Canadian Satellite in the Southern US

[Canuck_Travelle]

Seeing that its getting later in 2019 (August 12 as I write this) I am beginning to think "TV IN FLORIDA" when we get back to our winter home around first part of November, 2019.

The thoughts running through my mind since I am using Shaw Direct is how many channels will be available or will there be the few I like. Since we are Maritimer's and we are on the "advanced Shaw" channel network we watch 58 CBC, 60 Global, 61 ATV also channel 491 BNN Bloomberg. Also like a few US News channels from Shaw Direct which we subscribe to..

I have been looking through the link on here re the channels, on the satellite, there are apparently two satellites F2 and G1, if the channels stay on F2 we can get them in Florida, if on G1 we will not and if they come back or stay on F2 as HD we will be able to receive them so in short after October 13th (13th) we should know what channels we can receive in the southern US. Please correct me if I am wrong as I am a neophyte at all this!

Now if this scenario does not work out and receiving Shaw Direct is a non-starter what is our alternative?
There are two alternatives as I see them;
1.) Sling Box.
2.) Stream the TV over the internet using Shaw Free Range TV and a subscription to a VPN (Virtual Private Network) like ExpressVPN, BulletVPN, NordVPN or Surfshark to name a few.

The Sling Box route involves purchasing the unit (also very pricy) and hooking it up to the Shaw Direct system in our house and more or less "Slinging" the info over the internet and picked up at ones remote location, one must (I think) also purchase an app with a monthly fee (again I think).

So bottom line is I am looking for thoughts from others on what they do already, are planning to do if the channels off Satellite F2 is not available or if available not carrying the channels you want to watch.

Have any considered or are using Streaming, using a VPN or using a Slingbox or will they just give up on Canadian TV in a southern location if the new Shaw Direct is out or does not provide the channels that you want. I have purchased an Outside Antenna to use short term in Florida as there are many channels available on it but also several that I would not be interested in but at least a quick way of getting some TV but no Canadian TV of course!.

I do have in Canada at our home Fibre-OP at a 150 Meg down and up (Sometimes a bit less) and a 10 Meg DSL Service down and a 1.5 Meg up in Florida. I leave this on at home during the six months we are snowbirds. The Florida DSL is very steady not varying by very little from the 10 Meg download. So I think I am a good candidate for either Sling Box or Streaming using a VPN Service for Network speed. In our park we have a hard connection rather than the park WI-FI which is very chancy as its speed is up and down and some RV's use it for lengthy downloads thus making it useless for this purpose..

Love to hear any suggestions from other snowbirds or anyone in our position TV wise or possibly is contemplating doing either of the two alternatives suggested above.

[agesilaus]

All TV broadcast satellites orbit the equator. So Florida actually gives you a better view of your satellite than Canada does.

[quartzster]

Shaw Direct is moving channels in September, they are moving towards making all the channels HD. I had a problem with my receiver, so when I phoned they put me on the new map for HD channels. I used to get local channels like CTV Winnipeg at 25, now all the local and time shift channels start at 100.

Not sure how to figure out which channels are going to end up on which sat at the moment, apparently they are starting now and finishing up in Sept.

Using Shaw Free Range will not work with a VPN. If I pick Toronto or Vancouver a error screen comes up saying "you have flown too far", although you are supposed to be able to use it anywhere in Canada. If there is another way to fool the software into thinking you are still in Canada, when you are in the USA, then it may work.

Slingbox is another option, but I have not tried it. Hope this helps somewhat.