Aimed firmly at the DVR market, Hitachi has launched a couple of new HDDs, namely the CinemaStar 7K1000.B and the CinemaStar 5K320. The 7K1000.B is similar to its DeskStar namesake, yet this unit has been optimised for continuous operation by tweaking its drive mechanics to use three idle modes. The 3.5 inch SATA drive has also been toughened up to withstand the fanless environment found inside DVRs. It spins at 7,200 rpm and is available in a range of capacities from 160 GB thru to a 1 TB big boy!

The 320 GB capacity CinemaStar 5K320 also boasts the toughened touch and optimisation found on the 7K1000.B. However it has also has had CoolSpin technology added to its repertoire to make it one of the most energy efficient and quiet 3.5 inch drives out there - well, according to Hitachi anyway.

Apart from the refinements required for DVR usage, these units are not much different from their DeskStar siblings, so for the average Joe they may get a ‘So what?’ comment, but for the improvement of DVR specs we give them a big thumbs up.

No prices as yet with the 7K1000.B out in August and the 5K320 on show from September.

Featured tags: CinemaStar 5K320 cinemastar 7K1000.B DVR hdd hitachi

Sphere this entry»

Whilst Hitachi’s latest CinemaStar HDD offerings, the 2.5 inch C5K320 and 3.5 inch 5K500, are primarily for use in DVRs they can of course be slotted into existing PCs and laptops. According to Hitachi the 5K500’s main feature is

Cool, quiet, power-efficient storage for digital video applications

which the 5K500 achieves using Hitachi’s CoolSpin motor design.

CoolSpin technology is a low-power motor design that requires less power to spin up the drive than most 3.5-inch hard drives

As well as CoolSpin the 5K500 offers the following bells and whistles

* 3.5 inch form factor
* 500 GB storage
* SATA 3Gbps interface
* 3.2 W idle power
* 4 data heads and 2 data disks
* 8 MB buffer
* 929 Mbps media transfer rate
* 101.6 x 147 x 26.1 mm

As for the C5K320, which comes in a handy range of capacities from 120 GB up to 320 GB, it sports Hitachi’s SmoothStream technology

supports the ATA-7 streaming command set, and SCT provides time-limited error recovery and thermal monitoring capabilities. CinemaStar C5K320 is offered with silent-seek acoustics for ultra-quiet operation.

Here are the rest of the specs

* 1.5 Gbps SATA interface
* 120, 160, 250, 320 GB capacities
* 8 MB data buffer
* 5,400 rpm
* 729 Mbps media transfer rate
* 70 x 100 x 9.5 mm
* 102 g

Unfortunately no news on the price tag, but at least it’s good to see HDD manufacturers trying to enhance our media storage options. These suckers will be available in June.

Source: Hitachi

Featured tags: 2.5 inch HDD 3.5 inch HDD DVR hdd hitachi

Sphere this entry»