It’s Time to Invest in Surveillance Hard Drives For Security

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If you are setting up any kind of CCTV security network, you should invest in surveillance hard drives.

There are tons of hard drives available in the market for different uses. Most, if not all, have the same goal: provide more storage space.

And the good thing about HDDs is you can use them for so much more than storage, such as:

• Keeping your data
• Backups
• Data sharing
• Gaming

But when it comes to using a hard drive for a surveillance system, a standard version is not usually the best choice. For one, it cannot withstand the always-on operational demand of 24/7 video surveillance.

Thus, it cannot be used interchangeably without certain limitations. This is where surveillance hard drives are beneficial.

In this blog, we have put together the key elements of this specialized HDD to help you understand why you need one.

What Are Surveillance Hard Drives?

There is a hard drive especially engineered for you and your data storage needs, a.k.a. external hard drives.

Another type is surveillance hard drives, which are specifically designed for CCTV setup. But what are they?

They are built to process large volumes of data from high definition cameras. At the same time, they work by maximising the lifespan of the drive and power consumption with 24/7 read and write recording setups.

The appearance of a surveillance hard drive is similar to standard ones. But there are differences, though, particularly with optimisation and features.

For instance, a normal hard disk works only about 8 to 9 hours daily for 5 to 6 days a week. Meanwhile, a surveillance hard disk performs 24/7 all year round, making it one of the core parts of a surveillance system.

You can connect this type of hard drive in the DVR of your home or business surveillance setup.

The Difference Between Desktop vs Surveillance HDD

In addition to our example above, a standard hard disk is designed to read, write, and transfer data all at once. In contrast, a surveillance hard disk is engineered to perform the write operations in maximum: 90% of the time and 10% for playback.

This gives a surveillance HDD better performance in comparison to a desktop HDD. Most likely, standard disks cannot be put up with the 24/7 operational demand of a surveillance system.

Further, every camera in a security system is always on, recording, and transmitting the data back to your HDD. If you own more than two cameras, a hard disk has to handle a dense stream of data that needs to be recorded 24 hours a day.

For high-security systems, it is crucial for them to constantly write multiple streams of HD footage to the disk. They need to be able to do it as efficiently and as accurately as possible.

This can make traditional hard drives act up due to the workload. Sure, they will still function and might even do the job but only in the short term.

Then again, standard HDDs are not designed to transfer large volumes of data 24/7. Plus, they are not nearly as reliable for storing security footage as a surveillance drive.

Also, keep in mind that a failed or incompatible drive could mean the loss of information, such as catching someone committing a crime on tape. Thus, surveillance hard drives are your best option for your home or business security systems.

What Makes Surveillance Hard Drives Special?

The capability of writing extremely large amounts of data fast is what makes surveillance drives exceptional. They may cost a bit more than standard drives, but the performance is far better.

It is because they house a couple of extra features, making surveillance disks more beneficial. For one, they use ATA streaming command sets to make the whole process of pulling the rope easier.

They are a list of values that inform the HDD exactly how long it will take to read and write data to the disk. With this information in hand, the drive can optimise its workload to read/write data as fast as possible.

They also come with a specific workload rating that indicates how much data you want to run through. This feature is great for keeping the drive at the lowest possible chance of failure.

Moreover, surveillance hard drives are engineered around the concept of 24-hour functionality. This helps maximise the lifespan of the drive while keeping the power consumption to a minimum, reducing costs in the long term.

The Benefits

1. Reliability

Unlike normal PC HDDs, surveillance hard drives are built to record data 24/7 from multiple camera streams or channels. A desktop drive can eventually fail under constant, 24-hour operation.

So if you are setting up a CCTV, it’s better to choose video-optimised surveillance drives. They provide reliability and best performance far beyond computer drives.

Investing in one can help you save money in the long run.

2. High-write workloads

As mentioned above, surveillance drives are tuned for 90% of their time for recording video and 10% for reviewing and playing back data 24/7. They support video streaming firmware designed and built for write performance.

They feature enhanced write functionality that ensures first-rate performance and better drive durability. Moreover, surveillance HDDs firmware is custom-built for streaming videos.

They can capture every pixel while streaming HD videos, perfect for DVR, media centre or video security applications.

3. Low-power profile

Another thing we like about surveillance HDDs is they offer low-power profiles. This means they help with energy conversion.

At the same time, they ensure cool operating temperatures and boost system reliability while working a 24/7 profile.

4. Cost

You might think surveillance hard drives will cost higher than the standard ones. Although they are engineered for surveillance environments, when it comes to the price tag, there is only a minor difference.

Our Best Surveillance Hard Drives

Our available SkyHawk™ surveillance drives are tuned for 24/7 workloads, and available in capacities up to 10TB. They are optimised for DVRs and NVRs and are equipped with enhanced ImagePerfect™ firmware.

SkyHawk makes the perfect choice for surveillance HDDs and home security systems. It helps minimise dropped frames and downtime with a workload rating 3x that of a desktop drive.

It is also guaranteed to record up to 90% of the time while supporting up to 64 HD cameras. Check the available units below, available in 1TB storage capacity to 10TB.

• 1TB HDD Seagate SkyHawk™ Surveillance Drive (SS-09661)
• 2TB HDD Seagate SkyHawk™ Surveillance Drive (SS-09662)
• 3TB HDD  Seagate SkyHawk™ Surveillance Drive (SS-09663)
• 4TB HDD Seagate SkyHawk™ Surveillance Drive (SS-09664)
• 6TB HDD Seagate SkyHawk™ Surveillance Drive (SS-09666)
• 8TB HDD Seagate SkyHawk™ Surveillance Drive (SS-09668)
• 10TB HDD Seagate SkyHawk™ Surveillance Drive (SS-09668)

The Bottom Line

If you are interested in setting up a home security system, investing in surveillance hard drives is a good way to go! They can ensure that every CCTV in your system can record accurately and provide you with reports with no loss in quality.

There is no point investing in a security system if the video recording hardware is not 100% compatible with your needs. So we recommend you invest in a good quality surveillance hard drive—just like our available SkyHawk HDDs!