# TIVO Premier not working with Comcast



## dahrens (Jan 8, 2011)

I've been battling with Tivo and Comcast to get my Tivo Premier working. Right now I'm on my 3rd Tivo Premier and my 5th M-Card. Comcast has sent the signals to the Tivo Premier to pair the M-card with the Premier, that seems to have worked but the Tivo is unable to 'acquire' channel information from Comcast. So with the M-card inserted in the Tivo premier, I'm unable to watch live tv. Comcast technicians have been to the house 4 times and verified the signal is within acceptable range - not sure what that means. But my old TIVO 2 still works great so I don't think its a problem the signal. Are the TIVO+M-Cards+Comcast always this flaky?


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## kdmorse (Jan 29, 2001)

There are lots of things that could be wrong, but if everything else is right (pairing), and you're stuck at 'Acquiring' all the time, they may not be sending you a channel map. Check DVR Diagnostics, page down to the cablecard diagnostics, and look for a line that reads "Channel List Received:". It should of course read : Yes. If it reads No, you either haven't been sent one, or you haven't received one that was sent.

If this is the case, you need them to send you a channel map, in almost all cases included in a regular 'hit'. Ask for whatever signal they would send to a cable box if it was receiving some channels, but not others. It's supposed to be sent at the same time as pairing information, but it isn't always. If the CSR is completely focused on pairing information, they may forget the regular hit. It's a different train of thought, on a different screen.

(This of course is just a half-baked suggestion based on the little information given. Your problem could be just about anything...)

-Ken


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## tomhorsley (Jul 22, 2010)

Along the same lines: The tech that came to my house to install the M-card apparently had previous experiences and knew lots of numbers for different folks back at the office. It took 3 or 4 tries, but he finally got them to set the right channel list in my box so I could see all the channels I was supposed to get. It came up initially with just basic cable active.


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## jcthorne (Jan 28, 2002)

dahrens said:


> Are Comcast always this flaky?


Yes, it seems Comcrap is always this flakey. You don't need to keep changing out hardware, you need to change out technicians until the send one with a clue. Comcrap does not WANT your Tivo to work, they would rather you rented a box from them and watch only what they want you to from thier sources only.


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## jfh3 (Apr 15, 2004)

There is almost certainly nothing wrong with your box. 

Either the CableCard isn't provisioned properly for your particular head end (nothing the field tech can do about that) or it is and Comcast just doesn't have the card paired properly. Look at the CableCard installation FAQ in the Tivo HD section for more.


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## titsataki (Dec 7, 2002)

tomhorsley said:


> Along the same lines: The tech that came to my house to install the M-card apparently had previous experiences and knew lots of numbers for different folks back at the office. It took 3 or 4 tries, but he finally got them to set the right channel list in my box so I could see all the channels I was supposed to get. It came up initially with just basic cable active.


this is were I am as well.

Installer said that the "system is down" so no way to update my channel list.

He said he will call me to finish the job later today.

I might try to call the number listed see if I can get someone to send the info down...

But then do you think it may screw up my other TIVO/cable card?

One will never know...

Maybe I would wait until tomorrow since I can watch TV.

Cheers and good luck

Nick


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## TonyTheTiger (Dec 22, 2006)

Channel maps are usually provided by HITS or NASRAC and this is the last of the worries for me (I work for a cable company that rents TiVo Premiers).

Pairing requires the Host and Data IDs provided on the cablecard screen. If anything is even slightly out, the pairing will not complete.

My 'technique' if I have a problem with pairing is to open one that works and duplicate it on the difficult one. I have known it to take up to 12 hours or more to acquire the programming information, but provided the provisioning is done correctly, there shouldn't be a problem.

Of course, Comcast may be totally different, so YMMV.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

dahrens said:


> I've been battling with Tivo and Comcast to get my Tivo Premier working. Right now I'm on my 3rd Tivo Premier and my 5th M-Card. Comcast has sent the signals to the Tivo Premier to pair the M-card with the Premier, that seems to have worked but the Tivo is unable to 'acquire' channel information from Comcast. So with the M-card inserted in the Tivo premier, I'm unable to watch live tv. Comcast technicians have been to the house 4 times and verified the signal is within acceptable range - not sure what that means. But my old TIVO 2 still works great so I don't think its a problem the signal. Are the TIVO+M-Cards+Comcast always this flaky?


What Comcast area are you in as I can report I never had a problem with Comcast in the Hartford CT area setting up all four of my TPs, except getting the tech out to my home in the first place)


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## moxie3601 (Jan 11, 2011)

Had a Comcast tech out on Thu. 1/6 who couldn't get any of 3 Motorola M-cards working. He left the last one, and after finishing guided setup, I called the info from the Pairing screen in to Comcast support, who said it indicated a tech needed to come back to the house. The card is producing a 161-1 error on Tivo. Comcast tech was supposed to come back on Sat. 1/8, but called to say they were having similar problems with other M-card installs in Tivo premieres, and they needed to investigate on Monday 1/10 when there were staff in the office. I hoped to hear back from Comcast on 1/10 but did not. In the meantime, I have placed a call to Comcasts's "Same Day Support" escalation center in the Chicago area, but have received no response. Tivo has said they would participate in 3-way call with Comcast, but Comcast has not responded to that offer when I relayed it. 

I am getting really tired of the finger-pointing between Comcast and Tivo, and am getting ready to take the Tivo back. I don't want to get a Comcast DVR, but I don't want to back to the Series 2, either, since it won't provide HD or dual-tuner support. However, I don't have time to keep meeting Comcast techs, and in the meantime, I don't have much functionality with the Tivo Premiere.


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## MikeNColo (Mar 22, 2002)

I have a Premiere and Comcast, it does work, but Comcast had installation issues with mine also.
Comcast here only has a few installers that can do the "Tivo Cable Card" as they call it.
Those installers are all Comcast employees, they said they no long trust contractors to do it because of too many problems.
It took my installer about 45 minutes and 3 calls to get it right. They had problems with the correct sequences being sent to my TiVo, and getting the card to "Marry" up.
They tried real hard to make me take an additional cable box for "On-Demand" and "Pay-Per-View"(same TV), but I refused.
I also get the impression that they really don't like the TiVo boxes - they are not a big revenue generator.


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## Papageno (Jan 30, 2005)

BTW, has anyone else noticed that Comcast charges $1.50 a month for a "second Cablecard" when one only has one M-stream CableCARD? Those greedy mofos. Is that cool with the FCC?


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## DarthObiwan (Apr 9, 2010)

Papageno said:


> BTW, has anyone else noticed that Comcast charges $1.50 a month for a "second Cablecard" when one only has one M-stream CableCARD? Those greedy mofos. Is that cool with the FCC?


This is something that can vary by region. Comcast here in Bloomington Mn charges nothing for cable cards. I have 2 and not a single line item on my bill.

Also I must say getting my two Tivos set up with Comcast was a complete breeze. I had my set up a few days after the Premieres came out, it was the first time the tech had seen one. Took him about 10 minutes total for both, haven't had a problem since (other than Comcast's horrible compression practices on some channels)


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## WVZR1 (Jul 31, 2008)

MikeNColo said:


> I have a Premiere and Comcast, it does work, but Comcast had installation issues with mine also.
> Comcast here only has a few installers that can do the "Tivo Cable Card" as they call it.
> Those installers are all Comcast employees, they said they no long trust contractors to do it because of too many problems.
> It took my installer about 45 minutes and 3 calls to get it right. They had problems with the correct sequences being sent to my TiVo, and getting the card to "Marry" up.
> ...


I'd take take a "local contractor" here anytime over a Comcast scheduled appointment with their employee. The "contractor" who did my first CableCard was very confident and the install was a breeze. We spent more time discussing the machine and the Samsung Plasma. He left me a card and mentioned if I needed service call this number direct.

I called five minutes after he left to say thanks and compliment him. The gal who took the call was actually the technician who paired the cards. I called their "dispatch" to ask about a Saturday install for a second card and they made the arrangements. Same technician and there were no calls to Comcast by me! There are no CableCard installs here done by Comcast except Monday - Friday and usually requires a 4 - 5 hour window.

I just bought a new modem and I understand there can sometimes be issues, I asked the contractor's dispatch if they can do the MAC ID swap if I needed and she mentioned "no problem"!


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## titsataki (Dec 7, 2002)

Just a follow up.

installer came back the same afternoon and got on the phone and was able to resolve the issue.

Everything is good now.



titsataki said:


> this is were I am as well.
> 
> Installer said that the "system is down" so no way to update my channel list.
> 
> ...


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## Davelnlr_ (Jan 13, 2011)

Papageno said:


> BTW, has anyone else noticed that Comcast charges $1.50 a month for a "second Cablecard" when one only has one M-stream CableCARD? Those greedy mofos. Is that cool with the FCC?


$7.50/mo each in Little Rock, Ar regardless of whether its a digital cable box or a M-card.


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## Risuli (Aug 22, 2001)

Papageno said:


> BTW, has anyone else noticed that Comcast charges $1.50 a month for a "second Cablecard" when one only has one M-stream CableCARD? Those greedy mofos. Is that cool with the FCC?


Yep. I just rejoined the Tivo community (had 2 DirecTivo's years ago) with the purchase of a Tivo Premiere. Took a couple of truck rolls and 5 M-cards before it finally worked, then my first Comcast bill shows a charge of 2 x $1.50 for "cable cards" when all I have is one M-card. I plan on calling them and giving them a piece of my mind and seeing if I can get one $1.50 charge removed. And it isn't so much the cost as it is the fact that it's a rip off.


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