Reasons why I switched from Starchoice to Bell ExpressVu

canuck · 04-11-2007, 11:15 PM

The Bad

Receiver lockup – on a regular basis my Motorola 505 and HD PVR 530 would lockup and need to be reset. This would mostly happen while I was checking the guide for something watch. Reseting the box would wipe out the guide and it would take 15 minutes plus to reload the info. I spoke to Starchoice and they replaced my 530. The new one still locked up. I spoke to a few honest and ethical support people who admitted the Motorola 530 and 505 have had this issue for over a year and Motorola is STILL working on it.

My second 530 also had issues with the PVR, it would not record full programs. The senior tech I spoke to told me not to change the channel for 15 minutes after setting the receiver to record another channel due to the functionality of the hard drive buffer. (nice job Motorola)

After 3 months of this I asked to cancel my service and for a refund on the three receivers I bought. I was told that (your going to like this) if I canceled my service I would be charged $200 which would be refunded when I returned the equipment. No cash would be given to me! I paid close to $1000 for the three receivers. After 3 phone calls most of it on hold and being bounced from one customer service rep to next for 2 hours they were nice enough to tell me I could keep the equipment that did not work and I would not have to pay them $200 to keep it.

The good

Until I received my new Bell ExpressVu 9200 dual tuner PVR I did not know what I had been missing!

1. Starchoice has little to no program searching ability compared to Bell.

2. Starchoice’s porn channels (descriptive names) are listed right beside the HD channels (HD is where I go first to see what is on. For some people this is nice, for people with kids like me, not so much. Yes you can lock them out, but when you reset your receiver , it locks out all the channels until you download the guide again. 15 minutes later…

3. PVR functionality, Star choice is exactly like your VCR with out the Plus. Bell allows you to set it up to record all show of a series or just the new shows. You can tell is to record a show that you don’t even know what channel or time it is on. When the show airs Bell records.

4. Show listings, Starchoice shows you all the available channels all the time. Not fun when you are surfing unless you pay for ALL channels. Bell works like this: press the guide once and get your subscribed channels only (+pay per view) press guide again and see all the channels. In this mode they color the channels you have access to a different color.

5. With Bell’s HD PVR box, you can hook up the system to two different TVs so that two people can watch two different shows at once. They include two different remotes as well. Or both can be hooked up to the same TV. Starchoice nope.

6. HDMI, simply put Starchoice does not have an HDMI output on their box (how old is this box?). Bell does.

7. Pic in Pic. Starchoice no. Bell yes.

8. Size - Starchoice’s 17” receiver does not fit in my standard pioneer size stereo rack, Bell’s does.

9. Hours of recording - Starchoice 160 Bell 180.

10. Loading the menu after reset – Starchoice 15 minutes. Bell less than 30 seconds.

11. Picture Quality – at 1080 can anyone really see a difference? They both look awesome.

12. Web site – You actually see what you are subscribed to with Bell. Starchoice nope.

One tip before I go. On bell site if you dig a little you will find the link to “build it your way” if you want something different from the all-in-one packages. This will allow you to buy your box outright instead of rent.

PS. I am still fighting with Starchoice to get my PVR fixed under warrantee. Since I cancelled my subscription, they are not willing to fulfill they warrantee obligations posted on their web site. 2 more hours on the phone I was able to get the number of a manager, two days and two messages and still no reply from the manger.

Any suggestions on how to deal with these people would be welcomed.

appleHead · 05-05-2007, 08:59 AM

Just wait till you have problems with bell you will not be happy calling in 3or more times to get pvr replaced each time getting someone different that can not speaka the english, if bell CS was as good as SC bell would be the ONE until then bell can kiss my a*

9220 vs 530 9220 wins hands down but if you have problems LOOK OUT

ChargerR/T · 07-11-2007, 07:55 PM

The 9200 HD PVR is great when it works. We've had 5 new receivers now in a year. This last one seems to be working good now. But yea, the CS sucks. What you ahve to do when you ahve a problem is ask to talk to a "Senior Tech" right away or else you get no where cause the people you start to talk to can't help you at all because they dont really know anything about the receivers and that. Bell also like to just send you new stuff if they can't figure it out. But all in all, we've had starchoice before this and still prefer Bell.

04-11-2007, 11:15 PM	#1
canuck What is HD? Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 2	Reasons why I switched from Starchoice to Bell ExpressVu The Bad Receiver lockup – on a regular basis my Motorola 505 and HD PVR 530 would lockup and need to be reset. This would mostly happen while I was checking the guide for something watch. Reseting the box would wipe out the guide and it would take 15 minutes plus to reload the info. I spoke to Starchoice and they replaced my 530. The new one still locked up. I spoke to a few honest and ethical support people who admitted the Motorola 530 and 505 have had this issue for over a year and Motorola is STILL working on it. My second 530 also had issues with the PVR, it would not record full programs. The senior tech I spoke to told me not to change the channel for 15 minutes after setting the receiver to record another channel due to the functionality of the hard drive buffer. (nice job Motorola) After 3 months of this I asked to cancel my service and for a refund on the three receivers I bought. I was told that (your going to like this) if I canceled my service I would be charged $200 which would be refunded when I returned the equipment. No cash would be given to me! I paid close to $1000 for the three receivers. After 3 phone calls most of it on hold and being bounced from one customer service rep to next for 2 hours they were nice enough to tell me I could keep the equipment that did not work and I would not have to pay them $200 to keep it. The good Until I received my new Bell ExpressVu 9200 dual tuner PVR I did not know what I had been missing! 1. Starchoice has little to no program searching ability compared to Bell. 2. Starchoice’s porn channels (descriptive names) are listed right beside the HD channels (HD is where I go first to see what is on. For some people this is nice, for people with kids like me, not so much. Yes you can lock them out, but when you reset your receiver , it locks out all the channels until you download the guide again. 15 minutes later… 3. PVR functionality, Star choice is exactly like your VCR with out the Plus. Bell allows you to set it up to record all show of a series or just the new shows. You can tell is to record a show that you don’t even know what channel or time it is on. When the show airs Bell records. 4. Show listings, Starchoice shows you all the available channels all the time. Not fun when you are surfing unless you pay for ALL channels. Bell works like this: press the guide once and get your subscribed channels only (+pay per view) press guide again and see all the channels. In this mode they color the channels you have access to a different color. 5. With Bell’s HD PVR box, you can hook up the system to two different TVs so that two people can watch two different shows at once. They include two different remotes as well. Or both can be hooked up to the same TV. Starchoice nope. 6. HDMI, simply put Starchoice does not have an HDMI output on their box (how old is this box?). Bell does. 7. Pic in Pic. Starchoice no. Bell yes. 8. Size - Starchoice’s 17” receiver does not fit in my standard pioneer size stereo rack, Bell’s does. 9. Hours of recording - Starchoice 160 Bell 180. 10. Loading the menu after reset – Starchoice 15 minutes. Bell less than 30 seconds. 11. Picture Quality – at 1080 can anyone really see a difference? They both look awesome. 12. Web site – You actually see what you are subscribed to with Bell. Starchoice nope. One tip before I go. On bell site if you dig a little you will find the link to “build it your way” if you want something different from the all-in-one packages. This will allow you to buy your box outright instead of rent. PS. I am still fighting with Starchoice to get my PVR fixed under warrantee. Since I cancelled my subscription, they are not willing to fulfill they warrantee obligations posted on their web site. 2 more hours on the phone I was able to get the number of a manager, two days and two messages and still no reply from the manger. Any suggestions on how to deal with these people would be welcomed.

07-11-2007, 07:55 PM	#3
ChargerR/T HD Only Join Date: Jul 2007 Age: 21 Posts: 1	The 9200 HD PVR is great when it works. We've had 5 new receivers now in a year. This last one seems to be working good now. But yea, the CS sucks. What you ahve to do when you ahve a problem is ask to talk to a "Senior Tech" right away or else you get no where cause the people you start to talk to can't help you at all because they dont really know anything about the receivers and that. Bell also like to just send you new stuff if they can't figure it out. But all in all, we've had starchoice before this and still prefer Bell. __________________ 27" Flat HDTV/Monitor Dual 3.4Ghz Processors 1GB Ram 320GB Hard Drive @ 7200 RADEON X300/X550 Series Realtech HD Audio 900 Watt Surround Sound System DVI to HDMI Cable

05-05-2007, 08:59 AM	#2
appleHead What is HD? Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 3	Just wait till you have problems with bell you will not be happy calling in 3or more times to get pvr replaced each time getting someone different that can not speaka the english, if bell CS was as good as SC bell would be the ONE until then bell can kiss my a* 9220 vs 530 9220 wins hands down but if you have problems LOOK OUT