Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
CharlesH
Specialist - Level 1
Well hdcp has nothing to do with estata, but esata/usb/firewire why it was never implemented in the get-go is beyond me.
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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
cjacobs001
Contributor - Level 3
digital rights management may be the issue.  - If the ports were useable and a customer copied a movie over to an attached storage device, then detached that device and played it elsewhere or made copies of it, who is enabling the piracy ?      Now, I have heard that it might be coming that new programming in a DVR will be able to 'register' an attached storage device that might then only be able to be used when attached to another device with the same new programming . .
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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@cjacobs001 wrote:
digital rights management may be the issue.  - If the ports were useable and a customer copied a movie over to an attached storage device, then detached that device and played it elsewhere or made copies of it, who is enabling the piracy ?      Now, I have heard that it might be coming that new programming in a DVR will be able to 'register' an attached storage device that might then only be able to be used when attached to another device with the same new programming . .

If / when eSATA is enabled on the QIP7216 DVR, all recordings on the external drive will be tied to the internal drive.  They'll be encrypted; they won't be viewable on a PC or any other device.  It's entirely possible that the recordings will be split across the internal and external drive, resulting in the loss of all recordings when the drive is removed.

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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
prisaz
Legend

@hofs1 wrote:
If HDCP is such the issue with hdmi and dvr and esata use..........why is it that Scientific Atlanta can make it work on their hdmi capable dvr?????????? Its all about Motorola not wanting to  actually fix or enable the option thats all its about they put the port on the box when they designed didnt they???????

I will not disagree with you on that!

Yes it is digital rights management. Which HDCP has much to do with. HDCP does have soem things to do with rights management. But not E-sata directly.

Verizon can not use a feature that Motorola can not enable because prehaps their hardware can not be made HDCP compliant. Just my guess. Yes Motorola. Perhaps soon we will have other options. Right now it's Motorola or Tivo. I had to change the video card in my PC becuase of HDCP compliance with BlueRay. I imagine if there were hardware issues with Motorola's hardware compliance it could be the problem they cant fix without redesigning the box and trashing existing boxes. If HDCP was not an issue everyone would be putting out cable card capable tuners for PCs. I for one being a system builder would love to see it. But it all goes back to hardware compliance. Bites don't it!

Message Edited by prisaz on 03-21-2009 01:56 PM
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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
prisaz
Legend

@KenAF wrote:

@cjacobs001 wrote:
digital rights management may be the issue.  - If the ports were useable and a customer copied a movie over to an attached storage device, then detached that device and played it elsewhere or made copies of it, who is enabling the piracy ?      Now, I have heard that it might be coming that new programming in a DVR will be able to 'register' an attached storage device that might then only be able to be used when attached to another device with the same new programming . .

If / when eSATA is enabled on the QIP7216 DVR, all recordings on the external drive will be tied to the internal drive.  They'll be encrypted; they won't be viewable on a PC or any other device.  It's entirely possible that the recordings will be split across the internal and external drive, resulting in the loss of all recordings when the drive is removed.


Yea I would second that. It should be capable, but do you think the STB existing CPU could handle all the encryption on the external drive, the IP and everything else at the same time? I think we have plenty of existing issues with the STB without adding more. We either need to wait for a better box or buy a TIVO.

Message Edited by prisaz on 03-21-2009 02:01 PM
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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@prisaz wrote:

@KenAF wrote:

@cjacobs001 wrote:
digital rights management may be the issue.  - If the ports were useable and a customer copied a movie over to an attached storage device, then detached that device and played it elsewhere or made copies of it, who is enabling the piracy ?      Now, I have heard that it might be coming that new programming in a DVR will be able to 'register' an attached storage device that might then only be able to be used when attached to another device with the same new programming . .

If / when eSATA is enabled on the QIP7216 DVR, all recordings on the external drive will be tied to the internal drive.  They'll be encrypted; they won't be viewable on a PC or any other device.  It's entirely possible that the recordings will be split across the internal and external drive, resulting in the loss of all recordings when the drive is removed.


Yea I would second that. It should be capable, but do you think the STB existing CPU could handle all the encryption on the external drive, the IP and everything else at the same time


As I noted in another thread, the problem with adding / enabling features is that these Motorola DVRs are based on rather slow processors with limited memory and limited bus and memory bandwidth.  This limits what Verizon can do with their DVR at any given time.  The FiOS DVR can record two different HD programs, while you watch a third, previously recorded show...while it streams a fourth HDTV MPEG-2 recording to a HDTV STB elsewhere in your home.  That consumes most of the available resources on the Motorola platform, which makes it very tricky to support other features.  Motorola may still find a way, but it will take a fair bit of work to deliver eSATA expansion that is reliable.

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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
mistrhanky
Newbie
And I think most people would understand and accept that answer. What I don't think anyone accepts is the absolutely pathetic and unacceptable firmware limit of 160GB of space regardless of the size of the internal drive. There is a point where you ask for another drive for those who really packrat there stuff, then there is just basic use. The FIOS DVR has the most pathetic disk space of any provider out there.
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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
Keyboards
Master - Level 3

@mistrhanky wrote:
And I think most people would understand and accept that answer. What I don't think anyone accepts is the absolutely pathetic and unacceptable firmware limit of 160GB of space regardless of the size of the internal drive. There is a point where you ask for another drive for those who really packrat there stuff, then there is just basic use. The FIOS DVR has the most pathetic disk space of any provider out there.

Motorola is working on and Verizon is testing an STB with a larger drive - no ETA for availability.  Any provider that uses a Motorola STB has the same limitations, not just Verizon.  Some providers get "more" storage because they further compress the source signal which Verizon doesn't - Comcast is now squeezing 3 HD channels per QAM whereas Verizon still only puts 2 per.  Higher compression equals lower bit rates and less storage requirements at the expense of image quality.  Pick your poison carefully Smiley Wink

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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
KenAF
Specialist - Level 2

@mistrhanky wrote:
And I think most people would understand and accept that answer. What I don't think anyone accepts is the absolutely pathetic and unacceptable firmware limit of 160GB of space regardless of the size of the internal drive. There is a point where you ask for another drive for those who really packrat there stuff, then there is just basic use. The FIOS DVR has the most pathetic disk space of any provider out there.

To be fair, Brighthouse, Comcast, Cablevision, Cox, and Time Warner all use DVRs with the same 160GB capacity as the FiOS DVR.  Verizon offer better picture quality than these providers, and better picture quality (=more bandwidth) translates into more space used by each recording.  Of course, some Brighthouse, Cablevision, and Time Warner service areas also use DVRs from Scientific Atlanta, which support eSATA expansion.

 

I think it's safe to assume that the next-generation FiOS DVR will feature a significantly larger hard drive.  A next-generation FiOS DVR will almost certainly feature a newer, faster processor as well, so Verizon won't be crippled by the limitations of the existing Motorola hardware when it looks to add commonly requested features.

Message Edited by KenAF on 03-21-2009 08:38 PM
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Re: Extended storage(esata) on DVR.
mistrhanky
Newbie

That's the thing though right, those others offer services that allow the customer to expand at there own cost. However, ALL of them are pathetic in the space they support. For God sakes, I have a 5 year old base model direct tv that had double the space. There really is no excuse for even offering a product with such a small limit. I understand they are dealing with some motorola limitation, however as the customer, I just don't care. They need to do more. Verizon throws a lot of money into buying into every ridiculous content model, but no money into upgrading the basic hardware. If they did, it would be hard to ever choose anything else.

I say that as 1) a verizon employee and 2) someone who became disgusted with Directv and dumped them after 10 years. I cannot say at this point that I would not go back though. Having to rent two dvr's(at very costly monthly fees) just to be able to record my standard slate of shows, is not something that encourages me to stick around. Directv at least offered expansion and a lot more space standard. 

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