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Large-Scale Video Archiving?

Posted by Cliff on from the now-that's-a-lotta-data dept.

BondHeadGuy asks: "Ok, say you have 1000+ cameras emitting 30 frames/second worth of 640x480 grayscale video...and you have to store it indefinitely. What do you do? This is a real question, believe it or not. 30 frames/s * 300 KB/frame = 9 MB/s per camera. 100:1 video compression brings that down to ~90 KB/s. But 90 KB/s * 1000 cameras = 90 MB/s, or ~8 terabytes/day. Retrieval, though, can be essentially arbitrarily slow. Reliability should be good enough to not be annoying long term. Is there a solution that: has 8 TB/day storage capacity, can handle the 90 MB/s write speed, and lets you save some bucks on the (slow) read side?"

8 of 494 comments (clear)

  1. I think not p0rn... by Master_Ruthless · · Score: 3, Funny
    Didn't you notice the "retrieval can be arbitrarily slow" clause ? : )

  2. Celestial Solution by kc0dby · · Score: 4, Funny

    and you have to store it indefinitely.

    Retrieval, though, can be essentially arbitrarily slow

    Oh, so your looking for a storage medium with infinite space but slow retrieval time?

    Easy. Free-Space Medium.

    Just use an extremely high gain antenna, a ton of power, and the space around us. Transmit the compressed data stream, aimed at a distant planetary body of your choosing. I would reccomend something in the 100 light year range or so. Now, when the waves hit the body and are reflected back to earth, you will have what is essentially a 100 light year long piece of storage.

    And when the waves get back to earth, the technology for terrestrial storage will be extremely inexpensive, and the reception equipment will be too.

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  3. Whole lotta TiVO's by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 3, Funny

    Get a thousand TiVO's. Why settle for AVI quality when you can see your terrorists and burglars in stunning MPEG-2?

  4. Who would need such a system? by TheSHAD0W · · Score: 5, Funny

    Do you work for that new "Homeland Security" agency??

  5. How About.... by John_Booty · · Score: 5, Funny

    /dev/null ???

    Pros: Extremely high write speed
    Cons: Hard to get data back out, but since "Retrieval... can be essentially arbitrarily slow" you've can just re-film whatever it was that you missed. With the money you save on the video gear, you should have a nice little production budget, too...

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    OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
  6. hah! by austad · · Score: 3, Funny

    Like we're going to tell you Mr. NSA/CIA/FBI/Big Brother. :)

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  7. I've got it. by anotherone · · Score: 3, Funny

    Just pay everyone on slashdot $10 to run a special version of morpheus. Then just send everyone feed from one camera. When you need to access it, just hope they're online.

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  8. Re:easy solution by athakur999 · · Score: 3, Funny

    1000 monkeys, $4000000
    1000 typewriters, $100000
    1000 cameras, $30000 per day

    Capturing the moment when one of the monkeys types the complete works on Shakespeare? Priceless.

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