🚀 go-pugleaf

I'm working on MPEG compression here at University of Missouri and
we are about to set up the lab so that we can actually capture video
to harddisk to be compressed using MPEG.  My question is essentially
how to do this.


Here is what I have found out so far (info for the group for once instead
of just always asking questions)

You can capture video at CCIR-601 resolution to the Abekas A-65/66.  This
device will connect directly to a D-1 type deck and then capture 20-50
seconds of video in real time to a highspeed harddisk.  The A-65/66 comes
equipped with both an (thick... groan) ethernet and scsi-ii connector.
Built into the A-65/66 is a minature unix like kernel with tcp-ip
support.  So essentially you can hook this beastie up to your network
and rcp/ftp to from it.  The SCSI connector can not be connected directly
into your Sun and configured as a hard-drive but you can hang an 
exabyte drive off it and then archive stuff to it later.  So the basic
process to use this thing is 
	1) dump from D1 to abekas
	2) transfer via ethernet to host computer
	3) do you stuff (encode it or whatever)
	4) send it back to the abekas
	5) off load from abekas to the exabyte hanging on the scsi
	6) go to 1 (get another 20-50 secs of video from the d-1)
	
	Cost:  
		a-66 $25k 
		ethernet support $5k
		if you want to use a non-d1 deck (e.g., $100k we don't have one)
			A/D conversion $5k
			D/A conversino $5k (yes you have to buy seperate A/D, D/A)

So this looks like a feasbile solution, but... well it just seems to
me there must be a better way.

What about using a disk array?  And some device that would allow me
to hook up a deck (component video or whatever) directly to the 
disk array.  Just running through the figures in my head to get the 
necessary bandwidth on the disk array at about $1500 (1gig)per drive
I get competitive pricing and more importantly I don't get stuck with
a device (the abekas) that will probably be more outdated then a studebaker
in about a year (at least as a device for compression research).

Okay now my question.  I really don't know a thing about disk arrays.
Who sells equipment to set one up?  Can I get about 27-30Megabyte/sec
throughput?  What about the missing device to go from an external
deck (conponent video or whatever) into this disk array?

					thanks