Telus OPTIC Experiences - Should I get one?

[heavyheavyfuel]

I am looking at switching from Bell ExpressVu satellite for my TV and going to the Telus Optik internet TV solution. I am looking for information on how much the TV signal through your internet affects you using the computer while people are using the TV. I have heard for the most part that things are good, but if you pause and then start watching TV that the show is very choppy.

I have 2 SD televisions and a pretty decent Telus bundle for my phone & internet service. I understand that there is not UHF remote for the second TV, so how does that work? Does the XBOX 360 come into play with this, or is that purely a promotional deal?

Any comments or links to information is appreciated.

[staeit]

I am looking at switching from Bell ExpressVu satellite for my TV and going to the Telus Optik internet TV solution. I am looking for information on how much the TV signal through your internet affects you using the computer while people are using the TV. I have heard for the most part that things are good, but if you pause and then start watching TV that the show is very choppy.

I haven't seen any choppiness at all when doing what you described. In my house I have one HDTV and one old CRT that can only use SDTV. The only thing I can say about this is that when you are watching an HDTV show on one TV and a standard def show on the other, it does slow the internet down significantly. I mean, I get probably 13 Mbps down on average when no TV's are in use, and that drops to about 6 Mbps when both tv's are in use. Pretty significant difference, but it doesn't really have too much of an impact unless you are downloading some large files. Regular browsing still seems reasonably fast at 6 Mbps.

I have 2 SD televisions and a pretty decent Telus bundle for my phone & internet service. I understand that there is not UHF remote for the second TV, so how does that work? Does the XBOX 360 come into play with this, or is that purely a promotional deal?

Any comments or links to information is appreciated.

Not really sure what you mean. If you are on Optik you have to have an HD box or HDPVR connected to all TV's in the house. Each box comes with a remote. You can use the Xbox 360 as a STB instead, but yeah this is a promotional thing. Really you end up paying for the Xbox 360, and as I had no need for one, nor did I want to sign a contract, I didn't do this.

Other thoughts: I'm generally fairly impressed with Telus as a provider. Their boxes run software developed by Microsoft, and the user interface is quite excellent. If you want to record you only need a single PVR in the house and all other boxes can record to that PVR (which has a 320GB hdd). There's also an iPhone app that allows you to control your PVR remotely which is a bonus.

I also really like that they don't monitor the bandwidth on ADSL2+ lines. There is a "cap" of 125GB (I think) but it is not enforced at all. The only complaint I have is with the router they provided me - we have probably 10 devices in the house that connect to the router via WiFi, and it is less stable than desirable. On average about 2-3 times a week (when it's very active) it crashes and reboots. Don't know if you will experience a similar issue as I believe you will likely be getting the actiontech modem with Wireless N and Gigabit ethernet, which is hopefully more stable.

[NagoyaX]

Optik tv work wellf or me.
I dont use xbox though

[Telus.Rep]

very useful

[heavyheavyfuel]

Just a quick note that after 6 months with Telus OPTIK running at our residence, we really love it overall. Some minor glitches, but tons better than what we had before. Oh, we have had to call Telus a couple times for assistance and all the CSR's were very friendly and helpful. Well Done!!

[heavyheavyfuel]

Had the roof reshingled recently and told the roofers to take the satellite dish off for me. I am so happy to see the dish off the roof and almost out of my life. Any Ideas on what I should do with the dish now, is there anything useful to do, or just trash it? I gave the dual receiver to a guy at work, but he already had a dish.

BTW, my wife really likes the Telus OPTIK system over Bell ExpressVu. If she is happy, I am happy, lol.
I am very happy with my Telus bundle.....no problems at all.

[heavyheavyfuel]

We have recently been having problems with the remote for the main set top box/pvr for the Optik system after using it for about 1 year. The "<" part of the volume control is not really working any longer and it is very hard to turn down the volume of the TV using the remote. Did some research and it is a "known issue" with Telus, the button inside just wears out or gets stuck. I tried to take the remote apart thinking I could fix it myself. (If you take the batteries out, there is a very small Torx screw in there holding it together.) Took the screw out and the remote still would not come apart, not sure what else is holding it together.

Called Telus about the remote issue and the said they will send us one in the mail and it will be up to 5 business days to get. Received the remote in he mail in 2 days, thanks! Replacement remote is exactly the same as the original, so I expect it to have a lifespan of a about another year. Good news is that Telus did not charge us for the replacement remote, gratis.

Wife is the one that watches a lot of TV and she is very impressed with Telus OPTIK, especially compared to the Bell satellite system that we had previous.