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Videotron: SA Explorer 8300HD with external HDD Discussion and Issues

54K views 76 replies 23 participants last post by  57 
#1 ·
Hi,

I have a 8300HD and a external hard disk Esata Appricorn. It worked fine for many months, until Videotron upgraded the OS of the machine. Since then, the new recording shows in the menu, but they dont play, unless they have been recorded in the inner hard disk. I called Videotron, we downgraded the OS, upgraded it, reboot many times, it did not work, I still experiment the same problem.

Any idea? I am thinking off taking the Apricorn disk and put it inside 8300Hd box. How do I do that?

Thanks

David
 
#55 ·
Your post was moved to this existing thread on the topic. There's also a similar, but not identical thread in the Rogers forum regarding eHDDs with SA PVRs. I believe that the maximum capacity allowed by the firmware is 1.5 TB and that only specific drives and enclosures work. It got even more specific with Rogers after their most recent firmware update.

Then check out the following post, useful for those new to the forum - FAQs, Search Tips, Optimization, etc:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=57741
 
#56 ·
iirc I've read that 1Tbyte was the limit.

As for the sleep thing, I've experienced the same issues with the Vantec, even if there was not suppose to be any issue with it.
What I did is connect directly to the drive (SATA to eSATA) WITHOUT the control board that came with it. Wakes up properly now.
 
#57 ·
Videotron replaced 8300+, now external HD won't work

I`ve had a LOOOOONG series of problems with Videotron over the last year, related to multiple attempts where Videotron tried to upgrade the OS on our box, most times without notice, and a few times with notice, and every time it would freeze our box, and we'd have to fight with them for hours or days for them to fix it, which was generally a downgrade back to the old sara..

so after many fights with Videotron, and some supposed limit to have the new OS in place broadly by July first, the decided to replace the box (I could rant about this process for days, and still could go on...)

SO, they bring be a refurbed 8300+ and throw in a 1 yr warranty on the box.

it comes pre-upgraded, and we are told both by support and the tech installing it that if the external HD worked before, it'll work now...

So the OS sees the drive, says it`s formatted...but the recording space doesn't reflect the external disk....all the external drive does is flash over and over again...recordings don't make it to the external drive...

The external enclosure is a Vantec Nexstar 3 and the disk in the enclosure is a WD black 1 TB.
 
#58 ·
Your post was moved into this existing thread. You're right, it should work. Try formatting the eHDD on a computer and then do a reinstall on the PVR. Did you do a second reboot after the "format" in the PVR? If not, do that first as per the installation instructions. Please see the links in post 2 of this thread to the similar Rogers thread with instructions, etc. Make sure all your connections are good.

I assume you know that all your recorded programmes are "gone" since the index was on the iHDD of the previous PVR.

I'm not sure if the discussions in the following firmware thread are any use since your unit worked before:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=121986&highlight=eHDD&page=8
 
#59 ·
So the story goes that we have an 8300+ that was replaced by videotron with another 8300+, and since then, my external disk will be detected by the PVR, it prompts me to format the disk (which it completes succesfully), the available space changes, but as soon as the PVR goes to sleep/spins down, the light on ther enclosure goes into a blinking cycle and the disk isn't seen anymore by the PVR.

Ok, so as recommended, I took the disk out of the enclosure and put it in a PC.

The hard disk is a western digital BLACK series model WD1002FAEX w 64 MB of onboard cache, with the jumpers on the disc at the default.

I ran the WD datalife tools, doing a short test (passed), a long test (passed) and wrote zeros all over the disc (completed successfully). So I know the disk is fine, and there are no remnants of the old PVR on the disk.

So I unplug my PVR, plug in and power up the external disk, plug in the PVR, it detects it, formats it, space changes....and 20-30 minutes later the PVR spins down (we were watching a DVD, so the PVR wasn`t in use).....again the external disk vanishes and the light on the external box goes into a crazy flashing/pulsing cycle...
 
#60 ·
If I recall correctly, the late 2010 firmware upgrade on Rogers caused some enclosure/drive combinations to have the "flashing light" issue. I believe the people who had that problem were able to resolve it with the Thermaltake enclosure discussed many times in recent pages of the Rogers eHDD thread (instead of the Vantec enclosure).

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=23773

I didn't think that Videotron customers had encountered that issue though...
 
#62 ·
explorer 8300hd expander drive problem

Just wonderding if anyone experienced the same problem as me and can offer a solution. I own an explorer 8300hd and recently purchased an expander drive which was suggested on this site (WDBABT0010HBK-NESN 1TB MyBook AV DVR Expander). I followed the instructions posted to connect it to my PVR. Now what I am noticing is that some of the shows I program my PVR to record (and I do see the red light on the pvr indicating the program being recorded) never show up on the list of recorded shows. I tried to unplugg the pvr and reconnect the expander drive but the same problem is still there (some of the recorded shows show up on the list option others dont). Does anyone have any ideas to fix this?

(yes I did get a message on my pvr that the expander drive is compatible and yes I did format it)

Thanks
 
#64 ·
I had the tech guys from videotron pass by earlier last month so its not a signal issue. Seems more like an issue that I am unable to access the programs that were recorded on the explander drive. Was hoping smeone experienced the same problem and managed to fin a sollution.
 
#65 ·
Did you actually check your signal strength & S/N? What someone did last month has nothing to do with your signal now. Check it and report back. I'm not saying that's the issue, but it can often be.

You could also disconnect the eHDD for a short time and see if the problem surfaces. If it does, then it's nothing to do with the eHDD.

The index for the recordings is on the iHDD, so if it's not there, then something else went wrong and the programme never recorded properly. This has been reported at Rogers several times, both with and without an eHDD. If the programme is on the index and then you can't watch it - the PVR goes to the DVR screen - then you have an eHDD issue, or the connection to the eHDD is not good, or there's an enclosure issue. The SATA connection is not very solid, so make sure it's connected well at both ends and not "hanging" and make sure the drive is properly seated in the enclosure if you care to take it apart.

Also, which recordings are affected? If you're recording the US channel that is simsubbed by the Canadian channel, you should record the Canadian channel instead to avoid these issues. This simsub issue has also been reported on Rogers.
 
#67 ·
8300HD and External HDD (WD Mybook AV)

Hi all,

Just thought I'd pass on my experience. After connecting MyBook, I was asked to format it and all went well. 8300 recognized the disk space, but recorded shows did not appear on list. After disconnecting HDD to isolate issue I got continuous freezing of picture and sound and frequent loss of PVR functions.

I found that multiple cold boots (3 or 4) successfully resolved that issue (1 or 2 did not do it)

Reconnecting eSata drive and reformatting drives with the HD8300 utility DID NOT resolve anything (even multiple formats).

Finally read somewhere that the WD esata cables did not work with the HD8300, so I bought a new one from Access Electonics in DDO. (Physical appearance of the cable is different from the WD cable while the connectors are essentially the same) . (Blue Diamond cable at a cost of about $11)

After installing with new cable, I performed a reformat, and immediately noticed a difference in the sounds of the drives formatting. Once complete retested and everything appears to be working perfectly.

Hopefully that experience might help someone else. I was ready to smash the expander.

Good luck
 
#68 ·
Further to HD8300 and Mybook AV

Just an update,

It seems that all works well until the PVR goes into sleep mode, then the system does not see the external drive without a cold boot. I am contemplating using the external drive for target practice.

Am renting the newer model of the PVR from Videotron, and may try the external drive on that.
 
#69 · (Edited by Moderator)
Scientific Atlanta 8300HD-External Hard Drive

Hello,

Since December 2006, I own a Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8300HD Personal Video Recorder (160GB internal hard drive) being marketed by Videotron.

In December 2007, I've purchased a Vantec NexStar 3 (3.5 HDD enclosure) equipped with an eSata connection with a 500 GB Western Digital Caviar Green hard drive. It has worked fine for about 18 months then it suddenly stopped. I had to go through a Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) procedure with Western Digital to have the HDD replaced without any charge.

Again, it was working perfectly until last week. Now when I watch recorded programs on the external drive, playback is sometimes choppy, unstable or the image stops for a while. It seems that the problem is again related to the external hard disk drive.

Since the enclosure has to stay ON at all times, I was told that the problem is most likely related to the absence of cooling on the Vantec NexStar 3 (3.5) enclosure causing damage to the hard disk following a long term use.

Have you received any comments from members regarding this issue? This is the second 500MB hard drive to be replaced.

I was suggested to purchase a Seagate Constellation ES 500 GB, SATA interface (Model #ST500NM0011) which is designed for intensive use. Anybody has had an experience with this hard drive model used with SA 8300HD PVR?

Your assistance in resolving this issue is greatly appreciated. Any suggestions or recommendations would also be appreciated.
 
#70 · (Edited by Moderator)
sa8300 hard drive fail

I have a SA8300HD that is giving the message that there is a problem with the disk and recording or playing a taped program is not available. I have also a 1T external drive attached to it. The data on it also can't be accesed because (based on my understanding) the index of the external hard drive resides on the 8300's hard drive. Since this is damaged, data on the external drive is not accesible. Am I wrong?

Can the data that is now on the external hard drive be accessed through anything (my laptop or the new PVR 8642) if the index is on the old 8300?



If I can get the 8300 to work, can i burn Dvds of the programs that I really want to keep, that are now on the 8300 hard drive and the external hard drive. Also I would like to burn dvds of some programs that I have on the new PVR 8642 (. I have the feeling that the PVRs do not last very long, so I need somehow to back up my recordings.

3. What is the best equipment to burn dvd from the old & new PVR.? and how do you connect it.


Thank you

Alain
 
#71 ·
1. If the index is damaged, you cannot access any recordings. When you get a message like you did, the HDD is usually shot.

2. The recordings are encrypted, so you cannot access directly.

3. You can copy, if you get it working. Here's a thread listing several options in the links in post 1 - it's from Rogers, but most of it applies:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=50162
 
#72 ·
I have the original 8300 PVR and a 500 GB Western Digital DVR Expander which has been working fine for several years. For the past week or so the pvr is not able to play shows recorded on Expander. The shows show up in the listing but when I try to play them all I get is the Playback Channel screen. Anyone else having this issue?
 
#76 ·
hi , I lost all my recordings, when I unplug to reset it it no longer tells me I have a external hard drive, I unplugged the external and checked it on my pc,it works ,when I plug it my 8300hd pvr it doesn't reconize it :confused:
 
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