COX & Motorola DCT6400 Series DVR

IF your 'puter is near your TV with DVR... Good Idear with the RCA-outs direct into the computer; didn't think of that. Wouldn't you need a video capture card for that however? (More $$$) If no capture card is necessary, that's cool, but likely NOT if my main problem was going RCA-out to whatever media I intended on using to archive. If a VCR wouldn't word (new or old), I'd likewise have issued with a computer (with or without) a capture card.

A follow-up re: all of my other posts is due. I went and got another (3rd) replacement DVR from Cox and guess what? RCA outs work fine in BOTH of the VCRs I tried on the other 2 DVRs I had. Go figure. I have yet to try either the USB 2.0 or the firewire outs, but I surmise these still do not work... A twist of fate rather than lime however, my VCR ate the 2nd tape I put in there. I gotta get "with the digital age" or something. Any recommendations regarding the purchase of a fully operational DVR setup would be greatly appreciated, e.g., Tivo, etc.? Thanx & take care.

*** FYI ***
I don't know much about the older Motorola MOXI DVR that Charter cable was using in Slidell a while ago, but I caught word from a Charter employee friend of mine that they'll be rolling them out again - fully enabled.

 

@carlvo:

Here' a guide on how to transfer recorded video from the DCT6412 to your pc via firewire:

http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/

 

Thank you dblbogey7 for the guide. I will give that a try.

 

Carlvo..., let me know how it works out for you..,
If I understand the guide correctly, we would end up with mpeg2 files via the HDTV2DVD software (even though what we're offloading is compressed digital and not HD?).

I don't have a firewire cable and am hesitant to buy one just for this purpose because:

A - Comcast has told me the firewire ports are disabled (although, based on other statements, I don't necessarily believe it.

B - I'm interested in offloading a UFC PPV.., not sure about the 5c protection.

C - the other I'm interested in offloading is the Superbowl in HD. I've been told that is not possible until the new Blu-Ray is available.

Lots of confusion, incomplete, and/or mis-information. I should just bite the bullet and TRY it.., (just as you are).

Good luck and would appreciate the feedback

 

@stokercw:

When you record via firewire from the Motorola DCT 6412 you have the option of recording TS (transport stream?) files or MPEG2 files. This can be selected in the CAPDVHS application. I prefer the TS option as this is full bandwidth 720p or 1080i with 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack. I use the HDTV2DVD application to edit out commercials.

The DCT6412 MUST have the firewire ports enabled.

Comcast has enabled the 5c encryption in some HD channels so it really depends on your cable company. I know PPV channels are 5c enabled.

I recorded the Superbowl in HD last winter and the TS file was, if I remember correctly, around 18 Gigabytes in size (minus the commercials). You really need a huge hard drive to do this.

For TS file playback I recommend TheaterTek:
http://www.theatertek.com/
Of course your PC has to be connected to your HD display via DVI or DVI/component with the proper settings.

You don't need BluRay to do any of this.

 

Thanks for the info.
In regard to Blu-Ray, I was referring to actually being able to burn something of that size to dvd.., Once they're on your HD, what do you do with them?? Can't get them to dvd player format (other than the mpeg-2)?

Bizarre that I'd be able to play the saved programs and record them directly to VHS.., but nothing in regard to dvd without a whole lot of effrt

 

I just keep the recorded files in TS format. This way I'm able to play them back in full high-definition 720p or 1080i with the original dolby digital 5.1 soundtrack. I do not convert them to DVD as I don't want to lose resolution - DVD is only 480i. I archive the recorded files in external hard drives which are becoming much cheaper these days.

Like I said I use TheaterTek to do high definition playback on my PC. My ATI video card is connected to my HD display by a DVI/HDMI cable. The ouput is 1080i. My sound card is connected to my surround sound reciever with a digital coaxial cable for the DD 5.1 soundtrack.

With this setup I can record in high def and playback in high-def with no loss in video and audio quality.

 

Sounds like we are limited to the firewire method. VCR is out of the question for me as I am currently backing up all my old vhs tapes to dvds. I was wondering if anyone had any success with a dvd recorder instead. The Pioneer DVR640HS looks extremely promising to me... http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/product/details/0,,2076_310069745_303089277,00.html . It can even replace the need to lease a dvr box all-together if you don't mind losing HD or I guess you could buy a seperate converter. Any ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

-X-

 

I don't know if this is of any help you. I have never used a DVD recorder partly because I'm afraid that the compression options will be limited to what the machine decides to do. You see I had a bad experience using the Plextor PX-M402U. People raved about it but I was very disappointed with it's performance, there were compression artifacts all over the place. I case you don't know what I'm talking about, the PX-M402U tales an analog signal in from S Video or RCA and uses hardware compression to generate a MPEG 2 file on your computer. It's real time but the results are unsatisfactory. I'll sell you one real cheap.

At this time I would prefer to get the digital file right off Motorola DCT6400 when I can or use some sort of analog to digital converter of the signal then compress it myself. I use iDVD but there are plenty of DVD authoring programs for both the Mac and PC. The problem is, and you may find this unacceptable, compressing the files takes lots of time not to mention the deinterlacing. But the results are superior.

As you know the Motorola DCT6400 has two kinds of files, C5 hardware protected ones and completely unprotected ones. The unprotected files I just download to my hard drive but the protected ones I have to deal with differently. Now this part might be helpful to you. Basically, the issue is if you are taking any analog signal, like the one coming from your VHS player or the S Video out from the Motorola DCT6400 you need to convert it to digital to make a DVD. Real analog to digital converters can be expensive so what I decided to do was use my Mini DV cameras to make the conversion. What I do is run the analog signal into my camera, which can work as a Mini DVD recorder, then capture the video into a simple movie editing program, deinterlace the files with MPEG Streamclip and burn a DVD with iDVD. The results are quite good but there are two down sides: One is that Mini DV is 4:1:1 and DVD (MPEG 2) is 4:4:4 so a lot of color information is lost. The other is that you must be crazy enough to go through all these steps when a DVD recorder may be perfectly acceptable to you.

Recently I discovered by accident that if you record a show that is live on the Motorola DCT6400 it will not be 5C protected yet.

I'll bet that this information is completely useless to you and I'm also curious to see if anybody has anything good to say about DVD recorders. In particular, if the compression artifacts are acceptable.

 

I too have been going down the long road of trying to break the code on this industry created complex issue. BLUF, you can record anything you want by putting a DVD recorder between the DVR and TV. Very time consuming and inconvenient, but it works. I'll try and explain how I did this:

Run your output from the DVR (I have Cox in Virginia - Motorola) to one of the inputs on DVD Recorder (mine was an older Emerson, actually Funai), then output to TV. My Toshiba TV has three inputs - one for cable, two for video (RCA plugs). Load your recordable DVD (this unit uses -R/RW), initialize, format, etc., and start the recorded program you want to save and simply hit the record button, then WAIT until it's finished.

I recorded the 7th Game of the 2006 baseball NLCS - 4 hour program! I could not watch any of the other recorded programs while the game was transferring, what a crock of crap! My wife and kids will only watch recorded programs, so this process tied up TV for that evening. One work around is to split the cable signal between the DVR and the TV, but, again, cannot view recorded shows, DVR must be dedicated to recording and there is no dubbing capability.

The only feasible technique is to access the hard drive in the DVR and simply download the files (which I assume are MPEG) onto a PC, then burn back to DVD or CD, or transfer to another hard drive. As an earlier poster said, the technology's there, but the industry won't allow it at this time.

 

The file that is saved from the right Firewire port of the Motorola DCT6412 using CapDVHS is a .ts file.

A .ts file is an MPEG-2 Transport Stream file.

I wish I knew exactly kind of file is actually saved on Motorola DCT6412 hard drive.

So far I have found that this remains the best way to save programs to your computer. They will play with VLC player or MPEG Streamclip. MPEG Streamclip will edit out unwanted material but I recommend that you used a better editor. The one thing that MPEG Streamclip excels at is converting the .ts to another file type like MPEG 2 and it will deinterlace it at the same time making it progressive.

 

I figured it out some time ago, but thank you very much for the info. Actually, it turned out I had TWO bad DVRs, i.e., the outputs were fudged. Since acquiring the third, I've had no issues. Also, one way to get around your problem is to get a video splitter. Unfortunately, they're a little pricey and you must find one that is rated for use with digital cable signals... In other words, heed the "not for use with digital cable" warning on many mfr products such as Philips all in one. Only other issue is signal loss, hence an amplifier would be adviseable as well. I bought an all-in-one RCAudio/S-Video splitter unit from Radio Crak that has worked alright so far. However, I have yet to purchase the amp mentioned above and the signal gets a little spotty at times, but not very noticeable. Perhaps it will be when I bring home the 37" LCD flat-panel I'm picking up today. In that case, an amp is definitely the order of tomorrow OR I'll just use a separate dedicated cable line. Good luck and Happy Holidays to all!!!

PS I don't know about Cox-Virginia, but the Motorola I have does NOT have the USB or firewire (IEEE) connections activated.

 

Yes, none of my ports are active either, Cox and all CPs will provide the signal amp, however this is more junk in your house. Cable providers love to weight down houses with its gadgets.

 

The right Firewire port is probably live.

Have you tried to use CapDVHS?

 

Nope cuz I don't have a DVHS. Thing is, Cox specially ordered these units and requested that they NOT activate many of the outputs due to the potential risk for a finding of vicarious liability with respect to copyright infringement claims by artists, movie studios, etc. Tivo, on the other hand, has an opposite theory via the Sony Beta-Max case back in the 70's. Thing is, ya never know and I think Cox was/is just playing it safe. They know that at $6-10/month, most of their subscribers don't necessarily know the difference or mind. That AND the fact that the majority of subscribers won't purchase a standalone unit anyway. Thanx for the info.

 

Robert, I will try, thanks, will get back to you, I want to avoid 'capture', very time consuming, a 4.7 GB DVD-R will hold up to 12 hours of video when you capture with DVD recorder, how about your method? Is this time consuming? Or is it like copying DVDs?

 

No you don't need a DVHS. Just a plane old PC.

The only question is did COX supply you with a Motorola DCT6412 (DVR)?

If they did, just go to http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html and follow the instructions.

 

armydlguy

Yes, it can be time consuming especially if you deinterlace and remove commercials.

The capture is real time, that is a one hour program takes one hour to capture.

The amount of video saved on a DVD-R depends on now much you compress it.

I'm not as much of a compression expert as I would like to be, but my experience is that putting more then two hours of video on a DVD-R produces very poor quality. Lots of compression artifacts.

 

Once you get your DVR connected to your PC network, will it appear in My Computer as another drive? Kinda like the Sony Memory Stick or a Digital Camera when you go through the Firewire port? And then, can you just open the drive and move the files from the DVR to PC HDD?

 

No, it's video capture software.

You only see the program.

Just go to this link and follow the instructions.

http://replayguide.sourceforge.net/dct6412/index.html