SpiceWare's Blog

Or you could wait until the 8TB drives get certified....

That's an idea, though I'd rather wait and see how well that new "Shingles" technique works out in real life scenarios.

Hey, so I'm a little behind on your blog, but from this entry and from some previous entries I'm gleaning that you're doing a bit of an experiment after having given up DirectTV and its monthly cost of $151 and you're using a DVR setup (with an outlay cose) and content purchases to supply you with media, if I'm not mistaken. Now you're tracking how much you've saved and how much you spend. That's a cool idea! We only have Hulu and Netflix which takes care of most of our needs. Now and then we do Redbox. I guess doing this in my house wouldn't result in a lot of savings. However, I really the idea of keeping track of it. I should do that with my "work from home" situation". When I was commuting, I'm positive I used to spend $3 - $7 on lunch each day I went to work and I had to fill my gas tank with about $35 in gasoline once a week. xD I wish I'd kept track like you've been doing since I started working from home. Anyway, thanks for the cool idea. : D

Yep, that's what I'm doing. I did go a bit overboard on the hardware though - I'm using a maxed out 2012 Mac mini (fastest CPU option plus 16 GB RAM) along with a Drobo for storage.

 

I haven't bothered with Hulu or Netflix yet, though I do watch the free content that's available via Amazon Prime. I don't count the cost of Amazon Prime though as the free shipping more than makes up for the yearly cost.

 

Most series I watch are available for download on iTunes the day after they've broadcast. However series from HBO and Showtime tend to be delayed a year or so before I can get them, so I'm behind on shows like Game of Thrones and Nurse Jackie.

 

You can use the DVR Project category to make it easier find the blog entries for this topic.

Our local library system allows you to "reserve" items which are currently checked out, which puts you on the waiting list. The library also has movies & TV shows (including Game of Thrones seasons 1-3) in it's collection. Put the two together and it's like having Netflix for free (depending upon how long the queue is). My wife and I just finished off Game of Thrones season 3 - so now I need to ignore that greedy voice of impatience which wants to watch season 4 right now.

Hadn't thought of the library as I'm in a small town just outside of Houston that doesn't have one. Fresno's a census-designated place - which is a populated area that lacks separate municipal government.

I do see that there's a county library about 5 miles from me, never knew it was there as it's on a side street I've never needed to drive on. Their online search doesn't show Game of Thrones, though may be worth checking out for other items.

While the Capacity Calculator hasn't been updated yet, a new bit of text was added yesterday:

Click here for information on support for larger capacity drives (e.g. 4TB, 5TB, 6TB).

Which takes you to a page with this on it:

New larger capacity drives (e.g. 3TB, 4TB, 6TB) are now available for purchase in 3.5" SATA models. Drobo supports the use of these high-capacity drives in Drobo systems to allow users to continue to expand their Drobo storage.

So the 6 TB drive is now on order! Amazon says it'll arrive on Sunday.