Forum Archive Home -> DVD Recorders -> How to access video files from Pioneer DVR 540HX on the PC?
How to access video files from Pioneer DVR 540HX on the PC? | ||
| vcruzmed posted 2009 Jun 24 05:16 | ||
| Hi everybody,
I would like to know if there is a way to mount the hard disk from a Pioneer DVR 540HX on a PC in order to access the video files stored in it. From the pioneerfaq.info site I've learned that the Pioneers use an OpenBSD file system but there are no instructions on how to mount it. Has anybody done it? My problem is that the hdd is full and I was wondering if there is a faster method to backup the recordings than the DVD route. Thanks | ||
| Seeker47 posted 2009 Jun 24 11:12 | ||
This is one area of DVDR "research" that has always lagged. I've never heard of any video geek / hacker who has made some useful breakthroughs in this area. My strong suspicion is that Orsetto or Hkan would tell you that even if you solved the file system, you'd still be dealing with proprietary formats and possibly some encryption (?) It would be great if there was a way, but I doubt this is going to be a rewarding avenue to pursue. | ||
| vcruzmed posted 2009 Jun 25 04:15 | ||
| Hi Seeker47,
Sure, dealing with the file format is the second part of the problem. I'm hoping for the best on this issue. If the DVR is able to copy the recordings to DVD at high speed then the internal format should be fairly similar to an MPEG2 transport stream. But the only way to find out is to access the files. Thanks | ||
| jman98 posted 2009 Jun 25 07:25 | ||
| If the disk uses an OpenBSD file system and you have good computer skills, it should not be too difficult to mount it. Here is a suggestion for mounting an OpenBSD file system under Suse Linux, but this should work as well on non-Suse versions:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_mount_a_BSD_file_system_on_a ... nux_System Here is a link to an FFS driver for Windows: http://ffsdrv.sourceforge.net/ | ||
| Seeker47 posted 2009 Jun 25 09:38 | ||
Should YOU happen to be the one to make the great discovery, please publish it here, and maybe also with HKan's site. I'm sure many would be grateful. For speed and convenience of getting stuff off the HDD, I don't think we're going to beat the native capabilities of the DVDR. But this could have major implications for rescuing material from a compromised DVDR, or if the HDD is starting to fail. | ||
| vcruzmed posted 2009 Jun 26 02:11 | ||
| Thanks for the links. However, I'm concerned about this bit of info from http://www.pioneerfaq.info/english/dvr630.php?player=DVR-630H& ... recover_hd. If it's true that to put the hdd back into the DVR I need the service remote and disk, then it is not worth the effort for me. May be if the hdd is not modified in the process, the DVR may accept the hdd back but how can I be sure that any of this software doesn't write to the hdd? | ||
| Seeker47 posted 2009 Jun 26 10:27 | ||
Good point. When I'm doing something risky with a HDD, I prefer to first clone it -- to another identical model -- and then do my experimenting on the duplicate. But with a procedure as delicate as this, even that might be too risky . . . unless it was a desperate situation with little left to lose. The service remote (or a substitute for it) and the service disk are probably obtainable, though. | ||
| orsetto posted 2009 Jun 26 15:52 | ||
| You're wasting your time. There is no way to mount the hard drive from any "major brand" DVD/HDD recorder into a PC and get any practical use out of it. It is one thing to know you can mount it under some version of Unix/Linux, but mounting it isn't the problem: handling the files is. They are not neatly identified and organized like they would be on a PC hard drive, they're a freaking mess. A single half-hour sitcom recording is often comprised of 50 or more files, scattered all over the drive with random gibberish file names. In five years of following this topic on several forums, I have only heard of two people who managed to mount a Panasonic and Pioneer recorder HDD in a PC, and salvage some videos from them. Note I said "salvage", not "play", "back up" or "use in any practical manner". And the salvage operation took weeks to piece together a single hour of video.
There are a lot of people out there under the delusion these recorder mfrs are stupid and can be outwitted. Forget it: they didn't dare bring DVD recorders to market until Hollywood could be assured wise-ass computer geeks couldn't just slap the hard drive into their PCs and have a blast streaming 160GB of network and cable TV onto the internet. Recorder hard drives are locked down every which way from Sunday and the files are completely useless except in the recorder. In many cases, such as Pioneer, removal of the hard drive will also break the secret handshake that lets the recorder read it, you can't even put it back in without a service remote and/or service DVD to reset the handshake: these machines are DRM'd to death. Confusion arises because of the way DVD/HDD recorders are marketed. It is a mistake to assume just because they have ridiculously large hard drives they can be used as a quick-n-easy home theater PC with hot-swappable storage. These recorders only have large hard drives because smaller ones are no longer made, otherwise bet your ass we'd still be dealing with 40GB recorders. The hard drive feature is intended as temporary timeshift space and a scratch area to make editing easier before burning the final DVD- nothing else. No matter how mfrs try to "spin" these recorders, their primary purpose is to burn DVDs from their hard drives. If you want a home theater PC, with easily backed up hard drives and standard file formats, build one or buy one. Meantime, dub your recorder hard drive TV shows and movies to DVDs as soon as possible after recording: if the HDD tanks, you'll lose everything on it. | ||
| vcruzmed posted 2009 Jun 26 17:47 | ||
| Hi orsetto,
Thanks a lot for the info. You have saved me a lot of time and pain. I'll just resign myself to backup to DVDs. Now it's time for me to look for a new recorder that supports easy backup. Three years ago when I bought the Pioneer there were not many options but things are different now. | ||
| Triad123 posted 2009 Jul 27 08:01 | ||
| well dvd's could not be copied!!!! And look today... They brought out Blue-Ray....even that have been cracked....They brought HD tv even that got cracked....so there will be a way...why would they allow ?HDD machines to be so full of Sh*t...if dvd are all over the world i will find a way and come back with it.....Just watch | ||
| orsetto posted 2009 Jul 27 19:35 | ||
Why bother? If your recorder is broken, and you have irreplaceable videos on it, maybe its worth struggling to extract those videos from the hard drive. Otherwise, again, why bother? Even if you crack the recorder OS, the drives are not exactly easy to navigate or easily hot-swappable. If you want easy fast digital backup and jukebox features, get a PC. Someone on another video forum claims to be a software engineer, and that he "wrote a simple Unix app in a couple hours this weekend" that identifies and assembles all the title-specific video fragments on his Panasonic dvd/hdd recorders HDD when used in a PC. I'll believe it if he makes his software available for download. |
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