Programming the 30 Second Skip Function on Your Motorola 6400 Series DVR

I've always been envious of TiVo and ReplayTV users and their ability to zip through commercials (recorded shows only) with a 30 second skip button. If you're not familiar with the 30 second skip, it's just like it sounds. You push a button while watching a recorded program and you'll skip ahead 30 seconds. During commercials, whacking on the skip button 3 or 4 times is much faster and easier than the fast forward button.

Well if you're a cable customer that uses a Motorola DCT6400 series DVR, you should be able to program a 30 second skip on your remote too. I say should because it may depend on what cable company you use but in most cases, the skip codes should work. In this tutorial we'll show you what remote you need and how to program the 30 second skip feature on a few different remotes.

Let's start with the remotes that can and cannot be programmed. If you have the new dual tuner (DCT6412) box, you probably have the DRC800 remote pictured below.

This remote is the upgrade to the "silver remote" which was issued with the single tuner boxes. The main difference between the "silver remote" and the DRC800 is that the DRC800 has a programmed swap button. The swap button is important because that's how you switch tuners.

The nice thing about the "silver remote" is that it's totally programmable and you can add a swap button. What sucks about the DRC800 is that it's not user programmable. So if you have a "silver remote", keep it. If you upgrade to a dual tuner box, just keep the "silver remote" and just program the swap button. If you have the DRC800, you might check with your cable company and see if they have any of the "silver remotes" in stock. Otherwise you will have to get 3rd party remote to use the 30 second skip feature.

So if you have a "silver remote" like the one pictured below, we'll show you how to program the 30 second skip and if you have a dual tuner we'll also give you the swap code. What makes the silver remote important is that it has a "setup" button which the DRC800 lacks.

So to program the 30 second skip on the "silver remote":

Press the "Cable" button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
Press and hold the "Setup" button until the "Cable" button blinks twice.
Type in the code 994. The "Cable" button will blink twice.
Press (do not hold) the "Setup" button.
Type in the code 00173 (for 30 second skip).
Press whatever button you want to map the skip function to.
You can also program the "swap" function in by using the same steps as above. When you get to step 5, just use 00236. If you want to progam any more buttons, here are the Motorola DVR codes:

178 Play
205 Pause
209 Rewind
207 Fast Forward
174 Stop
046 Record
173 Skip
179 Replay
175 DVR
210 PPV
208 OND
083 A/B
177 Live (DVR)
236 Swap (dual tuner DVR)

On the "silver remote", you must put 00 in front of the 3 digit code. On some 3rd part remotes you don't need the 00.

So how did I get the 30 second skip with the DRC800 remote? Well, I didn't and my cable company (Mediacom) is no longer using the "silver remote". I sure didn't want to invest in another remote and started digging around the house for an extra programmable remote. What I ran across was the One for All URC3021 pictured below:

This is a pretty cheap but useful remote. I paid under $10 at Walmart and It's available online for as low as $7.25.

All I did was enter the code 1376 for the cable button and voila', my remote was ready. At the bottom of there is a button called "Quick Skip" which has the 30 second skip. Now you can't custom program the buttons but you can hit the "Set" button and then any of the 3 digit codes above. So if I want to swap tuners, I simply hit "Set" and "236".

The only features this remote doesn't have that the DRC800 has is that I can't scroll the guide day to day or as a page at a time. Other than that it works great.

If you're willing to spend a little more money, there are plenty of remotes that will let you program as many of the codes above into your remote that you want. If you use a 3rd party remote on your Motorola box, let us know how it works.

And if anyone has found a way to program the DRC800, please let us know.

October 24, 2005

Programming the 30 Second Skip Function on Your Motorola 6400 Series DVR