Discussion de forum
Reset Cisco 8642HD to play over the air (OTA) broadcasts from my antenna
Hi!
I have migrated from Illico to Helix. Of course, my Cisco 8642HD, now rendered 'obsolete', no longer does anything except that when I boot, it says "Cable disconnected... [bla bla bla]... Press OK to watch programs recorded on this terminal".
What I would like to do is to connect my outdoor UHF antenna to it, so that I can: a) feed its HDMI output to my home theater (which does not have a coax in), and b) PVR (record) shows. My current antenna installation can pull in 30 HD Digital stations (TRUE HD, not the compressed stuff we get over cable).
Is there a way to achieve this? I have searched all over the 'Net, asked Google, Bing, GPT, etc., and have come up with nothing but unhelpful (read erroneous) info.
Thanks!
7 Réponses
Not legally possible because it’s a CableCARD dvr unless you somehow modify it.
Rhetorical question: What's ILlegal about doing what I want with my property that I purchased?
(Note, I did not purchase or rent it from Videotron; I bought it at FutureShop (remember them?))
The term "CableCARD" is new to me; thanks st0106, I now have something new to Google! 🙂
- Cause if you change it into an ota box, you probably need to install an operating system on your own, and it’s not like a simple android or windows systems on phones and PCs, so you probably ended up with some unofficial components. You definitely need to modify the box physically, and it’s probably not allowed.
"Allowed" by whom? This is MY box - PKP has no rights to it - and I'm not trying to rip anyone off, I just want to receive OTA broadcasts, which are free to all, paid for by advertising.
BTW, with over 40 years in IT and electronics, I'm quite capable of re-flashing firmware, and physical mods... I'd hoped it wouldn't come to that, but am open to tips on how, if necessary!
I ran into a similar issue with older cable boxes, and sometimes the firmware or hidden setup options can make OTA tuning harder than expected. While looking into it, I also found some useful property resources through Shelby Property Search which came in handy for an unrelated project. Hopefully you're able to get the antenna channels working again without needing extra hardware, and I'd be interested to hear what solution worked for you.
I found this guide helpful for understanding how older cable boxes can be adjusted for antenna use and OTA broadcasts. It is interesting to see how device settings can affect access to different types of information, including Bay Court Records for those researching public details. Resetting hardware properly can often solve compatibility issues without needing new equipment. Thanks for sharing this useful tip for anyone working with a Cisco 8642HD setup.
That’s an interesting question because some Cisco receivers can be a bit tricky when switching back to antenna channels after cable service changes. While searching for similar fixes, I also came across Wilson Public Records which was useful for finding official information. A complete reset followed by a new channel scan is often worth trying before assuming the hardware has an issue. Hopefully that gets your OTA channels back.
