High performance NAS & HD video server bridges the data and video worlds with true shared storage for digital content from NTSC to 4K resolutions
Sledgehammer HD!O is both an extremely fast network–attached file server (NAS) and a multi–format video device that can handle up to 4K 10–bit log images in real–time. Incorporating both data and video functions in a single system, Sledgehammer HD!O makes it simple for you to access your images and audio as either data or video—reducing your storage requirements, and saving you time and money. With Sledgehammer HD!O:
- Content is digitized and stored once and accessed concurrently as both video and data without any scheduling or system administration
- HD masters are down converted on the fly to any video format, allowing you to store just one copy at the highest resolution
- Linear color correction systems become non–linear when using Sledgehammer as your DDR
- With the dual stream option, a Sledgehammer replaces both the source telecine and the destination VTR at all HD resolutions. The process can also be fully 4:4:4, maintaining a tapeless and uncompressed workflow
- Data handling tasks are simplified using MAXmedia™—a Java browser–based digital media management application. MAXmedia has two modes of operations: MAXmedia Online for real–time I/O, and MAXmedia Offline for media assembly and conversion
Real–Time Video I/O, Playback, DDR Emulation with MAXmedia Online
- Output, play back, and record uncompressed media in real–time in any standard fomat, at any resolution (from NTSC to 4K) at either 8–bit,10–bit, or 12–bit color depth
- Guaranteed real–time video operations. Automatic dynamic bandwidth allocation protects real–time performance, ensuring that every bit of processing power is available to network clients and local image–processing tasks
- Capture and playback of multiple clips controlled externally via RS–422 as a digital disk recorder (DDR), operating in either master or remote mode
- Real–time 2:3 pulldown insertion in online mode
- Real–time support for key (alpha) channel during playback and layout (record) to tape
- Real–time image crop, pan, scan and scale in online mode
- Real–time timecode/text overlay during playback and capture from tape; ability to add black segments to create slates
Digital Media Management with MAXmedia Offline
- Browse, search, copy, move, rename large image sequence clips
- Timeline assembly and real–time playback of mixed resolution (SD, HD, 2K, 4K) multi-format uncompressed sequences (DPX, TGA, SGI, CIN, TIFF, etc.) and compressed movie formats (MXF–based and MPEG)
- Convert clips and timelines to uncompressed image formats and compressed movie formats (MPEG and MXF–based)
- Enhanced segment editor with support for LUT editing and processing, including pan, scan, cropping, letterbox, pillarbox
High–Performance
- Access gigabyte to terabyte–sized files in seconds. Using Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet technology, Sledgehammer provides an aggregate network throughput exceeding 500–700+ MB/s
- Allocate guaranteed network bandwidth for dedicated clients
Connectivity
- Access media files on the Sledgehammer from any type of network client. Using industry standard protocols (NFS, CIFS, Apple Talk®, FTP, and others), Sledgehammer provides concurrent access from heterogeneous network clients (UNIX, Windows, Mac OS, Linux)
Reliability
- Sledgehammer systems are designed to minimize downtime and include, hardware RAID 5 data protection; redundant power supplies; hot swap removable controllers, disks, power supplies, cooling fans, and cache batteries
High–Availability
- SOS option (Second–Online–Server) provides automatic NAS head failover for uninterrupted access to data
System Administration with MAXmin
- Easily configure, operate, monitor, and update all system components via MAXmin, including user accounts, authentication parameters, network mapping, storage, and high–availability configurations
- Graphical view of system and network performance allow you to quickly locate and identify bottlenecks and component failures with your system
MAXmedia for Digital Media Management
MAXmedia is a Java browser-based digital media management application designed to simplify the data handling tasks of colorists, editors, visual-effects artists, and data operators. It includes two modes of operations: MAXmedia Online for real–time I/O, and MAXmedia Offline for media manipulation and conversion.
- MAXmedia Online, included with Sledgehammer HD!O, provides the ability to capture directly to or output from an EDL–compatible timeline, which can be shared among users—a workflow enhancement pioneered by Maximum Throughput.
- MAXmedia Offline, available on all Sledgehammer systems, provides timeline and quick editing functionality, format conversions, clip browsing, naming, and moving. Estimated processing times are adjusted dynamically based on overall system loads
With MAXmedia, Sledgehammer’s media management software, images are no longer just data files on a server. Folders full of files become clips that can be browsed, reviewed, assembled, and played. Material can be easily captured from any video source as if Sledgehammer was a multi–format tape machine or DDR.
For more information on MAXmedia click here.

