DigiDelivery Wish List

[Chief Technician]

I've had the pleasure of using DigiDelivery, and it serves its purpose. Below is a wish list of features I would like to see in DigiDelivery.

*Virus scanning support. I'd like to see the DigiDelivery client software interface with Norton AntiVirus and scan files before they are uploaded to a DigiDelivery server. If the files are not scanned before being uploaded, then that bit of information should be conveyed to the client downloading the files and the DigiDelivery client software should trigger a scan during the download process.

*Delivery emails that are readable in plain text. If you are checking your email with a web-based service that doesn't render your email in HTML format, then you have to hunt through the email for the link to retrieve your DigiDelivery.

*A Mac/PC compatibility check when sending a DigiDelivery. DigiDelivery is more than a way to transfer Pro Tools files and sessions. Its really a different take on an FTP server. Hence, you can send files that aren't ever made or used by Pro Tools. Some characters that are perfectly legal on the Mac, such as é, are illegal on Windows. So, I would like to see a check for Mac/PC compatibility option that checks the characters of all file names before delivering them, and alerts you if you are using a character that is illegal on the other platform.

Thanks for reading!

[Gordon Lyon]

Thanks for the suggestions.

RE Virus Scanning, we do put a warning on the client download page that, unlike certain email applications, DigiDelivery does not scan for viruses. However, a Norton plug-in would definitely be a better solution. Know anyone at Symantec? Wait! I do...

RE Mac/PC Compatibility Check, also a nice idea. One of the advantages of DigiDelivery over FTP is that you don't have to stuff your files to avoid losing Mac resource forks when you post them. But that doesn't necessarily help you when you download the mac files to a PC. We'll consider this for a future release.

RE Plain Text Emails, we've found that email apps are all a little different. We actually attach a .txt file to the notification emails. Look for that attachement next time and see if that works any better for you. In some email apps, the attached text is displayed in the message, so you see the whole thing twice. This has prompted some users to ask us to NOT include the .txt file. We're erring on the side of caution, though.

Thanks again for the ideas!

-- Gordon

[Chief Technician]

RE Virus Scanning, we do put a warning on the client download page that, unlike certain email applications, DigiDelivery does not scan for viruses. However, a Norton plug-in would definitely be a better solution. Know anyone at Symantec? Wait! I do...

Sweet!

RE Mac/PC Compatibility Check, also a nice idea. One of the advantages of DigiDelivery over FTP is that you don't have to stuff your files to avoid losing Mac resource forks when you post them. But that doesn't necessarily help you when you download the mac files to a PC. We'll consider this for a future release.

Cool!

RE Plain Text Emails, we've found that email apps are all a little different. We actually attach a .txt file to the notification emails. Look for that attachement next time and see if that works any better for you.

I'll definitely look for that. I just remember having to sift through the HTML that was decoded as text.

In some email apps, the attached text is displayed in the message, so you see the whole thing twice. This has prompted some users to ask us to NOT include the .txt file. We're erring on the side of caution, though.

I'm with you there.

Thanks again for the ideas!

Your welcome! Thanks for making a fine product.

[Chief Technician]

I would like to add something to the wish list.

If you are using Norton Internet Security for Windows, and are receiving a DigiDelivery, you are prompted with a window that reads "Medium Risk. DidiDelivery.exe is attempting to connect to a DNS server. What do you want to do? A) Always allow connections from this program on all ports, B) Always block connections from this program on all ports (Recommended), or C) Manually configure Internet Access".

If someone did the recommended action, would DigiDelivery not work (I'm not going to try)? That would be bad! Only someone really savvy will do choice C. Choice A, it seems, is the one you need. Perhaps you could use your relationship with Symantec to put DigiDelivery.exe into a harmless category, as in Norton Internet Security either never asks you what you want to do with it, or changes its recommended action to choice A?

Thanks for reading!

[Chief Technician]

I'm shocked that I'm the only one on this thread. I don't want to appear greedy here, but I've got something else I'd like to see in a future software client.

Upload/download speeds (in kb/s or mb/s) and an elapsed time counter to go with the estimated time. It also seems to me that the estimated time calculation is not consistent. Perhaps factors beyond the control of developers influence it, but I found on a delivery today that the counter was either overestimated or underestimated.

Thanks for reading!

[sleadley]

I agree, also in theDigidelivery client I would like to see a date column so that I can sort by date, both ascending and descending dates.
Apart from that it really is a good app.
Keep up the good work
Simon L.

[Pirate Post]

1-Physical noise- This box has the loudest fans on the face of the earth. It is an absolute must to have a machine room to contain its outrageously loud fans. Perhaps in the future a larger case with some larger, low velocity fans.

2-With the addition of the Server to Server relay feature, there is less feedback as to what stage a delivery is in. Before the Server to Server function, a delivery would require the client software to receive a delivery which did give some (but limited) feedback as to the progress and speed of a delivery. This is only an issue if there is a DigiDelivery box on both ends. The Server to Server function can be turned off. Perhaps if DigiDelivery could send an e-mail when it negotiates a Server to Server connection with an estimated time of arrival and or a small application could be created to display connection conditions and estimated time of arrival.

3-In the extremely rare occasion that a delivery gets partially delivered but fails, it would be advantageous for DigiDelivery to have the smarts to decode or open a partial delivery, create a list of the files that didn't make it and allow the remaining files to be send again in a new delivery. Currently if a delivery gets 99% received and fails, you have to start over if it can't figure out how to recover. This is a very rare condition.

4-Forwarding - Might be nice to add a feature that would allow a received delivery to be forwarded to another Digidelivery server. This might be a feature in the GT server already, I don't know I have an LT server.

5-Alternate use -DigiDelivery would make a great temporary backup storage device. Please give it the smarts to track a session and back up at predetermined thresholds like Mezzo is supposed to. Then if sessions could be archived to multiple DVDs, life would be perfect.

[Chief Technician]

RE Virus Scanning, we do put a warning on the client download page that, unlike certain email applications, DigiDelivery does not scan for viruses. However, a Norton plug-in would definitely be a better solution. Know anyone at Symantec? Wait! I do...

Gordon,

Thanks for taking the time out of your very busy NAB schedule to chat with me for a few minutes. Thanks for pointing out that the color bars in the upper right corner of the interface act as speed indicators. The Virus Scanning wish would be my number one wish for DigiDelivery. I hope someday (before AES in Oct?) that this makes it in. That would make DigiDelivery very attractive.

Cheers!

[Pirate Post]

Gordon,

Thanks for taking the time out of your very busy NAB schedule to chat with me for a few minutes. Thanks for pointing out that the color bars in the upper right corner of the interface act as speed indicators. The Virus Scanning wish would be my number one wish for DigiDelivery. I hope someday (before AES in Oct?) that this makes it in. That would make DigiDelivery very attractive.

Cheers!

Virus scanning? Are you on a PC? The last (and only) virus I had on my computer was 7 years ago.

[Chief Technician]

Virus scanning?

Yes!

Are you on a PC?

No.

The last (and only) virus I had on my computer was 7 years ago.

My Mac hasn't been afflicted EVER. The problem is that if DigiDelivery is to replace my FTP server (which is the only way I'd ever do it), I need to have virus scanning. It'll definitely get used by Windows people. Enough said. My FTP server has virus scanning, why shouldn't DigiDelivery?