# Spectrum to drop Tivo



## WacoJohn (Sep 11, 2013)

I am a Spectrum TV subscriber and own a Bolt. Had a service call yesterday and the technician said there was a memo out to techs that Tivo will be dropped by Spectrum early next year.

I am kinda stunned and interested in any comments. Thank you in advance.


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## fcfc2 (Feb 19, 2015)

Well, unless it is because Spectrum will be switching entirely to IPTV.....it is the typical misinformation or misunderstanding by the "techs". BTW it would be "cable card" support which would be dropped not "Tivo" support.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

fcfc2 said:


> Well, unless it is because Spectrum will be switching entirely to IPTV.....it is the typical misinformation or misunderstanding by the "techs". BTW it would be "cable card" support which would be dropped not "Tivo" support.





WacoJohn said:


> I am a Spectrum TV subscriber and own a Bolt. Had a service call yesterday and the technician said there was a memo out to techs that Tivo will be dropped by Spectrum early next year.
> 
> I am kinda stunned and interested in any comments. Thank you in advance.


What's your endgame?


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## mschnebly (Feb 21, 2011)

This is sad news but I think the writing has been on the wall for a while. Things are moving very fast now so I'd bet there are more surprises to come.


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## stile99 (Feb 27, 2002)

The only way Spectrum can 'drop' TiVo is if they are using TiVo for their cable boxes.


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## Pete716 (Aug 29, 2018)

This seems pretty unlikely to happen that soon. 

The FCC requirement to support CableCard devices still exists in Section 76.1204(a)(1) and hasn't changed. 

The only out would be for Spectrum to go 100% IP TV as mentioned, and I don't believe they are anywhere near ready for that. They have way too many set top boxes out there that aren't compatible with IPTV.


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## WacoJohn (Sep 11, 2013)

All I know is what he said ... Tivo 'goes away' in the first part of next year. Of course, he may not know what he is talking about. That's why I posted. Thank you all for the comments. Now I am more confused ... but I was born that way.


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## WacoJohn (Sep 11, 2013)

Sparky1234 said:


> What's your endgame?


I don't think I have an 'endgame'. Not sure what you mean.


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## Pete716 (Aug 29, 2018)

My guess is that he doesn't know what he's talking about. I had to recently explain to a tech's manager about the FCC's Cablecard requirement when he told me they weren't sure they could ever get it working for me.


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## WacoJohn (Sep 11, 2013)

To be perfectly honest, ... he was the 2nd tech who confessed "Hmmmm TIVO. I've never done one of these before." I groaned, but let him work. He called in, and got some help. Then, after all done is when he made the comment.

It's just that I figured he would know if he saw a memo or not.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

WacoJohn said:


> To be perfectly honest, ... he was the 2nd tech who confessed "Hmmmm TIVO. I've never done one of these before." I groaned, but let him work. He called in, and got some help. Then, after all done is when he made the comment.
> 
> It's just that I figured he would know if he saw a memo or not.


That's typical.


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## Sparky1234 (May 8, 2006)

WacoJohn said:


> I don't think I have an 'endgame'. Not sure what you mean.


Do you have other provider options?


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## stile99 (Feb 27, 2002)

WacoJohn said:


> All I know is what he said ... Tivo 'goes away' in the first part of next year. Of course, he may not know what he is talking about. That's why I posted. Thank you all for the comments. Now I am more confused ... but I was born that way.


And all we're saying is he was lying. There's no need to be confused, your average cable company rep makes your average used car salesman look like Mother Theresa.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

Maybe he was lying or maybe he was just confused as to what this alleged memo stated. I wouldn't be surprised if the memo said something like Spectrum was going to get rid of the dedicated CableCARD support desk early next year, which would make life much more difficult on anyone trying to pair a CableCARD. 

I think they already got rid of the direct line you can call, so now you have to call the main Spectrum support number and ask to be transferred to the CableCARD support people. Getting rid of dedicated CableCARD support people who actually know what they are doing would be the obvious next step.


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## reds91185 (Jun 7, 2017)

WacoJohn said:


> To be perfectly honest, ... he was the 2nd tech who confessed "Hmmmm TIVO. I've never done one of these before." I groaned, but let him work. He called in, and got some help. Then, after all done is when he made the comment.
> 
> It's just that I figured he would know if he saw a memo or not.


In-home techs and customer service phone reps are the least informed...trust me. It's not entirely their fault. Most are very smart people but they just don't get provided all the pieces of the puzzle.

Ditching traditional cable and going entirely IPTV within the next year is a ridiculous timelime. Unless the FCC changes the rules about cablecards TiVo isn't going anywhere.


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## MikeBear (May 21, 2015)

I wouldn't go back to Spectrum's tv and their 10 year old horrible dvr's on a bet. *If* I did though, I'd DEMAND a cablecard and to use my Roamio Basic. Otherwise the _*only*_ other way they could do this (IMO), is IF they finally rolled out their so-called "world box" dvr to all.


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## OrangeCrush (Feb 18, 2016)

I think the likeliest explanation is that the tech misunderstood whatever that memo was actually referring to. It wouldn't be the first time.

The last technician I had out insisted that my tuning adapter didn't need a USB cable because the point-of-entry filter on the splitter would create a better network over the coax cable and the two boxes would communicate over that. I just smiled and nodded.


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## sharkster (Jul 3, 2004)

I hope this tech was either just misreading or has no clue because I would be devastated if I couldn't use my Tivos anymore.

If I were the person speaking to said tech, I would ask for more information slash clarification of what thought he was conveying and where I could get full, precise info.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

MikeBear said:


> I wouldn't go back to Spectrum's tv and their 10 year old horrible dvr's on a bet. *If* I did though, I'd DEMAND a cablecard and to use my Roamio Basic. Otherwise the _*only*_ other way they could do this (IMO), is IF they finally rolled out their so-called "world box" dvr to all.


I don't know about your area but here we now have the new worldbox 2.0 boxes. They are better then what they were giving out when they first bought TWC. Still not as good as Tivo though.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

I'm certain the tech was misinformed. There's no way Spectrum is about to stop using devices with cable cards. They'd have to be well into testing IPTV boxes. I mean look at how long Verizon tested them before scrapping them altogether.


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## series5orpremier (Jul 6, 2013)

“dropping TiVo” is vague enough that it could have meant switching providers for program guide data; and the tech could have mistakenly interpreted it to mean something about the hardware.


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## AntiPC (Jul 22, 2005)

Sparky1234 said:


> What's your endgame?


My endgame would be to not get content from them. I already have a tivo OTA on an antenna, and Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. Cable TV only represents a percentage of what we watch, and we didn't have it for a year without suffering.

It's odd to me that TWC would do this because TiVo users are far more locked in as customers than set top box users. It just seems like the move would push people to cut the cord just as spun-off Time Warner launches its streaming service.


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## reds91185 (Jun 7, 2017)

MikeBear said:


> I wouldn't go back to Spectrum's tv and their 10 year old horrible dvr's on a bet. *If* I did though, I'd DEMAND a cablecard and to use my Roamio Basic. Otherwise the _*only*_ other way they could do this (IMO), is IF they finally rolled out their so-called "world box" dvr to all.


Spectrum 110/210 model boxes are considered the "2.0" Worldboxes. They are designed to run the new Spectrum guide and I've heard nothing but problems with them so far...early growing pains though.


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## ManeJon (Apr 14, 2018)

It might mean that Spectrum staff wouldn't do TIVO installations. I was surprised when I switched to Spectrum (had to ) earlier this year the tech did the whole TIVO installation for me. He said they did that since it cause fewer problems than not doing it. Of course a modern DVR and whole home service they might eliminate some of the TIVO business in this area.


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## BobCamp1 (May 15, 2002)

AntiPC said:


> My endgame would be to not get content from them. I already have a tivo OTA on an antenna, and Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu. Cable TV only represents a percentage of what we watch, and we didn't have it for a year without suffering.
> 
> It's odd to me that TWC would do this because TiVo users are far more locked in as customers than set top box users. It just seems like the move would push people to cut the cord just as spun-off Time Warner launches its streaming service.


But there are so few Tivo users that they simply don't care.

Also, the first step in transitioning to IPTV would be to stop activating all the old crap that doesn't support IPTV, including Tivos. If that's truly what's going on.


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## CloudAtlas (Oct 29, 2013)

fcfc2 said:


> Well, unless it is because Spectrum will be switching entirely to IPTV.....it is the typical misinformation or misunderstanding by the "techs". BTW it would be "cable card" support which would be dropped not "Tivo" support.


Agree, i think the switch to 100% IPTV will happen about as soon as the switch to 4K. Hopefully by then the FCC won't be run by a Verizon lawyer.


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## AntiPC (Jul 22, 2005)

ManeJon said:


> It might mean that Spectrum staff wouldn't do TIVO installations. I was surprised when I switched to Spectrum (had to ) earlier this year the tech did the whole TIVO installation for me. He said they did that since it cause fewer problems than not doing it. Of course a modern DVR and whole home service they might eliminate some of the TIVO business in this area.


My Spectrum experience (2017) was getting a cable card Fedexed to me, and spending about 5 minutes on the phone with a CSR. Much better than early Comcast experiences with truck rolls and service techs taking hours. I picked up my last Comcast cable card (2014) at the Comcast store, and 5 minutes on the phone with a CSR in India had it going.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

BobCamp1 said:


> But there are so few Tivo users that they simply don't care.
> 
> Also, the first step in transitioning to IPTV would be to stop activating all the old crap that doesn't support IPTV, including Tivos. If that's truly what's going on.


Spectrum would need approval from the FCC to stop activating retail CableCARD devices, which they don't have.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

reds91185 said:


> Spectrum 110/210 model boxes are considered the "2.0" Worldboxes. They are designed to run the new Spectrum guide and I've heard nothing but problems with them so far...early growing pains though.


I've heard the same. They are getting better though with each software update. When they first were released there were lots of reboots and guide unavailable issues. They are definitely in beta still. My dad recently got two 210-A DVRs. So far the only issue he's had that that I know of is the guide unavailable problem.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

Charter isn't moving to IPTV anytime soon. They are years behind Comcast, and Comcast is only moving to IPTV on a few EPON-based fiber rollouts. I'd be surprised if Comcast moved any HFC customers over to IPTV in the next 3 years.

It's amazing to me that Charter re-invented the wheel yet AGAIN with another DVR solution. TiVo still has the best DVR out there, Comcast did a crappy rip-off of it in X1, and they license it to other MSOs, but no, Charter had to go and be different from Comcast and Cox on X1 and RCN, Grande, ABB, and others on TiVo.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

Bigg said:


> Charter isn't moving to IPTV anytime soon. They are years behind Comcast, and Comcast is only moving to IPTV on a few EPON-based fiber rollouts. I'd be surprised if Comcast moved any HFC customers over to IPTV in the next 3 years.
> 
> It's amazing to me that Charter re-invented the wheel yet AGAIN with another DVR solution. TiVo still has the best DVR out there, Comcast did a crappy rip-off of it in X1, and they license it to other MSOs, but no, Charter had to go and be different from Comcast and Cox on X1 and RCN, Grande, ABB, and others on TiVo.


Yep, charter is doing essentially what Verizon did with quantum, building something new from scratch and using the average customer as guinea pigs.


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## mschnebly (Feb 21, 2011)

Bigg said:


> Charter isn't moving to IPTV anytime soon. They are years behind Comcast, and Comcast is only moving to IPTV on a few EPON-based fiber rollouts. I'd be surprised if Comcast moved any HFC customers over to IPTV in the next 3 years.
> 
> It's amazing to me that Charter re-invented the wheel yet AGAIN with another DVR solution. TiVo still has the best DVR out there, Comcast did a crappy rip-off of it in X1, and they license it to other MSOs, but no, Charter had to go and be different from Comcast and Cox on X1 and RCN, Grande, ABB, and others on TiVo.


Maybe TiVo isn't easy to do agreements with or lack of trust in Rovi? Back when I had WMC folks just hated Rovi.


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

Posters are assuming technician is either lying or misinformed. Switching to IPTV would in effect kill tivo. It's possible, maybe not likely, the OP is in a territory where IPTV is about to be rolled out.


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## TonyD79 (Jan 4, 2002)

tim_m said:


> Yep, charter is doing essentially what Verizon did with quantum, building something new from scratch and using the average customer as guinea pigs.


You are right but got the names wrong. Quantum is (was) just the next evolution in fios QAM. The IPTV product that they ditched didn't have a cool name.


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## stile99 (Feb 27, 2002)

lew said:


> Posters are assuming technician is either lying or misinformed. Switching to IPTV would in effect kill tivo. It's possible, maybe not likely, the OP is in a territory where IPTV is about to be rolled out.


This was acknowledged in the first reply. The reason it is being discounted is based on OP listing location as Granbury Texas, it's easy to see if this is the case. And it isn't.


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## msrolla (Feb 11, 2004)

I don't see it now, but for a while Charter/Spectrum offered a premium service that was "Powered by TiVo". It was still Charter's equipment, but the user interface was TiVo. This was probably the feature they were dropping (or already dropped).


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

msrolla said:


> I don't see it now, but for a while Charter/Spectrum offered a premium service that was "Powered by TiVo". It was still Charter's equipment, but the user interface was TiVo. This was probably the feature they were dropping (or already dropped).


That seems to be a very reasonable explanation.

Here's the press release from the time they introduced the service:
Charter Launches TiVo Premiere in Texas | Charter Communications Newsroom

It seems to have been offered in the Fort Worth area, and Granbury would probably fall under the Fort Worth operating area of Charter.


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## Bigg (Oct 31, 2003)

mschnebly said:


> Maybe TiVo isn't easy to do agreements with or lack of trust in Rovi? Back when I had WMC folks just hated Rovi.


Many MSOs are using TiVo. Charter and Verizon just wanted to do an even crappier job than Comcast did at re-inventing the wheel. If they cared about their customer experience and didn't act like moronic bumbling monopolies, they all would have just licensed TiVo.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

TonyD79 said:


> You are right but got the names wrong. Quantum is (was) just the next evolution in fios QAM. The IPTV product that they ditched didn't have a cool name.


Oh no, i was referencing the GUI. With Quantum Verizon rebuilt it from scratch in HTML5. Spectrum is doing the same with their Spectrum guide on the worldbox 2.0. The only difference is Verizon did it in house. Spectrum is having someone develop it for them.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

lew said:


> Posters are assuming technician is either lying or misinformed. Switching to IPTV would in effect kill tivo. It's possible, maybe not likely, the OP is in a territory where IPTV is about to be rolled out.


The odds that any Charter market will switch over to IPTV in the next few months is virtually 0.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

No, I don't think Charter is anywhere close to dumping QAM and going 100% IPTV. However, before year-end, Charter is supposed to roll out a new app for Apple TV (with live channels and cloud DVR) and support that device's new "zero sign-on" feature. If you have Charter broadband, just connect an Apple TV to your home network and it will automatically install and sign you in to every streaming app that you have access to as part of your current Charter TV package. It's even been reported that Charter will offer Apple TV boxes directly to customers as a supported cable box option (although I'm sure subscribers can take advantage with a retail-purchased Apple TV too). Will be interesting to see how it's implemented and how popular it is.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

NashGuy said:


> No, I don't think Charter is anywhere close to dumping QAM and going 100% IPTV. However, before year-end, Charter is supposed to roll out a new app for Apple TV (with live channels and cloud DVR) and support that device's new "zero sign-on" feature. If you have Charter broadband, just connect an Apple TV to your home network and it will automatically install and sign you in to every streaming app that you have access to as part of your current Charter TV package. It's even been reported that Charter will offer Apple TV boxes directly to customers as a supported cable box option (although I'm sure subscribers can take advantage with a retail-purchased Apple TV too). Will be interesting to see how it's implemented and how popular it is.


I assume that means the hbo, show, epix, espn, pac12, etc., apps that I never use?


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

NashGuy said:


> No, I don't think Charter is anywhere close to dumping QAM and going 100% IPTV. However, before year-end, Charter is supposed to roll out a new app for Apple TV (with live channels and cloud DVR) and support that device's new "zero sign-on" feature. If you have Charter broadband, just connect an Apple TV to your home network and it will automatically install and sign you in to every streaming app that you have access to as part of your current Charter TV package. It's even been reported that Charter will offer Apple TV boxes directly to customers as a supported cable box option (although I'm sure subscribers can take advantage with a retail-purchased Apple TV too). Will be interesting to see how it's implemented and how popular it is.


Now that is interesting, i can see that being very popular


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## waynomo (Nov 9, 2002)

I had some issues with Spectrum a couple of months ago. I wanted them to bring new cable cards and tuning adapters. The tech who came said they are very hard to come by. Fortunately they got everything working with the equipment on hand. However, I would take that as they are certainly trying to reduce their support for TiVos, but I can't see them not supporting their currently installed TiVo customers anytime real soon.

If they stop supporting TiVo I would drop them in a heartbeat.


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

Spectrum has a cheaper deal now where you get all of the locals and you can pick any 10 cable channels that you want. It works with TiVo cablecards, and you can stream the channels on the Roku Spectrum app.


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## samsauce29 (Nov 30, 2007)

SugarBowl said:


> Spectrum has a cheaper deal now where you get all of the locals and you can pick any 10 cable channels that you want. It works with TiVo cablecards, and you can stream the channels on the Roku Spectrum app.


Do you have more details on this? Our last $10 of discount rolls off in February, marking a 50% increase over the past 5 years.

We'll still need to retain Spectrum internet, but are considering EVERY available option for the TV portion.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

UCLABB said:


> I assume that means the hbo, show, epix, espn, pac12, etc., apps that I never use?


Yeah, as well as the apps for ABC, NBC, Fox, TBS, TNT, CNN, FX, etc. All the various cable network apps that let you log in with your cable credentials. Pretty much all those apps support Apple's TV app, which acts as a single place you can go to browse what's new from across all those apps (everything but Netflix, basically) and then maintain a unified watchlist across all the apps to keep track of where you are in each series.

In addition to the TV app supporting all the various network apps, I wonder if it will also support the contents of the cloud DVR inside the Charter app itself. Will be interesting to see just how integrated into Apple's UI Charter chooses to go.


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## NashGuy (May 2, 2015)

samsauce29 said:


> Do you have more details on this? Our last $10 of discount rolls off in February, marking a 50% increase over the past 5 years.
> 
> We'll still need to retain Spectrum internet, but are considering EVERY available option for the TV portion.


Here's the scoop:
Spectrum quietly tries a la carte TV streaming, but restrictions apply

They don't make this available to just everyone but you could call and threaten to completely cancel TV service from them if they don't offer it. Price for locals + 10 cable nets that you pick comes to $25/mo plus sales tax (no additional fees, though). You can use their app for Roku to stream the service. If you want to add DVR service, you'll have to use their DVR hardware for an extra $20/mo.


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

samsauce29 said:


> Do you have more details on this? Our last $10 of discount rolls off in February, marking a 50% increase over the past 5 years.
> 
> We'll still need to retain Spectrum internet, but are considering EVERY available option for the TV portion.


Spectrum is Now Offering an A La Carte TV Streaming Package - Cord Cutters News


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## samsauce29 (Nov 30, 2007)

Thanks to you both for the info. This is an interesting option. Will be making a change January 17th one way or the other.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

It’s been a long time since I last posted.
But after reading this thread, all I can say is
Just my luck!
Just my luck my series 2 but the dust a few days ago.
Bought a bolt vox. Love the new TiVo but hate the issues I am having with Spectrum in New York City.
Seems I am missing a couple of channels. But whatever Spectrum is doing to help get my channels back does not seem to help.
I’m missing NY1, NBC, Fox, Nick, CNBC and a few others.
They replaced the tuning adapter a Cisco 2 times. But never replaced tthem the cablecard.
Everything seems to be okmon their end. They don’t see anything wrong with the apartment.
Anybody in the community have any ideas?
If Spectrum drops support for TiVo my only other option would be moving to Fios. Not sure if that’s even an option.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Alan_West said:


> Anybody in the community have any ideas?


Call the normal support line. Once you are connected with a support agent, say "I am having a CableCard specific issue. Can you transfer me to the national CableCard support desk?" The support person shouldn't have an issue transferring you.

Once you've been transferred, explain to the CableCard support person that you are unable to tune to certain channels with your TiVo, that they don't come in when you select that channel. They should be able to re-push a channel map to your tuning adapter, then perform an initialization "hit" on your CableCard.


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## Pete716 (Aug 29, 2018)

Alan_West said:


> It's been a long time since I last posted.
> But after reading this thread, all I can say is
> Just my luck!
> Just my luck my series 2 but the dust a few days ago.
> ...


Fios is actually a better option for Tivo, they don't use and don't need the Cisco tuning adapter (which I think majority of people have had a problem with at one point or another) - so with Fios, you just have the cablecard and get all the channels. I had a great tivo experience with them and wish they offered service in the town we moved to because it all worked better with them.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

LoadStar said:


> Call the normal support line. Once you are connected with a support agent, say "I am having a CableCard specific issue. Can you transfer me to the national CableCard support desk?" The support person shouldn't have an issue transferring you.
> 
> Once you've been transferred, explain to the CableCard support person that you are unable to tune to certain channels with your TiVo, that they don't come in when you select that channel. They should be able to re-push a channel map to your tuning adapter, then perform an initialization "hit" on your CableCard.


Can I quote this exactly?
Say "I spoke to a friend of mine and he had a similar problem and that he called customer service and spoke with the national helpdesk and all they need to do is re-push a channel map to the tuning adapter and then perform an initializarion "hit" on my CableCard. "


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Pete716 said:


> Fios is actually a better option for Tivo, they don't use and don't need the Cisco tuning adapter (which I think majority of people have had a problem with at one point or another) - so with Fios, you just have the cablecard and get all the channels. I had a great tivo experience with them and wish they offered service in the town we moved to because it all worked better with them.


Good to know in case I can't deal with Spectrum and decide to jump ship. I am not at that point yet but it's good to have options. I didn't think I had options like that with FiOS.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

Alan_West said:


> Can I quote this exactly?
> Say "I spoke to a friend of mine and he had a similar problem and that he called customer service and spoke with the national helpdesk and all they need to do is re-push a channel map to the tuning adapter and then perform an initializarion "hit" on my CableCard. "


It's one thing to ask for a particular department; it's a whole other thing to tell the tech exactly what you think they need to do. They _hate_ that. Once you get to the CableCard people, just tell them what the problem is and they'll do what needs to be done to fix it.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

LoadStar said:


> It's one thing to ask for a particular department; it's a whole other thing to tell the tech exactly what you think they need to do. They _hate_ that. Once you get to the CableCard people, just tell them what the problem is and they'll do what needs to be done to fix it.


I see your point. But, I am just so frustrated at this point. 
Purchased my TiVo on Monday set everything up with no problems the only problem I have is I'm missing a bunch of channels the tech had to come to the apartment twice so far. The second time he was he he spoke with no fewer than 7 different people. I am not exaggerating. One person after rafter another we're giving him contradicting imformation. 
At one point he tells me that he just does not know of anything else he can do to fix my problem with my TiVo and has to reschedule for a supervisor Tech to come and fix my issue. So because I have other commitments to keep I have to wait till Tuesday to get this resolved. I'd much rather call someone that knows what they are doing band have this resolved as quickly as possible.


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## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> I see your point. But, I am just so frustrated at this point.
> Purchased my TiVo on Monday set everything up with no problems the only problem I have is I'm missing a bunch of channels the tech had to come to the apartment twice so far. The second time he was he he spoke with no fewer than 7 different people. I am not exaggerating. One person after rafter another we're giving him contradicting imformation.
> At one point he tells me that he just does not know of anything else he can do to fix my problem with my TiVo and has to reschedule for a supervisor Tech to come and fix my issue. So because I have other commitments to keep I have to wait till Tuesday to get this resolved. I'd much rather call someone that knows what they are doing band have this resolved as quickly as possible.


I haven't followed your saga too closely, but the CableCARD Hotline will know what to do.

It's been a long time since I called the regular support line or had a tech visit, but it wouldn't be uncommon for them to do things like show up without a tuning adapter when the entire point of the onsite visit was to replace my failing tuning adapter. They just aren't trained on TiVo's, don't carry the equipment on their truck, and they generally don't know what to do. The "supervisor tech" will most likely be just as clueless. He/She may have more contacts within Spectrum to figure out how to get the job done, though.

I almost always have a good experience with the CableCARD Hotline techs. I just call them directly; I don't bother with my local support number. I'm in legacy TWC territory.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Ok. I will give the cablecard hotline folks a call. 
Thanks for the advice.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

mrizzo80 said:


> ]I almost always have a good experience with the CableCARD Hotline techs. I just call them directly; I don't bother with my local support number. I'm in legacy TWC territory.


The direct dial number for the CableCard folks is gone. Well, the number still exists, but just dumps you into the main queue now. You have to ask for the CableCard folks once you connect with the tier 1 people.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

Pete716 said:


> Fios is actually a better option for Tivo, they don't use and don't need the Cisco tuning adapter (which I think majority of people have had a problem with at one point or another) - so with Fios, you just have the cablecard and get all the channels. I had a great tivo experience with them and wish they offered service in the town we moved to because it all worked better with them.


Thankfully i am in an area with Motorola TA's.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

LoadStar said:


> The direct dial number for the CableCard folks is gone. Well, the number still exists, but just dumps you into the main queue now. You have to ask for the CableCard folks once you connect with the tier 1 people.


Seriously? When did that happen. It was still functional last time i had to use it.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

tim_m said:


> Seriously? When did that happen. It was still functional last time i had to use it.


It's been a few months at least. The number still works exactly as it always did, but the calls just get dumped into the normal phone tree after the initial automated greeting.


----------



## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

LoadStar said:


> It's been a few months at least. The number still works exactly as it always did, but the calls just get dumped into the normal phone tree after the initial automated greeting.


Well that is a bummer making you have to jump through extra hoops to get to the cablecard people.


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## mlsnyc (Dec 3, 2009)

tim_m said:


> Thankfully i am in an area with Motorola TA's.


When I was on TWC (pre Spectrum) I had a Motorola TA which needed to be cycled at least once a month. Worse, one of the channels I watch regularly, ESPN, was messed up in HD. The symptoms were similar to a TA needing a reboot but that wouldn't fix this specific problem. I was glad fios was an option for the place I was moving to. Fios, btw, doesnt require a TA at all, not just that it doesn't require the Cisco TA. That means it doesn't offer as many HD channels as Spectrum, but all the major ones are there. The only one fios doesn't have that I miss is TCM. But they have an Apple TV app so I can watch HD content through that if I want.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

mlsnyc said:


> When I was on TWC (pre Spectrum) I had a Motorola TA which needed to be cycled at least once a month. Worse, one of the channels I watch regularly, ESPN, was messed up in HD. The symptoms were similar to a TA needing a reboot but that wouldn't fix this specific problem. I was glad fios was an option for the place I was moving to. Fios, btw, doesnt require a TA at all, not just that it doesn't require the Cisco TA. That means it doesn't offer as many HD channels as Spectrum, but all the major ones are there. The only one fios doesn't have that I miss is TCM. But they have an Apple TV app so I can watch HD content through that if I want.


Never had any major issue like that with my Motorola TA. I can count on one hand the number of times it has had to be rebooted in two years of use.


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## mlsnyc (Dec 3, 2009)

tim_m said:


> Never had any major issue like that with my Motorola TA. I can count on one hand the number of times it has had to be rebooted in two years of use.


Whatever the case, I'm glad I don't have to deal with it any more.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

mlsnyc said:


> Whatever the case, I'm glad I don't have to deal with it any more.


Can't say i blame you. I would love to have FIOS. Unfortunately i am in an area taken over by Frontier who's utterly destroyed what was a great service started by Verizon.


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## rpj22 (Mar 27, 2016)

tim_m said:


> Can't say i blame you. I would love to have FIOS. Unfortunately i am in an area taken over by Frontier who's utterly destroyed what was a great service started by Verizon.


I keep reading that from people, but I've never heard any specifics. What changed? In my area, the reliability hasn't really changed at all. The biggest complaint I have is that they stripped down the Android app so I can no longer do DVR maintenance when I'm out of town. Also, one time when a long power failure locked up the ONT and no form of reset or cycling would get it going again, it took them 3 days to get someone out here. I don't think Verizon would have taken that long.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

rpj22 said:


> I keep reading that from people, but I've never heard any specifics. What changed? In my area, the reliability hasn't really changed at all. The biggest complaint I have is that they stripped down the Android app so I can no longer do DVR maintenance when I'm out of town. Also, one time when a long power failure locked up the ONT and no form of reset or cycling would get it going again, it took them 3 days to get someone out here. I don't think Verizon would have taken that long.


In my area its reliability. My dad was having lots of internet issues before he dropped them for Spectrum.


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## HarleyRandom (Sep 17, 2015)

WacoJohn said:


> To be perfectly honest, ... he was the 2nd tech who confessed "Hmmmm TIVO. I've never done one of these before." I groaned, but let him work. He called in, and got some help. Then, after all done is when he made the comment.
> 
> It's just that I figured he would know if he saw a memo or not.


When I first got my Roamio, it was when Time Warner was upgrading to digital. The first part of the upgrade made my Series 2 quit working and that's why I got the Roamio. But I didn't know how to install a Tuning Adapter so when the man showed up to do that he referred to a Trevo. I knew he didn't know what he was doing and asked them to send someone else. Of course, he also insulted my ancient TV.

That wasn't my only problem. Every tech support person I talked to had a different version of how Roamio was supposed to be connected with the digital upgrade. I had been given the wrong type box anyway.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Well I’m am back with an update. 
Tech was here found no major issues except for the lower frequency channels being a little out of wack.
Swapped out the cable card this time. But I’m still missing channels. 
Missing channels are NY1, NBC, Fox, Nickelodeon, MSNBC, VH1, E!, WNYE. SNY, MSG, MeTV, Paramount Netwoek, Freeform.
We, Hostory channel, Univision. Fox Businnes Channel, Fox News Channel, A&E, Food Network, Yes, AMC, WLNY, BBC America. 
Still waiting for supervisor tech. 
Anybody have any other ideas I can try?


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## Hauss (Apr 2, 2015)

Alan_West said:


> Well I'm am back with an update.
> Tech was here found no major issues except for the lower frequency channels being a little out of wack.
> Swapped out the cable card this time. But I'm still missing channels.
> Missing channels are NY1, NBC, Fox, Nickelodeon, MSNBC, VH1, E!, WNYE. SNY, MSG, MeTV, Paramount Netwoek, Freeform.
> ...


The tuning adapter is my guess. I've had this happen every time I switched to spectrum. They either don't have it activated or it's dead. Get a new tuning adapter and hopefully you have a tech that knows what he's doing.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Hauss said:


> The tuning adapter is my guess. I've had this happen every time I switched to spectrum. They either don't have it activated or it's dead. Get a new tuning adapter and hopefully you have a tech that knows what he's doing.


This is the 3rd Adapter. 
I get a steady green light on it so I assume it's working and not dead or maybe I have some sort of zombie adapter. 
The last tech that I had who was supposed to
be a supervisor tech turned out to be someone who has ben on the job for a year and a half. How long will this take to get right?


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> Well I'm am back with an update.
> Tech was here found no major issues except for the lower frequency channels being a little out of wack.
> Swapped out the cable card this time. But I'm still missing channels.
> Missing channels are NY1, NBC, Fox, Nickelodeon, MSNBC, VH1, E!, WNYE. SNY, MSG, MeTV, Paramount Netwoek, Freeform.
> ...


File a complaint with the FCC.

A couple of months ago I was missing several channels and filed a complaint. A dedicated resolution specialist contacted me within a couple of days, gave me his direct phone number and put me in touch with a local representative that worked with me to resolve my issues. The local representative gave me his direct phone number and e-mail address and once my issues were resolved he credited my account for one months worth of service. The local representative I dealt with told me that one of his main duties was to resolve FCC complaints. It is amazing how responsive Charter can be once an FCC complaint is filed.


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## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> Well I'm am back with an update.
> Tech was here found no major issues except for the lower frequency channels being a little out of wack.
> Swapped out the cable card this time. But I'm still missing channels.
> Missing channels are NY1, NBC, Fox, Nickelodeon, MSNBC, VH1, E!, WNYE. SNY, MSG, MeTV, Paramount Netwoek, Freeform.
> ...


Did you ever get in touch with the CableCARD hotline? If so, what did they say?


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> Well I'm am back with an update.
> Tech was here found no major issues except for the lower frequency channels being a little out of wack.
> Swapped out the cable card this time. But I'm still missing channels.
> Missing channels are NY1, NBC, Fox, Nickelodeon, MSNBC, VH1, E!, WNYE. SNY, MSG, MeTV, Paramount Netwoek, Freeform.
> ...


I vote for the cable card not being paired. While it could be the tuning adapter, normally cable companies don't put popular channels on SDV.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Seems like everything is fine on there end.


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## Hauss (Apr 2, 2015)

Alan_West said:


> Seems like everything is fine on there end.


I had 5 tech visits, swapping cards, swapping tuning adapters, etc. They literally left without anything working. Ended up being they didn't properly activate anything.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Hauss said:


> I had 5 tech visits, swapping cards, swapping tuning adapters, etc. They literally left without anything working. Ended up being they didn't properly activate anything.


Wow! Pray for me!
I have a Supervisor Tech coming tomorrow. 
I pray this nightmare is over soon.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> Wow! Pray for me!
> I have a Supervisor Tech coming tomorrow.
> I pray this nightmare is over soon.


Techs coming to your house is very likely a waste of time. Talk to someone to get your cable card paired. Get it unpaired first then re-paired. In any event, hopefully whoever comes to your house will know who to call to get it done.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> Seems like everything is fine on there end.


And you know this how?


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

UCLABB said:


> And you know this how?


I have to believe what they are telling me.
They wouldn't lie to me! Would they?


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

I got through to someone that was willing to take the time and go through the steps of unpairing and pairing. 
Hope he did it right but it did not seems to work.
According to him he was able to see that “something with the signal levels...The upstream channels are out of range.” The tech is supposed to be here tonight so maybe things will be fixed then.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

gmacted said:


> File a complaint with the FCC.
> 
> A couple of months ago I was missing several channels and filed a complaint. A dedicated resolution specialist contacted me within a couple of days, gave me his direct phone number and put me in touch with a local representative that worked with me to resolve my issues. The local representative gave me his direct phone number and e-mail address and once my issues were resolved he credited my account for one months worth of service. The local representative I dealt with told me that one of his main duties was to resolve FCC complaints. It is amazing how responsive Charter can be once an FCC complaint is filed.


I will add some information regarding my "missing channels" issue that occurred at the end of September (2018) in the Central Massachusetts area.

My issue was with the "headend". There were no issues with my cable card, tuning adapter or my TiVo. I provided my contact with a list of channels I was missing and a few were restored every day. It took several days for all the channels to be restored. After those channels were restored, I also found some HD channels that were being broadcast in SD. Those channels were also restored back to HD after I alerted my contact of this issue.

I believe the following was what caused the problem...

I believe Charter was in the process of making a change to their system in which SD channels were being converted to HD channels for Charter owned equipment. The only reason I believe this to be the case was because my in-laws have a Charter supplied cable box and their SD channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) were now being broadcast in HD where in the past they were being broadcast in SD. The only reason I know this is because my in-laws had an HD TV, but would watch those channels in SD (because they knew those SD channel numbers and did not know the HD channel numbers). Their Charter owned equipment will now broadcast in SD channel in HD where my TiVo will still broadcast that channel same channel in SD.

In my humble opinion, I would not hesitate to file an FCC complaint if I were in your situation.

You can file an FCC complaint here.


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## aristoBrat (Dec 30, 2002)

UCLABB said:


> I vote for the cable card not being paired.


Aren't their screens in the Settings area of the TiVo that can be used to confirm this?


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> I got through to someone that was willing to take the time and go through the steps of unpairing and pairing.
> Hope he did it right but it did not seems to work.
> According to him he was able to see that "something with the signal levels...The upstream channels are out of range." The tech is supposed to be here tonight so maybe things will be fixed then.


Good luck to you. Maybe it's a signal problem. Hope so.


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## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> I got through to someone that was willing to take the time and go through the steps of unpairing and pairing.
> Hope he did it right but it did not seems to work.
> According to him he was able to see that "something with the signal levels...The upstream channels are out of range." The tech is supposed to be here tonight so maybe things will be fixed then.


If the onsite tech can't figure it out, politely insist on calling the CableCARD support hotline and have them work with the onsite tech until a resolution is found.


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## CloudAtlas (Oct 29, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> I have to believe what they are telling me.
> They wouldn't lie to me! Would they?


They aren't lying to you they can just be wrong. With a normal Spectrum DVR installation the in-home techs never deal with CableCARDs and Tuning Adapters. What comes up on ch 200 and 1203? For me in NYC/Manhattan NY1 is 200 and NBC is 1203 both in HD.

Unfortunately it can be a nightmare getting TiVO working with Spectrum. CableCARD needs to be paired by Spectrum support in the back office with the in-house tech reading the TiVO CableCARD screen. Then the Tuning Adapter serial number needs to be read to support to be entered into the system.

When things don't work they immediately assume it's the hardware! So they start swapping Tuning Adapters and CableCARDs and next thing you know your account has the wrong TA serial number or multiple CableCARDs paired. Of course they never bring extra hardware so that's another service call for another day.

You need to get involved and make sure that the correct numbers are entered. Over the years with TWC, RCN and Spectrum wrongly entered numbers have caused a lot of wasted time. They either hear the wrong letter or number read out or they transpose letters or number. "Oh, it's A17, not A71?"

You can also try the install setup yourself w/o in-home tech.

Spectrum CableCARD Installation
Spectrum CableCard support directly at 1-866-532-2598


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

CloudAtlas said:


> They aren't lying to you they can just be wrong. With a normal Spectrum DVR installation the in-home techs never deal with CableCARDs and Tuning Adapters. What comes up on ch 200 and 1203? For me in NYC/Manhattan NY1 is 200 and NBC is 1203 both in HD.
> 
> Unfortunately it can be a nightmare getting TiVO working with Spectrum. CableCARD needs to be paired by Spectrum support in the back office with the in-house tech reading the TiVO CableCARD screen. Then the Tuning Adapter serial number needs to be read to support to be entered into the system.
> 
> ...


Well I had a tech show up tonight. He was right on point.
He changed the way the cable connect to be as follows....
Cable in apartment To splitter
One leg to TiVo
One leg to tuning adapter
Tivo connected to tuning adapter by usb 
and just like that I got my channels back!
Only issue I'm having now is pixelization. Not on all channels but there is some pizelization on some channels.
He made another appoint to adddress the problem because it potentially may need to be rewired.
So hopefully all my TiVo issues will be resolved soon.
So I m feeling a little better with my situation here.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

CloudAtlas said:


> ..........
> Spectrum CableCard support directly at 1-866-532-2598


This number used to connect you directly to their national CableCARD help desk, but have you tried it lately? Several of us have and it just bounces you back into local support. Some have posted that you can ask local support to connect you to the national CableCARD help desk and get to it that way.

Actually it always struck me as too good to be true that a customer could dial directly into that national help desk without being referred through local support. It was usually the best place to go for CableCARD or Tuning Adapter issues, while local support was usually clueless.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> Only issue I'm having now is pixelization. Not on all channels but there is some pizelization on some channels.


You may want to check the "Signal Strength" and "RS Uncorrected" and "RS Corrected" errors for each tuner.

You can do this by navigating to the following...

TiVo Central --> Settings & Messages --> Remote, CableCARD, & Devices --> CableCARD Decoder -> CableCARD Options (For Installer) -->DVR Diagnostics

Each "Tuner" will have a "Signal Strength". Having a "Signal Strength" too high or too low may cause "RS Uncorrected and "RS Corrected" errors. If you see a number other than 0 in the "RS Uncorrected" or "RS Corrected" fields you most likely have signal issues.


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## tatergator1 (Mar 27, 2008)

Alan_West said:


> Well I had a tech show up tonight. He was right on point.
> He changed the way the cable connect to be as follows....
> Cable in apartment To splitter
> One leg to TiVo
> ...


Out of curiosity, how had it been connected previously?


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

I originally had mine setup with a splitter. One going to the TA and one to the tivo with the usb cable connecting the TA. Then one day i lost connection to my TA and nothing fixed it until a tech came out. He changed it to wall to TA from TA to tivo and it immediately worked again.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> Well I had a tech show up tonight. He was right on point.
> He changed the way the cable connect to be as follows....
> Cable in apartment To splitter
> One leg to TiVo
> ...


Oh man, I should have asked you early on how the TA was connected. Indeed using the out port on the TA can cause a problem hence the splitter.

Regarding the pixelation, report your signal strengths. They could be too high or too low.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Tech was here again. 
He ran a connection from the point where all the wires are in the hall directly to my TiVo. 
He feels that it’s more likely than not that my TiVo is defective. 
I did not knowingly buy a defective TiVo.
And I don’t think Best Buy sold me one either
Can TiVo run any self-diagnostic to see if everything is ok. I hate to go through all of this grief again. Something tells me I’m need to do some more unpairing of cablecards first before I even think about returning this one.


----------



## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> Tech was here again.
> He ran a connection from the point where all the wires are in the hall directly to my TiVo.
> He feels that it's more likely than not that my TiVo is defective.
> I did not knowingly buy a defective TiVo.
> ...


It's really hard to help you if you aren't more specific. Are we still talking about pixelation issues? Once again, what are your signal strengths?


----------



## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

My apologies. 
Yes the I am talking about pixelation on several channels NY1 NBC FOX and several other. Unfortunately I can’t give the specific signal strength info because I’m not in front of my TiVo. As soon as I am able to I will provide more info.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> My apologies.
> Yes the I am talking about pixelation on several channels NY1 NBC FOX and several other. Unfortunately I can't give the specific signal strength info because I'm not in front of my TiVo. As soon as I am able to I will provide more info.


The reason I asked is sometimes they are too high and can be attenuated.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

UCLABB said:


> The reason I asked is sometimes they are too high and can be attenuated.


Is that something I can do because it seems that there is nothing else the spectrum tech can do. So I am thinking all hope is lost getting this resolved without returning this TiVo for a new one.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

I had signal issues that needed to be attenuated. These are the attenuators I used.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> Is that something I can do because it seems that there is nothing else the spectrum tech can do. So I am thinking all hope is lost getting this resolved without returning this TiVo for a new one.


So what are the signal strengths? If they are too high, yes, you can use attenuators or simply some splitters.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

UCLABB said:


> So what are the signal strengths? If they are too high, yes, you can use attenuators or simply some splitters.


I am still not home at the moment so I have no way to check the signal strengths. But as soon as I get in front of my TiVo I will check.
Excuse my ignorance regarding attenuators. 
I had never had to deal with them with my old TiVo. 
So, the cable comes in to the apartment to my bedroom. 
Splits one to my my cable modem the other to my tv with TiVo another split to other bedroom split again to feed the living room. 
The living room and other bedroom has a cable box and have no issues with pixelation. 
I will report back regarding the signal strength. 
Just a quick question do you need the signal strength for all channels that have issues. 
Or can you judge by one or two channels?
Again excuse my ignorance. But, I'd love to learn more about this. 
I miss Radio Shack! Could get all this stuff by them.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> I am still not home at the moment so I have no way to check the signal strengths. But as soon as I get in front of my TiVo I will check.
> Excuse my ignorance regarding attenuators.
> I had never had to deal with them with my old TiVo.
> So, the cable comes in to the apartment to my bedroom.
> ...


Tune to all the channels that have issues, then go into diagnostics and see what the strengths are.

You can get what you need, if you need anything, online. That's why Radio Shack is just about dead.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

UCLABB said:


> Tune to all the channels that have issues, then go into diagnostics and see what the strengths are.
> 
> You can get what you need, if you need anything, online. That's why Radio Shack is just about dead.


Here is an example of what I am seeing...

Channel 70 C-Span (working channel)

Signal strength 75%

Signal lock yes

Program lock yes

Search complete Yes

SNR 30 dB

RS uncorected 0

RS corrected O

Channel 1 NY1 ( non working channel)

Signal strength 67%

Signal lock yes

Program lock yes

Search complete Yes

SNR 27 dB

RS uncorected 951

RS corrected O


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Alan_West said:


> Here is an example of what I am seeing...
> 
> Channel 70 C-Span (working channel)
> 
> ...


You do not want to attenuate your signals. The strengths and SNR are both on the low side. See what TiVo support docs say here, for more details:
https://support.tivo.com/articles/T...oamio-Series-Premiere-Series-and-Series3-DVRs


gmacted said:


> I had signal issues that needed to be attenuated. These are the attenuators I used.


Wow, you can pay less than $8.42 and probably get much faster shipping on Amazon. Search "cable attenuator".


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

dlfl said:


> You do not want to attenuate your signals. The strengths and SNR are both on the low side. See what TiVo support docs say here, for more details:
> https://support.tivo.com/articles/T...oamio-Series-Premiere-Series-and-Series3-DVRs
> 
> Wow, you can pay less than $8.42 and probably get much faster shipping on Amazon. Search "cable attenuator".


The last spectrum tech seems to feel that the TiVo may be defective. Could this be possible?


----------



## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

It appears as though you have signal issues based on your "Signal Strength" and the number of "RS uncorrected" errors you are receiving.

There is also another reading that would be of interest. It is called "Frequency". This is the frequency of the channel.

You may just be having an issue with a particular frequency band. Your cable technician should have a frequency meter that he/she can connect to the coax cable that connected to your Tuning Adapter/TiVo to determine your issue.

In any case, you do not need to attenuate your signal. If anything you need to amplify your signal.

Could you post the "Signal Strength" and "Frequency" for a sample of channels that are and are not having issues? This would help isolate the issue.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> The last spectrum tech seems to feel that the TiVo may be defective. Could this be possible?


It is possible. There are multiple "tuners" in your TiVo. Each "tuner" has its own characteristics. I have read where some people have an issue with a specific "tuner".

You could return the TiVo and wait for a new one and have to go through the cable pairing process again only to find out that nothing has changed due to a signal issue.

In my humble opinion, it really appears as though you have a signal issue. I would try and resolve that before claiming the TiVo or one or more of it's tuners to be defective.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

gmacted said:


> It appears as though you have signal issues based on your "Signal Strength" and the number of "RS uncorrected" errors you are receiving.
> 
> There is also another reading that would be of interest. It is called "Frequency". This is the frequency of the channel.
> 
> ...


75%
621000khz
For one channel that works

67%
219000khz
For one that does not work so great

I realize you may need a larger sample but this is the best I can do at the moment.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

The spectrum tech seems to feel that there is nothing else that he can do at this point.
Can I have them send a stronger signal to the cable card or tuning adapter or something?


----------



## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Alan_West said:


> The last spectrum tech seems to feel that the TiVo may be defective. Could this be possible?


Possible but unlikely. Cable cos find it easy to blame TiVo (since TiVo is a PITA to them that they wish would just go away) and in the vast majority of cases reported on this forum the problem has NOT been the TiVo.


gmacted said:


> ......
> Could you post the "Signal Strength" and "Frequency" for a sample of channels that are and are not having issues? This would help isolate the issue.


Yes and include SNR while you're at it. Try to select channels with frequencies spread across the entire range, e.g., 200 MHz to 800 MHz (or 600 MHz if that is the top end for your system). Poor connectors and defective splitters can cause problems on just a few frequencies. I had such a case once. The tech replaced the cable feeding into the box on the outside wall and replaced a splitter in that box. Finally he redid the connection to the cable receptacle in the wall box ("drop") behind my TV and THAT fixed the problem. This was a shot in the dark as no tests were able to isolate that problem. Cable TV issues can be complex enough to troubleshoot without the added issue of being caught in the middle between the cable co and TiVo.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

Please post the following for your samples...

1) Tuner
2) Frequency
3) Signal Strength
4) SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio)

It would be best to find a "bad" channel and try and move it across each tuner.

Find a bad channel and reboot the TiVo. After reboot this channel will be on every tuner. Post the above for all the tuners in the DVR Diagnostic menu. This should help to determine if this is a signal issue.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

gmacted said:


> Please post the following for your samples...
> 
> 1) Tuner
> 2) Frequency
> ...


This is what I got for channel 1 NY1

0

219000khz

67%

27dB

1

219000khz

67%

27dB

2

219000khz

67%

27dB

3

219000khz

67%

27dB


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> 75%
> 621000khz
> For one channel that works
> 
> ...


Your signal levels are too low. They should be around 80 and above. I think this is what is causing your pixelation.

Unless Spectrum can do something on their lines to increase signal strength, you probably need to put in an amplifier. I'm not too familiar on what you need to get.

BTW, this whole thread should be on the Help forum. You might want to start a thread there explaing the problem, your signal strengths and inquiring about an amplifier.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> The spectrum tech seems to feel that there is nothing else that he can do at this point.
> Can I have them send a stronger signal to the cable card or tuning adapter or something?


It's the signal of the channels not the signal to the cable card or tuning adapter. See my other post.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

UCLABB said:


> Your signal levels are too low. They should be around 80 and above. I think this is what is causing your pixelation.
> Unless Spectrum can do something on their lines to increase signal strength, you probably need to put in an amplifier. I'm not too familiar on what you need to get.
> BTW, this whole thread should be on the Help forum. You might want to start a thread there explaing the problem, your signal strengths and inquiring about an amplifier.


Three basic Roamio units. They use same measurement process as white Bolts. Two use 8dB amplified splitters. One uses 1 to 2 passive splitter. All three have 90% and 36dB SNR on channels from 117MHz to 840MHz.

Starting a new thread would be nice.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

Based on the data you have provided, this does not appear to be a problem with the TiVo. I would contact Charter/Spectrum and request a service call. I would share this data with them. They should be able to diagnose and fix the problem.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

JoeKustra said:


> Starting a new thread would be nice.


I agree. There is a lot of good information in this discussion and it would be good to start a new thread.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

It is certainly possible the problem is with TiVo; not too long ago I had a Bolt with a similar problem. It would have been very difficult to diagnose if I didn't have other TiVos that worked just fine on the same cable. It still took 4 hours on the phone with a very nice guy from the Philippines to get an RMA.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

ej42137 said:


> It is certainly possible the problem is with TiVo; not too long ago I had a Bolt with a similar problem. It would have been very difficult to diagnose if I didn't have other TiVos that worked just fine on the same cable. It still took 4 hours on the phone with a very nice guy from the Philippines to get an RMA.


I'm just dreading going through the pairing and unpairing, cablecards, Tunning Adapters business again.
I don't have another TiVo that I can use to test unfortunately. But I do have the cable box that was plugged in to this TV. Maybe I can plug it to that and see if it works for the channels I'm having issues with or If get the same results as the TiVo.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> I'm just dreading going through the pairing and unpairing, cablecards, Tunning Adapters business again.
> I don't have another TiVo that I can use to test unfortunately. But I do have the cable box that was plugged in to this TV. Maybe I can plug it to that and see if it works for the channels I'm having issues with or If get the same results as the TiVo.


That would be a good thing to try.

If you have similar problems with the same channels it would point to a signal problem.

If you do not have problems with the same channels, I'm not convinced you could assume that there is definitely something wrong with the TiVo.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

gmacted said:


> That would be a good thing to try.
> 
> If you have similar problems with the same channels it would point to a signal problem.
> 
> If you do not have problems with the same channels, I'm not convinced you could assume that there is definitely something wrong with the TiVo.


I'll try to do some more testing and will report back as soon as I have some news. But in the meantime if anybody has more ideas for me please let me know.


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## mrizzo80 (Apr 17, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> I'll try to do some more testing and will report back as soon as I have some news. But in the meantime if anybody has more ideas for me please let me know.


As others have suggested, schedule a tech visit from Spectrum. You have signal issues. Your signal strength is below the recommended levels that TiVo's engineering teams have identified.

The Spectrum tech can hook their meter up to the coax near your Tuning Adapter and the tech will see the errors on the line. They can probably see signal strength, too. If they claim no errors, show them the diagnostics screen on TiVo so they can see all the uncorrected R/S errors. That screen will have additional technical data the technician should be able to use.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

mrizzo80 said:


> The Spectrum tech can hook their meter up to the coax near your Tuning Adapter and the tech will see the errors on the line. They can probably see signal strength, too. If they claim no errors, show them the diagnostics screen on TiVo so they can see all the uncorrected R/S errors. That screen will have additional technical data the technician should be able to use.


If it's a 4-tuner Bolt (or Roamio), mention to the Tech that RS Corrected doesn't work and always displays zero. It could be 1 billion.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

It’s a bolt Vox 500 GB that I Have.
By any chance can these be fixed by anyone else at spectrum like a customer service rep or can this only be fixed by a tech being sent out?


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## PSU_Sudzi (Jun 4, 2015)

Alan_West said:


> It's a bolt Vox 500 GB that I Have.
> By any chance can these be fixed by anyone else at spectrum like a customer service rep or can thisnonky be fixed by a tech being sent out?


The Bolt isn't the problem it's your cable line.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> The Bolt isn't the problem it's your cable line.


I agree but the last tech I had swears the line is not the problem. It is the TiVo. According to him there is no issue with my cable line.


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> I agree but the last tech I had swears the line is not the problem. It is the TiVo. According to him there is no issue with my cable line.


The first thing I do, when suspecting a low signal, is disconnect and reconnect each and every coax connector. I start at my connection out in my yard and continue right up to the connector on the back of my TiVo. I know it sounds like fake advice, but I've seen it help. My theory is that the center conductor of the coax gets oxidized (a light rust?). Just the action of pulling the connection apart, then pushing together... a few times...seems to get rid of this oxidation.

My signal here is too hot...I've had to add attenuation. So I have a bit of experience watching the TiVo's reported signal strength numbers. Your numbers are too low. Shoot for low to mid-80's, all the way up to 99%...and your picture should be good.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> I'll try to do some more testing and will report back as soon as I have some news. But in the meantime if anybody has more ideas for me please let me know.


Idea: does your TV have diagnostics? If you don't know, most Sony's do. so post the model number. They hide it under the Customer Service menu.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

DeltaOne said:


> The first thing I do, when suspecting a low signal, is disconnect and reconnect each and every coax connector. I start at my connection out in my yard and continue right up to the connector on the back of my TiVo. I know it sounds like fake advice, but I've seen it help. My theory is that the center conductor of the coax gets oxidized (a light rust?). Just the action of pulling the connection apart, then pushing together... a few times...seems to get rid of this oxidation.
> 
> My signal here is too hot...I've had to add attenuation. So I have a bit of experience watching the TiVo's reported signal strength numbers. Your numbers are too low. Shoot for low to mid-80's, all the way up to 99%...and your picture should be good.


I will try anything at this point and I do appreciate your expertise in signal strength. 
This is going on 3 weeks now of having issues with TiVo and dealing with 3 different techs. One of them being a supervisor tech. 
So I really want to avoid another tech coming to my apartment. Or to have it seem like I am causing a problem by wanting to use TiVo instead of spectrums cable box.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

PSU_Sudzi said:


> The Bolt isn't the problem it's your cable line.


I assert that this is not proven by the facts as presented. I've had a Bolt that gave every indication the cable signal was weak, the only thing that showed it was not so was for me to swap it out with an identical Bolt (TiVo tried to tell me a Roamio and a Premier are "different" and wouldn't exchange until I swapped it with an actual Bolt.)



DeltaOne said:


> The first thing I do, when suspecting a low signal, is disconnect and reconnect each and every coax connector. I start at my connection out in my yard and continue right up to the connector on the back of my TiVo. I know it sounds like fake advice, but I've seen it help. My theory is that the center conductor of the coax gets oxidized (a light rust?). Just the action of pulling the connection apart, then pushing together... a few times...seems to get rid of this oxidation.


This is good advice. I've seen this "fix things", at least temporarily, lots of times. I suspect another thing that happens sometimes is it forces a tuner to reset.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

JoeKustra said:


> Idea: does your TV have diagnostics? If you don't know, most Sony's do. so post the model number. They hide it under the Customer Service menu.


I have a samsung TV model is UN32J5500. 
But I am not sure if it will have a helpful diagnostic screen or not?


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

ej42137 said:


> I assert that this is not proven by the facts as presented. I've had a Bolt that gave every indication the cable signal was weak, the only thing that showed it was not so was for me to swap it out with an identical Bolt (TiVo tried to tell me a Roamio and a Premier are "different" and wouldn't exchange until I swapped it with an actual Bolt.)
> 
> This is good advice. I've seen this "fix things", at least temporarily, lots of times. I suspect another thing that happens sometimes is it forces a tuner to reset.


So should I try returning my current TiVo bolt back to Best Buy and exchange it and start from scratch. Or should I try to address the signal strength issue.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> I have a samsung TV model is UN32J5500.
> But I am not sure if it will have a helpful diagnostic screen or not?


How do I check the signal quality on my TV? | Samsung Support UK

First, see if the above link shows you how to get to a screen with signal diagnostics. It should be grayed out if you are not on your tuner input. If you wish to proceed, you will have to connect the TV's rf coax to your cable, then select the tuner input. The two channels you posted will be at 90.1 and 23.1 which is what you will need to enter on your TV's remote. You won't get a picture, but probably a display of "can not be decoded" or similar. If you get this far, compare the two channels.


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## Phil T (Oct 29, 2003)

Can you get a Spectrum DVR? If you still have problems on those channels you know it is not the TIVO. I tried a Comcast DVR over a weekend and returned it. I think it cost me $1.50 to try it out. Of course my local office is within walking distance so it was not much of a hassle.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Alan_West said:


> So should I try returning my current TiVo bolt back to Best Buy and exchange it and start from scratch. Or should I try to address the signal strength issue.


Yes. I say since neither case is proved so do next whatever is quicker and less effort; either get your cable company to try an amplifier or exchange your TiVo. Since it's Best Buy, an exchange is probably the easiest next step. If a second Bolt gets the same weak signal, the odds become much greater that it's the incoming signal.


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## stile99 (Feb 27, 2002)

UCLABB said:


> I vote for the cable card not being paired. While it could be the tuning adapter, normally cable companies don't put popular channels on SDV.


Unless they are evil. Or incompetent. Or both. Cox Cable does, which completely defeats the purpose of SDV.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Phil T said:


> Can you get a Spectrum DVR? If you still have problems on those channels you know it is not the TIVO. I tried a Comcast DVR over a weekend and returned it. I think it cost me $1.50 to try it out. Of course my local office is within walking distance so it was not much of a hassle.


I hate the idea of a spectrum DVR. That's why I am here. 
I have 2 spectrum locations I can get to pretty easily. I have a feeling it will work with their dvr so I don't think it's a fair test.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

ej42137 said:


> Yes. I say since neither case is proved so do next whatever is quicker and less effort; either get your cable company to try an amplifier or exchange your TiVo. Since it's Best Buy, an exchange is probably the easiest next step. If a second Bolt gets the same weak signal, the odds become much greater that it's the incoming signal.


One question though.
Do I have to unpair cablecard and tuning adapters before I return the TiVo or 
does it get unpaired and repaired again when I get the exchanged TiVo?


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## mdavej (Aug 13, 2015)

I've never had to unpair with Spectrum, and I've moved the same card between at least 6 different devices, re-pairing each time.

I highly doubt it's a bad Tivo though.


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> One question though.
> Do I have to unpair cablecard and tuning adapters before I return the TiVo or
> does it get unpaired and repaired again when I get the exchanged TiVo?


If you get a new/replacement Tivo, you will need to contact Charter/Spectrum and repair the CableCard. There is no need to unpair the CableCard from your current Tivo.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

For heaven's sake, before you take the TiVo back for a new one, get Spectrum to put an amplifier on the line and see if that helps. Getting a new TiVo will require you to go through the whole cable card pairing bit again and perhaps for nothing. First see if you can improve signal strength with an amplifier. Actually, first try to reseat all of your coax connections as another poster suggested.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

Alan_West said:


> One question though.
> Do I have to unpair cablecard and tuning adapters before I return the TiVo or
> does it get unpaired and repaired again when I get the exchanged TiVo?


Just pull the card, put it into the foil wrapper, install in new unit and see if it works.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

Phil T said:


> Can you get a Spectrum DVR? If you still have problems on those channels you know it is not the TIVO. I tried a Comcast DVR over a weekend and returned it. I think it cost me $1.50 to try it out. Of course my local office is within walking distance so it was not much of a hassle.


He has said he has cable boxes in other rooms downstream of his TiVo that work. However, the TiVo may be more sensitive to the low signal strength,


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> This is going on 3 weeks now of having issues with TiVo and dealing with 3 different techs. One of them being a supervisor tech.
> So I really want to avoid another tech coming to my apartment. Or to have it seem like I am causing a problem by wanting to use TiVo instead of spectrums cable box.


About eight months ago, when I suspected a hot signal was causing me problems, I scheduled a visit by a Comcast tech. I lucked out...the guy wasn't busy that afternoon and in no hurry to leave. We started at the back of my TiVo and worked our way back out to the street. His final conclusion was my signal was good, perhaps a bit low on one set of frequencies...but it would be fine. And it has been fine, since I added attenuation to bring the signal strength to 85% to 99%. I occasionally check signal strength by putting the six tuners on the channels we most often watch/record, then checking their numbers on the TiVo diagnostics page.

I had been seeing another problem on HBO -- that didn't seem to be related to the too hot signal -- the HBO picture was so bad it was unwatchable. When I mentioned that, he said it should be fixed. The HBO problem had come up in the tech's group text messages...and they said the problem had been solved.


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## JoeKustra (Dec 7, 2012)

DeltaOne said:


> I had been seeing another problem on HBO -- that didn't seem to be related to the too hot signal -- the HBO picture was so bad it was unwatchable. When I mentioned that, he said it should be fixed. The HBO problem had come up in the tech's group text messages...and they said the problem had been solved.


Are you receiving H.264 for HBO? If not, you can compute the bit-rate easily. Just post a file size and length. My best channel is ESPN at 12.93Mbps. My HBO is at 11.02Mbps.


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## DeltaOne (Sep 29, 2013)

JoeKustra said:


> Are you receiving H.264 for HBO? If not, you can compute the bit-rate easily. Just post a file size and length. My best channel is ESPN at 12.93Mbps. My HBO is at 11.02Mbps.


Yes, it's H.264 on HBO. I may have confused the issue...the HBO problem I mentioned was about nine months ago. It's been fine ever since.


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## ej42137 (Feb 16, 2014)

Alan_West said:


> One question though.
> Do I have to unpair cablecard and tuning adapters before I return the TiVo or
> does it get unpaired and repaired again when I get the exchanged TiVo?


No. Unpairing a CableCARD that is turned in is, depending upon your cable company, either unneeded, or automatic, or done as a matter of course, or a complete mystery to your cable company. Only worry about unpairing with a card you are installing and have problems pairing and don't borrow trouble.


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## CloudAtlas (Oct 29, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> So, the cable comes in to the apartment to my bedroom.
> Splits one to my my cable modem the other to my tv with TiVo another split to other bedroom split again to feed the living room.
> The living room and other bedroom has a cable box and have no issues with pixelation.


Have you tried hooking up the cable box in the TiVO bedroom to see if there is pixelation? Unhook the cable currently going into the TiVO and connect it to the Spectrum cable box.


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## Alan_West (Feb 9, 2003)

Quick update...
All is right with the world now. I brought back the tivo to Best Buy. And exchanged it for a different one.
Set everything up again and I’m back in business!
Have all my channels! No pixelation! Best of all my signal strength is in the 90% range!


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## gmacted (Sep 27, 2013)

Alan_West said:


> Quick update...
> All is right with the world now. I brought back the tivo to Best Buy. And exchanged it for a different one.
> Set everything up again and I'm back in business!
> Have all my channels! No pixelation! Best of all my signal strength is in the 90% range!


:thumbsup:


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## JKR123 (Feb 11, 2019)

Going back to the original post, is Charter Spectrum dropping TIVO support - it sure seems that way in my particular market. I picked up a cable card and tuning adapter at my local store a few months ago. I recently got another new Bolt TIVO and now I am having issues in getting another tuning adapter. I think the last one I got from my local store was the last one they have had in quite some time. They are not currently scheduled to receive any and none of the local technicians have one on any of their trucks. They are currently trying to find me one from another town or do some special order for me. I don't understand why customer support will ship cable cards but they won't ship tuning adapters. I also don't understand why all of the stores don't keep them in stock. I am currently paying for some Charter Spectrum channels via TIVO that I am unable to access without the tuning adapter. They sure are making it more difficult for some of us to use our TIVO boxes.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

JKR123 said:


> Going back to the original post, is Charter Spectrum dropping TIVO support - it sure seems that way in my particular market. I picked up a cable card and tuning adapter at my local store a few months ago. I recently got another new Bolt TIVO and now I am having issues in getting another tuning adapter. I think the last one I got from my local store was the last one they have had in quite some time. They are not currently scheduled to receive any and none of the local technicians have one on any of their trucks. They are currently trying to find me one from another town or do some special order for me. I don't understand why customer support will ship cable cards but they won't ship tuning adapters. I also don't understand why all of the stores don't keep them in stock. I am currently paying for some Charter Spectrum channels via TIVO that I am unable to access without the tuning adapter. They sure are making it more difficult for some of us to use our TIVO boxes.


Where are you located?


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## JKR123 (Feb 11, 2019)

tim_m said:


> Where are you located?


I am in the middle Tennessee area.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

JKR123 said:


> I am in the middle Tennessee area.


Oh ok, I wonder if it has anything to do with your location? Have you tried ordering one over the phone? It does seem like the stores aren't having them in stock as much.


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## JKR123 (Feb 11, 2019)

tim_m said:


> Oh ok, I wonder if it has anything to do with your location? Have you tried ordering one over the phone? It does seem like the stores aren't having them in stock as much.


They won't let me order a tuning adapter over the phone. I can order a cable card but not a tuning adapter. They tell me I have to work with my local office who I can't contact over the phone and it is a half an hour drive from me.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

That's a bummer.


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## kpeters59 (Jun 19, 2007)

That makes me wonder if the Filing a Complaint With the FCC trick would work in this case?

-KP


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

Yeah that is something is consider.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

tim_m said:


> Yeah that is something is consider.


There is no consider, do...

File an FCC Complaint - TV


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## JKR123 (Feb 11, 2019)

krkaufman said:


> There is no consider, do...
> 
> File an FCC Complaint - TV


I will file an FCC complaint. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.


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## JKR123 (Feb 11, 2019)

Just an update regarding my recent experience with Charter Spectrum and tuning adapters. Since my local store no longer carries them, customer support tried to order one to be shipped to me but the system would not allow her to ship it to my zip code. (Why would they be picky on which zip codes can get them?) I had tried yesterday to get one at another store about an hour away but they had none and no longer stock them either. I was finally able to obtain a tuning adapter today after a technician supervisor picked one up from a warehouse in Columbia, TN which is 2 to 3 hours away. I asked him why it is so difficult to obtain a TA and he said it is old technology. I told him it was to use with a cable card with a TIVO box and he reiterated that this is old technology and he told me TIVO is no longer making units as of about 6 years ago. I just bought 3 bolt boxes a few months ago, 2 of them directly from TIVO. Have I been recently sinking my money into old technology that will no longer be supported soon by both Charter and TIVO? Or is Charter Spectrum just phasing out their support of TIVOs? I have already tried the Charter Spectrum DVR and in my opinion it doesn't even remotely compare to what the TIVO boxes can do.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

JKR123 said:


> I asked him why it is so difficult to obtain a TA and he said it is old technology. I told him it was to use with a cable card with a TIVO box and he reiterated that this is old technology and he told me TIVO is no longer making units as of about 6 years ago. I just bought 3 bolt boxes a few months ago, 2 of them directly from TIVO. Have I been recently sinking my money into old technology that will no longer be supported soon by both Charter and TIVO? Or is Charter Spectrum just phasing out their support of TIVOs? I have already tried the Charter Spectrum DVR and in my opinion it doesn't even remotely compare to what the TIVO boxes can do.


He either lied to you intentionally or just doesn't know what he's talking about. TiVo is clearly still making CableCARD DVRs. CableCARDs and Tuning Adapters are old technology, but then again so are many of Spectrum's own cable boxes and DVRs. The truth is that Charter just wants to make it as hard as possible for you to still use CableCARD devices like TiVos. They want you paying the ridiculous fees to rent their own DVRs. But the law and the FCC require them to support CableCARDs and Tuning Adapters, so they do it, but grudgingly.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

Yeah either woefully misinformed or knowingly lied to you.In the last 6 years Tivo released the bolt, bolt vox and vox mini.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

JKR123 said:


> Just an update regarding my recent experience with Charter Spectrum and tuning adapters. Since my local store no longer carries them, customer support tried to order one to be shipped to me but the system would not allow her to ship it to my zip code. (Why would they be picky on which zip codes can get them?) I had tried yesterday to get one at another store about an hour away but they had none and no longer stock them either. I was finally able to obtain a tuning adapter today after a technician supervisor picked one up from a warehouse in Columbia, TN which is 2 to 3 hours away. I asked him why it is so difficult to obtain a TA and he said it is old technology. I told him it was to use with a cable card with a TIVO box and he reiterated that this is old technology and he told me TIVO is no longer making units as of about 6 years ago. I just bought 3 bolt boxes a few months ago, 2 of them directly from TIVO. Have I been recently sinking my money into old technology that will no longer be supported soon by both Charter and TIVO? Or is Charter Spectrum just phasing out their support of TIVOs? I have already tried the Charter Spectrum DVR and in my opinion it doesn't even remotely compare to what the TIVO boxes can do.


Were they the new spectrum worldbox 2.0 210 DVRs? They definitely do not compare in several areas. They are an improvement though from what they were giving out after they merged with TWC. Which is what prompted me to switch to Tivo. At least the new ones have more then 2 tuners, 4 which is still lacking and a 1TB HDD as well as netflix. But no skip mode, quick mode, no apps other then netflix, no out of home or in home streaming. No ability to download or transfer recordings. When IPTV finally does happen they'll have to pry my tivo out of my hands.


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## JKR123 (Feb 11, 2019)

tim_m said:


> Were they the new spectrum worldbox 2.0 210 DVRs? They definitely do not compare in several areas. They are an improvement though from what they were giving out after they merged with TWC. Which is what prompted me to switch to Tivo. At least the new ones have more then 2 tuners, 4 which is still lacking and a 1TB HDD as well as netflix. But no skip mode, quick mode, no apps other then netflix, no out of home or in home streaming. No ability to download or transfer recordings. When IPTV finally does happen they'll have to pry my tivo out of my hands.


It was the old Spectrum DVR. Back then their technicians told me they didn't offer cable cards in this area which is why I got it to begin with. This was about 3 years ago or so. I am actually glad it went out on me because in talking with the right people now, I have been able to get set up with TIVO boxes in this area. It sounds like the new spectrum world boxes still don't compare to TIVO boxes.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

JKR123 said:


> It was the old Spectrum DVR. Back then their technicians told me they didn't offer cable cards in this area which is why I got it to begin with. This was about 3 years ago or so.


The lies from the Spectrum employees never stop. That old Spectrum DVR probably had a CableCARD in it. Spectrum supported CableCARDs everywhere 3 years ago, because they were legally required to. Never believe anything a cable company employee tells you until you have independently verified it yourself.


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## JKR123 (Feb 11, 2019)

Was Charter Spectrum supposed to supply me with the required USB a/b cord to connect my tuning adapter to my TIVO box? I remembered to ask them for extra cables and a splitter but I didn't remember to ask them for this USB cord.


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## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

JKR123 said:


> Was Charter Spectrum supposed to supply me with the required USB a/b cord to connect my tuning adapter to my TIVO box? I remembered to ask them for extra cables and a splitter but I didn't remember to ask them for this USB cord.


Yes. But you can use one you have on-hand.


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## JKR123 (Feb 11, 2019)

krkaufman said:


> Yes. But you can use one you have on-hand.


I sure wish I had one on-hand.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

JKR123 said:


> I sure wish I had one on-hand.


They gave me one at the old TWC store when I got mine, but I had to specifically ask them for it. If you have an old printer or scanner lying around somewhere it likely used the same type of USB cable.


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

tarheelblue32 said:


> He either lied to you intentionally or just doesn't know what he's talking about. TiVo is clearly still making CableCARD DVRs. CableCARDs and Tuning Adapters are old technology, but then again so are many of Spectrum's own cable boxes and DVRs. The truth is that Charter just wants to make it as hard as possible for you to still use CableCARD devices like TiVos. They want you paying the ridiculous fees to rent their own DVRs. But the law and the FCC require them to support CableCARDs and Tuning Adapters, so they do it, but grudgingly.


I don't think they really care about wanting to rent you their DVR. What they don't want is having to spend time and resources messing around with TiVo issues. Tivos are a big headache for cable cos.


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

UCLABB said:


> I don't think they really care about wanting to rent you their DVR. What they don't want is having to spend time and resources messing around with TiVo issues. Tivos are a big headache for cable cos.


They literally make billions of dollars a year just from their box rental fees. You don't think they care about protecting billions of dollars a year in revenue?


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## UCLABB (May 29, 2012)

tarheelblue32 said:


> They literally make billions of dollars a year just from their box rental fees. You don't think they care about protecting billions of dollars a year in revenue?


The number of TiVo's out there that deprive them of rental fees is minuscule especially compared to the cost of futzing around with TiVo issues, cable card paring, etc.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

JKR123 said:


> It was the old Spectrum DVR. Back then their technicians told me they didn't offer cable cards in this area which is why I got it to begin with. This was about 3 years ago or so. I am actually glad it went out on me because in talking with the right people now, I have been able to get set up with TIVO boxes in this area. It sounds like the new spectrum world boxes still don't compare to TIVO boxes.


Yeah the new ones still aren't even close. They're better then what they had but still not on par with this decade. My dad has the new ones. So I've gotten to play with them a little.


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## Juzbee_Yourself (Jan 17, 2016)

I hate saying this.. But my Tivo Bolt (Charter Spectrum) stopped working on Thursday night, 4/11, and has not started working as of current. All Charter would tell me initially that it's a "known outage and technicians are working to correct the situation." Well.. Now it's early Sunday morning, 4/14, and it has not returned. They still say it's a "known issue," but a person admitted today that the outage only is affecting people with "certain cards" in their equipment. I am very unhappy. No NHL or NBA playoffs for me until this is fixed. After seeing this thread, I am wondering if this was The End.


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## WacoJohn (Sep 11, 2013)

I am the guy who started this thread. Here it is April 2019 and I am watching Spectrum TV and my Tivo Bolt function has continued just fine. I will say about a month ago, they installed a Cisco STA1520 Tuning Adapter. Sits right next to the Tivo. So far, it's all working as usual.


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## Sequoia225 (May 14, 2005)

JKR123 said:


> Just an update regarding my recent experience with Charter Spectrum and tuning adapters. Since my local store no longer carries them, customer support tried to order one to be shipped to me but the system would not allow her to ship it to my zip code. (Why would they be picky on which zip codes can get them?) I had tried yesterday to get one at another store about an hour away but they had none and no longer stock them either. I was finally able to obtain a tuning adapter today after a technician supervisor picked one up from a warehouse in Columbia, TN which is 2 to 3 hours away. I asked him why it is so difficult to obtain a TA and he said it is old technology.


I moved a few towns over to Pasadena, California in September. I had a similar experience moving my Tivo Premiere. Because I was moving from a Time Warner Spectrum location to a Charter Spectrum location - I had to turn in my cable card and tuning adapter I was using - and get one from the Pasadena Charter Spectrum people. Well, that proved nearly impossible. I had 3 technician visits - each telling me they would bring a tuning adapter - and each time they didnt. Some of them seemed very confused as to if I even needed a tuning adapter. Some said tivo no longer needs them - or the newer tivos dont need them. They hooked me up with a new cable card and I clearly didnt get certain channels that needed a tuning adapter. I finally got mad - I was advised to go to the local Charter Spectrum office to get one. I went there and they said they have none and havent had one for a while. They called a further office and said there was one there. I drove there - further away - and they did indeed have one but said their system wouldnt just let them "give it to me" - and that I had to have an engineer bring one to the house. (steam was starting to come out of my ears). I was told by several that this was all "old technology". 
They kept me there for an hour while they were on the phone trying to figure out if I could just take their one tuning adapter they had. I phoned Charter to complain while I was in their office - on hold then spoke to someone and got disconnected. Called again and by the time I got someone on the phone that time - one of the guys said I could take the tuning adapter.

I get it home and I had to call Spectrum for a long call to get it working.

sigh. Its 7 months later and I constantly get tuning adapter errors on the tv and cant watch some channels, sometimes the error appears no matter what channel I am watching.

Im about ready to give up on Cable and Tivo altogether.

Im trying to figure out what the hell to do now. Still not sure. I would say maybe tivo OTA - but on my current tivo - some of the streaming apps are so slow they are unuseable - so I use them on my PS4 instead.

Its all so frustrating.


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## jth tv (Nov 15, 2014)

Sequoia225 said:


> tivo OTA


Pasadena should have excellent reception for the major broadcast networks. Have you tried using a TV with a super cheap antenna ?


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Sequoia225 said:


> I moved a few towns over to Pasadena, California in September. I had a similar experience moving my Tivo Premiere. Because I was moving from a Time Warner Spectrum location to a Charter Spectrum location - I had to turn in my cable card and tuning adapter I was using - and get one from the Pasadena Charter Spectrum people. Well, that proved nearly impossible. I had 3 technician visits - each telling me they would bring a tuning adapter - and each time they didnt. Some of them seemed very confused as to if I even needed a tuning adapter. Some said tivo no longer needs them - or the newer tivos dont need them. They hooked me up with a new cable card and I clearly didnt get certain channels that needed a tuning adapter. I finally got mad - I was advised to go to the local Charter Spectrum office to get one. I went there and they said they have none and havent had one for a while. They called a further office and said there was one there. I drove there - further away - and they did indeed have one but said their system wouldnt just let them "give it to me" - and that I had to have an engineer bring one to the house. (steam was starting to come out of my ears). I was told by several that this was all "old technology".
> They kept me there for an hour while they were on the phone trying to figure out if I could just take their one tuning adapter they had. I phoned Charter to complain while I was in their office - on hold then spoke to someone and got disconnected. Called again and by the time I got someone on the phone that time - one of the guys said I could take the tuning adapter.
> 
> I get it home and I had to call Spectrum for a long call to get it working.
> ...


What specific TA errors are you constantly getting? If you leave a tuner parked on an SDV channel for a specified time [not sure exactly what it is ... 1 hour? 2 hours?], it is legitimate for the SDV system to cut off that channel. When you switch back to that tuner, you get a message to hit select to recover the channel.

If you give up on cable TV with TiVo, I would recommend using TiVo for OTA (after verifying good reception with an antenna) and use the PS4 for streaming services. Also consider the Playstation Vue streaming service which can give you the channels you previously got with cable and probably for less money, and with DVR functionality. This is assuming you have reasonable broadband internet service, of course.


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## Sequoia225 (May 14, 2005)

jth tv said:


> Pasadena should have excellent reception for the major broadcast networks. Have you tried using a TV with a super cheap antenna ?


I havent yet - I just moved from Tujunga and some years back I had tried up there and reception was awful to none - mountains. Im sure here it should be way better.


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## Sequoia225 (May 14, 2005)

dlfl said:


> What specific TA errors are you constantly getting? If you leave a tuner parked on an SDV channel for a specified time [not sure exactly what it is ... 1 hour? 2 hours?], it is legitimate for the SDV system to cut off that channel. When you switch back to that tuner, you get a message to hit select to recover the channel.
> 
> If you give up on cable TV with TiVo, I would recommend using TiVo for OTA (after verifying good reception with an antenna) and use the PS4 for streaming services. Also consider the Playstation Vue streaming service which can give you the channels you previously got with cable and probably for less money, and with DVR functionality. This is assuming you have reasonable broadband internet service, of course.


Yeah - I know about the TA channel drop thing if its left for a long time. This is different since moving here in Sept and getting a different TA (because they made me even thought they were both technically spectrum- one was TW Spectrum and one was Charger Spectrum.

It just seems to be losing contact with it randomly - it cuts the tv feed and shows a screen that says it cant find it. Some nights it will never happen - some nights it keeps coming back every 10 minutes. 
I would call or go to the office to get another one, but considering how many weeks and how hard it was to get this one, I honestly wont have the patience to go through that again.

If I did the Tivo OTA and streaming apps, I was wondering how I could get certain cable channels that I do watch that arent on the typical streaming apps. I was unaware of PS Vue - will check it out.


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## DoctorA (Oct 18, 2014)

The Cisco TA are so flaky. I was using with my TiVo Roamio Plus with Spectrum and suddenly realized missing channels including premiums. I changed it out and still issue but also the TA would intermittenly disconnect and reconnect. This would wake up the TiVo and TV at all hours so changed out the TA again. After visit by tech he found no issue on my end. He asked for maintenance to be done in the area of my service. No problem found. Here is the best part-before giving up called Cable Card Support again and the agent verified all entered correct and refreshed all equipment. She then said she was going to check signal strength of the TA. She found date powered up but over the week powered never worked-all was red on her end all the while the Cisco TA showed solid green light. Finally on the fourth TA manufactured in 2014 things were working correctly. I would purchase a new one myself if was available but probably no longer manufactured.


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## LoveGardenia (Apr 24, 2015)

You need to speak to Spectrum Cable Card support. These people will work with you step by step to get your equipment working correctly. This is the only group you should speak to concerning issues with TA's & Cable Cards. I learned this the hard way with my Premiere.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

LoveGardenia said:


> You need to speak to Spectrum Cable Card support. .............





DoctorA said:


> ......... Here is the best part-before giving up called Cable Card Support again .......


How are you guys reaching CableCARD support? There used to be a phone number directly to that national help desk but my understanding (and experience) lately has been that you had to get funneled through local support to reach them.


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## DoctorA (Oct 18, 2014)

@dlfl The number I called is 866-532-2598. When answered it is identified as cable card support. Not sure when agents answer if they are but will get you to the right people. The automated system tries to run you through procedures but I just his 0 and am transferred.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

DoctorA said:


> @dlfl The number I called is 866-532-2598. When answered it is identified as cable card support. Not sure when agents answer if they are but will get you to the right people. The automated system tries to run you through procedures but I just his 0 and am transferred.


Thanks. Strange, that's the same number that had worked for years but starting maybe a year ago it no longer connected directly but bounced you into a local support menu, and none of the choices was CableCARD support. I tried it just now as an experiment and indeed it answered: "Thank you for calling the CableCARD support line ...". That's good to know. That national help desk has been the only place that had a clue about CableCARD and Tuning Adapter issues, while local support is clueless. They once told me that about 35 people worked there. That amount of effort amazed me given the general lack of concern of Spectrum (then TWC for me) has had concerning TiVo.


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## LoadStar (Jul 24, 2001)

IIRC, my experience is that when calling that number, it identifies as CableCard support... but then basically behaves identically to the regular support numbers, and just connects you with the standard support people. You can then specifically inform the technician you speak with that you have a CableCard specific issue and ask to be transferred to the national CableCard support desk, and they usually will be willing to comply.


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## jth tv (Nov 15, 2014)

Maybe regular support answers if all the cable card support people are already on calls.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

jth tv said:


> Maybe regular support answers if all the cable card support people are already on calls.





LoadStar said:


> IIRC, my experience is that when calling that number, it identifies as CableCard support... but then basically behaves identically to the regular support numbers, and just connects you with the standard support people. You can then specifically inform the technician you speak with that you have a CableCard specific issue and ask to be transferred to the national CableCard support desk, and they usually will be willing to comply.


Well, in any case, apparently not like the "good ol'days" when if you called that number you were connected directly to the national CableCARD help desk, period! And they had extensive evening and weekend hours too.

Answering as CableCARD support then dumping you into the usual local support menu is insultingly disappointing! But that describes cable TV customer support in general, doesn't it?


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## LoveGardenia (Apr 24, 2015)

dlfl said:


> Well, in any case, apparently not like the "good ol'days" when if you called that number you were connected directly to the national CableCARD help desk, period! And they had extensive evening and weekend hours too.
> 
> Answering as CableCARD support then dumping you into the usual local support menu is insultingly disappointing! But that describes cable TV customer support in general, doesn't it?


Consider it a good thing... This should be used by Cable providers as well as TiVo to get an estimate of how many cable card users they have as customers. This people are not dumping their services with these companies but are looking for ways to use the services that best fits their lifestyles and budget. The only thing cable companies are losing out on is the extra fees for their boxes and DVR services. TiVo and cable companies should be willing to work with the customers to improve their services/boxes with their Cable Card customers. A great example is this: Cable companies should make it easier for customers to use their services without the TA boxes, work with TiVo on this instead of fighting the customers.


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## mschnebly (Feb 21, 2011)

LoveGardenia said:


> Consider it a good thing... This should be used by Cable providers as well as TiVo to get an estimate of how many cable card users they have as customers. This people are not dumping their services with these companies but are looking for ways to use the services that best fits their lifestyles and budget. The only thing cable companies are losing out on is the extra fees for their boxes and DVR services. TiVo and cable companies should be willing to work with the customers to improve their services/boxes with their Cable Card customers. A great example is this: Cable companies should make it easier for customers to use their services without the TA boxes, work with TiVo on this instead of fighting the customers.


I don't think they want the hassle of things like cablecards. They are making apps to use on devices that basically need no support. Log into the app and away you go!


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## Sequoia225 (May 14, 2005)

As I think more about what to do - given my flaky TA box, my slow to not useable streaming apps in my Premiere, and my frustration with supporting Spectrum and the idea they may drop tivo support anyway.....

I am not sure what direction I should go in. I am tempted to do OTA, but regarding the tivo OTA box, is there any point? Considering I can likely get the apps in several other options, what is the benefit of that Tivo OTA box? 
To be able to record the handful of OTA channels only? What am I missing? 

Im just wondering if a newer Tivo has a place in my future, as much as I have loved it since the mid 2000s what does it get me if Im not doing cable or if cable stops supporting it? Im not sure how much longer I can deal with the TA box.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

Sequoia225 said:


> As I think more about what to do - given my flaky TA box, my slow to not useable streaming apps in my Premiere, and my frustration with supporting Spectrum and the idea they may drop tivo support anyway.....
> 
> I am not sure what direction I should go in. I am tempted to do OTA, but regarding the tivo OTA box, is there any point? Considering I can likely get the apps in several other options, what is the benefit of that Tivo OTA box?
> To be able to record the handful of OTA channels only? What am I missing?
> ...


Back in post #181 I said:
_If you give up on cable TV with TiVo, I would recommend using TiVo for OTA (after verifying good reception with an antenna) and use the PS4 for streaming services. Also consider the Playstation Vue streaming service which can give you the channels you previously got with cable and probably for less money, and with DVR functionality. This is assuming you have reasonable broadband internet service, of cours
_
But I was assuming you would keep your current TiVo and that it was an acceptable way to get OTA stations. However it appears the only way you're considering going forward with TiVo is to buy a TiVo OTA model. If you do that you will:
1. Pay a lot to buy the new TiVo and a lifetime sub.
2. Still have somewhat substandard streaming apps, although better than your Premiere. You could use your Playstation for streaming apps and subscribe to Playstation Vue for cable channels. However then you would have the nuisance of having to switch inputs on your TV (or sound bar, or AV receiver, whatever) when you go between OTA and other sources.

Considering the cost of the TiVo OTA and lifetime, consider the following option:
Buy an Amazon Recast OTA DVR and a Fire TV 4k stick for each TV. This will cost you much less than the TiVo OTA and lifetime, and have the following advantages:
1. Good streaming apps and cable channels via Playstation Vue (if desired, cost probably less than a cable TV package).
2. One interface, no input switching, and the PS Vue channels will be integrated with the Recast OTA channels in the Fire TV user interface.
3. DVR functionality for both OTA and PS Vue channels.

And the following relative disadvantages:
1. Recast OTA resolution is limited to 720p. Many users consider it very acceptable -- others don't.
2. The DVR's for the Recast and for PS Vue are clunky and feature-lacking compared to TiVo, but still acceptable to many users.

Finally, my suggestion is based on extensive readings of forum posts and other sources, but NOT on personal experience. I use Fire TV for streaming so I know the apps are good, and I free-trialed PS Vue last year. But I don't have a Recast. I'm seriously considering the recast+PS Vue approach if my cable provider (Spectrum) hits me with yet another outrageous rate increase. I have a Roamio base model that could be configured to OTA-only but the advantage of not having to switch inputs between TiVo and Fire TV (for streaming apps and PS Vue) is very attractive, especially since the WAF factor for this switching nuisance is very poor.

Their are several threads discussing the Amazon Recast, for example:

Amazon has announced a DVR

Amazon Fire TV Recast

Amazon Recast vs Tivo OTA


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

Sequoia225 said:


> I am not sure what direction I should go in. I am tempted to do OTA, but regarding the tivo OTA box, is there any point? Considering I can likely get the apps in several other options, what is the benefit of that Tivo OTA box?
> To be able to record the handful of OTA channels only? What am I missing?


Some of the cheaper OTT streaming options don't have the local OTA channels, and ones that do might not let you record them or skip the commercials.


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## Sequoia225 (May 14, 2005)

"But I was assuming you would keep your current TiVo and that it was an acceptable way to get OTA stations. However it appears the only way you're considering going forward with TiVo is to buy a TiVo OTA model."

My current setup, I am just finding too many of the Premiere apps unusable at this point, and I am trying to figure out a way to get rid of cable so I no longer have to deal with TA boxes (and the company). The fact that my TA box has been flaky, after all I went through just to get one in my hands last October, Im kind of "done". I love the Tivo, but there are so many options and I just am not seeing what the Tivo OTA gives me to justify the cost, so Im considering other routes. 
Thank you for your suggestions and insight dlfl!


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## ncbill (Sep 1, 2007)

DoctorA said:


> The Cisco TA are so flaky. I was using with my TiVo Roamio Plus with Spectrum and suddenly realized missing channels including premiums. I changed it out and still issue but also the TA would intermittenly disconnect and reconnect. This would wake up the TiVo and TV at all hours so changed out the TA again. After visit by tech he found no issue on my end. He asked for maintenance to be done in the area of my service. No problem found. Here is the best part-before giving up called Cable Card Support again and the agent verified all entered correct and refreshed all equipment. She then said she was going to check signal strength of the TA. She found date powered up but over the week powered never worked-all was red on her end all the while the Cisco TA showed solid green light. Finally on the fourth TA manufactured in 2014 things were working correctly. I would purchase a new one myself if was available but probably no longer manufactured.


Hmmm...I have Spectrum with CC & the Cisco STA1520...is it the reason I've recently been getting the (paraphrased) "Sorry, this channel is not currently available" messages?


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## tarheelblue32 (Jan 13, 2014)

ncbill said:


> Hmmm...I have Spectrum with CC & the Cisco STA1520...is it the reason I've recently been getting the (paraphrased) "Sorry, this channel is not currently available" messages?


Yes, that's the tuning adapter failing to tune the channel error message. You can try rebooting the tuning adapter. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. The Cisco TAs are notoriously unreliable. Though I would sometimes get those SDV tuning failures on TWC's own boxes back when I used to have them, so it could also be caused by crappy SDV equipment elsewhere in the network, or poor signal quality in general.


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## dlfl (Jul 6, 2006)

ncbill said:


> Hmmm...I have Spectrum with CC & the Cisco STA1520...is it the reason I've recently been getting the (paraphrased) "Sorry, this channel is not currently available" messages?





tarheelblue32 said:


> Yes, that's the tuning adapter failing to tune the channel error message. You can try rebooting the tuning adapter. Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. The Cisco TAs are notoriously unreliable. Though I would sometimes get those SDV tuning failures on TWC's own boxes back when I used to have them, so it could also be caused by crappy SDV equipment elsewhere in the network, or poor signal quality in general.


Well maybe, but SDV systems (i.e., your TA) are legitimately allowed to detune a channel if you park a tuner on it for some length of time (1 hr? 2 hrs? 30 mins?) and either aren't viewing that channel or have not hit a remote control button for that length of time. When this happens the message should invite you to hit select to re-tune the channel. Unfortunately you usually have to hit select 2 or 3 times and wait between them before it works.

True that Cisco TA's are frequently big trouble, and the cure is usually power-cycling them (NOT rebooting using the button on the front). Some users have their TA's on timers that power-cycle them in the wee hours of each morning. My TA goes a month or so before it needs power-cycling so I don't bother with a timer.


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## steve_scifi (May 10, 2019)

tim_m said:


> I don't know about your area but here we now have the new worldbox 2.0 boxes. They are better then what they were giving out when they first bought TWC. Still not as good as Tivo though.


I am having the tuner adapter issue. The last tech also changed out one of my boxes to new dvr. I am trying it but it is night and day. TiVo just does it better. They don't seem to get it.


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## Wayoverpar1 (May 19, 2017)

I'm blessed to live in a part of the country where Spectrum does NOT use TA's. I suspect this will change over time, but for right now no TA's. I'm running 2 Bolt's with cable cards and both work well with the Spectrum Choice program I'm on. 
I have spotty OTA reception and struggled with it for over a year after cutting the cord. I was offered a very attractive streaming package for $25, which I used for about 6 months until they came out with the Choice program. This allowed me to use my Bolt's with cable cards, and was a no-brainer as it was priced the same as the streaming program.


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## steve_scifi (May 10, 2019)

You are blessed that you do not have to deal with it yet. It amazes me to see these 10 year old posts about the STA1520 tuning adapter. Baffling that they are still using this old unreliable box with the Tivos. To me it just shows they really don't care and have little incentive to change except just enough to keep out of trouble with the FCC.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

steve_scifi said:


> You are blessed that you do not have to deal with it yet. It amazes me to see these 10 year old posts about the STA1520 tuning adapter. Baffling that they are still using this old unreliable box with the Tivos. To me it just shows they really don't care and have little incentive to change except just enough to keep out of trouble with the FCC.


Totally agree, they could solve this by simply moving more channels to MPEG4.


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## rdrrepair (Nov 24, 2006)

Verizon FIOS doesn't use a TA. 

Being a former Time Warner > Spectrum customer, who didn't originally (but eventually had too) have a TA with them, I can tell you that since switching to Verizon FIOS I've had very little CableCard issues. 

Because of the TA issues, and their "support", I'd be hard pressed to go back to Spectrum.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

rdrrepair said:


> Verizon FIOS doesn't use a TA.
> 
> Being a former Time Warner > Spectrum customer, who didn't originally (but eventually had too) have a TA with them, I can tell you that since switching to Verizon FIOS I've had very little CableCard issues.
> 
> Because of the TA issues, and their "support", I'd be hard pressed to go back to Spectrum.


Exactly why i just went back to FIOS, albeit Frontier. I wish it were still Verizon.


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

i had Cox in the Central CT area-- TA issues all the time. I moved south to Comcast...just cablecard and no TA. Life is better. Not perfect but definitely better.


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## steve_scifi (May 10, 2019)

Yes, before the infamous TA STA1520 the only short recordings I had was when a show ran long or I restarted while something was recording. I did have the occasional channel outage but that was resolved by them sending a signal down the line, no tech visit required. Not 100% but quicker to spot because you would have no recording at all. With the short ones it just sits there lulling you in until you go to watch and find out you have 1 minute 13 sec of your favorite prime time show which won't show again any time soon.

FCC reports my complaint has been served on provider.


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## tim_m (Mar 8, 2017)

steve_scifi said:


> Yes, before the infamous TA STA1520 the only short recordings I had was when a show ran long or I restarted while something was recording. I did have the occasional channel outage but that was resolved by them sending a signal down the line, no tech visit required. Not 100% but quicker to spot because you would have no recording at all. With the short ones it just sits there lulling you in until you go to watch and find out you have 1 minute 13 sec of your favorite prime time show which won't show again any time soon.
> 
> FCC reports my complaint has been served on provider.


Hope you have better luck then i did. Even with a complaint they still in the end blamed my TiVo which is functioning perfectly now on Frontier.


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## steve_scifi (May 10, 2019)

Well, luckily they had another Tivo owner in the same "node" as the tech called it also having problems.
There is noise on the line and according to them these tuning adapters are more susceptible to it than say technology THAT ISN'T 10 YEARS OLD!!!
Still, I have had 3 tech visits now with little to show for it and spectrum communication is abysmal even with the FCC and upper management involved.


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