Are we ever going to see External Storage for 622?

[RJohn]

Here is something from the CES website that is interesting.

http://www.cesweb.org/shared_files/innovations/innovations_2004/6602/mainphoto6602.jpg

 

[Smith P.]

Rjohn, check real photos from Scott, posted a few months ago and posed real Maxtor enclosure.

 

[DISH_NC]

I would speculate that external storage will be archive only.... It will either be manual or automatic. You can manually move items to/from the archive or possibly the system can automatically move the oldest program on the main drive to the external drive if during recording, space runs out.

I expect that programming on the external drive will not be directly playable....

Of course, with the announcement that Hitachi will have a 1TB drive out this year for $399, we are looking at 100 Hours of HD storage....

 

[Tom Bombadil]

According to information Scott got from Dish a few months ago, they had ditched the archive-only option and were going to allow for directly playback from the external drive. But who knows what, if anything, will be announced.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Don't hold your breath waiting for external USB storage.

E* announced it at CES, but then said it would be released in "mid-year."

And with a "small enabling fee."

 

[Stargazer]

A double whammy. Another year, another B.S. fee.

 

[kstile]

It could be worse - they could charge a monthly fee for this or make us buy E* branded drives. I think that the fact that you can bring your own USB 2.0 drive (up to, but not apparently as big as 1TB) and a one-time fee is quite reasonable. I know I'll do this so that I can record movies in HD off of channels like UNIHD, non-stretch-o-vision from TNT, and HDNET Movies. Not a lot of great content on there, but with additional storage, I'd always have HD content available and not worry about filling up the 30 hours on my 622 (which happens quickly when we record about 12-15 hours a week but only have time to watch 4-5).

 

[curtishd]

My big question is: Can we take the recordings and play them back on a computer PS3?

 

[navychop]

No.

The delay in releasing it apparently is because of copyright protection issues, and ensuring playback on receivers on a single account, not with just any ViP STB.

 

[StevenD]

My big question is: Can we take the recordings and play them back on a computer PS3?

NO

 

[DISH_NC]

No.

The delay in releasing it apparently is because of copyright protection issues, and ensuring playback on receivers on a single account, not with just any ViP STB.

It's my understanding from what I've read that content is ONLY playable on the ViP receiver that the content was recorded on. If the receiver dies, then DISH has a 'recovery' method to attach it to the replacement receiver with all content still accessible.

Are we sure it's a one-time 'Enabling' fee or an ongoing 'Enabling' fee that allows use only as long as you pay the fee....

More information needed.

 

[navychop]

Others have posted that it is now set up for any receiver (presumably ViP622 and maybe later any ViP) on the account, not just the ViP622 that it was recorded from. And those are pretty much the same posts that state it's been decided it's a one time enabling fee, amount not yet set.

 

[kaman]

I read that any external hard drive would be formatted so that it is "closed from the rest of the world" and will only work with the Dish receiver. So using a PC as an external storage device wouldn't work.

My question is. If you make a new hard drive partition on PC, would that work? Then only the partition (i.e. F: drive as opposed to C: drive) would be locked out????

 

[navychop]

I rather imagine they can and will prevent something like that from happening. They could sense the drive size and require a complete (& even oddball) reformat of the entire disk.

But we won't know until it's out. And I hope it's really going to be released.

 

[Smith P.]

At least we know existing 622's disk ( Maxtor or WD) will NOT spinup or give ID to any PC. It's require secret command to begin works.

 

[DISH_NC]

At least we know existing 622's disk ( Maxtor or WD) will NOT spinup or give ID to any PC. It's require secret command to begin works.

Probably, but you could probably mount it from a Linux PC since that's the OS running on the 622...

 

[Smith P.]

No way - told yeah - SECRET ATAPI COMMAND.

 

[Jim5506]

I believe it is a jumper setting?

 

[Smith P.]

Tested on 6L320S0 and WD320JS, the info came from first hands by checking in PC, the jumpers tried too. YMMV .

 

[bradb007]

I would love to be able to partition the drive. I set my wife up with an ext harddrive downstairs for her Itunes (since her company laptop can't hold it all) and it would be nice to be able to re-use the mostly unused portion of that HD for this (retaining the ipod partition for her.