SpycerBox SAN enables flexibility and high performance at VFX

July 20, 2009

Source: DVS Digital Video Systems

The Austrian post production company VFX has chosen DVS’s SpycerBox SAN for powerful and flexible storage. Functioning as a bridge, SpycerBox connects VFX’s online and offline workflow.

Post production company VFX in Vienna, specializing in commercial production, integrated a SpycerBox SAN in its workflow, gaining utmost flexibility and performance. Finding a highly versatile system allowing maximum performance while enabling perfect interaction with an AVID infrastructure was crucial for VFX.

At VFX the SpycerBox serves as a reliable and powerful storage for both online and offline editing systems. In the online process two AVID DS and an AVID Symphony™ are connected to the SpycerBox SAN via Fibre Channel, while in the offline workflow the AVID Media Composer® is attached via Gigabit Ethernet. Since the SpycerBox processes data up to 2K, VFX is equipped with image data at maximum quality.

The perfect communication between SpycerBox and the offline AVID workstations is based on a special file sharing technology. A virtual AVID volume on the SpycerBox is connected to several AVID editing workstations via TCP/IP network. This volume allows for parallel accessing of the same content without the clients mutually overwriting their project data base.

With SpycerBox, high-resolution projects can be transferred quickly and reliably. Film data that does not need to be available as online material will be backed up on the storage solution.

All workstations can access the SpycerBox not only as a SAN system, but also as a NAS (Network Attached Storage). VFX benefits from a highly powerful storage in a 5 HU chassis that offers direct access from different workstations. The fast data transfer between the single workstations and the storage solution results in considerable time savings for editors and colorists. SpycerBox SAN’s freely expandable storage system perfectly meets all of VFX’s requirements.

Christian Vollenhofer, CEO at VFX: “With DVS’s SpycerBox we found the ideal solution for our workflow, since it combines several functions in one unit. SpycerBox allows us the optimum flexibility when designing our infrastructure, and, on top of that, offers highest performance up to 2K content. Moreover, the Spycer management software of the SpycerBox has established itself as a very important tool when handling RED™ data in our workflow.”

Michael Bauer, Sales Director at DVS: “The SpycerBox is tailor-made for VFX’s special requirements in their post production process. It provides them with faster workflows and a sustainable, increased scope of service. The perfect communication between SpycerBox and the different AVID clients leads to significant time savings in VFX’s daily workflow.”

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