# Wide Open West (WOW) Cable Cards



## samual.icky

My short experience with WOW and the cable card install...

Day 1:
Box arrived (10 days after I placed my next day order)... step one call cable company to install TWO cable cards ($3.50 each). Step two open box and set up. I kept the cable hooked up to the cable DVR (since its digital) but I also elected to do the cable & antenna set up. (Then ran out to buy an antenna). So now I'm able to record two OTA stations at the same time or cable if it move the cables around.
(Guided SetUp #1)

Install Day 1:
Cable company shows up to install the cable card... but opps no cable card. Half hour later they where able to obtain ONE and spent an hour and a half trying to figure out how in set everything up. Now I'm just able to record one station at a time... (can't to two OTA recordings at once.... silly)
Install Rating: *
(Guided SetUp #2)

Install Day 2:
Cable company shows up (5 days after Install Day 1)... spends 5 minutes making sure the cable signal strenght is good... then installs cable card number two.. total time for Install Day #2 15 minutes)
Install Rating: ****
(Guided SetUp #3... only change between number #2 &#3 another cable card)

BTW: I'm also using WOW's "High Speed Internet Access" for my network connections... I have a cat 5e cable running from my S3 to a switch, and the switch is connected to the cable modem. Thus far "Yahoo! Photos", "Yahoo! Weather", "Yahoo! Traffic", "CBS SportsLine Fantasy Companin by AT&T", "Browse & Buy Movie Tickets" along with all the movie previews all fail... with a "Can't Run An error occured while running the application. Could not open URL."


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## mattn2

samual.icky said:


> BTW: I'm also using WOW's "High Speed Internet Access" for my network connections... I have a cat 5e cable running from my S3 to a switch, and the switch is connected to the cable modem. Thus far "Yahoo! Photos", "Yahoo! Weather", "Yahoo! Traffic", "CBS SportsLine Fantasy Companin by AT&T", "Browse & Buy Movie Tickets" along with all the movie previews all fail... with a "Can't Run An error occured while running the application. Could not open URL."


Can you ping the S3 from another computer on the network? Do you have a DHCP server set up? Query the DHCP server for the IP address of the S3 (and look at the server connect logs).

I hope the above points you to the problem.

# Matt


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I also have WOW. CC on order, due in next Thursday. However, my wireless connection (also through WOW) works just fine. In fact, my wireless USB must be the MAC address I've got in my network, since I didn't have to add the S3's MAC.

Yahoo weather, traffic, etc., as well as music and photos work just fine. I do hope my cable card install goes better!

BTW, WOW is giving me a 30% discount (they say I'm a VIP customer--TAKE NOTE TiVo), and my second box is a DVR from WOW that is actually cheaper to keep than a HD NON DVR box....great deal!


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## thanna

Just had my first attempt at installing CableCards with WOW. Unfortunately, it was not successful.

Both cards were from Scientific Atlanta. 

The first card was plugged in and reported the error 161-1. I'm still digging around the forums to see what that means but I'm taking it to mean it was a defective card.

The second card also reported a 161-1 initially but then the TiVo rebooted and it came up with the Host ID and Card ID. The installer called it in and it looked promising but when we got to "Test Channels", it would display the channel names but only showed a black screen. The info screen on the cable card read "Waiting for CP Auth". 

The installer spent a lot of time on the phone as well as time checking the signal strength/etc. He was here for at least two hours and it never changed status and displayed the channels. The people on the phone assured the installer that they could "see" the box and that it was authorized but it didn't actually work.

I'm now going to dig around and see what info I can find about these specific problems then call back and schedule another install. Any links or help from people with similar problems would be appreciated.


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## samual.icky

mattn2 said:


> Can you ping the S3 from another computer on the network? Do you have a DHCP server set up? Query the DHCP server for the IP address of the S3 (and look at the server connect logs).
> 
> I hope the above points you to the problem.
> 
> # Matt


Network connections work just fine (i can grab all the need data from tivo servers for programing info and the like)... except the items noted above...


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Tech came today, and in one hour, everything was done, and correct. I had to help him a bit, leading him to the answer. He had never even heard of an S3, but was very pleasant.

I did have to prompt him to have the signal sent to the cable cards so that they'd work, but that's all it took.

It's going to take some getting used to the delay in switching channels. Is there anything I can do about that?


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## thanna

Well, my second attempt is Monday. I'm going to be a tad more prepared this time. I'm even ready to get TiVo support on speakerphone if needed. Any last minute words of advice? I told them to put a note on the work order to bring extra cards in case some are defective. Hopefully the installer will bring out a whole box of em.


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## thanna

Well, mixed results this time. The first card went in and worked flawlessly this time. The second card wouldn't work nor would the spare that the installer brought. I took a flashlight and looked inside the slot. There is a stinkin' bent pin . 

So... my third S3 is on its way from TiVo and I'll be scheduling my third cable appointment after it arrives.

My luck is rotten


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Yes, it is bad luck, and I feel your pain. Seems every time I get something, I need it repaired or replaced....

However, it could have been bent by the first card being installed.

Either way.......keep your chin up...it's almost over!


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## thanna

I got my third S3 on Friday - hooked it up on Monday and had my third visit from Wide Open West today. 

I believe it is finally done. Both cable cards look to be functioning perfectly. The interesting thing is, the first cable card was working before the installer arrived even though switching TiVo's should have switched Host ID's. Maybe WOW's system doesn't actually care what the Host ID of the device is?

I actually do believe that the pin in my last TiVo was probably bent by the first installer. I didn't want to try to go after WOW for a replacement though. God knows what that would have involved. As a result, I didn't let this guy touch the TiVo though.

It's so nice to finally be done with this month long ordeal and have my series 3 working. If anything goes wrong over the next few days, I'll post a follow up but I think I'm good to go.

The only pieces of advice I have for other people using Wide Open West are:

1) Make them put a note on the order asking the installer to bring extra cards
2) Insert the cards yourself if feel comfortable doing so.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Glad to see it's over....ENJOY!


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## scantor

I bought my S3 about 5-6 weeks back and had WOW come out a few days later to install the cards.

The installer was very polite, if a bit lost, and had to go back and forth a bit with the "home office" to get things activated, but they seemed to have their ducks in a row about it, and the actual install went pretty easily for both cards.

BUT, a few days after, I noticed one digital channel was out. After a tech visit, and a phone call, they told me today that they're seeing a problem with the Tivos not getting this channel and the NOC is working on it. In 48 hours when it still fails, I'm supposed to call back and follow up, but they're almost certainly going to claim it's a software issue with SA or Tivo and ignore it.

So probably no luck, but it's only one channel, and not a HD one, so I guess I'll take it.

Just hope I don't get my SA cards fried if they upgrade them. I'm sort of hoping the dual tuner cards might be the resolution, but I haven't heard an estimate on that.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

What channel was it that didn't work?


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## scantor

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> What channel was it that didn't work?


319, SOAPnet


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Works for me....though I had removed it from my listing.


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## scantor

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> Works for me....though I had removed it from my listing.


Thanks, I'll let them know when I call back Monday about the ticket, and tell them it's apparently not a system-wide issue. Which I imagine they should know, but then again...


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## PajamaFeet

I'm about to order an S3 for myself and another for my folks. We both have W.O.W. Can you successful S3 users on W.O.W. tell me which W.O.W. lineups you have? The site shows the CableCARDs are $3.50/month. It also shows the HDPak is 9.99/month.

Do I need to switch from Basic Cable Bundle to Digital Cable Bundle to get the HD Pak? Does it make sense to add the HD Pak to a Basic Cable Bundle?

Thanks for any help or encouragement.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I've got all HD channels, and got them "free" when I mentioned that my brother has Comcast, and all their HD channels come included in the one HD fee (no additional 9.99 charge for ESPN HD, etc.). I got a $10/mo credit. I've since called WOW and told them that I was thinking of changing to Comcast, since they seemed cheaper. They now give me a total of $30/mo credit.

However, I do not remember if I had to get the digital package, as I already had that. Also, keep in mind you need TWO cable cards for the dual tuner to work.


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## PajamaFeet

Thanks. I called WOW and found out that I do need the Digital package, but the basic HD channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc.) come with it. The 9.99 HD pak includes 9 more channels.

Did you have to do a lot of haggling to get that extra $20 credit? I suppose I can research Comcast rates and use that as a bargaining tool. I hate haggling.


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## thanna

I probably should have posted this earlier... Although I thought my setup was completely 100% done, in fact, there are 8 channels that I am not receiving properly. When I tune to one of these channels, the cablecard screen with the Host ID comes up. When I clear it, I only see a black screen.

It took one e-mail, two more phone calls, and another visit from a tech but I finally think I have the right person at WOW working on the problem. It's difficult to escalate technical problems with WOW.

(Luckily I never watch anything on 6/8 of these channels and only have a passing interest in the other 2)


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

PajamaFeet said:


> Thanks. I called WOW and found out that I do need the Digital package, but the basic HD channels (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, etc.) come with it. The 9.99 HD pak includes 9 more channels.
> 
> Did you have to do a lot of haggling to get that extra $20 credit? I suppose I can research Comcast rates and use that as a bargaining tool. I hate haggling.


Not really. I have been a WOW customer for at least 5 yrs. They also made mention that I had never missed a payment.

If you're a sports fan, you'll definitely want ESPN HD. I also watch FOOD HD much more than I ever would have thought.


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## PajamaFeet

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> Not really. I have been a WOW customer for at least 5 yrs. They also made mention that I had never missed a payment.


Thanks for the info. I have been with W.O.W. just over 6 years and have my payment automatically deducted from my checking account, so maybe I can play the "VIP customer" card. I'm pleased with my Internet service, too.

thanna, are you still having problems with any of your channels?

Since I'm getting an S3 for myself and another for my folks, I'm going to be going through the W.O.W. set-up twice and could use all the good advice ya'll can offer.

Thanks again!


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## thanna

One of the 8 channels I wasn't getting has started working. Luckily, it was one of the two that I'm interested in. The other 7 are still borked. 

Two techs from WOW have been spinning their wheels here since noon trying to figure it out. They're swapping out different cards now with no luck. Just for fun, I left my laptop lying out where they'd see it with the Time Warner website up but I like the WOW channel lineup much better so I'll probably stick it out even if they don't get these 7 channels fixed.


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## thanna

Scantor (or anybody else in Columbus), do you get these channels?

316 FOXREAL 
318 FLIVING
338 NFLNET
359 ANIME
379 WORD
483 SEDG
489 EDRA

Also when you go to the CableCard CP screen, what do you see for "Auth Status"?


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## scantor

thanna said:


> Scantor (or anybody else in Columbus), do you get these channels?
> 
> 316 FOXREAL
> 318 FLIVING
> 338 NFLNET
> 359 ANIME
> 379 WORD
> 483 SEDG
> 489 EDRA
> 
> Also when you go to the CableCard CP screen, what do you see for "Auth Status"?


Yes, I get all of them. The only channel out for me is 319.

The CP screen shows CP Auth Received.

WOW just came back out, and they elevated the ticket to another engineer. Eventually, they'll tell me to wait for a Tivo update, I suspect.


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## thanna

Hmm... mine still says "Waiting for CP Auth". 

What side of town are on on? I was talking to the tech a little as he was leaving. He said there are four head ends (whatever that means) in Columbus. He said it shouldn't matter which one you're connected to - that the signal should be identical but didn't sound all that confident.


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## scantor

thanna said:


> Hmm... mine still says "Waiting for CP Auth".
> 
> What side of town are on on? I was talking to the tech a little as he was leaving. He said there are four head ends (whatever that means) in Columbus. He said it shouldn't matter which one you're connected to - that the signal should be identical but didn't sound all that confident.


I'm on the north side, near Sharon Woods.

I would have thought that the "Waiting..." message would prevent any of the encrypted channels from getting through, but clearly this technology is a major work in progress.

I'm counting myself lucky at this point to be missing only one unimportant channel.


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## dualtronic

Is anyone having touble getting premium channels with their SA cablecards? All the other digital channels work fine. But HBO doesn't tune-in with one of my cards. The other card only tunes into HBO when it feels like it.

I'm having WOW replace one of the cards this week, but I wanted to know if anyone else sees this problem.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Not at all. Some of the digital channels (in the 300's) don't work, but they're channels I'd never want to watch anyway. All the HBO's, Showtime's, etc., work--SD and HD.


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## dualtronic

WOW came back today. He installed two new cablecards. Still no HBO. He pissed and moaned for about 10 minutes.

Then he called someone <Insert Magic> Voila! It works... What the heck happened? Even the service guy was stumped for a while. I suspect something was wrong back at the head office.


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## scantor

A WOW tech got back to me today and they've referred the problem I'm having with channel 319 to Tivo to look into.

I guess that's good, guess we'll see what happens. At least they're not just giving up.


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## thanna

They called me today too and said the same. I think they said somebody named Lisa at TiVo was going to be looking into it and may be calling.


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## stanski

Well I thought I would just post a relatively positive experience with a CableCard installation.

He told me he only did 1 other S3 about 2 weeks ago. The tech was there for about 45 min appeared to be working great.

After he left, I noticed the "HD Pack" tier was only coming in on one card. I called customer service, and after trying to explain to her that both cablecards were being used on 1 unit she activated the other card with the "HD Pack"

It seemed like she wanted to charge me twice for the HD Pack. I will defiantly pay close attention to my bill next month.


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## PajamaFeet

stanski said:


> It seemed like she wanted to charge me twice for the HD Pack. I will defiantly pay close attention to my bill next month.


If you order the HDPak, wouldn't it make sense that you would get it for the whole house? I'm having a WOW installer come on Tuesday to put two CableCARDs in my TiVo S3 and an HD receiver on another TV. They're only charging me once for the HDPak. I think that we just need to educate some of the CSRs since this two-tuner TiVo with two cards is new to them.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Correct...I have WOW, with HD Pak, et al. I pay only once...and my second HD tv is connected to WOW's HD DVR. It's actually CHEAPER that way!

That, and the $30/month credit they gave me for being a good, loyal customer (and mentioning that Comcast seemed cheaper) makes me sing WOW's praises regularly!

Let us know how your install goes!


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## PajamaFeet

scantor said:


> WOW just came back out, and they elevated the ticket to another engineer. Eventually, they'll tell me to wait for a Tivo update, I suspect.


 Do you happen to have the ticket number? My WOW installer is here now, and I'm missing some channels too.


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## scantor

PajamaFeet said:


> Do you happen to have the ticket number? My WOW installer is here now, and I'm missing some channels too.


Well, the WOW ticket was 81543, and was assigned to Juan at the NOC.

I don't have a number at Tivo, but they've taken over the issue. No response from them yet, I think they're treating it as a software bug and it won't get addressed all that quickly.

If you're having authz issues with your cards, it's not the same problem I have. Mine is definitely an issue tuning one of the channels.


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## PajamaFeet

Thanks scantor. I had a couple channels out, 318 & 338. The WOW tech was on the phone several times and unable to do anything...then voila, the channels worked. He had never seen it before, couldn't explain it, and scratched his head. This tech really knew his business. Maybe it was a loading issue, and it just took the TiVo some time to recognize the channel. Stumped.


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## thanna

PajamaFeet, check those channels now. They should be fixed. WOW just came out to my house for a conference call with TiVo and one of TiVo's CableCard engineers helped them find the problem. The issue was related to copy protection. Here's the gist: 

They unknowingly had copy protection enabled on several channels yet the CableCards weren't receiving the signal that authorized them to decrypt the channel. The issue has been solved by just turning off copy protection on those channels.

There is still an issue with SOAP (319). The WOW guys think they have an idea of what's causing it though. I didn't completely follow the discussion but it sounded like it had something to do with the way they were encoding the digital video and audio streams.

So, aside from 319, I finally have a fully functional box. I could care less about the soap opera channel so I'm happy.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I still don't get 316 Fox Reality. Do you?

I do get 319, the Soap channel....like I care.


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## samual.icky

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> I still don't get 316 Fox Reality. Do you?
> 
> I do get 319, the Soap channel....like I care.


Odd.... I get those just fine... I have issues with 47-53 (on one cable card) and 211 with the other...


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## thanna

316 was one of the ones with copy protection on. I get it fine now. You might have to wait a day or two I suppose. I think the changes they were making were only for the Columbus area though they said they'd have all other markets checked and fixed by the end of the day.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Thanks, Thanna, I'll let you know if it works.


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## TiVoJerry

Following today's conference call with WOW while at *thanna*'s house, there are a number of channels that should now work for everyone (I believe they were just about all listed earlier in this thread). If you were experiencing this issue, it would happen on either CableCARD. Certain parameters related to copy protection were changed on their side, which fixed the problem almost immediately.

*scantor*, ch319 (soapnet) is a separate issue but WOW believes they have a handle on it as well. They should be working with you directly, but if they update us first I'll make sure to pass it along.

*samual.icky*, the good news is that the issue you are experiencing for ch47-53 missing on just one tuner is already addressed in our next release to the Series3. It is not restricted just to WOW, and exchanging the unit would likely do nothing to help in your situation. The bad news is that I do not have a solid ETA to give you at this moment, but don't worry about it. If the problem persists after the update, send me a PM referring to this post and I'll take a look at that time.

The team at WOW was very motivated and put a solid effort into working with us to figure out what the issue was. They've assured us they are auditing all their channels in all of their markets to make sure no others were affected. In fact, that work should already be done at the time of this writing, so feel free to let us know if there are any other WOW digital channels missing on both tuners.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

316 still not working with my cable cards. It works with the WOW DVR, but not my TiVo cable cards.


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## TiVoJerry

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> 316 still not working with my cable cards. It works with the WOW DVR, but not my TiVo cable cards.


We know about 319 (SOAP) but 316 should have been fixed.

Please try the following:
Restart the DVR (just to cover the bases)
Tune to ch316
Go to diagnostics (TiVo Central> Messages & Settings> Account & System Information> Diagnostics)
Confirm which card is tuned to ch316
Send me a PM with the details of just that card

You should also go to the Copy Protection (CP) menu for that specific CableCARD and send the details from there as well.


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## nrc

Good to hear that Wow is willing to address issues directly. They're my internet provider now and will probably end up being my cable provider when my DTV obligation is up in 13 months.


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## scantor

TiVoJerry said:


> *scantor*, ch319 (soapnet) is a separate issue but WOW believes they have a handle on it as well. They should be working with you directly, but if they update us first I'll make sure to pass it along.


Thanks for the update (and it's definitely still out). I'll get in touch with WOW if I don't hear anything this week.

Not surprised they were cooperative, WOW seems to have techs that actually care about fixing things.


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## samual.icky

Hmmm I just received the 8.0.1c update... so far things are looking good  but time will tell. Let see if the stations are still functional in a few days.

I did notice some strange happenings while flipping thru the stations ... on some of the stations that had issues I had double stations so for instance I had to cbl50's one with actual CNN programing then one with the black screen... this also happened with the ESPN-HD... switched tuners flip thru the stations no doubles... flipped the tuners again... double again.

Now two things to note:
1.) the second empty double station had no programming info
2.) a reboot solved the problem... for now...


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## samual.icky

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> I still don't get 316 Fox Reality. Do you?
> 
> I do get 319, the Soap channel....like I care.


Well I'm no longer getting Fox Reality... but then again.. do i care


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## showpony

Hi all.

I have WOW and an S3 with HDTV. All of my locals and movie channels come in fine but, I can't get the rest of my 200's!!! The dude at WOW said that I need a box to get the rest of the channels. It sounds like (reading all of the thread) that this is not the case. What's up? Did they just push a signal through or were there special HD cable cards that were needed. I REALLY don't want to switch cable companys, but I will if I have to. I live in Royal Oak Michigan. Is that different than other places (IE. participation may vary)?? Ugh.


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## dualtronic

showpony said:


> Hi all.
> 
> I have WOW and an S3 with HDTV. All of my locals and movie channels come in fine but, I can't get the rest of my 200's!!! The dude at WOW said that I need a box to get the rest of the channels. It sounds like (reading all of the thread) that this is not the case. What's up? Did they just push a signal through or were there special HD cable cards that were needed. I REALLY don't want to switch cable companys, but I will if I have to. I live in Royal Oak Michigan. Is that different than other places (IE. participation may vary)?? Ugh.


I live in RO. You need the HDNET package to get 207-299. You do NOT need a box. If you don't get 200-206, then something's wrong... Personally, the HDNET package is a waste of money unless you're a big sports nut and must have the NFLHD channel.


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## showpony

But aren't the Discovery HD, TNT, and others part of that?


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## dualtronic

Yes, those channels are all part of the HD Pack (sometimes called HDNET package).


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## showpony

I just got off the phone with WOW again. They said that they had to "figure it out". Apparently the system will not let them activate the channels without an HD box. They admit there must be a way around this, but the person didn't have the expertise to do it. She is waiting to hear back from a supervisor. Sounds like a "safeguard" was built into their system to try to get you to use one of their pricey boxes. Huh, now that I think about it, when I asked for two cable cards originally, they gave me the "cable cards are not as reliable as a box" speech. That is Crap! Kinda pisses me off actually. Preying on the unsuspecting public...


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Keep working, and tell them you know of others with the exact same setup you have, and it's all working for THEM.

Also, tell them you're considering moving to Comcast. As you'll see earlier in this thread, they may offer you a discount. I originally got all the HD channels for free by doing this. Now, I get a 30% discount on my total bill!

I love WOW!


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## dualtronic

BTW, it's probably not the best idea calling WOW at midnight. The customer reps aren't the most brilliant at that hour. I recommend calling Sunday afternoon or anytime Monday. You'll probably get a service rep that has no problem adding the HD pack.


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## TiVoJerry

thanna said:


> There is still an issue with SOAP (319). The WOW guys think they have an idea of what's causing it though. I didn't completely follow the discussion but it sounded like it had something to do with the way they were encoding the digital video and audio streams.
> 
> So, aside from 319, I finally have a fully functional box. I could care less about the soap opera channel so I'm happy.


While I was at CES, WOW believes they fixed the issue with ch319. Since you exhibited the problem before, can you confirm this is now resolved?


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## scantor

TiVoJerry said:


> While I was at CES, WOW believes they fixed the issue with ch319. Since you exhibited the problem before, can you confirm this is now resolved?


I had the problem too, and no, it's not resolved as of yesterday.

Unless I need to restart the Tivo, which I will try tonight once I'm home.


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## samual.icky

TiVoJerry said:


> While I was at CES, WOW believes they fixed the issue with ch319. Since you exhibited the problem before, can you confirm this is now resolved?


I can say for a fact as of today, and after a reboot, I still have problems with 319 not tunning in.

But maybe I have other issues... also not tunning in ch315-328..

Any other WOWies having this issue? I think this might be a local thing since the local NBC outlet isn't watchable (very pixelated and keeps dropping in and out)... of the three NBC I recorded last night (hour and a half of program) I was only able to snag 13mins of programming! Other HD boxes in the house have no issues tunning into NBC... cable card or issues with cable cards and WOW?


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## Razorbak

My two cableCARDs for my new Series3 are scheduled to be installed by a WOW technician tomorrow. Wish me luck!


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## samual.icky

Razorbak said:


> My two cableCARDs for my new Series3 are scheduled to be installed by a WOW technician tomorrow. Wish me luck!


Before the tech leaves make sure chn319 & and chn316 works 

BTW 319 SOAPnet does work... for me now... 316 still down


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Same here...in Detroit area, and 316 has NEVER worked.


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## Razorbak

For the most part, everything went relatively smoothly. The technician was late, but the WoW home office called before the scheduled window was about to expire to determine whether I was still available and wanted to proceed, or whether I wanted to simply reschedule. I told them to go ahead and send the tech out as soon as he was available, since this was the only thing on my agenda for today, and I have been waiting for three weeks to get this done.

The technician -- a 3rd party contractor, not a WoW employee -- got both cards installed and switched over my two phone lines to WOW service within two hours, and the Tivo/cableCARD setup and debugging took up 2/3 of the total time. Since the tech had not done many cableCARD installations before, and had never done one on a Tivo unit, I gave him the instruction sheet from inside the Tivo box to use as a guide, and I cautioned him that it was very important to get the first card installed and activated BEFORE inserting the second card.

The first card took a little while to get sorted out (i.e., insert the card, wait several minutes for the Tivo to recognize it, jot down the card info, call it into the home office, talk back and forth with the home office agent using radio alphabet for the card letters, activate the card, wait for confirmation, test for digital channels, and then troubleshoot). After the home office activated the first card, the digital channels would not show up during the initial channel test, so the tech had to remove the card and reinsert it to re-initialize everything (per SOP, according to the home office) before the Tivo would detect the digital channels. But after that, everything went smoothly. The second card worked right off the bat, and didn't have to be re-initialized.

Note: Although the technician had not done many cableCARD installations before, he came prepared with a technical installation sheet provided by WOW in case he encountered problems, but he didn't end up using it and simply deferred to the Tivo instructions and to the WoW home office.

After the cards were confirmed to be working, I signed the work order so the tech could leave and get to his next appointment. Then I took my time and re-ran the Tivo guided set-up so the Tivo would recognize all of the new channels. This took a while, due to the sheer number of channels that had to be marked as either "received", "not received", or "favorite".

I can now confirm that I am getting a video signal on all of the channels that I signed up for (including 316 Fox Reality), plus a few other minor channels that are not documented on the channel listing (e.g., 315 Lifetime Real Women, 362 IMF). I am not getting an audio signal on four minor channels (319 Soap Net, 378 EWTN, 379 The Word Network, and 694 Bridges TV), but none of those I really care about.

I can also confirm that the HD Pak DOES include 220 Comcast Sportsnet HD, and the feed is the correct Chicago station (not some out-of-market channel like Baltimore).

Finally, I can confirm that the Tivo is picking up the TV Guide info for all of the channels except 220 Comcast Sportsnet HD. (The correct channel banner "SNCHD" is being listed by Tivo, but the main guide entry says "Regular Schedule", and there are no detailed listings.) Hopefully, the schedule info is just delayed in transferring from WoW to the Tivo, and it will eventually load overnight. If it doesn't, then it will be impossible to program any recordings in advance on that particular channel. Fortunately, the SD version of that channel (38 Comcast SportsNet Chicago) is still available, and it's guide listings have already loaded and appear to be correct, so I can always use that as a fallback option if I am traveling or away from home and want to record a local game on the Tivo.

For the rest of the evening, I spent most of my time fine-tuning my channel listing setup (mostly deleting channels that I don't watch and marking favorites on the ones I watch a lot), tranferring all of my Season Passes from the SD channels (e.g., 3 WFLD Fox) to the HD channels (e.g., 202 WFLD HD Fox), scanning the Tivo guide listings for interesting things to record, and channel surfing on some of the new HD content. Some of these HD channels are simply amazing!!!

Overall, I am pretty happy that my Tivo is functioning at ~98% of what I was hoping for, despite the minor hiccups listed above. I was actually prepared for the worst, after reading many cableCARD horror stories on the AVSforum threads and the Tivo Community Forum threads.

I am happy to report that my initial installation, albeit not yet perfect, went relatively smoothly.


----------



## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Razorbak said:


> I can also confirm that the HD Pak DOES include 220 Comcast Sportsnet HD, and the feed is the correct Chicago station (not some out-of-market channel like Baltimore).
> 
> Finally, I can confirm that the Tivo is picking up the TV Guide info for all of the channels except 220 Comcast Sportsnet HD. (The correct channel banner "SNCHD" is being listed by Tivo, but the main guide entry says "Regular Schedule", and there are no detailed listings.) Hopefully, the schedule info is just delayed in transferring from WoW to the Tivo, and it will eventually load overnight. If it doesn't, then it will be impossible to program any recordings in advance on that particular channel. Fortunately, the SD version of that channel (38 Comcast SportsNet Chicago) is still available, and it's guide listings have already loaded and appear to be correct, so I can always use that as a fallback option if I am traveling or away from home and want to record a local game on the Tivo.


You're receiving COMCAST channels in your WOW listing? That's unusual, I would think.


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## Razorbak

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> You're receiving COMCAST channels in your WOW listing? That's unusual, I would think.


Not really. It's a local Chicago station, and it carries a number of local sports games (e.g., Chicago Bulls). WoW has it in it's published channel lineup for Chicagoland.

http://www1.wowway.com/PDF/ChicagoLandChannels.pdf

It is also carried by other providers besides Comcast and WoW...

http://chicago.comcastsportsnet.com/Illinois-Systems.asp


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## Razorbak

I have requested a lineup change through Tivo's online web form for the missing program info for Comcast Sportsnet Chicago HD (Ch 220).

I have also contacted WoW about the missing audio on the 4 channels (Channels 319, 378, 379, and 694). They tried to resolve the problem over the phone by sending a reset signal while my TV was off, and by requesting their network department to make some other changes (not described in detail to me over the phone). Neither of these attempts worked, so they have scheduled a service call for a technician to come out tomorrow and check the cards with some more sophisticated electronic equipment on site.

I will report back if anything gets resolved.


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## Tkilmer

I am looking into switching to WOW (Columbus OH) with an S3 and this thread helps. 

I must say that the WOW sales rep was really helpful and more personal than the Time Warner Sales Rep. He did not push WOW's own HDDVR like Time Warner and seemed confident they could get me up and running painlessly.

I am on DirecTV right, I really don't want to go back to Time Warner, WOW seems like a really good alternative.

Do you have any problems with recording some HD channels with WOW. Does anyone know it they are moving to bidirectional streaming video like Time Warner with new channels?


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## Razorbak

Now that my Series3 cableCARDs are installed, I have had no substantive issues recording HD content on WoW. The only problems I have encountered were identified in my previous posts, and Tivo is working to resolve them both.

Quick update:

A WoW technician came out to check the lack of audio on the 4 channels mentioned previously (Channels 319, 378, 379, and 694). After a little testing, he determined that there is audio signal on all 4 channels coming in to the Series3, so it doesn't appear to be a signal problem. Then he swapped out some other cableCARDs to determine if perhaps I got defective cards. Same problem occurred on the new cards, so he determined that the problem must be with the Tivo unit.

I contacted Tivo, described the problem, and the Customer Service rep put me on hold for about 3 minutes to discuss the problem with a supervisor. When he came back online, he told me that my particular problem is going to be addressed with a software update that will be implemented in the "next few days" and downloaded during the automatic update routine that occurs at night. (No other explanation was offered, and he specifically said "next few days" as opposed to the proverbial "couple of weeks".)

Regarding the missing program info on Channel 220, I received the following email from Tivo on 1/22/07 regarding it's current status...



> Dear Valued TiVo Customer,
> 
> Thank you for contacting TiVos Channel Lineup Department. We have assigned case number 6039130 to your channel lineup issue. We expect to resolve the issue within 5 to 7 business days. If we should require further information we will contact you.
> 
> If you have any questions, comments or concerns, please contact TiVo Customer Support at 877-367-8486 and refer to your case number. We are open 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Pacific time everyday.
> 
> Thank you for your patience and understanding while we resolve your lineup discrepancy. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thanks for choosing TiVo!
> 
> Best Regards,
> TiVo Lineup Specialist


I will report any further developments if/when they occur.


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## Razorbak

Razorbak said:


> Regarding the missing program info on Channel 220, I received the following email from Tivo on 1/22/07 regarding it's current status...


I am pleased to report that the Series3 downloaded program information for Channel 220 last night, and there was a message in my Tivo this morning that the channel had been added to my lineup. So it looks like the Tivo Lineup Specialist successfully resolved that problem, and I can now record programs on Comcast Sportsnet Chicago HD using the onstream Tivo program guide.

Thanks Tivo!


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## Razorbak

Razorbak said:


> A WoW technician came out to check the lack of audio on the 4 channels mentioned previously (Channels 319, 378, 379, and 694). After a little testing, he determined that there is audio signal on all 4 channels coming in to the Series3, so it doesn't appear to be a signal problem. Then he swapped out some other cableCARDs to determine if perhaps I got defective cards. Same problem occurred on the new cards, so he determined that the problem must be with the Tivo unit.
> 
> I contacted Tivo, described the problem, and the Customer Service rep put me on hold for about 3 minutes to discuss the problem with a supervisor. When he came back online, he told me that my particular problem is going to be addressed with a software update that will be implemented in the "next few days" and downloaded during the automatic update routine that occurs at night. (No other explanation was offered, and he specifically said "next few days" as opposed to the proverbial "couple of weeks".)


Update:

I'm still missing audio on Channels 319, 378, 379, and 694, and the TiVo software update scheduled to be implemented in the "next few days" following my TiVo customer service call on 1/24/07 never happened.

Another blown promise by a TiVo customer service rep.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

And I still can't get 316 with my cablecards--UGH!

Are you telling me that TiVo service reps aren't always accurate in their promises?


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## TiVoJerry

Hey, give them a little slack  . Even they are not usually given exact details as to when a release will roll. It was a generic ETA, with the emphasis on the "E" (*E*stimate *T*ime of *A*rrival). That rollout  started 2/12 to a limited number of Series3 units and is currently scheduled to roll to the rest over the course of the next week or so (but that's only an estimate  ).


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## samual.icky

Hmmm just received the winter 2006 service update...

Still don't get Fox Reality 316... and Fine Living 318 still throws up the host id screen (as can the 338 sd-nfl network... and oddly only when ch-ing up from 337 )

So far not looking good with my WOW cable cards...

While the unit is acquiring channel information (1133) it popped up with one of those cable card error msgs (the host ID screen) 

BTW: Anyone else find it annoying 317 calls itself NBC Weather Plus when its really ABC Now?


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## Razorbak

samual.icky said:


> BTW: Anyone else find it annoying 317 calls itself NBC Weather Plus when its really ABC Now?


I had not noticed that before, but I checked when I read your post and confirmed it in my region as well.

I requested a correction for that error on the TiVo Live Guide using TiVo's online form...

http://customersupport.tivo.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=5A545F57-F407-4C4C-A420-C7988FE596C3

I did this for Comcast SportsNet Chicago HD, and TiVo was very responsive in working with Tribune to get the update implemented within a few days.

I'll let you know if/when it gets updated.


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## foamy909

I am finally making the plunge to Digital with WOW, but I wanted to post my CSR experience.

As usual, the WOW CSR was very friendly and helpful, but he was not familiar with the Series 3. WOW has added a new 'Digital Value' package, which basically has the same channels as analog. As I don't really care about the additional channels that you get with 'Digital Basic' (Starz, Encore, & all the 300's), I had hoped to add the HD Pak to Digital Value with the two cable cards. WOW will be adding OnDemand in Chicago in the near future, and I think they added 'Digital Value' with the possible additional revenue of Digital PPV and OnDemand in mind.

Currently, I have 500k broadband, and Analog Cable with HBO. The upgrade path I had in mind would have been about an additional $20 per month. After trying to enter it into their system, and putting me on hold, the CSR told me that they could not pair CableCards with 'Digital Value'. My only option to get CableCards with the HD pak was to upgrade to 'Digital Basic', which would be about $31 more per month.

The extra $11 cost is not really a big deal, but I really did not want to spend that much, especially since I did not want the additional forty channels. I mentioned that nowhere on their website does it mention that CableCards or HD are only available with 'Digital Basic'. After bringing up the current AT&T/Dish & DSL deals, he put me back on hold and came back with a 'Retention/Valued Customer' discount of $15 per month (for a year), which lowered the total increase to about $16 per month. I took the deal and have the appointment scheduled for next Wednesday.

As the CSR was not familiar with the Series 3, I asked for a WOW Technician over a third-party, and requested that they bring about five total CableCards. I have PM'd TiVoJerry to try to get a contact at WOW to verify they will send someone familiar with the Series 3. I will post an update after the install.


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## TedEstes

I'm in a similar situation. I've got 4M Internet + Basic (analog) Cable + HBO.

HBO already costs me $15/mo. I had hoped to go to Digital Value for another $8/mo + $3.50/mo for the second CableCard. (First CableCard is free if you trade in the STB.) WoW won't let you have a CC unless you spring for Digital Basic, which would be another $20/mo for me.

I get my local HD channels via antenna and I don't care about the Wow "HD Pak" ($10/mo for TNT HD, Discovery HD, ESPN HD, HDNet, HDNet Movies, Wealth TV HD, NFL Network HD, HGTV HD, Food Network HD). So, I decided that I didn't want to spend a total of $38.50/mo just to record HBO in HD.

For now, I'm keeping my old ReplayTV box to record Sopranos from the STB. I'll eBay it and cancel HBO from WoW after Sopranos is over in a few months.

I realize that cable companies are in the business to make money. However, some of their pricing policies are chasing people away.

--Ted


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## Razorbak

Razorbak said:


> Update:
> 
> I'm still missing audio on Channels 319, 378, 379, and 694...


Another update:

The long-awaited software update (v8.1) downloaded last night, and it corrected the missing audio on Channels 319, 378, 379, and 694. So all of the problems I previously reported have now been resolved.


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## RandyDtg

I also can not receive FoxReality WOW Detroit channel 316. WOW has tried several things, including sending cable card firmware updates. Neither cable card will receive it. I think the problem is in FoxReality's signal. I have emailed FoxReality, they do not appear interested in fixing the problem, they say it is strictly a WOW problem.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

A SUPER HAPPY TiVo S3 User, I would not watch TV without it!!!!! 750 GIG WHEW.


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## Razorbak

That's bizarre. I have never had a problem receiving WoW's Fox Reality Channel (316) in the Chicago suburbs. I'm using a TiVo Series3 DVR with Scientific Altanta CableCARDs. I received this channel both before and after TiVo's latest software update (v8.1) loaded this week.

Do you have a set top box in another room that confirms that the signal is being received in your local area? If not, maybe it's only a problem in Detroit?


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

It's def a cablecard problem as my WOW HD DVR receives the channel no problem.


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## RandyDtg

My neighbor has an SA box and gets it fine, he thinks it is funny that I don't. I have no problems with other channels (sometimes 318 acts up), but neither cable card gets 316. I think it is something in the signal from WOW. I'd like to see some of the FoxReality channel shows, but I dont think I want the hassle to have WOW bring out new cards unless I was sure that was the problem, what do you think ?


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I'm with you. I'd like to be able to see 316, but don't think it's worth a tech coming out and potentially screwing up all else that does work. 

If it is a WOW problem, then why can I see that channel on my cableco DVR?


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## Roderigo

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> If it is a WOW problem, then why can I see that channel on my cableco DVR?


Because WOW may be transmitting a channel that doesn't meet the cablecard requirements. Their box can deal with the non-compliance, and thus doesn't show symptoms - so WOW never fixes it (or probably don't even know it doesn't meet the requirements).

This is what happened with the MPEG audio issues. Cable companies weren't sending out AC3 audio, as required by the cablecard spec. Cable boxes were able to deal with this OK, but the S3 wasn't. So, in 8.1.1, tivo had to add code to deal with the non-compliant channel.

I'm guessing the same thing is happening with fox reality. Hopefully the tivo engineers will be able to figure out why the channel is out of spec, and deal with it. Or, the cable company will figure out the same thing, and fix the root cause problem.


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## foamy909

Two techs show up, one older, one younger, and early signs mixed. They brought extra CableCards, but very defensive about installing them into the TiVo. I make my pitch and they come around. They read the Installation Instructions and are willing to authorize them one at a time.

They call in the first card after the Host ID comes up, and initially they get the Card Serial# wrong. After some back-and-forth on the phone, the card seemingly comes up. During the down time, the younger tech takes a look at the cable run coming into the living room, and asks to take a look at where it comes in.

Once we do the channel test, only the HD Locals show up - nothing in 300 range, nor any of the HBO's. The younger tech points out that the cable coming out of the wall is only RG-59. When I installed an antenna in the attic, I used RG-6, but never saw the need to redo that cable run, as it goes behind a plaster wall, and at the time was only handling Analog. The younger tech mentions that they have had seen a lot of problems with long runs of RG-59 with Digital, and suggests rewiring. He said that signal loss could definitely be the problem. I am doubtful, but we move on to the second card. Probably a mistake, but both of the installers seem very rushed. 

The next two cards fail, but the last card seemingly gets everything except HBO. They feel again that it is the RG-59. With the cards seemingly activated, the younger installer actually leaves because he was just helping the older guy out.

As it is somewhat accessible through the basement, I told the remaining tech that I could do rewire the RG-59 myself. He goes to his truck and gets me about 60 feet of quad-shielded RG-6, with connectors, saying that I can call him once I get it installed, and if need be, they will set up another appointment. As its getting to be late in the day, he gives me his card before leaving and tells me to call him directly.

I was able to pull the cable in under an hour. Upon connecting, the second card that was only missing HBO seems to get everything. Apparently, the RG-6 made a difference. The first card still will only tune the unscrambled locals. I call customer service, hoping to talk to someone who can check the status on the cards, and authenticate if necessary. The CSR and I go back and forth, supposedly put on hold for a Tier 3 support, but after probably 15 minutes, the CSR says that Tier 3 only handles phone or internet, and there is no one else to talk to, and that I have to set up another appointment. I told her that I want to talk to the people that the techs call to activate, but she said that they call the regular CSRs, even though she has never taken one of those calls. I realize this is a lost cause and tell her I will call back to reschedule, after I call my installer directly.

I got a hold of my installer, and he said there is a separate number they call, but that they are off for the day. He told me to call him Thursday and he should have what he needs from the work-ticket to get it over done over the phone.

A very frustrating experience. If I cant get things set this afternoon over the phone, I am going to ask if I can bring in the defective card to Naperville, get a replacement or two, and call it in myself. I think the biggest problem was setting up the appointment for 2:00  4:00, as they seemed rushed the entire time.

I will post an update after this afternoon


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## foamy909

Success...at least 95%. I called my installer on Thursday and he worked with the HeadEnd/CableCard person to get everything straightened out. I think that they were just a bit too rushed to go through everything thoroughly. Now I just have two issues similar to Thanna & Razorbak.

I have seven channels that I cannot tune, where the CableCard screen comes up and goes black after hitting the Clear button.

217 - FoodHD
318 - Fine Living
328 - Starz Comedy
378 - EWTN
483 - Starz Edge
489 - Encore Drama
694 - Bridges

In addition, I am getting incorrect data on several channels. I have verified that zap2it/tribune listings online have the same problems.

220 - Comcast Sportsnet HD gives the listing for MidAtlantic. Last night during the Blackhawks game it listed the Atlanta Hawks - Washington Wizards Basketball. I know that Razorbak had a similar issue, but seeing that I get the Chicago City lineup, they probably have to do the same thing.

319 - SoapNet - Not that I care, but I checked this channel right away because of the previous issues that people had. The listings are for SoapNet Pacific, not the East Coast feed.

I will go back and look for the form that Razorbak used for the line-up issue. I will probably PM TiVoJerry regarding the missing channels.

Other than that, I am pretty satisifed overall. I felt the technician went above and beyond by giving me his card and taking my calls after the install. The 60 ft of quad-shielded RG-6 was nice, too...


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I'm not a chef, only bbq, actually, but I love Channel 217--FOOD HD. Other than that, I wouldn't miss the other channels.

Gotta say, I love 220--Fox Sports HD--I wish road games were also in HD!


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## Roderigo

foamy909 said:


> I have seven channels that I cannot tune, where the CableCard screen comes up and goes black after hitting the Clear button.


Are these channels copy protected (aka what's the CCI value for these channels)? If the pairing screen pops up, it means the channels are copy protected, and they haven't properly entered the information from the pairing screen into their systems. You'll either have to get them to do that correctly, or have them turn off copy protection. Either way, it's up to the cable company to fix it.


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## RandyDtg

Would people please add replies that they do get channel 316 (Fox Reality) with a cable card, or do not get it and are supposed to ? and who is your cable provider.

Thanks for the help.


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## foamy909

Roderigo said:


> Are these channels copy protected (aka what's the CCI value for these channels)? If the pairing screen pops up, it means the channels are copy protected, and they haven't properly entered the information from the pairing screen into their systems. You'll either have to get them to do that correctly, or have them turn off copy protection. Either way, it's up to the cable company to fix it.


I spot checked three of them using the Diagnostic screen and all had 0x0 for the CCI value, so I am not sure if that is it. If I remember correctly, I thought that some of the issue was in the way the audio was encoded, but that might have been what was supposed to have been fixed in 8.1.



RandyDtg said:


> Would people please add replies that they do get channel 316 (Fox Reality) with a cable card, or do not get it and are supposed to ? and who is your cable provider.


I get Fox Reality on 316 without issue with my cable cards through WOW Chicago- City.


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## foamy909

Roderigo said:


> Are these channels copy protected (aka what's the CCI value for these channels)? If the pairing screen pops up, it means the channels are copy protected, and they haven't properly entered the information from the pairing screen into their systems. You'll either have to get them to do that correctly, or have them turn off copy protection. Either way, it's up to the cable company to fix it.


I think I wrote too soon. The Diagnostic screen does show 0x0, but when I actually go into the CP screen of the specific CableCard, I get different results. All seven channels list: CCI byte 0x02. I did not hear back from TiVoJerry, but I also did not give him this information. I will send him another PM with the specifics.

I may try WOW customer service, but my effort will completely depend on the CSR that I get. When I attempted to get them to check the authorization of the CableCard, the person I talked to was somewhat clueless.

Roderigo - thanks for your help!


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## kevinki

I have WOW in the Chicago western suburbs. I have the same problems with the same channels that foamy909 reported. I don't think it's always been that way though, although I can't pinpoint when it started. I think I would have noticed one of the HD channels not coming in after the install. I haven't had time to pursue it with WOW or Tivo, in part because the problem channels aren't among my faves.

I do get Fox Reality 316 fine.


---
Kevin


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## TiVoJerry

Please recheck your WOW channels. I got word that there was an issue that they resolved just last night.


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## foamy909

I can report that the channels in question can all be tuned without issue.

I am going to take partial credit on this as I finally got through to a WOW Supervisor (thanks Mike T!). I initally called regarding the incorrect listing for 220 ComcastSportsnet HD. Zap2it and the TiVo Guide show the listings for the DC/Baltimore Market, even though they are broadcasting the Chicago Feed. The initial CSR did not understand the problem and did not have internet access to see the inconsistency in the listing. I asked for a Supervisor and Mike worked with me for fifteen minutes or so to finally observe the problem. He is supposedly forwarding that on to the proper people, so keep an eye out for a change.

When we were finished, I asked if I could get his e-mail so I could give some details on the missing channel issue. He admitted that he did not know much about CableCards but he said he would forward it on to the NOC. I sent him a detailed e-mail yesterday afternoon. Right after TiVoJerry posted the note above, Mike forwarded me the following:

-----Original Message----- 
From: Wayne 
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 2:57 PM 
To: Mary; Gary 
Cc: John 
Subject: RE: CableCard Issue - Chicago City

Mary, 
We've seen this issue before. It is when the segment is not set 
to "Copy Freely." The channels listed by the customer were not set to 
"Copy Freely" in the Segment GUI. I changed them so the customer should 
be able to see the channels OK. This only affects some cable cards.

I don't know how these got changed but I'm going through and 
checking all of the other digital channels (you only set up a segment 
for digital channels not analog). So far they are all set correctly, 
that is "Copy Freely."

Have the customer check their channels now, they should work.

Wayne 
Converter Control Engineer​
In any event, the Chicago City Feed seems to be fine. If other markets are still having problems ( I don't know if Wayne is specific to a region), PM me and I will forward a note on to Mike T. I don't want to give his e-mail out as I would like to stay on his good side for the future!


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## TiVoJerry

foamy909, I apologize if I did not reply to you personally. I did take your report and file it immediately, following which we have been in direct contact with WOW to get this resolved.

Going back to my post on 12/8, we previously had worked with WOW to fix these channels. It was found that copy protection had been enabled unknowingly. From what I'm told, a recent DST update to their systems inadvertantly reverted some of those settings.


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## RandyDtg

TiVoJerry said:


> Please recheck your WOW channels. I got word that there was an issue that they resolved just last night.


Yup, I think I may have helped that (armed with info. from TiVoJerry). Hopefully we're all getting all the channels that had been marked Copy Protect since DST changes. I am getting them (except 316), starting last night (hope I don't have to keep my fingers crossed.)

Both my cards still say "Waiting for CP Auth". Is this really a problem ?

It seems if a channel is marked copy protect, how can it then be authorized ?

So, I am now back to my original problem, that I can't get channel 316. It just goes to a black screen (forever) and no audio. (I'm WOW Detroit area). The TiVo info displays the current show, and channel strength is 97%. There is no Cable card CP or error screen. Also, when one of my cable cards is put in my Samsung TV, the cable card also shows a black screen but with audio, any clue here? WOW brought out a TV to my house that had showed this channel in their office, and with my card at my house, channel 316 played fine. I don't remember the brand/model of their TV. WOW has went way beyond the call of duty to help, I have also talked with TiVo tech support. With these clues, any suggestions ?


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## foamy909

TiVoJerry said:


> foamy909, I apologize if I did not reply to you personally. I did take your report and file it immediately, following which we have been in direct contact with WOW to get this resolved.


No worries...I had tried several different forms and such for the 220 ComcastSportsnet line-up issue without any results. Once I got a supervisor at WOW who was willing to take the time to go through it, I figured I would try him for the problem channels as well.


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## Roderigo

RandyDtg said:


> Both my cards still say "Waiting for CP Auth". Is this really a problem ?
> 
> It seems if a channel is marked copy protect, how can it then be authorized ?


This message means the card hasn't received the Copy Protection Authorization from the headend. This is different from Conditional Access authorizations (i.e. what channels the card is allowed to decrypt). The Copy Protection Authorization is based on the host/card ids. The headend needs to send out a message to the card, saying that it approves of that card working in the specific host (aka slot). If the card doesn't get this message, it won't show copy protected channels (but will still continue to show non-copy protected, but encrypted channels).

So, to solve this problem, WOW had two choices. The path they took - turning off copy protection, or they could have figured out why your card never got the correct Copy Protection Authorization message.

If they ever need to turn on copy protection for real, they're going to have to figure out the second issue.


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## kevinki

Thanks to all who helped fix the WOW channels issue, I can confirm my issue is resolved as well!

---

Kevin


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## scantor

FWIW, still no channel 319 in Columbus. Nothing's changed since I got the cards. It's still the only channel out, although we also don't get program guide info for Fox Sports HD on 220, similar to other reports.


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## Razorbak

scantor said:


> FWIW, still no channel 319 in Columbus. Nothing's changed since I got the cards. It's still the only channel out, although we also don't get program guide info for Fox Sports HD on 220, similar to other reports.


Read posts #67, #69, and #70 on this thread, and use the link at the bottom of the following page on the Tivo website to request a Lineup Change for the missing program guide info...

http://customersupport.tivo.com/LaunchContent.aspx?CID=5A545F57-F407-4C4C-A420-C7988FE596C3

After you fill out the form, the missing program guide info will appear a few days later.


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## scantor

Razorbak said:


> Read posts #67, #69, and #70 on this thread, and use the link at the bottom of the following page on the Tivo website to request a Lineup Change for the missing program guide info...


Yes, sorry, I know how to fix the missing guide info, I just don't care that much and haven't gotten around to it.

The missing channel 319, I care a lot more about, since I'm paying for it. Whether I choose to watch it or not is immaterial.


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## foamy909

ComcastSportsnetHD on 220 now lists the correct information for the Chicago City feed. I received the TiVo line-up change message yesterday afternoon and Zap2it/Tribune lists it correctly as of this morning...Just in time for the White Sox Home opener...

All of my Series 3/WOW issues are now resolved.


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## szatkoff

I had my cable cards installed yesterday. The tech said he is familiar with cable card installs has done a few S3 installs. I inform him this is the new TiVo HD unit and is a little different. First card goes great. Second card takes longer, due to needing a firmware update. We test channels and everything appears to work fine. Rerun the setup and tech leaves. 

Now I find that I cannot get any channels above 206 on the second card. I call WOW and they reset the cards. This still does not help. They want to setup an appointment and I ask for a supervisor. Supervisor claims that the programming is set exactly the same on both cards and only a tech can resolve the problem on site. I setup the appt. for next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, I notice pixelation\macroblocking on FoxHD and WGNHD I don't think I was receiving anything weird on ABCHD? I haven't has a chance to check my other channels. I thought the pixelation\macroblocking was only supposed to happen on premium channels? What do you guys suggest?

UPDATE 9/12/07

Tech came out and called in. The person on the other end said they were running the cable card script. All channels coming in as advertised.

Latest firmware release seems to have fixed pixelation\macroblocking, although I continue to get this on FOXHD. I have another appt for a tech to come out.

Steve


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## foamy909

Bringing this one back from the dead. There are not a lot of us on WOW, but I figured I would ask.

Is anyone else having issue with 215 NFL Network HD (Chicago-city)? I get the HD pak and for the last two days, the channel shows up as a black screen. I checked the Signal strength and it reads 91, but no picture. The CCI is 0x00, which is copy freely, so that is not it. I e-mailed a supervisor who said everything looks right on their end, but I swear it is as if they are blacking it out. The SD channel on 338 is normal, so I am really confused...

On a related note, the supervisor stated that they are still in negotiations with NFL Network for the live games at the end of the season. I have read on other forums that WOW blacked them out last year because they did not pay the per-subscriber increase that the network set with the live games...If I ever get the HD channel working again I will be ticked off as that was one of the bigger draws of the HD Pak.



szatkoff said:


> Meanwhile, I notice pixelation\macroblocking on FoxHD and WGNHD I don't think I was receiving anything weird on ABCHD? I haven't has a chance to check my other channels. I thought the pixelation\macroblocking was only supposed to happen on premium channels? What do you guys suggest?
> 
> Steve


I have not seen much pixelation on either of those channels. You might want to check out the WOW forum on AVS as I have seen that others are having similar problems in the suburbs, although I believe they are tuning via QAM.


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## Razorbak

foamy909, this thread is definitely not dead. It's now listed as the WOW topic home on the Official CableCARD Thread of the Tivo Community forum.

With respect to your question about WOW Chicago's broadcast of NFL Network HD (Channel 215), I'm a WOW subscriber out in Naperville, and I have also noticed a black screen on Channel 215 in the last few days, even though the SD channel (338) appears to be working normally.

Unlike last year, when they were definitely blacking out live games, this problem appears to be only on the HD channel, and it's is not just during live game broadcasts. It's happening during taped commentary shows, too. (When the live games were blacked out last season, there was clearly a signal available when tuned to the channel, which made it clear that you were viewing the NFL Network, but the middle of the screen was blank, and there was a banner ad running at the top of the screen urging customers to contact their cable company to lobby them to pony up on the access fee to make the live games available to subscribers.)

Something is definitely out of whack. Perhaps another call to WOW is in order?

I'm out of town right now, so I can't really look into this personally, but I would appreciate it if you could contact them again and let them know that other subscribers are experiencing the same problem. (I don't have access to my cable hardware when I am on the road. I can only view the output via Internet uplink through my SlingBox.)


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## foamy909

Razorbak said:


> Something is definitely out of whack. Perhaps another call to WOW is in order?
> 
> I'm out of town right now, so I can't really look into this personally, but I would appreciate it if you could contact them again and let them know that other subscribers are experiencing the same problem. (I don't have access to my cable hardware when I am on the road. I can only view the output via Internet uplink through my SlingBox.)


I have already been in e-mail contact with Leslie, who I believe is a supervisor at WOW. I will link to this forum to show that it is not an isolated issue, but is at least across the Chicagoland system. I appreciate your response, as it gives me more to work with.

Going back, this seems very similar to the problem that RandyDtg had with 316 Fox Reality. (Black Screen, no audio, good signal, CCI 0x00). I may PM and him to see if and how they resolved it.

My comments on the demise of the thread do seem to be premature...I just put it in my Subscribed threads and forgot about it.


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## Razorbak

No problem. Glad to help.  

Another piece of info to note, when you contact somebody from WOW, is that the Tivo Guide info on Channel 215 is successfully streaming in as if the channel was live. The problem is the complete lack of video, despite the guide info coming up when you press the "info" button on the Tivo remote.  

Good luck in getting this resolved. Please post follow-up info when it develops. Thanks.

Even though I'm traveling, I do miss watching the NFL Network HD feed on my SlingBox from my hotel room.


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## foamy909

Looks like 215 NFL Network HD is back up with a SD feed. Over on AVS Moghopper found that there apparently was a fire knocking out several HD channels. I feel a bit better knowing that it was not a WOW CableCard issue.

Now we just need WOW to broadcast the live games come Thanksgiving...


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## houman

Foamy & Others,

If I want to upgrade to Tivo HD path, having currently only the local basic, do I need the HDPak + two cable cards ? or do I need to sign up for digital basic as well ?

In case I need their digital basic, with having the cable cards, do I need to get their digital top box and other hardware ? I am basically trying to minimize the amount of hardware needed 

Thanks for any responses,

- Houman


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## foamy909

houman said:


> Foamy & Others,
> 
> If I want to upgrade to Tivo HD path, having currently only the local basic, do I need the HDPak + two cable cards ? or do I need to sign up for digital basic as well ?
> 
> In case I need their digital basic, with having the cable cards, do I need to get their digital top box and other hardware ? I am basically trying to minimize the amount of hardware needed
> 
> Thanks for any responses,
> 
> - Houman


I posted this on AVS but I will address it here, too. WOW will not issue cable cards with anything below digital basic. You will not need a set-top box unless you need either pay-per-view or VOD. If you don't get the HD Pak, you will get the locals, Comcast Sportsnet HD, A&E HD (pretty worthless), and the corresponding HD channel for any Movie Channel you get. The value of the HDpak is dependent on your interests.


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## houman

Well I called them, and yeah they do not give it below digital basic as you mentioned, which is a a bummer... that would add another $25-$30 a month.

I wish Tivo had QAM mapping.


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## ayoung1012

Well I finally did it I bought my first Tivo. I am now a proud owner of a Series 3. I have read the threads regarding WOW and I hope all of you have paved the way to an easy install for me. I have had WOW for 4-5 years. I had their internet service for those 4-5 years and have only had their cable for 3-4 years. I have 2 HD DVR's from them and got tired of paying a premium price. They would always give me discounts but sometimes I forget to call in when those discounts expire and bam one month it's $20-30 more. Is there any advice other than having the installer bring a lot of cable cards. I have already set it up and let everything load. I just haven't connected the cable to it yet. I have the Wow DVR still running and Wow won't be over until Tues AM.


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## nrc

I had my install at the beginning of September. A couple of things - first, try to get them to follow the instructions on the sheet provided by TiVo. Second, when the cards are in they may immediately start downloading a firmware update. The message will say something like "may take up to 40 minutes and whatever you do don't interrupt." In spite of that my installer kept popping them out to try again. Finally I suggested that since it may take 40 minutes maybe they should go on to their next call and come back once it's done. It completed almost as soon as they left (probably 15 minutes) but once they came back everything went smoothly.

Other than the unwillingness to follow the directions the work they did was neat and professional. The person who wrote up the order when I called didn't understand that I didn't need a cable box so I'm still waiting for my first bill to make sure everything is charged correctly.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I've had my S3 since it first came out. As I remember my install, I would agree that following the posted directions is a must. Also, don't be surprised if your tech says something like, "This is the first TiVo I've ever seen." My tech told me, after he left, that he might be calling me for help in the future. 

WOW techs are so far superior to Comcast's, at least in the customer service level, if not their technical knowledge.


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## ayoung1012

Thanks guys keep your fingers crossed. I go thru the experience tomorrow morning.


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## debnjay

I just went through the cable card install today. Following the instructions provided on this forum worked. Unfortunately we struggled through "his way" first before doing it the TiVO way. By the third trip back everything is up and running. The big piece of advice is to be patient. When you install the card just sit there and don't do anything for 5-10 minutes until the grey screen comes up, and then wait another 15-30 minutes while the card goes through it's firmware update.

These were SA single stream cards. The tech said here in Chicagoland they don't have Motorola cards and they don't have multistream cards. Not sure if that's true or if this particular guy hadn't seen them.

Jay


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## hogan64

I had my first experience with Cable cards on Monday. New Tivo HD and the WOW tech brought 2 single stream cards. Of course, he just poped both cards into the TIVO and waited. Did not bother to read the instructions my wife provided. He did manage to get the 2 Host ID's and provided them to me. He insisted that both cards were active and would work when the update completed. He left the job and gave me the 800 #.

4 hours later and they were still updating. I decided to follow the instructions and do 1 card at a time. I still could not get the system to take the update using 1 card. 3 hours of "updating card". I tried using the other card and BANG, I got the screen to call WOW. Called WOW and the card started working. Ran Guided Setup with the second card but still won't take the updates. WOW is bringing another card tomorrow. I think I just got a bad card.

Wow Techs are very nice but know nothing about TIVO. "First I've seen" seemed to be his comment. Kept trying to put the cards in my TV.

At least I have 1 card working. Hope to get the second tomorrow.


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## houman

All,

This might not belong in there, but it does have to do with Tivo HD & WoW.

Right now WoW has some issues where HD channels 200-210 are coming in different channels like 94.102, etc but they're fixing it. Once they do, if I pick a Tivo HD, would I be able to pick those channels ? If so what are the steps to follow.

I figured I have no need for Digital Basic and cable cards. On the Tivo's website channel list, it does list channels 200+ for HD. Can a regular Tivo HD pick those channels (for schedules and recording ?)

Thanks a lot for any input,
Houman


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## ayoung1012

Well guys and gals - it went a little bumpy but all works. The installer first came out and said he didn't know anything about tivo's. Second I handed him the guided set-up from tivo and some posts from this forum and everything was going smooth until he put the second card in and it didn't work. Well he only brought 2 cards when I asked for them to bring more than 2 because of a high failure rate. He said he would be back in 20-30 minutes, because he had to go get more cards. As I was checking the channels in the 1st card I noticed most of my HD channels 200's weren't coming in as well as my 300's. All of a sudden the second card started to update. When he came back in about 30 minutes both cards were updated and missing the same channels. He called in and told them the channels. They pushed the channels to the cards and presto all worked. So thanks to the advice and posts my install went okay. All in all it took about an hour and a half.


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## nrc

Glad to hear that your install went fairly smoothly. 

I did get my first bill and sure enough, they did have a cable box charge on it in addition to my cable card charges. I called and once I convinced the rep that I really, really didn't have a cable box they removed the charge and credited me. At least they say so. Fingers crossed.

Interesting. I see that we now have the Big Ten Network on channel 87. No sign of an HD version, though.


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## hogan64

WOW cable man came back with my replacement card yesterday and it worked right away. I did notice this morning that the 2nd card was not giving me my pay channels. I called WOW and he send the signal to my 2nd card and now I have all channels on both cards. It took a week but I'm now 100% operational. I really hope this lasts and I don't have to mess with this thing over and over. These cable cards seem to be pretty touchy. Sometimes when I reboot I'll get the "call WOW" screen to activate the card 1. Reboot again, and all works fine. Go figure.


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## Cuisinartoh

WOW came out today and installed two cable cards in my Tivo HD. The tech that came out was a Wow tech and not a contractor. He followed the directions from Tivo and aside from having to try 5 different cable cards to get two that worked, the installation went pretty smoothly. He did warn me that the cards can sometimes be flaky and that I may have to call for help if it happens. He also mentioned that the techs are looking forward to the M-stream cards because they'll be more robust and communicate better with the cable network.

Now it's time to start setting up all the season passes!

Ed


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## foamy909

WOW now has all three Big Ten Channels up, 87 (primary) and 344 and 345 (overflow), at least on the Chicago-City Feed, . Unfortunately, they have set the CCI byte on 345 on the City feed to 0x02. My Series 3 cannot tune it, as it goes directly to the cable card screen. I will e-mail Leslie and maybe try to call support, but I doubt it will be fixed quickly.

Anyone who wants to watch Ohio St.-Kent St. in IL or Minn-NU in OH should probably check their channel. My guide data is incorrect, reversed for 344 and 345 as well


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## nrc

Our guide data for the OSU game (on 87 here) was correct but it was only updated in the last few days.


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## houman

I ended up getting digital basic + two cable cards, the updates on the cards went well and both worked (he had an extra one with him just in case), the firmware upgrades took forever.

I was under the impression that testing channel just shows the channel info not the video itself, so I started a guide setup and return back to work, but when I got home, I noticed none of the digital channels were working, one call to wow, and they reset the signals and all is well. I am not going to get HDPak at this time.

it's working pretty well, and having season pass for HD channels is really worth it, but I have to say that the digital basic channels are... well... meh 

-H


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## geodon005

I was thinking about making the change from Comcast to WOW in a week or so, and I was just curious about what people's experiences have been in such a move. I am going from the Comcast Triple Play bundle (with the "everything including the kitchen sink cable TV package" to WOW's similar bundle (and everything they have cable TV-wise). The only downside for me seems to be losing ESPN2HD, but I can live with that, since WOW's bundle price is well over a $100 less per month than Comcast's.

I also have a TiVo Series 3, and other than the usual caveats for the installer (make sure it's a company tech, not a contractor; bring LOTS of cablecards; and follow EXACTLY TiVo's instructions for installation), is thee anything else I should be aware of prior to ordering? Thanks for your input.


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## Razorbak

geodon005 said:


> I also have a TiVo Series 3, and other than the usual caveats for the installer (make sure it's a company tech, not a contractor...


My personal experience with both a contractor tech and a WoW company tech was that the contractor was _much_ more professional and willing to follow the Tivo installation instructions. The WoW company tech ignored everything the Tivo instructions said, and acted like a know-it-all, even though he was obviously very ignorant of Tivo products.

I agree, though, that it is important to have whoever shows up bring extra cablecards, and it is also very important to follow the Tivo installation instructions.


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## TiVoJerry

foamy909 said:


> WOW now has all three Big Ten Channels up, 87 (primary) and 344 and 345 (overflow), at least on the Chicago-City Feed, . Unfortunately, they have set the CCI byte on 345 on the City feed to 0x02. My Series 3 cannot tune it, as it goes directly to the cable card screen. I will e-mail Leslie and maybe try to call support, but I doubt it will be fixed quickly.
> 
> Anyone who wants to watch Ohio St.-Kent St. in IL or Minn-NU in OH should probably check their channel. My guide data is incorrect, reversed for 344 and 345 as well


If the CableCARD MMI screen pops up whenever you go to a copy-protected channel (0x02), it means that your cards are not paired up properly. You can freely view any of the unprotected channels (0x00) without pairing. Your TiVo DVR is allowed to record copy-protected programming (0x02) but just won't be able to transfer it when MRV & TTG are activated in the future.


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## TiVoJerry

foamy909 said:


> WOW now has all three Big Ten Channels up, 87 (primary) and 344 and 345 (overflow), at least on the Chicago-City Feed, . Unfortunately, they have set the CCI byte on 345 on the City feed to 0x02. My Series 3 cannot tune it, as it goes directly to the cable card screen. I will e-mail Leslie and maybe try to call support, but I doubt it will be fixed quickly.
> 
> Anyone who wants to watch Ohio St.-Kent St. in IL or Minn-NU in OH should probably check their channel. My guide data is incorrect, reversed for 344 and 345 as well


If the CableCARD MMI screen pops up whenever you go to a copy-protected channel (0x02), it means that your cards are not paired up properly. A quick call to the provider should clear things up.

In the meantime, you can freely view any of the unprotected channels (0x00) without pairing. Your TiVo DVR is allowed to record copy-protected programming (0x02) but just won't be able to transfer it when MRV & TTG are activated in the future.


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## geodon005

Well, as a followup: I had WOW's installer out this past Saturday. He was a company tech, and arrived with about 6 CableCards. He said that he had done installs with a 2 or 3 TiVo Series 3 before (and it showed). The first card paired immediately, and the second one resulted in a firmware update being downloaded. . . once the download was done, I finished Guided Setup and. . .voila! Everything worked! In all honesty, the only difficulty came in getting my TiVo to recognize my wireless network so I could download guide data (which was resolved by turning off the network's encryption; I turned it back on after the tech had left and the network was recognized immediately). Total install time (including running cable, hooking up internet and one other box for the bedroom TV): 1 hour, 45 minutes. Not bad at all!

So far, I like WOW a lot, especially considering how much I am saving over Comcast. I miss ESPN2HD, but I can live without it (no need for it after college football season ends anyway) but I loved gaining HDNet and HDNet Movies. 

All in all, a great idea to switch.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

And, trust me, if/when you need customer service, you'll SO MUCH prefer WOW over Comcast.


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## nrc

I'm very pleased with WOW, having moved from DirecTV. I just wish they'd give us a hint on their HD plans. Anyone seen anything about their plans?


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## foamy909

I have been in an e-mail conversation with Bill, a Senior Customer Care Advocate at WOW, who works with CEO Colleen Abdoulah. I initially used the CEO contact form regarding the blackout of games on NFL Network, and he wrote back to me. He assisted in getting the pixelation some were seeing on FOX cleared up. Later I sent him a point-by-point e-mail, and I have included his response.

Always a pleasure to hear from you. I am glad to hear everything is working well in your area. I will do my best to answer your concerns in the order you sent them:

NFL Network - There should be some information posted , in the next few days, regarding the 8 NFL games. I am very sorry you feel conned, since it was not disclosed. At the time, we were still in negotiations with the NFL Network. The channel change that you suggested is being taken under consideration but no definite answers have been given.

Big Ten Network - The other markets do not have plans, at this time, to put up the Big Ten Network in HD. Unfortunately, we have not received a substantial number of request for it in the regions. Since available bandwidth is at a premium, we will not be launching it.

HD Channels - The suggestions are being reviewed, regarding the HD channels you requested (_ESPN2 and Universal_). Since deal negotiations are constantly updating, I really can not comment on what will be released and when.

Multi-stream Cable Cards - At this time, I do not have any updates for this product.

Switched Digital Video - This product is under review but we do not have any immediate plans for launch.​
If you are outside Columbus, and want the Big Ten Network in HD, use their contact form to let them know. Besides being a University town, my guess is that they carry it in Columbus partially because Insight Cable carries the HD feed. At least in Chicago, they don't have similar competition from cable carrying it at all.

On a related note, thanks to *grantsa4* over at DSL Reports,I read on my latest bill that "_Effective Jan 2, 2008, TNT HD and ESPNHD will become part of WOW! HD Basic. HD Pak customers will continue to view TNT HD and ESPNHD programming on WOW! Cable channels 209 and 211, respectively. _

To me that sounds like they will become part of Digital Basic, although I have not seen the term HD Basic before. I would hope they would then add more channels to the HD Pak, because if it shrinks to only seven channels, one being a gameless NFL Network, I may drop it.


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## nrc

Thanks for the info. I can't see giving up any of the HD channels to save $10 but it makes no sense to move channels out of the premium tier and not add something to the package.


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## Razorbak

foamy909 said:


> HD Channels - The suggestions are being reviewed, regarding the HD channels you requested (_ESPN2 and Universal_). Since deal negotiations are constantly updating, I really can not comment on what will be released and when.


Many moons ago, I requested that WoW add ESPN2HD to it's HD lineup. I think I did it via an online form I found on their website, and I'd like to re-submit that request, but I can't seem to find the online form. Can anyone point me in the right direction? TIA.


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## grantsa4

On their website go to Customer Care-Contact Us and one of the drop down options is for Channel Request


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## Razorbak

grantsa4 said:


> On their website go to Customer Care-Contact Us and one of the drop down options is for Channel Request


Done. Thanks, dude. Greatly appreciated!  :up:


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## nrc

Got a lineup change notification today for Big 10 HD here in Columbus.


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## joshdev

I just wanted to detail my experience with wide open west. I called up the custom service to schedule an appointment to get two cable cards installed. In order to get the HD Pak, the rep forced me to get an HD Box along with the cable cards, even though I was only going to use the TivoHD. After politely explaining that I wouldn't pay for something I wouldn't use, she talked to her manager and was able to knock off $20 from my plan for the next 12 months. They were able to schedule me in for the following week.

The technician showed up on time and did a great job. He had never installed cable cards on a Tivo before and said in the past year he'd been on the job he's only done a handful of cable card installs. I handed him the Tivo directions, which he followed. He brought 4 cable cards and only had to try 3 to get two working ones. All in all the entire setup took about 45 minutes. 

The nice thing was the technician recognized that I had no need for installing the HD cable box and didn't bother to add it to my account. He said since the cable cards are so rare many reps don't really understand that they can replace the need for a cable box.

I'm very pleased with the how the HD channels look so far, but don't look forward to switching over all of my season passes once the guided setup finishes indexing  

--Josh


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Glad to hear your install went well. I have a second HD tv and have a WOW HDDVR on it, as it's cheaper than a regular digital cable box, believe it or not.

Anyway...after a while, call WOW and tell them you're considering switching to Comcast. They may knock more off your bill. I get a $30/mo credit, and I have everything except Cinemax, including internet.


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## Razorbak

foamy909 said:


> NFL Network - There should be some information posted , in the next few days, regarding the 8 NFL games. I am very sorry you feel conned, since it was not disclosed. At the time, we were still in negotiations with the NFL Network. The channel change that you suggested is being taken under consideration but no definite answers have been given.


foamy909, I found the following update on the WOW website. Thought you might be interested...

_*NFL Network Exclusive Games*

WOW! has been a partner of the NFL Network since we launched the channel on our Digital Basic service in 2005. After we made the commitment to deliver the channel to our customers, the NFL Network secured the rights to air eight games during the regular season. In order for WOW! to be authorized to show those games to our customers, the NFL Network is requiring WOW! to pay a substantial surcharge. We believe the surcharge they are demanding -- in addition to the programming license fees that we already pay them - is unfair and unreasonable. We believe we should be allowed to offer the channel in a separate programming package so that those customers who truly want to watch these games may do so and pay the incremental amount of money that the NFL is demanding. The NFL Network has not agreed to this at present. Consequently, they have not authorized WOW! to air these football games.

As sports fans ourselves, we know how frustrating this situation is to customers. However, we firmly believe our position is in the best interest of all WOW! customers - fans and non-fans alike.

*FAQs*

*Q: Why did WOW! drop the NFL games that air on the NFL Network?*

A: WOW! did not drop these games. The NFL Network will not authorize us to air the games unless we pay them a surcharge that is significantly higher than what we have already been paying them since we launched the channel.

*Q: Why won't WOW! pay the surcharge? I would pay more for the additional NFL games that air on NFL Network.*

A: We have asked the NFL Network to allow us to put together a package for customers who would be willing to pay extra to be able to watch these additional games. The NFL Network has refused to allow WOW! the opportunity to present the games to customers in this manner.

*Q: I already pay WOW! a lot of money every month. Why can't you just pay the surcharge and give customers what they want?*

A: We work continuously to deliver services at a fair and competitive price-value. The surcharge that the NFL Network is demanding, which we would have to pass onto customers, would seriously hamper our ability to continue to do so.

*Q: This is a ridiculous situation. We customers are being caught in the middle and all you guys are doing is pointing fingers at each other. Are you going to fix this situation for me or not?*

A: We do want to be able to provide customers with the programming that they want to see. However, we also need the NFL Network to provide us with options that are fair and reasonable, which they have not. We too are frustrated, but at this time we will not be able to air these games. We do not have any indications that this situation will change in the immediate future.

*Q: What games are scheduled to air exclusively on NFL Network?*

A:
Thursday, Nov. 22 Indianapolis @ Atlanta
Thursday, Nov. 29 Green Bay @ Dallas
Thursday, Dec. 6 Chicago @ Washington*
Thursday, Dec. 13 Cincinnati @ San Francisco
Saturday, Dec. 15 Denver @ Houston
Thursday, Dec. 20 Pittsburgh @ St. Louis
Saturday, Dec. 22 Dallas @ Carolina
Saturday, Dec. 29 New [email protected] New York

*The Chicago @ Washington game may also be available on the local broadcast channel in the Chicago area. Please check your local listings.

http://www1.wowway.com/cable/cable.aspx?ConIdent=2008&RCView=MAIN
_​


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## jderk

My WOW experience was interesting to say the least. I have been a customer of a company WOW bought for Internet for 10 years for Internet only. Tivo Series II customer and DISH customer for 10 years.

Bought TivoHD so needed Cable since TivoHD needs Cable Cards.

Called WOW, since it just bought my ISP. They said they would send a senior tech with a multi Cable Card.

They sent a very nice tech with a single PKM600 with 2006 Firmware. Arrived at 9 AM and busted his ass, left at 4:30. A more senior tech then a manager showed up with more cards.

My slot 1 card sorta works. HD picture is pixelated on some channels. Slot 2 works on one or two channels but pixelated on most other or blank. the 108i channels are pixelated pretty badly every few seconds on both slots.

Pretty disappointed so far to say the least.

WOW says Tivo is the issue.

Does anyone know if WOW offers multi cards in any markets?


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## jrm01

If you are getting any remnants of each channel that you should be getting it doesn't sound like you are having cablecard problems. It sounds like a signal strength issue.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I agree with JRM....it's almost surely not a TiVo issue. Did the techs check the signal strength?


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## jderk

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> I agree with JRM....it's almost surely not a TiVo issue. Did the techs check the signal strength?


He did. I am not in front of it now. When I restart TIVO it wants to reverify the cards. When I pick HBO HD channel TIVO reboots.


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## Good Ol Gal

We are in the Columbus area and right now have WOW's HD DVR. I am seriously considering switching to a Tivo HD b/c I can't stand this DVR!

How much does everyone pay for their cable cards? Looks to me on their site that it should only be 3.50 a month. With the Tivo HD would I need one or two cards. Has anyone received the M card from WOW yet?


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## debnjay

I don't blame you. I lived with the crappy WOW SA8300 HD DVR for way too long before buying a TiVOHD.

I'm in Chicagoland and I pay $3.50 for the 2nd cable card. The first one is free, and yes you need two unless they've recently started offering MCards.


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## nrc

Columbus area - also $3.50 for the second card, first card free.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I pay $3.50 for both cards. I'm going to call to make sure this is correct. However, I'm also receiving $35/month in discounts, so this may be something I may not be able to change.


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## mhoyt

Hi all, WOW Columbus subscriber here. I have an appointment set up for the dreaded CableCard install. And I have yet to purchase my Series3. I am long time member of this community, but haven't posted since switching from DirecTv TiVo in 2005 <sigh> Anyway, what is the status of SDV for WOW in Columbus? I don't dare call customer service to ask. Is SDV only an OTA issue? With the Series3 and CableCards, will this be a problem?


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## scantor

mhoyt said:


> Anyway, what is the status of SDV for WOW in Columbus? I don't dare call customer service to ask. Is SDV only an OTA issue? With the Series3 and CableCards, will this be a problem?


It's *only* an issue for cable cards, but I'm not aware of any significant SDV use by WOW here. It hasn't affected me any.

I guess I've noted occasional difficulty getting the A&E HD channel to come in, but A&E is so putrid a channel, that I consider it a service to me that my Tivo grays it out.

Supposedly the SDV dongle fix is due out this year, so that prompted me to go ahead and get a second Tivo with lifetime.

Unfortunately for me, I'm moving to Insight-only territory in a couple of weeks, so hopefully I have as good an experience as WOW has been. Good sign so far, the operator who set up my appointment actually knew what a cable card was, and that I needed two.


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## Good Ol Gal

I too just set up my apt for our cable cards to come out. Hopefully my HD TiVo will get here before the cards do 

The WOW operator was very helpful. He actually upgraded us to the basic digital for free b/c he couldn't get the cable card order to go through with the value digital.


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## nrc

In Columbus right now I'm showing ??? for 402, 404, and 480 (HBO2E, HBOSIGE, and ENC). Anyone else have this? I've tried reseting and reselecting my channel lineup with no luck so I reported it as a lineup problem through the TiVo site.

Looks like they've also added National Geographic HD on 228 as part of the HD Pack.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I rec'd a message that a lot of channels were deleted (402, 404, 432, 436, 480). On the guide, it shows "to be announced" and I also now have 228. Interesting...wonder what's up?


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## lnknpk04

So, for those folks in the columbus area. I'm moving there and just ordered my cable and internet through WOW. Do you guys get the Anime Network? I swear I saw it on the channel lineup (not in the ondemand..I see it there), but now its not there. Do you guys get this channel?


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## nrc

Anime channel is listed as 359 in my guide. I still have guide data but right now the channel is blank and it's not in WOW's latest list on their web site. Looks like it's being dropped. 

Other new channels:
331 - Military Channel (SD)
225 - Discovery HD
226 - Animal Planet HD
227 - TLC HD

No guide updates for these yet but they're listed on the WOW web site.


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## grantsa4

The anime channel is no longer active - if you check their website there is a message that the 24/7 channel no longer exists, but they still have the on demand functionality


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## svoll

I noticed this afternoon that the Military Channel (331), Discovery HD (225), Animal Planet HD (226) and TLC HD (227) are being broadcast in the Columbus area, but they are not showing in the guide data yet. I assume that National Geographic is also being broadcast, but I cancelled the HD Pak once they switched ESPN to the regular HD Tier. Can someone let me know how to contact TiVo to get the guide data updated?


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Note: guide data is on my WOW HD DVR for these channels.


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## nrc

Here's the page for requesting lineup changes. 
http://tivosupport2.instancy.com/LineUpForm.aspx

I put in a request to correct missing data 402, 404, and 480 previously. I received a case number on the 5th and it says the issue should be resolved within five to seven days which would mean by Friday. I'm hoping they'll all get sorted out at once but I'd suggest putting in another request just to get it in the hopper in case they're not.


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## Good Ol Gal

I just had them come out yesterday. CC2 was not showing HD channels past Fox. 

He kept insisting that it would take a little while for TiVo's guide to show them and then left.

Well here it is, and CC2 still has a gray screen for all HD channels past Fox. 

Now I have to call them up and schedule another appointment. He had extra cards and I tried to talk him into trying a different one, but he kept insisting that it would be like that no matter which card he uses.


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## svoll

I forced a connection & the following channels are now available:

225 Discovery HD
226 Animal Planet HD
227 TLC HD
330 Bloom
331 Military Channel
346 Tennis Channel
347 The Outdoor Channel
402 HBO2
404 HBO Signature
432 Showtime Too
436 ShowB
480 Encore

Deleted:

359 Anime

Now if I can get FX, USA, TBS & the NFL Network games in HD, I will be a happy camper.


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## szatkoff

Good Ol Gal said:


> I just had them come out yesterday. CC2 was not showing HD channels past Fox.
> 
> He kept insisting that it would take a little while for TiVo's guide to show them and then left.
> 
> Well here it is, and CC2 still has a gray screen for all HD channels past Fox.
> 
> Now I have to call them up and schedule another appointment. He had extra cards and I tried to talk him into trying a different one, but he kept insisting that it would be like that no matter which card he uses.


Do you mean that your not receiving any of the digital or HD channels beyond the HD locals? If so, when the tech calls in to the CSR, there is a cable card script that needs to be run. I had this issue myself.


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## Good Ol Gal

szatkoff said:


> Do you mean that your not receiving any of the digital or HD channels beyond the HD locals? If so, when the tech calls in to the CSR, there is a cable card script that needs to be run. I had this issue myself.


yep, no channels beyond the local channels.

I'm going to have to call them today to set up a new appointment


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## nrc

Good Ol Gal said:


> yep, no channels beyond the local channels.
> 
> I'm going to have to call them today to set up a new appointment


They probably just need to re-authorize your cards. If you're getting some of the digital channels I doubt that it's a card problem.


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## QChronoD

I just got a new HD for xmas. Had an installer come last week, and after a few hours of trying to fix the signal strength he began the card installation. The first card seemed to install just fine. The second card froze during a firmware update, so he pulled out a third. After a 15min firmware update and another 10min getting channel data, it started to recieve channels. After he left I noticed that the HDPAK and Digital channels (300+) weren't comming through.

I had another guy come out this morning, he tried two more cards and nothing seemed to help. After spending a few hours tonight searching through here and tivo.com, I noticed that neither of my cards say that they are authorized, and are not getting EMM signals. From what I've found, it sounds like neither of my cards should be getting the higher channels, but one of them is working perfectly. 

Anyone have a clue what's up with my system, or have a number for a competent tech person I can call to get this fixed? THANKS


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## djextort

I've been scanning through the forums for a few days now, doing some research on the TiVo HD box. I have had an S2 for 4 years and have been very happy with it. So today I decided to pull the trigger on the HD Box (should be here by the end of the week).

My question for everyone here is this:

I live in the NW suburbs of Chicago, and am a WOW subscriber. I was wondering if there are any specific things I need to know when dealing with WOW, and the installation of the CC's...are there cards I should avoid? What sort of issues have there been with WOW installs? Also, should I push for a M card if they are available?

Thanks in advance to everyone for the help. I'm excited to get my box, but still a little nervous because I would hate to have problems since my S2 has worked flawlessly for so long.


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## geodon005

I am in Mt. Prospect, and thought I would chime in. . .

I just switched over to WOW in November and have been very pleased with their service. I have had my Series 3 for over a year, and to be honest, the WOW install went far smoother than Comcast's on December of 2006.

I do not know if WOW even has M-cards available. . . I seem to remember reading somewhere that they do not. Make sure when you order the install to tell the tech to bring a bunch (minimum 4-6) of cards in case they do not work (Scientific Atlanta cards, which WOW uses, are supposed to be a lot more flaky than Motorola's - but the first 2 Sci Atl cards the WOW installer used for mine worked fine. It is just a matter of luck.)

If you need any more info, please feel free to PM me.


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## debnjay

The only things I suggest when getting your cablecards installed by WOW are:
- run guided setup before your appointment
- make sure you tell them to bring extra cards
- make sure you have the TiVO instructions handy
- make sure they follow the instructions, especially the places where you just have to sit and wait for a while; these guys are impatient as they likely have many appointments to get to

When I set up the appointment the person on the phone said they had MCards, but I later learned that WOW doesn't have MCards, at least they don't in Chicagoland. When they're done make sure you walk through a bunch of channels to make sure they work.


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## nrc

If they get the firmware updating message when they insert the card try to get them to follow the on screen instructions and not interrupt it. My techs kept interrupting it and probably made the whole process take twice as long as it needed to. I finally suggested that they go on to their next call and come back to see if it was successful and everything was working within 15 minutes.

As others have said, be sure to run guided setup prior to the appointment. Get your unit started connecting to TiVo as soon as possible to make sure that you have the latest software. WOW uses Scientific Atlanta cable cards which had some issues in early releases.


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## szatkoff

All good suggestions. Also ask for a tech with CC and Tivo installation experience.


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## djextort

Thank's all. The TiVo arrived today, so I will be scheduling an appt ASAP. I have a tech supervisor coming out on Saturday, so maybe I can have him install the cards. He is there to work on a NBC HD issue I have been having for over a year.

I plan to try and set the TiVo up tonight or tomorrow. At which point in time I will go through the guided set up. Will have to work out how everything will be wired. 

I will post back with how my install goes, and note any issues/problems.

Thanks again.


----------



## Razorbak

Has anyone here noticed missing audio on the new Fox Business News channel (329 in the Chicagoland area)?

My Series3 is missing audio on this particular channel (both tuners), yet my other digital cable boxes don't have this problem.

I had this problem once before last year with a couple of channels, and Tivo eventually addressed the issue in a subsequent software update. Just wondering if this is a system-wide problem like before?


----------



## djextort

Razorbak said:


> Has anyone here noticed missing audio on the new Fox Business News channel (329 in the Chicagoland area)?
> 
> My Series3 is missing audio on this particular channel (both tuners), yet my other digital cable boxes don't have this problem.
> 
> I had this problem once before last year with a couple of channels, and Tivo eventually addressed the issue in a subsequent software update. Just wondering if this is a system-wide problem like before?


I actually reported a problem with FBN yesterday. I have audio but no video. That is running straight from a CC in the TV. No resolution as of yet. Hence the tech supervisor visit on Saturday.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I'm in Michigan, and noticed yesterday that 316, Reality TV, finally has a picture, but no sound.


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## Razorbak

djextort said:


> I actually reported a problem with FBN yesterday. I have audio but no video. That is running straight from a CC in the TV. No resolution as of yet. Hence the tech supervisor visit on Saturday.


Thanks for the quick response. That's weird that you're getting audio but no video on Channel 329 - Fox Business News - and I'm getting the exact opposite. But like I said, I verified that I'm getting both video and audio on that channel on my other cable boxes, so I think my particular problem may be isolated to the Series 3 Tivo... especially since this exact same problem has occurred in the past, just on other channels in the line-up (e.g., 316 - Fox Reality, reference my previous posts from a while back on this thread).

FYI, I wasn't getting either video or audio on FBN yesterday, and I wasn't getting several other missing channels, so I spent a bunch of time on the phone with a very helpful tech support guy at WOW.

Over the span of a couple of hours, including a few call-backs to and from tech support, WOW finally got the new HD channels working (226 - Discovery HD, 226 - Animal Planet HD, 227 - TLC HD, and 228 - National Geographic Channel HD), along with a few other new SD channels recently added to the WOW line-up (346 - Tennis Channel, and 347 - Outdoor Channel), and they successfully restored the three Fox College Sports channels that had mysteriously disappeared from my line-up about a week ago (340 - Fox College Sports Atlantic, 341 - Fox College Sports Central, and 342 - Fox College Sports Pacific).

Right now, the only unresolved problem is missing audio on 329 - FBN.


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## djextort

Well, it looks like WOW is going to make me wait 2 weeks to have a cable card installed. Kind of bogus considering I have a tech coming out on saturday to try and fix my NBC HD which has taken almost a year to get resolved. They wouldnt even commit to having the tech on saturday install the cards. I have been happy with WOW up until this point. I would expect them to work with me on this, especially since my account hasn't been credited for NBC HD not working since Feb of last year.

I already have 1 cable card in my TV. Do you guys think it would be worth installing that card in my TiVo for the time being?

More to come.


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## Razorbak

That's too bad. Are they not willing to install cableCARDS on Saturday because no cards are available, or because of the time/personnel required to do so during a limited appointment window?

If it's the former, then you can ask them when they arrive to just swap out the TV cableCARD and install it in one of the Tivo slots. (But make sure that they pair the card to the new machine, or you probably won't get access to encrypted channels.)

If it's the latter, then they probably don't want to fool with cards during the visit, so even if you offer it as an option, they may not oblige.

For the last several months, since my Tivo's hard drive upgrade, it's two cableCARDS have not been paired -- the pairing was lost during the upgrade process -- but for some unexplained reason, I am still getting all of my encrypted content and premium channels, which is a little weird.

However, I've got a truck roll appointment scheduled for two new cableCARDS to be installed next Thursday in two new TV sets elsewhere in the house. During that appointment, when the tech is installing the two new cards and going through the pairing process, I'm going to ask him to re-pair the Tivo's existing cards. Hopefully, that will work, so I can get all of my cableCARD issues behind me during one truck roll.

I know... I'm an optimist!


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## hogan64

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> I'm in Michigan, and noticed yesterday that 316, Reality TV, finally has a picture, but no sound.


I have the same situation here in Michigan. 316 was down for the longest time and now no sound.


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## Razorbak

FYI only.

I just submitted a line-up change via the Tivo website to correct several problems with channels in the digital line-up for the Chicago suburbs.

1) The Tivo guide data for Channel 317 lists WLSDT2, but the channel actually showing is ABC News Now.

2) The Tivo guide data for Channel 101 lists WLS, but the channel actually showing is WLSDT2.

3) Channel 329 (Fox Business News) has a video signal, but no audio signal on the Series 3 Tivo. (Both video and audio signals are available on my other cable boxes, and my Series 2 Tivo for that matter, so the problem appears to be isolated to the Series 3 or the Scientific Atlanta cableCARD.)


----------



## LuvNoize

*1/25: *Install Tech was out and brought four Single Stream CC's. The tech stated "I am not good at doing the TiVo's, they don't make it very user friendly."

The tech installed the first card, then had to swap it out. The tech called in to the office and registered the second and third card.

The second card was inserted in the #1 slot, then went through a firmware update. At that point, he said that the card was doing a firmware update, and that it could take up to an hour. He left the other registered card, told me that if things didn't do what they should, to call the office.

After the first card finished the firmware update, I inserted the second card. I did not test all the channels. The TiVo recognized the second card, and it synced with the cable company. I went through the HD channels I knew I should be getting, and it receives them just fine. The card in #1 does not.

*1/26:* Called the WOW customer service number, and asked them to check the cards, to make sure the service authorizations were correct on both cards, as I thought it interesting that one would receive the encrypted channels, and the other would not. They re-activated the card in slot #1, and I rebooted the TiVo. By the way, the CSR only had a instruction screen for doing this with TV's, not TiVo's. The TiVo rebooted, and I checked the channels on Card #1, still no go.

They made an appointment for a Tech supervisor to come out on Monday 1/28 to check it out. I asked them to put a note in the work order to send someone with TiVo HD experience. The CSR agreed, and included the comment.

*1/28 11a-3p*: The WOW "Supervisor" came out today, and was here 4 hours. He brought several cards. He switched the card in #1 to the #2 slot, and all of the channels that I should be getting came in. He switched the card back to slot #1, and it exhibited the same issues as before. The supervisor surmised that the #1 slot is bad.

*9:15pm * I finally got time to mess with the setup. I checked the channels available on each card. The card in slot 2 was receiving encrypted channels, card in slot 1 was not. I tested the tech's theory, and swapped the cards to opposite slots. The cards re-registered, and now the card in slot 1 was working, slot 2 was not.

I then went to www.tivo.com/support and found the troubleshooting guide for the SA cards. I then called Customer Support, and had them hit the troubled card, and let them her know I was not receiving encrypted channels on that card. She asked me if my TV was off, I told her yes, ejected the #2 card out, and plugged it back in. The black/grey screen appeared, and I saw that he card was responding to the hit.

I went through the Guided Setup again, all is well.


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## djextort

WOW tech is currently installing cable cards in my TiVo HD. The first card is going through a firmware update. Not sure how long that will take, and/or if it is normal. I just realized that it looks like he is impatient and decided to put the 2nd card into slot 2. Not sure if that is going to cause problems.

Still keeping my fingers crossed. Will post back with additional details about the install.

*Update 1 10:25am*: Card 1 just finished the firmware update. So far so good. Card 2 is in the process of an update. Currently waiting for the tech to authorize the card.


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## gsheist

LuvNoize said:


> *1/25: *
> The tech installed the first card, then had to swap it out. The tech called in to the office and registered the second and third card.
> 
> .....
> 
> After the first card finished the firmware update, I inserted the second card. I did not test all the channels. The TiVo recognized the second card, and it synced with the cable company. I went through the HD channels I knew I should be getting, and it receives them just fine. The card in #1 does not.
> 
> *1/26:* Called the WOW customer service number, and asked them to check the cards, to make sure the service authorizations were correct on both cards, as I thought it interesting that one would receive the encrypted channels, and the other would not. They re-activated the card in slot #1, and I rebooted the TiVo. By the way, the CSR only had a instruction screen for doing this with TV's, not TiVo's. The TiVo rebooted, and I checked the channels on Card #1, still no go.
> 
> They made an appointment for a Tech supervisor to come out on Monday 1/28 to check it out. I asked them to put a note in the work order to send someone with TiVo HD experience. The CSR agreed, and included the comment.
> 
> *1/28 11a-3p*: The WOW "Supervisor" came out today, and was here 4 hours. He brought several cards. He switched the card in #1 to the #2 slot, and all of the channels that I should be getting came in. He switched the card back to slot #1, and it exhibited the same issues as before. The supervisor surmised that the #1 slot is bad.


This sounds like my experience yesterday as well. Card 1 didn't receive any of the "encrypted" Digital Basic or HD Pak channels. Finally, after the tech called the NOC (after 2 hours of trying), he got that card to work.

Now onto Card 2: Inserted, tried "pinging" it multiple times, called NOC, still nothing beyond basic HD channels. After inserting the 3rd card in slot 2, TiVo gave a service update on re-boot, but still nothing.

At this point, my WOW techs (very nice guys, btw) had spent nearly 4 hours, and still no Digital Basic or HD Pak channels on slot 2. At that point, it was nearly 9pm, so we all called it a night.

Looks like I'm heading for a visit from an "expert" in the next couple of days...

As I look at it, it seems as though the techs ran through the process too quickly, and as a result, the cards simply never "took" and got correctly connected to WOW's network.

The weird thing is: why would one card work (eventually) just fine, yet the second card won't even though they went through (apparently) the same process? Definitely odd!

We'll see how things go...I'll post any "a-hahs" that occur that get me over the hump.


----------



## gsheist

LuvNoize said:


> *1/25: *Install Tech was out and brought four Single Stream CC's. The tech stated "I am not good at doing the TiVo's, they don't make it very user friendly."


I think that's a big part of the problem. These guys don't do this installation enough on a day-to-day basis to know exactly what works and what doesn't. I'm sure that cost them at least two hours yesterday...


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## LuvNoize

Go to the tivo.com/support. There are great "If this than this" explanations of how each manufacturer's cards work/don't work, and what to tell the cable company CSR when you call them.

The Cable company may just need to hit the card again. Take down the serial # of the card that is having a problem, and call them. Tell them what channels you are not receiving on that card, and make sure that they have the card set up for it when they hit it.

Go in to the cable card diagnostics in the settings menu, and you will see the card react, or not react to the hit in the CP Auth page Black/White.


----------



## djextort

djextort said:


> WOW tech is currently installing cable cards in my TiVo HD. The first card is going through a firmware update. Not sure how long that will take, and/or if it is normal. I just realized that it looks like he is impatient and decided to put the 2nd card into slot 2. Not sure if that is going to cause problems.
> 
> Still keeping my fingers crossed. Will post back with additional details about the install.
> 
> *Update 1 10:25am*: Card 1 just finished the firmware update. So far so good. Card 2 is in the process of an update. Currently waiting for the tech to authorize the card.


Both cable cards have been installed, and I have gone through guided setup, but I am not getting any of my digital channels. I am able to receive a few HD changes 200-206 I believe.

It appears as if both cards are not receiving any decryption information, so I am trying to get WOW to fix that. Unfortunately the installer left prior to completing the set up.

Other thing that I noticed is that if I look at the diagnostics in the menu Tuner 0 says it is card 1, and Tuner 1 is card 2. What I read on the TiVo site says Tuner 0 should be 2 and Tuner 1 should be 1.


----------



## kpdillon

Tech spent 8 hours at my house today trying to get both scard to work. He finally left. 1 card works perfectly the second won't pick up digital channels or high def channels. I insist this is a problem on WOW's side but how can I prove it?


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## kpdillon

djexort, I just noticed you are in Arlington Heights. So am I. At least we can fight this one together.


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## LuvNoize

I found this page quite useful.

There is a link about half-way down the page for the Scientific Atlanta cards that WOW uses.

Call customer service, and tell them you need your encrypted channels authorized on your new cable card, and you need the card hit.

They will tell you to turn off your TV (because their support screen says so), pop the offending card out of the TiVo, and re-insert. Then go to Configure CCard slot "Offending card slot" and to the CP Auth screen. You should see the hit come in to the card, as the display will change as the information is transferred.


----------



## kpdillon

Thank you for your help. I tried this and they said everything is fine on their end. If I flip-flop the cards, the first tuner gets all the proper channels still while the second tuner does not. Could this be a Tivo HD hardware issue with slot 2?



LuvNoize said:


> I found this page quite useful.
> 
> There is a link about half-way down the page for the Scientific Atlanta cards that WOW uses.
> 
> Call customer service, and tell them you need your encrypted channels authorized on your new cable card, and you need the card hit.
> 
> They will tell you to turn off your TV (because their support screen says so), pop the offending card out of the TiVo, and re-insert. Then go to Configure CCard slot "Offending card slot" and to the CP Auth screen. You should see the hit come in to the card, as the display will change as the information is transferred.


----------



## foamy909

kpdillon said:


> Thank you for your help. I tried this and they said everything is fine on their end. If I flip-flop the cards, the first tuner gets all the proper channels still while the second tuner does not. Could this be a Tivo HD hardware issue with slot 2?


It could be a hardware issue if the same tuner has the problem, regardless of which card is inserted.

Have you checked your signal strength? I had an issue with my initial Series 3 installation where one card did not get certain digital channels. Before he left, the tech gave me a long run of RG-6, which I used to replace the run to the Tivo after the initial split. Once I replaced the older cable, the second tuner was able to get all the channels.

I know it sounds strange that one would get them and one would not, but it seemed to be the case in my situation. I think Signal Strength is under Settings/Channels. It is going to switch both tuners to the same channel, so I am not sure if it will work in your current situation.


----------



## kpdillon

foamy909 said:


> It could be a hardware issue if the same tuner has the problem, regardless of which card is inserted.


I am not having any fun. I got both Tivo and Wide Open West on the phone and after 2 more hours of trying things we all agreed to next step is to swap the Tivo UNIT itself. Will receive replacement unit in about 5 days. Had I known this hassle upfront I never would have purchased Tivo.


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## kpdillon

It turns out the problem was with the Tivo. Tivo sent me a replacement and without having to call WOW, I booted it up put in the new cards and walah! Tivo sent me a refurbished replacement when they were supposed to send me a brand new unit but a quick phone call back to them fixed that and the new one is schedulded to arrive in a couple of days... So Foamy you were spot on that this was a hardware issue. One would think Tivo Support could look at the Tivo logs and in fact retrieve data that there is a hardware problem but I guess that's not the case....

I am very impressed and pleased with Tivo support.


----------



## bizzy

There is a key command that puts a timestamped marker in the Tivo's log files, so I assume that there is some flag that support is able to set that tells the Tivo to upload diagnostic info on the next service call. I have never seen it used, though, which is dissapointing, since I am sure it would help them diagnose many of the recurring problems we see posted here.


----------



## foamy909

Anyone else having pixelation or loss of signal on the new HD channels in the Chicago area? Within the past couple days, I have been getting both on TLC HD and Disc HD. I checked my signal strength on both and it was 92-95, so I don't think that is the issue. Haven't really noticed it on any other channels as yet. I may e-mail the head-end on Monday to see if they have changed anything because I hadn't seen the problem up until a couple days ago.


----------



## *hoosierdaddy*

I am not very impressed with WOW at all when it comes to TIVO. I am on card # 7 and mine continually lose their authorization.


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## *hoosierdaddy*

Can anyone suggest *anyone* at wow's technical support who knows their stuff? Today's call to rebounce my cable card authorization got the usual "we don't support Tivo" rant from WOW followed by (my hand up to God) "I didn't know cable cards fit in a Tivo".

I have noticed my EMM count does not increase from zero and when it does, it stops shortly after the call.

WOW now tells me with a straight face that I need to shut my Tivo off every night because the cable cards need to reset every night at 2 AM to reset the EMM count. That, she said, explains my lock ups.

The WOW cable boxes and DVRS, she said, shut off at 2 AM every night. (Not that I believe that.)

Anyway, does anyone know anyone with any technical chops?


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## foamy909

*hoosierdaddy* said:


> Can anyone suggest *anyone* at wow's technical support who knows their stuff? Today's call to rebounce my cable card authorization got the usual "we don't support Tivo" rant from WOW followed by (my hand up to God) "I didn't know cable cards fit in a Tivo".
> 
> I have noticed my EMM count does not increase from zero and when it does, it stops shortly after the call.
> 
> WOW now tells me with a straight face that I need to shut my Tivo off every night because the cable cards need to reset every night at 2 AM to reset the EMM count. That, she said, explains my lock ups.
> 
> The WOW cable boxes and DVRS, she said, shut off at 2 AM every night. (Not that I believe that.)
> 
> Anyway, does anyone know anyone with any technical chops?


My only head-end contact is in Illinois, which I don't think would help you. I have an e-mail address for Bill, a Senior Customer Advocate who has gotten me in touch with the right people in the past. PM me and I will send you his e-mail address, as long as you promise not to post it or abuse it.


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## Bradc314

My dad has a new HD TiVo and WoW and is having a very frustrating problem.

The first time we installed the TiVo and CableCARDS, everything seemingly went fine, but after about a day, he started having channels disappear (go black). The problem seems confined to HD and SD channels above channel 206. WoW came back out and worked with TiVo, and it was determined that the TiVo must be bad. The replacement came on Friday, and we set it up, and all worked fine until Sunday. Same exact symptoms.

After a TiVo restart, my dad tunes to his favorite channel, 485 (Encore Westerns). Channel surfing up and down seem fine, all is well, so back to channel 485. Then to TiVo Central, and right back to channel 485, and now it's gone. All other channels are still there. Back into TiVo Central, and right back to live TV, and now ALL channels above 206 are black.

When working with TiVo support over the phone, they try to go into CableCARD diagnositics, but the diag screen stays on for only a brief moment, and then right back to the TiVo menu. 

Restarting the TiVo gets things squared away for a very short time, and then it starts all over again. This is a very repeatable problem.

Any ideas?


----------



## foamy909

Bradc314 said:


> My dad has a new HD TiVo and WoW and is having a very frustrating problem.
> 
> The first time we installed the TiVo and CableCARDS, everything seemingly went fine, but after about a day, he started having channels disappear (go black). The problem seems confined to HD and SD channels above channel 206. WoW came back out and worked with TiVo, and it was determined that the TiVo must be bad. The replacement came on Friday, and we set it up, and all worked fine until Sunday. Same exact symptoms.
> 
> After a TiVo restart, my dad tunes to his favorite channel, 485 (Encore Westerns). Channel surfing up and down seem fine, all is well, so back to channel 485. Then to TiVo Central, and right back to channel 485, and now it's gone. All other channels are still there. Back into TiVo Central, and right back to live TV, and now ALL channels above 206 are black.
> 
> When working with TiVo support over the phone, they try to go into CableCARD diagnositics, but the diag screen stays on for only a brief moment, and then right back to the TiVo menu.
> 
> Restarting the TiVo gets things squared away for a very short time, and then it starts all over again. This is a very repeatable problem.
> 
> Any ideas?


Have the same CableCards been used with both Tivo's? How many cards did they go through on your initial set-up? I had at least three bad cards when I did my initial Series 3 install.

I don't think WOW has multi-stream cards, so I assume you have two single stream cards. Are the channels lost on both tuners simultaneously, or do they lose it at different times? Having the same problem on two Tivo's makes me think the cards could be flaky, but if the channels are lost on both tuners simultaneously, that seems less likely with two independent S-cards.

This one has me a bit stumped...

Edit: - you might want to check out this thread. Although a lot of the posters are from Cox - AZ, they do seem to mention Scientific Atlanta Cards, which is what WOW uses.


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## Gecko4639

I'm not sure if this is the same problem, but I've had an issue with WOW and my TivoHD as well that sounds a bit similar. I'm not using cable cards, just basic cable from the wall, but I do get the unecrypted digital channels. I never have an issue viewing the local HD's (200-206), however I have had issues on the digital music channels (500+). I'll go to a certain channel and everything is fine. But if I flip away and then back to that music channel, there is no picture. The sound is still there, but the screen is black. The problem continues until the TV is turned off and back on again later in the day. It's never really concerned me because I don't need a picture on the digital music channels. However, it makes me wonder if these issues some of you are having are a cable card problem or a WOW problem in general.


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## *hoosierdaddy*

My EMM count remains at Zero every time I reboot my TIVO HD, which I have to do several times a day sometimes. WOW now says cable cards are not supported and they don't plan to work with me any more with them.


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## nrc

*hoosierdaddy* said:


> My EMM count remains at Zero every time I reboot my TIVO HD, which I have to do several times a day sometimes. WOW now says cable cards are not supported and they don't plan to work with me any more with them.


WoW doesn't have an option not to support cable cards. It's an FCC mandate that they support cable cards with Cable Labs certified devices. Yeah, it may be tough to convince them of that.


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## jherubin

I don't know if I am the first person here to get an M-Card from WOW. My installer came today with a new Scientific Atlanta multistream card. He said they just got them a couple days ago. The installer was great but I think WOW has some bugs to to work out.

Right now I have the card but it's not working properly. I can't view any of the channels that require decoding (higher digital channels, hd content, etc...). I checked the troubleshooting guide and the only thing that doesn't check out for me is that on the "SA CableCARD CA Screen" the status of my card shows "Not Staged" instead of "Ready".

The installer was on the phone with support and they were having a problem sending a signal to my M-Card. Something about the program they use was rejecting the request? I am waiting on a callback Monday. Anyway, after looking at the document here Troubleshooting CableCARD I think one of these may be my problem:

*Additional Information:*

While only the cable provider can determine why their system is unable to activate their CableCARD(s), from our experience, the following conditions can prevent activation:


The CableCARD(s) are configured for a two-way device. TiVo DVRs are one-way devices, meaning that they accept signals from the cableÂ headend but cannot send signals back. CableCARDs configured for a two-way device are expected to send a signal back to the headend to confirm the activation. Because a TiVo DVR cannot send this signal, activation fails.
The CableCARDs did not receive the proper activation signals to provision a UDCP (unidirectional digital cable products) device.Â DVRs leased by cable providers are two-way and use CableCARDs that receive extensive pre-provisioning at the warehouse. Because so much of the information normally sent during activation has already been programmed into these CableCARDs, they require a different activation protocol than CableCARDs that are installed in devices such as TiVo DVRs and CableCARD-ready HDTVs.Â If the headend sends the wrong activation signal, your CableCARDs do not receive enough information to activate, or will activate enough to get a channel map, but no EMMs. The result is that you will be able to view only analog and unencrypted digital channels.
The activation signal may not be reaching the DVR. Occasionally, activation signals are misrouted to the wrong node on the cable system, or some other problem prevents the DVR from receiving the activation signals. Because the TiVo DVR is a one-way device, the headend has no way to determine that the signal was never received by the host. Your cable provider must determine if this is the case.


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## jherubin

Well I had to contact WOW again today since they never called back as promised (should have known). After over an hour on the phone with a rep who was talking back and forth with the NOC and dispatch personnel I can now say things are finally working. This rep went to bat for me and was able to reach some people that figured it out.

So I can say that WOW does now have M-Cards and from what I understand I may be one of the first to use one...especially with a Tivo.


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## cepler

jherubin said:


> So I can say that WOW does now have M-Cards and from what I understand I may be one of the first to use one...especially with a Tivo.


Did WoW charge you extra for the M-Card? What charge? Where are you located at? I'm in Columbus, OH and have a new HDTV enroute and we're considering an HD Tivo (Probably not the series 3 due to the nice refurb pricing on the HD Tivo) so am doing my research on cable cards and came upon this thread. Have been hacking 'round the TiVo Series 1's we have (3) and Series 2 (1) for quite a while now. Any input you can provide on your purchasing experience and costs would be appreciated.


----------



## jherubin

cepler said:


> Did WoW charge you extra for the M-Card? What charge? Where are you located at? I'm in Columbus, OH and have a new HDTV enroute and we're considering an HD Tivo (Probably not the series 3 due to the nice refurb pricing on the HD Tivo) so am doing my research on cable cards and came upon this thread. Have been hacking 'round the TiVo Series 1's we have (3) and Series 2 (1) for quite a while now. Any input you can provide on your purchasing experience and costs would be appreciated.


I am located in Metro Detroit. The package we have for cable includes the first cable box or cable card for no additional fee. This M-Card replaced our one and only cable box so we didn't pay anything...just swapped the box for the card.

Initially when I called I was supposed to get two single stream cards. In that case they would have charged me for the second card. I am not sure on the rate.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I'm also in Michigan. Is your M-card working properly now? I have two cable cards now and wonder what the advantage of an M-card would be for me.


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## jherubin

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> I'm also in Michigan. Is your M-card working properly now? I have two cable cards now and wonder what the advantage of an M-card would be for me.


Yes, my M-Card works great. The advantage for you would be that you wouldn't have to pay for the second one. You can still record using both tuners with one M-Card so the second card isn't necessary for that functionality.


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## Gecko4639

Does anyone know if I get an m-card and the Digital Value package from WOW, will I get HD stations like ESPN, Discovery, TNT, etc? I know the HD Pack would cost more, but are the other HD stations included in Digital Value? The QAM tuner on the Tivo already picks up the locals in HD and the digital music stations, so if I don't get those other HDs, I don't see the need for the Digital Value tier.


----------



## loganizzi

Without the HDPak you still get a number of HD channels including:

ABC 
CBS 
NBC 
Fox 
PBS* 
ESPN 
A&E 
Animal Planet 
Discovery 
TLC 
Fox Sports* 
Big Ten Network* 
My Network TV* 
CW* 
HD OnDemand* 

And one HD Movie Channel (Starz). Of course the HD OnDemand doesn't work with TiVo.

I never saw the value in paying extra for the HDPak. 

Now if they would just get USA, SciFi, FX, Comedy Central, etc. in HD!

C


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Call WOW and tell them you're probably going to switch to Comcast since their HD pak is cheaper. They may give you the HD pak for nothing--they did for me!


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## pkrasicky

M-Cards are not available from WOW yet. They're either out of stock or don't have them... the phone rep I talked too didn't know a ton about them but knew to say no when I asked for an M-Card.

My installation yesterday went off without a hitch. The tech was there for a grand total of a half hour. However, I've been noticing a lot of pixelation, especially in the low channels. I suspect low signal strength since the guy who lived in my house before me was an absolute nut and has over a dozen cable outlets installed. I did my best to disconnect as much as I could but I think my signal strength is still low. I'm going to look into amplifiers and see how that goes.


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## grantsa4

Anyone had any recent cable card install? I have 1 on saturday and I asked them to make a note to bring out more than 2 cable cards, just in case some have issues.

Is there anything else I should know?


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## jherubin

pkrasicky said:


> M-Cards are not available from WOW yet. They're either out of stock or don't have them... the phone rep I talked too didn't know a ton about them but knew to say no when I asked for an M-Card.
> 
> <snip>


I thought I would revisit this thread. I noticed you say that MCards were not available. Did you see my post from July? I have an MCard. They may not have reached all the installers but I have one and it is working with my WOW service.


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## jherubin

grantsa4 said:


> Anyone had any recent cable card install? I have 1 on saturday and I asked them to make a note to bring out more than 2 cable cards, just in case some have issues.
> 
> Is there anything else I should know?


So how did it go? Did your installer have single or multi-stream cards?


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## grantsa4

Install went great - installer was great - he used 1 multi-stream card. The customer service rep said they didn't have multi stream cards, but sure enough the installer did - everything is working great - very ahppy to have Tivo again


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## Gecko4639

Grantsa, I've got a TivoHD and am going to be scheduling a cable card installation within the next few weeks. Any advice on what I should ask for when speaking to customer service? Sounds like your tech knew what he was doing. How long did the installation take?


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## grantsa4

I asked them to bring more than 2 cable cards in case some did not work - due to reading forums like this that said some cable cards were faulty, but other than that I didn't ask for anything else. The installer brought about 5 cards and the first one worked perfectly.

Installation took maybe half an hour - I would advise going through your setup beforehand and downloading all the latest updates and setting up the Tivo other than the cable card side of things - it'll save you and the installer a lot of time


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## Gecko4639

Thanks. I've been using the Tivo for over a year now with just basic cable and OTA, so everything is already set up. Hopefully I get an installer as prepared as yours.


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## grantsa4

Hope so - if you have anymore questions just post away


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## Gecko4639

So I had some issues setting up my appointment. The first rep I spoke to tried telling me that WOW doesn't support Tivo and doesn't offer cable cards. I realized pretty quickly that he didn't understand what he was talking about and ended the conversation. I called back again today and spoke with another rep that at least knew about cable cards. However, there was a lot of confusion when I asked whether a cable card and Digital Value would get me the cable HD channels such as ESPN-HD or Discovery-HD. She didn't know, called her tech department, and got several different answers. Some said I'd get just local HDs with a cable card, others thought I might get the cable HDs, too. Some said I could only get cable HDs with an HD box.

Does anyone know whether the cable HDs are included with Digital Value and a cable card? I've heard they are, but now I'm not so confident. 

My installation is set up for tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully they'll install the m-card and I'll pick up those extra HD stations. If not, they're also bringing a box, so I'll just get that instead of the card and put it on one of my other TVs.


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## grantsa4

You should get all the channels you would get normally excluding On Demand with the cable cards. I am getting every channel I had before I had cable cards, except for On Demand


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## Gecko4639

I currently get the local HDs with the QAM tuner on the Tivo, but since I only have basic analog, I don't get the cable HDs like ESPN, Discovery, TNT, etc. I thought that once you get a cable card and DIgital Value, you'd get those cable HD channels. Is that right?


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## ted_b

I am a longtime Tivo (earlier Directivo, mutliple Series 2's, etc) user and yet a newbie when it comes to TivoHD. Just bought one (and a My DVR add-on) via Newegg (so it's not auto-activated, etc.). It is replacing a Series 2 in the family room, which will be getting a new flat panel hdtv in the next few weeks (to replace a current older Sony tube). I am a Cleveland-area WOW user. A few questions to all you great forum members:
1) WOW customer support tells me they can ship me card(s) or i can pick them up at the local WOW office (about 20 min away) or thirdly i can schedule a technician to come out. Should i attempt it myself? (the major downside being i doubt I can convince the local office to give me 5 cards in case one dies).
2) being that the fam room tv won't be HD for a couple weeks can i just run without the cards until then anyway? Will I still be able to dual tune? Note: the fam room Tivo setup is currently suboptimal cuz I have the cable split to digital cable box and tv....so we can watch if something is recording; I am very excited about the immediate better non-split signal and picture, easier channel tuning (poor lag, even with multiple channel tuning algorithms tried) and simpler non-split setup.
3) once cable card(s) are installed I assume i will be able to record HD channels for later viewing with new tv (i.e record 30 Rock on channel 202 NBC even though i won't be able to see it for a couple weeks).
4) I am going to transfer my grandfathered $6.99/monthly to the new TivoHD. I assume i will be able to still use the non-connected basement-dwelling Series 2 (networked but no service) so the kids can watch the recorded inventory, and possibly transfer anything we want to keep and/or view in the fam rm. ??

Any holes in this logic/setup?

Thx
Ted


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## grantsa4

Ted, from what I understood one of their installers had to install the cable cards. Seeing as some have had issues with problematic cable cards, I'd rather have an installer bring a few and get 1 working perfectly and they waived the installation fee for me.


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## grantsa4

Gecko, that should be right - I have the same setup as you and have ESPN HD, TNT HD, etc


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## ted_b

Thanks. You're probably right. I also thought of something else. Maybe I should wait until the flat panel HDTV arrives before having an installer show up, since I won't be able to really test/confirm the high def nature of any of the test channels, etc. Just because digital SD comes in doesn't mean the hidef channels are fine.

The Tivo tech guy (who answered the 1-866 dedicated cablecard hotline) thought that dual tuning was still available (on the analog channels below 100) but wasn't completely sure.


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## grantsa4

not sure about the dual tuning - it may need the cable card for that, but am not sure.

Good call to wait for the TV - hopefully it's coming sometime soon


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## Gecko4639

Ted,

You should be able to run the TivoHD without cable cards and be able to use the dual tuner with just basic cable. I've been doing that for a year now and it works fine. However I don't believe the dual tuner will work if you try to run the cable from a box to the Tivo. It has to be straight from the wall.


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## Gecko4639

Gransta,

Thanks for all your help. The installer is coming out this evening, so I've got my fingers crossed. By the way, I stumbled on the FAQ section of WOW's website and there is a "How do I get HDTV?" question there. The answer is "You'll need an HD box or a cable card, or if your TV has an HD tuner you may get some local networks." I wish I could get someone on the phone from WOW that knew that much. I have yet to find anyone there that understands QAM, cable cards, or really anything beyond their own cable box. At least the person that writes the FAQ section seems to understand something.


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## grantsa4

The customer support is touch and go - some are good, some are pretty useless, but I have always found them to be MUCH friendlier and more helpful than any other cable company I have used before.

Good luck with the install - please post afterwards and let us know how it went. I did a system update after the install and it maybe took a day for everything to be working perfectly. I had some youtube issues, but they they sorted themselves out. I am in just under 1 week with my cable card and so far am a very happy Tivo owner


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## Gecko4639

Well, the short version of the story is that the cable card was installed into my Tivo last night and everything worked like it was supposed to. However there were a few moments of doubt.

Here's the long version: The installer showed up and said he'd done cable card installations before. I handed him the Tivo instructions, but he didn't bother going through them. He inserted the m-card into the Tivo and started the installation process and everything appeared to be working fine. When installation was complete, he showed it was working by typing in channel 200 (ABC-HD). I asked him to try a cable HD like 211 (ESPN-HD). When he tried that, nothing but a gray screen. We tried the rest of the cable HDs and none were showing. So he called his support team and I could hear them on his phone telling him that with a cable card and Digital Value, I wouldn't get the cable HDs. He asked what package I'd need to sign up for to get them, and they didn't know. He also asked that they ping the card to make sure it was working properly, which they did and said it was. So while we were having this conversation we had left the TV and were by the computer setting up the modem. By the time we walked back to the TV (which was still set to 211), ESPN-HD was up and running! The installer was confused and first thought we were watching the SD version. I told him no and to try another cable HD. Sure enough, they all worked. 

In all, I had internet, a cable card, and a box installed and even with the issue with the card the installer was only here for about 35 minutes. So even though there still isn't a person in all of WOW customer support that understands Digital Value with cable cards, it seems to work just fine.


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## grantsa4

OK, good - as long as it works


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## ukiechef

for some reason i dont receive any channels above 207 it keeps showing me the grey screen. can anyone tell me how to fix this problem?


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Do you have the extended HD Pak?


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## ukiechef

yes i do i get them on my tv that is running the hd cable box from wow


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

ukiechef said:


> yes i do i get them on my tv that is running the hd cable box from wow


What tv do you NOT get them on? If it doesn't have a cable box or cable cards, that's why.


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## ted_b

Well, the tv showed up, I did the Guided setup, got all the analog stations, and local hd channels (although no guided info on those, of course) and today called Wow customer service for the cc install. They scheduled mine for like 10 days out, so I asked to pick up the card(s) at the local office. Our Cleveland-area Wow office is 20 minutes away and has NO LOCAL phone number?? Wow cust service assure me they'd have cards.

So I drove out there, explained my situation and got the put-your-dog-on-the-phone clueless tilt of the head thing. !?! They then called a technical mgr out to the lobby and he explained that they REALLY don't want customers trying this on their own, and that they only have S cards (M cards are included with their own boxes but they don't carry any extra). But he did do two nice things for me, mainly because (and he told me this) I knew something of what I was talking about:
1) he'll send a tech out tmrw (Tues morn) and said he'd bring extra cards
2) he'll charge me for one card only.

Overall, I'd give Wow a B- on this; not a completely wasted trip, and showed some customer service that made sense. 

I'll let you know how tmrw goes. 

Ted


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Not surprising, I asked if I could pick them up and install them. They said under no circumstances do they allow this. As it turns out, I knew a LOT more than their tech did, and he told me he may call me if he had any questions installing other customer's installs.

I'm guessing your install will go well, especially if you read this string.


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## ted_b

Well, the WOW cable installer showed up at noon (on time) and the process began on a bright note. He walked in and said that if I knew anything about TivoHD and the cable card specific issues he was all ears. He brought multiple S cards and was open to all Tivo recommendations. 

Overall the install went ok, but it took 2 hours. Why? Well, four reasons really:
1) He was in the queue for quite awhile on the phone with the activitation folks;
2) Card 2 was problematic and needed to be changed once;
3) The cards wouldn't find any of the new channels (the addtl ones not found in the guided setup done earlier in the week without cable cards) until we did a reboot and a new guided setup;
4) One full hour was taken with the Tivo reboot cuz it needed to do the 9.x to version 11 service upgrade. For whatever reason it wouldn't do that update without the cable cards. I even tried to force it a few times yesterday and the day before and it kept saying it needed to do a service update at 2am...which never materialized on either day.

Once v11 installed it went on about the Guided Setup, now asked me about premium channels, yada yada and then found everything....for cable card 1!! Cable card 2 continued to miss the new channels until an addtl cableco call (even though the MMI screens said it was activated and paired). After 2-3 minutes of worrying and wondering if card 2 was bad again..all channels were found and all was right in the world. 

I give WOW an A- on this. Only bad marks were for the incredibly slow phone responses and queue. The installer was very open and flexible, took good notes and brought extra cards...all i could ask for.

Now on to the 1TB upgrade! 

Ted


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

Glad to hear it went well, and that you're finally "all hooked up."


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## amarand

Had the WOW tech show up today with a single M-card. After following the TiVo procedures to the letter, we were able to get the card to sync up with the head-end as far as OOB goes, and things looked like they should work, but the majority of the channels either weren't working (for example, QVC should be on channel 11, and when I remove the CableCARD, it tunes to 11/QVC just fine, but with the CableCARD, nothing) or they were working but their channel numbers were totally off. The tech stayed for a few hours beyond the end of the scheduled service window, and we decided it would be best if they came back tomorrow (Saturday) with additional cards (I specified an M card and two S cards). I spent a few hours on the phone with the TiVo CableCARD hot-line, and they were extremely throughout. After many reboots, resets, guided-setups and card-reseats (not to mention a TELEVISION unplugging recommended...insisted...by WOW technician [couldn't hurt...but my thought was it couldn't help either - I actually asked the CSR: "You do realize the TV is an output device, right?"]) I'm just glad that I can pull the card and use the TiVoHD like a dual-tuner on the analog side. Is there anything this group can recommend based on the current TiVo and WOW climate? I'm on the current TiVo software (11) and can supply you any other information you need to assist.

Thanks!


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## amarand

Had a different tech show up today from WOW, first time he arrived, he didn't have a cable card. He was able to pickup another card later in the day, and returned. After putting the new card in, we're having the same problem as with the other card. He also spoke with the other technician out in the field, same geography, same card, same TiVoHD, same exact problem. So three cards (identical), two TiVoHD units, same geography and service provider, same problem.

Here's what I have:

- TiVo HD at the latest software revision (11)
- Scientific Atlanta Multi-Stream PowerKEY Model PKM800
Date Code: 07/28/2007 HW 1.2 "F"
- I have perfect signal strength on all channels, even the black ones, between 93 and 100, dipping sometimes to 85 but mainly stays rock-solid between 93 and 100.
- There is an OOB lock, channel guide is downloading, CA is authorized, things just look good based on what I'm seeing on the TiVo CableCARD troubleshooting site and PDF files.

Here's what I'm experiencing:

- Channels are not where they should be, so, for example, channel 11 should be QVC, and if I remove the CableCARD, I can tune all the regular channels just fine. When I place the CableCARD in, the whole standard TV package shifts up into the 100's. Music Choice should start at 500 and go to 547, but it's actually down where the HD channels should be at around 200. HD channels are somewhere in the high 200's, so when I tune to 299, I get something in the middle of the HD line-up. If I channel up or down, the channels are in-order within their class, but NONE of the channels "line up" with what I expect. I have not audited each and every channel, but I will do so when I get a chance, to see if anything's missing.

I have an escalated call in with TiVo, which is showing as assigned to a L2 engineer. I will also have the cable company come back out with (hopefully) two single cards, and two multi cards on Monday. At this point, I don't think it's a problem with the cards being bad as individual cards, if anything it seems like it might be a problem endemic with my geography, the head-end and the cards themselves. But someone feel free to prove me wrong. 

Any ideas? Things to try? TiVo thinks it's the card, WOW isn't sure what it is...and I'm not entirely sure how to progress. Is it just a problem with my area?


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I'm sorry, I can't help you--no "M" card here, just two standard cable cards. What area are you in?


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## amarand

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> I'm sorry, I can't help you--no "M" card here, just two standard cable cards. What area are you in?


Oops sorry, didn't include that. I'm in the Columbus, Ohio area, west-side (Galloway) near Hilliard.


----------



## dino360

Gecko4639 do you have any idea if TivoHD without cable cards allows you to get the local HD channels? I am thinking about just getting the basic cable (no cable cards) if I can still get the local channels in HD from the cable company (not via antenna).



Gecko4639 said:


> Ted,
> 
> You should be able to run the TivoHD without cable cards and be able to use the dual tuner with just basic cable. I've been doing that for a year now and it works fine. However I don't believe the dual tuner will work if you try to run the cable from a box to the Tivo. It has to be straight from the wall.


----------



## Gecko4639

Dino,

Yes, a TivoHD without cable cards will get you the local HDs. If you get basic cable, hook it up to the Tivo, and do a channel scan, you should get ABC, NBC, CBS, etc in HD plus all the Music Choice digital music channels. 

However, you won't have any guide information for those HD channels because the Tivo doesn't know what they are. So if you want to record something on them, you have to do a manual recording like you would on a VCR. You'll have to set up something like "Channel 200, Monday 12/29, 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM".


----------



## amarand

After four trips from the WoW technicians, the issue was "resolved" in a few hours by replacing the multi-card with two single-cards. The firmware on the cards both updated, took about 30 minutes apiece, and we waited until one card was happy until we worked with the next card.

With the multi-cards, all the channels were coming in, but they were (by tier) moved all around the channel spectrum. So, for example, QVC should be on channel 11 in my geography, yet it was up in the 100-range. Within that range, they were "in order" just shifted. Movie choice was down where the HD should have been, and the HD was up in the 300 range where the movie choice should have been.

The single-cards needed a firmware update and then a TiVo reboot to get things happy. Then the tech had to call back and coordinate with both the regular CSRs (front-line) and then the backline NOC. After three or four calls, he finally got through to someone who could fix the problem we were experiencing (which was half of the HD channels not being visible, and the "digital" package missing as well). After a few re-sends/resets things came back up on both tuners (the first cable card was happier first) and we stepped through the problem channels on both tuners.

For those of you considering getting your CableCARDs installed on a TiVo HD, here are some personal pointers:

1) Don't mess with the TiVo while the firmware is being updated. The TiVo will automatically do something (go back to a previous menu or whatever) once it's done. Firmware updates can brick a card, and if your installer only brought one or two, you should be very careful with what you do until you're certain the firmware is up to date. You can check your firmware revision going into it, and make sure it's updated and all the settings are looking good.

2) The single cards (PKM600) in my unit seem to have three out of the six options set to "RESERVED" under the CableCARD diagnostics screen, whereas the multi-card (PKM800) had all six available to me. Don't worry about it, almost all the information you really need is still available on the three that are showing.

3) I have escalated the multi-card problem within TiVo, but if you have a problem, you should probably report it as well. They probably allocate development and testing resources based on the number of complaints. I'd love to find out that this is a TiVo glitch, and that it's something they can fix with a simple software push...that would proactively solve some of these problems before anyone else gets hit with them. It's most likely the cable company, however, as the channel list, I'm seeing, is being pushed from the head-end. TiVo has all their data accurate, so if the channel list maps frequencies to channels, TiVo has no way to override that. So it's most likely a problem with WoW. Anyone else have this experience?

4) INSIST that the installer bring TWO multi-cards and at least TWO single-cards. The last installer brought three single and two multi; this made me happy. They'd already performed three truck rolls, and each time brought ONE card...sad. Don't just tell the CSR that you want them to put it in the notes...I would call back the night before the appointment and ask them to notify the assigned engineer that they need to pick up extra cards at the warehouse. The third guy to come out showed up to apologize that he hadn't even brought a single card out! Bad mojo.

5) Don't give up if the channels are in the right place, but just some of them are missing. While the "wrong place" issue is still in the process of being worked out, the "right place, channels missing" issue is handled entirely by the CSR and NOC group. I believe the NOC group handles pushing the right stuff through, enables and disables channels, etc. The CSR group ensures that the appropriate package is entered and billed. So if the CSR group has it messed up, the NOC isn't authorized to do much...but just because your package shows correctly to the CSR group, doesn't mean the NOC has pushed the appropriate data through to the appropriate card(s).

6) Although the Host ID does not appear to change based on the card inserted, it does appear to change based on the SLOT. So if you're switching out the mult-card in slot 1 each time, the Host ID won't change (my tech kept checking it). Once you start getting into the single-cards and using both slots, you'll notice that the second slot is different from the first slot (Host ID wise) and both of these numbers need to be reported to their NOC in order to push the appropriate program data through.

Isn't encryption and DRM grand? Get used to it.... On the one hand, we have the Law, on the other hand, we have lobbyists trying to get around the Law in nefarious ways. As long as there are folks out there keeping them honest, that's all that matters, right?


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## dino360

Gecko4639,

So it sounds like it wouldn't be worth it to do it without the cable cards. That's one of the features I most like about Tivo (to Season Pass shows and then not have to worry if the time changes).


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## Gecko4639

Dino,

You can sort of set a season pass. For instance, you can set a manual recording for every Monday, channel 200, 7:00 - 7:30 PM. But if the schedule is changed or the episode is a rerun or something like that, Tivo won't know the difference.

If you do decide to add the cable card, Digital Value will give you all the basic channels, local HDs, plus cable HDs like ESPN, Discovery, TNT, etc. I had an M-card installed in my TivoHD last month and the installation went well. There was a brief moment where it looked like the card didn't work, but then everything that was supposed to be there was there. The installer was in and out in just over a half hour (and that included internet set up, too).


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

amarand said:


> After four trips from the WoW technicians, the issue was "resolved" in a few hours by replacing the multi-card with two single-cards. The firmware on the cards both updated, took about 30 minutes apiece, and we waited until one card was happy until we worked with the next card.


Are they only charging you for one card, since they couldn't get it to work?

Glad to hear you're done!


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## amarand

ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> Are they only charging you for one card, since they couldn't get it to work?


I suspect they will charge me for two, so I will squawk. 



ThreeSoFar'sBro said:


> Glad to hear you're done!


Mostly. I will help TiVo out if the Level 2 calls me...as I do have the multi-card in reserve for that very purpose. It's not cool that there's a problem with the cable card that the cable company doesn't want to address. It seems, to me, that the channel mapping would all be on their end, having nothing to do with TiVo. Hope it gives them more ammunition with the FCC.


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## c615586

So I am considering switching to WOW from TWC because of the switched digital video issues and the ever escalating monthly bills.

How comparable is WOW to TWC as far as M-card availability and service in the Columbus, OH area? Is channel selection decent?

I will probably also use their internet and phone services, too. Does anyone have any experience/opinions regarding their other services?

Thanks in advance.


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## amarand

c615586 said:


> So I am considering switching to WOW from TWC because of the switched digital video issues and the ever escalating monthly bills.
> 
> How comparable is WOW to TWC as far as M-card availability and service in the Columbus, OH area? Is channel selection decent?
> 
> I will probably also use their internet and phone services, too. Does anyone have any experience/opinions regarding their other services?
> 
> Thanks in advance.


In my personal, recent experience, WOW in Columbus, Ohio has older M-Cards, they provide half-hearted support for them (read my earlier post about the channel map being completely wrong), so if you need an M-Card rather than two S-Cards, I would recommend not going with WOW until they have it figured out. Also, make sure you insist that they bring multiple cards with them, of both type, as people have spoken of issues with some of the cards.

When the tech was on-site, he spoke with another tech in our area who was also attempting an M-Card install in a TiVo HD - same problem. They "resolved" the issue by using two S-Cards. Of course, that's not really a fix, not at all...but other than that, WoW's been pretty good for me. Less expensive, decent phone support, and may or may not have the same SDV policies as TWC.

When I spoke with TWC about the cable cards, they stated that they only support the S-Cards, so maybe they had the same problem with the Scientific Atlanta M-Cards and decided it wasn't worth the support costs?

I cannot speak for their phone or Internet service.


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## c615586

I just saw a post on another forum--Rochester NY is getting sdv adaptors. Anyone here have experience with them?


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## c615586

amarand said:


> In my personal, recent experience, WOW in Columbus, Ohio has older M-Cards, they provide half-hearted support for them (read my earlier post about the channel map being completely wrong), so if you need an M-Card rather than two S-Cards, I would recommend not going with WOW until they have it figured out. Also, make sure you insist that they bring multiple cards with them, of both type, as people have spoken of issues with some of the cards.
> 
> When the tech was on-site, he spoke with another tech in our area who was also attempting an M-Card install in a TiVo HD - same problem. They "resolved" the issue by using two S-Cards. Of course, that's not really a fix, not at all...but other than that, WoW's been pretty good for me. Less expensive, decent phone support, and may or may not have the same SDV policies as TWC.
> 
> When I spoke with TWC about the cable cards, they stated that they only support the S-Cards, so maybe they had the same problem with the Scientific Atlanta M-Cards and decided it wasn't worth the support costs?
> 
> I cannot speak for their phone or Internet service.


Thanks for the tips. I need to get a final quote to see if there is a financial benefit for moving over to WOW. If TWC comes up with SDV adapters, then I would definitely stay with them.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I've had WOW since they came to my neighborhood (about 3-4 years, at least). I only recently added phone service.

Good customer service (especially their on-site techs--not always TiVo knowledgeable, but always polite), and you can ask for discounts.


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## ted_b

So has this happened to you (not necessarily a WOW issue but I thought I'd post on this thread cuz it's a follow-up to my WOW installer story earlier):
* I use both tuners on TivoHD a lot. I see that I keep missing a show or two a week cuz my CableCard 2 slot goes dead (unauthorized), until i reboot and all is fine. I haven't timed it or anything; I always find out after the fact. In my case, it's really pissing me off cuz I'm recording and watching Curb your Enthusiasm's in order, and when i miss a day it's gone.

(Note: I had a billing issue a few weeks ago and when on the phone saw that they were charging me for two cards, even though the installer and his manager swore they would make a note that because they were without M-cards they would charge em only one. Now I'm paranoid that my success in convincing billing to charge me only one has something to do with my second card going dead all the time, as if it's checking and saying "deauthorize".)

Any experience? Thx
Ted


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## grantsa4

I thought the 1st card was supposed to be free


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

WOW charges for each card (at least that's been my experience). However, if you "ask correctly" you get discounts.


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## TroyB

The apartment place I live in just ended their exclusitivity with Time Warner and now I am supposed to be able to have any cable company come in and give me service.
I had WOW in a different area and liked that they didn't use SDV, Copy Flags, internet caps or anything to hinder the Tivo from doing what it was designed to do.
My question is that was over a year ago and would like to have feedback from someone in the Columbus area that can tell me if this is still the case, or are they like Time Warner now and use SDV now and block all channels from MRV use.
I would love to kick Time Warner to the curb!


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## va176thunderbolt

I can verify the MRV works with WoW. You'll most likely end up with 2 S cards, but once configured, they seem to work fine. I have 2 HD unitsand use the MRV quite a bit.

They are not using SDV in Columbus.

Adam


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## nrc

TroyB said:


> My question is that was over a year ago and would like to have feedback from someone in the Columbus area that can tell me if this is still the case, or are they like Time Warner now and use SDV now and block all channels from MRV use.


As of right now WOW in Columbus does not use SDV and does not set any copy protect flags that I've encountered. Mainly what I've transfered are broadcast networks, ESPN, NFL, HBO, Starz, and HDNET Movies.

I'm very happy with WOW. My only gripe about them is that they don't carry the NFL Network games.


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## TroyB

nrc said:


> As of right now WOW in Columbus does not use SDV and does not set any copy protect flags that I've encountered. Mainly what I've transfered are broadcast networks, ESPN, NFL, HBO, Starz, and HDNET Movies.
> 
> I'm very happy with WOW. My only gripe about them is that they don't carry the NFL Network games.


Thank you very much for the info, greatly appreciated.


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## Razorbak

FYI, a couple of new channels were recently added to WOW's Digital Cable line-up in the Chicago Suburbs: AMC HD (236) and MGM HD (213). 

Unfortunately, AMC HD doesn't yet have any TiVo Live Guide data, so it is impossible to set up a new Season Pass for the HD version of Mad Men. Similarly, MGM HD is currently displaying the old TiVo Live Guide data for HDNET Movies, the old channel which was just replaced.

I have submitted Line-up Changes to TiVo, so hopefully both problems will be corrected soon.


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## nrc

I received a notice today that WOW in Columbus will be converting to all-digital starting at the end of March. The letter states that no action will be required by those with cableCard and there's no mention of tuning adapters.

Wow expects to add 50 HD channels during the conversion. The letter and their FAQ imply that TiVo and cableCard devices should work with no changes - no mention of Tuning Adapters. Let's hope that's correct.


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

I rec'd the same letter last month (Michigan). I've also been told by WOW techs that they have a new DVR coming out some time this year that will be similar to Uverse, where you can record 4 shows simultaneously, ALL in HD. That could be interesting.


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## mojomba

I have been having issues with my cable cards since the WOW digital conversion began. I suppose this could be a coincidence but starting the last week of March my TiVo HD's cable cards have intermittently stopped working. Some times it happens when I change channels but I usually notice it when we turn on the TV for the first time in the day. Re-booting fixes it some times but I will eventually lose the signal on one or both cable cards over the course of a day or two. The cards will sometimes start working again without a reboot too.

WOW came on site and removed a booster I have been using for years and re-terminated some cables but nothing has changed.

Is anyone else having issues with cable cards especially since the digital conversion started?


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## ThreeSoFar'sBro

mojomba said:


> I have been having issues with my cable cards since the WOW digital conversion began. I suppose this could be a coincidence but starting the last week of March my TiVo HD's cable cards have intermittently stopped working. Some times it happens when I change channels but I usually notice it when we turn on the TV for the first time in the day. Re-booting fixes it some times but I will eventually lose the signal on one or both cable cards over the course of a day or two. The cards will sometimes start working again without a reboot too.
> 
> WOW came on site and removed a booster I have been using for years and re-terminated some cables but nothing has changed.
> 
> Is anyone else having issues with cable cards especially since the digital conversion started?


No problem here. Have you re-seated the cards (remove and reinsert) rather than rebooting the TiVo?


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## jrm01

WOW has posted transition info on their website detailing the planned changes. It is the most informative advanced notice that I have ever seen (submitted by a user at tivo.com).

The interesting thing is the plan to provide all of the channels in clear-QAM and even posting the channel numbers (lower right hand corner). If TiVo would only use this info in their program guide their would be no need for cablecards (except probably for premium channels).

https://www.wowdigitaladapter.com/DigitalTransitionSchedule.aspx


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## tekknosk8er

Ok, I need a lesson in Tivo and WOW cable cards. 

I have a TCD648250B Series 3 HD Tivo. I purchased 2 cable cards (Motorola M-card) off ebay because of this new all digital service transition. Finding out that these cards do not allow you to recieve WOWs new all digital signal. So I call WOW, spoke with the first lady, she said that you cannot use cable cards, you have to buy the digital basic service mimimally at a $18/month upgrade price. I wanted to know why my cards didnt work, so I waited 30min to speak to her supervisor. Got the super on the phone, again she didnt know much more than the first lady, and kept telling me no, you cannot use other equipment you have to use our cards and upgrade your basic cable to digital basic cable at a $18/month upgrade. So I am going to buy WOWs cable cards at $3.50 a pop, for both tuners, and she is going to give me a discount for the difference of package upgrade for 12 months, then every year I have to call and do another complaint to get the discount to counter the cost of the digital basic service. Which I am totally not happy with.

My questions:
1. what is the difference between WOWs cable card, and a regular Motorola M-card, I already know the diff between S and M cards.

2. Is there anyway to make my Tivo use this Motorola M-card? I think it used to work before the transistion.

3. why do I need digital basic service? why cant I use my standard service? 

I talked to the supervisor about what a cable tech does to setup their card in their equipment and she said basically the follow on screen instructions, and there isnt anything really like flipping a switch on their end or anything. There is the activation of new digital tuners you can online or over the phone, that didnt work either for my tivo btw.

HELP!


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## nrc

Sorry that nobody answered these questions for you at the time. Just for the record...



tekknosk8er said:


> 1. what is the difference between WOWs cable card, and a regular Motorola M-card, I already know the diff between S and M cards.


There is probably no difference. They require that customers lease CableCARDs from them. As far as I know they're allowed to do that.



> 2. Is there anyway to make my Tivo use this Motorola M-card? I think it used to work before the transistion.


Not without WOW's support.



> 3. why do I need digital basic service? why cant I use my standard service?


Since WOW has gone all digital their old Basic package is the same as Digital Basic according to their web site. If you had Limited Basic then I don't think they're required to support CableCARD on that tier.



> I talked to the supervisor about what a cable tech does to setup their card in their equipment and she said basically the follow on screen instructions, and there isnt anything really like flipping a switch on their end or anything. There is the activation of new digital tuners you can online or over the phone, that didnt work either for my tivo btw.


As you've hopefully discovered by now, they're incorrect. You provide them with information from your cableCARD and then they use the information to activate your card.


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## nrc

What I actually dug this thread up to post was they WOW has posted information about their BYOB credit.

http://www.wowway.com/internet-cable-phone-company/terms-and-conditions/equipment-rental-fees/


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## medmunds

Update on WOW and cablecards, based on my actual experience last week (12/2012). This was with WOW Southeast Michigan (what TiVo calls "WOW Detroit").


WOW allows self-install (without any arguing or need to cite FCC rules). You can pick up an M-card at one of their customer service offices.
You'll want the "Extended Digital" lineup. (And apparently TiVo has relocated all of southeast Michigan into "Plymouth Township" -- don't be alarmed.)
The call to activate the cablecard was ultimately successful, but very time consuming. WOW apparently switched to a new customer service system recently, and the rep I got had never activated a cablecard through it before. (It sounded like it had some confusing screens, as she was on the phone to her internal helpdesk several times during our call.)
Double-check _every type_ of channel you receive while you're still on the phone with the rep. And check all your other WOW equipment, too. It took four tries to get all the channels we were paying for successfully activated. And then three more attempts to fix our other (non-TiVo) cable box that somehow became deactivated during the call.

There's probably a better list elsewhere of channels to verify, but here are the specific categories we had trouble with at various points during activation:

Local broadcast -- e.g., ABC (non-HD)
Local broadcast HD
Extended cable -- e.g., CNN
Extended cable HD
"HD Pak" -- a handful of channels that are billed (and authorized) separately -- e.g., Universal HD
Premium channels (we didn't have any, but presumably you'd want to check each of these if you have them)

BTW, despite the 45-minute call needed to get the activation all sorted out, I'd have to call the experience with WOW entirely reasonable, compared to other another major cable COMpany I've dealt with on TiVo activation issues. One call, no truck roll, and everything working at the end of the call is surprisingly good.

Mike


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## HomeUser

I switched to WOW from Comcast 2 years ago I really liked WOW's service. It's been more than a year between posts here I guess that says it all.

I replaced a TiVo earlier this year and it took less then 15 minutes on the phone with service to setup the card. My location was WOW Detroit with Northville as the location.

I sure hope they get this new system straightened out I had flashbacks to the Comcast experience when I contacted billing two months ago to find out where my bill was. The billing was delayed with the changeover to the new system.


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## foamy909

Resurrecting an old post on WOW...posted this over at Broadband Reports as well...

Anyone with a Tivo and cablecards should probably keep a close eye on their bill. I just got off the phone with WOW billing after I noticed I was not receiving the Customer Equipment Discount that it spelled out on their website, as I do not have one of their cable boxes.

http://www.wowway.com/terms-and-conditions/equipment-rental-fees

After talking to them, it appears that the discount is similar to their 'long-time customer' discounts that are set up to expire after a year. Unlike the cablecard charge, which once it is set up, it will continue to be billed. In other words, it puts the onus on the customer to make sure they are getting the discount they are owed per the FCC.

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/cablecard-know-your-rights

They are supposed to call me back after talking with a supervisor. I am going to ask for a billing history and see if I can get a retro credit if I am due one.

The rep I spoke with said that since there is no equipment, the discount cannot be set up any other way. I would disagree, and say that the discount should be an option to be tied to the primary cablecard. As long as that primary card is being charged, the discount should be given as well.

I will keep you posted. If I don't feel the response is adequate, I may escalate to the WOW blog or e-mail a senior customer care rep that I have dealt with in the past.


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## mpinegar

Got my TiVo Roamio Plus, hooked it up,installed m card,called wow,they activated it,downloaded guide set up,and BAM, I was up and running.Fast!
This new Roamio is fast and a beautiful UI.&#128077;&#128077;&#128077;


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## rkl32

I am in Columbus, Ohio and changing from Time Warner to WOW.
I understand that I can just return the TW cable cards and tuning adapters (I have 2)?
I have Roamio Pro and also a Hauppauge DCR-2650 cable card tuner which I use with Windows Media Center on Windows 7.
I have a general question about One Pass Manager. Can I just edit to reflect the new channel numbers, or will I have to delete all One Pass and start over?
Also will my saved files be still available?
I know there is one person in Columbus on this forum (nrc) with whom I would like to communicate but since I have not yet posted 5 times I can't send private messages.
Maybe he can send me a message. thanks.


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## ej42137

rkl32 said:


> I am in Columbus, Ohio and changing from Time Warner to WOW.
> I understand that I can just return the TW cable cards and tuning adapters (I have 2)?
> I have Roamio Pro and also a Hauppauge DCR-2650 cable card tuner which I use with Windows Media Center on Windows 7.
> I have a general question about One Pass Manager. Can I just edit to reflect the new channel numbers, or will I have to delete all One Pass and start over?
> Also will my saved files be still available?
> I know there is one person in Columbus on this forum (nrc) with whom I would like to communicate but since I have not yet posted 5 times I can't send private messages.
> Maybe he can send me a message. thanks.


I would presume you'd have to rerun Guided Setup to apply your new Zip code and provider, and then connect to load new guide data. Once that is done, the program IDs matching your One Passes should have entries with the new channels in your TiVo's local database and you should be able to edit your One Passes.


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## Justus65

Hi! I am in Columbus, Ohio and just had WoW remove their convertor box & install a card in my Roamio. After going through setup, everything seemed fine. We checked several channels, including HBO and all were good. After the installer left, I noticed I was only getting 8 channels in HD + HBO. Everything above 208 gives the (V58) error saying the channel is not authorized. All HBO HD channels work, but not the HD On-demand. 
I called WoW back and we tried several things, but nothing worked. Anyone have any ideas what might be going on? Doesn't make sense that some HD works, but most don't.
I have the WoW Medium cable, so the middle tier lineup of service.
They are sending another tech out to replace the card, but not till Monday afternoon.


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## mdavej

On demand doesn't work with cable card for most providers. Use HBO Go. It's on your TiVo.

As for the missing channels, sounds like card isn't really paired. Check the card diags for nonzero V number.


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## HomeUser

I don't think WOW has the capability for "On-demand" with the consumer versions of TiVo.

You definitely should be getting more than just 8 HD channels with the medium cable package.

It may take awhile before all the channels get enabled, TNT ch 209 and several more should be working by now.


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## Justus65

Thanks all, it turned out to be a setting at WOW. The installer had me call tech support again & this time I got someone who understood the problem I had & was able to correct it. Still no On-demand, but I will try HBO-Go.


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