Time Warner refuses to give customers cablecards for Series3 Tivos!

[dbfresh23]

Ok it's been quite obvious for a while that they have been trying to kill cablecard, but this is just crossing the line. Not allowing a S3 Tivo because it competes with their DVR Rentals is just nonsense. This could also spell bad news for the HTPC market if Tivo doesn't fight and win this.


http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/26/t...eries-3-tivos/

[Ryokurin]

No, whats sad is that everyone is blowing up from what a email tech said about a product that hasn't been released yet, a product that they likely dont have a clue on what it does. The first rule is when you do support like that is "when you are asked about something you have never heard of before or hasn't supported in the past, you tell the person asking its not allowed or unsupported".

Even then it can be a matter of clarity. Why does TWC need to know that you are installing your cablecard in a Tivo? I thought Cablecards were meant so that you can just unplug the card from one device to another to transfer service? If they have to support plugging in the card into a Tivo then they also have to support plugging it into a TV which is similar. No one is going to do that.

Dont get me wrong, im not sticking up for TWC, but I just personally see this as likely a big misunderstanding.

[dbfresh23]

Originally Posted by Ryokurin

Why does TWC need to know that you are installing your cablecard in a Tivo? I thought Cablecards were meant so that you can just unplug the card from one device to another to transfer service? If they have to support plugging in the card into a Tivo then they also have to support plugging it into a TV which is similar. No one is going to do that.

Well they have to know because cablecards actually get bound to a device. The cablecard and cablecard device have unique id numbers that get bound together so you can't just go swap devices without calling the cable company. I'm not sure what you mean by support, but if you mean the actual installing of the cablecard then you may be surprised that as it is most cable companies will not just hand you one and let you install it - they require a tech be sent to your location and install it for you. This is obviously to make the process harder and discourage the use of cablecards. This is like an ISP telling customers that a tech needs to come out to install a PCMCIA modem on their laptop...


You must have also missed the part in the first few sentences that said the cable companies were giving Tivo beta testers a hard time, meaning these people had them in their hands and ready to go but the cable companies still said no.

[JasonJoel]

My local Charter cable will NOT give you a CableCARD. They require a tech to come install it.

Jason