14 DAY TRIAL // Western Digital has recently revealed that its work on consumer-oriented and enterprise storage solutions did not blind it, in the least, to the needs of other markets, such as that of AV/DVR and surveillance storage. The company has announced that its existing line of devices suited to such applications now features 2.5-inch form factor ones, which will serve such installations as digital video recorders, digital surveillance solutions and other small form-factor environments that heavily depend upon a low power consumption and 24x7 reliability. The new drives go by the name of WD AV-25.
The WD AV-25 2.5-inch drives use the SATA interface and are built to last in always-on streaming digital audio/video environments. Secondly, they feature WD's Advanced Format Technology, which enhances the error-correction capability. Thirdly, they operate at low temperatures and produce little noise, all the while using less than 2W while operating and only 4.75W during spin-up.
Furthermore, the HDDs boast the SilkStream technology, which enables a smooth, continuous digital video playback of up to five simultaneous HD streams and is also compatible with the ATA streaming command set. This allows customers to use standard streaming management and error-recovery options.
"Customers that market audio and video recording applications, such as DVRs, media centers and mainstream surveillance systems, often require 24x7 operation from hard drives," Jim Welsh, senior vice president and general manager of WD's branded products and consumer electronics groups, said. "WD AV-25 hard drives are designed to withstand these demanding environments and offer consumers a small form factor solution that consumes less power, generates less heat, and operates quietly and, most importantly, reliably."
The WD AV-25 hard drives have an MTBF of one million hours and utilize preemptive wear leveling (PWL), which has the drive arm frequently sweep across the disk to reduce uneven wear on the drive surface.
The drives come in capacities of 160GB, 250GB, 320GB and 500GB, they have a three-year, limited warranty and are priced between $50 and $80. They are all available from select e-tailers and distributors, except for the 500GB model, which should come out next month.