kj99 0 Posted April 12, 2013 can anyone please advise me on my choice of hard drive ... i have bought an alien dvr (eco) and am recording 12 cameras at 4 cif , 15 fps im only getting about a week and a bit of recording - so i am adding an extra 4tb to the existing 2tb drive. ive found a well priced drive - but it only has 64MB RAM - ( ram buffer) ... is this sufficient for my needs? i wrekin in each frame there must be apx 1.5 mega bits ,, and if there is 15 fps that works out at apx 20 mega bits per second for one cameras worth ... if there are 12 cameras connected , then thats 12 cameras times 20 mega bits per second - eg : about 200 mega bits per second ..... if the ram buffer on the hard drive is 64MB - then thats about 3 to 4 times less than what i need ... does this sound right? ive got 700 tvl cameras - very sharp pictures , very nice pictures ... i dont know the exact amount of data in each frame .... but id guess its something like the above .... maybe ... have i bought the right hard drive ? the 4tb 64MB seagate 5900 rpm is about 150 pounds so not badly priced... any advice appreciated Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Q2U 0 Posted April 12, 2013 RPMage Speed. Never anything less than 7,200 rpm. 15,0000 if I can afford it. Reliability: some kind of RAID solution, if possible. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kawboy12R 0 Posted April 12, 2013 What drive is in it now? I bet the Seagate will work but it never hurts to use the same kind of drive. Have you looked for a list of recommended drives for that DVR? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kj99 0 Posted April 13, 2013 its actually got an inbuilt seagate 2tb drive ( the one put in by the wholesaler ) ... works fine,, but for 4 cif , 12 cameras , 25 fps - lucky to get a weeks or so recording the manufactuer/wholesaler ( systemQ) sell extra hard drives ( 3tb) but they r quite pricey - about 200 pound plus vat ... rip off and 4tb is probably 300 pound (ish) one on ebay - brand new described as " Seagate 4TB Barracuda 3.5" Internal Hard Drive SATA 6GB/s 64MB 7200RPM" Product DescriptionSeagate Barracuda Desktop HDD.15 - hard drive - 4 TB - SATA-600 TypeHard drive - internal Capacity4 TB Form Factor3.5" x 1/3H InterfaceSerial ATA-600 Data Transfer Rate600 MBps Buffer Size64 MB FeaturesNative Command Queuing (NCQ), Seagate OptiCache technology, Seagate AcuTrac technology Dimensions (WxDxH)101.6 mm x 146.99 mm x 26.11 mm Weight610 g Detail General Device TypeHard drive - internal Capacity4 TB Form Factor3.5" x 1/3H InterfaceSerial ATA-600 Buffer Size64 MB Bytes per Sector4096 FeaturesNative Command Queuing (NCQ), Seagate OptiCache technology, Seagate AcuTrac technology Width101.6 mm Depth146.99 mm Height26.11 mm Weight610 g Performance THE HARD DRIVE LOOKS QUITE CHEAP , AND BY THE TIME I TRY N BUY IT - IT MAY WELL HAVE GONE - DO YOU THINK ITS SUITABLE THO ? I WOULD PHONE SYSTEMQ- BUT THERE ADVICE IS TO CONTACT THE MANUFACTUER OF THE HARD DRIVE !!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kawboy12R 0 Posted April 13, 2013 I can't see why not, but then it's not my DVR. I had a look and didn't see a list of recommended HDs for Aliens. If it were mine, I'd prefer to pop it open and get a larger version of the same make/model that's in it. After that, without a recommendation list to go by, then probably the 7200rpm Seagate SV35 (NVR drive), except that it maxes out at 3tb. If you think you're stressing the current drive with only 12 4CIF channels, well, it's only running at 3/4 capacity because it's a 16ch DVR, right? You could probably stick some slowpoke in there and still have it work fine. The only drive I've heard people consistently complain about on here is the WD Green even though it's supposed to be rated for 12 HiDef CCTV video streams. Any of the Seagate 7200rpm drives should be fine and an extra terabyte for a 4tb model over the 3tb SV35 would be a good reason to pick it instead if I was hurting for storage space. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kj99 0 Posted April 13, 2013 cheers for the tip kawboy . kj Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kawboy12R 0 Posted April 13, 2013 No troubles. Good luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
