External SATA for a DVR

[MouseRider]

Originally Posted by T-Town Oil

so in theory i should be able to hookup a harddrive to the usb port and transfer data? if so have you ever tried it?

You can only use the ports if the software in the box allows you to do it, or have a box hacked to allow it.

The standard D* HR20s will allow you to plug in a eSATA drive to it, but when you do, it stops using the drive internally and uses the external drive exclusively. At the current moment, the HR20 also works in a way that the external drive will only work with the box that you've connected it to, you cannot move the content from one HR20 to another.

There are some TiVo boxes that offer much more flexibility so your experience will vary depending on which box you have.

[Marcuslaw]

And the suspense has ended. The eSATA port is apparently not activated so . . . I'm going to contact Brighthouse and see if I can request a box with an active one.

[cawgijoe]

Originally Posted by MouseRider

You can only use the ports if the software in the box allows you to do it, or have a box hacked to allow it.

The standard D* HR20s will allow you to plug in a eSATA drive to it, but when you do, it stops using the drive internally and uses the external drive exclusively. At the current moment, the HR20 also works in a way that the external drive will only work with the box that you've connected it to, you cannot move the content from one HR20 to another.

There are some TiVo boxes that offer much more flexibility so your experience will vary depending on which box you have.

And that's ok if you just want to expand the storage of your internal drive.

Any recommendations on good eSATA external drives to use for this purpose?

[MouseRider]

Originally Posted by cawgijoe

And that's ok if you just want to expand the storage of your internal drive.

Any recommendations on good eSATA external drives to use for this purpose?

If you have the HR20, the drives that have been proven to work includes the Seagate FreeAgent and the Calvary.

Here's a link that you'll find plenty of useful info:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=66201