# "Pay-per-view Access"??



## jacksonian (Nov 3, 2003)

On the official Roamio page comparing features of the three models, it has a feature that says "Pay-per-view Access" with a thumbs up for all 3 models. Does that mean I can finally use my TiVo to order a PPV event like a UFC fight? Or can I at least call and order the event and watch it on Roamio? I can't find any further explanation on this or any threads about it here. 

I have TWC and currently have to drag their DVR out of the closet and hook it up to order and receive the PPV event. 

Thanks,
Brent


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## Tico (Dec 10, 2002)

All TiVo have always been able to do this. It is the cable company that either let's you do it or not.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Maybe they're referring to Amazon?

In some places you can access PPV by calling in the order over the phone and then simply tuning to the proper channel, but that's mostly been replaced by VOD in most areas. The only areas where TiVo can access VOD are a few special Comcast markets where they have Xfinity. Basically these markets expose their VOD servers to the internet so TiVo can send the request/control commands over the internet rather then via 2-way communication over coax. cox and Charter have said they were working on similar technologies, but you never know with these MSOs when/if these things will actually land ir if they'll be available in your area if they actually do.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

You have always been able to access PPV if it airs on a specific channel rather than on demand. My friend used to order the UFC events all the time. You just have to call or order online and find out what channel you need to tune to.


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## SugarBowl (Jan 5, 2007)

I've always been able to call up Time Warner and order the college football Saturday pass and Tivo would tune it.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

innocentfreak said:


> You have always been able to access PPV if it airs on a specific channel rather than on demand. My friend used to order the UFC events all the time. You just have to call or order online and find out what channel you need to tune to.


Apparently, this has changed with Comcast in my area. I tried to order a UFC PPV last month and was told they "no longer support CableCard PPV's" by the tech on CHAT. Said there was "no way for me to access the PPV" with a TiVo UNLESSS you have one of their own branded DVRS in the house and activated...

In the past, I used to call up and could see it on "All Boxes" including my TiVos, but I also had a Comcast box at the same time. Once I got rid of the Comcast box I can (apparently) no longer order them and see them on my TiVos.


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

bareyb said:


> Apparently, this has changed with Comcast in my area. I tried to order a UFC PPV last month and was told they "no longer support CableCard PPV's" by the tech on CHAT. Said there was "no way for me to access the PPV" with a TiVo.


They usually say this. You have to ask them what channel it is on.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

innocentfreak said:


> They usually say this. You have to ask them what channel it is on.


They kept telling me I needed a Comcast DVR on my account for it to work. I USED to do it all the time so I know it's possible. Does it work for you without having a Comcast Box on your account?


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## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

bareyb said:


> They kept telling me I needed a Comcast DVR on my account for it to work. I USED to do it all the time so I know it's possible. Does it work for you without having a Comcast Box on your account?


I have FiOS, but that is the same thing they always told us. It is always possible they updated/changed something that broke it.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

innocentfreak said:


> I have FiOS, but that is the same thing they always told us. It is always possible they updated/changed something that broke it.


I'll try again next time there's a UFC and this time I'll call in instead of CHAT. See what happens. I think they'd be fools not to allow it. It's money in their own pockets.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

If they switched their PPV to pure VOD then you wouldn't be able to do this any more. While VOD still uses an actual channel to broadcast those channels are typically hidden from the CableCARD so you wouldn't be able to actually tune it on a TiVo with a CableCARD installed. If you removed the CableCARD and reran GS you could enter the QAM channel manually (i.e. 74-2) but the channel is probably assigned by their system based on whatever is open so they may not even know which channel to tell you to tune.

If you watch a lot of PPV or VOD you should get a HD box from you cable company. Usually one is included free with your package anyway.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

Dan203 said:


> If they switched their PPV to pure VOD then you wouldn't be able to do this any more. While VOD still uses an actual channel to broadcast those channels are typically hidden from the CableCARD so you wouldn't be able to actually tune it on a TiVo with a CableCARD installed. If you removed the CableCARD and reran GS you could enter the QAM channel manually (i.e. 74-2) but the channel is probably assigned by their system based on whatever is open so they may not even know which channel to tell you to tune.
> 
> If you watch a lot of PPV or VOD you should get a HD box from you cable company. Usually one is included free with your package anyway.


An HD box is free, but if you want a DVR (so you can record it) it costs about 18 bucks a month as I recall. Add to that the cost of a UFC PPV ($55.00) and it gets' pretty pricey. It sounds like even if you had the free HD Box, you still wouldn't be able to record to TIVo. Add to that, that TiVos DELETE the recording after 90 minutes whether you have watched it or not, and you begin to understand why so many people simply download UFC events for free...


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

bareyb said:


> An HD box is free, but if you want a DVR (so you can record it) it costs about 18 bucks a month as I recall. Add to that the cost of a UFC PPV ($55.00) and it gets' pretty pricey. It sounds like even if you had the free HD Box, you still wouldn't be able to record to TIVo. Add to that, that TiVos DELETE the recording after 90 minutes whether you have watched it or not, and you begin to understand why so many people simply download UFC events for free...


Most VOD purchases are available for 24 hours and the boxes themselves have the ability to pause, RW, etc... Not sure if that applies to events like a UFC fight, but that's how it works when you rent a movie.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

Dan203 said:


> Most VOD purchases are available for 24 hours and the boxes themselves have the ability to pause, RW, etc... Not sure if that applies to events like a UFC fight, but that's how it works when you rent a movie.


I've never seen a UFC Event offered "On Demand" until a few days after the live event is over. They have always had it as a PPV in the 800's in the channel guide when I've done it. It used to be you could order it over the phone and then the PPV channel would work. Then the Red Flag would begin to flash in "My Shows" letting you know you have 90 minutes to complete the PPV or lose it. Really sucked... especially when you consider that the Comcast DVR does not delete it at all and lets you keep it for as long as you like.

Another case of the Cable Companies making it a PITA to use TiVo, while their own boxes are unhampered. Although in this case, I think TiVo had to make some deal with the devil in order to get the HUMAX agreement and now they are stuck with a crappy deal that they never needed to make.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Are you talking about a S2 TiVo or an HD model? Because the protection they use is completely different.

The S2 TiVos used a version of Macrovision which was basically a signal inserted into the VBI signal (where captions are stored) that told TiVo the protection status. There are $20 VBI strippers you can put between the cablebox and the TiVo that will prevent the TiVo from ever getting the signal that tells it to delete the recording. 

The S3/S4/S5 TiVos are all required to adhere to the CCI bit laid out in the CableCARD specification. Since they record the digital bitstream directly there is no stripper to turn that off. (although S3 units can be hacked to disable it) However the Comcast DVR should be required to follow the same rules. The whole point of making them use CableCARDs was to eliminate disparities like this between MSO boxes and retail devices. If they're ignoring the flag then I think they are in violation of the FCC rules.


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## tvn (Sep 29, 2002)

Dan203 said:


> Are you talking about a S2 TiVo or an HD model? Because the protection they use is completely different.
> 
> The S2 TiVos used a version of Macrovision which was basically a signal inserted into the VBI signal (where captions are stored) that told TiVo the protection status. There are $20 VBI strippers you can put between the cablebox and the TiVo that will prevent the TiVo from ever getting the signal that tells it to delete the recording.
> 
> The S3/S4/S5 TiVos are all required to adhere to the CCI bit laid out in the CableCARD specification. Since they record the digital bitstream directly there is no stripper to turn that off. (although S3 units can be hacked to disable it) However the Comcast DVR should be required to follow the same rules. The whole point of making them use CableCARDs was to eliminate disparities like this between MSO boxes and retail devices. If they're ignoring the flag then I think they are in violation of the FCC rules.


I have spent hours on the phone about this. I Executive Produce PPV events and own the rights to my shows. They tell me its a rights holder issue, which it clearly isn't. It is the CCI bytes code and they say they have no way to change it. And, like you said, you can record and save with their box and with any DIRECTV DVR. So this is clearly a FCC violation of the Cable Card rules. What can we do about it? I considered the X1 or Genie just so I can save my PPV events. I have added DIRECTV many times, just so I could save my events.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

If *you* own the rights to the shows, why don't YOU officially contact the FCC?


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## zundian (Mar 5, 2008)

As an exec, can't you just get a physical copy of the PPV from your company?

Unless you don't record the PPVs for later sale via DVD/Blu-Ray, which seems unlikely.


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## juvi77 (Dec 17, 2003)

I was wondering about this supposed PPV feature and figured they just meant the On Demand PPV movies and not live event PPVs like UFC & WWE. I've never been able to view a live UFC through my Premiere. I've always had to use my Comcast cablebox I only keep specifically for this purpose. It hasn't mattered if I've ordered online, through my remote, or chatted with a rep. I've never been able to have the channel activated on my TiVo Premiere. I've been dealing with this for years and its really the only issue I have with the Premiere set up now that I can do Xfinity On Demand in my area.

I don't know how many times I've been told by Comcast reps that I'll be able to view a live PPV event on both of my boxes and it only ever shows up on my Comcast cablebox and never the Premiere.


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## jacksonian (Nov 3, 2003)

juvi77 said:


> I was wondering about this supposed PPV feature and figured they just meant the On Demand PPV movies and not live event PPVs like UFC & WWE. I've never been able to view a live UFC through my Premiere. I've always had to use my Comcast cablebox I only keep specifically for this purpose. It hasn't mattered if I've ordered online, through my remote, or chatted with a rep. I've never been able to have the channel activated on my TiVo Premiere. I've been dealing with this for years and its really the only issue I have with the Premiere set up now that I can do Xfinity On Demand in my area.
> 
> I don't know how many times I've been told by Comcast reps that I'll be able to view a live PPV event on both of my boxes and it only ever shows up on my Comcast cablebox and never the Premiere.


That has always been my exact same experience with TWC. I was told I could watch it on my TiVo after ordering by phone, but nope. So I keep one of their boxes in the closet for those events. Oh well, I was hoping this was some new improvement.


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## juvi77 (Dec 17, 2003)

jacksonian said:


> That has always been my exact same experience with TWC. I was told I could watch it on my TiVo after ordering by phone, but nope. So I keep one of their boxes in the closet for those events. Oh well, I was hoping this was some new improvement.


Same situation I have been in with Comcast for years. I would love to return the old cable box I have to keep just for those live PPV events. Being able to order and watch live PPV events on the TiVo is really the only feature missing that I would love to have.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

juvi77 said:


> Same situation I have been in with Comcast for years. I would love to return the old cable box I have to keep just for those live PPV events. Being able to order and watch live PPV events on the TiVo is really the only feature missing that I would love to have.


And they wonder why people get tired of jumping through hoops and just download PPV's for free from the Internet.


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## Borinkito (Jun 8, 2014)

Soooo, I purchased a Tivo Roamio Plus (middle one) and wanted to watch the Cotto Martinez boxing match on PPV tonight. I called Verizon FIOS and they told me that the Digital Cable cards don't support the PPV programming because the PPV is not tied to a specific channel like HBO, SHOWTIME, etc... As you can imagine, I was blown by this news.

However, being the hard headed person that I am, I can not take no for an answer and didn't trust the customer service rep because on my tv guide, the boxing match was on it's own channel, 1001. So I ran a little experiment and ordered the fight over the phone through the automated system (no human interaction). I waited 30 seconds and tuned to channel 1001...At first the same error message came up, "You are not authorized to view this channel please contact your cable provider".

BUT...after about 10 seconds...the screen went black...and after another breathless 3 seconds or so...I started receiving a the video feed for the channel. This is about the happiest I've ever been after giving the cable company $65. It's been over an hour and I'm still watching it...thought I'd share my experience with others. Moral of the story: It doesn't hurt to at least try before giving up. They aren't always right. Good luck!


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

I got it to work with my TiVo from Comcast too. You just have to have a Series 4 (supposedly). It does work, but it starts deleting the video about half an hour into it starting at the beginning. I came back from a break and I have this blank screen and a message that says " this part of the video is no longer available due to restrictions set by the copyright holder"... WTF??? So I just MISS IT??? Total. BS. The Box from Comcast doesn't do that... It's no wonder people steal the content with all the crap you have to put up with.


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## abovethesink (Aug 26, 2013)

I am in the "it didn't work" camp. I have TWC and Roamio Basic and attempted to order a UFC live PPV that had a specific channel number. It was just a black screen and getting refunded was a nightmare.


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## bareyb (Dec 1, 2000)

abovethesink said:


> I am in the "it didn't work" camp. I have TWC and Roamio Basic and attempted to order a UFC live PPV that had a specific channel number. It was just a black screen and getting refunded was a nightmare.


Just as an FYI. You CAN order the UFC PPVs from their new online service and stream it using Apple TV or ROKU or a couple of the other other Apps out there. Quality is very good.

Here's a link. They have a free Trial right now if you'd like to give it a look. http://www.ufc.tv/page/fightpass


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