Pulling dvc black boxes out of theory and into reality, Shaw Communications’ rollout of 30,000 smart dark cubes in Calgary this fall is not considered training ground for new specialty services.

The emphasis is on upping the premium side of the service equation for the consumer ‘by the least disruptive means possible,’ says Shaw president Jim Shaw Jr.

First-run phase will see about 50 pay-per-view channels in the offing, as near video-on-demand as possible, plus five u.s. superchannels (up from two on the Shaw system now), and some selections from the classics library to test the buy rate. The new offering – which will cost at least $10 on top of the basic cable fee – is available through the $600-$650 receivers, which can either be rented, leased of purchased by the subscriber.

Of the yet-to-be licensed specialties, the only guaranteed entry in Shaw’s Calgary test is ppv sports, should it be licensed.

Any potential packaging scenarios for the new puppies, scheduled to be announced the first week of September, is premature, says Shaw.

‘We haven’t had the technology to offer packages until now. This test is a learning exercise for everybody and will gauge some of the fundamentals like menu and organization. When we actually know how they’re going to be licensed, we’ll go from there.

Shaw is the first to kick into play its $60 million to $80 million investment in gi’s little black box. Its total contract order to date caps at 200,000 boxes but comes with a letter of intent for another 200,000 if demand for the product dictates a greater volume.

Rogers Communications has ordered 190,000 and is doing location testing in north Toronto. No letter of intent has been filed. Shaw expects to have all 200,000 deployed in the market within 24 months, the 30,000 for Calgary beginning in October and in place by the end of the year.

Shaw concurs there are no worries on the production side, should irresistible packaging and distribution strategies propel the boxes into the marketplace faster than projected. The lion’s share of orders is coming from the u.s., but Shaw is ‘third or fourth’ in the commitment line-up and gi is producing about 100,000 a month.

Speaking of specialties, on the topic of how much Shaw paid Rawlco Communications for its 51% stake in ncn, Shaw Jr. will say only that between $15 million to $20 million is ‘in the range’ and that the $25 million price tag typically pinned on a new specialty is ‘too high.’