How-to: Use your TiVo Series3 eSATA port to add an external drive
Ever wish you could use that friggin eSATA port TiVo taunts you with on the back of your Series3? If so your moment has finally arrived — and not a moment too soon for many a DVR-loving TV fans whose drives are filled to the brim with HD programming.
Context & Ripple Effects
TiVo's CES 2006 first look framed the Series3 as the company's long-awaited HD-capable DVR, but the $800 price question has dogged the box since its fall 2006 launch — buyers paying a premium expect the hardware to keep up with HD-sized recordings. The eSATA port on the back has sat there taunting owners with no official path to use it.
This Engadget how-to closes that gap from the user side: with internal drives filling up on HD programming, enthusiasts have worked out how to put the port to work attaching an external hard drive. It follows the site's earlier TV-shows-to-iPod how-to pattern of unlocking value TiVo left dormant.
First-order effects
- Series3 owners whose drives are full of HD recordings can now extend capacity by adding an external drive through eSATA instead of deleting shows or upgrading the whole unit.
Second-order effects
- External hard drive vendors get a new enthusiast niche in home theater, while TiVo faces pressure either to bless third-party expansion officially or watch hobbyist guides define the feature set.
Third-order effects
- If HD file sizes keep outgrowing internal disks, expandable storage becomes table stakes in DVR design — a differentiator for the $799-plus-fee Series3 against cable alternatives like the Scientific Atlanta SA8300 and Motorola 6412 that lock users into fixed capacity.
The trend: As high-definition recording balloons storage demands, DVRs are shifting from sealed appliances toward expandable systems where the drive, not the tuner, is the upgrade path.