DigiDelivery
 

I just looked at the info available for this new server/product. Is anyone interested in this? Has anyone bought this?

Re: DigiDelivery
 

I'm very interested, but don't understand it a bit.

It plainly says you don't HAVE to have the "appliance." So then how do you use it? Download the software and then....what?

How much is the "appliance"?

Need more info.

Re: DigiDelivery
 

I'm interested too.

I think they mean your client or a 3rd party wouldn't need one for it to work on the other end. But the host ie myself would need to have one.
I think.

Can we get a specialist in here?

Re: DigiDelivery
 

I do not work for Digidesign, nor do I consider myself a specialist on this unit, since I don't own one. I have used it once. I think what you'll read below will clear the air.

I've seen this DigiDelivery server equipment twice. Once at AES and a second time at a more exclusive event. First off, the basics: It occupies one (1) RU, you never have to attach a keyboard or a monitor to it, and it runs on some type of linux. It is an outgrowth of the defunct Rocket Network acquisition (a system for having session collaboration online 2 years ago that faltered for reasons I'm not privy to).

How does it function? You either have one of these DigiDelivery servers, or you have access to one. You can upload a text file, an mp3, or the newly mastered Linkin Park album, with encryption, to the server. You then specify who should receive an email saying that project X (what you uploaded) is available for download. The email that is sent out has a unique delivery key. The email recipient downloads client software (for Windoze XP or Mac OS X) and using that client software and the information in the email they can then retrieve the file. For those who are prone to being cutoff from the internet in the middle of the download, it has a resume function.

The server can keep track of who has downloaded the file and can delete it once everyone downloads your uploaded file. The deletion can occur immediately, or at a set time (a day later, a week later).

This product, it seems to me, is aimed at two types of clientele. Those who want a fully automated FTP server and not worry about maintenance (file server for dummies as one individual put it), and those who want to be sure that their album isn't released on Kazaa before it hits the shelf at Virgin in Times Square. Notice I mentioned Linkin Park above. If you've read MIX within the past year, you probably read an article on the great lengths they took to prevent that album from leaking (I'm not a fan so I don't know if they were successful).

The purchase of a DigiDelivery server is a one time transaction with Digidesign. They do not stand to make money beyond your purchase for this product. There are two versions of the server. A $3k and a $10k unit. I believe the only difference is disk space (could be wrong).

Hope that helps.

Re: DigiDelivery
 

What I understand from the online info is that you buy this server and then you can send data (a single folder or a single file) to anyone you want and the data is encrypted for the transfer. There is a price differentiation between the servers for the # accounts that can send data, storage capacity, and 100 vs 1000 base ethernet.

What I don't get is the product concept. Why would I spend so much money on a file transfer server that does some encryption? Why would I spend more money on a 1000 base T version if I'm primarily sending files to people outside my facility? 100 baseT is way faster that any Cable or DSL upload transfer rate that I know of. If I'm moving files from within my own facility from computer to computer then this products feature set seems very anemic for a LAN server.

This product doesn't seem to know if it wants to be a WAN or LAN server, or at least I can't tell what it primary purpose is. It also seems to have very limited functionality particularily for its price.

That's why I'm curious if anyone has purchased this product and is using it. I'd like to know why you found this to be a needed product for your business. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't get it.

Thanks

Re: DigiDelivery
 

I was at a recent Digitour, where they went into it in some detail.

The "appliance" is basically a secure file server. There is also a software component that anyone can download and use.

The software will losslessly compress the files by 50% or so and then: either send them via ethernet to the "appliance" which in turn uploads to the net when the client provides the password, or if you don't have the "appliance", will just use your computer to upload to the Net when the client provides the password.

The advantage of the "appliance" (that's starting to sound obscene ) is that it frees up your computer from the snail pace of uploading. There are two flavors of "appliace", the low end has 10base or 100base ethernet, the high end is gigabit. Prices were somthing like 2k and 4k, (I could be totally wrong, but I think that's what he said).

It does some other nice streamlining of the process, and seems very cool if you need to send huge files on a very frequent basis.

Re: DigiDelivery
 

If you're addressing your question to me, the facility I work for doesn't have one, nor would I recommend acquiring one. We have an FTP server. It works fine. Encryption isn't necessary.

I think Digi is catering to the likes of Linkin Park (work everywhere with massive security and no pre-release copies) and people who want an FTP server but they do not want to set one up manually, worry about permissions, passive vs active servers, etc.

Re: DigiDelivery
 

Any off the shelf mac can function as a web server under OSX. Also any account with an ISP will probably provide web hosting services that allow ftp if you ask. Therfore it may not be necessary to have an in house web or ftp server such as the Digi product.

The trick is, do you have fast upload connections? Standard DSL accounts (in the $30 per month range) provide fast Download and slow (128K or less) Upload speeds. Also, if your isp restricts traffic on your connection you may not be able to upload large files anyway.

The advantage of an in house server, is, You don't have to worry about upload speeds because it is a computer to computer transfer, but the person accessing your files Will have face your upload speed no matter what their download speed is. In other words the file still needs to upload to the isp whether you do it to post on a remote ftp server, or your client does it by accessing your files. If your upload speed is standard, it will be incredibly slow to upload anything other than mp3s whether you have this device (Digidelivery) or not. Fast uploads are available from isps such as SBC Communications as premium or enhanced service and cost anwhere from $80 per month for about 384K upload to well into the hundreds per month for T1 speeds. (1.5meg) (by the way internet and modem speeds are measured in bits not Bytes and therefore are an order of magnitude slower than hard drive speeds.

Even at T1 speeds, it will take a long while to upload uncompressed audio tracks. If you upload an entire CD of multitrack sessions it could take hours to post the session even at T1 speeds. That is reality whether you invest in this box or not. i usually find it more time efficient to just burn a CD or DVD and ship via US Post. I post short files or mp3s as proof copies only onto my ftp site, which I get from my web hosting service as part of the standard $20 or less per month fee (this is in addition to the isp fee which for enhanced DSL is about $80 per month.) You will have to pay at least the isp fee whether you have a dedicated in house web or ftp server or not.
I know this sounds overwhelming and it is.

Political diatribe follows:
The promise of the internet has been "postponed" while corporations figure out ways to squeeze the small guy for as much as possible while charging a premium to have fast up and down speeds despite the fact that they could offer this at the same price if they chose to. The fact is, they are trying to keep out the riff raff by keeping prices high. However if the government took back the internet and regulated it, fiber optic internet could become a reality and would allow almost real time transfers of data. This may or may not happen in our lifetime because of "privatization and de-regulation" This is the hidden reason why the dot com bust occurred. The companies that were poised to profit never saw an internet that delivered on the promise, because companies were too busy fighting turf wars instead of installing infrastructure. It may be that only a government funded project much like the interstate highway project of the fifties could handle the job. The only other way is a sanctioned monopoly such as the Bell companies enjoyed when they installed the phone system we take for granted today.

Re: DigiDelivery
 

It's been said in this string already but to summarize, here is the concept/benefits of Digidelivery.

Digidelivery is a Network appliance that comes in two different configurations. The LT, the smaller of the two is designed with the individual in mind ( Editor, Composer, etc. working from home). The GT is designed with a faciltiy in mind where there may be several editors, mixers, composers, etc. under one roof.

If I had to sum it up in one sentence it would be. DigiDelivery is like your own digital FedEx. It is a delivery tool.

Can you do this on your own with out this product? yes, you can. DigiDelivery is not inventing Internet delivery, but it is greatly streamlining the process, making it secure, and maybe most importantly, it is making it easily available to anyone.

For the sake of comparisons, it's like an ftp site. The advantages of Digidelivery over an ftp site are:
- Digidelivery is very easy to set up. It does not require an MIS dept. or networking expert.
- Digidelivery does NOT require maintenance like an ftp site can.
- Digidelivery is not "hi-jack-able", like an ftp site can be.
- Secure. It encrypts/decrypts, via 128 bit encryption, as it sends/receives automatically. It's not a separate step.
- Eliminates the need to stuff or bin hex files that are traveling the Internet.


The benefits to the user with a Digideliver box:

- In many cases, it makes Internet deliveries possible. For many, a slow upload speed would prevent people from even attempting a sizable Internet delivery.

- Regardless of your upload/download speed, Digidelivery does the "dirty work" of internet deliveries. When you send a delivery via the internet, Digidelivery gets the data off of your Pro Tools system very quickly ( a matter of minutes or less) and it deals with the tedious upload process. The idea is to allow you to use your Pro Tools system for audio production not uploading to the internet.

- It notifies you, via email, when deliveries have been recieved by their intended recipients. Similar to following up on a FedEx delivery via a tracking number. You know if and when your delivery has been received.

- Potentially buys you more time by extending deadlines. For example, if you wanted to send something via FedEx, you would need to complete the project; get it on to tape, CD, DVD or whatever; package it; and get it to the FedEx stationj by 6:00 PM, give or take.

With Digidelivery the same process could be this: Complete the project; Drag and drop the Pro Tools session document, or a folder, onto the client software; you're done. You don't have to do this by 6:00 PM either. You've eliminated the time needed to burn discs or do laybacks, you've eliminated the trip to Fedex and you've eliminated the FedEx 6:00PM deadline, You've potentially gained several hours to continue on the project or do something else.

When implimented, and both the sender and the recipient have a Digidelivery box the time savings could be even greater. The time it takes for the delivery to get from one to the other, via the internet, will be practically transparent and will gain even more time for the sender.

- Digidelivery is not limited to Pro Tools and/or audio. It works with any file type... audio, video, text, graphics, etc. It works with Mac and/or PC.

Does everyone need this? No. It is for the person or facility that needs to deliver their finished digital product on a consistent regular basis. Anyone that is doing this already will most likely recognize the benefits and ease of use of Digidelivery.

There are several units out in the world already and, so far, the feedback from these users and their recipients has been extremely positive.

Jon Connolly
Digidesign Product Specialist

Re: DigiDelivery
 

Thanks for your feedback Jon. I appreciate a Digi person taking the time to summarize this products feature set.

I understand the concept, it's an "FTP server for Dummies" as someone earlier described the product, and I think a simplified file server might be useful for some folks, but I don't understand any time saving benefits to using it use unless you are paying for a T1-T3 line.

As Tom mentioned in an earlier post, the real issue is the upload speed bottleneck. When someone requests a file from the delivery server they will be gated by the speed at which the server can upload the file. This product doesn't address that bottleneck it just moves it from one machine (your DAW) to another. So even if the person recieving my file has a fast download speed they will only recieve it as fast as my best upload speed.

So for a project consisting of only 600 megs or so of mixdowns (a typical CD's worth of audio) the file transfer would take 10 to 12 hours (at 128k upload speed) for each individual person recieving the project. Sending a project to 5 different people/locations would take 50 to 60 hours. A lot of the people I need to send files to are still connecting with modems and their download transfer speeds are even worse than my upload speed so the transfer to them would take 24 hours or more per person, so for 5 people with modems it would take 120 hours for everyone to get the project.

I guess when ISP's start offering symmetrical up and download speeds at reasonable rates then this type of service will become more useful. For now I only see a possible benefit for this product if a studio has at minimum a dedicated T1 or higher connection. I guess I'll continue with the burn a CD and Fed-Ex approach since it's a more time efficient and cost effective method.

Thanks again for the clarifications.