HDD made for DRV... a gimmick?

[blustang05]

Hello, I am new here after doing a search there was so much information that i was overwhelmed. I started weeding through the threads but it was to much

I just have a really quick simple question. I have a 622 that dish is going to replace because it is freezing and shutting off and not coming back on. Every now and then i am able to get the thing to start up and stay on. So before i replace it with the new one i wanted to try and back up the HDD.

I want to get a 1TB drive. As i am looking online Best buy has several listed. there are a few listed to be "Made" specially for DVR's is this a Gimmick? Is a regular external HDD just as good? There are 3 i am looking at

Seagate freeagent
Seagate Expansion
and WD my book essential

I am leaning to the Seagate drives because the Cache and RPMs are listed 32mb and 7200 Not sure what the WD drive is. I read that the seagate drives did have issues. Have they been fixed? Or am i better off with the HDD designed for DVRs?


thanks guys

 

[sam_gordon]

AFAIK, "designed for DVR" is a marketing gimmick (like "HD" antenna). My only other concern would be why go for the 1TB, unless you're going to use it for other stuff after you return content to the new DVR. If you connect a HD to the DVR, doesn't it format it so a normal Windows/Mac computer can't read it?

 

[blustang05]

Haha HD antenna. My "HD antenna" is made out of 6 coat hangers and people are amazed by the PQ.



anyway i want the 1tb just for the extra space sometime we go out of town for extended periods and it would be nice to back up everything to the EHD and have the 622 empty. And we tend to record way more then we watch. It gets watched eventually but some time we end up deleting thing that we never watched and besides if i ever do deiced i dont need it for the DVR i can always use it for my desktop

your right the dvr will format so i can be used on a computer until the computer formats it


thanks for the reply

 

[Fumbles]

I bought a 1TB Seagate Showcase drive for my VIP722 and had nothing but trouble with it, finally got it to work by changing out the USB guts and using it with no case, but still has issues with not responding after being attached over night. I since have purchased 2 Western Digital My Book 75GB drives and they have been flawless.
Jack

 

[SKrueger]

...There are 3 i am looking at

Seagate freeagent
Seagate Expansion
and WD my book essential

I am leaning to the Seagate drives because the Cache and RPMs are listed 32mb and 7200...

Whatever you do, I wouldn't get the Freeagent drive unless you want to go to the trouble of downloading software to disable sleep mode. Dish DVR's do not properly wake the drive from sleep mode and although Dish promised a fix in a future software version, they have yet to do so.

Now in my experience the Maxtor(Seagate) One Touch drives work great.

 

[whatchel1]

750

I bought a 1TB Seagate Showcase drive for my VIP722 and had nothing but trouble with it, finally got it to work by changing out the USB guts and using it with no case, but still has issues with not responding after being attached over night. I since have purchased 2 Western Digital My Book 75GB drives and they have been flawless.
Jack

U mean 750 Gb instead of 75. Have had no trouble w/ 1Tb myself.

 

[old corps]

I got the WD My Book Essential 1TB a week or so ago. Works great. Dunno if it's still on sale but got it from Walmart for $89 +.97 shipping. It got here in 4/5 days-regular shipping, which was FedEx.

Ed

 

[KKlare]

I have 5 WD 750GB, Cavalry 1TB, Buffalo 1TB, Hitachi 1TB, WD 1.5TB, all working well. The last 2 are raw drives use a USB to SATA adapter, the earlier are individually powered. I keep a NeoOffice spreadsheet with info on each recording, now >1100 films and 100's of series/shows. There are plenty of warnings about the sleep problem with Seagate. The last 1.5TB $80 cost less than the first .75TB $190. One .75 is headed back to do computer backups, forever?
-Ken

 

[DishSubLA]

"Made for DVR " use is a legitimate claim. The difference has more to do with subtle performance and longevity and memory. The DVR manufacturers, including Echostar, use these HDD specially designed for DVR use. Video files are very large and those drives handle them better, and are specifically designed to be constantly running, unlike many non-DVR drives, and there is also more on-board memory to help with better handling of video files and trick play. Also, "Made for DVR's," handle file allocation/management differently so that--suposedly--the need for frequent defragging is not necessary allowing for better performance/efficiency for the critical and very large video files. Yes, the specs are better, but how does that translate into your everyday experience using one instead of a not made for DVR HDD? Not that much of a difference, really.

Now, for a DVR maker like Echostar who have to replace all these DVR HDD's (millions of them)when they fail, the better performing and lasting (in most cases) does translate into a lot of many saved and better customer experience in the long run.

HOWEVER, although the "made for DVR," HDD's are for real, I really wouldn't go out my way to get one. My personal experience, and the experience of many others is that a GOOD quality non-DVR external HDD will give you a really good experience. It doesn't hurt to get a "Made for DVR" HDD if the price is right, but don't spend a penny more just because it s a "Made for DVR" drive, and BTW, some of those "Made for DVR" drives can die pretty early, as well. In fact, the TiVo approved--the only external drive that will work without modding--"Made for DVR" external HDD has been, according to postings, dying at about 18 months. There are many TiVo users who have moded with non-DVR drives and they have no complaints. Also, non-DVR drives for Dish Networks external HDD feature will work very well and there are good reports from Dish 211 users who record directly onto the external HDD.

The ones to stay away from for DVR use are some of the "Green" drives, as some of them have issues if used for DVR purposes. I'm sure they will fix that at some point.

So, yeah, "Made for DVR," is for real and not marketing, and is much better than a cheap drive, but it is almost irrelevant for individual users, if you get a good quality drive that is not made for DVR use. Yes, a 10bit LCD display may outperform an 8bit display, but the 8 bit display can still deliver some really great PQ. (I know, a whole new can of worms, but it is just an analogy). It is more about your everyday experience rather than the specs.

 

[KKlare]

My "green" WD 1.5TB is only partially full yet but seems to be fine despite being without fan at 7100' altitude. I think one would have to be more selective with non-VIP series using the external as a DVR because of all the use when delayed viewing. It would need to be more like the internals on the VIPs.
-Ken

 

[cesater]

EHD

Hello, I am new here after doing a search there was so much information that i was overwhelmed. I started weeding through the threads but it was to much

I just have a really quick simple question. I have a 622 that dish is going to replace because it is freezing and shutting off and not coming back on. Every now and then i am able to get the thing to start up and stay on. So before i replace it with the new one i wanted to try and back up the HDD.

I want to get a 1TB drive. As i am looking online Best buy has several listed. there are a few listed to be "Made" specially for DVR's is this a Gimmick? Is a regular external HDD just as good? There are 3 i am looking at

Seagate freeagent
Seagate Expansion
and WD my book essential

I am leaning to the Seagate drives because the Cache and RPMs are listed 32mb and 7200 Not sure what the WD drive is. I read that the seagate drives did have issues. Have they been fixed? Or am i better off with the HDD designed for DVRs?


thanks guys

I bought the 1 T WD my book - flawless for over a year now

 

[Nebugeater]

I bought the 1 T WD my book - flawless for over a year now

Same experiance here only difforence being mine has been in service for 8 months and not a year.

 

[R0ss]

I got the WD My Book Essential 1TB a week or so ago. Works great. Dunno if it's still on sale but got it from Walmart for $89 +.97 shipping. It got here in 4/5 days-regular shipping, which was FedEx.

Ed

Still on sale just ordered one. Supposedly will be delivered by 24th. Best Buy ahas same drive on sale for 109.00 was going to buy one today. I don't mind the wait so it saved me time to drive there and $20.00. Even with tax and shipping I'm ahead by about $12.00 plus my time and gas. Thanks for the info!

Ross

 

[old corps]

Yer welcome Ross. Mine was delivered very quickly, especially for this time of year. 4/5 days including a weekend.:up

Ed

 

[blustang05]

Well i just picked up a WD 1tb my book. I went to bestbuy just because i had a $50 gift card i wanted to use up. so i got mine for $70. well hopefully i will be able to copy my current hard drive over!

should i try to copy the shows over that I have tried to watch and they had froze up on me? If i know where the show is going to freeze when watching it I can fast forward past that part and usually not have any more problems. But i dont want to screw with it if its might corrupt the HDD or freeze it up. I figure i should be able to transfer over everything recorded prior to last Saturday. That is the day things began to go down hill.

thanks

 

[DishSubLA]

My "green" WD 1.5TB is only partially full yet but seems to be fine despite being without fan at 7100' altitude. I think one would have to be more selective with non-VIP series using the external as a DVR because of all the use when delayed viewing. It would need to be more like the internals on the VIPs.
-Ken

I should add that one other feature of "Made for DVR" hdd's is that they are designed to operate more quietly than the non-DVR HDD's. Some don't have a fan, like yours. However, there are some pretty quiet non-DVR HDD's out there.

I think your points are valid, especially about using the external as one for directly recording during live streaming.

Also, some of the latest "Green" drives do work well with DVR's, but some don't. I think there was one "Green" drive, some time ago, that got an "OK to use" at one of the TiVo forums. It's just that one would have to be careful to select the "Green" drive known to work well with DVR. It is sad that the WD external HDD for TiVo (and some cable DVR's) has so many reports of dying at about 18 months. That thing was supposed to last a lot longer.

 

[aklarvanto]

I have 5 WD 750GB, Cavalry 1TB, Buffalo 1TB, Hitachi 1TB, WD 1.5TB, all working well. The last 2 are raw drives use a USB to SATA adapter, the earlier are individually powered. I keep a NeoOffice spreadsheet with info on each recording, now >1100 films and 100's of series/shows. There are plenty of warnings about the sleep problem with Seagate. The last 1.5TB $80 cost less than the first .75TB $190. One .75 is headed back to do computer backups, forever?
-Ken

Interesting. I have USB SATA docking station and was wondering to use it to have multiple raw drives to create library of movies. Thanks for info. I have been too lazy to try it myself.