Omneon MediaGrid made its debut in Europe at IBC2006. An active storage system, MediaGrid is designed for working with large digital media files within broadcast and video production facilities. Combining grid storage and grid computing through the use of multiple intelligent, interconnected-yet-independent storage servers, the new system enhances the efficiency of digital media access for users and applications across the entire broadcast workflow. The MediaGrid system provides centralized shared storage that is scalable in capacity, bandwidth and media processing power.
MediaGrid uses industry-standard components and connectivity to create a configurable, reliable and cost-effective system. Components of the system communicate over standard Ethernet and generate massive aggregate bandwidth that is available to external clients of the system, eliminating bottlenecks associated with traditional shared-storage environments. Each storage component is also a media-processing engine, making computational resources available to applications for media processing functions while content resides within the storage system.
Omneon also introduced the next version of its ProBrowse proxy generation and management system that adds enhancements for media management and video processing. ProBrowse 2.0 now incorporates intelligent scene change detection, automatically creating picons, or key frames, at each scene change. These picons contain an exact timecode reference allowing users to jump to the beginning of any desired scene in the clip, or use the timecode values to provide a frame-accurate Shotlist to craft editors. ProBrowse 2.0 also includes new features for offline clip management, including jog/shuttle capabilities with continuous audio that make it easier for users to identify specific points in a clip.
The Omneon ProBrowse system monitors content directories within either a Spectrum server or MediaGrid and automatically generates low-resolution versions of all material, including any new material being ingested or copied into the system via FTP. With ProBrowse 2.0, proxy files can now be stored within MediaGrid and are available for viewing on any networked PC using an MPEG-1-based viewer such as Windows Media Player or QuickTime Player.
Omneon extended its multiformat HD capabilities for Avid’s DNxHD format. Omneon Spectrum systems are now able to record and play back DNxHD files using Avid’s DNxchange codec device. Recorded DNxHD clips are immediately available for editing by Avid editing systems, and finished clips exported to the Spectrum server can be immediately played out.
In addition to DNxHD support, Omneon also demonstrated support for Sony XDCAM HD material. Due to be released in an upcoming software upgrade, Omneon products will have ability to ingest and play back XDCAM HD material using existing system components. Upon playback, the XDCAM HD content is automatically scaled to a full 1920-line HD signal. This approach allows both native HD material and XDCAM HD material to be mixed on a single timeline for back-to-back playout.
Omneon is on the Web at www.omneon.com.