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Transfer internal DVR to external hard drive?

Guys,

Is it possible to transfer the recordings from my DVR to my new external Western Digital esata hard drive? I'm needing to replace my existing Motorola 7232 DVR with a new 7232 DVR and the Verizon rep on the phone told me to get one of these external hard drives and transfer all my stuff to it. I have the external hard drive connected to the receiver and working properly, but I don't see how to transfer my existing recordings onto it. Please tell me this is possible and Verizon didn't just cause me to waste another $80.

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Keyboards

At present the short ugly answer is NO. Anything on the old internal DVR drive will be lost. Verizon has yet to implement a way for locking content to an account as opposed to hardware.

tony9r

Thanks for the reply. That's what I was afraid of. So I guess its just another example of Verizon tech support not knowing a **bleep** thing about their jobs.

Sure is fun throwing away $80 right before Christmas.

tony9r

Is it also true that when I move my external hard drive to the replacement DVR, I will lose everything that is currently on the external hard drive? So the bottom line is anytime you have to replace your Verizon DVR, you lose everything, even though I have an EXTERNAL device that holds all my shows, but Verizon must erase everything on my EXTERNAL device if I want to use it on one of their replacement DVRs? So their equipment fails, but I spent $80+ to keep my recordings safe on my own personal equipment, but then Verizon says they must delete all my stuff off my personal equipment if I want to use it again on their replacement equipment which is the exact same model as the original? Did I miss anything? Does this make sense to anyone?

zero9nine

When will this change. I was told by a FIOS Rep to buy an external drive to transer my shows before getting a new STB. Spent $100 and now learn it can;t be done. What?

armond_in_nj1

@tony9r wrote:
Is it also true that when I move my external hard drive to the replacement DVR, I will lose everything that is currently on the external hard drive? ... Verizon must erase everything on my EXTERNAL device if I want to use it on one of their replacement DVRs? So their equipment fails, but I spent $80+ to keep my recordings safe on my own personal equipment, but then Verizon says they must delete all my stuff off my personal equipment ... ?

If I'm not too mistaken, this situation has nothing to do with Verizon or Verizon policy. Because of licensing issues among broadcasting companies, the content on an external drive is encrypted in a manner that only allows it to be "married" to a specific recorder. Hence the content cannot be replayed on a different recorder, even if it's an identical model. The reasons for this situation stem from how the media companies and the recording industry (including TV networks) go about protecting themselves from piracy and illegal copying. Verizon is merely following the regulations established to protect the interests of content producers.

If you wish to preserve recorded content from an external drive, there appears to be only one solution and that is to record it in "real time" on another external device (e.g., a DVD-R device). Here is a link and information on that process:

http://forums.verizon.com/t5/FiOS-TV-Technical-Assistance/burning-to-dvd/m-p/503917#M39548

I must caution that I am not really intimate with the details of the copyright protection arrangements mentioned above, but I suspect the above is reasonably close to the mark.

fgomez4000

Do you happen to know how to transfer movies purchased through Flex View on to an external hard drive? I've been a customer for a few years, and up until this past February, I've had nothing but headaches with Verizon.

They are str8 ripping me off, and the customer service is poor. That's an understatement.

I'm hoping I can save the movies, so I won't throw away $300.

Any help would be great.

Thank you.

lacticacidtrip1

Hi fgomez4000,

This is not the right thread as it is not the same topic. Reposting this as a new question might get it greater exposure. Having said that, I'm going to take a stab at this one, even though I do not use Flex View to purchase movies. I have heard this question before, but I've never heard a sufficient answer. They keep saying that you can continue to view your purchased movies as long as you maintain your account username and password at the Flex View Store. Problem is, no one ever says where this mythical store can be accessed, or what it takes to maintain your account. So after doing a lot of searching, this is what I've come up with:

The "Flex View Store" is accessed through Verizon Media Manager. This is a download to your PC or an app for your mobile device. Through here you can sign-in, rent, purchase, and watch movies. It is through this program that you can download movies to your PC for later viewing. However, it does not appear that you need to download your movies in order to continue viewing them after discontinuing your Verizon service. But you apparently do need to keep Media Manager installed in order to access your purchases. I don't see a description anywhere that would lead me to believe that these downloads are stored on your computer in a non-encrypted or non-password protected format that would allow you to view them without Media Manager or burn them to DVD. This means that the only way you could watch them on your TV without Verizon FiOS service is if you used a device or connection that streamed your PC screen to your TV.

I would love for someone who has actually gone through this process to come on here and tell me different or point me to a better explanation, but so far this is what I've come up with. Hope it helps.

neilnow

OMG. That is EXACTLY my experience and frustration. Times 2 DVRS and 2 external hard drives. PLUS the DVRs failed when Verizon pushed through their most recent software update. Thanks Verizon! Thanks for erasing all my shows on 2 DVRs and 2 external hard drives for something I didn't ask for! Thanks so much!

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