I have multiple Macs and external HDs and SSDs containing years worth of media/data files which I need to review and organize.
This is a situation where i am using quicklook or "preview" to click and play files as fast as i can, to judge what's on them, relabel as needed and transfer each into one of several folders. File types are generally .wav/aif.mp3, .mp4 or .mov.
My strategy is to first copy all files to a main 'repository' drive, and go from there.
So...a lot of transfer back and forth, alot of very large volume folders with hundreds of files in them. And from there i'm dragging them into whatever category folder they belong in.
Speed isn't so much an issue as reliability and stability of the 'target' drive.
I'm looking at probably several terabytes of data.
One thought is that a NAS -grade HDD like a WD Red Plus 6TB might be good for archival storage of a large # of media files if it gives me much larger capacity at lower cost per TB, and is basically designed for reliability and long term storage.. and has proven long term retention characteristics.
That said, I may be way overthinking this. Is buying and using a spin drive particularly advantageous vs dedicating a solid SSD option? If the HDD makes sense, which external enclosure with a fan would be a good choice?
Otherwise same question about what SSD might be very reliable for this task, as well as an appropriate external enclosure recommendation for it?