HR23 hard drive size

[sdocean]

Do the HR23 now come with a 1TB hard drive?

Have any other models started coming larger than 500GB drives in them?

I am seeing HR23 ads with them for these hours:

HD recording capacity: 100 hours

SD recording capacity: 400 hours

And titles like this: D* HR23 (1 000 GB) 400-Hours Video Recorder

[barryb]

500 GB drive in the HR23. I have not heard of anything bigger.

[barryb]

Out of curiosity: where are you seeing these ads at?

[MicroBeta]

As Barryb said, the HR23-700 has a 500 GB hard drive. This would make the upto 100 hrs HD the round about correct number.

Mike

[cartrivision]

Originally Posted by sdocean

Do the HR23 now come with a 1TB hard drive?

Have any other models started coming larger than 500GB drives in them?

I am seeing HR23 ads with them for these hours:

HD recording capacity: 100 hours

SD recording capacity: 400 hours

And titles like this: D* HR23 (1 000 GB) 400-Hours Video Recorder

A 1TB disk gives a HD recording capacity in the neighborhood of 225 hours (+/- 25hrs).

[MicroBeta]

Originally Posted by cartrivision

A 1TB disk gives a HD recording capacity in the neighborhood of 225 hours (+/- 25hrs).

While that is true, that isn't the size drive that comes stock in the HR23.

You can buy them with that capacity but they would have to supported by the company that did the upgrade.

225 is a lot of hours. It would be nice if the current DVRs came with a 1TB drive. They are pretty cheap these days so it's not an unreasonable expectation...IMO anyway.

Mike

[cartrivision]

Originally Posted by MicroBeta

While that is true, that isn't the size drive that comes stock in the HR23.

You are correct and that was the point of pointing out what capacity 1TB provides. The OP said he was seeing advertised capacities of 100 hours of HD recordings and asked if that meant that the DVR had a 1TB drive. If the DVR had a 1TB drive as the OP thought it might, he would see advertised capacities of >200 hours, not 100 hours.

225 is a lot of hours. It would be nice if the current DVRs came with a 1TB drive. They are pretty cheap these days so it's not an unreasonable expectation...IMO anyway.

225 hours is nice but the prices of 2TB disks are dropping and 475 hours is even nicer. A 2TB disk can now be had for $170... less that what I paid for a 750GB disk 2 years ago when I got my first HR20. The way I look at it, that's just a few bucks a month amortized over the life of the DVR, and well worth it compared to how much I actually spend for my recurring subscription expenses related to watching TV.

[barryb]

I would like to see a link to that ad mentioned by the OP.

[morgantown]

I've seen what the OP is referring to on EBay. So not really an ad per se...but I have seen them as well.

[barryb]

Things like http://www.weaknees.com/directv-hd-dvr-upgrade.php are most likely what the OP is talking about.

[Davenlr]

Weaknees claims they are an authorized DirecTv dealer, yet are offering to upgrade leased boxes. Would this be a DirecTv authorized upgrade?

[The Merg]

Originally Posted by Davenlr

Weaknees claims they are an authorized DirecTv dealer, yet are offering to upgrade leased boxes. Would this be a DirecTv authorized upgrade?

There's been a lot of talk about this. When asked directly if it was a violation of DirecTV's subscriber agreement, Weaknees did not answer the question. Yet, they seem to be an authorized retailer still. It's almost as if DirecTV is turning a blind eye to their upgrade practice, but I couldn't and won't say that for certain.

- Merg

[hdtvfan0001]

500GB is the largest internal unit "legally" offered.

If you want something larger...say 1TB or 2 TB...there's always the option of eSata external storage.

[P Smith]

Originally Posted by barryb

Things like http://www.weaknees.com/directv-hd-dvr-upgrade.php are most likely what the OP is talking about.

"For both upgrade paths, copy services are available. If you send us your DVR, we will copy your contents to the new internal or external drive. $59"
They must pay royalty to us, who publish the procedure here.

[The Merg]

Originally Posted by barryb

Things like http://www.weaknees.com/directv-hd-dvr-upgrade.php are most likely what the OP is talking about.

Does Weaknees know something that we don't here at DBSTalk. From the page you linked...

We now offer upgrades for all DirecTV HR20, HR21, HR22 and HR23 DVRs.
These upgrade drives also work with the standard definition R22 and R23 DirecTV DVRs.

Hmmmm....

- Merg

[Davenlr]

I have no clue WHO at DirecTv to direct this question to, but if they in fact, turn a blind eye to Weaknees upgrades, I wonder if there is someone at DirecTv who would be able to grant a user permission to do so if they assume the risk of damage? I really would like to put one of the low power WD 2TB drives in my HR22. The problem with eSATA, is it appears to have a risk of erasing the drives contents if it loads the drive and somehow believes the file system is not valid, hence performing a repartition during its startup. That and the power savings to the UPS without having to run a 100W power brick for the eSATA.

[richierich]

Originally Posted by Davenlr

I have no clue WHO at DirecTv to direct this question to, but if they in fact, turn a blind eye to Weaknees upgrades, I wonder if there is someone at DirecTv who would be able to grant a user permission to do so if they assume the risk of damage? I really would like to put one of the low power WD 2TB drives in my HR22. The problem with eSATA, is it appears to have a risk of erasing the drives contents if it loads the drive and somehow believes the file system is not valid, hence performing a repartition during its startup. That and the power savings to the UPS without having to run a 100W power brick for the eSATA.

+1. 2TB Internal WD20EADS!!!

[hdtvfan0001]

Originally Posted by Davenlr

I have no clue WHO at DirecTv to direct this question to, but if they in fact, turn a blind eye to Weaknees upgrades, I wonder if there is someone at DirecTv who would be able to grant a user permission to do so if they assume the risk of damage? I really would like to put one of the low power WD 2TB drives in my HR22. The problem with eSATA, is it appears to have a risk of erasing the drives contents if it loads the drive and somehow believes the file system is not valid, hence performing a repartition during its startup. That and the power savings to the UPS without having to run a 100W power brick for the eSATA.

It all comes down to leased units vs owned.

Some folks here have one, the other, or both in their setups.

Owned units can be upgraded with internal drives.

Leased units cannot (penalites for tampering with them can result in expensive charges).

The maximum drive size supported in any case is 2TB. A number of users have successfully upgrade with internal drives up to 2TB.

Before trying to do any upgrade, confirm with DirecTV if the unit you are considering "upgrading" is indeed yours or a leased unit - they have records that will confirm it. I got an written e-mail on that...I have several owned and 1 leased unit here.

[Rensselaerian]

Originally Posted by hdtvfan0001

It all comes down to leased units vs owned.

Owned units can be upgraded with internal drives.

Leased units cannot (penalites for tampering with them can result in expensive charges).

How can you actually buy a DirecTV HD DVR to OWN if DirecTV is always claiming that it owns all of its DVRs, and that what you are paying for is actually only a lease? I have a real problem with this--if I am shelling out a couple of hundred bucks for a piece of electronic equipment, in my view, it's my money, I'm buying it, don't tell me I don't own it.

This is really frustrating. I have priced out the DirecTV HR-23 on Amazon.com and at least one other customer who bought an HR-23 from a seller on Amazon found out afterward that what he purchased was a lease, supposedly not the machine to own.

If I get an HR-23 and want to upgrade the hard drive storage capacity, I'd like to do it internally (just seems neater that way to me), but if the machine I paid for is actually owned by DirecTV, what penalties would I be subjecting myself to?

Does anyone on this board know where/how I can actually buy an HR-23 to OWN that DirecTV will acknowledge is mine?

Thanks--

[The Merg]

Rensselaerian,

It is possible to purchase a DirecTV receiver (more on that in a moment). The amount you pay to DirecTV or another retailer (Amazon, Best Buy, Weaknees) is called an upfront lease fee. You are not paying full price for the receiver. In the past DirecTV would let you pay full price if you desired ($400+ for an HD-DVR), but they generally don't do that know. So, even though you are paying for it, you do not own it. It is a lease.

It is still possible to find the HR21-Pro at some retailers. The HR21-Pro, when purchased, is an owned receiver as you pay the full price for it. One of the other ways people of owned receivers is that they owned a receiver in the past and had it replaced under the Protection Plan when that owned receiver failed.

It is also possible to find one for sale on ebay or Craigslist, however, not every one for sale is owned. What I mean by that is people will sell receivers on those sites when they are in fact leased. If you decide to go that route, get the receiver ID and contact the Access Card Team at DirecTV. They can tell you if the receiver is owned vs. leased, deactivated, and has no outstanding balance. Do this before you purchase the receiver to make sure you are getting an owned receiver. If you do this, you will still need to purchase a new access card from DirecTV ($20).

Something to consider is that if you have an owned receiver and then get it replaced by DirecTV for free (which can be done) if it stops working is that the replacement will be a lease if you do not have the Protection Plan.

As for opening up and modifying/tampering with a leased receiver, along with being a violation of the equipment lease agreement, DirecTV can charge you for the receiver in full or even cancel your account.

BTW, to DBSTalk!

- Merg

[Rensselaerian]

I did not know about checking the receiver ID number on units on eBay to see if they are owned vs. leased before buying (or "leasing"). A valuable tip, thank you.

[The Merg]

As a follow-up, do not purchase the receiver if it turns out to be a lease. DirecTV will not let you activate it as the seller should have returned it to them.

- Merg

[P Smith]

Originally Posted by The Merg

..., you will still need to purchase a new access card from DirecTV ($20).
...

Actually, you can't BUY smart card. Just read what written on its back side.

[rich584]

Originally Posted by barryb

I would like to see a link to that ad mentioned by the OP.

Circuit City has them for $179.

Rich

[The Merg]

Originally Posted by P Smith

Actually, you can't BUY smart card. Just read what written on its back side.

True. It's not a purchase (in the same way that purchasing a receiver is not a purchase). The Access Card is owned at all times by DirecTV, which is why you need to return it (or destroy it at their request) whenever you deactivate a receiver that it is attached to. The $20 you pay to them is actually for them to ship it to you.

- Merg