# DEAL ALERT -- MyDVR EXPANDER 500GB $54.97 at BestBuy



## parzec (Jun 21, 2002)

Just picked up one today on clearance at my local BestBuy in Charlotte,NC (The Metropolitan)-- not sure if this is a nationwide special or just this particular store -- but there were 7 remaining units on the shelf so if you are in CLT, you can definitely still get one.


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## smark (Nov 20, 2002)

Sounds like a clearance since BestBuy.com no longer has the 500GB listed.


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## jared1010 (Sep 15, 2007)

Just checked my bestbuy and they had 3 left for $87.99. I will wait on the upgrade for the bedroom. I already had one burn out on me after a year on my living room TivoHD. I just got a 1TB one from JR went they came out, so I will see how long that last.


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## Bierboy (Jun 12, 2004)

smark said:


> Sounds like a clearance since BestBuy.com no longer has the 500GB listed.


They haven't listed it on their Web site since the 1TB unit became available.


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## WeKnSmith (Jun 24, 2002)

The local store had them at $65.99, but price matched the $54.99 when I asked why BB stores in other markets had them at a lower price.


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## anom (Apr 18, 2005)

WeKnSmith said:


> The local store had them at $65.99, but price matched the $54.99 when I asked why BB stores in other markets had them at a lower price.


You just told them it was cheaper elsewhere and they price matched? Wow.


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## WeKnSmith (Jun 24, 2002)

anom said:


> You just told them it was cheaper elsewhere and they price matched? Wow.


Yeah, I bought it back in the electronics area by the TVs and TiVos. The sales lady got out her iPhone, took a picture of it in the app that will return pricing based on the picture of an item, and a few minutes later said "no problem, I can do that price." My jaw dropped...


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## jimsocks (Jan 16, 2004)

Just picked up the 1tb via Amazon for $169...holy cow, sooo much room...


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## [email protected] (Dec 1, 2007)

jimsocks said:


> Just picked up the 1tb via Amazon for $169...holy cow, sooo much room...


Yep. Nice, isn't it? I've just recorded Le Mans in HD (20 hours or so of coverage), and I've still got 250 items in my "recently deleted" folder ...


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## WelshSage (Oct 17, 2007)

I picked one up at my BestBuy for 74.99. I should have asked to price match!


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## Squeege96 (May 1, 2006)

Bummer! I tried to pick one up today, brought it to the register, and it came up $109. I tried to get her to price match, but no love. Guess I'll have to "hide" it....


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## Drlink (Mar 24, 2009)

WelshSage said:


> I picked one up at my BestBuy for 74.99. I should have asked to price match!


I was also quoted $75.99 at my local BB (one left in stock). I asked the guy for a $54.99 "price match" based on the clearance price at another BB location. He looked it up and (looking over the sales associate's shoulder) I could see a list of stores broken down by state and price. Rapid City, SD has a few in stock for $54.99, btw.

He went to talk with a manager and the manager came back with a quote of $59.99. Close enough! The manager reportedly wouldn't give me the $54.99 as it would be a "lose money" price point.

Again, I can confirm that sales associates are easily capable of locating the clearance price of this product at out of state retail locations.


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## bigpatky (Apr 23, 2008)

i wish i could try to price match. i can't find any mydvr expanders in stock in any b&m store locally.


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## Squeege96 (May 1, 2006)

How about this? I went back into BB, talked to a new person, and got them to match the price of the last MyDVR to $54.99!!!

Have I mentioned how much I love this site? Between this deal and the HD Unit I got from Sears for $89, I now have a 680 Gig HD Unit for under $150!

THANK YOU!!!:up:


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## msoon77 (Jul 1, 2009)

Hey guys, I just went onto ebay and searched for the TiVo.

They're like $59.95 there for - TiVo Series 2 TCD540080 (80 GB) 80-Hours Video Recorder

Do you reckon I should pick one up? Seems like a bargain..


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## moonscape (Jul 3, 2004)

msoon77 said:


> Hey guys, I just went onto ebay and searched for the TiVo.
> 
> They're like $59.95 there for - TiVo Series 2 TCD540080 (80 GB) 80-Hours Video Recorder
> 
> Do you reckon I should pick one up? Seems like a bargain..


If your budget can manage it, I'd invest in a Series 3 HD. On ebay they're going for $150 to $200 including shipping if you're patient with bidding. There are a few left out there at Sears. You can check locations for it at sears.com (put in tivo and then check pick-up locations - they're $100-150 depending on the store if they have one.)

You won't regret passing up the S2 for the S3, trust me.


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## msoon77 (Jul 1, 2009)

hmmm Moonscape,

that's quite a huge price hike between $59 and $150  I'm afraid, it's a tad out of my budget range at the moment.

What's the biggest diff between the S2 and S3?


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

WeKnSmith said:


> Yeah, I bought it back in the electronics area by the TVs and TiVos. The sales lady got out her iPhone, took a picture of it in the app that will return pricing based on the picture of an item, and a few minutes later said "no problem, I can do that price." My jaw dropped...


What app is that?


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## Squeege96 (May 1, 2006)

msoon77 said:


> hmmm Moonscape,
> 
> that's quite a huge price hike between $59 and $150  I'm afraid, it's a tad out of my budget range at the moment.
> 
> What's the biggest diff between the S2 and S3?


S3 (Now HD or HDXL) - High Definition Unit. Can record OTA, Standard Cable, or thru Cable Cards. Also, can use external storage (ie, the reason for this thread.)

S2 - Analog cable ready, but can't record any digital channels with out a RF emitter and a cable box. Not high def capable.

Buying an S2 is not a good investment. If you really look, you can find a TiVo HD unit for $100-150. DEFINITELY worth the investment.


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## robertgp124 (Mar 15, 2004)

My local Best Buy had one left. It was marked $67, but rang up $54. Thanks for the tip!:up:


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

I may run by my local Best Buy today. I figured this deal was long gone.


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## modnar (Oct 15, 2000)

modnar said:


> I may run by my local Best Buy today. I figured this deal was long gone.


I saw a price card and an empty space on the shelf, but there were more 500 GB My DVR Expanders at the local Best Buy.

They only had one 1TB My DVR Expander, actually.


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## parzec (Jun 21, 2002)

FYI: 3 still on the shelf in Charlotte Metropolitan BB.


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## rjom (Feb 28, 2004)

Does anyone know if you can use these as a regular external hard drive. I would like to take advantage of the price and esata for computer backup. I have not seen anyone use it like this, but at $40, it would be great. Especially since it includes the esata cable.


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## mp11 (Jan 29, 2008)

My local BB had 1 500GB left. Marked down from $109 to 104. They checked the price in their system and is was still $104.


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## Popasmurf (Jun 10, 2002)

If you live anywhere near Quincy, IL. there were about 6 or 7 left in stock on Saturday.

Matthew


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## SnakeEyes (Dec 26, 2000)

54.97, got the last one around here in central Iowa.


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## rjom (Feb 28, 2004)

I paid 39.99 in Best Buy in Wareham, MA. They had about ten in stock Sunday morning. The price on the counter was 54.99; but I didn't say anything when it wrang up at 39.99.

I will be using it as a 500G backup drive with esata (very fast transfer) for my computer. Such a deal.


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## shrike4242 (Dec 1, 2006)

SKU # is 8477105 , in case anyone needed it.


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## joemamafresh (Jan 26, 2003)

Do you guys know if these will work in a TiVo that has already been upgraded with a 1TB drive? I've wondered this since they first came out.
Thanks!
~joey~


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## WeKnSmith (Jun 24, 2002)

joemamafresh said:


> Do you guys know if these will work in a TiVo that has already been upgraded with a 1TB drive? I've wondered this since they first came out.
> Thanks!
> ~joey~


Take a look at the official FAQ thread regarding external drive expansion. Item #10 in section 4 describes the steps necessary to add an external drive after upgrading the internal drive:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=370784#S4


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## rjom (Feb 28, 2004)

Can anyone assist with this problem? I purchased the DVR Expander thinking I could use it as an external backup drive with a computer with esata input. I was told, and read that I could use this drive this way, but had to reformat it first. I plugged it in, and while it sees the Expander as hardware, it does not see it as a drive that I can format. I am running Vista Home Premium. Drivers were loaded. When I click safely remove, it sees it there too. Why doesn't this show up as a drive? Anything I can do to format it?


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## sgip2000 (Jun 19, 2009)

rjom said:


> Can anyone assist with this problem? I purchased the DVR Expander thinking I could use it as an external backup drive with a computer with esata input. I was told, and read that I could use this drive this way, but had to reformat it first. I plugged it in, and while it sees the Expander as hardware, it does not see it as a drive that I can format. I am running Vista Home Premium. Drivers were loaded. When I click safely remove, it sees it there too. Why doesn't this show up as a drive? Anything I can do to format it?


You have to "initialize" it. Right click on "Computer". Choose "Manage". Then select "Disk Management". Find the disk and right click on it. Choose "initialize".


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## rjom (Feb 28, 2004)

sgip2000 said:


> You have to "initialize" it. Right click on "Computer". Choose "Manage". Then select "Disk Management". Find the disk and right click on it. Choose "initialize".


Thank you very much! Did that, set the volume, assigned a drive letter; is now formatting. Appreciate the quick and helpful response. Rick


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## sgip2000 (Jun 19, 2009)

rjom said:


> Thank you very much! Did that, set the volume, assigned a drive letter; is now formatting. Appreciate the quick and helpful response. Rick


Very welcome. Glad it's working for you.


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## Squeege96 (May 1, 2006)

shrike4242 said:


> SKU # is 8477105 , in case anyone needed it.


Shrike,

Thank you!! I used this item number and called into other stores in the area. I found one 30 mins away and just picked it up. It rang up at $89.99, but I went to Customer Service and explained that I just bought the same thing at another store for $54 - they matched with no questions.


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## shrike4242 (Dec 1, 2006)

Squeege96 said:


> Shrike,
> 
> Thank you!! I used this item number and called into other stores in the area. I found one 30 mins away and just picked it up. It rang up at $89.99, but I went to Customer Service and explained that I just bought the same thing at another store for $54 - they matched with no questions.


Happy to help. I found it on a Google search and as no one had posted it in here, it made sense to post it.

Which reminds me, I need to check and see if there's one or more of them around in my area.


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## Jazhuis (Aug 30, 2006)

Squeege96 said:


> Thank you!! I used this item number and called into other stores in the area. I found one 30 mins away and just picked it up. It rang up at $89.99, but I went to Customer Service and explained that I just bought the same thing at another store for $54 - they matched with no questions.


Picked one up earlier this week in North Florida...listed and rang up at $65, when I asked about price matching other stores the Customer Service rep just blurted, "That's the other store's price. We can't do that."

Picked it up anyway, just keeping it unopened; I figure I can check back to see if they drop the price in a week or so, and I can go get my difference then.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

We went to Best Buy this weekend and picked up one of these for $55 just like the OP. It was over in the section with the computer stuff, not by the TiVos like the newer 1GB unit. It's a fantastic deal if you can find one. I paid almost $100 a few months back for one and thought that was a good deal. $55 is a steal if you can find one.

Dan


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## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

Not as good as the Best Buy deal, but $64.99 with free shipping at Newegg until 12:00 am PT while supplies last.

http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx

Edit: Now that I look at it, is it only compatible with Dish and not TiVo?


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## stiffi (Jun 14, 2006)

If anybody knows if this is compatible with Tivo HD please chime in. I literally have both models in my Newegg cart right now. I was all set to buy the 89.99 model until I saw this thread, but as Cherry Ghost said, it appears to be for DiSH only.


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## ATLMike (Jan 30, 2003)

stiffi said:


> If anybody knows if this is compatible with Tivo HD please chime in. I literally have both models in my Newegg cart right now. I was all set to buy the 89.99 model until I saw this thread, but as Cherry Ghost said, it appears to be for DiSH only.


I'm pretty sure you want to get the eSata version, not the USB version which is on sale. Details of the different ones can be seen here -- http://www.wdc.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=16 -- the USB one is NOT listed as compatible with TiVo.


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## stiffi (Jun 14, 2006)

Ahh, thanks. Missed that part about the USB vs. ESATA. Crisis averted!


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## cherry ghost (Sep 13, 2005)

stiffi said:


> Ahh, thanks. Missed that part about the USB vs. ESATA. Crisis averted!


sorry stiffi, I almost bought it too.


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## JPA2825 (May 15, 2000)

Now that this thread is "revitalized," where IS the best place to buy either the 500gb or the 1TB flavor. Here is my situation:

1 TiVo HD w/ 500gb expander in place
2 TiVo HDs purchased w/ TV at Best Buy on Black Friday (still waiting for the cable guys to get the CableCard install done correctly -- failed on MON, scheduled to try again tomorrow)

Not sure if we NEED an expander(s) since we were living with 2 S2 140 hr units up until Black Friday, but I suspect desire will expand to capacity available and the 20 hrs. on each unit will be depleted quickly.

Unless cost dictates otherwise, I'd probably just throw a 500gb expander on each new TiVo HD and be good to go without trying to manage by shifting shows around via MRV.


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## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Did you check your local Best Buy? I found my 500GB over in the computer section, even though the 1TB units were right next to the TiVos in the TV section.

As for whether or not you need them... I think you will once you start recording more in HD. Those TiVo HD units only have 160GB hard drives, which hold ~180 hours of SD at Basic quality but only ~20 hours of HD. Adding a 500GB expander bumps that up to ~80 hours of HD.

Dan


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