Review on ⚙️ StarTech.com Dual Bay USB 3.0/eSATA Hard Drive Duplicator Dock for 2.5" & 3.5" SATA SSD HDD - UASP (6Gbps) Standalone Docking Station by Kyle Sutter

Let me start by saying that most people I've spoken to have connected an external drive to a Direct TV DVR, all the same self-contained phantom drives. They are available from 1TB to 6TB, some with cache and some without. The first thing you notice is that these discs are old standard 5400 rpm magnetic discs. They have their own power supply and are completely enclosed. I've been through quite a few of them over the years, averaging maybe two years per ride. I've been told it's about the life expectancy of these drives as they're constantly working. Secondly, I've also noticed that I'm recording, for example, a show I'm watching, but at the same time I'm recording two other films on different channels. The disk practically hung because it couldn't physically handle the amount of data being written and read. I have (2) 3TB phantom drives and I've also noticed that the closer they are to being full, the more direct it is to how fast the DVR can search for data. It seemed to me that the more they were filled, the less the search time would reduce to the point where you can notice. So I've been looking for an alternative, but haven't come across anyone who hasn't used the same Phantom. drives like me After looking at several different drive docks, I settled on the StarTech Dual Bay Duplicator Dock. As with the Phantom Drives, I also connected the StarTech docking station to my DVR via the eSATA port on the back. And just like Phantom Drives, the Direct TV DVR will automatically format the new drive I had in the StarTech Dock the first time you turn on the power button while simultaneously pressing the DVR's reset button. Due to issues I encountered when multitasking with Phantom Drives, I decided to use a WD 7200 RPM Black Series hard drive as my docking station. Yes, the cost of ownership is higher than a Phantom Drive of the same size, but I believe that's because I'm using a faster, better quality drive than what they put in Phantom Drives. In the long run, the extra $50 difference pays off in increased performance and longer drive life. Alternative. But so far I haven't seen anyone post any other solution. And I know there are tens of thousands of people who use an external drive to add storage to their Direct TV DVR. Well, now you have an alternative to phantom hard drives. The WD 7200 RPM Black Series I bought is only $92 and also has 64MB of cache, which current phantom drives don't have. The 2TB, 64MB Cache Phantom Drive is currently available from Revain for just $105. But I think in the long run I'll be glad I spent the extra money to complete the route I did. Join StarTech and use the "Duplicate" feature to copy everything from this drive to a regular free 7200rpm drive. As we all know, when the Phantom Drive crashes, all the time you've spent building your movie library is lost! Now all Direct TV customers have a choice! Happy recording! David