At the peak of its use, FCC rules required cable providers to include an active "IEEE 1394" (FireWire) port on their HD set-top boxes to ensure consumers could connect third-party recording devices.
A DVR (like a cable or satellite box) that uses a FireWire port to connect to an external hard drive for increased storage. firewire dvr
, which was designed to work specifically with Toshiba televisions and cable boxes. At the peak of its use, FCC rules
: One of the most famous dedicated FireWire DVR units was the Toshiba Symbio : One of the most famous dedicated FireWire
Most modern cable boxes have disabled their FireWire ports or removed them entirely, as HDMI provides a simpler (and more secure for the provider) single-cable solution for audio and video.
Using a FireWire-equipped computer to "rip" or record live high-definition video directly from a cable box's FireWire output, often bypassing standard encryption for personal use (as mandated by older FCC regulations). Notable Examples & Hardware Toshiba Symbio