Tursiops_G
Technoid
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join:2002-02-06
Norwalk, CT
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| reply to mbernste
Re: [iO] SDV/Tuning Adapter Troubleshoting Advice
Maybe CV bought their TAs from SONY?
(Warning: The Following Content is rated "M" for Mature Language):
»www.theonion.com/content/video/s···piece_of
(Sorry, just couldn't resist)... 
Seriously though, I hope that CV can resolve your TA problem... 
-Tursiops_G.
--
If You're Unsure, "RTFM"... If You're SURE, "RTFM" Anyway. |
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mbernste
Boosted
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join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ
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| reply to RickNY
I got everyone really stumped on this. Today I worked with someone from "executive support" and he couldn't get it working. Being totally baffled and me reiterating that this problem is reproducible even without the USB cable connected to the TiVo he scheduled someone to come out tomorrow morning to take another look. What this person will do that the guy on Friday didn't do is up to anyone's guess. Supposedly he will come out with a third tuning adapter since as of right now the thought is that I may have gotten two bad tuning adapters, as unlikely this may be. I know it is not the TiVo since the TA goes through its motions so quickly.
We shall see, but my confidence in Cablevision being able to resolve this is diminishing rapidly. |
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mbernste
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Piscataway, NJ
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1 edit | reply to IllIlIlllIll
said by IllIlIlllIll  :issues sounds like it cannot communicate with the plant. That's exactly what the CV tech and I are thinking.
Just one correction: When the TA is done with the download the light should be off as per the instructions:
said by Tuning Adapter Installation Guide From Cablevision :
All CableCARDs must be installed first in the CableCARD device before installing the Tuning Adapter.
Note: All CableCARD installations require a professional installation. Please contact Customer Support
to arrange for an appointment if your CableCARD is not already installed in your CableCARD device.
2 Before beginning your installation, look on the back of the Tuning Adapter for its Serial Number. It begins
with the letters SAB. Jot it down below. This number is required to authorize your Tuning Adapter.
Tuning Adapter Serial Number: S A B __ __ __ __ __ __
3 Connect the coaxial cable coming in from the wall into the “CABLE IN” port in the back of the Tuning Adapter.
Note: This coaxial cable may already be connected to your CableCARD device. If so, remove and connect it
to the “CABLE IN” port on the Tuning Adapter.
4 Using the coaxial cable provided, connect the Tuning Adapter “CABLE OUT” port to the “CABLE IN” port
on the CableCARD device.
5 Plug the DC Power cord provided into an electrical wall outlet and the other end into the DC-IN of the Tuning Adapter.
6 After plugging in the DC power cord, the green LED will begin to blink. The Tuning Adapter will begin
downloading the latest program and service information. This could take up to 15 minutes.
7 After 15 minutes, confirm the green LED on the front of the Tuning Adapter is no longer blinking and is not illuminated.
8 Next, call Customer Support at 1-866-670-0855. Advise Customer Support that you require authorization
of your Tuning Adapter. Provide the Serial Number of your Tuning Adapter (recorded above) to Customer Support.
9 Press the button on the front panel of the Tuning Adapter. This green LED should illuminate and remain on. If
the green light does not illuminate, wait a few moments, then press the button again. There may be a slight
delay for the authorization to complete processing.
10 Using the USB cable provided, connect the USB port on the back of the Tuning Adapter to one of the
USB ports on the CableCARD device. Follow on screen instructions and press continue. Your CableCARD device
should now be ready to receive all the switched digital video channels to which you have subscribed.
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IllIlIlllIll
EliteData
Premium
join:2003-07-06
Lindenhurst, NY
| reply to mbernste
blinking = aquiring
solid = aquired
off = not aquired
issues sounds like it cannot communicate with the plant.
i have experienced the same exact issue with a cable modem.
turned out to be a plant problem.
--
☺ |
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mbernste
Boosted
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join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ
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| reply to RickNY
Well, after almost three hours of solid work and beign transferred to like 10 different people, he couldn't get it working. Despite all of this, the guy was EXCELLENT! Why? Despite getting flak from his boss who not only told (well, yelled at) him to go on to his next call and insisted it was the TiVo, the tech told him it isn't because the boxes did the same thing when not connected. He spoke to dispatch, and a couple of 2nd and 3rd tier people without luck. They tried sending hits to the box, rebinding the cablecards, etc. Ulitmately he gave me a case number after having a trouble ticket opened for someone in engineering or some other area within Cablevision to investigate. Factoring in the holiday, if I don't see any progress by Wednesday, I'll call up and give them the case number.
Right now I have a different TA which he verified was activated on my account. The TA is just sitting there valiantly going through the reboot process just like its predecessor did. This reboot happens regardless if the USB cable is connected or not. |
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mbernste
Boosted
Premium,MVM
join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ | reply to RickNY
It looks like neither tuning adapter 1 or 2 never does the initial link up to do the download, so it seems like it is a plant-side/Cablevision-side issue. |
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mbernste
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Piscataway, NJ
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1 edit | reply to bcronin
said by bcronin :To make a long story short, it was caused by a bad coaxial cable between the TA and the TiVo. Not only was that tried, but the coax from the wall to the TA was swapped as well. Still no luck.
Update: so the poor CV guy has been here for two hours. I got to give him credit. Right now it looks like the box was never provisioned correctly. He's made like 15 phone calls (including when he loses his signal, thanks to NexTel). I feel bad for the people who has work orders after me, but I got to give him an A for effort. One supervisor said to him it's a TiVo problem and he was quite insistent in saying it isn't since the box never gets the update. Plus one for CV field support! |
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mbernste
Boosted
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join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ
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| reply to csmcdem
said by csmcdem :try swapping the adapter, worked for me Well, it's not the TA, though I suppose two TAs could be bad. He installed a different one and the same symptoms as documented in the above postings. He seems to be mildly frustrated, which is understandable. I'm starting to not feel optimistic that he will be able to resolve it. Right now he's doing a second signal level check. I wonder, if he can't fix it, where do I go from here? I'm thinking a posting in OOL direct might be my next course of action.
My signal level are: -1 for incoming (range is +10 to -10) and 47 for outbound (30 to 55 is the "good" range IIRC). |
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mbernste
Boosted
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join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ
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| reply to mbernste
Should I be surprised that the CV tech came without an additional tuning adapter to swap out? While I am not surprised, you'd think they would be prepared. Luckily I live 2 miles from Cablevision's office. He left all of his stuff here and took a run down to get one. I guess in retrospect I could've and should've done that but having them verify that my signal levels are ok also didn't hurt. In the tech's defense, the ticket, which he left on my coffee table only said I was missing channels (technically accurate).
What, of course remains unsaid is that I am missing channels due to the fact that unlike FiOS, Cablevision has limited bandwidth and has to employ tricks like SDV which necessitates a "tuning resolver" to acquire those missing channels and subsequently would need a replacement since they don't always work. Should I be mad at Cisco for their quality control or Cablevision for their poor case/trouble ticket description and inability to provide proper channel bandwidth without such tricks?
I'm leaning towards both.
I am sitting here waiting for the tech to come back in the hopes that a replacement TA will get me up and running with the SDV channels. |
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csmcdem
join:2009-01-11
Marlboro, NJ | reply to mbernste
@mbernste i had a bad tuning adapter, and thats what happened to me. try swapping the adapter, worked for me |
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mbernste
Boosted
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join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ
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| reply to bcronin
said by bcronin :it was caused by a bad coaxial cable between the TA and the TiVo. So, if you haven't checked that, you may want to. Yeah, I tried swapping out the coax as well, no luck. |
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bcronin
Premium
join:2004-03-27
Hyde Park, NY | reply to mbernste
I had similar sounding problems with one of the two tuning adapters I recently installed. To make a long story short, it was caused by a bad coaxial cable between the TA and the TiVo. So, if you haven't checked that, you may want to. |
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mbernste
Boosted
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Piscataway, NJ
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| reply to RickNY
said by RickNY :And you did call the 800 number that was on the instruction sheet to have the TA activated, right? Yes I did, which is standard customer service. They're the ones who transferred me to a "digital specialist" who worked with me for a good 25 minutes trying to get it to work. He also mentioned to me that the box was pre-activated at the Optimum store, since I was curious about that. |
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RickNY
Premium
join:2000-11-02
New York | reply to mbernste
I cant help you with experience on the Series 3.. I have the TivoHD. And you did call the 800 number that was on the instruction sheet to have the TA activated, right? |
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mbernste
Boosted
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Piscataway, NJ
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| reply to RickNY
said by RickNY :I know its not much consolation -- but hoping you just got a bad TA.. Still hoping it's a bad TA. I kept the USB unplugged from the TA for hours today. I noticed that when the USB was out, it didn't do the reboot thing. I am unsure what significance that holds, but it is interesting nonetheless. I know the TiVo is "seeing" it since it says "initializing" when its plugged in and "not connected" when the USB is disconnected. While I do hope it's a TA issue, my mind is starting to consider the possibility is on the TiVo side, but what on the TiVo side is what I don't know. FYI, I have version 11 software on the Series 3. |
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RickNY
Premium
join:2000-11-02
New York
| reply to mbernste
I know its not much consolation -- but hoping you just got a bad TA.. Mine has worked fine since I got it -- with the exception of the Tivo telling me 'A tuner adapter has been connected' any time the TA has rebooted for firmware updates or whatever. |
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mbernste
Boosted
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Piscataway, NJ
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| reply to RickNY
Yeah, its probably a bad box. I was given a cardboard box with the TA in it and the other cmponents were sealed. I just have to decide if its worth the bother disconnecting everything, packing it all up and going to the Optimum Store to swap it out or just wait until the tech comes on the 3rd. |
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RickNY
Premium
join:2000-11-02
New York
| reply to mbernste
said by mbernste :One thing I am wondering, should I not have the USB plugged in to the TiVo? Maybe keep the USB unplugged, reboot the TA, wait for it to get updates (like 15-20 minutes) and then plug it in. It seems to me that the TA is in some kind of reboot loop (which I know has been widely reported). You can give it a shot of leaving the USB unplugged.. But you said at some point, it did go to solid, but then starts blinking every few minutes.. If its not too much trouble, I would exchange the TA.. They gave you an instruction set, I am assuming (I had a sealed Cisco box when I got mine). I do recall that when first hooking it up, you were only supposed to hook up cable to the TA and power -- and then let it boot - THAT part I had to wait about 30 minutes for to complete the first time. After that, they gave you a number to call at CV, where they were supposed to activate it. Once that was done, then you were supposed to plug in the USB to the Tivo. |
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xirian
Premium
join:2003-01-26
Beacon, NY | reply to mbernste
Have you tried exchanging the TA? |
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mbernste
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3 edits | reply to RickNY
After configuring as stated previously, I then rebooted the TA (unplugged it, waited 10 seconds plugged it in). Green light was solid for several seconds, then blinked for 5-10 seconds then went off. Still nothing in the TA diagnostics and in the DVR diagnostics I have the same status.
The TA continues its pattern of solid, blink, off every few minutes. I also tried a soft reboot (select restart/three thumbs down) of the TiVo. I even tried a different USB cable.
One thing I am wondering, should I not have the USB plugged in to the TiVo? Maybe keep the USB unplugged, reboot the TA, wait for it to get updates (like 15-20 minutes) and then plug it in. It seems to me that the TA is in some kind of reboot loop (which I know has been widely reported). |
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