M-Card: Possible
It's hard enough getting your cable company to cough up a CableCard. But ask for the newer Multi-Stream CableCard (which does the work of two tuners on one card) and you're asking for trouble. Here's our guide to scoring one against all odds.
By Rob Medich • February 2008from
Sound & Vision MagazineI never meant to hold the cable guy hostage. But there he was sitting in my desk chair just a few feet away from my plasma, watching the little "preparing” prompt on my TiVo setup screen spin round and round and round . . . Then round some more . . .
Cable Guy would sit there for 30, maybe 40 minutes, just staring, watching, waiting . . . But I would not let him leave — not till my TiVo HD fully recognized the Multi-Stream CableCARD (M-Card) that he came to install (he was the second cable guy to come by; the first guy failed). On speakerphone, meanwhile, through the whole ordeal, was a delightfully perky TiVo technical support person.
Did it have to come to this? If only my cable company had its poop together. If only they knew what a Multi-Stream CableCARD was (or a "tuner" for that matter — more on that later). If only they understood the steps required to install this card, which would allow my TiVo HD to record two channels at once — without a cable box.
Hell, I read all the forums beforehand. I knew this would be tough. But even when I assumed the cable-bots would be incompetents and planned accordingly . . . they turned out to be even bigger incompetents!
What I needed was a guide — a primer, a manual. I needed a way to troubleshoot any possible misstep before it happened. I needed to know just how to finesse my cable company so that it might actually succeed at M-Card: Impossible.
Before our guide, a little background: A CableCARD is a palm-sized metal plug-in that you can pop into a number of flat-panels or other TV-signal receivers like TiVo Series 3, TiVo HD and Niveus media centers. This little unit works as a TV tuner, letting you watch all your cable channels (that you subscribe to, anyway) without a cable box. So, you get more free shelf space for less money: Cable companies tend to charge just a small monthly rental fee to use their CableCARD — say, $1.50 a month (in my case) — as opposed to, say, $10 for a cable box (more, if you’re renting a cable company DVR).
I wanted that newer CableCARD, the M-Card, which, as mentioned earlier, does the work of two regular CableCARDs. Install one in your TiVo HD, and you’ll be able to record two channels at once via this one card for that mere $1.50. (TiVo Series 3, on the other hand, currently gives you dual-tuner functionality only if you rent two CableCARDs — standard or Multi-Stream.)
I was all for saving the moohlah. And I was never too pleased with my cable company’s crappy DVR. I wanted a TiVo HD (the key letters there being “HD”), I wanted to be able to record two channels at once, and I only wanted to pay for one CableCARD. And that’s where my nightmare began.
Before the hostage crisis
First, I made a preliminary call to my cable company, RCN, to find out if it had M-Cards. At one point, someone I spoke to there said they “don’t support TiVos.”
A couple of weeks later, I ordered the M-Card from my cable company. I did everything I could to emphasize that I needed a Multi-Stream card, not a regular CableCARD. My gut told me they weren’t really “getting” my request (M-Cards are still a relatively new phenomenon). I told them to make sure the cable guy brought several, since I know these cards can be buggy.
I even called RCN back before the installation to make sure they understood what I needed. I still wasn’t sure they understood me.
The first cable guy arrived. I asked him if he brought an M-Card, as opposed to a regular cable card. Yep, no problem, he told me. He popped the card in, called the home ship to send through a signal, and sure enough, my TiVo worked and was getting all my channels — including my premiums. But there was a warning, which I ignored: A TiVo prompt read something like, “To get dual-tuner functionality, you must install two CableCARDs.” I figured maybe even the TiVo itself didn’t completely “get” the M-Card and its talents. I figured the problem would go away. Cable Guy left. I was starting to have doubts. I called him on his cell (I luckily had his number). “Are you sure you gave me a Multi-Stream CableCARD?” I asked. “Yeah, that’s what you’ve got,” he answered.
Only then did I find the part in the TiVo instruction manual that explained how to switch from one tuner to the other. I hit the tuner button.
TiVo bass-drum sound of failure.
At that point, I realized I only had a single tuner working. Either this was a non-M-Card or it was incorrectly installed.
Called back RCN to complain. Got a technical support woman. Was put on hold many times. When I realized she didn’t understand what I was talking about, I asked to speak to someone who actually had a clue. She warned me that I’d have to wait on hold a long time all over again to reach someone. I tried to give her another chance. At one point she asked me to explain, “what a tuner is.” She also warned me that if the malfunction was with the TiVo and not their installation, I’d have to pay for the second cable guy visit.
Got her supervisor on the phone. She seemed more in-tune to the problem. Scheduled Cable Guy No. 2.
Cable Guy No. 2 came by. He removed the old CableCARD from my TiVo (which turned out to be a regular CableCARD — it didn’t say “M-Card” on it) and popped in a real M-Card. He thought the M-Card had the ability for two-way interactivity, so I could order pay-per-view, on-demand, that kind of thing. I explained to him that two-way CableCARDs weren’t on the market yet. He wouldn’t believe me.
He installed the M-Card. It still didn’t give me two-tuner access. I called TiVo support, put her on speaker. She said the card needed to be “paired” again to activate the second tuner. Cable Guy called the mother ship. A second signal was sent through.
TiVo Lady also told us that we’d have to launch the TiVo setup all over again. (That whole initial process that can take the better part of an hour.) I told Cable Guy he wasn’t going anywhere till the TiVo gave us the green light. And that’s how he wound up sitting in that chair, watching the wheels go ’round and ’round . . .
At the end, though, everything finally worked.
And so, as promised, here's our guide to minimize the M-Card pain:
Ordering the Multi-Stream CableCARD from your cable provider.
In theory, you can just call the same cable company phone number you call whenever you order any new service. Just make sure the phone person understands exactly what you’re asking for. If she doesn’t get it, she may convey the wrong request to the cable guy. Ask her to repeat your request. If she sounds less-than-fluent in CableCARD-ese, ask to speak to someone else or a supervisor till you get on the horn with someone who’s clued in. Brian Paper of Niveus agrees: “If the customer service rep doesn’t know how to get an order placed for CableCARD, I would simply ask to speak with someone else.”
The good news: The phone agent should be able to put through your request.
“In our experience dealing with one of the larger cable providers — Comcast, Cox, Time Warner, etc. — it’s very rare to get a customer service agent on the phone who isn’t aware of what CableCARD is or how to arrange for you to obtain it,” says Paper. “For the customer service folks it’s just another product that can be ordered. They enter the order and schedule an installation time just as they would for a set-top box.
If the cable customer service folk try to discourage you from getting a CableCARD (they may point out that CableCARDs currently can’t access pay-per-view or on-demand)
“Cable providers must support the use of CableCARDs in systems such as ours,” Paper says. “Customers should not take ‘No’ for an answer.”
If the cable company tells you they don’t “support” TiVo or Niveus
“Because our products are professionally installed by our network of Niveus Authorized Dealers who have been trained on the products and technology, if they were ever told by the cable provider that our products are not supported, our dealers have the knowledge necessary to push back and speak with a supervisor if necessary to get the proper outcome,” says Paper. “The key is that cable providers are required by law to provide CableCARDs for systems such as ours. Any cable provider who says they don’t support our Windows Vista Media Center-based solution is absolutely incorrect.”
FCC rules, by the way, require such support and TiVo, meanwhile, is on the list of approved CableCARD devices from CableLabs, the cards’ developer.
Request that the cable guy bring several CableCARDs with him.
"We recommend that our dealers request the Cable installer to bring multiple CableCARDs,” says Paper. “In some instances, we’ve seen higher than acceptable failure rates of CableCARDs. Once the CableCARDs are installed and paired correctly, failure rates are very low — it’s the CableCARDs that arrive “DOA” that are an issue. Additionally, we recommend that our dealers ask for new CableCARDs that have not been previously paired with any other device. This can also help the installation go smoothly.”
A pre-installation follow-up call is a good thing.
“Confirming an order or appointment is always a great idea,” says Paper. “Especially if special requests are made such as having the installer bring multiple, new CableCARDs.”
Follow up with the actual installer, if possible.
If you can speak beforehand to the actual cable guy who’s coming over, do. Notes Paper, “In some instances, a contractor is used by the cable provider, once an installation appointment is made. The customer may follow up directly to confirm the order and appointment. This would be a good opportunity to discuss the installation to ensure someone knowledgeable is coming out.”
When applicable, have a customer-support number handy.
Before my cable guy arrived, I was armed with a printout of the Tivo customer support contact info (go
here for the phone number). When the inevitable trouble arose, I raced to the phone, and I’m please to say the TiVo wait time was just a few minutes.
Politely interrogate your cable guy.
When the big day arrives (as in, when the cable guy finally makes it over), feel him out to see if he understands what an M-Card is supposed to do. If he seems clueless, you might want to start putting in that call to customer support, just in case.
Also, ask to see the actual CableCARD to make sure it’s Multi-Stream. Says Paper, “Look at the serial number on it; if it starts with “MA” it’s a Multi-Stream Card; if it starts with “SA” it’s a Single-Stream Card (at least this is the case for Motorola cards). Also, the CableCARD itself may say ‘M-Card’ or ‘Multi-Stream’.”
M-Card installation vs. standard CableCARD
From a Windows Media Center perspective, the installation of an M-Card versus Single-Stream Card is identical,” says Paper. “However, we do recommend that our dealers request standard CableCARDs instead of M-Cards. While M-Cards should function the same way as standard CableCARDs, our support for M-Cards is relatively new and the digital cable tuner firmware continues to evolve with improved support.”
That whole business about cards being “paired” by the cable company
Every CableCARD needs to be “paired” before it will function properly,” says Paper. “Pairing refers to the authentication or handshake process that needs to occur between the CableCARD and digital cable tuner or ‘host’ in order to receive the programming the user subscribed to. Without proper pairing, the only channels that can be received are the unencrypted QAM channels.”
Proof of success
Says Paper: “As it relates to any CableCARD install, before the cable installer leaves, make sure all the channels you subscribe to are being received properly. Be sure to check both standard-def and high-def channels, as we’ve seen instances where improper pairing may result in all HD channels being received properly while some SD channels are not. If this happens, suggest to the cable installer that they ‘initialize and hit’ the cards again until all programming is received. Also, be sure to check both tuners in a dual-tuner or M-Card installation. This can be done by checking programming on the first tuner, then recording a channel while checking programming on the second tuner.”
The waiting process
In my case, it was necessary to go through the entire TiVo setup before I could confirm that both tuners worked. Different setups, though, may not be as grueling.
“The cable provider may suggest that it takes up to 30 minutes or more to receive all the channels a user has subscribed to,” says Paper. “But in our experience, the programming is available almost immediately after the pairing process. On a Niveus system, after the pairing process is complete, the software installation should be finished within three to five minutes. In either case, I would request that the cable installer wait until all programming can be confirmed. Unfortunately, in most cases, the pairing process is not something the dealer or user can do without the cable installer, so allowing the cable installer to leave prior to confirming programming may result in another installation appointment if the pairing did not complete successfully.”
In other words, the guy may have to sit there for a while and wait. Be prepared with witty banter.
