Jeff:
Sorry to go on and on about this and there certainly is more important things to worry about in the world today but since these cable boxes are supplied, in bulk, to the cable companies by outside manufacturers(in this case Scientific Atlanta), you can see the nonsense in the statement of a so-called "local software thing". By the way, if you haven't done so already, it might be worthwhile "googling" the various forums on the different models, in this case yours, to see what problems people have had and how they dealt with them.
If you have the capability and not have to spend any more money, perhaps a change of cable boxes would be in order. Give it try, you have nothing to lose. There is something wrong with a piece of equipment that won't lock in your settings especially when in other cases, such as my own, in that what you want to do has already been done.
