Direct USB control of Digital Cable Box?

[Stratos]

Has anyone out there managed to control their digital cable box with the cable box's USB port?

I'm actually posting a bit prematurely, I have yet to even try the IR method, but I really don't want to do it with IR.

I assume SageTV, just like a Tivo, will *always* directly enter the channel, rather than sending a channel up/down command when using IR?

I find this unacceptably slow, and would much prefer the PC/SageTV to tell the digital box what to do through USB.

Any help is appreciated.

(if this has been discussed elsewhere, sorry. I did multiple searches.)

[snoop244]

I haven't found anything yet. I have a scientific atlanta box with USB. I can plug in a usb keyboard and send it channels. I found a java-based USB api on sourceforge, but it is way beyond my capabilities to program at this level. I'm not sure how many other stb vendors enable usb keyboards, but it would be nice if someone could develop a plugin to send keystrokes to the box from Sage, though it might not be as trivial as it sounds (I think USB communiction, even with an api, might be a tough task in general).

[stanger89]

What happens if you plug the STB into a computer? You could do this with Girder if there is a way to send commands to the box over USB.

[snoop244]

I did a bit of searching in the Girder forums. It looks like its not currently possible with Girder....

http://www.girder.nl/phpBB2/viewtopi...&highlight=usb