I have an HD DVR cable box that seems to be getting too hot. The heat seems to be degrading the video quality quite a bit after a few months of use. I've gone through a couple cable boxes already.
The cable box is in an enclosed entertainment unit. The back is completely open, but in front is a glass door. The shelf it is on is pushed back a little, so there should be some air circulating in there. Before I took the back off, it was very hot. It's cooler now, but I guess not cool enough. When I touch the top of the box with my hand, it is what I'd consider "warmer than it should be".
I tried mounting a cooling fan to the back of my entertainment unit that blew air over the top of the cable box. That worked great, but the fan was just way too loud.
I'd like to get some suggestions for truly silent fans that will help solve my problem. Or... are there any other solutions available (other than taking the cable box out of the entertainment unit)?
I use a computer case fan but run it at 6 volt. By plugging the black box of a 6v output converter into the AC out (switched outlet) of the cable box it comes on when the box is on. By running at 6 volt it is barely noticeable.