Anyways, I just got Bell Expressview service along with a A Bell Expressview 9200 HD-PVR Now anyways, I noticed that there's USB port on the device. I was wondering if perhaps there was anyway I could transfer the shows I record on my PVR easily to my computer in a suitable format? Note: that link has all the reciever's specs. PS: I'm also having a problem configuring my remote with my Xbox 360... anyone got a 3 digit device code for it that works with expressviews remotes... I know its possible with DirectTV remotes... See this thread That I already started on the second issue.
The USB port on these devices is usually for servicing only (firmware updates/diagnositics). However, the HDD is probably just an IDE device that you could hook up to a PC if you so desired.
To simplify my answer, IDE is a type of connection used on most optical drives (CD-ROM/DVD) and harddisk drives (although you now see a lot of SATA drives) to connect to a PC. Usually standard hard drives are used in DVR boxes, so it is most likely an IDE drive is inside the one you have. This being the case, it probably also uses a standard format method for data, typically FAT32, which is used in Windows XP and below. If you open up the DVR box, take out the hard drive and connect it to your PC as an extra drive, you will most likely be able to view the files on it within Windows. Now, assuming Bell are using standard video encoding formats, you should also be able to copy the files across to your PC. There are a lot of assumptions there, and they might be incorrect. You could also risk damaging the DVR box if you open it and it could also have tamper evidence precautions on the case so beware of that too. If that doesn't put you off, try opening it and unplugging the harddisk, then transplanting it to your PC. It's not a very good method and it means swapping it over every time you want to copy something. However, it is a possible solution to your problem. http://www.uverseusers.com/content/view/128/8/ this link will show you the basic steps on how to upgrade a DVR hard drive, but it also shows you how to remove the drive if it is an IDE one so it might prove useful for you as a point of reference.
