8300HDC SATA Drive Question

[robinsjnc]

No laughing please. Next to complete ignorance here.

Time-Warner cable, Winston-Salem, NC

I want to connect an external SATA drive to the 8300HDC to increase storage space for recording (since the 8300 seems to be full of "Top Chefs" . . . but that's not your problem.)

The 8300 has an output port labelled "SATA". All the drives I see seem to be "eSATA". Is there a difference?

The 8300 manual also says to make sure you get a SATA II cable and connector. Can you give me any info on that?

Thanks for helping a total newbie.

 

[blueaurora]

I don't know that the port is even enabled. This is an option in the maintenance menu that says something about it. I have that model number hold select and info? or exit at the same time on the unit it self and it will go into diagnostic mode. You can search for any channels in testing that way and check for this.

I recall mine being disabled I believe.

On a side note do they even make external SATA hard drives?

 

[mleskowyak]

Sata Port 8300

I acutuall purchase an external SATA drive from Apricorn.........unfortunately TW Columbus, Ohio does not enable the sata port in the 8300HD so i would not work.

I talked with TW COL and they said it might be enabled in the latest version of code due out sometime late this year.

 

[aboz]

I have a Antec enclosure and a Maxtor 500GB sata drive attached with a esata cable. It works well! It all depends on your provider if they activated the port or not. This goes through an 8300 HDC

 

[GeorgeL]

I just installed a Western Digital 500 Gig "My DVR Expander" drive on my SA 8300HD w/Passport software. At first the drive would not function when installed according to the directions, I would get an error message "The external drive is disconnected..." I then installed the drive with the DVR powered up and it worked the first time without the need for re-booting. The WD kit came with the correct cable and the 8300 DVR had the SATA port enabled according to the diagnostic page. (Channel 999)

George

 

[zeeball@nc.rr.com]

I got one of the DVR Xpander drives from Apricorn. Connected it to the 8300HDC and it formatted it as expected, so the eSata port is enabled. The unit works OK for the day as I can see the percentage go from 30% down to 10% after connecting. Unfortunately overnight or all day, the 8300HDC becomes unresponsive and I have to power cycle it to force a reboot. Service is through TW in Raleigh, NC. Is there something happening to disable the eSata port and lock up the unit or do I have a flakey 8300? I may want to exchange it. Does the 8300HD work any better? I sent the Xpander back and they graciously sent me a new one that does the same. Odd that it works for awhile then locks up. I disconnected it for now. I may just connect it if there is a lot to record in one day. The Xpander if 500GB; I have heard there are some limitations to 320 GB for some units. Could that be the problem?

 

[phamdinhnguyen]

Scientific Atlanta 8300HDC & SATA Drive Question

Anyone has any experience with the "LaCie 1TB BIG Disk Extreme+ eSATA" drive?
Its specifications seem to meet (or exceed) the requirements specified by the 8300HDC e-manual from Scientific Atlanta web site.

• SciAtl e-manual: External SATA II cable and connector; 7200RPM (or 5400RPM w/o multi-room - this is my configuration); 133 MB/sec
• LaCie web site: External SATA (LaCie recommends this drive be used with LaCie SATA II PCI-X/Press eSATA card); 7200RPM; 3Gbits/sec (300MB/sec)

Reading your posts, I'm more concerned with the eSATA drive will eventually be "put out of service" by cable operator (may be by sending reset (periodic) signals to the 8300HDC, than the eSATA drive is incompatible with the 8300HDC unit.

 

[Rainbowman]

I attached a Cavalry 1TB sata external drive to my 8300HDC from TWC (w/ SARA software) and it seems to work fine. I tried the Western Digital 500GB "My DVR Expander" drive and it didn't work.

 

[northsouthrick]

I would love to do the same...but with Comcast, and I have the SA 8300HDC (the HDC only means that the cable is connected in the back) I cannot do a Expander drive because the box is running Passport software...it can only be done with the SARA software.....

I just installed a Western Digital 500 Gig "My DVR Expander" drive on my SA 8300HD w/Passport software. At first the drive would not function when installed according to the directions, I would get an error message "The external drive is disconnected..." I then installed the drive with the DVR powered up and it worked the first time without the need for re-booting. The WD kit came with the correct cable and the 8300 DVR had the SATA port enabled according to the diagnostic page. (Channel 999)

George

 

[phamdinhnguyen]

Comcast SA8300HDC DVR and pureDrive 1TB eSATA HDD

Components / Service:

• Comcast (formerly Adelphia) in Massachusetts.
• SA8300HDC, version 1.90.5.110.
• eSATA acomdata, 1TB Western Digital, Model WDC WD10EACS-00ZJB0.
• SATA II cable.

Connection procedure:

• Have the 8300HDC power on (plugged in an always-active outlet)
• Have the eSATA HDD power off (plugged in an always-active outlet)
• Connect the eSATA HDD to the 8300HDC
• Power on the eSATA HDD
• 8300HDC recognized the eSATA HDD, and prompted for formatting
• Click OK to proceed with formatting, took practically instantaneous

Results:

• The recorded size was instantly reduced from roughly 70% (of 160GB built-in HDD) down to 10% (of 1000GB-eSATA + 160GB)
• Had no issues scheduling huge number of future recording programs
• Have been very successful, in both recording and play back. While in play back, fast forward, fast rewind, pause, etc... were repeatedly and successfully experimented

Failures:

• Failure was first observed after day-3, when I began to experiment with auto-buffering features (instant replay a live program, rewind a live program, etc...)
• The screen went complete blank for any activities relating to auto buffer.
• From this point onward, my scheduled recording programs are not recordable :-(
• I ended up powering off the eSATA HDD, reboot the 8300HDC (unplug power cord), using the above-describe procedure to connect the eSATA HDD back to the 8300HDC. This was successful immediately. I'll find out later tonight if my corrective action will fix the recording issue.
• I don't think I'll try again with any features of auto buffer.

Updates - 08/08/08

• My corrective actions succeeded
• I've been successfully scheduled numerous HD programs. They're all great! More than 80 HD programs were recorded, and more than 80% of HDD was used. Just GREAT!
• All features relating to auto-buffering of "live" programs are ... GONE :-( But I'm OK with that.

 

[phamdinhnguyen]

I would love to do the same...but with Comcast, and I have the SA 8300HDC (the HDC only means that the cable is connected in the back) I cannot do a Expander drive because the box is running Passport software...it can only be done with the SARA software.....

I also have Comcast and SA8300HDC DVR, which runs SARA version 1.90.5.110.
Can you double check on "the box is running Passport software..."?

Good luck!

 

[reds1963]

anyone know if this works in columbus,ohio yet ???????????????