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beachintech
There's sand in my tool bag
Premium Member
join:2008-01-06

beachintech to SunnyD

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Re: [Cable Card] Pace RNG110 cablecard - can I pull it and use i

No, you can not do that. Nothing inside a cable box is "user accessible" (Also violates the terms of service and they would be able to cancel your service if they so chose). Cards have to be paired with a device.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

Card's in set top boxes have their Card ID hardwired to the MAC address and Host ID of the box they are in. From what I've been told, not even Comcast has the ability to unpair the two in their system, since the box manufacturer handles repairs, from what I've been told by various engineers from those companies.
SunnyD
join:2009-03-20
Madison, AL

SunnyD

Member

While I'm inclined to mostly agree (and besides given the equipment credit situation it's moot), my fairly new experience with the cable industry has been mired with employees who don't have a freaking clue what they're talking about. Short list of examples:

- Sales rep didn't even know what CableCard was
- Cable tech told me that the HDMI port on the box wouldn't even work since I didn't have the HD package (in fact he told me component wouldn't work, I'd have to use composite only)
- Sales rescheduled my install appointment to a time slot that doesn't exist

Anyhow, once again thanks for the info all. I'll be looking into swapping my box out for a CableCard once I decide what I'm going to do.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

Yup, welcome to the industry lol.
raffoutroud
join:2010-03-31
Lynnwood, WA

raffoutroud to SunnyD

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said by SunnyD:

- Cable tech told me that the HDMI port on the box wouldn't even work since I didn't have the HD package

The HDMI port won't work if you aren't paying for HD, that's correct. Without the access fee the port is ded.
SunnyD
join:2009-03-20
Madison, AL

1 recommendation

SunnyD

Member

said by raffoutroud:

said by SunnyD:

- Cable tech told me that the HDMI port on the box wouldn't even work since I didn't have the HD package

The HDMI port won't work if you aren't paying for HD, that's correct. Without the access fee the port is ded.

And that would be flatly incorrect, as I have it happily hooked up to my TV using HDMI (I don't get HD, but it happily outputs via HDMI without any issues). Go figure!
SpHeRe31459
Premium Member
join:2002-10-09
Sacramento, CA

SpHeRe31459

Premium Member

said by SunnyD:

And that would be flatly incorrect, as I have it happily hooked up to my TV using HDMI (I don't get HD, but it happily outputs via HDMI without any issues). Go figure!

That's what I would expect. All outputs work, but of course you just don't have access to the HD channels themselves.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf to SunnyD

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to SunnyD
That's what I expected. It's the access to the HD channels that the fee pays for, not enabling and disabling the physical connections. Otherwise there would be an eSATA port fee to use an external hard drive.
raffoutroud
join:2010-03-31
Lynnwood, WA

raffoutroud to SunnyD

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Ask the good folks in Colorado. The audits just got done there. They were informed via letters and then the authorizations/corrections were sent to the boxes. HDMI ports go dead without the HD access fee and the DVR service goes dead without the DVR coding. Just because it's working for you doesn't mean that it's supposed to. As they audit more areas you'll see. The ability to disable the HDMI port via a billing code has been active in a lot of markets for at least 2 years now.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

This with SA or Motorola equipment?