TWC (Raleigh) CC install= pretty good job

[lowepg]

I was prepared for WAR based on some earlier reading..... especially after my phone conversation to setup the service call..... chick on phone was freaked out that I *refused* to tell her the type of tv I was using.... I kept saying "its for the Tivo3" ..... finally I gave in and told her DELL HD Plasma....

Anyways- guy shows up and it s a 3rd party contractor (hope fading quickly).... Says he'd never done a TIVO before.... didnt even know they used CCs (stomach in knots now...).

Anyways, the good news is- I was pretty adamant about him following the directions.....even to the point of getting on the phone with TWC and telling them we were NOT going to install both cards - then call for activiation.....also had to STOP him from recycling the power when the "firmware upgrading" message was on screen for too long (in his estimation)..... 10 minutes later- flash- it worked.

So, 45 minutes later- we are good to go....

Moral of the story- watch these guys like a hawk- especially until the Tivo3 becomes more mainstream..... make them follow the instructions (you're paying- right?) and DONT sign anything until it is 100% to your satisfaction.

[Dan203]

Good call on the firmware thing. If he had cycled the power, or popped out the card, it would have been hosed and never worked. (the card, not the TiVo)

Dan

[lowepg]

btw- fair is fair.... I am one of the people that was here FLAMING a couple months ago at the $800 price tag and lack of features....

2 months of using the cable companies DVR was a humbling experience....

Still bummed about my other 3 series2 not being able to talk to this one- but Im hoing there will be light at the end of the tunnel....

[greg_burns]

My installer (Comcast) insisted on doing both cards at once. Didn't seem to hurt. Took awhile for the premium HD channels to start coming in but it is working now.

[Dan203]

We did both cards at once for both of my installs and it worked just fine.

Dan

[greg_burns]

I spoke too soon. My premiums (HBO and Starz) have both stopped coming in. I still get other digital channes via cable card.

After the Comcast guy left, I pulled the "original" drive (not really original, it was a 300 GB drive I upgraded to earlier) back out of the Tivo and hooked back up my Thecus again (internal raid array I'm toying with). Tivo came back up and noticed the new CC's. Went through Guided Setup again but no premiums. I thought these CC's where one-way? How could it know I changed drives? Is it saving something on the drives? Are the cards married to something on the drive itself (I assume it was the mobo not in software)? Haven't heard of anyone having problems with their CC's after upgrading their drive.

Put the "original" drive back in again. Still no premiums. Is this just a fluke, or did I screw myself somehow? Guess I should have let it settle in overnight. :rolleyes: :p

[kdmorse]

They (Comcast) seems to have a real problem getting the cards correctly - permanently installed the first time. They get them active and happy by hitting them directly - but fail to get them correctly defined to the account. Then, after a certain amount of time, the fact that they're not on your account correctly catches up to them (probably via a periodic EMM), and causes them to loose functionality. A few phone calls usually straightens this out - or at least it did in my case.

-Ken

[greg_burns]

They (Comcast) seems to have a real problem getting the cards correctly - permanently installed the first time. They get them active and happy by hitting them directly - but fail to get them correctly defined to the account. Then, after a certain amount of time, the fact that they're not on your account correctly catches up to them (probably via a periodic EMM), and causes them to loose functionality. A few phone calls usually straightens this out - or at least it did in my case.

-Ken

Did it involve another truck roll?

[Dan203]

The authorization is handled pretty much exclusively by the cards themselves, so swapping the drive should have no effect on them. You should call the cable company and ask them to rehit the cards. That should kick them back into working mode.

Dan

[greg_burns]

When I change the channel to a premium I see it for a quick second then it shows the black screen with grey border that tells the CC host ID. Does that sounds like it just needs hit again? (Does it for both cards).

Comcast had problems with my premiums back when I first got their equipment even. :rolleyes:

My CC installer turned out to be my neighbor two houses down. Maybe I should just go grab him. :)

[Dan203]

If you have that kind of access to an installer I would definitely grab him. It sounds like your TiVo is popping up the MMI screen, which sounds like it's not properly initalized.

Dan

[kdmorse]

Did it involve another truck roll?

Nope, all over the phone one late monday afternoon.

When I change the channel to a premium I see it for a quick second then it shows the black screen with grey border that tells the CC host ID.

That's not what my cards were doing, so it's probably not the exact same problem. Mine would just tune to a gray screen, no picture or sound. Both cards had reverted back to Not_Subscribed.

Edit: Also, Host Validation was still listed as Valid. So my cards were paired properly, just with no subscription information (as I understand it).

-Ken

[greg_burns]

Nope, all over the phone one late monday afternoon.

There is an 800 or 866 number on this screen that pops up. Should I call that #, or local customer service? I assume that # was for the installer, not the customer.

Haven't watched HBO or Starz since this 12 month free thing started. May just say screw it. Dealing with Comcast is just too aggravating.

[Roderigo]

The authorization is handled pretty much exclusively by the cards themselves, so swapping the drive should have no effect on them.
It's possible that the S3 is storing something on the drive. The S3 needs to remember what card was in what slot, to uphold it's part of the pairing. I could imagine that data going onto the drive (and greg's experience seems to confirm that).

Unfortunately, this means when you put the card in with the new drive, the card then thinks it's in a new box - and you can never recover the validation (without getting the cable company involved). The original drive remembers what card it had, but the card now thinks it was placed into a new host.

[greg_burns]

It's possible that the S3 is storing something on the drive. The S3 needs to remember what card was in what slot, to uphold it's part of the pairing. I could imagine that data going onto the drive (and greg's experience seems to confirm that).

Unfortunately, this means when you put the card in with the new drive, the card then thinks it's in a new box - and you can never recover the validation (without getting the cable company involved). The original drive remembers what card it had, but the card now thinks it was placed into a new host.

But my cards didn't forget everything. I still get all the other digitial channels that I wasn't getting until he had them "hit" the cards. Just not premiums (HBO & Starz).

I may call Comcast and get it fixed and then put back in the real original drive (never seen the cards at all, and still running the original software) for a test. I am just masochist. :)

[Roderigo]

But my cards didn't forget everything. I still get all the other digitial channels that I wasn't getting until he had them "hit" the cards. Just not premiums (HBO & Starz).

It all depends on how your cable company has their system setup. The cards won't decrypt copy protected channels unless they're paired by the headend. So, in your case, it sounds like they're only putting copy protection on HBO & Starz.

[ncbagwell]

Glad to hear that all went well with the install. :)

[greg_burns]

Nope, all over the phone one late monday afternoon.

Comcast couldn't fix anything over the phone for me tonight. Another truck roll tomorrow, more time off work.

I mentioned trying to "hit" the card. He said, yeah "I guess I can try that, but it won't fix it." :rolleyes: Surprisingly, it didn't. Then he asked me to turn my TV off and back on. I reminded him it wasn't a TV and it was going to take several minutes to do that. <sigh> Every 30 seconds while we waited; "anything yet?" I felt like playing some musac and putting him on hold. :D

When the installer was here yesterday he insisted on knowing the exact model number of my TV. I kept telling him they go in the Tivo not the TV, but he had to have it anyways. :)

Probably shouldn't have hijacked this thread. I'll stay out from here on in, I promise.

[lowepg]

When I change the channel to a premium I see it for a quick second then it shows the black screen with grey border that tells the CC host ID. Does that sounds like it just needs hit again? (Does it for both cards).

Comcast had problems with my premiums back when I first got their equipment even. :rolleyes:

My CC installer turned out to be my neighbor two houses down. Maybe I should just go grab him. :)

I couldnt receive any HD channels at first..... the installer decided it was an issue of signal strength..... so he ran a clean line (no splits). After that didnt work (and I showed him the signal strength screen), he called "the mothership" again and learned they hadnt "turned on" HD programming to my account. :D :D

[lowepg]

Glad to hear that all went well with the install. :)

What are you waiting for!

And - while the $90 installation might sound steep- it was fun to watch the installer slide around on the hardwood floors with his baggies on his work boots....

:D :D