Has anyone opened this box yet and inspected what type of harddrive is in there and has anyone tried to put a biggger size in there for more DVR recording ??
I dont want to add an external harddrive cause it'll mean alot more electrical power to keep it on all the time.

i talked to the tech guy at verizon and he said there's actual compaines that think people are going to keep storing movies on hardrives instead of buying them i couldnt believe it.i just like to have plenty recorded so always something i like to watch.Also the verizon guy said he's not sure if the box would support a larger drive.

It comes with a 160MB and would rather have 500 MB.

Check out this page: Motorola DVR Wiki (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/How_to_use_a_Motorola_DVR/Firmware_and_Software#Current_HDDs_Used_in_Motorola_DVRs)

Hey thanks alot !!

I wonder now if i bought a 500 MB would i have to format it before putting it in and what file system Fat32 or Ntfs ?

Cracking open a leased box to install a larger drive, not a great idea. Adding an external is not going to use a lot more power, just a quick look, your average 500 GB drive is using around 8 watts of power when reading and writing.

Also, you're liable to break a seal on the unit, and when you (eventually) return it, they'll charge you the full cost of the box, since you opened it. Those boxes are *not* cheap. You really don't want to do that.

i just got the triple play with them and staying with them maybe forever so i'm gonna go for it since i'll have it so many years.they dont wanna help so i'll have to take a chance they cant prove anything cause i wasn't the only one touching it.maybe i'll play it safe and say all the boxes were ripped off.

So does anyone one know if its fat32 or ntfs.i think i read fat32 file system somewhere.

i just got the triple play with them and staying with them maybe forever so i'm gonna go for it since i'll have it so many years.they dont wanna help so i'll have to take a chance they cant prove anything cause i wasn't the only one touching it.maybe i'll play it safe and say all the boxes were ripped off.

So does anyone one know if its fat32 or ntfs.i think i read fat32 file system somewhere.

Check out the FIOS threads, but the basic answer is that it is not going to help you to put in a bigger hard drive.

Several documented attempts have been made (again, search the FIOS threads) but the problem is that no matter the size of the drive you put in, the firmware on the box will only use 160 MB of space. You can have a Terabyte drive, but if the box refuses to use the extra 840 MB, you can't influence it unless you change the firmware.

So we (I'm a FIOS subscriber) are out of luck here until V* comes out either with a larger standard drive in their DVR's or enables the eSATA connector which is already in the back of the STB's. I would be fine with either (there are also USB and Firewire connectors back there, all disabled for input).

I wouldn't chance it myself, you won't get what you ultimately want, which is more drive space. Right now , the only solution for this if you really have to have it is FIOS + Tivo (HD or Tivo3) and cablecards. This is a supported option for FIOS, but it's not for everyone, since you lose Video on Demand and the guide, but some people love it.

You can also go the Windows Media Center route with cablecard tuners. Friend of mine is doing this with FIOS with three media extenders on his network and it works well for him.

You can also go the Windows Media Center route with cablecard tuners. Friend of mine is doing this with FIOS with three media extenders on his network and it works well for him.

Very true, this is another good option.

Oh OK thanks let me check out those FIOS threads then to see if they did it right.

We might have to wait till someone figures out the software then.

I see no threads that say someone tried it but will keep looking.

I see no threads that say someone tried it but will keep looking.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=13169936#post13169936

Is one, I know there was a poster who kept us updated on a series of attempts and finally gave up (with apologies to BTDT, who posted the above).