Reviving a beloved show puts storage at center stage

Situation

When host Alton Brown revived the hit TV show, “Good Eats,” Head of Post-Production/Editor, Eric Bigman, had to update deteriorating tape from 1999 and preserve new footage for posterity, but he found Amazon S3 unreliable and time-consuming to manage. He needed real-time backup and archiving workflows that didn’t require babysitting.

Solution

Bigman turned to media solutions integrator CineSys for a better backup and archiving solution. They suggested Backblaze B2. Bigman also chose Cyberduck, a libre server and cloud storage browser that integrates with Backblaze B2, to upload data. Now, when they’re in production, Bigman keeps the Cyberduck browser open and continuously uploads to B2 Cloud Storage.

Bigman originally intended to move the show’s archives from Amazon S3 to Glacier to reduce costs. But with Backblaze B2, he doesn’t have to balance access to footage against his budget. That instant access is critical during filming. Bigman often pulls footage for continuity checks. The real-time workflow and Backblaze’s simplicity ensure that he can always access footage he needs.

During filming, Bigman backs up footage to Backblaze B2 as soon as it comes off camera, ensuring it’s safe and available for continuity checks with virtually zero upload failures. The incredible ease of use Backblaze provided Bigman even allowed him to seamlessly transition to working remotely.

Result

Backblaze B2’s cost-effectiveness and reliability allow Bigman to keep every single working file so future production teams can bring episodes back to life in their entirety. With B2 Cloud Storage, Bigman estimates a 100x time savings in managing backups and archiving, meaning he can focus on his goal of making “Good Eats: The Return” the best-looking TV show on the Food Network edaslav.com/ru/.