VMS1100 + WDBABT0010HBK-00

[kenkahn1]

I just purchased a "Western Digital My Book AV 1 TB,External (WDBABT0010HBK-00) HDD-DVR Expander" for my VMS1100 DVR.  Reading the various forums I was led to understand that this would work.  However I cannot get the DVR to recognize it, using either the e-sata or usb connection.  Should this work?  Do I have to do something special to get the DVR to recognize it?  If not can you please provide a list of external drives that are supported; as others have mentioned elsewhere the ones listed on your web site are no longer available.

Thanks..

[CRobGauth]

VMS currently does not support external drives.

Only on the legacy stbs.

[kenkahn1]

*sigh* That figures.  Is there a different FIOS DVR with 6 record heads I can ask for that will support external drives?

[kenkahn1]

Sadly I just called fios technical support and they said there are currently no FIOS DVRs available that support external drives.  This is strange since the web pages still insist they do.  That might explain why the 'official' list of supported external drives are no longer offered and the page has not been updated to include any that are.

Very frustrating..

[tns2]

The tech you spoke to is wrong.  But use the VMS1100 does not offer support of external drives, and is being rolled out in some areas (with software limiting capabilities) for non-Quantum service.  The older HD DVR boxes all support external drives.

[CRobGauth]

As stated, the older DVRs support external drives. But they have smaller internal drives and only 2 tuners.

Plus the external drive is paired to the DVR. So if the DVR were to fail, you would lose everything recorded on external drive.

Verizon's contention is that quantum DVR matches what is available from other providers.

And DVR is not expected to be used for long term storage.

[juxta]

Something is wrong with the DVR and Quantum advertising pages on Verizon's website. The adverised hours of HD recording seems too low for the Quantum service. Is 100 hrs really the storage limit an actual VMS1100 box being used?  Perhaps the VMS1100 is using a less efficient video coding for storage than the old DVR boxes but that seems unreasonable. I TB should give 150 hrs of recording not 100 hrs.

Comparison -

  Quantum Enhanced (1 VMS1100) - 6 tuners, 100 hrs (1 TB)

  Quantum Premium (2 VMS1100) - 12 tuners, 200 hrs (2 TB)

  Old service (2 Motorola 7232 with external HDs) - 4 tuners, 460 hrs (3 TB) (460 hours is based on the capacity reported on my DVR menu. Each 7232 DVR gets about 75 hrs of recording for its 500 GB and each Western Digital external SATA gets about 150 hrs for 1 TB) 

I was told today by a Verizon rep that the VMS1100 does now support eSATA so I have a VMS1100 media server coming. The reasons why I'm doing this is because this thread is a few months old and because the DVR pages have never been updated properly and still have old information. The eSATA web page mentions the IMG 1.9 of 2011 is still being rolled out:

Is eSATA external storage available in my area?

Verizon is currently deploying eSATA nationally and expects the process to continue throughout the summer. You can determine if eSATA is enabled where you live by checking the On Screen Channel Guide (System Information under Menu/Customer Support). If you have IMG 1.9 or higher, you can install a recommended eSATA device.

The lack of eSATA compatibility has been a problem since 2012/13 when Quantum was rolled out. I don't understand the dismissal of the flexibility an external hard drive gives.  Sure, a household with one media server for one or two people could opt for an external hard drive and Verizon would lose out on $10 a month on a second media server.

But Verizon also loses money on those of us who are holding back with the old DVR service, or who buy a TiVO or switch to another provider.  It seems reasonable that many customers would max out by having two media servers with two external hard drives for 4 TB of storage total. Wouldn't that lure people to Verizon's Quantum service? Why in the world would Verizon simply compete at an inferior level instead of one-upping the competition?  It's not like Verizon can't afford the coding to have compatibility with external hard drives.

[CRobGauth]

I'm guessing their 100 hours is the minimum.

I currently have 78 hours on my VMS and it shows 57% used.

Storage really depends on the content being recorded.

Can't speak for Verizon, but they have said they feel they are equal to capacity offered by other providers. With most people making decisions based on price, needing to charge a few dollars more could cost them customers.

its not only the initial coding, it is also customer support when their external drive doesn't work and testing  every new release.

plus DVR content is not meant to be long term storage. If your DVR dies, you lose everything on external drive as it is paired with each DVR for encoding purposes.

[juxta]

---

@CRobGauth wrote:

I'm guessing their 100 hours is the minimum.

I currently have 78 hours on my VMS and it shows 57% used.

Storage really depends on the content being recorded.

Can't speak for Verizon, but they have said they feel they are equal to capacity offered by other providers. With most people making decisions based on price, needing to charge a few dollars more could cost them customers.

its not only the initial coding, it is also customer support when their external drive doesn't work and testing  every new release.

plus DVR content is not meant to be long term storage. If your DVR dies, you lose everything on external drive as it is paired with each DVR for encoding purposes.

---

Ok thanks.  It looks like you can get 150 hours of HD (hi def) capacity on your VMS which seems right.  It would be useful if VZ was more accurate in the advertising but maybe they're just being conservative to undersell and overperform.

But if your DVR dies (or has to be returned) everything is gone- internal and external. I'm wanting the external not so much for long term storage as much as being able to record more shows on a whim and having more choices as to what I will actually watch. My wife loves to press the record button a lot or record 14 episodes of a series she might like but has never watched. For me, recording 3 or 4 football games (3-4 hours each) on a Sunday just to skim later in the week eats up space. To each his/her own. Though for long term storage I have some shows on the DVR itself that are 18 months old. Sure it's always a risk to lose old shows but that's true also for shows on the DVR one day.   

It seems unreasonable to say Verizon is required to charge more for any enhancement to any of their services. Verizon managed to eventually enable eSATA storage in the first place on the older DVRs without charging more and lots of people opted for the extra storage. After 4+ years it's about time they offered this old benefit on their "new" service. I'm sure it comes down to $$$ but I'm not assuming they got the cost/benefit analysis right. It is possible for companies to be short-sighted on a given topic which is why they change their minds when customers complain. I'll post back to see if the eSATA is enabled on the box I get next week.

[Crabbysam101]

I realize this is a very late reply, but as of 2019 these Quantum boxes still do not have the ability to slave a external HDD, this is one reason I won't replace my legacy DVR boxes, as I appreciate the 4 terrabyte external (eSATA) storage.  This has allowed me to record and store hundreds of high definition movies.  It's a lot easier manipulating the controls of the DVR recordings vs the hd movies I've purchased.

Downside to legacy DVR boxes are that I can only record two shows simutaneously vs Quantum being able to record at 4 to 6 at the same time. And if I talk to my legacy remote control, it just sits there and plays deaf deaf and stupid.  Quantum systems have voice control like Comcast uses.   

[juxta]

I was going to mention this earlier (2 years ago!) - the VMS1110 did recognize the external HDD but I didn't know whether or not the capacity increased.  The problem was I plugged in my HDD and a seemingly new DVR show listing file was created because all my shows on the DVR went unlisted.  This scared me so I turned off the VMS and unplugged the HDD. Fortunately, the DVR shows were listed again when the VMS restarted.  I have been meaning to watch and delete all my programs but the DVR has stayed 90%+ full for the past two years. 

If you have a new VMS1100 or don't care about the shows on your DVR, turn off the VMS and plug in the HDD. If you did have shows recored previously, see if they are gone after the VMS restarts. If so then at least you can tell the HDD is recognized by the VMS.  Either way, record a few HD shows and see if the percent recorded indicates the DVR capacity is ~160 hrs (1TB) or ~320 hrs (2 TB) of HD video.

Right now my DVR (1TB) has 155h 45m of HD programming at 92% full as shown on the DVR menu (configure & upgrade -> check capacity).  That's about (155.75 hrs / .92 😃 169 hrs total capacity on my VMS.  If you get double than that then the HDD works!  Let us know! 

As was the case two years ago, my DVR stays near full. The other DVR that my wife uses constantly stays full and autodeletes the oldest shows as necessary.  It would be nice to have double the capacity especially because my HDD has just been sitting in a drawer for the past two years except when I tried plugging it in that one time. 

[LawrenceC]

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