Official Comcast CableCard Thread! [Text View] - Page 15

Thunderclap

09-06-2007, 12:19 PM

What numbers should one verify with Comast other than the Host ID and CC S/N?

What is this Datacode field? Are there other fields?

I'm getting ready for truck roll number four to happen this weekend with a "senior" cablecard technician, and I just want to be prepared.

In Tivo Central goto Messages & Settings --> Settings --> Remote, CableCARD & Device --> CableCARD Decoder --> Configure CableCARD 1 (do this for #2 if you have two S-Cards) --> CableCARD Menu --> CableCARD Pairing

In here you'll have listings for CableCARD ID, Host ID and Data. I didn't need to give Comcast the CableCARD ID (they wanted the S/N) but keep it handy to be safe. When you call them make sure these numbers are identical, including dashes (this seems to cause problems for some people).

Once you've verified all numbers are accurate with Comcast have them re-hit and re-initialize your card at least twice.

rad1701

09-06-2007, 12:51 PM

Quick question - does Digital Starter package with Comcast give you HD channels above 199 with TIVO HD and a cable card setup? Comcast rep is saying I will need Digital preferred service.

09-06-2007, 01:03 PM

Quick question - does Digital Starter package with Comcast give you HD channels above 199 with TIVO HD and a cable card setup? Comcast rep is saying I will need Digital preferred service.

Broadcast HD channels, yes. Non-broadcast HD channels, no. Digital Starter is just the digital version of the analog cable 2-75 or so.

bmel

09-06-2007, 02:10 PM

When you call them make sure these numbers are identical, including dashes (this seems to cause problems for some people).

Once you've verified all numbers are accurate with Comcast have them re-hit and re-initialize your card at least twice.

Just tried again, and failed. Are you sure about the dashes? The comcast people were absolutely sure they could not input the dashes.

tmesser

09-06-2007, 02:40 PM

Broadcast HD channels, yes. Non-broadcast HD channels, no. Digital Starter is just the digital version of the analog cable 2-75 or so.

Right, but Digital Classic will get him the additional HD channels he wants. Digital Preferred isn't necessary.

Thunderclap

09-06-2007, 03:00 PM

Just tried again, and failed. Are you sure about the dashes? The comcast people were absolutely sure they could not input the dashes.

Not 100% but others here recommended I mentioned where the dashes were to Comcast.

mcalhoon

09-06-2007, 05:31 PM

I bought the Tivo HD on 8/12 and Comcast scheduled a CableCard install on the morning of 8/13. On 8/13 I get a call saying they had no CableCards and they rescheduled for 8/15. On 8/15 the same lady called back and said they have no CableCards and would not give me any type of time frame of when they would have some....I happened to have a business card of a Residential Sales rep who had visited my neighborhood earlier in the year, so I decided to e-mail him. He is on the commercial side now, but he checked for me, and they do not expect any CableCards until late September or early October.

Well, I finally have a success story. The Anne Arundel County, MD office was out of CableCards. I complained a few more times over the past couple of weeks, and was told last week that the supervisor was aware of the issue. Well, yesterday I got an e-mail from the Sales Rep saying they were finally in. I'm out of town on business, but my wife is at home, so I had them come by this morning for the install.

I coached her through what she needed to know. When I talked to her the tech was there doing the install. She said he was using 1 M-card. He left right after the CableCard was installed, during the Tivo setup phase. I talked to my wife later and she said she could only get the basic HD channels and not much else. We called Comcast up and the phone tech attempted to correct a problem he saw, but it still did not work. He setup another appointment for tomorrow morning.

I had asked my wife to do a Tivo update and restart the Tivo to see if that would help. She did the update, but forgot to restart the Tivo. That was about 3 hours ago. I was reading an earlier post on how restarting may fix this issue, so I called her up to remind her. Well, when she turned the TV back on she discovered everything was working fine. All the channels, including the HD and HBO, etc. premium channels were there. She said the HD looked really nice.

So it looks like I am good now...in time to watch the Ravens on MNF. I appreciate this thread, because I had a good idea of what to expect...and I expected that the install probably wouldn't go smoothly the first time around.

Thanks,
Mike

aharris999

09-06-2007, 06:22 PM

As usual, don't believe what a CSR tells you. There is a *little* truth to what the rep told you - MCards are being used in the new 3416 DVRs that Comcast is deploying in many locations and these are "preinstalled" and have specific instructions so CSRs can activate it easily. Since those cards are pre-deployed, the stock is apparently different that the stock that the regional warehouses are getting for "regular" installs, so it's possible they won't be getting individual cards until later in the year.

(This is exactly what happened in my area - the 3416s came in first, about a month ahead of "stand alone" MCards)

Is there a difference in functionality between the M-Cards that come with the 3416's and the "stand-alone" M-Cards that can be used in Tivos?

Comcast thinks this is what's wrong with my cablecard/Tivo setup. The tech said that my area has been low on standalone cablecards, so less experienced techs have been pulling MCards out of the new boxes and using those in Tivos and other applications.

In other words, would an MCard that was pulled out of a 3416, work with Tivo?

clemon79

09-06-2007, 07:01 PM

Once you've verified all numbers are accurate with Comcast have them re-hit and re-initialize your card at least twice.
Since I'm still thinking about replacing my two S-cards with a single M-card (poking the bear, yes, I know), and I suspect I'll be on the phone with these people, what's the sequence here when you say "at least twice"? Each? Hit-hit-validate-validate? Hit -validate-hit-validate? What? I just want to be sure I know EXACTLY what to walk them through, because I DO know that a truck roll is utterly unnecessary, but I also know that the vast majority of the phone clones have no idea what they're doing and need their hands held from start to finish...

Status

09-06-2007, 07:09 PM

I got my TivoHD about two weeks ago and love it. I have an OTA antenna and it works beautifully with it. I opted to also add in two cable cards and upgrade myself to the Digital Classic package through Comcast (local HD...which I was already getting and a few extra HD channels, mostly DHD and TNTHD).

Sunday Comcast (not contractor) cable guy showed up and spent 4 hours trying to get a good enough signal to get everything up and running correctly. After rerouting my cable to the Tivo (which included clipping my internal existing cable run, me losing cable in 2 rooms and him running new cable externally to the Tivo), I got most channels in HD I was supposed to. I called up Comcast and had them come out on Wednesday because I was getting 4 heavily tiled and not getting two stations completely. Come to find out that there's some issue with the 40 year old cable run from the box to my house. Next step is to call out the heavy duty inspectors to check the underground line...

Some bits that I learned through this process. If your digital signal is degraded significantly, TivoHD will show a black screen with "look at our troubleshooting help..." instead of a heavily tiled picture. Two S-Cards will work with OTA.

-Status

Kyrian

09-06-2007, 10:54 PM

Brian,

For what it's worth, this is what worked for me today (after buying an HDTiVo yesterday and being unsuccessful installing the cablecards myself yesterday):

After 3 calls (and 2+ hours on the phone) I was able to speak to a Tech Support Supervisor who was able to make my cards work properly. Although I had already provided the cards' serial numbers to the two previous techs, the supervisor asked me for the Host and Unit Address numbers, though I didn't need to specify the dashes in the numbers. (These numbers should be accessible through the "Conditional Access" option of the "CableCards" submenu.) Evidently my problem was that those numbers weren't associated with the same cable outlet in my house. Once the supervisor was able to reconcile that on her end, my cards both ended up working perfectly (whereas before I was only able to access unencrypted, non-premium channels with one card, and none with the other).

Hope that helps...

jfh3

09-07-2007, 01:47 AM

Not 100% but others here recommended I mentioned where the dashes were to Comcast.

Don't confuse them. :)

Just the numbers, no dashes.

WeBoat

09-07-2007, 06:46 AM

Just a followup on my 7 week TivoHD problems.....

I'm now talking with two senior engineers at the head end and the regional VP for my area.

Get this: They claim to never have setup a tivo HD or an S3. They actually went out and BOUGHT a Tivo HD to test with yesterday. They now claim they have found 3 serious issues with their CC setup at the head end. One with SA cards, one with Motorola cards and a pixelation issue. Now they are talking with SA, Motorola and Tivo. I got 4 calls yesterday asking to test on my end, one claiming motorola made a code change at the head end. Promised more calls today and the VP said he will be checking with them several times a day until this is resolved.

We'll see. Going on week 8 this weekend.

Oh... Also I've got moto cards and am not getting 7 HD channels. I get everything else. A senior comcast engineer for our entire area could not get the SA cards to get ANY encrypted channels at the head end location.

jrm01

09-07-2007, 07:11 AM

Oh... Also I've got moto cards and am not getting 7 HD channels. I get everything else. A senior comcast engineer for our entire area could not get the SA cards to get ANY encrypted channels at the head end location.
I was always under the belief that the card manufacturer had to be the same as the equipment manufacturer of the headend equipment. That is, moto cards for moto headend, SA cards for SA headend.

Are you saying that they are trying a mix and match?

WeBoat

09-07-2007, 07:13 AM

According to what he told me on the phone yesterday. They didn't have moto cards at the head end, but they had worse troubles than mine with the SA cards.

My first truck roll installed SA cards. I think it was the third one when they found some Moto cards and installed them because the installer said "they work better".

jrm01

09-07-2007, 07:19 AM

Just a followup on my 7 week TivoHD problems.....

I'm now talking with two senior engineers at the head end and the regional VP for my area.

If you have the attention of all the folks theree, maybe you could get them to try an experiment.

Have them remove all equipment from your account except the two cablecards (no DVRs, STBs, etc.). Have them re-enter the proper authorization for the two Digital Outlets remaining (2 cablecards). Have them re-enter the pairing information (host/data, serial numbers). Have them send an authorization hit to both cards.

jrm01

09-07-2007, 07:21 AM

WeBoat

09-07-2007, 07:56 AM

If you have the attention of all the folks theree, maybe you could get them to try an experiment.

Have them remove all equipment from your account except the two cablecards (no DVRs, STBs, etc.). Have them re-enter the proper authorization for the two Digital Outlets remaining (2 cablecards). Have them re-enter the pairing information (host/data, serial numbers). Have them send an authorization hit to both cards.

I'll mention that when he calls this morning, but I assume that the new TivoHD they just bought is on an account by itself. I'll pass back the findings.

WeBoat

09-07-2007, 07:57 AM

I'm not talking about "moto cards at the head end", I'm talking about the head end equipment that the cards talk to.

I wasn't either. I have motorola cards in my HD. I've had SA cards in the same HD so I guess it doesn't matter what is at the head end. I'll ask this morning what the head equipment is.

Status

09-07-2007, 08:42 AM

I forgot to mention that the Comcast guy who came out for my service install, it was his first, but he had a guy on his NexTel who knew a lot about TivoHD and S3 installs as a reference.

One of the tricky bits that the knowledgeable knew about was that upgrading service didn't seem to work for some/most cable cards. What he knew worked was if service was downgraded. So, since I was upgrading from Basic to Classic the technician called Comcast and they upgraded me to the Platinum service and then removed functionality until I was at the Classic package. One other slight issue was that some of the channels wouldn't reset correctly until the work order was marked as done...then they surprisingly started working.

-Status

joyriderama

09-07-2007, 09:07 AM

Does anyone have a real reason why some markets allow cablecard self-installs, and others absolutely refuse to allow it?

I live in an area that doesn't allow it(Minneapolis), and that's very frustrating. I want a Tivo-HD, but I'm dreading having to deal with a tech that doesn't know what they're doing. Well, if they're anything like the previous techs I've had to deal with, that is.

Ugh.

stlmapman

09-07-2007, 09:56 AM

4 service calls, hours and hours of time spent explaining and re-explaining my story and what a cablecard is ("No, it's not a box!"), and a trip to the Comcast local office later, I'm still where I started. No working cablecards. No idea if Comcast will ever figure this out. And another worthless tech visit scheduled for Sunday.

I hate Comcast and hate that I have to deal with them in order to have Tivo, which I obviously love. As far as my technical issue is concerned, I now have a Scientific Atlanta M-card that doesn't work. We've gone through 10 cards, it clearly is a problem on Comcast's end. Every card shows "Waiting for CP Auth" and is unpaired. I don't have a menu option for "Cable Card Pairing" that it sounds like I am supposed to have. I don't know what to do anymore. It shouldn't be this hard.

Neenahboy

09-07-2007, 10:02 AM

Got the TiVo HD set up late last night with no problems and am now in the middle of the Comcast install range.

*crosses fingers*

rad1701

09-07-2007, 10:06 AM

What brand M-cable cards are most Comcast places using? Wasn't there a problem with the Scientific Atlanta cards and TIVO working well together?

Has anyone found that Digital Classic isn't available? For some reason when I look at package choices on Comcast's site I see Digital Starter ($53/mo) and Digital Preferred ($67/mo). No classic? What price does that run normally?

Oh and do all the ON DEMAND features work with cable cards installed in HD TIVO still (assuming you have it working well)?

stlmapman

09-07-2007, 10:09 AM

What brand M-cable cards are most Comcast places using? Wasn't there a problem with the Scientific Atlanta cards and TIVO working well together?

Mine have all been Scientific Atlanta, however we aren't even getting to the point of seeing the pixelation problems that TiVo has supposedly addressed.

borabora

09-07-2007, 10:17 AM

Thanks to the insights provided by this forum my installation went fairly well. The Comcast installer left after 1 hour with cards installed and service not working and said that it will start working soon. I was happy to have him leave as long as he left the cards.

Of course (as expected) things did not fix themselves automatically. I removed an S-card from slot 1 and a M-card from slot 2 (!) and placed the latter in slot 1. Called Comcast and asked for an activation (assuming that the numbers had been called in already) and indeed after 1/2 hour everything worked and seems stable. Now I have a spare S-card...

While Comcast clearly does not train their installers properly, I also have to say that Tivo's decision to make slot 1 the right slot and slot 2 the left slot is very confusing (at least in the US).

I am looking forward to multi-room and PC support but probably my first priority would be to have the UI sped up significantly.

Thunderclap

09-07-2007, 10:48 AM

Since I'm still thinking about replacing my two S-cards with a single M-card (poking the bear, yes, I know), and I suspect I'll be on the phone with these people, what's the sequence here when you say "at least twice"?

I just had them hit, validate, hit, validate.

Neenahboy

09-07-2007, 11:10 AM

Got the TiVo HD set up late last night with no problems and am now in the middle of the Comcast install range.

*crosses fingers*

No go for today. :mad:

The guy said there were none in the warehouse, and that he tried calling me (he did not). He said they might be in tomorrow but there's no way to really know.

I left a message at their corporate HQ, so we'll see what they say.

:mad:

rad1701

09-07-2007, 11:31 AM

Just called Comcast. Setup a Cable Card install (told them I wanted an M-card) for this coming Monday. I also had them note on the work order that I wanted someone experienced with Tivo HD installs to come to do it. I had to switch from Digital Starter to Digital Preferred but they are running a one year special for only 7.95 per month for that. Install is going to cost me $9.95. No charge for the card since it's the only equipment I will have from them. I will report back Monday after the visit. Wish me luck!

oldnacl

09-07-2007, 12:20 PM

My CC install is scheduled for tomorrow. I forced the "c" download yesterday, so hopefully I'll be good to go. Also hoping for good luck wishes.

rad1701

09-07-2007, 12:32 PM

What is this "C" download? I have yet to hook my HD TIVO box up at all.

tmesser

09-07-2007, 12:45 PM

What is this "C" download? I have yet to hook my HD TIVO box up at all.

The C download is the latest software revision (8.1.7c2) to fix a macroblocking issue that some TiVo HD users are seeing with Scientific Atlanta CableCARDs. You should get it automatically when you set up your box.

rad1701

09-07-2007, 12:50 PM

Can a cable card HD TIVO still network to older TIVO's in my house and transfer shows between TIVO's?

tmesser

09-07-2007, 12:54 PM

Has anyone found that Digital Classic isn't available? For some reason when I look at package choices on Comcast's site I see Digital Starter ($53/mo) and Digital Preferred ($67/mo). No classic? What price does that run normally?

I had the Digital Classic package on my account until very recently (I just moved to Digital Preferred with 1 premium so I could add HBO -- I loves me some Entourage and Bill Maher :D). According to the Comcast site, Digital Classic is available in my area for $3 less than Digital Preferred. The only real difference between Classic and Preferred is about 30 digital channels (Fox Reality, Soap Net, Bloomberg TV, CNBC World, The Biography Channel, etc.) -- channels that I personally will never watch.

My Comcast channel lineup states that Digital Classic is all you need to get the digital non-broadcast HD channels, and I had them. Perhaps they're phasing out Classic in some markets in an effort to consolidate their product line (and effectively charge more to get HD). I always thought the line between Classic and Preferred was pretty small, anyway.

jrm01

09-07-2007, 12:54 PM

Can a cable card HD TIVO still network to older TIVO's in my house and transfer shows between TIVO's?
Not yet. But Tivo reported today that it will be available in November (for non copy protected content, basically excludes HD Premium channels).

09-07-2007, 12:59 PM

Has anyone found that Digital Classic isn't available? For some reason when I look at package choices on Comcast's site I see Digital Starter ($53/mo) and Digital Preferred ($67/mo). No classic? What price does that run normally?

The website does not have all of the available options. You need to look at the price sheet that's usually included in the January statement. Classic should be around $12/month.

Neenahboy

09-07-2007, 01:10 PM

No go for today. :mad:

The guy said there were none in the warehouse, and that he tried calling me (he did not). He said they might be in tomorrow but there's no way to really know.

I left a message at their corporate HQ, so we'll see what they say.

:mad:

So about 10 minutes after the guy leaves, I get an automated call saying to expect someone from 11:45 to 12:30, which I thought was just a mistake from the earlier appointment that hadn't been corrected yet.

20 minutes later, I get a call from the Comcast guy and he's downstairs. He said he went back to base and his supervisor found two cards laying around. We insert the first (an M-card...yay!) only to not receive the encrypted channels after several hits and INTs. The second card (an S-card, which I gladly would've taken until the mess could get sorted) gave a 161-1 error which indicates either a bad CC or a bad CC reader (it was a bad CC, because the TiVo did recognize that a card was inserted, and it got all the hardware and firmware info fine).

So now I'm waiting for customer service to call me to reschedule.

*sigh* I just KNEW this was going to be a saga. :(

MichaelK

09-07-2007, 01:10 PM

Not yet. But Tivo reported today that it will be available in November (for non copy protected content, basically excludes HD Premium channels).

on many cable systems ALL digital content (HD or even SD) is copy protected. (with the exception of the legally mandated local channels which must be kept clear)

mike_sjc

09-07-2007, 02:24 PM

Hmm was just told by customer care that all the M-cards they have now are designed just for their new boxes and that the M-cards cards that can be used in people's TV's and tivo units won't be available till the end of the year.

And of course the warehouse is out of single stream cards.That's a lie. I have a Tivo HD box with a M-card in it. Apparently my Tivo isn't aware the card isn't designed for it because it's working just fine :p

Langree

09-07-2007, 02:59 PM

That's a lie. I have a Tivo HD box with a M-card in it. Apparently my Tivo isn't aware the card isn't designed for it because it's working just fine :p

But see, they said "Now" so it doesn't count those of us who recieved M cards before "now".

They probably want you to use S cards because they think they are still buggy with Tivo's. Unaware that the fix is out. :)

rad1701

09-07-2007, 05:29 PM

So if you wanted to pick which cards to go with for a new Tivo HD setup which would it be? One M (multistream card) or two S - cards. The Comcast guy is coming Monday for me.

jfh3

09-07-2007, 05:58 PM

So if you wanted to pick which cards to go with for a new Tivo HD setup which would it be? One M (multistream card) or two S - cards. The Comcast guy is coming Monday for me.

Hands down, one MCard.

Newer, less chance of needing a firmware upgrade, only one card for the cable company to activate.

bizzy

09-07-2007, 06:15 PM

i'd prefer not to pay for a second card every month, but i am wierd like that :)

rad1701

09-07-2007, 07:12 PM

Good points. I pretty much knew that, but I was just checking if the one M-card seems to cause any other issues or anything.

jrm01

09-07-2007, 07:41 PM

on many cable systems ALL digital content (HD or even SD) is copy protected. (with the exception of the legally mandated local channels which must be kept clear)
I'm no expert on this, and probably should keep my mouth shut (it is shut as I type this) but I would think that this would be true for some systems, but not many (in terms of total subscribers).

WeBoat

09-08-2007, 06:55 AM

I just wanted to update my 7 week TivoHD CC issue.

They got it fixed.

I've been talking to a senior engineer at the head end for the last few days. He calls about 3 or 4 times a day and wants me to "check" the missing channels. Last night (a Friday night!) he called at 9:30 and they all were coming in. No reboot, no reconfigures at my end.

I am in an area that was Time Warner until about a year ago. He said the issue had to do with the interface between comcast and the old TWC system. He said they have tons of issues like this because the have to support the old TWC and the new Comcast boxes.

Just FYI if you are in SWFL....

wam4

09-08-2007, 09:00 AM

bmel

09-08-2007, 01:25 PM

The comcast tech who was supposed to come out this am (Lancaster, PA) for a 2nd attempt at install cancelled. He claimed I cancelled. More than likely he did not want to hassle with the cc. My irate call resulted in a $20 compensation for my 4 hours this am. I begged for a conversation with a supervisor, got one in West virginia who knew nothing about cable cards but promised to send an email to a more senior supervisor, but no promise to get back to me. They seem to think the cc should behave exactly like their cable boxes. Apparently not. Rescheduled truck roll for Wed. (sorry to bore you but this is a great place to vent, very therapeutic)

In running thru the diagnostics for the M-card in my Tivo HD, using the info from tivo.com/support , I find that the card is communicating, paired but not authorized. I'm still missing all encrypted channels. Would it be worth time on the phone with tivo support? Is there some magic they can get me to communicate to comcast on the steps for authorization?

Uncle_Steve

09-08-2007, 02:22 PM

My experiences so far with Comcast and Cable Cards:

- day 1: technician brings an M-card and two S-cards (2 hours late), installs M-card it and it doesn't work. Says it will work after guided setup completes and leaves. It's late and I'm tired. The card never works.

- day 2: Different tech comes out. Discovers that the office had two digits of the card number transposed. Leaves after system is receiving all except premium channels. Says NOC needs to reconfigure card. NOC reports seeing an error they've never seen before. Twilight Zone music plays.

- day 3: Two techs this time. Bring some single-stream cards. Replace the cable end on the cable from the street. Disconnect my OTA for some reason. (Fortunately I notice this!) Leave after an hour or so and one attempt to re-hit the existing M-card. Admit they're never seen an M-card before.

- day 4: Yet another tech. Brings two s-cards. First one returns an error at the NOC. Puts the m-card back in and leaves things no worse than before (everything except premium channels working) Makes appointment for Monday to return with another m-card. Is skeptical that there's anything wrong with this end of things, but is equally ineffective as I have been in getting office personnel to try things.

Oh yeah -- these are all Scientific Atlanta cards. This is Howard County Maryland.

Neenahboy

09-08-2007, 03:08 PM

So about 10 minutes after the guy leaves, I get an automated call saying to expect someone from 11:45 to 12:30, which I thought was just a mistake from the earlier appointment that hadn't been corrected yet.

20 minutes later, I get a call from the Comcast guy and he's downstairs. He said he went back to base and his supervisor found two cards laying around. We insert the first (an M-card...yay!) only to not receive the encrypted channels after several hits and INTs. The second card (an S-card, which I gladly would've taken until the mess could get sorted) gave a 161-1 error which indicates either a bad CC or a bad CC reader (it was a bad CC, because the TiVo did recognize that a card was inserted, and it got all the hardware and firmware info fine).

So now I'm waiting for customer service to call me to reschedule.

*sigh* I just KNEW this was going to be a saga. :(

The saga continues. Customer service never called me back yesterday, and when I called they claimed there were no available appointments.

I went down to a local office today for an unrelated issue (modem swap) and inquired about another truck roll. They just so happened to have an M-card in the office and asked if I would like that. I would. Apparently there's no option for self-install in my area and they weren't supposed to do that, even though a manager approved it. Here's where it gets fun.

I call to provision the CableCARD and they tell me they can't do it. I tell them there must be a way because I have "friends" throughout the country who have been able to do it themselves, and that I'd like it activated now. They take the serial number without asking for the host ID or data number. When this doesn't work, as I told them it wouldn't, they try to arrange for another truck roll. I indicate that I don't want to do that and ask to be elevated to a supervisor. None are available. Seriously, WTF?

Tried calling again and got basically the same story. I refuse to pay to get another tech out here, only to have him call his magic dispatch number and get it activated immediately, especially when I'm more than capable of doing this and I already have the damn card.

Bastages. :mad:

jmpage2

09-08-2007, 03:09 PM

The comcast tech who was supposed to come out this am (Lancaster, PA) for a 2nd attempt at install cancelled. He claimed I cancelled. More than likely he did not want to hassle with the cc. My irate call resulted in a $20 compensation for my 4 hours this am. I begged for a conversation with a supervisor, got one in West virginia who knew nothing about cable cards but promised to send an email to a more senior supervisor, but no promise to get back to me. The seem to think the cc should behave exactly like their cable boxes. Apparently not. Rescheduled truck roll for Wed. (sorry to bore you but this is a great place to vent, very therapeutic)

In running thru the diagnostics for the M-card in my Tivo HD, using the info from tivo.com/support , I find that the card is communicating, paired but not authorized. I'm still missing all encrypted channels. Would it be worth time on the phone with tivo support? Is there some magic they can get me to communicate to comcast on the steps for authorization?

Brian

Tivo has a special phone number specifically for handling cable card issues. I believe that other people who have called them have actually had them tell Comcast what needs to be done on their end based on the diagnostic information.

jeshaffer

09-08-2007, 03:34 PM

Comcast cable card issue. Installed today and am missing several channels on both tuners.

appears to be 23, 24, 25. I get the "searching for XXX on basic cable message.

I called and was told they were paired properly and have a truck roll scheduled for Monday.

Anyone have input for what they can do remotely to fix this so i dont have to take a half day off?

EDIT: Actually missing about 20 channels. a lot below 99 and a number of others. CC2 appears to have some pairing issues.

bluemcduff

09-08-2007, 04:56 PM

I'm in Atlanta, too and set up my appointment for the CCs in late August. The first Saturday they had was today (Sept 8th) and THIS MORNING - the day of the appointment - they call me to say that they "have no CC's in the warehouse and they're on back order." I told the guy they have the worst customer service...I mean, they can't check earlier this week to see if they have the equipment they need for thier upcoming appointments?? I skipped going to see GA Tech play today - from a box, too - and now they aren't coming. Incredible.

I wanted to chime in on this too since I've had to deal with the absolute ignorance that pervades Comcast Atlanta.

I just had a contractor (He's the second one I've had) leave on me because he had a bad cablecard and wouldn't even try the second one. Nice guy, but totally clueless.

And to make matters worse, he won't take the first cable card that malfunctioned in the first place.

The first time they sent people out on Thursday, I wanted to tear my hair out by my roots because not only did they not know what they were doing--they only brought out one card when I explicitly asked for two cards.

I later find out that their supervisor wouldn't let them bring out two cards and would only give them the one.

I loved the fact that one of their dolts said "This isn't hooked up to an HDTV, it won't work." and "My DVR box from Comcast is so much simpler."

So we try the one card and it eventually pairs--I leave for work and when I come back I have a cablecard that can't decrypt anything above basic and is showing zeros on the host screen.

Finally, you'll love the fact they don't even have Series3s to test with let alone train people on.

Sorry to vent like this for my first post, but despite these problems I love my Tivo and I'm sticking with it until Comcast gets its act together.

KeithRos

09-08-2007, 08:06 PM

Finally, the Tivo guy offers to replace the box. So I say why not - we seemed to have tried everything else. So a new box will be here in 3-5 days.

The Comcast Tech spent 2-1/2 hours at my house missing his other two morning appointments. He was very apologetic about the problems. At this point I feel that Comcast has done everything they can.

Stay tuned for more fun...

Missing Channels update
My replacement TIVO showed up Friday. I immediately installed and went through the setup. Also forced a update. The Tivo box they sent had the 8.7.1a software. Called the comcast cable card line and left a message. They called by about 2 hours later and it only took a couple minutes to initialize the card. Since I had to let the tivo re-do guided setup, I let the comcast tech go. After the set up was done I re-booted and.....no change. Still missing the same channels. So I guess it is safe to say it's not the Tivo. The tech told me to call on Monday with results either way. I'll spend more time with them and see if we can boost the signal.

BTW, early this afternoon the cable signal here got really crappy. The Tivo lost all HD and HBO. The picture looked like crap on all but Comcast box. I tried using On-demand and got errors. I wonder how often this happens. I never noticed before.

oldnacl

09-09-2007, 05:58 AM

Success in S FL.
My Comcast installer arrived a half hour later than the scheduled window after a call to tell me he'd be late. I appreciated that call.
He'd been at another TiVo install earlier and said it took 2 hours to get the people in the office to correctly authorize the cards - went through 6 S cards before finding two that worked. He had six more with him - says no M cards (in this market) before 2008.
First card looked good, second card too, but he had trouble getting the right person in the office for authorization. Then the second card wasn't in the office database. Pulled it and inserted another. Took another hour to get to the right person in the office (it WAS lunch time) and the authorization was successful. Checked and saw HBO HD and Discovery HD. Pronounced it a success, packed up and left with my SA Cable box. I went through TiVo setup and all is good. No pixelation so far- a couple audio dropouts but that could be the program I recorded.
Anyone in the West Palm Beach to Boca area might do well to request this installer. His first name is Guy. This is the second time he's been at my house and he's very professional and knowledgable.
Now if the billing comes out anywhere near correct....

bmel

09-09-2007, 06:27 AM

[QUOTE=KeithRos]Missing Channels update
Called the comcast cable card line and left a message. They called by about 2 hours later and it only took a couple minutes to initialize the card. Since I had to let the tivo re-do guided setup, I let the comcast tech go. After the set up was done I re-booted and.....no change. Still missing the same channels. So I guess it is safe to say it's not the Tivo. The tech told me to call on Monday with results either way. I'll spend more time with them and see if we can boost the signal. QUOTE]

What's the cable card line? A special number with more knowledgable reps? Is it national?

WeBoat

09-09-2007, 06:38 AM

Missing Channels update
My replacement TIVO showed up Friday. I immediately installed and went through the setup. Also forced a update. The Tivo box they sent had the 8.7.1a software. Called the comcast cable card line and left a message. They called by about 2 hours later and it only took a couple minutes to initialize the card. Since I had to let the tivo re-do guided setup, I let the comcast tech go. After the set up was done I re-booted and.....no change. Still missing the same channels. So I guess it is safe to say it's not the Tivo. The tech told me to call on Monday with results either way. I'll spend more time with them and see if we can boost the signal.

BTW, early this afternoon the cable signal here got really crappy. The Tivo lost all HD and HBO. The picture looked like crap on all but Comcast box. I tried using On-demand and got errors. I wonder how often this happens. I never noticed before.

If you tried on-demand on the comcast box and it looked bad, you might have signal strength issues. Did the installer check that? If the strength is low, CC's have lots of issues.

jeshaffer

09-09-2007, 07:50 AM

If you tried on-demand on the comcast box and it looked bad, you might have signal strength issues. Did the installer check that? If the strength is low, CC's have lots of issues.

That was something no one had checked (including me) on my installation. I was at a signal strength of about 55 on my box. I disconnected my cable modem and my 3 DIG boxes and it was at 92. Waiting for a truck roll Monday morning.

Anyone know of a good signal amplifier?

rad1701

09-09-2007, 11:21 AM

ThreeSoFar

09-09-2007, 11:59 AM

I just got my HD TIVO installed and ready for cable card install by Comcast tomorrow. How do I force an update again to get the latest TIVO software? Is this still possible to do if I haven't "activated" this new box on my account yet?
Within the first 7 days, it's fully operational regardless of its sub status.

You can do this by forcing a connection to TiVo.

Come back to that same screen until it no longer says "processing" or some such.

If you ever see "pending restart" there, and also check system information, then force a restart of the box.

Repeat several connections to TiVo, in particular after the forced reset if you get the "pending restart" showing.

rad1701

09-09-2007, 02:10 PM

Think I got the update now. 8.1.7c2.... version. Menu's don't seem any slower than my old TIVO. All ready for Comcast and my cable card tomorrow!

bluemcduff

09-09-2007, 03:43 PM

I wanted to chime in on this too since I've had to deal with the absolute ignorance that pervades Comcast Atlanta.

I just had a contractor (He's the second one I've had) leave on me because he had a bad cablecard and wouldn't even try the second one. Nice guy, but totally clueless.

And to make matters worse, he won't take the first cable card that malfunctioned in the first place.

The first time they sent people out on Thursday, I wanted to tear my hair out by my roots because not only did they not know what they were doing--they only brought out one card when I explicitly asked for two cards.

I later find out that their supervisor wouldn't let them bring out two cards and would only give them the one.

I loved the fact that one of their dolts said "This isn't hooked up to an HDTV, it won't work." and "My DVR box from Comcast is so much simpler."

So we try the one card and it eventually pairs--I leave for work and when I come back I have a cablecard that can't decrypt anything above basic and is showing zeros on the host screen.

Finally, you'll love the fact they don't even have Series3s to test with let alone train people on.

Sorry to vent like this for my first post, but despite these problems I love my Tivo and I'm sticking with it until Comcast gets its act together.

I got a wonderful CSR last night who not only appreciated the frustrations I've had with installers who have cut and run at the first sign of trouble she credited the bill for $169!

Now that's service!

I now have an appointment tomorrow from 11-2 with a third technician who (hopefully) has expertise with installing cablecards.

I'm just hoping now that the rest of the Atlanta staff become as helpful and understand that cablecards don't just go into TV's

Uncle_Steve

09-09-2007, 04:09 PM

Tivo has a special phone number specifically for handling cable card issues. I believe that other people who have called them have actually had them tell Comcast what needs to be done on their end based on the diagnostic information.

What is this phone number?

bluemcduff

09-09-2007, 06:08 PM

What is this phone number?

I've had to call twice--it's 1-866-986-8486

MichaelK

09-09-2007, 09:30 PM

I'm no expert on this, and probably should keep my mouth shut (it is shut as I type this) but I would think that this would be true for some systems, but not many (in terms of total subscribers).

it's pretty much impossible to tell at the moment- not many customers are really paying attention since very few people have anything that curently can transfer content. But when MRV gets turned on and some people have trouble transferring we'll find out exact numbers.

For the time being I know that there's "enough" posts here and at avsforums to to show me (in my head at leat- LOL) that it's not just limited to my head end. There's clearly many (as in more than a few or several) head ends affected- but as you point out since there's probably hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of head ends in the US it's tough to say how many people are really effected.

for example this post:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5484394&&#post5484394
says timer warner in NYC has it all locked down like that- and that's certainly a big pile of people....

clemon79

09-10-2007, 02:24 AM

I just had them hit, validate, hit, validate.
Excellent, that's really good information to be armed with. I think I'm gonna try to get 'em swapped out on Wednesday....wish me luck!

rad1701

09-10-2007, 03:31 PM

Still waiting on Comcast cable guy to show up and install my cable card. Appointment time was between 2pm - 5pm today. It's 4:31 pm now. Anyone taking bets out there?

robtech

09-10-2007, 04:19 PM

Still waiting on Comcast cable guy to show up and install my cable card. Appointment time was between 2pm - 5pm today. It's 4:31 pm now. Anyone taking bets out there?

If you are lucky he will bring a Motorola M-card. Been running a single in my Tivo HD for weeks with no issues. :)

rad1701

09-10-2007, 05:19 PM

Well they came about 15 minutes late. Installed one card. Have to see what type it is. Most seems ok but I'm getting a little audio buzz or clicking noise when I first change channels, but it goes away after a couple of seconds. Signal says it's at about 82 strength. Still doing some tests and going to reset the TIVO.

rad1701

09-10-2007, 05:40 PM

Crud....now I'm getting nothing on my HD TIVO! It seems I have a Motorola card, went through guided setup twice now. Called Comcast to resend a signal....restarting now. Dang - why is this such a pain?

P.S. I called Comcast and they said the work order has to be closed out before all my channels will work properly. What a load of ......! They said that can take several hours. I can't even see the basic channels now on my HD Tivo with the cable card inside. Still getting the audio clicking sound for a few seconds after I switch channels on certain ones.

bluemcduff

09-10-2007, 07:27 PM

Finally, I got a wonderful tech who I've gotten before--he brought two good cards.

We got a 161-4 error and Tivo CC Support had us switch the cards.

Fifteen minutes later, the headend hit the cards and they worked.

I am now running my Series3 at full functionality and loving it!

Now if I could only get Apps.tv and Galleon to work...

rad1701

09-10-2007, 08:18 PM

Well, I have a good chunk of the channels now working, but quite a few still are not with the new M Card. Now it's like 4 hours since they came. I'll give it overnight - I guess. :(

thedarksavant

09-10-2007, 08:42 PM

P.S. I called Comcast and they said the work order has to be closed out before all my channels will work properly. What a load of ......! They said that can take several hours. I can't even see the basic channels now on my HD Tivo with the cable card inside. Still getting the audio clicking sound for a few seconds after I switch channels on certain ones.

That is a load. I got really lucky and the Comcast guy had my HD TiVo up and running in about 35 minutes. When he first arrived and I told him what I needed, he was very skeptical. He said the CableCards are a real pain. He called in and the operator on the other end walked him through it. The most trouble he had was working the menus and the TiVo remote.

All my channels were working before he left, and that is the experience I've become used to with Comcast.

rad1701

09-10-2007, 08:50 PM

Yep - I agree. I'm calling them again tonight and setting up a new service visit. My fault partly. I didn't check ALL the channels. That's what happens when they come while I'm cooking dinner too. It's too bad too. The guy said he had extra cable cards in the van.

jfh3

09-11-2007, 03:06 AM

We got a 161-4 error and Tivo CC Support had us switch the cards.

Sorry to hear that the support person you had didn't realize that 161-4 is a "good" error.

myyours

09-11-2007, 09:06 AM

Just thought that I'd chime in with my experience.

Last Friday was my first install appointment. The installer brought an M-Card and although I had heard that M-Cards were more of a punk than the S-Cards, I was optimistic that things would work out. That said, this was the installer's first cablecard install, and in retrospect, he only gave his guy on the phone the Host ID and Cable Card #. Not the Data ID. Of course, only about 12 stations came in (the networks and their HD channels), but the installer insisted that it would probably take a few minutes to kick in, so he left.

I spent the next two days on the phone with various support reps and none of them could get the M Card to work.

To make a long story short...I saw 5 installers, talked to over 15 different reps (I got to the point where I'd call and say "cable card," and if they said "Huh?," I'd say "Thank You", hang up and call back in hopes that the next person knew anything about Cablecards) and I saw 2 M-Cards (which seemed impossible) and 3 S-Cards. There was a time where I had one S-Card fully functioning with premium and digital stations, but when the installer showed up with my second card, he wound up screwing up everything and I went back to have the basic stations again.

Finally, yesterday, my savior D'Andre showed up. This was his first cablecard install, but he had done some research and had found Celeste, the ultimate local support rep, who seemed to be the text book on all things cable related. When he talked to her over his Nextel, you could hear 2 or 3 other installers asking her questions too.

She asked him for the Data, Host ID and Cable Card #s. And for the first time, she also asked for the serial numbers on the actual cards themselves. I'm sure this played no part in properly validating the cards, but I'd imagine that it helped her better organize the cards in their system. We went through the 161-4 errors and all of that and finally, everything worked perfectly.

So, keep trying! There's bound to be one person in your area who knows what they're doing or at least who's patient and thorough enough to exhaust all the possibilities.

Evilmonkee

09-11-2007, 11:54 AM

Whoever is in charge of keeping Comcast employees/technicians trained and informed of the systems and hardware they use, needs to be fired.

I bought a Vizio 42" LCD from Costco and a new TiVoHD this last Friday. I had made an appointment to have Comcast come out and install the cable cards on Saturday. I setup my TiVo and updated it to the latest software(c2) Friday night so it would be ready to go.

My appointment was to be between 1-3pm. The tech(Patrick) showed up at 4:30p. When I had setup my appointment over the phone I was told that they would be installing a Multi-Stream Cable Card. When the guy showed up he had three Single-Stream Cable Cards. I asked him about the M-Card and he had never heard of them and swore that Comcast didn't use them and nobody else knew anything about it. *Sigh*

Over the course of the next two hours the tech tried and failed to get any of the three cards working. I could tell the neither he nor the tech on the other end of his phone really knew what they were doing. There was so much confusion over the Host and Data numbers and where they were supposed to be entered. The tech eventually gave up and was forced to leave by his supervisor. He told me to call him the next day(Sunday) and he would have another tech who would be working come out with more cards to try.

Day two(Sunday). Different tech(Andy) shows up and he seems a bit more knowledgeable. After some back and forth with the tech on the phone he determines that the numbers were input into the system incorrectly the previous day. They also had some account information screwed up. He successfully gets the first cable card in slot one setup but some HD channels and none of the premium channels work. Second cable card does not work at all. One thing the tech determined was that the signal strength to the box was very low. He poked around the box outside and at the curb but couldn't find the weak link. He said that it was probably bad/old cabling in the walls that they couldn't fix. He theorized that the weak signal was preventing the cable card from receiving the hits. He did not have any other cable cards with him to test out so he says he'll come by first thing Monday.

Day 3(Monday). Andy shows up at 10am as promised. First thing he does is check inside the wall outlets for splitters. In one of the rooms he finds the lines being split twice(there is cable going to 3 rooms in the house). He determines that they are old and underrated so he puts in a new 3-way splitter and tests the signal strength. Way better and within normal levels now. Checking CC1, all channels are now coming in clearly. CC2 is still having problems getting a signal. He brought some more cards to try and finally gets one to work...almost. It gets all channels except for premium subscription(HBO/Encore). Back and forth on the phone several times trying to get the card validated but it is a no go. He doesn't have any more cards to try so he says he can come back on Wednesday(I'm working today) with some more cards.

It's almost all working. Just no premium channels on the second tuner. This has really been a frustrating process, much more than it should ever be. I'm just astounded at the utter incompetence of some of these Comcast guys. Andy has actually been pretty good. He came out on a Sunday and spent a long time working on the problem. He also solved the signal strength problem. I told him it is hard to believe that there could be a problem with so many cable cards. I thought that maybe something could be wrong with the TiVo itself but he actually said that he didn't think so because if it was then it would hold the pairing information. He also said that a lot of times the cards that may be bad could make it back to the warehouse without being marked bad due to inexperienced techs, and then make it out to other installs. :rolleyes:

I really hope that a new card will be able to be validated and I can get my premium channels on the second tuner. I also need to see if anything can be done about some intermittent audio drop-outs I seem to be getting on some of the HD channels. Not sure if that is a Comcast or TiVo problem.

bmel

09-11-2007, 04:11 PM

I find it odd that we have all these posts about the same problem yet no one can point to a single thing that we can suggest to Comcast to get these things to work right.

09-11-2007, 04:22 PM

I find it odd that we have all these posts about the same problem yet no one can point to a single thing that we can suggest to Comcast to get these these to work right.

Two things:
1. Test the cards before they are given to the installers.
2. Train the people activating the cards at the headends.

Jason C

09-11-2007, 04:40 PM

hello friends. apparently you know my plight. i moved last year making my hd dvr from tivo useless (directv & big trees down the street... no beuno!). so i ordered the dvrs from comcast. dumped the phone company. dumped directv. time to dedicate all my time to my new gf COMCAST. the paris hilton of entertainment.

after the audio drop outs and utter frustration from the dvr built into that scentific whatever box that i could only equate to the YUGO of DVR's i rushed out and got the $250 series 3 TIVO HD from best buy. got it home. got it outta the box. cable card? whats that? called comcast monday afternoon. said they gotta bring it out. ok cool.

tuesday the sub contractor comes. he can't get the two MS cards to work. he says he's done two cc stops before and they never worked.

i'm not gonna bore you with the blow by blow of four days, six techs, six cards, 12 customer service calls, supervisors, dispatchers. they blamed the cards, the equipment, the dog. got a tech named bill santucci who works for comcast out of aberdeen, maryland (harford county). he kept calling bosses at the office, higher and higher. viola! the orginal ms card worked. it was FORMATTING THE SOFTWARE AT COMCAST TO AUTHORIZE THE CABLE CARDS CORRECTLY[U]. That's the fix kids. CAll the CC hotline at TIVO and tell them that comcast is lost. They insist that they've (comcast)has been trained in this arena.

jlib

09-11-2007, 05:45 PM

Two things:
1. Test the cards before they are given to the installers.
2. Train the people activating the cards at the headends.That would pretty much cure what ails Comcast.

When a tech finds a bad one in the field I think they are just recycled into the system. One of my initial cards even had "bad" written on it. And guess what, it was bad!

Even the training for the activators doesn't have to be very extensive. Just some sort of expert system that they can follow step by step on their computer screen like most tech support is done these days.

I would like to point out that this thread was started exactly a year ago this week and the stories are indistinguishable one year later. The same thing over and over. A corporate madness of sorts.

silypuddy

09-11-2007, 07:17 PM

Any one know if one should be getting channels on the second tuner if the CC is missing?

I've been having problems with the second CC in my TivoHD since day one. It is only getting the local SD and HD channels. The second CC doesn't have to be the one in CC2, rather the second CC activated.

Anyways, I thought I had a bad CC so I went to the local Comcast store to try and swap it for a new one. I was told that I need a tech visit even though the CSR on the phone I could do the swap. So I am setup for visit #5 tmr.

When I came home I noticed that I was getting channels on the tuner with the missing CC and now I'm wondering if that is right or if my TivoHD is broken?

Any suggestions?

rad1701

09-11-2007, 07:29 PM

DAY TWO of my saga (in the Michigan suburbs, by the way):

Contractor guy shows up. Nice guy, but doesn't know about TIVO or cable cards. And has no extra cards with him. My problem has been most of the Digital preferred channels and even some basic cable not working (like channels from about 29 - 62 and the 100's).

First step: I get him to call in all the three cable card numbers: ID, host, data
Doesn't seem to fix my issues.

Step two: It seems for some reason in the system Comcast had me down for Digital Starter and Digital Plus, not just Digital Preferred. We get that changed, rehit the one M Card I have in - still no change - missing many channels still.

I Rerun through setup, no change. Reset TIVO - no change.

So after about 2 hours we decide maybe it's a bad M-card (Motorola). So he sets things up to have "maybe" a supervisor come tomorrow who knows this stuff and with more cable cards.

Sheesh! Why is this so hard?!?! :(

jeshaffer

09-11-2007, 08:10 PM

/RANT ON

MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY have had two truck rolls now, the latest one the guy tells me when he leaves that "the box drivers are down" and that they do that a lot. I have no HD content on tuner 2 and the card will not pair, the card has been replaced, but it had a completely different message before that.

I am one phone call away from shoving this back in the box and going back to satellite. How can one company be this stupid in regards to supporting their own products.

I am so furious right now I am ready to throw this thing through the GD wall. And would if it didn't mean i couldnt return it when they cant fix it.

4 hours X 2 off work for a truck roll.

3 X ~1 hour on hold waiting for Tivo to just answer the effing phone (this is ludicrous that their support sucks this badly also)

4 x 30 minutes talking to some inept waste of carbon at Comcast when they told me that "they dont support Tivo" and i laid out the cable labs thing and asked how to spell their name to make sure i didnt misspell it on the FCC complaint filing.

~40 hours of excess blood pressure to try to make this damn thing work in my house. ITS A PIECE OF HARDWARE, IT SHOULDNT BE THIS DIFFICULT TO MAKE IT WORK.

/RANT OFF

Sorry, I am just so furious over this BS at this point. I have no words for how assinine this entire endeavor has been just ludicrous.

bluemcduff

09-11-2007, 08:15 PM

Sorry to hear that the support person you had didn't realize that 161-4 is a "good" error.

I think the support guy realized that implicitly--but I'm glad that neither he nor the installer didn't panic or instill FUD when that popped up.

I take back most of the good things I said about that last guy when I recall that this guy jammed in the two cards at once and in the wrong order and he bent out the side panel where it's left a 1/4" gap between the bare metal casing and the black paneling.

Didn't see the bend in the casing until long after he left since I'm normally six feet away and noticed it when I was up close to it.

Also add the fact that he wouldn't leave the remote alone while the headend took forever to hit the cards--but the cards did work thereby saving me from chewing this guy out.

Tivo has offered to exchange the box but I haven't decided on doing so since unscrewing the back and attempting to bend the outer casing back would void the warranty.

Any thoughts as to whether I should keep my Tivo with this problem or send it back with the understanding that I have to play Cablecard roulette with Comcast again when I get the new one since I've been told the cards I have can't be reused?

oldnacl

09-11-2007, 09:59 PM

While my install went well on Saturday, today I got my cable bill with the charges for the old equipment. I called Comcast and got it resolved (verbally) to the point where I'm getting charged for 2 CCs at $2.00 each (The TiVo is my only "outlet" - no cable boxes). I guess I should escalate to get one CC charge removed, but if the darn thing keeps on working with all the channels I pay for and if that IS what shows up on my bill next month, I wonder if I should let sleeping dogs lie? Previously they were charging me $17.90 for the exact same setup with a Series 3 which I returned and then canceled cable service for a month or so.

Neenahboy

09-11-2007, 10:05 PM

bluemcduff

09-11-2007, 11:03 PM

Initiate an equipment damage claim with Comcast and get them to pay for it.

I don't think I'll need to do that because Tivo won't charge me for the exchange (should have been clearer about that)

Although, if I do an advance ship they'll charge me $800 and then credit me when they get my current Tivo back.

I can handle the $800 charge as it minimizes the downtime--it's my patience with incompetent people in the field with bad cards I'm worried about.

Nothing makes me seethe with anger more than watching someone do something utterly wrong and be so powerless to stop it.

If I pull the trigger on this I am explicitly saying to the CSR have the tech test the cards BEFORE you come to my house and not in the Tivo and if (and when) they fail DO NOT shrug and tell me it'll be at least 48 hours until someone can come back.

And they had better bring two or more or I'm not going to be happy to say the least if they don't have two working cards.

jfh3

09-12-2007, 03:01 AM

I don't think I'll need to do that because Tivo won't charge me for the exchange (should have been clearer about that)

Yeah, but why have Tivo foot the bill for Comcast's negligence?

jlib

09-12-2007, 03:45 AM

Any thoughts as to whether I should keep my Tivo with this problem or send it back with the understanding that I have to play Cablecard roulette with Comcast again when I get the new one since I've been told the cards I have can't be reused?I am trying to imagine what the problem looks like. I would try taking the cover off an see what is bent and see if it is correctable with a little nudge. Since it is working now I would do everything possible to avoid another installation attempt on a replacement.

rad1701

09-12-2007, 07:28 AM

Ok - I'm up to my third visit coming later today by Comcast. Hopefully the guy will bring more M cards. I want to make sure I have to proper and exact sequence to get my HD TIVO up and running. These are the steps as I understand it right now:

1. Physically insert M-card
2. Run through TIVO menus to get Cable Card #, Data #, Host #
3. Have Cable guy call in ALL the numbers and have Comcast "Hit" the card (is a signal "Hit" ok or should it be a "Init" or "reset" first??)
4. Test card/test channels (especially premium or encrypted stuff).
5. If channels are missing - Try a new card?? (this is what I'm unsure of, do you have to go through the 20-30 guided setup to get TIVO HD to see all the channels after it is "Hit?" I don't think so.)
6. If you get to the point where all channels are ok, do a Guided Setup then restart. (Or should it be restart first then Guided setup? It seems TIVO wants you to do guided setup when a new card is put in).

Anyway, that's about the way I see it. Any of those that have been successful doing this please let me know if I have it correct above.

oldnacl

09-12-2007, 07:40 AM

In my case of a successful install, the installer verified select channels (HBO HD, Discovery and a few others to see that I was getting channels in the Digital Preferred tier and Premium - I only have HBO) by entering the channel numbers without going through a setup. After he left I did the complete TiVo setup. Others may have discovered missing channels doing it this way but my luck was good. Now if I can get the cable bill straightened out....

silypuddy

09-12-2007, 08:44 AM

...
2. Run through TIVO menus to get Cable Card #, Data #, Host #
...

For a SA CC is the data # on the card or a CableCard screen?

Is it the number above the host id on the Host ID screen?

I can't seem to find a field called "data"...

bmel

09-12-2007, 10:12 AM

My first M-card installation on a TivoHD with an inexperienced tech and dispatcher resulted in a cc which gave me no more than basic cable. Today I had better luck and some knowledgable people and was up and running with everything I pay for in just 30 minutes.

The answer: I have Comcast TV and Internet service. Each outlet is listed on Comcast's computer in a certain order. Prior to getting my tivoHD I had 2 motorola dvrs and a third non-dvr digital cable box and my cable modem on this list. So the list looked like this:

1 dvr1
2 dvr2
3 non-dvr box 1
4 modem

I replace the non-dvr box with the TivoHD. After the first install the list on their end looked like this:

1 dvr1
2 dvr2
3 modem
4 tivohd cable card

Apparently your comcast digital package authorization is carried, in order down this list until you reach the modem. anything after the modem does not get the proper authorization.

The dispatcher changed the list to

1 dvr1
2 dvr2
3 tivohd cable card
4 modem

All is working. So simple.

mhargr03

09-12-2007, 10:17 AM

bmel

09-12-2007, 11:09 AM

South Central PA

I always knew the problem in my situation related to proper authorization. Using the tivo support pages and the diagnostics on the tivoHD I could tell that the card had a good signal, was properly paired, but was not authorized correctly. Reordering the outlets on the Comcast computer allowed the proper authorization to occur.

Evilmonkee

09-12-2007, 12:30 PM

Yup, getting the outlet order is essential.

Just had my fourth visit from Comcast today to get the second CC validated to receive premium channels(HBO, Encore). Thought that they were going to have to try another CC to get it working. The tech called in and re-verified all the numbers and the outlet. It was, of course, set incorrectly. I think all the previous times they were entering the information for the second CC to the wrong outlet. So they sent the hit to the card and bam, it worked.

Such a HUGE PITA! Happy that they're both working now and don't have to deal with Comcast anymore...for now. The only problem now is the audio dropouts I'm experiencing on some of the HD channels. But from what I hear that is a Tivo problem that's hopefully being addressed.

silypuddy

09-12-2007, 12:34 PM

VICTORY!!!

I finally have two CCs working in my TivoHD.

It only took 5 tech visits, over 10 CSR calls and 1 visit to the store.

All the fifth guy did was replace the card and call it in. He didn't give any information other than the CC number as they had the host id from my previous four visits.

It probably helped that he had someone on the line who sounded like she knew what she was doing. She even warned us that it would take time for the hit to arrive because there were 67 in the queue.

Now to convince the wife to get a second TivoHD for upstairs...

rad1701

09-12-2007, 12:38 PM

I should only have two devices for my list. My TIVO HD cable card and modem. So I'm hoping the listing thing isn't the issue - at least for me. But I do still think it's an authorization issue on the card.

clemon79

09-12-2007, 05:41 PM

Apparently your comcast digital package authorization is carried, in order down this list until you reach the modem. anything after the modem does not get the proper authorization.

That's REALLY interesting. And potentially useful, since I traded in my two S-cards for a single M-card today, and I get to make The Dreaded Phone Call when I get home tonight.

(Where undoubtedly they will screw up my billing again.)

Anyhow, thanks for posting that...any information I can be armed with, after my last experience, will be useful...

(Today at Comcast, the lady asked me if I had "one of the new Tivo Series 3 HD's, the ones that cost between $800 and $1000, because Tivo told us that M-cards won't work in those." When gently corrected, she insisted that was what Tivo specifically told her to ask customers. I don't think so, babe.)

SuperEgo19

09-12-2007, 08:20 PM

Well, my cards were installed by Comcast on a couple of days ago here in Houma Louisiana. The cable doofus showed up with his padawan learner and he asked assuredly where my two TVs were so he could install these puppies. I told him he would be installing them in my TIVO, and he said he was not authorized to put the Comcast cards in a TIVO box. I told him that was the stupidest thing I ever heard because there is no difference whether he puts them in a TV or in a TIVO box. Then, he tries to talk me out of it by saying I would lose all of my HD Channels and he opines that there is no way it was going to work and he was going to leave because he could not get authorization from HQ. He said he'll come back later cuz he didn't have "an hour" to play with this. I got irate and told that SOB to leave the cards on my coffee table and I would install them myself. I then put the TIVO manual in his face and opened the slot on the front to show him where to put them. I had already waited two and a half weeks for this schmuck to appear at my house and he was going to leave b/c he was a retard without any technical knowledge whatsoever. I finally persuaded him to "install" them. He sat on my couch while I wrote down the data on the diagnostics for him to activate my cable. He said he could not wait around to see if it worked. I told him to hit the F#$% road! Well, the cards work...sometimes. The cards and the installation are fine, but my channels go black all the time. Even with the new software "Upgrades". There are channels I have yet to see on my TIVO. Don't know what the hell is wrong. Signal strength is fine. Diagnostics look good. It HAS to be a TIVO problem. The problem occurs mostly on CableCard 2. I have an HDMI connection. Any suggestions?

silypuddy

09-12-2007, 08:37 PM

Are the channels showing up ok under the test channels menu?

jlib

09-12-2007, 09:05 PM

You need to request a Comcast technician instead of the usual contractor like you had. The typical contractor gets paid a low flat rate so will not attempt to troubleshoot. You can also first try to call the info in again yourself. See other posts here for how to troubleshoot and the info Comcast needs. Some Comast offices won't let the customer do that, though. We can't tell if it is a TiVo problem from the info you have presented so far. The guided setup completed correctly, right?

lemieuxfan67

09-12-2007, 09:50 PM

comcast came out today to install 1 m-card on my tivoHD. tech thought the install went smoothly. i only get basic local channels and local hd channels. i'm getting the Auth Status: Waiting for CP Auth message. i've read that means that the card was not paired correctly. i'm trying to get in touch with customer service but nobody says that can enter the card data for me. who can i call that will take my info and enter it into the system. does not sound like a hard job to me.

any suggestions?

clemon79

09-12-2007, 11:35 PM

That's REALLY interesting. And potentially useful, since I traded in my two S-cards for a single M-card today, and I get to make The Dreaded Phone Call when I get home tonight.

I talked to a nice lady named "Theresa" who:

had set up CableCard TiVo's before
knew the difference between the S3 and the TiVoHD
knew the difference between an S-card and an M-card
knew to set my card up so it came after the cable box, but before the cable modem in the outlet order
knew immediately to ask for the host and data ID's
was not fazed when it did not initially work
never once suggested a truck roll

Theresa had me up and running inside of 25 minutes. start to finish. I'm getting every single channel I should. (It helps that right now I don't have anything complicated.) Theresa ROCKS.

(We'll see what happens with the billing, if the "extra outlet" fee pops back up, but I'm not at all sure it will.)

I'm amazed and delighted.

jfh3

09-13-2007, 01:57 AM

jfh3

09-13-2007, 02:00 AM

I talked to a nice lady named "Theresa" who:

had set up CableCard TiVo's before
knew the difference between the S3 and the TiVoHD
knew the difference between an S-card and an M-card
knew to set my card up so it came after the cable box, but before the cable modem in the outlet order
knew immediately to ask for the host and data ID's
was not fazed when it did not initially work
never once suggested a truck roll

Theresa had me up and running inside of 25 minutes. start to finish. I'm getting every single channel I should. (It helps that right now I don't have anything complicated.) Theresa ROCKS.

(We'll see what happens with the billing, if the "extra outlet" fee pops back up, but I'm not at all sure it will.)

I'm amazed and delighted.

WOW! :up: :up: :up:

Too bad the cable industry doesn't have about 10,000 more where she came from.

silypuddy

09-13-2007, 07:02 AM

lemieuxfan67

09-13-2007, 07:06 AM

Have you tried to verify the numbers via the CSR? Does the Host ID, S/N, outlet order line up with what you have?

The 4 CSR's I have talked to say they do not have access to that information and I would need a tech scheduled to come out to my place. (Where they would get on the phone to call "their person" and read the same info that i would!!!)

So Frustrating!!!

I'm getting in touch with my tech and local department today...hopefully they can help

bmel

09-13-2007, 08:10 AM

The 4 CSR's I have talked to say they do not have access to that information and I would need a tech scheduled to come out to my place. (Where they would get on the phone to call "their person" and read the same info that i would!!!)

So Frustrating!!!

I'm getting in touch with my tech and local department today...hopefully they can help

The tech that helped fixed my cc lamented the fact that the csr that I could speak to did not have access to the same computer screens and info as the one he called. He agreed it would be so much easier if we could just handle this with a phone call rather than a truck roll.

silypuddy

09-13-2007, 08:20 AM

The 4 CSR's I have talked to say they do not have access to that information and I would need a tech scheduled to come out to my place. (Where they would get on the phone to call "their person" and read the same info that i would!!!)

So Frustrating!!!

I'm getting in touch with my tech and local department today...hopefully they can help

Do you have internet through comcast? If you do you can use the online chat to talk to a rep. The ones I've chatted with have access to the screens because I used them to verify my information and send some hits.

It's much easier to type in the numbers vs. yell them over the phone.

bpmarkowitz

09-13-2007, 09:23 AM

Hi everyone.

Just bought a Tivo HD last night.

Anyway, we just moved so I have been dealing with comcast for like 4 straight weeks.

I called the Comcast customer service line, the lady knew about the CableCard Tivo's. First one free, second one $1.50 a month...I think I can afford that.

Anyway, then informs me that Comcast in Richmond, VA is out of CableCards so she can't put the order in. Also can give me no time frame on when they would have them...Said call back at the end of next week. Aren't they required to have these things available in some kind of timely manner? It seems to me they could at least put the order in and let me know when they have them.

Neenahboy

09-13-2007, 10:13 AM

The second truck roll happened this morning, and I think this guy might have known even less about CCs than the first one. A supervisor's coming in an hour. About farking time.

rad1701

09-13-2007, 10:25 AM

This thread is very interesting. I think someone needs to email the URL for this thread to someone at Comcast. Hopefully someone high up the food chain.

Still waiting for my next Comcast visit set for tomorrow night. I might try that online chat idea tonight to make sure all the validation numbers are correct in their system. I still only get some basic channels and the local HD with my M-Card in my TIVO-HD. I know it's either an authorization thing or a bad M-card (or both).

I need that Theresa from above to help me too! ;)

bicker

09-13-2007, 12:10 PM

giltanis

09-13-2007, 12:29 PM

So I have the direct phone number of an Executive Support guy(whatever that means) in my local part of Comcast(South Jersey) and I am think I need to use him to get me someone to do the various over the phone bits that the Techs that visit fail to do correctly. I have been reading this thread and attempting to compile a list of all the problems people have had with the systems at Comcast and all the various fixes for the cablecards but I was wonder if anyone had already compiled a list of things things(Like should I tell them to Cold Init the cards and then hit them?).

If no one has done such a thing then thats fine I was just curious since this is such a huge thread.

bizzy

09-13-2007, 12:56 PM

If this thread was taking place on the USA Today forums, then perhaps that would be useful. We're a small group of high-end users. Until J6P cares about this stuff, service providers won't see this as a big problem.

You make a good point. If the AV geeks on this forum can't get their equipment to work with Comcast service, how the heck is my grandma supposed to?

The fact that this thread is well over 100 pages, and shows no change in the year it has existed (compare the first and last pages!) should be a monumental embarrasment to Comcast. I have no idea why heads have not rolled there months ago.

For all the disapointments DirecTV has caused me, at least they knew how to make their equipment work.

rad1701

09-13-2007, 01:31 PM

I kind of think one of the issues is Comcast doesn't really want people using TIVO. Even if it mean using cable cards from them. They would much rather you just get the bad Comcast DVR box and dump your TIVO service.

Anyway - fingers still crossed for my third cable guy visit tomorrow.

bicker

09-13-2007, 02:15 PM

I don't think there is any embarrassment forthcoming. As far as they are concerned, they are doing what they are supposed to, as well as they're supposed to, and Go Hokies! is quick to remind us that they have very high success rates.... well over 95% of customers get the CableCards working. You can whine about the trouble that folks have to go through to make that happen, but the reality is that just doesn't register because it is nothing beyond par for the course with regard to mainstream service expectations in our society. Frustrating, isn't it, but blame that on J6P's incessant fixation with getting everything cheap. The American consumer has abrogated whatever consumer power they've ever had by regularly choosing suppliers based principally on price, and refusing to do without when they're unsatisfied with offerings and/or service.

Neenahboy

09-13-2007, 02:45 PM

Looking in the Conditional Access screen, what does Auth: MP mean?

bmel

09-13-2007, 04:43 PM

Looking in the Conditional Access screen, what does Auth: MP mean?

The CC is not properly authorized. You won't get all your channels. It should read Auth:S

Neenahboy

09-13-2007, 04:48 PM

The CC is not properly authorized. You won't get all your channels. It should read Auth:S

I realize that, but I was just curious as to what the MP means. Probably something-Pending.

clemon79

09-13-2007, 06:59 PM

I kind of think one of the issues is Comcast doesn't really want people using TIVO.

Of course they don't. So they're going to make it as inconvenient as they can get away with, without making it so inconvenient that they get smacked down by the feds for being anticompetitive.

I say again: if the FCC had some balls and the CableCard regulations that they passed had some teeth, we wouldn't be in this mess.

bicker

09-14-2007, 03:32 AM

And the fact that they don't indicates how important that aspect of FCC regulation actually is, in the grand scheme of things in our society.

rad1701

09-14-2007, 09:29 AM

I realize that, but I was just curious as to what the MP means. Probably something-Pending.

I have exactly the same issue now. Mine says MP and I only get a partial channel selection. Do authorization problems almost always just relate to how Comcast has things in their system (Host, data numbers, etc.) or can a bad cable card have trouble being authorized?

In any case, cable guy is coming later today to hopefully finally resolve this. Hopefully with some shiny new M cards with him.

MichaelK

09-14-2007, 09:41 AM

And the fact that they don't indicates how important that aspect of FCC regulation actually is, in the grand scheme of things in our society.

While I may totally agree with you that in the scheme of things it's probably not that big of a deal, I'm not sure I agree that's why the FCC hasn't done it's job.

I think it goes more to the fact that the FCC is a bunch of MORONS or cable lackeys.

Recent example- Apparently they are now going to "investigate" if comcast and others use the terrestrial loophole to keep from sharing their RSN's with the competition. Ya Think?

My round about point is the Congress passed a law that told the FCC to act to ensure the retail availability of 3rd party devices. It's not up to the FCC to decide if that's unimportant or not- it's up to the FCC to follow the law. The FCC IMHO has not yet done it's job. It's now 10+ years later and aside from a few hundred thousand (if that) tivo cablecard boxes and a few tv models there's not anyone in the retail space. The few tv's with cablecard are likely to go away because the 2-way impasse that the FCC has not yet dealt with. There was a need for 2 way boxes probably 10 years ago- we've had PPV all that time- no? And still they are just beginning to fish for comments on the subject about what to do.

The government is by no means speedy- but 10+ years and no end in site for a relatively unimportant issue? It's not like congress instructed the department of health and human services to "fix" the cost of health insurance or something that really is important. What's the big hold up....

lemieuxfan67

09-14-2007, 11:02 AM

UPDATE!

ok...so a new tech came out this morning. we tried getting the card to work but still got a CP NOT Auth message.
Installed a new card, got that paired, then we got CP Auth message!!!

So now it looks like the card is auth. correctly. But STILL not getting more than broadcast local SD and HD channels.

Tech. said that it could possibly be a billing issue. (he said that last time he did a tivo they had to take all programming off and add them back on, then re-hit and it worked)

Any suggestions? (looks like i'm getting closer)

Neenahboy

09-14-2007, 11:38 AM

I have exactly the same issue now. Mine says MP and I only get a partial channel selection. Do authorization problems almost always just relate to how Comcast has things in their system (Host, data numbers, etc.) or can a bad cable card have trouble being authorized?

In any case, cable guy is coming later today to hopefully finally resolve this. Hopefully with some shiny new M cards with him.

Best of luck.

Had two techs out yesterday and that's when I got the MP message. I got the "Give it time" spiel, which we all know is crap. :rolleyes:

I have a call in to a senior technician, so I hope he calls back today. Contemplating filing an online complaint with the Chicago franchising authority today if it's not fixed.

commodoros

09-14-2007, 11:48 AM

rad1701

09-14-2007, 11:58 AM

oldskoolboarder

09-14-2007, 12:14 PM

I have Comcast in Menlo Park, CA. My father in law has Comcast in Atherton, CA. Last nite, both our S3 Cablecards wouldn't tune above Ch 100. In the diag screens, the cards weren't operating (I forget the text). We both had to restart to recover.

Anyone else seeing this?

bicker

09-14-2007, 12:22 PM

I think it goes more to the fact that the FCC is a bunch of MORONS or cable lackeys.That's silly. Martin, especially, looks for every opportunity to over-regulate cable systems, yet lets satellite and telcom get away with lots.

silypuddy

09-14-2007, 01:28 PM

I am in Memphis, using Comcast. They came out yesterday to install the cable cards. really hoping for the M-Card, but no such luck. Tech came out with 2 Scientific Atlantic S-cards. Said eh knew exaclty how to install them and expected it to go smoothly. Long story short, I am now just getting basic channels, no premiums. Tech said it might take a few hours for them to come in, its now been 21 hours and still no premiums.

The Cable Card diagnostics screen makes it appear that the cards have been authorized, but this appears on the dianositc screen as well for both cards "Powerkey Status:Not Ready-waiting for EMMs". Anyone have any idea what that might mean?

Does your CP Screen show authorized?

If it doesn't, I would veryify that all the hostids, and serial numbers match up. You might have to also provide the number above the host id (data?). Up here we just need the host id and serial number off the back of the card. Some people are also having to make sure their modem is the last on their list of outlets so that might also be your case.

As for the message, waiting for EMMs means "Waiting for Entitlement Messages"

I was getting that error message too. It took the fifth tech to finally swap out the card for a new one and everything was good. Of course between the first and fifth they did look at my account and tech four said some billing codes were wrong so I'm not sure if it was a combination of both.

One thing I did notice is that when I unplugged and plugged in my working SA card, the powerkey status on the CP screen would go from "Waiting for Time" to "Waiting for EUTs" to "Ready". It took a while for this to happen.

On my stuck SA CC card, when I unplugged and plugged it back in, it went right to "Waiting for EMMs" right away.

When the fifth tech popped in a new card, it went through the "Waiting for Time" process so I knew things were better. Just remember you have to exit and re-enter the CP screen every couple seconds.

One last thing. Up here they have supervisor techs specifically for cablecards and you can schedule one of those. You might have the same thing so look into getting someone more senior out. Some of them know exactly who to call to at the headend to make all the magic happen.

Good luck...

btwyx

09-14-2007, 01:37 PM

cr33p

09-14-2007, 01:53 PM

Man - I'm getting more worried now. Do folks think it's possible that HD TIVO, and certain Cable Cards in certain areas just plain don't work well together - yet? I have about one day left before my one week free trial is up for my HD TIVO. I'm worried I won't get this all solved before then.

Why would you have only a one week trial? If you activate service you still have 30 days to cancel and not incur a penalty and TiVo will refund your entire months sub fee.

commodoros

09-14-2007, 02:03 PM

rad1701

09-14-2007, 02:11 PM

Why would you have only a one week trial? If you activate service you still have 30 days to cancel and not incur a penalty and TiVo will refund your entire months sub fee.

Oh, really?! Even if I sign up for the 3 year plan, multi TIVO discount (I have two other TIVOS')? That's great then. I'll have 30 days to get everything working - hopefully.

silypuddy

09-14-2007, 02:54 PM

Silypuddy,

My CP screen shows "CP Auth Received" - which, based upon the TIVO cable card troubleshooting guide, would seem to indicate that the card is properly paired and I should be able to receive copy-protected channels.

But further down the CP screen, it shows "Powerkey Status: Not Ready-waiting for EMMs", which indicates I can't receive encrypted channels.

All the trouble shooting guide says to do in this situation is contact your cable provider. Anybody know exactly what I should ask the cable provider to do to resolve this? I have no faith that the Comcast rep will know whats steps to take. It seems hardly anyone in their Memphis offices has even heard of a cable card.

In my case, I had the card that was stuck in emm mode replaced.

When you pop the card out and push it back in visit the CP screen. What is the first message you see? If it is "waiting for emms", it might be a bad card. The first message I got from my working card was "waiting for time" followed by "waiting for euts". It's possible that the "waiting for emms" message was in between and I didn't see it. Here is an old link I found on the community that describes how things have been working for me:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4454809&&#post4454809

Some people have also had problems when their cable modem is listed before their cable cards in the Comcast outlet list. The cable modem should be last. You can call them to find out.

Unfortunately you, just like many other people are forced to play CSR/Truck roll roulette and hope you get someone who knows what they are doing.

Good luck..

rad1701

09-14-2007, 06:52 PM

Well finally SUCCESS!!!
Very young contract tech shows up this evening. Knows basically nothing about cable cards, TIVO, etc. But has two S-cards and two M-cards with him. We pop out my old M-card that was giving me limited channels. He calls in all the code numbers from the new M-card we put in. And now everything is fine. I get all the digital preferred channels I should. Happy, happy times!

So the third time was the charm. I think it was just a bad card or wasn't able to be authorized properly. Either way - success in the SE Michigan area with Comcast! :)

jared1010

09-14-2007, 09:04 PM

bluemcduff

09-14-2007, 09:36 PM

I am trying to imagine what the problem looks like. I would try taking the cover off an see what is bent and see if it is correctable with a little nudge. Since it is working now I would do everything possible to avoid another installation attempt on a replacement.

I'm leaning towards leaving things as they are--the case on the left side is flayed out so that it isn't flush with the case--this is also true on the right side as well but not so much.

I've tried to nudge it back into place with no avail--it seems as though the technician got his fingers under the bottom and pulled as he moved it over to the side to get to the back.

I will post pictures as soon as I can get a hold of a camera--the only thing I can see being a problem is that air could leak out from the circulation from the fan.

Needless to say, it wasn't like this when I pulled it out of the box and I believe it takes a significant amount of lateral force to bend the case like this.

It's running at 42 C--about what my old Comcast DVR was at before I replaced it.

MichaelK

09-14-2007, 10:10 PM

That's silly. Martin, especially, looks for every opportunity to over-regulate cable systems, yet lets satellite and telcom get away with lots.

it doesn't seem to add up- I see your point

But That's my honest opinion, I just can't see any other possibility at this point. 10+years and no end in site. That's either incompetence (eg Moron's) or something worse (lackey's)

I know you don't think it's important but how do you explain that 10+ years of FCC inability to make an inroads to comply with the law? Just executive branch trying to stick it to congress?

also- while it looks like Martin wants to regulate cable to death he cant' seem to get the other 4 on board even enough to open a meeting on time.

jercra

09-14-2007, 11:40 PM

Comcast contractor came out today to install cablecards, I asked him he had s or m cards and he said he had no idea. After this he installed the first one and it said s-card, ok no problem. He called a phone tech to hit the card and it worked no problem, the he did the second card and got a hit no problem. He was at my house for 20 minutes, and all channels work no problem. He said he has done 1 series 3 before, and he hates working with cablecards. When he called he asked for someone who knows how to send hits to the cable cards he got Jen on the phone. Im in Portland, OR. The contractor tech was named Nick, young guy, the girl who sent the hits was named Jen. Ask for Jen to send the hits. Very pleased with Comcast for once. I did all the Tivo remote stuff, he did all the calling.
I'm Portland, Or too and had my CCs installed yesterday and could not have had a more opposite experience. After missing my first appointment the day before and being 2 hours past my 4 hour window on the second day they cable guy finally showed up. I asked if he had an M-Card or S-Card and he said M-Card. He popped it in and it said S-Card. I told him and he said that it was an M-Card. After a bit he admitted that he did not know what an M-Card was. I asked if he had additional cards with him and he said he had only brought one. When I made the appointment 2 weeks before I explicitly told them to bring 2 M-Cards and 4 S-Cards since I have been reading of horror stories since I bought my THD. Long story shorter, the guy ran out and got another card during Guided Setup. First card started working so he popped in the second card and both cards stopped working. After about 45 minutes on hold and couple of reboots he finally began the whole process again. 4 hours later both cards were working but with no encrypted channels (MLB IE or HBO). After a couple more phone calls to various people the encrypted channels started working and I tricked myself into believing that everything was just fine. I realized that CC1 is still not receiving encrypted channels. Unkown 03 message. This is still my status. It has been a trying experience.

09-14-2007, 11:50 PM

the guy ran out and got another card during Guided Setup.

It's not a good idea to run guided setup when the installer is there.

dachtler

09-15-2007, 09:01 AM

After making 3 appointments and having 3 techs show up with no idea of what an M-card is, I think I'm finally making headway. After the 3rd appointment, a guy calls me from the San Rafael office in Marin County, stating that they don't have any M-cards in Marin County. I tell him that all of the SF Bay Area is supposed to have M-cards at this point, according to their own internal announcement. He say he'll check into it and call me back.

He calls the next day and tells me that he's located some Motorola M-cards and has requested they be shipped to him. They should be here next week, and then he'll call me to set up an install appointment. Since these will be the first M-cards in Marin County, he's going to send over their lead tech to install it in my THD to figure out how to do it. I'm happy to be a guinea pig to get the first M-card in Marin County...

jeshaffer

09-15-2007, 09:13 AM

He shoots he scores, after three cable card replacements and 2 visits from comcast, 5 calls to comcast. 2 calls to Tivo, and 2 conference calls with comcast and Tivo my HD Tivo is working.

It appears to have been a combination of software update and cable cards.

According to Tivo I still don't have the correct data under host validation, but 2 other people I know have the exact same thing, so for now I am not going to worry about it.

The tivo support person really couldn't explain the host validation field anyway except that it had something to do with On Demand / PPV. I do neither.

Neenahboy

09-15-2007, 03:15 PM

IT LIVES!

A tech and the manager of technical operations came out this morning. After three hours, multiple M-cards (none of which worked), some S-cards and multiple conversations with dispatch, we got two S-cards that validated and paired properly.

They stayed with me through the repeat of Guided Setup, and all was well. Returned my HD box (got a written receipt) and I have her direct line if there are any more problems, billing or otherwise.

She's also scheduling a tech to come on Monday and boost my signal at the head end.

jfh3

09-16-2007, 12:38 AM

According to Tivo I still don't have the correct data under host validation, but 2 other people I know have the exact same thing, so for now I am not going to worry about it.

Best to worry now and get it right.

The tivo support person really couldn't explain the host validation field anyway except that it had something to do with On Demand / PPV. I do neither.

Bzzzz. Wrong. Thanks for playing. ;) (You can't get OnDemand anyway, although if you don't have proper validation you may have problem with PPV)

To understand what validation is and why it's important, see question 11.3 in the CableCARD installation FAQ:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5448376

jfh3

09-16-2007, 12:40 AM

I realized that CC1 is still not receiving encrypted channels. Unkown 03 message.

I suspect that CC1 is not activated on your account and/or paired properly. It certainly isn't validated.

jercra

09-16-2007, 12:52 AM

It's not a good idea to run guided setup when the installer is there.
Yeah, he was grapsing at straws and waiting on hold so he wanted to try something rather than sit in my living room with no clue. It certainly didn't hurt anything since the whole thing completed while he was off getting another card.

jercra

09-16-2007, 12:56 AM

I suspect that CC1 is not activated on your account and/or paired properly. It certainly isn't validated.
I had the same issue (Portland, Or). Comcast sent a tech out today (3 days after original install). He callled in and they told him to pop the card out, give the them numbers again and within 30 seconds all was well. This was an actual Comcast tech and not a sub but to be honest I don't know that he knew anything more than me other than the phone number to call. All in all his visit was less than 10 minutes and he did nothing more that relay CC numbers to a dispatcher.

Patranus

09-16-2007, 05:16 PM

I know what cable card is and what it does but I have a really stupid question.

So when I get my cable card, are the channels going to be mapped to the same channel as my Comcast cable box or will ABC HD still be 7-1 but with guide data?

Thanks.

sfhub

09-16-2007, 06:22 PM

Same as Comcast cable box.

AlphaDelta

09-17-2007, 01:33 PM

Any cablecard success (or failure) stories for Comcast in Ann Arbor, Michigan? They list a $7.00 HDTV charge -- is that an equipment (STB, unnecssary with CCs) or a programming charge?

dswallow

09-17-2007, 05:10 PM

Any cablecard success (or failure) stories for Comcast in Ann Arbor, Michigan? They list a $7.00 HDTV charge -- is that an equipment (STB, unnecssary with CCs) or a programming charge?
That's an upcharge on the receiver/DVR equipment and would not be applicable to CableCARDs.

jmpage2

09-17-2007, 05:28 PM

That's an upcharge on the receiver/DVR equipment and would not be applicable to CableCARDs.

Well, I'm paying it too here in Denver, CO, and 5 support calls later Comcast still refuses to remove the $7 monthly up-charge claiming it is for "HD programming on the CableCards".

Who can I contact in Comcast or how do I find out who my local Franchise Authority is to get this sorted out?

jrm01

09-17-2007, 05:48 PM

Well, I'm paying it too here in Denver, CO, and 5 support calls later Comcast still refuses to remove the $7 monthly up-charge claiming it is for "HD programming on the CableCards".

Who can I contact in Comcast or how do I find out who my local Franchise Authority is to get this sorted out?
Franchise Authorities are appointed by local government. Call your mayor's office and ask him.

dswallow

09-17-2007, 06:02 PM

Well, I'm paying it too here in Denver, CO, and 5 support calls later Comcast still refuses to remove the $7 monthly up-charge claiming it is for "HD programming on the CableCards".

Who can I contact in Comcast or how do I find out who my local Franchise Authority is to get this sorted out?
I always suggest simply writing a letter explaining everything and sending it to Comcast's corporate offices in Philadelphia.

Robs67

09-17-2007, 06:22 PM

I thought I would share my experience today. I broke down and got a TiVoHD even though I was skeptical about the CableCard install.

The guy came this morning (contractor, not a Comcast person) and said he had done one other CC install on a TiVO a couple of weeks ago. I feared the worst when he looked in the back for the CC slot (are they in the back on the Series 3?) and he didn't really want to read the instructions I had waiting for him.

The card was a MCard and he stuck it in there, went to the right TiVO screen and called Comcast. Within 20 minutes I was up and running. Checked random channels, including HBO, and he went on his merry way.

After he left I realized that I wasn't getting other premium channels (I subscribe to everything). I waited for a few hours just to see if magic would take over and I would suddenly get all the channels. Didn't happen. So I called Comcast and the tech sent a refresh to the card. That did it, and now I am a happy camper.

Just an aside, the guy on the phone did mention the Comcast TiVo software and said "middle of fall, beginning of winter."

Thank goodness I no longer have to deal with the Comcast DVR and can use TiVo again. :)

clemon79

09-17-2007, 09:22 PM

Okay, new question:

(I'm in Seattle, if this helps anyone answer me.)

I have digital cable, but no premiums like Showtime or HBO. So everything so far with my "M"-card seems to be coming through.

I do, however, have NHL Center Ice during hockey season. Which is right around the corner.

I was looking at the CableCARD installation FAQ, and there is some stuff about "validating" the card there:
Check the Motorola CableCARD Host Validation value on the Conditional Access screen. The field is "Val ?" If the card is validated, the field will start with a "V" (e.g. V 0x00). If not, there will be no "V" (e.g. 0x00)
I checked my Conditional Access screen, and I don't have the "V". It reads : Val.? 0x00

Am I gonna be in trouble when hockey season starts? Anyone here in Seattle have a sports package and have the "V"? Thanks!

mae

09-17-2007, 09:56 PM

Current experience in Howard County, MD, a Scientific Atlanta market.

I got an HD today and called Comcast. First rep says I need HD service since cablecards ONLY receive HD channels, not SD. I patiently tried to explain that's not true and the FCC rules, but to no avail. Asked for her supervisor, and after a 5 minute wait was told none was available but would call me right back. Nine hours have elapsed without that call.

Then I get a call from a company doing a survey on satisfaction for Comcast. I'm sure she's sorry I was randomly selected today.

I was going near the local office so I stopped by to be told they didn't do that, I had to call. So I called again from the car, only to be told that I didn't know the last 4 digits of the SSN on my account. I've been a customer for 25+ years through several acquisitions and never been asked that one before. How do you fix it? Go to the lobby with your ID. So I make a U-turn and go back, show them ID, but of course, still no CC.

I call again (was not asked for SSN) and got someone who didn't give me the HD speech, knew (or said she did) that they used M cards in my area, and scheduled a truck roll for Wednesday AM. I asked for a Comcast tech, not a contractor, and she said she will note it on the order, but could not guarantee it.

I'll post what happens Wednesday, but so far, I'm not too encouraged.

MadTxn

09-18-2007, 06:20 AM

jfh3

09-18-2007, 06:24 AM

My question is... if my SA cableCARD says "multi stream," I shouldn't need two, should I?

If you have an original Series 3 box, you will need two cards.

If you have a Tivo HD box, and if they are indeed MCards, no, you will only need one. The Tivo should tell you to remove the second card in that case.

pianoman84d

09-18-2007, 09:13 AM

Had installation of cable cards scheduled today, however the installer called and said that they were out of cable cards and that I'd have to call back and reschedule. I did and of course they don't have any appointments until next wednesday. Is it common for Comcast to suck so much? Seriously, are they commonly out of them?

Thanks!!

mae

09-18-2007, 11:19 AM

I am also in Howard County. Not to scare you, but my experience has been two missed appointments (without them notifying me), then last night, the tech showed up 1.5 hours AFTER the window, then left without anything working (assuring me that it would work "in a couple of hours"). Needless to say, I still have no working cableCARDs. Good luck to you.

My question is... if my SA cableCARD says "multi stream," I shouldn't need two, should I?

Thanks for the warning, I'm was expecting the worst already. Keep posting your experience, it may give me some ideas for the installer when they show up.

Your question about the M cards was answered above.

MadTxn

09-18-2007, 11:30 AM

PHeadland

09-18-2007, 01:11 PM

I called Comcast yesterday and they told me all I needed to do was go down to the local Comcast store, show some ID and a recent bill, and pick up a cable card. Being suspicious after what I read here, I called again just now and was told that I would need an installation visit for ~$17.

The good news:

No big wait - my appointment is on Friday. I could have had tomorrow if I had wanted, but my Tivo HD is still on its way from Amazon, due here on Thursday.

The CSR said my bill will not change at all if I return the old cable box when the cable card is installed.

The CSR made no negative comments about cable card, Tivo, etc. and was professional, knowledgeable, and helpful throughout.

So far so good, but before we pop the cork on the Dom Perignon, let's see what actually happens on Friday, and what shows up on my next bill...

I'll let you all know...

dachtler

09-18-2007, 02:07 PM

bpmarkowitz

09-18-2007, 02:41 PM

my local comcast has been giving me a runaround for 2 weeks telling me they are out of cable cards and to just keep calling back...any suggestions?

dswallow

09-18-2007, 02:46 PM

my local comcast has been giving me a runaround for 2 weeks telling me they are out of cable cards and to just keep calling back...any suggestions?
Write a letter of complaint to the Comcast Corporate Headquarters in Philadelphia. They'll suddenly find CableCARDs somewhere for you.

bpmarkowitz

09-18-2007, 02:48 PM

Write a letter of complaint to the Comcast Corporate Headquarters in Philadelphia. They'll suddenly find CableCARDs somewhere for you.

How can I find that address? Their website is super confusing. I would call a corporate number if you happen to have one?

dswallow

09-18-2007, 03:07 PM

How can I find that address? Their website is super confusing. I would call a corporate number if you happen to have one?
Comcast Corporation
Attn: Office of the President
1500 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102

+1 (215) 665-1700

bpmarkowitz

09-18-2007, 03:11 PM

Comcast Corporation
Attn: Office of the President
1500 Market St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102

+1 (215) 665-1700

thank you very much.

MadTxn

09-18-2007, 04:18 PM

Tech is here right now (it's 12:30, and started calling and making a stink at 6am this morning). so far, she's replaced one of the cards and is working on that. She seems to know what she's doing. The head end is VERY slow. She's also told me some interesting things about installations. More later...

Success! I had two mostly knowledgeable people, Malita (contractor with ACI, yes, a contractor) for the tech, and Keri at the head end. Out of four cards, one was bad, one worked, and two were assigned to another account (WTF?). She was able to get one of the cards switched to my account. The person from comcast actually started to REMOVE my premium channels from my cable box to add them to the cableCARDs, but I put a stop to that.

For those in Howard County, MD, here are some tips.

BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT: run guided setup and get the latest software
HoCo now has mostly SA M-cards. They may try to tell you they won't work if you have an S3, but the S3 can take the M-cards in single stream mode
While the tech is there, do NOT run guided setup. Just do the test channels. It will take two hits, and sometimes they forget.

All in all, it was a terrible ordeal, but not as bad as some others.

mae

09-18-2007, 04:57 PM

Success! I had two mostly knowledgeable people, Malita (contractor with ACI, yes, a contractor) for the tech, and Keri at the head end. Out of four cards, one was bad, one worked, and two were assigned to another account (WTF?). She was able to get one of the cards switched to my account. The person from comcast actually started to REMOVE my premium channels from my cable box to add them to the cableCARDs, but I put a stop to that.

For those in Howard County, MD, here are some tips.

BEFORE THE APPOINTMENT: run guided setup and get the latest software
HoCo now has mostly SA M-cards. They may try to tell you they won't work if you have an S3, but the S3 can take the M-cards in single stream mode
While the tech is there, do NOT run guided setup. Just do the test channels. It will take two hits, and sometimes they forget.

All in all, it was a terrible ordeal, but not as bad as some others.

Great! I just confirmed my appointment for 10-1 tomorrow with Comcast Howard County, and I am hoping they show up. I have an HD, so one M card and one hit SHOULD do it. I'll keep your experience in mind during the setup and post the outcome.

Graymalkin

09-18-2007, 07:11 PM

dswallow

09-18-2007, 07:57 PM

Does anyone know if Comcast of Union (New Jersey) has M-cards? When I set up my appointment, the supervisor said they had only S-cards, but I don't think he was really certain about what he was saying.
Multistream cards are not prevalent around here. I've only seen them in the cable company DVRs they're distributing now, and even there they're sealed in place with a screwed-on panel and a sticker to prevent any casual removal of them. The CableCARD info is pre-stored with the receiver serial number so it can be activated without any CableCARD knowledge on the part of the CSRs... which is definitely not leveling the playing field.

ts2x4

09-18-2007, 08:00 PM

New to the forum, but I've been keeping up with this ComCast / cable card issue & haven't seen any recent posts to answer my question.
Anyone have any recent experience with Comcast out of Schaumburg, IL, as far as obtaining / installing cable cards - particularly "M" type?
I've called them a few times & a few of the reps were semi knowledgeable but availability, pricing, etc. was all over the map. One did say that she had heard that they would "soon" be allowing self install like they do their HD DVRs.
I stopped by the office on Wise Rd. in Schaumburg & the rep there thought a "multi-stream" cable card was so that you could get picture-in-picture. She said I couldn't rent the cards but had to buy them for $26/ea & her system said they had to be installed by their tech. Since I knew full well you can't "buy" their cards that conversation ended quickly.
Anyone have any current info for those of us in the N/W suburbs? I've seen several references that the Comcast office near downtown Chicago (North Ave.) is giving out cards for self install but will they do that for customers outside the Chicago City limits?

aharris999

09-18-2007, 08:03 PM

dswallow

09-18-2007, 08:15 PM

For those in Richmond, VA (not Chesterfield), apparently the M-Cards that Comcast has given out are not working correctly, and all are being returned to Motorola. Comcast was able to dig up an old S-Card from one of their office TV's, and we plugged it in and paired it this afternoon. One hit and the card works great (following a tivo restart). Now I just need them to find one more S-card, or get the M-cards to work, and I'll be all set!
Since slot 2 can only have an S-card (or an M-card which will then behave as an S-card), perhaps you could try the real S-card in slot 1 and an M-card in slot 2. Perhaps whatever's wrong with the M-card only affects their use in a multistream configuration.

bpmarkowitz

09-18-2007, 08:16 PM

For those in Richmond, VA (not Chesterfield), apparently the M-Cards that Comcast has given out are not working correctly, and all are being returned to Motorola. Comcast was able to dig up an old S-Card from one of their office TV's, and we plugged it in and paired it this afternoon. One hit and the card works great (following a tivo restart). Now I just need them to find one more S-card, or get the M-cards to work, and I'll be all set!

Thats amazing that they found any. I have been calling Comcast in Richmond for 2 weeks trying to get CableCards for my Tivo, and every day its the same story "Sorry, we don't have any, call back tomorrow"....

BPlexico

09-19-2007, 01:25 AM

Just a follow up. Marin County now has M-cards. Comcast is coming to install mine tomorrow afternoon. They've never installed an M-card before, so we'll see what happens...

Let me know how you fair. I have a second card on order for installation on Sunday into my Tivo HD. ( I am using the one I had in my Hitachi Plasma in the TIVO HD for now).

I called today based on your posting and requested an M card - after the person checked (she didnt know what they were) - she said she would add that to my order for Sunday.

So hopefully Sunday they will arrive with an M card and I wont need to 2 of the S cablecards.

If you can pass along the name of your tech that would be great. I am located in San Rafael.

Barr

jsb_hburg

09-19-2007, 06:31 AM

A tech came over to install yesterday. He had no prior CableCard experience. I walked him through the install steps over the phone while at work near the end of the workday. At 5:00, I had left work for home and arrived there at 5:15, 20 minutes after I ended the call with the tech. By 5:15, he had left. I was irate.

I was told that he did not want to stick around for me, that he just tried one of the three cards in the first slot and got a 161-1 error and that he was told by another tech over the phone that none of the cards that he had would work since they were J Cards.

Anyone here know of a J Card?

I called to complain and got the install fee waived and will get a lead tech to install the CableCards hopefully this afternoon.

I know that this is my first post as I finally bought a TivoHD last Thursday. Sorry for the rant.

shohn

09-19-2007, 06:58 AM

Pacific, WA (25 mi. south of Seattle)

I got self install on the cards, no charge for the cards. I was able to setup everything on the same day my TivoHD arrived. Only took the phone Comcast support ten minutes to push the code to my cards.

This was so easy! Just unplug the Series 2 and plug in the new box using the same cables.

magnum68

09-19-2007, 10:11 AM

Has anyone provided there very own cablcards instead of renting them from the cable companies? If so, were you able to get them to work?

pulsedrive

09-19-2007, 01:16 PM

Thats amazing that they found any. I have been calling Comcast in Richmond for 2 weeks trying to get CableCards for my Tivo, and every day its the same story "Sorry, we don't have any, call back tomorrow"....

Don't feel bad, I have had 8, count them, EIGHT failed appointments with Comcast in the NOVA area. I live in Manassas, VA and I have had them cancel on me or just flat out not show up 8 times now. I even took a day off work to try and work this out, hoping that in a WHOLE day, they could get their crap together. Nope, not once. I keep getting told, we are out of them, no, we have them but don't have a tech available to install them. We install them on Saturday, we don't install them on Saturdays, etc. Everytime it is a different story. I have talked to multiple supervisors, and they never call me back or get anything done. One even told me they were crediting my account for all the trouble, and never did.

mae

09-19-2007, 03:05 PM

Great! I just confirmed my appointment for 10-1 tomorrow with Comcast Howard County, and I am hoping they show up. I have an HD, so one M card and one hit SHOULD do it. I'll keep your experience in mind during the setup and post the outcome.

Well they did it on the first try! An ACI contractor (Darnell) showed up at about 12:30 (inside the window). He said he had never seen a Tivo or done a CC install. He had an M card, a copy of the instructions to installers that comes in the box, and a copy of some troubleshooting ideas from this board. He insisted I power down the TV and the Tivo before inserting the card, so I did and we waited for the long boot cycle.

He called the numbers into HIS dispatch, and she then called Comcast to activate the card. Despite the high probability of one digit being wrong, Comcast hit the card three times and it activated. All digital channels came on except the premium ones (HBO,Showtime,Starz). We rebooted the Tivo, but no change.

He called the dispatcher, she called Comcast, they hit the card a few more times and suddenly the premiums came in. He left after about 1.5 hours and I re-ran Guided Setup

So far, so good. It shows that it is possible on the first, on-time visit. I'm a pretty sophisticated user, have experience with cable cards on a Mediacomm system (3 trips and 5 cards to get a TV working), had everything ready including posts from this thread, and could "help" the installer. I don't know if it would have worked with the average person who doesn't understand CC's or the Tivo.

Good luck to those with the process still ahead of them and thanks to those who went where no one went before and posted their experience and advice.

designbot

09-19-2007, 03:38 PM

Here's where I'm at. I'm switching from DirecTV to Comcast with a TiVo HD to take advantage of their "Triple Play" deal here in Atlanta.

Called on September 8, got an appointment for September 18 between 11 and 2. The customer service guy tried to tell me the CableCards would be something like $30 each. I told him that the Comcast website said they shouldn't cost anything. He put me on hold, and came back saying that the cards would be free, but they would cost $1.50/month each, and $18.25 to install. They had no idea what an M-card was. I called back again to talk to someone else, because I knew at least one of the cards should be free. The lady I talked to still had no idea what I was talking about. She said I was listed for two "TiVo cards," which cost $1.50/month. She said if I wanted "CableCards" instead, those would be free. I told her I was pretty sure those were the same thing, so she put me down for two CableCards for no monthly fee.

Well, September 18 rolled around. No installer at 11, but Comcast called at 1 to say he was running late, and would be here around 2:30. At 2, I got another call from Comcast to explain to me why the installer was "wallfishing." I said I didn't know what she was talking about, and she said, "isn't the installer there?" I said, "no," and she said, "Well, that's weird," and hung up.

Finally, around 2:15, "Bill" showed up. He had clearly never seen a TiVo before, and he didn't really seem to know what a CableCard was. I folded down the front flap and showed him where they needed to go, and he just sort of looked at me. Then I told him I would need to make sure that the Comcast phone service worked with my alarm system. He looked around for a while, and said he didn't think he could do it because he hadn't worked with my security company before (Ackerman). I told him that the Comcast website assured that their phone service should work with security systems, so he said OK.

An hour or so later, my phone was hooked up. For half an hour or so, Bill clicked randomly at icons and windows on my Mac trying to find a mythical "Run" button to tell him my IP address, because he didn't believe me when I showed it to him in System Preferences. Despite his help, I eventually got the internet working. I came into the living room to find Bill changing channels on my TV. I explained again that the cable needed to be hooked up to my TiVo, not my TV, and that I needed two CableCards. I had to open the flap again and show him where the cards were supposed to go. He looked at me for a while again, and then, a wave of recognition passing over his face, said, "oh, yeah, they didn't have any cards at the warehouse this morning, so I couldn't pick them up."

He insisted he would drop off two cards the next morning and hurried out the door. I had to unplug the cable from the TV myself and hook it up to my TiVo.

Unsurprisingly, the next morning has come and gone with no word from Bill. I called Comcast, who said that they would call the dispatcher, who would call me back. I'm still waiting.

-- Update: 9/21/07

Bill never dropped off the cards, and the dispatcher didn't call me back, but when I called Comcast again, they set me up with an appointment for the next day between 2 and 5.

Melvin came by at about 4:30, and definitely knew what he was doing more than Bill. He hadn't done a TiVo HD before, but he was familiar with CableCards. He had to mess with the wiring and sit on the phone with Comcast for over an hour, but he got everything working. Good guy.

One thing that tripped us up: Comcast's Triple Play Starter package actually includes fewer channels than Digital Basic. At first they told me it would be $3/month to get the extra channels, then they said I would need to upgrade to a package that costs $60/month more. Sounds like I need to spend some more time playing CSR roulette...

jmpage2

09-19-2007, 04:21 PM

Just got off my 10th call with Comcast. I was told the following;

1. In my market (Denver) there is no provision for M-card installation in Tivo. "Comcast's contract is for the installation of two S-cards in Tivo units at this time".

2. Even though my first digital converter box is free, there is an additional $7 charge PER DEVICE for my HD programming (TNT, Discovery, etc). So in essence I am paying $7 per month for my "free" receiver as well as paying a $7 a month charge for the "HD Programming" that my Tivo HD receives.

Since many here have told me that they are not paying these charges, maybe someone could give me the name of the Comcast executive assistant in PA who I can write to about these charges.

thanks.

renkablue

09-19-2007, 05:00 PM

Houston TX is my area - Comcast offers cable tv, digital phone and internet. I am a subscriber of the broadband internet, But Vonage has my phone service. By reading the post, it looks like Comcast policies are different by area of the country. I am new and haven't received my Tivo yet (purchased Series 2 from ebay). This will be my first experience, but I have heard nothing but good things about Tivo. If I enjoy my Tivo like I hope to enjoy it, I will consider the upgrade to Series 3. I am posting on this because I don't know why or when to consider going to a Cable Card....what is this anyway?
Kay

clemon79

09-19-2007, 06:37 PM

Since many here have told me that they are not paying these charges, maybe someone could give me the name of the Comcast executive assistant in PA who I can write to about these charges.

Doug's posted it several times, most recently in this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5516466&&#post5516466) post.

lukin11

09-19-2007, 08:14 PM

Hi all, great forum, been reading for a while & this is my first post.

I recently had to switch from DirecTV to Comcast because the tech couldn't get a signal from the HD satellites (was trying to upgrade to DirecTV HD for my new tv). Long story short, I am hating my Comcast DVR and miss my DirecTV Tivo badly.

I currently have an SA 8300HDC that actually has an mstream cablecard in it. What I'm trying to figure out is... can I just buy the TivoHD and throw the card in? From the other posts in here, it sounds like it's really a matter of Comcast having the mstream card info 'registered' at the main office.... since I already have everything working... I'm hoping for the best here ....

Granted I will have to return the SA box to not be charged for it, but if I can not put up with the hassle of the cablecard mstream vs ssstream and not have to have a tech out here... I'd be pretty happy!

Thanks!

EDIT: I think I found my answer in the CableCard Installation FAQ (to which I cannot link since i am a n00b!) ... it looks like it's a GO!

EDIT #2: From the Tivo site If you already have a CableCARD installed in your TV, contact your cable provider to see if you can transfer it to the DVR. Many cable providers associate CableCARDs with the device numbers of the slots in which they are installed when the CableCARDs are active; if you insert the card in the TiVo HD DVR, the card will not work, and may stop working when inserted back into the TV. ... ugh maybe I will follow those instructions :)

dswallow

09-19-2007, 09:51 PM

I currently have an SA 8300HDC that actually has an mstream cablecard in it. What I'm trying to figure out is... can I just buy the TivoHD and throw the card in?
No, it won't be possible to do. Comcast is skirting the intent of the "level playing field" of CableCARDs being required even in their own equipment by essentially sealing the CableCARD into the receiver. Everything in their authorization system expects the serial number of the receiver and the particular CableCARD already in it to be the known, and there's no provision to remove the CableCARD, placing it into something else, and updating the necessary data in Comcast's system.

In essence, even though their new receivers use a CableCARD, it may as well not for all the difference it makes. The techs installing them don't ever deal with CableCARDs, the dispatch CSR's don't ever deal with the CableCARD authorization details -- only the receiver serial number, and the cards are even locked in place with a metal coverplate so they're not easily removed/swapped. There's also no provision to swap jsut the CableCARD, you have to swap an entire receiver.

notabbott

09-19-2007, 10:30 PM

dachtler

09-19-2007, 10:33 PM

Let me know how you fair. I have a second card on order for installation on Sunday into my Tivo HD. ( I am using the one I had in my Hitachi Plasma in the TIVO HD for now).

I called today based on your posting and requested an M card - after the person checked (she didnt know what they were) - she said she would add that to my order for Sunday.

So hopefully Sunday they will arrive with an M card and I wont need to 2 of the S cablecards.

If you can pass along the name of your tech that would be great. I am located in San Rafael.

Barr

The tech showed up this afternoon with 2 Motorola M-cards, just in case one didn't work right. He removed the two S-cards, installed the M-card in slot one, had the call center switch the info, and I was back up-and-running with dual-tuner functionality in about 20 minutes. I asked if he knew how many M-cards they had received, and he didn't know aside from the one left in his hand... :)

The tech that installed my cards was Darrell Briggs. Another tech named Brendan came along as well to see if a single M-card in-fact supported dual tuners in a THD. The guy at the San Rafael Comcast that found the M-cards and had them shipped to him was Charles Johnstone, so if the tech that shows up doesn't have any M-cards, have him/her contact Charles or Darrell.

Good luck!

Jason (First M-card in Marin County! :) )

dswallow

09-19-2007, 10:36 PM

So, if my installer slotted both CableCARDs at the same time, how do I fix the damage? Right now, the first card works, but the second card only gets the most basic level of channels (local broadcast, local HD, local access) and "EnabledByCP" is stuck on "no." And that behavior persisted when the second CableCARD is swapped out. Twice.

I'm running out of ideas here.
The concept of putting in CableCARDs one at a time and performing the authorization is simply to avoid getting everything confused by the CSR. It's definitely not a requirement. I've activated them both ways... one at a time, and most recently putting both in then calling for activation with the info. Any and all problems are almost always solely because of info not being correct on the account -- either some peculiarity of order that authorized equipment needs to be listed, or programming details or authorization info being correctly associated with the card.

From your description it really sounds like they've not associated your programming tier info correctly with the second card.

notabbott

09-19-2007, 10:44 PM

From your description it really sounds like they've not associated your programming tier info correctly with the second card.

Fair enough. How do I explain that to the person on the phone in a way they can understand and, uh, fix?

Thanks,
COZ

dswallow

09-19-2007, 10:52 PM

Fair enough. How do I explain that to the person on the phone in a way they can understand and, uh, fix?
Well, I think I'd focus on trying to talk to someone who has successfully dealt with CableCARDs several times; at that point any issues like how billing codes are entered for each device should be apparent to someone familiar with the system.

Most of the time it seems one says "CableCARD" and the CSR hears "cable box" and you never get far with such CSRs. :)

aaronwt

09-19-2007, 10:56 PM

I know here a CSR can't input the info needed to get the CC working. They can input info but it doesn't do anything to get the CC working. There are only a couple of people in my area that have access to the head end where the equipment is to input the info. Even when I had a tech that knew what he was doing and who to contact, it took a while to contact the person since one of them is on call 24/7 and if not at the equipment can take a while to enter the info.
They need to do it like FIOS where the tech enters the info in their laptop without having to contact a secondary person. The Comast techs I had always had to repeatedly yell the info over the phone until they got it right.

lemieuxfan67

09-19-2007, 10:58 PM

FINALLY!!!!

So after a week of back and forth with Comcast I finally have my tivoHD working.

First install was last wed...only got local broadcast channels and was getting "CP not Auth" error.

Second tech came out last friday who actually installed a cableCARD in a tivo before. he installed a new m-card and called it in. i got "CP Auth" message, but still only local broadcast channels. he said to wait to see if they "show up" over the weekend. when they did not all weekend he got in touch with a more experienced person. they made some "billing" or computer changes to my account which the tech said they had to change on the other tivo they installed to get that working.

I now get all my channels, SD and HD!!!!

It appears that multiple people have had problems with "coding" or "billing" computer glitches. The way they resolved this was to strip my account of everything, build it back up, and re-hit multiple times.

P.S. Wanted to say thanks for all the info on this board. Any time I questions i fired up the laptop and looked here.
Comcast should print out this thread and use it as a training manual...lol

lukin11

09-20-2007, 09:13 AM

No, it won't be possible to do. Comcast is skirting the intent of the "level playing field" of CableCARDs being required even in their own equipment by essentially sealing the CableCARD into the receiver. Everything in their authorization system expects the serial number of the receiver and the particular CableCARD already in it to be the known, and there's no provision to remove the CableCARD, placing it into something else, and updating the necessary data in Comcast's system.

Thanks Doug ... I guess I get the honor of experiencing more fun with Comcast CSRs. Wish me luck!

bpmarkowitz

09-20-2007, 10:09 AM

Well i called comcast corporate and seem to have gotten the wheels turning here in Richmond, Va...They have been "out" of cablecards for two weeks and their only solution is to call back tomorrow.

I called corporate and they are going to track down some cablecards and make sure I get them. I have the Tivo HD which will support the M cards so should I ask for one M card or get 2 S cards. I am more worried about EASE of getting this thing to work than price at this point...

notabbott

09-20-2007, 10:43 AM

Well, I think I'd focus on trying to talk to someone who has successfully dealt with CableCARDs several times; at that point any issues like how billing codes are entered for each device should be apparent to someone familiar with the system.

Most of the time it seems one says "CableCARD" and the CSR hears "cable box" and you never get far with such CSRs. :)

Yeah, I know. On the last call, I asked the CSR to try to flag my account somehow so someone who knows what they're talking about might actually find it. Which sounds crazy, but I actually got a call *from* Comcast last Friday, and had we diagnosed the problem properly then (I thought the second card was getting nothing, when it was actually just getting local/basic channels), we might have nailed it down.

The individual CSR doesn't seem enabled to find someone realtime who can help. Do I ask for a supervisor and hope they can locate the right person? Or just keep calling in the hopes that I eventually get someone useful?

Later,
COZ

jmpage2

09-20-2007, 12:25 PM

Doug's posted it several times, most recently in this (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5516466&&#post5516466) post.

Thanks. I know comcast's address but "office of the president" is not what I am after. I have found you get better results if you actually send the letter to a real live person.

So, for example "mary smith, executive assistant" vs. something generic like office of the president or CEO.

Piper1

09-21-2007, 08:58 AM

I have every called Comcast every other day for about 8 days trying to get a couple of cable cards for my new HD TIVO, actually just ttrying to talk to someone about them, or set up an appoitment. They keep telling me that their procedure is to send an email to "that department" and they will give me a call back shortly. Their answer varies from "shortly" to "24 to 48 hours". When I call back to ask why no one has called me back, they say all they can do is send another email to the cable card department. No one ever calls me back about them. I even told them that the FCC requires them to provide me with cards, and that they are refusing to even call me back. The lady says they are not refusing, that it just takes time to get back to me, as other customers need help too. Then she said she will check into it and I will get called back "shortly". Of course, no call back. I have asked to speak with a supervisor numerous times, only to be told, there is not one there at the present time, or they are busy and they can take my number and call me back. yeah, right. I have called numerous local Comcast retail outlet, and they say none of them carry the cards, that a technician has them and has to come out to install them. But I can't even get a return call from any of them to even ask a question or set up an appointment. i am highly PO'ed at this point. What can I do, or what would you do? All I want is to freakin talk to some on that handle the cards. I am getting the runaround an can't get anyone to help me, besides saying they will send someone an email and have them call me back. It has been 8 days, I would tink I could get a phone call by now.

jlib

09-21-2007, 10:42 AM

Thanks. I know comcast's address but "office of the president" is not what I am after. I have found you get better results if you actually send the letter to a real live person.

So, for example "mary smith, executive assistant" vs. something generic like office of the president or CEO.Here's some Comcast executives (http://www.investorguide.com/stock-profile.cgi?ticker=CMCS.A).

PHeadland

09-21-2007, 01:17 PM

Executive summary: 100% perfect!

The Comcast guy came this morning, well inside the scheduled time slot. He was first-class and knew exactly what he was doing in every respect. He brought 4 M cards just in case, but the first one worked perfectly first time. He checked all the HD channels without being asked before asking me to sign off on the job.

The Comcast tech told me he is the guy who does almost all CableCard installations in this area. He knew all about Tivo, HTPC, etc. He recently had a multi-hour epic struggle getting an HTPC with CableCard slots to work properly (the HTPC had a dead slot), so Tivo HD was a walk in the park for him. He said that Tivo "has way more features" than the Comcast DVR box and had zero issue with people preferring Tivo over the Comcast DVR.

The only hurdle left is seeing whether next month's bill has any nasty extra charges. As previously mentioned, the local CSR said my bill would not change, because I am simply swapping my old (non HD) digital cable box for a CableCard. IOW, there should be no bogus "HD programming charge". And, yes, the non-premium HD channels (ESPN HD, Discovery HD, etc.) are coming in loud and clear.

sshep12345

09-21-2007, 04:55 PM

hey all...

i've tried to read all 8000 pages of this thread...but...

i bought my hd series 3 yesterday, went to comcast nashville and got 3 single stream cards.

1st one activated fine.

2nd one i thought was fine, but it says card in slot 2 is associated with cablecard 1

so looks like i really just have 1 tuner working

can someone give me a quick answer on who/how to get this 2nd card provisioned correctly ?

thanks!

stephen

drcos

09-21-2007, 06:04 PM

What do you mean "it says card in slot 2 is associated with cablecard 1"
On which screen?

Do you have Motorola or SA cards? You can search the thread for the pertinent CP screen info for either flavor, which will give you more information to help you help Comcast to fix the problem.

Most folks on the boards are willing to help if you give enough information to help, but your post is akin to "my car won't start. help me."

...and at the time of your post there were 124 pages. :cool:

tmesser

09-21-2007, 06:13 PM

...and at the time of your post there were 124 pages. :cool:

Or 75 pages, if you're viewing 50 posts per page. :D

But I digress.

silypuddy

09-22-2007, 09:33 AM

....i am highly PO'ed at this point. What can I do, or what would you do? All I want is to freakin talk to some on that handle the cards. I am getting the runaround an can't get anyone to help me, besides saying they will send someone an email and have them call me back. It has been 8 days, I would tink I could get a phone call by now.

You can try a call/letter to the office of the president route or get a hold of your local franchise authority and complain to them. The office of the president info has been floating around in this thread, and your local franchise authority information can be found on your cable bill. I guess the last resort would be a letter/complaint to the FCC.

I'm just amazed at how some Comcast locations are totaly cool with Cablecards while others are so hostile. I wonder if it is a regional thing or just random? (Possibly a particular VP's area or something?)

kdwarren

09-23-2007, 11:02 AM

Got my HD yesterday as an anniversary present.

Just called comcast and of course she was dumb. Said I needed 2 cards but they are multi cards

Installation cost 26.99
Monthly card cost is 8.99 (not too pset cause I get to dump the crappy comcast DVR!!!!)

I tried to tell her I only need one card if they are multi, so I guess my hubby will have to deal with the installation tech and see if we actually need 2 cards.

My installation apt is almost a week away.

I still plan to try to visit a comcast store near my work place and see if I can score 2 cards that are activated etc... Doubt I will have luck but I can try right?

I saw some people have had luck with that earlier in this post but I have a feeling comcast is using the tivo 3 to get an installation charge out of all of us.

thanks for this post It really helped!!
Karen

PS: I am in the Chicago area.

SnakeEyes

09-23-2007, 11:35 AM

I have spent a few days now trying to get cable cards working for a friend in Houston. First they didn't have the cards we got in person in the system Then the card would not authorize and I had to get a replacement. Now I have to wait until Monday because activations only happen during business hours of 8-5, m-f. Lame.

tmesser

09-23-2007, 12:45 PM

Monthly card cost is 8.99 (not too pset cause I get to dump the crappy comcast DVR!!!!)

$8.99 sounds a little high for Comcast territory. Make sure they're not including a $7 box rental fee with that.

magnum68

09-23-2007, 03:05 PM

I don't have any cablecards in my S3 becuase Comcast just couldn't get it right. They kept on saying that the cards were bad. I think they tried about five CCs.
Well, I read somewhere in this site that you can use the S3 as a dual tuner as long there are no cards or two cards in it. Mine does not have any. So I connected a HDTV antenna, a $40 one and I can pick up my local HD channels clearly. I am happy with that. I will keep it that way becuase I don't pay for my cable becuase it's already included in my association fees. I love the fact that I am able to record two HD channels at the same time just by using the antenna. I love it. :up:

chamerloon

09-23-2007, 03:27 PM

kdwarren

09-23-2007, 05:38 PM

$8.99 sounds a little high for Comcast territory. Make sure they're not including a $7 programming fee with that.

Thanks, I think it is too high too. I plan to call and try to get a different csr and get that lowered.

I am on the phone right now and geesh...comcast really does suck! The guy is sending me to tech support to see if I can know what the 8.99 fee is per month. I think that is cause the lady put tivo on my account. Comcast is really frustrating.

Oh well, I guess I could have expected that, I still think the 8.99 is worth dumping the comcast DVR.
I am being told 7.49 for the 1st card and 1.50 for the second now.... :) gotta love comcast.

now CSR #3 says free for 1st card then 1.50 for second.

dswallow

09-23-2007, 07:51 PM

I am being told 7.49 for the 1st card and 1.50 for the second now.... :) gotta love comcast.

now CSR #3 says free for 1st card then 1.50 for second.
Both of those are likely correct.

The difference is one is including the additional outlet charge. But if it's the only/first outlet then that charge is built into your digital programming package.

SnakeEyes

09-23-2007, 10:47 PM

OK, so I checked again after getting back into Houston. Some of my channels come in, while others do not. I Called support again and they didn't have all my packages set right. He sent a hit to fix that and some i checked were now on that were not before but not all of them. Tech support told me it may take some time for all the channels to come in. True?

clemon79

09-23-2007, 10:51 PM

Bellingham WA, Comcast
I just got my HDTivo on Thurs, picked up the cards myself in the afternoon, spent 15 minutes with the Comcast tech on the phone, watched free NBC fall previews this weekend, and my picture quality is actually much better through the Tivo than from the cable box. I'm feeling lucky and I'll return the old cable box and extra M card this week and pray there aren't hidden fees somewhere.
The experience I had, combined with yours, makes me think that there was a fair amount of training for CSR's in the last month in whatever call center services Seattle. My last experience swapping out my two S-cards for a M-card was smooth as silk as well.

'Bout damn time. :)

Patranus

09-24-2007, 12:45 AM

I recently bought a TiVo S3. This was a big mistake as I am now forced to keep Comcast. Anyways, I schedualed an install for 2 Multi-Stream CableCards. The tech came and essentially jammed them cards into my TiVo and left. Didnt check ot see if it work or anything. I was unable to be at home due to work so I had someone there who is not as informed as I am when it comes to these type of things. I called Comcast and I was informed that another Tech would have to come out and fix the problem. Not being able to get time off work I had to schedual someone to be at my house again. The Tech came out 3 days later to fix the problem.

He installed and got working one Single-Stream CableCard with the exception of a few HD channels. The seconds card worked for bassic channels such as CBS, ABC, or FOX, but it did not work for such networks as ESPN, TNT, or FX. The Tech also removed my cable modem from my account shutting down my internet.

I spend two hours on the phone getting my internet working on Saturday. I called Comcast today to resolve my cable issues. I informed the customer service rep that ESPN, TNT, FX was not working on one card and that TNTHD, UHD, and MOJO was not working on the other. The customer service rep tried to reset the cards but that did not work. I was on hold while the TiVo was restarting and I guess she was looking at my account. I was informed that I would no longer be getting TNTHD, UHD, ect unless I opted to pay an $11.99/month fee. I told her that this was unacceptable. At that moment I my TiVo was opperational and I informed her that her reset did not fix any problem. She then told me that I would need to schedual an appointment for a Tech to come out.

I then asked to be transfered to a manager. She flat out told me NO. After bantering with her she put me on hold for 10 minutes. I was then informed that no manager was available and that they would call me back. That was several hours ago.

I called back and asked to speak to a manager. I was transfered. There was no record about my previous request. I report my previous customer service rep and filed a complaint. I then spent the next 2 hours "trouble shooting" my problem. In the end I have my 3rd Tech coming out tomorrow.

So in the end I have a TiVo S3 I am stuck with, two worthless CableCards, several missing channels that I will not be getting back, and a larger bill.

Sweet!!!!

jlib

09-24-2007, 05:00 AM

Users should fill in their location information. Also, if any advisement is desired notate the cable card screen info. Or if one wants to purely vent that is totally fine, too.

PHeadland

09-24-2007, 09:32 AM

Monthly card cost is 8.99

That is wrong. If you only get one card (you only need one M card for a TiVo HD), it should cost ZERO. The first connection charge is bundled into your cable package, and includes the cable card or a non-HD set-top box. In fact, if you are returning one of Comcast's DVRs, your bill should be reduced by ~$5.

PHeadland

09-24-2007, 09:35 AM

I was informed that I would no longer be getting TNTHD, UHD, ect unless I opted to pay an $11.99/month fee.

That is 100% BS. Your Comcast package includes a base set of HD channels, including the ones you mention. You need to keep escalating this.

PS: It would be a huge help if you updated your profile to include your location, since experiences vary so widely by region.

kdwarren

09-24-2007, 09:46 AM

Yep, I agree with all of you 8.99 is too much. I think they were adding in some fee for HD channels. I told them I already subscribe and pay for the channels I need.

this is for my primary outlet and I got someone in sales that told me the others I spoke to were wrong. My 1st card is free and if I need a second (which I doubt I do) it would be 1.50. I like that price much better. And when I turn in the crappy Comcast DVR I will get a few bucks savings on my bill.

My hubby and I are both going to try to get a card at a local comcast.

last time called to upgrage us to the HD package we have now and the CSR said he could not by any means get a comcast box at a local store and install himself.
So he made the apt but still went to the store and the lady just handed him one over the counter plus a second aditional free one (not a hd DVR though) we can use somewhere else in the house. He had her also cancel his installation apt. I had a neighbor that got their HD package by intsallation and they did not get the free extra box.

So I hope he can get lucky again with the cable cards. if not I still have my apt Fri.

thanks for all your help everyone!

I am so excited to dump that Comcast DVR !!!! I hate that thing!! It is super slow and seems to not work well with my harmony remote but tivo has no problems.

Karen

tmesser

09-24-2007, 01:24 PM

I picked up a THD yesterday and set it up for OTA (just in time for premiere week!) for now, until I finish watching the last few shows on my S2DT and move it out of the way to hook up the existing cable connection (I don't much feel like adding another splitter or buying a 3-way, and the box is going to a friend very soon).

I already have Comcast Digital Preferred with HBO, and I have one CableCARD in my Sony TV that I intend to leave alone. I visited my local Comcast office across the street this afternoon and was told they don't hand out CCs, so I called for an install. I told them I have a TiVo and that it can use 1 M-Card or 2 S-Cards; the rep said he would note it on the work order. When I requested that the tech bring extra cards, he said, "They always carry extras." :rolleyes: After reading stories here, I know better.

The CC install for my TV was painless last November. I hope this one is just as smooth. *crosses fingers*

Graymalkin

09-24-2007, 11:06 PM

I upgraded from Digital Starter to Digital Preferred Plus -- but I'm not getting any of the Preferred Tier channels. Comcast tried refreshing the card twice, and I tried recycling the power twice -- no luck. So now they're sending a tech out on Saturday.

If they can't get those preferred channels, I may just tell Comcast to take me back to the original Digital Starter package and let it go at that. For now, anyway.

notabbott

09-25-2007, 09:24 AM

My hubby and I are both going to try to get a card at a local comcast.

Did you say earlier that you were in Chicago? If so, the Comcast location on North Avenue doesn't have any of the multi-stream cards as of this morning, but they're going to call me when they know when they'll have them. In the meantime, I just keep scheduling tech visits on the hope that one of them will actually have the right card. For whatever reason, dual single-streams refuse to work properly (on the second tuner) with my HD box, and even the Comcast people who know what they're talking about can't figure out why.

Later,
COZ

tmesser

09-25-2007, 10:14 AM

Well, here we go. :(

The Comcast installer (company employee, not a contractor) showed up around 9:15 this morning. He had two S-Cards with him, which I knew wouldn't be much help if one was bad. After asking me, "Well, wouldn't it have been cheaper to get our DVR?" :rolleyes: he put both cards in at the same time and called dispatch. (At least he didn't have a problem with me holding the remote and navigating the TiVo menus.)

The card in slot 1 returned a 161-1 error. He didn't know what the error meant, and neither did dispatch; I had to tell him it indicated a bad card. The card in slot 2 was fine. While on the phone with dispatch, he took the bad card out of slot 1, put the card from slot 2 into slot 1, and verified the host/data info with the tech on the phone. I confirmed that I can receive the digital tier and my premiums. Naturally, he had no extra cards with him because he thought I was only getting one card, so the second one was his "extra." He told me to call Comcast to get another one.

The end result: I have one CC and OTA, and I have to schedule another appointment. :down: Could have been worse, I suppose, but this is still annoying.

jak117

09-25-2007, 10:43 AM

silypuddy

09-25-2007, 11:20 AM

kdwarren

09-25-2007, 11:40 AM

Did you say earlier that you were in Chicago? If so, the Comcast location on North Avenue doesn't have any of the multi-stream cards as of this morning, but they're going to call me when they know when they'll have them. In the meantime, I just keep scheduling tech visits on the hope that one of them will actually have the right card. For whatever reason, dual single-streams refuse to work properly (on the second tuner) with my HD box, and even the Comcast people who know what they're talking about can't figure out why.

Later,
COZ

I am live west of Chicago about 1 hour or so. I sure hope my area one has the right card. My hubby is gonna be pissed if he took off work for the installation for nothing.

Karen

jak117

09-25-2007, 01:23 PM

What kind of cards do you have? Mot or SA?
It's a Motorola M-Card, branded with a Motorola sticker.

What does your CP screen say for both cards?
From memory (not home right now), the CP screen showed that the card had connected successfully and seemed to be receiving information. The auth status was listed as "MP" I believe. Is there anything I should be on the lookout for when I get home?

the Comcast location on North Avenue doesn't have any of the multi-stream cards as of this morning, but they're going to call me when they know when they'll have them
Sorry, I think I got the last of them yesterday afternoon. The CSR claimed that more would be in sometime today. They had to go to the warehouse to find even one M-card.

Thanks for the help!

Patranus

09-25-2007, 02:00 PM

Per my last post. A new tech game out yesterday. I was told he was "the best" with CableCards in the East Bay. I was told when he left he checked both tuners and that everything worked fine. I was also told that I would have to talk to billing about my channel situation which is understandable.

When I got home, I had the exact same problem except that the slots where the cards worked were switched. Before, slot 1 was getting information and slot 2 did not work. Now slot 2 is getting information and slot 1 is not working. It clearly states that the card is not getting channel list data and has an error "Unknown 4" in some field.

I called Comcast and was hung up on by a customer service rep. I Called back and the next rep guided me through all of the steps that I have gone through 1000 times. I was transfered to someone else who had me remove the cable cards and repeat the "Guided Setup" again. This took an hour or so. The rep claimed he was sending signals to my box and was doing everything he could. Nothing fixed my problem.

Instead of sending out another rep, my case is being escalated to their IT department. I am scheduled to have a call back with the rep I talked to and IT on Wednesday.

I have not been offered any sort of discount or credit on my bill. Maybe I should call the customer retention department.

So, does anyone have any suggestions on my next step?

I love my TiVo but if I can't get it to work, I am going to have to return it or put it on EBay. I feel like a child giving up a puppy or something...

dsnyde27

09-25-2007, 02:07 PM

OK... I live in Shrewsbury, PA in what was once an Adelphia cable system but is now Comcast. It's a motorola based system. I received a Tivo Series 3 HD and promptly called Comcast to schedule an install. The tech arrives 30 minutes early on a Saturday afternoon (excellent!) and being a prior systems engineer for a cable company who is VERY intimate with CableCards on an SA system, I'm thinking 20 minutes tops! First off, the cards are so brand new that this is the first M-Card that the tech has ever saw and only the 2nd CC install he's ever done. No problem, I know how they work.... so I insert the first card and access the pairing screen to give the tech the necessary info to call dispatch and setup the pairing and activation. A few hits later, boom, I have channel map and Validation in the conditional access screen. BUT, no encrypted channels are coming through... I get all the unencrypted OTA HD and the Music Choice stuff, but no Digital Tier or Premiums..... so they try the 2nd card.... it never gets anywhere... they look up the history of that card and gee... it did the same thing on the last 3 installs!! What genius decided to keep this card in rotation!? So, in the end I have one validated card that has the channel information with an auth code of "0C" which I've never heard of.... no video on any encrypted channel.... so they setup a return trouble call. Meanwhile I'm digging around for solutions and documentation on the forums... Monday another tech arrives (10 minutes early!) and immediately knows that there is a service code/billing code issue. He's happy as hell to see a successful validation... But after a bazillion hits and no results he elects to try two new cards. 1st card goes in, and validates, pulls a channel map, next card goes in, validates and also pulls the channel map.... neither card shows any encrypted channels.... After calling all over creation, the tech finally finds someone who knows a little something more than "Let me send it a hit" who actually builds an M-Card in the system (it wasn't defined yet?) and then sets up the cards in my account (supposedly putting them first in the equipment list at my request) and then assigning the channels to the cards.... sends a big hit and.... nothing.
The tech is telling this CSR that it is DEFINITELY a service code issue since the cards received the channel map and can tune the unencrypted channels (sniff!, I was SO proud!) but they won't hear of it..... He leaves. I'm stuck....
Today I call Comcast and tell them that I need my cable cards to work as expected and they immediately want to schedule a service call! I tell them that all that is going to do is have a tech standing in my living room talking to a CSR about service codes which is the same thing I'm doing RIGHT NOW! They fiddle with some code that was missing on one card and tell me to check it when I get home.... which I KNOW isn't going to fix it since neither card could tune so one code missing on one card isn't going to matter... Now I get to look forward to being enslaved to the phone while I go through the entire Comcast CSR staff to finally find one that knows how to assign the proper codes to my cards or can possibly BUILD the codes needed to assign to my cards and get me working..... What else can I do to get this resolved??? This is PAINFULLY stupid!! I could auth a cable card in 15 seconds from anywhere in the world... (probably couldn't now - you guessed it, Comcast bought that cable company... lol)
so Now what!? (throwing up hands in frustration) :mad:

dsnyde27

09-25-2007, 02:17 PM

It's a Motorola M-Card, branded with a Motorola sticker.

From memory (not home right now), the CP screen showed that the card had connected successfully and seemed to be receiving information. The auth status was listed as "MP" I believe. Is there anything I should be on the lookout for when I get home?

Sorry, I think I got the last of them yesterday afternoon. The CSR claimed that more would be in sometime today. They had to go to the warehouse to find even one M-card.

Thanks for the help!

an auth status of 'MP' is NOT good and you might want to check the Val: status on the conditional access screen as I have a feeling that you will have a '? 0:00' there which means that you aren't paired properly in the system (you should have a 'V' and anything other than zero in the '0x00' field) V is for Validated (your host ID and Card ID were successfully paired in the system and the cable card validated the signals coming downstream assigned to the 'pair')

You should check the Network Access screen to make sure the Messages counter is rising... view the current number and then go back a screen and wait a few seconds then go back to the Network Access screen and see if the number incremented. If so then the card is receiving 'hits' from the system - if it's sitting at '0' and never goes anywhere, then it's not seeing anything from the system, indicating a possible problem with the cabling, the cable card, or a maybe a bad splitter in your home

Good Luck!! :o

BPlexico

09-25-2007, 03:00 PM

Well after a very long day - I have my Tivo HD working with a Motorola Multi stream cablecard.

Appointment window was 8AM-12PM on Sunday. After no one shows up I call the Comcast office - they say the tech did not show because he did not have any cards. So they apologize, call tech and schedule an appointment for 1PM-5PM same day with assurance tech now has a multi stream Cablecard.

5PM no tech has arrived. I call Comcast office again. They hunt thru records, see no appointment, transfer me to a dispatcher who locates record. They call Tech to see where he is. They call me back and say the tech should be there around 6PM for install. Tech calls and he has no idea what the job is for, nor that I needed a cablecard installed.

545PM I call Comcast because at this point I have little faith they will show up. Speak to supervisor, he calls tech - finds out Tech has no cablecards and so they arrange for tech to pickup a card from another tech in area.

645PM the tech shows up at house. He explains he never had me listed as an appointment for the day nor did he know I needed a cablecard installed. Fortunately he has gotten the multistream card and has worked on Tivos before.

Install goes fine - we swap in the new multi stream card for my single cablecard that I already had installed. They are able to get all my stations, including the Digital preferred package after about 30 minutes (at first they only got the basic channels).

They determine the need to give the office the Cablecard serial # as opposed to Host ID to activate the multi stream card.

But they cannot get the HBO channels to come in (they were not able to do this the previous week either with the existing card.). That's ok for now - I am happy and the multi stream card works for dual tuning.

I callback Tuesday about getting HBO to work - still no luck after 30 minutes. They are sending a tech out on Thursday to diagnose and possibly install another card, though I told them I do not think it is a cablecard issue but an issue with something they need to do back at the office. We will see....

Barr

jak117

09-25-2007, 06:29 PM

Thanks for the great info!

an auth status of 'MP' is NOT good and you might want to check the
Val: status on the conditional access screen as I have a feeling that you will have a '? 0:00' there which means that you aren't paired properly in the system
You are correct, the Val status is "? 0:00" -- how do I go about explaining to a Comcast CSR that the CableCARD was not paired properly? Are there steps that they need to take? (most do not seem to know about data id, etc).

You should check the Network Access screen to make sure the Messages counter is rising...
The counter is incrementing, which is at least some good news.

The conditional access screen is now only showing the top four lines...last night it showed all as described on the TiVo support site.

lemieuxfan67

09-25-2007, 06:35 PM

I hoped for the best when I purchased my new TiVo HD. Things went well initially, the North Ave store in Chicago DOES hand out CableCARDs for self-install. In fact, the service rep told me they do it all the time and people usually have no problem with installation. After getting home, I ran through guided setup and inserted the CableCARD when instructed. I then contacted Comcast via the chat feature (as suggested earlier in this thread) to activate the card. Within a few minutes, I was able to see the basic channels (NBC, ABC, other locals). An hour later, I chatted with the same person because digital channels were not coming in (e.g. ESPN, TNT).

The immediate reply this time was to send a tech, which I wanted to avoid. Long story short, 2 phone CSRs and 2 online has left me with only analog channels. My gut feeling is that it is an authorization problem on Comcast's side, but all they seem to be able to do is send "signals" to it, I tried to give the data id, etc, but that was not on their screen.

Does anyone have any suggestions? The card came from the warehouse and I did read that someone needed an extra step to get the card set-up. I have not tried having them strip down my account yet - I may tonight after calling TiVo support. I have a tech coming tomorrow morning, but would prefer to avoid it if possible.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Thanks

SAME problem I had.

Card was auth. and was receiving a great signal from comcast. the tech that did my card install had done a tivo in the area before. his last tivo had the same problem as mine. the problem was with the billing codes and the way my account was setup. he knew who to contact and how they could fix it. it took over the weekend but eventually i was able to receive all my channels.

As far as who to talk to....GOOD LUCK. As you can tell by reading this forum, 90% of the people that customers are able to get in touch with do not know how to fix any cable card issues besides reading "I will send a hit" and "I will send a tech" from a script. Unfortunately it takes talking to a knowledgeable tech to get anything to work. I was lucky and got one to come to my house on the second try.

If it helps...this is what is on my account as recent activity. This got my channels to work.

09-17-07 STANDARD CABLE SERVICE 09/17 TO 10/21 $ -**.**
09-17-07 STANDARD CABLE SERVICE 09/17 TO 10/21 $ **.**
09-17-07 CHANGE SVC CABLE $ 0.00

jfh3

09-25-2007, 07:51 PM

They determine the need to give the office the Cablecard serial # as opposed to Host ID to activate the multi stream card.

But they cannot get the HBO channels to come in (they were not able to do this the previous week either with the existing card.). That's ok for now - I am happy and the multi stream card works for dual tuning.

I callback Tuesday about getting HBO to work - still no luck after 30 minutes. They are sending a tech out on Thursday to diagnose and possibly install another card, though I told them I do not think it is a cablecard issue but an issue with something they need to do back at the office. We will see....

Look at the CableCARD installation FAQ - your card is not paired/validated properly. This must be fixed at the Comcast end.

Comcast needs the card serial number AND the Tivo Host ID AND the Tivo data value. Without all three in their system, you will never get the card in the proper state.

BPlexico

09-25-2007, 09:21 PM

Look at the CableCARD installation FAQ - your card is not paired/validated properly. This must be fixed at the Comcast end.

Comcast needs the card serial number AND the Tivo Host ID AND the Tivo data value. Without all three in their system, you will never get the card in the proper state.

Thanks - I will follow up with them - apparently they could not figure where to enter the HOST ID into their system - it would only "take" the cablecard s/n and data values...

And you are correct - viewing the diagnostic screens - the card is not paired.

Barr

jak117

09-25-2007, 09:46 PM

Success! I finally was able to get in touch with someone who knew what they were doing and he initialized and paired the card correctly (as I had told 6 other CSRs they needed to do previously). After I gave him my data number and host id, he had the system set-up in about 3 minutes. On my TiVoHD, it did not flash a message and I simply needed to return to live tv to check.

Thanks to all on this thread for the great help and information.

BPlexico

09-25-2007, 10:17 PM

Well another update - I called Comcast tonight to follow up in regards to the paring. The person took down my Cablecard s/n, Host ID and Data ID. After about 20 minutes he told me there were two issues.

1. The first had to do with the Host ID

2. The second had to do with the fact that the serial number of the cablecard associated with the account did not match the s/n of the cablecard I know had and they needed to call the warehouse which had the old cablecard and get some information from them and some data input by them into the system before HBO would work (this part made no sense to me at all)

They believe everything should work sometime tomorrow after the information is "released" from the warehouse.

Stay tuned.

Barr

SnakeEyes

09-25-2007, 10:59 PM

Did you say earlier that you were in Chicago? If so, the Comcast location on North Avenue doesn't have any of the multi-stream cards as of this morning, but they're going to call me when they know when they'll have them. In the meantime, I just keep scheduling tech visits on the hope that one of them will actually have the right card. For whatever reason, dual single-streams refuse to work properly (on the second tuner) with my HD box, and even the Comcast people who know what they're talking about can't figure out why.

Later,
COZ

So Coz has HD? guess that means party at your place on Oct 13th. I'll tell Ben to spread the word. ;)

jfh3

09-25-2007, 11:40 PM

2. The second had to do with the fact that the serial number of the cablecard associated with the account did not match the s/n of the cablecard I know had and they needed to call the warehouse which had the old cablecard and get some information from them and some data input by them into the system before HBO would work (this part made no sense to me at all)

Well, if they don't use the info from the card installed in your box, they won't get any further than they are now.

notabbott

09-26-2007, 09:25 AM

So Coz has HD? guess that means party at your place on Oct 13th. I'll tell Ben to spread the word. ;)

Comcast doesn't carry HDNet last I checked, so it's still the Globe for that one, assuming they have their ducks in a row.

And do we know specifically what this billing hack is? I've got the exact same problem as a couple of other people here, where my second card only gets OTA channels...haven't tried Music Choice. AUTH is subscribed, but EnabledByCP is no, and any new single-stream card we put in that slot does the exact same thing.

The current thinking is that swapping out the two single-stream cards for a multi-stream card should make the problem go away, but it seems like that's the brute force method.

AlphaDelta

09-26-2007, 09:57 AM

I took the plunge and called Comcast to upgrade to digital and get cards. I had the fee schedule/channel guide Comcast had just sent out in their last bill, and had decided on "Digital Classic" package. The CSR said it was no longer offered, giving me the choice of "Starter" or "Preferred". I wonder if it is really no longer offered, or it is just a tactic to get you to choose the more expensive package. Anyway, I choose "Preferred", not wanting to get in an argument. He then said I could pick up the "self-install kit" :rolleyes: (cable box and some coax) at the local store, or I could have an installer come for $17.95. I then informed him I would need 2 cablecards, and asked if I could pick those up and install them myself. He didn't know, put me on hold to find out. He came back and said they had to be installed by a tech. He then said there would be an addition digital outlet fee for the second device. I informed him both cards would go in the same device, a TiVo. Waiting for the sell for the Comcast DVR, he surprised me by saying he heard the new TiVo's are supposed to be cool :) He had a few openings for the installation the following day, I chose 2-5 pm slot.

Taking the afternoon off work, I was was watching TiVo, expecting the tech to show up at 5:30. Much to my surprise, about 1:55 I hear the knock at the door. His name is Andrew and has 2 cablecards to install. He seems pretty knowledgeable, has brought the 2 cards but says they are the "new" M-cards and that I should only need one. I tell him the very new TiVoHD will work with 1 M-card but that my S3 is slighly older and needs 2 cards. The cards appeared to be Motorola, but I didn't get that close a look.

After checking the signal strength, he puts in the first card. (I'm pleased he knows to do them one at a time.) He writes down the pairing ID's and calls to have the data entered and the card hit. After a while the card receives the channels and we test some of them which are working.

We repeat the process for card 2, and again, everything appears to be working. I now do a more thorough check of the channels and none of the channels in the "Preferred" package are coming in. It seems they had "Digital Plus" on my account (which I gather is what the price sheet calls "Starter"). He calls to have Preferred put on my account, and have the cards hit again. The new channels refuse to tune. They hit them again, and no change. I reboot the TiVo to see if that makes a difference. Doesn't seem to.

They recheck the pairing data on card 1 and find 1 digit off. It is corrected and they hit the card again. Instead of fixing card 1 we now get no channels, and the 161-4 error shows up. (I've read that this is the "good" error, but don't really see how it is good, when it can't tune any channels.) Card 2 is now working with all the channels in the "Preferred" package.

I ask Andrew if maybe card 1 is bad. He kind of facetiously says the cards are never bad ;) I bring up the pairing screen again for card 1 and ask them to double check the data. It was all correct. They do some more work, and ask us to check channels again. They are now all working on card 1. I ask if it is voodoo, but just get the response that cablecards are sometime tricky to get configured. Overall it took a little over an hour. Andrew expected it be be just 20 minutes and I think he had to cancel some appointments after me.

So, pretty much a good experience (just 1 service call and everything is working), plus I have 2 M-cards, so if we get the TiVo service update for S3 M-card support, I can pull the second card and return it, saving $1.50 a month.