My video recorder HDD is full !!!

[DB83]

Well, If I was you and reading what I wrote then I would not be rushing out to buy one.

Also bear in mind the statement in the specs that these units only support disks formatted for FAT32 which could also be a limitation even if it worked.

[Seeker47]

But just a quick thought (probably wrong on this) but aren't the USB interfaces on dvd-recorders meant for input and not output ?

Generally true, I think, though one (possible) exception may have been the Pioneer 520. This was a 2004 model of the Pio DVDRs. It was supposed to have a USB-out feature that was experimental, unpublicized, and undocumented. Success with it was far from assured. But it was the subject of a thread here, and Puzzler detailed the method by which it worked for him. If you're curious, you should be able to find that thread with a VH Forums keyword search . . . or I'm sure I have a bookmark for it somewhere.

[TBoneit]

It's the unique OS and formatting that makes transfers next to impossible,not the hardware. I have a Dish 211HD receiver with an external USB HD and my computer won't even recognize the the drive let alone see the OS and files.

That External drive is formatted in a dish proprietary format. If there is a OS on that external drive it would be linux for the OS and a special partition for the video. Since it is encrypted it isn't worth playing with it.

Then the drive content is heavily encrypted and no one has broken it. If I was guessing that drive will only decrypt on your household equipment.

The VIP Series of DVR are tied to the household key for external drives and very well encrypted.

[pcspeak]

Just to add to the thread. This seems, for Aussies, to do it well, but unfortunately I had just spent my money on something else.
http://www.dansdata.com/noontec_v9t.htm

(I know some of the things stated in the article no longer hold true.)

[TimA-C]

What about the various Topfield PVRs. When I bought my Humax it was a toss up between a Hummy or a Toppy. I went for the Hummy as a) it was a bit cheaper and b) I'd played around with a friend's Humax and knew what I was getting. I gather the Topfields are more configurable with various add-ins than the Humax. I think there were also some cheaper single-tuner PVRs boasting USB connectivity around as well.

I gather the next generation of Humax HD PVRs are supposed to have all sorts of interesting connectors and sharing features, but I'll wait until they're actually on the market before getting excited.

[usually_quiet]

Model number?

Anamorphic or WS letterboxed?

Any DVD recorder can record anamorphic widescreen sent to it through a line input. Few DVD recorders will set the 16:9 flag (guns1inger's Pioneer will, according to what he has written elsewhere), but that isn't really a problem. Every digital TV I have seen can override the 4:3 aspect ratio and display the picture in 16:9.

I regularly use a Panasonic DMR-ES10 to record anamorphic widescreen from my ATSC digital-to-analog converter box. (It doesn't set the 16:9 flag.) Most ATSC converter boxes can provide anamorphic widescreen, but some (possibly most) HD cable boxes and HD satellite boxes in N. America won't output anamorphic widescreen over RF, S-Video or composite.

[handyguy]

If you want a hdtv dvd recorder just use your computer & a USB tuner. Build Your Own PVR: byopvr.com

[usually_quiet]

If you want a hdtv dvd recorder just use your computer & a USB tuner. Build Your Own PVR: byopvr.com

A PC-based PVR is an option, if one has a newish PC to spare for that use, can find a compatible HDTV tuner/capture card for the source to be recorded, and has the money to fund the project.

Inexpensive over-the-air HD tuners and SD capture device are not hard to find. Tuners/capture devices for HD satellite service and HD cable service are a different story. They are not as plentiful, or as cheap. A new graphics card might also be needed to play back recordings, since HD capture devices may make H.264 recordings. The AVerTV HD DVR capture device is the cheapest, at under $100, but third-party software support for it is poor. The manufacturer-supplied software is probably the only option for it.

I have a computer based PVR for over-the-air recording. Since I do, I can say from experience that recording HDTV and creating a DVD that is playable using a regular DVD player is probably more trouble than most people will want to go to on a regular basis. Converting HD to SD and making it look good takes time and personal involvement. HDD-based media players might reduce the amount of converting to be done and would be a better choice for exporting recordings.

[bamaredwingsfan]

Question. I have a Dish ViP211-HD with the external HD enabled. My question is, shows that i record via OTA to my DVR will they be encrypted like the content that i record off the satelite to the DVR? I have some college football games i have recorded over the last 2 years to the DVR, some OTA an the other off the satelite. I would like to get these games off my DVR and record them to DL-DVD's if possible.

[usually_quiet]

Question. I have a Dish ViP211-HD with the external HD enabled. My question is, shows that i record via OTA to my DVR will they be encrypted like the content that i record off the satelite to the DVR? I have some college football games i have recorded over the last 2 years to the DVR, some OTA an the other off the satelite. I would like to get these games off my DVR and record them to DL-DVD's if possible.

You probably can't get to them using a normal Windows program, and they may be encrypted as well, although there is no reason to do that for over-the-air broadcasts, since they are always supposed to be marked copy-freely. I remember reading a few years that DISH used a Linux-type format for their HDDs, and for that reason normal windows programs can't read an HDD from their satellite DVRs. Somebody may be able to suggest a utility to try for reading a Linux-formatted HDD using a Windows OS, although I can't guarantee it will get you anywhere.

[Ozzyjim]

Gday,

When people mention you need a recent PC to act as a tuner / pvr - you certainly so NOT... If you wish to view it live then yes, but not to record it.... I have tested this out on a Celeron 600 with 256 ram and win 2000 pro.. I used a Satellite tuner card and recorded HD video to *.ts files and was only round the 20% usage of the CPU... DVB-Dream 1.4i was used for the testing as it was free and easy .... Also make sure you have it set to renderless mode so does not consume the CPU cycles..... record the *.TS file and watch / convert / burn later - EASY n cheap...

Back to the main question - what happens if you simply remove the HDD and replace it?? - maybe bring the IDE or SATA cable + power out of the unit then change HDD's when required....