How did your CableCARD install go? [Text View]

jwolgamott

09-18-2006, 02:24 PM

I had a great experience as well. I went by Best Buy on saturday afternoon, picked up the Tivo Series 3, then drove directly to the Sugar Land (TX) Time Warner Service center. I told the woman that I wanted to get two cable cards for HDTV, and signed up for HDTV on the spot. She handed them over and told me they rent for $1.75 each per month.

I went home, installed them into the Tivo and called the CableCARD activation number. The instructions said it was only open 8-5 M-F, but a person answered the phone and helped me install it without any trouble.

I tried to fake Time Warner out by telling them I had 2 HDTVs, and it worked until they asked me what type of TV I had... Ooops! No worries though, I fessed about the Tivo Series 3 and he continued without any hoops or problems.

24 hours later my HBO and ESPN was "unlocked" -- before then I had all my local HDTV ready to go.

It was seriously easier than hooking up the Series 2 with the digital cable box.

tivoknucklehead

09-18-2006, 02:52 PM

so far I am the only big time loser (total refusal)

see my thread http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=317236

ThePlungerMan

09-18-2006, 02:58 PM

How about installed and not working AT ALL.
Waiting for a call from a Tivo sup. tech. It might be my Tivo box

6 cards so far.

Dan203

09-18-2006, 03:06 PM

When you insert the cards does the MMI screen pop up? If so then the CableCARD is being recoginized properly by the TiVo, and the problem is that they are not properly authorized by the cable company. If not then it may very well be the TiVo.

Dan

sharding

09-18-2006, 03:11 PM

I posted this in the Comcast thread, but it applies outside of Comcast, so I thought I'd repost here. I'm sure that there are some true problems going on out there. But it seems like a large proportion of them are unnecessary complications being added by the cable companies not understanding the technology.

Just to reiterate, there is absolutely nothing special that Comcast has to do to make this work. They may think there's something special or unusual, but there isn't.

Not only does Comcast not know I'm using my Cable Cards in a TiVo (they never asked anything about what they're going into), they didn't even need any information from me when I called to activate them. They didn't need me to tell them the hardware IDs from the TiVo, the serial numbers from the cards or anything else. They already had the info from the cards associated with my account from when I picked them up, and that's all they needed to make it work. If anything special needed to be done becuase it's a TiVo, or because it's two cards in one box, it wouldn't have happened for me because they didn't know. And yet, they both work perfectly.

Honestly, I think the cable companies are making this way more complicated than it should be. If they were to just shove the cards into the slots, and then proceed as if it were two cable card TVs, they'd be fine (except, of course, when the cards are bad or there's some other problem. But those issues aren't any different because it's a TiVo either).

btwyx

09-18-2006, 04:00 PM

Once the installer actually arrived it seemed pretty smooth. The ony problem was he couldn't get through to the people who need to authorise the cards for about 5 mins, and it then took them another 10 mins to actually do the authorisation. The cards gave the 161-4 error which TiVo says you can ignore http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv010416.htm?

Getting the installer here was the problem, for an 8-12 appointment he didn't turn up by 12 and didn't ring to tell me he wasn't arriving (as required by law). Comcast only offered $20 compensation for this, which is more of an insult than anything. When DirecTV did that to me, at least they tried to bribe me with $90 worth of freebies.

keenanSR

09-18-2006, 04:03 PM

Positive experience here. First card had the 161-4 error, passed that by, and the rest went smoothly.

ah30k

09-18-2006, 04:33 PM

Just to reiterate, there is absolutely nothing special that Comcast has to do to make this work. They may think there's something special or unusual, but there isn't.
This may be dependant on whether you local area is a Motorola or a Scientific Atlanta site.

For Moto areas, they have to enter pairing information into the Access Controller in the headend. This pairs the CableCARD to the host. They do this to prevent you from taking you CableCARD over to your buddies house for the big game.

The DAC (Digital Access Controller) in the headend enables encryption of video in the CableCARD and requires the Host ID (specific to the TiVo) and the CableCARD ID (specific to the CableCARD) to both be entered into the DAC.

sharding

09-18-2006, 04:41 PM

Sorry, it may have been a mistake to post the same thing in two places, because now we have to have the same conversation in two places :)

But, for the record: I understand that they may need more information than they got from me in some cases. But my point was really that what they need is not any different from what they'd need for a Cable Card TV. By freaking out when they hear it's a TiVo, they're adding unnecessary complication to the process. They should proceed as they would with any other Cable Card install. That doesn't mean it will never fail, but Cable Card installs on TVs aren't foolproof either. I guess I just don't quite get why the cable companies are treating this as if it's a completely new animal, when in the end it requires exactly the same thing as a Cable Card TV...

TheChadAZ

09-18-2006, 04:56 PM

Phoenix - Cox

I had a 3-5 appt. today, guy actually showed up at around 1 pm (called first and asked if OK to come early...like I would say no? :eek: )

The Tivo saw both cards immediately as soon as he had them in (the second card showed as installed, but when we went into the host id screen it was blank, he pushed on the card to make sure it was in tight and the screen came up). They didn't seem to authorize at first so we rebooted the Tivo. A message came up on the screen that said the number of cable cards had changed (still showed both though) and when we went to the test channels screen it said that it was unavailable. He called the office again and had them re-hit the cards with the authorization signal and they both came up. I hope that they don't loose their config after a reboot or something...

Otherwise everything is up and running and I am trying to setup my season passes now :D .

Larry in TN

09-18-2006, 04:59 PM

My install went well, just one small hicup...

In my area, Comcast tells you to go by one of their many local offices to pick up the cableCARDs. I have one about two miles from my house so I had them here waiting when the S3 arrived. I popped in the cards but they didn't work. The channels remapped, so I was able to get the unencrypted QAM channels on their cable-assigned channels, but I couldn't get the rest of the digital channels.

Couldn't resolve the issue over the phone so they sent out a tech (no charge). After some various calls to have the cards re-hit they figured out that there were two problems. The first was that something hadn't been setup correctly in my account so they weren't sending the correct information to the cards. Additionally, one of the two cards that I had picked up were bad. When the installer replaced that card everything worked fine.

wtkflhn

09-18-2006, 05:26 PM

keenanSR

09-18-2006, 07:16 PM

Well.
My S3 is due tomorrow. I can't wait to see what challanges it will present. I know it won't pick up digital chanels without the cable cards. But what about the locals you can get with a QAM tuner. Can you get them without cablecards? Also, can you get OTA stations with an outside ant. like the series 2?

Don H.
Yes, you can get in-the-clear QAM channels, usually any local digital stations the cableco carries, no CC needed, although there won't be any guide data either.

Yes, OTA, both digital and analog.

As a side note, the S3 has a damn fine OTA tuner in it, I'm getting stations I never got before, plus, the stations I used to just barely get with an HR10-250, come in nice and strong.

monkeyboy1010

09-18-2006, 09:46 PM

The installer was to arrive between 1 - 5 pm, he was here at 1:04 (major thumbs up)

1st card no go, 2nd card fine, installer only had 2 cards. Calls supervisor and says he will be back before the end of day with more cards. I work at home so this is fine with me.

4ish, installer returns and goes through 3 cards till he gets a winner that the authorizer can see in the tivo. Done.

After having been with DirecTV service for the last 10 years using the original DirecTV TiVo and then the Hughes HR10-250, I can honestly say the picture quality diff is HUGE from DirecTV to TWC. DirecTV has starved their signals slowly over the last few years to the point that even my wife, who does'nt normally care about such things, noticed that every thing looked "fuzzy around the edges". So far, so good.

jhonaker

09-18-2006, 11:40 PM

Cox, Fairfax Cty VA.

Guy brought over 2 cable cards. He seemed a little surprised to see a TiVo there, but I showed him where to put one in, and we got the codes from it, then put the other in and got the codes from it.

He called in, waited on hold a good bit, finally got through, and had someone turn them on. We slowly started seeing HD channels appear, so he took off.

I told the box our channel lineup was wrong, so it started that whole business again. I had to leave, so the bf finished that up, but it all looks ok.

I just went through and removed all the homeshopping channels and made high def season passes for some of my old season passes.

I like my series 3, and I'm glad I haven't missed too much of the season.

jfh3

09-19-2006, 01:09 AM

See my experience in posts #6 and #8 here:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=317120

I picked "They took a little work to get going but they're working fine now".

I'm not totally convinced I would've been successful (or it would've taken a lot longer) had I not had a top tech with special access to a conditional access guru.

The regular front line people clearly didn't know how to handle cable card issues, but then I had two difficult problems - account set up problems and uninitialized cable cards.

vman41

09-19-2006, 05:37 AM

Familiar pattern. Maybe 10 years ago, I knew a couple people who bought ISDN that had real nighmare installs - the phone company was clueless and really wasn't interested. The first people I knew to get DSL usually had problems getting the things going, but things quickly got better as the market took off.

OTOH, the rollout of cable modems by TWC here in the late 1990s was relatively smooth.

jhonaker

09-19-2006, 06:44 AM

My installer wasn't terribly familiar with everything. We put the first card in, up came the numbers, ditto for the second. He called in (waiting on hold for awhile), they went back over some numbers, and high def channels slowly started appearing when I was testing.

The installer was very skeptical and probably would have tried to tell me it wouldn't work if I'd have given him the openig.

I think "on the other end" they were entered as both being on my sharp aquod, which has at least one slot, but I don't know if it has 2 or not. Not that they got a model or anything.

I didn't mention TiVo before the appt, and the installer didn't mention it over the phone when he was activating the cards.

mchad

09-19-2006, 10:44 AM

Cablevision of Westchester arrives 15 min before the close of the window. Tech was a geek (good to see) and was psyched to see the S3. Installed both cards. However one card, while it showed as authorized, no video was displayed, and the tech only had the two cards. So off he went saying a supervisor would call to set up a follow up appt. at my convienence. So far no call.

I called TIVO tech supp last night, just because I didn't like that all the diags showed that the bad card should be working, but after going through the guided setup and testing the video from that card, the support person read off his screen that it was probably the cablecard.

So I wait...

khill821

09-19-2006, 12:10 PM

Installer showed-up a few minutes early with multiple Cable Cards in-hand (even though the order got messed up and only one was requested). The guy looked at the TiVo and said "This will be my first one of these, but we just heard about them yesterday."

Followed the instructions provided by TiVo, both cable cards were instantly recognized. He called in to authorize the cards and we were done. Working perfectly since.

damonnoah

09-19-2006, 12:14 PM

My install went pretty well. I received my Tivo 3 last night got it unpacked and hooked up to a 61" Pioneer Elite plasma screen through HDMI. worked perfectly. I went to install the cable cards and then called Warner cable which transfered me to Tier 3 support. I told them i had 2 cards for my Tivo 3 and they proceeded to help me with no questions or problems. In fact, the Tier 3 folks were extremly competent. I gave them my numbers of the cards. THe problem is my basic channels were not coming in, i kep getting a blue screen saying "please wait, acquiring channel line up". I called Time Warner back and we spent about an hour testing each card, switching slots, etc etc etc. After about an hour an half and three phone calls later the tech determined that the cards we're probably not working and for me to exchange them out in the morning. We got off the phone, I put the cards back in, one at a time and they stared working. For those of you who may have this problem this is what i did.

once in installed card 1, i just waited into the black screen popped up with the time warner pairing info for the card, then i went to test channels and it worked. Prior, as soon as I inserted the first card, i quickly inserted the second card an try to configure the cards and for one reason or another it just didn't work. I'm still not positive that installing one at a time and being patient was the trick but they are working now. I called Time Warner back up, gave them the new Host numbrer (that is the only number that changed) and now i'm waiting from the premium channels and HD encoded channels to unlock.

Looks great folks.

Damon

bonesbiscuit

09-19-2006, 12:14 PM

Been turned down twice by Time Warner in Austin, saying the cards they have are only for TVs, not DVRs. Supposed to be having a supervisor call me. Can someone share with me the TIVO VIP number I have seen referenced?
Thanks,
--seth

mbobak

09-19-2006, 12:23 PM

Getting the installer here was the problem, for an 8-12 appointment he didn't turn up by 12 and didn't ring to tell me he wasn't arriving (as required by law). Comcast only offered $20 compensation for this, which is more of an insult than anything. When DirecTV did that to me, at least they tried to bribe me with $90 worth of freebies.

"as required by law"? Now, being stood up by the installer is a real PITA, but illegal?? Can you clarify, please?

-Mark

sharding

09-19-2006, 01:30 PM

One minor problem with the poll: I don't think there's any way for people who vote "They've been installed but they're still not working right" to update their vote once they're working. So this may over-report problems, based on early troubles...

btwyx

09-19-2006, 01:39 PM

"as required by law"? Now, being stood up by the installer is a real PITA, but illegal?? Can you clarify, please?California Civil code section 1722 is all about four hour appointments and being stood up by deliveries and installers. There a section specifically for the cable company.

(b) (1) Cable television companies shall inform their subscribers
of their right to service connection or repair within a four-hour
period, if the presence of the subscriber is required, by offering
the four-hour period at the time the subscriber calls for service
connection or repair. Whenever a subscriber contracts with a cable
television company for a service connection or repair which is to
take place at a later date, and the parties have agreed that the
presence of the subscriber is required, the cable company and the
subscriber shall agree, prior to the date of service connection or
repair, on the time for the commencement of the four-hour period for
the service connection or repair.
(2) If the service connection or repair is not commenced within
the specified four-hour period, except for delays caused by
unforeseen or unavoidable occurrences beyond the control of the
company, the subscriber may bring an action in small claims court
against the company for lost wages, expenses actually incurred or
other actual damages not exceeding a total of six hundred dollars
($600).
(3) No action shall be considered valid if the subscriber was not
present at the time, within the specified period, that the company
attempted to make the service connection or repair or made a diligent
attempt to notify the subscriber by telephone or in person of its
inability to do so because of unforeseen or unavoidable occurrences
beyond its control. If notification is by telephone, the cable
television company or its agent shall leave a telephone number for a
return telephone call by the subscriber to the company or its agent,
to enable the consumer to arrange a new two-hour period for service
connection or repair.No attempt, dilligent or otherwise, was made to notify me they were running late, so they can't even claim unforseen circumstances.

TiVoPony

09-19-2006, 02:04 PM

Gerhard

09-19-2006, 05:04 PM

Hey Guys,

If you have any trouble getting CableCards from your cable company, there are two things we'd like to ask you to do:

* First, call TiVo Customer Support and ask for help. One of the people on our HD team will stay on the line as you call back the cable company, and they'll help work things out for you. Do this first. We want you to get your CableCards! :)

* Second, take a moment and document your experience with the cable company for us. We have a webform for you to use, and these reports will be important in helping us assure a smooth customer experience, both today and down the road. It's really important to us that we have your issues documented well. Here's a link to the form. (http://www.tivo.com/series3hdDvr_cc.asp)

Thanks!
Pony

Hey Pony:

When I submit this text on the page, it doesn't take it...

The experience has been anything but wonderful. Basically, the cable employees really don't seem to like CableCARD. I get the whole "you won't have a bunch of features" tactic in an attempt to scare me away. Obviously, I notify them that I don't want On-Demand (have never used it), and I want to get rid of all the crap they constantly advertise in the GUI. (That annoys some Comcast people, who I think see CableCARD as bad for their business.)

I've made no fewer than 5 calls attempting to get the cable cards to work. At this point, I can only get the 1st card to work. The second card generates a AUTH: MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY tag under conidtional authorization. I suspect that Comcast has an issue with two tuners on the same line for some unknown reason, as I've had that problem previously. They did give me the cableCARDS quickly, but getting them to work, that's another story.

Gerhard

keenanSR

09-19-2006, 05:35 PM

Didn't work for me either, the below is what comes up,

ADODB.Parameter error '800a0d5d'

Application uses a value of the wrong type for the current operation.

/includes/dbConnOpen.inc.asp, line 640

jodell

09-19-2006, 06:10 PM

My install was just completed. When the tech arrived, he asked was he really installing into a Tivo S3? When I said yes, he immediately asked if a coworker could come over to see how the install works. Five minutes later, the second tech was there. They proceeded to install the cards and get the paring information.

The first mistake was not following TiVo's guidelines exactly. They installed the two cards, called in the pairing information and then tried to authorize the two cards one at a time.

The the first card was set up and working in 2-3 minutes. The tech noticed that the second card had previously been installed somewhere else and had not be cleared of it's previous configuration. While clearing the second card, the tech somehow managed to clear both cards.

We started again, this time following the instructions about completely setting up the first card, including authorizations for the premium channels, and then proceeding to the second card.

The total appointment was a little over 1 hour. I am quite happy and the techs are happy also to have had a knowledgeable customer to "learn" with.

I am apparently the third S3 install in the Cox Orange County area.

The techs called their boss to warn them about some of the difficulties I had with the order takers on the phones. They warned the boss that they should re-think the 2 digital outlet fee rule as well as the 2 install charges. I don't know if anything will change but it is nice to hear them looking out for the customer.

Overall, I am quite satisfied. I expected the worst and was quite pleasantly surprised with the outcome.

Jeff

lombard

09-19-2006, 06:42 PM

Just finished mine. CableCo is Knology in Huntsville, AL.

Both CableCards installed and set up without a problem. Ten minutes after the installer walked in, he walked out and both cablecard channel checks looked OK. So far so good.

Just waiting to see what my bill looks like...

aztivo

09-19-2006, 07:05 PM

my installer had no idea how to install cable cards he said this was the first time he was doing any cable card install... So on the screen it says to use the bottom one first and he kept doing the top one, and it wouldnt work.... so I told him I will install and lo and behold if you follow the directions and put it in the bottom one first it worked just fine.. besides that everything has been grate

TiVoPony

09-19-2006, 10:12 PM

Hey Pony:

When I submit this text on the page, it doesn't take it...

The experience has been anything but wonderful. Basically, the cable employees really don't seem to like CableCARD. I get the whole "you won't have a bunch of features" tactic in an attempt to scare me away. Obviously, I notify them that I don't want On-Demand (have never used it), and I want to get rid of all the crap they constantly advertise in the GUI. (That annoys some Comcast people, who I think see CableCARD as bad for their business.)

I've made no fewer than 5 calls attempting to get the cable cards to work. At this point, I can only get the 1st card to work. The second card generates a AUTH: MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY tag under conidtional authorization. I suspect that Comcast has an issue with two tuners on the same line for some unknown reason, as I've had that problem previously. They did give me the cableCARDS quickly, but getting them to work, that's another story.

Gerhard

I've passed this along to the team, and apologize for the problem. We'll look into it.

Thanks,
Pony

gthassell

09-19-2006, 11:18 PM

Pony, if it helps, I'm getting an Internal Server Error - 500.

When its working, I'll submit on the page - but the details are in the Comcast thread. Currently only at 50% (1 card) and about 4 hours on the phone with Comcast - just to get it scheduled after many calls and misinformation.

But I do love the S3! It ROCKS!

MacGuruTX

09-19-2006, 11:36 PM

Showed up with the cablecards and we popped them in to get the ids.

He called in to get them authorized and the tech center started to choke when the installer said there were 2 cards on one TV. We told the tech center we had a specific host id for each card and he said we'd try it.

Cards authorized with no problems.

Everything seems to be fine, except I wasnt able to get 4 movie channels, strangely 502, 504, 506, 508, although the odd channels worked fine. Will mess with it more tomorrow.

Bud Green

09-20-2006, 02:29 AM

I’ve been trying for several days to get cablecards for my soon-to-be delivered Tivo series 3. Comcast has proven simply incapable of providing them. Because I expected problems, I kept a log of my adventures.

9/15/06.
Called 1-800-comcast to request cablecards. Was urged to reconsider because of all the things I’d give up, such as on-demand, etc. Eventually was told that I needed to pick them up at Comcast office and was given address. Called Comcast tech support to confirm and was told the same thing.

9/18/06
Went to Comcast office. Was told that cablecards could NOT be pickup there. Must schedule a service appointment. Said he would do this for me and call me later with a date and time. Never called.

9/19/06 morning
Called 800-Comcast and was told again once again to pick up a Comcast office. Disputed my claims that they were not available there. Said that they didn’t have them either. Politely asked to speak to a manager and was disconnected.

Called 800-comcast again and related my story. Was asked multiple times to consider Comcast DVR. Was told that cablecards might not be available in my area, that Tivo was not compatible with Comcast, and eventually that I could order them but would have to do so one card one at a time, as two separate orders and to separate visits. Was eventually transferred to a supervisor and was told the case would be escalated and would call me by the end of the day. Never called.

9/19/06 evening.
Called 800-Comcast once again. Rep speculated that it could be a supply problem. Was told that they are not guaranteed to be compatible with Tivo anyway. Suggested Comcast DVR instead. Transferred to another rep when I began to loose patience. Was told that case had been escalated and would receive a call by the end of the day. Never called.

As it stands, I have no cablecards and no leads on getting them. When the opportunity came for the Series 3, I jumped on it. The only thing keeping me going now is my refusal to let Comcast win.

ThePlungerMan

09-20-2006, 04:01 AM

..snip The only thing keeping me going now is my refusal to let Comcast win.

Wow, I feel your pain and totally relate, (I’ve had many probs with Charter, in another thread) I’m with you on your, would quit but refuse to let them win attitude. Good for you. Your helping others as well. Keep on keeping on, and good luck,,,,,,, and be sure to update. Thanks
P.S. Call Tivo and they will get on the line 3rd party style, see post #31

megazone

09-20-2006, 06:16 AM

The initial install from Charter went fine. Cards worked and everything was fine.

I had to send that S3 back to TiVo and I moved the cards to a replacement. I called Charter on Saturday to tell them and the CSR said no problem. I gave him the numbers and he said I was set. It seemed to be OK - but later I found some channels didn't work, I got the 'Please call to activate' screen from the CableCARD. I *knew* what it was - they didn't update my Host IDs.

So I called support again on Sunday, but the person I got couldn't get it and said they needed to send someone out. OK, fine. So they came Tuesday and spent most of an hour playing around, hitting the cards, turning off digital tier, turning it on, etc. I said upfront I thought it was my Host IDs. So, after trying everything else, they checked the Host IDs - which were wrong. So they corrected that, and everything was fine.

The techs were all good guys, but I could tell CableCARD was still a bit alien.

Dan203

09-20-2006, 10:48 AM

Everything seems to be fine, except I wasnt able to get 4 movie channels, strangely 502, 504, 506, 508, although the odd channels worked fine. Will mess with it more tomorrow.

Are those the opposite coast feeds of HBO and Sho? If so then it's probably because they're Switched Digital Video channels and as such incompatible with CableCARD.

Dan

Gregor

09-20-2006, 12:00 PM

Terrible. The installer came with 1 card not 2.

Got error 161-1 and when the tech called it in he was told that "We don't support Tivo".

Comcast in Chester County, PA.

aztivo

09-20-2006, 12:32 PM

the error 161-1 is notorious with sony ( I hade this one one of my HD tvs) it is a bad card reader... you sould contact tivo about this. once sony changed the card reader it has worked like a champ for over a year

btwyx

09-20-2006, 01:19 PM

My card install had gone alright, now I'm fighting a battle to get digtial, not analog channels. I get all the channels I should, but the lower channels are broadcast in both digital and analog in preparation for turning off analog. I actually want the digital channels (though some people prefer analog), the analog quality sucks, and digital takes less disk space.

I ring Comcast to get the cards reprogrammed to present the digital channels instead, the rep seems to be just about to do this when she told me my system didnt have the digital versions yet, and she couldn't tell me when they were due.

So I go looking for the digital versions to check this story. To tune to a random QAM channel you have to remove the cable cards. So I did that, got 430 channels, then looked through them to see which channels were what, I found most of the basic channels. So I know that the rep was wrong, I do get the digital channels, the cards just need to be told this.

So this morning I ring again. This time the rep tells me the cable cards can't get those channels, that I need a cable box to get them. I couldn't persuade her this was all in her hands. I'm supposed to be getting a call from a supervisor about this, I'll beleive that when I hear it.

ah30k

09-20-2006, 01:30 PM

How can I check if my 1-99 channels are being recorded digitally?

sharding

09-20-2006, 01:32 PM

How can I check if my 1-99 channels are being recorded digitally?

If you get recording quality options from TiVo, it's analog. If there's no option for the recording quality, it's digital. There may be another way to test, but that's how I did it. However, I can clearly tell just by looking that it's digital. The artifacts and video quality of the cable company's digital channels is noticably different than what I get when the TiVo is encoding from an analog signal.

Dan203

09-20-2006, 01:33 PM

Go into the cable signal meter under Messages & Setting -> Settings -> Channels. This will only show digital channels. So if the channel shows up in there it's digital, if not it's analog.

Dan

btwyx

09-20-2006, 01:33 PM

How can I check if my 1-99 channels are being recorded digitally?The easiest way is to hit the record button. If it offers quality choice (Eg "Record at best Qulaity"), its analog. If it offers no such choice its digital.

There's also the diagnostic screen next to the system information. It'll tell you what each tuner is doing, the "modulation" entry seems to the important one, if it says QAMXXX its digtial. It seems to say "Unknown" for analog.

ah30k

09-20-2006, 01:39 PM

Three responses at once, and all with consistent info! Thanks all!

nightstrm

09-20-2006, 03:30 PM

Just got my cablecard install done with... The guy ran into problems and called into the main office. He was transferred to the head of new installs who told him that she had just received a S3 at the office and had just gone through the setup. There was an issue with the way they were trying to initialize the cards, she quickly figured that out and I was up and running.

Buckeye Cable here in Toledo has definitely changed since I first moved here.

lemketron

09-20-2006, 03:32 PM

I've passed this along to the team, and apologize for the problem. We'll look into it.
OK, I'm getting wise to this TiVo web feedback thing. :cool:

The first time I went to the feedback page (last week), I got an error. Then I forgot all about it and was sticking to the forums. Then I saw Pony's posting requesting feedback on the URL provided, so I tried it again. This time I just entered "just testing" rather than type out my whole story again.

It's still not working. I'm on Windows XP using Firefox, and got:
ADODB.Parameter error '800a0d5d'
Application uses a value of the wrong type for the current operation.
/includes/dbConnOpen.inc.asp, line 640

lemketron

09-20-2006, 03:55 PM

As it stands, I have no cablecards and no leads on getting them. When the opportunity came for the Series 3, I jumped on it. The only thing keeping me going now is my refusal to let Comcast win.
I had a similar experience in the office (Sunnyvale) but had read in one of these forums that you should call 1-800-COMCAST and as soon as you talk to someone, ask to be transferred to "The Cable Card Department". It worked. I got someone who knew about cable cards. Didn't have the foggiest idea what a TiVo Series 3 was, and also didn't know that BOTH cards were supposed to be free, but the put me on hold, checked with a supervisor, and wrote it all up just like I wanted. I added Digital Classic ($9.95/mo) to my expanded-basic analog service, with two cable cards, and a one-time charge of $15.99 for a truck roll to do the "install".

You'll probably be feeling pretty good (as I was) once you get that far. Not so fast. Yesterday the guy brings two cards. We follow the VERY sparse instructions that came in the box from TiVo, but (IMO) TiVo could have done SO much more to tell you what the heck to expect when you stick the card in. It says to insert the first card and then have the installer call (corporate) to activate it. There is NO information as to how to verify that it's been activated, and (at least on older systems like Sunnyvale's 550) it takes a while for any information to flow down to the card from the head end.

TiVo reported that the card had been inserted, but was "waiting for channels". A few minutes later a CableCard (funky black screen) pops up on the screen, and somewhere along the way I get a TiVo warning that I need to repeat guided setup. Nothing was working, so I rebooted. Still nothing, so I (re-)did the guided setup while he waited. After that (though I suspect it may have been simply because the programming finally arrived) we got channels. We inserted the second cable card, called to activate it, and (again, due to lack of information) had no obvious way to figure out if it was working but we had channels on "Live" so he left.

Last night, it seemed that I wasn't getting ALL of new channels -- plenty of "in the clear" and even free HD channels, but not some of the (encrypted) digital classic ones. Then I discovered the "Test Channels" option on the cable card menu (which should be first and foremost on the installation sheet, to verify that EACH card is getting ALL channels). Here I discovered that cable card 2 was getting NO channels.

I called Comcast this morning, and through a combination of rebooting TiVo (which takes quite a while) and having them re-send the programming for the second card, I was able to get the second card to receive everything that is normally in the clear (QAM), BUT no (oddly enough, encrypted) Digital Classic channels.

They sent out a tech to swap out the second card. We futzed around with the original two cards for a while: we swapped slots and proved, fwiw, that it doesn't matter which card is in which slot -- the "good" card now worked in slot 2, and the "bad" card still didn't get encrypted channels in slot 1. We put the "good" card back in slot 1, replaced the "bad" card, called up to activate it, and a few minutes later I was able to get all channels (again in "test channels") on both cards.

The key point for me was that you can't simply "switch tuners" by hitting "Live" twice, as TiVo is playing games behind the scenes (e.g. if it's not recording anything at the time) and there doesn't appear to be any good way to view the channels on a specific card EXCEPT in: Messages & Settings: Settings: Cable Card: (select card): Test Channels screen. That should be made crystal clear in the notes, along with some hints on when and why you need to re-run guided setup (if it has NOTHING to do with validating channels, then tell the user to defer it and don't make the cable guy wait -- that's just gonna piss off the cable people), and some notes about the fact that it takes a while to receive the card activation. The other cable card screens seem to be next to useless, at least without more information describing what they mean and what to look for when troubleshooting.

Just my $.02. I'm a bleeding edge kind of guy, so I don't mind helping to figure this stuff out, but it's got a ways to go before I'm confident that your average user can be SURE to have a positive experience. TiVo can help that with better docs, and I think they could also greatly improve the initial cable card setup process with better software. If the cable people have ANY experience with cable cards at all, it's gonna be of the form "stick the card in a TV and see channels", and the TiVo experience is quite a bit different.

The end results are awesome, though, even if getting there is a bit rough. ;)

mikebridge

09-20-2006, 04:06 PM

Dan203

09-20-2006, 04:09 PM

I think over the next couple of months the S3 is going to push the CableCARD market forward. In the past CableCARDs were only used on high end TVs, and were kind of a after thought, so the number of people willing to push the cable companies to get them working was probably pretty low. However the CableCARDs are at the heart of the Series 3 and are required for full functionality of the device. Which means there are now thousands of people out there with incentive to push their cable companies until they figure out how to make CableCARDs work correctly. It's going to be good for the technology and ultimately end users who aren't so willing to live on the bleeding edge. :up:

Dan

stoneyb

09-20-2006, 04:29 PM

Comcast in Mass. scheduled an appt for the next day, and showed up 1/2 hour early. The cable guy had not installed CCs in a TiVo before. It took 1.5 hours because "dispatch" screwed up entering the numbers into their computer. Once that was straighened out, activation was a couple of minutes. While waiting, I went through the tutorials that had DL'd overnight, and afterwards, the cable guy said he wants one now.

SteveJ

09-20-2006, 04:34 PM

I was shocked at how well my Comcast CC install went. The installer mentioned that he had only ever installed one before, and he didn't think people really used them. I told him the Series3 just came out so he'd probably see more of these. He was happy to read the instructions to installers that came in the box with the Tivo. He popped the cards in, called the office to activate them, went through the setup, and voila. The entire event took maybe 20-30 minutes. Painless.

tmackie

09-20-2006, 05:56 PM

Newnan Utilities - Newnan, GA. Scientific Atlanta Cable Cards.

I picked up my cards yesterday at the office and installed them this afternoon when the box was delivered. The technician had to send the signal several times but after about 10 minutes on the phone everything was working perfectly. The cards are $5.95 each per month (no install charge)

btwyx

09-20-2006, 06:17 PM

I got my analog channels converted to digital, so I'm basically set. I plugged in the right cable box and this caused the head end to reprogram my cable cards. It had been suggested that this might happen on AVS, but I was surprised at how rapidly it happened. I never even saw a picture on the TV, because as soon as I plugged in the box it reprogrammed my cable cards to be digital. So I could no longer see the cable box on analog channel 3. (I was plugging it in via RF just to get it working.)

Previously, and much to my surprise, I did get a call back from a supervisor at Comcast. She again said that my cable cards could not receive the digital versions of the analog channels. She refused to rise to the bait of "so you supplied defective cards then", she wouldn't listen to any reason about how the answer was in her hands if she'd just type the right thing into her computer.

She reiterated that I needed a cable box if I wanted the digital channels. I asked if this would cause the analog channels to magically become digital she denied this, saying only the box could get them. She said I needed a DCT700 box and my local office could supply one to me. I thought I'd give this a try as the local office is quite convenient.

The local office supplied the box, its tiny, about 4"x4"x1". They said there would be a charge for this, I pointed out their web site says its free for cable card users. That's a battle to be fought later, if I don't return the box. I plugged it in and as I said above saw nothing, I called the number to authorise the box, and we were both very confused as to why I was not seeing anything. Eventually I had the idea to plug it in to the OTA jack and looked at the cable to see that I really did have digital channels.

I could just return the box and say thanks for the magic token, or I could play with it a while and see to see what VOD and PPV it can get me. Most importantly, can I see the PPV on the TiVo.

Gregor

09-20-2006, 06:54 PM

I had a similar experience in the office (Sunnyvale) but had read in one of these forums that you should call 1-800-COMCAST and as soon as you talk to someone, ask to be transferred to "The Cable Card Department". It worked. I got someone who knew about cable cards. Didn't have the foggiest idea what a TiVo Series 3 was, and also didn't know that BOTH cards were supposed to be free, but the put me on hold, checked with a supervisor, and wrote it all up just like I wanted. I added Digital Classic ($9.95/mo) to my expanded-basic analog service, with two cable cards, and a one-time charge of $15.99 for a truck roll to do the "install".

Depends on which office your 1-800 number links to. I asked to be transferred to the cable card dept and was told there is no such department! :eek:

I think I've resolved the issue by scheduling an appointment through my local office after I went down and talked to their tech manager.

keenanSR

09-20-2006, 07:08 PM

I got my analog channels converted to digital, so I'm basically set.
Good to hear you got it working, I figured the box being hooked up would be the key.

btwyx

09-20-2006, 07:38 PM

Good to hear you got it working, I figured the box being hooked up would be the key.I think the box may not have anything to do with it. I think it was probably entering the box on my account that did it. I could have said I wanted the box, got it and then given it straight back and I'd be in the same position.

keenanSR

09-20-2006, 08:18 PM

I think the box may not have anything to do with it. I think it was probably entering the box on my account that did it. I could have said I wanted the box, got it and then given it straight back and I'd be in the same position.
LOL..just walk out the door, wait 5 mins, and walk back in to turn it in. :D

btwyx

09-20-2006, 08:23 PM

LOL..just walk out the door, wait 5 mins, and walk back in to turn it in. :DI think I'd ring home and get confirmation that things had changed first.

jfh3

09-20-2006, 09:14 PM

g808

09-21-2006, 12:43 AM

The tech came by today to install the cards. After activating most channels were working except someof the premium digital channels (ex. Encore, HBO, NFLNet, etc). The local HD channels were working though, including ESPNHD and ESPN2HD. They were working on my other regular cable box, so I thought something was wrong with the cards. The tech said to wait for an hour, then call Comcast if it still isn't working. Over an hour passed, so I called. The CSR sent a couple signals to the cards, but that did nothing. She then scheduled another appointment for a tech to come out. So close, but so far.

pac1999

09-21-2006, 12:57 AM

TWC of San Diego came out today. I handed him the cable card sheet that came with the S3. First thing he did was call another technician who told him to turn off the TV and TIVO. He unplugged the Tivo and inserted both cable cards. After configuring the cards i was left with a screen that said that the cable card was receiving a firmware update that could take up to 40 minutes. The technician left 4 hours ago and I still have this screen stating that there is a firmware update going on and I can not watch live TV or record anything until it is complete.

Looking at the system status it states that card one is active and card two is updating firmware. Has anyone else run into this problem?

Roderigo

09-21-2006, 01:01 AM

We follow the VERY sparse instructions that came in the box from TiVo, but (IMO) TiVo could have done SO much more to tell you what the heck to expect when you stick the card in. It says to insert the first card and then have the installer call (corporate) to activate it. There is NO information as to how to verify that it's been activated, and (at least on older systems like Sunnyvale's 550) it takes a while for any information to flow down to the card from the head end.

A couple of things here.
1) The instructions are written assuming that the cable installer understand's his own company's product, and only needs to be coached through the unique attributes of a host that takes two cards.

2) There's nothing in the CableCARD spec that allows the host to know if a card is activated.

3) Timing varies signficantly based on the CableCARD manufacturer and the cable company. For example, it depends on how busy your particular headend is at the moment you're card is being activated. The cable company needs to enter information into their billing system, and that needs to be conveyed to the headend (so, a delay while the message sits on a queue in the billing system). Then, once it's at the headend, there may be a queue before it can get onto the actual cable. Once it gets on the cable, the authorization is pretty immediate, but it may be another couple of minutes before the full channel list is broadcast, and delivered to the host. All of this is based on the cable company, and has nothing to do with the functionality of the host device. I would guess most CableCARD hosts (mostly TVs), don't even have any instructions for cable installers.

4) TiVo's support website goes into a bit more details.
http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv010416.htm?

TiVo probably couldn't figure out every last thing that would be important to tell the installers until the product was actually released, and they got some real world experience. Plus, there's a careful balance between being complete, but not overwhelming the installers (Getting an installer to read a single page is probably tough enough - they're scared of doing CableCARD installs, so the longer the instructions, the more hesitation they'll have).

Then I discovered the "Test Channels" option on the cable card menu (which should be first and foremost on the installation sheet, to verify that EACH card is getting ALL channels).

This is Step 7 in the instructions.

The other cable card screens seem to be next to useless, at least without more information describing what they mean and what to look for when troubleshooting.

These screens are from the CableCARD, and vary between the CableCARD vendors (and even between firmware versions). Your Cable company should know what everything means on these screens.

Roderigo

09-21-2006, 01:07 AM

TWC of San Diego came out today. I handed him the cable card sheet that came with the S3. First thing he did was call another technician who told him to turn off the TV and TIVO.
I bet he regretted that once he had to wait for the box to reboot. My installer did this when I got my first card installed into my Sony DHG. There's no reason for this - as cards can be hot plugged/removed with no ill effect.

After configuring the cards i was left with a screen that said that the cable card was receiving a firmware update that could take up to 40 minutes. The technician left 4 hours ago and I still have this screen stating that there is a firmware update going on and I can not watch live TV or record anything until it is complete.
Unfortunately, you're most likely going to need a new card. The Scientific Atlanta cards can get wedged if the firmware upgrade doesn't complete. Some previous customer probably yanked the card or power cycled the TV while it was doing a firmware upgrade.Then, they returned the card since it wasn't working, and lucky you, you get a wedged card.

jfh3

09-21-2006, 01:12 AM

3) Timing varies signficantly based on the CableCARD manufacturer and the cable company. For example, it depends on how busy your particular headend is at the moment you're card is being activated. The cable company needs to enter information into their billing system, and that needs to be conveyed to the headend (so, a delay while the message sits on a queue in the billing system). Then, once it's at the headend, there may be a queue before it can get onto the actual cable. Once it gets on the cable, the authorization is pretty immediate, but it may be another couple of minutes before the full channel list is broadcast, and delivered to the host. All of this is based on the cable company, and has nothing to do with the functionality of the host device. I would guess most CableCARD hosts (mostly TVs), don't even have any instructions for cable installers.

This is a GREAT point - I learned this when my installer knew enough to ask how the queue was on the head end and he described this process, saying that generally it was pretty instantaneous, but it could take a few minutes to complete and that too many CableCard installs had "problems" because the installers pulled the card before the authorizations were fully completed.

hiker

09-21-2006, 09:26 AM

...
The local office supplied the box, its tiny, about 4"x4"x1". They said there would be a charge for this, I pointed out their web site says its free for cable card users. That's a battle to be fought later, if I don't return the box.
...
Do you remember exactly where on the Comcast web site it say the DCT700 is free for cable card users?

keenanSR

09-21-2006, 09:40 AM

Do you remember exactly where on the Comcast web site it say the DCT700 is free for cable card users?
About the 6th question down. It has an asterisk next to "Digital Cable" service in the answer but doesn't define it anywhere on the page. To me, Limited Basic is digital cable as it contains the local stations in their digital formats.

http://www.comcast.com/customers/faq/FaqDetails.ashx?ID=2540
What is a CableCARD™?

hiker

09-21-2006, 10:01 AM

About the 6th question down. It has an asterisk next to "Digital Cable" service in the answer but doesn't define it anywhere on the page. To me, Limited Basic is digital cable as it contains the local stations in their digital formats.

http://www.comcast.com/customers/faq/FaqDetails.ashx?ID=2540
What is a CableCARD™?
Thanks keenan, but I don't think it states that a box is free when used in addition to a cable card. They seem to be saying that one or the other is including with digital service, i.e., "You may choose to use a CableCARD instead of a Digital Cable set-top box". Contrary to what I thought btwyx was saying:...
The local office supplied the box, its tiny, about 4"x4"x1". They said there would be a charge for this, I pointed out their web site says its free for cable card users. That's a battle to be fought later, if I don't return the box.
...

keenanSR

09-21-2006, 12:41 PM

Ok, sorry, yes I've seen that one too but don't recall where it is. I'm interested in that as well.

razor237

09-21-2006, 01:05 PM

The install went ok , cable installer didnt want to do both cards seapratlt because he said it takes 20-30 to do one card & is better to have both host id's at the same time to do it in one shot ...... 1st two cards would work , then third time a charm fianly the tivo showed the host id & we were off and running. He called in to the control center and sat on hold and once he got it activated we tested the channels and all was good. after he hung up we tried the other two cards and still nothing so i asked him to call back and have them check to see if maybe the cards were somhow still setup for diffrent host id or somthing so as we were on hold .... all of a sudden the second one came up ...yay ...now both work good now .......so in short if a card doesnt work it is possable that it may need to be reset or somthing by the cable company while pluged in .... but now i have dual hd tivo and all is good ....(lets see if i have any problems only time will tell )

-Mike

btwyx

09-21-2006, 01:11 PM

Thanks keenan, but I don't think it states that a box is free when used in addition to a cable card.It seems pretty clear to me, there are things a cable card wont do, so we'll give you a box for free:Q: I thought that by purchasing a digital-cable-ready TV set that I would receive the same services I currently get with my Digital Cable box. If I can’t get the same services with a CableCARD, why am I being charged the same price?
A: Your digital cable-ready TV can receive all of the Digital Cable services you currently enjoy which are included in your monthly subscription fee; however certain features will require a Digital Cable box. Comcast is happy to provide you with a Digital Cable box at no additional charge for your primary cable outlet.*I'm not sure how else to read that.

Mitch71

09-21-2006, 01:57 PM

Wife was there with Cox tech. Called me frantic, that when he put cards in, TiVO started asking for a home wireless network password. Told her that had nothing to do with the CC install, but it appraently came close to throwing the Cox rep over the edge.

Got her to remove the wireless network adapter, and rep was able to get through the install with no other issues. Apparently both HD tuners working now, total time < 1 hour.

jmatero

09-21-2006, 02:02 PM

Cablevision of Westchester (White Plains here...)

Jim the installed is Great.... it's his second S3 today and he's psyched.... he wants one himself now! Interestingly enough, he claims the HD picture looks better on the S3 than on the 8300HD... how is that possible? I wonder what magic TiVo is using? I'll judge for myself.. he's on the phone now marrying the cards to the unit and soon I'll be in heaven again!!! YAY!!!

Troy J B

09-21-2006, 03:16 PM

Took an hour... 1st off we were following the instructions to only do one at a time so he had to call and get the cards assigned to him properly to do 1 at a time instead of both at the same time. We waited a while on the acquiring channels, I went searching on the Comcast cablecard thread and he called someone who said they needed to the the init. Once that was received (161-4 error showed) the card started working. The 2nd card was done in under 10 minutes. Then waited 20 minutes for the guided setup to finish. Errr... the #1 cablecard is now showing MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY (last time I had checked it was "unknown").. from what I can see though, both tuners are able to see all the channels I should be getting.

alee

09-21-2006, 03:29 PM

Interestingly enough, he claims the HD picture looks better on the S3 than on the 8300HD... how is that possible? I wonder what magic TiVo is using?
Whatever special sauce TiVo uses to get their THX certification and produce that great picture really works. I've been in the HD world for 5 or so years now, and the 1080i picture that's being shown on my plasma display is stunning, and better than any cablebox HD picture I've ever had (most recently an SA3250HD).

Granted taking a high ISO photo of your TV isn't the best representation, I took this photo of NBC's local news broadcast in HD because it was the best I've seen in a long time:

http://www.leesoft.com/temp/tivo.jpg

williamlroy

09-21-2006, 04:14 PM

Up and running with 2 CCs. San Jose, CA Comcast

Original appointment with Comcast was for Monday but I called yesterday and asked if they had anything sooner. She said how about tomorrow morning and I jumped at it.

Guy showed up as usual in the last hour of the window. Of course he only brought one CC. There were 2 on the order but he figured it was a mistake. He had another job later in the day that called for one, so he used that one to make 2.

I showed him the TiVo and he didnt say much. First one he had seen. He told me to drive the installation. He hands me CC one (motorola) and I insert it. Immediately get the CC configuration screen. He calls into the office to send the signal. This is where the fun begins.

The lady at the office insists that they must close the order and send the signal for both at once. I say to the installer, no just send the signal for the first one. She tells him no. Now I am thinking "great here we go, typical unfriendly comcast". Well, turns out, the installer is on my side. He says "Look this is what the customer needs" Send the signal for the first one and we will call back for the 2nd.

Again she says this is not how it is done. The order calls for 2 cards and we must close the order to send the signal. I am getting pissed and so is the Installer. He says "I realize this is normally how we do this, but this is a new product and this is how it needs to be done." Finally she relents and says I will send the signal for the first.

I get the 161-4 error and clear it. Then I move on to #2. Insert and she must have already sent the signal for 2 because it immeditely is configured. (except for the usual 161-4).

I go through the guided setup and now I have all the channels (in digital) including the INHD and HBOHD. Plus my baseball package is up and running as well. So all in all it went pretty smooth. Luckily the installer was on my side.

This thing beats the pants off of the Moto 3412 I had. I am not ready to give it back just yet (wife will kill me if she misses any shows). Tunes quicker, no jitter when switching from SD to HD, and remote response is faster.

I even got the truck roll at no charge. When I went to the local office to try and pick up cards (Los Gatos). I told them that the CSR told me I could pick them up. She said that was not the case and she will schedule and appt with no charge (since I drove all the way down there). Now I just have to convince them to not charge me $6.95 for the 2nd card. First is free.

hiker

09-21-2006, 04:29 PM

It seems pretty clear to me, there are things a cable card wont do, so we'll give you a box for free:I'm not sure how else to read that.
OK, I see what you are saying and I agree, it should be a free box. Not sure if will be a HD or SD box. I just came from the local Comcast office and the lady said that if I had cablecard and a box, they would charge me for the box. So, I'll wait and see how I am billed and fight that battle later.

Also while at the Comcast office, I had ADS enabled without getting a DCT-700 or DCT-3412 (all-digital box). All I did was ask the lady named Susan and she looked up my account on the computer and set a code to enable ADS. Now my DCT-6200 is all digital and I'm all set for my cablecard install next week. :)

russkle

09-21-2006, 04:56 PM

When we tried to do the "Test Channel" option, it said "no channels found". However, they were working and I had all of my channels. Even after going back through the Guided Setup and rebooting once, the Test Channels option does not work. (It was before he auth'd the cards). Odd.

JanS

09-21-2006, 05:56 PM

Hi All,

Mine all done. Comcast tech came on time. No real problems. Professional and easy going. But he was very shocked to see that it was a TiVo that took the cablecards and not my TV set. He started to go for the TV set when I pointed him to the TiVo. But he groc'd it.

So, he get's on his 2-way cell and calls "the other end" and I hear him communicating with the other end and he's relaying the serial numbers (I assume)... When he put the first card in it woke up the TiVo and showed the screen with the two cablecard slots. And then I'm assuming again that the next screen was the MMI screen? At any rate it was mainly a black screen with the header :screen is displayed on behalf of yor cable provider" and then things like manufacter (Moto), version, etc.

After both cards were installed and after he got off the radio call to dispatch, the blue screen with the whriling TiVo "spiral ball" thingee was stuck on the screen saying it was "acquiring channels"... well it sat there for a long time. The tech kept saying it takes awhile for the "signal to download... um..

Well he took off and I navigated through the various cablecard related screens to no avail. Even reboot'd the TiVo. No joy.

And then I just left it on the now new blue screen of death and did other stuff.

Then eventually it said DONE and said to use ChanUpDown to test channels. So, I did and sure enough it had my digi channel lineup, HDs included. Then I pointed it to the second cablecard and it did the same thing.

So, as it turns out the cable tech had to come back since he left a signal tester here, which I called in. And when he came back I showed him that all was well and he told me that that the lady on dispatch had been confused...

He said that he went through the whole thing with her again and then the cards were activated.

I was definiately the first job he had that dealt with a TiVo with cablecards...

So, hopefully the next customer will go smoother. I don't think it was the tech's fault, but the dispatch office instead.

Cheers.
--jans

btwyx

09-21-2006, 06:03 PM

He started to go for the TV set when I pointed him to the TiVo. Mine did that as well.

keenanSR

09-21-2006, 06:48 PM

Mine did that as well.
LOL...I didn't let him go near anything, I showed him where I was going to insert the cards and he was cool with that.

nmbr6

09-21-2006, 07:38 PM

I had an 8-10 appointment with Comcast/Time Warner Cable (Comcast is in the process of taking over the TWC). The technician called at 8 telling me he had stock problems of the Cable Card and he would need to reschedule. I cut him off and said I had taken the day off work. He said he could come back later if he could get one from the warehouse. I asked him when and he said he didnt know because he was "juggling" 12 customers. He said he would call me back.

At this point I thought I was getting a run around from the technician. He called me back and said he couldnt get an answer if the warehouse had them but he was going there right now but if he couldnt get any we had to reschedule. Oh great! He called me back and said good new I have the cable cards and would be coming over.

The technician walked in the door and handed me the card. Well looks like I'm paying to install them myself. I asked if he had seen the Tivo and he said no but his friend did one yesterday and it worked fine. I installed the card 1 in the Tivo myself.

The MMI screen never came up by itself but I was able to navigate and get the information.

He called the one card in and read some numbers over the phone. He hung up the phone so I could install the second card. I was getting all my channels excpet for the HD packages. He said he would worry about it after the second card.

I installed the second card and again the MMI screen never came up. I had to navigate manually. Again he called in and read the numbers over the phone.....Good thing I'm paying money for someone to read numbers over the phone.

He asked the person to hit the cards again because I wasnt getting the HD channels. The lady on the phone said that this happened the other day also until they closed out the service call. They closed out the service call and all my channels came in.

Install went pretty smooth. Didnt last very long. I think I am going to call and complain to get my install fee back because I installed the cards and all the guy did was sit on the corner of my chase lounge and call the numbers in.

Roderigo

09-21-2006, 07:41 PM

Well he took off and I navigated through the various cablecard related screens to no avail. Even reboot'd the TiVo. No joy.

Rebooting at this point isn't the best course of action. As I've posted in other threads, it can take a while for the signal to go out on the wire (depending how busy your particular cable company is during your install).

The problem with rebooting, is the card may miss the signal from the headend before the card gets a chance to tune to the rightt place to listen for the message.

But, glad things worked out for you.

gayste

09-21-2006, 08:00 PM

Cable guy refused to install. Talked to 3 people at Comcast and one said the installer refused to come up (to the apartment) because a supervisor told him not too, one said TiVo is not compatible "TiVo will not "send" the MAK number of the card," and a supervisor said that they had not upgraded the "head end" (?) to to be compatible. Are they telling the truth? Could their "all digital" system not be compatible?

Deacon West

09-21-2006, 08:16 PM

Had a great install today. Tech only brought one cable card but figured it out on his way to my home and went back and got the second one. He loved the instructions from TiVo and got a nice lady on the other end who asked if she could borrow the new TiVo. (yes, she was joking) Both cards initialized with no problems and my tech was out the door in under 45 minutes. I went through guided setup again and everything has been working great. Comcast Southwest Florida gets a great grade on this install. Absolutely love my new S3. Was quoted 19.95 for the truck roll but they only charged me 9.95 with no additonal charge for either of the two cards. I'll believe it when I see my first bill, but first impressions are very good, at least so far.

aressa

09-21-2006, 08:28 PM

[repost from the Comcast thread. I got the cards from the local Comcast office with no questions asked.]

Well, my CableCARD install was completely painless. I put in the cards before I even installed the box or ran Guided Setup. When I got to the part of Setup that asks about the cards it popped up the information about the cards. I spent 3 minutes on hold with 800-COMCAST and then the CSR had no questions for me, he just started firing over the init signals. I got 164.4 on the first card, and then a few seconds later I got 164.4 on the second card. I think the CSR had had a few TiVo installs, because he was completely unfazed by my comments ("Ok, I got the 'good' error, that's good!") I had him hold on the phone until the cards synched, which took about a minute or so, and he said "I'll hold on the line as long as you need me...", so he was in it for the long haul, if required. I kept him on the line until I had HD on both cards (which was just a few minutes), and then let him go.

Completely painless process, probably took 10 minutes total.

Now to re-enter all of the season passes from the evil 6412 and get that dang thing out of my house!

RentMusic

09-22-2006, 01:13 AM

TS3, Comcast in SF Bay Area

Basic installation of CableCards worked fine. No problem getting unencrypted local digital and HD channels (KQEDDT1-5, 702, 703, 703, 704, 705, 707, 709).

However, I am unable to tune in the encrypted "Digital Classic" channels such as SCIFI, BBC America, PBS Sprout nor am I able to tune in Discovery HD or INHD.

The Tech came out and then tried using the cable cards in my Panasonic Plasma TH-42PX50U and still couldn't encrypted channels working with the cable cards in the TV either.

I suspect a back office configuration issue. The tech says it's better when it is Comcast equipment / DVRs but that is bogus. It took me several attempts and calls to Comcast to get the DVR to tune in the encrypted channels as well.

Has anyone else in Mountain View been able to get their TS3 with CableCards to tune in encrypted digital channels on Comcast?

btwyx

09-22-2006, 01:37 AM

Has anyone else in Mountain View been able to get their TS3 with CableCards to tune in encrypted digital channels on Comcast?Yes, me.

I had a problem earlier today where I lost the encrypted channels on one card. That happened when I was talking to billing and she was getting confused as to what I had on the system. I was trying to get them to remove the "additional outlet" charge. I should have been worried when she asked if I could see channels on both cards. I couldn't, I was at work at the time.

A call to Comcast tech support got them turned on relatively quickly. You could try giving them a call and see what happens.

williamlroy

09-22-2006, 02:14 AM

I had the same thing happen with encrypted channels on card 2. Lost them randomly and them called into comcast and they resent the signal.

while I had them on the phone i asked about the charges for the card. I was told both were free but I was being charged a second outlet fee $6.95 for the 2nd one. She would not budge on that and talked to a supervisor as well. but then randomly she said that once I bring back my 3412 the charge will go away... dont know what thats about about.

easybob43

09-22-2006, 09:00 AM

I'm up and running after cable card install. The main problem was that he had never done this type of installation and proceeded to put both cards in at once. This caused problems trying to get host id's and getting an authorization. So I told him to let me reboot the Tivo and then to just follow the Tivo instructions to install card one completely thru the activation. Not one problem. He followed with card 2 and the same thing, no problem.

Actually had more problems with the Comcast office, as they assumed that I was replacing my 2 settop boxes and proceeded to remove those authorizations.
I made the decision to keep the one next to the Tivo to receive On Demand.
So I had to call Comcast back to re-authorize my settop boxes.

JoN8282

09-22-2006, 11:31 AM

i called cablevision to set up this appointment last saturday, unfortunantly there was quite a wait, and this was the earliest appointment i could get that gelled with my work schedule. I am glad i waited, i got an excellent installer. The phone operator was familiar with the series 3 tivo, and asked me to confirm the model # for her. She did not even question the need for 2 cards for this device.

my cable card installer John from Cablevision (IO) just left. This was his second s3 tivo in as many days, he was extremely knowledgable about cable card technology, tivo, his companys policys, pricing, technical support, and was overall a great guy to talk to.

He immidiatly picked up the cable card installer instructions i left on the box, looked at it, and noted that he read and followed these exactly yesterday and could do it from memory. He then perfectly executed the installation. He did insert both cards before calling, but upon calling he requested that the first card be activated first, and clearly stated to the operator that this was very important.

It then took about 20 minutes for the entire thing to go through, while waiting, we discussed lots of things, including the fact that IO in my area is 100% digital on all channels including those under 100, and i will recieve the digital version via my cable cards no problem. He also noted that only the ethnic channels were using switched video, so i should have really no problem as far as that goes. He noticed this forum up on the computer, and asked how his company and the competition were doing, i let him know the basic jist of these posts, and he was pleased that so far there havent been any real issues noted with cablevision. I did mention the problem some people are having with having to "re-hit" the cards etc, he informed me that it is probably because the card installer did not wait to make sure "CP [copy protection] authorization was complete" - this took longer then anything else on my setup. All channels including prem. channels and hd were coming in clear for a solid 15 minutes before the CP auth was granted. He said if it didnt get granted, the cards would turn off next time they contacted home. I suspect this is the problem many people have been having.

once both cards recived this authorization, he took my sci atlanta dvr and the generous tip i provided, shook my hand and left.

EXCELLENT MARKS FOR CABLEVISION.

btw - as far as billing goes... $45 to install cards / $1.25 per month per card for card rental. I am in no mood to argue with that at this point. Cablevision office in Oakland, NJ.

RMBittner

09-22-2006, 02:27 PM

My install was perfect (apart from my initially missing a digit when I wrote down the authorization numbers). My cable company -- Millennium Digital Media in Michigan -- just handed me the cards at the service desk and left the rest up to me.

My Series 3 has been working great. . . at least for the three days I've been using it! It's amazing to have dual tuners *and* HD. Also, I moved my lifetime subscription from a S2 to the S3 without any problems whatsoever.

Bob

sobenski

09-22-2006, 02:49 PM

Just reporting on a pretty smooth install:

The cable guy arrived at 8:15 for an 8-12 window. This was his first Tivo CableCard install, but the whole thing took about 30 minutes and went pretty smoothly: we got the 164-1 (or whatever it is) error on the first card, but luckily I'd read about that on here and told him I had heard you could ignore it. Otherwise he was going to call it in and who knows what might have happened from there....

An important FYI -- For a good 3-4 minutes after inserting the (already-activated) cards, the channel test continued to say "no channels available." The cable guy was really perplexed by this and was about to call in when, at around the fourth minute, the station info started to appear and you could change channels but the screen was still black. Two minutes after that, the programming started to appear. Same timing on the second card. Moral of the story: be patient and suggest to your cable guy to wait a good five minutes on each card before assuming the install didn't work!

By the way, Comcast (San Francsico) gave me no trouble at all when I requested two cablecards. I was told the first card was included in the digital cable package price and the second card would be $6.95 a month or so. I think the installation was free due to some promotion... I was previously a Dish Network customer, so I actually got the sense Comcast was happy to be winning someone back from satellite! (And does anyone besides me think that cable's competition with satellite is the reason the Series 3 has no video inputs or IR blasters? i.e. Tivo wanted a "carrot" to entice Comcast to be nice about providing the CableCARDS, and not rely just on the "stick" that it's illegal under FCC regulations for Comcast to refuse to provide them? and since Tivo and Dish aren't exactly on good terms these days anyway, Tivo wasn't losing much by not making efforts to support them.)

azTiVofan

09-22-2006, 03:32 PM

Both Cablecards installed on 9/21 with minimal delay. The Digital Channels came in immediately after Cox authorized the cards. However, when I went back into the guided setup, the box first did a software update and then restarted. After it restarted, the digital channels were unavailable for a few minutes, but since then everything is fine. I forgot how great it was to be able to start a program that is still recording and not have to rewind to the beginning!!!!

As expected the installer was thrown when he found out it was for a TiVo. When he first arrived he said that he was not really supposed to install CableCards into a TiVo. But when he called Tech Support for the install, they corrected him. He then went on to rip on CableCards and say they were unreliable. Of course he uses the Cox HD-DVR box -- poor guy has no idea......

JoeSchueller

09-22-2006, 03:49 PM

I have to admit, I'm shocked to see this many installs going well. Around the holidays last year, my parents purchased a Samsung HLR, and TWC in Milwaukee was unable to get CC working. TWC blamed Samsung and Samsung blamed TWC, and my mom gave up in the frustration of it all.

CableCard certainly faces an uphill battle because of the reasons already outlined in this thread. Typically the rental fee is 50-75% less than any STB rental fee, they can't rent advertising space on the EPG, and they can't pimp PPV or VOD (via the EPG) to their customers. (do CableCo's really consider everyday people customers???)

I'm glad to see TiVo fans (and TiVo corporately) try to charge the hill on this one. This is the good fight. :up:

BTW - I didn't see this mentioned earlier in the thread. Keep in mind that you can order just about any PPV service you want with CableCard - you just can't do it via your remote. You can call them, have it added to your account like a premium channel, and it should arrive. Don't let them tell you that you cant have it just because you can't order it via their STB.

SystemJinx

09-22-2006, 05:17 PM

Comcast here in the Seattle area was very helpful. The CSR said it was her first Tivo install. Setup was easy, but I did have a problem with the second cable card. The first installed with no glitches. I put it in and read off the serial number to the CSR. She sent the code and the card activated. I sampled through the stations and they all worked.

So then I install the second card and read off the serial number. She sends the code, and I check the stations. The unit shows the channels I've selected and I thank her and hang up. Apon further playtesting with the second tuner, I notice channels 30-70 are non existant. Tuner 1 works perfectly. I call back Comcast and they resend the signal. The new CSR didn't stay on the line. She said they were busy tonight. I decide to check the cable card settings. Tuner 1 states it's SUBSCRIBED. Tuner 2 states OLD_CAT_SEQUENCE and technical problem.

I then ejected card two, rebooted the Tivo and reentered the guided setup. After the main screen it was one more call to Comcast and they resent the access command. I check tuner 2's cablecard status and again it states OLD_CAT_SEQUENCE and technical problem. So I figured it was a bad card. I left the Tivo alone for about 90 minutes to 2 hours because I was frustrated. When I came back and checked Tuner 2 it said SUBSCRIBED! So now all the channels are available and everything is working fine.

It took about 4 hours total to get the Tivo up and running. Tonight I need to transfer all my season passes.

JoBeth66

09-22-2006, 06:57 PM

The 2 installed in the TiVo went without a hitch - the one in the TV isn't working. :) (And the installers said when they left 'We don't want to see you saying that online!' and I'm like 'Too late, already did!' :D )

Got the 161-4 error, and the one installer said 'that's the good error!' and we hit Select through it. Took a bit for the channel data to load up, re-ran guided set up & everything was there, including the premium channels.

It's very pretty. :)

Hubby set two things to record, one on each tuner, just to see the show titles pop up on the main screen.

Shiny. VERY shiny. (Watching Serenity now) :)

Gregor

09-22-2006, 06:58 PM

JoBeth66

09-22-2006, 07:47 PM

Gregor

09-22-2006, 09:26 PM

Gregor - I know your install is set for Monday, when I talked to the CableCARD Guru here in South Jersey, he told me that he was insisting on brandy-new cards for my TiVo, he wanted two that had never been initialized - the one for the TV was NOT brandy-new, and that's the one that doesn't work.

So something to keep in mind, ask for new cards if there are any problems - and that means never-been-installed new, not just 'different'.

Oh, yeah - and you're supposed to install the card in Slot 1 first, then in Slot 2. And Slot 1 is the one on the *bottom*, not the one on the top.

I've already figured out the card that the original installer left is bad. I get the 161-1 error on both slots. He also did not bother to read the instructions, just put the card in slot 2, first.

I'll be stopping by the local office tomorrow to leave a message for the guy who's coming on Monday to bring new cards and to bring at least two of them. :)

Thanks for the info!

greenwichmds20

09-22-2006, 10:17 PM

I got my brand new Tivo S3 and had the folks at Cablevision come today
to install the two cable cards. The gentleman who arrived (Carlos)
told me that this was his first Tivo and we read the details
instruction sheet that came with the unit. We installed the first
card, got the two different sets of numbers from the system and called
Cablevision. Once that card was recognized the machine started
downloading a firmward update that took about twenty minutes. Note: It
seems that you have to install cable card one, get that operational
before you start to install cabble card 2. If you get a tech who has
never installed a Tivo before inform them that they are going to be a
while... My tech, Carlos could not have been better, he was honest
with me about his knowledge level, willing to sit and read, and was a
great guy to talk to for the hour or so that he was there.
So here is the issue... Once you get the card to work, you are given
the option to "Test Channels" and you can manually check to see that
you have all the channells that you are supposed to have through each
of the teo cards. (Thisis really just a troubleshooting feature). So
cablecard 1 (CC1) does not get any of the premium channels, CC2 gets
some of the premium channels. I just did a clear and reboot and will
see where that takes me. I haven't called CV yet, as I don't think
they will be much help.

Anyone out there on the cutting edge experience this alread and have a
workaround????

Thanks...

Mike

dougup67

09-23-2006, 09:14 AM

Cable guy came out to install 2 cards.

Was surprised it was going in a TiVo. Told the office, but no worries there.

Kept getting a message from TiVo about error code 161-4, but he said just ignore it until they're activated.

They activated fine. Then a slew of HD channels weren't showing up. Decided to restart the TiVo.

All channels are now working perfectly on both tuners. Took longer to get my Harmony Remote to update on the mac than to get TiVo set up!

One interesting point...When I didn't get the HD channels, I called GrandeCom Support. They said they were aware of the issue and were working with TiVo. They then said they couldn't help me. They would probably be coming out with new compatible cable cards soon and I would see it in my bill. Didn't like that answer, but the HD channels I was missing weren't that important to me. That's when I used my old pc support trick and just decided to reboot. Everything works great now.

DougUp
Austin, TX

Hi-Bred

09-23-2006, 12:15 PM

Well, the installation of my Tivo Series 3 was very simple - just followed the setup instructions and called to activate it (I transferred my lifetime service to the new Series 3). Yes, I was one of the lucky ones who got lifetime service while it was still available. :rolleyes:

But then, the trouble began. Charter Communications is my cable provider and in my experience they have terrible customer service. First, I was given a 8-12 time window for someone to show up, and no one ever did (strike one). Then I called tech support and got routed to a call center in the Phillipines. The rep there had no way to get in touch with the technician because she said her communication link was down, and to call back later (strike two). :down:

Finally, at 4:00pm the service technician had arrived. I had made so many phone calls (finally getting in touch with the local service dispatcher - but I'm still not sure how), that both the installer AND the technical supervirsor came to visit. They had the cards, but they had no idea that there were DVR's with cable card slots. They were completely dumbfounded by my S3. They had installed them in TV's before but never DVR's. So I explained to them how it worked, assuring them that, yes indeed, my DVR did accept two cards. :confused:

I walked them through the Tivo screens after the cards were inserted and they got the Host ID numbers give to Charter in order to activate them. After about a 20 minute phone call between them an Charter (on my phone), the cards were recognized and started to "work". But I can only get non-premium channels. I can get all normal "broadcast" channels, plus their HD versions, such as PBSHD, NBCHD, etc., but no Showtime, no Discovery HD and no Comedy Central! These channels are all part of my current subscription package, and work fine over my regular cable box supplied by Charter. :mad:

After a lot of back and forth on the phone, they determined that the Charter equipment was not working properly with the cable cards. They said they would be back tomorrow with new cards, and they would work to solve the problem until it was resolved

Without being an expert, I don't see how new cards would fix the problem, especially since they admitted that the problem was with the Charter system. But I'll play along until they get it fixed.

Well, now it's tomorrow and I just got a call from Charter saying that the technician had called in sick and would not be able to make it today, and they rescheduled it for tomorrow. :mad:

I'm trying not to be too upset about it, but Charter has one unhappy customer right now. Let's hope they don't reach strike three.

I'd be very interested to hear from other Charter subscribers who are trying to set up their S3. Send me a note or post and let me know how it goes.

kersch

09-23-2006, 06:32 PM

Hello,
I am new to the Tivo forums, but joined after reading the tips you folks have been providing. I bought my Series 3 on Tuesday, September 12, but did not receive it until last Thursday, the 21st.

Cox Cable came on Friday but the cards did not work. I was not able to get all the channels. He came back today, Saturday, with brand new CableCards and they were authenticated with no problem. We did them one-at-a-time as per the instructions at Tivo. We tested the channels on each card, and then downloaded the Guide. Digital and analog channels come in just fine.

I am amazed at the HD picture quality and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound from the Tivo box. Much better than the Scientific Atlanta DVR I had rented from Cox.

All in all I would say that Cox personnel here in Fairfax, VA were very courteous and want to support the new Series 3. They are going to get a lot of business soon.

Cheers,
kersch

sTrey

09-23-2006, 07:24 PM

Activated my cards yesterday. Comcast gave them to me last week for a self-install.
I activated one at a time though I'm reading it's not necessary. It only meant that I needed to read the serial # of the first card to the Comcast tech on the phone so they knew which to activate. For the 2nd card I didn't need to tell them anything since they had both cards listed and knew which was already activated.
I didn't mention Tivo, just said I had to activate a cablecard.
I ignored the 161-4 error I got for each card; thanks to these forums I saved some adrenaline there. On the 2nd card I did jump to Test Channels a bit too soon. Right after the card has been activated it apparently hasn't had time to handle the channel lineup. Waited a bit (minute or so) longer and all the channels came up, no problems at all so far.

crazyxgerman

09-24-2006, 03:14 AM

S3 install Comcast, San Francisco Bay Area.

I walked into the local office last week and asked for two cable cards. "Sorry, sir, you have to make an appointment for installation by a technician."

Made the appointment, tech showed up this morning. Very nice guy, but completely clueless about S3, and not much of an A/V buff either.

Inserted the first card, called it in to be hit, worked great. Second card produced error 161-6, could not get it to work - period. He called for some advice, eventually it was decided the card was bad and a colleague came to bring by a third card. This one worked.

Took a couple of hours and some trial and error, but he eventually left and everything was working.

I receive channels 702 - 709 and 719 - 725, as expected. Already set up season passes this afternoon and recorded the first few shows perfectly.

He didn't do anything I couldn't have done, it was mostly a waste of his time. Wish I could've done the install myself, but other than that the experience was good.

mdscott

09-24-2006, 07:08 AM

Comcast Pittsburgh for the present (two visits) is unable to get the encrypted channels (For us HBO and Showtime) to work -- all other channels are fine.

Michael

j_edge

09-24-2006, 09:30 AM

Time Warner, Austin

Installer had never done a CableCard install, tried handing him the sheet from the Tivo and he glanced at it but didn't read and proceeded to pop the first card in slot 2, then after the page came up and he wrote the info down popped the next card in slot 1. After calling in they had him pop both cards out and redo the install.

After getting the info from slot 1, the person on the phone said it would take 20 minutes for all the channels to download and to call back when they've finished. I asked him how we would know they finished and he said there wouldn't be an indication, but just to call back in 20.

The installer left to another job nearby and came back 45 minutes later, inserted the second card and called it's info in. For a while the 2nd card seemed to be ok, but Card 1 on the "CP Information" screen still shows "Auth Status: Waiting for CP Auth" so it appears something didn't work right. I called back about this, and while on the phone with them went to check the info on Card 2 and while it showed as "inserted" I could no longer get to the menu for it, but instead got the message "CableCARD 2 is not in normal operation". Card 2 did go through a firmware upgrade late Friday after I was off the phone w/ the help desk, so was hoping that would fix the issue but it never did and Card 2 still shows as not in operation.

The funny thing is, both tuners appear to be working and I'm getting most of the channels on both including all analog, free digital, local HD's. I don't have any premium channels, so the only ones I'm not getting are the rest of the HD's like Discovery HD, TNT HD, etc. I have an appt scheduled for Tuesday morning and they will probably re-install. Hopefully the installer will have done CC installs before but if not I've learned a lot more about these installs from the messages here so hopefully can walk him through it.

-jE

p.s. The installer was a nice enough guy, but he had never had experience with any of this equipment before. I understand the S3's are new but CableCard's have been around for awhile now and there's no excuse for TimeWarner not training these guys how they work and how to install them.

CAT22

09-24-2006, 11:42 PM

Adelphia Cable, S FL, recently bought out by Comcast but still operating as Adelphia

Part II, Part II first, in case you're having the same issues and don't want to read through the initial challenges:

Sat. morning - tech arrives, ready to install a CableCard in my TV. Told him they were for TiVo, and he immediately went into the "we don't support TiVo" mode. I showed him the instructions, but he said he couldn't touch TiVo. Suggested he call a supervisor, which he did, and a supervisor who had done S3 installs called back to walk him through it.

He couldn't get the cards to work. He upgraded some of the outside connections and double-checked the signal strength, but kept getting a 161-1 error for the cards. Supervisor said he would come over to try to get it working.

As soon as the supervisor arrived and saw the cards the first tech had tried to install, he said he had tried those cards before and knew they wouldn't work. One card he referred to as a "38" and one was a "firm upgrade" card. He got on the phone to another supervisor, and asked him to bring a "41" card over, which he did. Those new (41?) cards worked perfectly.

Don't know a "38" from a "41," but if you're having the same problem, hope this will help.

Part 1:
Called cable co. Wed. night to order 2 CableCards. Was told I could pick them up at the local cable office. Spent lunch hour doing that drill, to be told that they could not be picked up, and a service call would have to be scheduled ($25 for the call). Scheduled service for Fri. afternoon.

Was told at 4 PM Fri. that they were on the way to my house, so left work early to be there. Phone call at 6:20 p.m. that the tech did not have the cards and would not be keeping the appt. Talked to supervisor, got it rescheduled for first thing Sat. morning with a credit for the missed service call.

All's well now, and I'm lovin' it. Good luck, all!

hookbill

09-25-2006, 12:02 PM

My cablecard install is set for 10/9. I just read the entire thread.

I'm with Time Warner, no SDV former Adelphia.

When the cable guy comes over should I have my SA 8300 disconnected and the S3 hooked up so all he does is fool with the cards?

Darthnice

09-25-2006, 12:16 PM

Dan203

09-25-2006, 12:55 PM

I voted that it took a little work, and is working perfectly, however in reality, one channel doesn't work on one tuner, but works on the other. It was such a PITA that I decided to just leave it alone.

I wouldn't do that! You never know what tuner will be comissioned for a recording, so it's possible that you could end up with missed recordings if you just let it be.

Dan

MickeS

09-25-2006, 01:33 PM

hiker

09-25-2006, 01:47 PM

This is not good news for TiVo, I hope they are really on the ball here and are contacting cable companies - and not just the corporate headquarters.

When 50% of respondents here, a group that is pretty dedicated to getting their TiVos working, can not get their Series 3's to function properly without a lot of effort, and in some case can't get it to work at all, that's gotta be a concern for them...
What bugs me about the CableCard technology and Cable Co. policies installing it, is that if your S3 ever has a HDD failure or other defect and needs the a whole replacement, the cable guy has to come out again for another CableCard install and you will probably incur another charge and aggravation.

Darthnice

09-25-2006, 02:23 PM

I wouldn't do that! You never know what tuner will be comissioned for a recording, so it's possible that you could end up with missed recordings if you just let it be.

Dan

*meh* The channel is Disney and I have 3 other SD TiVos that can record it if I must have it. Admittedly, this is exactly the thought Time Warner wants me to have. In order for them to fix it they will demand on sending a tech out who does nothing but sit on hold with the exact same customer service line I do for hours and then finally tell me it isn't supposed to work because Disney is SDV and it is TiVo's fault for attempting to record the Digital stream instead of the Analog stream.

Not worth possibly breaking everything else just for Disney.

btwyx

09-25-2006, 04:24 PM

What bugs me about the CableCard technology and Cable Co. policies installing it, is that if your S3 ever has a HDD failure or other defect and needs the a whole replacement, the cable guy has to come out again for another CableCard install and you will probably incur another charge and aggravation.If my HDD failed, I swap in the backup and get a new real drive, probably under the drive warranty. The swap in the replacement. Either way the cable cards stay in the box and don't worry about the drive. That was what happened when I swapped in the new drive.

Gregor

09-25-2006, 08:52 PM

My Comcast install today worked!

The Comcast tech spent about 45 minutes to an hr checking connections outside, and swapped out all the splitters and ends inside. He said most the problems he'd seen were caused by bad connections. He put in the first card, and the mmi screen came up, called it in and got all the channels right away. Repeated with second card and it worked as well.

ThePlungerMan

09-25-2006, 10:09 PM

jkj

09-26-2006, 06:20 AM

To keep this message very short...

I had never even heard of CableCARD's before Tivo S3... (I had been watching Digital Cable from a composite output box). Even the NON-HD channels are 50% clearer on my old style TV... I AM SHOCKED! Well worth all the trouble to get them installed. :cool:

It took several days... many phone calls... two visits. Finally I found a goofy hippie installer with a wide eyed assistant who relied on a tech friend "behind his computer". The cards needed "adjustments" to make them work. After reading the horror stories here... I tipped both of them $50 out of relief. I get the impression that given a little time... they will have rules to go by. :D

Apparently at least I have made two very happy "friends" who promise to rush back to fix any problems in the future. :rolleyes:

hookbill

09-26-2006, 07:17 AM

optivity

09-26-2006, 07:25 AM

Does anyone have a TiVo Series 3 w/CableCARD(s) installed & is a subscriber of Albany Time Warner Cable?

jkj

09-26-2006, 09:03 AM

50 bucks? Did you get charged an install charge too?

I'm not tipping anything for something as simple as installing cards. I don't think I should be charged for installation, I'd do it myself if TW let me pick up the cards.

If you have more money you'd like to throw away kindly contribute to the "Help Hookbill Pay For His S3" fund. :D

I didn't want to talk to much but I DID do everything I could do to install the cards myself. I called to acitivate them about 10 times. Once... over night... Card#1 had spontaniuosly decided to work... until the moron installer removed it the next day.

Some things I didn't get into was the installers being at my house for about 4 hours doing EVERYTHING that they could think of instead of giving up. They really cared. At any time with any excuse they could have made another appointment a week later.

Oh... the first installer tried to sell me on the Comcast DVR... so I countered with a "Jehovah's Witness" invitationg and he smilled and got my point. :D

hookbill

09-26-2006, 09:48 AM

I didn't want to talk to much but I DID do everything I could do to install the cards myself. I called to acitivate them about 10 times. Once... over night... Card#1 had spontaniuosly decided to work... until the moron installer removed it the next day.

Some things I didn't get into was the installers being at my house for about 4 hours doing EVERYTHING that they could think of instead of giving up. They really cared. At any time with any excuse they could have made another appointment a week later.

Oh... the first installer tried to sell me on the Comcast DVR... so I countered with a "Jehovah's Witness" invitationg and he smilled and got my point. :D

Yeah, I think if I went through all that I'd get a little crazy happy too. Point taken. And remember, I've yet to go through the cable card install. My date is Oct. 4.

I sure hope it doesn't take 4 hours! :)

alexrose

09-26-2006, 10:57 AM

Here's my experience in Santa Clara, CA

I couldn't be present for my install, so the wife had the honors. According to her, the guy showed up, popped in both cards, called the office and then left. He didn't even bother to test it!

Well, obviously things didn't just work, and all day long Tivo was stuck at the Acquiring Channel Information screen. In the conditional access screen it also says Auth: Unknown, which doesn't seem good. So I tried calling Comcast and talking with the almost useless CSA's and all of them except one tried to send the activation signal and then gave up. One CSA had some experience with the S3 and tried for me for about 30 minutes, but still no luck in getting it to work.

I have another appointment tomorrow. Hopefully the tech can figure this out. :confused:

It's now obvious to me why Tivo charged $800 for this box. If it was a good deal, and lots of boxes sold at once, this cable card mess would be causing huge support nightmares for both Tivo and the Cable providers.

Sigh...

mercurial

09-26-2006, 11:40 AM

I guess every rose has it's thorns....

gregkeene

09-26-2006, 12:04 PM

In general, the initial install was fine. Ran in to problems after an intentional complete restart.

We created a tips article. In the tips article, we talk about the Comcast experience in detail.
Here: http://techdigs.net/content/view/46/42/

For details on cablecard config, jump
here: http://techdigs.net/content/view/46/42/#ccconfig

We also recently reviewed the TiVo Series 3 with the weaKnees upgrade.
Here: http://techdigs.net/content/view/45/42/

Greg

Bklyn

09-26-2006, 01:08 PM

Comcast installer came today and refused to install CableCARDs into my new S3. She contacted another installer who came over and provided the same refusal. They will only install CableCARDs into TVs they said.

This is Comcast of Verona (NJ)

I have the name of their supervisors and have left messages. I am hopeful I'll be able to get them to relent, perhaps under threat of lawsuit, but if not I have a $999 boat anchor.

Anyone have any tips on how I should approach this to get them to do what is (I believe) required by FCC mandate?

MickeS

09-26-2006, 01:54 PM

Comcast installer came today and refused to install CableCARDs into my new S3. She contacted another installer who came over and provided the same refusal. They will only install CableCARDs into TVs they said.

This is Comcast of Verona (NJ)

I have the came of their supervisors and have left messages. I am hopeful I'll be able to get them to relent, perhaps under threat of lawsuit, but if not I have a $999 boat anchor.

Anyone have any tips on how I should approach this to get them to do what is (I believe) required by FCC mandate?

Call TiVo and have them call Comcast.

gastrof

09-26-2006, 02:20 PM

...I have the came of their supervisors and have left messages...

Umm...

What's a "came"?

MickeS

09-26-2006, 02:36 PM

Umm...

What's a "came"?

"Name" perhaps? :)

Bklyn

09-26-2006, 03:26 PM

Call TiVo and have them call Comcast.

Done. I called TiVo and spoke to a CSR named Bill. With his help, we eventually got the right person from Comcast on the line. Travis (the right person) from Comcast's Service dept. knew about the Series3 and is dispatching an installer to my house tomorrow to complete the installation.

Fingers crossed...

Bklyn

09-26-2006, 03:28 PM

What's a "came"?

A name, but spelled wrong^H^H^H^H^Hdifferently.

I AM THE TYPO KONG!

Gerhard

09-26-2006, 03:36 PM

GuyInTulsa

09-26-2006, 05:19 PM

I got my CableCard install yesterday from Cox in Tulsa, OK.

Everything went fine amid the ooh's and ahh's.

Whole process took less thank 30 minutes.

BananaPeels

09-26-2006, 05:52 PM

I had to wait 9 days for an appointment, but when the installer showed up, it took about 15 minutes and I was up and running. :) Funny the installer knew nothing about the Series 3. It was the first time he had heard about this product. So I spent a few minutes telling how great it was, and how happy I was to get rid of my Comcast Motorola HD DVR. He admitted that product still has "lots" of bugs.

However, when he called in my cable card id's to activate them and deactivate my Comcast DVR, they also deactivated my regular digital cable box in my other room. So I had to call them back to get that re-activated, typical crappy comcast screwup.

shady

09-26-2006, 07:30 PM

Mine went fine (Comcast)
Installer was early. Finished in 30 minutes.
It was his first cablecard install, so he read the instructions :)

CardiacKid32

09-26-2006, 08:04 PM

Got my comcast cablecards installed today. Everything is working except I'm not getting one of the newest HD channels that comcast added 2 weeks ago (ESPNHD2). The nice comcast installer had never install a cablecard before however she brought 4 brand new cards which was a good thing because 2 of them didn't work. Evidently they had just failed to get another tivo to work the day before so she decided to completely redo all my outside cable connectors, replaced my outside splitters and ran a new cable drop. I don't know if all that was neccessary but it did show that she really did want to make it work. One of the bad cards was not recognized by my tivo and the other card simply wouldn't decode although it was seen by comcast and did accept the data pushes for their head end. Over hearing the conversation between her and other techs indicated that they had routine installation problems with cablecards.

Overall I'm very pleased with comcast and most importantly .. Wow what a picture
Especially noticible improvements on SD normal digital channels compared with the SA3250 box It replaced.

I'm very happy :)

MickeS

09-26-2006, 10:24 PM

Mine went fine (Comcast)
Installer was early. Finished in 30 minutes.
It was his first cablecard install, so he read the instructions :)

Judging by some of the posts here, it seems like the cause of a lot of this is installers who think they don't need the instructions and just slap a card in... and puts it in the wrong slot...

Gregor

09-26-2006, 11:32 PM

Judging by some of the posts here, it seems like the cause of a lot of this is installers who think they don't need the instructions and just slap a card in... and puts it in the wrong slot...

Both installers did that for me. The first guy who didn't bother to read the instructions (and wasn't really interested in getting it to work), and the 2nd guy who read the instructions.

I wonder if the slots aren't marked clearly enough?

BriGuy20

09-26-2006, 11:42 PM

My first card can only tune non-encrypted HD (basically, just the OTA networks). No cable HD (Discovery HD/TNT Stretch-o-vison HD/Universal HD), no premium HD (HBO HD), no basic cable, no non-hd networks, no digital cable.

Second card works fine.

The tech support person I called didn't seem all that intent on helping. She had that "I'm tired of dealing with idiots complaining about their service" tone in her voice, and she seemed more interested in offloading a cable tech to my house than actually trying to fix the cable cards.

I tried to pull the cards out and put them back in (pushing those little black things to the right of the cable cards), but I couldn't get the cable cards out to reseat them.

I wasn't there for the original install (conflict with work), so I'm guessing the first guy put the second card in before the first one.

Hi-Bred

09-27-2006, 02:12 AM

I tried to pull the cards out and put them back in (pushing those little black things to the right of the cable cards), but I couldn't get the cable cards out to reseat them.

If you wiggle them from side-to-side and from top-to-bottom, they will loosen up and then you can pull them out. It's kind of a learned art, as anyone trying to set up the S3 with Charter Cable in the Pasadena area knows.

woodie

09-27-2006, 02:19 AM

The Comcast guy arrived around 8:15am (in an 8-12 window).
We were done by 9:30am. He waited around while TiVo downloaded
the new channel guide data... just to make sure I had the channels.

btwyx

09-27-2006, 02:24 AM

I tried to pull the cards out and put them back in (pushing those little black things to the right of the cable cards), but I couldn't get the cable cards out to reseat them.Did you find the eject buttons?

hookbill

09-27-2006, 07:41 AM

Poll results so far: 220 happy, 67 unhappy. So about 30% of the people are having problems in this poll.

mercurial

09-27-2006, 08:28 AM

Poll results so far: 220 happy, 67 unhappy. So about 30% of the people are having problems in this poll.

Yes, but I wonder if you broke it down by who just has basic+digital service and how has basic+digital+HD and/or Preimums how it would look. I wonder if that first part is easy and people who just want that are fine but it's the authorization for those later tiers that is causing the grief.

Bklyn

09-27-2006, 03:19 PM

Fingers crossed...
Still no love. Today three separate trucks were at my house trying to get the CableCARDs working. A supervisor who came out had apparently spent most of the morning fighting the same battle with no success.

I think they have a batch of bum cards. I should know more next week.

I WANT MY TIVO IN HD!

Bklyn

09-27-2006, 03:25 PM

I wonder if that first part is easy and people who just want that are fine but it's the authorization for those later tiers that is causing the grief.

In my case (and in reading this thread that of many others as well) the problem is often just getting CableCARDs installed and activated in the first place. I have little doubt that I'll need to fight the HD/Premium battle later on, though.

MichaelK

09-27-2006, 03:49 PM

I am served by a small provider (31 towns) called patriot media.

guy came out today and was a little confused as to why the cards were going into the box in the cabinet as opossed to inside the tv.

Funny- I guess they are instructed to turn the tv off and install the cards- becasue he insisted on turning off the tv. I had to hold in the chuckle.

They wont up having to do whatever they do 3 times from the headend.

I think in tivo's attempt to be brief on the installation sheet (in the hopes that the guy will actually read it) that they didn't provide enough info. The guy didn't really bother to read the sheet anyway- so if it had more information at least I would have read it. Basically he put the first card in- copied all the numbers then the 2nd card and copied all the numbers then called the headend to enable them. THe directions say do one then the other so I think that's the problem he had but not sure.

Basically once he called in they sent some signal and the gettting channel info screen came up for a good 5 minutes. He figured all was well and started to pack up. Once the live tv came back up i tried the channels out and nothing but my locals were enable on the digital tier. SO then he had to call back and have them send whatever signal to turn everything one. After that card 1 was good but I tried the channel test for card 2 and it went to the first cc screen with all the numbers so I think it was never authorized or paired or whatever the first time since he had them do both at once.

some more specifics so the installer (or at least the user) can know what to expect might be better for tivo to include besides just the cliffnotes one pager.

gregkeene

09-27-2006, 03:57 PM

I am served by a small provider (31 towns) called patriot media....

some more specifics so the installer (or at least the user) can know what to expect might be better for tivo to include besides just the cliffnotes one pager.

This might help:
http://techdigs.net/content/view/46/42/#ccconfig

However, every provider has different challenges.

gregkeene

09-27-2006, 03:58 PM

Still no love. Today three separate trucks were at my house trying to get the CableCARDs working. A supervisor who came out had apparently spent most of the morning fighting the same battle with no success.

I think they have a batch of bum cards. I should know more next week.

I WANT MY TIVO IN HD!

Do you know the brand of card they are trying to install? One thing is to make sure they use the same brand of card in both slots. Shouldn't matter, but it might.

MichaelK

09-27-2006, 04:19 PM

This might help:
http://techdigs.net/content/view/46/42/#ccconfig

However, every provider has different challenges.

great link.

I think Tivo should put something like that (but with more info) as maybe a second box insert or an appendix to the manual so people can get the info if they care.

BriGuy20

09-27-2006, 04:44 PM

Did you find the eject buttons?

I'm assuming those black things on the right of the cable cards are the eject buttons, but pushing and/or pulling them doesn't loosen the cards very much (plus it only works on the top cable card).

edbern

09-27-2006, 07:07 PM

1. took two separate visits and another call to support to get it to work, with a lot of coaching from me.

2. installers had never seen or heard of Tivo HD before.

3. they were very friendly and cooperative, asking me for advice (most of it gleaned here!) and calling their dispatcher with comments like "Customer is online and tells me that we should hit the unit again from the headend and then close the ticket." They were clearly impressed and remarkably were willing to listen to me.

4. first installer showed up with two cards. at first neither worked. then we swapped them and the Slot 1 card did work. The Slot 2 card allowed reception of analog and non-premium HD channels, but none others. I suspected a bad card but he only had brought two. He set up an escalated visit for the next day

5. the next day, the second installer knew more about cable cards but still nothing about Tivo. He brought four cards, fortunately. He had the same results as the first guy -- slot 1 card worked, but that's it. he finally left but went along with my idea to leave the extra two cards with me to swap out if the existing Slot 2 card never activated.

6. I swapped out the Slot 2 card for one of the extra cards he'd left, called Comcast and very confidently said "please hit the following serial number cable card and confirm for me that the signal has gone through." She did.

7. 30 seconds later -- and ever since -- everything works perfectly

8. by the way, both installers expected the various Card configuration and status screens to give them info other than what they saw. they never did change but both cards as mentioned now work perfectly

9. BOTTOM LINE (at least with Comcast Norcal): make sure they bring extra cards. The more the better but at least four. Looks like it is purely a matter of trial and error with a high failure rate.

Incidentally, the cards were Moto, all apparently the same but with two diff software versions -- one was 4.01 i believe and the other 4.21, something like that. Interesting, the cards that worked were one of each.

/s

Baffled but happy

edbern

09-27-2006, 07:20 PM

I'm assuming those black things on the right of the cable cards are the eject buttons, but pushing and/or pulling them doesn't loosen the cards very much (plus it only works on the top cable card).

works just like the button on a laptop's PC Card. press it in, it pops out, press it again, it ejects the card. should work fine on both the top and bottom slots.

Bklyn

09-27-2006, 09:35 PM

Do you know the brand of card they are trying to install? One thing is to make sure they use the same brand of card in both slots. Shouldn't matter, but it might.
I don't know actually. It was my wife at home, not me, so my information on what problems they were having has been filtered a great deal by her. I'm going to setup another appointment ASAP and I'll make sure to be home for that one. I can't believe its actually this difficult to get this device up and running.

The curse of the early adopter.

Cloud

09-27-2006, 10:53 PM

My installers showed up.... I handed them the directions. Install on our end took less then 5 min. The head office took 30 more min to figure out how to activate them. Both cards up and working in under 40 min after they made a few phone calls. All channels working fine..... The boys from the truck had never seen a CC TiVo before. It took a while for the lady in the head office to hand the phone to a guy that had done a TiVo before that knew what he was doing.

Oh It was Adelphia but Comcast guys showed up to do the install since they bought Adelphia out.

jfh3

09-28-2006, 12:15 AM

He waited around while TiVo downloaded
the new channel guide data... just to make sure I had the channels.

For anyone curious, this isn't necessary and is a waste of time for the installer. If you go into the Test Channels menu off CableCard, you can tune any of the channels regardless of the Tivo guide.

goodknight

09-28-2006, 07:06 AM

Cable company is Midcontinent. They took my order for two cablecards and assumed I was installing two TVs. I told them it was a Tivo. No comment in return. Cable tech showed up right on time (in the two hour window). Install went well for the first card. Installed and authorized in about 5 minutes. Second card took a little longer. It didn't want to authorize. Eventually it did authorize and the cable tech took off.

The first symptom I had of a problem was going live TV to switch between cards and found one card was not working. Went to the test channels menu and found that the second card was not receiving all channels. Called Midcontinent and they had a tech out the next day with a new cable card. Tried to install the new second card and it would not authorize. So far they tried two cards in the second card slot with intermittent success. I asked to take the card out of slot 1, which was working, and put it in the second slot and put the new cablecard in the first slot. First slot authorized with no problem. Second card would not authorize. We knew that the cablecard in the second slot had worked in the first slot. So both cards worked in slot one. Not so much in slot two. Called Tivo and (surprise got a support person in record time - about 10 minutes if I recall correctly) explained the problem. The support guy put me on hold while he talked with the company engineers. Came back and said they wanted to replace the box.

We went through the "replace the box" process. New box is on the way (I have a UPS tracking number - box actually has not moved in the last four days - maybe they are building it).

Took out the cablecard in the second slot and went through the guided setup so the Tivo would not try to record from slot two.

jfh3

09-28-2006, 11:03 AM

Seems like there are a lot of boxes being replaced for slot 2 problems. Be interesting to learn how many of the boxes are actually defective as opposed to cable company problems.

waynemk

09-28-2006, 04:00 PM

my problem was installer showed up with only 1 card. specifically called to confirm 2 after seeing other people have the same issue.

hookbill

09-28-2006, 04:23 PM

First question I ask the guy when he shows up on Wednesday, or if he shows up is did you bring two cards? Then he gets in the front door. I'm going to ask if he's done a S3? When he says no I will hand him the paper and politely insist that he reads before any installation starts. I will make sure he does it the way the instructions say.

If that doesn't work, then we'll take it from there. But if he doesn't go along with the plan, he gets shown the door and I'll get someone else out here.

I am the customer.

jjconte

09-28-2006, 09:27 PM

MichaelK

09-29-2006, 11:19 AM

i dont KNOW but i think the 161 errros means the card is currently being activated or updated or whatever and once it's done you should be fine.

Mine got a 161 error while they were "hitting" it and after it went away all was well.

shady

09-29-2006, 11:24 AM

jjconte

09-29-2006, 12:50 PM

Comcast showed up with two cards but one did not work. Rcv'd error 161-52? He had never seen an S3 and the person at "Dispatch" had no clue either. I do have one card working after 2 hrs with him. He was very patient and wanted to get it to work. He will be back out tomorrow with 2 more cards. Hopefully I will be full speed for weekend football.

Comcast guy showed back up this morning. Had two new cards as promised. He contacted one person at dispatch that blew him off. Contacted another that had a 1-800 # for tivo to help walk her through it. She had both cards up and running in about 15 min. I am very happy with my experience overall with Comcast. :D

Roderigo

09-29-2006, 02:20 PM

There are different 161 errors. the 161-4 is the "good" one
161-4 is only good when your cable company is initializing a Motorola card. At all times, it's just as bad as the other 161-XX codes.

MichaelK

09-29-2006, 02:38 PM

161-4 is only good when your cable company is initializing a Motorola card. At all times, it's just as bad as the other 161-XX codes.

ahhh- that's the errror i got on my moto card and it all worked out- so that's good to know...

davidtieman

09-29-2006, 04:19 PM

I am on Cox cable here, it took a few cards by the instaler, this was his first tivo. Took about 2 hours for him to get them working. He left and about 6 hours later my tivo started doing a cable card firmware update. 19 hours it was saying the same thing. I called the cable company and they told me to reboot the tivo. But it is still doing the same thing. I am waiting for the cable guy to come back now.

eeg0323

09-29-2006, 06:51 PM

I am on a company called Entouch that serves master planned communities in Houston Texas. They told me that they could not touch my TIVO and I would have to do the install myself. The guy handed me the cards at the door and said "good luck". I followed the instuctions that came with the s3 and within 30 minutes had both card up and working fine. The lady at the cable company that I had to call to activate the cards was exicited to have something new to learn but it seem to be no big deal. Guess I was a lucky one.

futcher

09-30-2006, 01:16 AM

The guy only brought one of the two I requested. Apparently they only had two in the office, and they needed one for a trouble call that day. Turned out that wasn't their problem so they kicked me the second card by the end of the day. Had to wait until the next day to get the second card provisioned, but now everything's good to go.

New problem now...didn't know Tivo's guide wasn't right for the HD stations locally...working on getting that fixed...

russkle

09-30-2006, 01:29 AM

For anyone curious, this isn't necessary and is a waste of time for the installer. If you go into the Test Channels menu off CableCard, you can tune any of the channels regardless of the Tivo guide.

My milage DEFINITELY varied in this regard. No matter what we did, the "Test Channels" option showed "No Channels Available". We were only able to get it to work after doing the guided setup. Test Channels STILL said that now channels were available.

Two other observations:

1.) We had to restart the TiVo for provisioning to properly complete.
2.) We had to do one card at a time. When we tried slapping both in the S3, the CC had trouble provisioning the cards at all.

MichaelK

09-30-2006, 01:51 AM

...
2.) We had to do one card at a time. When we tried slapping both in the S3, the CC had trouble provisioning the cards at all.

I think that's one key for sure and you have to get a patient installer so he'll wait out the 'acquiring channels' swirly screen which might take 5 or 6 minutes.

NetJunkie

09-30-2006, 11:27 AM

First question I ask the guy when he shows up on Wednesday, or if he shows up is did you bring two cards? Then he gets in the front door. I'm going to ask if he's done a S3? When he says no I will hand him the paper and politely insist that he reads before any installation starts. I will make sure he does it the way the instructions say.

The only problem there is my S3 didn't follow the instructions. The instructions say to insert the cards and wait a moment or two for the MMI screen. After 4 or 5 minutes still no MMI screen. I had to select the CC and go to the setup screen to find the MMI info. Both cards did that and both work fine. Not sure why ours didn't come up themselves but all is good. Be a little flexible. :)

ingenue007

09-30-2006, 01:27 PM

Mine is a nightmare. I think they are on the 6th or 8th card and I still can't get all my channels.

hiker

09-30-2006, 01:32 PM

The only problem there is my S3 didn't follow the instructions. The instructions say to insert the cards and wait a moment or two for the MMI screen. After 4 or 5 minutes still no MMI screen. I had to select the CC and go to the setup screen to find the MMI info. Both cards did that and both work fine. Not sure why ours didn't come up themselves but all is good. Be a little flexible. :)
What is the MMI screen? We saw that in the instruction sheet but don't think we ever saw something labeled MMI screen.

T1v0Fan

09-30-2006, 04:49 PM

After 3 visits from Comcast contractors, 3 calls with support, and one call with a supervisor, my TiVo series 3 is up and running.

Here's what made the difference:
Activating one card by itself, with ONLY that card in the TiVo, then activating the second card.

Here's some things I learned along the way:
Do not let anyone tell you these cards do not work with TiVo. Several people at the Comcast dispatch tried to get rid of me that way. One said I had to get special cards at Best Buy.
Just keep telling them you know people who got their cards to work.

My card worked even though the Data ID was not displayed. The supervisor I spoke with said he needed a Data ID, which led to a call with both him and TiVo support. The person at TiVo support said the fact that my Data ID was not displaying on the Cable Card Configure screen (the one that refers to the Host ID) meant the cards I had installed were bad. That wasn't true, as the next day with a Comcast contractor in the house, we got those cards activated. I know it's mentioned on the forums here that Data ID is needed, but I'm up and running without it. Not sure what that means.

Here's the information Concast needed:
1. MAC address, found both on the card itself and on the TiVo Cable Card Configuration Screen: CP Information
2. Host ID: found on the TiVo Cable Card Configuration Screen: Host Information
3. CableCard ID: found on the TiVo Cable Card Configuration Screen: Host Information
On that screen the CableCard ID appears as CableCard(tm): Number
The fact that the (tm) was there (obviously a trademark symbol) confused tech #1 who was at my house on 9/26

With those 3 pieces of information, inserting then activating the cards one at a time, everything was set up successfully.

If I had a tech who cared at all, and/or they were able to reach someone from Comcast who knew about these installs, I would have had everything set up on 9/26 instead of 9/30

If you are in South Jersey and have Comcast (in this area, formerly Garden State Cable), pay attention to this next part

I had three visits from three different technicians. They all were from Amtech. The first two experiences were horrible, the third was great.

I will say that all other service I get from Comcast: Garden State Cable has been great. These guys are contractors and they don't care at all - except for tech #935, Kerel. He was awesome!!
You can actually ask for him specifically, and I highly recommend it. I'm going to write a letter to his supervisor about how great he was.

The superviser who was from Comcast (Joe), was fantastic. He even called today on his day off to make sure I was up and running. He came into the office specifically to check on just this case. So the problem isn't everyone at Comcast, or even everyone at Amtech, the Comcast contractors, you have to find people who actually want to help and they'll get you up and running.

One more thing that may help you to be patient with Comcast: some people there didn't want to provide installation until the information circulated around the company, but the higher-ups decided they'd do a "test install." So we are actually part of a test program, even though no one says that. While most people blame Comcast (or more accurately their contractors), TiVo has to take some of the blame for selling a product before the market is prepared. Now, I didn't have to buy it yet, but the appeal of the lifetime transfer was too great. Oh, TiVo charged me twice for that by the way. Now everything is all set up, I have to deal with that.

Roderigo

09-30-2006, 05:17 PM

Here's what made the difference:
Activating one card by itself, with ONLY that card in the TiVo, then activating the second card.

Technically, this isn't required. It's just conceptually easier to deal with one card, get it working, and then deal with the other card. I just had cards installed in my second S3, and we shoved both cards in at the same time. Installer called the mother ship, and gave them the cards' serial number (didn't even need the Host ID/Data ID on my system), and a minute later, both cards were working fine. Maybe 5-10 minutes from the time the installer rang the door bell to fully functional cards.

My card worked even though the Data ID was not displayed. The supervisor I spoke with said he needed a Data ID, which led to a call with both him and TiVo support. The person at TiVo support said the fact that my Data ID was not displaying on the Cable Card Configure screen (the one that refers to the Host ID) meant the cards I had installed were bad. That wasn't true, as the next day with a Comcast contractor in the house, we got those cards activated. I know it's mentioned on the forums here that Data ID is needed, but I'm up and running without it. Not sure what that means.

The Data ID is only relevant for Motorola cards. Based on the fact that you talked about MAC address, you have a Scientific Atlanta card. I guess Tivo support didn't understand that difference - but I would have expected a Comcast tech to know about their own cards!

So we are actually part of a test program, even though no one says that. While most people blame Comcast (or more accurately their contractors), TiVo has to take some of the blame for selling a product before the market is prepared.
I don't understand what you mean by "test program."

While I'm sure Tivo could have done more to "prepare" the market (and other than the FCC filing, we'll never know for sure what they did to), cablecard is not new technology to the cable companies. The only new thing that the cable companies have to deal with on the S3 are two slots, instead of one on a TV. From the sound of many of the installation gripes here - very few have been associated to the way the S3 works - but has been some sort of screw up on the cable companies side. As mentioned above - it's not Tivo's fault that the Comcast supervisor didn't know that his own company's card didn't have a Data ID.

The other thing is that Tivo in some sense if forcing the cable companies to understand this cablecard thing... If you had a cablecard TV, after 1 or 2 visits, you'd probably give in and just deal with the Cable companies box. Whereas a vocal Tivo fan is more likely to force the cable company to get things installed correctly.

T1v0Fan

09-30-2006, 06:51 PM

Thanks for explaining the Data ID difference.

I don't think the responsibility was on TiVo to prepare the market, but some collaboration between the two companies to distribute instructions to techicians would have been easier. Perhaps they couldn't agree on who would pay for it. Regardless, without a forum like this to tell me what to do, I most likely would have had to return or sell the TiVo and that's not good for either company.

TravisKU

09-30-2006, 07:57 PM

I had my cards installed Thursday evening.

The Cox Cable tech arrived around 5pm, inserted the first card, called it. I got a little worried because not all the channels showed up. Then they realized that the Cox DVR was still on my account and that was causing the problem. The 2nd card went in with no problems.

The tech left about 5:30pm. I was really impressed that it went so smoothly. He did mention that this was the 1st TiVo Series 3 install that he did. He actually liked the machine so much he said he was going to pick one up at BB.

Travis

jfh3

09-30-2006, 09:40 PM

Thanks for explaining the Data ID difference.

I don't think the responsibility was on TiVo to prepare the market, but some collaboration between the two companies to distribute instructions to techicians would have been easier.

Tivo did this. Whether the cable companies actually distributed it internally is an entirely different matter.

Greeby

10-01-2006, 09:25 AM

Tivo did this. Whether the cable companies actually distributed it internally is an entirely different matter.

When I had my Adelphia CCs installed last week (Tuesday) I was the first Series three they had installed in miramar/Pembroke Pines. The installer had no idea what a Series 3 was. He called his supervisor who brought over another couple of techs just to see the install. The supervisor did have an email and a copy of the TiVo sheet that is ships with the box.

Took them 5 hours to get 4 CCs up and working. Was quite a fiasco. I have everything Adelphia has to offer and the quality is quite good with the exception of the locals in analog. Quite a bit of ghosting on some of them.

Sometime overnight Friday night my "HD Plus" channels dropped off all 4 cablecards. HD Plus is all the encrypted HD channels. Took 4 calls to the support number and one conversation with a supervisor to get the problem corrected. Everyone wanted to roll a truck to fix the issue.

FYI....The supervisor issued a "repair" command to all the cards followed by a re-hit and that corrected the problem. Took about an hour...maybe 90 minutes.

Crichton

10-01-2006, 10:15 AM

Had my install of 2 cablecards this past Friday. The Charter tech showed up and asked what TV these are going in. Told him it was going into a Tivo Series 3 and he goes "Oh great, this is going to suck, I've never done one of these before." After inserting the first cablecard, the tech had to call in to dispatch. After waiting for dispatch for about 35 minutes, we started the card process. Got the 161-4 error and found out one of the cards was still bound to another tv. After clearing that, it was about 5 minutes and we had both cards set up and had channels up to 28 (to which the tech said he's seen this before and the cards needed to be balanced, so he called dispatch to have them do it.) The tech left and I redid guided setup and lo and behold, all my channels were there. The tech was at my house about 2.5 hours. Essentially would have been less had dispatch gotten back to him quickly.

All in all, I love the S3 so far, especially the fact that I hooked it up to my antenna in the attic and I get all my local HD channels.

russkle

10-01-2006, 11:53 AM

russkle

10-01-2006, 11:56 AM

I think that's one key for sure and you have to get a patient installer so he'll wait out the 'acquiring channels' swirly screen which might take 5 or 6 minutes.

See, that is odd as well. My "Acquiring Channels" screen took a whole 5 seconds and immediately went to "No Channels Found". It was 2-3 days before the Test Channels ever showed anything. Odd.

fl_dba

10-01-2006, 05:04 PM

Third attempt by BH Tampa Bay on Friday failed. Both cards say Waiting for Auth. Tech insists that the cablecard and host id pairing are correct. Being sent up to the engineers to see if they can figure out what is wrong. Have to credit BH for not giving up. This has been very frustrating and will be a nightmare for the cable companies once more people try to buy one of these things.

CALnyc

10-01-2006, 06:01 PM

I just wanted to let everyone know that my CableCard install went flawlessly this week. The guy was here about 30 minutes, but mostly because he had to wait for someone at the office to get in touch with him to activate the cards. Both cards worked fine. The installer was Frank, and was one of the nicest and most compentent cable guys I've ever dealt with.

jetforme

10-01-2006, 08:11 PM

The installer had only done one S3 install before my visit, on the 29th, and it would've gone smoothly except apparently the original workorder paperwork had something wrong with it. Each time he had Comcast "hit" the cards, nothing happened. Once they got it straightened out, it worked fine.

rickertk

10-01-2006, 08:27 PM

Mine was my installers first S3, but far from his first Cablecard. First card went fine, second card he had problems for a while because he'd mistranscribed one of the numbers. After that, there were a couple of issues getting the programming right on them, but it ended up working out, just took quite a while with him on the phone most of that time.

Keith

alee

10-01-2006, 08:42 PM

The installer was Frank, and was one of the nicest and most compentent cable guys I've ever dealt with.
Was this Franklin (tech #262)? If so, I absolutely agree... one of their best techs.

Nate Finch

10-02-2006, 09:06 AM

Comcast (in Belmont, MA) came by (45 minutes early!) and installed the cards. This was the guy's first cablecard install, and he said that they've done very few of these. Most of the time was spent on the phone with the people at dispatch etc... dunno what they were doing, maybe reading up on the manual about how to do these... but once they did it... bam, it just worked. Happy day :)

-Nate

gagadguy

10-02-2006, 11:09 AM

Comcast - Atlanta area

Mine went Ok. I needed to do a self install, and finally was able to get Comcast to allow me to pick up two cards at one of their offices. After installing them, I found that one was activated, but the other one was not. If the non-activated one was in the Tivo, the guided setup would not complete. After a call to Comcast, a guy told me that he did not know why, but he could not activate the 2nd card and would have to send a message to some other group to have it activated. The next morning, it was still not activated, so I called back, a lady told me that it was not activated because there is a fee associated with the 2nd card, I agreed to the fee and it was then active, but neither card showed my scrambled channels. She then sent a reset to the cards and all came to life. Now I have my HD Tivo up and running.

PPC1

10-02-2006, 11:27 AM

Mine went fine. I am on Brighthouse in Indy. The tech had no idea what he was doing, but the guy on the radio walked him through it. Both cards authorized okay, and all channels are being tuned in. Although, I did have only a partial recording of the Colts-jets game Sunday
:( So, I am reluctant to vote that everything is working perfectly, but to say that it took a little work is not quite accurate either. I will therefore vote that it is working perfectly, with that caveat since it doesn't seem to be a cable card install problem, but a tivo problem.

RCflier

10-02-2006, 11:47 AM

I was pleasantly surprised with my install with Cox Phoenix.

The guy showed up an hour early (called to see if I was home and if that was ok).

Showed up, had not done a Tivo install before, just said they had had trouble with the SA cards in tivo's, but was willing to give it a try.

He brought in three cards, first one had a 162-2 error. The next 2 went perfectly following the instructions, and got all channels on both... he was gone within 45 minutes.

IceStorm

10-02-2006, 12:54 PM

My initiall installation was fine. I was good from the Wednesday of my install last week until Saturday night.

I unplugged the TiVo to move it (power and cable line). When I turned it back on, I lost the ability to watch several channels (most HBO, Starz, Encore, BBC World, etc). The fault appears to be the CableCARDs and not HDMI as it's the CableCARD screen that comes up for the respective tuner trying to get the channel.

In the CableCARD CP info screens, both of my cards are in a "Waiting for CP Auth" state.

Cablevision is dragging their feet on fixing it (assuming they can). It took three reps to find out that there are no Tier 2 people in on the weekends, and that it'll take them 24 to 48hrs to get back to me once they are in...

morbo

10-02-2006, 02:21 PM

Comcast, Santa Clara, CA. 1+ wk now. 2 mot cards, didn't work, tech left. Promised me
another tech would call 8am next day. Nada. I called support, another truck roll a day later. A screw up there with the phone call led them to not come. Another appt, Sun 12-4, called them at 3:30.. "Oh, I just spoke with the tech, no cards in hand and the warehouse is closed" another appt, Mon 8-10, they are still here as I write this. No luck. Finally someone notes that the cards are raw picks from the warehouse not entered into the system. If that happens, you will never get connected no matter how many times they hit the box. So, I am now waiting here for one of the 2 techs thats here to return with two hopefully initialized cards..... we will see. The techs are trying hard but the cards need to be initialized. Also I recommended to them that they get a golden card to rule out CPE issues and prove the line is good. Too much guessing and sitting around.

pmiranda

10-02-2006, 02:25 PM

All in all, I love the S3 so far, especially the fact that I hooked it up to my antenna in the attic and I get all my local HD channels.

So you can get signals off the air even with cablecards installed? Cool!

Leo_N

10-02-2006, 02:32 PM

So you can get signals off the air even with cablecards installed? Cool!

Yes, during guided install you just choose cable and OTA antenna, it will merge them in your program guide.

Crichton

10-02-2006, 02:36 PM

So you can get signals off the air even with cablecards installed? Cool!

Yep, the OTA channels show up in the guide along with the other channels. You can tell it switches to OTA when the display shows ant next to the channel (30-1 ant vs 782 cbl .) I'm really happy to get ABC in HD OTA since Charter & ABC apparently don't mix.

pmiranda

10-02-2006, 02:39 PM

I've been running like that while waiting for my cablecards but I figured cablecards would ruin the party. Sweet, now I can get CW in HD... something TW-Austin doesn't carry. Now CW just needs to show something I want to watch :-)

MichaelK

10-02-2006, 02:44 PM

and it's actually pretty wild.

You might have:
2(cbl)
2(ant)
2-1(ant) and they are all different.

Leo_N

10-02-2006, 02:59 PM

Yep, the OTA channels show up in the guide along with the other channels. You can tell it switches to OTA when the display shows ant next to the channel (30-1 ant vs 782 cbl .) I'm really happy to get ABC in HD OTA since Charter & ABC apparently don't mix.

It's probably Charter and the owner of your local ABC that don't mix. We have had HD ABC for a couple years with Charter here in SE Wisconsin. We were deprived of CBS and Fox for a while though. Just got them about a year ago.

jeffl24

10-02-2006, 04:14 PM

I have RCN in Arlington, MA. I think we benefit somewhat in this area because RCN and Comcast are in competition (also Verizon FiOS in some local areas). This means they can't treat the customers like complete garbage because we have other options.

It took 10 days for RCN to get someone to my house. I requested 2 cable cards. They never asked what the cards were for and I didn't volunteer the information. There were some billing problems because I wanted to give back the cable box which would invalidate the package I have. After a big runaround I solved the problem by volunteering to keep the cable box. If I give back the box it's $10/mo more and they reduce my cable modem upload speed from 800kbps to 256kbps. Strange, but I don't really care and I put the box and my old TiVo in the bedroom. The cable cards themselves cost $1.50/mo each.

The installer arrived today. He didn't have a clue about the TiVo but didn't really care. I told him to do one card, test it, and then do the second. He was happy to cooperate. He popped in the cards and I navigated the TiVo screens to get to the channel tests. It took a couple tries from the central office to "hit" the cards until I got all my channels. On the second card we did get the 162 error a couple times but skipped over it. Once the card got the proper activation from the other side it worked fine. The total time was about 30 minutes.

RCN seems to have digital versions of every channel because I don't get a recording quality option anywhere. The video quality on SD stations blows away the S2 on "best", and the HD channels are awesome. The S3 is a great piece of hardware and I don't regret the expense at all. I just hope they enable that eSata port soon!

pcp_ip

10-02-2006, 05:34 PM

Sorry for posting this again- I posted my experience in the Comcast thread before I realized there was a stickie... I'm a little worried-- I seem to have been abandoned by Comcast today. I don't think they're willing to do anything more to help get my Series 3 working. If it means anything to anyone, they were using Green Motorola CableCards... The tech on the phone asked a couple of times what color cards the installer had. Each time he said "good" when told "green."

from the other thread:

After waiting 2 weeks for my install appointment the Comcast tech (not a contractor) arrived today (2 hours outside of the appointment window). The tech had no idea what to do, and three way conferenced in his dispatch and a comcast engineer over his cellphone speakerphone. None of them had even heard of a Series 3. This is in Center City Philadelphia-- home of Comcast corporate.

I kid you not-- they tried to get it to get my cablecards to work from 12:24pm until 3:52pm. Three comcast employees tied up on an install conference call for almost 3 hours. Every 30 minutes or so one of them would say, "You sure the cards go in the TiVo and not into the TV?"

Both cards were tried in the bottom slot. We never got far enough in 3 hours to use the top slot. My cards would pair, but I'd get stuck with a blue screen saying "Please wait...Acquiring Channel Information" (cellphone pic (http://www.studio2f.com/dispatch/Photo_100206_004.jpg)). After 20 or so minutes the screen would switch to the 161-4 error. They finally gave up and left.

I'm not sure what to do now.

MichaelK

10-02-2006, 06:40 PM

acquiring channel info is apparently the cards download the channel map from the cableco. You need that. (mine took about 6 minutes)

error 161-4 on moto cards apparently means the cards are busy being activated so they can't do anythign else at the moment.

I think they just need to be more patient and let the card and the tivo do their thing.

See if you cant get them to come back and call tivo and get one of their cablecard experts on the phone to walk the comcast guys through it..

sounds like for whatever reason the headend was taking forever to send the correct info to the cabelcards. I wonder if your line is "noisy" if it would slow things down (I haven't a clue...)

MichaelK

10-02-2006, 06:43 PM

I think tivo shoudl explain that acquiring channel screen someplace in the installation guide.

So people know what to expect.

Is 6 minutes normal?
Is 20 minutes normal?
etc
etc

(lucky for me my installer had to pee so he waited out the 6 minutes, but maybe if he had made a pit stop he would have been impatient and starting futzing around some more screwing the install up...)

mr_bob_dobalena

10-02-2006, 10:12 PM

Picked up my CableCARDs at the Comcast office last Friday. My S3 arrived today. The first card initialized with no problems. 2nd card wouldn't initialize after 2-3 tries. I noticed that the 1st card had a firmware of 4.21 while the 2nd was 4.05. Returned the 2nd for another card. It initialized on the 2nd try. So far, all my channels including the premiums are available on both tuners. The new card I picked up also has the 4.21 firmware.

A minor funny: I set one tuner to record The Simpsons at 9, and switched over to the other tuner and was watching MNF. I left the room briefly, when I came back, I saw MNF on, and it was 9:03. For about 20 seconds, I was trying to figure out why my show wasn't recording and then it dawned on me that it WAS recording - just on the other tuner. I'm digging this already.

mr_bob_dobalena

10-02-2006, 10:15 PM

I'm such a lurker. I just realized how outdated my sig is. Gonna have to fix that.

morbo

10-02-2006, 10:52 PM

Good has come. They fixed the problem using two non-Mot old comcast cards. Bit of a fiddlefest with the channel test finding channels then not finding them, then finding them again. All seems to be good now. The guy brought 6 cards, first two of those old batch worked. Dispatch was clued in also this time. Wow, hit and miss folks. I either goes smooth or its a nightmare.

rtjones

10-03-2006, 08:37 PM

Mine could not have been more smooth. The cable guy had never installed the cards in a Series3. I pulled out the TiVo-supplied installation guidelines, and pretty much did it myself while the guy watched. The only thing he did was call Comcast to activate the cards, in order. He was in and out in 20 minutes.

sdsmt

10-03-2006, 10:47 PM

Mine was not completely smooth, but still not bad. I'm with Midcontinent, and was dreading the install after reading about the problems some of you have had, since it's a relatively small provider, and doesn't do many cable cards, much less TiVo. I had a cable card installed in my tv last winter, and it took a couple of trips so I wasn't sure what to expect this time.

The tech showed up before 4:00, halfway through the 2 hour window the cable company had offered, and immediately checked the signal strength. It was pretty weak, since previous installers chose to split the signal to go to my other tvs and internet, instead of running separate lines. He installed 2 new lines for those, before even starting the cable card install. At that point, I was impressed with the guy, he could have just gone with the existing set up and not worried about the strength on the other tv and internet.

This was his first series 3 install, and he got on the phone before even starting. I had the out-of-the-box TiVo instructions handy, as well as a printout of the more detailed instructions from the TiVo help pages. The tech was perfectly willing to do as they said. As a matter of fact, he read the url address from the instructions to his contact on the phone, for future use, and I gave him the printout when he left.

We got hung up on the acquiring channel info on the first card, and he said the operator on the phone might not have sent the info yet, something about needing to have both cards in to balance them. I agree with MichaelK that it would be nice to know how long you should wait at that screen. After reading everything here about following the instructions exactly, I was hesitant to move on to the second card until we were completely done with the first, but we did.

At first we had both cards giving us analog and digital, but no hi-def. They tinkered a bit, but then managed to kill all input on card one, although card two was fine for everything. After some more tinkering, we got both cards going on all channels.

Just a couple of things that came up that might be useful. When we were trying to get card 1 back up, I was on the testing channels screen and getting no channels available. I decided to try going back to live tv and they were actually there. I don't know if that was because it happened to get fixed right then, or if the testing channels screen was not accurate.

Another thing the tech said was that apparently the operator on the line couldn't hit a card while it was active on our end. If we had card 1 on, she couldn't hit it, so we'd have to switch to card 2 for her to work on card 1.

The guy was here almost two and a half hours, but about an hour of that was installing the new lines. I have to say that I was very impressed with him and the company. :)

BigFrank

10-04-2006, 01:08 PM

I may be the first Tivo Series 3 owner in Rochester NY...

Anyhow the cable installer came and installed both cards. No hitches and all programming including HBO channels and all the Hi-Def programming came in just fine right off the bat! Asides from the installer telling me he's heard nothing but bad things about CableCard (probably from management) he was quite amiable and patient. The whole thing took less than an hour.

I did notice however that all the sub-99 channels (and their above 99 counterparts) are coming in Analog. Most of the channels above 99 that dont have sub 99 counterparts are coming in digital though. And since I now can get OTA HD I can watch the local FOX channel in Hi-Def even though our cable carrier doesn't yet have it. I just wish Sci-Fi channel and Comedy Central was coming in digital. (or better yet HD).

Menarion

10-04-2006, 01:30 PM

I had a pretty bad experience. Tivo not shipped when it should have. Had to switch appointment for the install of the cable cards. Soonest was two weeks later. When the Adelphia installer showed up he came with only one card and blamed it on me saying that only one showed up for install (like I can't count to two). Now have to wait a couple more weeks for them to come back out to install the second card (at one point Adelphia customer service was telling me they would charg $25 per card installation fee!). First card isn't showing any premium channels. I'll report back once I get the second card next week. I figured I'd wait on any troubleshooting of the premiums then.

ballardthedome

10-04-2006, 02:18 PM

My install in Redwood City, CA went fairly well. I was switching from Dish Network/ AT&T DSL and AT&T to the Comcast bundle for all three services.

The initial cable installer in the morning (who was a contractor) did not have my cable cards, saying that the afternoon installer (who was setting up the telephony stuff for me) would have them. The telephony installer didn't have them, so I called Comcast and asked who was bringing my cable cards. Within an hour, two additional technicians showed up with two cable cards.

Neither of the techs had dealt with a Tivo Series 3 before, but they were open to it and definitely interested in making it work. They tried to install both cards first and that didn't work. Then installed one and authorized it, then installed the other and everything was fine!!!

Very happy with my HD recordings!!!!

lofty17

10-04-2006, 04:12 PM

When I first installed my cable cards, my Tivo went in to a continual reboot cycle.

After removing the cards and letting Tivo reboot, I re-installed them and everything now works fine.

My cable company forgot to activate some services, but 1 phone call to them took care of it.

Larry

Cherylabq

10-04-2006, 04:18 PM

I am posting here in addition to the Comcast thread as I think some of the things I learned are universal to any install...

The third time was the charm! My Comcast guy came back for the 3rd time today. I had convinced him to bring the newest cable cards Comcast offers AND encouraged him to bring several. He put a 2006 card in Cable Card Slot 1 (Slot 2 was working with an older card that seemed to get a firmware update during the three hours the cable guy was in my home Day #2). He called in and had the second card configured in less than 10 minutes and we are now up and running.

What We've Learned...

1. Ask your cable installer to bring the newest cable cards (and MANY of them)--A TiVo guy told me that on average, 1 out of 5 cable cards actually work.

2. Do not go through the "Guided Setup" while the cable man is standing there--This can take about 20 minutes depending on how your DVR communicates with TiVo.

3. Make sure the cable installer and cable operator get the correct numbers (found in the cable card menu) when formatting the cards (listen as he/she reads the numbers and listen as the operator repeats them...you will see most of the numbers on the TV screen).--Miscommunicated numbers can mess up the installation.

4. DO run the "test channels" for each cable card before doing anything else (this will save you a lot of time). Check for the DIGITAL channels!! --This is very important as some cards will show the lower analog channels and a couple of HD channels. You MUST check all channels in this test mode before thinking all is well.

5. Make sure your cable company records the services/premium channels you subscribe to correctly when adding the Series 3 TiVo so that your cable card gets correct programming.--The cable operator told me that my services were incorrectly recorded before she fixed them.

6. If you choose to keep your company's cable box (for On Demand programming, Pay Per View, etc.). Make sure your cable operator doesn't mess with your billing. Also ask what your bill will be with the added two cable cards as there have been various dollar amounts reported in various TiVo forums (I was told it would be an additional $5.95 per month for both cards as I recall).--My Comcast DVR (with Comcast's On Demand/Pay Per View) didn't work when my cable cards were installed into my Series 3...I had to have the cable operator add my Comcast DVR back onto my account.

acraig1

10-04-2006, 04:23 PM

Three installers, multiple calls later...everything is working. It seems they had to use several cable cards to find ones that worked. The words of my last installer, "I brought every cable card we have in this town."
Interesting Stats
The number cable cards he brought: 10. \
The number he tried before finding two that worked: 5.
Town size: 39,000.
Total cable card install base for the town:34
Number of tivo series 3 boxes installed in my town so far: 2

ctakim

10-04-2006, 08:06 PM

Two weeks, two visits and multiple calls to TiVo and the cable company and still no digital channels or premium HD content. If no luck with the next visit, this baby is going back. :mad:

g808

10-04-2006, 08:16 PM

Two weeks, two visits and multiple calls to TiVo and the cable company and still no digital channels or premium HD content. If no luck with the next visit, this baby is going back. :mad:
Do both the cards show "SUBSCRIBED"? If not, then keep bugging your cable company to get it right. The CSR that finally solved my problem sent a signal that, according to her, "removed any information they may have stored". I assume that signal wiped out any info that was on it and re-programmed/authorized it for the content I should be getting.

hiker

10-04-2006, 08:26 PM

Do both the cards show "SUBSCRIBED"? If not, then keep bugging your cable company to get it right. The CSR that finally solved my problem sent a signal that, according to her, "removed any information they may have stored". I assume that signal wiped out any info that was on it and re-programmed/authorized it for the content I should be getting.
Where do you find the "SUBSCRIBED" status?

wcjonesvp

10-05-2006, 01:58 AM

It took 2 appointments for the tech to obtain two cable cards. Install went smoothly, just followed the menus. Tech called for activation. It took 45 minutes for both cards to become activated. Interestingly, while card 1 was being activated, the TIVO display would not provide any info on cable card 2. The display message was that card 2 was not working. Once card 1 completed activation, all OK.

The TIVO would not display the HD only channels upon activation. Channels such as Discovery HD and ESPN HD would not display, even though they showed up on the channel list. All other channels worked OK. Called Time Warner and got the standard "remove / insert the cable cards and see if it starts working". Once that was done, they did work. I asked the help desk person what had been done and was informed that he "sent a signal to each card", but that wasn't "anything special". Whatever!

All works as advertised now. This was the first TIVO HD unit the tech had ever seen. He was surprised how well the menus guided the install.

hookbill

10-05-2006, 08:27 AM

After a 10 days of reading everyone's horrible experiences I enjoyed one of the best experiences ever with my install. I was called around 10:00 am and informed that they would be out around 1:00 pm. I asked if they were bringing two cards, and the person I spoke with, Lenny, told me that he was a supervisor and he was bringing several cards with him. He said this was there first TiVo install. Interesting because I never told them it was for a TiVo but apparently an email I sent to Time Warner telling them that I have heard they were refusing or didn't know how to properly install cards in the S3 was sent to him. :)

A tech showed up around 12:45 and went around to the outside street box, my basement and back of my set testing signals. While we were waiting for Lenny to show I gave the tech a tour of TiVo. He was impressed. Then Lenny showed up with the cards and he already had the instruction sheet. He had about 6 cards with him, all new. They placed a call in to head end and informed the person they were installing two cards (I heard her say, "Oh no".) :) First card went in great. We had a bit of a problem with the second card but we found out from some literature that I had that we had to let the card sit a bit before going to the card screen (3 minutes). The card took, they married both cards to the unit and then stuck around while I did the set up process. After set up some of the stations were a bit slow coming in, analog showed up first then HD then encrypted digital. Everything worked great.

Lenny gave me his card with his direct number and told me if I ever had any problems to call him directly. I was really impressed. A great experience.

ashu

11-02-2006, 07:17 PM

Bump.

How did this thread die? If I had seen the MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY message, I would have known what was (likely) wrong with my first install attempt (Adelphi hi-level tech fixed it the next day)

(Will edit this with detail about my Adelphia->Comcast CableCard installation in the middle of their local transition)

mattman

11-05-2006, 02:39 AM

Just thought I would post what I learned in my experience.

1) My local cable company (GCI, in Alaska) did not seem aware of the TiVo Series3, but was very aware of cablecards and I had no problems setting up the install. A $20 install fee, and $5 for every cablecard beyond the first, because of my service plan.
2) The installer knew nothing about cablecard installs, but was helpful and very well intentioned. One of his cablecards was not in the system, so after install it was never able to acquire channels. Funny thing was, after he left, I was able to record on both tuners, although I could not get signal to the second cablecard. I don't think these are multi-stream cards, and the service was intermittent on the 2nd tuner, so I'm sure it was a problem there.
3) Getting them back out turned out to be a hassle, not because of my first installer, but because of their dispatch system. I had to spend a long time on the phone to get someone out after hours. All of the people I dealt with were great, it was the people I couldn't talk to who were the problem. They did come out with another card, and that installer was great too, so I'm overall pleased.

My big suggestion is one I've seen elsewhere. Ask them to come out with more than just two cablecards. Had my original installer had three, I wouldn't have had ANY problems. My brother asked the CSR to have 3 sent out and they said good idea we'll try just that. It seems that will make a HUGE difference.

Matt

rotarynews

11-21-2006, 02:17 AM

So, I got my Series 3, moved my series 1's lifetime over without too much problem, then it was time for the cablecard install. The cableguy came out with 5 cards (come to find out, he's done 5 other S3's) After the first cablecard (old - 12/2004 build date) was inserted, the cableCard "Firmware upgrade" came up, then the system rebooted out of nowhere...

"Interesting" he said...

The upgrade screen popped back up, after 45 minutes, we put in the 2nd (newer, 11/2005) card, while the 1st one was still 'upgrading.' We monitored things from the Diagnosis screen for another 5 minutes until card 2 was done and we could watch tv...

He called in the numbers to Cox (Las Vegas) we tested a few channels, and he was on his way. . .

Then I tested a few more channels.. funny, we only tested local hd channels... everything else from TNT-hd, through Speed were black, on both tuners... Basically, all the digital content that is over the air would display, anything else was black, standard def digital, music channels, and high def ones... I called the contractor back, and he brought some new cards over.

We looked over the cablecard screens, cable card 1 was authorized, cablecard 2 was not. Interesting... So, after wrangling with another card in slot 1, we shut down tivo, moved the card that was in slot 2 to slot 1, then stuck a new (newest, 8/2006 build) card in 2. We called Cox back and found out there was a number transposed in their system with the card now in slot 1, a phone call to make sure both cards were activated with Cox, and things are all good now.

So.. a few things here:
1. If the tivo reboots for any reason while the card is activating, it will probably corrupt the card.
2. Older cards take a long time to upgrade... may reboot the system, and may not upgrade at all.
3. Make sure the numbers the head office and the cable guy exchange are all correct.
4. Don't let the cable guy go without testing non-over the air digital channels.

BVM

11-21-2006, 09:38 AM

I have two series 3 and it turned out that 1 of the 4 cards COMCAST installed didn't work...they had to come back and do a reintall.

While test I realized I wasn't getting all the HD stations on the one of two S3. After some debugging I discovered that a splitter had drop the signal strenght to 85% on one unit and that was enough to make the S3 not display 1080i stations.
I removed the spitter and all is well.

classicX

11-21-2006, 09:56 AM

Based on the poll, about 78% of CableCard installs are fine, 22% are still not working. (I didn't factor the cable company refusals.)

It's not bad, but I still wouldn't consider a product that has that high of a failure rate, whether it's the manufacturer's fault or not.

Now, the results may not be accurately representative of the true numbers, but I think it's close enough.

Once that number comes down to below 5%, I'll consider it.

Of course, the actual numbers from people in your area on your particular cable system would help a lot as well.

raygundan

11-21-2006, 09:59 AM

I was worried about the Comcast install after all the horror stories, and doubly so because they were doing a full VOIP/Internet/Cable setup all at once. The installer was great-- the first cable/sat/phone installer I've ever had who was fully competent.

He had never done a cablecard setup, and had never seen a Series 3, but he followed Tivo's directions, popped the cards in one at a time, and called the home office. He had some minor confusion from the people he was talking to, but he talked them through the setup ("no, they're not in the TV. yes, they're in the same unit.") and got everything going.

For about a week, I got an occasional cablecard popup from the tivo saying something about calling the cableco to activate. I haven't seen the popup in weeks, so whatever misconfiguration was there has been fixed.

Not perfect by a long shot, but it's all working.

Walt

11-21-2006, 11:02 AM

Charter in the Western End of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

On the SECOND visit, Installer followed the instructions and I drove the TiVo. All done in about 40 minutes, most of which he spent on the phone.

On the FIRST trip, he climbed the pole to remove the filtering limiting me to "basic". He came back in and found only a few apparently random channels. Mumbling "impossible" he spent the next hour measuring levels, checking the cabling, etc. He then called and found out Charter had suffered a fiber cable cut on the way to this area. He was not happy that they did not call their installers. He wanted to install the cable cards but was told they were too busy.

Walt

ashu

11-21-2006, 11:04 AM

Based on the poll, about 78% of CableCard installs are fine, 22% are still not working. (I didn't factor the cable company refusals.)

One flaw in your logic is introduced from this forum's inability to let one change one's vite. So some of those 22% may SINCE have gotten things fixed, or have discovered that their cable company is a bunch of turds who can' correctly set up the head-end (there are a few of those) for CC's to work.

The other MASSIVE personal flaw in your thought-process is that you only want to try it once the process is nearly perfect. For someone with a techie bent of mind, that is abhorrent, and wimpy. (I'm not apologizing for that). You can buy an S3, try it (with AT LEAST an 80% chance of success, more because you're aware of potential issues, know possible error messages, and workarounds and can draw on a lot of additional advice here. if it STILL fails, you can return it within 30 days.

By NOT trying, you're depriving yourself of potentially near-perfect HD-DVRing NOW, and well into the foreseeable future when some unscientific poll numbers will satisfy you enough to finally give it a shot.

As soon as I realized this, it was a no-brainer. I had to try it for myself, with my cable system, and if it worked, keep it. It did, and I did, and I'm happy :) NOW, as opposed to 4 months from today!

(Obligatory smiley) :p

Unfocused

01-24-2007, 12:23 PM

TW install techs came out, got the first card installed, then put in the second...

Well, not only did he skip some of the steps on the TIVO instruction sheet, the second card's auth code was wrong in the cable company's office.

Took about two hours.

I had to instruct him to double check the auth codes, then go step by step down the instruction sheet, insisting that he follow the instructions to the letter, to get both tuners working at the same time.

I shouldn't have had to do that, but he thought checking that the channels were active on the first one would involve a lengthy HD channel scan rather than just pausing for a moment in the install for the cable system to recognize and accept the new card.

Since then, everything works perfectly.

:D

digitaldna

01-24-2007, 12:57 PM

Flawless install. I already had (2) pre-authorized cards which were being used in my other LCD TVs. I used these to get up and going with the TiVo and worked without a hitch. IMHO, much easier to replace the cards in the TVs at a later date. Cheers!

digitaldna

01-24-2007, 01:00 PM

lemketron

01-24-2007, 02:28 PM

I also might add that Comcast just recently started asking for HOSTID pairing info after the first of the year... Interesting because I have (6) other cards where they did not ask for this info... just the serial and they enabled them over the phone. Now I have to actually go in and give them the pairing info which takes a bit more time. Cheers!
Hmmm. Is this why they keep leaving messages on my machine asking me to call them back so I can help them do some sort of upgrade or transition of my Cable Card software? Has anyone actually gone through this procedure already, and if so, can you share what it's intended to accomplish? I'm a little nervous about "fixing" something that doesn't really seem "broken"...

hiker

01-24-2007, 03:02 PM

Hmmm. Is this why they keep leaving messages on my machine asking me to call them back so I can help them do some sort of upgrade or transition of my Cable Card software? Has anyone actually gone through this procedure already, and if so, can you share what it's intended to accomplish? I'm a little nervous about "fixing" something that doesn't really seem "broken"...
Comcast called me 4-5 times asking for numbers on the S3's cablecard pairing screen. Their computer kept rejecting my data until they fixed something on my account. It's the pairing data that they will need when upgrading the headend software. I was told that if the data isn't in when they install the upgrade (targeted Feb 07 or thereabouts) that premium channels would not be authorized. Here's the special number for the group handling the entry of the data: 866-612-0584.

efilippi

01-24-2007, 06:48 PM

rdrrepair

01-30-2007, 03:50 PM

My install went without a single problem - most of my time was spent showing the Time Warner installer all of the neat little things my TiVo's can do with each other, via the internet and pulling photos and music from the computer.

That's what you get for asking "What's so special about your TiVo that you wouldn't use one of our DVR's?" ;)

ashu

01-30-2007, 05:11 PM

He he. Did you talk the TWC guy into BUYING a TiVo ... better yet, referring you as his referrer & using his @timewarner.com email ID? :D

squirrellyman

01-31-2007, 08:03 AM

My install went great as far as getting the cards installed and technically working... but I've been struggling for weeks to get the same channels to show up on both cards.

ekewaka

02-05-2007, 02:07 PM

My install went great! I did it myself, following the Tivo instructions. The Comcast rep was very nice and helpful.

ivorycassiopeia

02-05-2007, 04:05 PM

We tried the Cablevision HD DVR box for a while, but could not live without TiVo...so, we spent the phenomenal amount of money on the S3 -- and transferred our lifetime subscription for another nice chunk of change.

So, I call Cablevision to make the appointment to have the 2 CableCARDs installed...the installer comes and says he can't do it - they need a specially trained technician to install CableCARDs into a TiVo (what???!!!) - so, appointment re-scheduled for a week later.

The "specialist" comes and brings a total of TWO CableCARDs with him - and manages to install one of them, but the other card won't work. After hours of calling around looking for a tech who might have an extra card or two and speaking with his supervisor, he says we'll have to re-schedule...AGAIN. This time, he takes our Cablevision HD DVR box with him -- so we're left with no recording capability!

The next morning, TWO "specialists" show up and bring a few extra CableCARDs with them - apparently, they have some serious problems with these things. They install the second card and walk away satisfied. A few hours later, we start receiving error messages on the TiVo - and find we're missing half of our regular channels as well as some seriously temperamental HD channels. We call the on-call tech and tell him we're having problems, so he returns an hour or so later. He, again, "fixes" the problem and leaves - it's now a few hours to the Super Bowl...and we start receiving the error messages again.

I call Cablevision's customer service and they basically tell me they have very little experience with these boxes, but they did everything right on their end, so it must be TiVo's fault. They give me a TiVo Series 3 help line telephone number. I try my best to figure things out on my own...to no avail. So, I call Cablevision back (all of the error messages are talking about the cable provider and the CableCARDs, so I can't help but think it's something on Cablevision's end) -- they check to make sure my account is OK, and send me back to TiVo.

This time, I call TiVo and they conclude that Cablevision did not activate/"bind" the CableCARDs (I also find some fun info in one of the CableCARD menus on the TiVo - it says CableCARD 1 is "waiting for authorization/activation" and CableCARD 2 is not operable) - so, back to Cablevision customer service I go! (Are YOU exhausted yet?) The CS rep I get tries to "re-bind" the cards...but is unsuccessful. She asks to call me back while she gets her tech department to try...also, unsuccessful. It is now 9:15PM and she says she will need to schedule an appointment for a supervisor technician to come to our house and "bind" the cards. So, the appointment is set for tonight between 5-8PM...wish me luck (I think I'm going to need it!)!!! :(

:mad: UPDATE: 2/5/07 – Called Cablevision at 7:40PM since we hadn’t heard from the supervisor technician yet, and my husband and I left work early to get home on time for the “appointment.” Apparently, the customer service person I was on the phone with last night from about 6PM until about 9:15PM (intermittently) never actually set up the appointment for the supervisor technician to come out today between 5-8PM!

The customer service person tells me her supervisor, Daneka, will call me back in approximately 10 minutes. 50 minutes later, I call Cablevision back, since I haven’t heard from this supervisor. So, now I have to repeat the ENTIRE story to yet ANOTHER customer service person, who then transfers me to an assistant supervisor, Angela, who informs me she pretty much knows nothing and transfers me to a woman named Latoya. Latoya, as nice as she was, informed me that she also could do nothing for me because she “doesn’t have access to anything” - she says she should, but doesn’t. What this means, I have no idea, except that I am seriously considering Direct TV at this point (or maybe switching to Verizon FIOS when it rolls into the area).

I have come to the realization that not a single customer service representative at Cablevision actually knows anything…and therefore, realize I am wasting my breath every time I repeat all of my information to them. Anyway, Latoya does her best, but in the end tells me Anthony, a senior rep, is “working on it and will get back to me” at some time – tonight, next month, next year…she has no idea. It is now 9:42PM and I want revenge on every incompetent person at Cablevision. :mad: :mad: :mad:

ashu

02-05-2007, 04:23 PM

ivorycassiopeia

02-05-2007, 04:28 PM

Good luck.

The main source of exhaustion was the lack of paragraphs in your post :p

Many cable companies don't know how to authorize CableCards correctly - keep at it, they shoul ultimately succeed. nd when they do, you'll love it :)
Thanks! :) I actually omitted paragraphs on purpose -- thought it gave my story more of a dramatic effect. :D

myosh_tino

02-05-2007, 07:47 PM

I have to say my install went relatively well except for a mistake I made during the installation process.

My install date was on January 24th and the tech arrived at 9:15 am (install window was 8am-12noon). Instead of inserting the cards one at a time, he did them both at the same time which goes against TiVo's instructions but he seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about the Series3. He initially couldn't get the cards to work because the screen would say "Acquiring channels" when he tried to test the channels. After checking in with someone at the office a couple of times, both cards appeared to be working because I was able to see channel 702 which is my Fox affiliates' HD signal.

This is where I screwed up. Thinking that all was good, I signed off on the paperwork and the tech left. What I should have done was test the other "normal" digital cable channels (i.e. GSN/ch 161, BBC/ch162, etc) because when I went to these digital channels (above channel 100), I got nothing but a black screen. A call to Comcast customer support revealed that my grandfathered digital cable package (from the AT&T Broadband days) had a rate code that the CableCards could not recognize and the only solution was to migrate to a current Comcast cable package. I asked how much my cable bill would be, fearing the worst, but I (and the CSR on the phone) was surprised that my cable would be going down a couple of bucks a month. :D I was told that they would have to hit my cards with the new rate codes in order for me to view the standard digital cable channels. The next morning I still had black screens so I made a second call to Comcast but this time I went to the repair department. The tech told me they would need to reinitialize and hit the cards and that I should take place within the next 30-45 minutes and if that didn't work then they would have to send a tech back out. Fortunately, the reinitialize did work and I got all my analog, digital and HD channels. The process turned out to be easier than I thought.

INSTALLATION SUMMARY...
Appointment Date: January 24th, 2007
Appointment Window: 8 am to 12 noon
Tech Arrived/Left: 9:15 am/9:45 am
Everything Working by: January 25th, 2007

loudguitars

02-05-2007, 08:10 PM

Mine went a bit oddly, but it all worked out in the end.

I ended up having four guys from Time Warner Cable in my wee little apartment (two teams of two). The first team accidentally got a person on the phone who didn't really understand how to activate CableCards, so things got a bit screwy until the second team showed up and helped untangle things.

The first guys were also not aware that the signal won't just immediately pop up on a TiVo the way it does on a regular TV, since the TiVo indexes the channels (which looked like it was taking about 5-10 minutes). They kept thinking they were doing something wrong and resetting the CableCard when it showed the "indexing" screen for more than a minute or two. The second guys were like "Nah, just let it be," and after a while it started behaving.

All in all though, despite taking four guys an hour to figure it all out, fairly smooth. All I cared about was that it actually worked, and that it does.