Cable Cards

[HiFiTy]

How many people with new HDTVs and Time Warner Cable service are successfully using Cable Cards with their TVs?  I am hearing about more than a few problems with the system.  I am fully aware of all the main drawbacks of the cable card such as:
No iControl or InDemand
No PPV
No special sports packages
No On-Screen Guide (except with Toshiba and RCA TVs)
No DVR (unless you have an add-on hard drive unit)

And then there are the benefits:
One less box in your A/V rack
Cheaper rental fees

There are two main problems I am hearing about. First is TWC reps and installers not knowing about the service and refusing to set up customers with Cable Cards.  Second is some brands of TVs (especially Hitachi) not being compatible with TWC Cable Cards.  

Can TWC workers and customers please chime in and offer their input and experiences?

Thanks,

[jerbear]

I have a cable card on in my new Mit. The anolog channels are better with the card.
The only problem I have is sometimes the picture turns green when I go from channel 545 to 541. I had a lot of problems with TWC cable box
Jerbear

[Andrew Grall]

I will be getting a new TV with cablecard soon...

Can you pick these up at the kiosk in Mayfair mall like you could the HD converter or do you need to schedule an appointment.

I have never yet used pay-per-view or in-Demand.  If they start offering more HD via those routes, perhaps I'll change my mind about needing them.

[jerbear]

I got my cable card from TWC, no charge. It must be installed by TWC.
Jerbear

[mhz40]

The card has to be installed by TW.  Several problems have been introduced at the CE side by TV manufacturers not abiding by the CableLabs spec, or other incompatabilites on the cable end.  In most cases these problems are identified and handled in a timely (2-3 week) timeframe.  If you want a cablecard set, don't let the bleeding edge technology issues hold you back.

PS- If you change TV's, even for the same model; TW needs to get involved before the card will work on the new set.

[neal]

I've had the Mitsubishi WD-52525 DLP with CableCard for nearly 3 months and have had NUMEROUS problems...

On their first attempt to install the CableCard, the Time Warner tech was here for 2 hours before he gave up after determining that the set needed a firmware upgrade!  Apparently Mits knowingly let their resellers move these sets after they found they had shipped them with buggy FW and they don't proactively offer an upgrade until the customer goes through this headache and figures out to ask for it themselves!

After Mits finally got me the 4.03 update, TW came back and was able to install and initialize the CableCard but that's when the flakey behavior really began.  We soon experienced breaking up of picture/sound on digital channels, occasional "161-53" error messages, and soon the digital channels stopped working completely.

On the third visit, two TW techs showed up and they said "its probably the SA CableCard, we have been going through them like candy." They replaced the card but when they called back to the head office to authorize it no one answered the phone (I was last apt on Sat afternoon)! So they put the first card back in and said they would be back on Monday. They also confirmed adequate signal, but they did replace a "ground connection" outside the house. Funny thing was after the TW techs had removed and reinserted the original card on their third visit it did start working again and the digital picture blocking did also seem be virtually eliminated. Only problem was that now a few analog channels could now not be accessed by direct entry but only by the up down buttons (e.g. "6; enter" would not work but "7; enter; chan-down" would). This prevented the PIP from working with any of the affected channels!

When TW came back the forth time and replaced the CableCard they did get everything working OK and everything remained OK for about a month or so, but then the flakey behavior started again. More breaking / freezing / blue screens on digital channels, more "161-53" error messages, and several times the digital channels stopped until I removed / reinserted the CableCard. Now whatever I do, I can't get some analog channels to work by direct entry.

At this point I am not sure if the problem is my set (i.e. hardware), more bugs in the Mits firmware, the CableCard, or still the Time Warner signal (e.g. some kind of distortion, time domain dispersion, etc.) I suspect it is a combination of several of these, but I am afraid TW and Mits are going to just point fingers at each other.

I have yet not pursued it further because I've been too busy to sit at home for service calls or otherwise bird-dog Mits/TW and was hoping similar complaints might surface on the web pointing to a systemic problem.

I did find one report of this kind of behavior attributed to poor cable signal (http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages/du42py10xpf.htm) but, as I say, TW checked the level and said it was OK.  I also checked the level myself and measured between -56 and –60 dBm on all digital channels which I'd guess is decent though I don't have a sensitivity spec for the Mits tuner.  I also removed a 4-way splitter which should have increased the signal 7 dB or so but this had no effect either.  Does anyone know the typical requirements for digital cable tuners?

-Neal

[Gregg Lengling]

Being in the business of selling Cable Card sets I must tell you that NO MANUFACTURER has created a set that is 100% compatible with the Cable Cards that the companies are using.  Thus a lot of times it's hit or miss.  The certification for Cable Card sets has left a lot to be desired and I can only blame that on the whole fiasco and not on a manufacturer or  the Cable industry.  I will tell you however that I've yet to hear from a customer that they've had a problem with a Toshiba Cable Ready set,  it seems at least one manufacturer is selling sets that work with ALL cable cards.