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Spectrum and cable card

61K views 387 replies 73 participants last post by  michaelj3 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have a Bolt on cable card using Spectrum (Charter) as my provider. In inquiring about possibly changing packages, I was told that the current plans do not allow for cable card and that it is possible that Spectrum may obsolete cable card in the future. It sounded like more a matter of when than if. Or am I misunderstanding this? I love my Tivo and have had a Series 2 and HD prior to my Bolt. I hate the thought of losing it. I've resisted the lower prices and better offerings from Hawaiian Telcom because I wouldn't be able to use my Tivo.
 
#288 · (Edited)
Alright, I went through a dry run of the swap of the TA to the HSC and this is what I have to offer:

  • The HSC is huge, almost as big as the Edge is. Easily twice as wide as the TA is, plus deeper and a little higher. Ports on the back are the same, cable in + cable out + USB device port + AC port. AC adapter is a small AC adapter, not a plug-in adapter/wall-wart, so it should be easier for plugging it into a surge suppressor or UPS than the wall-wart is. It also comes with two RG-59 / RG-6 RF cables in the box, both Spectrum-branded, and a USB cable.
  • The HSC are supposedly pre-activated and the swap is done as a self-install, as the included instructions are to swap out the TA for the HSC and call them if there are any issues post-swap.
  • If you've received the email with the IMMEDIATE ACTION NEEDED, then the node your cable TV is connected to has been set with a swap date, which is a month/month-ish from the date of the swap. If you don't have the email yet, your node isn't scheduled for the swap yet and it's a node-by-node conversion. My guess is that they're working on smaller nodes first and moving to more populated nodes further down the swap. I don't have an email yet for that change.
  • When I swapped out the TA for the HSC, the TiVo saw it as a TA on its end. I didn't dig through menu settings after the fact to see what looked different from the TA being in place versus the HSC.
  • The HSC doesn't work until the high-split happens, though from the manager I spoke with said that there's a "soft-cut" that seems to be going in 5 days before the cut date in the email, which is when the HSC should be potentially ahead of the cut date.
  • When I had the HSC in place, there was an obvious "No channels are available" issue like what happens when a TA isn't present or isn't working correctly. Swapping out the HSC for the TA without making any other changes had channels work again like normal.
  • When the cut date happens, the TA(s) on the account are deleted since they're no longer useable. The manager said "the CableCards are deleted from the account", to which I questioned the point and they corrected themselves and said it was the TA(s) were the items deleted from the account.
  • TA(s) that are no longer in use have to be returned back to Spectrum, either at a Spectrum store location or a UPS Store location, though they will send out a return kit as needed if the options for the other two aren't available for the customer.
  • They think there may be a run-up on equipment as they get closer to the cut-over dates, so getting equipment sooner than later would be a prudent move IMO.

So, it sounds like equipment-wise, I'm good to go, I just have to wait out to get the email about the cutover date and then go through the motions with the swap of TAs to HSCs. For my relative that received the email that they sent along to me, as they have a date of Jan 16th, I need to find out how many HSCs they need and get those ordered. Once on-site, then it'll be checking to see if there is this "soft-cut" in the five day window before the cutover date with trying to swap from TAs to HSCs.
 
#292 ·
Thanks for posting all of that info up! I never got an email about my tuning adapters shutting down. I do know they are doing these conversions hub by hub.

This earlier this week both of my tuning adapters stopped working. My cable is still working, but I can't tune any of the SDV channels, but otherwise it's good. I'm hoping I'll get these HSC convertors will ship soon.
 
#295 ·
Looks like a HSC is just a tuning adapter on steroids.

A tuning adapter was basically a neutered cable box that requested the channel you wanted to watch which then got allocated one of the dynamic channels and TiVo tuned to it. I'm guessing a HSC is similar, except it has the ability to downconvert channels, in effect becoming a pretend SDV system. That is, TiVo asks the HSC to tune to a channel, and it internally downconverts it, then tells TiVo what channel it's on and TiVo then uses that information to tune its tuner.

Kinda like how in the old days if you had an old cable converter and a VCR and wanted to record something, you'd program the VCR to record off channel 3 or 4 and tell the converter to tune to a channel at a specific time and date. Except these days it's all automated and digital enabled.
 
#296 ·
Not really. What has happened here is the OOB channel that carried the forward data from the headend so the Cable Card and company owned STBs could operate has been eliminated as the frequency spectrum where they were located was repurposed for upstream internet. The OOB channel is now broadcasted at a higher frequency and the converter will tune to that OOB signal and rebroadcast it at frequency that the TiVo can tune to so the CableCard can receive its OOB messages and the CableCard can still function. Without OOB messages the CableCard will not function, and the TiVo will not be able to tune to any channel.
INVENTION DISCLOSURE (cablelabs.com)
 
#298 ·
Let’s hope the HSC experience will be better than the TA one. I used a TWC/Spectrum TA (1520 model) for 11 years (2009 - 2019) and they never got it right. For the first few years it would lose authorization every month, which required a phone call to get fixed. After that if would simply quit functioning every few weeks, requiring a power-cycle to fix, and usually restarting the TiVo also. Many people on this forum had to power-cycle much more often and even set up lamp timers to do it every day.
 
#302 · (Edited)
Lexington, KY, here. I requested two HSCs on Dec 22 and went two weeks with no response. I called the 2598 number today and was told they had received my request but that HSCs are not yet available "in my area". I was told to expect an update within two weeks.

Our TiVos lost cable access on Dec 16 after a few dozen of those vague warning letters with no specific dates (at least on the ones we got). The tech who came to our house told me that high-split had been implemented here with no warning to them. He was unaware of the HSC possibility and had been telling other unhappy TiVo users that he couldn't help them.

P.S. I just noticed how old my signature is. We currently have one Roamio and one Bolt. The latter is a cable/OTA model and is currently recording from an antenna since cable is unusable.
 
#312 ·
I'm in St. Louis and have a question. Before I just had split the cable and had one leg going to tuning adapter and the other going to Tivo. In the instructions for the high split tuning adapter they have the cable going through the tuning adapter to Tivo. Does it need to be done this way or can I just have a separate signal going to the tuning adapter?

Thanks!
 
#313 ·
Are you asking about the “old” type of TA or the “new” (HSC - “High split”) type? TA’s, at least the Cisco STA1520 ones, could always be configured either way (splitter or direct thru) and there was much debate on this forum about which way was better. IMO it made little difference but there were many who insisted the splitter configuration was best. I assume the HSC’s come with instructions and you should try that way first.

Have to admit I don’t have a dog in this fight. I cut cable 3+ yrs ago after enduring a TA for 10 yrs. I joyously took the TA out into a field and crushed it. (At least in my imagination).
 
#328 ·
Same here. It was noted in the previous month's bill as follows, as I look it over:
Effective with your next statement, the following pricing will change:
• Broadcast TV Surcharge will increase by $1.20/mo.
• Spectrum TV Select will increase by $5/mo.
• Each CableCARD will increase to $6/mo
.
 
#329 ·
In fact, going back to my bill from a year ago, my current bill is now $60 less only with cable TV from when I had cable TV, 400MBps Internet service and phone service with Spectrum. Internet service and phone service were dropped back in June when the ending of cable card support scenario started. There's a 12-month discount on there back a few months ago when they screwed up some items, now with this $3/CC increase (x5) and these other changes, it's basically nullified that discount.

One more coffin nail in trying to be a Tivo user with Spectrum.
 
#332 ·
Still haven't received my HSC ever after ordering and calling in a few times. Still missing SDV channels as well.

I also just noticed the website doesn't have the sign up form anymore, just says to call an 800 number.

 
#334 · (Edited)
I also just noticed the website doesn't have the sign up form anymore, just says to call an 800 number.
There are (according to someone claiming to be a Charter employee) 4 markets have started the process for high split and for which a HSC will (at some point) be needed this year. Those markets are (some parts of) Rochester Minnesota, Reno Nevada, Lexington Kentucky, and St. Louis Missouri (some have started, but some will not start until later this year, and some will not be completed until sometime in 2024). Furthermore, the claim is that if you are not part of those 4 markets, one should not expect upgrades to start until next year at the earliest (although some prep work may happen in various other places), but they will also be using a different deployment technology starting in 2024 for the upgrades.

If you are not part of one of those 4 markets, an HSC is mostly just another door stop. I would expect Charter to be allocating their HSCs to only those in one of those markets.
 
#339 · (Edited)
It is almost certainly just a matter of time as to where and when the HSC will be required for customers with CableCARDs across their markets (and where linear QAM is supported, which is most, but not all, today). However, much to the disappointment of many, there is no way to know, because Charter does not share their schedules, whether that might be soon or somewhat further away for any particular location. To add to the disappointment, Charter may do some prep work that will require customers to move to the HSC long before the market is deployed for actual high-split operations (so the pain, and no (immediate) gain).
 
#341 ·
So, from what you are saying, it sounds like when I get my HSC here shortly, if we are not fully converted yet, that it appears to be okay to go ahead and change from the tuning adapter to the HSC and it should still go ahead and work?

If so, then in your case, did you return your tuning adapter or did you keep it?
 
#343 · (Edited)
I can now confirm that here in Central Kentucky (Lawrenceburg, Harrodsburg, other surrounding areas on our same headend, etc.) the switch just flipped for high split. I was watching tv when it all of a sudden went to all channels saying:

“This channel is not authorized. Contact your provider for more information. (V58)”

Our spectrum receivers work just fine so I called the CableCARD support line, and he said I literally witnessed the switch take place when all of the channels went to that message.

I had ordered my HSC device a couple of months ago, from that Spectrum HSC page mentioned here farther back, and he showed it would be here Monday by FedEx which I have a FedEx confirmation of this, too. He said it was already showing activated on his end, and it shows online in the account as being activated and ready, so he said once I hook it up, in place of the tuning adapter, everything will start working again with no need to call.

As far as the tuning adapter, he said I can take it back to our local store or ship it back.

He advised that as soon as the switch is flipped for HSC, in each market, all CableCARDS, in the given flipped market, will cease to receive the authorization until the HSC device is installed in place of the tuning adapter and no channels, whether SDV or not, will display until then.

I will try to report back on Monday after I get the HSC device installed as to whether or not everything goes back to working like usual.

The good news is that FedEx estimates it to be here by 8:40am to 12:40pm Monday so, as long as it comes before the evening, I should be able to get it installed and working before primetime tv to be recorded comes on.
 
#345 · (Edited)
Got my HSC in today, got it installed, and currently still no dice.

Called Spectrum, and they confirmed everything is properly activated and paired, the TiVo box confirms 100% signal strength along with the channel list showing received, and the light on the HSC is solid so it has acquired.

It still comes up with the V58 message where it acts like it is not receiving the authorization.

After refreshing all signals and authorizations and then power cycling everything still nothing so they are sending a technician out to look at it since everything shows it should work on their end, and signal strength is showing perfect according to the TiVo signal meter.

Spectrum said I did receive the correct unit so I’m going to let it set for a little while and see if maybe it might just take some time for everything to come back, but so far it has been a rough go as far as getting it to receive the authorization to let the channels display as that seems to be the only issue.

They were thinking it was an actual signal issue so they were baffled when I confirmed full signal, and that TiVo diagnostics screens show the OOB as being present, as they said it should then be able to hit the proper frequencies. I guess only time will tell, and if not, by the time the technician is supposed to come, then maybe he can make heads or tails of it.
 
#346 ·
Dropped off two CableCards, TAs and HSCs for the two Edge units I took out of service and replaced with Mini LUX units. Handed off to a UPS Store location rather than a Spectrum store, as the last time I did that, the Spectrum store screwed it up beyond belief. That's a post unto itself for another time.

Received the email this morning that the change was happening on or after 03/23/23, so tried to swap out one TA for a HSC tonight. Had called Spectrum after I received the email to make sure I could do the swap and verify that this is the time when the high-split is active and the TAs still work. However, it didn't work, after I followed the sequence for the one I did for a relative last month, which was swap out the HSC for the TA, let it boot up and get synced to Spectrum, then reboot the TiVo.

Called Spectrum support and they said they had to make a "coding change" on their end to fix the issue, which eventually did resolve the issue with the one HSC in place. I asked for clarification and they said that it was something where the equipment was added to my account though not set up correctly when shipped out on my order. Supposedly will fix the problem for the other two HSC swaps I had, though I won't know if that's the case until the next couple of days when I get the other two swapped out. I'll give it a week to make sure it's all working and then drop off the TAs with the UPS Store to turn it back in to Spectrum.
 
#347 ·
I received my HSC today (13Feb) but have not installed it. I waiting to lose my reception. I live in NW Nevada where Spectrum has a local monopoly on cable. What is odd is that I received a letter in early Jan confirming my "recent order". This was for an order I did NOT make. There is no specific detail of what the order was but on the summary of charges there was no cable card listed. I wonder if because I did not take them up on their offer for a recorder that the just removed the cable card from my billing and after the change over it will disappear.

After noodling around this site I found info on HSC (Spectrum never mentioned it) and ordered one. All the prior letters I received indicated early Jan as the change over date. Since then I have received my bill and my cable card charge (previously $2.50) is not on the bill but my Tivo continues to work. The TA is flashing yellow. So now I'm waiting for the changeover with an account that does not indicate a cable card and am expecting the worst.
 
#348 · (Edited)
For those of you who have gotten your HSC and CableCARD to work, do you have a Motorola or a Cisco card?

The person I talked to this morning seems to think it is an issue of receiving the authorization/entitlement. We unpaired and repaired the CableCARD with HostID, S/N, and DataID all being correct, and it still gives a V58 message. Full signal and everything else is perfect but the TiVo/CableCARD still seems act like it doesn’t have permission to view any channels. Not even the local channels, and that is with also trying hooking the cable line directly to the TiVo, but local channels and non-SDV channels still give V58. The person I talked to seems to think that maybe it could be that the CableCARD needs to be replaced and/or that it might be a Motorola CableCARD issue since a Cisco card doesn’t require a DataID and a few of the other variables on the account like a Motorola card does.

A technician is still coming out Thursday, and it was suggested that, if he can’t get things working, to maybe try a Cisco CableCARD instead of the current Motorola card that worked up to the conversion.

As far as we can tell, there isn’t anything that should be preventing the authorizations/entitlements from working, and the HSC is showing communicating at the proper frequencies.

I did get an automated call this morning that said there was some kind of outage that may have prompted a technician to be scheduled and that the problem was fixed, but whatever that was seemed to have no effect so it is evidently still something specific to the unit here.

At this point, it is quite an elusive mystery.
 
#349 ·
I am in the St Louis area. I am still using the tuning adapter and just this week received another email and letter from Spectrum. (It has been months since I received one of these.) I cannot find on the website where I can order the new converter that others have received, and this letter doesn't mention anything either. Do I need to just call the number?

Font Parallel Number Circle Electric blue
 
#351 ·
Assuming this was in response to my post, this link just takes you to the spectrum website where you log into your account. I even did searches for HSC and high speed converter and nothing comes up. I have gone through all the options of adding equipment, and it just isn't there (that I can see).
 
#352 ·
Link in question ends up at:

That's where it ended up from the link in the email sent to my in-laws back in Dec 2022, which was listed as the address cwoody222 has above, spectrum.net/hsc .

However, when I go to that link, after logging into my account, it comes up with an error on the page of "The form previously found on this page has expired.", with no form to fill out. It has a reference further down the page to call the CableCard support line on the 866.532.2598 phone number.
 
#353 ·
Thanks. It is just so odd to me that, being in the St Louis area, I never once received any correspondence about HSC. I wouldn't know anything about it except for this forum. I am in unincorporated St Louis County. I'm not sure that matters, but I'm feeling like the ugly stepchild. 😄
 
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