Note this could affect ANY cable system that uses SA/Cisco PowerKEY CC's, which includes Tivo's:
Time warp could cause millions of old 'PowerKEY' set-tops (& cablecards) to go on the blink
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Hmmm...I wonder which "certain TiVo DVRs" we're talking about?
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I think that's just bad phrasing due to an unfamiliarity with the Tivo product line. From my reading of the issue, it's any Cable Card Tivo, so Series 3+, on a system still using Scientific Atlanta/Cisco cards based on PowerKey. The problem is the Card, not which Series X Tivo it's actually in.
It sounds like they can deal/are dealing with it via a firmware update to the PowerKey CCs; the question is whether CablcCo's will see it in their interest to both pay for and push a Firmware update, to a steadily decreasing/increasingly marginal segment of their user base, especially in another 2.5 years from now and when the last public release PowerKey firmware version was from ~2015, IIRC.
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If you have a Tivo with a Motorola / Arris cable cards do you have to worry?
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So is there any way to tell if we're affected? Short of yanking the card out, which I'd really rather not do?
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In the Tivo Settings menus, find the "CableCard for installers" or something like that menu option, and load some of the CC diagnostics screens. I think they will explicitly state somewhere "Cisco" for type of Card. If nothing else, look for a 'Software Version" listing in one of those screens and if you see the text string "PKEY" anywhere, you have Cisco/SA card using PowerKey.
Sorry I can't be more specific on actual menu paths, but I'm not in these very often and just get there by reflex when i actually need them.
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Yep, "PKEY" shows up in the OS name.
Hopefully Xfinity will be on this...
Hopefully Xfinity will be on this...
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Millions of digital cable set-tops that use the "PowerKEY" conditional access (CA) system originally developed by Scientific-Atlanta decades ago could go on the blink in late 2024 due to an internal computing clock issue that will cause the devices to "time out" and become inoperable.
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The cable company’s own STBs with CCs would also be affected and those numbers are not marginal.
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Right, but some of that inventory is going to be using directly integrated PowerKey, which the article indicates essentially doesn’t have a solution outside of replacement. It’s also totally conceivable that the providers decide that, even for boxes manufactured in the early days of the old CC mandated where an actual CC was integrated into the box, it’s simpler to just swap consumer equipment. Those boxes could be pushing 15 years old at this point, and they may just decide to rid themselves of old equipment.
Perhaps that’s a silver lining, but who know’s how each provider is going to do the cost benefit math for their particular circumstances.
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Same here.
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Spectrum here (Charter) with a Cisco CC. I firmly believe they will abandon the platform altogether in November 2024. They have already made getting a CC almost impossible. I have a friend I gifted a Tivo Premiere to several months ago and he is still waiting on a tuning adapter and CC for use with it. They simply keep telling him they are out of stock. I would assume I'd get the same treatment should one of mine fail for some reason. I have certainly gotten my money's worth using the Tivo ecosystem for better than 20 years now with lifetime subscriptions on the many boxes I've owned through the years. This will be a painful transition though because I am currently running two Tivo's with three minis so I'm essentially covering 5 cable boxes with DVR functionality for $6 per month. I am done with Spectrum when they drop support -
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This raises the question... what do the cablecos offer to recreate this functionality? I have two Roamios, and four Minis, powering six TVs. I hate to think what I'd need to do to recreate this via Comcast.
[Yes, I saw you said "Charter", but I'm curious in general]
Same for me. Do we have any info confirming that Motorola cards won't encounter a similar problem?
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My parents are on Comcast and unfortunately DO have a PowerKEY CC. I'm guessing this will likely be end of the line for their TiVo...
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I had one of these boxes from Altice (Optimum) and the Tivo cable card stopped working about a year ago. Altice had no interest in fixing it. I switched to FIOS and frankly, their cable software is pretty damn good, maybe better than Tivo. (I still use a Tivo Stream for Netflix, Hulu, and Prime)
Spectrum (TWC) here as well with one Cablecard (Cisco) & external tuning adapter in a base Tivo Roamio.
Bought that Roamio when they first came out back in August 2013, then immediately upgraded to a 3TB drive.
Very few problems in all the time I've had it setup...might have to reboot the TA a few times annually.
Will keep it until it stops working, then add an amplified external antenna to my chimney & switch that Roamio over to antenna...does Dish still offer their antenna installation service?
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