How to access video files from Pioneer DVR 540HX on the PC?

vcruzmed · Member Joined: 24 Jun 2009 Location: Spain

Hi everybody,

I would like to know if there is a way to mount the hard disk from a Pioneer DVR 540HX on a PC in order to access the video files stored in it. From the pioneerfaq.info site I've learned that the Pioneers use an OpenBSD file system but there are no instructions on how to mount it. Has anybody done it?

My problem is that the hdd is full and I was wondering if there is a faster method to backup the recordings than the DVD route.

Thanks

Seeker47 · Member Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Location: A State of Mind, USA

vcruzmed · Member Joined: 24 Jun 2009 Location: Spain

Hi Seeker47,

Sure, dealing with the file format is the second part of the problem. I'm hoping for the best on this issue. If the DVR is able to copy the recordings to DVD at high speed then the internal format should be fairly similar to an MPEG2 transport stream. But the only way to find out is to access the files.

Thanks

jman98 · Member Joined: 08 Oct 2004 Location: Freedonia

If the disk uses an OpenBSD file system and you have good computer skills, it should not be too difficult to mount it. Here is a suggestion for mounting an OpenBSD file system under Suse Linux, but this should work as well on non-Suse versions:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_mount_a_BSD_file_system_on_a ... nux_System
Here is a link to an FFS driver for Windows:
http://ffsdrv.sourceforge.net/

Seeker47 · Member Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Location: A State of Mind, USA

vcruzmed · Member Joined: 24 Jun 2009 Location: Spain

Thanks for the links. However, I'm concerned about this bit of info from http://www.pioneerfaq.info/english/dvr630.php?player=DVR-630H& ... recover_hd. If it's true that to put the hdd back into the DVR I need the service remote and disk, then it is not worth the effort for me. May be if the hdd is not modified in the process, the DVR may accept the hdd back but how can I be sure that any of this software doesn't write to the hdd?

Seeker47 · Member Joined: 20 Jul 2005 Location: A State of Mind, USA

orsetto · Member Joined: 31 Oct 2007 Location: NYC

You're wasting your time. There is no way to mount the hard drive from any "major brand" DVD/HDD recorder into a PC and get any practical use out of it. It is one thing to know you can mount it under some version of Unix/Linux, but mounting it isn't the problem: handling the files is. They are not neatly identified and organized like they would be on a PC hard drive, they're a freaking mess. A single half-hour sitcom recording is often comprised of 50 or more files, scattered all over the drive with random gibberish file names. In five years of following this topic on several forums, I have only heard of two people who managed to mount a Panasonic and Pioneer recorder HDD in a PC, and salvage some videos from them. Note I said "salvage", not "play", "back up" or "use in any practical manner". And the salvage operation took weeks to piece together a single hour of video.

There are a lot of people out there under the delusion these recorder mfrs are stupid and can be outwitted. Forget it: they didn't dare bring DVD recorders to market until Hollywood could be assured wise-ass computer geeks couldn't just slap the hard drive into their PCs and have a blast streaming 160GB of network and cable TV onto the internet. Recorder hard drives are locked down every which way from Sunday and the files are completely useless except in the recorder. In many cases, such as Pioneer, removal of the hard drive will also break the secret handshake that lets the recorder read it, you can't even put it back in without a service remote and/or service DVD to reset the handshake: these machines are DRM'd to death.

Confusion arises because of the way DVD/HDD recorders are marketed. It is a mistake to assume just because they have ridiculously large hard drives they can be used as a quick-n-easy home theater PC with hot-swappable storage. These recorders only have large hard drives because smaller ones are no longer made, otherwise bet your ass we'd still be dealing with 40GB recorders. The hard drive feature is intended as temporary timeshift space and a scratch area to make editing easier before burning the final DVD- nothing else. No matter how mfrs try to "spin" these recorders, their primary purpose is to burn DVDs from their hard drives. If you want a home theater PC, with easily backed up hard drives and standard file formats, build one or buy one. Meantime, dub your recorder hard drive TV shows and movies to DVDs as soon as possible after recording: if the HDD tanks, you'll lose everything on it.

vcruzmed · Member Joined: 24 Jun 2009 Location: Spain

Hi orsetto,

Thanks a lot for the info. You have saved me a lot of time and pain. I'll just resign myself to backup to DVDs.

Now it's time for me to look for a new recorder that supports easy backup. Three years ago when I bought the Pioneer there were not many options but things are different now.

Triad123 · Member Joined: 22 Jul 2009 Location: South Africa

well dvd's could not be copied!!!! And look today... They brought out Blue-Ray....even that have been cracked....They brought HD tv even that got cracked....so there will be a way...why would they allow ?HDD machines to be so full of Sh*t...if dvd are all over the world i will find a way and come back with it.....Just watch

orsetto · Member Joined: 31 Oct 2007 Location: NYC