With the recent HD revolution in content creation and delivery markets, High Definition has finally stepped into the media mainstream. The race to deliver high resolution programming by the major networks has created a new opportunity for both hardware and software developers alike. An opportunity that offers immediate potential yet creates a new set of challenges and obstacles. Increases in video resolutions have presented a new issue for production houses working in High Definition format. The business of media production gone through a transformation from linear tape-based workflows to nonlinear file-based digital media. The need for collaborative workgroups have forced users to adopt storage & network architectures that can keep pace with the high volume requirements found in today's rich media environments. Fibre Channel & SAN technologies have finally bridged the gap between the creative process and efficiency of a solid IT network infrastructure. To professional content creators a networked environment represents an opportunity to deliver a higher volume of projects in a shorter period of time. For developers, this creates a challenge to deliver storage networks that support a broad range of system configurations, provide the ability to centralize storage resources, and do so in a cost effective manner.

When it comes to disk based storage Ultra320 SCSI and Fibre Channel still dominate the professional media market. The high investment made by production houses on storage have forced users to seek alternative solutions that can augment, in some cases completely replace, costly 1G Fibre Channel systems that are no longer providing the performance needed for high resolution video. Some have chosen SCSI JBOD arrays as a mean to lower overall costs, only to lose weeks of work after experiencing a disk failure. Enhance Technology identified a need for professional “fail-safe” media storage that can deliver enough bandwidth to support both multi-user SAN environments and dedicated storage configurations affordably. In addition to reliability, Enhance wanted to push the limits of current Serial ATA technology and establish solid foundation for future SATA disk improvements. Drive manufacturers like Seagate, have already begun to implement imbedded features which in their next generation SATA disks. This ongoing commitment to future development means that Hybrid storage systems will continue to increase popularity for both cost and performance conscience users.

As a pioneer in Hybrid disk/interface technologies, Enhance Technology has introduced a new line of storage systems that leverage the advantages of SCSI and Fibre Channel connectivity with the cost effectiveness of Serial ATA disk technology. ULTRASTOR was developed exclusively to address the need for professional multi-format storage. Featuring a cutting edge 64-bit XScale architecture that interfaces Serial ATA disks with next generation Fibre Channel for SAN applications, or Ultra320 SCSI for direct attached (DAS) configurations. Hybrid technology has changed the way users look at storage by offering solutions that deliver professional features, carrier class reliability, and increased performance when compared to available ATA products. With the emergence of Serial ATA disk technology, developers can now offer a wider range of storage options that rival the performance of native SCSI or Fibre based storage, at a fraction of the cost.