Toshiba more than doubles video surveillance disk capacity

Toshiba has increased its video surveillance disk drive capacity from 10 to 24 TB with a new S300 AS model.

The shingled magnetic recording (SMR) S300 and conventional (non-shingled) S300 Pro products were introduced back in 2020, with a 7,200rpm spin speed and a 6 Gbps SATA interface; nearline drives in effect. The S300 was given an upgrade from supporting 32 video camera feeds to 64 in 2021. The S300 Pro received a cache upgrade, from 256 BM to 537 MB, to increase its transfer rate from 248 MBps to 281 MBps in August 2024. The new S300 AI model is a significantly enhanced drive in terms of capacity, cache, transfer speed, workload, and having the ability to support 32 AI data streams for analytics as well as receiving 64 video camera feeds.

Koji Sakamoto, Senior Director of Storage Products Sales & Marketing Division at Toshiba Electronic Devices & Storage Corporation, said: “The surveillance market is rapidly evolving, with AI analytics driving new requirements for storage performance, capacity, and reliability.”

The AI aspect means it supports “rapid video data retrieval for precise real-time AI analytics and insights.”

The basic spin speed – 7,200rpm – and interface – 6Gbps SATA – stay the same, But the workload increases to 550 TB/year from the S300’s 180 TB/year. The S300 has a 128 MB cache, with the Pro having 537 MB, but the S300 AI has more. Its capacity range is 8, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22 to 24 TB, and the cache size varies with capacity, being 512 MB (8, 10 TB) and 1024 MB for the other capacities.

The sustained transfer speeds vary with capacity and cache: 281 MBps (8, 10 TB), 295 MBps (14 to 20 TB), 299 MBps (22 TB) and 309 MBps (24 TB).

The high capacity models uses the 10-platter, helium-filled technology seen in Toshiba’s MG11 drives which were announced in September last year, with the same spin speed, interface, conventional magnetic recording, max 24 TB capacity, and 550 TB/year workload as the S300 AI.

Western Digital’s Purple Pro video surveillance drive tops out at 22 TB capacity, supports 64 video cams and 32 AI analytics data access streams and the 550 TB/year workload, but its maximum transfer speed is less; 272 MBps.

Seagate’s SkyHawk AI runs up to 24 TB, has a 285 MBps transfer speed, supports 64 video cam and 32 AI access streams, and has the same 550 TB/year workload rating.

Toshiba beats them both on transfer speed.

The S300 AI has a mean time to failure (MTTF) of up to 2.5 million hours, a 5-year limited warranty, and is built to operate 24/7. It will be available at Toshiba-stocking retailers and distributors in the first quarter of 2026.

Bootnote

Toshiba’s N300 PRO NAS HDD lineup currently offers up to 24TB capacity.