eSATA - Do you use it?

yes, and it works very well. I wish it was compatible with all the DVR's in my house though.

didn't really see a poll answer that fit.

I am not yet but will at some point. I bought a raid enclosure a long time ago for one of my HR20's but have been unable to buy hard drives yet (hopefully soon).

Use eSATA for my HR20-700s.
As my setup link shows, have a 1TB WD HD in an Antec MX-1 enclosure for both DVRs.
Works great, never a hiccup. Too easy to fill 'em up though.
Would of course be nice to be able to use the internal HD at the same time and move drives between DVRs on the same account.

Both of my main DVR's are starting to get full... but I'd hate to do an add-on at this point... because anytime we wanted to watch something on the internal drive, we'd have to unplug the esata...

I will likely get one for each DVR when they can work in conjunction with the internal drive...

Answered "NO - But I would if I could use both drives simultaneously."


Got the drive (1TB), hooked it up to make sure it worked, but have not been able to get internal better than 50% to make the switch. Don't really be wanting to switch back and forth to clear it out. Probably use the drive on a new unit soon.

I answered "NO - But I would if I could use both drives simultaneously." mainly because I'd be able to pick up a much cheaper drive and end up with more capacity instead of having to get a much larger drive.

How 'bout "Yes, it's great to have the option, I'm using it with no problems, though the implementation of it could certainly be improved"?

I don't feel as enthusiastic as the first option, nor as pessimistic as the 2nd one. :whatdidid

I have one and it works great.

I have Thermaltake N0012US with active cooling (silent) and WD640GB.

Thermaltake N0012US at Newegg

DarinC said:

How 'bout "Yes, it's great to have the option, I'm using it with no problems, though the implementation of it could certainly be improved"?

I don't feel as enthusiastic as the first option, nor as pessimistic as the 2nd one. :whatdidid

Click to expand...

Exactly.

would like but see people having mucho problems.

Have been using for quite a while and I think it's just great. I would like to see it be able to be used as additional storage to the internal drive and/or be able to transfer programming between the internal and eSata drive.

Been using my 1TB drive on my HR21 for 4 months without a hitch. I literally plugged it in, restarted the HR21 and have been good to go ever since. I know I'm not supposed to like the HR21 since I was a HD Tivo user for years ... but I admit I kinda of like the HR21.

The lowest amount of available space I've ever had is 77%, so I voted no. That may change in the future, but I tend to watch and delete, on a weekly basis.

I voted "NO - I don’t want another “electronic box” in my system setup." But here's the rest of the story.

I used a 750GB Freeagent PRO on two of my HR20-700's. A couple months ago I reached the limit on how messy my system setup was. So, I systematically went through and corrected as many issues as I could. I bought shorter cables everywhere so they're just the correct length. I relocated my Sonos Zone Player. I yanked my phone line connections since I already had ethernet connections to my HR20x's. And I yanked the hard drives out of my Freeagent PRO's and installed then directly in my HR20's.

Much more tidy.

r0b0tic said:

The lowest amount of available space I've ever had is 77%, so I voted no. That may change in the future, but I tend to watch and delete, on a weekly basis.

Click to expand...

What I've used the additional storage for the most is recording and keeping HD Movies. I used to have to record only a few and then watch and delete due to space constraints. With the new drive, I keep a good library of movies to choose from (currently I've got 20 movies.) So, in my mind, this is my subsitute for Netflix.

I voted "NO - I don’t want another “electronic box” in my system setup." since there was no selection for -> "I upgraded by replacing the internal drive", which does fall under that category, but I did upgrade.

Not only once, but twice and kept my current recordings.

CliffV said:

I voted "NO - I don't want another "electronic box" in my system setup." But here's the rest of the story.

I used a 750GB Freeagent PRO on two of my HR20-700's. A couple months ago I reached the limit on how messy my system setup was. So, I systematically went through and corrected as many issues as I could. I bought shorter cables everywhere so they're just the correct length. I relocated my Sonos Zone Player. I yanked my phone line connections since I already had ethernet connections to my HR20x's. And I yanked the hard drives out of my Freeagent PRO's and installed then directly in my HR20's.

Much more tidy.

Click to expand...

Sounds like you really cleaned up the clutter which is something most systems need. However, most of us can't take that approach as we have leased machines and installing another drive voids the lease agreement.

I have 2 WD 1TB's in 2 MX-1 enclosures for both of my HR20-700's. Never a problem and really enjoy the capacity they provide. Simple to install. Best and easiest mod I have done.

I put a Seagate 750MB Free Agent Pro very soon after I got my first HR20-700. I didn't have alot stored on the internal drive at that point, so the transition was painless.

If I was switching now.... the transition would be much more painful. I've got a handful of movies and other shows that I've got saved 'for a rainy day'. Having to unplug the eSATA when a 'rainy day' came around would be a pain.

As it stands, with 750MB, I've never gotten below 50%, but I have that space if I need it. When the TV season is in full swing, if I didn't watch anything during the week, then by the weekend, I was down to about 20% on the original drive. Now I have space that I can skip TV for the week and still have 50% or more remaining.

I'd love to see it add to the internal drive, or have an easy way to switch between internal and external, but, aside from those couple of potential changes, I'm really happy with my eSATA setup.