Nemeton TV has deployed a Quantum storage solution consisting of Quantum StorNext scale-out file storage software and a Scalar tape archive. The system delivers the storage reliability required for producing live sporting events, reduces time to ingest and access content under tight deadlines, and provides greater scalability as Nemeton TV transitions to new streaming delivery models.

“The Quantum solution enables us to meet our current needs while providing the scalability and expandability for what we be doing five and ten years down the road,” noted Irial Mac Murchú, CEO, Nemeton TV.

A Need for Robust, Reliable Storage
For more than 25 years, Nemeton TV has produced captivating sports content for major broadcast networks. When people watch live rugby, soccer, Gaelic football, hurling, or shinty in Ireland, chances are Nemeton TV has played a role in bringing those events to their TV sets and device screens. Beyond supporting Irish organizations such as the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) and Irish broadcaster TG4, Nemeton TV produces content and supplies people and facilities for BBC Scotland, BBC Wales, Sky Sports, and numerous other organizations. In addition, Nemeton TV collaborates on a range of non-sporting content and helps educate the next generation of media production professionals. This work requires robust, reliable data storage, but the company’s existing storage infrastructure had trouble keeping up with an expanding business.

Addressing the Storage Challenge of New Business Opportunities
Demand for streaming services has increased tremendously for Nemeton TV, including such demand from non-traditional clients. An increasing number of corporate sponsors depend on Nemeton TV to stream sporting events on their corporate websites – from producing the game through streaming it on the corporate website and distributing clips through social media. To meet this growth in demand and capitalize on new opportunities, the company needed a more scalable platform. As a producer of live sporting events, reliability was critical.

The Nemeton TV team also needed their storage environment to provide fast access to content for their production and post-production workflows. “We need to rapidly ingest data from a variety of sources,” says Murchú. “And to produce clips, highlights, and other packages within tight deadlines, team members need to retrieve content from long-term storage rapidly.”

Advancing with StorNext Software and Scalar Tape
An archive project for a large client provided an opportunity for a hands-on evaluation of the StorNext software, where the team experienced the speed and reliability of the platform. Nemeton TV selected a Quantum solution powered by StorNext scale-out file storage software, plus a Quantum Scalar tape archive that enables teams to draw from older content to create clips, highlights, and other compilations.

Exceptional Reliability and Performance for Accelerated Workflows
The Quantum solution provides the reliability that Nemeton TV needs to deliver sporting events and other content to consumers without interruption. Since installing the Quantum solution, Nemeton TV has had 100 percent uptime. Nemeton TV teams now also have the performance to rapidly ingest, access, transcode, output, and archive large volumes of high-resolution content.

“Since the Quantum solution has been installed, the speeds have been astronomical,” says Fiachna Mac Murchú, technical systems manager at Nemeton TV. “Our transfers from disk to LTO tape and back are multiple times faster than with our old solution.”

New Levels of Scalability for the Future
The Nemeton TV team is now prepared for the future, ready to support new types of productions and a growing client base. With the combination Quantum StorNext plus Scaler platform in place, the team no longer faces limitations when bidding for new jobs, because their storage environment can scale to meet their needs. The company is also prepared to help its clients conduct deeper sports analytics and provide statistics to viewers along with games.

“Storage is fundamental to everything we do,” says Irial Mac Murchú. “With Quantum, we have the foundation for building a range of new services and ultimately delivering exciting new experiences to viewers.”