Blog Archives

A detailed discussion between Larry Jordan and Rony Sebok of 1Beyond of the benefits of archiving on LTO tape vs The Cloud. Rony has some key points you need to read before archiving any media on The Cloud.

Smart Alex is a utility that monitors your hard disks and warns you if they are likely to fail. Current in beta, here’s more information on how the program works.

An in-depth review of the OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual storage system, including speed tests and interview with the engineers.

An overview of audio and video codecs, with an explanation of what they are, how they are used and how to pick one that works the best for you.

Storage speeds can vary dramatically during playback and cause problems for video editors, as this article illustrates. This also presents things you can do to prevent this.

An in-depth look at Apple Compressor 4.3.1, testing speeds, settings, and recommendations to avoid problems.

A look at the new Envoy Pro mini SSD drive from OWC; with an extended look at how data transfer speeds are dramatically affected by the devices you are transferring between.

A detailed, illustrated look at the new Mercury Elite Pro Dual Mini storage system from OWC, featuring portability, SSD drives and USB-C connections.

Both Adobe Media Encoder (AME) and Apple Compressor recently underwent upgrades. In this short video tutorial, Larry Jordan explains how job chaining in Apple Compressor can save time when compressing multiple versions of the same file.

An answer to the question of whether Time Machine is smart enough to back-up only the files that have changed inside a Final Cut Pro X Library.

A detailed, hands-on look at the Platform, from ProMAX. Shared storage, media asset management and archiving, all designed for workgroup video editing.

A short, illustrated tutorial on how to save export presets in Final Cut Pro X.

A short, illustrated tutorial on how to create custom Compressor locations, which can both simplify and speed media compression.

These are the highlights of the 2016 Coughlin Associates survey on how media professionals use storage, along with a link to a PDF containing the complete survey results.

A variety of media creators explain how they archive their media and projects for the long-term.

In a discussion at the 2016 Creative Storage Conference, I discovered the answer to: “How long can we store flash media on a shelf without losing data.”

There are two ways to create Library templates for Final Cut Pro X. This illustrated tutorial describes both methods.

Larry Jordan talks with Greg Crosby, Worldwide Senior Product Line Manager, G-Technology, about their newest storage systems, plus a discussion of future storage technology and the difference between enterprise and desktop hard disks.

A detailed Q&A on media, media management and key preference settings in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan shows how and why to create custom locations to store compressed files using Apple Compressor.

Media management in FCP X boils down to: its either in the library or it isn’t. And every time you import media, you get to choose where it goes. This article explains what you need to know.

A first-look at ProStorage, long-term static-free cases for hard disk storage.

A detailed look from Larry Jordan at BRU PE, from TOLIS Group – software for archiving your files and media on LTO tape.

In this short video excerpt, Larry Jordan illustrates some of the new features in Adobe Media Encoder 2015 (Nov).

Secret tips and tricks on editing with Final Cut Pro X, from Larry Jordan.

In this short, illustrated video excerpt, Larry Jordan illustrates the amount of storage that’s needed for 4K video files. Use this to plan your next project.

A detailed, illustrated review of PreRoll Post from Imagine Products.

We all know we need to archive our projects for the long-term. But… how? In this short video demo, Larry Jordan illustrates how to use Imagine Software’s PreRoll Post to archive media files.

We all know we need to archive our projects for the long-term. But… how? In this short video demo, Larry Jordan illustrates how to use TOLIS Group’s BRU PE to archive media files.

A revised product review of HighPoint Technology’s RocketStor 6314A Thunderbolt 2 RAID based on changes made to the RAID in October, 2015.

Disk Utility changed with the release of Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). It no longer supports creating RAID 0 or RAID 1 volumes or repairing permissions. This article explains what you need to know.

Archiving media for the long-term is neither simple, nor cheap. In this article, Larry Jordan explains what you need to know to protect your precious media for the long-term.

An indexed and linked list of all technical blogs and articles written by Larry Jordan during August, 2015.

A detailed review of the HighPoint Technologies RocketStor 3614A RAID. Given its current configuration, this is not a recommended unit. UPDATED with a promise of changes from the manufacturer.

It hasn’t drawn the attention of the new Morph Cut, or the new Lumetri Looks, but the recent addition of project consolidation and transcoding to Premiere Pro CC is a big deal. This is because it simplifies our ability to …

A summary of the 2015 Storage in Media Survey Results conducted by Coughlin & Associates. Storage is essential to all digital media and this survey provides a snapshot of how it is being used across our industry today. (Included detailed PDF.)

This is a detailed, in-depth speed test comparing Adobe Media Encoder CC 2014 with Apple Compressor 4.2 on a new Mac Pro, iMac and MacBook Pro.

A short video tutorial explaining the basics of video compression, along with what determines file size and compressed image quality.

An explanation of how, why and when to delete generated media in Final Cut Pro X; and what happens if you delete files you shouldn’t.

A tutorial on how to archive projects that only include the media used in that project, along with whatever length handles you specific. (Written by Chris Mansfield, featuring Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve.)

A detailed review of the Promise Pegasus2 M4 RAID system, including speeds, specs and suggested uses for video editing.

A detailed review of the OWC ThunderBay 4 mini RAID, including multicam test speeds in Final Cut Pro X and thoughts on what tasks this unit is best suited for.

A detailed explanation of how to configure your Mac or Windows system for audio or video editing.

A list of all new articles written by Larry Jordan in August, 2014, sorted by category: Commentary, Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro CC, Product Reviews, Motion 5, other subjects and Webinars. There are 30 articles listed here in total.

A detailed look at PreRoll Post, from Imagine Products, explaining why the software is needed for LTO backup and archiving; and how the product works.

A detailed review of the 1 Beyond Copy Utility for LTO-6 tape.

A detailed review of the brand-new ThunderTape 2 LTO-6 tape drive from 1 Beyond, Inc.

A detailed product review of the new mTape LTO-6 tape drive from mLogic.

A detailed description of what Library Backups are in Final Cut Pro X, where they are stored and how to use them.

A discussion of partitioning a RAID to improve its speed for video editing.