I have been looking at the comcast DVR's on ebay and instead of paying 12 bucks a month i would rather just buy one on ebay for around that price it would cost for a year of rental 150 bucks. Will this work? I know they have to put the serial number into the system or whatever it is to be able to work right? anyone ever do this? Oh ya and i called to order one from Comcast the other day and they wanted 20 bucks for an installation fee and i told them i can hook it up and i will come get the DVR and they wouldnt allow that because it is "High Advanced Technology" I started laughing. All you do is hook it up to your tv like other cable boxes right?

Comcast in the United States will generally not activate boxes they did not provide themselves unless the box has separable authentication. You need to be sure that the DVR you purchase supports CableCards, or you'll have acquired a $150 paperweight.

So if it supports cable cards...could i get the box on ebay and use the cable card with it? Sorry I am pretty new at this stuff. Would i get the cable card from comcast? thanks for the info

Yes, definitely, to both questions. The monthly fee for CableCards vary depending on locality. I'm in one of the less expensive areas: $2.75 each per month.

There is only one DVR that I know of on the market right now that supports CableCards -- that's the TiVo Series 3. Don't pay more than $400 for it, because that's how much I just paid for a new one (after rebate).

What is the model number of the DVR you're looking at on eBay?

it is Motorola....DCT6412/2005 or DCT6412 Phase III. Those are the ones i have found i dont know if they are the latest out. But they have A smartcard interface in the front. Is that for use with a cable card? thanks for all the help...I hate being ripped off by the cable company.

No, those are stolen for you to be ripped off on.
Comcast will not activate them for you no matter how hard you try.
Smartcard socket is not for cablecard.
Cablecard is pcmcia-size card, thick.

timecop is correct: SmartCard is NOT CableCard, and if you purchase those DVRs you see on eBay, you're purchasing an expensive paper-weight. Few if any cable systems in the United States will activate those boxes, and NONE of them are obligated to do so, not by current law, nor by any laws that are to go into effect in the future.

As I mentioned earlier, the only DVR I know of right now that you can purchase and expect to be able to use for digital cable is the TiVo Series 3.

And, conveniently, a CableCard slot will be labelled 'CableCard'. ;) :D

Alright thanks for the help...ill be looking into that tivo box then.

Alright thanks for the help...ill be looking into that tivo box then.


Tivo S3 will not do ondemand.

ajwees41