WD External DVR

[Plasmanite]

I want to upgrade to Hopper/Joey soon, but have full hard drives on a 622 and 722. I would like to transfer most of the programs on each to a 1TB external DVR. What's the difference between the WD My Book Essential and WD My Book AV DVR Expander? Does the My Book AV DVR Expander work better than the My Book Essential?

After transferring programs to one of the WD My Drives would I be able to store .flac music files and play them or am I restricted to using the drive for DVR use only?


[h=1][/h]

 

[lucky86]

When you first connect the hard drive to the 622/722 it will prompt you to have the drive formatted. After you do that then you can transfer the content off of the VIP receivers to the hard drive. If you connect the hard drive to a PC it needs to be formatted before you can add other content back on that drive. Once connected to the dish receiver, the hard drive can basically only be used with the dish receiver.

 

[KKlare]

Buy either WD drive. The Essential is usually a tad cheaper.

To start using the drive with your computer again after it is Dish formatted (3 partitions of EXT3), you may need a program to erase the disk partitions. Try your OS's disk utility first.

Why not keep it for drive expansion or archiving some programs? In which case a 2TB is useful and can be had for less than $100. Try for $85.

-Ken

 

[Plasmanite]

Thanks.

Unless there are legitimate reasons to get the AV DVR Expander over the Essential, I'll get the latter. I would rather get the 1TB, that way if i goes kaput I won't have lost as much as with a 2TB. Currently the WD hard drives are on sale so I can get the 1TB Essential for $40 less than the AV DVR Expander.

 

[KKlare]

The cost per TB is king when you expect to have a lot of storage--it approaches $40/TB on the best sales.
This may mean a "stand" to hold a raw drive saving $5 to $10/drive.
Today the price curve is best at about 2TB, tomorrow it will be bigger. But Dish max is still 2TB?
Who can say which drives would fail first, many smaller or fewer larger ones?
That the Hopper can take multiple drives is a big bonus and could lessen the stand's desirability.
No answer I've seen on how many drives are addressable: 2 4 8 or more?
-Ken

 

[dare2be]

I can't find WD 2TB drives for under $100. Where are you seeing this $85 sale price?

 

[KKlare]

I haven't seen that price but a few times recently. It was probably that for a raw drive. As I said a case will make it say $10 more. My best one in June was a 2TB Samsung with European cord and adapter for $100 with $10 discount for inconvenience from newegg--works great. I might bite if I see it again for that or a little lower. Transfer rates are lower sometimes on 2TB. Making due with my 14TB with 3 of 4 1TB being the iffy ones. Luck,
-Ken

 

[TheKrell]

I snagged two 3TB Seagates on BF for $99 each, which works out to $33.3/TB. I tried one of them on my 612, but it wouldn't format.

 

[kwindrem]

You could store other material on the drive without reformatting it but only if the OS you connect the drive understands EXT file formats (e.g. a unix, et-al). There are extensions for Windows and Mac OS to add EXT file format support but it's probably best to keep the material separate.

I don't think there's any significant difference in reliability between one large or several small drives. In the end it's the same: if any drive fails you loose material. External storage of any kind prevents loss should the receiver die. If you have to send the receiver back to Dish, you'll loose what's on the internal drive.

I keep little on the internal drive, just what's been recorded recently. I move anything I want to keep to external storage ASAP so it doesn't get lost should the receiver fail.

I am disappointed Dish does not allow COPYING information to the external as a backup to what's stored on the internal drive. Doing so would provide basic redundancy against loss of material but TRANSFERRING material from the internal to an external does not increase data integrity. I lost some programming when the external I was using failed.

For external storage I opted for a hardware RAID set for mode 1 (mirroring). Dish does not support it but it works fine. RAID 1 doubles the cost but provides redundant storage. The RAID I bought was an inexpensive Western Digital MyBook Mirror Edition with two 1TB drives. Drives are easily replaced and the case rebuilds a replacement without any intervention/knowledge of the host (Dish receiver in this case).

 

[dare2be]

I snagged two 3TB Seagates on BF for $99 each, which works out to $33.3/TB. I tried one of them on my 612, but it wouldn't format.

If I didn't hate Seagates so much, I'd take one off of your hands.

 

[rstaples312]

WD external will not record off air

I used to be able to record off air directly to my old external drive but st some point this feature was no longer working. Yes, I HAVE recording enabled in the dvr setup. I can COPY or move back and forth with no problems, but when a scheduled recording set to EXT fires, then the program guide goes to that channel, but no recording takes place. Any ideas? BTW this has been the case through my last four DVRs. TWO model 722s and two 722k.

Richard

 

[kwindrem]

I used to be able to record off air directly to my old external drive but st some point this feature was no longer working. Yes, I HAVE recording enabled in the dvr setup. I can COPY or move back and forth with no problems, but when a scheduled recording set to EXT fires, then the program guide goes to that channel, but no recording takes place. Any ideas? BTW this has been the case through my last four DVRs. TWO model 722s and two 722k.

Richard

I believe the external recording mechanism is to record via an external VCR or DVD recorder hooked up to the Dish receiver's video/audio outputs.

As far as I know, the only receivers that support direct recording to an external drive are those that have no internal (e.g. the 211).

Can you explain the COPY procedure? I have had a 622, 612 and Hopper and don't recall any way to copy. The only option I've ever seen is TRANSFER (aka move).

 

[lucky86]

External recording is for VCR/DVD players hooked up as Kwindrem stated. There isn't a copy option and you can't record directly to an EHD with a VIP DVR or Hopper.

 

[TheKrell]

There isn't a copy option and you can't record directly to an EHD with a VIP DVR or Hopper.

Sure would be nice though.

BTW - on my 722 and 612, I can't do two things at once with my single EHD, such as archiving, restoring, or playing. I read somewhere around here that some folks have gotten two things to happen on a 722, but I sure haven't. Is this limitation relaxed on the 922 or Hopper where you can have two EHDs connected simultaneously?

 

[lucky86]

I remember with my 722 and 922 I believe, that I would transfer maybe 50 events and I could still view a different event not being transfered at the same time. I don't have that equipment anymore so I'm not 100% sure but I thought I could do that before. I'll test my hopper tonight to see how it works exactly.

 

[dwarren2]

I used to be able to record off air directly to my old external drive but st some point this feature was no longer working.

Richard

It never worked to an ehd. It was an option to record to a old piece of Dish hardware. I think it was called Pocket Dish. Every once in a while, someone thinks they found this great new feature only to find out that it doesn't work. I did that once myself.

 

[Plasmanite]

I can't find WD 2TB drives for under $100. Where are you seeing this $85 sale price?

Not sure if we're allowed to post links so... at B&H photovideo I found the 1TB My Book Essentials for $79 (down from $99 after a $20 instant savings) and the 2TB for $109 (down from $117.50 after a $8.50 instant savings. Offer expires Jan 12 for the 1 TB and Jan 5 for the 2TB.

 

[Plasmanite]

I've been fortunate with dvrs. I've had a 622 in my room since 2006. It's loud, louder than the 722, which is somewhat loud, but it still works. Other than the occasional freeze I haven't lost any programs. The 722 has been in the family room since 2008, I believe.

When the external drive is connected to the dvr can you access programs on the dvr as well as the external drive or do you have to disconnect the external drive? Does the dvr record programs to its internal drive when the external drive is connected? I'm referring to the Hopper dvrs since that is what I intend to upgrade to. I'm not sure if it would be any different with the 622 and 722. I don't intend to use the external drive with 622 and 722 long term, only to transfer the programs from them to the external drive so I can use it with the Hopper.

 

[lucky86]

I've been fortunate with dvrs. I've had a 622 in my room since 2006. It's loud, louder than the 722, which is somewhat loud, but it still works. Other than the occasional freeze I haven't lost any programs. The 722 has been in the family room since 2008, I believe.

When the external drive is connected to the dvr can you access programs on the dvr as well as the external drive or do you have to disconnect the external drive? Does the dvr record programs to its internal drive when the external drive is connected? I'm referring to the Hopper dvrs since that is what I intend to upgrade to. I'm not sure if it would be any different with the 622 and 722. I don't intend to use the external drive with 622 and 722 long term, only to transfer the programs from them to the external drive so I can use it with the Hopper.

You can access the internal and external drive via a drop down option in the dvr menu. And no, you can't record directly to the ehd.

 

[Plasmanite]

You can access the internal and external drive via a drop down option in the dvr menu. And no, you can't record directly to the ehd.

Thanks. I knew I couldn't record to the external drive. I read in another thread about people switching back and forth between the internal and external drives... something about powering down the dvr and connecting/disconnecting the external drive.