InfiniTV4 PCIe -"Unable to get channel map" ?

[Ed]

Shouldn't be, but there's no reason to have anti-malware on a dedicated HTPC anyway so it really wouldn't hurt to just remove it anyway.

[JoeB99]

The only software that I'm aware of that causes issues are 3rd party firewalls. Malware Bytes shouldn't cause an issue.

So did the tech try or test anything new on your end? As far as the woman on his support line, even if she changes anything on her end, your card will never receive the updates because the OOB won't stay locked. That is the channel or frequency used to update the CableCARD. The various types of signals they might send (HIT, RHT, CCV, etc.) cant be received cause the card can't receive any messages. Did the tech just leaving you hanging or what?

How is your HTPC getting its coax connection? Is it a straight shot from the wall to the tuner or is it first going thru a splitter? Also are there any other active outlets in the home?

[adam1991]

This tech was very good and very patient, and we did check some connection items. The cable comes in from the pole, goes to an interface outside the house, goes inside the house, gets split to cable modem and a single TV outlet, that TV outlet gets amplified, and it goes to the Ceton tuner.

We removed the amplifier. Signal levels were down, and we weren't surprised. We replaced it with a new amp. He checked connections everywhere and re-tightened. He replaced the connector at the interface on the side of the house. He triple checked things at the tap, removed and reseated and retightened the connection there, checking signal levels as he went. He did say the connection at the tap wasn't tight; that was probably the tech from last Thursday, as he also checked the tap.

We both wish he had had a second card to test with; we're thinking that the universe is conspiring against us, and that perhaps the original problem was bad amp and the problem was compounded when the first tech checked the tap and left it loose (although my cable modem speeds never suffered). Now that we're getting this new lock/unlock behavior, it will be VERY interesting to see how another card behaves.

On the other hand, there's this reply to my thread over on DSL Reports:

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r29982267-

which I find FASCINATING.

[Just13d]

I setup a HTPC with 2 Internal Ceton cards for my parents on TWC and those two cards have never downloaded a channel map. They rely on the tunning adaptors for the channel maps. I ended up putting one of the tunning adaptors on a light timer to cycle it daily to make sure at least one adaptor has a fresh channel map. Just to be clear I started with one card and then added a second a couple years later when I cut the cord. I thought maybe the first cable card was bad but when the second ceton behaved the same way I knew it must be something with TWC and just cut my losses with the light timer. It works they do not miss any recordings but it is not perfect.

[JohnW248]

The interaction on the OOB lock (as I understand it) is basically the cableCARD and the head end of the cable system. The Ceton (or SD) has a modem and the cableCARD looks for a frequency to lock for the OOB signal. It does this out of the box from the factory and is really based on the quality of signal coming in on the line. You can lose OOB lock if something is wrong with the signal such as a bad connector someplace or even some modulation errors at the head end. That's why I asked about internal work at the head end.

Here last summer as TWC was replacing and rebuilding our head end in Chatsworth, all at once a T6 PCIe tuner lost OOB and couldn't get it back. A T4 PCIe did lock but with a lower Signal level. It got fixed about seven weeks later just as magically as it went south. Never anything from TWC about the cause but there were lots of reports filed with TWC and several truck rolls so they saw the problem and it wasn't related to any internal wiring (in my case) amps, cableCARDs or TAs. The TAs also have a signal level on OOB and that was down and marginal as well so during that period the signal was marginal and some devices would work and some wouldn't.

I never got a tech that had either the tools or knowledge to find the problem, but someone did eventually (maybe a Cisco engineer working on the install of the new servers and equipment at the head end?). Even with SDV here in TWC land, the cableCARD will download channel maps, for example a card in an internal T6 tuner with an uptime of 9 days 6 hours 23 minutes 51 seconds, the web gui on the cableCARD tab is showing channel maps as 13 and only 286 channels were as the TA shows SDV Channels: 365.

The OOB here shows 35db/10 (MER) on the cableCARD and the TA shows:
CURRENT FDC
Freq: 74.500 MHz
DAVIC: Connected
Status: Locked
Level: 5 dBmV
Seconds: 7134519
Corr Bytes: 771
Uncor Blks: 744
Errs Avg/Inst: 0 / 0
Total Bytes: 3478669844
S/N: 33 dB

It takes some time for a channel map to download so after the system has been running for a few hours, go back to the Web Gui and look at the cableCARD tab and scroll down to channel maps.

To check channel maps on the TA (this is Cisco 1520), open the diagnostic map from the web gui and go to page two and the last item and you'll see the last four channel maps downloaded and their time:
SERIAL LINK ANOMALIES
DecodeErr Tx/Rx: 0/0
LastDecErrTxTime: n/a
LastDecErrRxTime: n/a
TxFlowCtrlToggled: 0
Overflow Tx/Rx: 0/0
LastOvFlowTxTime: n/a
LastOvFlowRxTime: n/a
ApduTxEr/OtherEr: 1/0
CHANNEL TABLE HISTORY
Rsp/Upd/Err/Rtx: 25/44/1/0
04/07@06:20:58 Upd v041 Blks=06
04/08@00:35:00 Upd v042 Blks=06
04/08@03:01:00 Upd v043 Blks=06
04/09@03:00:58 Upd v044 Blks=06

Normally a channel map downloads daily at 3 AM, additiona download happen when there are changes and a channel can't be found, the device immediately downloads a new channel map and if there is any change in the configuration file, a new channel map is downloaded as well.

[IownFIVEechos]

Have you tried to remove the cable modem and have direct line into the Ceton? Perhaps the modem has gone bad in some way and it is causing some type of interference into the line? While you have those guys out there you should have them run a second line so you can have both devices on their own lines.

Have them run a line from outside into the house even if it is through a window or door just to eliminate all inside issues. At this point it looks like you need to take some drastic measures. You have suffered too long!

[JoeB99]

CableCARDs and tuning adapters should always download their own channel maps. When a tuning adapter is connected to the host, the host uses the TA's channel map. If you disconnect the TA, the host will revert to the CC channel map.

Adam, those 2 posts you linked to over at DSLReports seem to be a different issue. That user is getting a channel map and therefore is able to tune channels. They just couldn't receive all the channels. Once the cable company corrected the provisioning in the billing system, they received all their channels. OOB lock has nothing to do with provisioning.

I reread some of your earlier posts, and you mentioned in post #12 that when an earlier tech swapped out your original card with a SA CC, it downloaded firmware and also a channel map, but it wasn't validating. That would have been a provisioning issue. Based on that I would definitely try another card.

[adam1991]

Have you tried to remove the cable modem and have direct line into the Ceton? Perhaps the modem has gone bad in some way and it is causing some type of interference into the line? While you have those guys out there you should have them run a second line so you can have both devices on their own lines.

Have them run a line from outside into the house even if it is through a window or door just to eliminate all inside issues. At this point it looks like you need to take some drastic measures. You have suffered too long!

Still suffering, although it's practice for calling them to turn off pay TV...

That's a good idea--start with a line straight from the input to the house and into the Ceton, removing the cable modem and splitter from the equation. A fresh drop from the line will be a more drastic measure, as that's 300 feet away. Certainly doable, though.

I'm offering to take my PC into their offices and plug it directly into their wiring, to see what happens--eliminate everything anywhere near my neighborhood.

[Paw Paw]

Several years ago I was having cable issues so I setup a card table in the back of my garage where the cable enters the house and ran a short cable to their termination point behind the garage to prove that my house wiring was not causing the issue. That might be easier if you do not have a long piece of coax. Just be sure to use quality compression fittings on any coax connections.

[bmiklosey]

An update on my circumstances....
I am still successfully aired up with a Cisco PKM801 card and my InfiniTV4 tuner.
I am only receiving 54 of approximately 579 channels though.
I am NOT receiving any low channels (4, 5, 6, etc)
I am receiving SOME local HD channels (807, 811, 812, but not 802, 804, 805, 809)
I am receiving MOST basic HD channels (history, TBS, palladia)

I am baffled and have been patient for over a month now with this issue. Today, Comcast's Escalations department contacted me. They sent three 'strong' signals to my system but no change. The phone support representative is now going to get Engineering involved.

Is there any other diagnostics I can do? I haven't had this much frustration since Cisco bricked their media extenders about 6 years ago!!!

[JohnW248]

If the cableCARD is paired and the copy protection tab (the data varies depending on FW on the cableCARD) shows
Cisco CableCARD(tm)
Copy Protection Info Page 2

MKS Period: 600 seconds
VerifyKey Status: OK
Refresh Status: OK
Refresh count: 2
N_Host timeouts: 0
Sync Cnf timeouts: 0
CP-CA Control bits: 0x00

And the conditional Access tab shows:

Cisco CableCARD(tm)
Conditional Access Details

System Id: 0x0E00
Status: Ready
Internal Secure Micro Serial No:
02:08:00:94:F4:F0
Secure Micro Software Ver:
5.03
CA Time:
Sat Apr 11 2015, 4:57:00 PM GMT
Time GBAM: 648
App GBAM: 0
Purchase GBAM: 0
EMMs Processed: 0
(it they send you "hits" that will increment here under EMMs Processed)

THEN I would suggest that you run TV SET UP again and go through choosing the zip code and check carefully on the guides offered. If the card is properly paired, the next cause can be a lost guide data connection. To do this cleanly, open the Ceton Diagnostic utility and remove the tuners, wait for a window to appear that it has been done, then click on discover tuners and wait for a windows to appear, (MC should be closed when you do this), then open MEDIA CENTER and go to tasks and set tv signal. All your DRM will be intact and you scheduled recordings will still be there.

See if that helps.

[STC]

So Adam, did you ever recover? I read in another thread you've had the snip.

[adam1991]

I snipped. They swear all is well on their end. I don't know. It could be my tuner. I gave thought to getting an InfiniTV USB tuner locally, one that I could return, to try; but by this time it's been two weeks with no cable, my antenna has been up and working, and I finally decided to dump cableco-based pay TV and its sports and broadcast surcharges.

So I pay the cableco $30/month for 30/3 broadband, down from $93 that included TV plus only 15/2 broadband (last week they dumped it down to 15/1). With that $63 savings I threw four bucks at Netflix for an extra two streams (up to four), and $26 at Sling TV to give us HGTV and DIY and Food Network and Cooking Channel and maybe some other things I may watch, but probably won't. Sure, there's no recording those channels; but, I can dump Sling TV anytime if we decide it's not a value.

I might throw another eight bucks a month at Amazon Prime, I dunno. Even if I do, I'm still less than the cableco's $93/month that I had to fight tooth and nail to get down to (they really, really wanted $111 from me).

[STC]

How many channels OTA?

[adam1991]

Not many. The five bigger networks plus their subchannels (one per, two for PBS--total 11). The CW and its subchannel is a bit too far away to get reliably; I'm trying to see what I can do about that, if anything. But, I don't really care about that one.

Then there are the couple dozen low power religious channels I've turned off.