Will hopefully be getting HDTV and a HD cable box in the next few months and was reading that the 3 ways the cable box (Motorola DCT6412) can connect to the TV was DVI, Component and IEEE 1394.

the TV I was considering (Samsung lns4096) has HDMI, Component and Firewire inputs so I can either go component, DVI->HDMI or Firewire and since i haven't seen too much on firewire connectivity mentioned here I was curious who has or does use this method.

Thanks

I believe you can only use the firewire output into a computer, not a display.

The firewire output only works to a PC.

A display device has no way to understand the 1394 data stream.

You will need to get a special driver to transfer video. Google around.

I tried connecting my 6412 to my Hitachi RPTV via firewire when I first got it. Worked fine. And it should -- any HDTV that has a firewire input should implement the necessary control protocols required to interface with the 6412 or any other device that sends HD over firewire (DVHS player, etc). Granted, that was a couple years ago and I haven't tried it again since then, but it's unlikely that they would have disabled this.

thats wierd because the Motorola Manual states that DVI and Firewire will give a better picture than Component.

I would probably go DVI->HDMI but firewire seemed an interesting option that I never considered before

Firewire will work to a TV. There are just so few Firewire TVs out there since the industry switched to HDMI that it's hardly well known. It has most often been used as a way to record to either a PC or D-VHS.

Are we sure that the firewire port is not disabled on that Motorola box?

That depends on your particular Comcast office. But it should be active. The FCC requires cable providers to supply a firewire-equipped box to anyone who requests one, and the 6412 is (usually) Comcast's choice of hardware to provide that capability.

Speaking strictly of the 6412 and 6416, it is not disabled on any provider I'm aware of. It simply isn't documented and you won't receive any support from your provider on using it. Google around and you'll find the necessary driver for Windows and some rudimentary instructions for using it.

Can the firewire be used to copy shows recorded on the DCT's hard drive to a computer or is that feature considered some sort of breach of copyright and is therefore disabled ?

I think so. I never had such a source so didn't really look into it. I think it was at least possible on a Mac. Seem to remember some discussion about it over at AVS. Most who wanted this just got an HD card for the PC so it was the source.

You will get a better picture if youc an see the difference I do not know, with component you are taking digital and changing it to analog and back to digital with the other its a direct digital to digital conversion.

You can copy *some* shows off the hard drive via Firewire. It'll work as long as the 5C flag is set to allow unrestricted copying. Usually this is true only of the local HD stations (CBS, NBC, etc).