WD unveils a hard drive expansion kit for Dish Network DVRs

To help Dish Network customers seeking to store even more television content when they are unable to watch it live, Western Digital today introduced the My DVR Expander USB Edition 500 GB HDD designed specifically for DVRs.

The HDD is able to store 60 hours of high-definition content or 300 hours of standard content. Users can connect the HDD to their DVR via USB 2.0 connection -- the HDD's predecessor required an eSATA port.

The hard drive stays cool and quiet because it features a no-fan passive cooling system, as WD wanted the product to be used for quiet use in the living room or bedroom.

Keeping with the "green" theme companies have adopted lately, WD implemented its GreenPower technology into this drive, which means it's designed to save at least 4 or 5 watts of power savings over competitive HDDs. In addition, WD claims this drive consumes one-third less power than a regular external HDD available today.

WD and Dish Network said the My DVR Expander can work with the ViP Series HD DVRs, and both companies expect further compatibility later.

Current Dish Network DVR users can likely use any recent model external HDD to expand their storage capacity, assuming they don't want to purchase the My DVR Expander from WD. The only requirements include that the external drive support USB 2.0, and have storage capacity between 40 GB and 750 GB. Dish Network asks users to format the HDD prior to attaching it and launching the DVR's options screen for the first time.

The WD My DVR Expander USB Edition is available now for $149.99 MSRP. Be warned, however, that Dish Network charges a one-time $40 port activation fee for external HD use.