Sporadic "subscription required"

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webminster

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Sporadic "subscription required"

#1

Post by webminster » Wed May 11, 2016 2:05 pm

I have had sporadic cases of the following sort of error on both my Prime units. Either Live TV freezes or a recording shorts, usually with a "subscription required". It tends to happen on one more than the other, but that one is the one that WMC usually picks on first.

I once was told by SD this was possibly a bad cablecard... but on both units? I wonder about the copy protect part of the message. I also am very troubled that it almost always happens on this FOXNEWS channel 742.

Anyone else had similar problems? Did it really turn out to be CC's? I'd like to be a little more sure before I go off trying to exchange all my CC's with Comcast and going through the pairing dances again.
-Alan

===========

20160511-00:56:00 CableCARD: tuner1 742 Fox News HD (auto:249MHz-30) access = subscribed
20160511-01:25:59 Tuner: tuner0 tuning 655 KDVR HD (auto:285MHz-1)
20160511-01:25:59 Tuner: tuner0 streaming rtp to 192.168.1.10:5002
20160511-01:26:00 CableCARD: tuner0 655 KDVR HD (auto:285MHz-1) access = subscribed
20160511-01:40:54 CableCARD: copy_protection/cp_valid_cnf timeout error (cchost_copy_protection:597)
20160511-01:40:54 CableCARD: technical error 53 (cchost_copy_protection:597)
20160511-01:40:54 CableCARD: message: A technical problem is preventing you from receiving all the cable services at this time. Please call your cable operator and report error code 161-53 to have this problem resolved.
20160511-01:40:54 CableCARD: M-CARD reset
20160511-01:40:58 CableCARD: Motorola card (0000:0625)
20160511-01:40:58 CableCARD: authentication status: authentication in progress
20160511-01:40:58 CableCARD: authentication status: authentication success, validation success
-Alan

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Crash2009

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#2

Post by Crash2009 » Wed May 11, 2016 7:00 pm

webminster wrote:
1) 20160511-01:40:54 CableCARD: copy_protection/cp_valid_cnf timeout error (cchost_copy_protection:597)

2) 20160511-01:40:54 CableCARD: technical error 53 (cchost_copy_protection:597)

3) 20160511-01:40:54 CableCARD: message: A technical problem is preventing you from receiving all the cable services at this time. Please call your cable operator and report error code 161-53 to have this problem resolved.
I have had CableCard problems in the past, but I never looked at the log to see exactly what the problem was. What I did with mine was boot the tuner with card, boot the tuner without card, then finally boot the tuner with the card. This worked for awhile then the CableCard eventually died completely. So to me, your issue is CableCard is on the way out.

error 161-0 is CableCard got firmware update, needs reboot
error 161.1 is CableCard no good
error 161.53 I didn't find anything on that one

Do you have a TA ? if so, I have been told that some brands of TA/CableCard in a dual configuration, need to be cabled a certain way, such as in the picture.

If no TA's, possibly the tuners might gain something if they come off the same splitter.

And then the 3rd thing is possibly there is some type of network delay between the tuners and WMC....should be tuner/tuner/WMC on the same switch.

After searching the errors in bold, I was unable to find your exact issue.
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Last edited by Crash2009 on Wed May 11, 2016 7:11 pm, edited 1 time in total.

webminster

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#3

Post by webminster » Wed May 11, 2016 7:08 pm

Thanks for the response. No TA's, and both already on same splitter.

SD suggested this morning I try the boot tuner without cablecards, wait, insert cablecards, then do a channel scan. Did that, waiting for a response from them re: any debug logs they saw post-fact.

Am just finding it very odd that both cablecards developed an issue, and it tends to hose one specific channel more than any. Maybe Comcast hates Fox News. :)
-Alan

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Crash2009

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#4

Post by Crash2009 » Wed May 11, 2016 7:17 pm

Might be a Comcast problem, have them remove and re-pair both. I assume they were added on different days.

webminster

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#5

Post by webminster » Wed May 11, 2016 7:24 pm

Depending on SD's response, maybe... or maybe a staged replacement. I have a 3rd tuner unit and another (old) CC I can try to get paired. Wondering how difficult Comcast will be if I show up and as for swaps cuz SD says I should. And yeah, iirc it was on different days, although not sure since it was a couple years ago.
-Alan

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Crash2009

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#6

Post by Crash2009 » Wed May 11, 2016 7:55 pm

My local Comcast is pretty easy-going. They swapped the broken one and gave me a spare.

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#7

Post by me@mpking.com » Fri May 20, 2016 1:49 am

Just to report in, I'm having the same issue. Same exact error message (Found this by searching it)

When it happened tonight, I was recording on two channels. Both recordings showed the subscription required message. I started a recording on the third tuner on the Homerun, and it works fine.

I'll try the reboot dance described above, but I think I'll make plans on replacing the CC.

Did you end up replacing yours?

webminster

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#8

Post by webminster » Fri May 20, 2016 2:08 am

I didn't, yet. I did the dance SD requested, and it hasn't happened again yet. I also have since added another Prime tuner into my mix, and after TV setup I'm not hitting the same device as much, so tests are different. But it might have helped, didn't hurt.

What they asked me to do, for reference:
Quick test, please power cycle the HDHomeRun, remove the CableCARDs and power on the HDHR. Wait about 30 seconds and re-insert the cards.
Run a channel scan on both devices then reply back?
-Alan

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#9

Post by jer » Mon May 01, 2017 3:31 pm

webminster wrote:Wait about 30 seconds and re-insert the cards.
Did you insert the cards while the unit was powered on?

webminster

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#10

Post by webminster » Tue May 02, 2017 12:24 am

Yes.
-Alan

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