Comcast DVR with TiVo is now available

Just got an email from Comcast telling me that my wait is over.

"Comcast DVR with TiVo is now available"

Comcast now has TiVo service!

I clicked to learn more, but once you log in, the online system has no way to order it.

I had to call on the phone....

I keyed in all my info.

Talked to a rep.

He put me on hold.

Then I ended up talking to someone else.

She asked again for my address and said:

I didn't know it was coming out so soon. Let me check if it's available.

After waiting on hold for at least 5 minutes the rep comes back on the phone and says:

"TiVo is available in your area but I have no pricing or codes to order it. Can I call you back within 15 minutes after I talk to a supervisor?"

Sure!

KThanksBye.

My suggestions for Comcast:

1. Click on links in emails prior to sending them out to make sure they lead to the correct information.

2. Make sure that customers can order new products online.

3. Make sure internal systems have the pricing and codes available for customer service reps to be able to process orders.

4. Make sure that people answering the phone and representing the company knew about new products being rolled out.

Seems logical to me.

Hopefully this won't become too long of a post.

Stay tuned.

Please comment on your experiences.

Update ( the next day ):

I'm now on an online chat with Comcast customer service...

This is what is happening:



Stay tuned.

The phone rings...

Deborah just called from Comcast:

- She does not see 'the codes' in my account.

- Needs to look into the status

- Coding needs to be put into my account to allow downloading to DVR

The way I left it with her is that I authorized Comcast to add the TiVo software to my DVR. Comcast will also drop off my new remote.

She agreed to email me when it's set up, and she gave me her direct phone #.

Stay tuned...

Time passes... The phone rings...

Deborah called to get my preferred email address.

Update 12/19/07:

The phone rings...

Bill from Comcast's Executive Office in Massachusetts just called to confirm my appointment for tomorrow.

I told him I wasn't sure what he was talking about, since this was the first I'd heard of an appointment.

Bill went on to explain that Comcast rolling out a truck to my house to replace my Comcast DVR with a new Comcast TiVo DVR.

That's great I said, but what about all the shows I currently have sitting on the Comcast DVR?

Bill says that I can keep the old one for a while until I watch all the shows. I hope he realizes that sometimes it takes a year for me to watch recorded shows. :-)

I asked Bill why I was getting a call from the executive office and he replied that they heard I was having trouble ordering TiVo.

I explained how you couldn't order it online and the phone reps didn't have the codes to activate it.

Bill told me that because of my call, the codes are now available and for neighborhoods where TiVo is rolling out, you can order it.

Stay tuned...

Update 12/20/07:

Two installers and a supervisor came over this afternoon to install the Comcast TiVo software on my existing Comcast DVR.

I was the first Comcast DVR installation in Boston.

They came by to make sure the signal was strong enough to download the TiVo software.



There WAS an issue with the signal strength, so they climbed up on the pole outside to look for a filter. They used to use filters to filter out over the air signals from the cable. Now that it's digital, the filter is not needed.



It ended up that the filter was attached to a splitter inside the house. Once removed, the installer called in to Comcast and the download started.

DOWNLOAD

After about 30 minutes the download was complete and the TiVo interface was successfully installed on my Comcast DVR. Yay!

TiVo Screen Display
The TiVo screen display was too big for the screen, so I went into the TiVo menu and reset the interface so that the TiVo menu fit on the screen.

It's not an HD TiVo display, so the TiVo interface does not fit the wide HD screen, but sits in the middle like regular TV broadcasts.

PREVIOUS SHOWS ARE THERE
All my previously recorded shows are still on the box.

GROUPS
The only thing that doesn't seem to work is 'groups.' I'm expecting a call to address that.



I'm looking forward to using the TiVo software and will post more about it as I start using it.

Update:
I got a call from a technician about groups not working. I am thinking that it might work on new shows that I record, but just not on shows I recorded with the old software. We'll see.