External HDD as media store (Experience?)

[jcee]

I would like to hear your thoughts as I think many people have the same "problem"

Problem: Need extra HDD space

Idea: Add an external HDD where MP stores recordings, handles videofiles, DO TIMESHIFT!!!


Questions:

1) Is there a performance problem with this?? Especially thinking of timeshift.

2) So if deciding for an external HDD: Whats better? Firewire or USB2.0? Experience?
(I know that many ppl recommend FW but as a FW solution is 30% more expensive than a USB2.0 I am not pretty sure if the difference in performance is worth spending that extra money.)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Background:

I have Mediaportal on my HTPC and a network connection to access files / remote maintenance via notebook.

From time to time I would like to cut/trim/join recorded video files and build/burn a DVD, but how..

Problems:
1) Working on the HTPC itself via remote software (VNC) is too slow for video editing

2) Transfering the video files to the notebook is VERY slow (100Mbit) and as notebook HDDs are commonly very small and slow, it can only hold some video files.. editing is a pain.

So I thought to buy a external HDD an which MP is recording etc.. and when it comes to editing I could hook that HDD on my notebook.. ?!?


Somebody some experience or other hints, recommendation? I am stuck here..

Okay, making a few assumptions (you want to get a normal external HDD, not a notebook style portable)
1) Do NOT attempt to do any kind of storage/timeshifting over a network
2) DO get yourself an external hard drive for timeshifting, it works fine
3) Do NOT buy a pre-built USB HDD. Buy a hard drive of your size, and a Firewire enclosure from someplace like TigerDirect then assemble them. You can save as much as 70-80 bucks that way.

Video editing on a notebook? You must be very brave :-)

good luck!

[samuel337]

I can say that video editing and timeshifting work fine on external HDs. Video editing on notebooks is also possible with today's notebooks; see the Apple Powerbook; but personally, I 'need' a dual-screen setup and an excessively powerful PC to do video editing. I can't stand it when it takes hours to render transitions, titles and the final video itself. So yeh, like the previous post - you must be very brave ;-)

One more thing - FW is technically slower than USB2: 400MBps vs. 480MBps, but in reality, I don't think the difference really matters. I'm sure someone on the net has done a speed comparison of some sort. Do get a 7200rpm or higher drive though.

Sam

i am interested in this also. So timeshift is fine but putting music/movies on an external HDD is not a good idea?

[SiLenTYL]

i have an external HDD...i bought a 200GB IDE Seagate HDD and an external USB2 enclosure(just a cheap one)

it works great..i have MP setup to run movies, mp3's, tv timeshift, tv recordings ..everything and it handles it just perfectly...

there is no lag or performance drop and recordings are glitchless

i surely recommend getting a hdd and a usb2 enclosure for adding much needed hdd space to a htpc

Well that is good news the 80 and 160 are getting chewed up so a 200-250 would be a good idea,

Cheers Mate

PS any enclosures anyine know of that can sit on a router networked or does that get too slow?

[samuel337]

Originally Posted by simbot82

Well that is good news the 80 and 160 are getting chewed up so a 200-250 would be a good idea,

Cheers Mate

PS any enclosures anyine know of that can sit on a router networked or does that get too slow?

I have one of those (Synology DS-101 - not sure if its available here), but its too slow personally (especially for timeshifting - probably ok for music and video playback I guess). In theory, networking is 100MBps, compared to 400+Mbps for FW or USB2. Unless you have a gigabit network of course...

But if you're still after one, you can try the Linksys Storage Link, which lets you plug USB2/FW drives into it so they can be accessed via the network.

Sam

The transfer speed with FW and USB2 are about the same (especially with HDDs, since the drive is the limiting factor).

However, FW has lower CPU usage than USB2 according to a few hardware reviews I've read (no link handy).