So, you just got this brand new DVR (Digital Video Recorder) from your cable company, and you decide to record your favorite sporting events in HD along with other shows in standard definition. You want to save many of these shows so that you can share then with friends and family at a later date. Soon you begin to notice that you have used up 75% of the storage capacity and in the not too distant future, you are going to have to make a decision on which show to delete, to make room for newer shows you want to record.
What is wrong with this picture? Believe me, I know, because I have been there. Calling the cable company to ask for a unit with more storage or even for a way to get more storage, is like asking a foreign question. so I kept telling myself that had to be a way to solve this problem.
Yes, you can transfer the shows onto VHS tape, but going from HD quality to a very much degraded in quality tape, well you get the picture. Well, actually you don’t get the (HD) picture. You can even use a DVD recorder and it will give you at least the same quality as a standard DVD, but every time you want to make more space on your DVR, you have to transfer the shows over to DVD.
This is not a bad alternative, but try explaining this to your aging parents who just got a DVR and who still have the clock flashing 12:00 on their VHS machines.
I know you have been waiting to find out if there is an answer to this problem, and yes, there is. Not only that, it actually will work with your cable DVR, even if the cable company says it won’t.
It is really a simple solution. if you have a computer, then you are already aware of the external or portable hard drives that you can buy to increase the storage capacity. Today, you can get a lot more storage and possibly more storage then you will ever need. so, take this concept and apply it to a DVR and guess what, you get the same results. Lots more storage while still using your existing cable DVR.
The unit is actually a SATA hard drive that can connect to your cable box by way of an eSata cable. These type of drives come with an A/C power cord and the connection is very simple since most cable boxes with have the outlet for this type of cable.
To give you an example of the amount of storage you can expect to get from a 300 GB drive, for standard digital definition you can store up to 200 hours of content. the storage capacity decreases considerable for HD content since a high-definition signal is roughly 8 to 10 times larger tan standard definition. This means, if you record the same amount of content in HD, you will get about 25 hours of content.
However, since most people record a combination of the two types of content, you will usually get at least 100 hours of storage. This is over an above what you will already be getting on your existing cable DVR. plus there are larger capacity units available.
You can find these units online and you will probably need to be specific about the model number and manufacturer of your DVR and make sure you have the proper connection available on your unit. Companies that sell these units are very knowledgeable and can help you out with any of your questions.
For those of you with Satellite DVRs, you too can add more storage and there are two ways that this can be done. You can actually replace the existing hardrive in your unit, I know this sounds scary, with one of the larger sizes available. it is actually a simple matter, if you are at least a little mechanically inclined. You can also buy the external drives, similar to what we talked about with the cable DVRs.
Imagine this, with sizes up to a staggering 2 Terabytes (2000GB), you can record and store up to 300 hours of HD and up to 1,750 hours of standard definition content. I don’t think you would ever run out of storage space with one of these. they do come in all different sizes and prices and they come with the eSATA cable as well.
So it does not matter if you have a cable DVR or a Satellite DVR, you can increase the storage capacity and save hours upon hours of extra HD and SD content.
To find out more and to purchase these items direct, just click on the following link. More Cable and Satellite Program Storage
