GB News opts for GBLabs Media Storage
British news channel GB News, a multi-platform digital media company with mass reach and operates digital, television, radio, social channels and third-party platforms, has become the most talked about new media brand in the United Kingdom in the past three years.
When it was launched, the immediate requirement was for a ‘greenfield’ build of a media centric on-premise storage system to complement a cloud-based media asset system (MAM).
GB News later implemented a GB Labs storage solution to support a key Ultra High Definition (UHD) project, to handle 4K footage with multiple ISO camera shoots and to store them directly for swift and seamless post-production workflows.
News Solution
GB News chose GB Labs' SPACE and FastNAS media storage following recommendation by its system integrator, who are a strategic partner of GB Labs.
“We needed a reliable, easily configurable media central storage appliance that would work seamlessly with our hybrid cloud MAM. GB Labs’ SPACE and FastNAS servers fit the bill and have never missed a beat. We also think it’s great to be able to support a successful UK company”.
Stephen Wilmott, Head of Technology & Operations
Initially GB News acquired a 128TB SPACE server for their primary facility in Paddington, which is the central storage of their entire news production workflow.
It simultaneously covers up to:
- 15 ingest channels with edit-whilst-record functions
- 5 online editors up to 4K ProRes
- 50 proxy editors via the MAM
- 8x Adobe Media Encoder nodes for Premiere Pro and MAM edit conforms
Next GB News purchased a 96TB FastNAS for their remote Westminster studio facility to cover news and UHD Special Projects.
Cost Saving and Productivity Benefits
The cost-effectiveness and flexible yet robust configuration options that GB Labs’ storage offer enabled seamless and fast integration into GB News’ hybrid MAM system. These were critical factors in the decision to purchase a GB Labs solution.
SPACE has built-in powerful automation in the ‘CORE OS’ operating system, that has been developed for speed and efficiency. It allows users to build complex automated workflows with notifications and ‘talks to’ storage disks through RAID. This meant that GB News avoided the costly purchase of a separate automation tool, saving thousands of pounds.
Additionally, GB Labs’ proven reliability and dedicated support ensures that GB News has confidence in the safety and accessibility of their critical media assets.
