[ale] [Possibly OT] ComCast/Motorola DVR (Was: Re: MythTV and DVRs.)

[Michael B. Trausch]

Byron A Jeff wrote:
> On Wed, Oct 04, 2006 at 04:10:31PM -0400, Michael B. Trausch wrote:
>> Paul Cartwright wrote:
>> Which reminds me... I need to get to Wal*Mart and get a double-sided
>> USB-A cable so that I can see if I can somehow convince my Linux box to
>> get programs from the DVR. 
> 
> The USB ports are not activated.
> 

Oh, that is sad.  :-(

>
> Neither is Ethernet.
> 

As is that.

>
> The only active port on the Motorola 6412 DVR is the firewire port.
> 

Even worse -- I have exactly zero IEEE 1394 interfaces around.  *shrugs*
 I suppose the next logical question would be, "Does anybody have
knowledge of what IEEE 1394 interfaces are Linux compatible, that are
PCMCIA [is that term still used for interface cards on newer laptops?  I
don't even know anymore...]"

>
> I've seen a couple of reports that indicates that Macs and PCs can use the
> firewire port to record what's playing on the DVR. It occurs at real time
> speed though, so there are no fast copies. I haven't found a post that
> shows how to pull it off with a Linux box yet.
> 

I assume that "what's playing on the DVR" would mean that the FireWire
interface would just act like a video/audio connection from a VCR, where
it can only play from the active channel on the screen?  Is that right?

>
> I've seen at least one post (which I don't have in front of me) that 
> indicates that Linux can view the disk paritions from that DVR. However,
> I don't think anyone really wants to open the box to get access.
> 

I would be willing to do it, if (A) it yielded results (I have no way to
hook it up to my laptop, however), and (B) it weren't against the terms
of the agreement with ComCast.  Suck.

>> Once in awhile we find a documentary or
>> movie or whatever that we would like to record, and I don't feel very
>> much like spending $150 that we don't have for a DVD recorder that would
>> make our setup hellish to use.  If we can save things from the DVR,
>> though, we could keep programs on DVD for reference and not have to
>> worry about the DVR's hard drive filling up (which it does frequently,
>> here).
> 
> Same here. I'm pretty brutal about keeping the disk empty. Some days it
> seems to defeat the purpose.
> 

It isn't so much that I like keeping it empty (well, I do, but not out
of preference; sometimes, this DVR creates "ghost" recordings that
aren't tied to anything in particular, and are impossible to delete...
the only remedy that I have found thus far to fix that is to format the
hard disk drive using a set of commands from the remote control), but
that more often than not, we're on the verge of running out of space.  I
personally do not record that much, but one of my girlfriends records
the hell out of animated TV series'.  The things that I record, I really
*would* like to keep, but they tend to be quite lengthy and would really
only be suitable to retain on a DVD.

> 
>> If anyone happens to have any information on the Motorola DVRs that
>> ComCast hands out, and how to move programs to external permanent
>> storage, such as what it would take to get my Linux box to download the
>> programs from it and burn to DVD... :-)
> 
> A definite me too.
> 

I will have to attempt to do some hard-core searching.  I did some
searching a couple of months back when I first got the DVR, but wasn't
able to find anything at that point.  Maybe, things have changed.

I have figured out some things about the DVR, like how to get the SNR
numbers and reports on its network status and things like
VOD/in-band/out-of-band channel signal status and the like, and
formatting the DVR's hard drive, and things like that... but not much
farther than that.

No matter, I suppose; I probably do not have enough room to hold a
complete documentary on this laptop with the level of information the
DVR stores; it manages to catch things like all of the OOB information,
such as closed captioning and the like.

Do you know, per chance, if the SATA port on the back of the unit is
active?  If so, there might be a way to hook up a larger HD and upgrade
the space available to it, or even use the outside drive exclusively for
recording when attached, and that way data could be easily moved back
and forth...

	-- Mike

-- 
Michael B. Trausch <fd0man at gmail.com> - Jabber: fd0man at livejournal.com

Demand freedom: Use open and free protocols, standards, and software.

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