CableCard Problem - No more Fox channels - Copy Once Flag Turned on

All the Fox-owned channels are copy-once, except for the local Fox affiliate.

FX HD (EAST)
Fox Sports 1 HD
BTN HD
Fox Business Ne
Fox News HD
National Geo HD
Nat Geo Wild HD
FXX HD

As a result of this unexpected and recent change (around July 13, 2015), you may lose access to these channels and I'm not sure if Verizon can help you with this problem... this impacts all CableCard users (i.e. Tivo, Windows Media Center, etc.)

Accepted answers

rockstarcoder

Ok, I didn't give up.. and I FINALLY got it working on Windows.

Fox enabled DRM on the channels that I mentioned in my original post.

Here is roughly what I did to fix it....

- Verify that your CableCard is paired with Verizon. Verify that you are 'subscribed' to those channels with your CableCards diagnostic logs (if you can).

- You MUST use Windows Media Center (WMC) to view DRM protected channels. Apparently, WMC is the only TV application on Windows that will let you watch DRM protected channels.

- In WMC and under the Extras menu, you must run the Digital Cable Advisor. There is a repair tool for Digital Cable Advisor from Microsoft (if you need it or want to run it to be safe -- just google it). If the Extras menu is not showing in WMC, you will have to turn it on in the registory. Hkey_Current_User\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Media Center\Application\Internal (OnStartMenu = True)

- In WMC and under TV-> Settings, you must run the TV Signal activation.

Fox channels (DRM protected channels) returned.

All comments

Atomicpunk1

Mcard losing Certain Channels July 2015
I posted this earlier but accidently had my email in it so they removed it, glad they can take the time fine tooth combing an email for removing a post for leaving a trivial piece of information instead of actually fixing and answering a question they still have not fixed...

‎07-19-2015 03:20 AM - last edited on ‎07-19-2015 08:36 AM by a person a Verizon
Who the question is directed at:
If you are an MCard user and have recently lost your FX channels including:
FX, FS1, FS2, BTN, FBN, Fox News, NatGeo, NatGeoWild, FXX, FXM, FCSA, FCSC, FCSP, Fox Deportes, BTN Alt, BTN Alt2, FX HD, FS1 HD, BTN HD, FBN HD, Fox News HD, NatGeo HD, NatGeoWild HD, FXX HD

Request:
Please help with an answer before I go days/weeks without an answer trying hours of troubleshooting.

Problem:
I have an Mcard in a Homerun Prime which has been working great for years and noticed this week that I lost the channels listed above. Everything works fine on other channels, they also come in on a Standard Set top box.

What I have done:
I have contacted tech support and "Reactivated" the Mcard as suggested by DSL reports (http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r30174874-Channels-Fox-Channels-now-Copyright-flag)
An low and behold, it worked but the next morning, back to Subscription required.
Also, A new Firmware update AND software update was done with homerun prime,

What I expect from Tech support:
Find an answer to why the mcard is losing the copyright flagging.
What are the options?
What is the ETA of fixing this situation?

In the meantime, if you have a problem like this one, make sure that you get someone who can reset the card manually (usually a Verizon tech support supervisor), if they let the system do it, it can reset to unvalidated like what happened to me, (there are more details in the DSL Report forums - They go into MUCH MORE detail there...
Good Luck,
Thank you,
William

tns2

Did you check for an update to Homerun? The copy once flag should not stop these from working.

JimSahm

I have the SAME issue here in Delaware. M-Card in HD Homerun Prime was working flawlessly, now no fox channels, etc.

Someone changed something...

I'd like to hear back what changed on or about 16 July 2015?? Zero byte recordings since then...

Can someone tell me why I am paying $5 a month for a card to NOT allow me to record the channels I am paying for?

Jim

JimSahm

For now, I am just dumping that tier on my cablecard. I only have HD Homerun Prime, so if I can't get those channels, why would I pay for them???

If enough 3rd party folks do that, maybe Verizon/Fox will change it back to the way it was.

Jim

JimSahm

... bottom line, any HD Homerun CC users should dump the FOX tier, as they no longer function.

Save your money...

Jim

c0nj0b

I'm another user that's affected by this change.

I'm paying hundreds of dollars a month for Verizon Fios to both my business and home. To lose access to all these FOX channels that we pay for is unacceptable. Verizon's response to the effect of, sorry, to bad, blame fox, is even worse.

I would think a company as established Verizon would be able to find a solution. Even a workaround such as a free loaner dvr until a solution is found would be more acceptable than to do nothing.

rockstarcoder

The support guy reset, re-reset, and reset again.. reset, re-reset, and reset again... I've had people on the phone reset.. and people at the house reset... nothing fixed the issue with Fox channels and the CableCard.

I did notice that Fox channels show "CCI Protected: none" (coming from Verizon).. but, I'm *not* able to watch the channels I mentioned above (first post)... nothing fixed it... so I got a HD receiver from Verizon for time being to figure out if ComCast or someone else having this issue.. I really like just having a CableCard... and nothing else.

rockstarcoder

I typically see Windows Media Center say "Subscription Required"... for these channels... like I'm not paying for them.

rockstarcoder

20150722-01:28:40 CableCARD: tuner2 617 Fox Business Ne (auto:387MHz-729) access = not-subscribed
20150722-01:50:41 Tuner: tuner2 tuning 618 Fox News HD (auto:375MHz-725)
20150722-01:50:41 Tuner: tuner2 streaming rtp to 192.168.0.157:5001
20150722-01:50:42 CableCARD: tuner2 618 Fox News HD (auto:375MHz-725) access = not-subscribed

Virtual Channel 618 Fox News HD
Frequency 375.000 MHz
Program Number 725
Authorization not-subscribed
CCI Protection none
Modulation Lock qam256
PCR Lock locked
Signal Strength 95% (-3.4 dBmV)
Signal Quality 100% (37.1 dB)
Symbol Quality 100%
Streaming Rate none
Resource Lock none

rockstarcoder

According to what I'm seeing, my HDHomeRun is showing CCI Protection = NONE

roboengr

Same thing for me.

I have a Tivo Roamio Pro. Still investigating whats wrong, but I get V58 whcih indicates no subscription

Looks like Verizon just put the nail in their coffin. Calling comcast tomorrow.

CRobGauth

I beleive there are two issues:

1) Fox has supposedly requested that all of their channels be changed to copy once. If so, not a lot Verizon can do about that. Content providers get to decide how their channels are carried.

2) I have heard that if pairing is not correct between cable card and device you can get errors. See this thread for help hints: http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r30174874-Channels-Fox-Channels-now-Copyright-flag

rockstarcoder

I've had Verizon pair and re-pair my CableCard at least 10 times... even with a new CableCard... and even when confirmed as paired correctly.... I still do not receive the Fox channels.

ynk1121

HDHomeRun Prime and Windows Media Center here. It took me less than 10 minutes on the phone to get it straightened out.

First there are three sets of numbers to have on hand before picking up the phone. CableCARD ID, Host ID, and Data. I believe them to be physically written on the card. If you don’t want to turn it off and pop the card out I got them by going to the IP address of the HDHomeRun. Click “CableCARD Menu”, and then “CableCARD(tm) Pairing”.

Once you have these three things, call Verizon and tell them you lost Fox owned channels on the box using your M cable card. It says I’m not subscribed but it works on all Verizon supplied boxes in the house. Don’t try to explain computers or Media Center or anything. It will only confuse them. Stop them from trying to give you advice too. Simply say you read online that this is a common problem with your set up and all that is needed to fix it is for them to verify/pair/reload/whatever the card on their end. The lady started telling me to get the card out of my device. I said you just need the CableCARD ID, Host ID, and Data, correct? She said yes and I didn't need to mess with it. I read them off, she typed them in, and in under a minute all the channels were back. It now says “Authorization - subscribed” and “CCI Protection - protected-copyonce” in the status menu. Good luck. Hope this helps someone.

JimSahm

Fixed for WMC, but those who use legitimate 3rd party apps with HD Homerun like MythTV are screwed.

I admit it is not Verizon's fault, BUT they COULD lobby on behalf of thier users....

Sailing1919

Has anyone heard if this is affecting Comcast/Xfinity? People on here suggested it was Fox's doing; however, I can't find anyone online complianing about Xfinity losing Fox channels with their cablecards.

mars11

I have a Ceton cable card tuner and I was considering switching to MediaPortal. I am currently using WMC so I can't tell if the copy once flag is set. Is it just the Fox HD channels that are copy once or are the regular Fox channels such as 117 and 118 copy freely? Is there a way to check the CCI flag? Thanks,

TomH_US

I did not discover this problem here in Dallas until the new season of an FX show came on in September. I have been paying for something I wasn't getting - all the Fox channels. I have a TIVO series HD3, and Elite, and the next model after the Elite. The only information that the field service tech could find on the Verizon internal chatter for the support group was that there was an "issue" with TIVO and the Fox channels. There was no solution. I spent, over the course of many nights, 15 hours with various support reps pairing the M motorola cards multiple times to no avail.

After searching the TIVO and other forums, I pieced together that cards need to be revalidated using the existing information on the TIVO Cablecard pairing information screen, THEN you needed to refresh the TIVO Cablecard pariing screen. The Data ID will change from what was validated in the first step. You then give the new Data ID number to support person and have them do a MANUAL validation and enter the new data ID. Worked like a charm.

jjfutt

In case this help someone else:

The tip shared by user ynk1121 is absolutely correct. Most of the Fox channels were not showing up thorugh my Cable Card (with HD Home Run).

I called Verizon Customer service and described to them the need to revalidate/reload the cable card manually, and just like ynk1121 had suggested, they already knew about it, took about 3 minutes, and after their revalidation, missing channels showed up.

Thanks ynk1121.

triforcetron1

In 2020 this problem still exists -- I had a brand new CableCard and Tivo activated and all channels but Fox-owned stations were working great. All I had to say was "manual validation" and whatever they did next fixed the issue within minutes. Crazy this issue is still not fixed.

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