Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1006097
STORAGE GALLERY www.postmagazine.com 37 POST JULY 2018 VISUAL DATA CHOOSES QUANTUM XCELLIS FOR 4K WORKFLOWS SAN JOSE, CA — Visual Data Media Services (www.visualdatamedia.com), a large media processing, distribution and localization service company, has deployed the Xcellis scale-out NAS from Quantum Corp. (www.quantum.com) to manage 4K transcoding workflows, high bit-depth film scanning, and to sup- port the heavy data rate required for high dynamic range (HDR) mastering. Powered by Quantum's StorNext high-performance file system, the Xcellis scale-out NAS system supports multiple simultaneous 4K and UHD scanning and mastering operations, optimizing the workflow for VDMS and reducing the time to market. In addition, the solution's advanced data management features have enabled the Visual Data team to increase capacity by six times — without increasing staff. The ability to scale performance and capacity independently also will allow Visual Data to grow its system to meet expanding and emerging needs without forklift upgrades. An innovative content preparation, distribution and localization company with branches in Los Angeles and London, Visual Data had been successfully providing end-to-end digital supply chain services, film scanning and media as- set management for a wide range of international customers, including prepar- ing content for distribution across the world's premier broadcast channels and digital platforms. However, with the number of 4K and UHD projects increasing, the company found that its existing NAS infrastructure was too slow to handle the kind of volume they were seeing. The Visual Data team realized it needed to upgrade its workflow engine, including finding a way to remaster film content faster and more efficiently, and to take advantage of a major new opportunity created by the compa- ny's innovative approach to restoration. Remastering older programs in HD and 4K posed a challenge. Often with no cut negative to scan, the only way to get old features and TV shows to HD or 4K is to perform a match-back — scanning the original dailies, manually eye matching the images used in the final cut and then conforming the original in the new format. The team wanted a solution that could double capacity and deliver the performance to support multiple 4K and UHD operations at the same time. "We have revolutionized the process for restoring old movies and TV shows," explains Steve Spear, Visual Data's senior vice president of operations. "What used to take weeks, we are able to get done in just a few hours — and the pro- cess is much more economical, making more library content accessible for our clients' sales teams to go out and sell. For it to work, we had to have a storage and processing environment that could support this new workflow." Initially, Visual Data narrowed down its vendor search to three finalists, comparing them on such key factors as performance, scalability, security, manageability, technical support and cost effectiveness. The team ulti- mately selected a configuration consisting of an Xcellis Workflow Director running StorNext software, Quantum QXS RAID arrays, a Fibre Channel fabric and an Xcellis Workflow Extender to provide access to the files over the company LAN. "On the performance side, our tests showed that the Quantum system did everything that we needed and more," Spear explains. "With StorNext-powered Xcellis, we could run 4K scanning, UHD transcoding and a 4K playback all simul- taneously, and everything worked perfectly without a single dropped frame. "The Xcellis scalability was also a real advantage for us," continues Spear. "It enabled us to increase performance and storage capacity independently — which means we'll be able to grow to meet future demands while avoiding a complete system overhaul." SPECTRA LOGIC PUBLISHES 'STORAGE OUTLOOK 2018' BOULDER, CO — Spectra Logic (www.spectralogic.com) has published its third annual data storage industry report. "Digital Data Storage Outlook 2018" provides insights into trends, technology and pricing that's shaping the data storage industry today and into the future. Storage industry experts are forecasting that the digital universe could grow to more than 160 zettabytes (ZB) of data by 2025. In the "Digital Data Storage Outlook 2018" report, Spectra predicts that much of this data may never be stored, or will be retained for only a brief time. The report explores the vital role of digital data in our society, and helps data users navigate the budget and infrastructure challenges of capturing, sharing and preserving data for years to come. "We are living in an era of keep everything, delete nothing," says Spectra Logic CEO, Nathan Thompson. "While digital information is clicked, viewed and shared, not everything is protected and preserved for the long term. As the volume of data expands, considerable storage innovation is needed to meet ca- pacity, performance and budgetary requirements. Our report examines today's technologies, as well as predicts future advancements and availability." "Digital Data Storage Outlook 2018" provides an overview of the storage tiers that define long-term storage today and those that will impact the industry tomor- row, including flash, disk, tape, optical and cloud. Highlights from the report include: - Spectra estimates a high growth rate for solid-state storage through 2020, fol- lowed by steady growth at a lower percentage from 2021 through 2026. - By 2020, the disk industry will be serving a singular market, predom- inately for large IT shops and cloud providers. - Tape technology has the greatest potential for capacity improvement of all current technologies, with a robust growth path over the next several years. - Complex workflows and cloud options are prompting IT administrators to consider new strategies regarding what data should be stored where for best practices in data storage and disaster recovery. To download the full "Digital Data Storage Outlook 2018" report, visit Spectra Logic online at: https://spectralogic.com/data-storage-outlook-report-2018/.