ROTFLMAO!!!! Scarlett, I throughly enjoy reading your posts. They contain a lot of useful information with little or no emotion, at least not directed at the 8300 as a platform. I wholeheartedly agree that this whole process is interesting, but it is not for everyone. Many folks check in here and like the idea of adding capacity with little consideration given to what all may be involved in the process and just how much it may eventually cost. I cast no stones at folks who are looking for the cheapest solution, but they need to be aware of the pitfalls looking for something cheaper than what's been posted to work. They need to verify that the poster has basically the same setup and not Passport when you have SARA, etc.

I picked up a Seagate 160GB/8MB SATA drive from CompUSA for $20 after rebate and ordered this enclosure KINGWIN KH-350SE from Newegg for around $30 with shipping. It's a nice case with the correct eSATA cable included. I easily disconnected the 2 LEDs in the case as they are a little over-the-top. Actually, the HD activity LED never flashed - it was always lit.
I did have to boot the 8300HD two or three times to get everything to work right. It recognized that I had added the external drive and formatted it the first time but the available space listed did not change. I held my breath and rebooted it again and the available space doubled - too cool!
I've confirmed the STB is writing to the external by recording a show, disconnecting the external drive, and trying to play it back. The show appears on the list of recordings but when I try to play it, I get an unavailable data message. Plugging in the external and rebooting the STB brings the show back.

FYI I'm with TWC in San Antonio. SARA V1.88.17.a100

Do we even know what part of next year TW plans to switch to Navigator? If it's early on, and we actually do end up losing the external drive option, that will really suck. If they do end up leaving out the eSATA connection on the next drive, I hope it doesn't take affect until the summer at least. However, from what I've been able to gather, it doesn't even seem to be a sure thing that we'll even have to switch out our 8300HDs, even if they do switch to Navigator. If we do end up having to switch STBs, I don't see why they'd eliminate such a popular and useful option. I'm sure they'll hear from many upset customers if they were to do so. However, I'm a gambling man, about the here-and-now, so I am going to take mu chances and spend the money on the Maxtor drive.

Do we even know what part of next year TW plans to switch to Navigator? If it's early on, and we actually do end up losing the external drive option, that will really suck. If they do end up leaving out the eSATA connection on the next drive, I hope it doesn't take affect until the summer at least. However, from what I've been able to gather, it doesn't even seem to be a sure thing that we'll even have to switch out our 8300HDs, even if they do switch to Navigator. If we do end up having to switch STBs, I don't see why they'd eliminate such a popular and useful option. I'm sure they'll hear from many upset customers if they were to do so. However, I'm a gambling man, about the here-and-now, so I am going to take mu chances and spend the money on the Maxtor drive.There is another thread here at the AVS Forum (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=733414&page=1&pp=30) that was started by Diana Smith of TW to gather consumer input for Navigator. Indications are that it will be rolled out first for Passport (it is in Beta in a couple of small markets) and will support SATA.

Those same "experts" claim that the Apricorn is capable of handling hard drives up to and exceeding 750GB. They praise the chipset that is used, as well as the power supply and the fan.
A "chipset" means circuitry between the drive and the 8300HD, something to be avoided, IMO. And any reference to drive size is disturbing; either the capacity number is implying something about the chipset, or they puffed that number out there for marketing purposes as it's the largest currently available.

Both that hard drive and the one on Weaknees say they are not compatible with Passport, but only with SARA.

Has anyone with Passport used either of those drives successfully?
They say that because neither the author of Passport, not the cablecos using it support external drives. "Not compatible" in this case means "we're not giving your money back if you have Passport and want to return it."

Any company saying "Hard Drive for Scientific Atlanta 8300HD DVR" will further qualify it with the "not compatible with passport" statement.

If you buy the parts and assemble them yourself, you are not subject to this a22-covering as any vendor wih their salt will accept returns without asking about your software.

Thanks Pepar,

I think I'll give it a try as my parts one is just not acceptable...

No way I'm going through 117 pages of posts at work, so a simple question.

if we use an external hard drive, can that be plugged into a computer and the files copied to the computer for archiving?

Probably not, but can't hurt to ask.

No way I'm going through 117 pages of posts at work, so a simple question.
Not really the way to go, NV5655. Try the search function under thread tools. We get tired of answering the same questions on every new page. You might also read the FIRST page.

No way I'm going through 117 pages of posts at work, so a simple question.

if we use an external hard drive, can that be plugged into a computer and the files copied to the computer for archiving?

Probably not, but can't hurt to ask.

Actually, you would not have had to go back 117 pages since the same question and answer you seek was described for the umpteenth time only a couple of pages back. Make a game of it; see if you can find it! :rolleyes:

Ahh, in that case, I don't mind going a few pages back. But my searches ALWAYS suck at bringing up the correct info.I can spend hours looking for something on google and find nothing, while someone I know can find it within 4 minutes. Search engines just don't like me :)

The external drives seem to be locked into the specific DVR that formats them. They can't be moved to another DVR, nor can they be attached to a computer. Thus, the files on the external drive are accessible only by the DVR that originally recorded them.

However, some smart guy ought to be able to crack the code and remove those restrictions; it's just computer code, after all. ;)

Ok, now that I found my answer, here's a question. Could you connect the DVR to a USB/Sata multi switch conncector(Sort of like those Multiple Ethernet Port Connectors from netgear), connect the Drive to one of the outs, and a computer to another out. Then, install some kind of software that allows the computer to see the dvr drive and get the computer to see it that way? Wether that explination makes any sense or not, LmK :).

Ok, now that I found my answer, here's a question. Could you connect the DVR to a USB/Sata multi switch conncector(Sort of like those Multiple Ethernet Port Connectors from netgear), connect the Drive to one of the outs, and a computer to another out. Then, install some kind of software that allows the computer to see the dvr drive and get the computer to see it that way? Wether that explination makes any sense or not, LmK :).
DVR format different than PC. PC will *see* the drive, but it will appear unformatted. The PC will offer to format it.

But there's more; the DVR content is HEAVILY encrypted. Even if the PC could read the data, it could not do anything with it.

Ahh, in that case, I don't mind going a few pages back. But my searches ALWAYS suck at bringing up the correct info.I can spend hours looking for something on google and find nothing, while someone I know can find it within 4 minutes. Search engines just don't like me :)
It's not you. The AVS search engine has a lot to be desired. Just use Google instead. And, as you've just found out, some would rather instruct you on how to fish, rather then just giving you a fish - all in about the same keystrokes! :D Do as archiguy suggests and make a game out of it. After all, Google can turn up answers to just about every conceivable question under the sun - if you search long and hard enough. So why do we need forums you ask? ;)

It's not you. The AVS search engine has a lot to be desired. Just use Google instead. And, as you've just found out, some would rather instruct you on how to fish, rather then just giving you a fish - all in about the same keystrokes! :D
This thread got, in LARGE part, to this length from people who'd rather not fish because they can get the fish given to them. And from people like me who scold them for not trying to fish. :D

This thread got, in LARGE part, to this length from people who'd rather not fish because they can get the fish given to them. And from people like me who scold them for not trying to fish. :D
I agree in principle with what you're saying. However, if a noob(or anyone else for that matter) finds AVS searching fruitless, and if the length of search hits is as long as the original thread, what have you gained? I'm guilty sometimes of responding the same way, but what have WE gained if we continue to tell people how to fish, over and over again. They haven't found the answer, and often leave because of the intimidation factor and sense of hubris of the more knowledgable members. In the end, no one is benefically served - either the original poster, or the 100s of lurkers seeking similar information. The thread then becomes as LARGE as it is with little or no technical content, because the 'regulars' would rather scold, then offer an easy answer. :eek:

Everyone likes a little a--, but no one likes a smart a--. Personally, I've been made to feel as stupid as a fence post sometimes because of the demeaning and belittling responses from other forum members. I usually just lick my wounds and seek alternative information elsewhere on the net. I always thought a forum and the thousands of threads were there to help people WITH an answer, rather then unintentionally chasing them away because WE (myself included sometimes) dish out more vinegar than honey. :D I will respectfully return to my corner after putting on my flame-retardent outerwear ;)

Well, you got to admit, when the answer is right there only one or two pages back and somebody can't even do that much "research", then they richly deserve to be scolded. My personal limit on technical matters in threads like this is to read back 10 pages, plus the first page in case the answer is there. Granted, it may take an hour, but chances are I'll not only find the answer to my question, but I'll learn some other stuff along the way. If I can't find it, or the "answer" is still too confusing, I'll roll the dice and ask the question. The search function on AVS (along with the atrocious new spell-checker they installed with the site upgrade last year or the year before) is pretty worthless, as many have said.

This Forum is actually very helpful and most of the participants are reasonable about providing assistance. If you want to see a forum where many of the participants are jerks and won't answer anything, try the HTPC forum. I wanted to build one a couple of years back but couldn't find even the basic knowledge clearly outlined in that forum. And that's some seriously complicated stuff. Questions would go unanswered, threads would die with no response. I just gave up after awhile.

I agree in principle with what you're saying. However, if a noob(or anyone else for that matter) finds AVS searching fruitless, and if the length of search hits is as long as the original thread, what have you gained? I'm guilty sometimes of responding the same way, but what have WE gained if we continue to tell people how to fish, over and over again. They haven't found the answer, and often leave because of the intimidation factor and sense of hubris of the more knowledgable members. In the end, no one is benefically served - either the original poster, or the 100s of lurkers seeking similar information. The thread then becomes as LARGE as it is with little or no technical content, because the 'regulars' would rather scold, then offer an easy answer. :eek:
There is something called "forum etiquette" and I'm sure it's at least referred to when one registers on AVS - it is on many other forums. Unfortunately, it seems that no one reads that (either). When I have a new topic I need info on, I search for the relevant thread, read the first page or two, and then the LAST THREE WEEKS of posts. The first pages sets up the topic and, usually, the thread, while the last few weeks of posts tells me what's going on NOW in the thread. Many times the info I seek is one place or the other. Additionally, the first page of long, ongoing threads usually has links to related information, and many times those links are updated by the original poster. This takes time and effort on the part or the poster, but it puts current information in an easily found location.

It is disheartening when this effort goes un-noticed, un-used and un-appreciated.

Thanks. And the fact that the external drive is "on" 24/7/365 doesn't change your opinion? In the computer world, only servers see this kind of duty.
Pepar - long time no speak!
Indeed, very few applications see the kind of duty cycle these drives get (when used by avid TV watchers!). That said most other deployments of drives (e.g. servers) have many other heat generating items next to each other i.e. CPUs, other drives etc. In this instance it is just one drive in one case. This is a much more easily manageable environment.

In our older kits we used a polycarbonate case, which acted as an excellent insulator :( , hence we felt that using a fan was critical to maintaining a healthy drive temperature. That said, we still saw some temperature hot spots within the case. After much debate internally we changed our design to a solid aluminium case =without= fan. There is no question that our current kits run cooler than the older kits with fans (as long as the enclosure is not covered by anthing, and the vents are not blocked). Basically the metal housing acts as a large heatsink and keeps the drive at a nominal temperature. We also found that people prefer not having the hum of the fan (which can change in pitch). We also observed the highest cause of product failure was the fan. So by utilizing a passive heat radiation solution, we think the product is as reliable as it can be (given the limitations of the drive).

Another poster was asking who is neTegriti and why haven't we heard of their drives. Please note that neTegriti is an integrator that brands the kits. The drives themselves are all Maxtor drives. So you can be sure the drive quality is from a top tier brand.

The other question that keeps coming up is, "should I buy a kit, or buy the parts and build it myself". Buying parts is totally viable and may be cheaper. However, there are definitely combinations of drive brands, models and firmware revisions that are not fully compatible with the 8300HD. How much money you save depends on how many times you need to return the drive model to try something else until it works fully. If you buy a kit from us, we offer a no hassle 30 day money back guarantee (with NO restocking fee) if the item is not fully compatible with your system.

We have neTegriti 160GB, 250GB, 300GB, 400GB & 500GB DVR eSATA drive kits (http://discountechnology.com/Products?search=dvr) in stock.

Pepar - long time no speak!
Hey, I'm always glad when I can provide the opportunity for you to work in a commercial! :)

If you buy a kit from us, we offer a no hassle 30 day money back guarantee (with NO restocking fee) if the item is not fully compatible with your system.
The topic at hand is whether or not your company "supports" your drives with Passport?

Both that hard drive and the one on Weaknees say they are not compatible with Passport, but only with SARA.

Has anyone with Passport used either of those drives successfully?

We have many users happily using our kit with their Passport based 8300HD DVRs. (http://discountechnology.com/Products?search=dvr) That said, our web site still lists Passport as being incompatible.

Frankly we still haven't been able to bring ourselves to declare compatibility. Here's my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong). The eSATA port now works fine on the latest Passport revisions, but many of the interface features are semi-broken by the usage of an external drive. So there is a trade-off of more storage space for less interface features, correct?

We are still uncomfortable advertising our product as fully compatible given these limitations. Yet we have satisified Passport customers. It seems to me that if the user has carefully informed themselves of the limitations it is a reasonable solution. However, for the many customers who just want an upgrade kit that is as simple as "Plug and Play" with no compromise, we're not sure what to do.

Advice? Clarifications?

Jesse.

Ah Jesse, Dr. Pepar and I did disagree a tad about the necessity of a fan!

I do take a little issue with "However, there are definitely combinations of drive brands, models and firmware revisions that are not fully compatible with the 8300HD." That implies that certain drives and models don't work. As if it's the drive's fault. Poppycock! It's that the software addressing the drive in the 8300 that is a god awful, alpha quality mess. Aside from a crashed head or a fried board in a drive, I'd bet you 100% of the ones that don't work in an 8330 work fine in any standard computer with a functioning SATA bridge. Yes, a slight distinction to some, but let's put the onus in the correct place.

Scarlett, having a single software platform for all of TWC does have some minor advantages. The fact that we are told SDV will only function on Mystro is more telling (and more important to us HD types). However, IMO the real reason is that this is their OCAP platform. Essentially this means that they can have far more complex "things" they can make available so as to sell us more stuff. The corporate-speak would probably run thus" "With this new software platform we will be able to bring you exciting and new video services that wouldn't have been possible with the software we are replacing." I could make that much better (it was top o the head) but I think you get the point.

The fact that we are told SDV will only function on Mystro is more telling (and more important to us HD types).

That isn't quite right. SDV will not function on Passport - it does work with Sara.

xnappo

A "chipset" means circuitry between the drive and the 8300HD, something to be avoided, IMO. And any reference to drive size is disturbing; either the capacity number is implying something about the chipset, or they puffed that number out there for marketing purposes as it's the largest currently available.Well, I was mistaken about the chipset--just read too fast! The only chipsets used in the Apricorn enclosures are for the USB and Firewire versions. The USB version uses a Cypress chipset, and the Firewire version uses an Oxford chipset. The SATA version is a straight pass-through only. My apologies for the confusion.

I called Apricorn tech support to confirm that information, and while we were talking, I asked about the hard drive capacity. I was told that they have tested 750GB hard drives in the SATA enclosures, and it handled them with no problems. They have not tested any terabyte drives at this time.

Additionally, I asked about the SATA/USB combo enclosures and was told that the new SATA enclosures being shipped also include a USB interface. The SATA interface in those units is still pass-through only and should operate exactly as the SATA-only enclosures as long as the USB interface is not also used at the same time. Apricorn does sell some SATA-only refurbished enclosures for $29.

I asked if there should be any problem using the "optimized for streaming media" drives in these enclosures and was told they would work fine. I also verified that only SATA drives can be used with the SATA interface. Someone else had suggested that a PATA drive could be used inside the enclosure and then connected to an eSATA port. Not so, said the Apricorn tech.

Now, since Dave has reported that preliminary indications are that external SATA capability is going to be retained with Navigator, I am asking Santa for a 500GB Seagate DB35 hard drive, then I am going to put it inside my trusty Apricorn enclosure and see how well it works. I trust that cuzzin will be reporting on his experience with the Maxtor QuickView/Apricorn combination in the near future. :)

Scarlett

We have many users happily using our kit with their Passport based 8300HD DVRs. That said, our web site still lists Passport as being incompatible.

Frankly we still haven't been able to bring ourselves to declare compatibility. Here's my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong). The eSATA port now works fine on the latest Passport revisions, but many of the interface features are semi-broken by the usage of an external drive. So there is a trade-off of more storage space for less interface features, correct?

We are still uncomfortable advertising our product as fully compatible given these limitations. Yet we have satisified Passport customers. It seems to me that if the user has carefully informed themselves of the limitations it is a reasonable solution. However, for the many customers who just want an upgrade kit that is as simple as "Plug and Play" with no compromise, we're not sure what to do.

Advice? Clarifications?

Jesse.
The only known bug is loss of the ability to pause, rewind and replay LIVE TV. Those are still available during playback of recorded content. I can't remember anyone with 2.5.066 Passport NOT being able to expand their capacity with an external drive. And Passport seems less finicky than SARA.

As for your company's policy, it is all very understandable and justifiable. But, your sales to Passport customers are limited to those with a certain amount of Errol Flynn in them. If you went to the next step and instilled confidence with a policy change, you'd generate more buzz and, along with it, more sales.

Just my $.02.

The only known bug is loss of the ability to pause, rewind and replay LIVE TV. Those are still available during playback of recorded content. I can't remember anyone with 2.5.066 Passport NOT being able to expand their capacity with an external drive. And Passport seems less finicky than SARA.

As for your company's policy, it is all very understandable and justifiable. But, your sales to Passport customers are limited to those with a certain amount of Errol Flynn in them. If you went to the next step and instilled confidence with a policy change, you'd generate more buzz and, along with it, more sales.

Just my $.02.

I think we are very close to opening our doors fully to Passport users. It seems we just need to communicate VERY clearly the features that are lost. I'll let you know. But I suspect we may fully support Passport very soon. Note that we are also concerned / expect the return levels to be higher due to more people not checking their firmware version in advance. As ever we will offer our compatibility guarantee.

When you say "less finicky than SARA", which issues are you referring to?

Scarlett, having a single software platform for all of TWC does have some minor advantages. The fact that we are told SDV will only function on Mystro is more telling (and more important to us HD types). However, IMO the real reason is that this is their OCAP platform. Essentially this means that they can have far more complex "things" they can make available so as to sell us more stuff. The corporate-speak would probably run thus" "With this new software platform we will be able to bring you exciting and new video services that wouldn't have been possible with the software we are replacing." I could make that much better (it was top o the head) but I think you get the point.I have no issue with all of TWC being on a single software platform. However, if they continue to handle the upgrades as they do now, we will not all be on the same version at the same time. New York SARA users had the 1.88.xx.xxx version long before Austin got it in February of this year! I know they have to test upgrades in limited markets, and even that isn't a problem for me. I just want to be sure that the external SATA drive feature will be retained before I spend more money on a SATA drive that cannot be used in a PC in the event that we lose that feature. Dave says that preliminary reports indicate that the external SATA drive will be available with Navigator, so I'm happy. I don't buy any VOD or Pay-Per-View special programs--or even subscribe to premium channels--so the additional "exciting" video services hold no allure for me. I just want a decent IPG. Still haven't heard from my local TW contact, and that is unusual. Even when he "doesn't know," I always get some response. Will post here when and if I hear anything.

Scarlett

Ah Jesse, Dr. Pepar and I did disagree a tad about the necessity of a fan!

I do take a little issue with "However, there are definitely combinations of drive brands, models and firmware revisions that are not fully compatible with the 8300HD." That implies that certain drives and models don't work. As if it's the drive's fault. Poppycock! It's that the software addressing the drive in the 8300 that is a god awful, alpha quality mess. Aside from a crashed head or a fried board in a drive, I'd bet you 100% of the ones that don't work in an 8330 work fine in any standard computer with a functioning SATA bridge. Yes, a slight distinction to some, but let's put the onus in the correct place.


Fundamentally I agree with you. If I was talking to the engineers at SA, I'd have some strong words with them about why on earth their product has such interoperatiblity issues. Even Maxtor and Fujitsu can't make a product that works with 100% of the SA boxes!!!!!!

That said, I'm talking about the "combinations of drive brands, models and firmware revisions" because that's all we actually have control over. You may want a differently designed 8300HD, but it's not realistically going to happen. So the permutations you/we can control are the other items in the "system". Thus as we all try to acheive interoperability it's the drive and it's firmware that we are putting the onus on.

I agree in principle with what you're saying. However, if a noob(or anyone else for that matter) finds AVS searching fruitless, and if the length of search hits is as long as the original thread, what have you gained? I'm guilty sometimes of responding the same way, but what have WE gained if we continue to tell people how to fish, over and over again. They haven't found the answer, and often leave because of the intimidation factor and sense of hubris of the more knowledgable members. In the end, no one is benefically served - either the original poster, or the 100s of lurkers seeking similar information. The thread then becomes as LARGE as it is with little or no technical content, because the 'regulars' would rather scold, then offer an easy answer. :eek:

Everyone likes a little a--, but no one likes a smart a--. ;)

It's not the intimidation factor. I've been on the net as long as 1992 so I'm used to being snubbed, or being told to do something I may or may not have already done. It's more the search function on this site leaves alot to be desired. Especially in a thread that has about 200 pages. You type in 8300HD, and about 60 or 70 of those pages pop up, making the search almost worthless. I usually go through about 5-6 pages before I just give up in a long thread and ask at the end.

But, I'd much rather have someone who just happens to remember where the info I need in a thread is and post a link, rather than tell me to search, which just sounds uppity. I understand that the question gets asked alot, and that gets annoying.. But still... you've got to see how annoying it is on our end :).


There is something called "forum etiquette" and I'm sure it's at least referred to when one registers on AVS - it is on many other forums. Unfortunately, it seems that no one reads that (either). The first pages sets up the topic and, usually, the thread, while the last few weeks of posts tells me what's going on NOW in the thread. Many times the info I seek is one place or the other. Additionally, the first page of long, ongoing threads usually has links to related information, and many times those links are updated by the original poster. This takes time and effort on the part or the poster, but it puts current information in an easily found location.

It is disheartening when this effort goes un-noticed, un-used and un-appreciated.

It's definetly appreciated. Especially when you follow a thread for a while, and can't remember what post the latest driver link was in. It's appreciated, so keep it up :). Most of my posts are made at work, when I can steal a few minutes of free time and browse. On a good day, I get back at 3 when I can search the thread a bit. On a bad day, I get home at 7PM and by then I barley have time to do what I need to do here. So just posting in a long thread, and having an answer in a thread notification emailed to me at the end of the day is a great time saver.

So, I really do get my research done when I can, the problem is when can I get it done? :cool:

I think we are very close to opening our doors fully to Passport users. It seems we just need to communicate VERY clearly the features that are lost. I'll let you know. But I suspect we may fully support Passport very soon. Note that we are also concerned / expect the return levels to be higher due to more people not checking their firmware version in advance. As ever we will offer our compatibility guarantee.

When you say "less finicky than SARA", which issues are you referring to?
Ummm, being a "guest" here on this predominately SARA thread makes me want to choose my words carefully. :)

There are posts from people with a particular drive/case combo, off-the-shelf or DIY, that works beautifully for them while fails miserable for the next SARA-ista. With no apparent difference between the two - the same SARA version. SARA-istas "*seem* to be limited to 300GB, while I'm eying my perfectly working and nearly full 500GB drive and considering a 750 gigger. Many Passporters are using 500GB drives with one or two (that I remember) successfully using 750's.

Require the Passport version before selling anyone a drive. Show them your wonderful customer service by educating them and assisting them in finding the version. A bit more work on your part before the sale will provide a positive experience and instill confidence in the customer. It will also reduce returns.

Again, just my $.02.

For instance, someone posts a long explination that someone is likley to ask a bout in the future. This post link gets stickied to the main post in that long thread?

I agree with you. Forums are a chain of communiques, which if followed, contain a ton of information. However, they are very very time consuming to absorb. Ideally, someone would create a synopsis from that wealth of knowledge, that the uninitiated could read. Similar to the role of a FAQ page. Then it would be easy and resonable to ask users to read the the synopsis before posting their question (which otherwise would inevitably have been asked 342 previous times in the thread). I've been on this thread for a LONG time and it looks like many of the same questions are being asked and answered today as there were in the first 10 pages.

But, I'd much rather have someone who just happens to remember where the info I need in a thread is and post a link, rather than tell me to search, which just sounds uppity. I understand that the question gets asked alot, and that gets annoying.. But still... you've got to see how annoying it is on our end. :)
Obviously, I've not yet mastered telling someone to go fish without sounding uppity. :)

I agree with you. Forums are a chain of communiques, which if followed, contain a ton of information. However, they are very very time consuming to absorb. Ideally, someone would create a synopsis from that wealth of knowledge, that the uninitiated could read. Similar to the role of a FAQ page. Then it would be easy and resonable to ask users to read the the synopsis before posting their question (which otherwise would inevitably have been asked 342 previous times in the thread). I've been on this thread for a LONG time and it looks like many of the same questions are being asked and answered today as there were in the first 10 pages.
That was a big part of my point; the first post in this thread *is* exactly what you describe. And it is kept current by the original poster. Nobody knows it's there - nobody looks. (And you're makin' my point with your post. :) )

That was a big part of my point; the first post in this thread *is* exactly what you describe. And it is kept current by the original poster. Nobody knows it's there - nobody looks. (And you're makin' my point with your post. :) )

You are indeed correct. After many posts and many hours reading this thread over the last 18 months, I did not realize that summary exists. Which suggests either I'm blind, or we need to make this synopsis more obvious/visible.

DoubleDaz, with all due respect, I am disappointed to not see our neTegriti SA 8300HD eSATA Hard Drive upgrade kits (http://discountechnology.com/Products/DVR-Upgrades) listed in your synopsis. I believe we were the VERY FIRST company to offer a fully tested upgrade kit (which also comes with support and guarantee). I am surprised that we are not high on your list, let alone missing altogether. Several of the resellers that you do list are simply offering untested drives with restocking fees.

You are indeed correct. After many posts and many hours reading this thread over the last 18 months, I did not realize that summary exists. Which suggests either I'm blind, or we need to make this synopsis more obvious/visible. .
It's something that everyone should just know, just like everyone should know that you don't run up to a group of people having a conversation and butt in rudely. How you would - politely - educate people as to forum etiquette is unknown. I've got the impolite method perfected, but it is counter-productive. davehancock has a sig festooned with links and pertinent information and even IT goes un-noticed, etc, etc.

davehancock has a sig festooned with links and pertinent information and even IT goes un-noticed, etc, etc.Not THIS Dave (or the other one either) :eek:

Not THIS Dave (or the other one either) :eek:
Oh gosh, sorry. It's vegggas. :eek:

Give credit where credit is due (and it is) :D

Give credit where credit is due (and it is) :D
Hit F5.

Have been following this thread for a good while now and initially added my eSata drive based on the great posts here. But since upgrading to a larger drive, I'm seeing the same playback glitches as most.

Base Info:
8300HD
SARA v1.87.xx
Vantec 3 USB/eSATA
Cox-LasVegas

Drives:
Seagate 300gb ST3300831AS (worked flawlessly)
Seagate 750gb ST3750640AS (works but has annoying playback glitches)

So far, tried swaping the eSata cable with one that is shielded but it made no difference. Before reverting to the 300gb drive, I have a new drive enclosure on order that includes a variable speed cooling fan. The 750gb drive seems to run pretty hot.

I don't know if this will help you guys, but I too have been experiencing "glitches". I do not have an external drive. This occurs with the internal drive and only on the channel being recorded. I found that my cable had been split too many times and my signal level was too low to sustain a stable picture when the DVR was activated. Although I have a stable picture while watching live TV, using the DVR cut my signal to the point where it was no longer watchable. The strange part is that there are fewer "glitches" on the recording than there are on the live show. (while it's being recorded).
Just an observation.

It's not you. The AVS search engine has a lot to be desired. Just use Google instead. :D

I struggled using Google also before I registered. I didn't understand the whole heirarchy of the AVS forums. I read through pages of one thread and I found a reply that said "check out the 8300HD & External SATA thread" that finally got me pointed in the right direction.

I was the guy that posted a few days ago that had pretty crappy results with the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3400620AS 400GB (perpendicular recording) HD, AMS Venus DS3 DS-2316SU2SBK enclosure, TWC, Passport 2.5.066.

I am going to take the aforementioned drive/enclosure to work to use as a backup storage. I ordered a new 500 GB Maxtor hard drive & Apricorn enclosure mentioned here over the last few days. I will report on my results once I try out the new setup. Thanks to everyone for their guidance! :)

Seagate 300gb ST3300831AS (worked flawlessly)
Seagate 750gb ST3750640AS (works but has annoying playback glitches)


Your 300GB drive is from the Seagate 7200.8 line while your 750GB is from the 7200.10 line (which uses perpendicular technology which may or may not have to due with the issues). I think everyone who has tried a 7200.10 drive 400GB or larger has had glitches. Anyone feel free to correct me if this isn't true.

xnappo

DoubleDaz, with all due respect, I am disappointed to not see our neTegriti SA 8300HD eSATA Hard Drive upgrade kits (http://discountechnology.com/Products/DVR-Upgrades) listed in your synopsis. I believe we were the VERY FIRST company to offer a fully tested upgrade kit (which also comes with support and guarantee). I am surprised that we are not high on your list, let alone missing altogether. Several of the resellers that you do list are simply offering untested drives with restocking fees.Well, EXCUSE the h*ll out of me!!!!

I don't even have a frackin' SATA drive and I took the time to read through this frackin' thread one post at a frackin' time and I put together a list of what folks had posted. I then posted the summary and invited folks to let me know of any others. I can't help it if no one mentioned your kit or that I may have missed it. But, if I can take the time to do something no one else here would, the least you could do is take the time to keep up with the thread and keep you patronizing comments to yourself, with all due respect my *ss!!!!!!!!

Can you tell yet that I'M PISSED???????

...Can you tell yet that I'M PISSED???????
Yes! :D

From this news release/article (http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6394530.html) on the new IPG from Comcast/Gemstar -

SETTINGS PRESERVED

With version A25, GuideWorks worked closely with SA to make sure upgrading to i-Guide will preserve a subscriber's settings, Drummond said.

For example, if an operator were to swap out the SARA guide for i-Guide A25, a subscriber's DVR and parental-control settings, as well as all of the DVR programming on the hard drive, will be carried over, Drummond said."

My immediate fear upon hearing a new IPG software was just around the corner was that the ~60 hi-def movies I have on the 830HD in my "serious" home theater would be turned into hash when the cableco loaded new software. That fear has been mostly) allayed.

If you have Comcast and want to stay on top of this issue, you may want to subscribe to the SA 83xxHD DVR w/ I-Guide - Coming 2007 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=760749) thread.

Oh no, not another thread to watch! :)

Oh no, not another thread to watch! :)
There's only a few posts there now; get in on the ground floor, as it were! :)

Already did. IIRC though, I-Guide was annouced a long time ago and no one picked it up. Of course, an announcement is different than being ready for release. I'll have to read the links in that thread and check with Cox to see if it's coming here to. The timing seems right for being OCAP-compliant, so maybe that's where the time and effort have been spent.

Already did. IIRC though, I-Guide was annouced a long time ago and no one picked it up. Of course, an announcement is different than being ready for release. I'll have to read the links in that thread and check with Cox to see if it's coming here to. The timing seems right for being OCAP-compliant, so maybe that's where the time and effort have been spent.
I think Aptiv better partner or find a new biz model. It seems likely to me that the future of IPGs lies with the Big Cable Companies developing and deploying their own, custom-made software. With I-Guide being a Comcast product, how likely is it that TWC would use it?

Has anybody tried one of the Seagate eSATA kits (ST3500601XS-RK ):

CompUSA has the 500GB version for $259.

I've seen posts about problems with BYO using Seagates with perpendicular recording, I assume the drives in this kit do use perpendicular recording, but I don't know for sure at this point.

Thanks!

Has anybody tried one of the Seagate eSATA kits (ST3500601XS-RK ):

CompUSA has the 500GB version for $259.

I've seen posts about problems with BYO using Seagates with perpendicular recording, I assume the drives in this kit do use perpendicular recording, but I don't know for sure at this point.

Thanks!
Some of us aren't convinced that the recording technology employed by any given drive has any part in determining if it will work with the 8300HD, regardless of the software installed. That doesn't necessarily mean that drives with perpendicular recording DO work, it just means that it's not the perpendicular recording that is at fault they don't.

Yes, this is confusing. :)

Some of us aren't convinced that the recording technology employed by any given drive has any part in determining if it will work with the 8300HD, regardless of the software installed. That doesn't necessarily mean that drives with perpendicular recording DO work, it just means that it's not the perpendicular recording that is at fault they don't.

Yes, this is confusing. :)
I agree. I really don't think it is the perpendicular recording technology in the 7200.10 that causes the problem - that is a very physical thing that I can't imagine would cause an issue in one application vs. another. Rather I suspect it is something else in the 7200.10 causing the issue - some new type of error correction or implementation of the SATA command stack etc.

The perpendicular technology is just an easy way to identify a Seagate drive is in the 7200.10 family, though I am sure many of their other products with move there soon.

xnappo

rpgIVguru, I've got the 300gb version (ST3300601XS-RK) from Compusa a couple weeks ago when it was on sale for $149. Works great, you don't even know it's on. No problems with recording 2 shows to it and playing 1 back.

Has anybody tried one of the Seagate eSATA kits (ST3500601XS-RK ):

CompUSA has the 500GB version for $259.

I've seen posts about problems with BYO using Seagates with perpendicular recording, I assume the drives in this kit do use perpendicular recording, but I don't know for sure at this point.

Thanks!

According to this review:
http://www.i4u.com/section-viewarticle-137.html

It uses the 7200.9 - but I would not be at all surprised if new ones have the 7200.10. The 7200.9 does not use perpendicular technology(again, this is probably irrelevant), but I haven't heard any success/failure from that drive. I know of at least two cases of success with the 7200.8.

xnappo

Dave, I believe it's frak or frakking. That seems to be how the creators spell it!

Glade to see some common sense appearing here... I must say that an awful lot of this thread is pure voodoo. Someone was apprehensive that a SATA drive they might try for the 8300 that didn't work would not work in a computer application. Voodoo. If it doesn't work in that environment, it's defective, plain and simple. If it didn't work as external storage to an 8300, 99.9% the drive works just fine; like I said before, 100% of the issue is the driver software that's part of the software on the 8300.

Can there be some hardware issues in the 8300? Yes, it's possible, although unlikely. The hardware involved is the connector on the back of the case, wiring to a SATA controller, then essentially a wire(s) to memory (this is typical). Typically in most computer based applications, it's one controller per drive. Which implies there's 2 in the 8300, one for the internal drive and one to support an external drive. Who knows, maybe a part of the problem is that they are trying to run the two physical drives off one controller, maybe that's where some issue lie. Still, it's really all about the software.

Dave, I believe it's frak or frakking. That seems to be how the creators spell it!.
Usually go with "friggin'" myself.

We have 12 Seagate 750gb 7500.10 drives in a hugh RAID configuration connected to a Windows server and they work great.

Just noticed that Seagate has an "AS" line and a "NS" line of the 7500.10 models. With the "NS" being certified for 24x7 operation. The tech specs are identical though so not sure why the difference for "AS" vs "NS".

I sent off a support ticket to Seagate to see if they have new firmware for this drive.

Though not so sure why I'm being so stubborn when I have a perfectly good 300gb drive that I know works great. :rolleyes:

We have 12 Seagate 750gb 7500.10 drives in a hugh RAID configuration connected to a Windows server and they work great.


Some interesting quotes from around the net:

http://forums.macnn.com/65/power-mac-and-mac-pro/315195/best-hard-drives-for-mac/
"STAY AWAY from the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10! These drives are exhibiting a firmware conflict that, under OS X, causes horrible random write speeds. I know, because I had to RMA two of them back to NewEgg this morning."

http://www.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Install/PrepareTiVoDisk
At this point (March 2006) it appears that the current Seagate 7200.9/7200.10 generations of hard drives will not work in dual drive TiVo's. They work fine as single drives, but do not seem to work when used as either the primary or secondary in a dual drive TiVo. Previous generations of Seagate drives work fine (eg 7200.8, 7200.7 etc).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=641145
"So it sure seems to me as if the 7200.9 drive is problematic. It's possible I just got a flaky drive (I should run SeaTools against the drive, but have yet to do so), but I'm also wondering if this drive simply isn't compatible with a 5000-series ReplayTV."

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8893870&&#post8893870
"The fact that the newer Seagate 7200.9 and 7200.10 drives are causing problems whereas the very latest DB35 7200.2 drives are not seems to indicate that latency probably plays a major part in the problem."

...
xnappo

Dave, I believe it's frak or frakking. That seems to be how the creators spell it!

Glade to see some common sense appearing here... I must say that an awful lot of this thread is pure voodoo. Someone was apprehensive that a SATA drive they might try for the 8300 that didn't work would not work in a computer application. Voodoo. If it doesn't work in that environment, it's defective, plain and simple. If it didn't work as external storage to an 8300, 99.9% the drive works just fine; like I said before, 100% of the issue is the driver software that's part of the software on the 8300.


We've been spelling it "fracking" over in the "official" BSG thread in the Cable TV forum. But I think "frakking" is perfectly acceptable. ;)

The manufacturers' of these drives that are "optimized for streaming video" say that their drives won't work in a computer. I see no reason not to take them at their word, voodoo not withstanding. That's why I bought a drive that isn't "OFSV" (works great!). I figure if they ever cut off support for SATA external drives (perhaps with Mystro Navigator), I'll still have a drive I can use to save computer files 'n stuff. Of course, I'm on Passport, so I have that option. SARA users are not always quite so lucky, it seems.

Some interesting quotes from around the net:

http://forums.macnn.com/65/power-mac-and-mac-pro/315195/best-hard-drives-for-mac/
"STAY AWAY from the Seagate Barracuda 7200.10! These drives are exhibiting a firmware conflict that, under OS X, causes horrible random write speeds. I know, because I had to RMA two of them back to NewEgg this morning."

http://www.tuhs.org/twiki/bin/view/Install/PrepareTiVoDisk
At this point (March 2006) it appears that the current Seagate 7200.9/7200.10 generations of hard drives will not work in dual drive TiVo's. They work fine as single drives, but do not seem to work when used as either the primary or secondary in a dual drive TiVo. Previous generations of Seagate drives work fine (eg 7200.8, 7200.7 etc).

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=641145
"So it sure seems to me as if the 7200.9 drive is problematic. It's possible I just got a flaky drive (I should run SeaTools against the drive, but have yet to do so), but I'm also wondering if this drive simply isn't compatible with a 5000-series ReplayTV."
"firmware conflict" - that's been the educated guess along with EC.

rpgIVguru, I've got the 300gb version (ST3300601XS-RK) from Compusa a couple weeks ago when it was on sale for $149. Works great, you don't even know it's on. No problems with recording 2 shows to it and playing 1 back.

richlow, is the recording 2 while playing back one all in HD?

Thanks,

Charles

richlow, is the recording 2 while playing back one all in HD?

Thanks,

Charles
That is the ultimate test - record a hi-def show and then watch it (to verify low/no glitches) while recording two more hi-def shows. And then watch them to verify low/no glitches.

We've been spelling it "fracking" over in the "official" BSG thread in the Cable TV forum. But I think "frakking" is perfectly acceptable.However you spell it, I'm STILL pissed. ;)

That is the ultimate test - record a hi-def show and then watch it (to verify low/no glitches) while recording two more hi-def shows. And then watch them to verify low/no glitches.

And the answer is...

The Seagate eSATA 500GB kit (ST3500601XS-RK) seems to work well. I went and picked one up tonight from CompUSA (stickered price $379, rang up $259 as shown on the web site).

Hooked it up. Tried the hot-plug method mentioned in this thread, but got a message saying something was wrong with the drive. Unplugged the power to the 8300HD then plugged it back in. Got the message asking me if I wanted to format the external drive. I said yes :D

Diag showed the additional space.

Recorded 15min or so of HD. Then started recording two other HD channels while playing back the first show recorded. Made sure to FF during a few sections; figured that would require the drive to feed the stream faster right? ;-) Playback looked great. Then played back one of the two simultaneous recorded shows. Playback looked great there two.

From what I understand, given that the internal drive had about 10+ hours of HD stored on it, the box would have recorded all three of my test segments to the external drive. So at this point, I'm going to have to say that the Seagate kit passed the test.

Lastly, just wanted to note that I'm running Passport v2.5.066 on the 8300HD provided by TWC Cincinnati, Ohio.

And the answer is...

Hooked it up. . . . Got the message asking me if I wanted to format the external drive. I said yes :D

Diag showed the additional space.

. . at this point, I'm going to have to say that the Seagate kit passed the test.

Lastly, just wanted to note that I'm running Passport v2.5.066 on the 8300HD provided by TWC Cincinnati, Ohio.
:cool:

Someone was apprehensive that a SATA drive they might try for the 8300 that didn't work would not work in a computer application. Voodoo. Yes, that would be me.

The manufacturers' of these drives that are "optimized for streaming video" say that their drives won't work in a computer. I see no reason not to take them at their word, voodoo not withstanding.Thank you.

Scarlett

And the answer is...

The Seagate eSATA 500GB kit (ST3500601XS-RK) seems to work well. I went and picked one up tonight from CompUSA (stickered price $379, rang up $259 as shown on the web site).

Hooked it up. Tried the hot-plug method mentioned in this thread, but got a message saying something was wrong with the drive. Unplugged the power to the 8300HD then plugged it back in. Got the message asking me if I wanted to format the external drive. I said yes :D

Diag showed the additional space.

Recorded 15min or so of HD. Then started recording two other HD channels while playing back the first show recorded. Made sure to FF during a few sections; figured that would require the drive to feed the stream faster right? ;-) Playback looked great. Then played back one of the two simultaneous recorded shows. Playback looked great there two.

From what I understand, given that the internal drive had about 10+ hours of HD stored on it, the box would have recorded all three of my test segments to the external drive. So at this point, I'm going to have to say that the Seagate kit passed the test.

Lastly, just wanted to note that I'm running Passport v2.5.066 on the 8300HD provided by TWC Cincinnati, Ohio.Is the cable an eSATA to eSATA, or is it SATA to eSATA? Do both connectors appear to be firmly seated in both ports?

Sounds like you ultimately powered up under the SARA instructions, rather than Passport. Go figure! Were you ever able to determine which model Seagate is used in the enclosure? Does it have a fan? That's a really good price for a 500GB external enclosure. I am tempted yet again! :)

Scarlett

Is the cable an eSATA to eSATA, or is it SATA to eSATA? Do both connectors appear to be firmly seated in both ports?

Both are eSATA. Both seem to be firmly connected.


Sounds like you ultimately powered up under the SARA instructions, rather than Passport. Go figure! Were you ever able to determine which model Seagate is used in the enclosure? Does it have a fan? That's a really good price for a 500GB external enclosure. I am tempted yet again! :)

Scarlett

I couldn't find out on Seagate's web site, and I didn't feel like taking the thing apart (my wife hates that ;) ). So no, I don't know what model is in there. But I figured I could always use it on my PC as the kit comes with a PCI eSATA card.

Yes it does have a fan.

Charles

Is the cable an eSATA to eSATA, or is it SATA to eSATA? Do both connectors appear to be firmly seated in both ports?

Sounds like you ultimately powered up under the SARA instructions, rather than Passport. Go figure! Were you ever able to determine which model Seagate is used in the enclosure? Does it have a fan? That's a really good price for a 500GB external enclosure. I am tempted yet again! :)

Scarlett

Careful Scarlett, the review I found (see my post from yesterday) says it is a 7200.9. Seagate is currently replacing 7200.9 with 7200.10 pretty aggressively. In fact I ordered a 7200.9, the box said 7200.9, but it had a 7200.10 in the box.

Based my other post from yesterday concerning ReplayTV people having problems with 7200.9 and 7200.10, on rpgIVguru being on Passport, and on problems in general with >300GB drives on Sara I would be very wary of getting this drive if there is a restocking free...

The ReplayTV thread is interesting - they seem to think that the cache size affects their compatibility to a large degree (as well as error correction and latency). They also have had good success with the new Seagate DB35 line (7200.2) made for DVR use. I know it is a different box, but if you read through the thread the things that work/don't work for them (with IDE drives!) are pretty similar.

xnappo

I can't guarantee anyone, but the whole "optimized for streaming video" to an off the shelf drive sure as hell sounds like major voodoo to me.

What I know is that way back in the SCSI era, there were various possibilities to essentially tweak SCSI drives into doing various optimizations; keep in mind that it's the interface not the drive that delivers data from one end to the other. I have never heard of anything even vaguely similar in an ATA interface. Which makes perfect sense, ATA was just a very cheap way to get data from one place to another, it was engineered that way. I know nobody buys SCSI stuff much (well, there actually is some very exciting stuff going on in SCSI land like serial SCSI) except for much more demanding needs.

Get the guys making what I call voodoo claims to back themselves up... exactly how are they optimizing? AFAIK, there nothing in the ATA spec that provides for it, so are they re-engineering the circuit boards the drives come with? I seriously doubt that.

X has an issue with some Seagate drives? Very curious about that, what I know is that X has it's own ATA drivers built into the OS; one is NOT required to write a disk driver to the drive. It's been on the market for about 5 years, so it appears the problem may lie with the drive itself. STILL, the nature of that complaint makes me think someone may not be completely reporting his experience... I say this because there IS a very specific nasty, long unfixed bug in Apple's FW drivers that impacts... write speed. And only in the FW800 speeds, doesn't affect the FW400 interface.

Yes I understand I am venturing way beyond HD here; but the issue is about using computer standard equipment, and that stuff has to follow the same "laws" in this application as it does in the computing world!

All the same, I will continue to use drives optimized for streaming video for streaming video and drives optimized for computer usage for computer usage. :)

Opinions please!

I have Sara in Fairfield County Connecticut.

Should I buy:

1. 500GB Seagate DB35 ~$260
2. Maxtor 500GB Quickview ~$260
3. Cheapo 500GB ~$150 and hope for the best
4. 400GB Seagate ~160 and be happy with that increase in storage.

Opinions please!

I have Sara in Fairfield County Connecticut.

Should I buy:

1. 500GB Seagate DB35 ~$260
2. Maxtor 500GB Quickview ~$260
3. Cheapo 500GB ~$150 and hope for the best
4. 400GB Seagate ~160 and be happy with that increase in storage.
I guess that depends upon how much of a DIY'er you are. :D I'd compromise and go with 4. But that's just me. :)

I can't guarantee anyone, but the whole "optimized for streaming video" to an off the shelf drive sure as hell sounds like major voodoo to me.

http://www.seagate.com/products/consumer_electronics/db35series.html

I found a whole bunch more links discussing this in detail yesterday, but can't find them now - will look later.

Now, I agree with you partially - this is all BS to get more for the drive. I guarantee the $100 non-video optimized drive and the $200 optimized drive are identical other than a few bits in the firmware - however I am convinced that some drives firmware are not working well in DVRs.

xnappo

All the same, I will continue to use drives optimized for streaming video for streaming video and drives optimized for computer usage for computer usage. :)

Sounds like they gotcha' right where they want ya', big guy. ;)

Opinions please!

I have Sara in Fairfield County Connecticut.

Should I buy:

1. 500GB Seagate DB35 ~$260
2. Maxtor 500GB Quickview ~$260
3. Cheapo 500GB ~$150 and hope for the best
4. 400GB Seagate ~160 and be happy with that increase in storage.

For SARA, definitely #2 the Maxtor.
______________________________
SA8300HD SARA v.1.88.22.1

Well, EXCUSE the h*ll out of me!!!!

I don't even have a frackin' SATA drive and I took the time to read through this frackin' thread one post at a frackin' time and I put together a list of what folks had posted. I then posted the summary and invited folks to let me know of any others. I can't help it if no one mentioned your kit or that I may have missed it. But, if I can take the time to do something no one else here would, the least you could do is take the time to keep up with the thread and keep you patronizing comments to yourself, with all due respect my *ss!!!!!!!!

Can you tell yet that I'M PISSED???????

DoubleDAZ!

Yes, I can indeed tell are pissed off. I apologize if my posting came across as patronizing. I was trying to be respectful yes honest and to the point. It is true I have not had the time to monitor all 120 pages of this thread. Certainly I should have withheld my emotions and asked politely! I was just a bit shocked that after all our interactions in the first 50 pages (not sure how many) and having serviced lots of AVS forum customers that did not make your list.

So, I'll start fresh:
DoubleDAZ, I noticed you've started a list of kits and components. Thanks for taking the time to organize this. Someone certainly needed to! Please add our products to the list. We offer a fully tested solution with 100% compatibility guarantee with the 8300HD (with no restocking fee). If this is acceptable I will be happy to provide you with links etc

Sincerely,

Jesse.

Jesse,

Let me enter just one point (from a different view). It has been appearing that the "pre built" drive kits (Maxtor, Western Digital) have been disappearing from the market. As we haven't heard as much from Discount Technology as we used to it started to look like you had joined that trend. (I'm delighted to learn that is not the case). In view of that, it's easy to understand Dave's omission.

Peace :)

DoubleDAZ, I noticed you've started a list of kits and components. Thanks for taking the time to organize this. Someone certainly needed to! Please add our products to the list. We offer a fully tested solution with 100% compatibility guarantee with the 8300HD (with no restocking fee). If this is acceptable I will be happy to provide you with links etc

Sincerely,

Jesse.

Okay,

So much better - but as this is a community of technically oriented people it would be greatly appreciated if you could share some technical insight into harddrive firmware/model considerations and direct SATA vs. USB/SATA interfaces. I realize you are running a business, but I think if you offer the more technical members of the forum some insight into these issue we will be more likely to recommend your packaged solutions to less technically inclined people.

xnappo

If this is acceptable I will be happy to provide you with links etc.Of course it's acceptable, but I'm still pissed and will probably stay that way. However, I do not hold that against doing what I've committed to do in these forums. If someone wants a drvie, enclosure, cable, or combo added, provide links and I'll add them. However, IMHO, such additions need to be from someone who actually uses them, not just someone selling them. The list is a compendium of user experiences, not a compendium of retailer products. If the list turns out to create problems because of the links to some retailers and not others, I'll simply delete it.

If your kits were omitted, it's because no USER reported success and provided a link (or I missed it if they did). If you look at the list, it came from posts where users reported success and provided links to the drive, enclosure, and cable, where appropriate. I didn't add every drive mentioned if all folks posted was "Seagate 500G". I also didn't add anything that was simply mentioned because someone saw an advertisement somewhere (and your posts fall into that category IMHO). Just because you've got something to sell doesn't mean it's going to be added to the list as free advertisement, not until someone says it works anyway.

Also, I don't have time to do much more that read this thread for my own info. If someone tried an item in the list and it doesn't work, or no longer works, they need to say so, ask me to remove it, etc. However, I'm not going to get into separating items that work for one and not another, Passport or SARA, etc. If someone wants to do that, I'll be happy to put them in touch with DMILANI to add a new link to the first post.

FWIW, I now wish I had never bothered in the first place. :(

Okay,

So much better - but as this is a community of technically oriented people it would be greatly appreciated if you could share some technical insight into harddrive firmware/model considerations and direct SATA vs. USB/SATA interfaces. I realize you are running a business, but I think if you offer the more technical members of the forum some insight into these issue we will be more likely to recommend your packaged solutions to less technically inclined people.

xnappoIs that a polite way of saying less advertizing and more actual
participation in the discussions? :)

Is that a polite way of saying less advertizing and more actual
participation in the discussions? :)
Yes :)

And as I have always appreciated your posts I hope you don't mind my butting in.

xnappo

Not at all. Remember, I'm the one that doesn't even have a SATA drive, so if anyone's posts don't belong here, they're mine. But I did do the summary for you all. :)

And before DiscounTech thinks I'm ganging up on him, that is not the case. I appreciate anyone who provides solutions to our problems and I appreciate his posting here. I'm just frustrated by the recent turn of events and the accusations, however unintentional, flung my way. I'll get over it, but I couldn't help getting a dig in. :)

Of course it's acceptable, but I'm still pissed and will probably stay that way. However, I do not hold that against doing what I've committed to do in these forums. If someone wants a drvie, enclosure, cable, or combo added, provide links and I'll add them. However, IMHO, such additions need to be from someone who actually uses them, not just someone selling them. The list is a compendium of user experiences, not a compendium of retailer products. If the list turns out to create problems because of the links to some retailers and not others, I'll simply delete it.

If your kits were omitted, it's because no USER reported success and provided a link (or I missed it if they did). If you look at the list, it came from posts where users reported success and provided links to the drive, enclosure, and cable, where appropriate. I didn't add every drive mentioned if all folks posted was "Seagate 500G". I also didn't add anything that was simply mentioned because someone saw an advertisement somewhere (and your posts fall into that category IMHO). Just because you've got something to sell doesn't mean it's going to be added to the list as free advertisement, not until someone says it works anyway.

Also, I don't have time to do much more that read this thread for my own info. If someone tried an item in the list and it doesn't work, or no longer works, they need to say so, ask me to remove it, etc. However, I'm not going to get into separating items that work for one and not another, Passport or SARA, etc. If someone wants to do that, I'll be happy to put them in touch with DMILANI to add a new link to the first post.

FWIW, I now wish I had never bothered in the first place. :(
I think you should stick to your guns on your list being from users who have experience - good or bad - with particular products. I'm pretty sure our hosts don't want online vendors cajoling members into carrying their water. It's one thing for a vendor rep to be here assisting and even supporting his products, but it's another to have every post - except the last one - festooned with links to their product lines.

And whether you continue your list, let it rest or take it down completely, your efforts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks pepar. I'm just venting a little, but it does seem like the list may be causing some unintended potential problems. I don't intend to add an item without a USER here verifying that it works, so no worry there. I'll be adding a caveat to the list indicating that any links included do not constitute an endorsement of any kind, they are simply a link to a source as provided by a poster in this forum.

Also, I'll continue the list until a Moderator says I can't.

Careful Scarlett, the review I found (see my post from yesterday) says it is a 7200.9. Seagate is currently replacing 7200.9 with 7200.10 pretty aggressively. In fact I ordered a 7200.9, the box said 7200.9, but it had a 7200.10 in the box.

Based my other post from yesterday concerning ReplayTV people having problems with 7200.9 and 7200.10, on rpgIVguru being on Passport, and on problems in general with >300GB drives on Sara I would be very wary of getting this drive if there is a restocking free...

The ReplayTV thread is interesting - they seem to think that the cache size affects their compatibility to a large degree (as well as error correction and latency). They also have had good success with the new Seagate DB35 line (7200.2) made for DVR use. I know it is a different box, but if you read through the thread the things that work/don't work for them (with IDE drives!) are pretty similar.

xnappoRight! I had read your post and checked out the links you provided. Everything I read just reinforces my conviction that one of the Seagate DB35 Series is the next hard drive I will acquire. I don't believe they will ever be 7200.10 versions. Also, I buy into the 8MB vs. 16MB cache theory, and the DB35's have 8MB cache. Every drive I have used successfully with the 8300HD has been 8MB cache, as well as 1.5GB/sec. data rate. The DB35's have 3GB/sec. transfer rate, but they should be capable of auto-negotiating the rate. Further, I believe that error correction is a big issue, and that is another one of the changes Seagate has made in order to optimize this series for use in and with DVRs.

WeaKnees apparently still has some 300GB QuickView Expanders for sale @ $249, but the majority of kits and bare drives they sell uses the Seagate DB35 Series hard drives. While the Seagate external SATA drive is appealing, I wouldn't buy it because (a) it might be a 7200.10, and (b) it is in a plastic case--even though it does have a fan, I think aluminum w/fan is the better choice.

I have been a very good girl this year, and I trust that Santa will leave a new 500GB Seagate DB35 drive under the Christmas tree for me! :)

Scarlett

Now, I agree with you partially - this is all BS to get more for the drive. I guarantee the $100 non-video optimized drive and the $200 optimized drive are identical other than a few bits in the firmware - however I am convinced that some drives firmware are not working well in DVRs.

xnappo

Cool... if I haven't been clear, let me be. I'm not claiming that I 100% know for sure... I'm only using experience gained over many years on hard drives and how they work. That's why I overdid it in explaining the specific reasons why I said what I said.

I think I'm just trying to dispel what I think is total marketing jibberish from influencing peoples opinions. With actual reasoning! Can't think of any at the moment, but I probably fall for some marketing jibberish and totally fail to apply any critical thinking in some other area!

I basically agree with all your concerns (Pepar, DoublDAZ, xnappo). Clearly you don't want people just spamming a help forum for the purposes of advertising. That said, the reason I keep putting in links is because this forum is so long, everyone including us, forgets what has gone on in the past. Indeed, there was a post just a few days ago of someone asking "Who sells a pre-fab kit? [as they are not really the technical type]". Yet there were many answers that pointed them to resellers of generic drives etc, none that pointed to products like ours that have been assembled specifically for this purpose.

To specifically answer the challenge: When I found this thread I was purely a user. I had an 8300HD at home and was rather frustrated about the minimal disk space. I had previously tried upgrading the internal drive in the 8000HD, which turned into a rather large paper weight. I followed the guidelines of this forum for the upgrading the 8300HD which resulted in a working solution. But I also observed that I had to try three different drive models before it worked reliably. At work, we are a Storage and Networking specialist. We mostly offer enterprise storage solutions SCSI, SAS & Fibre Channel. I thought it would be helpful to offer a kit for 8300HD users. So we tested a plethora of drives until we found models/firmware revs that worked well. So am I a very motivated user? or just an advertiser with no vested interest in the forum? I think I sit squarely in the middle.

I have not contributed lately for a couple of reasons. Primarily, our faciliites here have been flooded twice and it has caused a tremendous overload in work and stress. The second reason is that I think a great deal of what needs to be said, has been said. We tested lots of drives and enclosures and discussed the general concerns/problems well over a year ago. At that time I made several posts. The variables that are changing are firmware related and therefore important to track/test. But at the same time, I have observed very similar 8300HD units behave differently with the same expansion drive. We have found this VERY frustrating. I documented in this forum our suspicions of the Western Digital drives in the 8300HD. We've had far more issues with units with internal WD drives. Yet, that isn't 100% the case either. Our goal was to be totally deterministic, to log and identify all the permutations of (in)compatibility. However, there are either too many variables, or unpredictable behaviour. Therefore we maintain a pragmatic approach at this point.

I'll have to find some time on the weekend to dig up all the posts from other users regarding their confirmation that our products work very well. I assure you that there are several/many....

I basically agree with all your concerns (Pepar, DoublDAZ, xnappo). Clearly you don't want people just spamming a help forum for the purposes of advertising. That said, the reason I keep putting in links is because this forum is so long, everyone including us, forgets what has gone on in the past. Indeed, there was a post just a few days ago of someone asking "Who sells a pre-fab kit? [as they are not really the technical type]". Yet there were many answers that pointed them to resellers of generic drives etc, none that pointed to products like ours that have been assembled specifically for this purpose.

To specifically answer the challenge: When I found this thread I was purely a user. I had an 8300HD at home and was rather frustrated about the minimal disk space. I had previously tried upgrading the internal drive in the 8000HD, which turned into a rather large paper weight. I followed the guidelines of this forum for the upgrading the 8300HD which resulted in a working solution. But I also observed that I had to try three different drive models before it worked reliably. At work, we are a Storage and Networking specialist. We mostly offer enterprise storage solutions SCSI, SAS & Fibre Channel. I thought it would be helpful to offer a kit for 8300HD users. So we tested a plethora of drives until we found models/firmware revs that worked well. So am I a very motivated user? or just an advertiser with no vested interest in the forum? I think I sit squarely in the middle.

I have not contributed lately for a couple of reasons. Primarily, our faciliites here have been flooded twice and it has caused a tremendous overload in work and stress. The second reason is that I think a great deal of what needs to be said, has been said. We tested lots of drives and enclosures and discussed the general concerns/problems well over a year ago. At that time I made several posts. The variables that are changing are firmware related and therefore important to track/test. But at the same time, I have observed very similar 8300HD units behave differently with the same expansion drive. We have found this VERY frustrating. I documented in this forum our suspicions of the Western Digital drives in the 8300HD. We've had far more issues with units with internal WD drives. Yet, that isn't 100% the case either. Our goal was to be totally deterministic, to log and identify all the permutations of (in)compatibility. However, there are either too many variables, or unpredictable behaviour. Therefore we maintain a pragmatic approach at this point.

I'll have to find some time on the weekend to dig up all the posts from other users regarding their confirmation that our products work very well. I assure you that there are several/many....
Your sig is just right. Most of us are observant and resourceful enough to cut-and-paste your company name.com into a browser if we want to see what you're all about. If you participate as a user in this forum, you will get your share of traffic as a vendor. If you participate as a vendor, it will be a turn-off.

Just my $.02.

Cool... if I haven't been clear, let me be. I'm not claiming that I 100% know for sure... I'm only using experience gained over many years on hard drives and how they work. That's why I overdid it in explaining the specific reasons why I said what I said.

I think I'm just trying to dispel what I think is total marketing jibberish from influencing peoples opinions. With actual reasoning! Can't think of any at the moment, but I probably fall for some marketing jibberish and totally fail to apply any critical thinking in some other area!
R_G, I can't believe that there's someone more cynical than I! You know about error correction and the needs of a computer vis-a-vis the needs of a device streaming video; why do you think it's BS?

I basically agree with all your concerns (Pepar, DoubleDAZ, xnappo). Clearly you don't want people just spamming a help forum for the purposes of advertising.This has gotten way out of hand. I took exception to your slamming me for something I did on my own time with absolutely no vested interest for me. You apologized and that's the end of it.

Believe me, I understand stress and I'm sorry for your current difficulties, but a simple PM could have fixed the oversight without any emotion and without the thread getting all garbaged up with a discussion about what it or isn't appropriate for advertisers like yourself, that's the Moderators call in any event.

Anyway, I went back and dug out your link and it has been added to the list.

Your sig is just right. Most of us are observant and resourceful enough to cut-and-paste your company name.com into a browser if we want to see what you're all about. If you participate as a user in this forum, you will get your share of traffic as a vendor. If you participate as a vendor, it will be a turn-off.

Just my $.02.

Well, we are both a vendor and a user. It's very difficult to read posts about people wondering who to buy a kit from, and to choose NOT to let them know about us!

I generally =want= to believe that "Most of us are observant and resourceful enough to cut-and-paste your company name.com into a browser". However, experience shows otherwise. I interact with Joe Public regularly and I am very sad to say that most people can barely see what's right in front of them. I am not therefore as optimistic as you.

Right! I had read your post and checked out the links you provided. Everything I read just reinforces my conviction that one of the Seagate DB35 Series is the next hard drive I will acquire. I don't believe they will ever be 7200.10 versions. Also, I buy into the 8MB vs. 16MB cache theory, and the DB35's have 8MB cache. Every drive I have used successfully with the 8300HD has been 8MB cache, as well as 1.5GB/sec. data rate. The DB35's have 3GB/sec. transfer rate, but they should be capable of auto-negotiating the rate. Further, I believe that error correction is a big issue, and that is another one of the changes Seagate has made in order to optimize this series for use in and with DVRs.

WeaKnees apparently still has some 300GB QuickView Expanders for sale @ $249, but the majority of kits and bare drives they sell uses the Seagate DB35 Series hard drives. While the Seagate external SATA drive is appealing, I wouldn't buy it because (a) it might be a 7200.10, and (b) it is in a plastic case--even though it does have a fan, I think aluminum w/fan is the better choice.


My 750gb 7200.10 is still showing gliches even after:

1) swaping out with three different eSata cables (all shielded)
2) moving the drive from a Vantec 3 USB/eSata (fanless aluminum enclosure) to an SeriTek eSata enclosure (incl fan, straight through Sata, and aluminum)
3) having my 8300HD upgraded from SARA v1.87.x to v1.88.x

Seagate support basically came back with a standard response that my particular drive has "limited" supported in an external enclosure and is not support at all on my cable box. Though they did provide me with a newer firmware for my drive to try. One interesting note was that sternly stated to not apply this firmware to any other drive with the same model without first passing them the s/n number.

The firmware upgrade is my last resort, but I'm pretty convinced that the 7200.10 line should not be used with the 8300HD box. :(

I have the 320 GB 7200.10 and I get the occasional dropout. Its mostly on recordings but its not consistent. So I can't really figure out why, how, or what to realyl do about it. It is annoying but I know that I need the extra space and I don't want to lay another 100+ on a new drive. I also don't have a computer with SATA cables so I can't just use it in another computer.

Well, we are both a vendor and a user. It's very difficult to read posts about people wondering who to buy a kit from, and to choose NOT to let them know about us!

I generally =want= to believe that "Most of us are observant and resourceful enough to cut-and-paste your company name.com into a browser". However, experience shows otherwise. I interact with Joe Public regularly and I am very sad to say that most people can barely see what's right in front of them. I am not therefore as optimistic as you.
Perhaps referring you to the AVS Rules & Policies would be helpful at this time in your struggle for balance:

You agree to not use the Service to:

n. to either advertise or promote commercial endeavors without permission from an AVS Administrator. This includes direct posts, as well as, active links to other sites on the Internet. Direct all such requests via e-mail to an AVS Board Administrator.

And IF you get their permission, there are designated areas for promotion of one's commercial services. Generally, "The AVS Forums are designed for members to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use . . . "

We are off-topic here. This post should be the last on the subject.

I have the 320 GB 7200.10 and I get the occasional dropout. Its mostly on recordings but its not consistent. So I can't really figure out why, how, or what to realyl do about it. It is annoying but I know that I need the extra space and I don't want to lay another 100+ on a new drive. I also don't have a computer with SATA cables so I can't just use it in another computer.
Unless you're a purist, or are wanting to archive pristine HD content(if that were the case, I personally wouldn't be using a STB :eek: ), I wouldn't be too concerned about the occasional hickup during a recording. Truth be known, there are probably a 100 reasons why a glitch occurs within the STB. After all, there are numerous signals dancing on the coaxial cable coming into it, and furthermore, some significant processing going on once it gets there! I'm just happy knowing I have a little reserve space for recordings, and not too worried about the few blips that happen along the way. :D

http://www.seagate.com/products/consumer_electronics/db35series.html

I found a whole bunch more links discussing this in detail yesterday, but can't find them now - will look later.

Now, I agree with you partially - this is all BS to get more for the drive. I guarantee the $100 non-video optimized drive and the $200 optimized drive are identical other than a few bits in the firmware - however I am convinced that some drives firmware are not working well in DVRs.

xnappoOkay, I know that you have read a lot about the Seagate DB35 series drives, because of all the links you have posted. I had read some of those previously, and I have now had an opportunity to read even more. For instance, I was unaware that WeaKnees had replaced the Maxtor Quickview Expander and bare drive series with the new Seagate DB35 series. Presumably, WeaKnees has done the testing for us with those drives. It doesn't make sense that a commercial entity wouldn't test a product before offering it for sale. Their claim that the DB35 series is not available to consumers at retail is incorrect--you don't have to pay WeaKnees inflated price to acquire one of these drives.

You and I, and many others here, know for a fact that it is possible to attain almost perfect recordings from 300GB and smaller "ordinary computer" hard drives. I have been successful with Seagate, Maxtor, and Western Digital drives in those capacities. However, and in spite of the fact that some have reported success with 500GB and, I believe, even 750GB drives, it is my opinion that these larger drives are less tolerant when it comes to the issues of cache, latency, and error correction. I would need to go back through this thread to find the posts claiming success, make note of the firmware, version, and provider for those users, and ask each of them about the performance of those drives as they approach maximum capacity, before I could come to the same conclusion that you and Riverside_Guy have made about "voodoo and BS." I'm not saying that either of you is wrong--just that neither of you has made the comparisons that I believe are necessary to make an informed judgment. Unfortunately, at this time of year, I do not have the time to make such an exhaustive survey. Further, due to the criticism leveled at Dave for his excellent and informative summary, I am reminded that "no good deed goes unpunished," and I am far too sensitive to withstand any similar backlash--I seek nothing but approval. :)

Admittedly, I am a huge Seagate fan, and Maxtors have always served me well. The only hard drives that have ever crashed on me were Western Digital, and I avoid them whenever possible, for that reason and because I have been told that they run hot. I do not have the technical knowledge about the inner workings of hard drives to make any educated statements about them, but my uneducated and logical guess is that the manufacturers of hard drives recognize some differences in the requirements for handling data and media, and they have attempted to address those differences by targeting them and offering separate products that are labeled, for lack of a better distinction, "optimized" for their respective purposes. And if they can get a few dollars more for them, more power to them--that's what free enterprise is all about. If the products work as avertised, and if there is a huge demand for them, the price will drop with mass production and economy of scale, just as it has with LCDs and Plasma TVs.

Then there is the question of whether these "optimized" drives will work in a PC. They probably will, but whether they will work well is another question. I don't think I would want to use a hard drive with no, or crippled, error detection in my PC. That would be a huge step backward. However, if less error detection is what is required to render smoother video and audio performance with my HD recordings, I would buy one, or even two, of those "optimized" drives in a heartbeat! Technology continues to progress at warp speed it seems, but newer isn't always better. You and I both know that the "newer" Seagate 7200.10 hard drives don't work for us in our external storage applications. Neither of us knows whether the "newer" DB35 series is the answer to our desire for greater-capacity, as well as high-quality, storage for our HD recordings. Therefore, can we reserve judgment that the hype is "voodoo or BS" until after I have tried it? I will be the first to admit defeat and to acknowledge that it was just another marketing ploy if that is the case. :)

Scarlett

I have the 320 GB 7200.10 and I get the occasional dropout. Its mostly on recordings but its not consistent. So I can't really figure out why, how, or what to realyl do about it. It is annoying but I know that I need the extra space and I don't want to lay another 100+ on a new drive. I also don't have a computer with SATA cables so I can't just use it in another computer.

We have pretty much never seen a cable or enclosure fix your problem. IMO you need to try a different drive. I tried 3 different drives the first time I set one up (2 years ago).

Then there is the question of whether these "optimized" drives will work in a PC. They probably will, but whether they will work well is another question. I don't think I would want to use a hard drive with no, or crippled, error detection in my PC. That would be a huge step backward. However, if less error detection is what is required to render smoother video and audio performance with my HD recordings, I would buy one, or even two, of those "optimized" drives in a heartbeat! Technology continues to progress at warp speed it seems, but newer isn't always better. You and I both know that the "newer" Seagate 7200.10 hard drives don't work for us in our external storage applications. Neither of us knows whether the "newer" DB35 series is the answer to our desire for greater-capacity, as well as high-quality, storage for our HD recordings. Therefore, can we reserve judgment that the hype is "voodoo or BS" until after I have tried it? I will be the first to admit defeat and to acknowledge that it was just another marketing ploy if that is the case. :)
I drank the kool-aid and have no problem whatsoever in accepting that the very thing that makes a drive suitable for streaming video - de-tuned EC - is the very thing that makes it UNsuitable for regular computer usage.

We have pretty much never seen a cable or enclosure fix your problem. IMO you need to try a different drive. I tried 3 different drives the first time I set one up (2 years ago).
I beg to differ. I changed from an ePower to a Rosewill enclosure, along with a new eSATA-eSATA cable, and all of my problems disappeared, using the same hard drive.

If the SATA connection is not rock solid between the 8300 and enclosure, it can definitely lead to dropouts that are no fault of the drive.

I would need to go back through this thread to find the posts claiming success, make note of the firmware, version, and provider for those users, and ask each of them about the performance of those drives as they approach maximum capacity, before I could come to the same conclusion that you and Riverside_Guy have made about "voodoo and BS."
Scarlett

Just to be clear, all I was saying is that the DB35 drives don't cost Seagate any more to make, and are likely just firmware tweaks of their computer-based drives.

xnappo

I beg to differ. I changed from an ePower to a Rosewill enclosure, along with a new eSATA-eSATA cable, and all of my problems disappeared, using the same hard drive.

If the SATA connection is not rock solid between the 8300 and enclosure, it can definitely lead to dropouts that are no fault of the drive.

With my Maxtor drive changing from a AZIO to an Apricorn case solved my problems. However I don't think anyone with Sara has a 7200.10 working well for them.

xnappo

If your kits were omitted, it's because no USER reported success and provided a link (or I missed it if they did). If you look at the list, it came from posts where users reported success and provided links to the drive, enclosure, and cable, where appropriate. I didn't add every drive mentioned if all folks posted was "Seagate 500G". I also didn't add anything that was simply mentioned because someone saw an advertisement somewhere (and your posts fall into that category IMHO). Just because you've got something to sell doesn't mean it's going to be added to the list as free advertisement, not until someone says it works anyway.(

Check my posts as follows:

#3488 12/3/2006 page 117
#2672 10/10/2006 page 90

It's so easy for information to get lost in this thread.

(NOTE: this is a copy and paste from a different thread I replied to)

I had a hard time finding any specific info on compatibility with a eSATA (external storage) drive and Comcast programmed 8300HD DVR units... so I decided to give it a go. And it works!

First off, this is what I have:

Comcast Cable
Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD DVR (160GB version)
SARA DVR OS
Seagate 500GB External eSATA drive (this damned forum won't let me list the URL, sorry. but it's the pretty external one that's in stores everywhere)
eSATA cable (came with drive)

This is what I did:

I had an issue at first and thought maybe the eSATA port was disabled, but it wasn't (I'll spare you the DUH! story). What I figured out is that you need to completely reboot the 8300 AFTER attaching the powered on eSATA drive. Once you reboot, the 8300 will (eventually) ask you to format the drive. Hit yes and it takes about 30 seconds to do so. When it's completed it'll give you a message that the drive is formatted and compatible with the 8300. That's it! Pretty darn easy if you ask me. I'm amazed really. I confirmed that it works by listening to the Seagate hard drive during a recording... I can hear the drive working and the DVR's hard drive isn't. Strange thing is the SARA info screen doesn't report the hard drive new size in the initial info screen... but whatever. When i page through and get to HDD-3 it's there, so it's all good.

Cons:

None really.

Pros:

Way more storage
Easy
That seagate drive is SILENT and much quieter than the one in the DVR.
Adding the extra storage didn't delete my already recorded programs on the DVR's hard drive (yay!)

Hope this helps all the Comcast users out there! (Hoping google will index it too!)

Jesse

Check my posts as follows:

#3488 12/3/2006 page 117
#2672 10/10/2006 page 90

It's so easy for information to get lost in this thread.It sure is, especially when you provided no info other than a link.

I'm really not trying to be rude, but that's like trying to convince me to buy a Dodge Hemi and only providing a link to www.dodge.com. Come on, give me a break here, I'm only trying to help where no one else has offered. If you want to tout something that works, tell us what it is for crying out loud and provide a link, like DiscounTech did. I don't have the time or inclination to click on every link and get the info myself. If I did, I'd be selling my services, not providing them free for something I don't even use.

Cons:

None really.Aw, come on, you had some cons in the original post. :) :D :)

On a slightly different tack... I'm giving up on my WD/Nexstar fiasco and trying the 300GB Seagate prebuilt unit, but the 8300HD (Passport) still lists the recordings in the previous external drive, and doesn't recognize the new drive.

I think Pepar mentioned an earlier post in this thread regarding replacing external drives, but heck if I can find it....

Anyone point me to the post?

It sure is, especially when you provided no info other than a link.

I'm really not trying to be rude, but that's like trying to convince me to buy a Dodge Hemi and only providing a link to www.dodge.com. Come on, give me a break here, I'm only trying to help where no one else has offered. If you want to tout something that works, tell us what it is for crying out loud and provide a link, like DiscounTech did. I don't have the time or inclination to click on every link and get the info myself. If I did, I'd be selling my services, not providing them free for something I don't even use.
You seem to be getting a bit frazzled, amigo. I think you need a break, or different meds. :)

On a slightly different tack... I'm giving up on my WD/Nexstar fiasco and trying the 300GB Seagate prebuilt unit, but the 8300HD (Passport) still lists the recordings in the previous external drive, and doesn't recognize the new drive.

I think Pepar mentioned an earlier post in this thread regarding replacing external drives, but heck if I can find it....

Anyone point me to the post?
Without any external drive attached, go to the recordings list and delete the entries of the programs that come up as not available when you try to play them. And then follow the link in my sig to page 21 for the procedure for attaching an external drive to a Passport 8300HD. Please post your results.

No, I'm done with it, just couldn't let that one go for fear others like it would pop up. I originally asked folks to let me know when there was something that needed to be added to the summary post and to date I have received none, except for the chastizing post that started all this. :)

I know I spend quite a bit of time here, but even I have limits on how much work I'm willing to do. There is still such a thing as netiquette, isn't there? Oh wait, I forgot this is AVS; bash first, apologize later? :)

Besides, I did say I wasn't trying to be rude, just didn't know how to say it any better (and I couldn't think of a search term :) ). Seriously, I see a lot of posts about units folks are trying, but they don't provide links and/or item info, etc., and I simply don't have the time to do that amount of research, especially when I'm not even sure the summary post is being used or useful. After all, this is supposed to be a cooperative effort, isn't it?

But, you're right, maybe I was too harsh. I could always say the previous discourse made me do it. :D

If your kits were omitted, it's because no USER reported success and provided a link (or I missed it if they did).(

Just a point of information. You did miss it. Twice as stated. Sorry if this post also annoys you.

Seriously, I see a lot of posts about units folks are trying, but they don't provide links and/or item info, etc.

Not me. Link to DiscounTechnology posted. How you have the time to provide all of the wonderful information you do is beyond me. I want you to know I am thankful.

BOB

Without any external drive attached, go to the recordings list and delete the entries of the programs that come up as not available when you try to play them. And then follow the link in my sig to page 21 for the procedure for attaching an external drive to a Passport 8300HD. Please post your results.


Well that worked spectacularly well! Pepar, you da man. The 300 Seagate external works very well, with none of the error messages I constantly received. Oddly enough, I can even pause a rewind live TV, which I couldn't do before...

Hot plugging still made me nervous, as my previous drive is completely dead... no sound at all.

Boy did that hurt to lose all 6 Star Wars films, and several classics.

I wonder if this one (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=203447441&adid=17654&dcaid=17654) would work. Only $50 after Google checkout...

We have pretty much never seen a cable or enclosure fix your problem. IMO you need to try a different drive. I tried 3 different drives the first time I set one up (2 years ago).And which one finally worked?

Without any external drive attached, go to the recordings list and delete the entries of the programs that come up as not available when you try to play them. And then follow the link in my sig to page 21 for the procedure for attaching an external drive to a Passport 8300HD. Please post your results.
Is it not possible to format a new external drive while still being able to go back and connect your old drive to play the recordings on it? I was told that you should still be able to play your recordings from your previous drive even after formatting a new drive. I am waiting on a Quickview drive to come in the mail (just got the enclosure today), and I was hoping I wouldn't have to worry about transferring my recordings from my initial drive onto DVD.

Just to be clear, all I was saying is that the DB35 drives don't cost Seagate any more to make, and are likely just firmware tweaks of their computer-based drives.

xnappoGlad you cleared it up for me, and reading what you just said together with your previous post, I finally understand! I totally agree. But wouldn't you agree that those firmware "tweaks" are the very things that "optimize" those computer-based drives for use in and with DVRs? I didn't mean to imply that the DB35 series was a whole new technology, but if those firmware tweaks make it possible for us to increase our external storage by 150%, without excessive macro-blocking, dropouts, and freezes, I think there are many people who might be willing to take advantage of it--even at the inflated prices. There are already quite a few who are trying it with ordinary, computer-based, high capacity drives--and even some unfortunate souls with SARA who are attempting it with the Seagate 7200.10 Series. :)

I also believe that what Riverside_Guy said about the SATA interface is correct. I further believe that a solid cable connection and adequate cooling are essential to good performance by these external drives. If you have a SATA enclosure that provides those elements, housing a SATA drive with no more than an 8MB cache and limited or no error correction, I think there is a high probability that you can achieve success with a 500GB or even a 750GB drive for high quality recordings. At this point, it is nothing more than conjecture on my part, but I really am going to try to prove my theory--just as soon as I get my hands on that over-priced Seagate ST3500841SCE SATA drive! I think you know that I will be painfully honest about the results of my experiment. :)

Thanks again for the clarification!

Scarlett

Cool... if I haven't been clear, let me be. I'm not claiming that I 100% know for sure... I'm only using experience gained over many years on hard drives and how they work. That's why I overdid it in explaining the specific reasons why I said what I said.Well, you "overdid it" to the extent that I am totally confused about what you are trying to say! The only part I understood was about the SATA interface. You totally lost me on the part about "X" and "X"!

I think I'm just trying to dispel what I think is total marketing jibberish from influencing peoples opinions. With actual reasoning! Can't think of any at the moment, but I probably fall for some marketing jibberish and totally fail to apply any critical thinking in some other area!"Peoples" opinions? Or just mine? And you think that you are doing it with "actual reasoning." This seems to imply that I have used no "actual reasoning" or "critical thinking" in arriving at my conclusions. I usually defer to those who have "experience gained over many years." However, in this instance, I simply don't believe you have "made your case," and I remain unconvinced by your "actual reasoning." But you certainly are entitled to your opinions--as I am to mine, "influenced" or otherwise!

Is it not possible to format a new external drive while still being able to go back and connect your old drive to play the recordings on it? I was told that you should still be able to play your recordings from your previous drive even after formatting a new drive. I am waiting on a Quickview drive to come in the mail (just got the enclosure today), and I was hoping I wouldn't have to worry about transferring my recordings from my initial drive onto DVD.Yes, you should be able to format a new drive, make new recordings to it, disconnect it, reconnect your old drive and play those recordings on it, as long as you do NOT delete from the internal drive the references to those recordings on your old drive. At least that is the way it worked for me. As well as I remember, you are on SARA and not Passport, correct? I did not encounter the problems that Robert did in getting my new hard drive recognized even with the programs from the old drive still listed in the Recorded List on the internal drive. I don't know whether this is because Passport firmware behaves differently from SARA, or whether it is because I had fewer programs from the old drive listed than he did.

As I told you before, there may be a limit to the number of program listings from the old external drive that can be retained successfully on the internal drive, so if there is something on the old drive that you feel you absolutely cannot afford to lose, I would recommend transfer of that programming to DVD or VHS--just to be on the safe side. I was fully prepared to lose what was on my old drive, and I did lose those programs whose entries I had deleted prior to removing the drive. But I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the listings for programs on the old drive that I had not deleted from the internal drive, prior to removing the old drive, still accessed those programs when I reconnected the old drive at a later time. I hope that your experience is the same as mine--and at least one other person who has reported identical success with the same situation.

I am very interested in hearing how your QuickView drive and Apricorn enclosure combination works out. Hope it is a homerun for you!

Scarlett

Well that worked spectacularly well! Pepar, you da man. The 300 Seagate external works very well, with none of the error messages I constantly received. Oddly enough, I can even pause a rewind live TV, which I couldn't do before...


My guess is that any new recordings you make that allow trick-play are being made on your internal drive.

My theory is that the formatting process does not create buffers on the external drive, thus, no trick-play. Perhaps it's because the software only allows for 2 buffers, one for each tuner. If it created 2 more on the external drive, then you'd have 4 and it might get....ah.....confused. I'm confused just thinking about it.

Is it not possible to format a new external drive while still being able to go back and connect your old drive to play the recordings on it? I was told that you should still be able to play your recordings from your previous drive even after formatting a new drive. I am waiting on a Quickview drive to come in the mail (just got the enclosure today), and I was hoping I wouldn't have to worry about transferring my recordings from my initial drive onto DVD.
well, I've seen a post or two where someone says thay're using multiple drives and just swapping. Scarlett mention that above. But the OP was asking for a solution to his problem and I provided a sure-fire one. K.I.S.S. :)

Not me. Link to DiscounTechnology posted. How you have the time to provide all of the wonderful information you do is beyond me. I want you to know I am thankful.

BOBI understand that, Bob, and thanks for the kind words. Unfortunately, all you posted was a link, no mention of the drive, enclosure, or kit. The point I was trying to make was that had you mentioned that you bought the neTegriti SATA kit with a 300G HDD (or whatever) along with the link, chances would have been much greater that I would have noticed it and added the info to the list, since it wasn't already there. I see a lot of references, for example, to "Seagate 500G" and that's it, no link, no specific model number, nothing. I don't have the time to go checking for how many different model Seagate 500G drives there are and which one might be the one being mentioned. All I'm saying is that the more info provided, the easier it is to get the info added to the list. The list itself is easy enough to use as an example of the info needed.

And with that, this is truly my last comment about the list and how to get stuff added. Whew!

R_G, I can't believe that there's someone more cynical than I! You know about error correction and the needs of a computer vis-a-vis the needs of a device streaming video; why do you think it's BS?

Partly because the functions you are talking about were tweakable for a SCSI interface but I've never heard that they were for the ATA interface. Because I can edit, stream uncompressed video through a "computer" drive. Because I've never seen "optimized for streaming video" used as a marketing approach for hardware in the professional video field.

PLUS a lot of folks are making judgements based on what I'd consider a decidedly not ready for prime time interface. The very fact that a "optimized for" drive may work while one not marketed as such won't in no way means that the "optimized..." makes an actual difference.

Like I said, I'm not saying 100% that I'm correct. I'm basing what I'm saying on my own observation. Maybe I DO sound cynical, but I'm actually trying to be skeptical.

Partly because the functions you are talking about were tweakable for a SCSI interface but I've never heard that they were for the ATA interface. Because I can edit, stream uncompressed video through a "computer" drive. Because I've never seen "optimized for streaming video" used as a marketing approach for hardware in the professional video field.

PLUS a lot of folks are making judgements based on what I'd consider a decidedly not ready for prime time interface. The very fact that a "optimized for" drive may work while one not marketed as such won't in no way means that the "optimized..." makes an actual difference.

Like I said, I'm not saying 100% that I'm correct. I'm basing what I'm saying on my own observation. Maybe I DO sound cynical, but I'm actually trying to be skeptical.
I still see a difference between drives/arrays used for editing video - with a computer - and drives attached to a DVR. But, we're repeating ourselves. What I do know is that I've using a Quickview 500 on one of my 8300HD and a 300GB Quickview on the other (and vegggas has installed dozens of the Expander Kits), all without a problem. If I overpaid, so be it; it works flawlessly. :) If others want to experiment, that's fine as well.

Well, you "overdid it" to the extent that I am totally confused about what you are trying to say! The only part I understood was about the SATA interface. You totally lost me on the part about "X" and "X"!

"Peoples" opinions? Or just mine? And you think that you are doing it with "actual reasoning." This seems to imply that I have used no "actual reasoning" or "critical thinking" in arriving at my conclusions. I usually defer to those who have "experience gained over many years." However, in this instance, I simply don't believe you have "made your case," and I remain unconvinced by your "actual reasoning." But you certainly are entitled to your opinions--as I am to mine, "influenced" or otherwise!

Ah, should have been more specific... the X was referring to a computer OS, Mac OS X.

I never intended to single any one person out, I mean "more than one person." However, if I give reasoning behind an opinion I express, why would you assume I'm also saying you are not applying any reasoning or critical thinking?

Look, I really, really do understand that we obviously have a very, very flaky interface on the 8300 supporting an external drive. It's quite natural to believe that a manufacturers claim may make a difference. But do we see ANY real evidence that it does make a difference? My general impression is that we have far more "plain old computer drives" working than "specially optimized for streaming video" drives.

Like I said, I'm only trying to say that, based on actual experience, I do NOT buy that marketing claim as being anything that makes an actual difference. I think of it as healthy skepticism.

But wouldn't you agree that those firmware "tweaks" are the very things that "optimize" those computer-based drives for use in and with DVRs? I didn't mean to imply that the DB35 series was a whole new technology, but if those firmware tweaks make it possible for us to increase our external storage by 150%, without excessive macro-blocking, dropouts, and freezes, I think there are many people who might be willing to take advantage of it--even at the inflated prices.
Scarlett

Yes, I completely agree (and actually I have read enough of your posts that when in doubt, assume I agree with you :) ).

The whole selling the same product for different prices is always annoying, but almost all tech companies do it now so I should be used to it.

I just wish Seagate were a little nicer and provided a firmware tweaking tool or something. They don't even let customers do firmware updates and instead require an exchange. A good opportunity for someone with more hacking skills! When you do get your DB35 - can you compare the chips on the bottom to the 7200.10 just out of curiosity?

Thanks,
xnappo

I just wish Seagate were a little nicer and provided a firmware tweaking tool or something. They don't even let customers do firmware updates and instead require an exchange. A good opportunity for someone with more hacking skills!
Indeed.

I just wish Seagate were a little nicer and provided a firmware tweaking tool or something. They don't even let customers do firmware updates and instead require an exchange.

Seagate support did provide me with a newer firmware rev to apply myself to a 7200.10. It was all done via email, but maybe that's not standard policy? They did confirm that no drive settings could be tweaked and only factory defaults apply.

Seagate support did provide me with a newer firmware rev to apply myself to a 7200.10. It was all done via email, but maybe that's not standard policy? They did confirm that no drive settings could be tweaked and only factory defaults apply.
"No user serviceable parts inside," eh? :) Sounds like "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain."

well, I've seen a post or two where someone says thay're using multiple drives and just swapping. Scarlett mention that above. But the OP was asking for a solution to his problem and I provided a sure-fire one. K.I.S.S. :)I totally agree with you! And I think I've been hanging around you too long--when I saw Robert's post, I knew immediately what he needed to do, and I started to tell him. But then I thought, "no, he's on Passport, and pepar can tell him in two sentences what it would take me two paragraphs to explain." And you didn't disappoint me! :)

I wish I knew how to K.I.S.S.--my husband says if he asks me what time it is, I start telling him how to build a clock! In high school, my English teacher assigned an essay that was to be three pages long. Most of the other kids started writing very big and on every other line. I went out and bought college-ruled paper and crammed every word I could get on every line! The next essay that was assiged was to be 500 words. :) I have two sons, and I never spanked them, but they did have to stand and face me while I explained why they shouldn't have done whatever it was that they had done. My older son finally "got it." He told his younger brother, "Just do what Mom tells you to do, and you won't have to listen to her!" My husband reluctantly agrees that my way was better, but that he has never known anyone else with the time and patience to talk their children to death!

I don't know whether the method I described to cuzzin will work for him. It did for me, but I didn't save entries for a full external drive--just a few programs that I really didn't want to lose unless absolutely necessary. I hope that I provided enough caveats that he will be prepared for the worst should it happen.

Scarlett

Everyone wish me luck.

I just ordered a Maxtor 3H500F0 quickview 500GB drive.
$252 free shipping, no tax!

I have the Roswell (fan cooled) enclosure from Newegg still in the box waiting for it.

I feel like i'm a little crazy, but considering what the Tivo S3 costs, its a bargain.

I totally agree with you! And I think I've been hanging around you too long--when I saw Robert's post, I knew immediately what he needed to do, and I started to tell him. But then I thought, "no, he's on Passport, and pepar can tell him in two sentences what it would take me two paragraphs to explain." And you didn't disappoint me! :)

I wish I knew how to K.I.S.S.--my husband says if he asks me what time it is, I start telling him how to build a clock! In high school, my English teacher assigned an essay that was to be three pages long. Most of the other kids started writing very big and on every other line. I went out and bought college-ruled paper and crammed every word I could get on every line! The next essay that was assiged was to be 500 words. :) I have two sons, and I never spanked them, but they did have to stand and face me while I explained why they shouldn't have done whatever it was that they had done. My older son finally "got it." He told his younger brother, "Just do what Mom tells you to do, and you won't have to listen to her!" My husband reluctantly agrees that my way was better, but that he has never known anyone else with the time and patience to talk their children to death!

I don't know whether the method I described to cuzzin will work for him. It did for me, but I didn't save entries for a full external drive--just a few programs that I really didn't want to lose unless absolutely necessary. I hope that I provided enough caveats that he will be prepared for the worst should it happen.

Scarlett
Well, Scarlett, I *usually* pour myself a big glass of wine when I sit down to read one of your posts, but this one went pretty quick! :D

Well, Scarlett, I *usually* pour myself a big glass of wine when I sit down to read one of your posts, but this one went pretty quick! :DThe post, or the wine? :) If that's what you usually do, then you should be just about ready for AA--or, you are going to have a very MERRY Christmas!

Bottoms Up!

Scarlett

Everyone wish me luck.

I just ordered a Maxtor 3H500F0 quickview 500GB drive.
$252 free shipping, no tax!

I have the Roswell (fan cooled) enclosure from Newegg still in the box waiting for it.

I feel like i'm a little crazy, but considering what the Tivo S3 costs, its a bargain.SARA? Passport? Version? Cable provider? Please add to your Member Name or signature.

You are no crazier than anyone else here, and if it works for you, everyone will be happy for you and will want to know all the details. Also, if it does work well for you, and if you ask nicely--providing links to the equipment you used--Dave will add your combination to his excellent summary post. :)

I'm with you on the TiVo S3! In addition to my two 8300HDs and their 300GB external drives, I have three TiVos, only one of which is a dual-tuner, and none of which will do HD. Maybe someday I will be able to afford an S3, but until then I am very happy with my 8300HDs and external drives.

Best of luck to you, and do let us know how it goes!

Scarlett

My guess is that any new recordings you make that allow trick-play are being made on your internal drive.

My theory is that the formatting process does not create buffers on the external drive, thus, no trick-play. Perhaps it's because the software only allows for 2 buffers, one for each tuner. If it created 2 more on the external drive, then you'd have 4 and it might get....ah.....confused. I'm confused just thinking about it.


Well, you're probably right, as now the pause/rewind live TV is gone. A fair tradeoff for having massive glitch free storage!


Oh, and thanks again to Pepar - and Scarlett!

Also, if it does work well for you, and if you ask nicely--providing links to the equipment you used--Dave will add your combination to his excellent summary post. :)ROTFLMAO!!! Scarlett, thank you, I needed that. :)

Actually, it doesn't even have to be nice. :) Just don't expect me to match up a new post saying it works to the one listing the items (without links), especially several days later. Just post that drive X worked with enclosure Y and here are the links. If they aren't already in the Summary List, I'll add them. FWIW, I believe the Roswell is there, but I don't think that model Maxtor is.

That brings up another subject about the list. The links are only intended to provide additional infomation on the specific items referenced, NOT to provide a source for the items and NOT to imply any endorsement of such sources.

Has anybody tried one of the Seagate eSATA kits (ST3500601XS-RK ):

CompUSA has the 500GB version for $259.

I've seen posts about problems with BYO using Seagates with perpendicular recording, I assume the drives in this kit do use perpendicular recording, but I don't know for sure at this point.




Anyone who has not seen this - good Friday/Saturday only.

Seagate 500GB External eSata from Compusa - $199 ($80 rebate). They ship.

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=341441

Have not seen an External eSata 500GB this cheap.

Here's an update on my (unsuccessful :confused: )attempts to get macro-block free video from an external HD. Here's the equipment that I've tried. I'm looking for suggestions from everyone as to possible causes and solutions.

A = Apricorn EZ-BUS-DTS-EKIT (enclosure)
B = AMS Venus DS3 DS-2316SU2SBK (enclosure)
C = Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3400620AS 400GB
D = MAXTOR 3H500F0 500GB

A & C = worst combo of the four. Very frequent and random (few times a minute) macroblocking. Makes the video and audio appear to stutter. Occasionally macro-blocking was so bad that it caused the sound and video to stop and the SA8300 to reboot.
B & C = stuttering of video and audio slightly less frequent and not as bad in duration as the A & C combo, but still very annoying!
B & D = Best combo of the four. Video and audio stutter for 0.5 to 2 seconds predictably every few minutes. When I was watching Leno it stuttered at 47:09, 48:04, 50:08, 52:08, 55:01, 57:13, etc.
A & D = This performed the same as B & D with the same frequency of glitches, but the video/audio stuttering was slightly more exaggerated.

I moved jumpers between 3Gbps and 1.5 with no noticable difference.

I am aware of the troubles everyone's had with the 7200.10 drives. It seems like I've only read good things about the Maxtor Quickview and it seems more reliable, but not anywhere close to my internal drive.

Enclosure A was recommended recently and I thought I'd give it a shot. It also had USB circuitry inside like enclosure B.

In conclusion, the drives performed consistently, independent of the enclosure they were in. The Seagate is annoying because of the frequency of problems, but good because they are usually short blips. The Maxtor is annoying because the problems causes audio and video to drop out longer, it was better because it occured much less frequently.

Could my Maxtor's video be hanging up ever few minutes because some kind of cache is filling up and emptying out? Does anything think it would be worth spending the money to put the Maxtor into a plain enclosure without any circuitry? Thanks for the help, this website has been a good resource! :)

The Seagate eSATA 500GB kit (ST3500601XS-RK) seems to work well. . .

Recorded 15min or so of HD. Then started recording two other HD channels while playing back the first show recorded. Made sure to FF during a few sections; figured that would require the drive to feed the stream faster right? ;-) Playback looked great. Then played back one of the two simultaneous recorded shows. Playback looked great there two. . .

So at this point, I'm going to have to say that the Seagate kit passed the test.

Lastly, just wanted to note that I'm running Passport v2.5.066 on the 8300HD provided by TWC Cincinnati, Ohio.I wish we had heard this same testimonial from one or more SARA users! Are you still happy with the quality of your recordings? If so, the Seagate External SATA Drive that's on sale at CompUSA for $199 AR is a great buy for lucky Passport users!

Could you please add: Passport 2.5.066/8300HD/TW/Cincinnati, OH as your signature? I had to go digging through the posts again to find the one where you listed that info. :)

Many thanks!

Scarlett

Could my Maxtor's video be hanging up ever few minutes because some kind of cache is filling up and emptying out? Does anything think it would be worth spending the money to put the Maxtor into a plain enclosure without any circuitry? Thanks for the help, this website has been a good resource! :)

I took the little connector inside the Apricorn enclosure and cut the plastic connector into two pieces, the power and data. I connected the Maxtor to the power and ran a SATA to eSATA cable straight to the 8300HD. My results were no different than having the hard drive connected to the enclosure's circuitry. I tried it with two different cables.

This leads me to believe that nothing I do will get the Maxtor 500GB Quickview to play nicely with my 8300HD.

I wish we had heard this same testimonial from one or more SARA users! Are you still happy with the quality of your recordings? If so, the Seagate External SATA Drive that's on sale at CompUSA for $199 AR is a great buy for lucky Passport users!



That's the reason there is a return policy.

I took the little connector inside the Apricorn enclosure and cut the plastic connector into two pieces, the power and data. I connected the Maxtor to the power and ran a SATA to eSATA cable straight to the 8300HD. My results were no different than having the hard drive connected to the enclosure's circuitry. I tried it with two different cables.

This leads me to believe that nothing I do will get the Maxtor 500GB Quickview to play nicely with my 8300HD.
That is so puzzling as Passport has seemed so stable with just about any drive and drives don't get any more suitable for DVR usage than Quickviews. Bad drive or bad 8300HD perhaps?

I took the little connector inside the Apricorn enclosure and cut the plastic connector into two pieces, the power and data. I connected the Maxtor to the power and ran a SATA to eSATA cable straight to the 8300HD. My results were no different than having the hard drive connected to the enclosure's circuitry. I tried it with two different cables.

This leads me to believe that nothing I do will get the Maxtor 500GB Quickview to play nicely with my 8300HD.

Ken,

Some Maxtor's have a 'feature' where until the drive has been power cycled 10 times, it sticks in write/verify mode. You might give it a shot if there is a chance that hasn't been done.

I am not at all surprised the 7200.10 doesn't work - it seems to give all other DVRs problems too (Tivo, Replay, 8300 w/Sara).

Regards,
xnappo

I wish we had heard this same testimonial from one or more SARA users! Are you still happy with the quality of your recordings? If so, the Seagate External SATA Drive that's on sale at CompUSA for $199 AR is a great buy for lucky Passport users!

So far, haven't seen any problems while watching live shows, no problems pausing/FF that others have reported. My wife and I tend to be behind on viewing our recordsed shows, so there's only been a few things we've watched on the 8300HD as we're still trying to clean off the 8000 we had before :D


Could you please add: Passport 2.5.066/8300HD/TW/Cincinnati, OH as your signature? I had to go digging through the posts again to find the one where you listed that info. :)


Sure, I had the info in my profile, but hadn't put it in the sig since there were explicit instructions on the site not to list equipment in your sig.

Sure, I had the info in my profile, but hadn't put it in the sig since there were explicit instructions on the site not to list equipment in your sig.
I think that is to keep us from detailing our gear down to our supercalifragilisticexpialidocious interconnects. :) Simply noting the 8300HD software and version is acceptable.

So far, haven't seen any problems while watching live shows, no problems pausing/FF that others have reported. My wife and I tend to be behind on viewing our recordsed shows, so there's only been a few things we've watched on the 8300HD as we're still trying to clean off the 8000 we had before :DThis is great news for Passport users! I would love to try one of these, but our SARA firmware isn't as "forgiving" as Passport. It would be just my luck to get one with another Seagate 7200.10 drive inside! :)

Sure, I had the info in my profile, but hadn't put it in the sig since there were explicit instructions on the site not to list equipment in your sig.And that is precisely the reason that I put my info under my Member Name! At least there are two of us who read the "Rules and Regulations." :) However, the more experienced among us have stated that rule was meant to discourage many lines of text describing a user's entire setup. I should have suggested the option of listing under your Member Name, and you can certainly move it there if you prefer. The important thing is that we will be able to see it in each of your posts.

Thanks for the good news about your external drive. Let us know if anything changes as it starts to fill up.

Scarlett

That's the reason there is a return policy.And CompUSA seems to have a very liberal one!
The CompUSA difference also includes no restocking fees on returned products and superior service plans for warranted products. Plus, in-store or online, it’s easy for CompUSA customers to check pricing and availability or research products. The CompUSA store on Research here in Austin has these in stock--I just checked. This is a super deal on a ready-to-go 500GB external drive. I would volunteer to be the "tester" for SARA, but I can't justify one of these and the Seagate DB35, and I am already committed to that project.

Don't we have any SARA users who are curious and courageous enough to give it a whirl? :)

Scarlett

Some Maxtor's have a 'feature' where until the drive has been power cycled 10 times, it sticks in write/verify mode. You might give it a shot if there is a chance that hasn't been done.

Regards,
xnappo

I will give that a try.

My primary concern with the Quickview's glitches every few minutes on the Maxtor is that they happen at exactly every three, four, or five minutes consistently. If it's on a 4 minute cycle (for whatever reason) it will do it at exactly every 240 seconds. Very strange.

I can live with it, I can always disconnect the external if i want a pristine recording and DVR-capabilities back.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will report back if I have any success with that.
Ken

Don't we have any SARA users who are curious and courageous enough to give it a whirl? :)



I've ordered one and so have 2 other users in my home market - and I have SARA.

Actually with their return policy, you should get both and see which works best with your system :D

I've ordered one and so have 2 other users in my home market - and I have SARA.Will you tell us where you are located, who your cable provider is, and which version of SARA you have?

Actually with their return policy, you should get both and see which works best with your system :DTrue, but try to get my husband to follow that logic! :) All he can see are the $$$'s flying out the window--especially this close to Christmas. As it is, I'm depending on Santa to bring me the Seagate DB35, but this is such a sweet deal from CompUSA, it's really hard for me to pass it up.

Did you have yours delivered, or are you picking it up at your local CompUSA? I can't wait to hear how it works for you.

Best of luck!

Scarlett

Scarlett,

You are wasting your time. We've been trying to get HDTVFanAtic to play nice with us regarding location for a long, long time and you see how far we've gotten. I guess he considers himself a man of the world and wants us all to know it. :)

Scarlett,

You are wasting your time. We've been trying to get HDTVFanAtic to play nice with us regarding location for a long, long time and you see how far we've gotten. I guess he considers himself a man of the world and wants us all to know it. :)Oh.....so he's the one! I just didn't recall the Member Name. Well, quite frankly, I don't suppose his location is all that important. But it would be helpful to know his cable provider and his SARA version. He was so nice to share the information about the Seagate external SATA drive with us, I thought surely he wouldn't mind giving us a little more to go on.

I would love to try the external Seagate SATA drive just to help the other frustrated SARA users who haven't been able to come up with a working solution, but I truly can't afford it right now--even with CompUSA's generous return policy--both in terms of money and time. That's why I am hoping that HDTVFanAtic will come back and tell us how this external drive works for him. Maybe he will even reconsider and at the very least give us his SARA version! One can always hope.... :)

Scarlett

Oh, I think he will, just not as part of his ID info. He told us his location once, but I forgot what is was.

BTW. I hope he knows I'm just teasing. :)

Scarlett,

You are wasting your time. We've been trying to get HDTVFanAtic to play nice with us regarding location for a long, long time and you see how far we've gotten. I guess he considers himself a man of the world and wants us all to know it. :)
I see a plagiarist when it comes to location.

Well, fortunately for you, Scarlett's decided that location isn't really the most important part and you provide everything else. :)

Just wanted to post some new numbers regarding drive capacity and overhead, etc. I decided to reformat my drives, and start from scratch again. Mostly to clear out all the old season passes for cancelled shows or shows on break.
Here are my notes:
Status before starting - 2 small recordings [2 x 10 min each - 131GB free out of 150GB] on internal drive and 5 recordings [239GB free out of 259GB] on external drive.
Disconnected external drive to confirm where recordings exist.
Reformatted internal drive by using the list x3 trick (see tips and tricks thread -first post for specifics) - Of course this deleted all recordings, recording headers, and scheduled recordings.
Internal drive diagnostics revealed that the Maxtor 160GB drive had the following characteristics for the AVFS (Audio Video File System) partition:
Raw Drive size = 160 GB
Drive Capacity = 152 GB
AVFS Partition size = 150 GB
Free Space = 133 GB [NOTE this is the available space for recording]

Reconnected external drive and noted that all previous programming was still not available for viewing. Space on the external drive was not fully available [239GB free out of 259GB on partition], since the reformat of the internal drive only erased the recording headers and not the Mpeg files.

Re-did the reformat procedure again, this time with the external drive connected.
The "lost" space was regained on the external drive after reformat.
Internal drive diagnostics revealed that the Maxtor 300GB [Maxtor Quickview Drive Expander Kit] drive had the following characteristics for the AVFS (Audio Video File System) partition:

Raw Drive size = 300 GB
Drive Capacity = 279 GB
AVFS Partition size = 259 GB
Free Space = 259 GB [NOTE this is the available space for recording]

vegggas

Scarlett,

You are wasting your time. We've been trying to get HDTVFanAtic to play nice with us regarding location for a long, long time and you see how far we've gotten. I guess he considers himself a man of the world and wants us all to know it. :)


lol...I've only posted it about 50 times, but I guess thats not enough for you.

I simple look at the locals sections I have posted in would also be a quick clue....geez.

The MSO has not updated the SARA software since they first rolled out the 8300HDs, thus it is still on the original 1.87.23.1.

This is most likely the issue with the firewire not working as well.

The good news is everyone with SARA (and most likely Passport etc) will get a new firmware update in 1Q 2007 as it's mandatory for the change in DST. The MSOs have no choice - so they will be forced to bring the firmware up to a near current date - and I cross my fingers that will enable most firewire connections on the 8300s.

This should also help with a number of the memory leak issues that cause the box to do screwy things - and I suspect it is a cause of some of the skipping/studdering that people see. The newer software is SUPPOSED to fix the memory leak issues.

lThe good news is everyone with SARA (and most likely Passport etc) will get a new firmware update in 1Q 2007 as it's mandatory for the change in DST. The MSOs have no choice - so they will be forced to bring the firmware up to a near current date - and I cross my fingers that will enable most firewire connections on the 8300s.
Do they use a calendar look-up table? Or do they tell the unit to subtract "x" number of hours from UST time?

lol...I've only posted it about 50 times, but I guess thats not enough for you.Doesn't bother me in the least (I was only responding to Scarlett), but having to post it 50 times should tell you something. You'd have saved at least 100 posts (not to mention discussions like this) simply by changing it so no one has to ask. ;)

Do they use a calendar look-up table? Or do they tell the unit to subtract "x" number of hours from UST time?

Absolutely no idea. Just relaying info from Sr. techs at cable company.

lol...I've only posted it about 50 times, but I guess thats not enough for you.

I simple look at the locals sections I have posted in would also be a quick clue....geez.

The MSO has not updated the SARA software since they first rolled out the 8300HDs, thus it is still on the original 1.87.23.1.

This is most likely the issue with the firewire not working as well.

The good news is everyone with SARA (and most likely Passport etc) will get a new firmware update in 1Q 2007 as it's mandatory for the change in DST. The MSOs have no choice - so they will be forced to bring the firmware up to a near current date - and I cross my fingers that will enable most firewire connections on the 8300s.

This should also help with a number of the memory leak issues that cause the box to do screwy things - and I suspect it is a cause of some of the skipping/studdering that people see. The newer software is SUPPOSED to fix the memory leak issues.

I thought we had understood that there are most likely 3 "pieces" of software on the 8300, the underlying firmware, the os, and the hi level or application (SARA/Passport). As the firmware rev is actually printed on the box, I'd say that firmware is not automatically upgradable. While I'd be unsure if the underlying OS is upgradable (again, automatically over the cable), it could be; I don't think we've seen any evidence that it ever actually has been upgraded.

We DO have more than enough evidence that the hi level, application portion is, has and will be upgraded. I don't think we know if the OS portion needs upgrading when the new top level application code named Mystro is deployed.

I'm not totally convinced this application has much to do with standard or daylight savings time. It sure seems that time is delivered from the head end. It COULD very well be that the software side doesn't need a conversion. That WOULD be the more intelligent way. Then again, the issue of changing the effective date of time standards has pointed out some oddities. NTP (a series of "time servers" around the internet, most often used to keep a computers clock synced) seems to have zero provision of also sending a "correction factor" to adjust to DST or ST, BUT the atomic clock in CO that so many devices sync to does send an adjustment factor (i.e. it should be immune to the "official" date of changeover, i.e. it's not locked into anything).

lol...I've only posted it about 50 times, but I guess thats not enough for you.

I simple look at the locals sections I have posted in would also be a quick clue....geez.


But, why should someone go searching through your 6000+ posts to find the 1% of those posts where you disclose that info? Do you think that you are so important that all of us will retain the information that you post less than 1% of the time?

Come on, get with the program and post that stuff in your profile and/or sig. :rolleyes:

I'm not totally convinced this application has much to do with standard or daylight savings time. It sure seems that time is delivered from the head end. It COULD very well be that the software side doesn't need a conversion. That WOULD be the more intelligent way. Then again, the issue of changing the effective date of time standards has pointed out some oddities. NTP (a series of "time servers" around the internet, most often used to keep a computers clock synced) seems to have zero provision of also sending a "correction factor" to adjust to DST or ST, BUT the atomic clock in CO that so many devices sync to does send an adjustment factor (i.e. it should be immune to the "official" date of changeover, i.e. it's not locked into anything).
I'm off the thread for 8 hours and I feel like a noob. What's up with this new software version and DST? Our boxes have passed through several of these ST/DST transitions.

I'm off the thread for 8 hours and I feel like a noob. What's up with this new software version and DST? Our boxes have passed through several of these ST/DST transitions.

Actually I think the problem is you have been spending TOO much time in this thread and not enough time in the real world?

http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html

Just razzing you.

xnappo

Actually I think the problem is you have been spending TOO much time in this thread and not enough time in the real world?

http://webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/b.html

Just razzing you.

xnappo
:D

We DO have more than enough evidence that the hi level, application portion is, has and will be upgraded. I don't think we know if the OS portion needs upgrading when the new top level application code named Mystro is deployed.
It does not (according to Eric Roberts, Sr Product Manager of SA at a recent conference on Cable Television & Broadband Conference).

I'm not totally convinced this application has much to do with standard or daylight savings time. It sure seems that time is delivered from the head end. It COULD very well be that the software side doesn't need a conversion. That WOULD be the more intelligent way. Then again, the issue of changing the effective date of time standards has pointed out some oddities. NTP (a series of "time servers" around the internet, most often used to keep a computers clock synced) seems to have zero provision of also sending a "correction factor" to adjust to DST or ST, BUT the atomic clock in CO that so many devices sync to does send an adjustment factor (i.e. it should be immune to the "official" date of changeover, i.e. it's not locked into anything).I don't doubt your knowledge of conventional PCs - but there are lots of software systems out there that use a different architecture and thus different "rules and structures" apply. Cable boxes happen to be one of them. In regards to DST, many software systems relied on the traditional formula for DST and incorporated that formula at some level. Now that the formula has been changed (check xnappo's link), the software has to be changed. It may well be that this (DST) functionality was embedded in the lowest level OS, and the "fix" is a "patch" in the middleware. I believe that the DST functionality, as incorporated in these boxes, is such that it operates internally, thus is not subject to the sort of "adjustments" that you propose.

In regards to DST, many software systems relied on the traditional formula for DST and incorporated that formula at some level. Now that the formula has been changed (check xnappo's link), the software has to be changed. It may well be that this (DST) functionality was embedded in the lowest level OS, and the "fix" is a "patch" in the middleware. I believe that the DST functionality, as incorporated in these boxes, is such that it operates internally, thus is not subject to the sort of "adjustments" that you propose.
It was so simple that they buried it deep in the basic code and now that DST adjustment is changing, they can't get at it without a major change?

It was so simple that they buried it deep in the basic code and now that DST adjustment is changing, they can't get at it without a major change?

Don't forget that they had to launch the Space Shuttle NOW and could not use the next opportunity the ISS is in place for a launch at the end of the month because the STS computers cannot compute rolling over from one year to the next and the Shuttle must be on the ground by 12/31.

But, why should someone go searching through your 6000+ posts to find the 1% of those posts where you disclose that info? Do you think that you are so important that all of us will retain the information that you post less than 1% of the time?

Come on, get with the program and post that stuff in your profile and/or sig. :rolleyes:

There isn't enough room in the sig for 2 cable systems, OTA, D*, E*, C Band, SC, BEV, and KuBand equipment I have - and that doesn't get to the HTPC or HDTV equipment.

There isn't enough room in the sig for 2 cable systems, OTA, D*, E*, C Band, SC, BEV, and KuBand equipment I have - and that doesn't get to the HTPC or HDTV equipment.That's a poor excuse for failure to disclose a reasonably real location and DVR OS/Version. That takes a lot less space than the stuff you have there now. It's not like we have asked you to post your real name (as some of us are willing to do) or occupation, but if you are going to make postings in forums that location & software add context to help folks understand "where you are coming from" it is selfish NOT to include that.

It's so simple.

There isn't enough room in the sig for 2 cable systems, OTA, D*, E*, C Band, SC, BEV, and KuBand equipment I have - and that doesn't get to the HTPC or HDTV equipment.
You clearly need an applet to rotate your sig based on the topic of the thread in which you're posting. :)

The only thing I was trying to do was be nice and let everyone know of a eSata Seagate for $200 and free shipping.

I guess I should have just started a new topic (which I will do next time for 8300HD owners) and not interupt the secret handshake club.

Sorry for trying to let you guys know of a good deal.

And you already know that very few folks will even see your new thread, so it will be of dubious value. :)

No one is complaining about your posting some useful informaton. Why you persist in advertising that your are from planet earth instead of narrowing it down to keep folks from having to ask is beyond me, but that is your choice, childish as it is. If 50 folks before us can't convince you, nothing we can say will help. Maybe you're just afraid folks will judge the content of your posts based on your location or something just as silly. I simply didn't want Scarlett to keep wasting her breath asking.

And you already know that very few folks will even see your new thread, so it will be of dubious value. :)

No one is complaining about your posting some useful informaton. Why you persist in advertising that your are from planet earth instead of narrowing it down to keep folks from having to ask is beyond me, but that is your choice, childish as it is. If 50 folks before us can't convince you, nothing we can say will help. Maybe you're just afraid folks will judge the content of your posts based on your location or something just as silly. I simply didn't want Scarlett to keep wasting her breath asking.
I clearly missed something somewhere; why is it that we need to know where HDTVFanAtic is from and his software version in order to benefit from the deal he linked to? :confused:

I clearly missed something somewhere; why is it that we need to know where HDTVFanAtic is from and his software version in order to benefit from the deal he linked to? :confused:We don't, but see Posts #3650 and #3651. I thought the information would be helpful. I wasn't trying to stir up a hornet's nest. Sorry!

Scarlett

We don't, but see Posts #3650 and #3651. I thought the information would be helpful. I wasn't trying to stir up a hornet's nest. Sorry!

Scarlett
I'm sure you haven't stirred up a hornet's nest and I get the distinct impression that this goes back further than #3650.

Don't be sorry, it really should have stopped with my Smiley response to your post. However, some folks here take a post like that from someone with over 6,000 posts as an endorsement. That and the fact that there seem to be differences for SARA and Passport users, make it somewhat useful to have at least the software info.

I don't really care where anyone is from, though it can be interesting, but everyone knows many problems have been location and/or cableco oriented. I also just don't understand the objection to listing a more useful location, especially after admitting to having posted the info more than 50 times. You'd think someone who has been that active on AVS would be a little more courteous is all. I don't think anyone can say that a decent location isn't useful and cuts down on some of the unnecessary posts.

And with that, I'm done with this subject. I've offered more than my $.02 worth anyway. :)

I also just don't understand the objection to listing a more useful location, especially after admitting to having posted the info more than 50 times. You'd think someone who has been that active on AVS would be a little more courteous is all.
Perhaps some see the "location" as an opportunity for humor and a way of expressing their individuality. :rolleyes:

Pertinent/relevant information regarding the contextual backdrop of one's gear should be mentioned when seeking or offering help specific to said gear. If one is doing neither, then it doesn't matter.

richlow, is the recording 2 while playing back one all in HD?

Thanks,

Charles
rpgIVguru, sorry, I didn't get back to you sooner. Yes, I recorded 2 HD shows to the external drive, while watching a HD show off the external drive. I did this test when I first plugged the external drive in.

And you already know that very few folks will even see your new thread, so it will be of dubious value.

I would venture to say many more would have seen it on the main HDTV Recorders Page in a new topic then here at the end of 3600 posts....especially after seeing the reception you extend to people trying to tip people off to what was a great deal.

Come on, man, we're only trying to figure out the why, not trying to make you or anyone else feel unwelcome. This particular thread has had a lot of difficulties because of the lack of that kind of info, particularly the software/version info. I was simply poking fun at Scarlett, but if you want to take it personal, there is nothing I can do about that.

OK, everyone together... Deep breath, IN then OUT, IN then OUT. :D

:)

Okay - to change subjects :)

Check this out:
http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/main

Useful?

xnappo

Okay - to change subjects :)

Check this out:
http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/main

Useful?

xnappo
It looks like an excellent start. Of course, after a few entries, someone will think of some other data element to add. Nothin wrong with that - just the evolutionary process of such things. :D

It looks like an excellent start. Of course, after a few entries, someone will think of some other data element to add. Nothin wrong with that - just the evolutionary process of such things. :D
Yep, it is a piece of cake to add fields. Of course getting the data retroactively for new fields is another matter.

Can you try making a new entry with your info? And then if you have time see if you can modify your own entry AND/OR my entry? (I think you have to get an account at www.baseportal.com to make an attempt).

Thanks,
xnappo

Yep, it is a piece of cake to add fields. Of course getting the data retroactively for new fields is another matter.

Can you try making a new entry with your info? And then if you have time see if you can modify your own entry AND/OR my entry? (I think you have to get an account at www.baseportal.com to make an attempt).

Thanks,
xnappo
Done. Adding a 'record' is easy. However, I could not modify my entry, or yours. Maybe an account is in order.

PS. I resistered at baseportal, but did not have time to snoop around - yet. I guess your DBs are tied to your login id. Wonder if you can grant access to other users?

Okay - to change subjects :)

Check this out:
http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/main

Useful?

xnappo
Yes, definitely. Just a thought though, you might want to keep it SARA only to minimize confusion. And I hesitate to make the observation again, but SARA seems to be more finicky than Passport and the users need more guidance as to what drives to use.

Okay - to change subjects :)

Check this out:
http://baseportal.com/baseportal/xnappo/main


Thinking another field (or option in "success") might be of value. I'd say I did have "success" installing my 750gb and getting it working with SARA, but the consistant "glitches/micro-blocking" is annoying enough not to recommend it.

Using "comments" for this is okay, but I think most of the latest posts is trying to figure out how we can get a 300gb+ drive working flawlessly. :)

How about a "micro-blocking" field with y/n?

Thinking another field (or option in "success") might be of value. I'd say I did have "success" installing my 750gb and getting it working with SARA, but the consistant "glitches/micro-blocking" is annoying enough not to recommend it.

Using "comments" for this is okay, but I think most of the latest posts is trying to figure out how we can get a 300gb+ drive working flawlessly. :)

How about a "micro-blocking" field with y/n?
Wouldn't MB rising to the level that it's mentioned also make it "unacceptable" and therefore a failure?

Wouldn't MB rising to the level that it's mentioned also make it "unacceptable" and therefore a failure?

I could add a failure mechanism column with:

- Drive not recognized
- Glitches > once a minute
- Glitches > once per 10 minutes
- Glitches > once per 30 minutes
- N/A

??

xnappo

Yep, it is a piece of cake to add fields. Of course getting the data retroactively for new fields is another matter.

Can you try making a new entry with your info? And then if you have time see if you can modify your own entry AND/OR my entry? (I think you have to get an account at www.baseportal.com to make an attempt).

Thanks,
xnappoI was able to add my own entry AND to modify yours, even without getting an account. However, when I modified your entry, it moved it down in the list, separating it from your earlier entries. I have not tried to rearrange them. Do you think it is possible to do that--or necessary? I haven't added my unsuccessful attempt with the Seagate 400GB 7200.10 SATA drive yet. I think it might be even more helpful to list the actual model number of the drives and to show the version (or series) in the Comment field.

This is a great idea! Do you propose it as a link, either in the first post, or Dave's Summary post, or just in your signature?

Good work!

Scarlett

I could add a failure mechanism column with:

- Drive not recognized
- Glitches > once a minute
- Glitches > once per 10 minutes
- Glitches > once per 30 minutes
- N/A

??

xnappo
Quantification would get it away from subjective judgments about suitability and allow everybody to make their own decision. I see that as a plus.

I was able to add my own entry AND to modify yours, even without getting an account. However, when I modified your entry, it moved it down in the list, separating it from your earlier entries. I have not tried to rearrange them. Do you think it is possible to do that--or necessary? I haven't added my unsuccessful attempt with the Seagate 400GB 7200.10 SATA drive yet. I think it might be even more helpful to list the actual model number of the drives and to show the version (or series) in the Comment field.

This is a great idea! Do you propose it as a link, either in the first post, or Dave's Summary post, or just in your signature?

Good work!

Scarlett

So now anyone can modify their own entries, and other's entries if they don't put in a password. Modification is password protected - but deleting is not! Others have complained about this - I will look in to a solution.

I agree about putting as exact model numbers as possible - will update mine later.

I think a link in one or all those places will be good - but lets do a little more beta testing first :)

So now anyone can modify their own entries, and other's entries if they don't put in a password. Modification is password protected - but deleting is not! Others have complained about this - I will look in to a solution.

I agree about putting as exact model numbers as possible - will update mine later.

I think a link in one or all those places will be good - but lets do a little more beta testing first :)Did you or redjr have passwords? I didn't, because I didn't open an account. I would think password protection would be a good thing, just to ensure that the information cannot be changed by anyone other than the original poster. Not suggesting that any of us would be guilty, but there are those casual surfers who like to indulge in malicious mischief!

I have now added my failed combo to the list, and I noticed that your original entry (that I modified) is now back in its proper place. Did you move it manually, or did the program re-sort it? I also saw that you added the Maxtor model numbers. Do the Maxtors also have version or series designations like the Seagates?

When I tried to add another comment in that field, I got a whole extra line to use. In an effort to keep this as uncluttered as possible, I deleted my comment, and everything was back on one line. Therefore, I added the cache to the Vendor column. The fact that it is cache should be apparent, shouldn't it? I have read that 8MB cache is preferable for our application, and that 2MB is even better--true or false in your opinion? Just thought the more information provided would be better. I did not, however, indicate that my failed drive uses PRT. :)

I agree with pepar on making this SARA only. Another database for Passport only could be developed, which would keep us from having to sift through two sets of entries in the same database. As pepar noted, SARA users are the ones with the bigger problems, but there have been Passport users asking for help also.

I also agree that this can use some more beta-testing before a permanent link is added. However, it's a great start. Of course, I would like to see location and provider added, because the local cable companies have a great deal of control over what features are made available to their respective customers. The version of the firmware may totally dictate that, but I'm not sure, because you and I do not have access to all the information in the diagnostic screens, and other TWC customers do! BTW, Peter has not responded to my email, so today I am writing to his supervisor in an effort to get my questions answered. I'm betting that the change to Navigator has all of them covered up!

Scarlett

Did you or redjr have passwords? I didn't, because I didn't open an account. I would think password protection would be a good thing, just to ensure that the information cannot be changed by anyone other than the original poster. Not suggesting that any of us would be guilty, but there are those casual surfers who like to indulge in malicious mischief!

So the password on the entries is different from the password on a base portal account. That password is per-entry. From what I can tell there should be some way for other base portal users to get admin access - but even though the site has been around for a really long time, the FAQ and forums leave a lot to be desired (but hey, it's free). The biggest problem is in order to allow the modify button which needs a password, I also have to allow the delete link, which DOESN'T ask for a password. Apparently if I understood HTML better I could change that but...


I have now added my failed combo to the list, and I noticed that your original entry (that I modified) is now back in its proper place. Did you move it manually, or did the program re-sort it? I also saw that you added the Maxtor model numbers. Do the Maxtors also have version or series designations like the Seagates?

I changed the way it sorts. Now you can click on some of the columns to re-sort by them. The Maxtors do have different lines - are you suggesting I add a drive series column as well as drive model?




When I tried to add another comment in that field, I got a whole extra line to use. In an effort to keep this as uncluttered as possible, I deleted my comment, and everything was back on one line.

Cache isn't a bad idea as a column Also - I can have field that show up when you click the link for the entry that can be longer... Maybe I should do that?


Therefore, I added the cache to the Vendor column. The fact that it is cache should be apparent, shouldn't it? I have read that 8MB cache is preferable for our application, and that 2MB is even better--true or false in your opinion? Just thought the more information provided would be better. I did not, however, indicate that my failed drive uses PRT. :)

I don't know if that is true or false - hopefully if we get this database filled in, we can then determine that!


I agree with pepar on making this SARA only. Another database for Passport only could be developed, which would keep us from having to sift through two sets of entries in the same database. As pepar noted, SARA users are the ones with the bigger problems, but there have been Passport users asking for help also.

Okay, done. The database is now Sara only. It is trivial to duplicate if the Passport people want one, probably best to wait until we get the details ironed out.


I also agree that this can use some more beta-testing before a permanent link is added. However, it's a great start. Of course, I would like to see location and provider added, because the local cable companies have a great deal of control over what features are made available to their respective customers. The version of the firmware may totally dictate that, but I'm not sure, because you and I do not have access to all the information in the diagnostic screens, and other TWC customers do!


Yeah, I know. I am having a hard time with balancing the number of fields vs. fitting nicely on the screen. Ideas about fields to only have in the detailed information vs. the main screen are appreciated.

I hope everything is well with Peter, let me know what you find out.

Regards,
xnappo

Did you or redjr have passwords? I didn't, because I didn't open an account. I would think password protection would be a good thing, just to ensure that the information cannot be changed by anyone other than the original poster...Scarlett
Scarlett,

I only created a password for my website account. I would think a DB would be passworded by the owner, and then shared with others wanting to modify their records. But, it looks like it's record-level passwords only. When adding my record it never asked me for a password. :eek:

xnappo,

Did it ask for a DB password when you created the DB?

Scarlett,

I only created a password for my website account. I would think a DB would be passworded by the owner, and then shared with others wanting to modify their records. But, it looks like it's record-level passwords only. When adding my record it never asked me for a password. :eek:

xnappo,

Did it ask for a DB password when you created the DB?

Well, you have to be logged in to create a DB, and then in there I only have the option to either let ANY baseportal user or no one. Though if I select any base portal user, I still can't figure out how to access it from another account! Probably be best for me to just PM a few people with the password.

The password entry in the database is just for that entry, if you leave it blank it needs to be blank again when you modify it. The passwords are completely plain text, and in the admin window I can export to a CSV file - so don't use a real password on the fields :)

xnappo

xnappo,

Outstanding! Whenever you want me to add a link to the Summary post, just let me know.

Does anyone know how to get into Diagnostics Mode on the SCIATL 8300HD running the TWC passport software now by Aptiv Digital no longer Pioneer.

It says Passport Echo 2002-2206 but I don't see the version number.

I guess I need the diag mode to see that info as well.

I've been reading through the threads and the diag mode listed was for the SARA software I believe.

I tried the 'select' button and then the page up button (I can't remember what the sequence was as I write this but the one listed in this thread.).

I'm asking for this info because I would like to invest in the external SATA drive and what to make sure I can do this correctly with the instructions provided in this thread.

Thanks for the help and info

Rob

Does anyone know how to get into Diagnostics Mode on the SCIATL 8300HD running the TWC passport software now by Aptiv Digital no longer Pioneer.

It says Passport Echo 2002-2206 but I don't see the version number.

I guess I need the diag mode to see that info as well.

I've been reading through the threads and the diag mode listed was for the SARA software I believe.

I tried the 'select' button and then the page up button (I can't remember what the sequence was as I write this but the one listed in this thread.).

I'm asking for this info because I would like to invest in the external SATA drive and what to make sure I can do this correctly with the instructions provided in this thread.

Thanks for the help and info

Rob
Check the Passport Tips & Tricks post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=4547722&highlight=guide+tips#post4547722).

Thanks, but I did check and nothing that is listed there works to get into the diag mode.

I did manage to get into something called 'Guardian' and it looked scary to me.

I couldn't do anything once in there. So I just powered off and rebooted.

I'm going to order the SATA drive and encloser that you suggested working with your setup.

Thanks, I might email for further questions if you don't mind.

Rob

Thanks, but I did check and nothing that is listed there works to get into the diag mode.


Hold down the "select" and "exit" buttons simultaneously for about 5 seconds (on the box itself, not the remote). When you see the [partial] word "diag" appear on the display, release both buttons, then hit the "exit" button again. That should dump you into the diagnostic area.

Wow it worked, oh my that's alot of info. I can't believe it. External hard drive here we come.

I have to place the order tomorrow, I got real busy today playing around with a D-Link Media Player that I just got after reading about it here in these forums.

Thanks again.

Rob

Hey do you thing it's possible to have the digital audio to be turned on both 'dolby' and 'hdmi'. I think you've read about the issue with that.

I'm thinking of buying a SATA hard drive / enclosure combination to connect to my 8300HD. I'm trying to figure out all of the SATA/SATA II/eSATA nuances to make sure I buy a combination that will work, and think I have what I'm looking for. Can some of the experts out there take a quick look and let me know if this combo will work?

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
KINGWIN KH-350SE-BK

(Sorry, forum won't let me include links yet)

Since drive is SATA, internal enclosure connection is SATA, external enclosure connection is eSATA, 8300HD input is eSATA and cable is eSATA/eSATA, I think I'm ok. Expert confirmation would be much appreciated!

I'm thinking of buying a SATA hard drive / enclosure combination to connect to my 8300HD. I'm trying to figure out all of the SATA/SATA II/eSATA nuances to make sure I buy a combination that will work, and think I have what I'm looking for. Can some of the experts out there take a quick look and let me know if this combo will work?

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10
KINGWIN KH-350SE-BK

(Sorry, forum won't let me include links yet)

Since drive is SATA, internal enclosure connection is SATA, external enclosure connection is eSATA, 8300HD input is eSATA and cable is eSATA/eSATA, I think I'm ok. Expert confirmation would be much appreciated!
Do you know if your box is running SARA, or Passport? The answer to that question may be the deciding factor to the degree of your overall success with an eSATA drive.

Thanks for the reply.

I have TWC in Cincinnati, and it uses Passport. I'm getting conflicting stories on whether an external HD will work for me here. It seems that some have had luck with an external HD in Cincinnati on the 8300HD, but some others say that an external HD simply won't work with the Passport software. Who's right?

Thanks for the reply.

I have TWC in Cincinnati, and it uses Passport. I'm getting conflicting stories on whether an external HD will work for me here. It seems that some have had luck with an external HD in Cincinnati on the 8300HD, but some others say that an external HD simply won't work with the Passport software. Who's right?
Well, there's only one way to find out. You might visit the Passport thread, or sticky to see if the external drive port is listed on one of the pages of the DIAG screens. If it is, that might confirm whether or not the port is active for starters. Before you plunk down some serious coin on a new HD, I would recommend buying the enclosure you have in mind and trying an older SATA drive you might have lying around. Then again you might not have an extra drive. I forget, not everyone's like me with spare parts to spare(no pun intended). :)

If that's not an option, purchase the new HD too and give it a whirl. According to many reports, Passport users have more success with an external drive than do us SARA users. If you can't get it to work, you can always use it as an extra HD for your PC. :D

Hey today, I ordered the drive enclosure that you got. I looked at some others but I agree with your choice as being the nicest looking case.

Now for the drive it self.

I'm not sure what I can afford to get.

I guess the bigger the better, but when I did a search on the 500gb maxtor that you listed on your website, it kept coming up with it as a ATA drive not a SATA.

So I'm concerned about just placing an order when I'm not really sure.

I thought I read that there is some Scientific Atlanta specifications/documentation that lists what drives can be hooked up and recommended.

I've noticed that a few people here in the forum are unsure as to what will work.

Of course, we don't want to make a mistake and then be stuck with a drive that won't work.

I'm just being double careful here.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

I just got into my diag page on the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD running the Passport sofware, here is what the info state from the diag pages:

Feature Authorization Page:

Guide: YES
VCR Controller: YES (No Check)
Active Box: Yes
IPPV: Yes (No Check)
DVR: Yes (No Check)
MR-DVR: Yes (No Check) - not sure what this means!
SATA: Yes (No Check) - I guess this is the most important line for adding an external drive
DESC: No
Force PIN: No
Reading From NVRam: No

Versions Page:

ResApp Version: PASSPORT Echo 2.5.006
OS Version: PowerTV 6.14.74.1sp
Driver Version: 1
ResApp Date: Jun 8 2006, 01:19:45
OS Date: May 17 2006, 8:02:24pm
PowerKey: PKEY_3.93.2-p +dvrs3
Secure Micro mask=2, nvm=11
Smart Card: None

Versions 2 Page:

Component Information

Name: OS (6.14.74.1sp)
Rel: OS, Home Server Edition 1.8
Name: HAL Driver (Drv_1.0.60.1)

OK I'm got tired of putting all this down at this point

Here is one page that I think everyone will be interested in:

SATA

Sata Status: Authorized - Could this mean, that adding the external will work?!!!!!

OK just thought people would like to see some of this info, there was a lot more but it was just too much to type in.

Hope this was useful to others!

Rob

Hey today, I ordered the drive enclosure that you got.
Who are you addressing? :)

I just got into my diag page on the Scientific Atlanta 8300HD running the Passport sofware, here is what the info state from the diag pages:

Versions Page:

ResApp Version: PASSPORT Echo 2.5.006
2.5.066 perhaps?

I was trying to get the drive advice from Pepar, I went to your web page and saw the enclosure you purchased and I ordered that one as I said.

But when I tried to look for the Maxtor Quickview as you had listed I got a bit confused by what I found in my search for it.

Sorry, I should have directly address you. sorry.

Rob

So far I am follow all the pictures that you posted on your web, there good.

Thanks

I was trying to get the drive advice from Pepar, I went to your web page and saw the enclosure you purchased and I ordered that one as I said.

But when I tried to look for the Maxtor Quickview as you had listed I got a bit confused by what I found in my search for it.

Sorry, I should have directly address you. sorry.

Rob

So far I am follow all the pictures that you posted on your web, there good.

Thanks
No problem. I thought so, but I did not want to "assume."

My site could be a bit more helpful with a link, at least, to the manufacturer's data sheet. I just did some upgrades to my main computer and haven't yet installed my HTML software; as soon as I do, I will correct my oversight.

The proper drive is an SATA model. As you've found, there is a PATA version as well. Cut-and-paste this model number - 3H500F0 - into your (price)search engine and you will find the correct drive.

:)

Wow thanks. I just did the search, wow it really is quite pricy.

I'm wondering if I really need such a big drive.

OK, I'm having a friend who runs an ebay store look into getting me a better price.

The best I saw was from
http://www.pcsuperstore.com/products/J94348-Maxtor-3H500F0.html/froogle/

I guess if I wanted to spend less and get a 300GB I should change the model number to 3H300F0 or something like that.

Rob

Wow thanks. I just did the search, wow it really is quite pricy.

I'm wondering if I really need such a big drive.

OK, I'm having a friend who runs an ebay store look into getting me a better price.

The best I saw was from
http://www.pcsuperstore.com/products/J94348-Maxtor-3H500F0.html/froogle/

I guess if I wanted to spend less and get a 300GB I should change the model number to 3H300F0 or something like that.

Rob
Good luck on the better price. It's been my experience that a sharp shopper can nearly always beat ebay sellers' pricing - don't forget to include shipping and "handling" in your calculation.

Here's a link to the Quickview "family" (http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/Maxtor/menuitem.6adb6b8313633595062e6be791346068/?channelpath=%2Fen_us%2FProducts%2FConsumer+Electronics%2FQu ickView+Family). They do go all the way down to extra puny, but look closely at the model numbering - the scheme is not necessarily as you've guessed.

Another tip: Sooner or later, you will regret not getting the next size larger than you think you can afford now. :D

The best I saw was from
http://www.pcsuperstore.com/products/J94348-Maxtor-3H500F0.html/froogle/


That's a good price, but they're out of stock. :(

Great! I find a place, you graciously take the time to look at the link and then you discover that they are out of stock.

No, I should clarify that my ebay friend would just be getting it for me on the side. I went to High School with him. He wouldn't be doing this through his store.

I'm hoping he has a distributor so that he can get a good price.

In the long run, I will get the 500GB, I too know about not being happy with getting the bigest or best.

Well, it seems that if my friend can't help, I will have to find it somewhere else.

That was about the cheapest, the others bring it closer to $300 bucks which really hurts.

I wish there was some sort of rebate on it.

Thanks again, I'll let you know what happens.

I'll keep looking for it about that same price.

Rob

I'm wondering if I really need such a big drive.

Rob

I have identical setup to the one you want to create. 500 GB Maxtor QuickView with a cable running directly from the hard drive to the 8300HD. [I believe the enclosure you want to purchase has no circuitry, just the connectors to get the data from the SATA connection on the hard drive to the case and then on to the 8300HD.... thus, making it the same as mine].

I would have to say I am not happy, but not completely dissappointed with my results. When I don't have my external connected I get 1 or 2 glitches per hour. With the QuickView connected I get a 1 audio/video glitch exactly every 5 minutes lasting 1 second. Just now it has happened at 8:42, 8:37, 8:32, 8:27.. etc. I've gotten used to the little blips. I'd much rather have a bunch of space than only 20 hours of perfect video.

I'm interested in hearing what you decide to purchase and how your results are, and wish you luck! :)

Hold down the "select" and "exit" buttons simultaneously for about 5 seconds (on the box itself, not the remote). When you see the [partial] word "diag" appear on the display, release both buttons, then hit the "exit" button again. That should dump you into the diagnostic area.

I get the same thing by going to channel 611 on my remote... anyone else?

Thanks for the reply.

I have TWC in Cincinnati, and it uses Passport. I'm getting conflicting stories on whether an external HD will work for me here. It seems that some have had luck with an external HD in Cincinnati on the 8300HD, but some others say that an external HD simply won't work with the Passport software. Who's right?

Badger,

Just to let you know, Tivo owners, Replay TV owners, and 8300HD owners with Sara software have had problems with Seagate 7200.10 drives. Passport does seem to be more compatible with various drives, but I think there is still some risk (unless someone else on Passport can say otherwise).

xnappo

Interesting, I was just doing what Pepar did, this way I would keep out of trouble.

I hadn't noticed that the case was basically empty with no circuitry. Should I have just purchase a complete SATA external drive and not bothered.

Now that you made me aware, I'm wonder and probably need to ask Pepar if I need to order a cable as well? I somehow thought I didn't need any cabling.

And if I need to get a cable as well, what kind do I need to get?

Thanks

Rob

Sorry to do this but I just edited my signature and wanted to test it out.

Just for info, I checked and it looks like my 8300HD is using a Western Digital Drive instead.

Model number: WDC WD1600BB-56RDA0 Firmware 20.00K20

It's a 160GB from what I understand and going by the model number.

On another topic, I was reading something someone else said, they said the drives are formatted in something called AVFS, which I might assume means Audio/Visual File System.

I'm curious about this file system. I've been trying to figure out how to get a hard drive seen by my new Samsung LN-S4096D LCD HDTV which has a 1394 (firewire) port for what they say is a D-Net channel.

It sees the drive but cannot access it, I'm guessing it might not like the NTFS file system.

The manual that came with the TV says it can record to any D-Net drive. So the TV itself can be a DVR of sorts with the right equipment hooked up.

I'm sorry that I made this so long, it probably doesn't belong in this thread/forum.

Thanks again.

Rob

Not sure you want to advertise your email address in the open like that. :)

Interesting, I was just doing what Pepar did, this way I would keep out of trouble.

I hadn't noticed that the case was basically empty with no circuitry. Should I have just purchase a complete SATA external drive and not bothered.

Now that you made me aware, I'm wonder and probably need to ask Pepar if I need to order a cable as well? I somehow thought I didn't need any cabling.

And if I need to get a cable as well, what kind do I need to get?

Thanks

Rob
The enclosure I use comes with an eSATA-to-eSATA cable (which is exactly what is needed). Actually, it comes with two cables as it is a dual drive case. I placed my single drive in the bottom bay giving it plenty of space for the heat to rise and be exhausted immediately.

It doesn't matter but if you think I should remove it I will then.

Pepar, thank you at least I don't have to worry about a cable.

Today is a new day and I will start my search again for the HD. I wish that guy who got for $252 would post where he purchased it from.

Thanks again.

Rob

Badger,

Just to let you know, Tivo owners, Replay TV owners, and 8300HD owners with Sara software have had problems with Seagate 7200.10 drives. Passport does seem to be more compatible with various drives, but I think there is still some risk (unless someone else on Passport can say otherwise).

xnappo

My WD SE16 500GB drive & Apricorn enclosure has been working flawlessly since I hooked it up a couple of weeks back (Passport). I'm getting ready to apply some "soundmat" self-adhesive acoustic insulation to the top and bottom of the case (or, the sides if you rest it vertically) to try to cut down on the fan noise. It's made to be applied to the inside of computer cases for this very reason. I'm applying it to the outside of the Apricorn case, which stays cool so is not a heat sink. Might help, sure can't hurt. The fan is driving me batty.

Hey Pepar, one place I'm looking at listed the drive but said it was a DiamonMax, is that much different than the Quickview.

Hey check this link out Prepar, Maybe I don't need the Maxtor althought I want to play it safe.

http://dealnews.com/deals/Western-Digital-Caviar-SE16-500-GB-Internal-SATA-Hard-Drive-for-130-after-rebate/144959.html

Can this be used, it's a lot cheaper. It's something that Arciguy might have purchased.

Rob

All,

I think I have resolved security/editing sufficiently with the Sara compatibility database to now open it for general use.

If you have tried eSATA with Sara please enter your results here:
http://baseportal.com/cgi-bin/baseportal.pl?htx=/xnappo/main

DoubleDAZ - If you don't mind, please go ahead and link to this in your summary post now...

Thanks!
xnappo

It doesn't matter but if you think I should remove it I will then.
I knew this post was in reply to DoubleDAZ's counsel on having your email address for the world to see, but someone just dropping in may not. If you don't know, there's a "Quote" button in the lower right corner of every post. Clicking it enters the member's post in the reply - as yours appears here - so everyone knows what the post is referencing.

:)

Hey check this link out Prepar, Maybe I don't need the Maxtor althought I want to play it safe.

http://dealnews.com/deals/Western-Digital-Caviar-SE16-500-GB-Internal-SATA-Hard-Drive-for-130-after-rebate/144959.html

Can this be used, it's a lot cheaper. It's something that Arciguy might have purchased.

Rob
If you were on SARA, I'd strongly recommend you go with a drive specifically marketed for (R_G: notice I said "marketed for" and not "designed for" :D ) streaming video, but Passport seems - OK, is - more robust. If this is what archiguy is using, then go for it. In the interests of full disclosure, though, I must say that there are no guarantees as external drives are not officially supported by Passport or your cable company. Odds are tremendously in favor of it working, but you should be prepared to return it or use it with a computer. :)

http://dealnews.com/deals/Western-Digital-Caviar-SE16-500-GB-Internal-SATA-Hard-Drive-for-130-after-rebate/144959.html

Can this be used, it's a lot cheaper. It's something that Arciguy might have purchased.

Rob

Yes, that's the one I have; works great, very quiet. Just a ridiculous price on it, too. Wish I had waited a few weeks... (But then, I always say that....) :(

there are no guarantees as external drives are not officially supported by Passport or your cable company. Odds are tremendously in favor of it working, but you should be prepared to return it or use it with a computer. :)

Also, be aware (if you aren't already) that TW plans to replace Passport with the Mystro/Navigator software now under development, and there is no guarantee that the new OS will support the use of external drives. And, of course, even if it does, there's no assurance that it will work with a specific model drive that works under Passport (or SARA).

Also, be aware (if you aren't already) that TW plans to replace Passport with the Mystro/Navigator software now under development, and there is no guarantee that the new OS will support the use of external drives. And, of course, even if it does, there's no assurance that it will work with a specific model drive that works under Passport (or SARA).

That's precisely why (well, that and the much lower cost) I got a drive not "optimized for streaming video". Of course, I'm on Passport, so I have that option. Don't know if I'd risk it if I were on SARA.

I get the same thing by going to channel 611 on my remote... anyone else?

Weird. I have the same software but it's 996 (makes sense, up here 611 is one of the 50 or so music channels). Same as it was for the previous 1.8.x software. AND the two are vastly different. The "hold select + exit on the box..." thing is the full diagnostics, many pages of data. My 996 is a single page telling you the software version.

This is to anone reading this conversation.

I would like to get the Maxtor to be safe and follow what Pepar is doing.

However, it seems that most of the places that I find a resonable price are out of stock. There must be a run on this model.

And after reading Archiguy, I figured that I could make this work without throw big bucks at it. And as you say, which I just learn from you (Mantus), TWC is going to change the software. Well, then that might be a very good reason not to throw too much money into this project.

I'm starting to get the jitters about this, it seems so hard just find a good price and hit the checkout button.

I was about to purchase the Western Digtial at a store local to me and the stupid web site doesn't like my address matched up with my credit card. Is someone telling me something.

Rob

Thanks pepar for the "marketed as!"

We have one very small thing, a TWC exec did post she thinks they intend to support external drives in Mystro. What is not know is if that "support" was as god awful as the current one is. I'm REALLY hoping that it will be proper support so all it requires is a hard drive that can store and retain and read back data. AND keep the "trick play" functionality.

Almost any drive that can be used as a hard drive SHOULD work... but they don't. So we're dealing with serious voodoo here. It SEEMS to me that generally speaking, the 320G and under drives may be more reliable in terms of actually working.

Rianza, a few comments. We are totally unsure of the timing for Mystro. If they follow past practices, it may be rolled out in a few locations (Staten Island seems to have had the 2.5.066 Passport stuff before the rest of us got it) for 3-4 maybe 5 months. So it's all very uncertain, and nobody from TWC is letting on (nor are any journalists seemingly able to ferret out anything).

Did you try newegg.com? A lot of us have bought a lot of bare drives from them, their pricing is very good, their shipping very reasonable and you get stuff very fast from them.

Pepar, thank you at least I don't have to worry about a cable.

Today is a new day and I will start my search again for the HD. I wish that guy who got for $252 would post where he purchased it from.

Thanks again.

Rob

I got the 3H500F0 Maxtor QuickView for $252.
It came in the mail last night but i won't be able hook it up until sunday.

The prices is higher now at buy.com and they are out of stock, maybe i got one of the last ones?

Mine works very well with
AZiO ENC311SU31
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD2500KS
roughly $120 from newegg.

I got the 3H500F0 Maxtor QuickView for $252.
It came in the mail last night but i won't be able hook it up until sunday.

The prices is higher now at buy.com and they are out of stock, maybe i got one of the last ones?
Please PM a link to rlanza1054. :)

OK this is great, I just got an email from the place I ordered the drive case from and even that is back ordered. It's now estimated to be shipped around the end of Dec.

This is falling apart today.

Sorry just getting bummed out.

Rob

OK this is great, I just got an email from the place I ordered the drive case from and even that is back ordered. It's now estimated to be shipped around the end of Dec.

This is falling apart today.

Sorry just getting bummed out.

Rob
haha no joy for you. :)

It doesn't matter but if you think I should remove it I will then.Just don't want you getting hit with a bunch of spam. I assume there are spambots that may troll the RSS feed of these threads looking for stuff like that.

DoubleDAZ, no problem, it's been fixed.

Now if I can only get the equipment ordred, I'd be all set.

Back ordered this and out of stock that!

Rob

I just ordered a Maxtor hard drive 6L300S0 (designed for DVR applications, 300 Gig) and a new case that inside hooks into a serial drive but outputs to the new style serial input on the 8300HD. The case comes with the needed new style cable. Both came in under $150.00 including shipping. I'll let you know how it works out.

Richard.

Richard,

I see the drive is listed in the summary post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=8559304&&#post8559304), which enclosure did you order? Is it also listed in the summary?

DoubleDAZ - If you don't mind, please go ahead and link to this in your summary post now...I added it yesterday, but forgot to mention it. I also added it to the SARA Tips&Tricks post. If you prefer I use different terminology or expand the explanation, please let me know what you'd like it to say and I'll change it.