# The Magic Cablecard



## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

So a while back, maybe three or four months ago, I downgraded our TV package from TWC to their "starter" tier. This is just the six channels that most people can get OTA (I can't -- only PBS), TBS, The Weather Channel, Time Warner's news channel, and a few other shopping channels. It was part of a philosophy shift for us to streaming. In fact I was just trying to upgrade to a higher internet tier and cancel cable altogether, but they made it cheaper to have the starter TV bundled with it because they are insane and think I won't just call when the year is up.

The thing is though that while my internet increased, the channels never went away on my Roamio. The premiums left me, but the normal cable tier I was on remained. I've had to repair the card in it even after I upgraded the HD to 3 TB and thought I might lose them then, but still I kept the channels.

I then thought that maybe they had overlooked our switch somehow (though we are listed as Starter TV on the website), or that maybe something had to be physically done to our line coming into the house, and honestly I had forgotten I was getting extra until yesterday.

I bought a used Premiere on craigslist, activated it, tossed in a cablecard, and found that all our excess channels were gone. I hadn't considered this a possibility because I had more or less forgotten that I was getting channels I shouldn't be so I was disappointed with that, but I have no room to complain obviously.

I figured I just interacted with them one too many times when I should have stayed quiet, but later that night I went back to the living room and found my kid watching Nickelodeon. My Roamio still has all the channels. The Premiere has only what I am supposed to have. How is this possible?


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## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

From what I understand, the cable company's billing system is used to assign what channel packages are to be authorized when the CableCard is setup. I'm guessing that the channel packages assigned to the original CableCard have persisted after your downgrade. When you setup the new card, it was authorized based on your current Starter package. 

It's not too surprising based on my experience with a TWC. They gave Showtime free for 3 months as a Christmas gift last year. I still have Showtime a year later.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

abovethesink said:


> So a while back, maybe three or four months ago, I downgraded our TV package from TWC to their "starter" tier. This is just the six channels that most people can get OTA (I can't -- only PBS), TBS, The Weather Channel, Time Warner's news channel, and a few other shopping channels. It was part of a philosophy shift for us to streaming. In fact I was just trying to upgrade to a higher internet tier and cancel cable altogether, but they made it cheaper to have the starter TV bundled with it because they are insane and think I won't just call when the year is up.
> 
> The thing is though that while my internet increased, the channels never went away on my Roamio. The premiums left me, but the normal cable tier I was on remained. I've had to repair the card in it even after I upgraded the HD to 3 TB and thought I might lose them then, but still I kept the channels.
> 
> ...


Just watch your bill from them like a hawk.

Technically it could be considered theft of service for you to watch those other channels but the whole point of saddling us with the headache of cable cards is so they can control what channels you get via computer keystroke in some office somewhere talking to the head end instead of a truck roll to install filters at the pedestal, so if they forget to make the change I can't feel all that sorry for them.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

unitron said:


> Technically it could be considered theft of service for you to watch those other channels


That would be a huge stretch. It is basically the same thing as a tech forgetting to put a trap on a line. You aren't under an obligation to tell the cable company that they screwed up.


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## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

tarheelblue32 said:


> That would be a huge stretch. It is basically the same thing as a tech forgetting to put a trap on a line. You aren't under an obligation to tell the cable company that they screwed up.


I didn't say they'd ever get a jury to convict.



But it is using something for which you aren't paying.


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

Resetting cable cards can be tricky at least based on my experience. It took several attempts for them to get it right so that I received all the channels I was supposed to receive. (several is an understatement) I think the settings are persistent.

Although the cards were reset, I finally got a tech who did something different to get them working.


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## PCurry57 (Feb 27, 2012)

If you ever have to re-pair that card, tuning adapter failure you'll likely lose those channels. That TWC botched the initial plan change and database update isn't surprising. They have frequent database mistakes, failures. 

When I still had pay tv with them both my tuning adapters lost their pair settings in the database. They showed authorized in one place but weren't actually. TWC's systems is a joke.


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## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

PCurry57 said:


> If you ever have to re-pair that card, tuning adapter failure you'll likely lose those channels. That TWC botched the initial plan change and database update isn't surprising. They have frequent database mistakes, failures.
> 
> When I still had pay tv with them both my tuning adapters lost their pair settings in the database. They showed authorized in one place but weren't actually. TWC's systems is a joke.


Like I said above, I did that once after I switched out my HD and kept the channels.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

CableCARDs get "hit" via an OOB signal telling them which channels you are authorized to receive. If you have a questionable signal in that frequency range, or their servers simply forget to send out the "hit", then it will stay in whatever state it was in before. 

One of the things that makes CCs so hard to setup in the first place also makes them hard for the cable company to update when you downgrade your package.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

Dan203 said:


> CableCARDs get "hit" via an OOB signal telling them which channels you are authorized to receive. If you have a questionable signal in that frequency range, or their servers simply forget to send out the "hit", then it will stay in whatever state it was in before.
> 
> One of the things that makes CCs so hard to setup in the first place also makes them hard for the cable company to update when you downgrade your package.


For Comcast CT they hit the card about every 3 to 4 days, so if you downgrade it may take up to 4 days until all your cable cards are updated, there is a date in the cable card menu that tells you the date and time of the last cable card (moto) hit.


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## vurbano (Apr 20, 2004)

Sell the premiere and buy a mini. That way you get all channels in the other room. As a well as one less CC fee.


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## Pacomartin (Jun 11, 2013)

vurbano said:


> Sell the premiere and buy a mini. That way you get all channels in the other room. As a well as one less CC fee.


Practical advice.

I think many people have had the cable company screw up at one time in their life. Personally, I wouldn't actively try and steal services as it can get you in trouble, but people who call and report errors annoy me. I guess I owe some time in purgatory.


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## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

vurbano said:


> Sell the premiere and buy a mini. That way you get all channels in the other room. As a well as one less CC fee.


No way. The cablecard fee is pocket change ($2.50/mo) and the mini brings nothing. I would just lose tuners and HD space in my system. For what? Channels in the bedroom? We record everything we watch so I have everything I would want to watch in there anyway. And it is hardly a big deal to walk to the living room to schedule recordings.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

abovethesink said:


> No way. The cablecard fee is pocket change ($2.50/mo) and the mini brings nothing. I would just lose tuners and HD space in my system. For what? Channels in the bedroom? We record everything we watch so I have everything I would want to watch in there anyway. And it is hardly a big deal to walk to the living room to schedule recordings.


You realize you can schedule recordings and set season passes on the Premiere from the Roamio and vice versa, don't you?


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## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

ej42137 said:


> You realize you can schedule recordings and set season passes on the Premiere from the Roamio and vice versa, don't you?


Wow. I did not! How and why in the world would anyone want a Mini then in this situation?


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

ej42137 said:


> You realize you can schedule recordings and set season passes on the Premiere from the Roamio and vice versa, don't you?


I don't have a Premiere but you can't schedule recordings for a Roamio from a different Roamio in your home, unless you do it from the TiVo web sight.


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## scandia101 (Oct 20, 2007)

ej42137 said:


> You realize you can schedule recordings and set season passes on the Premiere from the Roamio and vice versa, don't you?


Source?


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

abovethesink said:


> Wow. I did not! How and why in the world would anyone want a Mini then in this situation?


A mini is much cheaper; you don't have to buy lifetime for it; it doesn't need a cable card or tuning adapter. And using a mini to control the other TiVo is more straightforward than the Premiere/Roamio, note how many people seen to be unaware that it is even possible. Other remote functionality is limited as well, for example you can't access the to-do list nor the season manager remotely from another TiVo (or at least I don't know how to do it.)

But having another TiVo gives you more tuners and storage space and almost anything can be streamed between them, the notable exceptions being Amazon downloads and the built in videos.

The way you do it is the following:

* Select the other TiVo device from "My Shows".

* Use the *Guide* button to display the guide.

* Use the *Enter* button to start a search for some program; notice that the name of your other TiVo is displayed on this menu.

* Search for and find your program as usual.

* When you find said program you may schedule a recording or season pass, which will be on the other TiVo.


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## lessd (Jan 23, 2005)

ej42137 said:


> A mini is much cheaper; you don't have to buy lifetime for it; it doesn't need a cable card or tuning adapter. And using a mini to control the other TiVo is more straightforward than the Premiere/Roamio, note how many people seen to be unaware that it is even possible. Other remote functionality is limited as well, for example you can't access the to-do list nor the season manager remotely from another TiVo (or at least I don't know how to do it.)
> 
> But having another TiVo gives you more tuners and storage space and almost anything can be streamed between them, the notable exceptions being Amazon downloads and the built in videos.
> 
> ...


Good information, will try.


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