If your dvring hd shows mpeg 4 is the way to go, less space.
go for it.
There are USB HD’s that pop right into the USB on the boxes. The main thing is that they have to have standalone power, because the USB on the box can’t provide enough current. When you decide to go 2 and hit Canada or 4 and stay pointed at the same birds, and pick out a box that’s good for you, check the forums and there will be a list of HD’s that work and those that don’t.
any real problems that you’re aware of with the coolsat 8100?
Not sure if they fixed it in the new firmware but it will only read USB HD’s formatted in FAT32, so you can’t have a filesize bigger than 4 gigs, which is around 38 minutes in HD footage. The DVR would originally cut off at 38 min on HD shows and you would have to re-start manually. There was a fix in the works where it would automatically start a new file when it hit the max size, but not sure if its out yet.
There are coolsat, pansat, viewsat, and sonicview models that are all pretty similar in features and price points. There’s gotta be a comparison test out there somewhere.
tks joe.