I have a dvr can i transfer the videos to to pc if i take out the hard drive inside?

Question

I have a dvr can i transfer the videos to to pc if i take out the hard drive inside?

Answer 1

The only way I was able to transfer my programs was to get a TV card for my computer, I got an external one, and you just split the cable line from out of the dvr, one will go into the tv, the other will go into the TV card which is attached to your comp through a USB cable.  From there, you set your tv program on the computer to channel 3 or 4, whichever you set it for, and watch the program on your dvr.  You can choose different recording options on your PC, you can go straight to DVD mode, VCD which is my favorite because it's smaller if you're not burning it, or regular non-vcd files.  I didn't have a tivo so I never used the TivoGo program mention before.

Answer 2

Depends on the DVR, the hard drive and the interface. If it's an older TiVo, you probably can because the hard drive is an EIDE type. This means you can connect it to an (older) desktop computer with a cable and a power connector. Newer TiVos and DVRs use SATA, which means you need to have a newer computer to interface with it.

There are a few problems, though. In all likelihood, you will lose all warranty benefits if you open up you DVR. The stuff inside is senstive electronics and not intended to be messed around with a lot, and if you discharge static electricity onto your motherboard or power supply, it might be gone. The hard drive is also likely mounted in there with a proprietary type of s***w, so you need a special screwdriver just to get your hard drive out. And that's just the DVR.

You may also (in likelihood) get it to your computer and find that all of the files are formated so that you cannot easily change, store or format them. Again, this depends on the DVR, but several types of DVRs weren't meant to have the programming removed from them. So, after you go through all of that work (and maybe void your warranty), you might find that you can't do anything with the files when you get them to your computer.

If you have a TiVo, your best bet is to download the TiVoToGo program from their website (http://www.tivo.com), install it on your computer, and set up your TiVo on a wireless network so that it can talk to your computer. TiVoToGo should download your programs and give you options for converting it into a useable format. If it's not a TiVo or you can't do this, you might be out of luck. There are a lot of problems with DVRs and copyrighted content, so be careful.

Hope this helps!

Answer 3

No! The files on the DVR are encrypted. They can only be read by the DVR that created them.