Store It: Storage Buyer's Guide

There are many choices these days when it comes to data storage; navigating through these waters can easily become confusing. This guide is here to help make your decision easier. It is broken into two major categories: external storage devices and internal devices. It also lists the pros and cons of each device and its main use.

External devices store your data off your computer or laptop. This means your data is not physically stored inside your computer. Since your stored information is not tied to your computer, you can often carry it with you to other computers or lock it away for extra security.

External hard drives are like internal hard drives, except they have a hard case housing to protect them and allow them to operate outside your computer. They will interface through an available USB or FireWire port.

These external hard drives have their own power sources. When you connect an external hard drive and power it up, it appears as another drive on your desktop. You can read from it and write to it as you would with a regular hard drive.

The great thing about an external hard drive is that you can place password protection to keep your files safe, and you can easily take it with you. The downside is that an external hard drive is fairly light and you can easily drop it, which can cause damage and a total loss of data. Hard drives, whether external or internal, do fail on occasion. You will also have to defragment and do the normal preventative maintenance required for any hard drive.

What you are looking for in an external hard drive is storage capacity; the bigger this number the more data it can hold. If you are planning to save movies or other videos, you need as big a hard drive as you can afford. Speed is another factor; the higher this number, the faster the drive will be able to access your data. Look for a speed of 5400rpm minimum.

Pros: Inexpensive storage space. Portable storage.
Cons: Must be treated same as an internal hard drive. Run an occasional virus scan if you move your portable hard drive around.
What to look for: 5400rpm minimum speed, 7200rpm preferred for video editing directly from the drive. At least 250 gigabytes in size.

NAS (short for Network Attached Storage) is another way to store data. This type of storage is becoming more popular. NAS is simply a scaled-down computer used only for storage and is attached to an existing network. The only purpose of the NAS computer is to store and provide data that is accessed over a network. Usually, these types of machines do not carry out other computing tasks beyond data storage. So you will not see these computers with a keyboard or mouse connected to them. You connect and control these units over the network.

Pros: This is a great solution if you have a space where you can place a separate machine to store data and data only. It can be controlled over a network, so multiple devices can be served with data.
Cons: Not as easy to set up. Requires good network security to protect data.
What to look for: Easy backup of data. Works with multiple operating systems like Mac, Windows and Linux.

Compact discs (CDs) and digital video discs (DVDs) offer another solution for storage. Most computers today have a CD burner, and some may even have a DVD burner. CDs have a maximum storage capacity of 700MB, a perfect size for your newly-shot and edited project. Of course, DVDs have a much greater capacity, with as much as 4.7GB of storage space.

Getting an external DVD burner these days is fairly inexpensive, and the blank discs are cheap as well. You can easily place a DVD in a jewel case and carry it with you. The bad news about both CDs and DVDs is that you will not be able to keep your data forever, especially if you access these discs often. After two years of moderate use, they begin to wear, and your data is in jeopardy of being lost. A high-quality disc under good care should have a shelf life of about 10 years. CDs and DVDs are not rugged; they can be broken and damaged. Extreme temperatures can make them warp. You should be careful in handling them, as scratches can interfere with the proper reading of the disc.

Pros: Easy to transport. DVDs have a lot of storage space. Most computers are equipped with a CD and DVD burner. Blank media is cheap.
Cons: Limited life span. Easily scratched, broken and warped.
What to look for: Quality discs that have a long shelf life. If buying a new drive, invest in one that burns both CDs and DVDs.

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