Today Western Digital (WD) announced a new line of Hard Disk Drives (HDD) for the audio and video markets. AV use is one of the fastest growing sectors of hard drive use. This makes sense if you consider how many people are currently using DVR and Tivo devices that rely on HDD internally to store video.

The new WD line was built around durability more than size increases or even new speeds. In addition to being built for optimal durability the new drives are also made to be quiet and cool as well. Anyone who has used a DVR inside a closed entertainment center can tell you how much heat they put out. One of my biggest issues with my SuddenLink DVR is the noise the HDD makes as it seeks and writes data. It is quite bothersome during quiet movie moments or when you are trying to sleep or read and the DVR is recording. "WD has been a high-volume supplier of best-in-class drives to our video recording OEM customers since the digital video recording market was in its infancy," said Jim Welsh, vice president and general manager, Branded Products and Consumer Business units. "As the market for drives designed specifically for these applications has expanded, so has the number of end-product manufacturers worldwide. The best way to serve this diverse and growing customer base is to offer our new WD AV drive directly and through our distribution network."