Two Comcast cable boxes, One TiVo, Different results
 

I have TVs in two rooms. Both have Comcast (Palo Alto, CA) digital
cable boxes installed at the same time. We have the basic service on
both. As far as I know, they are (were) identical.

About 3 months ago, we installed a TiVo on one TV. Everything worked
perfectly, as far as I could tell, until 2 weeks ago when I tried to
record all 13 eposides of *The Ascent of Man* being aired on the
Science channel.

The Science channel is channel #272 on our system. Prior to TiVo
finding this airing, I had never tuned to that cannel and didn't even
know it was there. So, I cannot say whether it was working or not.

The airing was last weekend. TiVo appeared to do the recordings as
requested. I watched the first 2-3 episodes. When I tried to watch the
3rd, I found that all that was recorded was a message saying that the
channel was not available. This was true for several other episodes as
well. Other episodes were even stranger. The recorded image was all
broken up and jumpy. It looked like a cubist painting. The sound was
also all broken up like a cell phone call.

I have noticed that TiVo sometimes stumbles on playback. will be
watching a recorded show and the picture will stick or a strip of
image will blur or jump a bit. If I backspace and watch it again, it
is fine. I assumed that TiVo was doing something else and ran out of
processor capacity.

About this same time, the whole system started acting strange. At one
point, TiVo could not change channels at all. The cable box was stuck
on channel 42, but nothing was on the screen. I posted a query here
and was advised to unplug both boxes. I did this and it seemed to fix
the problem.

Yesterday, I was watching the non-TiVo TV and found an interesting
show on the newly discovered Science channel (272). When I moved to
the TiVo TV, I found that chanel 272 had a black screen saying "This
channel will be available shortly". This message was also what was
recorded for several of the Ascent of Man episodes. I went back to the
non-TiVo TV and the show was still playing.

I have tried it several times since. I can always get channel 272 on
the non-TiVo TV and I can occasionally get it on the TiVo TV, but
mostly I get the "available shortly" message.

Occasionally, the TiVo TV will show the fractured picture on channel
272 on live TV (not recorded). This suggests to me that TiVo is
recording whatever signal it is getting and not scramblng the signal
itself.

I just tried it. The firtst time I tried it, I was unable to even tune
channel 272 using the TiVo remote. I was able to tune 272 using the
cable remote. Once I tuned it using the cable remote, I was able to
tune using the TiVo remote.

This is a good mystery, but I am tiring of it. I have tried the unplug
solution a couple of times. Is there anything else I should do?

Here's the model info on the cable box if that is of any help:

F/G No: 478364-013-00
C ATV Converter Model
DCT 2224/1662/ACDEG

Thanks



--
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A Sat, 29 May 2004 08:58:02 -0700, Top Spin
escribió:
I have TVs in two rooms. Both have Comcast (Palo Alto, CA) digital
cable boxes installed at the same time. We have the basic service on
both. As far as I know, they are (were) identical.

I've learned there is no such thing as identical cable
boxes. Every single box I get from Comcast (Reading, MA)
interacts with my Tivo differently. I've had a tug-o-war
with a cable tech once to keep the box I had, because I
didn't want to risk the next one being so flakey.

The airing was last weekend. TiVo appeared to do the recordings as
requested. I watched the first 2-3 episodes. When I tried to watch the
3rd, I found that all that was recorded was a message saying that the
channel was not available. This was true for several other episodes as
well. Other episodes were even stranger. The recorded image was all
broken up and jumpy. It looked like a cubist painting. The sound was
also all broken up like a cell phone call.

This is more likely a problem with the cable box than
anything else. The channel is scrambled, and if there isn't
enough signal going into the box, there will be problems.
This isn't Tivo-related, but may be a reflection of how many
times you have to split your signal and how many connectors
necessary to string together your "network."

I have noticed that TiVo sometimes stumbles on playback. will be
watching a recorded show and the picture will stick or a strip of
image will blur or jump a bit.

My Series 1 Tivo had a very hard time whenever the Comcast
box doesn't adequately descramble the signal. My Series 2
Tivo doesn't lock up or get messed up in any way. Of
course, all it can do is display the poor quality broadcast
being put out by the Comcast box, so the fact that it
doesn't get messed up isn't much consolation.

If I backspace and watch it again, it
is fine. I assumed that TiVo was doing something else and ran out of
processor capacity.

I don't think that's it.

Yesterday, I was watching the non-TiVo TV and found an interesting
show on the newly discovered Science channel (272). When I moved to
the TiVo TV, I found that chanel 272 had a black screen saying "This
channel will be available shortly".

Okay, that' clinches it. It is definitely a matter of
signal strength, due to splitting of your cable signal and
the number of connectors from the head end to your cable
box.

This is a good mystery, but I am tiring of it. I have tried the unplug
solution a couple of times. Is there anything else I should do?

What I did was simple: I had Comcast install a signal
amplifier where their signal enters my house. All these
problems went away. It sucks that they don't take
responsibility for delivering into my house a strong-enough
signal for all I want to do with their service, but if
you're really fed up with the problems, that's the way to
solve them.


--
bicker®
Watch Good Morning America on June 1 to meet members of
the National Weight Control Registry, who share their
experiences losing weight and keeping weight off for
life.

On Sat, 29 May 2004 16:44:41 -0400, *bicker*
wrote:

Yesterday, I was watching the non-TiVo TV and found an interesting
show on the newly discovered Science channel (272). When I moved to
the TiVo TV, I found that chanel 272 had a black screen saying "This
channel will be available shortly".

Okay, that' clinches it. It is definitely a matter of
signal strength, due to splitting of your cable signal and
the number of connectors from the head end to your cable
box.

This is a good mystery, but I am tiring of it. I have tried the unplug
solution a couple of times. Is there anything else I should do?

What I did was simple: I had Comcast install a signal
amplifier where their signal enters my house. All these
problems went away. It sucks that they don't take
responsibility for delivering into my house a strong-enough
signal for all I want to do with their service, but if
you're really fed up with the problems, that's the way to
solve them.

OK, I will call them and see what they say. Thanks for the help.

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com

"Top Spin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 May 2004 16:44:41 -0400, *bicker*
wrote:

snip solve them.

OK, I will call them and see what they say. Thanks for the help.


There is a better way! When I finally had enough of Comcast, I simply had a
DTV put in and told Comcast to pound sand. I was unhappy with them and I
let them know it many times.. their so called customer service was not very
good, IMHO.

Then they tried to raise my internet access by a chunk of money since I
didn't have the cable TV anymore. So... I went and got a DLS line at about
half the cost... and now I am a happy boy.

I love the DTV and the TiVo. The DSL works just fine. It isn't quite as
fast, but plenty fast enough.... and I don't have to deal with Comcast..
that is the best part!

A Sun, 30 May 2004 12:58:53 GMT, "C what I mean" no
escribió:
"Top Spin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 May 2004 16:44:41 -0400, *bicker*
wrote:
snip solve them.
OK, I will call them and see what they say. Thanks for the help.
There is a better way! When I finally had enough of Comcast, I simply had a
DTV put in and told Comcast to pound sand.

I considered that, but determined that that wasn't a better
way. Satellite doesn't offer high-speed internet service.
As reliable as satellite service is (and it is very
reliable) I found cable service, such as that from Comcast,
to be even more reliable.

Then they tried to raise my internet access by a chunk of money since I
didn't have the cable TV anymore. So... I went and got a DLS line at about
half the cost... and now I am a happy boy.

Yes, I considered that as well. However, DSL lines here are
only moderately less expensive than cable internet, and for
some reason, once you get a mile away from the telephone
company's central office it gets very unreliable. There
were several years when they wouldn't even talk to me about
DSL here. Since they've started offering the service here,
all I've heard from my neighbors is how slow and unreliable
it is compared to cable. It's a pretty-good service, don't
get me wrong. However, unless I really wanted to but my
anger above my logic, there was no way I was going to swap
out both superior services for two lesser services.


--
bicker®
Watch Good Morning America on June 1 to meet members of
the National Weight Control Registry, who share their
experiences losing weight and keeping weight off for
life.

"*bicker*" wrote in message
. ..
A Sun, 30 May 2004 12:58:53 GMT, "C what I mean" no
escribió:
"Top Spin" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 29 May 2004 16:44:41 -0400, *bicker*
wrote:
snip solve them.
OK, I will call them and see what they say. Thanks for the help.
There is a better way! When I finally had enough of Comcast, I simply
had a
DTV put in and told Comcast to pound sand.

I considered that, but determined that that wasn't a better
way. Satellite doesn't offer high-speed internet service.
As reliable as satellite service is (and it is very
reliable) I found cable service, such as that from Comcast,
to be even more reliable.


Our Comcast was less reliable. And when they went down, they didn't seem to
really care... they would get to it when they get to it. We actually had a
couple of days in a row when the cable was out. The guy that was in the
neighborhood to fix it had no idea how far the outage had gone when I talked
to him about 30 hours after the failure.. It started to go down more and
more so I finally gave up.

Then they tried to raise my internet access by a chunk of money since I
didn't have the cable TV anymore. So... I went and got a DLS line at
about
half the cost... and now I am a happy boy.

snip

On Sat, 29 May 2004 16:44:41 -0400, *bicker*
wrote:

Yesterday, I was watching the non-TiVo TV and found an interesting
show on the newly discovered Science channel (272). When I moved to
the TiVo TV, I found that chanel 272 had a black screen saying "This
channel will be available shortly".

Okay, that' clinches it. It is definitely a matter of
signal strength, due to splitting of your cable signal and
the number of connectors from the head end to your cable
box.

This is a good mystery, but I am tiring of it. I have tried the unplug
solution a couple of times. Is there anything else I should do?

What I did was simple: I had Comcast install a signal
amplifier where their signal enters my house. All these
problems went away. It sucks that they don't take
responsibility for delivering into my house a strong-enough
signal for all I want to do with their service, but if
you're really fed up with the problems, that's the way to
solve them.

I first tried contrlling teh cable box using the cable remote. This
seems to work just fine. The cable box remote can change channels on
the cable box with no problems when the TiVo remote cannot.

Is this still due to a weak signal?

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com

A Wed, 02 Jun 2004 19:04:29 -0700, Top Spin
escribió:
I first tried contrlling teh cable box using the cable remote. This
seems to work just fine. The cable box remote can change channels on
the cable box with no problems when the TiVo remote cannot.

Channel changing is a different problem from the reception
problems you described earlier. Channel changing problems
are often due to interference in the room.

Here's a link to the page with all the information you need
to address channel changing problems:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...hreadid=128743


--
bicker®
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/D...ry_040602.html

On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 06:03:59 -0400, *bicker*
wrote:

A Wed, 02 Jun 2004 19:04:29 -0700, Top Spin
escribió:
I first tried contrlling teh cable box using the cable remote. This
seems to work just fine. The cable box remote can change channels on
the cable box with no problems when the TiVo remote cannot.

Channel changing is a different problem from the reception
problems you described earlier. Channel changing problems
are often due to interference in the room.

I'm using the serial connection -- not the IR. Is interference still
an issue?

Here's a link to the page with all the information you need
to address channel changing problems:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb...hreadid=128743

OK, I'll check it out. Thanks

--
For email, use Usenet-20031220 at spamex.com

A Thu, 03 Jun 2004 13:07:22 -0700, Top Spin
escribió:
I'm using the serial connection -- not the IR. Is interference still
an issue?

The serial connection is only supported if your cable system
has the support enabled. Comcast here does not support it,
so if your Comcast system is the same, what you're really
seeing is the impact of the very poor emitter on the front
of the unit. In that case, you're definitely better off
using the wire emitters, and putting the cable box in a
cabinet.


--
bicker®
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/D...ry_040602.html

On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 18:23:50 -0400, *bicker*
wrote:

A Thu, 03 Jun 2004 13:07:22 -0700, Top Spin
escribió:
I'm using the serial connection -- not the IR. Is interference still
an issue?

The serial connection is only supported if your cable system
has the support enabled. Comcast here does not support it,
so if your Comcast system is the same, what you're really
seeing is the impact of the very poor emitter on the front
of the unit. In that case, you're definitely better off
using the wire emitters, and putting the cable box in a
cabinet.

Is there some foolproof way to test if the serial connection is
working? Can I cover up the IR input or output and see if anything
works at all?

What's weird is that it never has any trouble changing the
lower-numbered channels. The ones in the 200s cause it problems.

--
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A Thu, 03 Jun 2004 16:35:24 -0700, Top Spin
escribió:
The serial connection is only supported if your cable system
has the support enabled. Comcast here does not support it,
so if your Comcast system is the same, what you're really
seeing is the impact of the very poor emitter on the front
of the unit. In that case, you're definitely better off
using the wire emitters, and putting the cable box in a
cabinet.
Is there some foolproof way to test if the serial connection is
working?

No. Generally, it is only available where the company has
guaranteed that it would be, typically as part of a
co-marketing arrangement with Tivo whereby you buy your Tivo
through the company (AT&T Broadband was the only company
that did this) and they'd support the serial connection. I
don't know if Comcast is honoring that agreement for those
systems that it bought from AT&T, but your related
experience indicates, almost assuredly, that it is not
supported in your area.

What's weird is that it never has any trouble changing the
lower-numbered channels. The ones in the 200s cause it problems.

As much as I make fun of the emitter on the front of the
Tivo unit, it does work, to some extent.


--
bicker®
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/D...ry_040602.html

On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 06:14:32 -0400, *bicker*
wrote:

Is there some foolproof way to test if the serial connection is
working?

No. Generally, it is only available where the company has
guaranteed that it would be, typically as part of a
co-marketing arrangement with Tivo whereby you buy your Tivo
through the company (AT&T Broadband was the only company
that did this) and they'd support the serial connection.

OK. I went through the setup routine again. About 7-8 levels deep,
there is an option to test the serial connection. I tried it and it
said that it was able to change channels. As far as I could tell, no
channels were actually changed -- at least the display on the cable
box didn't change -- but it said it was happy.

I also tried covering up the IR receiver. I was able to get it so that
the cable remote couldn't change channels, but I could not find a way
to block the TiVo from changing channels.

The combination makes me think that the serial connection is working.

I suspect the cable box. Even using the cable remote, I can't get all
of the channels on the TiVo set that I can on the other (supposedly
identical) cable box in another room.

When I try to tune to channel 272 using the cable remote, it tunes the
channel (at least the cable box display shows "272"), but the TV shows
a black screen with "This channel will be available shortly" message.
That channel is available on the other TV.

When I try to tune to channel 272 using the TiVo remote, the whole
TiVo box goes haywire. It first tunes 272, then 273, then 274, ...
then is jumps around in the 400s. When it finally stops, I am no
longer able to change channels at all using the TiVo remote. The cable
remote will work just fine and if I tune it to a channel lower than
100, everything is back.


--
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A Fri, 04 Jun 2004 16:29:07 -0700, Top Spin
escribió:
As far as I could tell, no
channels were actually changed -- at least the display on the cable
box didn't change -- but it said it was happy.
I also tried covering up the IR receiver. I was able to get it so that
the cable remote couldn't change channels, but I could not find a way
to block the TiVo from changing channels.
The combination makes me think that the serial connection is working.

Sorry, but your logic is faulty. From what you describe,
you can conclude that the serial connection is not working.
Time for you to move on, recognizing that the way your Tivo
changes channels is using IR.


--
bicker®
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/D...ry_040602.html

*bicker* shaped the electrons to say:
escribió:
I also tried covering up the IR receiver. I was able to get it so that
the cable remote couldn't change channels, but I could not find a way
to block the TiVo from changing channels.
The combination makes me think that the serial connection is working.

Sorry, but your logic is faulty. From what you describe,
you can conclude that the serial connection is not working.
Time for you to move on, recognizing that the way your Tivo
changes channels is using IR.

How do you figure that? He's blocked the IR receiver, the IR remote
does not work. The TiVo *does* change the channels. How do you think
it is doing that via IR when the receiver is blocked and the remote
doesn't work.

Sounds like the serial cable DOES work, but the cable box is broken
and not tuning some channels.

-MZ, RHCE #806199299900541, ex-CISSP #3762
--
URL:mailto:megazoneatmegazone.org Gweep, Discordian, Author, Engineer, me.
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-755-4098
URL:http://www.megazone.org/ URL:http://www.eyrie-productions.com/ Eris

A 05 Jun 2004 23:56:47 GMT,
(MegaZone) escribió:
How do you figure that? He's blocked the IR receiver, the IR remote
does not work.

He didn't block the IR receiver. Read it again. It is the
emitter he tried to block, but in reality all he covered
what he thought was the emission "point." The reality is
that the built-in emitter isn't a pinpoint tunneling device.
It emits so much that some folks have to wrap their cable
boxes in foil in order to control the interference the
built-in emitter causes with its own IR remote emissions!


--
bicker®
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/D...ry_040602.html

*bicker* shaped the electrons to say:
He didn't block the IR receiver. Read it again. It is the
emitter he tried to block, but in reality all he covered

Again - where does he say that?
---
I also tried covering up the IR receiver. I was able to get it so that
the cable remote couldn't change channels, but I could not find a way
to block the TiVo from changing channels.
---

If he blocked the emitter just what stopped the CABLE REMOTE from
working? The TiVo wouldn't even be in the loop.

what he thought was the emission "point." The reality is
that the built-in emitter isn't a pinpoint tunneling device.

I know all about the built in emitter in the TiVo.

-MZ, RHCE #806199299900541, ex-CISSP #3762
--
URL:mailto:megazoneatmegazone.org Gweep, Discordian, Author, Engineer, me.
"A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-755-4098
URL:http://www.megazone.org/ URL:http://www.eyrie-productions.com/ Eris