# Is it worth it?



## Malguy (Dec 28, 2013)

Hi,
I am new to this forum, and have read many horror stories, on many different sites, related to getting a CableCard activated, and want to know if the people that respond, think that the trouble and frustration was worth it.
I am currently a Comcast customer and do not have DVR service through them. I have the Xfinity HD triple play package. I have been thinking about adding DVR service for some time, then started hearing the ads on local radio about the TiVo Roamio, how easy it is to use and how much better it is than cable. But the stories regarding CableCards got me to thinking that switching to TiVo may not be such a good idea.
I know that, ultimately, the decision is mine to make, but I would appreciate your input.
Thanks.
Pete


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## ADG (Aug 20, 2003)

I'm on Cablevision and have four Tivo's (including a Roamio). Cable card activation has never taken more than 5-10 minutes on a phone call. I don't know what horror stories you are hearing, but it's a very simple process.


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## dahacker (Jan 14, 2004)

The last time I got my cablecard activated with Verizon FIOS it took 5 minutes.

There are plenty of threads dealing with the pros and cons of the cable company DVRs vs Tivos. The bottom line is if you can afford to shell out $900-$1100 for a Roamio up front including lifetime service, then do it. The break even cost period will be 2-4 years ignoring Tivo residual value (which is probably going to be in the $300-$400 range after 4 years).

Life is too short to deal with a cable company DVR for one second.


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

Malguy said:


> I am currently a Comcast customer


If I were you, I'd post which Comcast market that I was in, and then search around to see if that market is mentioned in posts around here.

To me, it sounds like activating and pairing a CableCard isn't the big deal. The big deal seems to be if your Comcast market hasn't updated the firmware on their cable cards to the version that supports all six tuners. If they haven't, then you can tell TiVo only to use the number of tuners that their CableCard supports, until Comcast upgrades them.

AFAIK, TiVo has a 30-day return policy, and if you don't want to deal with the hassle of shipping stuff back, you can buy it from a local Best Buy who also should have a 30-day return policy. So at least there's minimal risk (other than your time) to try it out.


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## kbmb (Jun 22, 2004)

Comcast has a dedicated cablecard hotline that has people who actually know what a cablecard is and will have you activated in 5 minutes.

You'll want to call: 1-877-405-2298

-Kevin


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## Malguy (Dec 28, 2013)

ADG said:


> I'm on Cablevision and have four Tivo's (including a Roamio). Cable card activation has never taken more than 5-10 minutes on a phone call. I don't know what horror stories you are hearing, but it's a very simple process.


I have read that some people spent hours on the phone, talking with a technician, in order to get their cards properly activated.


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## kbmb (Jun 22, 2004)

Malguy said:


> I have read that some people spent hours on the phone, talking with a technician, in order to get their cards properly activated.


That used to be the case. Now, even if you call Comcast regular support, they'll just forward you to the cablecard hotline.

I activated a brand new card for a basic last week and it took 2 minutes. I then re-paired both cards for my parents new Tivos, it took under 10......only because the woman on the phone had issues with her computer 

-Kevin


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## Malguy (Dec 28, 2013)

kbmb said:


> Comcast has a dedicated cablecard hotline that has people who actually know what a cablecard is and will have you activated in 5 minutes.
> 
> You'll want to call: 1-877-405-2298
> 
> -Kevin


Call this number even if it's different from the one that I am supplied with when I receive a cablecard?


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

Malguy said:


> I have read that some people spent hours on the phone, talking with a technician, in order to get their cards properly activated.


You're talking about people that were Comcast customers? Or one of the other cable companies that don't have a dedicated CableCard group?

To me, half of this process is the TiVo product, and the other half is the cable company that it's used on. From reading posts here, the cable company experience varies greatly by company, and sometimes market within the company.

I don't think anyone here can definitely state that you won't be one of the folks on the phone for hours. That definitely happens. My Roamio experience hasn't been flawless. However, everyone in my house would agree that "it was definitely worth it".

IMO, you're at a disadvantage having never had the experience of using a cable company DVR.


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## kbmb (Jun 22, 2004)

Malguy said:


> Call this number even if it's different from the one that I am supplied with when I receive a cablecard?


That is the Comcast hotline. As far as I know, they only have one.

It's also the number listed on Tivo's site:
http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2747

-Kevin


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## tomm1079 (May 10, 2005)

its a horror if you do not call the cablecard hotline


both comcast and verizon have one. I had a tivo that was not properly paired for 8 months cause every time i called normal number they ****ed it up.

Finally i got the cablecard hotline and they had it fixed in 5 mins.

i have done 3 over the last 6 months with the hotline and it has never taken more then 10 mins


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## kbmb (Jun 22, 2004)

aristoBrat said:


> IMO, you're at a disadvantage having never had the experience of using a cable company DVR.


Everyone should have the pleasure of using a cable co. DVR at least once in their lifetime!! 

-Kevin


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## dianebrat (Jul 6, 2002)

kbmb said:


> Everyone should have the pleasure of using a cable co. DVR at least once in their lifetime!!


If anything it'll help cement why most of us are now lifelong Tivo devotees


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## Malguy (Dec 28, 2013)

Thanks to everyone that responded. It seems that the issues with cablecards have mostly been solved. I am not sure when the posts I read were written, but I do know that some of them were from 2005 on up.

Thanks again.

Pete


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

Malguy said:


> Hi,
> I am new to this forum, and have read many horror stories, on many different sites, related to getting a CableCard activated, and want to know if the people that respond, think that the trouble and frustration was worth it.


Yes, it's worth it. No question.

Longtime Comcast customer here -- it's our only choice. Trees rule out satellite TV, no FiOS in our county.

We've had a Comcast DVR for years, but wanted more than two tuners. Reading the Xfinity support forums scared me away from their X1 system -- so we went all in on TiVo.

Went through four cable cards to get two that worked -- that was the only hassle. The folks at the Comcast cable card activation number handled the process well. No complaints.

Now we have a Roamio Plus in the living room and a Mini in the kitchen and bedroom. We can watch live TV or recordings in any room. And manage the system from any room. Good stuff. (Adult son still at home has a Plus in his room too.)

Just today I copied a bunch of recordings to my iPad for an upcoming trip. I'll be stuck on an airplane -- so I'll take the iPad and watch TV while on the airplane.


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## marklyn (Jan 21, 2002)

Malguy said:


> Hi,
> I am new to this forum, and have read many horror stories, on many different sites, related to getting a CableCard activated, and want to know if the people that respond, think that the trouble and frustration was worth it.
> I am currently a Comcast customer and do not have DVR service through them. I have the Xfinity HD triple play package. I have been thinking about adding DVR service for some time, then started hearing the ads on local radio about the TiVo Roamio, how easy it is to use and how much better it is than cable. But the stories regarding CableCards got me to thinking that switching to TiVo may not be such a good idea.
> I know that, ultimately, the decision is mine to make, but I would appreciate your input.
> ...


Yes, it's definitly worth the Tivo experience, especially with the new Roamio line. I was on Tivo when they were associated with DirecTV, about 10 years ago, but when that relationship ended and I get new (non-Tivo) DVR's, it was never the same.
DirecTV is crying big crocodile tears of revenue sadness and offered me a 'good deal' but I told them it was too late, I'm already in bed with Tivo and loving it.

I did have a negative experience with getting mine set up initially only because they never connected my cable service, so that's on one dumb installer who never notated this on the account, thus I spent hours and days with TWC trying to get the cable card and tuning adapter working, but again, once the problem was realized, it was easy from there.

You'll enjoy the intuitiveness of the service and the features. Yes, there may be some glitches but software updates will fix them, don't let that dissuade you in any way.


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## brothers (Dec 31, 2006)

FWIW, yesterday I pulled the ancient M-Card out of my old TiVo HD and plugged it into the new Roamio Pro I bought for Christmas. I immediately had all six tuners active, no phone call necessary. Much simpler than I expected, having read some of the stories here. I'm on Comcast, in the Boston area.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

getting the cable card activated through comcast isn't the issue, very easy process. 

having your channels mapped correctly so that you get all your programming? that can take a week in our market, about a dozen phone calls, and 1 or 2 on-site tech visits. eventually, someone at comcast gets it right, and once it's going, no more problems.


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## kbmb (Jun 22, 2004)

brothers said:


> FWIW, yesterday I pulled the ancient M-Card out of my old TiVo HD and plugged it into the new Roamio Pro I bought for Christmas. I immediately had all six tuners active, no phone call necessary. Much simpler than I expected, having read some of the stories here. I'm on Comcast, in the Boston area.


Yeah, with an activated card you'll get all your channels except any of the premium ones unless you call to get it re-paired. You'll also not get XOD unless you pair it.

-Kevin


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## Humble (Jul 21, 2010)

Frontier Fios took 15 minutes in and out last week to hook up my Roamio +. I had it ready to go and had updated the software so all they had to do was put in the cable card and pair (match) the TV signal I am suppose to get with the cable card with the one being sent. The sole issue is the cost and whether it is worth it to you. The picture quality using 1080P60 is fantastic. Also, the speed of the Roamio is excellent. Again, the only issue is money. It is obviously worth it to me.


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

kbmb said:


> You'll also not get XOD unless you pair it.


I did not try playing anything, but the XOD app is there on mine and I can browse through the shows, and we have not paired it yet, only activated it via the self-service website.


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## Starfury9 (Nov 1, 2013)

I have had both an X1 DVR and a previous generation Comcast DVR.
The Roamio totally blows away the non X1 DVR, and is more stabile and better than the X1 DVR.
I had many issues with the X1 with it randomly deciding to not record a program for whatever reason. That was reason enough to leave the X1. Also the X1 is laggy, and has other issues (DVR is not available, when deleting a program it would say it can't delete it and then it would repeatedly say it was deleted, etc). 

The only part of the X1 that was better is the VOD interface is a little nicer. The same programs are available on the non-X1, X1 and Roamio boxes, but the X1 has the nice box art and such for browsing. The universal search on the Roamio makes up for it a little bit, however.

Once I got spoiled with the 5 tuners of the X1, I couldn't go back to 2 on the old DVRs. There is nothing nicer than having 6 tuners with Roamio Plus! I have yet to have a conflict, and can have only one DVR instead of 2 like I used to (saves in monthly costs)

Since day 1 the Tivo has been stable and has had no issues. It is snappy, and reliable. It is nice to have Netflix, Amazon, VOD and the guide all searchable. The Guide information is the same if not better than Comcasts.

So, yes it is very worth it to upgrade to a Roamio!


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## kbmb (Jun 22, 2004)

laria said:


> I did not try playing anything, but the XOD app is there on mine and I can browse through the shows, and we have not paired it yet, only activated it via the self-service website.


Correct.....I believe (at least this was how it worked with both my parents) that you see the app, can browse, but if you go to play a show it won't allow it because you aren't paired. Of course it could be different for different areas, but that's how it was here.

-Kevin


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## laria (Sep 7, 2000)

kbmb said:


> Of course it could be different for different areas, but that's how it was here.


We seem to be in the same state, so I guess it won't work here.  I just haven't tried to call to pair it because we finished setting it up really late on Friday night and I've been setting up season passes and transferring shows since then.


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## brothers (Dec 31, 2006)

kbmb said:


> Yeah, with an activated card you'll get all your channels except any of the premium ones unless you call to get it re-paired. You'll also not get XOD unless you pair it.
> 
> -Kevin


Hmmm... I kinda knew about the premium channels (I don't subscribe to any), but I was unaware of the VOD thing. Thanks for the heads-up.


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