Problems with Motorola DCP501

[tploy]

I have a Motorola DCP501 Home Theater System, it it internally similar to the DCT 2000 in the fact that it uses the same digital Chipset as I am told by motorola. I however am unable to get it to function in the digital mode with my cable provider Comcast of Michigan as they say they won't authorize any digital equipment that they don't supply according to the supervisor I spoke with. Previously I was conversing with the people at North American Digital to see if I could get my equipment activated by them. They said they would get back to me after checking into it to see if their process was compatible with my equipment. They never returned with an answer. The last time I tried to contact them to check on their answer to my inquiry, their website returns a Cannot find server DNS error. So, I am asking this forum if anyone knows a method of activating the digital mode for a Motorola Digital Reciever and where I can get this service performed? I'm thinking that it is most likely by going inside and inserting a chip to activate the service mode. so I would need to get this service chip and instructions on installing it. If there is another way I would be happy to listen to suggestions.

[Ratman]

Ask to speak with the supervisor (cable provider). They should be able to activate this unit remotely.

Tell him/her to refer to the spec's of the device. That's the whole purpose of the unit!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...lance&n=172282

[CableTool]

This is lifted from another forum but someone took a lot of time to put it together so here ya go!

I think the main point of all this is keep escalating until you find someone that KNOWS how to do it, when to do it and willing to do it. It is EXTREMELY uncommon and with Customer Service churn, most reps havent even encountered this request and just take it at face value. "We provide the equipment.."

Id love to know if you can get this added to your account.

So, the purpose of this post is to help someone purchase a cable box and get it registered with Comcast. I have succeeded in doing it, and would imagine that it should be possible anyplace on the Comcast system-- but I make no guarantee that this will work for you.

My cable system uses Motorola DCT series boxes. If your cable system is using Scientific Atlanta boxes, you can NOT use a Motorola box (not even the one discussed below).

First, I found a good deal on eBay for a Motorola DCP-501. This box is really a DCT2000 box inside a Home Theater box (digital stereo 5.1 surround sound, built-in DVD/CD player, tons of A/V inputs, and AM/FM tuner). It was a listing that showed the unit as 'still in the original box' (never used). Several problems you may run into here. If the seller on eBay is not being honest to tell you where they came from, don't touch it! As far as you know, they raided the local cable truck and now are trying to sell the boxes on eBay. Yes they are new, but they may be in the Motorola database as 'assigned to a cable company', thus USELESS to you for use with Comcast. If you can talk to the seller first and find out that it is just 'store overstock' or close-out special from an electronic store, you may be in luck. If you are unwilling to take a risk of this cost (they are just over $150 on eBay now), you can buy 'new' from amazon.com (»www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de···n=507846) for just over $250. If you buy new from amazon, Comcast will still run the serial number check, and it will show it is a retail box.

So, in summary: be _very_ cautious of anything like this on eBay. Don't bother with the DCT2000 (dct2224 or dct2244, or dct2500 series) boxes.. They were not sold retail in the US, so they will not attempt to register them.

Now, assuming you have a shiney-new box in front of you, equip yourself with a phone and some time (lots of time). This whole process took me many calls, and just about 1 week of waiting for the box to be provisioned.

Hook the DCP-501 up to the cable system and your TV. You can fool with the million settings to get your speakers working just right while you are waiting.

If your box is brandy-new, you will have a sticker on the front display. It has two 'numbers' or bar-codes on it. These numbers identify your box. They will need both to begin with.

So, get a pen and paper ready and start calling into the comcast TV call-center. Best choice is the one that asks you if you want to "add or remove a service".

With the CSR on the phone, Identify yourself (as you always must do) and then tell them that you decided to pick-up a Mototola home theater box (the dcp501) and would like to have it provisioned. It is highly possible that the CSR will inform you that Comcast does not allow customer-owned boxes. I ran across this when I started this trek-- half of the people I talked with were not trained (did not attend the home theater demo), and did not know what I was talking about. I actually had one CSR on the motorola site, reviewing the box. His comment: "Cool!".. So, your mileage may vary. Worst case, call back. Sorta like rolling the dice..

After telling the CSR you would like to provision the box, you can help educate them by showing/telling them how they can find them on amazon.com. If at all possible do NOT mention the word 'eBay'. It is a definate turn-off for Comcast (as most all equipment up there for sale is used/stolen/broken. The amazon link to the box is here. Have the CSR browse to amazon.com and put in DCP-501 to find it if they want to see proof it can be purchased by customers as a new item.

Ask them kindly to send your box information to provisioning. Give them the unit address (those numbers with the bar codes) and serial number of the box. Don't be a wise-guy to them. Let them tell you all about how they check for stolen equipment. If you bought it new, you are all set. Some CSRs find this process soo fascinating that they want to stay involved. They may ask to call you in a couple of days to update you on the progress. Go for it! Now that you have someone who is willing to 'give it a try', don't loose them!! (get their name and number or email, so you can also update them if it just starts working (gets provisioned)).

Like I said, this took me about one week to get it active. The box functions really well. It is like a fast DCT2000. The remote that comes with the box has many additional features over the DCT2000 box, so dont loose it! If you have a silver Comcast remote, it will work when the dcp501 is in CableTV mode. To get the DVD working or other features, you are stuck with the big remote. [a side-topic: if you want to re-program any of the big DCP-501 remote, it IS a JP1 remote.. see: »www.hifi-remote.com/jp1/index.shtml for more info about this stuff. No, the Comcast silver remote is NOT a JP1. ]

So, there is a lot of information here to go through. be patient and work with the Comcast CSR(s), as this is new to them too.. be nice, it will pay off.

Some other interesting things I found:
Comcast does not have a way to bill you the 'outlet fee' separate from the 'box rental fee' anymore, so they will put in a 'service credit' (never expires) for the $7.50 (or whatever your box rental/outlet fee is). They also put my dcp501 as the 'additional outlet'. I do not have any other Comcast cable box on my account. I'm would imagine that you can share this information with the CSR to help them get it all in your account.

Well, I hope this helps people who choose to get a box like this one. At the time I got that box, I did not have a 5.1 surround receiver, so I grabbed it-- nice upgrade to the home theater I had previously.

If you are one of those who must have the latest and greatest gadget, google the DCP601 box. It is the HD version of the dcp501. I have not found any place to buy it from. The following text is from Motorola's site (a PDF -- NCTA 2004)

Motorola DCP601 Digital Video Home Entertainment System with DVD Player

The Motorola DCP601 is a 6.1 channel audio/video processor that
combines HD decoding and digital cable functionality into a home theater
system. Part of Motorola’s Digital Convergence Platform (DCP) family of
home theater systems, the Motorola DCP601 integrates a top-quality
audio/video processor; a progressive scan DVD player which can upconvert
for higher resolutions on HDTV monitors; AM/FM stereo receiver;
HD decoding capabilities and an digital cable-ready receiver -- all into one
unit offering high functionality with plug-and-play convenience.

[see page 5 at: »www.motorola.com/mot/doc/1/1275_MotDoc.pdf ]

Well, best of luck with your choices and I hope you find this information helpful...

[jcbxb]

I have the DCP501 and have had it successfully provisioned by Comcast. As the above post indicates, you'll have to get past the first tier of Comcast CSR's before you'll get anywhere. Ask to talk to a supervisor. Remind them them they're obligated to provision it under FCC rules. Refer them to the Comcast Conditional Access Manager, Comcast Cable Eastern Division Engineering, Oaks, Pa. If that fails the people at the Lebanon, Pa headend know how to do it 'cause I put them through it.

Another hard bit of information: If you wish to get HD, you'll have to get a Motorola HDD200 sidecar decoder which connects to the DCP501 through an HSI port which Comcast must activate remotely. The magic words are to have the headend engineer enable the "App IF Port" using the DAC.

Hope this helps. I know people like to knock Comcast, but once I got past that first line of defense, I found everyone to be helpful and friendly there.

[brooksey170]

I also have the DCP501 and had it successfully provisioned by Comcast last week. Well almost. All Comcast menus work, and they mapped all the channels but the problems are as follows. None of the digital features are enabled, On Demand will not respond , none of the digital music channels or expanded channels will come in and I can not order PPV. I get a message on the screen on digital channels that says "One Moment Please This channel Should be Available Shortly" when I try to access On Demand the message is "Interactive Serivce On D To Activate Service Press OK". Pressing OK does nothing. Comcast sent out two techs within a day of my call to try and fix this, they were not able to help, and I knew they would not be able to do anything other than see that it was connected correctly, which it was. The issue has to be at the headend.

What advice can you give me ?, who should I be talking to at Comcast and what should I tell them to do to enable all Digital features. I have other Comcast boxes in my home and they are expanded digital with pay channels, logic would dictate I should be getting all of this (and the interactive service) on the DCP501.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing back from anyone with information on this subject.

[CableTool]

I do not think anything interactive would be blocked by that box. One Moment Please is usually a signal issue.
Can you access a diagnostics screen? ( power then OK or SELECT on regular motos) Ive never worked with this box myself.


Go to one of the channels that is affected, Hit POWER then OK or SELECT.

Scroll down to IN BAND STATUS and let us know what it says.

Check-
SNR
AGC
Uncorrectable vs Correctable

Then go to CURRENT CHANNEL STATUS and let us know the Inband Frequency of the affected channels.

If you cannot access on demand that usually means its a reverse issue. Something is blocking your reverse or there are too many passives between your box and the tap.


What have the technicians checked? What did they say? If you think its a firmware or compatibility issue have a tech hook up another digi on that outlet and see if it does the same. ( or if you have a leased box somehwere in your home try that one on this outlet and see if your results are the same..)

[Barovelli]

Originally Posted by brooksey170

I also have the DCP501 and had it successfully provisioned by Comcast last week. Well almost. ...

What advice can you give me ?, who should I be talking to at Comcast and what should I tell them to do to enable all Digital features. I have other Comcast boxes in my home and they are expanded digital with pay channels, logic would dictate I should be getting all of this (and the interactive service) on the DCP501.

Thanks and I look forward to hearing back from anyone with information on this subject.

Could be entered incorrectly. It's not something they see every day. They have to get the Type Code, Model Code and sometimes Make Code to have 2 way functions. There's one Model Code for one way and another for 2 way. Some systems work straight off the code table in the billing system and other have to work it sideways.

My DCP501 went in the billing system according to the code table and works on all functions - VOD, PPV, etc. Feel free to PM me for more help.

[tploy]

Well First off I'd like to thank all of you for your wonderful suggestions so far. I just came from the local cable office and talked with the personnel there. They are now telling me that they are incapable of authorizing my equipment at this time and they Might be able to in the future with no guarantees.
This is primarily the reason I was looking for a "Service card" for a temporary fix to see if it is really my equipment or just their stonewalling. The reason I was interested in activating the digital mode is because once again the programming I was interested in watching has been bumped from the analog bandwidth to the digital bandwidth of our local provider. Also the only primary reason I am still with the lousy cable service I'm receiving, is their competition is still more expensive and they offer Cable Modem capability unlike Satellite dish service currently. leaving my only other connection option available 40K dialup (I know it should be 56K but line noise reduces it to 40K).
So, if anyone can help me locate a "Digital Service Card" I'd appreciate it.

[Barovelli]

Originally Posted by tploy

So, if anyone can help me locate a "Digital Service Card" I'd appreciate it.

Never heard of a "Digital Service Card".

There's Cable Card - a security device for TVs that tune digital cable channels, but the DCP501 does not use it.

There's TV Pass Card - fits in a slot on the DCT, it's vaporware - never seen one.

Sorry for this question - does the cable company you are served by use Motorola DCTs? If the are a Scientific Atlanta 'Explorer' system a DCP501 will not work.

Care to name the location?

[CableTool]

Ive never heard of a digital service card either.

My advice-
Do NOT go to the front counter and ask technical questions or ask them to do anything above and beyond taking payments or swapping equipment.

Call the customer service number, ask to be escalated to a supervisor ( theyll know more then a manager most times as they are more hands on and front line ) and describe what I quoted above.
They will have access to more resources and get results easier then a front counter rep. At the very least they will pass you off to someone that knows more then them.

[brooksey170]

I think a "digital service card" would be the equivalent of a pirate box, but it is my understanding that no such card exists. If you have a DCP501 Comcast will provision the unit and register it into the system.

On the subject of my DCP501. I have received the proper codes from a Comcast inventory manager to properly activate the DCP501 in the Comcast billing system and have forwarded this detail onto the local Comcast team leader that is handling this issue and expect the DCP501 to be fully interactive within a day or two. I'll report back in when the box is fully functional. Thanks for your help and interest.

[CableTool]

Originally Posted by brooksey170

I think a "digital service card" would be the equivalent of a pirate box, but it is my understanding that no such card exists. If you have a DCP501 Comcast will provision the unit and register it into the system.

On the subject of my DCP501. I have received the proper codes from a Comcast inventory manager to properly activate the DCP501 in the Comcast billing system and have forwarded this detail onto the local Comcast team leader that is handling this issue and expect the DCP501 to be fully interactive within a day or two. I'll report back in when the box is fully functional. Thanks for your help and interest.

You should IM those codes to the op. Im sure they are universal.
He can then forward his info and actions to a corporate email to provide some "incentive" from to local office to get things going.

[Barovelli]

Originally Posted by brooksey170

On the subject of my DCP501. I have received the proper codes from a Comcast inventory manager to properly activate the DCP501 in the Comcast billing system and have forwarded this detail onto the local Comcast team leader that is handling this issue and expect the DCP501 to be fully interactive within a day or two. I'll report back in when the box is fully functional. Thanks for your help and interest.

Small world

[ComputerX]

Originally Posted by jcbxb

Remind them them they're obligated to provision it under FCC rules.

Does anyone have a citation for this? My cable company (RCN) told me that while they would be glad to do it their system will not allow it.

TIA,

Dan

[jcbxb]

USC TITLE 47 CHAPTER 5 SUBCHAPTER V-A Part III § 549 Competitive availability of navigation devices:

(a) Commercial consumer availability of equipment used to access services provided by multichannel video programming distributors
The Commission shall, in consultation with appropriate industry standard-setting organizations, adopt regulations to assure the commercial availability, to consumers of multichannel video programming and other services offered over multichannel video programming systems, of converter boxes, interactive communications equipment, and other equipment used by consumers to access multichannel video programming and other services offered over multichannel video programming systems, from manufacturers, retailers, and other vendors not affiliated with any multichannel video programming distributor. Such regulations shall not prohibit any multichannel video programming distributor from also offering converter boxes, interactive communications equipment, and other equipment used by consumers to access multichannel video programming and other services offered over multichannel video programming systems, to consumers, if the system operator’s charges to consumers for such devices and equipment are separately stated and not subsidized by charges for any such service.

[Mallego]

jcbxb, this paragraph does't say any thing of the kind. It authorizes the FCC to adopt regulations. Nothing else. To see the regulations that were adopted, go here: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text...76_main_02.tpl

Then read all of Subpart P-Competive Availability of Navigation Devices. In a nutshell what this gave us was the CableCARD.

Mallego

[jcbxb]

Yes, I should have posted the regs vs. the statute. But I still think §76.1201 gives us the right to use our own stb. I think §76.1202 is what gave us CableCard.

[brooksey170]

I am extremely pleased to report that Comcast has fully provisoned and registered my (2) Motorola DCP501's on to their system. It took about a month for Comcast to get all digital features operational. Now all channels both basic and expanded work, PPV works, Digital music and On Demand features are fully functioning and operational. I am going to call in this afternoon and add a third unit !. Thanks to those in this forum that assisted.

[petermauro]

Originally Posted by jcbxb

I have the DCP501 and have had it successfully provisioned by Comcast. As the above post indicates, you'll have to get past the first tier of Comcast CSR's before you'll get anywhere. Ask to talk to a supervisor. Remind them them they're obligated to provision it under FCC rules. Refer them to the Comcast Conditional Access Manager, Comcast Cable Eastern Division Engineering, Oaks, Pa. If that fails the people at the Lebanon, Pa headend know how to do it 'cause I put them through it.

Another hard bit of information: If you wish to get HD, you'll have to get a Motorola HDD200 sidecar decoder which connects to the DCP501 through an HSI port which Comcast must activate remotely. The magic words are to have the headend engineer enable the "App IF Port" using the DAC.

Hope this helps. I know people like to knock Comcast, but once I got past that first line of defense, I found everyone to be helpful and friendly there.

I have a authorized DCP 501 , I get all channels, including the HD channels.
I can hear audio on the HD channels, but no video, at least not on the S connector.
Can I get HD video out of the serial port?
And, feed that into a USB port on a computer?
There is a card slot above the serial connector, does that need another hardware
card?

I'd like to elliminate the HDD200.

Peter

[jcbxb]

Originally Posted by petermauro

I have a authorized DCP 501 , I get all channels, including the HD channels.
I can hear audio on the HD channels, but no video, at least not on the S connector.
Can I get HD video out of the serial port?
And, feed that into a USB port on a computer?
There is a card slot above the serial connector, does that need another hardware
card?

I'd like to elliminate the HDD200.

Peter

The HDD200 is required to get HD out of the DCP501. The serial port of the DCP501 connects to 1/8" stereo jack on the HDD200. The tip of the mini-plug goes to pin 4, the middle sleeve goes to pin 9, and the base sleeve goes to pin 5 on the serial connector. How to get this into a USB port and what drivers would be needed is beyond me. If anyone has figured this out, I'd be appreciative if they would share this.

Other than the HDD200, the R5000 mod from Nextcom would be your only option. Check out the HD Recorder forum. They can mod the DCP501.

[MikeSM]

I just got a used DCP501 and am having comcast try and provision it. But the funny thing is that when i select CATV and push the menu or guide buttons, nothing happens - no video output, no channel number, nothing... is this normal for a DCP501 prior to provisioning?

thanks,
mike

[tploy]

Originally Posted by Barovelli

There's TV Pass Card - fits in a slot on the DCT, it's vaporware - never seen one.

I think the paperwork called it a "TV Pass Card" and I've never seen one either but it is the same size and shape as the slot on a majority of satellite receivers so I thought there might be a "service card" used for testing diagnostics of the equipment.

Originally Posted by Barovelli

Sorry for this question - does the cable company you are served by use Motorola DCTs? If the are a Scientific Atlanta 'Explorer' system a DCP501 will not work.

The local comcast uses the Motorola DCT 2000's which according to the paperwork use the same internals as the DCP 501.

Originally Posted by Barovelli

Care to name the location?

Monroe, MI

[tploy]

Originally Posted by brooksey170

I think a "digital service card" would be the equivalent of a pirate box, but it is my understanding that no such card exists. If you have a DCP501 Comcast will provision the unit and register it into the system.

On the subject of my DCP501. I have received the proper codes from a Comcast inventory manager to properly activate the DCP501 in the Comcast billing system and have forwarded this detail onto the local Comcast team leader that is handling this issue and expect the DCP501 to be fully interactive within a day or two. I'll report back in when the box is fully functional. Thanks for your help and interest.

Could you send me a copy of the codes so I can also inform my local service provider as well?

[CharterJames]

Originally Posted by tploy

I think the paperwork called it a "TV Pass Card" and I've never seen one either but it is the same size and shape as the slot on a majority of satellite receivers so I thought there might be a "service card" used for testing diagnostics of the equipment.



The local comcast uses the Motorola DCT 2000's which according to the paperwork use the same internals as the DCP 501.



Monroe, MI

Just an FYI for anyone who stumbles on this thread - I have learned the Motorola makes a card for this slot - more specifically the the ASTB (Advanced Set-top boxes) which no longer have the serial port - this is specifically for debugging the newer boxes. I have no idea if these can be located for more common usage of the serial port (i.e. TIVO / Serial Control)

[wtaylor35]

Originally Posted by jcbxb

The HDD200 is required to get HD out of the DCP501. The serial port of the DCP501 connects to 1/8" stereo jack on the HDD200. The tip of the mini-plug goes to pin 4, the middle sleeve goes to pin 9, and the base sleeve goes to pin 5 on the serial connector. How to get this into a USB port and what drivers would be needed is beyond me. If anyone has figured this out, I'd be appreciative if they would share this.

Other than the HDD200, the R5000 mod from Nextcom would be your only option. Check out the HD Recorder forum. They can mod the DCP501.

Greetings:

Do you know for a fact that this will work? Even though all the Motorolla literature indicates the HDD200 works with the DCP501, the technical support rep at Motorola says that it will probably not. I am considering the purchase of an HDD200 for this very purpose but I would not want to take the chance that it would be useless for the intended application. And would there be a chance that Comcast might refuse to enable the APP IF port on the DCP501, required to allow its operation?

[wtaylor35]

[quote=CableTool] If you are one of those who must have the latest and greatest gadget, google the DCP601 box. It is the HD version of the dcp501. I have not found any place to buy it from. The following text is from Motorola's site
Motorola DCP601 Digital Video Home Entertainment System with DVD Player

The Motorola DCP601 is a 6.1 channel audio/video processor that
combines HD decoding and digital cable functionality into a home theater
system. Part of Motorola’s Digital Convergence Platform (DCP) family of
home theater systems, the Motorola DCP601 integrates a top-quality
audio/video processor; a progressive scan DVD player which can upconvert
for higher resolutions on HDTV monitors; AM/FM stereo receiver;
HD decoding capabilities and an digital cable-ready receiver -- all into one
unit offering high functionality with plug-and-play convenience.


Well, best of luck with your choices and I hope you find this information helpful...

CableTool:

The DCP601 sounded almost too good to be true...this is exactly the sort of item I need! So while in contact with Motorola on another issue, I enquired about this and was saddened to learn that this item was chopped before it ever came to market. Since the DCP501 was considered a failure, likely due to soft sales, and is now a discontinued Motorola product, the DCP601 will never go into production. I know that this seems strange, especially when you consider all the announcements and Motorola press releases which were made about it back then in 2004 but, that's the way life is, I suppose. Darn shame, though....I wanted to buy one so badly, I could have almost tasted it!

[jcbxb]

Originally Posted by wtaylor35

Greetings:

Do you know for a fact that this will work? Even though all the Motorolla literature indicates the HDD200 works with the DCP501, the technical support rep at Motorola says that it will probably not. I am considering the purchase of an HDD200 for this very purpose but I would not want to take the chance that it would be useless for the intended application. And would there be a chance that Comcast might refuse to enable the APP IF port on the DCP501, required to allow its operation?

Well, it was working until Comcast updated their firmware a month ago and the link from the the DCP501 to the HDD200 stopped working. I'm still in the process of getting things up and running again. Comcast seems to be willing to work with me, but evidently Motorola is telling Comcast they no longer support the unit. I've emailed the Motorola support unit that helped before, but so far, I'm still being stalled.

I believe the DCP501 was offered to the public as a sop to the FCC who wished to create a market for consumer owned set top boxes and was a planned failure; the original MSRP was a prohibitive $900. Then Motorola dumped them; I bought mine for less than a cheap 5.1 amp which was what I was shopping for at the time.

So, unless Motorola decides to patch its firmware to support its products, I'll be selling my HDD200 to offset the cost of a Nextcom R5000 mod.

[arkmann]

Is the DCP501 still working for anyone? Especially anyone in the Atlanta market?

[BelowAverageJoe]

I have two and they're both working fine. West coast, though (Charter).

[rgc101]

Trying to get activated with Comcast in the Philly area. Anyone using this box in the northwestern suburbs of Philly? Was on with a supervisor this weekend and she tried adding it, but was having trouble with the "box type" I told her it had a DTC 2000 inside, but she could not find it in their system. Any suggestions?
Thanks.