Issues with Comcast Cable card.

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Archive through January 28, 2005Legio10100
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New member
Username: Grandwega

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jan-05
I have the 50we655. I have it connected directly to the Comcast digital cable feed. I have had to auto=program the channels frequently, as it seems to "forget" the programmed channels. I turn on the TV, and press channel up or down, and it only finds the channel it tuned when turned on. I do not have a box or cable card.

Any thoughts? It has happened about 10 times, with no pattern I can figure out.
 

Unregistered guest
I have a new plasma Sony KDE37XS955 and am using Comcast cable in the San Francisco Bay area - North Bay. Great Comcast tech installed card, but before he would install card he literally re ran cables my house from the street in since he wasn't satisfied with signal strength.

He then spent 30 minutes trying to get the cable card to install with no luck, it was about 7:30PM so he left for the evening while the card was downloading channels. Left me his desk supervisors direct number to call if it didn't install. He called back the next morning to check on the system, when he found it still wasn't working he got two new cards to install before he came back to the house. He then spent about 45 minutes trying to get the new cards to install with no luck, finally found out the cards hadn't been programmed before he got them.

He had the San Rafael office program the cards from the cable and a minute later we got it all Digital and HD. Great guy and much better effort from him and his support people than I expected. They were determined not to leave until it worked!!. You don't get the guide with the cable card, but I get all the TV controls back.

Ernie
Novato, CA
 

Anonymous
 
Thanks for all the info regarding upgrade for WD 52525. I called the cust. svc and without much begging the cust. rep. agreed to send me the upgrade. I just received the upgrade compact flash, did the upgrade to ver 4.05, so far so good, don't know if it really eliminates hanging symptom.

They are really stingy, the compact flash has to be returned back to them after use.

So I checked the card, see if I can backup any file before returning it, turns out once it upgraded the tv, the files are deleted.
I should've made backup before doing the upgrade.
It might be a good idea if we can back it up, before performing the upgrade, so we can share it to other users who are not fortunate enough to get the upgrade from the stingy customer service.

HH
 

Anonymous
 
I'm a Chicago Comcast customer. Just got a Panasonic TH42PD25UP (EDTV with HDTV tuner). First day comcast came out the card didn't recognize the extra digital channels nor ESPN HD or Discovery HD, did get the local HD channels though. Tried 2 different cards no success.

They came out second day finally got it working, The technician said he experienced other problems like mine when you run other things through the cable line to the TV (i.e. VCR, surge suppressor)
1) Use RG6 cable with all interconnections
2) Don't hook up your VCR via cable connections, VCR's tend to lose those igh freg signals in the cable feed.
3) Don't run your cable through the surge suppressor.
 

Unregistered guest
To anonymous post on Fri 2/25:

I have the same Panasonic TV, similar problems with cable card from Comcast in Connecticut. I'd like to know if your system is still working after a few days. (I've thought mine was fixed, only to have the problem recur after 10-20 hours.)

I've been running cable through the VCR and I'd like to try running the cable directly to the TV if your fix works.

Good luck.
 

New member
Username: Bubba7760

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-05
To Campgems Don R post on 1/28/05

Just wanted to know how you made out with that cable card problem (kd-34xbr960) having the same issue in ct. (comcast system)

thanx
 

New member
Username: Mmulholland

Indianapolis, IN

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-05
I have a Sony Vega KDF-42WE655 (Integrated ATSC Tuner). I hooked up my analog basic comcast cable line and began immediately receiving a slew of HD channels without a cable card. Now, I don't get ESPNHD or HBOHD but I do get all the local channels (NBC, CBS, PBS, ABC, etc..). Also, I get music channels on 94.5-94.50. I also think I am getting pay movie channels (HBO, Showtime, Cinemax) on 87.15,88.15, and 89.15. Anyway, I see no need for the cable card since I'm already getting INHD1 and INHD2. Sure, I would like ESPNHD but I don't want to pay the extra monthly fee.

Anyway, the Sony Vega TV's have a great auto program that identifies all digital and analog signals and displays their format (16:9 or 4:3). Tonight I identified every channel. Many were numbered different than the comcast channel line-up indicated. By the way - so far I love my Sony LCD TV.
 

Flint
Unregistered guest
I have a LG DU-42PY10X with the HDTV Tuner. One of the main reasons for purchasing this TV was the CableCard. Since day one I have had nothing but trouble trying to get my digital channels. I was told by LG that I needed a firmware update due to an error code 161-10. With only one service center in my vicinity and their lack of knowledge I found myself uploading the firmware myself with no success. LG says they are rewriting the firmware to handle this problem (for which they have no date of completion). Since this last attempt for upload I have lost a The TV Guide program within the TV. After reading this thread it seems like many TVs are having trouble with CableCards. Has anyone had specific problems with this TV and the TV Guide program? It seems that I may have to go with a box top until the CC problem is resovled.

Thanks
 

Dave Y
Unregistered guest
I just bought the same TV (LG DU-42PY10X) a week ago and have had problems trying to get the cable card to work properly. Channels seem to appear and disappear from the lineup everyday. I will have Cox out here one more time to try another card, but I may ask them to bring out a set top box as well. I like the TV, but wished the Cable Card worked.

Do you know of a method to reset the TV to it's out of the box parameters ?

Thanks !
 

Unregistered guest
LG DU-42PY10X (with cablecard PKM600)

TV-Guide or Not TV-Guide?

So, The Technician came and upgrade the firmware... and guest what? No more TV-GUIDE

The SCREEN blank to a green color went a hit that bottom.

This problem with the cablecard... is taking more time... and more time...

IF SOME HAVE BETTER LUCK THAN ME PLEASE! LET ME KNOW...

THANK'S

 

Dave Y
Unregistered guest
I spoke with Cox Cable on Saturday and explained the symptoms. The channel lineup keeps changing every day or so. They had me check a few channels for reception and asked for the TV model number (LG DU-42PY10X).

They agreed to send out a technician this coming Tuesday that specializes in getting the CableCards to work. Hopefully they will be able to get it to work properly and give a consistant channel lineup.

BTW, my TV Guide started working just fine after a few days. It only shows the channels that I'm currently receiving, which is not the full line up I'm paying for.

I'll post back on Tuesday and let you all know how the system is working.
 

CableCard User
Unregistered guest
I've got a Sony set, and am wondering if I am alone with this.

Has anyone had a problem with the CableCard where you receive all the channels as you should, but the television does not output 5.1 audio over the optical output? Its only doing 2 channel audio over the analog outputs.

There is no toggle in the set (or mention of any toggle in the user manual) so it looks like something automatic that just isn't happenning for some reason.

Note this is happenning on shows with 5.1 audio - I understand that not all HD programming has 5.1 audio.

Any ideas?
 

Bronze Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 37
Registered: Feb-05
Are you sure there isn't a setting for the optical out? On the Toshiba models you have a setting for Dolby Digital and PCM. I would think that any set with a optical/coax digital output would need to have this setting as not every receiver has a DD/DTS decoder.
 

CableCard User
Unregistered guest
My Sony is weird. It says that you have to hook up both digital and analog connections. If the signal is not Dolby Digital, it passes it through the standard analog connections.

I've looked everywhere for a toggle, and there just isn't one. But I'll be on shows that I know are 5.1 (Like HBO Deadwood or Carnivale) and I get nothing from the optical input.
 

Flint
Unregistered guest
To Dave Y & CCMonster,

The tech came back today to install the "new" upgrade. And "no" that didn't work either. LG's technician said that I may be of the 10% whose TV will not except the firmware upgrade...lucky me. My TV guide is still GREEN. I am taking the TV back to Best Buy this weekend. Question...Do I get the same TV again or another brand? Sony? Poineer? Both are quite a bit more than the LG.
Good luck with your Plasmas.

Flint
 

Flint
Unregistered guest
To Dave Y & CCMonster,

The tech came back today to install the "new" upgrade. And "no" that didn't work either. LG's technician said that I may be of the 10% whose TV will not except the firmware upgrade...lucky me. My TV guide is still GREEN. I am taking the TV back to Best Buy this weekend. Question...Do I get the same TV again or another brand? Sony? Poineer? Both are quite a bit more than the LG.
Good luck with your Plasmas.

Flint
 

Dave Y
Unregistered guest
Sorry to hear that you had problems. The 43" Pioneer sure looked good, but the price made me cough. I'll probably keep my LG, as I like it a lot in spite of the CableCard problems.

The Cox CableCard specialist came out and checked out my LG on Tuesday. He found some loose cable connections throughout the house that were degrading the signal strength. He made sure the SA cable card had the latest firmware. We were finally able to get it all working.....but the next morning the TV locked up and wouldn't give me anything but a green light.

After unplug/replug...I was able to view my channels, but (as expected) the TV Guide lost it's listing information. The thing is that it hasn't loaded any new listings in 3 nights.

The technician told me that the CableCard was very new technology and the best bet would be to get the set top box for at least a few months until the bugs are out of the cable card system.

I like the TV, so that's probably the path I'll take. I may also have an LG service guy out here for a look before I get the set top box.

Good luck with your TV choice. If anyone else has input/experiences with the LG & CableCard, please feel free to add your comments.
 

Unregistered guest
Ok I have read all the problems and i am still not sure who is to blame Sharp or cablevision with their Scientific Atlanta Cable Card. I have a Sharp LC-37GD4U I am not getting any Analog chanells 2-11 and 13 Eror 202 I have been told. I have been on the phone with Sharp and Cablevision for three days, they bahave like this is a new problem, Has anybody had this problem fixed yet.
I am waiting for Sharp customer service manager to call back. some day!
 

CableCard User
Unregistered guest
Just updating to let you all know that my Comcast CableCard install was fine, it turns out I had *2* bad optical cables. What are the chances of that?
 

Peas
Unregistered guest
"What are the chances of that?"

100% since it already happened! Any more probability questions?


Peas
 

New member
Username: Bernierhome

Post Number: 1
Registered: Mar-05
Well I will tell you people, I have used both. The cable card is definetly clearer without a doubt. But, I wanted DVR and on screen program. When you run HDTV through DVR you can only run the video through Component cables and inputs, which are lower picture quality.
Solution I ran a splitter so I have a cable line running directly to the tv, this way I can use the cable card. Then I ran a seperate cable to the DVR box. Shazam, now I can switch back and forth quite easily and have the best of both worlds. Tried evrything else folks this is the best your gonna get until tech. improves. But, yes the cable card is 5 better and like 3D. Trust me. GL PHIL
 

Unregistered guest
I have a Panasonic 42PD25 on Comcast. I live in Shoreview, MN a suburb just north of St. Paul. I had a CableCARD working fine for two weeks except for some occasional break ups. A Comcast tech came out and did nothing. He was told by his supervisor to tell me that Comcast does not guarantee service with a CableCARD. I figured I would play their game so I ordered a DCT-6412 Set Top Box to swap with the CableCARD. Of course I get break ups with the 6412 also and I realized the picture quality was better with the CableCARD. I requested that a CableCARD be re-installed and now the second time around they can't make it work!!!!! I have both techs and supervisors working on the problem but nothing is fixed. No CableCARD and I still have break ups.
 

Unregistered guest
Ok, here comes yet another "electronically challenged consumer" a.k.a. "stupid". I am by no means insulting anyone but myself. Here's my dilema:
I would like to buy a larger t.v. The size we are interested in is a 32" as it is going in our bedroom. I want it to be hung on the wall like a picture. I have comcast cable as my cable provider. I have read numerous forums and consumer information regarding all this technology. We are looking to buy the 'Sharp LC32GA5U AQUOS Widescreen LCD TV.' It has HDTV receiver integrated. All we want to do is be able to watch a better picture with the cable we already have and connect it to our very simple surround sound dvd player. We don't want a box and I am not sure of this card slot thing. According to these forums, there are more problems than not concerning the card slots and incompetent cable workers/customer service reps.
Please, someone tell me if this t.v. is a good choice and what do I have to do to just watch the damn thing with minimal problems????
Thank you in advance for any and all advice you wish to share.
 

Denny B
Unregistered guest
i have a sony KDF-55XS955 which is cablecard compatible. lol... comcast is my provider in the pittsburgh area. i have comcast's hd tuner box. my problem is that when i want to watch picture in picture, i cannot receive the digital channels for the second tuner. does having a cablecard eliminate this problem or do i need to have both the card and comcast's tuner? also do they (comcast) charge for the cablecard?
 

high def junkie
Unregistered guest
I have a mitsubishi wd52725. i live in akron and i had time warner come and install a cable card. they outsource it and it was the first time the guy had installed one. after he put it in all the way it worked. I have had the cable card about a week now, the tv a month and i havent had any problems. however, does anyone know how to get the cable guide on the tv? i would apprecitate the help. also, i have a sony receiver and sony sucks. the guy with the problem on the digital and analog audio, that is the way sony works. i cant hook up my tv to my reciever digitally bc my reciever wont accept a different kind of tv. it accepts my sony 300 disc cd player fine though. well anyone that knows anything about downloading the guide i would like help
 

Anonymous
 
I have a WD-52525 and am planning to get the cableCARD from Comcast. I have just the cable coming into the TV right now and like it, the TV is seeing digital channels that are the On Demand channels when other people order it. I have digital cable on my other TV. I just want the digital channels in the bedroom without the extra box. I think everyone here has been very helpful and will let you all know how it works out when I get my CableCARD.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Mrmagoo

Hanover, MA USA

Post Number: 13
Registered: Mar-05
Denny B, You need to spilt the cable and send one wire to the antenna and one to the cable hookups on the TV. this will work unless digital is scrambled. If you want to see 2 scrambled channels in split screen then i think you need the cable card and a cable box (or 2 cable boxes)
 

Bronze Member
Username: Mrmagoo

Hanover, MA USA

Post Number: 14
Registered: Mar-05
high def junkie - cable card and the guide from the cable company are not compatible. Guide and PPV only work with the box, not the cable card.
 

high def junkie
Unregistered guest
dang that sucks
 

Bronze Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 58
Registered: Feb-05
MrMagoo, that is true for the guide from the cable company but some manufacturers use TVGOS (TV Guide On Screen) and as long as your cable company isn't blocking the information which is sent on the VBI channel, usually the PBS station, it should populate these guides. I believe Mitsubishi uses TVGOS but it may be model dependent.
 

Gumby Dangit
Unregistered guest
Don't you get equal picture quality with the set-top box as you do with the card even though the TV has a built-in HDTV tuner? I'm purchasing the Sony 37" plasma w/built-in HDTV tuner. I've called Comcast several times and they insist that there's no picture quality difference between the card and the boxYeven on a set with Built-in Tuner.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 64
Registered: Feb-05
Gumby Dangit, what do you expect them to say when they charge a rental for a STB but not for a cable card? I haven't had success getting mine working but I have seen many posts where people report a better PQ using the tuner in their display as opposed to the STB tuner.
 

Gumby Dangit
Unregistered guest
I see your point. But I wonder if all the troubles with the card is worth itE I mean, how much better can the PQ be with the cardE Unfortunately, I'm limited as far as space and the largest screen I can get is a 37." The best one that I've been able to find seems to be the SonyYwhich has the built-in tunerYalbeit at $4,200.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 65
Registered: Feb-05
I still use the DVR but there are times when I want to record two programs and watch a third. Right now I am limited to watching the unencrypted channels via the direct feed so I am hoping to get the cable card working.
 

Gumby Dangit
Unregistered guest
You mean you have the set-top box?
 

Bronze Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 66
Registered: Feb-05
You mean you have the set-top box?

Yes, I have the STB and will probably keep it as I like the dual tuner. I still plan on trying to get the cable card to work though. The analog tuners in the Motorola box are not very good.
 

Anonymous
 
I really hope no one is using a cable card just to get HD from Comcast.

All you need is basic service.

The trick is most people don't program their tv's anymore.

Try removing your cable card or digi box and letting your tv auto program. You will find your local hd channels in the "higher" channels.

As for the cable cards....blame motorola. Heck moto won't even fix the problem with the grainy analog channels on the 5100-6214 dct's. Comcast is going to make all channels digital in the near future to fix that problem.

Hope this helps
 

johnw
Unregistered guest
Has anyone tried to use their "own" hd set top tuner/receiver w/a Comcast digital subscription? i would MUCH rather use my own (Sony SAT-HD300)set top than renting from Comcast. Do I have a choice (is the Cable Card a potential solution)? any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 85
Registered: Feb-05
Anonymous,

The only HD channels you get without a STB or cable card is the local ones. In order to get DISC-HD or INHD or any of the premium channels such as HBO you have to use either a STB or cable card.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Mrmagoo

Hanover, MA USA

Post Number: 21
Registered: Mar-05
I let my set autoprogram and only get sound - no picture from the HD channels at the high end. Comcast said that I will need a cable card or STB to get those channels. I am going with the cable card for now since it's basically free and may actually pair it up with a STB down the line to get all digital channels in split screen and to get the guide.
 

Anonymous
 
To all Sharp TV owners with GD models, you must have a two way splitter to supply signal to the analog input and signal to the digital cable input. Then insert the cable card and have your cable company authorize the card. After that follow the instructions in your manaul under the heading of digital cable module to program the available analog and digital channels from your cable package. CC cable tech that knows what to do!!!
 

SAT RULES!
Unregistered guest
Yea...split that weak lousy cable signal again!
Add another 4db of loss to the picture.
That should make the standard def NTSC analog look nice and grainy. It will be so much fun to switch back and forth between two inputs too!
What a freak'n joke! CABLE SUCKS! CABLECARD SUCKS!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Mrmagoo

Hanover, MA USA

Post Number: 23
Registered: Mar-05
I had the cable card installed a few days ago and was a little apprehensive based on all the posts here. I have to say the process went really well - the tech was pretty knowledgable and had everything running pretty quickly.
The tech had to call Comcast to initialize the service and it was pretty funny to him be put on hold for 20 minutes, kind of nice to see that they treat everyone equally! Aside from waiting on hold the whole process took about 15 minutes.
The tech did change a couple of splitters claiming that some brands don't work very well with the HD/digital signal. I'm not sure if he was 'full of it' or not, but he changed them for free and offered to leave one or two extra for me in case I ran across any others that needed to be changed.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 110
Registered: Feb-05
Obviously you don't have a Toshiba as Comcast can't seem to get the CC to work with them.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Mrmagoo

Hanover, MA USA

Post Number: 24
Registered: Mar-05
I have a Sony KDF-55WF655 with a March 05 build date - maybe that has something to do with it. I also have a grand total of 2.5 days of success with the cable card, so I hope I'm not jinxing myself.
 

Anonymous
 
I received my new Mitsubishi 52525 on Thursday a week ago, installed the CableCARD and call Time Warner to activate it. They said the firmware needed to be upgraded to 4.05 before they could activate it so I called Mitsubishi and received the upgrade on Monday.

Monday - Upgraded software and call Time Warner again for activation.

Tuesday - Time Warner called back and stated it had been activated. I checked and informed them that it was not working properly explaining the problem below and was told they would call back. No call was received.

PROBLEM:

- Can receive all the Basic and Basic HD channels.
- Can receive a the Standard channels, but not the Standard HD channels (295 -- TNT and 301 - Discovery)
- Can not receive any of the subscribed Digital Value channels.

- When I try to view one of these channels I receive a message on the screen to call the local cable company to activate this device (CableCARD) or the channel is off the air or does not exist. (Note: "Channel View" does list all the channels, so they were recognized when the card initialized)

Wednesday -- Called and was told they would check on problem. No response back was received, So, I unplugged the TV and CableCARD and reinitialized everything.) Received the message the card had been reinitialized.) and called Time Warner again. Was told this time that there was no record of the problem, but since I had unplugged the card, it would have to be reactivated. I was told that I would be called on Thursday confirming activation.

Thursday - Yes you guessed it -- no call back, so I called again. Time Warner sent "hits" to card but could not tell if it was working. They would have to check with the activation department and call me back.

Friday - Yes you guessed it again, no call back. Called again and they sent another hit to the card, but the hits were backed-up and I instructed to call back. Called back in 1 hour (Note: it takes a minimum of 30 minutes on hold to get through on each call). At this point they admitted they had no idea of what the problem was and recommended changing out the card.

Saturday -- Replaced the CableCard and called for activation. I was told it would be activated by noon on Monday.

The card is in place and not activated. I can still receive the same channels as described above. At this point I do not believe they were ever able to activate the first card.
 

Sat is the Answer
Unregistered guest
Cable and CableCard sucks!!!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Mrmagoo

Hanover, MA USA

Post Number: 27
Registered: Mar-05
After 3 weeks I have had no problems with the cablecard, but I am considering getting the STB for programming guide and PPV. The tech from Comcast said that he heard the 2 way cards would be out by year end, but that was just a rumor, has anyone heard anything about the 2 way cards?
 

george152633
Unregistered guest
Many of the cable card issues are still trial and error. some examples have shown that a faulty cable card or simple or not so simple solution from the cable company. some have shown that software programming is needed from the TV companies. so who is to blame the lonely cable guy or the guys invented the contraption. {by the way the TV that needed the software upgrade was a SONY plasma... so don't think because you spent several hundered or thousand more everything will be hunky dory..}
 

BNA
Unregistered guest
Hoping to get more pointers from others before return service call tomorrow.

1. LG DU-42PY10X. Didn't know we HAD cable card until about two weeks ago while at Tweeter. Ordered it up immediately.
2. First tech couldn't install at all. Left and said another would come out. I went on interent and read about firmware upgrade at that time.
3. Second set of techs came. Could get 12 channels and mostly stuck on 3 the local PS channel.
4. Called our vendor and he arranged for LG service call. Comcast had left the card and the provisioning data. He did firmware upgrade and had card installed quickly.
5. EZ scan detected 368 channels. All analogs work perfectly. All digital audio works perfectly. INHD 1 and 2 are there, as are a few other random channels and all HD local network channels. No HD premiums, no Independent Film, HD Discovery, etc.
6. Were getting OD channels randomly and sporadically. Video would fast-forward then play. Got some "blue" video on 103-10 and then several hours later had Nick Jr. On Demand in the same spot.
7. Called Comcast last night and she said we shouldn't get the extra premiums. Explained to her it was my understanding we were, just not PPV or OD and we WERE getting that in spots. She came back and said yes, we were supposed to be getting them, hit the box. (First EZscan was 358 channels. After she hit it, it was 368 but we aren't actually seeing any additional ones.)
8. Comcast locally has no idea WHERE the channels are supposed to be. The TV didn't scan past 135. There's no way HBO is in the 400s, obviously, but nobody knows where they're supposed to be. We have large sections of channels that were detected but rendering "no signal" -- 100-1 through 100-20, for example.
9. TVGuide did gradually come up and this morning is working perfectly -- for 2 through 58, the basic analog channels. It does not even ilst anything beyond Cspan.
10. Have a choice for 4 Comcast line ups, two regular, two digital. Both digitals have 400+ for the premiums, so it appears we'll have to manually create our guide line up once they get it work.
11. Called comcast again today. She said OD would cause the card not to function properly and deactivated OD and rehit the box. EZscan id's the same 368 channels. And we still have Nick Jr. OD. Guess that failed.

Comcast coming tomorrow. Anybody know where in Middle Tennessee the premiums ARE on a cable card? Anybody else have any advice?

TIA!
 

New member
Username: Lucaso

Fort Gratiot, MI

Post Number: 1
Registered: May-05
I have Comcast cable in Michigan with a Motorola cable card. My HD channels are like
radio channels. NBC is 1.1, TNT is 115.12, Discovery HD is 103.1. I can't even find
ESPN HD. Can anyone tell me how to get a channel guide for this kind of channel numbering.
The first line at Comcast doesn't have a clue as to what I'm talking about.
 

BNA
Unregistered guest
Update. Called back and spoke with a woman around 5:00. Told her what I had going on with still getting OD channels and HBO on 7. She said it shouldn't be there. I was away from the house, but she hit the card and when we got home from dinner, like MAGIC, the lineup was as it should be. 401 series for HBO, etc., music back in the 200s. No more 83-6 and weird stuff like that. BUT we still couldn't SEE the channels -- although they were coming up properly defined with names and everything.

Called again and got a guy who hit the box, had us pop the card in and out and, with that, everything came into view. We will cancel the service call if it holds. The TV Guide is repopulating again, but hopefully it will be fine.

And it was worth it for us. Beautiful picture and minimal wires.

 

Nick Phila,PA
Unregistered guest
Information about digital Televisions and Myths

Myth #1: Everybody has digital service from your cable provider. It just depends on whether you you have a digital/HD Tuner built in to your tv to actually pick it up.

Fact #1: Most TVs with HD Tuners want at least 35% of you total signal strength to get a decent signal and may help out with breakups on digital channels.

Fact #2: A direct feed from each device to your TV is always the best. Don't go through your reciever if you have the option or TIVO.

Fact #3: You do not need a $150+ dollar cable to get HD channels or picture for your dvd player. The only time you may opt to get a more expensive cable is for a long run. (Monster, etc.) or if you opt to go with a DVI or HDMI cable. Do not allow a salesman to sell you expensive cables, put that money into your devices.
I would suggest that they at least be gold plated or at least not use the cable that usually comes with the equipment.

Fact #4: HDMI DVD players are not play true HD DVDs. Hence why they call them HDMI DVD players. These DVD players try to upgrade a 480p
DVD to a 1080i or 720P picture. The actual HD DVD players did not make it to the US yet.

There are many people that own cable cards that have problems with few that don't. With my experience with the cable cards and TVs. I believe it's the cable cards and not the TVs. With the exceptions with some new models of the Toshiba DLPs that are for some reason not compatible with the cable card. I believe those problems are handled by now but not sure. I did notice that some problems have been cleaned up by not allowing the cable modem and the HD television on the same line or simply getting a cable amplifier.

I do have about 3 yrs. of experience in TVs and have installed over 100 plasmas(on wall and over fire places), theater rooms, bars, etc. I deal mostly with Mitsubishi, Sony, Toshiba, Sharp, and Panasonic. If you have questions I may be able to help you out let me know.



 

DLP4ME/Bustnchops
Unregistered guest
NICK-which do you prefer-lcd projection,or dlp?
 

New member
Username: Lucaso

Fort Gratiot, MI

Post Number: 4
Registered: May-05
I am getting radio like channels with my new Sharp Aquos: NBC HD is 1.1, PBS HD is 2.1 and 3.1, Discovery is 103.1, etc. I also can't find ESPN HD which I am paying for. The cable guy is coming tomorrow morning. Any suggestions to help expedite his visit? Thank you.
 

rmr
Unregistered guest
cable card is new technology will be fixed soon.? For now I will use the box for 2 way service.Other option is going to satellite. They don't have on demand,they don't offer phone service,they have about a hundred hidden fees,your stuck in a contract,you pay for every service visit(I had 2 service visits in the first 3 months and costed me $130.00),they have about 50 local access channels with nothing on them,if your in the north forget about watching t.v. when it snows, they might say you can get 4 rooms hooked up for free but they don't tell you those 4 rooms have an activation charge plus monthy programming fees,their internet service went no where(what was it about $90.00 a month)Not to mention your putting a HUGE ugly dish on your house.Going with one company for tv,phone,and internet was the smartest thing I did. I'm saving alot and they even bought the HUGE ugly dish that was on my house. Satellite is not a smart option.I know I was there.
 

Sat's the only way to go!
Unregistered guest
Lord have mercy, dude!
What sat service truck took you for that ride?

I bought my own DTV sat receiver with off-air digital integration.
Samsung SIR TS360
I got the eliptical dish for $50.
Hooked it up myself.
For $65 per month I have standard plus HD plus digital air.
They gave me three non-HD boxes for my other sets.
I hooked up two. It added $10 to the bill.
Fantastic picture quality on all sets.
Stunning HD on the big screen.
All month to month, no contracts, no activation fees.

Sorry about your experience, fella, but it's not everyone's.

 

Unregistered guest
I recently purchased a Sony Grand Wega KDF-60XS955 HD ready TV. I got the cable card hooked up OK and most of the channels were absolutely beatifull! However, the reception on most of the HD channels (especially HDTNT) broke up (tiling) either occationally, or regularly, especially during prime time. This was bad enough to either make me stop trying to watch a show, or to change to the analog version of the channel.
I complained to the Time-Warner and they said that the problem was the cabling inside my house. I got this replaced, which helped a little, but the problem was still there. I had Time-Warner come again and they determined that the TV/cable card combination was not able to operate reliably with the signal level that I got, even though they claim that this signal is good enough (+1???) to meet federal regulations.

I ended up letting them hook me up to a cable box instead. This was a big mistake. While the "tiling" went away, the great image quality that I got with my expensive Sony tuner is gone, and replaced with the terribly blurry, poor color, reception from the cheap cable box!

I have 3 questions for anybody who can help me:

1. Could I get image quality as good as the cable card using a better cable box?

2. The cable company tried several cable cards with the same result, but I don't know what the brands were. Do you think that there is a card that can handle the marginal signal level better?

3. I asked the cable guy if they could put a signal booster on my line. They said that the only boosters that they had were too powerfull for my signal and would damage my TV. Is there a booster (amplifier) available that would work to improve my marginal singnal?

Thanks for any help.
 

To Dean
Unregistered guest
CABLE SUCKS!!!

Always has...always will.

It's not what you want for HD or digital off-air.
It's never what you want for old standard definition.

You bought the set...now give it the best signal.
Make the break!

Direct TV is the answer!
You can get a reduced priced HD receiver from them or go with a DTV HD/Terrestrial HD (off-air) integrated receiver. It combines the inputs into one guide. Even if you don't get the DTV HD program package you can't beat off-air digital and primetime HD for free! All you need is an old style UHF antenna.

Use only component RGB video cables. Don't settle for any receiver that doesn't have the component Pr, Pb, Y output.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 123
Registered: Feb-05
For Toshiba and Comcast owners there is new firmware out to correct the problems with the cable card acquiring channels. You need to contact Toshiba if you are having problems with getting your cable card to work properly.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 124
Registered: Feb-05
Dave, did you get your card working? If you are getting the channels like you indicate then the cable card is not functioning as that is how you receive them without a STB and with just a direct cable connection. I also have Comcast and split the signal for watching analog broadcasts. Here is what I get:

1.1 NBC
2.1 FOX
3.1 PBS
76.1 CBS
114.1 ESPN-HD

Comcast won't be able to help you as those channels are not published. The only way to discover them is to have your TV acquire all the channels and use the up channel starting from the first channel to see what you get.
 

Anonymous
 
Can anyone with a sharp lc37d5u state how they got their cable card installed? (would be very beneficial if your cable company is Cox)

Cable guy spent 2 hrs today and got nothing. So now I have to reschedule. Sent email to Sharp already. I read here that I need to split the cable to connect to both analog and digital ports. Is that correct? The cable guy did that but we only got the analog channels. However, after reading the post, we may have been too fast since I don't remember us using EZ setup to scan the digital channels.

When we used only 1 connection via digital, we could not select digital cable on EZ setup, it always defaults to DIGITAL AIR and we got E202 errors when we flip to cable.

So, was using 2 cable input correct? And we just have to make sure to let the TV scan the digital channels? What about this 1.1, 2.1, 3.1, etc channel numbers, is that on Sharp TV or different?

I also heard or read here that I need to download software? Is that true.

Pls help... I want to be sure before I call Cox to install the cable card again. thanks...
 

Perfect Reception!
Unregistered guest
CABLE SUCKS!!!

Always has...always will.

CABLECARD is GARBAGE!

It's not what you want for HD or digital off-air.
It's never what you want for existing standard definition.
Digital cable isn't really all digital!
Cable is never a uniform quality signal to everyone.

You bought a high quality set...now give it the best signal.
Do yourself a favor and make the break!

Direct TV is not an alternative, it's the quality reception solution!
You can get a reduced priced HD receiver from them or go with a DTV HD/Terrestrial Digital (off-air) integrated receiver. It combines the inputs into one guide with a single output. Even if you don't get the DTV HD program package you can't beat true 100% digital NTSC standard definition combined with free off-air digital and primetime HD! All you need is an old style VHF/UHF antenna.

Don't compromise features by losing your guide and pay-per-view!
Don't compromise picture quality with a distorted cable signal or by splitting an already weak distorted signal and having to hassle with switching back and forth between inputs!

Sat signal is 100% digital and has uniform quality for everyone.

Use only component RGB video cables. Don't settle for any receiver that doesn't have the component Pr, Pb, Y output. Use the digital coax or digital optical output straight to your surround sound receiver.

Make your HD Home Theater the best it can be.
It won't cost more per month and you won't have any regrets!
 

williamlcarr1
Unregistered guest
Sony KD34XBR960 and Comcast cable card are producing everything as advertised. All the HD I'm paying for, all the digital TV and music comes through without a clitch.
Somebody somewhere must like us.
Bill C.
Toms River NJ
 

Anonymous
 
Whats with these know it all sat morons?
Right now I have both directv and comcast. I waited many years for sat and must say I am less than pleased. The final straw was the realization that directvs promises of enabling HMO tivo, only to find out it was all lies they are dumping tivo entirely and forcing us into new hardware soon, like the guy above implies free I assume, ya right!!! A chance at eliminating a STB entirely? Only been asking for cable co. to be as cable ready as my tv for how many years?
How much did you pay for a DirecTV HD Dual Tuner DVR? I have to have cable anyway just to respond here and can receive cable on any tv because of it (try tuning a DirecTV channel without a STB, card, additional outlet fee).
As I said I have both right now, am also trying Windows MCE2005 and BeyondTV.
Other than what seems like a motorola snafu (always moto) with the lack of guide info on my sony (and I am not asking for enhanced TVGuide pip guide) just name of current program and description. It pulls this off mce and even stb for current channel, I even have an old vcr that can do it, but motorola cannot. I am still looking for more info on this but had to respond to these idiots who feel the solution for your cablecard problem is sat. GROW A BRAIN!
 

Anonymous
 
Let's see...do I want my signal source at my home or do I want to trust someone to pipe signal to me from their dish garden 15 miles away without degrading it. Duh!

How many amps adding noise?
How many fittings? (Loose, cracked)
How many fuses?
How many tree rubs, squirrel chews, & cable cracks?
How much off-air interference getting in?
How long will the outage be?

Cable looks like sh!t on my big screen!
Digital sat looks great. Every channel is clear.
I agree with everything "Perfect Reception" said.

You can add me to your idiot, moron, no brain list, however, you're the one that doesn't come across as being very intelligent.

 

bbgocubs
Unregistered guest
Have KD30SX955 and comcast digital with a cable card.

Took a few minutes for the guy to have dispatch activate the card but I'm getting everything as advertised....I couldn't be happier.
 

Unregistered guest
I have a 26" Sharp lcd GD6U. This is the 4th cable card comcast has put in.The first tech guy even looked like Jim Carrey, new what he was doing and installed the card and everything worked great. The channel map info with the source names such as CBS,ESPN,FOXN,etc. worked fine for three months.The picture quality was by far better than the box--less components to filter thru. AND THEN IT HAPPENED--AN ELECTRICAL STORM (yes I am well protected with expensive surge protection)Hasn't worked since.Sharp say's as long as the numbers on station channel work it is not there problem.Makes good sense- different locals display different numbers on there channels. Comcast say's they will call when they figure it out.They also ask if I want another tech to come out with another card.Oh by the way comcast no longer blames Sharp they blame Motorola.Iam not happy about it so I check the real TV Guide. Anyone have this tv and problem.Diffenately not goig to give up card for the box -seen it and there really is no comparasion.

NO BIG DEAL
 

Cable? Not for me!
Unregistered guest
I'd give up the card for off-air digital networks either on the straight cable feed to ATSC tuner or UHF antenna to ATSC tuner. Then, I would strongly consider Direct TV HD and kiss cable good bye!

WORTHLESS CABLECARD SYSTEM!!!
 

cable girl
Unregistered guest
people, if you have an hd tv and you get an hd card from comcast yet don't have any service, the only chanels you get are the hd chanels available as local/free programming. if you want hbo then you still have to have a cable package. do you think we are just going to sell you a 5.00 hd card and then magically you don't have to pay for cable channels?

in the market i work for we strongly discourage the use of those cards for just that reason. they only get you free hd channels, not actual cable.

we have an hd box for that. if you want cable you still have to pay for cable. if you want hbo hd you have to get the box made for your hd tv (no need for card if you have the hd box we provide) and you have to get a package that includes that premium channel multiplex.


 

cable girl
Unregistered guest
think of an hd card like a high tech pair of rabbit ears for FREE hd channels.

even if you have analog service. you can't get hbo or showtime or cinemax or any of the other premium channels on analog only. you have to have a digital box.

in which case you get either the plain hd box or the hd/dvr, both of which are the exact same price per month so may as well get the one with the dvr capability.


 

Silver Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 149
Registered: Feb-05
cable girl,

I actually have both but I can see a few reasons why someone would use a cable card and it can provide all the channels that the STB gives you and more. In my area there is no rental for the cable card, just the installation fee. A few reasons somone may opt for the cable card.

1. The ability to eliminate some of the clutter in their entertainment center.

2. The ability to get local HD without needing a box (i.e. ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX).

3. A cheaper rental cost (at least in my area).

4. Better PQ on analog channels. The Motorola analog tuner is not very good in the STB's.

5. One less remote, although with universal remotes this isn't usually a big issue any more.

There also a few reasons one may opt for the box.

1. Ability to get PPV and Sports packages automatically. (with the cable card these can still be ordered but only through the telephone).

2. On-Demand, although I rarely use this feature.

3. IPG (Interactive Program Guide). My Toshiba provides a guide through Gemstar (TVGOS) but there are still a few bugs to work out.

4. Faster channel access. The STB is about a second to a second and a half faster to tune channels.

Even with all thse things considered I would have opted for the cable card if it wasn't for the dual tuner DVR. The ability to record two shows simultaneously on a 120 GB drive makes the $9.95 rental worth it and IMHO the ONLY reason to use a STB if you have the capability to use a cable card.
 

Silver Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 150
Registered: Feb-05
cable girl, One other thing I forgot. There is another benefit to using the cable card in that it provides native "pass-through" mode so the TV can handle any scaling needed. With the Motorola STB you have to choose either 720p or 1080i. My understanding is the Scientific Atlanta boxes provide this feature but it is not an option with Motorola.
 

DONNY V
Unregistered guest
Well comcast just left. Number four on the card--no change on the channel map -still can't get the souce display.Called Sharp ;they said get a better splitter.The reason they said--was comcast clogging the lines up with local commercials and other sh*t preventing the clear signal in downloading the information to the PBS channel.Round and round she goes where the buck stops nobody knows.All I know is the first card worked fine for 3 months like it should and then stopped.Comcast say's it never worked ,who knows maybe I am in the twilight zone and really aren't even writing this ,maybe I am dead and don't know enough to lay down.WHO KNOWS???CERTAINLY NOT COMCAST!THEY ARE A MONEY MACHINE.
STICK THAT CABLE GIRL.
DUCKMAN
 

Nano00
Unregistered guest
I just got the WD-62825G 2 weeks ago, it is real nice and I am getting all the digital channels and HD without the cable box but in the form of sub-channels( 80-1 , 80-2..118-1 and so ).Just take the time to read all the manuals and you 'll see that every thing works nicely. I will try the cable card this week, but you should try to download the TV guide in your set it works perfect specially for recording (62825g has a hard drive built in 120gb.) I'm going to ex-change this set for the new WD62927that it has a 250gb HD, also 2 HDMI inputs and the most impotant thing it's the fact that comes with 2 HD tuners. I have 30 days to exchange this set for the new one which is coming by at the end of Aug.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Helpful_smurf

Post Number: 52
Registered: Jun-05
FYI Our Comcast rep said that they are now only installing cable cards, they are no longer available for pick up at service centers nor will they leave them with customers. they are experiencing so many problems they are only doing them installed to ensure they are working. So much easier to just get a box!
 

Bronze Member
Username: Jagfan

Jacksonville, FL

Post Number: 14
Registered: Mar-05
I had Comcast install a cable card last February. It took about 20 minutes and I've experienced no problems whatsoever. Its great not having that big ugly box, remote and extra wiring.
 

comcastsux
Unregistered guest
Comcast/Motorola cable card is not installing on my new panasonic 42-thpx500u...I am in Chicago and have been dealing with this for a month or so...am going to go back to the box for now probably...I have contact who is head of the tech dept who thinks they may have a solution by the end of this week.

Basically, save yourself the hassle and don't bother with the cable card, and don't use comcast unless you have to (I do because my building has a contract with them so I pay for it anyways).
 

New member
Username: Joemama2

Post Number: 1
Registered: Aug-05
I can't believe all of you are having the same issue with your cable card. it is a simple solution. your cable provider needs to validate your card in the DAC6000. you will need to provide them the "pairing info". any cable operator with their act together knows this. someone is giving the business to you. possibly thru plain ignorance. sorry.
 

Unregistered guest
Comcast Chicago: Cablecard: Sony kdf60xs955
Thats is what I have. It took comcast 4 times to get me a cc and channels 2-99 121 and the local high defs. I get no digital channels. I subscribe to the platinium package. All hbo's etc. The last tech told me first Sony corp did not know what a cc was and it was there fault. Then blamed it on the fact thnat they are moving channels around, that is why i can't get it know.

Help!!!!
anyone know what the problem is.


Thanks..
 

Annoyed guy who can't understand the attraction of not having a box
Unregistered guest
It is the Cable Card, the cable providers are having a lot of trouble getting them up and running and even if they get you working today there is a strong chance that it will lose it's mind and require another service call. Just get a cable box for Christ's sake and save yourself the aggravation. If you say you bought the TV so you would not have to have a box I swear to god I am going to fly up to Chicago and slap you in front of your mama.
 

Steve Ballmer
Unregistered guest
To "Annoyed guy who can't understand the attraction of not having a box"

I am wondering if you realize that the cable card technology is being fully implemented in Japan and parts of Europe and that the U.S. is way behind in this tech curve. I applaud individuals who are pushing the cable card technology. If everyone were to "just get a cable box," and not demand the best technology available, consumers would not receive the best products. Yes, problems exist, but if people keep demanding advancement, things will improve.
 

William Gates
Unregistered guest
To Steve's point, the US is typically far behind Japan and parts of Europe in consumer technology. Look at the cell phone! I am all for pushing technology. After all, that's what Steve and I do at Microsoft! Push the technology out the door before it's fully secure and stable, then ask the consumer to buy new versions to fix what was wrong previously. We love technology...and that's what the cable card is: premature technology in its' infancy. There will be a day sometime in the next 12 months when the card will be 2-way and where signal pull is robust.
 

FWIW.
Unregistered guest
To those of you in Chicago, the CITY, not the STATE that are having issues with the cablecard it was a rather large issue that has recently, presumably been resolved.
It was office side, Ill spare you the drama. I suggest you set up a trouble call or new install of a cablecard if you have given up. I mean, hey, they are free right?
Again, this is for the CITY of chicago, not a suburb of Chicago.

The cablecards are not worhtless. They do provide a better picture then a STB and they do hide nicely in your wall mounted tv. They are also nice if you have a DVR and want to record two things at once and watch another digital channel? BAM! Cablecard.
 

FWIW
Unregistered guest
"I can't believe all of you are having the same issue with your cable card. it is a simple solution. your cable provider needs to validate your card in the DAC6000. you will need to provide them the "pairing info". any cable operator with their act together knows this. someone is giving the business to you. possibly thru plain ignorance. sorry."

Also to address this, the pairing information only serves to ensure the card cannot be moved to another tv and that they can implement conditional access. Neither the host NOR pairing information serve any roll in ensureing the card is authorized and working. Many areas install cards everyday without entering either piece of information.
Talk about plain ignorance...
 

Anonymous
 
I have Sony Wega 42" rear projection 655. I have Scientific Atlanta cable card, and Bright house.My input signal is fine, using a booster put it too high.
Everything worked just fine, until Bright house reset 610, 605 and 604. Per their bulletin they had to make technical changes required by FCC, which appears to be my problem. The Freq. on the channels I'm having problems with is 68700. These appear to be the only channels using this frequency. These 3 break up and tile, except for Sundays,when they work just great?? No explanation.
First Tech had not installed a card before, than got it working, 2nd visit got a great and knowledgeable tech, showed me how to reset card (even pulling and reinserting card) and 3rd time he put new card in, still problems with 68700 freq. Anyone else having this?
The cable card enables the TV Wega engine to double the vertical and horizontal lines. MUCH, MUCH better picture on analog than using box. Also sound better with cable card.
Right now I have set top box and cable card both while Bright house figures out what to do. This works great.. just a nusiance to change from video 5 to video 8 on my remote. Box is video 5 and cable card video 8. I use the card for all but my "problem channels".
 

Anonymous
 
have Sony Wega 42" rear projection 655. I have Scientific Atlanta cable card, and Bright house.My input signal is fine, using a booster put it too high.
Everything worked just fine, until Bright house reset 610, 605 and 604. Per their bulletin they had to make technical changes required by FCC, which appears to be my problem. The Freq. on the channels I'm having problems with is 68700. These appear to be the only channels using this frequency. These 3 break up and tile, except for Sundays,when they work just great?? No explanation.
First Tech had not installed a card before, than got it working, 2nd visit got a great and knowledgeable tech, showed me how to reset card (even pulling and reinserting card) and 3rd time he put new card in, still problems with 68700 freq. Anyone else having this?
The cable card enables the TV Wega engine to double the vertical and horizontal lines. MUCH, MUCH better picture on analog than using box. Also sound better with cable card.
Right now I have set top box and cable card both while Bright house figures out what to do. This works great.. just a nusiance to change from video 5 to video 8 on my remote. Box is video 5 and cable card video 8. I use the card for all but my "problem channels".
 

cox arizona sucks
Unregistered guest
I recently bought the new Mitsubishi 52628 1080p dlp set. Decided to get the cable card through Cox as opposed to the set top box knowing that I would lose Cox's programming guide and whatnot. I was told by Mitsubishi that the tvgos that came built into the tv would allow me to get program guides, even with a cable card. It has now been two weeks and many zipcodes later and I still cannot get the tvgos to display anything. Any suggestions?
 

FWIW
Unregistered guest
Those guides are usually populated by a host channel carrying the data stream. Usually PBS or a local channel. Do you know if COX has converted to all digital? If you pull the card out, does the information populate?
If your are is all digital then you will not get that info.
If you can get it without the card then there is an issue with the card not passing that data stream for some reason.


For the other poster with the issue with FREQ 687.00, has a technician checked that particular freq? Usually there are about 10-12 or about 6 channels per freq ( depending on your qam) You might have a few other channels tileing to but maybe do not watch them enough to notice.
 

cox arizona sucks
Unregistered guest
sorry fwiw,I do not know if they have converted to all digital. At this point I know that channels 200 and up are digital, but am unsure. i talked to a Cox employee at one time and they said that they allow the signal that passes the tvgos. Usually I feel like I am pretty competent with this stuff, but I am stumped. Are you saying it my be an issue with Cox or an issue with the tv. I am really hoping it is something that Cox can fix, but in dealing with their online help, I can see that I need another's advice. Thanks.
 

FWIW
Unregistered guest
Have you ever seen your lower channels pixelate? Does your set have any kind of diagnostics where you can check what kind of signal is on that channel?( digital or analog) or sometimes it will just give you the freq.
Also if you have a cable box somewhere in the house you can check if its a digital channel by using the boxes diagnostics.
 

wendyww
Unregistered guest
Here's a good article on the problems with cable card technology
http://funkyfresh.com/viewarticle.php?id=131
 

oh-lord
Unregistered guest
wow. . do I want to call Comcast for a Cable card now after reading all this . . lmao
 

hirschmans
Unregistered guest
We had a comcast cable card installed and my question is... Can it take away features on your tv remote? Because we no long get channel information, like what is on the channel. plus i can not delete channels past 100 and we no longer get 2 veiwing pictures.
 

hmw
Unregistered guest
There is a problem with a lot of HDTV and not just mine (Sony LCD projection). Shut off tv,pull plug,press twice the remote(should be dead)take out cable card-wait 5 minutes put card back in-power on-you will get all or just the analog.This happens once a week.-Main problem-cablecard one way-

I suggest Comcast give cheapest box for free or discount the basic box towards a recorder one.
 

Silver Member
Username: Helpful_smurf

Post Number: 107
Registered: Jun-05
Hirschmans,

The answer is yes. You lose MANY features with cablecard. It's a one way operation so no more onscreen channel guide for you, dual tuners etc...

Go back to the box!

 

Anonymous
 
Mitsubishi WD-62628 Wow! Great picture in HDTV with Cable card but lost HD & digital on day two with Cable card. After second day tech left, (4th card) No HD or digital. Brighthouse techs said "we'll get back to you" & "contact Mits". I noticed in TV setup no entry for RF IP address. Should there be an IP address? My TV SW version is V30 7.02, Card is Scientific Atlanta model PKM600. Any one know what might be wrong?
 

New member
Username: Tvhelp

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jul-05
I have sharp LC-32D7U with a comcast motorola cable card. The card has been replaced 4 times. The signal strength on the line has been measured and determined to be O.K. I receive most channels but not the music channels and espnhd. All of the channels that are not received are on the same frequency. Comcast has no answers.
Does anyone have a solution?
 

New member
Username: 737mech

Las Vegas, Nevada USA

Post Number: 1
Registered: Nov-05
I have seen issues with the cards from Cox in Las Vegas. They offered a explanation that when the update was sent out to add new channels (tnthd) the firmware/software problem hit with a vengence. My card didn't get cbshd or pbshd. I'm on the fourth card and it works fine, those of you with Samsung DLP's are especially subject to problems with cox's "Scientific Atlanta" cards but they assure me a newer card is on the way in early 06'. Personally I don't like the fact they used pcmcia media to do this cable card thing, the transfer rate is always horrible and there are so many better options on the market. I also think the technicians are lacking in experience with the cards and not practicing proper safety precautions for ESDS. Could be one reason for the problems.
 

New member
Username: Tech23070

Staten island, Ny

Post Number: 1
Registered: Nov-05
time warner has all types of problems with the cable cards
 

New member
Username: Tech23070

Staten island, Ny

Post Number: 2
Registered: Nov-05
samsung tv's have problems accepting the cable card. some loose the channel memory. i have the model numbers and post them saturday. i have installed at least 100 cable cards in our system in the last 2 years. most panasonics work fine. sharp tv's dont recieve anolog stations. anybody have any questions feel free to contact me or just post on website.
 

New member
Username: Tech23070

Staten island, Ny

Post Number: 3
Registered: Nov-05
the scientific cable card does not provide an rf ip address
 

tonyo7777
Unregistered guest
why are we paying for stations loaded with commercials.
 

tonyo7777
Unregistered guest
ps enough money is made off HBO etc and sports packages.
 

Anonymous
 
Is anyone posting to this thread??
I have a Toshiba 51HC85 and Comcast Digital Cable with Dual Tuner DVR HD and all... I'm wondering if anyone knows if the CableCard can serve as a second input to allow true picture in picture by splitting the cable and sending one to the cable box and the other to the cable card.
 

CharterSupervisor
Unregistered guest
NO.will not work that way!!
 

help withTVGuide
Unregistered guest
Does anyone know how to get the Gemstar TV Guide to work on the COMCAST Cable System in Northern New Jersey. I have a LG 42PX5D; and, it is hooked up to COMCAST cable with a cablecard. I cannot get any information to download to the Gemstar TV Guide. LG says that COMCAST and Gemstar TV Guide are aware of the problem. I called COMCAST and they had no idea about a problem downloading the TV Guide. COMCAST said to contact Gemstar TV Guide or LG. LG again told me that COMCAST and Gemstar TV Guide are aware of the problem, after I told them this. I have been unable to get a phone number or email address for Gemstar TV Guide; and, LG won't give it to me. Can anyone out there help???? Thanks.
 

help withTVGuide
Unregistered guest
Does anyone know how to get the Gemstar TV Guide to work on the COMCAST Cable System in Northern New Jersey. I have a LG 42PX5D; and, it is hooked up to COMCAST cable with a cablecard. I cannot get any information to download to the Gemstar TV Guide. LG says that COMCAST and Gemstar TV Guide are aware of the problem. I called COMCAST and they had no idea about a problem downloading the TV Guide. COMCAST said to contact Gemstar TV Guide or LG. LG again told me that COMCAST and Gemstar TV Guide are aware of the problem, after I told them this. I have been unable to get a phone number or email address for Gemstar TV Guide; and, LG won't give it to me. Can anyone out there help???? Thanks.
 

New member
Username: Toshed

Post Number: 2
Registered: Dec-05
help withTVGuide,
I'm having the same exact problem with my new Toshiba 62MX195. Toshiba says I need to update my TV's software so I'm now waiting on the download from Toshiba. I'm not in your area but the Comcast and Gemstar components of the problem are the same. I also lose my cable card connection occasionally, followed by error code 161-10. The set then connects and aquires all the channels I'm supposed to get. This can happen several times in one day or not at all. I'm looking forward to getting the software upgrade asap.
 

Unregistered guest
I have a Mitsu WD-52528 and am using the Comcast DVR 6412. I'm thinking of switching out the DVR 6412 for the Cable Card and buy my own DVR. Any one know if there are any performance issues with this setup? Cable prices just keep going up.
 

new HDTV owner
Unregistered guest
I just recently purchased a Toshiba 51HC85 51" rear projection TV. I also got the HD box through Time Warner. I believe everything is hooked up correctly but the picture is somewhat grainy. I have tried component cables as well as an HDMI/DVI cable. I'm not sure what else could be the problem. Any ideas?
 

New member
Username: Ryanr

Post Number: 1
Registered: Jan-06
To Dar... I work for Comcast in cust svc. Do not buy your own DVR as Comcast will not support your DVR on the system.
 

New member
Username: Ryanr

Post Number: 2
Registered: Jan-06
Oh, I'm not discouraging you so that Comcast can make money. I'm just as mad as everyone else about prices. I'm only trying to save you a headache & money on something that you wouldn't be able to use.
 

New member
Username: Ryanr

Post Number: 3
Registered: Jan-06
I'm not telling you this so Comcast makes more money. I've had the question a few times so I know that is what they'll (we) tell you if you call.
 

Silver Member
Username: Helpful_smurf

Post Number: 156
Registered: Jun-05
Actually the Concast DVR has a lower monthly price in my area than Tivo so it's a bargain AND it records HD. Wish the Hard drive was bigger though.
 

Anonymous
 
To DAR and Ryan Rieck

Dar go ahead but research it well. Try not to be an early adopter. Those are pricey and some are still pretty buggy. If you get one with a cablecard slot you will be pretty dam happy.

Ryan- He doesnt mean a 6412 off of EBAY, I believe he is refering to a SONY DVR or some other manufacturer. Comcast or any company will install a cablecard in this device, it will work and they do have bigger hard drives.
He will however sacrifice PPV and On Demand/IPG guide features.
 

New member
Username: Ryanr

Post Number: 6
Registered: Jan-06
Well if he does happen to buy a DVR with a cable card slot that may work b/c those devices usually have their own guide. The problem that he can run into is that the guide may not bring up our channel lineup. If that happens he won't be able to use the neat functions of a guide based DVR. He would have to set all his recordings manually for every show by using specific channels/times. To me that would suck. I like to know that my DVR is already recording new Battlestar Galatica's because I set it that way. Good thing too because I didn't even know the date the new one started, apparently it was last week ;-)
 

Silver Member
Username: Kdog044

Post Number: 213
Registered: Feb-05
In reference to this post:

Is anyone posting to this thread??
I have a Toshiba 51HC85 and Comcast Digital Cable with Dual Tuner DVR HD and all... I'm wondering if anyone knows if the CableCard can serve as a second input to allow true picture in picture by splitting the cable and sending one to the cable box and the other to the cable card.

It will work as you indicate as I have both the 6412 (HMDI input) and cable card (ANT1 input) on my set and can use POP. I believe you can't do this with the two ANT inputs but can with one ANT input and either HDMI,component, or other video input, at least with the 62HMX94.
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