Hitachi recently launched a new series of desktop harddrives for its DeskStar family. The new hardrives use new 160GB platters, which is the highest density we’ve seen with 3.5″ harddrives so far. Now Hitachi has launched a new, perhaps even more interesting, series of hardrives, namely CinemaStar. As the name implies these are harddrives intended for PVR (Personal Video Recorder) and HTPC systems, which may very well be the first of its kind. The CinemaStar series also use the new 160GB platters and the launch brings two different models; CinemaStar 7K160 and CinemaStar 7K500. The first with one platter and a capacity at 160GB, while the second has 2 or 3 and a capacity up to 500GB.
Hitachi has had the following criteria when developing the new CinemaStar family.
- Silent seek acoustics for “bedroom-quiet” operation
- Low power idle for cooler system operation and greater host-product reliability
- Wider temperature range to support warmer operating environments, especially in confined spaces like entertainment centers
- Smart Command Transport and adaptive error recovery for optimized video streaming and picture quality
- Thermal fly height control for improved error rates in varied temperature conditions
The harddrives are working at 7200 RPM, but the search times are faster than the DeskStar family, which in turn should mean less noise, an important criteria. We are of course very happy with this development, noise is one of the biggest problems we have today. Even if a SSD harddrive without any mechanical components is the best possible choice it’s still interesting to see new mechanical solutions.
“The CinemaStar 7K500 will be made available in two- and three-disk designs with 250, 320, 400 and 500 GB of storage capacity, while the CinemaStar 7K160’s one-disk design offers 80 and 160 GB of capacity. The new CE-focused drives meet the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliance directive issued last year by the European Union . CinemaStar hard drives are ideal for use in standard and high-definition DVRs, DVD/HDD recorders, DVR-enabled televisions, set-top boxes and media center PCs.”
