I can’t remember quite where I found it… probably somewhere on Digg, but this little trick worked perfectly. Basically, I’m a DVR junkie… I rarely watch television programs as they’re scheduled, and every time I watch the recorded program, I end up ultra-fast-forwarding through the commercials and missing the first few seconds of the program (as it comes back from commercial break).

Wouldn’t it be nice if I could fast-forward at 30-second increments? Enter the hackery for my Comcast DVR:

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 (for 30 second Skip).
6. Press whatever button you want to map the skip. (I use the “lock”— above the “Page Up” button, mostly because I have no idea what the “lock” button does.)

Here are some more hidden features of the Comcast DVR.

By the way, am I the only one who is completely enthralled by Billy’s new TV show, Pitchmen? (I’m not anticipating this level of enthrallment will last very long.)