Re: Windows alternatives to Final Cut Server by Jeff Handy on Oct 30, 2009 at 3:08:42 pm
Final Cut Server is not the tool you want if all you are doing is sharing large files. It is more for project collaboration than file charing. For file sharing, you need a SAN. XSAN (Apple's shared storage management system) is not very Windows-ready for editing, though, it makes a nice pairing with FCSvr. That's what we're running at my studio. You can make it work, but there are, IMHO, better options for Windows machines.
You might check out Studio Networks. They have a couple of scalable solutions depending on your budget constraints and your needs.
Re: Windows alternatives to Final Cut Server by Els Ledar on Nov 3, 2009 at 1:57:05 pm
I'm assuming that you are sharing multiple machines to work on one common project? I am considering switching to Final Cut for this reason. I cannot find an efficient way to network my PC's together using CS4 so I can indeed have multiple people work on one common project. Hopefully this is what Final Cut Server can do? Currently I have 2 machines networked together, and the second machine edits right off the first machines hard drives. We keep a common Premiere project file with all the elements on one computer... the second computer just calls up that project whenever he needs to take over the editing session. As long as the drives are mapped with the same drive letter (D: E: F:, etc) they open up without any media mapping issues. I wonder what people are using if 3 or more computers are networked in the PC world??? Nobody seems to have an answer.
Re: Windows alternatives to Final Cut Server by Jeff Handy on Nov 3, 2009 at 2:28:00 pm
Els, in a sense you can do that with FCSvr - with a few caveats. Even with FCSvr, you aren't actually sharing a project "file", you are sharing a "production" which can have multiple copies of a project - each with its own function. Those projects within the production can then be synchronized (manually, afaik) and made into one master project. You could do the same sort of thing with CS4, though. If each person has a copy of the project, sharing them from the same folder (with read-only access), you could eventually put all of the pieces into one master project. None of these are nearly as seamless as Avid's solution, but they are also far from that cost. Personally, I like the workflow of checking in and out a project from one person in post to the next. This was one of the major selling points of FCSvr for me.
