Iomega 34508 eSATA DVR 1TB Expander Drive
by Iomega
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Category: CE
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Digital Photo Product Details
Manufacturer: IomegaAudio: English (Original Language)
Format: CD-ROM
Release Date: 2012-02-28
Platform: Windows
Model: 34508
Color: Silver
Product features:
- Compatible ? Tested to work with eSATA-enabled Pace Americas Set Box or Scientific Atlanta Explorer digital video recorder (DVR)
- High Capacity - Stores up to 300hours of standard-definition TV 0r 60 hours of high-definition TV
- Easy to use - Recording location is automatically managed by the DVR
- Compact and Quiet - Sleek silver drive sits vertically in stand and quietly compliments your home theatre experience
- 3 Year warranty with product registration
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- Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010 (Disc Version)
- Microsoft Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade [Home Premium to Professional]
- Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard [OLD VERSION]
- AmazonBasics Ultra-High-Speed HDMI Cable Braided (9.8 Feet/3.0 Meters)
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Iomega 34508 eSATA DVR 1TB Expander Drive
Customer Review: An adventure to get everything to work but finally, expanded DVR storage
Summary: 4 Stars
I got this DVR expander to replace a WD expander that pooped out. Problems with the WD drive didn't really begin until my cable company switched from Passport to Mystro software for the SA8300's (but it may have been a coincidence because the DVR was recently swapped out).
Upon first receipt of the Iomega I believe I may have interfered with the formatting process (which can take minutes)by believing it had not taken and rebooting the machine. The DVR came back and said the drive was installed and ready to use but there was no reduction in used space. Nothing I did changed this.
So, my remedy was to swap DVR's again. This time, the unit installed and the unused space was increased but the playback of recorded video (including replay of live TV) was unstable and full of stuttering and break up. Iomega's solution was an exchange for a refurbished unit which had the same problem. So, Iomega assumed it was a bad esata cable and sent me a new one. There was no change. So, I began to consider the possibility that the DVR had a bad esata port or was otherwise the problem and not the drive.
I swapped DVR units again and upon installing the drive it did not format but was already recognized by the DVR and it did not reduce the amount of used space (now, I wonder if I got my original unit recycled back to me).
I gave up for a week or two because I got sick and when I was ready to tackle it again I talked with the cable company and iomega both really didn't know what to do. Iomega was on the verge of going through another exchange with me. But I had begun to think that perhaps it just needed to be formatted to something else and then it would trigger reformat back to the DVR properly. Then, that idea was suggested by the cable company but they could give me no idea about how to do it since my computer had no esata ports. Iomega also had no idea about what to do.
Then I got to thinking that there might be an esata to USB adapter that I could use to format the drive. And indeed there was.
USB to eSATA / SATA Adapter
So, I got this adapter and when it came in connected the drive to the computer, fumbled my way to formatting it for the computer and for good measure, saved an insignificant file to the drive.
The moment of truth, this is it. I unplugged the DVR, plugged in and hooked up the Iomega drive via the esata cable and plugged things back in. When everything came back, it asked me if I wanted to reformat the external drive (so far, so good) and a couple minutes later it tells me the formatting is complete. I look at the used space and it's... the same. Oh no....
I turn off the list and turn it back on again to make sure and... NOW it shows more space (just took a moment to kick in).
That was about a little over a month ago and I sure have been giving this unit a run for it's money, making up for lost time. It's been as high as 50% (I do record lots of movies off HBO and Cinemax that I can take a while to get to or at least I can take a while to get to them now) and the recorded tally on that 50% was a little over 85 hours of high definition and almost 17 hours of standard definition (yes I added it up, I wanted to measure the capacity).
Anyway, I got this thing in early June and finally worked out all the kinks and got it working after August.
The performance has been fine with no glitching of the recordings beyond the occasional ones that happened before the expander drive. Same for the occasional dropped or split recording
So, it was a long journey complicated by not knowing where the problems actually were (it was probably unnecessary to return that first drive unless it had a problem along with the DVR) but thank goodness it got figured out.
Description of Iomega 34508 eSATA DVR 1TB Expander Drive
Iomega's DVR Expander Drive adds up to 1 TB of storage capacity to your eSATA-enabled Pace Americas Set Top Box or Scientific Atlanta Explorer digital video recorder so you can enjoy more TV and movies! Stores up to 300 hours of standard-definition or 60 hours of high-definition TV. Easy to use, the recording location is automatically managed by the DVR. This compact drive sits horizontally or vertically (in included stand) and quietly complements your home theatre experience. Check with your local cable service provider to confirm service compatibility.Digital Cameras & Photo Categories
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