Advertising Company SpotCo Chooses Small Tree ThunderNET2

SpotCo, Inc., in entertainment and arts advertising. faces tight deadlines that are often measured in seconds, not minutes.

To ensure that file read times during post-production meet their demanding requirements, SpotCo recently installed the ThunderNET2 networking solution by Small Tree and the system’s performance has been appreciated by its editing team.

“The SpotCo video department is extremely happy with the ThunderNET2 and the 4 port Ethernet 10 gigabit (10GbE) card from Small Tree in our video server,” said Andy Bond, video editor, SpotCo, best known for their work with Broadway hits like Chicago, Kinky Boots and A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder. “We’re doing things like scrubbing across near 4k videos in After Effects and Premier with absolutely no network bottlenecks. No delays, hiccups, nothing. This has taken rendering from over an hour on 1GbE to a few minutes using 10GbE. And, opening a complicated 13Gb file from 20 minutes to less than a minute. We couldn’t be happier thanks to Small Tree.“

Created to support post-production pros’ increased processing power available with products, including the Mac Pro 2013 machines at SpotCo, ThunderNET2 opens up a world of possibilities. Combining high performance I/O capabilities of Thunderbolt 2 with the flexibility of PCIe and Small Tree’s industry 10GbE driver, ThunderNET2 provides creative media professionals a cost effective solution to integrate Thunderbolt equipped platforms into storage and data networks.

“Prior to installing ThunderNET2, SpotCo’s editors were working off a 10GbE switch, but were limited to 1GbE at the workstation and there was no way to get the info to the computers from the server quickly enough,” said Todd Miller, IT manager, SpotCo. “Then the ThunderNET2 and 4 port 10GbE card from Small Tree came in and everything changed. That’s huge for anyone in the ad business, where completed projects have to be delivered by a certain deadline, otherwise, you could miss out on thousands of dollars.“

ThunderNET2 boasts a range of 1GbE or 10 GbE connectivity to Thunderbolt equipped systems from Apple and HP, providing higher levels of network performance and connecting to Small Tree’s Ethernet shared storage appliance, TitaniumZ, or 10GbE switches. ThunderNET2 can also provide additional GbE connectivity to the user’s current network.

Adding network bandwidth to any computer with a Thunderbolt 2 port, ThunderNET2 can be configured to support specific requirements, allowing customers to select the proper amount of bandwidth to meet both workflow demands and budgets.

“In this business, there’s really no one else to consider other than Small Tree for solutions like this,” Miller stated. “They’re number one when it comes to writing software drivers for Mac users, which is really important. They know the ins and outs of 10GbE, and that knowledge can make a big difference in a smaller shop.“