WD Updates Purple Surveillance Series To Include NV Model For Large Deployments

We haven’t talked much about WD’s Purple hard drive series in the past, but it’s one that serves an important purpose: to keep surveillance data safe. While that might immediately sound like something best-suited for the enterprise, it can also serve the home user well. Many today install IP cameras into their homes, and some even have multiple to capture different views. Home or enterprise, no one wants to lose footage that could potentially help solve a future incident.

Well, in some cases even the standard Purple drive isn’t enough, so for bigger installations, WD has just released the Purple NV.

As the table below highlights, the Purple NV is designed to support double the amount of cameras as the standard drive (64), and is designed for NVR surveillance scenarios. Despite the fact that the NV is the overall more capable drive, its peak speed is actually a bit lower than the standard Purple. That’s not likely to matter in use, but it’s an interesting difference nonetheless.

In terms of the “ultimate” drive for surveillance storage, WD’s Re remains the best choice. Its overall throughout bests both Purples, and it also has “unlimited” camera support. Another perk is that it supports SAS, and also has a 5-year warranty, versus the Purples’ 3-year.

As of the time of writing, I can’t find Purple NV drives available for sale, so their pricing is elusive. I’d suspect that they’ll carry a ~$20 premium over the standard Purples.