Re: The MOTO QIP-6416 DVR has PORTS. Why can't we USE them? Is firmware available yet?
vectorizer
Enthusiast - Level 2

@Keyboards wrote:
Actually, I believe the 1394 ports work, but won't pass any DRM locked content.  Can't swear to that since I have never used it but IIRC I have seen posts that indicate this is the case.

That is correct. The firewire ports pass mpeg2 streams, but every channel is encrypted except the broadcast channels and a couple information channels. (The unenecrypted channels are the same channels that are available unencrypted on coax via QAM tuners.)

There is a free tool and help out there to record and process this firewire data; I've sucessfully recorded some HD broadcast programs and played them back through PS3.

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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
vectorizer
Enthusiast - Level 2

@speedo123 wrote:

Its pretty obvious that the biggest suggestion/complaint us customers have is the extremely limited recording capacity Verizon equipment supplies. {...} Why don't we have hard drive size options?  {...} Makes me yearn (can you believe!) for my upgraded DirecTV DVRs! (320hrs SD.)  I find myself spending much too much time culling recordings because my Verizon DVRs are always close to 100% full. {...}


+1

Very frustrating in this day and age when discs are so darn cheap. I so often enthusiastically recommend FiOS TV to friends and coworkers I should be getting a commission, but this is one area I have to warn them about. It's like we get HD-capable tuners with SD-capacity DVRs. It's pretty disappointing after all these years (had the same boxes with Comcast) that these devices can't be upgraded, either internally or by letting customers use the eSATA ports. FWIW, I know enough about encryption that it's really no big deal to encrypt everything that would be stored on an external drive, as long we accept that the drive or its content can never be moved to a different STB, so the content providers really shouldn't have anything to gripe about.

I'd buy an HD TiVO and return the Moto just for the capacity upgrade, if it wasn't for the additional monthly charge from TiVO to get the same schedule data that I get from FiOS anyway.

Come on Verizon, fix this thing. Charge me extra if you want, but get me some room on my HD DVR!

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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
speedo123
Contributor - Level 1

@speedo123 wrote:

Hey TS:

Its pretty obvious that the biggest suggestion/complaint us customers have is the extremely limited recording capacity Verizon equipment supplies.  And it's the easiest to address!  So why isn't Verizon either doing something about this or at least telling us that it intends to.  {please keep your posts courteous} Message Edited by KaLin on 12-13-2008 08:21 AM


KaLin:

{edited} I asked a question that everyone would like an answer to and in some threads have screamed about.  I thought I worded my frustration rather sedately. Please let me know what was offensive in what I said.  If you'd rather PM me that's OK, but I really would like an answer so as to be sure I don't do it again.


 

{You have received information in your private message box -- > . It should be gold. Please Read.} 

Message Edited by KaLin on 12-13-2008 04:18 PM
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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
speedo123
Contributor - Level 1

@TheSanchez wrote:

Well...i had a nice long post written up for ya but i got auto logged out and lost it.  ...  TS


Thanks for the response TS.  BTW - I've had that problem several times with the auto log out myself.  It seems to happen when I've first logged in, go to respond (or I think maybe even start a thread?) to a post and click on "Preview Post."  Poof - your dumped out and lose everything you've entered.  So what I've learned to do is to copy my new info into the clipboard (Control C) BEFORE clicking on Preview Post.  Then, if it happens, I just log back in, go to where I was, hit Control V and voila - It's all back!  Haven't had the dumpout occur after that when hitting Preview again, but even so the info's still in your clipboard.  Maybe a techie forum guru could look into this problem????
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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
speedo123
Contributor - Level 1

@TheSanchez wrote:

{...} I have confirmation were working on it amongst some other features highly requested on these forums.  I actually found out product support and development actually trolls around here looking at suggestions.  Now just because we are working on it does not mean it is going to happen.  We may not find a suitable or cost effective solution for this problem and may have to wait for motorola to enable the ports. 

TS


I know you don't control this, so nothing against you personally, but we've (and now as well as you) been told for a long time that this is being "worked on."  The problem is we need a solution now.  It's been way too long that a problem with so simple a fix hasn't been.  It's already being done by your competitors.  Sorry TS, but I just can't think of a justifiable excuse for Verizon prolonging this issue. 

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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
TheSanchez
Contributor - Level 2

Now personally as it comes to TV experience I am only versed in my local cable company and FiOS TV of course.  My local cable company uses the same motorola boxes we do(just a different version of the same model) and they are plagued by this problem as well.  I had direct TV with a tivo some years back for a year but it didnt suit my environment.  I am just curious as to the fix that any of our competitors have actually come up with that use similar boxes.  I know back when i had satellite I used a tivo.  I am not sure if we are able to supply products like these http://www.hauppauge.com/site/products/data_hdpvr.html with us being a service provider and all.  I know comcast(or some other cable company) has a Scientific Atlanta STB that is compatable with just one model of an external HD(i dont know if this has changed but the last time I heard anything about this this was it).  I know dishnetwork enabled expansion for their hard drives but it is a rather limited system.  Last i heard back in june is that if you unplug the drive more than three times it forces you to format it and it is strictly for archiving purposes(at least that what its supposed to be for).  If you count tivo then that is cool, however, they are ina league and classification of their own. 

Please dont take this as any sort of antagonization as I am genuinly interested in this subject.  I am all for being educated on information I dont know yet as it helps me better serve our customers.  If anyone else knows of any of the other solutions i really would like to know.  Personally i would rather see a solution that didnt cost you guys anything more than a >$1 fee on stb rentals or a maximum of $50 for any extra peice of equipment that you will own, but that's just me.  Also before it was just a rumor that we working on a solution...this time i went and  got direct confirmation from one of my managers that we are actively pursuing one(this is all i was able to wring out of him). 

One more thing http://www.usb.org/usb30/ FTW!!!

TS

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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
speedo123
Contributor - Level 1

@TheSanchez wrote:

Now personally as it comes to TV experience I am only versed in my local cable company and FiOS TV of course.  My local cable company uses the same motorola boxes we do(just a different version of the same model) and they are plagued by this problem as well. 

TS


With reading your latest response, I have to say that I didn't consider the expansion problem a "hardware" one but rather one of the operating system being told that it has a larger hard disk to address and how to do that.  It's pretty inconceivable that Motorola would design hardware with such a flaw if it really is a "hardware" problem.  The DVRs I upgraded myself that I referred to earlier in this post only required installing a modified operating system that would recognize a larger HD onto that HD and then installing it into the unit.  Took me about 1/2hr.  So, I still think that it can't be all that difficult for the designers of the FIOS DVR operating system to tell the program its using a 320GB or 750BG or 1TB hard drive instead of a 160GB or smaller HD.  And if it really is, than I believe Verizon has picked the wrong company to supply its equipment!

Of course, this is just my opinion, but if I am wrong about this, why would Verizon have accepted such limited (handicapped!) equipment in the first place?

P.S:  I got dumped out again when I hit Preview!

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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
pixed
Enthusiast - Level 3

I was on Cox before FIOS. I had a Scientific Atlanta DVR. When I asked about adding an external ESata drive the tech told me where the url for directions was. All I had to do was power off the STB and connect the external drive. After power up the STB recognized the drive and formatted the entire 320GB. It tripled my recording time.

Why can't the Motorola and Verizon scientists figure this out. 

If the problem is on the Motorola end, maybe it explains why their cell phone business is going into the dumpster.

If it's on the Verizon side....get new scientists.

end of rant 🙂

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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
hofs1
Enthusiast - Level 1

I can confirm with the SA8300 HD box it was widely know to take any sata hd add esata case and plug it in and a popup message asked to format new storage. I did it with 2 different cases and hdd's.. it worked like a charm.

My BIG question is if motorola didnt have the "drivers, software , etc " to make it work then WHY put the ports (esata) on the box in the first place. Seems like a dumb waste of money if they had no use for them in the first place!!!!

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Re: The MOTO QIC-6416 DVR STB has PORTS. Why can't we USE them???
conehead98
Enthusiast - Level 1

I would like Verizon. To give me the option To put a bigger hard drive the size I want for my recording needs. And Verizon would just need To upload there soft ware on To the new hard drive. . That would be a good start for people like me who want To upgrade there hardrive.and any one else who would like To . Come on Verizon. Its a easy upgrade talking about upgrading the internal hardrive . Not adding a external hard drive. If its true that the moto want recognize a bigger drive. And I do Not believe that. They need to do a firm ware are bios upgrade to recognize the bigger drive seems to me moto And Verizon need to get together And offer these options.

Message Edited by conehead98 on 12-28-2008 02:58 PM
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