-
Slightly OT but perhaps not
Sometimes I work with Avid systems that are hooked up to the usual Unity server but connected through a gigabit Ethernet router. Is it at all possible for hard driver companies to make their hard drives usable through the Ethernet port, perhaps connecting to a router bridge then on to the Mac?
If it is possible, I wonder why they are not available and if they are available where I might get one and if I can get one why doesn
-
7 Replies
-
They are…it is called Fibrechannel and SAN. XSan, SANmp and metaSAN are FCPs answer to Unity. And no, it isn’t inexpensive. But, all these solutions are far cheaper than Avid’s Unity
Shane
Littlefrog Post
http://www.lfhd.net -
Chris,
There are Ethernet drives available right now from all the major drive manufacturers, who call them “Network Drives.” However, they have several limitations.
1. They are are too slow for video in most instances.
2. They come formated FAT32, which wil work with MACs, but with a 2gb file limitation.
3. You can reformat them with Linux to go beyond the 2gb limit, but its still not a perfect solution.
DRW
-
Check out Isolon. I’ve been told that is works and you can edit DVCPRO HD easily, although it isn’t a FCP “approved” storage device. It is expensive. We’re considering it for next year as a back up in case Xsan goes down. Also using it to back up graphic elements and as a place to move files when upgrading old san volumes to increase lun size above 2 TB.
-
Actualy its Isilon not Isolon.
-
Thanks. I think I was half asleep when I wrote that reply.
-
A company called EditShare has ethernet storage devices that look very interesting.
joe
-
For Mac and FCP, there is one major competitor to the XSAN. It called the TerraBlock by Facilis Technology.
It is absolutely AWESOME! I had a salesman introduce it to me just before NAB. So I took a good look at it while at NAB. I watched footage that was shot and edit 2k and it was flawless! It can be used to hookup any computer using any software and they can share it flawlessly. You can have you FCP stations hooked up with Avids and PCs running Premiere or Vegas sharing files all at the same time!
It impressed us so very much that we are converting over to it next week!
_______________________________
Wayne Carey
Schazam Productions
http://www.schazamproductions.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up