Hard Drive upgrade for Pioneer DVR-520H

[cicero_brasil]

My replace the HDD is perfect!!! Thx...

[orsetto]

Yes, cicero_brasil, you can put the original drive back into your Pioneer. If you have not erased it or used it in a PC yet, the recorder MIGHT just recognize it when you turn it on, without you having to do the whole process over again with the service remote and 1305 disc. But this doesn't always happen, sometimes you do need to reset even the original drive.

It sounds like one of the buttons on your remote is not functioning correctly during the CPRM number entry. If you see the "data write ng!" display even when putting the original hard drive back in, either your remote has problems or the 1305 disc is not working. There may be a newer disc than 1305, which was introduced with the 2006 models 540-543-640. Your 650 is a 2007 model and might need another disc: ask Hkan. If he says you can use 1305, then maybe you need to burn it again on different brand of media?

Also note, some of the "service remote files" linked to in this thread are FLAWED and should not be used to program your universal remote. When people first tried to extract and post these codes, some mistakes occurred. Anyone interested in downloadable remote codes should work their way backwards in this thread until they find the most recent links/discussions. The remote codes mentioned at the beginning of this thread have some problems.

[cicero_brasil]

The code of universal programs is work all!!! I tested!!! In my case, my image disc doesn't work bercause the image .NRG is work, but I transform with the program NRG2ISO for .ISO and don't work, so I download the Alcohol 120% and burn the maxwell dvd-r disc [image.NRG] and works!
About the press ESC+STOP doesn't show the <STOP> for erase [memory clear] is because the HDD doens't a code, so put 9 digit and ID DATA DISC.... perfect!!!
Thx...

[1bombel]

(sorry for my English...)

I have service disk
I have PalmVIIx (and remote .ccf file for pioneer)

Omniremote (and some... soft) its. ok on PALM

Then .ccf compile on .PDB is not valid buttons (transfer ok, but not visible)

Then only one button convert (160*160 - many option) - this is not visible.

Oryginal "OmniRemote.PDB" it ok.

Please send service file in ".PDB" format for:
- forum
or else
- "1bombel@interia.pl"

Maybe my configuration is damaged?

Thanks.

[orsetto]

I have a question for Hkan that I think would be of interest to many people, so I'm posting it here rather than sending him a direct email. Hkan, can you confirm if the GGV-1305 works with the current 2008 x60 Pioneers? The North American model numbers are 460, 560 and 660. I've used the 1305 on 540, 640 and 450 models, but a friend just asked me to upgrade their new 460 and I don't want to tinker with it unless I have the correct service disc. Can we use GGV-1305 on the x60 series? Thanks, Hkan!

[Hkan]

Hi
No you cant!
You need GGV1321!

[deadsimple]

Hi Everyone
Now that a lot of you good people have successfully upgraded Pioneer DVH420h hard disc drive (HDD), can anyone loan me the the service disc and the service remote please. I promise it will be returned with compensiation for postage and a big thanks.
Regards
deadsimple@hotmail.com

[deadsimple]

Pardon me I meant Pioneer DVR 420h.
Many thanks
deadsimple

[1bombel]

(sorry for my English...)

I do not have problem with emulation "pronto" on old Palm at present already.

I use on PalmVIIx (Palm IIIxe) omniremote 2.x- export category to MemoPad, edit on PC (HotSync) and copy IR code (Pioneer service...) from Prontoedit.
From modernize Memopad import to omniremote.
Change HDD = OK.
---------------------------------

My present problem.
Friend gave me cd "region free".
Yet it is not well.
I have region still 2.
Recorder bad carriers DVDR sees.
(old firmware visible).

"Service Disc" (GGV1179 from internet) not automatic download.????!!!!!
( in "Pioneer-Dvr-520_Service_Manual.pdf" = GGV1179 is download disc)


Where I make mistake?

[orsetto]

Do-it-yourself "region-free" hacks on DVD/HDD recorders are always a mistake, because the "hack" usually fails and there is generally NO way to restore the recorder to its original region firmware. So, never never never never never never EVER try to "hack" an expensive DVD/HDD recorder to be "region-free" (or any other "hack"): you could end up with a pile of junk. Why people insist on tampering with their recorders instead of just buying a cheap throwaway region-free player is beyond me. Note that "region-free" works differently on players than it does on recorders: nowadays it is assumed that a "region-free" player will also CONVERT from PAL to NTSC, or from NTSC to PAL, as part of the "region-free" feature package. Most recorders, however, will NOT convert PAL or NTSC to the other standard if they are hacked- all they will do is accept the disc and spin it for playback, the signal output will remain whatever is on the original disc.

So if you live in Hungary, and want to play Hollywood DVDs received from the USA, a hacked "region-free" recorder will not translate those USA DVDs to PAL for you- you would also need to connect a separate standards conversion box. Instead of going to all that trouble and risking damage to your recorder, its much more sensible to buy a dedicated "region-free-standards-converting" player such as a Phillips model. I have never heard of a Pioneer or Panasonic DVD/HDD recorder that will convert between NTSC and PAL, not even the models that come region-free from the factory. Since 2003, the only recorders I have used that will do standards conversion were the JVCs of 2005 or earlier. But there are many many inexpensive players that will do this. Get one.

[1bombel]

orsetto - This this problem is not

Pioneer DVR-520 Pioneer was sold - free as region.
My firmware only region 2 !

"Pioneer-Dvr-520_Service_Manual.pdf" :
1) Open a disc tray in the " DVD " function.
2) Put the download disc on the tray.
3) Press and hold a " STOP " button for playback,
then press a " DISC NAVIGATOR " button on a front panel.
- The disc tray closes automatically and the disc is loaded.
- The disc tray opens automatically after loading.
4) Take out the Download Disc.
- " DISC DWLD " is displayed on FL and download is started.

- mistake on 3 "DISC NAVIGATOR" = DVD (front panel) in this model.

Then put on the tray "region..disc" = its ok (download)
Then put on the tray "service-disc" (from internet, Deutschland forum) not download !!??

Maybe GGV1179 is Test Disc (recorder ok = not download)

Why?

"For Pioneer DVR-3100/5100/520/720/433/530/531/533/630/631/633/H
GGV1179: TEST DISC
GGV1239: DATA DISC VOL.4.0 (Substitute:GGV1256/GGV1302)
GGV1256: DATA DISC VOL4.1 (Substitute:GGV1302)
GGV1302: SYSTEM PROGRAM DISC"

Please Help me (i need GGV1256????).

[Hkan]

All Pioneer DVD's and DVRs sold in Europe can handle PAL and NTSC.
Most of them can convert PAL to NTSC or NTSC to PAL.
Some have the option NTSC on PAL TV!
This has nothing with if the DVR/DVD is multiregional or not!

Most TVs in Europe can handle NTSC!

GGV1179 is not a firmware disc!
Even if your Pioneer DVR is multiregional, it will say the original region in the OSD menus!
To see if it is multiregional you need to try with a disc from another region, a Region 1 disc will be best as this region is allways just Region 1.
If you contact me I'll guide you to the correct disc that will make your Region 2 DVR-520H multiregional.

[orsetto]

I was in error about standards conversion : Hkan is of course correct to remind me that in PAL countries most televisions are multistandard and can "fake" NTSC compatability when output from any recorder or player (I'm surprised I forgot this, I send DVDs to Finland every month and my friends there just play them). Note however it is the television thats doing the conversion, not the Pioneer recorder, and this trick does not work at all in NTSC countries (PAL televisions can easily display NTSC with the slight circuit modification nearly all of them have, but NTSC televisions cannot display PAL without an external converter).

I respectfully disagree with Hkan regarding firmware alterations, however, especially when the user lives in USA/Canada. Tampering with the firmware on Pioneers is tricky and should not be done unless absolutely necessary. I personally would not mess with a 520 at all: there are just too many different versions, some of which don't even respond to the firmware CD (they require a special hardwired connection to a PC). The 530 and 550 had more consistent production runs, all of them will load a firmware CD if necessary. Nonetheless, I have had several members here contact me with very sad stories after they tried to "upgrade" the firmware on an "international" Pioneer 530 or 550, hoping I could help them (I couldn't- I referred them to Hkan). If you live in a PAL country, buy a Pioneer-authorized "region-free" recorder in the first place: don't try to hack a region 2 unit if you can avoid it. If you live in the USA or Canada, a region-free Pioneer DVR will not convert PAL to play on an NTSC television, so theres no advantage. North Americans are better off with a supplemental cheap multistandard player.

[1bombel]

I'm sorry for language

My Pioneer DVR-520Hs on rear panel = "2" (region), and not Play DVD region 1

...Friend bring me cd 2 "region free".

Download = its ok (region 1 Play, and TV to switch on NTSC automatic).

Original firmware (when buy recorder) = 2.69
Present firmware = 2.64 (?)

Clean lens and (maybe) it ok (PLAY/RECORD) = first test.

--------------------------

PRESENT PROBLEM: (firmware or not???)

Toslink (optical Out) = light =~ 30% (digital sound break on amplifier)!
Anotcher DVDPlayer light = 100%.

Maybe when HDD to exchange... - I damaged something ? (rather no)

Firmware or not ??????

Where to find firmware to install original of parameters?
(GGV1256/Substitute:GGV1302)

[Hkan]

There is only one region free firmware for DVR-520H and it is Version 2.64

[lopoga]

Sorry for my english, i´m from spain

I have dvr-540HX and i need disk id Pioneer GGV1273 Type2. Where to find the disk?

Thanks you very much

[montie]

Hello.
First: sorry for my English

I have a Pioneer DVR-720H-S(with 160GB HDD). I upgraded this DVR do 500GB It work's perfect(over 650h recording on EP). My service remote = PDA with WM 6.0(ASUS 636N-best pda ever) and VitoRemote software(and ccf profile for Pioneer remote). Service dvd = internet

I have a many dvd's with movies.
Can i use this dvd recorder like a movie center? Pioneer can't copy full disc dvd to hdd(dvd+r and dvd-r). Any sugestions? Patch? New firmware?

[orsetto]

No, montie, so sorry but you cannot use the the Pioneer 720 (or any other DVD/HDD recorder) as a "movie center". They can't copy commercial movie DVDs to their hard drives, they will only copy DVDs they made themselves and even then they will only make a real-time copy which loses quality. There is no "firmware upgrade" that will change this: the brain inside the recorder cannot handle copying of DVDs with commercial menus. If you really need a "movie center" you can modify your PC to do this much more easily and effectively.

[PuzZLeR]

Orsetto said it perfectly. It's amazing how some DVR companies have led us to believe that these things are media centers. They are not. You are far, far better off setting up your PC for this. I agree.

I love my 520 for what it does, but I know I’d be sorely disappointed if I wanted it as some storage/playback unit for playing all kinds of video. Then again, even so, with even an expansion to a 500 GB HDD, it still wouldn’t really be enough anyway for that – and it is this point alone that kind of makes this whole thread, with all the posts over the years, quite moot.

Other than for the enthusiasts who appreciate this stuff (which is what this thread should really be about, not for "real" benefit, only discussion purposes) the trouble involved in installing a bigger hard drive to a 520 (or pretty much to any DVR), with all the time, costs, bugs and the pains of dealing with proprietary technology involved just doesn’t justify its practicality. I’ve said this almost 3 years ago in this very thread, and still say this again today. Not worth it. Just buy another one with a bigger drive if it fancies you – the price would be a better trade-off over the trouble with the existing one.

But a bigger drive for what?

Most of us able to fiddle with this stuff would probably be the type that would want to migrate this video content to a PC for better editing/processing/etc anyway. A bigger hard drive would only encourage, or rather have the propensity to introduce, more back-log in the work flow. Why add to that?

I still love my 520 after all these years – but only for what it is - and the 80GB HDD is still enough and I still consider it one of my most fulfilling purchases ever.

And now that I’ve been really enjoying the DV-out to firewire feature I couldn’t be happier with it. No more packing video due to the clumsy, and time consuming, editing by remote and the annoying burning and disc transfers after.

Bigger hard drive? Bah. Sorry folks. Waste of time and money.

[orsetto]

As big a curmudgeon as I am, PuzZler, I can't completely agree with your hard drive philosophy- almost, but not completely. I do think the original 80GB hard drives in these things are a bit claustrophobic if you use the unit heavily, it just fills up too quickly if you are doing several ongoing projects at once. In my 540 (which is a 640 with an 80GB drive), half the capacity is filled with a variety of music and comedy clips I'm still organizing pending final offload to DVD. The rest of the drive is devoted to a number of weekly cable shows, which run 44 mins after deleting commercials. Three episodes fit on a disc, and so at any given time at least two episodes reside on the drive, multiply that by several shows and random movies, and the drive is always bumping up near capacity- a bit scary.

In contrast, the 160GB drive in my newer Pio 460 seems huge by comparison: I feel much less stressed using it than my 540, and when I get the energy to yank my system apart and rewire it I'll be using the 460 as my primary. So I would say for some people, upgrading from the original 80GB may be worth the expense and aggravation. PuzZler's reminder about the expense should be carefully heeded however: it is a significant expense and not really worth doing just so you can say you shoved a huge drive into your recorder. Despite the reams of tips here on VH, rolling your own service remote for pennies is not as easy as it sounds: most of us end up ordering the real Pio service remote, or a clone from a remote supply company that runs at least $50. Then you need the service disc, which ain't that easy to acquire, plus the expense of the new hard drive itself. The total can easily top $150, at which point you should seriously consider just buying an additional recorder that already has a larger drive: you would get much more utility from two machines. Of course, if your original drive fails, thats another story and it may be worth it to do the replacement/upgrade if you love your recorder model. In any case these recorders were all designed to access maybe 160GB tops: putting in 500GB is overkill, although you may be forced to as lower capacity drives disappear from the marketplace.

[PuzZLeR]

I guess volume varies per individual. Then again, I'm no slouch either - several music programs during the week, and the occasional sporting event, along with some documentaries. Much of this stuff gets deleted though after viewing. But I do archive about a few hours a week in addition to a few transfers of VHS tapes squeezed in I'm still digitizing.

I record everything to FINE, the highest bitrate, yet still don't feel cramped.

What has immensely helped is the DV-out feature, which I only got into after 4 years of owning the product - and the 520 got even better! No editing and no burning on the unit for the stuff I do keep, which saves alot of time (especially for complicated stuff like music videos). I've got it down to a science - once a week I do an overnight transfer to my PC - for quicker edits and then processing. No clumsy remote or disc burning transfers. And the drive still manages to be empty at least 4 times a month. It's too easy.

And the quality and final productions are fabulous.

Yes, a bigger hard drive could be nice, especially for those times when I do get out of town. Ok, maybe 160GB would be ideal, but I still say it's too much trouble for its worth.

Then again, it's only an opinion.

BTW - did anybody really notice the DV-out port? You won't be as much in need for more storage after this. The DV video the 520 produces transfers, edits and encodes real nicely on the PC for final results on DvD, DivX or whatever.

[orsetto]

I sort of overlooked PuzZler's use of the DV out feature on his 520: yes of course if you are constantly streaming data off the drive it will have plenty of headroom, even the smaller 80GB. However, it should be noted for anyone intrigued by this idea, the DV out connectivity to PCs was an undocumented, unsupported feature available only on the older Pioneer 510 and 520 models. It is not predictable or reliable: it works perfectly for some users like PuzZler, but not at all for others (it depends on your specific PC configuration and software). In case you were wondering about the continued sky-high second hand prices people get on eBay for five year old Pio 520s, this feature is one reason. Pioneer "plugged the hole" after the 520, however: the direct-to-PC DV out transfer does not work at all on the 533, 633, x40, x50 or x60 models. They are limited to camera connectivity only. Once in a while, a very clever member here reports tricking one of these later models into thinking their PC is a camera, but it isn't something you can count on.

[Seeker47]

makes this whole thread, with all the posts over the years, quite moot

Not at all. I don't think this thread has much dealt with the "media center alternative" notion, prior to your bringing it up. Rather, it has almost entirely dealt with troubleshooting issues with this and related models, up to and including HDD or burner replacement -- should any owners feel the need to do that or just desire to do it. Ditto for similar threads on AVS. Between them, I think most of the issues one is likely to encounter have been reasonably well documented. The problem comes with just digging out particular details you know are there, somewhere, from amidst the sheer volume of posts we've collected. Keyword searches through such threads can be a hit or miss proposition. I'd like to think I've had somewhat better than average foresight, by saving some of the most important passages as discrete files, though I stopped doing that here around page 20, and so have some catching up to do. If I could find some convenient way to merge those individual HTML files into one, or maybe just in TXT format, I'm confident I would have a much more easily searchable reference. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be using it, sooner or later. (That should indicate how much I like the 520, and answer whether I think this is worth the trouble and expense.) Luckily, my 520 continues to be a workhorse.

I sort of overlooked PuzZler's use of the DV out feature on his 520: yes of course if you are constantly streaming data off the drive it will have plenty of headroom, even the smaller 80GB. However, it should be noted for anyone intrigued by this idea, the DV out connectivity to PCs was an undocumented, unsupported feature available only on the older Pioneer 510 and 520 models. It is not predictable or reliable: it works perfectly for some users like PuzZler, but not at all for others (it depends on your specific PC configuration and software).

I would be very curious to know exactly how this is done, in sufficient detail. This was complete news to me . . . but maybe not surprising, since I have never owned any firewire-based device -- not even a camcorder. So, what would I need, and how would I use it ? Would one offload already edited, chaptered, or thumbnailed (on the 520) material ? I don't know that I would purchase a camcorder just for this. As to PCs, it would not be practical to set one up where the 520 is. I'm on the verge of replacing my Shuttle with a later model, at which point this one will be freed up for more "roaming" assignments. (But it doesn't have firewire, although there could be a fix for that.) In any case, it still would not be terribly convenient to set it up there temporarily, along with a monitor. The only way that would make sense is if there were a whole big queue of xfer jobs that could all be handled at the same time.

So . . . this is really a job for a suitably equipped laptop, right ? It would be great if there was some way to do it using that new WD gizmo that has spawned several threads here, but I suspect that such devices are playback-only solutions.

In case you were wondering about the continued sky-high second hand prices people get on eBay for five year old Pio 520s, this feature is one reason. Pioneer "plugged the hole" after the 520, however: the direct-to-PC DV out transfer does not work at all on the 533, 633, x40, x50 or x60 models. They are limited to camera connectivity only.

Yeah, I was kinda wondering about that.

Once in a while, a very clever member here reports tricking one of these later models into thinking their PC is a camera, but it isn't something you can count on.

While we're at it, I'd be very interested to hear just how anyone might have gone about doing that, provided they succeeded and it wasn't a one-time deal.

[canon10d]

In case you were wondering about the continued sky-high second hand prices people get on eBay for five year old Pio 520s, this feature is one reason.

What sort of sky-high prices are we talking about here? I have two 520s I bought in the UK. One is used by the kids for playing the odd DVD, and the other is still in its box. I did a search on eBay for them and didn't get anything back. I searched for "pioneer 520" both on open and completed auctions.

Might have to drag my laptop up to the lounge and try this undocumented feature out.

[orsetto]

You are in NZ, where there is no shortage of DVD/HDD recorders to choose from. In the USA, there is next to nothing to choose from, and some long-discontinued models like the Pioneer 520 gather a cult following for features no longer available, such as bidirectional DV connectivity and dedicated chapter marking function on the remote that operates during normal full-screen playback. When you search eBay, it generally defaults to the country you are located in- if you search eBay USA, you'll often find used Pio 520s selling in the $400 range depending on condition and whether more than one is listed within a given time frame. The lowest I've seen a functioning one sell for in the US these past few years has been about $290. Its a VERY popular unit here, possibly the most popular Pio ever made, although later models surpass it in navigation tools and optimization for dubbing VHS tapes.

[Seeker47]

if you search eBay USA, you'll often find used Pio 520s selling in the $400 range depending on condition and whether more than one is listed within a given time frame. The lowest I've seen a functioning one sell for in the US these past few years has been about $290. Its a VERY popular unit here, possibly the most popular Pio ever made, although later models surpass it in navigation tools and optimization for dubbing VHS tapes.

The highest price I can recall seeing was $700., for a unit that was said never to have been taken out of the original box. This would have been within the past year or so, but definitely before the economy went completely to Hell.

[canon10d]

You are in NZ, where there is no shortage of DVD/HDD recorders to choose from. In the USA, there is next to nothing to choose from.

I'm surprised by that comment. I would have thought it would have been the other way around.

When you search eBay, it generally defaults to the country you are located in- if you search eBay USA, you'll often find used Pio 520s selling in the $400 range depending on condition and whether more than one is listed within a given time frame.

I must be doing something wrong or there's nothing there at the moment. I signed into ebay.com. I then did an advanced search on all completed items worldwide for 'Pioneer 520' and it came with a list of Pioneer tuners.

Ah well. Will keep an eye out for them in future, although mine uses 220V, so not much chance selling it to someone in the US.

[Zen of Encoding]

What has immensely helped is the DV-out feature, which I only got into after 4 years of owning the product No editing and no burning on the unit for the stuff I do keep, which saves alot of time (especially for complicated stuff like music videos). I've got it down to a science - once a week I do an overnight transfer to my PC - for quicker edits and then processing. No clumsy remote or disc burning transfers. And the drive still manages to be empty at least 4 times a month. It's too easy.

BTW - did anybody really notice the DV-out port? You won't be as much in need for more storage after this. The DV video the 520 produces transfers, edits and encodes real nicely on the PC for final results on DvD, DivX or whatever.

Hey PuzZLeR,

Can you go into more detail as to the exact procedure (step by step please, I'm kinda slow) used to export video
to a PC through the DV port? What capture software do you prefer? How do you get the 520 to play all it's files
continuously for an "overnight transfer" to a PC?

Thanks in advance,

Zen

[orsetto]

I must be doing something wrong or there's nothing there at the moment. I signed into ebay.com. I then did an advanced search on all completed items worldwide for 'Pioneer 520' and it came with a list of Pioneer tuners.

eBay's search engine is actually pretty obstructive: in defiance of common sense, if you input a specific model/brand it almost always returns zero results. You have to run a more generic search, then it will pull up the recorders: I always search for "pioneer DVD recorder". In the USA site this averages about 38 current listings and about as many completed. Looking thru these should show a couple of 520s. I think I saw one yesterday. Believe it or not there are people in the USA desperate enough for a good 520 they would consider the shipping expense and 220v conversion of your unit: if you don't mind gambling a listing fee, its worth a shot to see who might bid. Start with a minimum thats the lowest you'd accept, to weed out the bargain hunters. Nothing pumps up interest in the 520 better than mentions of its bidirectional DV connectivity: I promise you, if PuzZler replies to inquiries here with detailed info on how to export video from it, there will be a bidding war for your old 520.

[Hkan]

I'm in the need of help
I need to update the Guides on how to Replace the HD to fit for the Pioneer DVR-x50H (models from 2007) and DVR-x60 (models from 2008).
The procedure is the same as for the DVR-x40, how ever the newer onces have the SATA cable so an upgrade for the guides are needed
I also need some photos of this models, the inside

Please contact me via PM and then we take it from there!