Are you looking for the best hard drive for security DVR?
I have reviewed the most popular surveillance hard drives on the market and in this article you will learn which are my top picks.
Check out the quick list below for price and customer reviews if you are in a hurry, or read on for the full reviews:
- WD Purple 6TB Surveillance Hard Drive, 5400 RPM, SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache
- MaxDigital 2TB 32MB Cache 7200OM SATA 3.0/s Internal Surveillance CCTV DVR Hard Drive
- WD Purple 2TB Surveillance Hard Disk Drive, 5400 RPM Class SATA 6Gb/s Cache
- Seagate Skyhawk 4TB Surveillance Hard Drive, SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache
- Western Digital AV 500GB 8MB SATA 2 Hard Drive
It is no secret that I recommend everyone have a quality home and business security system.
Read my recommendations for the best 4K security camera system while you’re here.
Hard drive failure is a reality, and replacing it ASAP is necessary to maintain your home and business surveillance system. Having a high quality and dependable security DVR hard drive is a must.
Table of Contents
How to Choose the Best Hard Drive for Security DVR
When comparing security DVR hard drives for your home security system, you will need to choose a high quality hard drive that will be able not only to handle your heavy recording use, but also to make it as easy as possible for you to view your videos.
It’s important that you can clearly see who or what is on your videos so that you don’t have questions about who was at your home.
What good is having high resolution cameras if your hard drive can’t process the images?
One thing that you will want to consider when shopping is the capacity of the hard drive you’re considering.
There are a number of online tools that are designed to help you determine exactly how much storage space you need so that you can easily record and view your security footage.
By considering your preferred frame rates, recording resolutions, and utilization time, you can easily decipher how much video will be stored to your hard drive.
Armed with this information you can be certain you have one that is large enough to meet your needs.
The size of hard drives available on the market varies widely.
Some are significantly smaller and only offer around 500 GB of storage space, while others can offer closer to 9 TB, or even more.
The greater your recording needs are, the more storage space you will need. If you are in doubt, it never hurts opting for more storage.
As a general rule of thumb, at least 1TB of storage is my recommendation.
Of course, you will find exactly what I did, which is that the more storage you get, the more expensive your new hard drive is going to be.
Advantages
It is imperative to make sure that you have ample storage space for your home security system to use so that you don’t have to worry about accidentally writing over important video footage.
Doing so can cause you to lose the ability to show an important video to the police, which is necessary if you have been the victim of a crime.
When you choose a hard drive that is not only large enough to meet your needs, but also will easily store videos without overheating or dying, then you will have that sweet peace of mind that you can’t put a price on.
What to Look for in Your Security DVR Hard Drive
I’ve already discussed how important it is to consider the size of your new hard drive when comparing security DVR hard drives, but it’s just as important to consider a few other factors. Depending on where your hard drive is going to be stored in your home, you will want to make sure that it is very quiet when in operation. Otherwise it can be very noisy, which is distracting.
Also make sure that you can use your hard drive in extreme temperatures.
Some hard drives are better suited to use in hot weather, while there are others that can be damaged by high temperatures. Leading to failure.
Installing Your Hard Drive
Installing your new hard drive is generally easy and is the same for most models.
You need to make sure that your hard drive and your security system both use the popular SATA connection because this will make it significantly easier to install your new hard drive.
After you find the female SATA port on your security system, you can easily connect the male SATA port on your hard drive to it.
This will cause your surveillance system to recognize your new hard drive and start recording to it.
If you have problems with this step, then it is very likely that your hard drive isn’t formatted correctly.
Hard Drive for Security DVR
Enjoy being able to record from your security cameras quickly and easily, as this hard drive was made specifically for use with security systems. This means that you won’t have to worry about whether or not it can handle the load that dozens of cameras will put on it. Additionally, enjoy seamless integration with your current system.
Pros
● Designed specifically for use with security systems
● Can handle up to 180 TB/year in workload
● Comes with 3-year limited warranty
● Offers prioritized write-operations
● Works well in hot weather
● Has TYLER and ATA streaming support
● Can support up to 64 cameras
● Allows you easily expand your security system
Cons
● Won’t always boot
● Tends to stop working completely
● Drive is very noisy and loud
● When it fails, the information is non-recoverable
This hard drive is designed to offer you all of the storage that you need when protecting your home. It’s designed specifically to work with security systems, which means that you will be able to enjoy clear videos so that you don’t have to worry about whether or not you will be able to identify people on your screen.
Pros
● Boasts a very quiet operation
● Stays cool to the touch
● Perfect for use 24/7
● Designed for optimal video screening and recording
● Comes with a 2-year warranty from reseller
● Records an estimated 60 days
● Provides 4Tb of storage
Cons
● May suddenly crash
● Crashes will cause you to lose all saved data
If you want to have the best security possible, then you will likely appreciate that you can operate up to 64 cameras with this hard drive. This allows you to easily record all movement around your home so that you can easily determine if you have had a trespasser or someone trying to break into your home.
Pros
● Designed specifically for use with security systems
● Offers a low bit-rate and high stream-count use
● Allows you to prioritize write operations
● Comes with 3-year warranty
● 2TB of storage
● Will work even during hot summer months
● Incredible quiet when working
● Easy to install and to expand your security system
Cons
● When it stops working only a complete wipe will get it functioning again
When you want to make sure that you have plenty of storage space on your hard drive for videos so you can perfect your surveillance and safety then you will appreciate the storage that this hard drive offers. It can easily handle a heavy workload without failing and is incredibly easy to setup, even if you are a beginner.
Pros
● Has 4TB of storage
● Custom designed and built for surveillance
● Vibration sensors help ensure perfect and clear recordings
● Can support up to 64 HD cameras
● Provides 24/7 recording
● Minimized drop frames
● Offers a workload rating up to 180TB a year
● Comes with a 2-year data recovery plan in case of emergency or accident
● Consistently provides smooth and clear video
Cons
● Costs more than other comparable options
● Tends to chatter loudly when first turned on
This hard drive does a wonderful job at storing a lot of video and ensures that you will be able to easily see the video, offering a clear picture. One great thing about this hard drive option is that it installs incredibly quickly and easily and tends to run very quietly, which allows you to set it up anywhere in your house without being bothered.
Pros
● 500GB AV drive
● Stays cool, even when you have this hard drive operating 24/7
● Doesn’t make a lot of noise
● Easy to install and works in a wide variety of appliances and electronics
● Sets up quickly with your computer so you can start saving and monitoring video
Cons
● Can take a long time to load with some Windows
● Can tend to fail, causing it to not record anything
For more security guides and tips read these articles:
I recommend the WD Purple 2TB Surveillance Hard Drive if you are looking for a durable, reliable, and easy to use hard drive. With this one you can save weeks of video at a time. You do not need to worry about high temperatures damaging this hard drive, and it can handle up to 64 security cameras. Add on easy installation and you have a winner.
With that in mind, any of our best hard drive for security DVR picks are a good choice. Let me know which one you chose in the comments below.
Fred is the Ready Zeal owner and editor. He has been passionately pursuing all things emergency preparation since working alongside his grandfather as a boy growing up in the Midwest. When not working on the family homestead he can be found brewing coffee and reading a good book or backpacking in the wilderness. Contact Fred at fred@readyzeal.com