# Channels That Appear on Edge Guide, but do not appear on Screen



## portman (Nov 13, 2020)

I have an Edge Digital connected to Comcast Cable in Baltimore. The eight channels below correctly appear on the guide, but when I switch to them either in SD or HD, I only see an error message that says: "Channel Temporarily Unavailable contact vendor."

All of these channels are in our TV package and can be seen from any set in the house connected to an X-finity/Comcast cable box.

BBC World News
Sundance
Hallmark Drama
Cooking Channel
MTV2
Screen Pix
Screen Pix Action
Screen Pix Voice

After many hours of hassling with Comcast Support, I reached a supervisor who said that the above channels were "ALL IP" channels and could be incompatible with the cable card, but the support supervisor could not explain what an "ALL IP" channel was or how it differed from any of the digital channels.

It may mean that the channel is being delivered to Comcast in Mpeg4 format, but that is unlikely as Mpeg4 is only used for HD and not for SD and this problem, as stated above, occurs in both HD AND SD.

Does anyone have any information about this topic. Has it been discussed in the forum in the past.


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## NorthAlabama (Apr 19, 2012)

portman said:


> I have an Edge Digital connected to Comcast Cable in Baltimore. The eight channels below correctly appear on the guide, but when I switch to them either in SD or HD, I only see an error message that says: "Channel Temporarily Unavailable contact vendor."
> 
> All of these channels are in our TV package and can be seen from any set in the house connected to an X-finity/Comcast cable box.
> 
> ...


comcast is slowly changing to ip channels, which are not viewable through a tivo, and require an x1 box. tivos can easily handle mpg2 or mpg4 channels, but not ip channels.

so far the change is being slowly implemented, and relegated primarily to newly added channels, but the migration will continue over time to eventually encompass all channels, according to comcast.


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## celtic pride (Nov 8, 2005)

I wish tivo could make a combo cablecard and ip box so we could continue using cablecard and somehow for the channels that use IP


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

I have that same hope. However TiVo would have to make boxes specific to each cable company , maybe unique to different areas within that cable system. It may be possible but only with the cable companies working with TiVo and I don't see it happening.


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## Sloanstar (Nov 17, 2020)

You may thank the FCC stooge appointed by the current administration for removing the cablecard requirement. Now with no legal requirement to support the technology TiVo will cease to exist in 5 years as there are other cleaner and more cost effective solutions for OTA recording and streaming services viewing.


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## portman (Nov 13, 2020)

Sloanstar said:


> You may thank the FCC stooge appointed by the current administration for removing the cablecard requirement. Now with no legal requirement to support the technology TiVo will cease to exist in 5 years as there are other cleaner and more cost effective solutions for OTA recording and streaming services viewing.


What are the cleaner and more cost effective solutions for recording streaming services and Cable Broadcasts that are made using the ALL IP technology that Comcast is reportedly converting to?


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## Sloanstar (Nov 17, 2020)

portman said:


> What are the cleaner and more cost effective solutions for recording streaming services and Cable Broadcasts that are made using the ALL IP technology that Comcast is reportedly converting to?


Sorry sir, I forgot my sarcasm brackets. That was the reason given when the FCC pulled the plug on the cable card requirement. Obviously regurgitating some swill spoon fed to him by a lobbyist intent on rescinding the requirement so you can be force fed some garbage monstrosity of you providers own making. a'la Xfinity X2 or some other junk.


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## portman (Nov 13, 2020)

That really doesn't answer the question.
Are you saying that there are no other cost efficient methods of recording ALL IP cablecasts other than the cable-caster's boxes?

Tivo is telling me that they are negotiating with Comcast to have Comcast modify the cards we insert into the Tivo box so that users can record ALL IP just as the Cable Co's boxes do, but that makes little engineering sense to me. The Cable Co's box contains far more complex technology to convert ALL IP then the amount that would fit on a cable card.


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## mattyro7878 (Nov 27, 2014)

I wonder if an argument can be made to the new administration to A) rescind the cable card mandate and B) somehow make IP channels available to cablecard devices. A is a maybe and B is an impediment to progress (I imagine)


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## portman (Nov 13, 2020)

mattyro7878 said:


> I wonder if an argument can be made to the new administration to A) rescind the cable card mandate and B) somehow make IP channels available to cablecard devices. A is a maybe and B is an impediment to progress (I imagine)


Matt -

Of course an argument could be made to the FCC for rescission, but that would have to come from the Biden Administration or Congress and I think they have more important issues to deal with at the moment.

As for making IP Channels available to Cable card devices, I think you realize that the Cable Cos want to bury Tivo, right? So why would they want to do that? The Cable Cos are happy with the fact that to provide the service to its users, Tivo would have to design a customized box for each cable provider and that is out of the question economically, so it isn't going to happen.

And that returns the issue to my comment about congress again. Congress would have to pass legislation ordering the Cable Cos etc to unify their standards for their boxes and their Cable Cards so that Tivo would only have to make a single box to service all of the providers.

That would set up a heck of a battle in Congress first of all and then some real legal infighting between the Cable Cos and the Government. You are probably looking at five to eight years of legal tussle with no guarantee of the end result.


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