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RDX - The single good solution for the Film Industry
Situation
The Motion Picture industry has come a long way from some of the best shots
winding up on the cutting room floor to digital media being used for capturing a
motion picture. First motion pictures were shot using 35mm film, then video tape
and now SSD as the medium. The motion picture industry uses an incredible amount
of removable media.
One of the most costly steps in creating a motion picture is the original
shoot. The various staff, ranging from actors to cameramen to support staff, are
all on set and the clock is ticking. It is important to get it right the first
time and not have to re-shoot.
But, post-production is a costly process as well. Scores of post-production
houses may be involved in the production of the film each adding to the process.
These production houses are often small businesses that maybe contributing such
elements as sound, special effects and CGI. Each one of these houses must have a
copy of the film to begin their work. In the past the film was duplicated,
dispersed to the various houses and the original film was archived. Sometimes
not all of the original film was archived.
Today, motion pictures are shot on SSD media. SSD can hold up to about one
hour of video recording. SSD media cards are not distributed to the
post-production houses or used for film archive because:
The SSD card holds up to two hours of video The price of a card runs between $600 - $900 The film industry is not standardized on one SSD card therefore a
production house may use the same SSD, but their post-production houses may
not The SSD card can only archive up to 5 years
Tape Solution
Subsequently, when the SSD card is full it is removed from the camera and
dumped to a hard disk medium using a proprietary card reader attached to the
computer through a transfer mechanism such as USB2.0, E-SATA, or FIREWIRE800.
The SSD card is then reused in the camera. The hard disk can be a device such as
a PC or laptop in the field or a proprietary appliance. Then the video is
transferred from the hard drive to LTO tape using specialized software. Multiple
copies can be made and the LTO tape cartridges are sent to post-production
houses. Additionally, archive tapes are produced. Courier service is used to
distribute the LTO tape cartridges to the post-production houses. Since the
cartridge has moving parts it risks damage in transit. Transfer on networks,
such as dedicate T1 or the Internet, are impractical because the bandwidth is
just not there.
This workflow process can all work smoothly if the post-production houses are
on the same generation of LTO as the production company. LTO tape drives
are unique for each LTO tape generation. So, as the production company upgrades
to a new tape generation, all post-production houses working with the production
house must replace their current LTO drive with the next generation drive. This
essentially creates a ripple effect across the industry in terms of tape drive
upgrades.
Draw backs to this process are that:
• LTO drives are relatively expensive
• Each tape generation
(capacity) requires a unique tape drive, there is no flexibility to
• Video must be first transferred to hard drive media before being loaded onto
tape cartridges
• One size LTO tape cartridge must be used across the
industry no matter what capacity is needed
• The LTO tape cartridge has
moving parts and risks damage in transit
RDX Solution
RDX removable disk technology is an ideal solution for this application.
Steps can be reduced in the workflow, compatibility is ensured among
generations, costs can be reduced and in-transit damage can be minimized.
Workflow: The files are loaded on the hard drive of the computer from the
card reader. Since the RDX dock appears to your computer system just as
another hard drive, files can be loaded directly on the RDX cartridge through
drag and drop. Multiple copies can be easily made by swapping cartridges and
dragging and dropping, no special software is required. Different size
cartridges can be used as called for using the same dock, doing away with the
need to match dock to disk generations eliminates the need to purchase new RDX
docks and also removes the ripple effect across the film production industry.
The hard drive within the cartridge automatically locks in place getting rid
of moving parts that can be damaged in transport. Consumer external disk drive
cartridges have moving parts as do tape cartridges. They are not rugged as the
RDX cartridges are. From here the ruggedized cartridges can be distributed to
the post-production houses via courier or overnight transport such as FedEx with
no worry of damage.
As RDX disk drive capacities increase there is no need to replace the RDX
dock as there in replacing the LTO tape drive. The initial investment for an RDX
dock typically is at a minimum 1/10 the price of a tape drive. The production
company can send different size cartridges as called for to the post-production
houses. Today, RDX Disk cartridges capacities’ run up to 1TB. Additional
generations are to be released this year.
RDX Advantages
Reduced work flow – take directly from card reader to RDX cartridge and
ship from there Multiple copies are easily made directly from the computer hard drive
with drag and drop with no special software
Adaptable to different size
cartridges to fit the need; All RDX drives can read any generation of
cartridge, docks are forward and backwards compatible High capacity (1TB today with new capacities coming out multiple times a
year) Superior TCO over the life of the product; one time investment in a
dock, any RDX cartridge capacity is compatible A dock is typically at a minimum 1/10 the cost of an LTO tape drive for
similar performance and capacity – even greater cost differential for newer
generation LTO drives A consumer external hard drive and tape cartridges do not have the
ruggedness of an RDX cartridge – moving parts keep them from being a good
mechanism to ship Rugged for courier for overnight delivery services such as FedEx Archival capability – 30+ years
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