Added DVR storage for Motorola DCT6410 III

The box allows for an external hard drive with eSATA capability to be connected via the eSATA port on the DVR.  This is not something we support or troubleshoot however so results may vary.  Other users of the forums here may have helpful advice regarding the specifics of how to do it and what drives work or don't work.

I too got the pre-recorded message (Orange County  CA) saying that we can add an external hard drive to the DVR. The message also says we can find more information online from Cox Support. Is there not an article we can look at online? 

If you say this is something you guys don't support, what was the point of the recorded message? 

I agree.  If they phone call campaign one would assume they are supporting the service.  Common sense says its a business opportunity for them to charge to install the drives for the technically challenged

I emailed and  text exchanged (2 different ones) and  called and posted Cox tech support.  they dont know what their left hand is doing.  None of them were aware, most said it cant be done and some gave disinformation pointing me to a different service area in Phoenix using the Scientific Atlanta 8300.  One maintained that you have to exchange the Motororla 6410 for the 8300 which is impossible in the OC market.  Their goal is to get rid of you and claim another successful tech support problem solved.

  I eventually  I called the Mission Viejo Cox store and while they were also unaware of a phone call campaign, at least they took the initiate to look into it and said they found a internal email that said:

..........there was a COX software upgrade in OC to be pushed out by April 16 that would allow the Motorola 6410 to have an external hard drive attached to the the ESATA port on the rear of the DVR............................. 

Cox person confirmed with me that it was ESTATA (NOT SATA, different connector) and that it was for the Motorola DCT6410III.  She said there is no web information posted nor a list of compatible hard drives listed in the internal email.  Even a google search for the Motorola DVR found nothing on the web for this.  (there is info on the SA 8300 back to 2007 that Cox provided to add a hard drive in the Phoenix market)

I bought a "'WD My Book AV DVR Expander 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA External Hard Drive" to try.  It comes with an ESATA Cable.  Ill post back next week the results.

Cox strategy I think is to get you to get you to upgrade to the Advanced TV DVR which gives you more HD recording hours and you pay more for it (the 6410III has a pathetic 20hrs of HD).  We did that once just to get the additional recording hours but found the user interface and service so difficult to use we returned it and got back the 6410III and been living with the measly 20 hours record time for years now. 

Here is response from email tech support.....Sounds like an automated response.......better if they said nothing....shheezz:

 
Thank you for your e-mail. I understand that you received a voice 
message about adding an external Hard Drive to your DVR. I am glad to 
assist you. 
 
Unfortunately, we are not allowed to support this difficulty with your 
personal device because we do not have the license agreement to support 
it. I suggest you contact the manufacturer for a further assistance 
regarding this difficulty. 
 
I will provide you a link where you can find more information how to 
hook another devices to the Cox cable receiver: 
 
http://www.cox.com/hr/support/dc/diagrams/default.asp 
 
I hope the information above was useful in resolving your difficulty. If 
you would like to inquire about other information, do not hesitate to 
contact us for further assistance. 
 
Have you tried our customer support site? Visit 
 
http://ww2.cox.com/residential/support.cox 
 
To find answers to many of your Cox High Speed Internet questions FAST, 
including "click to fix" automated solutions and LIVE online chat 
support 24/7! 
 
 
Thank you for choosing Cox as your friend in the digital age. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
 
STP - Gilberto N. 

I will be interested to see how your test works and will buy the same drive.  Fingers crossed!

I just got an email confirming that we can add an external hard drive to DVRs. 

http://ww2.cox.com/residential/orangecounty/support/tv/article.cox?articleId=71e801e0-5067-11e2-efcc-000000000000

So it looks like it will be supported. Now the question is will ANY drive w/ esata connections work? I know WD has a hard drive made made for DVRs. Can we buy our own hard drive and enclosure? 

Oh, they did post it. Good. That's the article we had internally at launch but at first I couldn't find it online for some reason.

We don't have a specific compatibility list, but as far as I know there aren't any restrictions. A drive listed as "DVR compatible" or a "DVR expander" is preferred because it will have its sleep timers adjusted for faster access. The Solution Stores are supposed to start carrying the Western Digital "My Book AV DVR Expander" but I don't have any info on availability or pricing.

Motorola has a page on the feature (basically Rovi has just exposed the Motorola function) here: http://www.motorola.com/Video-Solutions/US-EN/Products-and-Services/Video-Consumer-Premise-Equipment/Set-Top-Accessories/External+Hard+Drive+Storage+for+Motorola+Set-Tops_US-EN

We also got the Cox email describing the Extended Recording and the On Demand search service..

When we hooked up the "WD My Book AV DVR Expander" (which appears to be the one sold by Motorola) and  the DVR gave a message that this service is not supported and to contact your provider. 

We also did not have the On Demand search described in the Cox email.  After calling Cox Tech Support, a couple reboots and a software refresh and 3 transfers and 30 minutes later because no one new about the service.  We finally found someone who took the time to find information and the service will not be available on the 16th so perhaps they push it out all at once tomorrow sometime.   When we will tray again.

Based on what Kip K from Cox has linked, the WD hard drive should be compatible. You did say the roll out for support would be done by April 16th so hopefully you can give us some good news tomorrow. I plan on buying this as well, as long as it works. 

Cox usually does updates on the boxes software/firmware on Monday night Tuesday morning.

It's a 6412 or newer Motorola did not make a 6410.

wees41 said:
It's a 6412 or newer Motorola did not make a 6410.

Correct, for Cox it would be 6412 or higher. The series is DCT-6400, and there was a 6408 (6400-series with 80-gig hard drive) used by other providers, but from that series we used the 6412, 6412p3 (sometimes confusingly called a 6413 by our system and our employees), and 6416. This upgrade also applies to the DCT-3416, DCH-3416, and DCX-3400.

Anyway, the latest Rovi 3.7/Motorola M10 upgrade schedule I have goes like so [in no particular order... ] : 

Completed: Tulsa OK, New Orleans/Baton Rouge LA, Macon GA, Orange County/Palos Verdes CA
Pending: Connecticut, Omaha NE, Kansas/Arkansas, Rhode Island, Hampton Roads/Roanoke VA

If anyone wants to report whether a particular hard drive is successful, I'm sure your fellow users will appreciate it. From around the web, it sounds like just about any eSATA drive is working.

The model number on our box is DCT6416III.

We are in Orange County.

We tried to use the "On Demand" Search (part of the software upgrade described in cox email) but no joy......so looks like no upgrade yet for us.

Dont have the energy to put up with the COX support gauntlet today so will try again tomorrow and call support if still no joy.

We noticed this evening the software was updated. 

We plugged in the HD cable to the SATA port of the "WD My Book AV DVR Expander 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA External Hard Drive" to the port labeled SATA on the back of the DVR.

There were some prompts to allow formatting and when confirming it took about an instant to complete and we got mucho storage now.  

Based on what was already recorded and the DVR reported remaining %,  I'd guess we have 200 hours of HD storage now.

That should be enough until they come out with a holodeck.

Its $110 from Amazon with 4.5 out of 5 stars and over 400 reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/Book-Expander-eSATA-External-Drive/dp/B003MVZ60S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366173744&sr=8-1&keywords=%27WD+My+Book+AV+DVR+Expander+1+TB+USB+2.0%2FeSATA+External+Hard+Drive%22