Digital Cable Receiver

[Zziggy00]

I didn't want to steal Joe81's Thread with his Satelite Receiver, so I thought I'd start my own... I just recently picked up a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 2000 Digital Cable Receiver for $3.50 at a local thrift store.

I don't have digital cable, but might upgrade in the futuer (?) when pluged into the wall and my TV it says that the box is not authorized and displays a phone number for me to call...

Now down to my question... Can I do anything with this box, or turn it into something different / useful? It's got the standard cable jacks for input and output as well as RCA jacks for audio/video output, but the interesting connections that are present are the addition of an Ethernet port, USB port, and bypass port...

Any Hacks or Mods out there for this box? thanks.

 

[schi0249]

It all depneds on who your cable provider is, and what type of OS they use. The USB port, if active, is intended for a USB keyboard. The bypass port does very little. It allows 2 cable channels to be sent through, one digital and one analog. It's intended for people using a VCR to record. The ethernet port was orignally intedned for use as a cable modem. I don't know if anyone ever used this.

As for using it, your cable company has to authorize it. Chances are they won't. Most MSO's don't let you plug equipment into their network. Some don't even let you use your own cable modem.

 

[Raijin Z]

Sprint and Time Warner are pretty much okay with the "I have my own modem" thing, but TWC is definitely not about letting people use their own digital converters.