Hey everyone,

My old station used Server Side Projects. You've got one central place dedicated for projects and everyone can see everything that's going on provided your checking in.

My new station keeps everything on the Client computers and therefore we can't see the bins of the other users. This makes it harder to grab footage when we need it, espically since almost no one checks stuff in.

Thoughts on this?

Thanks!

--Crono

What type of "Workgroup" workflow do you guys have? how do you share media across multiple Client?

Please specify your available technology  and maybe somebody can help you achive the best possible workflow.

Sure, we're running 5 Avid Newscutter systems, all eitherneted in at 100mpbs into the network that's tied to our Unity. Each Avid is running off an Adrenaline box that I still haven't gotten an answer on if its HD or not. 3 systems have 3 GB of Ram, the other 2 have 2GB of Ram. Processor spec is I think a Quad Xeon. 

Each system has its own set of projects on the C drive that each editor access on their own. We use Media Manager at about half of what we should be. At my old station it was Media Manager check in and out with server side projects, great workflow, P2 worked like a rock. But all this client side projects stuff I just find strange and I don't see it as a good workflow, you can't see the other bins in the project and can't access other media from other people as fast or easy I feel. Media Manager's great except people don't check stuff in, they edit and send to the server and if you want something, you need to grab it out of Playout. Of course when you do that it makes an all new file when if it was checked in...yeah. LOL.

I personally find the system kind of goofy, but that's how it is right now. I'm trying to change all of it, just trying to get other ideas from other users. I'm actually surprised Avid set it up this way. I've worked with two big Unity systems now, and they've all been setup Server side everything, I find this one interesting because it's not.

Currently, we're tape DVC based, but moving slowly to P2 HD. According to what is posted in the edit suites, the workflow for that is this:

- Insert card and mount all drives

- Open media tool and consolidate to media manager

- Create new bin in project and drag clips from Media Manager to bin and rename.

I always was taught to make a bin, drag the clips from the Media Tool to the bin, then consolidate/rename.

Pending for any more thoughts, thanks everyone :)

--Crono

Spontanious, I prefere server side storage over client side in every business environment. There are several reasons for this,

1. Centralized backup.

2. It is possibly to easy get access to the files then the user quit the work.

3. The option for colaboration.

The problem is that You need a person who can set up and maintain a windows network, but that is not so expensive and difficult.

I also think, have no personal experience, that Avid can not lock open bins in other networks than Unity networks.

You've hit the nail on the head with the comment "Media Manager is great except people don't check stuff in". The answer is - check stuff in.

The workflow in a Media Manager (or Interplay) environment is very different than a standalone or Unity workflow. You must log in to the database and you must check in your material. Hopefully, you have some Avid technicians available to help you with developing a good workflow.

There are some good Best Practices documents on the knowledgebase also, but Avid should really lend a hand here. If Media Manager (or Interplay) isn't used properly, or clearly understood, it can definitely be worse than useless. On the other hand, it can be a great thing if everyone plays nice together.