SGL Content-Storage Systems Are Integral to Sports-Production Workflows

The Sports Video Group is pleased to welcome Software Generation Limited (SGL) as a corporate sponsor. A manufacturer of content-archive and storage-management software for more than 20 years, the company counts many of the world’s leading broadcast organizations as clients. Its flagship product, FlashNet, is installed in more than 4,000 locations worldwide, including news and sports channels, postproduction facilities, and upload and specialist transmission centers.

Integrating with products from all major vendors, FlashNet is used by many sports organizations in a wide variety of workflows. In addition to production-workflow systems such as Avid Interplay and Grass Valley’s Aurora, it interfaces to all forms of high-speed storage in collaborative production environments, including Isilon and Isis, and major video servers, such as Grass Valley’s K2. FlashNet is also the content-archive component of the new InGame sports-production–workflow solution from Avid.

SGL products are based on Open System architecture, which keeps the wider broadcast environment in mind. SGL FlashNet is simple yet robust, facilitates streamlined production workflows, and integrates with all major broadcast-industry vendors and leading asset-management, automation, transmission, and editing systems. Customers can create their own in-house applications, using the XML-based FlashNet API to access archive and related databases.

SGL FlashNet’s clustered architecture provides high levels of reliability and scalability. As archive-storage requirements increase, new servers can be easily added to the FlashNet cluster. Automatic failover of all components comes standard in a multi-node cluster, so that, in the event of failure or scheduled downtime, content archive and restore operations are uninterrupted: another server automatically takes over operations instantly, without the need for administrator intervention.

Founded in 1990, SGL is headquartered in the U.K., with sales and support offices across the U.S., in Europe, and in Singapore.