Seagate Unveils External Storage For DVRsSeagate Unveils External Storage For DVRs

Seagate Technology on Monday introduced a family of external storage devices for digital video recorders.

The first set-top box to support Seagate's Showcase product line is Motorola's high-definition DVR. The Seagate product is built for long-term storage and playback of movies and television shows.

"Today's consumers are constantly demanding more storage for high-definition video and high-fidelity audio -- and they want it as part of their home entertainment system," Patrick King, senior VP of Seagate's Consumer Solutions Division, said in a statement.

The new devices will store up to 1 TB of data, which is equal to 200 hours of high-definition movies and 1,000 hours of standard definition television. The stylishly designed gadgets plug into a USB 2.0 port or eSATA connection.

The Showcase family uses Seagate's recently announced Pipeline HD Series of hard drives. The drives are built for high-definition content, and have "bedroom-quiet" acoustics, according to Seagate. They also support up to 12 simultaneous HD streams and are certified for Microsoft's Windows Vista.

Seagate is working with Motorola in delivering a Showcase device for the latter company's DVRs. The Seagate product would connect to a Motorola device via an eSATA connection.

Showcase products are scheduled to be available on the Seagate Website starting in the third quarter of this year. Along with a 1TB version, the device will also be available in 250 GB, 500 GB and 750 GB models. The new product will weight about 2.5 pounds and measure 6.5 inches wide, 8 inches deep and 1.75 inches high.

The devices will include a one-year limited warranty and tech support at no additional charge. Pricing was not disclosed.