Satellite TV Review: Bell TV

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Hugh

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The purpose of this thread is for Digital Home members to review and relay their experience with ExpressVu

This is NOT a discussion thread so please limit yourself to one post which includes your review.

We welcome the input and opinions of all members whether they are good or bad, however, please note that this thread is NOT for rants. Whether you had a good or bad experience with this vendor we want to hear about it but in an OBJECTIVE manner.

If you post a rant or childish comments like, these guys "suck" or they're all a "bunch of idiots", then your comments will be considered trolling and your post will be deleted.

When you post, please try to include the following information:

  • What product or service you purchased.
  • Approximate timeframe you ordered the product
  • What location you dealt with if it
 
I had to vote somewhat satisfied but I would have liked another slightly higher option. First voter WooHoo! One 9200, three 4100's, one year customer (previously with Starchoice and Cogeco before that). Overall I'm more than satisified with the hardware and service in general. No major complaints there.

I've had exactly three experiences with ExpressVu customer service in the year I've been with them:


  • The first was my initial installation/activation. I did a self install so I just called to activate my four receivers and my programming. No problems at all with this. It was very fast, friendly, and done correctly. Activation department excellent!


  • My second was a billing issue. I was charged with the installation of two receivers which I did myself. I may have failed to communicate that adequately to them at the time of activation (long story, I'll spare you the details). It took many calls and several complaints to the "Executive Office". It was finally resolved but shouldn't have been such a challenge. Billing department stinks!


  • My only other call was the recent loss of A&E HD. Like many others I had to call to have the channel added back after the free preview. That shouldn't have happened and I had to wait about 20 minutes on the phone for a CSR. It was added back within an hour and I did make a programming change at the same time which took affect right away (who says you can't do this with Bell?). Service was good but I should not have had to call.
Service overall has been very good and I'm especially pleased with the quality of the 9200. Bell is the ONLY provider in my area to give me all the HD channels available (well, most at least). That was important to me.

There you go. Not really bad but not perfect!

-Mike
 
Been with Bell since the beginning...as I hated the monopoly cable had in this business.

First off let me say I love Bell TV...

That's not to say I like the company...as with each and every communication company these days...they have horrid communication to their subscribers...and absolutely no customer service...again I feel this is industry wide.

Bell HD is sweet...and the reason I let them nickel and dime me is quite simple...they sold me the greatest receiver in the business...bar none...(9200).

The dual tuner HD-PVR changed my life...much in the way the original VCR did...and when that first cassette player was installed in my car.
 
Some Positives and Negatives:

Negatives:

- Billing took 4 months to level off and represent no errors
- Installation took several hours
- Distribution can cost a little money
- Receivers are not cheap

Positives:

- Signal is very stable
- Signal is the clearest and most reliable than any other service I have used
- Learning curve on receivers was very short
- Weather not a significant factor unlike competition's negative comments
- Receivers integrate into home theatre easily
 
I had bell 5 years ago for a year. The customer service was great, They always helped us out when we had a problem. The only reason why we were not happy was because everytime there was a rain storm it would always go out. thanks
 
I am satisfy becasue recently they made me an offer and i took it. other provider made the same offer but i choose to stay with bell tv.

But their programming brochure they could come up with something better. As for other provider some of their programming brochure include every channel
 
I posted extremely dissatsifed, and am in the process of leaving Bell. However, I want to say that Bell has one very strong positive, namely that some of their HD-PVRs can be hacked so the content can be offloaded to a PC in a bit-identical fashion. This is something that as far as I know, cannot be done with other BDUs. It is the only reason why I have stayed with them as long as I have. It took me a long time to find an alternative.

And with me gone, the next time a poll such as this is held, there will be one less negative vote!
 
Been with Bell for 12 years. At first it was great, but they have nickel and dimed me to death over the last few years. I simply hate their "theme' line-ups and since I'm still on an old package, trying to get a more favourable package is costly even though I would happily reduce the number of channels I have. (I admit that is possibly an industry-wide issue)

Recently went HD and although the picture quality has been excellent, I am most disappointed with the choice of channels and, again, the organization of the theme packs. The Equator/Rush/Oasis etc theme is good, except that now they are simply repeating each other's programs. (again probably not restricted to Bell).

Customer Service, simply awful. They just can't seem to get things straight without at leat two calls and usually more, particularly when it comes to billing issues. Wait times are horrendous.
 
Been with Bell for 15 years at least. I have Internet, mobile, TV, and phone. I am very happy with the HD service and love the PVR. Rogers PVR simply cannot compare. I also like the Bell service. When I moved to HD and spoke about Rogers offers, they gave me free PVR, free HD, 30% off programming and free install. Then they thanked me for my business!

In the past 15 years I have lost the TV signal 2 or 3 times for a minute or two, the same with internet. I like Bell because the services are reliable and the pricing fair.
 
A Very Satisfied Customer

We switched to ExpressVu in 1999.
With a large family, we have the following equipment:
  • 3 regular tube tvs
  • 3 receivers (basic 3100 model)
  • signal splitter

Overall Opinon
In general, I would say that we are receiving better than average value for our money, with good programming options and average support.

Quality
We do not have high end equipment, and have always been more concerned about value than quality -- but with that in mind, we have been very satisfied. We have only had our picture drop out because of weather 2 or 3 times in many years of service. It has been virtually worry free.

Value
We remember the great programming fiasco when R* switched their programming and started charging for previously free channels in the early 1990's. Over the years, I have made periodic checks and found that Bell ExpressVu tends to be a very competitive value, especially if you are careful about what programming packages you select.

Programming
In general, this is very good in terms of selection and what is offered. Our only complaint is the grouping of channels does not always make sense, and sometimes you have a order a package with several channels you don't want in order to get the one(s) you do want.

Other Comments
There are days when I look at the promotions for new customers and think that I would be interested in that ... except that I don't qualify as an existing customer. That doesn't feel great -- but that's the nature of a highly competitive business. Every once in a while, Bell offers perks like free PPV movie, or free preview weekends and the like.
But, generally, the service is solid, the support is average, and the value is very good.

I definitely would recommend Bell ExpressVu to anyone who is thinking about switching or signing up.

FamilyMan
 
I am pretty happy with the overall package from Bell so far. I just have one receiver, the 6100 (HD). The installation was fast and professional and the day-to-day functioning of the system is great. The biggest problem I have with Bell is their customer service, and I know I'm not alone in this. Anytime I have a problem I just dread phoning them. Sometimes you will get a great CSR and sometimes you get a real stinker, which can totally put you off.
 
We just switched to Bell TV and internet in Feb of this year after being with Rogers for far too long. So far I really am loving it, picture is nice and clear and have had no problems with audio blips and pixelation left, right and centre like we were getting with Rogers. The only complaint I have is that Bell does not have a super sports pack type deal but other then that, all is good :)
 
I voted "Somewhat Satisfied".

Overall, the variety, speed and convenience of the service has been good to great and the pricing is reasonable.

Pros:
Since adding a harddrive to my setbox, I love the PVR function. My only other experience with a "pvr" was VHS, so I've nothing valid to compare it to. It'd be nice to have the dual tuner one, but between the timeshifting and repeating on different days, it's rare that I miss anything I'd want to record.

I find overall it's a better value than cable. The theme packs are a bit better than paying for the whole schmeal.

Cons:

Biggest gripe is the HD quality. The picture just looks soft compared to what I can get over the air, and to me, "HD" is being oversold as something huge when the quality that Bell delivers is easily substandard to what I can get with nothing more than a $5.00 antenna

I also think the theme packs could be much improved, especially since they're practically designed to make you subscribe to as many as possible, which effectively means less advantage over cable. I had service with Look a few years back and it was great. It was something like $15 for the basic CTV, CBC, etc, and then there were packages for $10, $15 and $20 - so with the $10 package you got to chose any 10 individual channels you wanted, for $15, you got 15 channels and so on.

Some more foreign channels would be good, there's not a single primarily Portuguese channel available with Bell for example, or just more world news services like Al Jazeera or ABC (Australian).
 
Ok - Have had Bell for about 1 month now.

I put extremely positive, as they had a sub-contracter and the install fiasco wasn't there fault...

Install & Activation

I signed up for the service and I was in a rural area and had the install done a week and a half after ordering.

The installer got it working with a good signal but the wiring was absolutely awful.

When I activated my receivers and programming it was excellent service.

Then when I complained the next day, I got contact info of the guy in charge of ExpressVu in MB. I contacted him and he sent me a $75 petro Canada gift card that I received.

They sent a professional installer from QX West out from 1 hour away to re-do my install, and I couldn't be happier.

Programming / Deals - It worried me that my receivers were not warranted for life like my cable co, and SC, so I rented the 9200 and 4100 receiver.

I got the HD Extra All-in-one pack and am receiving basically all the HD channels except Raptors, Leafs, and the HD Premium Sports.

There is always something on to watch.. and its a great value I find...

Hardware

The 9200 is a EXCELLENT piece of hardware... I couldn't be happier. The great thing with this.... I never delete a program and I record every little thing that intrests me even if I don't get to watching it.. There is so much space on the machine for recording!

The EPG is great! The only thing that disappoints me is not having the color coating for dividing sports, movies, PPV, and other. But this isn't huge for me.

The 4100 for a small console is great.. its really compact and feature-packed!

-----

So overall the customer service, programming, and hardware has been top notch..
 
I am quite happy with my 9200 PVR and Super 7 bundle. I purchased it about 3 months after they came out. I am not happy with the new bundles BEV is trying to push on everyone. They have diluted the most popular channels across more bundles effectively forcing you to buy more bundles to keep the channels you want. Star Choice is just as guilty of this practice which was one reason I switched to BEV when they had the old Super bundles. Much better themed channel grouping at that time. Unfortunately Bell is upping prices even more with their famous system access fees for grandfathered old bundles subs like me to the point I may have to downgrade programming to near minimum. No amount of tv channels is worth paying 100 dollars a month for. This isn't a troll, just a subscriber's opinion about his provider. I would give Bell Expressvu a B in hardware instead of an A due to the 44 hour IPG and a C- in programming bundles and an F in billing. Despite their warts I would still recommend them to friends and family as I would recommend Star Choice. Both have their pluses and minuses and I am a fan of neither provider.
 
I have been a Expressvu customer even before Bell was involved with it and over the years have had some 20 receivers for 4 TVs and have been very satisfied with the quality of their hardware and programming.

Whenever ive had a problem they have taken care of it timely and professionally.

I had a *c receiver some years back (only because they were the only satellite company to offer Leafs Tv) and was not happy at all with their customer service.So when Bell got Leafs Tv I got rid of *c (the dish is still attached to my tree in the backyard)

So overall I would recommend Expressvu to whomever was thinking about getting it.
 
I just switched from Videotron that i had in the last 10 years with several receivers upgrade to Bell Vu and i`m very satisfied till now . Since i have 3 LCD`s i bought 3 new receivers ( 6131 ) . What made me switch was more HD,SD content and because having the 3 pack ( Phone , Internet and sat ) i save 35$ .
 
Somewhat Satisfied

I'd be extremely satisfied, if it weren't for the soft picture quality, which is the most important thing in an HD provider in my opinion.

I've had Rogers and Shaw HD in the past year and prefer Bell, over and above. No provider is perfect, and while Bell's PQ is softer than Shaw or Rogers I find much less macroblocking. To me the tradeoff is worth it.

If you want to compare hardware, Bell wins hands down. Shaw's Motorola boxes were plagued by audio problems and delayed and stacked remote commands. That said, Rogers PVR's are hands down the most archaic piece of technology going today. I love Bell's 9241, it's simple, intuitive and never craps out on me. I don't miss recordings and the remote responds to my commands. You can make a functional favourites list and tailor your recordings to your needs. A great piece of hardware.

The billing department leaves a bit to be desired. They're error prone and slow to credit your account. Overall I find their customer service to be better than Rogers, which isn't to say it's good, just acceptable in a field where the bar is so low that mediocrity is now the gold standard.
 
Have had EVu for 1.5 years, with various different receivers (3100's, 6100, 9200). For the most part I have been very happy with the service. The only problems have been some minor issues around the 9200 but, luckily I've avoided the more major issues (stuttering, etc).

I did my own install, so avoided any issues with that (missed appointments, sub-par sub-contractors, etc). I've managed to avoid dealing with tech support for the most part, due to minimal issues and through the help of this forum, so really with the HD content and the 9200 I wouldn't hesitate to use EVu again if I had to do it all over.
 
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