SeaChange will unveil a Flash-based server at The Cable Show next month, and Cable Digital News has picked up on the discussion of where Flash fits into VOD roadmaps.
Like DRAM-based solutions, Flash hardware uses a solid-state architecture, and therefore enjoys the benefits of employing no moving parts. Both DRAM and Flash also offer cost advantages for power and cooling, a significant consideration for operators who are facing ongoing maintenance for their video servers.
I wanted a bit more detail on why Motorola chose DRAM over Flash for the B-1 Video Server, so I did some digging with the relevant business group. I found out first that Motorola seriously evaluated Flash and hasn’t ruled it out for the future. For now, however, there are reasons to stick with DRAM. Capacity and storage don’t scale as well with Flash as they do with DRAM, and currently there is no industry standard defining Flash interfaces or behaviors. No industry standard means that Flash customers could find themselves locked into a single memory vendor.
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