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External (SATA) Hard Disk Drive (eHDD) Discussions for HDPVR 630 - See post 1

159K views 289 replies 83 participants last post by  TZM 
#1 ·
Awesome! Thanks for the update!!

Now, what drive do we buy?

Edit by 57 - thought it would be a good idea to start a new thread specifically for the eHDD for the 630.

From the Firmware thread:

HDPVR 630 External Hard Drive Support

- HDPVR 630 customers can now connect a single eSATA hard drive to expand their recording capacity, up to 2 TB (2000 GB)

- A 2 TB drive would provide over 1360 SD, or 360 HD hours of additional recording capacity!

- Drives must:

- Be connected via eSATA (not USB)

- Be externally powered (i.e. with a cord that plugs into an electrical outlet)

- Be 2.0 TB or smaller

· Drives should:

- Be rated for PVR/DVR usage. These are drives specifically designed to be quieter, run cooler, and support multiple HD streams and 24/7 usage.

- eSATA hotplug is not supported in this release, meaning the receiver must be rebooted if a drive is connected or disconnected. The onscreen menus will then guide the customer through the setup or divorce instructions.
From post 7 - eHDD link on SD:

http://www.shawdirect.ca/promotions/english/hdd/default.asp?WT.mc_id=van_ExternalHDD
 
#92 ·
As I have mentioned before, the same day after receiving the 8.26 update I did a factory reset to get any bugs out and I think that is why I am having NO problems with my 630 and/or eHDD. Seems to be working perfectly. Had a spontaneous reboot a couple of weeks ago but that has basicly been it for any problems.
 
#94 ·
The WD Green drives are as fast as some standard drives so speed should not be an issue. The WD Red drives should be a better fit but their reliability has not yet been proven. Since the Red drives appear to Green drives with some tweaking for media use and a longer warranty, they should be OK.
 
#95 ·
The WD Green drives are as fast as some standard drives so speed should not be an issue.
I was under the impression that some `Green`drives spin down after an idle period and that might be an issue in a PVR setting.... although it may not be the case with a dual tuner PVR, as I guess it should always be buffering....

P
 
#99 ·
...some `Green`drives spin down after an idle period...
As will most drives, when configured to do so. The default for current WD drives is not to spin down unless signalled to do so. That can be changed with drive configuration software. WD had one model a couple of years ago that was permanently configured to spin down on idle but it's no longer made. As long as the controlling device can handle a delay on wake up, spin down on idle is not an issue. I have a PC and a small NAS that are just fine with it. There is a delay on access but no errors are generated. PVRs are another issue. As we all know, the programming quality for PVRs does not match that for most other devices.
 
#101 ·
If the 630 equalizes use of disk space, it makes sense that new recordings go to a newly attached external drive. When drive space is equalized, new recordings could then go to either drive, depending on disk space use at the moment.

I'm just wondering what, if any provision is available for decommissioning the EHD. Can recordings be always sent to the IHD so that the EHD can be watched and cleared?
 
#104 ·
I'm just wondering what, if any provision is available for decommissioning the EHD. Can recordings be always sent to the IHD so that the EHD can be watched and cleared?
I doubt it. The 630 treats both drives as one, plus I have not seen any utilities on the 630 for this purpose. Also don't you just disconnect the eSata cable when you are removing/decommissioning the eHD. Not exactly a high tech way to decommission. On a different note if peeps are going to disconnect/reconnect their eHD remember that they are not hot swappable.
 
#103 ·
When I first hooked up my eHDD I still had some recordings left on the iHDD. New shows that were recorded after installing the eHDD then went onto the new drive. Nothing else was recorded on the iHDD. One weekend I got to the point where I had watched everything and deleted everything so the iHDD went to 238G free and the eHDD went to 912G free (1TB drive). The eHDD is the one that is doing all the recording and at the moment it's at 851G free. The iHDD still sits at 238G free.
 
#106 ·
A few days after the new update I bought a vantech enclosure and a 2TB WD black drive, which comes with a 5 year warranty. After making sure everything worked I bought another on for my wifes 630. So far no problems other than a couple of spontanious reboots. I did notice once after turning off the power to move the TV the 630 didn't recogize the external drive and wanted to know if I wanted to format. I said no and the pvr list showed the recordings, but the ones on the external drive were grayed out. After a reboot everything came back properly.

I love the extra space and the fact that the undeleted recordings are fixed so now I only use about 7% of available drive space. The extra room will come in handy when I go on vacation for 2 weeks and will have the extra room to no lose recordings.
 
#108 · (Edited)
Same here. No problems with install (once I remembered to do front panel reboot). The eHDD shows up properly in Diagnostics R and did a recording just fine.

Note that a previously viewed recording (on the iHDD) showed up as broken (after the eHDD install), but the green progress bar was intact and the program played without incident.

I want to place my WD My Book 1Tb AV HD on its side (i.e. not upright on its integral rubber feet). In order to stress the spinning HD the least, does anyone know which side should be up? For now, I have placed it with the connectors at the top. This positions the small serial number sticker upright. The WD logo is no help because it is only upright if the unit is placed on its rubber feet.
 
#110 ·
Actually, it's designed to stand upright on its integral rubber feet. To place it on its side, WD provides 4 stick-on 'feet' (more like bumpers) that the end-user has to put on.

I'd like to know if it is better to have one side down vs. the other side? I'm guessing that one way would have the read/write head on top of the disk, like a vinyl record player, while the other way would have the head underneath. Maybe there is no practical difference. I'm just wondering...
 
#112 · (Edited)
I'm not sure what WD picture you're looking at, but the pictograph on page 4 of the 'instructions' that shows that you should NOT place the unit on top of another piece of electronics (the one behind the red, barred circle) shows the WD PVR expander with the cables coming out of the right side (as viewed from the front). In addition, the placement pictographs do show the unit on its integral feet OR with the pilot light on the right when viewed from the front. Again this would mean that the cables are as in the first sentence. So I'm starting to detect a trend here. I have contacted WD on this point but have not received an answer yet.

Yes, I do love it. I heed the caution not to use it as an archival device, but it will be nice, once I've seen a program, not to have to rush to delete in order to free up HD space. I can keep it around to be viewed by myself or others for a lot longer.
 
#114 ·
Yes, I do love it. I heed the caution not to use it as an archival device, but it will be nice, once I've seen a program, not to have to rush to delete in order to free up HD space. I can keep it around to be viewed by myself or others for a lot longer.
And that's it. I can go on holidays now and not have to worry about space. I can record everything in high def now. I was saving some of my wife's shows in stand def. I have not seen the meter go above 10%

Just make it stable.
 
#115 ·
PVRNB, I meant to run the bare drive on it's side, aka narrow edge, not the top or bottom. (Think of the drive's side/edge as opposed to the drive's top and bottom, not the case.)

The reason not to run drives upside down is due to bearing design, not anything else. The drive platter bearings will fail sooner if the drive is operated upside down.
 
#116 ·
I've heard back from WD. A tech there replied:

"It doesn't really matter. But Western Digital recommends not to lay the hard drive. In other words, to keep it standing on the rubber feet."

This would put one open end at the top, which would be efficient since heat rises. But, on the other hand, it would put the other open end down, very close to the shelf it is sitting on, which would seem to restrict air flow somewhat.
 
#118 ·
problem

If I hook up an external hd to my 630 & the 630 dies ( it's happened to one of mine already ), what happens to the recordings on the external when I get a replacement receiver?? Given the unreliability of the 630, I'm thinking this won't be my last replacement. I've had a dead receiver, spontaneus reboots, lost recordings, hd full error & numerous other glitches with the 2 630's that I have. This is the worst update they've done. If I could get directv in Canada, I would gladly get their whole home system with 5 programs recording at once & lots of more advanced features. As long as Shaw keeps dealing with Motorola, they are stuck with whatever crap they send them. YMMV.
 
#120 ·
If I hook up an external hd to my 630 & the 630 dies ( it's happened to one of mine already ), what happens to the recordings on the external when I get a replacement receiver??
Unfortunately, you will lose the recordings. Once you hook up the eHDD to the new 630 you will have to format the drive therefore whiping the drive.
 
#122 ·
Success!

Well, finally got it to work after a long and arduous process:

Started out that it would immediately lock up no matter the drive used, so I changed the eSATA cable. Now it would detect the attached drive, but lock up during formatting. Finally, following ExD's advice, I brought home my off-site backup (uses an identical Vantec Nexstar3 enclosure), switched the drives, and boom! Formatted in like 5 seconds! Went from 62% full to 8% (with the 2TB Caviar Green; figured I may as well go ALL IN). I also ran a two-pass secure wipe on the drive before attaching it to the 630, just to be thorough.

Of course, all my shows are on hiatus until at least next week, so I haven't actually recorded anything yet. (Fingers crossed) Will probably record a movie or something, just to test it.

A bit OT, but I just want to comment on how Vantec changes their enclosures without officially changing them. I have three of the things (all Nexstar3's) and they were all different in some way. They had different specs, or different power supplies, or....something. Kind of nice, but also kind of annoying.
 
#121 ·
This is really dumb. It would seem that this could be fixed with better programming. With Bell, although the EHD works differently, an EHD can be switched to the same model under the same account. The issue of being able to empty the EHD by stopping further recordings going to it should also be addressed. Right now the only way to do that is to stop doing any recording on the 630 until you have watched and deleted all the recordings on the EHD.

I bought my wife a WD DVR Expander 1 TB for Christmas and like others found the hookup short and simple. Her capacity went from 96% (yes, she really needed an EHD) to 20%. Diagnostic screen showed she had 12 G free on the iHD. It is now recording 2 programs, seemingly working fine and the EHD has gone from 911 G free to 910. I found it interesting that he math is within about 1% working from these figures.

Is the iHD still storing all the scheduling and buffering or is this now also being shared with the EHD since there is only 912 G of the 1 TB free for recording?
 
#124 · (Edited)
Which Vantec model?
That is the question, isn't it?

As I mentioned above, Vantec has a habit of making subtle changes to their products and not making it known (ie: by changing the model/revision number). At first, I didn't think they really mattered. eSATA is eSATA, right?

However, they must have changed something critical to DVR applications because my NST-360SU-BK ended up working in the 630, but my NST-360SU-BL did not. These are identical models, with only the color changed (one black, one blue).

The NST-360SU-BK worked for me, but who's to say the one available at ME is really the same model?

Hope I didn't just confuse you....but it's pretty darn confusing!

Unless you need Firewire, I would look for the NST-380SU3-BK (USB3.0 + eSATA)
 
#125 ·
I've had similar issues with the same Nextar3 cases. Oddly enough, they're black one with a perfectly working eSATA port and a blue one with a flaky eSATA port. What are the odds of that? Mine are several years old and purchased at the same time. The connectors are in different places on the back so they are obviously using different boards internally. Moral of the story, buy black, not blue.
 
#126 ·
Hi
I bought this Vantec case from Memory Express $20
Part #: NST-200S2-BK
Works fine with a 2TB WD Red drive. A previous Rosewill enclosure did not work at all with same drive.

But, I sort of came to the conclusion that 2TB was too much space to be used here. I was never over 7% full, and I could make much better use of that drive in my home server. I had a Samsung 500gb drive not in use, so over the holidays I made a point to watch everything we wanted and then disconnected the 2TB drive. The PVR instantly recognized something was missing and asked if this was permanent or temporary. It then let me remove the device with warnings etc. Afterwards, the database was updated with recorded shows only from the internal drive. I thought the whole procedure was well done. I gather from the questions the unit asked me, I could reconnect the drive a later time, or I could chose to permanently disassociate the drive from the PVR. I chose to permanently disassociate.

Then I swapped drives in the enclosure, reconnected and everything was detected, and formatted and updated as expected. I never ran out of room on the main 320gb internal drive, although it did get close some times, I can't foresee out viewing habits changing in the near future so adding another 500gb should be just fine for us.

I just though I would share the disconnect experience.
 
#128 ·
I have a Vantec USB/eSata black aluminum fanless unit which has been rock solid as an external Time Machine drive on a Mac. Not sure if it is the current NST-360SU-BK shown on the web site or not.

When I originally tried to get it going on the Motorola 6412 when external storage was first enabled by Shaw I had no success. Turned out later that the PVR was really fussy about the cable. The Vantec with a Seagate 1TB ran fine using the cable from the WD Expander drive I bought, just not with the stock cable that came with the Vantec enclosure.

Hard drive docks with eSata are an alternative.

Two Thermaltake BlacX units I own have been reliable and are solidly built.

Stay far, far away from the cheap white plastic ones from Vantec.
 
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