Official Time Warner Cable Thread

[mercurial]

What the heck is up with TWC Raleigh/Cary? I just saw a bunch of the local HD's have been moved/duplicated to the 1xxx range. I can't tune them there but I can in the 2xx range where they still show up...

They shouldn't be able to move the locals to SDV but are they starting to migrate all the HD to the 1xxx range perhaps since they're running out of slots in the traditional 200-299 area they've been using?

[monkeyboy1010]

Checking in if anyone has sage wisdom with installs with TWC in South Pasadena CA? I have had 3 different attempts over the past month with no luck each time. I was originally in the Eagle Rock, CA district and they were a former Adelphia area, so the system is different, they had M Cards and I understand that So. Pas doesn't.

The problem too is that they seem to NEVER have any cable cards available.

Any words or help would be greatly appreciated.

mb1010

[DrWho453]

What the heck is up with TWC Raleigh/Cary? I just saw a bunch of the local HD's have been moved/duplicated to the 1xxx range. I can't tune them there but I can in the 2xx range where they still show up...

They shouldn't be able to move the locals to SDV but are they starting to migrate all the HD to the 1xxx range perhaps since they're running out of slots in the traditional 200-299 area they've been using?

Yea, I just got home and noticed that too. This is crazy so now I have WRAL CBS on channel 3, WRAL DT and HD on the 25x range and now in the 1xxx range except can't view the 1xxx range. I hope they keep the 25x range until the dongle comes out. Course, if it does go away, I can just go to my table top antenna and pick it up.

[mercurial]

Yea, I just got home and noticed that too. This is crazy so now I have WRAL CBS on channel 3, WRAL DT and HD on the 25x range and now in the 1xxx range except can't view the 1xxx range. I hope they keep the 25x range until the dongle comes out. Course, if it does go away, I can just go to my table top antenna and pick it up.

Well, I don't *think* they could legally move the locals to SDV but there is always the chance they'll try it and then we'll have to cry foul. That would royally p*** me off. Hopefully they're just going to lump all the HD channels up there and they're just not "ready" yet so we can't tune those. I also wonder if they compress the locals at all? If so, maybe they're adding a second SDV feed that's uncompressed? <shrug>

[SugarBowl]

Well, I don't *think* they could legally move the locals to SDV but there is always the chance they'll try it and then we'll have to cry foul. That would royally p*** me off. Hopefully they're just going to lump all the HD channels up there and they're just not "ready" yet so we can't tune those. I also wonder if they compress the locals at all? If so, maybe they're adding a second SDV feed that's uncompressed? <shrug>

It's probably moving stuff around for the extra basketball channels.

[JYoung]

Checking in if anyone has sage wisdom with installs with TWC in South Pasadena CA? I have had 3 different attempts over the past month with no luck each time. I was originally in the Eagle Rock, CA district and they were a former Adelphia area, so the system is different, they had M Cards and I understand that So. Pas doesn't.

The problem too is that they seem to NEVER have any cable cards available.

Any words or help would be greatly appreciated.

mb1010

Get someone from Eagle Rock High School to do the install.
They could probably do a better job than the local franchise.

[GiantsFan24]

Well, I don't *think* they could legally move the locals to SDV but there is always the chance they'll try it and then we'll have to cry foul. That would royally p*** me off. Hopefully they're just going to lump all the HD channels up there and they're just not "ready" yet so we can't tune those. I also wonder if they compress the locals at all? If so, maybe they're adding a second SDV feed that's uncompressed? <shrug>

They did this in Hawaii a few months ago. It was not an attempt to make locals SDV. It's just a logical move in advance of adding additional HD channels. The HD channels are on the same number as the SD channels; they just have 1,000 added to the SD number. So its easy to find the HD version of channels you know. E.g., the HD version of channel 3 is 1003. The HD version of HBO (611) is 1611. No sinister plot.

[bitfactory]

Thanks for the updated list for austin.

Is anyone else in the TWC Austin area a little bit miffed like I am about the number of channels I can't get with CC? Cableguy is great on this board and we are lucky to have him, but I can't help but feel like complaining to,,,, someone, somewhere, about the number of channels I can't get.

I know the dongle is coming, and I am waiting with baited breath for that day, but it just seems somehow unfair that there are all these channels that cable card customers pay for, but can't get.

Is this list similar to other TWC areas? Seems like a pretty big list to me.

I called TWC here in Cincinnati the other day - I had finally HAD IT with the 8300HDC and its crap software. I told him I'm taking the box back and he said, "That's okay you can exchange the box any..." "No," I said, "That's it - it's a one-way trip - I'll never have a 8300HDC in my house again."

I scheduled to have someone come out to install the cablecards in my new TivoHD I ordered... while I waited I asked what channels were on SDV - this was his line: "I'm sorry, we're not allowed to talk about that to our customers." "What?", I asked "We're not allowed to speak about that topic to our customers at this time." "Uh, do you know which channels are on switched digital video so I know what to expect out of the cablecards?" "We're not allowed to speak about that topic to our customers at this time."

He was obviously reading off a prepared paper. I hear they moved ESPN2HD back to the regular pipe in Cincinnati. I think they are having big-time problems supporting the 8300HDC and its Navigator software. Maybe they moved ESPN2HD back due to so many people running away from their box.

Either way I'm giving TivoHD w/ CC a shot for the next year then it's off to *TV if I'm not satisfied. I'm hoping it's just as good as our 8300HD (which isn't great, but has never eaten a recording, displayed just a green screen until you unplug it, record the video to one show and audio from another, record video in the top half of the screen for one show and some of another show at the bottom).

(end 8300HDC rant).

Hopefully my CC install will go without problems.

[gamo62]

I called TWC here in Cincinnati the other day - I had finally HAD IT with the 8300HDC and its crap software. I told him I'm taking the box back and he said, "That's okay you can exchange the box any..." "No," I said, "That's it - it's a one-way trip - I'll never have a 8300HDC in my house again."

I scheduled to have someone come out to install the cablecards in my new TivoHD I ordered... while I waited I asked what channels were on SDV - this was his line: "I'm sorry, we're not allowed to talk about that to our customers." "What?", I asked "We're not allowed to speak about that topic to our customers at this time." "Uh, do you know which channels are on switched digital video so I know what to expect out of the cablecards?" "We're not allowed to speak about that topic to our customers at this time."

He was obviously reading off a prepared paper. I hear they moved ESPN2HD back to the regular pipe in Cincinnati. I think they are having big-time problems supporting the 8300HDC and its Navigator software. Maybe they moved ESPN2HD back due to so many people running away from their box.

Either way I'm giving TivoHD w/ CC a shot for the next year then it's off to *TV if I'm not satisfied. I'm hoping it's just as good as our 8300HD (which isn't great, but has never eaten a recording, displayed just a green screen until you unplug it, record the video to one show and audio from another, record video in the top half of the screen for one show and some of another show at the bottom).

(end 8300HDC rant).

Hopefully my CC install will go without problems.

If you have a TivoHD, MAKE SURE they bring an M-card. That way you'll only need one. And as of right now, there are no SDV channels that I know of. I get TNTHD, ESPN and ESPN2HD, HDNET and a few others. And do not let them tell you that they don't have M-cards. Apparently that's all they have in ther warehouse. Good luck!

[derspiess]

Hopefully my CC install will go without problems.

Good luck & welcome to the club of Cincy TivoHD'ers. Having just got mine set up recently, my humble advice is to try to be patient with the install process & read as much of the forum as you can.

[Chip718]

Hi. I am having a issue with my Time Warner Samsung HD box running the Mystro software.

I always keep my cable box powered on. The other day I realized it was off and that usually means that TW did an update to the box. When it started up I noticed that the video on SD channels had black bars on each side of the picture, as if the view mode was set to "Normal", even though the setting was on "Full"." I assumed it was the TV (Sony Bravia) so I tried changing the view settings to Zoom, Stretch, etc., but the picture still had the black bars on the sides. I than tried changing the setting on my cable box, but again no go.

The funny thing HD content, menus and banners take up the full screen. It is just standard SD stuff. After all this happened I turned the same box on in my bedroom and I am having the same issue. I called TW and they had no idea of the issue. The only thing the CRS told me to do was to reboot the box, which I already did a couple of times.

[Firekite]

The funny thing is - if I could have picked up the CC and done the install myself, TWC would have saved three truck rolls and I would have working TV a week earlier.
The rep on the phone just now told me I could come and pick up the card myself, but that only the Central Park Mall location (which replaced the old 410/Jones-Maltsberger location) carries them, as compared to the I-10/Callaghan location that's closer to me.

Is this is a lie? It's what I'd prefer, as I don't want to burn vacation time to sit around and hope.

[DallasFlier]

Hi. I am having a issue with my Time Warner Samsung HD box running the Mystro software.

I always keep my cable box powered on. The other day I realized it was off and that usually means that TW did an update to the box. When it started up I noticed that the video on SD channels had black bars on each side of the picture, as if the view mode was set to "Normal", even though the setting was on "Full"." I assumed it was the TV (Sony Bravia) so I tried changing the view settings to Zoom, Stretch, etc., but the picture still had the black bars on the sides. I than tried changing the setting on my cable box, but again no go.

The funny thing HD content, menus and banners take up the full screen. It is just standard SD stuff. After all this happened I turned the same box on in my bedroom and I am having the same issue. I called TW and they had no idea of the issue. The only thing the CRS told me to do was to reboot the box, which I already did a couple of times.
Sorry for your problems, but I'm not sure what this has to do with TiVo Series3 HDTV DVRs??? :confused:

[Rayd8tor]

I was told that a truck had to roll and install them. I'd prefer to do it myself as well, but i think that TWC wants their 40 bucks... Let me know if they let you.

[cab2]

Looking for what other folks out there think. I love my tivo and have been with them since a few months after the first unit launched. but...

I'm starting to really consider D*. here's why. SDV and TWC in austin. That long list of channels I can't get, really bugs me. I'm starting to have semi-frequent issues where one of the CC's will not get my hi-def channels. sometimes, rebooting the box will work, sometimes having TWC send a hit will work, sometimes it takes both. D* seems to have a heck of a lot more HD channels than TWC. If I could, I'd watch only HD programing. I did not realize how many of the channels I watch have an HD version until I looked at the D* site.

I'm torn as which way to go. Cost wise, I would prob. save about 15 to 20 a month, and thats nice, but not huge. My biggest thing is content and HD. DTV has more. When the dongle comes out, what if there are problems? Yea, I know, no one can answer that one. I'm hearing great things about the new HD DVR that D* has. I'd miss my season passes, but other than that, and the UI, I think I could live with the difference.

Any ideas what the going rate is for a lifetime sub'd Series 3 (thx) model on ebay or the open market?

Any current / recent DTV users out there want to comment?

thanks for your help.

[pkscout]

Looking for what other folks out there think. I love my tivo and have been with them since a few months after the first unit launched. but...

I'm starting to really consider DTV. here's why. SDV and TWC in austin. That long list of channels I can't get, really bugs me. I'm starting to have semi-frequent issues where one of the CC's will not get my hi-def channels. sometimes, rebooting the box will work, sometimes having TWC send a hit will work, sometimes it takes both. DTV seems to have a heck of a lot more HD channels than TWC. If I could, I'd watch only HD programing. I did not realize how many of the channels I watch have an HD version until I looked at the DTV site.

I'm torn as which way to go. Cost wise, I would prob. save about 15 to 20 a month, and thats nice, but not huge. My biggest thing is content and HD. DTV has more. When the dongle comes out, what if there are problems? Yea, I know, no one can answer that one. I'm hearing great things about the new HD DVR that DTV has. I'd miss my season passes, but other than that, and the UI, I think I could live with the difference.

I've decided to wait for the dongle. Of course have an antenna on my roof, so I'm getting all my HD that way and just have analog cable. RTP, NC seems to have backed off SDV and they have just started providing the digital simulcast of the analog channels to CC users, but I decided I'm still gonna wait. But now I'm waiting for SciFi HD and USA HD. Oh, and I'd really like TiVo to get off its collective butt and provide the multistream card support for the series 3.

So basically, I think I'll wait for the S4 to ship and then upgrade. ;)

[gamo62]

I've decided to wait for the dongle. Of course have an antenna on my roof, so I'm getting all my HD that way and just have analog cable. RTP, NC seems to have backed off SDV and they have just started providing the digital simulcast of the analog channels to CC users, but I decided I'm still gonna wait. But now I'm waiting for SciFi HD and USA HD. Oh, and I'd really like TiVo to get off its collective butt and provide the multistream card support for the series 3.

So basically, I think I'll wait for the S4 to ship and then upgrade. ;)


Well, I went with the HD over D-TV. Mostly because of the software. And right now there are enough HD channels to keep me occupied. When the Tivo 4 comes out, I'll end up being an early adoptor and adding it to my account. Hopefully w/ lifetime service!

[bxojr]

I'm in Pittsboro, and about to make the jump from satellite to TWC plus TiVo so I can get HD. I've already bought my HD TiVo but haven't unboxed it yet.

I stopped by the TWC kiosk at Southpoint Mall today to see what they would tell me about CableCARD service. Probably a mistake; the kid working there clearly didn't know much, and spouted FUD like how CableCARD would mean I'd have "a lot fewer" HD channels -- in fact, I he said something like half of them. I think maybe he was trying to give me a garbled version of the SDV story, but from what I've read here even that isn't a factor yet in the RDU area.

Here's my question ... he couldn't tell me clearly what kind of package applied to CableCARD service, or what channels would be included. Can anyone in the area clarify this? I'm not interested in premiums, but other than that, what channels would I get with CableCARD? Which packages apply? And how many channels are SDV as of right now?

[bxojr]

OK, bear with me ... I have another question as I plunge headlong into this.

I went ahead and called TWC to see what they'd tell me, and ended up scheduling an install for the day after tomorrow. The sales rep understood exactly what I was asking for, so no problems there.

However, he insisted (even after checking with two different supervisors) that they "no longer offer" M-cards. Instead it would have to be two S-cards, which meant a doubled installation fee.

I balked at this, and eventually he agreed to credit us for the second installation fee. Fine, I said.

So I guess I have two questions. First: can this be true, that they no longer have M-cards in the RDU area? Second: if it's not true, should I keep making trouble? Is there any advantage to having one M-card instead of two S-cards?

[Firekite]

Is there any advantage to having one M-card instead of two S-cards?
I haven't received my TiVo yet, but based on research here it seems like the only advantage is that you don't have to deal with two cards, which hopefully means less stuff that can go wrong, break, get confused (e.g. the hardware ID's for each card and which is in which slot, etc), and so on. That's just the feeling I've gotten based on reading through these forums and other articles here and there.

[JYoung]

You also don't get charged for the second card.

[GiantsFan24]

You also don't get charged for the second card.

And that charge is not just the installation fee. Pricing policies differ throughout the TW universe, so your provider may not do this, but in Hawaii we get charged two monthly fees for the two cable cards, plus two monthly fees for the HD package. I have an S3, so I don't know what their policy is regarding M-cards, but presumably it would be considered a single card. On the other hand, I wouldn't put it past them to charge a single fee for the card, and still charge for two HD packages, since it supports two tuners.

[bxojr]

I don't think they're charging me for two HD subscriptions. The sales rep gave me a total for our monthly bill, and it was very close to what my estimate had been. I do expect to be charged double the monthly CableCARD fee, but that's only $2.50, so I'm not losing a lot of sleep over it.

I wish there were a way for me to get in touch with the installer directly. Then I could just tell him I'd like an M-card if possible. I don't have a lot of confidence in what information gets from the sales reps to the installers.

[wjlyerly]

However, he insisted (even after checking with two different supervisors) that they "no longer offer" M-cards. Instead it would have to be two S-cards, which meant a doubled installation fee.
...
So I guess I have two questions. First: can this be true, that they no longer have M-cards in the RDU area? Second: if it's not true, should I keep making trouble? Is there any advantage to having one M-card instead of two S-cards?

I had TWC come out to install cable cards in my HD Tivo last Friday (5 days ago) in Apex. The installer showed up with a single M-card. He had things up and running with no real issues. I believe he said that they were only using the M-cards.

So far, I'm getting all the HD content offered, I think. Nothing seems to be on SDV. Not sure about ESPNHD, though.

[bxojr]

Thanks, wjlyerly ... sounds like just what I need to know. And it's good to know that it can actually go smoothly!

I think I might call back tomorrow and see if I can't get a different answer about the M-cards. But if I'm lucky, maybe the installer will show up with an M-card anyway. I'm not at all confident that the sales rep knew what he was talking about (he kept referring to the M-card as "bidirectional").

[DrWho453]

Yea, the great news is the RAL/DUR TWC isn't using SDV yet. The bad news is that they are copy protecting every digital channel except for the networks and since they have changed scifi, foxsports south, and other analog channels to digital, they have put them on copy protection. I just realized tonight that scifi was blocked which means I can't transfer video to the PC. This is really p***ing me off now and I don't get mad often. :mad: We need to start a petition or a boycott against TWC of RAL/DUR and tell them they can't block every channel. Maybe Tivo and the FCC need to get involved. I just love how TWC commercials say they are customer loyal and all. They sure do show that loyalty when the do something like this.

[mmcgown]

Reply to boxjr:

In Austin TX, I was told they had no M-cards, but the installer (contractor) had one on his truck and installed it. TWC-Austin charges $2.65/month for a card; however, there was no installation fee, no service trip fee, no just-because-we-can fee.

Call them back and keep asking for supervisors until you find someone who knows intelligent answers.

[Eccles]

In Austin TX, I was told they had no M-cards, but the installer (contractor) had one on his truck and installed it. TWC-Austin charges $2.65/month for a card; however, there was no installation fee, no service trip fee, no just-because-we-can fee.It appears that TW Austin's CSR's are all over the shop when it comes to CC knowledge. The rep I spoke with at the service counter at their N MoPac office knew exactly what I meant when I said I need a multi-stream CableCARD for my new TiVo HD, and scheduled a truck roll for the next day, but I was charged $30-something for the visit.

[mmcgown]

Eccles:

You should call and ask for a service credit.

[TxPres]

I agree.
I was not charged for a service fee for the truck roll.

[Rayd8tor]

Neither was I. I'm in San Antonio, and they just installed my cards last night. I checked the the invoice there was no indication of a charge.

[Eccles]

Hmm, she may have been mistaken. I didn't have to sign any work order, nor was I given an invoice. Guess I'll wait and see what appears on my next bill.

[lreinstein]

I am a TWC customer in the Albany region. I was using the SA HDMI HD DVR supplied by TW. I actually liked the picture quality very much, and also the speed and interactivity of the guide and the remote. Also, I enjoyed some of the On Demand programming.

However, as you all realize, the firmware for finding shows was really terrible. For example, a Title search only allowed seaching on the first letter of the Title, which, of course yielded hundreds of programs to scroll through.

So, having previously been a Tivo user, I decided to purchase the TivoHD and return to something that my wife and I both loved.

The installation of the Cable Cards however was a nightmare. The TWC tech arrived and immediately tried to discourage me from making the switch. (By the way, even though i was giving back the TWC SA DVR, my monthly rate was going to be increased (above and beyond the rental of the cable cards) because I was no longer on the package....thus paying more for less equipment). I then insisted I wanted to go ahead with the switch to Tivo. The Tech then kept trying to install the cable cards and one after another was failing (it took 30 minutes to determine that the programming of a card failed).

He kept trying different cards until finally he got them to work. He was at my house for an entire day.

So now the cable cards work, and we enjoy the Tivo features very much. But I do have some misgivings which make me wonder whether I should eventually switch back to the SA DVR. The TWC rep tells me that they are developing better and improved firmware...IS THIS TRUE???

1. There is always a delay or lag when I change channels

2. We are losing more and more stations as TW transitions to Switch Digital

3. THere is occasionally a lack of sychronization between video and audio (lip synch issue...and no i am not feeding the video through my AV receiver...it is direct HDMI to the Plasma TV

Any thoughts??

Larry

[mulciber]

I'm a new Tivo customer with TWC in San Antonio; I'm personally about a 2 out of 10 on the "techie" scale. They came on Tuesday to install (or screw up) a cablecard at my expense - $65 which I fully intend to get back the next time I speak with them. After what seemed like decades on the phone with tech support yesterday and today, we finally got SOME of the HD channels working. After several more "trouble shooting" issues, the phone tech support told me the following HD channels (which I'm receiving on my HD cable box) are not available on a cable card:

113 - TBS
115 - Science
122 - NHL
125 - ESPN2
128 - A&E
129 - DSC
134 - MTV
135 - CNN
136 - Weather Channel
147 - Food Network
149 - The Learning Channel
154 - FBN
155 - Animal Planet
157 - National Geographic
167 - Home & Garden
168 - Golf
174 - History

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Ok, so I've read some more about SDV and I think I understand...it just sucks. So, when is this "converter" thingy coming out?

[kenrippy]

I am a TWC customer in the Albany region. I was using the SA HDMI HD DVR supplied by TW. I actually liked the picture quality very much, and also the speed and interactivity of the guide and the remote. Also, I enjoyed some of the On Demand programming.

However, as you all realize, the firmware for finding shows was really terrible. For example, a Title search only allowed seaching on the first letter of the Title, which, of course yielded hundreds of programs to scroll through.

So, having previously been a Tivo user, I decided to purchase the TivoHD and return to something that my wife and I both loved.

The installation of the Cable Cards however was a nightmare. The TWC tech arrived and immediately tried to discourage me from making the switch. (By the way, even though i was giving back the TWC SA DVR, my monthly rate was going to be increased (above and beyond the rental of the cable cards) because I was no longer on the package....thus paying more for less equipment). I then insisted I wanted to go ahead with the switch to Tivo. The Tech then kept trying to install the cable cards and one after another was failing (it took 30 minutes to determine that the programming of a card failed).

He kept trying different cards until finally he got them to work. He was at my house for an entire day.

So now the cable cards work, and we enjoy the Tivo features very much. But I do have some misgivings which make me wonder whether I should eventually switch back to the SA DVR. The TWC rep tells me that they are developing better and improved firmware...IS THIS TRUE???

1. There is always a delay or lag when I change channels

2. We are losing more and more stations as TW transitions to Switch Digital

3. THere is occasionally a lack of sychronization between video and audio (lip synch issue...and no i am not feeding the video through my AV receiver...it is direct HDMI to the Plasma TV

Any thoughts??

Larry

i don't know about your audio sync issue, but the delay in channel changing might be due to your tv "catching up" with the format change of the different channels (480, 720, 1080 etc.) if you change the settings in the tivoHD to a fixed res. you will get faster channel changes.
see here: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=379507

i'm not sure about your area, maybe it's different on what HD channels you receive, but here in so. cal, all HD channels that were currently available to you w/ the box & your subscript, will be there with the cards.

regarding the TWC DVR, i would stay with the tivo if i were you. the tech that was out today to install the cards in our tivoHD & mentioned how upset people got when they had hardware issues with the TWC DVR's. when one went bad, they'd just replace it with another one.... no problem right? well, that means all the recordings were lost, and the customers didn't like that. that's their solution to all the hardware problems, just replace it with another box out of the truck.

btw, it took him 4hrs, 3 S-cards, 1 M-card and finally got it working with 2 S-cards.

[Gloftoe]

Another story from Austin TWC:

Got one of the Woot.com TivoHD units delivered two days ago, and called this morning to get scheduled for a CableCARD installation. I was informed they could come out this afternoon, and they did. They sent out a contractor instead of an actual TWC technician. But the guy had an M CableCARD, installed it in the TivoHD unit, and was on his way about 30 minutes after he arrived. No fee, no questions. I'm still going through what channels I receive and what channels I am missing (because of SDV), but the installation was completely painless.

Good luck everyone!

[Rayd8tor]

Another story from Austin TWC:

Got one of the Woot.com TivoHD units delivered two days ago, and called this morning to get scheduled for a CableCARD installation. I was informed they could come out this afternoon, and they did. They sent out a contractor instead of an actual TWC technician. But the guy had an M CableCARD, installed it in the TivoHD unit, and was on his way about 30 minutes after he arrived. No fee, no questions. I'm still going through what channels I receive and what channels I am missing (because of SDV), but the installation was completely painless.

Good luck everyone!

Same here. Got mine from woot as well. TWC got the Mcard up and running last night, but took longer than that. I didn't let him leave until I had verified each and every channel that I was supposed to be getting.

[bitfactory]

Waited all day for my M-Card installation. TWC installer called on his way over and said, "I'm to swap out the cablecards in your 8300HDC." Uh, no - install MCard in my TivoHD. Arrggg. Nice one, TWC. Not that I'm surprised. The Cincinnati branch has some of the most inept reps who man the phones - they put the WO in all wrong.

He didn't have an M on him, and the warehouse was already closed - so I wasted a whole day. Scheduled again for tomorrow morning.

[bxojr]

Thought I'd update my story ... as I suspected, the sales rep who insisted that they only had S-cards was, shall we say, ill-informed. The installer showed up today with two M-cards in his pocket, and he told me the S-cards are pretty much impossible to get these days. (I will be interested to see what shows up on my bill. I won't be at all surprised if they charge me rental for two cards, since that's what the sales rep put me down for.)

Everything went as smoothly as I could have hoped. This guy had obviously done TiVos before ... he did the installation, Guided Setup, and everything without any trouble.

One interesting hiccup ... after he had everything done, the TiVo lost the ability to play back any video at all, not even prerecorded stuff. Even the animated menu backdrop was gone, replaced with a gray screen. Presumably this is because all video playback must go through the CableCARD, and there was some transient glitch between the card and the box. Anyway, we did a reset, and everything worked fine.

I seem to be getting everything I'm supposed to get, HD channels included. So as others have reported, SDV seems to be a non-issue here so far. Now I just have to find an HDMI cable for a reasonable price...

[gamo62]

Waited all day for my M-Card installation. TWC installer called on his way over and said, "I'm to swap out the cablecards in your 8300HDC." Uh, no - install MCard in my TivoHD. Arrggg. Nice one, TWC. Not that I'm surprised. The Cincinnati branch has some of the most inept reps who man the phones - they put the WO in all wrong.

He didn't have an M on him, and the warehouse was already closed - so I wasted a whole day. Scheduled again for tomorrow morning.


You're out of luck tomorrow too. The warehouse is closed on the weekends. You should be able to get a $20 credit for a no show. I have not had any problems with the techs here in Cincinnati. They have been great. I personally asked for an M-card and had them note it on my account. Good luck!

[bitfactory]

You're out of luck tomorrow too. The warehouse is closed on the weekends.

Evidently he called his supervisor who allowed it. We'll see - scheduled for the morning.

[bitfactory]

Evidently he called his supervisor who allowed it. We'll see - scheduled for the morning.

Installer came this morning. Very nice guy - said this was his first M-Card install (he's only done the S). Most of the wait was for the TWC systems to authorize and setup the card. Additionally, their systems were slow to 'close the work order ticket' - so they forced it closed and my channels updated almost instantly.

Had to redo the setup, and the system updated with the Fall 2007, but I'm up and running now with all the HD channels on the HD Tier.

Total time - about an hour.

[scottc42]

I just got 2 S cards installed yesterday - TW Southeast Wisconsin. The guys showed up and said he thought he was just swapping boxes and missed the part on the work order about CableCards. He had to drive back to Racine (about 30 minuteseach way) to get them. He was really nice about it, though. I told him to look for M cards (he had no idea what I was talking about, as he had never installed CCs before.), and to grab several. He came back right away, reinforced that he has never done this before, and got to it. He only had S cards. After about an hour he said eerything was working, but the cards would still need to be service enabled. He left and said he woul dcall me back later. AFter about two hours it seemed that one was working but not the other. He called me and I let him know. He called me back 15 minutes later and said, "try again." I did and everything worked. So far, so good, and I really think the picture quality is better with the CC decoders than with the SA HD box. I see much less pixelation (so far), anyway. All in all, a pretty good experience - far better than I would have expected.

[tguerrette]

I have been feeling the pain of SDV with my Series 3 since the first of the year. In Maine, Time Warner is rolling out all new HD channels using SDV and that means I can't receive them until the new SDV device is released. TW does not seem to care much about Tivo CableCard customers as they sent the (attached) letter telling us that we won't be able to receive new channels as well as the 68 SDV channels they have already. Needless to say, I was looking forward to National Geographic HD and History HD!

I'll be first in line for the SDV dongle to connect to Tivo USB port, but when is this coming? When it is approved for use with Tivo's, how long will we have to wait before TW in Maine supports it? Will the local cable company need to validate that the device works?

I am pushing my local TW office for a free DVR in the meantime, but that is an uphill battle since their response so far has been "you chose the Tivo so you can't complain..." :(

[Phillysports8982]

I have been feeling the pain of SDV with my Series 3 since the first of the year. In Maine, Time Warner is rolling out all new HD channels using SDV and that means I can't receive them until the new SDV device is released. TW does not seem to care much about Tivo CableCard customers as they sent the (attached) letter telling us that we won't be able to receive new channels as well as the 68 SDV channels they have already. Needless to say, I was looking forward to National Geographic HD and History HD!

I'll be first in line for the SDV dongle to connect to Tivo USB port, but when is this coming? When it is approved for use with Tivo's, how long will we have to wait before TW in Maine supports it? Will the local cable company need to validate that the device works?

I am pushing my local TW office for a free DVR in the meantime, but that is an uphill battle since their response so far has been "you chose the Tivo so you can't complain..." :(

so is there more info on these SDV devices for tivo series 3HDs?

[SugarBowl]

I'll be first in line for the SDV dongle to connect to Tivo USB port, but when is this coming? When it is approved for use with Tivo's, how long will we have to wait before TW in Maine supports it? Will the local cable company need to validate that the device works?
(


Don't forget: how much extra will the dongle cost per month? how much will it cost to get it installed?

[hsfjr]

Is anyone else in the TWC Austin area a little bit miffed like I am about the number of channels I can't get with CC?
...
Seems like a pretty big list to me.

And the list continues to grow...

Newly added (for me):
1615 TLCHD
1618 DSCHD
1622 APLHD
1624 SCIHD

I didn't see this on the previously posted list:
514/1656 UHD

And these have a spot in the 200s also:
202 HGTVD
208 FOODHD
233 NGCHD

[Disclosure: I am not actually inside Austin/any city limits, and my local/leased access more closely aligns with Round Rock.]

[kevin120]

twc north texas will be going sdv march 27 with these channels launching in:
arlington
dallas
mesquite
plano
richardson

rest of metro by the end of 2008

these channels will be sdv:
animal planet hd
discovery hd
hgtv hd
food network hd
golf/versus hd
national geograhic hd
fsn southwest hd
tbs hd
cnn hd
a&e hd
history hd

future sdv channels
espn game plan/full court
nhl center ice/mlb extra innings
nba league pass/mls direct kick
hbo west
hbo 2 west
hbo comedy west
hbo signature west
hbo family west
hbo zone west
cinemax west
more max west
action max west
thriller max west

[DaveDFW]

twc north texas will be going sdv march 27...

Boo, SDV!

Where's that USB tuning resolver?

TTYL
David

[cab2]

ARGH!!!!!!! TWC Austin just keeps trying to push me away. I keep trying to stay and hope for the tuning resolver / usb dongle but the way things are going, I'm getting less and less for the 1K i put into my S3. (purchase and lifetime) I love the S3 but if I can't get the channels I want, even though they are available, where does that leave me???? I so love my tivo's, but I'm doing more and more research into Directv. I just need to get a few more bits of info, and then TWC is going to lose me for cable. I'm sure they will bump up the price of my Internet connection, but they will lose over 100.00 a month (1,200.00 + a year) in cable costs from me. Anyone out there in TWC land listening? Except you Cableguy. I know your on our side. Anyone know if you can do Directv without a long term commitment if you buy the boxes outright? I think you can, but have not had that one confirmed yet.

And yea, I'm not in Austin proper either, I'm in Cedar Park, but it's all the same thing. My best friend up in Dallas has D* and I've seen his setup, and it looks better than what I get. But no Tivo interface. He's as big a fan of tivo as I am, but, he also has a big hate for TWC so would never go with them. I don't hate TWC, but I do feel like I'm getting screwed. It just does not seem fair.

Ugh. SDV, um, well, to be overly kind, STINKS!

[cdeckert219]

I got the Woot! special (TiVoHD) and asked for an M-card when I called for the appointment. (Here is San Diego, they won't allow you to self-install.) She didn't know what I was talking about...said they only support single direction. I asked her to note it for the installer--one multi-stream card.

Installer showed up according to schedule. Said he had only done 1 or 2 TiVo boxes previously. Had an M-card with him. Popped it in, let me "drive" the TiVo setup. Called it in... and it all worked first time. He left in under 10 minutes. Cool!

After he left, I went to install the WD 1TB that I got from Buy.com... but the drive was DOA. That's for another post...

[bitfactory]

My new Cincinnati TivoHD is humming right along after my M-card install on Saturday.

I was told Fox Sports Ohio HD is being added in Cincinnati on March 25 for the Reds baseball season. (YES!)

Question is - will the MCard automatically update with the channel change (if it's not added on SDV, that is)?

[bxojr]

I haven't had my HD TiVo long enough to see how routine channel lineup changes are handled, but I did have an interesting experience yesterday trying to add a premium channel.

I went through the TWC website to add HBO to my account, and I was hoping to see something happen immediately. After an hour or so, it was still a black screen, so I called and asked when I should expect the change to take effect. The rep verified with me that I had a CableCARD rather than a box; she then re-sent the authorization signal, and I saw HBO appear.

So I am wondering whether there's some idiosyncracy of CableCARDs that requires extra human intervention when a channel gets added. I'm hoping not, and that the problem was actually just with the automated back-end for the website.

[bmschech]

Several people have posted about postive TWCNY experiences here, which emboldened me to finally get a TivoHD. I just wanted to add my encouragement to those in the area. My experience was entirely positive. Why is it that the folks on the phone at TWCNY are uniformly idiots and the people they send out are usually amazingly helpful and competent?

I had to arrive a few minutes late for my appointement (the helpful CSR had told me the wrong day), but the installer called me on the phone and agreed to wait ten minutes. Better yet, when I arrived, there were two vans parked in front of my house with no other nearby parking (this is Brooklyn). One of the guys offered to give me his parking spot! I guess they have no problem double-parking.

For some reason, there were three guys. They very quickly installed an M-card and told me they do a lot of TiVo installs these days. Unfortunately, the cable signal was too weak. They confirmed this by running a long test cable from upstairs to my box. With this configuration they rebooted and the TiVo said it would take an hour, so the guys took off for lunch. They told me that their dispatcher said they couldn't run any new cables today, but when they returned they had already received permission to go ahead. Evidently, the installer had argued that he already knew the set-up here and could do the job right and it would ultimately save time. Anyway, it took them a surprising short time to run a new cable through the wall, replace some stuff and leave me happy, with a beautiful picture on all channels.

So I'm back in TiVo heaven! I hooked up a broadband network too, which is nice. But unfortunately, most all the programs I store on my TiVo can't be transferred because they are "copy protected". Does anyone else who used TWCNYC have this problem too?

[bxojr]

I'm trying to edit my channel list to get rid of channels I don't care about, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what's what in some cases. I'm a newcomer to TWC (longtime DTV customer), so maybe someone can help me out.

Several questions:


Many channels in the lineup are duplicated. In some cases (like the locals) I guess I'm seeing the analog version and the digital version, but I'm not sure. In other cases (like the Science Channel, at both 111 and 357) I have no idea why they're duplicated. Am I missing something?

Is there any reliable way to tell whether a channel is analog or digital?

In cases where there's an HD and SD version of the same channel, is there any reason to keep both in my channel list?


I'd be interested to know how others have handled this. It's a bit confusing scheduling recordings now because of the multiple listings for the same show on the same channel.

UPDATE: I just ran across TWC's "Digital Simulcast" FAQ. Somehow I'd missed that before. So I guess I don't need to worry about analog channels.

[tguerrette]

Don't forget: how much extra will the dongle cost per month? how much will it cost to get it installed?

Does anyone know anything more then what is posted in the Tivo press release then the Q2 2008 release timeframe for the external adapter?

[mulciber]

Does anyone know anything more then what is posted in the Tivo press release then the Q2 2008 release timeframe for the external adapter?

I'm also very interested in hearing any info on dates/cost/availability of adapter. Please post if you have any information.

[jazjam]

We've had Tivo for years (we still have one) but gave up our HD one when we had so much trouble with the cards. The tech told us that the new adapter was suppose to come out to make it work but I haven't seen one yet. The time warner DVR sucks after you've gotten spoiled byt the tivo interface. Has any one in austin got this working?

[cableguy763]

We've had Tivo for years (we still have one) but gave up our HD one when we had so much trouble with the cards. The tech told us that the new adapter was suppose to come out to make it work but I haven't seen one yet. The time warner DVR sucks after you've gotten spoiled byt the tivo interface. Has any one in austin got this working?

The tuning resolver is not out yet. So no, nobody has gotten it working.

[jtowens]

I've had Tivos for years and love them. I recently purchased an HD model from Woot! and did my research on cable cards. I've had a _horrible_ experience with TWC getting the cards installed, similar to the problems others have mentioned.

I understand that I'm limited to one-way services, and that I can't get VOD, guides, etc. I realized today however that I also wasn't receiving a certain ranges of digital channels. I received conflicting info from different TWC people. The last person I talked to stated I "would not be able to receive channels 100-201" and that "while they are standard digital cable channels their cable cards did not support this as they required 2-way service."

Is this really true? They had a lot of problems setting this up so I don't trust what I'm being told. Thanks!

Jason

[cab2]

look back in this list a couple of pages for the list of SDV channels or Switched Digital Channels. at my last count, there was around 150 or so of them at least in the austin area. Your area may be different. Austin is big on SDV, other TWC locations, not so much. One reason I'm considering making a switch to D*

I've had Tivos for years and love them. I recently purchased an HD model from Woot! and did my research on cable cards. I've had a _horrible_ experience with TWC getting the cards installed, similar to the problems others have mentioned.

I understand that I'm limited to one-way services, and that I can't get VOD, guides, etc. I realized today however that I also wasn't receiving a certain ranges of digital channels. I received conflicting info from different TWC people. The last person I talked to stated I "would not be able to receive channels 100-201" and that "while they are standard digital cable channels their cable cards did not support this as they required 2-way service."

Is this really true? They had a lot of problems setting this up so I don't trust what I'm being told. Thanks!

Jason

[spaced]

I've had Tivos for years and love them. I recently purchased an HD model from Woot! and did my research on cable cards. I've had a _horrible_ experience with TWC getting the cards installed, similar to the problems others have mentioned.

I understand that I'm limited to one-way services, and that I can't get VOD, guides, etc. I realized today however that I also wasn't receiving a certain ranges of digital channels. I received conflicting info from different TWC people. The last person I talked to stated I "would not be able to receive channels 100-201" and that "while they are standard digital cable channels their cable cards did not support this as they required 2-way service."

Is this really true? They had a lot of problems setting this up so I don't trust what I'm being told. Thanks!

Jason

Jason,

Where are you located? I can't send you a private message or email. I had the same problem you did but it is resolved now and have some information that may help.

[Firekite]

One reason I'm considering making a switch to D*
I've noticed that D* thing quite a bit. What is that? DirecTV? Dish? Or what? I'm intrigued :)

[cab2]

My understanding was E* = echostar / dish network. d* = directv

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong?

[zingboy]

Yea, the great news is the RAL/DUR TWC isn't using SDV yet. The bad news is that they are copy protecting every digital channel except for the networks and since they have changed scifi, foxsports south, and other analog channels to digital, they have put them on copy protection. I just realized tonight that scifi was blocked which means I can't transfer video to the PC. This is really p***ing me off now and I don't get mad often. :mad: We need to start a petition or a boycott against TWC of RAL/DUR and tell them they can't block every channel. Maybe Tivo and the FCC need to get involved. I just love how TWC commercials say they are customer loyal and all. They sure do show that loyalty when the do something like this.
The issue you describe also hoses multi-room viewing. Nothing can be transferred either to another Tivo or through Tivotogo. I am pissed.

TWCNYC HD Tivo

[spaced]

My understanding was E* = echostar / dish network. d* = directv

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong?

You're correct.

[jtowens]

Jason,

Where are you located? I can't send you a private message or email. I had the same problem you did but it is resolved now and have some information that may help.
Thanks spaced, I'd appreciate that if you could. I turned on private messaging for my account, so you should be able to do that now.

Jason

[Firekite]

Um...what's with all the secrecy?

[mrjosh]

The TW rep is at my house now - has been for about an hour. He said he does one or two card installations a year and the last one took about 3 hours. He's friendly, but not very happy about the prospect of installation taking so long. He tried to sell me on DVR or on the digital box without DVR, but I said I liked my Tivo. The first card installed fine quickly (as far as I could tell), but the second card is undergoing a firmware update - and has been for about 40 minutes so far.

Update: the second technician is now here. He's asked me about Tivo service, the cost, etc. and is bragging about how much better it is than DVR. We're on the third cable card, which is going through another lengthy firmware update.

Update 2: We're now approaching three hours. Looks like I'm working from home today. How long does the firmware update take?

Update 3: The rep is now gone. He arrived at 8:30 this morning, took an hour for lunch, and left at 4:00 this afternoon. He tried about 8 SA cablecards. The card in slot one is working beautifully, but the card in slot two is only receiving a few of the HD channels. I'll call them tomorrow to see if they can do something over the computer.

By the end of the day, he said he was impressed with Tivo and might look into getting one for himself. He also said that TW had M-Cards in this area, but they didn't advertise that for some reason. I don't know why he didn't bring an M-Card with him to my house. Anyway, I'm pleased with card 1 and mostly pleased with card 2, but a whole day of work to get them to work is ridiculous!

[kenrippy]

The TW rep is at my house now - has been for about an hour. He said he does one or two card installations a year and the last one took about 3 hours. He's friendly, but not very happy about the prospect of installation taking so long. He tried to sell me on DVR or on the digital box without DVR, but I said I liked my Tivo. The first card installed fine quickly (as far as I could tell), but the second card is undergoing a firmware update - and has been for about 40 minutes so far.

Update: the second technician is now here. He's asked me about Tivo service, the cost, etc. and is bragging about how much better it is than DVR. We're on the third cable card, which is going through another lengthy firmware update.

Update 2: We're now approaching three hours. Looks like I'm working from home today. How long does the firmware update take?
we had the firmware update on 2 scientific atlanta S-cards and they took about 15mins each.

if it makes you feel any better, the tech was at my house for a total of 4hrs trying to get a variety of S-cards & M-cards to work in our new tivoHD. we ended up getting 2 S-cards to work, and they've been working great for a couple weeks now.

[ontheway]

Ok, I have searched through this thread but not found what I am looking for. I will be moving into TW area at the end of April, I have a Tivo HD. I called customer service to see if they could tell me what channels are on SDV now and it took about 4 tries and two trips to the supervisor office before the guy half understood what I was talking about. He said I would get all the channels but I am not inclined to trust his advice.

Can someone who currently has TW in Orange County, CA give me a list of what channels (HD or otherwise) that you can not tune on your Tivo with cablecards.

Thanks

Scott

1 TivoHD

[Firekite]

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/8824/searchthreadwd3.png



Allegedly no channels were in SDV (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5791527#post5791527) in December.

[voodooutt]

I just got 2 S cards installed yesterday - TW Southeast Wisconsin. The guys showed up and said he thought he was just swapping boxes and missed the part on the work order about CableCards. He had to drive back to Racine (about 30 minuteseach way) to get them. He was really nice about it, though. I told him to look for M cards (he had no idea what I was talking about, as he had never installed CCs before.), and to grab several. He came back right away, reinforced that he has never done this before, and got to it. He only had S cards. After about an hour he said eerything was working, but the cards would still need to be service enabled. He left and said he woul dcall me back later. AFter about two hours it seemed that one was working but not the other. He called me and I let him know. He called me back 15 minutes later and said, "try again." I did and everything worked. So far, so good, and I really think the picture quality is better with the CC decoders than with the SA HD box. I see much less pixelation (so far), anyway. All in all, a pretty good experience - far better than I would have expected.

hey - just wondering how you are liking the TiVo so far? I'm in SE WI also and am really sick of the PoS SA8300 DVR and want to take the TiVo plunge

thanks.

[monkeyboy1010]

Checking in if anyone has sage wisdom with installs with TWC in South Pasadena CA? I have had 3 different attempts over the past month with no luck each time. I was originally in the Eagle Rock, CA district and they were a former Adelphia area, so the system is different, they had M Cards and I understand that So. Pas doesn't.

The problem too is that they seem to NEVER have any cable cards available.

Any words or help would be greatly appreciated.

mb1010

After 6 total visits, and nearly 20 cable cards, I have 4 working cards in my 2 Series 3 machines. Thanks to the lead tech getting involved, who actually went to the training on setting up the Series 3! :D

[rhoelzer]

I'm in Mooresville, NC. Cable Co (MI-Connection) is now owned by the city/some sort of organization, used to be Adelphia, TW ran till the city decided to run it.

I got my first THD in Nov or Dec and got the 2 cards working in it pretty easy. I had channels drop once in a while and reseated or rebooted and everything would be fine for a while. I got my 2nd THD in Jan and when I got the 2 cards for it we never could get them working. On top of that one of the cards in the 1st box quit working too.. Most of what I watch is on networks (which I get on all of them) and I hadn't had time to mess with it till the other day. After a few hrs a day for a couple days they sent someone out (which I knew wasn't going to change anything). He messed with it for a couple hrs with no luck and I thought to ask if they had MCards yet and they did. He ran to the office, picked up 2 MCards and we had both working in less than 30 minutes. I've had absolute 0 issues since switching to the MCards..

[pmiranda]

We're going to be moving across the neighborhood soon, and I'm trying to decide if it's worth $11/mo (and maybe some freebies I probably won't watch) to get new service discounts but have to deal with getting new cablecards and a new box, or if I should just transfer my current service to the new address and hope the cablecard pairing sticks?
New house already has cable in all the rooms so there's no installing to do unless the sellers do something stupid like rip out all the splitters and amps that somebody seems to have spent a few hours neatly installing in a closet.

A related question: does anyone know if the $11.40/mo Surf and Watch bundle discount expires or if it's good for the life of the account?

[ythe1300]

Hey guys,

I just read like 25 pages of this thread and am just as mad a TWC as when I started, but glad to know that I'm not the only one having issues (that means they will fix it right?). I too have had useless technicians and wasted days with 4-5 of them trying to figure out how to put it in ( I ended up doing it. I mean it's not that hard right?) but I still only get limited channels on cable card 2 and can't get the switched channels on ither. Still though this Tivo HD is 100% better than the box the cable company ships out. I will be watching for the updates about the switch dongle.

Phil
(unhappy TWC customer in central FL)

[bhauber]

I must be extremely lucky. I got my TiVoHD, went through the guided setup and got all my updates and when the technician showed up, he put an MCard in slot 1 and after about 30-45 mins waiting for the office to activate the card, it was up and running flawlessly. Now I'm anxiously awaiting the tuner resolver because Time Warner North Texas just added 12 channels to their HD Line-up, but all are supposed to be SDV. Wonder what other channels will be hosed by them introducing SDV to the masses here in the Metroplex.

[ddstreet]

After reading all the problems from this thread, I was very worried about moving from my Series2 to TivoHD, but I got a new HDTV so it was either the crappy TWC box or Tivo. I used the TWC box for a week and couldn't stand it anymore so I got a TivoHD. When I called TWC, at first the rep had no idea what a "CableCard" was, so she got her supervisor, who thought I was installing it into a TV set, even though I kept saying "Tivo". She wanted to let me know that once it was installed I "couldn't use the TWC box anymore". So, even supervisors can be clueless. I finally convinced them that yes, I did want a CableCard. They said it was a $43 truck roll charge plus other various charges per month (I think around $10 or so). I then asked for a "MCard" and they were firm that they had no "MCards", and put me on hold because I think they were tired of talking to me (I had been on the phone with them for 45 minutes so far, where probably 35 minutes was on hold). After another 10 minutes on hold I gave up on them and called back, but this time I got transferred to someone who not only knew what a CableCard was but also knew what Tivo was. I wish I could tell you guys how I got to this person, but I didn't do anything differently, I think it's just luck of the draw on who you get on the phone, if the first line rep knows a knowledgeable person to transfer you to. If you get someone clueless when you call, it might be better to ask for someone else or just hang up and call again.

This knowledgeable rep set everything up and scheduled a truck roll, and said they indeed did not have any MCards, all they had in stock here in Raleigh was SCards. What can I do? No choice. So I said ok, fine.

However, when the installer got here, it was a contractor, and apparently in Raleigh the contractors have their own stock of CableCards and do not use TWC's stock of cards. They brought both 2 SCards and a MCard, as they said they have plenty of MCards themselves. So they wrote down the #s from the MCard, put it in, and called their TWC number. The person on the phone took the numbers, and said to watch the "EMM count". So we checked that in the Tivo MCard screen, and it kept going up. The person on the phone said it "had to get to 500 or above to unlock all the channels", although I was getting channels immediately after the EMM count got above 0. Anyway, it took maybe 15 minutes for it to get to 500, at which point the installers said thanks and left! Easy as pie.

Since then it's worked fine for me, no problems at all or dropped channels. Since I still have the old TWC box also, I can compare channels, and there are some channels I get with the TWC box but not the Tivo, I think it's 290-300 or so, and all channels above 1000 (which is only a dozen local duplicated channels, which I do get in the 200 range). And of course, all the "on demand" channels, I don't get.

[mercurial]

...and there are some channels I get with the TWC box but not the Tivo, I think it's 290-300 or so...

Do you know which channels you're missing in there? I get (or got) all of them last I checked a few days ago.

[ddstreet]

Do you know which channels you're missing in there? I get (or got) all of them last I checked a few days ago.

I'll check when I get home, and post the ones I'm missing.

[bxojr]

If you get someone clueless when you call, it might be better to ask for someone else or just hang up and call again.

Your experience is much like mine: I tried in vain to convince the phone rep, and two supervisors, that M-cards did exist, and that I shouldn't have to pay for two S-card installations. But this all turned out to be irrelevant, because the installer showed up with an M-card and everything went smoothly.

I think the reality is that the phone reps don't know anything, but that's OK, as long as the installation techs know what they're doing. So as long as the installer knows it's a CableCARD/TiVo install, it doesn't matter what the phone rep says.

For what it's worth, my installer told me that S-cards are virtually impossible to get nowadays anyway. So the whole S-card versus M-card thing is apparently a non-issue, at least in Raleigh/Durham.

[kichigai01]

I must be extremely lucky. I got my TiVoHD, went through the guided setup and got all my updates and when the technician showed up, he put an MCard in slot 1 and after about 30-45 mins waiting for the office to activate the card, it was up and running flawlessly. Now I'm anxiously awaiting the tuner resolver because Time Warner North Texas just added 12 channels to their HD Line-up, but all are supposed to be SDV. Wonder what other channels will be hosed by them introducing SDV to the masses here in the Metroplex.

At least here in Mesquite, the new channels are not SDV yet. I turned on my TV this morning and sure enough all the supposed SDV HD channels were on and working great.

[SCSIRAID]

Your experience is much like mine: I tried in vain to convince the phone rep, and two supervisors, that M-cards did exist, and that I shouldn't have to pay for two S-card installations. But this all turned out to be irrelevant, because the installer showed up with an M-card and everything went smoothly.

I think the reality is that the phone reps don't know anything, but that's OK, as long as the installation techs know what they're doing. So as long as the installer knows it's a CableCARD/TiVo install, it doesn't matter what the phone rep says.

For what it's worth, my installer told me that S-cards are virtually impossible to get nowadays anyway. So the whole S-card versus M-card thing is apparently a non-issue, at least in Raleigh/Durham.

Yup... My S3 currently has 2 M-Cards and my THD has 1 M-Card.

[[NG]Owner]

As an FYI, TWC Kansas City is going SDV as of 4/14. I received a letter listing all the channels that are moving. Once I get back home, I'll edit this post and list them. From memory, most are not important, though there are several movie channels moving as are four otherwise free HD channels.

[NG]Owner

[bxojr]

I saw this Engadget story (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/03/27/twc-adds-discovery-suite-to-piedmont-triad-region-of-nc/) that says TWC in the Piedmont Triad region of NC has just rolled out the Discovery suite in HD.

The story doesn't say whether the channels were added as linear channels or SDV. Anybody know?

Not that that has any direct bearing on what we might get here in Raleigh/Durham, but it might indicate which way the wind is blowing...

[svartbjorn]

Interesting, I have had a Tivo series 2 for 2+ years now and got a TiVo HD in November due to getting a swwet deal from Amazon. I find that the series 2 can get all the digital channels it wants and is willing to share, the TiVo series 3 software blocks virtually everything from sharing. In other words, I can watch things on my TiVo HD that were recorded on my other Tivo but not vice-versa. Is it because of the cable card interface? Or is it the the different rev of the software? Perhaps the cable bos has something to do with removing it? Hmmm.

[Eccles]

Interesting, I have had a Tivo series 2 for 2+ years now and got a TiVo HD in November due to getting a swwet deal from Amazon. I find that the series 2 can get all the digital channels it wants and is willing to share, the TiVo series 3 software blocks virtually everything from sharing. In other words, I can watch things on my TiVo HD that were recorded on my other Tivo but not vice-versa. Is it because of the cable card interface? Or is it the the different rev of the software? Perhaps the cable bos has something to do with removing it? Hmmm.Recordings on your S2 are analog, despite the source having been a digital channel - the STB converted it to analog Svideo or composite, and your TiVo recorded that after re-digitizing it. Thus there are no copy protection flags inherent in those recorded files and your S2 will happily share them.

Conversely, your HD records the digital stream from digital channels directly, with no conversion or recoding, including any copy protection flags set by the cable company or content originator. If those flags say "no copy" then the TiVo will honor that and refuse to allow it to be shared with any other devices.

[svartbjorn]

I was just wondering if we can use the FCC rules to push TWC. I got a TiVo HD in November and found then that the the requisite 2-way channels were not available, but then I found that the HBO and Cinemax Pacific (I'm on the East coast) channels were not available. After a few calls I was told that they were SDV and that I would not be able to receive them. That didn't bother me much since i had a TiVo after all and could look for the shows I wanted on the regular channels. So I still had a full compliment of cahnnels. Then after the first of the year they strted sevral waves of "upgrades to the channels lineup that "added" HD versions of the channels we had (Discover, history etc..) but in actuality, put them on SDV so they were not available. Then they started switching out channels that i already had in HD to SDV and also some others in conventional. I now have less channels available to me than when I strted in November 2007. Is there some angle that we can use vis avis the FCC ruling that cable companies must support the Cable Card standard? I am ready to start giving them a hard time over paying more for less.
Also, does anyone have an update to the Tivo workaround device? We are days away from the "second quarter" but in my experience, when you give a quarter as your target timeframe, then we will most likely no see it until the very end of that quarter. The FCC has to approve all hardware devices and this process is usually backed up for 6 months or more.

[DaveDFW]

At least here in Mesquite, the new channels are not SDV yet. I turned on my TV this morning and sure enough all the supposed SDV HD channels were on and working great.

It appears the new HD channels are just linear broadcasts, 3 per QAM, instead of the SDV rumor that has been going around for the last couple of weeks. I'll gladly take compressed HD over inaccessible HD (Tivo+SDV).

Channel 126 807-Mhz
History HD 745
Golf/VS HD 786

Channel 127 813-Mhz
Food HD 752
HGTV HD 753
FSS HD 787

Channel 128 819-Mhz
CNN HD 740
TBS HD 744
AETV HD 754

Channel 129 825-Mhz
Discovery HD 756
Animal Planet HD 757
NGC HD 771

This must mean TWC has upgraded my area to 860mhz, since all the new channels are over 750mhz.

TTYL
David

[kichigai01]

I think I lost some channels.

Could others check in North Texas the following channels?

MSNBC
Lifetime
VH1

I bet they are black.

Thanks.

[Vixyswillie]

Just a note of encouragement for those of you still in the throes of TWC CC hell. Be persistent - it really will work when the planets finally align. ;)

I live in the SE Wisconsin region of TWC and have a Series 3 Tivo. Since the original install, I was missing boatloads of channels (almost all of the 100-series channels and many of the HD channels). I was informed repeatedly from TWC Customer Service that it was due to (1) the fact that I had CCs instead of a STB, and (2) the fact that TWC-Milwaukee is experimenting with SDV on some of their channels.

After being fortunate enough to find someone on this forum who lived in my area, had the same equipment, and had already solved the same issues - I knew better than to accept TWC's "explanation." I requested that a technician with CC experience come back to my house to check the installation and settings of both cards. I was fortunate enough to get a technician who had already done 3 CC installs earlier this week, as well as having worked with many Tivos. After replacing one of the cards - and an additional 15 minutes of tweaking and adjusting settings from the remote office - things are now working beautifully! I have ALL of my regular def and high def channels (with the obvious exceptions of PPV, MOD, premium channels I don't subscribe to, and music channels).

Bottom line: With an appropriately skilled technician and a bit of persistence, these issues can be easily resolved. Best wishes to those of you who aren't quite there, yet. Hope my experiences are helpful in some way.

Patrick

[DougJohnson]

At least here in Mesquite, the new channels are not SDV yet. I turned on my TV this morning and sure enough all the supposed SDV HD channels were on and working great.

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried the new channels this afternoon and they were working on my S3 here in Dallas. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
-- Doug

[rudiger]

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried the new channels this afternoon and they were working on my S3 here in Dallas. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
-- Doug

Lucky you!
Here in TWC-Carrollton land, the channels and guide data do appear on my S3, but I'm not seeing any video content on these new channels.

rudiger

[InkBlot]

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried the new channels this afternoon and they were working on my S3 here in Dallas. Let's keep our fingers crossed.
-- Doug

And just a note for other North Texans:

I live in the Mid-Cities area, and although the channels appeared in my line-up, they show as black on my screen. Thinking, "oh noes, teh SDV!" I came here first. Found a link to a newspaper article that the new channels are Dallas, Richardson, Plano and Mesquite only. I confirmed through my old cable box, the channels are not in that line-up, nor do they show up in the PDF of channel listings on TWC's website. So, not all North Texas gets the love today.

:(

InkBlot
:eek:

[Arcady]

I think I lost some channels.

Could others check in North Texas the following channels?

MSNBC
Lifetime
VH1

I bet they are black.

Thanks.

Here in Farmers Branch (North Texas TWC) I have all those channels working. The new HD channels appeared in the guide on my S3 and HD boxes, but they are all black.

[jmaditto]

I saw this Engadget story (http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/03/27/twc-adds-discovery-suite-to-piedmont-triad-region-of-nc/) that says TWC in the Piedmont Triad region of NC has just rolled out the Discovery suite in HD.

The story doesn't say whether the channels were added as linear channels or SDV. Anybody know?

Not that that has any direct bearing on what we might get here in Raleigh/Durham, but it might indicate which way the wind is blowing...

I have all the new channels here with TWC South Carolina. Not sure when they were added though. I haven’t checked the service manure to see the SDV status but I assume they are all SDV. Will check later today.
Interesting – I didn’t know engadget was part of TWC.

[JimWall]

If new channels are blank or black try rebooting the TIVO. On SDV channels in Cincinnati the Pay Per View loop shows up over and over and over.

[dolfer]

If new channels are blank or black try rebooting the TIVO. On SDV channels in Cincinnati the Pay Per View loop shows up over and over and over.

Jim, I am a fellow TW Cincy customer... What current HD channels are we not getting? The only one I can think of is the Fox Sports Channel (at least I think that's what it is!) which is Channel 968. They just added this one a few days ago.

I guess everything from this point on is going to be SDV?

It should be interesting to see how long it takes for the dongle to arrive.

[kichigai01]

Please excuse the following if you don't enjoy rants.

*begin rant*
When the heck are the people at TW going to teach their on the phone techs more that just "unplug...reboot...send truck"? It is driving me insane that they do this.

What are the people at the call centers getting paid? Heck, I really don't even care if they are getting minimum wage to sit on their butts and tell people to reboot their stuff. They are getting paid better than what I am getting right now which is nothing and I am the one that is frustrated and annoyed because they can't seem to do more than send techs. Jeez.

Oh and to make matters more interesting, the person on the phone wanted to send a tech to my house on a Sunday. A SUNDAY? Don't they know at Time Warner that most people consider it a day of rest from the stress and the bull mostly coming from companies like them? Also do they have no respect for those employees that like to spend the day with family or practicing a personally accepted believe.?

The person acted offended when I told this person that "Sunday at my home is reserved for relaxation and personal reflection and I will not allow a stranger in my home on that day".

*end rant*

Second note:

I anyone else in the Mesquite,Tx or surrounding area only getting a test pattern on their Fox Sports SW HD channel?

[Firekite]

That's not a full-time channel. It's a test pattern 24x7 with the exception of any time a particular event is being shown such as the occasional Spurs/Mavs/Rockets game, etc.

[Eccles]

Oh and to make matters more interesting, the person on the phone wanted to send a tech to my house on a Sunday. A SUNDAY? Don't they know at Time Warner that most people consider it a day of rest from the stress and the bull mostly coming from companies like them?Most people? That's rather a sweeping generalization. Personally, I'd be happy to be able to schedule a visit on a Sunday, to avoid having to take a half-day off work during the week.

[echoout]

Man, I wish I could get them out on a Sunday. The sooner the better.

Please excuse the following if you don't enjoy rants.

*begin rant*
When the heck are the people at TW going to teach their on the phone techs more that just "unplug...reboot...send truck"? It is driving me insane that they do this.

What are the people at the call centers getting paid? Heck, I really don't even care if they are getting minimum wage to sit on their butts and tell people to reboot their stuff. They are getting paid better than what I am getting right now which is nothing and I am the one that is frustrated and annoyed because they can't seem to do more than send techs. Jeez.

Oh and to make matters more interesting, the person on the phone wanted to send a tech to my house on a Sunday. A SUNDAY? Don't they know at Time Warner that most people consider it a day of rest from the stress and the bull mostly coming from companies like them? Also do they have no respect for those employees that like to spend the day with family or practicing a personally accepted believe.?

The person acted offended when I told this person that "Sunday at my home is reserved for relaxation and personal reflection and I will not allow a stranger in my home on that day".

*end rant*

Second note:

I anyone else in the Mesquite,Tx or surrounding area only getting a test pattern on their Fox Sports SW HD channel?

[realityboy]

Jim, I am a fellow TW Cincy customer... What current HD channels are we not getting? The only one I can think of is the Fox Sports Channel (at least I think that's what it is!) which is Channel 968. They just added this one a few days ago.

I guess everything from this point on is going to be SDV?

It should be interesting to see how long it takes for the dongle to arrive.

I live in Dayton, and that is how the sdv channels seemed to work here as well. They played the same loop of advertising, but recently when I moved to a different address, all of those channels were available so apparently they aren't sdv. At least they aren't yet.

Everything seemed to be going well with TWC here until this week when I have lost 2 of my local stations in HD. Hopefully they'll be back by Monday so I don't have to call TW and stay on hold forever.

[thehepcat]

Any updates on the dongle situation? TW Rochester has added a number of SDV HD channels over the past weeks, but I'd love to be able to get the NHL HD channel starting up soon.

[Interactive]

Ok, so tonight I noticed that I've got a bunch of new channels showing up in the S3 guide but none of them are tuning. HGTVHD, CNNHD, etc. Is this just because my part of North Texas (McKinney) hasn't been turned on, is it because of SDV, or because something needs to be adjusted with my CC's?

[Firekite]

Any updates on the dongle situation?
I promise you this: if and when the dongle situation comes to a head, you will not have to go around asking for it.

[DaveDFW]

Ok, so tonight I noticed that I've got a bunch of new channels showing up in the S3 guide but none of them are tuning. HGTVHD, CNNHD, etc. Is this just because my part of North Texas (McKinney) hasn't been turned on, is it because of SDV, or because something needs to be adjusted with my CC's?

The new HD channels in North Texas are available only in Dallas, Mesquite, Plano, and Richardson. According to TWC's press release, the rest of the Metroplex should be getting those HD channels ("and more") by the end of 2008.

I'm not sure why they picked those cities over all the others, other than they were the first areas with completed 860mhz upgrades.

TTYL
David

[Monty2_2001]

I'm in Grapevine, TX and also have a ton of new channels in the 700's, all black now. I hope it's just a matter of time, and that they are not SDV..

[Interactive]

The new HD channels in North Texas are available only in Dallas, Mesquite, Plano, and Richardson. According to TWC's press release, the rest of the Metroplex should be getting those HD channels ("and more") by the end of 2008.

Honestly, Tivo and TWC are in jeopardy of loosing my business to DTV. This whole SDV thing and the delays of actually giving me HD content are driving me totally nuts.

[bobrt6676]

I live in Dayton, and that is how the sdv channels seemed to work here as well. They played the same loop of advertising, but recently when I moved to a different address, all of those channels were available so apparently they aren't sdv. At least they aren't yet.

Everything seemed to be going well with TWC here until this week when I have lost 2 of my local stations in HD. Hopefully they'll be back by Monday so I don't have to call TW and stay on hold forever.
I also have TWC in Dayton. I occaisionally have a problem getting 760-763. All other HD channels never a problem. Usually if 760-763 is a problem I change to the other tuner and they are there. Are these the channels you have a problem with?

[DaveDFW]

I'm in Grapevine, TX and also have a ton of new channels in the 700's, all black now. I hope it's just a matter of time, and that they are not SDV..

I sound like a broken record, but the new HD channels are only in Dallas, Mesquite, Plano, and Richardson.

TWC is promising SDV in the Metroplex sometime this year, but these first 11 channel in these four cities are not SDV.

The real problem is that TWC has poorly communicated what is going on.

TTYL
David

[JimWall]

I live in Dayton, and that is how the sdv channels seemed to work here as well. They played the same loop of advertising, but recently when I moved to a different address, all of those channels were available so apparently they aren't sdv. At least they aren't yet.

Everything seemed to be going well with TWC here until this week when I have lost 2 of my local stations in HD. Hopefully they'll be back by Monday so I don't have to call TW and stay on hold forever.

When espn2, aehd first came out in cincy they were sdv and later changed. Probably because there was so much usage that the channel was in use most of the time so sdv did not save bandwidth.
The fox sports HD channel channel information in the tivo guide keeps showing "HD promo" which matches the loop that is broadcasted. The guide program starts showing actual programming starting 7 PM on 4/3 so I guess TWC starts transmitting actual shows then. We will have to wait and see.
The "HD promo" still shows up in the schedule so it is not broadcasting the entire foxsportsohio SD channel. The Cincinnati Reds don't appear in the HD channell's schedule. Bummer!!! The "HD promo" loop is there instead.

[cab2]

I saw the below link in a ad piece that D* sent to my house and checked it out this am. Pretty interesting website. It lists what HD channels are available in your area, by zip code. It seems to list all the various vendors in my area. Sigh, for my area, TWC = 30ish channels and D* (directv) is at 86. Glad I found this site, but just makes me more diasappointed with TWC.

http://www.whereishd.com/

[realityboy]

I also have TWC in Dayton. I occaisionally have a problem getting 760-763. All other HD channels never a problem. Usually if 760-763 is a problem I change to the other tuner and they are there. Are these the channels you have a problem with?

Haven't had a problem for a little over a year. Right now 722, 746, and 746 are not working on either tuner.

[Interactive]

I saw the below link in a ad piece that D* sent to my house and checked it out this am. Pretty interesting website. It lists what HD channels are available in your area, by zip code. It seems to list all the various vendors in my area. Sigh, for my area, TWC = 30ish channels and D* (directv) is at 86. Glad I found this site, but just makes me more diasappointed with TWC.

http://www.whereishd.com/

+1.

I saw this site as well and it only made me more frustrated. But it sure did validate what I've been assuming: That TWC is WAY behind the satellite boys in terms of HD content.

[realityboy]

When espn2, aehd first came out in cincy they were sdv and later changed. Probably because there was so much usage that the channel was in use most of the time so sdv did not save bandwidth.
The fox sports HD channel channel information in the tivo guide keeps showing "HD promo" which matches the loop that is broadcasted. The guide program starts showing actual programming starting 7 PM on 4/3 so I guess TWC starts transmitting actual shows then. We will have to wait and see.
The "HD promo" still shows up in the schedule so it is not broadcasting the entire foxsportsohio SD channel. The Cincinnati Reds don't appear in the HD channell's schedule. Bummer!!! The "HD promo" loop is there instead.

Pretty much the same here plus TBS HD also. They must've changed at some point, but I didn't recheck them again until after I moved.

[ehchan]

Just wanted to report a successful cablecard installation in Costa Mesa, CA. I made sure to call CS to leave notes on my work order for the installer to bring lots of M-Cards, and he did just that. Luckily, the first one he installed worked great, and I had all my channels within 10 minutes of his calling in the codes. The guy seemed to know what he was doing with the Tivo, even though he was a contractor, so I consider myself lucky. I only wish we had the same lineup as D*, but after they screwed my family with their draconian contract policy, i'm not dealing with them again. Tivo works great for me! (phew!)

Ed

[jschuur]

Can someone who currently has TW in Orange County, CA give me a list of what channels (HD or otherwise) that you can not tune on your Tivo with cablecards.

I'm in Orange County (Santa Ana), just got set up (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6046155#post6046155) about a month ago, and no sign of SDV channels (or announcement thereof) so far.

No jynxing it! If I understand things correctly, we're all just hoping that widespread SDV implementation won't start happening until the USB/dongle adapter comes out from TiVo, right?

[rockonpearl]

Time Warner Cable came out about 3 weeks ago. Installed two cards ... no problems that I am aware of. Everything seems to work fine :up: with the exception of "switching channels" :down:. I no longer get High Def video/music channel, HDA&E, and a few other high def channels because (purportedly) Time Warner of Maine does not want to use "NEW" technology, i.e. "switching cable cards", until they have been around a bit longer. Any truth to this? I was REALLY dissappointed to not get these channels anymore, especially when there aren't many high def channels to begin with. Does anyone know when they plan to adopt "switching" technology and what my legal rights are here? :confused:

[ilh]

I assume they are talking about SDV. There are plenty of threads here, including a sticky in this very forum, that discuss SDV.

[playsccr]

im in southern california with time warner....and i just purchased a TiVo HD TCD652160...however, they are saying that this specific model will not work with Motorola M cards that they have?? however, they cant seem to get any S cards to work?? any idea what to do?? they came out and tried the M cards and their support said there is a specific issue with this model and their m cards?

[obsidian]

In Waukesha, WI I just got done with a cable card install. The tech was only able to get a single stream card in slot 1 working. He had 2 other cards but couldn't get either to work in slot 2. Disappointing but they're sending another tech out friday so hopefully they can finish their job this time.

[bitfactory]

Hi folks,

I've been humming along with my TivoHD and TWC M-Card in Cincinnati for a few weeks and I've noticed some trouble cropping up.

Specifically, today when I turned on my TV, there was a blue Tivo message at the bottom of a black screen that said, "Finding Channel info" or something like that. When flipping around I noticed some channels were fine and some were just black with no audio.

Restarting the Tivo fixed it (after restarting I got the 'Acquiring Channel Information' swirly ball). Everything seems fine now, but this is the second time it's happened in two weeks - anyone have an idea why it's happening?

Thanks much.

[jbmdharris]

I was at one of the Cincinnati TWC offices today discussing options (like cable card) and I learned that a big software update went out last night. They updated SA8300HDC boxes to Navigator 2.4.9_3 last night. Perhaps this is related and something on the head-end changed as part of the upgrade.

[inahaz]

Yesterday I had a very smooth install of M-Cards on two TivoHD boxes. No issues at all. I will add that I had the Tivo boxes hooked up for about a week prior, so they had all the current updates. Installer also commented that he had updated the cards he brought prior to the visit.

With 2 TivoHD's (switching from DirecTv to cable), a digital telephone install, and Roadrunner... it only took about 90 minutes. Maybe even less. We had a very good installer. (Pataskala area).

[realityboy]

I was at one of the Cincinnati TWC offices today discussing options (like cable card) and I learned that a big software update went out last night. They updated SA8300HDC boxes to Navigator 2.4.9_3 last night. Perhaps this is related and something on the head-end changed as part of the upgrade.

I started having problems after the same upgrade in Dayton. I had to call Time Warner to come out to hopefully fix it.

[Microman66]

Came home today, and was having trouble with pixellation. MSNBC. Called Time Warner, and TIVO. Tivo Suggestion having TW give cards a refresh. Did that. Checked the cables, etc. Now MSNBC seems ok, but half of the HD channels in the 402 to 425 seem to have pixellation, and have a poor signal of around 65 to 75.

[erousey]

Called today to set up an appointment with TW here only to end up in an argument with the phone rep, who insisted that cablecards woudn't work in Tivos ("Cablecards are only for our DVR's. Tivos won't work on our network"). After going around with him for a while, I finally did get him to set up an appointment for next Monday (God only knows what he put on the work order). I just hope the tech they send out isn't as stupid as this guy was.

I wish I had recorded the call. Some of the stuff this guy said was unbelievable ("Why would we support someone else's DVR?" to which I resonded "Uh, because the FCC says so?")

I really miss the old Tivo interface (I used to have a series 2) and I hope I can finaly get it back again. The TW DVR sucks in comparison.

[bxojr]

Called today to set up an appointment with TW here only to end up in an argument with the phone rep, who insisted that cablecards woudn't work in Tivos ("Cablecards are only for our DVR's. Tivos won't work on our network").

Wow. This sort of thing amazes me (and I've had similar experiences, though not quite that outrageous).

I really wonder sometimes what the problem is. I've had universally positive experiences dealing with TWC's technical staff; their engineers and technicians seem to be smart people who know what they're doing. Obviously, phone reps can't be expected to have the same depth of expertise, but why can't they at least refrain from saying things that are actually wrong?

I'm not a conspiracy theorist. I don't believe that TWC is telling its reps intentionally to lie. I just think they must have some serious deficiencies in their training program.

[um1990]

My cable card install in Cumberland County/Portland, Maine went flawlessly a couple weeks ago. Installer brought 2 M-Cards, First one worked fine. After returning from a few days away from home, I did need to have the card 'hit' and got some channels back that had gone away (I had returned the SA8300 we had on the way out of town, so maybe it was a billing/data entry thing)

The interesting part starts today - I had to get a replacement HD from TiVo, and after receiving it (a few days late due to a Train Derailment - UPS) I called TW to have the card re-paired to the new box. The CSR said I would need to have (another) service call to my house - I explained that all I needed them to do was change the Host ID on their computer and re-hit the card. She checked with someone, came back and said "No, you need a service call, there's something wrong with your equipment" - After losing it a little, I asked to speak with a supervisor, who said they already did what I asked & it didn't work... I told him that I never gave them the "Host ID" that needed to be changed, so they couldn't have done what I was asking for.... Long story short, I was connected to the local "Level 3" support, and spoke with Bob, who not only listened to me, but figured out where he needed to make the change (changing 8 digits on a setup screen) and all was well within minutes of reaching him.

The moral of the story for me is to ask for Level 3 support asap when needing to re-pair a cable card.

Sorry to ramble, but the other thing was that the unencrypted locals worked fine even before the re-pairing (re-mapped to the appropriate channel numbers), so if I go to basic cable for locals only, as long as I can keep the card I have, I shouldn't need to deal with customer service as long as the card doesn't die.

[59er]

Last night, at about 1:10 am, my Tivo HD suddenly started a firmware upgrade on the SA M-card. It took about 30 to 45 minutes, and when it was done I had a black background on everything and couldn't play any recorded video.

I restarted the Tivo and video was displaying again, although it took a few minutes before it re-acquired channels.

(FYI, I've had this box and the one cablecard since 2/23. This is the first firmware upgrade that I am aware of since the one during installation.)

[FrancesTheMute]

I got the Woot! special (TiVoHD) and asked for an M-card when I called for the appointment. (Here is San Diego, they won't allow you to self-install.) She didn't know what I was talking about...said they only support single direction. I asked her to note it for the installer--one multi-stream card.

Installer showed up according to schedule. Said he had only done 1 or 2 TiVo boxes previously. Had an M-card with him. Popped it in, let me "drive" the TiVo setup. Called it in... and it all worked first time. He left in under 10 minutes. Cool!

After he left, I went to install the WD 1TB that I got from Buy.com... but the drive was DOA. That's for another post...

Funny, I just picked up a TivoHD today and called TWC in San Diego and the chick told me the same thing, that they only had S-cards. I did the same thing and asked her to note that I wanted an M-card, I also asked to have it noted I want a Technician who was familiar with doing CC's in Tivos. We'll see on Friday. Also, I'm not sure about other TWC areas, but I just noticed on the San Diego site that they just added Discovery HD and History HD! I'm so freaking happy about that. I was very very close to switching to U-verse since they have those channels in HD and those are basically the only channels I watch. Now I'll be able to record stuff with my shiny new THD in HD!!

[cdeckert219]

I just noticed on the San Diego site that they just added Discovery HD and History HD! I'm so freaking happy about that. I was very very close to switching to U-verse since they have those channels in HD and those are basically the only channels I watch. Now I'll be able to record stuff with my shiny new THD in HD!!

I hope I'm not bursting your bubble, but... I haven't been able to get DiscoveryHD and History HD. They have a disclaimer that not all channels are available with cable cards only. I assumed it was because of switched video. I have an installer coming out for the 2nd box and figured I'd ask him whether or not I should be getting those channels.

[FrancesTheMute]

I hope I'm not bursting your bubble, but... I haven't been able to get DiscoveryHD and History HD. They have a disclaimer that not all channels are available with cable cards only. I assumed it was because of switched video. I have an installer coming out for the 2nd box and figured I'd ask him whether or not I should be getting those channels.

See, and that's complete bull**** if you ask me....ALL of their cable boxes and DVRs have cableCARDS in them now, so there's no reason why the Tivo shouldn't work with SDV channels. So much for their "advanced fiber network" Good thing I didn't get the THD based on the fact they added those channels. I found out after I bought it when I went to the TWC SD site to get the number to call for the CC installation.

I'll just have to keep the HD-DVR, I guess...hope I can keep that and have the cableCARD as well

[59er]

From TWC NYC's website :):Effective April 30th we will launch Sports on Demand on ch. 1023. In Manhattan we will launch Food Network HD on ch. 750, HGTV HD on ch. 764, Hallmark Movie Channel HD on ch. 784, Animal Planet HD on ch. 786, Travel Channel HD on ch. 788, and Versus/Golf HD on 794. In Brooklyn and Queens we will launch A&E HD on ch. 746, ABC Family HD on ch. 738, Animal Planet HD on ch. 786, CNN HD on ch. 710, Discovery HD on ch. 766, Disney HD on 749, ESPN News HD on ch. 792, Food Network HD on ch. 750, Fox Business News HD on ch. 743, Hallmark Movie Channel HD on ch. 784, HGTV HD on ch. 764 , History Channel HD on ch. 740, The Learning Channel HD on 752, Lifetime Movies HD on ch. 762, M HD will launch on ch. 720, MLB HD on ch. 791 and 445, NHL Network HD on ch. 795, the previously announced NY1 HD will launch on ch. 701, Science Channel HD on ch. 775, TMC HD on ch.778, Toon Disney HD on ch. 787, Travel Channel HD on ch.788, Versus/Golf HD on ch. 794, Weather Channel HD on ch. 772 and WE will change from DTV service to Standard Service. In Mount Vernon we will launch ABC Family HD on ch.739, A&E HD on ch. 745, Animal Planet HD on ch. 786, Disney HD on ch. 737, Food Network HD on ch. 718, Hallmark Movie Channel HD on ch. 784, HGTV HD on ch. 752, History Channel HD on ch. 747, Lifetime Movies Network HD on ch. 765, Travel Channel HD on ch. 763, Toon Disney HD on ch. 787, and Versus/Golf HD on ch. 794.

Effective May 1, 2008 in Brooklyn and Queens we will launch Fox News HD on ch. 744.
Progress...

[bxojr]

See, and that's complete bull**** if you ask me....ALL of their cable boxes and DVRs have cableCARDS in them now, so there's no reason why the Tivo shouldn't work with SDV channels.

It's not that simple, which is one reason why I think it's important to maintain the distinction between "CableCARDs" and "CableCARD hosts."

CableCARDs themselves have no problem with SDV. But the current spec for third-party CableCARD host devices (like TiVos) does not encompass two-way communication. That means that cable companies can build proprietary STBs with CableCARDs that are capable of accessing bidirectional services like SDV, but third-party manufacturers like TiVo cannot.

Even if the spec allowed it, there's no practical way TiVo could do it, because of the absence of a standard. There are multiple different proprietary systems in use by different cable companies, so a TiVo that worked with one cable system would not work with another. The cable company doesn't have that problem, because they only have to supply STBs for their own system.

[TracerBullet]

I woke up this morning to find that all my cable channels, except for what comes through when you have basic cable, were gone. This happened once before about six months ago, and I had to get TiVo on the phone with Time Warner to get them to rehit the cards. Argh!

[59er]

I woke up this morning to find that all my cable channels, except for what comes through when you have basic cable, were gone. This happened once before about six months ago, and I had to get TiVo on the phone with Time Warner to get them to rehit the cards. Argh!
When that happened to me, I was told by TWC to just unplug and reboot. I rebooted without unplugging, and the problem was fixed instantly (if you call 5 minutes to reboot "instantly!").

[bobcounter]

Aloha,
I just got my TiVo HD yesterday and when I called the Oahu Hawaii TWC office today they told me they do not offer HD content on their CableCards here. Does anyone have any experience with this or suggest people I should contact?
thanks!

[GiantsFan24]

Aloha,
I just got my TiVo HD yesterday and when I called the Oahu Hawaii TWC office today they told me they do not offer HD content on their CableCards here. Does anyone have any experience with this or suggest people I should contact?
thanks!

The problem is Switched Digital Video. OTW moved many of their channels (including most HD channels) to SDV last year. Tivos with cablecards (Tivo HD and S3) cannot tune SDV channels. There are detailed discussions of the issue at (1) TWC Hawaii moving all HD to SDV: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=364085 (2) S3's in Hawaii?: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=321119 and (3) SDV FAQ: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=357703

In a nutshell, what Oceanic told you is not 100% correct -- you can receive the local HD broadcasts (Fox, NBC, CBS, ABS, PBS) and any subscription channels with HD that you may subscribe to (HBO-HD, MAX-HD, Showtime-HD, etc.) But you cannot get any other HD channels like HDNET, ESPN-HD, etc. So if all you want is local channels, you can call OTW back and insist that they schedule a cablecard install. Depending on the rep you get on the phone this might be easy, or it might be a pain. They are obligated to give you the cablecards if you want them, but not all CS reps know that. But if you want the other HD channels, you'll have to use their DVR for now.

The situation will ultimately be resolved (pun intended) by the Tuning Resolver. This will be a USB add-on that will allow Tivos to use SDV channels. But it's still awhile off -- how far off is the subject of countless other threads, esp. the SDV FAQ.

We all feel your pain.

[poisonpill]

Hello all. I currently have TWC in NYC and the Explorer 8300HDC box. This thing is atrocious. Really just plain garbage.

I'm wondering a) what's the process for going tivo? and b) is it really worth it?

From reading, I realize I need to go cablecards, but then I would lose HBO on-demand right? How is the tivo HD series 3 box? Fast? It's definitely a big change to go from the TWC box to a $500-600+ tivo.


Thanks.

[mrobold]

Just wanted to report a successful cablecard installation in Costa Mesa, CA. I made sure to call CS to leave notes on my work order for the installer to bring lots of M-Cards, and he did just that. Luckily, the first one he installed worked great, and I had all my channels within 10 minutes of his calling in the codes. The guy seemed to know what he was doing with the Tivo, even though he was a contractor, so I consider myself lucky. I only wish we had the same lineup as D*, but after they screwed my family with their draconian contract policy, i'm not dealing with them again. Tivo works great for me! (phew!)

Ed


I don't suppose you have the name of that contractor handy do you? I've had 3 different techs out here with 6 different cable cards, and have yet to get a working installation.

[FrancesTheMute]

I had a successful CC install in San Diego, CA with Time Warner Cable. Guy showed up, had an M-Card, even though the girl on the phone when I set up the appointment was *very* sure that they didn't have M-Cards. Tech popped it into the Tivo, called up the office, read off a few numbers and everything was working fine. I redid the guided setup after he left. All was good for about an hour or so and then everything went gray on the screen. I couldn't change to any channels and even the Tivo home screen was all gray in the background. I noticed a connection was in progress, took a really long time to load the data. After the connection was done, everything was still all gray, so I did a reboot and everything was good after that. I can get all the HD channels my provider has, including the new DiscoveryHD and HistoryHD, but I've noticed that a LOT of channels aren't showing up right on the guide. I get a "to be announced" for the program information, but the shows display fine. This is also happening on a lot of non-HD channels, mostly the ones around the regular Discovery and History channels. Probably a total of 15 to 20 channels are like this. I'm guessing this has something to do with SDV. Does anyone think there's anything I can do about this? call TWC and have them do something on their end? This kinda sucks because a lot of the channels that I would want to record stuff on I can't because it's not pulling down any program information. Good thing I kept my TWC HD-DVR so I can still record those shows.

[FrancesTheMute]

Hello all. I currently have TWC in NYC and the Explorer 8300HDC box. This thing is atrocious. Really just plain garbage.

I'm wondering a) what's the process for going tivo? and b) is it really worth it?

From reading, I realize I need to go cablecards, but then I would lose HBO on-demand right? How is the tivo HD series 3 box? Fast? It's definitely a big change to go from the TWC box to a $500-600+ tivo.


Thanks.

Yes, you would lose HBO on demand and ALL other on-demand channels, as there's no way for the Tivo to send the signal back to the cable company to order the show. See my post just above, I just got a TivoHD and I kept my 8300HDC (which is total crap, I agree).

To get a tivo you just need to buy the STB somewhere (best buy, circuit city, directly from tivo at tivo.com, etc) and hook it up to your TV. Then you go to tivo site and register the box and sign up for whichever plan you want (either monthly or a 1, 2, or 3 year in advance) Then you turn on the Tivo, go thru the guided setup (which is super easy) and then you have Tivo.

As for whether its worth it....that depends on the type of programming you watch. Since you mentioned HBO on demand, it seems like you like to watch a lot of on-demand type stuff, in which case, Tivo would not be worth it

[59er]

You could always get a basic non-DVR box from TWC for the on-demand stuff.

[spolebitski]

hey - just wondering how you are liking the TiVo so far? I'm in SE WI also and am really sick of the PoS SA8300 DVR and want to take the TiVo plunge

thanks.

I live in SE WI as well ... I have on order a TiVo HD and an appointment for cable cards in the new two weeks ... did you go through this process already?

[spolebitski]

In Waukesha, WI I just got done with a cable card install. The tech was only able to get a single stream card in slot 1 working. He had 2 other cards but couldn't get either to work in slot 2. Disappointing but they're sending another tech out friday so hopefully they can finish their job this time.

I live in SE WI ... how did this go for you? As you can see from my above post I have a TiVo HD on the way with an cable care appointment ... let me know if everything is working or what I am looking to avoid

Were you charged any fee's for the install (i was told 40 for the 1st card, 10 for the second card then was told 30 for the entire install now its down to 20) I can't wait for the bill and see how everything is billed

[whatwhat]

As an FYI, I recently did an activation with TWC with a TiVo HD with two cablecards. At first, only the HD network channels and those below 100 worked. After a call to tech support and a tech visit, they sent out another tech, this one from the head end. He took the two cable cards out of the TiVo and, one at a time, placed them in a cablecard equipped LCD TV. He then called in and had them hit the card (i.e. send the initial EMM). Once both cards had been hit, he placed them into the TiVo and called and asked them to send an "init" (his term) to each of the cards. As soon as the init hit each card the missing channels began working. This is the same procedure that had been tried with the cards in the TiVo to start with, however it had not worked until the initial "hit" was performed in the other TV, He could offer no explanation as to why it did not work in the TiVo, but in my area he was going to make the cablecard procedure going forward to be -
1) issue cablecard to customer, enter cable card into into customer account
2) have a tech place the customer cards into a working cablecard system in their shop and have the initial EMM's sent
3) take the cards to the customer site, place them in the TiVo, and have the "init" messages sent.

At no time was any of the host ID information from my TiVo unit entered manually into their system, according to the tech that info is transmitted to their systems during the paring process. I have read the exact opposite, but that is what he said and it seemed to work in my situation.

I'm posting this only as an FYI, this is the procedure that got my TiVo working with dual cablecards on TWC. They were more than helpful in trying to get this to work, however everyone I spoke with said that anything with cablecards is tocuh-and-go... they have gotten everything to work eventually, but with each different system it is some other issue.

From my personal observation I suspect the TiVo is not properly sending the EMM's to the cablecards. To see the same cards perform properly in another unit during the initial configuration, then place those same cards into the TiVo and they start working seems to point at some interaction issue between the TiVo and the cablecards during the initial configuration.

I hope this info. proves useful to others in their efforts to get their TiVo's to work with cablecards with TWC. As for me, I am very pleased, the system works fantastic. I only hope that one day this can all be done without any tech support calls or truck rolls :)

[CharlesH]

At first, only the HD network channels and those below 100 worked. After a call to tech support and a tech visit, they sent out another tech, this one from the head end. He took the two cable cards out of the TiVo and, one at a time, placed them in a cablecard equipped LCD TV. He then called in and had them hit the card (i.e. send the initial EMM). Once both cards had been hit, he placed them into the TiVo and called and asked them to send an "init" (his term) to each of the cards. As soon as the init hit each card the missing channels began working. This is the same procedure that had been tried with the cards in the TiVo to start with, however it had not worked until the initial "hit" was performed in the other TV, He could offer no explanation as to why it did not work in the TiVo, but in my area he was going to make the cablecard procedure going forward to be -
1) issue cablecard to customer, enter cable card into into customer account
2) have a tech place the customer cards into a working cablecard system in their shop and have the initial EMM's sent
3) take the cards to the customer site, place them in the TiVo, and have the "init" messages sent.

At no time was any of the host ID information from my TiVo unit entered manually into their system, according to the tech that info is transmitted to their systems during the paring process. I have read the exact opposite, but that is what he said and it seemed to work in my situation.
Since TiVos don't have the hardware to send information upstream, there is no way that host info could be sent during the pairing process. There are two different steps here. One is "authentication", that is, what channels will the cable card decrypt for the host. This step is independent of the host, and is based on what package of channels you have bought from your cable company. You can move a cablecard from one host to another, and the same channels will be authenticated.

The other step is "pairing" for copy protection, and is a digital-rights procedure to keep you from copying the content in a manner that the copyright holder doesn't want you to. This step is host-specific; moving a card from one host to another will break pairing. All cable systems use authentication, but not all use copy protection. As long as copy protection is not turned on, cards can be freely moved around, but when/if they turn on copy protection, then you won't be able to see the copy-protected programs.

[cdeckert219]

I contacted TWC San Diego (and was forwarded to their contractor) to install an M-Card in my 2nd TiVoHD. The support rep knew exactly what I was talking about...he's had a TiVo for years. Tech showed up with an M-card and had it installed in about 2 minutes. He wrote down the requisite numbers and warned me that he'd had trouble getting anyone to answer back at the office all day. He asked if it was okay to leave and call me back as soon as he successfully connected. I agreed. He called back about an hour later and said everything should be fine. I checked it out and everything is working fine (I'm getting all the channels that I'm supposed to be getting).

Update to what I reported earlier--I now receive both DiscoveryHD and HistoryHD on both boxes. It doesn't list any programming info for these channels, though. Go figure!

[spolebitski]

In Waukesha, WI I just got done with a cable card install. The tech was only able to get a single stream card in slot 1 working. He had 2 other cards but couldn't get either to work in slot 2. Disappointing but they're sending another tech out friday so hopefully they can finish their job this time.

Do you know if you had a s-card or a m-card installed?

[MicahG]

I'm in Huntington Beach, CA (Orange County)

I have 2 technicians here and they are trying to install 2 M-cards on my TivoHD box. I put the Tivo Instructions in front of the both of them read to them and even showed them that we only need 1 M-card. Will it even work with 2 M-cards?? I'll give you an update when they are done...so maybe you'll hear from me in a week or so ;o)

(Contracted tech's who don't speak english very well)

[ksboy21]

Time Warner in KC has informed me that throughout the rest of the year, I will continue to see programming drop off from my cablecards as they no longer support cable card technology in this area. They refuse to service their cable cards, and they will not give any support when I have cable card issues. They said that on Feburary 1st, 2009, I must give back all my cable cards and go with their boxes, or I will not receive any programming.

[spolebitski]

Why on feb 1st 2009 will you have to give up your cable cards ... does this mandate from the fcc expire in 2009

[MicahG]

I'm in Huntington Beach, CA (Orange County)

I have 2 technicians here and they are trying to install 2 M-cards on my TivoHD box. I put the Tivo Instructions in front of the both of them read to them and even showed them that we only need 1 M-card. Will it even work with 2 M-cards?? I'll give you an update when they are done...so maybe you'll hear from me in a week or so ;o)

(Contracted tech's who don't speak english very well)

So here's my update. 1.5 hours. The dude decided to give up on trying to get the 2nd M-card to work. So he just left the 1st one in haha. I've restarted the box and went through the Setup Guide again. When I was done, however, it said I needed to go through the Setup Guide AGAIN. I decided to check out what stations I got, and I think I am missing some. I am now going through the Setup Guide again. Maybe I'll try a reset? I checked out a couple local HD channels and I wasn't impressed, so I'm hoping that it wasn't actually HD feed. We'll see if I end up needing to call another tech out or not.

Would they let me reauthorize the M-card since I have it in the box?

[MicahG]

When your channels pop up and shows the cable card id, it means your card is not paired. Is charlotte using SA or Moto? If it's SA, check the CP screen and see if it says "Waiting for CP Auth" by the cp status. If so, your card is not paired. If it says "CP Auth Received", you aren't subscribed to the particular package that channel is on. This might not be your fault, but a call to the cable co is needed either way.

Cableguy,

Is it possible to get the card paired over the phone by yourself? I've called TW twice and now they want to roll another truck. I checked my CP status and it says "Waiting for CP Auth"

All the local channels work but not TNTHD, ESPNHD, etc.

I'd rather not have to wait on another truck...

UPDATE: So i've checked some other settings and I was getting EMM's at first, but now it's at 0. CP Info - i'm still at "Waiting for CP Auth" but my Verify Key Status is "OK." The other thing I kind of wonder is, there are 2 numbers on my M-card (SA). I found out only one of them is in the system at TW. I wonder if the tech called in the wrong number? Anyone else have a SA m-card?

[cableguy763]

It sounds like they do not have your card paired correctly. Technically, this should not require a truck roll. You have all the parts necessary to get your cards working. I cannot speak for your area, but try giving tech support a call with your host id and cable card id ready.

[MicahG]

hey cableguy,

Ya, I've called the tech support around 4 times and I think they are tired of me calling. =\
I've double checked all the info with them and they have it all down. There's 2 numbers on my M-card and they only have one of them in the system, I tried to talk them into trying to switch the number, but they said then they'd need to get me a whole new card. They've got a truck scheduled for friday morn. sigh... Any ideas on what I might be able to say or do tomorrow? or should i just wait it out...

[cableguy763]

hey cableguy,

Ya, I've called the tech support around 4 times and I think they are tired of me calling. =\
I've double checked all the info with them and they have it all down. There's 2 numbers on my M-card and they only have one of them in the system, I tried to talk them into trying to switch the number, but they said then they'd need to get me a whole new card. They've got a truck scheduled for friday morn. sigh... Any ideas on what I might be able to say or do tomorrow? or should i just wait it out...
I think you are just going to have to wait it out :o. This time, do not let them leave until all of your channels are working.

[realityboy]

Can anyone in the Dayton area confirm that they can receive 722 (abc), 745 (fox), 746 (mytv), and/or 125 (fox reality)with a cablecard? I had a fourth tech out today, and he says that these have been changed to SDV. I don't want to believe him since I can get 722, 745, and 746 just fine if I hook the line to my tv without a cablecard. Also, why would it take 4 attempts before they told me this? These are heavily watched channels so it wouldn't make sense to change it, and also someone else would surely have noticed.

[Brainuser]

SE Wisconsin install today. Came late. I had asked for someone experienced in TiVo. The guy had never installed TiVo. I asked for M-Cards. He didn't know what I was talking about. End result. 4 hours of my day wasted and no TiVo yet. They are returning on Saturday.

By the way. How do you tell the difference between an S card and an M Card?

[SER71]

By the way. How do you tell the difference between an S card and an M Card?

When you insert the card into the slot it will say on your TV screen which type of card has been inserted.

[TracerBullet]

Argh, this is really frustrating. I've been losing channels for a day here, two days there. I thought they were back again, but this morning they were gone AGAIN. I'm not doing anything- whenever I decide to call, I check first, and the channels are back.

TWC NYC is getting ready to roll out a bunch of new HD channels at the end of the month- could this just be them changing stuff around? It's really driving me insane.

[59er]

TracerBullet, I haven't been having any problems with TWC in Manhattan.

[spolebitski]

SE Wisconsin install today. Came late. I had asked for someone experienced in TiVo. The guy had never installed TiVo. I asked for M-Cards. He didn't know what I was talking about. End result. 4 hours of my day wasted and no TiVo yet. They are returning on Saturday.

By the way. How do you tell the difference between an S card and an M Card?

My appointment is for wednesday ... i hope the techs in se wi will have an understanding of installing the cards into the tivo hd ... got my tivo hd today ran guided setup got it all ready ... think i'm off to get an hd ota attenna to see what channels

[spolebitski]

I was told today that TWC SE WI did not support m-cards but the engineers are working on this to solve the problem so they can "offer the best possible service to all their customers"

[bobrt6676]

Can anyone in the Dayton area confirm that they can receive 722 (abc), 745 (fox), 746 (mytv), and/or 125 (fox reality)with a cablecard? I had a fourth tech out today, and he says that these have been changed to SDV. I don't want to believe him since I can get 722, 745, and 746 just fine if I hook the line to my tv without a cablecard. Also, why would it take 4 attempts before they told me this? These are heavily watched channels so it wouldn't make sense to change it, and also someone else would surely have noticed.

I have 2 S-Cards in a TivoHD in the Dayton market. I receive 722,745 (local HD channels) that TWC brags about local HD for free. I also receive 746 and 125. Also, I receive 751,752,754,755,756,757,760,762,763,764,765,and the new 768.:)

[realityboy]

Thank You! I've tried to tell them that I should be getting these channels. I can get all the others you list including the new 768 just not 722, 745, 746, or 125. Those first three are broadcast stations and very unlikely to be SDV. Also coincidentally, I work for Sinclair broadcasting which broadcasts abc22/fox45 and mytv dayton so I can get practically every channel y'know except for the 3 I work at.

Does anyone think it could be a signal problem or does it have to be a remapping problem? I can receive these with the QAM tuner in the Tivo if I take out the cablecards. Are the cablecards more sensitive to signal strength than the QAM tuner?

I had 2 s-cards which worked fine for a year or so then they swapped those for 2 more s-cards. Same problem. So now, I have 2 m-cards. So I don't think the problem lies with the cards.

[gamo62]

Just get new cards. and if you have a TivoHD, then get 1 M card.

[realityboy]

This is the 3rd set of cards...and it is a series 3 so 2 m-cards.

[MicahG]

Second truck rolled up, this time it's an actual Time Warner guy! Who...is a jerk. The first thing he said was, "So you like paying more money?"

He at least seems like he knows what he's doing. The only bummer is, he rebooted the tivo box, and now it saying it's preparing the service update which could take up to an hour, possibly longer... bah.

He did call in the host id and cable card number, but it sounds like they might have been switched?

I'm almost tempted to tell him to leave, because he doesn't even want to be here, and he has a 3-hour wire job he has to do next.

[eolson]

In Milwaukee. Have the infamous "Updating firmware card 1" endless loop on TiVo 3 since 9am or so in the morning (it's now 11pm.) Time-Warner says reboot... then take cards to store... store orders truck roll.

On the TiVo side, TiVo has a poor interface around CableCard. It does not let you read the diagnostic messages (black screen with CC text) undisturbed. Once in "Guided Setup" Tivo likes to suddenly take over and go back to infinite "Updating firmware" loop while you are reading a CC message.

About once per hour, the update would quit and I would get 30 seconds of TV (HD channel or other.) Then the update would take over again. It's not doing that now though, since I took the cards out to take to the store and put them back in.

Was running ok for 1 year on 2 SA cards dated 2005 and 2006.

I have had below-minimum signal strength on Internet for 3 weeks - wonder if it's related to the download difficulty.

[TracerBullet]

My cablecards keep losing authorization (I think). Every time I call to get a hit on the cards or the channels come back on their own (which happens), within 24 hours, I lose most channels again. It's almost as though Time Warner is sending my cablecards authorization to only display the most basic cable package available, and it's incredibly aggravating.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[robojerk]

Dear XXXXXXX,

We know how excited you get whenever you watch your favorite show or movie in high definition. That's why we are constantly adding MORE and MORE HD channels to your lineup.

You'll enjoy more of your favorite sports, kids' shows, movies and special interest channels in high-definition. You also get HD On Demand, so you can watch your shows and movies in high-definition whenever you choose.

Time Warner Cable is the Home of FREE HD programming. We give you access to FREE local and sports channels in HD with no equipment to buy. Get ready to watch Food HD, HGTV HD, CNN HD, History HD, Discovery HD and MORE COMING SOON.

We will continue to update you as we add more HD channels. The list will keep on growing.

It's a pleasure to keep our commitment to you in delivering the best in entertainment to your home.



Sincerely,



Your friends at Time Warner Cable

So ughhh, will my Tivo get these channels or am I still waiting in vain for a dongle?

[Effinay]

Thank You! I've tried to tell them that I should be getting these channels. I can get all the others you list including the new 768 just not 722, 745, 746, or 125. Those first three are broadcast stations and very unlikely to be SDV. Also coincidentally, I work for Sinclair broadcasting which broadcasts abc22/fox45 and mytv dayton so I can get practically every channel y'know except for the 3 I work at.

Does anyone think it could be a signal problem or does it have to be a remapping problem? I can receive these with the QAM tuner in the Tivo if I take out the cablecards. Are the cablecards more sensitive to signal strength than the QAM tuner?

I had 2 s-cards which worked fine for a year or so then they swapped those for 2 more s-cards. Same problem. So now, I have 2 m-cards. So I don't think the problem lies with the cards.

realityboy: I talked to a CSR at TW in Dayton and the lady told me that only the Spanish channels have been swithched to SDV so far in our area.

Did you have any issues with the cablecard installation when you first set up your TiVO? To start, they only brought one s-card. My cablecard sat there for over 6 hours yesterday doing a "Firmware upgrade." It never completed, and the 2 installers left (after being 4 hours late) before the installation was done. I gave up and pulled out the CC so I could at least watch regular cable.

I called customer service and they told me to just go to their Dayton Mall location and get a new cablecard. Well, I drove out there only to learn that they do not give customers the cablecards... ever. The guy behind the desk was kind of rude and gave me a look like I was stupid for even asking. They are sending another truck next week.

I just switched from DirecTV. The only reason was so that I could get HD programming and still use TiVo. I'm starting to think this was a bad decision, and may just give up on TiVo AND TimeWarner.:(

[realityboy]

No the initial installation went well. This actually happened when they merged their system with Cincinnati's. After much wasted time calling and getting techs that had no idea what the problem was, I did finally end up getting a lead tech that knew about this problem. The problem is with the cablecard mapping of these channels in my area, and the engineers are working on it although they have no estimation on when it will be finished. He wants me to check back in with him in a few weeks to see if any progress has been made.

I thought about switching to Directv and almost did it before I realized that I didn't have a phone line to plug into the receiver. For now, I picked up an outdoor antenna from Radio Shack to pull in the locals that I can not get from TW. If you live close enough, you probably will want to have an antenna for at least a few of the locals. Time Warner in Dayton does not offer either NBC (WDTN) or CW (WBDT) in HD at all.

However assuming you do not have the same issues I have here, the cablecards seem to work nicely. Mine worked for over a year before any problems at all. While the tech was here on Monday, he called another tech who had done a successful install in a TivoHD, and they had no problems with these channels so good luck.

[spolebitski]

Finally the day arrived for the "truck roll" install ... tech arrives not really knowing to do ... in his defense his job basically was to call twc with the cablecard numbers and host id number. He was unsure about installing these into a TiVo HD ... was told that these are to go into the tv.

1st card worked with id numbers, 2nd card did not work
then
2nd card worked with id number, 1st card did not work (witched slots)
then
both cards worked
then
1st card authorized, 2nd card does not say that it is authorized

problem is that 1st cable card will receive, from what I can tell all the HD channels. 2nd cable card will not pick up the "hd package" (above your "free" hd channels they provide, may be different market to market).

Getting to be quitting time, 5:00 PM - Tech says it is up and running (I have mentioned that cable card does not say it is authorized. The tech said the channels are working it's not a subscription issue and I should contact TWC. So I call the number on the screen ... only to stay on the phone for 20 minutes ... was told that this is not a subscription issue but a cable card issue and a tech would need to be dispatched ... frustrating that the tech was out the door as fast as he could.

The tech did mention that an issue might be that i do not have a hd package, when I told the tech I did, the tech said well they did not authorize the hd package on the 2nd cable card

so question ... sounds like this might a way to double charge me for 2 hd packages (one on each cable card) ... anyone who has tivo hd and 2 cable cards are you double charged for the "hd package"?

[Brainuser]

Well, the Time Warner technicians (2 of them) came out to install the cable cards in my SE Wisconsin (Waukesha) TiVo HD. As others have experienced, Cable Card 1 is authorized and gets channels (including the HD channels), Cable Card 2 (both are S Cards) does not authorize and gets no channels. The TW guys went back and forth with HQ and the card seems to be paired at their end. We rebooted 5 times, but the card would not pair. We switched cards and repaired them, and the card in slot 1 worked, but the card in slot 2 would not authorize. TW is flummoxed and spoke to the TiVo tech by phone. The TiVo people say it is a cable issue. the cable guys can't figure out what more they can do. They think that since they switched cards and the card in slot 2 never works, that it somehow must be a hardware problem. TiVo swears that it is not, but cannot offer up an explanation why the switched card would work.
If It doesn't connect by tomorrow, it gets moved up to a Tier 3 Tech. I was told in this case, TW would call TiVo and work out the problem.

[aktick]

Sounds like pricing is different from area to area? I'm getting my brother an HDTV and probably an HD Tivo to replace his S2 Tivo, and wondering if it's worth getting cable cards...he's in Oshkosh, WI, and he has the basic non-digital Time Warner cable package now. Is there just a basic package he can get to keep his current base package and just add HD locals or something like that? How much would the most basic HD deal generally cost for cable cards?

I've never dealt with Time Warner and know it's always been a hassle for him in the past, just trying to see what the options are before I throw this new TV and Tivo on him. Thanks for any help. :)

[Effinay]

aktick - you can get locals in HD OTA for free (assuming they are broadcasting in HD). Just get an antenna for the ToVo HD. No change to your brother's cable lineup would be necessary.

[Effinay]

realityboy, can you recommend a good antenna to get the locals on my TiVo HD?

[spolebitski]

Well, the Time Warner technicians (2 of them) came out to install the cable cards in my SE Wisconsin (Waukesha) TiVo HD. As others have experienced, Cable Card 1 is authorized and gets channels (including the HD channels), Cable Card 2 (both are S Cards) does not authorize and gets no channels. The TW guys went back and forth with HQ and the card seems to be paired at their end. We rebooted 5 times, but the card would not pair. We switched cards and repaired them, and the card in slot 1 worked, but the card in slot 2 would not authorize. TW is flummoxed and spoke to the TiVo tech by phone. The TiVo people say it is a cable issue. the cable guys can't figure out what more they can do. They think that since they switched cards and the card in slot 2 never works, that it somehow must be a hardware problem. TiVo swears that it is not, but cannot offer up an explanation why the switched card would work.
If It doesn't connect by tomorrow, it gets moved up to a Tier 3 Tech. I was told in this case, TW would call TiVo and work out the problem.

my issue was that slot one authorized and slot two could view channels (500 level) but not the "HD Package" (ESPN2, TBS, TNT I think). Slot two's card was not authorized (or authorization received, which you should see on the cable card menu). My case all the switching from card 1 to slot 1 to slot 2 back to slot 1 back to slot 2 etc they had the wrong cablecard numbers and host id's. They should check these numbers first just to fix any simple numerical problems. The second tech fixed this issue quick.

When is your next tech appointment? This weekend, next week?

I really doubt there is an issue with the card slot.

can you view all hd channels on card 1, can you view any hd channels on card 2?

I can help you trouble shoot a bit more if you private message me.

[spolebitski]

Sounds like pricing is different from area to area? I'm getting my brother an HDTV and probably an HD Tivo to replace his S2 Tivo, and wondering if it's worth getting cable cards...he's in Oshkosh, WI, and he has the basic non-digital Time Warner cable package now. Is there just a basic package he can get to keep his current base package and just add HD locals or something like that? How much would the most basic HD deal generally cost for cable cards?

I've never dealt with Time Warner and know it's always been a hassle for him in the past, just trying to see what the options are before I throw this new TV and Tivo on him. Thanks for any help. :)

I think he would need to bump up to the digital package and rent s-cards for (~$3.10 per card). If he is going to have a hdtv and get a tivo hd it is worth it. The HD Package is ~$6.95 and gets your some more than just the basic "free" local channels.

These prices are approximates - based on SE WIS (Milwaukee)

[spolebitski]

aktick - you can get locals in HD OTA for free (assuming they are broadcasting in HD). Just get an antenna for the ToVo HD. No change to your brother's cable lineup would be necessary.

OTA is great and uncompressed however 3 shows this week were partials because of loss signal using the HD Antenna ...

I would trust OTA for shows I was watching live so I could fix any problems that arrise with tuning.

This problems could be due to a $20 HD Antenna ... maybe its not good enough

[aktick]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'll just get him a decent OTA antenna for now, I know that's kind of trial and error until you find one that works good, but I don't want him to think he has to get the HD package from TW if he doesn't want to. Plus he probably doesn't want to deal with TW installers now (which sounds like it can be pretty annoying based on this thread).

spolebitski - are the problems with Tivo HD and OTA shows not recording widespread? I've been getting my locals in HD OTA for 4 years now (first with a DirecTV HD-Tivo, now with DirecTV's HD-DVR) and have never had a single problem with an OTA show not recording (and I record way more shows than I care to admit :o). Just curious if it's a known issue...sorry for cluttering the thread with non-TW talk, I'll ask in my other thread.

[realityboy]

realityboy, can you recommend a good antenna to get the locals on my TiVo HD?

Not really, I picked up a $50 one from Radio Shack. Pretty much just went for whatever was on the shelf since I live <4 miles from the towers. Antenneweb.org is a good place to start, and if you go to the AVS forum. There is a thread for the Dayton area, and the guys over there are very knowledgable. If you happen to have an old antenna from before having satellite, I would try that or even an indoor antenna.

[Enforcer]

Wanted to give my two cents here. Im in San Antonio and use TWC. When I called to make an appt to get my cable cards installed they told me it was gonna cost $52 for the truck roll. I was kinda mad about this but hey, what are you gonna do? So that night i took the TWC dvr's back and the nice person at the TWC store told me that the TWC store on 410 and Blanco will give me a cable card for installation. No need for a truck roll. So, the next morning i went there and sure enough, they gave me an M card. I took that baby home, installed it in the TivoHD and I received partial success. I could get the local HD tier, but none of the other HD channels. I must say, the TWC rep on the phone was awesome. He insisted on staying on the phone the entire time during my CC install. We were on the phone for about 45 minutes. After he tried several things and talked to several people, I still wasnt getting anything other than the local HD. Now I know about SDV in San Antonio, but there were still a few HD channels that were black. After he tried everything he knew, he made a truck roll appointment. I had read all the Tivo faq's and I tried to tell him it was billing/acct issue, but that didnt seem to help. About 2 hours after hanging up, another really nice guy from TWC called and asked me about the situation. I explained to him the problem and he said he recognized the problem. The CC wasnt authorized properly to see those other HD channels. He did his thing and bam. Im watching HD channels (well, the non-sdv ones anyway).

So if you live in San Antonio, you can pick up the cards and do the install. And there shoudnt be a need for a truck roll.

Love Tivo, its my first and I can't understand why it took me so many years to get it.

[Jimbo713]

Enforcer -

Great news and encouraging news for me. A truck is rolling out tomorow *Wed) to install my M-Card and the Triple Play from TWC. I'll expect nothing but the same result!

[Rayd8tor]

Enforcer -

Great news and encouraging news for me. A truck is rolling out tomorow *Wed) to install my M-Card and the Triple Play from TWC. I'll expect nothing but the same result!

I'm in SA as well. Had my TivoHD up and running on one M-card for a little over a month now. Install was pretty painless, although I asked about picking up the card myself as well, and was told that they had to roll a truck with it, but I did not get charged at all for the trip. I have all the FREE HD channels they boast which is the networks and PBS, but the others I'm sorely missing. I'll be glad when this tuning resolver makes it's way to SA. Has anyone heard anything official from TWC about it, or when they might possibly be offering it?

[Brainuser]

So 3 cards have been tried in slot 2, but none are getting authorized. Card 1 works fine and can record, and see HD channels.

[Jimbo713]

I have all the FREE HD channels they boast which is the networks and PBS, but the others I'm sorely missing.

What's THIS all about? You get ONLY local channels? Because you're not supposd to get any others OR you CAN"T get any others?

[Enforcer]

What's THIS all about? You get ONLY local channels? Because you're not supposd to get any others OR you CAN"T get any others?

Well, you get a few HD channels other than Local and PBS, but not many. The page that TWC has that shows what channels you will NOT get is badly outdated. So dont be surprised when you dont get more channels than you get. San Antonio is an SDV area and alot of the HD channels are providing using SDV.

[T-Shee]

FYI,
TWC in New York City - Manhattan - the following new HD stations were added 4/30/08. (Time Warner Manhattan South).

CNN HD on ch.710
Food Network HD on ch. 750
HGTV HD on ch. 764
Hallmark Movie Channel HD on ch. 784
Animal Planet HD on ch. 786
Versus/Golf HD on 794

Travel Channel HD on ch. 788 (per TWC memo) didn't happen.

I still don't have the Guide Info for any of these yet - "To Be Announced" is all that's showing.

[Rayd8tor]

Well, you get a few HD channels other than Local and PBS, but not many. The page that TWC has that shows what channels you will NOT get is badly outdated. So dont be surprised when you dont get more channels than you get. San Antonio is an SDV area and alot of the HD channels are providing using SDV.

Right. If you subscribe to the HD teir you get a "Few" more HD channels, but not all of the ones listed as most of them are now SDV. Since the ones missing are the ones I most want I just dropped the HD teir and now just get the FREE ones they provide, which are the major networks and PBS. Those are not SDV as of now. The tuning resolver will fix all this when it is available. At that time I'll have TWC turn back on the full HD package again.

[Effinay]

ok.. so they finally send another guy out to install the cablecards in my TiVoHD (again). The first question out of his mouth was "Is your TiVo the one with the CableCards in the back or in the front?" I told him it was a TiVo HD, so they get installed in the front. Then he whips out a brand new MCard!

SWEET! This guy has actually set up TiVos before and knows exactly what to do. He brought extra cards (both M and S) in case I had an S3 or if one of the other cards were bad. After 20 minutes and 2 phone calls he had me up and running. From what I could tell, this guy actually worked for TimeWarner (not a contractor that they usually send to do the installations).

I've got all my locals and some other HD channels. "The Universe" on HistoryHD is amazing!

[Cainebj]

FYI,
TWC in New York City - Manhattan - the following new HD stations were added 4/30/08. (Time Warner Manhattan South).

TWC NYC also sent out a press release that there would be additional HD stations by the end of the year (finally!)

ALSO big NYC news - the city reached an agreement yesterday to offer a cable TV contract to Verizon FIOS which means FINALLY there will be some NYC competition for TWC and hopefully we'll start to see some price reductions and special offers to keep us from switching over...

[Cainebj]

P.S. - I just don't understand TWC's HD lineup.
Now we have the basics, half a dozen sports channels, food, house, animal yet none of the good stuff like Sci-Fi, Discovery, Bravo and stations I would actually watch.

I mean c'mon - who wants Golf in HD?
(OK i'm sure someone does but seriously...)

[59er]

My new NYC HD channels showed up at midnight, all as "To Be Announced," but as soon as I forced a connection the guide info was already there.

As for the press release, they said we would have 100 HD channels by the end of 2008 -- and no mention of SDV (but no promise that it won't be SDV, of course).

[Firekite]

I mean c'mon - who wants Golf in HD?
(OK i'm sure someone does but seriously...)
Consider the demographic. People who will watch professional golf are, more often than not, going to to be capable and generally expecting to watch it in HD. That said, I think the Sci-Fi channel would make a lot of sense, too.

[mklitt]

So I have had my Tivo HD Series 3 for a year or more in San Antonio with Time Warner Cable and things went fine. Recently most of my HD channels stopped recording on Tivo. I was adding TW Digital phone and DSL(turbo), so I asked the sales persons to add a service call and send out two cable cards as there must be a cable card problem.

The cable guy shows up to install all my new stuff, but has no clue he is to make a service call. He has no cable cards and does not know from cable cards. (Off topic but he would not give me an updated channel listing, mine was a year old, because I was not "upgrading" the TV, only adding digital phone and Road Runner. :D)

Today another cable guy comes with cards. Calls a cable buddy to come over. Calls another cable buddy! I have three trucks outside.

I am helping, looking on Tivo. Nothing works. Finally about 3 hours later Cable Guy #1 tells me my Tivo HD does not get the HD channels because TWC has gone to "switched digital video."

So my expensive Tivo HD DVR can record ESPN and the local stations. Funny how they did not make ESPN switched . .. .

NO Discovery, NO National Geographic, NO ESPN2, NO History Channel :eek:

NO RECORDING DEADLIEST CATCH IN HD, which is how I "discovered" this problem.

They did not even tell their own tech people! That's cost productive to send out a tech for three hours. He says not many people have Tivo HD. Well they won't now! How would you like to install cable cards in a new Tivo HD and then demonstrate to the homeower that they can see and record 4 HD channels.

If I had another option here, I would take it! I called Grande, but they are not in my area. I had one of the satellites but I don't think it was very Tivo friendly and I never got reception when it stormed. I dropped them after they gave me three boxes in a row that did not work.

TWC gave me a DVR free for six months, so now I have to use their %^$# DVR to record in HD. :mad:

They better get this sorted out in six months. I understand a tuner will fix it, but the tuner is being developed. It had better be quick and had better be free and I hope that Tivo is talking hard to Time Warner because they are being undermined here.

I had not notification whatsover of this "switching" but you better believe I feel switched and I wish I could switch. I have 60 days to get out of the Time Warner contract if anyone has any good ideas. My zip is 78260.

Anyone else upset about this in San Antonio?

[Enforcer]

So I have had my Tivo HD Series 3 for a year or more in San Antonio with Time Warner Cable and things went fine. Recently most of my HD channels stopped recording on Tivo. I was adding TW Digital phone and DSL(turbo), so I asked the sales persons to add a service call and send out two cable cards as there must be a cable card problem.

The cable guy shows up to install all my new stuff, but has no clue he is to make a service call. He has no cable cards and does not know from cable cards. (Off topic but he would not give me an updated channel listing, mine was a year old, because I was not "upgrading" the TV, only adding digital phone and Road Runner. :D)

Today another cable guy comes with cards. Calls a cable buddy to come over. Calls another cable buddy! I have three trucks outside.

I am helping, looking on Tivo. Nothing works. Finally about 3 hours later Cable Guy #1 tells me my Tivo HD does not get the HD channels because TWC has gone to "switched digital video."

So my expensive Tivo HD DVR can record ESPN and the local stations. Funny how they did not make ESPN switched . .. .

NO Discovery, NO National Geographic, NO ESPN2, NO History Channel :eek:

NO RECORDING DEADLIEST CATCH IN HD, which is how I "discovered" this problem.

They did not even tell their own tech people! That's cost productive to send out a tech for three hours. He says not many people have Tivo HD. Well they won't now! How would you like to install cable cards in a new Tivo HD and then demonstrate to the homeower that they can see and record 4 HD channels.

If I had another option here, I would take it! I called Grande, but they are not in my area. I had one of the satellites but I don't think it was very Tivo friendly and I never got reception when it stormed. I dropped them after they gave me three boxes in a row that did not work.

TWC gave me a DVR free for six months, so now I have to use their %^$# DVR to record in HD. :mad:

They better get this sorted out in six months. I understand a tuner will fix it, but the tuner is being developed. It had better be quick and had better be free and I hope that Tivo is talking hard to Time Warner because they are being undermined here.

I had not notification whatsover of this "switching" but you better believe I feel switched and I wish I could switch. I have 60 days to get out of the Time Warner contract if anyone has any good ideas. My zip is 78260.

Anyone else upset about this in San Antonio?

There is a whole thead on SDV. Do a search of the forums and its there. And unfortunately for you and I, we live in a TWC area that uses it. I wasn't too pleased about the HD channels, but I knew about SDV before I bought my TivoHD. Lets hope that Tivo adddress this issue sooner rather than later.

[Jimbo713]

Yep - I had installers at the house four hours trying to get two s-card to work. No success - an MCard is on the way today. But, leaving DirecTV (with 100 HD channels and a working DVR) to save a ton of money with an HDTiVo and have only a handful of HD - I have to wonder. But, I'll deal with it - the savings is the trade-off.

I did speak to a "head-end" tech during the installation about SDV and he did say that they are working on getting cablecards (specifically FOR TiVo) and SDV to "talk" to each other. No time-line, though.

[cab2]

definately check out the SDV threads. I'm in austin and in the same boat as you folks. I'm not sure about the San A. line up, but Austin has a TON of the SDV channels. I've now done the research I needed to do, and will be switching to Directv shortly. Yes, the Tuning Adaptor is coming, but it sure as heck doesn't look like it will be available in Q2 of this year. For me, switching to DTV, getting more HD, and saving a few bucks, means I'm leaving TWC. I love Tivo and have been with them since they first started, but TWC screwed me with making all their stuff SDV. I needed to see an actual DTV hddvr, and play with their interface. Its certainly no tivo, but it's not as bad as I had prepared myself it would be. I played with my buddies setup last weekend. All thats left to do is to see what deals are available now for new DTV customers and make the call. I don't see this as Tivo's fault, I see it as a TWC problem. I understand their reasoning for doing what they did, but I'm paying for channels I can't get. To me, that's just wrong.

[Jimbo713]

- and does anybody have the accurate list of channels that are SDV on TWC, San Antonio? Those you can't get with a cable card?

[Firekite]

I have 60 days to get out of the Time Warner contract if anyone has any good ideas. My zip is 78260.
Oof. Why did you set up a contract? Refuse to do so. Tell them that a lack of a contract is the primary reason why you're even talking to them. They'll still work with you.

Anyone else upset about this in San Antonio?
All of us are in the same boat as you, unfortunately for everyone involved. See the SDV FAQ thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6237502) for more info.

[mklitt]

- and does anybody have the accurate list of channels that are SDV on TWC, San Antonio? Those you can't get with a cable card?

The channel line up dated March 2008 has a red box next to certain channels indicating "Channels not available with Cable Card technology." That includes some on demand channels too, but that must be an error. They should all be marked that way. No on demand channel works with the cable cards. As I understand it, that would not be possible. I have not tested this.

I count 47 HD channels (many are multiples of HBO, etc.) 28 are marked as not working and they are most of the good ones. National Geographic and Discovery are the two channels I most want in HD. They are not available.

Supposedly HBO works, but I have not tried it. I have not been messing with it, because I am so disgusted.

Some that work, I never heard of. HDNET?

[mklitt]

http://www.timewarnercable.com/SanAntonio/Products/Cable/cablecard/notwithcablecard.html

This is a list of San Antonio channels that do not work, but it doesn't list most of the stations I was unhappy about! The best way to see is get the new channel listing flyer as I mentioned above.

[Jimbo713]

I have the M-Card working now - after a second tech visit yesterday that lasted close to 9pm. 3 guys showed up so that the lead tech could demo cable card installation to the other two. But, the install failed and they had to leave - we had to get the kids to bed. So, today, I called TWC tech support, read them the numbers from the card, and BINGO! It's working.

[abredt]

One of my S-Cards died in my Series-3 - only showed Basic Cable. TW guy said it's a signal problem and started reconfiguring the splitters. I connected the input line to go directly into the TiVo to show him that it was a problem with the card. Other card worked fine.

He went and got another card - this time an M-card that had to update its firmware for 40 minutes. I had to insist that one M-card would not be enough. 2 hours later another tech appeared and the first one left. He put in another M-card. Then the S-card died so he put in yet another M-card. 2 hours after that "we" finally got it working. In the process we rebooted TiVo, the router, and the cable modem. Have no idea what the solution really was.

What a mess!!!~ CB

[Jimbo713]

I saw ESPNNEWS show up on the HD guid over the weekend. In San Antonio, SDV?

[Rayd8tor]

http://www.timewarnercable.com/SanAntonio/Products/Cable/cablecard/notwithcablecard.html

This is a list of San Antonio channels that do not work, but it doesn't list most of the stations I was unhappy about! The best way to see is get the new channel listing flyer as I mentioned above.

This list is WAY outdated. It's missing alot of channels that are not available due to SDV.

[Firekite]

I imagine it would be via SDV, yes, Jimbo. I also noticed Fox News HD seems to be up and running. It's about time everything started moving to HD.

[Jimbo713]

FOX NEWS HD - ESPNHD - and all the others via SDV on TWC. Those channels I can't get because of the one-way cablecard. BTW, evryone I talk to at SA's TWC tells me that the "two-way" capability is very near (no specifics) and that those with cable-cards will be contacted when the SDV solution is available. They are sensitive to our plight. I'll be patient.

[mklitt]

They are sensitive to our plight. I'll be patient.

At least you talked to someone who knows what it is all about! I worked my way up to a level three who comped me a station and thanked me for telling him about SDV (hadn't a clue) and about the cable card problem.

By my count I have now educated 6 of their staff . ..

Thank you for the encouraging news.

[gkrodg00]

Forgive the long post and if this has been reported previously.

I have both a Series3 Tivo and a Tivo HD that I use to receive OTA broadcasts and Dayton Time Warner Cable. Until today, I had cable cards installed only in the Series3. When ESPN2HD and the lineup change rolled out last year, I lost TNTHD, DiscoveryHD and have never been able to receive ESPN2HD nor any of the latest HD channels from TW (History, A&E, TBSHD, etc.). Apparently this was due to the switched-digital video protocols TW is using and its incompatibility with one-way cable cards. Although, I have continued to be able to receive all of the SD digital channels, ESPNHD, HDNET, HDNET Movies, Mojo, Universal HD.

Monday, I finally capitulated and decided to get a non-DVR HD Time Warner box to plug-in to a separate input on my receiver solely to watch Reds games on the new Fox Sports HD channel. I rationalized $7/month for Reds in HD plus I would get TNTHD and TBSHD to watch NBA games in HD would be worth it.

I brought the box home from the new Time Warner store at the Dayton Mall. Initially, I plugged the coax from the wall into the TW box 'IN' and a coax from the 'OUT' to the Tivo in. I thought that might work but it did not. So then, I put a splitter in-line to each box. Had the TW box up and running, went back to the Tivo box to make sure it got its signal back and out of pure serendipity, I just tried 768 on the Tivo and EUREKA! It tuned it in. Tried ESPN2HD, HistoryHD, TNTHD, TBSHD, all of the TW HD lineup, tuned in whereas in the past it had not. These supposed SDV deployed channels were now being received. I thought maybe it was the new box that might be the reason, so I unplugged it. Channels still worked. Took the splitter out and took the wall coax straight to the Tivo. Channels still worked.

Called TW and tried to get an explanation for my good fortune and of course, no ideawhat I'm talking about. Emailed a contact at TW and he is checking with the
engineers but haven't heard back yet.

Scheduled cable card install on the TivoHD that until now I had just been running with OTA and analog TW and after I did the install myself I now proudly receive all of TW's HD lineup on both my Tivo boxes. technician (non-TW, indy contractory) greeted me with "I've never installed these before".

My other theory is that HD box that I did not have until Monday, when it was added to my account, "authorized" something and allowed these channels to tune in but that really makes no sense either. It could have been pure coincidence about the box as I have not tried to tune those channels in months. They would just tune a SD Preview channel and not the actual channel.

The TW SDV channels I should not be able to receive (unless they have quietly abandoned SDV) but I do, not that I'm complaining, I just want to understand what changed. Why would they move ALL of their HD channels off of SDV?

The supposed mythical Tuning Resolver that will allow 2-way functionality in these original 1-way cable card hardware coming out sometime this year after the cable companies and 3rd party manufacturers like Tivo came to an agreement, but I have not been holding my breath.

So my point for this long-winded post is:

1) Any explanation for the change?

2) Notify Dayton area Time Warner Tivo owners

3) Annouce I have just a little less disdain for TW than I harbored prior to Monday.

22 Unique HD Channels I receive with combination of OTA + TW and the ability to DVR.
(does not include: 3 duplicate PBS HD Channels, Duplicate CBS, ABC, Fox). 64.1 gets me non-national UK basketball games :-)

OTA-HD:
NBC (2.1)
CBS (7.1)
PBS (16.6)
ABC (22.1)
CW (26.1)
Fox (45.1)
WSTR (64.1)

Time Warner-HD
CBS (707)
PBS (714)
PBS (716)
ABC (722)
Fox (745)
CET (748)
A&E (750)
History (751)
TBS (752)
Food (753)
HGTV (754)
Discovery (755)
TNT (756)
NG (757)
MOJO (760)
Universal (761)
HDNET (762)
HDNET Movies (763)
ESPN2 (764)
ESPN (765)
Fox Sports Ohio (768)

[BruceShultes]

I have both a Series3 Tivo and a Tivo HD that I use to receive OTA broadcasts and Dayton Time Warner Cable. Until today, I had cable cards installed only in the Series3. When ESPN2HD and the lineup change rolled out last year, I lost TNTHD, DiscoveryHD and have never been able to receive ESPN2HD nor any of the latest HD channels from TW (History, A&E, TBSHD, etc.). Apparently this was due to the switched-digital video protocols TW is using and its incompatibility with one-way cable cards. Although, I have continued to be able to receive all of the SD digital channels, ESPNHD, HDNET, HDNET Movies, Mojo, Universal HD.

Monday, I finally capitulated and decided to get a non-DVR HD Time Warner box to plug-in to a separate input on my receiver solely to watch Reds games on the new Fox Sports HD channel. I rationalized $7/month for Reds in HD plus I would get TNTHD and TBSHD to watch NBA games in HD would be worth it.

I brought the box home from the new Time Warner store at the Dayton Mall. Initially, I plugged the coax from the wall into the TW box 'IN' and a coax from the 'OUT' to the Tivo in. I thought that might work but it did not. So then, I put a splitter in-line to each box. Had the TW box up and running, went back to the Tivo box to make sure it got its signal back and out of pure serendipity, I just tried 768 on the Tivo and EUREKA! It tuned it in. Tried ESPN2HD, HistoryHD, TNTHD, TBSHD, all of the TW HD lineup, tuned in whereas in the past it had not. These supposed SDV deployed channels were now being received. I thought maybe it was the new box that might be the reason, so I unplugged it. Channels still worked. Took the splitter out and took the wall coax straight to the Tivo. Channels still worked.

Called TW and tried to get an explanation for my good fortune and of course, no ideawhat I'm talking about. Emailed a contact at TW and he is checking with the
engineers but haven't heard back yet.

Scheduled cable card install on the TivoHD that until now I had just been running with OTA and analog TW and after I did the install myself I now proudly receive all of TW's HD lineup on both my Tivo boxes. technician (non-TW, indy contractory) greeted me with "I've never installed these before".

My other theory is that HD box that I did not have until Monday, when it was added to my account, "authorized" something and allowed these channels to tune in but that really makes no sense either. It could have been pure coincidence about the box as I have not tried to tune those channels in months. They would just tune a SD Preview channel and not the actual channel.

The TW SDV channels I should not be able to receive (unless they have quietly abandoned SDV) but I do, not that I'm complaining, I just want to understand what changed. Why would they move ALL of their HD channels off of SDV?


This makes no sense to me either.

If it was just one channel, I would think it was because you already had it tuned on the TW box, it then became available on your local branch of the TW cable.

Since you can now receive them all on the Tivo boxes, the only other possible expanations I can think of are either there are now enough HD customers in your area, that TW made them available all the time and moved some SD ones back to SDV instead, or they were having problems with SDV and turned it off while trying to figure out the problem.

I would ask other Tivo owners in your area whether it now works for them as well, but first I would check whether you can still receive them now. As I understand SDV, channels are available on your local branch if requested by any customer on that branch until no one is requesting it and a different one is requested that needs room on your local branch.

I could easily be wrong, but I will post a link to this message on my local thread and see whether it makes sense to some local people who know a lot more about SDV than I do.

[bobrt6676]

Forgive the long post and if this has been reported previously.

I have both a Series3 Tivo and a Tivo HD that I use to receive OTA broadcasts and Dayton Time Warner Cable. Until today, I had cable cards installed only in the Series3. When ESPN2HD and the lineup change rolled out last year, I lost TNTHD, DiscoveryHD and have never been able to receive ESPN2HD nor any of the latest HD channels from TW (History, A&E, TBSHD, etc.). Apparently this was due to the switched-digital video protocols TW is using and its incompatibility with one-way cable cards. Although, I have continued to be able to receive all of the SD digital channels, ESPNHD, HDNET, HDNET Movies, Mojo, Universal HD.

Monday, I finally capitulated and decided to get a non-DVR HD Time Warner box to plug-in to a separate input on my receiver solely to watch Reds games on the new Fox Sports HD channel. I rationalized $7/month for Reds in HD plus I would get TNTHD and TBSHD to watch NBA games in HD would be worth it.

I brought the box home from the new Time Warner store at the Dayton Mall. Initially, I plugged the coax from the wall into the TW box 'IN' and a coax from the 'OUT' to the Tivo in. I thought that might work but it did not. So then, I put a splitter in-line to each box. Had the TW box up and running, went back to the Tivo box to make sure it got its signal back and out of pure serendipity, I just tried 768 on the Tivo and EUREKA! It tuned it in. Tried ESPN2HD, HistoryHD, TNTHD, TBSHD, all of the TW HD lineup, tuned in whereas in the past it had not. These supposed SDV deployed channels were now being received. I thought maybe it was the new box that might be the reason, so I unplugged it. Channels still worked. Took the splitter out and took the wall coax straight to the Tivo. Channels still worked.

Called TW and tried to get an explanation for my good fortune and of course, no ideawhat I'm talking about. Emailed a contact at TW and he is checking with the
engineers but haven't heard back yet.

Scheduled cable card install on the TivoHD that until now I had just been running with OTA and analog TW and after I did the install myself I now proudly receive all of TW's HD lineup on both my Tivo boxes. technician (non-TW, indy contractory) greeted me with "I've never installed these before".

My other theory is that HD box that I did not have until Monday, when it was added to my account, "authorized" something and allowed these channels to tune in but that really makes no sense either. It could have been pure coincidence about the box as I have not tried to tune those channels in months. They would just tune a SD Preview channel and not the actual channel.

The TW SDV channels I should not be able to receive (unless they have quietly abandoned SDV) but I do, not that I'm complaining, I just want to understand what changed. Why would they move ALL of their HD channels off of SDV?

The supposed mythical Tuning Resolver that will allow 2-way functionality in these original 1-way cable card hardware coming out sometime this year after the cable companies and 3rd party manufacturers like Tivo came to an agreement, but I have not been holding my breath.

So my point for this long-winded post is:

1) Any explanation for the change?

2) Notify Dayton area Time Warner Tivo owners

3) Annouce I have just a little less disdain for TW than I harbored prior to Monday.

22 Unique HD Channels I receive with combination of OTA + TW and the ability to DVR.
(does not include: 3 duplicate PBS HD Channels, Duplicate CBS, ABC, Fox). 64.1 gets me non-national UK basketball games :-)

OTA-HD:
NBC (2.1)
CBS (7.1)
PBS (16.6)
ABC (22.1)
CW (26.1)
Fox (45.1)
WSTR (64.1)

Time Warner-HD
CBS (707)
PBS (714)
PBS (716)
ABC (722)
Fox (745)
CET (748)
A&E (750)
History (751)
TBS (752)
Food (753)
HGTV (754)
Discovery (755)
TNT (756)
NG (757)
MOJO (760)
Universal (761)
HDNET (762)
HDNET Movies (763)
ESPN2 (764)
ESPN (765)
Fox Sports Ohio (768)

I have TW Dayton. I have had TivoHD since January. 2 S-cards installed. I have been able to get all the TW HD channels since install in early January.
Sounds like someone just did not authorize or add HD to your account correctly. You did not say if you called and complained to TW about the lost channels after the lineup change and if so their explanation.
I do have have a problem with 760-763 occaisionally. Usually HDNET will be black several times a week. HDNET friday night fights tends to be the biggest culprit but not all of the time.
And 768 FoxSports HD is a joke. HD PROMO screen is on 95% of the time. Only get 1 0r 2 games a week. Either Reds or Cavaliers.

[m_jonis]

In TW Albany, all HD channels except the local stations and TNT HD and Discovery HD have been moved to SDV.

Unfortunately in Albany, NY, even if you did get a TW cable box and tuned to an SDV channel, the TivoHD with M-card still cannot get the SDV channel. Apparently the cable card "knows" it's not authorized (or cannot receive) the SDV station. We've tried the supposed workaround (ie, if TW really sends the entire channel to the local node because it was requested, then in theory it should be available). However, there appears to be something they can also send to the cable card so that even in that case, the SDV station cannot be tuned.

Perhaps in your area, TW is not doing that.

We're on a Scientific Atlanta system, BTW.

[gkrodg00]

I have TW Dayton. I have had TivoHD since January. 2 S-cards installed. I have been able to get all the TW HD channels since install in early January.
Sounds like someone just did not authorize or add HD to your account correctly. You did not say if you called and complained to TW about the lost channels after the lineup change and if so their explanation.
I do have have a problem with 760-763 occaisionally. Usually HDNET will be black several times a week. HDNET friday night fights tends to be the biggest culprit but not all of the time.
And 768 FoxSports HD is a joke. HD PROMO screen is on 95% of the time. Only get 1 0r 2 games a week. Either Reds or Cavaliers.
Thanks, that is nice to know that others in my area are receiving these and its not just a fluke. Yes, the Fox Sports is a joke but at least Reds games are tolerable to watch now (the picture quality, not the skill).

Yes, I did call and complain and almost canceled back in November when I found out about the entire SDV deal. They gave me a deal for the Turbo Road Runner that I was getting plus my cable package for $70 for 3 months until the SDV situation sorted it out. However, it is not an authorization issue. I have always been able to receive the channels on the HD Tier, but the new channels as they rolled them out starting with ESPN2HD, I would just get a Preview channel and not the actual channel. I have not called to complain since, I just went and picked up the box last Monday. I am pretty sure I have tried some of those channels since January though, so maybe it was just the act of adding the HD TW box to my account. Now I am really reluctant to return it. I would rather pay $7/month for it and have it sit in the closet, unused than to lose all my HD channels to my 2 Tivo boxes.

Thanks for the information.

[JimWall]

The issues in Dayton are similiar to what happened in Cincinnati area months ago. Either channels were changed from sdv or there were problems with correctly setting up the new channels on the cable cards.
In Cincinnati area I now get all the HD channels on TIVO S3.
My only problems are some channels don't descrypt like the SCI/FI channel. This has happened several times on Friday nights so nothing gets recorded. Rebooting the TIVO solves the problem.
I think updates are sent out to the cable cards but because TIVO is not 2 way it can't respond to the update and can't do something necessary like reset the card without being manually rebooted. Plus TWC doesn't get a response back to indicate if the update succeeded or failed.
So I am rebooting my tivos once a week.
Maybe the tuning resolver can address this.

[lafos]

I'm in Troy, on TWC Dayton, and according to TW, there are no SDV channels in this area. I'm receiving all the channels listed several posts back, in the HD Basic and Standard tiers. I didn't sign up for the HD tier. Just moved a few months ago.

I asked about SDV here, and was told it wouldn't happen before 2009.

[pmnick]

Hoping someone here can help me with a problem that’s been driving me nuts for the past couple of weeks.

I’m using a Humax DRT800 with a Scientific Atlantic HD cablebox and Time Warner Cable in Columbus, Ohio. About 3 weeks ago, coinciding with TW’s software "update," I’ve developed repeatable problems with the IR blasters not being able to change channels properly. One example I was able to observe was that while the cable box was on channel 44 (FoodNetwork), it went to change to channel 240 (Tudors). The blasters tried to change the channel, but apparently could not (I saw ??? appear in the channel guide data, then the box just stayed on 44). Although Now Playing indicated that 240 was being recorded, the box was still on 44.

I went to TiVo Central and stopped the recording. As soon as I stopped the recording, the cable box changed to channel 240.

Tonight, the box tried to change to Channel 10 (Survivor) but instead switched the box to 101 and recorded that channel instead. The program info said it recorded Survivor. My wife is not pleased that we missed the Survivor season finale.... We also had set it to record the reunion show afterward -- the TiVo tried to change from the current channel (101) to 10, but again I saw the ??? appear and it stayed on channel 101.

I’ve never had a problem changing channels with the remote -- it’s only a problem when the Tivo tries to change them.

Any suggestions? My current IR code is 00018-B, not sure if changing codes might fix the problem. I tried a slower code (00018-C) but the problem persists. Is there a list somewhere of other codes that ight work for this cable box?

I checked with TW tech support and, of course, they said their equipment is fine, the problem must be with the Humax. Tried a hard reboot of both the cable box and the Humax, no fix. When I go through channel changing set-up, everything works fine.

[halapeno]

I bought a new HD TV and figured I would switch from Directv because Comcast does not require a 2 year contract to upgrade to HD.

After playing with the Comcast DVR for an hour or so, I couldn't believe how superior the DirecTV and the Dishnetwork DVR's are compared to Comcast. The Comcast DVR didn't even have the same functionality as their basic cable box ... in particular, no way to view a "favorites" list. That means I would have to surf through 400+ channels on the guide just to view the 50 or channels that I actually watch. And if you want to search for your favorite program ... forget it, there is no search function. And even worse, there was no commercial skip button. Also, there were less than a dozen HD channels available that I would actually watch on their channel lineup.

Well, the Comcast cable TV lasted less than 24 hours in my house before I pulled out all the cable boxes and DVR and rewired the house for Directv. With such antiquated software, I cannot understand how they can even compete with the satellite services.

[usnret]

For what it's worth. We have a TivoHD with an M card that I picked up and installed. We will be moving from ND to near Bowling Green, Ohio in July. I contacted the local Time Warner service in Bowling Green and ask about what services they provide in that area, if they would provide me with an M card for my Tivo and what the cost would be. Here is the (what I think) funny part of their reply:

"The monthly charge for the M type cable
card would be $2.50 with a one time charge of $19.50 to install it. This
card would restrict you from receiving any of our interactive programming
such as our On Demand channels. As a bit of a warning, we do not support
the Tivo M type card, which means it will probably work but if it doesn't
you would need to contact the manufacturer of your cable card device to
fix the problem. Thank you for your interest."

"A bit of a warning" struck me funny.
Regards

[m_jonis]

I like how they think there's a "Tivo M type card". I didn't know Tivo made cable cards (LOL)

[usnret]

Yea, maybe Tivo should get in the card business and make a T card. LOL

[lafos]

I bet they would if they could. It would probably let them overcome a lot of card-related issues.

[htroberts]

I was just wondering if we can use the FCC rules to push TWC.

Even if there's no existing rule regarding SDV and consumer-owned equipment, the clear intent is that cable system operators provide content using technology that is available to consumers. There's a web page here:

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/plugandplaytv.html

that describes the intent, that you be able to receive paid-for content without *also* needing to pay for or use a set-top box.

The web site includes phone numbers. I would suggest that if an operator's adoption of SDV (or any other technology) without regard for how consumers might benefit from or be affected by that technology, you complain. I know that generally government responds to the volume of consumer/voter contact.

[skylab]

For those of you in Dayton/Cincinnati,

Time Warner is not using sdv yet in either Dayton or Cincinnati. Last year, when TWC started adding new HD channels, it blocked cablecard users from accessing the new channels. Time Warner did so because it expected to eventually move these HD channels to sdv, and it did not want to deal with the cablecard users whose access would be cut off at that time.

Anyway, I complained to the FCC last fall about this issue. As suggested above, I argued that blocking cablecard access to certain one-way (aka "linear") programming channels was a violation of the integration ban. Apparently, the FCC has agreed with my interpretation or TWC decided to give in rather risk an unfavorable ruling that could put the use sdv in jeopardy around the country. In fact, in TWC's annual statement released recently esentially stated as a "risK" that regulators could restrict the use of SDV.

If no one complains, then TWC does what it wants. You are paying for these channels. The integration ban was designed to prevent cable companies from forcing you to rent its box. Excluding cablecard users from channels that *might* eventually go to sdv, and even sdv itself, violates the ban because it now forces consumers to once again rent a cable box in order to receive linear programming. Good luck.

[cjhrph]

I complained, but haven't gotten a response. It's getting pretty bad here in Central New York. Here's the current list of channels I cannot receive with the CableCard.

100 Movies On Demand
101 Free Movies On Demand
104 Fox Business Network
108 ESPNU
163 ReelzChannel
165 TBS On Demand
166 TNT On Demand
168 Kids On Demand
170 Disney Channel On Demand
171 The Disney Channel - West
183 ontv4u
185 America's Auction Network
187 GemsTV
201 Encore West
238 Fox Sports Español
244 NHL Network
299 HBO On Demand
301 HBO West
303 HBO 2 West
305 HBO Signature West
307 HBO Family West
309 HBO Comedy West
311 HBO Zone West
313 HBO Latino West
319 Cinemax On Demand
321 Cinemax West
323 More Max West
325 ThrillerMAX West
327 ActionMAX - West
339 Showtime On Demand
349 TMC On Demand
350 The Movie Channel East
351 TMC Xtra East
361 Starz - West
363 Starz Edge - West
365 Starz Kids and Family - West
367 Starz Cinema - West
369 Starz inBlack - West
397 TV Guide On Demand
398 Movies on Demand HD
399 Movies On Demand
401 Events iN DEMAND
402 Events iN DEMAND 2
403 Events On Demand
404 - 413 Movies On Demand By Title
488 Outrageous On Demand
489 Howard TV On Demand
490 Adult On Demand
491 Playboy Television - Adult
492 Spice: XCESS
493 TEN Blox
494 Penthouse TV
495 TEN Clips
496 TEN Blue
497 Club Jenna
500 Movies On Demand
501 Free Movies On Demand
502 International Movies on Demand
503 On Demand en Espanol
504 Movies On Demand Kids and Teens
505 Movies On Demand Classics
506 Movies On Demand Thriller
525 HBO On Demand
526 Cinemax On Demand
527 Showtime On Demand
528 TMC On Demand
529 Howard TV On Demand
550 Lifestyle on Demand
551 Entertainment On Demand
552 Music On Demand
553 A&E On Demand
555 BBC America On Demand
557 CNN Showcase On Demand
559 Golf On Demand
560 Your Neighborhood Expert
562 truTV OD
564 Oxygen On Demand
565 PBS Kids On Demand
566 Kids On Demand Preschool
567 National Geographic On Demand
568 Speed On Demand
571 TBS On Demand
572 TNT On Demand
574 Exercise TV On Demand
575 Sportskool On Demand
576 Cutting Edge On Demand
577 TWC Sports On Demand
578 Music Choice On Demand: Pop & Rock
579 Music Choice On Demand: Urban & Latin
600 Cine Latino
602 Sorpresa
604 CNN Español
606 Fox Sports Español
608 Discovery en Español
612 MTV TR3S
614 Mun2
618 Video Rola
620 La Familia Cosmovision
622 Galavision
624 Telefutura
628 ESPN Deportes
653 TV 5 INTERNATIONAL - France
656 Russian TV
659 Radio Administration Italiano
663 Zee TV Programming
665 CCTV-4 China TV
672 Saigon Broadcasting Network
675 Arabic Radio Television
799 HD Showcase
802 Movies on Demand HD
804 NHL HD
807 Versus/Golf Channel HD
811 ESPN2 High Definition
817 A&E High Definition
818 The History Channel HD
819 Discovery Channel HD
822 TBS in HD
824 CNN HD
825 TLC HD
826 HGTV HD
827 Food Network HD
831 Animal Planet HD
832 Science Channel HD
839 LMNHD
999 Answers On Demand
1010 News 10 Now On Demand
1015 Sports On Demand
1024 News 10 Now SkyTracker Radar 24/7
1099 NBA League Pass Preview Channel
1100 NBA League Pass HD
1101 NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick (01)
1102 NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick (02)
1103 NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick (03)
1104 NBA League Pass
1105 NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick (05)
1106 - 1107 NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick
1108 NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick (08)
1109 NBA League Pass/MLS Direct Kick (09)
1110 NBA League Pass
1120 GAME HD
1121 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (1)
1122 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (2)
1123 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (3)
1124 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (4)
1125 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (5)
1126 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (6)
1127 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (7)
1128 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (8)
1129 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings (9)
1130 - 1134 NHL Center Ice - MLB Extra Innings
1141 - 1146 ESPN Full Court/ESPN Game Plan
1276 Automotive On Demand
1279 Elections '08 On Demand
1280 Movie Trailers On Demand
1282 Journey TV On Demand
1285 Expo TV On Demand
1300 HD PPV Events
1301 Events iN DEMAND
1302 Events iN DEMAND 2
1303 Events On Demand
1310 Outrageous On Demand
1311 Howard TV On Demand
1312 Adult On Demand
1314 Playboy
1315 Spice: XCESS
1316 Club Jenna
1317 Penthouse TV
1318 TEN Clips
1319 TEN Blox
1320 TEN Blue
1750 Movies On Demand
1850 Answers On Demand

[Fofer]

Wow. That's quite a list. I'd cancel service if that were me.

Or give up and switch DVR's. :(


Say... when is TiVo's CableCard dongle coming out? Sheesh.

[cjhrph]

Wow. That's quite a list. I'd cancel service if that were me.


I know. I could care less about the on-demand crap, but cutting me off the HD channels and all the West feeds of HBO,Cinemax,Starz, etc. really pisses me off.

[lafos]

That is quite a list. TWC Dayton, OH, has a lot of on demand channels (40+), which I can't get since the TiVo is one-way. I did get Showtime as part of a special deal, and all the feeds come through fine.

[scurby2]

Hi, i just got a Tivo HD box with a lifetime. I get standard TW cable (not digital). I was renting a cable box from TW to receive the HD channels. Now that i have a HD tivo I am still only getting just the standard HD channels and made an appointment for TW to install the cable cards. Is it the cable cards the provide the HD channels?

[WoodySmith]

scurby2,

You must have digital service to receive HD programming. The CableCards replace the set-top box that would normally be required for this. You are correct; right now, your Tivo can only see those standard def, non-digital channels. When your CableCards are installed they will be 'authorized' for the programming package that you are paying for. But as you can see from the postings here, you may not, in fact, probably won't, receive all of the channels that should be available to you because Time Warner transmits many HD channels using Switched Digital Video technology which a CableCard cannot understand. Here in southern Maine, I'm only getting about 35% - 40% of what I'm paying for.

[lafos]

That depends on where you are. In the Dayton, Ohio area, SDV is not in use, so I get all the digital channels I paid for on the TiVo.

scurby2, you should ask how many channels use SDV in your area, so you know what you will get when the cards are installed.

[scurby2]

ok thanks for the responses. I live in Southern California, Orange County time warner area..........The main thing i was concerned about was that I could keep the standard cable and not have to upgrade to digital cable package. I just wanna keep the standard cable channels and use the box/cable cards for the HD channels........Hopefully i will get a majority of the HD channels in my area. I will call time warner tonight to find out or just wait for the tech tomorrow morning............

[lafos]

Let me know what you find out. We got a package when we moved that included the basic analog and digital channels. We did not opt for the HD tier, as most of the HD channels are in the basic tier. Only HDNet and a couple others are extra cost. We get about 20 HD channels.

[afs12065]

I live in the Albany, NY area (Northeast Region for TWC) - TWC is moving to switched digital video (SDV) in our area for digital and HD content. I recently purchased a S3 HD DVR from TiVo after becoming increasingly frustrated with the SA 8300 series DVR - but still had some concerns about whether or not I would be able to view SDV channels - and how long it would before that happened.

So I submitted a request for information via the local TW website, received the standard reply from a CSR that their CableCARD support is UDCP (one way) and that they had no further information on the tuning adapter/resolver (complete with a copy/paste from the website with this information - that I had already read). I then requested that they escalate my question to someone who would have more information/detail and much to my surprise they agreed to do so and three days later I received a call from someone in NC who provided their direct phone number for a conversation on the topic. After a couple of days of phone tag I spoke directly to this person tonight and this was what they told me :

1) TWC is preparing to deploy a tuning adapter/resolver for UDCP CableCARD devices nationally that would enable full support on TiVo (and other UDCP devices) for SDV content. PPV and VOD support may not be there initially. The technical person even sympathized with the fact that SDV is "unfair" to people who don't have their SA set top box. Interesting. They went on to say that the device has been in testing with CableLABS and certification is expected shortly. Information available on the Internet RE: Interop testing of these devices seems to support that.

2) TWC is maintaining a list of beta testers for the device that they plan to test this with as soon as it is available (imminently) and installation documentation is available. It sounded like it was planned to be a self-install - at least for beta testers. I asked to be added to the beta test list and we'll see if anything comes of that.

3) In addition to the list of beta testers, the person I spoke with is personally maintaining a list of people within their team who have "inquired" about the tuning adapter and is planning to notify them when it becomes available nationally to give them the opportunity to obtain one quickly. I'm not sure how you get added to this list if you're not one of the "lucky" ones to get past the first couple levels of support with this type of request - or if your CSR simply doesn't know who to forward the question to - but I hope that gets better as information gets sent down to the local branches of TWC.

4) The technical rep did state that the number of CableCARD/TiVo customers on the TWC network vs. the customers that have the standard issue SA set top box was much smaller and that deployment of the tuning adapter may be handled from a central location on a region by region basis vs. locally as a result but that those details were still being discussed. I would expect that installation would be no more difficult than installing a converter/set top box so a do-it-yourself install may not be out of the question.

5) Cost/pricing/lease fees for the device are TBD since they will typically be deployed optionally with CableCARDs and not as "required" devices.

So, all-in-all the conversation was very positive, friendly and customer focussed - and contained a lot more seemingly accurate information than anyone I know has been able to get out of the local TWC support organization. I hope that the details prove to be true - it would restore some of my faith in TWC customer service.

There has been recent press on the Internet about the Motorola MTR700 and the Cisco/SA STA-1520 as the 2008 Cable Show is currently underway in New Orleans:
http://gizmodo.com/391871/tivo-switched-video-tuning-adapters-appear-at-cablelabs

I would hope that we would see some movement toward deployment after the industry trade show but how quickly that happens remains to be seen.

I did agree not to publish the technical person's name, contact info, etc. on the Internet as the flood of phone calls that would ensue would be unwieldy but I will post updates as I find them to the board... I was encouraged to call directly for updates periodically as I wanted to - which was refreshing. We can only hope that all of the TWC CSRs are being encouraged to "get answers" to difficult customer questions and to route them appropriately instead of insisting on the brush-off but in reading the board it doesn't seem that is the case - yet - based on what other members have shared as far as their experiences go. *sigh*

Anyway, hope this helps!

[afs12065]

I live in the Albany, NY area (Northeast Region for TWC) - TWC is moving to switched digital video (SDV) in our area for digital and HD content. I recently purchased a S3 HD DVR from TiVo after becoming increasingly frustrated with the SA 8300 series DVR - but still had some concerns about whether or not I would be able to view SDV channels - and how long it would before that happened.

So I submitted a request for information via the local TW website, received the standard reply from a CSR that their CableCARD support is UDCP (one way) and that they had no further information on the tuning adapter/resolver (complete with a copy/paste from the website with this information - that I had already read). I then requested that they escalate my question to someone who would have more information/detail and much to my surprise they agreed to do so and three days later I received a call from someone in NC who provided their direct phone number for a conversation on the topic. After a couple of days of phone tag I spoke directly to this person tonight and this was what they told me :

1) TWC is preparing to deploy a tuning adapter/resolver for UDCP CableCARD devices nationally that would enable full support on TiVo (and other UDCP devices) for SDV content. PPV and VOD support may not be there initially. The technical person even sympathized with the fact that SDV is "unfair" to people who don't have their SA set top box. Interesting. They went on to say that the device has been in testing with CableLABS and certification is expected shortly. Information available on the Internet RE: Interop testing of these devices seems to support that.

2) TWC is maintaining a list of beta testers for the device that they plan to test this with as soon as it is available (imminently) and installation documentation is available. It sounded like it was planned to be a self-install - at least for beta testers. I asked to be added to the beta test list and we'll see if anything comes of that.

3) In addition to the list of beta testers, the person I spoke with is personally maintaining a list of people within their team who have "inquired" about the tuning adapter and is planning to notify them when it becomes available nationally to give them the opportunity to obtain one quickly. I'm not sure how you get added to this list if you're not one of the "lucky" ones to get past the first couple levels of support with this type of request - or if your CSR simply doesn't know who to forward the question to - but I hope that gets better as information gets sent down to the local branches of TWC.

4) The technical rep did state that the number of CableCARD/TiVo customers on the TWC network vs. the customers that have the standard issue SA set top box was much smaller and that deployment of the tuning adapter may be handled from a central location on a region by region basis vs. locally as a result but that those details were still being discussed. I would expect that installation would be no more difficult than installing a converter/set top box so a do-it-yourself install may not be out of the question.

5) Cost/pricing/lease fees for the device are TBD since they will typically be deployed optionally with CableCARDs and not as "required" devices.

So, all-in-all the conversation was very positive, friendly and customer focussed - and contained a lot more seemingly accurate information than anyone I know has been able to get out of the local TWC support organization. I hope that the details prove to be true - it would restore some of my faith in TWC customer service.

There has been recent press on the Internet about the Motorola MTR700 and the Cisco/SA STA-1520 as the 2008 Cable Show is currently underway in New Orleans:
http://gizmodo.com/391871/tivo-switched-video-tuning-adapters-appear-at-cablelabs

I would hope that we would see some movement toward deployment after the industry trade show but how quickly that happens remains to be seen.

I did agree not to publish the technical person's name, contact info, etc. on the Internet as the flood of phone calls that would ensue would be unwieldy but I will post updates as I get them to the board... I was encouraged to call directly for updates periodically as I wanted to - which was refreshing. We can only hope that all of the TWC CSRs are being encouraged to "get answers" to difficult customer questions and to route them appropriately instead of insisting on the brush-off but in reading the board it doesn't seem that is the case - yet - based on what other members have shared as far as their experiences go. *sigh*

Anyway, hope this helps!

[Swervo]

Will be reading through most of the thread, but thought I'd post and see if anyone else has any ideas:

Had Time Warner out this morning to install cards, turns out they brought MCards and had one installed on my new Tivo HD. It's been plugged in and on the network since Friday, and is running version 9.3 of the Tivo software.

The installers claimed that things weren't quite working because I was on a very old version of the Tivo software, and I can't confirm what version of the software was running when they were here. However, it is at 9.3 now, which they claimed would fix the issue. All I get now is the "Acquiring Channel Info" screen and the spinning beach ball...sometimes it fails after a while, sometimes it just spins forever. I've tried rebooting, etc etc, no dice.

I spent about 45 minutes on the phone with TW tech support but never made it anywhere (to my rep's credit, she didn't know much at all about CableCARD support but she also freely admitted that and took down notes as I talked to her). Unfortunately, when she put me back into the queue to hopefully talk to someone else more knowledgeable, the system told me my call could not be completed and hung up on me. Whee!

I've done some research on here, so here's what I see as the pertinent details from the Tivo itself. It tells me the card state is "Wait to Start". I do have something under "Val ?", it's showing "0x01". The messages under the Network Status screen go up each time I look at that screen, so the OOB messages appear to be going across. Oh, and it's a Motorola card.

I'll try calling Tivo's CableCARD hotline, and also try TW's tech support again later when the queue isn't so full, but I wanted to see if there's anything specific I need to ask them to do. They have another truck roll scheduled for Thursday, and thankfully my work is very flexible with hours/working from home. Still, I'm not happy about having to stay home again. As a side note, I don't know a huge amount of Spanish, but I know enough to know the two techs at my house were busy discussing where they were going for lunch and how much they wanted to just be done with the job so they could go eat...they didn't offer to stick around until the channel test worked.

[scurby2]

just an update.

The time warner tech came out to the house yesterday, i live in Orange county, CA....He had to try 3 different m-cards on my HD Tivo box, but finally got it to work.....I get all the HD channels i was getting before with the TW cable box, i even get several more channels on the digital cable side that i wasnt getting before with the standard cable package. I asked the tech about SDV and to his knowledge they are not going to use SDV in this area. Also they only charge me $1.75 a month for the M cable card, and i pay $5 extra for all the HD channels, much better than renting their crappy hd dvr box alone for $15.....

[abredt]

just an update.

The time warner tech came out to the house yesterday, i live in Orange county, CA....I asked the tech about SDV and to his knowledge they are not going to use SDV in this area.

Here is an email that I got from TiVo regarding SDV. I live in the San Fernando Valley - north of L.A.

Dear Valued Customer,

Your friends at TiVo want to inform you about some changes in digital cable that could affect your TV viewing experience. Some cable operators are in the process of introducing a technology called Switched Digital Video (SDV). You may be made aware of this technology in the context of your provider informing you about the migration of certain lesser viewed existing channels or the introduction of new channels using SDV.

Unfortunately, today's CableCARD devices including the TiVo HD and Series3 DVRs do not currently support SDV, but the good news is that TiVo is working with cable operators to develop the Tuning Adapter, a solution that is currently being tested by your cable provider and will be available in the near term.

The Tuning Adapter will enable you to access the full spectrum of HD channels that the cable provider offers and should be made available by your local cable provider later this year. Although the majority of cable customers currently are not affected by switched digital services, we will continue to work with the cable industry to try to minimize the impact to subscribers that are inconvenienced.

We will keep you posted on developments as they occur and we greatly appreciate your patience during this transition.

Sincerely,
The TiVo Product Development Team

Regards, C.

[Effinay]

abredt - I got that email, too (I live in the Dayton, Ohio area). I'm asuming that cableLabs, TiVo, and Cable companies are getting very close to releasing the tuner adapter. It doesn't affect me yet since TW in my area has only started using SDV for the spanish channels (duh, it's the U.S... I speak English) but it would be good to know that the adapter is ready once TW decides to make the switch.

Swervo - I was getting that message after my first CableCard installation. TW techs never initialized the card properly. Something about re-sending the EMMs. Basically, you need a tech that knows what he's/she's doing. Unfortunately it may take 2 or 3 truck rolls before they actually send someone taht know's what they're talking about. After I got someone who knew what they were doing, we had the mcard working in my TiVoHD within the hour.

[Firekite]

The thing that really discourages me about all of this is that it looks like Motorola and Cisco have put out demo units that are full-fledged pieces of equipment. Motorola's is about the size of a cablemodem while Cisco's is like a whole other DVD-player size piece of home theater equipment, thin but wide and deep. I thought we were looking at a small USB dongle, something cheap and effective. If it's a whole new piece of equipment, are they going to charge us $10 or $15 a month for it, even though without it we can't receive the programming we pay for?

[cjhrph]

If it's a whole new piece of equipment, are they going to charge us $10 or $15 a month for it, even though without it we can't receive the programming we pay for?

You can make book on that. It's virtually guaranteed. Hell, they're (TimeWarner) charging me 73 cents per month just for the damned remote rental on the HD box.

You'll have the HD Tivo Charge, the CableCard charge, the tuning resolver charge, and a real sore ass..:D

[Swervo]

Well, I've now had the cable company out again and tried multiple cable cards in the Tivo HD with no luck. The last guy who came out claims the signal is nice and strong, and with all the cards he tried, both he and the dispatch support people he talked to seem to think the cablecard is working just fine, and they seem to think there's a problem with the Tivo. It just never gets past the "Please Wait...Acquiring Channel Information" screen.

Guess it's time to call up Tivo and see what they think about this.

[59er]

I had a great experience with Time Warner on Friday. I went in to swap my old TiFaux DVR box (the 8300) for a new non-dvr HD box. (Side note: They said I had to have a box to keep triple play pricing. It's cheaper for me to have the box, and it allows me access to VOD, so it's fine with me to have the option.)

While I was there, I asked if there was anything they could do to lower my rate, and they agreed to give me $40 off the package per month -- basically a starter rate with a full package. I was a little worried it would screw up my channels, and that I would actually end up with only the starter channels, so when I got home that night I checked my TiVo to see if channels were coming in and if recordings had worked. Of course there were several channels missing, and a couple recordings that had failed as a result. The new box was also having some limited loss of a channel or two, but it wasn't missing all the channels that the cable card was without.

But then I called Tech Support, where I reached a truly terrific rep in Canada. He put me on hold and sent re-authorization to the cable card, which immediately restored all of my channels on the TiVo. It took a little more work to fix the Food Network on the cable box -- apparently channel 50 is the buggiest channel in new cable boxes from the retail TWC location -- but he got it fixed and confirmed that I am paying the lower price for all the same things I had before.

Yay, TWC!

PS: And the best news of all was that the shows that failed to tape were all cable shows that re-aired later that night or the next morning, so I didn't miss anything.

[edclgr1]

I had a great experience about six weeks ago with Time Warner Cable Austin. I added an HD unit to join my S2/DT and called their corporate office about adding two cablecards for it. They were concerned about the SDV issue and brought it up a couple of times, making sure I understood I would be missing some stations. I reassured them that I was keeping my SetTopBox so I could keep those stations, and this ended that part of the conversation.

The technician who arrived was a Time Warner employee, not a contractor. I was concerned when he arrived with just one (1) M-stream card but he told me not to worry, he hadn't had an M card fail in some time. He had done a number of TiVo units, had a good idea about how much time it would take to "hit" each card, and how much time TiVo would take during the process.

Less than 30 minutes later (and much of that was waiting on TiVo), the card was ready and viewing all non-SDV channels. Other than having to "hit" the card two times, there wasn't a single problem and it was great having someone experienced there to make it happen.

SDV seems to be consuming Time Warner Austin HD stations but there are enough out there to make it a real joy. When/if I can get a Tuning Adapter, the STB and S2/DT goes into the spare bedroom, and I will need another 4 hours in every day to spend in front of the HD unit. :)

-Ed