Am I correct that Quantum does not support the eSATA external drives?
HokieDave
Contributor - Level 2

I bought an eSATA external drive when they first became available and I get a huge amount of storage space (something like 120 hours of HD).

Can you mix and match your old DVR with the new Quantum DVR?  In other words, could I keep my old one up in the bedroom or is quantum all or nothing?

The 6 channels at once thing is appealing - particularly during football season ... but going backwards on recording capacity is a dealkiller, regrettably.

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Justin46
Legend

@HokieDave wrote:

I bought an eSATA external drive when they first became available and I get a huge amount of storage space (something like 120 hours of HD).

Can you mix and match your old DVR with the new Quantum DVR?  In other words, could I keep my old one up in the bedroom or is quantum all or nothing?

The 6 channels at once thing is appealing - particularly during football season ... but going backwards on recording capacity is a dealkiller, regrettably.


No you cannot mix and match the old and new. And at least for now, Quantum VMS does not support eSATA, although there is an eSATA port on the box.

Of course one option is to get two VMS boxes, each with 1 TB, and then you can record up to 12 channels. Adds $10/month to the cost, and when (if) Verizon delivers eSATA support you could discontinue one of the VMS boxes. Just a thought....

__________________________________
Justin
FiOS TV: Extreme HD, Internet: 50/25, Digital Voice
VMS Enhanced Service: 1 server, 2 clients
Keller, TX 76248 (VHO 1)

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Justin46
Legend

@HokieDave wrote:

I bought an eSATA external drive when they first became available and I get a huge amount of storage space (something like 120 hours of HD).

Can you mix and match your old DVR with the new Quantum DVR?  In other words, could I keep my old one up in the bedroom or is quantum all or nothing?

The 6 channels at once thing is appealing - particularly during football season ... but going backwards on recording capacity is a dealkiller, regrettably.


No you cannot mix and match the old and new. And at least for now, Quantum VMS does not support eSATA, although there is an eSATA port on the box.

Of course one option is to get two VMS boxes, each with 1 TB, and then you can record up to 12 channels. Adds $10/month to the cost, and when (if) Verizon delivers eSATA support you could discontinue one of the VMS boxes. Just a thought....

__________________________________
Justin
FiOS TV: Extreme HD, Internet: 50/25, Digital Voice
VMS Enhanced Service: 1 server, 2 clients
Keller, TX 76248 (VHO 1)

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BigDaveVT
Newbie

Thanks.  I'm probably just going to keep what I have for the near term.  My contract was up for renewal.  I was considering switching to Cox (and their 6-channel DVR), renewing as is, or switching to FIOS's 6-channel DVR.

The salesperson at Cox was indescribably useless.  He said that he couldn't answer "technical support" questions like what the capacity of their DVR was or whether it supported eSATA.  He could only tell me that I could record up to 1000 hours of SD.  (Thanks, but I will be recording zero seconds of SD video - you could dump all of the SD channels from the lineup and I wouldn't notice.  This is 2014, not 1994.)

So I've renewed my FIOS contract.  If/when the six-channel DVR starts supporting eSATA, I'll reconsider switching to it.  If the port is on there, it's a shame that they're not enabling it.  I guess that they want an upcharge for extra capacity rather than letting you buy it yourself.

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SinCara
Specialist - Level 2

@BigDaveVT wrote:

So I've renewed my FIOS contract.  If/when the six-channel DVR starts supporting eSATA, I'll reconsider switching to it.  If the port is on there, it's a shame that they're not enabling it.  I guess that they want an upcharge for extra capacity rather than letting you buy it yourself.


The VMS boxes are in a sense using older firmware such as the guide being the older version then what the multi room boxes use right now which is why the ports arent enabled yet. I'm sure once they release a new firmware upgrade they will be enabled.

HokieDave
Contributor - Level 2

That's good to know.  It sounds like waiting is the best answer for now.  Thanks.

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H3LP
Enthusiast - Level 2
even if you would be able to hook it up to the new server you would still have to wipe and reconfigure it to the stb you are going to have it hooked to... the encryption codes are different for each box that it is hooked to
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HokieDave
Contributor - Level 2

Yeah, I'm not thrilled about that, but I could live with it.  I've got some "I want to watch this sometime" movies on there, but they'll come on again.  There are some football games, but I'm willing to take the loss of the old games if it means getting the upgrade.  I have a few favorite episodes from favorite TV shows, but nothing I can't live without or buy from Amazon if I really want it. 

The biggest problem is I'm not going to go backwards in terms of capacity.


@H3LP wrote:
even if you would be able to hook it up to the new server you would still have to wipe and reconfigure it to the stb you are going to have it hooked to... the encryption codes are different for each box that it is hooked to
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VTCracker
Enthusiast - Level 2

That is exactly why they are not upgrading the firmware at this time.  They simply want you to have to purchase more capacity through them on a monthly basis, rather than buying it yourself as a one-time fee.  They upgraded the OLDER boxes firmware months ago and it would be a very small adjustment to the firmware to make it work on the new quantum boxes.  This type of 'scam' tactic is what really makes me think twice about recommending Fios to my friends and family...

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CRobGauth
Community Leader
Community Leader

How is it a scam?

I haven't heard of any other provider that supports external extra storage.
Their storage matches or exceeds what other provders offer.

I for one, don't see a need for massiv amounts of storage.
Watch it and then it is gone.

Keeping in mind that if your DVR or HD dies, you lose everything anyway.

Just my $.02.

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royed5
Enthusiast - Level 2

The issue here for many of us that purchased external drives to increase our DVR capacity is that those purchases where made for devices "specifically recommended by Verizon" to increase our capacity.    Almost everyone with a DVR nowadays in a home with multiple family members realizes that there can never be enough dvr storarge space. I delayed my Quantum dvr upgrade because of this issue.  When I did purchase, the Verizon rep indicated that esata would be supported "sometime in the future"   This needs to be addressed and should be an easy fix.

Royed5

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