Best affordable hard drive for editing – UK available

[Matt Clifton]

Hi Chris

Most people will tell you that there’s no such thing as a “best drive” – there’s only the drive/storage which works the best for what YOU are doing. You haven’t really supplied a lot of detail, so let me ask you a few questions.

– What sort of editing are you doing (what software, what codec and resolution/bandwidth? (e.g., Avid/Premiere/FCPX, ProRes 422/DNxHD 175, 1080p/2K, etc)
– How many layers of video do you expect to work with at any one time?
– What kind of drive do you have now, how is it connected, and in what way isn’t it good enough? (e.g., not fast enough/get video stutters, etc)
– How much storage do you need at any one time (e.g., 4TB)?
– Does that budget include a backup drive?

Matt

Matt Clifton
Mac Consultant
https://lokinyc.com

[Chris Newberry]

Hi

Thank you for the informative reply – greatly appreciated

In answer to your questions:

I edit on fcp7 and latest prem pro

I use a lot of different formats. But mainly either pro ress 422 or 1080p 2k

I have an average of 2 layers but I can go
up to four on certain projects

I currently have a WD USB 3. When editing it can stutter and pause.

I’d say I’d expect/like 2tb for that price but if I can get more I wouldn’t complain 😉

I already have a back up drive thanks 🙂

Thank you once again and I look forward to your or anyone else’s response 🙂

[Matt Clifton]

I think you’re going to have to jump into the Thunderbolt world at this point. If you’ve got that port, it’s really the best option for external fast storage at this point.

Ideally you’d get an enclosure with at least two drives – a single rotating drive will not be fast enough to do what you want to do, no matter how it’s connected (USB/FW/TB).

OWC in the US has a 2TB dual-drive Thunderbolt unit for $400 (about £250). I’d look for something similar in the UK (or even pay for international shipping if you can’t find anything cheaper).

You might find ideas at this Tom’s Hardware article (from the UK): https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/my-book-thunderbolt-duo-pegasus-r4-2big,review-32484.html

Matt

Matt Clifton
Mac Consultant
https://lokinyc.com