The cable companies have not disabled the firewire output on the 6412 -- it was only intended to be used for connecting to D-VHS recorders. In the United States, the federal government (FCC) has ruled that the firewire output must be enabled. As a result, the firewire output will NOT display any IPG or DVR menus. This is the normal, expected behavior.
One can emulate a D-VHS recorder on a PC or Mac through various software programs. Note that a computer will not be able to emulate the copy protection scheme of a D-VHS recorder if 5C DTCP is enabled (on a per-channel or per-program basis). These resources have instructions:
- HowTO record via 1394/Firewire to WindowsXP
- DCT6412 Firewire capture and HD/SD to DVD guide
- ExDeus' STB Firewire Driver Package - Frequently updated for the newest STBs.
- Tim M. Moore's 'FireSTB' Read-Me - Includes integration with Windows XP MCE and Windows Vista Home Premium.
- macteens article: Make your own Home Theatre Mac (HTMac)
