Remember a post that I put up three days ago which talked about how TWC was giving one of their customers hell? Well, the individual (John) who was having a tough time with TWC sent me another email letting me know that TWC did stop by and that his Series 3 TiVo is now up and running. What follows is the email that John sent me detailing what the experience was like.

Hi Alex,

It was a very trying experience… but the CableCARDS are installed (Saturday) and (as of 1:30pm Sunday) working! The installer (to TW’s credit) showed up on time, but seemed quite confused by the Tivo. I left the instruction sheet out for him, but he didn’t read it. He also didn’t read the big letters “use lower cablecard slot first” written both onscreen and on the back of the Tivo - although it didn’t seem to matter. After popping the cards in (in the wrong order), he seemed very confused about what to do next, so I sat down and read the instructions to him. After he was satisfied that we *really* didn’t need to sit through the guided setup together, he tried to call in the CableCARD info…

I live in an area with poor cellphone reception and the installer was insistent on trying to use a push to talk phone. It didn’t work. He tried over and over to call in the CableCARD ID and Host ID. They couldn’t hear him. I offered to let him use the phone, he said no. So, my fiance and I sat there while he fought with his phone for 30-40 minutes. After he *thought* he had closed out the job, he left. Then we actually tried to use the box and, sadly, none of our subscription channels were available. We called in to TW but there was a big local outage and gave up waiting after spending 30 minutes in the queue.

Today I called TW and got through. They reprovisioned the cards on their end, and within 5 minutes, everything was showing up, just lovely. So… it is possible to get this working through TW, but just be aware that they will have no experience with the unit and seem to have a general dislike for dealing with CableCARDs at all.

One note that *may* help people - During the process of him trying to get these things activated, he went through the same “what kind of TV is it” problem with the people he was trying to get to activate the card. When they asked the question, he looked at the front of the TV and said “Samsung”… (not realizing they really meant what kind of DEVICE are the cards being installed in). They accepted that and moved on… So, if TW gives anyone a problem, I’d say just tell them the kind of TV the Tivo is connected to and feign ignorance when the installer arrives.

Best wishes,

— John

I really hope TWC and the rest of the cable industry learns that a CableCARD capable Series 3 TiVo is available and that some consumers are willing to pay the $800 price tag to get a far superior product (I only wish I had $800 right now).

• NYTimes Now On Your TiVo (ZatzNotFunny)
• TiVo.com Slow To Ship Series 3 TiVo (HDBeat)
• KidZone = Slow TiVo? (PVRWire)
• TiVo Signs Ad Deal With WPP

I’ve come really close on a number of occasions. The only thing holding me back is that $800 price tag…..

Based on the following email that I received from John, it looks as though the folks over at Time Warner Cable (TWC) never got the memo that TiVo sent out. I suspect that other people will have the same problem when they try and get a CableCard so; I decided to post his email here. Hopefully it will help somebody out….

Just an FYI that I thought you might like to hear about since I haven’t seen any other postings yet from TW customers…

I purchased a Tivo series 3 from Circuit City that will arrive today (Friday). After getting the shipping notice, my fiance Robyn started the painful process of trying to arrange Cablecard installation through Time Warner in Columbus, Ohio.

As expected, it didn’t go well. Customer service refused to believe that a Cablecard Tivo existed. They informed her repeatedly that a Cablecard went in a *TV*, not a Tivo, then proceeded to ask her over and over what type of TV she thought a Tivo was. She asked to speak to another support person.

The second support person asked the same questions and repeated the same thing, and, on top of it, chastized her for wanting to get rid of bidirectional service. “Why would you want to give up On-Demand Service?” At some point she mentioned that she wanted *2* Cablecards for the Tivo, and they basically told her she was insane - ie. 1. “A Tivo isn’t a TV”, 2. “2 Cablecards would be for 2 TVs”.

Finally, Robyn asked to speak to a sales manager. The sale manager was less hostile, but didn’t believe that a Cablecard Tivo existed. Robyn explained the particulars, cited the FCC mandate as well as the well-publicized Internet snafu with TW in North Carolina. The sales person, at that point, seemed to believe she knew what she was talking about and agreed to look into it and call us back. (She gave them my number for the callback )

About 45 minutes later, the sales manager called back and appologized, said that he was still doing alittle investigating to make sure there weren’t any known issues with some “new release” of Cablecards they had just gotten in, but went ahead and scheduled our install for this Saturday between 3 and 6pm (read “noon to 2 or 10pm” in TW-speak). He also indicated that we would be the first people in central Ohio to be doing this.

At any rate, hopefully this will all have a happy ending. If there are other TW customers out there, I’d bet they can expect the same problems we encountered - clueless customer service and quite a bit of condescending behavior. They really don’t want to give out Cablecards… that much was apparent - Tivo or not.

Interestingly enough, I *may* have kept my TW HD DVR if it weren’t for the fact that in this area, Time Warner is feuding with the local Fox and ABC affiliates (Sinclair Broadcasting). As a result, they haven’t carried either of these networks in HD for the past 2 years. Every other local cable company DOES, but Time Warner won’t pay the fees that Sinclair broadcasting wants. (Unfortunately, I’m in a nice area that the other companies don’t service). The result of this stubborn BS is that I have to run a Windows MCE box to get OTA HD Fox and ABC (Bones and Lost ). The Tivo FINALLY provides me with a consolidated solution for all my channels.

Anyway, that’s my story. Thought you might be interested.

If you have a problem getting a CableCARD from your cable company, I would recommend doing what MegaZone said. Let your CC know that the Series 3 TiVo is on the list of devices which have been CableLabs certified and that they (the cable company) are required to provide CableCARDs for any device on this list.

It took a couple of days but the folks over at TiVo.com now have the Series 3 TiVo userguide (16.6 MB, PDF) online. Check it out if you are interested in getting a Series 3 TiVo or if you just ordered one.

Thanks Tom.

Make sure you watch this video before you purchase a TiVo.

Thanks TK!

A couple of people have asked me how they can go about transferring their lifetime subscription to the new Series 3 TiVo. If you want to do this, you can need to purchase your TiVo using this page.
The instructions on the page are as follows:

1. Buy your TiVo Series3 HD Digital Media Recorder for $799.99.

2. Once your new box arrives within 7-10 days*, call our VIP line at (866) 424-8486 and we’ll transfer service for $199. You will need your TiVo Service Number** for your new and old box ready to process the transfer.

Don’t forget to put me down as your referrer (raianoat AT gmail DOT com). I’d really appreciate it!

Thanks Mike for the news tip.

Spotted on PVRwire.  Thanks Mike.

It looks like Dave Zatz wasn’t the only person who got his hands on a Series 3 TiVo before it was released.  MegaZone of TiVoLovers.com has posted a comprehensive review of the Series 3 TiVo as well as 195 pictures of the unit and a FAQ which answered many of the questions I had.

Nice job MegaZone!

Hey TiVoPony, how come you didn’t send me a Series 3 TiVo?  You know I would have put together a nice review.  After all, how many people out there have a blog dedicated to TiVo?

The Series 3 TiVo is now officially for sale on TiVo.com! Break out the check book.

Feel free to put me down as your referrer (raianoat AT gmail DOT com) when you activate your Series 3 TiVo.  I’d really appreciate it.