I need another external hard drive. I am currently using a Western Digital 1TB (blanking on the model). I have not had any problems with it, but I want to back it up and have another storage location for video.

Is there any particular brand or model that is better than others for video applications?

Thanks.

I USED to be a big fan of LaCie but given recent external failures, I'd suggest G-RAID or something OTHER than LaCie or WD.

Here's another vote for G-Technology G-RAID. I've been editing full-raster HD using a FW800 G-RAID 4TB drive. I'm surprised at how usable it is. I thought it would be way too slow....mostly due to the FW800 connection. (eSATA would be better).

Thanks for the help guys. I'll have to look into that.

I recently got a G-Tech G-RAID after working with them at my last internship. I got the 1 TB model.

I think this website is where you can get them the cheapest.

Videoguys.com - G-Tech G-RAID 1TB (4th Generation) (http://www.videoguys.com/Item/G-Tech+G-RAID+1TB+(4th+Generation)/0303031302432574.aspx)

Just bought a G-Tech/ G-Raid 2TB (2 x 1TB Raid 0) drive today from the Apple store. Doing a little research prior to making the purchase revealed pretty good feedback from other users. I am currently transferring 450 GB of media files and it is fast using FW 800. Hope it holds up over time...

I also have a Fantom Disk 1TB raid that I have been using for a couple years and has been super reliable. Just needed more space now that I am working with HD and the associated ProRes 422 (HQ) files!

Another vote for the G-drive. I bought one after my WD terabyte drive started behaving badly. The G Drive is built like a tank, and has 2 year warranty.

I use OWC (Other World Computing) drive enclosures pretty much exclusively. I have 14 one tb drives and they have been almost flawless.

I always recommend that instead of being tied to a "box" drive with a built-in and non-removable HDD that instead you look into getting a 2-4 bay HDD enclosure with hot-swap sleds. This allows you to not only setup a working RAID (if you need it for online work) or for offline storage. This way as your HDD's fill up you can simply swap out the HDD's themselves and not the entire enclosure/power supply and keep paying for things you don't need.

You need more storage, not redundant support hardware and that's the idea behind the DIY enclosure setups.

Check out Performance Upgrades; FireWire USB SATA Storage; Memory, more at OWC (http://www.macsales.com), they've got the best selection and customer service bar none and if you're not sure which option is best for you their sales staff is excellent in helping you make your own configuration.

If you don't want to go that route they also sell standalone external HDD's as well which outperform and outlast anything from G-Tech, LaCie, WD etc. Their OWC Mercury Elite Pro Aluminum has been an industry darling ever since it's release more than 5 years ago.

I agree with Robert about the hot-swappable feature. That's why I now use a universal drive adapter (Voyager by NewerTech- Hard Drive Dock for 3.5" and 2.5" SATA Devices provides high-performance and flexibility (http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/NewerTech/Voyager/Hard_Drive_Dock)). I can work off of two "current project" drives in enclosures and archive using bare drives through my drive dock. Its cheaper than buying 2 drive bays such as a G-Raid or Drobo. Don't get me wrong, I would love to have a couple of those but I am not there yet.

I'm using the Firmtek eSata connected, SeriTek/2EN2. Trays are down to $18 apiece at B&H. Just swapped out one drive for back-up, which goes back on the shelf once it's complete.

Hmm, interesting to hear ppl having problems with the Lacie Drives. Personally i'm now on my 3rd and (knock on wood) haven't had one problem.

Have 2 1tb drives - one main one mirrors and time machine. Recently it's not enough so I just picked up a Lacie 2tb drive and so far so good. I've made the mistake of editing a 4 min piece in FC6 with it (internal was full!) and it's been slow, but reliable.

Personally gonna stick with them as they've been good to me over the years.

Hmm, interesting to hear ppl having problems with the Lacie Drives. Personally i'm now on my 3rd and (knock on wood) haven't had one problem.

I was a die hard LaCie fan until TWO of my enclosures died within a week of each other. My 8 or 9 year old 80GB FW400 enclosures are still running though, even though one of them was obviously mistreated in delivery and arrived with a cracked faceplate and making a "grindy whiny" noise.

LaCie had a bad batch of power supplies that affected a large percentage of their D2 series drives. I'm sure they have fixed the problems and now they are probably reliable again. But it's hard to stay with a company that you've had problems with.

Andy - you'll probably be fine using them. :)

I agree with Robert about OWC and their Mercury Elite RAID setup. It's the first time I've set up a RAID myself and works well. I bought some RAM from them, too, with no glitches. And their prices are reasonable.

My only (very minor) complaints with the RAID setup with Hitachi drives: kinda loud drives, doesn't turn off automatically when I turn off the Mac, and there's a loud beep when it starts up. As I said, very minor.

Robert, that's an interesting archiving plan, and makes complete sense. Wish I had read your post before I bought a handful of external drives to use for archiving. What do you store the bare drives in when you shelve them?

Are there any downsides to the RAID-to-bare-archive-hard drives-on the shelf system?