eSATA - External Hard Drive
What is eSATA?
External Serial ATA (eSATA or External Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) is a connection used to transfer information between devices such as external hard drives and computers or DVRs.
Can my DVR storage be expanded?
Midcontinent Communications DVRs (applicable models only) have the capability to expand storage via an external hard drive connected with an eSATA cable.
Can I view the recordings on my eSATA drive on other DVRs or computers?
eSATA drives are paired with one DVR – drive will be formatted when first connected to a DVR.
Recorded content on an eSATA drive is only viewable on the DVR it is paired with.
Connecting a paired eSATA drive to a different or new DVR will prompt for formatting of eSATA drive and content will be lost.
What if I have my eSATA drive disconnected from my DVR?
Recorded content on an eSATA drive that is detached will remain in the DVR list but will prompt with a message to attach the drive if attempting to view.
Can I connect more than one eSATA drive to my DVR?
DVRs can have multiple eSATA drives that are paired with them, but only one drive can be connected at a time.
What will happen to my existing recordings on my DVR when I connect an eSATA drive?
Existing recordings on the DVR will remain active after attaching and formatting an eSATA drive.
Will the DVR only send recordings to the internal drive or only to the eSATA drive?
DVRs will direct recorded content to the internal or external drive based on available space.
What will happen if I connect an eSATA drive without activating the service?
A message will appear stating “The use of external drives is not authorized with your account. Please disconnect the external drive and contact your provider.”
What happens to my recordings on an eSATA drive if my DVR is replaced?
Since an eSATA drive is paired with only one DVR, all recordings will be lost when connected to the replacement DVR since it will need to format the drive.
eSATA does not carry a monthly charge.
A onetime activation fee of $40 applies to all accounts requesting eSATA capabilities (in addition to normal installation fees if applicable).
If requested, eSATA capability can be added to any account with applicable equipment.
eSATA capability is available on the following DVR models:
- Motorola DCT6416, DCH3416, DCH6416 and DCX3400
- Pace TDC779X, TDC787X and RNG200
Midcontinent Communications will not provide any external hard drives for eSATA capabilities. Customers are responsible for providing the external hard drive and eSATA cable.
Hard drives up to 1 TB (terabyte) will be recognized by DVRs. Drives with more storage capacity than that will work, but will not utilize more than 1 TB of storage.
Recommended eSATA drives:
- eSATA drives identified by manufacturers as “DVR Expander” or “DVR Compatible” that do not have standby or sleep modes such as:
- Western Digital My Book DVR Expander
- iOmega DVR Expander
- Apricorn DVR Expander
Motorola
- Disconnect power from DVR
- Connect eSATA cable from eSATA drive to rear panel on DVR
- Connect power to eSATA drive
- Connect power to DVR
- i-Guide will take up to an hour to load program information
- DVR will prompt to format eSATA drive (drive & DVR become paired) – select Yes using remote control and press OK/SEL
- eSATA drive will take 15 to 60 seconds to format
- After format complete, select OK to continue with normal DVR usage
Pace
- Disconnect power from DVR
- Connect eSATA cable from eSATA drive to rear panel on DVR
- Connect power to eSATA drive
- Connect power to DVR
- i-Guide will take up to an hour to load program information
- DVR will prompt to format eSATA drive (drive & DVR become paired) – select Yes using remote control and pess OK/SEL
- eSATA drive will take 15 to 60 seconds to format
- After format complete, continue with normal DVR usage
Manufacturer Support Information
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