Tech Focus and Product Reviews

Faster Workflows for Producers

By Dana Smith
posted Mar 4, 2008, 08:32

Learn how an FTP replacement technology is transforming production workflows for both large and small producers.

Learn how an FTP replacement technology is transforming production workflows for both large and small producers.

“My editor needs the files tonight” … Video and film producers are constantly working between locations, disparate workgroups and are usually under deadlines.  Trying to send large video files over FTP can be a frustrating and time consuming experience which often leads to sending hard media through traditional courier, or overnight mail services.  Everyone is left waiting for video files to arrive at their destinations for work to begin.  FTP is slow, the file size is limited and failures are the most common complaint. All these issues result in loss of productivity and missing deadlines and can ultimately cost money.

Image courtesy of Mavric Media

There is a new service available for creative professionals that replaces the FTP bottlenecks and increases efficiency in the workflow process for video and film producers. MAVRIC Media provides hosted rich media management tools in a web-based, easy-to-use secure environment, enabling online collaboration, re-purposing, storing and sharing of video content. A new product just released at MacWorld this year, BOOST™, is a high speed file transfer service that maximizes internet bandwidth where large files—even over 6 GB can be sent in a fraction of the time that FTP services promise. MAVRIC Media has partnered with Aspera Inc. to offer this FTP replacement technology for the first time to users in a hosted environment. 

Traditionally, Aspera is used by large broadcasters, Hollywood Studios and Content Delivery Networks to manage and transfer huge amounts of media content between production facilities on a global scale. Now MAVRIC Media can offer BOOST to small studio's, independent film makers or individual video professionals who are up against the same issues as the larger media organizations.  There is now the ability to send files of any size, over any network at any distance that is platform and OS independent at a cost that will ultimately and positively affect the overall production budget.

Breene Kerr, Founder of MAVRIC Media explains,  “Adding Aspera’s technology that is widely used throughout the largest media and entertainment companies for high-speed file transfer supports our core mission of offering enterprise class creative tools in a hosted environment. Clients can be up and running with this state-of-the-art enterprise-class file transport tool literally in a few minutes using our web-based service.” 

The time-critical production process is plagued by delays due to fact that large data sets must frequently move long distances, and over a variety of network environments.  Video producers with smaller budgets can now move any large file format at even global distances with full bandwidth utilization, precisely predictable transfer speeds and complete security, through BOOST. These large file transfers run at full bandwidth capacity regardless of network distance; on a typical DSL, T1, or T3 link this represents speed increases of 2-50X over standard FTP, and even higher speed increases over higher bandwidth links, a tremendous improvement when transferring large video or graphic files.  Furthermore, transfer times are predictable, and do not vary with inevitably changing wide area network conditions. For more information or to start using BOOST, see www.mavricmedia.com.