April 17, 2007: Quantum has announced that its A-Series Professional Video Technology will be available on the LTO (Linear Tape-Open) tape drive platform, beginning with LTO-3. By adding this leading mid-range format to the A-Series product line, Quantum will provide video professionals with a new, higher-performance archive solution offering up to 400 GB (native) of removable networked storage capacity in a tape-based file system that is MXF-aware.
 
With built-in Gigabit Ethernet capability, the A-Series drives are network-attached, permitting direct access by workstations and servers on standard IT networks. Being MXF-aware enables video tape-like access to subclips by timecode and fast access to the metadata stored on the tape. The MXF capability of the A-Series solution also provides interoperability with many professional video applications and hardware as the MXF standard continues to be adopted within the industry.

Quantum’s new LTO-3 A-Series drives are designed to provide a higher capacity archiving solution than traditional video tape-based storage. Native capacity for an LTO-3 data tape is 400 GB (native), equivalent to more than 30 hours of 25 Mb/s High Definition (HD) content. Each tape carries its own file system directory, allowing direct drag and drop access by applications and operating systems such as Windows, Linux and Mac OSX.

“The professional video market's requirements for storage are growing rapidly with higher-resolution content,” said Tom Coughlin, principal analyst with Coughlin Associates. “As a consequence, the industry is looking for cost-effective, intelligent storage solutions. With its A-Series platform, Quantum was the first to demonstrate how cost-effective, network-attached, MXF-aware data tape storage could benefit the industry, and the move to the LTO platform will further strengthen and extend its leadership position.”

Quantum plans to begin shipping the LTO-3 A-Series in June through Quantum’s select geographical resellers that target the broadcast and professional video market. Pricing for the LTO-3 A-Series begins at Rs. 4.5 lakhs MSRP.