Taking advantage of the latest-generation LTO tape technology, storage vendors are introducing new systems that exploit the advances in capacity and performance. Released late last year, LTO-7 more than doubled the per-tape capacity of the previous generation format (6.0 TB vs. 2.5 TB) and boosted speeds by nearly 90 percent (to 300 MB/sec vs. 160 MB/sec in a full-height drive). Here are some of the new products from established video archiving specialists that aim to help content creators take full advantage of LTO-7.

ProMax Platform Pro-Cache
At NAB, ProMax showed Platform Pro-Cache 50, which updates the archiving appliance line it acquired from Cache-A in 2014. The 4RU device boasts Windows-based workflow server capabilities, including rendering, transcoding, and media asset management along with tape archiving and backup capabilities. It creates a searchable catalog of every file written to tape, with options for generating proxy versions before assets are archived. A Platform Pro-Cache can support up to a 24-bay LTO library with multiple automation drives, ProMax said. It can also read existing Cache-A tapes. Both LTO-6 and LTO-7 models will be available with 10 TB of internal disk storage for caching and optional two-port 10 GigE fiber or copper connectivity. The Platform Pro-Cache 50 is scheduled to begin shipping June 15. promax.com

StorageDNA DNAevolution MLogic LTO-7 Package
StorageDNA is offering a package deal aimed at getting Avid users up and running with LTO-7 via a Thunderbolt-connected deck. mLogic's mTape Thunderbolt LTO-7 drive sells for $5,199 as a standalone device, but a $9,995 package from StorageDNA includes Avid bin and project archiving capabilities as well as Adobe project archiving. The company is positioning it as an efficient system for offloading high-resolution and high-frame-rate footage in the field, with support for more than 180 camera master formats. www.storagedna.com

XenData SXL-6500
This week, XenData announced the SXL-6500 digital video archive system, a combination of a 2RU archive server and a 3RU LTO library. The tape library includes two internal LTO-7 drives and 30 tape cartridge slots for 180 TB of nearline capacity, along with 4 TB of RAID storage for caching. With the addition of up to nine 2RU expansion modules, each one adding 180 TB of capacity, the system could scale up to become a 1.8 PB beast. 1 GigE and 10 GigE are both supported via NAS architecture, allowing files to be moved into the archive using drag-and-drop, copy-and-paste or FTP methodologies. Where media asset management (MAM) is required, XenData said the system is compatible with a number of third-party MAM systems. Pricing for a basic 180 TB SXL-6500 system starts at $42,850, XenData said. XenData also has the previously announced DX-240 NAS that continuously backs up all content to LTO-7. www.xendata.com