sbiddle:Wade: i wonder if the eSata port can be enable to allow a external HDD, can't see them doing it but would be an easy option for the consumer
It could be but you have to remember all these things aren't actually legal.
Format shifting of video isn't legal in NZ, and a DVR/HDD recorder can legally only be used to record content for playback "ASAP". The law doesn't allow long term archiving of content. Content management rights imposed by rights holders also limit how content can be copied off devices.
I know these laws are stupid, but they are the laws.. There is also some irony in that many of the things US rights holders impose on others can be done in their own country.
I have to admit i struggle to comprehend this :P
Assuming the eSata port is enabled by Sky and not some black magic saw it on the interwebz once dodgy method surely whether the drive is inside or outside the box is irrelevant? I have movies stored from early this year yet to be watched, so this must be a questionable practice? My understanding is the stored data is encrypted an then unencrypted upon viewing so the portable drive would surely be of little use to me without the set top box? The only potential issue is it is easier for me to extract data off a external drive than it is an internal drive but that is pure a physical issue is it is easier
