1PB of Archion Storage for Avid Unity MediaNetworks

Challenged by storing the massive amounts of data they generate daily, New York post production facilities and rental houses have chosen Archion Technologies‘ Synergy XTR storage system.

Synergy is the a RAID protected add-on storage for Avid Unity MediaNetworks.

"Archion’s Synergy storage is a key component of our workflow and continues to impress us with its ease of use, cost-effectiveness and reliability," said Denis Hunt, chief engineer at Broadway Video. "Synergy runs on the same Unity interface as our existing Avid drives, was seamless to integrate and works flawlessly for us in some very demanding environments. We will continue to invest in Archion as our storage demands increase."

During the last five years, an increasing number of New York facilities have come to rely on Archion’s Synergy solution, which is powered by its patent pending Vdisk technology. With Avid’s inability to deliver expansion storage, Archion has positioned itself as a choice in storage hardware. It provides Avid MediaNetwork owners with the comfort of knowing that they can utilize this SAN for years to come while expanding as their storage requirements continue to grow.

"Simply put, Synergy offers more bang for the buck than any other system," said Omar Oliveros, head engineer at Goldcrest Films Ltd. "It’s really a no brainer when you compare reliability – the driving factor – with ease of use and the simplicity of transitioning it into an existing system."

In addition to Broadway Video and Goldcrest Films, some of the facilities in New York that have chosen Archion’s Synergy XTR for their storage needs include All Mobile Video, Creative Group, ITV Studios NY, MPE NY, Nitrous, Post Millennium, Red Line Films and Sharp Entertainment. Synergy is available in the greater New York area through Archion’s authorized resellers VCA and HB Communications, Inc.

"We are delighted that so many leading facilities in New York are embracing our Synergy shared storage system to enhance their file-based workflows," said Archion’s EVP of Sales. "These facilities recognize the inherent value of their Unity workflow, and have chosen Synergy because it requires a significantly smaller investment in time and money than upgrading to another shared storage platform. Unity MediaNetwork owners are now able to add storage at a fraction of the cost while improving their protection, scalability, performance, and investment protection."

Brief look at each of these New York facilities:

• All Mobile Video: The premier provider of end-to-end video and audio solutions for entertainment, sports, news programming and events
• Broadway Video: Founded by Lorne Michaels, creator and executive producer of Saturday Night Live in 1979 as a production house tasked with post production work on SNL, Broadway Video is now one of the largest independent production companies in New York
• Creative Group: The largest independent supplier of high-definition production and post production services in New York
• Goldcrest Films: Since it was established in 1977, Goldcrest has financed, produced or distributed more than 100 titles that have won numerous prizes, including 19 Academy Awards and 28 BAFTAs. Celebrated films include Gandhi, The Killing Fields, The Mission, Chariots of Fire, A Room with a View, Local Hero and All Dogs Go To Heaven. Recent titles include Iron Lady and Twilight
• ITV Studios NY: One of the largest international producers for the U.S. market and a major force in acquiring, developing and producing reality and scripted programming for U.S. networks
• MPE NY: New York’s largest post production rental house includes more than 60,000 square feet of edit suites and production space
• Nitrous: A boutique post production facility with a reputation for creative and concise Emmy Award-winning editing
• Post Millennium: A creative editorial studio specializing in television, web and branded experiential entertainment
• Red Line Films: Red Line has received 21 Emmy Awards and been nominated for another 30. Red Line programs have aired on NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, ESPN and the Food Network
• Sharp Entertainment: With a reputation for pioneering a fresh perspective on pop culture television, Sharp is presently producing shows for TLC, A&E, Science Channel, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, Food Network, Biography and others

The Synergy Line
Archion’s line of RAID storage for Avid’s Unity MediaNetwork and Media Engine platforms has thousands of clients worldwide. Synergy XTR extends the Synergy’s abilities to a full 800 MB/s and increases its capacity to 32TBs in a single chassis for Unity Media Engine (5.x). It is also certified for use with Unity MediaNetworks (v3.5 – 4.2x) and is compatible with other Archion-certified Unity add-on storage systems.

Synergy storage systems deliver 8-, 16- or 32 TB of storage in a three-rack unit design with a 16-drive chassis. With its built-in, intelligent hardware RAID controller to manage storage efficiently, Synergy XTR rebuilds a faulty drive so that the rest of the network is unaffected by the drive failure.

With the Vdisk technology, Archion ensures compatibility between versions and that operation is transparent to the Unity system. The Synergy XTR RAID controller manages the disk drives, RAID sets and Vdisks in a more efficient manner, requiring fewer drives than Avid storage subsystems to deliver higher capacities and resolutions.