DVRs have revolutionized the way people watch TV, but if you’ve always wished your DVR were a little better at skipping commercials, this classic 30-second skip hack is a must.
For what it’s worth, we realize that these tricks aren’t new by any means. Still, we’ve never featured them here, and the aim of this post is to collect as many of them as possible. Right now, we’re aware of two hacks of this kind: one for the TiVo, the other for Comcast DVR.
First the TiVo trick, first pointed out to us by reader schulman:
While playing a recorded show, hit select-play-select-3-0-select. You’ll hear 3 chimes if you did it right. You’ll need to redo this whenever the Tivo reboots.
Reader robkonz81 writes in with how he enables the same 30-second commercial skipping on his 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 fav button—next to mute.)
Update: Commenter ThickSkinned points out this tip for DirecTV’s DVRs:
1. Make sure you have the (latest) upgrade
2. Go to Menu > Search for Shows > Keyword
3. Enter in “30SKIP” in the search area and hit “Continue”
4. That’s it. Now go to a recording, and hit play and try the old SLIP button out.
5. If you want to go back, do the same thing as above but put “30SLIP” instead.
If you’ve got your DVR service through a different cable or satellite company and you know of a similar trick, let’s hear it in the comments. Thanks robkonz81!
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