Archimedia confirms reseller deal with Front Porch Digital
Under the agreement, Front Porch Digital customers will be able to purchase the Archimedia Reference Player, Archimedia HD and 4K SDI cards, and proprietary Archimedia test patterns from Front Porch Digital in conjunction with Front Porch Digital products. The partnership means that, for the first time, Front Porch Digital customers will be able to play master-grade archive files in all of the formats the company supports through a single reference player.
Archimedia will allow Front Porch Digital to install free trial versions of Archimedia Reference Player on Front Porch Digital products. Front Porch Digital will continue providing primary support for customers who use the Archimedia Reference Player, and Archimedia will provide secondary support. The Front Porch Digital support team also will use the Archimedia Reference Player in all of its support activities.
“The Archimedia founders are three former vice presidents of Front Porch Digital who believe wholeheartedly in Front Porch Digital products. We founded Archimedia because we wanted to complement those products and extend the ease of use and peace of mind they bring to the industry,” says Mark Gray, CEO and president of Archimedia. “Many Archimedia customers own Front Porch Digital products, many of which require special players or SD cards to play sophisticated archival files, so this partnership is a natural fit for both companies. It will enable those customers to work with Front Porch Digital to purchase both companies’ products within a unified sales and support process for maximum convenience and efficiency.”
The partnership will be particularly helpful for users of Front Porch Digital’s SAMMAsolo ingest appliance, the latest version of which, SAMMAsolo G4 HD, requires a reference player to play SAMMA JPEG 2000 MXF high-definition files. Earlier versions of SAMMAsolo included a player card (SDI output) for SAMMA JPEG 2000 MXF standard-definition files only, but that card is no longer available. The Archimedia Reference Player and SDI cards will serve all SD and HD needs for Front Porch Digital customers going forward, regardless of the product they’re using.
“This relationship with Archimedia gives our customers, especially archivists who specialise in analogue-to-digital migration the first affordable means through which to play their archival files on a single universal player which gives them continuity across the entire life of the asset,” says Rino Petricola, senior vice president and general manager at Front Porch Digital. “We’re also excited about the AXF format and its usefulness for archiving DPX sequences for the movie and postproduction industries. Because Archimedia Reference Player plays DPX sequences, it’s a natural pairing with our DIVArchive 7.1 content storage management system.”
Mike Knaisch, Front Porch Digital president and CEO, comments: “Archimedia’s unprecedented products, coupled with its model of free software trials and an online store, is the perfect complement to Front Porch Digital’s video migration and management technology, making this partnership a boon not just for our customers, but for the entire industry. After working closely with the Archimedia founders during their time at Front Porch Digital, I know firsthand the experience and expertise behind the company, and I’m happy to continue working with such innovative technologists.”