France Télévisions With Object Matrix Nearline Storage

The primary production workflow at the France Télévisions‘ HQs is based around the Avid Interplay PAM using Avid ISIS7000 storage.

At the Paris location a dedicated team is in place to manage the ingest of file based content and the allocation of media, where appropriate, for each programme.

With growing production needs, capacity on the online storage is frequently unavailable due to reaching the maximum useable space on the ISIS7000 platform. However, not all the content that resides on this tier one storage is necessarily required in the short or medium term.

Dominique Lestrade, project manager, France Télévisions stated: “the original goal of this project was to free space on the production storage by copying entire projects and media to a secured nearline platform designed to perform this task more efficiently.“

“It was absolutely crucial for the solution to be user friendly, well designed and extremely easy to operate in order to meet France Télévisions’ current and future workflow requirements,” added François Revault, post-production and MFTV team manager, France Télévisions.

Solution Implemented by DID Technology
Leveraging previous experience with similar deployments for France Ô (France Télévisions Group) and Pro TV (“30 millions d’amis), DID Technology SAS suggested MatrixStore as the secure nearline storage platform in answer to the RFP. MatrixStore software is developed by Object Matrix, a Welsh company based in Cardiff represented in France by Ivory SASU.

The self-healing functionality and ease with which MatrixStore is deployed were two of the reasons that convinced France Télévisions to select this technology. France Télévisions were also impressed by the levels of data security offered by the object-based solution, especially the ‘dual copy’protection option thus guaranteeing data will always be available. Additionally, Object Matrix offers a native software interface with Avid Interplay; one of the core requirements of the project.

The main feature required by the RFP process was the ability of the new system to integrate with the incumbent Avid workflow. DID Technology therefore suggested InterConnect, a software connector developed by Object Matrix, allowing MatrixStore to be natively connected to the Interplay and ISIS environments. The installation, setup and operation proceeded according to expectations.

 “I would like to thank Object Matrix for their exceptional commitment and implementation expertise on this project. Together, we were able to work hand in hand with France Télévisions to ensure MatrixStore met very specific workflow requirements,” explained Sébastien Collin, co-founder, DID Technology.

“To France Télévisions’ great satisfaction, the Object Matrix development team were even able to add specific functionality as required by the operations and maintenance staff,” he added.

The initial MatrixStore cluster has five 24TB nodes providing 120TB of usable nearline storage. This is scalable by adding nodes, irrespective of their capacity, without interrupting the service.

Mokhtar Ait Naceur, projects director at France Télévisions concluded: “DID Technology, more than being broadcast technology experts, has also been an efficient and agile advisor at all stages of the project. Moreover, Object Matrix met its commitments and the project schedule. The overall experience with this company is totally aligned with their good reputation.“

To date, DID Technology has deployed eight MatrixStore clusters offering more than 700TB of MatrixStore secured nearline storage within the France Télévisions Group. MatrixStore is currently being used to preserve media in various workflows within the France Télévisions Group including Avid, Aspera, Rhozet and Omneon environments.

Read also:
France Télévisions choisit Object Matrix pour ses stations d’outre-mer
144To dans 4 chassis