Random Subscription Required messages

[phillyninja]

I was one of the early adopters of an PCIE InfiniTV and have been using it with no issues for several years. Some problems started developing a couple weeks ago and I have not been able to track down the cause of the issue.

My current issue is when I try to record multiple shows I will get a no TV signal message on the pc taskbar and in the current media center session. Also in the media center session I will lose picture and get a subscription required message.

I also seem to get the Subscription required issue randomly when using a single tuner. Having the cable company (Comcast) send a reset signal seems to temporarily resolve the issue but it will resurface again.

I have installed the latest beta firmware and driver updates. Ceton sent me their likely canned response of installing hotfixes and sending diagnostics and after I performed those steps they have disappeared and stopped responding to emails.

I tried swapping in a new cablecard and that did not resolve the issue, so I am starting to suspect that my InfiniTV is biting the dust.

Update: edited post subject to be more specific to issue

[foxwood]

I tried swapping in a new cablecard and that did not resolve the issue, so I am starting to suspect that my InfiniTV is biting the dust.

It's possible that the signal arriving at your house has been degraded due to weather or squirel damage, or corrosion.

You can get the Ceton card to report on the signal levels it is receiving - that might give you some indication of whether you need Comcast to come out and improve your signal.
http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows ... spx#555792

here's a post on the Ceton site explaining what sort of Signal values you should look for:
http://www.cetoncorp.com/support/index. ... -explained

[erkotz]

Please PM me your ticket # - you should not have gone days without a response. I want to follow up on your ticket.

[phillyninja]

I tried swapping in a new cablecard and that did not resolve the issue, so I am starting to suspect that my InfiniTV is biting the dust.

It's possible that the signal arriving at your house has been degraded due to weather or squirel damage, or corrosion.

You can get the Ceton card to report on the signal levels it is receiving - that might give you some indication of whether you need Comcast to come out and improve your signal.
http://experts.windows.com/frms/windows ... spx#555792

here's a post on the Ceton site explaining what sort of Signal values you should look for:
http://www.cetoncorp.com/support/index. ... -explained

Signal levels are averaging -3db and 36 SNR so I think that is in the acceptable signal range

[th3Pil0t]

I am also getting this issue. Someone over on AVS forum suggested it was an issue with bad cable card. I'm not convinced though. I will be interested to hear if you narrow it down. As it's an intermittent error, it's almost impossible for me to nail down...

Edit: I am Comcast in Houston.

[JohnW248]

I tried swapping in a new cablecard and that did not resolve the issue, so I am starting to suspect that my InfiniTV is biting the dust.

What cable system are you on, type of headend and do you have SDV?

I have run into this issue with Cisco equipment on TWC with SDV (although SDV has nothing to do with the issue). Your problem may be different but I found I could see an error with the cableCARD copy protection when the subscription required screen appeared. In my case the screen with freeze, then the sub req will appear and then the picture will resume all in about 30 - 40 seconds. I know TWC and Cisco are aware of the issue and have been for over a year but haven't been able to solve the problem as yet. You can check to see if you are getting a CP error by going to the Ceton Web Gui and IF you have a Cisco card click on the cableCARD tab and then right click on CableCARD CP Info and then page two, you'll see:

Cisco CableCARD(tm)
Copy Protection Info Page 2

Refresh Status: OK
Refresh count: 1654 --->>the card gets a CP refresh about every 10 minutes
N_Host timeouts: 0
Sync Cnf timeouts: 5 --->> each number here is one instance of a sub required error.
CP-CA Control bits: 0x00

[phillyninja]

I tried swapping in a new cablecard and that did not resolve the issue, so I am starting to suspect that my InfiniTV is biting the dust.

What cable system are you on, type of headend and do you have SDV?

I have run into this issue with Cisco equipment on TWC with SDV (although SDV has nothing to do with the issue). Your problem may be different but I found I could see an error with the cableCARD copy protection when the subscription required screen appeared. In my case the screen with freeze, then the sub req will appear and then the picture will resume all in about 30 - 40 seconds. I know TWC and Cisco are aware of the issue and have been for over a year but haven't been able to solve the problem as yet. You can check to see if you are getting a CP error by going to the Ceton Web Gui and IF you have a Cisco card click on the cableCARD tab and then right click on CableCARD CP Info and then page two, you'll see:

Cisco CableCARD(tm)
Copy Protection Info Page 2

Refresh Status: OK
Refresh count: 1654 --->>the card gets a CP refresh about every 10 minutes
N_Host timeouts: 0
Sync Cnf timeouts: 5 --->> each number here is one instance of a sub required error.
CP-CA Control bits: 0x00

My cable provider is Comcast in Southern NJ area. No tuning adapter and as far as I know Comcast does not use them.

[phillyninja]

I am not sure what changed, but I was away for a few days and tried to reproduce this issue last night and was not able to. So at the moment things are working again.

I am not sure if Comcast changed something on their end or if my tuner card needed a vacation as well.

[Larry_Stewart]

I bought one of the very first InfiniTV 4s. That card bit the dust hard about 2 months ago. My 2nd card (purchased about a year ago) started giving the Sub required messages frequently and I had several channels that would break up or show a lot of pixelization. I had a spare card (bought during one of the sales) and had it in as my second card but it didn't get hit very often since it would require 5 channels in use. On a hunch, I took out my year old card and ran with just the newest card. Lo and behold, all of the problems I have been having with the picture went away.

The moral of this story (at least for me) is yes, the cards do wear out.