
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
14/04/2026
ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 P...
14/04/2026
Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026.
...
14/04/2026
Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...
14/04/2026
Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...
14/04/2026
LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...
14/04/2026
Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...
14/04/2026
DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...
14/04/2026
Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...
14/04/2026
Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22.
Daktronics will showcase a...
14/04/2026
Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...
14/04/2026
BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...
14/04/2026
Bridge Technologies has announced that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, NEP Group's software orchestration system. The inte...
14/04/2026
Clear-Com will introduce new products and demonstrate its communications ecosystem for broadcast and live production at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5807, April 19-22)...
14/04/2026
EZDRM will use NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2260) to introduce the Revenue Security Prism, a framework for combining multiple security technologies to protect streamin...
14/04/2026
Telos Alliance will introduce the following products at NAB Show 2026:
TV and Media
Telos Infinity MK2 Panels: A new generation of hardware control panels for...
14/04/2026
Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3509), demonstrating IP- and IT-based production solutions for sports, bro...
14/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
14/04/2026
Blackmagic Design will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502). CEO Grant Petty s product announcement livestream is available at youtube.com. The company announ...
14/04/2026
The deal establishes a close strategic alignment' between the iconic cinema...
14/04/2026
BIGSHOT Media, with support from Teradek, produced untamed African mountain-bike race' with daily coverage and highlights show
The 2026 Absa Cape EPIC, an...
14/04/2026
The Sports Video Group (SVG) today announced the launch of the SVG AI Innovation...
14/04/2026
Captures a trio of renowned polysynths
The latest software to join AIR Music Tech's extensive catalogue captures the sound of three sought-after polysyn...
14/04/2026
Free offering includes 10 powerful plug-ins
United Plugins have announced the launch of a new bundle that brings together 10 of their pro-audio plug-ins, an...
14/04/2026
Julian Coryell joins virtual session player line-up
Announced at NAMM 2026, Celemony's Tonalic kits DAW users out with real performances by world-class ...
14/04/2026
WESCAM MX -Series EO/IR Systems Provide Critical Visibility During NASA Re-Entry Operations....
14/04/2026
DiSCO reduces uncertainty during the fog of war in modern threat environments an...
14/04/2026
GOES-19 imagery captured by L3Harris-built Advanced Baseline Imager technology helps forecasters issue life-saving weather warnings. Credit: NOAA/NASA...
14/04/2026
For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...
14/04/2026
Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision.
He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
14/04/2026
Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB 2026
New system removes PTZ pan restrictions for teleprompter-based productions
Shotoku US...
14/04/2026
Integration of Vantage, Pulse, and Telestream UP with Grass Valley AMPP Ecosystem enables scalable, interoperable workflows spanning live production and file-ba...
14/04/2026
Enterprise growth leader to scale Dalet's next phase of innovation and global expansion
New York, NY April 14, 2026 Dalet, a leading technology and ser...
14/04/2026
Berklee Celebrates Prince's Legacy in Two-Night Signature Series Event Directed by Tia Fuller, the Prince Project (April 16-17) brings together more than ...
14/04/2026
Arooj Aftab Is Anything but Predictable The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound.
April 14, ...
14/04/2026
Appear launches include XM estate management and new X Platform processing enhancements to add density for next-generation hybrid & IP workflows, X5 is also now...
14/04/2026
Addressing the needs of a new generation's viewing habits, Synamedia launches GO Shorts. The AI-powered module turns existing catalogues into TikTok-style ...
14/04/2026
Vubiquity, an Amdocs company and global leader in technology-led media services, will be showcasing a new end-to-end streaming solution in collaboration with El...
14/04/2026
LiveU today announced a significant expansion of its collaboration with Sony Corporation, introducing integrated support for Sony's file-based workflow solu...
14/04/2026
Open Broadcast Systems (https://www.obe.tv/) has announced that BBC World Service has selected its decoders for IP Television distribution. The high-quality, lo...
14/04/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21
Brie Clayton April 14, 2026
0 Comments
Major update adds new Photo page bringing Hollywood's most a...