On Servers and Backups…
After reading the post on backing up data, which Mike recently wrote, it reminded me of my latest setup regarding servers and backups. As you can probably imagine, I have installed a lot of technology at home. The very latest are networked attached storage (NAS) devices on my home network. They are actually beta units of our upcoming TeraSpool NAS product.
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Wired has been making MPEG decoders since 1992. No, that’s not a mistake. 1992. Wired was one of the very first companies to ship a MPEG decoder for the computer marketplace. We called our line of decoders Mason. We started off with MasonI, then a NuBus MPEG1 hardware decoder. We then followed it up with a whole bunch of modified versions of the decoder. Some for general sale to the public, and some specifically for certain customers.
In 1992, Wired started shipping MPEG decoders. It was only natural then that we started to create a realtime MPEG encoder. And in 1994 Wired introduced our first realtime MPEG encoder, called Butane. It offered realtime MPEG1 encoding at various user-selectable datarates. It also had realtime MPEG audio encoding and realtime multiplexing into MPEG system streams! I know it doesn’t sound like much compared to today’s technology, but you must remember that back in 1994, cpu’s were not very fast. And to encode MPEG1 took hours and hours of processing. Wired circumvented all that with the Butane encoder.
As we prepare to launch our new line of high capacity network storage systems, we’re giving a lot of thought to data backup. The very idea of a 7TB storage system filled with data is enough to make a cautious person break out in a sweat.
Here’s a printable version of the MediaPress datasheet in PDF format.
The Plain Truth
WOW. The Internet is changing. The broadcast and professional video area is changing. Wired is changing…..and so is our website!! We’ve watched the explosive growth of blogs on the web, and wondered if we couldn’t use some of these dynamic publishing tools to make the Wired site more useful. We’ve learned over the years that most people prefer less flashy graphics and more up-to-date information and feedback, and felt that the blog format might be ideal. So here we go.
Ready for BIG storage? We’ve got something coming soon that you’ll really like: Wired media servers. Designed and optimized especially for media storage, the new TeraSpool NAS (network attached storage) systems are equally at home in a busy production facility or a sophisticated home theatre. TeraSpool servers are available in custom configurations from 2 to 7 TB (terabytes), and come ready to plug into your network with little or no effort.
I know I’m not the only one fed up with the tidalwave of cheap mass-produced electronic products being sold. How many DVD players do I have to go through just to get one that performs half-way decently. And then it lasts only one-year and cannot be repaired. Everyone I talk to has at least one horror story about some cheap electronic item they have purchased that lasts only as long as the 90-day warranty, then tossed into the trash. Not only does this waste my time, but it is extremely wasteful of our resources and toxic to our environment.
Here is the latest version of the MediaPress User Guide. It covers installation, setup and operation.