[Randall Packer]

[Rainer Wirth] “I think you’ve never had a data loss, because for us professionals redundancy with huge amount of data comes first.
Speed comes second, mainly because most of us have data speeds above 1000 MB/s.
The best solutions are via 4x8Gb/s FC or thunderbolt, mainly with 16 or 24 bay Raid5/6.
For a decent workflow in 4K including compositing effects you need more than 700 MB/s speed.
Even for a one man show you should consider a solution like this. The longer you work and getting more and more data to provide for your customers the more you appreciate a solution like this.
Just redundancy for your backup you can use a 4bay Raid5 with esata.”

Rainer, thanks for your thoughts. My idea is to use DAS for workspace and NAS for backup, so in fact there is I believe plenty of redundancy in this design. Can you tell me what model of RAID you are using and the network configuration to get above 1000Mbs? I talked to a representative from SmallTree, a leading video RAID manufacturer, and he quoted me 350Mbs Read/Write for an 8-bay Raid using Raid 5 over a 10Gb network. There seems to be quite a varying range of performance specifications for the various Raid systems I have looked at. Also not sure what you mean by “FC.” Many thanks, Randall

Multimedia Artist and Composer

[Randall Packer]

As far as I know, you connect the 10Gb port on a NAS directly to a computer that has a 10Gb Ethernet convertor, without using a switch.

Multimedia Artist and Composer

[Randall Packer]

“this is rather unorthodox. Normally you would have all your data on a Raid5/6 external raid system via thunderbolt and do the back-up on the single drives. This is what you should aim.”

Thanks so much for your comments.

However, based on extensive research, I don’t see the advantage of using a NAS as “workspace” for video editing if I am the only one working off the drive. To setup a NAS that is sufficiently fast for up to 4K editing, requires either a 10Gbe network, adding significant cost, or a Thunderbolt NAS, such as the QNAP series. The problem with the QNAP is they don’t daily chain, so you essentially have to free up an entire TB port, which is not possible with my setup. I spoke with a Small Tree rep, a top video NAS maker, and even with a 10Gbe network, he claimed speeds of around 350 Mbs read/write at a relatively high cost (for me).

Now if I were to purchase say a CalDigit T4 using Raid 0, I could get up to 750Mbs read/write, significantly faster. I would then use a 1Gbe NAS to backup the DAS. Again, I am not sharing files, so with scheduled backup ever day from the DAS to the NAS, I would have regular backups to a NAS with redundancy. The idea would be to keep space available on the fast DAS by deleting completed projects as they are backed up on the slower NAS. The cost of doing it this way I believe is much cheaper than a high end NAS on a high speed network.

I’m sure most videographers on this list work in collaborative studios, but this simply isn’t the case for me. I am very interested in anyone who works solo who uses this type of workflow.

Thanks, Randall

Multimedia Artist and Composer

[Randall Packer]

Bob, brilliant… so you are suggesting that I reverse the flow: use the NAS as workspace and the external drives as backup. I didn’t realize that I could partition the NAS in such a way as to replicate the volumes that I currently use for music and video production in order to preserve the directory paths.

I think the million dollar question is whether a NAS on a 1 Gb network can compete with the speed of a DAS. The Synology DS1815+ for example, has about 450 MB read/write with Raid 5, whereas the Caldigit T4 has about 750 MB read/write using Raid 0. I am currently editing primarily in 1080p but plan on incorporating 4K soon.

I had considered a QNAP TVS-871T for its Thunderbolt interface (albeit more expensive), but would like to avoid the added expense and complexity of setting up a 10Gb network. I suppose though if I had a TVS-871T, I could connect my IMac directly to the unit via Thunderbolt, and then chain my external Thunderbolt drives directly to the NAS in order to gain speed both for production and backup.

One more question: I want to put my NAS system in my network closet, which would require an approximately 25 foot Thunderbolt run. Is that going to deteriorate the signal?

Many, many thanks for your excellent advice.

Best, Randall

Multimedia Artist and Composer

[Randall Packer]

Thanks Nathaniel for taking time to offer your advice and suggestions.

It’s not exactly clear to me why you can’t backup files directly from a chain of external Thunderbolt hard drives to a NAS without the addition of another computer to “reshare it as AFP storage.” I’m not understanding the terminology there…

The ProMax system sounds wonderful but looks like it is way over my budget. I’m a media artist working out of my studio, and so I’m not doing any commercial work, just projects for online exhibition. I am planning to spend 3K to 4K for a complete backup solution.

But I really appreciate your ideas!

Best, Randall

Multimedia Artist and Composer

[Randall Packer]

If you have a fast enough processor, you can route the HDMI output from the ATEM into the host computer through a BM input in order to both capture and stream the signal.

Personally, I think the best solution is to use the ATEM software to capture the encoded signal, and then send the ATEM’s HDMI program output to a hardware encoder, such as the Teradek VidiU, although it is pricey at $700. It is still cheaper than another computer, broadcasting software, etc, and probably the most reliable/efficient solution in terms of the quality of the broadcast.

iMac, Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio, MOTU V4HD

[Randall Packer]

Thanks for the response. I discovered that Livestream’s Procaster recognizes the ATEM Television Studio’s encoded h.264 stream, and passes it out to the Livestream player. Since I am looking for a solution to stream to YouTube Live, I tried Wirecast for YouTube but it doesn’t recognized the ATEM stream. I think the best solution is the TeraDek Vidiu, which streams to Livestream, UStream, and YouTube at 1080p, but it cost $700. So there you have all my research on this!

iMac, Blackmagic ATEM Television Studio, MOTU V4HD

[Randall Packer]

I just started having this problem with the “date modified” time stamp changing when opening files in Premiere Pro 5.5.2, it never happened before. It not only makes it difficult to backup, but to recognize easily the dates of files.

Mac Pro 8-core, 6 Gb Ram, AJA Kona LHe, Apogee Ensemble
Mac Pro 4-core, 12 Gb Ram, MOTU V4HD

[Randall Packer]

Thank you, I suspected that the configuration took place in the Mac OS, not in the Final Cut’s own setup or preferences.

Typically you can configure the audio output in the application separately from the setup in the OS.

I wonder why they did this?

Mac Pro 8-core, 6 Gb Ram, AJA Kona LHe, Apogee Ensemble
Mac Pro 4-core, 12 Gb Ram, MOTU V4HD

[Randall Packer]

I am using an Apogee Interface, but I can’t figure out how to assign it to Final Cut X.

Mac Pro 8-core, 6 Gb Ram, AJA Kona LHe, Apogee Ensemble
Mac Pro 4-core, 12 Gb Ram, MOTU V4HD