All applications from Avid, Apple, Adobe, Autodesk, Digital Vision, Grass Valley, Digidesign, Fairlight as well as Colouring, finishing, film grading and all other audio applications can be supported and benefit from the DDP.
Depending on the proper MXF format chosen and AAF support project can even be interchanged between these applications without having to copy or convert the media data. The DynamicDrivePool can be considered the basic requirement for any company who wants to have the ability to interchange projects between applications from a range of manufacturers.
Let’s take a closer look.
When multiple workstations need to collaborate one needs a central shared storage system. The decision to make is: does one need a SAN? XSAN for example, or is a NAS solution from one of the many NAS suppliers sufficient?
The XSAN requires both a Fibre channel and Ethernet network, is complicated to install, maintain and operate, and is expensive but has excellent performance.
A NAS on the contrary is easy to install, maintain and operate but lacks performance.
Now the DynamicDrivePool unites the best of both worlds: SAN performance with NAS functionality.
It is one box (a DDP) and one network (Ethernet) from one manufacturer (Ardis Technologies).
DDP as perfect storage for Avid Editors
Ardis Technologies implemented a seamless Avid storage emulation such that Avid editors on both PC and Mac have their coloured bin "lock" indications and their familiar scanning mechanism. For these desktops then DDP virtual drives behave exactly as Unity workspaces, enabling collaborative workflows across the whole Avid product range. Editors can share projects and media across systems and manage their Media Databases as they would do in a standard Avid storage structure.
Other workstations running non-Avid applications also see these same DDP drives as standard local drives on PC and Mac. Thus, making DDP a versatile alternative to the often complicated Branded storage.
Compared to Avid there are also differences:
* The DDP being an Ethernet based SAN has a higher bandwidth per workstation per GbE connection
* The DDP has full file level based collaboration both between Avid editing applications, Pro Tools and other audio and 3rd party tools
* The DDP can also be used in a setup with Avid Nitris DS RP workstations and indexers
* The DDP also perfectly integrates with Final Cut Pro, Autodesk, Adobe Premiere, Edius and others
* Attractive price with a DDP for every budget
The optional Workflow Manager of the DDP has all the required access right management tools.
DDP Series perfect for Final Cut Pro Editors
The DDP drive(s) presents itself on the Mac screen as local drive(s) with local performance. Everything comes standard. Standard of-the-shelve Ethernet switches can be used. There are no licensing costs not even for additional Windows and Linux clients. Laptops can be used just like that.
Any uncompressed HD format can be sustained via one or two GbE ports standard and available on Mac Pro. Integration with Final Cut Server, Avid, Pro Tools, Premiere, Edius and other manufacturers is seamless. The optional Workflow Manager has all the required access right management tools.
Last but not least the DDP also features a special algorithm for Final Cut Pro what guarantees that Final Cut Pro gets its data exactly on time.
DDP with Project Sharing for Pro Tools
The DynamicDrivePool works with Project and File Level Sharing for Pro Tools with no latencies.
Pro Tools users can simultaneously read and write from to the same DDP virtual drives. Full project and file level based sharing is provided. Collaboration between Pro Tools editors is now straightforward. A file locking and delete protection mechanism prevents accidental erasure of data. A particular DDP drive shows up on the desktops behaving like a local drive. That is what Pro Tools wants. Each operator in hers/his own right can read and write from to that drive. And it is fast. Three hundred tracks of 48Khz, 24bit audio can be sustained over just one GbE cable. No latency; press play and you have instant play. For any combined track count up to 600 the Standalone DDP Series will do.
For companies using more then thousands of tracks the SSD DDP solutions such as the DDP48SSD can be supplied. Pro Tools on PC and Pro Tools on Mac can be mixed together.
Workflow integration with Avid and Final Cut Pro is straightforward and can conveniently be done using edit-in-place. The optional Workflow Manager has all required access right management tools. Login/out can be connected to Active or Open Directory.