I just swapped over from Dishnet to Cable and they gave me a Pace dual tuner HD box. It won’t hold much HD content, so I figured I’d get an external hard drive. Apparently, these things can be temperamental when paired up with an external hard drive.
Has anyone already figured out which one to get and / or have any words of wisdom to share before I go shopping? Do I just get any ol external drive, or is there something special I need to be looking for??
Hey Mike - I think it probably depends on the box, and on the interface. The DTV HD boxes have a eSATA connector, and people seem to have good luck with the Seagate 750GB models.
It's a Pace 775. It only has a 80 gig hard drive, so it only take two or three HD movies to fill it up. I'm really getting into some of the HD concerts on HDNET (and Bikini Destinations), so it's always too full as I don't spend much time on my ass in front of the screen....
I did find this at AVS. I had to do some research to fing out what eSATA is.
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Pace Recommended e-SATA drives
Overview:
This section outlines the e-SATA drive(s) that Pace has tested and verified to operate with any Pace STB. Although any current e-SATA drive is compatible with Pace STB’s, the following manufacturers have been tested and verified and are therefore recommended for e-SATA use.
Recommended Drives by Manufacturer Model Number
Edge Diskgo: TBM120
Maxtor: R42JER0E
Seagate: ST303204FPA1E2-RK and ST305004FPA1E2-RK
Western Digital: WDG1SU5000N and WDG1S5000
Content recorded on the STB can only be viewed from that specific device. Content can not be transferred or viewed on a home computer or any other electronic device.
TDC775D – e-SATA Installation Guide
This section outlines the process on how to properly install an external SATA (e-SATA) drive on Pace Tahoe TDC775D.
Installation:
1. Pace Set-Top Box (STB) must be disconnected at the time an e-SATA drive is connected.
2. e-SATA drive must be connected utilizing the SATA port via an e-SATA cable.
3. Once connected, the STB can be booted up. Boot time should not be affected when a properly working e-SATA drive is connected.
4. Once the e-SATA drive is connected and the STB is powered on, the user will be prompted to format the e-SATA drive. This will mate the e-SATA drive and its contents to that STB. Formatting of the e-SATA drive will only be required the first time the e-SATA drive is connected to the STB.
If an e-SATA drive is connected while the system is running the e-SATA drive will not be recognized.
I would go with the Western Digital by preference. Avoid the Maxtor; they're generally cheap Seagates and tend to die. I've never heard of Edge before. e-SATA is merely External Serial ATA. You probably have SATA (internal) drives in your computer right now, unless it's fairly old, in which case you have PATA (Parallel ATA) drives (the ones with the 40 pin ribbon cable.) External Serial ATA is probably the fastest external hard drive interface out there for consumers, with the possible exception of Firewire 800.
Thanks Ken. I'll look and see what I can find at Best Buy tomorrow.
I use a 750 gig Seagate for my PC that Costco had and it seams to be doing OK, but it uses fire wire. I don't recall seeing one of these eSATA connections in the box...
Probably isn't one there. Manufacturers like charging a premium for eSATA over Firewire over USB. It's a longish rectangular connection, kind of like HDMI.
What Ken said. I've worked w/ a lot of drive vendors and Maxtor is WAY at the bottom. You pay for Seagate but it tends to be MUCH better quality.
I picked up a Western Digital 500 gig unit at Costco for $110. They had 1-T boxes for $220 as well, but I figured if I fill up 500 gig, it's probably time to just delete stuff. Opened the box and.... NO FRIGGIN ESTA CABLE!!! Damn that pisses me off! Big asses letters on the box ESTA, but oh no.... no cable.
So off I go the local Radio Shack and see what they have this weekend. Anything special about the cable that I should be aware of??
Power cable or USB cable? Probably just a standard USB cable.
BTW, I set up 2 of my in-laws' external HDD on their Tivos using a regular SATA cable. The difference vs the eSATA cable is mostly shielding and a more rugged connector. If it's not moving much, you might get by on a MUCH cheaper, standard SATA cable that you can get from any computer h/w store or electronics store, like Fry's.
Thanks. The RS didn't have anything. Looks like I have to order one. The shipping will cost more than the cable. One of the joys of living in Alaska.