Media servers, broadcast servers: the same or different?

In the not too distant future, the role of video tape in broadcasting will be limited to acquisition and archiving. Most other functions from editing to playout will be disc based. To date, applications of disc drives in broadcasting have been limited to offline editing (compressed) or online at full quality in purpose designed post production systems. But as computer and networking technology advances the barriers between particular technologies and given applications are coming down bringing concepts such as computer servers into the arena of television broadcasting. Computer platforms being free of commitment to any particular application offer the possibility of dealing with the television sound and vision simply as data or at least one of many media. Computer servers offer the possibility of sharing media information between many users. Broadcast television and the well defined video formats, however, present their own specific demands and operational practices associated with editing, news, commercials playout sometimes conflict with the compromises associated with computer server and computer networks. The paper analyses the performance requirements of servers in general applications and in broadcast applications highlighting the areas of fundamental disc performance, networking techniques, control and management which are necessary for broadcast applications such as editing and transmission.