Upgrading from infiniTV PCIe to ETH

[jimbo62]

Been a while since browsing these forums. I have been running a infinitv4 pci and saw 100 off of a eth 6 tuner. Pulled the trigger, and it came in today. I will be swapping out soon.

What should I look out for? Do I need to pair the CableCard to the new tuner (probably, but want to make sure, so I can get a bottle and get in the right mind before calling TWC).

Any recommended steps?

Thanks!

[barnabas1969]

so I can get a bottle and get in the right mind before calling TWC

That's pretty funny, and I can understand your frustration.

Yes... you will need to pair the CableCARD with the new tuner. Make sure to update to the latest stable firmware/drivers, and you will also need to run TV Setup again in Media Center.

[werds]

so I can get a bottle and get in the right mind before calling TWC

That's pretty funny, and I can understand your frustration.

Yes... you will need to pair the CableCARD with the new tuner. Make sure to update to the latest stable firmware/drivers, and you will also need to run TV Setup again in Media Center.

To add, if you are merely swapping the original cable card into the new ETH and not getting a second one. You will need them to UNPAIR (pretty sure that is not the correct term) before you have them pair to the new one. It MAY not be an issue but in the past it has caused me headaches when switching out to new equipment and not using a new cable card for the new equipment... if you can I would suggest getting a different card for the new ETH and then and only after you verify that everything is working correctly with the ETH, return the cable card that was paired with your pcie (since you can remove the pcie during the process and it will still remain paired correctly)

[3rob3]

Guess I am lucky. I moved my cablecard from my old ATI CC tuner to InfiniTV without even calling the cable company. Assuming my local cable provider doesn't "pair" the card to the device.

[richard1980]

UNPAIR (pretty sure that is not the correct term)

What is the correct terminology? Also, what is the correct terminology for pairing again? Repair doesn't seem to be correct, so I always say "re-pair".

[STC]

Disjoin (?)

[TeddyR]

Been a while since browsing these forums. I have been running a infinitv4 pci and saw 100 off of a eth 6 tuner. Pulled the trigger, and it came in today. I will be swapping out soon.

Had a similar thought..... Needed more tuners and even though I am VERY happy with my 2 Silicondust Primes and will get the 4 tuner {or hopefully they could make it a 6 tuner} cablecard version with transcode whenever they release it, I thought I would give Ceton another chance with the $100 off price... [especially after trying the USB version that I believe a batch has a hardware flaw that Ceton never acknowledged with the flash chip on the devices; but that's probably old news for now].

Note I have used and installed both SD and Ceton devices both for personal use and for others. Personally I prefer the SD devices... but as mentioned, had to try out the ETH once more.

- If your PCIe version is working, the ETH has similar response times to it WRT channel changes. 5-10 seconds, but could go up to 20 seconds on SDV channels.
- The ETH does seem to have slightly more pixilation than the PCIe version under load.... Still ironing out the causes, but overheating may have been a factor..
- The channel change is MUCH quicker on the SD devices (1-5 seconds).
- Configure the device(s) with a static IP address using your router/DHCP so that it will get a known address. This makes setup MUCH easier to complete and the system MUCH more stable.
- Use the latest Beta driver. It does seems to have some better performance than the "Stable" driver.
- Paring was fairly easy. In this area it is Charter with Cisco cablecards. Open a browser to the ip address of the device and the details you need for paring are all on the cablecard pages (Cablecard serial #, HOST ID, Validation status)/TA pages (authentication status/downstream and upstream status) with the exception of the TA serial number which is needed for this setup.
- The device (ITV ETH) seems to run pretty warm. It will not work well in a closet that is not cool. Have to place it in an area with active cooling which DOES greatly help reduce needing to restart the device/media center.

[barnabas1969]

Had a similar thought..... Needed more tuners and even though I am VERY happy with my 2 Silicondust Primes and will get the 4 tuner {or hopefully they could make it a 6 tuner} cablecard version with transcode whenever they release it, I thought I would give Ceton another chance with the $100 off price... [especially after trying the USB version that I believe a batch has a hardware flaw that Ceton never acknowledged with the flash chip on the devices; but that's probably old news for now].

Given the fact that many users have experienced a problem with the on-board flash memory when trying to upgrade firmware on the InfiniTV tuners which renders the tuner unable to "upgrade" to a new firmware (and Ceton is unwilling to do anything about the problem after your 1-year warrantee has expired except to sell you a new card or "upgrade" you to a newer model)... and the fact that the Ceton devices don't tune as fast or reliably as the Silicondust tuners, I think it's worth the extra few bucks per month to use two HD HomeRun PRIME tuners (and thus two CableCARD's) vs. a single CableCARD in either the InfiniTV4 or InfiniTV6 tuners... any day of the week.

For the extra cost of $2.99/month (the cost of a CableCARD with BHN), I much prefer the reliability and speed of the HDHRP.

[TeddyR]

Yup.... On the main HTPC I am noticing an increased instability on a system that was rock solid with 2 primes, 2 duals, 2 FTA SAT tuners (USB), an and an HVR2250 (PCI). Instability that has definitely reduced the SOAF (Significant Other Acceptance Factor... No wifey yet)... So setting the ETH up only on "unimportant" secondary PCs that are not crucial for recording.. As I said, had to give Ceton another chance just in case.... and the market is better with BOTH companies in it hopefully. But back to the OP question... If the OP is used to the PCIe version and all its quirks, then the ETH should be a usable linear "upgrade" for them. If it was a new setup I would say to go with the SD devices... But for those of us which "if you install the tuners they WILL be used" camp, had to try it.... and will be getting the transcode SD cablecard version when it comes out

[RyC]

Are they refusing to fix it out of warranty now? Mine was out of warranty and they still replaced it free, but this was last year.

[jimbo62]

Well, I was gonna upgrade this morning, opened the box, wrong usb cable for TA. Opening ticket with Ceton.

[TeddyR]

Are they refusing to fix it out of warranty now? Mine was out of warranty and they still replaced it free, but this was last year.

Cant speak of that particular scenario. Mine was slightly different. One of the factors which I decided to give them another chance was that supposedly the USB version that I had purchased was from a "grey market" or "unauthorized" reseller and thus was not covered by the Ceton warranty. Even though I had receipts from the reseller and credit card receipts as well as the ad showing the device was purchased "new" and the issue happened within 30 days of purchase. Luckily at the time I had a Squaretrade warranty on the device as well that covered the issue.

[jimbo62]

New usb cable came in last Thursday. Removed the Ceton application, powered off, removed the iTV4 pci, installed the iTV6 eth, powered it up, installed new ceton application, and called TWC. For future reference, use the numbers for the Cable Company that Ceton had listed on a document in the box. Direct line into cable card support. Got the new tuners paired, and all is working.

Tuning is faster. I went from 5 - 10 sec per channel change to less than 5. I was getting some boxing/pixilation in the iTV4. I suspected it was heat related (could remove the cover and it would improve). All gone. Much happier camper now!

Just one issue I have not had time to work out yet. The pc used to go to sleep. Now it goes to sleep and then wakes itself right back up. Weather has been too nice to spend time working on that, but rain is coming in for the next couple of days, and I should be able to get that resolved.

[blueiedgod]

Guess I am lucky. I moved my cablecard from my old ATI CC tuner to InfiniTV without even calling the cable company. Assuming my local cable provider doesn't "pair" the card to the device.

Can you tune HBO?

With Verizon you don't need to pair the CableCARD with the tuner, unless you subscribe to copyright protected channels.