# Cavalry 750GB ESATA @ Buy.com for $180



## TMullenJr (Feb 23, 2006)

FYI:

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202734456&loc=101

According to the website, there aren't many left.


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## Stuart Sweet (Jun 19, 2006)

It looks like a good deal. Does anyone have one of these yet? How do they work?


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## TMullenJr (Feb 23, 2006)

And another website said it comes with the esata cable.


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## Trak101 (Dec 3, 2005)

If I'm reading the specs right, the transfer rate is no better than USB 2...


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## brianr4666 (Aug 19, 2006)

Trak101 said:


> If I'm reading the specs right, the transfer rate is no better than USB 2...


Wrong specs on the buy.com site. Here are the correct ones from the Cavalry website. It is a great deal.
Specifications 
Cavalry CAXM37750 3.5" Pre-Formatted External Hard Drive 7200RPM 750GB USB 2.0

This SATA to USB 2.0 / eSATA unit provides not only SATA to USB 2.0 interface, also SATA to eSATA interface to connect with PC. This unit follows standard SATA specification, which provides 3Gbit/sec throughput to reach better data-storage performance.

Key Features/Technical Specifications

Pre-Formatted 750GB 7200RPM 3.5" SATA hard disk drive with Built-in Fan 
Supports an incredible transfer rate of *3.0Gbps *(SATA) and 480Mbps (USB2.0) 
Benefit from the unsurpassed speed and easier configuration 
Hard drive activity luminous panel 
Interface: eSATA / USB 2.0 
Dimension: 198 x 125 x 33 mm


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## Trak101 (Dec 3, 2005)

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=95615&highlight=esata+drives

This link is _a propos_ to this thread...


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## rajeshh (Sep 11, 2007)

I got the Seagate 750G for $159.99 with $40 off $199 coupon instead from CC.


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## dsm (Jul 11, 2004)

rajeshh said:


> I got the Seagate 750G for $159.99 with $40 off $199 coupon instead from CC.


I don't see anything like this at Circuit City right now. Or is CC not Circuit City?

-steve


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## TMullenJr (Feb 23, 2006)

rajeshh said:


> I got the Seagate 750G for $159.99 with $40 off $199 coupon instead from CC.


That's great, except now the Seagate is back to $280.


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## adambomb6 (Jul 31, 2006)

Thanks for the link. I snoozed on the cc deal and missed it, but I went ahead and just ordered this one from buy.com, especially after the review seemed to like this one the best for its speed. Looking forward to trying it out!


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## DonCorleone (Jan 29, 2006)

dsm said:


> I don't see anything like this at Circuit City right now. Or is CC not Circuit City?
> 
> -steve


I asked the same question. Apparently it was a deal that's no longer running. I ended up getting it for $210 at Sam's Club.


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

Just ordered one!


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## tombet (Sep 27, 2006)

Has anyone actually used this Cavalry one yet, and have a report ? Also, please report if it comes with a eSata cable, and if not, which cable you successfully used.

Thanks


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## Kevin L (Nov 16, 2005)

I just installed one on an HR20-100. Install went as expected and it's running just fine. An added plus - the front panel light on the Cavalry drive is blue, matching the HR20.


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

Mine arrived today. Super fast delivery from buy.com. I plugged it in, connected it to the HR20, turned on the drive, then did a menu reset of the HR20. Works like a charm (so far). The only bad thing is I'm itching to redo all my series records, but the guide hasn't repopulated enough yet.

Have not yet tried switching back to watch old recorded shows.


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

MrKlaatu said:


> Mine arrived today. Super fast delivery from buy.com. I plugged it in, connected it to the HR20, turned on the drive, then did a menu reset of the HR20. Works like a charm (so far). The only bad thing is I'm itching to redo all my series records, but the guide hasn't repopulated enough yet.
> 
> Have not yet tried switching back to watch old recorded shows.


I'm thinking about ordering one. Did you need to purchase a separate eSATA cable, or did the supplied eSATA cable work just fine?

Any problems?


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## finaldiet (Jun 13, 2006)

I believe the Calvary comes with esata cable whereas the seagate doesn't. I got seagate when it was on sale at CC, but had to buy cable. An article out couple of weeks ago rated Calvary best on market.


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

Guitar Hero said:


> I'm thinking about ordering one. Did you need to purchase a separate eSATA cable, or did the supplied eSATA cable work just fine?
> 
> Any problems?


So far no problems and it came with the cable!


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## jbrentd (Sep 6, 2007)

Ordered one today.


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## keithisme (Oct 2, 2006)

Remind me again. How much capacity do you get with 750G vs. the standard HR20? Double?


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## jbrentd (Sep 6, 2007)

I believe it's 200MB versus 650MB of usable space. That more than three times the usable space.


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## DCSholtis (Aug 7, 2002)

Thanks for the link. Just picked mine up for $177 using Google Checkout.


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## cartrivision (Jul 25, 2007)

keithisme said:


> Remind me again. How much capacity do you get with 750G vs. the standard HR20? Double?


A 750 GB disk will give you about 120 hours for MPEG2 HD or about 200 hours for MPEG4 HD vs. 30 and 50 hours with the 320 GB disk that comes with an HR20.


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

Purchased $201.29. A bit more than I expected. Tax and shipping. I tried using their new customer coupons, but they wouldn't work and I'm not in the mood.


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## digibob (Dec 1, 2005)

Just bought one now. When my seagate fills up I will use this one. With all these new HD channels you can never have enough Hard Drives.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

has anyone popped one of these open?? i'm curious as to what brand of hard drive is in there... i'm willing to bet it's a seagate or western digital or maxell.. i think i'm going to get one...


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## davidord (Aug 16, 2006)

AirRocker said:


> has anyone popped one of these open?? i'm curious as to what brand of hard drive is in there... i'm willing to bet it's a seagate or western digital or maxell.. i think i'm going to get one...


Maxtor??

Maxell made some nice blank cassette tapes, but I don't think they make hard drives.


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

Since I installed this drive (yesterday), I have found my HR20 performs much faster -- menus, guides, searches, etc.


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## Greg Alsobrook (Apr 2, 2007)

davidord said:


> Maxtor??
> 
> Maxell made some nice blank cassette tapes, but I don't think they make hard drives.


haha... yeah, them too... i don't think a cassette tape in there would do much good..

maxell makes the writeable blu-ray disks that i use... guess that's why i had them on the brain..


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

MrKlaatu said:


> Since I installed this drive (yesterday), I have found my HR20 performs much faster -- menus, guides, searches, etc.


Sweet! Something for me to look forward too.

*EDIT:* I noticed there are different types of Cavalry 750GB External Hard Drives. Which one will I get from Buy.com?


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## reds1963 (Aug 29, 2007)

i to am waiting on mine to get here , i look forward to it and the new programming..weeeeeeeeee great times


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## CCarncross (Jul 19, 2005)

Guitar Hero said:


> Sweet! Something for me to look forward too.
> 
> *EDIT:* I noticed there are different types of Cavalry 750GB External Hard Drives. Which one will I get from Buy.com?
> 
> Make sure that any of them you choose has the eSATA interface on them. eSATA and being larger than 320GB are really the only criteria you have to worry about. There are tons of external drives out there that do not eSATA on them, just USB and/or firewire, which will not work.


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

CCarncross said:


> Guitar Hero said:
> 
> 
> > Sweet! Something for me to look forward too.
> ...


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

Guitar Hero said:


> *EDIT:* I noticed there are different types of Cavalry 750GB External Hard Drives. Which one will I get from Buy.com?


I got this one from them. Very slim, very sturdy, matching blue light. In fact, that blue diamond on the front is the on/off switch (which I assume makes switching back to internal easy though I haven't yet tried).


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## TaeOh (Jan 27, 2007)

Just ordered...thanks I missing the CC deal.


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## Leftcoastdave (Apr 2, 2004)

I installed the Cavalry 750GB HDD on my HR20 last night and the install went very smoothly. Tonight after the guide repopulated itself I tried a VOD download and couple of test recordings off the guide. Everything seemed to be working just fine. The drive came up on the first try and it is very quiet compared to many HDD drives in DVR's.

Tonight I recorded the Miami - A&M football game on ESPN and the playback concerned me. The blue light is flickering on and off and the recorded playback is stuttering every few seconds. Initially I thought this was due to signal problems with the satellite feed, so I started a duplicate record on my Tivo HR10. It played back flawlessly. I went back to the HR20 and restarted another ESPN recording and the playback is still stuttering badly. During playback the blue light on the Cavalry drive is flickering constantly.

My HR20 is at the CE 194 software level and the Cavalry Drive is a CAXM37750 which I got it from buy.com on a recommendation elsewhere in this thread.

Is anyone else experiencing this problem with this drive?

Thanks.

Dave


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

I had a few problems with stuttering the day after installing this drive. I did a menu "restart recorder" and all the problems went away, including with recorded shows that previously had problems.


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## Leftcoastdave (Apr 2, 2004)

MrKlaatu said:


> I had a few problems with stuttering the day after installing this drive. I did a menu "restart recorder" and all the problems went away, including with recorded shows that previously had problems.


I will try that and see if it corrects the problems.

_UPDATE: 9/21 The reboot seems to have solved the problem. I checked several test recordings today and all were good._


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## TaeOh (Jan 27, 2007)

I finally got mine today and hook up went very smoothly. 

Seems like a high quality external drive and very nice that it comes with cables. I will report performance after a while.


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

I got mine a couple of days ago, but haven't installed it, yet. I'm waiting to fill up the internal HDD first.


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## redram38 (Dec 7, 2005)

Price is now 206.95
Still not a Bad price


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## adambomb6 (Jul 31, 2006)

I installed mine a few days ago, its the one with the black case, and its very slim. I was going to take out the drive and put it in the HR20, but it was so easy to hook it up and just stuff it behind the tv it does not seem worth the bother.

The cable that came with it worked just fine also.

I've not had any recording or stuttering problems.

I have a -100 so I cant get VOD yet to try that out


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## chris.dg (Nov 25, 2006)

Does this addition result in the DVR setup being quieter overall, or louder overall? I assume the loud internal drive stops spinning, so there could theoretically be room for improvement with the external drive, if it's quiet enough.


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## TaeOh (Jan 27, 2007)

chris.dg said:


> Does this addition result in the DVR setup being quieter overall, or louder overall? I assume the loud internal drive stops spinning, so there could theoretically be room for improvement with the external drive, if it's quiet enough.


I honestly have not noticed a difference, but the loudest thing I have under the TV has always been the original Xbox that I use for a Media Center. The Calvary unit has a pretty quiet fan and I set it behind my TV, not in the entertainment center itself. I have not noticed whether the DVR HDD stops spinning, but other posts I have read lead me to believe it continues spinning.


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## Leftcoastdave (Apr 2, 2004)

Here is an oddity ....

Upon the first couple of days use of the Cavalry drive, the little woman was complaining about the flickering blue light on the front of the drive. Initially I thought this flickering was due to recording activity on the drive, especially since the HR20 is always in record mode.

This morning I was recording an NFL game, and I noticed that the blue light on the Cavalry drive was off. I thought something was wrong and that the drive had somehow been powered down, but when I looked at the playlist and verified the content was accessible and that the drive was recording properly.

The blue light is no longer on. Has anyone else seen this behavior? I do not miss the light which frankly was a little distracting, but I am curious as to why it is no longer lit up.

_*UPDATE 9/23 - It seems I have the answer to my question regarding the blue light. The drive has failed and is no longer recognized by the HR20. I have just obtained an RMA from buy.com and will be returning the drive tomorrow.*_


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## buist (Nov 12, 2002)

One thing I have noticed since installing the drive is that I am no longer getting any dropouts on the HD channels.. I wonder how much of that was caused by bad blocks (?) on the internal drive.. So far so good with the Cavalry (I have a 750 and a 500)..

Tim


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

Leftcoastdave said:


> Here is an oddity ....
> 
> Upon the first couple of days use of the Cavalry drive, the little woman was complaining about the flickering blue light on the front of the drive. Initially I thought this flickering was due to recording activity on the drive, especially since the HR20 is always in record mode.
> 
> ...


Yikes. This is not leaving me with confidence for mine. Update your situation, please. I'd like to know how you are treated and what is the solution to your problem.


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

I felt mine was getting very hot. It was in a closed cabinet next to my HR20, which I had laptop coolers on (one under, one on top). But the Cavalry was VERY hot to the touch. So, I moved it out of the cabinet and hid it on top and outside. Seems better now. And I'm less worried about drive failure.


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## Leftcoastdave (Apr 2, 2004)

Guitar Hero said:


> Yikes. This is not leaving me with confidence for mine. Update your situation, please. I'd like to know how you are treated and what is the solution to your problem.


Buy.com offered to replace the defective drive in 8-10 days following receipt of the returned drive at their facility. I asked if there was an expedited replacement provision and I was told there was not.

I decided to ask for credit as I did not want to wait that long for a replacement. They issued the RMA but said since I wanted a credit rather than an exchange, that I would be responsible to pay for return shipping. Since the return center is only 90 miles away in Fremont, CA, it will only cost me $8.35 to ship it to them via UPS. The folks at Buy.Com were very cooperative and polite, but ten days is just too much of a delay for me.

I began to see symptoms of the failure shortly after installation on Thursday (9/20) when I saw flickering of the blue light and frequent pixelation on some ESPN test recordings within a few hours of putting it in service.

The drive was located in an area that is well ventilated and as others here have reported, it tends to run quite hot if in an enclosed area. This morning after observing very slow menu responses and some pixelation on an NFL recording, I relocated the drive to the top of the cabinet thinking this open area might help mitigate the failure mechanism, but the blue light went out completely in a couple of minutes and I was unable to get the HR20 to recognize it all even after a couple of reboots. I would estimate the drive failed completely within 72 hours following power on.

Quite frankly because of the early failure of this Cavalry drive, I do not have a high degree of confidence in a replacement from this manufacturer. YMMV.

Many on this forum have reported great success with the Seagate 750 GB HDD, so tomorrow I am off to the local Costco to pick one up. It will end up costing me around $50 more to go with the Seagate but sometimes the lowest priced solution is not always the best deal.

Dave


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## rsblaski (Jul 6, 2003)

Leftcoastdave said:


> Many on this forum have reported great success with the Seagate 750 GB HDD, so tomorrow I am off to the local Costco to pick one up. It will end up costing me around $50 more to go with the Seagate but sometimes the lowest priced solution is not always the best deal.
> 
> Dave


Two advantages for the Seagate AFAIK, the ones Costco carries not only have a 5 year warranty but also have firewire ports in addition to the HDMI and usb. (In case you ever want to use it on a computer.)


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

It's been over a week, and I finally filled up my internal HDD, and so installed this sucker, finally. 

I turned off the HR20, since the kids were watching Superman, and then plugged in the power adapter for the Cavalry. I attached the supplied eSATA cable, and turned it on. The fan is on and it's runs great. The fan is super quiet. 

I attached the eSATA cable to the HR20, and turned on the HR20. I was watching TV, and was about to check the guide data. The HR20 shutoff, and rebooted on its own. Odd? After searching for sat info, when it came back online, I noticed the blinking blue light on the Cavalry. Uh oh. I believe it was Leftcoastdave that had the same problem with the blinking blue Cavalry light. It blinks quickly, about once a second. I'm very nervous, since LCD had to return his on account the HR20 wouldn't recognize it anymore. 

But, all I can do at this point is wait. I checked the guide data. Some of it was there, and I entered a movie to record. Check the schedule and it was there. 100% space on the HDD. So far, so good. 

I recorded something and checked it. The same channel I had on since it rebooted itself. 30 minutes of Superman Returns. I then noticed during playback that the Cavalry blue light was blinking faster and more often. I guess it's supposed to blink. 

The recording playback was superb. No problems whatsoever. 99% on the HDD, and then deleted it for 100%. 

So far, so good. 

Is the blinking light normal? Remember, it blinks quickly and frequently. No big deal?


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## Leftcoastdave (Apr 2, 2004)

Guitar Hero said:


> It's been over a week, and I finally filled up my internal HDD, and so installed this sucker, finally.
> 
> I turned off the HR20, since the kids were watching Superman, and then plugged in the power adapter for the Cavalry. I attached the supplied eSATA cable, and turned it on. The fan is on and it's runs great. The fan is super quiet.
> 
> ...


I think the blinking light is just reflecting normal disk read/write activity. The problem I had that led to the replacement of my Cavalry 750 was stuttering playback and super slow menus. It got progressively worse until the drive finally failed and had to be replaced because the HR20 would not recognize it upon reboot. In retrospect, the blinking blue light was a red herring.


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## redram38 (Dec 7, 2005)

I ordered this drive today. Now after reading this I am getting worried. How many people that have this drive are having no trouble with it. My Seagate is doing great but this drive was about 70.00 cheaper right now.
At least it sounds like Buy.Com will honor the drive.


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

Mine works great. Had some stuttering early on. Did a menu restart of the HR20 and it's been flawless ever since.


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## buist (Nov 12, 2002)

redram38 said:


> I ordered this drive today. Now after reading this I am getting worried. How many people that have this drive are having no trouble with it. My Seagate is doing great but this drive was about 70.00 cheaper right now.
> At least it sounds like Buy.Com will honor the drive.


I've had no problems at all with mine.. I also like the fact that it has an internal fan - which I think will greatly help its reliability. You can have a failure soon from any manufacturer, it's just the nature of the beast.. The question is when the failure will happen (and what % fail prematurely).

I purposefully choose this drive over the Seagate because of the fan. This is a much better design IMHO.

Tim


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

Leftcoastdave said:


> I think the blinking light is just reflecting normal disk read/write activity. The problem I had that led to the replacement of my Cavalry 750 was stuttering playback and super slow menus. It got progressively worse until the drive finally failed and had to be replaced because the HR20 would not recognize it upon reboot. In retrospect, the blinking blue light was a red herring.


OK. Thanks for the response. I guess I was worried about nothing.

However, the fan is now making a noticeable noise. I guess it's running hotter than the first hour it was on. The HR20 drive was silent. No noise whatsoever.

It's a fair trade off. So long the drive doesn't get too hot, I think I'll be fine.


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## redram38 (Dec 7, 2005)

Did anyone get the extended warranty that buy.com offers with this Drive. It is only 25.00 and covers for 12 mths I assume after the manf warranty expires


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## brianr4666 (Aug 19, 2006)

I have had to return my drive also to buy.com. HR20 stopped recognizing it 2 days after installing. I have a Seagate drive on the other HR20 and it works flawlessly. Also remember bestbuy has the 750 gb Seagate freeagent starting tomorrow for 194.00. Hard to beat the 5 year warranty Seagate offers IMHO.


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

redram38 said:


> Did anyone get the extended warranty that buy.com offers with this Drive. It is only 25.00 and covers for 12 mths I assume after the manf warranty expires


Not sure about that one, but usually extanded warranties replace the manufacturer's not add to it.


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## redram38 (Dec 7, 2005)

I put in a cancel request on the order, guess I will see if they honor the request. Since I ordered it today maybe they will. The status was sent to warehouse. If not I guess I will just hope for the best. If I had known BB was gonna put the Seagate back on sale I would have never ordered this one. BB just had this on Sale 2 weeks ago for 199.00. Who would have thunk it


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## TMullenJr (Feb 23, 2006)

I have both the Seagate & the Cavalry. They both work great, but I think the Cavalry is better made. It is more solid and I like the blue light better than then the amber one on the Seagate.


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

TMullenJr said:


> I have both the Seagate & the Cavalry. They both work great, but I think the Cavalry is better made. It is more solid and I like the blue light better than then the amber one on the Seagate.


I'll agree. I didn't care for the Seagate at all, not that looks really count. But, the blue light on the Cavalry fits perfect.

So far, no problems whatsoever. Don't know about space on the HDD, but two one hour HD shows and one two hour HD movie used 3% of the HDD. I'm too tired to do the math. Stayed up to watch the F1 race. What a race!


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## hjones4841 (Aug 19, 2006)

Guitar Hero said:


> I'll agree. I didn't care for the Seagate at all, not that looks really count. But, the blue light on the Cavalry fits perfect.
> 
> So far, no problems whatsoever. Don't know about space on the HDD, but two one hour HD shows and one two hour HD movie used 3% of the HDD. I'm too tired to do the math. Stayed up to watch the F1 race. What a race!


About how long is the esata cable that comes with the Cavalry?


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## Barmat (Aug 27, 2006)

Costco is now showing this drive. Does anyone know if it's available in store or on-line only. I could always grab some diapers while I pick up one of these.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11174924&whse=BC&Ne=5000002+4000000&eCat=BC|84&N=4013467%204294915387&Mo=1&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=


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## rsblaski (Jul 6, 2003)

Barmat said:


> Costco is now showing this drive. Does anyone know if it's available in store or on-line only. I could always grab some diapers while I pick up one of these.
> 
> http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11174924&whse=BC&Ne=5000002+4000000&eCat=BC|84&N=4013467%204294915387&Mo=1&No=1&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ns=P_Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=


I don't know if the stores carry this one, but for the same price they do have the FreeAgent Pro. For peace of mind, the FAP has a five year warranty vs the one year warranty on the Cavalry. Hopefully, neither warranty would ever have to be used.
The FAP also includes a Firewire 400 connection if you want to get one for a computer.


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## Barmat (Aug 27, 2006)

Costco only has the Seagate 750 at the store. I picked one up today.


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

hjones4841 said:


> About how long is the esata cable that comes with the Cavalry?


Not very long. About 1 meter.


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## i49mobile (Feb 1, 2007)

I have read I think all of the external esata drive posting I think. My major concern since I am putting the thing in a cabinet ( about 10 cubic ft with a HR20, VCR, DVD player, APC power backup all in the same space) with no air flow which one seems to run cooler Seagate or Cavalry.


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## adambomb6 (Jul 31, 2006)

My Calvary has been working great for over a week now. The fan is a really nice addition, there is even an on/off switch for the fan (can't imagine why you would ever turn it off, its really silent).


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## Richard L Bray (Aug 19, 2006)

I installed mine a couple weeks ago. Worked fine for several days. Then my HR20 started "freezing" and only way to clear was a "red button" restart. Did this several times in two days. 

I turned off the Cavalry drive, and rebooted back to the internal. No problems since.

Does anyone have any ideas about why I would have had the freezes?


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## redram38 (Dec 7, 2005)

Sounds like the Cavalry Could be bad. If it only does this with it hooked up. I would hook it back up and see if the trouble repeats and if so ship it back.


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## bobojay (Jan 26, 2004)

Isn't Cavalry a Western Digital product?


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## Bandito (Jul 18, 2007)

I don't know what drive(s) Cavalry uses, but I think that you're thinking of the Western Digital Caviar line of drives.


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## hjones4841 (Aug 19, 2006)

I have seen conflicting posts about the noise level of the Cavalry 750G drives. Mine came in from Buy.com today and I believe the different opinions are based on the fan being on or off. On mine, with the fan on it is noisier than the HR20. In fact, I may purchase a longer eSATA cable and move it to a closet behind my equipment rack.

This one came with a WD drive, by the way.


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## redram38 (Dec 7, 2005)

After hooking mine up I also notice the fan is pretty loud. I wonder if this is normal. So far no stutter problems and going back and fourth seems pretty easy. One thig that was strange. When I hooked it up a first I was not getting a signal at Tuner 2. I tried everything switched cables, tried without BBC nothing worked. I took the eSata off and no problems finding tuner 2. I thought maybe my esata port was bad. I then decided to try the cable I bought for my Seagate and lo and behold it connected and found both tuners no problem. I then took the cable that came with the Cavalry and used it on the Seagate FA pro and it works fine with it. Not sure what caused that but both are working fine. I just don't like the loud fan noise I am getting. I turned the fan off last night and the drive was no hotter than the Seagate gets. I turned it back on this morning so I may only use it when I am not in the bedroom. For those that say it is quiet how far away from the Drive are you ? Mine is only about 4 to 5 ft away. It sounds like a box fan running on low speed.


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## rynberg (Oct 6, 2006)

Given how poorly ventilated many computer cases are in the HD area, I wouldn't worry about turning the fan off, unless I lived in an un-air conditioned home in Dallas.


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## tnedator (Apr 29, 2006)

cartrivision said:


> A 750 GB disk will give you about 120 hours for MPEG2 HD or about 200 hours for MPEG4 HD vs. 30 and 50 hours with the 320 GB disk that comes with an HR20.


This isn't consistant with other capacity numbers I have read. I thought the 750 GB would give you around 90 (mpeg 2) and 150 (mpeg 4). I am going by memory, but in that neighborhood.

I think the above numbers would assume the 750gb added to the internal 300/330, which it does not, it replaces it once you hook it up.

Anyone with more accurate numbers, plese correct my numbers, but I didn't want anyone reading this to believe they were going to see that big a jump 120/200.


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## hjones4841 (Aug 19, 2006)

I had a strange thing happen over the weekend. Being fed up with the noise, I put the Cavalry in the closet immediately thru the wall behind the equipment rack. The cable that came with the Cavalry actually reached. Worked fine Thursday and Friday. On Friday, a 6 foot SIIG shielded eSATA came in from Newegg. So, I put it in place of the shorter one. 

Everything worked OK until Sunday afternoon, when severe stuttering started. Menu restart, RBR, unplugging both the HR20 and the Cavalry - nothing would help. I put the Cavalry back in the HT room, on the floor, conected with the SIIG cable - perfect ever since.

The only thing I can figure is that where I put the drive in the closet was next to my APC UPS for the HR20. RFI from the UPS may have caused the Cavalry to act up.


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## mirosco (Jun 2, 2007)

The Cavalry 750GB (Dual Interface USB 2.0 & eSATA External Hard Drive - CAXM37750 - Includes SATA to eSATA Adapter Cable) is on sale again at Buy.com for $180 including free shipping.

I'm considering buying it now. So, would everyone who already bought this back in September recommend it now? Or, would you advise against buying it?


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## MrKlaatu (Mar 8, 2007)

Very happy.


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## rlhammon (Nov 11, 2007)

Hope this works well... thanks for the heads up. I used Google Checkout (first time) and for some reason got a $20 discount and I picked the 7-9 shipping (for free) since it will start shipping hopefully before Thanksgiving, it should make it here next week. All told, $159.99 to my door.


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## Lee L (Aug 15, 2002)

Good price. Mine is working great. It is nice to record a 1 hour show in HD and have it only take up about 1% of the space.

I will say the blue light could be annoying if you were looking right at it, but mine is behind the HR20 on the same shelf.


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## tsantanni (Nov 8, 2007)

I have been using this drive for over a month. It works great and I have not had a problem. I just bought another one for my other HR20. I also found this great coupon offer for new buy.com customers. It's for $5 off a $100 purchase, and $10 off for a $200 purchase. I also grabbed a 2GB microSD card for my phone and got both for $195 with free shipping. Cant beat that!

http://www.dealigg.com/story-Buy-com-Coupons-15-off-200-10-off-175-5-off-50-more-1

EDIT: Buy.com also has this 1TB dual RAID setup for only $229...I should have bought this!

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=205770649&adid=17653&dcaid=17653


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

tsantanni said:


> Buy.com also has this 1TB dual RAID setup for only $229...I should have bought this!
> 
> http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=205770649&adid=17653&dcaid=17653


Forgive me as I'm not too familiar with RAID, but the description for this says it has 2 500GB drives. Does that mean it only has 500GB of storage and that the 2nd drive is just a backup of the first?


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## tsantanni (Nov 8, 2007)

Indiana627 said:


> Forgive me as I'm not too familiar with RAID, but the description for this says it has 2 500GB drives. Does that mean it only has 500GB of storage and that the 2nd drive is just a backup of the first?


Depends on what RAID level you use. Might have to do some research to find out how much each level eats up on the 2nd drive.


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## Indiana627 (Nov 18, 2005)

Any RAID experts here that can shed some light on this for me and probably others?


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## rynberg (Oct 6, 2006)

A 1TB array using 2 500GB disks is Raid 0. This means that if either drive fails, then you lose all of the data. The other basic RAID setup would be RAID 1, which is simply a mirror (back-up). A 1TB RAID 1 array would require two 1TB drives.


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## smiddy (Apr 5, 2006)

Here some information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID


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## sgluck (Sep 7, 2007)

TMullenJr said:


> FYI:
> 
> http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202734456&loc=101
> 
> According to the website, there aren't many left.


Buy.com has the 1Terrabyte form $229.99 2 500 Gig HDs RAID setup eSATA and USB2.0 hook-up. Anybody know if this wouldm be compatable with the HR20


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## sgluck (Sep 7, 2007)

TMullenJr said:


> FYI:
> 
> http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=202734456&loc=101
> 
> According to the website, there aren't many left.





sgluck said:


> Buy.com has the 1Terrabyte form $229.99 2 500 Gig HDs RAID setup eSATA and USB2.0 hook-up. Anybody know if this wouldm be compatable with the HR20


Cavalry 1TB (2x500GB) USB & eSATA Disk Array RAID Kit - CADA001SA2


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## xtc (Jun 26, 2004)

sgluck said:


> Cavalry 1TB (2x500GB) USB & eSATA Disk Array RAID Kit - CADA001SA2


would love to know if this would work with the HR20! Anyone know????


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## Special Ed (Oct 26, 2007)

tombet said:


> Has anyone actually used this Cavalry one yet, and have a report ? Also, please report if it comes with a eSata cable, and if not, which cable you successfully used.
> 
> Thanks


I just got this drive. It comes with an eSata to eSata cable. I believe you need an eSata to Sata cable.

The HR-20 100 has a Sata input, not an eSata input. So off to best buy to find a cable I guess 

( At least my drive came with a eSata to eSata cable, seems others may have gotten the proper eSata to Sata cable with their hardrive )


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## kikkenit2 (Oct 26, 2006)

Special Ed said:


> I just got this drive. It comes with an eSata to eSata cable. I believe you need an eSata to Sata cable.
> 
> The HR-20 100 has a Sata input, not an eSata input. So off to best buy to find a cable I guess
> 
> ( At least my drive came with a eSata to eSata cable, seems others may have gotten the proper eSata to Sata cable with their hardrive )


I could be wrong so somebody please correct me if so but the sata port on my 20-100 looks exactly the same as on my 20-700. I think it is esata but I don't think the 100's support this yet. And Buy.com now has the 1TB single drive Cavalry on sale for $230.


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## finaldiet (Jun 13, 2006)

Special Ed said:


> I just got this drive. It comes with an eSata to eSata cable. I believe you need an eSata to Sata cable.
> 
> The HR-20 100 has a Sata input, not an eSata input. So off to best buy to find a cable I guess
> 
> ( At least my drive came with a eSata to eSata cable, seems others may have gotten the proper eSata to Sata cable with their hardrive )


It is esata to esata. That is how mine is set-up and has been working great for about 2-3 months.


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## pdawg17 (Jul 17, 2006)

Why are people concerned about what the warranties on these drives are if you buy it at Costco? I didn't think HDDs were part of their 90-day computer return policy...most items at Costco are still "lifetime" warranties...


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## spartanstew (Nov 16, 2005)

Because the majority of the discussions have been about buy.com, not Costco.


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## Guitar Hero (Dec 13, 2005)

My 750GB drive started making a lot of loud grinding noises on Sunday. Thank Petey, they have stopped. 

It had about 30% capacity when it started to do it. Oddly, after getting rid of some HD movies, it stopped. I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it, though.


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## jbrentd (Sep 6, 2007)

Anyone else have stuttering issues (both sound and video) when recording HD show(s) and watch HD recorded content?


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