Official Comcast CableCard Thread!

[Atomic Taco]

Originally Posted by NGeorge

Apparently I am the only person who buys their cable modem

I bought mine. Didn't need DOCSYS 3.0, so I got a 2.0 modem for $40.

[morac]

Originally Posted by NGeorge

It took me 3 phone calls over 3 months to explain that this was OWNED (it only has a $99 charge and PURCHASED EQUIPMENT on my first bill!). Apparently I am the only person who buys their cable modem--and why wouldn't I? I mean, at $99 to buy it from them, it pays for itself in a year vs. the lease fee--at the 5+ years that each of mine have lasted, I've avoided paying Comcast nearly a $1000 in lease fees lol. No wonder Comcast hides the fact that you can BUY a modem in such small print (you can also buy them from Best Buy, but they are basically the same price for a 3.0 unit--for $99 they brought me this one)

I believe that's why Comcast pushes their triple play service so hard. You have to rent the modem from them when you use their voice service since voice service modems aren't for sale. That's an extra $7 for them and one of the reasons I dropped their phone service. The other being they charge $45 a month for what I get virtually free from Ooma.

[Atomic Taco]

Originally Posted by morac

I believe that's why Comcast pushes their triple play service so hard. You have to rent the modem from them when you use their voice service since voice service modems aren't for sale. That's an extra $7 for them

Wrong. You do not need to rent a modem from Comcast for any of their services.

http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/

Comcast hands out a lot of Arris modems for triple play. I picked a random Arris modem off that list and found it for sale for $35.

[morac]

Originally Posted by Atomic Taco

Wrong. You do not need to rent a modem from Comcast for any of their services.

http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/

Comcast hands out a lot of Arris modems for triple play. I picked a random Arris modem off that list and found it for sale for $35.

I'm right. You definitely need to rent a digital voice modem (eMTA) if you use Comcast Voice service. None of the modems on that list are voice capable. If you don't have CDV, then what you said is true.

http://customer.comcast.com/help-and...-voice-modems/

(*) Apparently in some areas you can buy an eMTA from Comcast, but not in most areas.

[Atomic Taco]

Originally Posted by morac

You definitely need to rent a digital voice modem (eMTA) if you use Comcast Voice service. None of the modems on that list are voice capable.

http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/devi...&s=&so=&sc=756
http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/devi...&s=&so=&sc=756

Device Type: eMTA

A bit more expensive at $70 and up, but they're also DOCSYS 3.0 unlike the D2 modem I picked in my last post.

[morac]

Originally Posted by Atomic Taco

http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/devi...&s=&so=&sc=756
http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/devi...&s=&so=&sc=756

Device Type: eMTA

A bit more expensive at $70 and up, but they're also DOCSYS 3.0 unlike the D2 modem I picked in my last post.

That's nice, but show me where you can buy them.

[Atomic Taco]

Originally Posted by morac

That's nice, but show me where you can buy them.

As you wish:

http://search.ebay.com/TM722G

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B0039UWW54

That's just two models and two vendors. If I were actually in the market for a VOIP modem (which I'm not; home phones are pointless when you have a cell phone that works anywhere in the world and has more features--like SMS) I'd search higher and lower for a better modem at a better price.

[morac]

Well as I mentioned, check the link I posted above. Comcast doesn't allow you to use your own eMTA in all areas. Consider yourself lucky to be in an area that allows it.

[Atomic Taco]

Originally Posted by morac

Well as I mentioned, check the link I posted above. Comcast doesn't allow you to use your own eMTA in all areas. Consider yourself lucky to be in an area that allows it.

I have no knowledge or desire to know what's allowed in my area. If you could please update your boilerplate message from "You have to rent the modem from them when you use their voice service since voice service modems aren't for sale" to "Voice service modems are for sale but are expensive and self-purchased modems cannot be used in all areas" that'd be great.

[MichaelK]

Originally Posted by morac

I believe that's why Comcast pushes their triple play service so hard. You have to rent the modem from them when you use their voice service since voice service modems aren't for sale. That's an extra $7 for them and one of the reasons I dropped their phone service. The other being they charge $45 a month for what I get virtually free from Ooma.

FYI- that's no longer the case-
you can buy the official ARRIS docsis 3.0 modem (722g i believe) that does their phoine service from select Best Buy stores (there's a PDF with the list of best buys that sell them on the Arris website someplace). They have to have a comcast kiosk apparently. (there's places online claiming to sell them also, but it's not clear at all if comcast allows those or not...)

http://www.arrisi.com/consumer/

the modem is ~$150 and you MUST have the drone at the comcast kiosk "activate it" before leaving. Then when you get home you call them to add it to your account for real.

(if you are bored- I know the princeton best buy on rt 1 has them- they are even in a comcast branded box- sold back in the tv section next to the comcast kiosk- NOT by the cable modems in the computer section. If you ask the tools in the computer land if they sell the comcast modems they are clueless..)

Thanks for the mention about the Ooma, never heard of it- off to go look...

[morac]

Originally Posted by MichaelK

Thanks for the mention about the Ooma, never heard of it- off to go look...

Personally I love Ooma. The hardware is costly up front (I got a refurbished model off woot), but if you want plain phone service it's basically free after that. I pay the circa $130 a year for Premium service though. I wouldn't recommend it if you do a lot of FAXing or have a alarm service that requires a phone line (ie modem). Unlike Comcast's phone service, modems don't work through Ooma's VOIP. Faxing works off and on, but is very slow.

Another FYI, if you're thinking of dropping Comcast's phone service to save money. Because of their bundling, my rates actually went up when I dropped Comcast's phone service since they no longer waived the HD technology fee and charged more for Premium channels. I managed to save money though by signing up for a double play service and dropping the Premium channels (which I never really watched anyway).

[MichaelK]

Originally Posted by morac

...
Another FYI, if you're thinking of dropping Comcast's phone service to save money. Because of their bundling, my rates actually went up when I dropped Comcast's phone service since they no longer waived the HD technology fee and charged more for Premium channels. I managed to save money though by signing up for a double play service and dropping the Premium channels (which I never really watched anyway).

I was afraid of that- haven't sit down to check my specifics- but that "seems" to be the likelihood here too. That's what has me thinking of buying the modem from the best buy and at least dumping the $7 fee (which seems to go up annually at this point...). I've had triple play since i got my S3's in 2006 so I would have paid for it long ago. I just bought a couple premiers with lifetime so figure I'm locked to comcast for at least the 23-24 months to pay back on the modem.

one of these days soon i have to sit down and figure out what the best option is....

[Rkkeller]

Isn't this the CABLE CARD thread?????

[morac]

Originally Posted by MichaelK

I was afraid of that- haven't sit down to check my specifics- but that "seems" to be the likelihood here too. That's what has me thinking of buying the modem from the best buy and at least dumping the $7 fee (which seems to go up annually at this point...). I've had triple play since i got my S3's in 2006 so I would have paid for it long ago. I just bought a couple premiers with lifetime so figure I'm locked to comcast for at least the 23-24 months to pay back on the modem.

one of these days soon i have to sit down and figure out what the best option is....

Personally I dropped Triple Play when Comcast started charging me $210 a month for it. For me it was definitely worth the drop. I'm now playing about $110 for TV (Digital Preferred) and Internet (Blast Tier).

I'm in a somewhat unique position though where I'm not paying outlet fees and still getting the CableCard credit, so the more cards I get from Comcast, the less money I end up paying overall. Currently the 4 cards I have about offset the HD Tech fee I'm paying for a HD Cable box, which I'll return whenever On Demand starts working on the Premiere.

[unitron]

Originally Posted by Rkkeller

Isn't this the CABLE CARD thread?????

Sooner or later they all turn into the "How I'm getting screwed by my cable company" thread.

Can't imagine why.

[bareyb]

FWIW I just got the same story from the girl at Comcast. She said we have MULTI stream cards. Which is to say they only pay for ONE stream. I have to pay $1.10 per card for the OTHER STREAM. So I guess I'm getting screwed too then... Bastards...

[Atomic Taco]

Originally Posted by bareyb

FWIW I just got the same story from the girl at Comcast. She said we have MULTI stream cards. Which is to say they only pay for ONE stream. I have to pay $1.10 per card for the OTHER STREAM. So I guess I'm getting screwed too then... Bastards...

Remind them that it's one card. One card = one piece of equipment = one charge. Or bring the card back to the office and tell them you want to return half of it.

[bareyb]

Originally Posted by Atomic Taco

Remind them that it's one card. One card = one piece of equipment = one charge. Or bring the card back to the office and tell them you want to return half of it.

I was afraid to tell them that my Elite has four tuners. They would probably try to charge for another three outlets.

I'm gonna try and see if I can straighten this out. Wish me luck...

[MichaelK]

or ask if their rental DVR's with 2 tuners count as 2 boxes...

[unitron]

Originally Posted by unitron

Sooner or later they all turn into the "How I'm getting screwed by my cable company" thread.

Can't imagine why.

Originally Posted by bareyb

FWIW I just got the same story from the girl at Comcast. She said we have MULTI stream cards. Which is to say they only pay for ONE stream. I have to pay $1.10 per card for the OTHER STREAM. So I guess I'm getting screwed too then... Bastards...

I rest my case.

[bareyb]

To get things back on track: I just installed a Premiere Elite and it took an entire DAY. It started at 2 pm and ended with the last call from level 2 tech at 9:30 pm at night. Took two trips to my local comcast office (with with 20 minute wait times) THREE CableCARDS to get it working. Every bit of the fault was with Comcast. Apparently they can't enter a number correctly to save their lives.

Got my last TiVo S3 in 2006 and they STILL haven't figured out how to activate a CableCARD without a Truck roll or Level 2 tech, even 6 years later. Bastards!

[myosh_tino]

Originally Posted by NGeorge

So maybe I was extremely lucky? I cut $21.00 off my Comcast bill in one phone call--and I have 2 Tivos (Premiers I got off Craigslist at the grandfathered rates through Tivo) for much less than what Comcast wants for their crappy Motorola HD DVR boxes--$10 HD fee + $15.95 per unit.

--Nat

Your story sounds like SOP (standard operating procedure) for Comcast where I live (Cupertino, CA) although I only get charged $1.10 per CableCARD.

I had the same thing happen to me after a tech visit to replace the cards in my Series3. On my next bill I got hit with a $10 HD fee and $24 in Additional Outlet fees ($8 x 3 outlets). A quick trip to my local service center was all it took get the fees removed.

[bareyb]

Guess what? Now the lower channels don't work on on my my old Series 3's... How much you wanna bet they borked one of the Cablecards in it somehow when they were trying to activate the new Premiere? It's been working fine for years... Until now. I hate Comcast SO much....

[Atomic Taco]

Originally Posted by bareyb

Guess what? Now the lower channels don't work on on my my old Series 3's

What do you mean by "don't work" and "lower channels"? Analog channels? Digital non-encrypted?

Originally Posted by myosh_tino

Your story sounds like SOP (standard operating procedure) for Comcast where I live (Cupertino, CA) although I only get charged $1.10 per CableCARD.

Unless you have a S3 HD (silver box with clock) AND two cards, you shouldn't be charged at all.

[unitron]

Originally Posted by Atomic Taco

What do you mean by "don't work" and "lower channels"? Analog channels? Digital non-encrypted?Unless you have a S3 HD (silver box with clock) AND two cards, you shouldn't be charged at all.

The one with the clock, i.e., the Organic Light Emitting Diode, or OLED, display, on the front, is the original S3, the TCD648250, and needs one cable card per tuner, for a total of 2 cards, regardless of whether they're S or M cards.

The Series 3 platform HD, the TCD652160, has no OLED display, nor does the visually identical HD XL, the TCD658000. They take 2 S cable cards or 1 M card.

[Atomic Taco]

Originally Posted by unitron

The one with the clock, i.e., the Organic Light Emitting Diode, or OLED, display, on the front, is the original S3, the TCD648250, and needs one cable card per tuner, for a total of 2 cards, regardless of whether they're S or M cards.

The Series 3 platform HD, the TCD652160, has no OLED display, nor does the visually identical HD XL, the TCD658000. They take 2 S cable cards or 1 M card.

Yes, so unless myosh_tino has the TCD648250, it is unlikely that myosh_tino has two cards PER OUTLET, and thus should not be charged.

[Rkkeller]

All the talk above about buying your own modem and saving the $7 a month fee started me looking for myself. I do not have voice thru Comcast and found the exact Motorola modem they gave me on Amazon for $45. There were used ones for $25 too.

Not sure how easy Comcast will swap it out for me but I thought by buying the exact same modem that they gave me, it would limit any excuses they might come up with.

[morac]

Originally Posted by Rkkeller

Not sure how easy Comcast will swap it out for me but I thought by buying the exact same modem that they gave me, it would limit any excuses they might come up with.

It's a very simply process. In fact in many areas it's automated. You just hook up the new modem instead of the old one and when you try to go to any web site it instead takes you to a web site where you can activate your new modem and link it to your account.

I've been told that process is a bit hit or miss though so it might be better to simply call in. All you need to do is give them the MAC and serial number of the new modem and they'll swap it. It's very simple.

Then bring your old modem back to Comcast.

[jon96cobra]

Originally Posted by morac

It's a very simply process. In fact in many areas it's automated. You just hook up the new modem instead of the old one and when you try to go to any web site it instead takes you to a web site where you can activate your new modem and link it to your account.

I've been told that process is a bit hit or miss though so it might be better to simply call in. All you need to do is give them the MAC and serial number of the new modem and they'll swap it. It's very simple.

Then bring your old modem back to Comcast.

Comcast has a list of modems you can use with there service on there site.
http://mydeviceinfo.comcast.net/

When you take back the modem make sure you get a receipt I have had them come back months later with a fee that I didn't return a device.

[ghuido]

4th time activating a Comcast Cable Card.

Observation through the entire process.

1.) Picked up the CAble Card at the Comcast Service Center and they did not give me any supporting documentation. Said they did not have it. Had to ask this forum to get the Cable Card Activation Toll Free Number ( 1-877-405-2298 )

2.) Set up the TIVO with the M-Card and called the activation line. They did their process and the cable card activated. There was still a problem with getting Non-Broadcast/Cable Encrypted HD Channels (E.g. SYFY, TNT, TBS). They would not come through. Conditional access screen showed Auth. Code of MP. Looks like the cable card was not set up right. This happend before to me and other people.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...d.php?t=376170

3.) Opened up a CR to have a tech called me. 24 hours later a tech did called back. After about 20 minutes I begged the tech to check that the Bill Codes where set up right on the CAble Card and to do an INIT Hit. He did some checking and said he "Updated something" (Magic Box Statement there). After 5 minutes the cable card finally started working again.

Phew ... always and adventure activating cable card. Please AllVid get here soon.