Overview of PreRollPost LTO Backup Software

An Overview of PreRollPost LTO Backup Software

November 19, 2018

How much does it cost to get into LTO-7 and LTO-8 backup? What's the benefit of using specialty software PreRollPost to handle your archives?


How does it work compared to the free solution (and how much does it cost to get into LTO)?

In a recent Mailbag on archiving client projects, Team Mixing Light talked about using LTO for long-term storage of the assets your clients deliver to you. In this Insight, I thought we’d take a closer look at LTO – since I’m still relatively new to this hardware.

When I was having a new Resolve PC custom built, I discovered I could get into LTO for a reasonable about on money by buying a bare LTO drive. That drive got installed in the PC tower and for 18 months I’ve been using it for my long-term storage.

But it hasn’t been all roses and gum drops! I recently had a tape fail on me… and it was unrecoverable (without spending an exorbitant amount of money). And up to that point, I wasn’t happy with the performance of LTOs. When they worked, it was fine. But I’d have tapes that would get caught constantly seeking between two points on a tape, for hours. And it was not inspiring!

After that tape failure, I decided it was time to stop doing drag-and-drop archiving onto these tapes. I decided it was time to upgrade to PreRollPost by Imagine Products.

About PreRollPost

PreRollPost probably got famous for their support of Discovery Network’s stringent LTO archiving requirements – for assets delivery of final masters and camera-original material. With a click of a button, PreRollPost will generate all the metadata and reports that Discovery Network (and other networks also require) for final delivery. It became an easy way for some post-production professionals to expand their services to clients who often have never heard of LTO (and have no idea how to deliver an LTO tape).

As you’ll learn in this Insight, PreRollPost is a truly robust backup solution for the digital age. It starts with multiple choices of checksum verification, robust alerting and reporting, and rounds out with offline access to the contents of LTO library via an SQL database.

PreRollPost also has an intelligent installer that downloads all the drivers and SQL libraries you need, based on the tape drive you own.

About this video Insight

This Insight has a longer running time than I usually allow myself to deliver. But I didn’t want to break this into two parts – so here it is in its full runtime glory! 🙂

Besides talking about PreRollPost, you’ll also learn the costs involved to get started with LTO archiving.

Errata: The name of the LTO filesystem in LTFS (Linear Tape File System). I sometimes use the wrong acronym. My apologies in advance!

Enjoy!

-pi

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Comments

Homepage Forums An Overview of PreRollPost LTO Backup Software


  • andi winter
    Guest

    my little lto story:

    had the same lto7 problems one year ago. i did also hope that it was not my hard-, but software. i changed it to yoyotta, but my problems persisted. yoyotta feedbacked me, that my lto-drive must have an issue. they gave me a hint, i followed that hint, sent my device to repair (within guarantee) and voila, now my problems are gone as well. (it was an early mtape lto7 thunderbolt drive)

    i am curious if your problems now go away.

    i do own prerollpost and yoyotta and now are using yoyotta nearly all the time. i find the interface better and the generated pdfs are genius. you gan even let them be sent by yoyotta via email once the backup is done. AND: the guys are really responsive and competent. plus, the updates are for free so far. just my two cents…


  • Balaji G
    Guest

  • Pat Inhofer
    Guest

    Ah. Right, I forgot about that and didn’t mention it. Personally, I chose not to do the Annual perpetual license. I figure, if I need it I’ll pay for it then. But thanks for pointing this out.


  • Pat Inhofer
    Guest

    I haven’t had those issues return with PreRollPost. But if they do, my hardware may be in warranty still. Was the hint to send it in for repair?

    RE: Yoyatta – they look like a great solution, but only marginally less expensive than PreRoll, although no annual update fees. Unfortunately for me, I don’t have a Mac with an attached LTO drive so it’s not a solution for me. But if they cross the aisle, I’ll definitely check them out.


  • Jamie LeJeune
    Guest

    In terms of alternatives to PreRollPost I highly recommend checking out Canister. Far less clunky than PreRollPost, and far easier to use than YoYotta. A big benefit to Canister is it doesn’t require maintaining a database for dealing with illegal characters.


  • Pat Inhofer
    Guest

    Canister looks really good too. But for me, a no-go as its Mac-only.

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