Shaw Direct
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Satellite television |
| Founded | 1996 (as Star Choice) 2009 (as Shaw Direct) |
| Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta |
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Area served
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Canada |
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Key people
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Bradley Shaw (CEO), Jay Mehr (President), Cam Kernahan (Group Vice President) |
| Products | Direct broadcast satellite, Pay television, Pay-per-view |
| Parent | Shaw Communications |
| Website | www |
Shaw Direct is a direct broadcast satellite television distributor in Canada. Known for their direct broadcasting by satellite distribution, it is majority-owned by cable TV operator Shaw Communications Inc. As of 2010, Shaw Direct had over 900,000 subscribers. It broadcasts on Ku band from three communications satellites, Anik F1R and Anik G1 at 107.3°W, and Anik F2 at 111.1°W; these satellites are owned by Telesat Canada and otherwise are used primarily to distribute programming to various Canadian cable TV companies. The company was formerly known as Star Choice until April 15, 2009.
A full list of channels carried by these three satellites is available from satellite-related sites such as Lyngsat. Anik F1 carries most mainstream English-language programming; Anik F2 programming includes French-language and HDTV broadcasts. A third planned satellite, Anik G1, was launched on April 15, 2013, and then later reached orbit on May 29, 2013. This new satellite provides Shaw Direct customers with access to over 210 HD channels, beating out rival competitor Bell TV as having the most HD channels in Canada.
Shaw Direct began in Lincoln, New Brunswick, but is now based in Calgary, Alberta. Its broadcast centre is in Mississauga, Ontario, and has call centres in Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg and Montreal.
The system requires an elliptical antenna of at least 45x60cm in size with a special LNB pair built as one unit to accommodate the narrow 3.8° spacing between satellites; the receiver uses the Motorola-proprietary Digicipher II system which has so far been virtually free of the problems with pirate decryption that have plagued other providers such as rival Bell TV. The standard 18" DBS antennas used by other providers are not compatible with this system as the signals differ in both frequency and polarization. Shaw Direct is relayed via FSS satellites, Anik F1R, G1 and F2.
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Wikipedia