Hey Channels Users!
I’m in the Boston area and recently (say within the last 3 to 4 weeks) noticed HBO and Cinemax stopped working. At first I thought it was Channels, and quit the app and rebooted the Apple TV. But the same thing happened using the HDHomeRun software on my Mac — a black screen, tho in channels eventually I get an error “Tuner is Not Available”. I power cycled my HomeRun Prime. No joy.
Tonight I finally had time to call Comcast. The first time I called and got the CableCard department, I got a really awesome tech, and she and I tried a number of things. In the end she couldn’t make it go, but suggested reaching out to Silicon Dust, and try a refresh of the channel lineup in the HomeRun Prime. After I got off the call, I did the channel refresh and wouldn’t you know… All the previous “Premium” channels I could watch via Channels are now marked as “DRM”.
I called Comcast back wanting to know when that change happened and why wasn’t there any prior communication about it. Well, the next tech I got in the CableCard department told me SilconDust didn’t support their hardware and Comcast sent lots of notices about the Mpeg-4 switch. (I’m not dumb, I don’t know why she would think I’d accept those completely made-up and BS excuses.) I repeatedly asked her what changed in that 3-4 week window because HBO et al was previously working fine. She kept stonewalling me saying that the premium channels have always been encrypted (not what I’m talking about) and that it’s a problem with my hardware device. I go so frustrated at her I hung up.
That was all a long preface to ask, has anybody encountered the same problem (specifically in the New England area) with HBO (870 in the Boston market) etc being now labeled as a DRMd channel? Have you had any better luck getting information (and/or reasons for the change) out of Comcast?
Thank for letting me rant!
-Andrew