CLOUD EDITING
our network, and attached a Lacie Rugged SSD Pro drive. It was instantly recognised as part of the network. However, we did have to plug it in via USB-C to download the latest firmware upgrade – installing the free Blackmagic Cloud Store app to manage the system. Doing this allows all users on the network to access files on the Lacie, so it would work for anyone else that requires the data in your network. This could be inside one office – or remotely, if your network is set up for that. Alternatively, if you have a paid Dropbox account, things get more interesting. Files are available to anyone with Dropbox access without needing
to download, as Blackmagic Cloud Store constantly stays in sync. Users who access the files work on them in your local storage. Since there’s no storage in the Blackmagic Cloud Store, there’s no subscription or monthly fees. Other services in addition to Dropbox will be added soon. Sitting above the Cloud Pod is the Cloud Store Mini, which has 8TB of internal storage, priced at £2574/$2995. It has four speedy M2 flash memory cards in RAID 0 configuration and built-in 10G Ethernet, as well as 1G for slower systems. Or connect to the network via USB-C. With Dropbox sync, multiple units can be synchronised across different
geographical locations. An HDMI monitoring output means you can see which users are online and the amount of data they are admitted to. Plug in any monitor via HDMI and get a real-time view of how much space you have. Like the Cloud Pod, this unit displayed plug-and-play simplicity. Software is easy to use and understand – it just connects and works – and drives are very fast, as they’re PCIe-style SSDs. It’s bigger than a standard SSD desktop drive, but has all the network switching built in, so you’d expect that. About the same size as an 8TB HDD, it’s ideal for desktops. For very large productions, the full-size Cloud Store costs from £8496/$9595 for a 20TB version up to £26,496/$29,995 for an 80TB drive. A 320TB model will also be available built to order, at a price that hasn’t yet been set. These Cloud Store devices use the chassis of eGPU accelerators Blackmagic used to sell, which were widely praised for their cooling capability and
“Like the Cloud Pod, this unit displayed plug-and-play simplicity. Software is easy to use and understand – it just connects and works”
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