Surveillance vs Normal Hard Drives for CCTV

CCTV needs a surveillance-rated hard drive such as WD Purple or Seagate SkyHawk, not a standard desktop drive. Surveillance drives are built to write 24/7 from multiple camera streams; desktop drives are not, and fail early under that constant load.

Why CCTV is hard on drives

A security recorder writes video continuously, all day every day, often from several cameras at once. That's a far heavier workload than a desktop PC, which mostly reads and writes in short bursts.

What surveillance drives do differently

Drives like WD Purple and Seagate SkyHawk use firmware tuned for streaming video (so they prioritise smooth recording over read speed), are rated for a high 24/7 workload, support multiple camera streams, and are built to last for years of constant writing.

Why a desktop drive fails

A desktop drive isn't designed for non-stop writing. Under CCTV load it runs hotter, can drop frames, and typically wears out far sooner - meaning lost footage exactly when you need it.

What size?

Pick the capacity to match your cameras and how long you want to keep footage. How much storage do I need?

Browse surveillance hard drives.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a normal hard drive for CCTV?
You can, but it's not recommended - desktop drives aren't built for 24/7 recording and tend to fail early, risking lost footage. Use a surveillance drive.

What is a WD Purple drive?
WD Purple is Western Digital's surveillance hard drive range, built for continuous 24/7 CCTV recording from multiple cameras. Seagate SkyHawk is the equivalent.

How long do surveillance hard drives last?
Used as intended in a CCTV recorder, a quality surveillance drive typically lasts several years of continuous recording - far longer than a desktop drive under the same load.