When will adding an exteranl HDD be available?

[uppereastside1]

I have a Motoorola 7216 DVR. I know that at the present time, addng an external HDD for increased recording time is not possible. My question is, when will it be possible to do this? Will we have to exchange our DVR's for a new one or will the ones we have now be upgradable?

[Keyboards]

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@uppereastside wrote:

I have a Motoorola 7216 DVR. I know that at the present time, addng an external HDD for increased recording time is not possible. My question is, when will it be possible to do this? Will we have to exchange our DVR's for a new one or will the ones we have now be upgradable?

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Supposed to be firmware update by Q4 2010 (IMG V1.9) that will allow the additionof an external eSATA drive.

That being said, there is no official timetable given by Verizon at this time.  We are still waiting for the IMG 1.8 rollout which has to occur before 1.9 can be released.  There are also supposed to be DVRs with more storage (a Motorola with 320G drive and a Cisco box with a 500G(?) drive).  Again, no official release dates from Verizon or details on exchange policy.  Based on past experience with Verizon rollouts, expect delays.

Remember, while there are some Verizon employees around these boards, they are peer-to-peer (between users).

[marcw1]

why does the 1.8 rollout  have to occur before 1.9?

[Keyboards]

If you've ever worked in the software / firmware industry you would realize that there are probably bits in1.9 that require 1.8.  It also helps in bug tracking (of which Verizon has its share) to not do double releases in 1 shot (1.8 + 1.9 as a 1.9 release without ever releasing 1.8 independently).  This allows for bug correcting bugs not found in the in-house / beta testing (again which often occur) and incorporating the corrections in 1.9.

Just the way the industry  works.

[marcw1]

I am in the software biz for 20 years, if there are issue with the 1.8 release and the 1.9 is ready for release, there is no need to relase 1.8, just because it is an industry standard is not a reason.  Testing always includes regression testing.  Any issue tracking system, can merge a releases.  Now if you know a specific reason, then ok, but not because it is an industry standard. That does not cut it.  This is the same logic as why the 1.7 release does not have e-sata, when it was build to work out of the factory from Motorola.

[Elandow1]

I just got the multi-room DVR today and while it makes my life a lot easier now (no more VCR taping), it seems the hard drive is quickly filling up with a few shows and not even in HD video? I already have 8 hours taped and that has used up 11 % of the hard drive already. I have been reading about other DVR's and how some of them have the ability to plug in a external hard drive for extending taping. So my question is can I do it with this one, and is it PATA or SATA hard drive that is compatible? Also is there a size limitation or hard drive that is better suited for this task, and any drawbacks or issues to watch out for. Thanks for the help in Advance! 

[tns]

eSata connection to the Motorola 7216 and 7232 and the CISCO DVR is possible with the new img 1.9 or later.  All CISCO boxes have it and it a rollout to the Motorola boxes is in progress.  Has gotten as far as the first DCA (Albany, Harrisburg, Syracuse, and Buffalo areas). 

[Elandow1]

Okay after reading on THEIR website that you can upgrade the 7216 DVR with certain models of Western Digital Hard drives I am here to tell you that it's NOT possible at this time. I checked and we have the old firmware 1.8 on this box. And it doesn't sound like they will be getting the 1.9 firmware anytime soon because they can charge users $40.00 to get the newer box 7232 that does work (supposedly). Spent a lot of time and money finding this out, so regardless of the conflicting messages on the board and their FAQ's  ( http://www22.verizon.com/ResidentialHelp/FiOSTV/Other+Hardware/eSATA/129841.htm ) it doesn't work. Nor do I believe they will change it, they are NOT concerned about customer service and/or satisfaction! It's too bad, if they were competitive, I imagine they could make more money.

• Western Digital – WDBABT0010HBK-NESN – 1TB

[Justin46]

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@Elandow wrote:

Okay after reading on THEIR website that you can upgrade the 7216 DVR with certain models of Western Digital Hard drives I am here to tell you that it's NOT possible at this time. I checked and we have the old firmware 1.8 on this box. And it doesn't sound like they will be getting the 1.9 firmware anytime soon because they can charge users $40.00 to get the newer box 7232 that does work (supposedly). Spent a lot of time and money finding this out, so regardless of the conflicting messages on the board and their FAQ's  ( http://www22.verizon.com/ResidentialHelp/FiOSTV/Other+Hardware/eSATA/129841.htm ) it doesn't work. Nor do I believe they will change it, they are NOT concerned about customer service and/or satisfaction! It's too bad, if they were competitive, I imagine they could make more money.

• Western Digital – WDBABT0010HBK-NESN – 1TB

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Your statements/assumptions are incorrect.

1) You will not be able to use an external hard drive on a 7216 until you get the 1.9 level. When you do get it, you will be able to use the drive.

2) You will not be able to use an external hard drive on a 7232 until you get the 1.9 level. When you do get it, you will be able to use the drive.

3) Right in the link you provided in your post it says:

"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."

I don't see how Verizon could say it any clearer. Maybe you should try to read more carefully.

The $40 fee has absolutely nothing to do with using an external drive.

__________________________________
Justin
FiOS TV, Internet, and phone user
QIP7232, IMG 1.8, Build 02.54
Keller, TX 76248

[Elandow1]

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@Justin wrote:

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@Elandow wrote:

Okay after reading on THEIR website that you can upgrade the 7216 DVR with certain models of Western Digital Hard drives I am here to tell you that it's NOT possible at this time. I checked and we have the old firmware 1.8 on this box. And it doesn't sound like they will be getting the 1.9 firmware anytime soon because they can charge users $40.00 to get the newer box 7232 that does work (supposedly). Spent a lot of time and money finding this out, so regardless of the conflicting messages on the board and their FAQ's  ( http://www22.verizon.com/ResidentialHelp/FiOSTV/Other+Hardware/eSATA/129841.htm ) it doesn't work. Nor do I believe they will change it, they are NOT concerned about customer service and/or satisfaction! It's too bad, if they were competitive, I imagine they could make more money.

• Western Digital – WDBABT0010HBK-NESN – 1TB

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Your statements/assumptions are incorrect.

1) You will not be able to use an external hard drive on a 7216 until you get the 1.9 level. When you do get it, you will be able to use the drive.

2) You will not be able to use an external hard drive on a 7232 until you get the 1.9 level. When you do get it, you will be able to use the drive.

3) Right in the link you provided in your post it says:

"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."

I don't see how Verizon could say it any clearer. Maybe you should try to read more carefully.

The $40 fee has absolutely nothing to do with using an external drive.

__________________________________
Justin
FiOS TV, Internet, and phone user
QIP7232, IMG 1.8, Build 02.54
Keller, TX 76248

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Hi Justin,

My statements were not all incorrect:

1)  I said it was not possible at this time because I had the 1.8 firmware, and no idea when the newer version would be released? You are correct that I did not read about the firmware being released over the summer. I have been doing a lot of research on this and other sites and I must have overlooked that part. 

2) I don't have nor would I know which firmware version would be on the 7232, only that I was being advised by several support personnel from Verizon to ask for the upgrade to that box at this time. The replacement to the newer box 7232 is $40.00. That is what I was told by the techs, not that I should hold onto my 7216 because the 1.9 firmware would be released soon. 

3) Addressed in question 1.

4) To make it clearer Verizon could have advised their techs to let the customers know about the updated firmware coming in and that a change in DVR's would not be needed. As opposed to being told one thing when I called several times and another conflicting webpage with the opposite information. I didn't post this information that was relayed to me via the techs, so there might be the confusion on my post, and for this I apologize.

5) I never said that the $40.00 was for the external drive (maybe you didn't read this one correctly either>?)  It was for a change of DVR's which is not needed, but that wasn't being relayed to the consumers.

The good news is that I did get the update a "day after" I got the hard drive and tried it and took it back. So I bought another one and did get it to work! Yay for Verizon and hopefully that has this model drive. I will post more information later on this.