NAB 2023: SNS Debuts MOD: Portable Cloud Edge Device and Transcode Accelerator, Releases NDI Plug-in Updates
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has introduced MOD, a compact, high-performance workflow solution for creative professionals.
MOD is a personal-sized server that comes with the EVO Suite of software tools for unlimited users, including ShareBrowser media asset manager, Slingshot transcode and automation engine, and Nomad for remote editing.
Loaded with high-performance SSDs, MOD is a great edge device for cloud production workflows, optimized to manage edge computing tasks like transcoding high-resolution media into proxy files and syncing media to remote EVO servers, EVO Cloud, and third-party cloud platforms like AWS, Dropbox, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Wasabi, and Backblaze.
“MOD is built to revolutionize the way media production teams work from home and on-the-go,” said Ryan Stoutenborough, President at SNS. “We designed MOD to boost content creators’ productivity and collaboration, both as a high-performance cloud edge device and a travel-friendly, flash-based shared storage server.”
“MOD is small enough to fit inside a backpack, but don’t let its size fool you,” said Eric Newbauer, CTO and Co-founder at SNS. “This server packs incredible versatility and compute power, built-in dual-port 10Gb Ethernet, and the complete, award-winning EVO Suite included for on-the-go workflows.”
Weighing just 7lbs, this slim and portable server features enclosed drive bays for a more secure, travel-friendly design. Users can accelerate global collaboration with six months of SNS Cloud VPN included for unlimited users, or invite nearby guests to edit directly from the server with multiple direct-connect 10Gb Ethernet ports.
Also new is Transcode Accelerator, an EVO plug-in that speeds up transcoding processes across multi-EVO environments.
EVO and its built-in automation engine, Slingshot, can process transcode jobs faster with the new Transcode Accelerator plug-in by sharing the intensive workload of transcoding across multiple EVO servers in a workgroup.
“Just as EVO helps creative teams work together on projects, Transcode Accelerator helps multiple EVOs work together as a team to complete transcoding jobs faster,” added Stoutenborough. “Speeding up the proxy generation process with Transcode Accelerator will give content creators quicker access to the preview proxies and edit-ready proxies that power their video production workflow both on-site and remotely.”
“Automatic transcoding is definitely one of EVO’s most popular features,” added Newbauer. “Our new Transcode Accelerator can vastly improve post-production agility for EVO users, and we’re thrilled to launch this free plug-in along with an incredible lineup of other new technology solutions at NAB 2023.”
Transcode Accelerator is the latest innovation in proxy workflows for video production teams. The release of this new plug-in follows several recent upgrades to EVO’s transcoding capabilities, including: faster transcode processing across the EVO product line; Apple-certified ProRes transcoding; transcoding for Blackmagic RAW files (.braw); transcoding for RED RAW files (.r3d); transcoding for ARRIRAW files (.mxf); and burnt-in timecode (BITC) for proxy files.
SNS has also announced updates to its NDI plug-in that will bring enhanced workflow tools to broadcast media teams around the world.
“With SNS’s latest NDI plug-in, broadcasters can unlock a complete NDI-enabled workflow encompassing capture, media management, transcoding, automations, remote editing, cloud workflows, collaboration, and more,” said Stoutenborough “Together, these tools create a dynamic and efficient workflow for NDI users to create content in the studio, at home, and remotely around the world.”
The NDI plug-in is available for NewTek Remote Storage (NRS) powered by SNS (v.7). With the updated plug-in, NRS users can: preview, start, and stop NDI recordings; record multiple NDI streams to the same or different locations; use advanced configurations with Discovery Servers and Broadcast Groups; quickly and easily send clips from the included ShareBrowser MAM to TriCaster DDR playlists; transcode SpeedHQ files and other media for proxy workflows; and edit growing files where supported.
“By leveraging shared storage as a central component of the NDI workflow, NRS enables broadcasters and post-production professionals to access, record, store, and manage their media streams more efficiently,” said Liam Hayter, Product Manager, Vizrt Group. “The latest NDI plug-in from SNS opens new possibilities for NRS users to streamline their workflow from live production to post and back, without leaving the network.”