Wired

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. (more…)

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.
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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.

The truth is, most computer users neglect to backup their data, and eventually they will lose some or all of it. It’s inevitable…highly complex electro mechanical devices storing trillions of bits of data that can be rendered unreadable by a microscopic failure. (more…)

Over the past several years, I have been asked many times about our plans for HD encoding. It seems that ever since HD was first mentioned in the press, people have been asking for realtime HD encoding from us.

Well, we here at Wired have had HD encoding designed up for over two years now. So why haven’t we released it? In one simple word….Format. (more…)

Here’s a printable version of the MediaPress datasheet in PDF format.

download it here.

Silence is golden…normally we agree. But if that silence comes at the price of potential data loss and downtime, then we have to disagree.

The Plain Truth

The reality is simple: a server like the TeraSpool has eight or ten or twelve 7200 rpm hard drives; that generates a lot of heat. Put them in a compact enclosure with a high performance processor and a couple gigabit ethernet cards and a graphics card and a one or two high speed raid controllers and you’re well on your way to building a very expensive space heater. (more…)

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. (more…)

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.

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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. (more…)

Just like the Wired website, the professional video area is going through a massive change. It has just started and will continue to evolve for years to come. What am I talking about? I am talking about the change-over, or adoption, of network accessible video.

Everyone I have spoken to knows this is going to happen. Just like how the Internet changed the way people search and gather information, the network will change how everyone in the video broadcast and authoring space work : (more…)

Here is the latest version of the MediaPress User Guide. It covers installation, setup and operation.

It’s a PDF file that you can download here.