Western Digital has introduced a 14TB video surveillance drive, accompanied by a 512GB microSD card, to the Purple line.
for WD, ‘Purple’ signifies video surveillance media and this is an update on the 12TB Purple helium-filled, 3.5-inch form factor drive announced in June 2018. It seems to be basically the 12TB drive with an extra platter as the weight has gone up from that drive’s 1.46/0.66 lb/kg to the 14TB drive’s 1.52/0.69 lb/jkg. We reckon it has nine platters – WD’s data sheet doesn’t reveal this information.
Buffer size has doubled to 512MB and sustained streaming bandwidth has increased from 245MB/sec to 255MB/sec. There is no increase in the number of cameras supported- 64 – and the three-year limited warranty remains in place.
WD has also announced a Purple SC QD101 microSD Card, called an Ultra Endurance product. Capacity ranges from 32GB, 64GB, 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. It uses 96-layer 3D NAND and, we assume, TLC flash technology.
A 256GB Purple QD312 microSD card was launched in April this year, supporting up to up to 768TBW from its 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacity points. The QD101, with its doubled capacity would seem to replace that.
WD said the QD101 is an ultra-endurance drive without revealing a TBW number. At time of writing no data sheet is available on the company’s website.
The Purple 14TB is another iteration of WD’s 14TB nearline drive technology – the company launched the 14TB WD Red drive for NAS use a few days ago.
The 14TB WD Purple HDD is available now from select WD resellers. The Purple SC QD101 microSD card is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2020.
