This is good news.
The AZBox Premium does work very nicely with the Samsung 500 GB Eco-Friendly HD502HI internal HDD as well as the Samsung 1 TB Samsung HD103SI HDD! The 1 TB is also an eco-friendly drive.
I find no need to ventilate the unit with either of these HDDs installed. Running normally during full operation, these two drives generate very little heat and the AZBox feels barely much over room temperature to the touch. This is further improved by using the HDD standby mode (sleep mode) available in the latest image (firmware) files which are available at this time. Currently I have image 3501 installed on my AZBox Premium.
Unlike some other receivers that I have experimented with, which incorporate an internal HDD and then a cooling fan besides. This unit is ultra quiet, and not in need of a cooling fan by any measure.
Of course, it must be realized that the Premium model has an external power supply, which is a great benefit to heat reduction.
In any regards, the two HDDs that I have tried within this AZBox can be highly recommended.
500 GB Samsung HD502HI - $50 from New Egg
1 TB Samsung HD103SI - $80 from New Egg
There is also a 1.5 TB Samsung HDD (HD154??) for $110 from New Egg that I expect would also work. However, I think that the 500 GB HDD is the better choice. Less expensive and it has a single platter only. The 1 TB and the 1.5 TB HDDs actually are nothing more than two or three 500 GB platters in one case.
When you purchase these HDDs from New Egg, they do not come with any cables or mounting hardware / brackets. They must be purchased separately.
I have recorded some programs from SD sources and HD sources with both the 500 GB and the 1TB drives and they work great!
The only glitch I have found is when you format these HDDs with the AZBox. It appears that the formatting process stalls or locks up the AZBox, but this is not the case. Apparently the AZBox display on the TV locks up or does not get updated during the lengthy formatting process, so you cannot readily discern the progress of the formatting process. It does continue until completion, but it leaves you with some doubts.
In this case, there is no problem in repeating the formatting process again later - after you have allowed say 30 minutes to an hour to be safe. If you do so, the TV display still blanks out, but the indication on the VLF front panel display of the AZBox will indicate the % of completion throughout the formatting process.
Certainly this sounds a bit quirky, but you can trust that the system is doing its job properly. Give it ample time (say one hour to be safe) and then reboot the AZBox by holding the STB power button on the remote down for 5 seconds. It will be ready to rock and roll.
Note that these drives do not compensate for any defficiencies in recording High Bit Rate HD programs. This anomaly is not a problem of the HDD but of the AZBox's processing of the signal itself.
RADAR