Choosing the Right Storage for Ingest and Playout

When working with ingest and playout software, choosing the right storage is one of the most critical factors for building a reliable recording or playback system. Storage performance and configuration directly impact stability, dropped frames, and long-term reliability.

Softron applications can work with any type of storage, as long as the volume is mounted on your Mac. If macOS can read from or write to it, our software can too. However, to ensure safe and consistent operation, the following best practices are strongly recommended.

Storage Disclaimer and Recommendations

As a software manufacturer, Softron designs and tests its applications on a wide variety of systems and storage configurations. We also continuously gather feedback from real-world installations and from the experience of our users, resellers, and integrators. This allows us to provide practical recommendations and best practices.

However, Softron is storage-agnostic. As long as a storage system delivers the required sustained bandwidth, reliability, and proper access permissions, our software can operate with it. Because storage performance and behavior can vary significantly depending on hardware, configuration, network infrastructure, and workload, no single solution can be universally recommended.

For this reason, Softron strongly encourages users to test their workflow with the free demo versions of our applications whenever possible, using their actual storage, codecs, resolutions, and number of streams. Real-world testing remains the most reliable way to validate a storage solution.

Finally, Softron’s network of authorized resellers and integrators is often the best resource to help design, size, configure, and validate a storage solution that fits your specific needs. They have hands-on experience with professional media workflows and can provide local support and expert guidance.

Checklist

1. Avoid the macOS Boot Drive

Avoid using the system boot drive (usually named Macintosh HD) for recording or playout.

While it may work in some cases, the boot drive is constantly accessed by macOS for system operations, background tasks, and virtual memory. This can lead to temporary drops in read/write performance. This is especially critical for continuous recording applications such as MovieRecorder, where sustained write performance is essential.

2. Ensure Sufficient Sustained Disk Performance

Make sure the storage you use can sustain the required data rate for the codec, resolution, and frame rate you are working with.

There are free tools that can help measure disk performance, such as:

• Blackmagic Disk Speed Test
• AJA System Test

These tools give a good first indication, but keep in mind that short tests do not always reflect real-world, long-term performance.

3. Test Performance Over Time

Measuring constant bandwidth is difficult. Storage systems may temporarily slow down for various reasons (cache flushes, background operations, controller housekeeping, etc.).

Monitoring disk activity over a longer period gives a much more realistic picture than a short benchmark. Some storage systems—especially RAID systems with hardware controllers—may also perform maintenance tasks at specific times (often at night), which can temporarily affect performance.

4. Be Careful with Disk Caching

Disk caching is optimized for short, burst-based read or write operations, not for continuous, sustained workloads.

For ingest and playout:

• Cache should not be used for continuous recording or playback.
• Initially, performance may appear very high.
• Once the cache is full, write speeds can drop sharply.
• In some cases, writes may even stall completely while the cache is flushed.

Some storage systems allow cache to be disabled (when software-controlled). Others have hardware-level cache that cannot be disabled (this is common with some SSDs). Always check how caching is handled before using a storage system for real-time media access.

5. Keep Enough Free Space on the Storage

Storage performance is best when the disk is relatively empty and degrades as it fills up. When free space becomes low, performance can drop significantly, especially on RAID systems.

This happens because:

• When the disk is empty, data can be written sequentially.
• As the disk fills up, the system must search for free blocks and fragment data.

Softron applications such as OnTheAir Video, OnTheAir Node, and MovieRecorder include short buffers (a few seconds) that can absorb brief performance drops. However, repeated or sustained slowdowns will eventually cause issues.

As a general rule, keep at least 20–30% free space on media volumes.

6. Choose Codecs Carefully

The required storage bandwidth depends heavily on:

• Codec
• Frame size
• Frame rate
• Bit depth

Use tools such as AJA DataCalc to estimate the data rate required for your specific format.

7. Don’t Forget Audio Bandwidth

Audio uses much less bandwidth than video, but it still counts. For example: 16 channels of 48 kHz / 16-bit audio require approximately 1.5 MB/sec per stream.

While modest by today’s standards, this should still be included in your total bandwidth calculations.

8. Account for Multiple Streams and Concurrent Access

If multiple streams are recorded or played back from the same storage, whether from one computer or several systems using shared storage, you must add all streams together.

Example:

• Recording 4 streams of 1080i29.97 Apple ProRes (HQ): ~130 MB/sec
• Editing those same 4 streams simultaneously from the same storage: another ~130 MB/sec
• → Total required bandwidth: ~260 MB/sec

Shared storage systems must be sized for all concurrent users and workflows.

9. Avoid Other High-Bandwidth Disk Operations

Other system operations can consume significant disk bandwidth. For example:

• Copying large files in the Finder
• Backups running during ingest
• Spotlight indexing
• Antivirus or security scans

These operations may use as much bandwidth as possible and leave insufficient performance for real-time recording or playback. Avoid running such tasks on media volumes during operation.

10. Check Permissions and File System

If Softron applications cannot read from or write to a storage volume:

• Verify that the user has read and write permissions
• Ensure the file system is compatible with macOS and your workflow (APFS or HFS+ are recommended)

For network storage, also ensure proper mount options and stable network connectivity.

11. Network and Shared Storage Considerations (Additional)

For NAS or SAN systems:

• Check the following article for recommendations on the Network Protocol to use.
• Make sure the network bandwidth (1GbE, 10GbE, etc.) is sufficient for the total data rate.
• Prefer wired connections; Wi-Fi is not suitable for real-time media workflows.
• Ensure low latency and stable switches.
• Avoid power-saving or sleep features on storage controllers and network interfaces.

12. Plan for Backup and Data Safety

No storage solution lasts forever.

Even RAID systems do not replace backups:

• RAID 5 protects against a single disk failure, not multiple failures.
• RAID does not protect against accidental deletion, corruption, or malware.

Always implement a regular backup strategy, especially when working with important or irreplaceable material.

13. Get Professional Advice

Finally, remember that Softron resellers and integrators can help you design a storage solution that fits your exact needs.

They can advise on:

• Storage technology
• Network infrastructure
• Scalability
• Reliability

Softron resellers and integrators are available worldwide and can provide local support and professional guidance.

You can find the list of authorized partners on the Softron website.