Confirmation Required Please - copying from Thomson PVR3

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Confirmation Required Please - copying from Thomson PVR3

Postby LondonChap » Mon Jun 20, 2011 8:02 pm

I have read a lot about this (honestly !) and I am a Copy+ "veteran" (well, I've used it a couple of times). I thought I had understood the arrival of Darwin to HD boxes.

I have successfully copied the contents of a 1TB HDD from an old Thomson HD box to a blank 2TB HDD put into a new Amstrad 890.

Flushed with success, I attempted to repeat the process from a PVR3 (DSI8210) to another blank 2TB HDD and another new Amstrad 890. Like Blizthund, I found that the Planner was empty.

Now I thought that Darwin didn't apply to SD boxes, and so the PVR3 would be a valid source. I also thought that booting the 890 would "convert" or "Darwinise" the HDD for use in the new Amstrad box.

I thought that I was careful with the "Endian" stuff ... but I can't "see" any entries at all in the Planner.


What have I done wrong ?

Do I have to follow another route, perhaps ?

Is there some other way (or prospect of a way to come) to migrate from a PVR3 to a (well, any!) HD box ? The PVR3 is nearly full and we are looking to go HD at this viewing point - SWMBO will not be at all happy if I can't transfer the many hours of "back TV" which have built up.



Cheers
LondonChap
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Re: Confirmation Required Please - copying from Thomson PVR3

Postby LondonChap » Mon Jun 20, 2011 10:22 pm

Apologies for the poor etiquette of "replying to myself" !

Further reading has led me to believe that copying from an SD box (by definition without Darwin) to an HD box with Darwin is "problematic". :cry:

However ...

- copying from an SD (always without Darwin) box to an old (Darwinless) Thomson HD box was possible in the past (I did it in 2007)
- copying from an old (Darwinless) Thomson HD box to a new Amstrad (with Darwin) is possible (I did it just a few weeks ago)

So ...

I still have three boxes and three HDDs "lying around :

An old Thomson DSI8210 SD PVR3
An old HD Thomson (component out)
A new Amstrad DRX 890

The PATA HDD in the PVR3
A 1TB SATA (used in the Thomson HD box)
A 2TB SATA (used in the Amstrad 890)

To paraphrase Rolf Harris ... "Can you see where I'm going with this yet ?"

Here's a thought experiment :

Copy the contents of the SD PVR3 to the 1TB HDD and put it in the Thomson HD box.

Turn the Thomson box on and have a poke about - surely it would work (it's almost the exact same thing I did when I put my Pace PVR1 stuff onto the Thomson back in 2007).

Take the 1TB HDD out, copy its contents to the 2TB HDD and put that into the Amstrad DRX890. When it boots up it will "Darwinise" the HDD. Surely this must work too - it's EXACTLY what I did a few weeks ago when I copied the contents of the old Thomson to my other new 890 ... I'll even be using the exact same HDD.


Or am I "missing something" ?

I guess that I am assuming that the Thomson HD box does something to the HDD to mark it as an "HD disc" - which the Amstrad will accept when "Darwinising" it. If so, what do you think I need to do whilst the HDD is in the Thomson ? Make a recording ... or just boot up the box whilst the HDD is in it ?

Whilst I don't want to waste the (many) hours doing this experiment (assuming that I can find a long enough "window" in SWMBO's recording schedule), try as I might I can see no flaw in my logic. SD to Thomo works, Thomo to Amstrad works ... I've done both in the past.



Cheers
LondonChap
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Re: Confirmation Required Please - copying from Thomson PVR3

Postby smpoulton » Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:09 pm

You are correct in that it will work just fine if you take it across to the thomson box first let it update the database to the HD format and then copy it over onto the amstrad box which will then be able to recognize and update the HD format to darwin.
The reason for this is simple - you have in-fact got three seperate database types there - the original old epg SD one, the newer HD epg one and darwin. There is no procedure for the darwin box to convert the obsolete SD format and therefore you must take it via the HD epg first so that darwin can recognize it.
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Re: Confirmation Required Please - copying from Thomson PVR3

Postby LondonChap » Fri Jul 01, 2011 7:55 pm

smpoulton wrote:You are correct in that it will work just fine if you take it across to the thomson box first let it update the database to the HD format and then copy it over onto the amstrad box which will then be able to recognize and update the HD format to darwin.
The reason for this is simple - you have in-fact got three seperate database types there - the original old epg SD one, the newer HD epg one and darwin. There is no procedure for the darwin box to convert the obsolete SD format and therefore you must take it via the HD epg first so that darwin can recognize it.


Quite right !

I did it in two steps. I used the 500GB HDD that came with my 890 as the intermediate HDD. I'm going to put it in the cupboard and hang on to it for a few months as a "back up".
LondonChap
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