Ezzie Posted October 10, 2023 Report Share Posted October 10, 2023 As you know, Shaw Direct will no longer be available to Mexican located subscribers as of around next February 2024. A possible replacement of a similar service to get English US television is a company called Kiwisat with offices in Miami, FL and Puerto Rico. The company uses the SES-10 satellite and has Ku band transponders that beam signals directly over Central Mexico. The satellite is located at Longitude -67W so should be very compatible with the satellite dishes we have used to receive Shaw Direct from the Anik F2 satellite. All that should be required is Kiwisat's receiver, a replacement LNB for your dish and a realignment of the dish. From the research I have done, it appears that Kiwisat is forming a dealership network in Mexico to expand into this market. There is a dealer in Cabo called Cabosat offering the service and I have recently heard that Ajijic Electronics (Mike Merrymen) may be reselling subscriptions to their service. The web site though is not very informative with any technical information. Does anyone here have this service and can give a recommendation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mexbound Posted October 10, 2023 Report Share Posted October 10, 2023 Looks very interesting. Good channel lists for a decent price. Sat signal looks great for central Mexico. I haven't been able to find any information about the Sat Receiver equipment. Questions like does it have a recorder? Can you watch one show while recording another? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzie Posted October 11, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2023 From the information I have been able to research so far, it looks like the equipment they use is fairly standard "state-of-the-art" technology that the FTA (free-to-air) industry uses. The receivers they are using have the newer physical layer for satellite communications, a standard called DVB-S2 and the HEVC compression algorith and QPSK, 8PSK demodulation. Note: HEVC is what Shaw Direct is just switching to with their 800 series receivers to replace the older MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 algorithms. The polarity switching is done by DC voltages, 13-14V for Vertical and 18-19V for horizontal. But it looks like Kiwisat supply the receiver as part of the monthly package and don't sell them outright. Something like the GT Media V7 or V8 type receivers (available on Amazon) that are quite inexpensive Chinese made receivers but the Kiwisat receivers are probably coded for only their services. The existing dish you have for Shaw or Dish should work fine but you will need a new LNBF. The LNBF I think they would use is a standard linear, polarized unit for the frequency range 9,750 - 10,600 Mhz that is also fairly common and readily available on Amazon, eBay, etc. The cautionary thing here is that Kiwisat is probably not licensed for Mexico (yet) and so will operate illegally much like Shaw Direct and Dish USA are. So don't count on any astounding customer service so you would need to work with a competent dealer in this area. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mostlylost Posted October 12, 2023 Report Share Posted October 12, 2023 Have You called them? Checking their information the service is available in the USA. In Puerto Rico the service has a different channel selection. In St Martin a different channel selection. The differences is the licensing for PR and St/ Martin is not the same as the USA. If you want service with USA channels you would need to have a shipping & billing address in the USA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha1 Posted October 12, 2023 Report Share Posted October 12, 2023 As a previous Starchoice (Shaw Canada) customer for 10 + years I've found streaming more economical and offers greater selection. Just my findings... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzie Posted October 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2023 I agree, IPTV streaming is the way to go IF you have the internet service to support it. Some of us have no alternative other than Telmex DSL and where I live, 3 meg down just won't cut it. The other alternative is Starlink now - but kind of a pricey solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpha1 Posted October 13, 2023 Report Share Posted October 13, 2023 11 hours ago, Ezzie said: I agree, IPTV streaming is the way to go IF you have the internet service to support it. Some of us have no alternative other than Telmex DSL and where I live, 3 meg down just won't cut it. The other alternative is Starlink now - but kind of a pricey solution. To stream videos in standard definition, at least 3 Mbps is recommended. To stream video on one device in HD, at least 7 Mbps is recommended. To stream 4K content, at least 25 Mbps is recommended. Jun 21, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomgates Posted October 14, 2023 Report Share Posted October 14, 2023 We were always happy with the Dish service from CP Electronics in Guadalajara. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalik Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 On 10/10/2023 at 3:36 AM, Ezzie said: As you know, Shaw Direct will no longer be available to Mexican located subscribers as of around next February 2024. A possible replacement of a similar service to get English US television is a company called Kiwisat with offices in Miami, FL and Puerto Rico. The company uses the SES-10 satellite and has Ku band transponders that beam signals directly over Central Mexico. The satellite is located at Longitude -67W so should be very compatible with the satellite dishes we have used to receive Shaw Direct from the Anik F2 satellite. All that should be required is Kiwisat's receiver, a replacement LNB for your dish and a realignment of the dish. From the research I have done, it appears that Kiwisat is forming a dealership network in Mexico to expand into this market. There is a dealer in Cabo called Cabosat offering the service and I have recently heard that Ajijic Electronics (Mike Merrymen) may be reselling subscriptions to their service. The web site though is not very informative with any technical information. Does anyone here have this service and can give a recommendation? Please tell me your source of Shaw disconnection Thank you On 9/30/2023 at 12:28 PM, Mostlylost said: 3 hours ago, Viajero-Tiempo said: PM if you miss your shaw TV Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viajero-Tiempo Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 OH, I just turned on the TV and the shaw ANd..... The channels we watch were gone this AM .....Need equip upgrade.... Thats my source Do you have magic to turn them back on - on my Shaw box? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oatsie Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 5 minutes ago, Viajero-Tiempo said: OH, I just turned on the TV and the shaw ANd..... The channels we watch were gone this AM .....Need equip upgrade.... Thats my source Do you have magic to turn them back on - on my Shaw box? What model number is your Shaw box? It should be on the front of the box as well as the back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalik Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 37 minutes ago, Oatsie said: What model number is your Shaw box? It should be on the front of the box as well as the back. Talked with Shaw this morning about reception. The 600 series of boxes are no longer usable. I will have to get an 800 series box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalik Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 I would like to know the source of the news that Shaw will not be available after February. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johanson Posted October 17, 2023 Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 I had already upgraded to an HDDSR 800 receiver, from the 600 series because I was told I had to upgrade earlier this year and I am again getting the message that I need to upgrade receivers again, Very confusing. Like most of you I have lost most of the channels I used to watch to include those from the US, especially from Seattle. Oh I am still getting about 1/3 the channels I did several days ago. But I am not getting the network channels from Seattle or Detroit or CNN, or CNBC or any other US news channels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzie Posted October 17, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2023 There are two things going on with our Shaw Direct reception IF you are located here in central Mexico. 1. Receiver migration. If you are still using a 600 series receiver, you will have noticed that you lost most of the US channels this morning and got a message about a receiver upgrade needed that can support the newer HEVC video compression algorithm. If you have an 800 series, you are fine forr a bit. 2. Our signals here come from the Anik F2 satellite and it is slowly dying. For more info about this, go to this link to read all about it. Likely won't get much after about February 2024. https://www.shawbroadcast.com/Content/English/Anik.htm So as I said before, start looking for an alternative folks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzie Posted October 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 20, 2023 Today I had the opportunity to take a look at, what I think, is the first Kiwisat installation in this area on the north shore of Lake Chapala. Here is what I learned. The subscriber ordered the service directly from Kiwisat in Florida using his local Mexico address. The "kit" he received consisted of a new LNB, receiver, remote control and an HDMI cable. It was shipped to a location in California for transport down here by a friend. Ajijic Electronics (Mario) reused the old aftermarket dish that the subscriber had been using for Shaw Direct, installed the new LNB on the old dish, aimed it in the direction of the satellite that Kiwisat uses (SES-10 @ 67W) and hooked it up to the receiver and TV. He then called Kiwisat in Florida to get the receiver activated. It started to work immediately - 160 channels on this package, almost all US English stations. So Kiwisat definitely knows it is a Mexican install and don't seem to care. Cost is $65 US per month for the prepaid channel package. The account is prepaid for 6 months and then will renew monthly with a credit card auto-pay. No cancellation fees or contract required. There is a one time fee of $150 for each receiver and the user owns the receivers. They also charged $100 shipping cost and for some reason FL sales tax on the whole order of 11.14%. I went through the menus and you can use a standard USB stick to record programs for playback later. I checked out a few channels I like and they seemed OK but there was some pixelation at times - not sure what that is all about. The signal strength and signal quality numbers seemed fine though. Could be an uplink issue with the feeds going up to the satellite or a weather problem? Something I would like to investigate a bit more before I am truly excited about it. It would seem to me that we can call Kiwisat in Miami directly to set up an account and then get the equipment sent via a US forwarding address such as iShop in Laredo. Then we could either set it up ourselves or get Mario to come out and do it. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzie Posted October 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2023 Note: The receiver that was delivered with this "kit" is a Kiwisat brand labelled product of unknown Chinese manufacture. It is called a MICO-P6plus. Very small box, about 4" x 4" x 1" high. I could not see any other identifying labelling on it - does not appear to be any FCC approvals. Kiwisat LLC did get a previous receiver approved by the FCC, it was their older model called the TELE-P6 which was manufactured by a large Chinese set-top box manufacturer called Regent Electron (Dongguang) Co. Ltd. FCC ID: 2AR5S-TELE-P6. That company shows a subsidiary (or related company) called Tele System which has a manufacturing facility and office location in Estado de Mexico. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mexbound Posted October 21, 2023 Report Share Posted October 21, 2023 Great post. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzie Posted October 21, 2023 Author Report Share Posted October 21, 2023 Your welcome. Hopefully you found the information useful. A couple of my friends are going to be ordering it shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RickS Posted October 21, 2023 Report Share Posted October 21, 2023 As was Shaw and its predecessor, that's pretty pricey TV. Not for everyone, especially me. But for those who want that level of service at Lakeside I'm glad it has become available. Good analysis Ezzie! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdawgs Posted November 7, 2023 Report Share Posted November 7, 2023 FYI https://cabosat.net/satellite-tv?fbclid=IwAR0EL9DzA6RijrOH11ggVR9PwE9roOhe9UMBtTPxsCFg7DH-34dzc_gzCro Very interesting 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ezzie Posted November 7, 2023 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2023 In follow up with the first installation I have seen in this area, the user has reported an issue that is a bit troubling. The video is very good and seems to be clear and with a decent resolution. There have been a few times he has seen some pixilation, may be the result of weather or a slight dish mis-alignment issue. The other problem he has reported is that at times the audio is out of sync wit the video. This is noticeable if someone is talking and the voice doesn't match the lip movements. I expect that ths may be a receiver problem and I would want to see if it happens on another install/receiver so am awaiting knowledge of another install somewhere. The receivers they are using seem to be a low cost Chinese made box so makes me suspicious. Similar units sell on AliExpress for about $30-40 US. It would be useful to get Mike Merriman's input if he has seen this on any other installs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdawgs Posted November 7, 2023 Report Share Posted November 7, 2023 Wondering how many Cabosat has installed and what their experience is. Quote 1 hour ago, Ezzie said: In follow up with the first installation I have seen in this area, the user has reported an issue that is a bit troubling. The video is very good and seems to be clear and with a decent resolution. There have been a few times he has seen some pixilation, may be the result of weather or a slight dish mis-alignment issue. The other problem he has reported is that at times the audio is out of sync wit the video. This is noticeable if someone is talking and the voice doesn't match the lip movements. I expect that ths may be a receiver problem and I would want to see if it happens on another install/receiver so am awaiting knowledge of another install somewhere. The receivers they are using seem to be a low cost Chinese made box so makes me suspicious. Similar units sell on AliExpress for about $30-40 US. It would be useful to get Mike Merriman's input if he has seen this on any other installs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johanson Posted November 8, 2023 Report Share Posted November 8, 2023 Many folks are finding that streaming over the internet is the best way to get those favorite channels or stations from most anywhere you want. The only problem with this great choice is that it will only work if you have fast internet, slightly faster than what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvsdawgs Posted November 10, 2023 Report Share Posted November 10, 2023 On 10/20/2023 at 7:42 PM, Ezzie said: Note: The receiver that was delivered with this "kit" is a Kiwisat brand labelled product of unknown Chinese manufacture. It is called a MICO-P6plus. Very small box, about 4" x 4" x 1" high. I could not see any other identifying labelling on it - does not appear to be any FCC approvals. Kiwisat LLC did get a previous receiver approved by the FCC, it was their older model called the TELE-P6 which was manufactured by a large Chinese set-top box manufacturer called Regent Electron (Dongguang) Co. Ltd. FCC ID: 2AR5S-TELE-P6. That company shows a subsidiary (or related company) called Tele System which has a manufacturing facility and office location in Estado de Mexico. How many receivers are required? With DISH I have one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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