# Need a new larger eSATA Disk Drives



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

TiVo
Please certify some new LARGER eSATA disks for our Roamio Pro's.
e.g.: the new G-Force 5TB eSATA External Hard Drive.

I have used the WD 1TB drive for my basic Raomio.
but I need much more storage than that.

WD has said that it no longer makes eSATA drives.

When I get back home I will test the new 5TB drive on my Roamio Pro.
It should be available from Amazon under $200 then.

It is available from MicroNet for $210 on their website. 
MicroNet also offers it on Amazon for $445.

Is an expansion disk better with Cache for TiVo?

What is the addressing limit for TiVo?
I assume because of the NEW Roamio MEGA it is equal to or greater than 26TB?


----------



## bradleys (Oct 31, 2007)

I am not sure TiVo really reads this section... They have a place on their own web page for real suggestions.

Can I ask? Have you considered upgrading the internal drive?


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

I think there might be some backdoor code or something you can use to make a TiVo work with any eSata drive. Or at least there use to be, it may have been removed somewhere along the lines.


----------



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

bradleys said:


> I am not sure TiVo really reads this section... They have a place on their own web page for real suggestions.
> 
> Can I ask? Have you considered upgrading the internal drive?


I went from a 500GB Raomio to a 3TB Roamio PRO plus 1TB ext stg.

TiVo has only certified the older WD 1TB DVR which is no longer supported by WD.

I will test a larger DVR from other companies.


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

zerdian1 said:


> I went from a 500GB Raomio to a 3TB Roamio PRO plus 1TB ext stg.
> 
> TiVo has only certified the older WD 1TB DVR which is no longer supported by WD.
> 
> I will test a larger DVR from other companies.


Ever since the second version of the Series 3s, all TiVos have had a very short list of Western Digital model numbers (for the actual drives themselves, not the combination of the drive and the external enclosure).

If you connect an external drive to the eSATA port, the TiVo queries the drive itself inside the enclosure to get its model number.

If the model number is not one of the few on the list, the TiVo won't have anything more to do with the external drive.


----------



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

unitron said:


> ever since the second version of the series 3s, all tivos have had a very short list of western digital model numbers (for the actual drives themselves, not the combination of the drive and the external enclosure).
> 
> If you connect an external drive to the esata port, the tivo queries the drive itself inside the enclosure to get its model number.
> 
> If the model number is not one of the few on the list, the tivo won't have anything more to do with the external drive.


thanks


----------



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

How do i find the code I need to add an external drive?
I assume I am adding the model number of the new external drive I might want to add.
How do I input the code to update the white list of allowable drives the TiVo will work with?


----------



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

I have posted a suggestion on the TiVo site.
to add additional expansion drives in the 3Tn and 6TB sizes.
i also informed them that WD has said last year that the are discontinuing the eSATA drives and not selling them anymore . the only ones that will be available are those in inventories across the country.


----------



## unitron (Apr 28, 2006)

zerdian1 said:


> How do i find the code I need to add an external drive?
> I assume I am adding the model number of the new external drive I might want to add.
> How do I input the code to update the white list of allowable drives the TiVo will work with?


I don't think there is a code.

TiVo, and not you, is in charge of what's on that list that the TiVo consults to see if it will work with a particular external or not.

Better just to go with a bigger internal and copy shows that don't have the anti-copy bit set off to a PC for storage and later retrieval, than risk the failure of one drive taking out the recordings on two drives.


----------



## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

zerdian1 said:


> I have posted a suggestion on the TiVo site.
> to add additional expansion drives in the 3Tn and 6TB sizes.
> i also informed them that WD has said last year that the are discontinuing the eSATA drives and not selling them anymore . the only ones that will be available are those in inventories across the country.


Thanks for doing that.  Unfortunately, apart from flashy, colorful marketing, I have the depressing feeling that TiVo cares little about its users and what its users want or, at the least, is poor in its execution of that . . . .


----------



## justen_m (Jan 15, 2004)

I wouldn't be surprised if TiVo wants to eliminate support for external devices. It is just one less thing for them to have to test/debug/support/etc. Besides, who needs hard drives when you are supposed to stream everything? In the mind of TiVo corporate, all that matters is streaming. Screw people who just want a DVR. Err... Sorry for the rant.


----------



## Mikeguy (Jul 28, 2005)

If that's the direction TiVo wants to go in (streaming), the execution leaves much to be desired . . . .


----------



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

After a year of searching for either a TiVo upgrade (something short of the TiVo Roamio MEGA at $5K) or an upgrade I could do my self. 
I finally broke down last week and bought the 12TB Roamio Pro from WeaKnees with 3 year service for ~$1350. It arrived yesterday. 
I got the Comcast cablecard a few days ago. 
I got the serial number from WeaKnees after it was shipped and upgraded with TiVo for lifetime service at $399. 
so the only thing after it arrived was get the cablecard working. 
I allowed two months to get everything working before my service on my Roamio Basic expires. 
I had to get the cable card authorized and activated. I was careful to tell Comcast that I wanted it on OUTLET 3.
Outlet 1 had my Roamio Basic Cablecard and Outlet 2 had my Roamio Pro 4TB CableCard.
They saw the card on Outlet 3 and had the right cablecard identified.
I gave them the serial and other numbers.
It worked the first time right off the bat. 
THIS IS A FIRST FOR ME.

It took over a week with my Roamio Basic 1.5TB on annual service and 
it took 5 weeks with my Roamio Pro with 4TB, that also has Lifetime service which cost $499. 
I was skeptical of the product from WeaKnees, but I must say it is Fantastic. The 6TB external drive works flawlessly. and the two (internal 6TB and external 6TB) work seamlessly. 
I moved over all my 160 ONE PASSES from Roamio Pro 4TB machine to Roamio Pro 12TB machine.
then I moved my wife's Brazilian recordings from the Roamio Basic 1.5TB to the Pro 4TB.
Then I started moving the programs. No easy way to do this. I spent all day doing the transfer of programs.
now I see that many of the transfers are checked off in the To Do List, by never actually got transferred.
All the easy transfers worked the one that had 50 to 100 individual shows failed.
I have to go back and do the missing shows again.

After having the WeaKnees 12TB for only 24 hours, I am very happy with it and RECOMMEND it.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

That's a lot of space! I never fill up my 3TB Pro more then 70-80%.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Dan203 said:


> That's a lot of space! I never fill up my 3TB Pro more then 70-80%.


Granted, we don't use our Roamio Pro according to the proper use policy of some on TCF, but I just had to cull some content (again) to get us back down from 96% to 84%. I've been snuffing seasons as they become available through one of our subscribed streaming services, but I really need to get a pyTiVo or PLEX server going and/or upgrade to a 6TB drive.

With college kids coming and going, and 6+ viewers to accommodate, our Pro collects a wide range of content, and keeping current seasons archived definitely pushes the limits of the stock Pro 3TB drive.


----------



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

bradleys said:


> I am not sure TiVo really reads this section... They have a place on their own web page for real suggestions.
> 
> Can I ask? Have you considered upgrading the internal drive?


for the last 6 months I have been looking at upgrading alternatives.
I have looked at larger disks and doing it myself.
I have been looking at the TiVo Roamio MEGA and TiVo roamio ULTRA coming down the pike. they are way behind schedule.
I thought the WeaKnees approach was way too expensive.
but when I started to consider getting the the MEGA, I started to seriously look at WeaKnees solutions.
I considered options of getting one of my TiVos upgraded, then I considered getting a new TiVo Roamio Pro and sending it to them as I could get them less expensive than either tiVo or WeaKnees prices for new TiVos.
a list price for a roamio pro is $600 on sale at Amazon for $500.
the 12TB upgrade costs ~$900.
So the WeaKnees sale of a 12TB Roamio Pro at $1300 was a good deal.


----------



## zerdian1 (Apr 19, 2015)

WE HAVE HAD 16TB SYSTEM BEFORE AND IT WAS FULL AFTER A FEW YEARS.

We have had a 16TB on my Dish Hopper system (two dish Hoppers with [email protected] and 6 external 2TB storage units all online at the same time) for a few years with external storage. I filled most of it.

My wife, unlike me, records 12 hours of shows on one channel from Brazil every night and finishes all of her nightly recordings. She records and additional 6 hours each day that get watched by the end of the day. the ones that recorded in the morning, she watches during the day. She rarely has a recording that lasts more than 24 hours.

I on the other hand have many recordings going on at once. Even though I watch TV from getting out of bed to going to sleep with breaks for morning exercise outside and us having lunch somewhere.
my viewing station has the ocean on one side, my computer in the middle and the TV on the other side.
At the moment we have about 2TB full of the 16TB storage. 
I had to dump a lot of programs on my 4TB system as it was overflowing.
I am happy with the WeaKnees 12TB system.
It is a quarter the cost of the TiVo Roamio MEGA ~24TB system for $5K.


----------

