Thank you MZ for all this information and being able to zero in on the problem. I'm going to have to call Charter again (this will be the 8th person to come out just for this problem) and try to synchronize a TiVo technician to talk with them. But I don't know if Charter will WANT them telling them what to do; just like they didn't listen to you until two hours later and couldn't do it.
I didn't understand what you meant by the 'luck of the draw and which tuner and card you get.' I know that these CC are not always new, and they don't seem to ever discard the bad ones. Do they think that they will work in one unit and not another? If we're paying for the use of them on a monthly basis, why are they so cheap about them? I don't think they could be that costly. Is it possible to purchase these myself somewhere and pair them up on a phone call with TiVo and/or Charter? I read on a forum that you can do it yourself if you know the steps. I would give it atry rather than keep going through this Charter drama. Sometimes they will keep me waiting for an app't and not show up or call to cancel. They did this two days in a row time before last. Other times the wrong 'kind' of person will come out and I have to call again.They have ones just for certain jobs and that's all they can do. One charged me an extra 50.00 to plug in the TiVo because the one before him said they are not allowed to touch peripherals, but his 'boss' could. The last one out said it was a mistake in the pairing of the second card, and seemed to fix it. And that brings up the question, why is it that when they leave here, all the channels ARE working if the pairing is off, and also, if there is a badly paired card, why do the channels come in SOME times? Wouldn't an off-code cause nothing to happen at ANY time? So it's not a BAD CARD, just a bad pairing? How do they know what is a GOOD pairing because they always think it's fixed when they leave. Also, one of them suggested running a cable around the outside of the house so that the jTiVo in the living room would have a dedicated line for a stronger signal, I think he said. It would only be about ten dollars. Should I do this? I'm going to call TiVo as you suggest and see what they say. Thanks for your encouragement, Sand >>One of the two cards is not paired correctly. That's why it is working some of the time and not other times - it depends on the luck of the draw and which tuner and card you get. And if you're using the working tuner for Live TV, then the other one is used for the recording - hence the grey screen, which is the unit being unable to descrypt the channel due to a badly paired card. Call TiVo. They have people who are there to help with CableCARD issues. You can probably get them on the line at the same time Charter is working on fixing the issue, and TiVo can help walk Charter through it. Yes. Charter screwed up my CableCARD pairing on my first install last fall and I had to walk them through correcting it. I knew exactly what they did wrong (wrong Host ID entered) but still had to sit through a couple of hours of pointless 'debugging' before the tech admitted he was out of ideas and finally listened to be and checked the Host IDs - which he swore it *could not* be. It was. Having needed to have CableCARDs swapped and installed a few times, as I review systems, etc, I have made a contact in my local Charter office who is helpful. Officially they require a truck roll for *any* changes to the cards - new pairing, etc. But she takes care of it for me over the phone of through email, since I know more about the cards than the installers and I can state very plainly what needs to be changed - and I've been right each time. They still require a truck roll if I need more cards, since they don't stock them in the local office. I have two extra cards at home right now that I'm still paying for after I returned my review TiVo HD box. I'm a little reluctant to return them in case I need them for something else. -MZ -- megazone-at-megazone.org http://www.MegaZone.org/ Gweep, Geek, Human, me. http://www.TiVoLovers.com/ http://www.Eyrie-Productions.com/ -><- Hail Eris "A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men" 508-852-2171
