Learning about the Telenet HD Digicorder!

Posted: 8th June 2008 by Gert in Entertainment

Lets look into our newest toys!

We got the Telenet HD Digicorder. The box says DC-AD2000. Google really doesnt tell us much about this “device”! Except for a telenet related guide. So I’m guessing thats a telenet specific  code.

Checking the back of the machine, however, reveals it to be an Advanced Digital Broadcast machine! So thats probably what the AD part of the telenet code means. The 2000 doesnt tell us much either, their cable products have quite different codes!

After a visual check trough the list, we can assume its the ADB-5820C/CX advanced high definition

Telenet Digicorder HD

Time to check the specs :)
& obviously find out what this “HDMIâ„¢ interface with HDCP copy protection” is they re talking about..

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  1. tom says:

    is it possible to access the harddisk through the ethernet?

  2. Gert says:

    I havent had time to look into the matter further (we recently moved) but as far as I know, there is no way to do that. Which makes sense since telenet will not like us messing with the contents of that HD. Even more, as far as I heard so far, the digibox needs an unnatted connection to the network, so barring creative firewalling and port forwarding (and I have not yet seen an example of what the digibox needs, what would work) you cant really decently connect it to your lan.
    I did notice the digibox barely needs that network wire for its core functionality (viewing, recording, checking the program guide – though this seems to be more limited in days) and possibly more (since I dont use the movie renting / email functionality, I dont know how much those depend on the network wire.)

    I will be looking into this some day soon though, since I dont want an extra switch between my modem & my router when I have enough ports on my router anyways.

  3. villem says:

    Is there any possibility to switch the thing to english? Or reload the system software for english. I know that this would probably make Telenet mad at me, but i have no clue what these different dutch/french menu options do, so I use it just for channel browsing w/o all the magic the thing could do for me…
    Have anybody looked into the belly of the beast? For today STB has ran for a week or so without IP connectivity and no noticeable implications.

  4. Gert says:

    Hi, took me a while to find the time to reply, but at last.. Dont have too much interesting to tell though.

    I have not found anything about changing the language, but I havent looked either. I cant remember seeing it in the config menu, but Ill check it next time I put on the television ;) I dont think it d be an easy hack though, but Im really in the dark about it all.

    I have been running the box without the IP connectivity for a while now. This is what I have observed so far, I can confirm that everything works to a certain level.

    Watching TV works great.
    The TV guide works too, but it takes a while to get its info after turning the box on and the info is only loaded for one or two weeks instead of the multiple weeks when its connected to the net.
    I have not tried renting movies, but expect that not to work either
    Obviously the extras like email etc wont work, though I have not tested them.

    To this date, I have not found any reason to connect the network except that it is at times necessary to plan recordings ahead for more than this period. :)

  5. kris says:

    hello,
    I have no answer, but a question :-)
    can anyone tell me what the usb on the recorder is used for?
    i was hoping or thinking it could be used to view movie or pic’s on the TV, but i could not find or configure the port,
    Some say usb is unabled, other info refers to “program-port”
    who knows the answer??

    thanks
    kris

  6. Gert says:

    I hadnt noticed that usb port – I think.. I’ll check that tonight. Obviously havent tried connecting anything to it ;)

  7. kurt says:

    Hi,
    Does anybody know if there is a similar box that instead of broadcasting the dvb-c signal broadcasts ATSC, QAM or NTSC?
    I have an american tv and i would like telenet to work on it. When I told telenet that I would switch to TV vlaanderen they told me that I should give another box a try, that it could work.
    thx

  8. David Ball says:

    I have just bought a Medion HD TV ans connected it to the HDM1 connection in the back of the Digicorder but the Medion says there is no signal. Does HD on the Digicorder nedd to be “activated” somehow?

  9. tom says:

    Got another question: when I connect my Denon receiver to the telenet digicorder and then connect it with my TV (all DHMI) I only get sound, no video … any idea ?

  10. Patrick says:

    The thing got USB. When you plug a pen drive, it lights up so the USB port is life. I think it runs linux software and the interface we see is most likely JAVA. I would love to access the hard drive but so far no luck…

  11. Stef Kuypers says:

    Hi there,

    I want to connect the think to my V30 Bose LifeStyle system but for that I need to know where the IR receiver is located. Any idea?

    Cheers,
    Stef

  12. Gert says:

    Well, considering the use, its somewhere in the front panel; somewhere in the middle since the left is where the cards slide in and the right is where the buttons are. Should be easy to find out by blocking the light by covering a part of the front and using the remote to do something noticeable. The place where your hand (or other light blocking thingy you use) is when the remote stops working, is where the reciever is :)
    Im curious now, Ill see if I can figure it out later tonight..

  13. Gert says:

    After a short awkward moment in front of my Digicorder, I am quite puzzled.. The whole central part seems to accept the signal; I cant imagine that it d be hard to place an IR blaster. Apparently anywhere pointing at the front will do.. (though do provide further insight)

  14. Nico says:

    Stef Kuypers,

    Please send me your eMail address at nico.vrancken@gmail.com

    Want to talk to you about combination telenet HD digicorder and V30

    Txs,
    nico

  15. Raul says:

    Hello.
    Is there any way to get the movies I have saved on the digicorder hard drive and copy them to computer or external hard drive

  16. Gert says:

    Not as far as I know..

  17. r3v3r53 3ng1n33r says:

    hi,
    cant i just open the box, take the harddidk out. connect to sata to usb connector and copy the content to my computer. any1 tried ?
    thanks

  18. Gert says:

    No clue!
    Great idea, keep us posted :)

  19. INSIDER says:

    kurt says:
    September 28, 2009 at 9:51 pm
    Does anybody know if there is a similar box that instead of broadcasting the dvb-c signal broadcasts ATSC, QAM or NTSC

    (i hope this can still be to use for someone)

    the box accepts QAM: put it on 256
    (menu>instellingen>digibox/digicorder>systeem instellingen>zenders zoeken)

    depending on your region in belgium, you will need a certain combination of parameters for the signal to fully work

    find them on:
    http://postcodetool.telenet.be/
    - insert postal code on top left bar, wait for municipality to show and click it
    - it will now automatically load in the right data in the site
    - click the tab “technisch” for your parameters ;)
    - also note the “kanalenlijst” on the 4th tab for the basic telenet programming

    kris says:
    August 21, 2009 at 9:42 am
    hello,
    I have no answer, but a question
    can anyone tell me what the usb on the recorder is used for?

    the USB port on this STB is purely cosmetic and not even connected inside, since this box is a customized version for Telenet and not the actual device. Telenet does not use a USB connection for the STB.

    Raul says:
    July 20, 2010 at 8:18 pm
    Hello.
    Is there any way to get the movies I have saved on the digicorder hard drive and copy them to computer or external hard drive

    not to computer or external hard drive, but a dvd-recorder is the key ;)

    dutch:

    http://onlinesupport.telenet.be/content/kan-ik-een-opname-van-mijn-digicorder-overzetten-op-een-videorecorder-dvd-recorder?gasearch=1

    or english

    - scart between tv and dvdrecorder
    - scart between dvd-r and STB (on vcr port)
    - set tv to dvd-r ext.
    - set dvd-r to STB ext. (so you get STB signal through dvd-r on tv)
    - play your movie on STB
    - start record on dvd-r

    random info:
    box OS is OsmoSys
    ethernet is only to connect to modem for paid telenet services (ordering movies, interactivity etc)
    the box gets most of its information through the coaxial signal, like the clock when you turn it on standby and there is no option to manually set it

    specs: (it does note the usb port in these specs, but I dare you to open it and look at the connection :p)
    http://onlinesupport.telenet.be/content/wat-zijn-de-technische-specificaties-van-de-telenet-decoders-en-wat-hun-verbruik?gasearch=1

  20. Gert says:

    Great info, thanks!
    We all really appreciate it! (This page is still often viewed so I am sure many will be helped by your taking the time to answer these!)

  21. villem says:

    To insider:
    Looks like you have opening there :)
    On recording from Telenet box – any HDMI recording-capable device would do. If you have one. Any other recording is involving downgrade in quality, especially when the recording to be fetched is in HD. Composite is not capable of HD and is analog signal in nature anyway. So, if you manage to get a VGA card with DVI or HDMI INPUT, not OUTPUT as the latter has almost any recent VGA card, then you’re good to go, perhaps…

  22. CuriousUser says:

    I also have one of them Telenet boxes. Today I got my new router and plugged it in on the nat side. Turns out it fetches an IP so I nmap’d it. Results are quite interesting:
    - It runs services on port 8080, but that’s just a dead end web server pointing to UPnP devices
    - Other open ports are:

  23. CuriousUser says:

    I also have one of these Telenet digiboxes. Today I got my new router to plugged it in on the NAT side and it actaully fetched an IP address. So I nmap’d it. Here is what I found:

    The MAC address confirms it’s Advanced Digital Broadcast device.

    The following ports are open:
    PORT STATE SERVICE VERSION
    8000/tcp open http-alt?
    8080/tcp open http-proxy?
    161/udp open snmp SNMPv3 server
    1055/udp open|filtered ansyslmd
    1813/udp open|filtered radacct
    1885/udp open|filtered unknown
    1900/udp open|filtered upnp
    16948/udp open|filtered unknown
    17494/udp open|filtered unknown
    21405/udp open|filtered unknown
    23354/udp open|filtered unknown
    32777/udp open|filtered sometimes-rpc18
    41058/udp open|filtered unknown
    48078/udp open|filtered unknown
    49215/udp open|filtered unknown
    62575/udp open|filtered unknown

    The 8080 service is webpage pointing to en empty list of UPnP devices. I’ll do some more probing soon…

  24. Gert says:

    Great info, tnx!
    Do the related services work when you use them while the box is plugged into your NAT?

    And Ive been wondering, the data your digibox consumes doesnt count towards the data usage (far as I know) – Do they filter that depending on their streaming server addresses or is any traffic consumed by the digibox “free” ?

  25. Nocturnalcoder says:

    I haven’t tryed looking at it yet but solething i noticed is that it get’s a 10.x.x.x ip from telenet, making me think they hav this setup as in a private vlan in their network. This matches my experience of ot not working when you put the box behin a nat firewall/router

  26. Ernest says:

    Can telenet digicorder be use in africa (ghana)

  27. Gert says:

    I’d presume not but I have no idea.
    I do know that it recieves a specific ip on the telenet network and I assume that you’d have to be on the telenet network for that all to work
    Also; I have no clue if the african cable television is digital and if so if it would be compatible..

  28. Gert says:

    Curious about my network, I did an nmap scan today.

    I was extremely surprised to learn that the digibox has 2 open ports; 8080 and 8000 where the second offers nothing yet the first (:8080) serves a website that mentions UPnP devices.
    Very interesting. Does the box offer some UPnP interface? I dont think it actually offers anything, but rather can handle clients doing something with UPnP?

    Very weird and worht a closer look..

  29. Gert says:

    From the article: “Janssens merkt verder op dat de Digicoder draait op Linux-kernel 2.6.18 en dat de handleiding van Telenet desondanks geen GPL-notice bevat. ”
    http://tweakers.net/nieuws/81623/belgische-hacker-verkrijgt-root-toegang-op-telenet-settopbox.html

    lol!