Thread: 4DTV Receiver Compatibility

What DC2 receivers are capable of being sub'd to 4DTV services? I hear a lot about the DSR-410, DSR920/21/22, 905 sidecar - but what about the commercial receivers? the DSR-4200V, the 4410, 4800, etc etc? Can I get one of these authorized for use on Sky Vision/SRL programming packages?

And, I'm sure somebody (myself included) has asked this before: When your battery dies in ANY DigiCipher 2 receiver, is it unable to be sub'd again?

In my experimenting with a DSR-4200V that I have, I pulled the battery (it was already dead) and put a new one in. The Unit Address on the diagnostics screens was different from the one on the back of the receiver. Also, the sticker on the mainboard inside the receiver had a different Unit Address than the back panel. ADDITIONALLY, disconnecting the battery and replacing it again does not make it get a "new" Unit Address. The one on the diagnostics screen never changes.

And if removing the battery kills a receiver forever, why do they put a little jumper for you to remove battery power without desoldering the battery? Isn't that a little dangerous and seemingly pointless?

Thank you for your help folks!

PS: Maybe a 4DTV FAQ post should be made about the basics of DC2 concepts and diagnostic screens? Or did I miss it..

If you have a DSR905/920/922 you can sub to any provider's 4DTV packages. A DSR410 will let you sub to Skyvisions W5 packs. If you didn't get the 410 from Skyvision, they will authorize it for an additional $40 over the price of programming. They also sell the 410. The commercial boxes AFAIK cannot be authorized for consumer use. I have a DSR4200V, and a Digitrans DTE7150 (which is the same as the DSR4800). The 4200 gets all ZK and FP channels because it was previously authorized, sometime in the past. The DTE7150 will also get all the FP and ZK plus it will do more advanced DCII like combo mode, that the consumer units cannot process. And, yes, if the battery dies on any DCII box, it's basically useless for subscriptions.
Hope this helps you. Other "DCII gurus" will chime in too, I'm sure!

What Euro said is all true, not much more to add to all that. The jumper is there probably so after they are manufactured they are shipped to be loaded somewhere else. Once it goes to be loaded with the keys they put the power to the eprom and load the seed keys & Unit ID number.

Could a commercial receiver be subbed as a receiver for use in a motel? Or a bar? Or are they only for cable companies to use. What would one need? A business licence? Would one have to be incorporated? Those questions need to be answered. I have no idea where to look or I would. If anyone has any ideas on where that kind of info can be found, I'm all ears.

Commercial receivers can be subbed for SMATV systems used in motel's, apartment complexes, condo's etc. You will have to show you have a number of subscribers and pay the fee to the programmer for each subscriber.

I don't think you can have only one subscriber on a commercial account. Places like bar's they would probably tell them to get a commercial account with direct or dish.

Thanks for the info! Guess I'm just going to have to try harder to make my box spit out video for ZK or FP stuff without need for authing.. I spent 5 bucks on my receiver and I'll be damned if I pay any more money for another Motorola-controlled brick.

If the original unit ID number was lost for battery failure like you said in your first post. I hate to say it but it's a brick now even with a new battery installed. Once it looses that info it looses it's ability to decode even ZK and FP from what I've seen with dead 920's and the like. May be best to pick up another ebay junker with a good ID, change the battery and then see what you can get.

Originally Posted by tvropro

If the original unit ID number was lost for battery failure like you said in your first post. I hate to say it but it's a brick now even with a new battery installed. Once it looses that info it looses it's ability to decode even ZK and FP from what I've seen with dead 920's and the like. May be best to pick up another ebay junker with a good ID, change the battery and then see what you can get.

Unfortunately my response to this falls into the realm of hack-talk. It's a part of one of my many long-term projects that gets neglected because I move every few months, go to school, and work. I may still end up SOL and need to just buy a non-dead receiver, but discussing my methods of getting ZK without a battery here would be inappropriate. On a lighter note, I can assemble my KTI 10 footer and have it aligned to the arc in about 2 hours, by myself.