New Comcast HD channels not working?

[thiazi]

I have a TivoHD with a single Comcast M-Card. New HD channels (TLCHD, CNNHD, etc.) are not working -- the gray screen shows up with the message to call the cable provider.

I called Comcast and they sent a signal to the card, but the channels are still not working. The Tivo has been restarted, cable card removed and reseated, etc.

Comcast's next step is to send a technician out to troubleshoot the problem. It's somewhat frustrating because every time a technician comes out, he ends up having to call in since the technician has usually never seen a cable card.

Is there anything else I can do or another number I can call to reach someone who knows what signals to send to authorize the channels? The channels are in my tier so they should work.

[bicker]

The most common cause of these types of issues are signal-related issues, so that's why the tendency is for them to check the signal first. That doesn't take long. Note that nothing necessarily needed to have changed on your side (though, of course, your cables and connectors are getting older every minute) -- it could be that those specific channels were simply moved to another frequency, one that your specific wiring has some problem with.

Another common cause for this I've experienced is a problem with how your tier is programmed in at the head-end. That's exceedingly rare, and one customer calling in about it wouldn't justify pursuing that angle. If a bunch of customers are complaining, then it might make sense to look into that. However, that process will not be made visible to you.

Best of luck.