Picking the right storage device for a specific job can be a real pain, but it’s integral to designing an efficient workflow. We’re here to help you find the right solutions for your needs and break down some best practices that can help keep things on budget, more secure, and on pace.

G-Technology

3-2-1: The Gold Standard

The ‘Gold Standard’ for how you protect OCF and other important files is the 3-2-1 Rule: THREE copies, one that you work off of and two backup⁵ copies; saved on TWO different types of storage (i.e. HDD/SSD, Tape, Server, etc.); ONE copy stored in a different location in case of fires, accidents, etc. The key is to have a clear plan and protocol in place with your fellow production members on and off set. You also must confirm receipt and validation of copies before any are wiped and the media reused.

Tip: Designate someone to ‘manage’ the process, and make sure they communicate with everyone handling media prior to production starting. Make sure everyone is aligned.

Checksum Before You Wreck Some

If your workflow is not utilizing confidence-based checksums and MHLs (media hash lists), it’s not a professional workflow, full stop. As good as OS based file managers may be, they do not create a verifiable record that your OCF has transferred properly, and completely. These records are necessary when managing OCF, whether multi-million dollar or phone-based productions. There are several industry standard software options to facilitate checksum transfers, without overcomplicating it for you.

Find Your Balance of Read and Write Transfer

A common misconception in media workflows is the expectation of how fast your data transfers. Ultimately it is your Capture Media’s listed Read rate in MB/s, matched with an offload drive that has AT LEAST as fast a Write speed in MB/s, that determine whether you’re slowing down your workflow. Two things to be mindful of are; 1. Capture Media readers that slow you down 2. Your interface’s theoretical ‘speed limit’ or ‘cap’ on how fast data moves over it (usually listed in Gb/s). Interface plays a bigger role in multiple offloads.

Tip: Look closely at your read/write speeds, use speed tests, and simple addition and subtraction to make sure you’re not slowing yourself down.

G-Drive Mobile SSD

The Mobile SSD features IP67 water and dust resistance, and can withstand a 3 meter drop. It is also 1000IB crushproof, and provides durable storage for your data.

G-Drive Mobile Pro SSD

Mobile Pro SSD is equipped with Thunderbolt 3 technology. It is also durable and shock resistant. This drive fits perfectly in your multi-stream 8K workflow, and can store 8K footage at full frame rate. It can transfer up to a terabyte of media in seven minutes or less.

ArmorATD

This is a rugged, all terrain drive that is completely portable. This is made for filmmakers and producers on the road in difficult environments, and comes equipped with triple layer shock resistance, as well as a solid aluminum enclosure.

G-SPEED Shuttle with Thunderbolt 3

This desktop solution comes with up to 72 Terabytes of capacity, and transfer speeds up to 1000MB/s. G-Speed Shuttle is a thunderbolt 3 device that is perfect for demanding workflows.

G-Speed Shuttle SSD:

One of the most powerful SSD desktop storage solutions available today. This drive has transfer speeds up to 2800MB/s, Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, and it comes packed in a transportable design perfect for editing multi camera footage in real time.

G-SPEED Shuttle XL with Thunderbolt 3

Shuttle XL is a transportable 8-bay hardware RAID solution. It packs transfer speeds up to 2000MB/s with Thunderbolt 3 technology. This offers creators high speed capacity and powerful performance.

Check out G-Technologys Article HERE.

Learn more about G-Technology HERE.

This article is a breakdown of an animated video that G-Technology put up in their G-Blog on the different RAID configurations and how to change them when necessary.  For anyone working in media whether as an industry veteran or freshmen in college embarking on their dream vocation, having some sort of storage is the first thing you’re going to need.  G-Technology has been supplying users of all kinds all over the world with their storage devices like the Shuttle XL series, G-DRIVE’s, and of course the G-RAID’s they might be most known for.  With articles like this and even quick tutorial videos like their animated video which is the basis of this article, G-Technology proves once again that in storage, their users are not alone and should feel confident G-Technology has their back.

A hard drive or SSD is basically a parking lot for data. Cars (data blocks) come in, park for a while, and often go out again. With one drive in play, you have a single parking lot. And you know what happens when a lot of cars try to enter a parking lot at once: congestion. Everything bottlenecks at the entrance.

RAID 0 opens more parking lots to accept that traffic. If you have two drives, then you have two parking lots available, thereby cutting the congestion at each entrance nearly in half. (Technically, the congestion is caused more by cars pulling into their spots slowly, and thus blocking traffic, but we’re simplifying here.) The more drives you have in a RAID 0, the faster the total performance, although there are diminishing returns with each addition.

Drives fail for all kinds of reasons, including cosmic particles, extreme wear, and cats. Obviously, this is why we back up data. You want that protection process to be as fast and brainless as possible. The more you have to interact with the backup operation, the higher the chance of mishap and human error.

RAID 1 simply says, “Oh, you’re writing something to that drive there? I’ll just make an instant copy over here.” This way, if one drive fails, you have the other functionally identical drive(s) up, running, and ready to step into service with zero downtime.

You understand that different RAID levels are appropriate to different drive counts and storage priorities. Similarly, you may find it advantageous to change RAID levels in the same enclosure as your needs for that enclosure change. For example, say you have an eight-bay G-SPEED Shuttle SSD purchased for editing on a multi-camera 8K project. You’re generating over a terabyte of footage per day on a tight deadline, and editing speed is paramount. RAID 0 might be appropriate if you have a couple of moderate-capacity Thunderbolt 3 enclosures in play that won’t slow down the workflow. If you need to balance protection and speed, then the default RAID 5 is likely a good choice. If your career hangs on the content of this box and no other backups can be brought online, then definitely go for RAID 6….[continue reading]

From RedSharkNews

It’s tempting to compare storage based only on size, capacity and speed. But there’s much more to it than that. Take the G|SPEED SHUTTLE XL from G-Technology, for example.

G-Speed Shuttle XL (NEW with Thunderbolt 3 ports!!) These two portable and configurable RAID enclosures (one six and one eight bays) are extremely fast, at up to 1500 MB/s for the eight-bay and 1300 MB/s for the six-bay, through dual Thunderbolt 3 ports. Users can choose to populate the bays with HDDs or SSDs or fast media readers for media such as RED Mags, CFast Cards and others. MSRP starts at $2799.95 for the six-bay version and $3499.95 for eight bays….[continue reading]

WORDS Jonathan Jones & Justin Hunt, EMBER FILMS

Ember Films is a full service production company in the UK, but it’s known worldwide for its natural history shooting. A storage product like G-Technology’s G-SPEED Shuttle XL is a timely arrival at the company’s studios.

Ember already uses G-Tech drives but were looking for something that could handle RED DRAGON rushes on location. Their usual workflow uses G-RAID drives on location, to which they also back up. Creative director Jonathan Jones says, “The first thing that we noticed was the physical appearance, the Shuttle XL has a great tough case and the handle is a great add-on from the G-SPEED Studio XL drives. It just makes transporting between edit suites, grading suite, a set and location feel safer and more secure. The case feels tough as does the handle, which gives you confidence in transporting. I can’t overestimate the importance of this when you’re in the middle of a production. On the Studio XL case there is little hook so you can carry it to all the locations but you always do it with extra care…[continue reading on DefinitionMagazine]

G-Technology Promo now through 11/30/16:
Free 1TB G-Drive EV with purchase of select 
G-SPEED Studio XL or Shuttle XL

Add up to 5 FREE G-DRIVE ev to EVERY SALE!

This offer is not able to be combined with any other promotion.
All products must be purchased and shipped by November 30, 2016
Click here to download the G-Technology Promo Sheet (PDF)

G-SPEED Studio XL Available in 24TB and up. Promo starts with 32TB, 48TB and higher. MSRP Starting at: $2,999.95		G-SPEED Studio XL with ev Series Available in 18TB, 24TB, 36TB, 48TB, and 60TB MSRP Starting at: $2,799.95		G-SPEED Shuttle XL Available in 24TB, 32TB, 48TB, 64TB, and 80TB MSRP Starting at: $3,499.95		G-SPEED Shuttle XL with ev Series Available in 18TB, 24TB, 36TB, 48TB, and 60TB MSRP Starting at: $3,299.95

We live in a fantastic time for film where 4K is fast becoming the norm both at home and in theaters, while the technology to shoot breathtaking visuals is coming in smaller form factors. Everything is getting better and smaller, with the exception of data — data is getting exponentially larger.

Fortunately there are products like G-Technology’s G-SPEED Shuttle XL – a large, 8-bay RAID solution that is still transportable with dimensions of 9.7 inches lengthwise, by a width of 6.9 inches, and a height of 15.2 inches. They are also available with a custom designed Pelican case with cut-outs suited for spare drives or Evolution Series Drives/Media reader.

The G-SPEED Shuttle XL is available in two configuration types. The Shuttle XL includes 8 Hitachi Enterprise class, 7200 rpm drives while the Shuttle XL ev includes 6 of these drives, with 2 EV series drive bays that can be used with any of the drives or media readers from G-Technology’s Evolution Series….[continue reading]

From Videomaker

The G-Technology Shuttle XL is a large, fast and portable storage solution for those that make money producing video. Expandable to 80TB, the Shuttle XL can be configured to accept less-common formats including RED MINI-MAG.

There’s no doubt the need for bigger and bigger storage solutions will only continue to grow in the foreseeable future. With higher bit rates, it’s inevitable that we will all have huge storage arrays eventually. For some, that time is now. If you shoot RAW, you need a place to store it. If you just shoot a lot, then you need a place to store it. If your video is valuable, or needs to be archived, you need a place to store it. Frankly, everyone either needs or will need a data solution.

First Look

We met with G-Tech at CES 2016, where we got out first look at the Shuttle XL, G-Tech’s newest Thunderbolt 2 RAID storage solution. Equipped with dual thunderbolt ports, configurations from 24TB all the way to 80TB and the capability to be daisy chained for even larger solutions, the Shuttle XL is built with 7200 HGST (Western Digital) 3TB enterprise class hard drives. Enterprise drives mean you can expect better reliability and longer life, making them better suited to RAID arrays. The Shuttle XL is a hardware RAID capable of being setup in RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 & 50...[continue reading]