Official Time Warner Cable Thread

[TracerBullet]

That makes absolutely no sense. TiVo gives you guide data based on the channel lineup you specify during guided setup. How you receive those channels has no effect.

[jbaum]

Jbaum, I dont know if you can request a specific agent on the phone, but the one that helped me was extension 1170 .. I called around 8pm on a weekday to the Manhattan phone number. However, considering you have a NEW box, it means a new install unfortunately. So I am guessing they will come out to you anyways. However, REMEMBER ... if the install goes well, check your cable lineup for BOTH cards (pressing the watch live tv button repeatedly switches between cable cards). run thro channels for both cards. Thats the mistake I made, checked only one which is why i had to call back to activate the other.

I did a conference call with Tivo and TWCNYC, they insisted that they have send a technican out and I should never have pulled out the old cards. Only a trained technican should touch the cards. The Tivo guy tried saying all they had to do was put the new host ID's in, but it didn't make a difference.

When the technican arrived, he had NEVER been trained for cable cards, and the ticket never indicated it was a cable card install. Luckily, all I needed was the "secret" number to call to put in the host ID. So, I did it, gave him the host ID and the card numbers and they paired them. An incredibly waste of my time, their time, and a worthless three days of down time waiting for the appointment.

[Chip Z]

I have Time Warner in Cleveland, Ohio. Bought my HD Tivo at Circuity City and the time warner technician came today.

He kept trying to convince me not to have the cable cards installed. They don't work well and cause problems.

After the "sell job" from the tech, he then proceed to install the cable card. However, one of the cards he had was "a year old, and needed firmware upgrade". The second card was not working at all.

He is supposed me to call me tommorow to come back . Getting this cable card installed by Time Warner is becoming quite a hassle.

Anyone else have this experience in Cleveland?

I stopped by the Time Warner office in Bay Village shortly after the new Tivo HD was announced. (It's quicker for me to walk in on my way to work than wait around trying to get thru on the phone.)

They told me I had to schedule an apptmt for the two cable cards I wanted. I never got any further as I haven't had time (and the early reviews are kind of scaring me for now) but they didn't really ask any questions, just scheduled the apptmt. I'll be VERY interested in your experience.

[gilgamesh]

Quick question about Time Warner Austin - after two tech visits I have two s-cards working with my new TivoHD but . However, I cannot tune Universal HD, HDNet, or HDNet Movies. From what I can tell from this thread they are not SDV channels. So given that I cannot tune them, does that mean that the cards still have not been correctly authorized for all my channels?

[WSP]

The channels in question are part of the HD Tier. You will have to subscribe to this package to receive these channels.

[cody_dingo]

TWC Kansas City just told me they are expecting to roll M-Cards out next week sometime. Two weeks at the latest. The guy told me he is testing "two kinds of tivo units" right now and "things look promising."

Just wanted to give the forum an FYI what I was told today.

[nat559]

Quick question about Time Warner Austin - after two tech visits I have two s-cards working with my new TivoHD but . However, I cannot tune Universal HD, HDNet, or HDNet Movies. From what I can tell from this thread they are not SDV channels. So given that I cannot tune them, does that mean that the cards still have not been correctly authorized for all my channels?

Gilgamesh,

This is excellent to hear. I am also in Austin trying to get my Tivo HD working with two cable cards now. The tech was just here for two hours and we have still not been able to obtain HBO or any premium channels above PBS. Discovery HD, TNT HD, etc.

Are you able to receive these channels? If so, what type of cable cards did you get? Check the cable card diagnostics screens.

[gilgamesh]

The channels in question are part of the HD Tier. You will have to subscribe to this package to receive these channels.

That makes sense; I had those with the TWC DVR; they must have been dropped when I returned that and switched to the cable cards.

[gilgamesh]

Gilgamesh,

This is excellent to hear. I am also in Austin trying to get my Tivo HD working with two cable cards now. The tech was just here for two hours and we have still not been able to obtain HBO or any premium channels above PBS. Discovery HD, TNT HD, etc.

Are you able to receive these channels? If so, what type of cable cards did you get? Check the cable card diagnostics screens.

I don't get HBO, so I can't help you there, but I can get Discovery HD and TNT HD fine. Once the tech was able to get the card to authorize they worked with no further effort. I got lucky on the first shot with slot 1. The tech had to go though three cards, though, until I could get one that would authorize correctly in slot 2. Both are Scientific Atlantic cards.

BTW - Despite what TWC Austin phone tech support tells you - you cannot take a bad card to the branch office to swap out. They have to roll out a truck to hand deliver it to you :(

[thejrnf]

TWC Kansas City just told me they are expecting to roll M-Cards out next week sometime. Two weeks at the latest. The guy told me he is testing "two kinds of tivo units" right now and "things look promising."

In Durham, NC, I had a scheduled appointment to receive/test out a M-Card. The Technical Supervisor called to cancel the appointment and told me that he had just been on a conference call with Tivo and Scientific Atlanta. He said there is a "software issue" between the Tivo HD and the SA M-Card and that they are still working out some incompatibility issues. He did not specify when these issues might be resolved.

In better news, my 2 S-Cards are finally working.

[Sy-]

I just talked to TiVo, and they seem confident that they can force HD compliance of the cable cards on Oceanic. They said they would let me know in about 2 days.

Stay tuned,

Noah

So did you hear anything yet?... My cable cards are still working (less espn2hd and golfhd). I still haven't received that letter from Oceanic saying they are switching off HD channels for cable card people......

[ChrisFix]

In Durham, NC, I had a scheduled appointment to receive/test out a M-Card. The Technical Supervisor called to cancel the appointment and told me that he had just been on a conference call with Tivo and Scientific Atlanta. He said there is a "software issue" between the Tivo HD and the SA M-Card and that they are still working out some incompatibility issues. He did not specify when these issues might be resolved.

In better news, my 2 S-Cards are finally working.

I had an appointment for installing an M card with TWC in Chapel Hill two weeks ago, and the night before the install, an installation supervisor calls to cancel the appointment and tells me that they don't have M cards (even though they use them in their OCAP boxes). In my experience, you won't get the same answer twice regarding any aspect of cable cards and TWC.

[cody_dingo]

In Durham, NC, I had a scheduled appointment to receive/test out a M-Card. The Technical Supervisor called to cancel the appointment and told me that he had just been on a conference call with Tivo and Scientific Atlanta. He said there is a "software issue" between the Tivo HD and the SA M-Card and that they are still working out some incompatibility issues. He did not specify when these issues might be resolved.

In better news, my 2 S-Cards are finally working.

That's very interesting. I'll have to have the guy bring 2 S cards with him as well when he brings the M card. Thanks for the information!

[nat559]

The Time Warner cablecard installation process can be summarized in one word: cluster****.

...
If you are not getting expected channels, make sure the installer contacts the "DNS" office to make sure that the correct signals have been sent out to the cablecards. Even non-contract Time Warner installers do not have direct access to the DNS office, so don't be fooled by the the first few rounds of "try it now, we sent the signals".
[/list]

Rateaustin,

By "expected channels" are you referring to the HD channels (Discovery HD and above? Did calling and asking for this "DNS" office fix your problem?

I am going to meet a cable guy at my house again this afternoon. He has been on the phone and gotten both cable cards working for most channels, but I am not receiving HBO (701->715ish) or any HD channels from Discovery HD and above (TNT HD, ESPN HD, HBO HD). My understanding is that these are not SDV channels.

Surprisingly, of the two cable cards that were installed the first one is detected as "Single stream" on the Tivo Cablecard page but the second one does not have any note.

Any suggestions from anyone to get this working will be much appreciated. If I can't get this working I will probably be bailing on TWC Austin and Tivo

[rainwater]

Surprisingly, of the two cable cards that were installed the first one is detected as "Single stream" on the Tivo Cablecard page but the second one does not have any note.

This is normal behavior. Only the first card is denoted by type because only single stream will work in slot 2.

[Powder_Burn]

Hello all, I am a new Tivo user who has been lurking and wanted to share feedback. Got installed today and all seems well. Thanks so much for helping me prepare for the runaround ahead of time. My new TivoHD seems to work great w/SA S-Cards and I am rid of the cursed Motorola 8300HD!

Timeline:
9:30: Sub-contractor for TW calls to confirm. Subcontractor does not have cable cards and TW dispatch will allegedly not issue any to sub-contractor. I ask subcontractor to bring me new TW boxes and I will personally yank out the CableCards and install them into my TiVo myself. After all, the FCC requires that I be issued cards right!? They say they will "check on it". I think "nice try"!

9:31: Anticipating trouble, I call TW and ask for a TW crew to be sent who is equipped and trained for the install. Reps pass the buck repeatedly and I get passed around for 30 minutes. End up getting escalated to a customer service unit since nobody knows what to do with me.

10:40: Multiple calls/call-backs later, get commitment that cards will be sent to subcontractor within 1 hour after another 40 minutes on hold. Tech arrives and TW asks to speak w/tech, but tech says he is not allowed to talk w/TW directly. End up in ridiculous 4-party "conversation" where I relay info from TW rep to the install tech who then relays info to his supervisor via radio. Subcontractor supervisor keeps saying "they won't give us a card" repeatedly to escape until I put my phone on speaker next to the techs radio and let him hear the TW rep directly. TOUCHE'.

11:00: Subcontractor supervisor is scheduled to bring cards within 1 hour. Time commitment starts slipping to "we dunno when" within just 10 minutes. Then the tech notices a "problem" with the location of the cable drop outside my house that prevents the install. Says he would re-locate the drop for me, but as luck would have it, the battery on his drill was drained and he needed to leave and come back "later". However, lucky for him, I had an 18v drill in-stock to loan him so he could stay right where he was and finish the job. He looked sick at this point! There was no escape! :D

12:45: I made sure to specify a Motorola M-card, so the supervisor brought ancient Scientific Atlanta S-Cards from 2005 that TW gave him instead. Helpful guy who told me cable card installs never work and that they are at the mercy of whatever TW dispatch does or does not issue subcontractors. Asked me to call him later and then made a quick escape leaving the poor untrained tech there. Also told me they could not cannibalize Motorola cards from boxes because they are housed inside the case. There is an anti-tampering seal and if it is broken, the customer must pay for the box.

1:00: I take over the install and have 2 Scientific Atlanta PowerKey Model PKM600's in my hand dated 02/2005 and 05/2005. 1st slot installs perfectly. 2nd slot gives me "Failed to load 'pod:///utils". I have live Tivo support on speaker within 1 minute and then suddenly a firmware upgrade starts on Slot 2. It completes and the card initializes perfectly.

2:00: Test all channels on both cards and everything works well. Saw two flashes of macroblocking throughout the day but no big deal. For whatever reason, most channels classified as SDV are coming in fine (can't speak for HBO etc.) The picture quality seems better than with the Motorola 8300HD.

Lessons learned:
*Have a speakerphone
*Be tenacious
*Some CableCard installs are easy, it's getting the cards and dealing with the runaround that is the hard part.
*Anticipate how they installers will try and evade the install ahead of time. Remember that techs are paid by the job so cable card installs that take longer are really unattractive.
*Hook Tivo up several days in advance like the instructions state and get the latest OS (Mine is 8.1.7b2)
*Check signal strength (mine has a baseline of 93)
*Apparently old SA PKM600 S-Cards from 2005 will work once they receive the firmware update.

Hope my luck holds up...many thanks to all the forum contributors.

[jfh3]

Lessons learned:
*Have a speakerphone
*Be tenacious
*Some CableCard installs are easy, it's getting the cards and dealing with the runaround that is the hard part.
*Anticipate how they installers will try and evade the install ahead of time. Remember that techs are paid by the job so cable card installs that take longer are really unattractive.


I love this story - nice to see you wouldn't put up with all-too-typical cable company BS.

Love your tenacity - just too bad you had to have it in the first place ...

[toddeades]

Had install today:

Frankly I don't think it could have gone better. (Well the tech had to wait 30 minutes on the phone to get my card to work).

He didn't complain about having to deal with CableCards.
He had a Multi-Stream Card (He didn't know, but I told him and made sure he used it first)
Paired it without any trouble
Channels all seem to be working and no problems.

I don't really know much about this, but I do know it's a Motorola card.

Very happy.

[dfelska]

For all of the moaning and groaning, I had two good installations in NYC - got the first TivoHD a couple of weeks ago and got the CableCard appointment within aboiut 3 days. They showed up 20 minutes early, popped them in, and seemed very familiar with the all of the Tivo menus. Other than some delay in contacting back to the base office to zap the cards once they were paired, all went well and they were gone within an hour, no issies (except that they are SA macroblocking PoS cablecards, discussed extensively in other threads).

Second box came on Tursday this week, had the appoinment. Tech arrived about an hour into the window, and it was pretty much the same thing - popped them in, knew the menus, had problems finding someone with his Nextel to zap them - that added 20 min to it all, but he was still in an out in an hour.

Overall, no complaints to TWC, and they cheerfully took away my 8300 DVRs so I am no longer able to fry eggs by the TVs - the TivoHD runs much cooler and hopefully that means being a little greener too.

Thx

:up:

[Emrys]

TWC-Raleigh did an install for me today. I had to argue with the people on the phone about how I needed two cards. Was supposed to get a call back from a supervisor.... 3 days later I called to order again and they had me scheduled. I didn't even know it. I wouldn't have been home when they came and they probably would've charged me... anyway....

Got here on time, had 3 cards. First went in fine. Second was "bad". Third was "Lost", meaning it was in the inventory as someone had lost it, so it was essentially dead. 5 hours later, after I call 3 times to get them to come back out ( they said they'd be back at 11AM, then 1PM, then he shows at 3:30PM ), he had 3 "new" cards. Couldn't read the MAC's on them, first one went in and came out without even trying, second went in after we deciphered the font on the back of the card, and now all is good. Both cards are done syncing and all my channels are coming through.

These are SA cards... I have noticed some pixelation, but I noticed that with the 8300HD as well. I can wait for a fix, it's not very often that I see it, so far.

Now just gotta hold on and hope the SDV stuff doesn't come my way.

Oh yeah, they have, but refuse to give out, M-Cards. The 2 S-Cards I have are really old, but they work, so....

[ChrisFix]

TWC-Raleigh did an install for me today. I had to argue with the people on the phone about how I needed two cards. Was supposed to get a call back from a supervisor.... 3 days later I called to order again and they had me scheduled. I didn't even know it. I wouldn't have been home when they came and they probably would've charged me... anyway....

Got here on time, had 3 cards. First went in fine. Second was "bad". Third was "Lost", meaning it was in the inventory as someone had lost it, so it was essentially dead. 5 hours later, after I call 3 times to get them to come back out ( they said they'd be back at 11AM, then 1PM, then he shows at 3:30PM ), he had 3 "new" cards. Couldn't read the MAC's on them, first one went in and came out without even trying, second went in after we deciphered the font on the back of the card, and now all is good. Both cards are done syncing and all my channels are coming through.

These are SA cards... I have noticed some pixelation, but I noticed that with the 8300HD as well. I can wait for a fix, it's not very often that I see it, so far.

Now just gotta hold on and hope the SDV stuff doesn't come my way.

Oh yeah, they have, but refuse to give out, M-Cards. The 2 S-Cards I have are really old, but they work, so....

I'm in Chapel Hill....Did they charge you $42.95 Per Card to install? How much are they charging you for per card monthly ($1.75 Plus $1 outlet fee?)?

Are your SD channels (2-98) analog or digital?

Trying to compare notes. I think TWC Raleigh-Durham is one of the worst Cable Card offenders out there - the very most expensive installation, no M cards, and for me (and others I've read on this forum) no Digital Simulcast for 2-98.

[Emrys]

Hmm... I have no idea to any of those questions :)

I was assuming they were going to charge me twice for the install. I have no idea about the CC fees. How would I know if my SD channels are digital?

I just wanted Tivo, cause the 8300HD was giving me problems, for the second time ( second piece of hardware ), so I just went with "whatever". It's worth the money to not have to swear at the TV every time you use it :)

[Emrys]

Just went through the ADS thread... looks like I have Analog for 2-99. I'm gonna call them and try to have them enable ADS. Hope it works....

[pkscout]

Just went through the ADS thread... looks like I have Analog for 2-99. I'm gonna call them and try to have them enable ADS. Hope it works....

It won't. TWC in RDU is going to be moving all the basic and standard tier digital to SDV, so they won't give the CableCard folks ADS because they're just going to take it away again.

If TWC won't bring you an M-card I would argue they can't charge you two install fees. It's their decision to bring you hardware that requires two setups, they can eat the cost.

[ChrisFix]

It won't. TWC in RDU is going to be moving all the basic and standard tier digital to SDV, so they won't give the CableCard folks ADS because they're just going to take it away again.

If TWC won't bring you an M-card I would argue they can't charge you two install fees. It's their decision to bring you hardware that requires two setups, they can eat the cost.

I agree with your sentiment, but talking to the folks at Raleigh-Durham TWC who do the ordering is like talking to a wall...and you almost never get the same answer twice to any question regarding Cable Cards.

I was set up for an M card install, only to have the installation supervisor call the night before the install to cancel, because they "don't have any M cards"...and TWC's only answer is two Single Stream cards at twice the price for everything. On top of it all, we can only get SA cards that seem to be the problem child of Cable Cards.

I'm seriously thinking of moving to Dish and their new VIP722 DVR over this, and dropping everything but my TWC broadband - which will be $150 per month out of TWC's pocket over their blatant disregard for doing the right thing by their customers. TWC Raleigh-Durham is also moving to Mystro Navigator for their DVRs - which I have one of, and it is a POS. I also have the Passport version of the 8300HD, and I think it works very well, but the powers that be at TWC cheaped out and are moving everything to Navigator over some un-specified time-frame (starting with all new boxes deployed such as my 8300HDC).

[snowbunny]

TimeWarner has quickly surpassed ClearChannel as my #2 most hated company. (#1 is Microsoft) and it's completely due to the SDV rollout in Austin. Rollout in this case means the consumer got steam-rollered.

And I do feel TiVo should have very clearly publicised the lack of TTG, MRV, and the possibility of SDV interfering with the S3 design -- they didn't, not in the ads shown on the S2, nor on their website. If I'm furious at TW, I'm deeply disappointed in TiVo.

[is2scooby]

I am here at this thread because I just received a very disturbing letter from my local cable company (Oceanic Time Warner Cable here in Honolulu, Hawaii) and couldn't believe what I was reading.

I guess it's unfortunately true.

The letter states that "As a CableCARD customer, you are enjoying the option of connecting to Oceanic Time Warner Cable TV without a set-top box. Please be aware the current CableCARD technology only enables access to our one-way programming services. We are moving channels over to a two-way digital platform in order to efficiently deliver more programming. Plus channels will continue to be added to this two-way platform. In order to receive these channels, including HD Entertainment Pak, Interactive Program Guide, On Demand services and Pay Per View, a digital set-top box is required. On Monday, September 24, 2007, the channels found on the enclosed line-up will no lonber be available to TVs or other one-way devices equipped with CableCARD(s)."

ARGH.

I have been a Tivo Series 3 owner for a little over 6 months.

Losing my HD channels because of this will make my upgrade from a Series 2 (and the $$ involved) nearly worthless to me.

Say it isn't so!

[ChrisFix]

I am here at this thread because I just received a very disturbing letter from my local cable company (Oceanic Time Warner Cable here in Honolulu, Hawaii) and couldn't believe what I was reading.

I guess it's unfortunately true.

The letter states that "As a CableCARD customer, you are enjoying the option of connecting to Oceanic Time Warner Cable TV without a set-top box. Please be aware the current CableCARD technology only enables access to our one-way programming services. We are moving channels over to a two-way digital platform in order to efficiently deliver more programming. Plus channels will continue to be added to this two-way platform. In order to receive these channels, including HD Entertainment Pak, Interactive Program Guide, On Demand services and Pay Per View, a digital set-top box is required. On Monday, September 24, 2007, the channels found on the enclosed line-up will no lonber be available to TVs or other one-way devices equipped with CableCARD(s)."

ARGH.

I have been a Tivo Series 3 owner for a little over 6 months.

Losing my HD channels because of this will make my upgrade from a Series 2 (and the $$ involved) nearly worthless to me.

Say it isn't so!

You/we could never receive Interactive Program Guide, On Demand services and Pay Per View with Cable Card...so nothing different there.

What channels are in the HD Entertainment Pak? Sounds like the "threat" of SDV is becoming reality for you and Austin TWC users.

[Emrys]

It won't. TWC in RDU is going to be moving all the basic and standard tier digital to SDV, so they won't give the CableCard folks ADS because they're just going to take it away again.

If TWC won't bring you an M-card I would argue they can't charge you two install fees. It's their decision to bring you hardware that requires two setups, they can eat the cost.

Hmm, this is disturbing.... Maybe I should return the Tivo before I take a loss then. I do watch standard tier digital stuff.... HGTV, Discovery, etc... the wife would kill me if we couldn't get these channels.

Bleh....

[pkscout]

Hmm, this is disturbing.... Maybe I should return the Tivo before I take a loss then. I do watch standard tier digital stuff.... HGTV, Discovery, etc... the wife would kill me if we couldn't get these channels.

Bleh....

You can get the standard tier, it'll just be analog. And for everything else TWC sucks at (and the list is long and varied), the quality of the analog channels in RDU is pretty good. I decided not to bother with the CableCards (I get all the network HD stuff OTA), and while I can tell it's not digital, the wife really can't and doesn't care.

So unless there are channels in the digital tier you really want, you might consider putting up an antenna to get the HD locals and just get basic/standard cable in analog.

[mercurial]

You can get the standard tier, it'll just be analog. And for everything else TWC sucks at (and the list is long and varied), the quality of the analog channels in RDU is pretty good. I decided not to bother with the CableCards (I get all the network HD stuff OTA), and while I can tell it's not digital, the wife really can't and doesn't care.

Are you talking about stuff in the 100-400's? We pretty much get every channel we can except for sports and foreign language tiers and if we were to loose them, I'd be pretty pi****.

[ChrisFix]

You can get the standard tier, it'll just be analog. And for everything else TWC sucks at (and the list is long and varied), the quality of the analog channels in RDU is pretty good. I decided not to bother with the CableCards (I get all the network HD stuff OTA), and while I can tell it's not digital, the wife really can't and doesn't care.

So unless there are channels in the digital tier you really want, you might consider putting up an antenna to get the HD locals and just get basic/standard cable in analog.

I agree that the analog channel picture quality with TWC RDU is very good...for analog...but it isn't as good their digital versions (which have better color/contrast and no "haze" that you get with analog. Having done some serious stare and compare between the two, the analog channels always look like you are viewing through a thin piece of gauze...it is a subtle difference, but a very real one.

[ChrisFix]

Hmm, this is disturbing.... Maybe I should return the Tivo before I take a loss then. I do watch standard tier digital stuff.... HGTV, Discovery, etc... the wife would kill me if we couldn't get these channels.

Bleh....

My understanding from what I could find on TWC RDU was that they plan to move the basic and standard tier channels to SDV (2-76) which won't affect you as you only have analog versions of those with Cable Card, which will continue after the SDV migration.

Beyond this, I have read that they only plan on adding NEW channels to SDV for the Digital and HD tiers...so you shouldn't have a problem with losing anything you currently have, but you won't get any new channels they add...which given how little new (or good) content TWC has added, is probably not an issue.
.

[pkscout]

Are you talking about stuff in the 100-400's? We pretty much get every channel we can except for sports and foreign language tiers and if we were to loose them, I'd be pretty pi****.

No, that is digital only, as AFAIK, none of those channels are scheduled to go SDV and all are available to a CableCard device. Either way, those are digital and require a cable card, so you couldn't get them in analog even if you wanted to.

[Sy-]

I got the same letter that is2scooby received last night. If any of you want to see what a "screw you and your tivo" letter looks like you can see it here:

http://64.128.14.168/otw/otw_sdv.pdf

I don't suppose there is anything Tivo can do to force TW to support my S3?

[jmaditto]

I wouldn't think so...I think it is up to TiVo and others to provide a two-way box as well as an upgrade path for those with an S3 and/or THD. TWC provides an SA8300 that can handle SDV so why not TiVo? SDV is the "future" for cable, apparently, so they have to allow 3rd party connectivity...at least I hope so. I'm waiting until this is resolved before moving to THD. I couldn't do without ESPN2HD!

[Joey Bagadonuts]

I wouldn't think so...I think it is up to TiVo and others to provide a two-way box as well as an upgrade path for those with an S3 and/or THD. TWC provides an SA8300 that can handle SDV so why not TiVo? SDV is the "future" for cable, apparently, so they have to allow 3rd party connectivity...at least I hope so. I'm waiting until this is resolved before moving to THD. I couldn't do without ESPN2HD!

Anyone else find it odd, if not upsetting, that none of the TiVo people we normally see post on these boards (TiVo Jerry, TiVo Pony, etc...) are posting anything here to try and shed some light on what, if anything TiVo is doing to go to bat for their S3 customers? Sure seems like you're being left hanging out to dry.

[pkscout]

Anyone else find it odd, if not upsetting, that none of the TiVo people we normally see post on these boards (TiVo Jerry, TiVo Pony, etc...) are posting anything here to try and shed some light on what, if anything TiVo is doing to go to bat for their S3 customers? Sure seems like you're being left hanging out to dry.

When TiVo has something concrete they can talk about they will. If they come here and say anything before they have a concrete solution, then everyone will be mad because there weren't enough details or a ship date. And we'll spend the next few months dissecting every word of any post, again getting angry about it.

Speaking early is a lose-lose situation. We don't get any real information and TiVo has everyone bitching at them.

[jazmaan]

I'm getting a little fed up with the limited HD offerings of TWC. I just called and gave them some grief for not carrying the HD version of Animal Planet. I told them there's a new kid on my block called Verizon Fios and they better beware!

[gwsat]

Thank God, I am not a TWC customer! Still, the horrible news that CableCARDs will be losing their ability to receive HD programming in many, if not all, of TWC’s markets is dispiriting.

I hope that Cox OKC doesn’t follow TWC’s lead very soon. If they do then, for the first time in a long time, I will seriously consider shifting from cable to D* and replacing my Cox telephone with AT&T (formerly Southwestern Bell).

The really sad part of this is that if so many cable companies had not saddled their customers with the SA 8300HD DVR and its horrible SARA software most of its customers who bought S3s probably would have stuck with a cable company box. I know I would have. What a mess!

[dolfer]

I'm getting a little fed up with the limited HD offerings of TWC. I just called and gave them some grief for not carrying the HD version of Animal Planet. I told them there's a new kid on my block called Verizon Fios and they better beware!

Amen! I can't wait for Verizon to enter the Cincinnati market! I hope it happens soon. I have been praying for an alternative to TW for a long time...

[BruceShultes]

I am hoping for Verizon to negotiate the rights to carry TV over FIOS in my area before TW implements SDV.

However, whether TV over FIOS is available or not, I plan to drop TW as soon as they implement SDV.

I already have D* and FIOS can provide internet service in my area.

I can always use my S3 OTA.

[dolfer]

Can someone verify that Time Warner Cincinnati is blocking ESPN2 for S-Card users???

[Arcady]

Can anyone verify that only a single M-Card is needed in the TiVo HD in the north Dallas TWC market?

[skylab]

Can someone verify that Time Warner Cincinnati is blocking ESPN2 for S-Card users???

Confirmed as of today. There have been a few complaints posted with the FCC. here is my post from another thread:

People are also filing complaints in proceeding 97-80. To view other comments and complaints go to http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/comsrch_v2.cgi and put 97-80 in the box for proceeding.

To file a comment in 97-80 put 97-80 in the proceeding box, fill in the required fields, and you can type in a brief comment at the bottom. Here is the site: https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/ecfs/upload_v2.cgi

The more people that fight this the better.

[JoeSchueller]

I would also encourage you to go on to your local gov't website and find their office of communications and the local regulatory commission.

[vman41]

... SDV is the "future" for cable, apparently, so they have to allow 3rd party connectivity...at least I hope so. I'm waiting until this is resolved before moving to THD. I couldn't do without ESPN2HD!

The real future is fiber to the premises (FIOS), SDV is just a stop-gap. The AT&T U-verse thing knows where the future is, but it looks like most areas will get a half-assed fiber/copper hybrid.

[Joey Bagadonuts]

When TiVo has something concrete they can talk about they will. If they come here and say anything before they have a concrete solution, then everyone will be mad because there weren't enough details or a ship date. And we'll spend the next few months dissecting every word of any post, again getting angry about it.

Speaking early is a lose-lose situation. We don't get any real information and TiVo has everyone bitching at them.

Something concrete they can talk about? How about their customers who just shelled out anywhere from $300-$700 for an S3 and getting a total screwing by TWC? Or is TiVo just happy they got the sale and then say the hell with their customers? Sure looks like that's their plan.

[JoeSchueller]

I agree w/ Joey... they've got to pick up the flag and run on this. No way will all of us with little FCC complaints and local complaints amount to much on our own. Someone needs to represent the issue nationally, and I think TiVo should bear that burden. They're selling a product and service TWC is making obsolete without any warning or recourse.

Anyone here know anyone at the EFF?

[pashasurf7873]

I'm one of the bummed Tivo 3 owners due to the fact that TWC in Hawaii is moving alot of programming incl most HD channels to SDV. http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=364085
So unless the USB Dongle comes out before sept 24th (unlikely) I will need to get a piece of junk SA8300 HD box to watch HD.
My question about the Cablecards is: If I return them on the 24th will I need them back whenever the USB Dongle comes out?? TWC says they won't be using the CableCards after that date, so I am worried down the road they may not re issue them.
Anyone out there have any suggestions? Thanks

[Zaph32]

Can anyone verify that only a single M-Card is needed in the TiVo HD in the north Dallas TWC market?

Yes, confirmed. I'm in Frisco, 2 TivoHD units, each with a single M-Card.

Getting the M-Cards will be tough because the reps don't know what they are.

[drewpydog]

TWC in Winston-Salem (Greensboro) moved the Travel Channel to digital last week - so I called to get M-cards for my Tivo HD and S3. They say they don't have M-cards. I'm not paying 4 install fees and 4 monthly rentals when I could do it with two. So long, Anthony Bourdain.

[ChrisFix]

TWC in Winston-Salem (Greensboro) moved the Travel Channel to digital last week - so I called to get M-cards for my Tivo HD and S3. They say they don't have M-cards. I'm not paying 4 install fees and 4 monthly rentals when I could do it with two. So long, Anthony Bourdain.

What are they charging for CC install?...Here in Raleigh-Durham they charge $42.95 Per Card....it is insane.

They will deliver an STB and install it for $18.95 and do a complete new install, including running coax for $42.95 total...not that they are trying to screw CC customers!

[cody_dingo]

TWC Kansas City just told me they are expecting to roll M-Cards out next week sometime. Two weeks at the latest. The guy told me he is testing "two kinds of tivo units" right now and "things look promising."

Just wanted to give the forum an FYI what I was told today.

The TWC contractor just left here. I got a call last weekend that the M-Cards weren't pairing correctly with the TivoHD and was asked if I wanted to try SA S-Cards instead. I agreed, so they rolled a truck today. So far I've seen a little pixelation, but for the most part it seems fine. He left less than an hour ago, so time will tell...

Overall, the install went fine. This was this guys SECOND CableCard install, ever, in any device. Went smoothly. Inserted cards, wrote numbers down and he made a call. Piece of cake.

[dolfer]

The TWC contractor just left here. I got a call last weekend that the M-Cards weren't pairing correctly with the TivoHD and was asked if I wanted to try SA S-Cards instead. I agreed, so they rolled a truck today. So far I've seen a little pixelation, but for the most part it seems fine. He left less than an hour ago, so time will tell...

Overall, the install went fine. This was this guys SECOND CableCard install, ever, in any device. Went smoothly. Inserted cards, wrote numbers down and he made a call. Piece of cake.

Not to be a downer... But if you have two SA S-Cards things are probably going to be getting ugly for you *very* soon. I would be interested to know how CBS HD in primetime works out for you.

[jmjerome]

Time Warner So Cal West Hollywood CA.

TWC SOCAL, just tried to charge me $1.99 to downgrade my service, (I removed STARZ). Once I balked at the charge and asked to cancel my service completey, the agent waived the fee.

I just wanted to give you a heads up!

[cody_dingo]

Not to be a downer... But if you have two SA S-Cards things are probably going to be getting ugly for you *very* soon. I would be interested to know how CBS HD in primetime works out for you.

Can you please elaborate?

[dolfer]

Unless you are very lucky, you will most likely experience the pixelation, audio drops, and other issues (fast forward skips, etc) that other Scientific Atlanta S-Card users are experiencing.

I hope it does not happen to you as it is not very pleasant! Sometimes it is unbearable.

Tivo is supposedly working on a software update to rectify the problem. It should be released any day now. Hopefully...

Please watch a few hours on a few different channels and let us know how it goes. For me, CBS in HD has been particularly bad. Please post back and let us know your experience.

[cody_dingo]

Unless you are very lucky, you will most likely experience the pixelation, audio drops, and other issues (fast forward skips, etc) that other Scientific Atlanta S-Card users are experiencing.

I hope it does not happen to you as it is not very pleasant! Sometimes it is unbearable.

Tivo is supposedly working on a software update to rectify the problem. It should be released any day now. Hopefully...

Please watch a few hours on a few different channels and let us know how it goes. For me, CBS in HD has been particularly bad. Please post back and let us know your experience.

Oh...yeah, I know all that. I've been following it very closely. I just didn't know it happened on specific channels--I thought it was pretty widespread and pretty random. Been watching HDNet off and on today and I see it here and there, and it is annoying, but I haven't seen a ton of it.

I'll definitely post my findings. Thank you! :)

[gpsj1966]

Yes, confirmed. I'm in Frisco, 2 TivoHD units, each with a single M-Card.

Getting the M-Cards will be tough because the reps don't know what they are.

I haven't been able to get mine working. I had 2 M-Series cards and it wouldn't work. Beginning to wonder if that wasn't the problem. I thought it was working fine with the 2 cards and then one day when I was watching something that needed the cable card I got a message that said that a program was scheduled to record and that the Tivo was going to switch channels so that it could record. When I tried to change back to the channel I was watching I got the cable card screen saying that the card wasn't activated. This was about 2 weeks ago. Since then I have had 2 techs come out who freely acknowledge that they don't know anything about cable cards or Tivo and after fooling with it for an hour or so they gave up. The last one swapped out one of the cards and at my suggestion we were planning to set it up one card at a time but we could never get the first card to work. He said that he would talk with the supervisor and get him to come take a look but that never happened. Finally the other day I call and the rep sends me to the supervisors voice mail and I didn't hear anything for a day or so and I called back and the new rep and it starts all over again. Now this one tells me the only thing she can do is schedule another appointment (So another tech can tell me he doesn't know anything about cable cards).

[onefast1]

I haven't been able to get mine working. I had 2 M-Series cards and it wouldn't work. Beginning to wonder if that wasn't the problem. I thought it was working fine with the 2 cards and then one day when I was watching something that needed the cable card I got a message that said that a program was scheduled to record and that the Tivo was going to switch channels so that it could record. When I tried to change back to the channel I was watching I got the cable card screen saying that the card wasn't activated. This was about 2 weeks ago. Since then I have had 2 techs come out who freely acknowledge that they don't know anything about cable cards or Tivo and after fooling with it for an hour or so they gave up. The last one swapped out one of the cards and at my suggestion we were planning to set it up one card at a time but we could never get the first card to work. He said that he would talk with the supervisor and get him to come take a look but that never happened. Finally the other day I call and the rep sends me to the supervisors voice mail and I didn't hear anything for a day or so and I called back and the new rep and it starts all over again. Now this one tells me the only thing she can do is schedule another appointment (So another tech can tell me he doesn't know anything about cable cards).

Im in Valley Ranch and have a similar problem. On or about the 10th both my cards lost 40+ digital cahnnels. Had a tech come out and they bumped the cards and all was well. A few days later they went out again. Fast forward ... 4 techs later and hours on the phone and they still arent working. I have got every promise in the book from TW and they never deliver. Never on time and the techs do not know anything about cablecards. The dispatch doesnt even know much. Finally today I get a call from someone that claims they are going to help .... hours later all she can say is they deleted a digital tier from my cards and she cant put it back...we'll send a tech out to fix the issue. RiGhT. I will sell my S3 and take a loss before I give TWC another dime of my money or a second of my time.

[gpsj1966]

I haven't been able to get mine working. I had 2 M-Series cards and it wouldn't work. Beginning to wonder if that wasn't the problem. I thought it was working fine with the 2 cards and then one day when I was watching something that needed the cable card I got a message that said that a program was scheduled to record and that the Tivo was going to switch channels so that it could record. When I tried to change back to the channel I was watching I got the cable card screen saying that the card wasn't activated. This was about 2 weeks ago. Since then I have had 2 techs come out who freely acknowledge that they don't know anything about cable cards or Tivo and after fooling with it for an hour or so they gave up. The last one swapped out one of the cards and at my suggestion we were planning to set it up one card at a time but we could never get the first card to work. He said that he would talk with the supervisor and get him to come take a look but that never happened. Finally the other day I call and the rep sends me to the supervisors voice mail and I didn't hear anything for a day or so and I called back and the new rep and it starts all over again. Now this one tells me the only thing she can do is schedule another appointment (So another tech can tell me he doesn't know anything about cable cards).

BTW I'm in Irving.

[HDTivoDesire]

I'm in Plano, TX. I just ordered a Tivo HD. I ordered TW Cable on their website 2 days ago and selected an appointment date of Sep. 24th (earliest date available). The website said a TW rep would call me, but I have not received a call yet

[jvandecar]

A monopoly in a midsized city is never good.

I ordered my TiVo HD from TiVoCommunity last week, and I received it Monday. A quick trip to the Time Warner building confirmed what I have been reading all over, a tech had to install my cable card.

Hoping that one of the two would be a multi-stream card, I told him I wanted two cable cards, and he said no problem, and had an opening today, Friday the 31st. I said I need it before 2pm, again, no problem, and he made a note in the system.

Noon comes and goes, 2pm comes and goes and with it, I go to work.

Wife stays home on Friday, Labor Day weekend waiting. 3pm, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm she decides they aren't coming, she goes out.

I get a call at 7:30pm, from some hick saying he would be at the house in 30 minutes.

8pm at night? Is this typical? I was at work, so I didn't get my card, or cards but I damn sure don't want someone coming in my house at 8pm.

I'm ready to take the Moto Set Top box back, downgrade to basic cable, and just record OTA HD broadcasts.

[pkscout]

I'm ready to take the Moto Set Top box back, downgrade to basic cable, and just record OTA HD broadcasts.

That's what I did (well, except it was an SA box in my area). When TWC asked why I was downgrading I told them. I have a S3 TiVo and I want all my channels in digital. Until they can provide that I'm paying them only for basic/standard analog service and getting all my HD OTA. It's not that I'm unwilling to pay more for digital service and CableCards, but in this area even with CableCards TWC won't give you access to the digital simulcast of 1-99 because they're going to move all that to SDV. So upgrading to digital cable gets me like 3 channels I watch in digital. Not worth it.

[katylava]

I'm in Frisco. We called on 7/27 and got an appt. for 8/10. They never showed up or called. We complained and got another scheduled for 8/23 -- almost a month after our initial call.

The guy that showed up was nice and a good problem-solver. He said they had to get our cable cards from McKinney.

So far they both work, but one of them stopped getting sound on HD channels for about a day. They both work again now. Weird. I hope it isn't a recurring thing. Has this happened to anyone else?

[cody_dingo]

Unless you are very lucky, you will most likely experience the pixelation, audio drops, and other issues (fast forward skips, etc) that other Scientific Atlanta S-Card users are experiencing.

I hope it does not happen to you as it is not very pleasant! Sometimes it is unbearable.

Tivo is supposedly working on a software update to rectify the problem. It should be released any day now. Hopefully...

Please watch a few hours on a few different channels and let us know how it goes. For me, CBS in HD has been particularly bad. Please post back and let us know your experience.

Still seeing very little pixelation, if any at all. Watched CBS primetime almost excluseively for a couple nights and it was no worse than the other HD channels. I'm hoping this post doesn't jinx things!

[bearthw]

I just had my Tivo HD software updated and it has fixed the pixelation and other screwiness - from what I can tell, it's all working great now. The Tivo tech support person said the update was rolled out last night.

Now, for my "install" story - I'm in the greater Kansas City area (Kansas side) I had a TWC tech guy come out a week and a half ago, and as soon as he saw that it was a Tivo, he said "we don't support Tivo." He then went into this whole thing about how the cards could hurt the Tivo, the Tivo could damage the cards, blah blah blah - but still completely refusing to install the cards. He continued on about how TWC offers their own boxes and that's one of the reasons why they don't support Tivo (um...anticompetitive ranting won't impress me here). Just kep spewing all kinds of crap, all while refusing to help. Very frustrating.

Afterwards, I started looking through the TWC site and found a few references on CableCards, and specifically referring to Tivo decks as one of the primary reasons they offer the CCs. It was pretty obvious through the site that they do, in fact, support the cards. My friend (also with TWC) purchased the same Tivo model as I did, at the same time, and a couple of days after my fiasco, he had the CCs installed through a different tech without a hassle. So I called up and scheduled another appointment.

A few days ago, the exact same tech came out again, and again said "we do NOT support Tivo." I showed him the references on the site, told him how my friend just had the cards installed, etc., but he still refused. In the end, he said "here's the cards, if you want to install them yourself you can, but I won't be responsible for them and if you damage the cards, they're your responsibility." After a very quick install, he did call up TWC to activate the cards and everything worked right from the beginning (besides the pixelation junk that was fixed this morning).

I'm now waiting to see my next bill show up with "install" charges for the cards - cards that were NOT installed by them, but by me. :)

[MickeS]

Well I had my CableCARD installed today and it was obvious the tech had no clue what he was doing, even though I asked him if he had installed CableCARDs before.

I gave him the instruction sheet that came with the Series 3 ands told him "It says here to follow these instructions". He looked at it briefly and condescendingly and mumbled something, then put it down. He took out the first card, and promptly proceeded to install it into the top slot (#2). I told him "No, that goes in the bottom slot", so he switched slots.

The instruction screen came up, and he said to go to the ID screen, which was blank. I said that we should wait a little bit, so it could refresh the screen. He did so reluctantly. He wrote down the numbers, and took out card #2.
I told him we should activate card #1 first, he said "It's already activated". So he put in card #2 in slot #2 and wrote down that info. Then he called up the office, and gave them the host ID... of card #2 of course, not card #1.

After that I let him do whatever he needed, I figure I'll have to fix this later anyway. And the whole time he kept bitching about how cable cards where problems, that they didn't get all channels, and could take 48 hours to start working. Oh, and he told the person on the other side that he was installing them into a Westinghouse (the brand of the TV).

Right now the TiVo just says "Upgrading CableCARD2. CableCARD firmware upgrade in progress." I'll leave it like this for a little while before I do the whole thing over again myself. Wouldn't be surprised if the cards aren't even working.

Yeah, I wonder why they have problems with CableCARDs. Freaking idiots.

EDIT: wow, after sitting there with the upgrade message for a half hour or so, it finally started working. And it looks like all the channels are coming in correctly! I am amazed. :) Of course, I only get the non-SDV channels... :/ I wonder if they'll let me drop back to non-digital now, and keep the cablecards. That's my plan at least. :)

[kklier]

What are they charging for CC install?...Here in Raleigh-Durham they charge $42.95 Per Card....it is insane.

They will deliver an STB and install it for $18.95 and do a complete new install, including running coax for $42.95 total...not that they are trying to screw CC customers!

Do the have Mcards in Durham or even Raleigh for that matter?

[kklier]

In Durham, NC, I had a scheduled appointment to receive/test out a M-Card. The Technical Supervisor called to cancel the appointment and told me that he had just been on a conference call with Tivo and Scientific Atlanta. He said there is a "software issue" between the Tivo HD and the SA M-Card and that they are still working out some incompatibility issues. He did not specify when these issues might be resolved.

In better news, my 2 S-Cards are finally working.

oh, hmmm

any update on this?

edit: http://www.timewarnercable.com/NC/products/cable/CableCard.html
Open Cable Products are two-way capable just like Time Warner Cable’s leased set top boxes and allow access to ALL of Time Warner Cable’s one-way and two-way services. We expect Open Cable Products to be available at retail in the 4Q ’07 / 1Q ’08.

[lc_04]

I just had a very frustrating call with Time Warner here in Buffalo. I've been thinking about upgrading to the Tivo HD, so I thought I'd give them a call to make sure that they would be able to install a CableCard and for what price. I mentioned that I needed it for a Tivo. The woman I spoke to never heard of a card going into a Tivo, only a TV. I tried to explain why it would be necessary, so she finally put me on hold to ask a supervisor. Once she got back, she told me that their Cable Cards are not compatible with Tivo's. I then directed her to an actual page (http://www.timewarnercable.com/CustomerService/FAQ/TWCFaqs.ashx?faqMap=27470&MarketID=0) on Time Warner's website that mentioned the Tivo and CableCards. After taking 15 minutes to find the page I was talking about, she put me on hold again to ask one of the head dispatchers if they would come out to install the card in the Tivo, and his response was 'Absolutely not.'. The woman also alluded to the fact that they would not support the Tivo, since 'they are competition from our DVR service'. Finally, after realizing this was never going to go anywhere, I just decided to end the call.

From the few posts I've read on this thread, I don't seem to be alone. I want my Tivo HD!! :mad:

Anyone have any success in the Buffalo area with them?

[mercurial]

You need to report them to TiVo so they can get some regulatory fear put into them by the pros.

EDIT: I thought there was a link at the tivo.com website about reporting these issues but I can't find it. I suggest calling TiVo customer service and complaining to them. I recall stories of people having to do that in the beginning of the S3 roll-out and TiVo would contact the cable company directly and/or setup a three-way-call with them.

[WebPrincess]

Just wanted to update everyone on my situation:

Time Warner in Dallas has now updated their website with the quote:
"Time Warner Cable is committed to supporting digital-cable-ready television sets and other devices, such as the TiVo Series 3 HD set-top box and the Microsoft Digital Cable Tuners. By offering CableCARD service, Time Warner Cable is able to provide you with more choice...."

Sounds like they changed their tune! Awesome. Maybe they got a little phone call from the TiVo guy.

Anyway, I called them today & scheduled my appointment for the cable cards to be installed. Even told them I wanted them in a Tivo!

So... WebPrincess is happy now!

Thanks for letting me rant!

[gpsj1966]

Well I had a tech out at my house again this morning (Irving Tx) and while he didn't seem to be all that familiar with Tivo and Cable Cards he was pretty sharp. It also helped that he was able to get the call center on the phone pretty quick. It turns out that apparently there is some issue with Cable Cards and customer installed Cable Modems. It just so happens that my problems came up round about the time I got my own modem. I wasn't given the specifics but, apparently there will be a fix sometime tonight and I will be contacted Sunday.

[echoout]

This thread is awesome, but I'm in a bit of a dilemma. Soooo, Best Buy just exchanged my old Series2 Pioneer for a Series3 HD. I live in Austin and was just informed that half the stuff I watch won't be available with a CableCard. I'm a college football junkie and love FSN, ESPN2HD and Fuel. Apparently none of these will be available. Would I be any better off with a Tivo HD versus Series3 HD? This is my chance to get what I want and this thread is kind of freaking me out. Thoughts? Or does it even matter considering how jacked TWC are?

-steven

[Fofer]

The TiVoHD will be no different from the Series 3 HD in terms of what channels you're able to access.

[jfh3]

Would I be any better off with a Tivo HD versus Series3 HD?


No, if you have SDV, you will have the same issues with THD as S3 until the tuning resolver is released. (No official announcement has been made, so it may be a while)

[echoout]

So, the Tivo HD isn't a little more "future-proof"?

[jfh3]

So, the Tivo HD isn't a little more "future-proof"?

In theory, but not because of the SDV issue.

[Fofer]

How, even in theory, is the TiVo HD more "future proof?"

[Emrys]

This is depressing, I've actually started looking at DirecTV...

[echoout]

The acceptance of M-Cards (right?).

How, even in theory, is the TiVo HD more "future proof?"

[pkscout]

The acceptance of M-Cards (right?).

Nope. All the M-card does is replace two single stream cards with one mutli-stream card. That doesn't count as future proof, especially given that the S3 only needs a software update for M-card support.

And before you ask, no, M-card support doesn't get you PPV, VOD, SDV support, or anything else requiring two way communications.

[echoout]

Thanks, while I'm a video guy by career, I'm relatively inexperienced in the Tivo world. And to everyone, I apologize for hijacking the thread, but why would I want a Series3 then? Should I take it back and get a bunch of store credit with the TivoHD, or are there ANY advantages to the Series3 that I'm not getting?

Thanks!


Nope. All the M-card does is replace two single stream cards with one mutli-stream card. That doesn't count as future proof, especially given that the S3 only needs a software update for M-card support.

And before you ask, no, M-card support doesn't get you PPV, VOD, SDV support, or anything else requiring two way communications.

[jfh3]

How, even in theory, is the TiVo HD more "future proof?"

From the comparasion thread:


* TivoHD has ~7% faster CPU (450 MIPS vs 420 MIPS)
* TivoHD has twice the system memory (256MB vs 128MB)
* Supports MCARDs out of the box.
* Newer QAM/VSB demodulation chips for potentially improved OTA reception.
* New, dedicated hardware for MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 SD->SD and HD->SD transcoding
o Could allow HD->SD MRV with older Series2 Tivos
o Could allow TivoToGo and MRV to support content flagged as "copy one generation" (via downres)
o Could allow Tivo to use TivoToGo and MRV to record and stream content for which they cannot obtain Cable Labs approval to pass (via down-res)
o Could allow place-shifting like Slingbox (thanks megazone)
o Real-time transcoding could eliminate the need to do it in software, reducing the licensing fees for the Tivo Desktop software.
* Consumes less power.

[keefer37]

I've got an "install" appointment setup for this Sunday afternoon (Raleigh Durham Time Warner) for two cable cards for my HD TiVo. I tried to get a multistream card, but they had no idea what I was talking about. She quoted $42.95 for installation and then like $5 and change a month. Everything sound right?

[ChrisFix]

I've got an "install" appointment setup for this Sunday afternoon (Raleigh Durham Time Warner) for two cable cards for my HD TiVo. I tried to get a multistream card, but they had no idea what I was talking about. She quoted $42.95 for installation and then like $5 and change a month. Everything sound right?

That sounds right, except the installation is $42.95 PER CARD...so nearly $86 for someone to slide two cards into your TiVo.

I think we win the award as the most expensive CC installation in America with TWC Raleigh-Durham.

[keefer37]

That sounds right, except the installation is $42.95 PER CARD...so nearly $86 for someone to slide two cards into your TiVo.

I think we win the award as the most expensive CC installation in America with TWC Raleigh-Durham.

She didn't say per card on the phone, so if it does end up at $86, I may have grounds to fight that charge for a 10 minute install. *fingers crossed*

[TracerBullet]

I received my first bill from TWC after the cablecard install- they got the 2 cablecard charges right, but still billed me for the two cable boxes that were removed, AND billed me partial month charges instead of credits. My bill is $80 higher than it should be. They told me to pay the entire inflated bill and I would see credits on next month's bill. :rolleyes:

[jfh3]

She didn't say per card on the phone, so if it does end up at $86, I may have grounds to fight that charge for a 10 minute install. *fingers crossed*

Wow. I'd even complain about the first charge.

[gpsj1966]

Well I had a tech out at my house again this morning (Irving Tx) and while he didn't seem to be all that familiar with Tivo and Cable Cards he was pretty sharp. It also helped that he was able to get the call center on the phone pretty quick. It turns out that apparently there is some issue with Cable Cards and customer installed Cable Modems. It just so happens that my problems came up round about the time I got my own modem. I wasn't given the specifics but, apparently there will be a fix sometime tonight and I will be contacted Sunday.

Well Sunday came and went and I'm still no better off then I was before. I did exactly what the tech said and called in. This time they tried to convince me that I didn't have the proper tier to get one of the channels that I am suppose to get. After get my bill she said well, the only thing she could do was schedule another technician. She said that cable cards are a new technology. When I said that others had the exact same setup as me she said all setups are different.

[Wantishi]

Have an appointment scheduled for Thursday afternoon here in OC, CA with my new Tivo HD... The guy on the phone assured me that all their technicians were well versed with Tivo and Cablecards.

Seeing how it took me four phone calls and five different sales reps to get one who even knew what a cablecard was... I'm not getting my hopes up.

/crosses fingers

[ZPrime]

Just had my card installed. Tivo HD, and the tech brought an M-Card. I made it abundantly clear when I scheduled that I didn't want to pay for two S-cards.

Tech said it was his first CableCard install, and he didn't even know what a Tivo was. :eek:

He slotted in the M-card after I told him where to put it. He then tried to call dispatch to get it activated. He tried. And Tried. And tried. The number was constantly BUSY. After about an hour of nearly continuous redials he finally got through.

The woman on the other end got all of the info from him - they need the Cable Card "serial number" (I'm not sure of the actual term, but it's all letters.) They then needed the CC ID number shown on the Tivo screen, as well as the Host ID from the Tivo.

He got all of that read in, and the woman at the call center sent a "hit" to the card. Eventually it was showing authorized, but when I went to channel test I just got a black screen. After screwing around a bit and not getting anything, I rebooted the Tivo on a hunch. It came back up and when I went to channel test, voila, my channels were there!

So, if you have trouble, restart your box. The longest part of the process was waiting while the installer had to re-dial the dispatch number for an hour straight. :mad:

[jacksonian]

ZPrime, So are you saying you're able to record 2 shows at once with the one M card?

[alansplace]

jacksonian....yes, that's what an M-card is supposed to do.
--
Alan :D

[keefer37]

Do the have Mcards in Durham or even Raleigh for that matter?

No, not as of last weekend when I called up. I'm dreading my appointment on Sunday with the installation for the two cards. I'm hoping to not have the incompetence related on this forum. I guess I need to setup the HD TiVo tonight to give it a few days to get updates, etc.

[atrunco]

Well, I 've been reading all the posts in this forum for the past few weeks and finally took the plunge to attempt the cable card install with TW in the NC Triangle area (RDU). Had an appointment for the install with and 8-12 window. Driver called at 11:15 to tell me he was running behind and would probably be there at exactly 12pm. When we spoke on the phone, I asked him if he had any experience with CC installs on HD Tivos and he admitted that he had never successfully completed an install. What a confidence builder....

So anyway, he showed up at 2:15 and handed me the cards. He was pretty open to letting me dictate the install since he had very little idea about the process. Card 1 installed fine, but no HDsuite channels. The supervisor on the phone said it could take up to an hour and we should continue with Card 2. Install was similar - HD networks, but no HDsuite channels (ESPN, DSCHD etc.)

Installer then said he had a job that would take about 30 mins and he'd come right back. I wasn't gullible enough to believe him, but with didn't want him hanging around with my wife, kids and I.

Obviously he never came back, but he did call to check in and see if the channels had appeared. I restarted the system as some have suggested, but no change.

Around 5:00 I called TW cust service and raised a bit of a stir. I went a couple of rungs up the support ladder and eventually got someone who put me on a conference call with a TW tech that said since I have the Tivo HD and not the Series 3, I needed the M-card and not 2 S-cards. I then explained to him that I was under the impression that they didn't have M-cards - he assured me that they did, bu I refused to get of the phone until he could confirm that he could have one in hand. He put me on hold for a few minutes and came back with confirmation that a guy in Morrisville had just pulled two and would come by first thing tomorrow for the install......we'll see. I didn't correct him that only 1 is needed b/c I'm sure one will be broken. My confidence is very low.

On a side note, I find the the SD channels are VERY blurry - worse than with my SA8300 (that was the only good thing about that POS). It is borderline unwatchable. I hope that this improves with the new card, but I doubt that has anything to do with it. As a TiVo fan since '99 I'm hoping this product doesn't let me down.

[littlelibo]

Is anyone noticing the ESPNHD & ESPN2HD video looks weird?

It is perfectly clear, but almost looks like fast motion. Can't describe it... it just started yesterday.

[ChrisFix]

On a side note, I find the the SD channels are VERY blurry - worse than with my SA8300 (that was the only good thing about that POS). It is borderline unwatchable. I hope that this improves with the new card, but I doubt that has anything to do with it. As a TiVo fan since '99 I'm hoping this product doesn't let me down.

Well besides being charged $86 for your fun installation experience...TWC Raleigh-Durham doesn't do digital simulcast on the Basic & Standard Tier SD channels (2-76) with Cable Cards...so they are analog vs. digital (as on the 8300), which may explain why they don't look as good to you.

[CaseyM]

I suppose it is time that I post my Tivo Series 3 Install Story:

After a few hours of aggravation, I finally have my Series3 running on two M-cards. I do not have all of the HD channels (missing the sports HD channels). However, I do have dual tuner ability- which is a huge step over simply having a single tuner. A cable tech is coming over in one day in an attempt to remedy the HD issue.

A few tips I have learned from my experience:

1) To get through quick to your cable provider in an effort to 'hit' your cable cards, follow the phone menu that states you want to cancel your cable service. Then just tell the guy on the other line to hit your cable cards. I also found that I had a larger selection of cable install dates when I went through the 'cancel' guy. They really seek to please you- and they do.

2) A restart of the tivo worked to recognize my second cable card. Nothing else worked as my tivo did not automatically recognize it.

3) When the cable company hits your cards, it will not automatically recognize all of the channels. Give it about 15 minutes.

4) The Tivo website cable card trouble shooting guide is very helpful. Print that out along with as much info on cable cards that you can before your cable card tech comes over to do the install. Educate yourself before the install and expect that a complete moron will arrive.

[atrunco]

Well TWC tech came out today with 2 M-cards (he didn't realize I only needed on and tried to insert both).
Anyway, to make a long story short, still no HD channels (other than networks) or channels above 100. Diagnostic screen shows "EMMs=0" meaning none of the info has made it in from TWC. The tech eventually left and I got Tivo support and an upper level dispatch guy from TWC in conference call. In addition to the Cable card ID and Host ID, he was asking for a "data id" said it was 11 digits long. The Tivo guy had no idea what he was talking about and I was unable to find anything that matches that description anywhere on the diagnostic screens.

They inserted a generic number in and sent several "hits" to the card with no change.

Eventually we all agreed to give up and I was told by dispatch that they would send another guy out (not a tech, but someone higher up) with a bunch of different cards. I'm not sure I want to waste any more time on this ordeal. I've been loyal to TiVo since they came out on '99, but this is starting to wear me out.
On a bright note, the tech today did discover that my signal was low and installed a booster that has made my analog channels MUCH better.

I'll see what the next few days bring.

[clcbmason]

Time Warner Cable- Chapel Hill

So I got my HD from Amazon and made and appt. to have the cards installed. I asked the woman who books appts. to have the guy bring two S cards and an M card just in case. He got to my house and told me that he had never heard of M cards and neither had the guy at the place where he picks up equipment for jobs. He DID bring two S cards so I thought that we would be good to go. He puts them in and calls TW to get them activated and is surprised when the supervisor of the techs asks to speak with me. So I get on the techs cell phone and this guy proceeds to tell me that I should have specified that these were going in a Tivo HD ( I did) and that the FCC has started fining them because they have been using S cards in the Tivos. I was floored. He had no answers as to why they would single out Tivo owners...yada yada yada!
Long story short he said that they would "track down an M card" and make another appt. So that is where I stand. This is getting frustrating to say the least. They said they would call me first thing Monday the 17th although I am not holding my breath. I did get a hold of a customer service supervisor and the install will be free b/c of the screwup.

BTW I called Tivo to see what they thought of the FCC thing and the tech said it was horses**t.

[BruceShultes]

Well TWC tech came out today with 2 M-cards (he didn't realize I only needed on and tried to insert both).
Anyway, to make a long story short, still no HD channels (other than networks) or channels above 100. Diagnostic screen shows "EMMs=0" meaning none of the info has made it in from TWC. The tech eventually left and I got Tivo support and an upper level dispatch guy from TWC in conference call. In addition to the Cable card ID and Host ID, he was asking for a "data id" said it was 11 digits long. The Tivo guy had no idea what he was talking about and I was unable to find anything that matches that description anywhere on the diagnostic screens.

They inserted a generic number in and sent several "hits" to the card with no change.

Eventually we all agreed to give up and I was told by dispatch that they would send another guy out (not a tech, but someone higher up) with a bunch of different cards.

I'll see what the next few days bring.
As far as the "EMMs=0" is concerned, it has been my experience that the EMM count only increases when you are watching an encoded digital channel.

I can watch any of the digital channels, which are also provided in SD in my basic programming package and the EMM count doesn't seem to increase. When I watch something like ESPNHD it does.

As far as the data-id, I don't know if your TW head-end software is the same as mine or not, but in my case they also needed the alphanumeric code printed on the back of my cable cards before they could get them to work in my S3.

Another possible problem, many cable systems seem to have problems assigning all the packages which you are paying for to each cable card. They seem to treat each cable card as a separate account instead of just assigning them to your account and then granting them access to all packages under that account.

If your cards show "Authorized", this may be your problem.

[MickeS]

I gotta say, apart from the fact that TWC (San Antonio) compresses the HD channels, I've been very happy with them. Amazingly, the CableCARD installation went well even though the tech didn't know what he was doing, and the people I have spoken to in tech support have been very helpful and known what they were doing.

[dpfels]

Does anyone have any new information on when m-cards will be available from Time Warner in New York City?

I just spoke to a rep who told me that the new Samsung box which they are distributing has an M-card in it. They made it sound as if m-cards were only minutes away. Other reps at TW New York have suggested that m-cards are around the corner.

Obvioiusly, in light of the installation charge of $30 for the first card + $19.99 for each additional card, I would prefer not to need to do this twice. That doesn't even get into the fee for each additional card and the charge to duplicate my channel lineup.

Any info would be a big help.
Thanks!
Dan

[Fofer]

That doesn't even get into the fee for each additional card and the charge to duplicate my channel lineup.


:eek: They charge for that? :confused:

[dpfels]

They would charge me for the air that their installer breathes while in my apartment, if they could find a way to measure it. ;)

Really, given how many different answers to my cable card questions I have received, I am not entirely sure what I will be charged when this is all said and done. However, it breaks down something like this.
First cable card: $1.75/month
Second-fourth cable card: $1.75/card/month +
$2 channel lineup duplication fee/card/month.

For obvious reasons, I would like m-cards, since it cuts all of the expenses down by quite a lot!

Dan

[keefer37]

Time Warner Cable- Chapel Hill

So I got my HD from Amazon and made and appt. to have the cards installed. I asked the woman who books appts. to have the guy bring two S cards and an M card just in case. He got to my house and told me that he had never heard of M cards and neither had the guy at the place where he picks up equipment for jobs. He DID bring two S cards so I thought that we would be good to go. He puts them in and calls TW to get them activated and is surprised when the supervisor of the techs asks to speak with me. So I get on the techs cell phone and this guy proceeds to tell me that I should have specified that these were going in a Tivo HD ( I did) and that the FCC has started fining them because they have been using S cards in the Tivos. I was floored. He had no answers as to why they would single out Tivo owners...yada yada yada!
Long story short he said that they would "track down an M card" and make another appt. So that is where I stand. This is getting frustrating to say the least. They said they would call me first thing Monday the 17th although I am not holding my breath. I did get a hold of a customer service supervisor and the install will be free b/c of the screwup.

BTW I called Tivo to see what they thought of the FCC thing and the tech said it was horses**t.

This pretty much echoes my experience yesterday here in Durham, NC. Anthony is the guy to ask for regarding Cable cards in Raleigh-Durham's Time Warner. They went as far as to say the two single cards in the TiVo could damage it. So waiting for a call back to reschedule with a Mcard. clcbmason, any word from the guy yet? I'm trying to call them back now.

[Kablemodem]

:eek: They charge for that? :confused:

They charge us too, but it's built into the $1.75 fee per cable card.

[George Cifranci]

Speaking of M-Cards, my S-Card in slot 1 of my Tivo Series 3 got put into a "Upgrading Firmware" state. Time Warner Mid-Ohio doesn't usually do firmware upgrades over their network (they haven't upgraded their Cablecards firmware in 2 years). I have a technical contact at TW (who has a Tivo S3 there) who said that there is a bug in the firmware I have (May 2005) where the CableCard gets confused and goes in to a "Upgrading Firmware" mode. So they sent out a cable guy and he brought an M-Card. It was a nightmare because I think they forgot to unpair the original card and they ended up being there 2 hours and left with the M-Card not working. They were going to send someone out on Monday (today) but something happened since the time they left Saturday because sometime on Sunday it started to work. I saw my Tivo reboot on its own so that might have done the trick.

In any case I now have a M-Card in slot 1 (running in single stream mode) and a S-Card in Slot 2. The M-Cards are interesting because under the CableCard settings menu there are a bunch more option/diag screens that the S-cards don't have.

[BruceShultes]

AFIK, even though the manual that comes with the S3 says that you should be able to use an M-card in slot 1 with no card in slot 2, it will not work with the current version of software on the S3.

[randymac88]

Anyone else being charged *4.25* per card, instead of the $1.75, because they added a $2.50 "mirror charge" to mirror my cable box's channels on to the cablecards? It seems very odd to me, but the rep was adamant that the charge was legit and correct.

[dpfels]

Is this in NYC?

That is what the told me, too. However, once an experienced rep went over my bill, it worked out slightly differently. Apparently, once you go over to cable cards entirely, you lose all of your discounts for bundling different services. As a result, all of the prices are a la carte. In the end, I found that replacing two cable boxes with two Tivo HD's was going to cost me $2/month more (!) on my cable bill due to the loss of discounts.

However, if you are keeping one cable box to maintain a bundle (assuming you have more than one TV in NYC, then the cost goes down by a bit. In my case, I am losing the $8.95 DVR rental service and the rental price of a cable box. However, there is an extra $2.50 channel doubling charge, as you mention (this is, apparently only required in the event of a bundle). It winds up being cheaper this way, but I only get one HD box (the other will remain SD).

If you are confused, you are not alone. Even the Time-warner reps on the phone had a hard time telling me what the change in my bill would be after the cable cards.

In summary: If you are going over to cable cards alone, with no box, you will not pay the extra $2.50 (only the $1.75 card rental). However, you will lose any discounts you might have had, and your price may go up, overall.

It is a racket (and FCC regulations are clearly easy to end-run)!
Dan

[pkscout]

AFIK, even though the manual that comes with the S3 says that you should be able to use an M-card in slot 1 with no card in slot 2, it will not work with the current version of software on the S3.

Technically you can put one M-card in slot one and no card in slot 2 and it will work, but only as a single tuner device.

[pkscout]

Anyone else being charged *4.25* per card, instead of the $1.75, because they added a $2.50 "mirror charge" to mirror my cable box's channels on to the cablecards? It seems very odd to me, but the rep was adamant that the charge was legit and correct.

Don't feel bad. When I lived in Las Vegas Cox charged $3 per card and and $8.50 mirroring fee.

[echoout]

Well, here's my initiation into the CC/TWC world.

1) Last Monday, Sep. 10, scheduled TWC to bring 2 cablecards Monday, Sep. 18, requested technician with CC/Tivo S3 experience, was blown off.

2) Yesterday, Monday, Sep. 17, 2nd party tech shows up, seemed quite capable and very familiar with CC/Tivos. Had four cards with him, all from mid-2007. Were waiting for the EMM validation (or whatever) on the first card which never happened. He tried to contact the DNCS office who weren't in (!). Oddly, TWC told him to move on to the next job. So, he left me with one card waiting to validate and no other news on what to expect.

3) Today, Tues Sep. 18, called the tech to see if he knew what was up, which he didn't. No EMMs on Tivo screen. Called TWC to see what was up, they thought I was all set up, so I told them what happened and they scheduled a supervisor to come out tomorrow (Wed. morning). Later in the day I got a bug to troubleshoot so I called TWC and a really nice tech answered. He said my card looked paired from his end and had me check the channels. Sure enough, most showed up minus anything premium and/or in HD. He suggested redoing the Guided Setup would fix everything for that card which, of course, it didn't. I told him a supervisor was coming in the morning but he said he had no record of that, which someone in customer service confirmed. They scheduled another tech to come out Thursday Sep. 20.

So, anyway, I have one card that can see SOME channels and TWC are totally confused. Luckily, you guys prepared me for this and so I'm not too irritated.

Will they ever get it right?

[clcbmason]

This pretty much echoes my experience yesterday here in Durham, NC. Anthony is the guy to ask for regarding Cable cards in Raleigh-Durham's Time Warner. They went as far as to say the two single cards in the TiVo could damage it. So waiting for a call back to reschedule with a Mcard. clcbmason, any word from the guy yet? I'm trying to call them back now.


My appt. is today. keefer is right. If you live in Durham/ Chapel Hill you have to get Anthony on the line. Also if there is a failed visit, bitch enough and the install fee will be waived. Just go high enough on the customer service ladder and mention that Dish has 100 Hd channels (they dont know that Tivo wont work with Dish/ Direct TV). I am on for today PM and will update tomorrow with hopefully words of wisdom and not more frustration.

As an aside Anthony from TWC said they have had serious arguments with the TIVO engineers about whether this machine was really ready based on the status of M cards. At one point he said that he and the TIVO tech were shouting and cusing at each other. Gotta love that. Stay tuned.

Keefer I will send you and email tonight.

[echoout]

So, the original tech showed up out of nowhere this morning (thank god i work from home) and made more calls to TWC. He seriously (SERIOUSLY!) talked to 8 people at TWC who couldn't get the card going. He finally got through to DNCS and the card was working within a minute. What the crap is that? Anyway, his other cards were duds so I'm still waiting. The single card works as good as could be hoped for, all channels look slick, minus the ones I no longer get!

[cjhrph]

Had my cablecard install yesterday by TWC in Utica, NY. The installers were contractors and had never done an install before. However, they were nice and let me help them through the included instructions. They brought two Scientific Atlanta S-cards dated 1/2007. We got the first card up and running ok after the firmware update wait. When we inserted the second card it was recognized and no firmware update was necessary. While we were waiting for the card to be "hit" they left and said they'd call back to confirm it was working ok. Well, it never took and they never called back.

I rebooted the machine and it the "upgrading firmware" appeared on the TiVo. After it was done the card was in a "waiting for CP Auth" mode. On a hunch, I figured that they messed up the host ID of the machine and the card was paired incorrectly. I called TWC and after speaking with 2 different people, they discovered I was right. They got the card authorized ok but now it's stuck on "waiting for EMM's" and wont take the hit from the cable head end. It's able to display all the analog channels just fine, but wont decrypt the digitals at this time.

Looks like I am now waiting for another installer on Saturday to show up with another cable card.

Just so your aware, I did receive the lecture about the TiVo already being rendered obsolete due to the SDV employment. There are a few channels on our system that are SDV. HBO-West feeds, ESPN2, AEHD, UHD, HDNET, and a few others.

Im hoping that TiVo can rectify this problem in quick fashion....

[clcbmason]

SUCCESS!!

Got it going last night here in NC. If you live in the Triangle the tech has to get Anthony Edwards on the line as he has a protocol sheet from TIVO that he uses. What a joy to go in and eliminate all my unused channels and set a season pass for the various HD shows. Keefer keep me posted and good luck today.

[mingusdew]

SUCCESS!!

Got it going last night here in NC. If you live in the Triangle the tech has to get Anthony Edwards on the line as he has a protocol sheet from TIVO that he uses. What a joy to go in and eliminate all my unused channels and set a season pass for the various HD shows. Keefer keep me posted and good luck today.

Did they get it working with two SD cards or an Multi card? I'm tempted to pick up a Tivo HD (and I live in Raleigh) but I've hesitated because of all the problems with TWC.

[jmaditto]

Its great they got your Cable Card(s) installed and configured properly. :up:

I do have a question for those with TiVo and CableCard (s) via TWC though, what are you thoughts on missing out on SDV channels? Even if you have no SDV now you will in the not so distant future. I really want to go with TiVo HD but don't want to miss out on ESPN2HD and all the other SDV channels. I'm just surprised to see so many people buying a TiVo and giving up good content due to SDV that I hope I missing something here. Please help me understand so I can go out and buy a TiVoHD right now. Thoughts?

[cjhrph]

There's really not much to understand. The TiVo HD is simply not capable of viewing switched digital channels at this time. Period. A solution has apparently been identified, but is not yet in production.

At the moment, even with the SDV channels, my TiVo HD is by FAR a better solution than the 8300HD that TWC was offering. They are not even in the same class. Only you can determine the risk vs benefit for your particular situation. Call TWC in your area and find out just what channels are switched, what the upcoming plans are, and make your decision.

Good Luck.

[echoout]

This was my dilemma too. With 8300 everything looked pristine, I got all my sports channels including the ones that show the crappier Texas games and Fuel TV who I do work for. However, I found that for day-to-day viewing I could rarely find what I was looking for and it was hit or miss as to if the show even was recorded properly.

I sort of got my Series 3 HD Tivo as a warranty replacement for an old Series 2 I stopped using a long time ago, so it "felt" free.

I switched over to make TV watching fun again. I might miss a couple games and things are a little blocky on-screen but the overall TV watching experience is so much more fruitful.

As for ESPN2, I'll watch the non-HD version for now.

As for not getting Fuel TV, that's the one thing that really tears me up. Lame lame lame.

-steven

I'm just surprised to see so many people buying a TiVo and giving up good content due to SDV that I hope I missing something here. Please help me understand so I can go out and buy a TiVoHD right now. Thoughts?

[ysenoj]

SUCCESS!!

Got it going last night here in NC. If you live in the Triangle the tech has to get Anthony Edwards on the line as he has a protocol sheet from TIVO that he uses.

seems like someone ought to get a copy of that sheet and that way it can be sent along to folks getting installs, and anyone who has an installer that is not anthony can have a better shot at getting better results?

[dpfels]

That would be great!
I would love a copy.
Dan

[MickeS]

Isn't that just the sheet that comes with the TiVo?

[clcbmason]

Did they get it working with two SD cards or an Multi card? I'm tempted to pick up a Tivo HD (and I live in Raleigh) but I've hesitated because of all the problems with TWC.

They used a single M card.

As for SDV, I have every channel that I had with a box, only now I can record in HD at near perfect resolution.

As for being hesitant in getting one, just be prepared to be patient and have a few hiccups. And if you live in the triangle get a hold of Anthony Williams...he is the man. Talked the tech through my install.

[clcbmason]

Isn't that just the sheet that comes with the TiVo?

He was using language that was specific to the Tivo menus deep inside of the setup and configure. I had the printout from the box and he was well beyond that. He know where to go and what to check for.

[ChrisFix]

They used a single M card.

As for SDV, I have every channel that I had with a box, only now I can record in HD at near perfect resolution.

As for being hesitant in getting one, just be prepared to be patient and have a few hiccups. And if you live in the triangle get a hold of Anthony Williams...he is the man. Talked the tech through my install.

You're in Chapel Hill, NC and have an M card in you TiVo HD?

If so, I think you might be the only one, but that's a great sign. I tried and tried to get an M card and they would schedule it, but the Techs never showed up with one.

[mercurial]

As for SDV, I have every channel that I had with a box, only now I can record in HD at near perfect resolution.

Not sure what you mean by that. Is it a dig at the occasional S3/HD TiVo pixelation? Or a dig at TWC for compressing HD (which I didn't think they did... yet anyway)? The S3/HD TiVo does not recompress digital or HD broadcasts. It records them exactly as they are broadcast and replays them back as-is.

Or are you just saying that 720p/1080i aren't as good as 1080p so no HDTV "broadcast" can be perfect resolution? :p

[clcbmason]

Not sure what you mean by that. Is it a dig at the occasional S3/HD TiVo pixelation? Or a dig at TWC for compressing HD (which I didn't think they did... yet anyway)? The S3/HD TiVo does not recompress digital or HD broadcasts. It records them exactly as they are broadcast and replays them back as-is.

Or are you just saying that 720p/1080i aren't as good as 1080p so no HDTV "broadcast" can be perfect resolution? :p

I guess that "perfect" was as compared to the resolution output from the original HD cable box. I meant that it looks almost as good regardless of lines of resolution. Sorry for the confusion.

Yes I do live in Chapel Hill and have an M card.

[mercurial]

I guess that "perfect" was as compared to the resolution output from the original HD cable box. I meant that it looks almost as good regardless of lines of resolution. Sorry for the confusion.

So you're seeing a difference in the output compared to an HD cable box? What did/do you use to connect the cable box/TiVo? Component or HDMI/DVI?

[pkscout]

As for SDV, I have every channel that I had with a box, only now I can record in HD at near perfect resolution.


SDV has not rolled out for the RDU area yet. I believe the contract has been awarded, but no work has begun.

While you have all the same channels, it is likely everything from 1 - 76 is analog now instead of digital. The basic/standard tier is slated to go SDV, so TWC won't give CableCard devices access to the digital simulcasts of 1 - 76.

[clcbmason]

So you're seeing a difference in the output compared to an HD cable box? What did/do you use to connect the cable box/TiVo? Component or HDMI/DVI?

Both were running off Monster component cables. There is a slight grainyness that was not there before. Unless I am looking for a difference and just being picky. I could swear that Sportscenter in HD looks a bit grainy. Any thoughts, settings suggestions?

[dsjohnston]

Getting ready to upgrade to an XBR4 soon and am going to precede it with the purchase of a TivoHD here in Raleigh NC with TWC. Plan on (if this forum is any indication) finding the following:

Initially I'll be told that they don't have M Cards. If lucky, I might be able to convince them on the second or third failed installation attempt that yes, they do, and that when they finally bring one out, they need to get in touch with Anthony Edwards to get the thing activated.

At that point, not all the channels will be available to me, but if I go through guided setup three more times, I may be lucky enough to score most of them. Though my SD channels may look like hell, and even if they don't, TWC will likely send me a snotogram telling me they're moving to SDV and I'm scrod.

:eek:

I will have paid roughly a hundred bucks for the install, be charged for the returned SAHD box we currently have, and ultimately be paying more for monthly service than I previously was.

Wow- why do we all do this, again? Oh- that's right. A/V Geeks. Ah well... ;)

[ChrisFix]

Raleigh NC with TWC. Plan on (if this forum is any indication) finding the following:

Initially I'll be told that they don't have M Cards. If lucky, I might be able to convince them on the second or third failed installation attempt that yes, they do, and that when they finally bring one out, they need to get in touch with Anthony Edwards to get the thing activated.

Though my SD channels may look like hell, and even if they don't, TWC will likely send me a snotogram telling me they're moving to SDV and I'm scrod.

:eek:

I will have paid roughly a hundred bucks for the install, be charged for the returned SAHD box we currently have, and ultimately be paying more for monthly service than I previously was.

Wow- why do we all do this, again? Oh- that's right. A/V Geeks. Ah well... ;)

The SDs will be analog (channels 2-76) and will look like okay analog, but SDV won't affect them, because they are already analog. I read TWC Raleigh Durham has said that besides the 2-76 conversion to SDV, that only new channels would be introduced as SDV, so you shouldn't lose anything (just won't be able to gain anything).

One of the few positives to TWC is that they wont charge you anything for returning your SA8300 (so I don't understand that comment).

[zaknafein]

Well I ran into an interesting issue yesterday.

Wit the "c" software update, my TiVoHD has been running perfectly for a couple weeks. I'm finally ready to ditch the crappy SA8300HD box that I was using before.

So I call up TWC to disconnect it.

Turns out, with my Cable/RoadRunner bundle, I can't. If I do, it breaks the bundle, and I lose the discounts I was getting before. I asked if I could disconnect the DVR service. They said yes, but they would have to replace the box with a standard one.

So, they are coming out in a week to replace my SA HD HDVR with a normal cable box, which is going to sit in the closet.

Can they do this? Does requiring a STB for their bundle packages run them afoul of the FCC in any way?

[dpfels]

I had exactly the same problem in New York City.
FCC regulations don't matter at all.
See my earier post.
Dan

[atrunco]

Well last weekend after two different techs came out (one on Friday w/ 2 S-cards and one on Sat with 1 M-card) nothing worked. I got the basic channels, but nothing in the HD package and none of the channels above 100 on the SD TV.

Anyway, I had all but given up, Sunday came, still no change - EMMs=0 then got the urge to call and complain about the install fee around 2pm on Sunday. They patched me through to various people (none of them right). Wouldn't change the fee, but did tell me that a local tech was coming out to try and fix things on Monday.

Then I was scanning the channels about an hour later and noticed the channels all came through! I got everything - perfectly (with the single M card). EMMs not reads in the hundreds. Tech still came out on Monday even though my wife told him it was working and he checked everything, apologized for the inconvenience, and said we wouldn't be charged for the install.

So, M-card in HD TiVo working in Chapel Hill area - maybe they are starting to get it. :)

[cjhrph]

Happy to report that both of my S-Cards are now working. TWC Utica, NY. 1 card was bad on first install.

[drkwiat]

Help!

I was notified this AM by a TWC customer service manager that CableCARDs would no longer be supported because "CableCARDs do not support two way service". This policy goes into effect Monday, Sept 24, 2007, on Oahu and Kauai and will later be implemented on Maui and the Big Island.

This would mean that we would only be able to get standard def broadcasts but no HD. Having just invested $599 in a new TiVo, this was very upsetting! This policy would essentially make the new TiVo boxes useless.

My research on the net indicates that CableCARDs DO support two way service and that TiVo is working with the cable companies to support switched digital channels.

Does anyone know the real story? I suspect this will be implemented nationwide by TWC.

DK

[dsjohnston]

Okay- follow along in my journey with me. Set up the Tivo Saturday and went through the Guided Setup. It did snag at one point and gave me a "low data, need to wait for scheduled restart." I restarted it manually and all seems good. Getting SD channels (haven't checked on HD yet.)

Called TWC this morning and got a nice lady named Liz. Asked for a cablecard install for an HDTivo. Asked for an M-Card, as "I'd heard they have them in this area". She paused for a moment and said she wasn't sure they had those until the end of the year. I said she was probably thinking of the bi-directional. She asked me to wait.

Came back on and told me that they did have M-Cards (she was told) and that it would be 42.95 for install and 1.75/month. Was Wednesday at 1-5 okay?

"Absolutely" I replied, and thanked her for her help. She did ask at that point what brand TV I had. I reminded her politely that it was for an HDTivo. "No problem" she replied.

I asked her to note that these were sometimes referred to as "Series 3 Tivos" and she noted that on the request. (in hindsight, that was probably a mistake, but we'll see)

Will let you know how things progress. Fingers crossed, and cheat sheets at the ready.

-David

[jmaditto]

There's really not much to understand. The TiVo HD is simply not capable of viewing switched digital channels at this time. Period. A solution has apparently been identified, but is not yet in production.

At the moment, even with the SDV channels, my TiVo HD is by FAR a better solution than the 8300HD that TWC was offering. They are not even in the same class. Only you can determine the risk vs benefit for your particular situation. Call TWC in your area and find out just what channels are switched, what the upcoming plans are, and make your decision.

Good Luck.

I agree with the comparison. I changed out my 8300s (non HD) for two Series 2s and love it. I just don't want to lose content b/c of SDV on the HD side. I know which channels are SDV in SC by looking in the service menu. I was suprised to see so many. Guess I'll stick with the 8300HD until this gets worked out. Thanks for the reply.

[sportster]

It took 2 visits but I now have an M-card in my TiVo HD successfully hit with EMMs and receiving the right channels.

Set up the first appt. last Thursday and the CSR told me I would be getting S-cards. Of course the tech guy arrives with a SA M-card! He gets on the phone and has the card paired quickly but with only some of the digital channels showing. He leaves promising that the others will appears within 30 mins to 3 hours. Ha!

So I call Friday telling them I am still missing channels. The CSR tries to send the appropriate authorizations but soon gives up and schedules another tech visit for Monday. The new tech guy arrives Monday saying he expects to just sit on the phone until they find the right person to send the authorizations. First guy has us reboot the TiVo supposedly to re-do the pairing because the account wasn't established correctly. No change in EMMs so he calls someone else (presumably somebody at DNCS) and we soon see EMMs=114 and the channels are there!

So, the lesson is to keep the CSR on the phone until they find the right person (DNCS) to do the authorizations.

While waiting for this to occur I got the latest list of switched HD channels that I won't be able to receive using the CableCard here in Austin:

- A&E HD (241, 1660)
- ESPN2 HD (413, 1636)
- TBS HD (502)
- Music HD (572, 1664)
- Fox Sports HD (1639)

Even so, the setup with TiVo HD is much, much, better than having to deal with a separate cable box and with dual tuner and recorded HD to boot! Hopefully, a TiVo solution for SDV is not far off so this setup remains viable.

[Matty Blast]

I'm scheduled for an install here in Milwaukee tomorrow from 11-1. I would like to go out and get a Series3 and use it instead of TWC's DVR.

Questions:

1. I still want to order NHLCI, be able to order PPV's, and use the In-Demand services. I understand that the only way to do this is to use their set-top box in addition to the Series3 Tivo, and connect it to a different input on the TV. Which kind of set-top box should I ask for?

2. What channels will I not be able to receive, and why will I not be able to receive them?

3. Two S cards vs. One M card. Which scenario is better, and why?

4. Since my appointment is tomorrow and I'm currently scheduled just to have their DVR installed, is it too late for me to call them up and inform them that I'm getting a Series3?


*sigh* DirecTV has got to find a way to make it easier for apartments and condos to get their service, so we don't have to deal with cable.

[Arcady]

I just called TWC to add a card/cards to my account for my new THD. The soonest they can come out is almost two weeks from now. The guy couldn't tell me if they can bring an M-card, so I asked to have the tech bring two cards.

Question: My Series3 has an M-card and an S-card in it. If the tech brings S-cards, can I have him replace the M-card in my Series3 and put that M-card in the THD? I know I am inviting disaster by thinking about doing something like that (breaking the working S3) but I don't want to pay for four cards if three will work.

Either way, I'll be saving money each month, since I'm turning in the stupid Motorola POS they call a DVR.

[SCSIRAID]

I just called TWC to add a card/cards to my account for my new THD. The soonest they can come out is almost two weeks from now. The guy couldn't tell me if they can bring an M-card, so I asked to have the tech bring two cards.

Question: My Series3 has an M-card and an S-card in it. If the tech brings S-cards, can I have him replace the M-card in my Series3 and put that M-card in the THD? I know I am inviting disaster by thinking about doing something like that (breaking the working S3) but I don't want to pay for four cards if three will work.

Either way, I'll be saving money each month, since I'm turning in the stupid Motorola POS they call a DVR.

You could certainly do that.... However you risk both your boxes not working if you get an idiot. If the tech is good and they get a good person when they call back to authorize they all should be fine.

[mercurial]

You could certainly do that.... However you risk both your boxes not working if you get an idiot. If the tech is good and they get a good person when they call back to authorize they all should be fine.

And those, my friends, are some very, very, big IFs...

[dsjohnston]

Well okay- here it is, installation day. And I have to say that it's weird to see that the gent above was told two weeks. I called on Monday and got a date today! In any case- as luck would have it, I was moving the S2 up to the bedroom to replace the S1. The HDT is going in place of the S2.

Anyway, when I hooked up the S2, it started giving me odd, freezing screens and rebooting. Nice. Well, its fan noise had always bugged me anyway. So off to Best Buy. Bought another HDT and hooked it up where the S1 had been. Ran through guided setup, all good except of course no longer getting HBO, etc.

Called TWC this morning (actually have the phone to my ear on hold as I type) to see if the tech could bring another M card. She's checking to see if he's carrying more than one with him. Was told initially they might have to reschedule if he wasn't carrying two. Isn't this just a little silly? By this time, shouldn't they be carrying somewhat of a "stash" with them?

So in my perfect world, he'll be carrying two, will know what he's doing, won't have to call Anthony Edwards (or at least if he does, will get him right away) and I'll have two working, M-carded HDTs by the end of the day.

Will let ya know. (still on hold)

-DJ

(btw- does anyone know if there's a way to turn off the GREEN led on the front panel along with the others? At night in a dark bedroom, that sucker's BRIGHT!)

[kitchenboy]

Hello,

Have had my Tivo HD DVR for about a month now (former Series 1 owner). Install was initially a nightmare as TWC sent out an illiterate who could not read the Tivo instruction sheet (he couldn't find the card slot on the front of the box!). Got everything working though...

Pixelation problems - lots of these issues since the install. Supposedly a Tivo problem with the Scientific Atlanta Single-stream cards - can anyone confirm this ?

Latest issue - I periodically lose my premium channels. When I tune to HBO, SHO, Skinemax - I get a black screen and no content. I called TWC sunday night and re-authorized equipment - no difference. Rebooted Tivo box , no change.

Monday night - premium channels working fine - about to cancel the TWC service call I have scheduled.

Tuesday night - premium channels not working again!!!!!

What is up with this - does anyone know ? Is it just a waste of time to have TWC come out for this?

Thanks

[dsjohnston]

Come home from work at 12:30 to be there in case the guy shows up at the 1:00 of the 1:00-5:00 window. (hey- stranger things have happened.)

At (I s**t you not), 4:59, (the installer even had a momentary quarrel with his supervisor on the phone about it) the installer pulls up.

We BS for a moment, and I lead him downstairs to the first (and most important) HDTivo. On the way, I ask him if they sent him with the two cards I asked for. He chuckles. "Did you ask for two?" I pause. "Yes", I say, "I did". He flashes three and says yes, they got word to him.

I ask "Have you ever done a cablecard install before?" Pause. "Well, a couple of years ago, and they used to go smoothly." and then "This is my first day back". Uh oh.

Let me first say- very nice guy, Harold, personable, apologized for the time, for my taking off work, etc.

Anyway. I mention how these things have been characterized as taking either thirty minutes or three hours depending. I flash and explain the instructions and tell him we'll take it a step at a time and get through it together. I suggest he give me the cards while he calls his super and I'll note the serial numbers.

Uh oh again. All are SA PKM6000 cards. S Cards. I explain the M versus S thing. He agrees that yeah, that would be bad.

I also notice on the raggedy cards that the manufacture dates are 3/02/06, 3/15/05, and 5/6/06.

He tells his boss the deal, listens to him for a moment, and hands the phone to me.

Longer story shorter, the guy at the warehouse is no longer there. (guess not, it's 5:00) They're a contractor and will have to contact TWC to reschedule as there's no point in my accepting four S cards instead of two Ms. Again, to his credit, Mike is very nice and says he'll call me back after speaking with someone.

This he does about fifteen minutes later and says someone will call in the AM after checking to make sure they have M cards and when they can reschedule.

Says Kirk at the warehouse needs to consult with someone and see what's what, and that their cablecard guru is a guy named Anthony ("Edwards"?, I ask, having read the name on the Board. "No", Mike replies, "Williams I think")

So tomorrow I'll expect a call or give Mike one back.

Want to bet on the length of this adventure ultimately?

[thejrnf]

Anthony Williams is definitely the CableCard guru for TWC Raleigh-Durham. I made a lot more progress once I started talking to him. It still took a while, but he at least had a reasonably systematic and informed approach.

In the end, I returned my Tivo HD. With all of the problems with cable cards, pixelation, no eSATA, and charges from TWC, we just decided to go back to the SA 8300 HD. Unfortunately, the new SA boxes (8300HDC) have the Navigator software which seems much worse than Passport.

[mamosley]

When I called and asked Time Warner for a cable card for my HDTivo I asked if they had the multi stream cards available, girl on the phone said no, so I asked for two cards to be brought. Cable guy showed up early to his credit. Plugged in the card and it showed up as a multi stream card. I told the cable guy I would only need one card in that case. He called in the numbers to activate it, after a few minutes my tivo said downloading channel line up. So I think I'm all set, cable guy went on his way. After the downloading channel line up went a way, I redid guided set up, restarted tivo. All channels worked except my subscription channels, hbo and the like. Called Time Warner support, rep confirmed cable card number and host id, innitialized the card, still no hbo and what not. She took hbo off my account and readded, still no hbo. Stated the cable guys work order had not been closed yet and the problem should fix itself after he closes the order, if not they would send some one back out tomorow. Ok, no big deal. So I decide to have tivo connect and update. Took a few minutes to download, has been loading the update for over an hour now and only about 46% done. Could I be getting the fall update or the tivo has to get extra information because of the cable card? I just got my HDTivo last Friday by the way and had the 8.1 software and havent noticed any pixillation issues.

[dsjohnston]

Last night at 10:00 PM, guy calls me from Texas (Noble Services Corp) and apologizes, but wants to know if they can close the case?

I irritably explained what was up.

[dsjohnston]

Had me down for 10/1 I was told (when I called- no one had told me yet). We'll be out of town that week, so now scheduled for 10/8 in that same magical 1-5 timeframe.

[Arcady]

I just tried to get a new appointment closer than 10/6. They offered me tomorrow, but I'm at work all day, so I had to keep the 10/6 appointment. If they had offered me 9/28 in the beginning, I could have arranged to get the day off. Whatever.

[Okeemike]

Sorry if this is clearly answered elsewhere, but I've seen a lot of conflicting information.

Are MultiStream Cards suported as an MCard, or do I still need two (just as with a single stream card)?

My S3 will be delivered today, and the installer will be here Saturday. I'd love to save a couple of bucks if I can.

[BruceShultes]

The software currently in the S3 only supports single stream cards.

The software in the Tivo HD can use either two single stream cards or one MCard.

Whether or not your cable company has MCards available is another question.

[Okeemike]

The software currently in the S3 only supports single stream cards.

The software in the Tivo HD can use either two single stream cards or one MCard.

Whether or not your cable company has MCards available is another question.


Ah, that explains my confusion. Seems strange the that the S3-lite would support something that the more expensive model doesn't, huh?

In any case, my unit is being delivered today, and I'm UBER pumped to get back into the TiVo world. I've been living with the DTV HD DVR quagmire for far too long.

[dsjohnston]

I've been living with the DTV HD DVR quagmire for far too long.

http://www.andybiggart.com/Pages/Journal/2004/06-June/quagmire.gif

[NCTRNL]

Ah, that explains my confusion. Seems strange the that the S3-lite would support something that the more expensive model doesn't, huh?

In any case, my unit is being delivered today, and I'm UBER pumped to get back into the TiVo world. I've been living with the DTV HD DVR quagmire for far too long.

Same here. Mine came yesterday, cable guy comes tomorrow. I just hope it goes somewhat smoothly...I have the NAVIGATOR

[George Cifranci]

I am having some fun with my Tivo Series 3 CableCard setup.

Back on September 15th I had my Slot 1 single-stream card tell me it was upgrading firmware which was a bug because TW in Columbus hasn't done a firmware upgrade on those in 2 years. So they came out and replace it with an M-Card (multi-stream card running in single-stream mode) I don't want to get into all the nitty-gritty because it all went to hell since they forgot to unpair the original card etc... When all was said and done when they left the Slot 1 card wasn't working (no encrypted channels worked). we even worked with the TW Cablecard guru who has a Tivo Series 3 there at work. Oddly enough next day it started to work.

The card was working fine until today when I went to play back something I recorded on HBOHD. The TIVO suddenly rebooted and when it came back up I got another CableCard Firmware update. I later learned that they actually did roll out a firmware upgrade for the M-cards. However I am back to not getting any encrypted channels. I am again working the TW CableCard guru who has been working with Tivo and Scientific Atlanta (who makes the CableCards that TW uses) to figure out what the deal is.

Anyone else with a Series 3 using M-Cards? I would be curious to hear your experiences.

[Mandlf]

Can someone give me a brief explanation of cablecard signal strength? Is there a specific target number I should be hoping for? Is it different for each channel? I have TWC in Charlotte with a TiVo HD with 2 cablecards.

[SCSIRAID]

Can someone give me a brief explanation of cablecard signal strength? Is there a specific target number I should be hoping for? Is it different for each channel? I have TWC in Charlotte with a TiVo HD with 2 cablecards.

Signal Strength has nothing to do with Cablecards. The Tivo's singal strength indication is more of a Signal to Noise ratio indication. It only applies to digital sources. 80 or higher should be OK. It should be relatively constant on a given channel. If it goes up and down the you may have too high a signal level or extreme multipath issues.

[Mandlf]

originally posted by SCSIRAID

Signal Strength has nothing to do with Cablecards. The Tivo's singal strength indication is more of a Signal to Noise ratio indication. It only applies to digital sources. 80 or higher should be OK. It should be relatively constant on a given channel. If it goes up and down the you may have too high a signal level or extreme multipath issues.

Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for. I just checked a few channels and I seem to get between 66 - 68. Is that too low?

[cuongnet]

oh, good job!!

[SCSIRAID]

Thank you, that was exactly what I was looking for. I just checked a few channels and I seem to get between 66 - 68. Is that too low?

That seems low. Although I havent seen one personally, other posters have indicated that TivoHD has a 'real' signal strength indication in the diagnostics section. It would be measured in dbm. There is also supposed to be a SNR measurement in there. It would be measured in db (32-36 would be good numbers).

Someone correct me if Im wrong..... I want my 9.1 for S3 so I can see it for myself!!! Im told that 9.1 brings it to the S3 as well. :)

[mamosley]

Ok, so I had the multi stream card installed and TW couldnt get my premium channels to work. Sent out the same guy who did the install, but he did not bring any additional cards with him and said he would come back this morning and try some different cards. He didnt show up so I called support and they sent another guy with one card, but it was a single stream card. I can now get 1 hbo channel and that is the hd channel. I cannot get any of the other digital hbo channels. i also have the 'hd' package for additional $3 a month and the espn's in hd, mojo, hdnet or discovery hd do not come in. I have the copy of the work order which clearly shows 2 cable cards. So now I'm stuck with one that isnt funcitoning properly and they want me to wait until October 8th to send some one back out with another card. I asked for a supervisor (I was very polite on the phone, did not get an attitude with the rep, I understand they can only do what they can do) and of course got the not available, they'll call you back in about 15 minutes spiel. So I'll give em 30 minutes. If I dont get a call back I will be cancelling and deal with an antenna and dsl for a couple of months until fios is ready.

[Okeemike]

Ok...this isn't TWC, but Brighthouse, however, I believe they're the same.

My installer showed up almost an HOUR EARLY (when does that ever happen), however, he had NO idea what a cable card was (thought it was a network card) so he didn't bring one. He said he would show back up later today with the cable card.

The install went pretty smoothly. We ended up splitting my cable internet line, which I didn't want to do, but we'll see if I have any problems with it.

I called cust. support, they sent him a message, and gave me a $20 credit.

Let's see if he shows...

[Deinonych]

I received my TiVo HD this past Wednesday, and the installers (TW Austin) came out Thursday afternoon to install. I had specifically requested the install by a badged TW employee who knew about CableCARD and TiVo HD. But, they sent two contractors instead. They installed both cards according to the instructions, but neither one would receive HD programming. They told me this was normal and that the channels would pull down over the next couple of hours. That didn't sound right to me, but I didn't have any information to counter with.

After a couple of hours, it still wasn't displaying any of the HD tier, the digital music tier, or a large number of regular digital tiers (most of which were not SDV). So I called TW tech support to see what the problem was. The first "tech" I talked to didn't know what he was doing, and actually hung up on me. After calling back in, I spoke to a tech that was familiar with CableCARD and the TiVo HD. He explained that the installers should have made sure that ALL of the channels were working on the first card before moving on to the second one. I told him they just checked a few channels to make sure it was working. He said that most of the contractors don't know much about CableCARD, and wasn't really surprised. He tried to re-pair the cards from his end, but it didn't fix the problem. So, he scheduled a tech to come out and fix the problem today. Hopefully, he'll be able to get everything straightened out.

[cableguy763]

I received my TiVo HD this past Wednesday, and the installers (TW Austin) came out Thursday afternoon to install. I had specifically requested the install by a badged TW employee who knew about CableCARD and TiVo HD. But, they sent two contractors instead. They installed both cards according to the instructions, but neither one would receive HD programming. They told me this was normal and that the channels would pull down over the next couple of hours. That didn't sound right to me, but I didn't have any information to counter with.

After a couple of hours, it still wasn't displaying any of the HD tier, the digital music tier, or a large number of regular digital tiers (most of which were not SDV). So I called TW tech support to see what the problem was. The first "tech" I talked to didn't know what he was doing, and actually hung up on me. After calling back in, I spoke to a tech that was familiar with CableCARD and the TiVo HD. He explained that the installers should have made sure that ALL of the channels were working on the first card before moving on to the second one. I told him they just checked a few channels to make sure it was working. He said that most of the contractors don't know much about CableCARD, and wasn't really surprised. He tried to re-pair the cards from his end, but it didn't fix the problem. So, he scheduled a tech to come out and fix the problem today. Hopefully, he'll be able to get everything straightened out.
Let me know if you have any problems. I get in to work today at two, and can get you fixed over the phone.

[Deinonych]

Let me know if you have any problems. I get in to work today at two, and can get you fixed over the phone.

Thanks! I'll definitely take you up on your offer if the tech can't get things working.

[wilecoyote]

Just to be 100% clear, my HD S3 arrives this week; do I get two single stream cards or one (or 2?) Multi-stream card(s). (Might ;) get one in the TV for PIP)

Does the Series 3 - not support the Multi Card like it's little brother? I want to be 100% clear with Time Warner. You guys have been through allot and I just want to double check before I schedule.

My apologies if this has been answered in this thread, it's long!

:o

[SCSIRAID]

Just to be 100% clear, my HD S3 arrives this week; do I get two single stream cards or one (or 2?) Multi-stream card(s). (Might ;) get one in the TV for PIP)

Does the Series 3 - not support the Multi Card like it's little brother? I want to be 100% clear with Time Warner. You guys have been through allot and I just want to double check before I schedule.

My apologies if this has been answered in this thread, it's long!

:o

The S3 needs two S-Cards or two M-Cards. The THD can use either two S-Cards or one M-Card.

[Okeemike]

Good luck! The cable guy just visited me on Thursday, and my S3 is now (mostly) up and running. Unfortunately, the guy forgot the Cable Cards, and brought a network card instead (?). To top things off, he isn't even qualified to install the card, had he even bright it. In any case, I have to now wait until Wednesday for a 'qualified' rep to bring them on Wed. To Brighthouse's credit, the gave me $20 off my bill, and the first month of cable cards for free. Not too shabby.

Impressions of the S3 so far... it's great! I'm especially happy with the Unbox, and the ability to download stuff....way, way cool.

[wilecoyote]

Good luck! The cable guy just visited me on Thursday, and my S3 is now (mostly) up and running. Unfortunately, the guy forgot the Cable Cards, and brought a network card instead (?). To top things off, he isn't even qualified to install the card, had he even bright it. In any case, I have to now wait until Wednesday for a 'qualified' rep to bring them on Wed. To Brighthouse's credit, the gave me $20 off my bill, and the first month of cable cards for free. Not too shabby.

Impressions of the S3 so far... it's great! I'm especially happy with the Unbox, and the ability to download stuff....way, way cool.


I'll keep you all posted! - Tivo Arrives Wednesday!

[rich311]

After reading a lot of this thread, it seems like TW is making it deliberately hard for people to get CABLECards in their Tivos. It's pretty clear that if they weren't mandated to provide them by the FCC they'd tell us to shove it.

I wonder if their attitude is worthy of an official FCC complaint? Maybe if they get enough complaints, they'll get fined enough to start buying decent cards and training their installers how to deal with them.

[pkscout]

After reading a lot of this thread, it seems like TW is making it deliberately hard for people to get CABLECards in their Tivos. It's pretty clear that if they weren't mandated to provide them by the FCC they'd tell us to shove it.

I wonder if their attitude is worthy of an official FCC complaint? Maybe if they get enough complaints, they'll get fined enough to start buying decent cards and training their installers how to deal with them.

It's hard to say. From what I've experienced with another cable company (Cox) along with what I've heard here, I'd say TWC isn't doing much worse (or better) than other cable companies. They are all technically meeting the obligations under the FCC ruling, but I wouldn't say any of them are meeting the spirit of it.

[SCSIRAID]

After reading a lot of this thread, it seems like TW is making it deliberately hard for people to get CABLECards in their Tivos. It's pretty clear that if they weren't mandated to provide them by the FCC they'd tell us to shove it.

I wonder if their attitude is worthy of an official FCC complaint? Maybe if they get enough complaints, they'll get fined enough to start buying decent cards and training their installers how to deal with them.

Time Warner Raleigh installed an M-Card in my THD on Sunday. Took 15 mins and it was up and running. Piece 'o Cake.

[NCTRNL]

My install went well on Friday except for the fact that I don't get 3 of the standard HD channels. HDNET, HDNET Movies, and Universal HD. I have called once and the lady blew me off saying it was an outage...haven't tried to call back yet.

[SCSIRAID]

My install went well on Friday except for the fact that I don't get 3 of the standard HD channels. HDNET, HDNET Movies, and Universal HD. I have called once and the lady blew me off saying it was an outage...haven't tried to call back yet.

Do you get Mojo (291) or MHD (292)? Those are all in the extra cost HD Suite and are not standard channels.

If you subscribe to HD Suite then your account may not be 'balanced' correctly or the CC may need another 'hit'.

[NCTRNL]

Do you get Mojo (291) or MHD (292)? Those are all in the extra cost HD Suite and are not standard channels.

If you subscribe to HD Suite then your account may not be 'balanced' correctly or the CC may need another 'hit'.

Yes I get Mojo. We must not get MHD. I get all the channels on teh cable box, just not on the cable cards. I just love getting blown off by the support people...

[SCSIRAID]

Yes I get Mojo. We must not get MHD. I get all the channels on teh cable box, just not on the cable cards. I just love getting blown off by the support people...

If you get HDSuite on the cable box but not on cablecard then your account is not 'balanced'.

Not sure if I understand your cablecard situation correctly.... Do you get any of the 5 HDSuite channels? 291-295... or are you just missing the 3 you mentioned? You should see all 5 on your cablecard as well as your cablebox.

Perhaps I am incorrectly assuming you are in Raleigh/Cary...

[NCTRNL]

No, I'm not in NC, I am in Kansas City. I get all the channels I usually get on my cable box except for those 3. It's obviously something in the cable card account but I'm not sure what to tell the service guy so he'll know what I'm talking about.

[SCSIRAID]

No, I'm not in NC, I am in Kansas City. I get all the channels I usually get on my cable box except for those 3. It's obviously something in the cable card account but I'm not sure what to tell the service guy so he'll know what I'm talking about.

LOL.... bad assumption on my part. May I suggest that you update your profile to include your location.

They should understand the term 'balance the account' so all subscribed services are on all the hardware. Perhaps cableguy can shed additional light if there is better terminology.

Good luck!!

[cableguy763]

LOL.... bad assumption on my part. May I suggest that you update your profile to include your location.

They should understand the term 'balance the account' so all subscribed services are on all the hardware. Perhaps cableguy can shed additional light if there is better terminology.

Good luck!!
"balance the account" is the EXACT terminology SCSIRAID :D

[NCTRNL]

I'll call them today and get them to do that. Can the regular CSR's do that or do I have to go to a higher level? Will this action "hit" the cards so they access those channels?

[SCSIRAID]

I'll call them today and get them to do that. Can the regular CSR's do that or do I have to go to a higher level? Will this action "hit" the cards so they access those channels?

I believe the 'regular' CSR's can do a rebalance and rehit.

[NCTRNL]

Question...why do the first level CSR's seem so competent and speak coherently. Then you get to "Cable Services" and you get someone who literally sounds like they're drinking rum and coke and taking a nap. Hopefully I get home and the "hits" she sent do the trick...

[chopsui]

Let me know if you have any problems. I get in to work today at two, and can get you fixed over the phone.

YES! This is EXACTLY what has been happening to me. I live in Austin and I bought the TivoHD the first week it came out. I had several different installers - both contractors and TW guys - come out and nothing ever worked. Finally the last guys tried to tell me it was the Tivo box and that I needed to return it. I basically just gave up for a while and have been suffering with basic channels + local HD for the last couple of months. But now that the pixelation prroblem has been fixed, I'd really like to get all my channels back. Especially since I've been paying for them for the last 2 months!

Help me cableguy, you're my only hope!

When do you work again?

[AMB]

I just ordered the Series 3 and had to order 2 CableCards. TWC said that they must be installed by a service person, an additional $33.00 visit fee. Go to twcnyc.info for my horror story.

[NCTRNL]

Well the lady said she sent a refresh to the cards and they're not any different. How do I get past the incompetence that these people in "Cable Services" always have?

[SugarBowl]

Time Warner raleigh has launched TBS-HD and has stated that it will not be available to cablecard customers, as it will be on SDV in 2008.

I have cablecards and can confirm that TBS-HD is not available. There are 2 more HD channels launching in 2 weeks that TWC has also said will not be added to cablecard subscriptions.

[NCTRNL]

Time Warner raleigh has launched TBS-HD and has stated that it will not be available to cablecard customers, as it will be on SDV in 2008.

I have cablecards and can confirm that TBS-HD is not available. There are 2 more HD channels launching in 2 weeks that TWC has also said will not be added to cablecard subscriptions.

So...honestly...should I think about returning the S3 on the 30-day guarantee if everything is going to be going to SDV?

[SCSIRAID]

So...honestly...should I think about returning the S3 on the 30-day guarantee if everything is going to be going to SDV?

That depends on you really.... How much do you like the Tivo user interface vs cableco box? How much of the 'new' stuff do you expect to watch?

My plan is to stick with the S3 and when something new gets added that I really want... I will get a cableco SA8300 to go along with my S3. The saving grace will be the 'Tuning Resolver' dongle that NCTA and Tivo are talking about.

[mercurial]

The saving grace will be the 'Tuning Resolver' dongle that NCTA and Tivo are talking about.

Yeah.. Go go gadget dongle!

[NCTRNL]

That depends on you really.... How much do you like the Tivo user interface vs cableco box? How much of the 'new' stuff do you expect to watch?

My plan is to stick with the S3 and when something new gets added that I really want... I will get a cableco SA8300 to go along with my S3. The saving grace will be the 'Tuning Resolver' dongle that NCTA and Tivo are talking about.

Oh I definitely love the tivo interface. I would even go as far as saying I'm "in love" with it. But if they go full SDV in the future and start putting out HD channels that cable cards don't get...then what's the point?

[SugarBowl]

Oh I definitely love the tivo interface. I would even go as far as saying I'm "in love" with it. But if they go full SDV in the future and start putting out HD channels that cable cards don't get...then what's the point?

TWC is moving towards having a cable box on every TV in your house. Each box will have an assoociated cost.

I will always use my S3 because it has lifetime service, and i get perfect reception with an antenna.

[ncbagwell]

I'm also a Raleigh TWC customer with a Series 3 and I'm not getting TBS-HD as of today.

[SCSIRAID]

I'm also a Raleigh TWC customer with a Series 3 and I'm not getting TBS-HD as of today.

Cablecard wont be getting TBSHD or the other two channels coming in a couple weeks. The bandwidth is being reserved for SDV.

[emmpee]

Cablecard wont be getting TBSHD or the other two channels coming in a couple weeks. The bandwidth is being reserved for SDV.

My understanding is that TW Rochester is doing the same thing (blocking TBSHD to CableCard users, even though it is not [currently] on SDV).

If it's not on SDV right now and they're just arbitrarily blocking CableCard users from receiving the channel, is this a violation of FCC regs?

[MickeS]

I got TBS-HD here in San Antonio today... well, like everyone else, I can't actually get it since it's on SDV. :(

It sucks that I pay for this and can't get it.

[BruceShultes]

See whether you can tune to TBSHD directly.

In Albany, NY it doesn't show up in the Guide, but I can enter 1805 and it comes in fine on my S3.

[Tallguy001]

FYI to those is SE Wisconsin. TWC Milwaukee added TBS HD to the lineup at some point yesterday. Milwaukee is using SDV, so it is not available via cablecards.

[MickeS]

See whether you can tune to TBSHD directly.

In Albany, NY it doesn't show up in the Guide, but I can enter 1805 and it comes in fine on my S3.
Nope, I tried tuning directly, and I get the program info, but a banner that says "Channel not available".

[ncbagwell]

Just to be clear on this SDV thing for TBSHD - does it matter if you are using M-cards versus regular cable cards?

[SCSIRAID]

Just to be clear on this SDV thing for TBSHD - does it matter if you are using M-cards versus regular cable cards?

Nope... a cablecard is a cablecard is a cablecard..... its the host that matters.

[NCTRNL]

If anyone reads the Consumerist, there's a guy on there having problems with his TivoHD and TBSHD

http://consumerist.com/consumer/rain-delay-over/comcast-says-chicago-will-have-tbs-hd-for-tonights-cubs-game-306572.php

[DavidStallard]

I just started looking into a Series 3 box (the hard drive died on one of our two S2 boxes) and learned about cablecards...they sound great. However, after coming here and reading about all the installation nightmares, I'm getting scared off. Maybe I should just stick with the HD cable box? I use Time Warner in Columbus, OH.

[Yosterno]

In New York City I also do not get TBSHD on my Tivo, but on the Time Warner Cable box I do get TBSHD. I did put in a request with Tivo to get the channels changes so I can get TBSHD

[gilgamesh]

I've had my TivoHD for about about a month on TWC Austin and have been having an annoying problem. About every 2-3 days I will turn my Tivo on and the screen will be gray (on live TV). Checking on the cable cards says they are either not authorized, or have not recievedand ECMs. Any scheduled recordings are missed because "no signal was present". Resetting the Tivo causes everything to go back to normal and the cable cards show up as fully authorized. I had hoped

Has anyone else experienced similar behavior?

I've gotten into the habit of restarting it every morning to avoid missed recordings. I basically want to figure out if the problem is with 1) TWC , 2) the cable cards, or 3) the Tivo.

[artinsocal]

I've had my TivoHD for about about a month on TWC Austin and have been having an annoying problem. About every 2-3 days I will turn my Tivo on and the screen will be gray (on live TV). Checking on the cable cards says they are either not authorized, or have not recievedand ECMs. Any scheduled recordings are missed because "no signal was present". Resetting the Tivo causes everything to go back to normal and the cable cards show up as fully authorized. I had hoped

Has anyone else experienced similar behavior?

I've gotten into the habit of restarting it every morning to avoid missed recordings. I basically want to figure out if the problem is with 1) TWC , 2) the cable cards, or 3) the Tivo.
My problem is similiar in that I also was getting a gray screen when I would go to certain channels. I called TW and they scheduled a service call for this Friday (10/6) In the mean time I have been doing some trouble shooting and have found out that #1 card is indeed bad. I didn't figure this out until I found out that when you change channels the S3 will not always use the same tuner. It will sometimes switch tuners there fore you don't really know what tuner the current channel is accessing. That's why I thought it was a cable issue and when I would change a channel sometimes the channel would come in and sometimes it wouldn't. But what I didn't know was that when the channel wasn't coming in (gray screen) it was when the #1 card was being accessed. Then when I went into the cable card diagnostics and accessed the "test channels" screen, this obviously showed that #1 card was getting no channels, except for the local HD channels. Hopefully the TW tech will bring a couple cards. It would also show "not authorized" in the data screen.

[JeffRapp]

I just got my new TiVo HD on Saturday, and soon after found that I couldn't get guide data for the clear QAM channels. OTA is out of the question, as an indoor antenna would only pickup two stations, and I doubt my apartment complex will let me install an antenna on the roof. So, I broke down and called for a CableCard install from TWC - Lincoln, NE.

The lady I talked with was very nice, yet clueless. I knew that I was in trouble when, after telling her that I needed them for my new TiVo, she asked what type of TV I had, as if they were to install into that. I tried to explain that I needed a CC to get the correct guide mapping for the digital local channels. She insisted that since the CableCards weren't two-way, that wouldn't work, but eventually gave into my demands and setup an install for this Friday. I asked about MCard/SCard availability, and she had no clue. Later, she called back and informed me that they would install two cards - assuming on my end SCards. Yuck.

So, not wanting to pay the $3.75*2/month, I called back today to try my luck with a different CSR. Much to my surprise, she also new very little about CableCards, but offered to send an email to someone who would know about the MCard situation.

Later, I receive an email from one of the Network Techs. Direct quote from the phone call follows: "Presently, since there are no devices that support MCards," (uh oh), " and since the MCard is a two-way device that is being finalized by Toshiba/Samsung/I Forget," (double uh oh), "we do not currently have these available. Blah blah blah." Great. Is somebody in management making this difficult on purpose? I suppose so.

So, now I've got to call this guy back and explain to him the difference between the two types of cards, and that no, I don't have a magical two-way "TiVo Machine," as they so lovingly called it.

Install is still on for this Friday, I hope all goes well!

[TiVoter123]

I am in Orange County CA and just had TBSHD added today, which I cannot receive on my TiVo (cable box is fine). The same applies to ESPN2HD, which never worked. Can anyone verify that these are SDV channels? Is there a way to check (via cablebox or otherwise) if these are in fact SDV?

[artinsocal]

I am in Orange County CA and just had TBSHD added today, which I cannot receive on my TiVo (cable box is fine). The same applies to ESPN2HD, which never worked. Can anyone verify that these are SDV channels? Is there a way to check (via cablebox or otherwise) if these are in fact SDV?
I'm in O.C. also and I can get ESPN2HD on my Tivo S3. What channel is TBSHD on. I couldnt find that on my line up here in La Habra. If you meant TNTHD, I can get that too.

[TiVoter123]

TBS-HD is on 417 here. ESPN2HD on 425.

[farlz]

I have Time Warner Cable in New York City (Queens) and I am still getting YES HD on 708 instead of TBS HD on my S3. The HD cable box from Time Warner in my bedroom gets TBS HD on 708 fine. I called Tivo and they opened a ticket to fix their guide, but they said that doesn't effect the actual tuning of the channel, and that TWC probably needs to reauthorize my cablecards to get the new lineup. Of course when I called Time Warner they just want to send a tech out and I wanted to pull my hair out. I need to go to bed but they say a senior agent will call me tomorrow. All I know is they better straighten this out by 6:30 pm tomorrow - Go Yankees!

edit: I woke up and miraculously 708 tuned TBS-HD (even though the guide still says YES-HD)

[artinsocal]

TBS-HD is on 417 here. ESPN2HD on 425.
I don't get anything on 417 but 425 comes in loud and clear

[TiVoter123]

I don't get anything on 417 but 425 comes in loud and clear

Interesting... I called TWC to see what they had to say, but the girl that answered was clueless and started reading instructions on how to make sure the channel was actually enabled on tivo... great... but she didn't indicate that the channels were SDV, not that she would have even known what that was. When the installer came, he left a "cable card install instruction sheet for tivo," which indicated that "all new SD and HD channels would not be available with the cable card," as well as all the premium sports packages (which I verified as not being able to receive my MLB extra innings package). I'm wondering if my particular city (city of Orange) is already starting to go to SDV?

[MauiWorks]

Just in case you're in Hawaii and want to use your HD Tivo with OTW. Oceanic Time Warner has officially discontinued all support for CableCards. When you call them up and ask for a CableCard, they say "We no longer offer CableCards..."

I guess the FCC was only joking when they required all cable companies to offer CableCards...

[artinsocal]

Interesting... I called TWC to see what they had to say, but the girl that answered was clueless and started reading instructions on how to make sure the channel was actually enabled on tivo... great... but she didn't indicate that the channels were SDV, not that she would have even known what that was. When the installer came, he left a "cable card install instruction sheet for tivo," which indicated that "all new SD and HD channels would not be available with the cable card," as well as all the premium sports packages (which I verified as not being able to receive my MLB extra innings package). I'm wondering if my particular city (city of Orange) is already starting to go to SDV?
Well obviously that sheet was wrong. We both know the only channels that cable cards can't get are PPV, Sports Packages and the TW TV guide. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with a cable technician coming to replace one of my cards that is apparently defective. I will ask him about the "cable card install instruction sheet" just to see what he has to say about it saying we can't receive new SD and HD channels. I will report back tomorrow.

[minckster]

Just in case you're in Hawaii and want to use your HD Tivo with OTW. Oceanic Time Warner has officially discontinued all support for CableCards. When you call them up and ask for a CableCard, they say "We no longer offer CableCards..."

I guess the FCC was only joking when they required all cable companies to offer CableCards... Oceanic's website says otherwise -- at: http://www.oceanic.com/OceanicWebApps/Television/DigitalServices/CableCard.html. I'd call back and throw a little fit. If you don't get anywhere, call TiVo. There's a good chance they'll call Oceanic in a 3-way conference call with you and read the regulations about providing CableCARDs to Oceanic. (TiVo did that when they first introduced the Series3. I'm not sure if they still do.)

Another thread on this site discusses Oceanic's planned switch to 100 percent SDV. If that's true, they may offer CableCARDs but you wouldn't be able to tune any channels after the switch. The page linked above says that you use CableCARDs to get, "Basic & Digital Cable Programs, Crystal Clear Picture & Sound; Premium Channels: HBO, Showtime, Cinemax, Starz!, TMC; and High Definition (HD) Channels."

[TiVoter123]

Well obviously that sheet was wrong. We both know the only channels that cable cards can't get are PPV, Sports Packages and the TW TV guide. I have an appointment tomorrow morning with a cable technician coming to replace one of my cards that is apparently defective. I will ask him about the "cable card install instruction sheet" just to see what he has to say about it saying we can't receive new SD and HD channels. I will report back tomorrow.

Why is it "obviously" wrong? I'm just wondering if they were implying that all new HD channels added will be SDV channels.

[Spiderlord]

TW Cable Austin Texas:
I had the installer come out today with the new MCard and get my new TivoHD up and running. The installer had never seen this Tivo before and I knew I was in trouble.

He installs the card and we run though everything. We manage to get the HD HBO and Digital working, but before he left I wanted to make sure it was recording two channels at once. I would start to record something, and it would not see the MCard on the other tuner and we would get "Basic Cable not Detected". At that point, I had a feeling they would blame the Tivo Box so I called Tivo and had them on the phone. Installer did not want to install another MCard until Tivo told them that was the first thing they should do.

The second card we installed was another MCard and this one would not get any Digital Channels or HBO/HBOHD. The 2nd tuner is still not working so I took a step backwords with TW today. After calling and telling them that the installer should have stayed and made sure it worked before telling me "Give it a few hours and see if it will work" they are sending a tech out tomorrow to try and see what the problem is.

Has any one seen anything like this or know why the 2nd tuner is not working? I am sure the HD and Digital can be fixed, but no one can seem to figure out why the Tivo is recording or showing video when recording one program.

[artinsocal]

Why is it "obviously" wrong? I'm just wondering if they were implying that all new HD channels added will be SDV channels.
It's wrong because at the current time I can get all SD and HD channels I subscribe to and also you're assuming big time that that sheet was implying all channels were going to be SDV in the near future.

[SCSIRAID]

It's wrong because at the current time I can get all SD and HD channels I subscribe to and also you're assuming big time that that sheet was implying all channels were going to be SDV in the near future.

Not a bad assumption seeing that is what many locations are doing. TWC Raleigh is launching three new channels now which will NOT be available to cablecard. According to my source we will also be losing the channels in the HD Suite in about 45 days.

Not being available to the cablecard doesnt necessarily mean they are on SDV now.... but the bandwidth is quite likely be being reserved for future SDV implementation (such as what is happening in Raleigh).

[TiVoter123]

It's wrong because at the current time I can get all SD and HD channels I subscribe to and also you're assuming big time that that sheet was implying all channels were going to be SDV in the near future.

I don't think it was necessarily implying that ALL channels are going to be SDV, but was hypothesizing that all NEW HD channels may be added as SDV... but as I said just a hypothesis as from what I can tell there is no real way to tell if it's actually SDV or not at the moment.

[ScratchFury]

Has any one seen anything like this or know why the 2nd tuner is not working? I am sure the HD and Digital can be fixed, but no one can seem to figure out why the Tivo is recording or showing video when recording one program.It sounds like what happened to me. Read my post here. It might help.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5275387#post5275387

[cableguy763]

TW Cable Austin Texas:
I had the installer come out today with the new MCard and get my new TivoHD up and running. The installer had never seen this Tivo before and I knew I was in trouble.

He installs the card and we run though everything. We manage to get the HD HBO and Digital working, but before he left I wanted to make sure it was recording two channels at once. I would start to record something, and it would not see the MCard on the other tuner and we would get "Basic Cable not Detected". At that point, I had a feeling they would blame the Tivo Box so I called Tivo and had them on the phone. Installer did not want to install another MCard until Tivo told them that was the first thing they should do.

The second card we installed was another MCard and this one would not get any Digital Channels or HBO/HBOHD. The 2nd tuner is still not working so I took a step backwords with TW today. After calling and telling them that the installer should have stayed and made sure it worked before telling me "Give it a few hours and see if it will work" they are sending a tech out tomorrow to try and see what the problem is.

Has any one seen anything like this or know why the 2nd tuner is not working? I am sure the HD and Digital can be fixed, but no one can seem to figure out why the Tivo is recording or showing video when recording one program.
I get in to work at two tomorrow...if it doesn't get fixed send me a pm and I can more than likely get you fixed with a phone call.

[mercurial]

Not a bad assumption seeing that is what many locations are doing. TWC Raleigh is launching three new channels now which will NOT be available to cablecard. According to my source we will also be losing the channels in the HD Suite in about 45 days.

Not being available to the cablecard doesnt necessarily mean they are on SDV now.... but the bandwidth is quite likely be being reserved for future SDV implementation (such as what is happening in Raleigh).


WHAT? Sorry must have missed a post. They're moving the current HD suite to SDV or at least taking them away from CC? #$@#$#@$ I guess I'll go write an FCC complaint letter... :rolleyes:

[SCSIRAID]

WHAT? Sorry must have missed a post. They're moving the current HD suite to SDV or at least taking them away from CC? #$@#$#@$ I guess I'll go write an FCC complaint letter... :rolleyes:

That is what Ive been told..... preparation for SDV first of the year.

[mercurial]

That is what Ive been told..... preparation for SDV first of the year.

That ticks me off. We were thinking of getting my FIL in Chapel Hill a TiVo HD for Hanukkah and I thought I might get one for our bedroom for my wife too so we could MRV shows up there. Now I'm left waiting for the magic dongle. I was hopping they do larger markets first and there'd be an SDV solution out before Raleigh was seriously hit (other than new channels).

Add to this the fact that a month ago they changed account numbers and billing addresses on me without notice so my electronic payment via my bank went god-knows-where and I haven't had a chance to call get it fixed (and wouldn't know if they hadn't called and made my wife pay via CC since we were "delinquent"...)

They're really making Comcast look good and that's hard.

[jlobster]

TW Cable Austin Texas:
I had the installer come out today with the new MCard and get my new TivoHD up and running. The installer had never seen this Tivo before and I knew I was in trouble.

He installs the card and we run though everything. We manage to get the HD HBO and Digital working, but before he left I wanted to make sure it was recording two channels at once. I would start to record something, and it would not see the MCard on the other tuner and we would get "Basic Cable not Detected". At that point, I had a feeling they would blame the Tivo Box so I called Tivo and had them on the phone. Installer did not want to install another MCard until Tivo told them that was the first thing they should do.

The second card we installed was another MCard and this one would not get any Digital Channels or HBO/HBOHD. The 2nd tuner is still not working so I took a step backwords with TW today. After calling and telling them that the installer should have stayed and made sure it worked before telling me "Give it a few hours and see if it will work" they are sending a tech out tomorrow to try and see what the problem is.

Has any one seen anything like this or know why the 2nd tuner is not working? I am sure the HD and Digital can be fixed, but no one can seem to figure out why the Tivo is recording or showing video when recording one program.
Dag nabbit!

I just signed up to get a CableCard install with TWC Austin for my TiVo HD and I could not get any of the CSRs (I called twice) to acknowledge that they support MCards so that I could order them, so I think I went with 2xCCs. How can I make sure that I get an MCard with them? The installer is coming out this afternoon.

cableguy763, are you the man/guy to talk to or does anyone else have any suggestions?

[Spiderlord]

Dag nabbit!

I just signed up to get a CableCard install with TWC Austin for my TiVo HD and I could not get any of the CSRs (I called twice) to acknowledge that they support MCards so that I could order them, so I think I went with 2xCCs. How can I make sure that I get an MCard with them? The installer is coming out this afternoon.

cableguy763, are you the man/guy to talk to or does anyone else have any suggestions?


I was told they only have Mcards right now from TW. They did not even have any other Scards to test on my tivo, so you should be safe. :)

[Mr MoUnTaInMaN]

:down: :down: :down: OH MY GOSH !!! took TWC 5 yes 5 appointments to actually come to my house lucky i was home when they finally came and not my wife because they totaly would not have installed the cards at all I did the whole install but thats ok thank goodness everything seems to be working fine :D but the whole experience was horrible the people on the phone were terrible absolutely no help whats so ever i am so glad there dvr is gone tivo rocks i'll never change again ;)

[wilecoyote]

Both my cable cards seem to work except the HD chanells I am paying for are grayed ourr, I single mode cards, installers used the docs and everything else oirks.

[artinsocal]

Both my cable cards seem to work except the HD chanells I am paying for are grayed ourr, I single mode cards, installers used the docs and everything else oirks.
Have you gone into the cable card diagnostics menu and actually use the "test channels" feature to rule out that maybe 1 of your cards is not working at all. I didn't realize that my #1 card was not getting any channels at all til I did that. If you only were checking channels by trying to tune reguarly then you can't really determine what card is getting what. TW came out yesterday and replaced that card and now all channels work fine.

[balthus]

Sorry - maybe I should have posted tis in here - didn't see it:

We are planning to switch from DTV to TW cable shortly as one of our DTV TIVO boxes died and we have older DTV dish & can't get all HD channels & are longtime TIVO fans.

I have read a lot of the horror stories here @ TW and wanted to know how things are in Dallas now. We live in Prestonwood (Far North Dallas Preston/Arapaho) area & I am wondering if we are still on old A/B system I am reading about.

We have a TW install scheduled & when I placed order I ordered 2 TW HD DVR's since I didn't want to buy 2 new TIVO boxes - yet - but plan to in next few months & then return TW boxes & just get cards for TIVO boxes.

Can someone give me an overview about what we should be doing. Can you have the TW DVR's & new TIVO boxes hooked up to same TV or is that not needed.

I am still not real clear @ the difference between the different TIVO boxes. We would like to be able to watch anything we record on any TV not just from the box connected to it, tell unit to record from the web but get HD channels.

Thanks much.

[alyssa]

Kinda as a FYI story.
I've got TW in the sticks of NewEngland. 10 months ago I got a S3 & after much gnashing of teeth & pulling of hair, I finally got the cable cards installed. Recently my S3 had to be replaced. I scheduled a TW appointment, the guy came, within 30 min both cable cards were up & I was starting the Guided set up. :eek:
Granted, I knew the cable cards were good because they came out of my old S3 but anyway you cut it, that was a fast install. It can happen

[balthus]

Dallas continued:

So I just had a live chat to ask about mu area and if it has been upgraded or not:

TW: Welcome to Time Warner Cable sales chat. My name is. I ll be your personal sales assistant today. How can I help you?

Me: I have an installation scheduled for next week. Order # . I want to know if my address has been upgraded to the single line or if I am still in an A/B area.

TW: We are in the process of upgrading your area to the single line system. You will be able to use a Dual Tuner DVR once the upgrade is complete. You will also have access to additional channels such as ESPN 2, ESPN U, LOGO, etc..

Me: What does not being able to use dual tuner mean?

TW: In the process meaning we should be finished within the next month. Dual Tuner DVR means that you can record one show while watching another, or record two shows at one time.

Me: So I will not be able to record 2 shows at once at the current time.

TW: That is correct. Please verify with the technician upon his arrival because he would be able to confirm if your area in particular has been completed. It is showing in the system that you are still in the rebuild area, but it is possible that your area has been completed.

Me: Well how do I find out for certain. If I go to a local office would they know? What guarantees would I have that the rebuild will be done within the next month?

TW: Let me see if I can check another system. Give me one moment please. I am unable to determine if your area has been completed. Please call the 24 hour local office at 972-742-5892 or 972-445-5555 to get confirmation.

So is have been on hold for 15 minutes with TW tying to find out. Is this a futile effort?

If I am still in old area, will I be able to record 2 shows at one time with Tivo?

Thanks.

[balthus]

So I did get through by phone & I was told I was in upgraded area. Should I believe this? Why wouldn't the person looking me up via Live Chat not know but the person I called would?

[Arcady]

Here's an update on my TiVoHD cable card install in North Dallas. The contractor for TWC showed up at 9:45 (during the 8-11 window) with two cable cards and an HD DVR. I don't know why he brought the DVR. Both cards were M cards. I told him I only needed one, and asked him to use the new one (the other was all scratched up and probably no good anyway.) He wrote down the numbers, then I inserted the card and he wrote down the numbers off the screen. He called in to activate the card, and within about 10-15 minutes the encrypted channels started to work. He left with the DVR he brought, plus the one I was getting rid of. This was his second TiVo install. I am pleased with the install.

[acvthree]

Balthus,

Did you check to see if Verizon Fios was available in your area? If so, it may be worth looking in to.

Al

[balthus]

I did check on FIOS - it is not available where I live.

[showard594]

Just finished a CC install with TW in San Diego. Thanks to you all it went well.

1) showed up with 2 cards, said they were multistream. They were not;
2) he had never done these and put one in and then was going to put in the other. After my "Whoa, rtfm" we finished CC1 in record time
3) put in CC2, that one took quite a bit longer to work but all in all it worked.

Y'all rock. :O)

[petemoss007]

My #1 concern. Has anyone in Austin or any of the other test markets gotten their TiVo up and running? Is there a thread on S3 and SDV with official TiVo statements yet?


Wanted to see if I could answer about Austin, TX. Here is my experience so far.

1. Called to get a cable card. Specifically asked if they had multicards or just the single cards. Were told they DON'T have multicards. Appt. was setup.
2. Installer arrived spent forever on the phone trying to figure out what was wrong. I overheard him talking to someone on the phone about "the multicard" and interrupted him to ask him about that since I was told they did not have any. Turns out, as usual, the people at the call center have no idea what is going on. He was putting the multicard in slot 2 and a single card in slot 1. I explained that the multicard goes in slot 1 and he could keep the darn single card since I aske for a multicard in the first place.
3. OK, with mc in slot 1, he still spent 1/2 an hour on the phone and then said he was done and left.
4. None of the premium channels worked after he left. We pay for HBO and Cinemax but don't get them.
5. Called TW tech support. Spent about 2 hours on the phone with them and they can't figure it out either. They are sending out a tech, he will call first.
6. Tech called, holly cow it's somebody who actually has a clue.

Here it the news, turns out, AND THIS IS IMPORTANT, if you go with a cable card from Time Warner, you loose, Pay Per View, all music channels, most of your HBO, all of Cinemax, food network, Home and Garden, all the childrens channels and many others. Yep, believe it or not they completly screw you when you don't use their DVR. He explained that the installer should have explained all this. Not to mention the 2 hours on tech support wasted cause THEY TOO have NO CLUE.

Now he is saying we need a set top box to get those channels. No one has explained yet how this is supposed to work with the new TIVO. We are scheduled to talk to him Monday.

I will let everyone know exactly how bad we are screwed after we talk to them Monday.

[Mandlf]

I have TWC in Charlotte. I don't get TBSHD with my cablecards. I called TWC and the first CSR hung up on me while transferring me, and the second one claimed the TWC is not "compatible" with TiVo. :rolleyes: I'm afraid I lost my cool and unloaded on her a bit. But I see I'm not alone.

Can someone explain to me the whole SDV thing and the ramifications I should expect?

[showard594]

In San Diego I get all the premium except the demand channels, the new HD WC and TBS and music also. Only one I do not get is ESPN2HD which is fine since this is a bedroom install. You can control the install if you take charge as I did. Just point out they will spend hours there if they don't and they will listen.

Your install must not be complete or correct. I have 2 scards and we know they are not bi-directional so demand channels do not work. Why ESPN2HD is not working is strange but what ever.