Comcast lineup change too early - Houston

[lhntx]

Tivo changed comcast lineup of digital channels here in Houston from 3xx to 6xx yesterday, unfortuneatly Comcast has not yet announced this to subscribers (other than a general announcement in the classified notifications of the newspaper that they are planning on doing this on 4/27). My TIVO updated itself yesterday and changed all 3xx series season passes to 6xx series as well as adding the channels to the channel lineup and removing the 3xx series....so I get nice recording of a black screen. Since the 3xx no longer exist according to TIVO, there is no info on the guides, so I have to manually record everything. I called TIVO last night, and the lady was very very nice, but said that it could take up to FIVE days to switch back the update! She said that Comcast had told them that the changes was coming but didn't bother to tell them that it has been delayed.

[heySkippy]

Verizon delivered a similar mess to us last year and resulted in a couple days of manual recordings. I forgave them though since they were adding about 100 HD channels in the shuffle.

[Ambival]

Hopefully they can expedite that fix.

[archtv]

Ditto out here in Katy, ihntx. What a mess. :mad:

[nataylor]

Report it here: http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/contactsupport/lineup_tool.html

The more reports, the faster the response, perhaps.

The new channels are supposed to go live on 4/27.

[archtv]

Report it here...

Thanks for the tip. I tried to report the issue there, but it first requires you to select the type of issue with a check box and then fill in a few fields, but none of them apply to this issue. There's also a comment box, but you can't submit the form without completing step one. Very handy.

I tried to call support earlier tonight, but ran out of time on hold. Will try again tomorrow as I need to get help with another issue anyway (can't get Versus channel 298 on the TiVo, works fine on our Comcast HD DVR), but with the 27th coming up on Monday, I'm not banking on much effort being spent on an interim solution.

[nataylor]

Thanks for the tip. I tried to report the issue there, but it first requires you to select the type of issue with a check box and then fill in a few fields, but none of them apply to this issue. There's also a comment box, but you can't submit the form without completing step one. Very handy.I just filled in one of the missing channels boxes (because the channel IS missing). I put down that channel 309 should be KRIV. Then I explained that they jumped the gun by a week in the comments.

[archtv]

I just filled in one of the missing channels boxes (because the channel IS missing). I put down that channel 309 should be KRIV. Then I explained that they jumped the gun by a week in the comments.

Yep! Senior moment here. Will fill out similarly...

[kberntsen]

I just talked to TiVo support and they are going to contact Tribune so they can roll the changes back. I told them base on what I read hear that the changes are supposed to go into effect on the 27th.

[lhntx]

I got my bill yesterday, and the announcement of the new setup was in the billing - effective 4/27. So Tivo jumped the gun by a week. It was a nightmare last night trying to manually record and watch at the same time as Tivo was trying to automatically switch channels to the non working channels! I ended up losing chunks of some shows (Tuesday nights are a busy recording night!) because the old channels don't have any info so Tivo only records for 30 minutes at a time!

[astrohip]

I got my bill yesterday, and the announcement of the new setup was in the billing - effective 4/27. So Tivo jumped the gun by a week. It was a nightmare last night trying to manually record and watch at the same time as Tivo was trying to automatically switch channels to the non working channels! I ended up losing chunks of some shows (Tuesday nights are a busy recording night!) because the old channels don't have any info so Tivo only records for 30 minutes at a time!
Do a manual recording. I think it's TiVo-7. You can pick any channel, for as long as you like. Be aware if you have SPs for shows to record, it may think you have a conflict. But of course, since it would be recording dead air... no conflict. :D Just say override.

[bensler]

I just got off the phone with TIVO and apparently they are supposed to switch back the channels in the next 48 hours and that when the TIVO system calls in it will switch it all back.

[apassy]

When I called yesterday, I got some mouth-breather who was barely qualified to fill out the form he was looking at. Thanks to all of you!!

[arwild01]

I'm so P*ssed about this. My buddy here in town started experiencing it yesterday, but my systems hadn't gotten the update yet so I thought he was nuts. Sure enough, my system is screwed up now. If my wife misses all of her Thursday night prime time television... she's going to kill me. :(

[Wayne Skelton]

I reported the problem as well. However, This could be Comcast! Specially if they gave Tribune the wrong date. I contacted Comcast and they could not answer. All I asked was that they confirm there will be a channel lineup change as reported in the Chronicle and several other sites. They said they would "report to management" and asked me to call the local office. I then asked for the local office phone number and they could not provide that either. (I actually asked in person at the local office and they said they could not provide it). I search comast.com and .net - even the press releases - nothing about a channel change.

Still Tivo/Tribune should verify any bulk changes that affect over 50 channels.

[tslowery]

Comcast is showing on their website guide that the switch is made already, so it looks like this is a Comcast problem not TiVo.

[lhntx]

My bill that I got this week from comcast had the new channel lineups - and said EFFECTIVE APRIL 27 printed on it in multiple places. It must have been planned and printed a while ago. TIVO specifically told me that COMCAST told them 4/20 as the date but everything that I've seen from COMCAST has said 4/27. Personally I don't care who's error that it is- I just want it fixed!

[astrohip]

TIVO specifically told me that COMCAST told them 4/20 as the date but everything that I've seen from COMCAST has said 4/27.
There's your answer. Never ever plan on anything happening as it should on 4.20 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/420_(cannabis_culture)) day. :D

[Carthoris]

My wife was missing the American Idol casts. Tivo thought it recorded it but did not.
I had to download them and transfer them to the tivo for her so she can watch it on the big screen instead of the computer.
Tivo said the same thing, they got the go ahead too early and it will take a couple of days to fix.
Told me to record manually in the mean time. UGH

Jay

----------------------
Series 3 lifetime
Series 2 lifetime

[lhntx]

It is a PAIN to record manually and TIVO doesn't know what the program is on and only shows time/channel/date when recorded. I also haven't been able to get TIVO to record for more than 30 minutes at a time, so you have to manually record every 30 minutes on longer shows. LOST last night had to be recorded in 3 parts since its about 62 minutes.

[nataylor]

It is a PAIN to record manually and TIVO doesn't know what the program is on and only shows time/channel/date when recorded. I also haven't been able to get TIVO to record for more than 30 minutes at a time, so you have to manually record every 30 minutes on longer shows. LOST last night had to be recorded in 3 parts since its about 62 minutes.

First off, the problem is solved. Force a connection and the lineup will be restored.

Second, you can manually set up recordings by time/channel just like on an old VCR. Go to TiVo Central and hit 7 for the shortcut or take the long way by going TiVo Central - Find Programs - Record by Time/Channel - Set Up Manual Recording.

[bluetex]

First off, the problem is solved. Force a connection and the lineup will be restored.

Second, you can manually set up recordings by time/channel just like on an old VCR. Go to TiVo Central and hit 7 for the shortcut or take the long way by going TiVo Central - Find Programs - Record by Time/Channel - Set Up Manual Recording.


Being able to work around their problem doesn't make it any less lame/annoying. Admittedly, between Tivo & Comcast, it's is an easy win for Tivo on who screws up less.

Comcast has perfected the bungled roll out of technology. If I had another option for similar service (ie. Cable Cards) in my area, I'd drop Comcast in a heartbeat.

[nataylor]

Being able to work around their problem doesn't make it any less lame/annoying.

I wasn't saying it wasn't annoying. It just seemed the guy honestly didn't know you could do manual recordings like this.

[pyrexia]

If I had another option for similar service (ie. Cable Cards) in my area, I'd drop Comcast in a heartbeat.

This is exactly how I feel. Comcast has consistently found new and innovative ways of screwing up their service delivery to the customer. This is just yet another way. I have read the thread and realize that Tivo has a part in this, but Tivo is really the only reason I still subscribe to Comcast. If there was ANY other cable card option in the area, I would switch immediately.

[lhntx]

I will do a manual reload when I get home this even. FYI... you can't do a Find Programs/Record by time/channel because TIVO does not have any program info for the 3xx channels. My temp fix was to change recordings to the old analog stations which TIVO still knows about by looking at a list of upcoming showings of a particular show. The 3xx series do NOT show up on the list.

[richg99]

Hmmm it is 4-27 and both TIVO and Comcast show tonight's HD shows on the 300 series....rather than the 600 series??? Maybe it is supposed to be midnight tonight?? RG

[richg99]

Ah ha! Digging through the announcement on the chronicle pages... I find that BOTH the 600 series and the 300 series will be around ( for awhile). ..

"The new HD channels will be grouped in the 600 range on Comcast’s channel system via its HD set-top boxes. Existing HD channels also will be moved into the 600 tier while remaining on their current channels."

Guess we are OK for now. Rich