Recording high-definition content can fill up your DVR—and fast! If you’re recording from the wealth of high-def channels on DirecTV, then you probably will have your gigabytes filled even more than if you have a system with fewer HD options.
With this in mind, TenLab has created its TenBox solution storage box that connects to DirecTV’s HD HR20 DVR to provide you with much more than the 300-GB recording capacity available.
TenBox comes in three storage capacities, up to 2 terabytes (2,000 GB) that can give you up to 1,300 hours of standard-def programming or up to 330 hours of HD (MPEG-4) programming.
Here are the capacaties and MSRPs:
Unlike some data storage boxes, TenLab kept in mind that this one will probably be in an A/V rack and should look more like the rest of your electronics gear. It features three extra silent fans and heat dissipating hardware so it will stay cool in a rack setup or when placed on top of your DirecTV receiver.
TenBox has minimal noise thanks to custom hardware and anti-vibration materials, too, so it won’t keep you up at night with any buzzing or hum. The box itself is a nice graphite color metallic chassis with blue LED status lighting. So no more HD recording blues, just blue lighting on this nifty device.
I bought a TenBox TB1500 (1.5 TB). I had already tried several cheaper solutions that did not work well. This is real silent as advertised, and I keep recording and recording and it seems to be no end…. I would not leave any of the other cheap devices plugged all the time in my home. Pricey? Maybe, but it is money well spent.
I bought a 1TB hard drive on Black Friday for $199. They can readily be had now for around $299. What in the world could possibly justify a nearly $1000 markup on a hard drive? Man…seeing this takes me one step closer to ending my 14 year relationship with DiirecTV in favor of Tivo HD and FIOS. First they dump Tivo and try to sell a Hyundai (HR20 “DVR”) as BMW (Tivo) telling customers they do the same thing, now their expansion capability comes with a $1000 markup. Nice. Real nice.
If this box was half the price, i’d buy it in an instant. It is way overpriced given that you can pickup an eSATA enclosure and drive for much cheaper.
This is one PRICEY solution. ESATA is just as valid a solution but at a reasonable price. TenLab’s solution seems to be priced about 3 times what is reasonable. Oh well, if you’ve got money to burn…
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The problem with polls like this is that they are not coming from real people. What… 
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Welll George, I put a $99 500gb raw hard drive inside my HR10-250 DirecTV HD Tivo box and its on 24/7 for 1 year now with no problems. These guys are gouging IMO.