Where is USB External Storage for the 942/ViP622?

[jdr01930]

Not a peep about USB HDD support for the 622 tonight. Is June 07 still on the table?

They alluded to USB support for the VIP 211 (I think that's the model#) happening late in the year. That's the feature that would let you turn the "non dvr" receiver into a DVR by plugging in an external USB drive. Not sure if that support and 622 USB support are one in the same and planned for the same time, but that's about all I heard related to this feature.

 

[dfergie]

This is what my 622 says when connected to a new USB drive... not enabled yet

 

[ChetK]

They alluded to USB support for the VIP 211 (I think that's the model#) happening late in the year. That's the feature that would let you turn the "non dvr" receiver into a DVR by plugging in an external USB drive. Not sure if that support and 622 USB support are one in the same and planned for the same time, but that's about all I heard related to this feature.

Man, I hope not. First we hear "summer." Now you're saying end of the year.

 

[Jim5506]

Last "official" word on USB hard drive for 622 is still mid year.

End of year is for making a 211 a DVR by adding a usb HD to it - two different animals.

 

[Cyclone]

He was also hinting about sharing content between DVRs when he was on the topic of DishOnline. I wonder if that will be done via Ethernet or do they have something up with DishComm which will work over the powerlines.

 

[kstuart]

Last "official" word on USB hard drive for 622 is still mid year.

End of year is for making a 211 a DVR by adding a usb HD to it - two different animals.

In order for that to work on the 211, there has to be a Software Upgrade for the 211 that supports that feature, including support for DVR functions. That is not only more extensive than just USB Hard Drive support, it is on a different receiver.

So, the fact that the 211 feature would be sometime this year would indicate that the 622 upgrade would have to be significantly earlier than that.

 

[Lonster]

I'm anxious to see this implemented too. I have a 1TB (2-500's) external drive that I bought exclusively for HD storage. I have used the Pocket Dish to transfer SD info, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out that I could not transfer anything to my Hard Drive.
Someone here mentioned something about 'well, we'll find out tonight.'. Is there somewhere to keep an eye on what Dish is sending out in the way of firmware upgrades and such?

Thanks,
Lonster (the lurker)

 

[jdr01930]

"Is there somewhere to keep an eye on what Dish is sending out in the way of firmware upgrades and such?"

You're already here!!:up

 

[long_time_DNC]

Yep, this is the place!

 

[Lonster]

OK Then! That's the plan.

 

[dfergie]

For those of you that live in the Sticks so to speak (away from major electronics stores) I was in Walmart this evening and they are clearencing out the Seagate External HDD's (bought one the other day) and I picked up Verbatim DVD+DLs for $8 for a 3 pack...

 

[Stargazer]

I have been waiting for this external storage for so long now that I have given up hope. That is why I have three DVR's instead of two - for extra storage. Instead of looking forward to the external storage and other things that were promised, I forget about it and think about other things since there is a good chance that it might get delayed again and its a waste of time for me to worry about it everytime something is promised. I will believe it when I see it.

 

[ChetK]

I have been waiting for this external storage for so long now that I have given up hope. That is why I have three DVR's instead of two - for extra storage. Instead of looking forward to the external storage and other things that were promised, I forget about it and think about other things since there is a good chance that it might get delayed again and its a waste of time for me to worry about it everytime something is promised. I will believe it when I see it.

That's the same attitude I've had when it comes to ANYTHING E* announces.

 

[waltinvt]

Stargazer][/B]
I have been waiting for this external storage for so long now that I have given up hope. That is why I have three DVR's instead of two - for extra storage. Instead of looking forward to the external storage and other things that were promised, I forget about it and think about other things since there is a good chance that it might get delayed again and its a waste of time for me to worry about it everytime something is promised. I will believe it when I see it.

That's the same attitude I've had when it comes to ANYTHING E* announces.

It's the way Dish operates. They announce something and then dribble out little blerps every so often to keep the "hype" alive. This may go on for months / yrs before anything happens (if anything at all). Things like: NBR on the 5xx receivers; HD DNS if the legislation passed back in 2004; List of "possible" HD LiLs for 50 DMAs by the end of 2006; local weather reports; ............

As long as people are talking Dish, it's like free advertising and in today's society people's expectations and tolerations for honesty are so flaky, outcomes really don't matter that much.

 

[kstuart]

[/i]As long as people are talking Dish, it's like free advertising and in today's society people's expectations and tolerations for honesty are so flaky, outcomes really don't matter that much.

As opposed to previous societies ? Back then, instead of telling you about products, they would have simply enslaved you in chains for the rest of your life...

PS

A Moral Wrong Is Not A Civil Right

Spoiler

This is one of the easiest statements to prove false:
A) There are a number of different definitions of morality in the world - Catholicism,Protestantism,Islam,Judaism,Hinduism, Atheism,Hedonism,Objectivism,etc.
B) Just about every human action is "morally wrong" to someone, for example, Puritans considered dancing to be morally wrong.
C) Therefore, making any exception to Civil Rights for morality would mean that there are no civil rights. The whole definition of Civil Rights implies that it is outside of the idea of morality.

However, a case could mean that "A Civil Right is Never Morally Wrong". The actual definition of "moral" is customary. The rights that are specified in the US Constitution are certainly customary in our society.

mod note: the last part of this post I put in spoiler tags as it is more of a pit topic, but Instead of deleting I put in the tags...

 

[long_time_DNC]

Part of the prior post almost looks pit-worthy...

 

[Tom Bombadil]

As it is still May, we shouldn't expect to have this feature yet. Although I getting tired of waiting for it.

So we shouldn't be giving up hope.

If E* does miss their target implementation date, it is going to be a hard pill to swallow. In my opinion they have had more than enough time to get this working. It will be hard not to think of them as incompetent programmers if they don't get this working by this summer.

 

[griz_fan]

In my opinion they have had more than enough time to get this working. It will be hard not to think of them as incompetent programmers if they don't get this working by this summer.

I wouldn't be surprised if they have already addressed all of the technical issues. I suspect business/legal/licensing issues are standing in the way. The intellectual property issues around external storage could be quite thick. From copyright concerns from the content providers to technology licensing issues, I can see a lot of things that could hold this up.
For example, the various networks and programming providers aren't too keen on DVR technology to begin with, and if they were to even get a whiff of some ability to share content, such as removable, portable storage, I can see some willing to throw up a road block. And it doesn't have to be a rational concern, either. That's just one possible cause, too.
So, while it could be code or hardware holding things up, I've seen more than a few instances where the technical issues are resolved a lot faster than business/legal/licensing issues.

While waiting, hopefully the prices on the Maxtor and LaCie terabyte external drives will continue to fall

 

[cosmo_kramer]

If E* does miss their target implementation date, it is going to be a hard pill to swallow. In my opinion they have had more than enough time to get this working. It will be hard not to think of them as incompetent programmers if they don't get this working by this summer.

I hate harping on this, but they have already missed their 2006 target date:

He then showed the USB Archiving and mentions it will be available later this year for the 942 and 622, When you archive a show it is NOT copied to the hard drive, it is MOVED to the hard drive, this was done to satisfy the programmers.

http://www.satelliteguys.us/showpost.php?p=583980&postcount=1

 

[db2]

I suspect business/legal/licensing issues are standing in the way. The intellectual property issues around external storage could be quite thick. From copyright concerns from the content providers to technology licensing issues, I can see a lot of things that could hold this up.
For example, the various networks and programming providers aren't too keen on DVR technology to begin with, and if they were to even get a whiff of some ability to share content, such as removable, portable storage, I can see some willing to throw up a road block.

Is Dish the first company to do this? I thought someone posted that Comcast DVR's allow external HD hookup via usb. I would think this legal stuff would be worked out by now.