Twin Cities Public Television (TPT), a nonprofit organization based in Saint Paul, MN, that operates four digital television channels, has installed a 48TB GraniteSTOR ST-RAID II Ethernet-based shared storage system from Small Tree to allow TPT’s Mac users (producers and editors) to have simultaneous access to content files.
Given the workflow requirements (and the strict budgetary limitations) for a five-person editing team that works on a local arts and culture program called “MN Original,” TPT saw the Small Tree storage array as a cost-efficient solution that would increase the team’s capabilities and productivity.
Bruce Jacobs, chief technologist at TPT, said the ST-RAID II has allowed the team to meet the challenges of producing a weekly show without negatively impacting its bottom line.
“We considered shifting to a SAN solution years ago, but the cost of implementation and maintenance made it a cost-prohibitive option at that time,” Jacobs said. “Since we’ve moved toward compressed editing and the XDCAM codec, we’re comfortable using Gigabit Ethernet as long as we know we have a server technology that can support fluid, real-time editing.”
