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Should HD channels be immediately available when I test channels?

Discussion in 'TiVo Series3 HDTV DVRs' started by Neenahboy, Sep 10, 2007.

  1. Sep 10, 2007 #1 of 17
    Neenahboy

    Neenahboy Statistical outlier

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    I'm testing channels on a CableCARD right now. Should I be seeing high-def channels appear as I scroll through, do I have to enter the x-1 to get it to show up, or do they not appear until after Guided Setup reruns?
     
  2. Sep 10, 2007 #2 of 17
    alansplace

    alansplace ------ Alan ------

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    yes, they should and the cable company installer should still be there to fix any problems you experience during the testing of your channels. after all of the channels that are supposed to show up test positive (you can see them), then he can leave and you can rerun guided setup.
    --
    Alan :D
     
  3. Sep 10, 2007 #3 of 17
    Neenahboy

    Neenahboy Statistical outlier

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    It was actually a self-install that wasn't technically supposed to be a self install (the local office gave me an M-card...naughty naughty!).

    Anyway, after a conference call with Comcast and TiVo, the problem ended up being a severe signal issue due to the use of a splitter (cable and HSI). The Executive Care office is calling me back with potential times for another truck roll to test the signal at the headend.

    So what would a tech do in this situation to get the CableCARD signal up to 95? Run another cable line to allow for separate TV and HSI connections?
     
  4. Sep 10, 2007 #4 of 17
    jblake

    jblake New Member

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    I think the cable card has to specifically have "Test Channels" programmed in. I have an active cable card and if you go into "Test Channels" in the CableCard setup/diagnostics screen, it says there are no test channels available, however if you go out to live TV, all the channels are there.
     
  5. Sep 10, 2007 #5 of 17
    Neenahboy

    Neenahboy Statistical outlier

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    The weird thing is, I was receiving all broadcast and encrypted channels (no HD though) under Test Channels for probably five minutes, then everything went gray.

    Right now, the signal's hovering at around 81 for all channels. I tried an amp, but that only got it to 86-87. :(
     
  6. Sep 10, 2007 #6 of 17
    rainwater

    rainwater Active Member

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    Don't buy the signal strength is your problem argument. While it may result in some major pixelation, if you aren't receiving channels correctly, you need to be checking out the CableCards conditional access menu. Most likely, the card isn't authorized correctly. I have cablecards that bring in 83-87 on the signal strength listed on the TiVo and never have pixelation or macroblacking. The value listed on the TiVo is not a real indicator of an issue anyways. The cable company can surely better test your line quality but I am betting on it being a authorization and/or pairing issue.
     
  7. Sep 10, 2007 #7 of 17
    Neenahboy

    Neenahboy Statistical outlier

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    Does Comcast have a specific CableCARD department, or does it vary by region? I'd really like to talk with a senior CC tech and not have another truck roll.
     
  8. Sep 10, 2007 #8 of 17
    alansplace

    alansplace ------ Alan ------

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    i have no idea, but i suppose that a situation like yours is at least some justification for most cable companies having a policy of sending out a tech to install cablecards.
    --
    Alan :D
     
  9. Sep 10, 2007 #9 of 17
    Neenahboy

    Neenahboy Statistical outlier

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    After more trying, we weren't able to fix the issue.

    I'm still not seeing an "AUTH: SUBSCRIBED" message on the Conditional Access Screen, so do I assume correctly that this means it isn't paired properly?

    I did witness them do another hit on the card, and the Val: field now reads 0x03 as opposed to 0x01 before. Is this good?

    Further, the OOB status is IDLE, and I've read that it's supposed to be TUNED_STATE. True?
     
  10. Sep 10, 2007 #10 of 17
    jfh3

    jfh3 Active Member

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    If this is the case for you, you may not have digital channels in your line up.

    The only channels that appear in Test channels are digital (no analog) - if you don't see any channels, something is amiss.
     
  11. Sep 10, 2007 #11 of 17
    jfh3

    jfh3 Active Member

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    Correct - not paired properly.

    Not unless you happened to be on a PPV channel at the time. What kind of CableCARD is this?
     
  12. Sep 10, 2007 #12 of 17
    Neenahboy

    Neenahboy Statistical outlier

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    Moto M-Card through Comcast Chicago.
     
  13. Sep 10, 2007 #13 of 17
    jfh3

    jfh3 Active Member

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    Well, checking from my CableCARD Installation FAQ ;) you cards aren't paired or validated.

    If everything is fine, you should see a "V" before the value in the validation field - e.g. V 0x00

    Call Comcast - they need to:
    1) Activate your card on your account.
    2) Pair it
    3) Validate it.

    If this is a first time install for the card, their process SHOULD do #2 and #3 at the same time.
     
  14. Sep 10, 2007 #14 of 17
    Neenahboy

    Neenahboy Statistical outlier

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    I do see that V. So I guess it's just the pairing that's the problem.

    My rep from the Executive Care line didn't seem too knowledgeable about CableCARDs, so what's involved in the pairing process?
     
  15. Sep 10, 2007 #15 of 17
    Neenahboy

    Neenahboy Statistical outlier

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    The rep gave me some crap about the pairing only applying with the premium channels, and that even if it's not paired I should still be seeing something.

    I corrected her, saying that the pairing is essential for me to see ANYTHING, and that the premium channels only come into play with the validation of the card.

    She wasn't having any of it, and now my head hurts. :/
     
  16. Nov 12, 2007 #16 of 17
    zvadim

    zvadim New Member

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    I'm in the same boat here with Comcast Metro Detroit, THD & Moto M-Card (tried 2 so far):

    OOB status IDLE & I'm not pulling the channel list. Number of OOB messages changes.

    3rd line Conditional Access screen shows CON:YES; EBCP:YES,VAL:V 0x00. There are only 3 lines on that screen, TiVo says there should be more data there.
     
  17. Nov 13, 2007 #17 of 17
    Roderigo

    Roderigo New Member

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    For Motorola MCards, IDLE is the steady-state value.

    For MCards, the other key diagnostic information is the VCT stuff (Virtual Channel Table - on the Network Setup screen). The ID needs to be non-zero, and the number of VCTs should be increasing. If the card says the number of VCTs is 0, it's never given a channel list to the tivo. To solve this, the cable company needs to get the INIT hit to the card.

    The Conditional Access screen will only show more information when you're actually tuned to channels that need the cablecard.
     

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