Seagate Skyhawk Surveillance Internal Hard Drive HDD - 3.5 Inch | 1TB - ST1000VX013

Seagate SkyHawk ST1000VX013 is a 1 TB 3.5-inch hard drive built specifically for surveillance recorders — not a desktop drive repurposed for the job.

The difference is in one number: 8,760 power-on hours per year. There are 8,760 hours in a year, so Seagate is stating plainly that this drive is designed to run every hour of every day without stopping. A desktop drive is engineered on the assumption it will be switched off overnight and idle much of the day; put one in a DVR that writes continuously and it is working far outside what it was designed for. That is why DVR drives fail early, and it is almost always blamed on the recorder rather than the drive.

The second number is the 180 TB/year workload rating — how much data Seagate expects it to write annually. Surveillance is relentless sequential writing, and a typical desktop drive is rated at a fraction of that. It also uses CMR recording rather than SMR, which matters more than it sounds: SMR drives slow down badly under sustained writes, and sustained writing is the only thing a DVR ever does. Cheaper drives in this capacity are often SMR and rarely say so.

ImagePerfect™ firmware is tuned to keep video streams writing smoothly from up to 64 HD cameras, minimising the dropped frames that make footage unusable at the moment you need it. Built-in rotational vibration sensors keep performance stable in multi-bay recorders, where each drive's vibration disturbs its neighbours. And SkyHawk Health Management monitors the drive and warns you before a problem becomes a loss.

Technical Specifications

Recommended Applications

1) Why not just use a normal desktop hard drive in my DVR?

Because it is not built for the job, and it will usually fail early. This drive is rated for 8,760 power-on hours a year — every hour of the year — and a 180 TB/year write workload. A desktop drive is designed assuming it gets switched off overnight and idles much of the day. In a recorder writing continuously it runs far outside its design, fails sooner, and the recorder usually gets the blame.

2) How many days of footage will 1 TB hold?

It depends entirely on camera count, resolution and frame rate — four 1080p cameras store far longer than sixteen 4K ones. Most DVR and NVR interfaces will estimate recording days for a given disk size based on your actual setup, and that figure is far more reliable than any general rule. If you are running a large or high-resolution system, choose 2 TB or above.

3) What is the spindle speed, and does it matter?

Seagate does not publish an RPM figure for SkyHawk, and resellers quote conflicting numbers — so we would rather not state one. It matters less than you would think here: surveillance is sustained sequential writing, not random access, so what counts is the sustained transfer rate and the 180 TB/year workload rating, both of which are specified. A lower spindle speed also runs cooler and draws less power, which suits a drive that never stops.

4) What is CMR, and why does it matter for CCTV?

CMR is conventional recording, as opposed to SMR where data tracks overlap to raise density. SMR drives slow down badly under sustained writing — and sustained writing is the only thing a DVR does. This drive is CMR. Cheaper drives at this capacity are often SMR and rarely say so on the box.

5) What does the Rescue Data Recovery Service actually cover?

If the drive fails, Seagate will attempt to recover the data under a 3-year plan included with the drive — they cite a 90% success rate, often within 15 days. On a surveillance drive holding the only copy of your footage that is worth having. It is not a substitute for a second copy of anything genuinely critical, but it is real cover that most drives do not include.

1. Return within 24 hours of delivery for:
   • Damaged or defective product
   • Wrong or missing item
2. Product cannot be returned once installed or used
3. Refer to Refund Policy for complete details

Hard drives are sensitive to shock — please check the packaging for transit damage on delivery, before installing.