WJ-HD316 Hard Drives

[jfield 0]

Hey,

The drives in the WJ-HD316 (not an 'A') are going on 4 years old. I want to replace them but I can't find a definitive answer on the maximum capacity of drives in it. I know Panasonic supports up to 250gb drives but - will bigger drives be recognized at their capacity? I'd much rather throw a pair of 750gb drives in each of the units.

 

Thanks,

-Jeff

[CCTV_Suppliers 0]

Dependent which version firmware your system has, you are safe with 500GB drives.. If I had the chance that you do, I will drop in two 750GB drives and test it anyway...

 

Another suggestion: contact Panasonic technical support and request the latest available firmware for this model... If it does not help for the hard drives (your current firmware should work), then you will have your system operating in its optimum format, as they fixed some flaws in the firmware in the last few years..

 

Let me know if you need any help on this DVR... Great choice when you got it and it still is one of the best DVRs in the market.

[Metal Shaper Man 0]

You can find the latest firmware updates for the WJ-HD316 here under Recording Solutions…

 

http://www.panasonic.com/business/security/softwaredownloads/index.asp

 

As for how putting in a larger hard drive other than that recommended by Panasonic, I don’t know. I only added a second hard drive which doubled the capacity, using the recommended hard drive. I don’t like pushing the issue with something that cost that much.

[CCTV_Suppliers 0]

You can find the latest firmware updates for the WJ-HD316 here under Recording Solutions…

 

http://www.panasonic.com/business/security/softwaredownloads/index.asp

 

As for how putting in a larger hard drive other than that recommended by Panasonic, I don’t know. I only added a second hard drive which doubled the capacity, using the recommended hard drive. I don’t like pushing the issue with something that cost that much.

 

Great observations... I am going to bookmark this url for future use... Thanks.

 

As for "recommended" drives, just use surveillance version drives either from Seagate or from WD... they will works fine... The only difference is that Seagate offers five years warranty vs. WD with three years warranty on these drives.. so, pick what best suits your need.

[Metal Shaper Man 0]

I don’t know how important it is but, there is something else to consider. The WJ-HD316 (not the 316A) came with a 5400 rpm hard drive. I believe they upgraded the newer 316A with a 7200 rpm HD.

 

I remember speaking with a tech from Panasonic when replacing one HD and adding the other. He said he wasn’t for sure but, didn’t think it would bother anything. Yet, by switching from a 5400 rpm HD and or using two 7200 rpm HD’s might create a heat problem. To date, I haven’t had any noticeable problem.

 

By the way, the WJ-HD316 only came with one 160 GB HD and the option of adding another 160 GB HD. The updated WJ-HD316A came with a 250 GB HD and the option of adding another. To add further storage, they offer extension units at several $$$$ each.

 

Hopefully, you can find something helpful from my little bit of experience.

[jfield 0]

Thanks for the replies. I think I'm going to get a couple pairs of 750GB DVR drives from Seagate and see what happens. I have the latest firmware installed already. We'll see what happens. In my experience the worst that happens will be it won't recognize anything past 250gb, and I can always swap back in the old drives and return the new ones for smaller ones if it really is a problem.

 

I'll let you know what happens!

 

-Jeff

[Metal Shaper Man 0]

Yes, please let us know. I would be interested in the final result.

 

Thanks,