What to do when I get the cable cards?

[Franco]

I don't have cable cards yet, so when I got my Series3 I just did the guided setup for regular cable. When the cable guy comes with the cable cards and we follow the cable card instructions from TiVo, will I be able to actually access those HDTV stations to test, even though my channel line-up only shows channels 2-99? Or do I need to re-run the guided setup and somehow get those channels listed before the installer comes?

[Kaldaien]

No, in fact you cannot setup the digital channels without a CableCARD installed. Once installed, the CableCARD will wait a few seconds for a signal from the cable company providing it with a complete channel list. Once the TiVo has the channel list, you will be prompted to run the guided setup again (thankfully, only about 2 or 3 steps, and only the ones pertaining to channels). It will make 2 connections to the TiVo service and in about 15 minutes, you will have a list of digital channels and their program listings.

You can manually tune to any Digital Cable channel (with a CableCARD hooked up) by pressing "Live TV" and then entering the channel number + enter. The program title will be something cryptic like "Regular schedule", but you can at least see if the thing is working or not. This is without redoing the guided setup; that only downloads program listings for the channels and adds them to your available channel listing. I'd suggest trying a basic (non-premium) HD channel like Discovery HD Theatre or a local broadcast network as a test before re-running the guided setup. You should also wait until both CableCARDs have been installed and the installer is gone before doing the guided setup, they have better things to do than wait for your TiVo to download and index program listings ;)

[pmrowley]

That's not entirely correct. The CableCARD control screen has a Test Channels screen that allows you to make sure the CC is working before you exit the interface. This comes up as soon as the CC is inserted into the slot. Once it's inserted, wait a couple of minutes, and the CC info screen will come up with the data that needs to be sent to your provider. Once it has been provisioned, you can use the Test Channel screen to ensure that you have all of your channels for each card separately. I personally tuned to my HD Showtime feed (channel 720; you can just enter the channel number in this screen,) to make sure that HD was working, and my premium channels were up at the same time. Do this for each cable card individually, as per the instructions.

Then, it will prompt you to re-run guided setup. After it's done, you'll need to wait a couple of hours while Tivo re-indexes your guide for the new channels (it honestly takes a couple of hours, as the screen will tell you. Don't panic if you try to immediately set up an HD Season Pass; the HD guide data won't be there right at the start.)

[bsather]

I personally tuned to my HD Showtime feed (channel 720; you can just enter the channel number in this screen,) to make sure that HD was working, and my premium channels were up at the same time. Do this for each cable card individually, as per the instructions.

For tomorrows install and when the cable tech is still here, how do I make sure both cards work correctly..do I start recording lets say HBO-HD, then try to tune to Showtime-HD?

Thanks

[pmrowley]

IIRC (I don't have the instructions in front of me at the moment,) the instructions say to do a channel verification once the card has been "hit" by the Cable Provider (the phone call.) At that point, you go into the Test Channels portion of the Cable Card interface, and verify that your channels are working. I check a few of the SD channels, a few of the HD channels, and some of my Premiums. You do this for each card, and you should be good to go. You don't really need to start a recording; the only thing a Cable Card does is act like your Set-Top-Box. It tells Tivo what channels it's allowed to tune to.

Cheers,
-P

[Sepia]

That's not entirely correct. The CableCARD control screen has a Test Channels screen that allows you to make sure the CC is working before you exit the interface. This comes up as soon as the CC is inserted into the slot. Once it's inserted, wait a couple of minutes, and the CC info screen will come up with the data that needs to be sent to your provider. Once it has been provisioned, you can use the Test Channel screen to ensure that you have all of your channels for each card separately. I personally tuned to my HD Showtime feed (channel 720; you can just enter the channel number in this screen,) to make sure that HD was working, and my premium channels were up at the same time. Do this for each cable card individually, as per the instructions.

Then, it will prompt you to re-run guided setup. After it's done, you'll need to wait a couple of hours while Tivo re-indexes your guide for the new channels (it honestly takes a couple of hours, as the screen will tell you. Don't panic if you try to immediately set up an HD Season Pass; the HD guide data won't be there right at the start.)

Interesting, for me, the cablecard test screen only showed 2 channels, no analog, no HD nothing else. I did not worry and completed guided setup and all my channels came in.

So basically, don't rely on the channel test screen to freak out. ;)

[bsather]

IIRC (I don't have the instructions in front of me at the moment,) the instructions say to do a channel verification once the card has been "hit" by the Cable Provider (the phone call.) At that point, you go into the Test Channels portion of the Cable Card interface, and verify that your channels are working. I check a few of the SD channels, a few of the HD channels, and some of my Premiums. You do this for each card, and you should be good to go. You don't really need to start a recording; the only thing a Cable Card does is act like your Set-Top-Box. It tells Tivo what channels it's allowed to tune to.

Cheers,
-P

Okay, thanks much. I just saw this also that someone posted before.

http://customersupport.tivo.com/knowbase/root/public/tv010416.htm?