# Charter & Series 3 Problems



## ckoble

I received my S3 a couple of days ago and scheduled an appointment today for CableCard installation from Charter Communications (Long Beach, Ca). The installer called me to ask what kind of TV the cards were to be installed in and I told him that it was a TiVo... he told me that TiVos were not supported. They only supported TVs. I convinced him to still come and "indulge" me. His supervisor called me and gave me the same story... I told him that I wanted them to come anyway. 

So they show up and install the cards and they cannot acquire channels. I told him to leave the cards and I would troubleshoot myself. 

Next I called TiVo, they indicated that the cards are not set up properly. 

So I called Charter back and talked with a woman named Sophia. After spending about an hour on hold, she basically came back and said that the cards WERE set up properly and if I had a CableCard TV, they would prove it to me. The story they give is that the problem is with the TiVo and since TiVo was proprietary and they can't test it to make sure that the problem isn't the TiVo. 

So now it has turned into a Charter blaming TiVo and TiVo blaming Charter. 

Any ideas? Could this be Charter not wanting ts customers to use third party DVRs? Anyone else experience problems with Charter?


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## Dan203

TiVo is absolutely NOT proprietary. It is a CableLabs certified device. Cal them back and tell them that, tell them to look on their CableLabs approved list for model number TCD648250B

Dan


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## ckoble

Dan,

I spent a while telling them that this is CableLabs certified and that it is an FCC mandate that they provide cards that work in this device... they still come off as unwiling to help. I was told that if I wanted another technician to come out to troubleshoot this problem, it would cost me $50/ hour.

I just might march into the Charter office on Monday and have them explain to me in person why they won't support this unit. I'll keep you guys posted!


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## cotton168

Yes, please do ckoble. I have Charter and they messed up our account which ended up pushing back my installation. I'll have to wait until Friday so I am looking forward to your follow up. Good luck!!!


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## ckoble

Update: Just spoke with Ed a supervisor at the Charter Irwindale office who has relayed the following to me: 

-Charter only supports TVs and does not support any other CC devices. 
-They will schedule another appointment with me to "tell me in person that TiVo is not supported" and will not troubleshoot any device that is not theirs (even though the cablecard IS theirs) -- when I asked what the appointment was for then -- he said it was to "pick up the their cablecards" 
-Claims that the technical supervisor has a series 3 tivo (retail purchase) and knows that it does not work. (which sounds like a load of crap since he said he had it 2 weeks ago) 

ANY help from TiVo to set Carter straight would be greatly appreciated. From my point of view this is beginning to sound like a broken record, I tell Charter that they are required to support this... they say TiVo is not supported and that their cards only work in TVs. I say if it works in a TV it should work in the TiVo. They say... obviously not because it is not working. I say that the cards are not configured or set up properly, they say that the problem is TiVo and that it is not compatible with the cablecards which they use (SA PowerKey Conditional Access Module). 

I'm at a loss. Should I send my TiVo back? Is this hopeless?


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## cotton168

I cannot believe the load of BS that Charter is giving you. Seeing how much trouble you are getting from them is also making me worry about my install on Friday. Hopefully the Alhambra office will be better. Don't know...

Anyone else have Charter and has had their CCs work on their Tivos?


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## Dan203

This is such a crock of sh*t! They are required by law to support ANY device that is certified for use with CableCARDs by CableLabs. all them back and tell them if they refuse to install the cards in the TiVo your next call will be to the FCC.

You might also try calling the TiVo help line and seeing if they will get involved on your behalf.

Dan


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## ckoble

I have already contacted TiVo (yesterday) and they tell me that they cannot do anything.


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## cotton168

OMG this is full of sh$t! If Tivo doesn't help and Charter refuses to install, maybe your best bet would be to call the FCC and let them know what Charter is doing. By law they have to support the CCs. How about also calling the BBB?


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## alansplace

ckoble said:


> I have already contacted TiVo (yesterday) and they tell me that they cannot do anything.


try TiVoJerry's suggestion



TiVoJerry said:


> Call in to our support line and one of our agents will perform a 3-way call with you and your provider.
> 
> Additionally, please take a moment to fill out the form at http://www.tivo.com/series3hdDvr_cc.asp to let us know what your CableCARD experience has been like. We will likely follow up with the provider from a different avenue as well, but it is not a substitute for having one of our agents on the phone with you.


--
Alan


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## wdave

/subscribe. I want to hear how this one turns out. This is one of the more egregious violations of the FCC laws. What kind of teeth does the law have to address this sort of violation? Anyone know?


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## cotton168

Possibly fines, but I have no idea how much. Hopefully it would be enough to hurt Charter.


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## cfc

Check on your cable bill. I have Adelphia, but mine lists a phone number for the local franchise autority. If they won't give me cablecards I plan to:

1- turn in my cable DVR and cancel all movie channels(I should still be able to get my digital channels)
2- notify my local cable franchise authority
3- call the FCC

Part of the FCC cablecard rules

...(b) No later than July 1, 2004, cable
operators shall support unidirectional
digital cable products, as defined in
§ 15.123 of this chapter, through the provisioning
of Point of Deployment modules
(PODs) and services, as follows:...

and furthur along...

...(3) Cable operators shall ensure, as to
all digital cable systems, an adequate
supply of PODs that comply with the
standards specified in paragraph (b)(2)
of this section to ensure convenient access
to such PODS by customers....

Even if I eventually get a cablecard, I'm thinking of notifying the FCC about the lack of "convenient access".


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## waharris007

HOLY CRAP. For weeks, I've been stuffing cash into an envelope that has TIVO written in big black letters on it, just drooling for the day next month when I can get rid of my piece of crap Motorola Moxi box from Charter. And now, there's a chance that Charter will screw me??

Seriously, if anyone has an S3 with Charter and is all goose-pimply happy about it, please chime in!! I need to know if this is going to work!

Thanks!


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## Larry in TN

Don't worry about it. Charter has to support it. They don't have a choice.


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## Greeby

cfc said:


> Check on your cable bill. I have Adelphia, but mine lists a phone number for the local franchise autority. If they won't give me cablecards I plan to:
> 
> <snip>


I called Adelphia up today and spoke with a very nice CS agent that hooked me up with the full digital package for 3 months for $39.95 (instead of the normal $95.00 or so) because I was coming from DTV.

Ordered 4 cable cards for the 2 Series 3s that I should have sometime next week. She did try and charge me an extra 19.95 because of the "extra" room they would have to install (they charge extra for installs in more than three rooms). Once I explained that it was really only a 2 room install she was fine with it.

Cable company will be here 9/26.

As a side not she did try and talk me into getting thir DVR because it was so much better. Once I explained that I had just laid down $1700.00 for 2 TiVo Series 3 DMRs and that's why I wanted the cable cards she relented.

I wish everyone experience was as easy and trouble free as mine was.


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## waharris007

I just had an online support chat with a Charter rep, "Amit." He said there was no way Charter would support the device or come out and do the install. However, he said I could order the cable cards and install them and run the setup myself. I asked if there would be any negative impact to my cable service, and he really couldn't answer that. He just said (repeatedly) that Charter cannot support other companies' devices so he didn't know. All he knew for sure is that it would not allow me to have PPV, VOD, or their channel guide (which we already know). 

So, if I get the cable cards myself, I shouldn't have any trouble getting an S3 set up, right? Is there more to it than sticking the cards in and running the onscreen setup? Any super secret "cable guy" magic needed beyond that?


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## Dan203

waharris007 said:


> HOLY CRAP. For weeks, I've been stuffing cash into an envelope that has TIVO written in big black letters on it, just drooling for the day next month when I can get rid of my piece of crap Motorola Moxi box from Charter. And now, there's a chance that Charter will screw me??
> 
> Seriously, if anyone has an S3 with Charter and is all goose-pimply happy about it, please chime in!! I need to know if this is going to work!


I wouldn't worry about it either. I called my local Charter to ask about a CableCARD install and they couldn't have cared less what I was installing it into. This appears to be an isolated problem with the OP's local Charter branch.

And for the record I am 99.9% certain that this problem is due to the cards not being initialized correctly. The reason I say this is because the S3 uses two seperate hosts for each card. WHich means if there was a hardware defect, in either the cards themselves or the TiVo, it would be highly unlikely that it would effect both cards. The OP just needs to get the guys at his local branch to take their heads out of their a$$es and actually help him fix the problem.

Dan


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## cotton168

I absolutely agree Dan. Don't know why his local Charter is being such an a$$ about this. I don't know why some cable companies are like this. Just because we don't want their box, doesn't mean that people have to suffer with the CC installs. It's absolutely ridiculous!


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## Dan203

waharris007 said:


> I just had an online support chat with a Charter rep, "Amit." He said there was no way Charter would support the device or come out and do the install. However, he said I could order the cable cards and install them and run the setup myself. I asked if there would be any negative impact to my cable service, and he really couldn't answer that. He just said (repeatedly) that Charter cannot support other companies' devices so he didn't know. All he knew for sure is that it would not allow me to have PPV, VOD, or their channel guide (which we already know).
> 
> So, if I get the cable cards myself, I shouldn't have any trouble getting an S3 set up, right? Is there more to it than sticking the cards in and running the onscreen setup? Any super secret "cable guy" magic needed beyond that?


Again total BS! They are required by law to install the CableCARDs into the TiVo just like it were a TV.

That being said installing CableCARDs is very simple....

1) Write down the serial number from the first card.
2) Insert that card into the bottom slot of the TiVo
3) Wait for black MMI screen to appear
4) Write down the Host and Data numbers that appear on that screen.
5) Repeat for card #2, inserting into top slot
6) Call the cable company and give them the information you wrote down for each card.
7) Wait about 10 minutes then test each card using the "Test Channels" item under the CableCARD menu.

If the Test Channels fails call the cable company back and make sure they have the information entered correctly, then have them re-hit the cards. Provided neither of the cards is defective this should work and you should be good to go.

Dan


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## waharris007

Thanks, Dan. When I'm ready to pull the trigger next month, I'll probably just call and ask for a cable card install without going into Tivo specifics unless I have to. Worst case, I guess, will be me having to do it myself. Again, no big deal; just annoying.

Could activating the cards after I insert them into the Tivo fall under their blanket refusal to "support" the Tivo? (I'm a computer geek, not so much a cable geek)


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## Dan203

Well they're useless unless activated, so if they refuse to activate them then a call to the FCC or local cable franchise authority would be in order.

Dan


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## thwart

Greeby said:


> I wish everyone experience was as easy and trouble free as mine was.


I don't think you're out of the woods yet Greeby. When they get to your house the cable guy may freak and not know what to do when he sees that those cards are not going directly into tv's. You spoke to a person behind a desk. The cable guy won't give a crap about what that person said.

I hope it works out for you though. I'm with Charter. Eventually, I will be buying one of the Series 3's too -- when the price goes down, the missing features are brought back, the bugs are fixed, and they have the newer chipsets in them. Hopefully by then this whole cable card issue will be sorted out. Perhaps by then a newer version of the Series 3 will come out that supports CableCard 2.0. But the cable companies will probably crap all over Tivo then too.

Somebody needs to get a hold of someone at Attack of the Show or John D'vorak or something. Maybe they can be a good squeeky wheel for everyone.


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## cfc

Greeby said:


> I called Adelphia up today and spoke with a very nice CS agent that hooked me up with the full digital package for 3 months for $39.95 (instead of the normal $95.00 or so) because I was coming from DTV.
> 
> Ordered 4 cable cards for the 2 Series 3s that I should have sometime next week. She did try and charge me an extra 19.95 because of the "extra" room they would have to install (they charge extra for installs in more than three rooms). Once I explained that it was really only a 2 room install she was fine with it.
> 
> Cable company will be here 9/26.
> 
> As a side not she did try and talk me into getting thir DVR because it was so much better. Once I explained that I had just laid down $1700.00 for 2 TiVo Series 3 DMRs and that's why I wanted the cable cards she relented.
> 
> I wish everyone experience was as easy and trouble free as mine was.


Thanks,

I'm glad to hear that things can go smoothly. I know that this will eventually be cleared up, but it does get frustrating.

By the way, did you call up the normal 1-888-683-1000 Adelphia Customer Service line? When navigating the system did you select "add services" ? I would really appreciate any tips. I really hate getting mad at the CSRs, they're only doing what they are told to.

Again, thanks for giving me a little hope,

Carl


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## MitchW

I also use Charter to provide my television services. I called the Charter office a few days ago and they said Cable Cards take a few days to deliver. They said the Cards had to be programmed for my SPECIFIC DEVICE. The person I spoke to said she has never heard of TiVo at all. Thus, the TiVo programming code may simply not be in their database. It is NOT the fault of Charter.

I presently have a Sony HD 32" TV using a Charter installed Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD. It has almost the same capacity as the Tivo S3 but the software is not as good. I also have 2 SD RCA 32" TV's one of which has my TiVo S2 attached. I just ordered a second Sony HD 32" TV and will use a 2nd SA 8300 HD on that as well and just retire my S2 which has a lifetime subscription.

I am forced to wait for some time and just wait to see if Charter gets the TiVo S3 into their Cable Card database. I will judge from postings on this forum as to when Charter can correctly program the Cable Cards for a TiVo S3.

Finally, that Sony BRAVIA KDL-32S2000 only costs $ 1,179.00 from Amazon. The TiVo S3 cost $ 1,000 including the lifetime subscription upgrade. That is far too expensive when compared to the 32" HD TV, itself. I also need a price reduction on that Tivo S3.


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## ckoble

MItch... I can't see why you do not put any fault with Charter. Their cards are not working in the S3, so not having "codes" in their databse is what is preventinig service from being delivered. They came out (against their will) installed the cards and the split. 

At this point THEY do not wish to support the TiVo. End of story. I will call my franchise authority which happens to be the City of Long Beach Video Cmmunications Department to get them to push Charter into action -- who knows how if this will be successful. But you gotta start somewhere.


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## MitchW

ckoble said:


> MItch... I can't see why you do not put any fault with Charter. Their cards are not working in the S3, so not having "codes" in their databse is what is preventinig service from being delivered. They came out (against their will) installed the cards and the split.
> 
> At this point THEY do not wish to support the TiVo. End of story. I will call my franchise authority which happens to be the City of Long Beach Video Cmmunications Department to get them to push Charter into action -- who knows how if this will be successful. But you gotta start somewhere.


Ckoble,

Just have PATIENCE. I believe that eventually their database will be updated in the normal course of business. It could be one or two months away. At a minimum they will have to notify their branches that such a company as TiVo exists. Right now only we on this forum know about this.

No regulatory authority can force technology changes. There is a learning curve for everyone. We all will just have to WAIT and hopefully, by the time their database is updated, the S3 price will be reduced by rebates or in some other way. The database update may not be as easy as you think. There could be complex entries required which may not yet even be worked out. The entries may be DIFFERENT for every Cable Provider.

Some Cable Providers may take longer than others to make the proper entries. Others may have Central System characteristics prohibiting them from ever being able to make the proper entries without substantial and costly upgrades.

I would advise everyone to FIRST contact their Cable Provider and make sure they support the TiVo S3 with the properly coded Cable Cards. I would never blame the Cable Providers. All of this was thrust upon them and we do not know if they were ever notified or supplied with the proper information.


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## Larry in TN

There are no codes in a database. The information they need comes from the cards themselves and from the TiVo. The cable company has no choice, they have to support cable labs certified devices.


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## ckoble

MitchW says
"Just have PATIENCE. I believe that eventually their database will be updated in the normal course of business. It could be one or two months away. At a minimum they will have to notify their branches that such a company as TiVo exists. Right now only we on this forum know about this."

Mitch... if I would have taken your advice and asked them if they supported TiVo, they would not have even considered an install in the first place. 

Why should we be satisfied with one or two months to correct this issue as "normal course of business"? I'm the one footing the bill for cable tv service. I also don't understand what you mean when you say "notify branches that TiVo exists?" Believe me, the cable companies know about TiVo and TiVo has even taken ads out in trade rags telling MSOs to expect high demand for cable cards.

I would be satisfied if they told me that they are working on the problem, but they say that there is no problem and frankly, I don't care even if it costs them $$$ to implement this (which it doesn't)... they are required to provide this service according to FCC regs.


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## MitchW

ckoble said:


> MitchW says
> "Just have PATIENCE. I believe that eventually their database will be updated in the normal course of business. It could be one or two months away. At a minimum they will have to notify their branches that such a company as TiVo exists. Right now only we on this forum know about this."
> 
> Mitch... if I would have taken your advice and asked them if they supported TiVo, they would not have even considered an install in the first place.
> 
> Why should we be satisfied with one or two months to correct this issue as "normal course of business"? I'm the one footing the bill for cable tv service. I also don't understand what you mean when you say "notify branches that TiVo exists?" Believe me, the cable companies know about TiVo and TiVo has even taken ads out in trade rags telling MSOs to expect high demand for cable cards.
> 
> I would be satisfied if they told me that they are working on the problem, but they say that there is no problem and frankly, I don't care even if it costs them $$$ to implement this (which it doesn't)... they are required to provide this service according to FCC regs.


Ckoble,

I doubt if any FCC regulations require IMMEDIATE compliance with new technology. It may take Charter SIX MONTHS to comply. You and I are certainly not aware of the technical requirements or the learning curves of their employees.

If I invent a new Convertor Box in my basement tomorrow and place it on sale the next day, I really doubt if any Cable Provider will support it for YEARS.

The best approach is to just WAIT until Charter tells us they have solved the problems and they can support the new TiVo S3. No amount of complaints to Charter, TiVo, the FCC or Congress will speed up this process.

The S2 worked with the Cable Convertor boxes so the Cable Providors were not involved at all. The S3 uses Cable Cards - another questionable technology since most TV manufacturers are PHASING THEM OUT.

In the meantime Scientific Atlanta may introduce new software which can duplicate most of TiVo's advantages. Then the whole problem is over.


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## ThePlungerMan

Charter in Long Beach Ca. just left, (EDIT: A LONG TIMER AGO) with the 2 card install. The installer was really cool, remembered me from 9 years ago. Dont get excited this doesnt end well. He kinda laughed when I told him where I wanted the two cards installed. He was like, OH MAN. Started to get on the phone, I was afraid he was going to ask his supervisor so I butt in and asked, whats up?, then gave him the yada yada it will work talk weve heard. I tell him if he called the card maker, the Tivo unit would be on the list as a compatible device. He says lets try and call it an experiment? The first card call in to Charter goes OK, but I get this Please Wait Acquiring Channel Information screen with the spinning wheel. I call Tivo support, tech say its updating shouldnt take long, maybe a few minutes, maybe more. How long till I give up, he--- Unfortunately I dont know. Me---- When do you think I should give up thirty sixty minutes. HE----Call us back in a half hour.
I ask him, can I put in card two, he--- most definitely he says. We do and the call in screen comes up. We call in and it (card two) didnt go thru Charters end. I said maybe since card one is talking to charter, charter cant talk to card 2. No he, the installer says. its a number thing and tells me there are three sets of numbers. 2 pertaining to the card and one they have at charter that is supposed to match those two numbers. Which completes the cycle. So the installer says, it is either a bad card or it didnt get scanned right at the warehouse. (which is closed) so he said he would be back in the morning with two new cards. When I went back to the screen to see if card one is done acquiring info screen I get, this long error message, In a nut shell is says Unable to acquire channel info please check your cable connection and call your cable provider for further assistance. OR try again, I did try again, and same thing. Gonna call Tivo. 

While clicking around Tivo troubles shooting I read, try to repeat set up without splitters. I have it split to the internet and to the Moxi. So I did. (REPEATED SET UP) Everything appeared OK, BUT when I went to live TV I got, the acquiring channel info message, again. 

Called Tivo and he acted like he had no idea what to do. He said he was reading what to do. Never got anywhere. I told him about card one supposedly OK but card 2 had a problem. He suggested I repeat set up again with card one . To appease him, and you the reader, I said OK. He said he will work on the case file in the interim. I am now going to repeat, the repeat set up. Stay tuned. (over 3 hours elapsed time). 

OK setup would not continue this time, the please wait thingamajig after the first call, (step 3ish) ((which was successful,)) never went away, it got stuck.
Took out card and repeated the repeat setup, AGAIN.
No problems with set up without the card but just 1-99 channels. No digital content, or HD etc.

Took out cable card and put in my cable card TV, called Charter and then the card worked, albeit barely, they said it would take 30 minutes for it to work right, got some HD an then lost it. They said that last time 6 months ago, but had problems.

Im on hold at Tivo (1.5 HOURS ) 

Got a supervisor, got no where with the card install. Said he would get with the engineers and call me tomorrow.
Has anyone had or know of someone who has had a successful card install?
Over 6 hours.


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## ckoble

You just don't get it MitchW, do you? This is not new technology. The FCC has given Charter a compliance deadline. If you were to invent a converter box and it was cablelabs certified, the cable operators WOULD need to support it. You should read this whole thread and you'd realize that you are wrong on a number of issues. 

We'll just have to agree to disagree on the whole wait for Charter to solve the problem on their own. They need to hear that this is important to their customers. BTW, do you work for Charter? Cause you sound like a Charter CSR.

Any SA box or even MOXI box will never compare to the features that TiVo offers... if they did, well this conversation would be pointless... I would have one of those boxes in my living room, but the fact is that they don't.


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## cotton168

OMG The Plunger Man! I cannot believe the hell you are going through. Please keep us posted as I am very interested in this because Charter is coming Friday!


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## MitchW

ckoble said:


> You just don't get it MitchW, do you? This is not new technology. The FCC has given Charter a compliance deadline. If you were to invent a converter box and it was cablelabs certified, the cable operators WOULD need to support it. You should read this whole thread and you'd realize that you are wrong on a number of issues.
> 
> We'll just have to agree to disagree on the whole wait for Charter to solve the problem on their own. They need to hear that this is important to their customers. BTW, do you work for Charter? Cause you sound like a Charter CSR.
> 
> Any SA box or even MOXI box will never compare to the features that TiVo offers... if they did, well this conversation would be pointless... I would have one of those boxes in my living room, but the fact is that they don't.


I am not a Charter employee. I do own a lifetime subscription on a TiVo S2 and also lease a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD. The software on the TiVo S3 is superior to the SA. However, the price difference is ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. That is a lot to pay for SOFTWARE. This is especially true since my primary interest in HD TV is to WATCH the programs - NOT play with the software. I have a computer where I play with software.

The disk capacity of the SA 8300 HD and the TiVo S3 are almost the same. However, the SA gets On Demand and Pay Per View programming while the TiVo does NOT. If the SA software was ever upgraded to be close to TiVo, then the SA advantage would be UNBEATABLE. So far as I know, SA is not prohibited from making software updates.

Finally, the SA is supported by Charter. The TiVo is not supported at this moment in time. Thus, I will retire my TiVo S2 and wait to upgrade to the S3 at some future date when the S3 disadvantages are corrected. If you want to argue with Charter and apply pressure to them, that is your privelege. I wish you luck.


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## waharris007

The SA box may be a good solution for you, but there are many of us out here with a horrible Motorola Moxi box with buggy software and a tiny hard drive. I have this Charter DVR in addition to my ReplayTV unit, and I have to set everything to record on both platforms because the Charter box forgets to record shows and/or crashes so often. 

Even more annoying is the fact that the Moxi will only store about nine hours of HD content. That's it--a dual tuner HD DVR that records a whopping nine hours. Seriously, if I have HD recordings going on both tuners, that means my hard drive will completely fill up in about four hours. There's just no excuse for that, in my opinion. 

If Charter wants me to use their own box that badly, then they should at least provide a decent box, right?


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## cotton168

I totally agree waharris007. Charter should provide a better box, but then that would cost them more $$$ and they might not like that.


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## MitchW

waharris007 said:


> The SA box may be a good solution for you, but there are many of us out here with a horrible Motorola Moxi box with buggy software and a tiny hard drive. I have this Charter DVR in addition to my ReplayTV unit, and I have to set everything to record on both platforms because the Charter box forgets to record shows and/or crashes so often.
> 
> Even more annoying is the fact that the Moxi will only store about nine hours of HD content. That's it--a dual tuner HD DVR that records a whopping nine hours. Seriously, if I have HD recordings going on both tuners, that means my hard drive will completely fill up in about four hours. There's just no excuse for that, in my opinion.
> 
> If Charter wants me to use their own box that badly, then they should at least provide a decent box, right?


Request from Charter a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD. Some of its features are:

1. 160GB hard drive Allows recording and storage of up to 90 hours of SD programming or 20 hours of HD programming.

2. Allows recording of two live programs while watching a third prerecorded show.

3. External Serial ATA connector provides high-bandwidth connection to an External SATA hard disk drive for expanded storage space for recorded programs.

That hardware is almost as good as the TiVo S3 with a lease cost of just $ 11.99 per month.


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## Dan203

Are you sure about that price? My Moxi costs $16.95 per month thorugh Charter. Two CableCARDs and the TiVo service actually cost less then that. 

Dan


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## SoBayJake

MitchW said:


> That hardware is almost as good as the TiVo S3 with a lease cost of just $ 7.00 per month.


Hardware, yes. My MOTO 6412 from Comcast/TWC can do all that as well. But the software/interface simply sucks. I have to "think" too much to use it. And it constantly records re-runs even tho I specified not to...even the guide shows it as "repeat" (not in a text field, but in another place).

About the only thing I *do* like from it...it shows how full the drive is on the screen of scheduled recordings...it will say something like "67% full"...granted, I have no idea how accurate that is!


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## wdave

MitchW said:


> Request from Charter a Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD. Some of its features are:
> 
> 1. 160GB hard drive Allows recording and storage of up to 90 hours of SD programming or 20 hours of HD programming.
> 
> 2. Allows recording of two live programs while watching a third prerecorded show.
> 
> 3. External Serial ATA connector provides high-bandwidth connection to an External SATA hard disk drive for expanded storage space for recorded programs.
> 
> That hardware is almost as good as the TiVo S3 with a lease cost of just $ 7.00 per month.


Yeah, I have one of those SA 8300 boxes. You forgot these features:

4. There are no tick marks, and therefore no way to skip quickly to a point way earlier or later in the show.

5. It doesn't remember where you were when you come back to watch the rest of a show later. You start from the beginning and have to find your place by memory.

6. When you're watching a show that's still recording, but watching it delayed ... when the live show ends, you're kicked out to live tv. When you find the now completed recording in the list and hit play, it starts from the beginning. (see #4 and #5 why that sucks even more). Particularly annoying is if it's a show that ran a little late or it's a sports show, now the ending (e.g. person kicked off Survivor) or score of the game is revealed to you.

7. When you go to start watching a show already in progress, it doesn't start from the beginning. It joins you at the point its at live. You have to rewind back to the beginning, averting your eyes so nothing is spoiled for you. See #4 for why this sucks even more. Don't forget, "feature" #6 will be happening shortly -- get ready for it to suck again soon.

8. No Season Pass manager, therefore no way to prioritize shows. Expect your kids frequenty-repeating-shows to sometimes take precedence over your on-only-once shows.

9. If there's a conflict, it will choose for you which one not to record. You have no control over this. Furthermore, sometimes it will decide to only record one or zero of the shows. It gets confused easily, it seems.

10. Shows sometimes just disappear from the recorded list. If you reboot, they reappear. But if you try to play them, nothing happens. Reboot again doesn't fix it. Once you realize the show has been lost, you'll probably delete it. But pay attention. When you delete it, another show on your list may also get deleted too.

I'll stick with Tivo, thanks.


----------



## redrouteone

My 8300HD costs my 14.95 a month. 

Charter is a freaking joke, you can never get the same information twice. Even the prices on the web site don't agree with what thing actually cost. They can't even give me the correct address for their branch office. I won't even get into the other problems I have with them.

I am to the point with them that I am considering moving and going back to DirecTV.


----------



## Dan203

That's so weird because I've never had a problem with our Charter service. However I've gone through a few companies over the years (TCI to AT&T to Charter) so perhaps the local office has some more lax policies that have carried over from the previous companies.

Dan


----------



## MitchW

David Bolling said:


> Yeah, I have one of those SA 8300 boxes. You forgot these features:
> 
> 4. There are no tick marks, and therefore no way to skip quickly to a point way earlier or later in the show.
> 
> 5. It doesn't remember where you were when you come back to watch the rest of a show later. You start from the beginning and have to find your place by memory.
> 
> 6. When you're watching a show that's still recording, but watching it delayed ... when the live show ends, you're kicked out to live tv. When you find the now completed recording in the list and hit play, it starts from the beginning. (see #4 and #5 why that sucks even more). Particularly annoying is if it's a show that ran a little late or it's a sports show, now the ending (e.g. person kicked off Survivor) or score of the game is revealed to you.
> 
> 7. When you go to start watching a show already in progress, it doesn't start from the beginning. It joins you at the point its at live. You have to rewind back to the beginning, averting your eyes so nothing is spoiled for you. See #4 for why this sucks even more. Don't forget, "feature" #6 will be happening shortly -- get ready for it to suck again soon.
> 
> 8. No Season Pass manager, therefore no way to prioritize shows. Expect your kids frequenty-repeating-shows to sometimes take precedence over your on-only-once shows.
> 
> 9. If there's a conflict, it will choose for you which one not to record. You have no control over this. Furthermore, sometimes it will decide to only record one or zero of the shows. It gets confused easily, it seems.
> 
> 10. Shows sometimes just disappear from the recorded list. If you reboot, they reappear. But if you try to play them, nothing happens. Reboot again doesn't fix it. Once you realize the show has been lost, you'll probably delete it. But pay attention. When you delete it, another show on your list may also get deleted too.
> 
> I'll stick with Tivo, thanks.


I corrected the lease price. It should be $ 11.99 per month.

With my SA 8300 HD the following have been implemented (not all boxes may have this software version from what I understand):

I can choose to only record NEW programs. If I hit STOP, the exact time of the program so far is displayed. I write it down and can start again from that point at a future date. Also, from the STOP screen, I can start from the point I left, the beginning or the end and use Fast Forward or Fast Backward to reach my point. If I am watching a recorded program and TWO new programs start recording at once, I am bounced to one of the new programs. However, I can return to the old recorded program at exactly the SAME point I left. The bookmark is not removed unless I turn off the SA. If I schedule three programs to record on the same date and time, I am given a choice of which of the three to not record. I can choose to have the oldest programs erased if I exceed the disk space. I can measure EXACTLY the amount of disk space used. A Season Pass (All Shows) is available for every selection. Shows NEVER disappear from the Recorded List unless you use the 14 day or other limit and the date passes.

This is still not as good as TiVo software AT THE MOMENT. However, I only pay $ 11.99 per month lease and the TiVo box would cost me $ 1,000 (including the lifetime subscription upgrade). I understand that Scientific Atlanta is allowed to upgrade their software as well as TiVo is allowed to upgrade their software.

Plus, I can get On Demand and Pay Per View which are both very important to me. The first has hundreds of FREE, new movies and programs. The latter has new movies which have recently appeared in theaters. All these programs have PERMANENT bookmarks which are preserved for 24 hours. They can also be Fast Forward or Fast Backward.

Finally, Charter is adding new features to the SA all the time. As I understand it, Cable Cards will NEVER receive these new features.

However, I will still upgrade to the S3 at a future date when the TiVo problems and price have been corrected to fit my objectives.


----------



## ckoble

Update: 
I spoke with the Senior Vice-President's assistant this morning... she was very nice and wanted to help. She told me that she would get back to me by this afternoon. As promised, she called back at about 1:30 and told me that she spoke with a senior technician and they are opening up a call with Scientific Atlanta to figure out why the cards are not working with the S3. They sent another tech (Alfredo) who said he would keep me personally informed of their progress. He said that he visited another Charter customer yesterday who had the same exact problem. So there are at least 2 of us in Long Beach. I am satisfied with the action that Charter has taken thus far. I'll keep everyone updated.


----------



## cotton168

Very nice ckoble! Thanks for the update and I hope everything works out well for you. How did you contact the Senior VP's assistant? I might need to go that route if Charter cannot fix this problem and starts giving me a hard time.


----------



## DancnDude

Glad to hear they are moving forward, even if it took a lot of work on your end. Hopefully your effort will help solve the problem for everyone. I have Charter too (although maybe it will be different in different parts of the country), so I'm watching this thread.


----------



## joewmaki

Dan203 said:


> That's so weird because I've never had a problem with our Charter service. However


What you need to understand is that Charter is actually a lot of independent cable providers blanketed under one name. It's not like a franchise where every shop is standardized. The company I work for did sales work for a number of Charters in the North East. Every shop had different reporting requirements. Made my job a PIA . Our local Charter used to be a Bresnan Communications. Luckily I've always had good luck with the local cable company. I even got a refund when I pointed out they had been overcharging me for 2 years


----------



## Tippy

I hope you all will keep us updated about any progress with Charter. I also have a SA 8300HD that I would really like to dump. My S3 should be delivered tomorrow and I have scheduled a Friday visit to install the two CCs. Wish me luck!

I actually had one CC installed last week in a new HD TV. That went pretty well but I'm missing two of the HD channels. They are coming out Thursday (they couldn't schedule both visits in one day - go figure) to diagnose that problem.

Tippy


----------



## ThePlungerMan

ckoble said:


> Update:
> I spoke with the Senior Vice-President's assistant this morning... she was very nice and wanted to help. She told me that she would get back to me by this afternoon. As promised, she called back at about 1:30 and told me that she spoke with a senior technician and they are opening up a call with Scientific Atlanta to figure out why the cards are not working with the S3. They sent another tech (Alfredo) who said he would keep me personally informed of their progress. He said that he visited another Charter customer yesterday who had the same exact problem. So there are at least 2 of us in Long Beach. I am satisfied with the action that Charter has taken thus far. I'll keep everyone updated.


I was that guy.

See post #31 for the beginning, a long sad story indeed, but wait theres more. Charters Alfredo came back , (the nice guy) senior tech with two new cards this morning. I AGAIN repeated set up, I was on the step for the cards when he got there. (In my previous post I wrote about all the different methods I used and calls to tech support 4 both Charter and Tivo.) The first card was paired, (headquarters lingo at Charter) but the second one didnt. But the third one did, (paired up again) And like B4 the acquiring info screen came up with a big spinning wheel in the middle. Alfredo said sometimes it can take 8 hours for the cards to work right. 
So I left the house and came back 3.5 hours latter. Still spinning wheel message. Called Tivo. The Sup. Tech said HMMMMMM, it shouldnt take that long. I say, what now, let it spin for 8 hours and see what happens? he says yes, I come home 5 + more hours latter and turn on the TV and YESSIRREEBOB, The screen for test channels up and down was staring at me, I test 10 channels starting with 2. Getting them so I continue set up. It goes thru to the end. Says I can watch TV> So I press live TV and get a black screen with a blue screen down at the bottom stating  No channel available I check other channels. no go.
The tech per an earlier conversation this morn said he was calling me up tonight at 7ish. Gonna call Charter for a re-fresh on the card and wait for his call. Will update.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

30 minutes after last post did get some channels. But no digital and only Universal HD. Tivo tech called me back, we tried rebooting, I did try the re hit the card before and after this reboot. After last reboot Tivo tech said get another refresh, (which Charter told me to reboot, and did), still only some channels. 
At my suggestion, he agreed to wait till morn to see. But Tivo tech said it shouldnt take as long as it did to see the channels, as in there should be no trickle in of channels as per his Tivo info, but admitted it could, maybe wrong.
Will update

P.S. I need a hug.


----------



## waharris007

Ack. Okay, I bit the bullet and just ordered an S3 with the 10% off coupon from Circuit City. It should be here Wednesday. If I find that the Charter cable cards aren't going to cut it, I'll just return it and move over to the DirecTV way of life. This Charter DVR has GOT to go, one way or the other! 

Fingers crossed! Calling Charter now for the cable card order...


----------



## cotton168

ThePlungerMan said:


> P.S. I need a hug.


Hey Plunger Man! Here's your hug! Please keep us updated.


----------



## waharris007

Update: My S3 is set to be here from Circuit City on Wednesday. I just called Charter for the cable cards. I had been told previously from a tech that I'd have to install the cards myself if I wanted to use them in a Tivo. However, when I called to place the order, I just said I needed two cable cards installed and she said okay. She never even asked what I was going to use these cards in. She offered a Wednesday install, but I chose Thursday instead to make sure I have time to do the S3 setup beforehand. I guess I'll find out on Thursday what the deal is. I'll report back then.

Plungerman--you're awesome. I'd give you a hug if I weren't such a darn manly man.


----------



## TiVoPhish

David Bolling said:


> Yeah, I have one of those SA 8300 boxes. You forgot these features:


You must have an old version of the SARA software. Newer releases fix/ed a lot of these issues.



David Bolling said:


> There are no tick marks, and therefore no way to skip quickly to a point way earlier or later in the show.


Agree it's a bit annoying, but hitting the FF/RW 4 times propels you into super-duper fast mode. You can get to where you want VERY quickly.



David Bolling said:


> It doesn't remember where you were when you come back to watch the rest of a show later. You start from the beginning and have to find your place by memory.


Partially true. If you are watching a recorded program and switch to live TV (by changing the channel) you can return to the DVR channel and be right where you left off (and it automatically pauses when you change channels). If you switch to another recorded program though, it will lose your spot (wish they'd find a way to fix that).



David Bolling said:


> When you're watching a show that's still recording, but watching it delayed ... when the live show ends, you're kicked out to live tv. When you find the now completed recording in the list and hit play, it starts from the beginning. (see #4 and #5 why that sucks even more). Particularly annoying is if it's a show that ran a little late or it's a sports show, now the ending (e.g. person kicked off Survivor) or score of the game is revealed to you.


No longer true. You are NOT kicked out because the show you're watching (that is still recording but delayed) ends. This was fixed a few versions ago I believe. I've had the SA8300 for quite a while now and NEVER had this issue.



David Bolling said:


> When you go to start watching a show already in progress, it doesn't start from the beginning. It joins you at the point its at live. You have to rewind back to the beginning, averting your eyes so nothing is spoiled for you. See #4 for why this sucks even more. Don't forget, "feature" #6 will be happening shortly -- get ready for it to suck again soon.


No longer true. There is a "start from beginning" option now when you go to watch a show currently being recorded (or any show). There's also a "skip to end" option for shows already recorded.



David Bolling said:


> No Season Pass manager, therefore no way to prioritize shows. Expect your kids frequenty-repeating-shows to sometimes take precedence over your on-only-once shows.


Agree with you on this one, and it's one of the things I've missed about TiVo. For me it hasn't been a huge problem, but a problem none-the-less. You also can't cancel just one episode of a season pass. I end up with a lot of repeats being recorded just to play it safe, and yes, it can be annoying with shows in syndication.



David Bolling said:


> If there's a conflict, it will choose for you which one not to record. You have no control over this. Furthermore, sometimes it will decide to only record one or zero of the shows. It gets confused easily, it seems.


Only partially true. If it detects a conflict at the time you are setting up the recording it gives you the options on which show NOT to record. If a conflict comes up later because of a schedule change it doesn't prompt you, it decides for you. You can't set priorities.



David Bolling said:


> Shows sometimes just disappear from the recorded list. If you reboot, they reappear. But if you try to play them, nothing happens. Reboot again doesn't fix it. Once you realize the show has been lost, you'll probably delete it. But pay attention. When you delete it, another show on your list may also get deleted too.


Now that's one I haven't run into at all. My 8300hd has yet to miss a scheduled recording or delete anything on it's own. The bug I do see is scheduled recordings from months ago still appear in the scheduled recordings list (even though the shows were recorded, or NOT recorded because they didn't air as scheduled).



David Bolling said:


> I'll stick with Tivo, thanks.


I honestly would have, but I didn't want to keep waiting for them to get into the HD game when I've had an HDTV since 2001... and since the 8300 worked well enough when we got it we finally jumped into a 56" HDTV, so we now have 2 HDTVs. I was tired of waiting.

Admittedly, the Box and DVR service (yes, cablevision charges for it) cost me about $16.00 per month. That's 50 months (or a little over 4 years) worth of service/equipment before I hit the price of the new S3 TiVo... NOT including TiVo's monthly service. Let say I buy their new special -- $299 for 3 years of service. That means I'd have to have my 8300hd for a little over 68 months (or almost 6 years) before I hit the TiVo + service price.

Is it worth the price difference? I'd LOVE to go back to TiVo, but husband and I agree not for that much more money right now. I also think that in the next 3-5 years there are going to be big changes to the cablevision market (I'm watching for FIOS in my area) and with how other brand DVRs improve.


----------



## Dan203

Sounds like the SARA software is about on par with the old TiVo 1.2 software. It didn't have a SP manager or skip to tick, and in order for it to remember where you were in a program you had to manually pause the program before you exited. If you accidentally just hit TiVo or Live TV to exit when you can back it was at the beginning again.

Dan


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## TiVoPhish

Dan203 said:


> Sounds like the SARA software is about on par with the old TiVo 1.2 software. It didn't have a SP manager or skip to tick, and in order for it to remember where you were in a program you had to manually pause the program before you exited. If you accidentally just hit TiVo or Live TV to exit when you can back it was at the beginning again.
> 
> Dan


Like I said above, if you are watching a recorded program and switch to live TV it automatically pauses the recorded program, and when you switch back to it, it's right where you left off. Where it gets annoying is if you switch from one recorded show to another. If you go back to the first recorded show it only gives you the option to start from the beginning (or skip to the end)... not to start where you left off.

I've had TiVo since way back when (S1 and S2), and the SARA software isn't like that at all. No doubt TiVo has a better interface, better search, and better conflict resolution, but I can honestly, for me, it's not worth the price right now... especially with all that's going on in the industry at the moment.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

I emailed Charter support this last night 
I bought a Tivo DVR that needs your cable cards. I have had an enormously bad time trying to get these to work over the past two days. Alfredo, (very nice tech) had two cards that wouldn't pair up, two that couldn't acquire channel info, and two more that get only some channels. I have spent over 10 HOURS trying to get this DVR to work. I have been on the phone with Tivo and you guys. It appears through countless discussions with your guys and engineers comments at Tivo, it's the cards. I have read may many posts in a forum about this and come to the same conclusion. I have a TV that takes cards and the cards never worked in them as well. It appears that the cards aren't initialized correctly on your end. When I call you for help, the CSR I get tell me many different stories on what they do what they don't, etc. I have spent thousands and thousands of dollars on your cable service over the 15 years in Long Beach and deserve some real help to get to the bottom of this problem, once and for all.
Thank You
and got this response.

Thank you so much for contacting Charter Communications. My name is Chriss and I am glad to assist you.

I certainly understand that you bought a Tivo DVR and you need a cable card.

I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced.

Please be informed that the Charter Cable card is to be programmed before installation. Further, we will need to schedule a technician to come to your home to replace the cable card. Please get back to us with the available dates and time to fix an appointment. You may also contact our Customer Care team via live chat option located at our website: www.charter.com or via phone at 1-866-499-8080.

For further assistance, I would suggest you to contact our Customer Care team either via live chat option located at our website: www.charter.com.

If you have any additional questions, please do write back to us. We are glad to assist you.

Sincerely,

Chriss
Charter Communications.

Im emailing this back
Ive already gone thru two tech in home apts. And still no good. The tech called me just now. Says he's going to the top of the food chain and try to figure this out. Will call me latter today or tomorrow.

Side note: since Tivo in their defense is actually trying to figure this out if its the card or the box, since I got past the spinning wheel and did get some channels it appears to be the cards. (I suggested to him, the tech, a theory) 
Its like Charter doesnt want this to work so like in a conspiracy they act like their trying to fix it but are purposely not doing what they know would work, (or purposely not training the techs, and the office), on how to initialize the cards correctly. I also told Tivo this and he said yeah thats possible.


----------



## ckoble

PlungerMan,

The contact that I have made at Charter is Carla -- her number is (310) 971-4249. You may want to "register" your problem so that Charter knows how its customers feel about this issue. For everyone else this is the number to the western regional office -- so it won't do you any good if you are outside of California, Oregon or Washington.


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## Sepia

hmpf...this does not bode well... I have an appointment on Thursday at 8:00am PST with Charter in the Los Angeles area (Glendale, CA), I'll keep you all posted as to what happens...


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## MitchW

ckoble said:


> PlungerMan,
> 
> The contact that I have made at Charter is Carla -- her number is (310) 971-4249. You may want to "register" your problem so that Charter knows how its customers feel about this issue. For everyone else this is the number to the western regional office -- so it won't do you any good if you are outside of California, Oregon or Washington.


Ckoble,

This is the reason I still wait. I don't want to go through these problems. I use Charter and am perfectly satisfied with the SA 8300 HD. I have to be convinced that the $ 1000 total price for the S3 is really worth the money. So far it is NOT.

While everyone here is waiting for the Charter / TiVo fix, I just ordered a second Sony HD 32" TV. Its going to get the SA 8300 HD as my first HD TV has now. I always have until 12/31/06 to still get the lifetime upgrade. If things are not in shape by that time. I will forget TiVo until the S4 comes out.


----------



## hammond9705

Can we keep this thread on subject (Charter Series 3 problems) rather then a big debate on their DVR.

I'm interested as I have my S3 and Charter is coming out Friday to install the 2 CCs.

Bob


----------



## drevnock

Same here. S3 arrives Weds install appointment on Friday.
Charter Digital in Southern Wisconsin.
Anyone in these parts been successful yet?


----------



## ThePlungerMan

OK yall. Lookee here.
Im barely hanging on and in danger of losing my almost 18 years of sobriety, but still I trudge on.
As per the Tivo tech call ending last night I waited to see if channels trickled in over the night, NO they didnt.
Tivo Tech (TT) called me back today for a whats up. After bad news rehashed we went to a diag screen for the cable co use. It has a waiting for auth in the cable card menu under CP Screen, TT thinks that might be it. Said to call Charter again.
Did, and went back and forth with a front line who said we dont support Tivo, I got a little excited and she passed me on, got a Sup who acted like she didnt care, ended up with a, well send a specialist out Thur. Then kinda hung up on me. 
I called back, (when you keep calling back you seem to get through faster as it, the system, recognized and asks if its the same problem your calling about and has it been fixed yet ) moving on
Called back and insisted I talk to a tech guy, I said I deserved at least a conversation with someone who may be able to throw switch and keep me form having to stay home a third time, AND and be assured that the same tech comes back and with more knowledge and not any tech with just anther couple of cards and a prayer. We cant we cant, do that he says, I insist and insist and get forwarded to this guy who handles Internal Transactions but couldnt transfer me to a tech or dispatch. After a giggle from me, I tell him this must be the runaround, by his verbal tone without admission I get the feeling he agreed.
During this I get a call from Carla put in earlier, (from post # 58 by ckoble (THANKS), she tells me she spoke to him yesterday and told me she has been on this and it seems it might be a code from Scientific Atlanta for the card that Charter needs to know and their super duper tech guy is on it. She said feel free to call back tomorrow by the end of the day for an update. If I havent been contacted by then. I have Thur 1-5 scheduled, called Alfredo back and he said dont worry Im the one who will come and recognized this super duper tech guys name, and added he is in contact with him. So there you have it.

IM THIRSTY

Better now, drank a large glass of filtered water. Thanks for letting me share.


----------



## MitchW

Just some IDEAS to experiment with follow:

When you lads call Charter, be sure to specify that you want two HD Cable Cards. Most Cable Cards are SD. That could be the cause of all the anguish.

Also, it appears that Charter goes to Scientific Atlanta to program their Cable Cards. The cards should be burned with the TiVo object, not the Scientific Atlanta object.

I have no clue if anything here will work at all but I feel experimenting is necessary seeing all the present difficulties.

In the meantime I will continue to use my SA 8300 HD boxes and wait for you lads to work out all the problems for me BEFORE I upgrade my S2 to an S3.


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## SoBayJake

MitchW said:


> Also, it appears that Charter goes to Scientific Atlanta to program their Cable Cards. The cards should be burned with the TiVo object, not the Scientific Atlanta object.


What does this mean? We don't "burn" anything to the card, as least not in the sense of burning something to flash.

A CableCard is a standard, so if it works in a TV, it *should* work in the TiVo as well.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

MitchW said:


> When you lads call Charter, be sure to specify that you want two HD Cable Cards. Most Cable Cards are SD. That could be the cause of all the anguish.
> 
> Also, it appears that Charter goes to Scientific Atlanta to program their Cable Cards. The cards should be burned with the TiVo object, not the Scientific Atlanta object.
> 
> In the meantime I will continue to use my SA 8300 HD boxes and wait for you lads to work out all the problems for me BEFORE I upgrade my S2 to an S3.


Hi lad, I dont think you know what your talking about. So enjoy the show but PLEASES contain your impulse to share only that which is so. No info ANYWHERE FROM ANYONE WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT HD CARDS.


----------



## Sepia

MitchW said:


> When you lads call Charter, be sure to specify that you want two HD Cable Cards. Most Cable Cards are SD. That could be the cause of all the anguish.
> 
> Also, it appears that Charter goes to Scientific Atlanta to program their Cable Cards. The cards should be burned with the TiVo object, not the Scientific Atlanta object.
> 
> In the meantime I will continue to use my SA 8300 HD boxes and wait for you lads to work out all the problems for me BEFORE I upgrade my S2 to an S3.


Phew, saw this just in time. I am in a live chat with Charter trying to reschedule my appointment for the FOURTH FRICKING TIME!

Anyways, thanks for that.


----------



## Sepia

ThePlungerMan said:


> Hi lad, I dont think you know what your talking about. So enjoy the show but PLEASES contain your impulse to share only that which is so. No info ANYWHERE FROM ANYONE WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT HD CARDS.


LOL, why oh why did i believe him, I should have known better.


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## Horrortaxi

MitchW said:


> When you lads call Charter, be sure to specify that you want two HD Cable Cards. Most Cable Cards are SD. That could be the cause of all the anguish.


Until I called Charter to schedule an appointment (which took an hour in itself) I didn't even know there was such a thing as an HD Cablecard. Apart from costing $4.50 a month instead of $1.50 a month the guy on the phone couldn't tell me what the differences are. The (apparently) not HD card they put in my TV a few months ago decoded HD content...for a while...and then it wouldn't decode anything...and then it would decode channels 1-99 but nothing higher. One card, many personalities. I ended up with a SA 8300 box that day--and it sucks so bad that spending a grand on an S3 Tivo seems like a bargain.

Is anybody able to shed some light on the SD/HD card thing?

My S3 arrives on Thursday and my Cablecard headache (I mean installation) is on Saturday. Anybody have experience with Charter Glendale/Burbank?

I've got my fingers crossed...and my tranquilizers ready for when the finger crossing doesn't work.


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## Dan203

There is no such thing as an HD CableCARD!

CableCARDs are used for decryption and authorization ONLY! They have nothing to do with decoding the signal, and as such could care less what type of signal you receive.

Dan


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## MadScience

I've been lurking around this thread for a few days "patiently" waiting for my S3 to arrive (it finally came today!). I have an appointment (with destiny? ... with fate? ... with a bottle of tequila & some Kleenex? ... we'll see) for installation tomorrow at my Burbank apartment between 10am & Noon. I'm grateful to everyone for sharing their experiences so far. At least now I won't be going into tomorrow's adventure blindly.

I'm going to have this thread up on my computer to simplify explanations that may be necessary. In fact, I'll probably even print it out if things don't go well so the installer can take it back to the office and give a heads-up to the rest of the Charter Installers in the area.

I'll let you know how it goes, good ... bad ... or ugly! (But I hope it doesn't get fugly!)


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## MitchW

ThePlungerMan said:


> Hi lad, I dont think you know what your talking about. So enjoy the show but PLEASES contain your impulse to share only that which is so. No info ANYWHERE FROM ANYONE WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT HD CARDS.


I'm just throwing out IDEAS to try. I haven't seen any Charter Cable Cards reported here as working yet. Thus, some experimenting may be required to solve the problem.

If anyone finally gets some Charter Cable Cards working, it may help everyone if he posts here exactly what he did. By the way, I have Charter in CT. My 2nd HD TV is to arrive to me next week. What happens here may determine if I gamble $ 1,000 on the S3 or just get the SA 8300 HD. I am on the fence as of now.


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## Horrortaxi

Dan203 said:


> There is no such thing as an HD CableCARD!
> 
> CableCARDs are used for decryption and authorization ONLY! They have nothing to do with decoding the signal, and as such could care less what type of signal you receive.
> 
> Dan


That probably explains why a Google search reveals zilch on the matter. So my question is what is Charter charging an extra $3.00 a month per card for? Is it just a really hefty ignorance tax or does one actually get something of value?


----------



## cotton168

I've never heard of an HD CC until MitchW pointed it out as well as Horrortaxi (thank you for the price BTW). When I called Charter to schedule a setup, they didn't even ask to pick an SD CC or HD CC. I just assumed there was only one CC. Guess I'll have to wait and see...


----------



## ThePlungerMan

MitchW said:


> I'm just throwing out IDEAS to try. I haven't seen any Charter Cable Cards reported here as working yet. Thus, some experimenting may be required to solve the problem.
> 
> If anyone finally gets some Charter Cable Cards working, it may help everyone if he posts here exactly what he did. By the way, I have Charter in CT. My 2nd HD TV is to arrive to me next week. What happens here may determine if I gamble $ 1,000 on the S3 or just get the SA 8300 HD. I am on the fence as of now.


Why dont you delete your BOGUS post about Hi def ccs, it seems to be confusing some people and has no help at all.
It wasnt offered as an idea that was JUST being thrown in.


----------



## cotton168

Okay, I just got off a chat session with someone named Eden from Charter and asked if there was a difference in CCs. She said that there is only one CC so hopefully that helps people out and might lessen the confusion.


----------



## Horrortaxi

cotton168 said:


> Okay, I just got off a chat session with someone named Eden from Charter and asked if there was a difference in CCs. She said that there is only one CC so hopefully that helps people out and might lessen the confusion.


It actually increases my confusion because it was Charter who told me there are two. I was specifically given the choice between HD ($4.50 a month) and SD ($1.50 a month) cards. I countered with my (apparently true) impression that there should only be one kind and was shot down.

I really got the impression that I was the victim of some kind of "charge you on a whim" plan or maybe it might be some kind of doublespeak to get me to ask for the wrong thing so I spend $35 for a service call plus keep leasing their (crappy) PVR. I'm going to call back and find someone who knows what they're talking about, but I was in a hurry today when I called.


----------



## cotton168

Horrortaxi said:


> It actually increases my confusion because it was Charter who told me there are two. I was specifically given the choice between HD ($4.50 a month) and SD ($1.50 a month) cards. I countered with my (apparently true) impression that there should only be one kind and was shot down.
> 
> I really got the impression that I was the victim of some kind of "charge you on a whim" plan or maybe it might be some kind of doublespeak to get me to ask for the wrong thing so I spend $35 for a service call plus keep leasing their (crappy) PVR. I'm going to call back and find someone who knows what they're talking about, but I was in a hurry today when I called.


Okay Horrortaxi. Keep us informed when you call them again. Hopefully this confusion will be cleared up.


----------



## Horrortaxi

I just finished a chat with Michael at Charter. He assures me that you need an HD card to receive HD. Actually, _insists_ is probably a better word. He wouldn't comment on the other Charter person who said there's only 1 kind of card.


----------



## eziemann

Perhaps the $3 difference is for the HD tier if you don't already subscribe to it?


----------



## cotton168

Horrortaxi said:


> I just finished a chat with Michael at Charter. He assures me that you need an HD card to receive HD. Actually, _insists_ is probably a better word. He wouldn't comment on the other Charter person who said there's only 1 kind of card.


That was really quick! I just wished that they all had the same answers. I guess what I might have to ask Charter for 2 HD CCs if they have it.


----------



## cotton168

Could be true eziemann, but I thought the HD tier was $6.95 or something. It couldn't be that cheap, could it?!


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Horrortaxi said:


> I just finished a chat with Michael at Charter. He assures me that you need an HD card to receive HD. Actually, _insists_ is probably a better word. He wouldn't comment on the other Charter person who said there's only 1 kind of card.


All of a sudden someone kind of jokes about the differences between HD CARD and SD card and Walla.
You have to believe (would be an idiot otherwise) that if there was a difference it would have been PERFECTLY CLEAR there was a difference in Tivos instruction. Or would have heard about it before some random post 60 ish in a thread. Not to mention the people in other threads that havent had problems with a regular card.
Sorry Horrotaxi but if you had the experience I have had with CSR my whole life you would have prefaced that comment with a disclaimer, something like this is or might be total pooh but I heard
But maybe you are banking on we should be aware of such unfound ridiculous rumors, re: the cards. Readers pay no attention to this crud about a difference in cards. Its bull.


----------



## Horrortaxi

The extra $3 is strictly for the card. That's in addition to the $10 or so that the HD tier costs.

It makes perfect sense to me that if there were different cards that people "in the know" would know about them and that the Tivo instructions would mention it. What we seem to have are some, but not all, people at a single cable company saying that there is a difference. I think the simplest, and probably correct, answer is that there is only 1 card and some Charter people don't know what they're talking about. So assuming they're wrong, why would they think they're right? What do they base the extra $3 on? I know that the cable companies are little monopolies but you still can't charge for nothing, right?


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Just got this from Charter.

Thank you for writing to Charter Communications. My name is Vincent.

I understand that you are not happy with Charter customer service since your issue with your cable card is not resolved. Further, our technician informed that he is going to the top of the food chain to determine the problem and would update you of the problem.

We apologize for the inconvenience you may have experienced. We also appreciate the email you have sent. As we are striving to improve our customer service efforts, your input is very valuable to us here at Charter. This demonstrates us the areas in which we need to improve upon. We are continually implementing new customer service standards to improve Charter, and to make you a more satisfied customer.

A check on your account indicates that you have been in contact with our Customer Support Center regarding this issue. I see that an appointment has been scheduled for September 21, 2006 to fix this issue. (Me bold this) *I assure you that this problem will be taken care of by our technician.*

Should you have any other queries, please do not hesitate to contact us.

You are a valued customer and we appreciate your patience in this regard.

Sincerely,

Vincent
Charter Communications


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Horrortaxi said:


> The extra $3 is strictly for the card. That's in addition to the $10 or so that the HD tier costs.
> 
> It makes perfect sense to me that if there were different cards that people "in the know" would know about them and that the Tivo instructions would mention it. What we seem to have are some, but not all, people at a single cable company saying that there is a difference. I think the simplest, and probably correct, answer is that there is only 1 card and some Charter people don't know what they're talking about. So assuming they're wrong, why would they think they're right? What do they base the extra $3 on? I know that the cable companies are little monopolies but you still can't charge for nothing, right?


Good post,
I was told 1:50 a card.


----------



## megazone

MitchW said:


> I also use Charter to provide my television services. I called the Charter office a few days ago and they said Cable Cards take a few days to deliver. They said the Cards had to be programmed for my SPECIFIC DEVICE. The person I spoke to said she has never heard of TiVo at all. Thus, the TiVo programming code may simply not be in their database. It is NOT the fault of Charter.


This is bull****, you were fed a line. ALL host devices are the same. TiVo is no different from any CableCARD TV. All they need is the MAC address of the cable card, CableCARD ID, and Host ID. I have Charter and 2 cards in my S3.


----------



## megazone

MitchW said:


> I doubt if any FCC regulations require IMMEDIATE compliance with new technology. It may take Charter SIX MONTHS to comply. You and I are certainly not aware of the technical requirements or the learning curves of their employees.


No, the FCC requirement wasn't IMMEDIATE. But it was established a few YEARS AGO, and compliance as mandatory as of July 2005, IIRC. So, yes, they MUST be in compliance now, period. It doesn't matter what their excuses are, the deadline is long past and they must provide the cards *NOW*.


----------



## megazone

MitchW said:


> When you lads call Charter, be sure to specify that you want two HD Cable Cards. Most Cable Cards are SD. That could be the cause of all the anguish.
> 
> Also, it appears that Charter goes to Scientific Atlanta to program their Cable Cards. The cards should be burned with the TiVo object, not the Scientific Atlanta object.
> 
> In the meantime I will continue to use my SA 8300 HD boxes and wait for you lads to work out all the problems for me BEFORE I upgrade my S2 to an S3.


OK, you're deliberately posting bull****, aren't you? You're just dicking with people to be a jerk.

1. There is no such thing as an SD CableCARD. Or an HD CableCARD. They're authentication and decryption tokens. It is a standard.

2. There is no TiVo object or SA object. CableCARD is a standard that all host devices support, including TiVo.


----------



## megazone

MitchW said:


> I'm just throwing out IDEAS to try. I haven't seen any Charter Cable Cards reported here as working yet. Thus, some experimenting may be required to solve the problem.


You mean except for the Review I posted last Tuesday in which I mentioned I use Charter Digital Cable in Worcester, MA? Stuck they cards in, activated, done. Nothing special.


----------



## ScaryMike

megazone said:


> No, the FCC requirement wasn't IMMEDIATE. But it was established a few YEARS AGO, and compliance as mandatory as of July 2005, IIRC. So, yes, they MUST be in compliance now, period. It doesn't matter what their excuses are, the deadline is long past and they must provide the cards *NOW*.


What course of action do you think I should take if I called charter (Madison, WI) and they told me they don't have cable cards yet? I was shocked to hear this.

-Mike


----------



## megazone

ScaryMike said:


> What course of action do you think I should take if I called charter (Madison, WI) and they told me they don't have cable cards yet? I was shocked to hear this.


At all, or they're out of stock right now?

If they don't have them at all it could be that they got a waiver as a small provider - but that'd be pretty surprising for a major carrier like Charter in a decently sized city. Maybe try Charter national and see what they say, the local office could be jerking your chain.


----------



## DancnDude

I know when Charter sends me pricing info along with my bills here in Madison, CableCards have pricing listed, so I know they carry them. It's more likely that they are currently out of stock. Or you just talked with someone who didn't know what they were talking about.


----------



## eziemann

There are 2 tiers for HD in my area. $3 gets you the HD cable box, locals and Showtime, HBO, Cinemax (if you are already a subscriber). The $6.95 is for ESPN, TNT, Discovery, HDNet, etc.

I have my CC install for 5-7 tonight so I will let everyone know how it goes.

I didn't say I had Tivo when calling last week for the appointment. I asked for 2 CC's and the CSR asked if I had 2 HDTV's. I said yes  I have been really happy with the techs in the La Crosse area.


----------



## etsolow

ScaryMike said:


> What course of action do you think I should take if I called charter (Madison, WI) and they told me they don't have cable cards yet? I was shocked to hear this.


I'm not sure what course of action to take, but I thought I'd chime in. I'm in Madison as well, and Charter showed up for my install on Monday with 3 CableCARDs (he said one was extra just in case). 'Course my S3 hadn't arrived yet, so I had to turn them away... now I've rescheduled for 9/28. But of the FOUR times I've now scheduled an install, they were always able to help.


----------



## MitchW

megazone said:


> You mean except for the Review I posted last Tuesday in which I mentioned I use Charter Digital Cable in Worcester, MA? Stuck they cards in, activated, done. Nothing special.


I guess there are no problems with Charter installing Cable Cards. I wonder why there are so many complaints here. Forget experimenting and everything else.

Thanks for the information. I'll just wait and just RETIRE my S2 and forget about updating to an S3 entirely. Somehow, my Scientific Atlanta 8300 HD is looking better and better. Maybe its just my DVR which is so good and others are so bad.


----------



## cotton168

For the whole HD and SD cable card controversy, I checked on Charter's site and searched for CCs. They actually had a FAQ about CCs and said that their cards were $1.50 per month. They never mentioned the $3.00 so I'm still thinking that they were BSing with you Horrortaxi. Here's the link: http://www.charter.com/help/FAQS/CableCard_faqs.aspx#04?NoContentType

Just look under "How do I get a Cablecard?" which is the fourth one. Looks like Charter will have to start training their staff to be more accurate.


----------



## Dan203

eziemann said:


> There are 2 tiers for HD in my area. $3 gets you the HD cable box, locals and Showtime, HBO, Cinemax (if you are already a subscriber). The $6.95 is for ESPN, TNT, Discovery, HDNet, etc.


Back when we first got our Moxi (1.5 years ago) the Moxi was only $10 a month, but there was a seperate charge of $3 on our bill for HDTV. However after a few months they simply increased the price of the Moxi and eliminated the seperate charge.

Dan


----------



## MadScience

Burbank here ... had to reschedule because my apartment manager took off before the Installer showed up this morning so we couldn't get into the cable closet downstairs. 

Rescheduled for tomorrow btw 1 - 5pm.

On the positive side the Installer was very anxious to do his first HD TiVo install with the CableCARDs so its not like Charter is ignorant of their existence or is trying to avoid touching them. In fact the pink copy of the paperwork he left actually says "2 HD Cards (For HD-TiVo)" so they're fully aware. Of course he also expressed his concern that the cards have always been sketchy (because there are so many different manufacturers was his reasoning) ... the individual card either works right away or it won't work at all.

I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes. Until then I'll continue to enjoy my local HD channels via the little indoor antenna I have.


----------



## cotton168

MadScience said:


> Burbank here ... had to reschedule because my apartment manager took off before the Installer showed up this morning so we couldn't get into the cable closet downstairs.
> 
> Rescheduled for tomorrow btw 1 - 5pm.
> 
> On the positive side the Installer was very anxious to do his first HD TiVo install with the CableCARDs so its not like Charter is ignorant of their existence or is trying to avoid touching them. In fact the pink copy of the paperwork he left actually says "2 HD Cards (For HD-TiVo)" so they're fully aware. Of course he also expressed his concern that the cards have always been sketchy (because there are so many different manufacturers was his reasoning) ... the individual card either works right away or it won't work at all.
> 
> I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes. Until then I'll continue to enjoy my local HD channels via the little indoor antenna I have.


Good luck MadScience and please keep us informed on what is going on with your install tomorrow. I'm having Charter come the following day so it will be a very interesting week.


----------



## etsolow

Charter was able to move up my appointment (I recommend calling back frequently, it's amazing how some CSRs can find a slot for you and some can't!) - so my install is scheduled for this Saturday now. Should be fun!


----------



## bubba1972

Has anyone gotten cards from Charter in the St. Louis area?


----------



## JARNOLD827

Bubba, I Am In The St. Louis Area. I Just Had Charter Out This Morning With 2 Cable Cards To Install. He Followed The Tivo Directions And Activated The Cards By Phone With Charter. Then......nothing!!! When Testing Channels, Nothing Came Up!!! We Tried Restarting Tivo, And Even Went Back Through Guided Setup.....still Nothing!!!

I Am Not At Home Right Now So I Will Mess With It When I Get Home. I Am No Longer Blaming Charter Anymore.....$800 And This Is The Best Tivo Can Do??? Talk About Going Downhill Fast!!! I Haven't Seen A Dynasty Gone Bad Since The St. Louis Blues Last Season.


----------



## MitchW

I just checked with my CT Charter office about all this HD stuff. They informed that starting in CT next month or shortly thereafter they will introduce the Scientific Atlanta 8300 MR. It will allow one HD Server in a home to serve up to THREE other HD TV's from a single Hard Drive. Also, they said the SA software would be updated SUBSTANTIALLY.

I am still sitting here with a TiVo S2 having a Lifetime Subscription. I will now wait to try the SA 8300 MR first before making my decision on the S3 upgrade. They said the cost would only be one or two dollars per month more for a MR lease. I am presently paying $ 11.99 for the SA 8300 HD lease. This setup will be able to access VOD, PPV AND XOD, which is something new and I am not sure what it is.

I presently have one Sony 32" HD TV, have another on order and have one other 32" SD TV which I have not decided to upgrade to HD yet.

However, since this is all NEW, there could be bugs here just like with the S3. I love new technology and its just a question now of whose bugs I will endure.

The link to the new SA 8300 MR is:

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/consumers_new/CableBoxes/8300HDMR.htm


----------



## ThePlungerMan

MitchW said:


> I just checked with my CT Charter office about all this HD stuff. They informed that starting in CT next month or shortly thereafter they will introduce the Scientific Atlanta 8300 MR. It will allow one HD Server in a home to serve up to THREE other HD TV's from a single Hard Drive. Also, they said the SA software would be updated SUBSTANTIALLY.
> 
> I am still sitting here with a TiVo S2 having a Lifetime Subscription. I will now wait to try the SA 8300 MR first before making my decision on the S3 upgrade. They said the cost would only be one or two dollars per month more for a MR lease. I am presently paying $ 11.99 for the SA 8300 HD lease. This setup will be able to access VOD, PPV AND XOD, which is something new and I am not sure what it is.
> 
> I presently have one Sony 32" HD TV, have another on order and have one other 32" SD TV which I have not decided to upgrade to HD yet.
> 
> However, since this is all NEW, there could be bugs here just like with the S3. I love new technology and its just a question now of whose bugs I will endure.
> 
> The link to the new SA 8300 MR is:
> 
> http://www.scientificatlanta.com/consumers_new/CableBoxes/8300HDMR.htm


What you are doing is called HIJACKING A THREAD. Stay on topic in here please. And make a sincere effort to post your posts where they belong. IOW this isnt about charter and other options, its about charter and series 3. Thanks and have a nice day.


----------



## MitchW

ThePlungerMan said:


> What you are doing is called HIJACKING A THREAD. Stay on topic in here please. And make a sincere effort to post your posts where they belong. IOW this isnt about charter and other options, its about charter and series 3. Thanks and have a nice day.


I subscribe to CHARTER in CT and also have an S2 with Lifetime Service and am considering an upgrade to the S3. All experimental and variable factors entering into this decision seem to be fair game for me and possibly to others here. Everyone here who uses Charter and is getting an S3 is affected by ALL these factors.

All of us have a $ 1,000 decision to make.


----------



## Largeleon

Just got off an hour of calls with Charter.

1. first person seemed like he didn't know what to do and handed me off to another person.
2. second person stated that I needed to come to the local office and get the cards which seems totally unlike anyone else's experience
3. third person, i wrote her name down, was mean and rude. basically, gave me crap stating that if it wasn't a tv she wasn't going to install it. somehow, she decided to have it installed after putting me on hold. she then stated that they may not install it when they come out? huh?

My goodness, why don't i install sattellite? I am more then frustrated with dealing with their

I guess we'll see how friday goes.


----------



## ckoble

I just got a call from a guy named Van from charter who said a few interesting things:

1. Cablecard interface on TiVo is still in beta (I had a good laugh with this one) - he sad that he got this information from research that he was doing. I pointed out that thousands had been shipped to consumers. I pointed out that many posts that I have seen on this BB have not had any problems with the install.

2. TWC in Orange County is refusing to give out cards for TiVo because it competes with their DVR offering (of course he didn't come right out and say it like that, but that is what he meant). I was quick to point out that that was not in line with FCC regs.

He said that they were working on their head-end and should have some more information on Friday for me. My advice to anyone in the southern california area is to keep on Charter--- they will turn the corner on this one if we keep bugging them!


----------



## lordrichter

From a conversation with a Charter rep during a call about other things:

Cable Cards are $1.50/mo each, two would be $3.00/mo
No cable box is required if cable card is used.
Digital cable is required
HD is not required and costs $9.99/mo extra.
There is only one HD plan due to the limited number of HD channels available.


----------



## eziemann

Here is my install experience:

Had the appointment from 5-7. They showed up about 5:15. I knew it wasn't going to be exactly what I wanted when they (2 guys) said: "We're here to install a cablecard"

I know I asked for 2 cards but maybe they had another one along to install as well.

Neither one had seen a S3 before and didn't talk highly about installing cable cards. I handed them the instructions and they seemed fine with the steps. However they suggested not installing the 1 card and waiting to come back to install 2. I suggested not and they went to work on the 1 card.
Apparently my signal was -52 or so and that the 2-way splitter I had on there wasn't going to work. I said ok and had them just attach the Tivo. The one guy did most of the work and I would guess he was still "in-training". He disconnected the OTA antenna I had connected as well and was taking the HD cable box out when I said that I wanted to keep that one and send back the non-working regular cable box in the bedroom.
The cablecard menu came up after popping the card in and they called in the numbers. It seemed to be going fine but we still didn't have any channels after 5 minutes. They called in again to verify the numbers but they matched up.
So the 2nd guy checked the cables and apparently the 1st guy plugged the cable into the antenna input. After a few mins, we were going. I noticed that some of my HBO channels were missing but figured they would come in sooner or later.
So I let them go.

Later, I plugged in the 2-way splitter and everything seems ok (still running my S2 next to the S3 for a while). I may even try a 3-way splitter to hook up the cable-in on the TV if I feel adventuresome!

Still no HBO at 9:30 tonight so I called the 800 number. All they had me do was unplug Tivo, wait and power it back on. So if you are missing any channels, try that first.

I also was able to reschedule the 2nd card for Monday from 5-7. 
Tivo is up and going but only at 50%. I am glad I found out that your best options are 0 or 2 cable cards otherwise only 1 tuner will work.

Just before they left, the 1 guy commented that the picture looked great compared to the boxes they provide. They suggested I request them to do the 2nd install but I figure I will take my chances and perhaps get another tech trained/exposed to the S3.


----------



## Leo_N

eziemann said:


> Here is my install experience:
> 
> Had the appointment from 5-7. They showed up about 5:15. I knew it wasn't going to be exactly what I wanted when they (2 guys) said: "We're here to install a cablecard"
> 
> I know I asked for 2 cards but maybe they had another one along to install as well.
> 
> Neither one had seen a S3 before and didn't talk highly about installing cable cards. I handed them the instructions and they seemed fine with the steps. However they suggested not installing the 1 card and waiting to come back to install 2. I suggested not and they went to work on the 1 card.
> Apparently my signal was -52 or so and that the 2-way splitter I had on there wasn't going to work. I said ok and had them just attach the Tivo. The one guy did most of the work and I would guess he was still "in-training". He disconnected the OTA antenna I had connected as well and was taking the HD cable box out when I said that I wanted to keep that one and send back the non-working regular cable box in the bedroom.
> The cablecard menu came up after popping the card in and they called in the numbers. It seemed to be going fine but we still didn't have any channels after 5 minutes. They called in again to verify the numbers but they matched up.
> So the 2nd guy checked the cables and apparently the 1st guy plugged the cable into the antenna input. After a few mins, we were going. I noticed that some of my HBO channels were missing but figured they would come in sooner or later.
> So I let them go.
> 
> Later, I plugged in the 2-way splitter and everything seems ok (still running my S2 next to the S3 for a while). I may even try a 3-way splitter to hook up the cable-in on the TV if I feel adventuresome!
> 
> Still no HBO at 9:30 tonight so I called the 800 number. All they had me do was unplug Tivo, wait and power it back on. So if you are missing any channels, try that first.
> 
> I also was able to reschedule the 2nd card for Monday from 5-7.
> Tivo is up and going but only at 50%. I am glad I found out that your best options are 0 or 2 cable cards otherwise only 1 tuner will work.
> 
> Just before they left, the 1 guy commented that the picture looked great compared to the boxes they provide. They suggested I request them to do the 2nd install but I figure I will take my chances and perhaps get another tech trained/exposed to the S3.


If you don't mind me asking, where in WI are you? I'm gonna be calling Charter tomorrow morning for my cable cards and was hoping for some good news in my neck of the woods. Which by the way is the Genoa City/Pell Lake area.


----------



## eziemann

La Crosse/Onalaska, WI
The billing address for Charter is Altoona so I guess this area spans Eau Claire and Central/Western Wisconsin.


----------



## Leo_N

eziemann said:


> La Crosse/Onalaska, WI
> The billing address for Charter is Altoona so I guess this area spans Eau Claire and Central/Western Wisconsin.


Ahh thanks for the answer. Think mine is out of either Madison or Janesville. But good to hear that LaCrosse is doing good, will have to let my brother know, he lives in Holmen and has Charter.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

ckoble said:


> I just got a call from a guy named Van from charter who said a few interesting things:
> 
> 1. Cablecard interface on TiVo is still in beta (I had a good laugh with this one) - he sad that he got this information from research that he was doing. I pointed out that thousands had been shipped to consumers. I pointed out that many posts that I have seen on this BB have not had any problems with the install.
> 
> 2. TWC in Orange County is refusing to give out cards for TiVo because it competes with their DVR offering (of course he didn't come right out and say it like that, but that is what he meant). I was quick to point out that that was not in line with FCC regs.
> 
> He said that they were working on their head-end and should have some more information on Friday for me. My advice to anyone in the southern california area is to keep on Charter--- they will turn the corner on this one if we keep bugging them!


Thanks for the post. I got a call from him too, but wasnt home. Ive been trading a couple of emails with support and sent this one just now.

I got a call (he left a message) from Van who wasnt clear on why he called but said, "He wanted to try a few things" whatever that meant. He also said he KNEW that The Tivo Series 3 is still in beta testing. IT IS NOT STILL IN BETA TESTING.
It seems clear that Charter here in Long Beach has no experience in a cable technology they should, and , that has been out for quite a while, OR, they are purposely not trying to right this issue but string this along giving the impression they are trying and hope we give up as well as many others. Just a theory.

This isnt about the cards working in a Tivo, because if they work they work, period. There isnt any difference between a Tivo cable card and a TV cable card. 
Two cards in my Cable card TV from you guys havent worked. This was over 8 months ago. Which begs the question, why dont you guys know why yet. Or is it more like not trying to know why, seems more like it. Please be informed, Im not going away on this
Per the FCC ruling, compliance was mandatory as of July 2005, 
Charter in Worcester. MA. was successful for a customer for a Tivo, why dont you guys call them and ask how they succeeded.

My appt is for tomorrow between 1-5, I hope your assurance of my problem being taken care of comes to light and thanks for the reply.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Got this email in response

Dear Mr Me,

Thank you for writing to Charter Communications. It is Vincent again.

I understand that the issue with your cable card has not been fixed. You would like this resolved at the earliest.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

I would like to inform you that I have escalated this issue to our local office in Long Beach for investigation. I assure you that this matter will be taken care of. Please note your reference number ???????????????? regarding this issue.


----------



## cotton168

Great job PlungerMan. I can't wait to see how their LB office will resolve this issue. It is very sad that Charter is not as up to date as TW or Comcast as the polls from another thread showed.  It was only Dan203 and megazone who didn't have any problems with their installation. Hopefully everyone else's that are scheduled for later this week and next week will go smoothly as it possibly can.


----------



## Leo_N

Well, just got off the phone with charter here in southeaster WI. Ordered up 4 cablecards, and told them they were going in 2 Tivos. The CSR didn't even hesitate. Asked if I wanted to keep the Charter DVR or standard dig cable box I already have, told her I would wait to see how the cablecard installs went. She seemed fine with that, told me to just let the tech know. Setup for Monday from 8am-noon. So now I'm just crossing my fingers for a smooth install.

Btw, 29.95 truck roll fee, plus $1.50/card.


----------



## mikep51

If a cable company employee was even interested in their job, they should researched the series 3 prior to availibity. I work for charter in MI, and we had a sub come in for 2 cards for a tivo. Everyone looked stunned. I been reading on these boxes for quite a while now.
I knew of the release date of the Series 3 on the 12th. He came in the 14th. 
Anyways, we set him up for install, and the tech, who is fairly new, had no problems in our area pairing the cards to the Tivo. The install went as smooth as can be. I paired the cards through charters billing system, and up came the channels. 3.00 a month for his ccard rental (1.50 each) the local HD ($3.00) is free. Only a charge if they wanted the HD Tier (ESPN, TNT, HDNET, etc).
Good luck to all of you. You just need the right people, regardless of company name, who know about their products and offerings.


----------



## cotton168

mikep51 said:


> You just need the right people, regardless of company name, who know about their products and offerings.


Here, here mikep51. I wish all cable providers did some training to the new technology floating around. Too bad you are not in the SoCal area. Any plans on relocating?  LOL


----------



## ThePlungerMan

mikep51 said:


> Good luck to all of you. You just need the right people, regardless of company name, who know about their products and offerings.


Can I have my Charter's people talk to your Charter's people?


----------



## mikep51

cotton168 said:


> Here, here mikep51. I wish all cable providers did some training to the new technology floating around. Too bad you are not in the SoCal area. Any plans on relocating?  LOL


No relocating for me LOL 

However I'm looking forward to the release of the PCI card for CableCard installation in HTPCs.

BTW. 
Anyone know if the series 3 is going to be CableCard 2.0 compatible?


----------



## Dan203

mikep51 said:


> However I'm looking forward to the release of the PCI card for CableCard installation in HTPCs.


Not going to happen. CableLabs has given preliminary approval to Windows Vista to support CableCARDs, but ONLY on preconfigured PCs from OEMs which have also be qualified by CableLabs. You'll never be able to just buy a CableCARD PCI adapter at the store and drop it into your PC.



mikep51 said:


> Anyone know if the series 3 is going to be CableCard 2.0 compatible?


Nope. It supports multi-stream cards, but not the bi-directional communication portion. Not that it really matters we wont see deployment for CC2.0 for at least a year, probably two.

Dan


----------



## etsolow

Dan203 said:


> You'll never be able to just buy a CableCARD PCI adapter at the store and drop it into your PC.


You forgot to add "...and that sucks!" What can one expect from a consortium of cable companies, though, I guess.


----------



## waharris007

SUCCESS! Man, I have GOT to stop reading so many negative posts before I get first-hand experience with new tech! I was scared to death that this whole thing would fall flat!

However, the installers showed up today (early, no less!). They were two subs, not actual Charter employees. They were both extremely nice, but neither had seen the S3 before, nor did they have ANY knowledge of it at all. I told them that the box took 2 CCs because of the dual tuner, and handed them the instruction sheet Tivo provides. We walked through it together, slowly and surely, and they got both cards in and working perfectly, with absolutely no trouble whatsoever, in about 15 minutes. The younger of the two was excited that it was so easy. I told them (when they had finished) that there were horror stories going on with this install all over the country and congratulated them for being so great at what they do 

When they left, one guy said, "Well, it doesn't get any easier than that!"

I'm going back through guided setup now. I just wanted to give you guys the good word. So, if your installers squawk about doing this job, just assure them that Charter cards are working in S3s all over the country now.

So, that's a big flashing GREEN LIGHT for Spring Hill, TN (just south of Nashville).

Woo hoo!!


----------



## Navarre

Dan203 said:


> Not going to happen. CableLabs has given preliminary approval to Windows Vista to support CableCARDs, but ONLY on preconfigured PCs from OEMs which have also be qualified by CableLabs. You'll never be able to just buy a CableCARD PCI adapter at the store and drop it into your PC.
> 
> Dan


What about this thing?

http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2662&p=2

This is clearly for exactly what's being talked about. THere's even an external laptop type setup. At a bare minimum, the external isn't going to be on pre-built systems only. The PCI, maybe. But i doubt it /hope not

Back on topic..I'm in Madison, WI as well so very interested in results of the installs. I'm (extremely loosely) planning on picking up a series 3 around tax time. I have the moxi now, but its gone thru many many issues. Every time I have to have someone come out, they tell me that there aren't any more moxis in stock. Thankfully, they've always managed to bring the thing back from the brink.

On the splitter thing. I've got a 57 inch hitachi in the living room, and a 32 inch SD in each of the two bedrooms. Currently going thru an amplified splitter. Charter never likes that, but it always works fine. Niether of the rooms have outlets, but I got a letter a LONG time ago from the landlord to let charter go ahead and install an outlet (for $75)

So, I read one post where putting it back on the splitter was ok. Is anyone else doing so?

i've been meaning to call on both the cablecards and the 5mbps internet service they're touting, but never feel like sitting thru that absurd automated idiocy.


----------



## ckoble

Spoke with Carla again today in the Charter Western Division Office (CA, OR, WA) and relayed to her the conversation with Van (one of the Tech Leads). She said that she was going to find out what the status was and give me a call back soon. I told her that we have at least one Charter customer (in another area) that has been successful and we would be more than happy to provide this information to them to find out if there are any similarities between the systems at all that can be gleaned. So... still waiting! Still lovin the TiVo. Not ready to send it back yet!


----------



## MadScience

Burbank here ... again. The install went pretty smoothly. The process of activating the cards takes a little time (even after the Installer calls the information in) and my channels did trickle in. But after about 10 - 15 minutes all of the channels I'm supposed to get were coming in just fine.

Odd side note: I had configured my S3 to use the HD indoor antenna on the day I got it and even selected the "channels I receive" list. While testing the channels during the CableCARD install nothing below 99 would show up. But I repeated guided setup and selected "Cable & Antenna" this time ... now all channels show up together (local Off-The-Air HD has the channel # and a "-" 1, 2, 3, etc).

This was a different Installer from the guy who came yesterday (see previous post) but both were excited to do their first install on a S3. The entire experience was positive on my end.

<Sigh Of Relief> ... Just in time for the Grey's Anatomy season premiere tonight!


----------



## Horrortaxi

MadScience said:


> Burbank here ... again. The install went pretty smoothly.


I'm glad to hear that--it gives me hope that my Saturday install goes well. UPS was supposed to deliver my S3 today but I guess they didn't feel like coming to my house, so they just reported that I wasn't home. Looks like I get to drive to San Fernando tonight and pick it up.

Since we're using the same Charter office, tell me about your cards. Are they the normal $1.50 a month ones or the magical HD ones that cost $4.50 a month that nobody outside of Charter has ever heard of?


----------



## Sepia

MadScience said:


> Burbank here ... again. The install went pretty smoothly.


Music to my ears :up: I have an appt tomorrow morning in the Glendale area...I'll report back how it went.

PS: Please vote here on your experience with Charter:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=317654


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Wow, the tech just left for the third time and still no good. 
When the tech called in and while was talking to his sup. I heard the sup ask, is he a plumber. I know the guy personally. So now I have a direct number, and personal cell. I gave him the names of the cities with successful charter card installs. He told me the head dudes are on it.. But if they were on it before today why werent they on it when he showed up. It was the same ol same ol card not working fiasco
This old friend told me how he works from Sun -Thur and will get on it Mon. Great right, no. Im calling Carla, which he said would get the situation noticed .


----------



## ThePlungerMan

OK called Carla, she said their head tech dude is waiting on Scientific Atlanta head tech dude for some auth thingamajig code, and she is off till Monday, so until then my friends.


----------



## octomonkee

Next week it'll be my turn!!! I'm new here. Been a long-time Tivo fanatic, and just received my S3 box from Tivo. Got my Charter appt scheduled for next week, Wednesday (Sept, 27th). Just scheduling the appt was a bit of work because the guy on the phone tried to tell me that Charter doesn't support Tivo. Anyway, he made the appt for me after I told him that the Tivo box is CableLabs certified, etc, and he didn't give me too much grief after that. Crossing my fingers. BTW, I'm in Pasadena, CA, so these So. Cal. issues have me a bit worried.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Expect the worse and hope for the best


----------



## MadScience

Burbank -- update

Okay, it wasn't perfect after all (but it's okay now). Many of my channels have been appearing and disappearing. And the odd thing is they weren't the digital channels ... or even the HD channels ... it was the Analog & Extended Basic channels that wouldn't come in.

They're back now but that was annoying. Just guessing but it seems that Restarting the S3 actually caused it to lose the channels for up to an hour. I won't be Restarting it again anytime soon. Fingers crossed the channels stay locked in now.

This is my first time with any kind of cable service (had very minimal channels from DirecTV before). So far I'm kinda nervous.

But just to wrap up on a happy note ... the HD channels look freakin' awesome!!


----------



## waharris007

Mine's been going strong since the cable card install seven hours ago. I've been messing with it almost non-stop. All the channels are working fine, HD quality is awesome, and all the little bells and whistles are problem-free. I put all my season passes in (did some online, some with the remote), and everything looks solid. I already packed up the dreaded Charter Moto Moxi box. If all goes well for the next few days, that doorstop is out of my life forever! 

Keep at it, guys! Once it is up, the S3 is what your HDTV has been waiting for.


----------



## cotton168

Oooooo....All your success stories makes me excited about tomorrow morning's install. I absolutely cannot wait. Thanks to everyone for giving us the updates on a constant basis. If things don't go well, then I guess I too will be giving Carla a call.


----------



## bsather

bsather said:


> Well Charter is coming back tomorrow with an actual Charter tech with cable card knowledge...supposedly.....and extra cards. I hope they can get it working, the S3 blows the Moxi away.


Update....a Charter technician called me at home and was very friendly and knowledgeable. Was not aware of the Tivo S3, but promised he would do everything he could to get it right. That is good news indeed.


----------



## Tippy

The Charter guys just left. They sucessfully inserted two cable cards. It took about an hour and wasn't without some problems (the first card wasn't in their system). But, it appears that everything is working great. Can't wait to get back home tonight to play with it and schedule some HD recordings.


----------



## Largeleon

Success. 
Install took 30 minutes.
Installer had not seen a box, but stated that cablecard installs are a pain.

He notated both card serial numbers, we found the tivo screen with the info that he would need to get authenticated and then he called his contact at Charter.

The first person did not do something correctly. He contacted another person, who did something after checking the numbers and then had us reinsert both cards. 

After a few minutes, all was fine.

I think the source of everyone's problems would be typos or lack of experience of the person who answers the phone at Charter's end to help the installer.

I am so happy to be taking back my moxi next week. I'm going to hold on to it for a week or so. Georgia has a long waiting lists for Moxi's and I'd hate to send it back without knowing if the tivo will be problematic.


----------



## cotton168

Hey Largeleon, glad that your S3 is now up and running. I have a story of my own as well. My installer came in today at around 9:30 and I immediately handed him the install sheet that Tivo provided. He kind of took a look at it, but set it aside and I was the one basically telling which one to hook up first. We were having problems with the setup on his end and it took over an hour to get it corrected. Still do not have HBO channels so I might have to schedule another set up with 2 more different cards. We'll see how that goes.

The guy never installed a Tivo before but he did tell me that he hated the cable cards. I guess this install just proved his point, but I'll be calling Charter again to have another installer come out with 2 more (hopefully 4 more cards). Wish me luck and good luck to all of you who have yet to have Charter install. 

BTW, one question that I really don't want to post on a brand new thread: Now that I have CCs to watch local channels, do I take out the coax cable that is plugged into Cable In or do I leave that plugged in?


----------



## ThePlungerMan

waharris007 said:


> SUCCESS! Man, I have GOT to stop reading so many negative posts before I get first-hand experience with new tech! I was scared to death that this whole thing would fall flat!
> 
> However, the installers showed up today (early, no less!). They were two subs, not actual Charter employees. They were both extremely nice, but neither had seen the S3 before, nor did they have ANY knowledge of it at all. I told them that the box took 2 CCs because of the dual tuner, and handed them the instruction sheet Tivo provides. We walked through it together, slowly and surely, and they got both cards in and working perfectly, with absolutely no trouble whatsoever, in about 15 minutes. The younger of the two was excited that it was so easy. I told them (when they had finished) that there were horror stories going on with this install all over the country and congratulated them for being so great at what they do
> 
> When they left, one guy said, "Well, it doesn't get any easier than that!"
> 
> I'm going back through guided setup now. I just wanted to give you guys the good word. So, if your installers squawk about doing this job, just assure them that Charter cards are working in S3s all over the country now.
> 
> So, that's a big flashing GREEN LIGHT for Spring Hill, TN (just south of Nashville).
> 
> Woo hoo!!


Excuse me sir or sirette, this is a Charter series 3 and problems thread, Not a charter series 3 and success thread. Go away.


----------



## etsolow

ThePlungerMan said:


> Excuse me sir or sirette, this is a Charter series 3 and problems thread, Not a charter series 3 and success thread. Go away.


Here, I think you dropped this: ""


----------



## cotton168

LOL, at least he had no problems with the installation!


----------



## ThePlungerMan

etsolow said:


> Here, I think you dropped this: ""


Very well done, Your right I did,,,,, was just funnin, was waiting to see if it could have been read by him as funny, without the obvious smiley. Right on though.
A little break form the real action at hand.

Oh please oh please wheres my good cable cards? ,,,, oh where oh where could they be?


----------



## Sepia

Glendale, CA here.

Installer just left. The only problem we had was that after installing the first (and later the second) card, and select TEST CHANNELS, only 1 or 2 channels were appearing.

The guy said that this is because both cards need to be in there at first, and I patiently explained that both cards are only required to get dual tuner functionality.

Anyways, it turns out that it was no big deal. After completing guided setup, *all* channels work HBO-HD, Discovery-HD et all.

TiVo, I was really miffed with you, but now that it's all up and running I'm happy again, and can forget being part of the 200 who got severly screwed at shipping  Come here you big furry TV!


----------



## tux

ScaryMike said:


> What course of action do you think I should take if I called charter (Madison, WI) and they told me they don't have cable cards yet? I was shocked to hear this.
> 
> -Mike


I also live in Madison, WI. Got my Series3 today and called Charter about the CableCARDs (before I had read this thread). They told me Charter provides CableCARDs only for digital TVs and not for the TiVo. I asked, "do they not work in the TiVo?" Answer: "<pause> We only provide CableCARDs for digital TVs". Thank you very much.

Now I sent a message to the Charter support team on their homepage.

I found an interesting link on TiVo vs. Charter (unfortunately the forum doesn't let me post it). Search with Google for TiVo Charter CableCARD. It's the first hit.


----------



## etsolow

Huh. I simply called Charter and said "I need to schedule an install for two CableCARDs." Once the tech is out here, is he REALLY gonna refuse to install the cards and see if they work? Doubtful... but I guess I'll find out tomorrow!

ETA: here's that link for you http://iww.pvrwire.com/2006/09/20/tivo-fights-for-the-cablecard/


----------



## waharris007

ThePlungerMan said:


> Very well done, Your right I did,,,,, was just funnin, was waiting to see if it could have been read by him as funny, without the obvious smiley. Right on though.
> A little break form the real action at hand.
> /QUOTE]
> 
> Yup. I always assume everyone is sarcastic until they prove otherwise. Or until they start weeping.


----------



## rmracing

MitchW said:


> I just checked with my CT Charter office about all this HD stuff. They informed that starting in CT next month or shortly thereafter they will introduce the Scientific Atlanta 8300 MR. It will allow one HD Server in a home to serve up to THREE other HD TV's from a single Hard Drive. Also, they said the SA software would be updated SUBSTANTIALLY.
> 
> I am still sitting here with a TiVo S2 having a Lifetime Subscription. I will now wait to try the SA 8300 MR first before making my decision on the S3 upgrade. They said the cost would only be one or two dollars per month more for a MR lease. I am presently paying $ 11.99 for the SA 8300 HD lease. This setup will be able to access VOD, PPV AND XOD, which is something new and I am not sure what it is.
> 
> I presently have one Sony 32" HD TV, have another on order and have one other 32" SD TV which I have not decided to upgrade to HD yet.
> 
> However, since this is all NEW, there could be bugs here just like with the S3. I love new technology and its just a question now of whose bugs I will endure.
> 
> The link to the new SA 8300 MR is:
> 
> http://www.scientificatlanta.com/consumers_new/CableBoxes/8300HDMR.htm


This thread is about the the Tivo Series 3 and Charter. I tried to ignore it the first 20 times, but I have to say something at this point. I don't think anybody gives a rats a$$ about your Scientific Atlanta DVR, but if you insist on contiunually talking about it, go to a forum for that DVR (wherever it might be). It's getting difficult to wade through your pointless posts.


----------



## TK421

tux said:


> I also live in Madison, WI. Got my Series3 today and called Charter about the CableCARDs (before I had read this thread). They told me Charter provides CableCARDs only for digital TVs and not for the TiVo. I asked, "do they not work in the TiVo?" Answer: "<pause> We only provide CableCARDs for digital TVs". Thank you very much.
> 
> Now I sent a message to the Charter support team on their homepage.
> 
> I found an interesting link on TiVo vs. Charter (unfortunately the forum doesn't let me post it). Search with Google for TiVo Charter CableCARD. It's the first hit.


Oh man, that isn't what I wanted to hear...oh well, I'm probably not ordering for a couple more weeks- hopefully you'll get the techs all trained up and mine will go smoothly!


----------



## cotton168

All I basically told the people at Charter was that I needed cable cards (2 of them to be exact). If they asked if it was for a TV, I just tell them Yes. Since none of them know about the S3 and it being certified by Cable Labs, their response is always going to be, "Oh, we don't do that." However, little do they know that putting in a cable card in a TV is the same as putting it into the S3, at least that is how I see it. 

Don't be discouraged and get another person on the line to schedule for a TV install. The tech guy who comes isn't going to really care. However, make sure he sees the install sheet that Tivo provides. Good luck!!!


----------



## MadScience

Burbank ... final update (I hope)

Just wanted to let those still waiting for their install experience to know: I had some weirdness with my channels during the first day of the install. The Tech left my place around 2 or 3 (I was too excited about the HD channels to check the time closely). For the rest of that day ... until the next morning anyway ... the channels I'm paying for would appear and disappear. Not sure why except that this was the first activation of cable service at my place, well, aside from the high-speed internet service. It was primarily the Basic & Expanded channels that weren't "locking in". The screen would be black with some message about the channel not being available - which, of course, made me think the cards weren't working correctly.

Honestly, I went to sleep kinda pissed after scheduling a Tech to come take look this coming Monday. But when I woke up this morning everything was working fine. The Optimist in me feels like I'm out of the woods now. (The Pessimist in me isn't going to cancel the appointment until later this weekend.)

Good luck to all. Once its working its sooooo worth it.


----------



## cotton168

MadScience said:


> Burbank ... final update (I hope)
> 
> The Optimist in me feels like I'm out of the woods now. (The Pessimist in me isn't going to cancel the appointment until later this weekend.)


Good luck to you MadScience. Hopefully things will go well and you can just cancel your Charter tech appointment.  I'll be waiting for them to come on Wednesday to try to figure something out with my premium channels along with some other channels.


----------



## hammond9705

I had my cards installed Friday by Charter in Southlake Texas. Went pretty well. The only thing that was a little strange was that once he installed the cards it took about 20 minutes to get the channel information. We were about to restart the whole process when it started working. He had never seen a HD Tivo before, but had problem with trying it.

Right now everything looks great.

Bob


----------



## IPingUPing

So my story had a bug of a different kind. No problem getting my appointment set up (I said I wanted to "upgrade" in the phone menu, I probably got a sales rep who just wanted to get their commission and get me off the phone.)

When the tech did show up 45 minutes late at my house he only had 1 card, luckily when I told him it was for two, he had another in his truck. Only a minor panic attack there.

The tech did not know the screens and really didn't want to follow the instructions TiVo provided. We popped in both cards (Charter in Smyrna GA gives out Motorola cable cards) and found the pairing screen. It took a few minutes for that data to come up but it did. He called in to the office and gave them the # on the card (make sure he has it before you put the card in, that was bug #1) the host number and data number. 

It worked! Total elapsed time, about 40 minutes. It's obvious these guys do not have a lot of finesse with electronics, so thanks to TiVo for making them installer-proof.

Now, for the other bug in my install, when they took my HD STB out, they deprovisioned the wrong box. My bedroom STB attached to my series 2 lost service and we had a days worth of all blank programming recorded before we caught it. Something else to check when they are done.


----------



## Horrortaxi

I'm an hour into my appointment window and I'm nervously waiting for the cable guy. I've re-read the installation threads and I think I know enough about it to keep the installer on the right track. I'll let you know how it goes, but until then think happy thoughts.


----------



## Horrortaxi

Charter just called to tell me they're not coming today because they "don't have any digital cards today." They'll have them mid-week so I've got a new appointment. I hate to sound too cynical, but how likely is it that this is a runaround?


----------



## tux

cotton168 said:


> All I basically told the people at Charter was that I needed cable cards (2 of them to be exact). If they asked if it was for a TV, I just tell them Yes. Since none of them know about the S3 and it being certified by Cable Labs, their response is always going to be, "Oh, we don't do that." However, little do they know that putting in a cable card in a TV is the same as putting it into the S3, at least that is how I see it.
> 
> Don't be discouraged and get another person on the line to schedule for a TV install. The tech guy who comes isn't going to really care. However, make sure he sees the install sheet that Tivo provides. Good luck!!!


Thanks. I called back today and did not mention TiVo at all. Went smoothly this time. My appointment is on Tuesday.

I also got a reply from Charter's online customer support in which they assured me that Charter does support the S3.

BTW, on the TiVo homepage is a feedback form for CableCARD experiences with cable companies. I reported my case yesterday. Maybe we all should. It could help TiVo work with Charter to get their people trained.


----------



## Hi-Bred

> So now it has turned into a Charter blaming TiVo and TiVo blaming Charter.
> 
> Any ideas? Could this be Charter not wanting ts customers to use third party DVRs? Anyone else experience problems with Charter?


See my post this from this morning, 9/23, I basically have the same problem as you.

Hi-Bred


----------



## IPingUPing

Horrortaxi said:


> Charter just called to tell me they're not coming today because they "don't have any digital cards today." They'll have them mid-week so I've got a new appointment. I hate to sound too cynical, but how likely is it that this is a runaround?


I'm as cynical as most about Charter, but hearing the demand for cable cards jump up signifigantly by reading these threads, it sounds reasonable.

In the mean time, here's something you might try to pass the time. Connect your cable tv line and do a channel scan. It will detect all the QAM channels, but most of them will be blacked out. I found two however (111-xx and 112-xx) that had unencrypted On Demand programming. It was fun seeing who in my neighborhood was watching Blues Clues or Skinamax.

[Edit: fixed typo]


----------



## Hi-Bred

Larry in TN said:


> Don't worry about it. Charter has to support it. They don't have a choice.


It seems like, for now, they have chosen not to support it despite the FCC mandate. I hope it won't take a class-action suit to get them to straighten out their act.


----------



## Horrortaxi

IPingUPing said:


> I'm as cynical as most about Charter, but hearing the demand for cable cards jump up signifigantly by reading these threads, it sounds reasonable.
> 
> In the mean time, here's something you might try to pass the time. Connect your cable tv line and do a channel scan. It will detect all the QAM channels, but most of them will be blacked out. I found two however (111-xx and 112-xx) that had unencrypted On Demand programming. It was fun seeing who in my neighborhood was watching Blues Clues of Skinamax.


Yeah, it does sound reasonable that if demand goes up that they'll have less--especially with the apparently horrendous out-of-the-box failure rate of CableCARDS. If people are grabbing them 2 at a time for new Tivos then that's a lot of lost revenue for the cable company on their own PVRs though--and I'll bet that they'll go to great lengths to keep that from happening. They have to provide CableCARDs, but they don't have to make it easy or fun for the customer to get them.

I'm going to try a channel scan. I forgot just how bad channels 2-99 suck.

I've also sent emails off to various departments at Charter asking why they're trying to charge me $4.50 for something that doesn't exist (HD CableCARD). Their phone and chat people just tell me that I'm misinformed. All the people watching HD with $1.50 a month cards say otherwise.

Anyway, my fingers are re-crossed for 9/28 between 3 and 5.


----------



## 2big4burb

I'm in southern california and I've had the same experience with Charter so far. 

Charter: "We don't put cards in Tivo boxes"
Me: "Did I say tivo box? I meant tv with two slots, see you Friday"

But now I'm worried about what cards they will bring. Somebody posted here that the correct card configuration is: "CableLabs approved list for model number TCD648250B"

Questions:
Is this the correct card for S3?
Is this charter's default card that they are bringing anyway?

Thanks


----------



## Hi-Bred

Well, the installation of my Tivo Series 3 was very simple - just followed the setup instructions and called to activate it (I transferred my lifetime service to the new Series 3). Yes, I was one of the lucky ones who got lifetime service while it was still available.  

But then, the trouble began. Charter Communications is my cable provider and in my experience they have terrible customer service. First, I was given a 8-12 time window for someone to show up, and no one ever did (strike one). Then I called tech support and got routed to a call center in the Phillipines. The rep there had no way to get in touch with the technician because she said her communication link was down, and to call back later (strike two). :down: 

Finally, at 4:00pm the service technician had arrived. I had made so many phone calls (finally getting in touch with the local service dispatcher - but I'm still not sure how), that both the installer AND the technical supervirsor came to visit. They had the cards, but they had no idea that there were DVR's with cable card slots. They were completely dumbfounded by my S3. They had installed them in TV's before but never DVR's. So I explained to them how it worked, assuring them that, yes indeed, my DVR did accept two cards.  

I walked them through the Tivo screens after the cards were inserted and they got the Host ID numbers give to Charter in order to activate them. After about a 20 minute phone call between them an Charter (on my phone), the cards were recognized and started to "work". But I can only get non-premium channels. I can get all normal "broadcast" channels, plus their HD versions, such as PBSHD, NBCHD, etc., but no Showtime, no Discovery HD and no Comedy Central! These channels are all part of my current subscription package, and work fine over my regular cable box supplied by Charter.  

After a lot of back and forth on the phone, they determined that the Charter equipment was not working properly with the cable cards. They said they would be back tomorrow with new cards, and they would work to solve the problem until it was resolved

Without being an expert, I don't see how new cards would fix the problem, especially since they admitted that the problem was with the Charter system. But I'll play along until they get it fixed. 

Well, now it's tomorrow and I just got a call from Charter saying that the technician had called in sick and would not be able to make it today, and they rescheduled it for tomorrow.  

I'm trying not to be too upset about it, but Charter has one unhappy customer right now. Let's hope they don't reach strike three.

I'd be very interested to hear from other Charter subscribers who are trying to set up their S3. Send me a note or post and let me know how it goes.


----------



## Sepia

Hi-Bred said:


> I'd be very interested to hear from other Charter subscribers who are trying to set up their S3. Send me a note or post and let me know how it goes.


What city/state are you in? Here in the Los Angeles area, it was absolutely painless to install the two cards with the only minor glitch being that the "test channels" only showed one or two channels, but once I completed guided setup, all the channels were working including HBO-HD, Discovery-HD etc...

More often then not, these types of problems are usually a misprogramming on their end.


----------



## Hi-Bred

Sepia said:


> What city/state are you in?
> 
> More often then not, these types of problems are usually a misprogramming on their end.


I'm in Altadena (upper Pasadena). I hope it is just a matter of "re-programming" their cards, although the* tech manager * who visited me claimed to know nothing about what Charter does to the cards.

I'm hoping he does his homework and comes back with the right ones!

BTW, non-premium "basic" HD is coming in fine now. In fact, right now I'm replaying a S3-recorded HD documentary by Robert X. Cringely about digital TV, and it looks awesome!. Unfortunately, the show is dated 1998...


----------



## cotton168

I don't know Sepia because when Charter came to install on my Tivo, I got the same thing as Hi-Bred. I could only get the basic cable channels and none of the premium package that we've had for so long. The Charter person on the phone said it was due to the cards and that I had to get new ones so I scheduled another appointment for next Wednesday. Looking forward to getting this thing fixed once and for all. The pictures on the HD versions of broadcast channels look great!  I cannot wait to start recording those instead of the regular ones.


----------



## cotton168

tux said:


> Thanks. I called back today and did not mention TiVo at all. Went smoothly this time. My appointment is on Tuesday.
> 
> I also got a reply from Charter's online customer support in which they assured me that Charter does support the S3.
> 
> BTW, on the TiVo homepage is a feedback form for CableCARD experiences with cable companies. I reported my case yesterday. Maybe we all should. It could help TiVo work with Charter to get their people trained.


Hey tux, glad to see that you were able to get the appointment without any hassles this time around. Yeah, sometimes, Charter can be a real pain in the behind.  Also interesting to see that they say they do support the S3s. That is wonderful to hear, but still does not explain why so many people here are experiencing CC problems wtih their units.  I think I'm going to do the feedback form so that TiVo can get Charter up and running. 

Good luck on your install!!!


----------



## StefanB

Hi All,

I got my CableCards installed in my Series 3 yesterday. Went pretty smoothly, did a firmware upgrade and all seemed to be working.

Now a day on both cards are showing 'Waiting for CP Auth' and while I get some HD channels (HBO, Showtime) others are not working (TNTHD, UniversalHD).

I've spent 2 hours on the phone with Charter and they don't seem to be able to fix this issue. I've scheduled a tech visit for Tuesday so we'll see.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Stefan


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Ive had many problems and started a new thread to see if there is a correlation between different providers. Follow the link, youll see what I mean.

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4408993#post4408993

Thanks


----------



## dominovm

Wooo! Success...Well only half way. I just had my third Charter visit and after an hour and a half we got one card completely working, and figured out why the first five card installs didn't work. Apparently when Charter gets the cards in they have to do two things, program the cards and activate them to work with their system. The cards were programmed, but not activated to work with the Charter system (none of the countless people at charter seemed to notice this or even know what the tech was talking about when he mentioned this...A supervisor in the warehouse was the person who finally figured this out). When the new card was installed, it only took about ten minutes to start working.
After we got the card working we installed the "bad" cards to see if there was a difference. It turns out that under the "SA CableCard CP Screen" under "PowerKey status" all the bad cards say "Ready: waiting for EMC". The working card just says "Ready". It says this even before it was activated by the cable company. Cable company is bringing me another card later on today. I don't know if this helps anyone but I thought I'd share.

By the way...All the bad cards (even though they were from three different visits) were all the same bin. The working card was an older card from a different bin.


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## cotton168

Nope, I just checked the CP screen for both cards and they all say "Ready" under the PowerKey Status. Still cannot get the HD premium channels working.


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## etsolow

Just finished up with my Charter CableCARD install in Madison, WI. It took the (subcontracted) tech about 3 hours and multiple phone calls, and lots of hold-time, and lots of encouragement from me, but we were able to get the cards activated and functioning in the end! His initial reaction was "Oh, we don't support TiVos" but I talked him into giving it the ol' college try! 

(I still have one problem that I don't think is CC-related, or maybe it is - who knows? Both TNT-HD and Discovery-HD show either blank black "searching for signal" screens or occasionally show some very broken up video. I didn't notice that these two channels weren't working until after the tech left. I called in and the CSR "hit" the cards again, which made no difference... I'm going to try re-running my cable from the wall, then I guess call in and get a tech out here again to check signal strengths...!)

E


----------



## Slappy

Thanks for info Dominovm- very helpful. I've just spent the afternoon/evening trying to figure out what's wrong with my cable cards. Installer couldn't get them working before he left. I called into the TWC office and after waiting on hold, I was told that the cards I had weren't properly authorized for their cable head unit. I figured it was just their wild guess/BS, but based on your post- I was able to verify. I'm getting the same error, so it looks like that is actually the case. Now I just have a to wait another six days for new cable cards, new technician, etc.....


----------



## Hi-Bred

dominovm said:


> ... It turns out that under the "SA CableCard CP Screen" under "PowerKey status" all the bad cards say "Ready: waiting for EMC". The working card just says "Ready". It says this even before it was activated by the cable company. ...


My screen says:
Decryption status: *No ECMs detected*
PowerKey status: *Ready*

Yet, I still do not get my premium HD channels (and yes, they come in fine on the old box). I only get the "Basic" HD channels, such as KCETDT

Screen shots: http://www.bridgespublishing.com/tivo/

Does anyone know what an ECM is?


----------



## Hi-Bred

I'm sure the good folks at Charter would never resort to something as low as this, but...

I can't help but think that they're afraid of losing their DVR rental business, and are intentionally giving out cards that won't work fully with the TiVo S3 and then blaming it on TiVo, banking on the theory that their subscribers aren't technically savvy enough to figure out that it's actually Charter's problem and not Tivo's.


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## cotton168

Interesting theory, but I really don't think Charter would stoop that low. Wish I knew what an ECM meant, but I have no clue whatsoever.


----------



## IPingUPing

Hi-Bred, I have to go with Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.


----------



## Hi-Bred

IPingUPing said:


> Hi-Bred, I have to go with Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.


Agreed. They have showed ample quantities of that. I was really just kidding - for anyone who thought I was really serious


----------



## ChuckyBox

Hi-Bred said:


> I'm in Altadena (upper Pasadena). I hope it is just a matter of "re-programming" their cards, although the* tech manager * who visited me claimed to know nothing about what Charter does to the cards.
> 
> I'm hoping he does his homework and comes back with the right ones!


Hi-Bred, you are blazing a trail for a couple of us in the same Charter territory. I have them coming out Thursday afternoon, and another guy posted in this thread that he has them on Wednesday. (My original appt. was also for Wednesday, but it had to be cancelled and rescheduled for a reason that is incomprehensible and bizarre, even for the f**k ups at Charter.)

Anyway, if you need to apply more pressure, be sure to tell them you know for a fact that they are going to have to do at least a couple more of these installs next week, so they better get it figured out.


----------



## cotton168

LOL ChuckyBox! Yes, I have them on Wednesday of next week even though I could have scheduled a day earlier (have other commitments so couldn't make the time). I think they might be going crazy now that people who are getting the S3s need the CC installs. It really does seem like a lot of people have bought the S3s and need CCs in them. Wonder if we will have any luck with Charter next week?


----------



## ChuckyBox

cotton168 said:


> LOL ChuckyBox!It really does seem like a lot of people have bought the S3s and need CCs in them. Wonder if we will have any luck with Charter next week?


I'm glad you put the little sarcasm guy at the end of your post, because otherwise I would have had to ask when was the last time anyone had any luck with Charter ever. About the only thing for which they have demonstrated a consistent level of competence is raising prices.

Hopefully we can nag, harass, bully or cajole them into making these cards work for us, but I don't have much hope for getting it going on the first try or two.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Hi-Bred said:


> I'm sure the good folks at Charter would never resort to something as low as this, but...
> 
> I can't help but think that they're afraid of losing their DVR rental business, and are intentionally giving out cards that won't work fully with the TiVo S3 and then blaming it on TiVo, banking on the theory that their subscribers aren't technically savvy enough to figure out that it's actually Charter's problem and not Tivo's.


Im with you on that. Im wondering if the suits are in a smoky dark room saying,,,,, lets act like we dont know how to make it work. Dont tell the front line CSR and if pushed go out and make a half you know what attempt. Lets, not make sure all our ducks in a row and see if those who want cards go away. They had it there way concerning cc TVs and it worked ( I went away and many others) but it seems more and more like it that they dont want it to work, BUT know if they refuse flat out across the board that could get them in hot water. I dont think its total stupidity, which is how it seems to be as of now. I also think they will come around if pushed, and may have to be pushed hard. they have to, we have the FCC ruling. GO US


----------



## octomonkee

ChuckyBox said:


> Hi-Bred, you are blazing a trail for a couple of us in the same Charter territory. I have them coming out Thursday afternoon, and another guy posted in this thread that he has them on Wednesday. Anyway, if you need to apply more pressure, be sure to tell them you know for a fact that they are going to have to do at least a couple more of these installs next week, so they better get it figured out.


Yeah, I'm in Pasadena, and I've got 'em coming out on Wednesday. I'll post the results (or lack thereof) after my "experience." Don't want to sound too negative, so I'm gonna hold out some hope and keep my fingers crossed!!! 

I'm gettin' a little antsy...I want my HD!


----------



## Horrortaxi

ThePlungerMan said:


> Lets, not make sure all our ducks in a row and see if those who want cards go away.


If I were a nickel and diming cable company that didn't want to change the status quo this is exactly what I'd do. I'm not saying they are doing that, they might just be inept rather than evil, but you know they make more off set top boxes than CableCARDS so evil is certainly an option. My plan for dealing with them is to give them their PVR back even if the CableCARDs don't work the first time. If they can't make my Tivo work with all my channels then I'm going to give them back too. I'll live with expanded basic until they can make everything work the way I want it to. They run the risk of me learning to accept life without family tier, premium tier, movie tier, and high def tier. They run the risk of me realizing that buying shows from iTunes is cheaper than from them. Basically they can make CableCARDS work flawlessly in my Tivo or they can make about 40% of what I now give them. I hope they're not too short-sighted on this--assuming that the CableCARD problems are due to something more than stupidity.


----------



## bsather

The very knowledgeable and courteous Charter Tech showed up at 1:20 PM and he got right to work. Tested the signal strength, read thru the S3 instructions and proceeded to install the cards. The cards were brand new, Motorola with 4.21 firmware. Everything went good, although the premium and HD Tier were not working...so he decided to insert card #2 and then when the hit was sent, both cards were tuning in all channels. He was here a awhile...2 hrs 40 min, mainly waiting on hold for tech support to send the hit to the cards. Mentioned that having them both in at the same time and initializing them together worked as far as pairing them. Was very patient and willing to learn, as he suspected more customers would be wanting the S3 over the Moxi.


----------



## ZeoTiVo

Hi-Bred said:


> I'm sure the good folks at Charter would never resort to something as low as this, but...
> 
> I can't help but think that they're afraid of losing their DVR rental business, and are intentionally giving out cards that won't work fully with the TiVo S3 and then blaming it on TiVo, banking on the theory that their subscribers aren't technically savvy enough to figure out that it's actually Charter's problem and not Tivo's.


That would require Charter to be Evil Genuises. I think Occam's razor points to Charter just not knowing how to setup a cable card correctly and then I do agree that they would not throw too much effort into figuring out the right process to get a 3rd party DVR working and then get training out on that


----------



## jdmass

I had an interesting experience ordering cards from Charter in the Worcester, MA area (Westboro, to be precise). I called and said I'd like to order 2 cable cards and return a box, and the very polite person I was speaking with said, "No problem, do you want a technician to come out or would you like to pick up the cards yourself". I was very surprised as most of what I've read has been that charter requires a truck roll. I asked him about the procedure, and he said that when I went to the office, they would provision the cards, and I can just take them and install them. Since I'd rather do it myself anyway, I said that I'd pick them up. So, I'm expecting my S3 on Friday, and will pick up the cards and let you know what happens. Any bets on whether this will work out? BTW, I never mentioned Tivo and he didn't ask about where they were going.


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## cotton168

I'm not going to bet on this one because sometimes its a hit and miss.  Good luck on your install jdmass and give us an update when you get everything up and running.


----------



## bobafett86

etsolow said:


> J
> (I still have one problem that I don't think is CC-related, or maybe it is - who knows? Both TNT-HD and Discovery-HD show either blank black "searching for signal" screens or occasionally show some very broken up video. I didn't notice that these two channels weren't working until after the tech left. I called in and the CSR "hit" the cards again, which made no difference... I'm going to try re-running my cable from the wall, then I guess call in and get a tech out here again to check signal strengths...!)
> 
> E


The problem you are descibing is usually a signal/ingress issue here in madison. You should call in a tech to check your signal levels and your splitter set up. This is pretty easy to fix once the problem is found. I really suspect this issue to be a signal issue and not the Tivo.

Curtis 
Madison Area Quality Assurance Tech III


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## Leo_N

bobafett86 said:


> The problem you are descibing is usually a signal/ingress issue here in madison. You should call in a tech to check your signal levels and your splitter set up. This is pretty easy to fix once the problem is found. I really suspect this issue to be a signal issue and not the Tivo.
> 
> Curtis
> Madison Area Quality Assurance Tech III


Nice to see you here bobafett, I remember seeing you being very helpful in the Moxi thread over at AVS.

Had a little scare with charter myself this morning, woke up to find a message on my voicemail. Well, only half of it. Had the dreaded feeling I was getting my CC install tomorrow morning canceled. Called in and found out they now do a call the day before they show up to confirm. What a relief!

*crossing fingers for smooth install tomorrow*


----------



## bobafett86

I hope it all goes smooth also. Let me know if you like the HD picture quality better with the Tivo or the Moxi. I am real tired of the 8 hours of recording HD time. Thinking about the Tivo. I like the option to latter on add a sata drive. I believe that Tivo won't keep promising this update and then never doing so. I want my storage.


----------



## Sepia

hmmm...so today my premium HD channels (HBO, Discovery, HD-Net, etc...) stopped working (intermittently).

I went into the Cablecard settings and tested the channels on Cablecard1 and Cablecard2, cablecard 2 works perfectly and gets all the channels, but not cablecard1.

I called Charter and they could not do anything over the phone, so they are sending someone with a new cablecard to see what he can do.

Just thought I'd share my experience. I'll keep you posted on what happens with the visit on Thursday.


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## Leo_N

Charter tech just left. Success!!!! This is in Pell Lake, WI. 4 out of 4 cards were good, he had extras in case, but never needed them. Was at my house for about an hour and a half. First 10-15 minutes were outside checking levels and stuff before even starting. He pretty much let me run the remotes for getting between menus quick.

This was his first install of an S3 and also the person on the other end who was plugging the numbers in that he read off hadn't heard of the S3 either.

But anyways, I am now in 4 tuner TivoHD goodness!!!!!


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## cotton168

Congrats Leo_N! It's great to hear that your Charter was able to get the HD running on their first try and with 4 CCs. That is unbelieveable. Here's to hoping that Wednesday will be my last time of having Charter out here.


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## ThePlungerMan

I just got off the phone with an old friend who is a sup at charter. After 3 unsuccessful CC installs he tells me that, Yes the single card tuners are cable lab certified, but not the S3 Dual CC unit are not cable card certified yet and until then its wait and see for Cable labs to send the appropriate software etc, to them,
I told him that sound like a bunch of BS. He going to make calls and call me back. 
I also told him I dont think he was lying to me but that he was lied too.

He also said if he had the names and numbers of those successful install for Charter he could call them and find out the skinny. I told him just call the city and state. He said yeah might work but actual names would be better. If you want to email me I will keep you info on the down low but if you dont I understand. Thanks


----------



## Navarre

How is this the first time most of these techs are hearing about this thing? Does no one keep up with new tech?


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## TK421

bobafett86 said:


> I hope it all goes smooth also. Let me know if you like the HD picture quality better with the Tivo or the Moxi. I am real tired of the 8 hours of recording HD time. Thinking about the Tivo. I like the option to latter on add a sata drive. I believe that Tivo won't keep promising this update and then never doing so. I want my storage.


bobafett, let me second the welcome. I had a Moxi for a while and followed the thread on AVS and I remember your contributions. I'm in the Madison market as well.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

ThePlungerMan said:


> I just got off the phone with an old friend who is a sup at charter. After 3 unsuccessful CC installs he tells me that, Yes the single card tuners are cable lab certified, but not the S3 Dual CC unit are not cable card certified yet and until then its wait and see for Cable labs to send the appropriate software etc, to them,
> I told him that sound like a bunch of BS. He going to make calls and call me back.
> I also told him I dont think he was lying to me but that he was lied too.
> 
> He also said if he had the names and numbers of those successful install for Charter he could call them and find out the skinny. I told him just call the city and state. He said yeah might work but actual names would be better. If you want to email me I will keep you info on the down low but if you dont I understand. Thanks


Hi PlungerMan. First off I would like to thank you for hanging in here. I get the impression youre a spectacular human being. If I was a single woman I would scam on your wonderful self.
Here is a news clip from Cable Labs, hope this helps. Again your awesome and thanks.

TiVo Product Verified as Digital Cable Ready

Louisville, Colorado, April 6, 2006CableLabs® announced today that TiVo has successfully achieved verification status for the first Digital Cable Ready (DCR) product. The Tivo product was verified for compliance in a recently concluded test wave held at CableLabs.

The approval by CableLabs allows Tivo to build and deploy a CableCARD-enabled DCR digital video recorder (DVR), and enables consumers to enjoy unidirectional digital and high-definition (HD) cable programming without the need for a set-top box. More than 400 digital television models from 22 different manufacturers now have been verified or self-verified for compliance with the DCR testing program. We're excited to see the innovation that is possible in Digital Cable Ready products, said Mike Hayashi, Chairman of the OpenCable Certification Board, and Senior Vice President, Advanced Engineering and Technology, Time Warner Cable.

CableLabs' testing is conducted to show compliance with the DCR test suite. Verification or certification indicates that the DTVs have shown compliance with the DCR test suite, but does not verify conformance with all applicable specifications, FCC rules, intellectual property licenses, or any other legal requirements applicable to DCR products, nor does it imply any subjective measure of product performance. Product claims are solely the responsibility of the company making the additional claims.

Founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry, Cable Television Laboratories is a non-profit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those advancements into their business objectives. Cable operators from around the world are members. CableLabs maintains web sites at www.cablelabs.com; www.packetcable.com; www.cablemodem.com; www.cablenet.org; and www.opencable.com.

CableLabs®, DOCSIS®, CableHome®, PacketCable, OpenCable, OCAP, CableCARD, DCAS, Go2BroadbandSM and CableNET® are marks of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

ckoble said:


> Spoke with Carla again today in the Charter Western Division Office (CA, OR, WA) and relayed to her the conversation with Van (one of the Tech Leads). She said that she was going to find out what the status was and give me a call back soon. I told her that we have at least one Charter customer (in another area) that has been successful and we would be more than happy to provide this information to them to find out if there are any similarities between the systems at all that can be gleaned. So... still waiting! Still lovin the TiVo. Not ready to send it back yet!


Howdy ckoble,
Where are you on this cable card debacle, did you give up? havent heard from you for days. Thanks.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

sent this to charter's web site,

Below this is the email I sent that you didnt respond to. Below that is the email you sent back to me regarding my original complaint, informing me that everything was going to be working great, just in case you forgot me. I have a call into the Cable Franchise Board here in Long Beach Ca. Be afraid, be very afraid. Ha ha ha.
Heres a catch up. 
That old friend called me up today, (the supervisor at Charter) and told me single tuner cable card devices are certified by Cable Labs, but not dual tuners like the Tivo Series 3, again stating this device has not yet been certified by cable labs. Here is the press release form Cable Labs stating this not to be true. 
http://www.cablelabs.com/news/pr/2006/06_pr_tivo_dcr_040606.html 
Your thoughts please, or am I on the ignore and dont respond stage of your, thanks we love you and want you to be a happy customer, customer service programs PROGRAM FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Just got off the phone with a savvy sounding head tech dude in charge of the Charters southern region here in sunny so ca. Sounded encouraging and said will know more in a day or two. They were in the process of syncing up the cards so they can be auth to accept signals (while in the S3) from there head end, hence why all channels not coming in. Stay tuned. I know you all love me so no need to send any encouraging comments.. Thanks.


----------



## bobafett86

Hey Leo N,

Do you have HD, if so do you think the picture quality is the same as the Moxi or better then the Moxi. I like the ability to hook up and external antenna, because that's the only way I see us getting Fox in HD. This sinclair and NFL networks battle is, in my opinion, never gonna end. I truly understand both sides of the battle, but I love football and I want to watch my football in HD. Plus the World Series is on Fox. Oh well, you need to let me know about the picture quality.  Plungerman I am sorry that you still don't have any resolution. I hope it gets figured out quickly.


----------



## ChuckyBox

ThePlungerMan said:


> I know you all love me so no need to send any encouraging comments.. Thanks.


We're all still here PM, don't worry. It sounds like you are making progress. A few more of us So. Cal. types will be getting installs this week, so if it isn't working soon, there will be a lot more complaining voices in the Charter folks' ears. And if they make Chucky mad, he's going to drive down to their offices with a whole big truckload of whoop-ass.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

bobafett86 said:


> Hey Leo N,
> 
> Do you have HD, if so do you think the picture quality is the same as the Moxi or better then the Moxi. I like the ability to hook up and external antenna, because that's the only way I see us getting Fox in HD. This sinclair and NFL networks battle is, in my opinion, never gonna end. I truly understand both sides of the battle, but I love football and I want to watch my football in HD. Plus the World Series is on Fox. Oh well, you need to let me know about the picture quality.  Plungerman I am sorry that you still don't have any resolution. I hope it gets figured out quickly.


I know you asked Leo but my 1st impression is the S3 is a little better in pic quality. It was just one HD program I had recorded both Moxi component and S3 HDMI in, and the comparison was a quick look at both in one scene. Not enough to be conclusive for sure. The S3 HDMI connection seemed a tad better. A good hi def pic is hard to tell the difference. Thanks, and you too Chucky.


----------



## Leo_N

bobafett86 said:


> Hey Leo N,
> 
> Do you have HD, if so do you think the picture quality is the same as the Moxi or better then the Moxi. I like the ability to hook up and external antenna, because that's the only way I see us getting Fox in HD. This sinclair and NFL networks battle is, in my opinion, never gonna end. I truly understand both sides of the battle, but I love football and I want to watch my football in HD. Plus the World Series is on Fox. Oh well, you need to let me know about the picture quality.  Plungerman I am sorry that you still don't have any resolution. I hope it gets figured out quickly.


Sorry it took so long to respond. As far as picture quality goes, I'd say:

Analog: TivoS3 looks much better
Digital: TivoS3 looks better
HD: TivoS3 looks slightly better (the Moxi already looked pretty good here)
I should add here that I am connecting the S3 with HDMI and the Moxi was with component, but I don't think that would have mattered as much as the difference in picture is.

Don't give up hope on FoxHD from Sinclair, I almost had and about a year ago, they finally came to some agreement, my bill didn't go up and we all of a sudden got FoxHD. Not that saying that helps while football is on in High Def and you can't get it though I suppose.

Have to say now that the S3s are up and running, I have a nice perma-grin. It is good to be back with Tivo doing all my recording!!

By the way, the Moxi gave me one last stab on its way out the door. Last night it lost 2 HD channels that screwed up like 3 recordings during primetime. It normally just takes a call to Charter to have them reset the box and like 20 minutes later they are back. But that is usually not until I have already missed some programs. Heh, yep, sure am going to miss that Moxi!


----------



## rmracing

After reading all the posts, I was pretty nervous, but the installer came to the door today with 2 cards. When I pointed out the Tivo, he looked a little nervous, but then decided he'd be the first to do it, so off we went. After putting in the first cable card, the Tivo rebooted by itself, a little strange. It couldn't find any channels. Then we put the second cable card in and got an error on the screen, can't remember exactly, but something like 161-4. But after that, both tuners worked fine. Still running well, waiting to fill the guide so I can start my season passes.

My Moxi gets moved into my wife's office.  Now I have 3 HD Moxis at a Tivo. Hopefully soon it will be 4 Tivos and no Moxis. 8 cable cards, sounds a little extreme!


----------



## ThePlungerMan

rmracing said:


> My Moxi gets moved into my wife's office.


I wish i had a wife, at least i think i do.
Moving on, that hi tech dude called AGAIN, about an hour latter. Said he was in this thread, (I told him he should read these posts to get a lay of the land) he sounded sincere once more, and did his best to reassure me, he is on it and knows he has to be, as more and more customers are going to be asking for these CC set ups.
So where I sit tonight, I feel confident.


----------



## Leo_N

rmracing said:


> After reading all the posts, I was pretty nervous, but the installer came to the door today with 2 cards. When I pointed out the Tivo, he looked a little nervous, but then decided he'd be the first to do it, so off we went. After putting in the first cable card, the Tivo rebooted by itself, a little strange. It couldn't find any channels. Then we put the second cable card in and got an error on the screen, can't remember exactly, but something like 161-4. But after that, both tuners worked fine. Still running well, waiting to fill the guide so I can start my season passes.
> 
> My Moxi gets moved into my wife's office.  Now I have 3 HD Moxis at a Tivo. Hopefully soon it will be 4 Tivos and no Moxis. 8 cable cards, sounds a little extreme!


Those errors seem normal during the install. Seems to be before all the info is entered on the headend computer system. I was getting those errors on all 4 cable cards I had installed today, but once the install was done, all 4 cards were good to go and have been working great.


----------



## cotton168

Hey PlungerMan! Very grateful for all that you have done for us.  Keep us posted on the goings on with the Charter guy. He seems to be willing to help at least so that is a good sign. The Charter people are coming on Wednesday to redo the CCs so we'll see how much progress they get. Hopefully it will be the last of them. 

rmracing, glad to hear that the Charter in your area had things running very well. Congrats!!!  8 CCs is rather extreme, but what can you?! LOL


----------



## CATV GUY

I just wanted to point out that Cable Companies have wanted Consumer Electronics to be compatable with their networks for a long time. Cable Companies have had to buy tuners with proprietary software for years. This has costed Millions of dollars. 
The new line of consumer electronics that can be supported by installing a cable card is now starting to take off. This makes good business sense. As cable companies start to gain competition from alternative providers, they are looking for ways to reduce costs. One is to reduce spending on customer premise equipment. 
There is a disconnect between the cable companies and consumer electronics companies. New devices are being released weekly under the assumption that all cable networks are updated with the latest software to support these devices and the personnel who set up the accounts are trained in the special needs and configurations of these devices.
This will need to improve immediately, and the customers, such as yourselves are supporting these companies in improving their processes by establishing the consumer demand for this change. Another point is this is a relationship that is owned by the consumer electronics companies and the cable companies. Both would benefit by working more closely together.
Cable companies are interested in the success of this technology. The thought that cable companies want to provide converters to customers to make more money is not true. Converters cost $500 to $800 per unit and become obsolete within two years. Doing some quick math will tell you that the ten or so dollars per month that the company charges its customers for the lease of this converter pays back in 6+ years. Not good for companies trying to make money.


----------



## Sepia

CATV GUY said:


> Converters cost $500 to $800 per unit and become obsolete within two years.


How do you come to that conclusion? The only thing that would make a cable box obsolete is if new technology emerges (such as HDTV which made series 1 and series 2 TiVo obsolete in my view). The cable/TV industry moves very very slowly (look how long it took for HDTV to take hold), so I don't see new crop of HDTV DVRs being obsolete by any means for years to come.

I can see these boxes staying in operation for 5-10 years if not longer. Heck some people I know who still did not go for HDTV still use their Series 1 TiVo from 7 years ago!

At $12/mo for a Moxi, supposing it lasted 7 years, and not accounting for any fee increase, a Moxi box would have brought $820. If its cost was truly $800, I grant you, that's a long time to get back your money, but I doubt it. These boxes are probably closer to sub-$500 in cost to the cable companies. Think about it, the Series 3 which is leaps and bounds better than a Moxi RETAILS for $800, so a Moxi should sell in bulk to the cable companies for $200-$400 IMHO. But I don't know for sure...


----------



## Sepia

OK, so Charter is sending a technician on Thursday to fix my first cablecard (slot 1) which is unable to get the premium channels (HBO-HD, Discovery etc...). The slot 2 card works perfectly.

Anyone know what the procedure should be to fix the 1st slot or even swap it out with a new card?

Should I have the tech remove both cards, place the new one is Slot1, get it working then place the 2nd one is slot2?


----------



## cotton168

Sepia, your best bet would probably be to call TiVo tech support. They might be able help you out on that end. Good luck to you!!! Charter is coming by tomorrow and both of my CCs are not able to get the HD content of the premium channels.


----------



## CATV GUY

(Obsolete) You need not look any further than the hard drive capacity and the consumer demand for more. Reasonable pay back is 3 years or less. This is not an opinion it's fact.


----------



## Sepia

CATV GUY said:


> (Obsolete) You need not look any further than the hard drive capacity and the consumer demand for more. Reasonable pay back is 3 years or less. This is not an opinion it's fact.


Hard drives can be swapped out, not need to junk the entire unit. Heck I just upgraded by Series 3 to 100HD hours...

Edit: Not to mention the capability to expand via external drives....


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Im happy. Alldachannelsarecomingin. Yippee. There was the tech at my house, the head tech dude and some lady with a bubbly personality in the background hitting the card while also another guy on another phone somewhere else in their company in conference with them and me. The first card after hit got channels licitly split, the second card was hit by the other guy and again by her I think, but not instant succes, but within 2 minutes all the channels came in. I asked him, so why do you think it worked this time? He said It was about getting all the people on the same page. They were kind, apologetic, sincere. I am very pleased. Anyway all is finally working here as far as my Tivo S3 goes. Good luck to the rest. Hang in there, make calls and point them, (the powers to be) to this thread. Asta Lavista Baby.

FYI, The cards that didnt work before were left in and when they (charter) came out they just made sure all the letters and numbers were correct and hit away. IOW we didnt pull them out and go one card at a time. My guess is they figured out the proper way to sync there stuff to there card in my stuff.
Im glad I didnt give up, but sure wanted to. Thanks again Charter.


----------



## bobafett86

Thanks for the responses on the picture quality. Wanna hear something funny, whenever I do a CC install and I got the 161-4 error I knew things were gonna be GOOD TO GO. It's a common error and that I am unsure of, but when it goes up I know the pairing was successful and things would be up and running real soon with all the channels properly working.


----------



## cotton168

Congrats PlungerMan on finally getting things working. 

bobafett86, I'm suring hoping I get a 161-4 error tomorrow. I cannot wait to start receiving the other HD channels along with the premium ones. I'm starting to miss mine right now.


----------



## Leo_N

Congrats Plungerman!

I know plenty of people have been having problems, but it seems the cable companies are starting to catch on. They were probably as unprepared as can be for this cablecard onslaught. I'd imagine there are probably tons of headends around the country who hadn't done one cablecard install previous to this rollout.

I know Tivo somewhat warned them through that trade rag ad, but I'd imagine that only the higher-ups saw those articles and they probably just blew it off, and didn't send any info down the pipeline to the people that matter.


----------



## ckoble

Well after a long and hard-fought battle (not really--- just several phone calls) with Charter Long Beach, they have solved the cablecard problems! PlungerMan... thanks for sticking this one out with me... good luck to all!


----------



## cotton168

Congrats ckoble! Could you describe what they did?


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Thanks, Leo_N, ckoble, cotton168.
Cotton, ckoble is in my neighborhood, so my story is his story.


----------



## cotton168

Oh, I see. Thanks PlungerMan!!  It really is wonderful to hear that people are getting their CCs fixed by Charter or at least Charter is paying more attention to what they need to do to get this issue fixed. Let's hope that their technicians start receiving the proper training on how to install CCs in the future since I don't think the S3 will be going any where any time soon. I absolutely love the S3 with its Season Passes and would never think about giving it up now.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

cotton168 said:


> Oh, I see. Thanks PlungerMan!!  It really is wonderful to hear that people are getting their CCs fixed by Charter or at least Charter is paying more attention to what they need to do to get this issue fixed. Let's hope that their technicians start receiving the proper training on how to install CCs in the future since I don't think the S3 will be going any where any time soon. I absolutely love the S3 with its Season Passes and would never think about giving it up now.


Yeah its a great dvr. I am confident that Charter is on board with this. If you have a problem call Charter and point them to the folks at Long Beach Charter. I got the feeling from the head end of Charter, (spoke to several of them over this) they want this to works. They went at it and had it figured out in 2-3 days. I wouldnt worry about success with these cards now.


----------



## cotton168

That's great news to hear PlungerMan. I think I will be directing them to Charter in LB if they have problems come tomorrow. Cannot wait to post my success.


----------



## Hi-Bred

ThePlungerMan said:


> Im happy. Alldachannelsarecomingin. Yippee.


I too got all my channels and full HD with only one cable card present. The other card was permanently saying "Downloading Firmware..." and both receivers were disabled. So I waited (way longer than the "up to 40 minutes" it clamied on-screen), and finally took the card out.

After a little while all the channels came back with just the card in slot 1. Later when technician N put the 2nd card in, the same thing happened. So my tech support supervisor "Tito" has assured me that the card would work in the future, they just needed to get the programming fixed on their side. Basically the same story as before, but he did confirm to me that the problem was being discussed "at the company director" level and that they were working along with Tivo to solve it.

[Discussing the fate of the Ark] 
Maj. Eaton: We have top men working on it now. 
Indiana: Who? 
Maj. Eaton: Top... men.


----------



## hizhonor

A coworker was talked out of ordering his cablecards from Charter in St. Louis yesterday. The CSR informed him that he'd only receive one each of the various premium channels such as HBO, SHOtime etc.

I trust this is just another example of a poorly informed rep. Anyone in the St. Louis area having any difficulties receiving all of the available channels (with the exception of the PPV and Indemand products) with a cablecard? 

Thanks,

Steve


----------



## Horrortaxi

hizhonor said:


> Anyone in the St. Louis area having any difficulties receiving all of the available channels (with the exception of the PPV and Indemand products) with a cablecard?


I'd love to get only 1 HBO and 1 Showtime! Where do I sign up? Can I also pay 5 or 6 bucks a month for them? I think that would be very nice.

If it's working properly there's no reason you wouldn't be able to get all your premium channels using a CableCARD. I'd say that the CSR was feeding your friend a line, but I don't think most CSRs care enough about the company to lie. Most likely it was a statement made out of ignorance.


----------



## TK421

Ok, so I sent an email inquiry about CC in Madison, and got the response that they weren't offering them yet. I think there was someone in this thread that had a successful install, right? I'd like to be able to tell them about my "friend" who already has them working when I read them the riot act.


----------



## cotton168

Hey TK421, I did a little searching for you and found that Leo_N had success with his Charter CCs. He is located at Pell Lake, WI (don't know where that is, but maybe you do). For his post, he is on Page 7 and is post #194. Good luck with that.


----------



## zoiks

hizhonor said:


> A coworker was talked out of ordering his cablecards from Charter in St. Louis yesterday. The CSR informed him that he'd only receive one each of the various premium channels such as HBO, SHOtime etc.
> 
> I trust this is just another example of a poorly informed rep. Anyone in the St. Louis area having any difficulties receiving all of the available channels (with the exception of the PPV and Indemand products) with a cablecard?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Steve


I live in St. Louis and have Charter for my cable provider. I had a Charter tech install 2 cable cards in my Series 3 Tivo last Friday, and I receive all channels (including premiums) except PPV and InDemand. So the CSR was just plain wrong. The Charter tech told me I was the 2nd person for whom they'd installed cable cards in a Series 3 Tivo. It took him about a half hour and works fine for me.


----------



## cotton168

That's great news to hear zoiks! BTW, welcome to the forum!


----------



## cotton168

Okay, Charter just came by and to my dismay he did not bring ANY CCs.  I was upset, but since I'm sick, I just listened to him talk about CCs. Little did he know that the FCC required Charter to carry CCs when he told me that they might be getting rid of them because they were causing so much problems. He said that he could bring 10 CCs to my place and find that most of them don't work which is actually fine with me because then he and the rest of the Charter techs won't have to come to my house any more. He then continued on talking about getting a Moxi box which is so easy, but instead of debating with him, I just told him that I spent a lot of money on the S3 and want it working with the CCs in them. He then rescheduled me for tomorrow so that means that I'm not going anywhere tomorrow until the tech comes with hopefully a whole bunch of CCs.


----------



## Leo_N

cotton168 said:


> Okay, Charter just came by and to my dismay he did not bring ANY CCs.  I was upset, but since I'm sick, I just listened to him talk about CCs. Little did he know that the FCC required Charter to carry CCs when he told me that they might be getting rid of them because they were causing so much problems. He said that he could bring 10 CCs to my place and find that most of them don't work which is actually fine with me because then he and the rest of the Charter techs won't have to come to my house any more. He then continued on talking about getting a Moxi box which is so easy, but instead of debating with him, I just told him that I spent a lot of money on the S3 and want it working with the CCs in them. He then rescheduled me for tomorrow so that means that I'm not going anywhere tomorrow until the tech comes with hopefully a whole bunch of CCs.


Hah, Moxi! Don't let them get that thing anywhere near your house! It has just as many problems as the cablecards in my experience. I had one for about a year and a half. (only way to record HD at the time) So far my cablecards have been a joy compared to that pile.

Stick to your guns and throw that FCC mandate in their face. Somewhere on this board and on the Tivo site is a list of CableLabs certified devices, with the S3 on there. I'd print that out too and show it to them.

Good luck, I'm sure eventually you'll get it going. Hopefully they don't make you too miserable in the process.


----------



## cotton168

Thanks Leo_N for the encouragement. Yeah, when I heard about the Moxi, I almost threw up on him. LOL I did stick the FCC mandate in his face so at least he knows about it now.  I just hope tomorrow that they bring 10 or more cards so that they can just play around with it. I don't want them breaking my S3 because I have heard and experienced the CC eject button acting weird.


----------



## adventurelarry

The Charter Rep. is at my house now. (really from East Coast Cable & Communications - subcontractor I guess) He said he did an S3 install yesterday. I am going to take that as a good sign. I will update later.

--Larry


----------



## ChuckyBox

cotton168 said:


> Okay, Charter just came by and to my dismay he did not bring ANY CCs.


So let me get this straight. The Charter installer came to your house to do a cablecard install, but didn't bring any cablecards with him? Did he recognize that as an incredibly stupid thing to do? What did he think he was going to do when he got there?


----------



## zoiks

cotton168 said:


> Okay, Charter just came by and to my dismay he did not bring ANY CCs.  I was upset, but since I'm sick, I just listened to him talk about CCs. Little did he know that the FCC required Charter to carry CCs when he told me that they might be getting rid of them because they were causing so much problems. He said that he could bring 10 CCs to my place and find that most of them don't work which is actually fine with me because then he and the rest of the Charter techs won't have to come to my house any more. He then continued on talking about getting a Moxi box which is so easy, but instead of debating with him, I just told him that I spent a lot of money on the S3 and want it working with the CCs in them. He then rescheduled me for tomorrow so that means that I'm not going anywhere tomorrow until the tech comes with hopefully a whole bunch of CCs.


The tech that did my install said he usually a "phone guy", and that my appointment was the first time he ever installed cable cards. He said a guy at the office checked the cable cards to make sure they would work though, and both did work fine. It took him longer to call in and wait on hold to get the cards activated than it did to actually install them.

By the way, I live in the county about 1/4 mile from Charter's headquarters, so maybe I get some different techs than you do.


----------



## adventurelarry

We are stuck at a screen: failed to load 'pod:///utils/cpdiag.html

We shall see what happens.


----------



## Leo_N

adventurelarry said:


> We are stuck at a screen: failed to load 'pod:///utils/cpdiag.html
> 
> We shall see what happens.


That doesn't sound good. Never had that error during the install of my 4 cards.


----------



## adventurelarry

Leo_N said:


> That doesn't sound good. Never had that error during the install of my 4 cards.


Well, he just left. One card gave the above error, and the second card gave a failure to load error

The cards were Scientific Atlanta PKM600

He is going to come back on Friday with some new cards and try again.



--Larry


----------



## TK421

cotton168 said:


> Hey TK421, I did a little searching for you and found that Leo_N had success with his Charter CCs. He is located at Pell Lake, WI (don't know where that is, but maybe you do). For his post, he is on Page 7 and is post #194. Good luck with that.


Ah, search thread, what a concept (yeah, I'm a little slow sometimes)...it looks like earlier in the thread etsolow had a successful install in Madison, so I'll run with that.

I'm also going to look at TiVo's feedback form and submit something to them. (I realize that's not to resolve the issue itself, but to provide them with info on install difficulties).


----------



## Leo_N

adventurelarry said:


> Well, he just left. One card gave the above error, and the second card gave a failure to load error
> 
> The cards were Scientific Atlanta PKM600
> 
> He is going to come back on Friday with some new cards and try again.
> 
> 
> 
> --Larry


Charter must have multiple suppliers, because I am pretty sure all 4 of my cards were Motorola branded.


----------



## drevnock

TK421
I am in Fort Atkinson. I am on the second attempt on Thursday.
The tech I had the 1st time was useless ( sub contractor).
I am hoping against hope that something good comes of this and I get a tech that gives a ^&(^%.

He actually said upon leaving that he gets 7.00 per card install and it wasn't worth his time to try and get them running. 

They won't happen next time.

Good luck !


----------



## Navarre

drevnock said:


> TK421
> I am in Fort Atkinson. I am on the second attempt on Thursday.
> The tech I had the 1st time was useless ( sub contractor).
> I am hoping against hope that something good comes of this and I get a tech that gives a ^&(^%.
> 
> He actually said upon leaving that he gets 7.00 per card install and it wasn't worth his time to try and get them running.
> 
> They won't happen next time.
> 
> Good luck !


WTH? THey aren't paid hourly?


----------



## etsolow

My guy said it was a flat fee per install too, so installs like mine that took 2.5 hours kill him.


----------



## bobafett86

TK421 said:


> Ok, so I sent an email inquiry about CC in Madison, and got the response that they weren't offering them yet. I think there was someone in this thread that had a successful install, right? I'd like to be able to tell them about my "friend" who already has them working when I read them the riot act.


I talked with a dispatcher this morning and trust me we have cable cards (Over well over a year now) and we do install them into the Tivo's. Try calling the 800 number again.


----------



## TK421

bobafett86 said:


> I talked with a dispatcher this morning and trust me we have cable cards (Over well over a year now) and we do install them into the Tivo's. Try calling the 800 number again.


Thanks, bobafett, I'll do that. It's a little funny in that the availability of cable cards wasn't even my question, my question was about what channel packages are available when you have a cable card.


----------



## bobafett86

Leo_N said:


> Charter must have multiple suppliers, because I am pretty sure all 4 of my cards were Motorola branded.


Yes some headends run Motorola Set Top Boxes and CC's and some run SA Set Top Boxes and CC's. Here in Madison it's Motorola.


----------



## dominovm

ThePlungerMan said:


> Just got off the phone with a savvy sounding head tech dude in charge of the Charters southern region here in sunny so ca. Sounded encouraging and said will know more in a day or two. They were in the process of syncing up the cards so they can be auth to accept signals (while in the S3) from there head end, hence why all channels not coming in. Stay tuned. I know you all love me so no need to send any encouraging comments.. Thanks.


 PlungerMan

I too Live in Charter LA territory. I have had three visits and have been working with the Charter Supervisor to get these damn things working. Last weekend we got them completely working. The tech's name is Mavi, and they have been sending him out to do cable card installs almost exclusively (he actually called me today to tell me that he had yet another tivo install). He told me that he found that none of the SA cards dated 4/06 have been registered on the Charter system (and he has been trying to get them off their buts to register them). He told me that all the cards dated 2005 in their warehouse have already been registered, and since my visit, he has had no problems getting them up and running within fifteen minutes. He stopped by yesterday and got my second S3 working in about ten minutes. He has been bringing other techs to show them how to do the tivo installs.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

dominovm said:


> PlungerMan
> 
> I too Live in Charter LA territory. I have had three visits and have been working with the Charter Supervisor to get these damn things working. Last weekend we got them completely working. The tech's name is Mavi, and they have been sending him out to do cable card installs almost exclusively (he actually called me today to tell me that he had yet another tivo install). He told me that he found that none of the SA cards dated 4/06 have been registered on the Charter system (and he has been trying to get them off their buts to register them). He told me that all the cards dated 2005 in their warehouse have already been registered, and since my visit, he has had no problems getting them up and running within fifteen minutes. He stopped by yesterday and got my second S3 working in about ten minutes. He has been bringing other techs to show them how to do the tivo installs.


Excellent. 
If anyone has problems in the Ca. area, I suggest you point them to Long Beach and me in this forum. I did that to them, using another success story from Charter in another state, and it seemed to work, or it was a coincidence that it worked, because soon after that they got it to go. Also obviously stating the FCC ruling.


----------



## octomonkee

Pasadena, CA reporting in...

Ok, cableguy got here @ 6pm; left @ 8pm. Was 2 hours late from end of scheduled appt window of 2pm - 4pm. 

Anyway, got one cablecard working out of 5. Got many "updating cablecard firmware" screens of death. Finally, the last cablecard worked and "bonded" w/ Charter people on the other end. Now, I've got to schedule another appt for them to come out and install the other cablecard.

My guy was a total novice (as most are since this is a new thing for them), he wanted to bypass the the Tivo installation instructions all-together. The other guy that he was "pinging" my cablecard to had no idea about the S3 Tivo, either. Charter really needs to get their act together quickly. My guy said he was getting paid overtime to be here. It's going to cost Charter a lot of money if these guys don't pow-wow soon and come up with a unified solution.

I'm just happy right now w/ the one cablecard working. At least I get to watch tv. Haven't been able to play around w/ the HD channels yet because had to start recording a show right @ 8pm when it all got hooked up (remember, no dual tuners for me since I've only got the one cablecard installed). I'm crossing my fingers that the HD channels are going to show up. When I was flipping through the channel set up, it didn't look like I was getting my HBO, etc. I'll check for that again in the morning.

Will report back when my other cablecard gets installed.

Update: just found out I'm not getting channels above 100 (except for the HD local channels). Urgh!  New cableguy (requested one w/ some experience w/ S3 -- Ha!) coming out on Friday. Call window 8am to 5pm. Double Urgh!


----------



## Leo_N

You know, so far the only downside to the S3 has been the lack of PPV (well I guess ONDemand too, but they have never had it enabled for me yet, so I don't miss it.) What I am thinking is hopefully Charter will get smart and give us some easy way to do our PPV buys through the internet. Some type of password protected website would be nice.

I haven't tried yet, but I suppose we can use the automated phone system to buy them, but that takes SO D**N LONG to go through that mess. Anyways, hopefully all of us here without the easy quick-buy option will get them off their butts to do something like that.

Don't want to miss my UFC!

Now that I think about it, website buying would be perfect, you can schedule and buy the event and then use TivoCentralOnline to schedule to record it, and not even be home.

If any Charter big wigs are lurking, look into this!


----------



## cotton168

That's a good idea Leo_N! Website purchasing of PPV stuff would be wonderful. Once you pay for it, they give you a code to punch into the system and off you go, but I think we might need CC 2.0 to do a two-way or something like that. The one-ways that we have now won't work.


----------



## cotton168

I seriously cannot believe how many most Charter posters there are now. Welcome everyone!! 

Hey ChuckyBox, yeah, I really had no comment whatsoever when the guy showed up to my place without any CCs. I was really dumbfounded but too damn sick to even start *****ing at him about it. I realize that he is only an employee, but come on!!! However, at least tomorrow we will see how things go. I know that you also have an install tomorrow so I wish you all the best.

One question for everyone...If the guys take out my CCs and put in new ones, do I lose all the recordings that are already saved on my TiVo or no? This is really important because I have not transferred them onto a DVD yet.


----------



## ChuckyBox

cotton168 said:


> I know that you also have an install tomorrow so I wish you all the best.


Thanks, but based on Octomonkee's experinece, I'm not optimistic. It sounds like they're going to have to figure out the headend magic just like the Long Beach group did. I'm just going to keep my cable box hooked up to my Series 2 box until they get this sorted out. My appointment is this afternoon, so let me know how the morning goes -- if they struggle with it, see if you can get the tech on the other end of the phone to call his equivalent in Long Beach.



> One question for everyone...If the guys take out my CCs and put in new ones, do I lose all the recordings that are already saved on my TiVo or no? This is really important because I have not transferred them onto a DVD yet.


Changing cable cards should have no effect on anything you have stored on the box.


----------



## Horrortaxi

ChuckyBox said:


> if they struggle with it, see if you can get the tech on the other end of the phone to call his equivalent in Long Beach.


That's a good idea. I've got my appointment this afternoon and if we run into trouble I'll suggest that. Whether they'll do it or not is a different matter, but I'll suggest it.


----------



## Leo_N

cotton168 said:


> That's a good idea Leo_N! Website purchasing of PPV stuff would be wonderful. Once you pay for it, they give you a code to punch into the system and off you go, but I think we might need CC 2.0 to do a two-way or something like that. The one-ways that we have now won't work.


I was thinking more along the lines of buying on the web, with them automatically authorizing the PPV, without any further intervention. We would need to go through and do some type of setup/application to begin with, but after that simple login/password would be good enough. Should be easy enough to implement, really no different than calling in and ordering.


----------



## cotton168

ChuckyBox, thank you very much. You put me at ease a bit (still don't know whether today will be a success or not).  It's 9:00 and the cable guy is still not here. I heard that it is an entire day job, but I'm hoping that it isn't.

Leo_N, that sounds like a good idea. Now we need to see whether or not the cable guys would do it. 

PlungerMan, when you got your CCs working, what does the Auth Status say? Mine says "Waiting for CP Auth" which I guess is the problem.


----------



## Sepia

Charter will be at my place in 15 minutes (just spoke to dispatch). My cablecard in slot 1 does not get the premium HD channels, the one in slot 2 works perfectly.

Not sure what he'll do, I'll let you guys know.


----------



## rmracing

Sepia said:


> How do you come to that conclusion? The only thing that would make a cable box obsolete is if new technology emerges (such as HDTV which made series 1 and series 2 TiVo obsolete in my view). The cable/TV industry moves very very slowly (look how long it took for HDTV to take hold), so I don't see new crop of HDTV DVRs being obsolete by any means for years to come.
> 
> I can see these boxes staying in operation for 5-10 years if not longer. Heck some people I know who still did not go for HDTV still use their Series 1 TiVo from 7 years ago!
> 
> At $12/mo for a Moxi, supposing it lasted 7 years, and not accounting for any fee increase, a Moxi box would have brought $820. If its cost was truly $800, I grant you, that's a long time to get back your money, but I doubt it. These boxes are probably closer to sub-$500 in cost to the cable companies. Think about it, the Series 3 which is leaps and bounds better than a Moxi RETAILS for $800, so a Moxi should sell in bulk to the cable companies for $200-$400 IMHO. But I don't know for sure...


I don't know that they ever becoming obsolete. I still have the original Philips 14 hour Tivo (upgraded with a 60gig drive and network adapter) feeding my slingbox, I use it everyday from work!


----------



## cotton168

Okay, Charter just left my house and the new CCs he brought were no good at all. They both said that they were updating new firmware. Instead of waiting, he went to check the lines and basically said that he would be here Sunday in the morning and this time, he was going to make sure the warehouse checks the CCs before he brings them over. Very nice tech who said he did work on an S3 on Sunday and everything was perfect. Makes me sad that I have so much trouble.  His name is Louie. He'll be back Sunday so I'll give you more info. I told him that if he or the dispatch are having issues, to call LB Charter since they figured out what the problem was. 

Good luck Sepia on your CC install! At least you have one CC working.


----------



## Sepia

cotton168 said:


> Okay, Charter just left my house and the new CCs he brought were no good at all. They both said that they were updating new firmware. Instead of waiting, he went to check the lines and basically said that he would be here Sunday in the morning and this time, he was going to make sure the warehouse checks the CCs before he brings them over. Very nice tech who said he did work on an S3 on Sunday and everything was perfect. Makes me sad that I have so much trouble.  His name is Louie. He'll be back Sunday so I'll give you more info. I told him that if he or the dispatch are having issues, to call LB Charter since they figured out what the problem was.
> 
> Good luck Sepia on your CC install! At least you have one CC working.


Louie?? That might be the same guy who came to my house in Glendale, CA.

We solved the problem. I posted about it here:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4426904#post4426904

The short story, it turns out it was the signal strength that was not enough to receive authorization from the cable company. We increased the signal strength and the "hit" was then successful... 

Good luck to you!


----------



## Slowdrag

I think I read every post in this thread, but I can't find the answer. 

Can anyone in the Long Beach, CA area that's had S3 cablecard setup success please post the firmware number and card model (motorolla, SA) that worked? 

They're coming to me on Monday. I wanna make sure they come with the right cards. 

I've got nothing but tales of woe dealing with Charter installers. 

Thanks.


----------



## cotton168

Oh Slowdrag, I feel for you! Hopefully you will have a better technician coming to you on Monday. Best of luck to you.  Great question that you asked too. Maybe when the tech comes or before they come, you can tell them to double check the CCs before in the warehouse before they come. That way, it won't be such a waste of time for everybody. Good luck!


----------



## cotton168

Sepia said:


> Louie?? That might be the same guy who came to my house in Glendale, CA.
> 
> We solved the problem. I posted about it here:
> http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4426904#post4426904
> 
> The short story, it turns out it was the signal strength that was not enough to receive authorization from the cable company. We increased the signal strength and the "hit" was then successful...
> 
> Good luck to you!


Yeah, his name was Louie and yes, he was very nice and double checked all the signal strengths coming from the house and outside as well. He said that the signal strengths were great but just couldn't get the CCs to work. Instead of yours only working on one, both of my CCs are not working so I don't think it is a line issue. He even changed my cables for me to double check but to no success.  I do have a MonsterCable PowerCenter HTS1600 that the cable from the wall is connected to and goes out to the Tivo. Do you think that could be the problem? I'll try disconnecting it and making the cable go directly into the S3, then have Charter hit the card and finally repower the TiVo. I'll post back to see if that solved anything. Thanks Sepia for your suggestion!


----------



## drevnock

Well 1 out of 2 ain't bad! At least that is something!
3 hours on the phone with dispatch. It was definately on their end. Finally got a hold of someone there that said"oh I know how to do this" ( she was on speaker )and with in 10 minutes she had it going. WOW! Who ever you are I love you !

2nd slot card would not pair they are coming back Saturday to swap it out( only had 2 cards)
This was a great tech .. he even gave me the direct number to their central service and the extention of who I needed to talk to should there be more trouble .. FINALLY progress !


----------



## cotton168

You are truly lucky drevnock! I think I might need to get their direct number so that I can call them and not have to have them come over all the time if it is just something they need to do on their end.


----------



## Horrortaxi

Charter left here a little while ago. I don't know if I had Louie or not, but the guy was really cool and he knew what he was doing (tech #2100 in case anyone still has their work order and wants to check if this was Louie). The whole visit was probably under 30 minutes. The cards paired fine and channels started to trickle in. I repeated guided setup and found that I don't have my basic channels 1-98. I think I have everything from 99 and up. I'm going to bypass my surge protector & splitter and have them hit the cards again. Hopefully that'll do it.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

cotton168 said:


> PlungerMan, when you got your CCs working, what does the Auth Status say? Mine says "Waiting for CP Auth" which I guess is the problem.


Sorry aobut your troubles, hang in there, they'll get it right.
It still says,,,, Waiting for CP Auth, even though they work.



Slowdrag said:


> Can anyone in the Long Beach, CA area that's had S3 cablecard setup success
> Thanks.


I have SA, sorry dont know the firmware. Besides i don't think that is the problem, it seems to be all about proper syncing from them to us.Your in LB, they have a hand up on it now. I would expect you'll be OK, but them again you never know. Expect the worst and hope for the best. Good luck


----------



## ChuckyBox

Had my Charter visit today too. Nice tech, but he'd never done a cablecard before. I had to help a bit here and there, but everything seemed to go okay, they authorized the cards, and the test channels came in fine. But after the guy left, I noticed that I wasn't getting all of my channes (big surprise there), and one of the cards is popping up the MMI(?) screen (the one that wants you to call the cable company).

So I, like everyone else, will pull the splitters out of the line, and have Charter re-hit the cards tonight when I get home.


----------



## Horrortaxi

I think I'm just going to stop worrying for a while and chill. I ran my cable straight into the Tivo and called Charter to hit the cards. Nothing changed instantly but when I started talking to the next level support person I started getting channels trickling in again. She told me that sometimes it takes up to 24 hours for everything to come in after a CableCARD install. You'd think that analog/basic would be the first thing to come in rather than the last, but whatever. It seems to be resolving itself slowly but surely.


----------



## cotton168

Okay, I tried bypassing everything and it still won't work.  Hopefully Sunday will be it. Good luck Horrortaxi!


----------



## eric_mcgovern

My visit is tomorrow, in San Luis Obispo, CA. Lets just hope it goes well! I had a cable card "attempt" in January with my TV (was stuck on "updating firmware"), and the tech left telling me they don't work. However the same tech hooked up my MOXI several months later and said they had all the cable card issues resolved and they install like cake now. I know we are on a SciAtl system here.


----------



## Horrortaxi

I just had to be patient. I've got all my channels on both tuners now. Sweet!


----------



## cotton168

eric_mcgovern, good luck on your CC visit tomorrow. I hope everything works very well for you. 

Horrortaxi, you are one lucky guy! It's great to hear that you got all your channels working now.  Congrats!


----------



## cotton168

ChuckyBox, hey, did you get to play with your S3 after you got back? Any news?


----------



## Buran

Having install done here in St. Louis between 1 and 5 pm Saturday. Wish me luck!


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Buran said:


> Having install done here in St. Louis between 1 and 5 pm Saturday. Wish me luck!


break a leg


----------



## quango

hizhonor said:


> A coworker was talked out of ordering his cablecards from Charter in St. Louis yesterday. The CSR informed him that he'd only receive one each of the various premium channels such as HBO, SHOtime etc.
> 
> I trust this is just another example of a poorly informed rep. Anyone in the St. Louis area having any difficulties receiving all of the available channels (with the exception of the PPV and Indemand products) with a cablecard?


I am able to get all of the channels in my packages (extended basic, HBO/Cinemax/Showtime, HD Tier) fine here in Clayton (Overland lineup), though it took two trips to get it done...

The first guy (Monday) put in the cards and took off; apparently he never called in the activation info to Charter. The second guy (Wednesday) got everything sorted out, even checking the signal strength and replacing some crappy splitters. No real hassles... we had the 161-4 error come up on one card, but it cleared itself after a few minutes.


----------



## aggets

appt between 10:00 and 12:00 today my fingers are crossed!


----------



## aggets

sorry i should have posted my location sun prairie wi (madison market) new at posting in forums hopefully i wont offend anyone not up to speed on the ettiqute


----------



## TK421

aggets, definitely report back on how it goes, there are at least a couple other people on this thread from Madison.


----------



## ChuckyBox

cotton168 said:


> ChuckyBox, hey, did you get to play with your S3 after you got back? Any news?


As of this morning, one of my cards appears to get most, if not all of the correct channels (notably it is getting HBO, Showtime, and the HD stuff). So that appears to bode well for the future. The other card is still not working. I called Charter this morning and after going through a series of menus and an annoying voice-prompted self-diagnosis procedure, I ended up talking to an idiot that barely spoke english and who wouldn't believe that they could activate the card from their equipment (the solution offered was for me to go to the local office and get another cablecard). She talked to her supervisor who sounded as clueless as her. So I've got an appointment for another installer call next Tuesday, but I'll try a few more calls before then.

I've only got the general Charter customer service phone number. If someone has a better, more direct number for the western San Gabriel valley, please post it or PM me.

Now back to the battle...


----------



## drevnock

Aggets,
Keep on them, there are a few in the Madison central office that know what is going on.
If you can get them to talk with Megan at dispatch you will be running in no time. She seems to know exactly what & how to set up your account on their end.

She doesn't work on Saturday... and of course that is when they are bring my 2nd card out!

Good Luck!


----------



## jdmass

I received my S3 yesterday, and despite 2 charter CSRs telling me that I could install the cards myself, when I went to the local office to pick up the cards, they said "we don't have cards, they require an install". So after a call to Charter, I arranged to have them installed this morning (no install charge because their call record showed that the CSRs had given me wrong info about self-install).

The installer got here at 9:45am and was very nice and willing to help, but told me that he had never done ANY kind of cable card install before. I said that's okay we'll work through it.

He gave me the cards and I wrote down the 2 lines of info on each card (SA PowerKey cards), and told him we need to do these one at a time. We installed the first card, it came up and we got the CableCard ID and Host ID from the screen. He then called charter and they asked for the first line of info printed on the cards. They then told him to wait for a call from another support group who, I assume, handles actual cable card activation.

Immediately, the card info on the screen changed status to a message like "this card is not configured". When the guy from the support group called, we gave him the CC ID and Host ID and then a few minutes later went to test channels -- analog and in-the-clear HD channels worked, but no digital or premiums. The tech said that the administrative folks coded it wrong. 

He wanted us to do the other card. This time when the config screen came up we couldn't immediately get to the CC ID and Host ID because the charter person had entered the card info discussed previously and the card was showing as not configured. After a while, we got the "updating firmware" message, and waited about 15-20 min., and it finally completed (nail-biting time). The ID info was now accessible and we completed this.

The installer then called back the charter admin and after another 15 min. or so finally got digital and premium (with Starz added in which I don't subscribe to). I tested a bunch of stations and he left at about 11 am (1 hr 15 min. most of the time on hold).

I then completed guided setup, and when I began experimenting I found that a small number of HD channels (CineMaxHD , the new StarzHD, Universal HD, and TNT HD) would tune in, but within 2 seconds the screen would drop to the CC ID/Host ID screen. It appears that the station tunes in, and then the CC decides its not authorized and shuts it off. Bummer!

I called Tivo, spoke to a friendly and reasonably knowledgable CSR and after some diagnostics (checking signal strength, etc.), she said that the problem appeared to be with the cable co. and that I should call them back and ask to hit the cards again or to replace the cable cards!!!

Reluctently, I called Charter, who tried hitting the cards, but still same problem. They then paged the installer, who called me. We both think it is a problem with authorization and he is speaking to his supervisor, and I am currently waiting for a call back from him.

So at this stage, the install is a partial success. Hopefully it will get straightened out. So near and yet so far!

The moral of the story is check EVERY channel before the cable guy leaves.

Has anyone else seen anything like this?


----------



## cotton168

Hey ChuckyBox, actually, if you talked to the tech guy, he could actually make an appointment for you with possibly a better time. I'm getting Louie again on Sunday because he doesn't work on Saturdays. He knows a lady who knows how to deal with CCs. When I see him on Sunday, I'll ask him for a direct line to get to their tech support without having to go through the automated hell. Yeah, that automated thing totally annoys me because they don't have an option for CCs and so they think it's the TV that is programmed wrong. Yeah right! Good luck with everything!!!


----------



## cotton168

jdmass, good luck with your cable guy. Could it also be the signal strength? At least you get to see the HD channels before they poop out on you.


----------



## aggets

TK421 said:


> aggets, definitely report back on how it goes, there are at least a couple other people on this thread from Madison.


tech arrived 15 min early was not real thrilled to see my tivo said this was his third one first one took an hour second 3.5 hours he got the card working in slot 1 after 1 bad card and much runaround from dispatch (dispatch told him to call headend headend told him to call dispatch) finally got card 1 working completely card 2 is not working yet dispatch told them to wait awihle so tech left said he would call or stop back later another appt. may be nescarry. tech was here 2 hours he spent approx 1.5 of those hours on hold with dispatch which i think is just ridiculous how does charter expect happy customers and happy installers when 75% of techs time is spent on hold? tech seemed knowledgeable but clearly frustrated at all the time spent on hold will update later on cc 2 status


----------



## eric_mcgovern

Tech just showed up...he mentioned they had a few TiVo installs. He tried one yesterday and it didn't work, so keep your fingers crossed!


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## drevnock

Eric or aggets 
did you happend to get his tech ID #?
I am wondering if this i sthe same guy I had....

Thanks


----------



## rfolsom805

My Charter rep just left and we successfully installed both cards. And it only took 6 hours!

Here's what I've learned. When you make your appointment, make sure the rep brings SEVERAL cards with them. We went through 6 cards to find two that worked. We're not sure why there were so many that didn't work, but we did find that the newer the card, the more likely it was to work.

Here are some tips. When you install the card, if you get the screen that lists the Cable Card ID and the Host ID, then you're pretty much OK. First you need to reboot the box (we rebooted BEFORE re-running the setup). Then run setup. In between each reboot and running the setup, Charter sent a "super EMM" to the card which is apparently some sort of "ping" to wake up the card.

We had the most problem with the second card. We initally got the "this card is updating the firmware" message on the second card. We waited for four hours and this message never went away. (we later learned through another tech, that this is a common message for TV's that use CableCards and that it usually NEVER sucessfully downloads the firmware). We tried this with TWO cards and niether worked. The THIRD card we tried we got the Cable Card ID and Host ID screen right away.

So we had Charter send a super EMM, rebooted, sent another Super EMM and then re-ran the setup again. This time it worked!!!!

Now here's some bad news. Apparently there are a handful of channels that can not be broadcast through the card. We've all heard about the PPV channels, but apparently our local Charter office transmits some non-PPV channels alongside the same packet with the PPV channels. We "think" this is why these channels aren't working. For instance the LOGO chanel in San Luis Obispo, happens to be sent in the same packet with the Playboy Channel, and some PPV chanels....so LOGO (which is a premium channel) doesn't play. We had the same problem with four other channels.

So I've only been completely up and running for about 30 minutes, so I'm sure I don't know all the bugs yet...but for all you Charter subscribers that are being told it can't be done....it CAN...you just have to find a patient Charter Rep.

--Robert


----------



## aggets

drevnock said:


> Eric or aggets
> did you happend to get his tech ID #?
> I am wondering if this i sthe same guy I had....
> 
> Thanks


no i didnt but he was real skinny red hair anyway second card finally picked up all channels! am rerunning setup now im pumped


----------



## drevnock

YEP !
Jason. That was him.... pretty good tech.

I hope to have the same good luck with card 2 in the morning !


----------



## eric_mcgovern

Well the Tech just left, and everything worked smooth as could be. Spent most of his time on hold. Dispatch was very nice, as was the tech. He followed the directions to the letter. Waited for hits, and both tuners now get all the channels.

Wierd thing is, my TV has a cable card slot and we tried to install one in there. Everything went smoothly, but never got the hits. All the pay channels just said "not authorized". I wasn't too concerned to I told him just to take the card and I will try another day. 

Woohoo!


----------



## eric_mcgovern

Really wierd issue occuring.

FOXHD isn't showing up as FOX, and when I tune to the channel is shows it as 1080i (even though I know it is 720p). When I search for programs, they only show up on the SD FOX station.

The wierd part? This same problem occured on the cable provided MOXI DVR. 

Should I contact TiVo about this?


----------



## TK421

If it was happening with the MOXI, it sounds like something on Charter's end. I guess I'd start with them.


----------



## eric_mcgovern

TK421 said:


> If it was happening with the MOXI, it sounds like something on Charter's end. I guess I'd start with them.


When I had the MOXI I contacted them about three times regarding this, and looks like it still isn't fixed (I had the MOXI about 6 months ago). I wish I discovered it when the tech was here. I know its happening all over my area as someone else I know has the same problem with with their MOXI.

Right now, I am just tickled that the cable card install went so smooth! Setting up my season passes right now


----------



## eric_mcgovern

rfolsom805 said:


> Now here's some bad news. Apparently there are a handful of channels that can not be broadcast through the card. We've all heard about the PPV channels, but apparently our local Charter office transmits some non-PPV channels alongside the same packet with the PPV channels. We "think" this is why these channels aren't working. For instance the LOGO chanel in San Luis Obispo, happens to be sent in the same packet with the Playboy Channel, and some PPV chanels....so LOGO (which is a premium channel) doesn't play. We had the same problem with four other channels.
> 
> --Robert


I am in San Luis Obispo, and had the install this morning. Mine took about 2 hours and most of that was on hold with dispatch. The actuall install would have taken about 30 minutes otherwise. We didn't have to really do anything but read off the numbers, get the signal sent, and everything worked.

What are the other 4 channels? When I tuned to LOGO I received a message to call Charter. When I tune to KKFXHD, I just get a blank screen. Do you get this as well?


----------



## jguinn

Things don't seem to be any better here in Johnson City, TN either. I have been a cable modem subscriber for a while, but have used DishNetwork for my television programming. After my TiVo S3 shipped out, I called Charter to arrange for digital / HD cable to be enabled for my account. I requested four CableCARDs (assuming that one or two probably would not function properly) and one standard-def set-top box. 

I arranged my work schedule to accomodate the 1:00 - 5:00 window today and met the tech around 3:30. Unfortunately, he brought two set-top boxes and NO CableCARDs. He basically told me that in his experience, the cards seem to be working properly on less than 50% of installs in this market (not necessarily TiVo S3). And then he said I could just stop by the local office and pick up my cards. Naturally, when I arrived at the office the lady behind the desk said, "We don't have any, we're not allowed to give them out to customers, and I can't even order one for you until next week." She was very, very old, and I was very, very frustrated so I just left and will try again next week.

Should anything exciting happen, I will continue to post updates. Wish me luck...


----------



## ChuckyBox

rfolsom805 said:


> ....so LOGO (which is a premium channel) doesn't play. We had the same problem with four other channels.


I guess there will be no Xena or Wonderfalls for you. Which is a bummer, because in the big list of Really Great Shows That Spineless Network Programming Monkeys Should Not Have Been Allowed To Cancel, Wonderfalls is easily, easily in the top ten. Of the various teenage-girl-talks-to-supernatural-forces shows that all premiered around the same time, it was by far the best.

Anyway, congrats on the install. I think everyone should be aware that the "updating firmware" screen is the kiss of death, and the card should be yanked without delay.


----------



## octomonkee

OH, THIS IS GETTING RIDICULOUS!

I just got a call (4pm) from Charter about my scheduled appt today. The girl informed me that they're having problems w/ the cablecards and that none of them are working right now so they'd like to come an install a digital box instead.

WTF?!?

So, I explained to her that they are just now telling me this after I've waited at home for 8 hours (my call window is 8am to 8pm) to finally tell me this? I was like, NO WAY...send the guy out. Also, informed her that there have been some working cablecards in my area because I've heard about it here.

Will post more when the guy actually shows up.


----------



## doppler1

Had my CableCARDs installed last Saturday... Installer was a really nice guy, but was having a terrible time getting a hold of dispatch to put in the pairing info and to send a signal. After being here for about 1.5 hours, he said he had to go to another job and would give me a call when he got a hold of dispatch to get the pairing info entered. Estimated it would be about another hour or two before the cards would work.

He finally gave me a call about 3.5 hours after he left saying that the pairing info was entered and that the cards should be working...I check and no, not working. Says he will have them send another hit and after that the cards should be fine; if not call the 800 number...grrr...fine.

Needless to say, the cards didn't work at all that day, so I had to schedule a service call to have the cards installed, which was for today. In the mean time, I had messaged bobafett86 to see if he could help out (since I am in the Madison area). I know bobaffet86 tried to help out on Wednesday, but that still didn't seem to do the trick, so I just figured I would wait until today for the tech.

Tech came today, verified the pairing info with dispatch and had another hit sent to the card and whaddya know, the cards work!

I don't know if bobafett86 gets the credit or todays tech, but either way I am happy, so thanks to bobafett86 and the Charter techs who were out to help - it wasn't as bad as it could have been and no one had any issue with installing CableCARDS into a TiVo...guess my major gripe is the fact that the techs have such a hard time getting a hold of dispatch (and I'm sure the techs are even more frustrated!).

It took a week, but I can now record all of my channels!

Also, I was told by the tech that there had been issues with the CableCARD authorization in this area this week (Tuesday through today apparently), but I don't know...I can only take his word for it...


----------



## ChuckyBox

octomonkee said:


> I just got a call (4pm) from Charter about my scheduled appt today. The girl informed me that they're having problems w/ the cablecards and that none of them are working right now so they'd like to come an install a digital box instead.


I know there are a lot of people in the world who, when confronted with something new or non-trivial, will throw up their hands, declare it impossible, and give up. Charter seems to have hired all of them.


----------



## octomonkee

Well, my tech guy came @ 4:30pm. He was a Charter Telephone guy. No cablecards, no nothing. How do you like that!?!  

He spent some time on the phone w/ dispatch only to inform me that all (yes, ALL) of Charter's cablecards are bad and they have haulted installing anymore (nationwide) until the issue gets resolved -- approx 2 weeks. I just don't get it. I proceeded to tell him that there are Charter subscribers across the country that have had success, and also in my area. That fell on def ears...he didn't know what to say. They also tried to take away the one cablecard that I but I said no even though I'm still not getting the premium channels above 100. I wanted to have at least my local channels. Urgh!

After the tech left I phoned customer service yet again to voice my complaint to the supervisor. It really would have been nice if he would have suggested the credit to my account for the premium channels, but no, I had to ask.

How do you like them apples!

I can't wait! 2 weeks from now I'm gonna be livin' large!!! Ha!
(Sarcasm completely intended)


----------



## cotton168

Oh octomonkee, I'm so sorry to hear about your very bad ordeal. We've all had ordeals like this so don't worry. One way or another this issue that you are having will get fixed. My guy that came on Wednesday also didn't bring CCs even though I told them to bring it. Yeah, like they would ever listen to me!  However, the new tech guy who came on Thursday is coming Sunday and he knows to bring CCs and to double check it in their warehouse before bringing it over. We'll see how that goes. 

To all those that are having issues, hang in there and for those that got their CCs working, congrats!!!! We cannot wait to be enjoying TiVo with no problems!


----------



## octomonkee

thank you, cotton168. Yes, I take a bit of solace knowing that I'm not alone in this craziness. I do, however, have yet another Pasadena update...

Got a call a few minutes ago from a Charter dispatch person working in Irwindale local head office. Good news...they are going to have the cablecards fixed sooner than they originally thought. They're saying Tuesday, Oct 3rd, all of the cards should be "reprogrammed" at the warehouse, and they'll hit the road with them on Wednesday, the 4th. So, my appointment got moved up to Wednedsay. The skeptic in me says not to rejoice just yet. I'll reserve that for Wednesday.


----------



## adventurelarry

adventurelarry said:


> We are stuck at a screen: failed to load 'pod:///utils/cpdiag.html
> 
> We shall see what happens.


My installer came back today. It took 2 1/2 hours and I now have one working cable card. He will be back on Wed. to try for the second.

My tv should be in any day now, things are starting to come together.

I am amazed at how much we, as consumers, go through to get things working the way the should on day one. (That is not a dig at Tivo, rather at Charter and the mediocrity we deal with)

I hope to soon have this all behind me. This thread has been very helpful though. Thanks to everyone here.

--Larry


----------



## darrena

I had my cable cards installed today in Greenville SC. The tech arrived on time and with two Cable Cards. 

He was professional and installed both cards in under an hour with most of the time spent on the phone waiting for someone to activate the cards.

This was his first cable card install but had no problems with it.


----------



## rfolsom805

eric_mcgovern said:


> I am in San Luis Obispo, and had the install this morning. Mine took about 2 hours and most of that was on hold with dispatch. The actuall install would have taken about 30 minutes otherwise. We didn't have to really do anything but read off the numbers, get the signal sent, and everything worked.
> 
> What are the other 4 channels? When I tuned to LOGO I received a message to call Charter. When I tune to KKFXHD, I just get a blank screen. Do you get this as well?


Eric,

I didn't notice the KKFXHD issue, but yes, I only get a blank screen too. On the following channels, I get the message to call charter: 143, 145, 399, 414 and 680. I have an Charter SA DVR box and I get all 5 of those + Fox just fine.... I'm a little ticked about Fox, I thought I'd gone through them all this morning...I must have missed this one.

I'm curious who was your installer? Was it Matt? He's the area supervisor that was at my place this morning...

From what I can tell all the issues are either Charter or CableCard related and not TiVo....Matt (the area installation supervisor) said they've been having a lot of problems with the CableCards.

Robert


----------



## 2big4burb

Had Charter come today. I told them to bring 4 cards, he only had 2. Put them in and got the famous "firmware update screen of death" I left the screen on for 5 hours, but eventually gave up. So I pulled them and reinserted them in different slots (hey, let's have fun with it). Same result though. Charter guy is willing and interested in the challenge and will return with more cards. I'm thinking it's two more visits minimum.

Here's the card info:
Scientific Atlantica
PowerKEY Model PKM600 
03/13/2006


----------



## cotton168

octomonkee said:


> thank you, cotton168. Yes, I take a bit of solace knowing that I'm not alone in this craziness. I do, however, have yet another Pasadena update...
> 
> Got a call a few minutes ago from a Charter dispatch person working in Irwindale local head office. Good news...they are going to have the cablecards fixed sooner than they originally thought. They're saying Tuesday, Oct 3rd, all of the cards should be "reprogrammed" at the warehouse, and they'll hit the road with them on Wednesday, the 4th. So, my appointment got moved up to Wednedsay. The skeptic in me says not to rejoice just yet. I'll reserve that for Wednesday.


Hey octomonkee, I'm glad that we can offer each other support. I think we all seriously need it with what we're going through with Charter.  LOL


----------



## cotton168

adventurelarry said:


> This thread has been very helpful though. Thanks to everyone here.
> 
> --Larry


Here, here, Larry.  Glad that everyone here reports what is going on with their own Charter installs, but it is an awesome place.  Good luck with the second card and I hope everything works out well for you.


----------



## cotton168

2big4burb said:


> Had Charter come today. I told them to bring 4 cards, he only had 2. Put them in and got the famous "firmware update screen of death" I left the screen on for 5 hours, but eventually gave up. So I pulled them and reinserted them in different slots (hey, let's have fun with it). Same result though. Charter guy is willing and interested in the challenge and will return with more cards. I'm thinking it's two more visits minimum.
> 
> Here's the card info:
> Scientific Atlantica
> PowerKEY Model PKM600
> 03/13/2006


Yeah, I think a minimum of 2 visits is the going at this time.  Both of my current cards say 2005, but they have issues with them (can't receive premium channels) so they are going out on Sunday. Good luck to you and I hope you don't get any more firmwares of death!


----------



## eric_mcgovern

rfolsom805 said:


> Eric,
> 
> I didn't notice the KKFXHD issue, but yes, I only get a blank screen too. On the following channels, I get the message to call charter: 143, 145, 399, 414 and 680. I have an Charter SA DVR box and I get all 5 of those + Fox just fine.... I'm a little ticked about Fox, I thought I'd gone through them all this morning...I must have missed this one.
> 
> I'm curious who was your installer? Was it Matt? He's the area supervisor that was at my place this morning...
> 
> From what I can tell all the issues are either Charter or CableCard related and not TiVo....Matt (the area installation supervisor) said they've been having a lot of problems with the CableCards.
> 
> Robert


Actually, it wasn't Matt, but my installer was talking to a Matt who was installing a cablecard in a TiVo! Must have been yours!

I am going to keep pestering Charter over this, because the MOXI does the same wierd things with FOX not being mapped correctly. For whatever reason, the SA boxes can deal with it.


----------



## eric_mcgovern

Well looks like I won't have to bother Charter too much. I tuned to FOX tonight and it came in crystal clear! So now everything is work just as planed!


----------



## cotton168

Great news to hear eric_mcgovern! Hopefully Robert's Fox channel will clear itself up as well.


----------



## Buran

So far so good -- I'd gotten a 1-5pm window, and they came slightly earlier than that. I didn't mind, told them to come over when they called.

It took a bit for the cards to be authed and for the channels to come up, got the -4 error twice, and then the cards had to auth from 2 on up, but so far they seem to be working.


----------



## cotton168

Nice Buran! Can you tell us what area are you from? I believe getting the -4 error is a signal that the cards are working. Getting the "Updating Firmware" message is another story though.


----------



## Buran

I didn't have that problem. I'm in Brentwood, MO. (St. Louis area).


----------



## ChuckyBox

Still no progress to report here. I've had Charter hit the misbehaving card a couple more times, and I've talked about the problem with TiVo techs, but the one card still won't get the premium channels. I have an appointment for an installer to come out tomorrow. I hope he brings a few cards.


----------



## drevnock

SUCCESS !
Everything is finally working as it should!

3 Tech visits.
21 Phones calls to Call Center.
1 call to central dispatch, this # by far is worth its weight in gold.

Some audio drop out and during last nights epsisode of Desperate House wives all fine up until th e ast 15 minutes no useable audio and fractured video.

Not sure what that is about


----------



## Sepia

ChuckyBox said:


> Still no progress to report here. I've had Charter hit the misbehaving card a couple more times, and I've talked about the problem with TiVo techs, but the one card still won't get the premium channels. I have an appointment for an installer to come out tomorrow. I hope he brings a few cards.


Chucky, it sounds like you have the same problem I did on one of my cards (could not receive premiums on it). It turned out to be a low signal problem. The low signal was preventing the "hit" from reaching the cards.

The solution was to go straight to the wall, and increase the signal in other ways too. Make sure your installer checks the signal before he even begins, then have dispatch send the hit again...


----------



## MitchW

I just got off the phone with Charter in Connecticut. I had purchased a second Sony HD TV and wanted to know my options for HD DVR boxes. I asked about the TiVo S3. The person I spoke to said that Charter does not support TiVo with Cable Cards and would NOT install the Cards for me. They said the Scientific Atlanta box to buy costs $ 1,000 but to rent costs $ 12 per month. The Scientific Atlanta box has 160 Gb. They said half the boxes distributed are Motorola boxes for the SAME lease price and only have 80 Gb. I insisted on the Scientific Atlanta box since I already have an SA 8300 HD on my other TV.

In any event the installer used my box for another customer this morning and I am waiting for another SA box for this afternoon. 

This is the first I heard that Charter would not support TiVo at all. I was considering buying an S3 since I am eligible for the $ 200 upgrade for lifetime. This also appears to confirm that the SA 8300 HD can be purchased for $ 1,000 and that is where TiVo probably got their $ 800 price plus $ 200 for the lifetime upgrade.

I had heard there is an SA improved 8350 box with upgraded software elsewhere in the Internet. Charter said they have not heard about that one and would not lease it to me.


----------



## jfh3

MitchW said:


> I just got off the phone with Charter in Connecticut. I had purchased a second Sony HD TV and wanted to know my options for HD DVR boxes. I asked about the TiVo S3. The person I spoke to said that Charter does not support TiVo with Cable Cards and would NOT install the Cards for me.


There are many reports of this. The person you spoke to is mis-informed. The Tivo Series 3 is approved by CableLabs and Charter MUST provide CableCARDs for it.

Call back and talk to another CSR. If that doesn't get you anywhere, call again and say you want to order two cablecards for two TV sets.

The person who will activate the cards on the other end of the phone has no way of knowing if the cards are going into a TV or a Tivo.


----------



## Buran

That's a joke, Mitch. My installers said something about having seen a few Tivos and although they said they don't support TiVo, they did install the cards. "We don't support that" means "go ahead but our call centers can't help you if you have any problems".

I believe the rep probably lied to you because they don't want to lose income from the sale of the boxes. Charter leases the CableCards for $1.50/month (so I pay $3 a month) and then there are fees if you add any additional channel tiers (I added Dig Inf and HD Lifeline, though I think Lifetime may be free), and because possibly they think customers who have TiVos may tie up support needlessly.

Regardless, they are required to support the device, so look into filing a complaint as appropriate, and if you call and are rebuffed again, ask for a supervisor as many times as necessary to find someone who knows what they're talking about.


----------



## cotton168

I haven't heard of that either. However, MitchW, if you want Charter to install the CCs, when you call their tech support just tell them it is for a TV if they ask. There is no need to volunteer any info that they didn't ask.  All the Charter techs that have come to our house didn't have a problem with installing it in the S3. What they were having problems was the CCs themselves. Good luck with that and I am for sure not going to be purchasing an SA box no matter how desperate I am. LOL


----------



## cotton168

Okay, I am now getting upset with Charter now because of the fact that Louie didn't come on Sunday and some dumb butt came. He immediately told me that they were having problems with the CCs and didn't know if they would work. He had 5 CCs in his car, but only brought 1 with him since he said that the other 4 were the same build as that one. He came in and took the two original CCs out and put in that one. When it didn't work, he took off and said that there was nothing that he could do after drinking and eating all the things we offered him.  He did however leave his supervisor's number, but that doesn't work since his supervisor only works Thursday to Sunday. I'm now back in automated voice hell trying to get a tech out to assist me.


----------



## MitchW

cotton168 said:


> I haven't heard of that either. However, MitchW, if you want Charter to install the CCs, when you call their tech support just tell them it is for a TV if they ask. There is no need to volunteer any info that they didn't ask.  All the Charter techs that have come to our house didn't have a problem with installing it in the S3. What they were having problems was the CCs themselves. Good luck with that and I am for sure not going to be purchasing an SA box no matter how desperate I am. LOL


The funny thing is that my installer came and did NOT have an SA 8300 HD with him. I'll have to wait yet another week apparently. The installer said there are very few of those around since demand has soared for that model since Tivo was introduced. Evidently, HD TV's are soaring in sales and the only good compatible boxes are the TiVo S3 and the SA 8300 HD. It appears it is hard to get both.


----------



## 2big4burb

The Charter guy is at my house right now. People have said the Long Beach branch has it figured out. People have also said a tech named "Mavi" has figured it out.

1. Does Mavi work out of the Long Beach branch? 

2. If not, which branch? 

3. What are the names of the Long Beach branch techs that figured it out? 

Thanks


----------



## ChuckyBox

Sepia said:


> Chucky, it sounds like you have the same problem I did on one of my cards (could not receive premiums on it). It turned out to be a low signal problem. The low signal was preventing the "hit" from reaching the cards.
> 
> The solution was to go straight to the wall, and increase the signal in other ways too. Make sure your installer checks the signal before he even begins, then have dispatch send the hit again...


Thanks, I'll make sure he checks that. I did have them hit the card once with the splitter removed, but that didn't help. Maybe the installer will have some tricks to improve the signal. Or maybe he'll just give me a working card.

The weird thing is that the test channels work just fine when I check them through the cablecard menu, so the card must be working. But when I go to those channels on live TV, they're just black.


----------



## johnwillo

1. Got my TiVo S3. Called Charter. Clearly specified "2 Cable Cards." Service person taking call repeated the fact that I needed 2 Cable Cards.

2. Waited 11 days for them to show up with the cards.

3. They show up today... with a digital set-top box.

4. They will come back with the two cable cards... in eight days.

My TiVo subscription will be 2/3 of the way through the 30-day period where I can cancel without penalty before Charter even ATTEMPTS to install the Cable Cards. I'm coming to cable from ten years with DirecTV. So far Charter cable is really losing in the comparison.

This is all in Reno, NV.


----------



## cotton168

Hey johnwillo. Don't give up. The same thing happened to me with Charter here in So Cal. Showed up with a set-top box and preceeded to tell me to get the box instead of the TiVo. I ended up bi#ching to the tech guy who showed up and he was able to get me the cards the following day. If you must, I say complain to the guy that showed up instead of going through the automated hell. Good luck and report back when you get your S3 connected.


----------



## johnwillo

>I say complain to the guy that showed up instead of going through the automated hell

I did that, to the extent that he would listen. He didn't feel any personal responsibility for the problem, since his work order was written for a set-top box. Can't say as I blame him.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

MitchW said:


> snip............This is the first I heard that Charter would not support TiVo at all.
> 
> snip............ This also appears to confirm that the SA 8300 HD can be purchased for $ 1,000 and that is where TiVo probably got their $ 800 price plus $ 200 for the lifetime upgrade.


Then you didn't read this thread or many other threads. Front line CSR are saying that, but we (those who are reading threads) know they are coming around, and do after tellng them aobut the FCC ruling, or getting a supervisor.

Sorry, but appers to confirm that is where they got that price is reaching, far reaching.

P.S. Your the guy with stock in SA boxes huh? or bought Tivo on margin, or whatever you call it when you want a company to fail.
ALL (ALLMOST ALL) YOUR POSTS CONTAIN SA BOXES. I SMELL A RAT.


----------



## ckoble

Well... 
I have to say that I am "somewhat" satisfied with my cablecard experience so far. I am finding a few failed recordings (black screens) and every once in a while when I tune to an HD channel, I get the CableCard Info Screen. 

For the most part things are going well. Picture quality is great. 

Plunger... did you have any of these type of problems as well?


----------



## Largeleon

Here's an interesting Charter event that may help someone in the same situation:

Well, after my install issues, my Tivo S3 has been great for over a week. I turned in my Moxi "P.O.S" on Thursday last week. 

Well, saturday I woke up to no ESPN HD. In fact, I had lost HDNet, HDNET Movies, ESPN HD, Discovery HD, TNTHD and Universal HD. I still had local digitals and ShoHD, HBOHD, CinHD.

I contacted Charter "customer service". The lady proceeded to tell me, after repeated on-holds, that I could not get those above channels without having the DVR. I responded that she was wrong and could she please ask someone else. Finally, I asked to speak to her supervisor. The supervisor was able to get the missing channels back in a couple of minutes. It seems that there was some code needed on my account that allowed me to have th HD Tier. Once she added the code, the channels were added back and I was whole again.

I am so OVER Charter. Their "customer service' is anything except service. I have been lectured, transferred and told no by them so much I really hate them.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

ckoble said:


> Well...
> I have to say that I am "somewhat" satisfied with my cablecard experience so far. I am finding a few failed recordings (black screens) and every once in a while when I tune to an HD channel, I get the CableCard Info Screen.
> 
> For the most part things are going well. Picture quality is great.
> 
> Plunger... did you have any of these type of problems as well?


Hi ckoble,
Read my comments in this thread, 
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=318365&page=1&pp=30 , its about random channel loss, also I get that cable card screen from the cable company for 792 only, tnt hi def channel and dont get it, tnt hi def that is, but do get the regular tnt. OK since no basketball games now. More latter.


----------



## ChuckyBox

Have I mentioned lately how much I hate Charter.

So my fix-it appointment was scheduled for 8-12 this morning. The guy shows up at 11:40 or so. He's clueless. He fiddles around for a while checking connections and serial numbers. Calls in a couple of times and has them re-hit the cards. He calls a supervisor tech, who doesn't have much advice except check the signal. He checks the signal, it's very good. At about the 45-minute mark of this fun, we are about to try a new card when the other guy calls back. Guess what? All the cards are bad. Or there's a problem at the head end. Or both. "We were about to try a new card," my guy says. "Should we do that?" "You can," the supervisor replies, "but it won't work." 

So apparently there are head-end problems that are being worked on. It might be a couple of days, or maybe a week, before it works right. At that point, I guess, we will see if the cards need replacing.

Why did I have to take a morning off work, and the tech spend an hour at my house, just to find out something they must have known for days?

As a small consolation, the tech gave me his supervisor's phone number and told me to call him to find out the scoop before I schedule another appointment.

Frickin' Charter.


----------



## Slowdrag

So the Charter tech arrived at 9:30 and left at 12:30 with no luck. He seemed very knowledgable, and said he'd done four other installs. Two with success, two no success (one of them being mine) thus far. 

He paired the cards with dispatch. That went fine. Data numbers matched and all looked good. Until ... the cards starting searching for channels. Then the box continually hung at the BSOD -- this blue screen being the searching for channels spiral that keeps spinning. 

Anyhow. After 4 hours of them trying to hit the card, dispatch called and told him (as the poster above me was told) that there are problems at the office and that they're working on them.

I was told there are dozens of people know that want cable card because of the Tivo, and that Charter is being inundated with angry subscribers. I was also told I would be getting a credit due to the inconveniece. Yeah, right.

Conclusion: The tech was cool. His name is Alfredo. He said he'd call me back as soon as something was worked out. That's it. Nothing more he could do at the moment. 

I'll keep ya'll posted. 

Chater does suck, yes. But they're the only game in Long Beach, so it's better to be nice to these guys than slam 'em. I think they're working on it ... but weren't up to speed and ready for this windfall. 

P.S. He also to me the Moxi boxes are complete piles of crap and that most of them come back. But we already knew that.


----------



## MitchW

ThePlungerMan said:


> P.S. Your the guy with stock in SA boxes huh? or bought Tivo on margin, or whatever you call it when you want a company to fail.
> ALL (ALLMOST ALL) YOUR POSTS CONTAIN SA BOXES. I SMELL A RAT.


I happen to own an S2 with a Lifetime subscription. I have retired it to my crawl space and am only using Scientific Atlanta boxes at the moment. I have one SD TV with an SA SD DVR. I have two HD TV's with one hooked up to a SA 8300 HD and another hooked up to a SA non-DVR box. I have waited for Charter to send me a second SA 8300 HD and they cannot get if for me. It is OUT OF STOCK. In 10 days they will try again for me.

The technician who came over to install the SA 8300 HD came without one and said they were unobtainable at the moment.

I did call Charter about Cable Cards for a possible S3 purchase by me. They refused to even consider installing Cable Cards in a TiVo. They said the office I deal with has refused to support TiVo entirely.

I will probably wait for an S4 if it is able to work similar to the S2 and not require any cooperation from the Cable Providers. The big problem seems to be that the S3 requires Cable Cards. If the S3 worked similar to the S2 but had HD, the problem would be OVER.


----------



## Leo_N

MitchW said:


> I did call Charter about Cable Cards for a possible S3 purchase by me. They refused to even consider installing Cable Cards in a TiVo. They said the office I deal with has refused to support TiVo entirely.


You do realize they can not refuse you?



MitchW said:


> If the S3 worked similar to the S2 but had HD, the problem would be OVER.


Sure, and then they'd cost a couple thousand $ each too.


----------



## octomonkee

I'm gearing up for my "the cablecards should be fixed by Tuesday, so we'll come out on Wednesday morning" appt. I have high hopes since Charter assured me that by Tuesday (today) that all of the "bad" cablecards (in San Gabriel Valley area) would be reprogrammed at the warehouse and would be good to go. I'll post again tomorrow after the guy leaves.


----------



## ckoble

Slowdrag... if you are in Long Beach... there is hope PlungerMan and I are the two in Long Beach that your tech was referring to. They DO want to get this to work for you. When Alfredo came out to my place, he spent almost 4 hours working with the tech guys at the head end. Eventually, they got it working (on the third visit). If Alfredo is on the case for you... he WILL take care of you. 

As far as their promise of a credit... I have to tell you that I was VERY satisfied with their credit offer -- it was very generous for the two or so weeks that I was inconvenienced.


----------



## ckoble

MitchW said:


> I happen to own an S2 with a Lifetime subscription. I have retired it to my crawl space and am only using Scientific Atlanta boxes at the moment. I have one SD TV with an SA SD DVR. I have two HD TV's with one hooked up to a SA 8300 HD and another hooked up to a SA non-DVR box. I have waited for Charter to send me a second SA 8300 HD and they cannot get if for me. It is OUT OF STOCK. In 10 days they will try again for me.
> 
> The technician who came over to install the SA 8300 HD came without one and said they were unobtainable at the moment.
> 
> I did call Charter about Cable Cards for a possible S3 purchase by me. They refused to even consider installing Cable Cards in a TiVo. They said the office I deal with has refused to support TiVo entirely.
> 
> I will probably wait for an S4 if it is able to work similar to the S2 and not require any cooperation from the Cable Providers. The big problem seems to be that the S3 requires Cable Cards. If the S3 worked similar to the S2 but had HD, the problem would be OVER.


Dude, get a clue! At this point you should crawl into the crawlspace with your S2 and give up posting to this thread. You offer NO valuable information--- you don't own an S3. You love your SA boxes. You are waiting for an S4 so you can hook 2 cable boxes up to it to get digital encrypted cable. We now know your entire story! Give us all a rest and go to the SA Explorer 8300 thread and sing the praises of their DVR there. We're tired of it!


----------



## cotton168

octomonkee, you are getting the installers to come out tomorrow? That is great because I am in the SG area and its the Irwindale office that is coming out (I believe). Is that the same with you? If that is the case, then I am happy to hear that they are taking care of the bad CCs and hopefully on Wednesday, your TiVo will be up and running.  Good luck and post back with your results. Very interested in this one.


----------



## cotton168

ckoble and PlungerMan, I have to agree with you guys in the fact that MitchW should keep the posts to only Charter AND S3 problems. MitchW, not to be rude, but if you really want to use your SA boxes, please get a new thread because this is seriously only about people who have purchased an S3 and are having issues with them and Charter. Good luck with your S4 though.


----------



## octomonkee

Well, the fun never stops when dealing w/ Charter!!!!  

Even though the dispatch supervisor assured me that the cablecards would be fixed by yesterday, and that my appointment today would go smoothly, I just got a call from Charter dispatch to let me know that nobody is coming out for my appt. Apparently, they are having a problem getting the cards "reprogrammed." Left another voicemail for Dispatch Mgr who is mysteriously "out" today.


----------



## shirefox

Success in Rochester, Minn. Tech showed up around 9 a.m. (8-12 window). Nice guy named Dan. Very helpful and dedicated. His first Tivo Series3, but he had read about them. He said Charter in Rochester had already handled a few Series3. That made me feel better. Got card 1 going right away, working with a gal named Jen at the head. Card 2 was more trouble, even though they got it going. Jen says it's not "holding" the settings. She's going to be talking with Motorola about it today and calling me tomorrow with an update. Both cards gave the 161-4 "error" which I knew was actually good and told him so. All in all, a good day!

EDIT: As I said above, Jen promised to call me back the next day and I'm happy to report she did. She had had a problem when the CC was first installed with it not "holding" the data. When she hit it the next day, however, it held it. So I guess that means both cards are good to go. She did call Motorola and turn in a "ticket" on the problem, though. I give both Jen and Dan (the install guy) good marks for their diligence.


----------



## adventurelarry

After the 2nd visit 1 cable card was working!
After the 3rd visit the 2nd cable card is now working.

I was concerned when we got the cablcard upgrading firmware message.

Now if Tweeter would get around to delivering my XBR2........

--Larry


----------



## cotton168

Congrats Larry and shirefox. Glad to know that at least yours in MA is working. 

octomonkee, sorry to hear about your continual ordeal with Charter. When you called the Dispatch Manager, did the message ever say like when he/she would be back in the office? The tech supervisor that I called actually said exactly when he was in which was nice since I wouldn't have to go through the run around. Good luck and I hope you will have more success later on. I think if I can't get the cards working this time around, I'll just leave it so that I am able to record regular channels and later on, when the whole programming issue settles, I'll call them again to swap out the cards.


----------



## ChuckyBox

Have any of you Pasadena-area folks with at least one working cable card noticed any of the DT/HD versions of the local broadcast channels have picture and sound breakup? For me, these channels are in the 781-789 range, and most of them are okay. But the HD version of channel 7 (KABC) and 5 (KTLA?) are terrible. I don't know if this is just another symptom of the cablecard problems, or something to do with the broadcast.

I'm thinking of reattaching the antenna to get these channels more reliably.


----------



## danoops

At the moment I am waiting for my cable guy to arrive with the cablecards. My time slot is 3-5, so hopefully he shows up. I am in the San Gabriel Valley area. Man, I hope this goes smoothly. I kind of wish I had seen this thread before I bought the unit. I rushed to buy it to make sure I will be able to transfer the lifetime subscription from my old series one box.

Wish me luck!


----------



## jdmass

I wrote about my initial experience with Charter and cablecards here: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=4429677&&#post4429677

Today I finally had a followup service visit to fix the problem. Here is what happened:

Since my previous post, I discovered two additional factors: 1) there were a total of about 8 digital and 4 HD channels that would not work (tune in for a few seconds then drop to gray/black cablecardID/hostID screen; 2) the cable card CP info screen showed an authorization status of "Waiting for CP Auth" on both cards. I suspected that the source of the problem was improper authorization.

When the cable guy got here I demonstrated the problem and he called someone at the head end. He then got a call on his other phone and while he was gone, I started talking to "Al" at the head end. After re-confirming mac addresses, CableCard IDs, and hostIDs, he did some investigation and actually could see which channels were authorized to the cablecards and which weren't. He said it was clearly an authorization code problem, and called someone in dispatch. After about 15 minutes of time he asked me to pop out the cards and re-insert them one at a time. He then issued resets each time, and BINGO, the channels started working and the authorization status changed to "CP Authorized".

He told me that there are different package authorization codes for cable cards than for digital boxes and that the CSRs OFTEN punch in the wrong ones. I told him that the frustating thing about this experience is that in all of times I called charter they were unwilling to connect me to someone like him to be able to troubleshoot the problem --- instead all they would do is schedule a tech to come out. Clearly Charter is to blame for providing almost NO training on cable cards to their people -- I've got to believe that they are paying for it by all of the unnecessary truck rolls.

So I am thrilled that the channels that I cared about now work, but in checking all of the stations I found 1 problem. Channel 197 (Hallmark) gives me a blank screen. Al was stumped by this, but suspected that something else is going on with that channel. It was recently moved from 49 (analog) to 197 (digital) and may not be coded properly for cablecards (it works with a digital settop box). Since I've never watched that channel, I don't really care, but it is something they are going to investigate.

So the lessons from this experience are:

1. Check all channels
2. Make sure that authorization status shows "CP Authorized"
3. Make sure the CSR enters "cablecard" codes not "digital box codes"
4. You need to persevere to get to one of the VERY few people at the cable company who actually know something!

Hurray!

Good luck to everyone else on getting their CC's functional.


----------



## ChuckyBox

Congrats on the success, jdmass. Where are you located?

My experience with Charter phone CSRs is all over the map. I call for them to hit the card and some of them are seem to have no problem, and others argue with me that there is no such thing and that you can't authorize a cablecard and I tell them you can, I've done it and they keep arguing with me until I want to climb through the phone and strangle the stupid motherfu%^@#$2345 459u r3 klf;drjkffaszds fsda szddszfaes ------------------------------------------------------------

...
..

Anyway, next time I call, I'm going to make the person check all of the package codes.

BTW, the fastest way I've found to get to the service folks is to call in and go through the "add service" options, then tell the CSR that I want to authorize a new cablecard, and then they transfer me to the people who can (sometimes) do it. Going through the "technical problems" menu is just too frustrating.


----------



## octomonkee

ChuckyBox said:


> Have any of you Pasadena-area folks with at least one working cable card noticed any of the DT/HD versions of the local broadcast channels have picture and sound breakup? For me, these channels are in the 781-789 range, and most of them are okay. But the HD version of channel 7 (KABC) and 5 (KTLA?) are terrible. I don't know if this is just another symptom of the cablecard problems, or something to do with the broadcast.
> 
> I'm thinking of reattaching the antenna to get these channels more reliably.


ChuckyBox, I'm having that exact same problem (Pasadena, here). I have one cablecard installed in slot 2. It's bad, and Charter is supposed to come and replace it and add the 2nd card as well...if that ever happens!!!

Anyway, as it stands I only get channels below 100 and the local HD channels. Both HD channel 5 (785) and HD channel 7 (787) are pixelated and horrible. I can't even watch them. It's like a pixelated, choppy, freezing, audio breakup, mess. I was kind of hoping that the "fixed" cablecards would fix the problem. As it stands, I've missed a few shows because of it, so now I'm recording the standard definition versions (  ).


----------



## jdmass

octomonkee said:


> Anyway, as it stands I only get channels below 100 and the local HD channels. Both HD channel 5 (785) and HD channel 7 (787) are pixelated and horrible. I can't even watch them. It's like a pixelated, choppy, freezing, audio breakup, mess. I was kind of hoping that the "fixed" cablecards would fix the problem. As it stands, I've missed a few shows because of it, so now I'm recording the standard definition versions (  ).


When my cards were first installed the only channels that I could get were the same as yours: below 100 and local HDs. This was a result of the "dispatch" people entering the incorrect authorization codes. The installer called them back, and, for me, the codes the new codes entered partially worked - I was still missing about a dozen stations.

As I posted above, a Charter head end engineer told me that a common problem is that out of ignorance the dispatch people apply digital set top box codes rather than cablecard codes. After the correct codes were finally entered, he had me pop out the cards, reinsert them one at a time, and issued resets each time. I had no cablecards replaced and that fixed the problem. The guy at the head end could actually see exactly which channels I could get or not get on each card

BTW, I am located in Massachusetts.

Regarding poor reception/pixelization, I would suspect that that is a different problem, possibly related to signal quality. Are you using RG6 cable or do you have RG59 common in older cable wirings? The cable guys should be able to troubleshoot that one.


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## danoops

Well, I just wasted my afternoon. I talked to customer service after no one showed up, and they informed me that the service call was canceled without notifying me because they didn't have any working cablecards. So now I'm rescheduled for tomorrow.

This better mean that they will have properly working cablecards tomorrow. 

What a horrible way to begin my S3 installation process.


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## ChuckyBox

octomonkee said:


> Anyway, as it stands I only get channels below 100 and the local HD channels. Both HD channel 5 (785) and HD channel 7 (787) are pixelated and horrible. I can't even watch them. It's like a pixelated, choppy, freezing, audio breakup, mess. I was kind of hoping that the "fixed" cablecards would fix the problem. As it stands, I've missed a few shows because of it, so now I'm recording the standard definition versions (  ).


That's good to know -- it sounds like we're seeing the same thing. Not that we can get Charter to do anything about it until we get the cablecard situation resolved.

We lost Veronica Mars last night, so now I'm in the doghouse with my "early adopter" antics, so I'm going back to the antenna for those channels until I get this sorted out.


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## ChuckyBox

danoops said:


> Well, I just wasted my afternoon. I talked to customer service after no one showed up, and they informed me that the service call was canceled without notifying me because they didn't have any working cablecards. So now I'm rescheduled for tomorrow.


That would piss me off. I would have to yell at someone, and then yell at the someone's supervisor, and then maybe that someone's supervisor, too. Then I'd write an angry letter to the local franchise board (which I'm going to do anyway, once I'm through being abused by this cablecard mess). Then I would start drinking.

So they're going to have working cablecards tomorrow? Are they sure?


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## Hi-Bred

I'm in Altadena, CA (Pasadena area) with Charter, and I've been through the ringer just like the rest of you. I had 3 or 4 service technicians come out and they didn't know a damn thing about cable cards, although they did bring them in and try to activate them. I had a variety of problems - some channels would come in, others wouldn't, and every once and awhile the card diagnostic screen would appear when watching live TV.

Anyway, I finally got the local technical supervisor involved, and he gave me his cell phone number. He assured me that Charter *wants* people to have cable cards rather than Charter DVR's, because it's less cost to them. He admitted to me that it is a software issue on their side, not a problem with the TiVo (of course, we already know that).

I'm now getting all channels in my subscription, and in HD, but with only a single tuner card (card in slot 1 only). When the 2nd card is inserted, no channels come in at all, on either tuner. He (the supervisor) is coming out tomorrow with new cards, and he says that they have had a software upgrade on their side. So that seemed like good news, and I have my fingers crossed. I'll post again tomorrow after he comes out. I'm pretty sure they'll get their act together, I just hope it's sooner (like tomorrow) than later.

If it doesn't work tomorrow, I will contact one of the senior VP's at Charter (I got the email address from another forum member) and strongly suggest that they put together a task force to solve this problem, if they haven't done so already.


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## cotton168

Hey ChuckyBox, I have the exact same problem as you and hopefully, tomorrow, the issue will be solved because the tech is coming in.  I can't get channels 5 and 7 so I think it might be their issue. We'll see tomorrow.

Hi-Bred, let's hope that they figure out the whole software issue thing fast! It is crazy having the techs continue to come out to no avail. It's a waste of Charter's money and I would rather have them fix the problem fast on their end than keep having the techs come out and try to trouble shoot it on our end.

I'll post more tomorrow when the tech comes.


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## Weimnut

Just though I should post. I had the Charter installer come out yesterday to install my 2 cable cards. He was there right at 1:00 and left about 2 hours later. The install went well locally, even though it was his first cable card install. The problems were all at the dispatch end. We had the cable cards working in about 1 hour, but there were problems with not getting all the channels. Turns out that even though they said they had, the dispatchers never enabled the digital channels on my account. Once we got someone who knew what was going on it was up in 5 minutes, it just took an hour.

So yes Virginia you can get Cable cards to Work in Madison, WI.


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## TK421

Weimnut said:


> So yes Virginia you can get Cable cards to Work in Madison, WI.


Yay!


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## cotton168

Congrats Weimnut and welcome!  TK421, at least now you have confirmation that you will be able to use CCs.


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## cotton168

Okay, I just got a call from Charter who told me that the CCs in the San Gabriel Valley area were having technical problems, but when I told them that I just wanted one card because I was missing one, I got a call from the tech supervisor Pedro who told me that he has heard of the S3 and have been getting calls about it. I mentioned to him about contacting the LB office and he said that he is actually going to meet up with someone from there and find out what the problem was. The good thing is that this Charter does seem to want to fix the issue and help out their customers which is great. They are going to try to send some here to give me the missing card and when they fix the issue, they will be giving me a call and I, along with other S3 members will be on their priority list. 

I will let you know how that goes later on. I'll be calling them next Tuesday if they haven't called me back to get an update.


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## TK421

Yes, now I just need to get my hands on an S3 (I'm waiting for Best Buy to have some in stock in Madison).


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## cotton168

LOL, I see.. Good luck with that. Do you know when they would have them coming in? Hopefully you won't have to wait too long. LOL


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## danoops

I don't know for sure if they will have working cards today. The CSR said they would. I'm going to call Charter before I leave work to make sure I'm not going to be sitting at home twiddling my thumbs waiting for nothing.

I'll report later on today.



ChuckyBox said:


> That would piss me off. I would have to yell at someone, and then yell at the someone's supervisor, and then maybe that someone's supervisor, too. Then I'd write an angry letter to the local franchise board (which I'm going to do anyway, once I'm through being abused by this cablecard mess). Then I would start drinking.
> 
> So they're going to have working cablecards tomorrow? Are they sure?


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## Hi-Bred

I had a new card installed in slot 2 (slot 1 was already working), and both are now receiving all channels  

Once I tested the channels on each card in the CableCard setup menu, I tried recording one program then switching to another. Then much to my suprise, I got the message indicating that the program would stop recording if I changed the channel  

But as it turns out, I just need to repeat Guided Setup again, and now the dual tuner is working, I even recorded two shows at once!

Thank you Charter (Pasadena) :up: 

If anyone else in the Pasadena/Altadena area is still having problems, I will give you the contact info of the tech supervisor that finally got me up and running.


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## danoops

Well, they canceled my appointment again. Luckily I called in advance before leaving work. 

This really really sucks though. They won't even come out to my house. customer service said they would call me when they get cablecards for me. Yeah right. Looks like I'm going to have to keep making appointments until they have the balls to come out and try to setup my cards. They probably see that I am ordering 2 cablecards at the same time, and know right away it's for a Tivo. Maybe I should try ordering one card at a time. What do you guys think?


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## cotton168

Hey danoops, I don't think it should matter whether you order one or two cards at the same time. I also don't understand why your Charter is being a poop about coming to your place. I think they might be intimidated by the CCs.  If they still refuse to come to your place, I say call a tech supervisor to see what on earth is going on. Good luck!


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## ChuckyBox

Hi-Bred said:


> If anyone else in the Pasadena/Altadena area is still having problems, I will give you the contact info of the tech supervisor that finally got me up and running.


Yeah, PM that to me if you would.

Congrats on getting it working. Did you get the impression that there was a change to the cards, or to the head-end programming/procedures? I've got two cards, so if it is just head-end changes, maybe I can get them working. If it takes new cards, I've got to make another appointment.

By the way are you getting KABCDT and KTTVDT cleanly now, or do they break up? Also, could you have a look at the National Geographic channel (132) and let me know if you are getting sound? For some reason it is the only channel that is giving me problems on the card that works.


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## ChuckyBox

danoops said:


> This really really sucks though. They won't even come out to my house. customer service said they would call me when they get cablecards for me. Yeah right. Looks like I'm going to have to keep making appointments until they have the balls to come out and try to setup my cards. They probably see that I am ordering 2 cablecards at the same time, and know right away it's for a Tivo. Maybe I should try ordering one card at a time. What do you guys think?


They're never going to call you, so I would just call up like it is the first time, and tell them you want to schedule an install of 2 cable cards. (Make sure you tell them it is two cards about twenty times -- that way it will be more funny when the guy comes out thinking it is just one.) Anyway, that appointment will be some time next week. Then call before the appointment like you did today, just to make sure. If they don't have the cards, raise a stink, talk to a supervisor, telling them you've been waiting three weeks and getting the runaround and you're going to call the FCC and the franchise board because they're refusing to give you cablecards. It won't do any good, but it will at least make you feel better.


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## cotton168

LOL ChuckyBox! It is unfair that they are doing nothing for danoops. Hopefully things will work itself out soon.


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## Hi-Bred

ChuckyBox said:


> By the way are you getting KABCDT and KTTVDT cleanly now, or do they break up?


I checked both of those, and they're coming in fine (although the current programs on now are not really HD. Discovery HD looks AWESOME.

I'll PM you the contact info.


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## octomonkee

Update #4637.5 (Pasadena, CA)

The dispatch supervisor phoned me this morning to apologize that my appt got cancelled yesterday (I left a message for her after I got the cancellation phone call). She told me that the cablecards are now in working order and that they will have a tech out tomorrow morning. I told her about the HD KTLA, and the HD ABC having the pixelation problems, so she's said she'd note that in the system for the tech to look at as well. I really feel like she's working to make me happy and get this resolved. I'll report again tomorrow after the tech leaves.


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## cotton168

Octomonkee, that is wonderful news to hear. Finally, you are getting the service that they should be providing you.  Do report back when you have anything and good luck!

Okay, I also have some news for those in the San Gabriel Valley area. I just received a call from dispatch saying that they actually found a fix to all the CC woes and they are going to fix my issue on Sunday.  I am so thrilled to hear this, but at the same time, I am very cautious as I have no idea how this is going to go. I hope that it does go well.  I forgot to tell them about the HD KTLA and ABC issue so I think when they call me on Saturday, I'll have to mention that.  Will post more this Sunday when I get more info.


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## marclee

I've been putting off the jump to HDTV until things seemed more settled, but I "inherited" a 46" Samsung DLP, so I made the jump cause the TV just looks too darn good in HD.

I am in a somewhat rural area and the Cable service out here, I think I can say in all fairness is below par, even for the Cable Industry. As an example, when they dropped the line from the pole to the house, they left it laying on the ground for 18 months, before burying it. This despites constant calling to have it buried. I had to rig up some poles to get it out of the way to cut the grass. Then when they came to bury it, they buried that cable, which is apparently a no no because coax has virtually no UV resistance so it breaks down readily if left out for more than a few months. So it had to be replaced which took a few more months. I offer this as just one small example, I have pages and pages of notes on my dealings with Charter, why I do this I don't know, I guess so if I'm ever feeling like I need to get good and pissed off about something I can go and read it and voila!

When I called to get HD service, the CSR told me they had HD DVRs, and HD kits which included an HDMI cable, Component Cable, Composite and RF for $15. Me "are you sure? HDMI cables for for 60-80 around here" CSR "Oh I know, its a great deal." Me "Can I buy 2 kits?" CSR "Sure you can."

When Tech arrived he had only component cable and when I asked about HD kit he looked at me like I was trying to pull a fast one. And worse yet, turns out the box he was holding in his hand was only a motorola HD tuner, not a DVR. Turns out Charter does not have DVR service in my area. They claim it is mandated by the first of year, but the lady did not seem very confident that would happen. Did not specify which DVR they would be using. After the HD tuner install, noted that I was only receiving about 1/2 of the HD Channels. Tech said "yeah its always like that, you'll have them all in 20 minutes or so." 2 hours later, same. 4 calls, many power cycles, and "hits" from the various CSRs and still the same. Then on the 5th call got a CSR who looked at some screen and noted that the HD Box had not be "coded" in the right way. Meaning the code entered on the computer for it was the wrong code. She recodes it and bam, I'm instantly getting all the HD channels.

Anyway, after reading some about the Series 3 I decided to get it and roll the cablecard dice. Called Charter, on Wednesday, they said tech would install the 2 cards on Friday morning. Then went out to buy Series 3 box. Uh oh. No Series 3 boxes to be found. Called back and canceled. Did some more searching and phoning around and found one box at BB. Called back Thursday to get CCs installed. CSR says "it will take 7-10 days to get an appointment." Me "you're kidding?" CSR "No, they don't have the cards, they have to be programmed and sent to them."  It 35 minutes to makes this appointment, not including the time to get a live person on the line. I'm talking, after I have told this CSR, what I want it took 35 minutes for him to come back and say OK you're appt will be on Friday the 13th. He was extremely apologetic and made some noises about cablecard setups being hard to do.

So given the state of my particular Charter franchise, and that it is schedule for Friday the 13th, and my history in dealing with Charter, and what I'm reading on here, I'm thinking I have less than a 5% chance of getting cards installed that will work... ever. And really I'm an optimist  

Sorry for the rambling guess I just needed to vent with a group who understands what dealing with Charter can be like.


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## cotton168

Hey marclee, vent all you want. We've all had our problems with Charter. I just can't believe all the frustrations you went through with them even before you had the S3.  However, Charter is working on the CC issue and it is on their end so at least you can feel happy about that. Now, being from a rural area, I don't know. You can always tell them to contact the tech supervisors here in So Cal and they might be able to help if the CCs don't work. Let's hope that yours will work.  Good luck on your install on the 13th  and welcome to the family!


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## j.oliver

I had a charter tech out for an install and was her over 4 hrs and could not get the cards to work. During the call he was on with his dispatcher who said they just installed some the other day so they did work. Scheduled another call for the next week and the first thing the tech told me when he showed up was that their cards would not work in a tivo. I told him I had spoken to tivo and that they did work. The tech tells me that he can have a supervisor come out to explain to me they did not work. So he went to get his supervisor on the line I got tivo on the line to halp trouble shoot the problem. And lo and behold when charter techs actually follow the nice little instruction sheet tivo incleded and said to give to the tech, ie installing and activating the first card then repeating for the second card they worked perfectly. So if a charter tech tries to tell you they are not supported tell tehm taht other charter customers say they do.


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## ChuckyBox

Okay, I called the supervisor number my tech left with me Tuesday, and he said the cablecard problem was resolved and gave me an appointment for tomorrow morning. I didn't even have to call Hi-Bred's contact (yet, but I've got it just in case there are problems tomorrow). These people are so much easier to deal with when you don't involve Charter's customer service department.

I'll let you know how it goes.


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## octomonkee

Well, <sigh>, still having problems (Pasadena, CA)

Tech came this morning w/ newly reprogrammed cablecards. Took the bad one out, and put in the two new ones. Both aren't getting any premium channels, nor channels above 100. 

Still having the HD channel 5, and the HD channel 7 pixelation problems. Tech said, "I don't know how to fix that...must be the cablecards. We hate these things...they don't work."

Left another message for the dispatch supervisor while the Tech was here in hopes that she'd call me back. The tech was so anxious to get off to lunch w/ his other tech buddies (two of them waiting for him in their trucks out in front of my house) that he basically said, "sorry, I don't know what the problem is, and can't fix it." Nice!


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## ChuckyBox

octomonkee said:


> Well, <sigh>, still having problems (Pasadena, CA)


Crap. If I were in your shoes (and I probably wil be tomorrow), I'd go through the TiVo install instructions step by step, starting by pulling the cards and rebooting the box.

When you call in to activate the first card, make sure that they have the new serial number and the new cablecard ID and Host ID from the cablecard screen that pops up. Also make sure they are using the proper codes for cablecards vs. digital box. Then give it some time and see what happens. Then go postal on their asses.

Good luck.


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## cotton168

ChuckyBox and octomonkee, good luck on your installs. Octomonkee, it's sad when you have to deal with unprofessional people and I hope the next techs who show up will be more than willing to help you resolve your issue. Usually CC installs are an all day thing so they shouldn't be hanging out with their "buddies" anyways. 

I am still having the pixlation issue with ABC and KTLA in HD and we'll see on Sunday what they could do to resolve that issue. For some reason, it started happening after the last CC install. I wished I had my old CCs back, but we'll see what happens.


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## octomonkee

Update: (Pasadena, CA)

Have another Tech guy coming out tomorrow morning.

BTW, Chuckybox. I try to show the guys the instructions each time, and try to tell them that they need to follow the instructions. The don't want to listen.


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## justintime

Just thought I'd drop a note of success to give some of you other Charter subs a ray of hope 

I used to be the SysAdmin for the mom & pop cable co before Charter bought them out. There's still quite a few people there I know well, so I was able to convince them to let me do a self-install.

It took a while, but I have both cards working now.

My biggest gotcha was that after I had installed the cards in the TiVo, they needed me to read the serial number off of them - the serial number isn't needed for authorization technically, but they track the cards by S/N. Anyways, I don't know if it's a bug or a feature, but the Data ID changed when I re-inserted the cards. However, I had given them the data ID's before I pulled the cards.

Once we got the numbers corrected, it still didn't work right away, but after another call, one of the headend techs needed to send a manual hit from the DAC - it was a problem between their provisioning system and the DAC.

I'm now watching beautiful HD on my TiVo. Having come from the Moxi, I'm extremely happy. PQ on SD, Digital, and HD channels are all improved. Audio sync issues on SD channels are gone, and I have the TiVo UI we've all grown to love.

FYI: I'm in Kearney, NE (yes we have some HD out here ), with Motorola branded CableCards

Keep the faith!

Justin


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## cotton168

Hey Justin,

Thanks for chimming in with your CC experience. It probably would be really nice if we all worked for Charter before and were able to install the CCs ourselves. Actually, I really don't know why we can't install the CCs ourselves. All the techs do is read off the Host ID and CC# to the dispatch and they put it in.


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## octomonkee

At long last...S-U-C-C-E-S-S!!!!!!!

After two visits today from Charter I am happy to report success. Both cablecards are working 100%. 5th time's a charm! I know that Charter had two other Tivo S3 cablecard installs today, so I hope it was Tivo'ers on this forum, and I hope you all had success.


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## cotton168

Congrats octomonkee! Glad to hear that the 5th time was the charm. I'll post tomorrow when Charter gets going on my S3.


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## xjonx

octomonkee said:


> Update: (Pasadena, CA)
> 
> Have another Tech guy coming out tomorrow morning.
> 
> BTW, Chuckybox. I try to show the guys the instructions each time, and try to tell them that they need to follow the instructions. The don't want to listen.


You have to be forceful! Tell them to send someone else until you get someone to play ball. Tell them you want someone to help you troubleshoot this problem and that you are not happy with the technicians they sent before as they are not listening to your problems and you are not satisfied. Also do not allow them to leave or sign anything on the work request until you are happy. They are under tremendous time pressure and if they realize that they will be gone sooner is they do what you ask, they are more likely to listen. Between you and me, the only reason to have the cable guy come is to check to make sure you have a good signal level coming into your house and to dial the phone to call in the cablecard numbers. That's it, you can do everything else yourself, with a little study and some confidence. Also a lot depends on the person on the other end of the line at the cable card center. If it sound like the tech is struggling with the person on the phone, have them call again and get someone different or tell them to ask for the cablecard specialists! Charter has them so don't let them tell you different.

Oh, and print this and other guides and help out. That may convince the tech to do things your way, if he can read it off a paper.

I have 2 series three, so both I and 2 Charter cable techs (St. Louis) got plenty of practice. Here are the basics to get the Tivo Series 3 up and running. 
1. Have them bring an extra card or two, if they "hit" a card too many times it will not work and have to be reset at the home office. So if you need 2 tell them you need three. If you don't need it they can take it back with them.​ 2. Right down the numbers to all the cards BEFORE, plugging them in. There are some numbers on the card that you cannot get from the Tivo setup interface. Popping the card out will require the setup to be repeated from the beginning. And take care to write the numbers down accurately. Pairing the wrong seral number with the wrong unit ID will give you strange results, like channels getting video but no audio.​ 3. Install one card into SLOT 1 ONLY. Go through the entire setup with just one card first.​ 4. let the cable company "hit" the card before backing out of the the set up. You may get an error when the card is hit. This is normal.​ 5. Once you get the word from the cable company go through the entire process of setting up. "Logging into the tivo server, getting channels, selecting channels you receive", ect. Note: this process can take upwards of a half an hour.​ 6. Use the built in fucionality of the tivo to check to make sure you are getting the channels you should, not getting the one you are not, and that they all have audio. The "channel checker" is part of the cable card menu and you can check each cable card separately.​ 7. Once #1 is installed and all everything is good, install card #2.​8. Same again, allow the cable company to hit the card before backing out of the "pairing" menu.​ 9. The tivo should recognize that the set up has changed, but if not, MANUALLY BACK OUT OF THE CABLE CARD MENU AND RUN THE SETUP AGAIN. This was one of the keys we found out. The tivo does not alway detect the new card needs to be set up and may give a "no channels found" error on the second cable card. By backing almost all the way out of the setup menu there should be a "restart and reset" menu, choose it and then choose the "run setup again" item. I think it was the second or third item on the list. You don't need to reset to factory defaults.​ 10. Check the channels again for the second card and you should be set.​11. If it fails along the way, power down, remove both cards (if both are installed), and power up and try again with a different cards.​
All together it should take around an hour to an hour and a half to get everything working. And you have to go through the setup twice. Skipping steps or doing the tivo setup once at the end WILL NOT WORK. YOU MUST DO EACH CARD BY ITSELF.

Good luck


----------



## cotton168

Hey xjonx,

Thank you so much for the step-by-step. That actually explains a lot and will make me better prepared for tomorrow's fight.  Actually, octomonkee was lucky enough to finally have gotten his S3 working with both CCs. 

BTW, welcome to the forum!


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## dsm363

My S3 will occaisonaly lose audio on only the on HD channels (regular digital cable). When this happens, under the conditional access area of the cable card setup, it gives the "missing_program_rekey" message. I have to then call Charter and have the send a signal to reset the box which fixes the problem. They came out and of course said "must be the TiVo" since everything is working from their end. Any ideas?


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## dsm363

xjonx said:


> 3. Install one card into SLOT 1 ONLY. Go through the entire setup with just one card first.​ 4. let the cable company "hit" the card before backing out of the the set up. You may get an error when the card is hit. This is normal.​


By "hit", would calling Charter with the automated "press 2 for us to send a signal to refresh your cable box" (or whatever they say) work or does a tech have to be there? 
Also, by setup, do you mean go through the entire guided setup for each card separately? I didn't do this so maybe this is the problem.

Thanks.


----------



## xjonx

dsm363 said:


> By "hit", would calling Charter with the automated "press 2 for us to send a signal to refresh your cable box" (or whatever they say) work or does a tech have to be there?
> Also, by setup, do you mean go through the entire guided setup for each card separately? I didn't do this so maybe this is the problem.
> 
> Thanks.


"Hit" was the term used by the techs when they were here. I think that it is when the activation signal is sent to the card. It might be the same as the refresh, but I don't know that to be a fact.

Yes, we had to go through the whole thing twice. Since I have two boxes we could expirement. We did try just doing the setup once at the end. When we tried to check the channels for card #2, we got a "Channel Not Availble" message and nothing tuned in on the second card. We then had to manually restart the setup process(in the tivo that is, not calling back to "home base"). The good thing was that it remembered the settings from the first time through, so I didn't have to re-enter the zip code or IP address, and it remembered the preimum channels I selected. It will ask these again, if you want to change them, but you can just "left arrow" through until it takes off by itself.

Don't feel bad, none of the techs realized this until we talked to the "cable card exptert" on the phone. She said you had to do each card by itself. The tivo instruction is a little confusing, just saying "insert card one first." It should really say "Insert card one and complete setup before inserting card two."


----------



## xjonx

dsm363 said:


> My S3 will occaisonaly lose audio on only the on HD channels (regular digital cable). When this happens, under the conditional access area of the cable card setup, it gives the "missing_program_rekey" message. I have to then call Charter and have the send a signal to reset the box which fixes the problem. They came out and of course said "must be the TiVo" since everything is working from their end. Any ideas?


Not sure. I have had both of mine running for less than a week and have not "lost" any channels yet.

When I lost audio, it was from the very start. It was missing from some of the HD channels from the start. The reason for getting video but no audio is not understood. On mine we did find that on a tivo, an earlier tech had confused the serial numbers of the two cards so that the SN and unit ID didn't match up. This was weird because before we started card 1's channels were messed up (some I was to get didn't come in, while other that were to be blocked were unscrabled) and some were just missing audio. Another clue was that some of the lower channels, like TBS were missing. Card 2 strangely enough was working correctly.

The only error messages we got were "error 161-4" when the hit was sent to the card. And some of the cards had the message "The host considers the RF traffic to be one way." which seems silly as they are one way cards.

I must also add that I also have a Pioneer Plasma that has a cable card. It has, a couple of times in the past, completely lost some HD channels. Using the automated "reset" guide over the phone solved the problem.


----------



## octomonkee

If anyone in the San Gabriel Valley area of California would like the contact info of the Charter supervisors and such that I was working with please PM me.


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## cotton168

Hey octomonkee, is your supervisor named Pedro? If so, yes, I do have his info and will be calling him later if my tech does not show up today.


----------



## ChuckyBox

I had the installer out yesterday. Before he came I pulled both of the old cards and rebooted the box. When he arrived, he was not optimistic, but had seen the S3 before (but was only able to get one card working in that one). We went step by step, and the first card appeared to work perfectly. The second card was an "updating firmware" card, we waited a few minutes, and he was ready to believe that there was a problem with the second slot on my box. We tried another card and got the same thing, reinforcing his position. I convinced him to try another and, voila, it worked. He called it in, and then both cards were acting funky, like they had just reset both of them. After a while, the first one started working, but the second continued to have trouble getting channels and kept kicking up the authorization screen. The installer had them re-hit the cards, after verifying the information, but not a lot changed. He didn't have any more cards to try, so he said wait an hour and if it isn't working (which neither of us thought it would be), call the supervisor again and see if I could get someone out here with more cards.

He left, and I went out and ran a bunch of errands. When I got back a few hours later, it seemed to be working -- both tuners could tune everything in my package, and I haven't seen an authorization screen from either card since. It's still working today. I think it is a bit too early to claim success, and I cringe every time I change channels, but if it keeps working like this, I'm going to be very happy.

So keep at it folks, eventually we will wear Charter down and they'll get these things working for everyone.

BTW, one think I did notice was that the first card, that worked easily had OS version 2.3.149s2 with a build date in 2005, but the balky card had 2.3.148s2 with a build date in 2004 -- I don't know if this is significant (and I wish I had written down the version of my old cards).


----------



## cotton168

ChuckyBox, that is wonderful to hear and I will keep my fingers crossed for you so that both of your cards will work for a long time to come. 

The Charter guy was not able to come to my house because the first house he went to, he went through 8 cards  and none of them worked so he actually ran out of cards. LOL He said that he still wants to get the thing to work so I have another schedule appointment for Tuesday between 8-10. We shall see how that goes and wish me luck! He's actually going to talk to the guy that had both cards working on an S3 and figure what he did and what he is doing wrong. We shall see and I'll post back with more info.

Ocotomonkee, thanks again for providing me the tech's name. I might actually use that when he comes so that he can contact them to figure out what is going wrong.


----------



## xjonx

ChuckyBox said:


> I had the installer out yesterday. Before he came I pulled both of the old cards and rebooted the box. When he arrived, he was not optimistic, but had seen the S3 before (but was only able to get one card working in that one). We went step by step, and the first card appeared to work perfectly. ...
> 
> ...BTW, one think I did notice was that the first card, that worked easily had OS version 2.3.149s2 with a build date in 2005, but the balky card had 2.3.148s2 with a build date in 2004 -- I don't know if this is significant (and I wish I had written down the version of my old cards).


With my expirence with the first card, if it manages to hang on to everything after three days, you should be golden.


----------



## Hi-Bred

ChuckyBox said:


> BTW, one think I did notice was that the first card, that worked easily had OS version 2.3.149s2 with a build date in 2005, but the balky card had 2.3.148s2 with a build date in 2004 -- I don't know if this is significant (and I wish I had written down the version of my old cards).


That's interesting - I also have those two versions on my cards. Slot 1 is version 2.3.148s2 and slot 2 is version 2.3.149s2. But all channels are working and I'm dual-tuning. If I don't get any screens of death for a few weeks, I'll declare success.

BTW, there still seems to be some possible bandwidth issues on some HD shows. I'm not sure if it's the wire being overloaded or a problem with the specific channel. Sometimes Oprah sometimes becomes lots of tiny squares with no audio, but Discovery HD is always perfect. So I'm happier than my wife...


----------



## cotton168

LOL Hi-Bred. At first I thought it was you who watched Oprah, but I was mistaken.  I get the pixelation thing like crazy on Channel 7 HD and it is seriously driving me nuts. It's not because of Oprah but actually Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, and 6 Degrees. Yes, I miss it, but I go to abc.com to watch those episodes until Charter comes and fixes my issue!!!


----------



## rsincavage

I just got my S3 last Thursday, Charter seemed very friendly and helpful by setting up an appointment right away for Friday afternoon. I thought hmmm... maybe this will be quick and painless.

Anyway, the tech came out on Friday and installed the two cablecards while I was at work, he left while they were still "Acquiring Channels" and he told my wife that he had to go and they would probably start working after a little while. Of course they didn't. I called Friday night and they reset the cards and had be reboot the TiVo, etc. all to no avail. They sent another tech out on Saturday late in the afternoon, he had never seen a CableCard or a TiVo and looked totaly perplexed when I explained why there are two CableCards in one device. Needless to say, he was not able to correct anything since he said they (Dispatch) had not told him that there would be CCs involved and he didn't have any with him. But, he said he would have someone out the following morning (Sunday) between 8 and 12. No one called or showed up so I called them back Sunday after lunch, they apologized and said that someone would be out before 5. Again, no one showed up.

I called back today they said that they have it listed as a "Priority" call now and that someone will be out on tomorrow (Tuesday) between 8 and 12 to fix it. I am not optimistic.


----------



## xjonx

rsincavage said:


> I just got my S3 last Thursday, Charter seemed very friendly and helpful by setting up an appointment right away for Friday afternoon. I thought hmmm... maybe this will be quick and painless...
> 
> ...I called back today they said that they have it listed as a "Priority" call now and that someone will be out on tomorrow (Tuesday) between 8 and 12 to fix it. I am not optimistic.


There is little the tech can do, expirenced or otherwise, with the cards themselves. The only reason you need a tech is to check for the proper incoming signal, and he has the phone numbers and contacts to call.
What I would suggest is:​1. Call and make sure that who ever comes has a replacement card with them just in case. If they don't bring a card, don't let that stop you. If the cards you have fail, they will just have to come again.​2. Read and print out the suggestions from my post #392.​3. Have the tech check, confirm or improve your signal into your home. You should not need an expirenced guy to do this. If it turns out that the person they send cannot check the signal. Send them away and reschedual with a person that has the proper equipment.​4. Follow the suggestions from mine and other posts.​
Keep in mind that this is new to them. The techs I had were good, but they can't know everything about each piece of equipment. They said that they were going to a class on cable cards next week. I also found out that "certified" techs are very rare. I just happen to get one of the two Charter Certified techs in all of Illinois. Give them a little slack and read up and learn about the stuff you've got, and become your own service tech.

Good Luck


----------



## adventurelarry

So my cable cards have been working since last Wed. the 4th of October. I called Charter on Friday the 6th to add the HD tier. They infomred me that I already had an appt. for Monday between 8am and 5 pm. I asked why I had a previous appt. when I never scheduled one, and I did not need it. They just needed to add the tier to my acct. She said she would take care of it.

Here it is Monday, and no HD tier.... So I call, and they say no worries the truck will be there today. I said no one was home, I do not need a truck roll, they just need to add the channels. The guy say sorry, and it will be taken care of.

I just checked my voicemail, and there was a message form Charter saying I missed my appt.  I am currently on the phone with Charter and they are saying they will roll a truck to add the 4 channels. I am telling them that they do not need to do that, they just need to send the signal to authorize the 4 additional channels on the cable cards.

The level of ineptess is amazing. I better not be charged for the truck roll......

--Larry


----------



## jdmass

rsincavage said:


> But, he said he would have someone out the following morning (Sunday) between 8 and 12. No one called or showed up so I called them back Sunday after lunch, they apologized and said that someone would be out before 5. Again, no one showed up.
> 
> I called back today they said that they have it listed as a "Priority" call now and that someone will be out on tomorrow (Tuesday) between 8 and 12 to fix it. I am not optimistic.


This just seems to be typical of Charter. They make their customer dissatisfaction problems far worse than necessary because they seem to be incapable of following through on commitments. My cable cards have been working since last Tuesday (fingers crossed), but prior to that I had been promised call-backs on 4 occassions by Charter personnel -- none of them happened. When I got to speak to a supervisor, I found that NONE of the very detailed info that I had provided on 3 occassions had been documented in their call tracking system.

Other than, by persistence and luck, finding an individual with both the knowledge and desire to help you out, I don't know how you get anywhere with Charter. It seems their official support methodology is to make their customers frustrated to the point that they give up and stop calling.


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## cotton168

Oh adventurelarry, your post made my day! Yes, they don't seem to quite understand what you are trying to tell them. My brother and I actually walked into a Charter office and requested the HD tier and all she did was punch in some numbers (of course she managed to also cancel my appointment for the CC installs, but that is besides the point.  ). Seriously though, all they have to do is on their end, punch in some numbers and you should have the HD tier. I just wish we could go through the telephone lines and strangle whoever is on the other end from Charter. 



adventurelarry said:


> So my cable cards have been working since last Wed. the 4th of October. I called Charter on Friday the 6th to add the HD tier. They infomred me that I already had an appt. for Monday between 8am and 5 pm. I asked why I had a previous appt. when I never scheduled one, and I did not need it. They just needed to add the tier to my acct. She said she would take care of it.
> 
> Here it is Monday, and no HD tier.... So I call, and they say no worries the truck will be there today. I said no one was home, I do not need a truck roll, they just need to add the channels. The guy say sorry, and it will be taken care of.
> 
> I just checked my voicemail, and there was a message form Charter saying I missed my appt.  I am currently on the phone with Charter and they are saying they will roll a truck to add the 4 channels. I am telling them that they do not need to do that, they just need to send the signal to authorize the 4 additional channels on the cable cards.
> 
> The level of ineptess is amazing. I better not be charged for the truck roll......
> 
> --Larry


----------



## Slowdrag

So, one week later, after my initial appointment, Alfredo came back with new cards. After 4.5 hours and several tries with different cable card pairings, we were partly successful. 

Cable Card #1 gets no HD Tier and No Premiums, but everything else.
Cable Card #2 gets some HD Tier programs, and Premiums.

That's really all to report. Alfredo showed up with a higher-level tech and was on conference with the guys are the head-end for three hours of his visit. They tried updating firmware, swapping out cards, etc. Nothing was a total success.

What's next? Another visit to try to figure out why some channels come in and some don't.

PlungerMan and CKolbe. They talked to me about your hookups. Hope you guys are still getting channels.

This sucks


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## cotton168

Hang in there slowdrag. At least you have two CCs. I currently only have one because the Charter tech ended up taking my other two CCs and replacing it with just one since he said they were all the same build and if one didn't work, none of them would work.  I cannot wait to get my dual tuner back so that I can watch one thing and record another. 

Good luck with you and I hope you have better success the next time.


----------



## dsm363

xjonx said:


> Not sure. I have had both of mine running for less than a week and have not "lost" any channels yet.
> 
> When I lost audio, it was from the very start. It was missing from some of the HD channels from the start. The reason for getting video but no audio is not understood. On mine we did find that on a tivo, an earlier tech had confused the serial numbers of the two cards so that the SN and unit ID didn't match up. This was weird because before we started card 1's channels were messed up (some I was to get didn't come in, while other that were to be blocked were unscrabled) and some were just missing audio. Another clue was that some of the lower channels, like TBS were missing. Card 2 strangely enough was working correctly.


Thanks. Turns out it may have actually been my A/V processor. When I turn it off and back on, the audio reappears. Guess it might not be the TiVo afterall (or all its fault at least).


----------



## adventurelarry

cotton168 said:


> Oh adventurelarry, your post made my day! Yes, they don't seem to quite understand what you are trying to tell them. My brother and I actually walked into a Charter office and requested the HD tier and all she did was punch in some numbers (of course she managed to also cancel my appointment for the CC installs, but that is besides the point.  ). Seriously though, all they have to do is on their end, punch in some numbers and you should have the HD tier. I just wish we could go through the telephone lines and strangle whoever is on the other end from Charter.


I got tired of calling Charter (since when I got home no Hi-Def Tier) so I sent an e-mail. Here is the response:
Thank you so much for contacting Charter Communications. My name is Raymond and I would be glad to assist you in the best manner possible.

I understand that you would like us to add HD channels to your package.

Due to certain security reasons we are unable to add HD channels to your package via email. we need to verify your identity. I apologize for the inconvenience.

In order to add HD channels to your package, please contact our phone support at 800-634-1008, this number is available 24-hours a day 7-days a week or you can also use our Live Chat by logging onto our website at www.charter.com

Thank you for your co-operation.

Sincerely,

Raymond
Charter Communications

I then wrote back and cc's the President and CEO of Charter, the CTO, the VP of Programming, the President of the Eastern Division, and others at Charter.

We shall see what happens. If I do get a postive response I will let everyone know so that you can contact them to assist with your issues.

--Larry


----------



## Hayzer

Hey new guy here. Anyone have any experience with Charter in Wisconsin?? My S3 will be here today and Charter is scheduled to be out tomorrow. From what I have read here it looks like it is going to be a painful experience. I did tell them that the 3 CC that wanted were for (1) for the TV and (2) for the S3 and they didn't have an issue with that, then again that was just the CSR. Wish me luck....I will keep you all posted.


----------



## Horrortaxi

Hayzer said:


> From what I have read here it looks like it is going to be a painful experience.


The negative experiences keep this thread alive, which is pretty much the nature of the internet, but I'd like to be a little bit positive. Once I actually got an installer in my house (every step of the way up to that point was painful) it was easy. I had a painless installation and it's worked perfectly ever since.

Hopefully the horror stories are over-represented here and you'll have a good experience.


----------



## adventurelarry

Horrortaxi said:


> The negative experiences keep this thread alive, which is pretty much the nature of the internet, but I'd like to be a little bit positive. Once I actually got an installer in my house (every step of the way up to that point was painful) it was easy. I had a painless installation and it's worked perfectly ever since.
> 
> Hopefully the horror stories are over-represented here and you'll have a good experience.


To be postive, the installers who came to my house were great, and determined to get my S3 working. They came 3 times, and it took a total of 6 cards, and I thought they were very professional, and courteous.

--Larry


----------



## Leo_N

Hayzer said:


> Hey new guy here. Anyone have any experience with Charter in Wisconsin?? My S3 will be here today and Charter is scheduled to be out tomorrow. From what I have read here it looks like it is going to be a painful experience. I did tell them that the 3 CC that wanted were for (1) for the TV and (2) for the S3 and they didn't have an issue with that, then again that was just the CSR. Wish me luck....I will keep you all posted.


So far it's been a mixed story in WI. Plenty of people having problems, some not. I was one of the nots. I had 4 cards installed on the first appt. in about 1-1/2 hours and they all worked. This is in Pell Lake. (very SE corner of state)


----------



## drevnock

Hey Hayser,

They are getting much better at it.
I had 3 tech calls but am now fully operational.
The tech said they were getting up to speed state wide. This was a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully you won't have any issues.


----------



## Hayzer

Thanks for all of the feed back. I just called Charter and asked them to make sure the Tech bring additional cards, they told me that they would note that on the order. I will let you all know how it turns out appt is at 3pm tomorrow........


----------



## cotton168

Hayzer, welcome to the forum and yes, most of us here post about our problems with getting the S3 working at Charter. However, there are probably other people who had their S3s working from the get go and don't post here.  Good luck with your installation and I look forward to hearing your experience.


----------



## cotton168

adventurelarry said:


> To be postive, the installers who came to my house were great, and determined to get my S3 working. They came 3 times, and it took a total of 6 cards, and I thought they were very professional, and courteous.
> 
> --Larry


Hey Larry, I hope you get your cards working real soon on your S3 so that you can enjoy it. My tech is coming today (don't know what time, but it should be between 8-10) so I'll post back later my experiences with them.


----------



## rsincavage

So the tech came out today, within ten minutes, both cablecards which the previous tech had guessed were defective were working perfectly.

He didn't claim to know the details, but he said that in addition to having the cards activated, something on my account such as a "node type" had to be added or changed. He mentioned something like there being '1000', '2000', and '3000' type nodes. He also said that this change was made at their dispatch office instead of at the head end.

So, maybe if any of you all are still struggling with Charter, you could mention these things and perhaps make some progress.


----------



## cotton168

Oops! Didn't read your title which answers my question about where you are from. Congrats on getting your S3 working!


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## rsincavage

I often ask myself the same thing  

-- I am in Greenville, South Carolina


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## adventurelarry

cotton168 said:


> Hey Larry, I hope you get your cards working real soon on your S3 so that you can enjoy it. My tech is coming today (don't know what time, but it should be between 8-10) so I'll post back later my experiences with them.


Hi Cotton,

My cable cards have been working since the 4th of the month, my problem has been getting the HD-Tier (which is 4 channels) added.

On the positive side, I just received a phone call from Charter Corporate in response to my issue, and this will be resolved quickly I was told. THey were surprised that it has been so difficult for me to get the HD tier.

I guess my e-mail to the President of Charter worked.

--Larry


----------



## cotton168

LOL Larry. My bad about getting your story mixed up with others.  Very happy to hear that the e-mail to the president worked, but frustrated with the fact that your area couldn't help you without having a truck roll out. Don't know what that problem is, but I hope they resolve that issue real soon and that you will get the HD Tier channels.


----------



## cotton168

I'm a bit cautious about saying success, but right now I am just gosh darn giddy!!!  I had two techs come out today including the tech supervisor. Their names are Pedro (the tech) and Julio. Both were very nice and Julio had actually done a previous S3 and knew about kind of what to do. Before they came, I ended up taking out the previous CC and restarting the machine. When they came, we put in CC1 and went through the entire setup. When setup was finished, I was astonished to find that I was actually receiving the premium channels that I oh so missed.  When I checked the local channels, we discovered a problem and that I was not receiving those.

We ended up inserting CC2 in and Pedro made a comment about having one CC get the premium channels and the other one get the local channels. LOL The second CC did not work so they put in another one (got the firmware in progress screen of death) and it took a little time, but we were able to receive the local channels. Checked the premium and there they were. We finally decided to check whether or not CC1 had the local channels as well and there they were in all their 480i glory! 

I am so happy to have both CCs again having only been using one in the past few days. Now I'm keeping my fingers crossed that all the channels will continue to work. I did mention the pixelation issue I was having with certain channels and they said that they knew about the issue and were working on it. He tried to get more info from me, but unfortunately, I deleted all the HD recordings I had. 

Good luck to the rest of you and not to worry, I will be here "hovering" around to help out. 

Oh, octomonkee, I must say that I did mention Tito and Liz to Pedro and he actually knew Tito. I told him that if he was still having problems to contact Tito to see how he got yours working. 

Thank you to everyone to helped out and good luck to the rest who still need it!


----------



## rickh710

howdy folks -

i've been reading this forum with much interest over the past few weeks and it has given me a lot of moral support, so i thought i would add my experience with Charter for those who haven't taken the plunge yet.

i'm in Altadena (Pasadena, CA). before ordering the S3 i called Charter (twice!) to ask about cable card availability in my area and was told to go to my local service office to pick them up. when i got there, i was told that i needed an installer appointment and that the two CSRs i spoke to had given me incorrect information. 

ordered the S3 and when it arrived, called to schedule a cable card install. got a VERY hostile CSR who kept repeating "we don't support Tivo" every time i asked a question. i requested a supervisor who kept up that mantra until i finally got a word in edgewise to explain that the S3 is on the CableLabs approved device list, etc, etc. i added that this Tivo is their friend, since i have to subscribe to cable rather than satellite if i want to fully use it. she relented and scheduled an install for one week later.

week goes by and on install day i get a call two hours into the appointment window. dispatcher tells me they are cancelling my appointment because the cards don't work with the S3, that they are working on it and will put me down for a new appoitnment a week later.

so that brings me to this past saturday, when i get a call from installer Oscar three hours into the appointment window. he tells me he's on his way, but that the cards probably won't work when he gets to my house (he's apparently working on another S3 install and burning through all the cards he has with him). a couple of hours go by and he's a no show, so use the caller id to call him back and he tells me he had to go to the warehouse and grab some more cards.

when he finally arrives, i walk him through the process step by step, only allowing one card install and activation at a time (he wanted to pop both in). first card is recognized with no problem, he calls to activate, and a minute or two later i run the channel test and we're getting what seems to be all channels. he asks the CSR doing the activation to hold on while we insert the second card, but she refuses and hangs up on him. second card goes in, is recognized with no problem, and he calls to activate. we manage to get the same CSR on the line, she hits the card, and a minute or two later we've got channels. total time: less than 10 minutes. handed him my Moxi and he was on his way. before he left i told him that he can no longer go around telling people that the cards don't work.

after he took off i re-ran guided setup and tested more thoroughly. i subscribe to pretty much everything and i'm getting all channels on both tuners, including HD tier with locals, all premium movie channels, etc. Logo Channel (on 680?) is the only exception - i get the "call to authorize" screen when i tune to it. figured i would give it a few days before pursuing the issue. haven't had any pixelization or audio drop-outs on any of the channels mentioned in previous posts from the San Gabriel Valley area.

keep up the pressure if you're currently having problems with Charter...having dual-tuner HD integrated with our beloved Tivo interface is SO worth it!


----------



## ChuckyBox

rickh710 said:


> so that brings me to this past saturday, when i get a call from installer Oscar three hours into the appointment window. he tells me he's on his way, but that the cards probably won't work when he gets to my house (he's apparently working on another S3 install and burning through all the cards he has with him).


That was probably my install. While he was at my place, he called another customer and said essentially that. I felt bad for the customer because I knew the cards he had left wouldn't work (we had already tried and rejected them). He knew it, too, and wanted to cancel your appointment, but the dispatcher and his supervisor told him to go anyway because nobody wanted to get yelled at by you for cancelling. He was upset because he didn't want to go to your house and lie to you by pretending that it might work. I'm glad he was able to get some more cards and get your system going.


----------



## cotton168

Hey rickh710, I'm so sorry to hear about your ordeal with Charter. I truly think that those CSRs should be better trained to handle any kind of situation instead of just telling you that they don't support TiVo. I told Pedro that most of us here don't even mention that the CCs are going into a TiVo until the techs come because of the exact problem with their CSRs. It's a real shame. However, I am glad that your CCs are all working. I have to go home later on and check to see whether or not all the channels are working. For some reason, before I left, I saw that I was still missing some channels. I will have to check again to see if they all came in. Knew I was too excited too early!!!!


----------



## astroglide

st. louis here. requested cablecards late thursday night, truck rolled on monday morning. i told the phone op i was putting them in an s3 and she just talked about how she wanted one too, no issues mentioned. tech had never done an s3 install, but when he called in for activation he requested someone he knew that had done one before. whole process took about 30 minutes, and so far it's working flawlessly.


----------



## cotton168

Good to hear about your experience astroglide. I think any kind of experience is good whether good or bad because then we can all compare and if someone needs help in your area, they would know where to look. 

I actually just came back home and the first thing I did was check my channels. Yes, I was very excited to get home today.  To my astonishment, the channels seemed to have all trickled in. I'm very happy to see this and I still have my other HD channels there so I'm one happy camper. Will give it a few more days/weeks before I call it a total success (knock on wood!).


----------



## octomonkee

Pasadena, CA

FYI: Charter told me today that they checked the incoming signal to them from HD KTLA (785), and HD ABC (787) and both are coming to them weak. They're going to look into it. So for everyone in the San Gabriel valley, CA that is having the pixelation problem...they're working on it.

Also told them that I'm not getting audio on 132 (national geographic channel), and 188 (Fuel TV). Anyone else having this problem? Charter told me they'd look into this one as well.


----------



## cotton168

Hey octomonkee,

Yes, Charter is looking into the Channel 5 and 7 HD. I double checked the two other channels that you mentioned and no, I am not getting audio in those two channels either.  Didn't notice that since I don't watch either channel, but it is good that you pointed it out. I'm in Monterey Park, CA if you needed that info. Good luck and keep me updated when you hear anything.


----------



## ChuckyBox

octomonkee said:


> Also told them that I'm not getting audio on 132 (national geographic channel), and 188 (Fuel TV). Anyone else having this problem? Charter told me they'd look into this one as well.


It's good to hear that they're working on 5HD and 7HD.

And I don't get sound on 132 or 188, either.


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## randyr6

Does anyone have a phone number for a supervisor or tech who can help me get cablecards installed in my S3 in Altadena. I am getting the royal runaround. After three missed service calls and countless phonecalls to customer service with promises Charter never intends to keep, I am losing patience.


----------



## Hi-Bred

rickh710 said:


> ordered the S3 and when it arrived, called to schedule a cable card install. got a VERY hostile CSR who kept repeating "we don't support Tivo" every time i asked a question. i requested a supervisor who kept up that mantra until i finally got a word in edgewise to explain that the S3 is on the CableLabs approved device list, etc, etc. i added that this Tivo is their friend, since i have to subscribe to cable rather than satellite if i want to fully use it. she relented and scheduled an install for one week later.


Keep it up, it will work in the end. You'll need to get someone with the right cards. If you ask to talk to a supervisor and make sure they send the right cards for Tivo Series 3, they should (hopefully, by now) know the ones. The also have to be activated by Charter, once they're put in. Only the Charter techs have the authority to do that. I had the supervisor at my house, and I actually tried all the cards (he brought about 6), and we didn't stop until we found two that worked - by using the "Test Channels" menu item for each cable card. Keep at it, and it will work. Just try to avoid getting mad and frustrated. For me that was the key


----------



## cotton168

randyr6 said:


> Does anyone have a phone number for a supervisor or tech who can help me get cablecards installed in my S3 in Altadena. I am getting the royal runaround. After three missed service calls and countless phonecalls to customer service with promises Charter never intends to keep, I am losing patience.


Hey randyr6, I would actually try to PM Hi-Bred (the poster right after yours) for the Altadena/Pasadena info to contact them. If that doesn't work, try go through the automated hell and ask for a number for their closest center so that you can call them. That was what I did when I got the runaround from Charter. The phone number I got was for their Irwindale office so I didn't need to go through the automated hell. Also, when a tech does arrive, ask him to leave his supervisor's phone number so that you can contact the supervisor directly next time. Good luck!


----------



## Hi-Bred

I rebooted my Tivo last night - for some reason, the music & photos features weren't working, and rebooting fixed it - and after the Tivo rebooted and displayed the top menu, the Cable Card Diagnostics screen popped up (the black screen with white text). I pressed 'Clear', then went back, and it appeared again. Finally, I pressed 'Clear', then hit the Tivo button to go back up to the top menu. Then it didn't appear anymore after that point.

I wonder if this is a problem with the Tivo (there seem to be no problems with my channels or dual-tuning ability). I wonder if the next 8.X software upgrade will solve that problem.


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## rbprescott

I just had my Charter Cable Guy show up on Saturday at 5:00pm for an 9-12am window to install my cable cards in my new TiVo Series 3. After several calls to "Oz" the cards appeared to work. However it took a 2 hour call to "Oz" on Sunday to have the all of the HD Channels working. I live in Monroe, CT


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## shortspecialbus

I live in Madison, WI.

The cable guy came out today and we did the cable cards. He had never done cable cards before, but was game to try them out in the tivo. It took about 15 minutes after giving the pairing information to dispatch for the cards to receive all of the channels on card 1, but card 2 was almost instantaneous. 

Everything seems to be working fine now. I'm just hoping I don't lose any channels, but I don't expect any problems. 

The only hassle was convincing the sales reps to allow a tech to bring out the cable cards. 3 different sales reps and 2 tech guys swore up and down that their cable cards only worked with charter media and that the TiVo only works with sattelite TV. No words on my part would convince them otherwise, much less that the FCC said they'd have to give me the cards.. Eventually some technical supervisor called me from Michigan and I explained everything to him, and he was fine with it. He already knew they would work in the TiVo and seemed annoyed that the sales people and the tech people wouldn't agree. 

He did state maybe they're trained that way so that people don't call up when their TiVo doesn't work or something. At any rate, he was cool and had no problems authorizing the cards, and will probably call back tonight because he's curious to see how it went.


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## rickh710

Hi-Bred said:


> I rebooted my Tivo last night ..... and after the Tivo rebooted and displayed the top menu, the Cable Card Diagnostics screen popped up (the black screen with white text)


I had the same thing happen to me last night. rebooted and got the CableCard Diagnostics screen. Cleared it out, then couldn't get a channel on either tuner. Channels came back less than a minute later.

Anyone in Altadena/Pasadena able to tune into Logo on 680? Still getting the "call to authorize" screen on that channel, but I haven't escalated it yet.


----------



## octomonkee

rickh710 said:


> Anyone in Altadena/Pasadena able to tune into Logo on 680? Still getting the "call to authorize" screen on that channel, but I haven't escalated it yet.


It is my understanding that Logo is part of the Showtime premium package. If you're paying for Showtime, then you should get it. If not, then no-go.


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## Hayzer

Update from Oshkosh. Charter was here yesterday installed all (3) cards 2 for S3 and One for TV and all worked!!!!! Tech was here for a total of 45min. Best experience I have ever had with Charter. The S3 is work like a charm !!!


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## ChuckyBox

D'oh! One of my cards went bad. Yesterday morning I had a look at the TV and got the "Updating firmware" screen of death. Came back last night and it was still there. I fiddled around with the cards, rebooted, etc. Nothing helped. Technician coming Sunday. Ugh.


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## cotton168

Sorry to hear that ChuckyBox, good luck with it on Sunday. Hope everything will work out well. How is the other card doing? Are you getting all the channels, but only on that one card?


----------



## ChuckyBox

cotton168 said:


> Sorry to hear that ChuckyBox, good luck with it on Sunday. Hope everything will work out well. How is the other card doing? Are you getting all the channels, but only on that one card?


Yeah, I yanked the bum card (#1) and stuck #2 in it's slot, leaving #2 empty. I've heard that changing slots doesn't work, but it works for me -- everything is coming in fine on that card. I tried the bad card in slot #2, but got the same result with it there. So I yanked it. But guess what? The TiVo still works in dual-tuner mode. One tuner gets everything, and the other gets all the non-digital stuff. That's not supposed to happen, either. Anyway, I've just got to make sure that my upcoming digital recordings get tuner #1. There aren't many, so I'll probably just manually record something on #2 during that time to make sure it isn't available when the automatic recording kicks in.


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## cotton168

That is very odd. I can't get dual tuner when I only have one card in. You are one very lucky man!  Best of luck to you on the other CC. Hopefully you'll get that one working as well.



ChuckyBox said:


> Yeah, I yanked the bum card (#1) and stuck #2 in it's slot, leaving #2 empty. I've heard that changing slots doesn't work, but it works for me -- everything is coming in fine on that card. I tried the bad card in slot #2, but got the same result with it there. So I yanked it. But guess what? The TiVo still works in dual-tuner mode. One tuner gets everything, and the other gets all the non-digital stuff. That's not supposed to happen, either. Anyway, I've just got to make sure that my upcoming digital recordings get tuner #1. There aren't many, so I'll probably just manually record something on #2 during that time to make sure it isn't available when the automatic recording kicks in.


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## Roderigo

ChuckyBox said:


> But guess what? The TiVo still works in dual-tuner mode. One tuner gets everything, and the other gets all the non-digital stuff.


If you rerun Guided Setup, you'll go back to single tuner. Both tuners are going to work to tune RF regardless of how many cablecards you have. But, as you've discovered, it doesn't work real well if it decides to record encrypted digital video on the tuner that doesn't have the cablecard attached to it.


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## GA_HiDef

I just got confirmation that my S3 is being delivered from OnlyGPS (dot) com on Monday. I'm ready to start the process. There are some encouraging messages here and some not so encouraging. I've been bugging Charter for a DVR for 6 weeks since I moved. They tell me that there aren't any in GA, SC, NC and VA. I'm not sure whether to believe that or not. They must be in the process of switching to the SA box, since I have a non-DVR Motorola at the moment. It looks just like the DVR I had for Comcast when I was in Dunwoody.

I'll be on the phone to Charter tomorrow to get cable cards scheduled.

If anyone else in the area has any experience, please let me know. I'll report on the status of the install as it goes.

Regards,
Robert


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## Danny Andrews

Robert, make sure they put a BIG red note on your order that you need 2 cards. I ordered mine over a week ago and made sure they knew I needed two. The next day I took my extra cable box back to the cable company. I had the lady check my account for the CC and she said yes, 2 cards. They were supposed to be installed today. Well, the guy called on his way and I asked if he had 2. Nope, only 1. He said I would have to reschedule.
CSR said go to local office and pick them up. Tried, but no go. Charter said their policy.
They did say they would find someone to install them tomorrow and I wouldn't have to pay for install.
I did notice at the local office they had a Moto DVR with Moxi on display and when I first called about the CC they tried to get me to order one of these.


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## mikatc

Cable cards are a poor technology that we are sadly saddled with!


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## cotton168

Danny, tell them to stick that Moxi box in their you-know-where! LOL You do need to hound them with the CCs. Just tell them to always bring extras because they never know when they would need them. Is this their first CC install on an S3? Make sure they read the instructions that the TiVo supplies to the cable installer. Try to make them go with those instructions, but the most important thing is for them to bring more than 2 CCs just in case something is wrong (knock on wood) with one or even both CCs. I've had that happen over the course of my entire Charter CC experience and the last one, the guys came with about 6. If one didn't work, then they swapped that one out which was exactly what they did because I ended up getting the Firmware Updating screen of death (FUSOD).  Good luck though Danny.


----------



## djheini

Well, I now have my Series3 working (mostly) with Charter. Here's my story for anyone who cares:

We moved into a new apt. last weekend, so the TiVo S3 had been sitting in my old living room teasing me for almost 2 weeks. Finally, this past Monday was our install date, and the installer came with the CableCARDs to hook up our house for cable/internet. When it came to the Series3, we got the Updating Firmware screen. After about 15 minutes the installer was getting annoyed and decided to unplug the TiVo to reboot it and try again. After the TiVo came back up, we got the CCs installed and authorized, and found that no digital channels except the HD locals came in. Quite a bummer. The installer said that it just needed some time to get synced up, and he left. That evening, the channels still weren't showing up, so I called Charter. The phone rep said that the installer hadn't closed out the work order and that was why the channels weren't coming in. So she said she'd close the work order and the channels would work in half an hour. 

Fast forward to Wednesday. The channels still aren't working, so I called Charter again, and the phone rep tried hitting the CCs to no avail. So he scheduled a truck roll for 12-8 today. SInce I had to work, I had the rep put instructions to call me 1/2 hour before in the ticket. I luckily decided to leave work early today, and when I got home at 12:30, the Charter tech was there. So he came in, tried fiddling with the cards, putting the cards in the TV, etc. Those didn't seem to work, so he got in the phone with the head-end, and they worked on the problem via Nextel. Long story short, they got everything working on CableCARD 1 and everything on CableCARD 2 works except Universal HD and TNTHD, which both work for a second and then come up as unauthorized. They said that the head end was having intermittent problems with this, and they were working on it. The tech stayed here for half an hour to see if it got working (and we watched half of an ep of Law and Order on TNTHD), and ended up leaving at 3 with the channels still not working. So hopefully it'll be all set tomorrow morning, but if not, I still have most of the channels, and all the ones that are really important.


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## jdmass

djheini,

It sounds like you are having very similar problems to the ones that I wrote about earlier in this thread. I am in Westboro, so we are served by the same Charter branch. I was given the same bs line about "closing the work order" and also had the exact problem you describe on Universal HD and TNTHD (as well as a few other stations). 

The problem turned out to be incorrect authorization codes on my account. The "dispatch" office handles this and, according to the person I spoke to at the head end, there are different codes for cablecards than for set top boxes, and the dispatch people they often aren't aware of this.

Unfortunately with Charter phone support, they seem to have an aversion to actually trying to solve problems -- their goal is just get you off the phone. It is almost impossible to get to talk to anyone who can actually help troubleshoot the problem. It is likely they will want to schedule a truck roll. I would suggest trying to get someone to have dispatch recheck the codes and have them reset everything (not just hit the cards).

Good luck!


----------



## Danny Andrews

Thamks Cotton, I should have thought of telling them to bring several CCs, but I didn't. Luckily both cards were good today and it was a breeze. All of my channels seem to be there and no problems so far. I wish everyone else the same luck.


----------



## ThePlungerMan

Danny Andrews said:


> Thamks Cotton, I should have thought of telling them to bring several CCs, but I didn't. Luckily both cards were good today and it was a breeze. All of my channels seem to be there and no problems so far. I wish everyone else the same luck.


Do you have tnt hi def?
Thanks


----------



## Boot

I had my Charter install scheduled for today. I was completely prepared - I printed out every instructional post I could find, wired up the Tivo, ran through guided setup... I was sure that I had prepared myself for every possible issue.

The tech never showed up.


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## cotton168

Danny Andrews said:


> Thamks Cotton, I should have thought of telling them to bring several CCs, but I didn't. Luckily both cards were good today and it was a breeze. All of my channels seem to be there and no problems so far. I wish everyone else the same luck.


Hey Danny,

I'm so happy to hear that your installation went without a hitch. I hope all your channels are in good working order.


----------



## cotton168

Boot said:


> I had my Charter install scheduled for today. I was completely prepared - I printed out every instructional post I could find, wired up the Tivo, ran through guided setup... I was sure that I had prepared myself for every possible issue.
> 
> The tech never showed up.


Oh man! As much as you can prepare for the installation, it's a whole other ballgame with the techs themselves. Good luck next time Boot!


----------



## Danny Andrews

I don't have a HDTV yet so I don't know about TNT. Sorry!


----------



## GA_HiDef

Well, got my Charter appt scheduled for Wednesday to install CCs. Tivo due in Tuesday. The CSR asked why I wanted 2 CCs. Told her it was for new Tivo S3. She made sure she put in the request for 2 CCs. So far so good. We'll see.

Robert


----------



## ChuckyBox

GA_HiDef said:


> She made sure she put in the request for 2 CCs. So far so good. We'll see.


In many places Charter (and often the tech himself) will call you 30 to 60 minutes before they show up. When that happens make sure to remind them (or him) that he needs to bring at least two cards. No matter what is written on the work order, they always seem to think it is just one card.


----------



## cotton168

It would also be good if the tech could bring extra cards. Don't know how many S3s they have installed in your area, but in my area, if they know it is an S3, they now know to bring some extra cards just in case.


----------



## Hi-Bred

cotton168 said:


> It would also be good if the tech could bring extra cards. Don't know how many S3s they have installed in your area, but in my area, if they know it is an S3, they now know to bring some extra cards just in case.


Yes - Charter in Pasadena, CA (and San Gabriel Valley area) seems to have bad communication within the company. They have cards that will work in the S3, but the tech staff that handle the cable card installs are not all up to speed yet. Politely work your way up the management chain and you will get results.

.. and YES, have them bring as many cards as possible to your house! This will avoid frustrating multiple visits.


----------



## Boot

Boot said:


> I had my Charter install scheduled for today. I was completely prepared - I printed out every instructional post I could find, wired up the Tivo, ran through guided setup... I was sure that I had prepared myself for every possible issue.
> 
> The tech never showed up.


Tech showed up today. We followed the instructions on the TiVo site, which are just an expanded version of the instructions in the box.

The install went perfectly, and I believe the key was patience. Once we inserted the card, it was 10 minutes before anything happened. Had we pulled the card, I think we would have had problems. The closest we came to failure was when the guy on the phone wanted the numbers for both cards at the same time, and I had to convince the tech that we needed to do them separately.

I assume the 10 minute delay was Charter updating the CableCard firmware. The instructions imply that this might be happening, but there's no actual indication of what the card is doing. It seems like TiVo should be able to see the download and report it. Or, at the very least, recognize that there's a card inserted, but not "ready", and put up a warning to leave the card alone and wait.

Edit: This is Charter in Worcester, MA.


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## moonjockey

I called Charter today, after finding out that Bellsouth Cable will not support (They even have a waiver from the FCC) Charter was completly aware of TIVO S3 (the guy had a memo) and knew I needed 2 cards they quoted me 1.50 PM for the second card, along with the other charges to switch from Bellsouth.


----------



## wwschoening

Charter has not been overly cooperative. However, I did not realize that I had to RESTART as well as 30 minute reestablishment Guide (I am away and cannot recall the name)

My problem is that after I obtained the second cable card for my S3, programs scheduled to record do not record sometimes. I have checked for conflicts and there appear to be none. The programs appear in the PlayList but with no time recorded and nothing there. I read in the booklet about recording two HD programs at the same time. It said nothing about mixed HD and non HD. We are going to turn off the recording of Tivo suggestions to see if that is interfering with the scheduled recording.

BTW, we had no problems with one cablecard.

Thoughts???


----------



## marclee

jdmass said:


> djheini,
> 
> It sounds like you are having very similar problems to the ones that I wrote about earlier in this thread. I am in Westboro, so we are served by the same Charter branch. I was given the same bs line about "closing the work order" and also had the exact problem you describe on Universal HD and TNTHD (as well as a few other stations).
> 
> The problem turned out to be incorrect authorization codes on my account. The "dispatch" office handles this and, according to the person I spoke to at the head end, there are different codes for cablecards than for set top boxes, and the dispatch people they often aren't aware of this.
> 
> Unfortunately with Charter phone support, they seem to have an aversion to actually trying to solve problems -- their goal is just get you off the phone. It is almost impossible to get to talk to anyone who can actually help troubleshoot the problem. It is likely they will want to schedule a truck roll. I would suggest trying to get someone to have dispatch recheck the codes and have them reset everything (not just hit the cards).
> 
> Good luck!


Talking to the CSR drones at Charter is a waste of your time. As noted above, they're goal is to get you off the phone as quickly as possible. This is because they are paid by commission. Yes that's right you heard me. Commission. So are they paid by resolving problems??? No. Simply by the sheer number of people that they handle. Now do you understand grasshopper, why they seem so urgent to get you off the phone?

They will say anything to do that. You must somehow get through to your local office. And even within the local office, you need to talk the people who deal with the cablecard coding issues. This will not be easy. By design you are NOT allowed to talk to the local office. I found a number for the local, but I had no extensions. So I just started trying different numbers until I found some valid extension numbers.

I left messages with about 4 different people some I specified that I was calling about an issue with a cablecard, others I did not. Someone actually called with 30 minutes of me leaving messages. 15 minutes later, I had results.

"the work order has not been closed and thats why, once it closes your channels ll come through" as noted this is BS. Translation "I don't know how to get your card coded properly, or I don't have the right access to do that or I don't care, but I really really need to get you off the phone right now, so I can go to the next customer."

"charter does not support tivo" BS. Doesn't matter if its Tivo or a TV or a toaster. If it is a cablecard device that is certified a cablecard will work, unless something is wrong with their network or coding.

Exemptions? Ha! 
"Isnt it true that ALL cable companies are required to be compliant with CableCARD compatibility standards?

YES and NO  Although the Federal Communications Commission has stated that cable systems must now be compliant with CableCARD standards, BellSouth Entertainment received a waiver (exemption) from those standards for their Atlanta and South Florida Americast digital cable systems on August 17, 2004 (FCC DA 04-2544). This waiver was granted by the FCC, based on the fact that the BellSouth Entertainment Americast Digital Cable delivery system was designed and made available to customers long before CableCARD standards were introduced and that compliance would require a complete replacement of the system platform infrastructure. However, a condition of this waiver is that BellSouth Entertainment will provide a digital settop box, at no charge, to any customer requesting activation of a CableCARD compatible device."

Let's see provide you with a cable card that cost pennies or provide you with a digital box that costs 10-100 dollars?

When the Tech tries to leave and your channels are not there. Do not take i"t will be there in 15 minutes" or so as an answer. 1. Tell him you want him to contact dispatch or the head end and get the card coded correctly so that it will receive all the channels you are being charged for. Remind him that this is his job not yours to complete the installation of the cc(do this nicely, with a smile, offer him coffee, doughnuts, but hold your ground). 2. Refuse to sign the work order. He may leave anyway, but at least he does have your signature blessing this incomplete installation.

Yes it really is worth the effort.


----------



## Hi-Bred

wwschoening said:


> I read in the booklet about recording two HD programs at the same time. It said nothing about mixed HD and non HD. We are going to turn off the recording of Tivo suggestions to see if that is interfering with the scheduled recording.
> 
> BTW, we had no problems with one cablecard.
> 
> Thoughts???


I had a similar problem; once both cablecards were finally working, I attempted to record a program and then change the channel and watch something else. To my shock, it said the current program would stop recording if I changed the channel. Wha????

Running Guided Setup again fixed the problem. There appears to be logic in the Tivo during Guided Setup that records the number of available tuners. Once I re-ran guided setup, the dual-tuner functionality started working.


----------



## cotton168

Hey wwschoening, did you rerun the setup guide after the second CC got put in? I never had that kind of problem before because I always reran the guide when Charter came with new CCs. Before doing that, I would restart the S3 and then rerun the guide after the CCs are installed. Try what Hi-Bred mentioned and see what happens. If you need more help, we're always here.


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## rbprescott

I had all the same problems with the Newtown, CT Charter. The tech installed the 2 cards - wait 15 mins - no luck, several calls - no luck, Work order not closed - no luck, I had to schedule a tech.  He came and register the cards properly and so far everery thing seems to be OK!


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## boferguson

Sorry if this has been addressed. I scanned several pages and couldn't find exact advice. My installer just left (after two previous missed appts) with two CableCards installed and only some channels coming through. Called TiVo support before he left -- tech advised me chances were the cards were updating firmware and to check in about 45 minutes. I had to get back to work, so I let the tech go (got his Supervisor's cellphone first) and am now at work. TiVo tech said if the missing channels don't appear after an hour, I need new cards. Sorry I didn't ask this before I got off the phone, but can someone tell me how I know the new cards will work if the current ones don't? Is there something special to ask for? I guess having the cellphone number of the supervisor is a leg up, and I have a phone number for the local office, but all I reallt want is a tech who understands the cards.

Any advice is appreciated.

I'm in Black Mountain, NC (Asheville/Greenville/Spartanburg market.)


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## ChuckyBox

boferguson said:


> Any advice is appreciated.


Unfortunately, there is no way to be sure that new cards will fix the problem. But the experience here seems to be that by going through a few cards, you eventually hit on a couple that work. The key is to make sure you are getting at least one digital/premium channel with each card before the tech leaves. If that is happening, chances are that the others will show up within a few hours.

You are in good shape because you have the supervisor's phone number. Call him, not Charter. Hopefully you won't need to, but the only way to get satisfaction is to keep pestering them until someone figures out how to make the cards work.

Speaking of which, my saga continued today, as well. I had an appointment for Sunday, but sometime during the day I got a call from the tech. "Oh, you need a _new_ cablecard? The work order just said you were having cablecard problems, so they didn't pull any inventory from the warehouse, and we don't have any cablecards." Imagine that -- someone with cablecard problems might need a new cablecard. What are the odds?

Anyway, the guy came today. Put a new card in (I had one working already), all went fine, but no digital channels. I go back to the cc setup screen, and we see an all-new message about how there were technical problems when authorizing the card. He called a few people and decided the card was bad. He tried another, and within a few minutes everything was working fine. So when I left, I was back to having two working cards. We'll see how long that lasts.

Good: two working cards. Bad: don't know how long it will last. Good: Charter in the western San Gabriel Valley seems to be building some organizational knowledge of how to make these things work. Bad: four truck rolls, one aborted roll, and countless phone calls to get my cards to work.


----------



## GA_HiDef

So I had a successful install, sorta. 

Tech arrived on time, with only 2 CCs in hand. Oh well, I thought, let's see if we can get one to work. I tried to walk him through the install with a single card first, but when he called the CSR, she insisted he put in the other card so that she could hit both. We did. The tech gave the CSR all the data. She hit both cards, I know that worked cause we immediately got the 161-4 errors on both cards. Looked at the Conditional Access screen and it was obvious that the encryption data had not arrived yet. The CSR tells him to unplug both cards and plug them back in, she hit them again, round and round and round. This goes on for 45 minutes or so, then tech calls his "buddy" tech who has installed 3 or 4 tivo's. He arrives with new CC's. This is probably a good thing. The first 2 were Motorola's one at 4.21 one at 4.05. The new cards were both 4.21. They commence to switch cards, give new data, hit cards, plug, unplug, yada, yada, yada. After 2 hours of this they are ready to give up. I talk to tech and CSR lady (Liz, very nice) and say "Let me keep the cards, schedule the super tomorrow". So I get Liz's direct number and tell here that I am going to re-init Tivo, reinstall cards and call her for a hit a bit later. I do that. Erase everything on the Tivo and put it back to default specs. Insert CC1, capture data, insert CC2, capture data, call Liz. She hits CC1. I wait 5 minutes. No data on the Conditional Access screen. I say, what the hell, hit the other one. Thank her and tell her that if anything changes I'll call back. She wishes me luck. I call Tivo. Talk to TS there. Guys says " be patient" run through the rest of guided setup, then check cards again. I do. After about 20 minutes I have data on Conditional Access screens. I check channels, voila, I have channels. HD works, premium works. Life is good.

This is in Roswell GA by the way.

Regards all. Remember the phrase, be patient.

Out,
Robert


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## purplerhino12

Charter installed my cable cards today with small problems but all were resolved. This was the second scheduled install since they ran out of cable cards the first time. The installer told me right away that he had only been able to get 50% of the tivo installs to work but he came prepared with extra cable cards.

The first card installed with no problems, got the hd channels right away. The card was a Motorola 4.05.

The second card got the network HD channels but now TNTHD, ESPNHD, etc. The card firmware on that one was Motorola 4.21. After repeating the numbers back and forth and I guess the CSR on the phone "hitting" the card, he tried another Motorola 4.21. It gave an error 161-4 but then the CSR hung up on him. We waited about 15 minutes on hold to get another CSR and in the meantime I tried the card again and it worked. The installer said she closed the work order and that made it work.

The installer had a different set of instructions for installing but I asked him to follow the instruction Tivo included. Before he left, I made him a copy to take to the next customer.

I am happy with the results so far.


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## ChuckyBox

Spoke too soon. Came home to find the FUSOD. It was the new card. Pulled it. Back to where I was: one tuner with everything, one analog only. Good times.


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## cotton168

Hang in there ChuckyBox. If you need help, let me know and I'll give you the number to my supervisor tech since you are also located in SG area. PM me and I'll get you his number. He works Sundays through Thursdays.

As for me, after the last time I wrote, I must say that I am very happy with what I have so far (knock on wood). Both CCs work and Charter did not have to come back out since they last came. Still a little cautious especially when my brother accidentally unplugged the S3, but all channels came back on again.  Hoping the CCs will stay like this for a LONG time. 

Best of luck to everyone else who still are having problems.


----------



## wwschoening

I commented earlier about programs not recording once I installed the second cable card. I went through another round of Restart and Repeat Guided Setup and that solved the problem. It could be that I did them in the wrong order when I added the second cable card.

Charter made a big deal about putting the cards in themselves most of the time, but other times said I could do. I bullied the local office into giving the second one two me and it was easy. The hardest part is writing down all the numbers and then realizing that I needed to go back through Restart and Guided Setup. Since my S3 was working before getting the cable cards, I missed any requirement to repeat those steps, so the Charter guy and I scrambled for an hour trying to figure out what to do.


----------



## boferguson

Well, I had my final tech visit today (knock on wood) and things seem to finally be working. Not that Charter didn't try to screw it up (after repeated reminders to call my cellphone, not my home phone, for today's appt., Charter finally calls my cellphone saying "where are you? We've been trying to call you at home all day....").

Anyway, here's what worked. The tech, though very nice, knew nothing about cablecards and admitted it. We went through the same two or three things I had tried previously (double check data and host info, etc). Finally, he asked the account folks (I think you guys call this the head-end) to do a "cold" hit on the cards. It worked. My missing channels all showed up immediately. Apparently a cold hit is different from the usual reset command. He said he is reluctant to call one in because it will either work... or fry the hardware.

Well, it worked. What is interesting is that the guy admitted that Charter has done ZERO to train techs on cable-cards. He said there are so few in our service area that he would be surprised if Charter does much to support them. Nonetheless, I sent him away with a printout of the configuration info from techdigs that I found elsewhere on this website -- he was very grateful.

So, for now, I am happy. If only it had come in time for MNF....


----------



## cotton168

I hope that Charter will begin training their guys on the CC installs because more and more of us who have the S3s need them in there. Let's hope that things go smoothly!


----------



## Slowdrag

Finally. After 4 visits, 3 @ 5 hrs. each, I decided to have Charter come out for one last go at it. They were here 10 minutes. The tech called to see if they had activated the HD Tier I was allegedly already paying for ... and BAM! Everything comes in now: HD, SD, all of it on both cablecards. 

Unreal how this could be the only problem that was hindering everything from working before. I know for certain that during every prior visit, the technician called the office and asked for verification that my settings were correct. He was told yes.

Anyhow. Everything finally works. Dunno how. Dunno why. Just know it does because things swung my way today. 

I'm still convinced Charter has no idea what the hell they're doing. 

/out


----------



## cotton168

Hey Slowdrag, congrats on finally getting to enjoy your S3.  Enjoy it and I agree that sometimes, Charter has absolutely no clue what they are doing!


----------



## datasound

I am in Burbank CA with Charter Communications and a series 3. My story is much the same, but with a (finally) happy outcome. I had the same experience where I got a call from the Charter Supervisor about an hour before my install saying he was sending his guy with the cablecards but that their experience had been that they failed 90% of the time. (he didn't even know it was a tivo as this point, he was saying they fail in TV sets). So the guy arrived and we put the cards in the S3 and navigated to the page to get the needed ID numbers. He made a phone call and rattled off a series of long-multi-digit numbers for both cards. I thought for sure there was no way the person at the other end of the line was getting these right. She assured us the cards were active and they hung up. 

It still wasn't working (IE can't see any channels) and I convinced the guy to leave them with me and I would play with it. Tivo cable-card diagnostics have a 'test channels' page and I could go there and get only 4 channels (all up in the 100's) to work on cable card 1 and No channels tested as working on cable card 2. 

So I realized that my cable is split MANY times in order to feed all the places it has to go in my house. So I had a long 50-foot RG59 cable and I went straight from the point where the CABLE enters the house and connected the one cable it to the TIVO and WALLA!!! IT worked. So by reducing the splits it is now working almost 100%. 

Final comments: 
The TIVO Diagnostic is partly to blame as it doesn't seem to be working right. Even though I get ALL my channels in LIVE TV mode, the diagnostics 'test channels' still doesn't show all the channels. When I go to them in the diagnostic I often get black screen and no audio. But it seems like the channels in the 100-140 range always seem to come up. 

The diagnostic is inconsistant with the channels is shows between cable card 1 and 2 (with 2 often having less channels working than 1).

Intermittently (about once a week) many or all of the channels are blank (show black video and no audio). This has caused a few TV shows to be incomplete during the recording. They either come back on their own after an hour or 2, but almost always restarting the series 3 seems to bring them back right away.

Anyway, I hope this helps some of you out there who are running into these frustrating problems.


----------



## comprev

MitchW said:


> Ckoble,
> 
> Just have PATIENCE. I believe that eventually their database will be updated in the normal course of business. It could be one or two months away. At a minimum they will have to notify their branches that such a company as TiVo exists. Right now only we on this forum know about this.
> 
> Some Cable Providers may take longer than others to make the proper entries. Others may have Central System characteristics prohibiting them from ever being able to make the proper entries without substantial and costly upgrades.


If this were true, then every year when the new TVs come out the same problem should exist, to the best of my knowledge, it doesn't. The problem is that they don't like losing their DVR business. With the exception of satellite TV, most cable companies are a monopoly in the cities they server and don't like being told what to do.


----------



## killyoko

Hey guys,

I set up my S3 over the weekend and so far, so good. (using analog cable and antenna) My appointment with the cable card installer is Wednesday. I told the CSR to tell the installer to bring more than 2 cards just in case the first two don't work. Anyone out there had any luck with the Charter installers in and around the Knoxville area?

Anyway, wish me luck! I'll keep you posted...


----------



## killyoko

Update:

The cable tech came out today to install the cards. I asked him if he'd ever installed cards into a tivo, and he said no. So we proceeded to walk through the instructions on the sheet for card 1. tip: when you insert card 1, the tivo will change to the screen that says 'a cablecard has been installed.' There is an option at the bottom of the screen to go to another menu (possibly 'configure cable card.') DON"T DO ANYTHING. The cable tech said to just wait, so we did. Eventually, the cablecard info screen came up. I thought it was interesting that he knew not to go out of that menu even though he'd never dealt with tivo before. So they must all do that. Anyway, he called in to activate the card, and the tivo thought about things for a while. Somewhere around this point the tivo gave us a message like 'a problem with the cablecard is causing video not to be displayed' or something. I think this is the error 114 or 104 message that has been talked about in these forums. Again, the cable tech recognized the error and said, 'they always say that.' so no big deal.
Then we tested the channels, and I was getting the broadcast channels but no HBO or Discovery HD or HD net, etc. So he called back and had her ping the card (or 'hit it' or 'reset it'--he used 'reset' as the term) No luck.
So I decided to unplug the tivo (I forgot about the restart menu option) and plugged it back in. After the startup process, we were getting HBO and HDNet, (and everything else) but for some reason Discovery HD was a no-go.
So I suggested that we just try installing the 2nd card just to see what happens. We went through the process again for card 2, and when we tested the channels, the tivo said 'no signal available.' But the channels were all there! We manually punched in the numbers for HBO, Discovery, etc. and they came up fine, despite what tivo said. So I sent the cable tech on his way and repeated guided setup.
When it finished, all the channels were where they were supposed to be. So for now, all is right with the world. Fingers crossed that it holds!


----------



## cotton168

Congrats killyoko (funny name!LOL). Good luck with your S3 and I hope things work out great!


----------



## JohnnyB1

I hope to return to this forum with a happy ending, but so far, Charter has been able to frustrate all of my attempts to get CableCards installed. We have 2 Series 2 Tivos and a Motorola HD DVR from Charter. I've been reading this forum for a while and know the trials of ckoble and Cotton168 and everyone else. I ordered a Series 3 and scheduled an install for October 20 from 8am to noon. On the 19th, I decide that I'm feeliing ambitious and want to try upgrading two Series 3. I call Charter to change the order and they say that CableCards aren't working this week and no one will be coming to my home tomorrow. I should call back in a week or so.

I call on the 24th and schedule an appointment for the 26th 8am to noon. They say everything is working great. No one shows up all day. I call back and they deny that an appointment has ever been made. I'm livid but powerless, so I schedule a new appointment for today, November 1st from 1pm to 5pm.

I call them yesterday to confirm that I have an appointment. Yes. I have an appointment from 1pm to 5pm. I'm going to be watching HD Tivo by dinner! Today at 1:15pm, I'm feeling nervous (some symptom of repeated Cable Co. abuse), so I call them again. Yes, sir. A tech will be coming to your house between 1pm and 5pm. At 3:30pm, I am very nervous and call again. Yes, sir! A rep will be over soon. At 4:15pm, my phone rings. Charter: Sorry, no one is coming to give you a CableCard. The rep tells me that I should really quit trying because CableCards are a real pain. I am apoplectic. My kids are scared because they have never heard Daddy scream at someone. I ultimately talk to the supervisor who says that he will come to my home personally tomorrow between 8am and noon to install the CableCards in my two Series 3 DVRs. As you can imagine, I am hopeful, but not optimistic. I'll keep you posted.


----------



## killyoko

Keep up the fight Johnny, it's worth it.


----------



## Mekapo

Thank God i'm poor. I really want a S3 but i'm unfortunately a Charter Customer. Hopefully by the time I can afford a S3 these issues will be ironed out.


----------



## djheini

Has anyone had missing analog and digital channels on Charter that were fixed by changing/fixing CableCards? I've discovered that in addition to UniversalHD and TNTHD, I'm also missing about 6-7 digital channels in the 200-300s, and about 6-7 analog channels. Since the analog channels don't have to do with the CCards as far as I know, I'm thinking it may all be a TiVo issue. All the channels come in fine on the second tuner, so it's not a signal issue...

Anyone have any suggestions?


----------



## ChuckyBox

djheini said:


> Has anyone had missing analog and digital channels on Charter that were fixed by changing/fixing CableCards? I've discovered that in addition to UniversalHD and TNTHD, I'm also missing about 6-7 digital channels in the 200-300s, and about 6-7 analog channels. Since the analog channels don't have to do with the CCards as far as I know, I'm thinking it may all be a TiVo issue. All the channels come in fine on the second tuner, so it's not a signal issue...
> 
> Anyone have any suggestions?


If I understand you correctly, you are saying that within a single S3 you are getting some channels on one tuner and not on the other. If so, call the cable company and go through the list of channels and see if one of the cards simply isn't authorized for all of the appropriate channels, and have them "hit" the card again. If that doesn't fix it, then yes, it's probably the card. Schedule an appointment to *REPLACE* the card, and make sure to tell the CSR to make it a replacement and nag her to note that they must bring one or more cards with them, because if it goes out as "cablecard problems" these f**king idiots will show up at your house without a replacement card. I kid you not.


----------



## ChuckyBox

JohnnyB1 said:


> I hope to return to this forum with a happy ending, but so far, Charter has been able to frustrate all of my attempts to get CableCards installed. [ Tale of woe deleted. ]


Ain't Charter the best? Aren't you glad to send them your hard-earned money every month? I'm thinking of setting up a web site: www.lynchpaulallen.com

BTW, where are you located?


----------



## PTV Programmer

Madison, WI - had Charter tech in my office today to install the cable cards. Because of all the great posts with tips here, the install went relatively well. It took some time and several card "hits", but everything is working great and all channels are being received.


----------



## cotton168

JohnnyB1 said:


> I hope to return to this forum with a happy ending, but so far, Charter has been able to frustrate all of my attempts to get CableCards installed. I ultimately talk to the supervisor who says that he will come to my home personally tomorrow between 8am and noon to install the CableCards in my two Series 3 DVRs. As you can imagine, I am hopeful, but not optimistic. I'll keep you posted.


Hey JohnnyB1, don't give up. Even though we have had issues with Charter, it was still worth it when it finally does work. I'm still having issues with Channel 7 HD with the choppy video sometimes, but I still think it is worth it. It is what us early adopters go through so that others can live without the hassles, right? 

I would suggest that when the supervisor visits you, you make sure to write down his name and direct line. Don't have him give you the 888 or whatever BS number he gives you. You want his direct number so that you can call him directly if he has issues. You might also want his cell phone number. 

BTW, where are you located at? We might be able to give you our tech supervisor numbers as well if you are local.  Good luck with everything and I wish you all the best.


----------



## djheini

ChuckyBox said:


> If I understand you correctly, you are saying that within a single S3 you are getting some channels on one tuner and not on the other. If so, call the cable company and go through the list of channels and see if one of the cards simply isn't authorized for all of the appropriate channels, and have them "hit" the card again. If that doesn't fix it, then yes, it's probably the card. Schedule an appointment to *REPLACE* the card, and make sure to tell the CSR to make it a replacement and nag her to note that they must bring one or more cards with them, because if it goes out as "cablecard problems" these f**king idiots will show up at your house without a replacement card. I kid you not.


Yes, that's my problem. But my question is can a bad/misconfigured CableCard cause *analog* channels to not come in, as I'm missing both some digital/HD channels ("not authorized") and some analog channels (TiVo says it can't find a signal) on the one tuner.

My understanding was that the CableCard only came into play for the digital channels. Am I horribly misinformed?


----------



## dwarner

GA_HiDef said:


> . I call Tivo. Talk to TS there. Guys says " be patient" run through the rest of guided setup, then check cards again. I do. After about 20 minutes I have data on Conditional Access screens. I check channels, voila, I have channels. HD works, premium works. Life is good.
> 
> Out,
> Robert


It seems to me that Tivo needs to add some status indicators, like: "Please wait, Card x firmware is updating.. xx% done."

I get the impression that critical processes are being interrupted mainly because installers get impatient at the apparent lack of progress in the setup of CC's. 
If something is going to take 20 minutes before results appear, it needs to be made clear that it will take that long, and, if possible how much time remains..


----------



## Leo_N

djheini said:


> Yes, that's my problem. But my question is can a bad/misconfigured CableCard cause *analog* channels to not come in, as I'm missing both some digital/HD channels ("not authorized") and some analog channels (TiVo says it can't find a signal) on the one tuner.
> 
> My understanding was that the CableCard only came into play for the digital channels. Am I horribly misinformed?


Is it possible that you are getting all digital channels. I am pretty sure Charter rolled out a full digital simulcast in a couple areas. And as soon as you plug in a cablecard, it will map all the digital and ignore any analog that are the same channel I believe.

Or perhaps when using cablecard, it has to map the analog as well? Maybe something to ask a tech in your area about. I wouldn't really trust the answer you get off the 800 support line. It is a 50/50 shot whether they'll actually know or not. I think they almost are required to give you an answer whether they know or not.


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## wtidmore

Long time lurker, first time poster here -- I wanted to post my success story, because everyone else's posts were so incredibly helpful. I really don't know if I'd have a fully functional S3 without you guys!

I had my appointment with Charter in Gwinnett Co, GA last Thursday. No hassles about supporting TiVo, providing 2 cards, etc. As long as I was willing to pay, they were more than happy to supply cards. The tech was great - he had only done 2 CC installs before (none w/ TiVo) but said he liked a challenge. He let me drive. I followed the directions  

First CC was fully going within a few minutes. The second card threw the 161-1 error. Unfortunately, the tech didn't have any extra cards with him, but he went out looking for them, called me back in a couple of hours and brought 2 more cards. He easily could have blown me off and said to make another appointment, but he didn't. There was some drama on the head end with the second card. For some reason, the rep kept asking the tech if I rented or owned my cable modem. What the...? At any rate, they said it would be 20 minutes before it was up and running, so the tech left.

I ended up not receiving encrypted channels on card 2. The Conditional Access screen said PROGRAM_MISSING_REKEY. After 3 calls to support, I finally reached someone yesterday who knew how to do a Cold Hit. I immediately got the 161-4 error a few times, then started seeing channels. When I went to bed last night, the only encrypted channed that I was getting was SHO-HD. This morning, though, I am receiveing all channels on both cards.

Long story, but hopefully it will help someone with their install. Thanks again for all of the great information you guys provide!


----------



## Leo_N

wtidmore said:


> Long time lurker, first time poster here -- I wanted to post my success story, because everyone else's posts were so incredibly helpful. I really don't know if I'd have a fully functional S3 without you guys!
> 
> I had my appointment with Charter in Gwinnett Co, GA last Thursday. No hassles about supporting TiVo, providing 2 cards, etc. As long as I was willing to pay, they were more than happy to supply cards. The tech was great - he had only done 2 CC installs before (none w/ TiVo) but said he liked a challenge. He let me drive. I followed the directions
> 
> First CC was fully going within a few minutes. The second card threw the 161-1 error. Unfortunately, the tech didn't have any extra cards with him, but he went out looking for them, called me back in a couple of hours and brought 2 more cards. He easily could have blown me off and said to make another appointment, but he didn't. There was some drama on the head end with the second card. For some reason, the rep kept asking the tech if I rented or owned my cable modem. What the...? At any rate, they said it would be 20 minutes before it was up and running, so the tech left.
> 
> I ended up not receiving encrypted channels on card 2. The Conditional Access screen said PROGRAM_MISSING_REKEY. After 3 calls to support, I finally reached someone yesterday who knew how to do a Cold Hit. I immediately got the 161-4 error a few times, then started seeing channels. When I went to bed last night, the only encrypted channed that I was getting was SHO-HD. This morning, though, I am receiveing all channels on both cards.
> 
> Long story, but hopefully it will help someone with their install. Thanks again for all of the great information you guys provide!


Congrats on the install!


----------



## crabbon

Good story about Charter (San Luis Obispo, CA).

First, I updated from expanded cable + internet to cable + HBO + SHO + Movie Tier + HD Tier + Family Tier + HD Digital Box + Internet + 4 Cable Cards (2 Series 3's). Ended up my bill went down. Go figure (some promotion).

Anyway, I was skeptical, especially after reading almost all of the posts on here.

Appointment scheduled from 1 to 5pm. I was getting worried, and called Charter at 3:30, and had them confirm the appointment and requested that they tell the guy coming out to make sure he has cable cards, and to make sure to bring extra. Just before I hang up, at 3:50pm, the cable guy shows up.

His name is Ken. He's done several series 3 installs, and they allotted 54 units for this install to him. At 5 minutes per unit, that comes down to 4.5 hours. So, since he said he had done several, I didn't even hand them the Tivo sheet (though I had it out), but instead let him go at his rate.

Sure enough, he did a great job. Did one at a time. Never ever did we need to reboot. Didn't do the guide setup until he was done, and 4 out of 4 cable cards worked.

Here was tricks that he mentioned (and verified). 

1) He wrote down all the right numbers prior to inserting the card, and then he made sure that the numbers when he gave to dispatch was correct (says many times the numbers get transposed or heard wrong).

2) After inserting the card, he waits about 4 to 5 minutes before getting the the screen where it tells you the numbers. On one card, I didn't wait long enough, and got the error "could not load..." Went back, and just waited a few more minutes, and it worked.

3) After he gave dispatch the numbers that are on the Tivo screen, and after they said it's all good, we waited another 3 or 4 minutes before testing channels. Again, one time I did it too quick, and sure enough the pinwheel came up. He said he had never seen this before. That was the only card that gave us a little difficulty in that the digital channels and premium channels didn't work. In the clear QAM and analog channels worked. After waiting another 15 minutes, they mysteriously just started working. Not sure if he called something in or not, because I was busy with the kids. Both of us just wrote it off that we tested the channels too soon after dispatch said it "go".

Ken told me that these cards were brand new (even though they said April 2006 on them). He just picked them up. Also, he says some guys try to go too fast, and you must give things time. The last thing is that San Luis Obispo has a history (from the posts I have read) of things working out pretty good.

Ken says that he has heard of some people in SLO having problems, but he rarely has any problems. Again, he just goes nice and slow.

Hope this helps you guys. And if anybody is in SLO, and ends up with Ken, be happy. Also, Ken may not work on Mondays, so don't schedule your appointment on that day


----------



## kabewm

I bought my TiVo Series 3 from eBay for $700, it was scheduled to arrive yesterday. So I called Charter and scheduled a CableCARD install today. Once I got my Tivo Series 3 yesterday, I transferred my lifetime from the Series 2.

Today the Charter guy arrived, and we got the two CableCARD's activated in minutes. Smooth as silk. . .


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## cotton168

You are one lucky person kabewm. Most of us here had or are having issues with the CC installs from Charter. Consider yourself very lucky and congrats on getting your S3.


----------



## ChromeAce

I am about to purchase a couple of Series 3 units, switching from DirecTV (they've served me well but when they dropped TiVo they lost my enthusiasm).

Here in St. Louis I was discouraged by a local professional audio/video install shop from trying to use a Series 3, saying they don't recommend them due to "problems with Charter and the cablecards". There were a couple of Series 3 units at Best Buy in Chesterfield a few weeks ago but now they have none for some reason. I thought maybe Charter had them pulled from Best Buy as they won't work here? I also read this thread so I thought I better call Charter first to see if maybe I could get their opinion.

Got a clueless CSR in India but all I needed was the information on her screen, so I asked if Charter supported TiVo Series 3 and she said yes, it's on their list of supported HD cable boxes and asked me if I was buying my own or wanted one from Charter. This was an interesting piece of news to me, since apparently Charter will now be selling or renting the TiVo Series 3. I asked her how much for it from Charter and she put me on hold, came back, and said sorry it's not available at this time from Charter. I responded that I was going to switch my entire 5-home family from DirecTV to Charter but that when I checked, I actually didn't have a 5-home family.

So I told her I would go buy one myself and then call back to schedule an installation appointment and she said that would be no problem.

I recorded the call and cautiously await delivery of the Series 3 units from Page Computer, which appears to have the lowest price (even lower than Weaknees after all their little rebate and coupon tricks) at $632.10.


----------



## Leo_N

SonyPlanet said:


> I am about to purchase a couple of Series 3 units, switching from DirecTV (they've served me well but when they dropped TiVo they lost my enthusiasm).
> 
> Here in St. Louis I was discouraged by a local professional audio/video install shop from trying to use a Series 3, saying they don't recommend them due to "problems with Charter and the cablecards". There were a couple of Series 3 units at Best Buy in Chesterfield a few weeks ago but now they have none for some reason. I thought maybe Charter had them pulled from Best Buy as they won't work here? I also read this thread so I thought I better call Charter first to see if maybe I could get their opinion.
> 
> Got a clueless CSR in India but all I needed was the information on her screen, so I asked if Charter supported TiVo Series 3 and she said yes, it's on their list of supported HD cable boxes and asked me if I was buying my own or wanted one from Charter. This was an interesting piece of news to me, since apparently Charter will now be selling or renting the TiVo Series 3. I asked her how much for it from Charter and she put me on hold, came back, and said sorry it's not available at this time from Charter. I responded that I was going to switch my entire 5-home family from DirecTV to Charter but that when I checked, I actually didn't have a 5-home family.
> 
> So I told her I would go buy one myself and then call back to schedule an installation appointment and she said that would be no problem.
> 
> I recorded the call and cautiously await delivery of the Series 3 units from Page Computer, which appears to have the lowest price (even lower than Weaknees after all their little rebate and coupon tricks) at $632.10.


Good luck! So far I am at 7 weeks installed with Charter, two S3s and 0 install or operating problems. So it is not a completely hopeless cause :up:


----------



## jwdderm

I'm also in St. Louis, having purchased a unit (Costco, unlimited return policy) but not yet scheduled for installation. Local Charter rep told me directly that Series 3 is not supported, but she referred me to Cust. Service.

Curious if anyone has had a successful installation in the St. Louis area, and if so, with whom did they work?


----------



## dwarner

wtidmore said:


> Long time lurker, first time poster here -- I wanted to post my success story, because everyone else's posts were so incredibly helpful. I really don't know if I'd have a fully functional S3 without you guys!
> 
> I had my appointment with Charter in Gwinnett Co, GA last Thursday. No hassles about supporting TiVo, providing 2 cards, etc. As long as I was willing to pay, they were more than happy to supply cards. The tech was great - he had only done 2 CC installs before (none w/ TiVo) but said he liked a challenge. He let me drive. I followed the directions


Thanks for the post. Now I know that CC's can be made to work in Gwinnett, and I can order my S3 now. (Pending a few other questions, such as channel changing speed.. )

I suppose I'll hold off on the cablecard install though, since I don't have a HDTV yet, and need to buy a new HVAC system first.. Still, I need to get the S3 this year so I can transfer my lifetime sub.


----------



## bubba1972

jwdderm said:


> Curious if anyone has had a successful installation in the St. Louis area, and if so, with whom did they work?


I have mine up and running in St. Charles and my parents have their's going south of St. Louis in Festus. Both through Charter. My install was a pain in the ass, but it does work. The tech showed up 6 hours after the automated phone system called me at the wrong number to tell me he was on his way. Once here, he had no clue what a Tivo Series 3 was but did at least bring two cards as requested. After plugging in the first card, the Tivo rebooted. It finally came back and the numbers came up after a couple of minutes that he needed to call in. He informed me that he would probably be on hold at least an hour trying to get the cards activated (he was right). The tech guy on the other end of the walkie talkie conversation said Tivo would never work on their system. After activating the card we tested the channels, but they were not all there. We put in the second card and activated it. That time I got the error message that the installation instructions from Tivo.com said you can ignore. The tech said the channels may not show up until he closed out the work order. I didn't quite understand that, but soon after the rest of the channels did show up. At least I thought. Apparently the cards have to be provisioned for extended basic because Charter simulcasts all channels in analog and digital. I had to waste an hour and half the next day with their tech support in India to get channels 28-100 activated. Be sure to verify that you receive those channels before the tech leaves. They both seem to be working correctly now. Some of the channels (specifically 784 (HD CBS) and HD Cinemax) have lower signal levels and are having occasional pixellation problems. You can check signal level through the channel configuration screen. They are both around 81 while all other channels are around 93. Definitely check those two out before they leave. They may be able to configure your splitters to get the best signal to Tivo first. I returned my Moxi HD recorder to Charter a couple of days later and they made a complete mess of my account. I still don't know if they removed it or not. Their system doesn't handle having cable cards on your account very well.


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## CraigHB

Anybody in the Reno/Sparks, NV area get an S3 working with Charter. If so, how'd it go?

Thanks


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## johnwillo

This is copied from a note I sent another local user. The first time that they showed up, they brought no cable cards. It took eight days to get them back. The tech was willing to work with TiVO's instructions.

we followed the instructions TiVo provided, and it went fine. About five minutes each for the cable card activation to take effect. We did get the error (I forget which one, but it ends in a '4') that others have reported, but that seems to be a sign that the cable card is connecting successfully. Just happened at initial set up. Off air antenna works well, too, with simple rabbit ear antenna. Some of the non-HD shows, especially animated ones, are recording with white streaks flickering across the screen, it seems independent of the compression settings. I don't see the problem live. Not sure why that is. I have also had a cable card lose its mind a little bit, and record a blank grey screen instead of the scheduled programming. This clears up after you switch to a specific channel (any channel). It's happened twice in maybe three weeks. Frustrating, but probably a bug fixable in software when TiVo gets around to it. I also got the weaknees 750 GB update, which is really nice. The noise reported from the drive doesn't bug me, since our family room is already pretty noisy!

Compared to my DirecTV HD 10-250 Tivo, this is MUCH zippier, and the HD is wonderful. I'm less happy with the non-HD channels... Charter doesn't provide the same quality signal that DirecTV does. I am also having the issue others have reported where analog channels drop out unexpectedly. I'm hoping that a software update from TiVo will fix this.


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## RandyDtg

It helps during the cable card install if you have a TV that also can take a cable card. That was the only way I could prove to the cable guy that one of the two cable cards was actually defective. Two days later the cable company (WOW, not thankfully Charter) came with a card that worked fine.

If you can get the Host ID on a cable card TV, then the card will work in TiVo.


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## MsKathyK

Well, the guy who came to my house apparently had never seen a Tivo before!  The biggest mistake he made was connecting the cable to the antenna in instead of cable. He thought the cable in was used with a cable box. (Oops) Although he seemed really experienced with Cable Cards so he got one working in the first slot. One card he tried in the second slot didn't seem to work at all. He put in his spare, and that one was semi-working, but not getting the digital packages. He was here for a little over an hour and went back to the office to get another card to try. He said they run into the same kind of problems installing Cable cards in TV's. 

When he came back, he got the new cable card working right away and was gone in about 10 minutes.

So, I'd say he did okay. Charter was really good and didn't give me any hassles. 

I'm so happy to have Tivo again. I tried Charter's Moxie box before getting the Tivo, but I really love Tivo and missed it. It was worth the god awful price tag.


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## jwdderm

Thanks, I'll schedule the install and mention the problems you encountered to the tech.
Wish me luck; sounds as though I'm going to need it. Thanks again.


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## JohnnyB1

I just want to report that I got the CableCard installation working and, just as everyone else here says,* it is worth it*. Love it, love it, love it. It is an expensive indulgence, but it is just terrific. No problems, stunning picture, fast performance.
Cotton168: I appreciated the encouraging words. Thanks.
I failed to "keep you posted" after my frustrated post of 11/1 (#489) because the whole thing worked the next day and I was just delighted and didn't want to think about the frustration of getting there. For the record, I am in Pasadena, CA and interacted with *supervisor "Tito"* whom others have mentioned in this forum. The guy is *very competent * and earnest. I told him that I wanted to install 3 CableCards (2 in one Tivo, 1 in the other) and he sent the tech out with 6 CableCards. That's experience talking. In the order they were inserted, the 6 cards worked, failed, worked, failed, failed, worked. So 6 cards turned out to be just enough for 3 working ones.

For my part, I really do believe that Charter management wants CableCard installations to be a frustration and fail commercially to maintain control over premium content. Legally, they know they have to support it, but they can drag their feet by not training or suporting techs and not addressing reliability issues (50% failure rate). The tech at my house says he has a lot of customers screaming at him when the cards fail. I believe it and it sounds like a stressful, horrible job. My perception is that Tito and his techs are trying to do the best they can, but their managers don't support them because they don't actually want them to succeed. That can't be fun. Anyhow, that's my conspiracy theory and I'm delighted that I don't have to deal with it anymore. Best of luck to all.


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## cotton168

JohnnyB1, I'm so happy to hear from you again! Great news on the working S3 and I'm glad that you and the rest of us are experiencing lovely pictures that I've never had before.  I'm still excited everytime I get my "Now Playing" list and to see all the programs that I love in Hi Def. It's a great thing to happen. Of course we early adopters pay a premium to be EAs but the way that I see it, we were the first ones to get it and use it. It also came with some heartaches as all of us here have had with Charter and also sometimes with TiVo, but I think it was still worth it. 

It is a shame to see Tito, Pedro, and other Charter tech managers getting hassled with the CCs because the big wigs don't want them working at all or carry them but the law is the law and I'm glad that at least some of the techs care about their customers.

Enjoy the S3 and take care!!!


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## fierobuff

Successful Instal, Charter Long Beach, CA 

Just want to let everyone know my experience. I called up Charter to request two cable cards for my Tivo S3 and they told me they didn't have any HD cablecards available in my area. After doing some research I found out that the cable card itself didn't need to be called HD. I then called back and requested two cablecards to be installed. They added the cards to my account and sent out a technician. The technicians seem to be getting better at this because they jumped right in on it. They had the first card up fast but the second one wasn't pairing. Fortunately they had some spares and were able to get them both up and running. All in all it took about an hour and a half to get it up and running. 

S3, sooooo worth it!!!!


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## Havanese_boy

I was able to go to my local Charter office and get two Motorola CC's without any hassle.

I came home and installed them into my new S3 with lifetime and followed the instructions that came with the box. Let me say here - man does that box look better than the Moxi!

I got the screen that shows the Host and Data ID, but when I went to call Charter all they wanted was the SN of the two cards as I was speaking to Billing.

Don't I need to give someone the Data ID to activate the cards? I called the tech support ppl and got overseas "dog chasing their tails", but no one would take my info.

I cannot get the cards to do any channel testing as I think they are in Charter's system but not activated.

I have removed the cards until Monday when I can go to the local office and speak to a friend of mine who works there. What should I tell the guy? 

With no cards in, I am able to watch SD channels and the PQ of 2-77 leaves Moxi in the dust.


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## kabewm

Pasadena Install was smooth and painless. It took less than five minutes in and out to get my Series 3 (w/ lifetime) working with digital and hd.


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## Havanese_boy

To finish my story...

I went to my local Charter office this morning and found out my inside guy was out sick, so I explained that I had the two CCs and both were in the S3, but I needed to get them activated. She had no clue and after sticking her head in the back office, a lady came out and rambled about how a tech had to come out...I presented her with the two serial #'s and the Host/Data ID info for each card. She looked at me and took my paper with the info on it and went to the back again. After an hour of waiting she comes back out and smiles and says the cards are active and she showed a good signal to my house.

I went home and everything came up great with digital and HD channels. My signal strength is at a steady 96 - 98.

My Sammy HL-S6187W will be here Friday and I am so glad that the Tivo is ready.


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## mojoxp

Here in Madison, WI the CableCard install wasn't a problem. Guy got them in and working in no time flat (longest part was being on hold with Charter to get them hit). 

Getting service on the cards is a different matter. For some reason Charter is unable to get the Digital Tiers working or the HDTV tier. I can get local HDs and thats it. Some of our channels (all?) are simulcast in digital, and I get those as digital... so its not a technical issue just a problem on the customer service end (surprise, surprise).


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## sduston

I have Charter service and I haven't really had any difficulties getting the cable cards. However, I am part of the few that have had a lot of reboot problems. In my case, I have found channels 792 (TNTHD), 793 (UHD) and 799 (MTV HD) have been giving me a message stating something about activating the cards, call the cable provider, Host ID and all sorts of stuff...

A little background:
In my case, I have had the S3 Tivo for just over a month now. Upon first installation it was fine, no reboot issues. After a few weeks or so, after a couple of software updates and a little use, I began having a rediculous amount of reboots. It seemed to get increasingly worse as the days passed. It got so bad that is started freezing, and shutting down, and rebooting sometimes 8-10 times before stabilizing and becoming usable again. I tried dealing with Charter, and getting a technician to actually show up was a job in and of itself. So, since I had actually spent the extra $50 or whatever to buy the ever hated "service plan" from Circuit City, I took the Tivo back and swapped it for a new one to hopefully eliminate hardware failures as a potential cause. About a week later I began seeing a reboot once and a great while, but more often than not I would get the black/gray screen with Host ID info and such on some channels. 

Previously, I would occasionally see this message with my original S3, but the Tivo would almost always reboot after displaying that message for a few minutes. 

Bottom line, I still have occasional reboots, but not as bad as before. I am trying to get Charter out to replace the cable cards, then I'll go from there. Charter has never said to me that they do not support the Tivo... at least So Far...

For me, I have a Tivo Wireless G adapter on my S3. Otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. Any insight or other experience? I personally haven't had any kind of specific issues recording NBC-HD so far, just as a side note.


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## cotton168

sduston,

Sorry to hear about the issues you are having with your S3.  Have you tried contacting TiVo to see if they have a remedy for this issue? I know that there are other people who also suffer the dreaded reboots so I'm wondering if this can be fixed by TiVo? Luckily you did get the extended warranty so you can exchange the item but that is also a pain in the a$$. Good luck to you and if you hear of anything, let us know.


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## TAsunder

mojoxp said:


> Here in Madison, WI the CableCard install wasn't a problem. Guy got them in and working in no time flat (longest part was being on hold with Charter to get them hit).
> 
> Getting service on the cards is a different matter. For some reason Charter is unable to get the Digital Tiers working or the HDTV tier. I can get local HDs and thats it. Some of our channels (all?) are simulcast in digital, and I get those as digital... so its not a technical issue just a problem on the customer service end (surprise, surprise).


Just got installed this morning, 2 cable cards, also in madison, WI. I had been using a digital STB before. Are you having problems solely with the cable card digital or all digitals?

I'm not sure you are missing much with the HD tier. You still get locals and premiums in HD without it. Or at least, I do.

It really shocked me to discover that neither fox nor the CW are carried by charter in HD. I have to use an OTA antenna to get them.

The install guy refused to even look at the instructions and kept telling me to try various menu options until the MMI screen showed. He also was trying hard to sell their DVR service (favorite line: "you know these things work better with satellite?"). But it worked out just fine. Biggest problem was his shoes were wet.


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## TMTBoomer

sduston said:


> I have Charter service and I haven't really had any difficulties getting the cable cards. However, I am part of the few that have had a lot of reboot problems. In my case, I have found channels 792 (TNTHD), 793 (UHD) and 799 (MTV HD) have been giving me a message stating something about activating the cards, call the cable provider, Host ID and all sorts of stuff...
> 
> A little background:
> In my case, I have had the S3 Tivo for just over a month now. Upon first installation it was fine, no reboot issues. After a few weeks or so, after a couple of software updates and a little use, I began having a rediculous amount of reboots. It seemed to get increasingly worse as the days passed. It got so bad that is started freezing, and shutting down, and rebooting sometimes 8-10 times before stabilizing and becoming usable again. I tried dealing with Charter, and getting a technician to actually show up was a job in and of itself. So, since I had actually spent the extra $50 or whatever to buy the ever hated "service plan" from Circuit City, I took the Tivo back and swapped it for a new one to hopefully eliminate hardware failures as a potential cause. About a week later I began seeing a reboot once and a great while, but more often than not I would get the black/gray screen with Host ID info and such on some channels.
> 
> Previously, I would occasionally see this message with my original S3, but the Tivo would almost always reboot after displaying that message for a few minutes.
> 
> Bottom line, I still have occasional reboots, but not as bad as before. I am trying to get Charter out to replace the cable cards, then I'll go from there. Charter has never said to me that they do not support the Tivo... at least So Far...
> 
> For me, I have a Tivo Wireless G adapter on my S3. Otherwise nothing out of the ordinary. Any insight or other experience? I personally haven't had any kind of specific issues recording NBC-HD so far, just as a side note.


I you have not done so already, you need to call Charter back with the new Host ID's for the replacment S3. The Cable Cards you have are tied to the original Host ID's. Example: Cable Card #1 is tied to tuner #1's host ID. This would be like swapping the Cable Cards from one slot to the other, it should not be done unless the server has been updated also. This goes for any host device including TV's.

This would explain the channel behavior.


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## shrktank

Charter came out today to install my cablecards.

The tech was professional and eager to install the cards (I think it was his first HD Tivo).

I had the Tivo CableCard install sheet on top of the unit. I am pleased to announce that the installer read these before even attempting to start!

Installed the first card with no hitch. Called in the numbers. Proceeded to card#2. no hitch with this one as well. Called in again for card #2. 

Within a few minutes we observed channels coming in from the Test Channel screens.

Excellent install and fantastic experience with Charter.

I think the longest time was spent with the tech on hold to activate the cards!!

Not sure why they cant access through the web some how!!


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## pbrass

Charter sub-contractor showed up ~ 30 minutes late for his 8 am to 12 pm scheduled appointment. While this was his first CC install, he did have the presence of mind to bring 3 cards with him just in case. He had never seen a TiVo before apparently and felt obliged to tell me that Charter's DVR was easier to set up. He also let me know he was only getting ~ $13 for the job.

Upon seeing that I had a handle on what to do, he backed off and simply relayed instructions from the Charter employee at the head end. CC's were originally slow to pick up a signal and the 1st card wouldn't get Digital or HD for quite a while. On impulse, we plugged in the 2nd card and the 1st one got its HD programming immediately. I suspect this was simply a coincidence, but the timing was uncanny.

I continue to be amazed at how good a job the Series3 does at up-converting SD signals (and of course HD is amazing).

The tech was on site for less than an hour and all channels came up after the cards "sync'd" with the head end.

FWIW, the employee at the head end seemed to be knowledgeable about the TiVo interface or, at the very least, had a good script to work off.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread... it made the process MUCH easier.


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## jjk58

So, I called in to order 2 CCards. The rep asked if I wanted a tech to come or if I wanted to pick them up. I was surprised and asked if she was sure if I could pick them up... yes, not a problem. I could even do it today. I'm out the door....

Go to the office and get told only a tech can do it... grrrrrrr!!!!!!

Worse yet, the system doesn't show a request by me... After a few minutes of poking the office rep sees that the system is bouncing my request for a ccard since I have a digital box... she said she would call me

--
She called back about 1 hour later. She tried to talk me out of the cards saying that they're not as good as a box and I won't have VOD and PPV... Apparently the supervising tech was talking them down as well.... I did not mention that it's for a S3...

They're coming on tuesday. I'm wondering if I'll need to do the install for them...??


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## jdmass

jjk58 said:


> So, I called in to order 2 CCards. The rep asked if I wanted a tech to come or if I wanted to pick them up. I was surprised and asked if she was sure if I could pick them up... yes, not a problem. I could even do it today. I'm out the door....
> 
> Go to the office and get told only a tech can do it... grrrrrrr!!!!!!


Exactly my initial experience with Charter (discussed earlier in this thread). I hope that you demanded that the house call be free since they misinformed you and put you through the inconvenience of going to their office.

It's sad to hear that they are still giving out misinformation after all of these experiences. I think that it shows how little they care about support. I believe Charter has made a calculated decision to make the cablecard experience as unpleasant as possible to try to discourage customers from using them. As a result they provide no training for their people. I don't blame the techs and phone people -- I think this is a deliberate policy at the top.

I'm not usually this cynical, but given what it must be costing them in truck rolls and support calls, it is the explanation that makes the most sense.


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## iWish

Unbelievably, Charter is still refusing to "support".

Just received an S3 from Dell and I called to order the cards. 

Was told Tivo not supported.

Best I could manage was an address of a local office where I could supposedly pick up some cards. 

No phone number, just an address.

I guess they are still making this tough on us.

Thanks for all who have posted to help me get through this bullsh$$.


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## iWish

Update:

I called the 888 a second time and was told again that Charter doesn't support Tivo. This time they said I could either pick up the cards myself or have a service call to have them "dropped off" -- meaning they would not install them!!!!

Went to local office in West Sacramento at 5:00 last night who corrected the 888 service reps and informed me that they do indeed install Tivo cable cards.

Got an appointment for the next day.

Though the installer had never done a Tivo cable card install, he had done others and the whole thing went smoothly even though my power cord unplugged between installing the first and second cards! 

Though I haven't tested fully, everything looked good!!!

Kudos to the Charter local branch in West Sac!


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## CheezWiz

Got an HD DCR Plasma last month.
Went in and requested a cable card for it, was told that it would not get guide data or VOD and would cost $1.50/month rental. I said that was good for me and it was scheduled for the next day. Came in, installed it, re-did the wiring outside the house, done. Took my old box with him which reduced my fee by $3.95/month. 45 minutes total.

Got my S3 from Dell yesterday (At a GREAT PRICE!!) and went by the office to request the cards. No problem, same disclaimer. Scheduled for next day (today). Two hours late, but not a problem, the contractor arrives. Checks signals and wiring. Installs cards, all good. One important thing is that after installing the cards, go to test channels. Don't go through the entire guided setup! That took 20 minutes after the guy left for new guide data to come down. Test channels will immediately show you that they are working. They did have to hit the cards a second time to get the going. In and out in 30 minutes.

We are in the backwaters of civilization here and I have had ZERO problems with Charter. They are a great bunch here... :up:


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## rczig

I called Charter last week to schedule the installation of Cable Cards (I didn't mention it was for my TiVo  ) and, amazingly, they were able to move up the appt since the cards arrived early. The installer showed up on time with ONLY TWO cards, so I was a bit nervous. He had never even seen a S3 TiVo, but seemed pretty impressed. He was willing to follow the installer instructions precisely- and even read them all the way through prior to the installation! We did get the "171-4" error code with both cards before they started to work. However, the installation went smoothly (both cards worked on the first attempt1), all of my channels appear to be working, and the installer said IT WAS THE EASIEST CABLE CARD INSTALL HE'D EVER DONE! He said that many TVs have problems with the cards and that some of them even require a firmware flash. He also told me that evidently Charter wasn't even charging me for the service call! (I'm doubtful on that last one, I still expect to see a $19.99 service call charge on my next bill)

All in all, it was a GREAT experience! No problems whatsoever! :up:


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## joe warner

cotton168 said:


> I cannot believe the load of BS that Charter is giving you. Seeing how much trouble you are getting from them is also making me worry about my install on Friday. Hopefully the Alhambra office will be better. Don't know...
> 
> Anyone else have Charter and has had their CCs work on their Tivos?


 I am in Texas and I have Charter and I have absolutely no problems with the cable cards or install. Charter gave me no problem in installing them in mt TiVo. Both cards were installed and working in less tham 45 minutes.


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## timebeing

I got my S3 tivo around early Dec.

Called Charter (Burbank, ca) late at night. Talk to someone for about 45mins. Had issues with the computer with me only having 1 TV but needing 2 cable cards and a Cable Box (for on-demand) but they got a Tech guy and worked it out, Waived the installation fee.

Tivo was getting all TV just fine with just the digital cable plugged into it, but just not my HBO.

Sent someone out next day, and installed it quickly with no problems, said it was his 3rd Tivo that day (just did a house with 3 S3s)

Flash forward 30days. New HD TV shows up. Call Charter tell them to give me the HD channels, and everything goes in the toilet. My cable goes in and out, and the only way to get it back is to reboot the tivo. 3 calls back and they get it fix, but I still get Cable card errors on 3 specific HD Channels but everything else is working fine and staying on. Guy comes out next week to try and fix those 3 channels.


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## crabherring

I've been on the phone multiple times with Charter and have had the joy of two tech visits. Here is where I'm at:

Both cable cards are recognized by S3 on the cablecard set up menus. I'm receiving all analog channels and local HD channels with no problem. I do not receive digital channels (channels 100+) or the HDTier channels on either cable card. 

I've gone through the forums and had the last tech (who was very willing to help) go through the key problem areas:
1) checked signal strength and integrity (no problems)
2) rechecked all numbers from Cable Card and S3 (host id, etc...) with settings at Charter (all okay)
3) tech asked Charter cust serv to make sure the correct cable card enable codes were used (saw a post that said DCT codes were different). This was also okay.
4) Had Charter rehit the cards (cards have been rehit, including cold hit, multiple times now)
5) Restarted Tivo and redid guided setup.

Still only analog channels. I have a DCT box in the house and can confirm that it is receiving the digital channels.

The tech then got on the phone and told Charter to schedule another visit to include bringing two new Cable Cards. 

Any other ideas?

(By the way).... On the first tech visit (4 hours). I got the hypnotic screen of death when doing channel test on the cards. As others have posted, it took quite some time for the cable card firmware loads or whatever to happen. I also found out that Charter had a huge queue of new devices to enumerate on the network. So, if you get the spinning disk on channel check this could be the cause. About 6 hours later (10 total from cable card install), I got analog channels active on both cards and started working through trying to get the digital channels going.


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## jdmass

crabherring said:


> I...
> I've gone through the forums and had the last tech (who was very willing to help) go through the key problem areas:
> 1) checked signal strength and integrity (no problems)
> 2) rechecked all numbers from Cable Card and S3 (host id, etc...) with settings at Charter (all okay)
> 3) tech asked Charter cust serv to make sure the correct cable card enable codes were used (saw a post that said DCT codes were different). This was also okay.
> 4) Had Charter rehit the cards (cards have been rehit, including cold hit, multiple times now)
> 5) Restarted Tivo and redid guided setup.
> 
> Still only analog channels. I have a DCT box in the house and can confirm that it is receiving the digital channels.


I guess it's possible that both cablecards are bad, but I would bet that step 3 was not done properly. The onsite tech may have the best of intentions, but it seems that the majority of people at the other end of the phone for Charter are incompetent.

When I had my S3 installed I was fortunate to get one of the head end engineers to actually call dispatch and tell them specifically which codes were needed. He told me that they almost always get it wrong.


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## eric_mcgovern

The day has finally come that Charter adds new HD channels! Yeah! 

I received a letter, telling me TNT HD, Universal HD and Cinemax HD are being added. So I tune to the channels they list, and TNT pops in for about 2 seconds before the "please call Charter" message from the CableCARD pops up. So I give Charter a jingle, and they are utterly confused by what I am asking. I get transferred around about 3 times, I finally end up in "repair". 

I keep explaining to them I simply need the CableCARDS authorized for the new channels, as they are mapping them (TiVo has the correct station name in the upper right corner), but I am just not authorized. They keep telling me I have that package and I should get them. I was getting somewhere with repair, but I was hung up on, and didn't feel like calling back (even though I gave everyone my number 3 times, I guess they can't call out). 

The TiVo lineup change hasn't occurred, but I figured that when it does I want to be able to get those channels from day 1. 

Has anyone had success during lineup changes?

My Series 3 box with has worked flawlessly with the CableCARDS since day 1, I just hope this doesn't goof up my good fortunes


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## j0e

I got my first Tivo, a Sony, just over 6 years ago and it immediately became indispensible. I never could understand why everyone with a TV did not get one. Anyway, aside from upgrading the storage and adding a wireless card I never did much with it except enjoy it.

A few days ago I bought an HDTV and the S3 box. I dreaded what was going to happen when I ordered the cable cards. Turns out that it was not too bad. I called up and based on these notes said I had gotten a new TV and wanted 2 cable cards for it. I got the speech about VOD and MOXIE and then was told the TV only needed one card. So I said I got 2 TV's. They had plenty of cards, but the installers were tied up and I was told I could not do them myself so I had to wait 5 days.

So the cable guy showed up on time and said he had not seen the S3 and asked me if I wanted to plug them in myslef. I did so and first put in the bottom one. Took a long minute before the screen with the numbers came up. The canle guy told me to do the guided setup but I told him to wait.

After putting that one in, I put in the upper one. Nothing happened for 2 minutes and then an error message about calling home came up. I told him that I had read on the net that there were a lot of bad cards so he just went out to the truck and got another one. Popped that in and it came up fine in about 45 seconds.

He then got a call from his boss who told him he had to come to the office even if he was in the middle of a call. So he said he would call in the numbers and get the cards turned on and be back as soon as he could.

Within a few minutes. I was able to get HD and it sure looks great. Of course some channels did not come in because they forgot to turn on the HD service. So when he came back he had to call the head end to turn some more channels on. Also we noticed a few glitches across the screen so he decidded to clean up the levels. I have a three way splitter and learned that one of the outputs on a three-way is half the loss of the other two. It was well market. Anyway it looks great, Tivo has improved a lot in 6 years, and the HD picture is well worth it.

This forum made it a better experience because I did not tell charter that it was a Tivo, I put myself into the installation loop and did not freak whem one of the cards did not work.


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## 2big4burb

Anyone have Tito's number?

This is getting really old. It's been 3 months, 4 different technicians, and a ton of calls into Charter. The current party line from Charter is "cable cards are not available in your area" Really? Then how did I get these 4 cable cards that don't really work? (I've got 2 S3's that currently only get channels 2 - 101)


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## r11roadster

eric_mcgovern said:


> Has anyone had success during lineup changes?


I added the family package with no problems shortly after they installed my cards.

edit: thought you said 'doing' not during so just ignore me


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## Buran

What happens if you drop a package? Here in the St. Louis area I no longer get the CBS station in HD and 90% of my HD viewing was CSI on that channel, so what's the point at this point of continuing to pay for something that I will get less benefit from than I feel I should be? I already called Charter and the station to complain, wrote to the editor of the local paper, and filed a complaint with the BBB -- it's all about some silly argument and Charter WILLINGLY turned off the feed, not a technical issue -- and I've given Charter a week to resume the service I am PAYING for. I assume that it's something that can be done remotely.

They didn't warn anyone of this and I only got a letter informing me that I'd be paying more for less TODAY after I've been out-of-service for two and a half days.

Heck, while I'm asking ... This summer I plan to move to Florida (Comcast territory) and the S3 will be coming along, of course. Is it a big hassle to change from one CableCard setup to another? Anyone ever done that? (and yes, Comcast DOES have the local CBS affiliate, unlike Charter, which seems to think that outdated and obsolete SD technology is sufficient. So much for innovation).


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## pvthndl

OK, I'm making the plunge. I ordered my S3 today from Costco. They have a low price ($649) plus a very good return policy in case this all goes bad during the install. I will call and schedule my local Charter dude(s) next week. I currently have a Moxi (4 days of hell since I got plugged in), so I'll just tell them that I want to have 2 cable cards added, and then if all works, I will turn off the Moxi service as soon as the Tivo service is up. If I can do this within 30 days, there should be no problem with Charter. Wish me luck with the cable cards and the person they send out.


----------



## haysdb

Where are you located pvthndl? I'm in St Louis and just contacted Charter tech support via chat and was told to just swing by the office and pick up the cards and do it myself.


----------



## pvthndl

I'm in Ashland Oregon (on the border with CA in Southern Oregon). The Rep at Charter was a little confused since I already have a Moxi, but I just told him that I wanted both boxes running. As soon as Tivo is up, I'm junking the Moxi. I've only had it for a little while, but as your other thread shows, we both think the UI is exceedingly weak. My appt. for cards is set for Jan 21. I'll let you know how it goes.


----------



## hizhonor

haysdb said:


> Where are you located pvthndl? I'm in St Louis and just contacted Charter tech support via chat and was told to just swing by the office and pick up the cards and do it myself.


I'm in the St. Louis area as well ... Ferguson. I'd be surprised if you get to walk away with cards for a self install. Unless something's changed very recently, a cablecard install inexplicably requires a truck roll.

If, on the otherhand, you can do a self install, lemme know. I'd rather install my own as well -- S3 due to arrive tomorrow.

Steve

My call to order cablecards again confirms all this confusion. First sales rep tells me to drop by the office to pick them up. When I asked him to verify this information I'm transfered to a first line tech rep who quickly figures out she can't help, and passed me on to "Kat" in Wisconsin who definitely knows her stuff, is familiar with the Tivo 3 and schedules my CC install for Friday. Tech is to arrive between 1 and 5. I'll let you all know the outcome.

Finale: 
Tech finally arrived at 4:30 after some initial confusion. Stayed until 7 when we had everything working. Not the smoothest installation but not as bad as I had feared. The Tech was contract help and had never done a Tivo 3, but we worked through it together. Most of the time was spent waiting on the person on the other end of the Nextel and getting the various ID numbers entered into their system correctly.


----------



## haysdb

Ferguson?

It won't surprise me in the least if I'm told when I get there that I can't install them myself and that someone less competent than I must come to my apartment to install them. I told the CSR they were for a TV, and he didn't even blink, but just said drop by the office and sign for them.

Is there any particular reason I need to tell them I'm putting them in a Tivo? I'm thinking that might "provoke" them into dynamically changing the policy expressed by the CSR, as in "screw the MF, let's at least ding him for a service call, galdarn SOB."

???


P.s. I guess I should drop by the office and find out for sure. If I wait till I get my S3 and THEN find out it's going to require a service call...


----------



## muchmore

I had to return my TiVo Series 3 because I could not get it to work with Charter Cable here in Fort Worth, TX. The Charter technician that came out for my appointment was excellent and worked with me for 2 weeks after my initial appointment to try to get it to work. Unfortunately he only had 4 or 5 cable cards that he could bring. Out of those, only one "worked" - all of the other cards we tried had the TiVo displaying "updating firmware" for hours, then the TiVo said that the cards would not work. Also, with the one card that "worked", I could not get all of the channels I subscribed to to display. 

I understand that it is not TiVo's fault. I called TiVo when I was trying to set up the machine, and they spoke with the technician several times. Even with this support, I could not get it to work. 

This has been VERY disappointing. Because I could not get it to work, I was forced to return it. 

I am now going back to DirecTV and using my old HD DirecTV TiVo (which is fast becoming obsolete). DirecTV is moving to MPEG-4 and has dropped support for TiVo since they came out with their own HD DVR. This is also disappointing since I spent a LOT of money on that HD TiVo DirecTV receiver and it is going to be useless as soon as all of DirecTV's HD channels move to MPEG-4 (2007). I really feel burned about it. 

With these 2 bad experiences with TiVo, I will probably not go back to TiVo. And if these experiences are typical, I do not see how TiVo will be able to succeed. 

Andrew


----------



## jjk58

jjk58 said:


> So, I called in to order 2 CCards.
> <<deleted>>
> 
> They're coming on tuesday. I'm wondering if I'll need to do the install for them...??


I just realized that I forgot to follow-up...

The tech showed up on-time, 2 days after the order... All went pretty well... no hick-ups... We got a bit impatient as it took a few extra minutes for the cmd to come down the line to enable the digital channels, but no big deal...

{note: this was pepperell/worcester based charter}

joe


----------



## jahwz

Ok, finally got my S3 today and called to schedule CC setup with Charter (Wilmington, NC). After reading this thread, I wasn't sure how the rep would respond. When I told him I needed a pair of CC's he immediately responded "for the Tivo S3, right?". Oh boy, here we go... but then he continued "... not a problem, let me get your info...".

I mentioned this thread and it was news to him, he has had his S3 going (with Charter) since they first came out and had never heard anything about these problems. 

Setup is scheduled for Friday afternoon, will follow-up then...

--
Brandon
---
Series 2 80 hour DT
Series 3 300 hour


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## hizhonor

haysdb said:


> Ferguson?


Ferguson is a suburb of St. Louis --- North County.


----------



## CraigHB

muchmore said:


> I am now going back to DirecTV and using my old HD DirecTV TiVo (which is fast becoming obsolete). DirecTV is moving to MPEG-4 and has dropped support for TiVo since they came out with their own HD DVR. This is also disappointing since I spent a LOT of money on that HD TiVo DirecTV receiver and it is going to be useless as soon as all of DirecTV's HD channels move to MPEG-4 (2007). I really feel burned about it.


I wouldn't get too upset at this point. There is a chance that DirecTV could go back to TiVo. By the time your HR10 does not work at all anymore, D* may be offering TiVo again.

The move away from TiVo was an executive decision made after Murdoch acquired DirecTV. Murdoch is a huge media company and they came with their own resources to develop an in-house DVR. Recently, Murdoch traded all of their stock interest in D* to Liberty Media. I don't think they're going to want to continue doing business with Murdoch for the DVR system. It's possible they could go back to TiVo. I don't have any real information on this, it's just what I think might happen.


----------



## spudsfw

muchmore said:


> I had to return my TiVo Series 3 because I could not get it to work with Charter Cable here in Fort Worth, TX. The Charter technician that came out for my appointment was excellent and worked with me for 2 weeks after my initial appointment to try to get it to work. Unfortunately he only had 4 or 5 cable cards that he could bring. Out of those, only one "worked" - all of the other cards we tried had the TiVo displaying "updating firmware" for hours, then the TiVo said that the cards would not work. Also, with the one card that "worked", I could not get all of the channels I subscribed to to display.
> 
> I understand that it is not TiVo's fault. I called TiVo when I was trying to set up the machine, and they spoke with the technician several times. Even with this support, I could not get it to work.
> 
> This has been VERY disappointing. Because I could not get it to work, I was forced to return it.
> 
> I am now going back to DirecTV and using my old HD DirecTV TiVo (which is fast becoming obsolete). DirecTV is moving to MPEG-4 and has dropped support for TiVo since they came out with their own HD DVR. This is also disappointing since I spent a LOT of money on that HD TiVo DirecTV receiver and it is going to be useless as soon as all of DirecTV's HD channels move to MPEG-4 (2007). I really feel burned about it.
> 
> With these 2 bad experiences with TiVo, I will probably not go back to TiVo. And if these experiences are typical, I do not see how TiVo will be able to succeed.
> 
> Andrew


 Charter came out January 3rd to install by cablecards. I handed the tech the Tivo directions and followed them. The two cards were up and running on the standard channels in no time, about 45 minutes. He said that this install was easier than a TV install. He also said that Charter would set up the premium channels and I should get them tonight or early in the morning, if not call in.

The next day I didn't have the premiums so I called Charter that night. After an hour on the phone and disabling two of my three SA set top boxes the representative gave up and made an appointment for Tuesday (9th) between 1100am and 200pm.

I arrived home just before the appointment (they told me they were going to be 15 minutes early) and turned on the HD TV and tuned in a premium channel and to my surprise they were working. My premium and premium HD channels were working on both cards. I received a phone call from Charter asking if the channels were working and I said yes. They informed me that the problem had been on their end. I told them the only thing not working were the music channels (900-942) and I really wasn't worried about them. I told Charter that I again believed that the problem was again on their end with the music channels since I when I checked the signal levels for the music channels they were in the 94-97 range and that the HD Tivo was receiving them.

They decided to send the rep out and was told that the contractor would call. After waiting until almost 2 (1:53) I left since I had not heard from them. Well, he came right after I left. I was informed that I needed to reschedule. On Friday I called for another appointment and informed the tech on line that I thought the issue was still on their end. After internal discussion they decided to ping the service again and not send anyone out. When I got home and checked the music channels were not working but everything else was. I decided to not continue - I had what I really wanted working.

All of the Charter people were cordial and tried to work through the issues. I think once again it is a matter of someone getting false information and passing it around.

Stick with it and you can get the cablecards to work in the Tivo.


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## haysdb

The problem is "provisioning" and the issue is most certainly on their end. There is absolutely no reason for them to send a tech out - that's just a waste of time (theirs AND yours) and resources. Is there any way it COULD be on your end? How?

I had similar problems, not with cablecards but with a Moto DVR. It took several phone calls before I finally talked to someone who was able to resolve the problem. Just WHY this process is so complex is a mystery to me. This is what the cable company DOES (provision set-top boxes) and yet they don't seem to be very good at it.


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## neek

Well, our DTivo finally died, and I had a REALLY good excuse to pick up a Series 3. I have a tech coming out Sunday for the install. 

I'm in the Irwindale area and it seems Tito is the man to talk to. Could some kind soul PM me his contact info? I want to make sure the bring out the right type of cablecard and that things go right.


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## aswann

My install was yesterday. Background: I have been on just basic analog cable up till now. I ordered online and chatted with the rep. I ordered Digital Cable and requested two CableCards for a Tivo Series 3. She quoted $1.50 per card per month. 

My wife called at 10:00 yesterday and asked me to talk to the installer. He said he had only brought 1 cable card and was unaware you could even do two cards. He left, but promised to follow up later. When I arrive home yesterday shortly after 5:00 PM, I met the original installers supervisor who was leaving my house. He told me that "it took awhile but we got it going". And they had! I have two cards installed, both are working great. (after repeating guided setup) I don't yet have a HD TV (getting one soon), but could definitely tell a difference in picture quality. My wife says both guys were very friendly and helpful throughout the process. They even played ball with my Black Lab outside. 

They spent a couple hours on the phone with Charter to get going. The supervisor told me I was the first one in the area to do this, but now they know how.

Overall a good experience - everyone was super professional considering it was something brand new to them.


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## crabherring

crabherring said:


> I've been on the phone multiple times with Charter and have had the joy of two tech visits. Here is where I'm at:
> 
> Both cable cards are recognized by S3 on the cablecard set up menus. I'm receiving all analog channels and local HD channels with no problem. I do not receive digital channels (channels 100+) or the HDTier channels on either cable card.
> 
> I've gone through the forums and had the last tech (who was very willing to help) go through the key problem areas:
> 1) checked signal strength and integrity (no problems)
> 2) rechecked all numbers from Cable Card and S3 (host id, etc...) with settings at Charter (all okay)
> 3) tech asked Charter cust serv to make sure the correct cable card enable codes were used (saw a post that said DCT codes were different). This was also okay.
> 4) Had Charter rehit the cards (cards have been rehit, including cold hit, multiple times now)
> 5) Restarted Tivo and redid guided setup.
> 
> Still only analog channels. I have a DCT box in the house and can confirm that it is receiving the digital channels.
> 
> The tech then got on the phone and told Charter to schedule another visit to include bringing two new Cable Cards.
> 
> Any other ideas?
> 
> (By the way).... On the first tech visit (4 hours). I got the hypnotic screen of death when doing channel test on the cards. As others have posted, it took quite some time for the cable card firmware loads or whatever to happen. I also found out that Charter had a huge queue of new devices to enumerate on the network. So, if you get the spinning disk on channel check this could be the cause. About 6 hours later (10 total from cable card install), I got analog channels active on both cards and started working through trying to get the digital channels going.


SUCCESS!!!

Charter sent two techs out on Monday this week. They had two new cable cards and a person on the other end of the phone that seemed to know what was going on as well.

After checking signal strengths and cable line position to the box with respect to splitters,etc.., they blessed the line strength and said it was "exactly where we like to see it..."

They confirmed with person online that billing data was correct for cable cards and after seeing that I still had no digital channels, pulled the cable cards in the box out and installed the two new cable cards. They gave the card data to the person on the phone. I reran setup on the Tivo box, and SUCCESS!!!. All the digital channels and HDTIER channels were alive a kicking. Total time was less than an hour to do all of this.

So, the key here was, after 3 attempts with techs in the house, convincing Charter to allow a tech to bring two new cards to try. I will say that throughout all of this the Charter techs were trully trying to get my service working quickly. They really seemed interested in the Tivo Box, and were willing to listen to ideas that I pulled from the forums without problems.

Keep up the fight!


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## Leo_N

I have to say, I have yet to find a bad Charter tech over the years. Phone CSRs on the other hand, that is VERY hit-and-miss.


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## MasterCephus

I am getting my Series 3 Monday and I haven't called to get my cable cards. I talked to the lady at charter when I was cancelling my Moxi crap that the cable cards are only $1.50 each and then I just had to pick a digital service.

My question is this: When I get my Tivo, do I set it up normally using the guided setup and then when the tech comes, just follow the setup PDF you can download? Or do I just wait to do anything until the tech comes?


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## jahwz

MasterCephus said:


> My question is this: When I get my Tivo, do I set it up normally using the guided setup and then when the tech comes, just follow the setup PDF you can download? Or do I just wait to do anything until the tech comes?


Well, I got my S3 two weeks ago and was supposed to have a tech out the next day, but then he called back to inform me it would be a week before he could get the cable cards as the local office didn't have any in stock (too bad the 800# rep didn't know that). I simply plugged the cable from the wall into the S3 and ran guided setup. Dual-tuner goodness, minus the premiums and HD, worked just fine. Kinda surprised me when I realized it was able to do the dual-tuning from a single cable (coax) input, but I guess that is another difference between the S2 and S3.

The tech showed up today with the cable cards. After a bit of confusion from the techs on the phone about what was going on, we finally got to one that hit the cards with the right info and everything came up and works fine so far...

To answer your question more directly, yes, you can just run guided setup without the cable cards. Once the tech arrives, just repeat guided setup and insert the cards when you get to that screen. The info sheet that came in the S3 box just said to pop the cards in, but if you do that you will still have to repeat guided setup once they are activated, at least there will be a message from the Tivo indicating that you have to. Hope that helps!

--
Brandon
Carolina Beach, NC


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## pvthndl

The Charter guys showed up this AM. They had never done a Tivo before, but I had it all set up for them. Put the first card in, and after a few minutes (and a 161-4 error) it came up. Dito for card 2. So, I'm golden.

Best of all, they took that piece of (@&#% Moxi with them.

Master - hook up the box and go through a guided setup as if it had no HD channels, once this is done you a finished until the Cable Cards show up.


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## jahwz

pvthndl said:


> Put the first card in, and after a few minutes (and a 161-4 error) it came up. Dito for card 2.


Same error here. The tech on the phone (the one who knew what was going on) said they always have to just ignore/bypass that message.



pvthndl said:


> Best of all, they took that piece of (@&#% Moxi with them.


Yes, finally rid of that piece of garbage!


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## MasterCephus

Thanks guys!

I think I figured that I could go ahead and use my Tivo before I got the cable cards, but was just wanting to make sure.

Thanks!


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## eric_mcgovern

For those of you that have had the "Waiting for CP Auth" issue with Scientific Atlanta cards, how was it finally resolved? 

Charter added some new stations, and they decided to set the CCI bit at 0x02, while all the original channels are 0x00. Both my CableCARDS are "Waiting for CP Auth" so I can't received any of the new channels. I have tried just about everything, and the responses I receive are "Waiting for CP Auth doesn't mean anything" and "We don't know what's wrong". I have done the phone support route 5 times, the chat route 2 times, and had a very long tech visit with multiple techs showing up. Not sure what the next steps are, as I really want the new channels.


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## ChuckyBox

eric_mcgovern said:


> I have done the phone support route 5 times, the chat route 2 times, and had a very long tech visit with multiple techs showing up. Not sure what the next steps are, as I really want the new channels.


This is just more from Charter's bottomless arsenal of deliberate incompetence. Their "engineers" at the head end need to configure the system so that cablecards can decrypt the new stations. But they don't want to make this work, they want to you to get the Charter DVR.

Your next step should be a complaint to the FCC: http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm

But don't expect a resolution any time soon.


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## neek

So far, so good. Installer came out with a stack of SA Cablecards, we got all four installed and called them in... two of them wouldn't pair! Strange thing is, they worked. I get all my programming on both tuners.

Hopefully it'll KEEP working.  

The installer said it was his first Tivo install and was by far the easiest CC install he had ever done.


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## rkdahl

Well I just did my Series3 Charter cable card install warm up dance. I called our Charter 800 number today to ask to have 2 cable cards installed in my brand new TiVo Series3. The conversation went like this:

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ME: Hi I'd like to get 2 cable cards installed in my new Tivo device
Charter rep Katrina "I'm sorry we don't support Tivos'

I'm not asking for any support I just need two cable cards installed at my home
"we don't install cable cards in Tivos"

I think maybe you do...maybe you're not familiar with a Tivo but I know that Charter does in fact install cable cards in Tivos all over the US as per the FCC requirements.

"well I don't know anything about FCC requirements but I know for a fact we don't support Tivos and we cannot install cable cards in your Tivo only in TV's"

Ok...well I think you may want to do some research on this because I know that is incorrect.....and while you're doing that can you transfer me to a manager? And what call center are you in?

"I'm in the Vancouver call center. I'd be glad to transfer you to my lead who will talk to you. Have a nice day"

right....wait...wait

"Hi this is Chance how can I help you"

Hi Chance, I'm trying to get 2 cable cards scheduled for installation in my Tivo box

"I'm sorry sir we don't support Tivos" 

(ARGGGGG)

Well I know that in fact Charter does do this and I can show you information that documents the FCC ruling supporting this so can you please just have someone bring out 2 cable cards for me?

"No sir we do NOT install cable cards in portable devices!"

Portable devices? 

"Yes, we install cable cards in TV's but not in portable devices like Tivo's!"

Can I have the name of your manager and can you transfer me to them?

"Here's the number of our corporate resolution center 866-212-1063, you can contact them directly"

OK..I will, and I suggest you folks do some additional research on this topic so you can see that you do in fact support Tivo cable card installs.

"OK thanks for calling. Have a nice day!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I hang up and call back to the same 800 Charter number I originally called. Push the same VRU buttons, get routed to a rep:

"Hi this is Bruce how can I help you?"

ME: Hi Bruce what call center are you in?

"I'm in Rochester MN"

Ahh..OK. Hey I was looking to get 2 cable cards installed in my new Tivo box

"Sure...I can set that up for you. That'll be an additional $1.50 per card and the earliest I can get that scheduled for is Monday"

After I got up off the floor. I thanked him profusely, asked that he transfer me to his manager so I can thank her, which I did. Then I called the Charter corporate resolution center to complain about the previous reps support and their lack of professionalism.

Looking forward to the tech coming out.............................. maybe.


----------



## stevetd

rkdahl said:


> ME: Hi I'd like to get 2 cable cards installed in my new Tivo device
> Charter rep Katrina "I'm sorry we don't support Tivos'


When I called, I didn't tell them into what I was installing the cards. When the tech got there I told him "mine" was a dual tuner and that I would be happy to squeeze behind the TV and insert the cards. Install went like a charm and the tech still doesn't know the cards went into a TIVO!


----------



## haysdb

I "lied" about what the CableCards were going into also. I just said they were for a new TV. I didn't want to get into an argument with a CSR. Hopefully that won't be an issue when the installer gets here, supposedly this afternoon, SOMETIME between 1 and 5.

Update 1: Charter guy is here. Says he's done Tivo CC installs before. Interestingly he asked when he came in the door, "This is for a Tivo, right?" I can imagine the request for TWO CableCards was the giveaway, huh? No worries, he didn't even pull a face at having to do a Tivo install.

Update 2: Got the 161-4 error but the installer said it just needed a signal hit, which took quite awhile. He was here about an hour. It's "Getting Program Info" at the moment, so I don't know yet whether I have all the channels I'm paying for. Hopefully when I get home from work tonight it will be working.


----------



## TMTBoomer

rkdahl said:


> Well I just did my Series3 Charter cable card install warm up dance. I called our Charter 800 number today to ask to have 2 cable cards installed in my brand new TiVo Series3. The conversation went like this:
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.


Perfect!

I know the easiest thing to do is just tell them it's for two TV's. If enough people do what you did things will change. It will take time, but they will change.

Bravo! and a thumbs-up to you sir!


----------



## kduerr

The original install took a long time (not too mention the obligatory 2 week wait since they didn't have cards in stock) but it eventually worked perfectly.

Since then, I have the problem much discussed here about the Premium and HDTier channels going out. "Channel Not Available" is the only message. I have 2 cards in the S3 and 1 card in the Toshiba LCD (for POP purposes). All cards are exhibiting the same behavior. If I unplug everything and let it reset the channels initially come back. However, as soon as I change channels or tuners the same problem comes back.

I called and asked for a hit, but the tech (though very nice) didn't seem to no the difference between a CC hit and STB hit. He put me on hold and called his helpdesk. Then he tried a "different" hit. Still nothing. So he took the easy way out and scheduled a tech visit. Since these same cards worked for the last 2 weeks, I have little hope that the tech visit will yield any results.

Is anyone else experiencing this issue? I'm in the Western CT (Newtown) region.


----------



## timebeing

timebeing said:


> I got my S3 tivo around early Dec.
> 
> Called Charter (Burbank, ca) late at night. Talk to someone for about 45mins. Had issues with the computer with me only having 1 TV but needing 2 cable cards and a Cable Box (for on-demand) but they got a Tech guy and worked it out, Waived the installation fee.
> 
> Tivo was getting all TV just fine with just the digital cable plugged into it, but just not my HBO.
> 
> Sent someone out next day, and installed it quickly with no problems, said it was his 3rd Tivo that day (just did a house with 3 S3s)
> 
> Flash forward 30days. New HD TV shows up. Call Charter tell them to give me the HD channels, and everything goes in the toilet. My cable goes in and out, and the only way to get it back is to reboot the tivo. 3 calls back and they get it fix, but I still get Cable card errors on 3 specific HD Channels but everything else is working fine and staying on. Guy comes out next week to try and fix those 3 channels.


Update. Guy came out swapped out both cable cards for OLDER versions he had and it fixed the problem i get all my HD now.


----------



## bernmart

Dan203 said:


> This is such a crock of sh*t! They are required by law to support ANY device that is certified for use with CableCARDs by CableLabs. all them back and tell them if they refuse to install the cards in the TiVo your next call will be to the FCC.
> 
> You might also try calling the TiVo help line and seeing if they will get involved on your behalf.
> 
> Dan


I'm confused. I had a technician booked by the Irwindale office install two cable cards in my TiVo a couple of weeks ago without complaint and without complication. My son (who is a lawyer) assured me just in case that the FCC does indeed require them to install them.

What's going on, I wonder? Sounds like someone in the Irwindale Office was spoiling for a p*ssing contest!


----------



## rkdahl

Charter cable card install update....

*Pre-Install*

So as it turns out, so far at least, my telephone request to have the Charter cable guy come out and install two cable cards in my TiVo took LONGER than the actual install! As noted a few posts above I spent almost an hour on the phone talking to the Charter corporate escalation center and the charter call center in Vancouver who insisted till their last breath that they do not support TiVo's. And then I call a guy from Charter's Rochester, MN center took less than 5 min to set up an appointment!

Lesson learned: when you have an agent from Charter that will not schedule an install Cable Cards in your TiVo. Immediately get their manager involved and call the Charter Corporate Resolution Center 866-212-1063 and share your story. Then get an agent that will schedule it cause it IS in fact supported.

*Install*
So today the Charter installer, Greg, gets here on time as promised at 08:45am. He has never done a TiVo Series3 he says...I start worrying. But in his next breath he says "No problem, we'll get this up and running!" Nice.

So I show him the TiVo, how it has 2 slots, I share that there have been a lot of issues around the country with this, and that I have printed some updated install instructions that may help. He says.."OK Great, lets do it!" I really like this guy!

We put in Card 1, we wait a few minutes and the MMI screen pops up. So far so good. At this point, he really wanted to put in card to so he only had to do one call, but after we chatted a few minutes he agrees, we better do one at a time. So he calls tech support, reads the info, and we wait. Not sure how long to wait so we agree on 4 minutes. We get 161-4 error, no problem, ignore. Then at the 4 min mark we check. All channels basic, premium and HD work fine! Cool!

OK onto card #2, same process, call tech support, exchange info, then we get two 161-4 errors. Hmmm...weird, but we don't panic yet. We wait 4 minutes and then check Card 2 channels. Everything is there just like card 1. So everything works!

Time from him walking in the door to right now? 40 minutes!!!

Greg completes the paperwork. Meanwhile I'm going through guided setup on the TiVo. We both finish up and he takes my Moxi and another STB I don't need. He walks out the door less than an hour after he got here.

He was a great Charter install guy, the best I've ever had. And everything so far is working wonderful!

Good luck with yours!


----------



## CharterJames

I'm catching up on some posts here, I hopped into this forum to find some answers on some issues some of my S3 customers had and have found alot of good information here.

I'd also like to clear up a few points

1) "We don't support TIVO"

As a general rule we only support our equipment and lines. When it comes to CableCard enabled equipment (usually TVs, but the S3 clearly falls into that category) we are not trained by the manufacturer, we do not get any updates or firmwares to keep their equipment current and we are not even given basic specifications for what signal levels the equipment prefers.

We are required to support CableCard and we do, however all that means is we set up the CableCard in our system, activate it, and hook it to the line. Any errors, all setup and configuration etc falls on the user.

This is the same thing with VCRs, Computers etc. In the past, we would not have any problem making connections to VCRs etc because those devices were pretty simple and stright-forward, however now they are much more complex. A field technicians job is to get your signal quality within CableLabs specs.

Most call center people will say "we don't support that" because they won't know anything about how to work it, many installers and techs will as well. As such you'll need to know how to work your equipment.

2) "We don't have that box in our database"
Here's where a little information is a dangerous thing. Every digital system has a Digital Controller. Motorola systems call them DACs and I believe SA uses what's called a DNCS. Either way, this server controls the boxes and their ability to access programming. CableCards are set up in the controller like boxes. All a CableCard is a module with a Serial Number and MAC id burned into it so the controller has a verifible ID to decrypt signals (the technicial term is Conditional Access Module) Our boxes have to be listed on this server and have to have their firmwares loaded onto it. Other equipment only needs an Active cable card (and a cold initialization to "pair" the device)

For a smooth install here's what I recommend

1) Pre-work
If you have any obivious signal issues (tileing on one of our digital boxes, bad picture on analog etc) go ahead and get that taken care of

2) The install
Call in and request an install for 2 cable cards. You don't have to tell them what it's for, any customer server person should assume it's for a TV (most don't realize there are other equipment that can use them yet) If you do tell them, let them know you only need the cards to be installed. If they say "We don't support TIVO" let them know TIVO supports cablecard and you want to get two cable cards. If they give you any more problem request a supervisor.

The easier route is to deal with the local office if at all possible. I work for Charter, I take pride in my job, but I have not only heard customer complaints about the call center, I've had bad experiences myself. I personally do not believe the customer is best served by people who are graded on how many calls they answer, not how many they RESOLVE. On the other hand, most the time if you go to the local office they will either have or know someone who can answer your questions. We don't give cards out at the office (because of all the difficulty we have in getting them to work) but we can schedule someone to come out for you.

3) print this page
http://customersupport.tivo.com/TiVoCollection/B03267A0-BE94-4F14-8E2C-8AE7B4EB5249/ins_Content.html

Most installers and technicians should be able to follow this without a problem.

4) be ready, willing and able to work the remote and navigate the menus for the Tech / installer. If they are not familar with TIVO it will probably go easier if you're driving. Again, we aren't trained how to use these boxes and most of us haven't used one ever.

If everything is done right, the card should pair up after a cold initialize passes through the system to the TIVO. Most people have to do this from the Billing system so it may take as long as 30 minutes under the worst computer traffic situations. Generally it should take less than 5.

5) After the install - 
If you lose a single channel of a package (or a few, but not all) try to get someone to Cold Initialize your cable cards first. sometimes this will fix it. 
Most cards don't need this, but some card/box combinations tend to lose their authorization.

If the cold doesn't fix it ask for a trouble call - usually a single channel or several channels indicate a signal issue. Especially HD. HD's and Analogs are the first to show bad signal.

Snow, pixlation, tileing (little blocks usually black) and most audio issues directly with the TV (not getting stereo sound on a stereo transmission, most HDs have dolby...) are often caused by signal, though I've seen issues with some TVs that will not pass Digital audio out their optical (I have one such TV) which is more specific to that hardware than the signal coming out the box.

Worst case senerio - if your getting an unusual problem signal wise, ask them to put a box on just see (temporary) if it's duplicated on the box - if it is, the tech should have no issue fixing it. If it's not, you may have to do some digging to see why the S3 would require better signal specs than our boxes. (becase if they are in line with Cablelabs, they should not.)

Some boxes (read MOXI) are pickier than others, I will say that. I've yet to really experiment with an S3 (looking forward to it!) I will say I'm definitely fond of the Motorola DCT6416 (especially compaired to the Motorola/Moxi BMC 9012)

Btw - Motorola has quit making moxi boxes and it's my understanding that Digeo is going to be releasing CableCard moxi boxes to the masses. The expected price is somewhere between $800 to $1000. Personally, unless they put much better analog and digital tuners in the boxes (and unless they speed up the interface and cut the fan noise!) I wouldn't give $200 for one. - but soon S3 won't be the only mainstream cablecard DVR (I think a few other companies make them, but they aren't major names.)

It's also my understanding that Windows Vista is supposed to have CableCard support, but I don't have any real dirt on that.

The point being, alot of people would like to sweep cablecard under the carpet and pretend it doesn't exist. Personally I know it's a tech support nightmare, however I also know it fits a need and they aren't going to go away. Even new TVs without cablecards are being built with a QAM tuner to allow for receiving of unencrypted digital channels (often the digital PBS networks, Local HDs and the digital music stations are unencrypted).

I would love to see a day with java based interactive services that can load on any box / intergrated TV with a card... and it's actually been something that's been in the works forever (even old DCTs have a slot for a Conditional Access Module) - it's just a matter of bridging the gaps.

Unfortunately between now and then there's a bumpy road and a very badly written roadmap!


----------



## MasterCephus

I would just like to say that I got my cablecards installed this past Saturday and it was the easiest thing. The guy came and left within 20 minutes. He said I was the 2nd one he had installed. 

He was very professional, didn't get into long conversations, he was there to do a job and he did a great job. Once he left, I finished the setup and had all the channels I was supposed to have, and the picture was awesome.

EDIT: 

Let me also say that this was the BEST technician I have ever had. I have had people come to look at fixing my internet being down and ask "What's a network?" and when I got my moxi box, I asked the guy if he had installed cablecards on a Tivo and he replied "What exactly is a cablecard?"

I was about to the point to just get rid of cable alltogether, but this guy gave me hope for charter again


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## CharterJames

MasterCephus said:


> I was about to the point to just get rid of cable alltogether, but this guy gave me hope for charter again


  Good To Hear!!!  
I'd like to think more often than not our techs will be curious and interested in finding out and resolving customer problems or already knowledgable about them. I know when I did Pipeline HSD support our attitude was if we don't know, we'll find out!

While there's always "bad apples" in the bunch I definitely encourage customers to let their local office know about install and trouble call problems as that's the only way we know who's doing their job and who isn't!

I actually hit the goldmine on TIVO information as some TIVO technicial support staff saw some of my posts and emailed my personal email, so I'm getting a great crash course on what's going on there.

I was also very happy to find out they do have a test headend to duplicate what we have here in the field and I started comparing notes to see what I can do here to make the s3 run better for my customers (as well as passing along my findings to other Charter Systems)


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## haysdb

My Charter install went very well also. This was the beginning of last week. I asked my guy if he had done Tivo's before, and he said "sure," as if it were a normal part of his day.


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## CharterJames

haysdb said:


> My Charter install went very well also. This was the beginning of last week. I asked my guy if he had done Tivo's before, and he said "sure," as if it were a normal part of his day.


I got a call from one of our installers a few months ago who was freaking out about it and I told him "should work just like any other cable card device" one card didn't work out and I'm thinking now it's probably the firmware that was on the card. Stayed pretty quiet here until this recent one and that was after I advised them how it should work... so I think it was a matter of people not following the instructions TIVO has (which when my customer showed them to me I was already jotting down the URL *L*) 

I'd like to think they are more mainstream. Makes me wonder how hard it is for people with Sony and other non-TIVO cablecard enabled DVRs...

Know anyone willing to part with any cablecard based equipment (tivo or not) on the cheap? I've got to get something so I can play with this more!

(course my wife will KILL me if I bring home another DVR... I've already got a Digeo Moxi (Motorola) BMC 9012 and a Motorola DCT6416)


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## DLSDO

CharterJames said:


> Btw - Motorola has quit making moxi boxes and it's my understanding that Digeo is going to be releasing CableCard moxi boxes to the masses. The expected price is somewhere between $800 to $1000. Personally, unless they put much better analog and digital tuners in the boxes (and unless they speed up the interface and cut the fan noise!) I wouldn't give $200 for one. - but soon S3 won't be the only mainstream cablecard DVR (I think a few other companies make them, but they aren't major names.):


I have a Moxi via Charter and am considering a T3. There has been a heated debate specifically in regards to your assertion above over at the Moxi site here http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=412846

With Charter passing out 3416's instead of Moxi's we assumed the Moxi was being phased out by Charter.

But a Diego rep named "MoxiGuy" confidently indicates otherwise 

Please join us over at the Moxi thread and offer your viewpoint.

Thanks in advance


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## DLSDO

Hi,
I am a member at avsforum and need 5 posts before I can link above. Please allow me to post a few messages so I can edit the link in above.
Thanks


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## DLSDO

Any prior Moxi charter customers with T3 care to share the benefits of the T3 over the Moxi?


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## bubba1972

DLSDO said:


> Any prior Moxi charter customers with T3 care to share the benefits of the T3 over the Moxi?


I definitely notice the additional disk space. Haven't filled up the Tivo yet. No veritcal blue line through some of the SD programming that I got on Moxi. In my area Charter doesn't carry ABC HD and are currently fueding over CBS HD. The ability to record OTA for those two is terrific.


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## CharterJames

bubba1972 said:


> In my area Charter doesn't carry ABC HD and are currently fueding over CBS HD. The ability to record OTA for those two is terrific.


There's been increasing fueds betwen networks, largely over money... most the reasons alot of MSOs are in debt is how much we have to pay to retransmit their feeds. This is often why we'll carry several networks from one group - because like shopping at Walmart, you get a better price per channel when you buy the package. I've made a point of not saying any media groups as I don't want to be blamed for bad blood or smear tactics.

In the past there were must carry rules that stated that if a broadcaster was in our service area then we must-carry them. As Digital and HD first came in, the law wasn't changed. They've recently been updated and as I understand it must carry is only for one feed (if it wasn't done away with) - The result is many Broadcast networks feel they should get money just like CNN and ESPN for their broadcasts... While on one hand I can see their point... the other they *ARE* broadcasting them Over the Air where customers can pick them up for free.

So as it stands... why should a customer have to pay for HD ABC, HD FOX, HD NBC, HB CBS? The answer is, they really shouldn't. We don't feel we can justify the rate increase that such a payoff would cause... people already complain enough about their rates, why charge them for something they can get with a pair of rabbit ears? As far as I know, we are willing to work with them, carry additional networks so that their digitals can reach people who can't get Digital OTA, swap Adversting time, but lately it seems our lawyers Vs theirs in trying to negotiate a deal... and they want cash and we are trying not foist that on our customers. Personally I hate these fueds because in the end the person hurt the most is the customer.

I know here it's NBC - ABC and CBS are both good2go... there's been a DirectTV campain that is claiming that Charter doesn't have CBS HD and therefore won't have the SuperBowl in HD, switch to Direct TV today. Which is false becase we WILL have CBS in HD superbowl Sunday. I hate Direct's smear tactics, I used to sell them and before digital cable took off, there was no comparison. Now, it's pretty much chocolate and vanilla... I can rattle off advantages of Cable and Sat... and in honest truth both cost about the same.... Now it's down to PPV packages, DVRs and features like VOD (and if you can get and keep the Local HDs)


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## DLSDO

bubba1972 said:


> I definitely notice the additional disk space. Haven't filled up the Tivo yet. No veritcal blue line through some of the SD programming that I got on Moxi. In my area Charter doesn't carry ABC HD and are currently fueding over CBS HD. The ability to record OTA for those two is terrific.


Are you able to easily adjust the output resolution of the T3 down to 480i? I like to send my HD on the Moxi @ 480i to my DVD recorder for archiving


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## DLSDO

bubba1972 said:


> The ability to record OTA for those two is terrific.


This is a major advantage!!


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## DLSDO

CharterJames said:


> :


I edited my post above with a direct link.


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## Leo_N

DLSDO said:


> Are you able to easily adjust the output resolution of the T3 down to 480i? I like to send my HD on the Moxi @ 480i to my DVD recorder for archiving


You don't need to adjust that. It is always outputting at 480i out of the composite and S-Video out I believe. Note, you may however want to change aspect mode depending on what you are archiving. This is easily done with the aspect button on the remote, it cycles through the 3(I think it's 3, haven't checked lately) settings.

If you do wish to use the component outs, then yes it is pretty easy to switch resolution also.


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## CharterJames

Leo_N said:


> You don't need to adjust that. It is always outputting at 480i out of the composite and S-Video out I believe.


You are quite correct on that - So far it's been my experience with every DVR, Cable and Dish Box that (if it as) the coaxial out it's in Standard Def (420i) the RCA and S-Video are SD as well. The Composite can handle HD in Analog and most Digital outputs (DVI and HDMI) are encrypted to prevent copying.

Most companies are under pressure from the MPAA to encrypt digital outputs but as far as I know it's pretty darn hard to encrypt the Analog.


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## Leo_N

CharterJames said:


> You are quite correct on that - So far it's been my experience with every DVR, Cable and Dish Box that (if it as) the coaxial out it's in Standard Def (420i) the RCA and S-Video are SD as well. The Composite can handle HD in Analog and most Digital outputs (DVI and HDMI) are encrypted to prevent copying.
> 
> Most companies are under pressure from the MPAA to encrypt digital outputs but as far as I know it's pretty darn hard to encrypt the Analog.


I think you mean the component can handle HD in analog. The composite=RCA.


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## CharterJames

Leo_N said:


> I think you mean the component can handle HD in analog. The composite=RCA.


I probably should have been more specific in saying Composite (YPbPr) and Component (RCA) I do appologize, I'm a bit "old school" in my usage.

In the days before HD the RCAs were refered to as Component inputs, some manufacturing groups will refer to RCA still as Component (as I do, as most the ones I've worked with often call them that)

Before HDTV, high end Video Monitors used similar cabling (but with old BNC ends) to carry video information over several connections - this was generally called Composite Video and the Term was often used in the HD world.

I've seen manufacturers use them interchangably, and I tend to keep my usage "old school" though your usage is more common (and accurate) with current equipment.

Here's a good page on the different connections (Which uses Leo's more modern terminolgy)

http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/howto-dvi-hdmi.html

I'd also like to add another Mea Culpa on here. I've often used the term DCT to describe the Motorola cable receivers - their model names generally start with DCT (Digital Cable Terminal) - I've recently noticed with looking up some things on Windows Vista and CableCard usage that ATI has created a "Digital Cable Tuner" i.e. "DCT"

Please assume on any posts you see from me if I say DCT I'm refering to a Motorola Cable Receiver - more than likely a DCT2000 / 2500 / 5200 / 6200 /6208 or 6416. There's also the DCP501... but we don't talk about that one too much...


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## r11roadster

Has Universal HD gone off the basic package? I can't tune it and a friend with a box gets not authorized, or is there some issue in upstate SC? the rep on the line seemed clueless.


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## DeathRider

CharterJames said:


> I probably should have been more specific in saying Composite (YPbPr) and Component (RCA) I do appologize, I'm a bit "old school" in my usage.
> 
> In the days before HD the RCAs were refered to as Component inputs, some manufacturing groups will refer to RCA still as Component (as I do, as most the ones I've worked with often call them that)
> 
> Before HDTV, high end Video Monitors used similar cabling (but with old BNC ends) to carry video information over several connections - this was generally called Composite Video and the Term was often used in the HD world.


I think you got them backwards...

Composite = RCA;

Component = YPbPr


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## CharterJames

r11roadster said:


> Has Universal HD gone off the basic package? I can't tune it and a friend with a box gets not authorized, or is there some issue in upstate SC? the rep on the line seemed clueless.


As far as I know Universal is supposed to be part of the HD Tier in all markets

I know it went in there immediately for us - here in Hickory the HD tier has Discovery HD, ESPN HD, HD Net, HD Net Movies, TNT HD and Universal HD. I've heard that we are looking to add a few more in the near future as well as getting commitments in line so we can start carrying the Cinemax and Starz HD feeds. Like HBO and Showtime, the Cinemax and Starz HD channels will be included with the subscription to thier premium tiers.

Generally the Local HDs (Networks +PBS) are all "basic HD" and are not encrypted (When you get HD your paying for the box, not the local HDs) these channels are "Open QAM" as others like to put it (We usually say "in the clear" or simply unencrypted.


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## r11roadster

CharterJames said:


> As far as I know Universal is supposed to be part of the HD Tier in all markets


Well crud I liked that channel but not enough to pay for it. maybe when they add some more to the lineup it will be worth the extra $$


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## CharterJames

I hear you on that one... Discovery HD is my main reason I'm willing to pay for it, though The HD nets occasionally have something good on. though currently I let it slide as I'm just not willing to pay for channels I can only *really* enjoy in one room of the house too... (they look good on non-hd TVs using a box that can decode the HD signal to 420i, however I don't want to pay extra for HD boxes in the kids' rooms as well as my bedroom.)

Now, once I slowly phase out all my TVs for either Cablecard enabled HD LCDs or put a HD dvr in each room... then I'll consider it *L*


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## trippank

Just had Charter do my install in Birmingham, AL. Guy showed up early and had to wait on me. He said he had done one other S3 install in Dec '06. After inserting the 1st card, it said updating firmware. After 5 minutes, the info including the Host Id popped up. Called the 800 number. The Customer Support Agent said she preferred that we talked to Megan, as she was the most experienced with the Tivos. After being transferred, Megan hit the card, and there are my channels in HD glory. Inserted the second card. No firmware update needed on this one. She hit the card and ,Boom, there it is.
He did say he was glad Tivo had the instruction page for the installer ready to go. It just reinforced what he knew to do. It definitely helps for the owner familiar with Tivo's menus to work the remote.
I had ordered them in the beginning of January though. Scientific Atlanta cards were used and they were out when I originally called.
Very pleased with the install. The installer was knowledgeable with the cards, but uncomfortable working the remote. Took 50 minutes for the total install. I had to go back to work after, but I cant wait to get back home and watch HD on my S3.

Tripp
Birmingham, AL


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## CraigHB

I didn't get it done on the first go. The tech told me Charter wouldn't release more than 2 cards. So, the tech came armed with only 2. I had a feeling this would be more than a one day operation at that point.

The person at the office was clueless about how to set up cable cards and took a long time to get the first one entered into the system. The first card initially came back with a 161-1 error. The tech reseated the card and had the office hit it again then it seemed to work right. All the channels show up correctly when running through them using the "test channels" option. I haven't seen that error again so I'm assuming it's okay.

The second card was recognized and did not produce any errors, but would not decode any of the digital channels. When trying to test channels, it just said "no channels received". The tech is coming back today to try another card. I sure hope this gets done today.


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## CraigHB

The tech supervisor showed up, popped in a new card and had it working in all of a half hour. My problem was the #2 card was defective. He didn't bother trying to reprovision the old one since he said they get a lot of cards that just don't work.

That error I was getting is 161-4, not 161-1. It did appear again when the 2nd card got its hit from the office. The tech super wasn't too concerned about it. As long as it doesn't come back, I'm not going to get too concerned about it either. All the channels are working on both tuners and that's the main thing.

The tech super was getting impatient and I had to convince him to give things more time. It can take several minutes for the pairing screen to appear after the card is inserted. He was getting all set to reseat the card when the screen finally showed up. It can also take a while for the card to start working after it's been provisioned and hit by the office. I offered him a soda and talked for a while before actually testing channels. Getting the cards up is a slow process which makes things more difficult. I'm very pleased it's behind me now and hopefully, I won't have to deal with cablecards again.


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## brentsg

I had an unsuccessful Charter install attempt today in St. Louis. The tech was on the phone with people telling him "we don't offer TiVo, tell him to get a MOXI". 

I finally got his supervisor out but by then the first guy had my box in a reboot loop. I was glad he was willing to try but if they would just work with the TiVo as a cablecard device and quit viewing it as something that dropped out of a UFO this wouldn't be so painful.


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## CharterJames

The 161-4 error is normal - that is something that would have had me thinking we had a problem if it where not for the instructions the customer pulled off of the Tivo site.

I have no idea what it means, but apparently it's nothing to be concerned about.


One problem I know that affects the TIVO is how much pressure Techs are under (across all MSOs) to get in, fix it and get out. Many of them will check their signal levels, not see an obivious problem and blame the box / modem / hardware.

Course 95% or more of this equipment is fully functional and it will wind up a repeat trouble call. Things like occasional resets and specific channels causing unusual activity (like in my case jumping to the cable card screen) are hard to get resolved if they don't happen while the tech is there and if they can't find any other problem they tend to think it was just a bad box. 

This isn't to say they don't know what they are doing, most of them know their craft very well - but like any other diagnostic (car mechanic, or in my case computer repair) often if you can't get the problem to happen, you can't figure out what's causing it.

My best suggestion on issues like that is to keep a notebook near your prefered viewing spot and track your issues, get times, dates and errors as well as what channel you where on when it happened. You may want to call Tivo first and see what they think about it, because our techs won't - They support the card, not the box, so if your box is doing something wierd about all they can do is check for obivious signal issues or change cards.

I'm learning alot about the "jumping to cable card status screen" issue now, Tivo is replacing the box again for the customer and I'm going to put two new cards in this box (as the old one started resetting randomly in additon to the cablecard error) and use the old one at my desk for a few days to see what I can find out - when and where it's happening. With luck I can narrow down the list of possibilities and find what is driving that TIVO crazy!

The biggest thing I can say about anything with a cable card is generally once it's up and running well, it tends to stay that way!


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## CharterJames

brentsg said:


> I had an unsuccessful Charter install attempt today in St. Louis. The tech was on the phone with people telling him "we don't offer TiVo, tell him to get a MOXI".
> 
> I finally got his supervisor out but by then the first guy had my box in a reboot loop. I was glad he was willing to try but if they would just work with the TiVo as a cablecard device and quit viewing it as something that dropped out of a UFO this wouldn't be so painful.


Is it still rebooting? If you've still got your cards in there drop me a PM and I can probably go into billing and send an init to it. Does it seem to happen at random or on specific channels?

I have a customer with a similar problem and they are replacing her TIVO, I'm going to take the old one and attempt to duplicate it, see if I can find out what's causing it


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## brentsg

CharterJames said:


> Is it still rebooting? If you've still got your cards in there drop me a PM and I can probably go into billing and send an init to it. Does it seem to happen at random or on specific channels?
> 
> I have a customer with a similar problem and they are replacing her TIVO, I'm going to take the old one and attempt to duplicate it, see if I can find out what's causing it


Nope, I tried but they wouldn't allow me to start billing and keep the cards. It reboots after like 15-30 minutes. Then I have to power cycle it with a decent amount of downtime to get it back up. I will try some of the suggestions here and let you know what happens.


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## ScubaCat

The Charter installer is here now. He started out following the TiVo instructions but when all the channels didn't come up on the first card he shoved the second card in too. It's been an hour now - no change. I heard him tell his supervisor that the second card was configured wrong - as a modem? - but it is still installed. He's calling for a cold initilization now. I really hope that fixes it. 

I told him about the occasional problems with cable cards and that he might want to try a different one. Of course he doesn't have any more. At least he did bring two to start with and knew he would be working with a TiVo3. 

He's been pacing back and forth for the full hour. I really hope he can get this working.


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## CraigHB

The "Conditional Access" screen under the Cablecard menu can tell you what's going on. When a card is working right is shows;

Unit Address: [your unit address]
[more address numbers]
Encryption: DES
Connected:yes, EnabledByCP: yes
Auth: SUBSCRIBED
CA Enable: possible
ECM PID: [non zero]
Component PIDs:
[non zero] [non zero] [non zero]
0x0000 0x0000 0x0000
Host Validation: Unknown 00
Copy Protection Key: Disable
CCI: 0x00

When powering up the TiVo, the screen (card?) doesn't update/authorize until an attempt is made to tune a digital channel. My guess is the reboot problems some people are having may be related to head-end communication problems causing the card to remain in an unauthorized state. If I run into this problem myself, what I'll do is attempt to force card authorization manually before going to live TV. That can be done by tuning a digital channel from the "test channels" function (under the cablecard menus). It can take a few trys and you get "No Channels Available" until the card authorizes. I just tried this on my S3 which is working well right now (no reboot or tuning problems).


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## ScubaCat

The Charter cable installer hung around for two hours waiting for the encrypted channels to show up (pacing the whole time). I'm getting some channels and not others. He finally gave up and left taking the cable card that thinks it's a modem card with him. 

So after waiting two weeks for installation so I wouldn't have to take a day off work, now I have to take half a day off work on Monday so they can send someone else with new cable cards. 

I asked him if he disconnected my Dish Network feed, since it is still operational and he said one of the three cables coming out of the wall should still have it. I figured I could plug it back in to my S2 TiVo and still get all my channels - but I've tried all the cables and none of them have a signal.  

So the end result of today is loss of Dish Network/TiVo2 setup and partial Charter cable hookup to S3 with half the channels missing (including all the premium ones). At least he didn't blame the TiVo box for the problems. :up:


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## CraigHB

That's rough. I wouldn't have let the tech mess with my satellite wiring. My tech asked about it and I quickly said, "Don't worry about it, they're wired separately". I think he was all set to start stealing wires from the satellite system. I set them up that way on purpose so I can switch when I want. So far, I was on cable for a few years, then switched to satellite for a few years. Now I'm back on cable. Who knows, I may go back to satellite someday.

Your tech didn't do anythig right. He should have brought more than 2 cards. Then, he should have gotten the first slot working before attempting to mess with the 2nd slot. He should have used the second card on the first slot because the 1st one was probably bad. Maybe they were both bad. Sometimes, the office gets the numbers wrong when provisioning the card. The first thing the tech should have done was check the numbers the office entered then have them hit the card again. He should have reseated the card if it wasn't working after the 2nd hit. After that, he should have repeated the whole process with the other card in slot 1. At best, it takes only a few minutes and at worst, 15 or 20 minutes for the card to enable channel testing after it has been provisioned and hit. If the channels test, the card is working properly. You don't get the channels in the line-up until the cards work properly and you re-run guided setup. If he waited around for 2 hours, he was wasting his time and yours. 

Hang in there. It will work. It's just unfortunate you got a bad tech who didn't know what he was doing and didn't bring any spares.


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## ScubaCat

Hey CraigHB, thanks for the advice. I'll know better what to do when the new Charter tech comes on Monday. 

When I called for installation, I did ask them to bring extra cards but he only brought two. He said he had set up cable for one S3 before and he specifically went over the installation process with his supervisor before he left the office. He also consulted with several levels of support while he was there, so I have to give him credit for trying. He didn't seem too open to my suggestions even after I told him about this website. Maybe he doesn't like to take tech advice from a female. He did hold off installing the second card for about 45 minutes but then his office asked him to try them both - so he did. 

As to the technical aspects of the installation, as I was telling him the first card goes in the bottom slot, he was plugging it into the top slot. He then pulled it out and put it in the bottom slot and we got the cable card1 installed screen. We got channels as soon as we went to channels testing - just not the premium channels. It was at that point the two hours of waiting and calling and adding cards began. He left one card in the S3 and I did re-run guided setup again after he left. It didn't change anything. 

I will be more proactive when the next guy shows up. I'd rather he be annoyed with me and have a successful install than go though two hours of staring at a grey screen. I'll keep your suggestions handy.

The good news is after another session of fiddling with cords I was able to get one of my Dish Network signals back (satellite 119 but not 110). So as of now I have partial Dish Network connected to my S2 and partial cable connected to my S3.


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## CraigHB

I hear you. After reading many threads about people having problems with S3 and cable cards, I was a bit hesitant to drop my DirecTiVos. They do work really well, but I can't get HD with DirecTV without giving up TiVo and increasing my bill quite a bit. I'm still running one DirecTiVo in the bedroom. I think I'm about ready to take it offline now. The S3 has been running well since my CC install last week. I don't think most people are having problems with cablecards, but there are a lot of people having problems. There's definitely an early adopter factor with Series 3.

If you are getting most of the encrypted channels, the card is probably ok. It's a configuration problem on their end. There are lots of posts about this problem. Seems they almost always get worked out through some action on the cable provider's end. No need for the tech to hang around for hours and take a whole day off work for that.


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## ScubaCat

...and the saga continues... 
I took half a day off work today to wait for the Charter representative to bring new cable cards to fix my problem with not receiving encrypted channels (I'm only getting one or two out of about a dozen and I only have one cable card installed.). He was suppose to be here between 1 and 5 PM. I received a call shortly after 1 PM to confirm the appointment. It's now almost 7 PM and no one has come or called.  

I just called the Charter help line and they said he might come up to 3 hours after the scheduled time - so that means I can't go anywhere this evening just in case he might show up. Charter went ahead and scheduled another appointment for Saturday. I can't keep taking days off work - especially if they are not going to show up. Of course, that means my Saturday is shot. Right now I'm kicking myself for giving the first guy a check for the first month's service. And the Charter tech support guy has the nerve to ask how I'm enjoying my Charter cable service!  

Let's hope someone actually shows up for the next appointment.


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## jdmass

ScubaCat said:


> ...and the saga continues...
> ...
> Charter went ahead and scheduled another appointment for Saturday. I can't keep taking days off work - especially if they are not going to show up. Of course, that means my Saturday is shot. Right now I'm kicking myself for giving the first guy a check for the first month's service. And the Charter tech support guy has the nerve to ask how I'm enjoying my Charter cable service!
> 
> Let's hope someone actually shows up for the next appointment.


Be careful that they don't try to blow you off on Saturday. On one Saturday, I waited all day only to have the Charter service guy call at 4pm and tell me that they can't install cablecards on Saturdays because no one is working at the head end. The next Charter guy who came the following Tuesday told me this was a lie and that the guy probably just wanted to get home early.


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## ScubaCat

jdmass said:


> Be careful that they don't try to blow you off on Saturday. On one Saturday, I waited all day only to have the Charter service guy call at 4pm and tell me that they can't install cablecards on Saturdays because no one is working at the head end. The next Charter guy who came the following Tuesday told me this was a lie and that the guy probably just wanted to get home early.


Thanks for the info. The first visit from Charter was on a Saturday and he had two (bad) cable cards with him, so I hope that won't happen here. I was offered the 8-12 time frame which I probably should have taken so maybe I could have been the first stop of the day. But, dang it, I don't want to get up early on a Saturday to accommodate these guys when they can't show up when I take time off work for them.

I would be a lot more patient with this process if the first guy hadn't messed up my Dish Network service - which I am still paying for and not getting. Well, I am getting some of it or I would cancel it immediately. I went through last night and deleted all the shows I had scheduled on my S2/Dish on channels I no longer receive (all locals and all premiums).


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## brigita

Recently upgraded to a S3 and thought that the CC installation would be as easy as having the cards dropped off and plugged in. Clearly, I should have read this thread beforehand. 

Unfortunately, all I can pull in are the OTA channels (regular and HD) as well as C-SPAN and the Spanish channels which is good but not great (read: The Mister wants his ESPN).

I'm looking for advice for the second run at getting TiVo up and running:

Do I need a technician to come to do the install properly or is it a matter of getting the right person on the phone?
If I do need a tech, can anyone recommend the name of a S3-savvy person with Charter in Madison, WI?
Does anyone have a better set of directions to give the tech than those that came with the S3 (or do those actually have enough detail for the average installer)?
Are there any buzz-phrases (like "cold initialization") I should have at the ready to help speed the process along?
Thanks in advance for any and all input!


----------



## ScubaCat

Good luck brigita. My only advice is to read all the way through this thread, which you have probably already done. I'll be reading any replies you get with interest. 

My saga continues....Today when I got home from work I had two messages on my answering machine from a Charter tech who apparently figured since he didn't show up yesterday he could just show up today. I pulled up caller ID and phoned him back - got his voice mail - and politely let him know my appointment was for yesterday NOT today and I did not stand him up. Clearly I just need to take a whole week off work to accommodate these guys if I ever want the cable service to work.


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## CraigHB

They don't "drop off" the cards. A tech comes to install them, but I don't see why. It's just a matter of providing a few numbers to the office so the card can be "provisioned". Once the card is provisioned, they hit it (aka initialize it) from their end then it starts working. The numbers required are the s/n printed on the card and the ones shown on the pairing screen (the screen that the TiVo pops up after the card is inserted). I don't know, maybe they have some sort of problem with customers talking to the people that handle the cards. That would be good if they could get over that problem.


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## TBarclay3

I just moved to an area where satellite is not an option and Charter is the only cable company. Believe it or not, I was told that they had No DVR's available when I subscribed in early December (HD or otherwise) but I'd be put on a waiting list. After 2-and-a-half months, I got tired of waiting and went with the S3. I LOVE the box. But so far, the Charter cable card experience has been frustrating. I took an afternoon off from work yesterday for the install and I immediately sensed trouble when the technician (who arrived at the end of the window) said he hated installing cable cards because of the time it took to get them to work. He didn't want to follow Tivo's instructions and left before I could tell if they work. As you might expect, they didn't. I called Charter after he left to try to get the authorization process re-started (and to complain about the technician). Still no luck. I'm going to start over and call again tonight since I still have the two cable cards.


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## czmt

First of all, I'd like to say that other than some unrelated problems, our S3 install went pretty well. However, I noticed that we aren't receiving our expanded basic (channels 100+) on cablecard 2. We are receiving the local HD channels, but not the others. Cablecard 1 is fine.

So I did a lot of research to find that maybe Charter did not have the proper Data number. I called them, but was dismayed to discover that they only have the Unit Number listed in their computer, but not the Data number or anything else. So I was told to take out the card and wait 30 sec and put it back in and reboot the Tivo. This didn't work. Do I just keep calling until I get a more knowledgeable person, or is there something else I can do on my end to get the channels working?

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide. I was kind of hoping that CharterJames might be able to assist me, since I live in his service area.


----------



## ScubaCat

...and the saga continues... 
Lucky for me the Charter guy actually shows up today which is an immediate improvement over the last appointment I had. I was waiting for him to bring new cable cards to try in my S3. He informed me as soon as he walked in the door that he didn't have ANY cable cards - the warehouse is closed on Saturday so there was no way for him to get them. So why on earth did they make an appointment?????!!!??? 

He rescheduled me for Monday. At that time it will be approximately three weeks since I first called requesting cable installation. I asked if I could pick up the cable cards myself and he thought that was a good idea. I asked if Charter would loan me a cable box until they could get the cable cards working and he thought that was a good idea too. However when he called in to make another appointment for me he didn't mention either idea to the main office. If it wasn't so painful it would be funny.


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## CraigHB

Man, I'm starting to feel lucky I only needed one phone call and two cable guy visits to get my cards working.


----------



## TAsunder

brigita said:


> Recently upgraded to a S3 and thought that the CC installation would be as easy as having the cards dropped off and plugged in. Clearly, I should have read this thread beforehand.
> 
> Unfortunately, all I can pull in are the OTA channels (regular and HD) as well as C-SPAN and the Spanish channels which is good but not great (read: The Mister wants his ESPN).
> 
> I'm looking for advice for the second run at getting TiVo up and running:
> 
> Do I need a technician to come to do the install properly or is it a matter of getting the right person on the phone?
> If I do need a tech, can anyone recommend the name of a S3-savvy person with Charter in Madison, WI?
> Does anyone have a better set of directions to give the tech than those that came with the S3 (or do those actually have enough detail for the average installer)?
> Are there any buzz-phrases (like "cold initialization") I should have at the ready to help speed the process along?
> Thanks in advance for any and all input!


Any progress? I live in Madison WI and had no issues with the install. A technician is not technically required but it's best to have one there to cover your butt. The directions have enough detail. The one thing to remember is that it can take a few minutes after you insert the card before it automatically shows the initialization screen. My tech guy refused to look at the instructions and kept going around in the cable card menu until it automatically showed after a few minutes.

When you say ESPN you mean regular ESPN? ESPN in HD is part of the HD Tier that costs $7. If you don't pay for the HD Tier (I didn't) you still get locals and premiums in HD, but not ESPN, TNT, etc.


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## CraigHB

czmt said:


> So I did a lot of research to find that maybe Charter did not have the proper Data number. I called them, but was dismayed to discover that they only have the Unit Number listed in their computer, but not the Data number or anything else. So I was told to take out the card and wait 30 sec and put it back in and reboot the Tivo. This didn't work. Do I just keep calling until I get a more knowledgeable person, or is there something else I can do on my end to get the channels working?


Unfortunatley, it seems the only thing customer service can do for you is "hit" the cards. They don't have access to the data used to provision them. Only the techs have access to the people who set up the cards so only a tech can check those numbers. If a card still doesn't work after getting a hit from the head-end, a tech has to come out. Best just to have the card replaced.


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## kevindk

> CharterJames said:
> 
> 
> 
> I'm catching up on some posts here, I hopped into this forum to find some answers on some issues some of my S3 customers had and have found alot of good information here.
> 
> 2) "We don't have that box in our database"
> Here's where a little information is a dangerous thing. Every digital system has a Digital Controller. Motorola systems call them DACs and I believe SA uses what's called a DNCS. Either way, this server controls the boxes and their ability to access programming. CableCards are set up in the controller like boxes. All a CableCard is a module with a Serial Number and MAC id burned into it so the controller has a verifible ID to decrypt signals (the technicial term is Conditional Access Module) Our boxes have to be listed on this server and have to have their firmwares loaded onto it. Other equipment only needs an Active cable card (and a cold initialization to "pair" the device)
> [End quote]
> 
> 
> 
> I am getting some channels, but not others. In calling Charter, I found out they have me identified as having a Charter cable box with cable cards. They wanted the serial number from the box. I think this is the root cause of my problem.
> 
> What type device do I tell them to set it up as? Should I tell them to treat the device like a TV with a cable card?
> 
> I double checked the numbers they had on the cable card and host and they were correct, but they don't have a datapath number in their system. Again, I think I am set up with having an incorrect device.
> 
> BTW, all contact with Charter has been very cordial and polite. They are trying to help, but don't have the guidance on the setup.
Click to expand...


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## CharterJames

kevindk said:


> I am getting some channels, but not others. In calling Charter, I found out they have me identified as having a Charter cable box with cable cards. They wanted the serial number from the box. I think this is the root cause of my problem.
> 
> What type device do I tell them to set it up as? Should I tell them to treat the device like a TV with a cable card?
> 
> I double checked the numbers they had on the cable card and host and they were correct, but they don't have a datapath number in their system. Again, I think I am set up with having an incorrect device.
> 
> BTW, all contact with Charter has been very cordial and polite. They are trying to help, but don't have the guidance on the setup.
> 
> 
> 
> Let them know it's a cablecard device and your not getting all your channels -
> They should have the cable card serial numbers, if they press for more let them know it's a TIVO Series 3 box that uses cablecards and ask if they can have a technician come out to check your signal levels.
> 
> Chances are you will be warned you may incur a trouble call fee. I'm not sure entirely of the rules now, but in general if there's an issue with customer equipment that is not caused by our equipment / lines / signal then you may incur this cost. Generally this would apply if say you can't get on the internet, but your modem is up and running fine.
> 
> In checking your channels are you seeing an entire tier or package missing or just some specific channels?
> 
> I also strongly recommend if the technician doesnt' spot a problem to request one of our boxes be put in temporarly so you can see if it's happening with our equipment - if it is then there should definitely be a signal issue, if not if may well be something going on with TIVO.
Click to expand...


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## CharterJames

brigita said:


> Recently upgraded to a S3 and thought that the CC installation would be as easy as having the cards dropped off and plugged in. Clearly, I should have read this thread beforehand.
> 
> Unfortunately, all I can pull in are the OTA channels (regular and HD) as well as C-SPAN and the Spanish channels which is good but not great (read: The Mister wants his ESPN).
> 
> I'm looking for advice for the second run at getting TiVo up and running:
> 
> Do I need a technician to come to do the install properly or is it a matter of getting the right person on the phone?
> If I do need a tech, can anyone recommend the name of a S3-savvy person with Charter in Madison, WI?
> Does anyone have a better set of directions to give the tech than those that came with the S3 (or do those actually have enough detail for the average installer)?
> Are there any buzz-phrases (like "cold initialization") I should have at the ready to help speed the process along?
> Thanks in advance for any and all input!


Shoot me an email at [email protected] and I can see if I can locate their tech supervisor up there, I linked earlier to the instructions on the TIVO website, they are pretty good. And most sites won't give out cablecards, so a tech will have to come out to insert the cards.

Also catching up on other posts, if both cards are inserted too soon, it does appear a cold init should get them going


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## CharterJames

Well, here we go - updating the issue I've been working on - 

My customer has been dilligently working with TIVO, as the box is locking up and resetting for her in the evenings. There is nothing I've ever seen in cablecard specs that would cause this from our end.

While on the phone with TIVO friday night with me there they said they did not support Mediacypher cards and that I needed Motorola "s" cards. Here's the catch there. I think they freaked when they heard her say the cards say "Mediacypher-M" because they thought they where Multistream cards (once these cards are availible you can use only 1 because they handle multiple streams of video) however the same person on the phone with me earlier said they supported the new M cards and I was saying I'd have to try one in her box once we got them... "MediaCypher" is moto's brandname for cablecards, that's been their name since day one in the moto world.

Then as I find out this guy is one of their best s3 techs, I find out he's had no experience with a motorola based headend/DAC equipment and really doesn't know much about them (This is like having a PC guy troubleshoot a Macintosh...)

We had to go through the guided setup and the box would not get the channel data update in a timely manner from the new cards which were in a tech status (which are authorized for all normal encrypted channels and should have worked fine) they also happened to be on the latest firmware we had.

I went back to her old cards and by then my laptop battery died... Like a doof I left my power cable at home (I had been on vacation and but promised the customer I'd come out when she got her replacement box from TIVO)

I managed to get one of my co-workers to send a cold init and the channels came up and it behaved as it's been for a while.


Update on that behavoir
701 - 703 will go to the cable card screen when tuned. If you clear you can watch the channel, but it will go there each time like clockworks. as of Friday the music choice (also unencrypted) did it too. 

I checked the encryption and CCI settings and the S3 was getting a 0x02 whereas my DCT6416 would get a 0x00. I went into my DAC and changed the channel settings from "Externally Defined" to NO Encryption/NO CCI.

Now, for every other card enabled equipment it knows if the channel isn't encrypted to let the box tune. For some reason TIVO only tunes to cable channels when there's an enabled cable card. 

At this point I added 701-703 to a new package in the system and put them on the cards... it should be acting like any other (encrypted) channel, I'm not even letting TIVO assume it's encrypted because I'm sending it an authorization now... 

Per last customer's email - no change.

I'm going to hit some ppl in our labs as well as some contacts I made in TIVO's labs. I have grown to like the tivo interface, but it seems like they are overcomplicating their tuners and authorization mechanisms.


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## ScubaCat

...and the saga FINALLY comes to a successful conclusion...  
On the fourth Charter tech visit he shows up on time, has two cable cards in his hand and they both work! Yaaaa! He was here less than twenty minutes and had both cards installed and working. What a difference a functioning cable card makes! 

I did see error 161-4 a few times after he left while I was re-running guided setup. That spooked me. But right now all the channels appear to be working. Sweet! :up:


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## CharterJames

161-4 I've learned is generated when we send the initialization to the box - Part of the initialization command is a reset for the cable receiver - cablecard cannot execute that command since it's only a conditional access module, most equipment ignores the reboot part - TIVO does an internal reset and generates that error to let you know it was forced to reset.

Essentually the 161-4 is an acknowledgement of the initialization command (at least in a motorola system)


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## kevindk

I was not receiving entire tiers, but Charter stated they were turned on. 

I came home tonight and my channels were all there! Last night when attempting a cold init, I got the 161-4 error for the first time. Reading your latest post tells me that the card finally reset the TIVO. All settings in the "conditional access" are now reading correctly.

I don't know if the last cold hit was what did it, but it works now and I'm going to cancel the technician visit for Wed.

BTW, the technician did check all signal levels and attached a Charter digital box to see that all signals were being received. So I knew it had to be a settings issue.

Thanks for the response.


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## czmt

i've made several calls to charter the past few days, and they keep hitting the card that's not getting all the channels and telling me to take the card out and restart the tivo, but no one seems willing to do a cold init. on the conditional access screen it says that the card is not enabled by the cable provider, but they say everything is looks right. i guess i'm going to call back today to get a tech to come out.

at least one of my cards is getting all of the channels, but inevitably it records stuff with the other card.

i'm also noticing that the abc hd channel (wsoc) is kind of choppy and the audio sometimes doesn't match up. the picture is beautiful and the other hd channels are great, though.


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## pbrass

As a funny side note to difficulties with Charter: I lost access to all digital channels on one of my CC's (channels > 99). I called Charter for help with this and they informed me that a tech would need to be dispatched. I explained that this shouldn't be necessary and that they should be able to reset the card via remote (which is exactly what a tech on site would call in to have them do anyway). The CSR checked with a "specialist" who told her that the only thing they could do would be to "hit" the card. However, that could "fry" my card and "they would not be responsible for that." I asked to speak to a supervisor at that point. I got absolutely no where with him either. I gave up and hung up before I lost my mind.

Figuring things couldn't be made worse, I went through Guided Setup again, and during CC setup, removed, waited, and reinserted the problem CC. While NO channels showed up on that CC for 5-10 minutes after reinsertion, I went ahead and let Guided Setup do its thing anyway.

By the time it was finished, both CC's were working just fine.

I really don't like Charter's phone support. They are way too quick to require a tech to be dispatched. On a professional level, I deal with 3 other Cable companies and while none of them has what I would term "good" customer support, Charter's is far and away the worst.

Sorry for the rant... just wanted to share.


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## bk406

Charter hooked up my series 3 on monday.
However, the installer would not listen to me when i told him to install each card seperatly. He proceeded to do it the way he wanted. Said if he did each one instead of togther, it would take too long. 
He called the headend, gave them the Mac address, serial numbers, and the host IDs.

We got a few channels ro come up, but a lot of the digital and HD channels didnt work. he said it could take up to 12 hours (this i did not beleive).

The next day, i still had NO channels at all on cable card1, and intermittant channles on card 2. Got another guy out on wednesday. He took both cards out, rebooted Tivo, stuck the cards back in one at a time. bingo, up and running in 20 minutes.

Make sure they installer puts the cards in one at a time, lets the channels load, then go thru the setup for the second card.

Not sure if this was a problem, but the 1st guy was a contractor for charter. The second guy was a direct employee.


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## TracyMiller

Well, after having a DirecTivo for four years, then switching to a Charter DVR (SA 8300HD after we got our HDTV), my wife and I had severe Tivo withdrawal for two years. We finally got sick enough of it to take the plunge and get the Tivo Series 3. When it arrived I hooked it up and played with it with our analog channels to get it set up and tested. When I first heard the TIVO blips and chimes, I almost cried it was so beautiful. Those of you converting from other DVR's after first having TIVO know what I'm talking about. 

The CableCARD installation was on Thursday morning (after they cancelled the Wednesday appointment). The Charter guy was very nice, but said this is the first Tivo Series 3 he had done. He was enthusiastic to see how TIVO worked with HD. 

I gave him the instructions and he tried to follow them closely. After getting the first card installed, the channel test showed only the analog channels working. He continued with the second card, with the same result. After a few calls to Charter, he got them to re-initialize the cards (I think this was his terminology). Still no luck. Called TIVO, but they didn't have much to recommend except re-inserting them again and having Charter hit them again. We did this, and still no luck. We rebooted the TIVO. Still no dice. Went through the Guided Setup. Still no digital channels.

After talking with his supervisor, the tech was prepared to leave and come back tomorrow if need be to continue trying with different cards. Finally, right before he left, the digital and HD channels started working! He had been there about three hours at that point. My wife and I were ecstatic to finally have HD Tivo. We thanked him and sent him on his way. He was such a trooper. 

We're extremely pleased with the unit. I have some issues with motion artifacting that we didn't have with our SA8300HD, but that's for another thread. Also, the guide data is still missing from UNVHD and MAXHD, but I've contacted Tivo, who contacted Charter, and they're working on the problem. 

Long live TIVO!


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## CraigHB

Hehe, got a chuckle out of your post. Yea, those TiVo chimes are comforting, like an old friend. Glad to hear your cards are working.


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## TBarclay3

After my initial bad experience with the Charter cable card install, I called twice to try to get things working over the phone -- no luck. And I was told that a tech could only come out on weekdays, either morning or afternoon. Since I had already taken one day off from work, I had to wait to find another day I could take off an afternoon. Finally, I found a day I could take and called Charter to arrange another visit. At that point, the installer said his records showed my cards had never been initiated -- and that my cards would be working when I got home that evening. But just in case, he scheduled a truck roll for -- Saturday morning! (So I had been lied to about weekday-only appointments!!) Unfortunately, still no luck on the encrypted channels that evening. So I waited for Saturday morning. The visit was scheduled for between 8am and Noon. The installer arrived at 11:55. He was already calling to get the authorizations and wondering why he had to come in person. He did bring some new cable cards in case the first ones were bad. When he finally connected with the office after waiting for 15 minutes -- the cell phone disconnected -- and I was getting a really bad feeling. He tried to call again, on his phone and mine -- and this time he gave the information and all of a sudden, I got that 161-4 error message, twice (once for each card) in a period of about a minute. And voila -- all the channels were there! I couldn't believe it was that easy. Took about 30 minutes -- with 25 of those waiting on the phone for an agent to pick up. I can't believe there's not a quicker way for Charter techs to connect to their office. But now I'm not complaining -- I'm getting my movie channels and HD premiums and I'm a happy camper.


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## CraigHB

I think Charter has not yet realized cable card activation is really a simple process, call in the numbers, initialize the cards, done. For some reason, they think anything invloving cablecards requires a techinician visit. They could make the process a lot chepaer and easier on everyone if they would allow some customer interaction. I don't know if they'll ever get it together, but once you get past the waiting around for appointments, clueless techs, and inept CSR's, things do seem to work just fine.


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## pl1

CraigHB said:


> I think Charter has not yet realized cable card activation is really a simple process, call in the numbers, initialize the cards, done. For some reason, they think anything invloving cablecards requires a techinician visit. They could make the process a lot chepaer and easier on everyone if they would allow some customer interaction. I don't know if they'll ever get it together, but once you get past the waiting around for appointments, clueless techs, and inept CSR's, things do seem to work just fine.


Same with Comcast. While part of me thinks it is just their way to get another $50 installation fee, it does not correlate with them allowing us to pickup cable boxes and DVR's.


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## Rick&CAT

CraigHB hit it right on the head. 
We were told initially to come down to the Charter office to pick up our two cablecards. Went down last Tuesday to pick them up - oh no, we have to install them!!
On Thursday, the installer came to install - never done a TIVO before. Took him three hours. Some stations didn't come in so he called in his supervisor. Supervisor came over, yanked out the cards and reinstalled them. An hour later, the super tells him it takes a few hours for all the stations to "kick in".


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## CharterJames

The Cards are pretty simple and straight forward, there are just a few things you have to look out for:

1) Customer Service (and even technicians) are not really trained at all on this. As far as the Cableco goes, we're pretty much taught that you should just be able to pop in the card and go... which is MOSTLY true... but to get the card to "pair" with any hardware it has to be initialized. - a "Cold Initialization" will do the trick and most CSRs should be able to do this (depending on the system and it's billing interface, the "CSG" billing system I know does this - "ICOMS" I'm not sure of.) 

One thing to look for - if you get sent a cold init you should see an Error 161-4 on your screen (At least if it's a motorola card, Scientific Atlanta Systems might be different) - this is not a bad thing - what happens in a Motorola system is the Cold Init sends a "reboot" command at the end of it's run and this command cannot be executed by cable card equipment. Most CC equipment will ignore the command but TIVO gives the 161-4 error. I like to think of it as an Acknowledgement of the Cold Init.

2) Because different CC equipment reacts differently to different firmwares, the cards will not be upgraded in the field - they are left on their base firmware. *Nothing a CSR can do remotely can Wipe this root firmware off* - I mean this... NOTHING - I run a Digital Controller - this is the server that actually sends the commands down to boxes and cablecards - I've sent both Cold and "Warm" inits as well as "Hits" and "Refreshes" - all directly from the controller - and none of them will "burn out" the card.

Sometimes it will take a different Card - one thing to look for (again in a moto system) is a MEDIACYPHER-M card - the ones with the picture of a globe on it - it will probably also have gold/brash looking "studs" on the insertion end and holes in the back - the older non-M mediacyphers have a smooth insertion end and no holes on the back edge.

M cards should work with TIVO, however these Mediacypher-M's initially come with a pre-release firmware that does not "play well with others"  

Later this year new "M" cards should be rolling out, these will look COMPLETELY different on the label end, with a Red / Blue color scheme - one for 1 way and one for 2 way. 

The new "M" cards will support multi-stream and if I'm correct you'll only need 1 card (in the first slot) in your TIVO to run both tuners. There's no ETA on this, but I'm thinking they'll trickle out into the field by 3rd Quarter 2007 - I'm hoping to have some to test for my market in the next month or so. 


3) Because cablecards require the cold init to get started - we prefer to have a technician there when the cards are put in or removed. In theory yeah, all you'd have to do is pick up your handy-dandy card and call in and have someone init it... just like a cable modem - just call in and have them put it on the account and provision it... but then again, in theory the Titanic was Unsinkable...


"Cold Init" / "Cold Initialization" is the magic word... often you can get a less knowledgable CSR to do this by asking them to "Reset" the card - if they worry they will break something, tell them it's ok. 

and again, from my earlier rant, just a reminder - Cable Companies support CableCard, not TIVO... so expect to have to find out any oddball error codes, don't expect anyone at any CableCo to understand how to work your menus etc and make friends with people on the other side of the fence who know the ropes and can help you out  

Worst case senerio, Go up the chain - if the CSR or CSR supervisor refuse to help you, keep asking to go up the chain... if they give you any flack about TIVO, just tell them you want support for your CableCARD. 

Personally I think the best support route is to go to the local office and let them know, ask if there's someone who can help you troubleshoot it like a chief tech or some sort of guru - with luck you'll be passed on to someone like me who loves playing with oddball stuff!


----------



## blybarg

Long time Charter customer in St. Louis. Recently bought Tivo 3 and had Charter install a CableCard, tech had never seen a Tivo 3 or installed a card in one. I guess being a Charter service tech, it's long hours and no time to keep up with current technology. Initially, he was scratching his head over why the card would not receive channels after relaying the codes to the mothership. He removed the card and re-installed. Bingo, everything worked, digital channels, movie channels, HD channels. Took him 10 minutes and he was gone. Tomorrow, I'm having a second card installed, I'm crossing my fingers this install goes well.
Can't say enough about the Tivo 3 box. Looking forward to replacing another Tivo 2 box when Tivo 3 box hits <$300.


----------



## bk406

Why didnt you have both cards installed on the same truck run? That doesnt make sense to break it up over 2 days.


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## blybarg

Couple reasons. One, I wasn't absolutely positive on Charter's card fees. Second, I didn't think the Tivo box would lose the dual tuner capability with only one card. My thought was I could have one tuner recieve all channels (CableCard) and the other tuner would still recieve analog channels (2-99). My mistake. 

Didn't matter because the tech had only one card in the truck.


----------



## joe warner

Waiting for CP Auth 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I live in the Fort Worth area and have Charter as my Cable provider and have Scientific Atlanta cable cards Model PKM600 (Power Key). the Authorization status on both cable cards (1&2) is "Waiting for CP Auth" (Settings>Remote, Cable Card, and Devices>Cable Card Decoder>Configure Cable Card (1 or 2)>Cable Card Menu>SA Cable Card CP Screen>. I've had Charter change out the cards several times (used at least 16 cards) and the same status appears as "Waiting for CP Auth". I've checked with the Headend and all their info shows the correct Host ID's CC numbers and shows that the cable cards are "Paired" (Authorization received", However my display still shows "Waiting for CP Auth". I receive all my channels both basic and premium. TiVo says the Cable Co. is doing something wrong but can not tell me what or what the correct procedure is to authorize the cards. I've understand that even though I am receiving all my channels (Basic & Premium) that at some point I will lose my premium channels when the cable Co and the cards pole the server at some point and see the cards are not authorized, the premium channels will quit working. Does anyone have any info or suggestions as what I should do.
TiVo has even changed out my Series 3 with a new one and still the same problem.


----------



## muchmore

joe warner said:


> Waiting for CP Auth
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> I live in the Fort Worth area and have Charter as my Cable provider and have Scientific Atlanta cable cards Model PKM600 (Power Key). the Authorization status on both cable cards (1&2) is "Waiting for CP Auth" (Settings>Remote, Cable Card, and Devices>Cable Card Decoder>Configure Cable Card (1 or 2)>Cable Card Menu>SA Cable Card CP Screen>. I've had Charter change out the cards several times (used at least 16 cards) and the same status appears as "Waiting for CP Auth". I've checked with the Headend and all their info shows the correct Host ID's CC numbers and shows that the cable cards are "Paired" (Authorization received", However my display still shows "Waiting for CP Auth". I receive all my channels both basic and premium. TiVo says the Cable Co. is doing something wrong but can not tell me what or what the correct procedure is to authorize the cards. I've understand that even though I am receiving all my channels (Basic & Premium) that at some point I will lose my premium channels when the cable Co and the cards pole the server at some point and see the cards are not authorized, the premium channels will quit working. Does anyone have any info or suggestions as what I should do.
> TiVo has even changed out my Series 3 with a new one and still the same problem.


I was also a Charter customer in Fort Worth, TX and bought the S3 HD TiVo because I was tired of Charter's HD DVR (it missed recording shows, would record the same show multiple times, hard to use, etc.) and because I missed my old DirecTV HD TiVo. I tried for almost a month to get it working. The cable cards that Charter brought out to the install never worked, they were always used and never got past "updating the firmware" (probably because the cards were interrupted during firmware updates in the past that ruined the cards). Anyways, the final tally was that I got one card to work - but it never enabled all of the channels I subscribed to (it enabled a mix of basic and premium channels). Charter provided me with many different reasons why this was: they didn't support the TiVo, the cards were bad, they didn't have any other cards they could try, my account did not support cable cards, that Charter itself did not support cable cards, that no one knew how to install them, and on and on. Finally I just ended up returning my TiVo Series 3 HD.

I have gone back to DirecTV and am using my DTV HD TiVo, but soon it will no longer be able to provide me with HD content as DirecTV is moving to all MPEG4 for their HD channels, which the HR10-250 does not support. At that point my $1000 TiVo box becomes even less useless than a Series 2 since it does not have all of the same features and will only have SD content on it.

If only the Series 3 supported satellite or Charter could get their act together and support cable cards properly....

Muchmore


----------



## Leo_N

muchmore said:


> If only the Series 3 supported satellite or Charter could get their act together and support cable cards properly....
> 
> Muchmore


I'm sure they'd love to, but they would need DirecTV or DishNetworks permission to make a Series3 type of TiVo work with satellite the same way it does with cable or OTA, that being recording a direct digital signal rather than re-encoding (which re-encoding HD signals is not a consumer electronics option at this time.... way too expensive), which is how all previous TiVo's worked.

Btw, it is Charter's fault, but it is also not a nation wide problem. Mine have been installed (Charter also & first visit) and running fine since September. You should really complain and complain loudly to the people at the local headend.


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

Ok got the cablecards installed today, well partically. The cards work on all the channels except the premium channels. THe local HD channels work but channels Discovery HD and ESPN HD don't even though they aren't premium just part of the HD package.

They screwed up the other DVR during the install. The stupid dispatcher delted both DVRs from our account and no the one we have doesn't work either.


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

KrazyKritter said:


> Ok got the cablecards installed today, well partically. The cards work on all the channels except the premium channels. THe local HD channels work but channels Discovery HD and ESPN HD don't even though they aren't premium just part of the HD package.
> 
> They screwed up the other DVR during the install. The stupid dispatcher delted both DVRs from our account and no the one we have doesn't work either.


A second clueless tech visit and then a 3rd phone call resolved the issue. They reprovisioned and paired the cards and suddenly everything is working! TiVo support said to tell them the cards need provisions and paired. It took a few minutes for the cable person on the phone to get the idea but finally it sunk in. After she redid the cards provisioning a few minutes later they worked. She tried to tell me it would take up to 15 mins so I had her wait with me. I wasn't about to go through explaining the whole problem again.


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

Just gotta love Charter. Now only one card is provisioned for the digital channels (except for the local HD which are 700 channels with the other HD channels).

Their latest line is that they have a software problem that they are working on but don't know when or if they'll be able to fix it.  

I guess it's time to file a report with the FCC and our local franchise. Obviously I'm not getting up the supervisor chain very well otherwise.


----------



## Percipient

Well, might as well post my own CableCARD experience. The Charter cable guy just left after 3-1/2 hours, everything is working now, the 2nd card turned out to be bad, and figuring that out was what took him so long. Fortunately he brought a spare.

This was Charter's 2nd service appointment for CableCARDs. For the 1st appointment the cable guy was supposed to bring 2 cards, but he only brought 1. As near as I can figure out, they'd never heard of anyone needing 2 cards, so they figured it was an error and changed the work order to 1. And he didn't bring a spare.

The amazing thing about this first visit is that the Series 3 was still in box when the cable guy arrived. The installation people for the home theater system hadn't gotten that far yet, even though they'd arrived at 9 AM and it was now 2 PM. But I had the Series 3 out of the box and hooked up to an old portable TV in about 5 minutes. The cable guy had never been through a TiVo install before, but he read over the CableCARD Installer Instructions from TiVo and just mechanically went through it. The Series 3 didn't initially respond to inserting the card, but while he was calling his office to ask what to do the CableCARD page popped up. From there it was just a case of following the instructions. He left 5 minutes later, but we didn't bother checking all the channels.

The next day I realized the premium channels were missing, but a quick call to Charter turned them on.

If it hadn't been for the bad 2nd CableCARD, it would have been a breeze!

Next on my TiVo agenda: figuring out whether the Charter CableCARDs I have will allow me to add an external SATA drive.

--Percy


----------



## Leo_N

Percipient said:


> Next on my TiVo agenda: figuring out whether the Charter CableCARDs I have will allow me to add an external SATA drive.
> 
> --Percy


The cablecards at this point do not matter, the eSATA port is currently disabled pending CableLabs approval (which we don't even know if Tivo has applied for yet, likely they will not apply until they are sure of approval)


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

Finally after 7 service visits Charter finally has both cards working 100%. Today the tech replaced card 2 with the card in slot one and replaced card 1 with a new card since the first card was working. In total they switched out the cards 5 times. I find it hard to believe that 10 cards were bad but whatever as long as it's finally working now.

Still wish I knew what is so freaking hard about provisioning that second card in their system.


----------



## cotton168

Congrats *KrazyKritter* on getting your cards working. It definitely is worth getting those cards working but I wished they could have done it the first time. I had the same problem getting Charter in my area to get the CCs working on my S3. They came about 5 times or so and it took one technician who knew about the S3s and CCs to finally get the cards to work.

*Leo_N*, it really would be nice to have the eSATA port working on the S3 because when we record in HD, it takes up so much space and since we don't have TiVotoGo, I'm just letting the recordings take up space on my S3.  Getting both the eSATA port and TiVotoGo working would be very nice!


----------



## Leo_N

cotton168 said:


> Congrats *KrazyKritter* on getting your cards working. It definitely is worth getting those cards working but I wished they could have done it the first time. I had the same problem getting Charter in my area to get the CCs working on my S3. They came about 5 times or so and it took one technician who knew about the S3s and CCs to finally get the cards to work.
> 
> *Leo_N*, it really would be nice to have the eSATA port working on the S3 because when we record in HD, it takes up so much space and since we don't have TiVotoGo, I'm just letting the recordings take up space on my S3.  Getting both the eSATA port and TiVotoGo working would be very nice!


I don't disagree on that, would be great to have both, was just saying the cablecards themselves don't have anything to do with not having the features.


----------



## cotton168

Leo_N said:


> I don't disagree on that, would be great to have both, was just saying the cablecards themselves don't have anything to do with not having the features.


Totally agree *Leo_N*. Since the features don't depend on the CCs, why not roll them out?  I would love to just transfer my HD recordings onto my computer using TiVoToGo or putting it on an external eSATA drive to free up some room on my unit.


----------



## rnowicki

Hi,
I just received an offer from Charter for TV plus internet access for $28 per month. I called to ask about details, knowing it would cost more than that. The part of the conversation that stopped me cold was when I asked if the channels listed in the channel lineup as "HD Lifeline" and "Digital Lifeline" would come for free as part of either the "Expanded Basic" set or the "HDTV Digital Tier" that I do plan on ordering. This would be using a Series 3 Tivo instead of the Charter STB.

What the gal told me was that the HD Lifeline and Digital Lifeline channels were not available to cable card subscribers, only if I got an STB would I be able to get them. This seems incorrect to me as they are not PPV channels, but normal one way digital channels.

Here are the channels in question...

HD Lifeline: 781-787, Fox, CBS, NBC, CW, PBS, ABC which I assume are just my normal local HD channels

Digital Lifeline: 301-308, CSPAN2, NBC WeatherPlus, KTLA-DT2, ABC Digital Multicast, KABC-DT2 Weather

Can anyone who lives in the area (Pasadena, Ca) please confirm that a cable card configuration will or will not receive the above channels.

Thanks,
Robert


----------



## rainwater

rnowicki said:


> What the gal told me was that the HD Lifeline and Digital Lifeline channels were not available to cable card subscribers, only if I got an STB would I be able to get them.


The 'gal' doesn't know what she is talking about. Keep calling back until you get someone who has a clue. The "HD Lifeline" will work with a cable card without having to pay for a special package. In most areas, those are just the channels that are unencrypted (local HD channels). Even the "Hi-Def Tier" and the "Hi-Def Premium" packages are supported by Charter's cable card.


----------



## cotton168

rnowicki said:


> Hi,
> I just received an offer from Charter for TV plus internet access for $28 per month. I called to ask about details, knowing it would cost more than that. The part of the conversation that stopped me cold was when I asked if the channels listed in the channel lineup as "HD Lifeline" and "Digital Lifeline" would come for free as part of either the "Expanded Basic" set or the "HDTV Digital Tier" that I do plan on ordering. This would be using a Series 3 Tivo instead of the Charter STB.
> 
> What the gal told me was that the HD Lifeline and Digital Lifeline channels were not available to cable card subscribers, only if I got an STB would I be able to get them. This seems incorrect to me as they are not PPV channels, but normal one way digital channels.
> 
> Here are the channels in question...
> 
> HD Lifeline: 781-787, Fox, CBS, NBC, CW, PBS, ABC which I assume are just my normal local HD channels
> 
> Digital Lifeline: 301-308, CSPAN2, NBC WeatherPlus, KTLA-DT2, ABC Digital Multicast, KABC-DT2 Weather
> 
> Can anyone who lives in the area (Pasadena, Ca) please confirm that a cable card configuration will or will not receive the above channels.
> 
> Thanks,
> Robert


Hey Robert,

Seriously the lady does not know what she is talking about. We have the HD Tier at home and I have my S3 which gets all the wonderful HD channels. Try talking to someone else more competent. LOL BTW, I live in Monterey Park, CA so we are pretty close. Good luck!


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## John Slider

Charter tells me if I don't keep my Box and just use the cards I wont be able to access OnDemand or order Pay-Per-Views anymore, is this true? I only ask because usually they don't know what they're talking about, and when they do they just want to rack up a higher bill for me.

Thanks,
John


----------



## jdmass

John Slider said:


> Charter tells me if I don't keep my Box and just use the cards I wont be able to access OnDemand or order Pay-Per-Views anymore, is this true? I only ask because usually they don't know what they're talking about, and when they do they just want to rack up a higher bill for me.
> 
> Thanks,
> John


In this case, they are correct. Cable cards do not support OnDemand - it requires a set top box.


----------



## rainwater

John Slider said:


> Charter tells me if I don't keep my Box and just use the cards I wont be able to access OnDemand or order Pay-Per-Views anymore, is this true? I only ask because usually they don't know what they're talking about, and when they do they just want to rack up a higher bill for me.
> 
> Thanks,
> John


You can still order PPV, but not ondemand. You can order PPV over the phone.


----------



## rnowicki

Install is set for tomorrow afternoon during a 1-3 window. With all the info from this thread things should be pretty smooth. Hope I don't jinx myself  

Will post back later in the week with the results.

Robert


----------



## rnowicki

Well it is a mixed bag, but the glass is definitely half full.

First cablecard went in and the expected cablecard decoder screen came up. We waited patiently for about 1 minute and then the screen popped up with the 2 numeric strings that the cable guy then called in to activate. After card #1 activation I ran a channel check and everything looked good. All expected channels received including HD channels.

Popped in cable card #2, and got the first screen, but after many minutes never received the expected screen with the numbers. I then hit the "go back" option and immediately got a message that the cable card 2 firmware was being updated, and could take as long as 40 minutes. After 1.5 hours I decided that this was going nowhere and pulled the card #2 out. Since I had done a guided setup after the first card went in, I'm getting the expected cable channels but just on one card. The installer was kind enough to offer to come back today during my lunch hour with a new card for slot #2.

The internet part was much simpler. I had bought my own cable modem at BB to avoid the $2.95 per month charge. I dropped this in place of my DSL modem, and then switched my Vonage box from static IP to DHCP and all worked perfectly. BTW, a download speed test showed *exactly* (well, 2.94) Mbpd downstream. So, they are giving me 3Mbps but it appears limited to that. The cable guy said that in August Charter was upping the 3 to 5 with no extra charge. The AT&T trucks in the area must have them sweating a bit  

Will update again after lunch today.

Robert


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## rnowicki

Ok,
The installer stopped by and tried the new cable card #2. This time it worked first time no problems. I went through the guided setup again, and then as a quick test I started recording 2 different HD programs off of cable. Both were successfully being recorded when I left.

Robert


----------



## Rick&CAT

A little Story and some help please..
I'm still having problems, since February, with Charter and my Series 3 cards. Card 2 receives everything, including HD. Card in slot 1 is only receiving Basic and Expanded Basic. Since, I assume the recorder defaults to card 1, I can't feel confident setting the recorder for anything important.

Last Friday I took a day off for Charter only to have a tech arrive with no CC's on his truck. Smart?

Just had another service call today and they replaced both cards with new 2007 cards. Still slot one is not working, but I'm almost 100% sure slot one worked in Feb. when first installed before the first installer swapped cards around in an attempt to get both cards working. I'm saying this because today's tech tried to tell me "it must be the Tivo." I suggested he switch the cards and ask for a fresh "hit" so we could be certain, since we knew card 2 was working. Why not put it in slot 1? He wouldn't. Said we would have to schedule another service call. They would bring out a fresh CC and swap out slot 1. This, of course, means another day off from work which means maybe in another month or six weeks. I don't know what these guys think, we don't work?

I've had four different techs at the house and not one of them has ever done a Tivo.

After tech left today, my CP screen had this info on it. Especially interesting to me is the "Decrytion Status" for Card 1. Anyone know if this means Charter didn't do something they should have today when they sent the hit to that card? If so, maybe a call will suffice.

(By the way, these new 2007 cards don't require the waiting time to upload the channels. They boot up almost instantly like the cable boxes.)

CC1:
Auth Status: CP auth Rec'd
Prog #: 6
CCI Byte: 0x00
ECM count: 0
EMM Count: 0
Decryption status: *Not CA Authorized*

Power key status: Ready
EID:0xa
MKS Period:100 sec
KSE count: 0

CC2:
Auth Status: CP auth Rec'd
Prog #: 6
CCI Byte: 0x00
ECM count: 88
EMM Count: 0
Decryption status: OK
Powerkey status: Ready
EID:0x30
MKS Period:100 sec
KSE count: 0

Rick


----------



## rn701

Saw that this is the "official Charter cable card thread", so I'm posting this here in the interest of sharing info on Charter cable card installs (even though I haven't had "problems", yet.)

We're in Blount Co. TN (in East TN near Knoxville). 

Ordered a Tivo S3 from Amazon ($606) should be here tomorrow. (Can I get in on this rebate deal, or should I return it? Heh.)

Called the Charter toll-free number, selected the option to "add new service". 

Got a sales person, when I said I wanted to order cable cards he immediately transferred me to "Customer Service".

Told her that I wanted to order two cable cards. She said she would be happy to help me with that and verified some account info. So far so good.

She said she needed to make me aware that it could take two to four weeks because they have to order the cards. I said fine.

She asked what kind of TV it was for. I told her it was for a Tivo Series 3. She paused for a second (maybe looking for something in her database?) and said, OK, but what kind of TV? I told her "Sony" and we proceeded. So far so good.

She "filled out a form" (took a couple of minutes on hold). She gave me the "form number" as a reference, and said someone from installations would call to schedule it once the cards came in. 

I asked if I could just pick up the cards and do it myself, she said no, they have to come out and install them. I said fine. 

Then she asked me a bunch of marketing survey questions and tried to sell me phone service, which I declined.

That's it so far. Now I wait. I will update this as the process moves along....


----------



## rnowicki

Rick&CAT said:


> A little Story and some help please..
> I'm still having problems, since February, with Charter and my Series 3 cards. Card 2 receives everything, including HD. Card in slot 1 is only receiving Basic and Expanded Basic. Since, I assume the recorder defaults to card 1, I can't feel confident setting the recorder for anything important.
> 
> Last Friday I took a day off for Charter only to have a tech arrive with no CC's on his truck. Smart?
> 
> Just had another service call today and they replaced both cards with new 2007 cards. Still slot one is not working, but I'm almost 100% sure slot one worked in Feb. when first installed before the first installer swapped cards around in an attempt to get both cards working. I'm saying this because today's tech tried to tell me "it must be the Tivo." I suggested he switch the cards and ask for a fresh "hit" so we could be certain, since we knew card 2 was working. Why not put it in slot 1? He wouldn't. Said we would have to schedule another service call. They would bring out a fresh CC and swap out slot 1. This, of course, means another day off from work which means maybe in another month or six weeks. I don't know what these guys think, we don't work?
> 
> I've had four different techs at the house and not one of them has ever done a Tivo.
> 
> After tech left today, my CP screen had this info on it. Especially interesting to me is the "Decrytion Status" for Card 1. Anyone know if this means Charter didn't do something they should have today when they sent the hit to that card? If so, maybe a call will suffice.
> 
> (By the way, these new 2007 cards don't require the waiting time to upload the channels. They boot up almost instantly like the cable boxes.)
> 
> CC1:
> Auth Status: CP auth Rec'd
> Prog #: 6
> CCI Byte: 0x00
> ECM count: 0
> EMM Count: 0
> Decryption status: *Not CA Authorized*
> 
> Power key status: Ready
> EID:0xa
> MKS Period:100 sec
> KSE count: 0
> 
> CC2:
> Auth Status: CP auth Rec'd
> Prog #: 6
> CCI Byte: 0x00
> ECM count: 88
> EMM Count: 0
> Decryption status: OK
> Powerkey status: Ready
> EID:0x30
> MKS Period:100 sec
> KSE count: 0
> 
> Rick


Rick,
That was a good idea to switch the slots that the cable cards are in, then do a fresh hit on each. The only thing that I would have done differently on your recent call would have been to just remove the non-working card in slot #1, reinsert it, and have them hit it again. The idea here being that the "Not CA Authorized" message is probably indicating that the card is not currently authorized to decode encrypted content. YMMV.

Robert


----------



## TracyMiller

rn701 said:


> Saw that this is the "official Charter cable card thread", so I'm posting this here in the interest of sharing info on Charter cable card installs (even though I haven't had "problems", yet.)
> 
> We're in Blount Co. TN (in East TN near Knoxville).
> 
> Ordered a Tivo S3 from Amazon ($606) should be here tomorrow. (Can I get in on this rebate deal, or should I return it? Heh.)


I think as long as you wait until 5/27 to activate the TIVO you still qualify for the $200 rebate. Hold out just a little longer!


----------



## rn701

TM: "I think as long as you wait until 5/27 to activate the TIVO you still qualify for the $200 rebate. Hold out just a little longer!"

I was thinking that might be the case, but doesn't look like it. The rebate form is pretty explicit:

(1) Eligible TiVo® Series3TM Digital Video Recorder must be purchased between 5/27/07 and 6/16/07, inclusive. Products purchased before or after these dates are not eligible for this rebate offer. Purchase date is determined by invoice or receipt date.


----------



## TracyMiller

rn701 said:


> TM: "I think as long as you wait until 5/27 to activate the TIVO you still qualify for the $200 rebate. Hold out just a little longer!"
> 
> I was thinking that might be the case, but doesn't look like it. The rebate form is pretty explicit:
> 
> (1) Eligible TiVo® Series3TM Digital Video Recorder must be purchased between 5/27/07 and 6/16/07, inclusive. Products purchased before or after these dates are not eligible for this rebate offer. Purchase date is determined by invoice or receipt date.


Sorry, my bad. Didn't read the details closely enough. Still, maybe you could return the one you have and get another one post 5/27. I guess that would depend on how much trouble you're willing to go through to save $200. Everyone values his own time differently.


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## GooberMan

I'm in SC and don't have the S3 yet but I was told by the online Charter "live help" rep that I can pick up the cableCARDs and install them myself without an installation. Is this true or am I going to run into problems when I go to pick them up?


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

GooberMan said:


> I'm in SC and don't have the S3 yet but I was told by the online Charter "live help" rep that I can pick up the cableCARDs and install them myself without an installation. Is this true or am I going to run into problems when I go to pick them up?


Charter here won't allow self install. On at least one call the rep suggested I could do a self install but when I questioned it they corrected themselves.


----------



## rainwater

GooberMan said:


> I'm in SC and don't have the S3 yet but I was told by the online Charter "live help" rep that I can pick up the cableCARDs and install them myself without an installation. Is this true or am I going to run into problems when I go to pick them up?


You are better off calling the local office. They are the ones who make that decision, but its likely they do not allow it. But please let us know what you find out.


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## Leo_N

I'm pretty sure there are 2 main issues with self-installs. One, they miss out on the money from a truck roll (although, I'd almost say they lose money on every truck roll for cablecard installs) and second, they'd rather not give out the number to the people who are entering the info on the cablecards at the headend.

I suppose also with the failure rate of cablecards (meaning you might need 4 or 5 to get 2 good ones) and the probability of needing to test line signal strength, they are just saving the support line calls and probable visit anyway.


----------



## GooberMan

So I'm probably gonna need installation after all. Is it okay to activate the S3 with Tivo and go through guided setup and such without the cards or do I need to wait until I get the cards before doing anything with the box?


----------



## rainwater

GooberMan said:


> So I'm probably gonna need installation after all. Is it okay to activate the S3 with Tivo and go through guided setup and such without the cards or do I need to wait until I get the cards before doing anything with the box?


You should go ahead and run guided setup before installing the cards. Also, the box will probably have a software update available (which may fix CC issues).


----------



## AdmiralTivo

I'm in the same situation: I want to get in on the rebate, but I'm unsure if the CC install will happen in a timely manner.

My question is, does the guided setup require a signal input to complete? Should I run the setup with the TiVo connected to my existing STB? Will that allow me to do the CC install later, or does that make the process more difficult?

I haven't called Charter yet, but just trying to plan ahead...


----------



## rainwater

AdmiralTivo said:


> I'm in the same situation: I want to get in on the rebate, but I'm unsure if the CC install will happen in a timely manner.
> 
> My question is, does the guided setup require a signal input to complete? Should I run the setup with the TiVo connected to my existing STB? Will that allow me to do the CC install later, or does that make the process more difficult?
> 
> I haven't called Charter yet, but just trying to plan ahead...


You should go ahead and plug the cable into the back of the S3 and run guided setup with a analog setup. At least then it will be done indexing that data when the CC is installed and the S3 will be more responsive.


----------



## Roderigo

It's also a good idea to get through Guided Setup, and make a few connections to get the latest software update onto the box. Tivo may have fixed problems in newer updates that you'd want when the installer arrives.


----------



## rn701

rn701 said:


> Saw that this is the "official Charter cable card thread", so I'm posting this here in the interest of sharing info on Charter cable card installs (even though I haven't had "problems", yet.)
> 
> We're in Blount Co. TN (in East TN near Knoxville).
> 
> Ordered a Tivo S3 from Amazon ($606) should be here tomorrow. (Can I get in on this rebate deal, or should I return it? Heh.)
> 
> Called the Charter toll-free number, selected the option to "add new service".
> 
> Got a sales person, when I said I wanted to order cable cards he immediately transferred me to "Customer Service".
> 
> Told her that I wanted to order two cable cards. She said she would be happy to help me with that and verified some account info. So far so good.
> 
> She said she needed to make me aware that it could take two to four weeks because they have to order the cards. I said fine.
> 
> She asked what kind of TV it was for. I told her it was for a Tivo Series 3. She paused for a second (maybe looking for something in her database?) and said, OK, but what kind of TV? I told her "Sony" and we proceeded. So far so good.
> 
> She "filled out a form" (took a couple of minutes on hold). She gave me the "form number" as a reference, and said someone from installations would call to schedule it once the cards came in.
> 
> I asked if I could just pick up the cards and do it myself, she said no, they have to come out and install them. I said fine.
> 
> Then she asked me a bunch of marketing survey questions and tried to sell me phone service, which I declined.
> 
> That's it so far. Now I wait. I will update this as the process moves along....


UPDATE: 5/31/07

On 5/24, I called to check on the status of the order. They said the cards had come in, but when they called to schedule installation nobody answered. Not sure what would have happened if I hadn't called. Anyway, scheduled the install for yesterday (5/30/07) between 1PM and 5PM.

5/30, 4:45 PM: no show. Called hoping to catch them before the local office closed or something, they said the tech was running behind and had one other appointment before mine. Assured me someone would be coming.

6:30 PM still no show. Called back, and they said the tech had done one job in the morning and "disappeared" and nobody could find him. Said they would track down whoever was handing his calls and get somebody over right away. I asked about the cards they had "ordered" that the tech would presumably still have. They said all the techs have them on their trucks, no big deal. (So why all the drama about ordering?) Gave me a $20 credit for the missed appointment.

7:30 PM get a local call from some other company (turns out to be a subcontractor). They apologize for the missed appointment and said they are having trouble locating the tech. Supervisor can't find him, friends can't find him, but they will get somebody over right away. Now I'm worried about the guy, feeling bad about being mad at him while he could be laid up in the hospital or something.

8:15 PM get another call from the same company. Said they just realized this is a cablecard install, and they are a subcontractor and aren't authorized to install cablecards. Somebody from Charter would have to be dispatched. They said they would take care of it and somebody would be here first thing in the morning.

9:30 PM called Charter to confirm they had contacted someone and set an appointment. The guy said he had no record of any new appointment. I unloaded on the poor guy and said either send somebody to install the cable cards or somebody to uninstall the cable service. He put a note on the account and said the local dispatch would see it.

5/31/07, 9:00 AM this morning: called Charter again. Still nothing scheduled. Offered to reschedule the appointment for Saturday or one day next week. I said I'd wait some more and if nobody showed up I'd call back to reschedule, not wanting to lose my place in line in case somebody was actually coming. They said they would put another note on the account.

10:00 AM, Charter guy shows up with the cable cards. Said he wasn't scheduled to work today but had gone in to fill out his timesheet and somebody asked if he would do it and he said sure.

12:00 Cable cards finally installed and working after much drama. The cable guy had never seen a Tivo S3 or any other device with two cards. Took six or seven phone calls to at least four different people to get the cards in the system and provisioned.

First problem was they "weren't in inventory." They fixed that, and then they had to try several times to get all the serial nbrs. etc. entered correctly and run whatever setup they run to get it all provisioned correctly.

Then, no digital or premium channels showed up except for the local HD channels. Analogs still worked fine. The tech first said something was wrong with the Tivo digital tuner, but the signal strength test on the Tivo showed strong signal on all the digital and premium channels. Then he thought it was something wrong with the Tivo channel settings, so we went back through the guided setup, still no digital or premium channels. At that point he decided it was something on their end, called back in, got someone else to do something, and it started working.

For the second card, the tech got the same person who finally got the first one to work to setup the second one, so the second one went a lot smoother. We got the 161-4 error on both cards. Following that, the Tivo cablecard "channel test" dialog said "no channels" and would not tune anything. This happened with both cards. Rebooting the Tivo seemed to fix it both times.

During the tech's conversations with the home office people, one guy told him he had only setup four cablecards the entire time he'd been with Charter. The tech said he had installed a few, but only in TVs. He said TVs are a lot simpler. Even so, he said nobody at this office wants to mess with cablecards because they are always such a PITA to get setup and working.

Why they won't let you just order the cards over their website and have them Fedexed and then let you enter the codes over the same website is beyond me. The Charter guy said that's all they are doing when he calls in the codes - he reads them the numbers and they type them into a webpage and run some stuff to activate everything. Not sure why a Charter tech has to come out for that.

Anyway, everything is working like a champ now. I get all the premiums, all the HD channels, recorders work on both channels, etc. etc. I am a happy camper, and I am SO happy to have Tivo back (and so is the Mrs.) I gave the Charter guy a few bucks to buy lunch on me for showing up and sticking it out until we got it working.

EDIT: P.S. I forgot to mention, I didn't get a good look at the cards, but the tech said they were Motorola cards and he liked them better because they usually work.


----------



## kjmcdonald

Hi all, 

I got my S3's in Jan and Feb, and never bothered with CC's with Comcast since I knew I was moving. So now I'm moving into a town serviced with Charter, and really with the S3's being out for almost a year now, and the integration ban deadline so close I had really hoped that things would be moving smoother than it seems they are.

I've read most of this thread, and haven't seen any stories for MA, so I'll post mine after I get them hooked after I move on the 15th. If anyone has any MA specific (Uxbridge) suggestions on dealing with Charter, please let me know.

The other info in this thread has been great! Thanks!

-Kyle


----------



## brian1269

I got my S3 to accept the cable cards today on the second service call by Charter. The first time last week the tech brought two cards, one with a 2004 date and the other 2005 I think. Neither of the first two cards worked (could never get to the MMI screen).

The tech said he would reschedule and get two more cards and have them updated/upgraded in the office before he brought them. One had a 2007 date, the other 2005. They both worked within a minute or two. No problems with any of the channels.

I think the key is to get the firmware updated before the cards ever go in the S3. It seems to have problems updating them. Hope this helps.


----------



## Rick&CAT

brian1269 said:


> I got my S3 to accept the cable cards today on the second service call by Charter. The first time last week the tech brought two cards, one with a 2004 date and the other 2005 I think. Neither of the first two cards worked (could never get to the MMI screen).
> 
> The tech said he would reschedule and get two more cards and have them updated/upgraded in the office before he brought them. One had a 2007 date, the other 2005. They both worked within a minute or two. No problems with any of the channels.
> 
> I think the key is to get the firmware updated before the cards ever go in the S3. It seems to have problems updating them. Hope this helps.


Both of my cablecards started working on all channels after Charter did a cable card firmware update on the evening of May 29 (Riverside, CA). Turned on the set and there was a message on the screen about a cable card firmware update in progress. -- This may take 40 minutes. Do not turn off your equipment -- or something to that effect. Well, after two or three hours, the message was still on the TV, so I went to bed. Low and behold, the next day ALL channels came in fine on both cable cards for the first time since February install.


----------



## copwriter

Here's the first installment of what I hope will not be an extended saga (but given Charter's history of customer service, I am not optimistic):

Ordered my Series 3 thru TCS. It was waiting for me when I returned last night from a business trip. Armed with hard copies of Charter's web site FAQ on CableCards, the FCC regulation requiring them to provision CableCards, and the press release from CableLabs indicating that the TiVo had been certified as digital cable ready, I drove down to the Charter office in Kennewick (the Tri-Cities of Washington are Kennewick, Richland and Pasco. We're located near the SE corner of Washington state - the dry, sunny, politically conservative part, not the wet, rainy, politically liberal part). I told the customer service rep that I had purchased a TiVo and wanted to have CableCards ordered and installed for it. She took a breath (so did I), started to tell me that I was SOL, then turned to the rep next to her and asked her if they handled TiVos. The other rep said they did. She took the order and scheduled me for June 25th. Stay tuned.


----------



## kjmcdonald

kjmcdonald said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I got my S3's in Jan and Feb, and never bothered with CC's with Comcast since I knew I was moving. So now I'm moving into a town serviced with Charter, and really with the S3's being out for almost a year now, and the integration ban deadline so close I had really hoped that things would be moving smoother than it seems they are.
> 
> I've read most of this thread, and haven't seen any stories for MA, so I'll post mine after I get them hooked after I move on the 15th. If anyone has any MA specific (Uxbridge) suggestions on dealing with Charter, please let me know.
> 
> The other info in this thread has been great! Thanks!
> 
> -Kyle


Well The installer came on Saturday. First off, no matter how many times I stressed that I needed 4 CableCARDs (2 for each TV [Tivo]) when making the appt., he was still only given 2 Cards.

Next when he called in to activate the cards, he was put on hold and transfered to the 'CableCARD activation dept.' and waited on hold about 20 minutes each time he called in before he hung up. In the end he told me that he wasn't sure why they scheduled a cable card install for a Saturday, because as far as he could tell (from the other people he did talk to.) the 'CableCARD activation dept.' wasn't open on saturdays.

So he made sure my analog extended basic was working, and checked signal levels on my cablemodem, and he left telling me to reschedule the cablecards for a weekday.

Today when I called to reschedule, the woman I tlaked to couldn't understand why he didn't have 4 cards, since as far as she knew all TV's that took CableCARDs need 2. Huh? I didn't try to argue with her. I again stressed that I needed 4 total, and she made a new appt. for Friday.

I'm expecting to only get 2 on friday though.

We didn't even get to stick the cards into the tivo's, so I don't know if we would have problems there or not. The cards were Scientific Atlanta cards, at least in my part of MA.

-Kyle


----------



## kjmcdonald

jdmass said:


> When my cards were first installed the only channels that I could get were the same as yours: below 100 and local HDs. This was a result of the "dispatch" people entering the incorrect authorization codes. The installer called them back, and, for me, the codes the new codes entered partially worked - I was still missing about a dozen stations.
> 
> As I posted above, a Charter head end engineer told me that a common problem is that out of ignorance the dispatch people apply digital set top box codes rather than cablecard codes. After the correct codes were finally entered, he had me pop out the cards, reinsert them one at a time, and issued resets each time. I had no cablecards replaced and that fixed the problem. The guy at the head end could actually see exactly which channels I could get or not get on each card
> 
> BTW, I am located in Massachusetts.
> 
> Regarding poor reception/pixelization, I would suspect that that is a different problem, possibly related to signal quality. Are you using RG6 cable or do you have RG59 common in older cable wirings? The cable guys should be able to troubleshoot that one.


This problem still exists. A week ago when I called up to setup my install, I was told that "If you want CableCARDs, you can't have Digital Cable, only extended Basic." I told her that was fishy since the cable cards are for "digital cable ready' equipment, but she said that's how thier system works.

Since I'm really only looking for access to the unencrypted digital and HD channels (with the right channel mapping) I'm not really worried, I just want the cards put in and working, if I need to have channels added later I'll worry about that then. Plus this ended up being cheaper to boot!

-Kyle


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## kjmcdonald

jdmass said:


> Be careful that they don't try to blow you off on Saturday. On one Saturday, I waited all day only to have the Charter service guy call at 4pm and tell me that they can't install cablecards on Saturdays because no one is working at the head end. The next Charter guy who came the following Tuesday told me this was a lie and that the guy probably just wanted to get home early.


That's not a lie in my experience. The guy showed up to my place a little before noon on saturday, and spent 40 minutes or more on hold waiting for the head-end to pick up. Finally he got someone else who told him that that dept. isn't open on weekends. That didn't stop the CSR from taking my order for a Sat. appt. though.

-Kyle


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## cotton168

I recently just had a real problem with one of my CCs and although for now, I am okay with it being defective, I will have to make an appointment with Charter to swap out CC #2. From the CC Diagnostic page in the S3, it said that CC #2 was not working properly and I was not able to get some channels while getting others. CC #1 works perfectly (fingers crossed) so it's looking like CC #2 will be out. I've had these CCs since I first got them without much issues, but this is a pretty big issue.


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## dennismartinek

I got my S3 yesterday, the Charter guy showed up, had never done an install with Tivo. The directions are simple enough, but after three cards, nothing. Tivo sees them in the slots (yes, we did slot 1 first but tried slot 2 at the request of Tivo).

A new Charter rep showed up today, with one new card...they can't get the settings they need, and it shows as not being activated.

So, after about 12 hours of this nonsense, he suggested putting the card into the TV to see what happened. It did a firmware upgrade for an hour, and then I put it into the Tivo.

I got excited too early, since it finally allowed me to go through the process of Guided Setup again. Then, it had the nerve to go into a firmware update on Tivo, finished that, continued with the process, right near the end...and then, Firmware upgrade...again.

Am I downloading plans to launch nukes or watch TV? Anyone have this problem or any suggestions? I'm ready to give up!

Please, someone tell me they know the answer to this...Charter doesn't, Tivo doesn't, each says its the other. In the meantime, I'm missing the Red Sox!

Thanks.


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## cotton168

dennismartinek said:


> I got my S3 yesterday, the Charter guy showed up, had never done an install with Tivo. The directions are simple enough, but after three cards, nothing. Tivo sees them in the slots (yes, we did slot 1 first but tried slot 2 at the request of Tivo).
> 
> A new Charter rep showed up today, with one new card...they can't get the settings they need, and it shows as not being activated.
> 
> So, after about 12 hours of this nonsense, he suggested putting the card into the TV to see what happened. It did a firmware upgrade for an hour, and then I put it into the Tivo.
> 
> I got excited too early, since it finally allowed me to go through the process of Guided Setup again. Then, it had the nerve to go into a firmware update on Tivo, finished that, continued with the process, right near the end...and then, Firmware upgrade...again.
> 
> Am I downloading plans to launch nukes or watch TV? Anyone have this problem or any suggestions? I'm ready to give up!
> 
> Please, someone tell me they know the answer to this...Charter doesn't, Tivo doesn't, each says its the other. In the meantime, I'm missing the Red Sox!
> 
> Thanks.


Where are you located at Dennis? There have been Charter techs that have installed the CCs on S3s before so getting someone that has installed on an S3 is always a good thing. The CCs could also be defective. Most of us had asked Charter to bring more than 2 because you never know. Some of the Charter techs were kind enough to bring 7 or 8 so just in case one doesn't work, something out of that batch should.


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## notable17

I don't usually post, but I thought I'd give an update on how my cablecard installs went. I called on Friday for an appointment and was given any time on the weekend, which I chose not to do based on posts on this board stating that there is no cablecard support at the Charter offices on the weekend. I then chose Monday between 1:00 - 3:00 pm. The installer showed up at 2:55 (of course) and was out of the house by 3:45 with both cards up and operational with all channels including premiums. 

He had never seen an S3 before but was very "coachable". He followed my instructions and resisted installing both cards at the same time. This bothered the woman on the phone that he was talking to, but if it wasn't him she talked to, then it would be someone else. I got 161-4 on both cards and a few minutes later they both paired with the Tivo. Initial tests only got me standard cable and no premiums, but after they both got the standard cable channels, including HD, the woman on the phone did something from the headend and all my premiums started working.

The installer thanked me for all my help and said he is now the new "expert" installer at his office for Tivo S3's since he was the first one to do one in my area. 

All in all things went pretty smoothly and the installer was patient with my demands...er.. requests. Just thought you'd all like to know that things sometimes do go well with cablecards. Thanks to all of you for the advice and information in making this an easy install. Now on to setting up my season passes.

Good riddance Moxi.


----------



## copwriter

CableCard install on Monday: installer was supposed to be here between 1000-1200. The doorbell rings at 1000 on the dot. He was a contract installer, not a Charter employee.

He said he had installed CableCards once before, but in a TV set, never a TiVo. He didn't appear to know what a TiVo was. When I had made the appointment, I had asked that Charter send out four CableCards, as they have a high failure rate. Of clurse, Charter ignored this. The installer had two cards (I suppose I should be thankful he didn't have just one). I gave him the install instruction sheet that had come with the TiVo, and added that everything I had read (most of it here) indicated that following the instructions step by step was critical. He acknowledged this, then proceeded to insert both cards in the TiVo at the same time, not waiting for pairing or any screen indication on either. To no great surprise, this did not work.

I again asked him to look at the instructions. He did, and things began to go a bit more smoothly. He put one card into the lower slot and first got the 161-1 error, but it eventually resolved to the setup screen. He called their central station and listened to elevator music for about ten minutes, then got a tech that knew only marginally more about CableCards than my installer did. The installer read numbers off to the tech, who got every one of them wrong on the first try. After 15 minutes or so of back and forth, the first CableCard was putting out a signal, and I could see channels on the test screen.

CableCard No. 2 didn't go so well. It wouldn't sync, and when we swapped the first one in and out of the No. 2 card slot, it worked fine. Bad card. I figured he was going to tell me that he would have to come back another day, but instead he called one of his co-workers who was closer to the Charter office than he was. The co-worker agreed to pick up a replacement card, and the installer said he would meet him halfway between my house and Charter. He leaves.

He's back in about an hour, this time with two sidekicks. One is apparently some sort of lead installer or foreman. They bring a total of four cards with them. The installer makes another call to Charter, getting a different tech this time (but not without another interlude of elevator music). This one had better hearing, and got the numbers right on the first try. A test on both cards showed HD channels coming in just peachy.

I ran guided setup, and had the channel lineup in and loaded in about 20 minutes. All appears well. This actually went much more smoothly than I anticipated.

Three items of intel that the installer dropped on me: 

When I complained that Charter had lousy customer service, the installer was in complete agreement. His company does installs for cable tv providers all over the Pacific Northwest, and he has more trouble with Charter than all the others put together. He was overheard complaining about this once, and was called into the Charter manager's office for a dressing-down. Apparently it is not accepted practice to comment that the Emperor is naked. 
It is no secret that Charter provides bad customer service. Comcast is hot on their heels to get the local franchise. 
The CableCards that were delivered to me are in short supply, as they are starting to distribute a newer, presumably more reliable, model. Charter, not missing an opportunity to save money _and _shaft the customer simultaneously, won't let go of any of the new cards until the old ones are all out of stock. 

As for me, my new TiVo is grinding away, and life is good. I wish the rest of you a similarly stress-free experience.


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## kjmcdonald

It started off bad. It's better now. Not perfect though.

I started with a Sat. install, only 2 cable cards were brought to my house (I have 2 S3's - I asked for 4 cards,) then the head-end wasn't open on Sat. The Contract Installer took the CC's with him when he left.

I rescheduled for the next Friday, took 8-12 off from work and had no one show up.
I then rescheduled for Tues 11-1, and again no-show.

Finally yesterday, I had an appt. from 1-3, and a real Charter Employee showed up at 2pm, with all 4 cards. The first 2 worked fine in the first S3. The third card showed that it hadn't been programmed by Charter. The fourth card worked fin also.

We found that you can short cut the instructions somewhat. You can put in one card, wait for the MMI screen and copy the #'s, then put in the second card, wait for the MMI screen and copy the #'s, and then Call the head end with one call.

*I wouldn't shove more than one card in at once or a second card before the MMI screen for the first card showed up though.*

After the Headend call, eventually all 3 cards showed 'CP Auth recieved', and Test Channels showed all the channels I subscribe to - (which due to another problem with charter cust. serv. was only the HD Locals)

So I'm on the hook for rescheduling for the 4th cable card again, but it's good to know that the first 3 work good.

In my area in MA, Charter uses Scientific Atlanta (AKA Cisco) Cards. No M-Cards yet either. They're $1.50 each/month too, and $56 I think if you don't return them.

I didn't see any 161 errors either.

-Kyle


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## comquat1

just had a housecall by charter to put my two cable cards in and had one that was not recognized. He left me with one card installed so i finished installing that with no issues. The tech went and made a call that was missed, grabbed a couple more cards and came back and the first of the second cards we put in was recognized within a couple minutes. Right now i'm just doing the guided setup and so far everything appears normal. Good customer service here in West Michigan, that's for sure.


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## hank12345

Hey kjmcdonald, may I ask where in Mass are you? I've been trying to decide if switching to Charter and the S3 from Directv is the right move, or more trouble than it's worth! I'm in Spencer, MA and have had a lot of issues with Charter service-- Mainly sporadic high speed internet outages--- but the service has been pretty good over the last year.... 

The idea of even more issues when trying to setup the S3 would push me over the edge! 
It seems that your Techs seemed to have an idea of what they were doing, so maybe I'd be OK? 


Thanks for any help or info!


----------



## kjmcdonald

hank12345 said:


> Hey kjmcdonald, may I ask where in Mass are you? I've been trying to decide if switching to Charter and the S3 from Directv is the right move, or more trouble than it's worth! I'm in Spencer, MA and have had a lot of issues with Charter service-- Mainly sporadic high speed internet outages--- but the service has been pretty good over the last year....
> 
> The idea of even more issues when trying to setup the S3 would push me over the edge!
> It seems that your Techs seemed to have an idea of what they were doing, so maybe I'd be OK?
> 
> Thanks for any help or info!


The Techs were good in that they were willing to read the Tivo instructions. The first didn't get far because the HeadEnd that they need to give the numbers to is closed on Sat when I had my first appt. On the last appt. the guy was very willing to work with me, and although he admitted he hadn't done any CC installs really.

We had good luck, with 3 out of 4 cards working right away. The fourth appeared not to be loaded with any info by the headend before it was given to the installer.
I have an appt this week to get a new fouth card.

Once the cards were in, and sent the activation signal they worked very well - All the 'raw' (74-3, 82-1, etc) that I found on the chanel scan that tivo didn't know what to do with, all of a sudden mapped to digital cable channels (101, 102, 201, etc.)

The only other issue I"m waiting to have resolved, is that the original person I ordered service from thought that with Cable Cards, I couldn't get anything higher than expanded analog basic. I recently straightened that out, and added the Total View Digital Pkg. which should complete what I'm looking for when it activates on Soon.

Compared to all the other stories I've heard here (and ignoring the 2 no-show appointments,) My experience with the charter techs has been good. Given there really isn't any choice here in Uxbridge (until FiOS gets here,) I'm glad I'm as happy as I am. So far Charter seems cheaper than ComCast too.

-Kyle


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## hank12345

Kyle, 

Yeah, once you get through the customer service phone quagmire, the techs have been pretty easy to deal with in my experience... Glad to hear that they were willing to follow instructions! As I'm only looking for expanded basic right now, (and HD package) my biggest fear was they would be unable or unwilling to get the cards working at all! 

I have Thursday-Friday off this week, so I may take the plunge and get the S3.... If I do, I'll post my results-- but I may hold out for a rebate offer or lower price from Tivo, as it looks like I just missed the most recent deal : ( 

-Hank


----------



## tim1724

My cablecard experience with Charter Communications of Alhambra, CA. (I'm in Temple City, CA.)


Early last week I called Charter to get my cablecards. I just said I wanted two cablecards. I didn't mention Tivo, because others have had problems if they did. The customer service rep (who was amazingly slow.. it took a good 10 minutes, and I don't think I said more than 5 sentences total in the whole call) didn't ask. She said they'd send someone out on Friday between 8 and 10.

Well, at around 9 on Friday, they did show up, with two cablecards. But then the guy said "hey, we don't do tivo. charter isn't supposed to send us out on these jobs, we just put in cable boxes." Apparently if I'd mentioned Tivo, they would have sent a Charter employee rather than a subcontractor.

I got him to put in the first card anyway, and the screen with the card info popped up fine. I suggested that he call in the info to Charter. Well, at this point he sort of looked confused and then freaked out and began ranting about how charter only pays him $5/install (he'd get $10 for mine, since there were two cablecards) so he didn't want to do it. He spent a half hour calling his supervisor, waiting for his supervisor to call him back, etc. Then he said charter would send out an actual charter employee on monday or tuesday, rather than a subcontractor. Then he took the cablecard out of the tivo and left.

His reason for not doing the install was that it would take too much time.. but he wasted more time just sitting there complaining to his supervisor than it would have taken to just put the other card in the tivo, and make the necessary calls to activate them.

Now I have to admit, the $5/card they were paying him seems a bit low (especially given that Charter is billing me $44.95 for the installation) but why did he accept the job if he wasn't going to do it? From the way he did things, I got the impression that this might not have been the real reason. I think he might have been illiterate. He first got upset when I suggested that he needed to read the numbers off the screen to the Charter people on the phone, and then when I handed him tivo's cablecard installation instructions, he held it upside down for 30 seconds while "reading" it..

Anyway, Charter did send someone out on Monday, who installed the cards with no real problem. I wasn't home, but my girlfriend was able to help him when he got stuck.

Anyway, the cards work great. No errors, no hassle getting all the channels recognized. HD works, I get HBO, etc. They seem to have things figured out, but their subcontractors don't have a clue. Apparently it's best to let them know you have a Tivo (at least in this area), so they send out a Charter employee rather than a subcontractor.


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## pattont

Alright, first off I live in Johnson City, TN....

I bought my S3 a week ago and I still haven't gotten it, but i figured last week I would go ahead and order the CC(s) to get them instock at the local place. Called the Charter 800 number and got a guy that said that was no problem that he would put two cable cards onto my account and it be an extra 3 bucks per month, I said great. I also asked if they had to be installed and he said no that I could pick them up if I wanted to. I said well yes I would love to do that  So far so good.

I started up a chat session for an un-related issue about 3 days after this phone conversation and happen to mention checking the status of the cable cards and she said that I had been setup for delivery on July 12th, I was like WTF I don't want that I want to come pick them up. So after about 10 minutes of explaining she finally said that it would be fine if I came and picked the cards up at the local store which is 100yrds from where I live. 

So, today 7/9 I go and try to pick up these diamonds that they so preciously guard with their lives. The woman at the counter said, "we can't do that, you have to have them installed"........ Needless to say I was very pissed off, so I asked to speak to someone in management. I met this guy and he went through the spill that she had just given me and I kindly explained to him that it wasn't going into a TV that it was infact going into a Tivo and he said, "whats a tivo".... At this point I knew I was doomed...

So he goes and talks to his techs for a minute and he came back and said that they do indeed need to be professionally installed, and I reassured him (seeing as I am starting on my MS in Computer Science in the fall) that I could handle the CC install. He said it would be fine but he needed to check a few things and he would call me. So I left hoping he would call and about 2 hours later he did and said that it would be installed on the 12th and it would cost $34.99 which was a crock of sh*t and I told him that was unacceptable so he said well let me check a couple of more options and I will call you back. Couple more hours went by and he called back with the same response... GRRRRRR

So I offered to bring my S3 down to the charter office as sort of a "Learning Experience" for their techs to get a chance to see the S3 and the setup and so that I didn't have to pay for the install and he agreed. I pick up my S3 tommorrow night late and will be going down about 8am EST on Wed. to do this install... Wish me luck 

I will be connecting the S3 at home first to the internet and going through the first setups and getting the latest versions on there before I go down there. Also, the gentleman kept asking me the version # of CC that I needed and I just kept telling him the 2007 version because I wasn't sure about that, anyone know which version I need??


Travis


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## pattont

Ok... Heres the update from my previous post...

I took my box down to Charter @ about 7:45am and we put the cards in as instructed got them activated with service and finally card 1 got some channels, but not all of them. Card 2 had nothing.... Turns out card 2 (top) was bad and they replaced that.. After about 3 hours I spent down there my tivo started getting the channels I had purchased.

I came home and shortly started watching some of my HD premiums (hbo, starz, cinemax) turns out 779 or CinemaxHD comes on for about 3 seconds and then goes to the cableCARD diag screen and then goes black.. I have no idea what its doing this for, it did it on one other channel and on both tuners. I just got off the phone with charter and they said they would send a signal to my cards to fix the issue, we will see.... So there you have it.. It works i didn't pay for the install but it took FOREVER to get this worked out..


Travis


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## kjmcdonald

Ok, well on Monday I got the 4th card installed (I have 2 S3's, and the last time a tech came out he brought 4 cards but 1 wasn't initialized properly at the head end before it was given out.) The installers (2 - One got pulled in from another area to help out the second) arrived at almost 1 for an 8am-12noon appt. window. 

It went in, and the screen popped up showing it installed. We were able to get the Card and Host ID, but soon the card decided it needed to upgrade the firmware. I got a little worried then, first because none of the other 3 needed that, second because reading here I've heard that that doesn't always work, and third because I know it can take forever, and I didn't want the guys on the call to give up.

The upgrade completed in 5-10 minutes and we started checking channels. I got all the digital and HD 'lifeline' channels, but none of the 'Total View' package that was supposed to be activated at the same time as the 4th card.

The techs were professional. Though the local one seemed clueless about technology in general (asked the other tech what kind of signal was on the coax going into the Tivo? was it the internet?) and the Senior guy was a snobby when I showed him the sheet from Tivo. Though he did say he had done several Tivo S3's before. When he arrived he seemed put off that he had been pulled in on this job, and didn't really show the other tech what to do, instead he did it, and kinda explained it along the way, but he glossed over a bunch of stuff, and seemed in a hurry.

They hung out a few minutes waiting to see if the channels came in, but they never did. I didn't want them to decide the card didn't work, or blmae the tivo - I was positive that the problem was all in the provisioning computer system at Charter, so I told them to go, and I'd wait and call in if it didn't work.

It didn't work even today Wednesday, but I didn't get a chance to check or call in till today ( due to bringing home a new baby daughter on Sunday  ) so when I called in today I first found out that the work order was still open and the programming change wouldn't happen till it was closed.

I waited on hold while they closed it out and got me to a supervisor. I was testing channels on the newest card, and nothing they did was working. She went to put me on hold, and disconnected me instead. I took the chance to check the other 3 cards. Whatever she did enabled the package on those 3 but not the 4th. I called back in, and they wanted to setup a service call to look at card 4, I told them I'd wait overnight and call back if it didn't work.

After that I noticed that even on the 3 "working" cards I was missing channels 300, and 301. When I called back again, they wanted to go the service tech route. So I have an appt. tomorrow.

By the time this install is done it's going to be a month and 6 service calls (2 of which were no-shows  ) Overall the Tivo's have worked flawlessly, it's been all screw-ups on charter's end.

Overall I'm happy with the signal and picture and I'm very happy with the Tivo.
It's all the different stories at Charter, and the right hand not talking to the left that has bothered me. Total communication breakdown inside that company.

EDIT:

Well yesterday they sent out another tech, who admitted right away he knew nothing about CableCARDS. I explaned what I was seeing, and he aggreed though that it was probably a problem with the 'codes'. So he got on the phone with dispatch, and after several tries, they got the 4th card behaving just like the other 3 which was my big concern. Then After getting the head-end involved, and over an hour waiting and chatting with the tech, they even found the problem with the 2 channels that were missing on all 4 cards. So I'm finally good!

Now, about a month after my install I get to call in and get a 1 month credit. Between that, and the 4 truck rolls (which the last tech said cost them on average $110 - mine were probably more since they were here longer,) and the 12 month discount I have, I'd woudn't be surprised if charter ends up only breaking even on me as a cable customer.

-Kyle


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## pattont

I have mine working perfectly except I am missing channels:
779 - Cinemax HD
522 - More MAX
191 - ABC News Now
776 - ESPN2 HD

When I click on these channels I get video for about 3 seconds and then the cableCARD diag screen pops up randomly and if i click "clear to exit" it exits, but I get no video. I have become friends with the Charter Tech and have a person number to call him and get stuff done to this box. He is going to call me in the morning to fix this issue. I have already tried to call the normal techs to "reset" the cable cards whatever that means, but it still doesn't work...

My cards still say... "Waiting for CP Auth" in the CP diag screen inside CableCARD configuration, but I get all my channels fine except for these 4... Dunno whats going on.. I am going to repost this on the main board to see if anyone has heard of this..

Travis


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## TracySMiller

pattont said:


> My cards still say... "Waiting for CP Auth" in the CP diag screen inside CableCARD configuration, but I get all my channels fine except for these 4... Dunno whats going on.. I am going to repost this on the main board to see if anyone has heard of this..
> 
> Travis


Definitely sounds like a bad Cable Card. I know these things can be frustrating. I live just down the road from you, close to Kingsport. I wasn't given the option of self-install. The installer was super-nice, though, and very patient. He was here over three hours before we got everything up and running.

Next, you'll want to get an eSata external drive to expand your space. Stay away from the Cavalry drives. I went through two of those before getting the Seagate DB35/Antec MX-1 combo everyone here loves. Four days counting and no errors or GSOD's!

We're up to 16 HD channels now with our Charter package.


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## mrlopez8

cotton168 said:


> I cannot believe the load of BS that Charter is giving you. Seeing how much trouble you are getting from them is also making me worry about my install on Friday. Hopefully the Alhambra office will be better. Don't know...
> 
> Anyone else have Charter and has had their CCs work on their Tivos?


I have Charter in St. Louis, MO and the cablecards work perfectly!


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## joe warner

pattont said:


> I have mine working perfectly except I am missing channels:
> 779 - Cinemax HD
> 522 - More MAX
> 191 - ABC News Now
> 776 - ESPN2 HD
> 
> When I click on these channels I get video for about 3 seconds and then the cableCARD diag screen pops up randomly and if i click "clear to exit" it exits, but I get no video. I have become friends with the Charter Tech and have a person number to call him and get stuff done to this box. He is going to call me in the morning to fix this issue. I have already tried to call the normal techs to "reset" the cable cards whatever that means, but it still doesn't work...
> 
> My cards still say... "Waiting for CP Auth" in the CP diag screen inside CableCARD configuration, but I get all my channels fine except for these 4... Dunno whats going on.. I am going to repost this on the main board to see if anyone has heard of this..
> 
> Travis


 I had the same problem. The cable card(s) were good it was the info in my account or the way they were setting up the cable card was the problem, I finally called the Charter person that inputs the info (this number was left on my phone after the Charter installer called to give them the Card and Host ID info). It took several calls before I reached a person who inputted the correct info. Not sure what this person actually did, but when he was done my Cable Card CP screen read "CP Auth Received", and the Cable Card/Host ID screen read " Authorization Received". I went for months with this "Waiting for CP Auth". I was able to ge all my basic and premium channels. What would periodically happen was the Cable Card screen would come up randomly and would show "Waiting for CP Auth". I would press clear and everything would continue normally. Any way my problem wass NOT the CABLE CARDS but the Head end at Charter as to my account info.


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## MasterCephus

So one of my CableCards wouldn't show my HD channels at all. So I thought I would call Tivo to figure out which cablecard it was so I could call Charter.

So I wait a little bit (like 30 minutes), and the lady not only helped me figure out exactly what the problem was, she set up a 3 way call and explained to the charter tech the exact problem. 

They are sending someone out today to fix the problem, and the tivo lady gave me a phone number that goes straight to a Tivo CableCard tech to help the charter technician fix my problem.

Gosh I love Tivo!


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## Toeside

I've been using my S3 OTA only for about 5 months. We are moving and I have Charter scheduled for an install on 8/11. I hope it goes well.

I would have stayed away from Charter but since the Blues signed Kariya, I have to watch the games more often than I can attend.


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## pattont

joe warner said:


> I had the same problem. The cable card(s) were good it was the info in my account or the way they were setting up the cable card was the problem, I finally called the Charter person that inputs the info (this number was left on my phone after the Charter installer called to give them the Card and Host ID info). It took several calls before I reached a person who inputted the correct info. Not sure what this person actually did, but when he was done my Cable Card CP screen read "CP Auth Received", and the Cable Card/Host ID screen read " Authorization Received". I went for months with this "Waiting for CP Auth". I was able to ge all my basic and premium channels. What would periodically happen was the Cable Card screen would come up randomly and would show "Waiting for CP Auth". I would press clear and everything would continue normally. Any way my problem wass NOT the CABLE CARDS but the Head end at Charter as to my account info.


The charter guy is set to come to my place tommorrow. He has assured me they have inputted my information several times and re autorized my cards, but I just don't care anymore. They are coming to my house tommorrow to give me two new cards and they aren't leaving till it says authorization received. Thanks for the tip though, glad I saw this post before the dude came.

Travis


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## pattont

http://customersupport.tivo.com/TiV...-4ed8-ac41-d8cd0d5c0824/ins_Content.html#SATS

very interesting page.. Just found this... the cable guy is here now  working on it!


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## Globular

joe warner said:


> I had the same problem. The cable card(s) were good it was the info in my account or the way they were setting up the cable card was the problem, I finally called the Charter person that inputs the info (this number was left on my phone after the Charter installer called to give them the Card and Host ID info). It took several calls before I reached a person who inputted the correct info. Not sure what this person actually did, but when he was done my Cable Card CP screen read "CP Auth Received", and the Cable Card/Host ID screen read " Authorization Received". I went for months with this "Waiting for CP Auth". I was able to ge all my basic and premium channels. What would periodically happen was the Cable Card screen would come up randomly and would show "Waiting for CP Auth". I would press clear and everything would continue normally. Any way my problem wass NOT the CABLE CARDS but the Head end at Charter as to my account info.


I'm having the same issue with these idiots. Two techs came to install the cards yesterday morning (one was a former Comcast guy "in training") and they got the cards activated but were told they didn't need to do anything with the Host ID. Test channels showed my premium HD channels OK, so they left. Well, immediately after that I started getting the "Call your cable provider" screen with the host ID when I switched to some of the encrypted ones, particularly Cinemax HD and Discovery HD. So I called and said I needed to get the cards "paired", which I learned from this forum is what was needed. They had no idea. "We don't support TiVo", "I know, but you support CableCARDs.", etc. etc.

I called TiVo and immediately got Kimberly in the CC group, who called Charter for me and was super helpful and patient as we escalated to a supervisor, and then a manager who wouldn't transfer us to the dispatcher, the people that the techs call to activate a card. Hours later all I got was ANOTHER appointment for tech(s) to come out later today! Ugh, more time off work ( my boss doesn't know yet  ). I do have the TiVo direct line for the CableCARD group with a case ID to have the Charter people call and get this going. We'll see what happens today.

This is pathetic.


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## Toeside

I wish I wasn't reading these posts. I've been so happy with my S3 OTA only for 6 months. On 8/11, I'll deal with the cablecard install. I'm not looking forward to it.


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## Toeside

What brand CableCards does Charter use in the STL area?

There seems to be issues with Scientific Atlanta cards in the TiVo HD. I have a S3, but plan on buying a TiVo HD soon--perhaps before my 8/11 install.


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## Globular

Globular said:


> I'm having the same issue with these idiots. Two techs came to install the cards yesterday morning (one was a former Comcast guy "in training") and they got the cards activated but were told they didn't need to do anything with the Host ID. Test channels showed my premium HD channels OK, so they left. Well, immediately after that I started getting the "Call your cable provider" screen with the host ID when I switched to some of the encrypted ones, particularly Cinemax HD and Discovery HD. So I called and said I needed to get the cards "paired", which I learned from this forum is what was needed. They had no idea. "We don't support TiVo", "I know, but you support CableCARDs.", etc. etc.
> 
> I called TiVo and immediately got Kimberly in the CC group, who called Charter for me and was super helpful and patient as we escalated to a supervisor, and then a manager who wouldn't transfer us to the dispatcher, the people that the techs call to activate a card. Hours later all I got was ANOTHER appointment for tech(s) to come out later today! Ugh, more time off work ( my boss doesn't know yet  ). I do have the TiVo direct line for the CableCARD group with a case ID to have the Charter people call and get this going. We'll see what happens today.
> 
> This is pathetic.


Update: A local service guy came yesterday who knew what he was doing. He got the cards properly registered ("paired" in TiVo speak) with "dispatch" but I was still experiencing the Scientific Atlanta pixelation issues with the card in slot two. Word in another thread on this forum says that problem is fixed in an update to the TiVo software! I'm hoping my unit will update soon and all my problems will be solved. I'll report back.

When you get your cards, make sure your installer calls dispatch and registers the CableCARD IDs, HostIDs, and MAC addresses for both cards before he or she leaves. Tha MAC addresses are printed on the cards or are available on the CableCARD diag screen on the TiVo.


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## rainwater

Globular said:


> I'm having the same issue with these idiots. Two techs came to install the cards yesterday morning (one was a former Comcast guy "in training") and they got the cards activated but were told they didn't need to do anything with the Host ID. Test channels showed my premium HD channels OK, so they left. Well, immediately after that I started getting the "Call your cable provider" screen with the host ID when I switched to some of the encrypted ones, particularly Cinemax HD and Discovery HD. So I called and said I needed to get the cards "paired", which I learned from this forum is what was needed. They had no idea. "We don't support TiVo", "I know, but you support CableCARDs.", etc. etc.
> 
> I called TiVo and immediately got Kimberly in the CC group, who called Charter for me and was super helpful and patient as we escalated to a supervisor, and then a manager who wouldn't transfer us to the dispatcher, the people that the techs call to activate a card. Hours later all I got was ANOTHER appointment for tech(s) to come out later today! Ugh, more time off work ( my boss doesn't know yet  ). I do have the TiVo direct line for the CableCARD group with a case ID to have the Charter people call and get this going. We'll see what happens today.
> 
> This is pathetic.


If you get the CableCard IDs, Host IDs, and MAC addresses, you should be able to get them paired online with their online chat system. Just tell them to transfer you to the "Video" group when you get into the initial chat. Plus, this way there is less chance of transposing a number.


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## Leo_N

Looks like some new HD is rolling in for my area. They are adding ESPN2-HD, MOJO-HD, and A&E-HD, plus it looks like they are moving some analog to digital and then adding like 10-15 more digital channels (mostly faith channels though, ugh, although ESPN-U will be very welcome!) Hopefully the channel adds will go smooth, they should, as the last channel adds with cable cards went just fine.


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## Leo_N

Globular said:


> Update: A local service guy came yesterday who knew what he was doing. He got the cards properly registered ("paired" in TiVo speak) with "dispatch" but I was still experiencing the Scientific Atlanta pixelation issues with the card in slot two. Word in another thread on this forum says that problem is fixed in an update to the TiVo software! I'm hoping my unit will update soon and all my problems will be solved. I'll report back.
> 
> When you get your cards, make sure your installer calls dispatch and registers the CableCARD IDs, HostIDs, and MAC addresses for both cards before he or she leaves. Tha MAC addresses are printed on the cards or are available on the CableCARD diag screen on the TiVo.


You can force your Tivo to update, go into messages and settings and find the network settings, then tell it to "Connect to Tivo Now" it will check for updates, after it goes all through the process, you should be cable to check that same screen and where the "Status" is displayed, if it says "Pending Restart" you have the update and just need to restart the DVR. You can either unplug and plug it back in, or more elegantly go into messages and settings and at the bottom is the menu for restarting.


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## brian1269

pattont said:


> http://customersupport.tivo.com/TiV...-4ed8-ac41-d8cd0d5c0824/ins_Content.html#SATS
> 
> very interesting page.. Just found this... the cable guy is here now  working on it!


Pattont,

You have to let me know what happens and if you get that issue resolved. I'm in Kingsport and have the exact same problem. They had to try multiple cards before getting anything to work. One of them works 100% and the other card is doing the exact same thing as yours. It says "waiting for CP auth" on the CP screen after Auth Status. The card that works 100% says "CP Auth Received."

It has been about two months since the cards were installed and I have just lived with it because I've been too busy to deal with them, but now I am going to get it fixed. I had a tech here yesterday and he had no clue what the problem could be. He says the card has been switched on by Charter, but obviously this is not the case or it would be working right. It brings up the screen that says "In order the start service... etc." on the same channels that you listed, plus there are a few more, like 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308 and 312. I'm sure there are others, too.

Please post and let me know if you and the tech figured out what's wrong and how you solved it. Thanks.


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## Globular

Globular said:


> Update: A local service guy came yesterday who knew what he was doing. He got the cards properly registered ("paired" in TiVo speak) with "dispatch" but I was still experiencing the Scientific Atlanta pixelation issues with the card in slot two. Word in another thread on this forum says that problem is fixed in an update to the TiVo software! I'm hoping my unit will update soon and all my problems will be solved. I'll report back.


The SW update didn't fix all of the pixellation and channel drop out problems. Since this is apparently a TiVo problem, I'm holding out hope that CHarter as done The Right Thing.


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## hank12345

Well, Cable guy Finally shows up at 4:30 for a 11-1 appointment... As I open the door, the first words out of his mouth were "these cards aren't for a Tivo, are they?" Well, this is going to be fun I thought... 

But actually, he was a really nice guy, and let me do most of the work.... Seemed pretty impressed by the Tivo HD....

Both card went through an initialization process, and he called them in.... 

Interestingly enough, I get all the channels I'm suppose to on card 2, but I'm missing the Hi def tier on card 1... 

He tried to get the folks on the phone to hit the card again, but it was after 5 so no one was there.... Scheduled to come back out next week.... 

After seeing the post by pattont, I'm wondering if the cards aren't paired properly... 

All in all less than perfect, but not the horror show I anticipated.


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## rainwater

hank12345 said:


> He tried to get the folks on the phone to hit the card again, but it was after 5 so no one was there.... Scheduled to come back out next week....


I would go online to the Charter chat system (ask for the "Video" group) and give them the CableCard id, Host id, and MAC address of that card (don't even mention the other card). They should be able to verify they have the correct numbers in their system and re-init the card. Waiting for them to come back out just to call Charter themselves is a waste of time.


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## hank12345

Thanks, Rainwater!

chatted with the video dept, and they hit the card-- seems to be working now....

Folks on this forum are the best!

Hank


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## pattont

Alright, so seeing 'rainwater's' post I had to give this a try. So I fired up the chat and got someone that actually wasn't a robot hitting the auto response keys. Well come to find out on the two sheets that had my hostid,mac,ccid on them i went to verify the info written down with the actual cards and it was incorrect and I was so excited when I fired up the chat because I thought that once they fixed this it would be good to go. Come to find out once I got the guy on the chat he verified both cards were entered and paired correctly (so he/she says not sure if they actually knew what that meant), and that he was going to reset. As soon as he said he was going to reset and it should fix it, i about flipped a lid because they ALWAYS wanna f'in reset and that has never fixed my cards. 

I was then told that their wasn't anything more that they could do via chat that i would have to call the 1888-WESUCKATLIFE line and talk to them about it and schedule someone to come out. I said that I have had the senior tech for my area come out twice and neither him nor his boss know why the crap I can't watch skinamax in HD along with my other channels I am missing. He came back and asked "really??, the senior tech couldn't fix it, what do you want me to do via chat???" Kindof caught me off guard he took up for himself and that was kindof cool. I then asked him if he could pull my cards off my account and put them back on maybe that would jar the system to let me actually get my service correctly, he said that tier 2 techs could do that but he could not. He then told me to call the number but when i got someone immediatly ask for tier 2 that I have already spoken to a tier 1 about the issue. I am going to call when I wake up in the morning and try to get this resolved.

I know one thing as many times as I have called these douches I should be getting free service. You guys don't even wanna hear what kindof hell I have had with autopay and these we are cutting off your service phone calls I have gotten.. I am poster child for the "charter f'ups" that they wanna keep quiet


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## brian1269

pattont said:


> I know one thing as many times as I have called these douches I should be getting free service. You guys don't even wanna hear what kindof hell I have had with autopay and these we are cutting off your service phone calls I have gotten.. I am poster child for the "charter f'ups" that they wanna keep quiet


Wow, sounds like you have had some of the same problems I've had. I moved recently and instead of transfering service, they set up a new acount and were double billing me, then autopay wouldn't work and they charged me late fees, got the phone calls, etc.

I've got I think the fifth tech coming out today to try and get the cable card working. They swear it is paired correctly, but TiVo tells me there's no way it can be if it says "waiting for CP auth."


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## aenima99x

brian1269 said:


> Wow, sounds like you have had some of the same problems I've had. I moved recently and instead of transfering service, they set up a new acount and were double billing me, then autopay wouldn't work and they charged me late fees, got the phone calls, etc.
> 
> I've got I think the fifth tech coming out today to try and get the cable card working. They swear it is paired correctly, but TiVo tells me there's no way it can be if it says "waiting for CP auth."


  I feel your pain, I have a tech out here right now to try and fix my issues -1st card "waiitng for CP Auth", 2nd card is ok, but BOTH cards are missing 1/2 of my HD tier :sigh: and of course the tech here is not a Charter employee so he can't do cable cards...why would they send a tech out that can't do cable cards knowing my call is strictly cable card issues......


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## saintpaulpuck

I apologize if this has already been beaten to death on this thread.

I have had a Series 3 for about 11 months. The one thing that has always bothered me is the slow response times in certain instances. When channel surfing, I find that my screen can go blank for several seconds (especially bad when going from a cable channel to an antenna channel) before the image is restored. I also notice delayed response times when navigating through the TiVo menu or going from Live TV or a recording to the TiVo menu, often times included the slow response time is flickering of the picture for a couple of seconds. 

Is this normal? Should I just accept this and forget about it? Or, should I take it up with TiVo or the retailer that I purchased it, I did but the extended warranty from BB.


----------



## hank12345

aenima99x said:


> I feel your pain, I have a tech out here right now to try and fix my issues -1st card "waiitng for CP Auth", 2nd card is ok, but BOTH cards are missing 1/2 of my HD tier :sigh: and of course the tech here is not a Charter employee so he can't do cable cards...why would they send a tech out that can't do cable cards knowing my call is strictly cable card issues......


I had a similar issue whit my charter install.... could not receive any of the HD channels on card 1... I was able to get into a live chat on the charter website-- tell the first level tech that you have a cable card problem, and ask to be transferred to the "video department"

Ask the person in the video dpt. to hit your card again-- don't even mention that it's an a TiVo, that will confuse them, they don't need that information....

You will prob. want to have the card SN, mac address, and all the other info you get from the cable card screen handy, however, they just needed my phone # and last four numbers of my SSN, and they re-hit both cards, and everything was working in a matter of minutes...

Hope that helps!

PS
Giving credit where credit is due, I received this advice from another forum poster, rainwater... Thanks again, rainwater!


----------



## aenima99x

hank12345 said:


> I had a similar issue whit my charter install.... could not receive any of the HD channels on card 1... I was able to get into a live chat on the charter website-- tell the first level tech that you have a cable card problem, and ask to be transferred to the "video department"
> 
> Ask the person in the video dpt. to hit your card again-- don't even mention that it's an a TiVo, that will confuse them, they don't need that information....
> 
> You will prob. want to have the card SN, mac address, and all the other info you get from the cable card screen handy, however, they just needed my phone # and last four numbers of my SSN, and they re-hit both cards, and everything was working in a matter of minutes...
> 
> Hope that helps!


Thanks, but I've already worked with the online techs 3 times and had both of my cards hit at least 5 times. BTW - the tech was able to get an actual charter tech to come out at some point today.....and then he proceeded to try and grill on why i was using a TiVo instead of a Charter DVR....I told him cuz Moxi sucks


----------



## aenima99x

WOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Just had the Charter tech come out and he got it all working!!! Swapped out Card 1 and got it authorized and then made like 3 calls to get the HD tier issue resolved. I only had $5 on me to tip him, would have given him $20. if I had it. If anyone is in the Riverside,CA area using Charter ask for Nick Kacey. Sooooo freaking happy now.  Now just have to see if the macroblocking is still bad.


----------



## TromboneKenny

saintpaulpuck said:


> I apologize if this has already been beaten to death on this thread.
> 
> I have had a Series 3 for about 11 months. The one thing that has always bothered me is the slow response times in certain instances. When channel surfing, I find that my screen can go blank for several seconds (especially bad when going from a cable channel to an antenna channel) before the image is restored. I also notice delayed response times when navigating through the TiVo menu or going from Live TV or a recording to the TiVo menu, often times included the slow response time is flickering of the picture for a couple of seconds.
> 
> Is this normal? Should I just accept this and forget about it? Or, should I take it up with TiVo or the retailer that I purchased it, I did but the extended warranty from BB.


I don't think that's a cablecard/Charter issue.

That sounds more like your TV switching between display modes (480i, 480p, 1080i). which would happen if your video output format settings were in hybrid mode. I changed mine to 1080i fixed a while ago and have been much happier.


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## brian1269

OK this seems to be the problem I and many others with Charter seem to be having. From TiVo's site: _*CableCARD is authorized to display the copy-protected channel, but the card is unpaired

To correct this, you need to contact your cable provider and give them the pairing information for your CableCARDs. To find pairing information, press CLEAR to exit the Conditional Access Screen and then select CableCARD Pairing from the CableCARD Menu.* _

I don't have a "CableCARD Pairing" option on the CableCARD menu. Anyone else not have a Cablecard pairing screen?


----------



## adwolf1

Charter came out yesterday to install (2) SA cablecards into my Tivo HD.

I'm able to get all the unencrypted/analog channels (below 100) just fine, but oddly I only get a couple of digital channels (300 & 301, discovery) . The rest is just a blank grey screen.

The installer had never seen a Tivo before, so he was as in the dark as me.

Going thru tivo's troubleshooting instructions, i can see that the cards are paired & authorized, but the EMM count = 0. Any advice on how to proceed? The installer was going to call me back today, i'd hate to have another truck roll if I don't need to (ie, unless he's bringing me new cards, can't this all be resolved centrally?)

aw


----------



## wtidmore

> OK this seems to be the problem I and many others with Charter seem to be having. From TiVo's site: CableCARD is authorized to display the copy-protected channel, but the card is unpaired
> 
> To correct this, you need to contact your cable provider and give them the pairing information for your CableCARDs. To find pairing information, press CLEAR to exit the Conditional Access Screen and then select CableCARD Pairing from the CableCARD Menu.


I contacted Charter via chat and tried this line of thinking with them. The rep stated that if the cards were not paired I wouldn't be getting any channels, not just the one (BBCAmerica) that I am missing. She wouldn't humor me and check the pairing. She followed up by saying that it couldn't be a CableCARD problem. However, after sending a signal to the card with no good results, she (of course) wanted to send a tech out to address the CableCARD issue (!). I started to ask what the tech would be looking for and she disconnected the chat.

I'm starting to think I'll just have to live without BBCAmerica (I can still get it via converter box).


----------



## aenima99x

adwolf1 said:


> Charter came out yesterday to install (2) SA cablecards into my Tivo HD.
> 
> I'm able to get all the unencrypted/analog channels (below 100) just fine, but oddly I only get a couple of digital channels (300 & 301, discovery) . The rest is just a blank grey screen.
> 
> The installer had never seen a Tivo before, so he was as in the dark as me.
> 
> Going thru tivo's troubleshooting instructions, i can see that the cards are paired & authorized, but the EMM count = 0. Any advice on how to proceed? The installer was going to call me back today, i'd hate to have another truck roll if I don't need to (ie, unless he's bringing me new cards, can't this all be resolved centrally?)
> 
> aw


You can go the online chat route and have them hit your cards - that should resolve the EMM count being at 0. Also make sure they have you down for the correct packages that you subscribe to and if you do scubscribe to the HD tier, make sure they are giving you access to BOTH HD tiers.


----------



## pattont

MINE IS FIXED!!!!!!!


Alright, I called charter and asked them to verify my CC information. Well when I got the gentleman on the phone read him my mac ids and my hostids. Turns out the wrong mac id was on the wrong hostid. He said he would fix it and that it was definatly the problem I was excited.... Alright well he got his sup. to come and do all the overrides so that he could 'unpair' and then 're-pair' my cards. Well turns out he had me turn my S3 off cause it wouldn't let him do it while it was it ON. Well, he came back and said that he had a problem and that 2 other supervisors had joined him. He asked me if i was willing to do something that might fry my cards but it would probably fix it. He had me switch the cards from slot 1 to 2, and from 2 to 1 and then he sent an override re-pair signal to the cards. I checked the CP under cable cards diag screen and it said CP auth received... w00t.. He also said that if i wanted he would have someone bring me out an M-Card on Friday.. Will one card work on both tuners or is that issue still messed up?? I know that VOD doesn't work still but i am just worried this install with F up my other fix...

travis


----------



## brian1269

Another tech just came out a while ago, the third one this week, and it took him about 5 minutes to fix the problem. The information on one of the cards was not entered correctly, he had them put it in right and it worked immediately. Now the card shows that it has received authorization, and all channels work perfectly on both cards. Unbelievable. The two other techs and the 10 or so support people I spoke with over the phone over several weeks had no clue what to do, even when I told them that I knew the card was good but had not been paired correctly at the headend. I'm convinced that 99% if problems people are having with cards are because Charter has not set them up properly.


----------



## adwolf1

aenima99x said:


> You can go the online chat route and have them hit your cards - that should resolve the EMM count being at 0. Also make sure they have you down for the correct packages that you subscribe to and if you do scubscribe to the HD tier, make sure they are giving you access to BOTH HD tiers.


My problem was escalated, they found the right guy who knew exactly what commands to issue to the cards & now they work perfectly.

I suspect charter could save themselves lots of money and aggravation if they just let users install the cards themselves & then call central directly to get the cards provisioned. But what do i know...


----------



## CharlesH

pattont said:


> Well turns out he had me turn my S3 off cause it wouldn't let him do it while it was it ON.


How is the system going to know the S3, a receive-only device, is on?


----------



## pattont

I dunno... for some reason he couldn't unpair my device while it was on.. I know it sounds stupid but he said he tried multiple times.. I guess its a safety feature inside their system. It may see that my cards are online and in use and not let them overwrite them while they are active.... who knows... i just followed directions because this guy seemed to know what he was talking about..


----------



## brian1269

adwolf1 said:


> My problem was escalated, they found the right guy who knew exactly what commands to issue to the cards & now they work perfectly.
> 
> I suspect charter could save themselves lots of money and aggravation if they just let users install the cards themselves & then call central directly to get the cards provisioned. But what do i know...


Here's what Charter states on its site:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to the technical complexity associated with pairing of the devices, all installations of a CableCARD MUST be completed by a technician. 
Self installation of CableCARDs is NOT an option for customers and thus customers cannot pick up a CableCARD from a local office.

Yeah right, what a joke. I would have been much better off if I could have installed them myself, since Charter screwed up the install in the first place and it took them two months to finally figure out that information had been initially entered incorrectly.


----------



## Toeside

I had my install today. Four cable cards (Motorola) were installed in an Original Series3 and a TiVo HD.

I had the following work done:
New service installation, cable modem installing, and the 4 cable cards. 

Total time, about 90 minutes.

NO PROBLEMS at all. :up:


The installer had done only one other TiVo before, it was "about 2 weeks ago" he said. It was a TiVo HD. That one went OK, too, he said.

He said it's all about who he gets in on the other side when entering the numbers. He said the girl working our call is one of his favorites because she knows what she's doing.


----------



## TNCharterVictim

Unfortunately Charter doesn't even do what is required of them, never mind support any equipment is that is not their own! I would like to have Tivo, but I can't even get past fuzzy channels & constant Internet problems with Charter.

I have now had to contact an attorney. Basically as a 
customer I am caught in the middle of a contractual dispute between My apartment complex & Charter. Charter is demanding that The Villages Apartments sign an exclusive I.P. (Internet Phone service) agreement with Charter before they will fix or replace any of the bad lines in the complex. This of course is wrong, 
because the bad lines are already effecting services that they are currently 
providing, & taking consumer's money for. me included. I have been suffering 
this for two years, & every attempt I've made to solve this amicably has failed. 
I have been told twice by Charter representitives that "if you don't like it, 
you should get another service." Of course I can't get high speed cable from 
anyone else, because they (Charter) have monopolized it in this area. Our 
television service is also sub standard quality. 

Additionally a friend of mine who is a Charter technician (as well as 
several other Charter techs) told me that the truth is that some of our problems 
are due to a crumbling Cable infrastructure in Spring Hill, TN. that is not able to 
keep up with the demands of all the new developments. As a result, line 
techinicans are throwing together shoddy line/infrastructural extensions that 
are not properly designed or implimented, so as to avoid losing revenue that 
these new developments have to offer. 

As a result, people all over the city are being affected by problems in 
the system's operating voltages, called (Line attenuation). This basically means 
that the bad legs of the infrastructure are causing voltage fluctuation all 
over, much like what happens in a power grid that fails & switches over to 
alternate routes, causing brown outs.. The end result, is that Spring Hill 
customers in some parts of the city are having their money gladly taken by 
Charter every month, but are being forced to endure poor service, or "move if 
they don't like it". This is not good for the city of Spring Hill. If the people at Charter had any sense they'd realize it's not good for them either!


----------



## hank12345

Anyone else in the Worcester MA area lose the following channels tonight?

775 Discovery HD Theater
795 Universal HD 
797 TNT - HD
798 MHD

I still get ESPN HD & ESPN2 HD, (same tier as the missing channels) as well as my local and premium HD channels... I received all of em' until today.... Weird...

FYI-
TiVo HD with 2 SA cable cards, both missing the channels....

Thanks


----------



## jdmass

hank12345 said:


> Anyone else in the Worcester MA area lose the following channels tonight?
> 
> 775 Discovery HD Theater
> 795 Universal HD
> 797 TNT - HD
> 798 MHD
> 
> I still get ESPN HD & ESPN2 HD, (same tier as the missing channels) as well as my local and premium HD channels... I received all of em' until today.... Weird...
> 
> FYI-
> TiVo HD with 2 SA cable cards, both missing the channels....
> 
> Thanks


Just checked and they seem to be coming in fine on my Tivo Series 3 in Westborough.


----------



## hank12345

jdmass said:


> Just checked and they seem to be coming in fine on my Tivo Series 3 in Westborough.


Thanks for checking....

According to the Charter rep I spoke with, I don't subscribe to those channels-- despite the fact I pay for them, and have been receiving them with no issues (aside for the TiVO HD macroblocking issue) for the last few weeks.... and still receive some of the other channels in the tier... I also noticed I'm missing my movie tier, but still receive Showtime HD.... Then they had the nerve to try to sell me their phone service....

Looks like I need to swap out the cards?

This, on top of the TiVo HD macroblocking issue is very frustrating--- I LOVE my TiVo's but I don't have the time or energy to troubleshoot, or wait around for Charter techs who know less than I do about the problem....

I guess I'll try one more time to get tings working before my 30 day return window closes, and I have to go back to DirecTV...

I hope this works out-- I'd prefer to stay with TiVo.


----------



## jfh3

hank12345 said:


> Thanks for checking....
> 
> According to the Charter rep I spoke with, I don't subscribe to those channels-- despite the fact I pay for them, and have been receiving them with no issues (aside for the TiVO HD macroblocking issue) for the last few weeks.... and still receive some of the other channels in the tier... I also noticed I'm missing my movie tier, but still receive Showtime HD.... Then they had the nerve to try to sell me their phone service....
> 
> Looks like I need to swap out the cards?


No, if you are getting any channels, there's nothing wrong with the cards. Based on the rep's comment, it certainly sounds like an authorization problem on their end.


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## hank12345

jfh3 said:


> No, if you are getting any channels, there's nothing wrong with the cards. Based on the rep's comment, it certainly sounds like an authorization problem on their end.


Interesting--

So they can turn off particular channels in the same tier?

I had the re-hit the card a couple of times last night via online chat with no luck. This morning I called in and "the computers are down, pleas call back in an hour"

I'll try again.

Thanks


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## hank12345

jfh3 said:


> No, if you are getting any channels, there's nothing wrong with the cards. Based on the rep's comment, it certainly sounds like an authorization problem on their end.


Thanks for talking me off the ledge jfh3!

apparently they did have the wrong info in my account... a very nice CSR named Billie was able to (re)add the tiers and everything seems to be working now....

Strange that it worked up until now-- I wonder if I will get hit with multiple upgrade fees on my next bill...

As long as the cable cards aren't going to go wonky every other week, I feel pretty good about waiting out the TiVo HD macroblocking issues...

Thanks again, and to all who are willing to help on this forum!


----------



## stlbluenote13

I just had Charter install two cable cards for my Tivo 3 and it works great. However, some CSRs don't know about the Tivo and will tell you that they don't support them for Tivo(that's rubbish). Unfortunately, you just have to keep calling them back until one does. I specified that the tech should know Tivo and the one they sent stated that he installed several in the St. Louis area...


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## Toeside

stlbluenote13 said:


> I just had Charter install two cable cards for my Tivo 3 and it works great. However, some CSRs don't know about the Tivo and will tell you that they don't support them for Tivo(that's rubbish). Unfortunately, you just have to keep calling them back until one does. I specified that the tech should know Tivo and the one they sent stated that he installed several in the St. Louis area...


Who was your installer? (I'm assuming you are in STL based on your username.) I can't remember the name of mine, but he did a great job even with only having one under his belt. My install gave him 2 more.

I think a lot of the success, though, depends on the person on the other end of the Nextel. The installer said the person he had on the other side was "the best" he's worked with.


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## marcsorel

Is there a way to request a specific installer? I'm in Saint Louis also, and have had a tech in and out all day. The first time he just left the cards and said they'd be activated. He called me about 30 minutes later to say they were ready and to put them in... I did, and, big surprise, no dice.

He comes back a couple hours later and this time is on the phone with someone who wants things I've heard of like Host and Card ID #'s, so I'm encouraged, but both my tech and the person on the phone seem very unsure of what to do... after another half hour of this, the person on the phone says one of my cards is showing "pairing failed" and the other is "pair pending" The tech at my apartment took off to do another install, but said that things should be working soon. So far it's been about an hour and I've got nothing. What should I tell him when he comes back? What can I do at this point? Are my cards bad, or just the people?

Any advice would be appreciated.


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## mr_lala

I've finally gotten my cablecard setup working with Charter. What an ordeal.

I had a tech first show up last Saturday (August 18th). My appointment was for between 1-3 PM... At 3 PM, no tech, so I call up the Charter support line. I'm told the tech is running just a bit behind, but he'll call me within 15 minutes. At 4 PM, no tech, I again call, and again am told that the tech is running behind, and would definitely be at my house by 5 PM. The tech shows up at 7:30. 

He walks to my door with a digital receiver. After an explanation and some confusion, he digs around in the back of his truck and finds a cablecard. Luck shines on me a little-- it's actually a m-card! The tech says he's never done a cablecard install. He doesn't know what a Tivo is.

Anyway, we slide the cablecard into the TiVo, and sit and look at it like two monkeys for a bit. He says the card is already activated (??), and everything should start working soon. He suggests I call the Charter 800# if it the additional channels don't show up in about 30 minutes. The guy smells like... honestly... like he's rolled around in dog crap, so I tell him OK and let him go.

Of course, the card wasn't activated (I didn't start researching this whole thing until around this time). I call up the Charter 800# around 8 that night. They apologize, and say the tech should have "burned" something into the cablecard, and they want to send out another tech.

At this point, I've had it. I tell them I can easily give them the numbers off the screen or whatever they need. They insist a tech must come out. OK, fine. They say they'll have "dispatch" call me that very evening to set up an appointment for the next morning.

I wait around all night, no call from dispatch. I call the next morning (Sunday), and am told that dispatch would be calling me "sometime today". Of course, no call. I call back again Sunday afternoon around 3 PM, and am told that dispatch was supposed to call me. The rep seems honestly surprised that no one had called me.

Of course, there are no appointments left for that day. There are no appointments available until the following Friday (today). So, I schedule an appointment for 10-12.

Today, the tech shows up promptly at 10 AM. It's another tech, and he seems to have a clue. He asks for the Tivo instructions, and mentions he's done a couple of these, and they're always problematic. He's also brought along a couple single stream cards, just in case.

We plug the card back in, he calls up someone in the office, and gives them the numbers off the card. Nothing happens at first. We reboot the Tivo, and it magically starts working. Hurrah!

So, put me into the camp of "after a heckuvla lot of trouble, it works" camp.


----------



## rainwater

mr_lala said:


> He walks to my door with a digital receiver.


This happens because Charter customer service does not know the difference between a cable box and a cablecard. In a way that is a good thing because if you ever want to change your channel package there is usually little trouble because the rep doesn't know the difference. I think their computer system doesn't easily distinguish them so as to not to confuse the reps when they make changes to your account.


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## velum

Well just got my HDTivo and had Charter come and install my cable cards. First off the tech was over an hour late and did call me to let me know that he would be running late. When he finally got here he of course had never done a tivo. I gave him the install card and he looked at it for a second and then handed it back to me. He was in such a rush to get out of here that he put both cards in before they had been authorized and called the dispatcher and gave them the info and was gone before I had a chance to make sure everything is working correctly. The card in slot 1 is not authorized and is not working but the card in slot 2 is working and I have all my channels for the most part, some come and go. I tried calling customer support to have them hit my card that was not authorized and they told me that it was authorized just pending-pair and that the card that was working was not paired at all.
So I asked them to hit it again and they said they did and it is still not working, so I set up tech visit for tomorrow. After reading about some people having luck with the online chat I thought I would try that out and see if they had the right info for my card. So I got into a chat with someone from the video department and gave them the info for the card that was not paired and once again they tell me that that card is paired. I tell them that no it is not because I am looking at the info screen and it says that it is not paired. Then the person just tells me to wait for the tech tomorrow like I don't know what I am talking about. I then ask to have the cards hit again to try one last time to get it to pair and the person tells me they can't because it might destroy the cards and to just wait for the tech. I then ended the chat in disgust and am not looking forward to another tech visit and another afternoon waiting around. Does anyone have any suggestions for what I need to do.


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## tbear334

Purchased my TivoHD on Friday from local Circuit City, and then called local Charter office to setup CableCard install. Asked for a single M-Card or two S-Cards. The phone rep didn't have a clue but put in the notes what I told her to about the M-Card, if they had it locally. Appt set for 10:00 AM on Monday. Hooked Tivo up to my system on Saturday (Extended Basic only) to make sure everything was working and so it could install any software updates over the weekend. I was not home for the install, my (non-techie) partner was, but told him to tell the tech to follow the Tivo instructions exactly. Contractor tech showed up (early) and barely spoke english, and although it took 1 1/2 hours, he left with one M-Card installed and activated. Had to wait on a firmware update, so when I got home, I went through guided setup again and rebooted. Everything working great! I was so happy to send back the craptastic Moto Charter DVR! So I have to say... after reading all the horror stories, I was prepared for the worst, but everything went pretty smoothly even though the techs said this was only the 2nd Tivo (First HD) that they had ever installed CCs. Here's hoping that Charter is getting its act together... here in Montgomery, we actually have a choice between Charter and Knology, and sometimes I think that helps our customer service situation because they know we can switch.


----------



## gdomeier

My charter experience started good, but went down hill. The first installer only brought 1 single stream card. That was setup and good to go rather painlessly. The nightmare came trying to get the second installer here. 

When he did finally get here, he had never done a cable card, much less a tivo. I stepped him through using the tivo install guide. When it came time to call the head and and pair the card, he connected with someone who also had never done a cable card. Then after much waiting, his cell phone died. That was after him getting here 2 1/2 hours late for the 1-5 install window.

I told him him to go. He said his sup would call today. Never did. I called the charter help line last night and tried to explain to the csr what I needed to do. She said all she could do was "hit" the card. No help. I also tried the online chat. Same deal.

I came home today during lunch (after having to take three, one half days of vacation) and called the charter help line. This time the guy answered charter video, or something like that. I explained what happened, and what I needed to do. He said no problem. He took my cc sn, saw what was wrong. He got on chat with the person who could pair my card. I gave the host and data numbers, and now I am good to go.

God I hate charter  Thanks for listening to my vent!


----------



## rainwater

gdomeier said:


> My charter experience started good, but went down hill. The first installer only brought 1 single stream card. That was setup and good to go rather painlessly. The nightmare came trying to get the second installer here.
> 
> When he did finally get here, he had never done a cable card, much less a tivo. I stepped him through using the tivo install guide. When it came time to call the head and and pair the card, he connected with someone who also had never done a cable card. Then after much waiting, his cell phone died. That was after him getting here 2 1/2 hours late for the 1-5 install window.
> 
> I told him him to go. He said his sup would call today. Never did. I called the charter help line last night and tried to explain to the csr what I needed to do. She said all she could do was "hit" the card. No help. I also tried the online chat. Same deal.
> 
> I came home today during lunch (after having to take three, one half days of vacation) and called the charter help line. This time the guy answered charter video, or something like that. I explained what happened, and what I needed to do. He said no problem. He took my cc sn, saw what was wrong. He got on chat with the person who could pair my card. I gave the host and data numbers, and now I am good to go.
> 
> God I hate charter  Thanks for listening to my vent!


If you ever have CableCard problems with Charter always ask for the "Video group" when you call. The rest of Charter doesn't even know the difference between a CableCard and a cable box.


----------



## galewis

FWIW, I had Charter come to install two cable cards in my newly-purchased HD TiVo about 2 weeks ago. (Blow-by-blow here, though it's not really all that relevant to the reason for this post.)

The installation was going VERY poorly even though I had a Tivo Tech Support on the phone and the installer was in regular contact with his office, too. The upshot of the procedure that worked is this:

as the included instructions say, hook the TiVo up a day or two before the installer's visit and download the latest software
the installer should do whatever usual work he does to get a cable TV signal to the TiVo
make sure that the coax cable is connected to the coax input on the back of the Tivo, not the antenna input (it had been... I wasn't THAT dumb!)
run guided setup without any cable cards in the unit at all
insert the first cable card and authorize
re-run guided setup
insert the second cable card and authorize
re-run guided setup

He and the TiVo tech had tried just about every other conceivable permutation, and this was the ONLY one that worked. I suggested that both the Charter tech and the Tivo tech make notes in their respective logs of the procedure that worked, but I somehow doubt that they did.

Anyway, hope this makes the job easier for someone else out there.


----------



## rainwater

galewis said:


> insert the first cable card and authorize
> re-run guided setup
> insert the second cable card and authorize
> re-run guided setup


It is not necessary to run guided setup until after the installer leaves. I have had Charter install cablecards in several TiVo HDs. Making the installer wait on guided setup to run twice will only make them want to hurry to leave and that is the last thing you want. Guided setup will not affect the authorization or the testing of the channels.


----------



## MasterCephus

SO I think I have pretty much every HD channel available to me in my area (Birmingham, AL) except for HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime), but does anyone know when Charter is going to get some new HD channels?

It seems like DirecTv and Comcast gets new channels, and we left in the dust...any ideas?


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## spiegelsx4

So my Series 3 HD has been working great with two Charter cable cards for about six months. Suddenly, Card 1 can only get channels 1-99. The Charter tech on the phone sent something over the wires that did not help and now a technician is coming to visit (fun, fun fun!)
Does this sound like a bad card or something they might be able to fix? Of course, I asked them to send the technician with a new card just in case and they said they couldn't. (WHY?) 
Then they proceeded to get me to combine my internet, telephone and cable all with them! I told them they haven't proven to me that they can keep my cable working, let alone my internet and telephone!
If one cable card goes bad, can they leave the slot 2 one alone and just replace slot 1?
Thanks!


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## galewis

rainwater said:


> It is not necessary to run guided setup until after the installer leaves. I have had Charter install cablecards in several TiVo HDs. Making the installer wait on guided setup to run twice will only make them want to hurry to leave and that is the last thing you want. Guided setup will not affect the authorization or the testing of the channels.


I'm no cable expert so I can't explain why this should have worked or why it shouldn't have. But the Charter tech and the TiVo Service Rep both agreed that, for whatever reason, this was the only method that worked. You may believe otherwise -- that's fine. All I care is that my setup is working.


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## kentster2

So I have had Charter out to my house 4 times (5th time will be today) trying to get two S-Card cable cards working in my TiVo HD box. To date they have tried 10 cards and have only got one working. Every time they plug in a card, TiVo reports that is trying to update firmware. The update takes about an hour they then TiVo says it is complete and everything is OK for about 30 seconds to a minute. Then TiVo reports that it has to update the firmware again. The one that worked never needed an upgrade. Has anyone else had this problem? The Charter techs are trying to help but they really don't know anything cable cards. Is there anything I can do to try to help fix this problem? It sounds like it is downloading a firmware update but that firmware update isn't working with TiVo since it immediately trys to update it again. Any ideas?


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## dgoswick

Just want to add that I had no problem getting a Motorola MCard installed and working with Charter here in Duluth, GA. When I called, I told them I needed an MCard or two SCards but the person on the other end didn't know what I was talking about. It just so happened that the tech brought out two SCards and one MCard. After the first SCard didn't work he put in the MCard (thinking it was just another Cablecard, and it worked! I convinced him to just leave the one MCard and he did, and it's working great!


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## jgwyatt

Charter screwed up my first install as I knew they would. The contracted labor that helps them would rather come in and leave within 10 minutes.

The second guy was a bonafide Charter employee. I explained the installation process and he called the tech manager at the office. The manager knew that matching the cards at their place with the numbers in my box was crucial. 

BTW, whenever they ask what the cards are going in tell them a TV tuner. Vague is better. 

I also found when answering the door, explain to the installer that it may take a while to get everything done and you insist on him staying with you until all is working. I also found that offering Cokes and a seat on the couch was enticing to him as it looked like he never got treated nice at other folks house. However nice you are never let them have too much wiggle room - keep them on task with solving your issue. And make them call the head tech at the home office. It took 45 minutes to an hour to solve my install because the tech was supporting all the issues on multiple phone calls.

JW


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## cptlapcat

Bonified Charted guy shows up at my door and I asked him if he had ever done a Tivo cable card install. He said "no" (bad news). I ask if he had any extra cable cards. He said he brought 8 (good news). When he went to install the cards he told me that he was told all you had to do was "slap" them in the Tivo (bad news). I told him, do you want to spend a few minutes or a few hours on the install? He then read the Tivo instructions and some notes I took off this site and 30 minutes later he was out the door. 

Thanks to all for your prior insight.


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## Sandlapper

Contracted Charter guy shows up today for my THD install. Everything seems to be working except the encrypted channels. I let the guy go because he just seemed like he had no idea of what to do next. What do ya'll suggest I do now? Call Charter and hope they can resolve it over the phone? Is there anything I can do?


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## sirhab

Sandlapper said:


> Contracted Charter guy shows up today for my THD install. Everything seems to be working except the encrypted channels. I let the guy go because he just seemed like he had no idea of what to do next. What do ya'll suggest I do now? Call Charter and hope they can resolve it over the phone? Is there anything I can do?


Have them close the ticket. I had the exact same problem. TV cards worked for digital but not for premium stuff. As soon as he closed the ticket, everything started working.


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## Sandlapper

Just got off the phone with a really nice lady, but she couldn't solve the issue. She admitted she hadn't really worked with CableCards very much, and I could tell that any info she was giving me was just being read off of some screen. She says everything looks fine, so the only thing she knows to do is send someone out. I won't be off of work until Wednesday so I'll just have to make do until then. I requested a actual Charter employee be sent instead of a contractor. She said that for actual "repair" calls they send Charter employees, and that for installs the use contractors. 

I guess I'll cross my fingers and hope it gets fixed Wednesday. Luckily, the locals are coming in and those are what I watch most so it's not that big of an issue, but it's gotta be fixed before next Saturday's football games!!!


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## jbeach66

I got a M-card for my tivo HD installed by a tech who had only done a few cable cards and had never installed on a tivo. After he left I found I was getting everything but encrypted channels. After a couple calls to support to reinitialize the card and rehit it, nothing had changed.

The conditional access screen showed auth:mp when tuned to an encrypted channel. This means it was not getting the encryption keys. When the second tech came back, I started to show him the problem but everything was working. He said he had called in to have line balanced just before he got there. I am not sure what that means but everything works now.

If you are not getting encrypted channels you might ask if the line needs to be balanced.


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## Sandlapper

From reading the CP screen and reading some info from Tivo it appears my cards aren't "paired" 

I'm just going to be patient and wait for them to get here on Wed.


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## urungus

This thread frightened me, but thought I'd post a Charter success story:

The tech came, and I told him I'd prefer an M-type multistream card, which he had never heard of. Then he was going to put the first card into slot 2 before I stopped him. Uh-oh.

But then everything went fine. He popped in two S-cards, called in their numbers, I verified that I was getting HBO in HD, everything works like a charm.


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## Chris White

10/11: Bought Tivo. Called Charter to order cards and took first available appointment date - 10/18.

10/18: Installer had never installed to a Tivo, but was willing to read and follow Tivo instructions. He brought 4 cards, but only one worked as expected. The other card he left in the Tivo can receive channels 1-100 and the local digital channels, but no other digital channels (e.g, ESPN-HD). He left, saying "Charter will call you to set up another appointment." Charter doesn't call.

10/19: Called Charter to set up another appointment. Charter agent apologizes profusely, saying installer should have gone to get another card and returned immediately. He starts a repair ticket and says Charter will call me to set an appointment. Charter doesn't call.

10/22: Used on-line chat to contact Charter. Charter agent says there is no open ticket about the problem and that their records indicate I have two working cards. She apologizes for the problem. I take the next available appointment date - 10/25.

10/23: Tivo downloads 9.2 during the night. 

I currently have a partially working Card 1 and a fully functional Card 2. Do I need to remove Card 2 prior to replacing Card 1??


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## Sandlapper

Hey everyone, just thought I'd post an update. 

Long story short, THE CABLEMAN OF THE YEAR SHOWED UP AT MY HOUSE!!!

He fixed my cablecard issue before he even got to the house! On his ride over he called up whoever he needed to talk to and had them authorize my cards correctly so that the encrypted channels were showing up about 10 minutes before he got to my house. 

Once he got to my house I told him about some signal issues I've been having and he then proceeded to fix those for me.

If all of Charter's employees were this awesome they wouldn't be nearly frowned upon as often as I read and hear about. 

All is well in the Tivo HD world at my house!!!


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## willis91016

So I bought my S3 last Saturday. Setup an appointment with Charter for tuesday evening, after going to the local office to pickup my cable cards after a phone tech told me I could.... No show on Tuesday evening, no phone call, just no show. Call and find out my appointment is at scheduled for the following morning because the "tech showed up and was not allowed in because he did not have is ID" which is odd since I was there for the entire time... 

On Tuesday the install shows up, gets the cards installed and checks a couple channels and bolts. I notice that a couple of the premium channels are not working on card 2 but figure they would after a while, and I had a meeting to get to. 

Still not working when I get home. Call support and sit through a 20 minute automated help that had nothing to do with cable cards to get to a real person. She trys to get it paired and then immediately gives up and passes me up to her sup. He basically does the same thing, with no effect and tells me they need to send a tech out...

Two techs show, hope rises, and proceed to tell me that Charter is having issues with Tivos and there is nothing they can do.  Their managment is working the problem. Did not even look at anything, did not even touch the Tivo. Hope crashes to the floor into a thousand pieces. After some pointed questions to try to get them to do something, including why the hell did the Tech "superviser" T talked to mention this before I left work early to meet them, y anger reached a point where I had to let them leave else I was going to blow up on them. 

So outside of venting, I do have a couple questions:
Has anyone else in the Pasadena Ca area heard about this?

The one cable card that is working, kinda, keeps losing lock on the encoded channels every few seconds. Signal Strength shows 95 dB so I don't think that is the problem. All of the other channels including the local HD channels are fine. Any ideas?

Thanks any help would be appreciated.


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## Mamoth

Here is my horror story... figure I might as well add to the pile.

First off, I want to say, when I call Charter, nothing... and I mean nothing... is ever easy. I have to jump through hoops to get anything done. They are a terrible company so I expected this to be a fiasco. And it was.

I got my TiVo on Friday and had an appointment set for the following Monday. The installers showed up on time (sort of.. between 1 and 4.. they came at 3:45). I told them exactly how to install the CableCARDS but they pretty much ignored me. They put one in and it started to initialize and what-not. It said it was scanning and all was good. They waited all of 2 minutes and thought it was taking to long so they inserted the second one. This screwed the entire process. I said, "If you want to be here 15 minutes, do it my way... if you want to be here over an hour.. feel free to keep doing with what you are doing." They finally decided to do it per the instructions.

After about 45 min, I had my CableCARDS installed. I was getting my HD channels and such so everything seemed fine. They then asked if I wanted them to take my receiver. I specifically asked them if I would be able to get, in the future, HBO, Showtime, etc and also PPV. I was told I would be able to, I just had to call and order the events I want.

Today I get on Charter's chat and tried to order a PPV event. I was told that my account was not setup for PPV. I was flabbergasted. After I asked the tech if I would be able to get them, and them taking my receiver, they now are telling me I can't. He then offered me a package for $129.99 a month that included phone, a bunch of channels, and internet (which, incidentally is $20 more than the offer I got in the mail).

So, now, I cannot get PPV and I have no receiver to even have the option to order. I viewed other cable companies web sites and as long as you have a CableCARD all you have to do is call and order over the phone and you are good-to-go.

What is up with Charter? They have to be the worst cable company known to man. I have no idea what to do. So, I hooked up DishNetwork to get PPV for the time being. It was $9.95 to get a receiver (which the TiVo 3 really doesn't support) as apposed to $6.00 to have a connection for DishNetwork (again, which TiVo doesn't really support either). Why would Charter not allow for folks to get PPV if they have CableCARDs? It seems ridiculous to me. They are forcing me to pay $9.95 extra a month to be able to order PPV while I have CableCARDS? Yet, their Moxi box has CableCARDs and they are able to receive PPV.

Sigh.


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## m750

So, I've got an SA mcard installed in slot one, I've got 9.2a, but I'm still getting 'waiting for CP Auth'.
What should I do to get this working with my tivo? 
I believe that means they don't have the host id / serial # of my card, anyone have any luck getting this resolved with out a truck roll?
Thanks,
AO


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## No Static At Al

After two truck rolls, and running GS after each CC install, my Motorola cards are working in my THD. However.....

The CSR (when I set up the install) told me they only have single stream cards in my area, Durand Michigan. Wrong. The first truck installed one single stream card in slot one, but the 2nd card was bad. Truck 2 brought a working card...but I realize now that it is an M-card - but it is in Slot 2!!

So, here's the dilema: Everything is working now.... I have a thrid truck roll scheduled for tomorrow morning. *Should I cancel? Should I let them come, and try to install the M-card in slot 1? This would save me $1.50 per month, but I'm afraid of upsetting the apple cart.* (They won't let me give them the host ID, data etc. without a tech at the house.)

The good news is, both techs so far have been cool! They recognized that I knew what I was talking about with the CCs, and let me be in the driver's seat. I may have sold one tech on TiVo!


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## RonDawg

For a $1.50 a month I say let sleeping dogs lie. The problems you can potentially re-introduce by needing a tech to come out yet another time could very well make that $1.50 seem non-existent by comparison.


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## No Static At Al

Well, I lucked out!



> Should I cancel? Should I let them come, and try to install the M-card in slot 1? This would save me $1.50 per month, but I'm afraid of upsetting the apple cart.


I decided to keep the appointment, and we moved my M-card to Slot 1, eliminated my second CC, and it worked perfectly. When we had the pairing info up on the screen, and he was calling the office he said, "Oh, I hope I get someone smart enough to know how to enter this in!" He did, and all is well in Durand, Michigan!


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## Sandlapper

m750 said:


> So, I've got an SA mcard installed in slot one, I've got 9.2a, but I'm still getting 'waiting for CP Auth'.
> What should I do to get this working with my tivo?
> I believe that means they don't have the host id / serial # of my card, anyone have any luck getting this resolved with out a truck roll?
> Thanks,
> AO


From what I found, even though it technically would be possible to do without a truck roll, they essentially won't do anything without one. I'd go ahead and call and setup an appointment.


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## xena

cotton168 said:


> I cannot believe the load of BS that Charter is giving you. Seeing how much trouble you are getting from them is also making me worry about my install on Friday. Hopefully the Alhambra office will be better. Don't know...
> 
> Anyone else have Charter and has had their CCs work on their Tivos?


Had a rep. this a.m. The card gave the error message 161-4 and so he pulled it out and replaced it with the other card which was ok. But when he inserted the first card into the second slot it again gave the error message. He called his supervisor and we were told he would return by 2 pm with new cards for the HDTivo.

Crazy as it sounds the tv works...all stations come thru now without the second card inserted but i cannot tell if the are HD quality or if the TV is properly working since i do not dare fiddle with it until he returns.

FYI - rep. knows nothing about installation in TIVo and has not done it before.


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## xena

Looking for help....
Charter came out this a.m. returning within the next 45 minutes with new cards.
Please tell me the name of your rep of the year so maybe my rep. can contact him for hlep while he is here? Thanks more than a bunch.....!!!!!!


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## Mamoth

Finally... Success!

I had a tech out one week ago to install the CableCARDs in my Series 3 (not TiVo HD). They really didn't follow the directions all that closely, but, the CableCARDs seemed to come up because I was able to view the "in the clear" or "unencrypted" HD channels (which I wasn't able to get without the CableCARDs) so I thought everything was good to go.

About 1 day later I wanted to get the other Tier of HD (which includes ESPNHD and such so I could watch College Basketball). I went ahead and ordered it. But, it never showed up.

I went ahead and went into Conditional Access (something I should have done in the first place). I had:

Auth: MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY

Not good. After about 5 phone calls to Charter, they were unable to do anything for me and finally sent a tech out.

Before he got there, I wanted to get TiVo's take on the whole thing. I gave them all the information off of this screen:

TiVo Conditional Access Screen for my TiVo

I gave the TiVo tech all that info and he said that everything on the card looks great. However, the MISSING_PROGRAM_REKEY was an issue. Which is what I figured. He advised me to tell the tech, "Do not refresh the card, initialize the card like it's a brand new card." He also gave me the phone number for the direct line to the CableCARD support.

The tech arrived today and he was very nice. He said he wasn't sure about the TiVos but he was willing to learn for the next time he has to do one. So that was a good sign (that he was willing to dig into it a bit).

I showed him what the problem was, I told him what the TiVo techs told me, I showed him all the CableCARD screens on the TiVo. I made it clear that this was not an issue with the TiVo (as I didn't want him to leave blaming TiVo for the issues) and he was welcome to talk to TiVo to verify that.

He called in to verify all the information in the system was right. He gave no information to the person on the phone. The person on the phone repeated back all the pairing information to the tech and it was all correct. He asked the person on the phone to send a signal to the cards to get them going.

We got nothing. After waiting about a minute or so... he asked to reboot the TiVo. So we did (unplugged it and waiting 30 seconds and plugged it back in).

CableCARD 1 came up with the same error. The second CableCARD came up with "Auth: unknown" (we waited 10 minutes to see if it would refresh, but it never changed).

He called back to the folks he talks to and to verify things. I asked him before he left what he did here and he explained it as such: He (the person on the phone) refresh all occurances on the account. The occurances need to be in the right order. As he was on the phone, the good ole "161-4 error" popped but for CableCARD 1. About 10 seconds later "161-4 error" came up for CableCARD 2. I thought, "SCORE!" and told him those errors were actually a good sign.

We went to the CableCARD menu and went to Conditional Access again. But both cards said, "Auth: unknown". It was a short victory (or so I thought). The "unknown" status stayed for about 10 min so we figured it wasn't going to refresh on it's own.

He called again to another tech and asked if he had any input. He said that we'll reboot the TiVo and see what happens. So, again, I unplugged the TiVo and let it boot up.

I looked at CableCARD 1 and it was in "unknown" status still. I went to "Test Channels" on that card, moved to the HD tier I paid for that wasn't coming in, and, holy cow, I had a picture. I went to the "Conditional Access" and, it finally said, "SUBSCRIBED".

CableCARD 2 did the same thing. After CableCARD 1 was working, I went to "Conditional Access" and it was in "unknown" status. So I went to "Test Channels" and went to a channel in the HD tier again. And, there was picture! I went back to CableCARD 2's "Conditional Access" and it finally said "SUBSCRIBED"!

SUCCESS!!!!!

The only downfall from all this is that I wanted to verify I would be able to get PPV. But that was a no go. I asked the tech to stick around to see if I could get one. But no one could do it. I called the main Charter number to just order a movie, and they said they could not do it (and, btw, before today, I was told I could get them.. so I'm not sure if something changed on my account).

Seems to me, the biggest hurdle is to get the cable company to get things right on their end. I had all the docs ready for the tech, serial numbers, notes from this web page and TiVo support.

I want to thank Rob (Tech # 4022) in the Midland, MI area for his patience. He was here for about 1.5 hours and never gave the impression he was rushed.


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## Roderigo

Mamoth said:


> I looked at CableCARD 1 and it was in "unknown" status still. I went to "Test Channels" on that card, moved to the HD tier I paid for that wasn't coming in, and, holy cow, I had a picture. I went to the "Conditional Access" and, it finally said, "SUBSCRIBED".


This field is only valid when you're tuned to a digital cable channel (i.e. when the tivo box has asked the card to decrypt something), and it specific to that channel. So, that's why it never changed until you went into test channels.


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## xena

Am experiencing difficulties on my install with Charter in Altadena....please if you know any contacts let me know....thanks


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## Innkeeper

I have been watchingt this thread with the utmost interest since I just purchased a HD unit and have Charter for my provider. Needless to say I was very nervious that something was going to go wrong but I have to say that Yesterday when the tech showed up I was put to ease when he said how much he likes TIVO and that he had installed a few of them with cable cards already. Needless to say all went very smooth and he stuck around just to make sure all was working properly b4 he left. I know this doesnt help some of you that are having issues but it does tell you that there is hope...hang in there.

And Thanks to all of the folks that posted there experiences on the thread, it was very helpful to know what could happen and be prepared for it.


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## TSuellentrop

Picked up a TiVo HD tonight and chatted with a Charter (St. Peters, MO) Rep. and asked if they had Multistream Cards. They said yes. I said "I'll take one", they say "We've got none". They say they are out of stock and don't know when they will get more in. They put me on a "contact list" which I'm sure just meant the rep wrote my name on a piece of paper and thumbtacked it to his cubicle wall. Has anyone else ran into "out of stock" problems?


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## Mamoth

Weird. My area has the M-Cards and the guy was ready to put one in my TiVo if the two S-Cards didn't work (course, I have a Series 3, so that wouldn't have worked, but the fact is.. he was ready to do it).


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## MondayNgt

I'm in St. Charles, MO with the same Charter provider as TSullentrop and they do indeed have M-cards. The first installer brought two M-cards while the second installer brought 4 M-cards. Which brings me to my whole debacle.

When I moved into my townhouse here, my landlord gave me information on a Charter installer that specifically does this complex and I could get quicker service through them. I called him and he said he could be out the next day. The next day comes and he phones and says that the warehouse is out of them and would call back on Tuesday when they got them in. (Thanks for telling me this after I've taken off work already.) He also said they had M-cards.

Tuesday rolls around and no call. I phone him back and he says he'll call tomorrow with the answer. No call.

I got fed up and did what I should have done in the first place, call the company directly. The operator said they had them in stock but they only had the single stream cards. Fine, whatever....just put them in. Unfortunately they could only get someone out here on the day after Thanksgiving due to the holiday rush. That would be another week.

So the installer came this morning. Surprise, surprise, he was holding M-cards. (Never ceases to amaze me how you get five different answers with five different people at Charter.)

I handed him the directions, but he just put them to the side and kept doing everything wrong, like validating the cable card while the cable was unplugged and running through the Tivo Guided Setup (not necessary when just trying to get a signal). Three hours later, there was a knock on my door and it was a second guy that the installer had called in. The installer said that this guy would be taking over.

Which was good, he was a younger guy roughly my age and the fact that we were chatting about video game systems and geeky thing suggested that he knew his stuff. He didn't use the instructions but he navigated around the Tivo like a pro and did everything in order, apparently having done this before. Within an hour, I was getting in my channels but Charter didn't specify I was getting the HDTV tier (which I discussed with the friggin' operator). The installer just called it in and I was good.

With a few exception. Oddly I cannot receive my regular FOX 2 channel. This doesn't bother me as I get in the digital Fox 2 channel just fine in the HD tier. The installer was very baffled over this as every other channel was coming in fine.

Also there is an oddity on the channels I'm not supposed to receive, the picture is coming in, but with no audio. This was the case with the HD channels until the installer phoned in the order to activate those channels, and then the audio came through fine. So I get somewhat of a bonus, I suppose if I was really desperate to watch something on those channels I could use closed captioning 

He also mentioned that my signal was low.....basically my complex is using older cables that they are trying to upgrade and get rid of, but I'd need to get the landlords permission as they need to go through five other people's basement to get it to the box. Hopefully they will not need to do this...so far my Tivo and my internet is working fine aside from the quirks in the last paragraph.

*Update:* My Fox 2 is coming in now, weird.


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## TSuellentrop

I had an appointment for a Charter Rep to come by the 3rd since that was the earliest they could come by and install a M-Card and it would cost a 1 time install fee of $30. After reading the instructions that came with the TiVoHD I believe I can install them myself and just call them when the time comes like it says. I called Charter and they say I can come by and get them tomorrow when they are open. If I follow the directions from TiVo is there anything to look out for to make sure it goes smooth? From what I understand I just need to tell them the serial numbers and some numbers on the screen once I get there? Right?


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## mentat30

I will start from beginning, I ordered a Tivo HD "My fifth Tivo" and setup an appointment with Charter for Tuesday November 20, 2007, between 3pm and 5pm, I leave work early so I can be there at 3pm. Cable tech shows up at 4:15, says he has never installed cable card, he has two Multi Stream Motorola cards, puts the first one in, calls in the pairing information, it wont pair. So he puts the 2nd one in, same problem, wont pair. He says the tech on the phone says it sometimes takes an hour, and he leaves.
Hour later cable card works..kind of, I can watch unencrypted channels, but I cant watch encrypted channels. So I call Charter, tech hits the card and says it may take up to eight hours to take effect. Next day same problem yet, so I call them again, tech hits again with signal. Still does not fix it, so now the schedule another tech for Friday November 23, 2007, says she will have the Cable tech bring several cards. Once again it is scheduled between 3pm and 5pm. So once again I take off from work early so I can be home. Tech shows up at 4pm, says he has never install a cable card in a Tivo, he has done several TVs, but not all of those worked either. He only has one card, says no one told him to bring more then one. He puts the new card in and calls in number, it does not work, he has them hit with signal again still nothing. He says he lives here in Waupaca and he come back on Monday with several cards at 4:30pm, but he needs to setup an appointment for Tuesday, just in case he cant make it on Monday. So he sets up an appointment for Tuesday once again for 3pm 5pm. I call Charter tech support over the weekend; I talked to a tech in the Video Repair dept. He says the card was not provisioned and he cant do it from where he is at, that the tech needs to do it because it needs to be done at the headend. He tells me to tell the Tech that I talked to him and that the card needs to be provisioned. Monday rolls around, no tech, Today is my official appointment, so once again I leave work early so I can be home. Cable Tech shows up at 4:15pm, not the one from last Friday a different guy, he does not have any cable cards, says he was not told he needed one and even if they had the office in town is out of them. He says he also has not installed a cable card in a Tivo, he has done TVs and says some of those dont work either. I mention that maybe the TVs need a single stream card, he says he does not know, I ask him if they were M-cards or S-cards. He says he just uses the cable cards that they use everywhere. I tell him that they have two different cards, I know this because I have a charter s-card in my TV and the one in my Tivo is an M-card, he says, I dont know I just install what the office gives me and adds that he knows nothing about Cable Cards. I also tell him what the Charter Tech from the video repair department said about provisioning the card, he says he does not know what that means, but he will try to pair the card again. He calls a tech on the phone and he tires to pair the card again, the tech on the phone does not want to do it, but the tech in my house insists, now I am thinking great we might be getting somewhere, he also verifies the cable card serial number, host id, and data id with the tech on the phone, turns out the data id was wrong. The tech on the phone hits the card with signal again and I am thinking great this is it, its going to work, we restart the Tivo, and nothing, and the cable card still does not work. The cable tech at my house says he needs to setup another appointment for tomorrow and that he will pick up some cable cards from Clintonville. I suggest he brings three cards, an M-card and two S-cards. He says he will see what he can do. After he leaves I call charter tech support and I get the Video repair department, I tell the tech on the phone my whole story, he says there is nothing he can do. I tell him this is crazy, they keep repeating the same steps and expect different results, I tell him I want this solved; he puts me on hold and says they are going to send a tech tomorrow who has a lot of experience installing cable cards and that he will bring a new card that has been provisioned. So tomorrow I will leave work for the 4th time early so that I can be home by 3pm for the appointment. I will update this tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes.


----------



## rainwater

At this point you should call the TiVo CableCard number and let them work with Charter. It is doubtful the cards are defective but more likely there is an issue with your account. Are you sure they have provisioned you for the HD Tier? The Charter CSRs are a bunch of idiots some times and don't even realize they haven't added the correct packages to your account. Do you not even get the locals in HD? If you get those and not the others, it is likely they haven't added the correct HD Tier to your account (I forget what they call it but the tier usually contains ESPN HD, TNT HD, etc).


----------



## mentat30

rainwater said:


> At this point you should call the TiVo CableCard number and let them work with Charter. It is doubtful the cards are defective but more likely there is an issue with your account. Are you sure they have provisioned you for the HD Tier? The Charter CSRs are a bunch of idiots some times and don't even realize they haven't added the correct packages to your account. Do you not even get the locals in HD? If you get those and not the others, it is likely they haven't added the correct HD Tier to your account (I forget what they call it but the tier usually contains ESPN HD, TNT HD, etc).


I already have a cable card on my tv and I recieve all the channels there, but you just gave me an idea, i am going to ask them to balance my account.
IE: Card in TV is has the HDTier on it, Card in Tivo may not.


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## mentat30

Good News! Cable guy from Tuesday came today with a handful of S-cards, he pulled the M-Card, put the first S-card in, called in the pairing and it worked, he then put in the second S-card, called in the pairing and it worked.

I gotta say I was impressed, after leaveing yesterday the Cable Installer went home went online and checked out both this site and Tivo.com so that he could gain some insight on how to resolve the problem.

So if you are having problems with your card install and they are using M-Cards, have them try S-Cards.

:up:



mentat30 said:


> I will start from beginning, I ordered a Tivo HD "My fifth Tivo" and setup an appointment with Charter for Tuesday November 20, 2007, between 3pm and 5pm, I leave work early so I can be there at 3pm. Cable tech shows up at 4:15, says he has never installed cable card, he has two Multi Stream Motorola cards, puts the first one in, calls in the pairing information, it won't pair. So he puts the 2nd one in, same problem, won't pair. He says the tech on the phone says it sometimes takes an hour, and he leaves.
> Hour later cable card works&#8230;..kind of, I can watch unencrypted channels, but I can't watch encrypted channels. So I call Charter, tech hits the card and says it may take up to eight hours to take effect. Next day same problem yet, so I call them again, tech hits again with signal. Still does not fix it, so now the schedule another tech for Friday November 23, 2007, says she will have the Cable tech bring several cards. Once again it is scheduled between 3pm and 5pm. So once again I take off from work early so I can be home. Tech shows up at 4pm, says he has never install a cable card in a Tivo, he has done several TVs, but not all of those worked either. He only has one card, says no one told him to bring more then one. He puts the new card in and calls in number, it does not work, he has them hit with signal again still nothing. He says he lives here in Waupaca and he come back on Monday with several cards at 4:30pm, but he needs to setup an appointment for Tuesday, just in case he can't make it on Monday. So he sets up an appointment for Tuesday once again for 3pm 5pm. I call Charter tech support over the weekend; I talked to a tech in the Video Repair dept. He says the card was not provisioned and he can't do it from where he is at, that the tech needs to do it because it needs to be done at the headend. He tells me to tell the Tech that I talked to him and that the card needs to be provisioned. Monday rolls around, no tech, Today is my official appointment, so once again I leave work early so I can be home. Cable Tech shows up at 4:15pm, not the one from last Friday a different guy, he does not have any cable cards, says he was not told he needed one and even if they had the office in town is out of them. He says he also has not installed a cable card in a Tivo, he has done TV's and says some of those don't work either. I mention that maybe the TV's need a single stream card, he says he does not know, I ask him if they were M-cards or S-cards. He says he just uses the cable cards that they use everywhere. I tell him that they have two different cards, I know this because I have a charter s-card in my TV and the one in my Tivo is an M-card, he says, I don't know I just install what the office gives me and adds that he knows nothing about Cable Cards. I also tell him what the Charter Tech from the video repair department said about provisioning the card, he says he does not know what that means, but he will try to pair the card again. He calls a tech on the phone and he tires to pair the card again, the tech on the phone does not want to do it, but the tech in my house insists, now I am thinking great we might be getting somewhere, he also verifies the cable card serial number, host id, and data id with the tech on the phone, turns out the data id was wrong. The tech on the phone hits the card with signal again and I am thinking great this is it, it's going to work, we restart the Tivo, and nothing, and the cable card still does not work. The cable tech at my house says he needs to setup another appointment for tomorrow and that he will pick up some cable cards from Clintonville. I suggest he brings three cards, an M-card and two S-cards. He says he will see what he can do. After he leaves I call charter tech support and I get the Video repair department, I tell the tech on the phone my whole story, he says there is nothing he can do. I tell him this is crazy, they keep repeating the same steps and expect different results, I tell him I want this solved; he puts me on hold and says they are going to send a tech tomorrow who has a lot of experience installing cable cards and that he will bring a new card that has been provisioned. So tomorrow I will leave work for the 4th time early so that I can be home by 3pm for the appointment. I will update this tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes.


----------



## rainwater

mentat30 said:


> Good News! Cable guy from Tuesday came today with a handful of S-cards, he pulled the M-Card, put the first S-card in, called in the pairing and it worked, he then put in the second S-card, called in the pairing and it worked.
> 
> I gotta say I was impressed, after leaveing yesterday the Cable Installer went home went online and checked out both this site and Tivo.com so that he could gain some insight on how to resolve the problem.
> 
> So if you are having problems with your card install and they are using M-Cards, have them try S-Cards.
> 
> :up:


It sounds like the M-Cards might not of been registered in their own system. Where I live Charter, doesn't do pairing. They just authorize the cards by the serial number. All the other information they get from the installer isn't used afaik. M-cards should work fine with Charter and I believe there are several people who are using them now. Hopefully, the tech in your area can figure out the problem.


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## MondayNgt

TSuellentrop said:


> I had an appointment for a Charter Rep to come by the 3rd since that was the earliest they could come by and install a M-Card and it would cost a 1 time install fee of $30. After reading the instructions that came with the TiVoHD I believe I can install them myself and just call them when the time comes like it says. I called Charter and they say I can come by and get them tomorrow when they are open. If I follow the directions from TiVo is there anything to look out for to make sure it goes smooth? From what I understand I just need to tell them the serial numbers and some numbers on the screen once I get there? Right?


Ah, then if you're thinking that, I should tell you about my previous-previous experience. The fact is that when I lived at my old apartment before my current one, I had tried to get cablecards for the HD Tivo. I called Charter and like they said to you, they said I could pick them up and install myself. I was sent to the office in City Hall in St. Charles which turned out to be just a billing and payment office. The office woman rudely told me that cable cards have to be installed by the installer and she didn't have an answer as to why Charter said otherwise over the phone.

I immediately phoned up Charter on my cell phone outside her office (as she locked up) and they said again that I could indeed pick up cards and do my own install, but I had to go to the main office in St. Peters off Jungerman. Surprise surprise, when I got there the women at the desk said that an installer had to do it. I phoned up Charter again and they parroted what the office had just said. I ended up being so furious over the matter that I told them to go F* themselves, cancelled my cable install and just used OTA TV, at least until I moved into my new place and had no other choice but to get cable (poor reception and not facing the right direction for dishes).

Once again, Charter gives five different answers for the same question (I even asked the operator why this was on the phone). God, I wish someone decent would just buy them out.

If they actually let you do your own install, I'll definitely be interested to hear that.


----------



## rainwater

MondayNgt said:


> If they actually let you do your own install, I'll definitely be interested to hear that.


Since Charter installers have ZERO knowledge of how to troubleshoot a CableCard install, I do not know what the point of them being there is. The big issue with CableCard installs from Charter is if the installer gets the right person on the phone when they call to authorize the cards. From my experience, if they get the right person, then there is not usually an issue. But I guess it would be too much trouble to let users read some numbers over the phone.


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## TSuellentrop

rainwater said:


> But I guess it would be too much trouble to let users read some numbers over the phone.


Of course I get there and they say I can't do it so I have an appointment Saturday. I knew if I did it myself I would just be reading #s off the screen and it's ridiculous to have to pay $35 (It was $30 when I had the first appointment scheduled. Weird) and wait a week for a tech to "read".


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## brettatk

I have Charter Cable in Atlanta, GA and have an appointment scheduled for Tuesday December 11. Hopefully all will go smooth. When I told them on the phone I needed to have two Cablecards installed they asked me if it was for a Tivo HD. So maybe they've done enough to where it will not be a problem. I'll have my fingers crossed!!


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## CharterTechAL

guys i've installed cable cards into tv's about 5 times inthe last 2 months. EVERYONE has worked when i left. the longest took 2 hours only cause we couldn't get the tivo to recognize the wireless internet. any changes made into the billing system will take place IMMEDIATELY not XXX hours later. 100&#37; of the problems installing them have been on the billing/provisioning side. it's usually the settings in CSG and CEON (programs they use for billing and setting up provisions in my area.. i'm not sure if all areas use the same system) are not matched correctly/correct codes

i did run a trouble call with a cable card that i couldn't fix, but i'm gonna be back out there with a new card first thing in the AM... funny thing is they're NOT using a tivo yet, just a cable card in a tv.... it's freezing up for about 10secs every few minutes

i hope this can help some


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## brettatk

CharterTechAL said:


> guys i've installed cable cards into tv's about 5 times inthe last 2 months. EVERYONE has worked when i left. the longest took 2 hours only cause we couldn't get the tivo to recognize the wireless internet. any changes made into the billing system will take place IMMEDIATELY not XXX hours later. 100% of the problems installing them have been on the billing/provisioning side. it's usually the settings in CSG and CEON (programs they use for billing and setting up provisions in my area.. i'm not sure if all areas use the same system) are not matched correctly/correct codes
> 
> i did run a trouble call with a cable card that i couldn't fix, but i'm gonna be back out there with a new card first thing in the AM... funny thing is they're NOT using a tivo yet, just a cable card in a tv.... it's freezing up for about 10secs every few minutes
> 
> i hope this can help some


I'm having a somewhat bad experience with my Charter CableCard install. They came and put in an M-Card Tuesday evening. I got my local HD channels but nothing else. I called and talked with 2 people and they verified the account was provisioned correctly. They made an appointment for someone to come out on Wednesday evening. Guy showed up with only one S-Card. The system did not show it was a Tivo CableCard issue and he had only grabbed one card. He called Charter again and reverified that the account was provisioned correctly. So now they have made another appointment for this evening. I guess we'll see how it goes.


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## dr.greghouse

CharterTechAL said:


> guys i've installed cable cards into tv's about 5 times inthe last 2 months. EVERYONE has worked when i left...


Hey CharterTechAL,

I'm a charter(biggest package w/HD) subscriber near huntsville, al. Hartselle is the billing location. I'm getting all of my channels except STARZ-HD and GOLFVS-HD through my cableCARD. Do you know what would cause this? I've attached my cableCARD screen shots in case this helps.

Thank You for your time.

info:
Tivo Series 3.


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## adventurelarry

Please ignore, I just saw this thread: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=377786

Thanks

I searched and could not find anything on this.

I have two cable cards, and on my bill from Charter I get charged for the cards, 1.50 each. That is fine. I also get charge 7.99 for the HD package. That is also fine. I also get charge 3.00 for an HD Receiver supplement. That seems odd since I do not use an HD receiver, just the cable cards. I called and they said they have to charge the supplement since I get HD channels. I thought that is what I paid 7.99 for.....

Anyone else run into this? Have you been able to get this removed from your bill and keep your HD channels? (I was told this was not possible)

--Larry


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## CrispyCritter

adventurelarry said:


> Please ignore, I just saw this thread: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=377786
> 
> Thanks
> 
> I searched and could not find anything on this.
> 
> I have two cable cards, and on my bill from Charter I get charged for the cards, 1.50 each. That is fine. I also get charge 7.99 for the HD package. That is also fine. I also get charge 3.00 for an HD Receiver supplement. That seems odd since I do not use an HD receiver, just the cable cards. I called and they said they have to charge the supplement since I get HD channels. I thought that is what I paid 7.99 for.....
> 
> Anyone else run into this? Have you been able to get this removed from your bill and keep your HD channels? (I was told this was not possible)


Every cable franchise is a bit different. In your case here, I suspect you're seeing something we saw a lot more of when the S3 was first being introduced: their accounting system is not set up right. The reps could be correct in saying that if they take the HD Receiver supplement off, you won't get HD. But that's the cable company's fault for not fixing their accounting system.

If this is the case, the right way to approach them is to just ask for a $3 credit per month until they get their accounting system fixed. You definitely should not be getting charged for an HD receiver supplement.


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## TMTBoomer

dr.greghouse said:


> Hey CharterTechAL,
> 
> I'm a charter(biggest package w/HD) subscriber near huntsville, al. Hartselle is the billing location. I'm getting all of my channels except STARZ-HD and GOLFVS-HD through my cableCARD. Do you know what would cause this? I've attached my cableCARD screen shots in case this helps.
> 
> Thank You for your time.
> 
> info:
> Tivo Series 3.


Both cards are showing "waiting for cp auth" this is an issue. You will need to verify that the cards are bound properly in the DNCS. Host ID(s) and Card id(s) need to match. You didn't swap the cards, did you? If you can get someone on the phone that has access to the administrator (maybe CharterTechAL can help get you in touch with the right person) for the controller in your area, have them check the host table and make sure the host and card id(s) match and that they are bound and not un-bound. You can also try a simple reboot of the TIVO and see if that helps.

Don't worry about the ECM's at this point. that will only increase when you are on an encrypted channel.


----------



## dr.greghouse

TMTBoomer said:


> Both cards are showing "waiting for cp auth" this is an issue. You will need to verify that the cards are bound properly in the DNCS. Host ID(s) and Card id(s) need to match. You didn't swap the cards, did you? If you can get someone on the phone that has access to the administrator (maybe CharterTechAL can help get you in touch with the right person) for the controller in your area, have them check the host table and make sure the host and card id(s) match and that they are bound and not un-bound. You can also try a simple reboot of the TIVO and see if that helps.
> 
> Don't worry about the ECM's at this point. that will only increase when you are on an encrypted channel.


Thanks for replying. I haven't swapped cards. I've confirmed with the CSRs that the numbers are correct. They sent many hits, but the screen still shows what it shows. I'm getting many encrypted channels. But just 2 missing. I'm confused as to how i'm getting any encrypted channels at all since it is "waiting for cp auth". I wish there was more tehnical info on cableCARDs. These things are like black holes, unless you're the engineer that designed them.


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## TMTBoomer

dr.greghouse said:


> Thanks for replying. I haven't swapped cards. I've confirmed with the CSRs that the numbers are correct. They sent many hits, but the screen still shows what it shows. I'm getting many encrypted channels. But just 2 missing. I'm confused as to how i'm getting any encrypted channels at all since it is "waiting for cp auth". I wish there was more tehnical info on cableCARDs. These things are like black holes, unless you're the engineer that designed them.


Unless the CSR has access to the DNCS (controller), he/she was just reading off the billing records (and those could be wrong also). You will probably start noticing more channels dropping off as time goes on. The best thing at this point is to get a technician out and see if he can contact the Headend directly and work with them.

Good luck.


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## dr.greghouse

TMTBoomer said:


> Unless the CSR has access to the DNCS (controller), he/she was just reading off the billing records (and those could be wrong also). You will probably start noticing more channels dropping off as time goes on. The best thing at this point is to get a technician out and see if he can contact the Headend directly and work with them.
> 
> Good luck.


Thanks!:up:


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## jdmass

In the early stages of this thread over a year ago, I recounted my frustrating experiences dealing with Charter to get 2 cablecards working with my Series 3.

Well, I just added a new Tivo HD and, in the interest of fairness, I must report that this time around the Cablecard installation could not have gone easier. 

First, learning from my previous experience, when I scheduled the service call, I requested a Charter employee -- not a subcontractor (this at least increases the odds that you'll get someone competent). Also when setting up the call I simply requested 2 cable cards (not wanting to get into an S- versus M-card discussion with someone clueless on the phone).

When the installer, Ryan, showed up, he had 2 M-cards. He knew about Tivos and agreed that only 1 card was needed. He said that in his experience the failure rate with M-cards was much lower than S-cards. 

He copied down the ID info, popped in the card, called the billing office and gave them the appropriate info, and then called the head end to enable the card. Other than waiting on hold for the head end guys to do their thing to enable premium channels, there wasn't much else involved.

We immediately were able to receive in-the-clear HD channels and after 5 minutes on hold, all of the premium channels showed up. 

Overall, he was out in about 15 minutes with everything tested and functioning (I also checked my S3 to make sure that its authorization didn't get fouled up in the process).

Given my prior experiences with Charter, I'm still amazed that it worked out this way. Maybe there's hope for others too!


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## djfiggy

adventurelarry said:


> Please ignore, I just saw this thread: http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=377786
> 
> Thanks
> 
> I searched and could not find anything on this.
> 
> I have two cable cards, and on my bill from Charter I get charged for the cards, 1.50 each. That is fine. I also get charge 7.99 for the HD package. That is also fine. I also get charge 3.00 for an HD Receiver supplement. That seems odd since I do not use an HD receiver, just the cable cards. I called and they said they have to charge the supplement since I get HD channels. I thought that is what I paid 7.99 for.....
> 
> Anyone else run into this? Have you been able to get this removed from your bill and keep your HD channels? (I was told this was not possible)
> 
> --Larry


I am getting charged this also. I even went down to my local office and they tell me I have to pay the HD Receiver supplement charge to get the HD channels. I call bull on that. The CABLE CARD tells the Tivo what channels to get!. So I have to pay $2 each for my S Cards...$8 for HD package, and another $5 (yes, it's 5 in my area) for the supplement.


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## Wetsprocket625

Just got my cablecard installed today. What a mess. I waited a week so they could get a tech to my house. He had never installed one. He stayed on the phone with 2 people for close to 2 hours trying to get the card recognized. Finally came to me and said their end is not seeing the card. Must be a problem with the TiVo. It must not be compatible. Thank you have a nice day. I hinted toward the tech, "Can you leave the card for a few hours and drop back by when you are done with your other calls." He reluctantly did so. 

Tried text support. The guy was very short but at least polite. Said nothing he could do except set up another tech visit. And if my "machine" was not compatible there was nothing they could do.

Very frustrated I gave phone support a try. I must have rolled a 7 or 11 this time. Nice sounding female, anyway, she took my info and had me going in a few minutes.

It's like the people the tech talked to didn't even try. 

Then he tried to push the Moxi on me. I called before I got the TiVoHD to see if they had an HDDVR and they said no. Local levels seem clueless.


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## Rickvz

I had a card installed on Thursday. The tech arrived early and was about to leave when my wife arrived. He had never installed a card and ran the guided setup after installing the card. My wife called me to ask about the wireless network password. I told her the information and said I would come on home and be there in 15 minutes. When I got home the tech had left and told my wife that it would take 30-45 minutes for the card to get the channels.

The Acquiring Channels screen stayed up for a while and then said it had failed. I checked all the TiVo help pages and here and although the card said it was Validated it still would not pick up the channel map even after rebooting.

I called Charter a couple of times and they tried resending the initialization signals but there was no change. Each person I spoke too said they saw something that was set up wrong but no changes they made helped. One even had me try it in the second cable card slot which resulted in changing the Data ID. They set up an appointment for this morning.

The tech that came today also had never installed a card but spoke with a buddy on the phone that has installed them. The buddy told him to talk to Margaret when he called in to get it activated. She seemed to know quite a bit more and after working for a bit we got the Channel Test to show the channel numbers but there was a black screen and no video. After rebooting we saw video and everything seemed to work fine.

The tech left and gave me his number and said to call back if there was any problem later today with channels not showing. I ran guided setup and the channels showed up fine.

My only concern at this point is that the Diagnostic screens still don't show the cablecard as validated. I also had to reboot the TiVo and it now says No Channels in the Channel Test although I can tune to any of them using the guide. 

A Charter employee called me a few minutes ago asking questions about the installation and wrote down these problems and said to call back if the channels disappeared so I guess now we wait and see.


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## sylonious

Watch out for a channel called:
*VODDM* (It's channel 1 on my Charter)

It's a new channel that Tivo "detected".

It made my Tivo restart the instant I tried to view it.

It makes my Tivo restart (which takes 5 minutes) then once it comes back up it crashes again and again and again. You have to take both cards out and change the channel on the tuner in order to get it to work. Make sure you go into the channels list and de-select that channel.


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## kolohe

After reading this thread, I expected a horror story dealing with Charter and Cablecards.

The only problem I had was with the first call to sales to order the cards. The first CSR asked my what I needed two cards for (as if they should care!!!), and when I said "TiVo", I was put on hold for 5 minutes and got hassled when she came back on the line. When I asked for a supervisor, I was transferred to a voice mailbox that was full.

Second CSR was much more helpful. He got everything on order quickly, and politely.

The tech who came out was a contractor. That had me a little worried. He admitted that he had never installed a CableCard, but he called his supervisor to find out what information he would need when he called it in. The tech had me press all the TiVo buttons while he was put on hold with Charter. We did NOT complete installing card 1 before moving on to card 2, because the tech didn't want to have to make a second phone call (and be on hold for another 20 minutes). Can't say I blame him. The second card came right up with all of the correct channels (premium and HD). The first card took 3 or 4 hits before it really woke up, but from what I overheard of the phone call, card 1 might not have been entered correctly into the system the first time.

All in all, it was very painless.


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## Chapper1

I had a ***** of a time getting my cards to work correctly. Tech came out on a Sat. and the cards he brought hadn't been properly scanned out on their end, so they wouldn't pair right. 

He got new cards and brought them out on the following Friday. We eventually got one to work, but the second wouldn't initialize. Luckily, there is a guy on AVSForum who is a digital coordinator for Charter in my area. He gave me his cell #, I called him and gave him the numbers for the cards. He was able to get it working in the system without another tech call.

A long drawn out affair, but once they started working, all has been amazing!


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## ethicalpaul

I thought I would share my story so far. I will have more info after tomorrow evening when the tech is supposed to arrive. My friend ordered for me the TivoHD w/lifetime gift pack and it arrived last week.

1. 2 days ago I called to order the CableCard. I asked specifically for a multi-stream card rather than two singles, but the drone claimed that "none of the big three cable companies have those cards yet".

2. I read this thread and learned the drone is wrong of course.

3. I called back today to explain 1 & 2 to them and to get them to bring a multistream card. 

4. Today's drone #2, who must be saving his other 9 typing fingers for his next job (or maybe lost them in his previous job), didn't argue about the existence of multistream cards, but then again, did not fill me with confidence either when he said "OK I've made a note of your desire for a multistream card in the work order".

I said, "Do you think that will do it?" he replied, "errr....uhhhh....if a multistream card is available, the tech will bring it". Now there's a vote of confidence. Well 2 bucks is 2 bucks. 

Finally, yeah 2 bucks per card they say despite this whole thread saying $1.50 per card. Did they raise it? 

I'll write back after my appointment tomorrow with results.


----------



## brettatk

ethicalpaul said:


> Finally, yeah 2 bucks per card they say despite this whole thread saying $1.50 per card. Did they raise it?


I received a letter from Charter saying they were going to raise a couple of things. I dont have it in front of me but the cards were definitely one of them going from $1.50 to $2.00 per card.

I had to have Charter come out 3 times. They eventually got everything working correctly so dont give up if they cant get it done the first time. DO NOT let them tell you that it might take an hour or so before all your channels come in. If done right you should have ALL you channels easily within 5 minutes. If they leave before they all come in then you'll be scheduling another appointment for the next day. Good luck!


----------



## BrettCB

Not sure if anyone can help with this issue but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to contact some government representatives, Tivo, etc. 

Anyway, we have two S-Cards installed in our Tivo-HD and we are only receiving basic analog channels 1-99 along with the local HD Channels. We have had 5 techs out here all that have had no idea what they are doing. This includes both contractors and Charter employees. I've called and been on the phone for hours with the customer representatives and have encountered the same scenario on that end. This final tech basically told me that they were aware of the issue and there was nothing they could do. He basically said he would call his supervisor but it was pointless. 

Needless to say, I just was hoping somewhere could give me some advice on what to do. The two Motorola cards both read Not_Subscribed on encrypted channels and Im thinking there is no hope with getting this resolved. I would be going back to Dish Network right now if it werent for the fact that we are passed the time to return the Tivo HD. Im mainly just disappointed. Once again, any help or advice is appreciated.

Thanks,

Brett


----------



## rainwater

BrettCB said:


> Not sure if anyone can help with this issue but I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to contact some government representatives, Tivo, etc.
> 
> Anyway, we have two S-Cards installed in our Tivo-HD and we are only receiving basic analog channels 1-99 along with the local HD Channels. We have had 5 techs out here all that have had no idea what they are doing. This includes both contractors and Charter employees. I've called and been on the phone for hours with the customer representatives and have encountered the same scenario on that end. This final tech basically told me that they were aware of the issue and there was nothing they could do. He basically said he would call his supervisor but it was pointless.
> 
> Needless to say, I just was hoping somewhere could give me some advice on what to do. The two Motorola cards both read Not_Subscribed on encrypted channels and Im thinking there is no hope with getting this resolved. I would be going back to Dish Network right now if it werent for the fact that we are passed the time to return the Tivo HD. Im mainly just disappointed. Once again, any help or advice is appreciated.


Call the TiVo CableCard number. They will get on the line with Charter and should get it resolved for you. In most cases, it is simply a matter of authorizing the cards correctly over the phone.


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## joe warner

rainwater said:


> Call the TiVo CableCard number. They will get on the line with Charter and should get it resolved for you. In most cases, it is simply a matter of authorizing the cards correctly over the phone.


Do you have the TiVo CableCard number to call? Thanks for your help.


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## rainwater

joe warner said:


> Do you have the TiVo CableCard number to call? Thanks for your help.


(866) 986-8486


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## tootal2

sylonious said:


> Watch out for a channel called:
> *VODDM* (It's channel 1 on my Charter)
> 
> It's a new channel that Tivo "detected".
> 
> It made my Tivo restart the instant I tried to view it.
> 
> It makes my Tivo restart (which takes 5 minutes) then once it comes back up it crashes again and again and again. You have to take both cards out and change the channel on the tuner in order to get it to work. Make sure you go into the channels list and de-select that channel.


I did that to also 999 does that to.


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## BrettCB

Followed the advice above and called the Tivo cable card number. Ended up doing a three-way call to Charter and still no luck. Instead I'm getting another Charter Tech to come to my house, that makes 6, and this one supposedly will have knowledge of cable cards and will be bringing multiple cards to test. I've also got a call back scheduled through Tivo so I can have someone talk to the tech and walk them through the installation. I'm still expecting doom & gloom, however, due to Charters complete ineptitude towards cable cards. They seriously haven't got a clue over there. Terrible company and I wouldn't be with them for a moment if it wasn't for the inability of the Tivo working with Satellite or the choice of another cable company.

Well, I guess I can only hope that all turns out well. If anyone has any other advice I am all ears. This nightmare can't end soon enough.


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## Roark1138

I have followed this thread for more than a year...and I would call up Charter tomorrow and subscribe to premium services if all you guys didn't get this hassle -- seemingly with 95&#37; of their installs. I just don't have the patience to deal with all the nonsense.

I'd rather pay one of you guys who knows what they are doing with this Charter install to come out and manage it.


----------



## kunikos

sylonious said:


> Watch out for a channel called:
> *VODDM* (It's channel 1 on my Charter)


Ugh, yes, I had that exact same issue. Horrid thing. TiVo technical support told me it was a "defective CableCARD" but that was BS, it was actually TiVo barfing on that channel (why the **** the TiVo has no error handling other than to spontaneously crash-reboot is beyond me-- hello, ever hear of exception handling or quality assurance testing???? wtf, guys? amateurs much?)



BrettCB said:


> Terrible company and I wouldn't be with them for a moment if it wasn't for the inability of the Tivo working with Satellite or the choice of another cable company.


Yes, lack of choice (hello monopoly man) makes them complacent. I noticed that once the popularity of cable modem became bigger, DSL technical support suddenly had a markedly improved level of knowledge (I have some seriously bone-headed people in the past and had to have help from SBC--now AT&T--forum member on BroadbandReports.com help me contact local tech tier 2-3 people).



kolohe said:


> When I asked for a supervisor, I was transferred to a voice mailbox that was full.


Heh. Well, at least there was an explanation. I got "disconnected" (they hung up on me, I guess) three times during my phone calls to Charter. I hate them.


----------



## kunikos

Chapper1 said:


> Luckily, there is a guy on AVSForum who is a digital coordinator for Charter in my area. He gave me his cell #, I called him and gave him the numbers for the cards. He was able to get it working in the system without another tech call.


Must be nice to have help from someone who isn't less informed about what they're installing than you are.


----------



## kunikos

brettatk said:


> DO NOT let them tell you that it might take an hour or so before all your channels come in. If done right you should have ALL you channels easily within 5 minutes. If they leave before they all come in then you'll be scheduling another appointment for the next day. Good luck!


I think the Scientific American S-Cards are the only ones that can take a while for the data to "trickle in", but that's only second hand information that I *think* I read on the official TiVo CableCARD support page.

Otherwise, I think you are right on the money. Shady contractors and tech support people will try to ditch you ASAP and they will make up anything to do so to keep their numbers down.


----------



## rainwater

Roark1138 said:


> I have followed this thread for more than a year...and I would call up Charter tomorrow and subscribe to premium services if all you guys didn't get this hassle -- seemingly with 95% of their installs. I just don't have the patience to deal with all the nonsense.
> 
> I'd rather pay one of you guys who knows what they are doing with this Charter install to come out and manage it.


I have had 3 cablecard installs and not a single issue. Just because people post there problems here doesn't mean everyone has issues.


----------



## kunikos

> I also tell him what the Charter Tech from the video repair department said about provisioning the card, he says he does not know what that means, but he will try to pair the card again. He calls a tech on the phone and he tires to pair the card again, the tech on the phone does not want to do it, but the tech in my house insists, now I am thinking great we might be getting somewhere, he also verifies the cable card serial number, host id, and data id with the tech on the phone, turns out the data id was wrong.


I wasn't aware they needed the Data ID, but I would note that the Data ID seems to change if you pull the cablecard out and put it back in.

Edit:

P.S. Don't bother with Live Chat support if you don't receive paper bills-- they refuse to help you after you've waited for 30min for them to talk to you if you don't have the PIN # from the paper bill.

P.P.S. If you call 1-888-438-2427 the automated troubleshooter has no idea what a CableCARD.


----------



## pbrass

Just to add to the story: I've had my S3 up and running for over a year with the original 2 S-stream Scientific Atlantic cards installed. During this time, I've had only a couple of issues that were all resolved by either power cycling the TiVo or sitting through another Guided Setup. Total issues probably number less than 5 in all this time.

For the first time that I've seen, my TiVo encountered an issue last Tuesday morning where it became stuck in a loop attempting to upgrade the firmware on Card 1. The message indicated it would be done in 40 minutes so we left it alone. As we could still watch recorded shows, we didn't really care. However, once it was finished, it would drop you out of the recorded show into Live TV, work for less than 5 minutes and then try to upgrade the FW again.

Power cycling (in between upgrade attempts) didn't resolve the issue this time. A call to TiVo gave me the news that this is a common issue with these specific CC's. Pulling CC 1 out and redoing the Guided setup got us back up and running.

A painful call to Charter on Friday (we were able to get by with one CC) resulted in an appt for Sunday between 8-12. The tech showed up at 12:30. 

He showed up with one multi-stream card, had never seen an HD TiVo before, and was really confused as to why the CC wasn't going directly into the TV. That said, he was very nice and wasn't arrogant at all.

He got on the phone and tried to get in touch with the Head End in order to activate the new card. The guy manning the head end didn't get in until 2 pm, so my tech had to leave and come back.

The head end guy was insistent that the S3 would only work with the 1 m-stream card and that we should remove the 2nd (working) s-stream CC. It of course worked great in single tuner mode only.

Thank god for this site and its FAQ's. I eventually got them to try it with the m-stream CC in slot 1 and the working s-stream card in slot 2 where it had been. The channels all tested perfectly within 2 minutes and I let the tech go rather than making him wait through another Setup (which ran fine in the end).

Long story short, the bit of documentation/first hand knowledge the people at the Head End seemed to have related soley to the TiVo HD models and they were unaware that there was any other HD TiVo available. They were also conspicuously bitter about having to support something that they've never seen before (which is semi-understandable - it would make sense for the Cable companies to at least document some of this stuff or provide TiVo's CC hotline number to their techs as an official avenue of support).

All in all, I'm very happy I scheduled it for a Sunday so that I could be home (my wife is maybe more happy as she wouldn't have wanted to deal with this nonsense at all!).


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## rsaly77

I'm having trouble with my series 3 and 2 M cards.
Both will rcv the local digital HD channels but none of the digital channels to which I'm subscribed. This is after 3 trips from the cable company - they say the tivo may be the problem.

Well being in the dark about cable cards, I searched until I found a PDF document on the SA website talking about deploying CCs.
From that document, SA says when the cable card is paired to the Host ID, the DNCS server will send out a validation(activation) hit. To check for the Validation hit sucess or failure, check the CA screen and EMMs processed should be greater than or equal to 33 - my 2 cards show zero. THe CC should also show authorization received but my CCs show waiting on authorization. What I'm seeing on my CCSs is the EMM error count is incrementing..... I do have somebody from Charter looking at this trouble, but I think they are going to say its a TIVO problem interfacing with the M cards and not running them in multi stream mode - all I hear is it only takes 1 M card not two.

Any ideas?


Rick


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## BrettCB

Just thought I'd update my story as I had a major update today.

Anyway, I'd had around six Charter Techs out to the house and over four sets of cable cards installed in my Tivo HD. I was receiving all my analog stations but no premiums. I'd called Charter many, many, times and I'd even tried the online chat route. Nothing. Here is the crazy part... Today I'm sitting at home after work just watching some PTI on ESPN and all the sudden my screen goes blank, refreshes, goes blank again for a few minutes, and then comes back on. I thought that was a bit strange but a part of me thought Charter had done something on their end as it wasn't like a typical cable outage, it was as if the cable card refreshed itself like I mentioned earlier. Anyway, I flipped to HBO-HD and what do you know, it comes in... Along with all my other premium stations.

Crazy... I hassle Charter non-stop and when I said the hell with it and stopped trying to fix it over the weekend it magically starts working. My guess is all my calling and complaining finally got someone to look at the account and try to get this figured out. However, who really knows with these things... I'm just glad it's working. Good-Luck to everyone else getting an install or having trouble because believe me, I know what you can go through.


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## FROD

I've been dying to tell my story so here you go...

I finally bought the TivoHD, thanks to Tivo for letting me transfer my Lifetime. Well, once I got the TivoHD, I set it up and called Charter Communications. I got a decent Customer Service Rep(CSR), she said she would set me up with a Multistream Card(M-Card). I was psyched. We set up a Saturday appointment. The tech came minutes before the close of the appointment window. I had to call to make sure he was still on the way. The tech arrived in a van that had a Charter magnetic sticker on it. Uh oh...I knew I was in trouble then. A contractor. ARGH!!!! 

Anyways, the tech came in smelling like an ashtray:down:, so bad my 10 year old daughter even said something. Well, I discussed the whole single stream/multi stream topic with him, from what I could understand, english was a second language for this fella, he never saw a multistream card in his life. He didn't even know they existed. He pulls out two S-Cards out of his pocket, one with with some smeg all over it. Unbelievable. So, I told him fine, "just throw in a single stream card for now, I'll call back customer service". The tech said he activated the card, but I was never able to watch the encrypted pay or digital channels. Every time I tried I would get a screen that said I had to call to get the device activated. 

I called back CS and spoke to about six different people, many of which had absolutely no clue about the differences between the CableCards. One CSR left me hanging on the line for 20 minutes of dead air. Finally, I got a good CSR. She said she would send out a tech on Monday with an M-Card. I was hoping for the best. 

Monday came and Charter called to verify that I would be home. I said yes, and then I followed up with "are you sending a contractor or an employee?". She replied that they were indeed sending an Charter employee. Half phew. Up pulls a REAL Charter van...with the vinyl stickers. No magnetic signs. Before the guy even stepped one foot on my driveway, I walked up to the van and asked him if he had an M-Card. He said yes. I welcomed him right in. 

The Charter employee was GREAT:up:. The guy knew the lingo and knew what he was doing. He slipped the card in and made a call to the Central Office(CO). He gave them the numbers and they punched the info in. In about 20 minutes or so, I had all the non encrypted and encrypted channels. 

It took two appointments, but they finally got it right. I was pretty put off by the whole experience initially, but am very happy now. The TivoHD is really nice with an M-Card. 

Charter needs to train their people properly and stop relying so much on contractors who hardly know the technology let alone the English language. If there was competition in cable, things would be so different. Monopolies suck!


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## ethicalpaul

Tally so far:
Tech visits: 1 actual charter employee. A kid who tossed aside the tivo instructions and was rebooting my tivo when I arrived (my wife let him in before I got home. She was beaten for this transgression). That was a joke, it was actually electric shock. 

The kid had done 1 or 2 installs into tivos and was not scared of tivos, yet he was fumbling around the menus not really doing anything other than waiting for it to reboot and talking with his cable buddies on his cell. He would call into charter every so often to try to get things going, but in the end I let him go figuring I could find someone at charter to finish the setup.

That turned out to be wrong, I've been on the phone 4 or 5 times to support to try to get someone to make things work. No dice. This morning I actually had 2 channels working but no idea why just those 2.

This morning's CSR seemed clueless but did give me some hope when she said "hmm, why is it set up like this?" but nothing came of it. 

So a second tech is coming today bringing with him another card and supposedly some knowledge. My hatred for Charter has definitely gone up somewhat during this process which is a little difficult for even me to believe.


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## MasterCephus

You would think that Charter has some type of monthly or quarterly meetings with all it's employees where they could bring in a HD Tivo, get out cable cards and do an install to show them how to do it.

It would really take about one hour and would save tons in frustration by customers...

Every rep that has ever come by (except the actual guy that installed the cards) have had no idea what a Tivo is and why you put the cable cards in them...

Don't even get me started with their internet support...


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## FROD

Charter Communications is such a joke. Check this out...

If you have a Charter HD cable box, they charge you $3.00 HD Supplemental Fee. Just for the box. 

If you have a Charter HD DVR, you get charged $11.99, or at least this is what I was charged. The HD Supplemental Fee is waived with the DVR option. 

On top of this, you have an HD package that's $5.99 just to get the Cable HD stations like Discovery, ESPN, A&E and so on. This is optional and is still the case regardless of which box you have. 

If you get a CableCard, you get charged $1.50 for each card and they tack on the $3.00 HD Supplementa Fee. Cable card ends up costing $4.50 a month.

WHAT A RIP!!! Monopoly's suck, I tell you, MONOPOLY SUCK!!!


----------



## dizziness

I had another clueless contractor come out today. I gave him the Tivo CableCard setup guide printout to help him along. He couldn't manage the Tivo remote so I aided him with that. I had to argue with him and the reps on the phone that I needed only one M-Card for the TivoHD. 

He probably wouldn't have been too bad if it hadn't taken three service reps on the phone to finally recognize that:

1) The analog trap has to be removed if you are a locals-only subscriber and

2) They needed to enter the Model number in their records and

3) The card is not activated and hence no channels until they close the order in their system.

So there you have it. I hope this benefits someone's install.


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## rainwater

dizziness said:


> 3) The card is not activated and hence no channels until they close the order in their system.


The first install, I had this issue. The rep couldn't figure out why it didn't activate, then she closed the screen, and it was magic.  The other 2 installs, I had no issues with this as I think the person on the phone knew the screen had to be closed out.

I have heard reports of users being told it might take another hour or 24 hours to work. If anyone is told this, then they need to be wary of how knowledgeable the rep is.


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## jeepintivo

I got my HD Tivo (TCD652160) yesterday from Amazon and got it setup. it came a day later than I planned so Charter was actually out yesterday with the cable card but I wasn't ready for them. They came back out first thing this morning and got it all setup. They stuck around while I went back through guided setup to make sure I got all the new channels. This can take awhile to get the new Tivo guide data since it goes from 99 channels to 999 channels of stuff.

They brought me a multicard the first time and the installer even joked that customers turn him away anytime he tries to bring out single stream cards so he never does.

I also picked up a Philips MANT940 antenna because Charter doesn't have HD ABC and even just laying in my eastern facing window to seems to pick up ABC in New Haven OK. once I get it mounted outside I think it should do a good job of picking up some of the other high def locals without a huge antenna to deal with.

The installer I worked with said most of the installers have now done a few Tivo's so hopefully installs are easier for people now than at the beginning of this thread.


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## tpayne37664

ok, I got a visit on a thursday by charter techie to install my mstream sci atlanta card, said "it'll take an hour or so to download premium channels" and left. 12 hours later getting local hd and flix (period). called tech line techie came back on monday with 1 mclass card same thing as far as results he called everyone in his phones address book and shrugged and left with promise of being back next day. next day no show. so i decide screw it and try to get the thing working myself. take card out reinsert soft boot (through menu restart) call charters 800# and ask them to resend authorization signal and viola. it works still am missing a few channels but i never watch any of them except the 1 cinemax channel. apparently the local guys don't know how the authorization setup works. go figure


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## brettatk

tpayne37664 said:


> ok, I got a visit on a thursday by charter techie to install my mstream sci atlanta card, said "it'll take an hour or so to download premium channels" and left.


Just another instance of where you DO NOT let them leave after installing the CableCard(s). Remember you do not have to run Guided Setup immediately after installing them. Go to the CableCard Diagnostics screen and you can test your channels. It rarely takes longer than a few minutes before your will get your premium channels if the authorization is done right. If they do leave before you are receiving all your channels you may as well call Charter back up to schedule another appointment.


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## JetPilot84

Well I'm in the same crappy Charter boat. I called to set up install from 5-7. The called at 4:30 to confirm and I was somewhat relieved until the actual installer called and I asked him what kind of cards he was bringing and he had no idea but that he was only bringing one card even though the CS rep said I ordered 2 and it was on the paperwork. Then he told me that Charter doesn't install in Tivos and that they don't support it whatsoever with the normal cable line of how I won't have any on-screen guide, or DVR without their crap moto box (oh no not that  ). I told him to come anyway and we will sort it out. He reluctantly agreed then told me he had to call CS to confirm. A very helpful CS guy called me back 20 min later to say he canceled my appt because the contractors that were coming out didn't know what they were dealing with and he rescheduled me an appt with an actual Charter service tech for two days from now. He then admitted to me that the cable company doesn't actually want to give anyone CableCARDS (duh, how could helping the customer be good for them) but the evil FCC is forcing them, too. lol. So, hopefully the new tech will be able to hook me up with no hassles. Although I doubt that...


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## dolphin

I'm about to upgrade for HD, and not sure what I need.

Currently, I have standard Basic+Exp, no STB, into a Series 2.

In order to get HD from Charter, is all I need is their "Digital Cable" package, or is there something else (plus TiVo HD and mcard, of course).

I tried using "chat", but they seem to not be the sharpest sticks in the pile.

Thanks.


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## JetPilot84

Success! The guy who installed my card was knowledgeable enough about the subject to competently install my cablecard. I had to explain to him that I only needed one of the m-cards that he brought and he even thanked me for teaching him about it. Smooth sailing after a little bump in the road.


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## rainwater

dolphin said:


> In order to get HD from Charter, is all I need is their "Digital Cable" package, or is there something else (plus TiVo HD and mcard, of course).


Actually, all you need to do is order the cablecards and if you want the standard HD channels also order the "Hi-Def View" package. The Hi-Def View package gives you ESPN, TNT, etc. Without it, you would just get the local HD channels (ABC, FOX, etc). If you don't get the digital tier, you will basically get channels 2-99 and the 15-20 HD channels. If you want the digital tier, you can also order it as well but it isn't a requirement. In fact, if you don't want it, make sure you do not request it or mention it. There is no requirement to get the digital package with cablecards. There is also a "Hi-Def Premium" tier that gives you HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax in HD.

You can always add/remove the digital and other tiers after you get the cablecards installed. This can be done over the phone so the main issue is to get the cablecards installed correctly.


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## ethicalpaul

Tally:

1 tech visit
2 missed tech visits (actually 1/2 my fault). They wouldn't have helped anyway
14 calls to Charter. No CSR actually knew what they were doing. I begged to be connected to "dispatch" who are the people who do the actual setting up of the cable card info in their system, but no go.

On the third time that I read all the cablecard numbers over the phone to various CSRs, something finally kicked in and all channels are coming through (I have digital with all premium channels).

For a few days, I just got a handful of channels spread all over. (like 5, 7, 23, 42 for instance)

The card is $1.50 on my bill even though CSR #1 said it would be $2.

Even crappy TV is fun to watch in HD 

There is no skill you can have as a customer in this relationship that helps. You are totally at the mercy of CSRs who know not enough to do the cablecard job correctly. Only with luck can you achieve success. And I wish you that.


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## TBarclay3

I was making a couple of changes to my channel guide list in Tivo and noticed a bunch of new channels showing among the master list! 8 new HD channels were listed, including Animal Planet HD, Discovery HD, TLC HD, Weather HD, WE HD, FUSE HD, AMC HD and IFC HD. None of these are available yet. Neither are 2 additional SD channels I found: TV One and American Life -- but I can't imagine why these would show unless they're on the way!!


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## brettatk

TBarclay3 said:


> I was making a couple of changes to my channel guide list in Tivo and noticed a bunch of new channels showing among the master list! 8 new HD channels were listed, including Animal Planet HD, Discovery HD, TLC HD, Weather HD, WE HD, FUSE HD, AMC HD and IFC HD. None of these are available yet. Neither are 2 additional SD channels I found: TV One and American Life -- but I can't imagine why these would show unless they're on the way!!


I saw the same thing last week. Someone said this is what happened in St. Louis when they added new channels. Hopefully they will be available soon. I was kind of bummed not to see SCIFIHD in the mix though.


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## smitty2000

rainwater said:


> Actually, all you need to do is order the cablecards and if you want the standard HD channels also order the "Hi-Def View" package. The Hi-Def View package gives you ESPN, TNT, etc. Without it, you would just get the local HD channels (ABC, FOX, etc). If you don't get the digital tier, you will basically get channels 2-99 and the 15-20 HD channels. If you want the digital tier, you can also order it as well but it isn't a requirement. In fact, if you don't want it, make sure you do not request it or mention it. There is no requirement to get the digital package with cablecards. There is also a "Hi-Def Premium" tier that gives you HBO, Showtime, Starz, and Cinemax in HD.
> 
> You can always add/remove the digital and other tiers after you get the cablecards installed. This can be done over the phone so the main issue is to get the cablecards installed correctly.


OK guys -- Help a newbie out here. I've read the previous few pages of this thread but it's way too long to read everything. I'm hoping someone can summarize a bit for me. Rainwater -- you seem to be very familiar with the Charter plans, so please advise. Here's my situation:

I live in Pasadena, CA and Charter cable is my only option. I recently bought an HDTV and Tivo Series 3 (TCD648250B) - THX fancy version. My current cable plan is Basic Expanded with no cable box. The cable line goes straight into my current Series 2 Tivo. I am happy with basic expanded and don't really want the other junk that comes with digital cable (e.g. music channels, PPV, etc) -- I just want to add the non-premium HD channels.

So, if I understand correctly, I need to call up Charter and order the Hi-Def view package and a multi-stream card (M-Card), yes? And the one M-card will allow me to use the dual tuner feature of the Series 3 Tivo, yes? I think this will cost me $8 per month for Hi-Def package and $2 per month for the cable card, for $10 total on top of basic expanded I'm currently paying.

Lastly, if I go to www.charter.com it looks like there are only the HD Channels listed below in my area. This seems like a rather paltry list compared to DirectTV, no? Put another way, since my HDTV picks up many of the "lifeline" channels over the air -- it seems like I'm paying $10 a month for about 10 extra HD channels (e.g. Animal Planet, ESPN, etc.). Are there more channels coming and are those going to cost more money?

766 Animal Planet HD Hi-Def View 
767 Discovery HD Hi-Def View 
770 HDNet Movies Hi-Def View 
771 HDNet Hi-Def View 
772 ESPN2 HD Hi-Def View 
773 ESPN HD Hi-Def View 
774 Fox Sports Net West - HD Hi-Def Lifeline 
775 HD Theater Hi-Def View 
777 HBO HDTV-West Hi-Def Premium 
778 Showtime HDTV-West Hi-Def Premium 
779 Cinemax HDTV-West Hi-Def Premium 
781 KTTV-DT - FOX Hi-Def Lifeline 
782 KCBS-DT - CBS Hi-Def Lifeline 
784 KNBC-DT - NBC Hi-Def Lifeline 
785 KTLA-DT - CW Hi-Def Lifeline 
786 KCET-DT - PBS Hi-Def Lifeline 
787 KABC-DT - ABC Hi-Def Lifeline 
789 KCAL-DT - IND Hi-Def Lifeline 
790 Starz HDTV-West Hi-Def Premium 
792 TNT - HD Hi-Def View 
793 Universal HD Hi-Def View 
795 A&E HD Hi-Def View 
799 MHD Hi-Def View

Thanks in advance for all the help and insight!

-Smitty


----------



## rnowicki

smitty2000 said:


> OK guys -- Help a newbie out here. I've read the previous few pages of this thread but it's way too long to read everything. I'm hoping someone can summarize a bit for me. Rainwater -- you seem to be very familiar with the Charter plans, so please advise. Here's my situation:
> 
> I live in Pasadena, CA and Charter cable is my only option. I recently bought an HDTV and Tivo Series 3 (TCD648250B) - THX fancy version. My current cable plan is Basic Expanded with no cable box. The cable line goes straight into my current Series 2 Tivo. I am happy with basic expanded and don't really want the other junk that comes with digital cable (e.g. music channels, PPV, etc) -- I just want to add the non-premium HD channels.
> 
> So, if I understand correctly, I need to call up Charter and order the Hi-Def view package and a multi-stream card (M-Card), yes? And the one M-card will allow me to use the dual tuner feature of the Series 3 Tivo, yes? I think this will cost me $8 per month for Hi-Def package and $2 per month for the cable card, for $10 total on top of basic expanded I'm currently paying.
> 
> Lastly, if I go to www.charter.com it looks like there are only the HD Channels listed below in my area. This seems like a rather paltry list compared to DirectTV, no? Put another way, since my HDTV picks up many of the "lifeline" channels over the air -- it seems like I'm paying $10 a month for about 10 extra HD channels (e.g. Animal Planet, ESPN, etc.). Are there more channels coming and are those going to cost more money?
> 
> 766 Animal Planet HD Hi-Def View
> 767 Discovery HD Hi-Def View
> 770 HDNet Movies Hi-Def View
> 771 HDNet Hi-Def View
> 772 ESPN2 HD Hi-Def View
> 773 ESPN HD Hi-Def View
> 774 Fox Sports Net West - HD Hi-Def Lifeline
> 775 HD Theater Hi-Def View
> 777 HBO HDTV-West Hi-Def Premium
> 778 Showtime HDTV-West Hi-Def Premium
> 779 Cinemax HDTV-West Hi-Def Premium
> 781 KTTV-DT - FOX Hi-Def Lifeline
> 782 KCBS-DT - CBS Hi-Def Lifeline
> 784 KNBC-DT - NBC Hi-Def Lifeline
> 785 KTLA-DT - CW Hi-Def Lifeline
> 786 KCET-DT - PBS Hi-Def Lifeline
> 787 KABC-DT - ABC Hi-Def Lifeline
> 789 KCAL-DT - IND Hi-Def Lifeline
> 790 Starz HDTV-West Hi-Def Premium
> 792 TNT - HD Hi-Def View
> 793 Universal HD Hi-Def View
> 795 A&E HD Hi-Def View
> 799 MHD Hi-Def View
> 
> Thanks in advance for all the help and insight!
> 
> -Smitty


Smitty,
I can help yopu a bit with theis as I also live in Pasadena. Yes, that is the entire HD lineup, like you said, quite a bit less than D*.

I have a Series 3 that I hooked up about 9 months ago. I don't have the M-card that you mention but I do have 2 cable cards that both see the Charter signal. I also have OTA recording set up.

The only comment that I have is that my service with respect to being able to consistently see the HD channels in my guide is spotty. This is especially true when new channels are added. For example, when ESPN2-HD was added many weeks ago, both it and ESPN-HD showed up as ESPN-HD. They showed the same shows in the guide too, though the signal on channel 772 was ESPN2-HD. Made it hard to schedule stuff cause you couldn't see it in the guide. I got tired of calling Charter cause they would refer me to Tivo, etc, etc. etc.

After about 3 weeks the guide finally figured it out. The bottom line is that this isn't a 100% reliable solution if that is what you are looking for.

R


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## rainwater

smitty2000 said:


> So, if I understand correctly, I need to call up Charter and order the Hi-Def view package and a multi-stream card (M-Card), yes?


The Series 3 doesn't support M-Cards in multistream mode. So you will have to have 2 CableCards installed. M-cards will work, but in single tuner mode. So, either way, you will need 2 of whatever type of cards the installer brings.


----------



## rainwater

rnowicki said:


> After about 3 weeks the guide finally figured it out. The bottom line is that this isn't a 100% reliable solution if that is what you are looking for.


Other than a guide issue with a new channel what hasn't been reliable? Guide issues with new channels are not uncommon and they affect more than just TiVos. If the only issue you have had is guide data, then, I would say it has been pretty reliable.


----------



## rnowicki

rainwater said:


> Other than a guide issue with a new channel what hasn't been reliable? Guide issues with new channels are not uncommon and they affect more than just TiVos. If the only issue you have had is guide data, then, I would say it has been pretty reliable.


Rain,
I was in a hurry yesterday so I didn't go into as much detail as I could have. The problem was more than simply the guide data not being correct for ESPN-HD and ESPN2-HD. Here are the two biggest problems.

When I added the sports package, primarily to get TVG on channel 401, the Tivo didn't show those channels in the guide. Finally I realized that I needed to check them in the list of channels that I receive. No problem, went in there and checked all 6 or 7 channels. This is where the problem starts. The next morning, the channels are no longer shown as being checked. So I go back in and check them off again. If the Tivo reboots, which it was doing maybe every few days for awhile there, the new sports package channels would again either be unchecked, or sometimes even completely disappear from the list. This led to calls to Charter, etc.

The second problem that I had was that for the longest time I couldn't get both cable cards to work. I would go into setup and into the cable card tuner test. CC1 would usually see the channels I was supposed to be getting, while CC2 would often be missing all of the added channels. Missing the sports package channels as well as the HD package channels. I called Charter many times to have them re-activate the CC's. Note that this problem also happened most often following reboots of the Tivo.

Having said all that, you might say that my Tivo is simply bad or I need a new set of CC's. I added an external SATA drive to my Series 3 back when it was discovered that you could do this. Airflow ig good and the units are running quite cool so overheating is not the problem.

I finally came to the conclusion that there is definitely some kind of handshaking problem between the Tivo, the CC's and the cable company following a reboot. This isn't too hard too imagine given the complexity of the situation. By this I mean: 1) Customer calling CableCo and adding / deleting channels, which ultimately must be electronically communicated to the Tivo from the head end, 2) Normal channel additions / deletions that the CableCo does on it's own, like recently adding several HD channels to the HD package, 3) The Tivo rebooting, and then requiring some kind of automatic reauthorization from the front end for both of the cable cards to work properly.

You would hope that the CC specification would have foreseen all of these possibilities and had a protocol for handling all cases. Apparently that is not the case. Also, when the Series 3 came out it was one of the first units to have 2 CC tuners. The CableCo needs to have software on their end to handle cases where a single device has more than 1 CC tuner. When I would call Charter it would take me 10 minutes to convey the concept to them that I had a single box that had 2 CC in it!

I eventually got tired of calling them up and sitting on hold 20-30 minutes each time before telling the person I needed to talk to level 2 tech support. It came down to whether I wanted to be constantly checking that I receive all the channels that I'm supposed to receive, on both CC tuners, every time that I turn the TV on, or simply wait for things to work themselves out. I will say that since about December of 2007 things have been more stable, the ESPN-HD ESPN2-HD guide labeling problem notwithstanding.

We are dealing with basically very powerful computers (The Tivo) running a real time operating system processing high rate video streams over a network with additional devices (CC's) in the mix deciding what channels I should be able to receive. It's really a wonder it works as well as it does. My job involves debugging HW/SW problems in a similar environment, so I feel for those customers who do not have a technical background. It must seem like magic to them.

R


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## donnoh

I bought a new TivoHD despite all of the horror stories about making the cablecards work.
Bubba, an actual "Charter employee" showed up to install my cablecards. He was so helpful, the first thing he did with the installation instructions is throw them aside, "I done one of these before". Of course the first thing he does is put both cards in and start clicking on the remote like he's texting someone.
Despite his incompetence he was able to recite the numbers that Tivo put on the screen to two different people on the phone. Person A idiot, person B knew what a cable card was.
I think the cable card technology is easy, the problem is with the morons that are a brick shy of a load.


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## wolverine68

I am a Charter customer here in So Cal. I also bought the Tivo HD unit from woot. I am new to Tivo and don't have any expertise about this.

So I called up Charter to ask about cable cards and the rep was fairly knowledgeable. She asked if the Tivo unit has dual support and I said "Yes". She told me that I would need 2 cable cards and my digital receiver is no longer needed. The Charter wire would run into the Tivo unit and the tech would come set up the 2 cable cards. I'll probably move the digital receiver on our 2nd TV. The cable card installation runs about $33 and she said I can't do it myself so I have an appt next week. I hope this works out and I look forward to the benefits of Tivo.


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## brettatk

wolverine68 said:


> I am a Charter customer here in So Cal. I also bought the Tivo HD unit from woot. I am new to Tivo and don't have any expertise about this.
> 
> So I called up Charter to ask about cable cards and the rep was fairly knowledgeable. She asked if the Tivo unit has dual support and I said "Yes". She told me that I would need 2 cable cards and my digital receiver is no longer needed. The Charter wire would run into the Tivo unit and the tech would come set up the 2 cable cards. I'll probably move the digital receiver on our 2nd TV. The cable card installation runs about $33 and she said I can't do it myself so I have an appt next week. I hope this works out and I look forward to the benefits of Tivo.


With the Tivo HD you do have the choice to have one M-Card or two S-Cards installed. With Charter it really isnt a big deal to have two S-Cards since they only charge $2 per card. If you still watch PPV or VOD you will need to retain a Charter Receiver. All you need to do is split the cable and have one go into the Tivo and the other into the Charter Receiver. Then just run the outputs into different inputs on your TV. Or as you mentioned you can just move it to another TV. Just be patient, it might take a trip or two (or three) but they will eventually get it working.


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## walueg

Well, at least everyone I talked to at Charter had heard of CableCards. I had three tech visits, the first of which didn't even know how to seat the cards in the Tivo, and the last of which was the head tech here in Fort Worth. This last guy was the most knowledgeable. 

My problem was that I could get the Lifeline channels which are the broadcast channels minus my ABC affiliate because they charge the cable companies to broadcast their HD signal (Thanks Belo). So I have to have an antenna anyway. But I couldn't get the "View" channels. The local guys, including the supervisor/expert kept telling me that the cards were fine and so it must be an account issue. But the Charter tech support guys said that it was a CableCard issue. The cards were addressable. We went through about five cards all told. 

After spending an hour on the phone with a support guy and two supervisors last night, I'm pulling the cards and am settling for OTA HD. Fortunately, I have over 90% signal strength on all channels. 

Can anyone here suggest what they might be overlooking? Were the cards supposed to be programmed before they left the office? 

Thanks.


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## danksss

walueg said:


> Can anyone here suggest what they might be overlooking? Were the cards supposed to be programmed before they left the office?


I'm in FW too and Charter has been horrible here. They are still trying to figure out how to work with account settings with CCs here so you may want to call and have them give your account a good close look. Dispatch flipped several account settings on and off randomly trying to get mine to work. I have never gotten any channels on my card though so your way ahead of me.

Here's my story if anyone else has any tips: I called to have a card installed in my TiVoHD last wk. The first tech, a contractor, didn't know wtf he was doing. After I walked him through the process of which numbers to write down before he called it in, he pulled the "you're all set up and you'll get your channels in 30min or so." He wouldn't listen to me and left anyways.

After I got off of work that night I tried some troubleshooting myself (re-inserting the cc, rebooting, etc) and then call dispatch myself. Tech #1 had used my home phone after his cell phone died and 'redial' is a beautiful thing. Dispatch wasn't happy that I had their number but after I told them the situation they worked hard to help as much as they could. This is where they flipped things around, added removed premium channels, dvrs, hd etc. It seemed to me like they were kind of swinging so maybe they can hit a sweet spot for you. My card is useless so nothing they tried helped.

Two days later all the second tech told me was that the first guy was a moron, the CC I got was useless and that he didn't have any others with him even though a bad CC was the purpose of the service call. Charter is sending me a third tech on Tuesday.


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## GlenH100

I had my CableCard installation yesterday. I have Charter in Athens, AL, part of the Decatur, AL system. Installation seemed to go smoothly enough, though the (contractor) tech they sent out didn't know anything about CableCards. He brought a Scientific Atlanta M-card, which was a good sign. He called in and set up the pairing information without incident. I got the channel map and good signal, but no HD View tier. I let the tech off the hook, figuring I would get it sorted out with customer service.

Anyway, I called in to Customer Service; they showed that I was only subscribed to Basic and Expanded Basic, but no HD View, so we added that. The CSR hit the card a couple of times, but no joy. Poking around the menus, I found that the CA (Conditional Availability) status was "Not Staged" and on the CP (Copy Protection) screen, the status was "Waiting for CP auth". After a couple of calls with the lady at Charter, who was patient and tried to be helpful, I figured that I'd call TiVo. She did ask the installer to return to help get it sorted out.

Called the main support number and got someone who passed me up to "Tier 2". The rep there basically read me the info that I later found on the "Troubleshooting CableCard activation and channel issues" page, and had no idea what to tell Charter to move this along.

Since I got cut off from the helpful Charter rep, I called back and got someone who basically threw up her hands and scheduled a trouble call for tomorrow (Wednesday). I tried calling again and got a lady who knew what I was talking about, but needed to transfer me to another department. The guy who finally answered transfered me again, but the number went to a disconnected Palm, Inc support department message.

So, I called again and spoke to "Jeremy". who didn't know anything about CableCards, either, but was able to verify that the serial number and MAC address matched in their database. He went offline to speak to a supervisor, then asked if I had removed the card from the slot. I told him that I had as part of the troubleshooting process earlier in the day. He responded that removing the card would require a truck roll. I told him that was ridiculous and he went offline again to talk to "dispatch". The response he got from them indicated that the CA status of "Not Staged" meant that the card wasn't set up correctly at the warehouse, and that the only fix was for a truck roll to bring out a properly initialized card. This is where I stand now.

I did find another thread that indicated that TWC's system could send a bunch (more than 32) EMMs to beat the card into submission, and that would fix the "Not Staged" status. I suppose I could call Charter this morning and see if they can get someone to try that.


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## brettatk

You might want to call this morning and ask that along with a new M-Card that the tech bring two S-Cards as well. I have no idea why but we tried two different M-Cards in my Tivo HD and we never could get them working right. We finally tried using two S-Cards and everything worked. It's only $2 more per month but having it work right is well worth that. Good luck!


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## GlenH100

I called Charter again this morning and asked them to try sending a bunch of EMMs. They claim to have done so, but still no joy. I guess I'll just have to wait until tomorrow when they bring a new M-card. I asked them to make sure that the new card gets initialized at the warehouse.

I think I'll pass on the two S-card solution, because the M-card is supposed to work and maybe they'll learn something so that the next install goes more smoothly.


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## danksss

Success! This time the contractor was the 'regional quality control manager' for the contracting co. Whatever he was, he actually knew what he was doing. He brought more than one cable card (one SA m-type and one SA s-type). The mcard worked perfectly the first time and the channels showed up instantly in the channel test. He even waited while TiVo went through the guided setup again and made sure that I got every channel. No account juggling, no trouble.

I would say 'thank you charter' but 'finally' comes to mind. My digital signal strength still drops dramatically whenever it rains. Good luck to everyone else, I've got some TiVo to watch! -D


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## brettatk

danksss said:


> My digital signal strength still drops dramatically whenever it rains.


Sounds like there is a leak somewhere in the lines outside of your house. If the signal drops to where you get pixelation I would have Charter come back out and run some tests on the outside lines. If it's happening now it's not ever going to get any better in the future unless they can find the problem and fix it.


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## rainwater

GlenH100 said:


> He went offline to speak to a supervisor, then asked if I had removed the card from the slot. I told him that I had as part of the troubleshooting process earlier in the day. He responded that removing the card would require a truck roll. I told him that was ridiculous and he went offline again to talk to "dispatch".


It is partially true what he said. You should never remove a CableCard while the TiVo is running. Otherwise, it will have to be re-paired to the box by the cable company (mainly if the link the cablecard to the host for which my charter doesn't thankfully). However, if they would have re-initialized the card, it should of fixed the issue.


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## danksss

brettatk said:


> Sounds like there is a leak somewhere in the lines outside of your house. If the signal drops to where you get pixelation I would have Charter come back out and run some tests on the outside lines. If it's happening now it's not ever going to get any better in the future unless they can find the problem and fix it.


Thanks Brettatk but I've already had techs sent out at least 4 times since January. When it actually happens to be raining when they arrive I'm told,

"Yeah, the problem is on the line and not your connection. I'll have to get a line tech out."

A week later I receive a message that says my problem is fixed. Then it rains a couple wks later and I call it in again and the tech arrives when it's sunny and 75f when I'm not having a problem and obviously can't take any worth while readings. They got tired of me calling and they've discounted my account for the next 6 mo. The last rep I talked to at the local office said that my entire neighborhood is having similar problems. Meh, it only really hurts the digital channels and I get the OTA hd channels now thnx to Tivo anyways. I can wait patiently while it rains and call again in July.


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## GlenH100

Charter came back out today. This time it was a real Charter tech. He had everything up and running in about ten minutes. I don't know exactly what he did differently from the first time, since he sent the pairing information to dispatch via text message. He did mention that "Not Staged" was normal for a CableCARD that was freshly installed; otherwise it would be paired to the device in the warehouse. Before attempting installation, he swapped out my splitter and cables and (at my request) installed a new F connector on the cable coming out of the wall. I don't think any of this made a difference, because I had "Locked" status on the DAVIC channel and I was receiving channel map.

Then he spent another half hour or more bringing my drop "up to code". He replaced the two 2-way splitters in the entrance box with a new style three way splitter. He installed drop hangers on the drop cable, dressed the cables on the exterior wall, and sealed the points where the cables passed through the concrete block foundation. I was impressed with his sense of craft and attention to detail.


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## rainwater

GlenH100 said:


> Charter came back out today. This time it was a real Charter tech. He had everything up and running in about ten minutes. I don't know exactly what he did differently from the first time, since he sent the pairing information to dispatch via text message.


Most likely, he actually knew what he was doing and more importantly, he sent the pairing information to a person who knows how to enter it. In my experience, the biggest hurdle is relaying the CableCard information to a person who knows how to enter it. If the person setting up the account doesn't know the difference between a cable box and a cablecard (which is common at Charter), then it is going to be a long struggle.


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## wolverine68

wolverine68 said:


> I am a Charter customer here in So Cal. I also bought the Tivo HD unit from woot. I am new to Tivo and don't have any expertise about this.
> 
> So I called up Charter to ask about cable cards and the rep was fairly knowledgeable. She asked if the Tivo unit has dual support and I said "Yes". She told me that I would need 2 cable cards and my digital receiver is no longer needed. The Charter wire would run into the Tivo unit and the tech would come set up the 2 cable cards. I'll probably move the digital receiver on our 2nd TV. The cable card installation runs about $33 and she said I can't do it myself so I have an appt next week. I hope this works out and I look forward to the benefits of Tivo.


I had my installation on Monday. My appt was supposed to be 3-5pm. The guy calls me at noon and asks if he can come over. I wasn't quite ready because I was still looking for a long phone line to connect the Tivo to my phone jack. Charter in So Cal uses contractors and this guy was an idiot. He brought one M-card and said he would need to come back since I don't have a phone line connected.

I told him to just connect the cablecard and get it activated. He didn't want to do it and said it would be a waste of time. I basically just told him to just install the "freaking" card. So he puts in the card and calls the office to get the card activated. Bingo! I am getting all my channels in the test screen and my HD channels!!! I thank the idiot and he was surprised that it could be m-card could be activated. So I kick him out and I run to store to get a phone line to finish the rest of the activation and setup.

Things have been running pretty smooth and I am able to record 2 shows at the same time. Tivo has been great for my 1st week.

My next project is to get the wireless broadband working and ditch the phone line. I also need to upgrade my 20hr HD and get an external eSata drive.


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## GlenH100

rainwater said:


> Most likely, he actually knew what he was doing and more importantly, he sent the pairing information to a person who knows how to enter it. In my experience, the biggest hurdle is relaying the CableCard information to a person who knows how to enter it. If the person setting up the account doesn't know the difference between a cable box and a cablecard (which is common at Charter), then it is going to be a long struggle.


Well, he certainly knew what he was doing. In addition, yesterday afternoon my cable internet dropped out and I looked outside to see a lineman in a bucket truck at my pole. He was replacing the two 2-way splitters on the pole with a current model 4-way splitter. The tech who fixed my installation called it in for a fix. They just started offering telephone service on our system and appear to be fixing minor configuration issues as they find them.


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## GlenH100

I had a further problem with my installation; I have been losing analog channels after a couple of days. A reboot fixes it for a while. TiVo's CableCARD support line said that it's a bad card, so I called Charter to schedule a replacement. 

Of course, the new one didn't work and the tech (same as last time) spent a couple hours working with dispatch to get it sorted out. He called his supervisor, who referred him to the IT department. It was determined that the CableCARD wasn't properly set up when it was brought into inventory. There is a ".tar" file associated with each CableCARD, which must be loaded into the head-end. I don't know exactly what is in the file, but it probably matches the serial number to the card's MAC address, and contains the card's public key for encrypted communication between the head-end and the card. Anyway, this file wasn't loaded into the system, so nothing would work. The guy in the IT department had to request it from SA and load it into the system. I could see that had occurred because after several hours, the card showed 94 EMMs processed, as well as a change from "Not Staged" to "Ready" status on the CA screen. 

However, the card wasn't paired, so I had to call Customer Service to get this done. The first CSR was clueless and just sent a regular hit to no effect. I asked the second one to send a "host validation" hit, but that didn't do anything until he sent a regular hit as well. Now I have all my channels back. At this point, I'm just waiting to see if my analog channels get turned off again.

I think that analog channel loss may be another head-end configuration error, but will wait and see. I'm learning more than any customer should need to know about cable system internals. Maybe I should apply for a support position with either TiVo or one of the cable operators.


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## beauford1313

I was just told by a customer service rep that cablecards are not available in my area. Is that possible?


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## brettatk

beauford1313 said:


> I was just told by a customer service rep that cablecards are not available in my area. Is that possible?


It depends on what cable company you have. If it's one of the big ones (Charter, Comcast, TW, etc) then no it's not possible, they have to supply you with a cablecard. That is unless they are out of stock and are waiting for more to come in. But there are some areas which do not have many subscribers that were issued a waiver and are not required to offer them. If you give us your location or your Cable provider then perhaps we could find out.


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## beauford1313

My provider is Charter and I'm in Dalton, GA. North of Atlanta. Not a huge place, but by no means a small place either. I haven't actually purchased an HD Tivo yet. I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row and see if I'll actually be able to use it if I get it.


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## brettatk

beauford1313 said:


> My provider is Charter and I'm in Dalton, GA. North of Atlanta. Not a huge place, but by no means a small place either. I haven't actually purchased an HD Tivo yet. I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row and see if I'll actually be able to use it if I get it.


I live in GA as well. As far as I know, Charter is required to offer you cable cards. Maybe someone here can point you to the FCC mandate that says cable operators must supply cable cards unless they have a waiver which Charter would most likely not fall into. Then atleast you can arm yourself with the info before calling and talking with someone.


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## beauford1313

After reading some of the stories on here I am fully expecting this to be a hassle. I can't believe that I am actually going to have to explain to Charter that they are required _by law_ to provide me with this service.


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## SpiritualPoet

Curiously, must a Series 3 TiVo have the cable cards installed in order for the machine to record basic or extended basic channels? (Or are those cards for the purpose of recording from "premium", i.e. scrambled and/or HDTV channels?)


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## GlenH100

SpiritualPoet said:


> Curiously, must a Series 3 TiVo have the cable cards installed in order for the machine to record basic or extended basic channels? (Or are those cards for the purpose of recording from "premium", i.e. scrambled and/or HDTV channels?)


CableCARDs are required in order to record any digital channels, even the ones sent in the clear. In addition to its encryption function, the CableCARD provides access to the channel map, which relates QAM sub-channels to the published channel numbers. The TiVo can tune them, but there isn't any guide data for the raw QAM streams.


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## gbshuler

beauford1313 said:


> I was just told by a customer service rep that cablecards are not available in my area. Is that possible?


Don't know if it is true, but this number is reportedly a special TiVo customer service line to help you negotiate "push back" from cable providers.
866-986-8486. Let us know if you learn anything. I plan on getting Charter digital cable with 4 CableCARD's this weekend.


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## rainwater

GlenH100 said:


> CableCARDs are required in order to record any digital channels, even the ones sent in the clear. In addition to its encryption function, the CableCARD provides access to the channel map, which relates QAM sub-channels to the published channel numbers. The TiVo can tune them, but there isn't any guide data for the raw QAM streams.


To be clear:

1) CableCards are not required to receive in the clear QAM channels. You can receive those just fine without CableCards with a TiVo HD/S3. However, the CableCards provide the channel maps, so without them you will not get guide data for digital cable channels.
2) CableCards are not required to receive OTA digital channels. These work just fine without cablecards and you get associated guide data normally.


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## stephie314

Ok Tivo People,
I've just finished the Charter cable card vs Tivo nightmare. This is what I've learned. On the Tivo Series 3 HD, you MUST insist that they bring you the MULTISTREAM CABLE CARD!!!! They will tell you on the phone that it doesn't exist. It does. All my problems are now solved. Series 3 will not work properly with single-stream cable cards. Those single stream cards are also old!!! So that's what I know from the past 3 weeks of dealing with charter. I hope it helps those of you with charter and are upgrading to HD


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## GlenH100

stephie314 said:


> Ok Tivo People,
> I've just finished the Charter cable card vs Tivo nightmare. This is what I've learned. On the Tivo Series 3 HD, you MUST insist that they bring you the MULTISTREAM CABLE CARD!!!! They will tell you on the phone that it doesn't exist. It does. All my problems are now solved. Series 3 will not work properly with single-stream cable cards. Those single stream cards are also old!!! So that's what I know from the past 3 weeks of dealing with charter. I hope it helps those of you with charter and are upgrading to HD


That is not true. Both the S3 and the HD TiVo work just fine with single stream CableCARDs, aka S-cards. They are older, and require one for each tuner, while a single M-card will suffice on the HD. (I'm not sure whether the S3 running the latest software release still requires two cards.)

The problem you experienced with getting the S-cards to work is more likely related to the problems I experienced with my first and third M-cards. That is, Charter didn't get the ".tar" file with the card's public key loaded into their head end. Without that, the card will never work, and most techs don't have enough CableCARD experience to know what to do when a card won't go from "Not Staged" to "Ready".


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## Talsin

stephie314 said:


> Ok Tivo People,
> I've just finished the Charter cable card vs Tivo nightmare. This is what I've learned. On the Tivo Series 3 HD, you MUST insist that they bring you the MULTISTREAM CABLE CARD!!!! They will tell you on the phone that it doesn't exist. It does. All my problems are now solved. Series 3 will not work properly with single-stream cable cards. Those single stream cards are also old!!! So that's what I know from the past 3 weeks of dealing with charter. I hope it helps those of you with charter and are upgrading to HD


Stephie,

Resident of Mcdonough here, just south of ATL. We have a Tivo HD with two singles in it. Charter was an absolute disaster when we got it. We never had any trouble getting the cards but expect to spend the next three or so billing cycles getting your bill "fixed". We have had them for about 5 months now and both are working great.

Curt


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## mrro82

I got my card installed on tuesday. I was expecting 2 S-cards but when he showed up he only had 1 M-card. Apparently the phone reps are behind in what they offer card wise. My installation went great. Got kind of worried after it got done loading and organizing the guide as nothing would appear on the screen. He made the tivo restart and when it came back up everything worked great. I have the series 3 Tivo HD DVR. What a huge improvement this box is compared to the crap I got from charter. Anyone know if a future upgrade will add a reminder feature? Other than that I am totally in love with my box. Can't believe I have gone this long without one.  Next up I am going to buy the external hard HDD so I don't have to worry about space.


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## jenab

Good Lord! I am at my wits end. I called Charter today and told them to come get their junk.

When I first ordered HD from Charter, the guy comes out 8 hours late, puts in the hd box, takes my old box (I didn't have the TiVo box at the time) and never even hooks up the HD!! It was after 6pm and he just told me the channels were "downloading" and to wait an hour and I would have my HD.

That was a Friday. On Monday I called Charter and told them I did not have HD. When they couldn't fix it by "sending a signal to the box" they looked at my account and lo and behold, the first idiot had made an appointment for someone to come out and finish what he didn't finish!!! No one bothered to tell me. 

So, anyway, The next guy comes out and was surprised that the guy had not finished the job. Oh btw, this guy was several hours late as well. So I get the same "channels are downloading" thing from him and he leaves. 

Voila! I have HD. For about 3 days. The next thing I know I'm only getting the local channels. 

The do what they do and by the next day I had them back. 

Then my TiVo arrives & I order the Mcard. The guy comes out and sets things up. Hooray! He knows how to set it up with Tivo!!

I have HD. For about a week. I call again. Another guy comes out again. Says it's my cable coming into the house. Snips off the end of the cable and puts a new end on. 

Once again, I have HD! For about 3 days. Now it is what they call "tiling" - all my HD channels are like colorful little squares in a patchwork on my tv screen. 

I got my bill and I've been charged for all the f##k-ups they have done. They tell me "we don't give a $20 credit if the guy is late." "Well, we had to make that many service calls" I told the non-english speaking person on the phone that all of those service calls were made because of their screw-ups and I wasn't going to pay for them. She told me (I think) that I had to pay for them.

I told her "Come get your crap" What? "Come get your crap. I'm not dealing with you any longer. Cut off my service."

She turns me over to Customer Retention. I went through the above story with Mike and told him I wasn't going to pay for any of their nonsense and they can come get their stuff. 

Mike grudgingly refunds me the charges and asks me to call back tonight when I am home and they will "go through some troubleshooting steps with me"

I'm guessing I'll get "We'll send a signal to your card. Are you getting the channels now?" crap. I've gone through that at least 5 times in the last week.

Okay. If you have managed to read this far, does anyone have any suggestions for me? I haven't called them yet. I'm just not ready to deal with the jerks. 

Thanks for your time.


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## madneon

mrro82 said:


> I got my card installed on tuesday. I was expecting 2 S-cards but when he showed up he only had 1 M-card. Apparently the phone reps are behind in what they offer card wise. My installation went great. Got kind of worried after it got done loading and organizing the guide as nothing would appear on the screen. He made the tivo restart and when it came back up everything worked great. I have the series 3 Tivo HD DVR. What a huge improvement this box is compared to the crap I got from charter. Anyone know if a future upgrade will add a reminder feature? Other than that I am totally in love with my box. Can't believe I have gone this long without one.  Next up I am going to buy the external hard HDD so I don't have to worry about space.


So just to set the record straight you have a S3 ( Not a THD) and you are running a single M-Card and have dual tuner functionality?? Just checkin...


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## mrro82

I have a Tivo HD and it is a series 3. At least the front of the tivo says it is and yes I am only using 1 M-card and have dual tuners.


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## rainwater

mrro82 said:


> I have a Tivo HD and it is a series 3. At least the front of the tivo says it is and yes I am only using 1 M-card and have dual tuners.


Yes, the TiVo HD is a Series3 but people here refer to the original series3 as a S3 and the Tivo HD as a Tivo HD  We can thank TiVo for this confusing naming scheme.


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## GadgetVirtuoso

We recently added a TiVo HD unit. I was hoping it wouldn't be the headache it was getting two working cards for the S3 we did last year. The tech showed up and the card of course didn't work. He didn't have any spare cards, how can a company send out installers with only 1 card???

The installer was told it would take a couple hours before the card would work. I knew better, if the card wasn't working by the time he left it wouldn't start later. Several hours later I called CS because the card wasn't working. They scheduled a service call. Service calls are a joke for cable cards. The tech of course didn't get the message it was a cable card, so of course showed up with no cards. 24 hours later they still didn't have any cards to install. They were now telling me there was some kind of problem with the cards. I was then told I would hear back when they had some, that was several weeks ago now. No one has ever called fortunately however the card mystically started working one night. No explanation as to why since the original card had been installed a week prior. I don't expect to ever hear from Charter. 

Every tech I've had out either shows up without a cable card or had never installed one. I think only one manager I spoke with even know that TiVos could accept a cable card. I've had CS tell me that it was my equipment and tried to tell me they can't support it. Be prepared to argue and be frustrated with CS, the techs but most of all know that they are required to provide cable cards as these TiVos are CableLabs Certified. 

The S3 does need 2 cards, even if they are the newer M-Cards while the TiVo HD can use a single M-Card. If the S3 doesn't have two cards it can only record digital channels on one tuner. The second tuner can record but only on the unencrypted channels.

As it stands right now I won't ever let Charter replace the cable cards unless they ever upgrade to the newest cards and TiVo starts supporting VOD and PPV. We never used VOD much since it rarely worked when we actually wanted to watch something. As for PPV its highway robbery imo so I locked it down when we had a digital cable box.


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## GlenH100

Matthew,
You probably had the same problem that I did; for a CableCARD to work correctly with a one-way device (UDCP - unidirectional digital cable product), the card's ".tar" file, which contains, among other things, the card's public key (think PGP), must be loaded into the cable system's head-end. 

What probably happened is that the Charter head-end finally got the ".tar" file loaded into their system.

Two things must occur when a cable system warehouse receives a batch of CableCARDs, either directly from SA, or in the case of Charter from their central warehouse. This process is called "staging", and is somewhat different from the set-top box staging process that they are familiar with. (1) The serial numbers must be entered into the billing system (scan barcodes on packing list), and (2) the EMM ".tar" file(s) must be loaded into the DNCS (Digital Network Control System). 

CableCARDs will not work until both steps have been completed. It appears that Charter falls down on step 2 a bit, leading to failed installs, unhappy customers, and frustrated installers. The only fix for a CableCARD that won't get past "Not staged" is for the installer to get in touch with the IT department serving his area and have the IT guy request the EMM .tar file for that card from SA and load it into his DNCS.

Another quirk when pairing the host to the CableCARD from the billing system (what customer service sees) is that they must follow a host validation hit with an EMM hit for anything to happen. 

If the CableCARDs were properly staged, installation could be a simple customer self-install process. Just call in to CS, read off the numbers from the appropriate screen, CS sends the hits, everything works.


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## GlenH100

Now we start resolving the billing issues. I already got them to credit about $20 for the time from the initial installation until they finally got it working (though my analog channels still go away about once a week).

There is a $5/month item on my bill called "HD Equipment Upgrade" that I don't understand. Has anyone seen this charge, and gotten a satisfactory response from Charter as to what it represents?


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## brettatk

GlenH100 said:


> There is a $5/month item on my bill called "HD Equipment Upgrade" that I don't understand. Has anyone seen this charge, and gotten a satisfactory response from Charter as to what it represents?


Do you still have an HD Reciever? I kept my HD Receiver so I could watch VOD or PPV. I was under the impression that the $5 was for it.


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## GlenH100

brettatk said:


> Do you still have an HD Reciever? I kept my HD Receiver so I could watch VOD or PPV. I was under the impression that the $5 was for it.


I never had an HD receiver. I went from expanded basic to HD with the HD Tier. I'm not being charged for a CableCARD, which is why I think that something is fishy.

What I get out of Charter is that the $5/mo is to get the HD signal on the wire, which makes no sense at all.

--Glen


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## mrro82

With charter you can still access PPV movies and whatnot you just need to call in and have them authorize it. VOD is still a no-go.


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## brettatk

GlenH100 said:


> I never had an HD receiver. I went from expanded basic to HD with the HD Tier. I'm not being charged for a CableCARD, which is why I think that something is fishy.
> 
> What I get out of Charter is that the $5/mo is to get the HD signal on the wire, which makes no sense at all.
> 
> --Glen


I bet your next months bill will have the charge for the cable card. It took mine almost two months to show up depending on the date you had it installed and when the bill rolled out. As far as I know Charters charges the same amount across the country of $2 per cable card.


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## karenmae1983

Before I had the cards installed on my Tivo, we had HD service and a cable box. I bought the tivo to put in my room and kept the box in the living room. I understand the two dollars a month for the card rental, but can anyone help me understand why they are billing me $29.99 a month for additional service?


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## JJCalifornia

I have a new problem with my Charter cable cards. When the TiVO works it is wonderful, but having to put up with absolutely terrible customer service from Charter once every 3-6 months is getting to be unbearable.

Everything works fine except, the cable HDTV channels.. local HDTV channels in Los Angeles work fine, but Discovery, ESPN, HBO and Showtime HD Channels get an error message and don't come in. This is a new one and has only been occurring recently, first to one cable card and now both. 

When I call Charter about the problem, they say they will restart the card, but they don't seem to have any other answers and each call is 15 minutes to get to that answer. 

Experience with having tech's, come out is that they will not touch the box and seem to never have any spare cards, if they do show up. Every third one is brilliant.

On a related note, Charter was the only thing that I could find that would work with the TiVO in Glendale, CA, not directTV or AT&T, does anyone know whether I have other choices now, or am I stuck with Charter?


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## rainwater

JJCalifornia said:


> When I call Charter about the problem, they say they will restart the card, but they don't seem to have any other answers and each call is 15 minutes to get to that answer.


When you call Charter, you need to have each CableCard serial # (written on the card), cablecard id, host id, and data id. I would have them re-enter it into the system and re-initialize each card. If they aren't re-entering their numbers, all they are doing is sending a refresh which isn't going to help if the cards aren't validated.


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## GlenH100

JJCalifornia said:


> Everything works fine except, the cable HDTV channels.. local HDTV channels in Los Angeles work fine, but Discovery, ESPN, HBO and Showtime HD Channels get an error message and don't come in. This is a new one and has only been occurring recently, first to one cable card and now both.


What is the error message? That should point to what needs to be done.

Note that you can send an EMM refresh yourself by choosing the option to "reset your cable box". This is the same thing that the CSRs will do once you finally get to them.


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## GlenH100

I have a recurring problem that I don't know where to turn to fix. Every week or two, my analog channels go to black (gray). HD Lifeline and HD Tier are fine. This persists until I restart the TiVo HD unit.

I do not know whether this is a head-end configuration issue or a TiVo problem. Has anyone seen this before?


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## GreenMonkey

Hey, newbie here.

I just switched over from Dish's vip622 to a Tivo HD with lifetime on it & Charter.

I'm running expanded basic cable only with a cable card - just for local HD channels.

I specifically mentioned to 2 different CSRs I wanted a multistream cablecard. The tech showed up today with 2 single stream cards...said that was all they had at the office. One of them was DOA (Tivo reported an error when it was plugged in). Got one single stream card working fine.

He called someone who said they would bring one to him...they drove out, came back an hour later with a multistream card. Switched over to that and it seems fine.

I did somehow hang the Tivo locals to a black screen (like the poster above) while playing around with the video settings a few times (maybe I hung the cable card?)...

Anyway, not too painful.


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## rainwater

GreenMonkey said:


> I did somehow hang the Tivo locals to a black screen (like the poster above) while playing around with the video settings a few times (maybe I hung the cable card?)...


Is this a new TiVo? What version is it running? Is it connected via HDMI?


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## brettatk

If you didnt provide them with any information from the cable card screen then there is no way it would work. When the tech gets there the first thing he will do is call them up and give them information off that screen. Good luck.


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## brettatk

I'm not sure then. I guess it's possible if they are letting subscribers pick up the cable cards that the info is already there. But it still needs to be tied to your account or did they do that when you picked up the card? Since this is a Charter install thread I'm not sure it would relate to you since you are with Comcast. It would be nice if they allowed you to pick up the cards but from experience and reading about installs on here, the success rate on working cards is not that great. Chances are you'd have to keep going back to get more cards.


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## t325

Called Charter about the Cable Cards today....the guy on the phone seemed to know what he was talking about, although he told me they only have the single stream cards. I made the appointment, and that's the part I'm worried about. I don't think I've ever had a service appointment with Charter go 100% smoothly and I don't expect any different. Lets see how they'll screw it up. They're supposed to come out on Wednesday between 3-5 PM, so I'm sure sometime in February I'll be able to report back that the cable cards are working.


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## brettatk

Be prepared to have them come out more than once. It's just one of those things where something can easily go wrong. *DO NOT* let him leave until all your channels are working. *DO NOT* let him tell you it takes an hour for some of the channels to show up. If you let him leave and you are not getting *ALL* of your channels you may as well call them back up and schedule another appointment. You do not need to run Guided Setup, you can test the channels from the cablecard settings screen. Good Luck!


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## t325

brettatk said:


> Be prepared to have them come out more than once. It's just one of those things where something can easily go wrong. *DO NOT* let him leave until all your channels are working. *DO NOT* let him tell you it takes an hour for some of the channels to show up. If you let him leave and you are not getting *ALL* of your channels you may as well call them back up and schedule another appointment. You do not need to run Guided Setup, you can test the channels from the cablecard settings screen. Good Luck!


I'll keep that in mind. So basically, all of the standard tier, digital tier, and the premiums I subscribe to (HBO, Cinemax and Starz) should all be there immediately?


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## brettatk

t325 said:


> I'll keep that in mind. So basically, all of the standard tier, digital tier, and the premiums I subscribe to (HBO, Cinemax and Starz) should all be there immediately?


If the cablecards are paired properly you should have all of your channels within a few minutes. After he's installed the cards find the test channels in the cablecard option screen. Then make sure you test all your HD channels, especially the movie channels. I personally feel like they give you the "it can take up to an hour for the channels to come through" speech because they know the problems with cablecard installs and do not want to have to stay there until the problem is fixed. Then when you realize the channels are not going to come in they are off the hook and you have to reschedule for another tech to come out. Hopefully the tech will bring some extra cards. You might want to confirm that the tech will have two S-Cards. There is a great lack of communication between dispatch and the techs. The first time they showed up at my place he only had one S-Card. I told him it was for a Tivo HD and that I needed two. So he came back the next day with only two cards. Well one of them did not work. So he had to come back again the next day and brought five cards with him. We went through two more that did not work but eventually got two that did work. He never could get an M-Card working so I settled for two S-Cards.


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## Geemer

My Series 3 began reporting that it was trying to update the firmware on CableCard2 a couple of days ago. It would bring up that message for almost exactly 1 hour, then it would show me live TV for 1 minute, then it would bring the message back. We are using Charter Cable in Fort Worth, Texas. This Series 3 has been installed and operating with these same cable cards since December 2006.

So I did lots of forum reading, but didn't find any specific references that sounded like this specific problem. I did a bit of basic troubleshooting on my own. During the 1 minute each hour where it no longer showed the message and all things appeared normal, I would try different things. I tried restarting TiVo, I tried turning off all of the other cable devices in the house and restarting TiVo, no difference.

Ultimately I found that if I powered down TiVo and removed Cable Card 2, that when TiVo restarted it worked just fine, with the exception that it only had one card now. So I suppose that somehow Cable Card 2 went bad.

I have a service call scheduled for Monday. They are supposed to replace CC2.

Anyone seen anything like this before? A firmware update loop?


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## Geemer

The rest of the story...

So the cable guy showed up with no cable cards and wanted to test the card that I had pulled from the TiVo, but said he had to visit another customer down the street. He left for about 40 minutes or so, and returned with a cable card. My guess is he had not dealt with a cable card before so he showed up, looked the situation over, and then left to talk to a supervisor or more experienced tech.

He re-tested the card I had pulled, and concluded that it was in fact bad. Then he put in the replacement card, called in to activate it, and bada-bing, everything is working again.

All in all not a bad experience with the Charter cable tech, and we are back in dual tuner TiVo heaven.


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## shrike4242

Well, after some wrangling with Charter over the phone, they're coming out to install the two CableCards in my new S3. Won't be for a couple of weeks, though I did have them put in the notes to bring extra spares with them, as well as request Motorola M-cards, as they seem to have much better luck than the SA cards. 

I ran into issues with the install of the single M-card on my Tivo HD, though that was because they had my programming on the back end completely screwed up. All of my HD channels were screwy, as were a number of my SD channels in the premium range. This also affected the Tivos I had with digital cable boxes on them. Took a while to get it all fixed, so hopefully, I won't go into this mess a second time. 

Is there anything I should look out for after they've been installed? I know running through Guided Setup isn't needed, though seemed like a good idea when I had the issues with the Tivo HD. I'm in the Saint Louis, MO area, if that makes any difference.


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## GreenMonkey

rainwater said:


> Is this a new TiVo? What version is it running? Is it connected via HDMI?


Yeah, it was new.

I noticed it was running old firmware (8 something). So I gave it a day and the next morning I rebooted it, and it started installing the 9.3 update.

Been very stable ever since.

I'm running it via component video / optical out since the HDMI inputs on my Onkyo 605 are being used by my HD-DVD player (XA2) and PS3.

I had some troubles a few days later with pixelation and channel dropouts. Turned out after a few phone calls it was an outage in my area. Problems pretty much cleared up after the outage ended a few days later.


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## t325

My experience with Charter in St. Louis: The tech comes, and in about 30 minutes, he's done installing 2 Scards (no Mcards unfortunately). Before he leaves, I test a couple channels and they work, so I thought everything was fine. I knew that was too good to be true. Later, I try to tune to some of the channels in the HD tier which we have, and get a black screen. I call Charter, wait on hold for about 30 minutes, only for the person there to tell me that the cards were not programmed with the HD tier, and they cannot program them remotely. She sets up a truck roll for next week to have new cards brought out. I ask her "So everytime I add a tier, or everytime you guys add new channels to the lineup, I need to get new cards?" and she tells me that yes, that is the case.

I knew this was a load of BS, so I called TiVo's CC tech support who confirmed that it is indeed a load of BS. I called Charter back and talked with another guy. While I'm on hold with him, I tune to one of the channels I wasn't getting before, and lo and behold, it's working. I try all the HD channels and they do work. So when he gets back on the line, I tell him I don't know what happened, but they're working, and to cancel the truck roll.

While watching The Departed in all its HD and 5.1 glory, I get a call back from the first person at Charter who I spoke with, and she's like "Ummm, yeah, I brought this issue up with my supervisor and it turns out I was wrong. We can reprogram the cards remotely, try viewing one of the HD channels and see if it works." I tell her it does, and that's that.

Later, I switched it to one of the SD digital tier channels, and am greeted by that lovely black screen. At that point, I was just sick and tired of dealing with those morons, so I will call them tomorrow to get it sorted out. 

At least I was able to get the $30 installation fee reversed.


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## shrike4242

t325, that was the same issue I had with the MCard install on my Tivo HD, and it was a previous issue with the way they had my channels set up on my account. I also ended up getting the $30 reversed, mainly because of the same issues, nothing worked 100&#37;.

This time around with my S3, I'm running through Guided setup and checking every single 100+ number channel before they get to leave. If all the channels come up, then I'll be OK with it being done.


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## rainwater

shrike4242 said:


> This time around with my S3, I'm running through Guided setup and checking every single 100+ number channel before they get to leave. If all the channels come up, then I'll be OK with it being done.


This is why most techs will leave before they verify the cards. DO NOT RUN GUIDED SETUP while the installer is there. It has nothing to do with the cards working or not. You can use the test channels feature to verify the channels on both cards. In fact, if you use live tv to verify the cards, it is very hard to verify both cards since it always uses the same cablecard unless both are on encrypted channels. Once the tech leaves, then run guided setup. Making the installer wait 30 minutes to download guide data is a sure way to get them to not verify the cards correctly.


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## shrike4242

rainwater said:


> This is why most techs will leave before they verify the cards. DO NOT RUN GUIDED SETUP while the installer is there. It has nothing to do with the cards working or not. You can use the test channels feature to verify the channels on both cards. In fact, if you use live tv to verify the cards, it is very hard to verify both cards since it always uses the same cablecard unless both are on encrypted channels. Once the tech leaves, then run guided setup. Making the installer wait 30 minutes to download guide data is a sure way to get them to not verify the cards correctly.


I did test some random channels and the ones I tested worked. When I went to other channels after the tech had left, a number of them weren't working, at least 50% of them, when I went through all the digital channels.

Which is why I'm hoping this to not be an issue the second time around, as they swore up and down backwards and forwards that it shouldn't be an issue in the future.

Then again, if they just let me have the CableCards without needing a tech, then that wouldn't have them sending out one of their techs to put cards in my Tivo and call them in on the phone.


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## brettatk

shrike4242 said:


> *I did test some random channels* and the ones I tested worked. When I went to other channels after the tech had left, a number of them weren't working, at least 50% of them, when I went through all the digital channels.


That right there was your problem. You really need to test ALL channels before the tech leaves. It does not take long to flip through all of your channels using the test channels function. Don't expect the tech to stay there for you to run and complete guided setup. I certainly wouldnt if it was me. It would be different if it was a necessity, but it isn't.


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## shrike4242

Well, my install happened on Saturday without any issues. Both cable cards were installed and paired up, so it looks like they're working OK.


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## GlenH100

brettatk said:


> I bet your next months bill will have the charge for the cable card. It took mine almost two months to show up depending on the date you had it installed and when the bill rolled out. As far as I know Charters charges the same amount across the country of $2 per cable card.


This month, I received a "Residential Products & Services Price List" attached to my bill. I believe that I finally understand what the "HD Equipment Upgrade" item is.

To recap, here's the cable portion of my bill:


Code:


Digital Home          40.99
HD Equipment Upgrade   5.00
HD Tier                8.00

Digital Home is supposed to include a cable box, and has a list price of $43.99. Cable box rental is listed as $5/mo, and CableCARD rental as $2/mo, so the $40.99 price is for Digital Home with a CableCARD. So far, so good.

There is an item listed under "Other Services" that appears to match, more or less, the "HD Equipment Uprgrade" charge. It is listed as "Interactive Guide Services**". "**Per digital receiver, provides access to full functionality of the electronic program guide - required to receive program information, perform efficient channel surfing, parental controls and ordering PPV & VOD." A closer look at the description of "Digital Home" indicates that "Interactive Guide Services" is included, so I'm back where I started.

Of course, I don't get most of those features because I'm not using their cable box. I may have to take this up with my franchising authority.


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## norcoast

I picked up a series 3 Tivo in April and had Charter (Crescent City) set up the cable cards. The service tech was great and worked through the process even though he had never set one up. We had the newest cards on the market at the time. Everything has been working wonderfully until a week ago. At random times the service screen for cablecard 2 pops up and advises me that the screen is being displayed for the cable provider. Looking at the screen it looks like the one the tech used to set the cards up. I noticed that there is nothing showing for the eCM Mac address and no way to edit the screen. It also says "refresh" under the "Hosts reports 1-way RF only". I can only clear the screen by pushing clear on my tivo controller. Then the TV goes back to what I was watching. This seems to happen daily.
Is there something I can do to correct this or do I need to call Charter or Tivo?


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## thilt

norcoast said:


> I picked up a series 3 Tivo in April and had Charter (Crescent City) set up the cable cards. The service tech was great and worked through the process even though he had never set one up. We had the newest cards on the market at the time. Everything has been working wonderfully until a week ago. At random times the service screen for cablecard 2 pops up and advises me that the screen is being displayed for the cable provider. Looking at the screen it looks like the one the tech used to set the cards up. I noticed that there is nothing showing for the eCM Mac address and no way to edit the screen. It also says "refresh" under the "Hosts reports 1-way RF only". I can only clear the screen by pushing clear on my tivo controller. Then the TV goes back to what I was watching. This seems to happen daily.
> Is there something I can do to correct this or do I need to call Charter or Tivo?


I'm with Charter in St. Louis. I get the same screen but it's not random. It pops up every time I turn to channel 104. (sometimes it says CableCard 1 and sometimes CableCard2 depending on which one is being accessed at the time) I'm on my third set of cable cards in the last three weeks, all with the same issue. Charter says there is nothing else they can do, it's a TIVO problem. TIVO says it's a Charter problem. Luckily it's a channel I don't watch much but it's still frustrating? Any ideas? (I've already tried kickstart 57, 58 and 52 in desperation)


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## Roderigo

thilt said:


> I'm with Charter in St. Louis. I get the same screen but it's not random. It pops up every time I turn to channel 104. (sometimes it says CableCard 1 and sometimes CableCard2 depending on which one is being accessed at the time) I'm on my third set of cable cards in the last three weeks, all with the same issue. Charter says there is nothing else they can do, it's a TIVO problem. TIVO says it's a Charter problem. Luckily it's a channel I don't watch much but it's still frustrating? Any ideas? (I've already tried kickstart 57, 58 and 52 in desperation)


Tivo wins on this one... If this screen pops up when tuning to a channel it means the card isn't paired, and you're trying to watch a copy protected channel. Only your cable company can fix this one.


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## norcoast

norcoast said:


> I picked up a series 3 Tivo in April and had Charter (Crescent City) set up the cable cards. The service tech was great and worked through the process even though he had never set one up. We had the newest cards on the market at the time. Everything has been working wonderfully until a week ago. At random times the service screen for cablecard 2 pops up and advises me that the screen is being displayed for the cable provider. Looking at the screen it looks like the one the tech used to set the cards up. I noticed that there is nothing showing for the eCM Mac address and no way to edit the screen. It also says "refresh" under the "Hosts reports 1-way RF only". I can only clear the screen by pushing clear on my tivo controller. Then the TV goes back to what I was watching. This seems to happen daily.
> Is there something I can do to correct this or do I need to call Charter or Tivo?


I called Charter on Sunday afternoon after having the same screen pop up again in the middle of the Indy car race. I spoke with a tech and they sent a signal to my troubled card to refresh it. The entire call took about 15 minutes. So far the screen hasn't popped back up. I know next time just to tell them the cable card needs to be refreshed. Oh, after fixing the problem they tried to get me to "upgrade" to a charter DVR. No thanks, I have my Tivo.


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## bdconn

My wife was fedup with our Charter HD DVR and wanted to go back to Tivo, So, being a good husband i went down to Best Buy and got a Tivo HD on Saturday July 26. The tivo setup was a dream and went without a hitch.

Then i called the Fort Worth office of Charter Cable to get the Cablecards installed. Now here is where i become puzzled, Charter would not let me come down to pickup the cards because a Tech HAD to install them. I say OK and setup an appt. for Monday. The rep that made the appt. assured me that the tech coming out would be a Charter employee and not a contractor, and that he would be trained in the installation of CableCards, and he would be bringing several cards. Well, guess what showed up Monday. A contractor with no knowledge of cablecards much less any experience, and he only had one card. I had to walk him thru how to install a cablecard in a Tivo. Now if the cablecards can only be installed by a tech why do they send out techs that do not know how to install them? Now once we had the card in the tivo, it immediately went into the firmware updating phase, and did that for about an hour before saying firmware update failed.

The tech talked to his office and I talked to Tivo cablecard support. The Techs office started by saying that the firmware update came from Tivo and if it failed it was a bad Tivo. I showed him that the firmware of the Cablecard had to come from the cable company, which he finally excepted. Then his office told him to just leave the card and it might start working in a few hours. Again i told him if it ain't working now it isn't going to. I told the Tech that it was a bad cablecard, and his response was " OK, do you want me to leave it or take it with me?" I was truly astonished, I told him " What use is a bad cablecard that doesn't work to me?" I made him take it with him.

I now have made another appt. for this coming Wednesday. But really, these Charter people seem clueless about cableards. And I am anticipating a long fight with them to get one working card.

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make this process easier?


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## norcoast

Every Charter tech I talk with tells me that the cable cards are new to them and they have very little if any experience with them. 
Make sure they bring the Motorola cards, they are the newest ones Charter carries. Also make sure they get the ID numbers of each card correct and what slot each card is in. 
I was having a few minor problems after installation and it ends up the original Charter Tech gave his service center the wrong slots and numbers. Once that was straightened out by a different tech everything has worked well. and they didn't charge me for the second visit.
It helped that the worker at the service center was the most experienced one with cable cards.


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## bdconn

I thought it only fair to report back about a success with Charter, finally. When I setup my second appointment to install a cablecard, i told them I wanted a supervisor or a manager, and I wanted them to bring at least two cards. They actually did it. They sent out Brian, a supervisor, and he brought 3 cards. He had never installed one in a Tivo before, but, he was receptive to my help. I copied down all the numbers for him and he called them into the office. Within a minute I had all the channels I'm paying for, Basic, Premium, and HD. Brian was there less than 15 minutes, and he left a happy customer.

Now mt only problem is this, Since Charter cable says cablecards must be installed by a tech, and I had to walk both of their techs thru installing a cablecard. I'm thinking I need to bill Charter Cable for Technical services so the two nice techs who were at my house will not get in trouble for not following the rule about only techs installing the cards.


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## supie

Hi,

I have Three Series 3 Tivos, when I installed the first two about a year ago and 6 months ago, no problems setting up the cable cards ... it was very smooth.

Not so with number three Series 3, I have had Charter out twice now, the first time they did not have the M cards Activated. The second time, New Scientific Atlanta M cards were installed and were Authorized and Paired and they work, but with problems I am only getting the BASIC CHANNELS and ONLY the BROADCAST HD CHANNELS. Only Channels 2-99 and 781-788 work.

I am subscribed to (but not getting) all the Premium (HBO, Showtime, Starz, Encore, etc) Movie View, and HD View (all the rest of HD Channels).

On the bad channels, I see the Channel info but not the show, the screen is black.

When I am on a non-funcitiong channel, On the Cable Card CA Screen it shows: 
"Status Not Staged" where on my other (working) Tivo it shows "Status Ready"
Also on page 3, Line 2 it shows "N/A-5-Ent-0-0-0" where on my other Tivo it shows "N/A-4-Ent-3106-2-99"

On the Cable Card CP Info Screen it shows:
"Auth Status:CP Auth Received"
"VerifyKey Status:OK"
Same as on my other Tivo.

I was told on the phone by Charter (a so called Tivo Expert) that the problem is the cable cards need the following:

1. The cards have to be set up at the cable companies Head End with the TIVO SERIAL NUMBER.
2. The M cards need to say Tivo on the card. (I am assuming that once the set them up with the Tivo Serial Number they write "Tivo" on the cards)

I know Charter did not ask me for the serial number on my first two Tivo's, but the Tech said that he thought this was a new requirement in recent months.

SO MY QUESTIONS ARE:
1. Is this true that Tivo Serial Number has to be set up at the head end?
2. Would the cards not being setup with the Tivo Serial Number's cause the cards to receive some channels but not others?
3. Any other thoughts on why I would get some channels but not others?
4. On the Cable Card CA Screen it shows: "Status Not Staged" does Status Not Staged tell us anything?

Thanks


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## jrm01

supie,

As I posted on your tivo.com post:

There are no such things such as TiVo Cablecards, nor is there anything in the authorization process that would require the TiVo serial number. It does, however, usually require the cablecard serial number, and the Host Number, which is an internally generated number which identifies the TiVo. 

However, it is possible (although I've never heard of it) that your local Charter office has tested a batch of cablecards on TiVos and have manually written TiVo on it just to make their life easier. It's also possible that they are recording the TiVo Serial number in their system (I have no idea why) for some control purpose. The lack of it however would not hinder the cablecard authorization process. 

It still appears that the cards were not properly authorized/paired. There are several other posters on this thread who were told that the "Not Staged" message meant that the cards were not properly initialized in the office before they were released to the field. That may be your problem.


----------



## supie

jrm01 said:


> supie,
> 
> As I posted on your tivo.com post:
> 
> It still appears that the cards were not properly authorized/paired. There are several other posters on this thread who were told that the "Not Staged" message meant that the cards were not properly initialized in the office before they were released to the field. That may be your problem.


Thanks again for you prompt response.

I am waiting today, for a call from Charter to come out with the new cards, which should be initialized at the Charter Head End Office.

I have read many other threads about Not Staged and the common theme seems to be, in the CA Screen, in addition to the Status Not Staged which needs to be Ready, that IF the last line in the first page is EMMs Processed: 0 it should be a number NOT ZERO such as EMMs Processed: 34. Here is what mine shows:

*CA Screen (Incorrect Settings)
-----
Status: Not Staged
CA Time-Waiting For Update...
Time GBAM: 0
App GBAM: 0
EMMs Processed: Processed: 0*

*CA Screen (Correct Settings from another Tivo)
-----
Status: Ready
CA Time-August 13, 2008  4:45AM GMT
Time GBAM: 62195
App GBAM: 76239
EMMs Processed: 38*

*Question 1.* What can I tell the Charter Techs at their office to do to send the proper signals or EMMs? If I understand it correctly, that they have to hit the cable cards at least twice?

1.Once the Serial and Host ID Numbers are entered, and the cards are paired, at the Charter office, a host validation hit needs to be sent to each card. 
2. Then follow up with an EMM hit. (this loads the SA - EMM .tar file for that card and loads it into the DNCS)

*Question 2.* What are the steps to get to this diagnostics screen?

Jrm01 posted on Tivo.com Forum:
With the card installed you should go to the cablecard diagnostic screens and check some settings. Check the settings for the Conditional Access Screen for the cablecards. In particular look at 3 fields there: 
Con:
Auth:
Val; 
They should say: Con: Yes Auth: Subscribed Val: V

Thanks


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## jrm01

Forget the Conditional Access screen info that I posted. that was before I knew you had SA cards. The key for them is exactly what you have found: the EMM count. From TiVo webpage:



> The purpose of CableCARDs is to decrypt the channels that you have paid the cable provider to receive, and to decode copy protection on these channels, if present. After a card is inserted into the DVR, the installer (or you, if your cable provider allows self-installs) calls the dispatch number and provides the information the dispatcher requests. The dispatcher then sends one or more activation signals, sometimes known as "hitting the cards". The hits send a series of EMMs (entitlement management messages) that give the CableCARDs the ability to display the channels to which you subscribed.


You will not be getting any premium channels with an EMM count of 0. It may not always be 34 (depends on the package you have), but it will be close.


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## supie

supie said:


> I have read many other threads about "Not Staged" and the common theme seems to be, in the CA Screen, in addition to the Status "Not Staged" which needs to be "Ready", that IF the last line in the first page is EMMs Processed: 0 it should be a number NOT ZERO such as EMMs Processed: 34. Here is what mine shows:
> 
> *CA Screen (Incorrect Settings)
> -----
> Status: Not Staged
> CA Time-Waiting For Update...
> Time GBAM: 0
> App GBAM: 0
> EMMs Processed: Processed: 0*
> 
> *CA Screen (Correct Settings from another Tivo)
> -----
> Status: Ready
> CA Time-August 13, 2008 - 4:45AM GMT
> Time GBAM: 62195
> App GBAM: 76239
> EMMs Processed: 38*


After doing nothing for the past two days, now CHARTER'S LOCAL OFFICE IS TELLING ME that the cards NEED SPECIAL PROGRAMMING and they have to send them to another office to download the special programming on the cards and it will be another 5 DAYS BEFORE THEY CAN COME TO INSTALL THEM.

When I got my first two S3 Tivo's set up they did not even know they were coming to install them in a Tivo and they worked fine.

*Question 1. * So do the cards need special programming before they install them other than what they do to stage or initialize all cable cards?

*Question 2.*Once the installer comes to install the cards, what can I tell the Charter Techs, at their office, to do to send the proper signals or EMMs?

If I understand it correctly, once the Serial and Host ID Numbers are entered, and the cards are paired,that they have to hit the each cable card at least twice?
1. Once to do a host validation.
2. Then follow up with an EMM hit. (this loads the SA - EMM .tar file for that card and loads it into the DNCS)

*Question 3.* Does this sound right?

Thanks in advance.


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## jrm01

Question 1: I have never heard of any special programming that is required. However, your local office may have determined that the cards need to have a certain firmware level in order to work with tivo. That is usually something that they can do in their office (update the firmware), in fact it can usually be done in the field. But who knows?

Question 2: Usually there are two "hits" that are required, and everyone seems to have a different name for them. The first is to pair the card to the host device. This may be called Validation, Pairing, etc. The second is to authorize the card for the encrypted channels that it is allowed to decrypt. This may be called Authorization, etc. The key though is that the second (or last) hit for these cards is only successful if you see the EMM count being incremented. In fact if you look at the diagnostic screen while this is going on you can see the number be incremented (you may have to refresh the screen. If this is not incrementing, the authorization is not working. The cause for failure can be many things, including improper pairing during the first hit.

When they are doing the first hit make sure they are not botching the numbers (easily transposed) for card serial number, host-id and data number.


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## jrm01

supie,

Tivo just published a new document (best one I've seen) that summarizes the info on all the cablecard diagnostic screens. I haven't reviewed all of it yet, but take a look at the links for the SA m-card and see if anything stands out.

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


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## supie

jrm01 said:


> supie,
> 
> Tivo just published a new document (best one I've seen) that summarizes the info on all the cablecard diagnostic screens. I haven't reviewed all of it yet, but take a look at the links for the SA m-card and see if anything stands out.
> 
> http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport...troubleshoot_using_CableCARD_MMI_screens.html


Yes this does help alot, it points out the problems and hopefully allows you to zero in on what to fix. Thanks

Now if I could get Charter to come back and fix it. I will keep you posted as to what the final outcome is.


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## supie

Did anyone have Charter in San Luis Obispo County install Cable cards in the Last 90 Days?

I would like to hear from you if it was successful or a problem? If so tell me a little about how it went.

Either way I would like to ask a couple of questions, The questions will be based on your success or problems.

Last Week:


supie said:


> CHARTER'S LOCAL OFFICE IS TELLING ME that the cards NEED SPECIAL PROGRAMMING and they have to send them to another office to download the special programming on the cards and it will be another 5 DAYS BEFORE THEY CAN COME TO INSTALL THEM.


This Week:
Now Charter is telling me it will be another 5 Days or maybe a week before they will have the Cable Cards done with the special programing.

Three Weeks now (haven't been able to get this Tivo Set Up) and counting.

Really fustrating .... I bought this unit so I can get all of the Olympics and for the new fall season.

Anyone have any suggestions?


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## pops_porter

Just wanted to post my Charter experience. I had Charter come out on Saturday morning, and it was one of their contractors. The guy said he had no idea how to do this and at first said he only had one card it's a single stream. So he calls around to other guys out in the field to see if they have extra cablecards, no one does. He brings it in and it says, Motorola M-card, so I have to tell him that this will be just fine. We set it up and all I get is gray screens, he says"well i'm not sticking around all day to fix this" and sets me up with an appointment for Tuesday, supposedly he requested the one guy in the area that know how to do this. So the Charter guy was a mix of nice/and unhelpful, from the start he said he didn't know how to do this and it wont work.

After the guy life I found I do get the basic SD channels and basic HD channels (NBC, ABC etc.) but nothing else. I can see the main problem is my card says Auth:MP so it's not getting the correct authorization. I have had charter try and authorize it again, but no luck. Hopefully this second visit by Charter will fix this!


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## GadgetVirtuoso

You may find it will start working in a couple days, mine did. You may also find that rebooting the unit will correct the problem.


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## karenmae1983

I had the worst Charter experience ever! I have had my cable card (an m-card) for about 3 months without a problem. Last saturday, my card stopped working. Apparently, Charter decided to deactivate the card. I had someone to my house on Wednesday, he took my mcard and put in one single stream card. When I cam home I was missing most of my channels and noticed the single stream card. I called Charter, explained the problem, and told them to make sure I had an mcard installed. I also taped a note to my box. The next day, he came, put a power booster on the cable, and left the single stream card. I called Charter again- told them I needed an Mcard. On saturday, a tech came and said that they're not allowed to install mcards anymore- the company took them all away. I just got back from the weekend. After being hung up on, transfered no less than ten times, and many many threats of calling the FCC, I SHOULD be getting an mcard tomorrow. Hopefully.


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## supie

pops_porter said:


> After the guy life I found I do get the basic SD channels and basic HD channels (NBC, ABC etc.) but nothing else.


I have exactly the same problem, so please lets us know what fixes this, and I will do the same if it happens for me first.

I had Charter here today and the said they could not try new cable cards because they were having Head End Problems and could not provision the cards even if they changed them, and no forecast as to when this problem will be fixed, so I am back in limbo land.


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## pops_porter

supie said:


> I have exactly the same problem, so please lets us know what fixes this, and I will do the same if it happens for me first.
> 
> I Charter here today and the said they could not try new cable cards because they were having Head End Problems and could not provision the cards even if they changed them, and no forecast as to when this problem will be fixed, so I am back in limbo land.


The one Charter guy in the area that knows about cablecards came out and had it fixed in about 10 minutes. I asked him what was wrong and all he would say is that dispatch had it set up all wrong. I wish I could tell you more, but the card was just fine but Charter was messing up on what signal was being sent to it.


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## supie

Had Charter install Cable Cards and the problem is: All I get all the Basic Channels 2-99 and the Broadcast HD Channels 781-788. I have since found that this means that I am NOT getting the encrypted channels which consist of everything else I am subscribed to such as 100-188, 500-735 Premium Channels and 754-780 + 789-799 HD Tier Channels.

Charter came back and tried a total of 8 Cable Cards, two at a time (4 M Cards and 4 S Cards) each time the M Cards came up at Not Staged and the S Cards come up as CP Auth Not Recieved,

When I go and compare this to my other two Tivo S3s (which are working fine) the M Cards should say Ready and the S Cards should say CP Auth Received

Charter is now saying that it is the New Tivo Box that is having the problem and it is not the cable cards.

*So here are my Questions:*
3 Does anyone think the problem is in the Tivo Box?

2. I heard that Charter has a setting at the Head End which sets how many cable card each account has, is this true? In my case I had 5 cable cards (four for the two Tivos one for a HDTV set) before adding this Tivo Unit and that setting should now be 7, could it be that they still have it set at 5 and therefore I can not get the encrypted channels on the new Tivo Box?

3. Anyone have any other suggestions?

I have called the Tivo Cable Hot Line and they took some information from the DVR Diagnostics screens and they are escalating it to a Level 2 tech who is supposed to call me back next week.

Thanks again for any help.


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

supie said:


> Had Charter install Cable Cards and the problem is: All I get all the Basic Channels 2-99 and the Broadcast HD Channels 781-788. I have since found that this means that I am NOT getting the encrypted channels which consist of everything else I am subscribed to such as 100-188, 500-735 Premium Channels and 754-780 + 789-799 HD Tier Channels.


That sounds about right. Have them install the cards and wait a couple days. I kid you not, that for some reason Charter has extreme difficulty making the cards work.


> Charter came back and tried a total of 8 Cable Cards, two at a time (4 M Cards and 4 S Cards) each time the M Cards came up at Not Staged and the S Cards come up as CP Auth Not Recieved,
> 
> When I go and compare this to my other two Tivo S3s (which are working fine) the M Cards should say Ready and the S Cards should say CP Auth Received
> 
> Charter is now saying that it is the New Tivo Box that is having the problem and it is not the cable cards.
> 
> *So here are my Questions:*
> 3 Does anyone think the problem is in the Tivo Box?


Possible? Certainly. Given that it took 6 visits before they could get it right for my S3 I doubt it. Charter is just incompetent. At one point I had a CSR try to tell me the TiVo wasn't even supports. She shut up pretty quick when I started telling her it was cablelabs certified and they are required to support and provide cable cards by the FCC.


> 2. I heard that Charter has a setting at the Head End which sets how many cable card each account has, is this true? In my case I had 5 cable cards (four for the two Tivos one for a HDTV set) before adding this Tivo Unit and that setting should now be 7, could it be that they still have it set at 5 and therefore I can not get the encrypted channels on the new Tivo Box?


The headend distributes the signal and has nothing to do with how many cards can be used at any given residence. In fact the actual residence is completely irrelevant. Every residence and every cable outlet has every channel, its only a matter of tuning to any given channel. I *might* buy the billing system is only setup for so many units for residential accounts but its more likely a policy and not a limitation of the system. The cable cards aren't receiving the signal to start decrypting the channels. Could it be there are too many splits between the tie off outside and the tivo? Did they even check the signal level?


> 3. Anyone have any other suggestions?
> 
> I have called the Tivo Cable Hot Line and they took some information from the DVR Diagnostics screens and they are escalating it to a Level 2 tech who is supposed to call me back next week.
> 
> Thanks again for any help.


It could be the TiVo but given my experiences with Charter and cable cards in a S3 and HD unit I'd put my money on Charter being the problem, not the TiVo. Charter doesn't actually need to come out to install the cable cards at all. The information needed to pair the cards to the TiVo could be read by the customer over the phone, that's all the tech does. The cards are working if you are receiving the HD channels, they just aren't being authorized in the system correctly.


----------



## supie

Matthew, thanks for your response.



GadgetVirtuoso said:


> That sounds about right. Have them install the cards and wait a couple days. I kid you not, that for some reason Charter has extreme difficulty making the cards work.


*Answer:* I have waited more than 2 days on at least 3 sets of the cable cards.



> I *might* buy the billing system is only setup for so many units for residential accounts but its more likely a policy and not a limitation of the system.


*Answer: *This still could be the problem since I do know they have to tell the billing system how many cable cards and cable devices there are. Earlier this year when I added the HD Tier I could get the HD Tier on my cable boxes but not the Cable Cards, it turned out that they had to increase the count of cable devices from 3 to 8 and then the HD Tier worked. (At this time I had 3 cable boxes, 5 cable cards).

*Question 1:* Any further thoughs on this?



> The cable cards aren't receiving the signal to start decrypting the channels. Could it be there are too many splits between the tie off outside and the tivo? Did they even check the signal level?


*Answer: *Yes they checked the signal level each time and at this unit we get a +8 because it is right near my structured wiring box and I have an amplifier feeding the whole house.



> The cards are working if you are receiving the HD channels, they just aren't being authorized in the system correctly.





> The M Cards came up at Not Staged and the S Cards come up as CP Auth Not Received


*Question 2:* Basically since the dianostics are saying the card are NOT AUTHORIZED any suggestions how tell them to do it correctly? PS They confirmed that they were paired each time we tried new cards.

Thanks Again


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

supie said:


> *Answer: *This still could be the problem since I do know they have to tell the billing system how many cable cards and cable devices there are. Earlier this year when I added the HD Tier I could get the HD Tier on my cable boxes but not the Cable Cards, it turned out that they had to increase the count of cable devices from 3 to 8 and then the HD Tier worked. (At this time I had 3 cable boxes, 5 cable cards).
> 
> *Question 1:* Any further thoughs on this?


If that's the case you might want to call and ask. Each cable card is the same as a converter box in the system. S3 units will need two cards regardless which type they give you.


> *Question 2:* Basically since the dianostics are saying the card are NOT AUTHORIZED any suggestions how tell them to do it correctly? PS They confirmed that they were paired each time we tried new cards.


CP Not Authorized is as you say not authorized meaning they haven't set the cards up in the system correctly. I'd call tech support and speak with a supervisor about the problem. If you still haven't made any progress I'd take it to the next step.

You have two ways to file a complaint: First, file a complaint with your city. Each city has a liaison that deals with the Cable company. Sadly this is sometimes the only way to get the attention needed in some situations. Second, file a complaint with the FCC. The FCC's consumer site has submission page for this purpose. You'll need to provide them with as much detail as possible.

Of course before you do all of this I'd wait to hear from TiVo. There is still a chance the unit is defective, although given my experience with Charter I doubt it.

best of luck.


----------



## The Tsar

pops_porter said:


> Just wanted to post my Charter experience. I had Charter come out on Saturday morning, and it was one of their contractors. The guy said he had no idea how to do this and at first said he only had one card it's a single stream. So he calls around to other guys out in the field to see if they have extra cablecards, no one does. He brings it in and it says, Motorola M-card, so I have to tell him that this will be just fine. We set it up and all I get is gray screens, he says"well i'm not sticking around all day to fix this" and sets me up with an appointment for Tuesday, supposedly he requested the one guy in the area that know how to do this. So the Charter guy was a mix of nice/and unhelpful, from the start he said he didn't know how to do this and it wont work.
> 
> After the guy life I found I do get the basic SD channels and basic HD channels (NBC, ABC etc.) but nothing else. I can see the main problem is my card says Auth:MP so it's not getting the correct authorization. I have had charter try and authorize it again, but no luck. Hopefully this second visit by Charter will fix this!


This is the EXACT same problem I am having. Are you also getting error messages (161-38 and 161-52)? I am in Athens, GA, and Charter is my provider as well. The guy who installed it yesterday was completely clueless, but the guy who came in today seemed to know what he was doing, and was baffled by the continuing error messages.


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## jimmyo258

When are you getting a 161-52 error? When the card is first inserted?


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## Iggy54467

Unlike many others, my experience went quite smooth. In fact, the longest part of the process was waiting for the TiVO HD to transfer information back and forth with the added Moto M card.

1 - Charter tech was at the house 20 minutes before the scheduled time
2 - He spent roughly 5 minutes on the cell phone to pass the card info to the headend (could have been less if his cell phone wasn't loosing signal)
3 - Ran through the guided setup on the DVR
4 - Watching digital and HD channels 30-40 minutes after his arrival

It's a shame I done that while on lunch (would have loved to stay home and enjoy the TiVO goodness.


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## ethicalpaul

You can see my messages earlier in this thread about my first TivoHD install. It ranked about a 6 on the Charter CableCard Nightmare Scale. I'm with Charter in Kalamazoo MI

But once it got working, it's been great ever since. Now I want one for my basement. So I bought a refurb HD from Tivo and so I call Charter to arrange for a card.

The CSR tells me that I can just go in and pick one up! Now I know deep down that she is full of crap, but I go down to the office anyway because I had an extra cable box to turn in.

The counter rep tells me that WE DON'T DO CABLE CARDS ANYMORE!! I look at her funny and tell her, that well, it's the law that they must. She shrugs and says "well, we don't". 

So I call charter (call #2) and the CSR says of course we still do cable cards, but of course you can't just go down and pick one up silly! We have to send a tech who doesn't know anything about it and charge you $30!! (I've seen this movie before...in fact I starred in it)

So I made the appt for the "tech" to come with a card. I told them to have him bring an M card (which they did last time).

I do have a slight fear that in fact he will come and say "Oh you wanted a CABLECARD!? We don't DO THOSE ANYMORE!" I will report back after the appointment which is in 3 days.


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## ort

Just so it's not all doom and gloom, my cablecard installation just went off without a hitch. Charter in St. Louis MO.

So far so good.


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## ethicalpaul

ethicalpaul said:


> I do have a slight fear that in fact he will come and say "Oh you wanted a CABLECARD!? We don't DO THOSE ANYMORE!" I will report back after the appointment which is in 3 days.


OK so today was the day.

The guy was supposed to arrive from 5-7 and so of course he arrives at 4 before I am home and my wife is mad at me because I don't want him to start without me, but I quizzed him on a couple questions and deemed him worthy to start without me.

I was still a little concerned because he didn't know the difference between an Mcard and an Scard but it turned out he had an Mcard so that was OK (determined after he called his supervisor).

I was shocked when I arrived home 40 minutes later and he was already gone. I was even more shocked when my premium channels actually were working on my new, 2nd Tivo.

So here's to you, anonymous cable guy, you did good!


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## supie

supie said:


> Had Charter install Cable Cards and the problem is: All I get all the Basic Channels 2-99 and the Broadcast HD Channels 781-788. I have since found that this means that I am NOT getting the encrypted channels which consist of everything else I am subscribed to such as 100-188, 500-735 Premium Channels and 754-780 + 789-799 HD Tier Channels.
> 
> Charter came back and tried a total of 8 Cable Cards, two at a time (4 M Cards and 4 S Cards) each time the M Cards came up at Not Staged and the S Cards come up as CP Auth Not Recieved,
> 
> When I go and compare this to my other two Tivo S3s (which are working fine) the M Cards should say Ready and the S Cards should say CP Auth Received
> 
> Charter is now saying that it is the New Tivo Box that is having the problem and it is not the cable cards.


After 3 months of fighting with Charter, they finally got the Scientific Atlantic M Series Cable Cards working on my Tivo S3. I had to make at least 50 phone calls (to get them to respond) and they sent out techs over 11 or 12 times and I was told many different stories.

So what was the final solution? At first, Charter said that cable cards do not work with Tivo.

When I pointed out that I have two other Tivos with cable cards which work fine they scratched their heads and tried more cards.

After many go a-rounds it finally came out. The local Charter Office said that they had to install a new software at local Charters Head End to recognize the Cablevisions new version of the Cable Cards.

So it seems that per Charter, the new version of Cable Cards will not work on Tivos and certain TVs, so therefore the CCs need Special Programming, which has to be done in another office.

So finally I get a call from the local office supervisor and he said that they got a pair of cards that now have the Special Programming and they have tested them on a Tivo in there office. They came the next day and installed them and they worked.

I am not sure when they figured out that the New Version of the Cablevisions Cable Cards needed Special Programming. If I did not already have two working Tivos I would have pushed a lot harder.

In the end I still do not know if the cards needed SPECIAL PRORAMMING or they just had a bunch of bad cable cards and finally got some new ones. I find if very odd that I cannot find any one else on the forums that were told that the cards needed special programming?

I have never seen such bad service, if Charter had to compete (like most companies) they would be out of business.


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## sduston

First post here, but thought I'd add to the list. I've been going back and forth between Tivo and Charter, and Cable card exchanges over and over for nearly a year off and on. It was working fine for a good 8-12 months but then something started to get progressively bad until HD channels (only HD channels) would stall out completely while watching something. Sometimes it would just constantly glitch, pixelate and drop out every 30 seconds. A lot of times it would eventually freeze and often reboot. Towards more recently, it got so bad that when it would reboot it would freeze on the welcome screen and would be unresponsive. After anywhere from 5 minutes to more than an hour later it would eventually reboot again on its own. Add to that, this was on my SECOND Tivo after paying for a replacement AND a second round of cable cards swaps. Oh, then there's the fact that I moved from one place to a completely new place and the problems followed me to the new place.

Most recently, I got another replacement from Tivo (as the Tivo support rep basically said there was nothing left for him to do, and I demanded they at the VERY LEAST replace the unit again...seeing how I pay for the service and have been paying for it and the box is not working even 50% operational still and he had NO suggestions of what to do next). Interesting thing I found THIS time when I took the cards out of that box. I had one Multistream card and one Single stream card. Well, that would explain having problems at least this round. None the less, the second replacement just arrived so I'll have to update once everything is up-to-date again and I get another replacement card. I think I know more about configuring and diagnosing Tivos and Cable cards than Tivo support AND charter techs. I dont claim to be that great at it, but when a Tivo support rep can't identify a card mismatch (even when I asked him if it was possible to tell) and Charter techs dont realize they can't put mismatch cards in the same box...that seems like troubleshooting 101. 

Anyhow, I'm calm now, but certainly still irritable about the whole situation and how difficult it seems to be to find someone capable of helping and doing basic troubleshooting. Crazy fun times just trying to watch a little TV! haha Its kinda funny when you think about it.

Best luck to all. Any advice, I'd love to hear it. Anyone know if the HD Series 3 (32HR) Tivo supports Multistream cards? If it does, would you still need two cards or only one in that case? I'm sure this has been answered somewhere but its not easy to find.

Thanks!
Shannon


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## papapelican

supie said:


> After 3 months of fighting with Charter, they finally got the Scientific Atlantic M Series Cable Cards working on my Tivo S3. I had to make at least 50 phone calls (to get them to respond) and they sent out tech's over 11 or 12 times and I was told many different stories.
> 
> So what was the final solution? At first, Charter said that cable cards do not work with Tivo.
> 
> When I pointed out that I have two other Tivo's with cable cards which work fine they scratched their heads and tried more cards.
> 
> After many go a-rounds it finally came out. The local Charter Office said that they had to install a new software at local Charter's Head End to recognize the Cablevision's new version of the Cable Cards.
> 
> So it seems that per Charter, the new version of Cable Cards will not work on Tivo's and certain TV's, so therefore the CC's need Special Programming, which has to be done in another office.
> 
> So finally I get a call from the local office supervisor and he said that they got a pair of cards that now have the Special Programming and they have tested them on a Tivo in there office. They came the next day and installed them and they worked.
> 
> I am not sure when they figured out that the New Version of the Cablevision's Cable Cards needed Special Programming. If I did not already have two working Tivo's I would have pushed a lot harder.
> 
> In the end I still do not know if the cards needed SPECIAL PRORAMMING or they just had a bunch of bad cable cards and finally got some new ones. I find if very odd that I cannot find any one else on the forums that were told that the cards needed special programming?
> 
> I have never seen such bad service, if Charter had to compete (like most companies) they would be out of business.


Today, I had a Charter Cable Card install on a Tivo series 3 DVR. The install was coordinated out of the Charter San Luis Obispo office.

The tech arrived with a number of "M" and "S" series SA cable cards and he assured me that they were programed and activated. He installed the first "M" cable card into the bottom #1 slot and we got a "MMI" screen with the host number and serial number. He called the Charter Office and requested the "host and emm" hits. The other technician informed him that the Cable Cards had to be sent to another location for special programming.

Charter requested the Tivo Series 3 service number which they called a "serial number" in order to have the Cable Cards programmed to the Tivo Series 3. I was informed that the cards would not be back for a minimum of 6 weeks.

I was flabbergasted that programming the cards would take so long and made several phone calls to Charter. I was finally given the Charter Corporate Resolution Center phone number 1-866-212-1063 which I plan to call on Monday.

I feel that I am reliving "supie's" experience with this same Charter Office. I would like to think that Charter will be able to improve on the 6 week delivery time.


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## papapelican

Some good news! I received call from the local Charter Office in San Luis Obispo last night. They apologized for the muffed installation of the cable cards and stated that the cards could be programed locally and no longer needed to be sent to another office. 

They scheduled an appointment to install the "programed" cable cards on Monday.


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## papapelican

Even better news! The same Charter tech came out this morning and installed the two "specially programmed" SA Cable Cards. After getting the 2 hits on both cards, the channel tests proved all the basic and premium channels were operating correctly. 

It is apparent that the San Luis Obispo Charter office has learned how to install the Cable Cards for Tivo. Once the cards were correctly programmed and activated the install went fairly smooth.


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## supie

*Troubleshooting Check List - FYI for future Charter/Tivo Customers:*

1. CARD TYPES: You can have two "M" Series Card or two "S" Series Cards but not one of each.

2. INSTALLING CABLE CARDs: The Tech should do the following:

1) Write down the serial number from the first card.
2) Insert that card into the bottom slot of the TiVo
3) Wait for black MMI screen to appear
4) Write down the Host and Data numbers that appear on that screen.
5) Call the cable company and give them the information you wrote down for the card.
6) Repeat for card #2, inserting into top slot
6) Call the cable company and give them the information you wrote down for the card.
7) Wait about 5 minutes then test each card using the "Test Channels" item under the CableCARD menu.
8) The installer has to call the Dispatch (i.e. network head-end operations) and ask them to transmit at least four sets of EMMs, also called SUPER HITS. The default sent is like 4 EMMS and that is not enough for the Cablecard to start working. Part of the Card status windows:

If the Test Channels fails call the cable company back and make sure they have the information entered correctly, then have them re-hit the cards. Provided neither of the cards is defective this should work and you should be good to go.

If you have bad channels, you will see the Channel info but not the show, the screen is black. Go to Steps 3 or 4.

3. CHECK SETTINGS on *M SERIES CARDS*: If the test channels do not work and if you have M Series Cards: Go to Messages and Settings menu, click on Account & System Information, click on Cable Card Decoders, click on Configure CableCARD1, click on CableCARD Menu, click on SA CableCard CA Screen in this Menu  STATUS needs to show READY, EMMs needs to show 10 or better EMMs and on Page 2 SUBEXPIRETIME and EUTUPDATETIME need to show current dates. i.e. SUBEXPIRETIME 2 week from today and EUTUPDATETIME Todays Date. Also the SA CableCard CP needs to show CP AUTH RECEIVED. Check all of the same menus for CableCARD2. Here are samples

CA Screen (Incorrect Settings)
-----
Status: Not Staged
CA Time-Waiting For Update...
Time GBAM: 0
App GBAM: 0
EMMs Processed: Processed: 0

CA Screen (Correct Settings)
-----
Status: Ready
CA Time-August 13, 2008  4:45AM GMT
Time GBAM: 62195 
App GBAM: 76239
EMMs Processed: 38

If all the screens are good then go back to the TEST CHANNELS menu and make sure you are getting all the channels you expect by testing a sampling of Broadcast Channels 1-99, Expanded Channels 100-??, your HD & Premiere Channels and any other tiers you may have.

4. CHECK SETTINGS on *S SERIES CARDS*: If the test channels do not work and if you have M Series Cards: Go to Messages and Settings menu, click on Account & System Information, click on Cable Card Decoders, click on Configure CableCARD1, click on CableCARD Menu, click on SA CableCard CA Screen in this Menu  STATUS needs to show CP AUTH RECEIVED, EMMs needs to show 6-10 or better EMMs AND POWER KEY STATUS needs to show READY. Also the SA CableCard Host ID Screen needs to show AUTH RECEIVED. Check all of the same menus for CableCARD2. Here are samples

CA Screen (Incorrect Settings)
-----
Status: Not Ready
EMMs Processed: Processed: 0
Power Key Status Not Ready

CA Screen (Correct Settings)
-----
Status: CP Auth Received
EMMs Processed: Processed: 6
Power Key Status Ready

If all the screens are good then go back to the TEST CHANNELS menu and make sure you are getting all the channels you expect by testing a sampling of Broadcast Channels 1-99, Expanded Channels 100-??, your HD & Premiere Channels and any other tiers you may have.

5. CHARTER DISPATCH OFFICE: I have found that some of my problems were due to a person in the office not setting up Charter's Billing System with the right information. (i.e. if the office does not check off the correct boxes which allow each cable card to operate and the encrypted services to be authorized) In my case, at one point I had 7 cable cards and 3 cable boxes, they couldn't seem to get all the boxes checked correctly, then when I returned cable boxes they marked the wrong things and had new problems.

The point is, if you're not getting all the channels you are supposed to get, then most often it is because you're not getting all the EMMs to the CableCARD you are supposed to. A person looking at the Actual Conditional Access Provisioning Server would see why right away. But since all employees must interface through the BILLING System, the only way to fix the issue for you, is to try changing your billing codes...which are typically ALWAYS the reason you're not getting the channels you're supposed to get.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN DISPATCH SENDS THE INFO TO THE CARDS: Usually there are two "hits" that are required, for each card, and everyone seems to have a different name for them. The first is to pair the card to the host device. This may be called Validation, Pairing, etc. The second is to authorize the card for the encrypted channels that it is allowed to decrypt. This may be called Authorization, etc. The key though is that the second (or last) hit for these cards is only successful if you see the EMM count being incremented. In fact if you look at the diagnostic screen while this is going on you can see the number be incremented (you may have to refresh the screen. If this is not incrementing, the authorization is not working. The cause for failure can be many things, including improper pairing during the first hit. BE SURE TO REQUEST SUPER HITS. (see above)

6. CALLING TIVO: If everything else fails to work it may be time to suspect the TIVO unit. I have called Tivo many times and have to say they do not have their act together. Tivo's Level One Techs do not seem to be able to troubleshoot the cable card problems, after many calls and arm twisting, they sent me a exchange Tivo at a cost of $89.00 for the exchange (because my Tivo was over 90 days old) and a refundable $809.99 for Advanced Cross shipping. The exchange unit did not solve the problem and I finally sent the exchange Tivo back and got a full refund. (Only after 15 calls to get my money back) Suggestion: see if you can get to a Level Two Tech to do the Troubleshooting.

7. OUR LOCAL OFFICE: The San Luis Obispo Charter Office finally bought a Tivo to test the cards in before going to the customer. (So if your having problems you could ask your local office if the have a Tivo Testing Unit? Also ask have they tested them locally?

8. WHAT ELSE CAN GO WRONG:

1) STAGING: The tech comes with cards that were never Staged. 
When you check your CableCARD configuration menu the Cable Card and the Host ID number do not appear. This was caused by the card not being "Staged", the CableCARD wasn't properly set up when it was brought into inventory. There is a ".tar" file associated with each CableCARD, which must be loaded into the head-end.

2) For CableCARD TO WORK it has to:
a. Be paired correctly: Has to be paired with your device. So CC1 & CC2 must be paired with their appropriate slots on the Tivo.
b. Be authorized correctly: Cable Company has to authorize the cards and pairing. If this occurs right, then your channel map should be downloaded correctly to the card.
c. Pairing and Authorization is done by the Local Office Dispatch when the Tech is at your home and by customer service if you call in.

3) WRONG DATA INPUTED: Make sure they have not botching the numbers (easily transposed) for card serial number, host-id and data number, have Dispatch read the numbers back to you. Also make sure the Tech has the right numbers.

4) SPECIAL PROGRAMING: According to our local office the most recent cable cards need Special Programming for Tivo. The programming of the cards, if sent out to another office, should only take about 5 days not 6 weeks. (If the local office can do it, it should only be a day or two)

Thanks to Papapelican for the Charter Resolution Center number (866) 212-1063, I never had that before but I would call it if you are not getting anywhere.

I hope my four month learning curve helps someone else.

Good Luck

Tivo is great when it is working properly.


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## dolphin

It seems that there could be a relatively easy solution for cable installs, except requiring some work on the part of TiVo.

Since the cable companies use contractors, TiVo should consider setting up a separate services subsidiary to be a contracting entity to the cable companies.

** ring, ring **
CableCo: Charter Cable, how may I help you power up with Charter?
User: I need to get my tiVo box connected, so I need some cable cards.
CableCo: Certainly, sir, we'll send out our TiVo subcontractor specialist.
** hang up **

I don't know about anyone else here, but I would pay EXTRA to have a TiVo professional vs. some smelly, smarmy, uneducated cable contractor (those are the ones that we've seen) in our house.


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## rainwater

supie said:


> 5. I also had called Tivo many times and have to say they do not have their act together. Tivo's Level One Techs do not seem to be able to troubleshoot the cable card problems, they sent me a exchange Tivo at a cost of $89.00 (because my Tivo was over 90 days old) and it did not solve the problem and I finally sent the exchange Tivo back and got a full refund. See if you can get to a Level Two Tech to do the Troubleshooting.


Did you try calling TiVo's CableCard hotline?


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## supie

rainwater said:


> Did you try calling TiVo's CableCard hotline?


Yes that is where I felt they could not and did not troubleshoot the problem correctly. Which cost me about a month of the 4 months and alot of extra effort calling Tivo, Charter, installing many more cable cards, checking forums, packing, shipping 15 calls to get my money back, etc.


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## supie

dolphin said:


> It seems that there could be a relatively easy solution for cable installs, except requiring some work on the part of TiVo.


I like this idea but I think it would be hard to implement across the country.

Since the Tivo Community shows that the one of the biggest problems for new Tivo users is installing the Cable Cards, which also seems to be across the board with all the Cable Companies.

I would think Tivo would at least have a web site support page or pages that would show a flow chart troubleshooting guide:

i.e. if you look at the Cable Card Configuration Menus: Does the STATUS show NOT READY then go to this box &#8230;. or if STATUS shows READY go to another box. Each box flows to another box until it gives you the possible solution, or a statement that this is what your problem might be.


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## PatrickHerman

Hi everyone,

I'm a Charter customer residing here in Portage, Michigan. Following the installation of one of this company's Cable Cards, I am unable to view the premium channels I pay for. Thus far, I've jumped through every hoop imaginable without success. Should any of you have any advice to offer me, I would deeply appreciate your kindness. 

Sincerely,

Patrick Herman


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## dolphin

supie said:


> I like this idea but I think it would be hard to implement across the country.


I don't think it would be that tough. TiVo doesn't really have to hire employees in a special subsidary. They could just subcontract out to (for example) Geek Squad. Geek Squad could then work with Charter/Comcast/TimeWarner to be an authorized contracting agent.

I'd pay TiVo an extra few dollars to be my agent, my representative. TiVo passes off some of the $$$ to Geek Squad. How about if I buy the TiVo from Best Buy, then its free.

The key to this idea is that there is a human being on your side, instead of the evil cable company, and the standoffish TiVo web site. If the channels don't work, then your guy is going to stay there and make sure it works. As a cable subcontractor, he theoretically should have more knowledge about how all of the pairing and cbale head stuff works.

tivo, what do you think?? Come on, you already have a relationship with Best Buy as a hardware distributor. And you have relationships with the cable companies.

Me, I'd pay another $50 to have an authorized TiVo subcontractor install and do the cablecard install. Maybe more.


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## rainwater

dolphin said:


> I don't think it would be that tough. TiVo doesn't really have to hire employees in a special subsidary. They could just subcontract out to (for example) Geek Squad. Geek Squad could then work with Charter/Comcast/TimeWarner to be an authorized contracting agent.


So who is going to train the techs to work with each cable company? Either way you will end up with a cable tech that knows nothing about cablecards or a cablecard tech that knows nothing about the cable company.


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## dolphin

rainwater said:


> So who is going to train the techs to work with each cable company? Either way you will end up with a cable tech that knows nothing about cablecards or a cablecard tech that knows nothing about the cable company.


Who trains the subcontractors now? It would be the same people. In this scenario, Geek Squad (or similar) would get trained in TiVo-ness by TiVo, and in cable by the same subcontractor trainers. The difference here is that you'd have someone who is on your side when something doesn't work, rather than throwing up their hands and blaming the hardware. Plus, hopefully, the person would have more of a "TiVo culture".


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## mgchan

Just picked up a TiVo HD, and called Charter for a Cable Card appointment. The woman sounded decently knowledgeable about the cards, though she did assume it was for a TV, and I didn't bother getting into it with her about it being a TiVo. I'm crossing my fingers that the tech will install it - I've printed out the TiVo instructions and will have my computer open to this site as well as the TiVo site when he arrives.


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## mgchan

Well, no luck. Guy came and tried 2 M cards that he couldn't get paired, and 2 S cards one of which said it had to update the firmware. Of course he didn't want to wait up to an hour for it to update. Ended up re-scheduling for Saturday, we'll see if it makes any difference. Wish he could leave a card and let me try to pair it but of course he wouldn't do that.

Wouldn't be such a big deal if I could figure out a way to access even the unencrypted HD channels. I can watch them on my TV without the cable box.


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## pops_porter

Sounds like you are par for the course when it comes to how many visits it takes Charter to get it right. I took two appointments and they got it to work. In my area it sounds like there is 1 guy that knows how to do cablecard pairings. When he came on the second visit, he used the cablescards I had from the first Charter visit and had them working in 10 minuts. Good luck!


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## mgchan

Yeah, I wasn't expecting much. The guy tried to call someone else to come help but I guess they were off today. He did get a hold of someone else who said they were having a lot of broken Cable Cards. I think either a) they are just consistently not doing it right, or b) they have cards that have old firmware and just keep trying to use the same broken ones.

If the next guy can't do it, I'll try to talk him into leaving the card with me (they would leave it here if it worked, wouldn't they?). I feel like he just put the cards in, called for the signal, and when it didn't work he just gave up. I'm pretty sure I saw some errors on the main cable card info screen, which he just ignored.

I did upgrade the hard drive - this shouldn't affect the Cable Card pairing, right?


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## kjmcdonald

Hi all,

I have 2 series 3's, with 4 single stream cards total (2 in each). Charter bills me $8/month for all 4. 

I thought I'd check in here to see what others have found before I braved the ignorance and runaround that Charter Customer service will give me.

If Multistream cards are available then I can hopefully get that 8$ cut down to 4$

Anyone have any luck using both tuners with only one CalbeCARD?

-Kyle


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## TromboneKenny

kjmcdonald said:


> I have 2 series 3's, with 4 single stream cards total (2 in each). Charter bills me $8/month for all 4.
> 
> Anyone have any luck using both tuners with only one CalbeCARD?


One of the differences between the S3 and the HD is M-Card support. The S3s don't have it (or at least they don't support the multi-stream functionality). Even if Charter in your area has M-Cards, you'll need two to get dual tuner functionality in the S3.


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## kjmcdonald

TromboneKenny said:


> One of the differences between the S3 and the HD is M-Card support. The S3s don't have it (or at least they don't support the multi-stream functionality). Even if Charter in your area has M-Cards, you'll need two to get dual tuner functionality in the S3.


Really? I've been away from TCF for a while, so I hadn't heard that before.
Is there more info or discussion about that here somewhere?

I ask because I remember that Mcard support was one of the things Tivo promised about the S3 right from the beginning. I'll be pretty disappointed if that runs out to be vaporware.

-Kyle


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## kjmcdonald

Saying they'll be converting to SDV in Febuary, and I should call to get my Tuning adapter.

The tuning adapter is a free monthly lease - at least for the first one, we'll have to see what happenns when I tell them I have 2 Tivo's.

Interestingly enough, they say if I don't get the tuning adapter, they'll stop changing me for the CableCARDs I have, since they realize they'll be useless.

Over all I was pleasantly surprised at their pro-activeness, and how they passed on the chance to bilk me for yet more money.

-Kyle


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## shrike4242

kjmcdonald said:


> Saying they'll be converting to SDV in Febuary, and I should call to get my Tuning adapter.
> 
> The tuning adapter is a free monthly lease - at least for the first one, we'll have to see what happenns when I tell them I have 2 Tivo's.
> 
> Interestingly enough, they say if I don't get the tuning adapter, they'll stop changing me for the CableCARDs I have, since they realize they'll be useless.
> 
> Over all I was pleasantly surprised at their pro-activeness, and how they passed on the chance to bilk me for yet more money.
> 
> -Kyle


Thanks for the info about them going to SDV. I'm calling them now and see if that's in my area as well. If so, I'm curious to hear what they have to say for the five tuning adapters I'll need for the current two HD Tivo's I have, and the three others I'm going to get over the course of the next month.

Just got off the phone with Charter, and they say it's a pilot program in MA and CT to start with in February. Though, through the course of 2009, they're going to be rolling it out to the rest of the country.

Like you said above, when this happens, they'll be mailing customers with CableCards a notice 30 days in advance letting them know of the change, and that they'll need to pick up their tuning adapters for each Tivo they have. There wasn't any pricing listed for the tuning adapters, though they're guessing that it should be priced like CableCards, not like cable boxes.


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## kjmcdonald

shrike4242 said:


> Thanks for the info about them going to SDV. I'm calling them now and see if that's in my area as well. If so, I'm curious to hear what they have to say for the five tuning adapters I'll need for the current two HD Tivo's I have, and the three others I'm going to get over the course of the next month.
> 
> Just got off the phone with Charter, and they say it's a pilot program in MA and CT to start with in February. Though, through the course of 2009, they're going to be rolling it out to the rest of the country.
> 
> Like you said above, when this happens, they'll be mailing customers with CableCards a notice 30 days in advance letting them know of the change, and that they'll need to pick up their tuning adapters for each Tivo they have. There wasn't any pricing listed for the tuning adapters, though they're guessing that it should be priced like CableCards, not like cable boxes.


Yeah. I was going to ask where you were, before you edited the post.
I probably should have mentioned that they siad "in your area" (I'm in MA) in the letter. - Sorry - Didn't mean to get anyone's hopes up.

-Kyle


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## shrike4242

kjmcdonald said:


> Yeah. I was going to ask where you were, before you edited the post.
> I probably should have mentioned that they siad "in your area" (I'm in MA) in the letter. - Sorry - Didn't mean to get anyone's hopes up.
> 
> -Kyle


Sorry, forgot to put my location in my profile. Fixed that now. I'm in the Saint Louis, MO area, home of Charter.

I'm surprised they're not rolling it out here in their backyard first, and then to other parts of the country.

I wasn't getting my hopes up with the SDV news, though I'd rather make the jump to SDV with tuning adapters and not have to deal with CableCards and the $30 *required* truck roll for the install on them for a short period of time.


----------



## hank12345

shrike4242 said:


> Sorry, forgot to put my location in my profile. Fixed that now. I'm in the Saint Louis, MO area, home of Charter.
> 
> I'm surprised they're not rolling it out here in their backyard first, and then to other parts of the country.
> 
> I wasn't getting my hopes up with the SDV news, though I'd rather make the jump to SDV with tuning adapters and not have to deal with CableCards and the $30 *required* truck roll for the install on them for a short period of time.


According to the letter I received, both the tuning adapter and truck roll is free... I am scheduled for the tuning adapter install this Saturday.... We will see what happens...


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## shrike4242

hank12345 said:


> According to the letter I received, both the tuning adapter and truck roll is free... I am scheduled for the tuning adapter install this Saturday.... We will see what happens...


Good luck with that. I hope it'll be painless.

From the rep I spoke with, she indicated that the tuning adapter shouldn't need a truck roll, and that it would be a cable-box like setup, where they have to hit the tuning adapter from their side to enable/activate it, or put in the SN from the tuning adapter to make it live.


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## wgary

shrike4242 said:


> Good luck with that. I hope it'll be painless.
> ...


Ummm, just a reality check here. We are talking about CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, right? But one can always hope.


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## hank12345

wgary said:


> Ummm, just a reality check here. We are talking about CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, right? But one can always hope.


Heh... I know.. but for some reason they seem to be on top of this one.... They have "Partnered" with Tivo to identify folks with both Charter and Tivo, fee install and tuning adapter...

I'm willing to bet it will all go south tomorrow, when/if the installer shows up, but we will see...

Charter's prices are killing me right now-- the only thing keeping me is my love for Tivo... If this SDV switchover is as big of a disaster as I fear it will be, I'll start looking at Direct TV and Dish Network.... I'll keep basic service and internet, and keep the Tivo running i guess....


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## hank12345

OK-- so not so bad... the guy came, said I was his fourth today, 1 worked 2 did not... He asked if I wanted to reschedule, as the tuning Adapter "is a disaster"

I asked him to give it a try, he agreed, and after about an hour it was up and running.

First we attached the cable to the adapter, then from adapter to the Tivo, then the usb cable. plugged it the power, and the thing starts a green light blinking 8 times, pauses then 8 times again.

the guy claims this is good-- any other color or combo means it would not work...

He calls it into Charter, reads the numbers off the back of the box, and they "Hit" it.

I navigated to the "tuning adapter" page under settings on the Tivo, to see if anything would happen...

He hangs up and we wait.... after a couple of min. the thing shuts itself off... He turned it back on, and we had a solid green light... and a crapload of info pops up on the "tuning adapter" page on the screen...

As far as I can tell everything is working as expected-- We'll see what happens when they actually switch to SDV...

The guy told me that the first he even head about the tuning adapter was Wednesday, and that they received NO training on how to install them.

He said a bunch of guys were installing the adapters, and then taking the cable cards with them--- thinking it was a cable card replacement!


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## Jove

Charter came out and installed the M series Cable Card, which was a success, but my HD Fox Chanel is coming in on the HB PBS channel and was told that the channel map on the card is outdated and it may take several months before the company Charter goes through updates the list.


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## rainwater

Jove said:


> Charter came out and installed the M series Cable Card, which was a success, but my HD Fox Chanel is coming in on the HB PBS channel and was told that the channel map on the card is outdated and it may take several months before the company Charter goes through updates the list.


They are giving you the wrong information. Channel map updates should happen at the same time they are updated on their own converter boxes.


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## Luckyp79

Well I would like to share my experience so far dealing with Charter.

Thursday
I call Charter in advance to see what I need to do. I am told to go to the local office and pick up my cable cards and come home and give them a call to activate the card.

Friday
I take the day off to get this stuff done.
I buy my Tivo HD. I go to the local office to pick up my cable card. Sorry that is not our policy at Charter they tell me. Sorry that is what I was told on the phone I want my card I tell them. I schedule an appointment for Tuesday. On my way home I call Charter again. I ask about the cards and I am told the same thing. Go to the office pick them up and give the techs a call to activate my card. I ask are you 100% sure I can do this. I am told that I can not. Yes 100% sure you can do this.
I go and demand that I get my card because I have now been told by two Charter techs that I can pick them up. After a 15 min wait at the office for the lady to come back with the card she attempts to increase my cable bill I bet about 5 times. She told me what she was trying to do but the computer would not let her.

Activate my Tivo install the card call Charter to activate. I am not receiving my digital channels and most of my HD programing. I call Tivo for assistance thinking that maybe my account is not activated yet. It is and they double check my settings and figure out that the card is not paired. Call Charter to have the card paired. They say they do it even though the settings on the Tivo still tel me to call the cable company.

Saturday
I call Charter again to have the card paired. At this point the lady tells me that I am not supposed to have the cards and that I need to have a tech come out and install the cards along with a tuning adapter. She schedules the appointment and I get disconnected from the line.

Sunday
I call Charter to find out what time the appointment is. Monday between 10-noon. Ok
Monday
My wife takes the day off for this to get done.
The tech rolls up walks in the house. 15 mins later he leaves doing nothing telling my wife that he has no idea what to do. It looks right to him.

I call Charter to tell them my frustration that they send me a tech and he wastes our time by doing nothing and not calling someone on the staff that might know what to do. I am told to walk into my local office and pick up a tuning adapter. I tell the guy that its not their policy to hand that stuff over the counter but if he can call my local office (we are not aloud to do that here) and tell hat that it is ok for me to pick it up I will. He says they only have fax lines at my local office. So I ask if he could fax something saying that its ok for me to pick this up. He puts me on hold as he gets a supervisor. She tells me that I do not need the tuning adapter in Minnesota. Ok no big deal. So I ask her that can we do about getting my cable to work. I tell her that all I need is to get my card paired or bound to my slot on my Tivo. She asked me if I had access to some number ( I forgot what she said) I said no I am at work but would be glad to call when I get home at 5. She credits me $20 (or so she says) for all of the miss communication and says that when I call in later to ask for a supervisor to do this for me. She also told me that she would make a note on the account to transfer me to a supervisor right away.

I am thinking all is going to be fixed when I get home.

I call in I hit 1 for English (should be default in the USA) I enter my phone number I hit 3 for tech support then I press 2 for cable tv support. I get someone and ask for a supervisor. I start getting a run around of oh maybe I can help you. I say no I was told today to talk to a supervisor and that it would be noted on my account to be transferred to one right away.
I was calm at this point still thinking that I am going to finally get my cable that I am paying for back.
She tells me that she is as close to a supervisor that I am going to get and that she is a member of the escalation department.

That statement is the one that set me off. All I have been doing this weekend is what I have been told to do by charter employees. I tell her this along with some other choice words and go on how incompetent and misleading their employees have been through this process and I just want my cable back. I tell her that the tech that came today did nothing but look at my box and walk out the door. Never tried to resolve the issue and that I want someone to come back tonight because I have now missed two days of work for their mistakes not mine and bla bla bla. She never did do a good job at settling me down either. so their escalation department sucks as well.

She said that the earliest they could be out here was Tuesday 10-noon. I tell her no one will be home after 11. She said then she had a Wednesday at a later time. I told her no one will be home. She then wanted to send someone out on Saturday. I said no you had a guy out here today and he did not try to fix my problem I want my cable now. I told her Tuesday between 10-11 she said that will not work. I said make it happen. You guys are supposed to be so convenient then you can work around my schedule if I have to work around yours.

So anyway if the guy is not here by 1030 then I am leaving work and coming home so my wife can go to work.

So that is my story so far. maybe I will update tomorrow.


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## pops_porter

Luckyp79 said:


> Well I would like to share my experience so far dealing with Charter.
> I am told to walk into my local office and pick up a tuning adapter. I tell the guy that its not their policy to hand that stuff over the counter but if he can call my local office (we are not aloud to do that here) and tell hat that it is ok for me to pick it up I will. He says they only have fax lines at my local office.


Sorry to hear about your frustrations, a couple comments I have are: The whole not calling your local office thing is annoying. There's been a couple times where if I could talk to someone locally it would really help resolve the problem, but no. I did end up driving to the office and talk to them and the problem was resolved, just frustrating we can't call.

On the install, it took me two visit by charter, I'm in MN. The first was one of their contractors that had no clue and those were some of the first words out of his mouth and the second was a Charter guy, supposedly the one guy in my area that knows about cable cards and he had it working in minutes. I couldn't really get the problem out of him, but he basically said they had it all set up wrong at dispatch.

Regarding your appointment reschedule, after the first guy couldn't get it to work, he was talking to dispatch and trying to set up another appointment for me. He was nice and requested the cable card guy in my area to do the appointment, he offered up some weekday times and I nicely said that those day times don't work for me, you should've gotten this done toady, Saturday, when I was home from work. Let's do the 5-7PM window on Tuesday, at first he said that's only for new installs, but then said okay, and I was scheduled for the evening. So ask for that if they aren't able to get you up and running this next time.

Regarding your picking up of the cable cards, I wish we could do that. Charter tried to charge me $30 I think for each home visit. I was only able to get one removed and the other down to $15 even though I said I would've picked up the cards and installed them myself if I was given the option.

Good luck!


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## Luckyp79

Just to keep my documentation going.

The charter tech shows 30 mins early at 9:30. He does whatever he does. Signal strength and all. Then at 10:00 a second tech shows up. Everything checks. They install another cable card. So now I have a multi stream and a single stream card in my TiVo. They send the signal and activate the cards. So now I have my digital and HD programing. No freezing on these. But my lower expanded basic cable package is still freezing.

I check my pairing screen. Call your provider message shows. I told my wife to not let them leave if this screen says this. But she never checked it. So any way I call TiVo and ask about the two cards. Its ok but he said that the cards are not paired yet. I knew that but it was nice to hear it from him. I casually said that if I knew how I would do a three way call with charter and TiVo that I would. He said that he would be happy to do that for me.

All it did for me was get one more appointment tomorrow morning. Charter is saying that the cards are bad. I am saying I am going to be contacting the FCC, BBB, local Chamber of Commerce tomorrow evening if this is not working for me. The Tivo guy was going to mention that to me but I beat him to it.


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## mgchan

Just an update on my situation - 

Called Charter to install CableCards - appointment line took the appointment, didn't pass along request for M-card, but guy shows up with 2 S-cards and 2 M-cards. Tries his best, can't get anything working (not pairing). Sorry, can't help, will reschedule.

A week later, second guy comes to install. Alas, he brings only 2 S cards, and has no extras - he only got 2 cards for 2 jobs. And, neither works - one is in factory mode or something, other one just doesn't pair. Sorry, out of luck again - but then he calls some other tech and picks up another M-card. Plugs it in, calls in the number, and voila the card works! I only have a few HD channels, no premium channels, but it does work. He didn't do anything new in terms of pairing.

I really believe it is just Charter having old/broken cards, cards with old firmware, stuck in wrong mode, etc. They give it to the techs who really can't do anything about it. Maybe they could try to troubleshoot, upgrade firmware etc but I really do blame the main Charter office. I wouldn't be surprised if they just always blame the customer's devices and keep sending out these defective/damaged cards without doing anything to fix them.

I would say, just do your best to get the techs to bring multiple cards. Tell them you want to install on your TV and your TiVo, say you want M cards or 2 S cards if they can't bring the M card, sound like you have been through this before and they just had to try many cards to get it to work.


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## Luckyp79

this my update. We had a appointment today between 9-11 with a note of being the first. The guy shows up at 1015. My wife tells the guy she has to go to work at 1100. They leave with no solution. I call charter and drop the fcc, bbb and I have given you guys more then enough strikes and now your out. Its time to come on my time not yours. I gave in on this one but I put up a fight. Told the tech on the phone that if I take the 1-3 time slot that the guy needs to bring like 20 cards with him. If he dose not get it to work then I am filing a formal complaint. I leave work early for this guy. He shows up around 200. He tries to activate. It fails. He checks the signal and changes a splitter. Not the issue. He calls everyone he knows. I keep insisting that he needs to call TiVo and talk to them. He eventually does. Does he do what they say? NO. He was told to use multiple cards and one would eventually work. (I am the cable company I know what I am doing attitude award goes to this guy) He was told to have the signal to activate the card and then the signal to pair the card sent separately. Nope can" ask to have that done either. Finally at 415 he starts using more cards. Then at 430 he finally starts to ask for anyone that knows anything about TiVo. 435 the self proclaimed TiVo expert calls him. 

SOLUTION-------------------------------------------
This card was already activated so the tech on the phone had the host and card ID already.

They unplug the TiVo.
Take out the card
Read the mac ID
looked for the serial number 
(somewhere here the tech on the phone "cold hits" the card)
Put the card in
Plugged it back in
It boots up

everything is working and the settings are correct.

I am fixed


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## firemedic17

I have a Tivo Series 3 live in Ma have Charter cable and lose my preminium channels every 3 months. Most of the time its only one cable card that loses it. Charter has no idea and tivo says that I need a Scientific Atlanta Card with a build date of 4/25/08. I asked Charter and the said that they are not buying cards anymore and that I was out of luck. What can I do, what is the fix?


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## TBarclay3

DirecTV! That's what I'm doing as soon as I get my condo board's approval. I am tired of dealing with Charter and their incompetent techs.


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## Dig-Doug

Athens, AL -> Decatur, AL office

Install for two Tivo-HD Units

First appointment cancelled, since the office did not have any cards.

Second appointment:
Contractor for Charter showed up with 5 m-stream cards, 1 was not staged, so we needed 3 of those 5 cards to get two working ones. Contractor called, got the EMMs sent down, all channels came up.

Thanks to everyone posting tech info here (on how to confirm everything was working), I (knock on wood for continued operation) had a smooth install from a rural Charter office.

So maybe this will be a ray of hope for some of you out there...


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## velum

Just to let all of the Charter users here know that they are implementing internet download caps. If you have a 10 to 15mb connection your cap is 100gb if you have a 16 to 20mb connection your cap is 250gb. If your lucky enough to have their 60mb service in your area no caps. No info yet on on the price per gig for going over.


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## jrm01

Hey Charter customers. All your problems are about to be solved. They will be filing for bankruptcy next month:

http://www.informationweek.com/news/telecom/business/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=214000016


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## GadgetVirtuoso

velum said:


> Just to let all of the Charter users here know that they are implementing internet download caps. If you have a 10 to 15mb connection your cap is 100gb if you have a 16 to 20mb connection your cap is 250gb. If your lucky enough to have their 60mb service in your area no caps. No info yet on on the price per gig for going over.


Looks like they haven't quite set a price. I'd say the abuse would have to be quite severe to see additional charges.



> 13. NO EXCESSIVE USE OF BANDWIDTH
> 
> Excessive bandwidth is usage beyond a reasonable level for the service subscribed to. Residential service usage will not exceed 100GB of bandwidth per month for Customers subscribing to Services of 15 Mbps or less per month and 250GB of bandwidth per month for Customers subscribing to Service over 15 Mbps and up to 25 Mbps. Charter reserves the right to revise usage limits or to implement additional usage limits. In the event residential usage exceeds the above-described limits Customer will be notified and required to either limit Customers bandwidth consumption to permitted levels/limits or subscribe to a Service with a higher monthly bandwidth limit if a higher limit subscription is available. In the event Customer does not limit bandwidth consumption to permitted levels/limits after notice of the same, Charter may determine, in Charters sole discretion, that Customer is using an excessive amount of bandwidth over the Charter network infrastructure for Internet access or other functions using public network resources, during any period of time, Charter may thereafter: (a) adjust, suspend or terminate Customers account or Service at any time and without notice; or (b) require Customer to upgrade Customers service level and pay additional fees in accordance with Charters then-current, applicable rates for such Service; (c) cap Customers usage or limit aggregate bandwidth available to Customer; (d) implement prioritization of traffic; (e) implement protocol filtering; or (f) use any technology to be chosen by Charter at its sole discretion including, but not limited to, packet-reset and/or other packet management technology, to slow Service to Customer for purposes of conserving bandwidth. Charter may also notify Customer of excessive use and request Customer to employ corrective or self-limiting actions to comply with this provision.


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## jwatkins80504

I thought I would share my recent experience with a TivoHD install on Charter cable in Reno, NV. I installed a TivoHD XL purchased from the Tivo web site. Here are some things I learned:

1) I got Tivo working, but it took two installer visits and one tech visit.
2) Cable cards are flakey. Have your installer bring lots of cards. I recommend that you write down the Unit Address of the cards you try (and that fail) so you can check them when an installer brings new cards. I used a digital camera to capture information on all the cards I tried.
3) TivoHD is sensitive to flakey cable cards. Cards that are bad can make Tivo reboot or hang.
4) The installers and technicians dont know anything about cable cards. Read the very helpful Tivo support article: Troubleshooting CableCARD activation and channel issues. You will need to help your installer or the install isnt going to get done right.

I got Tivo#1 on 2/2/09. I forced several connections to the Tivo service to get the latest 11.0 firmware update and Tivo ran fine for two days without cablecards installed.

Installer#1 came on 2/4/09. He brought two Motorola M-Cards. He was patient but didnt know anything about cable cards. Both of these cards caused the Tivo to reboot when attempting to access cable channels. Several of the reboots were accompanied by a solid green screen (possibly the Green Screen of Death?). I worked with Tivo support and they recommended swapping out the Tivo for a new one. In retrospect I dont think there was anything wrong with Tivo#1. I believe bad cablecards were the issue.

I got Tivo#2 on 2/11/09. Again I forced connections to update to the latest firmware and Tivo ran fine for two days with no cablecards installed.

Installer#2 came on 2/13/09. He brought four Motorola M-Cards and two S-Cards. He was not a patient person and wanted to rush the process along. He didnt know anything about cablecards. The first M-Card we tried worked and I had all my channels: basic (with HD-locals) and expanded basic. I let the installer go. I re-ran guided setup and Tivo freaked out trying to access a cable channel during setup. The Tivo hung with a black screen and put out a loud noise in the speakers. I called Tivo support and they recommended a cablecard swap. I thought that I would try to fix it myself, so I rebooted Tivo without the cablecard and re-ran guided setup. Then I re-installed the cablecard and was able to get the basic channel lineup (but not the expanded basic lineup). I was happy to get my HD-locals so I left the cablecard installed. I called the Charter 888 service number and they hit the card on 2/13, 2/14 and 2/15. None of these hits fixed the channel lineup problem so they scheduled a tech visit for 2/16.

The charter tech came on 2/16/09. He brought four Motorola M-Cards. He was patient but didnt know anything about cablecards. He swapped out the cablecard for a new one. This cablecard worked and Tivo seems to be happy with it. As I post this on 2/23/09 the Tivo continues to be happy and is recording as expected.


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## TracySMiller

Hey, guys. I have a question. I have read a lot of this thread (certainly not all), and I have run across a few posts that mention you can get local HD channels by ordering only "Basic Cable" (not the "Expanded Basic"), as long as you have the two cable cards. Is this right?

Currently we have the "Digital Home" tier, which includes channels 2-99, plus a few others, plus all the non-premium HD stuff, like TNTHD, TBSHD, A&EHD, and of course, ABC, NBC, CBS, & FOX in HD. For this we pay the $59.99/month, plus the $5.00 "HD Equipment Upgrade", plus the $2.00 for each CableCard. After taking a close look at our viewing habits, we find that 80% of what we watch is on ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX. We have Netflix for movies, and the other assorted shows (mainly on FX, Sci-Fi, or HBO), we can download or rent the DVD's. 

Can we get just the "Basic Cable" for around $20, keep the Cable Cards ($4.00 total), and get ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX in HD?


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## fire100

TracySMiller said:


> Can we get just the "Basic Cable" for around $20, keep the Cable Cards ($4.00 total), and get ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX in HD?


That is what I do, I get ABC HD, CBS HD, NBC HD, FOX HD, PBS HD, and TBS HD with cable cards, via just the Basic Cable package. I am actually on their $9.99 a month promotion right now, and pay an additional $2 for each multi-stream card (2 Tivo HD's).


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## mp11

Well after reading all the posts about Charter and Tivo installes, I was a bit nervous about my encounter setting up my TivoHD. I went by the local Charter office(Eunice,La), and explained to the lady what I needed done. I asked if they had much experience with Tivo and cablecards. To my relief she said confidently, "Yes". She said they have no DVRs available, so I figured any DVRs would have to be Tivos...thus there is the experience.  She even went as far as saying the tech will probably bring out several cablecards when he comes out. (again the sound of experience). BTW these are M cards. The tech came out 2-3 days later(a contractor), he looked all of about 19 years old, but he knew what he was doing. A little. After he got off the phone he said everything is ready. So I started checking my channels and all that was there was my OTA locals. After making another call everything was coming in perfectly. Although its only been about 2 weeks now, I'm very happy with how things went, and still going. Picture quality has *really* surprised me. In my opinion every bit as good as Directv was. If there is a difference, I dont see it.


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## trausch

Charter in Farmington, MN did a great job. In and out in a few minutes. Installed three M cards, one in each of my Tivo HDs. 

The only real problem was with the Tivos themselves. I bought 3 refurbs and two of the three did not work right out of the box. I had to pay for a second truck role to get the cards.


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## mp11

trausch said:


> Charter in Farmington, MN did a great job. In and out in a few minutes. Installed three M cards, one in each of my Tivo HDs.
> 
> The only real problem was with the Tivos themselves. I bought 3 refurbs and two of the three did not work right out of the box. I had to pay for a second truck role to get the cards.


I also had a problem with the first one I purchased from Sears during its 7 day trial period. But I returned it and this one is great.


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## Andrea4

I've had my Tivo set up for about a month and a half. But I just now called Charter to get a cable card. The guy on the phone didn't seem to know much about them. But I tried to tell him that I wanted an M-Card not 2 S-Cards. He just said that they only have one kind of card so I'm not really sure what he meant. The tech is coming on Thursday so we'll see how this goes. Does anyone know if Charter has M-Cards in the Madison, Wisconsin area? Also, isn't there something that I should print out for the tech?


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## xjonx

I no longer have Charter (moved to Comcast in ATL), but they most likely only have Mcards. I have 2 S3's and had a real hard time getting the old version. I waited two weeks to get just 3 of the 4 I requested. I gave up on getting a fourth.

There is nothing to print out but some tips are just get one card going at a time and be sure that the "tech" copies the id numbers down correctly.


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## shrike4242

Andrea4 said:


> I've had my Tivo set up for about a month and a half. But I just now called Charter to get a cable card. The guy on the phone didn't seem to know much about them. But I tried to tell him that I wanted an M-Card not 2 S-Cards. He just said that they only have one kind of card so I'm not really sure what he meant. The tech is coming on Thursday so we'll see how this goes. Does anyone know if Charter has M-Cards in the Madison, Wisconsin area? Also, isn't there something that I should print out for the tech?


Every card I've received from them has been a M-card, not an S-card. I'd expect them to be the same company-wide, and you should end up with an M-card. The tech should have more than one card on-hand, in case they have an out-of-box failure and need to swap it out.

I'm in St. Louis, MO, and from what I've seen, Charter has only had M-cards company-wide. I can't say for certain, though you'll know quickly when the tech shows up on-site.

Also, some suggestions about things to do about your install from some of my past experiences:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=7333646#post7333646


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## xjonx

PS The "tech" that said I should upgrade my equipment to use the Mcards and kiss my A$$! But them for me and I would be happy to change it out.


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## hank12345

Ugh.

Charter in my area has switched to SDV... after almost two years of a flawless TiVo, it is now a total disaster.

I have two S-Cards that worked without issue, until the tuning adapter was hooked up... Now the card in slot one looses all digital channels about every 6 to 12 hours. (gives me just a gray screen) The card in slot 2 seems to always work for some reason.

The only fix for this problem seems to be a re-boot.

Starting last night, The TiVo won't show ANYTHING but a black screen.. has to unplug it-- it is back to "normal" now...

I have also noticed an increase in macro-blocking since the switch to SDV.

I have a tech scheduled to swap out the tuning adapter and S-Cards for an M-Card on Friday, but I don't have a lot of faith at this point.

I don't know how widespread Charter's SDV is at this point, but if it is coming to your area, be ready for some fun new issues.


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## rainwater

hank12345 said:


> I don't know how widespread Charter's SDV is at this point, but if it is coming to your area, be ready for some fun new issues.


I am getting it near the end of the year. I appreciate your area working out the issues before it comes here.  I'm just glad we weren't chosen first. I have little faith in Charter making it a smooth transition for any TiVo users.


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## shrike4242

hank12345 said:


> I don't know how widespread Charter's SDV is at this point, but if it is coming to your area, be ready for some fun new issues.


No sign of it here in St. Louis, though I'd imagine we'd go sometime later this year. I'd call the help desk and ask them about it, though I'm lucky to get a clueful person on the phone when I call.


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## hank12345

rainwater said:


> I am getting it near the end of the year. I appreciate your area working out the issues before it comes here.  I'm just glad we weren't chosen first. I have little faith in Charter making it a smooth transition for any TiVo users.


Hi Rainwater-

Nice to see you are still on the board-- I remember you from the "Great Pixelation Debate" of a couple of years ago!

Anyway, I think I have a solution to the problem... It seems that if you tune to a SDV channel, and get a gray screen, changing the channel manually up or down two channels (not using the TiVo guide) then tuning back to the channel you want seems to get things working again...

This seems weird and wrong to me, but it is the troubleshooting method to use on the TiVo website...

http://support.tivo.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/148/related/1/c/105/r_id/100041

I have yet to get a gray screen while recording, but if that starts happening, the TiVo will be pretty useless for me... It's a shame that there is no better solution than the tuning adapter....

anyway, I hope this helps if anyone has a similar issue...

*EDIT*

I should note that I did have Charter swap the S-cards for an M-Card, and have yet to get a gray screen since te swap...

H


----------



## walueg

After having a bad experience with Charter in Fort Worth last year where after multiple visits, I was not able to get a successful install, I tried again last week. The guy came out, never having done one of these before, was prepared with four cards. The first card worked flawlessly after a firmware upgrade.


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## GlenH100

This a billing, rather than technical issue, but longtime readers may recall my post last year where I mentioned that Charter was charging me $5/month for "HD Equipment Upgrade" and calls to Customer Service yielded amorphous responses that this was "to get the HD signal to your home", and was a required charge, even though it doesn't appear on the price list.

Fast forward a year, and the price list was included in this month's bill. The fee still isn't in the price list, but I finally got someone at Charter to own up to the fact that this is the charge applied to Digital Home customers when they upgrade to an HD cable box. (It's the difference in the rental cost between a SD box and an HD box.)

Since I am not renting a box; only a CableCARD, the fee shouldn't apply, but they previously said that HD provisioning was tied to the fee. This time, the agent assured me that the charge was an error, and that I would still receive my HD channels, including the HD Ultra tier to which I subscribe. She could only give me a six month credit; to get the $55.66 for the first eleven months of my subscription, I'll have to go to the local office.

--Glen


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## gilg2009

Ok, I skimmed a lot of the messages here, and while I am glad I am not the only one having issues, I am concerned that there are so many other people having the same problem.

Yesterday I had a cable card installed in my TiVO HD. As my TiVo can support it, I had a M card installed, so I wouldn't need two S cards. 

When the technician showed up, I handed him the sheet that TiVo gives you, but he didn't seem interested in it. He just put the card in and said for me to go to the screen that shows "the cable card stuff." So I did, following the instructions on the sheet I tried to give to him. He called in and had the card activated. I then tried to "Test Channels". I could get all the channels that are considered "basic cable" and the HD versions of those channels (which Charter gives us for free). Any channel that I actually pay extra money for (a tier channel), however was just a black screen. 

At this point the tech started to pack up, I asked about the black screen and I was told that it takes from 45 minutes to an hour for the cable card to download the information it needs to be able to view those channels. I tried to get him to stay, but he wasn't going to do so. 

I tried to call Charter some 3 hours later, letting them know I was experiencing a problem, but the lady on the phone told me that the area I was in was experiencing an "outage" and she could not schedule a technician because of it. I told her I had another cable box and TV in the house that wasn't having any issues, and I wasn't experiencing an outage, and she said all she could do was send me a signal, which would take 10 to 15 minutes to get to me, and she couldn't stay on the phone during that time. That didn't work either.

My wife found this forum last night and I tried a lot of the suggestions I read, like re-doing the Getting Started wizard while pulling out and reinserting the cable card, I've tried rebooting the TiVo several times, which hasn't fixed it.

Can anyone point me in the right direction here?


----------



## rainwater

gilg2009 said:


> Ok, I skimmed a lot of the messages here, and while I am glad I am not the only one having issues, I am concerned that there are so many other people having the same problem.
> 
> Yesterday I had a cable card installed in my TiVO HD. As my TiVo can support it, I had a M card installed, so I wouldn't need two S cards.
> 
> When the technician showed up, I handed him the sheet that TiVo gives you, but he didn't seem interested in it. He just put the card in and said for me to go to the screen that shows "the cable card stuff." So I did, following the instructions on the sheet I tried to give to him. He called in and had the card activated. I then tried to "Test Channels". I could get all the channels that are considered "basic cable" and the HD versions of those channels (which Charter gives us for free). Any channel that I actually pay extra money for (a tier channel), however was just a black screen.
> 
> At this point the tech started to pack up, I asked about the black screen and I was told that it takes from 45 minutes to an hour for the cable card to download the information it needs to be able to view those channels. I tried to get him to stay, but he wasn't going to do so.
> 
> I tried to call Charter some 3 hours later, letting them know I was experiencing a problem, but the lady on the phone told me that the area I was in was experiencing an "outage" and she could not schedule a technician because of it. I told her I had another cable box and TV in the house that wasn't having any issues, and I wasn't experiencing an outage, and she said all she could do was send me a signal, which would take 10 to 15 minutes to get to me, and she couldn't stay on the phone during that time. That didn't work either.
> 
> My wife found this forum last night and I tried a lot of the suggestions I read, like re-doing the Getting Started wizard while pulling out and reinserting the cable card, I've tried rebooting the TiVo several times, which hasn't fixed it.
> 
> Can anyone point me in the right direction here?


Your card was not paired correctly. This is why you do not receive any premium channels. Don't believe the BS about having to wait 45 minutes for the channels to appear. If they don't appear a minute after he calls in the pairing info, then it will not work. Also, sending a signal to the cablecard is instant. A few times I had issues and went through the automated system to send a hit to the card and it happened withing a few seconds.

I have had a card re-paired over the phone one time but other times was not successful in getting anyone to try it. I would call and request a senior tech/cablecard expert come out and try to fix the issue. Tell them if a regular tech comes you will not let them in your house because it will be a waste of time. If you get someone who knows what they are doing, they will fix this problem in less than 5 minutes. Technically you can do it over the phone but it is hard to get a hold of someone that knows how to do it.


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## gilg2009

rainwater said:


> Your card was not paired correctly. This is why you do not receive any premium channels. Don't believe the BS about having to wait 45 minutes for the channels to appear. If they don't appear a minute after he calls in the pairing info, then it will not work. Also, sending a signal to the cablecard is instant. A few times I had issues and went through the automated system to send a hit to the card and it happened withing a few seconds.
> 
> I have had a card re-paired over the phone one time but other times was not successful in getting anyone to try it. I would call and request a senior tech/cablecard expert come out and try to fix the issue. Tell them if a regular tech comes you will not let them in your house because it will be a waste of time. If you get someone who knows what they are doing, they will fix this problem in less than 5 minutes. Technically you can do it over the phone but it is hard to get a hold of someone that knows how to do it.


Is the pairing process the same thing as them sending a "cold initialization" signal?


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## rainwater

gilg2009 said:


> Is the pairing process the same thing as them sending a "cold initialization" signal?


That would be part of the process. However, if they do not have the correct serial number, then the whole init process will not accomplish anything. AFAIK, Charter doesn't use anything but the serial numbers to initialize a cablecard. So make sure they have this number entered correctly on your account. If the card is setup right, any tiers you have or you add later on are automatically updated on the card. So it is rarely an issue with your account setup regarding what you are subscribed to, but just an issue with initializing the card.


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## shrike4242

rainwater said:


> That would be part of the process. However, if they do not have the correct serial number, then the whole init process will not accomplish anything. AFAIK, Charter doesn't use anything but the serial numbers to initialize a cablecard. So make sure they have this number entered correctly on your account. If the card is setup right, any tiers you have or you add later on are automatically updated on the card. So it is rarely an issue with your account setup regarding what you are subscribed to, but just an issue with initializing the card.


That's mostly correct, assuming of course they do the right back-end programming to enable the tiers on the cable card that was added.

I've run into issues with three out of five CableCard installs, and it's all been back-end programming issues that was the cause of the problem. The last time I ran into an issue, they did the standard "wait an hour and the channels will all shows up", which I did give them, though I had some channels for one tier not work. They set up a truck roll to send out a tech with a new card and he figured out the issue was due to the card not having the HD Ultra Tier enabled for that card. The back-end programming they're supposed to do after the CableCard is paired correctly is to enable all of your tiers for that device, so that you can get all of the channels on it. They do this so if you had kids with a TV in their room and you didn't want the movie channels usable on that cable box, they won't be able to see them if the channels aren't enabled on that box.

gilig2009, I'd have Charter re-pair the card again, and have them make sure that all of the tiers you're supposed to get are on the card. Check all of the channels from 100 up to the last digital channel you're supposed to get and if you don't have them all, call Charter back to fix it. Since the CableCard didn't work correctly after the tech went on-site, call Charter and ask them to credit back the $29.99 install charge because it wasn't done correctly for the install. Make sure you tell the rep that you had no issue with the CableCard install by the tech, which is sounds like you didn't, but the back-end programming was all screwed up, so you didn't have working service when the tech was done with his work. They may complain about not giving you the credit, though if it's not working after the tech leaves, you shouldn't have to pay for the install.


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## gilg2009

Apparently, all I needed to do was have them send the "cold initialization" signal. Now its working great! They did have to taylor the signal so that it was configured for the channels I receive, but those two words was all the CSR needed to hear.


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## ethicalpaul

Check out this crazy info: I heard today from my charter tier 2 tech support lady that Charter is doing away with cablecards in order to move to some new system where they only send the channel(s) you are currently watching (in order to save bandwidth). 

She explained that with the cablecards they have to send all the channels down the wire to be available for the cards/tivo to receive and that's just "too much bandwidth". The new system would be something like ondemand, but they only send downstream the program that your box says you are currently watching.

So she claimed they were getting rid of the card system and that I should receive a letter informing me of this.

I told her the FCC would be interested to hear about this plan.

Has anyone heard this line yet?


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## pops_porter

ethicalpaul said:


> Check out this crazy info: I heard today from my charter tier 2 tech support lady that Charter is doing away with cablecards in order to move to some new system where they only send the channel(s) you are currently watching (in order to save bandwidth).
> 
> She explained that with the cablecards they have to send all the channels down the wire to be available for the cards/tivo to receive and that's just "too much bandwidth". The new system would be something like ondemand, but they only send downstream the program that your box says you are currently watching.
> 
> So she claimed they were getting rid of the card system and that I should receive a letter informing me of this.
> 
> I told her the FCC would be interested to hear about this plan.
> 
> Has anyone heard this line yet?


Yes, paul. There are some threads about it, but it's called SDV and some companies have left their Tivo users out to dry without the ability for the Tivo to change the channel, but it sounds like Charter is doing a decent job in the places they've started using SDV. They've sent letters and supplied the device to go on the back of the Tivo to allow the Tivo to change channels with the new SDV format.


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## shrike4242

Link to the Charter / SDV thread:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=415745


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## rainwater

ethicalpaul said:


> Check out this crazy info: I heard today from my charter tier 2 tech support lady that Charter is doing away with cablecards in order to move to some new system where they only send the channel(s) you are currently watching (in order to save bandwidth).


Tech support at Charter has no clue so don't listen to anything they say. SDV is being implemented by Charter. However, tuning adapters are being made available for free to any TiVo Series3 users so that it works in conjunctions with their cablecards in their TiVos. In no way is Charter dropping support for Cablecards as they are required for the tuning adapters.


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## ethicalpaul

Thanks gang, sorry I missed the existing thread about it.


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## Rickvz

Here in Greenville, SC Charter added some new channels last month and rearranged all of the channels. I have a TivoHD with an M card (Motorola) and the guide data updated with the new channels but I am not receiving any new channels and the old channels are still coming in on the old channel number on the extended channels. Basic channels below 100 are working fine. For example, 773 is supposed to be AETV-HD but I am picking up ESPN-HD. 

I called and they tried hitting the cable card but that didn't work. I've rerun the Guided Setup several times and there is no change. A tech visit was cancelled once and rescheduled for last Saturday. The tech came out and tried repairing the card. He did talk to "Miss Margaret" (who was the backend person able to get the card working when I bought the unit over a year ago.) Still no change. He said that there was a tech who knew how to fix it but he was off that day so he would email him and get him to come out the next day. Didn't happen. I called on Monday and set up another appointment for today with a supervisor tech requested. I called last night to confirm the appointment (since Charter had not called me) and found out it was cancelled. The original tech called me and came out this morning and tried refreshing the Guide Data (which I have done several times) and it doesn't work. He's coming back this afternoon (at least he said he would) and will bring extra cards to try. 

Just wondered if anyone had any ideas? If I didn't prefer TiVo over other DVRs I would have already cancelled Charter and switched to Dish or DirecTV.


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## rsincavage

Hi Rickvz.. 

I am also in Greenville SC and I too stick with Charter just because I'm addicted to TiVo... 

Anyway, sorry to hear about your problems, I have all of the new channels and they are all coming in correctly. I have three separate cables cards... Two in the TiVo and a third one that is plugged directly into a Mitsubishi Television.. All channels are correct on all cards..

Regards,
Rob


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## Rickvz

I am glad to hear that someone here in SC has a working system. The tech came by my house a couple of times this afternoon and is determined to help figure it out. He brought out a Moxi box when he came the last time so that I can at least view programs. When we tried running Guided Setup after installing a new cablecard the TiVo didn't seem to make any progress. It remained on the Preparing stage for 30 or more minutes. He installed the Moxi and will plan to call and set up a time to return Tuesday. If I don't have to speak with Charter phone "support" I will be happy to work through it over several days.

I unplugged the TiVo and will try rerunning Guided setup and see what happens. Since he's tried three cards now and it is doing the same thing I wonder if there could be something in the TiVo itself causing the issue.


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## rainwater

Rickvz said:


> I am glad to hear that someone here in SC has a working system. The tech came by my house a couple of times this afternoon and is determined to help figure it out. He brought out a Moxi box when he came the last time so that I can at least view programs. When we tried running Guided Setup after installing a new cablecard the TiVo didn't seem to make any progress. It remained on the Preparing stage for 30 or more minutes. He installed the Moxi and will plan to call and set up a time to return Tuesday. If I don't have to speak with Charter phone "support" I will be happy to work through it over several days.
> 
> I unplugged the TiVo and will try rerunning Guided setup and see what happens. Since he's tried three cards now and it is doing the same thing I wonder if there could be something in the TiVo itself causing the issue.


Re-running guided setup will not make a difference. Never do it with a tech there as they will surely want to leave. Just use the test channels feature in the settings to see if the channels are coming in on the correct channels. I live in the same area and the channels updated a midnight the day Charter said they would. Have you tried having Charter install a cablebox and see if you get the same channels as your TiVo? I assume they have tried switching out cablecards? If the cable box gets the correct channels and your TiVo doesn't, then the issue is at the headend.


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## Rickvz

rainwater said:


> Have you tried having Charter install a cablebox and see if you get the same channels as your TiVo? I assume they have tried switching out cablecards? If the cable box gets the correct channels and your TiVo doesn't, then the issue is at the headend.


The Moxi box the tech brought out is receiving all of the channels correctly and the tech has tried three cablecards. The problem is the same with each, the channels are coming in on the old channel numbers. None of the new channels are being received and the diagnostics show that no signal is being received on the new channels. The person at the headend who tried to activate the card was the same one that was able to set up the card when I bought the Tivo a couple of years ago. It took three tech visits back then to get it working but I have never received any new channels they added since then.

Any decent chance that there could be a problem in the TiVo hardware? Perhaps in the cablecard connection?


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## rbendorf

I got a new Tivo HD last week and contacted Charter to bring out an M-Card. On 16 Sept the tech arrived w/card and began the installation. At the time I had most channels and was told within a matter of hour the whole system should be up an running. On the 18th I still did not have about 30+ channels and call tech spt. agian. They sent out another tech with an new M-Card. I was told at that time that it would take 72 hours to get everything up and running. Yesterday I called tech spt. again and had them sent a reset (hit), which brought up most channels, but 196 (BBC America) was missing. Today a tech stopped by for the3rd try. After calling into another Sr. Tech they finally ascertained that the M-Card info was improperly inputted to the main system. After updating the main system with the proper info (on the Charter pop up screen), I now have BBC America. So it was not the Tivo, nor was it the M-Card, but Charter improperly set up the system at their end and that caused the problem. I hope the tech I had here today documents the problem, because it may save a lot of other customers many head aches.


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## rainwater

rbendorf said:


> I got a new Tivo HD last week and contacted Charter to bring out an M-Card. On 16 Sept the tech arrived w/card and began the installation. At the time I had most channels and was told within a matter of hour the whole system should be up an running. On the 18th I still did not have about 30+ channels and call tech spt. agian. They sent out another tech with an new M-Card. I was told at that time that it would take 72 hours to get everything up and running. Yesterday I called tech spt. again and had them sent a reset (hit), which brought up most channels, but 196 (BBC America) was missing. Today a tech stopped by for the3rd try. After calling into another Sr. Tech they finally ascertained that the M-Card info was improperly inputted to the main system. After updating the main system with the proper info (on the Charter pop up screen), I now have BBC America. So it was not the Tivo, nor was it the M-Card, but Charter improperly set up the system at their end and that caused the problem. I hope the tech I had here today documents the problem, because it may save a lot of other customers many head aches.


Yeah, and telling you it may take 72 hours is a bunch of BS. If it doesn't authorize the channels within 5 minutes it will not magically work after that. The only issue I have seen with taking a long time is if the person at Charter who authorizes the card doesn't close out their screen. It doesn't seem to take affect until then. Mapping errors like yours are rare. In general CableCards are mapped the same as cable boxes.


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## swing56

ckoble said:


> I received my S3 a couple of days ago and scheduled an appointment today for CableCard installation from Charter Communications (Long Beach, Ca). The installer called me to ask what kind of TV the cards were to be installed in and I told him that it was a TiVo... he told me that TiVos were not supported. They only supported TVs. I convinced him to still come and "indulge" me. His supervisor called me and gave me the same story... I told him that I wanted them to come anyway.
> 
> So they show up and install the cards and they cannot acquire channels. I told him to leave the cards and I would troubleshoot myself.
> 
> Next I called TiVo, they indicated that the cards are not set up properly.
> 
> So I called Charter back and talked with a woman named Sophia. After spending about an hour on hold, she basically came back and said that the cards WERE set up properly and if I had a CableCard TV, they would prove it to me. The story they give is that the problem is with the TiVo and since TiVo was proprietary and they can't test it to make sure that the problem isn't the TiVo.
> 
> So now it has turned into a Charter blaming TiVo and TiVo blaming Charter.
> 
> Any ideas? Could this be Charter not wanting ts customers to use third party DVRs? Anyone else experience problems with Charter?


i called charter myself,i live in azusa the installer came out to hook up internet and a hd/pvr unit,got talking to him and he has a side thing going on with sevice and installs,he specializes in tivo sales and sevice,call him upcompany is moble works>323 697-0334,let me know the out come


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## mlcarson

Here's my experience so far. I had an appointment between 1:00-3:00pm on Christmas eve. A contractor for Charter arrived with a single cable card and told me that it wouldn't work right at the door since none of the installations have worked in the past 6 weeks. Apparently this was their only cable card and it hadn't been programmed properly. 

The TivoHD was ready for installation with complete guide data and the latest software version. He plugged the card in, read the Host Id, Data, and card S/N to the dispatcher. It was recognized as an M-series card and had the following status:

Con: Yes; EBCP: Yes Val: V 0x01
Auth: MP CCI: 0x00 ? Epoch: 0x00

I assume the above means that the card is validated but not authorized.

The OOB channel was working. It had signal lock, a SNR of 23dB, and was able to receive a channel list. Message and VCT Record counters are increasing.

The card revisions were:
FW 02.26, -.-, 03.25
HW 0469927002
Firmware version: 0613

Diagnostics showed 
Signal strength: 87-93
SNR: 35dB
Signal Lock: Y
Prog Lock: Y

The problem is that only unencrypted channels are coming in and the analog channels between 2-14. Not even the unencrypted analog channels from 15-69 were working. The unencrypted network HD channels were working however.

Is this really a card issue? Or is it just that somebody at the head office has something entered wrong? The provisioning people read the numbers back so they should be verified. The contractor left us with fewer channels than we had without the cable card. 

We rescheduled an appoint on 12/26 but when they called to confirm they said they had no additional cards so we postponed the appointment until Monday 12/28 when they said more cards would be available. 

I'm not a Tivo expert but have been through the whole process with Comcast multiple times. This seems more like a database issue than a bad card. Anybody in the know have any insights? I'm kind of suspecting tomorrow's appointment will either be a no-show or another contractor who doesn't know anything about cable cards or Tivo.


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## Grumock

mlcarson said:


> Is this really a card issue? Or is it just that somebody at the head office has something entered wrong? The provisioning people read the numbers back so they should be verified. The contractor left us with fewer channels than we had without the cable card.


Honestly it sounds as if they do not have the right services associated to your card. It's "Possible" that it is the card itself but i am willing to bet that there are no services on the card in the billing system.


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## mlcarson

I just called their Canadian call center and had the numbers verified again and had them send any possible initialization/reset that they could. It made no difference. I think you're right about the services. I'm getting BASIC. Any channels on the BASIC tier are coming in regardless of their channel number. Nothing at any higher tier is coming in with the exception of HSN and CSPAN and I suspect they're probably supposed to be on BASIC rather than Expanded Basic.

Called the call center again -- they say the billing record appears to be associated correctly to the card so I guess there's no quick solution before tomorrow's service call.



Grumock said:


> Honestly it sounds as if they do not have the right services associated to your card. It's "Possible" that it is the card itself but i am willing to bet that there are no services on the card in the billing system.


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## mlcarson

Update

My appointment for today was for between 1-3pm and nobody showed. I called the call center and they tried to get a hold of the tech but also said that I had another appointment scheduled for 9-11am tomorrow that nobody in the house made. The call center eventually got a hold of a tech who said he could make it out after 4pm which turned out to be 5pm. While I had the call center on the line I figured I'd try one more time to get them to send a cold initialization to the card. The call center said they sent a reset/refresh and I explained that it wasn't the same and for them to look further into their system for this and that it would probably be restricted. The guy found it and obtained the capability to send it. The card started working about 45 seconds later.

Apparently Charter in this area sends their cards to a larger office in the area for pre-initialization so they don't have to deal with it in the field. Both the call center guy and the tech supposedly had never heard of the option to send a cold initialization to the card. I just find it hard to believe that they could actually do their jobs without this knowledge. How is an ordinary customer with a Tivo cable card install ever supposed to get it to work?

What's also kind of frustrating is that the tech who came out after I got it working told me that the previous tech who came out on 12/24 should have had extra cards because they were available. The followup call that was canceled on 12/26 because of lack of cards was also BS -- the tech pulled 1 out of his pocket and said they had been available before 12/24 and he had one from the weekend because he was on-call. So, cards and techs were available and the call center had the ability to fix it from the start by sending the right signal.

And as expected, I was fed BS by the dispatch people who said that there was no way I would get the expanded basic (digital/HD) channels without paying an additional fee for digital/HD on top of the cablecard. Any extra fees were for their receivers and the expanded basic service covered all variants of it.

So for the time being I'm out of Charter cable card hell. It's just a shame that customers cannot be given the correct numbers to call and simply pick up the cards themselves since the tech obviously doesn't add anything positive to the process and costs additional money. Or even better -- add the capability to the website.


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## swinca

This is exactly why I don't have cable. Charter is the cable company in my area and I refuse to deal with them. I would love to have Tivo HD, but as long as I live in Charter territory I'll stick with the Dish.


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## rainwater

swinca said:


> This is exactly why I don't have cable. Charter is the cable company in my area and I refuse to deal with them. I would love to have Tivo HD, but as long as I live in Charter territory I'll stick with the Dish.


The issue with cablecards only happens on install. Rarely do people have issues with cablecards once they are setup correctly. I've had about 10 cablecards installed over the last few years. Only one of those installs went bad. Other than that, I have not had a single issue with Charter through my TiVos for the last few years.


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## dalawson

I had my first experience with Charter and cable cards yesterday. A tech was scheduled to come out between 10 and noon. He actually showed up early and started working at 9am! He came with two Mcards and installed both of them in the tivo HD and then called someone and gave them the host ID and data numbers. It looked like everything was going to be quick and painless. But then he tried channel 788 (Fox HD) and everything was pixelated. So he tried channel 8 (analog Fox) and it was also pixelated. Every channel he tried was pixelated. 

The tech told me that it was probably a bad tivo but said he would try two new cable cards. He went back to the warehouse and came back 15 min later with two new Mcards and they both had the same result. He again blamed the tivo and said that he would leave the cable cards behind so I could use them in the new tivo when I received it in the mail.

When the tech left, so I started to look through the cable card menus and saw in the network settings that the cable cards was "wait sync" and the number of messages received was not going up. So it looks like the cards were not configured correctly at the headend.

So I called charter support and they said a more experienced tech will be contacting me in the next 24-48 hours (24 hours has now passed). If the windchill wasn't -15 and there wasn't 2-3 ft of snow on the ground, I'd be up on the roof installing an antenna, but that's going to have to wait until everything thaws around here.


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## rainwater

dalawson said:


> He came with two Mcards and installed both of them in the tivo HD and then called someone and gave them the host ID and data numbers.


Why do you have two m-cards in a TiVo HD? That could cause problems and will only cost you more per month.


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## dalawson

rainwater said:


> Why do you have two m-cards in a TiVo HD? That could cause problems and will only cost you more per month.


I asked the same thing and the tech said it is charter's policy to always install two Mcards. It's probably in case one is bad, then they have a backup. But the tivo HD says that since the card in slot 1 is an Mcard, the card in slot 2 will be disabled. And they only charge me for one cable card ($2).

Edit: I was reading some earlier posts in this thread and I saw that some people weren't able to get the cable cards to work in the tivo until after they removed the charter dvr from their account. I still have a moxi box connected to another tv, could this cause a problem?

Edit #2: You really have to keep charter honest. I did not receive a call yet from Charter so I called them and asked if I could be refunded for the service call yesterday since the cableCard doesn't work and the more experienced tech never contacted me. So I was transferred to level 2 support who saw a note on my account to have someone contact me, but the form was never submitted to dispatch. So now my order has been submitted and the agent escalated the request so I am tentatively scheduled for Mon (1/11), but hopefully should receive a call today or tomorrow from dispatch to schedule the appointment.


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## SJPstl

I had Charter out on Monday to install cable cards in a brand new TiVo HD. I was dreading it but it actually worked out fine. They were on time and the cards worked. 

The tech admitted that they don't work with the cards very much and he seemed to have never worked with a TiVo at all.

After he put the cards in and wrote down all the numbers, he went back out to his van to enter the numbers on his laptop and call in. While he was doing that, I started fiddling around with the TiVo and determined that I now had all my channels. He came back in thinking he was missing a particular number and wanted to pull the cards and start over. I convinced him that everything appeared fine and he left.

To my great surprise and relief, the whole thing lasted maybe 30-45 minutes.


----------



## keyzone72

Hi everyone,

I live in Whittier, CA (located in southern California), and Charter is my cable company. I have three Tivo Series 3 HD DVR's with 2 cable cards in each unit. All the channels in my package used to work just fine. In the late summer, I received a letter from Charter informing me that a tuining adapter would need to be installed later in 2009 in order to keep receiving my channels, as well as to be prepared for upcoming new channels. Then in November, some of my channels no longer came through. Some were in standard definaition, some were in HD. 

To cut to the chase, the cable cards and tuning adapters are installed and activated, but more channels aren't working. According to Charter, the cards are activated as well as the tuning adapters. According to Tivo, the Tivo Series 3 is working. 

The technician that came out said that they had tried getting a tuning adapter to work with another Charter customer who also used cable cards and a Tivo Series 3, but that they couldn't get it to work. But they did say that the same customer also had a new generation Tivo (probably a TIVO HD or Tivo HD XL) that only uses one cable card and that they were able to get the tuning adapter working with that Tivo. Accoring to Tivo, the series 3 is 100% compatible with tuning adapters and cable cards.

Since this visit over 2 weeks ago, I still have missing channels. The Tivo's see the tuning adapters and the green light on the front of the tuning adapters stay lit in green. Apparently, this is supposed to mean the tuning adapters are activated and working. If any of you have any suggestions or help, please let me know. 

Thanks.

Robert


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## mfigard

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Just moved in our new house and got the works from Charter. Internet, cable, phone.

The installer came out hooked up the phone and internet with no problems.

CableCard installation appeared to go smoothly in that the MCard was accepted and the Charter Tech on the phone could see it.

We checked the channels and I only had 1-20. Everything above 20 was gray. I told the installer that it looked like the card wasn't configure properly. He talked to the tech on the phone and confirmed that I had all access right that I was supposed to. They "reset" the card and we restarted the TIVO. Still nothing. They decided that the card just needed to download its information. I am an Electrical Engineer and that just didn't sound right to me. It should either work or not work. The installer and tech messed around with it for about half an hour and the installer said to give it some time.

I gave it until that night. Still no channels. I found this great forum and read a bit. Next, I called Charter and asked them if they were using Switched Digital Video. I might as well have asked if they could explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity. I got no where. I mentioned the possibility of needing a tuning adapter. They didn't know what that was but said they would send a tech out with a digital box and if this tech could fix it.

When the installer and the box showed up, I knew it wasn't what I needed since it was a Motorola digital tuner and there was no USB input for the TIVO to talk to. I told the tech this, but he decided he wanted to mess around with it. 45 minutes later, I told him that I would do some research and see what I could figure out. He left the box so we could have all of our channels until I figured out the problem.

I came back to this forum, saw the words "cold initialization". I called Charter, told the tech I need a "cold initialization" of my CableCard. He was skeptical, but did it anyway. We rebooted the TIVO and sure enough I had all my channels.

Tell them you need a "Cold Initialization" as one of the first things you do. My area obviously hasn't migrated to SDV so I look forward to pain again when that happens.


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## rallykeeper

Robert:

There's a whole thread on Charter in Southern California with the exact same set of problems. We've all been having this issue. It would be interesting to know whether this issue is true for every one of your CableCards on the same TiVo. (I personally have one CableCard on each of my two TiVo Series 3's working).

Maybe everyone could also start posting which channels are missing to see if there's any commonality. (My missing channels actually changed recently to a different set).

Of course, in my own neighborhood in Pasadena, the cable has been out for over 36 hours, so I can't even test which channels are working.

Tech is coming for his 4th visit this Saturday.

Gotta love Charter!

(I've had a TiVo for close to 10 years, but the Tuning Adapter fiasco and Charter, has made me seriously question whether I can put up with this for much longer. If only DirecTV and TiVo would finish up on their new box!)



keyzone72 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I live in Whittier, CA (located in southern California), and Charter is my cable company. I have three Tivo Series 3 HD DVR's with 2 cable cards in each unit. All the channels in my package used to work just fine. In the late summer, I received a letter from Charter informing me that a tuining adapter would need to be installed later in 2009 in order to keep receiving my channels, as well as to be prepared for upcoming new channels. Then in November, some of my channels no longer came through. Some were in standard definaition, some were in HD.
> 
> To cut to the chase, the cable cards and tuning adapters are installed and activated, but more channels aren't working. According to Charter, the cards are activated as well as the tuning adapters. According to Tivo, the Tivo Series 3 is working.
> 
> The technician that came out said that they had tried getting a tuning adapter to work with another Charter customer who also used cable cards and a Tivo Series 3, but that they couldn't get it to work. But they did say that the same customer also had a new generation Tivo (probably a TIVO HD or Tivo HD XL) that only uses one cable card and that they were able to get the tuning adapter working with that Tivo. Accoring to Tivo, the series 3 is 100% compatible with tuning adapters and cable cards.
> 
> Since this visit over 2 weeks ago, I still have missing channels. The Tivo's see the tuning adapters and the green light on the front of the tuning adapters stay lit in green. Apparently, this is supposed to mean the tuning adapters are activated and working. If any of you have any suggestions or help, please let me know.
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Robert


----------



## keyzone72

rallykeeper said:


> Robert:
> 
> There's a whole thread on Charter in Southern California with the exact same set of problems. We've all been having this issue. It would be interesting to know whether this issue is true for every one of your CableCards on the same TiVo. (I personally have one CableCard on each of my two TiVo Series 3's working).
> 
> QUOTE]
> 
> Can you please provide me wit ht elink for Southern California Charter/Tivo users on this issue?
> 
> And to answer your question, yes, all three of my Tivo Series 3 DVR's each have 2 cable cards installed. The missing channels problem is the same on all three units.
> 
> Robert


----------



## dalawson

dalawson said:


> I asked the same thing and the tech said it is charter's policy to always install two Mcards. It's probably in case one is bad, then they have a backup. But the tivo HD says that since the card in slot 1 is an Mcard, the card in slot 2 will be disabled. And they only charge me for one cable card ($2).
> 
> Edit: I was reading some earlier posts in this thread and I saw that some people weren't able to get the cable cards to work in the tivo until after they removed the charter dvr from their account. I still have a moxi box connected to another tv, could this cause a problem?
> 
> Edit #2: You really have to keep charter honest. I did not receive a call yet from Charter so I called them and asked if I could be refunded for the service call yesterday since the cableCard doesn't work and the more experienced tech never contacted me. So I was transferred to level 2 support who saw a note on my account to have someone contact me, but the form was never submitted to dispatch. So now my order has been submitted and the agent escalated the request so I am tentatively scheduled for Mon (1/11), but hopefully should receive a call today or tomorrow from dispatch to schedule the appointment.


After 7 cableCards failed, I called back Tivo and they kept telling me my signal was too strong and that was the problem. I put in a 4-way splitter to knock down the signal and still had the problems. The third Tivo agent allowed an exchange. Got the new Tivo yesterday and had the 4th charter tech out to the house and when he first plugged in the cable card it still didn't work (but no pixelation)! So he called back to verify the numbers and poof it worked! It took two weeks, but I finally have my digital channels!

Turns out charter was right all along though, it was a defective Tivo and Tivo kept blaming charter.


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## keyzone72

mfigard said:


> I came back to this forum, saw the words "cold initialization". I called Charter, told the tech I need a "cold initialization" of my CableCard. He was skeptical, but did it anyway. We rebooted the TIVO and sure enough I had all my channels.
> 
> Tell them you need a "Cold Initialization" as one of the first things you do. My area obviously hasn't migrated to SDV so I look forward to pain again when that happens.


When I read the above poster's experience on requesting a "Cold Inititialization" to *wake up* the cable cards, I thought that'd be worth trying out. I called Charter and when I requested this, the person on the tech line told me that a cold initialization could only be executed for Charter issued cable boxes...

HUH?

I told the person that another Charter customer had requested this for their cable cards and that after doing it, all his channels came through (post a Tivo reboot). I was then told that they literally did not have that option on the computer.

So the next thing they tried was to "send a baud hit:"

No change.

Then they asked me to unplug the Tivo for 40 mins while they sent a cable card revalidation signal. Upon bootup, and going to a live tv channel, I got the spinning "ying/yang" circle indicating it was updating the channels and I thought it might soon work. When it was done, there was no change.

This is geting really frustrating....


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## Spiff72

mfigard said:


> Grand Rapids, Michigan
> 
> Just moved in our new house and got the works from Charter. Internet, cable, phone.
> 
> The installer came out hooked up the phone and internet with no problems.
> 
> CableCard installation appeared to go smoothly in that the MCard was accepted and the Charter Tech on the phone could see it.
> 
> We checked the channels and I only had 1-20. Everything above 20 was gray. I told the installer that it looked like the card wasn't configure properly. He talked to the tech on the phone and confirmed that I had all access right that I was supposed to. They "reset" the card and we restarted the TIVO. Still nothing. They decided that the card just needed to download its information. I am an Electrical Engineer and that just didn't sound right to me. It should either work or not work. The installer and tech messed around with it for about half an hour and the installer said to give it some time.
> 
> I gave it until that night. Still no channels. I found this great forum and read a bit. Next, I called Charter and asked them if they were using Switched Digital Video. I might as well have asked if they could explain Einstein's Theory of Relativity. I got no where. I mentioned the possibility of needing a tuning adapter. They didn't know what that was but said they would send a tech out with a digital box and if this tech could fix it.
> 
> When the installer and the box showed up, I knew it wasn't what I needed since it was a Motorola digital tuner and there was no USB input for the TIVO to talk to. I told the tech this, but he decided he wanted to mess around with it. 45 minutes later, I told him that I would do some research and see what I could figure out. He left the box so we could have all of our channels until I figured out the problem.
> 
> I came back to this forum, saw the words "cold initialization". I called Charter, told the tech I need a "cold initialization" of my CableCard. He was skeptical, but did it anyway. We rebooted the TIVO and sure enough I had all my channels.
> 
> Tell them you need a "Cold Initialization" as one of the first things you do. My area obviously hasn't migrated to SDV so I look forward to pain again when that happens.


Just curious - did you specifically request the M-Card, or are all the cablecards with Charter M-cards now?

I am looking at adding another Tivo, and want an M-card (not 2 S-cards). I am in Michigan too - but near the lakeshore, and we are on the Allendale system.

Thanks
Jeff


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## keyzone72

keyzone72 said:


> I called Charter and when I requested this, the person on the tech line told me that a cold initialization could only be executed for Charter issued cable boxes...


Well yesterday I called back Charter and was able to get a supervisor to send a "Cold Initialization" command to all my cable cards. (I knew the previous person I talked to was wrong!). After the command was received, the Tivo's automatically switched to the screen informing me that a Tuning Adapter has been found and to configure it. After a brief spinning of the "ying/yang" channel configuration, I still am missing lots of SD and HD channels. 

Are there any Charter customers using with a Tivo Series 3, dual M-Stream cable cards, a Cisco tuning adapter and are *successfully receiving all thier channels?*


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## ScaryMike

Location: Madison, WI (west side).
Notes:
I made sure my Tivo had the latest software (11.x) the day before by forcing 3 connections to the tivo service and rebooting. 
NO SDV in Madison (as of yet)

Cable tech showed up with a Multi-Steam card. (well, 2 of them, just in case).

We wrote down the serial number, inserted it in the Tivo and everything went as planned (initialization/pairing went fine). When we got to the channel test, I wasn't getting all my channels (but was getting some of the basic cable channels). After a call into charter by the tech, they got that cleared up.

I figured posting a successful installation would be useful, so people can see its not always bad!

one note: the cable card diagnostic screen that the cable person needs so he/she call in the numbers can time out! And when it did, it went to some alert about needing to re-do guided setup. I ignored it and went back to the diagnostic screen with no issues and it never repeated the warning. I would suggest you refresh the diagnostic screen every once in a while if its taking a long time for the tech to get through to his people.


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## keyzone72

keyzone72 said:


> Are there any Charter customers using with a Tivo Series 3, dual M-Stream cable cards, a Cisco tuning adapter and are *successfully receiving all thier channels?*


As of February 4th, 2010, I am now able to receive all the SD/HD channels in my subscription package from Charter Cable here in Southern California. I am using three Tivo Series 3 units, 3 Cisco tuning adapters and 6 multi-stream cable cards. After calling into Charter Technical support, they informed me that they "fixed the tuning adapter" problem, but were unable to tell me what exactly they fixed. Just wanted to report that I am a lucky one that has everything working.


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## Ddun55

Asheville, NC

I upgraded to a TiVoHD a few days ago and the same day I had gone into the local charter office to schedule an appointment to get a cable card activated so i could get rid of my cablebox. I asked if I could just grab a cable card while I was there so I could hook it up myself, but they said it had to be installed by a technician. They had an opening the next day between 9-11am. 

I waited for them to come and at about 10:45 I got a call from someone at the office saying the tech was running late and would be there by 11:30. About 15 minutes later I got another call, this time an automated message saying I had an appointment scheduled between 12-1. 

I waited around until around 1:15pm and called customer service and she said she would get in contact with the tech and call me back in 15 minutes or so. She called me back in around 15 minutes and said that the tech would be here within another 30 minutes (about 2:15). They went ahead and added a $20 credit on my account for my wait. 

The tech still did not show up and I decided to go out and grab something to eat (because I knew I would get a phone call saying they were there). By 3pm, they still hadn't called or shown up so I called customer service again and told them about my long wait. The guy I talked to said he would call the office and get in contact with the tech to see what the holdup was and he would call me back in about 15 more minutes. 

When he called back he said the tech would be here within 10 minutes and he would personally call back in about 10 minutes to make sure he showed up. About 5 minutes later, the tech finally got here and I got a call from the customer service guy making sure he had gotten here. 

The technician got the cable card and tuning adaptor set up within about 10 minutes and was out the door by 3:45. So it took 6.5 hrs for him to get here to spend 10 minutes installing it and walking back out the door.


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## dwarner

cotton168 said:


> Anyone else have Charter and has had their CCs work on their Tivos?


Works fine here in Atlanta.. There have been several failures, where certain channels stop working. They send people out to change the cards, then finally figure out it's a problem on the street or at the head end and fix it.

They never said Tivo wasn't supported, and never charged me anything.

In fact, I just got a letter from them today saying they're going to SDV, and since I'm a Tivo owner, they're supplying the tuning adapter and installation for free.
The last event (head end issue) required a Tivo rep on the phone with the Charter techs to sort it out.


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## LucidSystems

Hi All,

I'm fairly new here but been lurking for a few months.

I have an interesting issue that I can't seem to resolve with Charter for one of our customers.

We are constantly seeing data in the Cisco CableCARDs Decrypt Fail Time status screen.

This is what it currently looks like:

=====================
Cisco CableCARD(tm)
Decryption Fail Time
[Stream - Status - Time]
0-2-Aug 21 2013, 9:41:05 PM GMT
1-2-Aug 21 2013, 9:41:05 PM GMT
2-2-Aug 21 2013, 9:41:05 PM GMT
3-2-Aug 21 2013, 9:41:05 PM GMT
4-0-Never
5-0-Never
=====================

And this is what it should look like:

=====================
Cisco CableCARD(tm)
Decryption Fail Time
[Stream - Status - Time]
0-0-Never
1-0-Never
2-0-Never
3-0-Never
4-0-Never
5-0-Never
=====================

All the signal levels and SNR are in the acceptable range and the CableCARDs are properly paired.

Every time I have contacted Charter they have indicated they don't have any other signals or hits to send to the CableCARDs other than to pair them. My question is, has anyone else seen this, and what have you done to resolve this issue?

Thanks,
LS


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

LucidSystems said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I'm fairly new here but been lurking for a few months.
> 
> I have an interesting issue that I can't seem to resolve with Charter for one of our customers.
> 
> We are constantly seeing data in the Cisco CableCARDs Decrypt Fail Time status screen.
> 
> This is what it currently looks like:
> 
> =====================
> Cisco CableCARD(tm)
> Decryption Fail Time
> [Stream - Status - Time]
> 0-2-Aug 21 2013, 9:41:05 PM GMT
> 1-2-Aug 21 2013, 9:41:05 PM GMT
> 2-2-Aug 21 2013, 9:41:05 PM GMT
> 3-2-Aug 21 2013, 9:41:05 PM GMT
> 4-0-Never
> 5-0-Never
> =====================
> 
> And this is what it should look like:
> 
> =====================
> Cisco CableCARD(tm)
> Decryption Fail Time
> [Stream - Status - Time]
> 0-0-Never
> 1-0-Never
> 2-0-Never
> 3-0-Never
> 4-0-Never
> 5-0-Never
> =====================
> 
> All the signal levels and SNR are in the acceptable range and the CableCARDs are properly paired.
> 
> Every time I have contacted Charter they have indicated they don't have any other signals or hits to send to the CableCARDs other than to pair them. My question is, has anyone else seen this, and what have you done to resolve this issue?
> 
> Thanks,
> LS


Have you replaced the card? The card could simply be defective in some way.


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## LucidSystems

GadgetVirtuoso said:


> Have you replaced the card? The card could simply be defective in some way.


Hi Matt,

We have not yet tried to replace the CableCARD. Could it be the CableCARD causing the issue?

Thanks,
LS


----------



## GadgetVirtuoso

LucidSystems said:


> Hi Matt,
> 
> We have not yet tried to replace the CableCARD. Could it be the CableCARD causing the issue?
> 
> Thanks,
> LS


If Charter has done everything they can remotely and it hasn't worked the next thing would be to replace the card. While not common, cards like anything else can go bad.


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## LucidSystems

GadgetVirtuoso said:


> If Charter has done everything they can remotely and it hasn't worked the next thing would be to replace the card. While not common, cards like anything else can go bad.


Thanks Matt! We will try that next!

Thanks,
LS


----------

