This IS the Avid L2: Re: [Avid-L2] Re: File Disaster Lessons (Shotput Pro)

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Re: [Avid-L2] Re: File Disaster Lessons (Shotput Pro)

There is always this:
http://www.videotoolshed.com/product/15/offloader/3
mac version is paid, as it was modified for the BBC to backup / transcode to
XDcam
But the windows version is still free.
(and, hush, don't tell anyone, you can install it on multiple machines)

Bouke

VideoToolShed
van Oldenbarneveltstraat 33
6512 AS NIJMEGEN
The Netherlands
+31 24 3553311
www.videotoolshed.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael" brocking@sfu.ca>
To: Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 8:31 PM
Subject: [Avid-L2] Re: File Disaster Lessons (Shotput Pro)

We have been using Shotput Pro on my current job -- it does a pretty good
job, with a few downsides.

1. Transferring the license from 1 machine to another wasn't as easy as one
might hope. I don't remember the exact details, but there was some trouble
doing it on a weekend.

2. Anticipated transfer times reported by the software have been wildly
unreliable. We were using a relatively new Macbook pro for the transfer, if
that makes any difference.

3. Transferring with full CRC error checking is pretty time-consuming --
not a problem with the software per se, but something to be aware of. The
CRC error-checking pretty much doubles the transfer time. I think we had a
firewire 800 card reader and were getting about 40GB an hour.

4. Shotput Pro can't pick up an interrupted transfer from where it left
off -- so if it's interrupted for any reason, the transfer needs to start
again from the beginning.

5. If you include hidden files in the transfer, the verification may
fail -- typically the problem turns out to be related to Spotlight indexing
files.

I'm now testing out using rsync in a batch script as an alternative, as
suggested here:
http://miblog.alma.ch/2010/11/why-i-hate-shotput-pro.html

-Downside
-can't write to multiple destinations in a single operation.
-Advantages
- no licensing issues
- can pick up interrupted transfers where it left off.

Cheers,
--Michael

--- In Avid-L2@yahoogroups.com, Jim Feeley wrote:
>
> Glad you made it through all that Tim. And thanks for sharing your
> thoughts. A question about #3: For back up in the field, have you
> considered (or used and then abandoned) offloading apps such as ShotPut
> Pro? My experiences with ShotPut are fairly positive: $99 cheap; fairly
> easy to use; decent features for error checking, verification, and
> reporting (email, XML, CSV, etc); can simultaneously (and quickly) copy to
> multiple drives.
>