# Newbie with DirectTV R15 - How Do I Access The Hard Drive



## wikeith (Dec 20, 2006)

I am a total newbie in the area of taping into the hard drive of my DirectTV DR15 unit so that I can off load programs to my computer.

Any information and/or links would be greatly appreciated


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Bottom line you can't, and if there _was_ a way (which there isn't mind you) to view programs from your R15 on your PC we probably couldn't tell you. Somebody would have to PM you .


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## wikeith (Dec 20, 2006)

jonaswan2 said:


> Bottom line you can't, and if there _was_ a way (which there isn't mind you) to view programs from your R15 on your PC we probably couldn't tell you. Somebody would have to PM you .


Are the hard drives in the R15 proprietary, or could I pop it out and into my computer as a way to remove content.

Let me guess, the HD is normal, but the file structure and format is proprietary, so my computer won't read them.


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## Earl Bonovich (Nov 15, 2005)

The physicall hardware is not propritary, standard hard drive.

But over the last year, many of people have "poped" the drive out and put in the PC... But they are storing the data in an encrypted format, so you don't have access to it.


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## sheridan1952 (Mar 16, 2006)

Earl,

Will they EVER enable the USB port?


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

sheridan1952 said:


> Earl,
> 
> Will they EVER enable the USB port?


Now how do you think DirecTV2Go will work?

Now if you want DirecTV on your PC, they did announce that PC tuner at CES. Who know if that will ever surface again though. But NDS also has that USB key/Access Card thingy that allows people to watch VIdeoGuard protected content on their PCs. That will probably never surface on DirecTV either.


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## sheridan1952 (Mar 16, 2006)

jonaswan2 said:


> Now how do you think DirecTV*2Go* will work? ....


With fries?

Seriously, I was hoping 2Go would become a reality. But, you're probably right.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

jonaswan2 said:


> Now how do you think DirecTV2Go will work?


Do you think we'll see DTV2go on the R15?


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> Do you think we'll see DTV2go on the R15?


Well, I don't know of any reason to why we can't have DirecTV2Go on the R15. When DirecTV originally announced the service, they explictly said you plug the compatible portable media player into a Plus DVR. The R15 _is_ a Plus DVR.


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

Isn't it just supposed to plug into the DVR via a USB port? If so then I see no reason why it would be added.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

You have to have a USB port that's enabled and the core software to serve up the content. Just considering the current status of the R15 I'm not assuming anything.


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

I thought the USB where enabled just doing nothing right now? I'm not sure what current status of the R15 you're referring to, am I missing something here?


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

The USB ports have power. When you plug a cable into them you get an ACK. Other than that they don't respond to basic USB inquiry commands. So "enabled" is all relative. The ACK we see could just be the firmware in the USB chip acknowledging the presence of a device. Doesn't mean there's any code on the back end to communicate with any device, let alone download content.

The status that I was referring to is the fact the R15 has been out for a year and even with 10FA there are gaps in the unit.

First Run/Repeat logic is better but still lacking for many shows/networks that UTVs and DTivos handle just fine;
autorecord feature is pretty much useless until the "Channels I Receive" problem is resolved;
showcases have yet to be implemented other than CD USA and other non-interesting DTV produced shows (not that I'm holding my breath on that one);
there are bugs/inconveniences on the R15 that have been fixed/resolved on the HR20 (400 item TDL limit, HR20 doesn't record partials on purpose, HR20 has a new & improved History screen);
and Viiv has been added the HR20 but we'll never see it on the R15.
With items like this, and the fact that we probably won't see another update to the R15 until maybe Q2-2007, I just don't see any new features being added to the R15 (like DirecTV2Go). I could be completely wrong here but that's just my opinion. Remember, back in May Chase stated the R15 was completely and successfully debugged. To be honest, I'd be very surprised if the R15 even received the new UI that is suppose to be out sometime in 2007. Let's just get it recording what it's suppose to, when it's suppose to and reliably replaying those recordings.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> [*]and Viiv has been added the HR20 but we'll never see it on the R15.


What is Viiv and why do I want it on my R15?


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

It's a method of playing music and displaying pictures from a PC on your TV. One of the latest releases of the HR20 software enabled the network connection and enabled Viiv. Would you want it? Some do, some couldn't give a hoot. There's more discussion in this thread:

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=73751


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

Well I don't know what code is back there, has anyone tried any USB devices (network, keyboard, HD) with the newer releases of the code? DON'T read anything into that statement I'm just wondering if they snuck anything in there like they did with RF.

Well many didn't think that this release would see the light of day   but it made it out. Hopefully whatever caused the long delay with this release has been taken care of and we will see some more quick releases like we did for the first many months of the boxes life.

As for the comment he made well it is what it is. We all know it's not perfect the developers know it's not perfect, their managament knows it's not perfect so in the end to me thats what matters. 

As for never seeing ViiV support on the R15 I once again have to ask do you know something I don't know? Same question for the update release schedule.



Wolffpack said:


> The USB ports have power. When you plug a cable into them you get an ACK. Other than that they don't respond to basic USB inquiry commands. So "enabled" is all relative. The ACK we see could just be the firmware in the USB chip acknowledging the presence of a device. Doesn't mean there's any code on the back end to communicate with any device, let alone download content.
> 
> The status that I was referring to is the fact the R15 has been out for a year and even with 10FA there are gaps in the unit.
> First Run/Repeat logic is better but still lacking for many shows/networks that UTVs and DTivos handle just fine;
> ...


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> It's a method of playing music and displaying pictures from a PC on your TV. One of the latest releases of the HR20 software enabled the network connection and enabled Viiv. Would you want it? Some do, some couldn't give a hoot. There's more discussion in this thread:
> 
> http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=73751


I actually like the ability to play music, I used it all the time on my SA Tivos as I have ripped almost every CD I own to MP3 and have them stored on my server and I just stream them.


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## cabanaboy1977 (Nov 16, 2005)

Thanks, I wasn't even sure what it was. I think I'm somewhere in the middle on that. It's nice but I don't care that much. Might change my mind if I used it or if I didn't have one of my pc's connected to the TV and stereo. 

So Viiv is more a program that says this device works with that device (from what Earl was saying in that post) than anything. Does WinXP have that already loaded or do you have to install another program.


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## litzdog911 (Jun 23, 2004)

wikeith said:


> I am a total newbie in the area of taping into the hard drive of my DirectTV DR15 unit so that I can off load programs to my computer.
> 
> Any information and/or links would be greatly appreciated


There's always the "old fashioned" way ....

Connect your DVR to your PC's video capture card like you would connect to a VCR or standalone DVD Recorder. Capture (record) your DVR's programs onto the PC using its video capture software. Then you can edit or burn DVDs as desired.


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## ApK (Mar 6, 2006)

Clint Lamor said:


> I actually like the ability to play music, I used it all the time on my SA Tivos as I have ripped almost every CD I own to MP3 and have them stored on my server and I just stream them.


I've had a networked SA Tivo piped to every room in my house for years, I've had my entire music library on my network for over a year, and I only realized last night that I could put the two together.

It's REALLY cool.

If the R15 got this capability, it would be one incentive to put it in place of my SA Tivo and save some money.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Clint Lamor said:


> As for never seeing ViiV support on the R15 I once again have to ask do you know something I don't know? Same question for the update release schedule.


I don't know why you would think I know something you or any else doesn't know as I've plainly stated these are just my guesses, my opinions.

For lack of any official information from DTV rolleyes or any unofficial information from Earl, I come to my own conclusions. Has DTV every made any official announcement that DirecTV2Go or Viiv would eventually be available on the R15 or is it just a general statement for their DVR+ units?

I am still of the opinion that the R15 was a stop-gap unit. Thr Tivo agreement was dead, supplies of the R10 and HR10 were running thin and DTV needed to get something to market. I base this on the fact that the R15's core is NDS SKY+ logic and programming and that the HR20 (DTV's flagship DVR) is not. My gut tells me that due to the R15's software/filesystem and/or hardware limitations, many new features of the DVR+ units can't be implemented.

The only way I see network capability, DirecTV2Go and maybe Viiv coming to a DVR+ SD unit would be for the announcement of a R20 model. Which would be identical to the R15 from a hardware standpoint (maybe a larger HD). The difference being it would be running a cut down version of the HR20's software. Running on Linux with Linux filesystems. Joining together the HR20 and R20 on common UIs and a common code level. Again just my views based on a business unit that was making common sense decisions.


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## toad57 (Apr 23, 2002)

ApK said:


> I've had a networked SA Tivo piped to every room in my house for years, I've had my entire music library on my network for over a year, and I only realized last night that I could put the two together.
> 
> It's REALLY cool.
> 
> If the R15 got this capability, it would be one incentive to put it in place of my SA Tivo and save some money.


You can save the money now if you go and get a used/refurb/NOS Series 2 DTivo unit (dual-tuner DirecTV receiver + Tivo-based DVR combo) and 'enhance' it. A big plus is that DirecTV charges $5.99/mo. DVR fee for whatever amount of DVRs you have on your account; I have 4 so it's like paying $1.50/mo. DVR fee for each.

There are many of us that have used The Zipper hack to easily enable networked features. Since the software is V6.2 it doesn't work with Galleon, so you would need to run the older JavaHMO on your Windoze or Linux box to serve up your music, pictures, web pages, weather, movie listings, streaming audio, etc.

Note that you want to avoid the R10 model as it isn't able to be enhanced with network features unless you go through a painful process to replace a chip on the mainboard.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> I don't know why you would think I know something you or any else doesn't know as I've plainly stated these are just my guesses, my opinions.
> 
> For lack of any official information from DTV rolleyes or any unofficial information from Earl, I come to my own conclusions. Has DTV every made any official announcement that DirecTV2Go or Viiv would eventually be available on the R15 or is it just a general statement for their DVR+ units?
> 
> ...


When they original announced Viiv, they explictly stated that *next gen* DirecTV boxes were getting the Viiv capability. This was at CES, so the R15 was launched by then.

When they announced DirecTV2go, they explicitly stated that DirecTV2Go would be a feature of *DirecTV Plus* recievers, that of which the R15 is.

I've never really known an instance that DirecTV has ever lied about a future product or service.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

So you're defining DTV terms? Next Gen is not the R15 but anything after the R15 while + receivers include the R15 and anything after that? Great! I'm glad we have someone here that can give the official DTV word to the rest of us.

Funny that I always thought the R15 was next generation and +, unless, as I mentioned, R15 was a stop gap product. Thanks for the reinforcement of that stance. The R15 is a + receiver, but not next gen.

Kinda supports my idea that the R20 will be the R15 box with a new OS cobbled from the HR20. Would that then be considered + and Next Gen?

Of course DTV has never lied about a unit's features as they never specifically announce those features. Other than.....


Directv.com said:


> Skips reruns if you don't want them. Just choose to only record new episodes.


That's still listed under the R15 and is at least a misstatement, or could be considered, after a year, as a lie.


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## Clint Lamor (Nov 15, 2005)

I think they talked about those feaures before they ever announced the HR20 was even being worked on.

I see no reason why they shouldn't come to the R15 but then again I don't see it as a stop gap product as you do.

I think they may have made the switch to make it much easier for them to fix issues and not be dependant on anyone elses code, be it Tivo or NDS. Like you though this is purely a guess from me.

Honestly all I an say is I hope you're wrong because I would like to see these features and some others on my R15.



Wolffpack said:


> I don't know why you would think I know something you or any else doesn't know as I've plainly stated these are just my guesses, my opinions.
> 
> For lack of any official information from DTV rolleyes or any unofficial information from Earl, I come to my own conclusions. Has DTV every made any official announcement that DirecTV2Go or Viiv would eventually be available on the R15 or is it just a general statement for their DVR+ units?
> 
> ...


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

Clint Lamor said:


> Honestly all I an say is I hope you're wrong because I would like to see these features and some others on my R15.


I hope I am too!


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

jonaswan2 said:


> When they announced DirecTV2go, they explicitly stated that DirecTV2Go would be a feature of *DirecTV Plus* recievers, that of which the R15 is.
> 
> I've never really known an instance that DirecTV has ever lied about a future product or service.


Your definitive statement is shall we say ambiguous.

It does not say that DirecTV2Go would be a feature of *ALL DirecTV Plus* recievers.

For instance...you can get integrated Sirius radio when you buy a Nissan Sentra.....However, not ALL Sentras have this dealer option...you have to buy some other package with a special head unit radio..i digress but he point is

Sentra = R15
Sentra with special package = HR20

"The R15 is successfully and completely debugged "

Lie - Yes in my book (as it was a clearly spoken untruth which he had or should have had explicit knowledge)

Future product?..i guess not you win.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

mikewolf13 said:


> Your definitive statement is shall we say ambiguous.
> 
> It does not say that DirecTV2Go would be a feature of *ALL DirecTV Plus* recievers.
> 
> ...


Okay, the R15 is a DirecTV Plus receiver. If they were going to specifically pinpoint the HR20, DirecTV most likely would have said Plus HD Receiver. Again, like Carl6 said, this was announced before even the HR20 was announced so I doubt that they wouldn't mean the R15 as well as other future DirecTV Plus products.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> So you're defining DTV terms? Next Gen is not the R15 but anything after the R15 while + receivers include the R15 and anything after that? Great! I'm glad we have someone here that can give the official DTV word to the rest of us.
> 
> Funny that I always thought the R15 was next generation and +, unless, as I mentioned, R15 was a stop gap product. Thanks for the reinforcement of that stance. The R15 is a + receiver, but not next gen.
> 
> ...


I don't see why your would consider the R15 next-gen since it does not have the hardware capabilities of the HR20. That's like calling the D11 next gen because it came out around the same time as the R15. Would you consider the D11 a next-gen DirecTV product?

Anyway that last statement is unfair to DirecTV because it clearly states in your 
Costumer Agreement that DirecTV in no way guarantees the reliability of your DVR.


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## White_Horse (Jun 26, 2006)

adbs2007 said:


> I do know that directv will be releasing another wave of updates to all 3 r15 models in Feb 2007. I don't know al lthat much about those updates, but I get the impression that the current wave of updates is designed to be a stopgap measure while they finalize that update


And who did you hear this from? The ever so reliable DTV CSR's? Cause they're the same ones who started saying OTA was Feb 2007 for the HR20. Well..the OTA update just went national for the HR20.

Don't trust 3/4 of what the CSR's tell you.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

jonaswan2 said:


> I don't see why your would consider the R15 next-gen since it does not have the hardware capabilities of the HR20. That's like calling the D11 next gen because it came out around the same time as the R15. Would you consider the D11 a next-gen DirecTV product?


So technically "Next Gen" is only the latest receiver/DVR put out by DTV?  The R15's got a much faster processor and much more memory than the SD DVR it replaced however I'd agree the software was a giant leap backwards. R15 is a DVR+, HR20 is a DVR+. I would expect a HD DVR with MPEG4 capability to have faster, newer technology than a SD DVR. But DTV refers to them both a DVR+ units. And yes, I would consider the D11 a next gen product over the D10.



jonaswan2 said:


> Anyway that last statement is unfair to DirecTV because it clearly states in your
> Costumer Agreement that DirecTV in no way guarantees the reliability of your DVR.


Well we want to make sure we're being fair to DTV now don't we.  How about the term "false advertising"? Would you agree with that?


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> So technically "Next Gen" is only the latest receiver/DVR put out by DTV?  The R15's got a much faster processor and much more memory than the SD DVR it replaced however I'd agree the software was a giant leap backward. R15 is a DVR+, HR20 is a DVR+. I would expect a HD DVR with MPEG4 capability to have faster, newer technology than a SD DVR. But DTV refers to them both a DVR+ units. And yes, I would consider the D11 a next gen product over the D10.


I didn't ask you if you thought the D11 was a next gen product over the D10 (which I think it is too), but I asked if you thought it should be considered a "next gen" product. And yes I do think that "next gen" is only a term they used to mean the latest receiver/DVR from DirecTV, and not the "next gen" in their current receiver line up.



> Well we want to make sure we're being fair to DTV now don't we.  How about the term "false advertising"? Would you agree with that?


Not really, cause it does work as advertised, just because it doesn't work all the time....


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

jonaswan2 said:


> Not really, cause it does work as advertised, just because it doesn't work all the time....


Who could dispute that logic? :lol:


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

jonaswan2 said:


> I didn't ask you if you thought the D11 was a next gen product over the D10 (which I think it is too), but I asked if you thought it should be considered a "next gen" product. And yes I do think that "next gen" is only a term they used to mean the latest receiver/DVR from DirecTV, and not the "next gen" in their current receiver line up.
> 
> Not really, cause it does work as advertised, just because it doesn't work all the time....


Yeah, when I saw the ad I use for my icon, I thought they meant that my fantasies of never missing a program would be reality if I got the R15.

In reality they were saying "Buy the R15 and imagine never missing a program because it ain't gonna be reality...."

My mistake. Not theirs.


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## mikewolf13 (Jan 31, 2006)

jonaswan2 said:


> Anyway that last statement is unfair to DirecTV because it clearly states in your
> Costumer Agreement that DirecTV in no way guarantees the reliability of your DVR.


Well, I guess that absolves them of all responsibility then....


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

jonaswan2 said:


> Anyway that last statement is unfair to DirecTV because it clearly states in your
> Costumer Agreement that DirecTV in no way guarantees the reliability of your DVR.


Exactly where does one find this agreement on their web site?


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> Exactly where does one find this agreement on their web site?


"You understand that DIRECTV does not guarantee the access to or recording of any particular program, or the length of time any particular recorded program may remain available for your viewing."

7 under the Customer Agreement.


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

jonaswan2 said:


> "You understand that DIRECTV does not guarantee the access to or recording of any particular program, or the length of time any particular recorded program may remain available for your viewing."
> 
> 7 under the Customer Agreement.


I don't see how that applies to a DVR....but my question was regarding a link to their agreement. It's mentioned all over their site but I couldn't find it.


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## jonaswan2 (Oct 29, 2005)

Wolffpack said:


> I don't see how that applies to a DVR....but my question was regarding a link to their agreement. It's mentioned all over their site but I couldn't find it.


Because it's in the DVR section of the customer agreement (but that statement could apply to anything). Customer Agreement


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## Wolffpack (Jul 29, 2003)

After reading that section (I invite others to read that same section 7 of the link provided by jonaswan2). I do not see how this relates to guarantees of DTV's DVR equipment. Section 7 refers to the DTV DVR service. Not the DVR equipment DTV provides.

Honestly jonaswan2, if you can't make the difference between DTV's DVR service clauses (when Section 7 is titled "Directv DVR Service") and the DVR equipment DTV releases, maybe you should take a giant step backwards and a deep breath.

One has nothing to do with the other.


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