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Dilligaf · 2013-12-09, 02:23

Woke up yesterday to no TV, after investigating I found I had one working channel announcing that my analog service is now encrypted and I will need a box, call this number. Really? they couldn't send out a letter in advance to get a box? After spending an eternity in phone hell I finally got a live person and proceeded to order free boxes, then I asked about a cable card for my HDHomerun Prime, everything ground to a halt, the person knew nothing of cable cards and the "cable card department" is closed and you'll have to call back later. Called the next day asking for the non-existent "cable card department" and finally got a semi knowledgable person to answer my questions and order a cable card. Also found out that the person from the previous day had changed my service level, raised my rates and promised free boxes that in fact weren't free (2 of the 3 promised boxes were free, the third had a fee). I got my rates adjusted to my previous level and actually got to keep the service upgrade due to my troubles, I'm sure the rates will mysteriously go up in the future but I'll be looking for it. So now I sit here with no TV for 3-4 days waiting for my equipment to arrive, that's real customer service isn't it?

What has this to do with pvr.wmc? In reality not much but it is a warning of what will eventually happen to everyone that gets programming straight off the cable. When I get my cable card then I will be able to see how pvr.wmc works with it and a HDHomerun prime. hopefully everything isn't locked

**TechLife** · (This post was last modified: 2013-12-09, 03:54 by TechLife.)

This has been happening in a lot of areas. Happened here in Denver metro a long time ago. The good news for you is that Comcast marks all of their channels (except premium movie channels) copy-freely so it will still all work with pvr.wmc. What area are you in out of curiosity? The last complaints I saw were in the New England area.

Just to forewarn you, I had a hell of a time getting my cable card setup properly. Make sure they sent you an "M" card, not an "S" card before you even try to activate it. The HDHRP will tell you if it's the wrong one. Then, if your luck is really crappy, you'll have to get someone in the "cable card department" rebuild the channel list from scratch to get you all of your channels. It's easier, until you get to an english-speaking person with a brain, to just say it's a TiVo. Otherwise all you'll get is silence and/or "that device isn't supported".

Dilligaf · 2013-12-09, 04:20

I'm in Michigan, what really gets me is no prior notice whatsoever just suddenly no tv.

krustyreturns · 2013-12-09, 04:46

(2013-12-09, 04:20)Dilligaf Wrote: I'm in Michigan, what really gets me is no prior notice whatsoever just suddenly no tv.

I hope your tv is still copy-free Dilligaf, we need you to stick around here.

I struggled finding someone at my cable company who knew how to set up cable card too. After complaining a couple times, they promised the next guy I was to talk to was their 'real' cable card expert. He wasn't - but he did have the phone number of the guy who was and we called him. That man's name and identity were clearly a closely guarded secret.

Dark_Slayer · (This post was last modified: 2013-12-09, 04:52 by Dark_Slayer.)

(2013-12-09, 02:23)Dilligaf Wrote: What has this to do with pvr.wmc? In reality not much but it is a warning of what will eventually happen to everyone that gets programming straight off the cable. When I get my cable card then I will be able to see how pvr.wmc works with it and a HDHomerun prime. hopefully everything isn't locked

Comcast is actually quite awesome in regard to using pvr.wmc with the HDHR Prime. If you were with Charter, Cox, or TWC then it wouldn't work at all outside a single instance of WMC, and the recordings would be locked to that single instance of wmc. Love Comcast and Verizon Fios, they are the last hold outs in what seems like a country wide lock down of copy-free cable content

Also, when you get your cablecard, just go straight to the number in the 8th post of this forum thread http://www.silicondust.com/forum2/viewto...44&t=10490

Don't mention where you got the number, or blame the tivo forums Smile

awp0 · 2013-12-09, 05:28

This happened to me a couple of months ago, and it's why I'm now using wmc.pvr.

Now, I'm not a fan of Comcast and this was an unwelcome surprise to say the least. However, FWIW, my experience getting a CableCARD, setting it up, and running it with wmc.pvr has been quite good. Hopefully yours will be as well.

I got mine directly from the Comcast office in town. Just walked up to the counter and explained that I need a CableCARD now that my service is all-digital. I made sure to get the m-card. They gave me the card and some printed instructions. I got home, plugged it in, called Comcast (at the number in the instructions) and gave them some serial numbers that appeared in the HDHomerun UI. Shortly thereafter I was in business. It all worked perfectly. I only get limited basic channels, but they work great.

bandook · 2013-12-09, 16:20

If anyone is able to get WOW! cable I highly recommend them. But I think they are just Midwest and southeast. Had a couple hiccups installing the card until I got a hold of one of their techs on the dlsreports forum. Dan I think. He got me activated shortly I posted my issues on the forum.

What's really nice is everything is copy freely, not HBO max etc, but if you ever need a new "hit" sent you don't have to bother trying to fight someone on the phone, just call in automated help line and within 3 options they send the hit to all your devices instantly.

bman212121 · 2013-12-09, 16:24

A bit late for the info now, but if you want to get a cablecard from Comcast the best idea is to go to your local store and pick it up from there. It's probably a drive but they seemed to be a lot more helpful and you can get what you need in 5 - 10 minutes with no hassle. If you need any more cards I would definitely suggest that route.

Also, check your bill for November as they did warn you they were going to be encrypting on December 3rd. They don't usually send out extra warnings but most of the important info is in that column on the left side of the bill. If you don't get billing statements you can sign into their website and download a PDF of them. Be forewarned also that rates are going up January 1 so you might really want to check December's bill as that column of text should tell you by how much.

jyan_osu · 2013-12-10, 21:31

(2013-12-09, 16:20)bandook Wrote: If anyone is able to get WOW! cable I highly recommend them. But I think they are just Midwest and southeast. Had a couple hiccups installing the card until I got a hold of one of their techs on the dlsreports forum. Dan I think. He got me activated shortly I posted my issues on the forum.

What's really nice is everything is copy freely, not HBO max etc, but if you ever need a new "hit" sent you don't have to bother trying to fight someone on the phone, just call in automated help line and within 3 options they send the hit to all your devices instantly.

Hey bandook. I have WoW and a few channels are giving me issues. Specifically Syfy which I see in the logs as copy once and thus I get the Grey blocks pausing stutter screen. It's copy once on both the HD and SD signals. I think another channel was ABC family. Wish there was a way around it. I don't have any premium channels, just want the ones that I have now to work.

Dilligaf · 2013-12-19, 19:22

Well, 10 days later and about 10 phone calls and today I finally received my cable card via a service call. It seems after promising me that they would mail me one multiple times that suddenly they cannot be mailed and require a $40 service call to install them, more Comcast s**t, anyways it seems to work good with pvr.wmc which is all that matters