[mythtv-users] HDHR Prime, , Comcast, CableCard, no encrypted channels

[Gary Buhrmaster]

On Fri, Feb 24, 2012 at 10:29, Dale Pontius <DEPontius at edgehp.net> wrote:
> My CableCard is installed in the HDHR Prime

First things first, make sure you have recent firmware for
the Prime.  There have been various fixes over the months
that deal with some issues with CableCards and some
edge cases (and some providers).

> , I believe it's activated,
> but I can't receive any encrypted channels.  I have these fun little
> lines in my logfile:
.....
> 20120224-16:47:22 CableCARD: authentication status: authentication
> success, activation success

Yes. the card would appear to be activated based on that message.

But there is another step, which is the provisioning of
your subscription data (what you are allowed to access).
Often called a 'hit", which sends down the EMMs
(entitlement management messages) for that card.

One should check the status pages to insure that
the OOB signal is reasonably good (I think it is
off the Status menu/Cablecard page (not the CableCard
page from the first page).  If you do not get messages
reliably, this could be part of the problem.

Note that EMMs are sent in the background all the
time, and cards have a lifetime for an entitlement.
If a CC does not receive a new EMM for you after
a configured amount a time, you lose access to
the channels.  The "hit" forces sending of the
EMM for your card now.

Since the EMM for an OCUR device is a one-way
(throw the message over the brick wall and hope
it hits) message, sometimes you will not get it.
Sometimes a later EMM (that happens in the
background) will then arrive and you suddenly get
your subscribed channels.

....

> 20120224-17:30:39 CableCARD: vchannel 9 (579MHz-6) access = unspecified

unspecified nominally allows you to access the channel.

> 20120224-17:30:53 CableCARD: vchannel 13 (585MHz-9) access = subscribed
> 20120224-17:30:58 CableCARD: vchannel 13 (585MHz-9) access = not-subscribed

subscribed indicates that you can access the stream.  That
you got another message a few seconds later saying not
subscribed suggests that the card is not getting the correct
provisioning information.

> Am I really activated, or is this some other type of problem?

Some other problem.  You should be able to call Comcast
and indicate that your card shows activated, but you cannot
receive all the channels you subscribe to.  They may very
well want to revalidate all the information they have.  It
is part of their script.

> Is it appropriate for me to use that Comcast number being passed around
> here last year?  (What was it, anyway?)

The number on the wiki works (it is at the end):

http://www.mythtv.org/wiki/Configuring_MythTV_for_the_HDHomeRun_Prime