DVR limitations of FiOS

[gometros]

I've been thinking of switching from Cablevision to FiOS for a while and this weekend's fiasco with ABC was the final straw. So I started to do some investigating and was all ready to switch until I started reading about the limitations of Verizon's DVR units. From what I can gather, their HD multi-room DVR units are Motoroal QIP 6416, which while they have a USB port do not recognize external hard drives/DVR expanders. The DVR capacity is 160GB or about 20 hours of HD programming. This is a big deal breaker for me. especially with the World Cup coming up.

I figured I would come to this board where I know there are a lot of knowledgeable people and other FiOS customers and to find out if 1) my research is correct and b) if there are other alternatives to get around the 160GB limit. I've heard that TiVo is an alternative, but then you lose Videos on Demand. I'd love to hear from other FiOS users about their experiences with the Verizon DVR situation.

 

[LiLIrishChick63]

fios isn't offerend in my area yet, however i have a family member who has it, and their DVR works just as good as mine does(i have Time Warner....which if i had another cable company to go to i would, but they're the only one in my area, and i refuse to get sattelite because we get pretty decent snow storms around here, and once it gets even a bit CLOUDY you lose the feed).

 

[bicker]

From what I can gather, their HD multi-room DVR units are Motoroal QIP 6416, which while they have a USB port do not recognize external hard drives/DVR expanders.

Are you implying that Cablevision's DVRs support external storage? That's news to me. I wasn't aware of any cable company DVR that supported external storage.

I've heard that TiVo is an alternative, but then you lose Videos on Demand.

You can always get a TiVo Premiere and also get a regular FiOS cable box, just for On Demand. It's a little more money, but it sounds like it would be worth it to you, given what you've indicated your interest is.

 

[gometros]

Are you implying that Cablevision's DVRs support external storage? That's news to me. I wasn't aware of any cable company DVR that supported external storage.

Yes, the Atlantic Scientific boxes can accept the Western Digital My DVR Expander SATA drive. I've also read of people having success with some other makes of drives.

 

[bicker]

Interesting. That's pretty unique. As I indicated earlier, most MSOs don't enable eSATA ports, mostly because of the costs associated with providing customer support. You're quite lucky that Cablevision does.

 

[gometros]

Interesting. That's pretty unique. As I indicated earlier, most MSOs don't enable eSATA ports, mostly because of the costs associated with providing customer support. You're quite lucky that Cablevision does.

bicker - I didn't say that cablevision supported it

 

[bicker]

Heheh