OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
True. I just bought a 128 Gig San Disk SD card amazingly cheap. So it really is turning into more of a challenge than a necessity.
Ever take a DVR apart?
- Thread starter SargeW
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xrated
Well-known member
SargeW said:
LOL.....I know that feeling. Sometimes I'm the same way....I get tunnel-vision on what I'm trying to do and sometimes get to the point of frustration, then all of a sudden a light bulb turns on and I realize....This is neither worth the time or the effort. The next sound is usually the "thump" of the item going in the trash can, followed by a feeling of relief!
Arch Hoagland
Well-known member
If you have a desktop computer, not Apple, and the hard drive from the DVR is Sata or IDE there is a good chance you can connect it as a second drive and get the date off of it.
I do it all the time with hard drives from broken systems.
I do it all the time with hard drives from broken systems.
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SargeW
Site Team
That was what I was curious about. I did a little experimentation with that stuff back when "tower" computers were the popular item. All the drives and plug in cards were simple to switch around. It sounds like now though that the drives may be coded to prevent just that now days.
xrated
Well-known member
SargeW said:
It's not that the HDD is coded, the data from DirecTV (your shows) are coded. So even if you move them from one drive to another, they still won't be viewable.
Corky
Well-known member
If the drive in question can be downloaded, couldn't the data then be uploaded to the new drive?
Corky
Corky
xrated
Well-known member
Corky said:
If I'm not mistaken, it doesn't matter where you move the data. If it's encoded for use in the previous DVR, it most likely will not be visible in the new one. I'm guessing the codecs? are based on algorithms that enable it to work/be viewed on the original DVR only. There may be some software out there that could unscramble it, but I don't know that for a fact....just a guess.
BinaryBob
Moderator Emeritus
I've had a similar problem when the cable company upgraded my DVR box and I had stuff on the old one I wanted to keep.
I have a recorder to SD card. You simply "play" the program to the card. Takes some time, but you get around the coding issue.
I have a recorder to SD card. You simply "play" the program to the card. Takes some time, but you get around the coding issue.
xrated
Well-known member
BinaryBob said:
I wonder if there is a difference between a cable company box and a DirecTX box....codec wise
Lou Schneider
Site Team
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DRM (digital rights management) law only prohibits making or transferring digital HD copies. Like BinaryBob said, you can use the SD analog outputs to make an SD copy on an external recorder without the DRM restrictions.
OP
OP
SargeW
Site Team
Interesting, I may give that a try. I love the knowledge base on this forum!
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OP
SargeW
Site Team
I wanted to post the resolution to my original post. Here is my really low tech solution. We are in a park in the Ca Redwoods where satellite signal is impossible. So I pulled out the old DVR and plugged it in. I also pulled the HDMI plug from the back of the current DVR and plugged it in to the old one.
Turning it on, the old DVR started going through it's boot up process as expected. When it got to the end, and of course found no antenna signal, I just hit "menu" on the remote. (I did have to program an old remote because my newer one has different operations codes than the old one) The DVR gave me the option and I selected "list" on the DVR. All of my old shows popped up, and we were able to watch everything as normal on the living area TV.
I will be here a week, so I just left it plugged in and will use to play a variety of saved shows from the old DVR. In this case, KISS was the best option!
Turning it on, the old DVR started going through it's boot up process as expected. When it got to the end, and of course found no antenna signal, I just hit "menu" on the remote. (I did have to program an old remote because my newer one has different operations codes than the old one) The DVR gave me the option and I selected "list" on the DVR. All of my old shows popped up, and we were able to watch everything as normal on the living area TV.
I will be here a week, so I just left it plugged in and will use to play a variety of saved shows from the old DVR. In this case, KISS was the best option!
John From Detroit
Well-known member
Assuming they use a standard Computer type hard drive (most do) to swap hard drives it is basically open it up and either release a couple latches or remove 4 scews. pull two plugs and swap.xrated said:
To Re-Cap (replace the capacitors you do much the same but with a different part (The power supply board) then you actually work on the board.. The job is much much harder not simply plug and play.. But I got it done and was watching a program that same DVR recorded less than 10 minutes ago (Recorded days ago watching less than 10 minutes)
IF I can Re-Cap it. you should be able to swap drives. not hard at all.
Oh. done that too.
chuckbear
Well-known member
SargeW said:
Glad you figured that out. I was about to post this suggestion to you since I have used this method a few times. s long as you don't connect it to a dish so the receiver is deactivated, this will continue to work for you until you have seen all the shows. You can program your remote to operate two receivers separately. Chuck
