Editing Can Start Immediately with FileCatalyst and Avid’s Edit on Demand

Avid Technology’s comprehensive tools and workflow solutions are used to create and distribute the most watched, loved, and listened to media in the world—from award-winning feature films to popular television shows, news programs, live sports, and more. The company’s Edit on Demand platform offers a full SaaS-based post-production environment used by media entities worldwide that benefit from its cloud-based, lightning-fast editing capabilities.

FileCatalyst Produces Red-Carpet-Worthy File Transfers for Avid’s SaaS Environment

Avid Technology has been using Fortra’s FileCatalyst accelerated file transfer solution to transfer the company’s big data, media-rich files for about four years. “We also use it with our Edit on Demand SaaS offering, which auto provisions everything anyone could need to deploy a full, off-line editorial solution in the cloud,” said Ray Thompson, Senior Director, Partners and Alliances, Video and Media Business Unit, Avid Technology. Edit on Demand can the post-production service in a cloud environment, saving users money and time. “Using FileCatalyst to send proxy and high-res media files delivered as a growing file gives our customers more confidence that editing can start immediately without lag or delay,” added Thompson.

Video segments can be sent as single archive transfers, where multiple files are zipped and transferred via a single file transaction. Once at its destination, that file is automatically unzipped. Avid editors appreciate that with FileCatalyst, multiple network connections from anywhere in the world can be used to send file clips.

Avid’s Edit on Demand Files Are Exchanged Securely and Reliably

Broadcast and media organizations want to drive higher efficiency and want to enable editors to start cutting faster but the challenge is delivering proxy and high-resolution content into cloud or on premises production environments.  Using File Catalyst, productions can leverage the fast transfer of proxy media as a growing file, allowing editors to edit a growing file, streamlining the time it takes to edit, and ultimately deliver content faster

However, many file transfer solutions run into problems with their reliance on the TCP-, SFTP-, or HTTPS-based protocols. These protocols haven’t kept up with the rapid shift to larger media files, or with IP-based workflows, and non-linear file transfers. Media organizations still relying on TCP can have difficulty moving their proxy and high-res media quickly, and see more failed or slow file transfers, frustrating editing teams.

FileCatalyst, however, transfers files using UDP-based technology, as this sends files at speeds hundreds of times faster than traditional file transfer methods. File sharing speed can then exceed 10 Gbps. This Emmy Award®-winning accelerated solution delivers the speed and agility of UDP and the reliability of TCP, resulting in better reliability and reduced delays.

Avid’s Opens SaaS Option to More Users

“Recently, at the NAB show (National Association of Broadcasters) we announced several new ways we’ll expand Edit on Demand, including the Works with Avid on Demand program that invites third parties to test and qualify with Edit on Demand to expand their workflows even beyond off-line editorial,” noted Thompson.

Edit on Demand has played a major role in many movies and television shows, and with this success, the Works with Avid on Demand program will allow more media companies that are delving into cloud technology to benefit from the award-winning software’s editing and production capabilities, with the ease and cost-effectiveness of a SaaS option.

FileCatalyst will serve as the accelerated transfer tool for media file transfers by any media company doing any type of production from documentaries to entertainment programs and more. Because FileCatalyst is auto -provisioned as part of the Edit On Demand SaaS offering, anyone, even those without prior cloud expertise can take advantage of the service to take on new productions without the need to spend capital expenditure and it can be integrated into an on-premises network. “With cloud flexibility, broadcast and media operations have more reach to diverse talent pools, as editors anywhere in the world can work on a project, knowing that their files – no matter how large – can reach their destination trouble-free,” noted Thompson.

Users can access Edit on Demand, then identify the third-party tools on the solution’s tested list to be used in their desired workflow. This allows for more flexibility for organizations conducting remote live production, sports, and news workflows, as well as over-the-shoulder collaboration, and more.

FileCatalyst’ No-Size Limits and Multi-Stream Transfer: Ideal for Entertainment Organizations

FileCatalyst is particularly suited for the media industry and customers like Avid, as it uses a directory streaming feature. This feature lets users start file transfers immediately before running it through an entire directory. A file transfer begins the second one file is discovered. “We can get around network restrictions as well,” said Chris Bailey, Senior Product Manager for Fortra’s FileCatalyst. “When UDP is not possible due to network issues or restrictions, the solution can start a multi-stream TCP file transfer, which essentially sends multiple parts of the file over several TCP streams.

In addition, FileCatalyst provides Java, C++, and RESTFull APIs to integrate with Avid-Edit On Demand. Using the API’s third-party software vendors can integrate their solution to deliver media quickly, securely and with 100% reliability to all AVID cloud deployments.

“At Avid, we also appreciate the reliability and security FileCatalyst ensures,” noted Thompson. “We know we have integrity checks as well as strong encryption protocols to ensure our files are secured in transit.” FileCatalyst utilizes industry standard 256-bit AES encryption. Plus, file monitoring and email notifications help ensure files are not lost should a network failure happen enroute.