Controlling recievers/STBs

[GlobalFear]

I'm currently with cablevision and I'm thinking of switching to direct tv.
Are there any cablevision boxes that allow for serial control?
What directtv boxes allow serial control?
What other control methods are there, Ive heard mention of firewire or usb control? (I know about blasters)

Thanks all in advance.

[dbfresh23]

Originally Posted by GlobalFear

Are there any cablevision boxes that allow for serial control?

I doubt it, even if there were the serial control dll that comes with SageTV is specifically written for DirecTV boxes.

What directtv boxes allow serial control?

There are a lot of them, the easier DTV receivers to get ahold of that can do serial control are the DirecTV D10-100 boxes.

What other control methods are there, Ive heard mention of firewire or usb control?

Firewire control can be used on certain HDTV Digital Cable STBs that have enabled firewire ports. I'm not aware of any standard STBs that have USB control.

Is there a specific reason you are considering switching?

[GlobalFear]

Outages are getting more frequent.
Cable costs more here.
Nasty experience with customer support.
Refused to uncap my optimum online upload. Nothing illegal either. (I'm a coder for a BF2 mod so lots of files going back and forth)
Already switched to verizon dsl. Its faster too.
SAGETV.