A/V Optimization Mode for Infortrend EonStor Arrays

Infortrend Technology, Inc. announced an A/V(Audio/Video) Optimization feature to its EconStore storage subsystems in CeBIT 2009. The new enhancement allows users to select the best A/V Optimization Mode with a single click, reducing the response time whenever there is any drive latency to ensure no frame lost and enable fluid streaming. The sustained transfer rate and enhanced capabilities further reinforce EonStor’s position as an ideal storage platform for throughput-intensive A/V applications, including broadcasting and A/V editing.

In today’s multimedia world, the usage of A/V applications is no longer the privilege of television and movie companies. Surveillance, imaging, broadcasting – all these applications require storage solutions that support high-quality A/V requirements. With terabytes of files and sequential I/Os, A/V applications demand storage solutions with high and stable throughput, as occasional performance highs and lows will lead to the risk of dropping frames, which is an intolerable issue for video viewers and editors.

Based on its global expertise in the design and manufacturing of storage arrays, Infortrend developed the new A/V Optimization Mode feature for its EonStor subsystems to meet the increasing market demand for A/V applications. Whether it is used for broadcasting or editing, users will have effective control over how EonStor arrays handle data flow management. With Infortrend’s EonStor, efficiency in A/V editing and the pleasure of viewing are as simple as one single click.

"For industries such as broadcasting and filming, deadlines are hard. We need a fast and trustworthy solution that can quickly and reliably turn creative sparks into reality," said Sean Curran, Customer Sales Representative at Digistor, a leading digital media solution supplier in Australia. "Besides proven hardware availability, Infortrend’s A/V optimized solution guarantees sustained stream rates during both periods of normalcy and disk media failure. The solution is an indispensable contributor in achieving fluid High Definition (HD) workflow for us."

"Performance can mean different things for different applications, something that Infortrend knows well," said Danny Chang, senior director of global marketing at Infortrend Technology Inc. "Positive responses from our customers prove that the new enhancement not only demonstrates our technology capabilities and industry know-how, but it also brings practical benefits to our clients that are highly demanded from A/V performance around the world."

A proven platform for A/V applications
Infortrend’s EonStor storage subsystems have been implemented to support high-performance, throughput-intensive A/V applications around the globe. To name just a few:

Digistor – a leading digital media solution supplier
in Australia
Integrated into Digistor’s high-end solution, Infortrend’s EonStor storage subsystems access tens of terabytes of media content and guarantee stream rates even in the occurrence of disk media faults. The storage arrays run on algorithms specially optimized for HD streaming, such as intelligent read-aheads, delivering the best-in-class performance to enable high-speed production, editing and composition involving multiple HD and SD streams. For broadcast and post-production applications, Digistor’s highly-respected SANman performance RAIDs exclusively use Infortrend storage.

Mosfilm – the largest film studio in Russia and Europe
Infortrend’s Eonstor storage subsystems are seamlessly integrated into Mosfilm‘s storage complex to allow 24/7, non-delayed access to uncompressed 2K (2,048 x 1,556) format cinema, video and audio content by 16 workstations. The high-performance and highly reliable RAID massive gives Mosfilm’s cinema fantasy the wings to continue to soar high.

Framestore – the Oscar winning visual effects
and computer animation studio
To meet the production schedule of its first full-length animated feature, The Tale of Despereaux, Framestore depended on its Linux cluster file system with Infortrend’s EonStor RAID arrays to render and store all images. As a parallel approach to conduct animation alongside the rendering of the final look of the film was used, the demand for storage and render farms was increased because many intermediate stages of production data had to be retained to avoid unnecessary animation rework whilst finetuning of other effects proceeded. In fact, Framestore has been using Infortrend products for the last 10 years.

Digital Barcelona Film Festival, Spain
At the Digital Barcelona Film Festival, hosted by the city of Barcelona, Infortrend’s EonStor RAID subsystem was used to store more than 40 hours of HD movies, allowing eight different movies to be displayed to eight different screens simultaneously. The fault-tolerant array featured a Fiber Channel interface and SATA-II disk drives, supporting a bandwidth of up to 386MB per second to ensure high-quality images at all times.

A London-based digital content and management company
In a project to support the UK Film Council to build and operate the Digital Screen Network (DSN) – a network of up to 250 screens in approximately 200 cinemas – Infortrend’s EonStor RAID subsystem is used to store the digital film content at each site. The RAID array was selected for its high reliability, smaller physical size, SATA II technology, and high-quality service support.

To download case studies on the use of Infortrend’s EonStor arrays as video storage