Motorola DCT 6208
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
- Press "CABLE" button to put it into cable box/PVR mode
- Press and hold "Setup" button (next to "POWER") until the "CABLE" button flashes twice.
- Enter "994" on the keypad, after which the "CABLE" button should flash twice.
- Press the "Setup" button and release. (Don't hold it.)
- Enter "00173" on the keypad. "173" is the code for the thirty-second skip. More codes can be found here.
- 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.
