Satellite Boxes & Hard Drives Questions!

[Bazzy]

Hi All,

Can someone please advise me of what might be the best type of Internal Hard Drive to use in a Satellite Receiver - the box in question is the Vu+ Solo 2. It requires a 2.5" Drive but there are so many different brands/standards, I am unsure about compatibility/suitability.

Someone mentioned that they used a Western Digital Red in theirs & that 1TB was more than ample space but I understand that this drive is a NAS Drive as opposed to a normal one so exactly what benefits/advantages does this WD RED NAS Drive provide over say a bog standard one & is it worth getting one of these instead?

I cannot find many 2TB 2.5" Internal NAS Drives by googling - only 1TB - will that provide enough storage or will it run out very relatively quickly?

What exactly are the advantages of having a hard drive inside the satellite box say over having a larger one connected externally by USB etc? What are the best options that most go for? If anyone can recommend some compatible drives for the Solo 2 (both standard & NAS), I would be very grateful!

Bazzy!

[mogli]

Most drives these days are built pretty much the same and are branded with just different providers stickers, there are many different brands such as Western Digital, Samsung, Seagate, and many more.

NAS hard drives are recommend to be used in network storage devices as they are constantly connected to the network and are rarely turned off so as far as I'm aware are a little more robust, no that you will notice, most drives will last years regardless of type

you won't find many 2.5 inch NAS drives as most NAS enclosures take 3.5 drives like my own.

A hard drive installed directly to the receiver should run more smoothly as its connected via internal sata, using a usb hard drive is less convenient as it is outside the box and also because it may not run as well, again you may not notice this.

Also you need to decide if you need a 2tb drive? 1tb should be sufficient unless you keep every recording and also if you plan to use it as a media player

Have a look on amazon, they stock a Western Digital blue 1tb for under £50 that should be more than good enough for your needs

Hope that helps

[adm]

Hi All,

Can someone please advise me of what might be the best type of Internal Hard Drive to use in a Satellite Receiver - the box in question is the Vu+ Solo 2. It requires a 2.5" Drive but there are so many different brands/standards, I am unsure about compatibility/suitability.

Someone mentioned that they used a Western Digital Red in theirs & that 1TB was more than ample space but I understand that this drive is a NAS Drive as opposed to a normal one so exactly what benefits/advantages does this WD RED NAS Drive provide over say a bog standard one & is it worth getting one of these instead?

I cannot find many 2TB 2.5" Internal NAS Drives by googling - only 1TB - will that provide enough storage or will it run out very relatively quickly?

What exactly are the advantages of having a hard drive inside the satellite box say over having a larger one connected externally by USB etc? What are the best options that most go for? If anyone can recommend some compatible drives for the Solo 2 (both standard & NAS), I would be very grateful!

Bazzy!

Low power and a lower spin speed are OK for PVRs which don't need high performance. Lower power will keep the heat down and extend the life of the box. Lower spin speeds tend to be less noisy.

[cactikid]

as some dont know even myself spin speed or power feeds what the average is and looking into larger 2-4 tb

[Bazzy]

Most drives these days are built pretty much the same and are branded with just different providers stickers, there are many different brands such as Western Digital, Samsung, Seagate, and many more.

NAS hard drives are recommend to be used in network storage devices as they are constantly connected to the network and are rarely turned off so as far as I'm aware are a little more robust, no that you will notice, most drives will last years regardless of type

you won't find many 2.5 inch NAS drives as most NAS enclosures take 3.5 drives like my own.

A hard drive installed directly to the receiver should run more smoothly as its connected via internal sata, using a usb hard drive is less convenient as it is outside the box and also because it may not run as well, again you may not notice this.

Also you need to decide if you need a 2tb drive? 1tb should be sufficient unless you keep every recording and also if you plan to use it as a media player

Have a look on amazon, they stock a Western Digital blue 1tb for under £50 that should be more than good enough for your needs

Hope that helps

Hi,

Many thanks for your kind input! So, what this IT guy did by putting a WD RED 1TB (a NAS internal HD?) into his VU+Duo really offers no real practical or performance based advantages then? He mentioned very briefly that it allows for more options & greater flexibility but that was about it so I may have missed the advantages he felt it had.

The only reason I asked about putting a 2TB one inside the box was that when I had a 500GB Sky+HD box - it got full up real quick & as novice, I do not want to open up the box in future in case I mess things up! Also, I thought if the price difference is not that much, it might be better to put a large drive in so that one has plenty of space & that it runs better most times if it is less stressed? I am very new to this so please forgive any assumptions on my part!

I will have a look at the WD Blue 1TB you mentioned but in the interest of learning - how will this function differently & in terms of features to the WD Red 1TB may I ask?

I currently have a Seagate Central 3TB External Drive that is new & not used it yet - can it be used in the meantime & allow possibly allow others to connect to it & watch any stuff that has been recorded? It is this one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Cent...te+central+3TB

Many Thanks!
Bazzy!

[2stein]

disks for nas storage are more reliable... with lower failure rates. so, if you plan to use permanent timeshift and the disk is used a lot... it lasts longer.
but regular disks should be good enough as well.
to me, bigger is better.
yes, you can use the nas as an external disk. you can mount it and set the movie recording path to the nas.

[adm]

disks for nas storage are more reliable... with lower failure rates.

Possibly only when used in more spacious enclosures with a fast running noisy fan limiting the temperature.

so, if you plan to use permanent timeshift and the disk is used a lot... it lasts longer.

All disks I've used in PVRs have lasted longer than the technology of the box it's fitted into!

[mobileman]

One thing to note the old sky boxes only let you use half the drive for recordings so 500gb only had 250gb for recordings
1tb be more than enough I'd say , I only have 500gb 2.5 in my duo2 and tbh never got that past 209gb yet but it does have access to my 16tb server and plex server that guy runs with over 24tb of shows and films


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[twol]

I think most valid points have already been made, but.......
Requirements for Nas are different and generally more critical than either your PC or sat receiver, as usually they hold valuable data.... Whereas IF you lose a disk in a sat receiver its not going to lose the "crown jewels" or bankrupt you
If you have money to throw away then I guess its worth sticking a Nas certified drive in a receiver but doesn,t really achieve anything other than a "feel good" attitude
Most of todays disks by manufacturers like Seagate are built to a standard in excess of the requirements of a sat receiver (For my sins I have worked for a company that designed and built disk drives), so don,t panic just choose a disk that fits in your price range .... And 1TB should be ample.

[2stein]

disks are like storage rooms... they are never big enough :-)