# Official RCN CableCard Thread!



## rlcarr

I don't have a Series 3 yet (drool!), but I am an RCN (Boston) customer. So just like the people who started threads for Cox and Comcast, I figured it would be good to put an RCN thread in place for RCN customers who have purchased Series 3s to talk about their experiences with attempting to get CableCards installed and whether or not your local RCN system has multistream cards.


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## granoff

Just yesterday I found a FAQ on their website that talked all about cable cards from RCN.

Of note, Yes, they had them, and they would be making them available "to lease for a low monthly fee." Didn't say what that would be though.

-Mark


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## tivochiguy

Thanks for starting this. I've called RCN a few times to confirm. In Chicago they charge $1.50 per card with a $15 install fee (one rep told me $50).


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## cherry ghost

tivochiguy said:


> Thanks for starting this. I've called RCN a few times to confirm. In Chicago they charge $1.50 per card with a $15 install fee (one rep told me $50).


I've been waiting to hear from someone in Chicago. I'm considering switching over from Comcast.


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## microkitty

According to the phone rep I called. No mention of any installation fee. I assume if I drop off my existing box and pick up the cards I can get them without a fee (but we'll see).

Also, re RCN: news today that RCN seem to be considering a way to sell itself.


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## granoff

microkitty said:


> Also, re RCN: news today that RCN seem to be considering a way to sell itself.


Ugh. I hope they don't sell out.

I don't want to be a Comcast subscriber.

-Mark


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## tivochiguy

I called today about purchasing cards, but they won't do that. I was thinking the purchase might be less expensive than the rental over a few years.


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## shive

I called this morning to set up a cablecard installation. The customer support person seemed to know what I was asking for and scheduled it right away. She gave me the obligatory no VOD, etc, etc (I am actually still keeping the DVR box for the time being) and then told me the charge was $1.50 per month per card. There was no installation fee associated with the process (she said it was waived). I'm just happy that I didn't have to explain to the person what a Series3 actually is and why I would need 2 cablecards...all in all, a smooth process (so far  My installation wont be until next week, but I'll keep you all posted.


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## PilotChris

My CC order with 3-day Fedex unexpectedly made it across the country overnight, leaving me with a Series 3 and not even an install appointment scheduled! But that's another story...

RCN quoted me $1.50/month for the card, $14.95/card for installation, and "graciously" (my quote, not theirs) offered to waive the $49.95 "truck roll" fee. The real bummer is that I had kind of justified the cost of the Series 3 + service with the assumption that I could cancel the cable box rental and DVR service. However, it seems that I'm grandfathered into an old promotion that would actually make it more expensive to return the box!

Lastly, the TiVo arrived last week and I couldn't get an install appointment scheduled until next week!! Ouch. It's partially my fault, as I couldn't take any appointment for the second half of this week.

Has anybody tried going to the local RCN office to pick up a card? Mine is in San Mateo (on my San Francisco -> Palo Alto commute), so even though they told me it's not possible, I'm thinking of trying...

Based on what I'm hearing about new Comcast HD channels, however, it may just be time to switch. If only I could get the same high speed internet service through Comcast....

Chris


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## drews

Just finished my RCN (Chevy Chase, MD) install... One card in my new Sony TV, 2 in the S3 and everything went well. $1.50 monthly per card, $14.95 install for each. Cards were immediately recognized and tuned to HD channels. Tech had not done a TiVo install before and seemed to enjoy trying something new.

Drew


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## mikeshir

cherry ghost said:


> I've been waiting to hear from someone in Chicago. I'm considering switching over from Comcast.


Chicago, IL: just installed two CableCards. literally took 5 minutes; the technician called the operator to activate the cards while i was inserting them and literally a minute later we were testing the channels. he had never seen an S3 before but it didn't seem to be a problem at all.


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## Hank

Got my S3 yesterday. Called RCN - the next slot they have to install the cablecards is OCTOBER 12! I can't believe I have to wait that long. But they said they're $1.50 per month per card, plus $15 to install both.


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## mikeshir

mikeshir said:


> Chicago, IL: just installed two CableCards. literally took 5 minutes; the technician called the operator to activate the cards while i was inserting them and literally a minute later we were testing the channels. he had never seen an S3 before but it didn't seem to be a problem at all.


well, apparently it wasn't that perfect. later i found out that i'm not getting channels 540(CSNHD), 541(ESPNHD), and 542(DiscoveryHD). also channels 543(HDNet) and 544(HDNet Movies) have no sound. same problem with both CableCards on both tuners. all other digital and HD channels are fine.

tried calling RCN but they couldn't find any problems on their side (although the lady i spoke to didn't sound like she knew much about what she was doing). they are going to send a tech out to troubleshoot this but i doubt it's going to help.

can anyone with S3 and RCN in Chicago confirm that they are getting those channels?


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## shive

Finally got things working here with RCN in Boston. The cable guy came by last week, installed the cards and left (I wasn't home at the time but my fiance was). I came home to find that 1 CC worked and the other was only getting sporadic channels. It turns out they didnt have the second CC registered to my account, so it wasn't authorized. A few phone calls later to RCN and they straightened it right out. I have to admit that they have been very easy to deal with. My second CC is now recognized and I'm getting all the HD and premiums I subscribe to...well done, RCN!


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## jeffl24

I have RCN in Boston (Arlington). The install went fine (30 min). The cards are $1.50 each a month and they waived the installation fee of $14.99. It took about 10 days to get an appointment. I'm guessing the popularity of the S3 will increase demand for the CableCards. Most people with just a TV probably don't mind the box that much.


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## sysdude

The guy came with 2 cable cards today;He showed up around 10:30am, he left at 1:15pm and I have one kind-of-working tuner.  

One cable card was DOA; he had a very hard time getting the live one to authorize. 

First it just would not do anything .. "Acquiring channel lineup" (I believe it said.. it was burning into the screen for a VERY long time). After 3 or 4 calls back to the office they zapped the card twice, and finally after unplugging and re-plugging the TiVo, got basic cable channels. The Auth said: MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY 

By the time we had basic TV, and the local HD stations showing up, I asked him to check the premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, etc). No deal.. just a grey screen. 

He asked them to zap it again... Then his cellphone battery gave up (he had been using the phone actively for a few hours at that point). 

Anyway, he had asked them to zap the card again, and at first the TiVo went back into the blue screen with the swirling ball,and I paniced a bit, but the channels did show up... but still not HBOHD...  

Now the Cable card says: Auth: Zero_Key 

Any idea what that means? 

I get to go through it all again tomorrow when they show up with yet another cable card, and that will try again with the authorization. 

Does anybody know if the cable company needs a code from the Tivo "cable card" screen in order to authorize things like HBOHD? 

Anybody else in the NYC area have experience with RCN doing your cable card install smoothly (or otherwise)?


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## nmurphy

Had RCN here today to install the 2 Cablecards. Installer kept saying that he had never done an S3 before. He would not read the instruction sheet from TiVo, and started to put in both cards at the same time. I stopped him, and made him do it one at a time. I d/n know why, but this was a big deal to him. Something about getting both cards hit at the same time was better for him. 

He would not wait for set-up, but I confirmed that both cards were getting signals. 

One nice thing: he said to run the setup, and he would call in an hour to see if everything was working. I did a new guided setup (without any freeze-up) and checked both tuners and some HD channels. Everything seems to be there. One hour later, he called to see if I needed him to come back! Luckily, everything seems OK. I hope RCN is able to stay in business, because I think they are better than Comcast.


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## Hank

Had my install today (RCN Boston). Took about an hour. Tech hadn't seen an S3 before and seemed a little "outdated" (he was probably 50-55 years old). We inserted the first card - and he called the CO to hit the card.. nothing except the "updating channel info", but no channels. After the first one didn't seem to be updating or working after about 10 minutes, he put the second one in so they could "hit" them both, To make a long story short, and three calls to the CO later to hit the cards, it eventually started working for both cards. Except the HD Tier wasn't coming in, and as he was on hold the fourth call, they started working on their own. We did get a 161-4 error a few times. 

I am now also getting pay channels I wasn't paying for before (showtime, starz, etc), but I'm sure they'll fix that shortly. It was pretty smooth, and luckily the operators on the headend knew what to twiddle to get the cards working in the Tivo without too much hassle.

edit: I forgot to add, in the middle of initializing the first card, the S3 just randomly rebooted without warning. But it restarted fine and we continued with the install.


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## gastrof

Hank said:


> ...I am now also getting pay channels I wasn't paying for before (showtime, starz, etc)...


I hate it when that happens. It's so inconvenient.


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## nmurphy

Hank, If you have the HD or digital tier with RCN, I believe those movie channels are included. I just stumbled across them a few months ago, and called RCN - I thought they would charge me. Turns out that, except for all of the HBO channels, RCN includes full movie channels in the price. Go to the RCN web page, and you can find your tier. I then printed the channels for setting up the S3. It was four or five pages.


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## beerkensp

The RCN cable guy came round yesterday and installed both cards. The first one worked fins straight away. The second cable card took about 5 minutes to kick in. I then had him check channel 542 and it worked only on cable card 1. He then spoke to someone on the phone and about 10 minutes later I had all channels.

When you get your's installed make sure that you check 542 on both cablecards.

This was very painless. A big thanks for recomending to check the 542 channel.

Paul


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## lawilson2

Glad to see there are RCN users. I think I reported my success in here or another forum, but my local tech is cool (Chicago); he came by, let me install them (which I wanted to do), and we did have 1 dead card, so he came back on his own time the next day with 3 brand new cards just in case! He also gave me his cell number and told me that whenever I need an appointment and RCN says it will be a week, etc, to take the date they say, call him, and he'll get me much sooner. He's done some wiring for me before and is excellent. I've been very happy with them lately; I have their triple package. Great company!


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## sysdude

beerkensp said:


> The RCN cable guy came round yesterday and installed both cards. The first one worked fins straight away. The second cable card took about 5 minutes to kick in. I then had him check channel 542 and it worked only on cable card 1. He then spoke to someone on the phone and about 10 minutes later I had all channels.
> 
> When you get your's installed make sure that you check 542 on both cablecards.
> 
> This was very painless. A big thanks for recomending to check the 542 channel.
> 
> Paul


Channel 542 on both cable cards (in my case -- RCN NYC) got nothing. What should appear?


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## sfox7076

Sys Dude, 

542 is in Boston. GO to the 700s in NYC.


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## microkitty

RCN, Boston (Newton), MA. Original earliest appointment was Oct 2, which was about two weeks from when I scheduled the appointment. On the morning of the appointment they called to say they were out of CableCards, so I waited until today, Oct 9 to get the installation.

Cost is about $1.50/mo per card; I had them remove the HD converter box I had before, which had cost $9.95/mo. However, it seems like I lost a little HD programming (Discovery HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies) and may have gained some programming (5 Star Max, Outer MAX, Showtime) although I may have had these before and not known .

Cable setup was painless; the cards were recognized by the box upon installation; as soon as they were activated, they came to life. The installer had never done a Series 3 before and was clearly relieved when it "just worked". I was, too.

One HDMI cable between the TiVo and my A/V Receiver, one network cable, one power cord, one coax cable. And one less hot box (the old Motorola 5200). Pretty cool, so far.


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## Wangooroo

My RCN install went well, but took a while. The RCN tech was nice, polite, and stayed through the entire process. The problem was very slow recognition of the cabale cards. We followed instructions perfectly. Eventually we ended up getting basic channels, but for some reason we had to call the RCN provisioning team to get them to "hit" the cards again to get my premium channels working. My only complaint was that the guy could have been in and out in 15minutes or less had he just called them sooner. He kept thinking he could get it fixed without calling. Turns out a 30 second call and things were up and running within 2 minutes. Just goes to show... know your limits, and know when to reach out for support!

I have S3, 3 cable cards, 2 for S3 one for my Pioneer 1130HD. They all work great, never used VOD or PPV so I could care less that those services do not work with CC1 spec.

All in all very happy with RCN. Converted from Verizon Telephone, and DirecTV to RCN for everything, Phone, TV, Broadband. Saving a bundle (over $75/mo) and very pleased with RCN's customer service!


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## setanta

Wangooroo said:


> Saving a bundle (over $75/mo) and very pleased with RCN's customer service!


ditto.

RCN have been great to work with from start to finish. Always friendly on the phone (sound like they actually want your business). Card install was a bit tricky. We never read the instructions first time and tried to hit all 4 cards at once. Definately had one bad card 161-1 error. Kept getting 161-4 errors until we stopped took a break and started again from scratch. Learnt some interesting info such as when the control center tells the on-site tech that the cards had cleared after being hit it means absolutely nothing. I had mistakenly patched through the wrong coax. So none of the setup screens actually tell you anything about the network you're attached to. All they know about is the cablecard.

The other S3 with the good coax worked on one card and was stubborn about coming up on the second one. After several hits though it did finally work. I'm not sure if it isn't the software the control center is using to hit the cards. Looked quite flakey to me.

PQ is excellent now and apart from minor annoyances (non HD channels are not very good at all), I'm very pleased. And yes with bundled Internet etc it's actually quite a bit cheaper than D* was.


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## sfox7076

You know, I hate the RCN Analog cable channels. Mine are all terrible and I am in manhattan, in a building built in the 1980s.


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## apb1978

Well I just got my series 3 cablecards installed so I figured I'd share my experience too. I have RCN here in Chicago and was also quoted $1.50 per card and $15 for the install. I don't recall them mentioning a truck roll free so hopefully that was waived. 

Anyway it took two weeks to get an appointment for an installation done. I was kind of surprised but I'm guessing a lot of people were jumping ship as soon as they announced they would be wiping our Motorola DVRs. The tech showed up and I brought him down to the home theater. He had asked where the cablecards were going and I pointed to the Tivo, he then asked me where the other one was going and I explained to him that they took two cards. So I definitely got the impression he had not seen one before. I then proceeded to hand him the cablecard installer's instructions and he read through it. It sounded like he was kind of impressed with how Tivo had it put together. I don't have a plasma or anything so I don't know how their instructions usually are. 

We popped in Card #1 and it seemed to work great. We were able to pull up channels right away on the Test Channels after the MIMI came up. So we popped in the next card expecting it to go just as easily and it couldn't get any channels. I think it even said 'NO CHANNELS' or something like that at the top of the screen. We then popped out both cards and repeated the process with them in opposite spots. Again that second card did not work even when in slot 1. The first card worked just fine in slot 2. So he called it into dispatch and asked them to 'send a hit' to the cards. After waiting a few minutes and not getting any farther we popped the cards back in their original slot and were right back where we started. 

All of this took about 45 min to an hour. The installer was very nice and very polite, and explained that he didn't have any other cards with him but he would be able to get me one and return that evening (I had a late appointment so this would be less than 2-3 hours). Then he gave me his cell number and asked me to call him if it started working while he was gone, and said he had a feeling it would. At that point I told him ok, but really felt like he was just giving me a line. 

So after he left I played with the test channels a little more. A few channels like Discover HD and some of my premium HD channels weren't coming in. But I decided to go ahead and rerun the guided setup like the instructions recommended. That of course took about 30 minutes to finish processing all of the information even though it was done over the internet. Near the end of the setup I got that error 161-4 error message that Tivo says you can ignore if it happens during the installation. However that error was only happening on the bad card which i left in the tivo while running the guided setup. I had been tempted to remove it as soon as the cable guy left so it wouldn't screw anything up with the setup. 

Anyway after the setup was done I started playing with the tivo and realized that everything seemed to be working. I went back into the cablecard setup to 'test channels' on both cards just to make sure, and it was all working perfectly. I am fairly certain it was not the guided setup that fixed it, so maybe RCN sent another hit to the cards or something. So I called him back and let him know everything was working great and that he didn't need to come back. 

I am getting all of my HD channels including the premium ones. Haven't really tried the SD ones, but I don't really watch them anyhow. No sound problems that I've encountered so far either. 


-Andy


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## tivochiguy

I called RCN today to schedule my cable card appointment. They asked me if I had purchased a Series 3 Tivo and I told them yes. I asked him if they had a bunch of people calling and he said not many. He didn't try to push their product on me.


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## laduv

drews said:


> Just finished my RCN (Chevy Chase, MD) install... One card in my new Sony TV, 2 in the S3 and everything went well. $1.50 monthly per card, $14.95 install for each. Cards were immediately recognized and tuned to HD channels. Tech had not done a TiVo install before and seemed to enjoy trying something new.
> 
> Drew


What is the advantage of putting a cable card in your TV as well as in the TiVo?


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## Hank

laduv said:


> What is the advantage of putting a cable card in your TV as well as in the TiVo?


Perhaps to record two things, and watch a third?


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## tivochiguy

I wanted to report on my cable card install today.

The installer who came out had already installed one other Series 3. He seemed very comfortable with what steps needed to be done. I held the remote and ran all the menu commands. RCN's system for registering cable cards is very clever with the hand held device they use to scan the cards.

The first card registered right away, but we were not receiving all the HD channels. We then moved on to the second card that was also detected right away. Despite waiting 5 or 10 minutes the channels never loaded up on that card. We decided to reboot the Tivo and that solved the problem. After the reboot, the channels were detected immediately. 

The installed told me that cable cards have been in short supply. He also mentioned that they tend to be a pain to work with especially in TVs.

Overall I was very happy with how things went. I think it made a huge difference that I knew all the screens and options and what to expect. The process would have taken 3x longer if he had to go it alone with past experience. Without experience it would have been 5 to 6x longer.

The installer was not an RCN employee but a contractor.


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## donthomasj

Hi, everyone, this is my first post. I'm glad I found this bb as I have the following questions:

I was thinking of changing my TiVo series2 to the series3 for the HD taping. Then I noted on the RCN website that they also have DVRs that record HD. With the high cost of the TiVo Series3... why would I want to spend $800 for TiVo and its costs instead? (by the way, I'm a TiVo lover anyways, so if there are excellent reasons to go with TiVo instead, I would, but I'm pretty ignorant about my choices.)

Thanks


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## sysdude

donthomasj said:


> Hi, everyone, this is my first post. I'm glad I found this bb as I have the following questions:
> 
> I was thinking of changing my TiVo series2 to the series3 for the HD taping. Then I noted on the RCN website that they also have DVRs that record HD. With the high cost of the TiVo Series3... why would I want to spend $800 for TiVo and its costs instead? (by the way, I'm a TiVo lover anyways, so if there are excellent reasons to go with TiVo instead, I would, but I'm pretty ignorant about my choices.)
> 
> Thanks


That's easy. I had the DVR you're referring to.

1) the software was HORRIBLE.
2) limited to an 80GB HD
3) It compresses the HD video signal! (so what was the point of HD?)

HD Tivo is expensive, no doubt, but the idea of a lifetime transfer from my Series 1 made me spend the extra cash. Without the lifetime, not quite so sure I would have done it so soon.


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## Swisher

I'm a loyal fan of RCN, but I must say I was disappointed with their DVR, especially recently when they "upgraded" the software. This upgrade required that everything on the HD be erased (imagine TiVo doing that!) The end result was a horrible user interface. I'm more loyal to TiVo, so I gave that DVR the boot for the S3. Couldn't be happier.

Just had my two cable cards installed and couldn't stop the guy from sticking them both in at the same time. Wouldn't bother with the simple instruction sheet TiVo provides. So, of course, the second card wouldn't get my premium channels. The guy said I would only get them on one card and left. Knowing that couldn't be right, I called and had them re-set the second card and now all is good.

:up:


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## laduv

sysdude said:


> The guy came with 2 cable cards today;He showed up around 10:30am, he left at 1:15pm and I have one kind-of-working tuner.
> 
> One cable card was DOA; he had a very hard time getting the live one to authorize.
> 
> First it just would not do anything .. "Acquiring channel lineup" (I believe it said.. it was burning into the screen for a VERY long time). After 3 or 4 calls back to the office they zapped the card twice, and finally after unplugging and re-plugging the TiVo, got basic cable channels. The Auth said: MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY
> 
> By the time we had basic TV, and the local HD stations showing up, I asked him to check the premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, etc). No deal.. just a grey screen.
> 
> He asked them to zap it again... Then his cellphone battery gave up (he had been using the phone actively for a few hours at that point).
> 
> Anyway, he had asked them to zap the card again, and at first the TiVo went back into the blue screen with the swirling ball,and I paniced a bit, but the channels did show up... but still not HBOHD...
> 
> Now the Cable card says: Auth: Zero_Key
> 
> Any idea what that means?
> 
> I get to go through it all again tomorrow when they show up with yet another cable card, and that will try again with the authorization.
> 
> Does anybody know if the cable company needs a code from the Tivo "cable card" screen in order to authorize things like HBOHD?
> 
> Anybody else in the NYC area have experience with RCN doing your cable card install smoothly (or otherwise)?


The exact same thing happened to me. I have 3 cable cards (2 in the S3 and 1 in the TV) and none of them have premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, etc). All of the other stations work fine. The cable cards in the S3 say: MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY.

Tech support on the phone was useless. They said the account was active and sent a signal to "balance" the cards that did nothing. I now have a 2 week wait until a tech comes back.

Anyone have any thoughts?


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## sysdude

laduv said:


> The exact same thing happened to me. I have 3 cable cards (2 in the S3 and 1 in the TV) and none of them have premium channels (HBO, Cinemax, etc). All of the other stations work fine. The cable cards in the S3 say: MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY.
> 
> Tech support on the phone was useless. They said the account was active and sent a signal to "balance" the cards that did nothing. I now have a 2 week wait until a tech comes back.
> 
> Anyone have any thoughts?


They have to "hit" the cards again with a stronger signal. (how's that for a non technical answer) For me, reglar "hits" did not do it, once it was "hit harder" buy the guys at the central office, they started to work. The second card I received was "new" and not provisioned for use by RCN, so it required them to do a firmware upgrade on the card by sending it yet another signal. The firmware upgrade took what seemed like a long time, but in the end it worked.


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## flyersfan

sysdude said:


> That's easy. I had the DVR you're referring to.
> 
> 1) the software was HORRIBLE.
> 2) limited to an 80GB HD
> 3) It compresses the HD video signal! (so what was the point of HD?)
> 
> HD Tivo is expensive, no doubt, but the idea of a lifetime transfer from my Series 1 made me spend the extra cash. Without the lifetime, not quite so sure I would have done it so soon.


While I will be happy to get away from the RCN DVR, #2 and #3 are not correct, at least with the current box. I had a Motorola 6412 Phase III which includes a 120gb hdd. It definitely does not recompress any digital signals - no DVR does that, to the best of my knowledge.

The new software is what's causing me to jump to a S3. I could deal with the quirks/limitations of the old software, but the new load just does too many things wrong. Now if I could only get the damn S3 in my hands, I'll make the switch.


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## sysdude

flyersfan said:


> While I will be happy to get away from the RCN DVR, #2 and #3 are not correct, at least with the current box. I had a Motorola 6412 Phase III which includes a 120gb hdd. It definitely does not recompress any digital signals - no DVR does that, to the best of my knowledge.
> 
> The new software is what's causing me to jump to a S3. I could deal with the quirks/limitations of the old software, but the new load just does too many things wrong. Now if I could only get the damn S3 in my hands, I'll make the switch.


the DVR I had from RCN did compress the signal. (granted this was before the "upgrade") It was never more clear than when watching PBS in HD and they were showing a running stream. It was almost unrecognizable as water. Large blocks of pixelation. And I probably had an older box with 80GB HD. However, not being able to expand it made the RCN Box pretty horrible for me. Time shifting for me means I can watch the entire season of 24 and Smallville (among others) in the summer. Could not do that with the RCN box. (besides when they decide to "upgrade" *poof* there goes all your recordings)


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## Rucker

My install wasn't completely smooth, but it wasn't too bad. My wife encountered the first issue when she called the customer service line to make an appointment, but they told her RCN no longer offered cablecards. So, she called the local salesperson (who originally signed us up), and he arranged the install. 

The next issue came when the installer arrived. He'd never done a cablecard install. He expected to put the cards in and it would just work, but we saw "no channels available" and he had no idea what to do. He had never heard of pairing or initalizing, but both cards started working while he called the office asking if they'd ever heard of that stuff. Apparently RCN doesn't do pairing. All the channels appear to come in (based on the RCN website), and I haven't found any audio issues.

Now my third issue (and hopefully the last) is that Tivo's line-up is screwy. It did the "is this channel x?" thing, and apparently picked "digital rebuild" which should be ok since according to RCN, that's what I have. Tivo's version of "digital rebuild" doesn't match, however, so Tivo suggested I use plain "digital" instead. It seems to be slightly better, but I switched, went through the line-up today, and found 8 incorrect channels (some wrong, some missing, some without guide info). I reported them via the Tivo website, so I'll see how long that takes. I think there are other errors in the MiVision package, but I didn't report them since I don't have the package.

I'm in the Lehigh Valley, btw.


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## flyersfan

Well, I sure was nervous when the tech arrived. I've read all the threads and he was as clueless about the install as the previous poster's tech. To make me even more anxious, when he called in the cards to have them "hit", I heard the guy on the other end say "TiVo? ha, good luck!"

However, things actually went pretty smooth. I insisted that we do one card at a time. The first card was able to tune all channels within 2-3 minutes. The second card wouldn't tune the digital channels or HD tier so he reinserted it and had them hit it again. 2-3 minutes later, it could tune all channels.

I haven't checked every single digital channel, but I can confirm that the HD lineup is completely accurate. I transferred lifetime service this afternoon and my wife has already setup a dozen season passes for HD shows.


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## ravinald

Tech showed up at 1 o'clock and left at 1:30. I think we spent more time talking about the features of the S3 and waiting for CC to init the cards.


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## sysdude

I still have 1 nagging problem .. NBC in HD .. the signal goes to 0 (using the TiVo signal meter) about 4 - 6 times an hour. It is the ONLY channel this happens on. I'm sure if I ask RCN they'll tell me it is the wiring in the walls.

I've taken to recording NBC in low-def, where everything works perfectly.. Sad, eh?


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## Geist420

RCN's service in the San Francisco area is a joke. The dude not only had no idea how to set up a card in the S3, but he asked me why I didn't just buy a DVR... Uh... WTF do you think the Tivo is?!

The install took __over an hour__ with one of the cards being defective. The tech told me that the Motorola cards they're using are crap and many do not work out of the box. The tech called in the error codes and the RCN phone rep had no idea what those codes meant... God forbid she took 10 seconds on Google...

On the plus-side, they somehow opened up all the HD channels! (No HDTV yet so I know I didn't order it) Thankfully the S3 down-scales them for my old TV! Still, the HD channels DO look better than the non HD ones. Noticably better.

Anyway, I paid $30 to teach/show the tech how to install cablecards. If you have RCN make sure the tech has at least one extra card with him.


----------



## Andrew054

I just had it installed in the Boston area without too much problem. At first I had to let them know that it was for two cable cards, not one. It took about 10 minutes, and it did work even with the cable person insisting on putting two cards in at once (apparently he was saying that to do it individually would count as "two" separate installs rather than as "one" install). It worked fine initially.

However, I lost the signal after I repeated the guided setup just to make sure I got all the cable channels. I called RCN to have the signal resent (the tech person apparently has heard of having to repeat the signal to TiVo before, though I was on hold for 30 minutes before hand). Now, it's working fine, knock on wood.


----------



## eelton

In Chicago...

The first card worked, although it took about 10 minutes on the channel setup screen. The second card was recognized, but no channels appeared. The installer called RCN, who said things looked fine from their end. They decided it might be a bad card, so the installer is coming back tomorrow with another.

I noticed after he left that I'm not getting the premium channels on the first card. I did the automated "converter refresh" by phone, but they're still not working. I'll address that with him when he comes back tomorrow.

By the way, the installer said about 80% of the TiVo installations he's done have had problems, whereas with TVs from Pioneer, Sony, etc. he rarely has problems.


----------



## eelton

On the second visit, everything went fine. I believe the problem was at RCN's end, not with the second CableCard that didn't appear to be working yesterday. They had to "hit" each card again, and everything is functioning fine.


----------



## chandler1818

Does anyone know if RCN has any SDV channels or plan to go to SDV? (Live in montgomery county md).


----------



## DeathRider

Well, RCN is coming tomorrow to install my cablecards. I guess I can swing the $3/month...


----------



## DeathRider

Well, tech was supposed to show up btween 11 -1. Came around 2p.

Swapped out the 2 old moto boxes and modem for switch of service...

The new moto box is tiny, no display or buttons, no serial data port for S2 to control, uses an external AC adapter.

The new box came with a new remote (same one that comes with the DVR). Cable guy lett me keep the old remote as well.

The cable box is slow in response with the new remote ut very quick using the old remote 

Back to the topic:

Installer didn't have any cable cards. Said didn't know anythng about it. I called Arlington's RCN where I had gone to set up everything. I told them I couldn't do a Saturday install, so they asked if I wanted to come down and just pick up the CCs. I said, "Sure."

40 minute round trip, I was back home. I was in a rush, so I installed bothe cards (Moto) into the S3. I then called RCN to activate/initialize them. Both are now active. Didn't see any of the encrypted channels show up (just black pic).

Didn't have any time, so will call RCN on Monday when I'm back home to rehit the cards if the channels still aren't there.

[edit]

Person at the office who setup my account/gave me my cards, said that they no longer offer these and I would be "grandfathered" in. New cards would be out/available in June due for the new roll out of cablecard boxes.


----------



## DeathRider

Anyone have a pic of the conditional access screen?

I called RCN and had them try to figure out what was up. 

The person I was on the phone said, customers would get the digital channels and not some of the analog.

I'm going to Arlington to talk to someone to make sure everything is setup correctly on their end.

Right now, CCs:

Encryption: DES
Connected: yes EnabledbyCP: no
.
.
.
Auth: Missing_Program_rekey or No


Would take a pic, but already discoonnected/unplugged the TiVo...


----------



## DeathRider

Went back to Arlington RCN Monday. They changed a few items in my account.

Went home. Did a refresh over the phone. Card #2 had "EnabledbyCP: Yes"

Called RCN and had them do a cold hit on the cards. Within 10 minutes, both ards are now working :up: 

Tomorrow, I'll cancel Tuesday's rollout 

Don't know what I would have done without everybody here :up: :up: :up:


----------



## jonathanlehman

Hello there-

I'm in the throes of getting my Series 3 box set up with RCN here in Chicago. After one service appointment with a bum cable card (the warehouse was out of cards, so the tech couldn't bring along a second), I've got a temporary DVR converter box and am reattempting to get the Tivo up and running again with a service appointment next weekend. 

I just spoke with a customer service agent who informed me that with a cable card, I won't be receiving any channels over 100? Could this possibly be true?

Thanks so much,
Jon


----------



## Mike Farrington

jonathanlehman said:


> Hello there-
> 
> I'm in the throes of getting my Series 3 box set up with RCN here in Chicago. After one service appointment with a bum cable card (the warehouse was out of cards, so the tech couldn't bring along a second), I've got a temporary DVR converter box and am reattempting to get the Tivo up and running again with a service appointment next weekend.
> 
> I just spoke with a customer service agent who informed me that with a cable card, I won't be receiving any channels over 100? Could this possibly be true?
> 
> Thanks so much,
> Jon


I doubt that is true. The only way that might be true is if they use SDV (switched digital video), but I doubt it. I think you're just dealing with a CSR who doesn't understand what CableCARDs do. All he hears is that you won't be renting one of their set top boxes, and immediately assumes that all you can get is analog signals. I' bet that this is nothing more than unintentional misinformation (thought some might argue intentional).


----------



## Rucker

RCN CSRs generally don't know what they're talking about in my experience. For example, when I asked about a cablecard before buying a Tivo last year, the CSR told me RCN no longer offered cablecards.

I doubt RCN (who is looking for a buyer) is deploying or has deployed SDV.


----------



## champion

Today an RCN guy came out to install 2 CableCards to where I am just outside of Boston. He brought 3 of them with him, but the first two seemed to work just fine. He hadn't installed CableCards into a S3 before, but after reading the instructions and asking another tech on his phone a quesiton, he installed the 1st one and had the card hit. Pretty quickly we were able to get ESPN in HD. Second card also worked, after waiting a few minutes to get the card hit. The whole install probably took 20 minutes, and he was there at the beginning of the 3 hour window. 

I then repeated the Guided Setup after he left and it looks like everything is working smoothly. My only complaint was that it took 2.5 weeks to get a slot from RCN for them to come out.


----------



## DeathRider

champion said:


> Today an RCN guy came out to install 2 CableCards to where I am just outside of Boston. He brought 3 of them with him, but the first two seemed to work just fine. He hadn't installed CableCards into a S3 before, but after reading the instructions and asking another tech on his phone a quesiton, he installed the 1st one and had the card hit. Pretty quickly we were able to get ESPN in HD. Second card also worked, after waiting a few minutes to get the card hit. The whole install probably took 20 minutes, and he was there at the beginning of the 3 hour window.
> 
> I then repeated the Guided Setup after he left and it looks like everything is working smoothly. My only complaint was that it took 2.5 weeks to get a slot from RCN for them to come out.


As far as I know, ESPN HD isn't encrypted (I'm in Waltham and it isn't). Only encrypted HD channels I have are DiscoveryHD, HDMOV, HDNET, and HD Premiums (HBOHD, SHOHD, TMCHD, ect).

FSN isn't encrypted either.


----------



## Rucker

DeathRider said:


> As far as I know, ESPN HD isn't encrypted (I'm in Waltham and it isn't). Only encrypted HD channels I have are DiscoveryHD, HDMOV, HDNET, and HD Premiums (HBOHD, SHOHD, TMCHD, ect).
> 
> FSN isn't encrypted either.


I believe ESPN HD is encrypted where the HD Tier is an additional charge. That is "LHV" and "NY" according to the RCN HDTV page. I'm in one of those areas and it is indeed encrypted.


----------



## entropy

I had two CableCARDs installed on the 19th of January. We had to try to activate them several times, but other than that the installation was entirely uneventful. RCN waved he truck roll fee initially, and when I called to reschedule they also waived the $15 (per card) installation fee.

~ Kiran <[email protected]>


----------



## DeathRider

Rucker said:


> I believe ESPN HD is encrypted where the HD Tier is an additional charge. That is "LHV" and "NY" according to the RCN HDTV page. I'm in one of those areas and it is indeed encrypted.


Sorry for this late reply. I saw that page. I was tying to give champion a nudge to test other channels (since ESPN HD isn't encrypted in Ma)


----------



## entropy

Rucker said:


> Tivo's line-up is screwy. It did the "is this channel x?" thing, and apparently picked "digital rebuild" which should be ok since according to RCN, that's what I have. Tivo's version of "digital rebuild" doesn't match, however, so Tivo suggested I use plain "digital" instead.


You can bypass TiVo's guessing game by choosing your channel lineup manually. To do this, you press "enter" at the "cable channel lineup" screen just before the guessing game starts, as described in the *fine print* at the *very bottom* of the screen where you *might not see it* and have to read about it on the forum _after_ you chose the wrong lineup. And people wonder why I care about interface design.

This doesn't help if TiVo doesn't actually have the right lineup info. I have to use "digital basic" even though that lineup includes all the digital channels I'm not paying for.

~ Kiran <[email protected]>


----------



## Gryfflet

I finally upgraded to an HDTV (37" Westinghouse 1080p) and just called RCN about getting 2 CableCards, but they say they're out and not sure when they'll get more from the manufacturer. My area (Boston), California, and other markets are all out, and they didn't have another alternative for me. I'd hate to switch to Comcast, but I also don't want to wait too long for HD channels. Anyone have any ideas or recommendations?


----------



## LifeIsABeach

That sucks. My apartment complex is switching from their own home-brew cable company to RCN on March 1st. I was hoping to finally be able to use my Series 3 for more than OTA HD. Hope they get some in soon.


----------



## DeathRider

Gryfflet said:


> I finally upgraded to an HDTV (37" Westinghouse 1080p) and just called RCN about getting 2 CableCards, but they say they're out and not sure when they'll get more from the manufacturer. My area (Boston), California, and other markets are all out, and they didn't have another alternative for me. I'd hate to switch to Comcast, but I also don't want to wait too long for HD channels. Anyone have any ideas or recommendations?


Sorry to hear. When I got my CCs from Arlington, they told me they were the last ones they had and would be waiting on the new MCards (which would take months).

I got my first cable bill (I'm not home, going by memory)

1 SD STB: $2.95
2 CC: 2x$1.50: $3
Cable modem: $2.95
1.5Mbit: $16.95
DigitalPlus: $58
HBO: $11.95

Downstairs:
1 TV hooked up to STB,
1 TV in bedroom direct cable

Upstairs:
1 HDTV direct cable;
1 S3 (2 CC), HMI to HDTV;
1 S2 direct cable, SVideo to SDTV;
1 SDTV direct cable

I would guess Comcast, I would pay more for additional I/O, plus isn't each premium additional?


----------



## entropy

Gryfflet said:


> My area (Boston), California, and other markets are all out, and they didn't have another alternative for me. I'd hate to switch to Comcast, but I also don't want to wait too long for HD channels. Anyone have any ideas or recommendations?


That does suck, but IMO switching to Comcast from RCN would be like shooting yourself in the foot--painful and stupid. The combination of OTA HD and downloading shows from the Internet (that's what it's for afterall  ) should tide you over until RCN gets more CableCARDs. eztvefnet is your friend. 

It's a good sign that they are running out--that will belie any claim the cable companies make that users don't care about dis-integration.

~ Kiran <[email protected]>


----------



## LifeIsABeach

Gryfflet said:


> I finally upgraded to an HDTV (37" Westinghouse 1080p) and just called RCN about getting 2 CableCards, but they say they're out and not sure when they'll get more from the manufacturer. My area (Boston), California, and other markets are all out


You may want to try calling RCN. The guy just came to hook me up and he had two cable cards with him. Trying to set them up now. Whoohoo!


----------



## slrdc

For those in the DC area, I just received a call from RCN saying that they just received a new shipment of CableCards and will be scheduling installation appointments this weekend onwards.


----------



## DeathRider

Anyone here getting the National Geographic Channel in HD yet? I was over my brother's house (Natick) last Thursday and he is getting it on his 6412...

website channel list says it's 172 in Boston area...

I'll have to double check when I get home...


----------



## ectx

First off...many thanks to the members of this forum. I've been lurking for a while and this is part of the reason I got a series 3. I found one in stock at my local BB and after talking to my RCN person I was told they could get a tech at my place the next day with two cards...I purchased my series 3 and awaited delivery the next day. The following day I get a call around 7:30 am telling me no cards were in stock, that RCN no longer was providing them because they were giving them too much of a hassle and that a manager would call me in 2 hours.

3 hours later I called back and told them about the conversation with my technician. The RCN operator was very courteous and apologized. He also informed me that they had to, by law, make the cards available. He did add that at the moment there was a very high demand for them and that they were out. He assured me that I would get a call as soon as they were in. This last week I got a call and set up my delivery date for Saturday.

I awaited anxiously the next morning. The guy came in. I gave him the Tivo instructions (which he ignored) and he plugged in both cards at once. Of course it didn't work. I pointed out it was 1 at a time. After talking to dispatch he lets me know that it's 1 at a time. LOL. 

He puts in the first card and the card isn't picking up any information. I let him know that he has to call dispatch and have it activated. He ignores me again. He tries the other card which flat-out isn't recognized by the tivo. He then places the other card in and tells me he has to call dispatch to have it activated. This time the card is recognized but gets stuck on a perpetual bubble of "searching for channel information". ARRRGH. He says it takes a while and that he has to go but once it works to pop in the other and it should be fine. 2 hours later it's still stuck on "searching for channel info". I call RCN and they hit it again with a signal and they eventually get it to work. The one card is active, the other is completely dead. It was a used card too, complete with a dented case and wornout pins/connectors. They schedule another visit to get the card replaced. By this time I notice that half my channels are missing and I have the infamous no sound on HDNET channels symptoms. They refused to send any more signals to my card although each signal was greeted with additional channels. They claimed the signal resets would fry my card. Personally...it's their card so I don't care if they fry it. I just want the darned thing to work like it's supposed to.

Cross your fingers folks. I love the new series 3 on the channels that work and can't imagine using a crappy motorola DVR just to get an HD DVR. I'll be getting the new card tomorrow and I think the technician now understands more or less what's involved. 

Interestingly, on RCN tech support person told me the cards were authorized by tivo not the cable company. I asked her how tivo would authorize RCN's cards without access to RCN's network. She had no answer to that and then agreed to zap my card. LOL. I swear they just need to give their technician's better training. She also attempted to tell me she could see both cards were active on the network....only one card was inserted. It was really really hard for me not to be a smart ass. LOL. I know she's just doing her job and that her failure to fix the problem is more a reflection of her training, but geeze, if you don't know, ask, and whatever you do, don't make stuff up. I bit my tongue and told her I'd wait for another technician to come by.


----------



## ectx

Man I feel like an ass...the guy who was completely clueless came back today and must have done his homework. He brought enough cable cards to keep on replacing if necessary, put everything into the machine in order and talked it through with the guy at dispatch....something the guy at dispatch said that was apparently key for setting up cards in a series 3 with RCN is that a regular "hit" or activation signal will not do. *The cards need an "IN" hit * ...whatever that means. I figured I'd post it in here so that folks having problems installing the cable cards on their series 3 receivers through RCN will have an easier go at it.

Kudos to RCN for coming through in the end with exceptional customer service.


----------



## LifeIsABeach

DeathRider said:


> Anyone here getting the National Geographic Channel in HD yet?


I get it on channel 126 in the Philadelphia area.


----------



## ectx

I get it too. It along with Discovery HD are now my favorites. National Geographic HD is on 546 in Chicago, RCN, BTW. It's not been added officially so you may have to do a manual channel set up.


----------



## DeathRider

ectx said:


> I get it too. It along with Discovery HD are now my favorites. National Geographic HD is on 546 in Chicago, RCN, BTW. It's not been added officially so you may have to do a manual channel set up.


I went and added 172 as channels received. No channel ID and just said Regular Schedule.

Last week, I went to TiVo's lineup issue page and filled out the form with a link to RCN's MA's channel lineup page.

This Monday when I came home, there was a message on my S3 that channel 172 NGCHD had been added :up:

[edit]

Was browsing channel lineups for other areas. Noticed, none are the same. Some just say HDTV, some say HDTV Basic/HDTV Tier (Basic will come in with unencrypted with QAM tuner, Tier needs a box or CCs)

I see some get TNTHD. Might want to check your lineup page now and then to see if new channels have been added. Like I posted, only noticed NGCHD because it showed up on my brother's cable box.


----------



## ectx

Thanks for the suggestion. Hopefully this will get the correct information downloaded to my tivo. Loving the series 3, btw. I can't wait till they add the support for external drives. I find myself recording way too much HD content, lol.


----------



## exm1514

Is there anyone waiting for a cablecard installation from RCN in NYC?
Two weeks ago I contacted RCN I was told they were out of cablecards. I've been trying to obtain an ETA from them, but no luck so far. 

If there is someone in the same boat as me, I'll appreciate it if you could post info in this thread as soon as you find out. I'll do the same. I would hate to miss the upcoming cablecard shipment.

Thanks.


----------



## exm1514

Got a call from RCN. Cablecards are once again available in NYC.


----------



## ectx

I'm still not getting program information for National Geographic HD and WCIU. I may call Tivo directly as it's been over a week.


----------



## andrewb

Here's my story with RCN in Watertown, MA -- so far.

When I first called them they said CableCards were backordered and had no ETA. I asked for a ballpark -- 1 week, 1 month, 6 months? No idea. But they said they'd put me on the list.

I called them a week later and they scheduled an install. (Strange because I thought they were going to call me when they got the cards. What was this so-called list for anyway?)

Finally they came yesterday. My wife, infant son, 2-year-old, and wife's sister were there but I couldn't be. They said 2-5pm and came at 10am instead. It took the guy 3 hours. Apparently he re-ran guided setup at least once. I had the TiVo CableCard instructions out. He apparently read the manual. And I even talked to him on the phone about how important it was to install the cards one at a time. Anyway, I believe RCN required that they both be plugged in at the same time -- ugh.

So he finally decided he was done and apparently rebooted TiVo. I got home a few hours later and found CableCard 2 "not in normal operation". RCN tech support was nice -- sent all 4 signals to the card (whatever those are) successively. Didn't work. Rebooting yielded error 161-4. I had to go, but called back later to schedule a new technician to come out.

The woman this time told me "if it's the TiVo device that's telling you the CableCard isn't working, it's probably the TiVo that's not working. Have you talked to TiVo tech support? I'd hate to have to charge you for a technician visit." Nice.

Anyway, TiVo, of course, verified it was a blown card. RCN's coming back on Wednesday. Apparently this is quite common. Why?

On the positive side, RCN people were very courteous and pleasant to work with, with the exception of the comment I quoted above. And one of the CableCards works fine. Mostly, though, I'm just annoyed.

I gotta think most people would return the box about now, or would have failed to buy TiVo 3 in the first place after a quick conversation with RCN, who of course warned me that I would not have video on demand or DVR capabilities (wrong, but most sales pitches are). I think about my mother-in-law. No way she'd have a clue what to do next. This is just too much trouble.

-Andrew


----------



## chandler1818

RCN Montgomery County (MD) is out of cable cards thwarting my attempt to set up my brand new S3 (which came after three days from TC store). how hard can this be to keep these in stock? is anyone out there waiting for CC's from RCN? RCN claims that they will call me when they get them in. can i count on them to do so?

btw- someone must be ordering S3 is RCN keeps running out of CC's given how few TV's actually are using cable cards.


----------



## LifeIsABeach

andrewb said:


> And I even talked to him on the phone about how important it was to install the cards one at a time. Anyway, I believe RCN required that they both be plugged in at the same time -- ugh.


The first time they tried to install my cards they tried both at once and they could not get them to work (even though I had given him the instructions). The next time the guy came I had him do one at a time and they worked perfectly. I don't think RCN requires they are both in at once. I think the technicians just want to get in and out as quickly as possible.


----------



## bizzy

same thing happened to me, i made the dumb assumption that he knew what he was doing, and surprise surprise, neither card would work after he shoved them both in at once.

after i waited half a week for the next appointment, i told the installer that he'd be putting them in one at a time, as the instructions (with big pictures for him) clearly stated.

guess what? those cards worked.


----------



## andrewb

I'd love to be able to tune all QAM channels without a CableCard here in MA, but I can't find ESPN HD or NESN HD. Even if I could, I don't suppose I could map those channels to guide data.

When I told TiVo to scan channels using non-CableCard cable and the antenna it only went up to the 120s I think. I can't actually remember which channel was the highest. There were plenty of sub-channels here and there, but none had guide data.

Is there any way to navigate this unencrypted QAM landscape and add guide data?


----------



## flyersfan

andrewb said:


> Is there any way to navigate this unencrypted QAM landscape and add guide data?


No, the best you could do is setup manual recordings for the unencrypted QAM channels.


----------



## jbdecker

andrewb said:


> Here's my story with RCN in Watertown, MA -- so far.
> 
> When I first called them they said CableCards were backordered and had no ETA. I asked for a ballpark -- 1 week, 1 month, 6 months? No idea. But they said they'd put me on the list.
> 
> I called them a week later and they scheduled an install. (Strange because I thought they were going to call me when they got the cards. What was this so-called list for anyway?)
> 
> Finally they came yesterday. My wife, infant son, 2-year-old, and wife's sister were there but I couldn't be. They said 2-5pm and came at 10am instead. It took the guy 3 hours. Apparently he re-ran guided setup at least once. I had the TiVo CableCard instructions out. He apparently read the manual. And I even talked to him on the phone about how important it was to install the cards one at a time. Anyway, I believe RCN required that they both be plugged in at the same time -- ugh.
> 
> So he finally decided he was done and apparently rebooted TiVo. I got home a few hours later and found CableCard 2 "not in normal operation". RCN tech support was nice -- sent all 4 signals to the card (whatever those are) successively. Didn't work. Rebooting yielded error 161-4. I had to go, but called back later to schedule a new technician to come out.
> 
> The woman this time told me "if it's the TiVo device that's telling you the CableCard isn't working, it's probably the TiVo that's not working. Have you talked to TiVo tech support? I'd hate to have to charge you for a technician visit." Nice.
> 
> Anyway, TiVo, of course, verified it was a blown card. RCN's coming back on Wednesday. Apparently this is quite common. Why?
> 
> On the positive side, RCN people were very courteous and pleasant to work with, with the exception of the comment I quoted above. And one of the CableCards works fine. Mostly, though, I'm just annoyed.
> 
> I gotta think most people would return the box about now, or would have failed to buy TiVo 3 in the first place after a quick conversation with RCN, who of course warned me that I would not have video on demand or DVR capabilities (wrong, but most sales pitches are). I think about my mother-in-law. No way she'd have a clue what to do next. This is just too much trouble.
> 
> -Andrew


Andrew-

Were they able to get the 2nd card working on the next visit? Any advice? I have the same "not in working condition" message on my second card. Tivo says it's not authorized but RCN said they can't do anything from the office and I need to have a tech come out.

Thanks

James


----------



## andrewb

RCN came back and made it work. This time the tech was much more helpful and knowledgeable. It's hit or miss with those guys though. They didn't charge me for a second visit because their card was defective. If you can't see the CableCard status screen and TiVo says it's not in normal operation it's likely a bad card and nothing to do with activation -- that's what TiVo support told me.

-Andrew


----------



## exm1514

I've had TiVo installed for over a month and so far it has been great... with only one glitch.
I have one channel with sound but no picture (ch. 188, GolTV, Manhattan Digital). TiVo seems to be able to tune to the channel but there is no picture, only sound and a gray screen. All other channels are fine.

RCN has tried to solve the problem by sending a refresh hit but that didn't work. They believe that there is no problem with the cable signal, and have offered to change cablecards, but they are not guaranteeing that this will solve the problem. 

Has anyone experience a problem like this? Is anyone in Manhattan getting ch188 without issues? I find it hard to believe that the cablecards are at fault when everything else seems to work so well.


----------



## CrispyCritter

exm1514 said:


> I've had TiVo installed for over a month and so far it has been great... with only one glitch.
> I have one channel with sound but no picture (ch. 188, GolTV, Manhattan Digital). TiVo seems to be able to tune to the channel but there is no picture, only sound and a gray screen. All other channels are fine.
> 
> RCN has tried to solve the problem by sending a refresh hit but that didn't work. They believe that there is no problem with the cable signal, and have offered to change cablecards, but they are not guaranteeing that this will solve the problem.
> 
> Has anyone experience a problem like this? Is anyone in Manhattan getting ch188 without issues? I find it hard to believe that the cablecards are at fault when everything else seems to work so well.


It's most probably an improper setup for this channel by the cable company. See this thread  which gives info about how you can find out if it's the problem.


----------



## bananaman

I'm also RCN in Manhattan... I just checked and channel 188 has sound but no picture... so it's not a personal problem! I never watch this channel so this hasn't bothered me, but since it is supposed to be part of the lineup I'm paying for, it should work.


----------



## exm1514

Good to know that I am not the only one with no picture in ch188. It means that RCN is the likely source of the problem.

However, this issue doesn't seem to be the same as the "no sound" thread I was pointed to by CrispyCritter. If I understood correctly, a channel will have no video if its PCR PID is different than the Video PID, but that is not the case with RCN:

PCR PID: 32
Audio PID: 33
Video PID: 32

Bananaman, do you have the same PID values for ch188?


----------



## CTLesq

exm1514 said:


> Good to know that I am not the only one with no picture in ch188. It means that RCN is the likely source of the problem.
> 
> However, this issue doesn't seem to be the same as the "no sound" thread I was pointed to by CrispyCritter. If I understood correctly, a channel will have no video if its PCR PID is different than the Video PID, but that is not the case with RCN:
> 
> PCR PID: 32
> Audio PID: 33
> Video PID: 32
> 
> Bananaman, do you have the same PID values for ch188?


Make that 3 of us. I would be happy to confirm or contradict your PID numbers but I don't know what they mean or what how to check them.


----------



## exm1514

CTLesq said:


> Make that 3 of us. I would be happy to confirm or contradict your PID numbers but I don't know what they mean or what how to check them.


You can get the PIDs of the currently tuned channels by going to:
Messages & Settings -> Account & System Information -> Diagnostics

I don't know what is a PID. I assume some sort of tuning parameter.


----------



## CTLesq

exm1514 said:


> You can get the PIDs of the currently tuned channels by going to:
> Messages & Settings -> Account & System Information -> Diagnostics
> 
> I don't know what is a PID. I assume some sort of tuning parameter.


Thanks

In that case I am:

PCR PID: 49
Audio PID: 52
Video PID: 49

And in case you were wondering 188 is still volume no picture.


----------



## exm1514

I've been reading TiVo's documentation on troubleshooting cablecard issues and I've noticed that RCN has not paired the cablecards to my DVR.

I've been reviewing the cablecard's conditional access screen (as described in http://customersupport.tivo.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=F8F40DC6-5FB6-4ED8-AC41-D8CD0D5C0824) and the info for ch188 looks pretty much like the last screen image (at the bottom of the page). The only difference is that my screen displays "Host Validation: Unknown 00" and "CCI: 0x00" instead.

Looking at the cablecard's pairing page I get a screen just like the screen in step 4 in http://customersupport.tivo.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=B03267A0-BE94-4F14-8E2C-8AE7B4EB5249

So it seems that RCN may not be pairing cablecards to the hosting devices in Manhattan. I don't know what is the effect of not having a "paired" cablecard. As far as I can tell, according to the TiVo trouble shooting guide, it only seems to matter in content copy protected channels... but ch188 is not copy protected and I can't get an image, as I mentioned earlier, I can get any other channel though.


----------



## DeathRider

I had to move by the end of April (Waltham, Ma Address), so I had to give up my working cable cards  

I called RCN last week (actually stopped in RCN's Arlington office) to schedule a install in Natick, Ma address. They came by Tuesday for the install. I thought I would need 2 cable cards, since the previouus install were single stream cards.

The installer was an independent contractor. As he was installing the CCs (both at the same time), I noticed they said M-CARD on them. I asked if that meant they were multistream cards. He said they weren't.

S3 works fine. As soon as "The Office" and "Smallville" are done recording, I'm going to remove CC #2 and see if both tuners still work  

BTW, TNT HD showed up (channel 173), but no schedule...does anyone in Ma get the schedule?


----------



## BlackBetty

DeathRider what is RCN charging you per month for each card?


----------



## Hank

BlackBetty said:


> DeathRider what is RCN charging you per month for each card?


I'm in RCN Boston area, and they're charging me $1.50/month/card.


----------



## LifeIsABeach

DeathRider said:


> S3 works fine. As soon as "The Office" and "Smallville" are done recording, I'm going to remove CC #2 and see if both tuners still work


No need to try. One CC turns the unit into a single tuner even if you have an OTA antenna plugged in.


----------



## bananaman

exm1514 said:


> Good to know that I am not the only one with no picture in ch188. It means that RCN is the likely source of the problem.
> 
> However, this issue doesn't seem to be the same as the "no sound" thread I was pointed to by CrispyCritter. If I understood correctly, a channel will have no video if its PCR PID is different than the Video PID, but that is not the case with RCN:
> 
> PCR PID: 32
> Audio PID: 33
> Video PID: 32
> 
> Bananaman, do you have the same PID values for ch188?


Sorry exm1514 I was out of town for a while. The answer is no I do not have the same PID values for ch188. Here is my PID situation:

Tivo Series 3 George:

PCR PID: 48
Audio PID: 49
Video PID: 48

Tivo Series 3 Jane:

PCR PID: 145
Audio PID: 148
Video PID: 145

Not sure what this all means.

Has anyone taken a good run at RCN to see if they can fix this channel?


----------



## DeathRider

Hank said:


> BlackBetty said:
> 
> 
> 
> DeathRider what is RCN charging you per month for each card?
> 
> 
> 
> I'm in RCN Boston area, and they're charging me $1.50/month/card.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what they were charging me before, so I hope it doesn't change.

I'm just glad I'm getting the DigitalVisionPlus promo for a year again instead of 6 months :up:

I think my bill is supposed to be $89/month for DVP, 2 CCs, 5Mb internet, and 1 cable box.



LifeIsABeach said:


> No need to try. One CC turns the unit into a single tuner even if you have an OTA antenna plugged in.


Yeah, got the message as soon as I pulled the CC#2. 

Not like $1.50/month will break me


----------



## tetzel1517

Hey everyone, I'm an RCN customer in Washington DC and I really, really want to get a Series 3, but I have some nagging doubts. I was hoping some of you could help me out...both my concerns relate to the forced obsolescence of the Series 3:

1. Isn't a change to switched video, even if it's not going on right now, inevitable in the near future? If so, would that require a new Series 3, or could a Tivo software update fix any issues?

2. Aren't I just better off waiting for CableCard 2.0 (which would add the two-way communication SDV requires)? Or, again, is that something the S3 could support merely through a software update?

Basically, I want to know how long my S3 box would be useful if I got it. It's a lot of money to spend, and I don't want to shell it out if it's going to be replaced by something better or, even worse, rendered obsolete within 3 years.


----------



## DeathRider

Anybody in RCN Boston area getting channel guide data for 173/TNT HD?

Channel# and letters show up, just says "to be announced"

Thought I'd ask before contacting TiVo...


----------



## entropy

I see the same thing... and this happened on National Geograhic HD for a long time before TiVo caught up.


----------



## DeathRider

entropy said:


> I see the same thing... and this happened on National Geograhic HD for a long time before TiVo caught up.


Thanks for the responding.

For me, NGC HD didn'teven show up in the guide as a channel for me. I noticed it on my brother's Moxi box, since I have my TiVo guide set only for "channels I receive", which is how most would. When I added it, channel letters weren't even there.

But guide data showed up for NGC HD within days of notifying TiVo of the channel using the form for lineup issues:

http://customersupport.tivo.com/LineUpForm.aspx

I chose "Program Descriptions are Incorrect" and filled in arbitrary times/shows this time since the channel itself shows up in the guide this time.


----------



## CTLesq

Hey, just as an FYI for everyone, I just called RCN bc I wanted to dump their Digital Tier (movie channels but not HBO) of programing and the HDTV Tier (HDNET and ESPN etc) of programming. 

I just didn't watch them enough to justify the $30 cost per month.

To my suprise the Rep said that RCN stopped charging for the HDTV Tier and could cut the cost of the Digital Tier from $22 a month to $11.

As of last month I was still paying for the HDTV Tier. I don't know how new this change in policy is or if you have to actively pursue it to get it. But I wanted to pass this along so hopefully some of you guys can save some coin.

Best of luck!

Craig


----------



## Hank

I have something called "New Digital Vision" on my bill for $21.95/month. Is that the same as the HDTV Tier?


----------



## CTLesq

Hank said:


> I have something called "New Digital Vision" on my bill for $21.95/month. Is that the same as the HDTV Tier?


What channels are included? Mine had HDNET, ESPN, - there were only a handful of channels but they got me bc they included ESPN in it.

Does that tier of channels include, for you, movie channels such as Showtime, TMC, Starz etc? That is more in line price wise with what I was paying for those channels than the HD channels (above).

Hopefully you might be able to call them up and save some cash.


----------



## cheviot

Just had a series 3 set up in Philadelphia. $1.50/card/month. The installed arrived with only one card, but had another dropped off in less than 5 minutes, while the first card was still setting itself up. The second card took quite awhile to sync with RCN, but all together the installaion, sans guided setup, was done in about a half hour. Nice work!

First impressions? VERY good picture quality, slow channel changes. Not that channel change speed matters much, I never channelsurf anymore.


----------



## entropy

DeathRider said:


> For me, NGC HD didn't even show up in the guide as a channel for me.... since I have my TiVo guide set only for "channels I receive", which is how most would. When I added it, channel letters weren't even there.


Channel letters were there for me in January.

You don't need to use your guide to find it if you flip through the channels while the cable guy is installing your cards. "Look, we have NGCHD." "Yep, they added that a while ago."



> But guide data showed up for NGC HD within days of notifying TiVo of the channel using the form for lineup issues:
> 
> http://customersupport.tivo.com/LineUpForm.aspx
> 
> I chose "Program Descriptions are Incorrect" and filled in arbitrary times/shows this time since the channel itself shows up in the guide this time.


Huh. I filled that form out in late January, probably using "missing channels" and the change certainly didn't show up in days.

~ Kiran <[email protected]>


----------



## DeathRider

Hank said:


> I have something called "New Digital Vision" on my bill for $21.95/month. Is that the same as the HDTV Tier?


HD Tier in Ma is free w/converter box or cable cards. Only HD channels that are affected if HD Tier isn't activated in your account are HDMOV, HDNET, and DHD.

Digital Vision Plus just adds channel above 100 and SHO, MAX, Starz, ect. If you have "New Digital Vision", not familiar with that tier. Is it an older one?



CTLesq said:


> What channels are included? Mine had HDNET, ESPN, - there were only a handful of channels but they got me bc they included ESPN in it.
> 
> Does that tier of channels include, for you, movie channels such as Showtime, TMC, Starz etc? That is more in line price wise with what I was paying for those channels than the HD channels (above).
> 
> Hopefully you might be able to call them up and save some cash.


The HD movie channels show up w/o HD Tier. But Hank and I are in Ma. NYC being a different region may have different options.

http://www.rcn.com/hdtv/index.php



entropy said:


> Channel letters were there for me in January.
> 
> You don't need to use your guide to find it if you flip through the channels while the cable guy is installing your cards. "Look, we have NGCHD." "Yep, they added that a while ago."
> 
> Huh. I filled that form out in late January, probably using "missing channels" and the change certainly didn't show up in days.
> 
> ~ Kiran <[email protected]>


Well, I filled out the form that i was getting "to be announced" on channel X at certain time when I should be getting "Judging Amy", ect.

Been getting guide data for over a week now :up:


----------



## tetzel1517

Did any other RCN subscribers get a letter informing them of pretty significant lineup changes and also mentioning that they were going all-digital with their channel lineup? That would seem to suggest they're freeing up bandwidth in ways that don't involve switching to SDV anytime soon, no? Maybe this was just a DC thing.

Regardless, I'm ordering my Series 3 (and calling the cable company) tomorrow!!!


----------



## grahams

In Watertown, MA:

Got my Series3 on Wednesday and RCN was out on Friday to install my two cablecards... Install took about 45 minutes, but about 10 of that was the tech waiting for someone at dispatch to pick up the phone... After some false starts they got both cards working, but no sound or picture on Discovery HD, HDNET, and HDMOV.. I noticed several other users in this thread have had the same problem.. Anyone have a solution?


----------



## grahams

Problem solved for me... I called tech support, told them that I didn't have picture or sound on three channels, and it just so happened that those were the only three channels on the HD Tier, so I asked the rep to check to see if that tier was enabled on my account. It wasn't, and now all three channels are working...


----------



## nologic

I called RCN in Boston to install two cards. 

The guy (outsoruced) came out, put the two cards in, called them in to be acticated, and left in 5 minutes.

No service.

Tivo said to I must have faulty cards and to schedule a re-appointment.

The second installer from RCN (actual RCN employee) came today. He switched out the cards with two new cards, called in to RCN to have them "hit" and then had to leave while we were waiting for Tivo to get on line.

Tivo got on the phone and nothing is working. The conferenced in RCN and RCN hit the cards super power (power 4), and still no card works. Tivo has no idea how to get the cards to work. RCN has no idea. Too many hours are being spent on this and no result. Tivo says MCards may be incompatible with Series 3, or at best, only one tuner/MCard will work. Maybe. One day.


----------



## nologic

Doesn't anyone have an answer to this quandry? Neither RCN nor Tivo have any idea how to get the cards to work with this Series 3


----------



## tetzel1517

nologic said:


> Doesn't anyone have an answer to this quandry? Neither RCN nor Tivo have any idea how to get the cards to work with this Series 3


Well, I'm pretty sure my S3 has two M-Cards in it, and it's working fine. My RCN install was pretty crazy, too. The guy they sent over admitted that RCN never trained its technicians on CableCards, and it took some persistence to get him to follow TiVo's instructions. Then he made a call to RCN and for the longest time, no channels were coming in. Then, suddenly, all the non-premium stuff came on, followed by the premium stuff.

I didn't ask any questions: After all, it works!


----------



## LifeIsABeach

nologic said:


> I called RCN in Boston to install two cards.
> 
> The guy (outsoruced) came out, put the two cards in, called them in to be acticated, and left in 5 minutes.
> 
> No service.
> 
> Tivo said to I must have faulty cards and to schedule a re-appointment.
> 
> The second installer from RCN (actual RCN employee) came today. He switched out the cards with two new cards, called in to RCN to have them "hit" and then had to leave while we were waiting for Tivo to get on line.
> 
> Tivo got on the phone and nothing is working. The conferenced in RCN and RCN hit the cards super power (power 4), and still no card works. Tivo has no idea how to get the cards to work. RCN has no idea. Too many hours are being spent on this and no result. Tivo says MCards may be incompatible with Series 3, or at best, only one tuner/MCard will work. Maybe. One day.


I have regular cards and still had the same problem you are having. Have the guy come out, insert ONE card, and have it initialized (as it says in the TiVo instructions). He should wait there till it starts working then put in the second card and have it initialized. Again make him wait till it starts working. That is what I had to finally do to get my Series 3 working. Each time they tried doing both cards at once they would not work. Good Luck!


----------



## sethacker

Today was my second visit from one of RCN Chicago sub-contractors. He brought several cards and was unable to get any to work. Has anybody had this type of problem with RCN and any tips on how to make sure these guys know what they are doing.

I already made sure that he only tried to install a single card in the bottom, but I still don't think he knows what he is doing. When he comes out again are these the steps to follow?

1. Insert the Cable Card in the Bottom slot.
2. Wait for the MMI screen to appear
3. Have him call to initialize the card
4. Do the channel check

If okay, repeat with the second card.

To this point I haven't seen the MMI screen appear after inserting the card. How long does this take?

Regards,
Seth


----------



## chandler1818

I realize this is slightly off topic, but is anyonelse now getting ESPN2 HD? I just started getting it on ch 170 this week. Does anyone out there know if there are more new HD channels to come?


----------



## sethacker

Folks, 
Just spent the last 40 minutes on the phone with Tivo and RCN and now I have two working cable cards. The process was relatively painless. The Tivo rep checked to make sure the cards were receiving data. Once this was confirmed she suggested that I call RCN cablecard support and have them re-initialize the cards. The card in slot one started on the first try. The card in slot two started on the second try. 
Regards, 
Seth


----------



## yyzvisitor

Hi all:

I'm relatively new to this, and am interested in the Tivo S3 as a replacement to my 6412 moto box from RCN. We're in Lexington, MA.

What I don't understand is the what the economic advantage is by going this route. You pay several hundred for the box - fine, no problem.

You save the monthly box fee from RCN - great, for me with the DVR its's $17.95 a month.

You pay $1.50 * 3 = $4.50 a month for the Cable Cards, fine, I'm good with that.

But you also pay Tivo $12.95 a month for service? How are you ahead of the game net?

I'm probably missing something here, so please someone/anyone explain it all to me?

Thanks,

yyz


----------



## flyersfan

It's not all about economics. The S3 is a vastly superior product, not just in the interface but also in the upgradability.

Having said that, a lot of us took advantage of the offer to move Lifetime service from an old unit to the S3. That was the deal-maker for me - I plan on using the S3 for many, many years. Also, lots of Tivo users have more than one box and can take advantage of the lower pricing on the add'l units.


----------



## Hank

First of all, it's 2*1.50 = $3.00 for the cable cards (Tivo only takes 2).

Second of all, you're currently paying RCN $17.95 a month for the cable box, and you'll be replacing that with a Tivo for $12.95? Sounds like a $5/month savings to me. Seriously, the Tivo SERVICE is what you're paying for: superior DVR software, program guide data, and software updates and support. Tivo is not just a box you buy (like a DVD player) -- it needs data and service to actually work. (to be fair, so does the RCN box, but they roll it all together for you).


----------



## nologic

We have achieved the following:

(1) One S-Card works fine, in cable slot 1, with premium and HD channels.

(2) One S-Card only gets standard and non-premium HD channels. This card and no others we inserted into this slot can receive any premium channels. We tried about a dozen cards. Some cards we tried got nothing and a couple (two) achieved this level of receptivity. 

Tivo says the problem is with the programming of card 2 within RCN's side, but RCN's supervisor talked with their Technical Tier 3 people, who says both cards are provisioned identically, so it can;t be the programming on their end which is preventing card 2 from receiving the premium channels.


----------



## sethacker

nologic said:


> We have achieved the following:
> 
> (1) One S-Card works fine, in cable slot 1, with premium and HD channels.
> 
> (2) One S-Card only gets standard and non-premium HD channels. This card and no others we inserted into this slot can receive any premium channels. We tried about a dozen cards. Some cards we tried got nothing and a couple (two) achieved this level of receptivity.
> 
> Tivo says the problem is with the programming of card 2 within RCN's side, but RCN's supervisor talked with their Technical Tier 3 people, who says both cards are provisioned identically, so it can;t be the programming on their end which is preventing card 2 from receiving the premium channels.


I am having exactly the same problem with my Tivo. RCN claims that they are working with Tivo to resolve this problem.

I have two Motorola cards installed in my Series 3.

Has anyone resolved this issue?

Regards,
Seth


----------



## jbdecker

I've had my series 3 for five months now with RCN in Chicago with only the first card working with hd and upper cable channels. I basically gave up after 5 visits from RCN getting that second card working but thought I would try calling tonight to set up another apt.

My current set up is a Standard Motorola card in slot one and a M series in slot two. This is because they ran out of the standard cards on my first apt and claimed that Motorola only had M series now.

The RCN rep told me tonight that Tivo finally acknowledged that it's a tivo issue with the M cards and gave me case #6896941 to use with Tivo tech support. RCN flat out refused to even try anything else with these cards because tivo is taking the blame.

I'll try calling tivo tomorrow when the wait time is less than 45 mins but has anyone else had this problem? Looks like I may be switching back to Comcast. I'm getting fed up with grey screens when recording HD and really don't want to go back to 1 tuner.


----------



## Voodoo22

We were missing certain high end channels on one of our 2 cards, and Tivo would record blank time or nothing at all..

While we were on vacation, (neice was watching the house) RCN sent <<5>> people over to look at our problem. 2 from RCN, 2 from Motorola, and one from TIVO!!!! At least that's what they told her. They spent 2 hours onsite and used the opportunity to provide someone some training.

All of our tivo channels work now..
But, we still have an STB for PPV and IT DOESN'T WORK ANY MORE! *****heads!!!

Oh well time to schedule another visit..


----------



## DeathRider

I have 2 M cards in my S3, don't seem to have a problem...

As for not getting HD on one of the cards, when I had the old S cards, I went back to the Arlington office, they forgot to add HD ttier to my package. As soon as they did, everything was working fine


----------



## babywong

Hi, RCN customer in NYC. 

Recently upgraded to TIVO HD DVR and not getting premium channels (anything over 100), but able to see HD channels in 700 range.

The guide is registering the channels but the screen is gray, nothing to see, no sound. 

I have 1 M card in the slot. Also tried the cable box prior to receiving the M card, none of the channels worked. 

Anyone experiencing the same problems? We've been on the phone with RCN forever, 2 tech support guys came out and resetting the setup doesn't help either.


----------



## Pezzah

RCN tech came out today to install 2 CableCARDs in my S3 and seemed knowledgable enough (I was glad it was a RCN person versus 3rd party). He tried to install three different M cards and none worked. That is, on the Tivo menu, tivo saw that the cards were inserted into slot one, but no menu came up and the message was CableCard 1 not in normal operating mode - or something to that effect. He is coming back tomorrow and I told him to bring as many CCs as available so we can find some that work. 

Any other hints/advice for those of you with success stories? 
Things I need to tell him to try?

BTW, I bought my S3 after taking advantage of lifetime transfer from my S2, but never got around to setting it up as I got used to my Moto 6412 dvr for the time being. I was happy enought with the moto box but do miss the tivo interface. I still use my s2 as it is networked for access to my mp3s and photos. It would be a shame to have to revert to the cable dvr but most of my viewing is HD now so hoping for the best...

Thanks ahead of time for any advice you might offer...


----------



## sethacker

I am having this exact same problem. Tivo says that RCN has to make sure that the card is paired correctly. No one at RCN has ever heard of pairing cards. The tech they sent out had no clue and he even asked the guy on the phone. The tech is coming back with a card that he says works tonight. We'll see. If this doesn't work. It's back to comcast.


----------



## Pezzah

Two tech visits so far and no luck. Updated S3 firmware now allows the cards to be recognized but none can get the channel map working. When I do a channel test, I went through all the tivo troubleshooting pages with the tech as well with no luck. Truly amazing how difficult this is.

RCH is coming back this afternoon with a couple of "experts" this time --- we'll see. I gotta give them credit for trying...


----------



## LifeIsABeach

Make sure they are inserting and initializing one card at a time. Many of us had the problem of the tech putting both cards in at once and they would never work. Once they did one at a time (as the instructions say to do) the cards initialized immediately. Good Luck!


----------



## JackFrost

NW D.C. RCN cable CableCard + RCN + Tivo HD saga

Current tally:
2 missed appointments
2 installer visits
0 cablecards working
1 excellent response from D.C. government

After the first missed appointment, I tried waiting in the endless RCN phone queue to try to reschedule and lost patience after ~30 minutes. I submitted a complaint to DC government via this url <octt.dc.gov/services/complaints/index.shtm> and got a call back from both a DC government employee and an RCN employee within 15 minutes. The fact that DC government has better customer service than RCN is striking.

The installer tried five cards which produced the 161-1 error code and one that produced the 161-4 error code. I was busy dealing with the installer while here was here and didn't have a chance to google for 161-4 and determine that this was an ignorable error until after he left.

I'm now waiting for the installer's supervisor to call to schedule another appointment.


----------



## Quaxtro

I can't wait! However I'm not looking foward to the nightmare of dealing with RCN!!
I've learned a few things here (like making sure each card is activated one at a time and NOT together) so we'll see how it goes.


----------



## Rajimene

Queens, NY. After 5 (FIVE) visits from RCN my M-card is finally working! I was ready to send it back to TIVO for a refund... But now... I can't be happier!!! 
Despite all the difficulties, the RCN technicians and specially their supervisor, were nice and worked hard on this matter. Just be patient and things will work out. Make sure the installer brings a working card with him (I mean: one already tested either on the field or at their facilities...)


----------



## Lenonn

We are in Montgomery County, MD. 

I didn't post out story earlier. RCN came out and installed our single M-card in the TiVoHD. For about a week, we weren't getting the DigitalVisionPlus premium channels, so I called RCN, and it took two signals/refreshes/pushes of increasing strength before the premium channels started working. But aside from that, no problems. And we haven't had any problems with the cablecards since then.


----------



## fitzie

Having read the entire thread, I still have a number of questions. I'm in greater Boston, have a couple of S1s that I've upgraded myself, and am served by RCN. Currently, I have a combo which includes premium cable, telephone and Internet. 
My current TV is a 35" Mitsubishi analog. What needs to happen to get to where II want to be: HDTV and TiVo series 3 HD? Am I mising anything?

1) Buy HDTV - I noticed that some people have a CC for the TV. Under what circumstances would I want a TV that needs a CC. Since I've not yet purchased a HDTV, it sounds like something I need to research more. Do all HDTV units have a CC slot? I'm thinking around a 37", non-plasma, unless Plasma screen burn-in problems have been resolved. Obviously, I should probably have this present and installed before getting too involved with the other steps, right? Stupid Question - Do HDTVs receive Analog signals? I ask because if I need to install everything at the same time I will, but I'd prefer to do things in some predictable order.

2) Buy TiVo S3 HD DVR - Got an e-mail from TiVo saying they'd upgrade my Lifetime sub from S1 to S3 for $199, if I a) Purchsed TiVo S3 HD by 11/8, and b) transferred/activated service by 12/8. This offer seems to be valid only with the cheaper of the two S3 HD models, i.e., the $299 model. Do I care? Buy now and upgrade later?

3) Additional TiVo support - The current upgrade offer allows me to keep the old TiVo online at no extra charge for 12 months. What about the end of the 12 month period? Does that become a low monthly charge? What about if I want to add an additional unit, S3 or otherwise?

4) Call RCN - This seems easier said than done, and while I could call Comcast, I'd prefer not. What's the diff between two single stream (S-CARD) cards or a multi stream M-CARD? Does RCN care? I currently have two analog TVs, and two Motorola cable boxes. I also have two series 1 TiVos, but only one is online or subscribed. It sounds as though I'll been one cable box, and return the other to RCN. While I'm at it, maybe I'll actually buy a new Cable Modem, instead of renting theirs for $3/month. Right now my cableTV related items on the bill are: 

-Basic Cable $42.00
-HBO $17.95
-NEW DIGITAL VISION $21.95
-DIGITAL CONVERTER RENTAL $4.95
-DIGITAL CONVERTER RENTAL $7.95
-HBO ON DEMAND $0.00
How will be monthe charges change, other than - 1 digital converter and + 1,2 or 3 Cable cards?

5) Hope that I get a decent installer.


----------



## fitzie

Exactly what is the diff between the TiVo HD and the TiVo Series 3 HD boxes? I made a couple of assumptions that I now believe to be incorrect. Does everybody here realize that the cheaper model sometimes is refered to as an S3 and sometimes is not?

I think TiVo is shooting themselves in the foot with this poor differentation of models and features. I almost ordered the cheaper one, thinking I had a top of the line unit, except for disk size.

The differences I can see are:
1) S3 has bigger drive
2) S3 has THX certification
3) S3 can't use 1 M-CARD, needs two of eithe M-CARD or S-CARD.


----------



## lylo

Hi

Im a Time Warner NYC customer thinking of switching to RCN. I've had the same ongoing problem that many of you seem to have in that my CC 2 slot on my S3 will not get any non network channels ( get NBC, CBS etc and their HD equivalents). I've had about six new cards put in. Some work for a month some work for a few days. This is not the 9.1 bug that I've read about as its been going on since I've owned the unit and is not fixed by a reboot or a pulling/inserting the card and rerunning setup.

My questions are, do the Motorola cards work better than the Scientific Atlanta? Are the M cards more reliable than the S cards? Has anyone ever had this problem permanently fixed?


----------



## Pezzah

Just following up on my previous posts...

It turned out the my S3 box had an issue with the cable card interface slots not being able to recognize/decode channels.

After a call to Tivo, I sent back the box and they sent a replacement. (They emailed mailing labels so the process was relatively painless.)

I plugged in the new Tivo, plugged in the 2 M-cards at the same time (starting with the lower slot first), and made a call to RCN to send a signal down to the CCs...

Result? Both M-cards were decoding basic cable channels but I was missing my HD or premium channels on both cards

One more visit from RCN, and issue resolved. The issue was that the cable card id numbers were not listed accurately in my account. One call from the tech to send down a new signal and everything works well now. I thought the RCN folks were polite and informed enough, at least when I finally got to the right guy...

After all this I am happy that I made the decision to switch from the moto 6416 box. There are some thing I prefer about that box, but at least so far the S3 has better functionality and better overall interface... watching HD sports content in slow/fast motion is a good example of what I think is superior tivo processing...

Good luck all...


----------



## MJ-bos

Quick note from an RCN customer in Arlington MA - 

Installation of (2) cards in a TivoHD - under 30 minutes. They did have to change some setting in my account, but after that it worked flawlessly. Pretty painless.

It looks like one card is an M and the other is an S, so I may toy with fate and pull the 2nd S card and see if it still works (why spend the extra $1.50/month if it's not necessary...)

Cheers,
mj


----------



## Hank

I have RCN in Boston.

What's it mean when one of my CC gets all the channels, but the other one stops at channel 99? Anything above 99 just gets me a blank/black screen.


----------



## fergie8

MJ-bos said:


> Quick note from an RCN customer in Arlington MA -
> 
> Installation of (2) cards in a TivoHD - under 30 minutes. They did have to change some setting in my account, but after that it worked flawlessly. Pretty painless.
> 
> It looks like one card is an M and the other is an S, so I may toy with fate and pull the 2nd S card and see if it still works (why spend the extra $1.50/month if it's not necessary...)
> 
> Cheers,
> mj


When the RCN tech did my cable card install here in Chicago he was totally clueless about the M cards. He was treating me as the clueless one and insisting that I would need two M cards if I wanted both tuners to work. I told him to install just one and that would be that. He did and it worked, of course.

When I had to return my TiVo HD for a replacement I had to go through the exact same drill again. Different tech, same insistence on two M cards. Same insistence from me that he only install one. And, of course, it worked again.

It's your equipment. Insist that they do the right thing!

A side effect of the second cable card install into my replacement TiVo HD was that it was treated as a repair run rather than a new install. So I didn't get billed anything for the truck roll the second time.


----------



## dwiener

fergie8 said:


> When the RCN tech did my cable card install here in Chicago he was totally clueless about the M cards. He was treating me as the clueless one and insisting that I would need two M cards if I wanted both tuners to work. I told him to install just one and that would be that. He did and it worked, of course.
> 
> When I had to return my TiVo HD for a replacement I had to go through the exact same drill again. Different tech, same insistence on two M cards. Same insistence from me that he only install one. And, of course, it worked again.
> 
> It's your equipment. Insist that they do the right thing!
> 
> A side effect of the second cable card install into my replacement TiVo HD was that it was treated as a repair run rather than a new install. So I didn't get billed anything for the truck roll the second time.


I just had my single M card installed last week. Took a while of hits to get all my channels, and checked before he left to make sure my old cable card in my TV was still functioning correctly. Is it necessary to get a tech for installation when transferring the card to a new box? Before the install I tried the single stream cable card from my TV in the TIVO and after it was refreshed - the cable system does this periodically - it recognized all my cable channels.


----------



## MJ-bos

Hank - that's what happened with my 2nd card - it stopped at the encrypted channels. They had to redo some of the provisioning, hit the card again, and everything worked. 

Cheers,
mj


----------



## Hank

MJ-bos said:


> Hank - that's what happened with my 2nd card - it stopped at the encrypted channels. They had to redo some of the provisioning, hit the card again, and everything worked.
> 
> Cheers,
> mj


Great - thanks. I'll give them a call.


----------



## DeathRider

fitzie said:


> 1) Buy HDTV - I noticed that some people have a CC for the TV. Under what circumstances would I want a TV that needs a CC. Since I've not yet purchased a HDTV, it sounds like something I need to research more. Do all HDTV units have a CC slot? I'm thinking around a 37", non-plasma, unless Plasma screen burn-in problems have been resolved. Obviously, I should probably have this present and installed before getting too involved with the other steps, right? Stupid Question - Do HDTVs receive Analog signals? I ask because if I need to install everything at the same time I will, but I'd prefer to do things in some predictable order.


Just to answer this (even though it's old):

Only reasons you would have/want a TV with CC:

If you happen to be recording 2 shows on the TiVo and want to watch a 3rd channel "LIVE". Not just that the channel you want to watch might be encrypted, but RCN seems to change what frequency the digital channels reside...ie they seem to be remapped often (or least seemed to me).

Or for people who don't want a set top box...maybe a second TV in another room not hooked up to a TiVo/STB.


----------



## ctortola

Hi

My mother is trying to upgrade from an SD TiVo to an HD TiVo, and was told by an RCN customer service representative that RCN cablecards are incompatible with S3 or HD TiVO. Is this really true, or did the CSR not know what she was talking about? My mother said the CSR was reading off a card.

She's in Lexington.


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## Hank

I'm in Brookline and got two RCN cablecards for my S3 when it came out. No problems here. They just don't know what they're talking about. Get a different CSR.


----------



## fergie8

ctortola said:


> Hi
> 
> My mother is trying to upgrade from an SD TiVo to an HD TiVo, and was told by an RCN customer service representative that RCN cablecards are incompatible with S3 or HD TiVO. Is this really true, or did the CSR not know what she was talking about? My mother said the CSR was reading off a card.
> 
> She's in Lexington.


No, it is not really true and, yes, the CSR did not know what she was talking about.


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## TLTypeS

I live in Needham and have a M card in my TivoHD and it works fine although the install took a little while.


----------



## DeathRider

ctortola said:


> Hi
> 
> My mother is trying to upgrade from an SD TiVo to an HD TiVo, and was told by an RCN customer service representative that RCN cablecards are incompatible with S3 or HD TiVO. Is this really true, or did the CSR not know what she was talking about? My mother said the CSR was reading off a card.
> 
> She's in Lexington.


I would make the trip to the RCN office in Arlington (or call them), not too far from Lexington. The first set of S cards I picked up myself and had no problems (lived in Waltham).

Present set of M cards came with the truck roll hen I moved to Natick. No problems


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## DrewTivo

Pezzah said:


> RCN tech came out today to install 2 CableCARDs in my S3 and seemed knowledgable enough (I was glad it was a RCN person versus 3rd party). He tried to install three different M cards and none worked. That is, on the Tivo menu, tivo saw that the cards were inserted into slot one, but no menu came up and the message was CableCard 1 not in normal operating mode - or something to that effect. He is coming back tomorrow and I told him to bring as many CCs as available so we can find some that work.
> 
> Any other hints/advice for those of you with success stories?
> Things I need to tell him to try?
> 
> BTW, I bought my S3 after taking advantage of lifetime transfer from my S2, but never got around to setting it up as I got used to my Moto 6412 dvr for the time being. I was happy enought with the moto box but do miss the tivo interface. I still use my s2 as it is networked for access to my mp3s and photos. It would be a shame to have to revert to the cable dvr but most of my viewing is HD now so hoping for the best...
> 
> Thanks ahead of time for any advice you might offer...


Did you ever get this solved?

Anyone else in DC using RCN with cablecards and an HD Tivo? I'm going to be in this situation soon, and would like to know what to do going in.

Thanks


----------



## s.newave

Argg what a nightmare this CC install is. Just got a Tivo S3 yesterday. Had the RCN guy come in this morning. He spends 20 minutes watching ESPN waiting for his friend to show up. Sticks one CC in slot 1. I get a 161-4 error he says not too worry about it and leaves. I later call Tivo who conferences in RCN who sound completely useless saying they have to send someone else out which i have scheduled for Tues. I played around with the cards myself and found one CC keeps giving me a 161-4 error and the other 161-1.

However I just got home to find a msg from a RCN CSR stating that she had just spoken to her supervisor who told her that their CC's are not compatible with the S3 and that they were cancelling my visit for Tues. WTF is going on here????

I'm assuming this is just your usual incompetence that i have come to expect from RCN or is there any truth to this? Anyone else in NYC or elsewhere having similar issues?

thx


----------



## Quaxtro

I have a TivoHD. I had RCN here to install two CC last Monday.
The whole thing took about twenty five minutes. Not only did he never install a CC before he wasn't even too sure what a tivo was!
I immediately took control of the situation and told him how to proceed i.e. one card in slot 1, call it in, then initialize it. After about ten minutes the channels showed up and I stuck the second card in and it was intiallized immediately. And that was it!
The cable guy just walked out the door without any paperwork to sign or anything. In fact when the guy showed up he was wearing just his street clothes no ID or anything just him holding two CC in his hands. The whole experience was sorta surreal in a way.
This was my first experience with CC. After he left I started playing around with the tivo especially the CC. I then noticed after accessing the cable card menu in tivo that cable card 1 was not showing any premium movie channels nor any HD programming. Cable card 2 showed all programming so no problems with that card. After calling RCN up and having them hit the cable card twice I finally got all the channels on both cards!
However I then noticed that I was not receiving any TV scheduling beyond channel 456. I called RCN and they told me that was a tivo problem. So I called tivo and they said I had the wrong schedule picked out. I needed to switch from Digital Fiber to Digital Cable. However Digital Cable was not showing in my zip code lineup. So I used a nearby zip code 10001 and there it was!
I selected Digtial Cable lineup and finally got programming for all channels up to 736. All in all it was not too bad of an experience and it took about 48hrs. for me to get everything working correctly.


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## zbucklyo

I just had my Series 3 cable card installation in Brookline, MA, last Saturday. RCN tech (employee) was extremely knowledgeable, had done a number of CC installs with Tivo before. He also waited until channels showed up on both tuners, and went through each tier looking for issues. Only problem was HBO not coming in - he called the office to refresh signal and it showed up a few minutes later. No problems so far.


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## whynot21

Hi, just got my first Tivo ever, had a RCN DVR before. Guy came today to install, but didn't stick around to make sure it all works. Asked him 3 times if he is sure he installed the MCard and not and SCard. He swore he did.
Everything works fine except the tivo box tells me that I only have one SCard installed. Called RCN three times and they insist the card I have is an MCard. I can't switch to the other tuner or record two shows at this time. RCN tells me it's an issue with the Tivo box not recognizing the card as a multistream.

Is that possible? Should I call Tivo tech support? Or is RCN just trying to get out of this one?

Edit:
Okay I think I found the answer, my Tivo software is not up to date to work with MCards. It shipped with a flyer that said "all is ready to go...just enjoy". Didn't know that excluded the latest software update from 8.1 to 9.2. I try that out and see if that works....this is the link explaining that problem:

[URL="http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=bb83ae57-ea46-4162-ab65-4bfde6a851e4"
]http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=bb83ae57-ea46-4162-ab65-4bfde6a851e4[/URL]

Edit2:
So, called Tivo and "forced" the software upgrade from 8.1 to 9.2. My so called MCard is still only registering as an SCard. RCN keeps insisting that is an MCard based on what they see on their computer screen. Bottom line is it's only working like and SCard. How can I tell if it is an fact and S or M card other than what the Tivo screen tells me? (because RCN tells me Tivo is wrong)


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## LilDune

whynot21 said:


> Hi, just got my first Tivo ever, had a RCN DVR before. Guy came today to install, but didn't stick around to make sure it all works. Asked him 3 times if he is sure he installed the MCard and not and SCard. He swore he did.
> Everything works fine except the tivo box tells me that I only have one SCard installed. Called RCN three times and they insist the card I have is an MCard. I can't switch to the other tuner or record two shows at this time. RCN tells me it's an issue with the Tivo box not recognizing the card as a multistream.
> 
> Is that possible? Should I call Tivo tech support? Or is RCN just trying to get out of this one?
> 
> Edit:
> Okay I think I found the answer, my Tivo software is not up to date to work with MCards. It shipped with a flyer that said "all is ready to go...just enjoy". Didn't know that excluded the latest software update from 8.1 to 9.2. I try that out and see if that works....this is the link explaining that problem:
> 
> [URL="http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=bb83ae57-ea46-4162-ab65-4bfde6a851e4"
> ]http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=bb83ae57-ea46-4162-ab65-4bfde6a851e4[/URL]
> 
> Edit2:
> So, called Tivo and "forced" the software upgrade from 8.1 to 9.2. My so called MCard is still only registering as an SCard. RCN keeps insisting that is an MCard based on what they see on their computer screen. Bottom line is it's only working like and SCard. How can I tell if it is an fact and S or M card other than what the Tivo screen tells me? (because RCN tells me Tivo is wrong)


I am having the same exact problem, except I haven't tried the software update yet; although from the sound of it that won't do much good anyway. I'm pretty sure it is indeed an MCard they installed because I looked up the model number. But the TiVo is still showing it as an SCard. Any suggestions?


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## LifeIsABeach

WhyNot and LilDune - Do you have a Series 3 or a TiVo HD? In the Series 3 an MCard will work just like an SCard. Only the TiVo HD can take advantage of the MCard dual tuners.


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## LilDune

LifeIsABeach said:


> WhyNot and LilDune - Do you have a Series 3 or a TiVo HD? In the Series 3 an MCard will work just like an SCard. Only the TiVo HD can take advantage of the MCard dual tuners.


I have a Tivo HD.


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## 60614

Just ordered M Card for TIVO HD. 2 questions:

1. Agent insisted that I had to pay a $50 "truck roll" fee plus $15 install, and they would not waive it. She said that's only in Chicago. Is that right?

2. Agent said she didn't know whether this was something I could install myself, but that if I could, I didn't need to wait. 

Next available appointment wasn't for 3 weeks.


----------



## fergie8

60614 said:


> Just ordered M Card for TIVO HD. 2 questions:
> 
> 1. Agent insisted that I had to pay a $50 "truck roll" fee plus $15 install, and they would not waive it. She said that's only in Chicago. Is that right?
> 
> 2. Agent said she didn't know whether this was something I could install myself, but that if I could, I didn't need to wait.
> 
> Next available appointment wasn't for 3 weeks.


I also live in Chicago and had my cable card installed by RCN in November. Perhaps things have changed in the few months since then, but at that time I paid $14.95 for the install. That charge later showed up on my bill as "INSTALL CONVERTER BOX", but I wasn't billed for a "truck roll" fee or any other install related fee besides that $14.95 charge.


----------



## 60614

Thanks. The RCN Chicago Rep said that I could install a cablecard (M card for Tivo HD) myself, but I thought that it requires a tech visit. Does anyone know if that's correct?

Thanks


----------



## DrewTivo

60614 said:


> Just ordered M Card for TIVO HD. 2 questions:
> 
> 1. Agent insisted that I had to pay a $50 "truck roll" fee plus $15 install, and they would not waive it. She said that's only in Chicago. Is that right?
> 
> 2. Agent said she didn't know whether this was something I could install myself, but that if I could, I didn't need to wait.
> 
> Next available appointment wasn't for 3 weeks.


FWIW, I was just told by RCN that there is a $14.95 install fee and that there's not a DIY option since the card "needs to be programmed to the Tivo or TV" (not sure if that's true, but that's what they said). No additional "truck roll" fee, although there would be if I had them pick up my regular converter.


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## Brad516

I wasn't at home (Gaithersburg, MD) on Saturday when the tech attempted to install an M card in our Tivo HD unsuccessfully. He told my wife that we'd have to wait 48 hours for a firmware update (he left a number for his supervisor for her to call if she had any questions). 

Huh?

My wife didn't question this because she assumed he knew what he what he was talking about. We have a Woot refurb that we just purchased. Since it only works with cabe cards, I was wondering what "update" we were waiting for. Today I decided to take a look at the setup and the first thing I noticed was that no card was showing in either slot on the setup screen. The card was visibly in the slot so I pushed it it. It showed up on the screen. Duh. I called RCN support and they sent a refresh signal. I told them the card status was still showing "wait to start", they said it might take 15 minutes. I went to the test channels screen and the HD content was there.

If I had done like the install tech said, we would probably have found out the card wasn't actually installed after waiting the two days for the firmware update. I learned a long time ago never to assume anything, even something as silly as a tech pushing the card all the way in the slot.


----------



## KurtBuffington

I had RCN service installed in Somerville MA last Saturday (new HD series 3 w/RCN). The guy was late and took over 2 hours and unfortunately I had to leave w/o the cable card working. He said I could do the rest over the phone. I went through the guided setup and then they zapped the card a few times and its still not working. Now I have to go a week w/o cable until they can make another service call.

Questions: 

He only put in one card, should there be 2? What is the difference between card types (S, M) and which do I want.

Anything I can try in the meantime? RCN's phone support in regards to Tivo was very weak. They never even asked me to go into the Tivo diagnostics screens or the card setup options.


----------



## Quaxtro

KurtBuffington said:


> I had RCN service installed in Somerville MA last Saturday (new HD series 3 w/RCN). The guy was late and took over 2 hours and unfortunately I had to leave w/o the cable card working. He said I could do the rest over the phone. I went through the guided setup and then they zapped the card a few times and its still not working. Now I have to go a week w/o cable until they can make another service call.
> 
> Questions:
> 
> He only put in one card, should there be 2? What is the difference between card types (S, M) and which do I want.
> 
> Anything I can try in the meantime? RCN's phone support in regards to Tivo was very weak. They never even asked me to go into the Tivo diagnostics screens or the card setup options.


The difference between the S and M cards is that the S card is a single stream card and the M card is a multiple stream.
What this means is that you need EITHER two S cards installed OR one M card installed.
I have no experience with the M card as the RCN tech here in NYC just brought two S cards and that's what I use.
I believe RCN will never help you with your tivo or go into diagnostics because you are using a device they do not directly support.
In other words you need to call tivo support for ANYTHING to do with your tivohd!
The only areas of help RCN will give you will be directly related to the cable card(s) they gave you.


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## dipdewdog

I'm already impressed with RCN in DC (coming from Comcast)... I called to activate service in my new apartment, and the rep on the phone knew exactly what I needed when I told him I had a TiVo HD supposedly they're going to show up with an M-Card on April 27. Fingers crossed for a much smoother install than I had with Comcast.


----------



## LeeG

Live UES Manhattan, took about 20 minutes, 1 M-Stream card. On first install it didnt give me the digital vision plus tier (HD package and extra cable tier), the installer had a handheld that he scanned the CC with, and also called in to the office to have the additional tier added. 

The tivoHD stopped receiving channels for a minute while the card updated, and then everything worked smoothly.

All in all, it did take some negotiating between the installer and the office, and so I am glad an installer came out to do it, dropped from $17.95 a month for their dvr, to $1.50 for the multistream card, + tivo service - best move ever.

Lee


----------



## cekevanston

Help ...

I am in the Chicago metro area, using RCN, which, as noted elsewhere in this thread has just switched to all digital service.

Just had RCN come out to install a CC in my S3. Went through the whole TiVo setup while the installer waited. I did NOT purchase the RCN Digital package. I'm at their second tier, so I should get the range of "normal" cable channels like SciFi, HGTV, Food, Nick, etc. These are all in the 100+ channel range.

After install and running setup, I could only get low channels. Installer said it was a problem with my account, not the configuration, so he left. After spending most of the afternoon calling support, having them tell me to re-run TiVo setup after sending a refresh, and repeating the same thing again, I still have no channels above 100.

I only have one card. I have no idea if it is M or S .. support seemed concerned about it being M and not being compatible with my S3, but from reading this thread, I've learned that my 9.3a software should be fully compatible with the M card. The card only says "Motorola MediaCipher CableCARD". No indication on the card if it is M or S.

I also understand from this thread that I SHOULD have an option in the TiVo setup to select RCN Digital Cable. I do NOT have this option after TiVo pulls the information for my zip code (Skokie suburb of Chicago - 60203). I've tried a nearby zip code which worked in the past (TiVo did not originally list RCN as a provider in my zip). I even went so far as to try zip code 10001, but the channel lineup is completely wrong, and still no channels above 100.

Lastly, I do have some concern about the cabling to my TiVo. On the diagnostic screen, I've seen signal strength as low as 63. Normally seems to be about 82+. After reading the recommendations to remove splitters, I wonder if a low signal strength could affect only the high channels? Seems like with digital service if I get anything, I should get everything.

I'm currently scheduled for a re-visit next week, but I want to be better prepared when the installer comes back. I also found the CC pairing information rather odd. Is this information used? My screen shows:
CableCARD(tm): 000-000-000-000-0
Host: 000-000-000-000-0
Data: 000-000-000-00

Based on my observations and the postings on this thread, I have the following questions:
1) Should I ask for 2 S cards instead of the one M card? (assuming I already have an M)
2) How can I tell if I have an M or an S card?
3) Do I need to contact TiVo service to find a zip code for RCN which offers RCN Digital Cable as an option? (all the channel information from TiVo is correct, even though I just see a black screen above channel 100)
4) Is there possibly a problem with my signal strength that I should try a direct cable connection to TiVo without splitters? (I have to have at least one splitter for Internet modem).
5) Is it likely that I just have a bad CC? (several posts refer to trying different cards, anyone know the models of cards that will work?)

Any other suggestions also appreciated. Thank you.


----------



## Quaxtro

cekevanston said:


> Help ...
> 
> snip
> 
> I'm currently scheduled for a re-visit next week, but I want to be better prepared when the installer comes back. I also found the CC pairing information rather odd. Is this information used? My screen shows:
> CableCARD(tm): 000-000-000-000-0
> Host: 000-000-000-000-0
> Data: 000-000-000-00
> 
> Based on my observations and the postings on this thread, I have the following questions:
> 1) Should I ask for 2 S cards instead of the one M card? (assuming I already have an M)
> 2) How can I tell if I have an M or an S card?
> 3) Do I need to contact TiVo service to find a zip code for RCN which offers RCN Digital Cable as an option? (all the channel information from TiVo is correct, even though I just see a black screen above channel 100)
> 4) Is there possibly a problem with my signal strength that I should try a direct cable connection to TiVo without splitters? (I have to have at least one splitter for Internet modem).
> 5) Is it likely that I just have a bad CC? (several posts refer to trying different cards, anyone know the models of cards that will work?)
> 
> Any other suggestions also appreciated. Thank you.


1. That might be a good idea. I had minimal problems with my two S cards.
2. You need to go into the tivo menu>message & settings>remote, Cablecard & Devices>Cablecard Decoder...at this point you should see if your card is a "s" or "M" card. At least on my tivohd it shows an "S" card. It might be different on a tivo series 3.
3. Yes! 
4. Don't know for sure but it wouldn't hurt!
5. Yes it is very possible that you have a bad cablecard. I honestly don't know what works and what doesn't.

Also your above info i.e.:
CableCARD(tm): 000-000-000-000-0
Host: 000-000-000-000-0
Data: 000-000-000-00

is wrong! There should be numbers and letters NOT all zeros!

I wish I could help you some more. Good luck!


----------



## dig4guano

Hi,

Notified that my building was going all digital I finally purchased an HD TiVo to replace the old S2. I already have some unencrypted digital channels - I can get them with the QAM tuner on my TV. They recently encrypted the HD channels to stop those of us with QAM tuners from watching.

Called RCN on a Friday and they agreed to come out between 8 and 11am on Monday bringing a standard cable box (you get the first one free) and two cable cards for the TiVo. Although they will send the cable boxes for self install they flatly refused to send the cablecards and also refused to waive a $49.95 fee. 

The installer showed up at around 11.45. The cards turned out to be M-cards so only needed one. He refused to look at the TiVo install instructions but the TiVo detected the card and he called it in to activate. Started working after about five minutes, tested by browsing the channels including some HD. Repeated guided setup and channel info is correct, though TiVo keeps adding back some channels I don't have and deselected!

There is supposedly a channel line up change when the digital only switch is thrown sometime in the next couple of weeks but at the moment all seems to work. I don't have any premium channels, just the basic package.


----------



## rockhome

I woke up this morning and virtually all of my channels disappeared.

I have RCN in Chicago with 2CC's in my S3 and was wondering if anyone else experienced the same thing.

I am just now realizing that I might need to manually connect to TiVo to set things right. Any one else have this issue?


----------



## dig4guano

rockhome said:


> I woke up this morning and virtually all of my channels disappeared.
> 
> I have RCN in Chicago with 2CC's in my S3 and was wondering if anyone else experienced the same thing.


Today is supposed to be when they switch off analog in my (Chicago) building and change the lineup. Checked this morning and nothing had changed, still same channels. Have an HD with single M card. Forced a connection but nothing new. Will see tonight...

Later that day...
Channel lineup changed sometime during the day. Went into channels settings and pressed _Enter _to indicate that the lineup was wrong. Manually identified three channels then TiVo downloaded the new lineup. Seems OK now. New Chicago lineup is here - http://www.rcn.com/pdf/chicago_lineups_2008-01-14.pdf


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## BrandonSi

In Chicago, just had a M card installed into my TiVo HD, yesterday. I'm getting basic (unencrypted, I assume) cable channels, 2,3,5-36, etc.. but no digital or HD content, just a gray screen. The program guide information is coming through. After reading this thread some people mentioned waiting ~24 hours, and I did, still no luck. I've done the RCN refresh via their 1-800 number and no luck, and I've reset the TiVo a few times now. I checked the conditional access section on the cablecard menu and the VAL? value is at 0x00, not "V 0x00" as I've read it should be. I also called RCN today and had them send another signal, still no luck, just basic cable. Any ideas on how I can communicate effectively with a customer service person as to what's going on, or some buzz words that might send them in the right direction? Also, we are getting full cable on the tv's with cable boxes, so it's just the M card.. Thanks


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## TomMMD

So here is my Series 2 HD story

-- Bought the HD Tivo on Amazon on Wednesday and it showed up on Thurdsay

-- On Thursday, set up the Tivo with the single coax. Called RCN (I am in Montgomery County, MD) to order the cable cards, expecting it would take a week or so to get a service call. They ended up coming the next day, Friday (within the 2 - 5 window they promised)

-- Was all prepared to live through the horror installation -- had all the instructions printed out and the one that came in the box at hand. Asked the guy if he had installed cable cards into a Tivo and he said "Oh yeah, plenty"

-- Long and short of it is that he knew all about tivo and did it as fast as one could do.

-- Thanked him as he left and told him how pleased I am to have RCN and not Comcast. (He smiled and said 'I have heard that before") I think he was here about 20-30 minutes

p.s. They installed one Multistream card. 

While the RCN website said that using the cable card makes you lose access to Video on Demand and other interactive services, the service guy pointed out that the card is a two-way card. They have not activiaed the two-way service yet but will be soon

p.p.s Monthly charge for a box is $17.95 a month; the monthly charge for the cable card is $1.50 -- installation charge was $14.50


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## DrewTivo

TomMMD said:


> p.p.s Monthly charge for a box is $17.95 a month; the monthly charge for the cable card is $1.50 -- installation charge was $14.50


I'm worried that at some point RCN will figure out that they are leaving a lot of money on the table and will raise the CC charge.


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## BrandonSi

BrandonSi said:


> In Chicago, just had a M card installed into my TiVo HD, yesterday. I'm getting basic (unencrypted, I assume) cable channels, 2,3,5-36, etc.. but no digital or HD content, just a gray screen. The program guide information is coming through. After reading this thread some people mentioned waiting ~24 hours, and I did, still no luck. I've done the RCN refresh via their 1-800 number and no luck, and I've reset the TiVo a few times now. I checked the conditional access section on the cablecard menu and the VAL? value is at 0x00, not "V 0x00" as I've read it should be. I also called RCN today and had them send another signal, still no luck, just basic cable. Any ideas on how I can communicate effectively with a customer service person as to what's going on, or some buzz words that might send them in the right direction? Also, we are getting full cable on the tv's with cable boxes, so it's just the M card.. Thanks


Just to follow up, I had them send a blizzard of signals with no luck. Finally they had to send a gut out here and he swapped cards, had them send more signals and eventually one stuck. Guess these cards are just finicky. Anyway, it probably took the guy 15-20 minutes tops, and now we're cooking with HD.


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## rlcarr

I've just found out that RCN is going to flip the all-digital switch on Arlington, MA this August 5. TiVo S2DT, it's been good to know you.

I plan to get a TiVoHD ahead of that date, obviously.

I was wondering, can you specifically ask for an multistream card? Or is it the luck of the draw whether you get an M or are stuck with two Ss?


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## dig4guano

rlcarr said:


> can you specifically ask for an multistream card?


Tell them to bring two for the install. If you're lucky they will be M cards so you'll only need one. I wouldn't trust them to bring the right single card.


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## DeathRider

rlcarr said:


> I've just found out that RCN is going to flip the all-digital switch on Arlington, MA this August 5. TiVo S2DT, it's been good to know you.
> 
> I plan to get a TiVoHD ahead of that date, obviously.
> 
> I was wondering, can you specifically ask for an multistream card? Or is it the luck of the draw whether you get an M or are stuck with two Ss?


I think RCN is only using multistream cards. When I moved from Waltham to Natick last year, I had single stream cards in my S3 (in Waltham). My S3 now has 2 multistream cards in it.

You could alway use it as a S2 single tuner via cable box

And of course, after you turn the service off of the S2DT, you can still watch all the shows saved on it...


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## chanster

Hello. I am Tivo HD newbie living in Chicago. I have read this thread all the way through and need some help. 
Two weeks ago, I had RCN activate service in my new place. I ordered a Cable card but the TV was not ready so the installer left the card. Originally I was going to just use the RCN Moto box, but I decided to go ahead and buy a Tivo HD with Lifetime. So now I have the card, and the tivo box is on its way. Could I install the card myself? And does anyone have the proper procedure or tips on installing the card?? Thanks


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## dig4guano

chanster said:


> Could I install the card myself? And does anyone have the proper procedure or tips on installing the card?? Thanks


The card just plugs in to one of two slots on the front of the TiVo, so it's easy to install physically, but it's surprising they left you with the card. If you're lucky they might activate it for you by phone but they seem to insist on an installer visit ($50) in most cases. The TiVo box contains instructions for the cable company installer; also see http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport/hdandcablecards/browse.html


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## chanster

I live in Chicago and am having the same problem as another member, here...I can only get very very basic channels, no digital and no hdtv, and no premiums. Is it the Cablecard? I have hit it like 10-15 times with RCN.


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## chicagobrownblue

chanster said:


> I live in Chicago and am having the same problem as another member, here...I can only get very very basic channels, no digital and no hdtv, and no premiums. Is it the Cablecard? I have hit it like 10-15 times with RCN.


Have you run through Guided Setup, selected RCN as your cable provider, RCN Digital as your Cable Lineup, picked CBS as on Channel 2, BET on channel 101, let Tivo download the new channel lineup and programs and sort them into place (this last step can take hours)? Also, what level of programming are you supposed to receive? You should be paying extra for hdtv and premium channels.


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## chicagobrownblue

cekevanston said:


> Help ...
> I also understand from this thread that I SHOULD have an option in the TiVo setup to select RCN Digital Cable. I do NOT have this option after TiVo pulls the information for my zip code (Skokie suburb of Chicago - 60203).


Try using 60614 (Lincoln Park in Chicago) which does have RCN Digital rebuild. You need to go through guided setup and tell Tivo you have CBS on channel 2 and BET on channel 101. It can take quite some time for all the channels and information to download, like several hours.


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## chicagobrownblue

rlcarr said:


> I've just found out that RCN is going to flip the all-digital switch on Arlington, MA this August 5. TiVo S2DT, it's been good to know you.
> 
> I plan to get a TiVoHD ahead of that date, obviously.


You do not need to get a TivoHD. RCN transmits standard definition channels digitally as well as the HD channels. I was switched to RCN digital here in Chicago in April 2008. The non-network standard definition channels changed numbers, come in fine to a little better visually and take up half the space on my Series 2 dual tuner Tivo.


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## DeathRider

chicagobrownblue said:


> You do not need to get a TivoHD. RCN transmits standard definition channels digitally as well as the HD channels. I was switched to RCN digital here in Chicago in April 2008. The non-network standard definition channels changed numbers, come in fine to a little better visually and take up half the space on my Series 2 dual tuner Tivo.


I thought the S2 only had analog tuners though. Does that mean you need a STB now and the S2DT defaults to an S2ST?


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## chicagobrownblue

DeathRider said:


> I thought the S2 only had analog tuners though. Does that mean you need a STB now and the S2DT defaults to an S2ST?


The dual Tivo tuners become worthless as does the analog tuner in your TV, adding to global warming, and you do need an external digital converter box that RCN provided free to residents of my condo building. The Tivo controls this box through Infra Red blasters which work fine. The digital converter box both deencrypts the signal, tunes to the desired channel and passes a composite video signal and a stereo audio signal into the Tivo.

If you want HD, RCN has a different box for an additional charge that will provide HD content. I suspect that HDTVs will be on sale in August, so I am waiting for a good deal. It also strikes me that its about time for Tivo to upgrade the TivoHD with a larger internal hard drive or some added functionality.


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## DeathRider

chicagobrownblue said:


> The dual Tivo tuners become worthless as does the analog tuner in your TV, adding to global warming, and you do need an external digital converter box that RCN provided free to residents of my condo building. The Tivo controls this box through Infra Red blasters which work fine. The digital converter box both deencrypts the signal, tunes to the desired channel and passes a composite video signal and a stereo audio signal into the Tivo.
> 
> If you want HD, RCN has a different box for an additional charge that will provide HD content. I suspect that HDTVs will be on sale in August, so I am waiting for a good deal. It also strikes me that its about time for Tivo to upgrade the TivoHD with a larger internal hard drive or some added functionality.


You could always wait for Black Friday to get a deal on a HDTV.

I got a Sony KDL-46W3000 for $1400 last year...still never seen the price drop lower than $1800 (refurb from Sony Outlet) since...

I have a S3 w/2 multistream cable cards and TiVoHD w/no CC.

I just hope that when RCN does pull the Digital only switch, they leave channels below 99 available without needing a STB/CC for remapping.


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## chanster

chicagobrownblue said:


> Have you run through Guided Setup, selected RCN as your cable provider, RCN Digital as your Cable Lineup, picked CBS as on Channel 2, BET on channel 101, let Tivo download the new channel lineup and programs and sort them into place (this last step can take hours)? Also, what level of programming are you supposed to receive? You should be paying extra for hdtv and premium channels.


yea i did that. and i pay extra for hd and starz and nothin g.


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## DrewTivo

Question: How can it take RCN 45 minutes to set me up with an appointment to install a cable card? I'm not sure their reps even know what a cable card is.


More serious question: The tech told me they would send two cards. He didn't really seem to know what an M-card is versus an S-card. Do I have any hope of getting an M-card (I asked it to be specified in the notes)? is it a crapshoot whether I'll be paying $1.50 or $3.00/month for essentially the same thing?


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## tiassa

DrewTivo:
the RCN Phone rep I dealt with knew about cable cards, but the installer was a total idiot, he said that he brought an M-card, despite the fact that the TIVO HD said it was an S-card when it was plugged in and the card didn't say M-card. The second installer had an M-card (and showed it to me) and everything worked fine -- I had to get them to refund the charge for the second service call (despite Installer #2's efforts). But that was about it.


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## tiassa

One more thing -- here in Watertown, MA they are going to "flip the digital switch" on 7/25, is there anything I have to do? Will a reboot of the Tivo handle it? My problem is I'm going on vacation that day and won't be back for a week. I could have my mom come over and reboot the Tivo, but anything more than that I don't trust her to do. 

Can anyone who has already dealt with RCN going digital give me the benefit of their experience?


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## DeathRider

tiassa said:


> One more thing -- here in Watertown, MA they are going to "flip the digital switch" on 7/25, is there anything I have to do? Will a reboot of the Tivo handle it? My problem is I'm going on vacation that day and won't be back for a week. I could have my mom come over and reboot the Tivo, but anything more than that I don't trust her to do.
> 
> Can anyone who has already dealt with RCN going digital give me the benefit of their experience?


If you're already using cable card(s), then I would think you don't have to do anything.

You're already digital. If RCN is just shutting off analog, they shouldn't be touching the digital side.

Only people it should affect are ones who have the cable going directly into their analog tuning tvs.

But will RCN encrypt everything or will the digital stay unencrypted. Will the digital channels replace the analog below 99, meaning if you have a tv with digital tuner, will the channel lineup stay the same for ppl w/o boxes (or TiVo users not using CCs)


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## antny

i'm in chicago, got the cable cards, installed them myself (after much arguing that it was impossible for me to wait for the cable guy and they already screwed up my phone and internet)..anyway....the cards were a breeze to install..just follow the instructions, do it one at a time and you'll be fine. the problem i AM having is that i cannot get video on demand...is it that i just have to argue with rcn to turn it on or is it just not going to happen because of the tivo box..if that's the case..tivo really should come up with some kind of override for this.....yes, i know...don't really need it..but i'm trying to catch up on stuff that i missed before i got my new box


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## tiassa

DeathRider said:


> If you're already using cable card(s), then I would think you don't have to do anything.
> 
> You're already digital. If RCN is just shutting off analog, they shouldn't be touching the digital side.
> 
> Only people it should affect are ones who have the cable going directly into their analog tuning tvs.
> 
> But will RCN encrypt everything or will the digital stay unencrypted. Will the digital channels replace the analog below 99, meaning if you have a tv with digital tuner, will the channel lineup stay the same for ppl w/o boxes (or TiVo users not using CCs)


The problem is that the channel lineup is changing massively, they are reordering almost everything (TVG is going from 145 to 386 for example and ESPN HD is going from 166 to 682) This is why I'm thinking that I'll minimally have to do a reboot or maybe even guided setup, that's what I'm wondering about


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## tiassa

antny said:


> i'm in chicago, got the cable cards, installed them myself (after much arguing that it was impossible for me to wait for the cable guy and they already screwed up my phone and internet)..anyway....the cards were a breeze to install..just follow the instructions, do it one at a time and you'll be fine. the problem i AM having is that i cannot get video on demand...is it that i just have to argue with rcn to turn it on or is it just not going to happen because of the tivo box..if that's the case..tivo really should come up with some kind of override for this.....yes, i know...don't really need it..but i'm trying to catch up on stuff that i missed before i got my new box


If you are using cable cards, you can't get PPV, cable cards don't have the ability to "talk back" to the system to send the order up the line.


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## Roderigo

tiassa said:


> The problem is that the channel lineup is changing massively, they are reordering almost everything (TVG is going from 145 to 386 for example and ESPN HD is going from 166 to 682) This is why I'm thinking that I'll minimally have to do a reboot or maybe even guided setup, that's what I'm wondering about


You shouldn't have to do anything. The cablecard will pick up the changes as soon as you cable company makes them, and rearrange all the tuning. The painful part of these rearrangements is usually in the synchronization between getting the updated channel list from the tivo service, and getting the actual update on the system. Don't be surprised if there's a few days of pain right around the switch, but things generally settle out in a few days without having to do anything.


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## fergie8

tiassa said:


> The problem is that the channel lineup is changing massively, they are reordering almost everything (TVG is going from 145 to 386 for example and ESPN HD is going from 166 to 682) This is why I'm thinking that I'll minimally have to do a reboot or maybe even guided setup, that's what I'm wondering about





Roderigo said:


> You shouldn't have to do anything. The cablecard will pick up the changes as soon as you cable company makes them, and rearrange all the tuning. The painful part of these rearrangements is usually in the synchronization between getting the updated channel list from the tivo service, and getting the actual update on the system. Don't be surprised if there's a few days of pain right around the switch, but things generally settle out in a few days without having to do anything.


When RCN did the switch in my Chicago neighborhood in February, my TiVo HD cable card picked up the new channel arrangement immediately, but the TiVo itself still had the old channel lineup. However that was an easy problem to fix. I just navigated through the TiVo Central menu system like this:
Messages & Settings
Settings
Channels
Channel List

At the bottom of the channel list page is the message "Press ENTER if this is the wrong Channel lineup". Pressing ENTER there led me through the channel lineup selection part of Guided Setup. After that everything was synchronized and the TiVo started fetching the program information for the new channel lineup. It didn't take days, it just took a couple hours for the TiVo to suck in all the programming data for two weeks of programming for all the many channels. After that everything was cool. I thought it was a fairly painless procedure.


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## tiassa

Thanks Fergie8, that was exactly the answer I was looking for.


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## DrewTivo

tiassa said:


> DrewTivo:
> the RCN Phone rep I dealt with knew about cable cards, but the installer was a total idiot, he said that he brought an M-card, despite the fact that the TIVO HD said it was an S-card when it was plugged in and the card didn't say M-card. The second installer had an M-card (and showed it to me) and everything worked fine -- I had to get them to refund the charge for the second service call (despite Installer #2's efforts). But that was about it.


Thanks.

Other than the extra $1.50 for the second s-card, is there any reason to get the M-card instead of two S-cards?


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## Lenonn

Well, I just got a second HDTV, and ordered a Series 3 from Amazon (with the rebate, I couldn't pass it up) (the first HDTV has a TiVo HD with a Motorola M-card from RCN). I sent a web-form message to RCN asking about the cost of more cable cards, whether I could get two (one S-card, one M-card) for the Series 3 until the series 3 can handle multistream).

According to the RCN rep. from the website, RCN only has M-cards. The good news is they only cost $1.50/month each. The bad: $14.95 per install and a "one-time" $49.95 truck roll.

I didn't realize I was going to need to pay another truck roll fee.


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## DrewTivo

Lenonn said:


> Well, I just got a second HDTV, and ordered a Series 3 from Amazon (with the rebate, I couldn't pass it up) (the first HDTV has a TiVo HD with a Motorola M-card from RCN). I sent a web-form message to RCN asking about the cost of more cable cards, whether I could get two (one S-card, one M-card) for the Series 3 until the series 3 can handle multistream).
> 
> According to the RCN rep. from the website, RCN only has M-cards. The good news is they only cost $1.50/month each. The bad: $14.95 per install and a "one-time" $49.95 truck roll.
> 
> I didn't realize I was going to need to pay another truck roll fee.


1) What rebate?

2) Question the truck roll fee--it took my rep a few minutes but he determined that a cable card was a new install/upgrade that required only the install fee and not the truck roll fee.


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## DeathRider

Lenonn said:


> Well, I just got a second HDTV, and ordered a Series 3 from Amazon (with the rebate, I couldn't pass it up) (the first HDTV has a TiVo HD with a Motorola M-card from RCN). I sent a web-form message to RCN asking about the cost of more cable cards, whether I could get two (one S-card, one M-card) for the Series 3 until the series 3 can handle multistream).
> 
> According to the RCN rep. from the website, RCN only has M-cards. The good news is they only cost $1.50/month each. The bad: $14.95 per install and a "one-time" $49.95 truck roll.
> 
> I didn't realize I was going to need to pay another truck roll fee.


I went to local RCN (Arlington, Ma), they gave me the cable cards because I wouldn't be home for the weekend (Sat truck roll), so I plugged in both CCs, then went to work.

On Monday, I called RCN and had them hit the cards.


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## Lenonn

DrewTivo said:


> 1) What rebate?


One valid through August 30. $200 off a purchase of the Series 3 TiVo (not valid with TiVo HD). They probably don't want me to link to it directly, but go to Amazon and search for TiVo Series 3. There will be a link to the rebate.

*Addendum:* I contacted RCN again about this. I was told "every card to be installed" costs $14.95 for an installation. This time, I was also told the $49.95 fee is for anytime a technician needs to visit. Funny, it all sounds like a good incentive for me to pick up the cards and install them myself. I guess the question is, how much effort it takes to let RCN let me do this myself.


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## vlFB

I'm glad to see some people are getting their Tivos to work with RCN in Chicago. I've spent several hours on the phone with RCN and Tivo so far with no luck. Here's my basic story:

1) Technician came to my place. He was nice but didn't really know what he was doing. We followed the directions on the TiVo website and I seem to get some channels so he leaves. (Obviously I should have checked more channels here but I was in a hurry at this point.)

2) A few minutes after he leaves, I notice that I am missing most of the channels I used to get. I read a lot on the internet and TiVo's web site and I try various things with the Tivo but I don't make any progress.

3) I call RCN and get the runaround for a while. Eventually they tell me they will try sending a "strong signal" and I should wait 2 hours and call back if it's still broken.

4) Still broken of course, so I try calling TiVo. Tivo says that the cablecard is misconfigured and is not sending the right authentication information to enable my cablecard to receive most of my channels.

5) I call RCN back and am given the runaround for a couple more hours. The reps are polite but don't seem to know what they are talking about. The eventual result is that they insist that my TiVo isn't asking for the channels correctly and it's my TiVo that's misconfigured.

Question for RCN Tivo Chicagoans: Which lineup do you have? Currently I see WBBM on channel 2 but sometimes RCN says that I should see QVC, and that is evidence that my TiVo is misconfigured. (I'm not talking about what channel Tivo thinks it is, just what channel I actually see and hear.)

I guess I'll try calling Tivo again (personally I trust them more because they seem to know what they are talking about on the phone) but I'm not sure what's going to happen. I'm worried that Tivo will blame RCN and vice-versa, and I'll just be stuck in the middle paying for cable service that only gives me 20 channels, none of which I actually look at.


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## fitzie

DeathRider said:


> I went to local RCN (Arlington, Ma), they gave me the cable cards because I wouldn't be home for the weekend (Sat truck roll), so I plugged in both CCs, then went to work.
> 
> On Monday, I called RCN and had them hit the cards.


DeathRider: Who did you call locally? I'm in Somerville, and drive to Arlington is painless. I called the RCN 800 # and they insisted that local pick up was not an option. I have a new TiVo HD and that's precisely what I want to do. I'll even make a second trip to drop off the Motorola box when we're done.

Can you clarify that you definitely have M-cards? I think I'd only need one. TV (Sharp Aquos) doesn't need one. I could see getting an extra maybe in case I get another TiVo HD, but that might be a while. Which Channel Line up did you use? Any other kinks?

I'm reading this whole thread, and I really cannot see what VALUE the truck role provides, to the customer anyways. From reading the thread, they don't typically follow the instructions furnished byTiVo, and when they are done "installing", they call a phone # and have somebody else "hit" the card to perform some type of initialization/wake-up procedeure. This isn't rocket science. (Side note, my wife is a rocket scientist.)

My guess is that because the bulk of RCN techs are actually contractors, there is some sort of contractual obligation. Not exactly a sound business model. The DSL industry figured out that customers were smart enough to eliminate truck roles for most. How screwed up is Comcast with this stuff? I can use either, but I've always considered RCN to be less Evil than Comcast.


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## TomMMD

tiassa said:


> If you are using cable cards, you can't get PPV, cable cards don't have the ability to "talk back" to the system to send the order up the line.


When the RCN technician installed my multi-stream card he said that the cards WERE 2-way compatitible but that feature was not yet activated.


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## tiassa

fitzie said:


> DeathRider: Who did you call locally? I'm in Somerville, and drive to Arlington is painless. I called the RCN 800 # and they insisted that local pick up was not an option. I have a new TiVo HD and that's precisely what I want to do. I'll even make a second trip to drop off the Motorola box when we're done.
> 
> Can you clarify that you definitely have M-cards? I think I'd only need one. TV (Sharp Aquos) doesn't need one. I could see getting an extra maybe in case I get another TiVo HD, but that might be a while. Which Channel Line up did you use? Any other kinks?
> 
> I'm reading this whole thread, and I really cannot see what VALUE the truck role provides, to the customer anyways. From reading the thread, they don't typically follow the instructions furnished byTiVo, and when they are done "installing", they call a phone # and have somebody else "hit" the card to perform some type of initialization/wake-up procedeure. This isn't rocket science. (Side note, my wife is a rocket scientist.)
> 
> My guess is that because the bulk of RCN techs are actually contractors, there is some sort of contractual obligation. Not exactly a sound business model. The DSL industry figured out that customers were smart enough to eliminate truck roles for most. How screwed up is Comcast with this stuff? I can use either, but I've always considered RCN to be less Evil than Comcast.


Yeah! I'd like to know that as well. I didn't have to pay a truck roll fee, but I was hit with the $14.95 "installation" fee (twice). I so wanted to not have to wait for them to do the "install" but was told it wasn't an option. 
As I said before the first tech was a total idiot, but the only good thing he did was forget to take the (now retired) Motorola box, which I'm going to put on the TV in my home office which was hooked directly to the cable, but now will need a box after they go all digital. I'm really hoping that I don't have to have an installer show up to connect the coax from the wall to the box to the TV.

As for Comcast check out http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=316310 the Official Comcast thread
A quick reading seems to tell me that Comcast doesn't give you a break for using a cable card, and is heavily into selling you "thier" Box+DVR. Like you I can use both and from what I see from local Comcast customers RCN is less evil, and more "geek tolerant".


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## chanster

Just an update, RCN came on Saturday and put in a new Cablecard on my HD Tivo. Works great. The older Cablecard had a yellow dot on it I never noticed, probably meant it was a bad one or something.

As an aside, I called RCN this morning and they are raising their HD DVD boxes to $17.95..makes my investment in a lifetime HD Tivo look a bit better.

Thanks all.


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## DrewTivo

vlFB said:


> I'm glad to see some people are getting their Tivos to work with RCN in Chicago. I've spent several hours on the phone with RCN and Tivo so far with no luck. Here's my basic story:
> 
> 1) Technician came to my place. He was nice but didn't really know what he was doing. We followed the directions on the TiVo website and I seem to get some channels so he leaves. (Obviously I should have checked more channels here but I was in a hurry at this point.)
> 
> 2) A few minutes after he leaves, I notice that I am missing most of the channels I used to get. I read a lot on the internet and TiVo's web site and I try various things with the Tivo but I don't make any progress.
> 
> 3) I call RCN and get the runaround for a while. Eventually they tell me they will try sending a "strong signal" and I should wait 2 hours and call back if it's still broken.
> 
> 4) Still broken of course, so I try calling TiVo. Tivo says that the cablecard is misconfigured and is not sending the right authentication information to enable my cablecard to receive most of my channels.
> 
> 5) I call RCN back and am given the runaround for a couple more hours. The reps are polite but don't seem to know what they are talking about. The eventual result is that they insist that my TiVo isn't asking for the channels correctly and it's my TiVo that's misconfigured.t.


I'm in DC and have had almost exactly the same experience. I was getting regular basic, not hte extended digital basic. I was told that with the HD card I would also get all the non-premium HD channels too.

Well, I get some of the basic, and some of the HD, all looking sharp. And the others I get nothing or really pixelated picture. Same "hit the card" with a two-hour wait. No joy. Again. No joy. Tech. coming this week. They claim it's not hte cable card, but it's something about the signal strength or some issue like that is my guess.


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## DrewTivo

chanster said:


> Just an update, RCN came on Saturday and put in a new Cablecard on my HD Tivo. Works great. The older Cablecard had a yellow dot on it I never noticed, probably meant it was a bad one or something.
> 
> As an aside, I called RCN this morning and they are raising their HD DVD boxes to $17.95..makes my investment in a lifetime HD Tivo look a bit better.
> 
> Thanks all.


No kidding -- Tivo+Cable Card is less than HD DVR.


----------



## DeathRider

fitzie said:


> DeathRider: Who did you call locally? I'm in Somerville, and drive to Arlington is painless. I called the RCN 800 # and they insisted that local pick up was not an option. I have a new TiVo HD and that's precisely what I want to do. I'll even make a second trip to drop off the Motorola box when we're done.


This was a while back when I lived in Waltham. I went to Arlington and talked to Sheena (IIRC). I did talk to her on the phone when I received my S3. It was Friday afternoon and told her I'd be gone for the weekend, so she found 2 S-Cards for me - said they were the last ones at the time and they would be getting M-Cards in the future.



> Can you clarify that you definitely have M-cards? I think I'd only need one. TV (Sharp Aquos) doesn't need one. I could see getting an extra maybe in case I get another TiVo HD, but that might be a while. Which Channel Line up did you use? Any other kinks?


On Vacation until the 19th. Will check, but 90% sure when i had RCN install last year in Natick, theyu were both M-Cards. I'll have to check on the lineup as well.



> I'm reading this whole thread, and I really cannot see what VALUE the truck role provides, to the customer anyways. From reading the thread, they don't typically follow the instructions furnished byTiVo, and when they are done "installing", they call a phone # and have somebody else "hit" the card to perform some type of initialization/wake-up procedeure. This isn't rocket science. (Side note, my wife is a rocket scientist.)


I don't see them needing a truck role. Like I said, I did to a self install.



> My guess is that because the bulk of RCN techs are actually contractors, there is some sort of contractual obligation. Not exactly a sound business model. The DSL industry figured out that customers were smart enough to eliminate truck roles for most. How screwed up is Comcast with this stuff? I can use either, but I've always considered RCN to be less Evil than Comcast.


Apparently, not all are smart enough for DSL self install...

I was on the Dell Community forums and somone was upset because Dell told them they didn't need a modem with their system(I would suspect purchasing a modem) - they did have Bell South DSL...


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## DrewTivo

So I finally got the Tivo S3 working satisfactorily with the RCN cable card. 

But, I'm not receiving four channels. I have expanded basic (1-99) and with the HDTV cable card I'm supposed to get the HD channels as well. But I don't get them all. I forget the exact list, but I think it's Versus, Scifi, NFL, and something else. All the rest are just fine. 

Of course, RCN tells me this is a Tivo problem. Tivo tells me it's an RCN problem. RCN says I should get those channels. 

Any ideas what's going on?


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## Roderigo

DrewTivo said:


> Of course, RCN tells me this is a Tivo problem. Tivo tells me it's an RCN problem. RCN says I should get those channels.


Check this tivo support article:

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport..._CableCARD_Activation_and_Channel_Issues.html

It should be able to show you how to prove it's a cable company problem


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## fitzie

Well, last Saturday I drove over to Arlington, MA and told the lady nicely that I'd love to turn in my cable box and get a CableCard, please. She took the Motorola CBox and looked at me like I had three heads. She explained that they had no CableCards, and that they didn't distribute them. I looked at her and asked so then where do the technicians get them? She explained the obvious, stating "You're not a technician."

I attempted to explain to her that I was just as qualified as a technician, in that I could insert the CableCard, stare at the screen, think good thoughts and then call the 800 number, as that's precisely what RCN technicans do when faced with installing a CableCard.

It got ugly, I asked to talk to a manager, there wasn't one, etc..., and I was given back my Motorola CBox. I then waited to tach to an in or outbound tech to see what they thought about the whole process, but it was lunch time.

I called the 800 # and scheduled and appointment. I specifically requested an M-Card, preferably two.

The appointed day came, and luckily so did a technician. He seemed to be a nice enough guy, reeked of tobacco, but seemed nice, and reasonably knowledgable.

The first attempt didn;t appear to work. It saw an S-Card, then an M-card, but seemed to get caught up in the download part. We waited a bit and then power cycled the TiVo.

The second attempt seemed to work. You shouldn;t expect the load to work immediately. It probably took 20 minutes, maybe longer.

The guy left after I appeared to have some channels > 99, and I proceeded to rerun the Guided setup.

It apears to have worked. There are a number of channels in the 100-199 range that say HD in the title, but I don't seem to get some of them. Not sure if I'm supposed to, but I do get all of the premium channels that I know I pay for. I'll have to see if the past 3-4 days has changed anything.


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## chicagobrownblue

RCN converted my condo building to all digital April 2008. Basic cable is included in our assessments, so each unit received one digital converter box which works fine with the IR blasters. 

Any thoughts on what will happen next year? Will RCN come up with a similar package of local network channels in HD and the RCN Signature (formerly expanded basic) channels in HD with a new converter box? Or maybe just send out a standard definition version of the HD channels.


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## sirbob

I've been using a TivoHD for RCN basic cable in Boston for the past several months without a cablecard. With the switch over to all digital imminent, I called up their tech number to see about getting a cablecard and was told that I could just go pick it up at one of the service centers and install it myself. I made the tech repeat that several times as I thought it must be my lucky day. 

I went down to the Arlington RCN center where I was promptly told I could not have a cablecard and that only techs could install them. I asked why that was the case and was informed that it was company policy, just like Comcast. I asked what was the reason for the policy, as I could only see it as a way to make another $15 and inconvenience customers, and she just stood by the "it's company policy, here's the number to call to set up an appointment." I told her that's the number I called and was told by a tech that I could just pick them up, only to be told again, too bad. 

Darn cable companies. It tempts me to cancel the cable and just stick with OTA and internet.

Ryan


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## tiassa

I have to say that I just went through the RCN digital upgrade and the 9.4 install and things were about as painless as could be expected. When I got home from vacation on Wednesday (the 30th), as expected the TV was screwed up (the upgrade happened on Monday or Tuesday). I could directly move to the new channels but the guide still had the old lineup. I tried to do the "repeat channel setup", but TIVO told me that feature was disabled until I did a service upgrade (to 9.4), which was scheduled for 2:00am. Instead of waiting I did the 9.4 upgrade (which took a while), then when it finished, I was able to do the repeat channel setup. This took a while as well, but was pretty much "fire and forget". 

Given what was done and the number of things that had to interface with each other. I have to say this wasn't THAT big a deal. The interesting thing is what would have happened if I'd waited for the TIVO to do it's scheduled upgrade -- it the new channels and directory info would have come down at the same time.


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## NomarsFool

So, what is going on with RCN right now? All of a sudden my Tivo is completely screwed up. I went through the guided cable card setup, but it prompted me to tell them about channels where I had no signal. For example, it showed me channel 19 and asked me if it was QVC. Well, channel 19 was nothing other than a gray screen with a "missing signal" message or something like that. It went through a few more prompts like that and told me "You're all set". Nope, don't think so.

I called RCN, and they guided me through the same thing. Problem is, the channel lineup is still not right and I'm missing half the channels. Does Tivo need to update their lineup for the new RCN lineup?


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## jgulla

I just had RCN here in Arlington install a multi-stream CableCARD into my new TivoHD. The good news is that TiVo seems to get all the channels listed in the new brochures (the fold-up ones, not the flat card the tech handed me on the install 

Tivo installed service update (which took a long time), and I repeated the guided setup. It had all the channels right it asked about, and I thought I was all set. Of course, it's not that simple. TiVo has the channel lineup REALLY wrong (ok, it's right according to the old lineup the tech handed me). Since RCN has been using this lineup since Tuesday, I was hoping TiVo would have the update by now, but I gess not. 

Anyone get around this yet? 

Jerry


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## rlcarr

jgulla said:


> I just had RCN here in Arlington install a multi-stream CableCARD into my new TivoHD.


1) How many days was it between when you placed the order and when they were able to send out a tech to do the install?

2) Did you have to jump through any hoops to get a multi-stream card? Did the customer service person know what you meant when you requested one?

3) Did you call the nationwide RCN number or did you go into the Arlington, MA office in person to place the order?


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## jgulla

rlcarr said:


> 1) How many days was it between when you placed the order and when they were able to send out a tech to do the install?
> 
> 2) Did you have to jump through any hoops to get a multi-stream card? Did the customer service person know what you meant when you requested one?
> 
> 3) Did you call the nationwide RCN number or did you go into the Arlington, MA office in person to place the order?


1. It was about 4 days, but when I called, they offered to come by the next day! I couldn't do that, as my HD TiVo hadn't shown up yet 

2. I simply asked for 2 CableCARDS. The tech showed up with one multi-stream card. I didn't even think to specifically ask for the multi-stream card.
Again, the card installed without issue. I seem to get all the channels the new RCN brochure says I should. I just with TiVo knew about them 

3. I spoke w/ the local office about cable cards, but ended up placing the order when I called the national number. FYI, My experiences with the RCN office in Arlington have been good.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you have more questions.

Jerry


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## jgulla

Last night, I got the channel lineup to be correct. I got the idea from another forum (on broadbandreports, I think). Do this: When going through the guided setup, SKIP THE FIRST FEW CHANNELS it asks you about. I got those channels (and the guided setup got them right), but if you accept these, the cable lineup WILL be wrong. I just told TiVo for the first few channels to "skip" and try another. I waited until I got to channel 25, which it then asked me if it was HSN or MSNBC (prior to those channels, it only gave me one choice for me). This is where the differences started from the "Old" RCN lineup to the current one. I answered that one correctly (HSN), and the next few is asked for, and Viola! I was all set with the CORRECT lineup! Yay!

I had to go through the channels and mark the ones I don't get (I only get "Signature" not "premier"), but it had everything right.

Hope this helps.

Jerry


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## rlcarr

I was just CableCARD-ized. Went fairly well though there were some glitches:
1) Tech showed up about 45 after the end of the promised window.
2) RCN had provisioned my account for a single M-card. However, they apparently ran out of M-cards and gave the tech two S-cards. So he had to call somewhere to have them reprovision me. I'll have to see what the rental fee ends up being and perhaps later on pester them about swapping the two S-cards for an M-card.
3) One of the S-cards was apparently broken (no matter what slot it was in, the CableCARD Menu on the TiVo claimed it wasn't operating properly, and the DVR Diagnostics showed it stuck in "Initializing". Luckily he had a 3rd S-card in the truck.

Other than that, it wasn't too bad. At least in my area, the tech doesn't need to take down any info from the TiVo (like host IDs). The card activation process went as follows:
1) Tech scanned the serial number barcode on the CC into his wireless PDA.
2) Tech had the PDA transmit back to the mothership.
3) Tech handed me the CC and told me to insert it into the TiVo.
4) For 5-10 minutes the "Test Channels" said there were no CC channels available, but after a bit they popped in.

Interestingly, as part of figuring out that one card was broken, he had me swap the cards (_after the first card was all set up and receiving channels_). Even though he didn't have the mothership send another "hit" to that card, it came up fine and received all the channels it was supposed it after being swapped. What gives? I thought that since each CC slot in the TiVo has its own host ID, the CC would have be re-paired if it was swapped liked that? (Or am I going to end up losing my stations after some timeout now, and will have to call tech support to ask them for a "hit"?)


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## Teggy

Got an M-Card installed in a TiVo HD in Waltham on Saturday. Went pretty smoothly, except my premiums wouldn't show up initially. Luckily, I checked before the tech left and he made the necessary calls. Everything seems to be working well, except HBO2 was swapped with one of the Cinemax stations yesterday. I have to check to see if that was a temporary glitch or it is still there.


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## rlcarr

Teggy -- can you check to see if your card is paired? Go to the CableCARD Menu screen and then the Conditional Access screen and see what is next to "Val:" Is it "Val: V" or "Val: ?" or something else? And if it is "Val: ?" are you still getting the premiums OK? And do you recall your tech asking for the TiVo's host ID or anything like that?


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## fergie8

rlcarr said:


> Teggy -- can you check to see if your card is paired? Go to the CableCARD Menu screen and then the Conditional Access screen and see what is next to "Val:" Is it "Val: V" or "Val: ?" or something else? And if it is "Val: ?" are you still getting the premiums OK? And do you recall your tech asking for the TiVo's host ID or anything like that?


I'm not Teggy, but I have RCN in Chicago and have a TiVoHD with one M card. Here's what mine shows:

"Con: Yes EBCP: Yes Val:? 0x00"

Due to TiVo having to replace my defective TiVoHD I had to go through the cable card install twice. The first tech was pretty clueless, the second one slightly less clueless. I don't remember the host ID question coming up at all either time. I get all the premium channels that I subscribe to. I did have to call up RCN after the first install because I was missing some channels, but that's because they hadn't configured my account properly. So they sorted that out, sent the proper config signal to the cable card, and all has been good since. <knock on wood>

As someone else pointed out to you in another post in another thread, I wouldn't worry about it if it's working.

HTH. Cheers,

-- 
Michael


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## DrewTivo

fergie8 said:


> I did have to call up RCN after the first install because I was missing some channels, but that's because they hadn't configured my account properly.


I suspect I am in the same boat. How did you convince them to reconfigure your account? They keep sending techs to figure out why I'm not receiving 4 HD channels, but seem baffled by why I'm not.


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## tiassa

Teggy said:


> Got an M-Card installed in a TiVo HD in Waltham on Saturday. Went pretty smoothly, except my premiums wouldn't show up initially. Luckily, I checked before the tech left and he made the necessary calls. Everything seems to be working well, except HBO2 was swapped with one of the Cinemax stations yesterday. I have to check to see if that was a temporary glitch or it is still there.


I've got the same problem here in Watertown. (swapped HBO2HD and MoreMaxHD). I'm pretty sure it has been this way since the digital changeover. I wasted most of yesterday going through 3 resets from the head office and Tivo Reboots and now I have a technician visit scheduled (which I'm 100% sure will be worthless, as the problem is obviously at the head end). Can you do me a favor and call RCN Customer (dis)service and tell them you have this problem, maybe it will raise a flag in thier support system.


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## yargok

DrewTivo said:


> I suspect I am in the same boat. How did you convince them to reconfigure your account? They keep sending techs to figure out why I'm not receiving 4 HD channels, but seem baffled by why I'm not.


It sounds like you have too weak a signal - i self diagnosed my problem to be having too many splitters, which reduced the signal to a point where i was missing just a few channels.


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## DrewTivo

yargok said:


> It sounds like you have too weak a signal - i self diagnosed my problem to be having too many splitters, which reduced the signal to a point where i was missing just a few channels.


Nope. Signal strength on these channels is just fine--comparable to the others that I do receive. Plus tivo doesn't tell me "can't find signal" (or whatever that message is).


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## fergie8

DrewTivo said:


> I suspect I am in the same boat. How did you convince them to reconfigure your account? They keep sending techs to figure out why I'm not receiving 4 HD channels, but seem baffled by why I'm not.


Sorry "reconfigure my account" was probably a poor choice of words on my part. My "account" (i.e. what they bill me for) was configured okay. It was just the technical side of things that was mis-configured.

It's been a while since this happened to me, but IIRC, there was some sort of setup mistake made where they enabled billing for certain channels, but for some reason that information didn't get into the technical part of their system which is actually used to enable the channels on the cable cards and converter boxes. So telling them to "hit my cable card" wouldn't fix the problem because they were hitting it with an incomplete list of channels. I apparently was lucky and when I called RCN and got a tech support person who knew to check for that. She fixed it, hit my cable card with the corrected list, and I haven't had that problem since.


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## miketomei

I have RCN in Somerville, MA. I just had the tech here installing a multi stream cable card in my TivoHD. He was able to quickly get about half of the HD channels to appear, but many are just black. he called back to the office many times for "hits" to the cable card, but had no lucjk. 

finally, after about an hour and a half, he got his boss on the phone. his boss told him that in Somerville, since RCN is making the digital switchover in September, they have a certain number of HD channels out of service until the end of September. I'm wondering if this is indeed true, or just a blow off since he had no luck getting these HD channel to display. 

Can someone in Somerville confirm that you're indeed not able to view these HD channels on RCN?:

165 Discovery HD Theater
167 HD Net
168 HD Net Movie
184 A&E HD
185 Bio HD
186 History HD
187 Animal Planet HD
188 Travel HD
189 FX HD
190 Lifetime Movie Net HD
191 TLC HD
192 CNN HD
193 Discovery Channel HD
194 SCI HD
195 Mojo HD


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## fitzie

miketomei:
I live in Somerville and I can't get any of those channels either. I've had a mCard for about 5 weeks.


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## tiassa

tiassa said:


> I've got the same problem here in Watertown. (swapped HBO2HD and MoreMaxHD). I'm pretty sure it has been this way since the digital changeover. I wasted most of yesterday going through 3 resets from the head office and Tivo Reboots and now I have a technician visit scheduled (which I'm 100% sure will be worthless, as the problem is obviously at the head end). Can you do me a favor and call RCN Customer (dis)service and tell them you have this problem, maybe it will raise a flag in thier support system.


As I suspected the RCN tech's visit didn't do a damn thing, at least the tech was knowledgeable about Tivos and Cablecards, so we didn't have to explain that. He even got a box out of his truck, plugged it into my cable and the problem was still there (which was no shock, because while the only HD TV in my house is connected to the Tivo I can tune a Low-Def TV to a HD channel and get the sound).

It gets even stranger. Now 411 shows MoreMax LoDef, but 711 (which should be More Max HD), is showing the contents of 702 (HBO2 HD) However the RCN interactive guide is listing the content correctly (ie in the guide the HBO2 HD content is listed).

Here's the good part. In spite of the TIVO guide picking up the channels, in spite of the fact that on RCN's website the channels are listed, when the tech was talking to the head office they insisted that they didn't offer those channels! Reminds me of that old joke "Who you gonna believe? Me of your lying eyes?"


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## dtremit

miketomei said:


> finally, after about an hour and a half, he got his boss on the phone. his boss told him that in Somerville, since RCN is making the digital switchover in September, they have a certain number of HD channels out of service until the end of September. I'm wondering if this is indeed true, or just a blow off since he had no luck getting these HD channel to display.


People on dslreports (without TiVos) have been griping about these missing channels for some time. Apparently Boston and Somerville were two of the earliest cities RCN rolled out in the area, and the cable systems have lower bandwidth (750MHz versus 860MHz) and as such don't have room for those additional HD channels until RCN eliminates analog.

The same reports are also saying Dec/Jan for the digital switch in Somerville, not September, fwiw.


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## elvisplives

First, thanks for all the help in this thread. If it weren't for you guys, I'd have quit technology and moved to Greenland by now. 

I'm in Arlington, MA and am all-digital now. Along with my new S3, I have a second S2 TiVo (single tuner) with no converter box - the line comes out of the wall into the TiVo. This used to work fine. Since the switch, even after I do an RCN Rebuild Extended Basic, I'm not getting any channels, and even then the channel list only goes up to 99. 

Do I need a cablecard in a TiVo (or TV) that is connected directly to cable with no converter box? Thanks much.


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## DrewTivo

elvisplives said:


> First, thanks for all the help in this thread. If it weren't for you guys, I'd have quit technology and moved to Greenland by now.
> 
> I'm in Arlington, MA and am all-digital now. Along with my new S3, I have a second S2 TiVo (single tuner) with no converter box - the line comes out of the wall into the TiVo. This used to work fine. Since the switch, even after I do an RCN Rebuild Extended Basic, I'm not getting any channels, and even then the channel list only goes up to 99.
> 
> Do I need a cablecard in a TiVo (or TV) that is connected directly to cable with no converter box? Thanks much.


I belive that RCN in the Boston area went all digital, meaning you need either a converter or a cable card to get any cable channels. S2 doesn't take a cable card, so you'll need a converter for that one.


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## mrwabam

I'm in Arlington and have RCN as well. They went all digital around 2-3 weeks ago. Unless you have a cablecard you won't be able to watch any TV, with or without the Tivo. 

For non series 3/HD tivo's you'll need to use a cable box....

Fortunately with RCN the cablecards are cheap....

Good luck!


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## DVDerek

Hey Folks,

I'm making the HD Jump pretty soon. I live in Somerville and I'm pricing out both RCN and Comcast. On Price, it seems RCN is the very clear winner. I can get their digital cable service + 10Mbps internet for $70 for a full year. How do people in the Boston, Arlington, Somerville area find the service? How is the picture quality? How is the internet reliability.

It seems a high number of HD channels are not available in Somerville until the analog transition is over. Are people who signed up for HD packages getting any sort of credit (or maybe free HBO) to tide them over? Seems fair to me...

Also, how much are you guys paying for cable cards. From this thread, it seems the RCN techs are much more adepts at installing the cards, which is nice. I'm a little bummed that there is NO analog service, as I have a S2 TiVo that I'd like to keep around on an SDTV and having to also hook up a box to it kind of stinks. Oh well.


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## Hank

RCN service is great here in Brookline.

Internet service is rock solid. I've had the same "dynamic" IP address for 18 months, now.

I have a S3 Tivo, and HD looks great, but I don't watch much TV, so I can't really say anything about channels or HD quality. Cablecards are $1.50 each.


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## Lenonn

Well, I ordered two RCN cable cards yesterday for the Series 3 (already have one in the TiVo HD). The installation ($29.95) is scheduled for tomorrow, Sunday the 7th, between 2 and 5 pm. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

Addendum: A few hours later after my initial order call, the local RCN office called to say that they are out of cable cards, and asked to reschedule (it sounded like it would only take a day to get more cards). So I re-scheduled for next Saturday morning.


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## mbklein

I'm finally giving up on DirecTV/Speakeasy/AT&T and looking at packages from RCN. Sounds like the service in the Boston area is pretty solid.

Hank, what tier of Internet service do you have from them? Is there a (known) monthly cap? I'm thinking about the 20MB down/2MB up, but if there's a meager cap or consistency issues I'll probably stick with the 10M/800K. Mind posting some speed test results?


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## Hank

I'm on th 7mps plan, and I've never run into any caps or throttling. Then again, I never really download music of movies or bittorrents, etc. Their connectivity is rock solid. I get spurious disconnects from my SSH sessions maybe once a week (some brief interruption), but they're only instantaneous. In terms of real outages, maybe one a year, if that. And I've had the same "dynamic" ip address for almost two years now.

Here's my speedtest results:

NYC:
Download Speed: 7312 kbps (914 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 760 kbps (95 KB/sec transfer rate)

Wash, DC:
Download Speed: 7311 kbps (913.9 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 754 kbps (94.3 KB/sec transfer rate)

Seattle:
Download Speed: 6886 kbps (860.8 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 719 kbps (89.9 KB/sec transfer rate)

I'd also suggest buying your own cable modem, and not paying $3/month to rent one of theirs. Unlike cablecards, the cable modems are a "self-install" type deal that does not require a truck-roll.


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## mbklein

Thanks Hank!

Do their CSRs seem CableCard savvy? I haven't tried to talk to a cable company about CableCards recently, but last time I did, they either didn't know what I was talking about, or they did a pretty good job pretending they didn't so they could force a converter box down my throat.


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## Hank

I called up to order them, and they CSR sort-of knew ("let me look this up").. the guy who came also sort-of knew what they were, but it took several "hits" to get them activated. This was two years ago when the S3 Tivos were first sold.


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## DrewTivo

Hank said:


> I'd also suggest buying your own cable modem, and not paying $3/month to rent one of theirs. Unlike cablecards, the cable modems are a "self-install" type deal that does not require a truck-roll.


While I agree with buying your own, I was told last year (or so) that it did require a truck roll to install a BYO modem. I know that's bogus (at most it should require refreshing the MAC address in their database), but that's what they told me.

If you have the modem when they come to do the install, though, there's no issue. So if you BYO modem, just go buy it before the installer comes. It will pay for itself in about 18 months.*

*There are some suggestions that RCN will move to DOCSIS 3, which I believe would require new modems all around, sometime in the near future (i.e., 1-2 years). But it's all speculation based in part on their move to all digital, which would free up bandwidth for that. Of course, new modems would mean that your BYO modem would need to be replaced and you might not recover the cost.


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## tiassa

I'll add my experiences to Hank's. The CSR's (the ones I talked to) knew about Cable Cards and didn't try any of the BS I've heard that other CableCos try to pull "You won't get the program guide! VOD won't work!" The first installer I got from them insisted that the single stream card he installed was a Multi (despite in not saying "M-card" on the packaging and the Tivo saying it was a single stream card), so I had to get another installer to come out with an M-Card. They are still having issues with some of the HD channels (MoreMaxHD shows up in the slot for HBO2HD and vice versa). 
Internet service has been Rock solid --I've had to reboot my cable modem maybe 2 or 3 times in the last couple of years, and I've haven't talked to their cable modem support in an age. Speed is great, here are some tests I just ran from my house. (I have 20mb service)
NY: 16810 down 2059 up
DC: 20819 down 2051 up
Seattle: 9596 down 1081 up


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## Hank

DrewTivo said:


> While I agree with buying your own, I was told last year (or so) that it did require a truck roll to install a BYO modem. I know that's bogus (at most it should require refreshing the MAC address in their database), but that's what they told me.


It might have changed, but when I installed mine (4 years ago, at least), I had instructions to go to some internal RCN webpage to update the MAC address, then it just worked.


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## DVDerek

FWIW - the package they're offering me includes a "free" cable modem rental for 1 year. As often as these things break (I've had 2 die in 4 years), I'll take the free modem for as long as I can get it before I buy one.


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## tiassa

DVDerek said:


> FWIW - the package they're offering me includes a "free" cable modem rental for 1 year. As often as these things break (I've had 2 die in 4 years), I'll take the free modem for as long as I can get it before I buy one.


Really? I've had Motorola SB5120 for years without any problems. It was one of the ones that RCN Recommended on their website, and was the only one on their list that my local computer store had in stock at the time I was looking to buy.


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## DrewTivo

Hank said:


> It might have changed, but when I installed mine (4 years ago, at least), I had instructions to go to some internal RCN webpage to update the MAC address, then it just worked.


It would not surprise me if RCN's customer support gave me incorrect information. 

(I did tell them it was pretty bogus, but the payoff/return on a $50 roll fee just made it hard to justify when I was planning to move anyway within a year)


----------



## mbklein

What's the magic phrase to use when ordering service to let the RCN people know that I'll be using a TiVo HD and will need a multi-stream cablecard? Is what I just said sufficient?


----------



## DrewTivo

mbklein said:


> What's the magic phrase to use when ordering service to let the RCN people know that I'll be using a TiVo HD and will need a multi-stream cablecard? Is what I just said sufficient?


Tell them you'd like a cable card. Ask them if it's multistream and that you need two if it is not. I have read that RCN has only multistream cards, however. When I asked, the support person said the person on the truck would have what was needed.

Also confirm that you will not be charged a truck roll fee, but just a service/install fee ($14.95 in DC )


----------



## mbklein

The RCN sales guy I just spoke to said that they only have single-stream cards, and that I'd need two of them. I guess it doesn't really matter much whether I get a single M-card or two S-cards.

Is there any way to use Video On Demand/Pay-Per-View with this setup? I know I can't order directly through the TiVo, but can I order online and watch/record on my TiVo?

ETA: "My TiVo" is entirely hypothetical at this point. I'm with DirecTV now, so I'm going to have to buy a new one. If the answer is "Only if you have TiVo X," just let me know which one I need to buy. kthxbye.


----------



## Hank

Video On Demand/Pay-Per-View is only available with their set top box.


----------



## mbklein

Hrm. That kinda sucks. Though we _rarely_ use PPV and I've never had access to VOD, so I don't see myself missing it. I've got a Mac Mini hooked up to the TV as well, so I can always rent via iTunes (especially with a fat 10MB pipe), and there's always Unbox on the TiVo. So screw PPV.


----------



## DrewTivo

mbklein said:


> I've never had access to VOD,


You mean, other than your Tivo?


----------



## mbklein

DrewTivo said:


> You mean, other than your Tivo?


Right. I've never had a device that sent a message to my provider requesting that they start a particular show or movie on my behalf. All my demands are met locally.


----------



## DeathRider

mbklein said:


> The RCN sales guy I just spoke to said that they only have single-stream cards, and that I'd need two of them. I guess it doesn't really matter much whether I get a single M-card or two S-cards.


That would be a $1.50/month for me


----------



## DeathRider

fitzie said:


> DeathRider: Who did you call locally? I'm in Somerville, and drive to Arlington is painless. I called the RCN 800 # and they insisted that local pick up was not an option. I have a new TiVo HD and that's precisely what I want to do. I'll even make a second trip to drop off the Motorola box when we're done.
> 
> Can you clarify that you definitely have M-cards? I think I'd only need one. TV (Sharp Aquos) doesn't need one. I could see getting an extra maybe in case I get another TiVo HD, but that might be a while. Which Channel Line up did you use? Any other kinks?
> 
> I'm reading this whole thread, and I really cannot see what VALUE the truck role provides, to the customer anyways. From reading the thread, they don't typically follow the instructions furnished byTiVo, and when they are done "installing", they call a phone # and have somebody else "hit" the card to perform some type of initialization/wake-up procedeure. This isn't rocket science. (Side note, my wife is a rocket scientist.)
> 
> My guess is that because the bulk of RCN techs are actually contractors, there is some sort of contractual obligation. Not exactly a sound business model. The DSL industry figured out that customers were smart enough to eliminate truck roles for most. How screwed up is Comcast with this stuff? I can use either, but I've always considered RCN to be less Evil than Comcast.


Sorry I never got back to you.

When I was in Waltham, The person @Arlington gave me 2 S cards, said they were the last 2 and next batch would be M-Cards. That was a few years ago.

When I got the install @Natick, contractor had 2 M-Cards.

I have a truck roll on Tuesday for an M-Card for my THD. She only told me about the $14.99 install fee. I don't think they can charge me for a truck roll, since I'm only getting the card due to their digital only switch...guess I could complain about the install fee...


----------



## Lenonn

The installer showed up at 8:50 this morning, and was done with installing two cable cards into the Series 3 by 9:20 or so. All seems to be well with receiving channels (knock on wood).

Of course, this was less than 18 hours after learning the dreaded "digital crush" will be on us in approximately two weeks.


----------



## DrewTivo

Lenonn said:


> Of course, this was less than 18 hours after learning the dreaded "digital crush" will be on us in approximately two weeks.


Where is it coming in only 2 weeks?


----------



## Lenonn

DrewTivo said:


> Where is it coming in only 2 weeks?


Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, evidently.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21033383-CATV-MDDCVA-Analog-Crush-Oct-1st-Official

Albeit, I haven't seen anything official yet. But what surprises me is they wait until two weeks before to announce this. That seems fishy, but then again, I wouldn't put it past any company to try. And all information seems to suggest RCN wants to be done with analog by the beginning of 2009.

I contacted RCN customer service by web form about this, but they neither confirmed nor denied it. They just cut and paste the talking points from their website.


----------



## DVDerek

Dreaded? I want that thing to come ASAP. I'm not an RCN customer (yet) but Somerville is missing out on a handful of HD stations everyone else gets because we don't have the bandwidth. RCN can get 2-3 HD stations in the space it takes for a single analog station. We need that bandwidth...


----------



## mbklein

I'll let everyone know what kind of CableCard the guy shows up with on Thursday.


----------



## DrewTivo

DVDerek said:


> Dreaded? I want that thing to come ASAP.


It depends. If you already use a converter or have HD Tivo on all your sets, then it's great.

If you like to plug in your old analog TV to a wall jack with no converter, or use your dual tuner s2 tivo with both tuners, well then it sucks.


----------



## DrewTivo

Lenonn said:


> Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, evidently.
> 
> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21033383-CATV-MDDCVA-Analog-Crush-Oct-1st-Official
> 
> Albeit, I haven't seen anything official yet. But what surprises me is they wait until two weeks before to announce this. That seems fishy, but then again, I wouldn't put it past any company to try. And all information seems to suggest RCN wants to be done with analog by the beginning of 2009.


That's what I'm going on too--I haven't seen anything else about it. Of course they want to do it, but it will be a massive problem if no one knows about it and all of a sudden on Oct. 1 the phone lines are lit up with people calling for converters.


----------



## mbklein

mbklein said:


> I'll let everyone know what kind of CableCard the guy shows up with on Thursday.


Answer: M-Card!


----------



## DVDerek

How did it go? Painless?


----------



## mbklein

Internet installed painlessly. TiVo came back with an "unable to acquire channel information" message. Trying again.


----------



## nycityuser

I'm in New York and RCN will be converting our market to all digital shortly. Almost all the channel number assignments are changing. How quickly will TIVO pick up the new line-up? How has it worked in other markets that converted (i.e., Chicago and Boston)?

I'm concerned that when RCN flips the switch the database TIVO uses for programming and channel line-ups will not be up-to-date. That will mean nothing will record properly in the heart of the new television season.

Any words of wisdom, experience or advice?


----------



## mbklein

mbklein said:


> Internet installed painlessly. TiVo came back with an "unable to acquire channel information" message. Trying again.


My bad. Damaged the F-connector disconnecting the old TiVo. Bad signal. New cable cleared up all signal/channel issues. :up:


----------



## tiassa

nycityuser said:


> I'm in New York and RCN will be converting our market to all digital shortly. Almost all the channel number assignments are changing. How quickly will TIVO pick up the new line-up? How has it worked in other markets that converted (i.e., Chicago and Boston)?
> 
> I'm concerned that when RCN flips the switch the database TIVO uses for programming and channel line-ups will not be up-to-date. That will mean nothing will record properly in the heart of the new television season.
> 
> Any words of wisdom, experience or advice?


Here in Boston the DB was correct within 2 days. I came home on Wednesday (the changeover was Monday, but i was out of town) did a reboot of the Tivo (to install 9.4) then a re-do of guided setup, and all the channels were there.


----------



## DrewTivo

nycityuser said:


> I
> 
> I'm concerned that when RCN flips the switch the database TIVO uses for programming and channel line-ups will not be up-to-date. That will mean nothing will record properly in the heart of the new television season.
> 
> Any words of wisdom, experience or advice?


It seems like a reasonable concern. That said, it also appears that things like network channels will stay the same (at least standard def.), and it's cable that will be all over the place. Since cable often repeats episodes, you probably won't have as big a problem.

That said, yeah, it's worrisome.


----------



## Lenonn

DrewTivo said:


> That's what I'm going on too--I haven't seen anything else about it. Of course they want to do it, but it will be a massive problem if no one knows about it and all of a sudden on Oct. 1 the phone lines are lit up with people calling for converters.


Well, I've been in contact (via e-mail) with RCN Customer Service. They tell me the following:


1. October 22 is the changeover date for Silver Spring.
2. Every television to have RCN service will need the converter box. First box is free, additional boxes are $2.95/month/box. Converters = TiVo-compatible.
2. The line-ups are just changing names. Limited basic = broadcast basic; Extended basic = signature; DigitalVision = Premium; DigitalVisionPlus = Premium.
4. There was a recent rate increase, so no increases are planned in the immediate future.


----------



## DrewTivo

Lenonn said:


> Converters = TiVo-compatible.


What does that mean? That they have a serial connection for the IR flasher?


----------



## Lenonn

DrewTivo said:


> What does that mean? That they have a serial connection for the IR flasher?


Honestly, I have no idea. I'm assuming it means they allow for the use of the TiVo DVR via TiVo's instructions for connecting the TiVo to a cable box.


----------



## DVDerek

In the end, I've decided to go with Comcast for the next 6 months while I wait to see how the "Analog Crush" proceeds in Somerville. They're scheduled to do Somerville somerville in early 2009. I want to see if they carry through on their promise to use the bandwidth for more HD.

Of course, I now have to prepare for the endless stream of appointments after the techs screw up the install...


----------



## DeathRider

DVDerek said:


> In the end, I've decided to go with Comcast for the next 6 months while I wait to see how the "Analog Crush" proceeds in Somerville. They're scheduled to do Somerville somerville in early 2009. I want to see if they carry through on their promise to use the bandwidth for more HD.
> 
> Of course, I now have to prepare for the endless stream of appointments after the techs screw up the install...


I would guess this will be the new lineup:

http://www.rcn.com/cabletv/lineups/details.php?lineup_id=MA-ALL-DIGITAL



> 602 WGBH HD
> 604 WBZ HD
> 605 WCVB HD
> 606 WSBK HD
> 607 WHDH HD
> 609 WFXT HD
> 611 WLVI HD
> 612 NESN HD
> 620 A&E HD
> 622 TBS HD
> 623 TNT HD
> 626 FX HD
> 631 Animal Planet HD
> 
> 639 Lifetime HD
> 640 Lifetime Movie Network HD
> 641 ABC Family HD
> 642 Food Network HD
> 643 HGTV HD
> 647 Disney Channel HD
> 648 Toon Disney HD
> 650 CNN HD
> 653 Fox News HD
> 654 Fox Business News
> 655 The Weather Channel HD
> 660 Travel Channel HD
> 661 Discovery Channel HD
> 662 History HD
> 663 TLC HD
> 664 BIO HD
> 670 National Geographic Channel HD
> 671 Science Channel HD
> 680 ESPNU HD
> 681 ESPN HD
> 682 ESPN2 HD
> 683 ESPNEWS HD
> 685 Comcast SportsNet HD
> 689 Speed HD
> 690 NFL Network HD
> 691 VERSUS HD
> 693 NHL HD
> 700 HBO HD
> 701 HBO Family HD
> 702 HBO 2 HD
> 703 HBO Signature HD
> 704 HBO Zone HD
> 705 HBO Comedy HD
> 710 Cinemax HD
> 711 Moremax HD
> 713 Actionmax HD
> 717 Outermax HD
> 720 Showtime HD
> 726 TMC HD
> 730 Starz HD
> 731 Starz Kids HD
> 732 Starz Edge HD
> 733 Starz Comedy HD
> 750 Discovery HD Theater
> 751 Smithsonian HD
> 752 MOJO HD
> 760 HDNet
> 761 HDNet Movies
> 762 MGM HD
> 763 Universal HD


It would be my guess they will keep adding.

I think i will need to add a bigger hard drive in my TiVos. I would think the RCN DVR may become inadequate...


----------



## drboom

Finally got sick of comcast after they screwed up my cablecard pairing over the weekend and so I lost most channels. RCN came out today for the install - tech had an M-card as requested. Tech didn't really know anything about tivos or cablecards beyond what they do to setup the RCN branded DVRs - neither did several of the people he called to setup my card. The office people the tech called insisted they did not need the host id or any other information from the tivo to pair the card. After about 2 hours of this, the office had him switch out the cablecard for another and that eventually came up. The office claimed they have a new system that automagically pairs the card without any manual input of the host ID. After about 30 minutes the card was paired and receiving channels. The tech claims he didn't give them the host ID or any other information from the tivo; I left the room for quite a while so I'm not sure what happened but it all works now.

Has anyone else heard about some sort of automagic pairing? This was in Milton MA.

Separately, does anyone have any idea when the 'analog crush' might be scheduled to hit Milton? I know they are working their way through MA but I'd like to get better information on when so I can keep an eye on the lineup/recordings around then (not to mention that I'd really like the additional channels).


----------



## drboom

Quick update: I'm told the analog crush is scheduled before 11/11 for Milton MA


----------



## tefler

My RCN service underwent the analog crush last month. I had received 0 notification that this was going to happen. They claimed that there was an insert in my bill about it, but the only thing I had received was the FCC DTV (Feb 2009) transition insert. I was very unhappy to suddenly come home and find none of my tvs working.

Upon calling RCN to find out what was happening, they claimed that this was FCC mandated that they remove analog from their service. I'm pretty sure this is a false statement, but multiple of their reps repeated this to me as the reason. My understanding was that the FCC mandate only affected over-the-air and that the FCC was actually trying to get cable operators to carry both analog and digital signals of local stations.

Am I just missing something in my understanding of what the FCC is mandating?


----------



## rlcarr

tefler said:


> Am I just missing something in my understanding of what the FCC is mandating?


No, you're not. The RCN droids are lying to you.


----------



## nycityuser

rlcarr said:


> No, you're not. The RCN droids are lying to you.


...and apparently they are all being TRAINED to tell the same lie. Their bosses are feeding them this disinformation. Really dishonest.


----------



## DeathRider

tefler said:


> My RCN service underwent the analog crush last month. I had received 0 notification that this was going to happen. They claimed that there was an insert in my bill about it, but the only thing I had received was the FCC DTV (Feb 2009) transition insert. I was very unhappy to suddenly come home and find none of my tvs working.
> 
> Upon calling RCN to find out what was happening, they claimed that this was FCC mandated that they remove analog from their service. I'm pretty sure this is a false statement, but multiple of their reps repeated this to me as the reason. My understanding was that the FCC mandate only affected over-the-air and that the FCC was actually trying to get cable operators to carry both analog and digital signals of local stations.
> 
> Am I just missing something in my understanding of what the FCC is mandating?


Nope, they are wrong (RCN). But they don't have to follow the FCC.

I myself got a letter about the changeover separate from my bill. And you do get a few more HD channels...


----------



## rlcarr

drboom said:


> Has anyone else heard about some sort of automagic pairing? This was in Milton MA.


RCN doesn't pair. Look at the CableCARD screens. You'll see that even through you're receiving stuff fine, the card isn't paired. Same thing in Arlington, MA (me), same thing in (at a minimum) Chicago and NYC.


----------



## DrewTivo

nycityuser said:


> ...and apparently they are all being TRAINED to tell the same lie. Their bosses are feeding them this disinformation. Really dishonest.


Agreed. They're not alone, apparently, according to consumer reports. The two transitions are unrelated. The FCC 2/2009 mandate relates solely to over-the-air transmission.

What RCN is doing is converting their entire system to digital, which will allow them to use the analog bandwidth for more channels. That's generally a good thing, except for people using the analog (no cable box) signal.

And, yes, the warning has been terrible and the CSR people don't seem to have very good information.


----------



## tefler

Just found this link which clearly states the FCC has nothing to do with the transition:

http://www.dtv.gov/consumercorner.html#faq30

Unfortunately, they also decided to charge me for the truck roll to come out and fix what they broke. Tried getting the charges removed but they continued the FCC line as the reason they "had" to do it.


----------



## firewrx612

drboom said:


> Quick update: I'm told the analog crush is scheduled before 11/11 for Milton MA


This happened to me last night. I've lost all channels except 3 180-182. Do I just need to go through the guided set-up again?

I called RCN and they said I needed to call TiVo and have them "update my box"


----------



## tiassa

firewrx612 said:


> This happened to me last night. I've lost all channels except 3 180-182. Do I just need to go through the guided set-up again?
> 
> I called RCN and they said I needed to call TiVo and have them "update my box"


That's what I did when they converted Watertown back in July, and everything went fine for me (I had to download 9.4 as well, so it took two reboots of the Tivo, but you should already have 9.4). I have a TivoHD in case that makes a difference.


----------



## firewrx612

tiassa said:


> That's what I did when they converted Watertown back in July, and everything went fine for me (I had to download 9.4 as well, so it took two reboots of the Tivo, but you should already have 9.4). I have a TivoHD in case that makes a difference.


Yeah, I just got off the phone with RCN who sent me to TiVo. I had tried a guided set-up which didn't work, but the TiVo guy said I needed to select the advanced options and choose "Digital Extended Basic Rebuild". I'm in the process of doing that now. Hopefully this will work. Thanks.

Edit: hmm, that didn't work either. I still only get those same 3 channels.


----------



## tiassa

firewrx612 said:


> Yeah, I just got off the phone with RCN who sent me to TiVo. I had tried a guided set-up which didn't work, but the TiVo guy said I needed to select the advanced options and choose "Digital Extended Basic Rebuild". I'm in the process of doing that now. Hopefully this will work. Thanks.


Yeah, I think I had to do something like that. The trick was when the Tivo asked "Is Channel XXX Station YYY?" to say no to the first couple, since they are the same on both the old analog and new digital systems, when you get to a channel that is different, then you say yes.


----------



## firewrx612

tiassa said:


> Yeah, I think I had to do something like that. The trick was when the Tivo asked "Is Channel XXX Station YYY?" to say no to the first couple, since they are the same on both the old analog and new digital systems, when you get to a channel that is different, then you say yes.


Thanks, I'll try that.

Edit: Ok I've been at this for 4 hours, back and forth between TiVo and RCN. The last TiVo rep said to try to have RCN ping my card. I did that with RCN and still the same issue. Now RCN has given up and is going to send a tech out on Friday.

Edit: I just pressed save on this text box, and a minute later it is back on. Go figure.


----------



## drboom

tiassa said:


> Yeah, I think I had to do something like that. The trick was when the Tivo asked "Is Channel XXX Station YYY?" to say no to the first couple, since they are the same on both the old analog and new digital systems, when you get to a channel that is different, then you say yes.


Exactly what I had to do. Everything seems good except 3 channels (HDNet, UniversalHD and HD???) don't come in. They didn't come in before the analog crush either, I'll have to call RCN to fix them. With comcast, every call for a problem only made everything worse so I'm a bit leery. We lost some recordings last night since RCN couldn't be bothered to respond to any of my emails about the analog crush or to send me a postcard or any other notice. Tivo works great though as usual.


----------



## firewrx612

Saga continues:

After spending 8 hrs on the phone yesterday, between RCN and TiVO, I now receive all channels, however I'm missing a lot of guide data. I forced a second network connection last night and this morning when I woke up, I am still missing most guide data. Is there another way to force it to download data?

That TiVo DirecTV unit can not come soon enough...

Edit:

Solved, I think. The nice RCN people in Mumbai had me rebuild (the last time) with Digital rebuild basic. That worked (I at least got all the channels) so I left it alone, but discovered that the guide data wasn't updated on a majority of channels. So I figured I needed to rebuild with Digital Rebuild EXTENDED basic. That has seemed to have worked. Finally.


----------



## tiassa

drboom said:


> Exactly what I had to do. Everything seems good except 3 channels (HDNet, UniversalHD and HD???) don't come in. They didn't come in before the analog crush either, I'll have to call RCN to fix them. With comcast, every call for a problem only made everything worse so I'm a bit leery. We lost some recordings last night since RCN couldn't be bothered to respond to any of my emails about the analog crush or to send me a postcard or any other notice. Tivo works great though as usual.


Those channels are on their own tier, you have to pay extra for them (that is their "HD package") I think it is $10/mo. Basically you get the HD versions of anything you get in SD for free, if you want the dedicated HD channels, they hit you up for more $$$.


----------



## asya999

Set my mom up with a new TiVo HD XL after her move earlier this week and her new building had a choice of RCN or TWC. Since the building gets bulk billing rate for basic package with 100 or so channels from RCN, I decided to sign her up with them for "basic" cable and internet.

Ordered the install, told them she had a TiVo and that she'd need a CableCard and to make sure to note to bring an M-Card. Got an appointment from 2-5 today.

The installer showed up at 5:30 with two M-cards. When I told him the TiVo only needed one M-card *or* two S-cards he seemed defensive ("How many installs have *you* done?" - I wanted to say "None but I know more about it than you do, since I just read all the install instructions" but held off). After a few hours (okay just two) of struggling to get the right cable to the right part of the apartment, the card hook-up turned out to be a snap.

The guy (quite friendly at this point) asked to borrow my phone since his battery was dead (previous install ran over and he used up his whole battery) so I gave him my cell (mom has Vonage so no phone till he got the internet turned on!). He called the home office and had RCN turn the internet on, and then read off the serial number of the CableCard. I had the TiVo on the setup screen for the card and in a few minutes it started getting all the channels it was supposed to.

I heard him tell them that I didn't want the second card installed and it sounded like they also didn't understand one M-card instead of two S-cards but it seemed like they told him to go with what I wanted.

Everything is working well now, through the cablecard gave a few 161-38 errors, it seems like that's something that's common for the Motorola M-cards during the first few hours/day while it's downloading all the info and while I was configuring preferences for my mom. Hopefully, like with other folks the error will clear up.


----------



## sdavie3

I had an RCN tech come by my place (Southern Manhattan) on Saturday to install me on a new Tivo HD. I'm a TWC refugee and this is my first cable card experience. I told him that he should probably be using only one MCC, but he went ahead and installed 2. I can't access most of my HD and many of my digital channels. In the diagnostics menu, neither of my CCs were validated. I called the RCN 800 number and their techs said everything was fine on their end and that I contact Tivo. I'm scheduled to have another RCN tech to come by and reinstall on Saturday.

What should I insist that he do, so that he doesn't screw up this install as well?

Thanks


----------



## crazi4tv

sdavie3 said:


> I had an RCN tech come by my place (Southern Manhattan) on Saturday to install me on a new Tivo HD. I'm a TWC refugee and this is my first cable card experience. I told him that he should probably be using only one MCC, but he went ahead and installed 2. I can't access most of my HD and many of my digital channels. In the diagnostics menu, neither of my CCs were validated. I called the RCN 800 number and their techs said everything was fine on their end and that I contact Tivo. I'm scheduled to have another RCN tech to come by and reinstall on Saturday.
> 
> What should I insist that he do, so that he doesn't screw up this install as well?
> 
> Thanks


the TiVo HD DVR will ignore any card installed in slot 2 if the card in slot 1 is a Multi-Stream card. There can be several issues: the Host was paired to the wrong card, or the proper signal to activate the channels was not sent to the card. Do you know if the cards are Motorola or Scientific Atlantic?


----------



## rlcarr

crazi4tv said:


> There can be several issues: the Host was paired to the wrong card, or the proper signal to activate the channels was not sent to the card. Do you know if the cards are Motorola or Scientific Atlantic?


In many markets (NYC and Boston among them), RCN doesn't pair cards.


----------



## sdavie3

They are Moto cards.


----------



## crazi4tv

sdavie3 said:


> They are Moto cards.


Per poster rlcarr, if RCN does not pair cards, then the issue may be that the cards were not sent the correct activation signal. Was there a mention of obtaining the Host & Data from the pairing screen? On the Conditional Access screen, look for *Val*. do you see *V* or *?* nest to it? If you see *Auth* what is next to it? On the Diagnostics screen look for *Channel list received*, there should be YES next to it.


----------



## sdavie3

On the conditional access screen, there is a ? next to Val: (Val:? 0x00). Auth: MP. On the diagnostics screen: Channel List Received: Yes.


----------



## crazi4tv

sdavie3 said:


> On the conditional access screen, there is a ? next to Val: (Val:? 0x00). Auth: MP. On the diagnostics screen: Channel List Received: Yes.


*Auth:MP* means that a message that is supposed to be in the activation
stream coming from the headend is missing. *Val:?* means that card is not paired. In cable systems that do pair cards, this issue would cause the card to automatically scramble encrypted channels. If RCN does not pair cards, I'm not sure how this would be handled. *Channel List Received: Yes* indicates that the channel map has been aquired by the card. Your issue could be that your cable provider has not sent the proper activation signal. If RCN sends the "Initialize" signal to equipment, they need to send it to the card.


----------



## Roderigo

crazi4tv said:


> *Val:?* means that card is not paired. In cable systems that do pair cards, this issue would cause the card to automatically scramble encrypted channels.


Not quite true. Pairing is only required if the CCI byte for a channel you want to watch/record is non-zero (aka it's copy protected). If all of RCNs channels have a CCI of 0, then they don't need to pair the cards.

Even though my system "requires" pairing, I never bothered to get one of my card paired, as I don't subscribe to any channels that are copy protected. I did make sure to uncheck the copy protected channels that I don't receive, so I don't accidentally tune to them, or have the box try to start a suggestion on them.

However, the danger of not having paired cards is that your cable company can decide to add copy protection to any channel at any time. So, while everything may be working one day, it could suddenly stop working, and require action from the cable company. If RCN is regularly not pairing cards, they would be foolish to arbitrarily turn on copy protection without making some attempt to proactively contact customers and pair their cards first.


----------



## sdavie3

Maybe part of my problem is that I do subscribe to nearly all of the premium channels available, none of which are coming in. They do however show up when you go to Settings, Cable Card, Test Channels (but only on CC2, but not CC1). 

Regardless, when trying to view these channels on live TV none of them (with maybe one or two exceptions) tune in.


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## hannah3

Washington DC Metro Area. If you have a dual tuner HD TIVO and RCN Please advise how was the installation and any advice for us that are about to move to a TiVO HD dual tuner. I just can't imagine that RCN are going to get this right the first time.


----------



## DrewTivo

hannah3 said:


> Washington DC Metro Area. If you have a dual tuner HD TIVO and RCN Please advise how was the installation and any advice for us that are about to move to a TiVO HD dual tuner. I just can't imagine that RCN are going to get this right the first time.


My install went fine a few months ago. The biggest problem was that I didn't receive several channels and a few others were pixelated. As it turned out, after many,many calls to CS, I was not supposed to receive those channels on my package (RCN's channel guide was deceptive) and the pixelated channels were resulting from some RCN mess up in their digital crush process.


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## b_scott

Thinking about switching from Comcast (which just dropped my promo and made my monthly cost $120) to RCN in CHICAGO. Have a TivoHD in one room, so I'll need a cable card. Any Chicagoans have problems with this? Thanks!


----------



## hannah3

DrewTivo said:


> My install went fine a few months ago. The biggest problem was that I didn't receive several channels and a few others were pixelated. As it turned out, after many,many calls to CS, I was not supposed to receive those channels on my package (RCN's channel guide was deceptive) and the pixelated channels were resulting from some RCN mess up in their digital crush process.


Many thanks. I'm still pissed off that my TIVO dual tuner analog only give me one channel now becuase of the all digital crush. I had so many poblems after the crush with the kids tvs that simply need a digital box that I still can't believe they won't screw this up. Will see...


----------



## rlcarr

Roderigo said:


> However, the danger of not having paired cards is that your cable company can decide to add copy protection to any channel at any time. So, while everything may be working one day, it could suddenly stop working, and require action from the cable company.


Yeah. That's exactly my worry. Which is why when mine were installed and were not paired, I asked friends in my area and then on this board to see if anyone else was paired. None of my local friends were, and some people here saying they were from Chicago and NYC also reported not being paired. So I'm assuming the lack of pairing is an RCN thing, not a incompetent installer thing.



Roderigo said:


> If RCN is regularly not pairing cards, they would be foolish to arbitrarily turn on copy protection without making some attempt to proactively contact customers and pair their cards first.


They'd be foolish, but this is RCN we're talking about. I can totally see them deciding to turn on copy protection and forgetting all about its effect on CableCARDs. They couldn't even get my install right. The installer had to call the mothership and have someone re-do the provisioning because it was all screwed up.


----------



## asya999

asya999 said:


> Everything is working well now...


So I got a call from my mom that her TiVo is giving a searching for signal error message. After a few false starts at diagnosing the problem remotely she finally got through to RCN who told her that they did the digital conversion and she now needs a cable converter box.

What???

I think she may have told them she has a TiVo, so I told her to call them back and tell them she has a CableCard from them so she doesn't need a cable box and they should make sure it's properly paired (right? would not having paired it cause a problem now that didn't manifest before?) .

I'll be there in a couple of days, but meanwhile can someone help me understand if there are circumstances in which she would need a converter box now? I thought CableCard *was* the equivalent of converter boxes? And if the card is enough, what magic words should she/I tell RCN drones to get them to fix this? They can fix this remotely, and not have to send anyone out, right?

P.S. apparently someone is going to be there tomorrow morning 9am-11am - her internet seems to not be working as well, so the analog conversion timing may be a coincidence


----------



## hannah3

Question-I purchase the TIVO dual tuner HD and I purchase an HD TV. Then I call RCN to come around and install the CableCards. Do I go through TIVO guided setup BEFORE RCN comes or only AFTER they have installed the cards? If after, will RCN wait to see if it all works? Also, will the TIVO dual tuner HD work on my new HD tv while it's connected to my existing Digital box so I can use it before RCN rolls around?


----------



## Hank

You can do guided setup before RCN visits -- and I suggest you do it to set up your cable channels, broadband setup, Tivo service activation, zip code, etc. Just skip over the CableCard part (I think there's an option to skip it during GS). You'll have to repeat GS after the CC install, but it shouldn't take nearly as long as the first time. You can even skip the Tivo Service activation as it will work for a week or so until you need to activate it. 

Here's how I set up my parents Tivo HD last month:
1- Guided setup - skip activation and CC setup
2- Install and activate cable cards
3- Repeat Guided Setup and activate tivo service

I'm pretty sure you won't be able to use the Tivo HD with the digital converter box.


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## hannah3

Hank said:


> You can do guided setup before RCN visits -- and I suggest you do it to set up your cable channels, broadband setup, Tivo service activation, zip code, etc. Just skip over the CableCard part (I think there's an option to skip it during GS). You'll have to repeat GS after the CC install, but it shouldn't take nearly as long as the first time. You can even skip the Tivo Service activation as it will work for a week or so until you need to activate it.
> 
> Here's how I set up my parents Tivo HD last month:
> 1- Guided setup - skip activation and CC setup
> 2- Install and activate cable cards
> 3- Repeat Guided Setup and activate tivo service
> 
> I'm pretty sure you won't be able to use the Tivo HD with the digital converter box.


Great advice Hank, Many thanks. I grew up in Boston! best city in universe. Now stuck in DC, land of liars.


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## asya999

My mom got RCN w/cableCard last month and all was fine till they switched to digital from analog last week. I posted yesterday:


asya999 said:


> apparently someone is going to be there tomorrow morning 9am-11am - her internet seems to not be working as well, so the analog conversion timing may be a coincidence


It turned out the internet was working fine, the cable modem and router just needed to be rebooted after the analog crush. I sent my mom an email telling her what to tell the guy -- that they probably "DID NOT PROPERLY PAIR THE CABLECARD" (caps and all  )

The RCN guy came right at 9am today and this is verbatim what transpired according to my mom's email:

_Hi!
The RCN guy came at 9 and immediately said that Tivo is not good for digital service. I responded with the words you wrote me, and they happen to be magic. I did not have a chance to check all the channels, but the ones I checked work great - I've never seen such a beautiful picture!_

So there you have it, after insisting on the phone that she needs a converter box, and the tech trying to tell her TiVo is no good for digital service, the magic words seem to be "You idiot, you don't know what you're talking about so why don't you call someone who does" better said out loud as "Is it possible you didn't properly pair my CableCard in your system?" 

:down: to RCN techs, but :up: for my mom now having service again, thanks to this forum and others like it...


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## JadedMoon84

Hello all! I have RCN in Chicago, and just had a really frustrating experience with them and my Tivo. I called a week ago to get an appointment (I work all week, so they will only come by on Saturdays for me), waited my 3 hours, and nobody showed up. They called me 15 min. after the end of my appointment time and told me they didn't come by because they had run out of cable cards. I ended up talking to a technician supervisor, who said they'd have more cards on Monday and could make me an appointment for then. I told him I work until 6, so only if they could make sure I'm the last run on their 5-8pm shift would that work. He said no, and that he'd set me up for next saturday. I asked if he could reserve the cards this time so I actually get them, and he told me that they have to give out the cards in order of appointments. Which lead to him telling me that if they ran out again, I'd have to reschedule *again* for a future saturday, and there's no guarantee that I'll ever actually get cards. He also told me that I can't take my box to a local RCN post, drop it off and trade it for cards, because they don't handle the cards like the boxes and dvr's. He also told me I couldn't buy my own cards, so my only option is to wait around and hope that they stop running out each week. 

Has anyone else had a really bad problem like this? I usually have no qualms with RCN, but this is ridiculous.


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## dell_axim

Has anyone with an M Card in greater DC area had problems receiving HD Channels 604 (NBC), 605 (Fox), and 609 (CBS) since the digital crush. All was well before the crush, but since that time my service on these channels has been sporadic with either (1) unwatchable pixelation or (2) no picture at all. Other RCN users on my street have had the same problems with their non-tivo RCN HD box (so I know the problem is at the line and the RCN line techs have confirmed the problem is with the line), however, sometimes my neighbors can receive a pixelated picture on a RCN HD Box and I can receive no picture cable signal (e.g., no picture) at all on my Tivo HD (why? HD Tivo more sensitive?). I have been working with RCN for two months to try to resolve this, but despite their good faith efforts... they have no clue. I am very close to switching to another provider.

Two questions:

1. Do you have the same or similar problem (and if so, have you found a cure)? 

2. I am considering a switch to either comcast or FIOS - I assume FIOS is preferable, correct? 

Much thanks to the community!

-Marc


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## dell_axim

Just to close the loop on my previous message, RCN line techs replaced a "node" on my street's line and our service was restored on HD Channels 604, 605, and 609.


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## brooklyng

I am having the same exact issue with RCN in Chicago. I scheduled an appt to get an M-series card installed in my Tivo on Sat and during the last 15 minutes of the scheduled window the technician called to say that he would not be coming as he had no cablecards. He also informed me that scheduling another appointment might cause the same thing to happen again, as the people who schedule the appts (who might be overseas) do not know how many cards are available at any time.

I share your frustration that:
- RCN as a company is unable to track their merchandise supply and/or plan accordingly for future demand (um, the Superbowl anyone?)

-RCN techs (or the company itself) are not proactive about contacting the customer when cards are unavailable for install. Waiting until after the window has passed is unacceptable.

-RCN is charging me $49.95 to install the card. If I didn't show up for the appt, I would be charged the $49 anyway. When they don't show up, should the next appt be on them $$?

I have another appointment schedule for this afternoon...because I am a glutton for punishment.

I'm not sure why RCN won't let us stop by the Bradley Location and trade our cable box for a card; from the messages on this board it seems that the customers are exceedingly more knowledgeable about the install and troubleshooting process. 

Did you ever receive your card? Wish me luck!


----------



## MassNerder

I just posted something in the main area that should probably go here.

I'm also waiting for a cable card in Chicago and kinda p/oed that there is no one to talk to locally other than going there.

So I'm going there tomorrow AM and going to raise some hell.

It's totally cool if you want to go all digital. I hate analog channels to begin with, but you HAVE to have cable cards in-stock and ready-to-go if you are going to do this.

I'd switch to comcast but they have half the HD content and....um...I hate comcast! 

Anyone happen to know what is up with this lack of Cable Cards?


----------



## brooklyng

I really think it is poor planning on the part of RCN. In their strategic planning for 2009-2010, you'd think they would be able to anticipate the surge of cable cards that would be happening because of the switchover, promotions they might be running, the biggest sporting event of the year, etc.

Sometimes I just like to think I would do a better job than everyone else, so I might be totally off base.

Incidentally, they did come and install that cable card and it works fine. When I handed the installer the TIVO paper that said "HAND THIS TO YOUR CABLE INSTALLER," he LAUGHED IN my face and walked away.

Good luck.


----------



## jfk

I can't seem to find much info about cablecard use on RCN's site, but in fine print it says that you can't get sports packages with cablecard. Does this mean no MLB Extra Innings for TIVO users? If so, that is a deal breaker for me.


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## TomMMD

Are you sure it says that you can't get the extra sports channels?

It is true that you can't do the Video on Demand because the card is one way and you need two-way communication for VOD.

But, the sports channels have a bunch of channels allocated for them so I don't think you need two-way communication. 

(By the way, when I had the card installed the technician said that the card had the capability for two-way communication but that RCN had not implemented it yet.)


----------



## jfk

Well, I was told by the rep today that I can NOT get MLB EI through the TIVO. This may be a deal breaker for me and I really want to go with the TIVO solution rather than the RCN HDDVR. Anyone have experience with this with RCN in the Boston area?


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## TomMMD

I wouldn't lose hope yet. Who knows whether the rep knows what he/she is talking about or even if he/she understood what you were asking.

I'll try one of those channels today and see what I get.


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## tiassa

I'm in Boston, and have an analog cable box (for the workout room TV) and 2 Tivo HDs. I don't subscribe to the sports packages, but when they were doing a free preview of NBA League Pass at the beginning of the season we were able to pick it up on the Tivo. This would indicate to me that should one subscribe it should work.

BTW my most recent Tivo install was quite painless, the installer brought an M-Card, scanned its barcode with his PDA, popped it in, typed in some numbers and everything was fine -- I had to reboot and rerun guided setup, but that ws to be expected, and ater I did everything wroked like a charm


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## drboom

A quick look at the rcn lineup shows MLBEI channels as all being on demand so there is no way for them to work on the tivo. We do get MLB Network just fine but I don't think there is anyway to get any of the channels listed as on demand or ppv in the below url:

http://www.rcn.com/boston/digital-cable-tv/services-and-pricing/channel-lineups

FYI, RCN just added a bunch of HD channels in the Boston area.


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## jfk

Thanks for the responses. I decided to go ahead with the install despte the possible lack of the MLB package. Placed my order this morning and they offered me the first install slot for the next day. I took it and then had to run out shopping to lay my hands on some TIVO HD units. No luck at local Costco, but was able to get 2 units for $200 each at Sears so, hopefully, I am good to go!


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## tiassa

Keep us informed as to what happens with MLBEI package, enquiring minds want to know!


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## jfk

Will do.

Another question. I just bought my TIVOs last night and I have not been able to force a software update.

Installer is on his way to the house right now. Will I encounter problems with the install if the TIVOs don't have the latest software?


----------



## tiassa

Probably not, you should be able to get the cable card authorized, which is all the installer needs to do. You will probably have to reboot the tivo and rerun guided setup after the installer leaves and your Tivo is going to be really sluggish for the next few days, as it will have to both index the new guide data and install the update, so give it a few days before complaining the the Tivo is slow to respond.

BTW when running guided setup, always answer "no" to the question "Is channel ## station XX" question, after 3 or 4 tries it will say "Are you running Digital Basic, Extended Digital Basic, Digital rebuild, or Digital Rebuild Extended" (I think those are the choices, if not is it something similar) You want to choose Digital Rebuild Extended (again, I'm not sure that is the exact wording, but it should be the 4th choice), otherwise you won't get the correct lineup.


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## jfk

So the install was pretty rocky on my 2 TIVO units. Took almost 4 hours to get things working, including 1 apparently non-functioning M card. . Once everyhing was workng I had to re-run the guided seup and did finally get both units loaded with the newest software. Not really sure I helped anything by trying to set up ahead of time.

Overall, I am very happy with things although some of the network features have been a bit erratic (transferring recordings across TIVOs, playing YouTube vids), but I will give it a few days to settle in before I get too concerned.

The installer (whose company is contracted by RCN) said he had probably done 100 TIVO installs in his 9 years in the business and that he hates doing them and they rarely go smoothly.

He also indicated that I will NOT be able to get the MLB extra innings package.


----------



## tiassa

jfk said:


> So the install was pretty rocky on my 2 TIVO units. Took almost 4 hours to get things working, including 1 apparently non-functioning M card. . Once everyhing was workng I had to re-run the guided seup and did finally get both units loaded with the newest software. Not really sure I helped anything by trying to set up ahead of time.


Interesting . . .my last cablecard install the instaler was in and out in less that 20 mins, although the dead M-card certainally added time to your install. You were going to have to rerun guided setup anyway (BTW did you need to use my "Just say no" trick to get the right lineup?). Making sure the Tivo was minimally functional before the installer arrived at least assured your Tivo wasn't "DOA".



> Overall, I am very happy with things although some of the network features have been a bit erratic (transferring recordings across TIVOs, playing YouTube vids), but I will give it a few days to settle in before I get too concerned.


That is the sort of stuff that is definitely going to be impacted by all the background indexing that is happening, it should get better in a couple of days



> The installer (whose company is contracted by RCN) said he had probably done 100 TIVO installs in his 9 years in the business and that he hates doing them and they rarely go smoothly.


Clearly you didn't have the same installer I did, mine was like "Yeah, yeah, I know what I'm doing. let me work"



> He also indicated that I will NOT be able to get the MLB extra innings package.


I still think it is worth a try -- like I said I was able to watch the free preview of NBA League Pass when they ran it. Worst case is you can order it then cancel or get an LD Cable Box (RCN includes one "free" with the cable service).


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## DrewTivo

tiassa said:


> I still think it is worth a try -- like I said I was able to watch the free preview of NBA League Pass when they ran it. Worst case is you can order it then cancel or get an LD Cable Box (RCN includes one "free" with the cable service).


Probably different in that they run it unscrambled then.

But it still seems odd--PPV is available with CC and tivo, it's just that you have to call instead of being able to order it. Why wouldn't you be able to call and order extra innings? Since it's full season, one call should do it all.


----------



## tiassa

DrewTivo said:


> Probably different in that they run it unscrambled then.
> 
> But it still seems odd--PPV is available with CC and tivo, it's just that you have to call instead of being able to order it. Why wouldn't you be able to call and order extra innings? Since it's full season, one call should do it all.


Those are my feelings as well,my example with NBALP was meant to illustrate that. The catch is that in the RCN guide the Sports packages are listed as "On Demand" not PPV and I'm sure that the RCNs CSRs and installers are told "Cable Cards can't get On Demand programming". My guess is that they are just encrypted channels like the premium movie channels, but RCN wants to brand them as "On Demand".

Hopefully jfk will report back when baseball season opens.


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## TomMMD

I tried the MLB channels and on my HD Tivo I just get a gray screen but on my regular Series II tv I get a notice giving the phone number to call to sign up.....Not sure if that means you can't get it on the HD box


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## nycityuser

TomMMD said:


> I tried the MLB channels and on my HD Tivo I just get a gray screen but on my regular Series II tv I get a notice giving the phone number to call to sign up.....Not sure if that means you can't get it on the HD box


Isn't that because the Series 2 is connected to a cable box? Since most channels are now scrambled the only way to get anything with a Series 2 is to have it connected to a box. When you change the channel on the Series 2 it actually changes the channel on the cable box, which itself is capable of getting On Demand programming.

I have both a Series 2 and two HD TIVOs and that's my configuration.


----------



## cas929

I wonder if the fact that this thread is relatively calm and quiet means that RCN is doing better than some companies at the whole Cablecard thing? RCN just recently came to my neighborhood in Washington D.C., and I'm trying to get an idea of how much time and effort I may need to invest in getting a Cablecard/TiVo setup operating properly. Are there any readers who have RCN and TiVo in D.C. who feel like sharing their experiences?


----------



## Doh

I had RCN come out a while ago and it took maybe 2 hours-- but apparently the person in the home office was giving the guy the wrong codes or something, once he got the right codes I think it was more like 20-30 minutes.

We get NBALP on our tivohd (it's a major reason why we haven't switched to FIOS). I am 99% certain I've gotten the MLB EI channels on the tivohd (we have gotten MLBEI, and we have the tivohd, but I am trying to place the years in sequence). The only slight issue is that sometimes the channel lineup is off, but if I email tivo they will fix it (which means I can set wishlists for my team and not worry about what channel it's on).


----------



## TomMMD

I've had the cable card for a while now. A technician came out and within a day or two and took about a half hour to do (most if it waiting for the signal to come from RCN Central)

All in all very painless.



cas929 said:


> I wonder if the fact that this thread is relatively calm and quiet means that RCN is doing better than some companies at the whole Cablecard thing? RCN just recently came to my neighborhood in Washington D.C., and I'm trying to get an idea of how much time and effort I may need to invest in getting a Cablecard/TiVo setup operating properly. Are there any readers who have RCN and TiVo in D.C. who feel like sharing their experiences?


----------



## DrewTivo

TomMMD said:


> I've had the cable card for a while now. A technician came out and within a day or two and took about a half hour to do (most if it waiting for the signal to come from RCN Central)
> 
> All in all very painless.


Similar experience here. I think he was actually working for about 5 minutes. The rest of it was waiting for the channel scan and for the "home office" to send out the pairing/activating signal after he called in the number.


----------



## tiassa

TomMMD said:


> I've had the cable card for a while now. A technician came out and within a day or two and took about a half hour to do (most if it waiting for the signal to come from RCN Central)
> 
> All in all very painless.


Much the same here for my 2nd install (this January) the tech was in the house for 20-30 mins tops.
My First install (just over a year ago) was screwed up and took 2 visits to fix, but part of that was because the tech installed an S-card and refused to believe it wasn't an M-card (even though the Tivo said "S-card installed" when you checked it).


----------



## Merejane

RCN in New York City is requesting cablecard information "to keep your cable running smoothly while we make a few changes to our digital service." (See http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard.)

Specifically, they are asking for the cablecard ID, the Host ID, the Data #, and the cablecard serial number. The customer is instructed to enter this information online.

The instructions on the webpage say that the requested information can be found by tuning to channel 985. When I tune to this channel, I see the first three items, but there is no cablecard serial number listed. Another problem is that the information is displayed for only one cablecard (#2, in my case).

Now, I seem to recall reading somewhere that the only way to find the serial number is to check the cablecard itself. My questions: (1) is that in fact the only way to find the serial number, and (2) is the process as simple as unplugging the TiVo, pulling out each card, making a note of the serial number, reinserting the card, and then plugging the TiVo back in? Or could that somehow mess things up? (Sorry if that's a dumb question, but removing the cablecard makes me a bit nervous.)

I did call RCN for help on this, but the person I spoke with had no clue.

Finally, does anyone have any insight into why RCN is requesting this information? Their FAQ is not very informative.

Thanks!


----------



## rlcarr

Merejane said:


> RCN in New York City is requesting cablecard information to keep your cable running smoothly while we make a few changes to our digital service. (See http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard.)
> 
> Specifically, they are asking for the cablecard ID, the Host ID, the Data #, and the cablecard serial number. The customer is instructed to enter this information online.


That's very interesting. Here in the Boston area RCN does not pair cablecards at all (neither I nor anyone I know had their cablecard paired) or only does it inconsistently. And from a thread I started here, some people in NYC and in Chicago also reported not having their card paired.

Yet others do report their card being paired.

I wonder if RCN is planning to turn on the CCI byte on more channels or something like this and so will need to get unpaired cablecards paired so that people will be able to watch all channels they are entitled to.


----------



## Roderigo

Merejane said:


> The instructions on the webpage say that the requested information can be found by tuning to channel 985. When I tune to this channel, I see the first three items, but there is no cablecard serial number listed.


The serial number is listed on newer versions of the motorola mcard firmware. So, if you have older firmware (or SCards) you'll have to physically look at the card to get this information.



Merejane said:


> Another problem is that the information is displayed for only one cablecard (#2, in my case).


You can navigate to the cablecard menus in settings, and get this same information. By turning on copy protection on one channel, RCN can give customers common directions for all TVs (as each cablecard device has a different place to look for these menus). The downside of RCN's directions is that dual cablecard tivo boxes need to be able to tune to that channel using each cablecard.



Merejane said:


> (2) is the process as simple as unplugging the TiVo, pulling out each card, making a note of the serial number, reinserting the card, and then plugging the TiVo back in? Or could that somehow mess things up?


That won't screw anything up. The standard caveat is to make sure you put the cards back into the same slot or you break the pairing. Of course, since your cards aren't paired, this isn't as critical (though, if you do swap slots, it will generate the cards will generate a new data number). And, there's no need to power down the tivo when you do this. It works just fine w/ the power on. And, of course make sure you match the serial number up to the rest of the data from the same card.



Merejane said:


> Finally, does anyone have any insight into why RCN is requesting this information? Their FAQ is not very informative.


RCN wants to turn on copy protection, and they didn't collect all this information when they installed the cards. The "symptom" you see on channel 985 is what you'll see when when you have unpaired cards and you tune to any channel with copy protection turned on. They're trying to make sure customers have their cards paired before they turn it on for "real" channels.


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## rlcarr

Has anyone other than in New York received this request to enter the pairing info?


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## Merejane

Roderigo said:


> And, of course make sure you match the serial number up to the rest of the data from the same card.


Thank you so much, Roderigo -- your post was _very_ helpful!

One more quick question -- to match up the serial number with the rest of the data, am I correct that the bottom slot is cablecard #1 and the top slot is cablecard #2?


----------



## Roderigo

Merejane said:


> One more quick question -- to match up the serial number with the rest of the data, am I correct that the bottom slot is cablecard #1 and the top slot is cablecard #2?


Sounds right to me. The picture in the Tivo settings screen will also confirm that .


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## Merejane

Roderigo said:


> Sounds right to me. The picture in the Tivo settings screen will also confirm that .


Thanks!


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## haplo888

Boston area, Somerville. Several reps had told me it would be $49.99 to install the cable card. At $1.50/mo that is almost 3 years of service as an installation charge. =/ 

When I called this morning to actually schedule the appointment I objected and objected and after being put on hold for several minutes they reduced it to $14.95 saying that the $50 charge is only for the Chicago area. Maybe I'll try to get them to waive it, but $15 is a lot more palatable than $50.

I'll post next week with how it goes.

Haplo


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## rlcarr

Just wanted to mention here in the official thread that I today got the robocall telling me to enter the cablecard pairing info at www.rcn.com/cablecard

I'm in the Boston area.


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## drboom

I received the call a few minutes ago as well. Also in the Boston area (Milton)


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## nycityuser

I'm in New York City and I received the robocall about two months ago.


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## fergie8

drboom said:


> I received the call a few minutes ago as well. Also in the Boston area (Milton)


And I got it in Chicago today too.


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## rlcarr

nycityuser said:


> I'm in New York City and I received the robocall about two months ago.


Have they actually paired your card(s) yet?


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## Brad516

Got the call today in Maryland.


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## fitzie

OK, I'm confused. I have a Series 3, and have not received the call and I'm in Boston. I'll have to go look on channel 985.

However, the instructions on the web page cited (http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard#top) state to simply enter in the RCN Account number from a broswer presumably anywhere. It doesn't say to do it at your house. Is that an oversight? I suppose RCN can figure out my CableCard infromation from my IP address. But what if I'm not at my IP address? Pity the poor slob that makes the update from work, or on an iPhone or whatever.


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## rlcarr

You can be running the browser anywhere. You don't need to be at home to use that web page.

The key thing is to get the correct pairing info from the TiVo. Going to that channel makes the TiVo (or any CableCARD host device) bring up the pairing info screen because of how the copy-protect flag is set on that channel.

RCN has to ask us for the info because the "Host ID" and "Data" fields are generated by the TiVo. Thus RCN has no way of knowing those numbers without us telling them, unless the information was entered into the database back when the card was installed. And in many/most places, RCN wasn't pairing cards and so didn't collect that information at install.


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## Hank

fitzie said:


> However, the instructions on the web page cited (http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard#top) state to simply enter in the RCN Account number from a broswer presumably anywhere. It doesn't say to do it at your house. Is that an oversight? I suppose RCN can figure out my CableCard infromation from my IP address. But what if I'm not at my IP address? Pity the poor slob that makes the update from work, or on an iPhone or whatever.


RCN cable and internet are totally separate (they really don't know about each other), so it doesn't matter where you are to enter the info. What if I had RCN cable and a DSL line from Verizon? It would still work.


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## fitzie

OK, I actually don't answer my telephone for calls that don't register with Caller ID, but I received my e-mail yesterday, about 20 minutes after I sent my comment. Data applied, life goes on.

Does anybody else have problems with their TiVo hanging? My hacked Series 1s work fine, but the Series 3 which has a WD My DVR Expander attached via e-SATA seems to go south every once in a while. The only fix appears to be power down TiVo, power down DVR Expander, power back up DVR Expander, wait a few, and then power up TiVo. After 5 minute boot process, it comes back. My guess it has something to do with RCN's frequent reprograming.


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## DrewTivo

fitzie said:


> OK, I'm confused. I have a Series 3, and have not received the call and I'm in Boston. I'll have to go look on channel 985.
> 
> However, the instructions on the web page cited (http://www.rcn.com/j/cablecard?bid=vanityURL--all--CableCard--2009-05-06--cablecard#top) state to simply enter in the RCN Account number from a broswer presumably anywhere. It doesn't say to do it at your house. Is that an oversight? I suppose RCN can figure out my CableCard infromation from my IP address. But what if I'm not at my IP address? Pity the poor slob that makes the update from work, or on an iPhone or whatever.


Once you enter your account number it asks for 4 pieces of information from your cable card (S/N, CC number, and a couple other things).

(ETA: DC area--call and then email)


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## ejohnsen

I went away on vacation from 6/10 to 6/16 and when I returned home, one of my two Tivo Series 3 HD boxes was no longer able to get any TV (each of my boxes has two cable cards). My upstairs Tivo has continued to work fine, however my downstairs Tivo no longer works. I spent 1 1/2 hours on the phone with Tivo support, and ultimately we concluded that 1) either my Tivo box is bad, specifically my cable card slots, or 2) the cable cards themselves have gone bad. Frankly, at this point I am not sure which it is, but RCN is coming out in 3 days to look at the problem firsthand. I tend to believe it's the cable cards, since shortly after returning to find no reception (which also overlapped with the switch to all digital on 6/12), I received the email from Tivo requesting all the information on the cable cards to ensure "uninterrupted service". Has anyone experienced anything similar? I am pretty disappointed in RCN, especially since by tuning into channel 985, it does NOT provide all the requisite information they seek -- specifically, this page does NOT show the serial number of the cable card in question, and they request the serial number for each card on the web page for collecting this information (incidentally, I did FINALLY get all the information submitted through the site, and it really brightened up my father's day spending all that time with my tvs and RCN customer support). If anyone has a quick answer to this, by all means please share. Thanks!


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## tiassa

Interesting -- I got the call and e-mail and dutifully went to channel 985 and entered the info. Now when I go back to 985 the channel is blank. 

Even more interesting -- 985 is blank on the TV in the Man Cave (which I entered first), but the data shows up on the TV in the Living room (which I did after the one in the Man Cave). RCN should know that I have 2 cable cards (they are billing me for them). I hope this doesn't turn into another RCN infrastructure screw-up.


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## rlcarr

tiassa said:


> Interesting -- I got the call and e-mail and dutifully went to channel 985 and entered the info. Now when I go back to 985 the channel is blank.


That might not be bad. It could simply mean that they've paired the card (which is why the info screen no longer appears) and that you're just not subbed to that channel (which is why it's blank).

Could you go to the CableCARD config screen, then select a card to configure, then select "CableCARD Menu" then select "Conditional Access" and tell us what you see there?


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## dnash

GRRRRRR. Had RCN cable card installation scheduled this morning. I got up early and everything to be ready. The damn guy just called to cancel. "I don't have any cable cards left, have to reschedule for Monday."

(Insert nasty language here)

And I've already disassembled the old Tivo so now I'm basically without TV for days until this gets done.

(edit, well it belatedly occurred to me I can just hook up the cable box direct to the TV. So I do still have TV, just no Tivo functions. Still, I am NOT happy.)


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## ewosu

I live in DC and just got the call a couple weeks ago. Do you think this means that we will finally be able to use our Tivo to watch On-Demand events in the near future?


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## drboom

ewosu said:


> I live in DC and just got the call a couple weeks ago. Do you think this means that we will finally be able to use our Tivo to watch On-Demand events in the near future?


Sorry, no. This would require tivo software changes and a tuning adapter. The consensus seems to be that such things will wait for the next tivo and tru2way.


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## rlcarr

ewosu said:


> I live in DC and just got the call a couple weeks ago. Do you think this means that we will finally be able to use our Tivo to watch On-Demand events in the near future?


No. All it means is that RCN will be able to start turning on copy-protection (absent pairing, any channel RCN copy protects is not viewable at all by CableCARD devices).


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## LifeIsABeach

I have two S-cards and of course their stupid website only lets you enter information for one card. Has anyone enetered information for two cards and had them both successfully paired? I have a feeling the second one will overwrite the first one and then one tuner will end up not working.


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## rlcarr

If you call the number they list on the page, that lets you put the info in over the phone (by entering the numbers on your phone keypad). The message says that if you have more than one card, you need to call once for each card.

So I ass-u-me  that the same holds true for the website -- go there twice and enter each card. Each card has a different serial number so there's no intrinsic reason why there would be an overwrite.


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## LifeIsABeach

Cool. I enetered both. Will keep my fingers crossed that they don't kill one of my tuners. Thanks for the info!


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## SharpPa

Anyone seen this with an RCN setup pre-crush? I'm in the Lehigh Valley and the digital switchover is in a few weeks. I have a new Tivo HD with a m-card cablecard installed. All the HD channels come in fine but a good percentage of the 2-97 channels do not. It seems random.....87 works while 89 does not. If I remove the cablecard then channel 87 works fine. I got the cablecard just yesterday so I'm not sure if this happens all the time with the cablecard or just sporadically.

Some sort of analog/digital simulcast problem? In the channel tuning page on a failed channel, it switches from "QAM 64" and "QAM 256" back and forth and shows no signal strength. 

Soft or hard reboot does not help. Adding a signal booster that I had does not help.

Could it be a bad cablecard? Any suggestions?


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## SharpPa

So what do people have on their conditional access screen? I just got off a conference call between Tivo and RCN about my lack of some low channels and the Tivo support (who was excellent!) was surprised to hear that RCN does not pair the cards. My conditional access screen is:

Conditional Access
Unit Address:large number here
Encryption: DES
Con: Yes EBCP: Yes Val:? 0x00

So it's not paired yet I get all the high def channels and about 20% of the low channels. 

They refreshed the card and gave it an "int" reset which did not help even after a new channel map got downloaded. 

RCN is coming in the morning to take a look and try a new card.

So, does anyone have a different screen than above with RCN?


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## rlcarr

In general, it appears that RCN does *not* pair CableCARDs.

However (see some of the more recent posts in this thread) RCN is telling customers to enter pairing info into RCN's system. So presumably RCN is planning to pair cards in the near future.

That said, pairing is only required when the CCI byte is non-zero. Currently, RCN has the CCI byte set to zero on all or virtually all of their channels and thus lack of pairing has no effect.

I can only assume that RCN is planning to set the CCI byte on a number of channels, and that's why they're collecting pairing info.


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## SharpPa

Turns out I had an old analog filter on my outside box to stop pay channel transmission and that was the culprit. Once that was removed (after a new 4 ft. cable, new 8 way splitter in the basement and new cablecard), all the low channels come in okay.


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## John Z NY

is RCN SDV? i just switched from cablevision to RCN(moved to queens from long island) and the guy said i dont need a tuner box anymore(but the guy also told me i needed 2 M cards to run my tivo when i told him 1 card was all it needed. the tivo eventually told him to remove the 2nd card)


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## Doh

I haven't heard of RCN going SDV.


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## nycityuser

John Z NY said:


> is RCN SDV? i just switched from cablevision to RCN(moved to queens from long island) and the guy said i dont need a tuner box anymore(but the guy also told me i needed 2 M cards to run my tivo when i told him 1 card was all it needed. the tivo eventually told him to remove the 2nd card)


I'm with RCN in Manhattan and, no, RCN is not SDV. I think the guy meant that you don't need a tuner box (i.e., cable box) when you have a TIVO with a cablecard. Without the TIVO you would need a cable box to tune to any channel.


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## DrewTivo

Doh said:


> I haven't heard of RCN going SDV.


Almost certainly not. Their "analog crush" program, which got rid of all analog signals, was designed to clear up enough bandwidth to avoid SDV.


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## DrewTivo

RCN has added a bunch of HD channels in the last few months.

For many of them we get guide data but for a lot we don't. All it has is "to be announced". This is true even when there *is* guide data for the SD version of the channel.

Any ideas? Am I alone with this problem?


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## Doh

does zap2it show the guide data? (I seem to recall they use the same feed, so that might help determine if it's a tivo lineup problem or the data not being supplied.)


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## BigJimOutlaw

DrewTivo said:


> RCN has added a bunch of HD channels in the last few months.
> 
> For many of them we get guide data but for a lot we don't. All it has is "to be announced". This is true even when there *is* guide data for the SD version of the channel.
> 
> Any ideas? Am I alone with this problem?


Have you tried re-running the guided setup and selecting the "digital rebuild" option? Several people had success with that.


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## DrewTivo

Doh said:


> does zap2it show the guide data? (I seem to recall they use the same feed, so that might help determine if it's a tivo lineup problem or the data not being supplied.)


Looks like it does, so something is funny here.



BigJimOutlaw said:


> Have you tried re-running the guided setup and selecting the "digital rebuild" option? Several people had success with that.


I'll try that tonight. I did that after they did the digital rebuild, so I thought I was taken care of.

It's such a pain because Tivo seems to pick up a bunch of channels that are listed but blocked because they're in a higher tier. For whatever reason (my incompetence?) they show up in the listings and in the up/down list. So I have to remove them manually . . .


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## CrispyCritter

DrewTivo said:


> It's such a pain because Tivo seems to pick up a bunch of channels that are listed but blocked because they're in a higher tier. For whatever reason (my incompetence?) they show up in the listings and in the up/down list. So I have to remove them manually . . .


TiVo doesn't even try to keep track of tiers, so it's not your competence that's in question. The cable companies don't make that info available outside in many cases, and when they do it is often wrong, out-of-date, or people are using tiers no longer offered. So it is a pain, but a very rare pain in most cases.


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## DrewTivo

CrispyCritter said:


> TiVo doesn't even try to keep track of tiers, so it's not your competence that's in question. The cable companies don't make that info available outside in many cases, and when they do it is often wrong, out-of-date, or people are using tiers no longer offered. So it is a pain, but a very rare pain in most cases.


Yeah, I understand Tivo can't know what RCN's tiers are.

What puzzles me is why Tivo doesn't recognize a channel as not being received when it's coming in black screen.


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## DrewTivo

Update: The above suggestion worked, and I now get listing info.


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## vvboston

This started a couple of months ago, but got worse lately.
- On some recordings on an HD channel, the recording would only record 10 to 20 minutes, and then stop. Initially, we thought the Tivo just rebooted at that time. Then, it started to happen more frequently.
- Then, we noticed it happened on Live TV as well. The screen would pixelate, then freeze. Sometimes gray screen shows up, sometimes not. Regardless, you could not control the Tivo anymore with a remote for a few minutes. We would change channels and come back - sometimes that fixed it, sometimes it didn't. 

- We called RCN, who came in and switched out the cable cards, and changed out the connections in the hallway. It improved slightly - out of our 5 recordings that night, only 1 had a problem. We called RCN back, and they changed out the connections in the apt as well. We still saw the issue happen again on the Tivo. The tech then brought in the RCN HD Cable Box, and there were no issues.
- We then called Tivo. The Tivo Tech Support person told us that we needed an attenuator. I had seen the problem on this forum for FIOS, but am not sure this is what our issue is. We have ordered the attenuator, and we will see if it fixes it. In the meantime, the problem has gotten a lot worse - additional symptoms now is that the Tivo is very sluggish, and takes a very long time to respond to the remote, display screens, etc.

Any insight would be appreciated.


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## CrispyCritter

Sounds much more like a hard disk problem. The attenuator solution has a chance of being the right answer, but I would guess a much rarer chance than a hard disk solution.


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## vvboston

The issue is still happening, after the following steps were taken:
1) Attached attenuator; signal is now at 81/87, which Tivo Support says is perfect
2) Ran Kickstart SMART 54 test: Both Tivo HD and the DVR Expander Passed the hard disk test, so does not appear to be a Hard Drive failure issue
3) Cablecard has been switched out, and all splitters were re-wired by RCN tech

Is it possible that this is a tuner issue? Or motherboard? What test can I do to confirm either of these?


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## rlcarr

Supposedly the self-install FCC regulations are now in effect.

Has anyone done an RCN CableCARD self-install? How does it work? How was pairing done? Did it go smoothly (including getting RCN to acknowledge the ability to do a self-install)?


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## Pacomartin

Will RCN mail you a new CableCARD?


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## Bertram Moshier

The RCN streaming TiVo device is the pits! I just ordered 2 TiVo Bolts (1 is 1 TB and the other is a 14TB) and a mini. While it will take 27.5 months to pay them off at the saving ($65/month), it is worth it.

Anyone else in the same position?

The streaming boxes are totally terrible!


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