Shaw 630/830 PVRs

[nusatman1]

Being in the southern provinces and never having a PVR/DVR my questions would be do I require an Internet connection to use the PVR functions, is there a way to expand the current hard drive space - internal or external, does Shaw require a subscription for the service, and about how long does a hard drive actually last? I’m thinking the last one would depend on usage, but I’m not sure...


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[LOSat]

Neither require an internet connection to work. You can add an external drive to either but the 630 uses an older style of connection. No subscription is required to be able to use PVR functionality. You can record any channel that you subscribe to and can receive south of the border. If using an external drive make sure it is rated for PVR use. If you are not in Canada DO NOT connect the receiver to the internet, the IP address will reveal that you are not in Canada and they could/will shut the receiver down.

 

[nusatman1]

Neither require an internet connection to work. You can add an external drive to either but the 630 uses an older style of connection. No subscription is required to be able to use PVR functionality. You can record any channel that you subscribe to and can receive south of the border. If using an external drive make sure it is rated for PVR use. If you are not in Canada DO NOT connect the receiver to the internet, the IP address will reveal that you are not in Canada and they could/will shut the receiver down.

Is there a size limitation on the size of the external drive you can use on either model? I’m potentially getting 1 off each model. As far as the actual external drive itself, is there a certain brand or type that I should look for aside from making sure it’s rated for PVR use?


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[harshness]

The 630 is capped at 2TB. Shaw claims there are no size limits on the 830 but I'd recommend keeping it below 7TB.

The drive must have its own power supply.

I would recommend avoiding any configurations involving multiple storage devices (specifically JBOD but maybe even RAID).

Know that files cannot be transferred between the internal and external drives nor can the drives be used with another PVR (without reformatting and losing all of the recordings).

 

[nusatman1]

The 630 is capped at 2TB. Shaw claims there are no size limits on the 830 but I'd recommend keeping it below 7TB.

The drive must have its own power supply.

I would recommend avoiding any configurations involving multiple storage devices (specifically JBOD but maybe even RAID).

Know that files cannot be transferred between the internal and external drives nor can the drives be used with another PVR (without reformatting and losing all of the recordings).

Can you specify when you record which drive you want the recording saved to? I would only get one drive for each unit. Is it possible to transfer a saved file to a thumb drive?


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[harshness]

Is it possible to transfer a saved file to a thumb drive?

From the Shaw website:

The content stored on Expanders is encrypted against the PVR used to record it, and therefore cannot be transferred or viewed using another PVR or other digital device.

 

[stecle]

Being in the southern provinces and never having a PVR/DVR my questions would be do I require an Internet connection to use the PVR functions, is there a way to expand the current hard drive space - internal or external, does Shaw require a subscription for the service, and about how long does a hard drive actually last? I’m thinking the last one would depend on usage, but I’m not sure...


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I didn't realize that we even had southern provinces here in Canada.

 

[nusatman1]

I didn't realize that we even had southern provinces here in Canada.

lol - I’m referring to the US


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