Is a DVR "married" to its original TV?
trailblazer2
Enthusiast - Level 1

Is a single-room DVR "married" to the original TV that it is connected to?  That is, if I decide in the future to get a new TV, can I connect it to my current DVR and still have playback access to the programs I recorded on it with my original TV?  Or is the DVR's memory (hard drive?) permanently linked to -- and therefore only viewable on -- the original TV?

This probably sounds like a stupid question, but I want to be sure because I remember reading somewhere about additional storage drives (esata?) being viewable only using the original DVRs they are connected to.  Something about the hard drive being formatted and "married" to only  its original DVR, which could not be replaced later. (Well, it could, but the content would not be viewable with the new DVR.) 

So does this permanent link occur between a single-room DVR and a TV as well?  Could programs recorded on old TV #1 be viewed later on new TV #2, using the same DVR?

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Re: Is a DVR "married" to its original TV?
wcraft
Enthusiast - Level 1

We have a DVR that we occassionally move from one floor/tv of our home to another floor/tv and all information and saved TV shows are still there. I don't believe there's anything specific about the TV to worry about. The eSata thing on the other hand would be. That's because you're extending the internal storage capacity of the DVR with a plug-in external hard drive. Those would "become one" and would not likely work on other DVRs.

Re: Is a DVR "married" to its original TV?
PJL
Master - Level 3

@trailblazer wrote:

Is a single-room DVR "married" to the original TV that it is connected to?  That is, if I decide in the future to get a new TV, can I connect it to my current DVR and still have playback access to the programs I recorded on it with my original TV?  Or is the DVR's memory (hard drive?) permanently linked to -- and therefore only viewable on -- the original TV?

This probably sounds like a stupid question, but I want to be sure because I remember reading somewhere about additional storage drives (esata?) being viewable only using the original DVRs they are connected to.  Something about the hard drive being formatted and "married" to only  its original DVR, which could not be replaced later. (Well, it could, but the content would not be viewable with the new DVR.) 

So does this permanent link occur between a single-room DVR and a TV as well?  Could programs recorded on old TV #1 be viewed later on new TV #2, using the same DVR?


No, yes, no, no, yes.  The DVR and TV are not "married."

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Re: Is a DVR "married" to its original TV?
trailblazer2
Enthusiast - Level 1

Thanks for your answers!  That's just what I wanted to know.  And thank you, wcraft, for explaing "the eSata thing" much better than I did!

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