1) Setup:

• Fast PC (Threadripper, 64GB RAM, system on M.2 SSD, Windows 10 64bit,...)
• 2x HGST He10 HDDs (10 TB, 7200rpm, 200+ MB/s sustained read/write speed!, SATA 6Gb/s)
• Testfile: 50 GB folder with a CDNG image sequence from BMPCCK4k (each image is about 8 MB)

2) Pre-Test:

I tested both HDDs individually => sustained sequential read/write speeds close to 250 MB/s (empty disk) for the 50 GB folder

3) The goal:

I want to Raid 0 those two 10 TB drives to get higher sustained transfere speeds especially when the disks approche 50% capacity (I need arround 300 MB/s).

Videofiles (stored on another HDD) will be copied to the Raid for the time I work on them in Davinci Resolve, only to deliver the data to Resolve. Rendering results will be stored on a SSD (so there is no risk of loosing data even when the raid is totally destroyed). I need at least 10 TB of fast storage, as the RAW CDNG image sequences in 4k are quite large - and I don't have the money to do the same with SSDs.

4) The Problem:

When I convert the two drives in Windows 10 to one "striped-volume" I get a nice 20 TB software Raid 0, but when I test the transfere speed by simply copying the 50 GB folder I get 200 MB/s MAXIMUM transfere speed (thats even below a single drive!). The throughput starts at 400+ MB/s for the first 2-3 seconds filling up the disk caches and some system memory and then plummets to arround 100-200 MB/s, where it stays for the rest of the time.

5) I tried:

different stripe-sizes, an (old) hardware raid controller (even worse results, 150 MB/s max), checking for new system drivers (the Windows HDD disk drivers seem to be from 2006 and are only 32 bit!), checking HGST website for information and of course searching the internet for many many hours (either its a different problem or there is never a solution posted to the problem).

I can't try/use the onboard raid controller of the motherboard (because of Windows bullshit and I can't do a fresh system installation at the moment).

Why isn't it working?! (Setting up a Raid 0 is nothing extraordinary...so I thought.)

UPDATE: After some fiddling with Windows and a system reboot, read performance is high as it should be - only write performance is still bad.

• I need it to have 7+ USB ports, a strong power supply (must be able to drive 2 HHDs and keyboard/mouse), be reliable, compatible with USB 2.0 (also on the computer side) and all USB devices.

• It would be nice if it can be wall mounted (I want to put it on the lower side of my desktop), the power supply is internal (or at least small), the USB ports are not all on one side, an on/off switch and a status LED (not 20 flashing LEDs, just one;-).

Especially for Mac users it looks like a hub with the VIA VL812-B2 is needed to be 100% compatible (the older VL812 might be ok too). It also seems that most of the USB hubs are just rebranded cheap generic boxes as you can find so many (visually) identical hubs with different brand names on it.

Some examples:

A bit too expensive and old chipset, but nice housing: https://www.amazon.co.uk/LINDY-USB-Industrial-Port-Metal/dp/B00DE5YARW/

Also too expensive and does not work with HDDs when using a Mac(!): https://www.amazon.de/EXSYS-EX-1188HMS-Netzwerk-Hub-7-Port-USB/dp/B00B01AMPQ/

Plastic, no mount, but cheap, new chipset and 2 ports on top with extra power: https://www.amazon.co.uk/ClimaxDigital-CHUB307-Charging-Adapter-Warranty/dp/B00EWO1KE0/ (This one looks quite good, but I haven't found it anywhere in Germany with the correct power plug.)

It seems quite hard to finde a good USB 3.0 hub, so any input/help/experience is highly appreciated.

I can see 3 options:

1. Having somewhere in the region a central backup point, where I would take the footage and back it up every 1-2 weeks. But that will cost me a lot of money and time.
2. Uploading somewhere in the cloud... The problem is, that the internet is very basic over there and also I don't know if its possible to upload this amount of data to any cloud-provider, lets say anywhere between 30-50 GB per day average.
3. Hoping that nothing would happen and hiding always one of the hard drives far away from the other... Very risky. Anybody has some ideas?

This is something I've never quite understood, but have always wondered. Forgive my basic knowledge here, but I've tried to research this without a specific answer as to what is going on.

When I convert from an .MTS file to ProRes422 HQ, the file get's huge. Why is that? Where is that extra data coming from if it's not there to begin with? i.e. higher bitrate. I understand the codec has a standard bitrate it will always maintain, but why do it if the original file bitrate is so much lower?

For example, a stock GH2 mts for me streams at about 22 Mbits/s, I convert it to ProRes422 HQ, that same file is now playing at 216 Mbits/s. - With no discernible image quality difference.

What is going on in the codec that makes the file so huge? Other than workflow issues, why would you want to transcode from MTS? Does converting it to ProRes (or another codec) 'Unpack' the data in a more efficient way?

Why not use something like ProRes422 LT if you're starting from a much lower data rate like a native MTS file provides?

At the Computex trade show in Taipei, Intel showed a key-shaped prototype 128GB thumb drive that plugged directly into a computer’s Thunderbolt port. The drive required no cable and resembled flash drives in size.

This is one of the first thumb drives demonstrated using Thunderbolt connectivity, which is the fastest technology available to transfer data between computers and peripherals, said Oren Huber, a Thunderbolt engineer at Intel Israel.

Via: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2040903/intel-shows-worlds-fastest-thumb-drive.html

I'm looking for a new external harddrive. For some months I've been editing on Premiere CS6 using a Macbook Pro non Retina (you probably know the drill: i7 2.6 8Gb Ram and 750 Gb HDD). The footage is in 2.5" USB 3.0 Western Digital HDDs which I know is a suboptimal solution but I normally have all the HD footage (mostly GOP1 and GOP3 from a hacked GH2) on one track and playback is smooth 90% of the time. Since things are not always going to be that simple and Lightroom (which I also use profusely) would certain benefit from a faster harddrive I'm thinking about buying one. Caldigit has some solutions that are expensive but seem sturdy and reliable. I have my eyes on the AV Pro wich they sell on HDD and SDD flavors with USB3.0 and optional Firewire. They claim that with the UASP USB 3.0 protocol the SDD option can reach speeds of 430 Mb/s on new Macbook Pros and 200 Mb/s for the HDD option. There are a couple of reviews around the web that seem to confirm that. Normally manufacturer's speed claims are not reliable at all, so one can't never be sure. But, if we were to trust their speed claims, these are my questions:

Do you think that the SSD option is overkill for my current setup? Should I be better spending the premium on more storage? (The 4TB HDD option costs more or less the same as the 256 SSD one.)

Here's the product page:

http://www.caldigit.com/avpro/

By the way, I live in Berlin so the fact that Caldigit has a European Store is a plus (the dreaded customs and whatnot). That's why I ignored some other nice options out there. Of course if you know of other offers here in Europe, they will be more than welcome!

Thanks!

Price: $42

Available at: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Orico-PHB35-5-Bay-3-5-Tool-Free-HDD-Hard-Drive-Protector-Case-Box-/110902025736

Good way to have all footage organized :-)

• do people use a separate case for all chargers, possibly with built in power boards?
• best labelling method for batteries (e.g. just "dyno" style sticky labeller?)
• good simple ways to tag a battery as charged/flat? (e.g. reversible green/red sticky/velcro patches?)
• best methods for labelling and wrangling cables (e.g. particular velcro tab products)

I am finding that it is really helpful to have a checklist at the charging station that includes ... the charge/discharge times for all batteries ... a "key" for what the lights mean on different chargers ... numbering of all batteries for the same device (der!). This sort of micro detail management can make or break a shoot when you have late night turn-arounds and a sleepy camera assistant. Just puttin it out there to maybe save some headaches ...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-Bay-2-x-2-5-SATA-HDD-Hard-Disk-RAID-0-1-JBOD-Rack-/250870706605

Quite interesting internal rack with RAID option. Also useful if you have external recorder or upcoming BM raw camera.

You store data in Amazon Glacier as archives. An archive can represent a single file or you may choose to combine several files to be uploaded as a single archive. Retrieving archives from Amazon Glacier requires the initiation of a job. Jobs typically complete in 3.5 to 4.5 hours.

Media companies’ core assets are their content which includes books, movies, music, images, news footage, and TV shows. The number and size of these assets continues to grow, driven by new production and new technologies such as high-definition TV, social media and 3D video. These assets can grow to tens or hundreds of petabytes. Safely and securely storing these assets is of critical importance. Data accessibility is also critical. For example, certain archival news footage can suddenly become valuable based on unfolding events. Archiving media has traditionally required costly, multi-site, redundant data centers and offsite vaulting. Amazon Glacier reduces the cost of storing these assets while simultaneously increasing the durability, ease of use, and accessibility of the content. Accessing media files in Amazon Glacier is as simple as making calls to the service’s APIs. Customers don’t need to worry about transporting storage media from offsite facilities in order to restore data.

Via: http://aws.amazon.com/glacier/

This had me spending over an hour scouring the internet for non Pick and Pluck ester foam at a reasonable price. Here is the best reliable source that I found (and purchased through).

http://www.diyroadcasesstore.com/categories/Foam-%26-Carpet/Foam/

It may look just as expensive at first glance, but the 1" thick sheet I bought for $43 ($55 with shipping) is a very large 54"x72", which when cut to my case size will give me nine 1" thick layers.

Just thought I'd share and open some discussion on foam, cutting foam, types of foam, etc.

Ester foam is important in a case for electronics because it is anti static. The "plank" foam they sell is not necessarily non static, but it is much more dense. It'd be great for storing larger, heavier items like a slider, tripod or rig.

As a side note, Which do you prefer? regular Pelican or Pelican Storm case? I personally like the Storm cases for their sturdier and more sensibly designed retractable handle as well as for their large push-button latches that don't break your fingers every time you open the case.

1. OCZ 240GB Vertex 3
2. OCZ 480GB Vertex 3
3. Crucial 256GB C300
4. Crucial 512GB M4 (firmware 009)
5. Kingston 64GB SSDNow V+100
6. Kingston 128GB SSDNow V+100
7. Samsung SSD 830 512GB

I think any modern >=128Gb SSD will do.

From: http://www.blackmagic-design.com/support/detail/faqs/?sid=3960&pid=3968

Methods to work with HFS discs on PC

HFS+ for Windows® 9.0
Experience total communication between Mac & Windows with the industry’s highest performing file system technology

Paragon HFS+ for Windows is the only solution that provides full read-write access to HFS+/HFSX partitions on any type of disks (APM, GPT, MBR) under most of Windows versions! Access Mac-formatted partitions in Windows systems with the fastest and most stable HFS driver on the market.

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/hfs-windows/ , cost $20

JHFSPlus

Quite weird Java thing (and read only). But free.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/jhfsplus/

MacDrive

Seamless access to files on virtually any Mac-formatted disk from Windows.

• Access Mac disks in Windows
• Partition, format and repair disks

http://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive

TransMac

Commercial toold supporting all operations, including formatting.

http://www.asy.com/scrtm.htm

HFS Explorer

HFS Explorer is a Windows file browser that allows you to access your Mac hard disks and disk partitions through a program window. HFS Explorer can't mount Mac drives in Windows Explorer or do anything particularly fancy, but it works great if you just need an easy way to read and write to your Mac drives in Windows. Most importantly, HFS Explorer is free. It hasn't been updated since 2008, but the HFS+ format hasn't really changed since then, so compatibility isn't an issue

http://www.catacombae.org/hfsx.html

Quite sad story:

When I came into work a couple of days ago, I cringed when I saw an all too familiar problem — my drobo cycling on/off over and over again. It doesn’t mount, and I can’t access my photos — essentially it’s a brick. Again.

In fact, this was the fourth recorded incident Brad and I have had with drobo so far. And while you’re waiting for your new drobo, you cannot access any of your photos or files on your bricked drobo. You’re basically locked out.

When my photo assistant Brad called their tech support for me, they told him my dead drobo is out of warranty. To get my photos back, I would have to pay nearly $300 for drobocare (an extended warranty program). So basically, while my drobo is supposed to protect my photo archive, what it has actually done is hold my photo archive hostage for almost $300.

Via: http://scottkelby.com/2012/im-done-with-drobo/

I am personally looking for a 8-12TB max capacity storage server which performs well for both mac and pc, preferably there should be DLNA support (television access - to display material for customers).

It would be great if there was a solution to (eventually) connect locally through thunderbolt... (for editing stations) and cloud / remote access with good function would be good to have.

Basically, in an ideal world it needs to perform so well locally that it is possible to edit (without big loss of performance) material without copying.

And most important of all - it should be easy to use!

As always, it's a relation between cost and function - I've calculated a budget around 1000 euros for solving the matter (in other words - including some, if not all 8-12tb storage space..)

However, what I need should be secondary here (although I suspect some of you have similar needs) - the real question is what you use for backing up / storing files?

Any techniques that have worked for you in the past? General tips?

Many thanks!