HR54 Genie eSATA Port

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!

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.

@DaveM4210 

HR54 is the 3rd generation Genie. It is not the newer model as the Genie-2 (HS17) is the newest. Though the HS17 has double the recording space of the Genie and 2 more tuners, it can be a downgrade to the HR54. This is because the HS17 forbids everything but Clients. Since the HR54 supports other HDDVRs, your overall tuners and recording space can go up. Also the HS17 removed the eSATA port after the origional run, meaning it no longer supports external hard drives.

As the external replaces the internal, it needs to be larger to be worth it. The Genie has a 1TB internal so just be larger than that. Though early days was suggested up to 4TB, there is no official hard cap. Others have used 12TB+ but that seems overkill to me.

HDDVRs (i.e. HR24) on other TVs have an internal of 500GB (320GB on older models). They have a hard cap for the external of 2TB.

You cannot have multiple HR54s, or any combination of main Genies. They work as a server so only one can be on the account.

Hopefully your box is the regular HR54. There is a revised version, model HR54R1, which does not have the eSATA port. Supporting external drives is something they moved away from. Waiting to see what the new co-owner does with equipment direction as I would like to see more consumer friendly options again.

@DaveM4210 

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

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

HR54 and the original run of the HS17 have the eSATA port.

The revised model HR54R1, as well as later runs of the HS17 (no change in model number), are made without the eSATA port.

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

Annoying they didn't add R1 to the HS17 for the later runs. That was a clear distinction they should have kept.

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.

@Langouste99 

The HR34 (1st generation Genie) had S-Video out. But even if that were still available I wouldn't suggest it as processing and cooling were issues that got fixed in the later models.

Now you have HDMI and A/V out (via dongle on newest models) and eSATA for external hard drive (except for revised HR54R1 and any HS17 after the first run).

A Genie is still a complement in a multi-TV home. Have the HR44 or HR54 on 1 TV with your HR24s on all the rest is the best overall setup in my opinion. I am waiting to see what the new co-owner does with equipment direction as I really want to see a HR25 (not a real model number, just logical next step) returning back to dedicated HDDVRs to work with the Genie instead of Client-only setups.

If I were forced to replace my HR24 with Clients would be the hard no for me. My household has needed the dedicated tuners, independent recording space, and one box failing (or being unplugged from power) doesn't kill TV for everyone else.

Though I will say with everybody's preferences, recording TV (news-type interviews) on YouTube maybe the most unique one I've heard.

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.

Those "sharing" recordings is one of the reasons I believe there are less output options. Technically you do not own those recordings, they are encrypted to their exact DVR. And with networks and content owners requiring HDCP being adopted, this is to prevent people cutting into their physical/digital media sales. Though I wouldn't expect an interview to be sold, they have it setup across the board instead of marking each individual piece of content to keep it simple and consistent.

But people do still record even from newer boxes using media capture devices. I am not familiar with the exact setup of that though.