David

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Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

Are the hard drives any less active/stressed when a Tivo is tuned to the
music channels?

If so, can one reduce hard drive wear and tear by tuning to music channels,
and/or putting the unit on standby?

Getting tired of having drives die...
 
G

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Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

"David" <davey@home.net> wrote in message news:KtmdndH_d9X_QfbfRVn-oA@comcast.com...
> Are the hard drives any less active/stressed when a Tivo is tuned to the
> music channels?
>
> If so, can one reduce hard drive wear and tear by tuning to music channels,
> and/or putting the unit on standby?
>
> Getting tired of having drives die...
>
>

No. While a music channel is selected buffering still occurs,
but the "trick play" features are unavailable.

Putting a DirecTV DVR in standby stops the live buffers, but there is no
evidence that doing this will extend the life of the disk drive.
The standalone TiVo continues to use the live buffer while in standby.
 

David

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"Jack Ak" <akjack@excite.com> wrote in message
news:EITae.5822$J12.3241@newssvr14.news.prodigy.com...
>
> "David" <davey@home.net> wrote in message
> news:KtmdndH_d9X_QfbfRVn-oA@comcast.com...
>> Are the hard drives any less active/stressed when a Tivo is tuned to the
>> music channels?
>>
>> If so, can one reduce hard drive wear and tear by tuning to music
>> channels,
>> and/or putting the unit on standby?
>>
>> Getting tired of having drives die...
>>
> No. While a music channel is selected buffering still occurs,
> but the "trick play" features are unavailable.
>
> Putting a DirecTV DVR in standby stops the live buffers, but there is no
> evidence that doing this will extend the life of the disk drive.
> The standalone TiVo continues to use the live buffer while in standby.
>

Thks for the reply!

Sooooo... would it be any easier on a hidef Tivo's drives to leave the
unit
tuned to non-HD channels when not using it?

I wish the darned things had some kind of a real hibernate feature, short of
pulling the plug..

BTW, I have a HR 10-250 Hidef Directivo and an RCA DVR80 SD DirectTivo.
 
G

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Guest
Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

> Thks for the reply!
>
> Sooooo... would it be any easier on a hidef Tivo's drives to leave the
> unit
> tuned to non-HD channels when not using it?
>
> I wish the darned things had some kind of a real hibernate feature, short of
> pulling the plug..
>
> BTW, I have a HR 10-250 Hidef Directivo and an RCA DVR80 SD DirectTivo.

Don't worry about it, it's not worth it. We can argue till next century
over whether power cycles are more or less damaging to a drive than
leaving it running all the time, but either is likely not much better
than the other. Better to just let the unit run the way it is designed.

If you are losing a lot of drives it's most likely due to some other
factor. The two biggest hard drive killers are heat and vibration.
Make sure you have good ventilation and your fan is unblocked and
turning easily in order to keep the temp in your Tivo from getting too
high. Avoid moving your Tivo while it is on as much as possible to
avoid vibration, and don't let it experience any large shocks (like
dropping it), even if it's off. And don't run it while it's set on top
of your subwoofer ;-).

Think of it like a light bulb. A light bulb that stays cool and isn't
dropped is likely to last much longer than one mishandled and run at
excessive voltage, but there is no guarantee.

Randy S.
 
G

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Guest
Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

In article <KtmdndH_d9X_QfbfRVn-oA@comcast.com>,
"David" <davey@home.net> wrote:

> Are the hard drives any less active/stressed when a Tivo is tuned to the
> music channels?
>
> If so, can one reduce hard drive wear and tear by tuning to music channels,
> and/or putting the unit on standby?
>
> Getting tired of having drives die...

Make sure the unit is well ventilated, so the internal temperature is
down to or below 40 degrees C may help.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

David seemed to utter in news:KtmdndH_d9X_QfbfRVn-oA@comcast.com:

> Are the hard drives any less active/stressed when a Tivo is tuned to
> the music channels?
>
> If so, can one reduce hard drive wear and tear by tuning to music
> channels, and/or putting the unit on standby?
>
> Getting tired of having drives die...

Please... not this thread again.

-- TRW
_______________________________________
t r w 7
at
i x dot n e t c o m dot c o m
_______________________________________
 

David

Distinguished
Apr 1, 2004
785
0
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Archived from groups: alt.video.ptv.tivo (More info?)

"Tim Witort" <trw7at@ixdot.netcomdotcom> wrote in message
news:Xns964389EAF2833timwitortwrotethis@207.217.125.201...
> David seemed to utter in news:KtmdndH_d9X_QfbfRVn-oA@comcast.com:
>
>> Are the hard drives any less active/stressed when a Tivo is tuned to
>> the music channels?
>>
>> If so, can one reduce hard drive wear and tear by tuning to music
>> channels, and/or putting the unit on standby?
>>
>> Getting tired of having drives die...
>
> Please... not this thread again.
>
> -- TRW
> _______________________________________
> t r w 7
> at
> i x dot n e t c o m dot c o m
> _______________________________________

Aren't you a little late? ;-)