Facilis TerraBlock Augments CGI and Post Production for SBT

One of Brazil’s largest television broadcasters, São Paulo-based SBT (Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão) offers
international audiences the full gamut of programming including soap operas,
sitcoms, dramas and films.

The network depends on a dedicated CGI and post production arm to deliver a
distinct aesthetic for each show, with a Facilis TerraBlock shared
storage system serving as the cornerstone of its operations.

Founded in 2011 to support an increasing demand for CGI elements in its soap
operas, SBT’s CGI and post production department was originally designed by
SBT´s engineering team and is supported by technical supervisor Roberto Takeda.
The department is responsible for delivering computer graphics, editing, color
correction and finishing for a number of SBT programs. Its facility features an
integrated workflow comprising 20 different Mac and Windows workstations that
run everything from Autodesk 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya to Adobe After Effects,
in addition to a dedicated in-house render farm. Every workstation is connected
to a TerraBlock 24EX shared storage system.

An integral part of SBT’s workflow, the TerraBlock deftly handles the team’s
everyday storage needs.

"When we first built this
department, we knew we’d need a massive amount of storage and high bandwidth at
the lowest possible price," shared Takeda. "TerraBlock offered almost three times more bandwidth than similar
competitive products on the market and was a direct answer to our needs. It’s
been fantastic; since day one, the system has run continuously without any
interruption."

With help from local reseller DriveSYS, SBT’s engineering team had the
TerraBlock up and running in a matter of hours.

"I can’t recall any other storage
installation that was as fast and simple as TerraBlock. We unpacked it, put it
a rack, turned it on and we were in business," Takeda said. "Our team is intimately familiar with shared
storage, as we’ve been using SAN and NAS for years. From an engineering
standpoint, I can easily say it is the most seamless system I’ve ever deployed.
TerraBlock is so low maintenance and straightforward to manage."

"The ability to connect to the
TerraBlock via FC or Ethernet has also saved SBT’s team on a several occasions,"
Takeda explained, "One of our
workstations had an optical cable failure, but we were covered because of the
TerraBlock. We just switched to an Ethernet connection and continued to work
until the optical cable was replaced, which meant we didn’t lose any time."

SBT continues to discover new benefits that the TerraBlock affords.

Takeda concluded, "When we first
heard about Facilis, we were expecting ordinary, but we were absolutely wrong.
What we’ve received with TerraBlock is above and beyond extraordinary."