Did Windows Updates mess up the cable signal capture?

[jeam]

Hi,

We have a fairly new (Feb. 2011) PC running Windows 7 Media Center in the family room with a Ceton InfiniTV 4 and a CableCARD from Comcast that I paired a few weeks ago. Up until this week everything has been running peachy, with the Wife Approval Factor beyond my wildest dreams.

This week, though, after installing the Patch Tuesday updates from Microsoft, I had to reboot the PC. When it came back up, the CableCARD could no longer receive the high-definition cable channels. No matter how long I waited for it to find the signals, it could receive the standard-def cable channels AND the high-def broadcast channels just fine, but not the HD cable channels (CNN, Lifetime, History, and so on). WMC claimed that I needed to subscribe to those channels.  More credibly, the Ceton Diagnostic Tool reported that the CableCARD was not working, so I took it back to the Comcast office for a replacement.

I went home, installed the card, and called Comcast to pair it. Gave them all the numbers listed under the CableCARD tab in the diagnostic tool. Then I waited the recommended 60 minutes to see what happened. Still no HD cable. The software reported that it could not decrypt those channels because the cable company had the card info wrong (step 9 in the 10-step chart). In case it was a Ceton firmware issue, I updated that to the latest driver, and tried again. This time the CableCARD couldn’t show any channels at all!

Wife Approval Factor was now hovering at about 1%. Rebooting the system didn’t help. I researched the issue on the Web late into the night, and someone somewhere suggested it might be necessary to “remove” the card from Comcast’s sytem “completely” and then start from scratch. So the next day (Friday) I called Comcast, and the CSR insisted on hitting the card, but that made no difference. I suggested the complete removal option, and five seconds later she claimed to have just completed that the procedure. I suspected that couldn’t be true because reportedly the process is somewhat laborious at their end. She suggested I take the card back for another replacement.

Two calls to new CSRs later, I finally got one who ran through the entire process from scratch. He had me turn off the power, pull out the CableCARD, and put it back in. Then we went through the pairing and activation process anew. The other channels came back, but we still weren’t getting the HD cable channels. This third CSR, who definitely knew what he was doing, asked me to hang up and he would look into the issue and call back, and to monitor the situation in the meantime.

Some 45 minutes later, there was still no change. Then it occurred to me that maybe something about the Windows Updates might have messed with my system. I uninstalled all of this week’s updates. Still no change, IIRC — it’s largely a blur at this point, I tried so many things. I do know that the problem persisted.

The CSR eventually called back, and said that the solution might be the one that the Ceton Diagnostic was now suggesting — to send an “INIT” signal to the CableCARD. He did that, and — presto, we got our HD cable channels back!

So the system is working great again, and WAF has made up most of the lost ground. But now to my question: I’m leery of reinstalling this month’s Windows Updates, since the trouble coincided exactly with my installing them and rebooting the system.

What do you think might have caused the problem? I can think of three possibilities:

1. One or more of the Windows Updates messed things up somehow.

2. Rebooting the system messed things up.

3. It was a total coincidence.

If 1 or 2, then I can’t keep our PC up to date?? What do you think? Any educated guesses, or the voice of experience?

Thanks in advance for any ideas/advice.

 

[Aaron Ledger]

I believe that what happened is your Sub Expire Time expired. If you go to the Ceton Diagnostic page (192.168.200.1 by default) in your browser, click on CableCARD, click on the CA link and then click on the link on the page that comes up, you will see “SubExpireTime” and a time/date.

What happens is the cable provider sends a message to the CableCARD on some periodic basis (or is supposed to). If the CableCARD doesn’t receive the message and the time passes the “SubExpireTime,” you will receive Subscription Required overlay in WMC.

[jeam]

Hmm, I’m not getting the link you mentioned. When I browse to the Ceton webpage, select the CableCARD tab, and then click on “Conditional Access,” the only link that’s on the page that comes up is for refreshing the page. There’s nothing about SubExpireTime. None of the other links on the CableCARD page say anything about that, either.

I can send/attach a JPG screenshot if you think that might help.

 

[Aaron Ledger]

What type of CableCARD do you have? Motorola, SA, something else?

[jeam]

It’s a Motorola M-Card, card version 1315.

Here are some other specs, in case they help:

Ceton InfiniTV Driver Package Version: 1.3.0.2-20110901

Diagnostic Tool Version: 1.3.91.11222

InfiniTV Firmware Version: 1.0.9.5; Hardware Version: 4884

Thanks for looking into this.

[Aaron Ledger]

SubExpireTime is probably not a Motorola feature. Perhaps you were not receiving the EMMs (Entitlement Management Messages) for whatever reason. Check your OOB (Out of band) S/N and lock. If it is becoming unlocked or has a really low Eb/No, that could be something that is possibly caused in your coax setup. Things like damaged cable, too much attenuation or use of low quality splitters could be a cause of poor OOB performance.

[jeam]

Thanks for the information. I’ll check/monitor the values you mentioned (although a Web search suggests that the Eb/No concept is way beyond my liberal-arts mind). On Saturday I removed the (capped) splitter that used to run to the PC and the DVR, and now the Ceton is connected directly to the coax coming out of the wall.

Bottom line — is it “safe” to install last week’s Windows updates without fear of breaking the HTPC system? I know there are no guarantees, I’m just seeking your learned opinion.  The concern is that the CableCARD did cease to work precisely when I installed those updates, OTOH it’s not prudent to just stop updating the OS.

Much appreciated!

 

[Aaron Ledger]

I have the latest updates installed on my HTPC with the Ceton InfiniTV 4 and nothing is broken on the system.

Sorry, I should have just wrote signal-to-noise instead of Eb/No. It is a measure of the quality of the incoming signal. If the ratio is extremely low (which is relative to exactly what is being looked at), it indicates a potential issue. Think of it like talking in a crowded bar where all the other voices are the “noise” and the person you are listening to is the “signal.” If the volume of the signal is too low compared to the noise, you’ll have a difficult time hearing the intended message.

[jeam]

OK, signal-to-noise is much easier to understand, and your analogy helps a ton.

I’ll reinstall the Windows updates next time my wife is out all day…

Thanks again.

 

[jeam]

I took the plunge today and reinstalled the Windows Updates with fingers crossed.

Happy to report that the system didn’t blow up or break down — everything’s working perfectly!

Thanks again for your help.

 

[Author]

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