I am new to this and very much a layman so please bear with me. I have comcast cable service and the motorola dct6412 dvr box. What i want to do is add an IR to it so i can tuck the box away somewhere out of site and still be able to control what i need to on the dvr. Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance.

Scott

If the remote you're using doesn't have an RF base station get and IR extender kit. Plenty available from any number of suppliers. AMX, Xantech, SnapAV

There has been hella improvement in the performance of the recent Niles LCD/plasma friendly IR receivers (the ones w/ the blue LED.) The old ones were hit or miss depending on what model TV. Switching to Xantech seemed to always fix the problem back then.

You should take 2 things into consideration. First - what type of tv (lcd, plasma, dlp, rear projection, etc.). 2nd - distance between where you sit and where the ir sensor is placed (on the tv perhaps). xantech's website will help you choose which sensor is the right one for your needs. Or - just supply this info and I will list the best models to use. I have tried just about every mfg's sensors on the market, and I feel the Xantech sensors/kits are the most reliable out of all of them out there.

The remote i have is the comcast remote. It has nothing to do with my tv. I think u guys r missing the question i have. I want to plug another IR in my CABLE BOX, stick that IR somewhere and then hide the cable box...

I think everyone understands clearly... you want an IR repeater system of some sort.

You cannot "plug another IR" in your cable box... not sure what you mean here exactly.

You need an IR receiver, some sort of connecting block and power supply and an IR emitter to stick on the front of the box.

Some Motorola boxes have an IR input jack on the back but since they do not provide documentation on this, I am not sure if it is meant for a proprietary IR receiver as it is on the DTA boxes, an IR emitter feed, or an industry standard IR receiver. I know for a fact that the jack is not active for and IR emitter feed but not sure about anything else.

Thank you for your response tgrugett. Yes the ir plug on the back was what i was talking about. I cant plug another into there then. DARN!! That box is so big and clunky i was hoping to hide it some where. Thank you again.

Look. An infrared photocell you are thinking of alone might work if you plug it into that jack but probably not, at least the cable company will not support it, so forget about the IR plug.

Go ahead, put the box in a closet and close the doors. Add an IR repeater SYSTEM mentioned by the pros above. It consists of a photocell you stick on the front of the TV, a flasher on the front of the cable box, and a wire you will run from the TV to the cable box. Remote signal is repeated inside closet.

If you're lost, call your local custom A/V store or satellite shop and they should send a pro to take care of you. Check the performance of the installed system and expect the same results you would have standing in front of the box. Expect it to cost a few hundred bucks

Not trying to be rude here, but it has everything to do with the tv. Like I and everyone else said, all you need is an IR repeater kit. Simple install. DIY if you have some sense around wires and instruction manuals. Go and hide that dvr behind closed doors. This is what an IR kit allows you to do. Just remember - some IR sensors will not work well with some types of tvs. I am assuming that the IR sensor will be mounted either on the front of your tv, or close by.

Comcast does supply an IR receiver that plugs into their smaller DTA boxes. I do not know at this point what the voltage specs are or what the pin out of the connector functions are (voltage, ground and IR signal). You can try a Niles or Xantec IR receiver but you may be able to get one of those IR receivers from Comcast to try. Go to the local Comcast store and see if they will provide you with one...

Sounds like this is what you need. Not sure if this works with your system
[Link: irblaster.info]

Thank you for your help everyone...For this gentleman...For what I am doing it DOES NOT have anything to do with the T.V. When I am changing the channel on the remote, this IR signal is going to the cable box, NOT the tv...Which then sends the signal, from the cable box, through my component cables to the T.V. If i want to change anything on the T.V. then I either set the remote to "T.V." or use the actual T.V. remote and then the IR signal goes to the T.V. For what I want to do, I can put the IR receiver on my cat and it will change the channel....
Thank you

Yes, but can you get your cat to just change the channel for you? No IR eye needed!

You missed my point again. I think everyone here that works with IR repeater systems for a living understands that you missed my point again.