Which portable HDD ???

[Dash1]

I need to move video short [up to 15min.]
video files between school and my home.
I thought to use portable HD that I can also edit on.


Is it the best solution and what functions do I need on the HD ?
Can you please recommend a specific unit ???

[KBeee]

Depends on what connections your school and home computers have.
Fastest is an eSATA, most universal is USB2.
For a 15 minute video you could upload to a file sharing site, then download at school, that'd save buying new hardware.

[Dash1]

Anybody know for a good unit with eSATA and USB2 connections ?

[DarrellS]

I bought a Coolmax CD-311 Series Multifunctional External Enclosure. It uses both Serial and ATA drives (bought separately) and uses USB2.0, IEEE 1394a (firewire) and SATA input interface. It comes with all the cables but you'll need a PC with Firewire to take advantage of that and a Sata converter

to accept the Sata cable.

I paid $45 for mine at Fry's here in Arizona.

Seagate FreeAgent Pro is a popular external hard drive. It has a 500GB drive.

[ozymango]

If you're gonna only be doing short videos, and moving things around a lot, have you considered getting a flash drive? A 4gb flash drive, maybe even a 2gb, might suffice -- it's very portable, less likely to be damaged if you move it around a lot, and assuming a USB 2 port on your editing machine, would be fine to edit on. As far as brand goes, I'd just look for something with a lifetime warranty.

I've got a 1gb flash drive I've left in my pants through a couple of loads of laundry (but not the dryer, fortunately!) and it's still going strong.

[jagabo]

Anybody know for a good unit with eSATA and USB2 connections ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392016

Add a 2.5 inch drive of your choice. They have a 3.5 inch version too.

[Bjs]

To cut down the junk.

A: Usb2 = more widely supported
B: Aluminum housing suitable for both ide hds / burner
C: Own power supply

I carry one of these when traveling from client to client, it makes sense given the connection type and the ability to replace the drives quickly and cheaply with little fuss.

[redwudz]

I've ran several USB flash drives though washer and dryer cycles. They come out sparkling clean .... And still working. The dryer can make the glue holding the two halves together fail, and sometimes mess up the write protect switch, but no other damage and no data loss.

I have two of those VANTEC NEXSTAR enclosures with USB 2.0 and eSATA for 3.5" drives and they work great. They do run a bit warm as they have no fans, but Seagate and WD SATA drives seem to run fairly cool, so it works out. It only takes a few minutes with a Phillips screwdriver to mount a hard drive and have the unit up and working.

If you don't have a motherboard SATA connection, a PCI SATA card with a external eSATA connection is another option.