[mythtv-users] Got my Firewire tuner back!

Bob Sully rcs at malibyte.net
Sat Sep 29 20:54:39 UTC 2007


I recently had to take my upstairs cable box back to the cable company
because it was malfunctioning (bad HD reception).  They swapped it for a
brand-new DCT3200 box, which I unfortunately could not use because the
company couldn't get the CableCard to authorize, so all I was able to get
were the clear QAM channels.

I have a DCT6200 downstairs tied in to my Myth machine which has worked
fine except for the fact that I lost any useful output on the Firewire
port back in January...Others were having similar problems in this area,
according to this mailing list, so I've been bitching about Time Warner
Cable ever since, figuring that they simply cut it off.  I was only able
to use the Firewire port for changing channels on the STB.

I wound up spending nearly two hours on the phone with TWC trying to get
the upstairs STB working, and finally gave up and took it back (they
swapped it for a second 6200, which wrks fine).  However, along the way, I
spoke with a tech person in Colorado Springs named Michelle, who not only
actually KNEW something about these systems but was very cordial and very
helpful.  I brought up the Firewire issue with her, telling her that I had
a MythTV DVR computer, and mentioning the fact that the FCC mandates that
the Firewire ports be enabled.  She not only agreed with me - with no
arguments - but also sent an instruction over the network to re-enable the
Firewire ports, saying that she didn't know why I had lost the ability to
record.

Voila!!

I now have my in-the-clear QAM channels back on the Firewire ports.  It'd
be nice if I could record the 2nd- and 3rd-tier channels over it, which I
do pay for ($100/month cable bill) - but for now, I'll take it and won't
complain.

So, if you have lost Firewire connectivity, keep calling your cableco
until you find someone who knows what they're doing!

I'm now running two pcHDTV 5500s, each with QAM and analog, plus the
S-video input from the STB (the only way I can record HBO, MTV-HD, etc.),
now also with firewire, for a total of 6 separate tuners.  Now, if I could
only get lirc working right and figure out how to set up a playlist on
MythMusic (it's NOT intuitive at all - better yet, figure out how to call
Amarok from within Myth, as has already been discussed) - I'll be in DVR
Nirvana.

Bob

-- 
________________________________________
Bob Sully - Simi Valley, California, USA
http://www.malibyte.net
http://www.malibyte.com


More information about the mythtv-users mailing list