Is this just a Mac mini you configure for us?
The hardware is how the infrastructure gets delivered, not what you are buying. What you are buying is an always-on automation layer for your media operation: Media Nexus, the job queue, the workers, the workflow runtime, the safety boundary, and the deployment and support around it.
Does it replace our NAS?
No. Your media stays exactly where it is. The Node mounts your existing storage (sources read-only) and writes derivatives only to locations you designate for that purpose.
What can Vaultline see or do on our Node?
Health and status, not your media. Paths, filenames, transcript text, and raw diagnostics stay local. Remote support is a separate grant that is off by default, every supported action is a specific named operation rather than a shell, and you can disable it from the control center.
Can it run without a connection to Vaultline?
Yes. Self-managed mode has no control plane, forbids Vaultline remote support, and rejects Vaultline-managed AI routing. Same binary, same local safety boundary.
Do we need Media Nexus too?
Not necessarily: Media Nexus can be installed and owned on your own hardware as a complete system on its own. If a Node is your path in, it ships with Media Nexus already running on it, and Vaultline Managed keeps both current together. If you already run Media Nexus, the Node simply becomes the machine it lives on.
What does it cost?
$6,000 for a Media Node, $8,500 for a Media Node Pro, one-time, hardware included, with the configuration work to connect your storage and stand up your first workflows. Vaultline Managed is $475 a month after the first three included months: managed infrastructure, a managed Media Nexus, a managed AI layer, and a monthly pool of AI usage and Vaultline Compute. Support covers bug fixes, configuration changes, and minor adjustments to existing workflows. New custom workflows or integrations are scoped separately. Partner members have it bundled already.
What happens if we stop Vaultline Managed?
You keep the Node (you bought it) and the workflows configured on it keep running. What rides on Vaultline Managed is everything that keeps improving: Media Nexus and AI-layer updates, monitoring and signed updates, included usage, and our help changing things. We'll walk through what that means for your setup before you decide, not after.