*Full geek post ahead. You have been warned.*
You’d think being the tech geek I am, I’d have absolutely no problem setting up all the new devices w/the new HDTV. You’d be wrong. My woes started when the Tivo wasn’t getting audio from the new HD cable box. I checked, rechecked, and checked my wires yet again BEFORE calling tech. support.1.
I was at work so I just ran thru the checklist of things w/the Tivo guy and asked if he’d encountered similar problems w/other subscribers. To his credit, he did know and recommended a fix. However, after getting home and trying it, no luck. I was fast becoming agitated.
Fast forward to today.
This time I called Comcast. While I’ve had very little trouble w/them over the years, I know better than to remotely hope for a knowledgable rep. My lack of faith was justified right up until the very end of the conversation. She let it slip that the HD cable box doesn’t do more than one output source at a time. Exsqueeze me? Why the hell do you offer multiple out ports then? Needless to say, she was less than amused w/my 10 minute BF2.
Not willing to admit defeat just yet, I treked off to Radioshack for some help . . . a wasted trip.
Still reading? Well, on the way home I had a brilliant idea. Jerry-rig it! When all else fails resort to tinkering and crosswiring. Tell it on the mountain! It worked. I got the sound and the video working. Being a glutton for punishment, I had the bright idea to swing by the Comcast office to pick up a Cable Card3 for the HDTV. This way, I could record one show with Tivo and watch another at the same time. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I got the same very unhelpful person I spoke with the first time. Not only was she uncooperative, she tried to nail me for a ‘setup fee’ to have a tech come out. I ‘politely’ explained to her that was not acceptable. Ten minutes later after being told the “manager was out“, I asked for a call back.
I ran off to Best Buy to do some investigation on my own. Much later [insert several hours here blissfully adrift in a sea of technology], the manager DID call me back. After my tiraide on the woes of my service, she is sending out a tech w/no fee and giving me a credit for all my grief. It really does pay to be insistent sometimes. (Kind and pushy make a wonderful weapon when used correctly.)
For now, everything is setup nicely. The HDTV, the Xbox 360, the cable box, the Tivo, the PS2, and the DVD player. And……..
Wait for it…..
Wait for it…..
Everything is plugged directly into the back of the new TV! No more KVM switches!4 I assume now that every thing is setup correctly that it will work correctly.
*sigh* Wrong again!
Now the HD signals coming from the cable box are mal-adjusted. The tech is arriving on Sunday and I plan on nailing him to the cross unless he fixes everything.
In a surprising turn of events, setting up the Xbox 360 couldn’t have gone smoother. Not a single glitch. Maybe there is hope for Micro-crap yet.
2Bitch Fit.
3 Cable Cards are basically a PCMIA card for a TV that allows you to forgo a giant ugly cable box.
4 My roomie will be so pleased. He gives new meaning to the phrase techno-illiterate.
I tell you Moby, the day someone develops a technology that has absolutely no compatability problems with easy automatic hook-up, that person will be an exceptionally , exceptionally rich person. You just described what I hate so much about new technology. The more gadgets you hook up and attempt to combine into one system, the more problems seem to evolve.
My god, it sounds like trying to solve world peace or getting war to end. Some things are definitely too good to be true. Have you tried any forums or message boards online? I’ve found some help occasionally from them. Good luck, man.
See?? After reading that “littany of woe” I’m kinda glad that I’m still back in the 90’s (technology-wise). 🙂
Here’s to hoping things get ironed out soon, Moby.
Sorry it took so much time to get your setup going. My TV has 7 input jacks on the back along with the digital audio out so it makes it simple to hook everything to the TV then the TV to the receiver. Only thing I wish my TV had was 2 HDMI inputs as my cable box and my up converting DVD player has those connections.
It’s funny because for years I have been asked by family, friends, ect to come over and hook up their home audio/video systems. I love it. It’s a challenge sometimes but that just keeps me on my toes. Does this make me an AV geek? 🙂
Glad you got it all worked out and hope to see you on LIVE soon.