Official RCN CableCard Thread!

[tiassa]

I'll add my experiences to Hank's. The CSR's (the ones I talked to) knew about Cable Cards and didn't try any of the BS I've heard that other CableCos try to pull "You won't get the program guide! VOD won't work!" The first installer I got from them insisted that the single stream card he installed was a Multi (despite in not saying "M-card" on the packaging and the Tivo saying it was a single stream card), so I had to get another installer to come out with an M-Card. They are still having issues with some of the HD channels (MoreMaxHD shows up in the slot for HBO2HD and vice versa).
Internet service has been Rock solid --I've had to reboot my cable modem maybe 2 or 3 times in the last couple of years, and I've haven't talked to their cable modem support in an age. Speed is great, here are some tests I just ran from my house. (I have 20mb service)
NY: 16810 down 2059 up
DC: 20819 down 2051 up
Seattle: 9596 down 1081 up

[Hank]

While I agree with buying your own, I was told last year (or so) that it did require a truck roll to install a BYO modem. I know that's bogus (at most it should require refreshing the MAC address in their database), but that's what they told me.

It might have changed, but when I installed mine (4 years ago, at least), I had instructions to go to some internal RCN webpage to update the MAC address, then it just worked.

[DVDerek]

FWIW - the package they're offering me includes a "free" cable modem rental for 1 year. As often as these things break (I've had 2 die in 4 years), I'll take the free modem for as long as I can get it before I buy one.

[tiassa]

FWIW - the package they're offering me includes a "free" cable modem rental for 1 year. As often as these things break (I've had 2 die in 4 years), I'll take the free modem for as long as I can get it before I buy one.

Really? I've had Motorola SB5120 for years without any problems. It was one of the ones that RCN Recommended on their website, and was the only one on their list that my local computer store had in stock at the time I was looking to buy.

[DrewTivo]

It might have changed, but when I installed mine (4 years ago, at least), I had instructions to go to some internal RCN webpage to update the MAC address, then it just worked.

It would not surprise me if RCN's customer support gave me incorrect information. :rolleyes:

(I did tell them it was pretty bogus, but the payoff/return on a $50 roll fee just made it hard to justify when I was planning to move anyway within a year)

[mbklein]

What's the magic phrase to use when ordering service to let the RCN people know that I'll be using a TiVo HD and will need a multi-stream cablecard? Is what I just said sufficient?

[DrewTivo]

What's the magic phrase to use when ordering service to let the RCN people know that I'll be using a TiVo HD and will need a multi-stream cablecard? Is what I just said sufficient?

Tell them you'd like a cable card. Ask them if it's multistream and that you need two if it is not. I have read that RCN has only multistream cards, however. When I asked, the support person said the person on the truck would have what was needed.

Also confirm that you will not be charged a truck roll fee, but just a service/install fee ($14.95 in DC )

[mbklein]

The RCN sales guy I just spoke to said that they only have single-stream cards, and that I'd need two of them. I guess it doesn't really matter much whether I get a single M-card or two S-cards.

Is there any way to use Video On Demand/Pay-Per-View with this setup? I know I can't order directly through the TiVo, but can I order online and watch/record on my TiVo?

ETA: "My TiVo" is entirely hypothetical at this point. I'm with DirecTV now, so I'm going to have to buy a new one. If the answer is "Only if you have TiVo X," just let me know which one I need to buy. kthxbye. ;)

[Hank]

Video On Demand/Pay-Per-View is only available with their set top box.

[mbklein]

Hrm. That kinda sucks. Though we rarely use PPV and I've never had access to VOD, so I don't see myself missing it. I've got a Mac Mini hooked up to the TV as well, so I can always rent via iTunes (especially with a fat 10MB pipe), and there's always Unbox on the TiVo. So screw PPV. :D

[DrewTivo]

I've never had access to VOD,

You mean, other than your Tivo?

[mbklein]

You mean, other than your Tivo?

Right. I've never had a device that sent a message to my provider requesting that they start a particular show or movie on my behalf. All my demands are met locally. :)

[DeathRider]

The RCN sales guy I just spoke to said that they only have single-stream cards, and that I'd need two of them. I guess it doesn't really matter much whether I get a single M-card or two S-cards.


That would be a $1.50/month for me;)

[DeathRider]

DeathRider: Who did you call locally? I'm in Somerville, and drive to Arlington is painless. I called the RCN 800 # and they insisted that local pick up was not an option. I have a new TiVo HD and that's precisely what I want to do. I'll even make a second trip to drop off the Motorola box when we're done.

Can you clarify that you definitely have M-cards? I think I'd only need one. TV (Sharp Aquos) doesn't need one. I could see getting an extra maybe in case I get another TiVo HD, but that might be a while. Which Channel Line up did you use? Any other kinks?

I'm reading this whole thread, and I really cannot see what VALUE the truck role provides, to the customer anyways. From reading the thread, they don't typically follow the instructions furnished byTiVo, and when they are done "installing", they call a phone # and have somebody else "hit" the card to perform some type of initialization/wake-up procedeure. This isn't rocket science. (Side note, my wife is a rocket scientist.)

My guess is that because the bulk of RCN techs are actually contractors, there is some sort of contractual obligation. Not exactly a sound business model. The DSL industry figured out that customers were smart enough to eliminate truck roles for most. How screwed up is Comcast with this stuff? I can use either, but I've always considered RCN to be less Evil than Comcast.

Sorry I never got back to you.

When I was in Waltham, The person @Arlington gave me 2 S cards, said they were the last 2 and next batch would be M-Cards. That was a few years ago.

When I got the install @Natick, contractor had 2 M-Cards.

I have a truck roll on Tuesday for an M-Card for my THD. She only told me about the $14.99 install fee. I don't think they can charge me for a truck roll, since I'm only getting the card due to their digital only switch...guess I could complain about the install fee...

[Lenonn]

The installer showed up at 8:50 this morning, and was done with installing two cable cards into the Series 3 by 9:20 or so. All seems to be well with receiving channels (knock on wood).

Of course, this was less than 18 hours after learning the dreaded "digital crush" will be on us in approximately two weeks.

[DrewTivo]

Of course, this was less than 18 hours after learning the dreaded "digital crush" will be on us in approximately two weeks.

Where is it coming in only 2 weeks?

[Lenonn]

Where is it coming in only 2 weeks?

Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, evidently.


http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21033383-CATV-MDDCVA-Analog-Crush-Oct-1st-Official (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21033383-CATV-MDDCVA-Analog-Crush-Oct-1st-Official)

Albeit, I haven't seen anything official yet. But what surprises me is they wait until two weeks before to announce this. That seems fishy, but then again, I wouldn't put it past any company to try. And all information seems to suggest RCN wants to be done with analog by the beginning of 2009.

I contacted RCN customer service by web form about this, but they neither confirmed nor denied it. They just cut and paste the talking points from their website.

[DVDerek]

Dreaded? I want that thing to come ASAP. I'm not an RCN customer (yet) but Somerville is missing out on a handful of HD stations everyone else gets because we don't have the bandwidth. RCN can get 2-3 HD stations in the space it takes for a single analog station. We need that bandwidth...

[mbklein]

I'll let everyone know what kind of CableCard the guy shows up with on Thursday.

[DrewTivo]

Dreaded? I want that thing to come ASAP.

It depends. If you already use a converter or have HD Tivo on all your sets, then it's great.

If you like to plug in your old analog TV to a wall jack with no converter, or use your dual tuner s2 tivo with both tuners, well then it sucks.

[DrewTivo]

Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, evidently.


http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21033383-CATV-MDDCVA-Analog-Crush-Oct-1st-Official (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21033383-CATV-MDDCVA-Analog-Crush-Oct-1st-Official)

Albeit, I haven't seen anything official yet. But what surprises me is they wait until two weeks before to announce this. That seems fishy, but then again, I wouldn't put it past any company to try. And all information seems to suggest RCN wants to be done with analog by the beginning of 2009.



That's what I'm going on too--I haven't seen anything else about it. Of course they want to do it, but it will be a massive problem if no one knows about it and all of a sudden on Oct. 1 the phone lines are lit up with people calling for converters.

[mbklein]

I'll let everyone know what kind of CableCard the guy shows up with on Thursday.

Answer: M-Card!

[DVDerek]

How did it go? Painless?

[mbklein]

Internet installed painlessly. TiVo came back with an "unable to acquire channel information" message. Trying again.

[nycityuser]

I'm in New York and RCN will be converting our market to all digital shortly. Almost all the channel number assignments are changing. How quickly will TIVO pick up the new line-up? How has it worked in other markets that converted (i.e., Chicago and Boston)?

I'm concerned that when RCN flips the switch the database TIVO uses for programming and channel line-ups will not be up-to-date. That will mean nothing will record properly in the heart of the new television season.

Any words of wisdom, experience or advice?

[mbklein]

Internet installed painlessly. TiVo came back with an "unable to acquire channel information" message. Trying again.

My bad. Damaged the F-connector disconnecting the old TiVo. Bad signal. New cable cleared up all signal/channel issues. :up:

[tiassa]

I'm in New York and RCN will be converting our market to all digital shortly. Almost all the channel number assignments are changing. How quickly will TIVO pick up the new line-up? How has it worked in other markets that converted (i.e., Chicago and Boston)?

I'm concerned that when RCN flips the switch the database TIVO uses for programming and channel line-ups will not be up-to-date. That will mean nothing will record properly in the heart of the new television season.

Any words of wisdom, experience or advice?

Here in Boston the DB was correct within 2 days. I came home on Wednesday (the changeover was Monday, but i was out of town) did a reboot of the Tivo (to install 9.4) then a re-do of guided setup, and all the channels were there.

[DrewTivo]

I

I'm concerned that when RCN flips the switch the database TIVO uses for programming and channel line-ups will not be up-to-date. That will mean nothing will record properly in the heart of the new television season.

Any words of wisdom, experience or advice?

It seems like a reasonable concern. That said, it also appears that things like network channels will stay the same (at least standard def.), and it's cable that will be all over the place. Since cable often repeats episodes, you probably won't have as big a problem.

That said, yeah, it's worrisome.

[Lenonn]

That's what I'm going on too--I haven't seen anything else about it. Of course they want to do it, but it will be a massive problem if no one knows about it and all of a sudden on Oct. 1 the phone lines are lit up with people calling for converters.

Well, I've been in contact (via e-mail) with RCN Customer Service. They tell me the following:


1. October 22 is the changeover date for Silver Spring.
2. Every television to have RCN service will need the converter box. First box is free, additional boxes are $2.95/month/box. Converters = TiVo-compatible.
2. The line-ups are just changing names. Limited basic = broadcast basic; Extended basic = signature; DigitalVision = Premium; DigitalVisionPlus = Premium.
4. There was a recent rate increase, so no increases are planned in the immediate future.

[DrewTivo]

Converters = TiVo-compatible.


What does that mean? That they have a serial connection for the IR flasher?

[Lenonn]

What does that mean? That they have a serial connection for the IR flasher?

Honestly, I have no idea. I'm assuming it means they allow for the use of the TiVo DVR via TiVo's instructions for connecting the TiVo to a cable box.

[DVDerek]

In the end, I've decided to go with Comcast for the next 6 months while I wait to see how the "Analog Crush" proceeds in Somerville. They're scheduled to do Somerville somerville in early 2009. I want to see if they carry through on their promise to use the bandwidth for more HD.

Of course, I now have to prepare for the endless stream of appointments after the techs screw up the install...

[DeathRider]

In the end, I've decided to go with Comcast for the next 6 months while I wait to see how the "Analog Crush" proceeds in Somerville. They're scheduled to do Somerville somerville in early 2009. I want to see if they carry through on their promise to use the bandwidth for more HD.

Of course, I now have to prepare for the endless stream of appointments after the techs screw up the install...

I would guess this will be the new lineup:

http://www.rcn.com/cabletv/lineups/details.php?lineup_id=MA-ALL-DIGITAL


602 WGBH HD
604 WBZ HD
605 WCVB HD
606 WSBK HD
607 WHDH HD
609 WFXT HD
611 WLVI HD
612 NESN HD
620 A&E HD
622 TBS HD
623 TNT HD
626 FX HD
631 Animal Planet HD

639 Lifetime HD
640 Lifetime Movie Network HD
641 ABC Family HD
642 Food Network HD
643 HGTV HD
647 Disney Channel HD
648 Toon Disney HD
650 CNN HD
653 Fox News HD
654 Fox Business News
655 The Weather Channel HD
660 Travel Channel HD
661 Discovery Channel HD
662 History HD
663 TLC HD
664 BIO HD
670 National Geographic Channel HD
671 Science Channel HD
680 ESPNU HD
681 ESPN HD
682 ESPN2 HD
683 ESPNEWS HD
685 Comcast SportsNet HD
689 Speed HD
690 NFL Network HD
691 VERSUS HD
693 NHL HD
700 HBO HD
701 HBO Family HD
702 HBO 2 HD
703 HBO Signature HD
704 HBO Zone HD
705 HBO Comedy HD
710 Cinemax HD
711 Moremax HD
713 Actionmax HD
717 Outermax HD
720 Showtime HD
726 TMC HD
730 Starz HD
731 Starz Kids HD
732 Starz Edge HD
733 Starz Comedy HD
750 Discovery HD Theater
751 Smithsonian HD
752 MOJO HD
760 HDNet
761 HDNet Movies
762 MGM HD
763 Universal HD


It would be my guess they will keep adding.

I think i will need to add a bigger hard drive in my TiVos. I would think the RCN DVR may become inadequate...

[drboom]

Finally got sick of comcast after they screwed up my cablecard pairing over the weekend and so I lost most channels. RCN came out today for the install - tech had an M-card as requested. Tech didn't really know anything about tivos or cablecards beyond what they do to setup the RCN branded DVRs - neither did several of the people he called to setup my card. The office people the tech called insisted they did not need the host id or any other information from the tivo to pair the card. After about 2 hours of this, the office had him switch out the cablecard for another and that eventually came up. The office claimed they have a new system that automagically pairs the card without any manual input of the host ID. After about 30 minutes the card was paired and receiving channels. The tech claims he didn't give them the host ID or any other information from the tivo; I left the room for quite a while so I'm not sure what happened but it all works now.

Has anyone else heard about some sort of automagic pairing? This was in Milton MA.

Separately, does anyone have any idea when the 'analog crush' might be scheduled to hit Milton? I know they are working their way through MA but I'd like to get better information on when so I can keep an eye on the lineup/recordings around then (not to mention that I'd really like the additional channels).

[drboom]

Quick update: I'm told the analog crush is scheduled before 11/11 for Milton MA

[tefler]

My RCN service underwent the analog crush last month. I had received 0 notification that this was going to happen. They claimed that there was an insert in my bill about it, but the only thing I had received was the FCC DTV (Feb 2009) transition insert. I was very unhappy to suddenly come home and find none of my tvs working.

Upon calling RCN to find out what was happening, they claimed that this was FCC mandated that they remove analog from their service. I'm pretty sure this is a false statement, but multiple of their reps repeated this to me as the reason. My understanding was that the FCC mandate only affected over-the-air and that the FCC was actually trying to get cable operators to carry both analog and digital signals of local stations.

Am I just missing something in my understanding of what the FCC is mandating?

[rlcarr]

Am I just missing something in my understanding of what the FCC is mandating?

No, you're not. The RCN droids are lying to you.

[nycityuser]

No, you're not. The RCN droids are lying to you.
...and apparently they are all being TRAINED to tell the same lie. Their bosses are feeding them this disinformation. Really dishonest.

[DeathRider]

My RCN service underwent the analog crush last month. I had received 0 notification that this was going to happen. They claimed that there was an insert in my bill about it, but the only thing I had received was the FCC DTV (Feb 2009) transition insert. I was very unhappy to suddenly come home and find none of my tvs working.

Upon calling RCN to find out what was happening, they claimed that this was FCC mandated that they remove analog from their service. I'm pretty sure this is a false statement, but multiple of their reps repeated this to me as the reason. My understanding was that the FCC mandate only affected over-the-air and that the FCC was actually trying to get cable operators to carry both analog and digital signals of local stations.

Am I just missing something in my understanding of what the FCC is mandating?

Nope, they are wrong (RCN). But they don't have to follow the FCC.

I myself got a letter about the changeover separate from my bill. And you do get a few more HD channels...

[rlcarr]

Has anyone else heard about some sort of automagic pairing? This was in Milton MA.

RCN doesn't pair. Look at the CableCARD screens. You'll see that even through you're receiving stuff fine, the card isn't paired. Same thing in Arlington, MA (me), same thing in (at a minimum) Chicago and NYC.

[DrewTivo]

...and apparently they are all being TRAINED to tell the same lie. Their bosses are feeding them this disinformation. Really dishonest.

Agreed. They're not alone, apparently, according to consumer reports. The two transitions are unrelated. The FCC 2/2009 mandate relates solely to over-the-air transmission.

What RCN is doing is converting their entire system to digital, which will allow them to use the analog bandwidth for more channels. That's generally a good thing, except for people using the analog (no cable box) signal.

And, yes, the warning has been terrible and the CSR people don't seem to have very good information.

[tefler]

Just found this link which clearly states the FCC has nothing to do with the transition:

http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#faq30

Unfortunately, they also decided to charge me for the truck roll to come out and fix what they broke. Tried getting the charges removed but they continued the FCC line as the reason they "had" to do it.

[firewrx612]

Quick update: I'm told the analog crush is scheduled before 11/11 for Milton MA

This happened to me last night. I've lost all channels except 3 180-182. Do I just need to go through the guided set-up again?

I called RCN and they said I needed to call TiVo and have them "update my box"

[tiassa]

This happened to me last night. I've lost all channels except 3 180-182. Do I just need to go through the guided set-up again?

I called RCN and they said I needed to call TiVo and have them "update my box"

That's what I did when they converted Watertown back in July, and everything went fine for me (I had to download 9.4 as well, so it took two reboots of the Tivo, but you should already have 9.4). I have a TivoHD in case that makes a difference.

[firewrx612]

That's what I did when they converted Watertown back in July, and everything went fine for me (I had to download 9.4 as well, so it took two reboots of the Tivo, but you should already have 9.4). I have a TivoHD in case that makes a difference.

Yeah, I just got off the phone with RCN who sent me to TiVo. I had tried a guided set-up which didn't work, but the TiVo guy said I needed to select the advanced options and choose "Digital Extended Basic Rebuild". I'm in the process of doing that now. Hopefully this will work. Thanks.

Edit: hmm, that didn't work either. I still only get those same 3 channels.

[tiassa]

Yeah, I just got off the phone with RCN who sent me to TiVo. I had tried a guided set-up which didn't work, but the TiVo guy said I needed to select the advanced options and choose "Digital Extended Basic Rebuild". I'm in the process of doing that now. Hopefully this will work. Thanks.

Yeah, I think I had to do something like that. The trick was when the Tivo asked "Is Channel XXX Station YYY?" to say no to the first couple, since they are the same on both the old analog and new digital systems, when you get to a channel that is different, then you say yes.

[firewrx612]

Yeah, I think I had to do something like that. The trick was when the Tivo asked "Is Channel XXX Station YYY?" to say no to the first couple, since they are the same on both the old analog and new digital systems, when you get to a channel that is different, then you say yes.

Thanks, I'll try that.

Edit: Ok I've been at this for 4 hours, back and forth between TiVo and RCN. The last TiVo rep said to try to have RCN ping my card. I did that with RCN and still the same issue. Now RCN has given up and is going to send a tech out on Friday.

Edit: I just pressed save on this text box, and a minute later it is back on. Go figure.

[drboom]

Yeah, I think I had to do something like that. The trick was when the Tivo asked "Is Channel XXX Station YYY?" to say no to the first couple, since they are the same on both the old analog and new digital systems, when you get to a channel that is different, then you say yes.

Exactly what I had to do. Everything seems good except 3 channels (HDNet, UniversalHD and HD???) don't come in. They didn't come in before the analog crush either, I'll have to call RCN to fix them. With comcast, every call for a problem only made everything worse so I'm a bit leery. We lost some recordings last night since RCN couldn't be bothered to respond to any of my emails about the analog crush or to send me a postcard or any other notice. Tivo works great though as usual.

[firewrx612]

Saga continues:

After spending 8 hrs on the phone yesterday, between RCN and TiVO, I now receive all channels, however I'm missing a lot of guide data. I forced a second network connection last night and this morning when I woke up, I am still missing most guide data. Is there another way to force it to download data?

That TiVo DirecTV unit can not come soon enough...

Edit:

Solved, I think. The nice RCN people in Mumbai had me rebuild (the last time) with Digital rebuild basic. That worked (I at least got all the channels) so I left it alone, but discovered that the guide data wasn't updated on a majority of channels. So I figured I needed to rebuild with Digital Rebuild EXTENDED basic. That has seemed to have worked. Finally.

[tiassa]

Exactly what I had to do. Everything seems good except 3 channels (HDNet, UniversalHD and HD???) don't come in. They didn't come in before the analog crush either, I'll have to call RCN to fix them. With comcast, every call for a problem only made everything worse so I'm a bit leery. We lost some recordings last night since RCN couldn't be bothered to respond to any of my emails about the analog crush or to send me a postcard or any other notice. Tivo works great though as usual.

Those channels are on their own tier, you have to pay extra for them (that is their "HD package") I think it is $10/mo. Basically you get the HD versions of anything you get in SD for free, if you want the dedicated HD channels, they hit you up for more $$$.

[asya999]

Set my mom up with a new TiVo HD XL after her move earlier this week and her new building had a choice of RCN or TWC. Since the building gets bulk billing rate for basic package with 100 or so channels from RCN, I decided to sign her up with them for "basic" cable and internet.

Ordered the install, told them she had a TiVo and that she'd need a CableCard and to make sure to note to bring an M-Card. Got an appointment from 2-5 today.

The installer showed up at 5:30 with two M-cards. When I told him the TiVo only needed one M-card *or* two S-cards he seemed defensive ("How many installs have *you* done?" - I wanted to say "None but I know more about it than you do, since I just read all the install instructions" but held off). After a few hours (okay just two) of struggling to get the right cable to the right part of the apartment, the card hook-up turned out to be a snap.

The guy (quite friendly at this point) asked to borrow my phone since his battery was dead (previous install ran over and he used up his whole battery) so I gave him my cell (mom has Vonage so no phone till he got the internet turned on!). He called the home office and had RCN turn the internet on, and then read off the serial number of the CableCard. I had the TiVo on the setup screen for the card and in a few minutes it started getting all the channels it was supposed to.

I heard him tell them that I didn't want the second card installed and it sounded like they also didn't understand one M-card instead of two S-cards but it seemed like they told him to go with what I wanted.

Everything is working well now, through the cablecard gave a few 161-38 errors, it seems like that's something that's common for the Motorola M-cards during the first few hours/day while it's downloading all the info and while I was configuring preferences for my mom. Hopefully, like with other folks the error will clear up.

[sdavie3]

I had an RCN tech come by my place (Southern Manhattan) on Saturday to install me on a new Tivo HD. I'm a TWC refugee and this is my first cable card experience. I told him that he should probably be using only one MCC, but he went ahead and installed 2. I can't access most of my HD and many of my digital channels. In the diagnostics menu, neither of my CCs were validated. I called the RCN 800 number and their techs said everything was fine on their end and that I contact Tivo. I'm scheduled to have another RCN tech to come by and reinstall on Saturday.

What should I insist that he do, so that he doesn't screw up this install as well?

Thanks

[crazi4tv]

I had an RCN tech come by my place (Southern Manhattan) on Saturday to install me on a new Tivo HD. I'm a TWC refugee and this is my first cable card experience. I told him that he should probably be using only one MCC, but he went ahead and installed 2. I can't access most of my HD and many of my digital channels. In the diagnostics menu, neither of my CCs were validated. I called the RCN 800 number and their techs said everything was fine on their end and that I contact Tivo. I'm scheduled to have another RCN tech to come by and reinstall on Saturday.

What should I insist that he do, so that he doesn't screw up this install as well?

Thanks

the TiVo HD DVR will ignore any card installed in slot 2 if the card in slot 1 is a Multi-Stream card. There can be several issues: the Host was paired to the wrong card, or the proper signal to activate the channels was not sent to the card. Do you know if the cards are Motorola or Scientific Atlantic?

[rlcarr]

There can be several issues: the Host was paired to the wrong card, or the proper signal to activate the channels was not sent to the card. Do you know if the cards are Motorola or Scientific Atlantic?

In many markets (NYC and Boston among them), RCN doesn't pair cards.

[sdavie3]

They are Moto cards.

[crazi4tv]

They are Moto cards.

Per poster rlcarr, if RCN does not pair cards, then the issue may be that the cards were not sent the correct activation signal. Was there a mention of obtaining the Host & Data from the pairing screen? On the Conditional Access screen, look for Val. do you see V or ? nest to it? If you see Auth what is next to it? On the Diagnostics screen look for Channel list received, there should be YES next to it.

[sdavie3]

On the conditional access screen, there is a ? next to Val: (Val:? 0x00). Auth: MP. On the diagnostics screen: Channel List Received: Yes.

[crazi4tv]

On the conditional access screen, there is a ? next to Val: (Val:? 0x00). Auth: MP. On the diagnostics screen: Channel List Received: Yes.

Auth:MP means that a message that is supposed to be in the activation
stream coming from the headend is missing. Val:? means that card is not paired. In cable systems that do pair cards, this issue would cause the card to automatically scramble encrypted channels. If RCN does not pair cards, I'm not sure how this would be handled. Channel List Received: Yes indicates that the channel map has been aquired by the card. Your issue could be that your cable provider has not sent the proper activation signal. If RCN sends the "Initialize" signal to equipment, they need to send it to the card.

[Roderigo]

Val:? means that card is not paired. In cable systems that do pair cards, this issue would cause the card to automatically scramble encrypted channels.

Not quite true. Pairing is only required if the CCI byte for a channel you want to watch/record is non-zero (aka it's copy protected). If all of RCNs channels have a CCI of 0, then they don't need to pair the cards.

Even though my system "requires" pairing, I never bothered to get one of my card paired, as I don't subscribe to any channels that are copy protected. I did make sure to uncheck the copy protected channels that I don't receive, so I don't accidentally tune to them, or have the box try to start a suggestion on them.

However, the danger of not having paired cards is that your cable company can decide to add copy protection to any channel at any time. So, while everything may be working one day, it could suddenly stop working, and require action from the cable company. If RCN is regularly not pairing cards, they would be foolish to arbitrarily turn on copy protection without making some attempt to proactively contact customers and pair their cards first.

[sdavie3]

Maybe part of my problem is that I do subscribe to nearly all of the premium channels available, none of which are coming in. They do however show up when you go to Settings, Cable Card, Test Channels (but only on CC2, but not CC1).

Regardless, when trying to view these channels on live TV none of them (with maybe one or two exceptions) tune in.

[hannah3]

Washington DC Metro Area. If you have a dual tuner HD TIVO and RCN Please advise how was the installation and any advice for us that are about to move to a TiVO HD dual tuner. I just can't imagine that RCN are going to get this right the first time.

[DrewTivo]

Washington DC Metro Area. If you have a dual tuner HD TIVO and RCN Please advise how was the installation and any advice for us that are about to move to a TiVO HD dual tuner. I just can't imagine that RCN are going to get this right the first time.

My install went fine a few months ago. The biggest problem was that I didn't receive several channels and a few others were pixelated. As it turned out, after many,many calls to CS, I was not supposed to receive those channels on my package (RCN's channel guide was deceptive) and the pixelated channels were resulting from some RCN mess up in their digital crush process.

[b_scott]

Thinking about switching from Comcast (which just dropped my promo and made my monthly cost $120) to RCN in CHICAGO. Have a TivoHD in one room, so I'll need a cable card. Any Chicagoans have problems with this? Thanks!

[hannah3]

My install went fine a few months ago. The biggest problem was that I didn't receive several channels and a few others were pixelated. As it turned out, after many,many calls to CS, I was not supposed to receive those channels on my package (RCN's channel guide was deceptive) and the pixelated channels were resulting from some RCN mess up in their digital crush process.

Many thanks. I'm still pissed off that my TIVO dual tuner analog only give me one channel now becuase of the all digital crush. I had so many poblems after the crush with the kids tvs that simply need a digital box that I still can't believe they won't screw this up. Will see...

[rlcarr]

However, the danger of not having paired cards is that your cable company can decide to add copy protection to any channel at any time. So, while everything may be working one day, it could suddenly stop working, and require action from the cable company.

Yeah. That's exactly my worry. Which is why when mine were installed and were not paired, I asked friends in my area and then on this board to see if anyone else was paired. None of my local friends were, and some people here saying they were from Chicago and NYC also reported not being paired. So I'm assuming the lack of pairing is an RCN thing, not a incompetent installer thing.

If RCN is regularly not pairing cards, they would be foolish to arbitrarily turn on copy protection without making some attempt to proactively contact customers and pair their cards first.

They'd be foolish, but this is RCN we're talking about. I can totally see them deciding to turn on copy protection and forgetting all about its effect on CableCARDs. They couldn't even get my install right. The installer had to call the mothership and have someone re-do the provisioning because it was all screwed up.

[asya999]

Everything is working well now...

So I got a call from my mom that her TiVo is giving a searching for signal error message. After a few false starts at diagnosing the problem remotely she finally got through to RCN who told her that they did the digital conversion and she now needs a cable converter box.

What???

I think she may have told them she has a TiVo, so I told her to call them back and tell them she has a CableCard from them so she doesn't need a cable box and they should make sure it's properly paired (right? would not having paired it cause a problem now that didn't manifest before?) .

I'll be there in a couple of days, but meanwhile can someone help me understand if there are circumstances in which she would need a converter box now? I thought CableCard *was* the equivalent of converter boxes? And if the card is enough, what magic words should she/I tell RCN drones to get them to fix this? They can fix this remotely, and not have to send anyone out, right?

P.S. apparently someone is going to be there tomorrow morning 9am-11am - her internet seems to not be working as well, so the analog conversion timing may be a coincidence

[hannah3]

Question-I purchase the TIVO dual tuner HD and I purchase an HD TV. Then I call RCN to come around and install the CableCards. Do I go through TIVO guided setup BEFORE RCN comes or only AFTER they have installed the cards? If after, will RCN wait to see if it all works? Also, will the TIVO dual tuner HD work on my new HD tv while it's connected to my existing Digital box so I can use it before RCN rolls around?

[Hank]

You can do guided setup before RCN visits -- and I suggest you do it to set up your cable channels, broadband setup, Tivo service activation, zip code, etc. Just skip over the CableCard part (I think there's an option to skip it during GS). You'll have to repeat GS after the CC install, but it shouldn't take nearly as long as the first time. You can even skip the Tivo Service activation as it will work for a week or so until you need to activate it.

Here's how I set up my parents Tivo HD last month:
1- Guided setup - skip activation and CC setup
2- Install and activate cable cards
3- Repeat Guided Setup and activate tivo service

I'm pretty sure you won't be able to use the Tivo HD with the digital converter box.

[hannah3]

You can do guided setup before RCN visits -- and I suggest you do it to set up your cable channels, broadband setup, Tivo service activation, zip code, etc. Just skip over the CableCard part (I think there's an option to skip it during GS). You'll have to repeat GS after the CC install, but it shouldn't take nearly as long as the first time. You can even skip the Tivo Service activation as it will work for a week or so until you need to activate it.

Here's how I set up my parents Tivo HD last month:
1- Guided setup - skip activation and CC setup
2- Install and activate cable cards
3- Repeat Guided Setup and activate tivo service

I'm pretty sure you won't be able to use the Tivo HD with the digital converter box.

Great advice Hank, Many thanks. I grew up in Boston! best city in universe. Now stuck in DC, land of liars.

[asya999]

My mom got RCN w/cableCard last month and all was fine till they switched to digital from analog last week. I posted yesterday:
apparently someone is going to be there tomorrow morning 9am-11am - her internet seems to not be working as well, so the analog conversion timing may be a coincidence

It turned out the internet was working fine, the cable modem and router just needed to be rebooted after the analog crush. I sent my mom an email telling her what to tell the guy -- that they probably "DID NOT PROPERLY PAIR THE CABLECARD" (caps and all :) )

The RCN guy came right at 9am today and this is verbatim what transpired according to my mom's email:

Hi!
The RCN guy came at 9 and immediately said that Tivo is not good for digital service. I responded with the words you wrote me, and they happen to be magic. I did not have a chance to check all the channels, but the ones I checked work great - I've never seen such a beautiful picture!

So there you have it, after insisting on the phone that she needs a converter box, and the tech trying to tell her TiVo is no good for digital service, the magic words seem to be "You idiot, you don't know what you're talking about so why don't you call someone who does" better said out loud as "Is it possible you didn't properly pair my CableCard in your system?" :(

:down: to RCN techs, but :up: for my mom now having service again, thanks to this forum and others like it...

[JadedMoon84]

Hello all! I have RCN in Chicago, and just had a really frustrating experience with them and my Tivo. I called a week ago to get an appointment (I work all week, so they will only come by on Saturdays for me), waited my 3 hours, and nobody showed up. They called me 15 min. after the end of my appointment time and told me they didn't come by because they had run out of cable cards. I ended up talking to a technician supervisor, who said they'd have more cards on Monday and could make me an appointment for then. I told him I work until 6, so only if they could make sure I'm the last run on their 5-8pm shift would that work. He said no, and that he'd set me up for next saturday. I asked if he could reserve the cards this time so I actually get them, and he told me that they have to give out the cards in order of appointments. Which lead to him telling me that if they ran out again, I'd have to reschedule *again* for a future saturday, and there's no guarantee that I'll ever actually get cards. He also told me that I can't take my box to a local RCN post, drop it off and trade it for cards, because they don't handle the cards like the boxes and dvr's. He also told me I couldn't buy my own cards, so my only option is to wait around and hope that they stop running out each week.

Has anyone else had a really bad problem like this? I usually have no qualms with RCN, but this is ridiculous.

[dell_axim]

Has anyone with an M Card in greater DC area had problems receiving HD Channels 604 (NBC), 605 (Fox), and 609 (CBS) since the digital crush. All was well before the crush, but since that time my service on these channels has been sporadic with either (1) unwatchable pixelation or (2) no picture at all. Other RCN users on my street have had the same problems with their non-tivo RCN HD box (so I know the problem is at the line and the RCN line techs have confirmed the problem is with the line), however, sometimes my neighbors can receive a pixelated picture on a RCN HD Box and I can receive no picture cable signal (e.g., no picture) at all on my Tivo HD (why? HD Tivo more sensitive?). I have been working with RCN for two months to try to resolve this, but despite their good faith efforts... they have no clue. I am very close to switching to another provider.

Two questions:

1. Do you have the same or similar problem (and if so, have you found a cure)?

2. I am considering a switch to either comcast or FIOS - I assume FIOS is preferable, correct?

Much thanks to the community!

-Marc

[dell_axim]

Just to close the loop on my previous message, RCN line techs replaced a "node" on my street's line and our service was restored on HD Channels 604, 605, and 609.

[brooklyng]

I am having the same exact issue with RCN in Chicago. I scheduled an appt to get an M-series card installed in my Tivo on Sat and during the last 15 minutes of the scheduled window the technician called to say that he would not be coming as he had no cablecards. He also informed me that scheduling another appointment might cause the same thing to happen again, as the people who schedule the appts (who might be overseas) do not know how many cards are available at any time.

I share your frustration that:
- RCN as a company is unable to track their merchandise supply and/or plan accordingly for future demand (um, the Superbowl anyone?)

-RCN techs (or the company itself) are not proactive about contacting the customer when cards are unavailable for install. Waiting until after the window has passed is unacceptable.

-RCN is charging me $49.95 to install the card. If I didn't show up for the appt, I would be charged the $49 anyway. When they don't show up, should the next appt be on them $$?

I have another appointment schedule for this afternoon...because I am a glutton for punishment.

I'm not sure why RCN won't let us stop by the Bradley Location and trade our cable box for a card; from the messages on this board it seems that the customers are exceedingly more knowledgeable about the install and troubleshooting process.

Did you ever receive your card? Wish me luck!

[MassNerder]

I just posted something in the main area that should probably go here.

I'm also waiting for a cable card in Chicago and kinda p/oed that there is no one to talk to locally other than going there.

So I'm going there tomorrow AM and going to raise some hell.

It's totally cool if you want to go all digital. I hate analog channels to begin with, but you HAVE to have cable cards in-stock and ready-to-go if you are going to do this.

I'd switch to comcast but they have half the HD content and....um...I hate comcast! :D

Anyone happen to know what is up with this lack of Cable Cards?

[brooklyng]

I really think it is poor planning on the part of RCN. In their strategic planning for 2009-2010, you'd think they would be able to anticipate the surge of cable cards that would be happening because of the switchover, promotions they might be running, the biggest sporting event of the year, etc.

Sometimes I just like to think I would do a better job than everyone else, so I might be totally off base.

Incidentally, they did come and install that cable card and it works fine. When I handed the installer the TIVO paper that said "HAND THIS TO YOUR CABLE INSTALLER," he LAUGHED IN my face and walked away.

Good luck.

[jfk]

I can't seem to find much info about cablecard use on RCN's site, but in fine print it says that you can't get sports packages with cablecard. Does this mean no MLB Extra Innings for TIVO users? If so, that is a deal breaker for me.

[TomMMD]

Are you sure it says that you can't get the extra sports channels?

It is true that you can't do the Video on Demand because the card is one way and you need two-way communication for VOD.

But, the sports channels have a bunch of channels allocated for them so I don't think you need two-way communication.

(By the way, when I had the card installed the technician said that the card had the capability for two-way communication but that RCN had not implemented it yet.)

[jfk]

Well, I was told by the rep today that I can NOT get MLB EI through the TIVO. This may be a deal breaker for me and I really want to go with the TIVO solution rather than the RCN HDDVR. Anyone have experience with this with RCN in the Boston area?

[TomMMD]

I wouldn't lose hope yet. Who knows whether the rep knows what he/she is talking about or even if he/she understood what you were asking.

I'll try one of those channels today and see what I get.

[tiassa]

I'm in Boston, and have an analog cable box (for the workout room TV) and 2 Tivo HDs. I don't subscribe to the sports packages, but when they were doing a free preview of NBA League Pass at the beginning of the season we were able to pick it up on the Tivo. This would indicate to me that should one subscribe it should work.

BTW my most recent Tivo install was quite painless, the installer brought an M-Card, scanned its barcode with his PDA, popped it in, typed in some numbers and everything was fine -- I had to reboot and rerun guided setup, but that ws to be expected, and ater I did everything wroked like a charm

[drboom]

A quick look at the rcn lineup shows MLBEI channels as all being on demand so there is no way for them to work on the tivo. We do get MLB Network just fine but I don't think there is anyway to get any of the channels listed as on demand or ppv in the below url:

http://www.rcn.com/boston/digital-cable-tv/services-and-pricing/channel-lineups

FYI, RCN just added a bunch of HD channels in the Boston area.

[jfk]

Thanks for the responses. I decided to go ahead with the install despte the possible lack of the MLB package. Placed my order this morning and they offered me the first install slot for the next day. I took it and then had to run out shopping to lay my hands on some TIVO HD units. No luck at local Costco, but was able to get 2 units for $200 each at Sears so, hopefully, I am good to go!

[tiassa]

Keep us informed as to what happens with MLBEI package, enquiring minds want to know!

[jfk]

Will do.

Another question. I just bought my TIVOs last night and I have not been able to force a software update.

Installer is on his way to the house right now. Will I encounter problems with the install if the TIVOs don't have the latest software?

[tiassa]

Probably not, you should be able to get the cable card authorized, which is all the installer needs to do. You will probably have to reboot the tivo and rerun guided setup after the installer leaves and your Tivo is going to be really sluggish for the next few days, as it will have to both index the new guide data and install the update, so give it a few days before complaining the the Tivo is slow to respond.

BTW when running guided setup, always answer "no" to the question "Is channel ## station XX" question, after 3 or 4 tries it will say "Are you running Digital Basic, Extended Digital Basic, Digital rebuild, or Digital Rebuild Extended" (I think those are the choices, if not is it something similar) You want to choose Digital Rebuild Extended (again, I'm not sure that is the exact wording, but it should be the 4th choice), otherwise you won't get the correct lineup.

[jfk]

So the install was pretty rocky on my 2 TIVO units. Took almost 4 hours to get things working, including 1 apparently non-functioning M card. . Once everyhing was workng I had to re-run the guided seup and did finally get both units loaded with the newest software. Not really sure I helped anything by trying to set up ahead of time.

Overall, I am very happy with things although some of the network features have been a bit erratic (transferring recordings across TIVOs, playing YouTube vids), but I will give it a few days to settle in before I get too concerned.

The installer (whose company is contracted by RCN) said he had probably done 100 TIVO installs in his 9 years in the business and that he hates doing them and they rarely go smoothly.

He also indicated that I will NOT be able to get the MLB extra innings package.

[tiassa]

So the install was pretty rocky on my 2 TIVO units. Took almost 4 hours to get things working, including 1 apparently non-functioning M card. . Once everyhing was workng I had to re-run the guided seup and did finally get both units loaded with the newest software. Not really sure I helped anything by trying to set up ahead of time.

Interesting . . .my last cablecard install the instaler was in and out in less that 20 mins, although the dead M-card certainally added time to your install. You were going to have to rerun guided setup anyway (BTW did you need to use my "Just say no" trick to get the right lineup?). Making sure the Tivo was minimally functional before the installer arrived at least assured your Tivo wasn't "DOA".

Overall, I am very happy with things although some of the network features have been a bit erratic (transferring recordings across TIVOs, playing YouTube vids), but I will give it a few days to settle in before I get too concerned.

That is the sort of stuff that is definitely going to be impacted by all the background indexing that is happening, it should get better in a couple of days

The installer (whose company is contracted by RCN) said he had probably done 100 TIVO installs in his 9 years in the business and that he hates doing them and they rarely go smoothly.

Clearly you didn't have the same installer I did, mine was like "Yeah, yeah, I know what I'm doing. let me work"

He also indicated that I will NOT be able to get the MLB extra innings package.

I still think it is worth a try -- like I said I was able to watch the free preview of NBA League Pass when they ran it. Worst case is you can order it then cancel or get an LD Cable Box (RCN includes one "free" with the cable service).

[DrewTivo]

I still think it is worth a try -- like I said I was able to watch the free preview of NBA League Pass when they ran it. Worst case is you can order it then cancel or get an LD Cable Box (RCN includes one "free" with the cable service).

Probably different in that they run it unscrambled then.

But it still seems odd--PPV is available with CC and tivo, it's just that you have to call instead of being able to order it. Why wouldn't you be able to call and order extra innings? Since it's full season, one call should do it all.

[tiassa]

Probably different in that they run it unscrambled then.

But it still seems odd--PPV is available with CC and tivo, it's just that you have to call instead of being able to order it. Why wouldn't you be able to call and order extra innings? Since it's full season, one call should do it all.

Those are my feelings as well,my example with NBALP was meant to illustrate that. The catch is that in the RCN guide the Sports packages are listed as "On Demand" not PPV and I'm sure that the RCNs CSRs and installers are told "Cable Cards can't get On Demand programming". My guess is that they are just encrypted channels like the premium movie channels, but RCN wants to brand them as "On Demand".

Hopefully jfk will report back when baseball season opens.

[TomMMD]

I tried the MLB channels and on my HD Tivo I just get a gray screen but on my regular Series II tv I get a notice giving the phone number to call to sign up.....Not sure if that means you can't get it on the HD box

[nycityuser]

I tried the MLB channels and on my HD Tivo I just get a gray screen but on my regular Series II tv I get a notice giving the phone number to call to sign up.....Not sure if that means you can't get it on the HD box
Isn't that because the Series 2 is connected to a cable box? Since most channels are now scrambled the only way to get anything with a Series 2 is to have it connected to a box. When you change the channel on the Series 2 it actually changes the channel on the cable box, which itself is capable of getting On Demand programming.

I have both a Series 2 and two HD TIVOs and that's my configuration.

[cas929]

I wonder if the fact that this thread is relatively calm and quiet means that RCN is doing better than some companies at the whole Cablecard thing? RCN just recently came to my neighborhood in Washington D.C., and I'm trying to get an idea of how much time and effort I may need to invest in getting a Cablecard/TiVo setup operating properly. Are there any readers who have RCN and TiVo in D.C. who feel like sharing their experiences?

[Doh]

I had RCN come out a while ago and it took maybe 2 hours-- but apparently the person in the home office was giving the guy the wrong codes or something, once he got the right codes I think it was more like 20-30 minutes.

We get NBALP on our tivohd (it's a major reason why we haven't switched to FIOS). I am 99% certain I've gotten the MLB EI channels on the tivohd (we have gotten MLBEI, and we have the tivohd, but I am trying to place the years in sequence). The only slight issue is that sometimes the channel lineup is off, but if I email tivo they will fix it (which means I can set wishlists for my team and not worry about what channel it's on).

[TomMMD]

I've had the cable card for a while now. A technician came out and within a day or two and took about a half hour to do (most if it waiting for the signal to come from RCN Central)

All in all very painless.

I wonder if the fact that this thread is relatively calm and quiet means that RCN is doing better than some companies at the whole Cablecard thing? RCN just recently came to my neighborhood in Washington D.C., and I'm trying to get an idea of how much time and effort I may need to invest in getting a Cablecard/TiVo setup operating properly. Are there any readers who have RCN and TiVo in D.C. who feel like sharing their experiences?

[DrewTivo]

I've had the cable card for a while now. A technician came out and within a day or two and took about a half hour to do (most if it waiting for the signal to come from RCN Central)

All in all very painless.

Similar experience here. I think he was actually working for about 5 minutes. The rest of it was waiting for the channel scan and for the "home office" to send out the pairing/activating signal after he called in the number.

[tiassa]

I've had the cable card for a while now. A technician came out and within a day or two and took about a half hour to do (most if it waiting for the signal to come from RCN Central)

All in all very painless.

Much the same here for my 2nd install (this January) the tech was in the house for 20-30 mins tops.
My First install (just over a year ago) was screwed up and took 2 visits to fix, but part of that was because the tech installed an S-card and refused to believe it wasn't an M-card (even though the Tivo said "S-card installed" when you checked it).

[Merejane]

RCN in New York City is requesting cablecard information “to keep your cable running smoothly while we make a few changes to our digital service.” (See http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard.)

Specifically, they are asking for the cablecard ID, the Host ID, the Data #, and the cablecard serial number. The customer is instructed to enter this information online.

The instructions on the webpage say that the requested information can be found by tuning to channel 985. When I tune to this channel, I see the first three items, but there is no cablecard serial number listed. Another problem is that the information is displayed for only one cablecard (#2, in my case).

Now, I seem to recall reading somewhere that the only way to find the serial number is to check the cablecard itself. My questions: (1) is that in fact the only way to find the serial number, and (2) is the process as simple as unplugging the TiVo, pulling out each card, making a note of the serial number, reinserting the card, and then plugging the TiVo back in? Or could that somehow mess things up? (Sorry if that’s a dumb question, but removing the cablecard makes me a bit nervous.)

I did call RCN for help on this, but the person I spoke with had no clue.

Finally, does anyone have any insight into why RCN is requesting this information? Their FAQ is not very informative.

Thanks!

[rlcarr]

RCN in New York City is requesting cablecard information “to keep your cable running smoothly while we make a few changes to our digital service.” (See http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard.)

Specifically, they are asking for the cablecard ID, the Host ID, the Data #, and the cablecard serial number. The customer is instructed to enter this information online.

That's very interesting. Here in the Boston area RCN does not pair cablecards at all (neither I nor anyone I know had their cablecard paired) or only does it inconsistently. And from a thread I started here, some people in NYC and in Chicago also reported not having their card paired.

Yet others do report their card being paired.

I wonder if RCN is planning to turn on the CCI byte on more channels or something like this and so will need to get unpaired cablecards paired so that people will be able to watch all channels they are entitled to.

[Roderigo]

The instructions on the webpage say that the requested information can be found by tuning to channel 985. When I tune to this channel, I see the first three items, but there is no cablecard serial number listed.

The serial number is listed on newer versions of the motorola mcard firmware. So, if you have older firmware (or SCards) you'll have to physically look at the card to get this information.


Another problem is that the information is displayed for only one cablecard (#2, in my case).

You can navigate to the cablecard menus in settings, and get this same information. By turning on copy protection on one channel, RCN can give customers common directions for all TVs (as each cablecard device has a different place to look for these menus). The downside of RCN's directions is that dual cablecard tivo boxes need to be able to tune to that channel using each cablecard.


(2) is the process as simple as unplugging the TiVo, pulling out each card, making a note of the serial number, reinserting the card, and then plugging the TiVo back in? Or could that somehow mess things up?

That won't screw anything up. The standard caveat is to make sure you put the cards back into the same slot or you break the pairing. Of course, since your cards aren't paired, this isn't as critical (though, if you do swap slots, it will generate the cards will generate a new data number). And, there's no need to power down the tivo when you do this. It works just fine w/ the power on. And, of course make sure you match the serial number up to the rest of the data from the same card.


Finally, does anyone have any insight into why RCN is requesting this information? Their FAQ is not very informative.

RCN wants to turn on copy protection, and they didn't collect all this information when they installed the cards. The "symptom" you see on channel 985 is what you'll see when when you have unpaired cards and you tune to any channel with copy protection turned on. They're trying to make sure customers have their cards paired before they turn it on for "real" channels.

[rlcarr]

Has anyone other than in New York received this request to enter the pairing info?

[Merejane]

And, of course make sure you match the serial number up to the rest of the data from the same card.


Thank you so much, Roderigo -- your post was very helpful!

One more quick question -- to match up the serial number with the rest of the data, am I correct that the bottom slot is cablecard #1 and the top slot is cablecard #2?

[Roderigo]

One more quick question -- to match up the serial number with the rest of the data, am I correct that the bottom slot is cablecard #1 and the top slot is cablecard #2?

Sounds right to me. The picture in the Tivo settings screen will also confirm that :).

[Merejane]

Sounds right to me. The picture in the Tivo settings screen will also confirm that :).

Thanks!

[haplo888]

Boston area, Somerville. Several reps had told me it would be $49.99 to install the cable card. At $1.50/mo that is almost 3 years of service as an installation charge. =/

When I called this morning to actually schedule the appointment I objected and objected and after being put on hold for several minutes they reduced it to $14.95 saying that the $50 charge is only for the Chicago area. Maybe I'll try to get them to waive it, but $15 is a lot more palatable than $50.

I'll post next week with how it goes.

Haplo

[rlcarr]

Just wanted to mention here in the official thread that I today got the robocall telling me to enter the cablecard pairing info at www.rcn.com/cablecard

I'm in the Boston area.

[drboom]

I received the call a few minutes ago as well. Also in the Boston area (Milton)

[nycityuser]

I'm in New York City and I received the robocall about two months ago.

[fergie8]

I received the call a few minutes ago as well. Also in the Boston area (Milton)

And I got it in Chicago today too.

[rlcarr]

I'm in New York City and I received the robocall about two months ago.

Have they actually paired your card(s) yet?

[Brad516]

Got the call today in Maryland.

[fitzie]

OK, I'm confused. I have a Series 3, and have not received the call and I'm in Boston. I'll have to go look on channel 985.

However, the instructions on the web page cited (http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard#top) state to simply enter in the RCN Account number from a broswer presumably anywhere. It doesn't say to do it at your house. Is that an oversight? I suppose RCN can figure out my CableCard infromation from my IP address. But what if I'm not at my IP address? Pity the poor slob that makes the update from work, or on an iPhone or whatever.

[rlcarr]

You can be running the browser anywhere. You don't need to be at home to use that web page.

The key thing is to get the correct pairing info from the TiVo. Going to that channel makes the TiVo (or any CableCARD host device) bring up the pairing info screen because of how the copy-protect flag is set on that channel.

RCN has to ask us for the info because the "Host ID" and "Data" fields are generated by the TiVo. Thus RCN has no way of knowing those numbers without us telling them, unless the information was entered into the database back when the card was installed. And in many/most places, RCN wasn't pairing cards and so didn't collect that information at install.

[Hank]

However, the instructions on the web page cited (http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard#top) state to simply enter in the RCN Account number from a broswer presumably anywhere. It doesn't say to do it at your house. Is that an oversight? I suppose RCN can figure out my CableCard infromation from my IP address. But what if I'm not at my IP address? Pity the poor slob that makes the update from work, or on an iPhone or whatever.

RCN cable and internet are totally separate (they really don't know about each other), so it doesn't matter where you are to enter the info. What if I had RCN cable and a DSL line from Verizon? It would still work.

[fitzie]

OK, I actually don't answer my telephone for calls that don't register with Caller ID, but I received my e-mail yesterday, about 20 minutes after I sent my comment. Data applied, life goes on.

Does anybody else have problems with their TiVo hanging? My hacked Series 1s work fine, but the Series 3 which has a WD My DVR Expander attached via e-SATA seems to go south every once in a while. The only fix appears to be power down TiVo, power down DVR Expander, power back up DVR Expander, wait a few, and then power up TiVo. After 5 minute boot process, it comes back. My guess it has something to do with RCN's frequent reprograming.

[DrewTivo]

OK, I'm confused. I have a Series 3, and have not received the call and I'm in Boston. I'll have to go look on channel 985.

However, the instructions on the web page cited (http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard#top) state to simply enter in the RCN Account number from a broswer presumably anywhere. It doesn't say to do it at your house. Is that an oversight? I suppose RCN can figure out my CableCard infromation from my IP address. But what if I'm not at my IP address? Pity the poor slob that makes the update from work, or on an iPhone or whatever.

Once you enter your account number it asks for 4 pieces of information from your cable card (S/N, CC number, and a couple other things).

(ETA: DC area--call and then email)

[ejohnsen]

I went away on vacation from 6/10 to 6/16 and when I returned home, one of my two Tivo Series 3 HD boxes was no longer able to get any TV (each of my boxes has two cable cards). My upstairs Tivo has continued to work fine, however my downstairs Tivo no longer works. I spent 1 1/2 hours on the phone with Tivo support, and ultimately we concluded that 1) either my Tivo box is bad, specifically my cable card slots, or 2) the cable cards themselves have gone bad. Frankly, at this point I am not sure which it is, but RCN is coming out in 3 days to look at the problem firsthand. I tend to believe it's the cable cards, since shortly after returning to find no reception (which also overlapped with the switch to all digital on 6/12), I received the email from Tivo requesting all the information on the cable cards to ensure "uninterrupted service". Has anyone experienced anything similar? I am pretty disappointed in RCN, especially since by tuning into channel 985, it does NOT provide all the requisite information they seek -- specifically, this page does NOT show the serial number of the cable card in question, and they request the serial number for each card on the web page for collecting this information (incidentally, I did FINALLY get all the information submitted through the site, and it really brightened up my father's day spending all that time with my tvs and RCN customer support). If anyone has a quick answer to this, by all means please share. Thanks!

[tiassa]

Interesting -- I got the call and e-mail and dutifully went to channel 985 and entered the info. Now when I go back to 985 the channel is blank.

Even more interesting -- 985 is blank on the TV in the Man Cave (which I entered first), but the data shows up on the TV in the Living room (which I did after the one in the Man Cave). RCN should know that I have 2 cable cards (they are billing me for them). I hope this doesn't turn into another RCN infrastructure screw-up.

[rlcarr]

Interesting -- I got the call and e-mail and dutifully went to channel 985 and entered the info. Now when I go back to 985 the channel is blank.

That might not be bad. It could simply mean that they've paired the card (which is why the info screen no longer appears) and that you're just not subbed to that channel (which is why it's blank).

Could you go to the CableCARD config screen, then select a card to configure, then select "CableCARD Menu" then select "Conditional Access" and tell us what you see there?

[dnash]

GRRRRRR. Had RCN cable card installation scheduled this morning. I got up early and everything to be ready. The damn guy just called to cancel. "I don't have any cable cards left, have to reschedule for Monday."

(Insert nasty language here)

And I've already disassembled the old Tivo so now I'm basically without TV for days until this gets done.

(edit, well it belatedly occurred to me I can just hook up the cable box direct to the TV. So I do still have TV, just no Tivo functions. Still, I am NOT happy.)

[ewosu]

I live in DC and just got the call a couple weeks ago. Do you think this means that we will finally be able to use our Tivo to watch On-Demand events in the near future?

[drboom]

I live in DC and just got the call a couple weeks ago. Do you think this means that we will finally be able to use our Tivo to watch On-Demand events in the near future?

Sorry, no. This would require tivo software changes and a tuning adapter. The consensus seems to be that such things will wait for the next tivo and tru2way.

[rlcarr]

I live in DC and just got the call a couple weeks ago. Do you think this means that we will finally be able to use our Tivo to watch On-Demand events in the near future?

No. All it means is that RCN will be able to start turning on copy-protection (absent pairing, any channel RCN copy protects is not viewable at all by CableCARD devices).

[LifeIsABeach]

I have two S-cards and of course their stupid website only lets you enter information for one card. Has anyone enetered information for two cards and had them both successfully paired? I have a feeling the second one will overwrite the first one and then one tuner will end up not working.

[rlcarr]

If you call the number they list on the page, that lets you put the info in over the phone (by entering the numbers on your phone keypad). The message says that if you have more than one card, you need to call once for each card.

So I ass-u-me :) that the same holds true for the website -- go there twice and enter each card. Each card has a different serial number so there's no intrinsic reason why there would be an overwrite.

[LifeIsABeach]

Cool. I enetered both. Will keep my fingers crossed that they don't kill one of my tuners. Thanks for the info!

[SharpPa]

Anyone seen this with an RCN setup pre-crush? I'm in the Lehigh Valley and the digital switchover is in a few weeks. I have a new Tivo HD with a m-card cablecard installed. All the HD channels come in fine but a good percentage of the 2-97 channels do not. It seems random.....87 works while 89 does not. If I remove the cablecard then channel 87 works fine. I got the cablecard just yesterday so I'm not sure if this happens all the time with the cablecard or just sporadically.

Some sort of analog/digital simulcast problem? In the channel tuning page on a failed channel, it switches from "QAM 64" and "QAM 256" back and forth and shows no signal strength.

Soft or hard reboot does not help. Adding a signal booster that I had does not help.

Could it be a bad cablecard? Any suggestions?

[SharpPa]

So what do people have on their conditional access screen? I just got off a conference call between Tivo and RCN about my lack of some low channels and the Tivo support (who was excellent!) was surprised to hear that RCN does not pair the cards. My conditional access screen is:

Conditional Access
Unit Address:large number here
Encryption: DES
Con: Yes EBCP: Yes Val:? 0x00

So it's not paired yet I get all the high def channels and about 20% of the low channels.

They refreshed the card and gave it an "int" reset which did not help even after a new channel map got downloaded.

RCN is coming in the morning to take a look and try a new card.

So, does anyone have a different screen than above with RCN?

[rlcarr]

In general, it appears that RCN does not pair CableCARDs.

However (see some of the more recent posts in this thread) RCN is telling customers to enter pairing info into RCN's system. So presumably RCN is planning to pair cards in the near future.

That said, pairing is only required when the CCI byte is non-zero. Currently, RCN has the CCI byte set to zero on all or virtually all of their channels and thus lack of pairing has no effect.

I can only assume that RCN is planning to set the CCI byte on a number of channels, and that's why they're collecting pairing info.

[SharpPa]

Turns out I had an old analog filter on my outside box to stop pay channel transmission and that was the culprit. Once that was removed (after a new 4 ft. cable, new 8 way splitter in the basement and new cablecard), all the low channels come in okay.

[John Z NY]

is RCN SDV? i just switched from cablevision to RCN(moved to queens from long island) and the guy said i dont need a tuner box anymore(but the guy also told me i needed 2 M cards to run my tivo when i told him 1 card was all it needed. the tivo eventually told him to remove the 2nd card)

[Doh]

I haven't heard of RCN going SDV.

[nycityuser]

is RCN SDV? i just switched from cablevision to RCN(moved to queens from long island) and the guy said i dont need a tuner box anymore(but the guy also told me i needed 2 M cards to run my tivo when i told him 1 card was all it needed. the tivo eventually told him to remove the 2nd card)

I'm with RCN in Manhattan and, no, RCN is not SDV. I think the guy meant that you don't need a tuner box (i.e., cable box) when you have a TIVO with a cablecard. Without the TIVO you would need a cable box to tune to any channel.

[DrewTivo]

I haven't heard of RCN going SDV.

Almost certainly not. Their "analog crush" program, which got rid of all analog signals, was designed to clear up enough bandwidth to avoid SDV.

[DrewTivo]

RCN has added a bunch of HD channels in the last few months.

For many of them we get guide data but for a lot we don't. All it has is "to be announced". This is true even when there *is* guide data for the SD version of the channel.

Any ideas? Am I alone with this problem?

[Doh]

does zap2it show the guide data? (I seem to recall they use the same feed, so that might help determine if it's a tivo lineup problem or the data not being supplied.)

[BigJimOutlaw]

RCN has added a bunch of HD channels in the last few months.

For many of them we get guide data but for a lot we don't. All it has is "to be announced". This is true even when there *is* guide data for the SD version of the channel.

Any ideas? Am I alone with this problem?

Have you tried re-running the guided setup and selecting the "digital rebuild" option? Several people had success with that.

[DrewTivo]

does zap2it show the guide data? (I seem to recall they use the same feed, so that might help determine if it's a tivo lineup problem or the data not being supplied.)

Looks like it does, so something is funny here.

Have you tried re-running the guided setup and selecting the "digital rebuild" option? Several people had success with that.

I'll try that tonight. I did that after they did the digital rebuild, so I thought I was taken care of.

It's such a pain because Tivo seems to pick up a bunch of channels that are listed but blocked because they're in a higher tier. For whatever reason (my incompetence?) they show up in the listings and in the up/down list. So I have to remove them manually . . .

[CrispyCritter]

It's such a pain because Tivo seems to pick up a bunch of channels that are listed but blocked because they're in a higher tier. For whatever reason (my incompetence?) they show up in the listings and in the up/down list. So I have to remove them manually . . .TiVo doesn't even try to keep track of tiers, so it's not your competence that's in question. The cable companies don't make that info available outside in many cases, and when they do it is often wrong, out-of-date, or people are using tiers no longer offered. So it is a pain, but a very rare pain in most cases.

[DrewTivo]

TiVo doesn't even try to keep track of tiers, so it's not your competence that's in question. The cable companies don't make that info available outside in many cases, and when they do it is often wrong, out-of-date, or people are using tiers no longer offered. So it is a pain, but a very rare pain in most cases.

Yeah, I understand Tivo can't know what RCN's tiers are.

What puzzles me is why Tivo doesn't recognize a channel as not being received when it's coming in black screen.

[DrewTivo]

Update: The above suggestion worked, and I now get listing info.

[vvboston]

This started a couple of months ago, but got worse lately.
- On some recordings on an HD channel, the recording would only record 10 to 20 minutes, and then stop. Initially, we thought the Tivo just rebooted at that time. Then, it started to happen more frequently.
- Then, we noticed it happened on Live TV as well. The screen would pixelate, then freeze. Sometimes gray screen shows up, sometimes not. Regardless, you could not control the Tivo anymore with a remote for a few minutes. We would change channels and come back - sometimes that fixed it, sometimes it didn't.

- We called RCN, who came in and switched out the cable cards, and changed out the connections in the hallway. It improved slightly - out of our 5 recordings that night, only 1 had a problem. We called RCN back, and they changed out the connections in the apt as well. We still saw the issue happen again on the Tivo. The tech then brought in the RCN HD Cable Box, and there were no issues.
- We then called Tivo. The Tivo Tech Support person told us that we needed an attenuator. I had seen the problem on this forum for FIOS, but am not sure this is what our issue is. We have ordered the attenuator, and we will see if it fixes it. In the meantime, the problem has gotten a lot worse - additional symptoms now is that the Tivo is very sluggish, and takes a very long time to respond to the remote, display screens, etc.

Any insight would be appreciated.

[CrispyCritter]

Sounds much more like a hard disk problem. The attenuator solution has a chance of being the right answer, but I would guess a much rarer chance than a hard disk solution.

[vvboston]

The issue is still happening, after the following steps were taken:
1) Attached attenuator; signal is now at 81/87, which Tivo Support says is perfect
2) Ran Kickstart SMART 54 test: Both Tivo HD and the DVR Expander Passed the hard disk test, so does not appear to be a Hard Drive failure issue
3) Cablecard has been switched out, and all splitters were re-wired by RCN tech

Is it possible that this is a tuner issue? Or motherboard? What test can I do to confirm either of these?

[rlcarr]

Supposedly the self-install FCC regulations are now in effect.

Has anyone done an RCN CableCARD self-install? How does it work? How was pairing done? Did it go smoothly (including getting RCN to acknowledge the ability to do a self-install)?