Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: making your own library server

This is topic making your own library server in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Joe Elliott (Member # 4006) on 04-14-2010, 12:43 AM:

We currently have one digital screen, and will soon be adding several more, however our office is saying that they don't plan to network them and have a library server. Which I guess also means no Media Block. However, I have 2 older 1.3 GDC servers with Gbit ethernet setting in my office, that I have tinkered around with putting Linux on, and just making them normal servers.

Now, our current server is a Doremi, I have no idea what servers we will be getting, nor projectors, but just from reading the info on the Doremi, it will look to any network share that you point it to. So, in theory, I could set up a server, simply copy the entire drive to it, and then point the Doremi to that shared drive to ingest, right?

Would this work?

I have not looked recently at the structure of a normal movie, or trailmix drive, but would it be plausable to copy just the parts I want to my library server?

Has anyone else done this, and what OS and software do you utilize?

The home office has talked about GDC servers, so do they have the same ability as Doremi, to ingest off of a network share?

Obviously this is not an ideal situation, but when the office hands you a bunch of lemons . . . just shut up and eat your damn lemons. [Big Grin]

Posted by David Zylstra (Member # 4230) on 04-14-2010, 07:53 AM:

GDC can also ingest from network sources.

I think it should be plausible to copy the contents into a networked drive - each movie has multiple files so the best route on a do it yourself library is to put each piece of content into its own directory, that way content management is easy (i.e. all you have to do is delete the directory when the movie leaves). You could probably put the KDMs in the same directory (or subdirectory of) the actual movie.

I think the DoReMis can copy content between units over the network, so potentially you could use one as your master storage that feeds the others . . . . . of course this works only if you have enough storage space available . . . . there is also no redundancy here of having a secondary copy of the content on the network.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-14-2010, 10:56 AM:

Windows XP computer
FTP program (WinSCP works well)
EXT2 driver to be able to read DCI drives on Windows computers

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-18-2010, 02:21 PM:

If you buy GDC's server you get the TMS Software for free!

Mark

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-18-2010, 02:55 PM:

Yes, but then you're stuck with a GDC server.

Posted by Joe Elliott (Member # 4006) on 04-19-2010, 02:06 AM:

Well then, unfortunately, that may be the case. In looking up the software that Mark mentioned, there was an announcement about my theater chain, right there on the front page. Now it is only about 3 of the theaters in my chain, but I added up how many they bought, and how many screens the 3 theaters have and they bought 2 extras. Looks like were getting barco gen 2 projectors too, because the same type of announcement was on the news page of barco.

Now we have some older GDC servers that we used with our 1.3k's and I know they are slower than molassas. We will not be using these. What's wrong with the new ones, (most likely we are not getting the newest with the media block)?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-20-2010, 01:18 PM:

Actually Brad... Now that I have been to all the major server training classes I can say without doubt that GDC has left all the others in the dust! The media block version begins shipping in May but either server is 100% DCI compliant so it is irrelevant which one you end up with.

Mark

Posted by Olivier Lemaire (Member # 5579) on 04-28-2010, 06:21 PM:

Once networked (IP network), setting up a "central library" is as simple a setting up somewhere on your own hardware an FTP server:
* grab a PC, with tons of hard disks space
* boot it and install Linux OS [Wink]

* setup a FTP service (like proFTPd or any other FTPd server of your choice
* add a "Library" destination using FTP protocol that point to you newly created FTP server, in your Doremi's netmap.xml files
and in around 15minutes, you'll have your belowed "central library" to store centrally contents (DCPs).

Even some lowcost appliances could be used as "Central Libraries": say for example that stuff here -> LaCie Big Raid servers...

Once this say, what make "magical" (or not) existing "Central Libraries" are the softwares around the FTP server to ease operations of content of any kinds (DCPs and KDMs) - and to some extend the seriousness of the hardware in itself. And of course, the service behind that (in case of trouble, who you gonna call to fix the issue).

In fact, we could say that LMS (Library Management System) are just like cars: you can have a Tata car, or you can prefer a Mercedes... both will drive you to the right next mile, but differently [Smile]

Posted by Julio Roberto (Member # 4976) on 04-28-2010, 07:21 PM:

Mark,

We were gonna get a couple of Doremi's (better safe than ...) Their "old" 2K4 models seem just fine (or even the older DCP 2000), as they are needed for 2K (or 4K over 2K projectors) only anyway.

GDC's are in the same price range, so what makes the GDC such a clear choice? What's the couple of things it does that would blow pretty much all others out of the water (i.e. Doremi's 2K4)?

Also, I haven't gotten prices on Doremi's integrated media block for Series 2, but should we insist on one of those instead, even if only for 2K? It sounds like it should be cheaper/better, but then it seems to communicate using an external PCI express cable with a propietary server only, so probably not [Frown]

Anybody can hint as to how they compare $$$ wise? About the same? Much more? Much much more?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-28-2010, 09:38 PM:

I have no problem with Doremi to be honest. I don't think you get their LMS software for free though. You do with GDC so you need to weigh in the price that Doremi is going to charge you for that. It's another thing the studios might make you have to get if they wanna really push the compliance issue. The GDC is by far built better then the Doremi is and mush easier to service. It can play right off the DCP as well as streaming from another server or the LMS... assumming you build an LMS that is fast enough. It can also ingest and play back at the same time. It is already 4K ready with either the media block or internal media card. Either route the server is 100% compliant. There are also other useful things in the GUI that the Doremi doesn't have... I suggest you investigate both in person before buying.

Three versions of boards... Media block on left to fit NEC, standard board on right potted and non-potted(non DCI compliant). Both standard boards have dual HDSDI outputs as standard.