Cablecards - 1 channel won't tune, should I bother trying to fix this?

[morac]

I got cableCards for my S3 installed last night. It took awhile and a number of hits but everything appeared to be working.

I actually went through every channel that I'm supposed to receive (including premiums) and I receive all of them except for channel 137 (Hallmark). It just shows a black screen no matter which cableCard does the tuning. It basically looks like it does when you tune to a channel that isn't authorized (ie: tune to HBO and not receive HBO). The channel works through my cable box which means I'm authorized to get it.

I don't watch the channel that often, but I would like to get all the channels I'm paying for.

I called back the guy who did the installation and he said that it could be that the cableCards can't tune that channel. I find it strange that only 1 channel is having issue. He said there are two things I can do:

1. Have a refresh sent, which will refresh the rate codes on the card which control which channels I'm allowed to receive. He said there is no code for channel 137 (it is part of a package) so he doesn't see this helping.

2. Have a box driver hit which basically resets the cable cards and forces them to reinitialize the firmware and redownload their software and channel listings. He didn't recommend doing this since everything else is working fine.


Is there something I can do to get that one channel to come in without breaking all the existing channel or should I basically abandon it as a lost cause?

[PRMan]

You could call and ask if they are testing SDV (switched digital video) on the Hallmark channel.

[morac]

You could call and ask if they are testing SDV (switched digital video) on the Hallmark channel.
I doubt it's SDV. First I'm pretty sure Comcast doesn't use SDV and second it seems strange that they'd test it on the Hallmark channel. Plus if I understand the way SDV works, tuning to the channel on my box should allow me to see it on the TiVo if that were the case.

[TexasAg]

I also did not receive the Hallmark Channel on Verizon Fios (channel 200). I think it started coming in recently. I'd wait to see if the upcoming 8.1 update fixes the problem (esp. if the missing channel is not a big deal).

[SC0TLANDF0REVER]

It's the Hallmark Channel, no loss. j/k ;)

[AbMagFab]

First, understand that authorization is device specific, now account specific. So it's totally possible that one device in your house is authorized for something while another isn't.

That being said, I doubt the Hallmark channel is on some super special authorization, so it's probably part of some package that's already been authorized.

I see a few possibilities:
1) They aren't sending the correct mapping for the Hallmark channel to CC devices
2) The signal strength is too high/low, and you're seeing it only on that channel (very possible)
3) They are using SDV on that channel (unlikely, but possible)

I would wait and see if you get much pixellation on other digital channels, especially those near to the Hallmark channel. If not, it's probably a mapping issue. If so, it's probably a signal strength issue.

And if you get no other issues, and don't watch the channel, I'm not sure I'd care too much.

[morac]

FI would wait and see if you get much pixellation on other digital channels, especially those near to the Hallmark channel. If not, it's probably a mapping issue. If so, it's probably a signal strength issue.

And if you get no other issues, and don't watch the channel, I'm not sure I'd care too much.
Well I checked the signal strength on that channel at its at 97. Pretty much on part with the other channels in the area and they come in fine.

I checked the mapping by looking up the frequency for 137 (Hallmark) on my cable box and on my TiVo and they were both 705 MHz which would seem to indicate the channel is mapped correctly.

This does leave the possibility of SDV, but I doubt it.

I kind of care on principle since I might want to watch the Hallmark channel as opposed to something like ShopNBC which I'd never watch. I called Comcast and they can't diagnose it so they're sending someone out. In the meantime I've tried removing both cards and putting them back in (didn't help or hurt) and rerunning guided setup. Still 137 refuses to display; it will tune, but not display.

[rufusryker]

This might be worth fighting over. After all, nothing says "I Love You" like the Hallmark Channel.

[AbMagFab]

Again the signal strength on the Tivo is pretty much meaningless. You need a meter to tell you the db rating of the coax.

Digital tuning is pretty finicky.

[russkle]

I also have one channel that doesn't tune (170 - SOAP). I am using Cox Cable. Unfortunately, this is a big deal for me (actually, my wife) in that she can't catch "missed" shows (long story... wife MUST have her stories).

Cable company did all the "hits" again and even tried changing the cables cards. They did a COAX signal test and all of the strengths came out fine, but he did get "1 error" on the signal which he said doesn't explain the problem. The same error didn't occur at my cable box on the outside of the house. So he says I need to have my cable re-wired to my TiVo (another service call.... they may charge). I had a cable box pre-TiVo and this channel came in fine. I also had a cable card in my Sony HDTV pre-Series 3 and I am 90% sure that this channel worked. So I'm not really convinced it is a signal problem.

I'm holding out for the update before I order a rewire.

-Russell

[morac]

Again the signal strength on the Tivo is pretty much meaningless. You need a meter to tell you the db rating of the coax.

Digital tuning is pretty finicky.
I would agree, but the cable going into the cable box and the cable going into the TiVo are split off the same line. I have a splitter about 3 feet away from the TiVo with one leg going into the box and the other going into the TiVo. The signal strengths should be practically equal.

I really doubt its a signal issue since the channel does tune. The S3 reports that the signal is locked. I just don't think the card thinks that channel is authorized so it doesn't allow it to be displayed.

Unfortunately the S3 doesn't display an error on non-authorized channels like my cable box does. A big black screen isn't very useful to tell me what's happening. At least it does put up a "channel not found" if you try to tune to a non-existent channel.

[hookbill]

I don't get the Hallmark Channel either. And I know my signal strength because they checked when install was done.

My understanding of what this problem is as explained by one of the monitors here is the cablecard is "misdirected" to the proper location. I really don't understand what that means but I didn't want to make a big deal about this. There were a couple of things on the Hallmark Channel that I watched but to be honest I don't want to upset the apple cart over one really unimportant channel. YMMV.