second rep did transfer me and while the supervisor was curteous, he couldn't help me. He tried to sell me satellite tv and dsl. I want to complain to a higher Bell entity but I don't know if anyone can help at this point.

[andrewhaji]

Do keep in mind that this is an initial roll-out, and there are bound to be hiccups here and there. All things considered, things are going quite smoothly--quite rare for a roll-out of this nature.

[shadow_cruiser]

I called again after 4 months and still no service in Duke of York Blvd and Webb Drive in Mississauga. 2 reps told me that all of Mississauga should have been completed by Feb 2010, obviously running behind.

I was also told the same thing, though I'm located at Wolfedale and Burnhamthorpe. The rep actually said its best to stop calling and that Bell will let everyone know in my area when its available, through flyers I assume.

[frogger]

I was also told the same thing, though I'm located at Wolfedale and Burnhamthorpe. The rep actually said its best to stop calling and that Bell will let everyone know in my area when its available, through flyers I assume.

Its true they just came to my building a second time after coming in December (in the party room a few nights in a row), and they also haven't stopped sending me brochures about it even though I've been on it a month (I'm and DoY and Webb).

[Imelda_Acanac]

Email billing department and request the date if you
decide to switch dsl internet. I chatted with a Bell rep Lindsay
and she said their entertainment tv service is via
satellite, not dsl and copper phone lines. You get a free
dish, buy their receiver and pay a monthly service for
100 channels and hd channels.
You can get discounts if you get a bundle.

Update note: there are 2 types of Bell tv services
http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/package.html and
http://www.bell.ca/shopping/PrsShpPromo_WhyChooseBell_Television.page?language =en

Imelda O. Suzara
Acanac Rep


Thnks for quick reply, Imelda, timing the termination with Bell activation is a tricky part, I will request a termination day with Acanac, will acanac reply and confirm the day? my concern is that if Bell technicians comes to my house and the line with acanac is still on, i hope that won't happen



I am not aware of Acanac coming in on a coax cable, but my acanac dsl comes in from 2 copper phone lines which is also used by BES. So it does make sense when BES told me to disconnect acanac before BES installation, unless i want to spend extra $100 to open up a second phone line into the house. BES only uses coax (or CAT5) to connect between their boxes, the phone line is still the main feed to the BES modem.

[Chocolinx]

Email billing department and request the date if you
decide to switch dsl internet. I chatted with a Bell rep Lindsay
and she said their entertainment tv service is via
satellite, not dsl and copper phone lines. You get a free
dish, buy their receiver and pay a monthly service for
100 channels and hd channels.
You can get discounts if you get a bundle.

Imelda O. Suzara
Acanac Rep

What? TV via Satellite? I was under the impression this service was TV via Broadband (IPTV). That's why you need a set amount of bandwidth dedicated to the Box you receive.

[sujat]

Its true they just came to my building a second time after coming in December (in the party room a few nights in a row), and they also haven't stopped sending me brochures about it even though I've been on it a month (I'm and DoY and Webb).

Where in Mississauga are you located?

[frogger]

Where in Mississauga are you located?

Duke of York and Webb Dr

[satdude]

It is only for Condos and town house complexes and not for single house dwelling

[gei]

It is only for Condos and town house complexes and not for single house dwelling

Wrong.

Many "single house dwellings" in Mississauga have this service already. I know a few people myself.

[scamit]

Those brochures are so annoying. They send 2-3 each month. They just setup Expressvu dish a few months ago in my condo building and dont know if they will be in a hurry to upgrade. Would have made sense if they just waited a few months and ran fiber optics to the building.


Its true they just came to my building a second time after coming in December (in the party room a few nights in a row), and they also haven't stopped sending me brochures about it even though I've been on it a month (I'm and DoY and Webb).

[beljevina]

Feel free to call, but I just called and without providing my tel # or address, the fellow's 1st question was am I in a large condo or apartment - that's a new script. When I said no, he said that is the new edict of 2 days ago, where they are 'concentrating' on apartment/condo units solely. Seemed to say they don't have enough capacity - didn't want to question a struggling CSR on was that due to bandwidth or infrastructure upgrade costs.

We went through the exercise of my address & tel # being looked up and it was a 'sorry, no go.' CSR said they'd be offering targeted mailings to entire areas of Mississauga when it's available, and seemed to indicate it will be a formal full fledged offering, out of the trail mode that it's sort of in right now. He threw out April, May as timeframes, which feels akin to my calling since September being given an ETA of 2-4 weeks for my area. (Creditview/Britannia)

Asked me if I was satisfied - I said no, as Bell corporate has obviously changed it's approach, again. Guess we better get ready to cough up for the doubling to $50 of Roger's 60GB overage charges for many months to come.

[chinmoku_tak]

any luck on Winston Churchill - Derry/401 area?

[mcaj]

Wrong.

Many "single house dwellings" in Mississauga have this service already. I know a few people myself.

+1
I live on Mavis & Burhamthorpe and I have this service since December (2009). I know plenty of people in "downtown Mississauga" who live in houses and have this service as well. The technician did say their target is condos (initially), but I guess Bell is desperate to get more guinea pigs to test out their new service. Well, enjoy while it lasts.

I wonder how many of you would be willing to pay double the price when the promotional pricing is up. And what does Rogers have in store?

[asirota]

It is only for Condos and town house complexes and not for single house dwelling

That's not quite right -- here's a listing of folks that have installed BES -- feel free to add your location -- may help others looking for the service.

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewforum.php?f=15

[asirota]

Do keep in mind that this is an initial roll-out, and there are bound to be hiccups here and there. All things considered, things are going quite smoothly--quite rare for a roll-out of this nature.

Indeed -- there are lots of happy people with this service -- it's a terrific option and alternative to Rogers. There are many reviews being posted -- add yours today...

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewforum.php?f=16

Also there are some terrific suggestions on improvement of speed with the service esp related to DNS

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewforum.php?f=11

[Gee]

I just discovered this thread and spent the whole day reading 960 posts

I am going to call tomorrow, I hope they will let another house slip in.

[netcbc]

Got my first bill, which was 2 months worth, interesting enough they didn't charge me for my internet overage?? Is their grace period for going over in the few first months or shall I expect an increase on my next bills?

[McDealer]

Update note: there are 2 types of Bell tv services

Correct, but this thread is about Bell Entertainment, not Bell TV (formerly ExpressVu) or Bell TV for Condos.

Bell TV installs a satellite dish on your house. Bell TV for Condos uses a dish on the building and distributes signals to units over existing wiring. We are not talking about those services.

Bell Entertainment is IPTV over DSL.

If you call Bell's regular number you will get all kinds of bad information. For information on BES you must call the dedicated number or visit their website:

http://entertainment.bell.ca


It is only for Condos and town house complexes and not for single house dwelling

WRONG. I have a house and I have BES.

In central Toronto it is offered to individual houses in many neighbourhoods where there is enough density. In the burbs where density is low it may be a long time before they install it.

Hope this eliminates some of the confusion.

[sansub]

CAUTION (EXTRA CHARGE) (was it already mentioned by anyone else?):

If you have telephone connection with another company, bell will charge you 99$ for the additional "dry loop" connection they put in place. Entertainment rep won't tell you when you sign up but you will be hit with the 100$ by "another department" in bell and it is NOT REVERSIBLE. >:(. They told me there is not setup fee when I asked multiple time about it and I already told the rep about my teksavvy phone connection (so it is not like they found it at the time of installation). No one told me about this extra fees until I get the bill. Bell sucks.. I am with them for about 15 days only and already am pretty p*ssed. I am stuck with one crappy provider (bell) to another (rogers). Earlier, my Teksaavy DSL connection was screwed royally by bell.

At least the CR I talked to today is very nice. He understood my concern and gave me one month free service (50$) and asked me to give the "other department" (bell main) a call to see whether I can wave the charges.

[sansub]

Got my first bill, which was 2 months worth, interesting enough they didn't charge me for my internet overage?? Is their grace period for going over in the few first months or shall I expect an increase on my next bills?

My total allowance is 160.65GB. Don't know why there is 100GB more in my allowance. I am sure I will be hit with extra charges. Gonna wait for my first month bill. We are the beta testers :)

[gamer123]

Available in Markham yet?

[railer]

folks..my condo is eligible to get either of these 2 services...however im not quite sure whts the differences between the 2..as far as i know. both services will be coming off my telephone jack....:confused:

so which 1 do u think would be better...?

[althoma1]

Feb 10th, 2010 12:17 AM
railer internet thru BES or the new fibe 25

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
folks..my condo is eligible to get either of these 2 services...however im not quite sure whts the differences between the 2..as far as i know. both services will be coming off my telephone jack....

so which 1 do u think would be better...?


BES is the better deal by far with the current pricing. You'll get Fibe 25 internet, plus a TV package (coming in over the same line) for less than the price of Fibe 25 alone and the modem rental is included. That's because all BES packages are 50% off until December 31, 2010. If you have both options it makes complete sense to go with BES. If you went with Fibe 25 only you'd end up paying more per month in 2010 and you'd have to pay for TV on top of that. The decision should be pretty obvious.

[jebise]

i been trying to get this since last year, living in mississauga. Wondering if anyone got it in mississauga yet? Also a friend wants it as well and he livees in brampton/georgetown. I wonder if he can get it there.

I would think if mississauga dose not have it then brampton will not either, but who am i to say.

[netcbc]

Hey, what do you your total allowance is 160.65GB, how do you know? Or do you mean dl'ed that much in a month?

As you said, we're beta testers so I'm guessing it's a soft limit for now....

Really happy so far, super fast consistently, HD channels looking great...

** Biggest problem is whenever my console goes into sleep mode when I turn it off, when I turn it back on, the blue signal on the front of the console keeps blinking this flips the TV between 480 and 1080, I have to hold the power button to do a soft reset to fix it...... kinda annoying but apparently Bell said they are aware of it and will be upgrading the consoles soon.....


My total allowance is 160.65GB. Don't know why there is 100GB more in my allowance. I am sure I will be hit with extra charges. Gonna wait for my first month bill. We are the beta testers :)

[beljevina]

i been trying to get this since last year, living in mississauga. Wondering if anyone got it in mississauga yet? Also a friend wants it as well and he livees in brampton/georgetown. I wonder if he can get it there.

I would think if mississauga dose not have it then brampton will not either, but who am i to say.
A fair # of people have had it installed in Mississauga, but only if Bell has upgraded their regional equipment to be able to handle the higher speeds; ie., Mavis/Eglinton apparently has it.

BUT ... as of Feb 1, they are no longer doing residential installs, only condos, where they've chosen to offer it. Call the BES # and confirm. My sense is it'll be many months (ie., fall 2010), before they choose to upgrade and offer to the broader public. Hence, another insult lobbed at existing or potential Bell customers.

[railer]

BES is the better deal by far with the current pricing. You'll get Fibe 25 internet, plus a TV package (coming in over the same line) for less than the price of Fibe 25 alone and the modem rental is included. That's because all BES packages are 50% off until December 31, 2010. If you have both options it makes complete sense to go with BES. If you went with Fibe 25 only you'd end up paying more per month in 2010 and you'd have to pay for TV on top of that. The decision should be pretty obvious.

Yes i agree BES is obliviously a better choice, however im just trying to understand what is the difference between the 2, rather than which one was a hotter deal (though posting the qs in a hot deal section, didnt help my cause).

From what i understand, the Fibe 25 is basically an upgrade ADSL 2+ service or VDSL, but the wiring layout is FTTN and copper wire all the way to the condo. so i guess im trying to understand if BES is delivered thru the same infastructure (its got to be)

[Wat_Da_Dealio]

Anyone else having this problem lately?

About 60% of the things I've been recording of late are not recording.
The title will show up in my recordings, I will try to play it, but it will just be blank and nothing will start.

It's getting really annoying. I already hate that I don't get Sportsnet HD and TSN2HD since I love HD sports, if things aren't going to record properly now either I might have to go back to Rogers, even though I hate them. :(

[yds]

About 60% of the things I've been recording of late are not recording.
The title will show up in my recordings, I will try to play it, but it will just be blank and nothing will start.


We had this problem with a few movies we recorded. I thought at the time that perhaps it was because of the network being down (we mostly record things in the middle of the night) or even recording a channel we didn't get. I'm glad I can confirm others are having the same issue.

[vladislav]

We had this problem with a few movies we recorded. I thought at the time that perhaps it was because of the network being down (we mostly record things in the middle of the night) or even recording a channel we didn't get. I'm glad I can confirm others are having the same issue.

Same problem, some channels are just 'frozen' so recordings don't happen.

There is also a problem with surround sound. In stereo everything works fine but as soon as I enable surround the sound craps out within 10 minutes. This is truly a beta service.

[andrewhaji]

I have experienced the issue with surround sound. Whenever I'm listening to audio over HDMI, and it's set for "surround sound", the audio starts crapping out within a few minutes of watching TV.

My solution was to connect a separate optical cable and listen to audio that way.

I have also experienced the issue of certain episodes of a TV show not taping. They appear in the guide but the recording application isn't picking them up for recording.

My solution was to tell it to record all new AND re-run episodes of the series. It seems to be picking up all the episodes that way.

[neilp]

We had this problem with a few movies we recorded. I thought at the time that perhaps it was because of the network being down (we mostly record things in the middle of the night) or even recording a channel we didn't get. I'm glad I can confirm others are having the same issue.

I noticed this with a few programs I knew recorded properly: I had watched them off the PVR at least, but was saving them either for my wife to watch, or to transfer to DVD. It seems like anything I had on the PVR prior to February 5th or 6th (can't remember off the top of my head) has gone "blank", and I can no longer watch them.

[sansub]

Hey, what do you your total allowance is 160.65GB, how do you know? Or do you mean dl'ed that much in a month?


My total allowance is 160.65GB and out of it, I have used (downloaded) about 130GB. I am just seeing it online (usage screen). The following is what I see in the usage screen (couldn't upload the image)

Usage included in plan : 60.00 GB
Additional Usage Allowance: 100.65 GB

I haven't received my first month bill yet so don't know what this extra thingy is.



About 60% of the things I've been recording of late are not recording.
The title will show up in my recordings, I will try to play it, but it will just be blank and nothing will start.


I had the same issue recently (lost the "Lost" episode) but I thought it is due to the PVR making space for new recordings. There is a setting in the recording to indicate whether you want to let the PVR delete the recorded program when it needs the space or not (if it deletes it to make space, it should have deleted the titles too. who knows).

[sansub]

I noticed this with a few programs I knew recorded properly: I had watched them off the PVR at least, but was saving them either for my wife to watch, or to transfer to DVD.

How do you transfer it to DVD? I thought you can't do it due to the encryption...

[Dota]

Hey guys, I've had this service for about 2 years and my experience has been excellent. Sure, there are some glitches now and then such as a little lag, but only for a couple days out of the year maybe. The network is pretty much never down for me...given the price and what you're getting, this thing is miles ahead of anything that Rogers has got. The only thing that Rogers might have over this is better on-demand and tsn2 in hd, but Bell is always adding new channels and it should only be a matter of time.

[DominicRFD]

Hey guys, I've had this service for about 2 years and my experience has been excellent. Sure, there are some glitches now and then such as a little lag, but only for a couple days out of the year maybe. The network is pretty much never down for me...given the price and what you're getting, this thing is miles ahead of anything that Rogers has got. The only thing that Rogers might have over this is better on-demand and tsn2 in hd, but Bell is always adding new channels and it should only be a matter of time.

I agree, this service is the best I've had.


As for the PVR not playing saved recordings, the techie from bell said its a network issue and they're working on it.

[silvery]

Anyone else having this problem lately?

About 60% of the things I've been recording of late are not recording.
The title will show up in my recordings, I will try to play it, but it will just be blank and nothing will start.

It's getting really annoying. I already hate that I don't get Sportsnet HD and TSN2HD since I love HD sports, if things aren't going to record properly now either I might have to go back to Rogers, even though I hate them. :(

Yeah my recording of 24 on Monday didnt record!! I had to watch in in low res on my laptop (arggggg!)....they better resolve this soon!

[netcbc]

Interesting, what package are you on, or did you pay extra for the Additional Usage Allowance: 100.65 GB??


My total allowance is 160.65GB and out of it, I have used (downloaded) about 130GB. I am just seeing it online (usage screen). The following is what I see in the usage screen (couldn't upload the image)

Usage included in plan : 60.00 GB
Additional Usage Allowance: 100.65 GB

I haven't received my first month bill yet so don't know what this extra thingy is.



I had the same issue recently (lost the "Lost" episode) but I thought it is due to the PVR making space for new recordings. There is a setting in the recording to indicate whether you want to let the PVR delete the recorded program when it needs the space or not (if it deletes it to make space, it should have deleted the titles too. who knows).

[Iggynatz]

I had Bell Fibe 25 and sat TV installed a couple days ago and the installer said that the launch of this service was a huge headache and was not going well. I suppose he could have meant a couple different things by that though. While I was at work, he told my wife that we wouldn't be able to get it for 5-6 years, which seems insane considering there are people within walking distance in my neighbourhood that have this service. I'm thinking perhaps he was referring to FTTH.

[asirota]

I agree, this service is the best I've had.


As for the PVR not playing saved recordings, the techie from bell said its a network issue and they're working on it.

We`ve started a forum to trouble shoot this blank recordings issue over at

http://bellent.currentinternet.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=75

[ipassgas]

CAUTION (EXTRA CHARGE) (was it already mentioned by anyone else?):

If you have telephone connection with another company, bell will charge you 99$ for the additional "dry loop" connection they put in place. Entertainment rep won't tell you when you sign up but you will be hit with the 100$ by "another department" in bell and it is NOT REVERSIBLE. >:(. They told me there is not setup fee when I asked multiple time about it and I already told the rep about my teksavvy phone connection (so it is not like they found it at the time of installation). No one told me about this extra fees until I get the bill. Bell sucks.. I am with them for about 15 days only and already am pretty p*ssed. I am stuck with one crappy provider (bell) to another (rogers). Earlier, my Teksaavy DSL connection was screwed royally by bell.

At least the CR I talked to today is very nice. He understood my concern and gave me one month free service (50$) and asked me to give the "other department" (bell main) a call to see whether I can wave the charges.


I just got my second bell bill. 1st bill was fine ($80 plus tax). This bill has an extra $99 under "telephone". I have my phone with primus. I made 100% sure before I signed up that installation was free and they knew 100% for sure that I didn't have a bell phone line. They made it very very clear (and I checked 3 times) that there would be no fee for the "dry loop" they had to set up. Anyone else have this problem. How did you solve it? Bell is closed now, but will I have to wait on hold for a year and fight with a bunch of non english speaking clowns over this? Bell sucks. Any advice?

[ipassgas]

I just got my second bell bill. 1st bill was fine ($80 plus tax). This bill has an extra $99 under "telephone". I have my phone with primus. I made 100% sure before I signed up that installation was free and they knew 100% for sure that I didn't have a bell phone line. They made it very very clear (and I checked 3 times) that there would be no fee for the "dry loop" they had to set up. Anyone else have this problem. How did you solve it? Bell is closed now, but will I have to wait on hold for a year and fight with a bunch of non english speaking clowns over this? Bell sucks. Any advice?

Spoke to them today....escalated 3 levels. The charge is for the "dry loop" because I have phone with Primus. I specifically called several times before getting the install.... they made it very clear that there was no charge for installation, even for the "dry loop". All of the sudden they're changing the rules. The guy has now escalated this to a "vice president" (whatever that means). He offered a one month credit, but I told him that out of principle this wasn't good enough, that I refuse to pay for the $99. If anyone else is in the same boat, please send me a PM. Maybe we'll have better luck with a group complaint.

[escapehatch]

I agree, this service is the best I've had.


As for the PVR not playing saved recordings, the techie from bell said its a network issue and they're working on it.

They continue to advertise the fact that you can manage your PVR remotely with the BES portal, but that doesn't seem to work either.

[reviveL]

The rep told me that my area doesn't have the Bell entertainment service, however Bell's Fibe 25 is available in my area. I guess it isn't really dependant on the service your area gets.

[infamouskid]

http://entertainment.bell.ca/en/channel_update.html
looks like they updated their channel line up.

[sansub]

Spoke to them today....escalated 3 levels. The charge is for the "dry loop" because I have phone with Primus. I specifically called several times before getting the install.... they made it very clear that there was no charge for installation, even for the "dry loop". All of the sudden they're changing the rules. The guy has now escalated this to a "vice president" (whatever that means). He offered a one month credit, but I told him that out of principle this wasn't good enough, that I refuse to pay for the $99. If anyone else is in the same boat, please send me a PM. Maybe we'll have better luck with a group complaint.

Did they install a wall jack in your home? After countless phone calls, this is what I was told at the end by one of the CS persons. Yes, they did install a jack in my home as part of the setup but they didn't tell me any charge at the time of the installation. The bell rep said the charge cannot be reversed and apologized for not telling about it upfront (I would have said 'no' to installing a new jack if it involves 99$ since I already have a setup to connect the computer to the nearest point of another wall jack. I even told the technicians to use it).

[Webslinger]

The rep told me that my area doesn't have the Bell entertainment service, however Bell's Fibe 25 is available in my area. I guess it isn't really dependant on the service your area gets.

There is no technical reason why BES can't be installed for you. They just don't want to because you're not in a specified area where they are allowing new customers to join. If they can install Fibe 25, they can install BES as well (they just don't want to).

I am in the same boat you're in, and I'm extremely annoyed.

The full BES launch is rumoured to be in May 2010.

[bug]

There is no technical reason why BES can't be installed for you. They just don't want to because you're not in a specified area where they are allowing new customers to join. If they can install Fibe 25, they can install BES as well (they just don't want to).

I am in the same boat you're in, and I'm extremely annoyed.

The full BES launch is rumoured to be in May 2010.

The same thing here. The agent told me that all the equipment is in place to handle the service but that Bell just isn't offering the service here yet.

[Agamernon]

There is no technical reason why BES can't be installed for you. They just don't want to because you're not in a specified area where they are allowing new customers to join. If they can install Fibe 25, they can install BES as well (they just don't want to).

I am in the same boat you're in, and I'm extremely annoyed.

The full BES launch is rumoured to be in May 2010.

Just because someone is fed with Fibe 25 does NOT mean that they can get BES. BES requires there to be a Video Server in the CO. And not all CO's have the VSO server.

[xGambitx]

anyone getting interuptions?

My internet seems to disconnect and reconnect automatically within a couple of seconds, however my tv portion of the service some times is out for days.

I can live with the internet like that but TV not working for hours to days at times is not cool.

Anyone else/?

[crispwolf]

I had quite a few interruptions in the first half month,and later a technician check the outdoor line and fixed it for me.

But I can't get any credit because the rep said the half price already includes incidents like that. :evil:

[Webslinger]

Just because someone is fed with Fibe 25 does NOT mean that they can get BES. BES requires there to be a Video Server in the CO. And not all CO's have the VSO server.

I was told that "you qualify for BES under our old system, but you do not qualify under our new system". And I've been told by more than one person at Bell that it could be installed today, but they simply aren't installing it for new customers in my area yet. I also qualify under Iqual.

I've also been in contact with Kevin Crull's office about this and was essentially told the same thing.
If the problem is an absence of a VSO server for my area, I would (or should) be told the service isn't ready in my area. Instead, I'm being told the service is ready.

[buyways]

anyone getting interuptions?

My internet seems to disconnect and reconnect automatically within a couple of seconds, however my tv portion of the service some times is out for days.

I can live with the internet like that but TV not working for hours to days at times is not cool.

Anyone else/?

I had a problem last week (picture frozen, then blank screen on reboot). I solved it by logging into the router and telling it to reboot, then by going to the PVR settings menu and telling it to reboot. (sorry, don't recall exactly how, but the login address and username/pwd for the router are in this thread, and there aren't that many places you have to hunt around to find either reboot option.)

Alternatively, call them - even after hours they responded immediately when I lost the guide function.

[ipassgas]

Now my PVR isn't working. All shows from before 2 weeks ago are listed but blank. Called tech support. They're "working on the problem". Also now getting frequetn audio drop outs.

[skyngai]

My total allowance is 160.65GB and out of it, I have used (downloaded) about 130GB. I am just seeing it online (usage screen). The following is what I see in the usage screen (couldn't upload the image)

Usage included in plan : 60.00 GB
Additional Usage Allowance: 100.65 GB

I haven't received my first month bill yet so don't know what this extra thingy is.



I had the same issue recently (lost the "Lost" episode) but I thought it is due to the PVR making space for new recordings. There is a setting in the recording to indicate whether you want to let the PVR delete the recorded program when it needs the space or not (if it deletes it to make space, it should have deleted the titles too. who knows).

Hi.

For the Additional Usage Allowance: 100.65 GB...do you have to pay for it.
how much is your monthly payment for now?

Thank You

[icy_krystalz]

Did they install a wall jack in your home? After countless phone calls, this is what I was told at the end by one of the CS persons. Yes, they did install a jack in my home as part of the setup but they didn't tell me any charge at the time of the installation. The bell rep said the charge cannot be reversed and apologized for not telling about it upfront (I would have said 'no' to installing a new jack if it involves 99$ since I already have a setup to connect the computer to the nearest point of another wall jack. I even told the technicians to use it).

I was also charged a $99 single line inside wiring fee. I was not notified of this charge beforehand and on the receipt they gave me after the installation, it stated the $200 installation charge is waived, which is misleading. You waive a fee and not let the client know about a hidden fee?

What single line inside wiring? They just drilled holes in my house to make it easier for themselves.....

Anyone else have this issue?