Avid intros new storage disk arrays

Avid Technology product development continues to move ahead as the company today introduced the next-generation of its high-performance storage disk arrays: Avid VideoRAID ST and Avid VideoRAID SR solutions.

Avid says the arrays combine real-time performance, cost-effective SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) drive technology, and the security of fail-safe data protection in the event of a disk drive failure. Customers will also be able to take advantage of real-time playback of up to two streams of uncompressed HD on as few as eight Avid VideoRAID drives. Additionally, Avid is offering all new VideoRAID ST and SR customers a three-year warranty on drive mechanisms and enclosures and will provide advanced exchange of replacement parts to customers at no additional cost.

“This is just another example of how Avid continues to drive high-quality products to market that offer great performance and value to our customers,” said Kirk Arnold, executive vice president and general manager of Avid Video. “By offering real-time parity with these new solutions, Avid is able to help eliminate the headaches and loss of valuable hours and money associated with downtime. This news, coupled with the new editing lineup we announced last month, is just another example of how Avid is continuing to innovate and deliver on its New Thinking.”

Available in a 5-drive tower (ST) or a 16-drive rack mount (SR) configuration, Avid VideoRAID ST/SR disk arrays support a wide range of Avid editing systems, including the recently announced Media Composer, Symphony Nitris and NewsCutter family of products, as well as third-party applications, via an industry-standard SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) interconnect. The products provide the protection of parity through the use of RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) which can handle multiple streams of uncompressed SD and HD media with ease and offer a capacity ranging from 2.5TB to 16TB per editing system.

Avid’s new VideoRAID ST/SR storage configurations offer a number of new features and benefits to customers, including real-time parity RAID; full performance during drive; redundant power supplies; and field-replaceable components can be easily removed, making service simple and quick – to maximize uptime.

The arrays are optimized for use with Avid editing systems and software and the new Avid VideoRAID solutions are expected to begin shipping in Q2 2008.