# Cox Phoenix SDV now active



## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

As of the 13th, SDV was rolled out in my area (East Mesa). I am now unable to receive ~20 channels with my Tivo HD. G4 is the main loss to me, as I used to watch that channel on a daily basis.

I have contacted the Cox Phoenix branch VP of marketing's office, Ivan Johnson (623-322-8004, [email protected]), and was transferred to a technical advisor who basically gave me a word for word canned response from the letter we all received about the adapter being available "in the future". I have also filed FCC and BBB complaints. I would recommend that everyone else experiencing this disruption in service do the same. It is ridicules that Cox expects us to continue to pay full price for a product that is crippled, and they can't even give us a date to expect a resolution!


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## veryous (May 25, 2008)

I also live in Chandler and have the same issue as you exactly.

Here are the links to the complaint forms:

https://odr.bbb.org/odrweb/public/GetStarted.aspx

https://esupport.fcc.gov/sform2000/formF!input.action?form_page=2000F

I hope Cox resolves this reasonably and in a timely manner because after my cable card issues (which now seem to be finally resolved), I'm getting sick of it.


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## rv65 (Aug 30, 2008)

azenigma,

They have a tuning resolver that will let you get SDV. Might want to look it up. It may or may not require a truck roll. It's a box that plugs into the tivo via USB and Coax that provides full SDV integration. The tuning resolver is free. Made by Cisco or Motorola.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

I think most people on this forum know about the SDV adapter by now.

The point of this post was that SDV is now active on Cox's Phoenix network, and like most other areas the SDV adapter has not been made available yet.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

Yeah, I lost all those channels in central PHX also. I have made a number of calls, including one today because local PBS, channel 708 wasn't working. I thought it might have been switched out, but it turns out that it was offline for everyone. Good thing! I was ready to blow if it were. It is my understanding that OTA channels must be made available, but then, perhaps it was but not in HD. ??? Anyway, moot point.

I tried to get that $2 STB deal for 6 months, but I was denied it because I already have a set top box. After some finagling I found out that I could still get the deal, but I had to give up my cablecards! And the deal they offer is for a plain STB - not a DVR! Not a good deal IMHO.

I did find out that the retention department believes the tuning adapter will be available in PHX in Feb '09 - not to happy about that. But on a brighter note I spoke with another CSR that claimed he attended a short/brief meeting just this morning to discuss the tuning resolver, and he did actually know about it. Perhaps that is a sign or something??? The retention specialist was absolutely clueless about just about everything. She had to go off and ask others for the little she knew including the 02/09 date.

So, I plan on using that FCC complaint form. Thanks for the links. I would definitely like to get that TA box sooner rather than later.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

BTW, does anyone have a sample letter or whatever that they wrote? Any help in that department would be appreciated. No need to reinvent the wheel, right??


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## DeathRider (Dec 30, 2006)

Maybe this will get Cox Pheonix to move a little faster on getting the Tuning Resolver:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=408003


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## kb7oeb (Jan 18, 2005)

TiVoPO said:


> Yeah, I lost all those channels in central PHX also. I have made a number of calls, including one today because local PBS, channel 708 wasn't working. I thought it might have been switched out, but it turns out that it was offline for everyone. Good thing! I was ready to blow if it were. It is my understanding that OTA channels must be made available, but then, perhaps it was but not in HD. ??? Anyway, moot point.


From a local forum:

KAET-DT is off-air due to an antenna or transmission line failure. No ETA yet on when it will be fixed.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

Here is the letter that I sent to the FCC.

On October 13th Cox Cable, in the Phoenix market, enabled SDV on many of its digital channels. As a Tivo Cable Card customer this effectively left me without access to these channels. Cox has yet to provide me with an SDV adapter or even given me a date to expect the adapter. And during this time I am still being charged full price for my cable TV services. I expect to be provided a discount on my bill for this service outage and an SDV adapter immediately, if they can not do this, I expect them to turn SDV back off until they have a workable solution for Cable Card customers.

I wrote close to the same thing when filing my BBB report.

I agree that their solution to give us a STB for 2 bucks a month is not a solution. I bought a TivoHD for a reason, and the fact that other cable companies have been able to get the adapter rolled out already just tells me that Cox is dragging their feet.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

Also when would Feb '09 ever be considered "later in the year"? By my understanding of our Gregorian calendar system (and I may be wrong as I attended a public school), that would be early next year


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## raygundan (Oct 29, 2003)

azenigma said:


> As of the 13th, SDV was rolled out in my area (East Mesa). I am now unable to receive ~20 channels with my Tivo HD. G4 is the main loss to me, as I used to watch that channel on a daily basis.
> 
> I have contacted the Cox Phoenix branch VP of marketings office, Ivan Johnson (623-322-8004, [email protected]), and was transferred to a technical advisor who basically gave me a word for word canned response from the letter we all received about the adapter being available "in the future". I have also filed FCC and BBB complaints. I would recommend that everyone else experiencing this disruption in service do the same. It is ridicules that Cox expects us to continue to pay full price for a product that is crippled, and they can't even give us a date to expect a resolution!


Can you (or anybody else) recap the list of channels that have moved to SDV? I got their letter, but misplaced it while moving to a new house. I'd like to be able to list exactly what is missing in any complaints.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

Here is the full list of SDV channels.

109 Cox Real Estate 2
110 Daystar
112 INSP
113 EWTN
114 BYU-TV
125 C-SPAN 2
126 C-SPAN 3
133 DIY
144 Fox Reality Channel
155 BET Jazz
156 Great American Country
157 Fuse
158 G4
159 Logo
163 Fit TV
170 Fox College Sports Atlantic
172 Fox College Sports Pacific
173 Fuel
405 TV Chile
410 De Pelicula
411 De Pelicula Clasico
412 CineLatino
413 VeneMovies
417 History en Espanol
418 Discovery en Espanol
422 Discovery Familia
423 TOON Disney en Espanol
424 Boomerang en Espanol
425 Sorpresa
430 MTV Tres
432 Bandamax
433 VideoRola
434 mun2
438 ESPN Deportes
439 Fox Sports en Espanol
440 GoITV
444 CNN en Espanol
445 Canal Sur
449 EWTN Espanol
500 iNDEMAND Previews
601-606 ESPN Game Plan / ESPN Full Court
650 NBA League Pass Preview
651-659 NBA League Pass / MLS Direct Kick
671-684 MLB Extra Innings / NHL Center Ice
840 Public Safety
850 Public Safety
851 Public Safety
853 Public Safety
854 Public Safety
856 Public Safety
857 Public Safety


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## raygundan (Oct 29, 2003)

azenigma said:


> Here is the full list of SDV channels.


Much appreciated! Thank you!


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## rcobourn (Nov 10, 2004)

Apparently Cox Phoenix things the intersection of people who speak spanish and own a series 3 is fairly low.


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## Enforcer (Apr 22, 2008)

Its funny how you guys ***** about something that a vast majority of us has experienced for years.....I would say welcome to the party, but this party sucks.


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## aztivo (Feb 23, 2005)

is anyone else seeing this? 

I have a S3 which is haveing the SDV isue, however my TIVO HD is not seeing this! I have no idea why this is happening as they both have M cards.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

That does not make any sense. It is my understanding that SDV is enabled on the head end, and it will apply to everyone in the neighborhood serviced by that head end. 

I have an HD with the issue, but do not have a S3 I could compare it to. Are you sure you are getting all of the channels that the S3 is not? Can you receive G4(158)? Did you try any of the channels at the same time on both boxes?


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

I live in Phoenix and, like the rest of you, can no longer receive the channels from 109 to 449 on my Tivo HDs with cable cards. The only channel in this group that I watch is "DIY" and I can still receive it on my Scientific Atlanta DVR. It's important that I can receive the 703-7xx hi-def channels for my digital TVs. I'm sure we are all waiting for the "tuning adapters" which hopefully will be released in the next few months. I've spoken to several in Cox tech support and other areas. Many are just receiving training in SDV and none are knowledgeable with Tivos. They can't give me a date for the tuning adapters.


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## raygundan (Oct 29, 2003)

I sent complaints to the FCC and BBB, we'll see if anything comes of it. It seems ridiculous that the three options we have are:

1. Pay the same amount, get dozens of channels less, or...
2. Pay *more* and get the same channels we receive now without the ability to record, or...
3. Pay *even more than that* and get the same channels with the ability to record with a second box.

Ridiculous. A loaner HD DVR should be free until the tuning adapter is available, or the rate should be lower until we are receiving all the channels. And there absolutely, positively needs to be an availability date for the tuning adapter.


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## aztivo (Feb 23, 2005)

azenigma said:


> That does not make any sense. It is my understanding that SDV is enabled on the head end, and it will apply to everyone in the neighborhood serviced by that head end.
> 
> I have an HD with the issue, but do not have a S3 I could compare it to. Are you sure you are getting all of the channels that the S3 is not? Can you receive G4(158)? Did you try any of the channels at the same time on both boxes?


Yes I have tried the boxes at the same time. I dont know about G4 I will check but I know for sure 170,172,133 all work on my HD and not the S3, which says something about needing a tunning resolver or something (dont remember the exact termanology)
Yes I get G4 on my Tivo HD but not my S3


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

rcobourn said:


> Apparently Cox Phoenix things the intersection of people who speak spanish and own a series 3 is fairly low.


Ay carumba!


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## hddude55 (Jan 5, 2007)

We'll have those adapters by Dec 1. Of course that could be Dec 1, 2009 or Dec 1, 2010.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

hddude55 said:


> We'll have those adapters by Dec 1. Of course that could be Dec 1, 2009 or Dec 1, 2010.


Is this a prediction or are you starting a pool or did someone at Cox really give you that hard date? This is awesome news if true.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

I received an email from the BBB regarding my complaint. They were letting me know that Cox did not respond in the timeframe they were requested to. They are sending a reminder notice to them. Seems odd, for a company that is a paying BBB member with a satisfactory rating, to just ignore a complaint.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

I will be happy if Cox releases the tuning adapters by Dec. 1! I won't hold my breath!


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## raygundan (Oct 29, 2003)

azenigma said:


> I received an email from the BBB regarding my complaint. They were letting me know that Cox did not respond in the timeframe they were requested to. They are sending a reminder notice to them. Seems odd, for a company that is a paying BBB member with a satisfactory rating, to just ignore a complaint.


Same here.  BBB just dropped me an email to let me know Cox hasn't responded.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

"The device is expected to be ready in late December...", according to what I heard today, and it is still will be distributed free of charge. It is currently still being tested. Maybe they will still make the "sometime this year?"


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

TiVoPO said:


> "The device is expected to be ready in late December...", according to what I heard today, and it is still will be distributed free of charge. It is currently still being tested. Maybe they will still make the "sometime this year?"


Is this from a reliable source? Was it from sales, support, onsite tech...etc?


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

azenigma said:


> Is this from a reliable source? Was it from sales, support, onsite tech...etc?


It is posted internally in the Cox ARI Info Net.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

Today I received a response from Cox Phoenix regarding my BBB complaint. It also confirms that they are shooting for a December rollout of the adapter. It would have been nice to have been invited to the Beta, but i'm happy to at least have Cox stop beating around the bush and give me some real details and time estimates.



> Dear Mr. XXXX,
> 
> We appreciate you being a longstanding Cox customer and reaching out to us on support for your Tivo DVR. We understand that with our recent launch of Switched Digital technology in Phoenix, the Tuning Adapter is of utmost importance to our customers using "one-way" TiVo devices. We assure you that Cox and TiVo have been diligently working together over the past several months on getting the Tuning Adapter out to market and we are pleased to inform you that Cox has successfully completed alpha testing of the Tuning Adapter, and will be entering beta testing within the next week. Beta testing is expected to take 2-3 weeks. If the product performs as anticipated, a full market release will commence in December. In anticipation of a successful beta trial, and due to high customer interest in the product, Cox has already placed a purchase order for production quantities of the device. The Tuning Adapter will be provided at no charge to you and other TiVo customers with devices that cannot tune to the "switched channels". In the interim, we have extended offers to CableCard customers in an effort to assist those experiencing limitations with the legacy one-way devices - we will provide a High Definition receiver at no additional expense to you so that you can continue to view the switched channels.
> 
> ...


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## eochs (Oct 16, 2001)

I asked some questions on cox.com (live support online) today:

Question 
When will my area be getting any new HD channels? Which channels will they be? Are they going to be using SDV (Switched Digital Video)? Also, when is the SDV dongle going to be released to cable card users? Thanks!

Answer 
Dear Evan:

Thank you for your inquiry. We are delighted to assist you.

Please be aware we have release Switched Digital Video (SDV) only to our cable card customers in certain areas at this time.

We are planning on adding more HD channels to our channel line-up this year. We are always looking for unique HD programming. You may visit the following Web page for updated information regarding our HDTV services:

http://www.cox.com/arizona/cable_hd.asp

In addition, we have listed the channels that will be released around 11/30/08.

Travel HD (748) 
Spike HD (767) 
Bravo HD (760) 
NFL HD (766)
* Must have Sports & Info Tier 
MTV HD (717) 
SciFi HD (750) 
HGTV HD (741) 
CNN HD (736) 
Planet Green HD (764) 
TLC HD (742) 
Versus HD (769)

Thank you again for contacting us via I-mail. Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

Kimberly
E-Care Specialist
Cox Communications - Arizona

Question 
Kimberly, Do you know when the SDV dongle will be released? SDV is active in my area as my TivoHD can no longer access channels that have already been changed to SDV... Are these new HD channels going to be SDV? Thanks!

Answer 
Dear Evan:

Thank you for your response.

We are expecting to have Switch Digital Video Tuning Adapters available in late december for customers using Cable Cards. The tuning adapters will allow customers using TiVo Series 3 and TiVo HD models to receive the Switch Digital Video channels.

At this time the new HD networks will not be Switch Digital Video. However, as we expand our network to Switch Digital Video they may be added to the switched lineup in the future.

Please let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

James
E-Care Specialist


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## BrianAZ (Aug 13, 2007)

Sounds promising.


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## raygundan (Oct 29, 2003)

I like how they're "reluctant to make offers that could be viewed as an attempt to displace your TiVO DVR." As if that prevents them from issuing a credit for the channels we can't view while they figure out how to get their delayed tuning adapters into our hands.


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## jay_winter (Jan 13, 2004)

Good Grief, Charlie Brown! All this hewing and crying about SDV adapters in the Phoenix area is laughable if you just stop for minute and take a look at the crud that's been moved to SDV todate. So far they're pretty much the dregs of the lineup.

Sure, they "could" move some HD channels there, at some time in the future. But so far I think Cox has done an admirable job trying to keep cable card customers satisfied in this area. And, hey -- that lineup of upcoming HD channels is pretty awesome, if not overdue.

In Cox's defense, I have to point out that over the course of just two visits to my home in the past two years, they have practically replaced all my "smart panel" wiring and distribution amplifiers, rewired my wall connectors, and upgraded both cable cards in my S3 --all at no cost to me except a few hours of my time babysitting the repair techs --every one of which has been both knowledgeable and communicative.

Compared to Comcast in the Washington, DC area where I used to live, Cox comes up smelling like roses! I'm counting my blessings.


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## BrianAZ (Aug 13, 2007)

My only gripe at this point with SDV is the sports package channels. I moved away from my home team and am missing out on the majority of this season.


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## raygundan (Oct 29, 2003)

Just heard back from Cox-- with a little prodding, they were willing to offer me a loaner DVR until the tuning adapters are available. Definitely the right move, but it's a shame it took a BBB complaint to get them moving. Like jay_winter says, they have been fairly solid for a cable company.

Hopefully we'll see those adapters soon, and all will be well.


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## BrianAZ (Aug 13, 2007)

raygundan said:


> Just heard back from Cox-- with a little prodding, they were willing to offer me a loaner DVR until the tuning adapters are available. Definitely the right move, but it's a shame it took a BBB complaint to get them moving. Like jay_winter says, they have been fairly solid for a cable company.
> 
> Hopefully we'll see those adapters soon, and all will be well.


I hope your loaner experience is better than mine. They gave me a "free" DVR so I could watch the hockey package last season. It was a nightmare. I had to call each month and fight to prove I had a "free" DVR. Took an escalation to a supervisor nearly every time and often 2-3 calls each month. I'm curious to know if their billing system has been fixed to accommodate this now. Please post your experience after your first billing cycle.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

Did anyone else get the channel update tonight with the following new HD channels? They do not work for me; get a black screen just like I do with the SD SDV channels. Not sure if these new channels were added to SDV, or if Cox has not activated them yet.

Travel HD (748) 
Spike HD (767) 
Bravo HD (760) 
MTV HD (717) 
SciFi HD (750) 
HGTV HD (741) 
CNN HD (736) 
Planet Green HD (764) 
TLC HD (742)


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

azenigma said:


> Did anyone else get the channel update tonight with the following new HD channels? They do not work for me; get a black screen just like I do with the SD SDV channels. Not sure if these new channels were added to SDV, or if Cox has not activated them yet.
> 
> Travel HD (748)
> Spike HD (767)
> ...


Yeah, same here. Depressing. Several of these channels I would watch a lot. I guess I'll have to call Cox to find out if they are SDV or not.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

OK - so here is the scoop... First, I did receive the channel lineup change on my S3 TiVo. I did not receive it on my S2. My S2 is connected to a STB, and the STB cannot tune to channel 750 or any of the other new ones. I called Cox. The rep told me that, per his email, that Apache Junction is the only "node" that is getting the channels, and that they start tomorrow. He couldn't determine if those channels would be SDV in the central Phoenix area, but he did say that they are probably "testing" the channels in AJ because it is a smaller area. He also said that other areas follow in quick succession. 

Other interesting things mentioned were that the tuning adapter "keeps getting pushed back, and is still in testing," and that he attended a brief training regarding the adapter some time back, and the major flaw he is aware of was/is that the adapter crashes and must be reset by powering off and back on. This happens when the channel has remained unchanged for a long duration, and the head end sends a signal to ask if you are still watching the channel. The box then freezes up and requires a hard reset. I assume this applies only if it has parked on a SDV channel, but I don't know. I have no idea if this would happen while the TiVo is recording something either, but it probably is a show stopper when it isn't. After all, when the TiVo isn't recording it is just parked on a channel, and it is probably doing this most of the time. But I won't speculate on the specifics as I would be guessing at best.

Now, my S2 received its service update today, and has a kewl new feature. When you pause a show, live or not, you get the option of having the swivel search applied to the currently viewed program. That's pretty awesome. If you catch something after it started you can swivel it, and find additional showings, or find out who is in it, etc... When will the HD TiVo's get this nifty feature???


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

Looks like you got a hold of a good CSR that actually knew what they were talking about; I did not know they existed! LOL

Well this long wait certainly makes sense now, I should have figured that they were having issues with the beta, or they would have been deployed a month ago.

Its interesting that the problem they are having has to due with the "expiration time" of the SDV "lease" (I have no idea what the proper terms are). I had questions surrounding this whole area since I first started reading about SDV, and looking at some of the screen shots. As I understand it, if you are tuned to a SDV channel you will periodically be asked if you are still watching this channel, if you don't respond it will turn the channel off. My question is, what if I am not at my Tivo and am recording something. Does the Tivo automatically respond for me, or will be recording be interrupted?

Lets hope they can resolve this stability issue, or else we will be back to where we were a few months ago, with our cable cards dropping out every few days.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

It is my understanding that the TiVo will respond automatically if it is recording something, but it will ask you if not. I read that somewhere, but I don't recall where. I think the issue might be that it doesn't respond if it isn't recording something because the TiVo has no idea if you are actually actively watching the channel or not. In fact, your TiVo has to ask you if it is OK to change the channel if it needs the tuner you are watching or idling on. It shows a message something like, "Is it OK to change the channel to record a show... or do you want to stay on this channel and cancel the scheduled recording?" 

I think what I read "somewhere" was the the head end request for an active viewing confirmation will appear via the TiVo software. And so it appears somehow this isn't/wasn't working if it times out. I hope this and all the other issues are resolved before it is deployed. I hope it isn't as buggy as the VOD software they released in the STB's as that needs some work.

And yes, the CSR was very a knowledgeable guy and right here in Phoenix. So he was familiar with the system, and had some clue as to what home media was all about. He was very interested, for example in if I was able to get channel 1 on my series 2, and I explained yes, and how that worked.


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## eochs (Oct 16, 2001)

TiVoPO said:


> Yeah, same here. Depressing. Several of these channels I would watch a lot. I guess I'll have to call Cox to find out if they are SDV or not.


They are not SDV, I have confirmed that with a CSR at Cox... Depending on where you live in Phoenix is when the channels will actually come alive for you... For North Scottsdale (my area), it is November 30th... Some areas aren't until next February...

For now I just disabled those channels in the channel settings... Come the 30th I'll re-enable them and watch their HD goodness...


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

eochs said:


> They are not SDV, I have confirmed that with a CSR at Cox... Depending on where you live in Phoenix is when the channels will actually come alive for you... For North Scottsdale (my area), it is November 30th... Some areas aren't until next February...
> .


Thanks for the update! I just noticed the new channels in my channel guide today and I don't get any of them. I really don't care about any of the other SDV. So, I can wait for the Resolver. I'm in N. Scottsdale, so I'll write back if the channels start working on the 30th.


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## raygundan (Oct 29, 2003)

BrianAZ said:


> I hope your loaner experience is better than mine. They gave me a "free" DVR so I could watch the hockey package last season. It was a nightmare. I had to call each month and fight to prove I had a "free" DVR. Took an escalation to a supervisor nearly every time and often 2-3 calls each month. I'm curious to know if their billing system has been fixed to accommodate this now. Please post your experience after your first billing cycle.


I think I'll skip the DVR until more channels disappear into the SDV-hole, if that's their track record on things like this.  If I do end up requesting one, I'll be sure to report back on billing for you.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

I'm in southeast Phoenix. I checked the 8 new HD channels listed above. Mine aren't working either. I had to explicitly tune to them since none are in my "favorites" group. I will program a few of them into my favorites when they become active. Others I'll never watch.


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## captkirk685 (Nov 23, 2006)

Here is a thought, why don't the idiot cable companies NOT move the channels to SDV until they have the tuning adapters available.


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## nightdesigns (Mar 3, 2003)

Not sure if this is related. When trying to get to MTVHD, I get this message "Channel not available. You may need CableCARD decoders to view this channel. Contact your cable provider for more information." I believe I was able to see this channel earlier. Is it not broadcasting, or is it a SDV thing?


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## captkirk685 (Nov 23, 2006)

nightdesigns said:


> Not sure if this is related. When trying to get to MTVHD, I get this message "Channel not available. You may need CableCARD decoders to view this channel. Contact your cable provider for more information." I believe I was able to see this channel earlier. Is it not broadcasting, or is it a SDV thing?


If its an HD channel you have to have a cable card to receive it if I am not mistaken. You might have seen the regular MTV channel thats analog?


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## eochs (Oct 16, 2001)

MTV HD is a new channel, the oolder one you are thinking of is MHD... The channels have been added to the TiVo guide but are not broadcasting yet... North Scottsdale gets them on Nov 30th, other areas get em later


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

eochs said:


> MTV HD is a new channel, the oolder one you are thinking of is MHD... The channels have been added to the TiVo guide but are not broadcasting yet... North Scottsdale gets them on Nov 30th, other areas get em later


Yup. They changed MHD to Palladium. Same channel, different name. I'm guessing to set up the launch of MTVHD. Now, you'll be able to watch 24 hr stupid reality shows in HD! Maybe some music between 3am and 3:10am.


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## Kershek (Oct 10, 2002)

I called Cox about these new HD channels and found that they are doing a staged rollout across the area like they did with OnDemand. In Casa Grande, those channels are available now. In East Mesa, where I am, they won't be available until January 29th. If you want to know when it's available in your area, call Cox, because he said he couldn't find any public information on their web site about the rollout, even though they have internal information on it. If you get someone who isn't knowledgeable, just call back and get someone else. The first person I called went straight to a truck roll to solve my lost channels (which wouldn't have helped), but the second guy was much more informative and wanted to learn about the issue.

I asked the second CSR about whether more channels were going to SDV and he didn't find any info on that. He was also having trouble finding an SDV channel list, so I pointed him to the 12th post in this thread and he browsed to it while I was on the phone with him.

Hope this helps someone!


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

No new HD in Scottsdale yet as of 12/1. A previous post had said it would be 11/30.


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## nightdesigns (Mar 3, 2003)

Supermurph said:


> No new HD in Scottsdale yet as of 12/1. A previous post had said it would be 11/30.


Ditto in Surprise. Also, my channel mapping on some of the old HD channels is out of whack. Palladium comes up on MTV, Universal on CNN and a few others. It looks like things are supposed to get moved around, but in the mean time...


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## eochs (Oct 16, 2001)

Yep, looks like the 11/30 date was missed... I've seen reports of 12/10 for North Scottsdale, and also heard 12/26 from a Cox CSR reading a bulletin e-mail she was sent...

Tivo mapped the channel changes for Universal and Palladium right on time for me... UHD is now on 767 I think and PHD on 717 maybe?


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## aztivo (Feb 23, 2005)

eochs said:


> Yep, looks like the 11/30 date was missed... I've seen reports of 12/10 for North Scottsdale, and also heard 12/26 from a Cox CSR reading a bulletin e-mail she was sent...
> 
> Tivo mapped the channel changes for Universal and Palladium right on time for me... UHD is now on 767 I think and PHD on 717 maybe?


where in phx are you located? 
This roll out crap sucks I have heard that the chandler/gilbert area wont get the channels till end of Janurary


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## eochs (Oct 16, 2001)

I'm at 33rd st and Shea... Originally was told by Cox that I was part of the North Scottsdale cable system on their network...


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## JayBird (Jan 26, 2003)

TiVoPO said:


> Other interesting things mentioned were that the tuning adapter "keeps getting pushed back, and is still in testing," and that he attended a brief training regarding the adapter some time back, and the major flaw he is aware of was/is that the adapter crashes and must be reset by powering off and back on. This happens when the channel has remained unchanged for a long duration, and the head end sends a signal to ask if you are still watching the channel. The box then freezes up and requires a hard reset. I assume this applies only if it has parked on a SDV channel, but I don't know. I have no idea if this would happen while the TiVo is recording something either, but it probably is a show stopper when it isn't. After all, when the TiVo isn't recording it is just parked on a channel, and it is probably doing this most of the time. But I won't speculate on the specifics as I would be guessing at best.


Anybody heard any new news regarding the Tuning Adapter?

Not that I'm on pins and needles waiting for it (I'm much more interested in getting the new HD channels), but I'm curious if they've worked out the glitches and if it's going to be released to the masses soon.


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## Dark Helmet (Sep 15, 2006)

JayBird said:


> Anybody heard any new news regarding the Tuning Adapter?
> 
> Not that I'm on pins and needles waiting for it (I'm much more interested in getting the new HD channels), but I'm curious if they've worked out the glitches and if it's going to be released to the masses soon.


A bunch of us in the Cox/Northern Virginia market are going to pick our Tuning Adapters up tomorrow (that is literally the first day they will be available to customers here). That doesn't exactly help you, but I thought it might interest you to know that other Cox markets are actually deploying them.


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

New HD channels are live in N. Scottsdale! No SDV!


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

Dark Helmet said:


> A bunch of us in the Cox/Northern Virginia market are going to pick our Tuning Adapters up tomorrow (that is literally the first day they will be available to customers here). That doesn't exactly help you, but I thought it might interest you to know that other Cox markets are actually deploying them.


Is the standard Cox box a Motorola or Scientific Atlanta/Cisco?


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## Mr.Broncosfan (Sep 1, 2008)

Supermurph said:


> New HD channels are live in N. Scottsdale! No SDV!


Not live in Mesa yet.


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## JayBird (Jan 26, 2003)

I contacted Cox today regarding when the new channels will go live in SE Gilbert, and the answer I got was a tentative 1/29/09.

What gives with this rollout that is spread over several months? Why can't they just turn it on for everybody?

Doesn't seem like there's been any progress on the Tuning Adapter either...


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## e30cabrio (Jun 4, 2006)

I spoke to Cox yesterday. They say there was a "bug" in the adapter and that it will be another month before it goes live. They claim the adapters will come from TiVo, TiVo says they will come from Cox.


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## kb7oeb (Jan 18, 2005)

JayBird said:


> I contacted Cox today regarding when the new channels will go live in SE Gilbert, and the answer I got was a tentative 1/29/09.
> 
> What gives with this rollout that is spread over several months? Why can't they just turn it on for everybody?
> 
> Doesn't seem like there's been any progress on the Tuning Adapter either...


Multiple head ends, Cox in greater Phoenix is a collection of formerly separate cable companies.


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## MeStinkBAD (Jul 16, 2003)

JayBird said:


> I contacted Cox today regarding when the new channels will go live in SE Gilbert, and the answer I got was a tentative 1/29/09.
> 
> What gives with this rollout that is spread over several months? Why can't they just turn it on for everybody?
> 
> Doesn't seem like there's been any progress on the Tuning Adapter either...


For the love of GOD ppl, have some patience. For one thing they won't start adding HD SDV channels until well after the new year. If they rush the release of the adapter before it's ready, you'll all be screaming mad! You don't release a product before it's ready... or you'll piss off more people than you would otherwise.

I live in Tucson (which get's the same channel lineup as Phoenix) so I am in the same boat as all you. But they've just recently added the VS channel to their HD lineup, which uses SDV. That's it. They have also added several SD digital stations that don't use SDV either. But presently there is just not enough content yet takes advantage of SDV to warrent the release of the tuning adapter now.


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## will592 (Jan 4, 2007)

MeStinkBAD said:


> For the love of GOD ppl, have some patience. For one thing they won't start adding HD SDV channels until well after the new year. If they rush the release of the adapter before it's ready, you'll all be screaming mad! You don't release a product before it's ready... or you'll piss off more people than you would otherwise.
> 
> I live in Tucson (which get's the same channel lineup as Phoenix) so I am in the same boat as all you. But they've just recently added the VS channel to their HD lineup, which uses SDV. That's it. They have also added several SD digital stations that don't use SDV either. But presently there is just not enough content yet takes advantage of SDV to warrent the release of the tuning adapter now.


I would agree with you, but they have already turned on SDV. You might only care about HD channels and therefore not think it's a big deal but that is not the case for everyone. If you promise an adapter that will allow people to watch channels THEY ARE PAYING FOR and then turn them off without providing the adapter you had better expect people to scream bloody murder until you do something to fix the issue. I don't want to hear about people not being satisfied and whining, it is not the consumer's fault when a company provides poor service. Ship the adapters late, the consumer should complain. Ship the adapter on time but it doesn't work, the consumer should complain. I'm uncertain why you feel it should be any different? Why don't you expect a company to provide service to their customers, or at least a discount on the service until the issue is resolved? Don't forget, they could also have chosen not to implement SDV until everything worked.

Chris


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## hddude55 (Jan 5, 2007)

will592 said:


> I would agree with you, but they have already turned on SDV. ... I'm uncertain why you feel it should be any different? Why don't you expect a company to provide service to their customers, or at least a discount on the service until the issue is resolved? Don't forget, they could also have chosen not to implement SDV until everything worked.
> 
> Chris


Like you, I am amazed when people come here to defend cable providers for this horse crap. It was widely reported a month or two ago that some cable providers who pulled existing channels into sdv without providing an adapter were fined for it. So far, Cox Phoenix has gotten by with it.

As for the channels involved, I like college and prep football more than most any other programming and a game I really wanted to see last weekend was on channel 172. Oops, it is now sdv'd so only HD TiVo customers like me couldn't watch it, and I pay exactly the same for my monthly service as the non TiVo HD customers.


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## Kershek (Oct 10, 2002)

I agree with will592. I watch hockey on VS and would love to see it on my HDTV, but that is not possible with my TiVo. And it's not like we can switch to another cable operator, because they bought out the only competition (Cable America). I have no idea why that wasn't considered monopolizing.


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## nightdesigns (Mar 3, 2003)

will592 said:


> I would agree with you, but they have already turned on SDV. You might only care about HD channels and therefore not think it's a big deal but that is not the case for everyone. If you promise an adapter that will allow people to watch channels THEY ARE PAYING FOR and then turn them off without providing the adapter you had better expect people to scream bloody murder until you do something to fix the issue. I don't want to hear about people not being satisfied and whining, it is not the consumer's fault when a company provides poor service. Ship the adapters late, the consumer should complain. Ship the adapter on time but it doesn't work, the consumer should complain. I'm uncertain why you feel it should be any different? Why don't you expect a company to provide service to their customers, or at least a discount on the service until the issue is resolved? Don't forget, they could also have chosen not to implement SDV until everything worked.
> 
> Chris


I don't know about you, but I've gotten several letters in the mail letting me know about the SDV switch and that my tivo wasn't capable and that the adapter was in the works. They also offered me a HD-DVR for what I pay for the cable cards, $2/mo, until the adapter is ready. That seems perfectly fair to me and no loss of service and no increase in price.


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

Kershek said:


> I agree with will592. I watch hockey on VS and would love to see it on my HDTV, but that is not possible with my TiVo. And it's not like we can switch to another cable operator, because they bought out the only competition (Cable America). I have no idea why that wasn't considered monopolizing.


VS HD isn't an SDV channel, though.


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## Kershek (Oct 10, 2002)

Then why did he say it was in SDV?


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

Kershek said:


> Then why did he say it was in SDV?


Dunno. It's one of the new HD channels. Maybe he has it added to his guide, but Cox hasn't switched on the new HD channels in his area. I'm in N. Scottsdale and those channels just came on in the past couple of weeks. My understanding is that it is a phased rollout across AZ that will take a month or two. So, he may be seeing black screen on the channel and assuming that is is because of SDV. It isn't. None of the new HD channels are SDV.


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## Kershek (Oct 10, 2002)

Ok, got it. That makes sense.


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## palefire (Dec 31, 2007)

nightdesigns said:


> They also offered me a HD-DVR for what I pay for the cable cards, $2/mo, until the adapter is ready. That seems perfectly fair to me and no loss of service and no increase in price.


Hey, do you still have the letter offering this? I took them up on this, and when I went to pick up the box they insisted that the offer was for a plain HD box and not a DVR. Not what I'd remembered, but I had thrown away the letter by this point and was in no position to argue (and I can imagine myself misremembering).


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

palefire said:


> Hey, do you still have the letter offering this? I took them up on this, and when I went to pick up the box they insisted that the offer was for a plain HD box and not a DVR. Not what I'd remembered, but I had thrown away the letter by this point and was in no position to argue (and I can imagine myself misremembering).


Yeah, that is the deal they are offering. Not only that they will want you to give up at least one of your cablecards as well. The letter doesn't expain the details like this, but you get what you get. So I did not go for it. I just hope they work the bugs out of the tuning adapter soon...


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

Hey!! - woo hoo!! - I am getting channel 750 and the light rail! Happy New Year!


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## djwilso (Dec 23, 2006)

Supermurph said:


> Dunno. It's one of the new HD channels. Maybe he has it added to his guide, but Cox hasn't switched on the new HD channels in his area. I'm in N. Scottsdale and those channels just came on in the past couple of weeks. My understanding is that it is a phased rollout across AZ that will take a month or two. So, he may be seeing black screen on the channel and assuming that is is because of SDV. It isn't. None of the new HD channels are SDV.


Correct. I am in north Phoenix and we just got these new HD channels (like SpikeHD, CNNHD, etc.) starting last week or so. They have been in the guide for some time though.

Dennis


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## jkovach (Feb 17, 2000)

palefire said:


> Hey, do you still have the letter offering this? I took them up on this, and when I went to pick up the box they insisted that the offer was for a plain HD box and not a DVR. Not what I'd remembered, but I had thrown away the letter by this point and was in no position to argue (and I can imagine myself misremembering).


I have the letter. It only says they are pleased to offer you an HD receiver for the same price as a CableCARD for the first six months at $2 a month.

Also, below that in a paragraph targeted to Tivo HD/S3 owners:
The Tuning Adapter will be provided by Cox at no charge. In the interim, continued access to channels delivered via SDV is available with a Cox digital set top receiver.

At no point do they mention a free or discounted DVR.


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## Kershek (Oct 10, 2002)

AFAIK, the only HD receiver Cox provides is a DVR.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

Kershek said:


> AFAIK, the only HD receiver Cox provides is a DVR.


That would not be correct as I have one of these in my place right now:

http://www.scientificatlanta.com/Products/consumers/new_explorer3250HD.htm


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## kb7oeb (Jan 18, 2005)

I think cox has deployed three different non DVR HD cable boxes here in Phoenix.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

Cox is now saying the adapters will be available at the end of Jan. or Early Feb. Of course I had to miss G4's coverage of this year's CES due to this delay.

Here is their response to my inquiry:



> Thank you for your inquiry. We regret any inconvenience this matter may be causing you.
> 
> The Tuning Adapters that will allow Cox Communications customers with a TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL receiver to receive channels that are Switched in the Cox Phoenix system are not yet available.
> 
> ...


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## Mr.Broncosfan (Sep 1, 2008)

My understanding is that the latest HD channels that were released a few months ago, did not need the Adapter to receive. Is this correct? Of course, I still can't receive most of them so it doesn't really matter I guess.


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## azenigma (Nov 28, 2006)

Mr.Broncosfan said:


> My understanding is that the latest HD channels that were released a few months ago, did not need the Adapter to receive. Is this correct? Of course, I still can't receive most of them so it doesn't really matter I guess.


No, according to all available information they will not be SDV. In the few areas that have gone live so far, they are working without the adapter. Like you, the new HD's are not active for me yet, I am in E. Mesa.


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## alansh (Jan 3, 2003)

Yes, I've got the new HD channels in central Phoenix, and they're coming in fine.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

Thank you for these updates! I would rather get Tivo, Cox, and tuning adapter information here than calling them on the phone and waiting on hold for 30 minutes and possibly getting a tech who didn't know anything about it!
SciFiHD 750 and SpikeHD 725 haven't been turned on in my east Phoenix area yet.


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## Mr.Broncosfan (Sep 1, 2008)

JayBird said:


> I contacted Cox today regarding when the new channels will go live in SE Gilbert, and the answer I got was a tentative 1/29/09.


Anybody in the East Valley receiving the new channels? No love here in E. Mesa yet.


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## aztivo (Feb 23, 2005)

here in Chandler nothing I have heard March as the date. But no one seems to know


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## yroca (Dec 6, 2004)

azenigma said:


> No, according to all available information they will not be SDV. In the few areas that have gone live so far, they are working without the adapter. Like you, the new HD's are not active for me yet, I am in E. Mesa.


I am not seeing the channels, and was also quoted 1/29 for tentative launch date. Anyone in Mesa seeing the new channels? Do we need to do something to have the TiVo refresh?


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

I live in N East Mesa, Las Sendas and no new HD channels yet? We were told on 1/20 that today (1/29/2009) was a firm date. We were also told the TA would be available mid February. I can't believe they notified us of an increase!


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

Cox just switched WGN from channel 18 to channel 4. This is not HD. I saw zero communications on this, either from Cox or Tivo. Usually there's a notice from Tivo when there's a change to the channel lineup. All 3 of my Tivos (and my Scientific Atlanta DVR too) added channel 4 to the channel list and my favorites, and blocked out channel 18 (which is now empty). 
However, when I tuned to channel 4 on the Tivos I was still receiving the program feed from QVC, which used to be on channel 4! I had to reboot my Tivos to start receiving the programming from WGN on channel 4. This can't be right. I shouldn't have had to reboot to implement the programming change. This was unique to this change. There have been numerous additions to the 700-series hi-def channels and I haven't had to reboot to start receiving them.


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## Mr.Broncosfan (Sep 1, 2008)

herbma said:


> I live in N East Mesa, Las Sendas and no new HD channels yet? We were told on 1/20 that today (1/29/2009) was a firm date. We were also told the TA would be available mid February. I can't believe they notified us of an increase!


I spoke with Cox yesterday and they said the new HD channels won't be released to the E. Valley until May.


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

JimjimH said:


> Cox just switched WGN from channel 18 to channel 4. This is not HD. ....." There have been numerous additions to the 700-series hi-def channels and I haven't had to reboot to start receiving them."


What are the numerous HD additions that were added? Do you get 769VS, 766NFL, 760Bravo, 750 SCI, 748TRv, 743AMC, 742TLC, HGTV?,736CNN? These all show up in the TIVO guide and on screen display but here in East Mesa we do not receive them. COX tells us they are working on the problem. They don't indicate what the problem is. But they know it will be fixed in "May"? In September they sent a letter that indicated a few months.


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

herbma said:


> What are the numerous HD additions that were added? Do you get 769VS, 766NFL, 760Bravo, 750 SCI, 748TRv, 743AMC, 742TLC, HGTV?,736CNN? These all show up in the TIVO guide and on screen display but here in East Mesa we do not receive them. COX tells us they are working on the problem. They don't indicate what the problem is. But they know it will be fixed in "May"? In September they sent a letter that indicated a few months.


I live in Scottsdale and get all of those channels. The channels showed up on the guide in Nov and I started getting the channels around the last week of Dec. I've read on other posts that people have spoken to Cox about it and they are doing a rolling switch on across the valley that will take several months. So, it doesn't sound like there is a problem. Since your Tivo gets it's channels from an independent source, you just got the channels loaded into your Tivo too early.


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## Kershek (Oct 10, 2002)

No, the problem is that they announced to us it would be available at the end of January. I have no idea why they would push it out to May when so many people across the valley have the channels at the dates they were promised.

Personally, I'm very disappointed that I won't be able to see the final episodes of Battlestar Galactica in HD on SciFi HD.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

I agree Kershek! I watch high def channels 90&#37; of the time but I still have several channels (such as SciFi and HGTV and Spike) that Cox hasn't enabled in HD in my area (near Tempe). So I have to switch to standard def when I want to watch those channels. 
So this along with no "tuning adapter" make me less than pleased with Cox. To top it off, Cox has raised the price of my internet connection! They are a monopoly so I have no choice.


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## nightdesigns (Mar 3, 2003)

Well, good news. As of last night, I now have all of the HD channels in Surprise. Not sure why they told me I needed the Tuning Resolver to get them. I was able to see every HD channel in my lineup (minus the premium ones of course)


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## jayceeaz (Aug 24, 2008)

Chiming in from "the black hole" just east of Queen Creek. The channel shuffle over the last few months has left me with a handful of HD channels. The last time I called Cox, I spent 2 hours on the phone with a young lady who giggled as she told me "You are one of those customers who is 'not quite Mesa, not quite Casa Grande'. Luckily, nothing has interfered with my scheduled recordings - and like a beat dog, I have accepted that 1/2 my recordings are not yet in HD... because, well, they just are.

I will likely never get a phone call, nor read a letter from Cox explaining or offering anything until the day comes when all my channels just poof from existence and I am forced to make a call. All the while, my bill has remained the same... funny, that.



JimjimH said:


> To top it off, Cox has raised the price of my internet connection! They are a monopoly so I have no choice.


You absolutely have a choice. Unless you live in some obscure pocket ot Tempe with no phone service, you could always dump Cox internet and go with Qwest, who so far have overly impressed me with their service and responsiveness in my area - which believe me, if you saw where I lived, you'd understand my amazement.


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## Kershek (Oct 10, 2002)

It's a monopoly for me - QWest doesn't offer service where I live in East Mesa


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

jayceeaz said:


> You absolutely have a choice. Unless you live in some obscure pocket ot Tempe with no phone service, you could always dump Cox internet and go with Qwest, who so far have overly impressed me with their service and responsiveness in my area - which believe me, if you saw where I lived, you'd understand my amazement.


Qwest is discontinuing their TV service this year. I have a family member that has Qwest Choice TV and they received a letter stating that they need to switch to DirecTV (Qwest sells that) before they turn off the service.

Plus, even if Qwest wasn't turning off the service, they did not offer CableCards. So, no HD Tivo solution exists for Qwest.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

Has anyone heard anything about the tuning resolvers before I call a pitch a fit?


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## Mr.Broncosfan (Sep 1, 2008)

TiVoPO said:


> Has anyone heard anything about the tuning resolvers before I call a pitch a fit?


I haven't heard any dates, but this isn't going to help you get the current HD channels available.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

In my area I'm missing 5 channels that Cox hasn't ported to the 700 series. I agree this is a separate issue than the "tuning adapters". Maybe it will help to keep pestering them. Maybe!


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

I'm not sure when this thread became a "who has what high def channels forum", and regardless, I already get most of them anyway. I am asking about the Tuning Adapter because I am paying extra for a tier that has SD low def channels on it that I watch which is on SDV. So, I am also paying for a separate box that I would otherwise not need as well as a S2 TiVo that could be retired in order to watch them. 

I think a status update from Cox is in order as the tuning adapter is what, going a year overdue now? I am beginning to think we've been blown off or something. Anyway, that's all I'm saying...

So, since this thread is about SDV I am asking a SDV question. IMHO, which HD channels have been rolled out to which areas is only relevant here if the channels are on SDV. I am not complaining that this is being discussed on this forum but that it seems like people have lost the focus of this forum.


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## alansh (Jan 3, 2003)

Getting back on topic... the tuning adapter is supposed to be out:


> TiVo Inc. along with Cox Communications is pleased to announce the availability of a new device - the Tuning Adapter -- which enables TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL devices equipped with a CableCARD to tune to channels that are delivered via Switched Digital Video (SDV), a new interactive technology.
> 
> The Tuning Adapters are currently only available in our Arizona, Fairfax County, VA and Fredericksburg, VA service areas.


http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r21968021-AZ-TiVo-Tuning-Adapter-Availability

CoxTech1 is an official Cox rep on DSLReports.com


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## alansh (Jan 3, 2003)

I picked one up this afternoon at the Cox store at 7th St. & Glendale Ave.

It's the Cisco STA1520 -- pictures here.

It took a couple of tries to get it working; I ended up restarting the TiVo and the box a couple times. However, it seems to be working now -- I'm getting all the SDV channels I'm subscribing to.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

alansh said:


> I picked one up this afternoon at the Cox store at 7th St. & Glendale Ave.
> 
> It's the Cisco STA1520 -- pictures here.
> 
> It took a couple of tries to get it working; I ended up restarting the TiVo and the box a couple times. However, it seems to be working now -- I'm getting all the SDV channels I'm subscribing to.


I got mine at the same store. They hadn't given any out yet so I had to wait while they read the instructions on how to enter it in the system. But I just got back from Lookout Point and am getting ready to install it now except that the TiVo is recording. I'll have to wait! LOL! But I'm very happy you got it in and working. I'll post later to let you know how mine turned out.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

Houston we have liftoff! All systems are go! Woo hoo! No problemo at all.


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

I'll try picking one up tomorrow at the Tempe store on Broadway and we'll be adding back in the tier with DIY and whatever else is on it. Now if they'll just get the other HD channels like NFL and HGTV up in NE Mesa, I'll be really happy.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

Thanks for the information! Maybe they just arrived in the stores and haven't publicized them yet. I'll go to the Tempe store the first chance I get and see if Cox will give me 3 of them. I don't know of any hi def channels that are on SDV. From what I've seen on my SA DVR (that receives SDV), SDV has standard def channels on it.


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## alansh (Jan 3, 2003)

Here's the list of SDV channels if you want to test it. Of course, you have to subscribe to the tier with the channel too.


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

I connected one of the two units I picked up in Tempe last nite and I could not get the green flashing light to remain a solid green light. I tried the disconnecting and reconnecting, did the tivo restart and same results. I didn't get the TA screen to pop up. This morning I we had pixalation (tiling is what COX told us to call it). I did get the TA screen so Tivo now knows the TA is there. Green flashing led light was still although it wasn't always steady. TA was not working so I tried the disconnect and reconnect routine and then TIVO did not give me the TA screen. I gave up and went to work. *Since I have two Tivos and now two TA's in two rooms, are these paired up by COX to the cable card? Do I need to move the unit I tried to connect in the Bedroom to the Tivo in the Livingroom? Do I need to have COX send a hit to the TA's?* Tonight I'll try again and probably have to call COX. They're always polite but usually unable to resolve.

The cable they provide in the install kit looks like some of my old cables that the Tech's would always replace with cables they would make on the spot. So I have some of their high quality short ones left over after retuning their cable boxes. I'll try them and hope that eliminates the "tiling" pixilating issue.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

herbma said:


> I connected one of the two units I picked up in Tempe last nite and I could not get the green flashing light to remain a solid green light. I tried the disconnecting and reconnecting, did the tivo restart and same results. I didn't get the TA screen to pop up. This morning I we had pixalation (tiling is what COX told us to call it). I did get the TA screen so Tivo now knows the TA is there. Green flashing led light was still although it wasn't always steady. TA was not working so I tried the disconnect and reconnect routine and then TIVO did not give me the TA screen. I gave up and went to work. *Since I have two Tivos and now two TA's in two rooms, are these paired up by COX to the cable card? Do I need to move the unit I tried to connect in the Bedroom to the Tivo in the Livingroom? Do I need to have COX send a hit to the TA's?* Tonight I'll try again and probably have to call COX. They're always polite but usually unable to resolve.
> 
> The cable they provide in the install kit looks like some of my old cables that the Tech's would always replace with cables they would make on the spot. So I have some of their high quality short ones left over after retuning their cable boxes. I'll try them and hope that eliminates the "tiling" pixilating issue.


Yes, the TA has to be activated, and they should have given you the 800 DIY number. 866-679-5601 to self activate.


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## Mr. Coffee (Dec 2, 2005)

Picked one up this afternoon from the store by Power and Southern. (By the WalMart). The 'temporary' store in the Safeway in Queen Creek didn't have any. 

Same problem; the green light just flashes. Did the 1-800 self install # twice, no solid. On the phone with Cox now to see how to resolve. (First call she says she's had on the tuning resolver, and she put me on hold for a few minutes.)

Success! Now have the solid green light on the front of the box, and going to continue the setup routine. Not sure what she did different, though, but didn't take long to fix.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

Mr. Coffee said:


> Picked one up this afternoon from the store by Power and Southern. (By the WalMart). The 'temporary' store in the Safeway in Queen Creek didn't have any.
> 
> Same problem; the green light just flashes. Did the 1-800 self install # twice, no solid. On the phone with Cox now to see how to resolve. (First call she says she's had on the tuning resolver, and she put me on hold for a few minutes.)
> 
> Success! Now have the solid green light on the front of the box, and going to continue the setup routine. Not sure what she did different, though, but didn't take long to fix.


I noticed that it took several minutes after the call for the light to go solid. So, give it some time.


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## Mr. Coffee (Dec 2, 2005)

TiVoPO said:


> I noticed that it took several minutes after the call for the light to go solid. So, give it some time.


Yeah, I waited an hour. I think I waited long enough.


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## alansh (Jan 3, 2003)

TiVoPO said:


> Yes, the TA has to be activated, and they should have given you the 800 DIY number. 866-679-5601 to self activate.


Okay, I didn't get that but mine still seems to be working. I just plugged it in.

And that number is disconnected.

Did you get a separate install sheet, apart from the Cisco guide?


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## malogus (Dec 3, 2006)

I got my 2 tuning adapters today as well. They definitely didn't give me a activation number, so all I have now is a blinking light. Looks like a call to Cox is probably the easiest solution. 

I did get a chuckle out of the Safety Instructions on the back:
1) Read the instructions
2) Keep the instructions
3) Heed all warnings
4) Follow all instructions
5) Don't use near water
6) Clean only with a dry cloth

I mean really, are the top two (real) warnings not to use by water, and clean with a dry cloth?

And just for chuckles, number 7 also says something about the instructions as well.


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## Mr. Coffee (Dec 2, 2005)

alansh said:


> Okay, I didn't get that but mine still seems to be working. I just plugged it in.
> 
> And that number is disconnected.
> 
> Did you get a separate install sheet, apart from the Cisco guide?


Yeah, they handed me a separate install guide with the Cox logo on the bottom, and saying to call 800-699-8151 when it's hooked up with the coax (NOT with the USB plugged in yet.) Not sure where that other # came from.


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## Rolow (Jun 1, 2004)

Mr. Coffee said:


> Yeah, they handed me a separate install guide with the Cox logo on the bottom, and saying to call 800-699-8151 when it's hooked up with the coax (NOT with the USB plugged in yet.) Not sure where that other # came from.


I only got the cisco sheet in the box. I just got off the phone with a tech he had no idea what I was talking about. After 20 min he told me to return it.

I just called the above number when am I supposed to plug in the usb? can the tivo be powered on when I plug it in? How do i know if the activation worked will the light stop blinking?


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## Rolow (Jun 1, 2004)

here is a generic install guide on the tivo site

http://www.tivo.com/setupandsupport...uning_Adapter_for_switched_digital_video.html


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## malogus (Dec 3, 2006)

After an hour with customer service, I finally got both mine working. I guess he was saying they have to pair them with the cards they are attaching to, and since I have 2 tivo's it took a little longer to get them paired (he had them backwards). So after watching an entire episode of 24 on hold, I now have the DIY channel (and all the other SDVs)


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

Thanks for all of the help. I'm delaying the re-install until tommorrow. The Tivo instructions are different from the "in the box Cisco instructions". They had me unplug the Tivo power and you know how long those restarts are.
The unit that was inline and not functioning caused me to loose all of the 700 channels from some time this afternoon (I weasn't home then, but I know because one of the soaps my wife records came in fine) until I simply removed it and connected the cable straight into the Tivo this evening. They were back and I didn't have to reboot or anything. Now I have the instructions and the phone number.


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

alansh said:


> I picked one up this afternoon at the Cox store at 7th St. & Glendale Ave.
> 
> It's the Cisco STA1520 -- pictures here.
> 
> It took a couple of tries to get it working; I ended up restarting the TiVo and the box a couple times. However, it seems to be working now -- I'm getting all the SDV channels I'm subscribing to.


Is it really as huge as it appears in that picture? Ugh! That looks like the size of a normal Cox DVR box. Am I mistaken?

I'm also curious if anybody that has the resolver has noticed a lot of fan noise. I recently bought my 2nd Tivo HD to put in my bedroom because the fan noise from the Cox box drove me nuts at night. If this thing is loud, I think I'll wait until they start putting a lot more on SDV.

Any observations so far? Thanks!


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## kb7oeb (Jan 18, 2005)

No, I saw one yesterday and would estimate it to be about 1/2 the size of the regular non dvr cable box.


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## malogus (Dec 3, 2006)

kb7oeb said:


> No, I saw one yesterday and would estimate it to be about 1/2 the size of the regular non dvr cable box.


I don't know, I'm pretty surprised how big they are. It's probably 2/3s the width of my TivoHD, and probably an inch tall. And of course like every other device, they have to add a rediculously bright green LED to the front. Because there aren't enough of those in my entertainment center as it is....


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## Mr. Coffee (Dec 2, 2005)

Yeah, the box is pretty big. It's not tall, but it's pretty wide. It looks like they reused a box for something different, as it seems on the back left it looks like it has a slot for cablecards, but looking from the top, there is nothing in that space. Also, the totally pointless power button on the front. (I've tried turining it off:


If you're on a SDV channel, the channel goes blank.
If you're on a non-SDV channel, nothing happens.
If the box is off, and you're on an SDV channel, then turn the box on, the channel will appear in a few seconds. (And sometimes the audio didn't come up until I turned the channel and turned back.)

No fan in it, at least, so it's totally quiet.


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## Mr. Coffee (Dec 2, 2005)

BTW, I'm now having the problem that others have reported: Once you hook up the TA, you won't be able to see any programs on your Tivo using MRV.

TIvo is aware and working on it, I guess.
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=414223&page=2


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## edmus (Feb 7, 2009)

I subscribe to Cox's digital cable package but I'm not paying for any programming tiers. Am I correct in thinking that the only SDV channels I'm missing out on are the ones below?

109 Cox Real Estate 2
110 Daystar
112 INSP
113 EWTN
114 BYU-TV
125 C-SPAN 2
126 C-SPAN 3

Honestly, it hardly seems worth the trouble of picking up the box & installing it, as I anticipate spending ZERO time watching any of those. The only reason I'm considering it is that I could possibly see myself adding the Sports & Info tier in the future. Might be better to pick it up now instead of taking the chance they don't have any when I add that tier later.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

edmus said:


> I subscribe to Cox's digital cable package but I'm not paying for any programming tiers. Am I correct in thinking that the only SDV channels I'm missing out on are the ones below?
> 
> 109 Cox Real Estate 2
> 110 Daystar
> ...


Are you assuming that they won't ever change the lineup or add new channels? My theory is they will roll out the TA first and then roll out more HD channels or even SD ones, but they were waiting until the TA was ready. So,I would get them while there hot. Otherwise, what if they ran out? Anyway, just my 2 cents.


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## nightdesigns (Mar 3, 2003)

What a fiasco this has been.

Called tech support the other day to have them install the tuning adapter. I'm 30+ minutes each way to the closest cox store so I figure I'd let them pay me a visit.

Called tech support, was transferred to orders, transferred right back to tech support who then tried to transfer me right back to orders. I wouldn't let them. After a little research, the tech was able to get the install set up.

20 minutes later I get a call from the install department who had no idea what they were supposed to do. I tried to explain to them what was going on and all they heard was "Tivo", "Install" and wanted to charge me a service fee. After I continued to try to explain to them, they said they'd call me back. Never heard back. I decided to just cancel the service call and I picked up a unit.

So it's installed, and doesn't work. Green light blinks 8 times. Tivo does see the unit, and I get a cable signal, but no SDV. I saw phone numbers listed here on an install card that I was supposed to get, but it wasn't included. The numbers didn't work for me because I have an out of area cell-phone as my primary line. 

Currently on the line with support. He things SDV is the DTV switch...

Edit: I'm up and running now. Apparently no techs have been trained and no trainings are scheduled. The tech was going to talk to his supervisor about it because he didn't like not being up to speed on the install process.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

I picked up 3 tuning adapters today. After reading here, I connected them in series with the cable to the Tivos but I didn't connect the USB cable. I called the 800 number to activate them but nothing happened. The green LED just keeps blinking. 
I called Cox tech support. This is new hardware and the tech didn't know how to activate them. I understand, but I told him others have successfully activated them. He left the phone several times to consult with others. Finally he said there wasn't anyone there who knew how to do it and they would have to send someone to my house on Monday. He said I wouldn't be charged for the service call.


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

I picked up two adapters today. I got an instruction sheet and the guy at the store was helpful. He told me they just got them in two or three days ago and that Cox was not actually officially rolling them out until next week. That made me think that the lack of info at Cox may be due to those of us chomping at the bit jumping the gun a little.

Anyway, the SDV channels and most other channels come in great, but I'm now not receiving some channels. On my living room TV, I get a black screen and a message that there is no signal. On my bedroom, TV I sometimes get that and sometimes get the channel, but it pixelates. I was also able to make channels appear by squeezing and wiggling the connection into the Tuning Adapter. So, I think the Adapter dilutes the signal a little and I was likely just making it by with the signal I had before. So, I plan on calling Cox to have a tech come out and increase my signal strength unless anybody else out there has experienced the same and has other advice.

I've attached a picture of the adapter sitting on my Tivo so you can see the size. My scanner is being a bit skittish right now. If I can get it going, I'll also post a PDF scan of the instructions I received in the box. Overall ... pretty smooth with a somewhat knowledgeable guy at the Tivo store on Williams Rd in Scottsdale and since I had followed the instructions.

One tip ..... the adapters need to be paired to your cable card. So, make sure they do that in the store and make sure they tell you which one is which before you leave. The guy that helped me did all that and I was thankful as I can imagine that being missed.


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## palefire (Dec 31, 2007)

Supermurph said:


> Anyway, the SDV channels and most other channels come in great, but I'm now not receiving some channels. On my living room TV, I get a black screen and a message that there is no signal.


Hm, I'm having a similar issue. I have Cox in Tucson. Picked up and installed my TA today, and I'm now receiving many channels that I didn't receive before, but a few of the SDV channels are still not coming in (e.g. no 124-CSPAN, 125-CSPAN2). I have 156, 159 now but not 157, 158. Anyone have any ideas?


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

Here are the instructions from Cox that I received with the Tuning Adaptor. I apologize that it's a little blurry. I had to compress it to get within the discussion board size limit of 100kb. Also, I made an appointment for a tech to come out and adjust my signal. I'll let you know if that works.

I noticed that another person posted that they couldn't get some of the SDV like the CSPAN channels. I haven't compared the list and checked every channel, but I am getting these in fine: CSPAN2, CSPAN3, G4, Fuse. I may also be getting the others. I'll check that too.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

Thanks for the instruction document. In case the Cox tech needs it tomorrow I'll have it. Hopefully he will be knowledgeable enuf that he'll know what to do with this brand new piece of equipment. The TA needs to be synced with the cable cards and that's confused the phone techs at Cox so far. Since I have 3 of them that complicates it somewhat. The only SDV channel I want to see is "DIY". This is a lot of effort for that one channel.


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## anonymous bosch (Mar 2, 2009)

I don't know if this will help anyone, but I was having similar problems to other people here, namely non-SDV channels working fine, no SDV channels tuning, and the green light on the tuning adapter blinking intermittently. The Cox phone techs were unable to resolve and wanted to schedule a tech visit.

I noticed that in the somewhere in the TiVo's 'Settings' menu was a link called 'Tuning Adapter', which told me that no tuning adapter was connected. At this point I had my USB Wireless Adapter plugged into the bottom of the two USB ports on the back of the TiVo and the Tuning Adapter in the top port. So I switched the two (now the Tuning Adapter in the bottom USB port) and now when I went to the 'Tuning Adapter' part of the TiVo menu I had some options (i.e. it was now seeing the Tuning Adapter). On a info sub-menu there I could see that the TA was initializing, and after about 3-4 minutes, the TiVo screen changed to tell me that a TA was now connected and that I should test it out.

I have no idea whether this USB port issue is specific to my box, but at least it's one more thing to try. (Incidentally, the Wireless Adapter seems to be working fine in the top USB port, so it doesn't seem to be a malfunctioning port. *shrug*...)

Good luck!


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

anonymous bosch said:


> I don't know if this will help anyone, but I was having similar problems to other people here, namely non-SDV channels working fine, no SDV channels tuning, and the green light on the tuning adapter blinking intermittently. The Cox phone techs were unable to resolve and wanted to schedule a tech visit.
> 
> I noticed that in the somewhere in the TiVo's 'Settings' menu was a link called 'Tuning Adapter', which told me that no tuning adapter was connected. At this point I had my USB Wireless Adapter plugged into the bottom of the two USB ports on the back of the TiVo and the Tuning Adapter in the top port. So I switched the two (now the Tuning Adapter in the bottom USB port) and now when I went to the 'Tuning Adapter' part of the TiVo menu I had some options (i.e. it was now seeing the Tuning Adapter). On a info sub-menu there I could see that the TA was initializing, and after about 3-4 minutes, the TiVo screen changed to tell me that a TA was now connected and that I should test it out.
> 
> ...


The USB port does not matter. TIVO will see the device when the TA is powered up and you then connect the USB. It won't function until the cox rep on the phone links the specific TA with the cable card. I have two TA's and two Tivos. I had to tell the nice rep which TA (top number on back of the TA and actually it was all letters on mine)was connected to which cable card, (the number they need begins with PK and is found on the cable card screen labled diag). Once they send out the right signals and the light turns green then you connect the USB. They try to tell you to re-boot the TIVO but I think TIVO doesn't need that. I eliminated the pixilating and picture loss by using Cox cables that I had laying around and not the cables they provided in the sealed plastic inside of the TA box. I hope that helps.


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## anonymous bosch (Mar 2, 2009)

herbma said:


> The USB port does not matter. TIVO will see the device when the TA is powered up and you then connect the USB.


Really? Gee, that's so weird, because mine didn't function correctly even after having done everything you have mentioned (multiple times). Until, that is, I switched the TA to the other USB port.

Should the choice of USB port make a difference? Clearly not. All I can report is what happened in my case. If that information isn't useful to you, please feel free to ignore it. You know, instead of assuming that the person posting it is incompetent...


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

anonymous bosch said:


> Really? Gee, that's so weird, because mine didn't function correctly even after having done everything you have mentioned (multiple times). Until, that is, I switched the TA to the other USB port.
> 
> Should the choice of USB port make a difference? Clearly not. All I can report is what happened in my case. If that information isn't useful to you, please feel free to ignore it. You know, instead of assuming that the person posting it is incompetent...


I apologize, I was only offering help not trying to criticize. Did you get the solid green light? Is your TA now working. Mine are both still working fine. The COX call center tech I talked to was in Rochester, New York and that I was the second TIVO tuning adapter he had done.


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## anonymous bosch (Mar 2, 2009)

herbma said:


> I apologize, I was only offering help not trying to criticize. Did you get the solid green light? Is your TA now working. Mine are both still working fine. The COX call center tech I talked to was in Rochester, New York and that I was the second TIVO tuning adapter he had done.


No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so grouchy. Shouldn't have replied before I had that first cup of tea. =-)

I didn't make explicit in my initial post (but should have) that after I switched the TA to the lower port, everything worked perfectly. (That is, after the couple of minutes in which the TA finished its initialization.) The light is green, solid, and happy.


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## Rolow (Jun 1, 2004)

switching usb ports did nothing for me. I guess I'll just keep trying tech support till i get someone who knows what I'm talking about.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

There were 4 supervisors and one tech at my house today. They said I was the first service call involving Tuning Adapters and Tivos and they wanted to get hands-on experience! This is totally new hardware technology in the Phoenix market. They brought print-outs of a Power Point presentation concerning the TA's that they had attended. Since I have 3 Tivos, they had to ensure the correct TA was connected to the correct Tivo/cable card. They don't run into Tivos very often. They also told me the phone techs probably won't know much about them until later. 
When the light stopped blinking I connected the USB cable. The Tivos immediately recognized the TA. I was able to receive "DIY" on channel 133. There are several diagnostic menus for the TA as with the cable cards. 
The techs agreed with me we should not use the RF patch cable that came in the box. The cables should be made from RG-6U coax. 
I didn't have to reboot my Tivos but I did for good measure. 
The TA can be placed anywhere within reach of the USB and coax cables. The green light doesn't have to be visible under normal conditions. What an experience!


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

Ugh!

A tech came to my house today and fiddled around and called his supervisor a bunch of times, but didn't adjust my signal. My wife was here and told him that's what I was requesting, but he said he had to talk to his supervisor and get a level 2 support tech out to my house.

After reading the last few posts, I'll try switching out the cables as some of you have suggested. Right now, I'm using the black cable that came with the TA.


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

What do you know?! That did it!!! 

I just replaced the black cable that came with the tuning adaptor with some of the white coax from Cox that I had laying around and now I get all channels .... no signal loss ..... no pixelating. That cable must have been letting signal interference through.

Thanks guys!!!!

For anybody else having trouble with the TA once it's hooked up and recognized by your Tivo, definitely don't use the black cable that came in the TA box.


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## sirgolf82 (Aug 10, 2005)

Just got my TA up and working on Cox Phoenix.

The coax cable that came with the box was giving me problems, not tiling, but missing some channels altogether. Replaced that with a new one and all works fine.

Now, on to waiting for these slackers to turn on the latest HD channels in the East Valley...


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## djwilso (Dec 23, 2006)

I wanted to share my Tuning Adapter activation experience.

On my first phone call to Cox, I tried to add the "Variety Tier" and activate the TA at the same time, but I was only able to add the variety tier. The sales department then transferred me over to Tech Support.

The first guy in tech support said that he didn't know what a Tuning Adapter was and put me on hold for about 10 minutes. When he came back on, he said that he could help me to reboot the TA. I told him I needed to have it activated and then he asked someone else nearby what I was talking about and apparently they knew slightly more and provided me with the Tuning Adapter activation phone number that I needed to call: 866-670-5601

I called that but when I put in my phone # it didn't recognize it and sent me to a tech support guy located in Virginia. This guy did know what the TA was and was able to send the activation signal. As soon as he did that, the blinking LED came on solid and I thought all was ok, so completed the call.

However, shortly after hanging up, the LED started blinking again for about 20 seconds and then went off. When I clicked the power button again, the TA started flashing the LED in sets of 8 blinks. Power cycling the TA again brought back the original steady blink of the LED (not the sets of 8).

All this time, I had had the USB cable disconnected from the TiVo as I had read many other posts stating that it had to be disconnected to complete the activation. I decided that I would try to do the activation again but this time with the USB connected.

So, I called Cox again and got a tech support guy in Phoenix this time, and this guy did know what the TA was and was able to resend the TA activation. This time, the LED stopped blinking and stayed on, but the TiVo did not present the "A Tuning Adapter is connected" screen. Unplugging and re-plugging in the USB cable also did not appear to do anything.

Next, I cycled the power on the TA, and this resulted in the blinking LED again.

However, after about 5 minutes of this, the TiVo decided to all of a sudden wake up and prompt with the TA connected page. After I selected the option to go into the TA diagnostics, the LED came on solid and the Test Channels function now showed channels instead of nothing, and the programming was coming in on all SDV subscribed channels.

I'm afraid to touch it now for fear of something breaking, but for now it has been working for the past 3 hours without a hiccup.

All in all, it only took about 40 minutes to get it working from the first call to the last, so I feel pretty good about it. I have been dreading calling them because it's always a long stream of representatives that do not know what I am talking about and don't seem to be able to adequately troubleshoot basic problems. Getting to someone that really knows what they're doing, that is willing to stick with you for more than 5 minutes without passing you off to another department, and can solve your issue is very difficult unless the problem's solution is on their script.

Dennis


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## edmus (Feb 7, 2009)

I'm not really sure what the point of the Power button is on this TA. My UPS says it & my Tivo are drawing the same power either way. The only difference is that when switched off I can't get the SDV channels. Seems to have lowered my signal strength by about 5-10&#37;, even when using decent coax cable (not the one included in the box).

It also functions well as a space heater.


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## andygriffith (Jul 27, 2008)

herbma said:


> The USB port does not matter. TIVO will see the device when the TA is powered up and you then connect the USB. It won't function until the cox rep on the phone links the specific TA with the cable card. I have two TA's and two Tivos. I had to tell the nice rep which TA (top number on back of the TA and actually it was all letters on mine)was connected to which cable card, (the number they need begins with PK and is found on the cable card screen labled diag). Once they send out the right signals and the light turns green then you connect the USB. They try to tell you to re-boot the TIVO but I think TIVO doesn't need that. I eliminated the pixilating and picture loss by using Cox cables that I had laying around and not the cables they provided in the sealed plastic inside of the TA box. I hope that helps.


The USB port does seem to matter. Like the previous poster, I had my wireless adapter in the bottom USB and the Tuning Adapter in the top and the TiVo wouldn't recognize it at all. Swapped the two and it immediately recognized the Tuning Adapter and the SDV channels worked flawlessly.


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## LiamSevier (Dec 26, 2007)

I can lend further credit to the "usb port _does_ matter" concept. I followed the directions on the TiVo Tuning Adapter webpage to the T. I thought I'd probably need to have the cards re-paired to the TA, so I called customer service (local Phoenix). The rep that I spoke with was very nice and said that she had worked on one of these earlier. She sent a new pairing signal to my card and after waiting a little while, I was still not getting SDV channels. So I rebooted the Tivo, just in case, and still no SDV. I came back to this thread and saw the usb port issue and decided to give that a try. For reference, I first had the usb cable in the top port (just under the ethernet). I switched to the lower port and the channels instantly came in. Apparently the usb ports might run on different bus'?


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## andygriffith (Jul 27, 2008)

LiamSevier said:


> I can lend further credit to the "usb port _does_ matter" concept. I followed the directions on the TiVo Tuning Adapter webpage to the T. I thought I'd probably need to have the cards re-paired to the TA, so I called customer service (local Phoenix). The rep that I spoke with was very nice and said that she had worked on one of these earlier. She sent a new pairing signal to my card and after waiting a little while, I was still not getting SDV channels. So I rebooted the Tivo, just in case, and still no SDV. I came back to this thread and saw the usb port issue and decided to give that a try. For reference, I first had the usb cable in the top port (just under the ethernet). I switched to the lower port and the channels instantly came in. Apparently the usb ports might run on different bus'?


Yeah, now we need to get firmware upgrades to 801 so they don't keep rebooting and TiVo needs to fix the impact of MRV! I can't believe they don't find these problems in QA, we find them instantly out in the real world.


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## andygriffith (Jul 27, 2008)

Is there a process to engage Cox in AZ to get the firmware updated or do I just need to be patient and wait? I am on 701.


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## LiamSevier (Dec 26, 2007)

Is anyone else experiencing what seems to be a random occurrence of watching tv (even a non sdv channel) and suddenly your TA light starts blinking for a little bit, then your channel suddenly changes to the Tuning Adapter Connected screen?

For reference the full details say "A Tuning Adapter is connected to the DVR. To verify that your DVR is receiving all the channels in your subscriber package, test the Tuning Adapter. You can skip this step for now and test it later if necessary using the Settings menu" [your options are "Tuning Adapter Menu" and "Continue"].

I haven't noticed any channels missing, so I just press Continue. Then I'm presented with the Tivo Central page and I have to press Watch Live TV again. This has happened several times since installing this adapter. Nothing seems to be wrong, but it's rather annoying. Anyone else with this issue?


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## Mr. Coffee (Dec 2, 2005)

Got the letter in the mail today announcing the tuning adapter from Cox, so they're now making it public.


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## Kershek (Oct 10, 2002)

Yep, I got it as well in East Mesa. Not sure if I want to get it right away or wait for the bugs to get worked out first. I'm not really impacted too much by SDV at the moment.


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## LiamSevier (Dec 26, 2007)

LiamSevier said:


> Is anyone else experiencing what seems to be a random occurrence of watching tv (even a non sdv channel) and suddenly your TA light starts blinking for a little bit, then your channel suddenly changes to the Tuning Adapter Connected screen?
> 
> For reference the full details say "A Tuning Adapter is connected to the DVR. To verify that your DVR is receiving all the channels in your subscriber package, test the Tuning Adapter. You can skip this step for now and test it later if necessary using the Settings menu" [your options are "Tuning Adapter Menu" and "Continue"].
> 
> I haven't noticed any channels missing, so I just press Continue. Then I'm presented with the Tivo Central page and I have to press Watch Live TV again. This has happened several times since installing this adapter. Nothing seems to be wrong, but it's rather annoying. Anyone else with this issue?


This is incredibly obnoxious. Tonight, between 730 and 830 PM, the mrs and I decided to catch up on some Heroes. We went to our "now playing list" and started watching the show. At 4 different times, the TA light began to blink and the show was interrupted with the "Tuning Adapter Not Connected" screen. So we'd go back into the now playing list and have to start over from the beginning of the show (and fast forward to where we left off). A few minutes later, the "Tuning Adapter Connected" screen would take over and kick us out of our viewing. AGAIN. FFWD to where we left off, only to have it happen over and over.

When the "TA Not Connected" screen came up (and the light was flashing), I did look at the "verify channels" screen and an SDV channel (G4) was not being received. Why does this thing keep losing signal? We're getting really sick of this pos. Tell me we're not the only one experiencing this.


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

We had the same problem with the TA blinking Friday night 3/27. We couldn't receive the 133 DIY. We did a tivo restart and unplugged the TA. After flashing/blinking then it aquired the channels and worked. But a program that was taping after all was working stopped when Tivo said it recognized the TA. WE may just remove the TA and give up the DIY tier.


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## JimjimH (Oct 11, 2008)

I've been having similar problems with my 3 TAs. I had a short power failure Thursday night (when we were having the hurricane-force winds). Even though my Tivos and TAs are on UPS, the TAs appeared to have lost sync with Cox. The LEDs on the front panel did not blink. I don't watch SDV channels very often so I didn't notice it until later. I didn't receive a message saying the TA had disconnected. DIY was just a gray screen. I unplugged the TAs for a few seconds. After plugging them back in the LED blinked and it took a minute or so for them to resync with Cox. Then the Tivos recognized them and I was able to receive DIY. It seemed to start with the winds on Thursday. I hope this doesn't happen often.


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## LiamSevier (Dec 26, 2007)

After being fed up with constantly interrupted from tv viewing and being presented with the "Tuning Adapter Connected" screen, I called Cox today. They took a look at the signal and discovered that they were not seeing any signal going through the TA on their end. Which was strange, because I was tuned to 158 (G4) and was getting the channel. Then I was put on hold and a minute later I received the "Tuning Adapter Connected" screen AGAIN. So I went back to "Watch Live TV" and now I was NOT getting G4 (just a black screen). I looked at the clock and timed it to 3 minutes later and then the "Tuning Adapter Connected" screen came back up. Again, back to "Watch Live TV" and there was G4 back again. A minute later the rep came back on and I asked if he had done anything to the signal on his end. He said no, and that he was talking with another rep during that time. I asked him to check if he was now able to see any signal going through the TA and he said that it looks like there was no change in the original (signal not present) status on his end. Quite odd, considering I was actually getting the channel.

So now we are set up to have a Cox installer come out on Wednesday to take a look at the unit itself. The rep assured me that he was notating that an actual COX employee was to come out, and not just an outsourced person. He guaranteed me that someone who has officially been trained on the TA will be coming out (...riiiiiiight...).


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## dmorel (Jan 4, 2005)

Hey Liam!
Any luck with your adapter?
I just picked up my two TA's today and haven't gotten 'round to installing them yet. But baseball season is coming and I want to make sure I don't miss and games. I do believe the MLB package is on SDV.

Be curious to know if you're still having systemic issues or if something got it squared away.


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## LiamSevier (Dec 26, 2007)

Hey there Dave! 

The original (living room) TA was replaced on Wednesday. So far, so good. However, now, the second (bedroom) TA that was just installed last week has stopped working. There are no channels coming through. No SDV, no HD, nothing. The light was flashing for a while, then it went out completely. Cycling power to both the TA and the TiVo has produced no results. It's quite likely this may turn out to be a cable card issue. Called Cox and had a pairing signal resent. No change. Cox is scheduled to come out (again) tomorrow to take a look. I guess the positive benefit is that we've been given a pretty good credit on our bill for the inconvenience. 

As far as yours go, did they give you different coax cables to use? The ones in the box apparently do not pass enough signal and the store should give you a replacement (thicker guage) cable to use instead. Or perhaps they've caught on to that and the boxes now contain the right cable. Not sure. 

Best of luck, but be prepared for a less than smooth experience. ; )


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## Supermurph (Oct 15, 2007)

I've had 2 tuning adaptors for a little over a month and I had issues with random channels not showing up with both when I first got it. However, based on advice from this forum, I changed the cables and DID NOT use the black cables that came with the TA. This instantly fixed my issues for both. I've had no issues for a month since the change.

So, for the many of you that seem to be experiencing issues with your reception and the tuning adapter light blinking, try out changing the cables. It's simple and you may have as much success as I did.

I put the TAs behind my TVs so I don't see them and I've honestly forgot that I even have them. They're working fine.


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## dmorel (Jan 4, 2005)

So my set up was not smooth at all, took a long time for the superstars at COX to figure out that they hadn't "authorized" the boxes properly to work with the adapter.
After that, flawless operation so far.
Which is to say the baseball games I recorded from the MLB package came in. 
I was on the road for a while but as best I can tell, everything is working fine on both TV's.


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## mj1856 (Dec 14, 2004)

I just thought I would add my experiences to this thread. I just installed two tuning adapters on two TivoHD boxes. The automated number didn't do anything. However, when I called Cox, the tech knew exactly what I was talking about and was able to pair the TA's to the correct Tivo and activate the boxes. They both worked instantly. The only thing he had wrong is that he thought I would have to reboot the Tivo after connecting the USB cable, which I did not. So kudo's to Cox. Apparantly they have improved their training - or I just got lucky and got a tech who knew his stuff.


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## herbma (Dec 26, 2006)

My wife has reported missing and partial recordings in the bedroom. We have had to unplug and re-power up the tuning aadpter unit. This affected SDV channels and the regular channels. Our other unit in the great room is working fine without any problems. Anybody else have a problem last week?


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## djwilso (Dec 23, 2006)

herbma said:


> My wife has reported missing and partial recordings in the bedroom. We have had to unplug and re-power up the tuning aadpter unit. This affected SDV channels and the regular channels. Our other unit in the great room is working fine without any problems. Anybody else have a problem last week?


Yes, I had to cycle power on my Tuning Adapter one day a few days back (don't remember the exact day) because all channels went black without explanation.

Once the TA came back up, all channels returned. This is the second time this has happened since I've had the TA.


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## raygundan (Oct 29, 2003)

We're in Chandler-- I haven't received any info from Cox on the tuning adapters yet. We were getting the occasional letter about them, but I haven't heard a peep in a while. Are we at the point where they're being distributed widely, and I should call and get one?

I've also had a bunch of HD channels in my listing that show up blank for a few months-- but I didn't think Cox was running more than a few oddball channels in the standard package on SDV yet. Is this related, or do I have some sort of other problem (incorrect guide or cablecards not working right?)


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## jeffett (Jan 25, 2006)

> I've also had a bunch of HD channels in my listing that show up blank for a few months-- but I didn't think Cox was running more than a few oddball channels in the standard package on SDV yet. Is this related, or do I have some sort of other problem (incorrect guide or cablecards not working right?)


No, it's not related. Look at msg #12 earlier in this thread for the SDV channel lineup.

Like you, I had HD channels in my lineup, but got blank screens on some of them when flipping through. I called Cox last year to ask why I wasn't getting all of my HD channels like A&E and the GOLF channel. The tech said they give TIVO advance notice of upcoming additions to the HD lineup. TIVO then immediately announces to us the additional HD channels and tells the box that you now get that channel. It was a couple months before I started receiving A&E and GOLF. According to my TIVO HD channel lineup, I'm now getting FOX News, Disney and VH1 among others. When I spoke w/ a tech today to activate my TA, I asked when those channels would be live. She said to look for them sometime in August.

As far as the TIVO SDV Adapter, it's a lot of effort for very little payoff at this point. I have the movie tier, so I was only missing out on channels 109-126. CSPAN2 & 3 were the only channels I might possibly watch, and even that possiblity was very remote. But that's not to say they won't add more SDV channels to the lineup in the future. That's why I went ahead and installed it.


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## dja0323 (Sep 18, 2006)

Has anyone else lost channels that used to be active in the 700s (BravoHD, CNNHD, etc)? I just realized that I lost those channels the other day. Cox says that they didn't move to SDV but they have no answer as to why I cannot see them now. Just curious if anyone has had this issue or if they did actually move these channels to SDV.


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## alansh (Jan 3, 2003)

No -- I assume you're in Phoenix (you can set your location in your profile) since you're posting in this thread.

I'm in Central Phoenix and CNN-HD and Bravo-HD are not on SDV, and I get them fine.

For those that are curious, you can verify that you are on an SDV channel by going to the Tuning Adapter Diagnostics and picking SDV SESSION INFO. There will be a "SamSvcId/Type" for each tuner (SESSION-1 and SESSION-2). If it says "Broadcast", it's not SDV. If it says "Switched" it's SDV.


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## edmus (Feb 7, 2009)

jeffett said:


> As far as the TIVO SDV Adapter, it's a lot of effort for very little payoff at this point. I have the movie tier, so I was only missing out on channels 109-126. CSPAN2 & 3 were the only channels I might possibly watch, and even that possiblity was very remote. But that's not to say they won't add more SDV channels to the lineup in the future. That's why I went ahead and installed it.


I don't subscribe to any tiers, so shortly after I installed the Adapter, I uninstalled it. I suppose at some point we'll get some more SDV content, but for me it wasn't worth using right now. It radiates a lot of heat & slightly degrades the signal strength. I have such a ridiculously wide range of signal strength levels. Stuff like ESPN & the locals I get at 90+, some of the recently added channels are in the 50's. I'm not sure my Tivo could even get reception of those if I re-installed the adapter.


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## musicforme (Nov 19, 2003)

I'm going to be calling Cox in the next couple of days to schedule an appointment to get cable and Internet service to our new house in far north Phoenix (near I-17 and Carefree Highway).

I have a Series 3, is all I need to ask for it is a "tuning adapter" or is there some other key phrase I need to use when talking to them?


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## kb7oeb (Jan 18, 2005)

dja0323 said:


> Has anyone else lost channels that used to be active in the 700s (BravoHD, CNNHD, etc)? I just realized that I lost those channels the other day. Cox says that they didn't move to SDV but they have no answer as to why I cannot see them now. Just curious if anyone has had this issue or if they did actually move these channels to SDV.


Yes, I have heard from 3 different Tivo users having the problems. So far I know they can't watch 28,29 and 728. I know there were more but I don't remember them, none of them have a tuning adapter though.


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## djwilso (Dec 23, 2006)

musicforme said:


> I'm going to be calling Cox in the next couple of days to schedule an appointment to get cable and Internet service to our new house in far north Phoenix (near I-17 and Carefree Highway).
> 
> I have a Series 3, is all I need to ask for it is a "tuning adapter" or is there some other key phrase I need to use when talking to them?


You will need to get two "S" CableCARDs (the "S" is for Single stream) as well as the Tuning Adapter.

The CableCards should probably be installed and confirmed working before adding in the Tuning Adapter in my opinion. It seems to me that doing it in a different order would complicate the install.


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## kb7oeb (Jan 18, 2005)

M cards will work as S cards so it doesn't matter since Cox charges the same for either.


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## musicforme (Nov 19, 2003)

How would y'all suggest I get my Tivo prep'd so it goes well during the install?

My Tivo won't have Ethernet access to the Internet until I get my Apple Airport Extreme (router) and Airport Express (access point) connected to a switch to created a bridged network located at the tv.

I could hook the Tivo up here at my in-laws house and go through guided setup so it has the new channel listings, but I would be without the CableCards. The last thing I want to do is run an Ethernet cable around 100 ft or so from the TV to where the cable modem will be installed.

Any suggestions?


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## alansh (Jan 3, 2003)

I'd highly recommend completing guided setup and software updates before they come out to install. 

Is there a landline phone jack nearby? Although it will take a while, you can still do guided setup over the phone. If you need a software download (which you will if it's a new TiVo), that will be really slow though. OTOH, you can just walk away and let it run.


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## musicforme (Nov 19, 2003)

alansh said:


> I'd highly recommend completing guided setup and software updates before they come out to install.
> 
> Is there a landline phone jack nearby? Although it will take a while, you can still do guided setup over the phone. If you need a software download (which you will if it's a new TiVo), that will be really slow though. OTOH, you can just walk away and let it run.


Thanks for the response. 

My Tivo is a Series3 previously used in Texas on Verizon Fios up until June 12th. There is a landline jack within 50 ft of the Tivo. Cox is going to activate the phone too.

I'll dig the Series3 out of its box and see how far I can complete the guided setup here at the in-laws. At the least it should access channels 2 - 99 without the CableCards.


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## TiVoPO (Jun 11, 2004)

I was wondering if anyone else in Phoenix experiences problems with their tuning adapter which begins on Sunday evening causing the TiVo to not record shows because no signal was found. This happens to me every Sunday or every other Sunday for months now. The issue requires me to unplug the tuning adapter and reboot the TiVo then plug the adapter back in. I would think this is a bad tuning adapter except it only happens on Sunday. Does anything special happen on Sundays? Thanks for your thoughts on this in advance.


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