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External Hard Drive Thread For Motorola PVR - See Post 1 For Summary

388K views 914 replies 216 participants last post by  nruffell 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Edit by 57 - A short summary of discussions in this thread:

- Drives with the powersave function (like MyBook, FreeAgent) do not appear to be compatible with the DCT34xx/64xx. The drive needs to be running 24/7, so don't plug it into a switched outlet. Some drives with power down features may be software programmable and may then work.

- Largest confirmed working size is 1 TB.

- Many enclosures come with the appropriate cable (eSATA to eSATA).

- Any of the purpose built drives like My DVR Expander (WD, Iomega, Seagate), or the Shaw Expander include an eSATA cable, as does the Vantec NexStar 3 External SATA enclosure.

- USB connections do not work, you need a PVR with SATA connector.


Instructions:

Make sure there are no scheduled recordings at the time you're trying to connect the external HDD.

  1. Unplug PVR
  2. Connect eSATA cable
  3. Plug in, turn on expander/eHDD
  4. Wait 30 seconds, then plug pvr back in
  5. You will be prompted to format external, select yes (takes a few seconds if it's new) if no prompt, power cycle pvr again
  6. If the PVR doesn't show the correct amount of drive usage, power cycle pvr again
  7. If the PVR doesn't format/see the eHDD, then you may need to call Shaw to "hit" the PVR - they may ask for the serial number of the PVR. This extra step to enable the eHDD functionality seems to be necessary in some areas.
  8. There seems to be a bug with the drive usage indicator as many people do not see correct numbers there - often seeing 0%. (seems to zero after any STB reboot)
  9. If you're using an HDMI connection to your TV, some people have reported not seeing the appropriate authorization/format messages on screen - use component or composite video if that's the case.

Recordings:

What typically happens on these PVRs is the following:

Each recording goes to the drive that has the most space available (percentage wise). When a new eHDD is attached and you have programming on your internal, the eHDD is used until it's as full (percentage wise) as the internal.

The index for the recordings is on the internal drive, so you cannot move the eHDD without "losing" access to your recordings on that (external) drive. If you format/use the (external) drive elsewhere, then your (external drive) recordings will likely be gone.

Other:

When you go into the PVR diagnostics: hit "Power" (to turn the PVR off) and then "Select" on the PVR and go to option 13, the drive should show up there. See the following posts for additional info:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?p=1022035#post1022035


On average with the SA PVRs (may not be applicable to Motorola) the WD drives seemed to have fewer problems than Seagate.

As with all PVRs, the files are encrypted and can only be viewed via the PVR itself and only the original PVR.

Some people have had success by simply "hot plugging" the SATA drive into the PVR with both devices on. Although this may be possible and sometimes necessary, many suggest that shutting down devices is "safer" for the equipment.

If you have issues, make sure your SATA and other cables are properly seated and perhaps swap out if all else fails.



Seeing that the 16.74 firmware thread is going on about "firmware issues" .. I thought a new thread would be acceptable for the external eSata hard drive that is supposedly in the works by SHAW in the next few weeks for the Motorola.

Any updates guys?
 
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#5 ·
eSATA port

I am 100% sure there is an eSATA port on the DCT 6416 as we just had out box replaced on Monday and I saw it there with my own two eyes. The problem has always been that there was no firmware activation of that or the USB ports, well at least not for us out here on the east coast who subscribe to Eastlink. The installer/serviceman who was here had no date/info on a firmware update either. Here's hoping that the info you've been hearing is correct and that a firmware upgrade will be forthcoming.
 
#7 ·
The internal drive connects with a standard sata connection. Externally, there is an esata port. So if you buy an external esata drive, it should come with an esata cable and you are good to go. I used an old usb external enclosure, and plugged my sata drive into the power connection on that. Basically just using the old enclosure to power the drive. I then used a sata to esata cable to go from the drive to the DCT.

So the cable you need depends on what you plan on doing!
 
#8 ·
The back of my 6416 has a SATA connector but not the one that you see in a computer. It looks more like a USB connector.

I have a question, which I think is improbable, but am interested to know if it would work.
I have 2 6416. If I record something on the external drive on my machine upstairs, I can't bring it downstairs to the other 6416 and play the programs there, or can I?
 
#10 ·
On the Pace DCT you can only read a recording on the DCT that recorded it (it gets imprinted somehow) so would expect the same functionality once the Moto external hard drive ability is enabled. No new info on that front though. Sorry.
 
#11 ·
What typically happens on these PVRs is the following:

1. Each recording goes to the drive that has the most space available (percentage wise). When a new eHDD is attached and you have programming on your internal, the eHDD is used until it's as full (percentage wise) as the internal.

2. The index for the recordings is on the internal drive, so you cannot move the eHDD.
 
#13 ·
Makes sense about my question. It would've been oh so cool though to be able to record on one machine and watch it either on the big screen (projector) or small screen (50 inch plasma). I guess I can only dream... :(
 
#14 ·
Ideally, we could queue up PVR'd content on another DCT in the house (sort of networked by account). Beats shuffling an external from DCT to DCT in terms of simplicity. Moving an external drive from one PVR to another isn't going to work anyway since all recorded content is encrypted to the specific PVR. The networked version will appear at some point...though given the pace that eSATA support has been added, we're about a decade away from networked PVRs. Hopefully competition (e.g. FIOS in the US) will spur innovation in this area.

Bear in mind that your external drive content is lost if the PVR dies or is replaced...so don't build too extensive a collection. The content is only useful as long as the PVR that recorded it is still working. At least that's how it worked with the Pace units (and the Pace units were meant to operate exactly like a Moto DCT). I find that to be an extremely ridiculous limitation (let's just say refurbished PVRs haven't lasted very long for us...).

The encryption was imposed by content providers as a form of copy protection. Unfortunately the encryption is tied to the device, rather than the account. Maybe that too will change some day given that DCTs won't play anything back after a power cycle until a live cable connection is made (i.e. maybe the PVR could retrieve an encryption key for the account).

Anyway, I've rambled on long enough. Does Shaw have eSATA working yet? ;)
 
#19 ·
Ideally, we could queue up PVR'd content on another DCT in the house (sort of networked by account). The networked version will appear at some point...though given the pace that eSATA support has been added, we're about a decade away from networked PVRs. Hopefully competition (e.g. FIOS in the US) will spur innovation in this area.
What happened to the networked version of the Motorola PVR's? I saw them for sale on eBay 2-3 years ago. They had similar model numbers to the DCT series but had a different prefix. At the time they were only for the US but I thought it wouldn't be long before they made their way up here.
 
#17 ·
Does Shaw have eSATA working yet?
I would say no because i get a blue box that says: Alert 08 The use of external drives is not authorized with your account. please disconnect the external drive and contact your provider. I hope Shaw gets this working b4 my promotion on both Movie Central and Superchannel expires.
 
#20 ·
eSATA vs SATA

There seems to be some confusion about the two types of cables.

SATA is intended to be inside equipment such as hard drives within the Motorola PVR's and eSATA is on the outside, for external devices.

As I understand it, the standard for use of eSATA allows for more plugging and unplugging of the cable, whereas the regular SATA cable is not required to meet as high a standard.

I don't have the actual numbers in front of me, but as I recall, an eSATA is expected to last at least 10 times more plug/unplug than a regular internal SATA cable.

The connectors on the eSATA are more robust and the little variation in the connector itself is to differentiate it from the internal SATA.

This rule is not absolute, because there are always variations, which of course cause confusion; however, it the rule of thumb by which manufacturers go.

The other consideration is that people, like a lot of us, do what we want with what we have and confuse the whole thing... that's what makes it fun, right?
 
#21 ·
Just to answer some of the questions in this thread.

Any of the purpose built drives (WD, Iomega, Seagate) include an eSATA cable.

The firmware has enabled the eSATA port on the STB. Shaw needs to make changes to the billing system to support the authorization of external hard drives on Motorola STB's. A Shaw employee has posted here that they are planning on selling WD DVR Expander external hard drives by October so that should indicate an ETA date for the change. I have privately been told by a Shaw executive that October would amount to a worse case scenario.

There is an eSATA port on all 3416 and 6416 STB's. Phase III 6412's also have eSATA ports. Phase I 6412's do not and will likely not be support external hard drives.
 
#22 ·
Phase I 6412's do not and will likely not be support external hard drives.
Shoot, I was about to ask about that. I was thinking of getting a drive but didn't see any where to plug it in on my old 6412 except for the USB port. The FAQ's about specs on the DCT's I saw didn't mention the addition of the eSata port on the Phase III's.

I hope they will at least offer a reasonable trade up program for people with Phase I's.
 
#23 ·
Since the 6412 Phase 1 is a dual tuner PVR there really isn't anything higher than a dual tuner PVR. Currently there is no trade up value for any dual tuner PVR. Now Winnipeg may do soemthing different but this is the way it is across the rest of the country. Also you can only trade in if the DCT is under warranty and the Phase 1's should be long out of warranty.
 
#24 ·
What are the implications of Motorola support vs Pace support?, i mean as far as forthcoming PVR models from either line. Wasn't the Pace line brought in since it supported storage expansion from the get go?.....i was under the impression Moto was being phased out because of this.....now that Moto & Shaw have come to the table, what incentive would there be now to go with a Pace?

thx.
 
#29 ·
...any status updates on this? I wonder what the odds of a 3rd party esata external enclosure working are....i imagine pretty good?....i would think 'they' will keep the holes plugged by encrypting/pairing recorded external data to specific dct.
 
#32 ·
The connector on the back of the PVR is eSATA. Any external drive or enclosure that connects via eSATA will use an eSATA connector. In other words, eSATA to eSATA.

That said, most enclosures and external drives ship with the proper cable included so you may not need to purchase a separate cable.
 
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