Panda Pictures in Germany Selects Promise
With PegasusPro R16 10G RAID NAS plus Thunderbolt 3 DAS
This is a Press Release edited by StorageNewsletter.com on January 20, 2022 at 2:00 pmBackground
A visit to Panda Pictures GmbH portfolio page provides a hint of the amazing breadth and high quality of work generated at this reputable film production company.
In over 12 years, this company has earned a reputation as a creative and full service film producer for corporate clients; partnering with small and large businesses in many different markets.
Its staff have long been Promise Technology, Inc.‘s customers, starting with the first generation of Pegasus Thunderbolt direct attached RAID storage systems. As their film production business grew and evolved, the firm invested in productivity, adopting many Pegasus2 and Pegasus3 units which were likewise evolving with faster Thunderbolt versions.~
Challenge
The technological evolution however did not provide a good system for large collaborative video production projects involving input from several team members. Storing assets on numerous local RAID systems became a cumbersome bottleneck to the otherwise smooth team workflow. What was needed was a performing centralized data storage network that could be accessed and enabled fast file transfer among team members.
Solution
With PegasusPro R16 10G RAID NAS plus Thunderbolt 3 DAS, a merger of NAS/DAS technologies, the entire team has access to all the assets they need on every single project they are working on – a huge leap in work flow efficiency. The setup and installation process was simple and smooth; the user interface is easy to understand. It did not require extensive technical knowledge to get it up and running in less than a day. Yet the management interface provides a high degree of control over which users are allowed to use which data.
Workflow
In the Panda Pictures installation, they use the PegasusPro R16 as a central footage and project repository for large film productions. A total of 6 computers are connected via 10GbE. In addition, wireless access is provided to important documents of the project via WLAN. Another Pegasus3 R8 is directly attached to the Thunderbolt 3 port of the PegasusPro R16, serving as external backup for footage files. Active projects are stored on the Pegasus Pro R16 NAS partition. As soon as the projects are finished, the cutter moves them to the DAS partition. From there, the entire project can be archived using LTO and released for deletion by the PegasusPro R16.
Testimonial
Prior to the PegasusPro R16, having 3 editors work on one project in collaboration often came with many challenges. The read/write speed was not always optimal, which would on occasion lead to unnecessarily lengthy sessions. The Panda Pictures team conducted stress tests with three simultaneous project editors and achieved near full 10Gb/s read/write speeds. Now 3 or 4 editors can work in a 4K project timeline with no additional effort regarding time or resources compared to single-editor projects.
In its stress tests with the PegasusPro, the end user achieved almost the full 10Gb/s read and write speeds when 3 editors were accessing a project simultaneously. It’s easy for 3 or 4 editors to edit 4K timelines in a DaVinci Resolve project, so, for example, color correction can be initiated while the edit is still in its final stages.
Patrick Trageser, post-production supervisor, said: “When it comes to post-production, the Promise Pegasus Pro R16 is the perfect addition to a multi-collaboration workflow, elevating our editing infrastructure to the next level. With 128TB integrated into the system, it is the ultimate storage solution for all our high-end projects. The PegasusPro comes with its integrated, highly efficient File Boost Technology, enabling users to quickly switch from DAS to NAS solutions and vice versa. No more copying from RAID to RAID – with the 4 integrated 10GbE ports, the performance of every computer whilst editing, color-grad- ing or mixing is just magnificent, enabling me to fully focus on the creative processes in post-production. With Promise, we are happy to have a reliable partner on our side, supporting us in every aspect, which is fantastic.”