-
Multiple FCP stations environment
Hi,
I am wondering about the options I have in order to use the same storage for multiple FCP stations. The problem is that we don’t use Final Cut Studio for editing. Its used as a hub to ingest footage from digibeta using EDL. The footage is almost always 8/10 bit uncompressed. Then its being exported and divided into other comp stations. We are using Gspeed eS right now and it works great. It can sustain 1 stream of uncompressed 1080p 25fps. If I need more streams I can always hook up 2nd eS tower. Its all working great but now we are going to have 3 FCP stations working as an online station, and I would love have it set up in a way that I can start and finish any project on any of the station. I can always use my setup ( every station has its own local raid storage ) and copy the project with its media to some exchange storage space, then pull that on the machine I want to finish the project. But this takes time. My projects are usually from 20 to 100GB so it could take a better part of the morning in order to move the project from one station to the other.
What I would love to have instead is, and please bear in mind that im not a technician, a big storage for all 3 FCP stations + Final Cut Server for project management, so all 4 machines connected to 1 big fast storage, it would have to support 6 x 1080p 25fps streams of uncompressed data all the time. It would be a big coincidence that all 3 stations are doing full HD work on 2 streams at the same time but it should be able to handle that load.
My question is, is it possible at all to do that. All machines are down in the server room close to each other. So the distance is not an issue.
-
9 Replies
-
Want cheap shared storage? Then this is about as cheap as you can get:
https://magazine.creativecow.net/article/build-your-own-affordable-san-that-iworksi
He worked with SMALL TREE and MaxxDigitial to come up with a great cheap SAN solution. YOu need to use a MacPro as a server, and then hook your storage to that, get a Small Tree Eternet card, then Small Tree ethernet switch…and then that will service all of your other machines via ethernet.
Now…this confused me:
[Paul Flint] “I am wondering about the options I have in order to use the same storage for multiple FCP stations. The problem is that we don’t use Final Cut Studio for editing.”
YOu want storage for multiple FCP stations, but you won’t be using Final Cut for editing…what? What do you use? No matter what, this will act as shared storage for whatever you want.
[Paul Flint] “a big storage for all 3 FCP stations + Final Cut Server for project management”
You might be confused about Final Cut Server and what it does. It DOES NOT do project management. What it does is allow assistants and producers and all sorts of people have access to the media, and low res proxies, and they can log the footage and makes notes on them as well. It is not SAN nor project management software.
[Paul Flint] “it would have to support 6 x 1080p 25fps streams of uncompressed data all the time.”
WOW…well, that G-SPEED won’t do it. YOu need to look at the 12 bay MaxxDigital raids…and maybe two of them. 6 streams of uncompressed 1080p is asking a lot.
Shane
GETTING ORGANIZED WITH FINAL CUT PRO DVD…don’t miss it.
Read my blog, Little Frog in High Def -
thanks shane,
To clarify things,
I’m not using FinalCut Pro for editing per say. The difference between editing at FCP and my needs is that editors can used compressed footage, prores, or even more compressed formats. I cannot – since Final Cut studio is working as an online station for me. I ingest from digibeta ( using EDL provided to me ) – full uncompressed fottage, use color for grading and do other compositing stuff, then I spitt it out to digibeta ( HD and SD ). So in order to have a good environment storage must be able to sustain 2 streams of uncompressed HD footage per station. I got 3 stations that means 6 streams at max.
If I use 2x Gspeed eS for each station that will work when it comes to speed, but I want to have centralized data storage for all FCP stations.
and I want to manage project and its data using Final Cut server.It is in a way project management system for me.
-
[Paul Flint] ” The difference between editing at FCP and my needs is that editors can used compressed footage, prores, or even more compressed formats. I cannot – since Final Cut studio is working as an online station for me.”
Sure you can, in fact Apple Pro Res is one of three accepted formats for editing Gold Level productions at Discovery Networks. We’re an online production house and have delivered in excess of 100 HD Broadcast Masters that were cut and finished in either DVCPro HD or ProRes. We’re approaching 200 SD Broadcast masters delivered in either 8 bit Uncompressed SD or ProRes SD. So yes, you do have choices unless the owner of your facility decides not to go that route.
As for your original question about the storage needs, you’re looking at Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel only for your request. Depending on the amount of storage you want, you’re looking at a minimum $20,000 investment and upwards of $65,000 or more. Look up Facilis as they are one of the most highly recommended Fibre Channel shared units out there.
I recently installed a 16TB ethernet based shared solution called Final Share from Maxx Digital. In my case I needed 6 workstations to all be able to run up to 1080i/ 60 ProRes as we have no need to go full uncompressed for any of our broadcast work. My system ran about $20,000. The same connectivity and the same amount of storage for a Fibre Channel solution was approx. $50,000. I have a full article here on the Cow about my setup. It won’t work for you because you want uncompressed 1080p and this system won’t support that, but it shows what we set up here.
https://library.creativecow.net/articles/biscardi_walter/media_san.php
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
-
Shared storage is something that needs technical knowledge to design and implement. If it’s well setup, designed for your situation, and has the ability to grow with your needs it can be seamless and appear as local storage to the user.
You are talking about a serious investment. You might consider a value added reseller to design and implement such a system. You will want someone who understands your workflow and may even be able to point out areas where that could be improved.
we currently use a facilis terrablock allowing both windows and mac OS partions. It is not large enough for all our needs and has some limitations relating to indexing, required by some software, but can be expanded and is a godsend in our FCP, Scratch, DS workflow.
We have a lot of technological understanding within our facility yet the reseller we use made it very easy for us after we sat down and worked out our requirements. They had knowledge based on their products and access to support, that we did not have in our tool box.Doug Beal
Editor / Engineer
Rock Creative Images
Nashville TN -
[Doug Beal] “Shared storage is something that needs technical knowledge to design and implement. If it’s well setup, designed for your situation, and has the ability to grow with your needs it can be seamless and appear as local storage to the user. “
Absolutely. I would not recommend anyone set up a SAN by themselves. I don’t care how much knowledge you think you have, go with a VAR that has experience installing SANs and let them take care of your needs based on your specs. In my case I went with WH Platts here locally in Atlanta who worked with Maxx Digital and Bob Zelin to set up our SAN.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
-
you both are right, I don’t want to touch it myself. We have our own system administrator that is capable of taking care of setting up system like that but the problem is that he does not have any experience with such postproduction environment. Thats why I want to consult you guys on the forum and check out different solutions at other facilities. 2nd issue is that we are the only studio in my country that is trying to work with full final cut studio environment vs flame/smoke/avid combos in other fx houses. And I cant afford to guess ” well this might work good and handle the load”. I need to be certain before I buy the solution. So asking around does not hurt 🙂
thanks for your feedback
cheers
Paul -
Where are you located?
Doug Beal
Editor / Engineer
Rock Creative Images
Nashville TN -
paul
no offense to your IT admin, but if they are not familiar with a video post production environment, then he should not be handling any of what we are talking about. (escept cutting P.O.s 🙂 )
You or he/she needs to find an IT Enginner who is savvy in the ways of Digital Video.
its just a vastly different animal then your traditional IT infrastructure, and is riddled with gotchas and pitfalls that would drive normal Admins crazy!
Bob Zelin seems to know his stuff. i would comm. with him.
“I like video because its so fast!”
Bob Flood
Greer & Associates, Inc. -
Warsaw/Poland and it’s really hard to find a technitian specilized in that field.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up