How do I connect my Comcast(motorola) DVR to my mac/pc?

Question

I just got comcast cable with an motorola dch3416 DVR box. I want to get my recordings off my dvr box and on to my mac (or, if mac is not possible, i can use a pc). Is it possible to do that?

Is it as easy as getting a cable or something and a program?

please help, thanks

Answer 1

I am not familiar with the DCH3416 specifically, but generic (default) answer is that you can't do it.  Firstly, essentially no commercial DVR available today is supposed to make this possible for all content.  More specifically, the Cablecard standard specifically requires the data to be protected and remain secure, meaning you can't to anything but play the signal on the allowed outputs.   The only solution for you would be to use a video grabbing device and the PC or mac, and use that to digitize and record the standard definition output (and hope that proposed request from the MPAA to allow the use of the "Selective Output Flag") is not passed.  Note that some providers do leave this open, but this setting is controlled by the provider and you should not expect to see it left enabled.

Answer 2

You can do it via FireWire. I've done it, so the previous answer is incorrect.

It's kind of involved to set it up. You need a device driver so your PC can see the Moto box and capture software to capture the transport stream. If you want to burn DVDs, you'll need editing software and burning software.

See the links referenced at the Wikibooks link below.