CableCard and HD Channels

[Mykroft]

Does anyone know for sure if TWC in Milwaukee is using Switched Digital Video for any of their HD channels?  I just got a Vista Media Center PC with the digital cable tuner and two cable cards installed and I am missing several HD channels.  TWC tech's seem to be clueless as to why they're not working.  I get them fine on my HD converter box.  That's why I'm suspecting SDV.

[kevbeck122]

They only do SDV on 528 - ESPN2HD, also on several SD channels in the 100s.

[Mykroft]

Ok, so my next question is: is there anyone else out there with CableCARD that is able to get Universal HD, MojoHD and HDNET?    I, for some reason, cannot.

[HDefinicktion]

This could eventually be an interesting thread considering you are mixing TWC, which many have choice things to say about them at the moment, mixed with Vista and the issues that it is having.  From the computer side of things, I have heard others having difficulties pulling channels with cable cards on other providers such as Cox out west, and Comcast in the Southeast.  That was occuring on Windows MCE, not Vista.  For a while I had debated on doing the same thing, but decided not too after some others were having difficulties even pulling on nonencrypted channels.  Let us know what you come up with, I am very curious.  Have you contacted TWC about the issue?  I assume since you are not putting the cable card into a TV, they are of little help.

[Mykroft]

This could eventually be an interesting thread considering you are mixing TWC, which many have choice things to say about them at the moment, mixed with Vista and the issues that it is having.  From the computer side of things, I have heard others having difficulties pulling channels with cable cards on other providers such as Cox out west, and Comcast in the Southeast.  That was occuring on Windows MCE, not Vista.  For a while I had debated on doing the same thing, but decided not too after some others were having difficulties even pulling on nonencrypted channels.  Let us know what you come up with, I am very curious.  Have you contacted TWC about the issue?  I assume since you are not putting the cable card into a TV, they are of little help.

Actually, I just got my problem resolved.  Yes, TWC has been quite responsive to my requests. I've had tech's come out almost every day since my install last Friday.  They've been focusing on a signal issue with the cable coming into my house, but haven't quite resolved that yet.  Fortunately, the quality of my channels are pretty good, with only minor pixellation from time to time.  

On a whim, the tech working out at my house today decided to call back and have them review the channels on my account.  Turns out whoever setup my service applied the HD package ONLY to my HD converter box (Which I only got for PPV and VOD), and NOT to my CableCARD's.  Funny thing is, I asked someone at customer support that VERY question, and they said it "Should" be the same on all the devices.

Anyway, I have my missing channels now, and they're still working on the low signal strength issue, which is less of a concern for me now.

Vista itself, along with the CableCARDs, are actually working quite well.  I've only had a few minor glitches with the picture.  99% of the time, the quality is excellent.

The only thing that is still not quite right for me is that ESPN2HD is not coming through right on my CableCARD setup.  Instead of ESPN, I get a full time TWC preview channel.  This is, as I've read, due to SDV being tested there.  I'm not as concerned about this now, but it may be more of a problem down the road.  Time will tell.

[HDefinicktion]

Well, I  figured it was going to be one or the other.  I am glad the Vista end of it has been going well for you, I made the jump early, and installed my XP another two weeks later.  I figure by the end of the year, I might install it again.  I am glad the TWC helped you out in this case, since I would also assume that whatever package you have on the set top box would also be on the card from the start.  I am curious to know what type of computer you purchased, and what type of tuner card(s) you got with it.  Are you using the Vista media center to do your recording, or SageTV or BeyondTV?

[Mykroft]

I am curious to know what type of computer you purchased, and what type of tuner card(s) you got with it.  Are you using the Vista media center to do your recording, or SageTV or BeyondTV?

It's a Velocity Micro Cinemagix Pro PC.  The tuner's are the new ATI Digital Cable tuners (aka OCUR tuners)  Velocity Micro support is the best I have seen, period.  They are very good at what they do.  If you do end up buying, mention my name (Michael Buonaccorsi) for a $25 Best Buy gift card.

And yes, I am using Vista media center to do recording, tuning, etc...  I have two of the ATI DCT's installed internally, each with a CableCard installed.

[Gadgetguy]

I'm a little late on jumping in on this .. but I have had significant issues with CableCard installs.

I recently purchased a Sony KDL-52XBR4 and a Tivo Series 3. I bought the latter because the price had fallen to about $360, after rebate, and I've always been captivated by its capabilities, mainly including the ability to record HD OTA, as well as from cable.

I called TWC to install the  2 CableCards on the Tivo, attached to the new set, and another CableCard on the set that it displaced. I attached my SA8300HD, at least temporarily, to the new set.

I relocated my old 'main set' and had a CableCard installed on it. I also have a CableCard on another HD set.

The Tivo was an issue to get setup .. eventually, after the tech left, I figured out that the signal strength was insufficient to get all channels. I fixed this issue by adding a booster that I happened to have in stock.

The other CableCard install went smoothly, except for the channel issue detailed below.

On all of my CableCards, there are missing, or wrong channels. I do subscribe to the missing channels since they do appear on my SA8300HD. Here's the story ...

440 Sundance     No Signal
528 ESPN2 HD    TWC Preview Channel
532 UNIV HD       No Signal
534 TBS HD         TWC Preview Channel
537 HGTV HD       TWC Preview Channel
542 A&E HD         TWC Preview Channel
545 MOJO HD      No Signal
547 HDNET          No Signal

I've gotten reset 'hits' as part of a couple of service calls. It does seem like the CableCard authorizations are out of sync with the 8300HD authorizations. I can't seem to get this across to the TWC folks, who seem to be woefully unfamiliar with CableCards, so any help would be appreciated!

Thanks ...

[Mykroft]

Sounds to me like the problem you're having with the newer HD channels showing up as the TWC preview channels is a Switched Digital Video issue.

TWC and other major cable companies are starting to roll out SDV to reduce the amount of bandwidth that all their channels consume on the cable.  Since HD channels require alot more bandwidth per channel than non-HD, and because they're pretty much maxed out on bandwidth, they have to use SDV to add newer HD channels.

SDV essentially is a system where by the cable box on the client side tells the head-end (a node upstream from the client) that they want to watch a certain channel and ONLY that channel is piped down to the client, rather than blasting ALL channels ALL the time.

Sadly though, CableCard does NOT support SDV, and what happens when you have CableCard and you hit a SDV channel, you get the preview or default TWC channel.

I saw this happen with ESPN2HD when I had CableCard earlier this year on TWC.   Realizing there were going to be a ton of new HD channels later on in 2007, and because CableCard is really difficult to get working reliably (Especially in a computer), I ditched TWC and went back to DirecTV.  (And boy am I glad, they now have more HD than anyone else)

Problem with customer support is that most don't know jack about SDV and what it does.  Some techs that come to your house might not even know .. but it's possible you'll get one that does.

[Mykroft]

I'm a little late on jumping in on this .. but I have had significant issues with CableCard installs.

I recently purchased a Sony KDL-52XBR4 and a Tivo Series 3. I bought the latter because the price had fallen to about $360, after rebate, and I've always been captivated by its capabilities, mainly including the ability to record HD OTA, as well as from cable.

I called TWC to install the  2 CableCards on the Tivo, attached to the new set, and another CableCard on the set that it displaced. I attached my SA8300HD, at least temporarily, to the new set.

I relocated my old 'main set' and had a CableCard installed on it. I also have a CableCard on another HD set.

The Tivo was an issue to get setup .. eventually, after the tech left, I figured out that the signal strength was insufficient to get all channels. I fixed this issue by adding a booster that I happened to have in stock.

The other CableCard install went smoothly, except for the channel issue detailed below.

On all of my CableCards, there are missing, or wrong channels. I do subscribe to the missing channels since they do appear on my SA8300HD. Here's the story ...

440 Sundance     No Signal
528 ESPN2 HD    TWC Preview Channel
532 UNIV HD       No Signal
534 TBS HD         TWC Preview Channel
537 HGTV HD       TWC Preview Channel
542 A&E HD         TWC Preview Channel
545 MOJO HD      No Signal
547 HDNET          No Signal

I've gotten reset 'hits' as part of a couple of service calls. It does seem like the CableCard authorizations are out of sync with the 8300HD authorizations. I can't seem to get this across to the TWC folks, who seem to be woefully unfamiliar with CableCards, so any help would be appreciated!

Thanks ...

You may want to keep an eye on this news, it's an adapter that's supposed to make a CableCard be able to work with SDV.