AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Hauppauge WinTV DCR-2650 Dual Cable Card Tuner For US Market!
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Hauppauge WinTV DCR-2650 Dual Cable Card Tuner For US Market! - Page 14

post #391 of 449
10/28/12 at 8:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by signcarver View Post

call verizon to re-provision it. I haven't heard about this problem with verizon, but some cable companies have a hard time provisioning the equipment if it is already elsewhere in the billing system, .

The last and only time I had issues with Fios TV was related to this. It seems their field techs had an issue finding the right people to do this, at least at the time.
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #392 of 449
10/28/12 at 12:56pm
So... the concensus is: Windows Media Center (WMC) is an absolute MUST since MythTV and others do not support DRM. Next, the Digital Cable Advisor from inside WMC -- a tip: run the DCA while you have WMC inside a window (e.g. not fullscreen) is what I'd heard is necessary for the settings to be saved, and be sure to save the settings! Once this is complete you must get your provider to activate, or "pair" the card with your 2650 - you'll have to provide your provider with certain numbers the 2650 will give you -- OH, and they're also available from inside WMC when you try the activate function for your CableCard. Until it's activated you'll never tune non-subscribed and/or DRM channels.

Let us know your progress and don't be afraid to elevate this with your provider, or even exchange it so you can start fresh with another unallocated CableCard.
Reply
Reply
post #393 of 449
10/28/12 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonyad View Post

If you're not getting all your subscribed channels, Fios is at fault. I have Comcast and I had the same problem at first. I read somewhere to instruct the company to do something, I think it was a term like cold hit, but I can't recall at this moment. Otherwise you have to call at different times to locate the one or two personnel who actually know how to activate a cable card.

I dunno. I have FiOS also in NJ, and I get everything I am supposed to without effort.
Reply
Reply
post #394 of 449
10/28/12 at 4:38pm
It's their fault they failed to activate the card properly. Just bad luck for the OP they haven't got it done yet. He just needs to keep after them until it works. Most of us aren't so lucky. I've activated 5 cards with my cable company and they never got it right the first time.
Reply
Reply
post #395 of 449
10/29/12 at 9:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by sbonaparte View Post

I just purchase the unit. I am having a problem with all of the channels, I am on FIOS in NJ and I have all of the channels.. When I try channel 131 (Verizon test channel) and any channel in the 900's I get a "subscription required" error. I've been on the phone with the Verizon support guys and they're all over the place and emailing the Hauppauge support team and getting slow progress..
I need to confirm that I should have access to the 900's channel range as like my standard cablebox receivers..
Thanks..
Quote:
Originally Posted by mdavej View Post

It's their fault they failed to activate the card properly. Just bad luck for the OP they haven't got it done yet. He just needs to keep after them until it works. Most of us aren't so lucky. I've activated 5 cards with my cable company and they never got it right the first time.

Though I would agree that the fault is probably fios for improper pairing, you can't make blanket assumptions it is with the information given... perhaps the OP (of this premium viewing problem) hasn't run the DCA, many on verizon have recently had this problem as until recently it wasn't necessary, or perhaps the op isn't using WMC. I've seen or read about this error popping up in both of those situations, though usually in WMC I'd see either the catch all error of no/low signal and/or an error about requiring a cablecard to view the channel. I've also seen people when calling who had thought 8's were B's and D's were 0's, or transpose a couple of numbers and the fault was the user reading the numbers and the company just keyed in what they were told (I've caught users doing this when I helped them but more often I've seen it when doing mac addresses for cable modems).

Since they hadn't posted again in almost 2 days, it wouldn't surprise me if either a d'oh moment about using WMC for those channels and/or it got successfully paired an hour later... we may never know. Hopefully it has been resolved.

I'd also disagree with the statement "Most of us aren't so lucky." as many would have been more appropriate as most implies more than 50% and fewer than 50% have had problems such as yours with cablecard installation its just that we only hear about the problems and not about the successes. In only 3 out of about 20 or so cards I've helped people install the past year in various markets/providers, has it required more than 1 phone call to be a success, and one of those 3 was fixed with just a second call, one required another card, and one required a better cable run though I knew this was a chance prior to the install based on readings from the STB and modem.
Reply
Reply
post #396 of 449
10/29/12 at 11:40am
Here's a story about how I had poor customer service that was barely rectified even with the local installer in my house...

Chris – Thought I’d follow up on a few things since we’d spoken last week. Tommy contacted me on Thursday informing me the temporary lines had all been placed back into the ground. On Friday he reported the signal levels were all excellent strength and stable! He also was following up on the CableCard “activation” issue I’d been trying to get straightened out and planned to have Mr. Stephens (YES, he’s supposed to be GOOD with CableCards) assist me on Monday (yesterday). As it turns out I called your (866) 452-4747 Monday around 10:30 to have them verify the “numbers” they have in the system (because I’d read in forums the databases can become corrupted which can cause loss of activation). The girl I spoke with was helpful but not very familiar with CableCards to the point she refused to share with me the “numbers” they have in the system! I told her I might have better luck getting someone more familiar with CableCards if I hang-up and call back to which she reminded me I’d have to wait in queue again if I did so and that she was trying to help me if only I’d allow her the opportunity to speak and tell me what she needed to. I shut up and she explained they had all the numbers in their system and she would send the signal to it to activate. This went on for 15-20 minutes and her last point was “if it’s not responding then you’ll need to exchange it for another one.” That I did at 11:30 at the local office where I met Mr. Stephens. I shared this conversation with him and their girl at the front desk... Mr. Stephens offered to meet me at my house after 3:00. We met at 3:30 when I placed the NEW card into my HDHomeRun Prime and he began IM’ing his contacts. In a while we got this NEW card to ‘pair’ although it stated it needed a “firmware update” and would lock out the subscription channels including Music Channels, Encore, and all HD programming. It did allow the “low” channels (CSPAN, etc.) to tune and view. Sometime after 5:00 he arranged for a supervisor to run my old card out to us. We swapped them in the Prime and he contacted an on-call level 2 guy (from NC ?? since it was now after-hours locally) to update the database. Initially he thought he’d updated the database yet it would not pair. Oddly enough, it was tuning ALL the channels it should be JUST LIKE IT WAS at 10:00 am that morning! After repeated IMs stating it was not pairing the guy then wrote “wait a minute” – within two minutes my original card was now successfully activated!

HOW did the gyrations of the day effect the activation of that original card? Was there an error/issue that could have been corrected without my driving 35 miles (round trip) to exchange the card, not to mention my time/gas? Or the 3 hours “we” all spent trying to get the NEW card working later that afternoon, ultimately finding it wouldn’t yet the original card worked?

I think the story that unfolded yesterday is a fine learning tool for Mediacom. It shows how a short-tempered, under trained operator can create problems and a bad reputation by having a customer chase all over the city exchanging perfectly good equipment which in my case was escalated when the NEW card was actually BAD! I felt I needed to follow her direction and exchange it if nothing else but to prove her wrong – I think she landed in a puddle. I can’t explain why the card wouldn’t pair or why it failed to update the firmware, nor could Mr. Stephens or his contacts. How many trips would I have had to make exchanging these cards? Surely there’s something your technical team can learn about the cards, their firmware and how it receives updates, how to test them before sending them out, or even issuing several at once to address infant mortality.


So there are knowledgeable and lost workers at every company!
Reply
Reply
post #397 of 449
12/30/12 at 2:12pm
Does anyone else that uses a tuning adapter have any problems with it not responding? My cable company has about 15 channels on SDV, and for some reason my tuning adapter only works for about 24 hours, and then it shows "not connected" within Hauppauge's service menu. Windows device mananger shows it connected and working properly. All I have to do is unplug the usb, and plug it back in, and then it works again for about 24 hours. I have tried two different ones from my provider, both small Motorola boxes, and both have the same problem.
Reply
Reply
post #398 of 449
1/17/13 at 10:46am
I'll have to see if this relates to my problem. If I power down the pc completely, the next startup, I have to redo the tv signal setup. Hmmm.... I'm in the DFW area, with Time Warner Cable.
Reply
Reply
post #399 of 449
1/17/13 at 10:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by CFC View Post


Good to see. Hopefully even more tuners come out.

The only issue with getting two of these, is that you pay for an extra M-card every month. At least that'd be true with Comcast.


CFC

I have the 2650 from Haupauge. On Comcast/Xfinity perspective: That's the one thing that doesn't cost money. They actually give me a slight kick-back. It's called 'something like my own box' fee. (lol not looking at my bill) I can't remember. Of course everything else comcast charges is extravagant -Like 'HD Technology fee' LOL yissh. Comcast is required to give a cablecard for free. Now if you get 2 of them... then they charge you $1.50 (i think).
Reply
Reply
post #400 of 449
1/17/13 at 1:20pm
So, are all M Cards the same, or are some single or dual tuner? WMC reported this as only a single tuner CC. Is that right? Hauppauge has been unresponsive in answering this question for me.
Reply
Reply
post #401 of 449
1/17/13 at 1:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by garciab View Post

So, are all M Cards the same, or are some single or dual tuner? WMC reported this as only a single tuner CC. Is that right? Hauppauge has been unresponsive in answering this question for me.

A multi-stream card (M card) can (per spec) decode up to 6 channels at a time. The 2 tuner, 3 tuner, and 4 tuner model differences are not related to the card but the company making the tuner

If you're showing a single tuner then it's probably because you were given a single-stream card
Reply
Reply
post #402 of 449
1/17/13 at 1:33pm
No: The card just gives you access to the Encryption and activation. The tuners are in the box. I had a problem once with mine as well, where only one tuner was activated and running. Don't bother with Haupage. You need to deal with your cable company. This is a miss-activation (which happens quite frequently). One time I had the cable dudes come in (nothing to do with my Cable TV or my haupage box - But rather to install Comcast-Phone - Well they put in a new router of course, and while they did that, they somehow knocked out my cable card. Well I called the Comcast guys on the tech support... and they did the activation run through - but then I was getting - no HD channels, only SD. I was getting 'subscription required'... finally I got to someone who knew what he was talking about up in the annals of Comcast. Like a level 4 tech at 12:30am, that got the thing to work.
Reply
Reply
post #403 of 449
1/17/13 at 1:41pm
Decrypt might have been a better word choice than decode, but the number of tuners reported should not have anything to do with your cable companies activation. The card is either activated and given your subscriber info or not. The subscription required message showing up would not affect how many tuners are reported in WMC
Reply
Reply
post #404 of 449
1/17/13 at 1:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dark_Slayer View Post

Decrypt might have been a better word choice than decode, but the number of tuners reported should not have anything to do with your cable companies activation. The card is either activated and given your subscriber info or not. The subscription required message showing up would not affect how many tuners are reported in WMC
I blendid two different events. On one occasion: My hauppauge showed with only one tuner and I needed to reactivate and figure out what was going on. On another occastion after the Comcast installed the router I needed to reactivate... and reactivate.. and reactivate (ugg where are my HD channells???) --- spend a couple hours on the phone and get the right person... then it finally worked.
Reply
Reply
post #405 of 449
2/21/13 at 11:55pm
I just got this tuner on the NewEgg deal for 60 bucks. At that price I thought I could experiment with it. Didn't have cable, but I happened to be switching to Comcast for internet and saw a deal on their website the same day I saw this tuner advertised. It was for an economy tv package but their fastest internet package for $45 for 6 months, so I figured it would be a good time to play with this setup.

I just got the 2650 late today and hadn't run the cable advisor since I didn't think it would be a problem since I'd been running OTA HD on this same system (Win 7 64-bit) for a long time with no problem. But when I ran the advisor it failed my video card (ATI 5450 1GB DDR3) which didn't make any sense. The board also has onboard video which should have been enough itself, but thought that may be the problem so I disabled it and that made no difference. Finally dawned on me that I had dual outputs on the system for vga and hdmi and apparently WMCE didn't like the vga because of their damned content protection.. When I unplugged the vga and rebooted it passed the test ok. The reason I have dual outputs is to run hdmi 45' to my living room since this system is in my bedroom and just use the vga to my bedroom TV with audio to an AVR. This was easier than using an hdmi splitter for that long a run and it was never a problem before since I was only recording OTA (mainly with BeyondTV and just tested with WMCE).

Question is, will I have a problem if I hook the vga back up after I install the tuner? Too late tonight to mess with it any more to connect the tuner.
Reply
Reply
post #406 of 449
2/22/13 at 5:23am
Was the VGA originally set as the primary display?
Reply
Reply
post #407 of 449
2/22/13 at 5:34am
I'm curious to see what happens with lsilvest. I thought VGA was allowed, and that WMC would simply downrez everything to 576p (or something non-hd). I thought of using this option when I had Playready problems with my setup. Luckily I got that resolved and never had to try VGA. Keep us posted.
Reply
Reply
post #408 of 449
2/22/13 at 6:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruiner View Post

Was the VGA originally set as the primary display?

Yes, and that may have been the crux of the problem. I will update after I get it set up today.
Reply
Reply
post #409 of 449
2/22/13 at 9:40am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lsilvest View Post

Yes, and that may have been the crux of the problem. I will update after I get it set up today.
Try with the vga as the secondary.
Reply
Reply
post #410 of 449
2/22/13 at 11:25am
If you are cloning your display, you will never pass with both displays as HDCP is broken with cloned displays. If they are truly primary and secondary (extended) displays then it may matter which is primary/secondary for just the initial pass/install of the DCA. Once passed, most unprotected (copy freely) programs will work fine on either monitor but copy once programming "may" only be viewed on the hdcp compliant monitor (I've occasionally have heard reports it will still work on VGA just at a reduced resolution, but I never got it to work when I tried but haven't tried it lately as all my monitors are hdcp compliant.

It's been awhile since I've tried it but I believe a cloned display, once the dca is passed without the cloned display, it will still play all the copy freely channels/recordings without a problem (might be reduced resolution then scaled back up) .
Reply
Reply
post #411 of 449
2/22/13 at 1:59pm
Ok, the vga will not work as a secondary either, most likely as signcarver stated that it is because they are cloned. Even though dca was passed without the cloned display it would not display as long as the vga was connected. What was strange in the ccc was it showed both the hdmi and vga as #1? It did indicate that the hdmi was the primary. I didn't try the extended mode as that just wouldn't work for me for this purpose.

Anyway, I just put an hdmi splitter on it and it works so there's no sense in messing with the vga anymore on my part. Only glitch was that it didn't want to display full screen on my 32" lcd even though it was set to 720p which is what all my tvs are. It had no problem displaying properly in the front room on a 42" Panny plasma run through a Pioneer AVR. Had to compromise by scaling which left one a little large and the other a little small. I also tried a DVI to HDMI for the second and it worked perfectly for the video, but I didn't want to have to keep changing the sound settings to go with it.

Main thing is that so far everything with the 2650 itself went smooth as silk. Setup easily and Comcast had no problem pairing it and I'm getting all the channels subscribed to. Haven't had Comcast for a while and last time their pq was pathetic, but now it's very good and so far their service has been very good (apparently these latest storms have caused hell to freeze over). biggrin.gif
Reply
Reply
post #412 of 449
2/24/13 at 5:25pm
Question for Comcast customers.

My basic channels were all picked up perfectly by the 2650 and WMC, all that were on my list were there. I was supposed to have HBO but was not getting them. Also, when I went online to make sure I was to have the HBO (intro promo) I saw a deal on their Sports Pack so I called in to subscribe and was told it was added. Was not getting either HBO or the Sports Pack so I called in the next day (last Friday) and the guy I got checked and said yes, I should have both and I checked a couple of channels after he said he activated them and I did get the HBO and the couple of the sports pack I checked. Anyway, the next day (saturday) all the HBO channels showed I needed a subscription and a couple of the sports pack channels were missing, most notably the Pac-12 channels which are a must have when football season gets here. On those channels I don't get a subscription error but a no signal error. I know it's part of the subcription because I can watch it on Comcast's website live. I've called and even tried chat and they send signals (and you can see it's addressing the 2650) and still no luck with the HBO, so they are sending a tech tomorrow (supposedly, they were supposed to come today, sent me an e-mail and automated call this morning and the tech never showed). When I did a chat to find out the problem. with the tech they said it showed that I did have an appointment but the problem was fixed remotely. Nice to know since no one called or sent and e-mail to tell me that it was fixed and appointment cancelled. They were doing well for service until this fiasco.

I don't get the impression that this is a problem with either the 2650 or WMC but a Comcast problem. Does anyone think it's either the 2650 or Hauppauge and if so, what the problem may be? All of the diagnostics in WMC look fine.
Reply
Reply
post #413 of 449
2/24/13 at 5:45pm
It's not always easy to find the techs who really know how to activate the cablecard. I think the time of day you call is important. Tell them to do a cold hit.

Every once in a while I get a subscription error. I usually can correct that by moving the channel up or down with the remote and then going back to the suspect channel.
Reply
Reply
post #414 of 449
2/24/13 at 6:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sonyad View Post

It's not always easy to find the techs who really know how to activate the cablecard. I think the time of day you call is important. Tell them to do a cold hit.

Every once in a while I get a subscription error. I usually can correct that by moving the channel up or down with the remote and then going back to the suspect channel.

The one that activated the card seemed very knowledgeable and the activation went off well. The problem started with add-ons to the basic subscription which has performed perfectly. Changing channels doesn't help it either. I'm convinced it's some kind of programming error in their system. The basic package I have is one they really don't advertise and you can't even subscribe to it by itself on their website. It was packaged with their fast internet and I'm sure there are not many that even have it, let alone with a cable card, so adding on anything may not be a standard procedure for them.
Reply
Reply
post #415 of 449
2/24/13 at 10:12pm
Sometimes, it doesn't take much to activate the basic subscription as they are often clear qam or copy-freely other packages that include copy-once programming must have a properly paired card. I've also seen cases when those "starter" tiers aren't in the system to allow additional packages added on (easily), sometimes they may be more easily activated on their own STBs but the system that stages the cable card won't "allow" it until the problem is escalated to someone who can enter it properly. It is also possible that they are using SDV in your area {edit for some reason I thought you said cox rather than comcast... usually comcast has no SDV so this probably isn't your problem}. If you are in a moto area, often one of the hits they send will change the data id... make sure they have the correct data id. I have heard that comcast has a webpage that often will update your subscriptions properly but the cablecard must be on your account first. I have know idea if this is for all areas, and/or how helpful it is.

Generally when I see cards working and not working the next day, I usually think its a problem that is usually fixed with a new card... often they are not properly removed from some system and the "auditing" system throws up a flag and revokes the cards privileges this is one reason why I prefer to get a "new" card rather than move a card from one device to another as for some reason they fail to properly put the card back into inventory prior to adding it to the new device and some remnant remains in some system of the old pairing and kicks the new pairing out.

In the case of pac-12, here they have a couple of overflow channels that are frequently off the air but occasionally get guide information so you think there should be something there when there isn't... not sure if your area behaves like this.
Reply
Reply
post #416 of 449
2/25/13 at 7:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by signcarver View Post

Sometimes, it doesn't take much to activate the basic subscription as they are often clear qam or copy-freely other packages that include copy-once programming must have a properly paired card. I've also seen cases when those "starter" tiers aren't in the system to allow additional packages added on (easily), sometimes they may be more easily activated on their own STBs but the system that stages the cable card won't "allow" it until the problem is escalated to someone who can enter it properly. It is also possible that they are using SDV in your area {edit for some reason I thought you said cox rather than comcast... usually comcast has no SDV so this probably isn't your problem}. If you are in a moto area, often one of the hits they send will change the data id... make sure they have the correct data id. I have heard that comcast has a webpage that often will update your subscriptions properly but the cablecard must be on your account first. I have know idea if this is for all areas, and/or how helpful it is.

Generally when I see cards working and not working the next day, I usually think its a problem that is usually fixed with a new card... often they are not properly removed from some system and the "auditing" system throws up a flag and revokes the cards privileges this is one reason why I prefer to get a "new" card rather than move a card from one device to another as for some reason they fail to properly put the card back into inventory prior to adding it to the new device and some remnant remains in some system of the old pairing and kicks the new pairing out.

In the case of pac-12, here they have a couple of overflow channels that are frequently off the air but occasionally get guide information so you think there should be something there when there isn't... not sure if your area behaves like this.

The last time I had their service, using their STB I cancelled because I kept losing a few channels and they couldn't figure out the problem. It would drop ESPN and TNT intermittently, which is about 25% of the channels I actually watch. I really only have cable/sat for the college football season and if they can't get me the Pac-12 that really diminishes their value. The Pac-12 and CBS Sports are part of the package and are supposed to be working. I can get the Pac-12 on their website where the have a live feed for some channels that are in your subscription. My account is showing the card for my TV device so that looks ok.

As I said, everything I can check seems to be working properly. Scheduled a few recordings last night just to check that function out and it woke up the pc, made the recordings (2 at one time) and went back to sleep and the recordings were perfect. Anyway, hopefully I'll get something resolved if the tech shows up today.
Reply
Reply
post #417 of 449
2/26/13 at 1:38pm
Found the problem with not getting the HBO channels was the cable card. Put in a new one and the channels came right up, just as you said signcarver. Problem with Pac-12 is that technically the sports package is not supposed to work with my basic plan even though I get most of the channels in that package, but it's still worth paying for it right now since I can watch pac-12 on their website and I have MLB connecting. This 2650 is working perfectly so far which is really all I wanted to find out right now before the college football season starts. I only have to decide whether to get another or get a ceton.
Reply
Reply
post #418 of 449
3/12/13 at 3:24pm
New drivers and firmware are out. Perhaps this will fix the sleep issues.
Reply
Reply
post #419 of 449
3/13/13 at 7:17am
I also noted on the website that they have a new 3 tuner networked cable card tuner coming out.
Reply
Reply
post #420 of 449
3/13/13 at 8:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruiner View Post

New drivers and firmware are out. Perhaps this will fix the sleep issues.


Nope, still there.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Home Theater Computers

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Video Components › Home Theater Computers › Hauppauge WinTV DCR-2650 Dual Cable Card Tuner For US Market!