# Comcast/Xfinity CableCARD Activation Website



## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

Xfinity used to have a website where you could activate CableCARDs (https://cablecardactivation.xsp.comcast.net/). That website is no longer active or at least times out.

Is anyone aware of a website to activate? Trying to avoid 60 mins on hold if at all possible.


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## jaredmwright (Sep 6, 2004)

southerndoc said:


> Xfinity used to have a website where you could activate CableCARDs (https://cablecardactivation.xsp.comcast.net/). That website is no longer active or at least times out.
> 
> Is anyone aware of a website to activate? Trying to avoid 60 mins on hold if at all possible.


It hasn't worked in a long time. Over the phone is the only way now.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

jaredmwright said:


> It hasn't worked in a long time. Over the phone is the only way now.
> 
> Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk


And good luck with that as most agents don’t know what a cable card is. You need to end up in the cablecard department, which I’m guessing at this point is one guy.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

jaredmwright said:


> It hasn't worked in a long time. Over the phone is the only way now.


The last time I tried to use the self-activation web site it allowed me to enter all the information, and then still failed to work (and if you tried more than a few times it would lock out further activation requests for a day or so). It is possible that chat (in addition to phone) might work, too (always used phone).

Comcast has been on a tear to revise their website to (what they believe) is better (where better seems to mean to Marketing (who own at least some of the main pages) up-sell (would you like a new phone and Mobile plan with your Internet?)), and also encourage one to use their new and improved mobile app for customer interaction and device activation, which, AFAIK, has no idea what a CableCARD is.


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

And the revision is still clunky lo these many months since it first came on-line. It is not encouraging that senior management has allowed the dysfunction to persist.


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

First 2 times I called I couldn't even get through to an agent. They detected an outage in my area and said an agent couldn't help me.

I called back and spent 10 mins saying the phone number wasn't associated with an account, kept saying representative, etc. Comcast's voice prompts said about 20 times that they couldn't proceed without an account number or phone number to look up the account, but I continued and it finally went through.

The first agent was clueless. She was going through troubleshooting saying "are you seeing a black screen?" "Have you rebooted the device?" "Are you seeing a picture on any channel?" Despite numerous things I told her that it's a new TiVo that won't get a TV channel without having the CableCARD paired, she insisted she must ask the troubleshooting questions.

After another 15 mins of "troubleshooting" she finally reached the end of her troubleshooting document that said I needed to be transferred to the CableCARD department (GSK I think is what she said it was?). She literally told me "it looks like your CableCARD is not paired properly with your device." Um, hello, I've been trying to tell you that for the past 20 minutes.

She transferred me... it was a female who helped me. So we know they at least have 2 people working there. 2 mins on the phone with her and I was up and running.

Comcast makes it so difficult to actually reach a live person. Customer service has gone downhill big time at Comcast. Companies are using voice trees to keep you from getting to a real person instead of helping you get to the right person. I miss the old days where you would call and an operator would answer and route your call. If I didn't want to talk to a real person, I would search online.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

I completely forgot that Comcast’s phone system is entirely designed to prevent you from talking to someone. 

In the future you might be able to use the Xfinity app’s “chat assistant” to buy-pass all that and have someone call you if they have cablecard as one of the keywords. I’m afraid to check for fear that the chatbot might mess with my cards.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

When I activated a 2nd CC over a year ago, when I called into get it activated, the IVR sent me over to "move service" option, even though I said "cablecard". The CSR who answered seemed to know exactly what to do & got it activated with no issues. When I asked about being sent to the "movers" section, they told me that is now where they send CC requests...FWIW.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

morac said:


> I completely forgot that Comcast’s phone system is entirely designed to prevent you from talking to someone.
> 
> In the future you might be able to use the Xfinity app’s “chat assistant” to buy-pass all that and have someone call you if they have cablecard as one of the keywords. I’m afraid to check for fear that the chatbot might mess with my cards.


LOL, so true about their phone system. And yeah, that's a good idea about using their chatbot. It seems to me that that's increasingly the entry point that they want customers to use to engage with them. I used it awhile back and was able to trigger a call from them on something that I was having trouble getting addressed by calling in myself.

I've noticed that after their web redesign, I can no longer log in and check my internet data usage except by using the chatbot. (Just enter "data usage" in the query field and it'll spit it back at you.) Data usage used to be displayed within your account somewhere but now that's basically just been simplified down to billing plus their library of support articles.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

NashGuy said:


> I've noticed that after their web redesign, I can no longer log in and check my internet data usage except by using the chatbot. (Just enter "data usage" in the query field and it'll spit it back at you.) Data usage used to be displayed within your account somewhere but now that's basically just been simplified down to billing plus their library of support articles.


The usage data is still there, but the new web site is so badly designed that it’s hard to find. 

Speaking of the new website, whoever designed and implemented it should be fired. Not only is it harder to find things, but it frequently makes me log in multiple times in a row because their OAuth implementation is FUBARed.


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## humbb (Jan 27, 2014)

morac said:


> I completely forgot that Comcast’s phone system is entirely designed to prevent you from talking to someone.
> 
> In the future you might be able to use the Xfinity app’s “chat assistant” to buy-pass all that and have someone call you if they have cablecard as one of the keywords. I’m afraid to check for fear that the chatbot might mess with my cards.


I use this link to schedule an Xfinity callback. Haven't used it in a couple of months, but it worked fine then.





Schedule a Callback - Xfinity


Comcast Customer Service is here to provide Help and Support for your Xfinity Internet, TV, Voice, Home and other services.




www.xfinity.com


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## doomnut (10 d ago)

I'm also stuck in xfinity cable card hell... After a short power outage (<5seconds) last night due to the storms in northern California, our bolt rebooted and now all channels are now showing the "unauthorized" message. Spent 20 minutes on the phone with xfinity this afternoon today "troubleshooting" which consisted of me rebooting the tivo and her sending some kind of "signal". Tech finally told me she needed to file a ticket to get my cable card re-paired and it could take as long as 24 hours for them to process the ticket... Luckily our internet still works so we can still stream shows, but still very frustrating. Knowing my luck, I'm sure nothing will come of this "ticket" and I'll have to call back again tomorrow.


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

I would keep calling until they transfer you to the proper person. It doesn't take 24 hours.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

doomnut said:


> I'm also stuck in xfinity cable card hell... After a short power outage


A reboot or power outage shouldn’t unpair the cards, so it’s possible they were damaged. It’s possible they glitched and the data number changed though. 

TiVo’s support document is useful for determining what the actual state of the cards is (not activated, not paired, not authorized, etc).









TiVo Support Center


Get instant answers to common questions and learn to experience the most from TiVo products.




tivoidp.tivo.com







https://tivoidp.tivo.com/tivoCommunitySupport/articles/Knowledge/CableCARD-MMI-Screen-Information?r=106&ui-knowledge-components-aura-actions.KnowledgeArticleVersionCreateDraftFromOnlineAction.createDraftFromOnlineArticle=1


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

NashGuy said:


> LOL, so true about their phone system. And yeah, that's a good idea about using their chatbot. It seems to me that that's increasingly the entry point that they want customers to use to engage with them. I used it awhile back and was able to trigger a call from them on something that I was having trouble getting addressed by calling in myself.
> 
> I've noticed that after their web redesign, I can no longer log in and check my internet data usage except by using the chatbot. (Just enter "data usage" in the query field and it'll spit it back at you.) Data usage used to be displayed within your account somewhere but now that's basically just been simplified down to billing plus their library of support articles.


Internet data usage is reported in the Xfinity Mobile app, and probably the new Xfinity app too. (The Android versions are not highly rated, but they're better than the website.)


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## KevTech (Apr 15, 2014)

NashGuy said:


> Data usage used to be displayed within your account somewhere but now that's basically just been simplified down to billing plus their library of support articles.


Log in then at the top left of the main page where it says "your services" click on "Internet" which will then show details about your plan and a link to data usage.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

KevTech said:


> Log in then at the top left of the main page where it says "your services" click on "Internet" which will then show details about your plan and a link to data usage.
> 
> 
> View attachment 78654
> ...


Thanks. I expected it to still be under my account, which is accessed via the purple person icon button at the top right.

That said, I still can't get pull up the screen you posted. When I click the upper left menu and select Internet under Your Services, it does produce a page with Your Plan, but in my case it does not show Speed, Equipment and Usage as it does for you. It just says "Check back soon. This information is unavailable at the moment, or it didn't load as expected."


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## KevTech (Apr 15, 2014)

NashGuy said:


> When I click the upper left menu and select Internet under Your Services, it does produce a page with Your Plan, but in my case it does not show Speed, Equipment and Usage as it does for you. It just says "Check back soon. This information is unavailable at the moment, or it didn't load as expected."


It did that for me a few times until I completely cleared the browser cache and cookies.


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## A Joseph Stoddart (Oct 30, 2021)

southerndoc said:


> Xfinity used to have a website where you could activate CableCARDs (https://cablecardactivation.xsp.comcast.net/). That website is no longer active or at least times out.
> 
> Is anyone aware of a website to activate? Trying to avoid 60 mins on hold if at all possible.


It does seem I recall doing it this way at least once myself. Oh...the cable companies are often slow.


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## machaon (Nov 20, 2012)

southerndoc said:


> Customer service has gone downhill big time at Comcast.


When my Comcast internet goes down I've learned not to call for at least an hour. Apparently they have no real way of checking their equipment. If I reach someone they tell me that my modem is offline and have me turn my modem on and off and on and off and on and off, and it costs me aggravating hours!


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## Frederick (Dec 16, 2016)

southerndoc said:


> Xfinity used to have a website where you could activate CableCARDs (https://cablecardactivation.xsp.comcast.net/). That website is no longer active or at least times out.
> 
> Is anyone aware of a website to activate? Trying to avoid 60 mins on hold if at all possible.


I just used Comcast/Xfinity’s “move” where you move from one address to a new address and instead of “moving” my account, they canceled it…which means they cancel every piece of Comcast equipment…INCLUDING MY TWO CABLECARDS FOR MY TWO TIVOs. I had to return both of my cablecards (also my router and X1 box) then open a new account and activate all new equipment via a phone call. (The difficult part was getting to a live human agent and away from the AI) The CableCARD activation was not difficult. You have bring up your cablecard host ID and read it to the agent (he confirms that it matches the ID in the Comcast record) and then he sends an activation code and the channels appear. You have to make sure you have a WiFi or Ethernet connection to get all of the updated channel info from TiVo.
I have been on TiVo since about 1992 or 95 (with DirecTV and Comcast and still think TiVo has the best user interface EVER.


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## Dav Sugarman (Jan 2, 2020)

southerndoc said:


> Xfinity used to have a website where you could activate CableCARDs (https://cablecardactivation.xsp.comcast.net/). That website is no longer active or at least times out.
> 
> Is anyone aware of a website to activate? Trying to avoid 60 mins on hold if at all possible.


I actually did this yesterday and it only took a half an hour. The first person I spoke to at Xfinity said to call Tivo. I told him that was not correct and to connect me with somebody who knows about M cards. Once I got that person it took about 3 minutes.


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## Frederick (Dec 16, 2016)

southerndoc said:


> Xfinity used to have a website where you could activate CableCARDs (https://cablecardactivation.xsp.comcast.net/). That website is no longer active or at least times out.
> 
> Is anyone aware of a website to activate? Trying to avoid 60 mins on hold if at all possible.


I just used Comcast/Xfinity’s “move” where you move from one address to a new address and instead of “moving” my account, they canceled it…which means they cancel every piece of Comcast equipment…INCLUDING MY TWO CABLECARDS FOR MY TWO TIVOs. I had to return both of my cablecards (also my router and X1 box) then open a new account and activate all new equipment via a phone call. (The difficult part was getting to a live human agent and away from the AI) The CableCARD activation was not difficult. You have bring up your cablecard host ID and read it to the agent (he confirms that it matches the ID in the Comcast record) and then he sends an activation code and the channels appear. You have to make sure you have a WiFi or Ethernet connection to get all of the updated channel info from TiVo.
I have been on TiVo since about 1992 or 95 (with DirecTV and Comcast and still think TiVo has the best user interface EVER


Dav Sugarman said:


> I actually did this yesterday and it only took a half an hour. The first person I spoke to at Xfinity said to call Tivo. I told him that was not correct and to connect me with somebody who knows about M cards. Once I got that person it took about 3 minutes.


definitely have to get the “right” person at Comcast. They are all nice, polite and accommodating but don’t have a clue as to what they are doing. The agents in the Philippines are very knowledgeable but sometimes English is the issue. For instance, the fellow asked me for the “box” SN and I explained that it was a “card” and not a “box” but he was (politely) insistent that it was a number on the back of the box…so I got down on my hands and knees (I’m 82) and read him the SN on the TiVo. He said that wasn’t the number he had. So I read him the Host ID number from the CableCARD info on the screen. He said “that’s it”…so, it was a “lost in translation” issue and not an intent issue. He then sent an activation signal and bingo, my TiVo was activated.


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## brobin (Feb 14, 2014)

I used to own a company and had a 100 person call center so I am sympathetic to the reasons a company tries to divert traffic to online or AI options. The cost per minute for a live agent can be well over $3 making a 10 minute call a $30 expense! You'd think they'd do a better job with their AI!
One thing I learned recently is that moving a CC from one Tivo to another does NOT require new pairing or any action at all. The card is paired to the account and not the Tiv unit itself.


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## Dav Sugarman (Jan 2, 2020)

brobin said:


> I used to own a company and had a 100 person call center so I am sympathetic to the reasons a company tries to divert traffic to online or AI options. The cost per minute for a live agent can be well over $3 making a 10 minute call a $30 expense! You'd think they'd do a better job with their AI!
> One thing I learned recently is that moving a CC from one Tivo to another does NOT require new pairing or any action at all. The card is paired to the account and not the Tiv unit itself.


That's an interesting observation but in my case all I did was replace the hard drive in the same unit with an existing working card and when I turned it back on it was giving me the 58 no channel for everything. Once I had Comcast re-pair it, it was fine again.


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## pl1 (Jan 18, 2007)

brobin said:


> One thing I learned recently is that moving a CC from one Tivo to another does NOT require new pairing or any action at all. The card is paired to the account and not the Tiv unit itself.


One thing with Comcast, they buy out all sorts of small cablecos and string them together. So, just because your experience may be true, it may not be true for everyone. I have changed many TiVos with Comcast and I would have loved being able to just swap the cableCARD from one TiVo to another. It has never worked out that way for me. I have always had to get the card paired with my new TiVo.

EDIT:Spelling


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

pl1 said:


> I have always had to get the card paired with my new TiVo.


Same here. Not long ago I purchased a Roamio from an eBay seller. When I asked on this board if I could just move the CC from a Premiere I would no longer be using to the Roamio, I was told no, the card is paired to the device. I was also told that when I called Comcast to have the CC paired, not to tell them it was used in a different device as that would only confuse the CSR. The phone call and pairing went flawlessly. FWIW, the number I called is 877-405-2298.


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## ITGrouch (Jan 7, 2015)

Anytime I had to get my TiVo units paired with Comcast, I just called the phone number listed on CableCARD info page in the CableCARD menu on the TiVo and all I had to do is say CableCARD at the voice prompt, and I always received an agent that knew how to pair and init the CableCARDs.


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## Dav Sugarman (Jan 2, 2020)

I tried that yesterday and it said we don't know what you're saying and then restated the few things like technical support, billing, etc. But it was worth the time to wait.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Frederick said:


> I have been on TiVo since about 1992 or 95 (with DirecTV and Comcast and still think TiVo has the best user interface EVER


It's hard to imagine life before TiVo, but unless you were a developer you probably had only a VCR until TiVo was introduced in 1999. I knew someone who obtained one of the first units at CES that January. Personally I didn't get a TiVo until 2008; now I don't know how we watched TV without it.


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## bcrider (Oct 31, 2000)

southerndoc said:


> Xfinity used to have a website where you could activate CableCARDs (https://cablecardactivation.xsp.comcast.net/). That website is no longer active or at least times out.
> 
> Is anyone aware of a website to activate? Trying to avoid 60 mins on hold if at all possible.


You can start a chat with them and get them to set it up. Chat is much better than a phone call from my experience. Gives the tech support person time to looks things up, ask their peers, etc.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> Internet data usage is reported in the Xfinity Mobile app, and probably the new Xfinity app too. (The Android versions are not highly rated, but they're better than the website.)


The new Xfinity App (the purple one) totally sucks on my Android phone. It continually locks up. Sometimes I have to reboot the phone to get out of the app. Reports to Xfinity have fallen on deaf ears. I am continuing to use the old app (white one) until they fix the new one. To find your current data use, open the white app and scroll down a little to "internet." Select that and you'll see your data use. Very easy.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

brobin said:


> One thing I learned recently is that moving a CC from one Tivo to another does NOT require new pairing or any action at all. The card is paired to the account and not the Tiv unit itself.


That’s not necessarily true. It depends on what card you have and whether you have premium channels or not.

For cards that have a “data” number (Motorola), that number will change if you move the card to a different device or replace the drive. For cards without a “data” number the pairing will also be lost if you most to a different device as the “host” number is tied to the device.

That said, as long as the card is activated it can still be used without being paired as long as you don’t watch any copy protected (premium) channels.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> The new Xfinity App (the purple one) totally sucks on my Android phone. It continually locks up. Sometimes I have to reboot the phone to get out of the app. Reports to Xfinity have fallen on deaf ears. I am continuing to use the old app (white one) until they fix the new one. To find your current data use, open the white app and scroll down a little to "internet." Select that and you'll see your data use. Very easy.


Thanks, yes, I've been skeptical of the new "Xfinity" app, and only have the old "Xfinity Mobile" app you recommend.


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## marchettok01 (8 d ago)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> Same here. Not long ago I purchased a Roamio from an eBay seller. When I asked on this board if I could just move the CC from a Premiere I would no longer be using to the Roamio, I was told no, the card is paired to the device. I was also told that when I called Comcast to have the CC paired, not to tell them it was used in a different device as that would only confuse the CSR. The phone call and pairing went flawlessly. FWIW, the number I called is 877-405-2298.


 Yes to that phone number! Call directly and bypass the rigamarole


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## marchettok01 (8 d ago)

marchettok01 said:


> Yes to that phone number! Call directly and bypass the rigamarole


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

brobin said:


> One thing I learned recently is that moving a CC from one Tivo to another does NOT require new pairing or any action at all. The card is paired to the account and not the Tiv unit itself.


As others have said, "it depends". Motorola/Arris/Commscope cards require that the card is properly validated (paired) which includes the device specific data, and is configured properly both in the account and at the individual CableCARD level for Comcast (other provides have different provisioning requirements). Scientific Atlanta/Cisco/Technicolor cards just require the CableCARD be properly configured properly in the account. Comcast, like most major operators that grew by acquisitions/mergers, has a mix of Motorola and SA CableCARD franchises (so, your mileage will vary). Also note that CableCARDs have an (internal) timeout that can eventually mark the validation as expired and invalid if it does not get regular updates from the HE, and can require a new validation/pairing, which is why turning off and unplugging your CableCARD device for months (such as snow birds) may find their TiVo needs some MSO intervention to return to full operation.


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

I wonder if Comcast will do something similar to what I read recently about Spectrum (I think it was them)? Basically giving a tuning adapter to use to get the channels and allowing the CableCARD to continue functioning. That would be a lifeline for another 3-5 years if they did that!


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

<offtopic>



southerndoc said:


> I wonder if Comcast will do something similar to what I read recently about Spectrum (I think it was them)? Basically giving a tuning adapter to use to get the channels and allowing the CableCARD to continue functioning. That would be a lifeline for another 3-5 years if they did that!


Comcast's plan is to initially deploy mid-split (and not high-split as Charter is doing), which does not itself impact CableCARD usage. However, the next step after mid-split is FDX, and while their original plan was N+0 R-PHY nodes, which explicitly has a carve out for SCTE-55 OOB CableCARD support, to reduce costs Comcast is going with FDX amps, which are not documented to include such carve outs (but there is a complete lack of actual shipping product (just prototypes), let alone public specifications, so it is still a bit unclear). The good news is FDX is not scheduled to be widely rolled out for a few more years (as with all else, pilot and test markets will happen sooner). Whether linear QAM is still even offered by the time of wide FDX deployments is unclear (Comcast's hand waving time-frames of moving to pure IPTV and FDX deployments start to overlap in the hazy future of those schedules). What I would find highly unlikely is that Comcast would invest in a technology and infrastructure across their entire footprint that they have previously rejected (i.e. Tuning Resolvers/Adapters) to deal with a fraction of a percent of their customer base, especially as they have repeatedly stated IPTV is the intended future distribution method.

</offtopic>


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

My area just had the mid-split deployment this past week. At least I’m assuming that’s what was done as I got an email that there would be outages while Comcast updated my area to the “Next Generation Network”. I lost all services for about an hour. When everything came back my SNR was off the chart I had 44 on all my channels, so whatever equipment they installed seems better. Other than that nothing changed. 






Xfinity Planned Outages - Next Generation Network Construction


Xfinity is working hard to build the Next Generation Network, which may impact your services. Learn how to stay informed during this process.




www.xfinity.com


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> The new Xfinity App (the purple one) totally sucks on my Android phone. It continually locks up. Sometimes I have to reboot the phone to get out of the app. Reports to Xfinity have fallen on deaf ears. I am continuing to use the old app (white one) until they fix the new one. To find your current data use, open the white app and scroll down a little to "internet." Select that and you'll see your data use. Very easy.





Pokemon_Dad said:


> Thanks, yes, I've been skeptical of the new "Xfinity" app, and only have the old "Xfinity Mobile" app you recommend.


I can't speak to the experience on an Android mobile device (and it is not even available on Android streaming devices yet AFAICT), but I have had zero issues using the Xfinity Stream app on my iOS devices and on my Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max. In fact, the operation could not be smoother, quicker, or more reliable; it's been a very pleasant and useful app for me here. (N.B.: The app is not as fully functional on Roku devices.) For more info on supported third-party ("partner")devices, see here.

I should also mention that my usage scenario is more complex than most since I typically (although not exclusively) am signed in to my sister's Comcast account in CA (I am in GA, which is in a different Comcast region, but am the manager on her account) and am able to watch live linear TV or recordings as well as schedule or delete recordings remotely on her account using the app.

I realize that this does not help your situation on your Android phone, but for watching on a TV you have the option of using the app on an inexpensive Amazon Fire TV Stick connected to the TV, AVR, or sound bar.


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

morac said:


> My area just had the mid-split deployment this past week. At least I’m assuming that’s what was done as I got an email that there would be outages while Comcast updated my area to the “Next Generation Network”. I lost all services for about an hour. When everything came back my SNR was off the chart I had 44 on all my channels, so whatever equipment they installed seems better. Other than that nothing changed.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


That work was probably just the initial phase of replacing amplifiers in your local area, which is typically performed by contractor services. Mid-split operations have not gone on-line yet other than in a few pilot areas.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

chiguy50 said:


> That work was probably just the initial phase of replacing amplifiers in your local area, which is typically performed by contractor services. Mid-split operations have not gone on-line yet other than in a few pilot areas.


My understanding is 100+ mbps upstream speeds require the mid-split. Based on a Reddit post from a Comcast employee, that has rolled out or is in the process of rolling out to a great number of places. My area would be considered the “Greater Philadelphia Area” on that list. 






knowledgebase/next-generation-internet - Comcast_Xfinity


r/Comcast_Xfinity: Welcome to the Xfinity community! Our community is your official source on Reddit for help with Xfinity services. If you have …




www.reddit.com


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

<offtopic>




chiguy50 said:


> That work was probably just the initial phase of replacing amplifiers in your local area, which is typically performed by contractor services. Mid-split operations have not gone on-line yet other than in a few pilot areas.


Not the amplifiers (which in this phase are not being entirely replaced (exceptions exist)), but the node, to a R-PHY node (which also implies vCMTS in the HE to support the R-PHY node). In some cases that requires a new housing and internal components, in others it is just a component swap (depends on the generation and model of the existing node). Note that "just a component swap" does not properly reflect the effort required to do the work (up on the strand). After the node is replaced, one will see a migration of the OOB frequency from the (usual) ~75MHZ to ~104MHz (you can check in your CableCARD configuration, although both frequencies may be being used at some points to enable migration). And then there will be a process to simply replace diplex filters in all downstream amps (which is another "simply replace" that in some cases is not so simple (one may have to disassemble almost everything to get to the diplex filter)) to support the eventually enablement to mid-split for that specific node and downstream customers.

mid-split has gone live in more than just pilot locations, but generally not (yet) entire regions, but smaller parts of the regions (a phased roll out). One can tell if one is eligible for the higher tiers if one can order Gigabit X2 service.

</offtopic>


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

CommunityMember said:


> After the node is replaced, one will see a migration of the OOB frequency from the (usual) ~75MHZ to ~104MHz (you can check in your CableCARD configuration, although both frequencies may be being used at some points to enable migration).


Just checked and my OOB frequency is 104.2 MHz.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

chiguy50 said:


> I can't speak to the experience on an Android mobile device (and it is not even available on Android streaming devices yet AFAICT), but I have had zero issues using the Xfinity Stream app on my iOS devices and on my Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max. In fact, the operation could not be smoother, quicker, or more reliable; it's been a very pleasant and useful app for me here. (N.B.: The app is not as fully functional on Roku devices.) For more info on supported third-party ("partner")devices, see here.
> 
> I should also mention that my usage scenario is more complex than most since I typically (although not exclusively) am signed in to my sister's Comcast account in CA (I am in GA, which is in a different Comcast region, but am the manager on her account) and am able to watch live linear TV or recordings as well as schedule or delete recordings remotely on her account using the app.
> 
> I realize that this does not help your situation on your Android phone, but for watching on a TV you have the option of using the app on an inexpensive Amazon Fire TV Stick connected to the TV, AVR, or sound bar.


Thanks, good to know. No problem with the "Xfinity Stream" app here either, on Android or Fire TV. The "Xfnity My Account" and "Xfinity" apps we were talking about above are all about account management, with no content at all.


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

CommunityMember said:


> Not the amplifiers (which in this phase are not being entirely replaced (exceptions exist)), but the node, to a R-PHY node (which also implies vCMTS in the HE to support the R-PHY node).


You are correct; I should have written "nodes," not amplifiers. In the case of our condominium property, the contractor had informed me that some of our amplifiers would indeed need to be replaced, which was probably what made me use the wrong term in this instance.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

<offtopic>



chiguy50 said:


> You are correct; I should have written "nodes," not amplifiers. In the case of our condominium property, the contractor had informed me that some of our amplifiers would indeed need to be replaced, which was probably what made me use the wrong term in this instance.


I was also not being precise, since when I said amps, I was talking about plant amplifiers (those devices in housings in vaults, pedestals, or hung off wire strands between utility poles), most of which are capable of having diplex filter swaps (the exceptions are typically older amps that are not sufficiently wide-band, or do not have a plugable diplex filters, but in the real world all sorts of equipment exist in the plant, so some will be in the exception cases), and the other type of amp which are typically called "drop amps", of which some are even sold direct to consumers, and are sometimes used in MDUs even by the operators to deal with specific RF distribution requirements. Most drop amps are fixed split, and will need to be swapped (I ran across a vendor of drop amps that had swappable diplex filters at one point, but they were not common). In most cases where such MDU drop amps exist Comcast would prefer to adjust the signal levels from the plant and replace any drop amps they installed with passive taps so that the next phase (FDX) will not require another visit, but, as with all else, sometimes you do what you have to do to get things working now. And, of course, individuals that installed their own drop amps may need to change the topology of their wiring (or replace the drop amp with a different split) if they want to move to mid-split soon-ish (as with Comcast's preferences, an early passive split, one leg to the modem, and one going elsewhere, including to their drop amp if needed, may be a better future choice, especially as that early split needs to have a high isolation between the legs (which means a high quality splitter (Comcast even has a list of tested splitters, which is, not surprisingly, very much aligned with the usual high quality splitter vendor list), and not some "gold" splitter from wally world) to avoid other issues). 

</offtopic>


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## Gary Flinn (Aug 8, 2017)

I am doing one better. My computer tower doubles as a DVR and I have a Hauppauge Colossus 2 TV card installed that is connected to my cable box.


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## ohmy7777 (6 d ago)

brobin said:


> I used to own a company and had a 100 person call center so I am sympathetic to the reasons a company tries to divert traffic to online or AI options. The cost per minute for a live agent can be well over $3 making a 10 minute call a $30 expense! You'd think they'd do a better job with their AI! One thing I learned recently is that moving a CC from one Tivo to another does NOT require new pairing or any action at all. The card is paired to the account and not the Tiv unit itself.


 That’s good to know! I just bought a new TiVo Edge to replace an older unit. I’ve been putting it off due to the typically painful experience we’ve all had dealing with Comcast’s call center. Especially when trying to pair an old card to a new unit.


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## atlflip (6 d ago)

Frederick said:


> I have been on TiVo since about 1992 or 95 (with DirecTV and Comcast and still think TiVo has the best user interface EVER


 How were you on TIVO 3 to 5 years before TiVo was even founded?!


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

brobin said:


> One thing I learned recently is that moving a CC from one Tivo to another does NOT require new pairing or any action at all. The card is paired to the account and not the Tiv unit itself.





ohmy7777 said:


> That’s good to know! I just bought a new TiVo Edge to replace an older unit. I’ve been putting it off due to the typically painful experience we’ve all had dealing with Comcast’s call center. Especially when trying to pair an old card to a new unit.


That's not at all true with my provider, Comcast/Xfinity in the SF Bay Area. As others have noted, it depends on your location. After moving a card, many channels will be missing until I pair the card to the new device.


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## Yatzee (6 d ago)

Since the FCC ruled cable providers no longer have to provide cable cards to customers they are difficult to find and Comcast only supports them by phone.
Their Motorola cards were buggy to begin with. I’ve needed to connect one three or four times and every time I went through three cards to find one that worked. Comcast Reading only had two in stock and had to send to Lancaster to find two more cards only one of which worked.
The cable installer told me 2 years ago that since that FCC ruling Comcast will no longer be supporting the cards soon.
This ruling will be the death of privately owned DVR’s.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

chiguy50 said:


> I can't speak to the experience on an Android mobile device (and it is not even available on Android streaming devices yet AFAICT), but I have had zero issues using the Xfinity Stream app on my iOS devices and on my Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max.


You're referring to a different app than the one I am having issues with. I, too, have the "Xfinity Stream" app (also purple in color) on my Android phone (and Roku) and have zero issues with it. The one giving me problems is the new Xfinity "X" app which Comcast is trying to push us to using rather than the older "Xfinity My Account" app. 
About an hour ago I again installed the new (purple) version to see if it was updated and improved. The good news is, it has been updated. The bad news is, it's doing the exact same thing the prior version did. I think this one may even be worse. I'm now seeing this message on a regular basis: "Sorry, something went wrong. We can't display your details right now. Please try again or come back later." So, back to the older "white" Xfinity app it is.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

Yatzee said:


> Since the FCC ruled cable providers no longer have to provide cable cards to customers they are difficult to find and Comcast only supports them by phone.
> Their Motorola cards were buggy to begin with. I’ve needed to connect one three or four times and every time I went through three cards to find one that worked. Comcast Reading only had two in stock and had to send to Lancaster to find two more cards only one of which worked.
> The cable installer told me 2 years ago that since that FCC ruling Comcast will no longer be supporting the cards soon.
> This ruling will be the death of privately owned DVR’s.


None of this surprises me. I had a tech out last year who was surprised I had cards and asked where I got them as he said he hasn’t seen any in years. I’ve had the same cards for over 10 years now. 

With Comcast’s Stream app now available on nearly all major TV streaming boxes (Apple, Amazon, Roku, etc) and Comcast’s big push to IPTV, it’s highly likely “legacy TV” (aka cards) will no longer be supported in the not too distant future.


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## jlindema (Feb 12, 2003)

ohmy7777 said:


> That’s good to know! I just bought a new TiVo Edge to replace an older unit. I’ve been putting it off due to the typically painful experience we’ve all had dealing with Comcast’s call center. Especially when trying to pair an old card to a new unit.


I have had success pairing several Cablecards by calling Comcast at this number: *877-405-2298 (and ONLY that number)*. I believe that's (more or less) a direct line to Xfinity techs who are specifically trained to ask you the right questions, so you can give them the data they need to pair it with your TiVo. My experience has always been about 10-15min call, and by the end of the call the TiVo could tune all channels. I've had several "bad" cablecards sent to me, but the "good" ones have been manufactured by Motorola and are "Multi-Stream". Another thing I suspect contributes to invalid pairing and extreme frustration is the audio/telephone quality when talking with Xfinity. Their VoIP system, the quality of their techs headset, dB level mismatches, ambient noise in the call-center ....all contribute to miscommunication. You're reading multiple alpha-numeric strings of 10 characters minimum (often longer) to someone who can barely hear your annunciation of them. ONE digit/character in error -and the card "wont pair". If the tech isn't willing to clear everything and re-try...then you (both) are left to believe the card is faulty (which very well may be the case).
I recommend talking clearly, strongly, and repeating each character so there's no ambiguity between the data you're seeing on your TiVo's screen and what the Xfinity tech types into their screen/form.


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## gabrielstern (Aug 19, 2017)

Frederick said:


> I just used Comcast/Xfinity’s “move” where you move from one address to a new address and instead of “moving” my account, they canceled it…which means they cancel every piece of Comcast equipment…INCLUDING MY TWO CABLECARDS FOR MY TWO TIVOs. I had to return both of my cablecards (also my router and X1 box) then open a new account and activate all new equipment via a phone call. (The difficult part was getting to a live human agent and away from the AI) The CableCARD activation was not difficult. You have bring up your cablecard host ID and read it to the agent (he confirms that it matches the ID in the Comcast record) and then he sends an activation code and the channels appear. You have to make sure you have a WiFi or Ethernet connection to get all of the updated channel info from TiVo.
> I have been on TiVo since about 1992 or 95 (with DirecTV and Comcast and still think TiVo has the best user interface EVER
> 
> definitely have to get the “right” person at Comcast. They are all nice, polite and accommodating but don’t have a clue as to what they are doing. The agents in the Philippines are very knowledgeable but sometimes English is the issue. For instance, the fellow asked me for the “box” SN and I explained that it was a “card” and not a “box” but he was (politely) insistent that it was a number on the back of the box…so I got down on my hands and knees (I’m 82) and read him the SN on the TiVo. He said that wasn’t the number he had. So I read him the Host ID number from the CableCARD info on the screen. He said “that’s it”…so, it was a “lost in translation” issue and not an intent issue. He then sent an activation signal and bingo, my TiVo was activated.


I would have gone to a Comcast or xfinity store or service center to transfer all your equipment first. And maybe looked into a change in package.

Me personally I do not use x1 boxes or any Comcast equipment including routers or modems, but they are making it so difficult I am getting ready to go to Verizon fios for TV for my tivos if I can get back all my cable channels without having to deal with iptv only nonsense.

And just have Comcast xfinity for internet only.

For awhile as I am sick of the fact when I had to get 2 routers just for a dummy phone line which I don't use so I could activate a new docis 3.1 modem but It does not have telephone Jack's.

Once my contract is up in June I am done with triple plays.

I will go internet only with Comcast just for free Netflix and peacock and that's it.

The less stuff with them the less they can mess up.

But eventually I will use Verizon for internet too.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

jlindema said:


> I recommend talking clearly, strongly, and repeating each character so there's no ambiguity between the data you're seeing on your TiVo's screen and what the Xfinity tech types into their screen/form.


Perhaps it is my aeronautical training, but I always use the phonetic alphabet when reading strings of characters to CSRs to minimize the likelihood of saying one thing, and being heard as another. And then ask the CSR to repeat the string back to me. And, yes, occasionally there was an error in transcription ("dyslexics of the world untie!").


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

<offtopic>



gabrielstern said:


> I am getting ready to go to Verizon fios for TV for my tivos if I can get back all my cable channels without having to deal with iptv only nonsense.


Locations vary, but new(er) installations of Verizon FiOS in some (and an expanding number of) locations are now using their new ONT which supports multi-gig Internet service, but that new ONT does not support linear QAM (Verizon is providing an IPTV tuner box for their TV service).

It is unlikely at this time that Verizon will proactively go back and replace any legacy ONTs unless the customer requests the multi-gig Internet service, but there has been (based on other reports) an increasing rate of failure of the earliest ONTs (they are aging and components are failing) and Verizon is likely going to want to replace failed ONTs with newer ones so that they do not have to return at some future point to do it all over again, and at some point having to support the legacy central OLTs will become a sufficient burden to cause Verizon to want to migrate any remaining legacy customers. The bottom line is Verizon is on the same IPTV bandwagon as everyone else, we are just trying to divine the dates, so be careful about counting chickens.

</offtopic>


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## Telecom Company Honesty (6 d ago)

Frederick said:


> I just used Comcast/Xfinity’s “move” where you move from one address to a new address and instead of “moving” my account, they canceled it…which means they cancel every piece of Comcast equipment…INCLUDING MY TWO CABLECARDS FOR MY TWO TIVOs. I had to return both of my cablecards (also my router and X1 box) then open a new account and activate all new equipment via a phone call. (The difficult part was getting to a live human agent and away from the AI) The CableCARD activation was not difficult. You have bring up your cablecard host ID and read it to the agent (he confirms that it matches the ID in the Comcast record) and then he sends an activation code and the channels appear. You have to make sure you have a WiFi or Ethernet connection to get all of the updated channel info from TiVo.
> I have been on TiVo since about 1992 or 95 (with DirecTV and Comcast and still think TiVo has the best user interface EVER.


To all the souls who are hopeless about CableCards, who perceive a lack of total CableCard support, who are down about the FCC dropping the CableCard requirement, this post is a confirmation that some companies do support CableCards and will continue. Unless you explicitly receive a letter telling you a date where your TV setup won't work, don't worry!!!
.


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> You're referring to a different app than the one I am having issues with.


I see; sorry for my confusion. 

I also have the "Purple X" Xfinity account app but have not been using it. However, checking it out now on my iPhone Xr and iPad Air 3, it appears to be fully functional.

ETA: Just for s#!ts and giggles, I downloaded the app to my Lenovo (Android 10) Tab M10 FHD Plus tablet, and it appears to be operating correctly there as well with the exception of the data usage page, which failed to load.


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## Jack95959 (Jul 29, 2016)

My Cablecard is still working fine. Have had Tivos since the 90s, now using a Roamio with cablecard and another with OTA. But I see the "handwriting on the wall" so I've been investigating alternatives. I suspect I have at least a year or two to figure it out. Local (California) Comcast recently announced upcoming "service upgrades", but no details or timing.

I've been trying out "Channels DVR" for the last few weeks and so far I'm impressed. This is a free software package which runs on all sorts of computers. I've installed it on my existing NAS (Synology DS218+), which is on 24x7 and has lots of disk space.

Channels collects and aggregates video from all sorts of sources -- including Comcast, using a feature called "TV Everywhere". So using my existing Comcast account, I have Channels configured to consume the online video streams from almost all of my Comcast channels directly through the Internet. No CableCard involved. Other "streaming accounts" (Peacock, Hulu, Youtube, etc.) that you have signed up for can also be additional sources. Shortly I'll have my OTA antenna also connected. I also just discovered that there are literally thousands of free streams available from all over the world. So even though I'm in California, I can watch my old favorite stations from Boston or Philadelphia because they have set up online streaming.

Channels also integrates all of my video library (e.g., the MP4s on my NAS) into its database. Everything is presented in a collection, e.g., "Movies" or "TV Shows" so you can watch live TV as it is being broadcast as well as stored shows from any source. You can also record anything, and set up "Passes" to get automatic recording. Program guide information is also collected and aggregated ($8/month).

Clients can be anything that runs the "Channels" app, e.g., phones, tablets, various "Smart TVs", etc. For "dumb TVs" (anything with an HDMI port) you can plug in an Amazon Fire Stick and load the Channels app onto it. I did that on a Vizio TV and discovered that somehow the TV remote control can also control the Channels app. 

Nicely done, Channels Team.

All of this is at this point just a CableCard alternative. It uses my existing Comcast account to get access to most of the Comcast channels that I get through the CableCard (a few don't work, notably PBS). But my OTA feed will probably fill in the blanks. Even better, all of my "clients" (phones, tablets, TVs, monitors, etc.) can get not only to live and recorded TV from Comcast and OTA, but also to video I've saved away on my NAS and thousands of online streams as well. There's apparently also a way to access everything when you're not home, but I haven't explored that yet.

Sadly, I haven't found a Channels app for my Tivo Minis. Or for Chromecasts and Rokus. But the Fire Stick works fine. Also, you can do everything from any machine which has a web browser by just connecting directly to the Channels server, with no "app" needed. As I type this on my desktop PC, I have another browser window open, playing live TV from my Comcast account.

Just FYI in case you're also wondering what you're going to do when CableCards no longer work. Hope this helps.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Jack95959 said:


> Sadly, I haven't found a Channels app for my Tivo Minis. Or for Chromecasts and Rokus. But the Fire Stick works fine. Also, you can do everything from any machine which has a web browser by just connecting directly to the Channels server, with no "app" needed. As I type this on my desktop PC, I have another browser window open, playing live TV from my Comcast account.


Welcome to Channels DVR! There's a dedicated thread on that topic here: https://www.tivocommunity.com/threads/channels-dvr.584214/

There are excellent client apps for Apple TV, iOS/iPad, Android/Android TV, and Fire TV, and the Android app works on the Chromecast for Google TV but you'd need to check the Channels Community forum for possible issues. There will never be a Channels DVR client app for your Minis — or any new app from anyone for that platform, I fear — and the Channels developers have declared they're not interested in supporting Roku. 

Using TVE as a source for Channels DVR is a great alternative for anyone in this thread who is ready to throw up their hands and give up on CableCARD activation. But actually I use Channels DVR with an HD HomeRun Prime and an Xfinity CableCARD that used to be in one of my TiVo units.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

CommunityMember said:


> <offtopic>
> 
> 
> Locations vary, but new(er) installations of Verizon FiOS in some (and an expanding number of) locations are now using their new ONT which supports multi-gig Internet service, but that new ONT does not support linear QAM (Verizon is providing an IPTV tuner box for their TV service).
> ...


Yep. I've posted this same info elsewhere but wasn't in the mood to type it all up again here.

Additionally, it's possible that, even for homes with the original-style Verizon Fios ONT that supports QAM TV, they will phase out new sign-ups of QAM-based TV service and only offer the new IPTV boxes. To be clear, I've not read any indications that that is happening or is in the plans, but it's plausible assuming that Verizon wants to gradually get all of their TV customers migrated over to the new IPTV platform.


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## hilld (Feb 29, 2016)

We ditched our Comcast/CableCard/Tivo combination a few months ago when we moved. We saw this as an opportunity and switched to T-Mobile Home Internet and YouTube TV. While YTTV gives you unlimited recording (nice), their interface is certainly not Tivo equivalent. You can't tell if you have watched a show for example (at least not on AppleTV boxes). But it passed the wife acceptance factor (WAF). We have reduced our overall bill by over $70/month so that alone was worth it.


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## BD1 (Sep 29, 2015)

Jack95959 said:


> My Cablecard is still working fine. Have had Tivos since the 90s, now using a Roamio with cablecard and another with OTA. But I see the "handwriting on the wall" so I've been investigating alternatives. I suspect I have at least a year or two to figure it out. Local (California) Comcast recently announced upcoming "service upgrades", but no details or timing.
> 
> I've been trying out "Channels DVR" for the last few weeks and so far I'm impressed. This is a free software package which runs on all sorts of computers. I've installed it on my existing NAS (Synology DS218+), which is on 24x7 and has lots of disk space.
> 
> ...


After using Tivo for many years I also switched to Channels DVR. It works very well. Very pleased.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

BD1 said:


> After using Tivo for many years I also switched to Channels DVR. It works very well. Very pleased.


Excellent info. Thank you for sharing. I've heard the only downsides to Channels DVR are recordings self delete after three months and no commercial skip. Is that correct?


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## Yuterald (Jan 21, 2002)

Hm. I have Comcast and the on CC in my Bolt and have 6 mini's connected to the other TVs. I keep seeing comments that Mini support for Channel DVR works.
IF I need to bail on the CC - I would need something, without a new investment, where all of my Mini's and Bolt locations/connections could access the content.
I don't have a PC connected to my Bolt etc (though I, obviously, have one).


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> Excellent info. Thank you for sharing. I've heard the only downsides to Channels DVR are recordings self delete after three months and no commercial skip. Is that correct?


No and no. Auto-delete is adjustable per pass. And it has great commercial skip, including a built-in editor! (@BD1 I answered for you, hope you don't mind.)



Yuterald said:


> I keep seeing comments that Mini support for Channel DVR works.


No, there is no Channels DVR client app for the TiVo Mini. Nobody is developing new apps for the Mini platform, least of all Channels DVR. I don't know where you would have seen discussion of that, apart from two posts in this thread.


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## Yuterald (Jan 21, 2002)

No, there is no Channels DVR client app for the TiVo Mini. Nobody is developing new apps for the Mini platform, least of all Channels DVR. I don't know where you would have seen discussion of that, apart from two posts in this thread.
[/QUOTE]
My post wasn't well articulated - my point is I'm interested in Channels DVR providing there's a method to access any content on all my TV's the way I do now via the Bolt and the Mini's. Without connect my PC to a modem.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Yuterald said:


> My post wasn't well articulated - my point is I'm interested in Channels DVR providing there's a method to access any content on all my TV's the way I do now via the Bolt and the Mini's. Without connect my PC to a modem.


Understood. What kind of TVs and network do you have there? As my household transitions away from TiVo, on each TV I've got a Mini plugged into one HDMI port, and a Fire TV Stick plugged into another (except when the TV already has Fire TV embedded), all on wired Ethernet.

Works great. We can't really rely on TiVo DVRs or Minis for streaming any more, so why not update to an inexpensive alternative like a Fire TV Stick or Cube for that? Then you can install the Channels DVR client app on that.

Apple TV is their flagship client platform, and it also works on iOS, iPad, Android, Android TV, and as I said Fire TV. Now, from what you wrote I understand you may be hesitant to set up a Channels DVR server, but it's easy, really.


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## Yuterald (Jan 21, 2002)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> Understood. What kind of TVs and network do you have there? As my household transitions away from TiVo, on each TV I've got a Mini plugged into one HDMI port, and a Fire TV Stick plugged into another (except when the TV already has Fire TV embedded), all on wired Ethernet.
> 
> Works great. We can't really rely on TiVo DVRs or Minis for streaming any more, so why not update to an inexpensive alternative like a Fire TV Stick or Cube for that? Then you can install the Channels DVR app on that.
> 
> Apple TV is their flagship client platform, and it also works on iOS, iPad, Android, Android TV, and as I said Fire TV.


All of my Mini's are plugged in via ethernet. I don't like Fire sticks since they don't work with my Harmony remotes. I have Roku's connected to some of my TV's. I don't have HDMI ports 'left' for all but one of the TVs at this point unless I unplug the Mini (though one TV doesn't have an HDMI so it's connected banana-plug from the Mini!).
Does this Channels App 'pull' content from a network device? 
Meaning I'd have to add a drive to my PC to store the shows there and the app would pull from there to stream to any devices running the app?
Sounds like the app isn't available for the Roku?


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Yuterald said:


> All of my Mini's are plugged in via ethernet. I don't like Fire sticks since they don't work with my Harmony remotes. I have Roku's connected to some of my TV's. I don't have HDMI ports 'left' for all but one of the TVs at this point unless I unplug the Mini (though one TV doesn't have an HDMI so it's connected banana-plug from the Mini!).
> Does this Channels App 'pull' content from a network device?
> Meaning I'd have to add a drive to my PC to store the shows there and the app would pull from there to stream to any devices running the app?
> Sounds like the app isn't available for the Roku?


Yes, you'd need a Channels DVR server at the center of your network of client apps, just as your TiVo currently serves your Minis. It's great that you have Rokus, but unfortunately for technical reasons there is no Channels DVR client app for Roku. This may sound frustrating, but I say it's still worth considering Channels DVR as TiVo continues to decline. However, we should continue this increasingly off-topic discussion over on the Channels DVR thread, where you'll find answers to many of your questions already posted.


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## Yuterald (Jan 21, 2002)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> Yes, you'd need a Channels DVR server at the center of your network of client apps, just as your TiVo currently serves your Minis. It's great that you have Rokus, but unfortunately for technical reasons there is no Channels DVR client app for Roku. This may sound frustrating, but I say it's still worth considering Channels DVR as TiVo continues to decline. However, we should continue this increasingly off-topic discussion over on the Channels DVR thread, where you'll find answers to many of your questions already posted.


Thanks. Already subscribed to that thread. I'll see what happens in July/August when my current package is expiring. I'll ride w/TiVo until I can't for sure though.


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## Mukwonago (Dec 1, 2019)

I've switched to a Plex based solution, the only paid service I have is YouTube Premium because it cuts commercials on stuff I watch on YT. All my TV shows, movies come through the Plex via Sonarr for TV shows and Radarr/Couch for movies. I haven't integrated OTA with Plex yet, may not because of my setup so OTA is direct to the TVs at this time.


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## therealpeterent (4 d ago)

Jack95959 said:


> My Cablecard is still working fine. Have had Tivos since the 90s, now using a Roamio with cablecard and another with OTA. But I see the "handwriting on the wall" so I've been investigating alternatives. I suspect I have at least a year or two to figure it out. Local (California) Comcast recently announced upcoming "service upgrades", but no details or timing.
> 
> I've been trying out "Channels DVR" for the last few weeks and so far I'm impressed. This is a free software package which runs on all sorts of computers. I've installed it on my existing NAS (Synology DS218+), which is on 24x7 and has lots of disk space.
> 
> ...


Comcast, and others, are supporting IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) to deliver their services via the internet rather than how they've been doing it before. Theoretically a system like TiVO could use IPTV to provide the service using their UI without cable cards.


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## Rxpert (Jan 16, 2012)

Jack95959 said:


> My Cablecard is still working fine. Have had Tivos since the 90s, now using a Roamio with cablecard and another with OTA. But I see the "handwriting on the wall" so I've been investigating alternatives . . . etc.


Nice. I wonder why only TiVo managed to implement "SKIP" to hold back onslaughts of annoying commercials. If nothing else, I'm going to try to hang on to my cable cards as long as possible, for that reason alone.


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## Mukwonago (Dec 1, 2019)

therealpeterent said:


> Comcast, and others, are supporting IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) to deliver their services via the internet rather than how they've been doing it before. Theoretically a system like TiVO could use IPTV to provide the service using their UI without cable cards.


My faulty crystal ball is telling me that Tivo is not going to go down that road and have already seen markets (as reported on this forum) that have discontinued cable cards and have effectively transformed those units in those markets to be paperweights. I hope they do indeed stay with it, hope I'm wrong.


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## mykee50 (Jan 8, 2010)

Jack95959 said:


> My Cablecard is still working fine. Have had Tivos since the 90s, now using a Roamio with cablecard and another with OTA. But I see the "handwriting on the wall" so I've been investigating alternatives. I suspect I have at least a year or two to figure it out. Local (California) Comcast recently announced upcoming "service upgrades", but no details or timing.
> 
> I've been trying out "Channels DVR" for the last few weeks and so far I'm impressed. This is a free software package which runs on all sorts of computers. I've installed it on my existing NAS (Synology DS218+), which is on 24x7 and has lots of disk space.
> 
> ...


I went to Channels and it says it's $8.00 a month. Did I miss something? I was thinking of adding it to our Samsung smart tv at our seldom used remote cabin that has internet. I have Comcast and Tivo at home. Are there more than options that they offer? Thanks!!


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Rxpert said:


> Nice. I wonder why only TiVo managed to implement "SKIP" to hold back onslaughts of annoying commercials. If nothing else, I'm going to try to hang on to my cable cards as long as possible, for that reason alone.


Channels DVR and others also offer commercial skip. Most of them do it better than TiVo at this point.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> No and no. Auto-delete is adjustable per pass. And it has great commercial skip, including a built-in editor! (@BD1 I answered for you, hope you don't mind.)


Obviously I got some bad intel. Thanks for clarifying.


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

mykee50 said:


> I went to Channels and it says it's $8.00 a month. Did I miss something? I was thinking of adding it to our Samsung smart tv at our seldom used remote cabin that has internet. I have Comcast and Tivo at home. Are there more than options that they offer? Thanks!!


If there's an EPG (electronic program guide), there will be a fee. Channels DVR guide data comes from Gracenote. Some portion of that $8 is also for development and support. That's lower than a TiVo monthly fee, and there's a slight discount for going annual, but unfortunately as they're not selling hardware there's no Lifetime option (yet?).


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## nrnoble (Aug 25, 2004)

morac said:


> I completely forgot that Comcast’s phone system is entirely designed to prevent you from talking to someone.


While this is true, its not an intentional design where the company makes decisions to F*** their customers. The customer support process comes about organically as they make changes that decrease their support calls which increases their profitability. They rationalize that a complex phone routing system and long messages help the customer get better and faster service because their data shows that fewer and fewer people call tech support. What they don't track is information data that shows that customers would rather live with their problems than deal with the frustration of calling customer support. 

What I think they do right is spend a lot of time and money to make sure customers have a very high uptime because they do understand from a technical point of view, that the customers won't be calling support as long as the service is up.


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

nrnoble said:


> While this is true, its not an intentional design where the company makes decisions to F*** their customers. The customer support process comes about organically as they make changes that decrease their support calls which increases their profitability. They rationalize that a complex phone routing system and long messages help the customer get better and faster service because their data shows that fewer and fewer people call tech support. What they don't track is information data that shows that customers would rather live with their problems than deal with the frustration of calling customer support.
> 
> What I think they do right is spend a lot of time and money to make sure customers have a very high uptime because they do understand from a technical point of view, that the customers won't be calling support as long as the service is up.


I dealt with one company that you couldn't talk to a real person. I sent them a certified letter canceling my service and changed my credit card number so they couldn't continue charging my credit card. I received a letter from their CEO saying they had tried to call me unsuccessfully, they've since made changes to their voice tree to make it easier to talk to someone (including an override if you said representative, operator, etc.), and invited me to come back to them at a third of what I was paying before. I just threw it in the trash. Turns out a competitor was much better.

Companies need to realize people become extremely frustrated at the level of difficulty it takes to reach a live person. A lot of them will leave a company if an alternative exists. Comcast realizes this, and they realize they have a monopoly in a lot of places. There's no way they don't know they make it nearly impossible to reach a real person.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

southerndoc said:


> There's no way they don't know they make it nearly impossible to reach a real person.


Quite frankly, I don't know which is worse. Being trapped in auto-attendant hell or talking to a person whose accent is so thick you can't understand them.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

therealpeterent said:


> Comcast, and others, are supporting IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) to deliver their services via the internet rather than how they've been doing it before. Theoretically a system like TiVO could use IPTV to provide the service using their UI without cable cards.


This has been discussed ad finitum. TiVo does, indeed, support IPTV for the direct operator customers of TiVo using the TiVo UI. They could have chosen to partner with independent operators (Charter. TWC, Comcast, etc.) for their direct-to-consumer devices (licensing each operators own IPTV platform, each of which was different) but made an explicit business decision not to do so (given where TiVo was in the middle of their trying to monetize their patents it might have made sense for them at the time, but it was not in the interest of their existing direct customers, and certainly confirmed the coffin was nailed). That opportunity for supporting (i.e. licensing, i.e. paying) MSO operators has long since passed. One is only guessing as to when IPTV will be the only delivery platform offered by the majors (it is a clearly stated goal by every major, only the dates for the final conversion is unknown).

That said, TiVo's streaming devices might at some point be able to run the operators streaming IPTV apps (you can sideload Comcast's app on most Android TV boxes today), but it will be the operators apps, with the operators UI, and not the classic TiVo UI.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

Pokemon_Dad said:


> If there's an EPG (electronic program guide), there will be a fee. Channels DVR guide data comes from Gracenote. Some portion of that $8 is also for development and support. That's lower than a TiVo monthly fee, and there's a slight discount for going annual, but unfortunately as they're not selling hardware there's no Lifetime option (yet?).


A "Lifetime" fee (for a company that does not have delusions of continued increased growth that can hide the costs) needs to be roughly high enough so that the revenue (given the conservative 4-5% returns) will pay for the yearly expected costs. That means a lifetime fee of a few thousand is necessary. You are free to place that equivalent money into an investment account and take out the growth every year to pay the fees (which also means you can cancel the service if you find something better, or Channels folds).


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## Pokemon_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

CommunityMember said:


> A "Lifetime" fee (for a company that does not have delusions of continued increased growth that can hide the costs) needs to be roughly high enough so that the revenue (given the conservative 4-5% returns) will pay for the yearly expected costs. That means a lifetime fee of a few thousand is necessary. You are free to place that equivalent money into an investment account and take out the growth every year to pay the fees (which also means you can cancel the service if you find something better, or Channels folds).


Heh. Translation: not gonna happen. Agreed. And the Channels folks have shown no interest.


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

If enough people send emails to [email protected] voicing their support for an IPTV-based TiVo, it may persuade them to look more into it. The worst they can say is no and the second worst is to ignore your emails.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

southerndoc said:


> If enough people send emails to [email protected] voicing their support for an IPTV-based TiVo, it may persuade them to look more into it. The worst they can say is no and the second worst is to ignore your emails.


In layman terms, what, if anything, would an IPTV-based TiVo mean to use TiVo users who rely on a cable company (in my case, it's Comcast/Xfinity) for CableCard support for our Bolts and Roamios.


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> In layman terms, what, if anything, would an IPTV-based TiVo mean to use TiVo users who rely on a cable company (in my case, it's Comcast/Xfinity) for CableCard support for our Bolts and Roamios.


When Comcast ditches the CableCARD support entirely, if TiVo supported IPTV from Comcast with a new DVR, then it would allow us to continue using TiVo DVRs (with Comcast IPTV instead of QAM TV).


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

southerndoc said:


> Comcast makes it so difficult to actually reach a live person. Customer service has gone downhill big time at Comcast. Companies are using voice trees to keep you from getting to a real person instead of helping you get to the right person. I miss the old days where you would call and an operator would answer and route your call. If I didn't want to talk to a real person, I would search online.





morac said:


> I completely forgot that Comcast’s phone system is entirely designed to prevent you from talking to someone.


While YMMV, I have generally not had a problem connecting with a Comcast CSR via telephone. On rare occasions I have been held prisoner to the dreaded voice tree loop, but that has been the exception rather than the rule. And once I reach a CSR, their responsiveness has usually been excellent (again, with rare exceptions).

Making allowances for the turbulence caused by the pandemic, I do not agree that Comcast's customer service has gone downhill. Maybe it is due to my persistence, but I have no real complaints about their level of support.



nrnoble said:


> While this is true, its not an intentional design where the company makes decisions to F*** their customers. The customer support process comes about organically as they make changes that decrease their support calls which increases their profitability.


That is completely logical and understandable. The bottom line will always be a prime motivating factor behind any corporation's decision-making. But cutting costs does not inexorably mean stinting the customer (although the two are frequently interrelated).


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

chiguy50 said:


> While YMMV, I have generally not had a problem connecting with a Comcast CSR via telephone. On rare occasions I have been held prisoner to the dreaded voice tree loop, but that has been the exception rather than the rule. And once I reach a CSR, their responsiveness has usually been excellent (again, with rare exceptions).


There have been times where the system refuses to connect me to a CSR until I waited 20 minutes for it to run all its diagnostic tests which it can’t even run since I don’t have an X1 box. The phone system would literally just hang up on me.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

southerndoc said:


> If enough people send emails to [email protected] voicing their support for an IPTV-based TiVo, it may persuade them to look more into it. The worst they can say is no and the second worst is to ignore your emails.


You are free to do so, but realize that TiVo already offers a IPTV box, using the Android TV base (so, apps!) for their direct operators. That box can never be offered to consumers for licensing reasons. It also does not support Comcast's version of IPTV (nor Charters, nor Cox's, nor Verizon's ....), so they would have to do work to make those changes (probably well within their engineering), but most importantly they would have the license the tech from Comcast (and ....operators....), which means they would likely lose all/most of their current hundreds of millions of dollars of existing patent licenses revenue to get that license ("you want a license to our tech, we want a license to your tech..."). The CEO of Xperi is almost certainly going to be far more interested in the bird in hand (current licensing revenue) vs the illusory of revenue in the bush (exactly how many millions of TiVo's are you going to purchase to make the same money for Xperi?).

Ultimately, it is all about money, and the consumer STB/DVR market is dead.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

chiguy50 said:


> While YMMV, I have generally not had a problem connecting with a Comcast CSR via telephone.


Neither have I, with the exception of times that are well understandable (such as major outages due to weather). And calling on 9am on Monday morning, or Saturday morning is just asking for longer queues and more likely ending up with people that are less experienced.

My last call to activate a CableCARD was quick and easy (the CSR understood what I wanted, accomplished the work professionally, the voice was clear, and easily heard (some call centers you hear backgrounds of dozens of other conversations)).


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## moedaman (Aug 21, 2012)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> Quite frankly, I don't know which is worse. Being trapped in auto-attendant hell or talking to a person whose accent is so thick you can't understand them.


I use online chat with my internet provider (WOW!) because of this, and I never have problems getting my yearly discount ($45.44/month for 200/10). Friends of ours called their internet provider (AT&T) to increase their speed and it took them around an hour before they were finished. In my opinion, these complex phone trees are there to encourage people to use online chat.


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## electrowiz64 (Aug 6, 2014)

I’m sorry but why would Xfinity allow TiVos to support their IPTV delivery when they have their shinier X1 platform? And they’re not mandating it to the providers anymore (CableCARD substitute) and you can bet yo ass [email protected] will lobby to keep it that way, especially with the “declining tv subscribers” and “increase in OTHER OTT players, thanks internet” it’s not a matter of “hey TiVo work on IPTV”, it’s a matter of Xfinity/Spectrum wanting to “play ball”. Spectrum had the chance when they realized their worldboxes were a failure and almost went with TiVo but instead did a joint venture with [email protected], Cox also did that. Tivo is the Pepsi of cable boxes, face it (just inferior to X1). your best bet is to get TiVo to pull a DIRECTV and pump out their own app/box along with TV distribution. More like PlayStation where they had boxes & just started broadcasting channels & making apps FOR IT


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

electrowiz64 said:


> I’m sorry but why would Xfinity allow TiVos to support their IPTV delivery when they have their shinier X1 platform? And they’re not mandating it to the providers anymore (CableCARD substitute) and you can bet yo ass [email protected] will lobby to keep it that way, especially with the “declining tv subscribers” and “increase in OTHER OTT players, thanks internet” it’s not a matter of “hey TiVo work on IPTV”, it’s a matter of Xfinity/Spectrum wanting to “play ball”. Spectrum had the chance when they realized their worldboxes were a failure and almost went with TiVo but instead did a joint venture with [email protected], Cox also did that. Tivo is the Pepsi of cable boxes, face it (just inferior to X1). your best bet is to get TiVo to pull a DIRECTV and pump out their own app/box along with TV distribution. More like PlayStation where they had boxes & just started broadcasting channels & making apps FOR IT


There are two approaches: lock it down to try to keep subscribers or open it up to try to keep subscribers. If I can't use my TiVo, no way am I staying with Comcast and using their X1 or next-generation platform. I plan to switch to DirecTV and use their streaming service. TiVo is the only thing keeping me with Comcast right now.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

southerndoc said:


> TiVo is the only thing keeping me with Comcast right now.


A HUGE ditto here. I have a love/hate relationship with Comcast. I love them for continuing to support CableCards (and, therefore, TiVo) but I hate the cost of that love. A promotion I took advantage of recently expired resulting in a 24% increase in my monthly bill. That stung a bit. I truly dread the day my four TiVo devices become doorstops. I guess the good news is, depending on which thread on which forum you read, it could be years before Comcast stops its CableCard support (or, it could be tomorrow).


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> A promotion I took advantage of recently expired resulting in a 24% increase in my monthly bill. That stung a bit.


Did you try & get put back on a promo again? I go into our local office everytime mine run out & they always put me back on one with no problems...


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

dishrich said:


> Did you try & get put back on a promo again? I go into our local office everytime mine run out & they always put me back on one with no problems...


Thank you for the suggestion. I tried both on the phone and in person at the local Xfinity store. No luck. The best they could offer was to change my cell service from T Mobile to theirs but when we did the math, they still couldn't come anywhere close to the $20 a line for two lines I am paying at T Mobile. That is one thing I miss about the "old" Verizon. When they were at their peak, their customer service was the cat's ass. I would get a call from them every 6 months or so letting me know they had a certain promotion going that would save me x amount a month. It usually entailed actually adding a service. The onus was on me, of course, to remember to cancel whatever was added before the actual cost kicked in. Anyway, I'll continue to bug Xfinity.


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## morac (Mar 14, 2003)

electrowiz64 said:


> I’m sorry but why would Xfinity allow TiVos to support their IPTV delivery when they have their shinier X1 platform?


Comcast doesn’t force you to use their X1 platform hardware. They also provide apps for Apple TV, Roku. Fire TV, etc. The main thing they want is to control the UI. 

TiVo and Comcast actually had a deal a number of years ago to add IPTV support to TiVo. That was before TiVo got bought up by Rovi and sued Comcast.


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## southerndoc (Apr 5, 2003)

I will resume my letter writing campaign to Comcast about CableCARDs once they finish my Gig Pro installation. Don't wanna jinx myself there. LOL


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## jsherknus (Jan 2, 2009)

Comcast already has the Xfinity Stream app which runs on any firestick or Android TV box. You can access your recordings and watch live TV using it. There is zero incentive for Comcast to work with Tivo since they already have their IPTV app ready to go. It's been in beta for over a year. Even my parents have ditched their extra cable box in the bedroom for the Xfinity Stream app running on a firestick.


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## dishrich (Jan 16, 2002)

jsherknus said:


> Comcast already has the Xfinity Stream app which runs on any firestick or Android TV box.


As well as Roku & Apple TV devices


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Cable companies want control. They want you using their boxes because they control the entire experience. Pretty much all the TV providers are the same, whether you go with any cable provider, any phone provider, any satellite provider, or the new IPTV providers. Your TV experience is under their control.

Excepting the small blip where someone decided that maybe third parties would fix things, followed by an industry friendly administrator who had a future job lined with the biggest telecommunications firm after his government stint, that brief experiment ended and everyone wants their control back.

The only reason it didn't happen with cellphones is because one company made a very desirable, very shiny cellphone. And because all the telecommunications providers were control freaks, that company had to partner with one of them to offer that phone exclusively. It was only consumer demand for that one shiny phone that basically broke open cellular providers into not controlling the entire experience from the phones they sold to what you saw on the screens. Well that and global standards that allowed companies to make third party phones independently of a telecommunications provider. (Still, most people get their phones from their providers, but the providers have way less control over the phones these days).

Of course, this is unlikely to happen with cable anymore. Since the cable provider has to let the device on their network, they limit what devices can be used (ask anyone in Canada - the cable providers still use the exact same equipment and even CableCARDs, but they will only allow their equipment to be connected to the network). They want to control what you see on your screen. They want to make sure you use their paid on demand service - even though you could use a streaming service and likely get it and many more for less. 

They want you trapped.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

morac said:


> TiVo and Comcast actually had a deal a number of years ago to add IPTV support to TiVo. That was before TiVo got bought up by Rovi and sued Comcast.


There was never an actual deal/contract (and TiVo/Rovi/TiVo had been under various terms of licensing and lawsuits for years (a decade or more?) with Comcast and other operators).

Instead, there was a very carefully worded message from TiVo when Comcast started their IPTV channels about how TiVo was "working" with Comcast on a solution. I am sure TiVo did contact Comcast about licensing their IPTV tech, but I also suspect even TiVo understood that that was not likely going to happen on terms TiVo was willing to make, but it was a conversation they needed to initiate. And the ability to claim they were "working" on a solution, avoided a potential exodus of customers (which, at that time, when they were trying to figure out how to sell/split/reorganize themselves, mattered a lot, as customer numbers are used as a basis of valuation). And afterwards, should they have decided they wanted to be a full service consumer DVR company again they could claim it was Comcast not willing to make a deal (just like carriage disputes, where both sides try to blame the other and ask customers to take sides).


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

Worf said:


> Cable companies want control.


And the consumer electronics companies want control, and the big tech companies want control, and the content providers want control (everyone wants control), as those that control the experience can monetize it, and it is, as it always has been, all about money (the golden rule is: those with the gold, rule).

The only winning (?) move if you do not want to be the product may be to go back to using your local library and reading books (and finding out in the history books who won the Big Game).


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

CommunityMember said:


> The only winning (?) move if you do not want to be the product may be to go back to using your local library and reading books (and finding out in the history books who won the Big Game).


What is this "library" to which you refer? Is there an App for that?


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## chiguy50 (Nov 9, 2009)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> I tried both on the phone and in person at the local Xfinity store. No luck. The best they could offer was to change my cell service from T Mobile to theirs but when we did the math, they still couldn't come anywhere close to the $20 a line for two lines I am paying at T Mobile.


IDK what your service deal with T-Mobile entails, but Xfinity Mobile's most basic ("by-the-gig") service fee is $15 per line (and some of us are grandfathered in for the original $12 charge) with 1GB of shared data. There are other plans that might serve your needs for close to what you are paying now, including $45 for one by-the-gig line and one unlimited. In addition, you can get a discount on your Xfinity HSI service (anywhere from $10 to $30 p.m.) for maintaining an active XM line, which can make for an attractive package of services.

You also might qualify for a promotional credit for transferring your mobile service.


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## Joey Bagadonuts (Mar 13, 2006)

chiguy50 said:


> IDK what your service deal with T-Mobile entails, but Xfinity Mobile's most basic ("by-the-gig") service fee is $15 per line (and some of us are grandfathered in for the original $12 charge) with 1GB of shared data. There are other plans that might serve your needs for close to what you are paying now, including $45 for one by-the-gig line and one unlimited. In addition, you can get a discount on your Xfinity HSI service (anywhere from $10 to $30 p.m.) for maintaining an active XM line, which can make for an attractive package of services.
> 
> You also might qualify for a promotional credit for transferring your mobile service.


Thanks for the suggestion chiguy. That's the plan the Xfinity Rep was suggesting I change to from T Mobile ("by-the-gig"). My T Mobile plan is $20/line (for two lines) for unlimited data so I didn't have any reason to keep an eye on my monthly use and had no clue what that amount was/is. When the Rep made her pitch and I looked up my usage history for the past six months, I was surprised to see I'm averaging about 3.5 gigs of data a month (I was expecting it to me much lower than that). So, that took their lowest plan off the table. We looked at their unlimited data use for $30/line (for two lines) and even with the bring your own phone credit and the slightly discounted HSI, when we factored in the fees, taxes, and other contractual requirements, again, they couldn't beat what I'm getting from T Mobile.


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## CommunityMember (May 22, 2020)

Joey Bagadonuts said:


> What is this "library" to which you refer? Is there an App for that?


While I know that was intended as a joke, a number of libraries do, indeed, have apps (sometimes to be able to check out e-books, reserve materials for pickup, search their card catalog, and even assist or perform self-checkout of materials).


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## CurtJester (Apr 1, 2021)

CommunityMember said:


> While I know that was intended as a joke, a number of libraries do, indeed, have apps (sometimes to be able to check out e-books, reserve materials for pickup, search their card catalog, and even assist or perform self-checkout of materials).


Not to mention streaming video offered via local libraries on Overdrive/Hoopla/Kanopy.


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