Tag Archives: 2014

DVD Hard disc recorder recovery on PC

So you recorded tv shows on the (Philips) DVD hard disk recorder. But how to get those to a pc without burning to disk?

What we do know is that:

  • The operating system on the hard drive seems to be fixed, that’s why putting in a new drive into the recorder fails, it cannot recognize the formatted drive.
  • Jumper needs to be set to Master, standard on Cable select
  • OS seems to be VXworks, filesystem vxext, other indication is OS20?
  • Several attempts have been done to extract raw data via Hex editing, via Hex Workshop.
  • Search for an offset, copy that to pc and rename to .ts or .mpeg.
  • No files are encrypted, just raw mpeg files are on the drive, because the recorder needs to access the files fast.
  • Another option is to copy over the whole drive to a larger drive with Hex Workshop and then extract this .bin file with ISO buster. But this is very time consuming and does not deliver the MPEG files we are after.
  • Merging of  the files is needed since they are fragmented.
  • Some dvd recorders store in .VRO format or .TS. Philips recorders leave .mpeg files.
  • I have done some investigation with Nucleus JFS Kernel but this has failed due to hard drive loss of power.
  • Ubuntu live image did not recognize the drive, shows as empty and unformatted.

Let me know if you have further information regarding dvd hard disc recorder recovery.

Philips DVDR Service mode via RS232

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For some time, I own a Philips DVDR3590H dvd recorder, which has a 250GB harddrive and is capable of recording both on DVD’s and on the harddrive. To see what was inside, I opened it some years ago. Maybe to spot if the harddrive was upgradeable, the dvd drive was exchangeable or which components are inside. Continue reading