I stumbled across this today and it reminded me that when I got my first satellite receiver with PVR capability, it would only save files to an attached external drive, but it had no ethernet jack nor any other way to connect to the Internet. Even firmware updates had to be copied to a USB stick and then connected to the receiver.
That, of course, meant you could only watch recorded programs on a TV attached to the receiver, unless you physically disconnected the drive and took it to a computer and copied the recorded show to that computer. What I always wanted back then, but could not find, was a device that would emulate a USB hard drive but would actually transfer files to and from a device that was connected to the local network. Apparently I was not the only one; today I found this:
Make NAS appear as a USB drive
Now this is a pretty technical thread and despite the fact that I've had a backend system that runs Linux for several years now (using TBS cards to bring in signals from my dishes), I really don't know much about Linux at all. So a lot of that discussion doesn't make much sense to me. I wish there were an easy-to-follow video, or other set of instructions, showing the procedure. Or, at least I wish there had been back then, when I was searching for such a thing.
So, I am just posting this link for the benefit of those who have older receivers that do not have an Ethernet connection (or that doesn't not allow you to save recordings over that connection) and that are technically savvy enough to make this work. It might still have applications with various other devices that might only save to a USB-connected drive, but I had only wanted it for use with that satellite receiver. In fact my primary reason for building up the backend system with the TBS cards was so recordings could be watched anywhere on the local network.
(Mods, if this is not the best place for this post please feel free to relocate it to a more appropriate forum.)
That, of course, meant you could only watch recorded programs on a TV attached to the receiver, unless you physically disconnected the drive and took it to a computer and copied the recorded show to that computer. What I always wanted back then, but could not find, was a device that would emulate a USB hard drive but would actually transfer files to and from a device that was connected to the local network. Apparently I was not the only one; today I found this:
Make NAS appear as a USB drive
Now this is a pretty technical thread and despite the fact that I've had a backend system that runs Linux for several years now (using TBS cards to bring in signals from my dishes), I really don't know much about Linux at all. So a lot of that discussion doesn't make much sense to me. I wish there were an easy-to-follow video, or other set of instructions, showing the procedure. Or, at least I wish there had been back then, when I was searching for such a thing.
So, I am just posting this link for the benefit of those who have older receivers that do not have an Ethernet connection (or that doesn't not allow you to save recordings over that connection) and that are technically savvy enough to make this work. It might still have applications with various other devices that might only save to a USB-connected drive, but I had only wanted it for use with that satellite receiver. In fact my primary reason for building up the backend system with the TBS cards was so recordings could be watched anywhere on the local network.
(Mods, if this is not the best place for this post please feel free to relocate it to a more appropriate forum.)
