Transferring recorded DVR content to PC

[tkopper]

Hello there, I have a Motorola DVR and have read many times that I can transfer the recorded shows to a PC with firewire support. My only problem is that I do not have a firewire port... So I had this idea. Is it at all possible that I can just unplug the HDD from the cable box, plug it into my PC, transfer to one of my PC hard drives, rinse and repeat? I know I'll have to convert the file but that's to worry about later. Thanks for your help if possible, Tom.

[smrpix]

Most DVRs have proprietary formatting and encryption.

Copying the files is quite easy. Getting them to PLAY on anything other than the DVR that recorded them is difficult to impossible.

[DB83]

If you rinse, make sure you dry it thouroughly

Well, to answer your question, you can try this but you could have one or both of these issues.

1. The recordings in the DVR are encrypted which means that they can only be played through the DVR
2. The HDD inside the DVR will be formatted in a way that Windows does not natively understand. Many of these are Unix based. Not an total obstacle but you will have to find a bridge program to handle this. Search the forum as there are several topics that discuss this.

[tkopper]

The internet is vast, maybe I'll find a program to convert said encrypted files. Now I shall go take my DVR apart. Thanks for your help.

[DB83]

You will not find such a program. If there was it would have sure been reported here by now.

Transfer of non-encrypted proprietory formats has been somewhat sorted.

[smrpix]

The internet is vast, maybe I'll find a program to convert said encrypted files.

Don't forget to come back and share please.

[jman98]

It may or may not be as dire as you have been advised. Yes, the "just hook up the DVR drive to my PC" method will surely not work. But depending on the DVR and what video outputs it supports, it can be very easy to just play back the video in real time and send the output to a capture device on a PC. You just have to have a capture device that supports the output the DVR puts out. If the DVR only outputs encrypted HDMI, that is a whole other problem and you'll have to also get an HDCP stripper, which may be illegal in some places. Some DVRs do output unencrypted video which can be captured by a variety of devices.

I could be wrong in saying this, but I am not sure that what tkopper thinks he read is really correct. I know that some Motorola cable boxes (which may include DVRs) could be controlled via firewire to send the video signal to a PC or Mac via firewire and the show was recorded on the PC or Mac. It wasn't "transferred" after being recorded on the DVR first. If this is what you really read about, you do need to know that this method is absolutely impossible with all 64 bit versions of Windows and it only works on 32 bit Windows. It is also impossible to run a 32 bit VM under 64 bit Windows and make it work in the 32bit VM because VMs don't have firewire drivers. A few desperate souls paid developers to write 64 bit firewire drivers under Windows that would make this method work again and every one of those projects was abandoned in failure. The guy who wrote the original 32 bit drivers apparently has no interest in writing 64 bit drivers, or so it is claimed.

[usually_quiet]

I could be wrong in saying this, but I am not sure that what tkopper thinks he read is really correct. I know that some Motorola cable boxes (which may include DVRs) could be controlled via firewire to send the video signal to a PC or Mac via firewire and the show was recorded on the PC or Mac. It wasn't "transferred" after being recorded on the DVR first. If this is what you really read about, you do need to know that this method is absolutely impossible with all 64 bit versions of Windows and it only works on 32 bit Windows. It is also impossible to run a 32 bit VM under 64 bit Windows and make it work in the 32bit VM because VMs don't have firewire drivers. A few desperate souls paid developers to write 64 bit firewire drivers under Windows that would make this method work again and every one of those projects was abandoned in failure. The guy who wrote the original 32 bit drivers apparently has no interest in writing 64 bit drivers, or so it is claimed.

You remembered correctly, it is true that firewire transfer of previously recorded material rarely works. ...and there is another problem in addition to to PCs not having firewire ports and the lack of 64-bit drivers, the firewire ports on HD cable boxes and DVRs are often disabled now. As of 2010 cable providers are no longer legally required to enable them. ..and I predict the cable DVR will be dead and gone before anyone comes up with a method of decrypting the hard drive and makes it available on the Internet.

For these reasons I agree that the method that is most likely to work is to re-record the programming someone wants to save using an appropriate high-def PC capture device.

[Brad]

Copying my response from a similar thread. I hope you do go through with it and report back, tkopper. (Loading the Motorola box's internal hard drive into Linux, that is. Windows definitely won't load anything from it by itself. Perhaps if you install an ext3 driver.)

Has anyone ever actually tried hooking up the internal HDD of one of these DVRs to see how the files are stored? I thought someone once said the DCT models stored TSP files on a regular ext3 partition. But I think the files themselves were encrypted with an unknown method.

[tkopper]

Well I thought about it and decided against throwing the warrantee of my DVR out the window. So a capture card of some sort will have to be my option I guess if I really want to do this.

[TimA-C]

Your best bet is probably to see if you can find a dedicated user forum for your particular make and model of DVR. I can get Freeview (UK digital terrestrial TV) recordings - including HD - off my two Humax PVRs largely because of a very active Humax user community. Good luck.

[usually_quiet]

Your best bet is probably to see if you can find a dedicated user forum for your particular make and model of DVR. I can get Freeview (UK digital terrestrial TV) recordings - including HD - off my two Humax PVRs largely because of a very active Humax user community. Good luck.

This is a different kind of situation than what you are used to. Motorola doesn't sell DVRs to individuals, only to cable TV service providers. This is rented equipment from the OP's service provider, and subscribers can be held liable for damage if they tamper with their unit and something goes wrong.

AVSforum.com and the user forums hosted by the cable operators have lots of information on these boxes, but not what the OP wants.