RFD-TV Installed CET Constellation Andromeda Storage Management Appliance

CET Universe, provider of services, systems, and solutions for professional audio and video production, announced that RFD-TV, LLC, the nation’s first 24-hour television network dedicated to serving the needs and interests of rural America, has installed the Constellation Andromeda Server storage management appliance for use in RFD-TV’s central operations in Nashville, Tennessee.

 
The installation of CET Constellation Andromeda Server enables RFD-TV’s engineering and production teams to perform multi-tiered storage management, archiving, and back-up functions through a single visual interface. This Asset Management appliance is compatible with edit and storage system, including Avid, Apple Final Cut Pro, and virtually all NAS and SAN storage systems.
 
"The value of a single interface software system that can manage all of our assets is ideal, and complements our central operations center’s approach to running a 24-hour network in the most efficient manner possible," said Barry Watts, director of commercial operations for RFD-TV. "We have sought an open system that has the power and interoperability of what CET Universe provided us for quite some time.  Our entire production and engineering staff can leverage the Constellation system for a wide range of ingest, archive, and edit functions."
 
CET Universe, formerly the technology division of Media Distributors, introduced the Constellation Andromeda Server earlier this year. The product is a combination of the Constellation VCM asset, storage and archive management software with automated workflow capability, integrated in to a customized MS Windows 7 Server.
 
The Constellation Andromeda Server builds on CET Universe’s March, 2009 release of Constellation VCM, which has been installed in such production and post-production facilities as Universal Sports and Point360, among others. Constellation Andromeda Server is sold standard with an on-board LTO tape drive and hard disk RAID protected storage. It also includes CET Universe’s tech support, as well as software maintenance, and installation for media and entertainment customers nationwide.
 
"The system that RFD-TV has installed provides them with greater flexibility and scalability for future requirements, and they can upgrade at their own pace," said Tony Cahill, chief engineer of CET Universe. "The objective of the Andromeda Server is to take the complexity out of this process and help customers like RFD-TV get a handle on their Asset Management dilemma.  We have taken a ‘storage agnostic’ approach to the Constellation Andromeda Server so that customers can add additional storage for any type of hard disk, tape library, or optical disc library. We provide a very efficient solution for storage and archive management of digital assets. Users now have a simple, efficient search and retrieval tool for video assets and any other type of audio or data digital asset."
 
Using the Constellation Andromeda Server, for example, customers can rapidly access files, sessions or archive collections, including those stored on LTO tape systems or off-line by using video proxies that match time code for precise retrieval and manipulation.
 
The Constellation Andromeda Server provides multiple levels of security and authentication, and automated media management through user-defined parameters. The price for the product is listed at $29,999.00.