Is Virtualised tech running away with itself?
Is Virtualised tech running away with itself?
With Avid previewing their soon to be launched Edit On-Demand services. Virtualised non-linear editing is truly becoming possible. This all sounds great, but is the tech running away with itself?
Can virtualisation really be leveraged within this aspect of the creative production process?
At Tyrell we feel the technology is getting us to a point where in the right use cases with clearly identified business requirements, virtualisation of creative workstations on cloud can bring tremendous gain. But careful planning to ensure all aspects of an equivalent on-prem/bare-metal NLE must obviously be fully factored.
The increasingly popular Teradici PCoIP protocol is disrupting technology investment planning for creative workstation deployment. By extending the distance between the creative applications and the users, so many new ways of working, business benefits, operational efficiencies and cost savings are being realised.
Aren’t we forgetting one simple thing? The media itself? How can you view a timeline output in a conventional video environment produced by a cloud editor?
Virtualising an NLE breakout box is possible when using protocols such as NDI, streaming the output to an IP connection. Taking this one stage further, it’s now also possible to put cloud topology in the way and view the video output on an HDMI/SDI connected TV or monitor.
Although this sounds super complex, Sienna have made this process very easy to achieve with SiennaLink; a perfect addition to a virtualised Avid Media Composer or Adobe Premiere Pro system.
The SiennaLink software sits on the virtual editor and then emits a stream to be received by an opposing client over the public internet, landing NDI back into your local on-premise LAN. Once inside your network, any one of vast array of NDI decoders available can reproduce the output for a traditional viewing experience…oh yes with multi-channel audio too.
Oh, and the egress cost fear can be mitigated by the very clever way the server talks to the client. So, when not in play, frames aren’t streamed!
If you’d like to see this solution in practice or speak about other cloud goals your company has with content creation, then please get in touch.
Nick Soper
