SGL Press Release
SGL archive critical to Great American Country digital workflow
Fareham, UK – xx January 2009 – Software Generation Ltd (SGL), a leading provider of content archive and storage management software for media and entertainment, has been selected by Great American Country (GAC) to provide SGL FlashNet as an integral part of its Avid Interplay asset management and production environment. GAC, based in Nashville, Tennessee is a country music, cable television network, owned by Scripps Networks.
GAC has two studios in the middle of Nashville's Music Row that are available to service the needs of the network. The studios are equipped with seven cameras that can record directly into the Avid shared storage environment. These recordings are immediately available to three fully-equipped edit bays through the shared storage of all online assets, and from the SGL archive.
GAC's digital workflow begins with the recording of its shows on a weekly basis, with sensible cataloguing of assets in the Avid Interplay environment. Each show recording has a project area within the Avid system where the GAC editors access the content for the post production process. When assets are archived, editors have an interface within the Avid environment to restore the assets from the SGL archive. This process can be started from the edit bay and takes place in the background by servers working within the Avid environment.
Because online shared storage is limited, some shows have to be archived to recover needed storage space for the next show recordings. SGL archiving is critical to the judicious use of online storage. Certain camera shots from guest interviews are always archived to the SGL system. This is carried out by GAC's media administrator on a weekly basis. The media administrator can also see the available storage space left on the existing data tapes in the SGL archiving system for future space planning purposes.
SGL interfaces with a Sun StorageTek SL500 Modular Library System equipped with two LTO 4 drives. The system is cached with a 10TB EMC Clariion CX 3-10 storage system. Direct control of the tape library and drives is provided by an interface supplied by SGL.
GAC currently has slots for 50 LTO cartridges. However, the Sun StorageTek SL500 library system is expandable to over 500 LTO cartridge slots, with each cartridge capable of holding 800 GB of data.
Mike Nichols, Broadcast Engineer, GAC comments, "SGL was chosen because of its long-term commitment to the Avid workflow environment. Many of the problems that come with archiving have been resolved because of the long-term commitment that SGL has devoted to the industry.” He added, "SGL understands the broadcast workflow and does not have to be reminded of what is important to the broadcaster. Because of the seamless integration between Avid and SGL, we can do our jobs with minimal searching through menus. This is a clear advantage for the SGL team."
Mickey Charles, SGL's VP Americas adds, "We are delighted to announce this sale to GAC and to further highlight SGL's strong commitment to the broadcast community. GAC were initially sceptical of archiving shows to data tapes from an Avid interface. The installation required, but working alongside GAC's engineers, we were able to develop new workflows that had to be developed within theits current environment. The result is a fully operational, fully redundant system that delivers a sophisticated digital production environment."
GAC is available in more than 54 million households.
Additional information:
Software Generation, Ltd is a privately held archive management software company headquartered in Fareham, England. SGL has been in business since 1989 and its flagship FlashNet product is installed in over 4,500 customer sites around the world. More information can be found at www.sgluk.com.
SGL contact:
Mickey Charles
Email: mickey@sglus.com
Tel: +1 615 324 3613
Mob: + 1 513 265 6316
PR Contact:
Kate Ford
Jump PR
Email: kate@jumppr.tv
Tel: +44 (0)1932 253624
Mob: +44 (0)7740 948065
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