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Dish Introduces DTVPal DVR

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There is nothing to indicate that the DTVPal DVR will support any kind of program transfer via the Ethernet or USB ports.

Don't forget that this DVR is the "value priced" Echostar offering. Any premium features will likely debut on a VIP receiver long before they make it on a "to do" list for the PalDVR. And that will only happen if this PALDvr sells like hotcakes.
 
pabeader said:
except for the part where Dish messes with the firmware and the drive is not recognized by a PC.
Click to expand...
??? It may be that if you plug it into a Windows PC you'll have problems because Windows doesn't recognize Linux filesystem types. But that's not a firmware thing ... that's a Windows thing. If replacing/duping/expanding the HDD is even possible you would be in much better shape attempting that under Linux, not Windows. If you only have Windows PCs available, you can boot them from any of a number of Linux LiveCDs (Knoppix, SysRescueCD, Ubuntu, ... and many more).

Do you have any links to where it has been determined that Dish messed with firmware? My guess would be that people reporting problems have run into OS/filesystem recognition issues and/or encryption issues, not firmware ones. I would like to research this though, because if I buy a DTVPalDVR then one of the first things I'd like to do is increase the HDD size.
 
Smith said:
You should find a lot of threads/posts where is ppl complained about DVR disks is not spinning up in PC, regardless of OS.
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They don't even SPIN UP? Wow! What did Dish do to these disks?! You normally don't need anything other than power to spin one up (ignoring power-saver modes and stuff like that).
 
What he said...
plus, i have actually taken the controller board off of one drive and used it on another. if the firmwares don't match then the drive won't spin. So there is something in the bootstrap on the drive itself that can be 'tinkered' with. think about this. there are a lot of redundant pins on the drive. maybe they are using a few of them in a 'non-standard' way.
 
most drives have at least three chips on the controller board. one of which is this 'firmware' that decides how to deal with the platter or platters that are available
 
I would concur - today the info about physical matter ( tracks, sectors organization, bad spots, etc ) storing on platters; it have big advantage at manufacturer site - universal controller boards !

[The Seagate/Maxtor facility located in next city here ;)].
 
So dish has taken a standard interface and turned it into a proprietary one? For what purpose? If they just want to protect recordings, encryption is the way to go - you don't need to muck around with things at the interface level. Dish must have another reason for doing this, but for the life of me I can't figure out what that reason would be.
 
They're expect to ride new wave: Pay-TV over the Air. Look into TR-40 [DVTpal] - it have already smart card for conditional access; I'm pretty sure the DVR will have it too. Soon ( Seattle ppl testing it now) you'll see how Dish will get new revenue.
 
Wow. Watching TV is already well down on my list of recreational activities, done only occasionally maybe one night per week (two nights, if it's an especially boring week). If they want to start charging for OTA then they'll probably lose a lot of viewers. I like playing the piano and reading better anyway.

TV is funny - the more you watch, the more you think you have to watch. The less you watch, the less you want to watch - even when you have nothing else to do. I've been moving towards less and less for a few years now. I was thinking of canceling Dish and going with only the DTVPalDVR and OTA. But if they're now planning on charging for THAT too, well, my piano expertise will improve with the additional practice, and I'll get more books read.
 
haertig said:
<snip> I was thinking of canceling Dish and going with only the DTVPalDVR and OTA. But if they're now planning on charging for THAT too, well, my piano expertise will improve with the additional practice, and I'll get more books read.
Click to expand...

You will still be able to get the regular channels from your local digital stations for free. The pay content will be in addition to that (if it ever comes into being - may just be an engineering department idea that won't be used).
 
Smith said:
They're expect to ride new wave: Pay-TV over the Air. Look into TR-40 [DVTpal] - it have already smart card for conditional access; I'm pretty sure the DVR will have it too. Soon ( Seattle ppl testing it now) you'll see how Dish will get new revenue.
Click to expand...

I didn't see a Smart Card on the TR40, and I don't see any indication of one on the TR50. Where did you hear that they had them?

I could see the TR50 using its ethernet port to one day connect to Dish's VOD service. But I don't see any OTA premiums in the future. That would require too many Broadcasters to get on board like USTV did, and that failed.

Like I said before, this device looks like its the "value priced" OTA DVR. Not much in the way of fancy bell or whistles.
 
I've an operational question. I have 2 Sony DVrS and though I think they're fabulous, it annoys me that this thing has to be ON and spinning disks all the time. I gets up to 106 degress inside the unit. Where as the Dish DVRs only spin up when it's time to actually do something. Does anyone who's tested this know if it works the same way?
 
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