Hitachi Takes Low-Power Set-Top Box Drives For A 'CoolSpin'

Hitachi on Wednesday introduced a 500 GB hard drive with a new low-power motor design for manufacturers of set-top boxes and digital video recorders.

In addition to unveiling the 3.5-inch CinemaStar 5K500, Hitachi also launched the C5K320, a 2.5-inch drive with up to 320 GB of storage. The C5K320, which is also available in capacities of 120, 160 and 250 GB, is built to fit compact DVR designs.

The 5K500 is the first Hitachi drive to contain what the company calls its "CoolSpin" technology, which is a low-power motor design that also provides quiet operation. The new technology enables system builders to develop products that run cooler, which improves reliability and lifespan, Hitachi said.

"Hitachi CoolSpin drives deliver a substantial power savings over their desktop-class counterparts, simplifying CE (consumer electronic) product design and paving the way for a new class of set-top boxes and DVRs that are smaller, quieter and more reliable for consumers," Larry Swezey, director of consumer and commercial hard-disk drive marketing, said in a statement.

The 5K500 has typical idle acoustics of 22 decibels, and the C5K320 24 decibels. Normal talking is from 40 to 60 decibels. Idle power is 2.7 watts for the 5K500 and 1.8 watts for the C5K320. Media transfer rates are 929 Mb per second and 729 Mbs, respectively.

The 5K500 has 1.2 million hours of mean time between failures. The MTBF was not disclosed for the C5K320. The operating temperature is as high as 158 degrees for the 5K500 and 149 degrees for the C5K320.

Both drives are scheduled to ship next month. Pricing was not disclosed.