Subscription Required when changing channels

[hdtvtodvd]

Does Ceton answer back?

I have had an issue for over two weeks and haven't had any real ideas or communication for nearly a week. I am posting my exchange which is comical because at one point they said how glad they were it was resolved. It wasn't if you read the thread...

If I use the guide to change from a channel to another one it hangs and eventually says subscription required. For example 1675 to 1602 while watching 1675.

I found a workaround. If I press stop on the channel I am watching and then go tune to the other channel it works perfectly. I would like to change channels while watching them.

It does sometimes work, but certain combinations of channels close together work, but it hangs.

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 06 September 2013 06:52 AM
I also get a media center message when it is trying to record (not every show) that no tuner was available. It will try one or two and then the third time it will record the program. My issue with that is when I am recording several shows at the same time. I would imagine I am going to miss recordings.

I was on the newest firmware and had macro-blocking so I tried the beta and that went away. It worked fine for 2 - 3 weeks, but then this issue started yesterday.

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 06 September 2013 09:09 AM
I had an earlier ticket for a different infinitv tuner that was internal one. I sent that back like the RMA department requested. I now have the USB 4 tuner infinitv, and it was working perfectly until this issue started. I have tried using different USB ports for the Tuning adapter and unplugging all usb devices other than the infinitv and the Tuning adapter. I have USB 2.0 inputs. I am wanting to give you as much information as possible so hopefully we can get this resolved.

I have a brand new tuning adapter that is 1 month old. This is the second cablecard and looks new. Hoping you can help...

Regards,

Joseph

Ceton Support
Staff
Posted on: 06 September 2013 01:46 PM
Hi Joseph,

We know that you have a new Tuning Adapter, but your TA appears to be resetting repeatedly. As one of your problem channels is an SDV channel, and you appear to have a problem when tuning from a non-SDV to an SDV channel, we're inclined to believe that your issue may be TA-related.

You already have the updates we recommend for TA users with this problem, but please verify that the settings below are correct:

-- Open the Control Panel, navigate to the Power Options icon, and double click it.
-- From the Power Options dialog box choose "Change Plan Settings" from the current selected power plan.
-- Click the "Change Advanced Power Settings" link
-- Scroll to "USB settings" and choose "USB selective suspend settings"; set "Plugged in" to Disabled.
Note: Laptops should change only the "Plugged in:" section
-- Save and reboot the computer.

Note: Some USB Enhanced Controllers may not handle selective suspends accurately or can fail when other devices either don't support the feature or behave incorrectly. This can cause devices on that USB controller to lose connectivity. The above is intended to help with these issues and increase stability.

If you continue to run into issues, you may want to drop by your local TWC office to swap out your TA. If you have any other questions or concerns, please let us know.

Thank you,
Ceton Support

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 06 September 2013 03:42 PM
Hello,

I verified my usb settings as well as changed out the tuning adapter and the problem seems to still be there. Any other suggestions?

Ceton Support
Staff
Posted on: 06 September 2013 03:57 PM
Hi Joseph,

Go ahead and capture an updated diagnostic so we can verify that the TA is still a problem. If worst comes to worse, we can contact your cable provider on your behalf to try and resolve this.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please let us know.

Thank you,
Ceton Support

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 06 September 2013 04:18 PM
CetonInfiniTVDiagnostic_RAW-PC_20130906_18-17.zip (593.96 KB)
I am attaching the diagnostics you asked for. Thanks for your help.

Ceton Support
Staff
Posted on: 07 September 2013 12:06 PM
Hi Joseph,

We have an updated beta firmware for the InfiniTV which may help resolve the problem you're experiencing. The firmware can be downloaded here:

You'll need to manually upload it, and we'll provide step-by-step instructions on how to do that below. Save the above-linked file to an easy-to-find location on your hard drive, and then follow these steps:

1. Open the Ceton InfiniTV Diagnostic Tool
2. Go to the Devices tab and click on the "Go to InfiniTV device webpage" button
3. Along the top of the webpage on the blue bar, click on "System"
4. Scroll down to the very bottom
5. Next to "Firmware Update" click on "Browse"
6. Browse to the firmware file you've saved and select it, clicking "Open" on the browse box to do so
7. Click the "Upload" button on the device webpage

As noted on the device webpage, it can take up to five minutes to complete, so give it time to install. Once that's done, please let us know if you continue to have problems.

Thank you,
Ceton Support


Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 07 September 2013 12:09 PM
CetonInfiniTVDiagnostic_RAW-PC_20130907_14-07.zip (678.82 KB)
I called the cable company last night and they told me to try a new M-card and I set that up this morning. Still same issue with ability to change channels. I am including a new diagnostic with the new m-card.

Based on new TA and Mcard it doesn't appear to be one of those...

Ceton Support
Staff
Posted on: 07 September 2013 03:46 PM
Hi Joseph,

We would like to enable some additional logging on your machine to try and determine what is happening. Please follow the steps below:

1. Close Windows Media Center

2. Open an *ELEVATED* command prompt (Instructions Below)
-- Click the Start button .
-- In the Search box, type command prompt.
-- In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3. Run the commands below:
-- REG ADD HKLM\Software\Debug\ehRecvr.exe /v DbgLevel /t REG_DWORD /d 0xffffffff
-- net stop ehrecvr
-- net start ehrecvr

4. Start Windows Media Center

5. Once the issue has repeated itself please run a diagnostic capture again and upload it to the ticket.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you,
Ceton Support

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 07 September 2013 05:14 PM
I will try the new firmware tonight. If the problem is still there then I will enable the extra logging and send it your way.

Ill let you know either way tomorrow (Sunday)

Thank you for your support,

Joseph

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 07 September 2013 10:18 PM
CetonInfiniTVDiagnostic_RAW-PC_20130908_00-11.zip (535.02 KB)
Ok. I loaded the new firmware and it worked temporarily. Then it went back to not working after 20 minutes or so. I re-updated the firmware and it worked again temporarily. I rebooted to see if it would keep working and it didn't. I then tried the firmware from the linix page 1.8...It also worked temporarily. Then I finally reflashed back to the newest beta and it worked temporarily. Somehow when it is first flashed it works and then it stops and messes up again.

It seems so close, but I am not sure why that happens that way. I am attaching the newest diagnostic info after running those commands in command prompt.

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 08 September 2013 06:39 PM
Please disregard the previous post other than the diagnostic information. I thought that reflashing made it work and it looks like it does but not really. Just after reflashing you go to media center and go to 1717 it comes up. Change to 1602 and it goes to the channel. Works great other than if you stay on that channel after 30 - 60 sec. it says subscription required and stops the video.

The issue is still as I reported from the beginning.

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 08 September 2013 08:24 PM
Another note. I have gone back to the 132 beta firmware vs. the 142 because nearly all of my recordings today were partial recordings with the reason in media center as signal loss. I have not previously had any partial recordings due to signal loss until this beta. I will let you know tomorrow if switching back to the 132 firmware fixes this issue.

Again thank you for helping me sort this out.

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 09 September 2013 08:39 AM
I recorded a video which shows the issue.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5pzyp9sbeo9dc ... 3%20AM.mov

Switching back to beta 132 fixed the partial recording issue.

Ceton Support
Staff
Posted on: 09 September 2013 01:02 PM
Hi Joseph,

Glad you're up and running! Let us know if we can be of further assistance.

Thank you,

Ceton Support

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 09 September 2013 01:05 PM
You guys read something wrong. I am not up and running. I still have the wierd tunning issue and I even posted a video of the problem which I linked to. The only thing that resolved was the partial recordings that happened with the newer beta driver you recommended.

Please look at the updated diagnostics and the video showing the issue.

This is not resolved.

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 09 September 2013 02:12 PM
I had a ticket for an odd tuning issue that has not been resolved. It was somehow marked as resolved. It is still not working correctly. Here is the dopbox video link where I show the problem.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/5pzyp9sbeo9dc ... 3%20AM.mov

Ceton Support
Staff
Posted on: 10 September 2013 12:06 PM
Hi Joseph,

We want to apologize for the confusion on our part. Would it be possible to get an updated diagnostic capture from the system now that you have reverted back to firmware 132? This will help us better troubleshoot the problem.

Thank you,
Ceton Support


Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 10 September 2013 12:24 PM
CetonInfiniTVDiagnostic_RAW-PC_20130910_14-20.zip (454.72 KB)
Thank you for the response. I am at home and available to work on this today if you need access to my machine or wish to talk. I am including a link to a video I made showing the issue : https://www.dropbox.com/s/5pzyp9sbeo9dc ... 3%20AM.mov

I am also including the diagnostic file with the beta 132 firmware. I did the procedure you had me do for the earlier one for this.

Thanks in advance,

Joseph

Ceton Support
Staff
Posted on: 10 September 2013 04:47 PM
Hi Joseph,

We would like to enable some additional logging on your machine to try and determine what is happening. Please follow the steps below:

1. Close Windows Media Center

2. Open an *ELEVATED* command prompt (Instructions Below)
-- Click the Start button .
-- In the Search box, type command prompt.
-- In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3. Run the commands below:
-- REG ADD HKLM\Software\Debug\ehRecvr.exe /v DbgLevel /t REG_DWORD /d 0xffffffff
-- net stop ehrecvr
-- net start ehrecvr

4. Start Windows Media Center

5. Once the issue has repeated itself please run a diagnostic capture again and upload it to the ticket.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you,
Ceton Support

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 10 September 2013 06:23 PM
I did that for what I sent earlier today.

Joseph Strickland
User
Posted on: 11 September 2013 06:16 AM
CetonInfiniTVDiagnostic_RAW-PC_20130911_08-13.zip (502.71 KB)
Yesterday's and today's both have the elevated diagnostics.

[foxwood]

I have had an issue for over two weeks and haven't had any real ideas or communication for nearly a week. I am posting my exchange which is comical because at one point they said how glad they were it was resolved. It wasn't if you read the thread...

In fairness, you ended one of your posts with "Switching back to beta 132 fixed the partial recording issue." It's not hard to see how someone who is dealing with a bunch of tickets would read that as "the problem is resolved".

You opened the ticket with one problem, and then dragged in a different problem (or a different symptom of the same problem).

Rule #1 for trouble tickets is "One problem per ticket". That rule applies to both parties!

I know that that doesn't help you resolve your issue, but it might help the next time you open a ticket.

[hdtvtodvd]

I hear you, but that problem was created by the beta they had me try. I was giving feedback to let them know why I was reverting to an earlier beta. I understand the confusion, but I would like my original issue resolved if possible...

[vhawkx]

Hi everyone! Was this issue that was listed in this thread resolved?

I actually am having the exact same problem mentioned here. Stopping and changing the channels works from the guide but not if I change a channel directly. Usually if I change directly, "Subscription Required" shows up. I am using the infiniTV 6 PCIe edition with Windows 7 Media Center and there seem to be no new updates beta or not available from Ceton.

[jasonbtx]

Tuning adaptor status?

[Ryan]

I am having this problem as well, except that it only seems to occur on premium channels. Since I purchased the InfiniTV about sixteen months ago, it has never worked properly and premiums have always been troublesome, especially HBO. I have been going back and forth with Ceton ever since. Now, however, premiums will not work at all, resulting in the "subscription required" message.

I read about someone else having this problem on an Amazon review and another poster mentioned a tuning adapter. I asked Ceton if I should get one but they are not answering. Have they had some sort of change in their support personnel recently? The last couple of responses have been rather rude and uncooperative.

ETA: Almost immediately after I posted, WMC locked up while I was watching the local news. Even after a reboot, the InfiniTV was not recognized. I had to uninstall/reinstall the InfiniTV drivers and go through TV Setup again to get it working again. This has happened again and again and Ceton has been no help at all. Is anyone else having so much trouble?

[RyC]

Get a Prime on Amazon, see if it works better, if not then return it no hassle

[Ryan]

Get a Prime on Amazon, see if it works better, if not then return it no hassle

That sounds like good advice. Reading some other posts here, it sounds as though that has worked for some people.

[STC]

I am having this problem as well, except that it only seems to occur on premium channels. Since I purchased the InfiniTV about sixteen months ago, it has never worked properly and premiums have always been troublesome, especially HBO. I have been going back and forth with Ceton ever since. Now, however, premiums will not work at all, resulting in the "subscription required" message.

I read about someone else having this problem on an Amazon review and another poster mentioned a tuning adapter. I asked Ceton if I should get one but they are not answering. Have they had some sort of change in their support personnel recently? The last couple of responses have been rather rude and uncooperative.

ETA: Almost immediately after I posted, WMC locked up while I was watching the local news. Even after a reboot, the InfiniTV was not recognized. I had to uninstall/reinstall the InfiniTV drivers and go through TV Setup again to get it working again. This has happened again and again and Ceton has been no help at all. Is anyone else having so much trouble?

Tuning Adapters are either required or they are not. Find out from your cable co.

[barnabas1969]

Sounds familiar: Boot once, and it works. Boot again, and the tuner doesn't exist. Got rid of it and got an HD HomeRun PRIME... no problems.

[erkotz]

If you are experiencing this specific issue, please make sure that you are on firmware 13.9.24.118 (or later). If the issue persists, please open a support ticket.

[JohnW248]

Get a Prime on Amazon, see if it works better, if not then return it no hassle

That sounds like good advice. Reading some other posts here, it sounds as though that has worked for some people.

If the problem is related to the TA, then changing tuners won't make much difference. I operate both Ceton and SD and when there is a TA issue it is system wide.

You might want to delve into the TA and see what FW you're running. It will appear on the Ceton Web Gui on the TA tab, on SD you'll need to go to the Tuning Resolver menu from the web gui and then click on VERSIONS & MACs

SOFTWARE VERSIONS
PTV OS: Explorer1kg6 NGP OS
FLASH: STA1.0.0_1520_LR_F.1901
App(s): SARA v1.61.41.a203

(You can get to the same place on the Ceton by going to the TA tab and clicking on Diagnostic Menu and then Versions & Macs

If you're on a Moto headend you'll have to explore your options since we're on Cisco here.

You should not get subscription required when changing channels and you should not have to enter stop to change channels. I don't and I'm on TWC.

Examine what your local cable company is doing and it would help in the future if you include in your post your location, cable provider and type of equipment which would make it easier to answer and make suggestions. Also include if you are running the PCIe version or USB or Ethernet. There can be numerous problems with USB that are computer related especially if the TA and Tuner are sharing a hub.

[barnabas1969]

If you are experiencing this specific issue, please make sure that you are on firmware 13.9.24.118 (or later). If the issue persists, please open a support ticket.

Which specific issue... Subscription Required, or No Tuner Found?

Also, what about what Ryan wrote:

Since I purchased the InfiniTV about sixteen months ago, it has never worked properly and premiums have always been troublesome, especially HBO. I have been going back and forth with Ceton ever since. <snip> I asked Ceton if I should get one but they are not answering. <snip> The last couple of responses have been rather rude and uncooperative.

[erkotz]

If you are experiencing this specific issue, please make sure that you are on firmware 13.9.24.118 (or later). If the issue persists, please open a support ticket.

Which specific issue... Subscription Required, or No Tuner Found?

Sorry, to clarify, Subsription Required. The issue in question only affected customers with a Tuning Adapter

Also, what about what Ryan wrote:

Since I purchased the InfiniTV about sixteen months ago, it has never worked properly and premiums have always been troublesome, especially HBO. I have been going back and forth with Ceton ever since. <snip> I asked Ceton if I should get one but they are not answering. <snip> The last couple of responses have been rather rude and uncooperative.

Ryan, please PM me your ticket number. I do not know what ticket this is/what troubleshooting has been done, but in general, issues with premium channels are either due to CableCARD pairing issues, or HDCP/protected display issues with video cards. From the InfiniTV standpoint, they are the same as any other channel other than the CCI.

Ryan needs to ask his local cable operator if a Tuning Adapter is required, as it is dependent on their configuration. This is not a question our support people have the ability to answer. In general, all of Time Warner, most of Cox, all of Charter, and CableVision on certain plans need TAs. Comcast and FiOS do not use TAs.

Obviously, we strive to be professional in our support to all customers, and I apologize if something that was said came across rude. I can assure you that we value our customers and do not intend to be rude to them. If you send me your ticket number, I can look into it further.

[barnabas1969]

Thank you. It's nice to see a response from someone at Ceton again. Lots of people here have missed you, including me.

[erkotz]

Thank you. It's nice to see a response from someone at Ceton again. Lots of people here have missed you, including me.

Sorry, I've been pretty busy lately and haven't had as much time for things as I would like. I'll try and be around a bit more.

[erkotz]

Ryan, I did some digging and found what I believe is your support ticket. Looking through your support tickets, there appears to be something in your environment (possibly, but not limited to, power or ESD issues) which is damaging the InfiniTV card inside your computer. Your InfiniTV has been replaced multiple times and this type of repeated failure is certainly not typical of our products. Given the reoccurrences you have seen on multiple InfiniTV devices, we have to conclude that something within your environment is likely triggering this. We determined that there is an issue with your current InfiniTV and offered to RMA it a few weeks ago, but you declined.

Media Center configurations are very complex, involving many components from different companies -- PC hardware, Windows OS, third party-software, displays, cables, CableCARDs, tuning adapters, cable service, network design, routers, switches, firewalls, and of course the InfiniTV device itself. InfiniTV is one piece of this complex puzzle. An issue in any of these pieces can result in problems with receiving channels.

Your cable operator will let you know whether you need a Tuning Adapter (TA) or not. Tuning Adapters are only required if they use a technology called Switched Digital Video (SDV). If you’re on a Comcast system it’s unlikely they’re using SDV in your market and thus unlikely you need a TA. Please check with them to be sure.

I can understand how you could interpret the bulleted list our support manager provided as rude. I can assure you that it was not intended that way - rather, there was a substantial amount of information that he was responding to, and his goal was to address each of the points.

[amador]

I can vouch for that went thru couple of Tuning Adapter the culprit was a loose connector.

[Ryan]

Thank you for the reply, erkotz. I only have time for a brief response at the moment, but I wanted to answer a couple of your points right away.

During sixteen months of constant headaches and sending countless diagnostics to Ceton, this latest exchange is the first time I've heard of "something in my environment" damaging the InfiniTV. In fact, just a little over a month ago, Ceton told me that

"...after looking through all the information all indications are that your InfiniTV is working as intended, and not suffering from hardware damage or failure."

My InfiniTV has, to the best of my recollection, been replaced twice. "Multiple times" is a bit of an exaggeration, in my opinion.

We determined that there is an issue with your current InfiniTV and offered to RMA it a few weeks ago, but you declined.

No, absolutely not true. This offer you speak of was more of an ultimatum (more on that later), so I wanted to gather some more information before making a decision. I talked to the technician who built my machine (who really seems to know his stuff), and he had a theory of his own. He believed that inadequate or faulty coaxial cable provided by Comcast may be causing the issue. I wrote back to Ceton, asking their opinion of this, specifically saying that I wanted to investigate this as a possibility prior to requesting the RMA. After all, it wouldn't make much sense to put another InfiniTV into the same environment which is supposedly damaging it. Ceton did not respond.

Media Center configurations are very complex, involving many components from different companies

I'm definitely understanding this now, and reading through this forum makes it clear that the InfiniTV is a "hobbyist" product. This is not how Ceton advertises it, however:

Just insert InfiniTV 4 PCIe in your PC, follow the simple installation instructions, and in just a few minutes you’ll be enjoying the best digital cable TV experience available on any device.

This has definitely not been my experience.

I can understand how you could interpret the bulleted list our support manager provided as rude. I can assure you that it was not intended that way - rather, there was a substantial amount of information that he was responding to, and his goal was to address each of the points.

He did not address each of the points. He ignored some of my questions, such as the one about the tuning adapter, although I see from your reply that it likely would not apply in my situation (I'll double check on that, though). Details on these "environmental factors" were very vague and unhelpful. I also asked if the replacement unit would be new or refurbished, and was ignored. He also ignored my question about the CableCard (the complete inability to receive premium channels occurred shortly after I replaced it). I don't know why he mentioned that Ceton doesn't maintain a call center; I simply pointed out that Ceton did not contact me after conferring with Comcast as promised. I wasn't expecting a phone call.

In the previous reply, he claims that a specific part has repeatedly failed on the InfiniTV, the first time I have been told this. When I asked what the specific part was, he replied

We're not going into detail, it would require an essay from an engineer.

Why refuse to provide this information? And yes, the overall tone of the replies did strike me as rather rude- certainly unprofessional. I believe I have been quite patient over these sixteen months, and expected better from Ceton.

Regardless, thank you for looking up the ticket and replying.

[vhawkx]

If you are experiencing this specific issue, please make sure that you are on firmware 13.9.24.118 (or later). If the issue persists, please open a support ticket.

I updated my firmware to 13.9.24.118 beta on my InfiniTV 6 PCIe using the instructions provided by Ceton support and it seems to have solved the problem of the "Subscription Required" message showing up after tuning from channel to channel. I have a tuning adapter and the InfiniTV 6 PCIe installed on my PC with Windows 7 x64 and the beta firmware feels pretty smooth as of now. Maybe the beta firmware should be posted on the Ceton support site for easier public access. Anyhow, the support that I have received from Ceton has been great so far. I'll provide an update if any further issues come up.