Features:

  • Engineered specifically for surveillance security systems
  • Reduced video frame loss
  • Tuned for write-intensive, low bit-rate, high stream-count applications typical to most surveillance applications
  • Prioritized write-operations for maximized surveillance performance
  • TLER & ATA streaming support.
Also works as a desktop hard drive

I bought this to install in a USB 3.0 external case to use as an external backup for my RAID system, which has five of these 2TB drives. So far not a single burp in two years (kow). I like these because they run cooler, and are designed to run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These are designed for DVR type applications, but seem to work great in my desktop PC. What's the difference between DVR and desktop PC applications? Audio and video applications (like a DVR) are time sensitive, but PC data is not. A typical desktop hard drive will try up to ten times to write to a block, and if it fails, it will map to an alternate. This may take some time, but that doesn't impact the data as long as it gets written successfully. The information I have read suggests these drives will only try three times before mapping to an alternate block. If that's true then this type of drive will use up its spare block pool faster, but for all we know, these may have a larger spare block pool to start with. Both types of hard drives use the same error correction code (ECC) to protect the data. Some believe these will allow errors, thinking that video is not error sensitive (which is totally bogus). DVRs use a file system just like a desktop PC, so if that were true, then the file system could become corrupt causing a file or the entire drive to become unreadable. Or, a critical frame of video could end up on a bad block and render the recording useless. Neither scenario would bode well for DVR manufacturers.

Perfect for Home Security System!

Bought this for a security camera system. Was probably way more storage space than I really needed for my 4 camera system, but for the $ it allows me a ton of storage space. I use the motion record setting, but I'm guessing if I recorded 24/7 it would probably save about a months worth before it started to record over itself again. Drive came packaged nicely and was what you would expect. I'm not a computer guy, but after researching what I needed to my camera system, this was affordable and plugged right in. Camera system formatted it in minutes, and it's been working flawlessly since day 1. Amazon generally has this as a suggestion when you search for home security systems, and that's right where it belongs. If you need a HD for your system, I would definitely recommend giving this one a try.

Performs great, will buy again.

This drive has been in service for over a year and a half with 3 cameras feeding to it 24/7. One 1080p, one 960p and one 480p camera all 25-30fps. The drive has performed beautifully and is very steady in write performance and temperature (used in a Mac Pro). Loading video, specially while recordings are going, may take a little longer depending on drive activity and file size. For a 5GB 1 hour clip I'm waiting maybe 5 seconds for the file to open and another 5 for playback to be smooth. Slower than you'd see on a traditional drive, keeping in mind this is a 5400rpm drive, but still well worth it. With my configuration it holds a little over two weeks of recordings for all cameras. The drive currently has 15,375 hours on it and the S.M.A.R.T. status and overall drive health is 100%. Not a single bad sector or any signs of wear. I'll replace this down the road only because I'll need a bigger one and even then this will sit in a RAID until it fails.

Looking for a DVR Drive? Go Purple

I have used Surveillance drives in my DVRs for over 14 years. I bought this one to add storage to my new four tuner Amazon Fire TV Recast. It was immediately recognized and has worked flawlessly. So my Recast now has almost 4TB of storage. I can record on multiple tuners and watch previously recorded programs at the same time without issues. Previously I replaced my TIVO OTA DVR drive with a WD Purple drive and used that for 4 years until I got tired of paying the monthly fees. And before that I had a homebrew PC DVR running the old Snapstream software for several years. That PC system did have drives fail over the years, but the WD Purples just kept chugging. Surveillance drives are designed for continuous use, meaning 24x7x365 always on. They support recording multiple continuous video camera feeds around the clock. That sounds a little like recording multiple video streams from DVR tuners, right? These drives performance specs look weak compared to the speed demon drives out there, but DVRs don't need top speed, they need reliable, continuous, high volume data transfer. Also regular the drives have to do a sort of internal reset regularly. You never notice this using your PC, but it causes dropped frames when recording video. Based on my experience I would highly recommend the WD Purple drives for DVRs or Surveillance. They run cool, continuous and reliable.

Installs and works fine so far

I have two of these 1Tb Purple drives in service in LINUX-based 16-channel surveillance camera DVR's, running exclusively in motion-triggered mode, with daily play-back... for less than two months so far. The drives connected and installed with no problem (except that I had to provide the mounting screws), and they formatted automatically - "Plug and Play". I have not noticed any physical (noise, heat, etc.) nor operational issues so far - although the full capacity of the drives hasn't been "consumed" yet, so it's yet to be seen how they may behave when "over-writing" starts (which Is where I've seen occasional problems show up with other DVR drives in the past). So far, so good!

Excellent 24/7 security system dependability - Numerous capacity choices - Reasonibly priced - Highly Recommended!

I use both the WD Purple 2TB and 3TB hard drives in several different security systems and believe they are one of the best surveillance system hard drives available from any manufacturer. The WD Purple 1TB is an excellent choice for security systems with a DVR of 960H resolution in either 4 or 8 channel DVR systems. I use the 2TB for AHD/DVR/NVR security systems with SATA II (maximum HD capacity allowed is 2TB) hard drive systems for 720p or 1080p resolutions with 8 camera channels. I use the 3TB for SATA III systems with 16 channels for 720p or 1080p cameras. The WD Purple drives are reasonably priced from Amazon and should provide a long and trouble free service life for critical security systems. With any CCTV security system, the hard drive is one of the most critical system parts and must provide dependable service (this is one part you do not want to scrimp on or depend of the typical computer type hard drive). Highly recommended!

Some issues, please read further.

OK, I DID have a problem. After a few weeks, I began having access problems. I ended up making it an external and, for awhile, it worked. Then, it didn't. I contacted WD and was able to get a full replacement within 10 days, including the return time for the old one. The replacement works just fine. I suspect my luck had run out, and I had gotten a defective HDD. It happens. Remember, this drive is a 5400rpm class, which means seek times are going to be sluggish. This drive should NOT be used a system drive. As a secondary drive for data storage, it is just fine.

It works - Amazon return process is the best

Purchased this for my new IP security camera system and opted to save some money and install my own hard drive instead of having the distributor install it. I contacted the distributor to find out which drives they recommend and without hesitation they said they only use WD Purple drives for their installs so ordering this was a no brainer. Amazon's price was pretty much the same as others but I'm so glad I got this from Amazon. When my drive arrived (packaged very well) I could not get my system to boot up. After some testing I could see that the BIOS would recognize the drive but it would fail to initialize and would report an error. Amazon's RMA process is the best. They immediately sent me a replacement and shipping label to return the bad drive. The replacement installed perfectly with no problems. I'm only a couple days into this drive but it works and hopefully the specialized specs will allow it to run cooler, longer, and more reliably store the video data. Unfortunately, I won't really be able to give a proper review until I've had it running for a really long time after going through several overwrite cycles and scouring through video feeds looking for errors. I'll update if I have any problems with the drive but otherwise you can assume that drive is working out perfectly for me.

So Happy I Got The 6TB!!!

So glad I invested on this hard drive. I have four 4K Swann Cameras. 2 are in 24/7 recording and 2 in motion detection only. I still have over 4,000 Gigabytes available. You can hardly hear this hard drive running and I mean literally putting my ear on the NVR box. That's how quiet it is. And installing it was a breeze. Please don't waste your money on paying an expert. I simply went on YouTube and searched it. After watching JUST 3 videos, I was more than ready for the simple installation. I end with this: Having peace of mind knowing you have over a months worth of memory, is priceless!🖖

Good solution for my Tivo

I needed to upgrade my Tivo hard drive and after doing some research I decided on a Survelillance Drive as it is made for large video files and is made for fairly continuous operation. With 3TB of space I don't have to worry about shows being deleted. I can save all episodes of Futurama and other favorites. Drive seems quiet and after a couple of months, I have had zero issues. So far so good.

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