PACE Taps Rorke Data's Technology for New 'Tron' Feature Film

Market Wire, April, 2009

NAB SHOW-- Rorke Data Inc. , a wholly owned subsidiary of Bell Microproducts (PINKSHEETS: BELM), and a data storage-centric, end-to-end solutions provider to the film and video post production industry today announced that PACE has selected Rorke Data's Digital Archive with integrated SAN solution, the DVA, for PACE's data storage infrastructure. PACE will use Rorke Data's DVA to enable the workflow on the feature film 'Tron,' which is currently in production.

The DVA provides a multi-lateral approach to streamlining the archive process for several types of video and film workflows. "Rorke Data has developed and integrated a select set of storage products based on our award winning Galaxy RAID, SAN and Archive libraries as well as asset management, transcoding and data movement applications," noted Joe Rorke, vice president of marketing for Rorke Data. "The DVA is flexible by design, and we can add or subtract storage hardware components and applications based on the customer's workflow and scalability requirements. Regardless of which building blocks we use, most importantly Rorke provides comprehensive services in the form of a single point of contact to a team that understands both the customer's hardware configuration and their workflow as well."

Vincent Pace, CEO for PACE, described PACE's unique, cutting edge workflow that is enabled by Rorke's DVA . "PACE uses the DVA configuration as an image asset archive, and this terminology best represents the workflow we rely on. The DVA allows us to migrate from a captured image to an asset for production in the form of DPX frames, and gets properly archived with quality control for use later on with handles for efficient retrieval. PACE relies on the DVA hardware infrastructure to handle complex, industry leading projects, including stereoscopic workflows."

Pace went on to give an example of how the DVA storage solution enables the PACE workflow for a major motion picture that is currently in production. "Tron is a very ambitious project that is being done in stereo. Any production that utilizes twin cameras at the point of acquisition for stereo capture increases workflow not in the simple mathematics of images times two, but in a complex and robust method of organization and linking of the files for efficient retrieval in the future. Integration of the Rorke DVA with PACE's workflow for image asset tracking has produced a powerful solution for stereo requirements in feature production. Redundancy in the system allows for a robust on-set solution at the time of capture, and DVA's flexibility allows for the creation of multiple archived masters from separate and unique sources, further increasing the dependability of the asset. The design of two parallel paths within the image asset archive system takes the capture process to a new level of efficiency with a significant increase in dependability while also maintaining the specific requirements of stereo."

Rorke's DVA solutions have been designed to take away the complexity that arises when a customer attempts to piece together a solution. By offering up several single SKU options that fit into eighty percent of today's film, video and broadcast automation workflows, Rorke Data is able to effectively lower the overall cost of implementation and give customers a clear path for expansion. The DVA enables the migration of content from primary storage to near-line and deep archival storage (both disk and tape), while maximizing storage capacity and preserving content for later re-use.

All Rorke Data products are supported by Rorke Data's Professional Services Division and come complete with pre- and post-sales support, onsite installation, 24x7 onsite, and custom services. For more information or to purchase Galaxy products, please visit www.rorke.com or call 1-800-328-8147. Galaxy products are also available through Bell Microproducts at www.bellmicro.com .

About DVA

Rorke Data's DVA is an asset archival solution that gives users a set of comprehensive capabilities to manage the data life cycle of rich media and fixed digital content. DVA's drag and drop interface allows editors to archive completed projects directly from primary storage and the ability to retrieve projects archived by others. Users can automatically migrate files based on policies such as file age, owner or type. DVA integrates with media asset management systems including, Final Cut Server, Solid State Logic Gravity, VideoBank, Dalet, Focus Enhancement, and more. DVA is available in a range of turnkey SKUs including DVA Server, SAN, Nearline Disk, and LTO4 Tape Libraries, with support for Windows, Apple OSX, Linux, and Solaris platforms.

Rorke Data's archive and backup products protect and preserve valuable content throughout all workflow stages, from protecting newly ingested footage to archiving completed projects. From small post-production boutiques to broadcast media giants, Rorke's data management solutions scale to fit any need. Rorke's DVA ensures the safety of data and enables the accessibility of all content not only during the editing process -- but in a long term archive as well.