Avid Intros Cheaper Storage Solution

New ISIS 5000 aimed at small to mid-sized broadcasters

By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 7/28/2010 9:25:47 AM

Editing and storage supplier Avid, which has maintained its footing in providing shared storage for major network productions but lost share in recent years in the local news market, has developed a lower-cost version of its high-end ISIS (infinitely scaleable intelligent storage) system that is aimed at local and regional broadcasters and smaller post-production facilities.

The new ISIS 5000 system uses the same file system as the high-end Unity ISIS system, which has now been rebranded as the ISIS 7000, but uses lower-cost hardware with slightly less redundancy and performance. Pricing for the ISIS 5000, which will work with Apple's popular Final Cut Pro editing systems as well as Avid's editors, starts at $38,000 compared to $110,000 for the Avid 7000. That base system features 32 GB of storage (24 usable TB after RAID-5 protection), Gigabit-Ethernet connectivity and 40 seat licenses.


"From a practical standpoint, this will be a more competitive offer for upgrades of legacy systems, both for our customers and [products from] others," Frantzreb says.

He says the 5000 system is targeted to local broadcasters, in DMAs 26 to 199, as well as independent post-production houses and customers in education and government.

The base 32 TB "Direct Connect" version of the ISIS 5000 has a single ISIS engine and four Gig-E connections, but doesn't include a network switch; customers can add a third-party switch. The 32TB switched configuration, which lists for $54,960, includes a Force-10 switch and the ability to expand by adding a second engine. The 64 TB switched configuration, which offers 48 TB of usable storage, has two engines and include 10-Gig-E connectivity between the engines and the switch. It lists for $114,580.

A single ISIS 5000 engine, Frantzreb says, can store 1500 hours of video in the DV 25 (Mbps) and support 96 streams of DV 25 simultaneously; 750 hours and 47 streams in the 50 Mbps format, such as XDCAM HD; and 210 hours and 10 streams in Avid's DNxHD mezzanine compression format. All of the systems offer streamlined administration with set-up, user and storage management, monitoring and diagnostics provided by the intuitive ISIS management console.