How To Get Free Cable Without A Box

How to Download Off My Cable Box

By Si Kingston

i Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images

Some cable boxes include a DVR feature that will record and save your favorite programs. Even with DVR, you are limited to the hours of programming you can store. You can move your favorite programming from the DVR to your computer, or capture live programming from your cable box. Once the content is captured on your computer, you can view it, edit it or even burn it to a disc to watch later.

Driver

Step 1

Download and install the cable box drivers on your computer. Drivers vary per box. Visit the cable company or manufacturer's website, and search the Support section for the drivers. Select "Yes" to download the driver to the computer. Click the download driver file, and follow the prompts to install it on the computer.

Step 2

Insert a Fireware cable into the matching port on the cable box. Connect the other end into the computer's Firewire port. Make sure the cable box is still connected to the television. If necessary, arrange the computer so it is closer to the television.

Step 3

Select "Locate and Install Driver Software" in the Found New Hardware Wizard in Windows Vista or 7. Then click "Next."

Step 4

Click "Don't Search Online" when prompted to search for new driver software.

Step 5

Click on "Browse My Computer For Driver Software (Advanced)." Hit the "Browse" button and open the folder containing the driver files, then click "OK." Check the box next to "Include Subfolders" and click "Next."

Step 6

Select "Install Driver Anyway" in the Windows Security page. Click "Finish" when prompted.

Capture

Step 1

Launch the capture software on your computer. If you don't have a program installed that will capture video streaming through a Firewire cable, install a program such as Windows Live Movie Maker, CapDVD-VHS or Final Cut Pro on the computer.

Step 2

Turn on the cable box, computer and television.

Step 3

Select the connected cable box as the capture device in the software interface, and make sure the device control is set to Firewire NTSC.

Step 4

Turn to the show you want to download on the television with the cable remote control. Press "Play."

Step 5

Press the "Record" button in the software to capture it, and press "Stop" to end the recording. Save the capture file when prompted. The program has now downloaded from the cable box to the computer.

References

Writer Bio

Si Kingston has been an online content contributor since 2004, with work appearing on websites such as MadeMan. She is a professional screenwriter and young-adult novelist and was awarded the Marion-Hood Boesworth Award for Young Fiction in 2008. Kingston holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Mills College.