Sports Content Management Forum: The Challenge of High-Capacity Archive Storage Both the technology and the amount of high-value content are growing rapidly By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, August 20, 2019 - 1:19 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
High-capacity archive storage was the focus of a panel of industry leaders at the 2019 SVG Sports Content Management Forum, held in New York City. Among the topics were the impact of data tape, SSD, NVME, and advances in disk-drive density on the storage platform for large-scale archiving over the past year, along with cloud-based storage and where it fits into the mix.
Tab Butler, senior director, media management and post production, MLB Network, said that scale and time are the two biggest challenges MLB Network is facing.
From left: Quantum's Eric Bassier, MLB Network's Tab Butler, IBM's David Taylor, Media Translation's Jay Yogeshwar, and Spectra Logic's Hossein ZiaShakeri
It seems like the hardware refresh cycle happens far too often and in too short a period of time, he said. And, as time goes on, we are realizing there is much more value in content we never thought of [as] being of value, and [it ends] up being just as important to the viewership as a walk-off home run. It is a situation where we now are cataloging and keeping more angles as technology makes it easier for us to create and consume content. When we started, we thought we were doing a lot by keeping four or five copies of every game, coming in [at] five hours for every hour of play. But now we are at 10 hours for every hour of play for a regular game while a showcase game will drive that up to 20 hours.
The MLB Network archive is 1.2 million hours of content, with all of it available to the production team via proxy video. And, with everyone accustomed to searching for video content on their phones and finding it within seconds, having to wait three minutes for a video file to be pulled out of a system is unacceptable. That means that content historically stored on tape has to be moved to primary disk storage. In addition, those proxy-video-storage systems will wear out after spinning for five years, which means that the entire process needs to be started again.
Eric Bassier, senior director, products, Quantum, noted that a lot of customers say they have 100 PB that they need to keep forever. And part of that is due to the difficulty of predicting what content will have value at what time. As an industry, we've made progress, he said, but it's a difficult problem to solve.
David Taylor, executive cloud architect, IBM Storage and Software Defined Storage Solutions, IBM, cited the other big problem: everything is going to 4K and even 8K. He described the content as coming in like a fire hydrant with upwards of 6,000 gallons per minute and the hydrant never closes and you also can't spill a drop. We're doing a lot in AI and machine learning to identify where the valuable content is.
Nick Gold, VP, marketing, Catalog DNA, noted the role of AI and machine learning, whereby the machines can learn to predict where certain kinds of content needs to be stored given its possible use scenario.
With a lot of the new reality-TV shows, said Taylor, they have so much content that editors can't go through it, but they need to know what content was in focus or who was talking. It's about mining for valuable content so the editors are productive.
Media Translation CEO Jay Yogeshwar said that, because archive technology will need to be replaced at some point, the goal is to figure out when that move will happen and whether a change improve workflows or create new monetization opportunities.
One of the areas I am interested in, he explained, is how to transition from one to another without causing disruption by doing bulk migrations in the background. I am also interested in virtualization with things like an abstraction layer for an archive-management team that emulates the current system.
You abstract the tape libraries and then also abstract the object storage and move the burden of the technology, he continued. This has been a movement for a long time now, like FIMS (or Framework Interoperable Media Services). The point of that is, how can we create vendor neutral archives where tools can be created and then plugged into it?
Hossein ZiaShakeri, SVP, business development and strategic alliances, Spectra Logic, said that he sees two tiers: production and archive, or storage in perpetuity. The production tier, which is typically the most costly, includes editing, rendering, and other functions that need quick access to files. The archive tier is where the mass is, and the more automation brought into that area, the greater the efficiencies.
Object-based storage is truly the way we as the platform do that, he said. One of the main attributes of object storage is, it is not connected to the actual storage media. It could be tape, disk, or cloud, and that is one of the great things about object storage. But it does include metadata that is abstracted from the application that brings portability and also allows for a simple API so that things can be automated when desired.
Key is an agile environment that can change as needs change, ZiaShakeri added. That is so important because things are changing quite a bit. And the key to automation is having the right tools. How do you learn about and catalog your data, and then how do you take advantage of it so you can apply the right automation process? That's where we are putting a lot of our resources.
Bassier noted that it is helpful to break out what is the right medium to use and then how to manage the data on it. Tape, digital tape, disks, and hard and solid-state drives are the mediums of choice, price making solid-state drives less att
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
Sports Content Management Forum: The Challenge of High-Capacity Archive Storage Both the technology and the amount of high-value content are growing rapidly By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
