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mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV

mikedz4 to telcodad

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Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

of course another 6 weeks here.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf to telcodad

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Not surprised. Comcast couldn't find their head if it was stapled to their hand.

jsirgey
@comcast.net

jsirgey to tirebiter

Anon

to tirebiter
I have the 3400m anyroom DVR box, and have had nothing but lockups since i hooked up the DVR extender, I'd probably hold off getting the extender if you are tied to the 3400m box for now.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

1 edit

telcodad

MVM

said by jsirgey :

I have the 3400m anyroom DVR box, and have had nothing but lockups since i hooked up the DVR extender, I'd probably hold off getting the extender if you are tied to the 3400m box for now.

Well, the DCX3400 and DCX3400M models are not currently on Comcast's official list of supported DVRs for use with external hard drives »customer.comcast.com/hel ··· storage/ and there was a post in the Comcast Help and Support Forum about issues with those particular ones: »forums.comcast.com/t5/Xf ··· 9#M58912

EDIT: Just noticed that you had also posted to that thread today (»forums.comcast.com/t5/Xf ··· 7#M69350). As far as a Motorola AnyRoom DVR that is supported for an external drive, there is the newer DCX3501/RNG200N model, which is on the approved list.

jsirgey
@comcast.net

jsirgey

Anon

said by telcodad:

said by jsirgey :

I have the 3400m anyroom DVR box, and have had nothing but lockups since i hooked up the DVR extender, I'd probably hold off getting the extender if you are tied to the 3400m box for now.

Well, the DCX3400 and DCX3400M models are not currently on Comcast's official list of supported DVRs for use with external hard drives »customer.comcast.com/hel ··· storage/ and there was a post in the Comcast Help and Support Forum about issues with those particular ones: »forums.comcast.com/t5/Xf ··· 9#M58912

I realize it's not supported hence me saying wait until it is. I was just stating that I have had nothing but issues with it and I've seen nothing explicitly stating the anyroom did or didnt have lockup issues. It's awesome to have all the extra space available, but when you have to pull the plug once a day to fix lockups, your guide data always being "to be announced" gets old pretty quick.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

said by jsirgey :

said by telcodad:

said by jsirgey :

I have the 3400m anyroom DVR box, and have had nothing but lockups since i hooked up the DVR extender, I'd probably hold off getting the extender if you are tied to the 3400m box for now.

Well, the DCX3400 and DCX3400M models are not currently on Comcast's official list of supported DVRs for use with external hard drives »customer.comcast.com/hel ··· storage/ and there was a post in the Comcast Help and Support Forum about issues with those particular ones: »forums.comcast.com/t5/Xf ··· 9#M58912

I realize it's not supported hence me saying wait until it is. I was just stating that I have had nothing but issues with it and I've seen nothing explicitly stating the anyroom did or didnt have lockup issues. It's awesome to have all the extra space available, but when you have to pull the plug once a day to fix lockups, your guide data always being "to be announced" gets old pretty quick.

OK, yes.

I see your similar post on the Comcast Help and Support Forum just received a reply from Comcast's Ted Hodgins (aka "ComcastTeds"): »forums.comcast.com/t5/Xf ··· 3#M69363
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6 to Mike Wolf

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to Mike Wolf
said by Mike Wolf:

Still don't know what that means for the software update we're waiting for in the Cisco areas.

The Cisco areas already support DVR Extenders and have for a long time and the S26 Guide software update will continue this support so it means nothing for the Cisco areas. It is only important to Motorola areas that don't currrently have DVR Extender support.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

Not what I was referring to, was referring to the lack of accomplishment on anything else by Comcast television regarding New Jersey such as the S26 software or the firmware updates.
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

In general, the more time Comcast spends on guides (A30 & S26) for legacy set top boxes, the longer it will take for Comcast to deploy the X1 guide to all Comcast areas in the country. This leads me to think that these legacy set top boxes will be around for a long time.
SpHeRe31459
Premium Member
join:2002-10-09
Sacramento, CA

SpHeRe31459

Premium Member

said by Russ6:

In general, the more time Comcast spends on guides (A30 & S26) for legacy set top boxes, the longer it will take for Comcast to deploy the X1 guide to all Comcast areas in the country. This leads me to think that these legacy set top boxes will be around for a long time.

Yep anything more than about 4 years old won't get the X1 Guide, so Comcast will have a large base of legacy STBs, considering Comcast still won't take DCT-2000s out of service...

Sunny
Runs from Clowns

join:2001-08-19

Sunny to tirebiter

to tirebiter

(topic move) I wish the iguide auto tuned to the hd channel

Moderator Action
The post that was here (and all 4 followups to it), has been moved to a new topic .. »I wish the iguide auto tuned to the hd channel
jwhite4
join:2002-03-21
Philadelphia, PA

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Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

I recently got a WD 1TB drive for my 3416 DVR. Operationally no problems (so far!)

When the DVR is power cycled, it initially brings up a blue screen wanting me to select OK that drive 0 is connected (or "operating properly", I forgot which). I hit Ok and continue onto my business as normal.

It hit me the other day: will it sit at that prompt indefinitely until an OK confirmation is received? That is, suppose there is a power outage, and later (could be 1 second or 1 hour) power is restored. Will recordings continue on schedule, or will they be indefinitely blocked until OK has been hit?

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

I'm going to go find out, since the same prompt appears on screen on the Cisco equipment when power is restored.
Mike Wolf

Mike Wolf

Member

Ok the message I get on screen for the Cisco equipment says:
"Attention
The external storage device is now working with your DVR.
NOTE: To safely unplug this device, first unplug power from the DVR, then wait 10 seconds before disconnecting."

Then on the bottom there is only a button that says "cancel"

I've found that after 35 seconds it clears itself and recordings continue.

I would think with the iGuide software on the Cisco boxes being modeled after the A25/26 iGuide software on the Motorola boxes it would work similarly?
jwhite4
join:2002-03-21
Philadelphia, PA

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Semi-related question: how accurate is the My Account->My Services->Equipment list ? It shows me has having a MORN200N AnyRoom DVR. Does anyone know if this is the same as the RNG200N, which appears to be DVR-extended capable? I thought when I looked at the bottom of my box it said DCX3400M, but maybe I misread it.

I could use an extended on that (even with it have a 500GB internal drive), though I certainly don't want a flakey DVR, nor a $100+ HDD brick that doesn't work.
SpHeRe31459
Premium Member
join:2002-10-09
Sacramento, CA

SpHeRe31459

Premium Member

said by jwhite4:

Semi-related question: how accurate is the My Account->My Services->Equipment list ? It shows me has having a MORN200N AnyRoom DVR. Does anyone know if this is the same as the RNG200N, which appears to be DVR-extended capable? I thought when I looked at the bottom of my box it said DCX3400M, but maybe I misread it.

Those designations are both correct. Comcast re-labels their equipment that meet a certain specification from different vendors as "RNG", but the actual manufacturer's model number is a Motorola DCX3400-M.
jwhite4
join:2002-03-21
Philadelphia, PA

jwhite4

Member

So what's the positive way to identify what model I have, to know if it's dvr-extended supported one?
SpHeRe31459
Premium Member
join:2002-10-09
Sacramento, CA

SpHeRe31459

Premium Member

You just did. As I said, the actual vendor/model is Motorola DCX3400-M. And right now the DCX 3400's are not supported by Comcast. They have some odd firmware issues that cause it not to work 100% reliably. See jsirgey's post up about half way on the page.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

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the accuracy of the equipment list is very hit or miss. On my list I have a SACISCO SARN200N, an image of it, serial number, and MAC address, and it says my DTA is a THOMSON TOM UDTA with a serial number but no image and no MAC address, and CableCARDs with no make, model, no serial number, no image, and no MAC address even though Comcast knows they are installed in TiVo's.

The Cisco RNG200N is actually a Cisco SA8600 series on their own website.
jwhite4
join:2002-03-21
Philadelphia, PA

jwhite4

Member

So I watched a reboot after my UPS tripped. Sat at the 'Drive 0...' prompt for 60-90 seconds, then went to standby (off) after that. I guess it will autorecover after an outage.

teddystacker
join:2001-12-08
Philadelphia, PA

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I can confirm I have been using My DCX 3400 , with a External 2TB Drive connected (Yes 2TB) for about Two months now , with ZERO issues of any kind - for more details see my posts in this and other threads

FifthE1ement
Tech Nut
join:2005-03-16
Fort Lauderdale, FL

FifthE1ement

Member

said by teddystacker:

I can confirm I have been using My DCX 3400 , with a External 2TB Drive connected (Yes 2TB) for about Two months now , with ZERO issues of any kind - for more details see my posts in this and other threads

I'm guessing you have A30? Man I really want that! I'm jealous!

5th

teddystacker
join:2001-12-08
Philadelphia, PA

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@FifthE1ement

Yes , I just wanted to give it a try , some here on the forums were a little wary 2TB would work on a reliable basis. But thought it was worth giving it a try.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad to jsirgey

MVM

to jsirgey
said by jsirgey :

said by telcodad:

said by jsirgey :

I have the 3400m anyroom DVR box, and have had nothing but lockups since i hooked up the DVR extender, I'd probably hold off getting the extender if you are tied to the 3400m box for now.

Well, the DCX3400 and DCX3400M models are not currently on Comcast's official list of supported DVRs for use with external hard drives »customer.comcast.com/hel ··· storage/ and there was a post in the Comcast Help and Support Forum about issues with those particular ones: »forums.comcast.com/t5/Xf ··· 9#M58912

I realize it's not supported hence me saying wait until it is. I was just stating that I have had nothing but issues with it and I've seen nothing explicitly stating the anyroom did or didnt have lockup issues. It's awesome to have all the extra space available, but when you have to pull the plug once a day to fix lockups, your guide data always being "to be announced" gets old pretty quick.

BTW - The latest update on a fix to use an external hard drive with DCX3400s:

From: »forums.comcast.com/t5/Xf ··· 7#M71305
From ComcastTeds
4-2-2013 11:41 AM

Motorola has been working with engineering builds of the fix for this and so far things look good. Motorola and Comcast will continue to test this proposed fix for a few more weeks before it gets put into a targeted bundled update (timing still TBD, but expected to be this year).

Thanks for your patience.

MalibuMaxx
Premium Member
join:2007-02-06
Chesterton, IN

MalibuMaxx to tirebiter

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Pretty sure South Bend Indiana area got this update today. I seen the new channel switch box... but haven't connected my external yet... Will see and purchase a bigger drive today if this came through to my area.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

2 edits

telcodad

MVM

said by MalibuMaxx:

Pretty sure South Bend Indiana area got this update today. I seen the new channel switch box... but haven't connected my external yet... Will see and purchase a bigger drive today if this came through to my area.

While having the A30 guide update is one requirement, the eSATA port also has to be activated in your area.

According the the latest (March 29th) update »media2.comcast.net/anon. ··· 9-13.pdf posted by Comcast, it says this feature is available in "most all Comcast areas of Indiana (except for the South Bend area)."

If you get an "Alert 08" indication when you connect the external drive, that indicates that the DVR's eSATA port has not been activated yet.

EDIT: The link to the latest update on the activated areas can be found on the "External DVR Storage" page »customer.comcast.com/hel ··· storage/ on the Comcast Customer Support site.

MalibuMaxx
Premium Member
join:2007-02-06
Chesterton, IN

MalibuMaxx

Premium Member

Thanks going to try it after work here... Still wouldn't be surprised if it didn't work but at least we're seeing progress now... Where before we weren't on the newest version...
MalibuMaxx

MalibuMaxx to telcodad

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to telcodad
yea it didn't work so not surprising... I thought they said early 2013... we're starting to move to the middle of 2013 now... they got 2 months left... then I will go to a cablecard setup... sick of waiting...

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

FYI - According to the the latest (April 18th) update »media2.comcast.net/anon. ··· 8-13.pdf posted by Comcast, it shows that external hard drives are now supported in all areas of Mississippi, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and states that "customers in DC, MD and VA are currently scheduled to have this feature activated the week of May 13."

FifthE1ement
Tech Nut
join:2005-03-16
Fort Lauderdale, FL

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said by teddystacker:

I have been around long enough to know that people do not usually like "cross posting" in different threads , but I have done so here as I think this info will be of great interest to those that want to add a external drive to their Motorola DCX3400 DVR and also people that do not want to buy the "official" (and more expensive) extender..

OK , so we got the A30 Guide update here in NE Philly (19111) around Tue 22nd 2013.

I have Motorola DVD DCX3400 , it is not listed on the "supported" list of DVR's that Comcast issued a while ago , but still thought I would give it a try after reading the other posts at this thread and some others.

I used a old 1TB WD Green Series SATA 11 hard Disk that I had laying around my workshop , and also a $30 USB Enclosure that also has a ESATA port on it.

All works Perfectly , as soon as the drive spun up , a message came on screen and asked me if I wanted to format the External drive , I said YES , and this took about 10 seconds. My available space for recordings on the DVR then dropped from 47% to 9%!

I then installed a 2Tb Seagate Hard disk into the enclosure that I also had spare and my available space went from 47% to just 5%!

All new recordings from that point on, were made to the New 1.0TB drive , if this drive is switched off and you try and play those "new" recordings , a message on screen prompts you to switch on/connect the external drive (it says the Hard disk model number).If you do this, the recordings then play perfectly.

All previous recordings you made before you installed the external drive are available when the external is switched off and play perfectly.

So to conclude:

1) You do not have to use the WD Extender "approved" external drive - you can just use a El cheapo external enclosure as long as it has a external ESATA port on it. I tried it with both a 1.0TB WD Drive and a Seagate 2.0TB Drive , both worked perfectly.

2) All works perfectly (for me anyway) as along as you have the New A30 guide on the Motorola DCX3400.

3) If the External hard disk breaks down or you have to swap out the main DVR for any reason, you will loose any recordings you have made on the external hard drive (as the recordings made on the external are tied to the serial number of the DVR) - but that's just the risk we take I guess.. but its a risk I am very willing to take,in order to have 2.35 TB of recording space compared to the pathetic 350gb I had before.. in my case this cost me very little as I had the hard disk and enclosure laying around doing nothing.

Please feel free to ask any questions...

So I'm lost, does the DCX3400 use the internal hard drive at all? When the drive fills up, does it then use the internal? So a 1TB is the largest you've tried, can you (or have you since then) try larger or has anyone tried larger?
said by teddystacker:

Yep , what Andy says is correct , as long as that HD was formatted on that exact box you can swap them around. The actually program listing data is stored on the internal HD so when you go to play a recording from your list that was made upon Drive A and you have Drive B connected , you will get a prompt on screen asking you to insert Drive A.

One thing I have to test now is if the buffer size increases , being as I have added a external drive. I suspect (do not know for sure) that the buffer file is created on the internal drive , so this may not increase if you add a external drive. I will report back my findings after some more testing.

Did the buffer get bigger?
said by teddystacker:

I for one have always been the type that "pushes the boundaries" of our Electrical equipment , and just loves to find its un documented features etc , often these people at tech support know far less than us forum type guys do , as they never use the device in the real world. But I also respect that not everyone is tech savvy and prefers to just plug n play a off the shelf device.

Will report back here any issues I find using the 2tb drive I have hooked up so it will benefit other users..

Have you found any bugs, had any other issues with recordings or otherwise? What happens when the power goes out, can you still access the recordings? How many hours of shows can you get on it? On a DCX3400 with a 1TB drive I was able to get approx 160-200 hours of HD content. Approx 400+ hours of SD content. How has everything worked thus far, just basically update on how everything is going as you have had it for quite some time now?

Thanks again,

5th