SeaChange Video Server With Flash Memories

Providing a new means of increasing television operators’
play-to-air reliability and lowering operating costs, SeaChange
International introduced its Broadcast Flash Memory
Library FML200, a flash memory-based ingest and play-to-air solution
that sets a new benchmark in reliability and economy. With no moving
parts, the breakthrough server is 100 times more reliable and consumes
10 times less power than spinning disk-based counterparts, greatly
mitigating failures, rebuilds, replacements and other disk-related
threats.

By supplementing or even eliminating spinning disks in the on-air chain,
the system is the first solution of its kind and is immediately
available for television operators worldwide. SeaChange will demonstrate
the FML200 at NAB2008
in April. It improves reliability while consuming less power, generating
less heat and less noise than disk-based servers, all of which directly
contribute to significantly lower operating costs. Combining flash
memory with SeaChange’s patented MediaCluster
server architecture, the FML200 is not only unsurpassed in play-to-air
reliability, but also offers IP-centric connectivity that is ideal for
seamless integration with the file-based workflows that customers are
building to get their content on air faster.

“The availability of a flash-based broadcast
server represents a seismic shift at the heart of television operations,”
said Chris West, vice president of broadcast, SeaChange International. “The
ultra-reliable, compact and efficient nature of flash technology means
far fewer headaches and much greater operating efficiencies for
operations of all sizes. Our customers are beginning to catch on that
the Flash introduction is bearing the same kind of dramatic performance
improvement that resulted from the introduction of our MediaCluster
technology.”

Patented Clustering
Unmatched broadcast operations savings are enabled by combining the
FML200 with SeaChange’s MediaCluster
technology, which eliminates the need for expensive mirroring and
duplicate files. This creates a one-of-a-kind cost effective, easily
managed solution that exceeds 99.999% reliability. Elsewhere, SeaChange’s
powerful Flash Memory and MediaCluster pairing is already proving its
advantages as a solution for expanding streaming and storage resources
for video-on-demand television operations.

Occupying a compact 2RU footprint, the FML200 includes an array of 24
flash memory drives available in either 32GB or 64GB configurations. At
full capacity, a six-node FML200 cluster puts 144 flash memory drives
online, delivering more than 6.6TB of clustered RAID-5 protected
storage. When combined with SeaChange MediaClient
Series software codecs, broadcasters are afforded the flexibility to
first establish a multichannel SD platform and later upgrade to HD, or
simply build an HD workflow from the outset.

“I believe that flash technology represents a
thoughtful alternative to hard disk drives, particularly in critical
playout applications, when customers are more than normally concerned
about deploying a fail-safe solution,” said
Douglas I. Sheer, CEO and chief analyst of DIS
Consulting Corporation, publishers of Broadcast Servers World
2008. “We anticipate that as prices for
flash chips continue to fall, flash-based server and storage systems
will attract more converts

SeaChange International, Inc.