I have recently purchased a Hard Drive Recorder with a USB port. I would like to back up some of the video recordings that are on the recorders hard onto a external HD via the USB port. Can anyone advise me what speed USB external HD is advisable for this job and if there is any particular file format I should be using.
any thoughts would be welcome.
First, check in the manual of the recorder. I've had a couple of these where the USB port was not for downloading anything, it was there simply for when firmware updates and for 'future use' - whatever that was. If your recorder does support external drives then the speed of the drive is fairly irrelevant as the data transfer will be governed by the speed of the USB port and what the software on the recorder allows - again check the manual and you will probably find out any limitations there.
Thanks for that oldgeezer. I bought the recorder specifically so that i could back up via the USB port but the information in the manual is unclear and the 'tech team' at the manufacturers are not responding to my emails. I tried to download a file yesterday and a message came up that the external drive does not support NFTS although I had formatted it to do so, I feel that I may have been mis-sold the recorder!! maybe i should have bought a PVR with DVD capabilities or something similar...grrrrr
