{"id":79277,"date":"2021-12-29T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-29T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=79277"},"modified":"2021-12-29T13:52:43","modified_gmt":"2021-12-29T19:52:43","slug":"owc-drives-tested-for-a-cloud-based-video-workflow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/79277-owc-drives-tested-for-a-cloud-based-video-workflow\/","title":{"rendered":"OWC Drives Tested for a Cloud-based Video Workflow"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the two decades I\u2019ve spent in the production industry, I have bought hundreds, if not thousands, of hard drives\u2014and whenever I\u2019m faced with making a new decision, I\u2019ve been awed at the technological improvements that have developed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I buy fewer drives these days because, for the past two years, I\u2019ve been directing a team to build a cloud storage environment called Alteon Cloud<\/a>. We believe long-term storage is best handled primarily on the cloud, where footage can live behind iron-clad security, and sharing files remotely takes a single click. But that doesn\u2019t make drives obsolete\u2014far from it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It may sound contradictory for me to say, but I believe drives will remain fundamental to production workflows for years to come. Cloud storage will always be beholden to internet speeds, which are unlikely to keep pace with ever-larger camera resolutions. And for remote shoots where real-time internet uploads aren\u2019t possible, you\u2019ll need a rock-solid drive that can survive in the field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For these reasons, I was excited when the team at OWC reached out to offer us some drives to test with Alteon Cloud. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Friends<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We sampled the OWC Envoy Express<\/a> with an NVMe M.2 drive, the OWC Envoy Pro<\/a> with an SSD drive and the OWC ThunderBay 4<\/a> RAID. We tested each multiple times with different media files. We uploaded one 15.8 GB, H.264 video file on a MacBook Air with a WiFi connection (119 Mbps upload speed); the same video file on a hardwired (434 Mbps) desktop; and 10 videos (13.15 GB total, ARRI Alexa ProRes) on the same hardwired desktop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alteon Cloud automatically transcodes proxy files, but that process is real-time. (A one-minute video takes about one minute to transcode, for example.) We therefore only tested one simple thing: how long did it take to upload the standard video file (or files) onto Alteon Cloud from the OWC drives? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The read and write speeds for each device are as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Read-write<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Based on the read and write speeds alone, the Envoy Express should win hands-down. But the results aren\u2019t so clear-cut. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the wireless MacBook, the single 15.8 GB video file took roughly the same amount of time with each drive, though the Thunderbay 4 eked out a victory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"H.264<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, all three performed similarly on a wireless connection. The Envoy Pro, with an SSD, is the slowest of the bunch, but not by much. All performed fairly well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next test produced a particularly surprising result\u2014one which we can\u2019t quite account for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"H.264<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Inexplicably, the Envoy Express\u2014which had a strong showing in our other tests\u2014lags behind the Envoy Pro SSD and Thunderbay 4 RAID with a single video file on a hardwired upload. We repeated the test multiple times with the same file and found the same result. This isn\u2019t a perfect scientific study, but it does seem odd. The Envoy Pro wins this round\u2014but just 33 seconds ahead of the Thunderbay 4. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last category is a big one. More files, but smaller ones, still hardwired on a desktop. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"10<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, the Envoy Express leaped into a commanding lead here, while the Envoy Pro stayed steady at the same time and the Thunderbay 4 shaved more than a minute off its upload speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Test conclusions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All three performed consistently within redundant tests, and overall results are strong considering the size of the files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, despite the anomaly in the second test, the Envoy Express with the NVMe M.2 drive makes a strong argument for the most impressive, especially given its significantly faster read and write speeds, which we independently verified. Most production professionals will be uploading multiple files at once, so that third test\u2014in which the Envoy Express was the clear winner\u2014is perhaps the most instructive. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, none of the drives performed particularly poorly, so the ultimate decision should come down to price (SSDs are of course more affordable than NVMe drives) and the amount of space you have (especially considering the Thunderbay 4\u2019s hefty size).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key considerations for production professionals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While there are many considerations to take into account when purchasing a drive, these are the three I\u2019ve always focused on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n