If this is true, then you best be speaking with your in-h...

[deepsand]

If this is true, then you best be speaking with your in-home reps, as I've recently switched to this new tech and was ABSOLUTELY told that the amount of storage increases with the number of boxes you have on your account.  Without a doubt this was the information I received and it was discussed.

[deepsand]

My experience with the new Xi6 boxes has been mixed, but generally 75% positive.  I never did use the "Bluesky" system and was coming from the Gateway system which I found worked quite well other than simplicity of use for a few features that were a pain such as the guide (which was drastically improved recently but still needed more work).

After over a month with 5 of the xi6 boxes and the new BlueCurve system, here's my experience:

1)  Without a doubt, the picture is NOT as clear as the Gateway system.  It is very good for me (don't let Shaw tell you that you must have weak wifi etc if it's not exactly as good as using a coaxial connection, that's nonsense, my wifi is very good) but NOT as clear as in the past.  If you have a high end TV as I do, you will miss the details in the picture.  You will especially notice this with fast moving action.  Again, if you have a really good TV this matters and if you don't, it won't. 

2))  The "rewind" and "fast forward" feature on the Xi6 Blue Curve system is absolutely TERRIBLE!  Like totally useless, very annoying terrible when coming from Gateway where it was precise.  You will find yourself constantly having to "guess" as to when to best stop rewinding/forwarding to get it to play where you want.  The cloud based system is really bad for this.  Almost enough to go back to Gateway, especially if you are a sports watcher and enjoyed a crisp visual during your rewind etc.  On this system, there is an overlay that clouds the visual rendering you basically unable to see details as you forward/rewind very well (you can see, but overlay dims visual etc)

3)  There is NO "SLOW" fast forward as there was in Gateway!!  (At least I haven't found it).  This is really frustrating as I basically only have a Shaw subscription for live sports (I'd gladly cut the wire otherwise) and thus made use of the slow feature with crisp visual all the time on the Gateway system.  No go with this supposed "new and better" system.  HUGE miss!

4)  I have noticed issues with HDR activation on my TV with these boxes.  I have yet to make a full determination, but HDR does NOT seem to work, or work fluidly as it does with my Smart TV's own apps.  (BlueCurve has its own built in apps, which are very limited...just Netflix, Youtube, and Prime from what I can see).

5)  You can only have a maximum of 5 boxes in your home with this system!  With Gateway, I had 6.  Not a huge deal though as you can alway unhook one of your five xi6 boxes and move it to the 6th TV if you need to use it...but that's still annoying!

6)  Ease of use features with the new system are MUCH IMPROVED over the Gateway (aside from the gripes above, especially rewind/forward).  The voice command is a MUCH appreciated feature, and the visuals in the overlays (other than the ones that interfere with forward/rewind etc), which now include little "album art" type displays for each recorded show and searched listing, make the experience better.  The simplicity of the layout of the guide and features of the system are very good, and the voice command really nullifies any issues you may have with that layout anyways, as you bypass messing around with buttons with the voice command.

7)  Voice command works surprisingly very well!  I say this is a surprise because when does VC seem to ever work like it should!  In this system, it is generally very precise and you will not be repeating commands to be understood and wanting to throw the remote out your window.  I can honestly say the voice command feature of this system is probably the BEST Shaw tech EVER introduced into their cable systems for the consumer!

😎  The built-in Apps that come with this system are NOT as good as those in your Smart TV, and a Roku etc is still far superior!  There are issues with clarity/quality of picture I found (though slight), and sound (my 5.1 system would work, but sometimes not have its display light which signifies 5.1 is active light up), and certainly HDR (I'm seeing from online searches that HDR is available in these boxes but might not be active yet...but not sure as those posts/notices are from a few months back)

For now, that's a pretty good list!  I spent a month analyzing in detail whether I wanted to stay with this system.  Initially, after a few weeks, I was CERTAIN it had to go back as the picture quality loss, and the rewind/forward issues were just too big a deal to live with.  NOW, I've decided to keep it and hope for some improvements, as I've grown fond of the "ease of use" features in this system which are it's greatest advantage over previous iterations.  HOWEVER, I better see some improvement in the aforementioned deficiencies soon Shaw, pretty please!

[RugbyBunny]

Thanks for the review coming from someone who previously had the Gateway system. I have the Gateway now and have been considering the upgrade to the BlueCurve System.

One question I had that the sales rep couldn't answer is if I can watch a show on the PVR on one tv, pause it, then pick it up and continue watching from the same spot on another tv. We only have 2 tv's in our house, but sometimes get bumped from our main tv to the basement for kids to play on the Apple TV.  It would be super annoying if I would have to restart the show that I had started simply because I had to move to the downstairs TV. 

I'm still torn as to whether or not to upgrade my Gateway to the new system, but I appreciate the reviews. 

[mdk]

@RugbyBunny -- It would be super annoying if I would have to restart the show that I had started simply because I had to move to the downstairs TV. 

If the other TV was not tuned to the channel that you were watching on the first TV, you cannot switch to that channel (on the second TV) and expect to be able to "rewind" to the start.

What if you pressed the "rewind 15 seconds" a few times, and then "record", before physically moving to the other TV?

I know that the Gateway PVR allows you to view an "In-progress" recording, from its beginning, while it continues to record.

Hopefully, the BlueCurve PVR is equivalent.

[mdk]

@deepsand -- Without a doubt, the picture is NOT as clear as the Gateway system. 

Hmm. Was the old TV box outputting at 720p, and the new box outputting at 1080i ? 

Presumably, your TV would need to be "stretching" a 720p image much more than it would be "stretching" a 1080i image on your "really good TV".

[rickatk]

I think the features you are looking for are possible because of the multiple tuners in the older gateway system. Because BlueCurve use a cloud platform you should be able to stop your show then resume on a different tv. That has been my experience with Apple TV and Blue Curve in most cases. Sometimes it depends on the source.

[rickatk]

Good review! Interesting read.

Over the past few years I had used the Classic Shaw HD, Gateway, Blue Sky wired, Blue Curve Wired and now Blue Curve wireless  tv players over 600 and then Fibre Gig Wi-Fi.

Classic was good, stable and great HD  picture. 

Gateway meh. Interface was difficult to read, confusing and we lost our PVR library after long weekends - twice. My wife hated Gateway.

Blue Sky wired was good, clear picture, limited features but fine for v1.0 . Voice search is excellent and Emmy Award winning. PVR was reliable storing recordings on a central console.

Blue Curve 600 wireless got us a TV in the kitchen without drilling through tile or into a nice cupboard. Also small players on all the tv’s results in cool factor. Picture and sound was very clear but there was slight pixelation with fast scenes. Cloud PVR was and remains solid. Good sound and stable interface and voice search.

Blue Curve Fibre Gig has resulted in even better tv performance. Picture and sound is very good as I would expect from IPTV. The image is very stable with no pixelation or pauses. All devices just seem to work better.

This is the promise of Fibre Gig. More band-with for more devices in the home.

[Barry13]

My experience with Blue curve hard wired was excellent.  I do not like the video quality of the new wireless system. I may switch back to hard wired.

In answer to your question.  What I learned early on was to simply hit the record button of the show I want to pick up in another room.  Then when I relocate myself I simply go to recording and pick up where I left off.  Works great.

The other work around is, unless it is sport related, we always watch on Shaw on demand. No irritating banners flash across the screen and limited commericals

[rickatk]

---

@Barry13 wrote:

My experience with Blue curve hard wired was excellent.  I do not like the video quality of the new wireless system. I may switch back to hard wired.

In answer to your question.  What I learned early on was to simply hit the record button of the show I want to pick up in another room.  Then when I relocate myself I simply go to recording and pick up where I left off.  Works great.

The other work around is, unless it is sport related, we always watch on Shaw on demand. No irritating banners flash across the screen and limited commericals

---

@Barry13 Have you tried the “resume “ feature in the episodes when moving room to room? I find the video inserts in the HD news broadcasts are a little pixelated and sketchy.

[MikeA1]

Have enjoyed reading your initial review of the Xi6 wireless player system and subsequent comments. Am wondering how you are feeling about the system a year plus later.
Yesterday I ordered 3 Xi6 units plus a Bluetooth Gateway to replace 3 old Arris boxes.  Scheduled for delivery next week, but after some further research I am having second thoughts about my order.  

One concern is your comment about picture quality for high end TV’s. I recently purchased a 65” Sony OLED and would be unhappy to see picture quality decline.  Do you still feel the same way?

Another concern is your comment about poor fast forward capability.  I use that all the time to speed through sports programming, would hate to lose that capability. Is it still an issue for you?

Also concerned about cloud recording storage limit.  I was told by a Shaw rep that with 3 units I would have equivalent of 1.5T storage.  I suspect that may be incorrect as you mentioned 200 hour limit regardless of number of units.  I doubt that is close to the 3 x 500G storage I have with current old boxes.  Also 

I currently have 300 mb internet  Do you think that is sufficient for the 3 units plus 3 iPads and 5 or 6 other home connections (light switches, door bell camera and chimes)?

Much appreciate any feedback.

Thanks