eSATA - Has been enabled, but....

[Michael D'Angelo]

Still no success. The plug seems to fit fine in both the drive and HR20.
The light on the Seagate does not come on each time? Not sure what the light indicates. I have not heard many complaints of the combination not working?

From what I understand of the connection problem is that it does connect and stay plugged in but the actual connection that needs to connected to transfer the information does not touch/connect very well. That is why some have had to trim the connection so it goes in a little more.

Hopefully someone that has had the problem can give you some more information on what to do.

[Villager]

I am having trouble getting my HR20 to recognize the Seagate External drive. I have a monoprice esata cable as well. The Seagate lights up when the power is on the HR20. I have tried numerous times and the HR20 remains connected to it's internal drive.
The process I have used is to turn the pull the plug on the HR20 with the drive not connected and then connect the drive and restart the HR20
I have also tried resetting the receiver,waiting for the first "Banner" and then unplugging and restarting with the drive connected.
I am using beta software just downloaded last night.
Any insights? I am beginning to think something is defective.Thanks

Search this forum for "Villager". Several posts will explain what needs t be done with the cable to get a good secure connection. It is a trivial modification which will take you a few minutes to accomplish, and the Seagate will work just fine.

[anubys]

I didn't think it was that difficult of a question. All I want to know is what the future plans are (if any) to enhance the external drive capability of the HR20. Maybe someone else knows and can help without the sarcasm.

Jay

as I understand it, this thread is being monitored by DirecTV to see how our experience so far is with the external drive and to get a handle on how to make it better...as Earl's first post in this thread indicates, DirecTV enabled this for "techies" and will look to add features and enhancements to this at a later date...

in other words, we're the beta testers and wish list makers!

[ddingle]

Search this forum for "Villager". Several posts will explain what needs t be done with the cable to get a good secure connection. It is a trivial modification which will take you a few minutes to accomplish, and the Seagate will work just fine.

Fixed!!! The new drive works
Thanks for the help.

[jayerndl]

in other words, we're the beta testers and wish list makers!Well if we're the "wish list makers" then I wish that Directv follow Dish's lead and provide similar external storage functionality. Of all the HD DVRs including cable and satellite, Dish seems to have the best, most well thought out external storage system. Hopefully Directv, Tivo and Cable will stay competitive. I am not an advocate of Dish, in fact I have been a Directv customer for over 7 years. I am spoiled by my hacked HR10-250, where I can archive whatever I want and am looking for the best alternative when I switch to something else.

Jay

[bllreed]

Ditto on sticky.

Tell 'em to turn the ethernet port on! Tee hee. !Devil_lol

The Ethernet port has been on for months. - Bill

[jerryray]

A menu reset should get rid of the rec light.


Menu reset?

Sorry to ask, how?

[Michael D'Angelo]

Menu reset?

Sorry to ask, how?

Press Menu-->Help & Settings-->Setup-->Reset-->Restart Recorder.

[Rich]

Fixed!!! The new drive works
Thanks for the help.

Thanx for letting us know the results.

[Rich]

From what I understand of the connection problem is that it does connect and stay plugged in but the actual connection that needs to connected to transfer the information does not touch/connect very well. That is why some have had to trim the connection so it goes in a little more.

Hopefully someone that has had the problem can give you some more information on what to do.

I've used about 12 eSATAs in the last few months, mostly Cavalrys and lately the Free Agent Pro. I have never had a problem with cables. The Free Agent Pro doesn't usually start up as soon as the power is connected. It seems to wait for the HR20 to boot up and then the light comes on.

[ddingle]

I've used about 12 eSATAs in the last few months, mostly Cavalrys and lately the Free Agent Pro. I have never had a problem with cables. The Free Agent Pro doesn't usually start up as soon as the power is connected. It seems to wait for the HR20 to boot up and then the light comes on.

This is a "Monoprice" cable. Not sure if it is any different than other esata cables,but I tried to initially to set up the Free Agent Pro about 6 or 7 times to no avail. As soon as I trimmed the plastic around the connector as recommended by "Villager" the HR20 connected to the drive and now I have tons more space to record!! Yay!

[Rich]

This is a "Monoprice" cable. Not sure if it is any different than other esata cables,but I tried to initially to set up the Free Agent Pro about 6 or 7 times to no avail. As soon as I trimmed the plastic around the connector as recommended by "Villager" the HR20 connected to the drive and now I have tons more space to record!! Yay!

Not sure what brand of eSATA cable I am using but I have had no problems with connections. I have read that SIIG (whatever that means) cables work properly with the Seagates. I think it is unconscionable of Seagate to not include an eSATA cable with the units. Aside from that issue the Seagates are far better than the more expensive Cavalrys.

[jeffshoaf]

SIIG (whatever that means)

SIIG is the brand name. I think it originated as a JAA (Just Another Acronym).

[Rich]

SIIG is the brand name. I think it originated as a JAA (Just Another Acronym).

The Founding Fathers should have made acronyms illegal.

[HDTVFanAtic]

Aside from that issue the Seagates are far better than the more expensive Cavalrys.

Except the eSATA connectors in the Free Agent are know to have problems with certain eSATA chips and controllers (including those in the SA8300HD for example). And one can figure out that they left the cable out to try and cut costs for competitive reasons.

[freshone]

Just wanted to run something by....

I finaly got around to hooking up my Thecus Raid array on Sunday. It has two 500G WD drives and it's Raid 0.

Thing is, I powered up the Theucus and was going to shut down the HR20 but figured, ah what the hell, I'm just gonna plug it in and see what happens. When I plugged in the Esata cable, the recording light came on immediately, and the Thecus started strobing. No reboot. I was kinda shocked but. It took the update, I reset my SL's and it's been good ever since. I am thinking I should RBR it just for grins but.

FYI, I do have the 2nd rev model as my other original one got fried by lightning.

Has anyone else tried this?

I'm kinda wondering with everyone having all these problems getting their drives to work. Or am I just lucky...(I'm usualy not, ie.. lightning)....

[oenophile]

I'm having a second HR20 installed. I am not going to hook this one up to an eSata drive. Simple question: When the installer comes, should I remove the eSata on my first HR20 (so that he doesn't get confused by it or yank it out)? Or should I just relax, tell him I have an eSata extension and let him plug in the new one and do his job?

(My fear here is that he sees the eSata, yanks out the esata cable accidentally or on purpose, turns it off, unplugs it, etc. etc.):rolleyes:

[Rich]

Except the eSATA connectors in the Free Agent are know to have problems with certain eSATA chips and controllers (including those in the SA8300HD for example). And one can figure out that they left the cable out to try and cut costs for competitive reasons.

Perhaps you could let us know what devices (brands and models) have a problem with Seagate's eSATA? I don't have any problems with what I have and I don't want to purchase anything that will screw up an eSATA.

How much could the cable cost? Probably pennies to Seagate. They really should have included the proper cable. I have read a lot of posts by people who had to trim cables to get them to work. You should never have to pick a razor sharp knife and trim a cable. To exclude the eSATA cable was just a really bad business decision.

I have to express my continued ignorance again. What is an SA8300HD? I get the last two letters, but I don't have a clue what that is.

[Rich]

I'm having a second HR20 installed. I am not going to hook this one up to an eSata drive. Simple question: When the installer comes, should I remove the eSata on my first HR20 (so that he doesn't get confused by it or yank it out)? Or should I just relax, tell him I have an eSata extension and let him plug in the new one and do his job?

(My fear here is that he sees the eSata, yanks out the esata cable accidentally or on purpose, turns it off, unplugs it, etc. etc.):rolleyes:

A. If you are comfortable setting up the new HR20, don't let him near it. He does not have to activate it, you can do that. And if you are comfy setting it up, you probably know more about it than he does.

B. Err on the side of caution, disconnect the eSATA and put it in another room. Never relax around any contractor. Don't assume that your installer knows what an eSATA is.

All you need is the two wires run from the dish to the area where your HR20 will be. The DVR leads you thru the setup in easy to understand steps. Check the transponder readings on your present HR20 before he comes and they should be about the same on the new DVR.

Good luck

[HDTVFanAtic]

Perhaps you could let us know what devices (brands and models) have a problem with Seagate's eSATA? I don't have any problems with what I have and I don't want to purchase anything that will screw up an eSATA.

How much could the cable cost? Probably pennies to Seagate. They really should have included the proper cable. I have read a lot of posts by people who had to trim cables to get them to work. You should never have to pick a razor sharp knife and trim a cable. To exclude the eSATA cable was just a really bad business decision.

I have to express my continued ignorance again. What is an SA8300HD? I get the last two letters, but I don't have a clue what that is.

SA (Scientific Atlanta) 8300HD DVR that probably 70%+ of cable companies use.

The only way to know which work and which don't is for someone to try it and report.

I understand what you are saying about pennies, but let's remember that the entire sector (hard drive) has seen such cost cutting that no one is making money (you can find Seagate 500GB drives for $99 pretty regularly now).

That's insane.

The entire sector has been downgraded by Wall Street and Investors because of this - its the reason Maxtor sold to Seagate and IBM sold to Hitachi - they wanted out.

So, while pennies don't sound like much, the margins are so razor thin now, pennies make a world of difference.

One other example....I live with Salt water right up to my property. Some of the Toroidals Satellite Dishes that I put in came in with typical zinc screws. Within 3 weeks they were showing signs of rust - and worse yet - they were metric.

So, I had to search the web and find metric stainless steel replacements for EVERYTHING that was zinc (and it was a lot). It took 2 different places to find everything from stainless metric carriage bolts etc. It cost me roughly about $60 per dish just to change out the NUTS AND BOLTS to Stainless Metric.

Now, if they had done that in the beginning, it probably would have cost them no more than several dollars (as buying a few odds and ends will always cost you more versus buying them in bulk).

I contacted the company about why they didnt do this because of the rust issue, and they agreed it would only cost them a few dollars - but said the market is so cut throat in Europe (where the market is much bigger) - that a few dollars would knock them out of consideration by most customers!

So yes, they all look for ways to shave every cent they can.

[dennya]

Gotta order a drive tomorrow. Anyone compared the sound levels on an Antec MX-1 vs. the Seagate FreeAgent Pro vs. the Western Digital MyBook?

The FreeAgent has all sorts of negative reviews on NewEgg. And I just had one die in my about-to-be-retired HR10-250, which makes me worry they bought too much of Maxtor....

[mocarob]

I bought a $179 Western Dig. 750gb sata internal with a $20 enclosure that came with an Esata cable. Worked just fine. Easy solution for $199

It's easy to put together.
Rob

[Steve Rhodes]

I'm having a second HR20 installed. I am not going to hook this one up to an eSata drive. Simple question: When the installer comes, should I remove the eSata on my first HR20 (so that he doesn't get confused by it or yank it out)? Or should I just relax, tell him I have an eSata extension and let him plug in the new one and do his job?

(My fear here is that he sees the eSata, yanks out the esata cable accidentally or on purpose, turns it off, unplugs it, etc. etc.):rolleyes:


What are your remote plans? One RF and one IR or both IR and why did you choose that option?

[coffelt]

Gotta order a drive tomorrow. Anyone compared the sound levels on an Antec MX-1 vs. the Seagate FreeAgent Pro vs. the Western Digital MyBook?

The FreeAgent has all sorts of negative reviews on NewEgg. And I just had one die in my about-to-be-retired HR10-250, which makes me worry they bought too much of Maxtor....

Just from personal experience I have been using a 750 GB FreeAgent Pro eSATA drive on my HR10 for about 3 months now and absolutely love it. It gets pretty warm, but I think that's by design. In my living room I've never heard it make a single noise. If I'm standing next to it and intentionally listening I can hear it, but it is, IMHO, quieter than the internal drive in the HR10 itself.

Performance wise, it has been 100% solid. No errors, no hiccups, just tons of free space available. Ready for the new fall shows at any time.

--Lee

[Robert Norman]

I would like to tell all the trouble I had today but first I have had a HR20-100s with an external Seagate FreeAgent Pro – 750GB, eSATA external drive connected to my old HR20-100 for many months. I installed it with a Tripp Lite eSATA 3ft external cable without any problems and it came up the first attempt.

I received a second HR20-100s on Monday and Thursday received an identical Seagate FreeAgent Pro – 750GB, eSATA drive and Tripp Lite eSATA cable. I plugged the cable and drive into the new HR20-100s and the HR20 would not recognize the equipment. Having read the many stories in this forum for months I decided the cable connection must not be making contact for power indicator did not come on the FreeAgent drive when power was connected to the HR20. So I reset the cable and the next time the FreeAgent drive lights came on. The HR20 still did not recognize the drive.

I next moved the Tripp Lite cable to the old HR20 and the old HR20 came up with the old FreeAgent drive without any problems.

I next moved the new FreeAgent drive to the old HR20 and it came up with the old HR20 like it should. I then moved the new cable and new hard drive to the old HR20 and it came up like it should. All cables and all drives working correctly.

Next step was to trim quite a bit from the new cable to allow it to go further into the new HR20 input SATA port to make the best possible contact. HR20 still did not see the drive. After several attempts and additional trimming I decided that something was wrong with the new HR20 SATA port. I had tried many attempts and spent some four hours taking down and bringing back up the new HR20. I may have trimmed too much off of the cable so I moved the new cable and new drive back to the old HR20 and it came up the first attempt. I was thinking that I should have ordered an additional cable for none are available in the Oklahoma City area.

I called DIRECTV customer support at 10:30 PM and the first four people I talked with did not know what an eSATA port was or that the HR20 allowed external hard drives. They told me that the HR20 did not support it or accidentally the telephone connection was lost. Next three attempts I quizzed them first about their knowledge about the SATA port on the HR20 or asked to be passed to a more technical area support. I finally got to a lady who when I told her the story and that I had come to the conclusion that I had a bad port on the HR20 that was installed on Monday she agreed to submit an order to have my HR20 replaced. She did not know anything about the eSATA port but agreed to a HR20-100s as the replacement for I have to have the cooling fan on the bottom of the unit for proper cooling in my set up. I also told her to not put me on hold for she had no way of calling me back if we lost the connection. She said that she would complete the note to my file if we lost connection so the next person could read that they had already agreed to replace the unit. After a 1:25 of time on the telephone I finally had the replacement order number and should have the replacement unit in five days.
I just did not know how lucky I was the first time I installed the external drive to my first HR20-100. I think a lot of the problems that people are having in installing external drives are not the cables but the HR20. I will let you know about how the installation of the next HR20 goes.

If I had not had the old HR20 working with the Seagate drive I would not have figured out that the problem was with the new HR20. I really feel for the people having problems installing their first external drive and it does not work. What do you do? The DIRECTV customer service is not helpful and will run you in circles.
Mike

[Coffey77]

I hope the new HR20 helps with your problem. A few things that worry me...
Next step was to trim quite a bit from the new cable to allow it to go further into the new HR20 input SATA port to make the best possible contact
That doesn't sound good, you may have scored the connector and caused some of the tabs to become linked together possibly causing your eSATA drive to fry.
She did not know anything about the eSATA port but agreed to a HR20-100s as the replacement for I have to have the cooling fan on the bottom of the unit for proper cooling in my set up
I would brace myself for this one. There have been many reports of people asking for the HR20-100 only and being dissapointed. CSR can put on the ticket that you want one but the chances of you getting one, especially if an installer is coming out, are slim. I hope you do get the one that you want, but in many cases an HR20-700 shows up on the doorstep.

There is still one test I did not see in your post - moving the old eSATA to the new HR20 but I can understand why not. Your HDD would get formatted and you'd lose all your information. You did a good job trying to narrow down the possiblities and that's quite a bit more than most people will do. :)

[Robert Norman]

There is still one test I did not see in your post - moving the old eSATA to the new HR20 but I can understand why not. Your HDD would get formatted and you'd lose all your information. You did a good job trying to narrow down the possiblities and that's quite a bit more than most people will do. :)

I did not take a chance of moving the old drive to the new HR20 for I had it completely full of material that I have not had a chance to watch this Summer. I thought about it but when the new drive and cable worked on the old HR20 I decided then that the new HR20 SATA port was bad.

As far as trimming to much cable I was worried about it and that is why I re-hook the new cable and new SATA drive up the second time to the old HR20 to retest that all was still working. I am ordering two additional Tripp Lite eSATA 3ft signal cables from Buy.com for at $5.57 per cable plus shipping it is real cheap insurance.

Another area I need to find the answer about all the lights on the Seagate FreeAngent drive. I read in this form that you can turn off the lights by hooking to a PC and running the software that came on the drive. I did that and I turned off the lights on both Seagate drives. However, when I plugged them into the HR20 and they came up the lights turned back on. Does anyone have a solution better then my solution of using black electrical tape to cover the lights. Since the drives are in my Master Bedroom I do not need that much of a night light.
Mike

[Rich]

I would like to tell all the trouble I had today but first I have had a HR20-100s with an external Seagate FreeAgent Pro – 750GB, eSATA external drive connected to my old HR20-100 for many months. I installed it with a Tripp Lite eSATA 3ft external cable without any problems and it came up the first attempt.

I received a second HR20-100s on Monday and Thursday received an identical Seagate FreeAgent Pro – 750GB, eSATA drive and Tripp Lite eSATA cable. I plugged the cable and drive into the new HR20-100s and the HR20 would not recognize the equipment. Having read the many stories in this forum for months I decided the cable connection must not be making contact for power indicator did not come on the FreeAgent drive when power was connected to the HR20. So I reset the cable and the next time the FreeAgent drive lights came on. The HR20 still did not recognize the drive.

I next moved the Tripp Lite cable to the old HR20 and the old HR20 came up with the old FreeAgent drive without any problems.

I next moved the new FreeAgent drive to the old HR20 and it came up with the old HR20 like it should. I then moved the new cable and new hard drive to the old HR20 and it came up like it should. All cables and all drives working correctly.

Next step was to trim quite a bit from the new cable to allow it to go further into the new HR20 input SATA port to make the best possible contact. HR20 still did not see the drive. After several attempts and additional trimming I decided that something was wrong with the new HR20 SATA port. I had tried many attempts and spent some four hours taking down and bringing back up the new HR20. I may have trimmed too much off of the cable so I moved the new cable and new drive back to the old HR20 and it came up the first attempt. I was thinking that I should have ordered an additional cable for none are available in the Oklahoma City area.

I called DIRECTV customer support at 10:30 PM and the first four people I talked with did not know what an eSATA port was or that the HR20 allowed external hard drives. They told me that the HR20 did not support it or accidentally the telephone connection was lost. Next three attempts I quizzed them first about their knowledge about the SATA port on the HR20 or asked to be passed to a more technical area support. I finally got to a lady who when I told her the story and that I had come to the conclusion that I had a bad port on the HR20 that was installed on Monday she agreed to submit an order to have my HR20 replaced. She did not know anything about the eSATA port but agreed to a HR20-100s as the replacement for I have to have the cooling fan on the bottom of the unit for proper cooling in my set up. I also told her to not put me on hold for she had no way of calling me back if we lost the connection. She said that she would complete the note to my file if we lost connection so the next person could read that they had already agreed to replace the unit. After a 1:25 of time on the telephone I finally had the replacement order number and should have the replacement unit in five days.
I just did not know how lucky I was the first time I installed the external drive to my first HR20-100. I think a lot of the problems that people are having in installing external drives are not the cables but the HR20. I will let you know about how the installation of the next HR20 goes.

If I had not had the old HR20 working with the Seagate drive I would not have figured out that the problem was with the new HR20. I really feel for the people having problems installing their first external drive and it does not work. What do you do? The DIRECTV customer service is not helpful and will run you in circles.
Mike

Once you pick up the phone and enter D*Hell you must expect to be on for at least an hour and get hung up on several times. SOP when the CSR realizes you know more than he does. I still haven't hooked up an eSATA to my 100. My son uses it in his room for his Panny 50" plasma and really watches mostly SD shows. I did hook up the first 100 I got to an eSATA and both went south. Scared me enough not to try that again. My advice: use the HR20, be it a 100 or a 700, for a couple weeks to be sure that the HR20 functions correctly, then hook up the eSATA. Nothing out of the ordinary with what you went thru, unfortunately.

[Rich]

I did not take a chance of moving the old drive to the new HR20 for I had it completely full of material that I have not had a chance to watch this Summer. I thought about it but when the new drive and cable worked on the old HR20 I decided then that the new HR20 SATA port was bad.

As far as trimming to much cable I was worried about it and that is why I re-hook the new cable and new SATA drive up the second time to the old HR20 to retest that all was still working. I am ordering two additional Tripp Lite eSATA 3ft signal cables from Buy.com for at $5.57 per cable plus shipping it is real cheap insurance.

Another area I need to find the answer about all the lights on the Seagate FreeAngent drive. I read in this form that you can turn off the lights by hooking to a PC and running the software that came on the drive. I did that and I turned off the lights on both Seagate drives. However, when I plugged them into the HR20 and they came up the lights turned back on. Does anyone have a solution better then my solution of using black electrical tape to cover the lights. Since the drives are in my Master Bedroom I do not need that much of a night light.
Mike

Black electrician's tape #88 will solve your problem.

[Rich]

I hope the new HR20 helps with your problem. A few things that worry me...

That doesn't sound good, you may have scored the connector and caused some of the tabs to become linked together possibly causing your eSATA drive to fry.

I would brace myself for this one. There have been many reports of people asking for the HR20-100 only and being dissapointed. CSR can put on the ticket that you want one but the chances of you getting one, especially if an installer is coming out, are slim. I hope you do get the one that you want, but in many cases an HR20-700 shows up on the doorstep.

There is still one test I did not see in your post - moving the old eSATA to the new HR20 but I can understand why not. Your HDD would get formatted and you'd lose all your information. You did a good job trying to narrow down the possiblities and that's quite a bit more than most people will do. :)

He did do a nice job of trouble shooting, didn't he? Given my druthers, I'd druther have a 700, but all they send me now are 100s.

[msimanyi]

I too bought a Hitachi 1TB. I bought the AMS DS-2316SUESBK enclosure to put it in. When they arrived, I discovered the AMS will only support up tp 750GB. I'm sending it back.
I'm ready to buy a replacement enclosure but want to be sure it will work with a 1 TB drive.

What is your enclosure?

Sorry I didn't see this when you first wrote it. I have the same enclosure and it works perfectly. As other responses pointed out, the enclosure is simply the power supply, a case, and possibly a fan. The 750GB label was just due to the then-current limits of sata drive capacities.

Mike

[toddrohner]

Has anyone tried this drive? I did a search of this thread and did get any hits.

Manufacturers site:
http://www.newertech.com/products/ministackv3.php

Available for purchase at:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/ministackv3

Note that only the v3 is applicable as the v2 does not have an esata port.

[dennya]

Okay, got the HR20 today, hooked up the Free Agent.

All seems well, but with the HR20's abysmal user interface, I can't figure out how to determine available storage to confirm it's using the external drive.

How do you show the percentage free? I'm pretty sure it'll do that...

And is there any way to see the total storage, or another way to verify it's using the external drive?

Thanks... It may be in this thread, but couldn't find it in a search, and with 58 pages....

[dennya]

He did do a nice job of trouble shooting, didn't he? Given my druthers, I'd druther have a 700, but all they send me now are 100s.
Why would you druther have a 700? The installer brought me a 700 today; I was surprised it wasn't a 100. Doesn't sound like Ironwood in WA has gotten 100s yet.

[Cyrus]

There is still one test I did not see in your post - moving the old eSATA to the new HR20 but I can understand why not. Your HDD would get formatted and you'd lose all your information.

Moving eSATA to a different HR20 doesn't reformat, data is not lost. You can see all the recordings but can't play them back (some kind of authorization error).

[dennya]

And is there any way to see the total storage, or another way to verify it's using the external drive?
Fooled around with it some more and so far I can't find any way to determine whether it's actually using the drive short of removing the drive to see if all the recordings disappear. Which I'd rather not do due to the potential for breaking something that's currently working.

Assuming that it is working. :) Which I can't tell....

[satfan]

Earl, I have 2 simple questions (possibly 4),

1. Are there plans to use the ethernet port to bring up the guide remotely for remote programming over the net? If so, when will we see this (months, years)?

2. Are there plans to use the ethernet port to move recorded shows from one HR20 to another? If so, when wil we see this (months, years)?

Sincerely,
Satfan

[Rich]

Why would you druther have a 700? The installer brought me a 700 today; I was surprised it wasn't a 100. Doesn't sound like Ironwood in WA has gotten 100s yet.

Had some bad luck with the first three 100s. Big enough problems to convince me they were hardware problems I had never seen with the 700s. The last 100 I got is working correctly, but I am afraid to hook up an eSATA to it until I see more people using 100s with eSATAs.

Other than that, I was really impressed with the pictures shown on this formum of the inside of the 700 and not too impressed with the pictures of the 100 (looked like a TiVo). Just a personal preference.

[Rich]

Fooled around with it some more and so far I can't find any way to determine whether it's actually using the drive short of removing the drive to see if all the recordings disappear. Which I'd rather not do due to the potential for breaking something that's currently working.

Assuming that it is working. :) Which I can't tell....

Unplug the eSATA and reboot the HR20. Record a program, a few minutes will do. Look at the list and make sure the program you just recorded is there and then unplug the HR20, replace the eSATA jumper and reboot the HR20. If the program you recorded for this test is not shown, you are on the eSATA.

The list has a place on the bottom that shows you a percentage of the HD used and how much is left. While it does not show "hours remaining", you will get used to using it.

[ezrider55]

My brother and I both got Sans Digital MS2UT enclosures. I installed 2 500 GB Maxstor's and he installed 2 750 GB Seagate drives.
His came up and worked with no problems.
I was not so lucky. I got a "MODE NOT SUPPORTED" message. D*TV support helped me determine that the install was hanging at step 1 because of a HDMI incompatibility. When I changed to component input from the HR-20 700 to TV all went well. With slightly over 2 Hours of HD recorded the LIST showed a drop from 100% to 99% available. That means approx. 200 hours of HD recording with my 1 TB raid zero set up. No problems with the no name eSATA cable that came with enclosure.:) The HR-20, enclosure, and Samsung 6187 Light Effect blue lights are the same;)
The way we both did the eSATA install was to have power unpluged from the HR-20, bring up the e SATA to run mode and then install the power to the HR-20. My HR-20 powered up by its self after power was connected.

[Robert Norman]

I would like to tell all the trouble I had today but first I have had a HR20-100s with an external Seagate FreeAgent Pro – 750GB, eSATA external drive connected to my old HR20-100 for many months. I installed it with a Tripp Lite eSATA 3ft external cable without any problems and it came up the first attempt.

I received a second HR20-100s on Monday and Thursday received an identical Seagate FreeAgent Pro – 750GB, eSATA drive and Tripp Lite eSATA cable. I plugged the cable and drive into the new HR20-100s and the HR20 would not recognize the equipment. Having read the many stories in this forum for months I decided the cable connection must not be making contact for power indicator did not come on the FreeAgent drive when power was connected to the HR20. So I reset the cable and the next time the FreeAgent drive lights came on. The HR20 still did not recognize the drive.

I next moved the Tripp Lite cable to the old HR20 and the old HR20 came up with the old FreeAgent drive without any problems.

I next moved the new FreeAgent drive to the old HR20 and it came up with the old HR20 like it should. I then moved the new cable and new hard drive to the old HR20 and it came up like it should. All cables and all drives working correctly.

Next step was to trim quite a bit from the new cable to allow it to go further into the new HR20 input SATA port to make the best possible contact. HR20 still did not see the drive. After several attempts and additional trimming I decided that something was wrong with the new HR20 SATA port. I had tried many attempts and spent some four hours taking down and bringing back up the new HR20. I may have trimmed too much off of the cable so I moved the new cable and new drive back to the old HR20 and it came up the first attempt. I was thinking that I should have ordered an additional cable for none are available in the Oklahoma City area.

I called DIRECTV customer support at 10:30 PM and the first four people I talked with did not know what an eSATA port was or that the HR20 allowed external hard drives. They told me that the HR20 did not support it or accidentally the telephone connection was lost. Next three attempts I quizzed them first about their knowledge about the SATA port on the HR20 or asked to be passed to a more technical area support. I finally got to a lady who when I told her the story and that I had come to the conclusion that I had a bad port on the HR20 that was installed on Monday she agreed to submit an order to have my HR20 replaced. She did not know anything about the eSATA port but agreed to a HR20-100s as the replacement for I have to have the cooling fan on the bottom of the unit for proper cooling in my set up. I also told her to not put me on hold for she had no way of calling me back if we lost the connection. She said that she would complete the note to my file if we lost connection so the next person could read that they had already agreed to replace the unit. After a 1:25 of time on the telephone I finally had the replacement order number and should have the replacement unit in five days.
I just did not know how lucky I was the first time I installed the external drive to my first HR20-100. I think a lot of the problems that people are having in installing external drives are not the cables but the HR20. I will let you know about how the installation of the next HR20 goes.

If I had not had the old HR20 working with the Seagate drive I would not have figured out that the problem was with the new HR20. I really feel for the people having problems installing their first external drive and it does not work. What do you do? The DIRECTV customer service is not helpful and will run you in circles.
Mike

I received the replacement HR20-700 for the HR20-100 Monday August 27. I had asked for another HR20-100 but did not get it. After hooking up and activating the HR20-700 I recorded a few minutes of programming on the internal disk drive. After playing the recording I pulled power and hooked up the external Seagate Free Agent 750 Gig drive and brought the HR20-700 back up. The previous recording was gone which told me the HR20-700 saw and was using the external drive. Great!! I did a list and it told me that Jay Leno was recorded on August 23. I had recorded a little of Jay Leno when I had moved the external drive to my old HR20-100 to see if the drive was working. I selected the Jay Leno recording and to my surprise the new HR20-700 played the recording. This eSATA form states over and over that you cannot move external eSATA drives between HR20’s and play on one what was recorded on a different HR20.
WHAT GIVES? Any thoughts as to why I can play the recording that I made on August 23? Software in the HR20-700 upgraded to 0X168 when I bought it up the first time.

However the new HR20-700 has major pixilation’s and picture freeze up when tuning to any of my local high definition stations broadcast by DIRECTV. The HR20-700 picks up all other available channels including my local NTSC satellite provided channels and my over the air antenna high definition channels. I contacted DIRECTV technical support and after many reboots did not worked technical support schedule a technician to come out on August 30 morning to take a look at it. I kept the “B” converter from the HR20-100 and do not see how it could be the problem. They worked fine on the HR20-100 and setting next to the HR20-700 is my old HR20-100 and the channels work on that receiver. Signal level is in the 90's on all satellites. ANY THOUGHTS AS TO WHAT IS WRONG? My guess is the technician will order another HR20 and who knows what problems it will come with. I am going to wait until after the technician leaves Thursday before sending back the HR20-100. I temporary programmed out the high definition local channels coming from DIRECTV and am using my over the air antenna for those channels. I may make the decision to keep the HR20-700 for getting the local high definition channels from satellite is not that important. Not nearly as important as being able to attach the eSATA external drive.
Mike

[fochs13]

Best Buy has a 750 gb western digital external drive on sale for $179. I believe the sku is 8360793. Does anyone have any experience with this drive? I'm really tempted to pull the trigger on this one. The price seems too good to pass up.

[PlanetBill]

Best Buy has a 750 gb western digital external drive on sale for $179. I believe the sku is 8360793. Does anyone have any experience with this drive? I'm really tempted to pull the trigger on this one. The price seems too good to pass up.

This is a USB drive, it won't work. Needs to be eSata

[elas123]

fochs13- that has no esata port.

[Chuck W]

My local Costco had a load of of the 750gb Seagate Free Agent Pro's(the usually expensive ones that include not only USB and ESATA, but also Firewire connections) for $224.99.

[Robert Norman]

The HR20-700 I received as a replacement died this morning. Sometimes after pulling the power for a few minutes it will come all the way up and then die when you try to change channels. The only thing wrong with the HR20-100 was the eSATA interface but DIRECTV will not let me keep it and will not replace the HR20-700 until the technician schedule for Thursday checks out the HR20-700. They will not even sell me the HR20-100 for they say it has to be return. I could use the HR20-100 in another room that does not need the eSATA interface.
Bummer!
Mike

[Mortifer]

Can someone tell me if the eSATA is officially supported? Although I would like to, I dont have time to read through all 60+ pages of this thread.

Thanks!

[P Smith]

Can someone tell me if the eSATA is officially supported? Although I would like to, I dont have time to read through all 60+ pages of this thread.

Thanks!
Well, then better spend a few minutes at Directv official site for OFFICIAL new.

[Mortifer]

Well, then better spend a few minutes at Directv official site for OFFICIAL new.

I did, couldn't find anything.

[Robert Norman]

I did, couldn't find anything.

I have found it is difficult to find any customer service representative that knows anything about the eSATA external port. I have talked with at least a dozen representives that had no ideal that the HR20 had an eSATA port. Software has been turned on for a long time so I think that is a very good indication that the eSATA port is supported. DIRECTV will swap out their lease boxes if the eSATA port does not work so I think that is another indication that eSATA is supported.
Mike

[P Smith]

I did, couldn't find anything.

So, you can safely conclude from this - no official word eq no officially support.

[Mortifer]

So, you can safely conclude from this.

That you are being rude and condescending.

[Mortifer]

I have found it is difficult to find any customer service representative that knows anything about the eSATA external port. I have talked with at least a dozen representives that had no ideal that the HR20 had an eSATA port. Software has been turned on for a long time so I think that is a very good indication that the eSATA port is supported. DIRECTV will swap out their lease boxes if the eSATA port does not work so I think that is another indication that eSATA is supported.
Mike

Thank you. I guess that is about a concrete answer as one can find for now. I appreciate your help!

[iotp]

Thank you. I guess that is about a concrete answer as one can find for now. I appreciate your help!

I'd be interested in knowing the answer to this..

The HR20 comes stock with a 300GB/320GB drive? That's how many hours?

If you add a 500GB drive how many hours? What about a 750GB drive?

[jerryray]

Moving eSATA to a different HR20 doesn't reformat, data is not lost. You can see all the recordings but can't play them back (some kind of authorization error).

Do you loose the season passes when you switch to another HR20?
Can you still delete the mocies that are not authorized?

[Cyrus]

Do you loose the season passes when you switch to another HR20?
Can you still delete the mocies that are not authorized?

It was a while ago and I didn't try those, but I can make educated guesses about them. You should be able delete the recordings, it just won't let you play them back. There is no reason to prevent deletion any of recording since you can do the reformat and delete them all. As to the season pass it should still be there and work as there is no reason tie that to a specific HR20.

If I get a chance I will test this out.

[awalt]

As to the season pass it should still be there and work as there is no reason tie that to a specific HR20. If I get a chance I will test this out.

I just added an eSata external drive and I am still authorized for MLB (and I have watched games) and it says NFL Sunday Ticket is still authorized.

[Robert Norman]

I'd be interested in knowing the answer to this..

The HR20 comes stock with a 300GB/320GB drive? That's how many hours?

If you add a 500GB drive how many hours? What about a 750GB drive?

https://secure.connect.pbs.org/conferences/technology/2005/Presentations/Next.Gen.Video.Stat.Muxing.pdf

http://www.hdtvexpert.com/pages/itshdtvpf.htm


Here is two links that reflect that it can be a little difficult to determine how much space it takes to store high definition files. I have read on several forms that the HR20 uses around 90 gigabytes for its internal buffers and when you buy 750 gigabytes drive you really do not get that much space. You are lucky to get around 700 to 720 gigabytes when it is formatted. I have also read on the forms that DIRECTV for MPEG2 broadcast were cutting back to as low as 6.2 gigabytes per hour to broadcast current high definition.

Counting hours of storage I have on my 750 gigabyte drive I count around 100 hours most of the time. I have DIRECTV high definition and local over the air broadcast high definition there so I cannot determine how much space my local stations are broadcasting requires per hour for each station can be different (see first website above). Using the figure of 6.2 gigabytes per hour and taking away the space required for internal HR20 use and the fact that you only get around 700 gigabytes when the disk is formatted the space comes out to be around 100 hours of high definition on the 610 available gigabytes. I have counted several times over a period of months the amount that I get on my 750 gigabyte drive and it is usually around 100 hours of high definition programming give or take a few hours.
I know this is not the answer you are looking for and until I can receive DIRECTV programming using MPEG4 when the new satellite is activated I will not know about how much storage I will be able to get on my 750 gigabyte drive. From my reading MPEG4 requires less space then MPEG2 so you should get a many more hours of storage.

My TIVO HR10-250 tells on the information screen that recording capacity is variable, up to 30HD or 200 SD hours of storage on its 250 gigabyte of storage. I know this is like comparing apples and oranges but if I can get 100 hours of HD on the HR20 then I should be able to get (200 is to 250 as X is to 610) nearly 488 hours of standard broadcasting on the 750 gigabyte drive.

Take this for nothing for I am not going to do the searches necessary to prove any of this and the only thing that I know about my system is how many hours of space I get on my HR20-100 with the 750 gigabyte drive and how much storage I get on my DIRECTV HR10-250 with the 250 gigabyte drive.
Mike

[jeffshoaf]

It was a while ago and I didn't try those, but I can make educated guesses about them. You should be able delete the recordings, it just won't let you play them back. There is no reason to prevent deletion any of recording since you can do the reformat and delete them all. As to the season pass it should still be there and work as there is no reason tie that to a specific HR20.

If I get a chance I will test this out.

Having relatively recently replaced my HR20 and moved my eSATA drive from the old one to the new one, I can postively state that your educated guesses are correct.

[dennya]

So this morning my HR20 rebooted after my son watched a cartoon, and when it came back it was on the internal drive. Shut it down, checked all the cables, replugged the power, and it's back on the external drive again.

Anyone seen this behavior? This is on a new HR20...

[Cyrus]

Having relatively recently replaced my HR20 and moved my eSATA drive from the old one to the new one, I can postively state that your educated guesses are correct.

Thanks. You saved me the hassle of moving the eSATA around.

[Cyrus]

So this morning my HR20 rebooted after my son watched a cartoon, and when it came back it was on the internal drive. Shut it down, checked all the cables, replugged the power, and it's back on the external drive again.

Anyone seen this behavior? This is on a new HR20...


There was something similar reported earlier in this thread (link (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=1041691#post1041691)). It maybe a cable problem. If it's loose and hr20 loses connection to eSATA then it's possible that it will reboot after a while since it can't detect the hard disk.

[mocarob]

I just added an eSata external drive and I am still authorized for MLB (and I have watched games) and it says NFL Sunday Ticket is still authorized.

Where do you check if you're authorized for Sunday Ticket?

[Rich]

So this morning my HR20 rebooted after my son watched a cartoon, and when it came back it was on the internal drive. Shut it down, checked all the cables, replugged the power, and it's back on the external drive again.

Anyone seen this behavior? This is on a new HR20...

That shouldn't have happened. If the HR20 reboots it should read the eSATA and default to that. Been thru several unauthorized reboots and the eSATA was enabled each time. This is logical, but when you enter D*Hell... At least you had the good sense not to call D*.

[Rich]

There was something similar reported earlier in this thread (link (http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?p=1041691#post1041691)). It maybe a cable problem. If it's loose and hr20 loses connection to eSATA then it's possible that it will reboot after a while since it can't detect the hard disk.

True, but if everything is connected correctly the eSATA should be enabled after the reboot. But, D*Hell...

[rcoleman111]

So this morning my HR20 rebooted after my son watched a cartoon, and when it came back it was on the internal drive. Shut it down, checked all the cables, replugged the power, and it's back on the external drive again.

Anyone seen this behavior? This is on a new HR20...

If the power goes out, be sure to power on the storage system first and wait a few seconds before you power up the HR20. Put them both on a UPS to minimize the chances of something like this happening.

[dennya]

Wasn't a power outage... I was sitting in the room with the TV, my son had just finished watching a recording, and it rebooted.

This morning I had an even weirder thing -- shows were still in the list, but they wouldn't play. (It would immediately act like it was at the end of the show.) Rebooting took me back to the internal drive.

I replaced the cable today, and I'm watching it for further weirdness. Always a chance the drive is flaky too, as that's new. (Seagate external.)

[Cyrus]

True, but if everything is connected correctly the eSATA should be enabled after the reboot. But, D*Hell...

If after a reboot it goes to internal drive it means hr20 is not seeing the eSATA, all it is detecting is the internal. So that' why I suggested that maybe the cable is flaky, which could explain both the reboot and the selection of internal drive after the reboot.

[ezrider55]

mocarob -- just select to get NFL Ticket. It will come up and tell you that you already have this option.

[Rich]

If after a reboot it goes to internal drive it means hr20 is not seeing the eSATA, all it is detecting is the internal. So that' why I suggested that maybe the cable is flaky, which could explain both the reboot and the selection of internal drive after the reboot.

Yup.

[azpokerkid]

Question:

I just got a Seagate 750gb External with eSata and I tried using a eSata cable I purchased from Monoprice.com and had no luck with it booting off the external drive. Any place that sells a cable that plugs into the HR20 correctly?

BTW, Circuit City has the 750gb Seagate External eSata dive for $199 and there is a 10% off coupon that was emailed last night making it $179.99 for the drive!!!

Brian

[Robert Norman]

Question:

I just got a Seagate 750gb External with eSata and I tried using a eSata cable I purchased from Monoprice.com and had no luck with it booting off the external drive. Any place that sells a cable that plugs into the HR20 correctly?

BTW, Circuit City has the 750gb Seagate External eSata dive for $199 and there is a 10% off coupon that was emailed last night making it $179.99 for the drive!!!

Brian

Buy.com carries this cable:
203001124 Tripp Lite eSATA (SATA-II) Signal Cable - 3ft - 1 x eSATA, 1 x eSATA - eSATA Cable 1 $5.57

I have two HR20-100s hooked to external:
204110108 Seagate FreeAgent Pro - 750GB, USB 2.0, eSATA, 7200 RPM, FireWire External Hard Drive 1 $232.45

I using two of the Tripp Lite cables connected to the Seagate eSATA drive connected to two HR20-100s. The cables works great.
Mike

[vertigo235]

Question:

I just got a Seagate 750gb External with eSata and I tried using a eSata cable I purchased from Monoprice.com and had no luck with it booting off the external drive. Any place that sells a cable that plugs into the HR20 correctly?

BTW, Circuit City has the 750gb Seagate External eSata dive for $199 and there is a 10% off coupon that was emailed last night making it $179.99 for the drive!!!

Brian

How do I get the 10% off coupon?

[vertigo235]

Looks like that coupon exlcudes hard drives :( I guess you just got lucky?

* Offer good for 10% off a purchase of $199 or more. Offer good for total qualifying purchase on a single sales receipt dated between 9/2/2007 and 9/3/2007. Not valid on previous purchases. Offer excludes all advertised specials, computers, laptops, hard drives, select MP3 players, projectors, gaming consoles, select digital cameras, select Sony camcorders, Velodyne products, Bose products, select Polk products, Apple products, Nikon digital cameras, and Circuit City Gift Card purchases. Delivery fees, shipping charges and sales tax not included in total purchase calculation. Valid online only. Not valid at Circuit City stores. Not combinable with select Circuit City offers. Not redeemable for cash. Void where prohibited or restricted. Circuit City reserves the right to terminate this offer at any time without prior notice.

[Mortifer]

Question:

I just got a Seagate 750gb External with eSata and I tried using a eSata cable I purchased from Monoprice.com and had no luck with it booting off the external drive. Any place that sells a cable that plugs into the HR20 correctly?

BTW, Circuit City has the 750gb Seagate External eSata dive for $199 and there is a 10% off coupon that was emailed last night making it $179.99 for the drive!!!

Brian


I was about to email about the drive being $199. I just picked one up. Good deal!

[domenic]

I found a Circuit City 10% off coupon on a site last night for free (someone bought three codes on ebay but didn’t need more than one so he posted the unused ones) and got the 750GB Free Agent for $179.99 with in-store local pickup (also no local sales tax in Delaware).

I also ordered an esata cable from buy.com instead of the one from monoprice since the buy.com cable does not require modification to fit into the back of the FreeAgent according to a couple of posts in this thread. I can't post any links because I am under five posts but just go to buy.com and search for P950-36I. The cable is only 5.99 but no local stores in my area even stock any esata cables. If so they probably would be around $30 since the big B&M guys make you pay for convenience.

What a sweet external drive! This thing feels solid, looks nice, has eSATA and seems like a steal for $179.99. Not to mention the expansion to the HR20...

DOM

[Herdfan]

Can someone recommend me a cable?

I have seen a few posts about the Tripp Lite from Buy.com, but I need a 6' cable. I also some a recommendation for the SIIG, but there are several version of SIIG cables and I want to make sure I get the right one the first time. Plus I don't want to have to modify it. I got the deal on the Seagate Freeagent from CC.

Thanks.

[vertigo235]

I went ahead and got the cable from amazon, it was $13, but I get 2 day shipping because I have amazon prime. Buy.com was 12.46 or something after shipping.

It's the same cable.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IAJZ76/ref=s9_asin_title_1-1966_p/103-7436429-4453459?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0GXXFVB96EEBTK83DSV8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=288448501&pf_rd_i=507846

They do have this 6 foot one too, but it's a different brand.
http://www.amazon.com/6FT-Shielded-External-Esata-Cable/dp/B000ENYXZ6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-7436429-4453459?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188856270&sr=1-1

[rblancojr]

:eek2: Can someone shed some light on what is the current "setup" favored here for adding storage to a H20? Over months I have read on and off different solutions, and the quickest/accepted looks like the FreeAgent Pro. However, that will only add 750GB, and I was really looking for more. For the $$$, it looks like its better to add an external cage and put smaller drives in a RAID setup. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I would like comments on a solution that allows me to add two 500GB drives and the ability to replace those drives in the future. The Thecus looked like the way to go for a while, but there seems to be issues with those units, and not just from reviews/comments from this forum. i am looking for something reliable.

So, what are other external RAID0 bays have folks have tried out and can recommend?

[heathramos]

if you are not planning on swapping between using the internal hard drive and an external one, I wonder if it would be easier just to replace the internal hard drive with a 1 TB hard drive and be done with it.

What does a 1 TB hard drive cost anyways? $400? $450?

Seems like buying two 500gb hard drives, an external enclosure and a cable would cost less than that but not that much less.

[dminches]

So, what are other external RAID0 bays have folks have tried out and can recommend?

The other 2 I have heard relatively good reviews on are the Infrant (now owned by Netgear) ReadyNAS NV+ and the Buffalo Technology TeraStation. I plan on buying one of these 2 products, but not to be used as an eSata. I plan on setting them up a drive for my Slim Devices Squeezebox to stream music.

[ddruker]

Had 3 HR-20's installed today. Also purchased 3 Seagate 750GB Freeagent drives today at Circuit City discount price - $199. (Price matched at Fry's) Bought 3 one meter eSata cables at Fry's - brand was Link Depot, and these were the only eSata to eSata cables they had.

Quickly found the trimming trick here after only one of the three drives worked out of the box. Got all three to work after trimming the cables, but all of the eSata connectors are extremely wiggly from side to side in the connector on the HR-20. Like 30 degrees of movement, which is a really bad thing. Ordered new cables from buy.com as recommended in earlier posts in the hopes that different cables will stabilize things.

Seems to me DTV should make their own eSata cables or adapter that are guaranteed snug, or alter the socket on the next production run of HR-20 boxes to get a tighter fit.

It also would make this much much easier if there was a boot time indicator that said which hard drives were detected, like at POST time in a PC BIOS, or if the system information told you what drives were connected and recognized.

[ddruker]

:eek2: Can someone shed some light on what is the current "setup" favored here for adding storage to a H20? Over months I have read on and off different solutions, and the quickest/accepted looks like the FreeAgent Pro. However, that will only add 750GB, and I was really looking for more. For the $$$, it looks like its better to add an external cage and put smaller drives in a RAID setup. Please correct me if I am wrong.

I would like comments on a solution that allows me to add two 500GB drives and the ability to replace those drives in the future. The Thecus looked like the way to go for a while, but there seems to be issues with those units, and not just from reviews/comments from this forum. i am looking for something reliable.

So, what are other external RAID0 bays have folks have tried out and can recommend?


I just bought three of the 750 Gig freeagents for my three new HR20's. I replaced 3 HD Tivos that were each upgraded to 800 Gigs. What I can say is that in my experience this is a ton of space - in two years I never came close to feeling like any of the Tivo's were full. Given it's likely that DirectTV will enable the internal drive simultaneously with the external you would end up with over a Terabyte, which is a lot of storage. Plus with MPEG4 coming recordings should be smaller.

So my opinion is 750GB is plenty. Plus with a simple RAID enclosure you are talking about JBOD or RAID 0 which doubles your chance of losing data, because now you have two disks that can fail instead of one. But if you really want to do this, you are right that 500GB is the sweet spot right now in terms of cost per GB - you can find 500GB seagate drives with 5 year warrantees for $100 if you look hard. 750GB drives are running a few pennies more per Gig - about $180 for 3 yr warranty (Maxtor and WD) and $190 for 5 yr (Seagate)... If I felt like I needed the space I would probably run with two 750Gig Seagate drives in a RAID 0 enclosure... For my media server I am running four of these drives in raid 5 and have had no problems.

[Tom Robertson]

I just bought three of the 750 Gig freeagents for my three new HR20's. I replaced 3 HD Tivos that were each upgraded to 800 Gigs. What I can say is that in my experience this is a ton of space - in two years I never came close to feeling like any of the Tivo's were full. Given it's likely that DirectTV will enable the internal drive simultaneously with the external you would end up with over a Terabyte, which is a lot of storage. Plus with MPEG4 coming recordings should be smaller.

So my opinion is 750GB is plenty. Plus with a RAID enclosure you are talking about RAID 0 which doubles your chance of losing data.

25 episodes of The Closer, all 6 Star Wars movies, a couple weeks of our regular Prime-time viewing (all OTA), and a collection of other titles, all in HD and I start filling our 750gb drive. :D

As soon as I find a suitable raid solution, I'll build a movie storage HR20--hopefully with MRV, one that I can share around the house. :)

Cheers,
Tom

[ddruker]

25 episodes of The Closer, all 6 Star Wars movies, a couple weeks of our regular Prime-time viewing (all OTA), and a collection of other titles, all in HD and I start filling our 750gb drive. :D

As soon as I find a suitable raid solution, I'll build a movie storage HR20--hopefully with MRV, one that I can share around the house. :)

Cheers,
Tom


That makes sense - the way I use my media server you use your HR-20. I really hadn't thought about using the HR-20 (or the HD-Tivo's before) for a library mostly since it's a closed system. My Media server on the other hand seems to have a relentless appetite for gigabytes - 2.25 TB so far and growing. Agree that if they got sharing working (or god forbid enabled the playing of video content via UPNP from a media server just like they have enabled music and photo sharing from a media server) things would get interesting quickly...

So perhaps part of the answer to his question is - how to you intend to use it...

[shendley]

Does this cable still need to be trimmed? Seems like I've read some who said that it does and some who said it doesn't - but I'm not sure about that.

I went ahead and got the cable from amazon, it was $13, but I get 2 day shipping because I have amazon prime. Buy.com was 12.46 or something after shipping.

It's the same cable.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000IAJZ76/ref=s9_asin_title_1-1966_p/103-7436429-4453459?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0GXXFVB96EEBTK83DSV8&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=288448501&pf_rd_i=507846

They do have this 6 foot one too, but it's a different brand.
http://www.amazon.com/6FT-Shielded-External-Esata-Cable/dp/B000ENYXZ6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-7436429-4453459?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1188856270&sr=1-1

[vertigo235]

Does this cable still need to be trimmed? Seems like I've read some who said that it does and some who said it doesn't - but I'm not sure about that.

I don't know, the 3 foot one is the exact same one from buy.com that everyone is talking about. So I hope not, the other one, I don't know.

And I won't know because I didn't order that one :)

I'll let you know about the 3 foot one on Thursday.

[shendley]

I need a cable so I think I'll go ahead and order it as well. Got Amazon Prime as well, so it shouldn't take long to get here.

I don't know, the 3 foot one is the exact same one from buy.com that everyone is talking about. So I hope not, the other one, I don't know.

And I won't know because I didn't order that one :)

I'll let you know about the 3 foot one on Thursday.

[cartrivision]

if you are not planning on swapping between using the internal hard drive and an external one, I wonder if it would be easier just to replace the internal hard drive with a 1 TB hard drive and be done with it.

What does a 1 TB hard drive cost anyways? $400? $450?

Seems like buying two 500gb hard drives, an external enclosure and a cable would cost less than that but not that much less.


The cheapest Terabyte drive that pricegrabber.com finds is this Hitachi for $339 shipped from Zipzoomfly.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005225

500GB SATA drives can be had for about $100 (shipped) these days.

[rblancojr]

The cheapest Terabyte drive that pricegrabber.com finds is this Hitachi for $339 shipped from Zipzoomfly.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005225

500GB SATA drives can be had for about $100 (shipped) these days.

That drive sounds like a nice idea with an eSata encosure. I wonder if anyone else has tried it out with the DVR. Thanks for the info.

Also, where would you recommend getting 500gb drives for $100, shipped? The cheapest I have seen out there are running about $120 plus shipping. I guesss it depends on the brand/model.

[dminches]

For my media server I am running four of these drives in raid 5 and have had no problems.

What hardware are you using for your media storage?

[too hip]

For those of you that want massive storage here is a cheap solution.
AMS DS-2340SES T4S 3.5" 4BAY RAID HARD DRIVE STORAGE ENCLOSURE $129.99 +S/H

shop2.outpost.com/product/5276267


* Compact size
* Tray-less for easy installation
* Supports up to 4 SATA hard drives
* Unique JBOD, RAID level (0,1, and 0+1)
* Steel vine management for Windows and Mac
* Bundle with PCI-E Sil3132 eSATA x2 RAID controller for PC/MAC (siliconimage RAID processor)
* Model: DS-2340SES (black)
* Capacity up to 3TB (terabyte)
* Disk interface SATA connector
* Interface transfer rate up to 1.5GBit/sec & 3.0GBit/sec
* Operating temperature: 5 to 35 degree C
* Humidity 20 to 80% no condensation
* Dimension: 5.3" x 6.8" x 9.8"

[rblancojr]

[QUOTE=too hip;1084984]For those of you that want massive storage here is a cheap solution.
AMS DS-2340SES T4S 3.5" 4BAY RAID HARD DRIVE STORAGE ENCLOSURE $129.99 +S/H

toohip, what has been you experienc with this enclosure? Outpost looks like its out of stock, and Newegg has it at a whopping $199 !!

[too hip]

I currently do not have this unit. From looking at the specs you should have no problems with this unit. Sorry it didnt notice it was out of stock. If you have a local Fry's you might be albe to find one. It's on sale through Wed the 5th.

[shendley]

I was curious as to how many folk got the e-mail from CC with the 10% off coupon. I thought I had received it but when I looked in my e-mail I was mistaken. Is there some way to get it? I'd probably take the one I bought yesterday for $199 back and buy it again for $179 (assuming it's still on sale) if I could find the coupon.

Question:

I just got a Seagate 750gb External with eSata and I tried using a eSata cable I purchased from Monoprice.com and had no luck with it booting off the external drive. Any place that sells a cable that plugs into the HR20 correctly?

BTW, Circuit City has the 750gb Seagate External eSata dive for $199 and there is a 10% off coupon that was emailed last night making it $179.99 for the drive!!!

Brian

[cartrivision]

That drive sounds like a nice idea with an eSata encosure. I wonder if anyone else has tried it out with the DVR. Thanks for the info.

Also, where would you recommend getting 500gb drives for $100, shipped? The cheapest I have seen out there are running about $120 plus shipping. I guesss it depends on the brand/model.

zipzoomfly.com has at least 2 for about $105 shipped (+ about $8.50 sales tax for California residents only)

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=100834
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101259

Do a search on pricegrabber.com. You may find one as low as $100 shipped.

[jayerndl]

For those of you that want massive storage here is a cheap solution.
AMS DS-2340SES T4S 3.5" 4BAY RAID HARD DRIVE STORAGE ENCLOSURE $129.99 +S/H

shop2.outpost.com/product/5276267


* Compact size
* Tray-less for easy installation
* Supports up to 4 SATA hard drives
* Unique JBOD, RAID level (0,1, and 0+1)
* Steel vine management for Windows and Mac
* Bundle with PCI-E Sil3132 eSATA x2 RAID controller for PC/MAC (siliconimage RAID processor)
* Model: DS-2340SES (black)
* Capacity up to 3TB (terabyte)
* Disk interface SATA connector
* Interface transfer rate up to 1.5GBit/sec & 3.0GBit/sec
* Operating temperature: 5 to 35 degree C
* Humidity 20 to 80% no condensation
* Dimension: 5.3" x 6.8" x 9.8"I saw a similar unit populated with 2TB for $599 from buy.com. See post (http://www.dbstalk.com/showpost.php?p=1084974&postcount=70) in other thread.

Jay

[Rich]

Buy.com carries this cable:
203001124 Tripp Lite eSATA (SATA-II) Signal Cable - 3ft - 1 x eSATA, 1 x eSATA - eSATA Cable 1 $5.57

I have two HR20-100s hooked to external:
204110108 Seagate FreeAgent Pro - 750GB, USB 2.0, eSATA, 7200 RPM, FireWire External Hard Drive 1 $232.45

I using two of the Tripp Lite cables connected to the Seagate eSATA drive connected to two HR20-100s. The cables works great.
Mike

Good info, thanx. I have read a lot of the posts on this thread dealing with eSATA cable problems and I can't recall anyone saying anything about having a problem with the receptacle on either the 700 or the 800. Always the eSATA receptacle. Is this correct? Anyone had problems with the HR20's eSATA receptacle?

[SAFOOL]

I was curious as to how many folk got the e-mail from CC with the 10% off coupon. I thought I had received it but when I looked in my e-mail I was mistaken. Is there some way to get it? I'd probably take the one I bought yesterday for $199 back and buy it again for $179 (assuming it's still on sale) if I could find the coupon.


I got the email but it said sale items were excluded. It also said it didn't apply to hard drives etc. I tried anyway but no luck. :nono:
Anyway I got the drive now all I need is D and a esata cable.

[cointment]

I am new here and not familiar with protocol. I have followed the thread for some time. I have an external Seagate 750 SATA and want to hooked to one of my HR20-700's Can anyone point me at some instructions? I have seen several references but they are scattered. Also I would like to know what happens if power goes off? Will is start on its own, or do you have to follow some soft of sequence? Any help will be appreciated.

[Robert Norman]

Good info, thanks. I have read a lot of the posts on this thread dealing with eSATA cable problems and I can't recall anyone saying anything about having a problem with the receptacle on either the 700 or the 800. Always the eSATA receptacle. Is this correct? Anyone had problems with the HR20's eSATA receptacle?

I have already received three HR20/100/700/100 and have the service technician schedule for tomorrow morning bringing the fourth. All had problems with the first Hr20-100 eSATA port or internal board board being bad for I could never get it to recognize the external Seagate 750 gig drive. I could move the drive and cable to another HR20-100 and it worked great. The HR20-100 was replaced with a HR20-700 and it recognized the external Seagate 750 gig drive. However it would not receive the local high definition channels broadcast by DIRECTV. It was replace with a HR20-100 which recognized the external Seagate 750 gig drive. However it's second satellite tuner would not work.

I have recorded shows on the Seagate eSATA 750 gig drive from a HR20-100, HR20-700 and HR20-100 so far. I could watch the recorded shows from all three HR20's. Over and over on this form I have seen posts saying that you cannot watch shows recorded on one HR20 from another HR20. So far that is not true for me. I hope to get another replacement HR20 tomorrow and will see if shows I recorded on the first three HR20 will show on the latest attempt at getting a HR20 that everything works.
Mike

[Steve Rhodes]

Having relatively recently replaced my HR20 and moved my eSATA drive from the old one to the new one, I can postively state that your educated guesses are correct.

I think it is because I was a math major once, but I'm trying to figure out the equation that gets this:

300GB or 320GB normal internal drive is supposed to be 50 hours (right??) of MPEG4 HD

750GB eSata is 100 hours

1TB eSata is 145 hours

Any ideas? Maybe the problem is that my first assumption about the normal internal drive is off.

[Robert Norman]

I am new here and not familiar with protocol. I have followed the thread for some time. I have an external Seagate 750 SATA and want to hooked to one of my HR20-700's Can anyone point me at some instructions? I have seen several references but they are scattered. Also I would like to know what happens if power goes off? Will is start on its own, or do you have to follow some soft of sequence? Any help will be appreciated.

Power up the Seagate 750 SA TA drive. Connect eSATA cable to SATA drive.
Remove power cord from the HR20.
Connect eSATA cable from drive to eSATA port on the back of your HR20.
Connect power cord back to the HR20.
The drive always starts before the HR20 cycles up.
HR20 if it detects the eSATA drive will take longer to come up with the first screen for it is formatting the external drive.
After system comes up do a list of programs recorded and if it is blank then it is using the new external drive.

I have never had any problems losing power for the external Seagate free agent drive always comes up first before the HR20 recycles and comes up. Once you have it working you should never have any problems with power or the HR20 not recognizing the external drive. If you disconnect power then remove the eSATA cable the HR20 will go back to its internal drive and you will have the shows that you had previously recorder.

You will have to reset your favorite list for it is save on the hard drive.
Mike

[Paladin369]

Just started with the HR20 and would like to hook up an external drive because it sound so easy. But a question, don't external drives plug into an USB port? Or does an external eSATA drive come with the eSATA cable to use for the eSATA port?

Thanks you

[Michael D'Angelo]

Just started with the HR20 and would like to hook up an external drive because it sound so easy. But a question, don't external drives plug into an USB port? Or does an external eSATA drive come with the eSATA cable to use for the eSATA port?

Thanks you

You need to get a eSATA drive. The HR20 does not support USB drives. The majority of eSATA drives you need to buy a eSATA cable separate. Very few come with them.

[RoyGBiv]

I purchased the Seagate Freeagent Pro on sale yesterday at CC, and I am waiting for the cable to come in to hook it up. The box implies that there is some "special software" on the drive to enable you to do backups, etc. Is any of this worth saving? That is, should I connect it to my PC first and save that software somewhere in case I ever use this drive with my PC?

TIA

SMK

[CliffV]

I purchased the Seagate Freeagent Pro on sale yesterday at CC, and I am waiting for the cable to come in to hook it up. The box implies that there is some "special software" on the drive to enable you to do backups, etc. Is any of this worth saving? That is, should I connect it to my PC first and save that software somewhere in case I ever use this drive with my PC?

TIA

SMK

I have always done backups by simply copying "My Documents" (etc) to my backup drive. That way, I don't have to worry whether my backup software will work on the version of Windows I happen to be running when I finally need to do a restore.

[RoyGBiv]

That is what I have always tended to do as well, but I just wondered if there was some benefit to this particular software. The only benefit I can see is that if it automates the process in some way it might be worth saving for some future use.

SMK

[Rich]

I have already received three HR20/100/700/100 and have the service technician schedule for tomorrow morning bringing the fourth. All had problems with the first Hr20-100 eSATA port or internal board board being bad for I could never get it to recognize the external Seagate 750 gig drive. I could move the drive and cable to another HR20-100 and it worked great. The HR20-100 was replaced with a HR20-700 and it recognized the external Seagate 750 gig drive. However it would not receive the local high definition channels broadcast by DIRECTV. It was replace with a HR20-100 which recognized the external Seagate 750 gig drive. However it's second satellite tuner would not work.

I have recorded shows on the Seagate eSATA 750 gig drive from a HR20-100, HR20-700 and HR20-100 so far. I could watch the recorded shows from all three HR20's. Over and over on this form I have seen posts saying that you cannot watch shows recorded on one HR20 from another HR20. So far that is not true for me. I hope to get another replacement HR20 tomorrow and will see if shows I recorded on the first three HR20 will show on the latest attempt at getting a HR20 that everything works.
Mike

Enjoying D*Hell?

[kirkus]

When I hook up a new external drive, will I lose season passes, wishlists, etc? (I'm sure this is already answered in here, but a quick search didn't find it).

[Rich]

When I hook up a new external drive, will I lose season passes, wishlists, etc? (I'm sure this is already answered in here, but a quick search didn't find it).

Yup. They will stay on the dormant drive.

[diggityDawg]

I've been lurking here for a while, reading and dreaming of upgrading my HR20. So last week I bought a WD 750GB SATA drive and Antec MX-10 enclosure (I love these enclosures - a little pricey, but VERY quiet!) and last Sunday I powered off my HR20, plugged in my MX-10, powered up my MX-10 and then powered up my HR20. After a little longer than usual, but not too long, the main screen came up and it worked! Thanks to all who posted here - I'm really psyched to have all this recording space just before the football season starts!

Sunday night I recorded 4.5 hours of HD and have 96% left. According to my own (perhaps faulty) math, that should equal around 112GB (give or take a GB) for a 750GB drive. If that's the case, we're talking around 9 minutes of HD content per GB of space

60mins * 4.5hrs = 270mins/9mins = 30GB/750GB = .04 (or 4%)
9mins * 750GB = 6750mins/60mins = 112.5hrs

I may be repeating info already posted here, and like I said, my math could be faulty when you consider different bitrates, compression, etc. But any way you cut it I couldn't be happier to have at least 3x the recording space I was initially promised (30hrs) when I got this thing.

Thanks again!

eddie

[Herdfan]

My SIIG eSATA cables came today and I hooked up one of my HR20's with the SeaGate Freeagent Pro 750.

I am glad that I sent this route instead of replacing the internal drive. The FAP is smaller that I thought it would be and sits neatly in my cabinet.

[Robert Norman]

History of my problems getting a second HR20 up on the eSATA drive and having everything else work after four HR20's:

On August 13, a HR20-100s was delivered and installed by DIRECTV Okla. City technician. The HR20 looked like everything was working fine when he left.
August 16, I received a Seagate 750 gig eSATA drive from buy.com. The HR20 would not recognize the external drive. Moved the drive and eSATA cable to my other several month old HR20-100 and it was recognized and came up working like it should. I recorded a program on the drive to verify that I could and played the recording back. After hours on the telephone with DIRECTV various service people they agreed to Federal Express another HR20 to me.

On August 20, I received the HR20-700 and it came up working with the external drive. I could even see the program I recorded on my old working HR20-100. However, the HR20-700 would lock up when I attempted to switch to any local Oklahoma City high definition channels broadcasts over the satellite. After hours on the telephone with various DIRECTV personnel they said they would send out a service technician Monday August 27. I recorded several shows on the HR20-700 using the external drive.

On August 27, an Oklahoma City service technician came out and verified that the HR20-700 was bad. He installed a HR20-100 and it appeared to be working. I could watch and record to the external drive. I could watch what was recorded by the two previous working HR20’s. Later that day I decided to record two different programs off DIRECTV at the same time and it would not let me. I did some checking and found that the second satellite tuner was not working. Again, hours on the telephone with DIRECTV various personnel they said that they would have to send out another service technician to check it and I probably would be liable for damage for I may have damage the satellite 2 input RG6 port. The technician installed the cables to the port not me. However, DIRECTV had me move the cables and converter around several times and power pull reboots and red switch reboots to see if the problem was with the cable or the “B” converter.

Today September 4, an Oklahoma City service technician came out and verified that the HR20-100 was bad. He installed a HR20-700 and when it came up and when activated I would get on any DIRECTV satellite channel “message 725 about to lose authorization”. The DIRECTV person had taken a short-cut in activating the HR20-700 and no matter what he did the Oklahoma City technician working with him could not get the message off the screen. The DIRECTV person said he would email the technical department and they would call me later in the day with a solution. He did not have the ability to dial them on the telephone or switch me to them. I complained to no avail and asked him to switch me to the department that would send me a carton and Federal Express slip to return the bad HR20-100. This Oklahoma City service person did not want to take the old HR20-100 with him. The previous Oklahoma City service person took the HR20-700 with him and they both worked for the same company. Both technicians said that his company had shipped all the HR20-100’s they had back for DIRECTV had recalled all of them.

The Oklahoma City service person left and while waiting 20 minutes on hold for someone to come on the telephone from the carton return department I looked at recorded programs from each of the previous HR20’s. I could see all the programs. When the DIRECTV person came back on and I gave her the information necessary to ship me the carton and told her about my problem with the “message 725 about to lose authorization” screen. She asked me for the receiver ID and access card number. She then fixed my problems and the picture flickered and the message went away. I went back to the programs I had previously recorded with the other HR20’s and anything that was recorded from a satellite signal now said “Searching for authorized content…” I could watch anything that I had recorded from over the air stations using the previous three HR20’s.

The latest HR20-700 will let me delete the satellite previously recorded programs but will not allow me to watch them. The previous three HR20’s would allow me to watch the satellite recorded programs. Now I am like the other form personnel except I can watch previously recorded over the air programs. The DIRECTV person had to set an indicator that now prevented me from watching satellite recorded programs that I could watch on this HR20-700 before her actions to remove the message 725.

For now the “fourth” HR20-700 is working properly and working with the Seagate eSATA 750 gig external drive.
Mike

[shendley]

Got my Tripp e-sata cable and set up my new Seagate tonight. I was pleased to see it come online without any issues. It even came online with the easier method I've sometimes seen recommended of simply powering it up, plugging it in the 20 and then doing a menu re-start from the 20. Didn't need to pull the plug on the 20. But there were a couple of things I wanted to mention:

1) Neither end of the e-sata cable clicked into their sockets, but the cable seemed much more snug in the Seagate rather than the HR20. That's sort of the opposite of what I was expecting from earlier posts.

2) When my Seagate came online I lost my guide cache. I guess that makes sense. I just hadn't read that being mentioned. Will that happen every time you change drives? I'm hoping that it's only the first time you format a new drive as I'd like to go back to my internal drive occasionally to play with VOD and see a couple of shows I didn't get to watch there. And I'd just as soon not lose my guide every time.

3) The other thing I think I noticed was a pretty significantly longer time to search for shows using the Seagate. I counted up to 35 seconds on a couple of searches which seems a good bit longer than what I got used to using the internal drive. Am I imagining that or have others noticed it as well?

[Cyrus]

When my Seagate came online I lost my guide cache. I guess that makes sense. I just hadn't read that being mentioned. Will that happen every time you change drives? I'm hoping that it's only the first time you format a new drive as I'd like to go back to my internal drive occasionally to play with VOD and see a couple of shows I didn't get to watch there. And I'd just as soon not lose my guide every time.

Since the guide cache is on the hard disk it definitely has to start from scratch when you use a disk for a first time. After that I guess it depends how often you switch back. If the data in the cache is a couple of weeks old then it has no choice but to reacquire the guide from satellite. If it's a few days old then I don't know, that would be an interesting experiment to try.

The other thing I think I noticed was a pretty significantly longer time to search for shows using the Seagate. I counted up to 35 seconds on a couple of searches which seems a good bit longer than what I got used to using the internal drive. Am I imagining that or have others noticed it as well?

I haven't noticed any difference in search speed. You may have to wait until the guide data is complete. If it's still updating the guide then the searches may be slower.

[rblancojr]

I've been lurking here for a while, reading and dreaming of upgrading my HR20. So last week I bought a WD 750GB SATA drive and Antec MX-10 enclosure (I love these enclosures - a little pricey, but VERY quiet!)
eddie

Eddie, I beleive you meant MX-1 ??? Did you purchase that enclosure and drive based on any recommendations found here or at other forums? Which is the model of the WD drive you purchased? I am curious becuase I am about to purchase some expanded storage for my HR20 andI am exploring all possibilities.

If you dont mind me asking, where did you purchase the items, and what was your total cost?

Regards,
Richard

[Old Moe]

I just hooked up a Seagate 750 gb external drive to my HR20 and it is working perfectly. A friend said that the Seagate wasn't built to run all the time and that I would probably develop some heat related durability issues because of this. Any opinions on this?

[Volman]

You have a 5 year warrantee.Is there a disclaimer about use with a DVR?

[diggityDawg]

Eddie, I beleive you meant MX-1 ??? Did you purchase that enclosure and drive based on any recommendations found here or at other forums? Which is the model of the WD drive you purchased? I am curious becuase I am about to purchase some expanded storage for my HR20 andI am exploring all possibilities.

If you dont mind me asking, where did you purchase the items, and what was your total cost?
Hi Richard,

Well, I just spent 15 minutes writing a long reply with all of the details, prices and links to reviews and products here, but when I went to preview it I got a message saying I can't post links yet, and there's no way to retrieve what I just wrote! All I could do was click the back button and my whole message was lost. REALLY terrible user design...

Ok, to reply to your questions: Yes, it was the MX-1, thanks for correcting that. I bought this enclosure based on tests and recommendations at silentpcreview.com. Sound level and running temperature was really important to me, so I wanted to be sure I got the quietest enclosure possible. As for the drive, I got a WD7500AAKS, which I probably heard about here, but then looked up other reviews and found that it is a great drive. The combination of the drive and the enclosure is completely silent from 5 ft away, and I sit about 10 ft from my home theater.

I got the enlosure at NewEgg for $60 with a $20 MIR. I did pay sales tax, but got free shipping. Unfortunately the rebate is over and they don't have any in stock now, so I would shop elsewhere. Amazon has them for around $55 w/free shipping. The drive I purchased at Fry's for $179 + sales tax ($193 total). Just went to Fry's to pick it up, so no shipping cost. So my total was around $238, if you count the $20 rebate I won't be getting for at least another month or so. A little more than people have been paying for the external Seagates, which I'm sure are great drives, but I'm really happy with the sound level and running temp of this combo.

Oh, almost forgot... I recently built a new PC for myself and the motherboard I used came with eSATA cables since it has external SATA ports. I just used one of those to connect the MX-1 to my HR20 and it worked like a charm. The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6, but not sure if Gigabyte makes the cables...?

Hope that helps!

eddie

[Old Moe]

You have a 5 year warrantee.Is there a disclaimer about use with a DVR?

I checked the warranty statement. No DVR disclaimer that I can see. Good to know. I have a bad habit of not reading these things.

[vertigo235]

I'm marginally concerned about the failure of the Seagate, but for $199 I'll chance it. If i have to replace it more than once, i'll move it over to my PC I guess.

Warentee is one thing, but loosing all your shows would suck.

[vertigo235]

I checked the warranty statement. No DVR disclaimer that I can see. Good to know. I have a bad habit of not reading these things.

Not really sure how they could tell if it was used with a DVR anyhow.

[Volman]

I'm marginally concerned about the failure of the Seagate, but for $199 I'll chance it. If i have to replace it more than once, i'll move it over to my PC I guess.

Warentee is one thing, but loosing all your shows would suck.

That's the big problem with these receivers.It doesn't matter how the receiver failure occurs(drive,something in the box,power surges,etc.).You lose your shows on an external drive(or internal,for that matter) unless it continues to be used with the HR20 it's "married to".At least that's what my understanding is.

The real downside is that you can put a lot more material on HDD now.And until there is a reasonable way to archive these recordings,it can happen that you lose it all.

[Lsol]

I was at Circuit City yesterday and they had the Seagate 750GB FreeAgent Pro for $199.99. Now I just have to wait for the cable from Monoprice and I will be all set.
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Seagate-750GB-FreeAgent-Pro-ST307504FPA1E2-RK/sem/rpsm/oid/179896/catOid/-12976/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

[rblancojr]

Hi Richard,

Well, I just spent 15 minutes writing a long reply with all of the details, prices and links to reviews and products here, but when I went to preview it I got a message saying I can't post links yet, and there's no way to retrieve what I just wrote! All I could do was click the back button and my whole message was lost. REALLY terrible user design...

Ok, to reply to your questions: Yes, it was the MX-1, thanks for correcting that. I bought this enclosure based on tests and recommendations at silentpcreview.com. Sound level and running temperature was really important to me, so I wanted to be sure I got the quietest enclosure possible. As for the drive, I got a WD7500AAKS, which I probably heard about here, but then looked up other reviews and found that it is a great drive. The combination of the drive and the enclosure is completely silent from 5 ft away, and I sit about 10 ft from my home theater.

I got the enlosure at NewEgg for $60 with a $20 MIR. I did pay sales tax, but got free shipping. Unfortunately the rebate is over and they don't have any in stock now, so I would shop elsewhere. Amazon has them for around $55 w/free shipping. The drive I purchased at Fry's for $179 + sales tax ($193 total). Just went to Fry's to pick it up, so no shipping cost. So my total was around $238, if you count the $20 rebate I won't be getting for at least another month or so. A little more than people have been paying for the external Seagates, which I'm sure are great drives, but I'm really happy with the sound level and running temp of this combo.

Oh, almost forgot... I recently built a new PC for myself and the motherboard I used came with eSATA cables since it has external SATA ports. I just used one of those to connect the MX-1 to my HR20 and it worked like a charm. The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-P35-DQ6, but not sure if Gigabyte makes the cables...?

Hope that helps!

eddie

Eddie, sounds like a nice setup. I may go for that.

I too ran into the link issue when I first started posting here. Lesson learned? I always do a copy of any posts before hitting the preview button. Not just here, but anywhere that seems to use vbulleting to power their forums.

The kicker in all this is that the Seagate will cost a little less and you get a 5 year warranty. However, I am more interested in cooling and noise. I have seen the Freeagent and I think it runs a little hot.

Thanks for the information.

[freshone]

I'm curious. I had an HR20-700 for a year. Got hit by lightning last month. When the tech came out, he replaced it with a different "looking" receiver. It was a 100. He claimed it was the newer model.

From some comments here and there, it seems to me like the 700 is the NEWER model and I got a refurbed 100? Someone even posted that the 100's were all recalled?

If this is true, I'm gonna be severely pissed off.

Most likely a call to DTV would be in order.

Can anyone clue me in.

[K4SMX]

That's the big problem with these receivers.It doesn't matter how the receiver failure occurs(drive,something in the box,power surges,etc.).You lose your shows on an external drive(or internal,for that matter) unless it continues to be used with the HR20 it's "married to".At least that's what my understanding is.

The real downside is that you can put a lot more material on HDD now.And until there is a reasonable way to archive these recordings,it can happen that you lose it all.
Any hard drive can fail at any time. Seems like the drives from 5 years ago lasted forever. Now I'm seeing drives fail after only one or two years. I would not rely on a 5 year warranty to make you feel all warm and fuzzy. Hard drives should be backed up regularly.

One of the length-of-service issues with using these drives in a DVR application has to do with how you use them. Every time you are recording two programs while watching a third you are really pushing the data "throughput" of the drive. Drive manufacturers do have different quality levels available. Perhaps someone here has already posted about what level of quality drives Pace and Philips are using in these HR-20's; I haven't researched that. It wouldn't surprise me to find out they aren't top-of-the-line.

Here's a question I have: I have an external drive. That internal drive is still grinding away 24/7. It fails. Does the Hr-20 continue to operate? If not, then I swap it out with D* and get a new box. After authorization, the new box re-formats my eSATA drive. Then where am I? Does this mean that my library is depending on the continuing functioning of two drives. I had to take statistics once. I don't like the joint probabilities here....

[Rich]

History of my problems getting a second HR20 up on the eSATA drive and having everything else work after four HR20's:

On August 13, a HR20-100s was delivered and installed by DIRECTV Okla. City technician. The HR20 looked like everything was working fine when he left.
August 16, I received a Seagate 750 gig eSATA drive from buy.com. The HR20 would not recognize the external drive. Moved the drive and eSATA cable to my other several month old HR20-100 and it was recognized and came up working like it should. I recorded a program on the drive to verify that I could and played the recording back. After hours on the telephone with DIRECTV various service people they agreed to Federal Express another HR20 to me.

On August 20, I received the HR20-700 and it came up working with the external drive. I could even see the program I recorded on my old working HR20-100. However, the HR20-700 would lock up when I attempted to switch to any local Oklahoma City high definition channels broadcasts over the satellite. After hours on the telephone with various DIRECTV personnel they said they would send out a service technician Monday August 27. I recorded several shows on the HR20-700 using the external drive.

On August 27, an Oklahoma City service technician came out and verified that the HR20-700 was bad. He installed a HR20-100 and it appeared to be working. I could watch and record to the external drive. I could watch what was recorded by the two previous working HR20’s. Later that day I decided to record two different programs off DIRECTV at the same time and it would not let me. I did some checking and found that the second satellite tuner was not working. Again, hours on the telephone with DIRECTV various personnel they said that they would have to send out another service technician to check it and I probably would be liable for damage for I may have damage the satellite 2 input RG6 port. The technician installed the cables to the port not me. However, DIRECTV had me move the cables and converter around several times and power pull reboots and red switch reboots to see if the problem was with the cable or the “B” converter.

Today September 4, an Oklahoma City service technician came out and verified that the HR20-100 was bad. He installed a HR20-700 and when it came up and when activated I would get on any DIRECTV satellite channel “message 725 about to lose authorization”. The DIRECTV person had taken a short-cut in activating the HR20-700 and no matter what he did the Oklahoma City technician working with him could not get the message off the screen. The DIRECTV person said he would email the technical department and they would call me later in the day with a solution. He did not have the ability to dial them on the telephone or switch me to them. I complained to no avail and asked him to switch me to the department that would send me a carton and Federal Express slip to return the bad HR20-100. This Oklahoma City service person did not want to take the old HR20-100 with him. The previous Oklahoma City service person took the HR20-700 with him and they both worked for the same company. Both technicians said that his company had shipped all the HR20-100’s they had back for DIRECTV had recalled all of them.

The Oklahoma City service person left and while waiting 20 minutes on hold for someone to come on the telephone from the carton return department I looked at recorded programs from each of the previous HR20’s. I could see all the programs. When the DIRECTV person came back on and I gave her the information necessary to ship me the carton and told her about my problem with the “message 725 about to lose authorization” screen. She asked me for the receiver ID and access card number. She then fixed my problems and the picture flickered and the message went away. I went back to the programs I had previously recorded with the other HR20’s and anything that was recorded from a satellite signal now said “Searching for authorized content…” I could watch anything that I had recorded from over the air stations using the previous three HR20’s.

The latest HR20-700 will let me delete the satellite previously recorded programs but will not allow me to watch them. The previous three HR20’s would allow me to watch the satellite recorded programs. Now I am like the other form personnel except I can watch previously recorded over the air programs. The DIRECTV person had to set an indicator that now prevented me from watching satellite recorded programs that I could watch on this HR20-700 before her actions to remove the message 725.

For now the “fourth” HR20-700 is working properly and working with the Seagate eSATA 750 gig external drive.
Mike

But are you having fun?

[Rich]

Any hard drive can fail at any time. Seems like the drives from 5 years ago lasted forever. Now I'm seeing drives fail after only one or two years. I would not rely on a 5 year warranty to make you feel all warm and fuzzy. Hard drives should be backed up regularly.

One of the length-of-service issues with using these drives in a DVR application has to do with how you use them. Every time you are recording two programs while watching a third you are really pushing the data "throughput" of the drive. Drive manufacturers do have different quality levels available. Perhaps someone here has already posted about what level of quality drives Pace and Philips are using in these HR-20's; I haven't researched that. It wouldn't surprise me to find out they aren't top-of-the-line.

Here's a question I have: I have an external drive. That internal drive is still grinding away 24/7. It fails. Does the Hr-20 continue to operate? If not, then I swap it out with D* and get a new box. After authorization, the new box re-formats my eSATA drive. Then where am I? Does this mean that my library is depending on the continuing functioning of two drives. I had to take statistics once. I don't like the joint probabilities here....

I hope the eSATA is sufficient if the dormant drive fails. It does nothing, you could probably get away with pulling the dormant drive's power cord out of the motherboard. Now you have me worried.

[Volman]

Any hard drive can fail at any time. Seems like the drives from 5 years ago lasted forever. Now I'm seeing drives fail after only one or two years. I would not rely on a 5 year warranty to make you feel all warm and fuzzy. Hard drives should be backed up regularly.

The point of my post is that we can(and some,possibly many) WILL lose all their recordings.And it is worse now because the capacity is so much greater.The 5 year warranty at least assures that you haven't wasted $200 on a drive that fails early on.It does not protect your recorded data.

So,eSATA is great for it's increased capacity.........but,will be a mixed blessing.

[marksman]

Is there any way to tell if the ESATA drive is being used?

I added the 750 Freeagents to two of my HR-20s today, and the first one already had some passes and recordings, so I could tell when it was using the external drive. The other one I was not thinking, so it was blank and I am having a hard time telling if it is using it or not. I guess I could unplug it and see. Just wondering if there is any device info listing that indicates if it is being used.

[fochs13]

After using a $40 off $199 coupon (that I bought on ebay for $2), I was able to get the 750 gb seagate for $160 plus tax. I've got it hooked up and am slowly adding my season passes. I'm watching the colts/saints game and one thing I've noticed is audio drop outs during the commercials. Has anyone else experienced this?

[fochs13]

This may have been posted before, but I don't have time to read through 66 pages of posts. I'm wondering if there is a way to switch between the internal and external drives without unplugging the external drive? Any info is much appreciated.:D

[Michael D'Angelo]

This may have been posted before, but I don't have time to read through 66 pages of posts. I'm wondering if there is a way to switch between the internal and external drives without unplugging the external drive? Any info is much appreciated.:D

No. You have to disconnect the eSATA and reboot the HR20.

[marksman]

By the way I don't need how to tell anymore. I did the surgery on my second cable on both ends, and it recognized the freeagent 750 right away.

[shendley]

You're absolutely right about the search delay being an issue with the guide rebuilding. It's running very quickly today. And the guide point makes sense as well. I hadn't thought about it that way.

Since the guide cache is on the hard disk it definitely has to start from scratch when you use a disk for a first time. After that I guess it depends how often you switch back. If the data in the cache is a couple of weeks old then it has no choice but to reacquire the guide from satellite. If it's a few days old then I don't know, that would be an interesting experiment to try.



I haven't noticed any difference in search speed. You may have to wait until the guide data is complete. If it's still updating the guide then the searches may be slower.

[vertigo235]

I'm curious. I had an HR20-700 for a year. Got hit by lightning last month. When the tech came out, he replaced it with a different "looking" receiver. It was a 100. He claimed it was the newer model.

From some comments here and there, it seems to me like the 700 is the NEWER model and I got a refurbed 100? Someone even posted that the 100's were all recalled?

If this is true, I'm gonna be severely pissed off.

Most likely a call to DTV would be in order.

Can anyone clue me in.

The 100 is a newer model, but the 700 gets more attention and is more widely distributed.

[mganga]

No. You have to disconnect the eSATA and reboot the HR20.

any timetable as to when we might not have to do this--is it a complex addition or is it just low on the priority list for the programmers?

[Cyrus]

This may have been posted before, but I don't have time to read through 66 pages of posts. I'm wondering if there is a way to switch between the internal and external drives without unplugging the external drive? Any info is much appreciated.:D

I never unplug eSATA from hr20. I do a menu reset on HR20 and when the first blue screen shows up (or when the lights go off on the hr20 front panel) I turn the power off on the eSATA. When I want to switch back to eSATA I do the same except turn the power on.

[Robert Norman]

But are you having fun?


I think that I am now having fun for the last HR20-700 is still working. Since I can see the openings on top of the HR20-700 I did so rearranging of my equipment Thursday and I am now quite please with the HR20-700. I had wanted a working HR20-100 for a matching pair. The RF interface works far better on the HR20-700 and from what the two different service technician said about all the HR20-100's they had in stock being recalled I am happy with the HR20-700.

I verifed that the HR20-100 I shipped back to DIRECTV was received however, I am concerned about the HR20-700 the first service technician tooked with him for I have no proof especially since the secnd service technician refused to take the second HR20-100 with him. I am still concern about the one DIRECTV person telling me that I may be liable for damage for the broken satellite tuner and may be charge the full retail amount for the broken HR20-100. I know now that could be why the Oklahoma City service company only had one HR20-100 in their warehouse. It was probably return by a service technician from someone else home.
Mike

[marksman]

any timetable as to when we might not have to do this--is it a complex addition or is it just low on the priority list for the programmers?

Since the entire ESATA implementation is not officially supported I suspect nobody here besides maybe Earl would know for sure. I suspect they are still allowing us to break things.

I would be wary of them doing anything now as long as such a large percentage of ESATA cables don't work directly. That is a support nightmare waiting to happen.

[anubys]

I thought it was understood from the OP that we're testing this for them...

[shendley]

I wanted to pick up an issue raised a day or two ago: someone posted that their Seagate was getting so hot it was too hot to touch. Someone else posted in response that their Seagate was cool to the touch. I'm finding myself somewhere in between these extremes with my new 750 GB Seagate. It gets pretty warm, but not too warm to touch. I'd say it's approximately as warm as the top of the HR20. And my 20's temp is pretty normal (120-127 whenever I look). Does this seem like a problem that the Seagate is this warm? Should I really be expecting the Seagate to be cool to the touch? I'd appreciate hearing from some of you about how cool/warm your Seagate feels as I've still got about 3 weeks to simply return this to Circuit City and get another if this is a problem.

[cartrivision]

I wanted to pick up an issue raised a day or two ago: someone posted that their Seagate was getting so hot it was too hot to touch. Someone else posted in response that their Seagate was cool to the touch. I'm finding myself somewhere in between these extremes with my new 750 GB Seagate. It gets pretty warm, but not too warm to touch. I'd say it's approximately as warm as the top of the HR20. And my 20's temp is pretty normal (120-127 whenever I look). Does this seem like a problem that the Seagate is this warm? Should I really be expecting the Seagate to be cool to the touch? I'd appreciate hearing from some of you about how cool/warm your Seagate feels as I've still got about 3 weeks to simply return this to Circuit City and get another if this is a problem.


Are temperature readings in the mid 120's typical for everyone else here? My HR20-100 with the stock WD 320GB disk typically ran in the 105 degree range (and that’s in a warm non-air conditioned room where the ambient temperature has been in the mid to high 70’s), and after I swapped out the original disk for a WD 750 GB disk that temperature range didn't change. When I checked the temperature just before I went to bed last night it was 101 degrees.

Do the HR20-700s have a large (approx 2.5 inch) fan mounted directly to the underside of the HD mounting bracket like the HR20-100s do?

[shendley]

Others should chime in on this, but I think Earl has mentioned once or twice that temps in my range are normal for the 20.

Are temperature readings in the mid 120's typical for everyone else here? My HR20-100 with the stock WD 320GB disk typically ran in the 105 degree range (and that’s in a warm non-air conditioned room where the ambient temperature has been in the mid to high 70’s), and after I swapped out the original disk for a WD 750 GB disk that temperature range didn't change. When I checked the temperature just before I went to bed last night it was 101 degrees.

Do the HR20-700s have a large (approx 2.5 inch) fan mounted directly to the underside of the HD mounting bracket like the HR20-100s do?

[Rich]

Is there any way to tell if the ESATA drive is being used?

I added the 750 Freeagents to two of my HR-20s today, and the first one already had some passes and recordings, so I could tell when it was using the external drive. The other one I was not thinking, so it was blank and I am having a hard time telling if it is using it or not. I guess I could unplug it and see. Just wondering if there is any device info listing that indicates if it is being used.

Record a couple HD movies and see how much time is used. Or, more simply, unplug the eSATA cord and reboot the DVR. When it reboots fully record a couple minutes of anything so you have a record on your "List".

Unplug the DVR, plug in the eSATA jumper and when the DVR finishes rebooting you will either see a blank "List" or your brief recording. If it is blank, you are using the eSATA.

[Rich]

I wanted to pick up an issue raised a day or two ago: someone posted that their Seagate was getting so hot it was too hot to touch. Someone else posted in response that their Seagate was cool to the touch. I'm finding myself somewhere in between these extremes with my new 750 GB Seagate. It gets pretty warm, but not too warm to touch. I'd say it's approximately as warm as the top of the HR20. And my 20's temp is pretty normal (120-127 whenever I look). Does this seem like a problem that the Seagate is this warm? Should I really be expecting the Seagate to be cool to the touch? I'd appreciate hearing from some of you about how cool/warm your Seagate feels as I've still got about 3 weeks to simply return this to Circuit City and get another if this is a problem.

I called Seagate and was told by a tech that the temp should be (if I remember correctly) 37-39 degrees C. I am running four and all are rather cool to the touch. Without a fan, I expected a higher temp, but the tech assured me that the special plastic the case is made of disburses heat efficiently.

[iotp]

Do the HR20-700s have a large (approx 2.5 inch) fan mounted directly to the underside of the HD mounting bracket like the HR20-100s do?

I am not sure on the 700. I was amazed at how many screws they have in the dam HR20-100S. The screws in the hard drive bracket way down, you need a special torx (non-interchangable bit driver) is what I used.

I replaced the stock WD320 with a Seagate SATA 500GB I got at the local BB for $99. So far it seems ok, I just couldn't justify the extra $80-100 for 250 extra GB. I was reading somewhere or someone sent me a PM that stated 94 hours of HD MPEG4 on a 500GB drive. I think eventually all HD will ne on the MPEG4 stream.

The 500GB with MPEG4 programming should be ok for me. I was actually really surprised when I saw the fan there. Normally they skimp on the fan. Or engineer it in the wrong place.

Food for thought.

[shendley]

38 degrees C translates to about 100 F. That would certainly make sense of my Seagate feeling quite warm to the touch. But if yours feels cool to the touch and that's the norm then there's definitely something wrong with mine. I guess I should call their customer support about it.

I called Seagate and was told by a tech that the temp should be (if I remember correctly) 37-39 degrees C. I am running four and all are rather cool to the touch. Without a fan, I expected a higher temp, but the tech assured me that the special plastic the case is made of disburses heat efficiently.

[Rich]

I wanted to pick up an issue raised a day or two ago: someone posted that their Seagate was getting so hot it was too hot to touch. Someone else posted in response that their Seagate was cool to the touch. I'm finding myself somewhere in between these extremes with my new 750 GB Seagate. It gets pretty warm, but not too warm to touch. I'd say it's approximately as warm as the top of the HR20. And my 20's temp is pretty normal (120-127 whenever I look). Does this seem like a problem that the Seagate is this warm? Should I really be expecting the Seagate to be cool to the touch? I'd appreciate hearing from some of you about how cool/warm your Seagate feels as I've still got about 3 weeks to simply return this to Circuit City and get another if this is a problem.

I guess I didn't say that right. Sorry. What I should have said was that all my eSATAs run cooler than I expected. I don't think you have a problem unless your unit gets so hot you can't hold it comfortably and it is quiet rather than making unusual noises. Mine are virtually silent.

[cartrivision]

Do the HR20-700s have a large (approx 2.5 inch) fan mounted directly to the underside of the HD mounting bracket like the HR20-100s do?

To answer my own question by looking at Earl’s pictures of the inside of a HR20-700, it looks like the 700s have a fan mounted at the end of the HD which seems to blow air from within the HR20 cabinet down the length of the HD, as opposed to the HR20-100 which has a fan underneath the HD that draws outside air directly from openings under the HR20-100 straight to the underside of the HD.

[shendley]

Thanks for the clarification. I think I must be okay then. It's definitely not uncomfortable to hold - on a cold night it might make a good hand warmer! And, as with yours, mine is quiet as a mouse. And I'm loving it so far. Judging from the HD I've recorded and deleted an hour of HD, either mpeg2 or 4 appears to be taking about 1% of the hard drive. That would give me about 100 hours of HD on this thing. I think I can live with that!

I guess I didn't say that right. Sorry. What I should have said was that all my eSATAs run cooler than I expected. I don't think you have a problem unless your unit gets so hot you can't hold it comfortably and it is quiet rather than making unusual noises. Mine are virtually silent.

[TWJR]

I've had my Seagate 750 for a couple of months. The temp has not changed. If feels like a hot cup of coffee. I can touch and keep my hand on it with no problem.

[Steve Rhodes]

Power up the Seagate 750 SA TA drive. Connect eSATA cable to SATA drive.
Remove power cord from the HR20.
Connect eSATA cable from drive to eSATA port on the back of your HR20.
Connect power cord back to the HR20.
The drive always starts before the HR20 cycles up.
HR20 if it detects the eSATA drive will take longer to come up with the first screen for it is formatting the external drive.
After system comes up do a list of programs recorded and if it is blank then it is using the new external drive.



This is EXACTLY what I did. I got it to work the second time out of eight tries, but every new try fails. What am I doing wrong or what is wrong with my cable or FreeAgent drive? Help please someone.

[vertigo235]

I've had mine running for about a day now and it's warm, but this is better than I expected.

I don't think you guys realize how hot a hard drive usually gets. They do not run cool, hard drives get pretty hot under normal use (even non DVR use).

[elric]

Went to Circuit City and bought a pair of the $199 750 GB Seagate FreeAgent Pro eSATA external drives. Connected them with two 2 M eSATA cables purchased at Altex. Everything went smooth except for the wife wanting to know where the heck all her recorded shows went.

$199 drive + $16.41 tax + $9.99 cable + $0.83 tax = total of $226.23

x 2
========
$452.46

Many thanks to everyones work here... I feel like an expert riding on the shoulders of the members here!:)

[RoyGBiv]

Thanks to all for the info. I, too, bought my Seagate FreeAgent Pro drive on sale this week at CC for an incredible price. I got my cable yesterday, and this morning I attached the drive. The HR20 recognized the new drive first time, as verified by all my recordings having disappeared and needing to repopulate the guide data and "to do list."

I am going to be recording tennis today, and football and tennis tomorrow. This alone would have wiped out all the space on the internal drive.

Thanks again for making this very easy, and at a reasonable price.

SMK

[Steve Rhodes]

Thanks to all for the info. I, too, bought my Seagate FreeAgent Pro drive on sale this week at CC for an incredible price. I got my cable yesterday, and this morning I attached the drive. The HR20 recognized the new drive first time, as verified by all my recordings having disappeared and needing to repopulate the guide data and "to do list."

I am going to be recording tennis today, and football and tennis tomorrow. This alone would have wiped out all the space on the internal drive.

Thanks again for making this very easy, and at a reasonable price.

SMK

What kind of cable did you get and where did you go to get it.

Locally, we usually buy everything at Fry's but they only stock one brand here -- the one that isn't working for us -- and I don't know what other stores might stock the esata cables.

[Rich]

Thanks for the clarification. I think I must be okay then. It's definitely not uncomfortable to hold - on a cold night it might make a good hand warmer! And, as with yours, mine is quiet as a mouse. And I'm loving it so far. Judging from the HD I've recorded and deleted an hour of HD, either mpeg2 or 4 appears to be taking about 1% of the hard drive. That would give me about 100 hours of HD on this thing. I think I can live with that!

Don't drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the hours of recording time you will get. I tried and came to the conclusion that the time is a function of the complexity of the subject matter and the compression of the signal being recorded. In other words it varies. I had an HR20 without eSATA that recorded just over 50 hours of MPEG2 movies. Mix up MPEG2 and 4 and you will play hell trying to figure it out. It's a whole bunch. That's really all that matters. If you fill up the eSATA, buy another one and use that. You can always hook up the old eSATA and watch what you recorded on it.

If you want info on purchasing eSATAs email or PM me.

[Rich]

I've had mine running for about a day now and it's warm, but this is better than I expected.

I don't think you guys realize how hot a hard drive usually gets. They do not run cool, hard drives get pretty hot under normal use (even non DVR use).

The Free Agents have a special plastic case that disburses heat better than a fan. I was told this by a Seagate tech.

Most of us realize how hot hard drives run, but the better manufacturers seem to be working to dump that heat more efficiently.

Oh, by the way, if you call Seagate up for info, be prepared to wait an hour or so for a tech.

[RoyGBiv]

What kind of cable did you get and where did you go to get it.

Locally, we usually buy everything at Fry's but they only stock one brand here -- the one that isn't working for us -- and I don't know what other stores might stock the esata cables.

I got the same Tripp eSATA M/m 3-foot cable, which everyone else has been using. You can get it multiple places. For reasons unknown even to myself, I happened to get it from ANTOnline, which got it to me in two days for $19.

SMK

[shendley]

Nice comparison. That's exactly what mine feels like. Quite warm to the touch but nothing you can't hold.

I've had my Seagate 750 for a couple of months. The temp has not changed. If feels like a hot cup of coffee. I can touch and keep my hand on it with no problem.

[shendley]

I know what you mean about the complexity of the subject matter. I'm curious to see how much space is taken by the Steelers-Browns game I'll record tomorrow as football usually takes up more space than other recordings (I guess it's the same for most fast action sports broadcasts). But the main thing I'm happy about now is just that the Seagate really seems to have given me a lot more space for recordings.

Don't drive yourself crazy trying to figure out the hours of recording time you will get. I tried and came to the conclusion that the time is a function of the complexity of the subject matter and the compression of the signal being recorded. In other words it varies. I had an HR20 without eSATA that recorded just over 50 hours of MPEG2 movies. Mix up MPEG2 and 4 and you will play hell trying to figure it out. It's a whole bunch. That's really all that matters. If you fill up the eSATA, buy another one and use that. You can always hook up the old eSATA and watch what you recorded on it.

If you want info on purchasing eSATAs email or PM me.

[Bob_T]

I just finished installing the SeaGate 750 GB FreeAgentPro with eSATA cable to the HR20.

No problems so far with this unit. But, I had a few today before this.

I bought a WD 500 GB MyBook from BB about a week ago (25% off), and for some reason, did not get around to installing it- perhaps from reading this thread about the problems some of you had with it, and mainly because I knew that I would want a 750 GB unit if I installed the 500 GB drive.

BB still has the SG FAP for $279. The MyBook 500 was $149, and the 750 GB only had Firewire/USB if I remember correctly. I got them to price-match Circuit Cities $199.95 price today, and, took home a nice shrinkwrapped FAP 750.

To my horror, the damned thing would not turn on when trying to install it (no rocket science involved in this process!), and, in retrospect, I noticed that the drive had fingerprints all over it, the packaging was all messed up, and the box had been opened before I got it- not withstanding that I remembered that all the other SG FAP 750s had no shrinkwrapping on them in the BB store as well as anti-theft devices on the and 2 tabs on the box that had to be broken to open it!

Since I only live about 15 minutes from BB, I hustled back (my wife wants me to tape some of the new HBO stuff tomorrow!) to BB, and they replaced the unit with sort of an apology for the obvious repackaging of "returned unit" that I got from them.

It took me about 6 minutes to get the replacement glowing orange, and then I did an HR20 power -up. After doing the D* thing, the unit is now working fine, except for some guide info missing. All channels that I was getting are there, and. it retained all my settings , except for the recordings and "to=do" list from the HR20. I had reverted back to the NR from last night's CE prior to the install because I had a Caller ID problem with the last CE.

Now, to see if I can fill up the 600 or so GBs I have and if the unit will work reliably.

Thanks for anyone who read my rant, and especially for the information of you who preceeded me in installing a larger HD.

I should have known better when I picked a box that looked different than the rest of the SG 750 GB FAPs- but, I figured BB wouldn't put a "return" in their new pot!. Good lesson for me. :grin:

[racermd]

Hey, all. Popped out of lurking for a bit to dispense some information.

Since eSATA cables are essentially computer connectors, computer shops that cater to system builders tend to have better deals and a wider variety of eSATA cables than the typical big-box retailer.

One of the better deals on eSATA cables is here (link) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812150023). If you want other options, go to the main page (link) (http://www.newegg.com) and search for "eSATA Cables" (without the quotes, of course). You'll get listings for all kinds of eSATA cables in just about any price range, quality, and length you want.

Since NewEgg carries all sorts of computer parts, I was planning on buying an external eSATA drive/enclosure combo (assuming I won't do an internal swap). The plan is to use this enclosure (link) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817332012) and this drive (link) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136131). The drive is currently $190 and the enclosure is about $60 coming out to about $250 (before shipping) for a 750GB setup. However, the enclosure has a built-in 80mm low-RPM fan in the bottom that sucks air down over the drive and out the back. I've got 4 of the same enclosures in USB/FireWire and they definitely keep the drives from heating up too much.

Of course, NewEgg also carries Hitachi's 1TB drives if anyone wants to spend that much.

I'd also like to address the questions about internal SATA1(SATA/150) vs. SATA2(SATA/300)... Most everything is SATA2 right now, so buy with confidence. There's really not much difference you're going to see between the two, though. They're completely compatible with one another, and the components involved will work as fast as the slowest link in the chain. A SATA1 drive works fine on a SATA2 controller. Similarly, a SATA2 drive works fine on a SATA1 controller. In both situations, the fastest interface speed you'll see is 150MB/sec. Having a SATA2 drive on a SATA2 controller will allow you an interface speed of 300MB/sec.. However, it doesn't really matter all that much.

Modern drives still can't pull data off the platters much faster than about 60MB/sec, anyway - about 1/3 the interface speed of SATA1 (but still faster than requirements for your dual-tuner DVR). The extra interface speed is only good for getting information in or out of the drive's internal buffer - usually 8MB or 16MB. In the best-case scenario (SATA1 connection with a 16MB buffer), it'll last about 1/10 of a second. It'll be less if you're using SATA2 or your drive has only 8MB of buffer. All this is assuming that the drive and/or computer knows what data it needs next and can be put into the buffer to begin with. Once that's full/empty, you're at the mercy of physics for the duration of the read/write.

So, don't worry about the difference between SATA1 and SATA2. It'll be a LONG time before drives can pull data off the platters fast enough to saturate a SATA1 interface. By then, we'll have newer interfaces to worry about.

If you want more info about SATA interfaces, cables, and speeds, read here (link) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SATA2)

[Rich]

I just finished installing the SeaGate 750 GB FreeAgentPro with eSATA cable to the HR20.

No problems so far with this unit. But, I had a few today before this.

I bought a WD 500 GB MyBook from BB about a week ago (25% off), and for some reason, did not get around to installing it- perhaps from reading this thread about the problems some of you had with it, and mainly because I knew that I would want a 750 GB unit if I installed the 500 GB drive.

BB still has the SG FAP for $279. The MyBook 500 was $149, and the 750 GB only had Firewire/USB if I remember correctly. I got them to price-match Circuit Cities $199.95 price today, and, took home a nice shrinkwrapped FAP 750.

To my horror, the damned thing would not turn on when trying to install it (no rocket science involved in this process!), and, in retrospect, I noticed that the drive had fingerprints all over it, the packaging was all messed up, and the box had been opened before I got it- not withstanding that I remembered that all the other SG FAP 750s had no shrinkwrapping on them in the BB store as well as anti-theft devices on the and 2 tabs on the box that had to be broken to open it!

Since I only live about 15 minutes from BB, I hustled back (my wife wants me to tape some of the new HBO stuff tomorrow!) to BB, and they replaced the unit with sort of an apology for the obvious repackaging of "returned unit" that I got from them.

It took me about 6 minutes to get the replacement glowing orange, and then I did an HR20 power -up. After doing the D* thing, the unit is now working fine, except for some guide info missing. All channels that I was getting are there, and. it retained all my settings , except for the recordings and "to=do" list from the HR20. I had reverted back to the NR from last night's CE prior to the install because I had a Caller ID problem with the last CE.

Now, to see if I can fill up the 600 or so GBs I have and if the unit will work reliably.

Thanks for anyone who read my rant, and especially for the information of you who preceeded me in installing a larger HD.

I should have known better when I picked a box that looked different than the rest of the SG 750 GB FAPs- but, I figured BB wouldn't put a "return" in their new pot!. Good lesson for me. :grin:

I am truly baffled by people who purchase anything at BB or CC. Nobody knows what they are doing, nobody knows where items are or if they have them, and those same dopes graduate to the BB "Geek Squad".

[dminches]

I am truly baffled by people who purchase anything at BB or CC. Nobody knows what they are doing, nobody knows where items are or if they have them, and those same dopes graduate to the BB "Geek Squad".

I treat them like mail order. I don't interact with humans. I just price the merchandise, pick it off the shelf and go to checkout.

[DaBearsfan]

I cannot get my HR20's to recognize my eSATA drive. I bought the 750 GB Free Agent Pro from CC for $199. CC did not have a eSATA to eSATA cable. So I went to Fry's and bought a Link Depot eSATA to eSATA cable. I hooked the free agent up to a PC and it worked fine. I Hooked it up to my HR20's and neither recognizes the external HDD.

The procedure I used was:

1) Unlplug the HR20
2) Power up the Free Agent Pro
3) Plug in the eSATA cable to the Free agent
4) Plug the eSATA cable into the HR20
5) Power up the HR20

I have tried this with BOTH HR20's, multiple times, and mutiple red button resets, still nothing. Took the Free Agent Pro back to the PC (USB) and did a quick format. And tried it again but the HR20's still do not see it.

I saw some earlier posts about a cable from Fry's not working, But it did not specify the Cable. This one is a Link Depot. Think this is the problem?

[Rich]

I cannot get my HR20's to recognize my eSATA drive. I bought the 750 GB Free Agent Pro from CC for $199. CC did not have a eSATA to eSATA cable. So I went to Fry's and bought a Link Depot eSATA to eSATA cable. I hooked the free agent up to a PC and it worked fine. I Hooked it up to my HR20's and neither recognizes the external HDD.

The procedure I used was:

1) Unlplug the HR20
2) Power up the Free Agent Pro
3) Plug in the eSATA cable to the Free agent
4) Plug the eSATA cable into the HR20
5) Power up the HR20

I have tried this with BOTH HR20's, multiple times, and mutiple red button resets, still nothing. Took the Free Agent Pro back to the PC (USB) and did a quick format. And tried it again but the HR20's still do not see it.

I saw some earlier posts about a cable from Fry's not working, But it did not specify the Cable. This one is a Link Depot. Think this is the problem?

Replace the jumper cable. Try the same brand. You hooked it up correctly. The light on the FAP should light up when the DVR recognizes it. Probably a bad cable.

[erp2863]

The Link Depot cable from Fry's is crap. Had the same problem, bought a different one (QVS) from a true computer store here in Austin (Altex) and it worked fine. Felt more secure/firm when plugging it in.

[Steve Rhodes]

The Link Depot cable from Fry's is crap. Had the same problem, bought a different one (QVS) from a true computer store here in Austin (Altex) and it worked fine. Felt more secure/firm when plugging it in.

All of the problems I had was due to the Fry's cable mentioned above. I swapped it with a 2nd Fry's cable and it worked.

[DaBearsfan]

Thanks everyone for the info confirming that the cable could be the problem!

I think I will go to Egghead and order the SIIG CB-SA0111-S1. Seems that that one is reliable from what I have read here.

[dminches]

I purchased this one (http://www.provantage.com/tripp-lite-p950-36i~7TRPA1HW.htm) and it worked like a charm.

[Robert Norman]

Are temperature readings in the mid 120's typical for everyone else here? My HR20-100 with the stock WD 320GB disk typically ran in the 105 degree range (and that’s in a warm non-air conditioned room where the ambient temperature has been in the mid to high 70’s), and after I swapped out the original disk for a WD 750 GB disk that temperature range didn't change. When I checked the temperature just before I went to bed last night it was 101 degrees.

Do the HR20-700s have a large (approx 2.5 inch) fan mounted directly to the underside of the HD mounting bracket like the HR20-100s do?

My HR20-700 temperature always stays around 127 F plus or minus 5 degrees.
My HR20-100 temperature always stays around 102 F plus or minus 5 degrees.
Both HR-20's have external Seagate Free Agent 750 Gig drives attached. Both HR-20's are setting side by side at the same level on an open plasma entertainment cabinet and are separated by 12 inches of open space.

During the past month I have had two additional HR20-100's and one HR20-700. Each of these temperature were the same as what my current HR20's are running. I believe the HR20-700 run hotter then the HR20-100 for the HR20-100 fan is on the bottom and pushes air out the side and back. The HR20-700 fan is not on the bottom.
Mike

[finaldiet]

Thanks everyone for the info confirming that the cable could be the problem!

I think I will go to Egghead and order the SIIG CB-SA0111-S1. Seems that that one is reliable from what I have read here.

I ordered same cable from newegg. Got the 6' one and receive it in 2 days. Works great.

[Robert Norman]

I cannot get my HR20's to recognize my eSATA drive. I bought the 750 GB Free Agent Pro from CC for $199. CC did not have a eSATA to eSATA cable. So I went to Fry's and bought a Link Depot eSATA to eSATA cable. I hooked the free agent up to a PC and it worked fine. I Hooked it up to my HR20's and neither recognizes the external HDD.

The procedure I used was:

1) Unlplug the HR20
2) Power up the Free Agent Pro
3) Plug in the eSATA cable to the Free agent
4) Plug the eSATA cable into the HR20
5) Power up the HR20

I have tried this with BOTH HR20's, multiple times, and mutiple red button resets, still nothing. Took the Free Agent Pro back to the PC (USB) and did a quick format. And tried it again but the HR20's still do not see it.

I saw some earlier posts about a cable from Fry's not working, But it did not specify the Cable. This one is a Link Depot. Think this is the problem?

I bought from Buy.com the 203001124 Tripp Lite eSATA (SATA-II) Signal Cable - 3ft - 1 x eSATA, 1 x eSATA - eSATA Cable for $5.99 and I have four of the cables and all work great.

Your problem may be the HR20 instead the eSATA cable. I first thought that the cable may have been my problem so I trimed some away from the eSATA cable and nothing worked so I tried the set up on the other HR20-100 to verify that the new eSATA drive and cable was working. I went through four new HR20's before I found one that everything was working. Two HR20-100 and two HR20-700 over a month. If the DIRECTV person will not ship you another HR20 then talked to another. They may have to send out a service person but that is ok. When the service person calls make positive they are bringing another HR20 to replace your unit if it proves bad.
Mike

[jangell2]

I hope I'm not asking questions that have already been asked, I apologize if I am. I'm going to be calling DTV today to see if I can get a deal of an HR20, maybe two if we go HD in the MBR.

I've done a search for the Seagate FAP and it looks like 750gb is the biggest one, and judging by this thread, it's a popular way to upgrade the HR20. Is the HR20 upgradeable by replacing the internal drive?

This sounds to me like a really stupid question, but how does the Seagate drive behave, powerewise, when hooked up to the DVR? If the DRV is put into standby mode (at least that's what it's called on my R10), does the Seagate keep on spinning or does it stop or ... what does it do?

Does having an external drive as, in effect, the only drive, slow down the HR20 at all?

thanx.

[DonCorleone]

Where are you guys getting the Seagate 750GB from Circuit City for $199? It says $279 on the website and even if you take off the $40 for the coupon that's circulating, that's still $239.

[Michael D'Angelo]

Where are you guys getting the Seagate 750GB from Circuit City for $199? It says $279 on the website and even if you take off the $40 for the coupon that's circulating, that's still $239.

The sale was for last week. It is over now.

[DonCorleone]

The sale was for last week. It is over now.

Nuts! Ok, thanks.

[Robert Norman]

I hope I'm not asking questions that have already been asked, I apologize if I am. I'm going to be calling DTV today to see if I can get a deal of an HR20, maybe two if we go HD in the MBR.

I've done a search for the Seagate FAP and it looks like 750gb is the biggest one, and judging by this thread, it's a popular way to upgrade the HR20. Is the HR20 upgradeable by replacing the internal drive?

This sounds to me like a really stupid question, but how does the Seagate drive behave, powerewise, when hooked up to the DVR? If the DRV is put into standby mode (at least that's what it's called on my R10), does the Seagate keep on spinning or does it stop or ... what does it do?

Does having an external drive as, in effect, the only drive, slow down the HR20 at all?

thanx.

Even in standby the HR20 is still operating and recording to disk. The Seagate 750 drive is always running and is power by a 120 volt to 12 volt converter.

If power interruption happens the Seagate drive always comes up before the HR20 comes up so no problem with the HR20 switching back to its internal drive.

No slow down on HR20 operation. You cannot tell the difference except having around 100 hours of high definition storage or around 488 hours of standard storage on the Seagate 750 gig drive.

Yes you can replace the internal drive but you lose the warranty and DIRECTV can charge you the full replacement cost for tampering with their lease box if they find out. Will they find out? Probably not if you put the factory drive back into the box if you have service problems and have to ship it back to DIRECTV or have a DIRECTV service person come out. Why take the risk when the external drive works great with the HR20?
Mike

[mocarob]

I never unplug eSATA from hr20. I do a menu reset on HR20 and when the first blue screen shows up (or when the lights go off on the hr20 front panel) I turn the power off on the eSATA. When I want to switch back to eSATA I do the same except turn the power on.

What's a 'menu reset' ?
Rob

[Michael D'Angelo]

What's a 'menu reset' ?
Rob

Press Menu-->Help & Settings-->Setup-->Reset-->Restart Receiver

That is the best and safest way to reset the HR20 or R15. Doing a RBR (red button reset) or plugging the power cord should only be done if your remote and receiver is unresponsive and you are unable to get into the menu.

DVR's are like PC's and it is not good for them to have a sudden lose of power because it is not good for the hard drive. Doing a menu restart is like doing a reset on a PC.

[jangell2]

Why take the risk when the external drive works great with the HR20?MikeThanks for the answers. I guess the FAP is the way to go. Does it come with the required cable?

Too bad I missed the sale.

[empire_of_one]

i guess i'm one of the unlucky ones, but i've had nothing but problems with the Seagate 750GB drive. the first one i ordered from newegg didn't work at all, and i had to send it back for a replacement. the 2nd one came, and it took 3 days of random reboots before it finally started working on a consistent basis.

it worked great for about 3 weeks, then boom, things started going south. the drive would lock up any time i tried to play back a recording. i tried everything imaginable, switching to different cables, trimming the cables, rebooting, and nothing helped. finally i went back and reformatted the drive and tried to start again from scratch -- and the problem was still there. it's like the drive couldn't keep send the data as fast as the HR20 was asking for it, and everything would lock up and the signal would drop off.

this really sucks, because for those few weeks when it worked, it was fantastic. now i'm looking for another brand of drive that i can get to work before the fall season starts up. i don't even care about space, i just want something that doesn't make the constant clicking noise of the internal drive, which is driving me nuts anytime i try to watch a program with quiet portions.

[Rich]

Thanks everyone for the info confirming that the cable could be the problem!

I think I will go to Egghead and order the SIIG CB-SA0111-S1. Seems that that one is reliable from what I have read here.

Don't leave us hanging, let us know how you make out.

[Rich]

i guess i'm one of the unlucky ones, but i've had nothing but problems with the Seagate 750GB drive. the first one i ordered from newegg didn't work at all, and i had to send it back for a replacement. the 2nd one came, and it took 3 days of random reboots before it finally started working on a consistent basis.

it worked great for about 3 weeks, then boom, things started going south. the drive would lock up any time i tried to play back a recording. i tried everything imaginable, switching to different cables, trimming the cables, rebooting, and nothing helped. finally i went back and reformatted the drive and tried to start again from scratch -- and the problem was still there. it's like the drive couldn't keep send the data as fast as the HR20 was asking for it, and everything would lock up and the signal would drop off.

this really sucks, because for those few weeks when it worked, it was fantastic. now i'm looking for another brand of drive that i can get to work before the fall season starts up. i don't even care about space, i just want something that doesn't make the constant clicking noise of the internal drive, which is driving me nuts anytime i try to watch a program with quiet portions.

Wow! I've got four of them running, two for months with no problems. That does not sound like its the FAP. Did you try running the unit using the internal drive? That sounds more like a problem with the DVR.

[nagor]

Just saw an ad that Buy.com has a Calvary 1 TB drive for $219 after rebate.
Will this one work?

[Rich]

Just saw an ad that Buy.com has a Calvary 1 TB drive for $219 after rebate.
Will this one work?

Just returned my eighth Cavalry 750 Gig eSATA. Noisy, but worked well, but really noisy. Small highspeed fans, banging and clanging HDs. Never had a software issue with them. But the noise, the noise, oy. FAPs, no noise. Wait a while, Seagate will come out with the TB model soon.

[cartrivision]

The sale was for last week. It is over now.

Yep. Cheapest deal I can find now is $212.99 shipped from zipzoomfly.com (plus $17.57 sales tax if shipped to California)

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10005017

[edo]

I just pluged in a Sata Drive (Seagate 300Gb) to my HR20-700. Once plugged in, turned power on and then I reset my DVR (didn't unplugged) Everything looked like the same as when you reset the unit. One thing called my attention: there was a RED light (solid) between flashes of the DTV logo... I said to my self: Uh-oh!! AT the end I went to my recordings, and VOILA! it was EMPTY!!! Then I found these posts and I learned that it uses 1 drive at a time....

Any way, I started recording stuff and they looked fine. So now the question was: what happened with the data on my internal drive? So now I unplugged the power for my DVR, then unplug teh SATA from my DVR and ther plug the DVR in again and turned it on.

No red light.. (Fiuuuu!!!) Everything went as usual. At the end I went to my recording and EVERYTHING was there!!!

It was a very good experience.

Now, I need to play with the network.. and that's another story...

[marksman]

I cannot get my HR20's to recognize my eSATA drive. I bought the 750 GB Free Agent Pro from CC for $199. CC did not have a eSATA to eSATA cable. So I went to Fry's and bought a Link Depot eSATA to eSATA cable. I hooked the free agent up to a PC and it worked fine. I Hooked it up to my HR20's and neither recognizes the external HDD.

The procedure I used was:

1) Unlplug the HR20
2) Power up the Free Agent Pro
3) Plug in the eSATA cable to the Free agent
4) Plug the eSATA cable into the HR20
5) Power up the HR20

I have tried this with BOTH HR20's, multiple times, and mutiple red button resets, still nothing. Took the Free Agent Pro back to the PC (USB) and did a quick format. And tried it again but the HR20's still do not see it.

I saw some earlier posts about a cable from Fry's not working, But it did not specify the Cable. This one is a Link Depot. Think this is the problem?

I have the EXACT same set-up. Last Thusday I picked up 2 of the 750 FreeAgents, and 2 Link Depot eSata to eSata cables from Frys. The first box I tried I was able to get it to work if I layed the FreeAgent face down. This kept the cable from twisting and coming out of contact. The second one I could not get to work, until I trimmed a bit of the rubber plastic around it. I just used a sharp knife and trimmed it all the way around and peeled it off. I later did the same thing for the first drive as it stopped working if it became jostled at all.

Both drives have been working fine since. Others have said they got cables that work out of the box, so that is surely an option. Was not one I was patient enough to wait on, so I followed the advice of the trimmers, and has been okay so far.

[Paladin369]

Has anybody used a SATA port to hook up more then one external SATA drive? Would this be a possibility? Found a port at www.sataport.com it has 5 ports for SATA drives. WOW, just think of what we can record and save.

[Rich]

Has anybody used a SATA port to hook up more then one external SATA drive? Would this be a possibility? Found a port at www.sataport.com it has 5 ports for SATA drives. WOW, just think of what we can record and save.

Hmm. Pondering. Need someone with more knowledge than I have, but that would be great. How would the DVR know which one to record on? Nah, too good to be true.

[dminches]

Has anybody used a SATA port to hook up more then one external SATA drive? Would this be a possibility? Found a port at www.sataport.com it has 5 ports for SATA drives. WOW, just think of what we can record and save.

The HR20 wouldn't see all the drives as one drive so I can't see how it could work and utilize all the available storage space.

[iowaberg]

This is probably the dumbest post in this thread but is there some type of eSATA FAQ for those of us new the HR20 and eSATA? I'm just clueless when it comes to this other than knowing it will increase my recording capacity. Can someone point me in the right direction?

[shendley]

I posted this in the HR 20 thread but since it's most relevant to this thread I thought I'd post it again here. Perhaps this is known already (but I wasn't aware of it), but when you have to do an RBR on the 20, it appears to automatically come up with the internal drive rather than the e-sata drive. If you do an RBR you need to unplug the external drive (in my case a Seagate 750 gb) before doing the RBR and plug it back in before the 20 powers back up. If you're just doing a Menu restart, the 20 appears (in my case, at least) to recognize the external drive as long as it's powered up and plugged in. Curiously, the Seagate's light always dims a bit during a Menu restart as the 20 powers back up. When I did an RBR and unplugged the Seagate before doing it, the lights stayed bright through the entire restart. But the 20 recognized the Seagate despite the fact that the lights didn't dim (which I thought, on the basis of my menu restarts, was a necessary condition of the 20 connecting with the exernal hard drive).

[funhouse69]

I haven't seen that behavior before. I have 2 HR20's one 700 & one 100 and I have eSATA 750's connected to both. I'm doing CE's with the 700 and had to RBR it a few times and never once has it come up and not recognize the external drive. This goes the same for soft resets as well.

I don't believe that I have had to RBR the 100 although I have done a soft reset a few times due to some OTA issues and again never a problem recognizing the external drive.

[finaldiet]

You power up the esata first, but don't connect to receiver yet. Pull power cord from receiver. Connect esata cable to receiver and then plug in receiver cord. The receiver will format esata drive at start-up. Check your list and it should be blank. What ever you recorded on original drive will still be there as receiver now only reconizes esata drive. You are able to go back to original drive by dis-connecting esata. You will have to re-do your series passes again, like first run,etc. on your esata drive now.

[rsblaski]

I just pluged in a Sata Drive (Seagate 300Gb) to my HR20-700. Once plugged in, turned power on and then I reset my DVR (didn't unplugged) Everything looked like the same as when you reset the unit. One thing called my attention: there was a RED light (solid) between flashes of the DTV logo... I said to my self: Uh-oh!! AT the end I went to my recordings, and VOILA! it was EMPTY!!! Then I found these posts and I learned that it uses 1 drive at a time....

Any way, I started recording stuff and they looked fine. So now the question was: what happened with the data on my internal drive? So now I unplugged the power for my DVR, then unplug teh SATA from my DVR and ther plug the DVR in again and turned it on.

No red light.. (Fiuuuu!!!) Everything went as usual. At the end I went to my recording and EVERYTHING was there!!!

It was a very good experience.

Now, I need to play with the network.. and that's another story...

Unless I'm reading your post incorrectly, you are now using a 300 GB eSATA drive?
If so, you are not gaining any extra recording space as the drive in the hr20-700, is a 300 GB drive. If you were just trying out the concept, disregard.
Most folks recommend at least a 750 GB drive to make a real difference in recording space.

[shendley]

Okay, this is interesting. I assumed I'd stumbled upon some kind of behavior here that would be consistent across all machines. It certainly was pretty consistent on my machine last night (and frustratingly so!). Any ideas as to what could account for this sort of behavior on one machine but not another out there? Could it have something to do with the connection; my e-sata plug doesn't fit very snuggly at all into my HR 20 (a problem that can't be solved by shaving the plastic as it doesn't go in far enough for the plastic bits to even touch the machine)?

I haven't seen that behavior before. I have 2 HR20's one 700 & one 100 and I have eSATA 750's connected to both. I'm doing CE's with the 700 and had to RBR it a few times and never once has it come up and not recognize the external drive. This goes the same for soft resets as well.

I don't believe that I have had to RBR the 100 although I have done a soft reset a few times due to some OTA issues and again never a problem recognizing the external drive.

[vrmerlin]

I'm having a bit of a problemy with the Seagate 750GB drive with my HR20. Every few days or so, the HR20 suddenly becomes unable to access the hard drive. I can see live TV, but pausing does nothing, and although I can list my saved shows, I can't watch any of them (it immediatley asks me to delete them).

If I reboot the HR20, it goes back to the old hard drive.

If I stop and start the seagate drive and THEN reboot the HR20 everything comes up fine and I'm good to go for a few more days.

Any idea on why I am seeing these failures? Is this a bug I'm running into?

Thanks,
John

[cartrivision]

I'm having a bit of a problemy with the Seagate 750GB drive with my HR20. Every few days or so, the HR20 suddenly becomes unable to access the hard drive. I can see live TV, but pausing does nothing, and although I can list my saved shows, I can't watch any of them (it immediatley asks me to delete them).

If I reboot the HR20, it goes back to the old hard drive.

If I stop and start the seagate drive and THEN reboot the HR20 everything comes up fine and I'm good to go for a few more days.

Any idea on why I am seeing these failures? Is this a bug I'm running into?

Thanks,
John


Many problems with eSATA drives have been related to cable problems where the cable didn't seat fully into the drive or HR20. Some people have resorted to shaving some cables down with a utility knife to make them fit into the socket better (deeper?). Search the forum for threads on eSATA cables.

[Volman]

Many problems with eSATA drives have been related to cable problems where the cable didn't seat fully into the drive or HR20. Some people have resorted to shaving some cables down with a utility knife to make them fit into the socket better (deeper?). Search the forum for threads on eSATA cables.

Are BOTH ends of the cables causing problems?Or is it mainly the HR20 end?

[jeff125va]

When connecting for the first time, or after a power outage:

1. Plug in the ESATA. If it has a separate power switch, turn that on.
2. Let the drive fully power up and get ready. 5 minutes should be more than sufficient.
3. Connect the ESATA cable to the drive.
4. Connect the ESATA cable to the HR20.
5. Power up the HR20.

I have made the mistake, after a power outage (happening too frequently lately--thanks, PEPCO), of just restarting the HR20. If you've had a power blip and the external drive no longer shows, disconnect everything: unplug power from both the dvr and the drive, and remove the ESATA cable from both. Wait a couple of minutes for both units to discharge. Then proceed as above.

Once the ESATA has been successfully connected, you should be able to switch between the internal and external drives without touching the ESATA drive:
1. Disconnect the power cord from the HR20.
2. Unplug or plug in the ESATA cord to the HR20 (depending on which drive you want to use).
3. Plug the HR20 back in.
This process will take little more than the HR20's reboot time.
Not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere in the thread, but I just wanted to point out that after months of (not continuous) frustration, the sequence here might have made a big difference in getting this to work for me, finally. Long story short, when I powered the drive (enclosure) on before connecting the eSATA cable, it worked. I discovered this with my 3rd enclosure (2nd model) but did not get a chance to put the drive back in the other enclosures and see if it works this way. Is this as important a step as it seems or just a fluke?

EDIT: Well, it definitely seems to matter, at least with the enclosures I have - Icy Dock and two (2) Thermaltake MAX4's. Turns out there was in fact a problem with my first Thermaltake but it was just a pin missing from the connector on the power cable, which I had suspected earlier.

[jeff125va]

I'm having a bit of a problemy with the Seagate 750GB drive with my HR20. Every few days or so, the HR20 suddenly becomes unable to access the hard drive. I can see live TV, but pausing does nothing, and although I can list my saved shows, I can't watch any of them (it immediatley asks me to delete them).

If I reboot the HR20, it goes back to the old hard drive.

If I stop and start the seagate drive and THEN reboot the HR20 everything comes up fine and I'm good to go for a few more days.

Any idea on why I am seeing these failures? Is this a bug I'm running into?

Thanks,
John
I'm wondering if the issue I just posted about has something to do with it. Mine worked fine for the first couple of days, then stopped the morning after a software upgrade was installed, which I believe caused the HR20 to restart. Perhaps the external drive wasn't in a state that the HR20 would recognize it when it rebooted itself. The enclosure I'm using doesn't start up (other than the LED) when I turn it on with the eSATA cable connected. I'm not sure what really happens when the HR20 reboots - does it turn off the external drive, in which case it can't really power on properly with the eSATA cable connected?

I just got it working last night so I haven't had a chance to test these things, but I plan to. There are a lot of shows my wife and kids still need to watch from the internal drive, but I want to have any new recordings on the external drive, so there will be a lot of switching back and forth for the next week or so.

[shendley]

I'm not having any problems with my new Seagate Free Agent (other than discovering that after an RBR I need to unplug the Seagate and plug it back in before the HR20 will recognize it again), but I've been curious since I got it working about the looseness of the e-sata plug going into my HR20. I've got the Tripp Lite cable (3 ft) that many people have been using successfully. It fits quite snuggly into the Seagate but it's very loose in the 20. It doesn't even go all the way in (I mean, to the point where the plastic touches the box and prevents it from going in any further). Is this normal or do I have a funky cable or HR20?

[Keeska]

I am about to order a Seagate Free Agent 750 Gb. What type of cable do I need to order - I have seen the Tripp Lite mentioned. Is it the cable with "1 x 7-pin eSATA" on each end?

(I am traveling and do not have access to the HR20-700 to see what connector it has.)

Thanks,

keeska

[shendley]

Here's what I bought. Aside from my worries about one end not fitting very snuggly into my HR 20, it's been flawless:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IAJZ76/002-3806061-7278432

I am about to order a Seagate Free Agent 750 Gb. What type of cable do I need to order - I have seen the Tripp Lite mentioned. Is it the cable with "1 x 7-pin eSATA" on each end?

(I am traveling and do not have access to the HR20-700 to see what connector it has.)

Thanks,

keeska

[K4SMX]

I'm not having any problems with my new Seagate Free Agent (other than discovering that after an RBR I need to unplug the Seagate and plug it back in before the HR20 will recognize it again), but I've been curious since I got it working about the looseness of the e-sata plug going into my HR20. I've got the Tripp Lite cable (3 ft) that many people have been using successfully. It fits quite snuggly into the Seagate but it's very loose in the 20. It doesn't even go all the way in (I mean, to the point where the plastic touches the box and prevents it from going in any further). Is this normal or do I have a funky cable or HR20?
Let me get this straight, since I'm waiting on the arrival of my own Seagate. At what point are you unplugging and then replugging the Seagate in the RBR process? (I assume you mean the data line, not the power cord.) Is everyone having to do this on a RBR or soft re-start? I just wanna get the procedure right.

[Keeska]

Here's what I bought. Aside from my worries about one end not fitting very snuggly into my HR 20, it's been flawless:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IAJZ76/002-3806061-7278432
Thank you. I just ordered one from that link to go with my drive order.

I found 3 sites all selling the drive for $249.00 and picked the one I've done business with in the past.

[heathramos]

I bought a couple of Seagate FAPs since they were on sale and hooked one up today.

Has anyone been able to turn off the light on it and keep it off?

I connected it to my PC, installed the utility and turned it off within it but once I connected it to the HR20, it turned back on.

This is one that will be used in my bedroom and that light will bug me.

[funhouse69]

I bought a couple of Seagate FAPs since they were on sale and hooked one up today.

Has anyone been able to turn off the light on it and keep it off?

I connected it to my PC, installed the utility and turned it off within it but once I connected it to the HR20, it turned back on.

This is one that will be used in my bedroom and that light will bug me.

The light will say on when it is connected to the HR20 because it is "Recording" all the time. There isn't anything you can do about it other than cover it up with something or cut the leads in the case which I don't recommend doing.

[harsh]

The light will say on when it is connected to the HR20 because it is "Recording" all the time. There isn't anything you can do about it other than cover it up with something or cut the leads in the case which I don't recommend doing.Have you tried turning it off?

[jeff125va]

I'm having a bit of a problemy with the Seagate 750GB drive with my HR20. Every few days or so, the HR20 suddenly becomes unable to access the hard drive. I can see live TV, but pausing does nothing, and although I can list my saved shows, I can't watch any of them (it immediatley asks me to delete them).

If I reboot the HR20, it goes back to the old hard drive.

If I stop and start the seagate drive and THEN reboot the HR20 everything comes up fine and I'm good to go for a few more days.

Any idea on why I am seeing these failures? Is this a bug I'm running into?

Thanks,
John
Had a chance to test some things last night. Even though I do have to power up the external drive/enclosure before connecting the eSATA cable, I was able to do a menu restart without doing anything to the external drive, and it rebooted to the external drive. I will probably be wary after any future reboots but at least I know that it CAN reboot to the eSATA.

[dminches]

The light will say on when it is connected to the HR20 because it is "Recording" all the time. There isn't anything you can do about it other than cover it up with something or cut the leads in the case which I don't recommend doing.

This is untrue. I have 2 FAP 750s and I configured both with my computer to turn off the lights. I hooked them up to each of my HR20s and the lights have stayed off. One time during the initial installation I had to repeat the process but that was a week ago. You can get the lights to stay off and they won't turn back on.

[shendley]

First of all, I'm not sure my issue with the RBR and the Seagate will generalize to everyone. Someone responded to my first post about this (either in this thread or the main e-sata thread - I can't remember which) saying they'd never noticed the problem on an RBR. But here's what happened and how I fixed it. My media share froze up and I had to do an RBR. When the HR20 came back on, it was back on the internal drive. Every time I had done a menu reset before, the 20 came back recognizing the external drive. I then did a menu reset and the 20 came back recognizing the internal drive. Then I unplugged the power cord (not the e-sata cable) on the Seagate and after a few seconds plugged it back in. Next menu reset, the 20 came back seeing the external drive. So, I concluded that once you do an RBR and the machine doesn't recognize your external drive, it won't recognize it until you power the external drive down and then power it back up before doing a menu reset.

It would be interesting to test this hypothesis by doing a few RBRs and seeing how things go on different machines. But since we've learned that RBRs are not great for the machine and should only be used as a last resort to solve a problem, I wouldn't recommend that. But it would be interesting to hear from others who have an e-sata drive attached and have had to do an RBR to see if others are seeing much the same thing.

Let me get this straight, since I'm waiting on the arrival of my own Seagate. At what point are you unplugging and then replugging the Seagate in the RBR process? (I assume you mean the data line, not the power cord.) Is everyone having to do this on a RBR or soft re-start? I just wanna get the procedure right.

[Rich]

I bought a couple of Seagate FAPs since they were on sale and hooked one up today.

Has anyone been able to turn off the light on it and keep it off?

I connected it to my PC, installed the utility and turned it off within it but once I connected it to the HR20, it turned back on.

This is one that will be used in my bedroom and that light will bug me.

Black electrician's tape. Scotch 88 tape is opaque and fits right over the lights.

[DaBearsfan]

First thanks for all the help from everyone last week!

I returned the Link Depot eSata to eSata cable and got the SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 cable from Newegg.

Now my HDD seems to be flaky!

I just went to plug in the Seagate Free Agent Pro HDD and I noticed something strange. it did not start up when I plugged it in. Now there appears to be an what I think is a on/off touch sensitive switch on the base. When I keep my finger on the switch for maybe 15 seconds it started up. I then unplugged the unit and waited a couple of minutes and then plugged it back in and it did not start up. If I hold the switch it eventually starts up.

My question is for those who have this drive.
1) I assume that the drive should power up as soon as it gets power?
2) And it should restart after loss of power?

I assume i may have a bad drive and need to return it but wanted to be sure.

[Rich]

First thanks for all the help from everyone last week!

I returned the Link Depot eSata to eSata cable and got the SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 cable from Newegg.

Now my HDD seems to be flaky!

I just went to plug in the Seagate Free Agent Pro HDD and I noticed something strange. it did not start up when I plugged it in. Now there appears to be an what I think is a on/off touch sensitive switch on the base. When I keep my finger on the switch for maybe 15 seconds it started up. I then unplugged the unit and waited a couple of minutes and then plugged it back in and it did not start up. If I hold the switch it eventually starts up.

My question is for those who have this drive.
1) I assume that the drive should power up as soon as it gets power?
2) And it should restart after loss of power?

I assume i may have a bad drive and need to return it but wanted to be sure.

The lights on the FAP usually don't come on until the HR20 recognizes it.

[DaBearsfan]

Don't leave us hanging, let us know how you make out.

I will not, Unfortunately I have been traveling a lot. Got my cable last night after I got home and today I Think I have determined I have a bad FAP 750 (I submitted another post asking if the drive is flaky)

[Rich]

I will not, Unfortunately I have been traveling a lot. Got my cable last night after I got home and today I Think I have determined I have a bad FAP 750 (I submitted another post asking if the drive is flaky) See the last post. I assume that once the HR20 begins to boot up the lights come on on the FAP? If so that is normal.

[DaBearsfan]

The lights on the FAP usually don't come on until the HR20 recognizes it.

Thanks rich584.

As you can tell I just catching up with my posts after being on the road.

I just took the FAP to my PC and plugged it in again DOA will not start up. I know the FAP is getting power as the bottom of the base warms up after the power cord is plugged in. But it does not power on after I plug the USB cable into the PC. Looks like the FAP has a problem.

Time for a trip to CC to get another!!

[lucky13]

Originally Posted by lucky13
When connecting for the first time, or after a power outage:

1. Plug in the ESATA. If it has a separate power switch, turn that on.
2. Let the drive fully power up and get ready. 5 minutes should be more than sufficient.
3. Connect the ESATA cable to the drive.
4. Connect the ESATA cable to the HR20.
5. Power up the HR20.

I have made the mistake, after a power outage (happening too frequently lately--thanks, PEPCO), of just restarting the HR20. If you've had a power blip and the external drive no longer shows, disconnect everything: unplug power from both the dvr and the drive, and remove the ESATA cable from both. Wait a couple of minutes for both units to discharge. Then proceed as above.

Once the ESATA has been successfully connected, you should be able to switch between the internal and external drives without touching the ESATA drive:
1. Disconnect the power cord from the HR20.
2. Unplug or plug in the ESATA cord to the HR20 (depending on which drive you want to use).
3. Plug the HR20 back in.
This process will take little more than the HR20's reboot time.

Not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere in the thread, but I just wanted to point out that after months of (not continuous) frustration, the sequence here might have made a big difference in getting this to work for me, finally. Long story short, when I powered the drive (enclosure) on before connecting the eSATA cable, it worked. I discovered this with my 3rd enclosure (2nd model) but did not get a chance to put the drive back in the other enclosures and see if it works this way. Is this as important a step as it seems or just a fluke?

EDIT: Well, it definitely seems to matter, at least with the enclosures I have - Icy Dock and two (2) Thermaltake MAX4's. Turns out there was in fact a problem with my first Thermaltake but it was just a pin missing from the connector on the power cable, which I had suspected earlier.

Let me amend this slightly to add that if you're just "swapping" drives--switching between ESATA and internal--it's not necessary to power down either the HR20 or the ESATA drive. I have successfully switched back and forth by disconnecting or connecting the data cable and doing a Menu Restart. Have done this several times without problem. I unlpug the cable from the drive end, not from behind the HR20, so as not to chance a problem with the connection there (and it's also easier for me to reach the connection at the drive). Once I unplugged the cable after I had started the Restart, and the DVR froze. Had to RBR.

[Rich]

Thanks rich584.

As you can tell I just catching up with my posts after being on the road.

I just took the FAP to my PC and plugged it in again DOA will not start up. I know the FAP is getting power as the bottom of the base warms up after the power cord is plugged in. But it does not power on after I plug the USB cable into the PC. Looks like the FAP has a problem.

Time for a trip to CC to get another!!

So you hooked up a formatted by HR20 FAP to a PC and it didn't work using the USB cable? Excuse my ignorance, but don't you have to reformat the FAP for PC use? I have been meaning to ask this question, but my memory span is short and this seems like the perfect time. If I remember correctly the FAP does not come with a CD so how would you do the reformat?

[Rich]

Let me amend this slightly to add that if you're just "swapping" drives--switching between ESATA and internal--it's not necessary to power down either the HR20 or the ESATA drive. I have successfully switched back and forth by disconnecting or connecting the data cable and doing a Menu Restart. Have done this several times without problem. I unlpug the cable from the drive end, not from behind the HR20, so as not to chance a problem with the connection there (and it's also easier for me to reach the connection at the drive). Once I unplugged the cable after I had started the Restart, and the DVR froze. Had to RBR.

I have to try that. That would make the "dormant" internal drive much more accessible. Last year I recorded Lost and 24 on the dormant drives and it got to be an ordeal going thru a complete reboot several time a week. This is much simpler.

[lucky13]

I have to try that. That would make the "dormant" internal drive much more accessible. Last year I recorded Lost and 24 on the dormant drives and it got to be an ordeal going thru a complete reboot several time a week. This is much simpler.

Yes. Not exactly plug & play, but a lot better than fiddling with the power cord.
I should add that this has been reported before somewhere in this very long post, so I can't take credit for original research. :)

[Rich]

Yes. Not exactly plug & play, but a lot better than fiddling with the power cord.
I should add that this has been reported before somewhere in this very long post, so I can't take credit for original research. :)

I did see those same posts, you described it in such a way that I saw an advantage. Thanx.

[KCCardsfan]

What are the expected Hours of HD storage in MPEG4 for both 500 & 750gb external drives.

[Rich]

What are the expected Hours of HD storage in MPEG4 for both 500 & 750gb external drives.

I've tried to answer that question for months and failed. Seems to vary with content and compression (still don't understand the whole compression and bitrate thingee). In any event it varies too much to really measure accurately. This is the objective conclusion I have come to.

The 500 will give you two thirds of the recording space of the 750. The 750 gives you lots of storage for MPEG4 programs. I hope to be able to record and back up programs on my four HR20/FAP 750 without any storage problems during the upcoming TV season.

[KCCardsfan]

What are the expected Hours of HD storage in MPEG4 for both 500 & 750gb external drives.

Ok, let me ask this a different way, what would a rough estimate/somewhere in the ballpark/casually speaking, hours be.

[Rich]

Ok, let me ask this a different way, what would a rough estimate/somewhere in the ballpark/casually speaking, hours be.

OK, I have had just over 50 hours of MPEG2 movies on the 300 Gig internal drive. Still had a couple percent to go to fill it completely. I think the original figure for MPEG4 was 80-100 hours on the 300 Gig internal drive. I would hope to get over 200 hours of MPEG4 programming. I think the storage hours on the box are guesses, just like the HR20 was obviously a "Gee, I guess it's ready to be sold (or leased)".

I did not use the HR20s for prime time viewing last season because they were so unstable. Had I done that, I would be able to give you a better answer. I will say that last season every show that I set to record did record. And that was using really crappy eSATAs.

[Rich]

Ok, let me ask this a different way, what would a rough estimate/somewhere in the ballpark/casually speaking, hours be.

You know, if you think about it logically, that 300 Gig internal HD is only going to use 200 Gigs to record on, so the 750, which is actually a 650, should be able to record those 50 hours of MPEG2 three times and still have room left over for a total of 150 hours of MPEG2 recordings.

The MPEG4 should be at least twice as much. Or am I wrong again, and if so explain it to me so that I can understand it? I think it's got to be the variables of compression (?) and content that cause the varying storage amounts.

[DaBearsfan]

So you hooked up a formatted by HR20 FAP to a PC and it didn't work using the USB cable? Excuse my ignorance, but don't you have to reformat the FAP for PC use? I have been meaning to ask this question, but my memory span is short and this seems like the perfect time. If I remember correctly the FAP does not come with a CD so how would you do the reformat?

No, The Link Depot eSata cable I had last week was bad. The HR20 never recognized the drive. The drive was working fine when I left to go on a business trip. So it was never formatted by the HR20. I got a new SIIG cable and then when I tried it with the drive today. The FAP was bad. It powered up twice but never powered on again after that.

So I tried to plug it into my PC on the chance it would start using the USB port and it was still DOA. Just got back from CC have a new FAP and a new SIIG cable and I am off to test! :D

[DaBearsfan]

This is untrue. I have 2 FAP 750s and I configured both with my computer to turn off the lights. I hooked them up to each of my HR20s and the lights have stayed off. One time during the initial installation I had to repeat the process but that was a week ago. You can get the lights to stay off and they won't turn back on.

Hi dminches,

I had the same experience as another person I used the FAP utility to turn the light off. As soon as I plugged it into the the HR20 after a menu reset it turned back on.

So question is: There is no problem once the FAP is formatted for the HR20 to use, reconnecting it to the PC using the USB port and using the utilities to turn it the light off again?

Do you lose recordings?

[DaBearsfan]

:hurah: Just plugged in the NEW FAP 750 GB and the SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 eSata cable. SWEEEETTTTT!!!! worked the first time like a champ!! :hurah:

So my experience is: The Link Depot eSata Cable at Fry's is a crappy cable. Not sure what happened to the first FAP, but I am glad it failed before I got a bunch of programs on stored on it.

The SIIG Cable fits very well in BOTH the FAP and HR20.

[marksman]

On my unit with a free agent 750 at 61% available I have:

~80.5 hours of SD
~17.5 hours of mpeg2
~6.5 hours of mpeg4

So whatever that means.

I did notice when deleting/recording 3 hour mpeg4 football games, I would see the % meter go up/down by 2%.

[anubys]

Ok, let me ask this a different way, what would a rough estimate/somewhere in the ballpark/casually speaking, hours be.

I read in a few places that you should get twice to four times more space...i.e. mpeg4 makes the file that much smaller than mpeg2, so it's like you're at least doubling the amount of space on your drive...

[Fore]

Does using an ext. hd like a 75ogb hd also incr. the number of allowable (50 now on the HR20) "record series" in the scheduler? I hate this limitation.

I'll politely ask this again, as the one person who responded to me, and my reply are gone (wierd no?) .
Please, if anyone knows, does expanding the hd increase the number of maximum programs in the 'Scheduler"??

Thanks, I'm really looking forward to trying something.

Fore

[Rich]

:hurah: Just plugged in the NEW FAP 750 GB and the SIIG CB-SA0111-S1 eSata cable. SWEEEETTTTT!!!! worked the first time like a champ!! :hurah:

So my experience is: The Link Depot eSata Cable at Fry's is a crappy cable. Not sure what happened to the first FAP, but I am glad it failed before I got a bunch of programs on stored on it.

The SIIG Cable fits very well in BOTH the FAP and HR20.

Wonder what would have happened if you used the SIIG cable on the original FAP. Now we'll never know. Everybody seems to have trouble with the Tripp wires, but people keep buying them. We are a nation of cattle.

[Zeos]

I wish it'd be as easy for me as some of you guys...

Picked up a FAP and ordered the SIIG cable from newegg (ordered 2 of them actually)....The HR20 won't recognize the drive no matter what I try :( ...I hooked the drive up to my pc via esata (have esata on one of my computers) and it works like a charm with both cables. Tried 'trimming' one of the cables in a futile attempt to get the HR20 to see it, but no dice, the drive never lights up (though I can turn it on with the switch, but it doesn't help)......I'll just have to live with what I've got I suppose :(

[Rich]

I wish it'd be as easy for me as some of you guys...

Picked up a FAP and ordered the SIIG cable from newegg (ordered 2 of them actually)....The HR20 won't recognize the drive no matter what I try :( ...I hooked the drive up to my pc via esata (have esata on one of my computers) and it works like a charm with both cables. Tried 'trimming' one of the cables in a futile attempt to get the HR20 to see it, but no dice, the drive never lights up (though I can turn it on with the switch, but it doesn't help)......I'll just have to live with what I've got I suppose :(

Call up D* and get another unit. I have had two units that wouldn't work with eSATA. Get another HR20. Remember only 1 in 4 HR20 works correctly in my experience. Sounds like you've done everything right, must be the HR20.

[DaBearsfan]

Wonder what would have happened if you used the SIIG cable on the original FAP. Now we'll never know. Everybody seems to have trouble with the Tripp wires, but people keep buying them. We are a nation of cattle.

I did try the New SIIG cable with the original FAP. The original FAP was working fine last week when I tried the Link Depot cable. It was when I tried the new SIIG cable with the original FAP that I determined the original FAP failed. Just for a quick test I did try the Link Depot cabkle with the replacement FAP and the HR20 did not recognize it. I then plugeed in the SIIG cabke and the repalcement FAP and BINGO it worked.

[Rich]

I did try the New SIIG cable with the original FAP. The original FAP was working fine last week when I tried the Link Depot cable. It was when I tried the new SIIG cable with the original FAP that I determined the original FAP failed. Just for a quick test I did try the Link Depot cabkle with the replacement FAP and the HR20 did not recognize it. I then plugeed in the SIIG cabke and the repalcement FAP and BINGO it worked.

Amazed I am. The FAPs have been the best part of my HR20 experience. I did have one that a 100 destroyed, but I don't think there was anything wrong with that FAP. That was just a really bad refurb. Wouldn't even work with the internal HD after it ate the FAP.

[DonCorleone]

I feel bad for those having problems. I literally plugged in the cable, powered up the Seagate 750, and reset the HR20 and it worked like a charm.

The only annoying parts are the guide cache lost and series links.

[RaceTripper]

I have 2 HR20-700s that I got installed last Jan '07. I just bought 2 FAP 750 from Zipzoomfly for $213 each. I also bought 3' and a 6' SIIG eSata/eSata cables from Newegg (they only had one 3' left in stock). I connected one drive on Thursday and the other on Friday. Both are performing flawlessly. The cables were on the pricey side, but I didn't want to get cheap about spending an extra $25 or so only to find out later I've lost many hours of recordings due to poor cable quality or fit. Peace of mind has its value.

No more coming back from vacations with deleted recordings or shows that failed to record for low space. :) I have 20 hrs. of SD and 5 hrs. of HD and it still shows 92% available.

As for the FAP lights, I also noticed they come back after cycling the power on the drive. I installed the FAP software on my laptop. After setting up the drive near my HR20 and powering on, I connected it to the laptop via the USB cable, reset the lights to off, and then connected the eSata to my HR20. That works fine. I just hope I'll be able to repeat that later if necessary now that the drive has been formatted and populated by the HR20.

[mocarob]

Remember only 1 in 4 HR20 works correctly in my experience. Sounds like you've done everything right, must be the HR20.

That's quite a statement. I see lots of poeple having success with using Ext drives.
I think it might be helpful to create a database of combinations that work and those that don't work. How many 100's or 700's have esata issues. Everybody having issues are using the esata connection not the USB right?

Mine was easy, I bought a West Dig 750gb drive, added a $21 KingWin case that comes with cable and plugged it in. Voila. No trimming needed.
Rob

[funhouse69]

Call up D* and get another unit. I have had two units that wouldn't work with eSATA. Get another HR20. Remember only 1 in 4 HR20 works correctly in my experience. Sounds like you've done everything right, must be the HR20.

I guess I have a lot of luck seeing that I've had 2 out of 2 HR20's that have been working perfectly for over 6 months now. I haven't had to replace either of them and they are both connected to eSATA 750's pretty much since day one and worked first try.

I'm actually surprised to hear all of the issues that others have been having with their set ups.

[Rich]

That's quite a statement. I see lots of poeple having success with using Ext drives.
I think it might be helpful to create a database of combinations that work and those that don't work. How many 100's or 700's have esata issues. Everybody having issues are using the esata connection not the USB right?

Mine was easy, I bought a West Dig 750gb drive, added a $21 KingWin case that comes with cable and plugged it in. Voila. No trimming needed.
Rob

I have had at least 20 HR20s in my possession since last November and have 5 working. 1 in 4. Only had a problem with 2 concerning the eSATA function. These are objective opinions based on empirical data.