# Easy External HD Setup



## jjjenkin (May 18, 2006)

TiVo boxes should allow simple HD connection for archiving.
This would use the current USB port and have a simple menu
in the TiVo for tranferring files. You could bypass the annoying
TiVo desktop and wait time involved in transferring movie files
to your computer.

You could potentially slip in a 4GB Key Drive and copy all of your
backlogged Barney shows before they start eating away at your
TiVoed CSI Miamis.


----------



## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

Series 3 will have an external HD you can attach for storage


----------



## jjjenkin (May 18, 2006)

Cool, that would be really neat...if I wanted to pay $400 for 3 years
of service. This new pricing scheme sucks. This is what will stop me
from purchasing a new box. I'd rather pay Verizon $9.00 more /month to
lease a dual tuner HD box with crappy programming.


----------



## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

Well the current new pricing info you get from tivo.com is only if you don't BUY the box.

If you walk into best buy and buy a tivo ($150 rebate right now i believe) you can get the service for $12.95/month or $6.95/month if you already have one.


----------



## jjjenkin (May 18, 2006)

Really, I did not know this. $7/month sounds a lot better. I thought they did away with that kind of pricing. Thanks for the info.


----------



## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

jjjenkin said:


> Really, I did not know this. $7/month sounds a lot better. I thought they did away with that kind of pricing. Thanks for the info.


If you already have a unit active and buy your own tivo box and activate it. $6.95 a month. But pretty sure it's still a year commitment, not sure though


----------



## jjjenkin (May 18, 2006)

Yeah, I just checked it out on Best Buy. 80GB Dual Tuner for $100 after $150 rebate. 

I have a 40GB Single Tuner with lifetime service. Will this allow me to get the special $7/month price or do you have to have an ongoing monthly plan?


----------



## MikeMar (Jan 7, 2005)

jjjenkin said:


> Yeah, I just checked it out on Best Buy. 80GB Dual Tuner for $100 after $150 rebate.
> 
> I have a 40GB Single Tuner with lifetime service. Will this allow me to get the special $7/month price or do you have to have an ongoing monthly plan?


works w/ lifetime

i have 1 lifetime unit and 1 multi discount unit. So now I pay $7/month for 2 units


----------



## jjjenkin (May 18, 2006)

Thanks so much for the information. I'd much rather have TiVo, even if it is not HD hardwired yet. I don't have an HD TV yet anyway


----------



## jlb (Dec 13, 2001)

jjjenkin said:


> I'd rather pay Verizon $9.00 more /month to
> lease a dual tuner HD box with crappy programming.


And don't forget, if you are starting at "basic cable", you will also have increased costs due to a required programming upgrade. And most of the cable cos have a DVR "service fee" in addition to the "box fee".

But, as others already have said, you LT S1 will allow you to get any new box (bought at retail) to be able to receive the MSD.

In addition, if you did in fact buy a new box from TiVo with the new pricing plan, after your committment is up, you can call and have the box shifted to "service only" which would then allow _that_ box to be eligible for MSD.

Also, for completeness sake, lets say you didn't have any boxes yet and you bought a new box under the new plan from TiVo. While that box is not eligible for MSD during the committment period, having that box would make others eligible for MSD.


----------



## Dan203 (Apr 17, 2000)

Also keep in mind that the Series 2 DT units do NOT have the port for connecting an external hard drive. Only the Series 3 units will have that feature and they're still at least a few months away from being released.

Dan


----------



## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

Also, important to note, the eSATA port on the S3 is NOT meant for removable storage. It is meant for upgrading capacity. If you remove the drive the videos are NOT accessible elsewhere, and may not even return on the TiVo if you reconnect the drive - that wasn't clear when I talked to them at CES.

It is explicitly NOT a way to move shows between units, etc.


----------



## Grimm1 (Jan 10, 2000)

Dan203 said:


> Also keep in mind that the Series 2 DT units do NOT have the port for connecting an external hard drive. Only the Series 3 units will have that feature and they're still at least a few months away from being released.
> 
> Dan


S2 units have USB 2.0...why can't they just transfer via the USB port directly to an external storage device? It's already being done but just with ethernet thown in as the bridge.


----------



## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

Grimm1 said:


> S2 units have USB 2.0...why can't they just transfer via the USB port directly to an external storage device? It's already being done but just with ethernet thown in as the bridge.


USB2.0 mass storage devices could be supported, but I don't think they can trust it as a real-time access. As seen on network transfers, the bitrates can vary widely depending on system load, and the bottleneck tends to be the CPU. So it would be best if it was just a transfer to/from the internal drive and not trying to record to, or play back from, the external drive.

Still, it would be nice to have.


----------



## 21stCenturyEarth (Dec 25, 2007)

*Hard to believe that there has been no discussion on this rather crucial subject since June of 2006... Two days ago I saw the first retail version of the high speed external HDD for Tivo. It was at a Best Buy around the corner from me in Sunnyvale no less. Similar to their exclusive cable contracts, Tivo has apparently set up business with Western Digital (or so I'm told) to package a ready to go unit that connects at a speed that can get closer to HD bandwidth transfer speeds, at 3GB/sec., via the eSATA ("for future use" port on the newer Tivo units) which is built and branded by Western Digital. The first model is a 500GB one that includes the eSATA cable for around $200-250.00 retail. More on the details after the holidays. Strangely, I saw it in their store even before it is on Best Buy's website, and this is the first retailer I have found with it. Tivo recently sent out software update notices regarding activations of the eSATA ports.*


----------



## classicsat (Feb 18, 2004)

While they may have some business deal with WD for HDDs, I think it is something somewhat different than that. 

TiVo really wants to keep the number of units they support down, and to not have to test the various retail drives out there, or the various permutations of various drives and enclosures, to avoid the fiasco that exists with network adapters on the Series 2.


----------



## richsadams (Jan 4, 2003)

21stCenturyEarth said:


> *Hard to believe that there has been no discussion on this rather crucial subject since June of 2006... Two days ago I saw the first retail version of the high speed external HDD for Tivo. It was at a Best Buy around the corner from me in Sunnyvale no less. Similar to their exclusive cable contracts, Tivo has apparently set up business with Western Digital (or so I'm told) to package a ready to go unit that connects at a speed that can get closer to HD bandwidth transfer speeds, at 3GB/sec., via the eSATA ("for future use" port on the newer Tivo units) which is built and branded by Western Digital. The first model is a 500GB one that includes the eSATA cable for around $200-250.00 retail. More on the details after the holidays. Strangely, I saw it in their store even before it is on Best Buy's website, and this is the first retailer I have found with it. Tivo recently sent out software update notices regarding activations of the eSATA ports.*


As mentioned in the reply to your other post on the subject, the drive you saw has been available from BB retail and on their website for several months and discussed at length on various threads. It's a good idea to do a search before posting (and be careful about cross posting on the same subject). 

You can find out more about expansion drive options for the Series3 and TiVo HD by reading the first thread of the sticky at the top of this forum, the Official eSATA Drive Expansion: FAQ + Discussion.

BTW, the drive is on sale at BB right now for $198 if you're in the mood.


----------

