Video Goes Online; Storage Doesnt

Due to the sheer volume of digital video content being created each day by the broadcast and television networks and independent production facilities, all play-to-air content that has been ingested into digital systems is being stored in in-house servers.

But while the content is increasingly being distributed online, virtually none of it is being stored in outside, online-accessible servers.

And its going to stay that way for a while.

“Our content is the family jewels, and we have to safeguard it with our lives,” said WGBHs Dave MacCarn, the Boston Public Broadcasting Service stations self-proclaimed chief technologist.

“We will outsource it to nobody, at any time. We have all the facilities necessary to handle all our own storage and accessibility. Im sure most other broadcast operations feel the same way.”

Other network storage managers expressed similar opinions to eWEEK.

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Even though research company Gartner recently reported that data generated by businesses—including graphical data, such as video—is growing at an annual rate of 50 to 60 percent year over year, the broadcast industry is satisfied with simply adding more and more SANs (storage area networks) and storage arrays to its existing systems.

However, problems are starting to creep in to the picture.

“Since storage hardware and software itself really isnt the big issue going forward, the bigger problems then become floor space in the data center, [as well as] cooling and power consumption,” said Charlie Keiper, senior product manager for BakBones IDP product line, in San Diego.

BakBone makes integrated data protection software for the storage industry.

“These large companies are already thinking ahead as to how they can expand their data centers physically and still be able to get enough power into them to handle future loads,” Keiper said.

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