How to increase recording capacity on your TiVo® box

With the Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander for high-definition TiVo boxes, you can increase the recording capacity of your TiVo box.

The Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander is available in a 1 TB size. Once the expander is plugged into the eSATA port on your TiVo box, it will be "married" to your box. The 1 TB expander will add over 140 hours of HD recording space (or over 1200 hours of standard definition recording space).

The DVR Expander can be used with:

  • TiVo Series3
  • TiVo HD and TiVo HD XL
  • All TiVo Premiere boxes

Note: The Western Digital My Book AV DVR Expander cannot be used as a mobile storage device to transport shows from one TiVo box to another device. If a DVR Expander is disconnected from the TiVo box to which it is married, and formatted by another TiVo box, all or most of the recorded content on the original TiVo box and all of the content on the DVR Expander will be lost.

Connecting the DVR Expander

In order for you to connect your DVR Expander to your TiVo, you must first have a TiVo Series3, TiVo HD, or TiVo Premiere.

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  1. Power off the TiVo box by disconnecting the AC power cord.
  2. Connect one end of the eSATA cable to the DVR Expander and the other end to the TiVo box. (Do not use a USB cable to connect to TiVo)
  3. Connect one end of the AC power cord to the DVR Expander and the other end to the electrical outlet. The power LED illuminates.
  4. Wait approximately 15 seconds for the hard drive to reach operating speed.
  5. Power on the TiVo box by reattaching the AC power cord.
  6. Follow the on-screen instructions.
Note: Some models of the 'My Book AV DVR Expander' from Western Digital include a USB cable in addition to the eSATA cable, but only the eSATA connection is supported for use with the TiVo boxes. If you have connected a DVR Expander using the USB connection, disconnect the USB cable and follow the steps using the eSATA cable.

Temporarily disconnecting the DVR Expander

Follow these instructions when temporarily disconnecting the DVR Expander (to clean or move your entertainment center, for example).

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  1. Power off the compatible TiVo box by disconnecting the AC power cord.
  2. Disconnect the AC adapter cord and eSATA cable from the DVR Expander.

CAUTION: Always unplug the power cord from the electrical outlet before disconnecting the AC adapter from the DVR Expander.

Reconnecting the My Book AV DVR Expander after temporary disconnection

Follow these instructions to reconnect your DVR Expander after temporarily disconnecting it.

Show the steps
  1. Reconnect the AC adapter cord and eSATA cable to the DVR Expander.
  2. Power on the TiVo box by reattaching the AC power cord.

CAUTION: Do not reconnect the power to the TiVo box with the DVR Expander disconnected. This will cause you to permanently remove the expander and lose all or most of your recordings.

Permanently removing the DVR Expander

Under normal operating conditions, there is no reason to remove the DVR Expander. Removing the expander does not allow you to play your recordings on a different TiVo box. Because each recording is distributed equally between the TiVo box's internal drive and the expander, you cannot gain additional storage by using more than one DVR Expander. You should only remove the DVR Expander if you wish to stop using it.

Show the steps
  1. Power off the compatible TiVo box by disconnecting the AC power cord.
  2. Disconnect the AC adapter cord and eSATA cable from the DVR Expander.
  3. Plug in the TiVo box's power cord and follow the on-screen instructions.

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