yeah after the first visit, it got worse because the tech didn't properly activate the second cable card in the s3, so I lost a tuner! second visit fixed that, but basically to the point I was at before they visited!Kenji said:The problem is probably that Comcast doesn't have your correct CableCard information. Before Comcast did their big security "upgrade" earlier this year, I received all of the HBO and Encore channels fine. Since the upgrade, I still receive all of the HBO channels, but none of the Encore channels (I get the same gray screen that you do). However, if I call Comcast about the Encore channels, I believe the odds are decent they'll make things even worse than they are now, and I can live without the Encore channels, so I choose to do so.
My point is that I don't believe that Comcast has a systemic problem with HBO or Encore. Good luck, and if you get your problem fixed, post how you did it.
thanks, I'll check again tonight. the only bright side to this is that they're discounting the cost of hbo, even though it works fine on the s2 and the comcast dvr in the bedroom.Evilmonkee said:I think the problem might be that your CCs are activated but NOT validated. There is a difference. This happened to me as I had to have Comcast(Richmond, CA) come out to the house 4 separate times. There is a way to check if your CCs are validated(which basically means they have unlocked their protection for subscribed channels). It is in one of the CC settings menus. Status or something. You'll be looking for a line that says "Validation:" It will either say something like "Valid OC" or "Unknown." If it is unknown then the card has not been validated and you will be unable to receive subscribed channels like HBO. The solution is to have Comcast send a validation hit to your CCs. They'll probably want to have an installer at your house, but maybe you can convince them to just hit the cards again. Again, it is important to express the difference between activation and validation.
