AI Surveillance HDD vs. Standard Surveillance HDD
Standard surveillance hard drives and AI surveillance hard drives are both designed for continuous video recording. The main difference is the workload they are built to support. A standard surveillance HDD is suited to conventional DVR and NVR recording, while an AI surveillance HDD is designed for systems that record video and perform analytics at the same time.
Standard Surveillance Workloads
A standard surveillance hard drive is optimized for continuous recording from multiple security cameras. The Toshiba S300 supports up to 64 high-definition cameras, capacities up to 6TB, and workloads up to 180TB per year. It is designed for home and office DVR and NVR systems.
AI Surveillance Workloads
AI-enabled systems may process object detection, event recognition, and other analytics while recording video. These activities can create additional random access operation and metadata workloads. The Toshiba S300 AI supports up to 64 camera streams, up to 32 AI streams, capacities up to 24TB and workloads up to 550TB per year.
Capacity and Retention
Standard systems with fewer cameras or shorter retention periods may not require the same capacity as an AI-enabled installation. Larger AI systems may need more storage for high-resolution video, metadata, and longer retention. The S300 AI provides higher maximum capacity for these expanded requirements.
When to Choose S300
The S300 HDD may be appropriate for home, office, and small commercial DVR or NVR systems that primarily record video and do not require dedicated AI stream support.
When to Choose S300 AI
The S300 AI HDD may be appropriate when the system performs AI analytics, requires higher annual workload support, uses more drive bays, or needs larger capacities for extended retention.
Product Comparison
Review the host-system requirements, compatibility list, camera count, AI stream count, and annual workload before choosing between the S300 and S300 AI.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do all surveillance systems need an AI surveillance HDD?
Can both drives support multiple cameras?
Which drive supports AI streams?
Which drive has the higher workload rating?
1 One Terabyte (1 TB) means 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes using powers of 10. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1 TB = 240 = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes, and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity (including examples of various media files) will vary based on file size, formatting, settings, software and operating system and other factors. Actual formatted capacity may vary.
2 Compatibility may vary depending on user's hardware configuration, and operating system.
3 Product specifications, configurations, components, and features are subject to change without notice.
4 Annual Workload Rating: HDDs keep track of various drive usage such as power on hours, lifetime writes and lifetime reads from the host computer. With this data we calculate an Annualized Workload Rate, under 40 deg. C ambient environments, Annualized Workload Rate = (Lifetime Writes + Lifetime Reads) * (8760 / Lifetime Power On Hours) in case Power On time is 8760h or longer. Otherwise (i.e. Power On time is shorter than 8760h), Annualized Workload Rate = (Lifetime Writes + Lifetime Reads) Each drive is designed to perform up to the Annualized Workload Rate stated, after which the drive may be expected to decline. The Annualized Workload Rate in no way alters the warranty policy for such drive. Workload is defined as the amount of data written, read or verified by commands from host system.
5 Number of surveillance cameras support capability is defined by performance simulation with High Definition cameras at up to 10 Mbps rate, depending on the HDD model. Actual results may vary based on various factors, including the types of cameras installed, the system’s hardware and software capabilities, and the video compression technology used, as well as system variables such as resolution, frames per second, and other settings. Compatibility may vary depending on user’s hardware configuration and operating system. “High Definition” is calculated assuming Full HD 1080p, 30fps, transfer rate of up to 10Mbps/stream.
6 For "Drive Bays Supported", please contact your Solutions Provider because the compatibility with the host device will vary based on the system.
7 MTTF (Mean Time to Failure) or MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) is not a guarantee or estimate of product life; it is a statistical value related to mean failure rates for a large number of products which may not accurately reflect actual operation. Actual operating life of the product may be different from the MTTF or MTBF. MTTF (Mean Time to Failure) or MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of the HDDs during its life time is 600,000 hours and AFR(Annualized Failure Rate) is 1.46%, or 1.0 million hours and AFR is 0.88%, or 1.2 million hours and AFR is 0.73%, or 2.5 million hours and AFR is 0.35% (depending on HDD models). This assumes power-on hours are 24 x 7 in normal usage (8760 h/year power on hours, up to 180 TB/year, or up to 300TB/year, or up to 550 TB/year total data transfers (depending on HDD models), and average HDA surface temperature:40°C or less). Use at case HDA surface temperature above 40°C may degrade product reliability and reduce warranty period.
8 Drive life may vary depending on usage and workload. See also MTTF and Annual Workload Rating for more details.
9 CMR is Conventional Magnetic Recording technology.
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