the caddies that carry the removeable HDD's are they universal or generic in the sense that they can hold the drives that are removeable out of various DVR's? I ask as i saw some at compusa that look like they would fit the one on the GE symdec?

most are different and just because they look the same they most likely are not. be careful

And be very wary of the little crappy fans on them, they die very rapidly