I LOVED this device for about a week... I was constantly deleting content so new programs could be added, but once this was installed, I never got over 21% full. But after a week, I noticed, that if I was recording 2 programs and watching another recorded program, it caused my cablebox to Reboot. If I was recording 2 programs and not watching another program, or recording 1 program and watching another, it would cause the playback to skip to the point that the program was unwatchable. I dealt with the issue for several months, not knowing for sure that the issue was with DVR expander. I finally had Cablevision come out, they tested the lines (perfect) and replaced the cablebox. I used the new cable box for 2 days without the expander, and it worked fine. I added the expander and within 1.5 hours it caused the cablebox to reboot, then again a half hour later. I disconnected the expander, and have not had a problem since... Apricorn DVR Expander II 1 TB Cable and Dish Network Dual eSATA / USB 2.0 Interface DVR Expansion System ADVRE2-1000, Black 1 TB
I never knew this type product existed until a friend told me about them. If you've ever blown out the capacity on your cable company DVR - easy to do if you mostly record in HD - then you need this product for piece of mind. Especially at this price. When I got it I had about a dozen or so recordings and was over 90% full. After installing the expander, I went below 6%. A few weeks later, I unthinkingly clicked the "record all episodes on this channel" for TNTHD's Law and Order (gulp). Within a few days I had more than 50 episodes and was still at less than 50%!
The product is a little noisey but not annoyingly so. And like your cable box it's always on so I expect its a bit of a power vampire. It does work seemlessly with my DVR. I had one installation concern. The manual only covered Scientific Atlanta, DirectTV and Dish units. My cable company DVR is from Cisco. I contacted the company's service desk and they said it should work anyway. I followed the Scientifc Atlanta installation instructions and they worked exactly the same.
When you look at the price of this unit and think how much you pay your cable company for box rental, it really highlights what a rip-off the cable boxes are. Memory is cheap. There is no reason they should come with a lousy 80 or 160 gigs.
I wasn't 100% sure this item would work with my Dish Network HD DVR (722), but to my satisfaction, everything worked perfectly! There was even specific instructions included for connecting to a Dish Network DVR, and the number to call Dish Network to activate. The only reason I did not rate this with 5 stars was the fact that the power LED on the front of the case is very bright, and can be distracting and annoying when watching TV. I'm planning on trying to cover that up. Other than that, I highly recommend this device to add storage to your existing DVR.
For some reason the first time I tried to activate the expander the SA8300HD DVR did not accept the device. But on a 2nd attempt the DVR recognized the Expander. Seems to work great went from 41% capacity used on the hard drive to 6% after the install.
I was very pleased with the simple, accurate, and straightforward directions that came with the drive (Apricorn 1TB DVR). Installation was very quick and trouble-free. We now have vastly increased capacity on our Scientific-Atlanta controller.
This product, per Apricorn, is NOT compatible with Cablevision's system, nor with Scientific Atlanta units attached to that provider. I can verify this as I have this unit, and picture breakup is so common as to render this device worthless. Amazon has not updated their website to correctly state where this unit is now recommended for use, assuming of course that Apricorn is truthful in their claims that they no longer support Cablevision's systems. Net, research this very carefully before acquiring this unit, as there is significant risk it will not work as intended in some common applications.
My husband got two of these expanders for me-one for the upstairs retreat & one for downstairs. Both hi-def TVs that have DVRs on them, but of course those only hold 80 hrs. of regular TV & if you record hi-def, it's 3 hrs. for every one! I never had enough time for recordings, so these make it great to record lots of shows & catch up on them when you have the time!! Now I don't have to miss anything I want to see, plus record it on hi-def, which is what we bought these great TVs to do!!! Love & recommend!! Just check to be sure this is compatible to your cable company..., my husband did some research to make sure it'd work before he bought them!!
Love the Apricorn DVR Expander II. Super simple to set up. I called Dish Network and they activated the extra storage device for no charge. The DVR recognized the system immediately. Easy to transfer recorded programs to the expander. Great purchase. - High Definition - Apricorn - Hd Dvr - Dvr'
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