Comcast HD DVR 30 Second Skip

These instructions are for the Motorola HD DVR DTC6412 and the Comcast On Demand Remote (Comcast URC-106XXXXX Silver Remote).

This tip was found at Wikibooks and is a great resource about the Motorola DVR. You will find the following tip, as well as a plethora of other information there.

The following technique can be used to map an unused or unneeded button on the “silver” remote to the 30-second skip command. Current versions of the i-Guide software will skip forward 30 seconds into a recording when this command is sent. A good choice is the ‘A / Lock’ button since many users don’t need that function; you can feel both the ’15-second-back’ and ’30-second-skip’ buttons with one finger and move between them without looking. Another option is to reprogram the ’15-second back’ button, since PgDn already provides that functionality.

  1. Press the “Cable” button at the top of the remote to put it into Cable Box control mode.
  2. Press and hold the “Setup” button until the “Cable” button blinks twice.
  3. Type in the code 994. The “Cable” button will blink twice.
  4. Press (do not hold) the “Setup” button.
  5. Type in the code 00173.
  6. Press whatever button you want to map the 30-second skip command to (ex: A / Lock). The “Cable” button will blink twice if successful.

Note: This does not work on boxes with the Microsoft TV Foundation Interface (currently Washington State). As of firmware version 12.22 Insight Cable has disabled this feature. Comcast software Version 73.44 disabled this feature, but the latest software, Version 74.53-3321, re-enables it (this has been confirmed on the 3416 w/ 16.20 firmware).


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19 Responses to “Comcast HD DVR 30 Second Skip”


  1. 1 duder Jan 1st, 2007 at 11:52 am

    I can’t tell you how much of a difference this little trick makes in watching recordings on my Comcast DVR. When I first got the system, I was truly bummed that there was no :30 skip button. But now, thanks to this little gem of a tip, I have it. No more guessing as to when to stop the FF! Thanks so much – keep up the the good work!

  2. 2 Jared Picune Jan 3rd, 2007 at 8:41 am

    Thanks for your kind words. I use this all the time as well.

  3. 3 Abe Froman Jan 17th, 2007 at 7:10 pm

    Big win. Thanks very much…..

  4. 4 marshlk Jan 19th, 2007 at 12:10 pm

    I love this little trick! I use it all the time now. Much better than the fast forward & guess at the stop point…

  5. 5 Ralph Feb 16th, 2007 at 7:26 am

    I programmed the wrong button for the 30 second skip. (info button) Is there a way to re-program the info button back to it’s intended function?

  6. 6 Kellan Mar 15th, 2007 at 11:05 pm

    Here’s a great Wikipedia article for reprogramming the remote, including how to re-map a key back to its original function:

    http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Programming_the_Remote

  7. 7 shelley Oct 28th, 2007 at 8:42 am

    I only recently got the Comcast DVR and it was driving me crazy that I could back up in short increments but couldn’t skip ahead the same way — until now. Thanks so much for this!

  8. 8 dialuv Apr 8th, 2008 at 7:01 am

    I can’t believe this and I work for the company. This is almost better than DVR itself!

  9. 9 Eric Apr 20th, 2008 at 5:43 pm

    It would be great if there were also a 15-second skip forward button. For baseball, tennis and a few other sports 30 seconds is too much, but 15 would be ideal.

  10. 10 Aaron Aug 29th, 2008 at 4:42 pm

    AWESOME!!!!! this rocks – thank you so much!

  11. 11 PDXChick Jan 22nd, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    To Eric – there’s a 15 second back program, which might work for you. Here’s the abbreviated instructions – same process as the process for this original post except for the second code:

    Cable
    Hold Setup until Cable button blinks twice
    Type in 994 (Cable button blinks twice)
    Setup
    Type in 00179 (15 second back code)
    Press button to assign feature

  12. 12 Saar Jun 27th, 2009 at 11:22 pm

    Brilliant

  13. 13 Greg Oct 4th, 2009 at 10:48 am

    Doesn’t work on 75.59 – a25p2-2.S1.r-8. Anyone know if it can be made to work on this version?

  14. 14 Cam Dec 21st, 2009 at 11:11 pm

    This is perfect for hockey games. 3 presses of the 30 second skip and you are back with 1 second to spare before the game starts again from commercial.

    Cam
    –Rj Dollen

  15. 15 Stacey Feb 2nd, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Ok so I must be really dumb! I did this and it only ffwds 1 sec. What did I do wrong?

  16. 16 John Feb 21st, 2010 at 12:33 pm

    THANKS!!!!!!

  17. 17 Randy Oct 29th, 2011 at 11:13 am

    Great tip. Worked for me on whatever the new Motorola HD-DVR is

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