# TiVo Premiere + Cisco TA = Help



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

So anyway, I got a TiVo Premiere for my Dad as a Father's Day gift. Cablevision comes and installs cablecard and tuning adapter on Thursday, 6/24/2010. However, the tuning adapter kills the signal. Technician tries to resolve issue but tells me to do guided setup again and left. Did guided setup, no dice, I call back. Another technician comes in on Friday, 6/25/2010. We go through 3 tuning adapters that day and no dice. He also changed the splitters and F-connectors around the house (Only two splits) but still no dice. Took 5 hours of his time and he left. Called for another technician and he comes in on Sunday, 6/27/2010 and go through two tuning adapters. He knew what he was doing as he had a more detailed version of the Tuning Adapter installation instructions. Once again, no dice. Out of all visits, the only result I have gotten out of each visit is the "Acquiring Channel Information" screen and no progress. What should I do? I have exchanged the tivo premiere boxes twice and the tuning adapters 5 times. All installed correctly (blinking light, wait for no more blinky, call, wait 15 min, solid light, connect usb, wait 15 min). I know it is a constant issue with the Cisco tuning adapter (STA1520) but after so many tech visits (awaiting tomorrows visit 6/28/2010), I am about to give up the whole thing and return the TiVo premiere. This is too much stress and after 5 TAs, I think it is ridiculous to keep wasting my time on TA after TA with no luck. I have international channels that we have in our subscription and without the TA, I do not get them. Please help me troubleshoot my misery before I do the drastic.

This is what I have done so far:

-Replaced Tuning Adapter (x5)
-Restarted TiVo and Tuning Adapter
-Switched USB cables and ports
-Switch coax cables


----------



## arizon (Apr 16, 2010)

Could you please describe what you mean by the TA kills the signal? Are you getting some channels with the cable card or not? What are the results of the Tivo diagnostics?


----------



## dlramsey (Feb 19, 2006)

In my experience the boot order is a little flaky--best guess is that the implementation of the SerialLink protocol on the TA is the culprit. Power down both devices, then power up the tuning adapter, wait 30 seconds or so, and then power on your TiVo. If I power up the TiVo first, then the tuning adapter, or both at the same time I get hung on the 'Acquiring Channel Info' screen also.


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

arizon said:


> Could you please describe what you mean by the TA kills the signal? Are you getting some channels with the cable card or not? What are the results of the Tivo diagnostics?


I am not receiving any channels, it just boots me to the "Acquiring Channel Info" screen. I haven't actually looked at the TiVo diagnostics. If I were looking for something in the TiVo diagnostics, what would it be?



dlramsey said:


> In my experience the boot order is a little flaky--best guess is that the implementation of the SerialLink protocol on the TA is the culprit. Power down both devices, then power up the tuning adapter, wait 30 seconds or so, and then power on your TiVo. If I power up the TiVo first, then the tuning adapter, or both at the same time I get hung on the 'Acquiring Channel Info' screen also.


I will actually try that, i will respond with the results.

If anyone else knows any other ideas, please help!


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

Had to reschedule Cablevision appointment today due to unfortunate circumstances. Still have "Acquiring Channel Info" issue. Anyone have any other suggestions or any numbers I should look at when going through diagnostics for the TA (give me a range for the numbers as well).

By the way,



dlramsey said:


> , In my experience the boot order is a little flaky--best guess is that the implementation of the SerialLink protocol on the TA is the culprit. Power down both devices, then power up the tuning adapter, wait 30 seconds or so, and then power on your TiVo. If I power up the TiVo first, then the tuning adapter, or both at the same time I get hung on the 'Acquiring Channel Info' screen also.


I had no dice wit this method.


----------



## Chdwil (Jun 20, 2010)

Did they try a different cable card? That may be your problem. Bypass the tuning adapter completely and if the problem is still there it is the cable card. They should give you a different card regaurdless just to be sure. It is a multistream card installed right?


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

Chdwil said:


> Did they try a different cable card? That may be your problem. Bypass the tuning adapter completely and if the problem is still there it is the cable card. They should give you a different card regaurdless just to be sure. It is a multistream card installed right?


Yes, this is a multistream cablecard. Is this what my problem was all along???? Because, my M-Card seems to be working fine, it's only when my tuning adapter is connected that I get the "Acquiring Channel Information" Screen.


----------



## arizon (Apr 16, 2010)

So which channels are you getting when the TA is not connected? Analog only or Analog and some Digital?


----------



## Chdwil (Jun 20, 2010)

Darthsnipe said:


> Yes, this is a multistream cablecard. Is this what my problem was all along???? Because, my M-Card seems to be working fine, it's only when my tuning adapter is connected that I get the "Acquiring Channel Information" Screen.


Multi stream is the correct card to use. They should try a different card regaurdless to eliminate any chance it is not working correctly.


----------



## dlramsey (Feb 19, 2006)

Darthsnipe said:


> I had no dice wit this method.


Bummer. Sounds like maybe your TA isn't authorized on the cable company's end of things (eight blinks?), or it's not got a good connection to the headend on the signaling channel. Although, given the # of visits you wrote about that either means it isn't the problem, or your cable company is run by 5 year-olds.

If you search the forum--somebody at some point a few years ago posted a link to the diagnostics manual for the Cisco TAs. If you can find it, you should be able to go through it and figure out what the problem is so you can clue your cable company in on it.


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

dlramsey said:


> Bummer. Sounds like maybe your TA isn't authorized on the cable company's end of things (eight blinks?), or it's not got a good connection to the headend on the signaling channel. Although, given the # of visits you wrote about that either means it isn't the problem, or your cable company is run by 5 year-olds.
> 
> If you search the forum--somebody at some point a few years ago posted a link to the diagnostics manual for the Cisco TAs. If you can find it, you should be able to go through it and figure out what the problem is so you can clue your cable company in on it.


Yea solid green light. I saw the guide before making this post and I have none of those issues actually...it's just stuck at acquiring channels. I just wish Cablevision would use the Motorola tuning adapters instead of the Cisco/SA adapters. I remember using Motorola tuning adapters on an old TV from FiOS when I had them in the past and it worked like a dream.

Heck, I even exchanged the TiVo box at Best Buy just to see if it was the box and still no dice after rebinding the cable card and tuning adapter with a call to the company.

For my first time experiencing TiVo, it has been very unpleasant and i've lost sleep watching these forums for a solution lol.



arizon said:


> So which channels are you getting when the TA is not connected? Analog only or Analog and some Digital?


I am actually getting most of my subscribed channels except for a few showtime, starz, encore channels. Also, all the international channels which I subscribed to (Filipino Package) are not available. And I know those use switched digital. When the TA is connected and on (solid green light), I just get booted to "acquiring channel information" screen as soon as it's on.



Chdwil said:


> Multi stream is the correct card to use. They should try a different card regaurdless to eliminate any chance it is not working correctly.


I will let the technician know tomorrow to see if he can swap out the CableCard M-Card. He was really knowledgeable when I first met him yesterday and he even said it himself: "Ever since cable companies started rolling out these Tuning Adapter pieces, it has been nothing but glitches. if only the cable companies can agree to put all channels on the card and just update the card for the customer's subscribed channels, you wouldn't have 4 techs coming to your house". It was unfortunate that I had to cancel on him that day but I managed to get a hold of the lead supervisor's number of his region and get him as a technician tomorrow. I have hopes in him.

For everyone here, I am glad you guys are helping me. Keep them coming please!! If anyone knows anything that I can do in terms of checking the diagnostics screens and what values I would need to look for, please tell me so I can further look into this so I will be ready to explore with the technician when he comes :up:.

As far as everything goes, this is my first time with TiVo and so far, it has been a bittersweet first time experience. Sweet that I got a TiVo finally, Bitter because I cannot get my channels.


----------



## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

How dare you post such lies. We all know consumers are enthusiastic about Tuning Adapters and they work 100% of the time. I mean this is what the cable companies keep telling the FCC and surely they would never make this up.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=450967


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

innocentfreak said:


> How dare you post such lies. We all know consumers are enthusiastic about Tuning Adapters and they work 100% of the time. I mean this is what the cable companies keep telling the FCC and surely they would never make this up.
> 
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=450967


Lol, I was only mentioning what the cable technician said.

Unfortunately, everything I have posted here is true. The five tuning adapters that I have gone through have not been functional even after exchanging TiVO premiers. Even after following the correct steps, I have yet to see the TiVo Premiere actually pick up a channel with the tuning adapter on. When the tuning adapter is off, the TiVo picks up non-sdv channels. But well, I cannot go against your word but for now, I still have a non-functioning Tuning Adapter.


----------



## Chdwil (Jun 20, 2010)

I know this is a no brained question, but did the techs connect the TiVo and tuning adapter with a USB cable?


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

Chdwil said:


> I know this is a no brained question, but did the techs connect the TiVo and tuning adapter with a USB cable?


Yes...lol that's ok, no question is stupid to me


----------



## Chdwil (Jun 20, 2010)

I work for a cable company and havi installed cisco ta's with numerous premiers, including my own. I have yet to see a problem like you are having. Do you have any cable boxes in your home from the cable company? If so check to see if they are working for on demand content or switched digital channels. Then move one to your room with the TiVo. If you have no cable boxes ask the tech to use his test box to see if switched digital or on demand works at your tv where you use the TiVo. If the cable box fails to work properly then it is a upstream issue caused by a bad line, fitting, or splitter somewhere. Could also be a bad faceplate at the tap.


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

Chdwil said:


> I work for a cable company and havi installed cisco ta's with numerous premiers, including my own. I have yet to see a problem like you are having. Do you have any cable boxes in your home from the cable company? If so check to see if they are working for on demand content or switched digital channels. Then move one to your room with the TiVo. If you have no cable boxes ask the tech to use his test box to see if switched digital or on demand works at your tv where you use the TiVo. If the cable box fails to work properly then it is a upstream issue caused by a bad line, fitting, or splitter somewhere. Could also be a bad faceplate at the tap.


I actually had a previous Cable DVR there where the TiVo is currently and had no problem with any channel when it was there. I even had my on demand working smoothly. Also, the 2nd tech actually replaced the lines, tips, splitters, and checked the tap at the pole with no dice also. This is an odd situation.


----------



## Chdwil (Jun 20, 2010)

Darthsnipe said:


> I actually had a previous Cable DVR there where the TiVo is currently and had no problem with any channel when it was there. I even had my on demand working smoothly. Also, the 2nd tech actually replaced the lines, tips, splitters, and checked the tap at the pole with no dice also. This is an odd situation.


I really do not know what else it could be other than the card or a bad USB cable between the TiVo and cisco box.


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

Chdwil said:


> I really do not know what else it could be other than the card or a bad USB cable between the TiVo and cisco box.


So, tech comes in today. Switched out everything including CableCard and tuning adapter. Apparently, only now the dispatch from Cablevision in my region admits that there is something wrong with the network communicating with tuning adapters when the tech called dispatch. -_- Epic fail. So now I have to wait until that is fixed and hopefully Cablevision will call me back to tell me when I am fixed for this tuning adapter. This is SO ANNOYING. I have not enjoyed my TiVO experience due to lousy cable networks.


----------



## Chdwil (Jun 20, 2010)

Darthsnipe said:


> So, tech comes in today. Switched out everything including CableCard and tuning adapter. Apparently, only now the dispatch from Cablevision in my region admits that there is something wrong with the network communicating with tuning adapters when the tech called dispatch. -_- Epic fail. So now I have to wait until that is fixed and hopefully Cablevision will call me back to tell me when I am fixed for this tuning adapter. This is SO ANNOYING. I have not enjoyed my TiVO experience due to lousy cable networks.


Sorry to hear about that. I refuse to use my companies dvr even though I get it free. I would rather pay for TiVo. I have had very little problems with my tuning adapter.


----------



## mryan3 (Jul 3, 2010)

Darthsnipe,

Have there been any developments for you? I'm having a similar experience w/ Tivo Premiere. Just had a Cablevision install this afternoon. Everything seemed to go smoothly until plugging in the USB cable, where it just hangs on the acquiring channel information (which ultimately and repeatedly fails). Tech just said that everything on Cablevision's end was set up properly, told me to call Tivo and went on his merry way. Cablecard is working and tuning adapter is giving me solid light. When the USB is unplugged, I get most channels; however, without a successful channel mapping via usb, certain channels just will not function. Have you talked to Tivo CS during this whole thing?


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

mryan3 said:


> Darthsnipe,
> 
> Have there been any developments for you? I'm having a similar experience w/ Tivo Premiere. Just had a Cablevision install this afternoon. Everything seemed to go smoothly until plugging in the USB cable, where it just hangs on the acquiring channel information (which ultimately and repeatedly fails). Tech just said that everything on Cablevision's end was set up properly, told me to call Tivo and went on his merry way. Cablecard is working and tuning adapter is giving me solid light. When the USB is unplugged, I get most channels; however, without a successful channel mapping via usb, certain channels just will not function. Have you talked to Tivo CS during this whole thing?


Yes I have actually. They said to call the cable provider. I still have not gained any traction on this situation and I am about to go ballistic. It has been a week since the last tech came and I have yet to have a working tuning adapter. I have been stuck in "Acquiring Channel Information" for a week now. My last tech actually tried to do something about it on Cablevision's end by sending out a "UTT Ticket" for the engineers to work on...but they need 3 customer complaints in order to send out this ticket and I was one out of two that he had so far. Apparently, we aren't the only ones having the problem with Cablevision...he told me a Series 3 HD owner has the same issue.


----------



## mryan3 (Jul 3, 2010)

Is there anything I can do to get on this "UTT Ticket" with you? I would like this resolved as well. I haven't tried switching out my tuning adapter yet, mostly because I was hoping to at least find someone that had success with this before driving myself crazy. I still plan on doing it though, but I'm not hopeful. I posted on the BBR forums and linked to this thread, but so far I haven't had any luck. Hopefully someone at Cablevision and/or Tivo is paying attention.

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24473274-Tivo-Premiere-Multistream-CableCard-Cisco-Tuning-Adapter


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

mryan3 said:


> Is there anything I can do to get on this "UTT Ticket" with you? I would like this resolved as well. I haven't tried switching out my tuning adapter yet, mostly because I was hoping to at least find someone that had success with this before driving myself crazy. I still plan on doing it though, but I'm not hopeful. I posted on the BBR forums and linked to this thread, but so far I haven't had any luck. Hopefully someone at Cablevision and/or Tivo is paying attention.
> 
> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r24473274-Tivo-Premiere-Multistream-CableCard-Cisco-Tuning-Adapter


Well unfortunately, I do not know how to get on a UTT Ticket as that is only done by a technician speaking to dispatch on the phone. I wish there was a way to do so...I returned my TiVO and cablecard/tuning adapter today being so disgruntled from this situation.

I am silently awaiting confirmation now that at least TiVO sends an update for their box or Cablevision sends an update to the tuning adapter. As far as I know, I have a feeling it has something to do with the USB connections. If you look closely at the tuning adapter, there is a green blinking light inside, on the back of, the adapter whenever the USB is connected. I believe when it blinks, the tuning adapter reads that a connection has been established between the TiVO and the tuning adapter. Communication between the adapter and the TiVO may be messing up somewhere. I will get back to TiVO when this whole situation is finally over. Please mryan3, if you do mind, please keep me updated on your situation. If it ever gets fixed, tell me what was the solution.


----------



## TishTash (Jan 24, 2008)

I've posted about this issue several times with little or no responses. Judging from the several responses to your post, you've effectively received a similar level of success. 

Last Friday I received a voicemail from TiVo CR claiming they have isolated the issue, secondary to logs they downloaded from my affected TiVo Premiere. Apparently in certain combinations of Cablevision and Cisco TAs and TiVo Premieres, the channel map from CV does not transfer successfully to the Premiere via the TA. (For me, the TAs work fine with older TiVo HDs.)

I was told this is now a "priority" point of contention between CV and Cisco, with TiVo as the point man. Sometime in the (hopefully near) future, there should be a firmware update for the TA that addresses and fixes this "Acquiring Ch Info" hang. I was instructed to just notify Cablevision that I'm one of those who has this issue and requires priority download of these updates. 

So at long last there is some progress and (to some relief) actual official acknowledgement of the Premiere/Cisco/Cablevision "Acq Ch Info" hang. I'm posting this here because there seems to be a more active response, intentional or otherwise, to your thread vs mine.


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

TishTash said:


> I've posted about this issue several times with little or no responses. Judging from the several responses to your post, you've effectively received a similar level of success.
> 
> Last Friday I received a voicemail from TiVo CR claiming they have isolated the issue, secondary to logs they downloaded from my affected TiVo Premiere. Apparently in certain combinations of Cablevision and Cisco TAs and TiVo Premieres, the channel map from CV does not transfer successfully to the Premiere via the TA. (For me, the TAs work fine with older TiVo HDs.)
> 
> ...


It is finally good to hear those words from you TishTash! I wish there is something that we as consumers can do to help push this update. Keep this post updated please! We all need to know and pitch in on this issue. Hopefully it will get out there and people with Cisco TA's/Cablevision will have the issue resolved. Until then, I am TiVOless...I sure wish I hadn't gone through so much stress...


----------



## pbug56 (Jan 27, 2008)

I'm wondering;

1. Were signal strengths checked (both on the TIVO itself and by the CV techs with their test boxes)? TAs don't like a weak signal as I recall.
2. Did anyone check out the TA diagnostic screens (if it even let you)?
3. Did you swap out both USB and RG cables? A cable could be bad - the very first TA I got came with a great looking but completely dead RG cable.
4. Did you switch USB ports?
5. Had you completed the guided setup before the M card was installed? Seems a lot cleaner that way.

I have a Premiere, possibly the first to hit Long Island. I had TA problems - a bad TA was the primary culprit.

Also, keep in mind that these Cisco TAs are ultra flaky (IMHO); I have not had one last more then 6 months before they go bad (they get very hot and have poor ventilation AND people like my kids and wife put things on top).

Good luck!

Ron


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

pbug56 said:


> I'm wondering;
> 
> 1. Were signal strengths checked (both on the TIVO itself and by the CV techs with their test boxes)? TAs don't like a weak signal as I recall.
> 2. Did anyone check out the TA diagnostic screens (if it even let you)?
> ...


Let me answer these:

1. Signal's were checked and according to the 5 cable techs, the signal was at full blast. And I do recall the signals being at 90-95 when I was testing the channels with the TA unplugged.
2. I checked and was able to get to the TA diagnostics screens on all 5 TA's. It was Authorized however I get no RDC (something like that)...like I said, possibly cable provider's network.
3. All cables including all of those around my house were replaced. I even bought a brand new USB cable with a gold connector to see if that was the problem...no luck.
4. Yes I have exchanged USB ports with the various USB cables that were left behind by 5 techs and my brand new one. I even exchanged 3 TiVO Premiers to see if it was the box itself.
5. Guided setup was completed before and after the first M-Card was initially installed. Heck, I even reformatted the TiVO to factory settings.

As far as ventilation goes, it was on it's own shelf on an open media center (and I did realize it gets extremely hot).

It seems hopeless...


----------



## nyctwc (Apr 6, 2010)

I'm on Time Warner here in NYC, and whenever I've had problems, it was usually because the cable company was screwing something up. The customer support operators don't know anything about Cablecards and neither they nor the customers are allowed to talk to the IT techs, who are the only people who can fix the problems. So the only solution is to have a house call and have the tech speak to the IT dept. from my house (a horrible waste of time for everyone). Usually, the fix simply involves the IT dept. "hitting" (sending EMMs to) the Cablecard.

Go to the TA diagnostic screen and look for "EMMs". It should NOT read "0". The higher the number, the more channels you should receive.


----------



## pbug56 (Jan 27, 2008)

Darthsnipe,

You've done everything I'd have done, maybe more. BTW, when I do restart either of my TIVO's (a Premiere and a TIVO HD), it takes several minutes after bootup is complete for the TA to finish acquiring channel info. Its bad and hopefully the upcoming fix will cover it.

Ron


----------



## mryan3 (Jul 3, 2010)

Though not technically "official", Cablevision has acknowledged that they are working with Tivo on a workaround and fix.

http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/cablevision_digital/message/70164


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

mryan3 said:


> Though not technically "official", Cablevision has acknowledged that they are working with Tivo on a workaround and fix.
> 
> http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/cablevision_digital/message/70164


It has been almost a month...any news yet from anyone? Mryan, have you gotten anything as of yet?



nyctwc said:


> I'm on Time Warner here in NYC, and whenever I've had problems, it was usually because the cable company was screwing something up. The customer support operators don't know anything about Cablecards and neither they nor the customers are allowed to talk to the IT techs, who are the only people who can fix the problems. So the only solution is to have a house call and have the tech speak to the IT dept. from my house (a horrible waste of time for everyone). Usually, the fix simply involves the IT dept. "hitting" (sending EMMs to) the Cablecard.
> 
> Go to the TA diagnostic screen and look for "EMMs". It should NOT read "0". The higher the number, the more channels you should receive.


And as far as checking the TA diag screen...I cannot anymore because I returned my TiVO due to this situation


----------



## Chdwil (Jun 20, 2010)

Darthsnipe said:


> It has been almost a month...any news yet from anyone? Mryan, have you gotten anything as of yet?
> 
> And as far as checking the TA diag screen...I cannot anymore because I returned my TiVO due to this situation


I ended up returning my premier before the 30 trial period ended. Too many issues with channels not coming in. The TiVo may be far better than the cable dvr, but the cable dvr works when the TiVo wouldn't.


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

Chdwil said:


> I ended up returning my premier before the 30 trial period ended. Too many issues with channels not coming in. The TiVo may be far better than the cable dvr, but the cable dvr works when the TiVo wouldn't.


I am still going to keep this thread alive because this was by far the most constructive thread with many follow-ups in accordance to the Cisco Tuning Adapter and the TiVO Premier. Btw Chdwil, welcome to the Cisco Fail Boat lol.


----------



## laado01 (Jul 29, 2010)

I have had the same problem as reported in this thread. I have a 2nd TV with a cablevision box which was experiencing reception problems. Cablevision finally determined that I had too much noise on my incoming cable line and tracked the problem down to some faulty equipment upstream from me. Once they fixed that the problem went away. So if your cablevision cable has too many errors in the line you will experience this problem.


----------



## mryan3 (Jul 3, 2010)

Not exactly sure what happened, but all SDV channels appear to be working today after reboot of tuning adapter. "Acquiring Channel Information" step took about 15 seconds. Coincidentally, I recently inquired on the Cablevision board about their progress and got a response this morning saying that the issue was still being worked on by them and Cisco. So, not sure if it's a fluke, a workaround, or a real fix. On status screen for TA, flash version is STA1.0.0_1520_BDSG.LR_F.1101 and App(s) is SARA v1.61.41.1, which are the same as they were. SDV Channels says 100. Per what nyctwc said earlier, I checked EMMs and it says 0, though I won't pretend to know what that means. Tivo software version is 14.4-01-3-748. I have no idea if that's a new version. I didn't notice any updates to the Tivo software (though this is my first Tivo so I don't know if or how background updating works or what previous s/w version was if in fact it has changed) and I have not rebooted the box.


----------



## mryan3 (Jul 3, 2010)

Just a minor follow up: I just unplugged and rearranged everything in order to put it in its proper place in the entertainment center (didn't bother until now since it hadn't been working properly and I was contemplating returning the Tivo) and the acquiring channel information step went off again without a hitch and I am receiving all channels. Problem solved? Looks like it.


----------



## mattykaps (Aug 4, 2010)

im in the same boat as these guys....my tivo hd wont work on sdv channels i get the gray report cable card screen.....i was having the same problem as you guys with the acquiring channel info and i am now able to watch all channels except the sdv with the tuning adapter in. any info on a fix for the sdv channels?


----------



## a0lsux (Nov 1, 2005)

I'm having the same problem, spoke to Tivo who said it was cablevision's fault. Spoke to cablevision and they had no idea "everything is working on our end, let us send out a rep" ARGH must have rebooted the damn thing 10 times by now.


----------



## el_andy (Aug 24, 2010)

Been having the same issues as others on this thread with sdv channels for 2 weeks now in the Fairfield County, CT area. Done everything+ suggested so far. Up to tech visit number 3 tomorrow evening. I had requested a TA from the first tech that came out to install a cablecard in my Tivo Premiere. 
Based on everything I have read about sdv, it seemed like it would be required. How the hell else does the tivo signal the headend that it needs the feed, right? Well, the field techs here seem to think it's pure magic, and that the Tivo Premieres don't need TAs. In fact today's tech claimed that he installed Tivo Premieres recently w/o the TA and that all of the sdv channels worked for those customers. Needless to say, I'm a little credulous of this claim, since he can't seem to explain to me how the cablecard is performing this functionality by itself. I've also found this page on Optimum's site referencing the requirement of a TA with the specific firmware that mryan3 received. Anyway I have a tech coming back with a TA tomorrow so I'm hoping that will take care of the problem.


----------



## el_andy (Aug 24, 2010)

success! 

once the TA was installed and authorized, it took about 15 minutes for the TA to update and get the solid green light. Channels were not working immediately, so i left the TA on and pulled the plug on the tivo to force the cablecard to reload the channels. When the tivo reboots, it will negotiate with the TA and then download the channel-map to the cablecard over usb from the TA. The reboot took a bit longer than normal and I got the Acquiring Channel Info screen for a couple of minutes. While I was waiting I verified that everything looked as expected in tuner diag. and then like "magic" all of the sdv channels worked. 

The bad news is i've learned waaaay more about sdv and cablecards and udcp devices and docsis set-top gateways and cablevision in general than i ever wanted to know.

The good news is I have a field tech supervisor calling me this week so i will try to impart some wisdom about how all this works with him.


----------



## mryan3 (Jul 3, 2010)

Hey Andy, congrats. Let me know how it works out for you in the long term... specifically, if you have problems with the TA rebooting on you. Mine likes to reboot roughly once a day. It wouldn't be such a big deal because the signal only goes out for a few seconds, except for the fact that it cancels all recordings in progress. Not so great...


----------



## gespears (Aug 10, 2007)

mryan3 said:


> Hey Andy, congrats. Let me know how it works out for you in the long term... specifically, if you have problems with the TA rebooting on you. Mine likes to reboot roughly once a day. It wouldn't be such a big deal because the signal only goes out for a few seconds, except for the fact that it cancels all recordings in progress. Not so great...


I haven't had the guts to even hook my TA up to my new TP. I had it connected to my THD and it would lock up about once a week and I'd miss everything until I noticed it was locked up. It caused me to miss some important programs. Fortunately there is not much on Switched Digital that I care about so I just disconnected it. The problem is that I sold my THD to my brother and he does watch some of the channels on SW Dig. so I'm worried it will crap out on him too.


----------



## Impulse0022 (Aug 15, 2010)

I thought I would give my experience using a Cisco Tuning Adapter thus far. Cox came by today to install my cablecard and Cisco Tuning Adapter to my Premiere XL today. At first the Cisco Tuning Adapter wasn't working with the provided coaxial cable from Cisco. All connections were tight, etc. The cable guy waited for 20 minutes for the tuning adapter to pick up a signal with multiple calls back to the home office. I switched it out with a higher quality coaxial cable and the tuning adapter started working correctly about 30 seconds later.

Hope this helps somebody out with a similar issue.

-Matt


----------



## gespears (Aug 10, 2007)

Impulse0022 said:


> Hope this helps somebody out with a similar issue.
> 
> -Matt


Let us know if it keeps working.


----------



## Darthsnipe (Jun 28, 2010)

mryan3 said:


> Just a minor follow up: I just unplugged and rearranged everything in order to put it in its proper place in the entertainment center (didn't bother until now since it hadn't been working properly and I was contemplating returning the Tivo) and the acquiring channel information step went off again without a hitch and I am receiving all channels. Problem solved? Looks like it.


Wow so it actually works now after waiting two months -_-'. Well it's good to know so when I actually acquire another TiVO, it will work...hopefully...congratz mryan3. I am still very wary about my experience but heck thank god Cablevision fixed it for the most part in your situation.


----------



## gespears (Aug 10, 2007)

Darthsnipe said:


> Wow so it actually works now after waiting two months -_-'. Well it's good to know so when I actually acquire another TiVO, it will work...hopefully...congratz mryan3. I am still very wary about my experience but heck thank god Cablevision fixed it for the most part in your situation.


My TA never did work correctly with my THD and what's worse is when it failed it would block all signal going to the THD and I'd miss recordings until I noticed it was locked up. I finally just disconnected it because there really wasn't anything on SWD I wanted to watch anyway. But then they moved CMT to SWD so I had to try and get it working again. Same problem. Then I would connect it only when I wanted to record top 20 countdown and then disconnect it before it would lock up. Fortunately they took CMT off SWD so I didn't have to worry about it again. When I got the TP we decided to connect it again and this time it downloaded new firmware and since then it hasn't died. So maybe it's a non-issue anymore.

One thing that is interesting though, when they were connecting the TA to the TP the supervisor told them it had to be connected to the lower USB port on the THD. I gave the THD to my brother and when they came to hook up the TA they plugged it in the bottom port and I plugged the wireless G adapter in the top port. The TA worked fine and hasnt failed since but the wireless adapter wouldnt work correctly in the top port. It kept loosing signal. I assumed it was the router having issues because it was an old router that I had problems with previously. But when the signal was strong on my netbook I realized the wireless adapter that had worked fine for me for 3 years wasnt going to work in the top port so I got the TRENDnet Wireless N Gaming Adapter TEW-647GA that I had just purchased for my TP and gave it to him. This worked correctly and he hasnt had any issues.

Now the wireless G adapter is plugged into my TP and working okay so it obviously meant the top USB port in my THD was bad. I wonder if anyone else has had this problem. The wireless G adapter on the TP is very slow so I cant wait for my Trendnet adapter to get here.


----------



## mryan3 (Jul 3, 2010)

Darthsnipe said:


> Wow so it actually works now after waiting two months -_-'. Well it's good to know so when I actually acquire another TiVO, it will work...hopefully...congratz mryan3. I am still very wary about my experience but heck thank god Cablevision fixed it for the most part in your situation.


I never found out why the tuning adapter suddenly started working, even though I was communicating with Cablevision engineers (either Tivo did something behind the scenes or the engineers were being tight lipped about any changes they made), because there were no apparent firmware or software updates for the TA or the Tivo Premiere. The only remaining issue I had was that the TA would constantly reboot (at least once a day -- see my comments above), but that issue appears to have beeen resolved since the Tivo Premiere 14.5 software update, which finally hit my box this past Wednesday evening. TA hasn't rebooted since then (3 days so far) even though it has the same firmware.


----------



## mryan3 (Jul 3, 2010)

mryan3 said:


> I never found out why the tuning adapter suddenly started working, even though I was communicating with Cablevision engineers (either Tivo did something behind the scenes or the engineers were being tight lipped about any changes they made), because there were no apparent firmware or software updates for the TA or the Tivo Premiere. The only remaining issue I had was that the TA would constantly reboot (at least once a day -- see my comments above), but that issue appears to have beeen resolved since the Tivo Premiere 14.5 software update, which finally hit my box this past Wednesday evening. TA hasn't rebooted since then (3 days so far) even though it has the same firmware.


Scratch that... TA rebooted about 10 minutes ago... hooray!


----------



## gespears (Aug 10, 2007)

mryan3 said:


> Scratch that... TA rebooted about 10 minutes ago... hooray!


Sorry about that. Mine hasn't rebooted yet. Where's some wood?


----------



## el_andy (Aug 24, 2010)

mryan3 said:


> Hey Andy, congrats. Let me know how it works out for you in the long term... specifically, if you have problems with the TA rebooting on you. Mine likes to reboot roughly once a day. It wouldn't be such a big deal because the signal only goes out for a few seconds, except for the fact that it cancels all recordings in progress. Not so great...


man that is the suck. i think my TA may have rebooted once but i was unplugging and rewiring some stuff behind the tv, so, kinda figured i caused that one. perhaps the power supply assembly/ac adapters are just super flaky? Cisco's old pix501 firewalls were notorious for that (to the point that i had to superglue more than my fair share of ac adapters into the appliance - lolz). i wish i had a better idea, but i can say i really haven't had any problems since they brought this one out. In fact just looked over all the diag - been online since 8/30, taken a few soft errors from the head-end, downloaded the most recent map an hour or so ago - seems to be just fine.
....

ok, walked away, ate a sandwich, thought about it more... i'm pretty convinced you have a power supply issue. you may need to replace the ac adapter, or the TA itself, but preferably both. you'll have to go thru the activation process with CV again tho (auth box, wait 20 mins till light goes solid (fully programmed), power cycle tivo, acquire signal, etc.)


----------



## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

I just got a new Premiere and I am having the same problem. I have a Cisco TA with a SA cable card on Time Warner. I contacted Tivo and they say it is an engineering issue with the channel map. Funny thing is I have an Tivo HD setup with the same brand of hardware and have no issues with it. I even swapped the tuning adapters and the HD still has no problems while my new Premiere does. It doesn't look like this is going to be resolved anytime soon.


----------



## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

I called Tivo again about this issue. After the CSR goes though all the online help he says that it is Cisco's problem and told me to call them about it! He then goes to their website and gives me their 800 number from their contact page. Like that is really going to get me anywhere. 

I say it is a problem with the Tivo software on the Premiere. I can take either of the two tuning adapters I have and plug it into my Tivo HD and it will always get the channel list. The Premiere never gets the channel list with either of the tuning adapters. Without the tuning adapter both units see the same channels minus the SDV channels. A bug in the Premiere software? I keep forcing connections on my Premiere hoping I'll get 14.6 and the issue would magically be fixed.

I think it's sad when you buy the latest and greatest and, at least for me, it has been the worst Tivo box I've had yet. I keep it in the basement attached to a 12 year old 23" Magnavox since it can't record the shows I want.


----------



## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Have you tried contacting Margret @TiVo.com to see if she can be any help?


----------



## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

innocentfreak said:


> Have you tried contacting Margret @TiVo.com to see if she can be any help?


I sent a link to my posts to her via Twitter but I'll send a direct email if I don't hear back in a day or so. Thanks for the address!


----------



## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

I want to publicly thank Tivo Margret for all the help she has provided to get my issue resolved.

As a recap whenever I plugged in the tuning adapter, live TV would only display 'Acquiring Channels' and it would never get the channels list. 

The cause: "There is a bug in the Cisco tuning adapter software that if the number of channels in the channel list is a multiple of 119 when the Tuning Adapter is set up, it gets stuck." "Right now the channel list that TWC is publishing is a multiple of 119."

Margret contacted Time Warner to get it fixed. Last night was the first time I could really use my new Premiere.

Thank You Margret for all your help!


----------



## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Glad to hear it. I hate always referring people to her, but I have always found her really helpful and responsive. 

Of course with my new sig in my link, you are free to complain to the FCC now also everytime you have a problem with your TA no matter how minor.


----------



## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

innocentfreak said:


> Of course with my new sig in my link, you are free to complain to the FCC now also everytime you have a problem with your TA no matter how minor.


(Form 2000 Filed Via The Internet)


----------



## Stone1555 (Dec 19, 2008)

Glad you got your issue resolved nitecourt. but i dont think it was a fix on twc side.

Both T/A's worked on the Tivo HD, so both were able to acquire and pass the map over. Only the tivo premier was not able to load the map. IF this was a cisco bug it would affect both adapters and your new t/a wouldn't have gotten the map at all.


----------



## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

Stone1555 said:


> Glad you got your issue resolved nitecourt. but i dont think it was a fix on twc side.
> 
> Both T/A's worked on the Tivo HD, so both were able to acquire and pass the map over. Only the tivo premier was not able to load the map. IF this was a cisco bug it would affect both adapters and your new t/a wouldn't have gotten the map at all.


I thought the same thing. But here was the entire answer which makes sense to me.

_It has to do with when you set up the first Tuning Adapter on the TiVo HD. There is a bug in the Cisco tuning adapter software that if the number of channels in the channel list is a multiple of 119 when the Tuning Adapter is set up, it gets stuck. When you set up your first Tuning Adapter the channel list had a different number of channels in it. Right now the channel list that TWC is publishing is a multiple of 119. If you were to do a "clear & delete everything" on your TiVo HD and try to set it up again, it would also fail. We will contact Time Warner and find out of either: they have a fix available from Cisco, or if they can change the number of channels in the channel list._


----------



## Stone1555 (Dec 19, 2008)

Eh im still sketchy with that. From what i recall theirs about 200 some sdv channels for the NEO area. also i just had a replacement tivo HD from tivo do this same thing. I ended up getting the suggestion from tivo to remove the t/a and do a reset and walk through gs again. Then it started working. Did you by chance do any of that?

Another reason it seems sketchy is b/c when the channels are added /removed your t.a updates the map and sends it to the tivo, so if at any time there was 119 chnls it would have caused the issue with the tivo hd.

I'm not trying to argue or start anything, im just gathering notes.

Thanks


----------



## NiteCourt (Mar 31, 2005)

I went through the guided setup so many times w/o the TA, with the TA, w/o the cablecard and TA that I wasted many hours.

The only thing I did not do was a clear and delete everything because I didn't want TW to charge me to send a tech out that has no idea of what he's doing and I end up doing all the work. I don't know why I can't just call and give them the numbers.

Yesterday I got an email from Margret: "Time Warner believes they have corrected the problem. Would you please attach your tuning adapter again and let me know if it works?"

And it did. My software version is still the same and my Tivo had not yet made the daily connection when my tuning adapter was not working.


----------



## Stone1555 (Dec 19, 2008)

kk, thnks for the info. I feel you pain with getting the cc re-paired.


----------



## TishTash (Jan 24, 2008)

Darthsnipe said:


> It is finally good to hear those words from you TishTash! I wish there is something that we as consumers can do to help push this update. Keep this post updated please! We all need to know and pitch in on this issue. Hopefully it will get out there and people with Cisco TA's/Cablevision will have the issue resolved. Until then, I am TiVOless...I sure wish I hadn't gone through so much stress...


For whatever reason, the latest software updates for both Premieres and HDs, plus whatever firmware updates for Cisco TAs under Cablevision, have resulted in correct channel mapping and no TA reboots for over a month.

The mystery continues ...


----------



## wood252ota (Apr 19, 2008)

I'm joining the club in having a TA and CC installed in my Premiere and having all the problems getting it to work. In the box the TA came in they talked about a fix coming from Tivo/TWC/Cisco sometime in late January. Is this an old note, or is there a fix coming out in Jan 2011 ?


----------



## jaybird69 (Jun 1, 2012)

Just purchased a new tivo premiere and had Time warner hook up there service. About 5 truck rolls (5 home visits by techs) and still messed up.
The Tivo has a cable card installed and is connected to tuning adapter. The local channels all come in fine. Most of the HD channels, 1600's, were missing, a few had the wrong programming on them and a few came in fine. The techs went through about 4 different tuning adapters. Now if you disconnected the USB connection between the TA and the TIVO, alot of the HD channels came through great and no incorrect programming issues; however, there were still alot of channels missing.
Yes the channel mapping was messed up. The final tech had done his homework and found out that the issue was known but very recent. He said that the temporary solution was to reset and wipe clean the tivo. He told me contact Tivo's and confirm with them. The Tivo tech checked with others and confirmed the issue and the temporary solution.
I followed their instructions to do a "clear & delete everything". This takes sometime and then is followed by the guided setup. The tivo tech also said I'd need to call TimeWarner to have the cablecard paired again but I ended up not needing to. After completing the guided setup, all the channels appear to be there and have correct programming! One other thing, I hooked the TA and Tivo backup during the guided setup just before the final downloading; the guided setup showed the window indicating the TA had connected and then jump backwards to before the first download.
From what I understood, their not sure who's at fault yet but they do know that a Tivo software upgrade exposed whatever issue is and it only effects the premieres, not the series 3 tivo's. I didn't understand if the tivo uploads the channel mappings to the TA or if the TA get it directly from the TimeWarner, regardless the mappings that endup in the TA are incorrect causing tuning into improper freq causing bad signals and tuning to incorrect freq. causing incorrect programming; e.g. turned to NickHD and it was MTVHD; not what you want for the kids.
Also, Time Warner has a cablecard team if you need more help or other cablecard issues.
Hope this helps some people out and hopefully they'll roll out a more perment fix or at least backout the "software upgrade" causing it.


----------



## noname_com (Nov 30, 2007)

Im in austin and have had a tivo HD before time warner here switched to SDV back in 2008. Was even on the TA beta testing group here. I have had issues everytime I moved setting tivo's, cable cards, and now TA's. Always after a few times of having a tech come out, it was usually resolved. I bought a tivo Premiere last year when we moved to leander and I switch to suddenlink cable. They had the same routine. send a couple tech out a couple times until you hopefully get one that knows about tivos. Now I moved to hutto (because of job changes) and I have reverted back to time warner. Here's where the nightmare begins. I have a total of 2 tivoHD's and 1 tivo Premiere. The first tech came out and only got one working. Spent 5 hours here. Left at 10pm saying I would have to call. I didnt realize that as of last year the FCC gave us a wonderful gift of getting the cards ourself. ANYWAYS I went round a round with tech support. Coulf not get 1 tivoHD and the premiere working. They sent a Truck out and a tech who knew absolutely nothing about tivo and kept telling my wife it was out tivo's. Mind you these all worked great just the week before on suddenlink.
This tech left after 2 hours and the original 2 tivos were not working. I had my wife take the cards and TA's to TW to swap them out. They gave us a nice sheet with the cable card support number on it and info on how to set it up. Hooked the equipment up called the support line. They got the other tivHD up and going no prob. The tivo Premiere was still not working. I notice something strange and you all mentioned this too. The channel mapping was off. mtv was labeled Comedy Central and fuse was speed and so on and still most of the channels were blank. We again swapped out the equipment on the premiere and TW gave us brand new card and brand new in the box TA. Called the support line and they were awesome!!! They walked me through things but unfortunately same results. The TA was now not being recognized by the tivo as if the USB ports had died. 
\AFTER READING IN HERE ABOUT DELETING THE DATA AND RESETTING THE TIVO I TRIED THIS AND NOW IT"S WORKING 100% !!!!! There is definitely something up with the tivo Premieres if you see the channel mapping all screwy. Sorry for the long story but wanted to express the frustration. Glad the tivo forums exist. I was about to warranty my premiere because it really seemed the usb ports were not working. They would not recognize when a tuner was plugged in.


----------



## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

noname_com said:


> .


Check in system information to see if GC date is advancing.
GC date should advance every other day or at least after 3 days.


----------



## CoxInPHX (Jan 14, 2011)

Teeps said:


> Check in system information to see if GC date is advancing.
> GC date should advance every other day or at least after 3 days.


What is GC (Garbage Collection) and what does it actually do?


----------



## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

CoxInPHX said:


> What is GC (Garbage Collection) and what does it actually do?


Good question, I don't know exactly. 
Only that if this operation does not complete before the alloted time is up; it can cause problems. Problems are seen on S3 TiVos with time warner & tuning adapter.

I figured it was easy to check hence the advice.


----------



## L David Matheny (Jan 29, 2011)

CoxInPHX said:


> What is GC (Garbage Collection) and what does it actually do?


I think the term "Garbage Collection" traditionally refers to periodic reclamation of dynamic resources (memory or whatever) that have been allocated as needed but not reclaimed immediately (when no longer needed) because it's more efficient to reclaim in batches as infrequently as possible.


----------



## herbman (Apr 8, 2008)

Resuscitating this old thread, because last night I called TWC after trying for a bit to get my Preimiere and TA going, bounced the TA, bounced the Premiere, etc.

The tech on the cablecard line gave me the suggestion to switch which USB port the TA was plugged into, which was a new one for me. It worked right away, and is now on my list of things to do when my TA isn't working.

I know it's laughable to suggest that SDV and TAs are going to go away in any kind of short term if Comcast buys TWC, but I can't see how my tivo experience could be any WORSE under Comcast.


----------



## Teeps (Aug 16, 2001)

herbman said:


> I know it's laughable to suggest that SDV and TAs are going to go away in any kind of short term if Comcast buys TWC, but I can't see how my tivo experience could be any WORSE under Comcast.


SDV will not go away without a FCC mandate, which is not likely to happen.

Far as service degradation under comcast, it would depend, IMO, whether comcast, gives the time warner support staff the boot.
As of late, the time warner cable card help desk is doing a good job in resolving our TiVo, cable card, tuning adapter issues.

cable card national support number
866-532-2598


----------



## herbman (Apr 8, 2008)

I'm in metro Milwaukee, and it was just announced that we're going Charter, vs. Comcast. So we'll have to see.


----------

