CableCARD installation FAQ

[kellykhori]

I had two cable cards installed by TWC yesterday. The tech said he had never done a TIVO before. I took him 1 hour and 45 minutes on my Series 3. He was very polite and understanding.

[richsadams]

I had two cable cards installed by TWC yesterday. The tech said he had never done a TIVO before. I took him 1 hour and 45 minutes on my Series 3. He was very polite and understanding.Welcome to the forum and thanks for the info. Seems pretty rare to have techs that haven't seen a TiVo these days, but it happens. He might have been new to the job as well I suppose. Glad to hear he was able to get things going though.

Don't be a stranger! :)

[Phantom Gremlin]

Yes, the VZ tech should only have M cards on board.

Nah, a good VZ tech will have access to either S cards or M cards, and will know that some TiVos require one type, some require another type. My VZ tech earlier this year knew this!

[richsadams]

Nah, a good VZ tech will have access to either S cards or M cards, and will know that some TiVos require one type, some require another type. My VZ tech earlier this year knew this!Oh...you know better..the Series3 can use two S or two M cable cards. (FWIW our S3 has two M cards) The TiVo HD/HDXL can use two S or one M card and the TiVo Premiere and Premiere XL require one M card.

FWIW the VZ tech that I spoke to a couple of months ago said that they haven't had S cards for about a year. AFAIK that's pretty much the case nationally although some could be scrounging around in an old box of supplies out back I suppose. ;)

[Robbdoe1]

Rich,
I sprung for the HD from Block Buster yesterday :) cause I was starting to get shaky. Brighthouse let me call in the CC info :up:. I had 1 S card and 1 M card (SA) from the defective S3. I used the M card in slot 1 and Tivo saw it and poped up the MMI screen. I gave Brighthouse the SN from the card and the Host ID from the MMI screen. All is good except for a few of the copy protected channels that I should be getting.

When I select 1 of these channels the MMI screen pops up. I used the info from Tivo Support to determine on the CP info screen that the card is not bound and paired with the slot.

It says: Auth Status: Waiting for CP Auth.

Any thoughts on how to get BHN to fix it? I called a few times but they are not getting me. I do have a truck roll for Sunday if I can't get it before then.

Thanks.
Robb

[richsadams]

Rich,
I sprung for the HD from Block Buster yesterday :) cause I was starting to get shaky. Brighthouse let me call in the CC info :up:. I had 1 S card and 1 M card (SA) from the defective S3. I used the M card in slot 1 and Tivo saw it and poped up the MMI screen. I gave Brighthouse the SN from the card and the Host ID from the MMI screen. All is good except for a few of the copy protected channels that I should be getting.

When I select 1 of these channels the MMI screen pops up. I used the info from Tivo Support to determine on the CP info screen that the card is not bound and paired with the slot.

It says: Auth Status: Waiting for CP Auth.

Any thoughts on how to get BHN to fix it? I called a few times but they are not getting me. I do have a truck roll for Sunday if I can't get it before then.

Thanks.
RobbAlmost there I see! Believe me, I fully understand why you wouldn't want to go w/o TiVo one minute longer! ;) Cool that your cableco is progressive enough to let you call in the numbers. However the problem with some of the channels sounds like an authorization issue and it's almost certainly on BHN's end. Unless you can convince someone on the other end of the phone to start from scratch and re-pair/bind the card once again you'll probably have to wait fof the tech to do it.

It's remotely possible that something is up with the cable card, a firmware issue or something, but really not likely as you'd probably see issues across the board.

If the tech has a new cable card with him, it might be worthwhile to have him install that one...at least you'll get a fresh start.

Let us know how things go!

[Robbdoe1]

Yep. I could not wait another minute. I figure I can always sell the refurb S3 when it arrives or I can use it :D. Just don't tell the Mrs.

I'm thinking the card is good since I just got all the channels that I'm now missing on the S3 a few days ago with that card. I'm sure it is on BHN's end. The truck roll is from 8-10am so I will wait till then and just let them figure it out. It sounds like the card is activated but not validated to me.

Once this is all done I just need to figure out how to sneek a 1TB drive into the house ;). Shhhhh!

Robb

[Robbdoe1]

Well that went great. I'm all set now :).

We could have saved a truck roll though. They had the CC paired wrong. I spoke to 3 CS reps and confirmed the numbers 2 times Friday and 1 time Saturday to avoid a truck roll and they all confirmed the numbers were correct. The installer called in and the numbers were wrong. They had the CC SN wrong and the Host Id wrong. Oh well.

Thanks again for the help.

Robb

[richsadams]

Well that went great. I'm all set now :).

We could have saved a truck roll though. They had the CC paired wrong. I spoke to 3 CS reps and confirmed the numbers 2 times Friday and 1 time Saturday to avoid a truck roll and they all confirmed the numbers were correct. The installer called in and the numbers were wrong. They had the CC SN wrong and the Host Id wrong. Oh well.

Thanks again for the help.

RobbDetails, details! :rolleyes: Glad to hear that you're all set...finally. :up: Enjoy!

[dforemsky]

Never doubted you'd return them...just wanted to advise that you make sure you have a record of them being returned JIC. Let us know how things go.

Everything went fine. Less than an hour to put multi-stream cards in three TivoHDs (most of the time spent typing numbers into the tech's activation program. Why isn't this more automated?)

He tried to get authorization to take the single stream cards and set top box, but he couldn't and said that I would be better off calling for a return box anyway. (if you do that, they go directly to the department than can take the items off of your bill, but if he took them it may take a couple of steps to get to the right department)

All in all, pretty painless once he got there. A little annoyed since the appointment was for between 1 and 5 on Friday. The tech called my home number on Friday morning to say that he would be there between 12 and 2, called again at 12:30 that he would more likely be there between 2:30 and 3:30 and finally arrived at 3:15.

[richsadams]

Everything went fine. Less than an hour to put multi-stream cards in three TivoHDs <snip>Thanks for the follow up. It does sound like things were pretty painless...nice! Enjoy!

[mchammerheim]

New to the forum, and new to cablecard issues. Received a S3 from my brother when he upgraded to an XL. The S3 worked for him with 2 cablecards (as required) only a few weeks ago, so when I scheduled Comcast to come out I let them know that 2 cards were needed. The tech had 2 M-cards and did the install and activations.

Now the issue: card slot 2 does not seem to work. Problem follows the slot after we swapped cards, even after trying new card in slot 2. Diag screen show the QAM bouncing between 64 and 256(?), so the card is not locking?? Card 2 does receive some channels above analog, but not many. I have tried restarting system as well with no help. Should I do a complete system wipe?

Tivo support no help, only offered me a replacement DVR (@$149) or an upgrade (@$209) Grrrrrrr

[richsadams]

New to the forum, and new to cablecard issues. Received a S3 from my brother when he upgraded to an XL. The S3 worked for him with 2 cablecards (as required) only a few weeks ago, so when I scheduled Comcast to come out I let them know that 2 cards were needed. The tech had 2 M-cards and did the install and activations.

Now the issue: card slot 2 does not seem to work. Problem follows the slot after we swapped cards, even after trying new card in slot 2. Diag screen show the QAM bouncing between 64 and 256(?), so the card is not locking?? Card 2 does receive some channels above analog, but not many. I have tried restarting system as well with no help. Should I do a complete system wipe?

Tivo support no help, only offered me a replacement DVR (@$149) or an upgrade (@$209) GrrrrrrrWelcome to the forum. How frustrating! It's quite possible that something has gone south with the slot, sometimes if a card is forced into place the port can be damaged. But it's more likely that the cable cards that have been tried aren't working. There have been reports of cableco techs going through as many as a half-dozen before finding one that actually works.

That said, unless you can get them to try several new cards it's going to be difficult to diagnose anything else.

The Series3 is a great DVR…we bought one when they first came out and it's still humming along (even with changing providers a few times). So if you can get things ironed out you s/b very happy with it.

Others may chime in with some additional thoughts.

Best of luck!

[mchammerheim]

Thanks for the reply.

The tech did look at the slot for card 2 to verify no bent pins, etc., but it is so dry here a static event is not outside of possibility.

Tech tried 3 M-cards, all worked in slot 1, none work in slot 2, so I may be SOL.I really hope to get things working with the S3, I haven't heard a lot of good things about the XL series (which is what I assume Tivo would upgrade me to), but my info is limited so far.

Luckily I still have my Series-2 connected and working, so I can at least deal with the issue without total Tivo withdrawal.

[richsadams]

Thanks for the reply.

The tech did look at the slot for card 2 to verify no bent pins, etc., but it is so dry here a static event is not outside of possibility.

Tech tried 3 M-cards, all worked in slot 1, none work in slot 2, so I may be SOL.I really hope to get things working with the S3, I haven't heard a lot of good things about the XL series (which is what I assume Tivo would upgrade me to), but my info is limited so far.

Luckily I still have my Series-2 connected and working, so I can at least deal with the issue without total Tivo withdrawal.Ah, got it. It does sound like an issue with the slot then. You might have a look inside (you'll need a Torx 10 screwdriver to open the case). There might be a loose wire or something I suppose.

Not sure what the upgrade might be either. Could be a TiVo HD…which works perfectly fine, could be a TiVo HDXL as well or maybe a Premiere. Although The TiVo HD and basic Premiere both have a smaller hard drive (160GB Vs 250GB in the Series3) it might be worth a look. It's not likely it would be a TiVo Premiere XL at that price, but if it were a TiVo HDXL (1TB hard drive) I think I'd give that serious consideration (or they might let you "upgrade" for a little more).

It is indeed good that you have a TiVo in any case. Anyway, let us know how things go!

[a68oliver]

The tech had 2 M-cards and did the install and activations.

Now the issue: card slot 2 does not seem to work. Problem follows the slot after we swapped cards, even after trying new card in slot 2. Diag screen show the QAM bouncing between 64 and 256(?), so the card is not locking?? Card 2 does receive some channels above analog, but not many. I have tried restarting system as well with no help. Should I do a complete system wipe?


Did the tech completely install the first card and pair it before attempting to pair the 2nd card? The original S3 requires each card to be paired separately and not simutaineously in the phone call to home base. After swapping cards around, was there an attempt to re-pair those cards? Some of the pairing numbers will change when a card is moved to a new slot.

If a card is not properly paired, you may receive some unencrypted channels but not those that are copy protected. You said you were receiving SOME channels on the 2nd card/tuner.

There have also been reports of problems when devices were not listed on your account in the proper order at Comcast. I am not sure what the order should be, but perhaps someone else can chime in with that info.

[richsadams]

Did the tech completely install the first card and pair it before attempting to pair the 2nd card? The original S3 requires each card to be paired separately and not simutaineously in the phone call to home base. After swapping cards around, was there an attempt to re-pair those cards? Some of the pairing numbers will change when a card is moved to a new slot.

If a card is not properly paired, you may receive some unencrypted channels but not those that are copy protected. You said you were receiving SOME channels on the 2nd card/tuner.

There have also been reports of problems when devices were not listed on your account in the proper order at Comcast. I am not sure what the order should be, but perhaps someone else can chime in with that info.All very good points! It's been so long since I worked with a Series3 I neglected to consider all of those well-known variables. Thanks very much for that. :up:

[mchammerheim]

Did the tech completely install the first card and pair it before attempting to pair the 2nd card? The original S3 requires each card to be paired separately and not simutaineously in the phone call to home base. After swapping cards around, was there an attempt to re-pair those cards? Some of the pairing numbers will change when a card is moved to a new slot.

If a card is not properly paired, you may receive some unencrypted channels but not those that are copy protected. You said you were receiving SOME channels on the 2nd card/tuner.

There have also been reports of problems when devices were not listed on your account in the proper order at Comcast. I am not sure what the order should be, but perhaps someone else can chime in with that info.

Thanks for the feedback. Another service call, another card installed, but slot 2 still not working on all channels. Couldn't try more cards since Comcast techs only carry at most 2 cards in their trucks at a time?! I also tried doing the activation myself (following your input) with the same results. Sad to say I may have to replace this S3 unit with a newer unit which only requires one M-card.

[hmm52]

I'm partial to S3s. I bought 3 more of them on Ebay last week to help friends new to TiVo. I set up the first S3 for installation last night - switched escutcheon with display module, made truncated backup image of 1TB HDD already installed, prepared it for local Verizon using one of my cards, and so forth. This morning at the destination house I removed all the Comcast equipment, straightened out cabling messes, moved furniture out of the way, even put a work table in the basement for the tech.

I've been a defender of cableco techs on this forum, Comcast and Verizon, as even the green ones have at least known to quickly call their supervisor - based on my previous experience with cablecard installs and issues dating back to 2005. The Verizon tech I dealt with today was beyond belief. To say he was incredibly surly, arrogant and obstinate in the extreme would just be a baby step towards describing this jerk. To make it even worse there were two women I know very well observing every minute of the fun we had together. The tech didn't hesitate at all to reveal his massive personality defects in front of them.

From my point of view the installation should have been a piece of cake, not the 5.5 hour debacle it turned out to be. An ONT, UPS, etc. was already installed in the garage by a previous owner using FiOS. Work only with 4 outlets - 2 digital/analog converters, 1 VZ HD STB, 1 TiVo S3; just 1 new coax; 2 Cat5e cables; router. Big deal. Early on we had a small quarrel about the need for 2 cablecards, but I thought the issue to be settled. Not so. He piddled around on his laptop for 40 minutes with only the locals showing; he thought it just needed more time; he had another appointment to go to. I told him it wasn't initialized properly and to call his supervisor. He did so with nasty reluctance and finally got everything up - on the first card.

He then announced he was done and got up to leave. I told him "No", the second card needed installation. He barked that he new cablecards and TiVos well; all Verizon cards are "two tuner" cards; no TiVos need more than one of their cards (all M cards now). I showed him the diagnostics screen with no data for tuner 0; this didn't faze him in the least. One of the women there was my sister in law; she's known me for 30 years; she's never seen me angry in all that time; until today. I was livid. I began screaming at this jerk as he made his way towards the door. It was necessary anyway to force another call to his supervisor. I spoke directly to him and he seemed reasonable; but another 20 minutes were wasted as the jerk read the S3's model and service #s over the phone to somebody. Eventually the second card install went better than the first. The tech would still be there probably if I hadn't found his van keys for him. He did manage to leave his Sunrise meter behind; AFAIK he did nothing with it besides losing and forgetting it for an hour and a half. My rage a little unsettling perhaps?

I guess my point was just to rant. In a practical way, if you are a FiOS customer living as far away from Hatboro, PA as Blue Bell, PA is and you get a tech named Pete, watch out!! He's incompetent and unbelievably arrogant to boot. If, on the other hand, the VZ tech at your door is a very cute young blond woman named Suzie, you are truly blessed! Not only is she very pleasant, she really knows her stuff; she's a great pole climber as well. Why can't they all be like Suzie?

[richsadams]

Holy cow! I've had my share of knowledgable and not so bright cableco techs, but that one should be nominated for some sort of prize! That you avoided inflicting bodily harm is testimony to your patience. Some folks should just not be doing what they are doing.

FWIW I too am still a big fan of the Series3. Although our Premiere XL has a few more bells and whistles...it wouldn't phase me in the least to swap it out with our Series3, which after these many years still performs like a champ.

Glad to hear that you were able to lend a hand to your friends...they'd no doubt have a lesser opinion of TiVo (and probably men in general) had you not been there. :up: Thanks for sharing the story.

BTW, it's taking everything I've got to avoid commenting about Suzie's pole climbing abilities. D'oh...too late! :p

[hmm52]

Yeah, I thought about my reference to her pole climbing abilities after submitting the post. Not before, promise! She had such a great combination of knowledge, charm, looks and physical ability that it was impossible for me to not be very impressed. She came on a Saturday to repair damage caused by an elm branch falling on the fiber optic cable coming from street pole. Verizon PA is very reluctant to schedule Saturday appointments because of the overtime involved. But in this case everything was knocked out - phone, Internet & TV. The ONT had been mounted on exterior wall with plastic inserts and screws in holes drilled into the pointing mortar of the stone center of a house first built in the 1780s! The falling branch ripped the ONT off the wall and up in the air before the cable shredded (elm wood is on the far end of heavy). I dismantled the ONT and remounted it with Tapcon screws directly into stone. Suzie appreciated my work; I'm certain the jerk from yesterday would have resented it as meddling. The incident occurred when the love of my life (past life) was visiting from Germany for a week; also a beautiful woman. Over there you're lucky if you can get initial phone service installed in less than 3 weeks. I told her it was true: In the USA repairs are always completed within 24 hours of trouble even on weekends; and all our phone techs are just like Suzie. Of course! ---- Frontier customers excluded perhaps. FWIW I asked her who was responsible for the repair, me or VZ, as the elm was on my front lawn and had been clearly dead for some time. She said it was still just an act of Nature so it fell on Verizon; if I had been working on the tree and caused the damage, it would have fallen on me (the tab). So I opted to have a tree surgeon (great climber also; didn't notice his butt however) take down the elm as it was still enmeshed with the replacement cable.

As far as the jerk from yesterday goes, my life lesson is simple: There are plenty of wonderful people out there. When you encounter somebody new or old with little or no trust and appreciation for you, move on ASAP. There's no point in wasting a second of your short life on them. Actually once we were done, Pete the jerk said that it had been a learning experience for him; that he was the first to admit it when he was wrong. And if I had not held his feet to the fire? I hope what he learned was about civility, not just about S3s and their unique need for 2 cablecards. And I learned that there still is a place for anger in my life, though only as last resort! I trust my blood pressure has stabilized by now.

I've been a sniper in picking off S3s in the last 2 seconds of auctions. I think they're great buys. I always ask the sellers if they're happy with the prices they got; they uniformly are. Most are sold because of difficulties caused by their providers, not the TiVos. One of the recent ones, the cheapest, came with 2 SA cards inserted. Piecing together the data, I'm sure the unit went through an estate auction following the death of a subscriber to Comcast Delray Beach/Boca Raton. (the seller doesn't know its history) Comcast down there is clueless as to what the issue is so I'm about to return them to the local facility in a hope that the account is credited properly. Have you ever heard of such a situation? :confused:

[V7Goose]

Thanks for the reply.

The tech did look at the slot for card 2 to verify no bent pins, etc., but it is so dry here a static event is not outside of possibility.

Tech tried 3 M-cards, all worked in slot 1, none work in slot 2, so I may be SOL.I really hope to get things working with the S3, I haven't heard a lot of good things about the XL series (which is what I assume Tivo would upgrade me to), but my info is limited so far.

Luckily I still have my Series-2 connected and working, so I can at least deal with the issue without total Tivo withdrawal.
Just an FYI - the S3 does not always like the Verizon M-cards. At least mine didn't! I have had my S3 and FiOS since long before the M-cards were even available, and it has always worked perfectly with two S-cards.

I also have a THD unit that had two S-cards in it. Last year I got Verizon back out here to swap those two S-cards for two M-cards so I could save a bit of money. Just for the heck of it, I also had him swap the two S-cards in the S3, figuring that in the future I might have a different unit that could use the M-cards, so might as well have them done now instead of having to call a tech back out in the future.

Initially things seemed to work OK, but I did not fully check out the premium channels. After the tech left, I discovered that the S3 would not receive any premium channels on any of the M-cards, but all four of them worked perfectly in my HD box. Coincidentally, I discovered that my very old Sony plasma HDTV had the same problem with the M-cards as the S3 did.

The solution was simple - I had the tech come back out the next day and give me back three of the old S-cards, which immediately worked perfectly in the S3 and the Sony HDTV. I have no idea if the tech could have gotten the new M-cards to work with my S3 - I didn't even want him to spend the time trying since the S-cards worked fine.

[hmm52]

It's my guess that your M cards in the S3 were not authorized properly for the premiums - a head end problem. Best way to tell would have been to try them in the TiVo HD. I've run into this fairly often with one out of my five S cards. It tends to lose its authorization and needs to be rehit by over the phone tech. Don't let in house tech leave before all types of channels are checked. Use whatever means necessary to keep him/her there...

[V7Goose]

You seem to have missed the information. As I specifically said in the last post, ALL 4 of the M-cards worked perfectly in the THD box, receiving all premium channels.

You are absolutely correct about the need to check everything in detail before the tech leaves. I made this mistake simply because I had never had any problem moving FiOS cards between my different TiVo boxes and TVs - if they worked in one, they worked in all. So when I tested the M-cards in the THD box and they did receive all channels, I had no reason to suspect they would not work the same way in the other devices.

And that was the whole reason I made the post at all - just to point out for people having trouble that there seems to be something peculiar about the way the S3 (and some other older devices) deals with M-cards differently than the old S-cards. This is even supported by what Verizon is saying in a letter they have begun sending to customers in some regions, where they state they will be making changes to their system that will cause some older devices that use cable cards to stop working. Even though they say TiVo boxes should not be affected, their letter clearly indicates that there has been some change in system specifications since the original cable cards were introduced.

[hmm52]

[QUOTE=V7Goose;8159747]Initially things seemed to work OK, but I did not fully check out the premium channels. After the tech left, I discovered that the S3 would not receive any premium channels on any of the M-cards, but all four of them worked perfectly in my HD box. Coincidentally, I discovered that my very old Sony plasma HDTV had the same problem with the M-cards as the S3 did.

I read this paragraph too quickly - 1 HD, 1 S3, 4 cards checked each way. Not good news if your case is not unique which I doubt it is. Yesterday was the first time I saw an M card, and at a glance. I assume VZ's are Motorolas. That correct?

[V7Goose]

Yes, all eight cable cards were Motorola - four S-cards, and 4 M-cards.

All four S-cards worked perfectly in the TiVoHD, the S3, and the Sony Plasma TV.

All four M-cards worked perfectly in the TiVoHD ONLY. They would only receive analog channels in the S3 AND the Sony plasma TV.

I am glad that I tested them in both the S3 and the old Sony TV, which came out around the same time as the S3 was introduced. This shows the odd problem is not specific to the TiVo Series 3, but may be related to early implementation of cable card devices.

[hmm52]

You make an interesting point. Everything I use now depends on TiVos for tuning but this wasn't the case several years ago. Back then I had cards in 2 Sony DVRs, a first generation Sony Lcos SXRD, and a small Toshiba TV. The Toshiba was problematical. Its card would fairly regularly lose the premiums or everything beyond the locals. Power cycling would sometimes restore them; swapping cards with any of the Sonys nearly always did; in the worst case the card would have to be rehit. The fact that just installation in another device awakened the lost channels suggests to me that something was amiss in the Toshiba's software related to cablecard decoding interface; and an interactivity between card and device. Perhaps that's going to be an issue now with S3s and Motorola M cards. If so, we'll be dependent on TiVo updating their software for S3s or Motorola providing a firmware update for their cards.

[richsadams]

Initially things seemed to work OK, but I did not fully check out the premium channels. After the tech left, I discovered that the S3 would not receive any premium channels on any of the M-cards, but all four of them worked perfectly in my HD box. Coincidentally, I discovered that my very old Sony plasma HDTV had the same problem with the M-cards as the S3 did..We had the exact same experience when we switched from Comcast to Verizon. Pulled two S cards out of the Series3 and installed two M cards. Everything looked fine...tech left and then came to find out that none of the premiums worked. Spent about an hour on the phone with VZ support and they finally reauthorized both cards...tah da! Similar issues came up when Frontier took over (a whole other rant) and each time it was a card issue. So I think it's more a matter of authorization than anything to do with the Series3. Glad things worked out though.

[hmm52]

You make an interesting point. Everything I use now depends on TiVos for tuning but this wasn't the case several years ago. Back then I had cards in 2 Sony DVRs, a first generation Sony Lcos SXRD, and a small Toshiba TV. The Toshiba was problematical. Its card would fairly regularly lose the premiums or everything beyond the locals. Power cycling would sometimes restore them; swapping cards with any of the Sonys nearly always did; in the worst case the card would have to be rehit. The fact that just installation in another device awakened the lost channels suggests to me that something was amiss in the Toshiba's software related to cablecard decoding interface; and an interactivity between card and device. Perhaps that's going to be an issue now with S3s and Motorola M cards. If so, we'll be dependent on TiVo updating their software for S3s or Motorola providing a firmware update for their cards.

I should have mentioned a little more. Once a cablecard with lost channels in the Toshiba had been reawakened in any of the Sonys (usually the TV), the card held all the channels when reinserted into the Toshiba - until the next time it lost channels. On the occasions that the Sonys did not restore channels to the card, a phone tech was needed for rehit. This was rare, less than 5%. So with my adventures with this Toshiba, it wasn't a head end problem. Tail end would be apt. Initialization and authorization remained through at least 95% of the events

[hmm52]

Well, I've joined the club! I requested 1 additional cablecard from Verizon on Monday. The agent assured me 3 times that it would be UPSed for self install - no charge. You all know the rest of the story; automated call yesterday informing me of FiOS TV installation scheduled for a Friday window of 8:00AM to 5:00PM. After being rerouted through the system for 20+ minutes, the CSR confirmed that no VZ cards are self installed but he would waive the $79.95 truck roll charge due to the agent's confusion. $79.95 to stop by & set up 1 cablecard? It must be Pete the jerk and cablecard expert. My luck has to change with VZ. Are you listening, Suzie?

[mdowden]

OK - have to work on some updates. Any suggestions for other questions?

Yes.... you should talk about tuning adapters. At least in my TW area (Dayton), the cable card is worthless on the HD and digital 'bands' without the tuning adapter because of Switch Digital Video (SDV).

I wouldn't say completely worthless....but you will be missing a LOT of channels....Channels that you want.

[hmm52]

The 1 cablecard install with VZ went OK; not great. At least I got a very nice guy, Mike, instead of the fool from Tuesday. He also swapped out the router for free with an Actiontec wireless N. This was easy. Cablecard should have gone better but he hadn't done one for 9 months. He set it up from inside his van rather than using customer's laptop as done Tuesday; apparently some confusion with which and how many numbers to enter; I was otherwise occupied so it didn't matter to me how long it took.

Once he left, I inserted the donor S card from my primary residence into slot 2. It sorted itself within a minute or so. Seems to get along fine with the M card below. I don't intend this as a permanent setup as I know Verizon pings the cards (or some such thing) every so often and they might have a way to see that a card from a different account is in operation miles from its billing address (if anybody's paying attention on their end). But it's worked for me in the past during times when visitors have been around for up to two weeks. The cards reset so quickly that I think I'll put a spare S3 into the bedroom and just move 1 or both cards upstairs when wanted.

I told Mike I was a little disappointed that it wasn't Suzie at the door. Her name brings a smile with all the local VZ techs. I found out a little more about her. She's been with VZ for 10 years, the first 5 of them in office. She got tired of that so trained for field work and has been doing it for the recent 5 years. Good for her! As he sees her at the end of each day, I asked him to pass it on that I'd be heaving branches at the fiber optic in the hope I could make it shred again; expect a service call here. Wish me luck...

[willv28]

Hey everyone. I just got a new Premiere. Likely my TiVo HD will be donated to those less fortunate to not have a TiVo (but a regular cable box that makes popping noises in the sound...

So the TiVo HD had the cablecard. I want to move it to the premiere, they would need to update the host information. Any way I could convince my cable company (Charter) to do this over the phone and not have a tech come out just to read off a host number. It's a complete waste of half my day to wait for that. Or should I just schedule the tech and try to waive a truck roll fee?

[richsadams]

Hey everyone. I just got a new Premiere. Likely my TiVo HD will be donated to those less fortunate to not have a TiVo (but a regular cable box that makes popping noises in the sound...

So the TiVo HD had the cablecard. I want to move it to the premiere, they would need to update the host information. Any way I could convince my cable company (Charter) to do this over the phone and not have a tech come out just to read off a host number. It's a complete waste of half my day to wait for that. Or should I just schedule the tech and try to waive a truck roll fee?If they'll let you do it over the phone, by all means, try it. You should only have to read back three numbers from the cable card info screen, the CableCARD ID, Host ID and Card S/N. That's generally all the tech would do.

Some cableco's are progressive enough to let customers read numbers, others not so much. The policy can even vary within the same company area-to-area so it can't hurt to ask. Folks here who are on Charter may be able to relate their experiences.

Best of luck and let us know how things go. Oh, and enjoy your new TiVo!

[willv28]

If they'll let you do it over the phone, by all means, try it. You should only have to read back three numbers from the cable card info screen, the CableCARD ID, Host ID and Card S/N. That's generally all the tech would do.

Some cableco's are progressive enough to let customers read numbers, others not so much. The policy can even vary within the same company area-to-area so it can't hurt to ask. Folks here who are on Charter may be able to relate their experiences.

Best of luck and let us know how things go. Oh, and enjoy your new TiVo!

Well, I tried twice, they wouldn't do it. Despite having everything I needed. The first time, I voiced my displeasure at them after they wouldn't even talk to me about it. Wouldn't even discuss waiving the fee. I'm in the IT field and it's not exactly rocket science. I already had removed my old tivo, put the cablecard in the new one so I could get the information, I had the hardware address, host information, serial number, etc for the card all written down and ready to go. My quote was "I understand what they tell you to do. It's not you, but, your company don't give your customers enough credit. It's not that complicated. It's a waste of my time and theirs to do this. I'll call back and see what can be done." She "noted it on my account".

The second lady gave me grief for removing the card. I plan to give the old tivo to my brother in law if they decide they want it. I already removed it from my tivo account. She was going on about "how it breaks it and it has to be a technician to come repair it because they have to 'configure' the tivo". Her and I have different ideas of the what the word "break" means. I tried to explain to her it's not magic, we need the host ID. It has to be paired again. I explained it does not, it doesn't work because it's not PAIRED to the device, I just need to give you the new device information. She insisted that "she has the information right in front of her". She did the ol' send a hit to the card trick, of course it didn't work... If it did I could just give the card to anyone and steal service by just popping it in. At least she was nice enough to "try". So I was nice to her and let them send someone.

Luckily they're sending someone out today, I just couldn't convince her that her information is not current and it's not automatic. All she'd have on file is the hardware address, serial number, the host id is not current. They should be here in the next hour or two and there's no fee. She was nice, but it's just plain silly. It makes me feel silly like when they came to install the cablecard originally the guy got it done but had to have someone help them.

The guys around here have very little knowledge. All they know about a MAC address is that they have to call it in when they install a cable modem. At least the contractor company is terrible, the Charter guys are fine but they're more reserved for big jobs around here because we're not their focus area. The contractors get paid by job and don't care, it's also a revolving door company. When they installed my tuning adapter, I was laughing because they had to read the directions... Plugging in a USB cable is not that difficult. Then they used RG-59 cable to plug it in. When they left, I immediately rewired everything.

My brother in law has poor signal. So when a contractor came to fix it, they found water inside the connector at the tap, they also replaced the whole drop, which is certainly over 200'. They only had RG-6, so instead of scheduling someone to come out with higher grade cable, just to be done and be the one paid for the job, they just ran it and the service is no better. They blame the signal amp I installed (one of theirs too). It's not the amp, digital signals won't work at all unless there is an amp...

[richsadams]

Well, I tried twice, they wouldn't do it. <snip>How frustrating. Unfortunately your experience is more the norm than not. I can understand why the cableco would like someone on site to address something else that might come up. However I've never understood not allowing the end user to at least try to pair the box over the phone. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work and a truck roll is in order. If it does work they've saved everyone time and themselves the expense of paying a contractor to visit your home. :confused: Since cable card applications are such a small part of their business the need for support probably just doesn't happen often enough for it to appear on their bean counter's radar or I have to believe they would jump on the opportunity to cut expenses.

Based on posts here and elsewhere the bar for "techs" doesn't seem to be set very high. Again though, it's probably the 80/20 rule…80% of jobs being within some basic parameters that even the least trained tech can accomplish. I'd bet the cost for the other 20% is a large chunk of their costs though.

Bottom line is that it's probably the old axiom "That's the way we've always done it" that controls their business model. :rolleyes:

Let us know how things go!

[willv28]

How frustrating. Unfortunately your experience is more the norm than not. I can understand why the cableco would like someone on site to address something else that might come up. However I've never understood not allowing the end user to at least try to pair the box over the phone. If it doesn't work, it doesn't work and a truck roll is in order. If it does work they've saved everyone time and themselves the expense of paying a contractor to visit your home. :confused: Since cable card applications are such a small part of their business the need for support probably just doesn't happen often enough for it to appear on their bean counter's radar or I have to believe they would jump on the opportunity to cut expenses.

Based on posts here and elsewhere the bar for "techs" doesn't seem to be set very high. Again though, it's probably the 80/20 rule…80% of jobs being within some basic parameters that even the least trained tech can accomplish. I'd bet the cost for the other 20% is a large chunk of their costs though.

Bottom line is that it's probably the old axiom "That's the way we've always done it" that controls their business model. :rolleyes:

Let us know how things go!

I know, that's why it's annoying. Of course. The guy shows up, takes literally two minutes to call, give the new host id. Then everything worked again... I could have been where I wanted to go today three hours ago if they had just done it when I called.

[richsadams]

I know, that's why it's annoying. Of course. The guy shows up, takes literally two minutes to call, give the new host id. Then everything worked again... I could have been where I wanted to go today three hours ago if they had just done it when I called.Well…at least it's all done and now you can enjoy it!

[Brighton Line]

I know its too late, next time try calling in a problem. Ask to talk to a cablecard expert like you are going to ask them to rehit or rebind the cards. Once you are talking to the tech and not the gatekeeper, read the numbers and see if they would do that.

I tried that with cablevision and once past the gatekeeper and talking to a "cablecard expert" it worked. Though note that it worked once and not the second time ;)

[hmm52]

Just an FYI - the S3 does not always like the Verizon M-cards. At least mine didn't! I have had my S3 and FiOS since long before the M-cards were even available, and it has always worked perfectly with two S-cards....

The solution was simple - I had the tech come back out the next day and give me back three of the old S-cards, which immediately worked perfectly in the S3 and the Sony HDTV. I have no idea if the tech could have gotten the new M-cards to work with my S3 - I didn't even want him to spend the time trying since the S-cards worked fine.

As a follow up: The M card installed in one of my S3s Friday is still working fine, except that it's paired - the first time with FiOS through the four years with Verizon. As of this afternoon 4 out of my 5 S cards have seen significant changes in their Conditional Access screens. None are now paired but the future is rather obvious at this point, at least for Philadelphia area subscribers.

[richsadams]

As a follow up: The M card installed in one of my S3s Friday is still working fine, except that it's paired - the first time with FiOS through the four years with Verizon. <snip> Are they copy protecting some or all of your cable channels as well? (They can't protect the broadcast channels). You can check under DVR Diagnostics. CCI Byte 0x00 means unprotected, 0x02 means protected…meaning that you cannot use MRV or move the recording to your computer etc. Copy protection would generally be the only reason that they'd pair your cable cards to your TiVo.

[lob]

well i must be a sucker for punishment. no more than 6 months (and 3 tech visits) after finally getting my XL working right with cablevision finally. i decided to order fios.

i had heard good things about fios tech wise. also my friend has and xl with an mcard in it 2 towns over - he said it all went fine.

low and behold.. i ordered fios last night. called today to add an mcard to my order.. and got told they only have scards available. they dont do mcards. asked to speak to someone else in technical.. got told same thing by that person. so tomorrow i plan to call my local office to get better news hopefully. i really had high hopes fios would be more on the ball than cable company. and i still cant believe this is such a headache after all this time.

[richsadams]

well i must be a sucker for punishment. no more than 6 months (and 3 tech visits) after finally getting my XL working right with cablevision finally. i decided to order fios.

i had heard good things about fios tech wise. also my friend has and xl with an mcard in it 2 towns over - he said it all went fine.

low and behold.. i ordered fios last night. called today to add an mcard to my order.. and got told they only have scards available. they dont do mcards. asked to speak to someone else in technical.. got told same thing by that person. so tomorrow i plan to call my local office to get better news hopefully. i really had high hopes fios would be more on the ball than cable company. and i still cant believe this is such a headache after all this time.I'd wager dollars to donuts that they actually have M cards…it's been well over a year or more since FiOS in any area was offering up S cards so odds are you'll be fine.

[lob]

I'd wager dollars to donuts that they actually have M cards…it's been well over a year or more since FiOS in any area was offering up S cards so odds are you'll be fine.

cheers rich i hope you are right and i'll let you know how i make out.

[lob]

cheers rich i hope you are right and i'll let you know how i make out.

quick update.. i called my local fios store and sure enough they assured me they had mcards. they told me they would contact CS themselves and get it added. they called back saying all was set.

so i just checked my order status on the "whats next" fios page. sure enough a "cable card rental" line has appeared. and thats not all... 2 "dvrs" (one hd, one sd) have magically appeared on the order? wow. on hold right now to get them removed. i wonder if the system automatically added them when the cablecards were added? also wondering if it will then furthermore remove the cablecards if both dvrs are removed from the order. pure evil genius.

[richsadams]

quick update.. i called my local fios store and sure enough they assured me they had mcards. they told me they would contact CS themselves and get it added. they called back saying all was set.

so i just checked my order status on the "whats next" fios page. sure enough a "cable card rental" line has appeared. and thats not all... 2 "dvrs" (one hd, one sd) have magically appeared on the order? wow. on hold right now to get them removed. i wonder if the system automatically added them when the cablecards were added? also wondering if it will then furthermore remove the cablecards if both dvrs are removed from the order. pure evil genius.IIRC they are required to show DVRs or set top boxes on their order forms. The installer will bring them along and cross them off the list when he or she sees that you don't need them.

[icespide]

welp I just pulled the trigger on two TiVo Premiere boxes since I found a great deal. I currently have 2 TiVo HD boxes that I'd like to swap out the cableCARDS from those boxes and use those in the premiere boxes. Each box has one M Card.

I'm currently using Comcast, had a nightmare each time I had a cablecard installed. What is everyone's experience with moving a cablecard to a new TiVo, particularly with comcast? I've read that I'll probably have to "pair" the cards to their new TiVo, which should only entail me calling up comcast and reading off the 3 usual numbers, hopefully. What are my chances that this will go smoothly? I'm excited for shiny new TiVo's but worried about comcast...

thanks. long time reader, first time poster. <3 my TiVo

[richsadams]

You'll certainly have to pair your cable cards to your new TiVo's. It's a roll of the dice if Comcast will let you call in the cable card info or require a truck roll. Comast has different policies in different areas (I know, it makes no sense but there it is.)

It would be best to call and find out ASAP so if you do have to schedule a visit yo can get in the queue.

Enjoy your new TiVo's!

[drhankz]

The FCC changes the CableCARD rules (http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/14/the-fcc-changes-the-cablecard-rules-but-not-dramatically/), but not dramatically
By Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 14th 2010 6:43PM
Feature

[mrdazzo7]

The FCC changes the CableCARD rules (http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/14/the-fcc-changes-the-cablecard-rules-but-not-dramatically/), but not dramatically
By Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 14th 2010 6:43PM
Feature

THANK GOD. I'm moving this week and I was stressing out about scheduling a truck roll to do these damn cable cards... I just called cablevision (long island) and the lady confirmed that I can pick up the cards then call in to activate them myself...

I didn't have an absolute nightmare originally but it was bad enough to make me not want to do it ever again. Even at the time I thought it was idiotic to have a guy come to put cards in a slot then follow on-screen prompts for two hours. I have to think the installers are thanking the FCC at this point. My new landlords should be happy-- $2 per CC so $4 total vs almost $17 for the dvr box they have in the apartment now. Would be even better if they took that difference off the rent, haha.

[richsadams]

I have to think the installers are thanking the FCC at this point. Oh, I doubt the installers are happy about the FCC's ruling at all...they get paid by the hour and/or job. I'd wager the cable companies aren't happy at the moment because their (antiquated) concept was that sending someone out was "preventative" maintenance. Once they realize that most John Q Public types are more than capable of slipping a cable card in a slot and reading some numbers over the phone...AND their payroll and/or sub-contractor expenses are reduced, I suspect they'll see things in a more positive light. ;)

[E94Allen]

My TiVo uses SA MCard... I am wondering if EMM Processed is important because mine is shown as zero does it matters?

[Grumock]

My TiVo uses SA MCard... I am wondering if EMM Processed is important because mine is shown as zero does it matters?

yes it does unless you have recently rebooted it. What does the "Status" say toward the top?

[jilter]

The FCC changes the CableCARD rules (http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/14/the-fcc-changes-the-cablecard-rules-but-not-dramatically/), but not dramatically
By Ben Drawbaugh posted Oct 14th 2010 6:43PM
Feature

So why is Comcast still insisting on coming out to install new cable cards?
Has anyone had any success enforcing this ruling with their local Comcast office?
I believe they purposely are disabling the cards to force a home visit.
The thing is, I can not figure out why.
It must be costing them tons of money to pay installers to do something any able-minded person should be able to do.
I really don't get their mindset.

[drhankz]

So why is Comcast still insisting on coming out to install new cable cards?

Some Comcast Franchises allow end-user installs and some don't.

[Ziggy86]

Has anyone here with Fios swapped cable cards from on Tivo to another?

If so do you need FIos to come and pair or like others have said the card works in other devices without having to get Fios to come to your house?

Thanks
Steven

[a68oliver]

So why is Comcast still insisting on coming out to install new cable cards?
Has anyone had any success enforcing this ruling with their local Comcast office?
I believe they purposely are disabling the cards to force a home visit.
The thing is, I can not figure out why.
It must be costing them tons of money to pay installers to do something any able-minded person should be able to do.
I really don't get their mindset.

Because they can.

The rule doesn't appear to take effect in Comcast's case until August 1, 2011. So there is no rule to enforce, yet.

I disagree that they are "purposely" disabling cards to force a home visit. I can't believe that they are making any money on home visits. I don't think the installation rate is sufficient to cover their actual costs.

[richsadams]

Has anyone here with Fios swapped cable cards from on Tivo to another?

If so do you need FIos to come and pair or like others have said the card works in other devices without having to get Fios to come to your house?

Thanks
StevenDo you have Verizon FiOS? If so, yes, they do not pair cable cards to the box and you can swap them out.

[Ziggy86]

I do have FiOS and am keeping my fingers crossed that it is as simple as just putting the card from old Tivo into the new Tivo. If they do not pair them why did it take so long to install the card the first time?

[richsadams]

So why is Comcast still insisting on coming out to install new cable cards?
Has anyone had any success enforcing this ruling with their local Comcast office?
I believe they purposely are disabling the cards to force a home visit.
The thing is, I can not figure out why.
It must be costing them tons of money to pay installers to do something any able-minded person should be able to do.
I really don't get their mindset.The cableco's somewhat antiquated concept is that the end-user doesn't have enough experience (or sense) to insert a cable card, find the proper menus and read three sets of numbers to someone in support services over the phone. Then they also want to take into account that even if someone were to get the cable cards properly set up, something else might need attention. To avoid a lot of "I did that...what do I do now?" calls they just opt to send a tech.

I agree with you and a68oliver, the expense to roll a truck is certainly costing them more than what they charge.

The reason some Comcast offices allow customers to activate cable cards and some don't goes back to whatever the policy was for the original cableco prior to their acquisition by Comcast...so it's very patchwork.

Cable cards are a very small percentage of any cableco's business so however it's handled it's not on their radar. If the offices share information someone in upper management should have realized long ago that those allowing customers to activate cable cards w/o a truck roll are enjoying lower costs. However even if they understand that it's probably (in their eyes) more trouble to change their policies and deal with re-training of their support staff than it's worth.

Once the law changes I'd wager the offices currently requiring a truck roll will continue to do so until someone puts their foot down. I don't think they'll flout the law on purpose, they'll just keep doing business as usual until they're forced to change. Hope I'm wrong on that one though.

[richsadams]

I do have FiOS and am keeping my fingers crossed that it is as simple as just putting the card from old Tivo into the new Tivo. If they do not pair them why did it take so long to install the card the first time?But do you have Verizon FiOS? There are other companies that offer FiOS that do pair their cable cards (Frontier is one of them). FWIW I have heard that Verizon actually began pairing cable cards in some small pockets somewhere on the East Coast (in preparation to sell off some more of their network), but I can't recall if that turned out to be fact or not.

I have no idea with regard to your second question.

[Ziggy86]

I do have Verizon FiOS

[richsadams]

I do have Verizon FiOSYou shouldn't have any trouble then. One way to see if your box is paired to the cable card is to check to see if any of your cable channels have copy protection. Normal over-the-air channels will never have copy protection, but some cable channels might, particularly premium channels (Showtime, HBO, etc.).

Tune your TiVo to a premium channel then go to TiVo Central > Messages and Settings > Account and System Information > DVR Diagnostics. Scroll down the info for either tuner until you come to "CCI Byte". If it's anything other than 0x00 (0x02 for example) copy protection exists and your cable card would be paired to your TiVo. If they are all 0x00 you should have no trouble moving your cable card(s) from one TiVo to another.

[Ziggy86]

Thank you Rich.

[Ziggy86]

Just an update.

I took the cable card from my broken Tivo and put it into the new Tivo and everything is working. No need to call FiOS or have them come to the house.

[richsadams]

Just an update.

I took the cable card from my broken Tivo and put it into the new Tivo and everything is working. No need to call FiOS or have them come to the house.Sweet. :up: Enjoy!

[Brighton Line]

FIOS doesn't bind cards to devices, if you have Cablevison you would have to call. ;)

[richsadams]

FIOS doesn't bind cards to devices, if you have Cablevison you would have to call. ;)Per the posts above, the OP is all set. FWIW in most areas Verizon FiOS does not pair their cable cards. However other FiOS providers do (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8447164#post8447164).

[myblubu]

I've had a Tivo Premiere for a few months and it works fine (have 2 HD's also), but these questions are about the Premiere.

All my Tivos do not have cable cards and I don't subscribe to any premium channels, etc.

Cable company just changed their lineup and converted some of the channels we watch from analog to digital. They sent a letter out explaining the change and stating that either a cable box or cable card was going to be required to receive the digital channels after the switch. They also offered a free standard definition set-top box and remote control for 1 year if you reqested it (they say a $10/mo value). Since I don't want another box in my entertainment center, I called and asked if I could get a cable card for one of my Tivo boxes instead free for a year - they agreed.

Cable Company: Time Warner Cable (Dayton, OH)

The tech came out today to attemp an install. NOT GOOD. First thing I noticed is after the install, the screen on the Tivo stated Non MCard installed. It turned out that they sent the tech out with a basic cable card and not an MCard. The tech called their tech support and the person at tech support said that the cable card wasn't going to work with the Tivo box, but it was going to require a Tuning Adapter (another box) in addition to the cable card to work.

This doesn't seem right to me - I figured that the Tivo has tuners and if the cable card was installed in my Tivo, then I should be able to watch the digital stations without having to have a separate box connected to the Tivo. Am I missing something here?

Am I going to need another box connected to get digital channels on the Tivo?

The channels I get are basic calbe channels 2-73.

Never dealt with cable cards so figured I'd ask before the tech comes back tomorrow afternoon.

Any input from anyone???

[Grumock]

I've had a Tivo Premiere for a few months and it works fine (have 2 HD's also), but these questions are about the Premiere.

All my Tivos do not have cable cards and I don't subscribe to any premium channels, etc.

Cable company just changed their lineup and converted some of the channels we watch from analog to digital. They sent a letter out explaining the change and stating that either a cable box or cable card was going to be required to receive the digital channels after the switch. They also offered a free standard definition set-top box and remote control for 1 year if you reqested it (they say a $10/mo value). Since I don't want another box in my entertainment center, I called and asked if I could get a cable card for one of my Tivo boxes instead free for a year - they agreed.

Cable Company: Time Warner Cable (Dayton, OH)

The tech came out today to attemp an install. NOT GOOD. First thing I noticed is after the install, the screen on the Tivo stated Non MCard installed. It turned out that they sent the tech out with a basic cable card and not an MCard. The tech called their tech support and the person at tech support said that the cable card wasn't going to work with the Tivo box, but it was going to require a Tuning Adapter (another box) in addition to the cable card to work.

This doesn't seem right to me - I figured that the Tivo has tuners and if the cable card was installed in my Tivo, then I should be able to watch the digital stations without having to have a separate box connected to the Tivo. Am I missing something here?

Am I going to need another box connected to get digital channels on the Tivo?

The channels I get are basic calbe channels 2-73.

Never dealt with cable cards so figured I'd ask before the tech comes back tomorrow afternoon.

Any input from anyone???

They are correct. If you have SDV (Switched Digital video) in your area then you would indeed need a tuning adapter. The cable card, just like the TIVo is unidirectional, and are not able to let the DNCS (Head End) know that you are on that SDV channel and to start sending it down to you.

[evanborkow]

I've had a Tivo Premiere for a few months and it works fine (have 2 HD's also), but these questions are about the Premiere.

All my Tivos do not have cable cards and I don't subscribe to any premium channels, etc.

Cable company just changed their lineup and converted some of the channels we watch from analog to digital. They sent a letter out explaining the change and stating that either a cable box or cable card was going to be required to receive the digital channels after the switch. They also offered a free standard definition set-top box and remote control for 1 year if you reqested it (they say a $10/mo value). Since I don't want another box in my entertainment center, I called and asked if I could get a cable card for one of my Tivo boxes instead free for a year - they agreed.

Cable Company: Time Warner Cable (Dayton, OH)

The tech came out today to attemp an install. NOT GOOD. First thing I noticed is after the install, the screen on the Tivo stated Non MCard installed. It turned out that they sent the tech out with a basic cable card and not an MCard. The tech called their tech support and the person at tech support said that the cable card wasn't going to work with the Tivo box, but it was going to require a Tuning Adapter (another box) in addition to the cable card to work.

This doesn't seem right to me - I figured that the Tivo has tuners and if the cable card was installed in my Tivo, then I should be able to watch the digital stations without having to have a separate box connected to the Tivo. Am I missing something here?

Am I going to need another box connected to get digital channels on the Tivo?

The channels I get are basic calbe channels 2-73.

Never dealt with cable cards so figured I'd ask before the tech comes back tomorrow afternoon.

Any input from anyone???

Ask them if any of the 2-73 channels are sdv channels; if not, don't bother with the TA.

[myblubu]

They are correct. If you have SDV (Switched Digital video) in your area then you would indeed need a tuning adapter. The cable card, just like the TIVo is unidirectional, and are not able to let the DNCS (Head End) know that you are on that SDV channel and to start sending it down to you.

So how is that going to work? Will the Tivo be able to record shows, etc without me having to change channels or somehting on the 'Tuning Adapter'?

[Stuxnet]

So how is that going to work? Will the Tivo be able to record shows, etc without me having to change channels or somehting on the 'Tuning Adapter'?IF you need a TA (big IF), you don't need to do anything different. The Premiere handles all the switching.

Do what evanborkow suggested. In fact, I'm not even sure you need a cable card... my Premier pulls in all the Basic and Extended Basic digital channels without one... of course the tuning mapping is a little funky with channels like 37-1, 37-2, but TiVo doesn't see to mind. If your CC is scrambling all the digital content, then the cable card will come in handy...

[a68oliver]

IF you need a TA (big IF), you don't need to do anything different. The Premiere handles all the switching.

Do what evanborkow suggested. In fact, I'm not even sure you need a cable card... my Premier pulls in all the Basic and Extended Basic digital channels without one... of course the tuning mapping is a little funky with channels like 37-1, 37-2, but TiVo doesn't see to mind. If your CC is scrambling all the digital content, then the cable card will come in handy...

I agree, there is a big IF regarding the need for the TA.

However, even if the cable company provides the channels unencrypted, you may still need the cablecard to download the appropriate channel map. The Tivo may not be able to provide the correct guide data without the channel map. That would defeat the whole purpose of having a Tivo.

It is likely that they have already turned on the digital channels before shutting off the analog ones. You could try a channel scan right now and see what shows up. Before I added a cablecard to my bedroom Tivo, I was able to scan and watch all the old analog channels and some of the new unencrypted digital channels. However, as I said the channel numbers were wrong because I didn't have a cablecard to download the channel map.

[myblubu]

Ask them if any of the 2-73 channels are sdv channels; if not, don't bother with the TA.

IF you need a TA (big IF), you don't need to do anything different. The Premiere handles all the switching.

Do what evanborkow suggested. In fact, I'm not even sure you need a cable card... my Premier pulls in all the Basic and Extended Basic digital channels without one... of course the tuning mapping is a little funky with channels like 37-1, 37-2, but TiVo doesn't see to mind. If your CC is scrambling all the digital content, then the cable card will come in handy...

I agree, there is a big IF regarding the need for the TA.

However, even if the cable company provides the channels unencrypted, you may still need the cablecard to download the appropriate channel map. The Tivo may not be able to provide the correct guide data without the channel map. That would defeat the whole purpose of having a Tivo.

It is likely that they have already turned on the digital channels before shutting off the analog ones. You could try a channel scan right now and see what shows up. Before I added a cablecard to my bedroom Tivo, I was able to scan and watch all the old analog channels and some of the new unencrypted digital channels. However, as I said the channel numbers were wrong because I didn't have a cablecard to download the channel map.

Thanks all you guys! All your information was very helpful. The Tech came out last night and it was his FIRST Tivo cable card install! But he was great - had a great attitude and said we'd figure it out together. I REALLY didn't want the TA and asked about SDV channels, since I don't do anything fancy with premium channels or PPV, etc. He 'thought' I was going to be okay, but we installed the cable card and it didn't work. He called his support desk and they said it ws going to need the TA. So we installed that and everything works now. Although now I also get HD channels I didn't receive before - cool! Thanks for explaining everything.

[myblubu]

They are correct. If you have SDV (Switched Digital video) in your area then you would indeed need a tuning adapter. The cable card, just like the TIVo is unidirectional, and are not able to let the DNCS (Head End) know that you are on that SDV channel and to start sending it down to you.

Thanks to you too Grumock! You got me on the right path. Thanks for replying!

[fpp777]

Looks like I may have to replace the drive on my HD unit. Will I have to have Verizon come out, or will the same 2 cards be ok with the new drive?

Sorry if this has been covered.

[a68oliver]

IIRC, the pairing info is stored on the drive. If you can copy the drive you will be ok. However, if you install a fresh drive with a new image, the pairing info will be lost and you will need to re-pair the cards. That MAY require a trip depending on your cable provider policies.

If I am wrong, I am sure someone will chime in and correct me.

[Ziggy86]

Looks like I may have to replace the drive on my HD unit. Will I have to have Verizon come out, or will the same 2 cards be ok with the new drive?

Sorry if this has been covered.


Who is your cable provider. I have Verizon FiOS and did not have to have the cards repaired.

[myblubu]

Thanks all you guys! All your information was very helpful. The Tech came out last night and it was his FIRST Tivo cable card install! But he was great - had a great attitude and said we'd figure it out together. I REALLY didn't want the TA and asked about SDV channels, since I don't do anything fancy with premium channels or PPV, etc. He 'thought' I was going to be okay, but we installed the cable card and it didn't work. He called his support desk and they said it ws going to need the TA. So we installed that and everything works now. Although now I also get HD channels I didn't receive before - cool! Thanks for explaining everything.

I've just noticed this. When I record some shows on the HD stations that I can now receive (like TBS HD), the recording shows up with a red circle with a slash through it in the recordings list & it won't allow me to transfer it to another Tivo. If I record the show on the regular TBS station, I can transfer it like I always have. Is this normal?

[a68oliver]

I've just noticed this. When I record some shows on the HD stations that I can now receive (like TBS HD), the recording shows up with a red circle with a slash through it in the recordings list & it won't allow me to transfer it to another Tivo. If I record the show on the regular TBS station, I can transfer it like I always have. Is this normal?

Yes. It is pretty typical. You have been bitten by the CCI Byte fiasco. This means your cable provider has turned on copy protection on those channels. However, if you have local broadcast HD stations, they should not be copy protected (by FCC rule). Not all cable companies copy protect the programs.

Is the regular TBS station still analog? Or is it a SD digital station? If it is analog, you usually won't have any kind of copy protection. Although, I believe it is possible that it can have Macrovision applied to the analog signal. If it is an SD digital station, count yourself lucky that it doesn't also have copy protection applied to it.

My cable company (Comcast) no longer gives me access to the analog stations. The cablecard maps everything to a digital version.

[fpp777]

Who is your cable provider. I have Verizon FiOS and did not have to have the cards repaired.

I have Verizon FIOS also. I guess I will be ok.

[Grumock]

Thanks to you too Grumock! You got me on the right path. Thanks for replying!

No Problem

[darnelled]

I'm confused after reading the info here. I'm trying to get set up with Comcast cablecards in my Tivo series 3. A tech came out and put in 1 mcard which allows the cable to work, but the dual tuner function does not work- functions as a single tuner Tivo only.

I read the info here and asked for 2 S cards because it appeared to be what I needed. The tech said they haven't carried S cards in 4 years. He wrote down my Tivo's model number and left to "look into it". Can it work as a dual tuner DVR if they use 2 M Cards or must I use 2 S cards?
Thx for any replies.

[Stuxnet]

I'm confused after reading the info here. I'm trying to get set up with Comcast cablecards in my Tivo series 3. A tech came out and put in 1 mcard which allows the cable to work, but the dual tuner function does not work- functions as a single tuner Tivo only.

I read the info here and asked for 2 S cards because it appeared to be what I needed. The tech said they haven't carried S cards in 4 years. He wrote down my Tivo's model number and left to "look into it". Can it work as a dual tuner DVR if they use 2 M Cards or must I use 2 S cards?
Thx for any replies.
Series3 HD DVRs support M-Cards in single-stream mode only, which means that you must install two (2) CableCARDs for the DVR to run in dual-tuner mode. (http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/144) Tell them to bring another card.

[richsadams]

Series3 HD DVRs support M-Cards in single-stream mode only, which means that you must install two (2) CableCARDs for the DVR to run in dual-tuner mode. (http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/144) Tell them to bring another card.Exactly right. :up:

[darnelled]

Does it matter if they are 2 M or S cards?

[richsadams]

Does it matter if they are 2 M or S cards?Either two "M" (multi-stream) or two "S" (single stream) cable cards will work fine (or one "S" and one "M" for that matter). Most cable companies stopped carrying "S" cards a year or two ago so you just need to ask them to bring and install one additional "M" card.

They may have to re-pair both cards. Be sure they install and pair the cable card in slot #1 (bottom slot) first and then cable card number two in the second slot (top) next. It has to happen in that order and they cannot be paired at the same time or the pairing will fail.

All of the information you and the cable company installer needs can be found here:

http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/136

[darnelled]

Thanks so much for your help Rich!

[Stuxnet]

If they don't buy the 2 card requirement, show them the link in my previous post.

Let us know how this goes for you!

[richsadams]

If they don't buy the 2 card requirement, show them the link in my previous post.

Let us know how this goes for you!+1

[ashu]

My FIOS installation story is documented in the upgrade FAQ thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8541262#post8541262)

Cliff Notes, I didn't have the time to test my newly imaged drive ni the S3, and sure enough, it wasn't all kosher when the installer showed up (with TWO CableCards just as requested)

Sadly, I had to let him leave me with a (cruddy/average) FIOS DVR, and teh CableCards in his pocket.

Suggestions on how best to talk VZ into sending me the cards for a self install? They mail out/in cable boxes, this is 'easier', IMO!

[richsadams]

My FIOS installation story is documented in the upgrade FAQ thread (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=8541262#post8541262)

Cliff Notes, I didn't have the time to test my newly imaged drive ni the S3, and sure enough, it wasn't all kosher when the installer showed up (with TWO CableCards just as requested)

Sadly, I had to let him leave me with a (cruddy/average) FIOS DVR, and teh CableCards in his pocket.

Suggestions on how best to talk VZ into sending me the cards for a self install? They mail out/in cable boxes, this is 'easier', IMO!In our neck of the woods VZ was still requiring a truck roll to obtain cable cards. However they began waiving the fee for a truck roll for cable card installations a couple of years ago. They would allow mere humans to drop off one of their DVR's at a VZ office though.

I say "was" because now that Frontier has taken over here we'll probably have to sacrifice a virgin before they'll consider dealing with anything that doesn't belong to them directly and doesn't generate a pile of additional revenue. :rolleyes:

Best of luck and let us know how it goes.

[randyb359]

Fios in Pittsburgh now permits self install as of this week. You pick the card up at a Verizon retail store then have to call in and have them activated. Took 38 min to get them activated. They never told me I could do a self install. I had to ask

[anotherlab]

Looks like I may have to replace the drive on my HD unit. Will I have to have Verizon come out, or will the same 2 cards be ok with the new drive?

Sorry if this has been covered.

With Verizon FiOS, they should be able to do this without a truck roll. My HD blew out it's hard drive last month. I replaced the the drive and basically started with a clean slate. Through Twitter (and at 1:30am), I sent a request to @VerizonSupport (http://www.twitter.com/VerizonSupport) to have the card paired back to the TiVo. They asked for a few numbers from the card and they got it working in about 5 minutes.

[ashu]

More datapoints ...

- Verizon Baltimore is happy to allow a self-install (but I didn't try it because ...)
- If a truck is at your address or nearby, and has cablecards on the truck, they call the tech and have him stop by to see if you'd like a free install!

A 20 minute visit from a friendly VZ tech around 2 hours after I called and requested 2 cablecards be mailed to me. And my Cablecards work. He used the tech-specific VZ software off the USB key they all carry (inserted into a PC that could see the VZ router) and quickly activated them online, with no phone-calls anywhere.


More data ...
I forgot to do a C&DE on the image I received from someone else, and had to dos o after the pairing was complete and the tech had left.
Post C&DE (with the two Cablecards inserted the WHOLE time) I repeated Guided Setup and they *instantly* were paired/needed no further pairing, and continued to work.

So far, I must say VZ has been impressive, vis a vis Comcast and their CableCard nightmares hereabouts and int he DC area. But it has been 2 years, in fairness - maybe CC's and headends (particularly VZ's) have just gotten more robust.

[richsadams]

More datapoints ...

- Verizon Baltimore is happy to allow a self-install (but I didn't try it because ...)
- If a truck is at your address or nearby, and has cablecards on the truck, they call the tech and have him stop by to see if you'd like a free install!

A 20 minute visit from a friendly VZ tech around 2 hours after I called and requested 2 cablecards be mailed to me. And my Cablecards work. He used the tech-specific VZ software off the USB key they all carry (inserted into a PC that could see the VZ router) and quickly activated them online, with no phone-calls anywhere.


More data ...
I forgot to do a C&DE on the image I received from someone else, and had to dos o after the pairing was complete and the tech had left.
Post C&DE (with the two Cablecards inserted the WHOLE time) I repeated Guided Setup and they *instantly* were paired/needed no further pairing, and continued to work.

So far, I must say VZ has been impressive, vis a vis Comcast and their CableCard nightmares hereabouts and int he DC area. But it has been 2 years, in fairness - maybe CC's and headends (particularly VZ's) have just gotten more robust.Good news and thanks for the feedback. The nice (really nice!) thing about VZ is they don't actually pair cable cards to the DVR as does Comcast, etc. You can pull those cards and swap them into another box and they will work fine.

We had VZ FiOS and a Series3 that had two M cards. When we bought a Premiere XL I pulled one of the M cards and slipped it into the PXL and ta-dah, worked perfectly! They brought out another M card and I put it into the Series3 and it was back to normal.

The downside for us is that VZ sold their business in the Northwest to Frontier. They ended up pairing cable cards to the boxes (as well as putting copy protection on all non-broadcast channels :mad: ) so our life of ease came to a sudden and crashing end. They also tried to institute a 50% rate hike and have had nothing but problems with the FiOS offering since. Now it appears Frontier is getting out of the TV/cable business so we have no idea what will happen going forward. If Frontier ever, ever comes to your neck of the woods do everything you can to convince the local PUC and other organizations with approval authority to send them packing.

[/RANT]

In any case, enjoy!

EDIT: I just realized that I responded to a post from early June. :o What I said still applies. Apparently there's a new forum spamming program that gets around the 10 post requirement by reposting existing posts (making them look new or something) so the bad guys can get their spam on line. Ugh. This is the second time I've fallen victim to it. I have to pay more attention.

[kirby34]

I could've sworn I read the answer to this question when I was looking earlier this year, but now I can't find it to confirm what I thought I had read.

I have a TivoHD with an M-Card that works fine with our current Comcast Digital Preferred package. If we were to add the HD Package, will the card automatically receive the new channel map? Or will I have to maybe just Restart the TiVo or re-do the Guided Setup or have to get a CSR to send some sort of signal from their end?

[husky55]

@richsadams,

I actually am going through hell with a Comcast M-Card when replacing my HD in a Tivo HD. Your post about VZ FIOS in the NW makes me wonder about the TV cable card business. Price increase with declining service seems to be the norm here.

I got 2 Tivos, HD and Premiere both with M-card. When I replaced the HD in the Tivo HD ( 3 year old HD ) the M-Card is still activated and paired but the copy protected channels ( HBO, SH etc...) are blocked with a message to call Comcast. So call Comcast we did for the last 3 days. The signals were sent over and over and nothing doing.

So today the tech and truck roll is scheduled. What a nightmare for just changing the HD to a back up HD. To make life even more painful, the WD backup HD did not boot up with the reset from Tivo. The disease of the IntelliPark. So I had to hunt for the WDIdle and fix it.

Who ever said that technology is fun?

:mad:

[richsadams]

I could've sworn I read the answer to this question when I was looking earlier this year, but now I can't find it to confirm what I thought I had read.

I have a TivoHD with an M-Card that works fine with our current Comcast Digital Preferred package. If we were to add the HD Package, will the card automatically receive the new channel map? Or will I have to maybe just Restart the TiVo or re-do the Guided Setup or have to get a CSR to send some sort of signal from their end?You should be able to call Comast, have them set up your new package and they should be able to send the signal down the line to your cable card and you should be in business. That's how it should work. That said as you can see from Husky's note above, that's not how it always works.

The biggest issue with Comcast is that it's a hodgepodge of former smaller cable companies they acquired along the way. Some are legacy Comcast from day one, but many (most?) are not. So although the areas are integrated into Comcast's business more often than not they are still functioning just as they were when they were acquired. So in some areas a call is all it takes to change service...in others a truck roll and in others both.

If you're lucky it's a call and the deal is done. Or you may need to read them the three numbers off of your cable card diagnostic screen and all will be well. Or a tech may come to visit.

In any case, once they update your service TiVo will automatically update the channels available to you so you shouldn't have to run setup again.

It may take TiVo up to 24 hours to map all of the channels, however it usually happens right away. Just be sure that before you get off of the phone with the CSR or let the tech leave that all or at least a majority of the channels you want are working. They'll often have you view a select few channels and declare the work done and later you find that other channels aren't working. Pick your favorites and make sure they're working before letting them off of the hook.

Hope that helps and let us know how it goes!

[richsadams]

@richsadams,

I actually am going through hell with a Comcast M-Card when replacing my HD in a Tivo HD. Your post about VZ FIOS in the NW makes me wonder about the TV cable card business. Price increase with declining service seems to be the norm here.

I got 2 Tivos, HD and Premiere both with M-card. When I replaced the HD in the Tivo HD ( 3 year old HD ) the M-Card is still activated and paired but the copy protected channels ( HBO, SH etc...) are blocked with a message to call Comcast. So call Comcast we did for the last 3 days. The signals were sent over and over and nothing doing.

So today the tech and truck roll is scheduled. What a nightmare for just changing the HD to a back up HD. To make life even more painful, the WD backup HD did not boot up with the reset from Tivo. The disease of the IntelliPark. So I had to hunt for the WDIdle and fix it.

Who ever said that technology is fun?

:mad:How frustrating! Hope things go well with the tech. TiVo used to be pretty foreign to the techs, but more and more they seem to have some knowledge about them.

Is your backup drive the original? If so it shouldn't have needed wdidle3.exe run. Sometimes it takes three or four tries before TiVo will boot up with a replacement drive (even the OEM).

I'm so fed up with Frontier. I've threatened to bail repeatedly and each time they've either given us a monthly credit (we're up to $40/mo. now) or free Showtime or whatever. But I'm still working on cutting the cord as those will expire pretty soon. We have the bundle at the moment (TV/broadband/phone) and I'm moving toward broadband only...using our cell phones and a combination of OTA/IP for TV. It's too bad because it's really simple to have cable and such, but the costs just keep going up and the return is less than satisfactory.

Technology can be fun (loving Apple products for instance) but other times it can make you want to scream.

Anyway, best of luck and hopefully you'll be able to post that things went smoothly. :up:

[a68oliver]

I could've sworn I read the answer to this question when I was looking earlier this year, but now I can't find it to confirm what I thought I had read.

I have a TivoHD with an M-Card that works fine with our current Comcast Digital Preferred package. If we were to add the HD Package, will the card automatically receive the new channel map? Or will I have to maybe just Restart the TiVo or re-do the Guided Setup or have to get a CSR to send some sort of signal from their end?

As RichAdams said, this should be a no brainer.

In my market, the channel map includes every digital channel offered, whether I subscribe to it in my package or not. The cablecard decrypts only the ones in my subscribed package. I uncheck channels I don't subscribe to in the channels I receive.

If you upgrade, Comcast should send the appropriate signal to your cablecard to decrypt those new channels. However, they are probably already listed in the channel map. Simply check them in the list to view them. Probably no need to repeat guided setup.

[husky55]

To add to what Rich said. We have read the numbers on a M-Card in addition to the info on the screen, i.e Unit ID, SN, MAC, Data, and other infos..for the last 3 days. Signals were sent and all the copy protected HBO , Showtime, etc... were blocked!!!! But not on the Comcast box or the other M-Card. There, HBO and other movies channels showed up fine.

To @richsadams, I had no problem with the original drive, I backed up to another WD 1 TB drive which had the restart/reset problem from inside Tivo. Tested it several times. Hopefully the WDidle will fix it. The WD drive starts fine when unplug and then plug in again.

[richsadams]

To add to what Rich said. We have read the numbers on a M-Card in addition to the info on the screen, i.e Unit ID, SN, MAC, Data, and other infos..for the last 3 days. Signals were sent and all the copy protected HBO , Showtime, etc... were blocked!!!! But not on the Comcast box or the other M-Card. There, HBO and other movies channels showed up fine.

To @richsadams, I had no problem with the original drive, I backed up to another WD 1 TB drive which had the restart/reset problem from inside Tivo. Tested it several times. Hopefully the WDidle will fix it. The WD drive starts fine when unplug and then plug in again.Ah, got it. Maybe you just have a bad cable card...that happens.

[kirby34]

Thanks for the responses. It turns out my bro pulled the trigger on adding the HD Package already, but I wasn't seeing the new channels. All I saw was a gray screen and when I checked the Conditional Access, the information for the channels indicate "Auth:MP" instead of the expected "S" or maybe "FWK." I decided to try restarting my TiVo, but that didn't do anything.

I called the 1-800 number and after explaining the situation, the CSR tried "sending a reset signal" to my card (we have 2 TiVo's and each has an M-Card, so I made sure both showed in his system and clarified which was mine). He said that the TV signal should drop out and then come back in about a minute, however, when my signal dropped, it came back in just a couple seconds and did this each of the 3 times he sent the "reset."

He had me unplug my TiVo and tried again after it restarted, but that didn't work either. At that point, he said the issue was with my card. At least I'm still receiving the channels I was before.

Oh, on a whim, after hanging up, I did unplug it again, but also removed and re-inserted the card before plugging it in again. Obviously, that didn't do anything either. I'm wondering if it really is the card or if the CSR wasn't sending the proper signal to my card. To be honest, I'm rather dreading picking up a replacement card and going through the pairing and authorization process again considering how much fun we all know that can be. Hehe.

I may just roll the dice and call again tomorrow to see if I get a CSR that does something different.

BTW, I did mention we have another TiVo with an M-Card, but that one isn't a problem because, uh, I guess it was never authorized correctly (even though it's paired) so it actually has always displayed the channels associated with the HD package even when we didn't have it. Ahem.

[richsadams]

Thanks for the responses. It turns out my bro pulled the trigger on adding the HD Package already, but I wasn't seeing the new channels. All I saw was a gray screen and when I checked the Conditional Access, the information for the channels indicate "Auth:MP" instead of the expected "S" or maybe "FWK." I decided to try restarting my TiVo, but that didn't do anything.

I called the 1-800 number and after explaining the situation, the CSR tried "sending a reset signal" to my card (we have 2 TiVo's and each has an M-Card, so I made sure both showed in his system and clarified which was mine). He said that the TV signal should drop out and then come back in about a minute, however, when my signal dropped, it came back in just a couple seconds and did this each of the 3 times he sent the "reset."

He had me unplug my TiVo and tried again after it restarted, but that didn't work either. At that point, he said the issue was with my card. At least I'm still receiving the channels I was before.

Oh, on a whim, after hanging up, I did unplug it again, but also removed and re-inserted the card before plugging it in again. Obviously, that didn't do anything either. I'm wondering if it really is the card or if the CSR wasn't sending the proper signal to my card. To be honest, I'm rather dreading picking up a replacement card and going through the pairing and authorization process again considering how much fun we all know that can be. Hehe.

I may just roll the dice and call again tomorrow to see if I get a CSR that does something different.

BTW, I did mention we have another TiVo with an M-Card, but that one isn't a problem because, uh, I guess it was never authorized correctly (even though it's paired) so it actually has always displayed the channels associated with the HD package even when we didn't have it. Ahem.Curious. Cable cards can go bad...stop receiving signals properly, etc. So a new card may do the trick.

If you call again tomorrow, to avoid any confusion, I'd unplug your other TiVo (the one thats working) so that they can't see the card in that one at all.

Let us know how it goes!

[husky55]

Ah, got it. Maybe you just have a bad cable card...that happens.

My Comcast tech came. He looked at the gray screen where HBO should have been with the message to call Comcast to authorize this channel and a bunch of info, i.e. host ID, MAC, Cable Card SN and ID, Data etc... He called some Technical Group and voila HBO is back and all the other premium channels. When I asked what exactly happened, he said there was 1 digit error in the Data info. What caused that error, he did not know but he said that nobody has access to it except the Technical Group (in Connecitcut, everything requires a truck roll, we are not allowed to pick up anything, i.e set top box, cable card ... Comcast Connecticut is the old SNET). He said that the Customer Service reps we spoke to cannot call the Technical Group either and cannot change or correct the error.

When asked about the cable card possibly be faulty, he said that happens but in my case it's not so since I received all other channels.

Anyway all is well now in Connecticut.:)

[richsadams]

My Comcast tech came. He looked at the gray screen where HBO should have been with the message to call Comcast to authorize this channel and a bunch of info, i.e. host ID, MAC, Cable Card SN and ID, Data etc... He called some Technical Group and voila HBO is back and all the other premium channels. When I asked what exactly happened, he said there was 1 digit error in the Data info. What caused that error, he did not know but he said that nobody has access to it except the Technical Group (in Connecitcut, everything requires a truck roll, we are not allowed to pick up anything, i.e set top box, cable card ... Comcast Connecticut is the old SNET). He said that the Customer Service reps we spoke to cannot call the Technical Group either and cannot change or correct the error.

When asked about the cable card possibly be faulty, he said that happens but in my case it's not so since I received all other channels.

Anyway all is well now in Connecticut.:)Awesome! Seems like they should rethink their policies. Continual and unresolved calls to customer service cost them money. Wonder how much they could save if they allowed them to at least observe the issue and get the next level of support involved instead of dealing with repeated conversations and truck rolls? :rolleyes:

In any case...great news! Enjoy!

[kirby34]

I have good news, too. I picked up a replacement M-card and after getting it paired and activated, I am now getting the add-on HD Package channels I should. They now show up as "Auth:S" in the Conditional Access screen.

I don't know if this is related to the issue I had with the previous card, but should the cable card FW info ever have --.-- as one of the numbers? I noticed before I removed the old card that the middle set of the 3 sets of numbers was --.--. With the new card installed, there are 3 sets of full numbers and the outer numbers are the same as the outer numbers for the old card. Just struck me as weird.

I had to go to 2 service centers because the first one didn't have any M-cards and as expected, when I called to get the new card paired and activated, I had a CSR that seemed to have no previous experience with the process. I started firing off the S/N, Host ID, and Data info and he initially tried to tell me he didn't need any of them, put me on hold 3 times and then asked for the numbers again. After that, bing-bang-zoom, everything was set.

[richsadams]

I have good news, too. I picked up a replacement M-card and after getting it paired and activated, I am now getting the add-on HD Package channels I should. They now show up as "Auth:S" in the Conditional Access screen.

I don't know if this is related to the issue I had with the previous card, but should the cable card FW info ever have --.-- as one of the numbers? I noticed before I removed the old card that the middle set of the 3 sets of numbers was --.--. With the new card installed, there are 3 sets of full numbers and the outer numbers are the same as the outer numbers for the old card. Just struck me as weird.

I had to go to 2 service centers because the first one didn't have any M-cards and as expected, when I called to get the new card paired and activated, I had a CSR that seemed to have no previous experience with the process. I started firing off the S/N, Host ID, and Data info and he initially tried to tell me he didn't need any of them, put me on hold 3 times and then asked for the numbers again. After that, bing-bang-zoom, everything was set.Sah-weeet! Not sure about the CC numbers...I've only seen fully sets of numbers on ours.

Enjoy!

[dobbie1]

Just wanted to comment on information required for installing. I just recently had 2 cable card installed in my Series 3 (not the HD). The cards were Scientific Atlanta and were "M" cards. These were a self-install and would have been a breeze, except for not being able to find the "data value". We spent over an hour, called Tivo Support and finally decided that the Scientific Atlanta cards did not have a "data value." I am receiving all high def channels as well as the premium movie channels. So not sure if it is just Scientific Atlanta cards or if it is because they were "M" cards working in a single stream mode, but whatever there was no "data value."

[husky55]

Just wanted to comment on information required for installing. I just recently had 2 cable card installed in my Series 3 (not the HD). The cards were Scientific Atlanta and were "M" cards. These were a self-install and would have been a breeze, except for not being able to find the "data value". We spent over an hour, called Tivo Support and finally decided that the Scientific Atlanta cards did not have a "data value." I am receiving all high def channels as well as the premium movie channels. So not sure if it is just Scientific Atlanta cards or if it is because they were "M" cards working in a single stream mode, but whatever there was no "data value."

I have 2 Motorola M-Card. Data value was what caused the problem for me. If your M-Card do not have data value then it's one less thing to go wrong!!!

[El Gabito]

edit: moved to comcast thread - didn't see it at first

[jaj2276]

Just wanted to comment on information required for installing. I just recently had 2 cable card installed in my Series 3 (not the HD). The cards were Scientific Atlanta and were "M" cards. These were a self-install and would have been a breeze, except for not being able to find the "data value". We spent over an hour, called Tivo Support and finally decided that the Scientific Atlanta cards did not have a "data value." I am receiving all high def channels as well as the premium movie channels. So not sure if it is just Scientific Atlanta cards or if it is because they were "M" cards working in a single stream mode, but whatever there was no "data value."

Just wanted to follow up on this post. I received two Scientific Atlanta cablecards to install for Comcast in Charleston, SC and the directions that comcast gave me and what you actually needed (and where you got it from) were two different things.

The instructions from Comcast say that from the Cablecard Diag screen, one will need to get three pieces of information:

Host Id
Data Id
Cablecard serial number

For these SA Cablecards, all the screens are labeled "Cisco CableCARD xxxx". The Diag screen had none of the information that is/was needed. There is a screen called "Cisco CableCARD / Host ID Screen". On this screen, you will find the Host Id and the CableCARD ID. This CableCARD ID takes the place of the Data ID.

Finally on each cablecard (the card itself), there are two values. One is the MAC address. The other is the serial number. Oddly neither of these two are labeled as such. I know one is the MAC address because in one of the CableCARD screens, it lists that same value as the MAC address. The other one is the serial number (and it's not a number but rather a series of characters starting with PQ) which I know because the Comcast technician stated as such.

In any case, I'm happy to report that after worrying that I only had one piece of the three pieces of information that the instructions told me I needed (the Host ID), the rep was knowledgeable enough to know that once I told him I had SA cards and NOT Motorola cards, the CableCARD ID was the same as the Data ID and the serial number could be found on the back of the card. Took me 10 minutes and everything works!