Sooner than later, Orange County cable TV customers may notice a lot more high-definition channels.

This is not an easy task, by the way. Cable providers have struggled to offer more HD channels because their aging systems are near capacity.  Now,  thanks to new technology called switched digital video, they have figured out how to get more room: Stop broadcasting every single channel 24/7.

By turning some of the least popular channels into on-demand channels, cable companies can use that newly opened space to squeeze in more HD channels. Channels that do go switched digital are still accessible. But there may be a slight delay after turning to that channel, as the cable box sends the request back to the main station. The delay should be just a split second and unnoticeable to viewers, the cable companies say.

But one reader from Yorba Linda, who uses a CableCARD and TiVo to watch cable TV, alerted me that some switching might be going on in his neighborhood. He woke up one day to find very few channels showing up on his TV — Food TV yes, but not the HD version; no Bravo and absolutely no HBO. A  Time Warner customer service representative mentioned to him the cable provider was switching to this new technology.

I checked with both local cable companies — Time Warner Cable and Cox Communications — and both plan to implement this technology. But Time Warner has not yet. Cox, however, is testing it out in Orange County.

“While our current network infrastructure is powerful, we know our customers want more from their Cox digital services,” said Cox spokeswoman Lana Ong. ”In order to provide our customers with new services and more HD channels, we’re currently using switched digital technology — this is transparent to our customers. Switched digital allows Cox to maximize our network capacity and offer more services including a variety of digital and HD channels to our customers.”

Cox is using switched video on about 90 channels in Orange County. Affected are some pay-per-view channels, foreign language channels and some digital channels, like FitTV and Jewelry TV, Ong said.

COX UPDATE, July 9, 2009: Since the cable provider is testing the TiVo adapter, they are not yet available. But when they are, Cox will be contacting customers to let them know an adpater is availalb e for free to eligible customers.

Time Warner, which has a special page dedicated to the topic,  has not started switched video in Orange County but is testing it in part of the San Fernando Valley.

It’s all good. Unless you’re a TiVo user who watches cable via a CableCARD, a thick credit-card-like device that slides into TiVos or other computer to decrypt the cable signal. Affected TiVos are TiVo Series 3 DVR, TiVo HD DVR and the TiVo HD XL DVR.

The problem with TiVo/CableCARDs and switched video is that switched video requires two-way communication — the user requests the channel, the cable company delivers. But cable cards are one way. If a cable system goes switched video, a TiVo user will see nothing on those channels, as was the case last year in Hawaii when Time Warner began testing the service.  (Read: Time Warner Cable plans more channels in O.C. despite fines. The fines, by the way, were later lifted).

“It is just important that any customer requesting a CableCARD understand that some of our channels are being delivered using technology known as Switch Digital Video,” said Darryl Ryan, a Time Warner spokesman, said that TiVo customers could get a free set-top box.

Of course, that would defeat the purpose of having a TiVo and CableCARD.

But there’s an easy, simple fix from both companies: A free adapter, which became available last fall. Time Warner, which says it has plenty, plans to offer them to TiVo users when the technology launches (You can order an adapter HERE). Cox also has an external tuning adapter that will be free to TiVo users with CableCARDs, but Ong adds, “We are currently in testing mode.”

TiVo’s Jim Denny, vice president of product marketing, said that TiVo has been working with various cable providers nationwide to offer a tuning adapter that turns a TiVo with CableCARD into a two-way device.

“If there are reports of it being out of stock, I will escalate that to our (cable TV) corporate contact,” Denny said. “What a TiVo subscriber should also do is call our customer support and say, ‘Hey, I’m trying to get a TiVo adapter.’ … Our motivation is to get (potential and existing TiVo subscribers) through this.”

Back to the Yorba Linda reader, we figured out that switched video wasn’t the problem. Time Warner told him it was auditing CableCARDs and sent a technician to his house to take the serial number and re-input the cards. It took 90 minutes to do four cards. Everything is now working, reports the relieved yet frustrated reader.

(Images from TiVo)
This story was edited from the original version published here on July 3, 2009.

Around the web:

Company sites:

• Switched Digital Video – Will it impact you? (TiVo)
• Switched Digital Video Tuning Adapter FAQ (CableLabs)
• How to install a Tuning Adapter for switched digital video (TiVo)
• Time Warner’s guide to Switched Video (Time Warner Cable)
• Order a switched video adapter from Time Warner (Time Warner Cable)

News:

• Current State of Switched Digital Video (SDV) and CableCard compatibility (Green Button Forum for Windows Media Center users)
• TiVo and cable industry unveil Switched Digital Video workaround (CNET’s Crave)
• FCC Vacates SDV Rulings Against Time Warner Cable, Cox (Multichannel News)

More TV news:

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