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January 2010 Digital Rapids StreamZHD Encoding System Boosts Editing-to-Delivery Workflow Efficiency for Renegade
 StreamZHD has dramatically improved our workflow and is tightly integrated into our post production infrastructure. The StreamZHD server is connected to both the Unity system and a separate 4TB NAS (network attached storage) box over eSATA. StreamZHD is configured to monitor a Watch Folder for incoming content to be transcoded into MPEG-2. When a video is completed in the Avid, a QuickTime reference file is exported from the edit system into the Watch Folder. As the reference file simply contains "pointers" to its media clips on the Unity storage, it is only kilobytes in size and takes only seconds to export from the Avid. When the reference file arrives, StreamZHD automatically encodes the program into MPEG-2 faster than real-time and without using the Avid editing system, leaving the high-billing edit suite available to continue with the next edit.
Once the MPEG-2 encode is complete, the resulting file and corresponding audio are moved to the NAS box, from which DVD Studio Pro is used to author the DVD and build a disc image back onto the NAS. R-Quest's TrueNet sends the disc image and a print file to our R-Quest robotic duplicator, where job is completed. From concept to final delivery the editor never leaves his desk -- a highly streamlined workflow that can be performed from all of our suites.
While MPEG-2 encoding was our original reason for purchasing StreamZHD, we have found the quality of its output so impressive that we are also using it to create HD and SD Windows Media and Adobe Flash formats for web viewing. We also do digital delivery through the DG FastChannel service using StreamZHD for both SD and HD delivery to stations. All of the digital delivery is automated -- we just set up the watch folder, compression settings and FTP address. StreamZHD converts the content and uploads it to DG FastChannel’s FTP, then sends me an email saying whether the transfer was successful.
StreamZHD handles almost everything we need automatically, and almost always produces the exact result we want without having to delve into the details of the formats or transcodes. I love its ability to support any input -- from live sources to digital files -- and its encoding speed is another huge benefit. This system screams! It has given us greater efficiency in delivering our product, and saves us money by saving us time.
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