Audio Video News

Don't you hate it when your perfectly tuned, acoustically isolated sound system is ruined by the steady hum of your DVR? Hitachi just announced two new hard drives destined for DVR use that tackle that problem, combine high storage with low power consumption, plus have variety of added benefits. The star of the show is the CinemaStar 7K1000.B with assorted capacities, topping out at an impressive 1 terabyte. The other unit is the CinemaStar 5K320 with storage up to 320GB, but it offers other benefits.

The CinemaStar 5K320 uses CoolSpin technology to create drive that runs quietly, using less power as it does so.  The 5K320 claims to use "the industry's quietest, most energy-efficient 3.5-inch hard drive."

What are the features and benefits of both players, especially, the 1TB 7K1000.B?

By expanding the temperature range, these drives eliminate the need for a noisy fan. Finally, someone recognizes how problematic a fan can be. They claim it's nearly inaudible when operating.

They also include a drive designed for continuous 24/7 operation. Never miss the Flip That House marathon, ever again.

Low-power idle modes offer best-in-class power economy and reduction of heat, with three modes to optimize performance.

Plus, they have features that are optimized to provide uninterrupted audio and video streaming.

"Hitachi has been making dramatic improvements in power savings generation to generation and our CoolSpin product line in particular, sets new standards for power-efficient audio/visual hard drives," said Larry Swezey, director, Consumer and Commercial HDD Marketing and Strategy, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. "The Hitachi CinemaStar drives are designed to excel in DVR and set-top box applications, where cool operation, quiet acoustics and overall power efficiency are of critical importance."

Both drives will be shipping by September.

The 1TB drive can store up to 247 hours of MPEG-4 HD video, and supports over 10 simultaneous data streams. Imagine the possibilities with 1TB of storage. You can keep every episode of South Park that ever was. -Leslie Shapiro

Hitachi