NAB: VSN Integrates With QStar for “End-to-Anywhere” Media Management and Archive

QStar Technologies, Inc. and VSN SL, a technology company specialized in providing software solutions for the broadcast and media sector, announced a partnership to offer the film and broadcast industry an integrated asset management solution to complement end-to-end workflows and broadcast solutions.

VSN software solutions encompass everything from asset ingestion, news production and media and business process management to automation, distribution, second screens and business intelligence, adds an integrated archive module, Archive Manager from QStar, simplifying the workflow and presenting improved information about media assets no matter where they reside.

QStar adds an ‘archive to anywhere’ philosophy, whether the chosen archive is disk, tape (including LTFS), optical, public or private cloud, or a combination of any of these. Information about archived assets is communicated back to VSNExplorer platform using QStar’s web services API, allowing integration between the two solutions.

Organizations deploying the joint solution will benefit from long-term data protection, ensuring that information is preserved and optionally stored in geographically-dispersed locations. This will improve the security, reliability and availability of data archives, which is important for companies in the broadcast, video and M&E industries.

Archive Manager provides an archive gateway and web services API, to support all archive technologies from storage vendors. It is known for its volume-spanning approach to LTFS archiving, where an ever growing set of media is seen as a single share or mount point. Multiple sets of media can be maintained, each with their own unique set of file retention (WORM) and file management policies. In addition to using LTFS tape, the company offers support for a range of object storage solutions, or Blu-ray optical libraries, including the Sony ODA (Optical Disk for Archive) range of solutions. It also offers data migration functionality to migrate content out of legacy MAMs or various archive systems and archive storage technologies.

VSNExplorer platform allows users to manage their media and business processes either on premise or in the cloud, allowing a facility to optimize their efficiency and develop their daily tasks faster. It is an open ended solution comprised of several optional modules: Media Asset Management (MAM) for overarching enterprise solutions, Production Asset Management (PAM) for streamlining the control of production environments, Business Process Management (BPM) for workflow optimization, Business Intelligence (BI) for data and metadata analytics extracted from extensive VSN data sources or third-party systems, and Wedit, for low-res web video editing in the cloud, including voiceover. All these modules allow VSNExplorer to provide clients with an intuitive and reliable platform to speed-up processes such as content archival and retrieval, file and workflow management, fast delivery to playout and analysis of content performance anytime, anywhere.

“We are delighted to announce the partnership between QStar and VSN, after many weeks of integration work.” said Riccardo Finotti, QStar CEO. “The combination of VSNExplorer and Archive Manager provides a best in class asset management solution for the broadcast industry. Asset Management plays a crucial part in the increased monetization of video assets and VSN is a leading solution in this market. QStar is pleased to add unrivaled flexibility in archive storage choice and, in particular, leading tape-based and cloud archives, that preserve these valuable assets for the long-term.“

Jordi Utiel, VSN president and CEO, remarked: “This deep and elegant integration will undoubtedly provide users with one of the best of breed solutions to effectively manage both archived and online media. Content is without a doubt, the most valuable asset of any company, not only in terms of content monetization for pure commercial purposes, but also to keep unique and transcendent media files and data alive throughout the years for future retrieval, analysis and evaluation. Therefore, it is in the best interest of QStar and VSN to help broadcast and media companies to preserve this content in a safe environment through state-of-the-art technology solutions. Only in this way will we be able to help them gain a real competitive advantage of unbeatable value.“

VSN exhibited at NAB 2018, Las Vegas, NV on April 9-12.