# How to purchase an M CableCard for a cable company with only S cards



## berserk83 (Apr 3, 2010)

I called my cable company (Insight Communications in central oh), and they said they only offer S cablecards, which really put a damper on my premiere purchase outlook. After some thought I called them back and confirmed with them that if I purchased my own M card, they would activate it for me! 

Now, does anyone know where to purchase an M card? Ebay turns up a few, but I was hoping for a retailer of some sort. Also, is there a list of cards that work with the premiere, or will any card do?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## SNJpage1 (May 25, 2006)

When I got my tivo HD the comcast tech they send wouldnt put the M card in. He said they have been nothing but trouble for the customers. He put in two S cards and had everything up and running in about 15 minutes. havent had a problem since. I dont know if other cable companies are having problems with M cards and thats why they are sticking to the S card.


----------



## LoneWolf15 (Mar 20, 2010)

SNJpage1 said:


> When I got my tivo HD the comcast tech they send wouldnt put the M card in. He said they have been nothing but trouble for the customers. He put in two S cards and had everything up and running in about 15 minutes. havent had a problem since. I dont know if other cable companies are having problems with M cards and thats why they are sticking to the S card.


That doesn't help if you have a Premiere, which (unlike the Series 3 or TivoHD) only has one CableCARD slot.

I think one of the reasons cablecos tak about CableCARDS being finicky is that very few of them have experience with them. Cable companies were highly resistant to the CableCARD standard when it first came out, and only grudgingly adopted them under pressure from the FCC and others. Since many techs haven't used them much, the lack of experience with them leads to labels like "finicky" or "problematic" since they don't know what to expect.

My installer and I thought the one he brought wasn't working for a second or two, but it was just that it took time to refresh information during two points during setup. Once that took place, it has been working well for the past 24 hours. Side note --considering how cable companies view CableCARD, I'm becoming more and more surprised that Tivo didn't work on implementing Tru2Way in the Premiere.

To the OP: You're probably best off getting one on Ebay. My installer used one of the Motorola cards with the pinkish-red colored sticker. It's probably cheaper on Ebay than anywhere else.


----------



## Stone1555 (Dec 19, 2008)

from what i understand a cable co has to register the cablecards with their system. Usually cards off ebay are stolen from another carrier or system.


----------



## berserk83 (Apr 3, 2010)

Thanks everyone for your responses. I think I'll give the cable company another call on Monday to see if I can get anywhere (I'm sure the better techs get the weekends off), that and make sure a card I buy on Ebay will work.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Don't the cablecards also have to match the head end? So you can't use a Motorola card if there is a Scientific Atlanta Head end?


----------



## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

LoneWolf15 said:


> Side note --considering how cable companies view CableCARD, I'm becoming more and more surprised that Tivo didn't work on implementing Tru2Way in the Premiere.


It's no surprise. Tru2way still requires cable cards so it doesn't solve the problem of cable companies not being able to deal with them effectively. It also requires cable company software running on the box, so you've got that added variable. And of course none of this does you any good if you're not in one of the four or five markets that has Tru2Way support.

Tru2Way is dead on arrival.


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

The last thing I would want is FiOS or Comcast software running on my TiVo.


----------



## SNJpage1 (May 25, 2006)

If I understand this thread correctly then his cable company wont install a M card giving him both turners and want to use a S card whick kills one of the tuners?


----------



## riekl (Jan 29, 2001)

aaronwt said:


> The last thing I would want is FiOS or Comcast software running on my TiVo.


It couldn't possibly make it any more unstable then the Premier is now


----------



## berserk83 (Apr 3, 2010)

If I could use a single S card and activate one of the tuners hd, and one sd, I'd be alright, but the premiere doesn't work at all with s cards. So no M card, no HD.


----------



## wmcbrine (Aug 2, 2003)

There's no reason to presume that the person you spoke to at the cable company had any idea what they were talking about. They frequently don't, especially when it comes to CableCards. Single-stream cards haven't even been manufactured for a few years now. My advice is to just order a CableCard -- don't confuse the CSR by bringing up single- vs. multi-stream -- and see if you don't end up with a multi-stream card.


----------



## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

berserk83 said:


> Thanks everyone for your responses. I think I'll give the cable company another call on Monday to see if I can get anywhere (I'm sure the better techs get the weekends off), that and make sure a card I buy on Ebay will work.


A card bought off eBay isn't going to work on Insight. There's no way they will authorize that card on their system. The best bet is to order a cablecard install. And see if the installer has M-cards when they show up. If they don't, ask the installer to find out how to get them. Talking to a CSR will get you no where.


----------



## nrc (Nov 17, 1999)

The funny thing is that they probably have an M card in every new cable box they deploy.


----------



## shaown (Jul 1, 2002)

S-cards definitely don't work so far in the Premiere - mine says non m-card inserted when I try it.
-Shaown


----------



## SlayerA (May 3, 2010)

wmcbrine said:


> There's no reason to presume that the person you spoke to at the cable company had any idea what they were talking about. They frequently don't, especially when it comes to CableCards. Single-stream cards haven't even been manufactured for a few years now. My advice is to just order a CableCard -- don't confuse the CSR by bringing up single- vs. multi-stream -- and see if you don't end up with a multi-stream card.


Your advice worked perfectly! I am a customer of Cox Fairfax VA. I just bought a tivo premiere and didn't realize i needed a cablecard. When I discovered that, I called Cox to order the M-card. I spoke with a CSR AND a tech support person...both of them told me Cox did not yet have the M-cards and did not know when they would begin carrying them. I thought I was not going to be able to use my premiere. But I read your advice to just order a cablecard without bringing up the term 'M-card'. Sure enough, the tech showed up with an M-card; I didn't even have to ask him for one. He installed it and it worked perfectly! (I needed a digital adapter also for the encrypted channels). But everything is working and I am happy. Thanks for advising, I would not have thought of that. I am now thoroughly enjoying my tivo premiere!


----------



## crxssi (Apr 5, 2010)

SlayerA said:


> I am a customer of Cox Fairfax VA. ...both of them told me Cox did not yet have the M-cards and did not know when they would begin carrying them.!


I have Cox of Hampton Roads. They have been using M cards for *years*, ever since the HD came out.


----------



## wagswvu (Feb 17, 2009)

SlayerA said:


> Your advice worked perfectly! I am a customer of Cox Fairfax VA. I just bought a tivo premiere and didn't realize i needed a cablecard. When I discovered that, I called Cox to order the M-card. I spoke with a CSR AND a tech support person...both of them told me Cox did not yet have the M-cards and did not know when they would begin carrying them. I thought I was not going to be able to use my premiere. But I read your advice to just order a cablecard without bringing up the term 'M-card'. Sure enough, the tech showed up with an M-card; I didn't even have to ask him for one. He installed it and it worked perfectly! (I needed a digital adapter also for the encrypted channels). But everything is working and I am happy. Thanks for advising, I would not have thought of that. I am now thoroughly enjoying my tivo premiere!


Must be nice.. I will be stuck with my Tivo HD because my cable company, Atlantic Broadband, doesn't have any m-cards.


----------



## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

wagswvu said:


> Must be nice.. I will be stuck with my Tivo HD because my cable company, Atlantic Broadband, doesn't have any m-cards.


Atlantic Broadband does have M-cards (at least in most areas) from what I have read.


----------



## wagswvu (Feb 17, 2009)

rainwater said:


> Atlantic Broadband does have M-cards (at least in most areas) from what I have read.


I guess I should have clarified. Yes, as a cable company Atlantic Broadband does have m-card in some areas, however in my area (western WV) they do not support m-cards. I was told by regional tech support they currently support them in southern states like Florida but not in my region, which is a bummer..


----------



## rainwater (Sep 21, 2004)

wagswvu said:


> I guess I should have clarified. Yes, as a cable company Atlantic Broadband does have m-card in some areas, however in my area (western WV) they do not support m-cards. I was told by regional tech support they currently support them in southern states like Florida but not in my region, which is a bummer..


I would not rely on tech support in knowing what they are talking about. Many people have been told the same as you before and it is rarely true.


----------



## wagswvu (Feb 17, 2009)

rainwater said:


> I would not rely on tech support in knowing what they are talking about. Many people have been told the same as you before and it is rarely true.


Which is true when talking to the first line tech support, trust me I didn't get anybody who know what a cabelcard was till the second line support. But after weeks of calling and talking with 30 different tech, I finally got the head of regional tech support. Aslo, I wasn't sure I beleived him either but when tech came to install my s-cards, after he was done pairing them he let me talk to the tech who runs my local cable headend, and he had the same story.


----------



## wbertram (Jun 14, 2002)

You are not using one of the biggest weapons in your arsenal, Senator Rockefeller.

Call his office and tell them that this WV based cable company is refusing to follow the regulations of the FCC. Tell them that the cable company is refusing to support FCC certified equipment. Tell them that if the Senator were to purchase a piece of FCC certified equipment, that he could not use it because the cable company is not following the law.

Then see what happens. Damn Senators have to be good for something!


----------



## ltxi (Feb 14, 2010)

you also might try calling Tivo tech support. They appear to have access to M cards and especially since the Premiere release have been helping to deal with M card issues


----------



## longcat (Jun 8, 2005)

wmcbrine said:


> There's no reason to presume that the person you spoke to at the cable company had any idea what they were talking about. They frequently don't, especially when it comes to CableCards. Single-stream cards haven't even been manufactured for a few years now. My advice is to just order a CableCard -- don't confuse the CSR by bringing up single- vs. multi-stream -- and see if you don't end up with a multi-stream card.


Just had Verizon tell me the same thing... "we don't have multi cards only S-cards." I told them to schedule someone to come out anyway. Hopefully the guy was wrong. Just picked up two Premieres and looking forward to having TiVo in my house again..


----------



## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

Yes. FiOS is only supposed to be using M cards now.


----------



## killzone (Oct 19, 2000)

longcat said:


> Just had Verizon tell me the same thing... "we don't have multi cards only S-cards." I told them to schedule someone to come out anyway. Hopefully the guy was wrong. Just picked up two Premieres and looking forward to having TiVo in my house again..


I guess they just have some idiots working there and it's a matter of luck who you talk to. I recently got FIOS hooked up and when I asked for an M-Card it wasn't a problem. The installer came and sure enough it was an M-Card he knew exactly what numbers he needed and everything was up and running in about 15 minutes.


----------



## longcat (Jun 8, 2005)

killzone said:


> I guess they just have some idiots working there and it's a matter of luck who you talk to. I recently got FIOS hooked up and when I asked for an M-Card it wasn't a problem. The installer came and sure enough it was an M-Card he knew exactly what numbers he needed and everything was up and running in about 15 minutes.


Just an update... The installer just left. He showed up with 2 M-cards. He was done with both of my new Premieres in about 20 min.


----------



## CapnSensible (Jun 3, 2010)

I have Verizon coming out next Saturday to (hopefully) put an M card in my new Premiere. My HD has 2 S Cards and I'm hoping to get them to replace the S Cards with a single M Card. The customer service person was clueless about whether or not they have M or S Cards. Got my fingers crossed that Verizon really is only giving out M Cards and not recycling the old S Cards.


----------



## rocko (Oct 29, 2002)

CapnSensible said:


> I have Verizon coming out next Saturday to (hopefully) put an M card in my new Premiere. My HD has 2 S Cards and I'm hoping to get them to replace the S Cards with a single M Card. The customer service person was clueless about whether or not they have M or S Cards. Got my fingers crossed that Verizon really is only giving out M Cards and not recycling the old S Cards.


All they have are M cards so just order how many you'll need - sounds like 2.

Don't stress - I just went through this with them.


----------



## cmeinck (Sep 18, 2003)

I spoke with a Verizon rep who said he was sending out M cards. From what I've read, that's not possible or happening. My Premieres are showing up on Monday, should I schedule a truck roll for Tuesday. If for some reason the cards do show up, is this something I could self-install with a phone call to Verizon?


----------



## cmeinck (Sep 18, 2003)

Just wanted to follow up. Verizon reps can order cards, but they never get sent out. I spoke with a tech rep who confirmed they were ordered, never shipped and the order was closed out. They need to do a truck roll, but the CSR noted there wouldn't be a charge associated with it. Good thing I called. Premiers are en route for Monday delivery and tech is coming Tuesday.


----------



## gamo62 (Oct 12, 2002)

riekl said:


> It couldn't possibly make it any more unstable then the Premier is now


Exactly! that's why I'm staying with my THD until the bugs are ironed out. (2011-12)


----------

