Topic 'DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes' in forum 'Comcast Cable TV' - dslreports.com

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:40:38 EDT

telcodad posted :

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

From: »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···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.

Today's status update on the fix for the DCX3400:

From: »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···9#M74847

From ComcastTeds
5-20-2013 1:25 PM

It took some time to replicate the intermittent and inconsistent issue in a monitored lab environment where our teams plus the Motorola teams are able to pull logs and diagnostics.

The issue has been identified and the correction is being written into the Motorola firmware code. The teams then need to test the updated firmware in the labs and in the field to be sure that this correction is accurate and also does not negatively impact any other feature or function. Thanks for your patience and apologies for the delay. We expect to have the solution available this year.

Once I have an estimated timeframe, I will be sure and share it here.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 14 May 2013 17:20:39 EDT

telcodad posted : Yes, having the A30 guide update is one requirement for being able to use an external HD, the other is that the eSATA port has to be activated by Comcast in your area for your DVR also.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:33:54 EDT

FifthE1ement posted :

said by telcodad:

FYI - According to the latest (April 18th) update »media2.comcast.net/anon.comcasto···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."

The latest update »media2.comcast.net/anon.comcasto···0-13.pdf now says that "customers in DC, MD & VA are currently scheduled to have this feature activated in June."

It also states that customers in Florida are still scheduled to have it activated the week of June 3rd.

I wonder if that means they will update us (Florida) to A30 then too?

5th
--
"The relationship between what we see and what we know is never settled..."

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:39:25 EDT

telcodad posted :

said by telcodad:

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:04:27 EDT

telcodad posted :

said by FifthE1ement:

said by telcodad:

Do you have any facts (lol ;)) on when South Florida will get A30 or any other info? In my area if you have the whole house DVR they give you the OSD 2.0. I would just love to be able to plug in an external hard drive and get more space!

Thanks in advance,

5th :D

According to this new, April 26th update »media2.comcast.net/anon.comcasto···6-13.pdf "customers in FL are currently scheduled to have this feature activated the week of June 3" so if you don't have the A30 guide yet, it should be delivered to you soon.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 01:02:49 EDT

FifthE1ement posted : In all sincerity I don't see the X1 guide being pushed to and of the DCX/RNG models till 2015 or later. And that is if it ever makes it to those boxes which I think is 50/50. Comcast I believe will rather spend the resources on the newer boxes and simply let the old ones die on iGuide. Mark it!

Back on topic, why do you think they aren't using larger 2TB hard drives or at least 1TB drives especially in the anyroom setups? It used to drive me nuts that years ago Comcast would use 120GB hard drive when 500GB ones were so cheap. Also today most boxes still have 320GB when 2TB or larger (or at the very least 1TB) is the norm in everything out there. I personally think it's because of the sound issue with the drives. I've installed a 1TB in a DCX before and the noise was considerable. I think the boxes are getting so small that they'll have to start using SSD drives or other flash memories which are still too expensive for DVR use. But eventually the boxes will be all quite with SSD/flash drives of 1TB and tiny to boot. I'm also surprised they don't include tiny flash memory chips in the non-DVR's to have an Instant Replay feature without a complete DVR. I mean a half hour buffer would be amazing and give them an edge over the competition. Users could pause shows or rewind something they missed and Comcast would have to spend next to nothing to do it. It's like innovation is severely lacking at Comcast/Xfinity. I mean they changed their friggin name rather than trying to fix their main core company issues.

5th
--
"The relationship between what we see and what we know is never settled..."

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:12:56 EDT

SpHeRe31459 posted : We're getting OT from the Motorola DVR extender topic...

They basically quickly turned out OSG 2.0 as a stepping stone to X1, in fact if you look at the OSG 2.0 UI you can see where they were basically making an "X1 lite" as a testing ground. They've made it very clear that X1 is where all the resources are going now.

As an aside, OSG 2.0 would be just as much of a hassle to deploy as X1 since it is also a modern OCAP/Tru2way middleware guide, so the same major issues of basically reformatting and reinstalling the cable boxes OS would be true of OSG 2.0. So Comcast wouldn't be too keen on doing that twice to consumers in the span of a year or two (once for OSG 2.0 and then again later for X1).

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:42:05 EDT

telcodad posted :

said by FifthE1ement:

said by SpHeRe31459:

said by FifthE1ement:

Oh 5th... you should know this by now... if you're in area that has OSG 2.0 then that means you're in an SA/Cisco area, so A30 doesn't apply to you.

I don't know if due to the problems with OSG 3.0 (X1), that Comcast is now thinking about using OSG 2.0 in Motorola markets, but this is what they have last "officially" said (»Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog) ):

On-Screen Guide 2.0 was a short-term bridge for us to deliver AnyRoom DVR and an improved experience to some limited Cisco markets while the X1 Experience was getting ready for wide deployment. Many features, functionality and customer feedback from On-Screen Guide 2.0 were fine-tuned and included in the X1 Experience.

We don't have any additional areas where we will be moving ahead with On-Screen Guide 2.0.

As far as I know, OSG 2.0 was/is only used in SA/Cisco areas for providing AnyRoom DVR service in them.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:40:17 EDT

FifthE1ement posted :

said by SpHeRe31459:

said by FifthE1ement:

Oh 5th... you should know this by now... if you're in area that has OSG 2.0 then that means you're in an SA/Cisco area, so A30 doesn't apply to you.

Yeah sorry my brain went there. I was watching Defiance last night on top of doing some other work on my computer and posting here all at the same time. I made a few other errors which I caught later in this forum too. I'm in a Motorola area with the A28 guide and AnyRoom and Skype are available in my area.

I meant to ask if it were true that OSG 2.0 might come to Moto areas bypassing OSG 3.0 (XX) and the X1 due to the severe issues they have been having. I heard from a tech installer friend of mine that Comcast was toying with the idea of simply installing OSG 2.0 everywhere until they could get the X1 or OSG 3 ready as those will probably be delayed until 2014+! He also said that Comcast is getting killed in customer service and usability and the execs were pissed that On Demand is doing horribly and in most areas less than like 10% of users ever use it. Basically I think Comcast is mad that OnDemand navigation sucks and this would be a quick way to get at least that working better. Again I'm not sure if this will happen and neither was he a she had been told by his boss, of what his boss was told, etc. Has anyone else heard anything else about this? I remember reading something not too long ago about Comcast's OnDemand selling much worse than any of the other providers by a lot. It just sounds odd to hear about this now and not have any truth to it?

telcodad, see above as same for your posts but thank you. I know the last time I went to my friends house he had the A28 guide with the Motorola AnyRoom setup (One DCX3400M with two DCX3200M's as the satellites).

said by teddystacker:

@ FifthE1ement

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, the internal is still used (its stores the names of the shows etc) and yes the shows are stored on the EXTERNAL until that fills up. so if you record a show that shows up on your recorded show list and you then unplug the External , you will still see it listed , but you will be prompted to "plug in drive blah blah" , when you go to play a show. Yes, I have had a 2TB External Drive (mounted in a metal housing) (I listed the actual drive details either in this thread or another thread) - works Flawless for me so far.

2) No , it does not appear the buffer has got any larger..

3) So far I have not had any bugs or glitches (some on this thread warned over and over that I might) but I really can say nothing so far in at least the two months since I installed the drive.

When the power goes out (does not happen in Philly metro , but I tested) , I just rebooted drive and DVR and everything is fine.

As to how much content , well I only record HD content and I have a Sh**load on there right now (at least 120 "How its made" shows) + all my wifes stuff and we are only at 20% full.

To sum up , have had it installed over two months , not seen a glitch , very happy. But I doubt I will say that if the drive goes AWOL and I loose it all , but that's the risk you always take when storing lots of data without a backup. The drive is being used much more than it was (just sitting on my work bench).

Please feel free to ask any other questions , always happy to aid other users , and test "real world" applications , rather than what Comcast or WD tell you the unit can do (that don't very often know what they are talking about anyway) , I like to find out myself and pass on the info..

Teddy

Wow, teddy thanks for answering my question so quickly and so detailed!

1. What I meant to ask is what if you have a 500GB model and you put a 2TB external on, I know system files (of course) will stay on the internal drive but I want to know what happens when you fill up the 2TB drive (which in theory should give you aprox 320 to 400 hours (friggin mind blowing)? From your older post you said something about having "2.35 TB" which is the 320GB plus the 2TB drive. Have you tried this yet? EG: Do the recordings all function the same? Like if you last recoding filled up the external (2TB) and then you recorded a new show and it was put on the internal (320GB)? Are there any icons or anything in the guide to denote if a recoding is on the external or internal dives?

2. The buffer for HD is approx a half hour. Same for you? SD content I thought was like an hour or 90 mins I believe, but I'm not sure anymore as I haven't watched an SD show in years.

3. That's excellent that you haven't had any bugs or anything. That is odd since Comcast excluded the DCX3400 because of bugs. Perhaps the issue was related to certain manufacturer brands of hard drives? I read on another post that the issue is now fixed and should be included in an update soon? Maybe you have the fix, lol.

4. When I asked about the power going out I meant to say if the power and cable go out what happens? In most areas now, unless your box is almost full and giving the "capacity notification" message, there is no way to view the recordings until you get a cable signal again basically unlocking the box. Which sucks as sometimes when you have hurricanes or other issues where your cable goes out and the power you are out of luck sometimes for days or weeks until everything is working. And it makes it even worse knowing all the recordings are on the box just waiting to be watched. :( The only workaround like I said above is that if your box is almost full you simply press the record button which brings up the error message and that allows you to view the recordings you have to manage them (delete them to make room for more), however from within this menu you can view any recordings you want even if you have no cable signal and the box has just come back on. This drives many nuts as back a few years ago if the power and cable went off you would simply press the DVR button and watch your recordings until your cable came back on. It stopped being possible when Comcast changed the DVR button designation to go to the "DVR menu" instead of "My Recordings". Does this also happen on your setup? To test it, unplug the box (when your not recording anything or watching anything important, lol) and while unplugged just remove the cable wire. Then plug the box back in and see what you can access. I'm curious as to what happens on the OSG 2.0? I don't expect anything on the X1 as they have issues getting the local DVR to work when the internet goes out, lol.

5. That number is amazing for capacity space! I wonder if it's 100% accurate with the external drive plugged in? Has anyone been able to test this? Teddy have you not filled it to capacity yet, lol? I seem to fill my boxes up very quickly as I always like to save my fav movies on my DVR for quick viewing, even if I have them on Bluray/DVD.

6. Have you noticed the 2TB drive is now a lot louder than before? I remember my friend had a 1TB ;) installed in his DCX3400 and it was much louder than the 320GB. The sound was noticeably louder and a little annoying in a quiet room or with the TV volume very low.

Thanks teddy, telco the q, sphere and all who took the time to read this,

5th
--
"The relationship between what we see and what we know is never settled..."

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:17:13 EDT

teddystacker posted : @ FifthE1ement

To answer your questions:

1) Yes, the internal is still used (its stores the names of the shows etc) and yes the shows are stored on the EXTERNAL until that fills up. so if you record a show that shows up on your recorded show list and you then unplug the External , you will still see it listed , but you will be prompted to "plug in drive blah blah" , when you go to play a show. Yes, I have had a 2TB External Drive (mounted in a metal housing) (I listed the actual drive details either in this thread or another thread) - works Flawless for me so far.

2) No , it does not appear the buffer has got any larger..

3) So far I have not had any bugs or glitches (some on this thread warned over and over that I might) but I really can say nothing so far in at least the two months since I installed the drive.

When the power goes out (does not happen in Philly metro , but I tested) , I just rebooted drive and DVR and everything is fine.

As to how much content , well I only record HD content and I have a Sh**load on there right now (at least 120 "How its made" shows) + all my wifes stuff and we are only at 20% full.

To sum up , have had it installed over two months , not seen a glitch , very happy. But I doubt I will say that if the drive goes AWOL and I loose it all , but that's the risk you always take when storing lots of data without a backup. The drive is being used much more than it was (just sitting on my work bench).

Please feel free to ask any other questions , always happy to aid other users , and test "real world" applications , rather than what Comcast or WD tell you the unit can do (that don't very often know what they are talking about anyway) , I like to find out myself and pass on the info..

Teddy

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:54:08 EDT

telcodad posted :

said by SpHeRe31459:

said by FifthE1ement:

Oh 5th... you should know this by now... if you're in area that has OSG 2.0 then that means you're in an SA/Cisco area, so A30 doesn't apply to you.

From this old thread I found on the (Moto) i-Guide A28 upgrades »South Florida Guide Upgrades!? i-Guide A28? it seems FifthE1ement (and most of South Florida) is in a Motorola area. I'm not sure why he mentioned OSG 2.0, as I thought that A28 or A30 supported AnyRoom on Moto DVRs? See: »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···1#M46347

5th: As far as the current deployment status for A30 goes, my info on that came from the posts from joejoejeo on the i-Guide A30 thread »iGuide A30 Unfortunately he hasn't posted any updates since November 29th.

EDIT: From this Engadget article, it looks like the AnyRoom DVRs had the A28 Guide when they were introduced back in 2010: »www.engadget.com/2010/07/01/comc···ives-wi/

EDIT2: OK, from this recent post in another thread, it appears that it was A28 that introduced AnyRoom service for Moto DVRs: »Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:58:00 EDT

The Q posted : .....and if you are in a cisco-SA area the external hard drive will already work.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:52:03 EDT

SpHeRe31459 posted :

said by FifthE1ement:

Oh 5th... you should know this by now... if you're in area that has OSG 2.0 then that means you're in an SA/Cisco area, so A30 doesn't apply to you.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:16:33 EDT

FifthE1ement posted :

said by telcodad:

FYI - According to the the latest (April 18th) update »media2.comcast.net/anon.comcasto···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."

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:14:53 EDT

FifthE1ement posted :

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
--
"The relationship between what we see and what we know is never settled..."

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:37:45 EDT

telcodad posted : FYI - According to the the latest (April 18th) update »media2.comcast.net/anon.comcasto···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."

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:39:21 EDT

MalibuMaxx posted : 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...

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:10:19 EDT

MalibuMaxx posted : 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...

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:54:45 EDT

telcodad posted :

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.comcasto···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/help-and-su···storage/ on the Comcast Customer Support site.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 14:26:53 EDT

MalibuMaxx posted : 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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:55:37 EDT

telcodad posted :

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.

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/XfinityTV-···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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:53:16 EDT

teddystacker posted : @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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 13:01:47 EDT

FifthE1ement posted :

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
--
"The relationship between what we see and what we know is never settled..."

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:17:38 EDT

teddystacker posted : 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

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 05:35:36 EDT

jwhite4 posted : 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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 23:56:04 EDT

Mike Wolf posted : 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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:41:33 EDT

SpHeRe31459 posted : 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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:39:22 EDT

jwhite4 posted : So what's the positive way to identify what model I have, to know if it's dvr-extended supported one?

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:23:35 EDT

SpHeRe31459 posted :

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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:18:42 EDT

jwhite4 posted : 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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:38:05 EDT

Mike Wolf posted : 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?
--
I'm always up for a good chat and helping with VoIP testing so my contact info is below.
Gigaset.net: Michael Wolf
Callcentric: 17772288600
SIP URI: sip:226976325024#9@sip.gigaset.net and sip:17772288600@in.callcentric.com
Skype: MikeWolf051

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:18:43 EDT

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

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:00:08 EDT

jwhite4 posted : 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?

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:00:28 EDT

SpHeRe31459 posted :

said by Russ:

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... :huh:

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 02:18:25 EDT

Russ posted : 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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 23:48:23 EDT

Mike Wolf posted : 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. :p

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 22:12:52 EDT

Russ posted :

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.
--
Cisco RNG 200N & SA 8300 HD DVRs-S26 Guide
Links
'Guide Blog'
'Schedule'
'Info'
'Patch Thread'

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:41:58 EDT

telcodad posted :

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.

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/XfinityTV-···3#M69363

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 14:27:01 EDT

anon posted :

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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:49:07 EDT

telcodad posted :

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/help-and-su···storage/ and there was a post in the Comcast Help and Support Forum about issues with those particular ones: »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···9#M58912

EDIT: Just noticed that you had also posted to that thread today (»forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 13:34:56 EDT

anon posted : 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.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 09:43:47 EDT

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

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 21:03:08 EDT

mikedz4 posted : of course another 6 weeks here.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:25:14 EDT

telcodad posted :

said by telcodad:

From a recent post in the Comcast Help and Support Forum »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···7#M67838 it looks like the eSATA port activation on supported Moto DVRs in the Keystone Region of Central and Western PA will now occur on March 1st:

From ComcastTeds
2-19-2013 10:41 AM
:
My apologies, I provided an incorrect date for areas of central and western PA for when this feature will be activated. It is scheduled to be activated next week, on March 1. Thanks for your understanding.

According to a post today in the Comcast Help and Support Forum »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···3#M68916 , it now appears the eSATA port activation on supported Moto DVRs in the Keystone Region will occur during the week of April 15th:

From ComcastTeds
3-5-2013 11:01 AM
:
Apologies for the confusion we caused about areas of central and western PA. That area has not yet completed all of the necessary steps required to activate the e-SATA port.

The remaining steps are scheduled to be completed the week of April 15. I apologize for providing the incorrect information. I will update the availability document today.

Thanks for your patience.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:37:22 EDT

telcodad posted : Latest update from the Comcast Help and Support Forum »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···3#M68006 on some more areas that will have the eSATA port activated soon:

From ComcastTeds
2-21-2013 4:20 PM

Just to add that our next locations that are currently scheduled to have the external hard drive feature activated are listed below. These areas are currently scheduled for the week of March 4. Thanks for your patience.

Chattanooga, TN
Nashville, TN
Knoxville, TN
Savannah, GA
Huntsville, AL
Mobile, AL
Hattiesburg, MS
Meridian, MS
Houma, LA

We intend to activate all areas in early 2013. The activation is done on a site-by-site basis. As additional areas are confirmed, we will update that information in this thread.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 15:45:30 EDT

telcodad posted : From a recent post in the Comcast Help and Support Forum »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···7#M67838 it looks like the eSATA port activation on supported Moto DVRs in the Keystone Region of Central and Western PA will now occur on March 1st:

From ComcastTeds
2-19-2013 10:41 AM
:
My apologies, I provided an incorrect date for areas of central and western PA for when this feature will be activated. It is scheduled to be activated next week, on March 1. Thanks for your understanding.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 06:21:20 EDT

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

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:58:27 EDT

telcodad posted : From a post today in the Comcast Help and Support Forum »forums.comcast.com/t5/XfinityTV-···1#M67144 it looks like the eSATA port activation on supported Moto DVRs (including the DCH3416) will be completed in the Freedom Region area tomorrow:

From ComcastTeds
2-11-2013 1:18 PM

The e-SATA activation will be pro-actively completed for all DVRs in PA, NJ and DE for Tuesday, February 12th. You do not need to call in. No service visit is required. The port will be enabled automatically.

The DCH 3416 is a supported DVR. Enjoy and thanks for your patience.

Re: DVR Extender w/Moto Boxes

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:20:45 EDT

jwhite4 posted :

said by telcodad:

You can find the list of Comcast DVRs that support external hard drives here: »customer.comcast.com/help-and-su···storage/

Thanks.