There's nothing easy about getting a
CableCARD from your cable co' and if you're hoping to save a few bucks by using a multi-stream (aka
M-Card) CableCARD in your
TiVo HD -- does any other 3rd party host device even support M-Cards? -- then you have an even harder road ahead than most. Recently good 'ol S&V Mag braved the trail and came away semi-scathed. Lucky for us, they documented the journey and have written up a pretty comprehensive list of pitfalls to watch out for. Some are pretty obvious, like the need to be persistent when you meet the cable co's resistance to all things CableCARD, but it's a must read nonetheless. Oh, and one more thing, make sure the card actually says Multi-Stream on it before you even bother inserting it, as many cable co' employees think M-Card means Motorola card!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Joe @ Feb 19th 2008 3:25PM
With the current TiVo firmware. A single M-Card will work in a Series3 and enable control both tuners. ..until you reboot the system, then the unit will only see the card as one tuner. Seems like a problem that could be fixed with firmware.
Justin Blanton @ Feb 19th 2008 8:24PM
If you want a good laugh, check out my Comcast cablecard experience.
http://justinblanton.com/2007/08/comcast-cablecards
Jay @ Feb 20th 2008 10:30AM
I really must be the luckiest person around, at least in terms of cableCARD. I had heard all of the horror stories but decided I really needed a Tivo HD. I went to my local cable office and made an appointment for installation of a multistream card. The people in the local office were amazingly friendly and made an appointment for the next day. The tech came out and told me, flat out, that he had done about 30 cableCARD installs and only 3 had worked. Put the card in, made the phone call, and it just worked. All the HD channels, both tuners, everything.
So it's possible, at least if the stars are aligned just so.
Travis @ Feb 20th 2008 4:29PM
Much to my surprise, Cox cable installed a M-Stream card into my TiVo without me requesting it. Of course, they installed in into slot 2 and couldn't figure why it didn't work but that's another story...