reesesWeb

This is the HD STB/PVR that Comcast supplies.

Motorola DCT 6208 product page

Cost = $10/mo, or $3/mo for HD. (Not sure if the box is the same if you just get HD, or if it's the 6200) In Bethesda, MD.

Firewire output is output-only. Use VirtualDVHS on the Mac to record. Not sure about rumors that you can expand capacity with an external firewire diskpack if output-only limitation is true. Appears that most content is not 5c, so there aren't any recording problems right now.

DVI enabled on my box, outputs fine to plasma @ 1080i.

80GB HD, one HD movie @ 2h slurps about 20-25% capacity.

UI sucks, doesn't have any of the Tivo patented features such as recurring recording of various programs (Season Pass), and the program guide stinks.

Not sure what OS is on the device.

Bugs:

• weird lip-synch issue other people are also seeing with hd content. thought I was going nuts.
• menu (especially "record" from channel guide) sometimes gets "stopped up" and doesn't accept button press events. Need to exit guide, re-enter guide, and start over. Don't appear to need to power cycle. (which is a soft cycle anyway, notice the HD doesn't spin down.)
• probably not a bug (by design), but the dvr won't work if the cable connection is severed. So, when the cable went out in my building, and I couldn't watch any live television, I was also unable to watch any of the programs I had recorded. Suck.

How to assign 30-second-skip functionality to the Comcast-supplied remote

1. Press "CABLE" button to put it into cable box/PVR mode
2. Press and hold "Setup" button (next to "POWER") until the "CABLE" button flashes twice.
3. Enter "994" on the keypad, after which the "CABLE" button should flash twice.
4. Press the "Setup" button and release. (Don't hold it.)
5. Enter "00173" on the keypad. "173" is the code for the thirty-second skip. More codes can be found here.
6. Press whichever button you want mapped to the 30-second skip. HD Zoom, in the lower right, is very commonly used for this. I have no idea what "HD Zoom" should do anyway, although I suspect it's something my TV does already.

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