[drcos]

Would be nice, it would remove the opportunity for Comcast to continue with the additional fees they are supposedly working to eliminate from their system (a 7.95 for each additional card "has to be" on the account or the second cards don't work)...

 

[lmacneill]

Would be nice, it would remove the opportunity for Comcast to continue with the additional fees they are supposedly working to eliminate from their system (a 7.95 for each additional card "has to be" on the account or the second cards don't work)...

I'm getting two CableCards from Comcast for a grand total of $1.50 per month.

It's a "Series 3 TiVo Special Price" that you have to ask for -- and they won't tell you voluntarily of course. Call 'em up and tell 'em you want the special Series-3 TiVo price. $1.50 a month (in the Atlanta area, anyway) for two cards. (Installation wasn't free, of course.)

 

[jrm01]

Would be nice, it would remove the opportunity for Comcast to continue with the additional fees they are supposedly working to eliminate from their system (a 7.95 for each additional card "has to be" on the account or the second cards don't work)...

Actually, a fee has to be on the account for the second card to work, but it doesn't have to be $7.95. In most places it is $1.50 to $2.75. Comcast's own webpage about Tivo pricing says that it will be a "nominal" fee for the second card (first card free).

http://www.comcast.com/Customers/FAQ/FaqCategory.ashx?CatId=461

 

[Maeglin]

Perhaps we'll get it when the problems with it are completely sorted out in the TiVo HD box, and yes there apparently are a few there specific to M-Cards.

 

[drcos]

I have been (and am still) doing this dance already with Comcast. The $7.95 fee is on top of the other fees, and is 'required' by their system because it is 'not programmed correctly' to allow for more than one cable card (i.e. Tivo).
This is on the Sarasota, FL headend. If the bogus charges are taken off the account, the two secondary cards STOP WORKING.
This issue may or may not be specific to our local headend.

 

[MScottC]

I have been (and am still) doing this dance already with Comcast. The $7.95 fee is on top of the other fees, and is 'required' by their system because it is 'not programmed correctly' to allow for more than one cable card (i.e. Tivo).
This is on the Sarasota, FL headend. If the bogus charges are taken off the account, the two secondary cards STOP WORKING.
This issue may or may not be specific to our local headend.

I dealt with that for 6 months, repeatedly calling and getting credited for the difference between $7.95 and $1.99. Finally found a CSR who found a way to keep the second card activated without charging me for it at all. And like your system, this system also did not have the $1.99 fee encoded in their billing system.

 

[aaronwt]

Would be nice, it would remove the opportunity for Comcast to continue with the additional fees they are supposedly working to eliminate from their system (a 7.95 for each additional card "has to be" on the account or the second cards don't work)...

I'm getting 6 cable cards from Comcast for $0 a month. I don't know why but I'm not complaining.

 

[pkscout]

I'd say M-Card support will be available just slightly after the software update from TiVo is downloaded. When that will be available is anyone's guess though.

 

[davezatz]

Actually, a fee has to be on the account for the second card to work, but it doesn't have to be $7.95. In most places it is $1.50 to $2.75. Comcast's own webpage about Tivo pricing says that it will be a "nominal" fee for the second card (first card free).

http://www.comcast.com/Customers/FAQ/FaqCategory.ashx?CatId=461

If I'm reading this right, it has conflicting info ($7.95?):
http://www.comcast.com/customers/faq/FaqDetails.ashx?ID=2651

If you have a multi-card device on the same outlet (i.e. TiVo Series 3 or two Digital Cable Tuners connected to the same personal computer), you will be charged an additional regulated fee of up to $1.91 for the second CableCARD.

Not to mention more conflicting info from Comcast... I pay $0 for both my CableCARDs.

 

[pkscout]

If you have a multi-card device on the same outlet (i.e. TiVo Series 3 or two Digital Cable Tuners connected to the same personal computer), you will be charged an additional regulated fee of up to $1.91 for the second CableCARD.

I love how the use regulated to make you think that the government is making them charge you for it when what it really means is the government won't let them charge more for it.

 

[keenanSR]

I'm getting 6 cable cards from Comcast for $0 a month. I don't know why but I'm not complaining.

I've never been charged for my 2 either, certainly a billing screwup as I'm getting Digital Classic for free as well, ever since I hooked up the S3 way back when.

 

[drcos]

No updates?

 

[moyekj]

I can see for Tivo this would not be a high priority. Now that the THD is released and most of the major issues resolved the S3s probably don't sell much anymore and existing owners of S3s already have 2 S-cards setup. So only some existing S3 customers would benefit from this update. I'm not sure that many S3 owners would want to go through the hassles, time, risks and truck roll fees involved with replacing working S-cards with an M-card. In my case it would save me about $7/month to go from 4 S-cards to 2 M-cards and I'm not sure I'd be willing to do it unless I ran into trouble with the S-cards.

 

[sommerfeld]

So only some existing S3 customers would benefit from this update.

I'm one of them. I've been happily using the S3 sans cable cards with OTA digital + analog extended basic cable -- when I got the S3, I took a look at the comcast channel lineup and saw no channels in their digital lineup that I'd watch that I couldn't get either via antenna or via analog cable.

Comcast is slowly shrinking its analog extended basic lineup, which is prompting me to reevaluate. But the fact that M-card support for the S3 is rumored to be "real soon now" is prompting me to hold off as it's clear that the providers don't seem to have a firm grip on making "two cable cards, one device" a pleasant experience.

 

[drcos]

I ask again, because I would like to get rid of $16 (15.90) of additional fees from Comcast, that they are "working" to eliminate.

 

[davezatz]

Have you gone into Comcast with a printout from the link above? I wonder if you can have your fees lowered.

 

[Hogues92]

Have you gone into Comcast with a printout from the link above? I wonder if you can have your fees lowered.

The problem is the fine print at the bottom of that page:

Disclaimer: Regulated Prices quoted above may not apply in all markets. Please call 1-800-COMCAST to learn more about Regulated Prices for your area.


They have a way around anything!

 

[Saxion]

existing owners of S3s already have 2 S-cards setup. So only some existing S3 customers would benefit from this update.

Um...I would also benefit from this update. Since I bought my S3 9 months ago, I've been using it without CableCARDs, patiently waiting for TiVo to either add support for multi-stream CableCARDs, or add guide support for unencrypted QAM channels. So far TiVo has been maddeningly slow on both features. One can only hope that TiVo will not abandon it's core group of early adopters...

 

[EVizzle]

How would an M-Card benefit you Saxion? If you got S-Cards, you wouldn't need to pay an arm and a leg for them, maybe 2 dollars more per month than a single M-Card. I would like M-Card support too, but I have bigger fish to fry (SDV, MRV, TTG, Copy Protection to name a few.

I also would be happy if Tivo fixed the pixelation concerns that many are having (I never did), as that would be great for many many more people. Then go after a SDV fix and satellite support, so there is no reason for someone to avoid a great Tivo box, then multi room viewing and tivo to go, so many like myself could use an external hard drive other than eSATA, and finally join the fight against copy protection on television recordings.

I have 2 S-Cards, never had any pixelation issues, don't want satellite, have no SDV issues yet, but would be content waiting for my wishes if more people were served and had access to working Tivo. Secondary concerns are price of additional cards and additional functionality, lets just work to get everyone on board!!!

Oh yeah, and stop the cable company monopolies, but Tivo doesn't need to do that, just the government.

 

[Saxion]

How would an M-Card benefit you

A fair question. If I got 2 CableCARDs, Cox told me they'd charge twice the install fee for one card ($60 x 2=$120), plus of course the extra monthly rental fee ($2), and possibly an extra Digital Outlet fee ($3.50-$5). I may be able to argue my way out of some of that, but I'd rather just start off with a single CableCARD and avoid the hassle. I also believe CableCARD prices are trending higher and so would someday want to pare down to a single card...but I certainly don't want to pay for another truck roll down the road just to swap two S-Cards for one M-Card.