Software Generation Limited (SGL) demonstrated at IBC its comprehensive solutions based on the new Linear Tape File System (LTFS) for LTO data tapes. LTFS was developed with data intensive applications such as broadcasting in mind, and was unveiled at NAB in 2010.
LTFS tapes contain two partitions: one for raw data and the other providing an index for descriptive data, providing faster access to the essence. With LTFS, the latest generation LTO-5 tapes can store 1.5TB of uncompressed content, writing at a speed up to 140MB/s.
The benefit of the LTFS structure, though, is that the descriptive data means files can be exchanged between users direct, rather than writing to a video format and re-ingesting. Intelligent archive systems, such as those developed by SGL, can quickly read the index information from an LTFS tape, populate the archive database and generate a low resolution proxy.
The LTFS system is designed to be scalable from a single drive to a vast archive. Drive manufacturers HP and IBM provide drivers for PCs, Macs and Linux machines, so a single operator can write to and deliver data tapes confident that they can be added straight to the broadcaster’s archive and asset management system.
With major archive providers like SGL now fully supporting LTFS it is set to transform the way content is exchanged. Moving material between departments, or between suppliers and customers, is now as simple as dragging and dropping the file.
