With the rising popularity of online video streaming services like Netflix, cable companies have had to battle back to gain back the favor of their customers. In Canada, this has resulted in the Shomi and Crave video streaming services, but that’s still not enough. What about customers who just want to watch their cable television anywhere they go?
From there, a brand new mobile app was born and it’s called Shaw FreeRange TV. Available for both Google Android and Apple iOS devices as a free download, the mobile app taps into your existing Shaw TV account to let you watch any channel that you would normally have access to watching on your regular set-top box.
There are no PVR functions at this point, however, so you cannot pause, rewind or save live television. There is currently the opportunity to save some children’s programming and Shaw says that this functionality could extend to other areas in the near future.
Using the app is very easy and convenient, whether you’d like to watch TV on your smartphone or tablet.
- Download the Shaw FreeRange TV app from the links provided above. The app is available from the Google Play Store for Android devices or from the iTunes App Store for iOS devices.
- After installation and starting the app for the first time, you will be prompted to enter your Shaw credentials. The login information is the same as you would use to log into a Shaw Go Wi-Fi access point.
- The main navigation can be accessed by pressing the three horizontal lines near the top left corner. This opens up the menu where you’ll find the guide, your saved content and your on demand content. Both Shaw and Shomi content is collected together and can both be accessed directly from within the FreeRange TV app.
- The main categories under “guide” are all listings, kids, sports and movies. All listing is like a standard channel guide where you simply move up and down the channels, showing you what programming is on right now.
- The “for you” collection displays programming that the algorithm has determined you may enjoy watching. Underneath each show, it will display how much time is remaining.
- Tap on any channel or program to begin streaming. Tap anywhere on the screen while streaming to bring up the options for closed captioning or SAP.
A few restrictions have been put in place for using this app. It can only be used while you are physically in Canada, for instance, so you cannot take your cable subscription with you on a vacation to Palm Springs. Also, only up to two devices per account can actively stream video from the app at the same time. The app has also disabled the ability to take screenshots.
While not perfect, the Shaw FreeRange TV app is a welcome addition that provides free “bonus” value to existing Shaw subscribers.
