Espial said the performance of its on-demand system has improved markedly by running on systems based on new Intel chips and solid-state storage drives.

Software specialist Espial wrote its VOD product, Espial MediaBase, to run on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware, which ideally should be easier and cheaper to implement.

Espial tested MediaBase running on a system based on Intel’s solid-state drives and Xeon 5500 series processors; the company says the combination dramatically reduced power consumption and equipment footprint compared with previous configurations (also based on Intel hardware).

Espial and Intel say the new combination can deliver up to 2,400 standard-definition streams, using 75 percent less space and power than a configuration using hard disk drives.

"The Espial MediaBase solution powered by the Intel Xeon processor 5500 series and Intel's solid-state drives offer a compelling opportunity to increase capacity utilization and decrease opex spending for on-demand TV services," said Boyd Davis, general manager of marketing in Intel's server platforms group.