Mediacom?

[Ames]

Has anyone tried an S3 with Mediacom? After just a couple of days they had the cards and were ready for an install. I of course don't have my S3 yet, but...

[Bierboy]

I have the S3 and Mediacom, but don't plan on getting CCs....PM me if you'd like more info on why...

I'd love to hear how they work out, though.

[Ames]

I had my install today. It took a couple of hours. Mediacom wasn't familiar with 2 cable cards, but they took the time to figure it out and got everything working.

All said I'm very happy with Mediacom. I ordered 2 cards a week ago and they promised them in 6-8 weeks. A few days later they scheduled for today. They had both cards today. The installer stayed to make sure 100% of the channels worked on both cards.

S3's are pretty sweet. Dual tuner HD is awesome. I'm happy so far.

[TivoMactopia]

Ames...What area are you in?

I'm in Missouri and called Mediacom and asked for the availability of CCs, and the first lady I spoke with didn't know what I was talking about. She transferred me to technical support and they said they didn't support the use of CCs in my area :-( This bums me out big time as I have a new TV in route that could use two CCs in addition to the TiVo S3!!

[Bierboy]

Ames...What area are you in?

I'm in Missouri and called Mediacom and asked for the availability of CCs, and the first lady I spoke with didn't know what I was talking about. She transferred me to technical support and they said they didn't support the use of CCs in my area :-( This bums me out big time as I have a new TV in route that could use two CCs in addition to the TiVo S3!!
He's in Ames, Iowa (north of Des Moines). We have Mediacom here in my area, too, but I haven't checked to see if they know anything about cablecards. From what I've seen in some postings, there will be a few small cable cos that aren't required to use cablecards.

[TivoMactopia]

He's in Ames, Iowa (north of Des Moines). We have Mediacom here in my area, too, but I haven't checked to see if they know anything about cablecards. From what I've seen in some postings, there will be a few small cable cos that aren't required to use cablecards.
Thanks. I decided to call the local number on my statement...they are more than happy to provide you with them...for $2.95 each per month...with the TV, and TiVo S3, I'd need 4 of them...I didn't realize that the charge for the cards were recurring.

He did offer that if I came in to the local office, they could refer me to the brand/specs of CCs that would work on our systems here and that I could buy them outright. Have you or do you know of anyone that has done this?

I have the S3 and Mediacom, but don't plan on getting CCs....PM me if you'd like more info on why...
Is this offer still good? I am curious as to why and appreciate any feedback or concerns.

Thanks,

Kevin

[Ames]

That's right I'm in Ames, Iowa. I think Mediacom is big enough to be required to support the cards. I also think they are more than willing to support the cards they just don't have a staff thats well informed on them. I'd either keep calling back or have them ask around for someone who knows.

When I called I got someone who was in training, it turned out well. They said they didn't know about the cards. Then someone got on the phone and said they were the training supervisor and I could order cards. She wanted to know about the device they were going in and she said she wasn't sure about 2 in one device. I told her it was a new system and she probably wouldn't have seen one yet. She was fine with that and put the order through. She said 6-8 weeks. A few days later they said the cards were in and we scheduled an installer to come out.

I'd get the installer to come out. It's easy to put the cards in and go to the right screens for the info, but the tech I had knew when he called in who to talk to. He kept saying can you put so and so on; they were busy or gone so he kept asking for people until he got the right person. They have to give them the card id and 2 id's from the Tivo. All numbers are unique to each slot. Once all that was setup and the cards were hit we found the premium tier wasn't on so he called someone else about that. The installer said something about the cards needing to be listed first in the account or they don't always work right.

[Ames]

Oh by the way I got Motorola cards.

[Bierboy]

Is this offer still good? I am curious as to why and appreciate any feedback or concerns.

Thanks,

KevinSure.

[Kylep]

Thanks for Posting Ames, i had trouble getting Mediacomm to send me the second card. (TiVo arrives tonight)

I called back into support and told the lady about your post, she talked to her supervisor and said they didn't support it because TiVo was their competitor. (I really had to bite my tongue!)

I read her the part about the mediacomm guy installing it two cards for you, and asked her if she could just order it for me and i'll take my chances. She finally did.

[Ames]

Tivo was thier competitor, that's a new one.

I'm glad it worked out for you. I'm glad the post helped.

[Ames]

If you get further down the road and they don't want to do 2 cards I'd tell them if they have version 2 cards that's fine, but since they don't your device won't work right without 2 version 1 cards.

[Kylep]

OK, I got the series 3 tonight, i took the one motorola cable card i had from my TV and put it in the TiVo, it seemed to work like a charm. I'm up and watching all my channels.

Maybe this should be the official Mediacomm thread for people having trouble convincing them it should work.

[fritolayguy]

I went around and around with Mediacom support in Springfield, MO yesterday, and finally I got a supervisor on the phone that knew about the cablecards, and all is working now.

The key is definitely that the cablecards are listed first on the account you are calling in about, and that the person with the correct authorization level is able to send the hit to the cable cards.

The issue with my install (cards installed at noon, not working properly until 6pm) was the the tech told me it would take 2-3 hours for the channels on the digital and HD tiers to be available, so he left. The truth was that once the supervisor cleared up the administrative issues with my account (they had me still having a DVR from them, which the tech took with him when he left, and no cable cards listed....) the channels were accessible within 2 minutes of the hit sent to them by the supervisor.

The key---hang in there and don't take no for an answer....the cards from Mediacom definitely work with TIVO series 3.

[paulywally]

I live in the Des Moines, IA area. I called to order by cable cards, but the sales lady was adamant about not supporting anything other than TV's. She wouldn't order my cards until I told her the model number of my TV. I finally told her it was for 2 Mitsubishi WD-62525 TV's. The order is in. I will post back when they are in...

Pauly

[Kylep]

Mediacom said it would take 6-8 weeks, I Ordered it on Friday and got a letter on Tuesday saying it was available and i had to call to schedule the install. Kinda annoying that it couldn't get scheduled the first time since they obviously had them.

Also, The person i got when i called to have it installed seemed to have no problem with the fact they were going into a TiVo, he even made it a point of making sure I had two cards for the thing (since i only ordered 1). It was nice to get someone who understood the situation.

[paulywally]

Yes, I just got the letter too. They asked no more questions and the install is set up for 10/03/06. I will post back with my experience...

Pauly

[lafos]

If you ever used the Motorola DCT-6412 Mediacom rents, you'd be glad for the TiVo. Maybe when I can get more than 5 HD channels in small-town Iowa, I'll find the funds for the S3. Until then, the SD TiVos I have will suffice.

Glad to hear Mediacom can handle the CC's. I asked them a few weeks ago before the S3 came out, and the guy I spoke with wasn't sure about CC compatibility. At least he was aware of the S3 coming out.

[ivorygate]

Hmm, I'm on a waiting list in eastern Iowa, supposedly in November they are going to get CableCARDs. I forgot to mention I needed two of them, though. $6 a month for two, huh? I forget how much the Moto rental costs per month, is it $7.50 (too lazy to go find the bill right now)

And, yeah, the Moto 6412iii is a piece of junk. Unfortunately, anyone who wants to do OnDemand and/or PPV, the S3 can't do that even with a CableCARD, but most people are willing to give that up to use a S3 over the cable company's STB/DVR.

[Bierboy]

Hmm, I'm on a waiting list in eastern Iowa, supposedly in November they are going to get CableCARDs. I forgot to mention I needed two of them, though. $6 a month for two, huh? I forget how much the Moto rental costs per month, is it $7.50 (too lazy to go find the bill right now)

And, yeah, the Moto 6412iii is a piece of junk. Unfortunately, anyone who wants to do OnDemand and/or PPV, the S3 can't do that even with a CableCARD, but most people are willing to give that up to use a S3 over the cable company's STB/DVR.Ivory, where in eastern Iowa are you? If it's the QC area, I'd be very interested in how it goes (though I doubt I'll ever increase my package to expanded basic, then digital, plus HD - WAY too much $$). Thanks.

[ivorygate]

Ivory, where in eastern Iowa are you? If it's the QC area, I'd be very interested in how it goes (though I doubt I'll ever increase my package to expanded basic, then digital, plus HD - WAY too much $$). Thanks.

I'm in the Waterloo. I'm now thinking about just getting rid of digital cable outright. I get the four local network HD channels OTA perfectly with a cheap powered indoor RCA antenna, which was the main reason I got digital cable in the first place, to be able to record 24, Lost, and the like in HD. With the S3 I can do that now without paying for digitcal cable and the moto 6412 rental fees.

[paulywally]

Mediacom came today to install, but they only brough one card. doh! The installer had never done a Tivo, but didn't mind. It took quite a while for the card to be initialized by the cable company. The status screen didn't seem to update with anything. After about 20-30 min of switching between the status and channel screen, the channels finally came up. Everything worked, but I need to set up another time for the additional card...

Pauly

[paulywally]

The installer came by after work and brought the other card a couple days later. He popped it in, and it was working within 5 min. :up: :up: :up:

[hospadam]

My installer is coming Friday morning. Any tips for Mediacom?

I know to tell him to:

Make sure my Motorola DVR is removed from my account.
Put the CableCARD on the top of my account.
Then Initialize it.

Is that all he needs to know? Thanks!

[Anomalous One]

Just received the S3 today and hadn't seen this board as of then. I called the Mediacom 800 number and they assured me the cards DO NOT work with TIVO.

I then went to the local office, lied through my teeth and told them i was sure it would work just to get them out here to try it. The techs standing in the office told me that getting rid of my box and switching to the cards would assure me only 1 way communication instead of the 2 way communication which means i will lose pay-per-view, the channel guide, and most of the channel information. They said when the channel is displayed I will only have the channel number and maybe the name of the channel; NO OTHER INFORMATION. Not sure about this but i was wondering if those of you with experience know anything about this.
ALSO... any tips on making the setup easier when they come on this Friday P.M.?

[Bierboy]

I don't have actual experience, but that's a load of BULL. The only part that is accurate AFAIK is that you will lose pay-per-view (through the box; you can still do it over the phone). The TiVo provides all your guide information, and much better than Mediacrap. The guide will provide all the information any TiVo does. Can't help you with tips, but others who frequent this thread and have actual Mediacrap experience should be able to help. Perhaps you could PM them. I know someone from Missouri has experience with these jokers.

[Ames]

Just received the S3 today and hadn't seen this board as of then. I called the Mediacom 800 number and they assured me the cards DO NOT work with TIVO.

I then went to the local office, lied through my teeth and told them i was sure it would work just to get them out here to try it. The techs standing in the office told me that getting rid of my box and switching to the cards would assure me only 1 way communication instead of the 2 way communication which means i will lose pay-per-view, the channel guide, and most of the channel information. They said when the channel is displayed I will only have the channel number and maybe the name of the channel; NO OTHER INFORMATION. Not sure about this but i was wondering if those of you with experience know anything about this.
ALSO... any tips on making the setup easier when they come on this Friday P.M.?
You lose pay per view, but that's it. The guide still works. Channels have names. You still see whats on the channel. The S3 works 100%. It's a million times better than Mediacom's box.

The main recommendation is follow the Tivo one sheet guide to installing the cards. Also the cards are supposed to be at the top of the order in Mediacom's system; I don't know what it means but whoever the tech calls should.

[BB3]

I have Mediacom in Santa Rosa County, Florida. I posted a lengthy diatribe elsewhere on these forums about the initial disaster that was the CC install. As of now, I've had CC's for about 5 weeks. CC1 works like a charm. I get every channel and the HD recordings are magnificent. Now the bad news. CC2 still doesn't work. Fortunately, a very agreeable tech named Bill continues to work with me to try and solve the mystery. He's even called to say he was continuing to research the problem. They've been very nice so I'm trying to be patient. They even deleted the install charge since the original two installers that showed up had the wrong equipment and were, frankly, clueless. Eventually I went to the local office, picked up the cards and did the install myself. As noted, #1 went just as described in the instructions. The first #2 was a bad card(the Tivo would never read any of the numbers). Now, the new #2 reads the numbers it just won't authorize. Waiting to hear back from Bill.

I have to admit, I've dealt with various cable companies over the years and Mediacom is much better than most. I'm convinced this problem is something simple we just haven't figured out yet. :)

And, my S2 is still up and running so I haven't missed anything. :)

[bevansmd]

Mediacom sent nice but inexperienced tech out to install cable cards. He had never seen a Tivo and I don't think he knows much about cable cards in general. He had directions with him and refused to look at directions from Tivo. Tried first card and got a 161-4 error. Resent a hit but still same error. Tried another cable card with same results. Tried card in slot 2 with same results. Now they are telling me they don't support tivo. Called Tivo support while tech here and she researched error and said that any 161 error meant cable card was faulty and multiple cards might be need to be tried because cable card technology not very good. She said if same error comes up, I need to return Tivo 3! Cable guy put card in my tv and it seemed to work fine (didn't go through whole channel setup) so he says problem is with Tivo....not cable card. Now I'm caught in the middle and I was so excited about my new tivo.

Researched 161-4 error online after tech gone and now find out Tivo says to ignore error. I hope that I can get Mediacom to come again with a more experienced tech and more than 2 cable cards to try again but I'm afraid they will say "we don't support tivos". Irony is that I've been a loyal mediacom customer since 1992 and if cable cards will work in tivo 3 I will be tied to mediacom for years because the box doesn't work with satellite.

Can anyone offer help?

Thanks!

[Kylep]

bevansmd

I'd definitely ask them to come again. Tell them Tivo included very easy instructions but your tech refused to look at them. Tell them you've been reading up on the internet and have seen lots of people who say they got it to work just fine.

I had a little trouble at first, but if you are polite and persistent you should get them to give it another try.

As a last resort, tell them if you need to return the Tivo without them even trying again, then you might as well go with DirectTV TiVo's...

[Ames]

Got that error. Looked it up online and just ignored it.

[leiniesguy]

Ordered my two cable cards from Mediacomm, they arrived within a week and the installer had them working on one trip. All went smooth and I still have the Motorola DVR installed as well as I finish watching the programs. I did have to call and have them re-initialize the cards, but that was it - went off without any problems.

I just wish the 750 GB Weaknees model wasn't an additional $500. Love my TiVo.

They did just add FOXHD in my area, channel 809 and TiVo didn't have any program information. A single call to the VIP hotline put it on the todo list, expecting that update today and I can add 24 and Prison Break to my season pass list.

[Ames]

Fox HD would be nice. We haven't ever had that here. Heck with the Sinclair deal we can't even get regular Fox on Mediacom.

[Bierboy]

Fox HD would be nice. We haven't ever had that here. Heck with the Sinclair deal we can't even get regular Fox on Mediacom.
I thought I just read yesterday that Sinclair and Mediacom signed a deal? I'll search for it and post if I find it.

[plmills]

Bought a Weaknees 750gb S3 about a month ago. I got the two CC's on order right away and set up an install appointment with Mediacom. The day after I got the new TiVo installed, though, we had an epic ice storm that knocked power and cable off over the entire area, so all new installs are postponed!

I'm now told to expect the installer on Feb. 8, but I'll believe it when I see it.

In the meantime, I'm just using the S3 for OTA digital reception and my very basic cable antenna replacement service (only locals + a few public access + TBS and WGN, etc. - can't even get SciFi, TLC, et. al. until the cable guy comes).

Fortunately, the local CBS/Fox station just went full power HD OTA last week. Despite some glitches with audio on CBS, the OTA reception and PQ is superb on my S3. Unlike my former DirecTiVo HD unit, the ATSC tuners in the S3 appear to have excellent reception. I am getting every OTA digital broadcast in the area with a rock-solid picture and sound.

After hooking my super-basic cable up yesterday, I did a scan just for grins, and TiVo said it found 230 stations. Curious and skeptical, I allowed it to add them to the channel list.

Upon slowly switching through these hundreds of channels, I discovered that I can apparently watch others' video-on-demand services - I can see movies (no indication on the TiVo as to what I'm watching), including porn, being watched by, apparently, others in my area. When they use the virtual DVR features to fast scan forward and backwards, I can see that happening too (watching them back-scan and replay the juicy parts of porn is pretty funny - at least for a short time - it gets old pretty quick).

I also discovered a complete set of Music Choice channels being broadcast in the clear with stereo dolby sound, although I'm not supposed to receive those with my current service.

Anyway, I will report back in when I finally am able to get the CC's installed. I've got the installation instructions printed out and sitting on top of the TiVo, awaiting the, hopefully, not completely clueless installer.

[TivoMactopia]

The day after I got the new TiVo installed, though, we had an epic ice storm that knocked power and cable off over the entire area, so all new installs are postponed!

plmills, just an FYI

I'm in Springfield as well. No phone or power for nearly 2 weeks...cable was a definite luxury.

About a month ago I called the MC 800# and they told me I'd need to fill out a form to register the equipment I was going to use the CCs before they would order the cards (??!?!). I never got the form, but two days before the ice storm, a medicom guy called and asked if I was home...he had a cable card for me. I told him I was needing two...an hour later, two (count them T W O) medicom trucks pulled up in my driveway...each driver carrying a single card :LOL:

Anyway, couldn't hook them up until power (and my life) was [partially] restored. But just yesterday I unplugged the S3, put in the cards, turned it back on, called the LOCAL NUMBER (they're having phone problems also because of the storm so you may get hung up on, but the guy that delivered the cards told me to make sure and call the local #875-5500). After finally getting through, and having the person request the INIT signal down to the cards, everything was fine (had to do a tivo channel set up again for the ccs of course).

Now they charged me $25.00 for a self-install!! But I'm looking for a credit for the 2 weeks of no cable anyway. The HD lineup is lame...Universal HD and some others, and only two local stations that I can see--as you said, both of which come in fine OTA. CBS is the only one I have a problem with OTA, and they are not on cable.

For the heck of it, I added the cable+plus line up to see what else I would get.

I too had the on-demand broadcasts on higher channels on the Tivo for a while. They must have fixed it though, its all gone--porn and all (I have some really kinky neighbors if it has anything to do with the area!). I thought 8.0.1c fixed the lame channel tunning that caused this...but if you're getting the same thing, it must be on the cable side.

Good luck!

[plmills]

A Mediacom contractor came out today and brought two cablecards. He was not at all familiar with TiVo's (esp. ones that take cablecards), and was delighted when I offered to install them into the TiVo myself. He ran my cable service for me, and upgraded the service to support cable-plus (whatever that means), and then sat with me as I installed the cards.

He called his dispatcher and had me go thre the cablecard config screens and read off the numbers on the pairing screen to the dispatcher. Afterwards, the dispatcher sent "hits" for the cablecards.

I'm getting most of what I think I should, but have the following problems/questions:

1) Despite calling Mediacom and having them re-send init hits to the cards, I am still not getting all channels I should be. Specifically, I'm getting the following (I'm including this list because I thought others might want to compare it to the channels they're getting - Mediacom doesn't seem too keen on providing an up-to-date list of the channel mappings for each possible level of service. In addition to the following list, I am successfully tuning all the analog cable channels and the 700-series premium and non-premium channels in HD.

Do Get
Don't Get
120 NOGN
121 DCKIDS
122 TOOND
123 ALN
128 BLOOM
135 MTV2
137 SLEUTH
161 GSN
162 BBCA
182 OVATION
183 STYLE
201 DCHOME
212 KYTVDT3
215 GAS
216 NIKTON
220 DAC
222 FITTV
228 LIME
231 ILIFE
271 DTIMES
272 SCIENCE
273 NGC
274 MILI
275 BIO
276 HISI
294 G4

401 FSC
404 FUSION
405 GOLF
411 ESPNEWS
471 CMPURE
472 MTVHIT
473 VH1CL
474 VH1SOUL
476 FUSE
481 BETJ
501 TCM
503 IFC
504 LMN
513 EWAM
517 ENCORE
518 ENCOREP
519 ELOVE
520 ELOVEP
521 EMYST
522 EMYSTP
523 EWST

Now for the second problem:

Mediacom is currently carrying a high-def version of four of the Springfield locals in their 700-series lineup:

702 KSFX (fox)
708 KSPR (abc)
709 KOLR (cbs)
712 KY3 (nbc)

My TiVo is able to tune all four of these channels. Unfortunately, there is only program guide info. for the abc and nbc (708 and 712) channels. I spoke with a mediacom cs on the phone, and she was not able to confirm that channels 702 and 709 were even available yet.

Without TiVo guide information, I can't record from these channels at all, and they are not nearly as useful to me. Does anyone know of a way to ask TiVo to map the program guides for FOX and CBS to channels 702 and 709. It's frustrating, because I know TiVo already has the guide information for these channels - they just need to include it for our service provider. I am impatient to wait for Mediacom and TiVo to get this right, since even Mediacom's customer service folks don't seem up-to-date on what their company is currently providing.

Thanks for any help or suggestions.

[Ames]

Are any of the ones you don't have the guide for Sinclair stations? Mediacom just resolved that deal with Sinclair and as part of it they started carrying the HD versions of the Sinclair owned stations. In Ames we just got Fox on 817. As of yesterday I could watch it, but it doesn't have guide info yet. I'm sure that will get sorted out soon enough. And for now I'm doing that station OTA 17.1 which Tivo does have the guide for.

[Ames]

As for the stations you don't get do you have them turned on in the channel selector?

[plmills]

Ames - thanks for the quick reply.

There are no Sinclair stations in the Springfield, Mo area, and Mediacom has carried these four locals for awhile, althought the two without guide info. are more recent additions. The interesting thing is that the non-HD versions of the four channels are on cable channels 02, 08, 09 and 12, and these correspond directly to the HD versions now carried on channels 702, 708, 709 and 712. All guide info for the non-HD channels is properly displayed, as is the guide info. for channels 708 and 712. It's only the two more recent additions (702 and 709) that lack the guide info.

I just got off the phone with Tivo CS, and the person I spoke with was very friendly and knowledgeable. She took down all my info. about the missing guide information, and asked about the call letters for the stations. She promised to elevate the problem to the part of TiVo that deals with their program information provider, so that a contact with Mediacom can be made to verify that the guide information should now be provided. She thought (but stopped short of promising) they could resolve it in 5 business days, but asked that I call back after then if no changes had occurred.

As for the channel list - Yes - I have all channels that I should be getting selected (checked) in the channel list, including the ones I should be getting but am not.

I'm still hoping that the problem might clear up, but will call Mediacom tomorrow if not.

[Bierboy]

...Without TiVo guide information, I can't record from these channels at all, and they are not nearly as useful to me....You can record manually...you just won't have the guide information. If you know what, where and when you want to record (from an online guide or other source), you can record just fine. I was receiving HDNet on our Mediacom feed for a few days (I only get "analog"), and I recorded a couple of programs using HDNet's Web site program guide. Unfortunately, it's now "gone." :(

[Ames]

I called Tivo and asked if they knew that Mediacom added 817 here. She got all of the info and mentioned she had recently talked to another Mediacom customer who was missing guide info for 2 stations:)

[plmills]

You can record manually...you just won't have the guide information. If you know what, where and when you want to record (from an online guide or other source), you can record just fine. I was receiving HDNet on our Mediacom feed for a few days (I only get "analog"), and I recorded a couple of programs using HDNet's Web site program guide. Unfortunately, it's now "gone." :(

Yes - sorry, I mistyped that sentence in my post. I *do* have manual recordings set up, but they are a pain to manage in season pass (I have 11 manual recordings now set on that chanel, and they're hard to tell the diff between in the season pass interface - sure wish TiVo would let us assign names manually to our manual recordings).

I'm just spoiled by having the guide info. and the ability to easily set season passes that follow schedule changes. :-) This kind of takes me back to the days of programming my VCR (that's a memory I could have lived without :-( )

Anyway, thanks for your reply. Hopefully, TiVo will get the guide info. fixed before too long.

On my missing channels - I just remembered that I should probably have tried re-starting the TiVo - that has certainly fixed similar problems before. Right now, unfortunately, it is tied up recording programs for most of the evening, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to restart it.

[BB3]

Hurray! After 3 months, 6 CableCards and countless hours on the phone with tech support, I now have both cards functioning in my Series 3. All the premium and HD channels seem to be working. The main problem seems to have been bad cards(4 of 6). The two that finally worked, worked from the start. I will say one thing I learned from the multiple setups I've been through--be patient. The easiest way to screw up an install is messing with the Tivo while it's recognizing the card or downloading the channel info. Just leave it alone and it will all work automatically. Go away and do something else--or watch something on the old Series 2 you still have set up in the back room.

Course, now I read that some people are having problems with the CC's after receiving the 8.1 update. Sigh..........

[plmills]

I called Tivo and asked if they knew that Mediacom added 817 here. She got all of the info and mentioned she had recently talked to another Mediacom customer who was missing guide info for 2 stations:)

Flipped on the TV this evening and had a "programming lineup change" message from TiVo. They added program information for the missing two HD affiliates (CBS and FOX), per my request last week! Kudos to TiVo for being so responsive to a customer service issue!

Still working with Mediacom to resolve the "missing stations" issues with my cable cards. They have sent a "hit" two more times with absolutely no results. They say I should be getting the stations, but nothing shows up. It seems to weird because I am getting many of the premium channels, and all of the HD channels I'm supposed to. The missing channels are (except for two) *not* part of a premium lineup, and are randomly intermixed (channel-number-wise) with other channels which work fine.

I'm wishing that Mediacom had a customer service ethic similar to TiVo's!

[bryce1012]

OK, quick question.

I *had* Mediacom and was very happy with them, but as of this morning at 12:01 am I'm now officially a Midcontinent Communications customer (as Mediacom sold off a good chunk of their southeast SD market). Apparently that means better customer service and expanded channel lineups, etc. - I know it means 8Mbps internet vs. 5, which makes me happy :) - but it also means the channel lineup changed around a bit.

On the plus side, the transfer went PERFECTLY. Internet and digital cable went down for about 30 minutes, and then everything just started working again, including all the premium and HD channels I'm subscribed to. Of course, since those premium channels are now in a different spot, I'm kinda hamstringed recording from them.

My question then is, who do I talk to at TiVo to inform them of the change?

[plmills]

OK, quick question.

I *had* Mediacom and was very happy with them, but as of this morning at 12:01 am I'm now officially a Midcontinent Communications customer
[snip]
My question then is, who do I talk to at TiVo to inform them of the change?

I have found their customer service dept. to be very responsive. Just call them and explain exactly what you've stated in your post. I expect they'll get this resolved pretty quickly, as it will affect a significant number of their customers.

BTW, have you tried re-running guided setup to see if they already have the new cable company listed as an alterative for your zip code?

[bryce1012]

Yup, guided setup still only shows Mediacom. What's interesting is that quite a few of the channels can map correctly, because it's getting info from the CableCARDs. Unfortunately, that only works if the TiVo guide data doesn't already have information for that channel number.

Ah well, time for a call to TiVo, I guess.

[Ames]

We had Fox HD added a couple of weeks ago. I called right away about getting it added. Nothing yet. The Mediacom DVR knows about it; so does TV Guide. Come on Tivo!

[lori kae]

I work for Mediacom and for those of you who had a fairly good experience with the cableCARD, I thank you. I realize these postings were from several months back and, as much as I hate to admit it, myself and the technicians are still learning. The Motorola cards are compatible with the TiVo S3 (but have them check the CableLabs compatibility list for the model of the TiVo to make sure). The tech may have to try several cards in case you have a faulty one. I'm working with my main man at Motorola to research the error codes. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about this fairly new technology and will pass it along so the cableCARD won't be such a mystery to everyone. Your postings are helpful and I want to thank you all for the input. Hopefully, we've gotten everything working properly for you. If not, be persistent and have the card replaced if you think there's a problem.

Lori

[Bierboy]

I work for Mediacom and for those of you who had a fairly good experience with the cableCARD, I thank you. I realize these postings were from several months back and, as much as I hate to admit it, myself and the technicians are still learning. The Motorola cards are compatible with the TiVo S3 (but have them check the CableLabs compatibility list for the model of the TiVo to make sure). The tech may have to try several cards in case you have a faulty one. I'm working with my main man at Motorola to research the error codes. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about this fairly new technology and will pass it along so the cableCARD won't be such a mystery to everyone. Your postings are helpful and I want to thank you all for the input. Hopefully, we've gotten everything working properly for you. If not, be persistent and have the card replaced if you think there's a problem.

LoriLori - Thanks for your posting! Which office are you out of? Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, elsewhere? It might help those of us who use Mediacom to know if we can contact you.

[lori kae]

I'm in the Iowa office. I'd be happy to answer any questions (provided I know the answer) that you have.

[starling72]

Just had a Mediacom installer come out and put in the 2 CC's for my S3 (it's been recording HD from antenna for weeks while I've waited) and it was very painless...they guy had only ever installed them on a Tivo one other time and basically was able to get the cards inserted, hits sent down and channels discovered in under 30 minutes. Both cards worked the first time...wooHOO! :)

Still trying to figure out why KDSM HD (FOX) channel 817 doesn't have any channel guide info, but that's the least of my worries as the OTA Fox channel still comes through very strong.

Hope all future CC installs are as painless as this one was!!

[joneSi]

I just called and spoke with a friendly Mediacom Customer Service Rep. She was pleasant and had no idea about cable cards much less a TiVo with cable cards. I was nice (I even "ma'ammed" her a few times to help out) and she has me scheduled for an August 25th Cable Card installation (so late because I requested it, I am out of the country and on vacation until around then). $1.99 per month per card. I can't wait to ditch that effin Moto box that always craps out when I need it. Finally...a Tivo HD DVR!!!!

BTW, I'm in the Quad Cities.
joneSi

[ihawktech]

I just ordered my TIVO HD receiver. I am picking it up tomorrow and getting rid of the MOTO box. My question is, what exactly do I need the cable card for? I called Mediacom and the lady made it sound like I do not need the card for anything. She was very convincing. She said I will only get premium channels and HD with the card. I currently have basic service with them. Do I need more than that for the card? Why do other people want the card if I can hook up the cable right to the back of the box? Maybe I am just not understanding something. Thank you very much

[joneSi]

Just got my cable cards installed in my sony TV and TiVo HD box. The installer let me know ahead of time that sometimes there are issues with these old cable cards (he said they were 2+ years old) and that they may or may not work with the tv and tivo.

Sigh....here goes my install story.

He shows up, pops cable cards in. I reset the Sony TV via the menu and he sends the hit, works great. I hand him the instructions for the TiVo HD, and get it set up so that he can do this easily. He doesn't follow the directions and 20+ minutes we are still sitting here waiting. So I go through and change to the proper screen for the "int hit" and ask him politely to have one more hit sent. I give it a second, and check card one...SUCCESS! Then to card two...nothing yet...go back to proper screen to have the "int hit" to be sent to card two. They send hit. Give it a second...check card two SUCCESS!

Three cards. All three work. Nice. Be patient with them, and try to coax them along a little on the install. It WILL work. I'm using oldie but goodie cable cards in my setup, and they work fine...now if I could only get the pixelation -OUT- of my system...not on my TiVo but on Discovery HD on all cable cards and get all of my channels that I'm supposed to get (I'm only missing 4 or 5). Not bad.

joneSi

[Bierboy]

I just ordered my TIVO HD receiver. I am picking it up tomorrow and getting rid of the MOTO box. My question is, what exactly do I need the cable card for? I called Mediacom and the lady made it sound like I do not need the card for anything. She was very convincing. She said I will only get premium channels and HD with the card. I currently have basic service with them. Do I need more than that for the card? Why do other people want the card if I can hook up the cable right to the back of the box? Maybe I am just not understanding something. Thank you very muchihawk - with the cablecards, you will get digital cable with your TiVo HD (if you subscribe to such a package with Mediacrap). You DON'T need them for HD; in our market (Quad-Cities) you can get HD over-the-air (OTA) and, even without the cablecards, you can get the unencrypted QAM locals in HD. But, without the cablecards you don't get any programming info for those channels; the cablecards in your TiVo HD enable you to get your locals in HD with programming info (again, only if you subscribe to Mediacrap's digital and HD packages). Hope this helps. It would also help if posters in this thread would include their locations in their profiles.

[joneSi]

It would also help if posters in this thread would include their locations in their profiles.

I'm in the Quad Cities. D-port...if it matters.

joneSi

[kpfleming]

Well... sort of. It took four tries to get a cable tech to actually *show up* with the CableCards, and then of course he had no idea what to do with them when he saw the two S3s.

However, I installed the cards, they came up properly, channels were downloaded and now seem to be operating properly. Haven't actually recorded anything yet, so we'll see if any of the problems that others are reporting show up here too.

This is Mediacom in Madison County, Alabama (near Huntsville), in case anyone is listening :-)

[Bierboy]

I'm in the Quad Cities. D-port...if it matters.

joneSiThanks for posting your location. What does Mediacom charge for your cablecards? I'm in East Moline.

[veruca salt]

I finally decided to go HD. I called my friendly Mediacom customer service and was told that their cable cards do not work in TiVos. She even asked her supervisor who was "very knowledgable about TiVos". I explained to her that I had been warned that they would say that and that their cable cards DO work in TiVos. She then explained that it had something to do with the FCC. Any suggestions? Should I just call back and get someone else?

She also wanted to know the make and model of my TiVo. Since I have just ordered it, can anyone help me out with what I'm going to get? I ordered from Weaknees and I didn't get the THX one...just the basic model.

[Bierboy]

I finally decided to go HD. I called my friendly Mediacom customer service and was told that their cable cards do not work in TiVos. She even asked her supervisor who was "very knowledgable about TiVos". I explained to her that I had been warned that they would say that and that their cable cards DO work in TiVos. She then explained that it had something to do with the FCC. Any suggestions? Should I just call back and get someone else?

She also wanted to know the make and model of my TiVo. Since I have just ordered it, can anyone help me out with what I'm going to get? I ordered from Weaknees and I didn't get the THX one...just the basic model.Again, if you would post your location (or better yet, put it in your signature) that might help us respond here. In the Quad Cities, the Mediacom CSRs apparently are well aware of the TiVo S3 units, so, if you are located here, they should know better. If not, tell them that their company DOES INDEED install cablecards in TiVos (here in the Quad Cities) and they can call the offices here to find out more :rolleyes:

[jfh3]

I finally decided to go HD. I called my friendly Mediacom customer service and was told that their cable cards do not work in TiVos. She even asked her supervisor who was "very knowledgable about TiVos". I explained to her that I had been warned that they would say that and that their cable cards DO work in TiVos. She then explained that it had something to do with the FCC. Any suggestions? Should I just call back and get someone else?

She also wanted to know the make and model of my TiVo. Since I have just ordered it, can anyone help me out with what I'm going to get? I ordered from Weaknees and I didn't get the THX one...just the basic model.


The CSR and her supervisor are both wrong.

They are required to support CableCARDs in any CableLabs approved device. If they are really going to look up the model number on the list - it is TCD652160 and the manufacturer is Tivo.

They don't need that info anyway - the headend system doesn't know or care what the host device is - only the host id.

[veruca salt]

.

[ihawktech]

I finally decided to go HD. I called my friendly Mediacom customer service and was told that their cable cards do not work in TiVos. She even asked her supervisor who was "very knowledgable about TiVos". I explained to her that I had been warned that they would say that and that their cable cards DO work in TiVos. She then explained that it had something to do with the FCC. Any suggestions? Should I just call back and get someone else?

She also wanted to know the make and model of my TiVo. Since I have just ordered it, can anyone help me out with what I'm going to get? I ordered from Weaknees and I didn't get the THX one...just the basic model.



So Mediacom showed up last week and installed the cards on my new TIVO HD. It took them a while but they got them going.


Veruca..... the way I got around the whole "not supporting Tivo' thing was when I called I just told the CSR that I needed two cards for a TV. I gave the model that another user had posted on this forum. I think it was on the first page. THe CSR gave me no problems and I scheduled a time just a few days later. That had been the second time I called. the first time I got the same runaround as you.

Hope this helps.


I am in the Des Moines ares

[joneSi]

I had them bring 3 cards (the guy brought more like 10 of them, lol). I told them 2 for a TiVo HD, (NOT a mediacom DVR, which is what they thought I was talking about), but my own hardware that takes Cable Cards. I never mentioned anything about the FCC. 1 for my TV. For those ever important times to record 2 programs and watch a third.

I am in the Quad Cities. BTW, if anybody ever has an issue getting this done here in the Quad Cities, send me a PM. I have some connections at the cable office (I used to work there, work there now on a part time basis), PLEASE NOTE: that I got mine done without resorting to the people that I know. So it CAN be done.

joneSi

[Bierboy]

I had them bring 3 cards (the guy brought more like 10 of them, lol). I told them 2 for a TiVo HD, (NOT a mediacom DVR, which is what they thought I was talking about), but my own hardware that takes Cable Cards. I never mentioned anything about the FCC. 1 for my TV. For those ever important times to record 2 programs and watch a third.

I am in the Quad Cities. BTW, if anybody ever has an issue getting this done here in the Quad Cities, send me a PM. I have some connections at the cable office (I used to work there, work there now on a part time basis), PLEASE NOTE: that I got mine done without resorting to the people that I know. So it CAN be done.

joneSiGood to know joneSi...thanks for the post!

[joneSi]

Oh, right, you probably don't want to send a PM to somebody if you don't know their name...so the name is Steve, btw.

joneSi

EDIT: I have been informed by 'someone in the know' that it -SHOULD- be possible to do a user install on cablecards. He told me that I could have skipped some of the fun with the install by just going to the local office on Kimberly RD. in Davenport. I was told this on Friday. So there you have it. That might just work for some waiting or needing an install with mediacom. I don't know if that will work in other markets.

[scottytohotty77]

So I'm I'm seeing that people are getting 2 cableCards for one TIVO for only $1.50 by saying the two cards are for only one machine orsomething. Apparently one individual here at tivocommunity has done extensive research and found that this is the intention of the FCC that you be charged per box not per card (who knows). Anyways anyone had luck getting 2 cards for only $1.50? Thanks

[SnakeEyes]

Ugh, frustration here with a new TiVo HD and Mediacom in Central Iowa. Tech came out earlier and had never done a TiVo CC install. Scanned the card into their system and popped it in, sent a hit, and expecting it to work. He didn't write down or submit the pairing information. After a few calls of his in a failed effort to find someone with TiVo CC exp I told him about the pairing information and how it had to be in their system correctly for the TiVo to work properly. He said he assumed the card handled everything by itself, that when he installs cards in TVs he never has to get/enter/provide info like that. He called dispatch to inquire about providing the pairing info and they didn't know. His super didn't know either. He said he would just have to put in a follow up for a senior technician to return later and that it might not be until Monday.

This is ridiculous. Comcast's process of just calling support and giving them the pairing info is so easy.

Did I mention the digital cable box is already deactivated so I am stuck with nothing for the weekend.

Thing I am concerned with is that nobody seemed to know about or what to do with the pairing info. Conditional access will always say Val: ? 0x00 until someone knows what is going on.

Has anyone run into this and/or knows who I need to talk with, ask to speak with, or what to tell them to call/say so this can be resolved?

[Bierboy]

Ugh, frustration here with a new TiVo HD and Mediacom in Central Iowa. Tech came out earlier and had never done a TiVo CC install. Scanned the card into their system and popped it in, sent a hit, and expecting it to work. He didn't write down or submit the pairing information. After a few calls of his in a failed effort to find someone with TiVo CC exp I told him about the pairing information and how it had to be in their system correctly for the TiVo to work properly. He said he assumed the card handled everything by itself, that when he installs cards in TVs he never has to get/enter/provide info like that. He called dispatch to inquire about providing the pairing info and they didn't know. His super didn't know either. He said he would just have to put in a follow up for a senior technician to return later and that it might not be until Monday.

This is ridiculous. Comcast's process of just calling support and giving them the pairing info is so easy.

Did I mention the digital cable box is already deactivated so I am stuck with nothing for the weekend.

Thing I am concerned with is that nobody seemed to know about or what to do with the pairing info. Conditional access will always say Val: ? 0x00 until someone knows what is going on.

Has anyone run into this and/or knows who I need to talk with, ask to speak with, or what to tell them to call/say so this can be resolved?Have you tried PMing the Mediacom employee, Lori Kae, who has posted in this thread?

[SnakeEyes]

No, I figured that since her last activity was months ago that perhaps that wasn't an option anymore. I'll try though ;)

[Bierboy]

I just sent her an e-mail, too, on another issue, but also asked if she's still around these parts.

[pendragn]

Those of you in Ames how much is your cable bill? I stuck with DTV because upfront cost of TiVo + TiVo montly fee + cable fee + cable HD fee + 2 cabel card rental sounded like too much. I'm stuck with DTV for a while but I have a lot of friends that are considering going the TiVo route. I'd like to know what impact that's going to have on their cable bill.

tk

[Buffalo Bill]

Northwest Florida. After HOURS on the phone talking with people who kept telling me I couldn't get 2 S-cards, let alone an M-card, I finally got to talk with a regional manager. Long story short, got 2 S-cards in a week. Installer was clueless--and left with nothing working. I swapped out cards myself after getting info from Tivo HD seller. Had to have Mediacom boost signal. Then I followed instructions on Tivo web site working with Mediacom's rep on phone and got it all working great with a signal strength showing 93-96%. Gotta let the Tivo HD go through its own setup and be patient.

[MrTangent]

Has anyone gotten the Mojo channel with HD tier via Mediacom?

According to their site there's a new channel called MojoHD that apparently is on channel 852 in at least one area. It's an HD channel that's a part of the HD tier.

Anyone know if and when it will come to Springfield (Mount Vernon), Missouri area?

I have a Series 3 TiVo with two cable cards (and get Broadcast Basic/Family cable, Digital Plus and the High-Definition Tier along with cable internet).

[MrTangent]

Those of you in Ames how much is your cable bill? I stuck with DTV because upfront cost of TiVo + TiVo montly fee + cable fee + cable HD fee + 2 cabel card rental sounded like too much. I'm stuck with DTV for a while but I have a lot of friends that are considering going the TiVo route. I'd like to know what impact that's going to have on their cable bill.

tk

Here's a breakdown for you:


One time fee for TivoHD: $249 (no shipping or tax through Amazon.com)
Cost per month from TiVo: $8.31 (if you sign up for 3 year prepaid plan which is $299 divided by 36 months)
Cost per month for Mediacom: $74.88 (this includes Family Cable [expanded basic/broadcast basic], Digital Plus and HDTV Tier but does NOT include the Digital Premium channels like Starz, Encore, HBO, Showtime, TMC, Sundance)


Here's the breakdown of the above Total Cost per month for Mediacom (according to my statement in Springfield, MO): $51.95 (Family Basic), $9.00 (Digital Plus), $9.95 (HDTV tier), $1.99x2 (Cablecard rental).

Here's the HDTV channels I receive as a part of my HDTV package: ESPN HD, Universal HD, Discovery HD, HDNet and HDNet movies. You should also get Fox, CBS, PBS, ABC and NBC locals in high definition for free, regardless of if you sign up for the HDTV tier.

That should give you a rough estimate. If you sign up be sure to ask for deals. Since you're a new customer you should be able to get a 6 month or 12 month introduction rate on the cable. Be sure to press for one! Also, if you sign up for internet, phone and cable together you'll get a discount.

I would highly recommend TiVo. It's better than I expected (just started using one myself this year).

[SnakeEyes]

The Des Moines area has had MOJO since before it was switched from InHD.

[hunts]

I am potentially moving to an area that is mediacom cable. If more people can post how much they are charging for cable cards and their service, that would assist me greatly! I would be looking at the family plan with internet.

[MrTangent]

I am potentially moving to an area that is mediacom cable. If more people can post how much they are charging for cable cards and their service, that would assist me greatly! I would be looking at the family plan with internet.

See above for how much I pay for each service. I also pay $45.95 for cable internet, but I probably get some sort of discount for either the cable television or internet since I get both together. I know for a fact that you get a discount if you sign up for their phone, internet AND cable tv bundle. Of course, it's expensive but by signing up for the trifecta, you do get some bones thrown your way. :)

By and by I would recommend Mediacom. After dial-up I used CenturyTel (DSL) for a year or two and had a LOT of intermittent outages. Since switching to Mediacom, I haven't had very many outages at all for my cable or internet. It's *extremely* rare in fact. And according to speed tests at dslreports.com and elsewhere I have a pretty fast connection with fairly low latency (usually get 3-5 mbps down and 500 kbps up, and this is over WiFi).

[pendragn]

Thanks MrTangent, that helps a lot.

tk

[MrTangent]

Thanks MrTangent, that helps a lot.

tk

No problem. I also pay for internet, which I posted in a follow-up post. You can see how much it is. For the sake of full disclosure, however, I am getting a $37 or so discount taken off my bill. I vaguely recall I'm going to get this discount for six months. Maybe it'll be permanent? I can only hope... but I think they gave me some sort of special. You might have to sign up for both cable tv and internet to get it. Just be sure to press for a special discount to your bill.

[joneSi]

Anybody else in other Mediacom areas going all digital today? I've been excited about this since reading about it.

Quad Cities (Between Iowa and Illinois) is supposed to be going all digital today...though I'm still looking at an analog picture here on Discovery. I'm going to call them if it doesn't switch and try to figure it out...

joneSi

[Bierboy]

What do you mean by going "all digital"? How is that going to change what I am seeing from my cable out of the wall into my S3 or my Hitachi 51-inch HD-ready TV? I don't see how it's going to make any difference. Does that mean if I don't subscribe to the digital package I don't get anything? I don't think so. Please clarify what impact you think this will have.

[joneSi]

All digital meaning that if you have a DCT (digital cable terminal) then channels 2-77 will NOT be in analog but in digital. Thus "all digital" because then channels 2-780 will have 0 analog channels (but will continue to be put out via digital for non digital customers for the time being). No more fuzzy analog recordings as TiVo HD now on anything not in HD and not on Digital Cable. Think DirecTV quality on non HD channels. They also got rid of HBOWest, ShowWest, MAXWest etc. They said it was to free up bandwidth to add HD channels, but I have yet to see any more of those.

If you do not have a cable card for your S3, it will change nothing for you.

HOWEVER, I just spoke with my inside guy and he told me that they are behind in getting this rolled out (surprise surprise) and it is not going into effect today. I'll see if I can find out more but this is always nice...

joneSi

[Bierboy]

All digital meaning that if you have a DCT (digital cable terminal) then channels 2-77 will NOT be in analog but in digital. Thus "all digital" because then channels 2-780 will have 0 analog channels (but will continue to be put out via digital for non digital customers for the time being). No more fuzzy analog recordings as TiVo HD now on anything not in HD and not on Digital Cable. Think DirecTV quality on non HD channels. They also got rid of HBOWest, ShowWest, MAXWest etc. They said it was to free up bandwidth to add HD channels, but I have yet to see any more of those.

I checked the HD offerings from Mediacom in our area and I'm NOT impressed. HD Net, Universal HD, ESPN and ESPN2 and Discovery. Not a whole lot.

If you do not have a cable card for your S3, it will change nothing for you.

HOWEVER, I just spoke with my inside guy and he told me that they are behind in getting this rolled out (surprise surprise) and it is not going into effect today. I'll see if I can find out more but this is always nice...

joneSiThanks for the clarification. I have the basic expanded package and do not use cablecards in my S3. I get my HD OTA. So I'm pretty sure this won't change anything for quite awhile. I can't imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth among the average demographic in the Quad-Cities (old!) who don't have a clue what digital means, what HD means, etc. etc. if they were unable to continue getting their analog cable.

BTW, I checked the HD offerings by Mediacom in this area, and all they have is HD Net, Universal HD, ESPN, ESPN2 and Discovery. Not much in my book (especially since I'd have to upgrade to digital, upgrade to the HD package and pay for two cablecards monthly).

[joneSi]

Thanks for the clarification. I have the basic expanded package and do not use cablecards in my S3. I get my HD OTA. So I'm pretty sure this won't change anything for quite awhile. I can't imagine the wailing and gnashing of teeth among the average demographic in the Quad-Cities (old!) who don't have a clue what digital means, what HD means, etc. etc. if they were unable to continue getting their analog cable.

BTW, I checked the HD offerings by Mediacom in this area, and all they have is HD Net, Universal HD, ESPN, ESPN2 and Discovery. Not much in my book (especially since I'd have to upgrade to digital, upgrade to the HD package and pay for two cablecards monthly).

Not a problem. I agree about people complaining about this if it were a necessary move ( like comcast chicago is 100% digital ONLY, you MUST have a cable box...) people would complain, but they are being great to those (like me!) who really want higher quality cable while at the same time being good to those who don't want a box or cards.

I live for HD, including those that you mentioned. I'll watch -almost- anything as long as it is in HD, and I kill for football/baseball in HD (ESPN is good for this), but that is me...What I really like is more than just the HD, all of the goofy digital stuff that Tivo finds for me. Science channel stuff, etc. If you knew how much I pay for cable, you'd literally be sick. And I couldn't blame you, I AM ready to cut some (but -not- my HD!) and my OTA is terrible right now.

joneSi

[Gai-jin]

When my cablecards were installed, they didn't take down the host/data ID. I've called and offered it, but I'm told they don't use that anyway, it only gets noted in the comments, not actually provisioned out at all.

Anyone know whether this is the case?

[SnakeEyes]

After multiple phone calls I finally talked to someone that was certain they didnt use it. The screen still says Val: ? but I receive every channel.

[lnknpk04]

I just bought my HD Tivo (Springfield MO). Called mediacom and was told by the CSR that I just need to pull my cable card out of the machine and put it in the tivo. Said he sent some signal to it and it would work and set me up for an appointment to have a tech come install card #2 (Yes...apparently they are not carried at the local office and I get to wait 3 weeks and pay 35 bucks to get it installed). Needless to say after reading up on Cable cards, this did not work. So I called back and was told that they dont have to guarantee that Cable Cards will work in 3rd party devices...what a crock. So I asked for a supervisor and got to stay on hold for 5-10 minutes. Didn't get a supervisor, was told by same CSR that they needed to have the tech install 2 fresh ones instead of one because you 'cant deauthorize the one for the TV'. This doesn't seem right to me so I again ask to speak to the supervisor. Was put on hold for 3-4 minutes and the same CSR came back saying the supervisor wouldn't speak with me because he was on the phone and would just be repeating what she had said. I was pretty mad at that point. I was told to call back tomorrow to speak with one of the head managers (probably given a fake name). Not too happy with mediacom at the moment. Did anyone else have this much trouble?

[MrTangent]

I just bought my HD Tivo (Springfield MO). Called mediacom and was told by the CSR that I just need to pull my cable card out of the machine and put it in the tivo. Said he sent some signal to it and it would work and set me up for an appointment to have a tech come install card #2 (Yes...apparently they are not carried at the local office and I get to wait 3 weeks and pay 35 bucks to get it installed). Needless to say after reading up on Cable cards, this did not work. So I called back and was told that they dont have to guarantee that Cable Cards will work in 3rd party devices...what a crock. So I asked for a supervisor and got to stay on hold for 5-10 minutes. Didn't get a supervisor, was told by same CSR that they needed to have the tech install 2 fresh ones instead of one because you 'cant deauthorize the one for the TV'. This doesn't seem right to me so I again ask to speak to the supervisor. Was put on hold for 3-4 minutes and the same CSR came back saying the supervisor wouldn't speak with me because he was on the phone and would just be repeating what she had said. I was pretty mad at that point. I was told to call back tomorrow to speak with one of the head managers (probably given a fake name). Not too happy with mediacom at the moment. Did anyone else have this much trouble?

Hang in there, lnknpk04. I had problems when I bought my Tivo Series 3 and wanted cable cards installed as well (earlier this Spring). Apparently I was the first one in this area (Springfield, but I'm actually in Mount Vernon) to have cable cards installed.

At first they proclaimed up and down that cable cards could not be installed in third party devices. I was insistent since I had done my homework. The first lady at the Springfield office would not work with me and insisted that I was wrong. I finally hung up on her and called back, knowing that I would probably get another operator. The second one insisted as well that cable cards weren't supported. I gave her this very thread as proof that they were. She said they would check it out. They put me on hold and she read the thread and saw that, in fact, cable cards were supported. Not only that, but cable companies are MANDATED BY LAW to support them.

Finally they acquiesced and said that they'd send a tech out with cable cards, but couldn't promise they'd work. They missed one appointment since they said they were out of stock of the cable cards. Finally they arrived. The installer and I put them in and went through the settings. Basically we didn't have to do anything on the TiVo. He just had to call in and told the main office to send a "hit" on the cards (a digital ping of some sort) that registered the cable cards as being authorized. They had to do this for each card and bada-bing, bada-bang, they were working. You'll lose video on demand, but that's it. Now with Amazon's Unbox it's not really a missing feature. You can just buy videos over the internet through your TiVo with Amazon's Unbox (you can also call in a video on demand request and it'll work, apparently, but can't order it directly from the TiVo).

Also, you shouldn't have to pay the install fee. They waived mine. Demand that you shouldn't be liable as you're a paying customer and pay every month and the fact that you'll have to pay $4/month cable card rental fee ($1.99 per cable card per month). Insist that you shouldn't pay it. They nickel and dime the customers so there's times when you should fight for your right not to pay, so to speak.

Be persistent. Apparently some cable cards are defective so tell them that you want the next installer to bring out several just in case. Be firm about this. You shouldn't have to wait around as a paying customer while they order more. And be certain they don't charge you for the cable card rental fee while you're waiting.

If you need more help, here's my email: tangent@mrtangent.com

Take care and good luck.

[ToddNeedsTiVo]

Another ringing endorsement for the CableCARD installation experience. Cable customer service reps can barely tell "the big hand from the little hand" on their wall clock, yet we expect them to provision these complicated, different-in-every-cable-system devices smoothly. It also helps that the card(s) might be defective when the tech shows up like we've read here so many times. Makes me want to rush out and upgrade my Mediacom analog service to digital with CableCARDS for my new TiVo HD here in central right now! Oh wait, their non-OTA HD offerings are too lame to bother anyway. :rolleyes:

[joneSi]

I just bought my HD Tivo (Springfield MO). Called mediacom and was told by the CSR that I just need to pull my cable card out of the machine and put it in the tivo. Said he sent some signal to it and it would work and set me up for an appointment to have a tech come install card #2 (Yes...apparently they are not carried at the local office and I get to wait 3 weeks and pay 35 bucks to get it installed). Needless to say after reading up on Cable cards, this did not work. So I called back and was told that they dont have to guarantee that Cable Cards will work in 3rd party devices...what a crock. So I asked for a supervisor and got to stay on hold for 5-10 minutes. Didn't get a supervisor, was told by same CSR that they needed to have the tech install 2 fresh ones instead of one because you 'cant deauthorize the one for the TV'. This doesn't seem right to me so I again ask to speak to the supervisor. Was put on hold for 3-4 minutes and the same CSR came back saying the supervisor wouldn't speak with me because he was on the phone and would just be repeating what she had said. I was pretty mad at that point. I was told to call back tomorrow to speak with one of the head managers (probably given a fake name). Not too happy with mediacom at the moment. Did anyone else have this much trouble?

Send me a PM. I'm one state north of you (Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois), but I may be able to help out. Let me know...I have a few people who may be able to help out.

Steve Jones 'joneSi'

[lnknpk04]

I appreciate the support. Talked to a rep today that was nice and said she'd escalate the issue to one of the managers on site. Said that they will review waiving the fee and will see about getting my install date pushed up. Supposed to get a call in the next few days, so we'll see.

[lnknpk04]

Now the card in my TV seems to have gone bad according to the Techs over the phone for mediacom. Heres the inconsistency...the guy was really nice and offered to mail me a new card. He even thought that my previous order for the two new cards was being mailed to me for installation (which they are not), which means that mediacom DOES allow for customer installation w/o a tech! Still no word from the supervisor...following up as we speak.
----
Ok. So the CSR in sales tells me that the tech should not have mailed me a card to my residence because as of 4 months ago their policy changed to not allowing customers install their own cable cards because of the continual problems customers had with installing them (hopefully she didn't jack with the order, because I'd love to get a cable card in the mail next week! Thats one card in the Tivo!). Cindy, the supervisor in springfield wont be in until monday and never called me back....the saga continues!

[lafos]

When my cablecards were installed, they didn't take down the host/data ID. I've called and offered it, but I'm told they don't use that anyway, it only gets noted in the comments, not actually provisioned out at all.

Anyone know whether this is the case?

That was the case for me as well. I was able to move the cards between TiVos and they remained authorized. mediacom even told me that the ability to move the cards without a tech visit was why they didn't use the pairing codes.

[lnknpk04]

Tech is out here telling me that they dont support tivos....confused as to why hes getting errors when he refuses to follow the guide sheet that came with the tivo. Gonna pull my hair out.

And they only brought one of the two cards i ordered!

[ToddNeedsTiVo]

How dense are these cableco geniuses, anyway? Did you get a contractor or an actual Mediacom employee?

Dude, here's the sheet! Can't follow printed instructions? No wonder it doesn't work!

Why do we keep hearing stories about how cable installers react to CableCARDS as if it was Borg technology?

Get out of my house! :rolleyes:

[lnknpk04]

Well, its installed. The tech kept calling me 'son' and kept on insisting that they didn't do this kind of support. Regular channels and HD tier work but not my digital plus channels. hopefully the next tech they send out is knowledgeable because if I get any more crap from these people I'm complaining to the local body that regulates cable companies out here in Springfield. :mad: On a more funny / offending note, the CSR that I talked to said this is the reason why she doesn't like ordering people cablecards. "its a faulty technology".



ITS WORKING NOW!!!!

[ToddNeedsTiVo]

I saw this posted over at AVS:

Mediacom Eyes HD Expansion
NOVEMBER 06, 2007

Mediacom Communications Corp. may have posted a disappointing quarter Tuesday, sending shares below a 52-week low, but the company is still pushing ahead with a plan to enhance its service portfolio, including a hefty expansion of high-definition television (HDTV) content in time for the 2007 holiday season.

Speaking Tuesday morning with reporters and analysts, EVP of operations John Pascarelli said Mediacom's "basic family cable" tier will offer between 30 to 40 hi-def channels for the added cost of the new set-top.

"We expect to announce the first phase of the new HD channels in the next 30 days," he said. With that being the first phase, I guess we can expect subsequent phases, which will be required to keep up with the beefy hi-def lineups DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV - message board) and EchoStar Communications Corp. are flaunting.

In other strategy-related moves, Mediacom -- which has much more DSL than fiber-to-the-home competition to contend with since Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q - message board) is its primary telco competitor -- also plans to offer its low-end cable modem service (likely its 512-kbit/s tier) across the board, and couple that with a "fixed, long-term pricing strategy."

Mediacom is also teeing up a commercial voice product slated to launch in the first half of 2008.

While Mediacom used its earnings call to outline some new strategies, quite the opposite happened during Insight Communications Co. Inc. 's later in the day.

Insight, which turned in a solid quarter, offered nothing new about its prospects for a sale (and no analysts even brought it up in the Q&A session), which all but confirms that the MSO is off the block for now... or at least until sometime after it wraps up its system deal with Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) later this year. (See Insight-ful Questions Expected Tuesday.)

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News

I certainly hope this pans out! The question is: could I just add two CableCARD rentals in lieu of a "new set-top" and receive these new HD channels with my existing "family cable" subscription? Surely not...that seems too easy. Watch it be SDV or something.:eek:

source: Light Reading (http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?blog_sectionid=419&doc_id=138388&site=cdn)

[Bierboy]

I saw this posted over at AVS:

Mediacom Eyes HD Expansion
NOVEMBER 06, 2007

Mediacom Communications Corp. may have posted a disappointing quarter Tuesday, sending shares below a 52-week low, but the company is still pushing ahead with a plan to enhance its service portfolio, including a hefty expansion of high-definition television (HDTV) content in time for the 2007 holiday season.

Speaking Tuesday morning with reporters and analysts, EVP of operations John Pascarelli said Mediacom's "basic family cable" tier will offer between 30 to 40 hi-def channels for the added cost of the new set-top.

"We expect to announce the first phase of the new HD channels in the next 30 days," he said. With that being the first phase, I guess we can expect subsequent phases, which will be required to keep up with the beefy hi-def lineups DirecTV Group Inc. (NYSE: DTV - message board) and EchoStar Communications Corp. are flaunting.

In other strategy-related moves, Mediacom -- which has much more DSL than fiber-to-the-home competition to contend with since Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q - message board) is its primary telco competitor -- also plans to offer its low-end cable modem service (likely its 512-kbit/s tier) across the board, and couple that with a "fixed, long-term pricing strategy."

Mediacom is also teeing up a commercial voice product slated to launch in the first half of 2008.

While Mediacom used its earnings call to outline some new strategies, quite the opposite happened during Insight Communications Co. Inc. 's later in the day.

Insight, which turned in a solid quarter, offered nothing new about its prospects for a sale (and no analysts even brought it up in the Q&A session), which all but confirms that the MSO is off the block for now... or at least until sometime after it wraps up its system deal with Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) later this year. (See Insight-ful Questions Expected Tuesday.)

— Jeff Baumgartner, Site Editor, Cable Digital News

I certainly hope this pans out! The question is: could I just add two CableCARD rentals in lieu of a "new set-top" and receive these new HD channels with my existing "family cable" subscription? Surely not...that seems too easy. Watch it be SDV or something.:eek:

source: Light Reading (http://www.lightreading.com/blog.asp?blog_sectionid=419&doc_id=138388&site=cdn)It SHOULD be as easy as adding the cablecards. But, of course, nothing seems to be easy with Mediacom. I have a business acquaintance who works in sales for them in the Quad Cities, and he alluded to this in a conversation a few weeks ago. It is good news...I'm just waiting to see what's offered and for what price. I'm strictly analog cable with OTA HD right now. They'd have to offer the moon for me to even consider it. But I'm an insane hockey fan, and if they offer Versus HD, I might consider it.

[lnknpk04]

I pay for two cable cards and pay for the high def and digital plus teirs. I should get this included, no?

[Xenon221]

I would think you'd get all the HD. I asked my installer just yesterday and he indicated that HD would be kept in sync on the CARDs.

On another unrelated note. Is anyone having trouble with QAM stations on 479MHz? CNN, TNN, TBS, Spike, etc... are all pointing to this freq., which is seemingly without signal. I get, searching for signal on cable 1. Strangely, on the 1st all of this worked. The problem started when Mediacom switched Ames to all-digital.

Also, does everyone else have the distorted one-channel (left-side) audio on TWC 26? Just curious. Anyway, thanks guys- my first post in nearly 3 years on here. I'd be glad to share my CableCARD install experiences: it's been rough! :-)

[linerate]

Just thought I would share my CC install experience so far. Called Mediacom last week to have CC's installed in my S3. She said no problem, will work fine, but the two CC's you need are in high demand and not in stock at your local office. We will have them shipped (up to 10 days, only took 3) to the local office where you can pick them up and install them yourself. Great. Last night picked them up right before closing, got home and installed the first one, called Mediacom to pair it up. After giving him the Serial #, Test Channels, no joy. Very friendly Mediaacom OP says they gave me M-Cards and they will not work in the S3 at all. "Need S-Cards" and says "they should have those in stock at the local office." Office was closed so called this morning. New operator says, nope, the M-Cards are all they have in stock and we were all sent a memo by Tivo a few days ago that the M-Cards will work in Single mode only, so just use 2 M-cards. So, I had her order the S-cards just in case and now I'm going to try again to have these M-Cards activated by a "better" operator this afternoon. Wish me luck. BTW, got both cards for only $1.99 after I asked.

[Bierboy]

Just thought I would share my CC install experience so far. Called Mediacom last week to have CC's installed in my S3. She said no problem, will work fine, but the two CC's you need are in high demand and not in stock at your local office. We will have them shipped (up to 10 days, only took 3) to the local office where you can pick them up and install them yourself. Great. Last night picked them up right before closing, got home and installed the first one, called Mediacom to pair it up. After giving him the Serial #, Test Channels, no joy. Very friendly Mediaacom OP says they gave me M-Cards and they will not work in the S3 at all. "Need S-Cards" and says "they should have those in stock at the local office." Office was closed so called this morning. New operator says, nope, the M-Cards are all they have in stock and we were all sent a memo by Tivo a few days ago that the M-Cards will work in Single mode only, so just use 2 M-cards. So, I had her order the S-cards just in case and now I'm going to try again to have these M-Cards activated by a "better" operator this afternoon. Wish me luck. BTW, got both cards for only $1.99 after I asked.I believe I've read in the S3 thread that the M cards will work but act just like the S cards. Where are you located?

[linerate]

I believe I've read in the S3 thread that the M cards will work but act just like the S cards. Where are you located?

Huntsville, AL

[MrTangent]

BTW, got both cards for only $1.99 after I asked.
$1.99 apiece each month or $1.99 for both each month?

Good luck on your install.

[linerate]

$1.99 apiece each month or $1.99 for both each month?

Good luck on your install.

"both cards for only $1.99" and thanks! She first tried to rent them for $1.99 a piece, but after asking if she knew anything about the "charge per box, not cards" she placed me on hold and came back with the good news.

Merry Christmas!!!

[sieglinde]

I went ahead and purchased a Tivo HD with lifetime. I was originally going to do the trade the Lifetime on your S2 for it but decided to do lifetime because that may be how long it takes my local Mediacom to get me cable cards.

I live in a small high desert town in California. I went to their bricks and morter office and they had not heard of Tivo or cable cards. I called their help line and their Florida based folks knew about both. Two S-cards will cost me $1.99 each a month. This is a good deal considering that my cable box is one of the brands that does not work well with the infrared changing method that Tivo uses.

I am still waiting for the cards. They were supposed to call me back with an answer. Seems they are being specially ordered.

The technician who came over to work on my internet said that the cards were not provided locally, he had never dealt with them. I pointed out that TVs now came with slots for them not just DVRs.

Interestingly enough, the customer service rep said that these were customer installed. They would come by mail with instructions and the customer installs them.

Veddy interesting.

Any opinions on my odd experience?

This weekend I will set up the HD box with no channel input just to make sure it boots up. I will be buying a new antenna and getting off the air TV.

[ToddNeedsTiVo]

I went ahead and purchased a Tivo HD with lifetime.
[snip]
Two S-cards will cost me $1.99 each a month. This is a good deal considering that my cable box is one of the brands that does not work well with the infrared changing method that Tivo uses.

It's more of a good deal because your TiVo HD can't control a cable box anyway. :D

[linerate]

M-Cards are installed in my S3 and working great! No problems once I finally found someone at Mediacom that knew how to properly pair and validate. I would say less than 10% have any training on this that is worth anything. A couple of operators admitted how bad it was and some really wanted to understand more about the process. I even had one call me back to troubleshoot and "try something else". I had some operators saying things like they didn't support Tivo's at all even with their CC's. One tried to charge me $29.95 for a special service call. One had never heard of CC's before and of course another said that only S-cards would work. (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=5784823#post5784823)

If they would only add some more quality HD channels everything would be perfect. They have lowered their HD package to only $6.95/month and are giving ESPN's and local HD's for free. But I hope that doesn't mean they won't be offering more channels any time soon. All in all, I am much more satisfied with my S3 and Mediacom over D***TV no matter the fewer HD channels right now. Now, to get that $200 rebate sent off!

[hunts]

I have the installer come out yesterday to install cable and internet. When the contractor called to find out where I was exactly (new housing developement) he mentioned that he only had 1 cablecard on him, but knew that I required 4 of them. He stated that Mediacom will have to them send out more to ether me or their local office. It was very clear as to when or where they were going to be. Did other users have mediacom send them the cards straight to the house?

[cembandit]

I just ordered a card for my Tivo HD from Mediacom. The service rep asked me what kind of Tivo I had. I told her a Tivo HD. Then she told me that she is going to order a single M card.

She said the cableman would be here on Xmas eve to install it. $15 installation fee, $1.99 per month for the card.

She told me that I would lose on demand features. I said I was fine with that and she said ok, just wanted you to know.

Sounds way too easy so far. I hope I don't get the same cable guy that tried to install my internet RJ45 cable into my firewire port.

[Bsteenson]

I'm on Mediacom and have had HD w/ cablecards for about a month. When I ordered I was told by three different customer service people and the technician who installed that Mediacom does not have M cards, only S cards. I was also told the price would be $1.99 per month EACH, even though they are in the same box.

Dear Mediacom ... do you have the slightest clue?

BS

[sieglinde]

I thought I had it all set up to go. I had to replace my first HD Tivo because it was defective so I canceled my appointment with Mediacom for two S-cards. The fact that the main headquarters set this up made me think, yes, my local Mediacom does support cards. I get the new HD Tivo and set up an appointment of for Christmas Eve of all days. I get a phone call that morning saying that they don't support cable cards in my area. What kind of noise is that?

I am going to write whatever state agency controls cable TV and the FCC. What a bunch of crap. Good thing I have lifetime on both my Series 2 and the HD box. This could take forever.

[Perfectdark]

Mediacom has given me the run around for 5 weeks. I have a series 3 Tivo and 2 cable cards that work but are not paired with my Tivo. If anyone can share an experience with me on how to get a CSR to realize that you need HOST and DATA in order to pair a card to get encrypted channels?

Here is a forum I started with Broadband Reports if you want a real Kicker on how awful Mediacom can be!

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19698528-IL-Mediacom-Refuses-to-pair-my-cable-cards-for-a-Series-3-Tivo

[fritolayguy]

Mediacom has given me the run around for 5 weeks. I have a series 3 Tivo and 2 cable cards that work but are not paired with my Tivo. If anyone can share an experience with me on how to get a CSR to realize that you need HOST and DATA in order to pair a card to get encrypted channels?


I just finished with my second TIVO cable card setup with Mediacom here in Springfield. I went to their office to pick up 2 cable cards for my new Tivo HD (I already have a Series 3 with CC's as well). What I have learned is that the best way for me to ensure the cards were paired correctly was to call TIVO tech support when I reched the point in guided setup where you are asked to put in the cable cards. I then provided them with the host id and other pertinent info (TIVO CSR will ask for what they need). When they have the data for both cc's, the TIVO CSR will then initiate a three way call with Mediacom CSR, and walk them through the process. Took 10 minutes yesterday, and both cc's are operating perfectly.

Just my 2c.:up:

[sieglinde]

Success!!!! A local Tivocommunity reader got Mediacom to install cards for his Tivo. They were trained at his house. (Not too much training required.) I was next and mine was a success. No more cards are left in my area but word will get around and they will need to get more.

We go HD in March.

[CR Hawkeye]

Did anybody see this article about mediacom using SDV in 2008?

Source: EngadgetHD

http://www.engadgethd.com/2008/03/02/mediacom-venturing-into-switched-digital-video-looks-to-add-mor/

[SnakeEyes]

Ugh.

[CR Hawkeye]

The one good thing about Mediacom...they never deliver on schedule. Hopefully the dongle will be ready by then.

[SnakeEyes]

True

[TheNatureRoy]

I have a Directv HD DVR at the moment but I'm moving to Iowa City and won't be able to keep it. I'll have to go with Mediacom but I've found their Motorola HD DVR pretty clunky. I've been thinking about going with Tivo HD, but you guys are scaring me -- it's sounding like it could be a pretty big hassle.

Does anyone here have any experience dealing with Mediacom Iowa City while getting Tivo HD setup? Any advice?

Also, I'm not moving until June. Should I start making calls now to make sure I get what I need from them?

[CR Hawkeye]

TheNatureRoy, I live in Cedar Rapids and have 2 HD Tivos. Each time I called Mediacom I was able to schedule an appointment within a week. Remember to mention that you want a M-card. Good Luck.

[TheNatureRoy]

Thanks. So do you think there's a good chance I'll be able to get a tech in Iowa City who knows what they're doing, as far as installing and setting up a HD Tivo?

[CR Hawkeye]

In my installations the techs didn't know anything about cablecards or tivo. They brought the card and I inserted it and showed them the cable card information. They called it in and it worked.

[TheNatureRoy]

In my installations the techs didn't know anything about cablecards or tivo. They brought the card and I inserted it and showed them the cable card information. They called it in and it worked.
Thanks again... this is all new to me.

What cable card information should I have to show them so they can call it in?

EDIT: Nevermind, I just found the FAQ.

[druidj]

Wow. I bought an HD TiVo last week. I have Mediacom as my provider in Huntsville, AL. When I called to turn off my DVR service, cancel my box rental, and get 2 cable cards instead, everything went smoothly. (Minus the fact that I mistakenly used the word disconnect somewhere when talking to the first lady which got me transfered to retention immediately. After hanging up, calling back, and re-explaining without using the D word...)

Mediacom policy around here is apparently to require the user to go to the Mediacom office to return the DVR and get the cable cards. Which is what I wanted to do anyways, so I was happy. He didn't even seem to have a way to enter into the system that I wanted Cable cards and could even look up the price for me, said that was all handled at the local office.

I'm a little worried about getting to the local office and being given the run around or told they have none left, but oh well. At least now I can do all this on my schedule rather than spending all day at home waiting for the cable guy to show up.

I'll let everyone know how it goes once I get the cable cards.

On a related note, my wife and I have both noticed an increase in picture quality on the SD channels through TiVo vs. the cable box.

[druidj]

Picked up the M card today without any problems. Called and activated it without any problems.

[Bierboy]

Picked up the M card today without any problems. Called and activated it without any problems.

Wow...I wish that had been the case with me. I have an S3 and finally bit the bullet ordering two CableCARDS. They first said I could pick them up at the local office. Went to the local office, and, of course, they said no, you can't pick them up here; it requires a truck roll. Got them installed last Friday, but the tech failed to get them properly initialized (missing channels, both low end and HD). Called tech support Saturday, and spent 30-45 minutes with the CS person convincing her to hit my cards. She finally talked to a "supervisor" who, indeed, hit the cards, and all my channels appeared. Sunday, USA HD disappears. Monday, it re-appears. For the most part, it looks like everything's fine, except every once and ahwile, I lose audio on a non-HD channel accompanied by some video stuttering. If I switch tuners then switch back, that "fixes" the problem. I'm keeping a close eye on it and may get new cards if this continues or worsens.

[sieglinde]

Mediacom is changing to all digital in my area in September. Will I need new cablecards or are all cable cards digitial? I noticed that my TV lately has been acting like any standard TV getting HD signals. I have great picture but words are off the edge of the screen etc. (I figure folks who make commercials really want you to be able to read all the words on the screen and I noticed a commercial this morning with words under the "edge" of the screen.) I have an H2 so I figure I can use the Tivo box to convert to 480 as I am presently doing.

[Bierboy]

...For the most part, it looks like everything's fine, except every once and ahwile, I lose audio on a non-HD channel accompanied by some video stuttering. If I switch tuners then switch back, that "fixes" the problem. I'm keeping a close eye on it and may get new cards if this continues or worsens.

Update here -- haven't lost any channels. Actually Mediacom just added a couple more channels this week; TNT HD and TBS HD. My occasional audio loss continues (and it's not limited to non-HD channels as I first suspected), but rarely. I'm 95% satisfied so far...

Mediacom is changing to all digital in my area in September. Will I need new cablecards or are all cable cards digitial?...

I believe so. That's what they're designed to do -- decode digital signals. I wouldn't think you would need new CableCARDS. No word on when they'll go all digital in this market.

[sieglinde]

I am looking forward to digital, sounds like they are adding a few channels I want and a lot I don't want. :)

[druidj]

Update here -- haven't lost any channels. Actually Mediacom just added a couple more channels this week; TNT HD and TBS HD. My occasional audio loss continues (and it's not limited to non-HD channels as I first suspected), but rarely. I'm 95% satisfied so far...



I believe so. That's what they're designed to do -- decode digital signals. I wouldn't think you would need new CableCARDS. No word on when they'll go all digital in this market.

I discovered yesterday that Mediacom in Huntsville, AL has added USA HD, SciFi HD, FSN HD, and it looks like sports south HD. (Sports south is just the test signal screen, so not sure what is up with that.)

The odd thing is that HD TiVo won't get the guide info for it. (Or at least it had not 4 hours after I forced a network connect.)

It doesn't even show up on TiVo's webpage when you look at the schedule for my area yet, although it does show up on Yahoo's schedule for my area.

Anyway, I don't care, as long as it stays around. Now I just have to wait for a show to come on SciFi that supports HD to see what kind of quality I'll get... Maybe Stargate Atlantis tomorrow.

[Bierboy]

I discovered yesterday that Mediacom in Huntsville, AL has added USA HD, SciFi HD, FSN HD, and it looks like sports south HD. (Sports south is just the test signal screen, so not sure what is up with that.)

The odd thing is that HD TiVo won't get the guide info for it. (Or at least it had not 4 hours after I forced a network connect.)

It doesn't even show up on TiVo's webpage when you look at the schedule for my area yet, although it does show up on Yahoo's schedule for my area.

Anyway, I don't care, as long as it stays around. Now I just have to wait for a show to come on SciFi that supports HD to see what kind of quality I'll get... Maybe Stargate Atlantis tomorrow.

If they just added those channels in the last couple days, I wouldn't expect the TiVo guide listings for at least another week -- possibly sooner. IIRC, it was a week or two before TiVo had the guide listings for USA HD, WGN HD and Comcast Sportsnet HD.

[rocko]

... Maybe Stargate Atlantis tomorrow.

Stargate Atlantis rocks in HD.

[druidj]

Stargate Atlantis rocks in HD.

Ah crap. I just remembered I'm going to wedding tonight and won't get to watch Stargate Atlantis in HD tonight! (Tivo still doesn't have it in the guide so I don't think I can record it! Must find a way...)

[kpfleming]

I too am in Huntsville (well, really out in Madison County, but on the same Mediacom system called 'Capshaw') and have had these channels listed in my guide info for quite a while; however, neither of my S3s will successfully display them. I can tune to them, but get a black screen and no audio.

On one S3 I've already tried "Clear & Delete Everything" after Mediacom sent a hit to the CableCards, but no dice, still nothing when I tune to these channels. I'm going to try C&DE on the other S3 this morning just to verify consistent behavior, then call Mediacom to find out what's going on. Glad to see someone here successfully watching these channels... I was concerned they might be SDV :-(

I'm also happy to see that Mediacom now allows CableCard pickup at the office; they did not allow that when I got mine and it took *four* tries to get them to show up to install the cards.

[druidj]

I too am in Huntsville (well, really out in Madison County, but on the same Mediacom system called 'Capshaw') and have had these channels listed in my guide info for quite a while; however, neither of my S3s will successfully display them. I can tune to them, but get a black screen and no audio.

On one S3 I've already tried "Clear & Delete Everything" after Mediacom sent a hit to the CableCards, but no dice, still nothing when I tune to these channels. I'm going to try C&DE on the other S3 this morning just to verify consistent behavior, then call Mediacom to find out what's going on. Glad to see someone here successfully watching these channels... I was concerned they might be SDV :-(

I'm also happy to see that Mediacom now allows CableCard pickup at the office; they did not allow that when I got mine and it took *four* tries to get them to show up to install the cards.

That sucks that you can't seem to get the channels...

I too am actually out in Madison county and live near Capshaw Rd. I have been able to verify that I am actually getting HD feeds on those channels now. I noticed that alot of the SciFi shows were showing up as SD, but it seems that any newer shows they play do show up in full HD. Seemed to be good quality.

So you have the S3 instead of the TiVo HD? (I can't imagine why that would make a different though...)

When you say they are in your guide info... Do you get any info on the shows? or just the name of the channel?

[sieglinde]

Have you tried a manual recording?

[druidj]

Have you tried a manual recording?

Not yet. I would guess that will work fine. Last Friday Stargate Atlantis wasn't on and I haven't seen anything else I've wanted to watch yet. I'll give it a try later tonight and verify it works.

[kpfleming]

I have full guide info for all the channels; I can tune to any of the channels and see what is currently on... except I have no video or audio.

So I have two S-cards in each of my S3s, and you have one M-card in your HD. That is a difference I suppose... but then one of my S3s is also missing both ESPNHD and ESPN2HD, where the other receives them just fine. I don't know if this could be bad CableCards or what; I think my next step will be do some card swaps between the units and see if the ESPN channels follow the cards.

[druidj]

I have full guide info for all the channels; I can tune to any of the channels and see what is currently on... except I have no video or audio.

So I have two S-cards in each of my S3s, and you have one M-card in your HD. That is a difference I suppose... but then one of my S3s is also missing both ESPNHD and ESPN2HD, where the other receives them just fine. I don't know if this could be bad CableCards or what; I think my next step will be do some card swaps between the units and see if the ESPN channels follow the cards.

Yeah, card swaps would probably be a good step, possibly even with Mediacom. Although, out of the four of the cards I would think that at least one could tune to these channels if it was just a card issue. Have you verified you cannot tune to the channel with each tuner on each S3? (I assume you can do that on the S3 when viewing current channel info just like on the TiVoHD...)

I wonder why I can't get guide data. Maybe I need to re-run the setup... Does that delete all of my season passes and thumbs-up/down settings?

[upatoi15]

What brand of cable cards does Mediacom offer? Anyone have service in the Columbus, GA Area?

[Bierboy]

What brand of cable cards does Mediacom offer? Anyone have service in the Columbus, GA Area?

In our market, Motorola and Scientific Atlanta.

[Bierboy]

...Maybe I need to re-run the setup... Does that delete all of my season passes and thumbs-up/down settings?

Not unless you do a clear-and-delete.

[druidj]

Not unless you do a clear-and-delete.

Thanks for the info. I may give it a shot then. I did notice that zap2it does not show the channels I don't get guide data for as being available in my area. I read that they use the same source for guide data as TiVo, so I'm guessing that I'm just out of luck for a while.

[druidj]

Have you tried a manual recording?

I tried setting up a season pass as a manual recording to record on SciFi-HD at 9pm on Friday evening and it did not work. I'm not quite sure why it didn't work since it shows up in my Season Pass list.

[upatoi15]

I heard that Scientific Atlanta hasn't updated their firmware in over a year. Motorola is apparently the best.

[sieglinde]

Mediacom in Ridgecrest, CA is finally going digital. It looks a little rocky. I am not getting signal on some unimportant channels. They are offering some sort of converter box. I hope since I have cable cards, that I won't need one. You cannot call their local office to ask about the schedule etc. I have a few channels now that say there is no signal. These are the community channels but sometimes there are local candidate forums that I would like to see at this time of year.

Anyone else go throught the Mediacom HD transition?

[sieglinde]

It looks like I need the converter that Mediacom is offering despite the fact I have cable cards.

[Ames]

It looks like I need the converter that Mediacom is offering despite the fact I have cable cards.

That seems odd. What kind of converter is it?

[sieglinde]

Turns out that the converter was not a tuning adapter as has been discussed but a little cable box. I have an old Series 2 with Lifetime. I hooked it up to the cable box so I could get the lower channels. Not the solution I was hoping for.

[mstockmyer]

There's a bigger problem with HD TiVos in Mediacom/Ridgecrest.

They're currently simulcasting the 1-99 channels in both Analog and Digital. My Series 3 (and sieglinde's TiVo HD) are picking up the Digital versions. This is great; the analogs aren't very good.

However we can't record any of our local channels. If I try to record a show on one of our locals, I get:

"This program was not recorded because either the TiVo DVR is not authorized for this channel, the program was not purchased, or the program was not available in your area."

in the ToDo recording history.

I can tune in the local channels live, the show is there; but the TiVo will store *no* part of any show. There's not even a 30 minute buffer on the locals. If I pause, it just restarts where the live feed is.

This only happens on local channnels. These are the channels that Mediacom picks up (analog) over an antenna, digitize, and send over the cable to our homes.

It's got to be a Mediacom screwup, but I can't get them to admit a problem, of course. TiVo tech support can't seem to tell me *exactly* why that message would show up so I can relay that to Mediacom.

I'm a little frustrated.



{UPDATE}

Since my S3 got the fall update (V 11.*), I can record locals just fine. It works just like it's supposed to.

[boferguson]

I did a search and couldn't find anyone with experience with S3s and Mediacom in Western North Carolina. Any advice? I just had my appointment today and the installer had never touched cable cards before. The tech he was speaking with in Deleware was also clueless, and kept asking for the serial number on the TV, no matter how many times we told him we were installing the cards in a DVR. Very frustrating. They told me to wait four hours for the cards to activate, but right now my expectations are very, verly low for that happening.

Anyone have any experiences to share with me? If I call tech support myself (without a mediacom rep on site), will they work with me or will they only do that with a tech present?

Frustrated in Hendersonville....

[Bierboy]

I did a search and couldn't find anyone with experience with S3s and Mediacom in Western North Carolina. Any advice? I just had my appointment today and the installer had never touched cable cards before. The tech he was speaking with in Deleware was also clueless, and kept asking for the serial number on the TV, no matter how many times we told him we were installing the cards in a DVR. Very frustrating. They told me to wait four hours for the cards to activate, but right now my expectations are very, verly low for that happening.

Anyone have any experiences to share with me? If I call tech support myself (without a mediacom rep on site), will they work with me or will they only do that with a tech present?

Frustrated in Hendersonville....
I'm not in Kentucky, but I can tell you from my similar experience that persistence is the keyword here. I had two techs working on my S3 when they installed two CCs in my S3 back in August. Neither had any TiVo CC experience. After they left, I was missing channels I should have been getting, getting others I shouldn't be getting, etc. After several calls to tech support over the next 48 hours and insisting I get moved up the chain of command, someone FINALLY properly sent a hit "pairing" my cards after I provided info from each card. They've been functioning nearly flawlessly since with just an occasional short-term (less than 24 hours) loss of USA HD. Just keep after them...

[plmills]

Mediacom in Springfield, MO is adding some new HD channels, according to a letter I received a few weeks ago. The change was supposed to occur on Dec. 17, but apparently did not go quite as planned.

Anyway, as a Tivo/Cablecard user, I was anticipating having problems, and, sure enough, sometime yesterday afternoon, all my HBO channels started behaving oddly. When I tune to any HBO channel (with the single exception of HBOSIG on 556) I get about 1 second of picture, and then the grey cablecard diagnostic screen appears, stating that I need to call my provider to start service on this device.

I called Mediacom yesterday to report the problem, and they sent out a hit to reinitialize my cable cards. The result was total loss of all digital channels. I tried to call again, but apparently their call volume was up, and the hold times were insane. I called again at 3 a.m. today, and got through to a service person who re-sent the init signal, and my digital channels reappeared, but the HBO problem remains. At that point, he suggested I had a problem with my Tivo unit (not the cards) and said I should call Tivo.

Anyone else in Springfield having a similar problem with HBO channels not showing up? If others with similar setups to mine were having similar problems, that might help us convince Mediacom that the problem is on their end.

Thanks for any replies.

[fritolayguy]

Anyone else in Springfield having a similar problem with HBO channels not showing up? If others with similar setups to mine were having similar problems, that might help us convince Mediacom that the problem is on their end.

Thanks for any replies.

I am having the same issue. It is definitely a Mediacom issue, as the only channels I can't receive are the HBO and HBO HD channels. I called Mediacom last night as well, and was given the same info you were (sans blaming TIVO). I will call back later today if the problem still exists.
The other thing you might want to try is to call TIVO service first, and tell them about the issue you are having, and ask for a three way call between you, TIVO, and Mediacom. Typically, TIVO will then help Mediacom with any diagnostic information they might need, and help to resolve the issue.

I have personally used this method 2-3 times, with expected results each time.

My 2c...

[CR Hawkeye]

Anyone else in Springfield having a similar problem with HBO channels not showing up? If others with similar setups to mine were having similar problems, that might help us convince Mediacom that the problem is on their end..

I'm from Cedar Rapids, Iowa and I noticed the same issue with HBO HD yesterday. We are also expecting to get some new HD channels today. If this still isn't working when I get home I will call Mediacom.

Thanks, CR

[plmills]

I am having the same issue.

OK, I suspected as much. I am going to be charitable and give Mediacom a day or two more to fix this, as I suspect they're having problems rolling out the channel lineup changes on the Springfield system.

Also, I expect to have problems receiving the new HD channels, even if I were not having the HBO issue, and I would like to get all the problems fixed at the same time, rather than make a series of frustrating calls, so I think waiting until the channel lineup change is completed and working (at least for non-Tivo folks) is maybe the best strategy.

Thanks for your reply - I'll keep monitoring this thread, and report any changes, for good or ill, that I notice over the next few days.

[CR Hawkeye]

The HBO channels still don't work for me. I called Mediacom and all they could do is schedule somebody to come out on Monday. This was after the unsuccessful sending of a hit. I mentioned other people were having this problem but he didn't see it listed on his computer. Hopefully, once the new HD channels are available it will fix the problem.

[Bierboy]

The HBO channels still don't work for me. I called Mediacom and all they could do is schedule somebody to come out on Monday. This was after the unsuccessful sending of a hit. I mentioned other people were having this problem but he didn't see it listed on his computer. Hopefully, once the new HD channels are available it will fix the problem.
That seems to be their answer for everything; schedule a truck roll. Ridiculous. I've had CableCARDS for the past four months and had sporadic losses of USAHD (maybe three times). The first time or two I called them, and they wanted to schedule a truck roll. I did, but, then within 12 hours, the channel re-appeared (causing me to suspect head end problems). I then canceled the service call.

I've learned my lesson; give it time, and it will (nearly) always work itself out.

[plmills]

That seems to be their answer for everything; schedule a truck roll. Ridiculous.

Agreed - ridiculous, and extremely frustrating for the Mediacom customers paying for services they're not receiving, through no fault of their own or their equipment. I cannot fathom why Mediacom consistently fails to set up troubleshooting protocols that allow them to pinpoint legitimate problems with head-end configurations, when multiple customers report the same problem at the same time.

It seems to me that, for all intents and purposes, Mediacom's technical support is set up to assume that there is no possibility of a problem with their own network configuration, even to the extent of costing themselves and their customers unnecessary truck rolls, wasted time, extraordinary frustration, and a significant chance of making problems *worse* rather than better during technical support events.

I mentioned I would report back as the Springfield new-channel rollout progressed. Here is how things stand for me right now:

Channel lineup changes planned for Dec. 17, according to the letter from Mediacom:

New channels to be added, (channel description), my current result

84 (Evangel University Educational Access IV) - working, fuzzy picture
86 (PBS Create) - working normally
96 (Mediacom Main Street) - channel detected, currently no picture or sound
198 (Boomerang) - working normally
725 (WGN America HD) - working normally
736 (TBS HD) - working normally
737 (CNN HD) - working normally
739 (Sci-Fi HD) - like USA HD, for me, I only get "Searching for signal"
747 (A&E HD) - working, although aspect ratio (AR) seems "stretched"
748 (History Channel HD) - working, black bars above & below, "flattened" aspect ratio
757 (HGTV HD) - missing from channel list, not tunable
758 (Food HD) - missing from channel list, not tunable

Channels changing number old/new (channel description), my current result

24/82 (Educational Access II - MSU) - working, all sound on left channel
25/81 (Educational Access - SGF schools) - working, no sound, static on left
26/85 (Mediacom Community Channel) - working
27/83 (Educ. Access II - Drury Univ.) - working, all sound on left channel
29/87 (C-SPAN 2) - working, all sound on left channel

TiVo's program guide is, of course, not providing programming information for the new channels, though if past performance is any guide, they will catch up in a few days. If not, I will call them and ask them to check up on it.

I am still getting the cablecard diagnosic screen on HBO channels, including HBO-HD. I also, as noted in the comments for Sci-Fi HD above, am not receiving USA-HD (and haven't been able to do so since the channel was originally added some time back).

I don't know what to make of the aspect ratio issues on A&E and History channel. Having never received or watched these channels in HD before, what I'm seeing might just be their normal picture, but it is obvious to me that the pictures are being broadcast and displayed on my set with an aspect ratio that distorts the proportions of the content. Unfortunately, with my setup, I have no control over the displayed aspect ratio for signals received in an HD format. I can alter SD signals in a variety of ways, but HD signals are displayed as they are received, so a messed up aspect ratio on an HD channel is not something I can "fix" on my side, using my current equipment.

Sorry for the long post, but I thought others might want to compare my results with their own, in case we need to contact Mediacom in the near future to get some of these issues addressed.

I wish the Mediacom employee who used to monitor this thread would return and comment on our issues. My guess is they might have been told to refrain from posting public comments on potential Mediacom customer service issues, and that is the reason for their lack of recent comments on the thread.

[plmills]

Here's an update:

About 5 minutes after I posted the above message, something was changed on the History Channel broadcast, and the aspect ratio is now as it should be.

Just for kicks, I tried setting my TiVo to display everything in 480p, which allows me to use my television's aspect correction functions. It is very clear that the A&E broadcast is a 4:3 aspect ratio program being stretched to fill a 16:9 screen. If I use my television's AR correction to add bars on the left and right, the A&E picture's aspect ratio is correct (although this trick requires me to downsample the HD signal to SD in order to change its AR).

[edit] Update 2

A&E programming is now in the correct AR. I am wondering if the AR issues are content-specific. Perhaps some source material is stretched for HD broadcast, and other material, which originates in a 16:9 format, is broadcast with no AR adjustments. If so, I think these channels should just broadcast in the original AR, with no attempt to massage the material into any unnatural AR format.

[fritolayguy]

I've learned my lesson; give it time, and it will (nearly) always work itself out.

Just checked back on my TIVO HD, and the new HD channels are avaialble, and HBO-HD and HBO-Z are working again. I'll check back later with updates.

[Bierboy]

Just checked back on my TIVO HD, and the new HD channels are avaialble, and HBO-HD and HBO-Z are working again. I'll check back later with updates.

Good news! Thanks for the updates. I'll post back here if MC in the Quad Cities adds any HDs.

[plmills]

Just checked back on my TIVO HD, and the new HD channels are avaialble, and HBO-HD and HBO-Z are working again. I'll check back later with updates.

@fritolayguy:

I'm also now getting some of the HBO channels, but the following still have the grey-screen problem:
551 (HBOP), 553 (HBO2P), 555 (HBOFP), 557 (HBOSIGP)

I notice these are all west-coast feeds (P for pacific). I hadn't mentioned this before, but during a tech support call the other day with Mediacom, the support person mentioned that Mediacom would be dropping all west coast feeds in the near future for midwest customers. I'm now wondering if this is the beginning of the end for these channels.

You said you are getting the new HD channels. Are you getting Sci-Fi HD? It still doesn't work for me. (This was one of the ones I was most looking forward to...)

[sieglinde]

My Mediacom Digital channel change on December 16 was totally screwed up and still is. I still have bad guide data so the posts I have seen give me hope that this has been changed. I get three identical MyNetwork feeds, a channel I don't watch. One is where G8 is supposed to be which is where I was watching Heroes.

I have discovered the Tivo will not record anything if there is no guide data there. I can record things on the "wrong" channel with a manual recording or setting it for the program that comes on the channe so I am getting a lot of Mexican news otherwise known as programming on MSNBC but not on channels that have no data at all.

[fritolayguy]

Yes. I am receiving Sci Fi as well, and have the same issue wth the West Coast (all odd)HBO channels as well. Currently, all new HD channels show TBA under guide data.

Update: Just got off the phone wth CS and they are indeed dropping the West Coast Feed channels, so I am now officially receiving all thta is included with the new lineup.

[druidj]

I have a TiVo HD with Mediacom and just noticed that I do not get the Music Channels anymore. I've actually had the TiVo for a while now and I guess just had not tried tuning to the Music Channels for a while.

Anyways, the first time I called Mediacom they said I should be getting them and since the Hit didn't fix it they would send someone out to take a look. The scheduled service time came and went without anyone showing up. When I called them back to ask about it they said they had canceled it because the TiVo HD cannot pick up the music channels. (More specifically they said that you can't get the Music channels with a cable card.)

The reason I was given for this was that the music channels are like Video On Demand, they require two way communication. To me that just doesn't sound right, why would the music channels require two way communication?

Anyone else have the music channels with TiVo HD and mediacom?

Thanks,

Jeff

[fritolayguy]

Anyone else have the music channels with TiVo HD and mediacom?

Thanks,

Jeff

Jeff,

We have 2 music channels(70's and 80's) set up on our "list of channels you receive" which we use as our "sound system" for the TV connected to our TIVO HD with Mediacom in Springfield, MO.
Sounds like you found a CSR that doesn't know much about cable cards. I wouls suggest contacting TIVO support,and having them initiate a 3 way call with Mediacom support to address the missing channels.

Good luck.

[kpfleming]

We never listen to any MusicChoice channels, but after reading your message I tuned in to channel 540 (Light Classical) and it worked as it should have; music plus the normal MusicChoice information screen.

[plmills]

I'm in Springfield, Have a Tivo Series 3 HD, and get the Music Choice channels in the 900-series. I frequently listen to 939 and 940 (Classical Masterpieces and Light Classical). Sounds like Mediacom is out to lunch, once again, with respect to Cablecards and TiVo.

[druidj]

Thanks for the info everyone. I'll try calling Mediacom one more time to see if I get a different answer this time.

With the XM/Sirius merger the XM streaming through the TiVo stopped working too. So both of the ways my wife liked to listen to music are gone, I have to get at least one of them back up! :)

Thanks again, I'll try to remember to post on here if I find anything out, successful or otherwise.

[Abouna]

Reporting from Cedar Rapids Mediacom here.

Our channels have been screwed up for days. Here's what we are getting:

28 - Used to be CNN / now Lifetime but shows programming info for CNN
33 - Used to be Lifetime / now CNN but shows programming info for Lifetime
836 - TBS HD programming info shows To Be Announced
847 - A&E HD - programming info shows To Be Announced
848 - History HD - programming info shows To Be Announced

What's up with this? I tried calling Mediacom but of course they blame it on Tivo.

[Bierboy]

Reporting from Cedar Rapids Mediacom here.

Our channels have been screwed up for days. Here's what we are getting:

28 - Used to be CNN / now Lifetime but shows programming info for CNN
33 - Used to be Lifetime / now CNN but shows programming info for Lifetime
836 - TBS HD programming info shows To Be Announced
847 - A&E HD - programming info shows To Be Announced
848 - History HD - programming info shows To Be Announced

What's up with this? I tried calling Mediacom but of course they blame it on Tivo.
If those last three have been added within the past week, have patience -- the programming info will come. If the other two were recent changes, same thing -- programming info will come. It just takes a little time...sometimes up to 10 days.

[CR Hawkeye]

Reporting from Cedar Rapids Mediacom here.

Our channels have been screwed up for days. Here's what we are getting:

28 - Used to be CNN / now Lifetime but shows programming info for CNN
33 - Used to be Lifetime / now CNN but shows programming info for Lifetime
836 - TBS HD programming info shows To Be Announced
847 - A&E HD - programming info shows To Be Announced
848 - History HD - programming info shows To Be Announced

What's up with this? I tried calling Mediacom but of course they blame it on Tivo.

Abouna, I called in these changes to Tivo right before X-mas. Hopefully, we will get guide data this week.

[Abouna]

Abouna, I called in these changes to Tivo right before X-mas. Hopefully, we will get guide data this week.

Sounds good, thanks! Doesn't do much good to have new channels if you can't get info or record!

Do you happen to know if channel 4 is dead now?

[plmills]

Springfield, MO here - the guide data for the following channels showed up a day or two ago:

739 Sci-Fi HD
747 AETVHD
748 HSTRYHD
757 HGTVD
758 FOODHD

I finally got my missing channels today when a service tech showed up and checked my "drop" which turned out to be noisy and responsible for several of my missing channels (he claimed they were all close to a sensitive frequency in the spectrum - don't know if that's logical or not, but the channels are now there after he ran a new cable drop).

I still don't have picture on 757 or 758, but I'm not sure if Mediacom actually added these channels as they originally said they were going to.

Anybody in Springfield getting 757 or 758 on their TiVo?

TIA for any replies.

[fritolayguy]

Anybody in Springfield getting 757 or 758 on their TiVo?

TIA for any replies.

I was receiving them as of my last update on this forum, but when I checked them a few minutes ago, I wasn't receivng either channel. Sounds like a Mediacom issue again. I'll let you know if/when they start coming in again.

[bevansmd]

I have a Series 3 tivo with a defective hard drive. Weaknees is replacing the drive under warranty. Will I have to go through the hassle of Mediacom techs coming onsite again to pair the same cards I was previously using? If they don't work right away, will I be able to accomplish anything over the phone with the Des Moines area customer service techs or will they insist on a truck roll?

Thanks!

[Bierboy]

We received new HD channels CNN HD (737), SciFi HD (739), and History HD (748) on Jan. 21. So far, the only program info that's appeared on my S3 is for SciFi. I've twice sent e-mails to Tribune Media, but, so far, only SciFi has showed up. Is anyone else using Mediacom having this issue? TiVo no longer has a page on their Web site to submit program info problems.

[Ames]

We received new HD channels CNN HD (737), SciFi HD (739), and History HD (748) on Jan. 21. So far, the only program info that's appeared on my S3 is for SciFi. I've twice sent e-mails to Tribune Media, but, so far, only SciFi has showed up. Is anyone else using Mediacom having this issue? TiVo no longer has a page on their Web site to submit program info problems.

All of those are working for me. I'm having the opposite problem. We got some other additional channels like Food HD in the guide, but Mediacom doesn't actually have them available as channels.

[TivoMactopia]

We received new HD channels CNN HD (737), SciFi HD (739), and History HD (748) on Jan. 21. So far, the only program info that's appeared on my S3 is for SciFi. I've twice sent e-mails to Tribune Media, but, so far, only SciFi has showed up. Is anyone else using Mediacom having this issue? TiVo no longer has a page on their Web site to submit program info problems.

Springfield, MO mediacom subscriber, 2 S3s...I've had the channels on the guide data since they announced the channel lineup changes. A few of them like SciFi showed up, but Food, and HGTV HD were in the guide, but no signal.

A couple of weeks later, everything started to work, so I assume Mediacom was just staging the rollout, but I've always had the guide data since the 1st of the year.

[Bierboy]

Springfield, MO mediacom subscriber, 2 S3s...I've had the channels on the guide data since they announced the channel lineup changes. A few of them like SciFi showed up, but Food, and HGTV HD were in the guide, but no signal.

A couple of weeks later, everything started to work, so I assume Mediacom was just staging the rollout, but I've always had the guide data since the 1st of the year.
I'm STILL waiting for guide data for CNN HD...it's been nearly a month now.

[ChrisMatson]

Just upgraded from a Series 2 TiVo to the TiVo HD.
Mediacom came and installed the M Card without incident--took about 20 minutes.
Loving the HD!

[Bierboy]

Just upgraded from a Series 2 TiVo to the TiVo HD.
Mediacom came and installed the M Card without incident--took about 20 minutes.
Loving the HD!
Glad they had the M card for you; they claim they can't get them around here :down::down::down:

[kpfleming]

Just noticed a whole pile (about a dozen) new HD channels in the guide, but every one of them displays a Tivo-logoed 'Channel not available' banner for a second or two after tuning to them. Unlike previous posters, they all have complete guide data, but no signal. I hope this is just Mediacom phasing in the channels, and not SDV :(

[sieglinde]

I have contacted Tivo repeatedly about bad guide data. It is always the time zone problem with shows being three hours off. The theory is that they are not getting good info from Mediacom. Anyone else have this problem?

[reversengineer]

I got my TIVO HD on January 7 and went by the local Mediacom office (Huntsville, Alabama) to get a cablecard on January 9. They said they didn't have any, but should in about a week. They took my name and number and wrote it on a "sticky" note (how professional is that?) and would call me when the cards came in. They said I could just pick it up and install it myself when they got them.

I didn't hear anything from them and went back on January 15 and was told that they didn't have any cards and had no idea when they would get any! Is it really possible that this company has no idea what their cablecard stock is system-wide, what they have on order, and when orders are expected to arrive?!?!

Anyway, I thought I might get better action by calling the customer service 800 number and more "officially" requesting a cable card. They said sure, no problem, but cablecards have to be installed by their technician and asked if I wanted a technician to come out tomorrow or the next day! Of course, my choices were between 8 a.m. to noon or 1 to 5 p.m.

I don't hold out much hope of actually getting one, since I have a friend who called the local office this afternoon and they still claim they don't have any and don't know when they will get any!

Is their any way to force cable companies to be more responsive on this issue? Isn't cablecard availability from the local cable company mandated by the FCC?

[reversengineer]

What a miracle (of sorts). The mediacom contract installer called at 1030 this morning and said could he come early. So I met him at my house about 20 minutes later and he actually has a cablecard, albeit a single stream. I had asked for a M-card or two S-cards when I called for the service, but of course that part didn't translate.

First off, they technician said "here's your card. We're not allowed to install them, you are supposed to do it yourself. But do you mind if I watch to see how it's done?"

So I get the S-card installed and it works fine, but that leaves me with only one tuner. I asked the tech where he got the card and he said "at the mediacom office on Ware Drive." Of course that's where I had been asking to pick one up for two weeks and my friend had called about availability only the day before to be told they didn't have any.

So I took my S-card back to the office and told them the tale of the technician showing up with only a single S-card. I asked to trade it for an M card or to add to it another S-card, so they went in the back and said "we have a handful of S-cards but no M-cards."

I took the two S-cards back home and completed the install with no problem and everything is working fine, I'm happy about that.

My friend went to get his two S-cards about an hour later at the mediacom office - of course they gave him an M-card, which they supposedly had none just an hour before.

So which is it - do the kind folks at Mediacom really inept or do they purposely make it difficult for customers to get cablecards for their own equipment???

[tgrim1]

So which is it - do the kind folks at Mediacom really inept or do they purposely make it difficult for customers to get cablecards for their own equipment???

My first guess, after having been in my own local office would be "inept". It was like I walked into a casting call for Deliverance.

[ToddNeedsTiVo]

That sounds too much like my "you can pick one up" / "no, it takes a truck roll" story over here (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7729065#post7729065).

[sieglinde]

Anyone tried viewing National Geographic Wild? The dolts at Mediacom are renogotiating the channel switch from Fox Reality. Does anyone think it would help to make some sort of compaint?

[Bierboy]

Has anyone tried successfully swapping cards from one TiVo to another (using Mediacom)? I have an M-card that isn't being used (but is set up on my account) and would like to take the two S-cards out of my HD unit and put the one M-card in. I'm just not sure if Mediacom actually pairs the cards to the device. I suspect not, but thought I would ask here.

[sieglinde]

I still have Reality TV rather than NatGeoWild. Mediacom is a joke.

[sieglinde]

Mediacom in my area has finally announced it is getting National Geographic Wild and replacing Fox Reality. Fox Reality would be OK if it was anything more than repeats.

[msaeger]

I would have rather kept Fox Reality there are already a couple or animal channels.

[Ames]

Has anyone tried successfully swapping cards from one TiVo to another (using Mediacom)? I have an M-card that isn't being used (but is set up on my account) and would like to take the two S-cards out of my HD unit and put the one M-card in. I'm just not sure if Mediacom actually pairs the cards to the device. I suspect not, but thought I would ask here.

They have always acted like they are paired. I'll find out this week when I get my Elite Tivo in.

[Bierboy]

Actually, I removed an M-card I used in one TiVo and used it in my HD and it works fine...

[ps2roy]

I've always been able to move my cablecards around with Mediacom. It is my understanding, since Mediacom doesn't have any copy protection (CCI byte 00) on any channels the cards do not need to be paired to the device.