Nashville-based Sony/Tree Studios has installed an A/V SAN PRO from Studio Network Solutions to streamline all of the digital audio data. According to studio manager Pat McMakin (also an engineer/producer/mixer), the installation has eliminated “sneaker-net” through the ultrahigh-speed Fibre Channel networking of three Pro Tools systems, one of which is located in a separate building.
The studio is currently working on linking the A/V SAN PRO to another facility several blocks away via fiber-optic cable.
“Prior to the installation of the A/V SAN PRO, my assistant engineer spent most of his time moving and managing hard drives throughout the three-room facility,” said McMakin. “Now that we can access any drive in any room, my assistant engineer can go back to being an assistant engineer. Plus, with SCSI’s maximum cable length of about three feet, we never would have been able to link studios that were blocks apart. But now, with Fibre Channel’s ability to reach some seven miles, that idea can become a reality.”
For more on the A/V SAN PRO, visit SNS at www.studionetworksolutions.com.
