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New Member

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47 Messages

Saturday, September 24th, 2022 9:35 PM

HR54 Genie eSATA Port

Looking at the specs and photos of the HR54 Genie, I see an eSATA port. Can I connect an external hard drive to that for extra storage? I know I can get double the capacity with the HS17 Genie 2, but I would rather have the newer model.

Thank you.

Accepted Solution

Official Solution

ACE - Sage

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46.1K Messages

2 years ago

Yes, you can an add an eSATA (external SATA) drive to the HR54. Note, however, that the external drive will REPLACE the internal drive, not add to its capacity. You'll also need the eSATA cable to go with the drive (which is different than a regular SATA cable). 

By the way, the HR54 is actually an older design than the HS17. But most of us prefer the HR54 Genie DVR over the HS17 Genie Server because you can use other DirecTV boxes with the HR54, unlike the HS17 which only supports Mini Genie Clients. 

New Member

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47 Messages

2 years ago

OK, understanding that, If I use two HR54 DVRs, would that give me the total capacity of the two boxes to use in both rooms, or would I have two separate DVRs with the storage capacity of each  one separate from the other?

Thank you!

ACE - New Member

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5.2K Messages

2 years ago

You can’t use two HR54s on one account, only one Genie allowed per account. You should probably get one HR54 and a couple HR24s since that gives you similar tuners and space as if you had two HR54s.

ACE - Professor

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2K Messages

2 years ago

@DaveM4210 

Keep the HR54 it has a Esata port --The later Versions of the HS-17 Do not have that port. 

ACE - Expert

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14.1K Messages

2 years ago

Not all HR54s have an ESata port - see Juniper's post.

ACE - Expert

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14.1K Messages

2 years ago

If you get an HR54 from Direct you can't specify whether you get the original HR54 or the R1 version

2 Messages

10 months ago

As someone who never wanted ANY Genie, I have a somewhat different concern.  I frequently record material (like important news-type interviews that may or may not ever turn up on YouTube) onto an external DVR.  For that sort of downstream equipment support I absolutely must have the S-Video Out connection, which my HR24s were -- I think -- the last to have before that feature was discontinued.  When those DirecTV receivers fail, and I cannot replace them, it could spell the end of my being a DirecTV customer.

2 Messages

10 months ago

Of course, that's far from the only thing I record and thereby manage to extract from the HR24's own DVR for archival reference or possible sharing  . . .  but, for example, I'm still looking for an interview Gen. Jack Keane gave on Ukraine a couple months ago, and that particular segment has yet to surface on YT.  Quite possibly it won't.


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